reading lately: for fun

Lately I've been breezing through what I consider "fun" reading - encouraged by the gorgeous sunny fall weather that's perfect for sitting on the back deck with my lunch and a book, and by the introduction of what I consider more boring exercise options at the gym (elliptical machine, treadmill walking) to my routine, which are made much less monotonous with my Kindle and some light reading.

Where'd You Go Bernadette
The title of this post is definitely fitting for this selection - I really just found it downright fun. As my mom mentioned in her review, it's part coming-of-age story about daughter Bee, part mid-life crisis story about mother Bernadette. It's also all very amusing satire about lots of things in modern society - private schooling and helicopter parents, support groups, the tech industry, life in the Pacific northwest, and so on. The format, of telling the story through letters, emails, memos, etc. with just the occasional narration thrown in, moves things along quickly and gets you inside many of the characters' minds - and since many of them are such caricatures, it's quite amusing. And as DJ pointed out, part of the fun is how it's all so current world - TED talks, outsourcing personal tasks to India (I've totally heard an NPR story about this), etc. A quick and fun read in the best kind of way - in that there's still enough substance that will be interesting to discuss with book club.


Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
I always love David Sedaris' essays/stories about his childhood/family, which this newest book has some of, but I also loved all the ones about his travels and especially the one about his book tours. This book also had a couple brief sort of character sketches that can be quite dark humor (but still quite humorous), and some of the essays have a little more of a political bent than I remember in his previous books, but I enjoyed them all. Peter kept wondering why I hadn't gotten around to reading this latest David Sedaris book, since he was done with our copy months ago, but it's one of those kinds of books that I almost feel better having on my shelf unread - because I know I have the perfect thing there waiting for me when I want a well-written funny book (which aren't always so easy to come by!) It's like the comfort of letting Downton Abbey episodes pile up on the DVR. I know there's something good when I need it, so I'm not in a rush to use up the good stuff as it's a little sad when it's all gone. So that's the only un-fun thing about this book - I'm done with it now.


The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
I was hoping for some good, fun southern fiction like Clyde Edgerton or Fannie Flagg when I first came across this one... it has a bit of that, and it made for pretty good (light) treadmill reading, but it just wasn't quite as good as I had hoped. It's about 3 lifelong girlfriends in a southern Indiana small town and all the trials they've been through together, present and past - all centering around their gatherings at Earl's diner. It certainly does have the quirky characters with funny names that I like in the books I'd put in this "fun southern fiction" category, but overall I was a little disappointed with some of the portrayals and with how the story fit together - none of it quite as skillfully done as my favorites. Light and fairly fun reading, but not always compelling enough to make me want to keep going.


Me Before You
This one isn't exactly "fun" - more in the tear-jerker category by the end, actually - but it was the kind of book you can easily get through in a couple of days and just enjoy for reading's sake. It's about a caretaker of a 30-something handsome/rich (but depressed/caustic) quadriplegic and her quest to get him to change his mind about wanting to end his life. Perhaps somewhat predictable at points, but I enjoyed reading it quite a bit anyway.


Illegal Action
Another in the MI-5 agent series that I started earlier this summer as good travel/beach reading. With any of these kinds of series I think you get a little formulaic/predictable/bored if you read too many in a row, but hey, it's books all about plot also make for pretty good treadmill reading so I did another.