Just finished "The Help", which was very good. You might also like any of the Alexander Mcall Smith books. Any of them would be good for mental relaxation, as they aren't "heavy", but very entertaining with good stories.

I am currently reading The Search by Nora Roberts.

It's a thriller but is written in a a manner that adds romance and comedy. I love the way she presents her characters as "real" people who speak like people we all know rather than made up characters in a book.

If you like animals you will LOVE this book as much of it centers around the training dogs both for Search and Rescue and the deep bonds dogs form with with their "people".

I'm reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I absolutely love it!

Jodi-

Thanks so much! I just downloaded Kindle samples of The Help, a couple of McCall Smith's books, and The Search. I just love that sample feature - gives you a chance to pick and choose what book you want. :-)

I really, really liked "The Help". I hated for it to end. If you liked Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt wrote other two books. "'Tis" is a follow up to Angela's Ashes and then he wrote "Teacher Man" which was about his life as a teacher. All three are great books.

just finished dan brown's symbols, but not exactly light reading...for fun i re read catherine coulter's fbi series...think there are 5-6 now?

I just re-read a political satire from the mid to late 70's called "The Mouse that Roared". Aside from being a very light commedy it without a doubt expresses the current state of world affairs better than any publication ever written.

It is about a tiny country in central Europe that is little more than a city and they are on the brink of total bankruptcy. Given that they have no major industry or other means of generating wealth they get the silly idea to declare war on the USA, knowing full well that their little standing army consisting of a dozen archers would be forced into a quick surrender, then they will apply for war reparitions to rebuild their infrastructure and fill their coffers. The problem is that in the course of their little war they manage to capture a "doomsday weapon" and now they are at risk of becoming the leading world power and would be obligated to extend reparitions to other countries.....The book is totally hilarious but sadly I have to wonder, how many of these third world countries have actually engaged in hostilities for the same purpose?

Patti43, i just got a sample of Tis. Wow, with all these samples, I'm going to have. A LOT of mental relaxation! And get nothing done around the house. :-)

Lazypup,, I read The Mouse That Roared when it came out, and it had ME roaring! If I remember correctly, it was also a movie, and it was also a stitch. But in the real world, it is a very scary scenario....

My all-time favorite book is Beauty by Susan Wilson--it's a modern Beauty and the Beast story. For mental relaxation, you can't beat anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The Harper Connelly books by Charlaine Harris are intersting, and a little different (in a lot of ways!)

At the moment, I've decided to re-read all of Harry Potter--a major undertaking, of course. But I'm out of new stuff to read, haven't read them in a while, and figure that should last me a couple of weeks, anyway.

I'm reading "Night Over Water" by Ken Follett, and can hardly put it down. It's a real winner!! I just finished "I Still Dream About You" by Fannie Flagg and it was just great.

if you want light easy reading that is similar to Janet Evanovich and will make you laugh try looking at books by these authors
Ellen Byerrum the first in the series is Killer Hair best to read them in order.

Gemma Halliday the high heels series starting with
Spying in high heels

Dorothy Howell the purses series starting with Handbags and Homicide

Loved "The Help."

Just finished "Before I Go to Sleep" too - one of the best reads I've had in a while. SJ Watson is the author. Loved it!

Currently reading "Maine" by J Courtney Sullivan.

One of my all time favorite books is "Replay" by Ken Grimwood. It's a story about a man who dies and finds himself in college again but with all his memories intact. He lives his life very differently the second time until he dies again and once more finds himself a young man.

This goes on for many times and how and what he does differently makes for an excellent book. It really makes you think about the choices in your life.

It's got excellent reviews on Amazon, 4 1/2 stars.

I absolutely loved Pillars of The Earth, and World Without End so my dear friend recommended Game of Thrones by George R.Martin..don't know if I will finnish, this one is a little difficult to follow. Vannie when I saw your post about Night Over Water by K Follett I laughed because I just read the reviews on that and am going to pick it up today... Love the recommendations always.

June

Ravencajun, Killer Hair and Spying in High Heels look great. Spying was only 99 cents, so I splurged.

Happyladi, Replay sounds like another must-read for me. I've always been fascinated by the concept of going back to the past with the knowledge I have now. Have you ever seen the movie Peggy Sue Got Married? It's about a woman who does just that.

I love all of Nora Roberts books. Really enjoyed the Chesapeake Bay Series and In the Garden Trilogy. They aren't her newer books but easy fun reading. The Search and her newest Chasing Fire were really good.

On another board they were talking about Tim Dorsey books. Something between Stephanie Plum and Dexter.

I checked at our library and they didn't get any on CD only e-reader. Bummer.

I'm a non-fiction reader. If interested, my picks are:

All Souls (about 'Southie')If you liked Angela's Ashes you'll like this one for sure.

The Devil in the White City (Beautiful Chicago 1893 World's Fair lurks a serial killer)

A Studied Madness (Memoirs of an actor. Maybe hard to find but worth it)

Innocent Man (by Grisham,need more be said?)

For the Thrill of It (about Leopold and Loeb)

Hotel California (about emerging rock scene in '60's California.)

The Arrogance of Power (about Nixon)

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (ANYONE can draw like a pro using author's simple techniques)

Thanks to the OP for the question. It reminds me to be grateful for all the good authors and books out there!

to further emphasize what xminion stated in her last line,,,,

If you can read, thank a teacher.....

If you can read in English,,,thank a Vet

Just finished "Prayers for Sale" by Sandra Dallas, which I thought was a nice light read. Most of it takes place in snowy Colorado, so it helped cool me off on a hot summer day! lol

Currently reading "The Forgotten Garden" but it's quite long about 600 pages. My book club chooses one longer book and then we met at the end of summer.

xminion, Devil in the White City is one of my all time favorite books. I was fascinated with all the details on the the construction of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The origination of the ferris wheel and how we receive electricity. There were so many ground-breaking events because of the Chicago World's Fair. And then there's the serial killer story woven within.

Jodi-

Jodi -

Thanks for the affirmation of DITWC.

If you ever go to Chicago you must see "The Palace of Fine Arts," now the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry as it is the only remaining building from the fair. And back then in all white? Right by the lake!

You can easily get the feel of how beautiful the exposition must have been...sigh.

Have you read Larson's latest about Nazi Germany? Some reviews give it just up to the high marks DITWC got. It's at Costco.

My all-time favorite books include:

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley
Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig

Vertical Run by Joseph Garber
Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer

The Emma Harte series by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Xminion, have not heard about Larson's latest book and I hesitate to buy and put it on my "TBR" (to be read) pile which already requires me to use a step stool to reach the top. :-)

I'd love to see the Chicago Museum building. I take it it is no longer white? It really must have been breathtaking to see the whole fair in white.

A gal in our book club, and the one who chose this book, grew up in Chicago and her grandfather worked on the fair buildings so she shared some photos and old movie footage from back in the day. So interesting.

Jodi-

I have been reading the Outlander series by Diana Galbadon. I'm on the 7th book now. She is working on book # 8. I love this series.

Linda

Wanda_va... The Emma Heart Series is FANTASTIC!!!!!! In fact anything from Barbara Taylor Bradford is excellent. I couldn't put down her Emma series. It is definately a page turner. On my Kindle I just got through reading "Her Mother's Hope and "Her Daughter's Dream" by Francine Rivers. This 2 book series is out of this world. I didn't want it to end and felt every character in the books.

Jodi,

Not white anymore. My husband went to school in ChiTown, and so he knew where the Midway was, etc., and he showed me the lay of the land for the fair so to speak.

Lucky you a gal at the book club had photos and film. I'm sure many a museum would be interested in her collection. Let me know if she takes her collection to antique road show and what they told her! Thanks!

Any novel by Elizabeth Berg. Joy School is my very favorite.