Summer reading spree

I've been trying to read more lately, just so my brain doesn't rot, I guess! I'm hoping you have some great recommendations. First, here's what I've been reading:

Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth
I want to write out all of my thoughts about this book but I need to read it again (and maybe again after that) before I can put it all together coherently. This book can be a little intense at times if you have any emotional issues regarding food and self image (and who doesn't, really?) But if you've heard about it and are thinking about picking it up, I encourage you to do so. I had to stop at least once a page to really think about and process what I was reading.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I hope this gets made into a movie or something because it's a story that more people need to experience. If you like historical fiction or you're interested in the civil rights movement at all, you have to read this one.

My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
I know, I'm all over the place heh. I like Chelsea Handler and I kept hearing how funny her books are so I went for her first one. I definitely laughed out loud at parts and it's prime fluffy summer reading material. I think I read it in one sitting.

How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets by Garth Stein
The only way I can describe this is that it's sort of like the male version of chick lit. It's about a guy who meets his teenage son who he's never met and how they work out their relationship. It's a good read but left me feeling a little hollow, somehow.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I can't talk much about this book without giving away too much of the plot. Parts of it dragged ass (for me, I'm an impatient reader) but overall, it's thought provoking and compelling. I have so many unanswered questions for the characters, which really is part of the beauty of it.

I'm a few pages into Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, which has gotten rave reviews all over the place. Then I think I'll read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I don't really have specific types or genres that I like. I do tend to gravitate toward books by or about women but I just find those more interesting.

So, what do I have to read right away?

Comments

[Patsy Nevins]

My objections to Geneen Roth's writing is that she is not at all fat friendly. I have read several of her books in the past, back when I was investigating my eating habits because of the propaganda which tells us that all fat women must eat compulsively, around the same time I read the books by Munter & Hirschmann. I learned that I do not have an eating disorder, I eat normally & am indeed fat mostly because of genes & metabolism, because I am built like my grandmother, & a bit fatter over time because of the dieting I did years ago, pregnancy, nursing, aging, menopause. However, anything of Roth's which I have read suggests strongly that anyone who overcomes her eating disorder will be thin, so she is not at all accepting of fat women with normal eating habits or fat women who DO have eating disorders, overcome them, & remain fat. So for me, both because I do not have an eating disorder & also because I know that people with eating disorders come in all sizes & that overcoming an eating disorder MAY losing weight, but it may also mean staying pretty much the same size or gaining weight, I am not comfortable with Roth's writing. I am also personally turned off pretty seriously by people who include the word 'God' in the title of their book.

[Chris]

Eat, Pray, Love....wonderful story about a woman finding her true self and letting go of her past.

[leendadll]

Is "Women Food and God" heavy on the God bit? I'm not religious and toooo much emphasis on god and/or religion can put me off a book.

Good choice on Chelsea Handler. Skip the 2nd one, it wasn't nearly as good.

You might like Worst Laid Plans... it kind of has a Chelsea Handler feel to it. It's all true, but funny, stories of sexual situations gone bad.

[emily]

I would recommend the entire Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris if you like True Blood and/or anything supernatural. I would not consider myself a reader of fantasy stories, I usually stick to things like David Sedaris books, but this is pretty entertaining stuff! Also, not as heavy as it sounds, there's a book called The American Way of Death Revisited by Jessica Mitford, all about the funeral industry that is surprisingly very interesting and at times funny, if you're looking for non-fiction.

[Colleen]

Women, Food and God isn't heavy on the God part at all. It's much more about spirituality than religion. I'm not religious in the least and it wasn't too heavy on that part for me.

The ideas that the author discusses don't just apply to eating disorders. They can apply to any number of ways that we try to distract ourselves from the emptiness that some of us try to fill with anything - food, sex, shopping, etc.

[Steved]

If you like Fiction get some Paperbacks by

S.M. Stirling

I like the Alt History stuff. The 3 novel series about Nantucket and the Coast Guard where they all get send back to 1300B.C. Great set of Books.

[gina]

I'm dreading and looking forward to reading Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (a story about female slaves who are at a resort with their owners). I cringe when reading about slavery but feel it's necessary to do so, and this kind of relationship is such a psychological minefield, I'm really interested to see how it's handled.

[Angela Jones]

I'm reading The Help and Adrianna Trigianni's Brava, Valentine. She is my all time favorite author! I love your blog! If you ever get a chance, visit our blog http://www.plussizemodelsunite.com Thank you!

[Gypsyroxylee.wordpress.com]

I'm new to your blog but I wanted to drop by and say I find your writing style very easy to follow. The posts are both engaging and descriptive. I think I'll hang around!
Bella
http://gypsyroxylee.wordpress.com/

[C]

Read any of Jhumpa Lahiri's books. Short stories so they are PERFECT for the impatient. I also recently read and loved Lullabies For Little Criminals and Suzanne Finnamore's stuff.