Could my fellow DUers recommend some vacation reading?

I want to get away from politics, on this vacation, but I'm not necessarily restricting myself to fiction. I can't handle gory stuff but I do like mysteries. Romance is okay, as long as it's not too trite or gloppy. Humor is great.

I'll probably have time to finish a few books, at least. So, any and all suggestions from my ever so intelligent and well-read DU colleagues will be thoughtfully considered!

Many, many thanks, friends!

FC

The Red Tent.... Don't remember the author...

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare .... Stephen Greenblatt

I'll have to check out the Russo titles, too. And The Red Tent seems to get a lot of recommendations. It must be quite good.

Thanks! :hi:

The Red Tent is one very good book....the author is Anita Diamant.

I read it long ago, and enjoyed it enormously!

I found it on Amazon.com.

Although, as I understand the premise, it's probably a good book for members of both sexes to read. Gender roles, their origins, cultural variations, and so on, are endlessly fascinating. I just got two related books which I'll probably take with me, although, they may be a little dry for vacation reading. One is Female Power and Male Dominance and the other one is Female of the Species. Another one I might take along is The Alphabet and the Goddess. I'm not sure how "readable" that one is. From what others have said about The Red Tent, it's very readable.

Since it tells the story of a woman in biblical times.....

Sheesh, it's been so long since I read it, that I cannot remember just who the female character is!

But I do remember how good it was......I recommend it highly!

:hi:

:hide:

so I really don't know. :shrug:

If you haven't read The Da Vinci Code, do so. It is a fun page-turner that doesn't require a lot of thought. It's PERFECT summer vacation reading! Enjoy.

:thumbsup:

If you haven't read her yet. Not light, not too dense. Nice, easy writing style that won't insult your intelligence. Engaging stories and characters that are original enough that you haven't heard every aspect of them already. I especially loved "The Virgin Blue."

For some reason, though, it takes me a while to get into each book. I start them, can't get engaged, read only a few pages at a time, until somewhere after the first fifty pages I get hooked and can't put them down.

...the bat. Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't read any of her stuff so it might be fun to try out a new author.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805019669/104-8243455-6976715?v=glance&n=283155

If you're into nature books, you might also enjoy Barbara Hurd's "Stirring the Mud"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618215123/104-8243455-6976715?v=glance&n=283155

:hi:

Farley Mowat:
- The Boat Who Wouldn't Float
- The Dog Who Wouldn't Be

Richard Feynman:
- Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman

Hunter S. Thompson
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

"If I Ever Get Back," by Darryl Brock.

It's about a man who passes out, drunk, at an Amtrak station and wakes up on a railroad platform in 1868, and, not having many choices, accepts a ride on a train with the Cincinnati Red Stockings and winds up sticking with the club as scorekeeper and "change" (reserve) player.

Now, before you think "Baseball book," it's much more than that. It's history — and Brock has quite obviously done his homework on the Old West, the Barbary Coast (the team travels to San Francisco) and the Irish Fenian revolution. Great stuff!

There's more than a bit of romance, too — the likes of which I didn't think a man capable of writing.

It helps if you like baseball, but it isn't necessary. The history's what grabbed me.

Thanks. :hi:

I loaned that to my sweetie last time she went to
the South Seas, and she called it the perfect vacation book.
Her mom agreed.

http://www.chrismoore.com/bookpage.asp?PB_ISBN=0060735449

I'll check it out. :hi:

It's "Isolated Polynesian Cargo-Cult Society
meets ne'er-do-well down-on-his-luck pilot
meets Asian Black-Market organ-theiving con artists..."

Then toss in: Mary Kay,
a seafaring transvestite ladyboy,
the world's sweetest little old cannibal,
and a tight-lipped WWII ghost who has an ongoing "gentleman's wager" with Jesus.

But perhaps I've said too much already.:evilgrin: