So, remember how awesome my birthday was, and how Mr. Mock planned this fabulous trip for us? Well, that trip is in just a couple of weeks now, and so basically it is all I can think about. Which kinda sucks for you guys, really, because you know how I get when I’m excited for something.
Anyway, I had been planning taking Dan Brown’s latest book with me for beach reading, but have now decided I’m too impatient to wait that long to read it, and besides, it’s hardcover and way too fat for a carry-on. So here’s what I need help with. Can you guys recommend some good girly beach books to me? My requirements are pretty simple:
1. It has to be in paperback.
2. It has to be a total page-turner that holds my interest.
3. It has to be light reading. I don’t want to tackle War and Peace or anything like that on a beach vacation.
4. It can’t be anything by Laura Zigman or Jodi Picoult, because I have already read everything that those women have written.
So? Can you guys help a sister out?
Kyra Davis has a fun murder mystery series that I LOVE. The first book is “Sex, Murder, and a Double Latte”; the second is “Passion, Betrayal, and Killer Highlights”; and the third is “Lust, Loathing, and a Little Lip Gloss”. Her books are fantastic and you will LOVE them.
Death By Chick Lit by Lynn Harris
Anything by Jane Green
The books in the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella
Philippa Gregory’s historial fiction novels like The Virgin Queen.
Oh dang. The third book is actually “Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate”. The fourth book is the lip gloss one.
Don’t be turned off by the murder mystery thing. The books are totally hilarious and I would recommend these books to anyone with a good sense of humor.
Check Kyra Davis and her books out at http://www.kyradavis.com. No, I am not her agent. : )
Get a Kindle.
I think you would like Sophie Kinsella. Start with Undomestic Goddess.
Also The Time Traveler’s Wife. Haven’t seen the movie, don’t know if it’s dumb… but the book is great.
And quitcher braggin’, girl! Some of never get to go anywhere except Oklahoma.
Anything by Augusten Burroughs. Running with Scissors is one of my favorite books.
The Secret Life of Bees… You WILL cry. Also, she wrote The Mermaid Chair… Which was good, but not as good as TSLOB.
Ooh, ooh, I got it! Well maybe not — it’s not a mystery.
It’s “Heartburn,” by Nora Ephron — a roman-a-clef about her marriage to and divorce from Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, in which Bernstein was cheating on her while she was pregnant. There was a lawsuit over the book.
It was turned into the movie of the same name, wherein Meryl Streep smacks Jack Nicholson in the face with a key lime pie.
And it has recipes!
It’s at http://tinyurl.com/y9v5cp9
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume (edited by Jennifer O’Connell)
Water for Elephants is an excellent read…..the others are more girly. I’m definitely going to check out some of these other books–great reading list!
A book I read a few months back: “Lessons from the Land of Pork Scratchings,” by Greg Gutfeld of the Fox show “RedEye.”
It’s about the time he spent working in England, and it’s fascinating, hilarious, and 5% absolutely FILTHY (caveat emptor).
If you haven’t read them yet, the entire Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evonovich. Laugh out loud funny!
Love Sophie Kinsella and Emily Giffin books
I love to read Patricia Cornwell (forensic mysteries) and James Patterson. They always keep me entertained.
OH MY GOSH, MOCKARENA.
YOU HAVE TO READ THE STEPHANIE PLUM SERIES. You have to. You would LOVE them. Trust me and Wiz of ID.
They’re by Janet Evanovich. The only good ones are the ones that have numbers in the names. They’re all basically the same book over and over, but they’re hilarious and also enthralling. You won’t want to put them down.
bja – I also loved Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It is an excellent story. Not girly story but an excellent story.
I would definitely NOT get Firefly Lane, as suggested by bja. I cried really hard at the end. REALLY hard. Like, chest heaving sobs. My son took a break from his cartoons to see “whu wong?” and hugged me super tight.
You shouldn’t be reading on vacation. You should be making sure Mr. Mock is enjoying himself.
Nah….throw out that other stuff and read the Outlander series by Diana Galbaldon! It has it all!
Wow. This is an awful lot of suggestions. How am I going to pick???
Thanks you guys!
Go with Zachary’s suggestion. I always laugh my little ass off whenever I read about Stephanie Plum!
I’m in the boat for the Stephanie Plum series. They’re hilarious!
I love the “…in Death” series by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). They’re murder mysteries, with a little romance, set in the future and they’re sooooo good! The first is Naked in Death.
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant – I’ve probably read this book a dozen times. It’s wonderful.
Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. He’s Stephen King’s son. I’m not a King fan or a horror fan, but I could not put this book down.
1. The Time Traveller’s Wife
2. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
3. Water for Elephants
The Time Traveller’s Wife was excellent but SUCH a sad story…
Jen Lancaster books are hilarous.
Absolutely have to agree with the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evonovich. A murder mystery, cute guys, and getting in trouble – fantastic beach reads. And we don’t want to think too hard on vacation, do we?
I agree — Jen Lancaster. Start with “Bitter Is the New Black” and go on to “Bright Lights, Big Ass.” I haven’t read “Pretty in Plaid” yet (that’s her latest) but I hear it’s good, too.
Diane Mott Davidson – She writes about a caterer named Goldy. The titles are food related. “Death by Chocolate” is the first. A good light read and funny.
Um, no one has mentioned the Sookie Stackhouse series (Charlaine Harris)?! Oh dear. But you have to start at the beginning of the series and read in order or you’ll screw yourself totally up. Very easy reading and entertaining, and all in paperback! I devoured them almost as quickly as I devoured the Twilight series.
See, if you read Stephanie Plum, you don’t have to read any of them in order. I think I started with number eight and went on from there. So that automatically makes it better than Ellie’s.
Nobody’s actually DESCRIBED the series yet, so let me:
Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter, working for her cousin. She’s pretty lousy, to be honest, but she generally gets the job done and her screwups are always entertaining. Sometimes the file clerk, Lula (a “size-eight black woman in size-two spandex”), comes along for the ride, and that usually makes things even MORE funny. Stephanie’s grandmother occasionally joins. Cars blow up, donuts get eaten, people get shot at, and people get sat on in almost every book.
Stephanie’s also torn between two men throughout the series. Joe Morelli, a cop, is usually her boyfriend, and he’s her “relationship” guy. She’s generally only sexually attracted to Ranger, a fellow (and better) bounty hunter, although she has lived with him at times in the series (which has been hilarious).
Each book follows her antics while trying to capture an escaped bookie, lost relative, etc. Additionally, she has other minor bonds to fill, which basically add comic relief from the main bond in each story. Stephanie usually gets in a little too deep, and someone usually wants her dead. But she always survives due to her kickassness (AKA dumb luck).
I like Olivia’s suggestion ; ) Glad you enjoyed my books Olivia!
YAY More famous authors at The Mock Dock! Welcome, Kyra! Clearly, I will have to go and buy your books for my trip TODAY!
I vote for the Kindle purchase as well. I have had mine for 6 months
and love it.
I suggest getting “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson about his
attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Go to Amazon.com for reader reviews. It’s great entertainment.
Thanks Mockarena! It’s a great site!
I agree with whoever suggested Water for Elephants and The Time Traveler’s Wife. Both are excellent!
Oh, and anything by Elizabeth Berg. She’s my favorite!