candy

[houseelf]

I know that we all only read Very Important Books, but what do you read when you just want to be entertained?

I admit to picking up the occasional National Enquirer if DH is on call on a Friday or Saturday night. (This is kind of the equivalent of popping open a beer after the kiddies go to bed). I have to say, however, I haven't done this in a long time because I really couldn't care whether Paris's, Tara's, or Mary Kate's boob "accidently" pops out again. But I do enjoy the juicy gossip and the clothes.

I also enjoy an occasional dose of smut. Most recently I read a romance novel by Johanna Lindsey.

I used to read Grisham and Sheldon just for kicks but I found that there novels were beginning to be even less prose but more like screen plays.

So when you go slumming, where do you turn?

Kelly

[DCJenn]

Travel magazines. Conde Nast Traveler in particular. Like I'm ever going to be able to afford a $500,000 house for a month in Mustique. But a girl can dream!

I can't get into most fiction because my ADD kicks in and I read the end first. (can't tell you how many times I've done that) but I can hang on with the Janet Evanovich series and the Sue Grafton series (both mysteries).

I also love cooking magazines but rarely buy them because I hoard them and then have to deal with stacks and stacks of semi-read magazines.

I always read People or Us or the Enquirer in the checkout stand but rarely buy them because I also read the online equivalents!

Jenn

My favorite fiction candy lately are books by Carl Hiaasen. I just got Native Tongue from the library and will devour it soon.

I love cooking magazines and cookbooks. I have too many from the library right now to keep up with. And Inspired House is a favorite magazine, too. I sit and daydream about the next house or what I would do to this one. And conveniently leave out the dust, open ceilings during winter, and other remodeling frustrations.

Otherwise, I usually get my mom's bookgroup leftovers which tend to be more serious reads. My bookgroup has a nice mix of serious and fun. We just read Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. Not brain candy exactly but a fun and quick read.

[Auspicious]

Most of my garbage intake comes in TV form (the other day in carpool they started talking about that show about Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends, and I was horrified to realize that I actually have an opinion on this matter ).

For reading there's something about level of effort required that makes the fluffy stuff not worth it. I generally can only go down to about Bridget Jones's Diary or David Sedaris. Anything below that and I might as well turn on the TV.

[mommax3]

I have to admit that I am very drawn to both Us and People. I won't subscribe because I don't want to admit my addiction, so it is a constant battle, not to mention expensive when I succumb!

I love historical fiction that is reasonably well-written and for some reason I love contemporary fluff fiction by Irish authors. Give me Rosamunde Pilcher, Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, or Cathy Kelly, and I am happily entertained for several hours.

I also love travel magazines....right now we get Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, but although the price is right, we are still short of time, so its all dreaming at this point! Midwest Living, Southern Living, and Better Homes and Gardens are also good escapes for me, and I *think* we just subscribed to Real Simple and Bon Appetit with some bonus points from an airline or something, so I am looking forward to getting that. I have subscribed to various cooking mags in the past and actually invested in getting the year-end cookbook compilations so I could throw away the stacks of magazines! At this point, I have many more recipes than I will ever use, and if I want a new recipe, I usually go to allrecipes.com anyway, but I love reading about food!

Too much of my reading these days tends to be fluff, sadly.

Sally

[houseelf]

Julie wrote:

For reading there's something about level of effort required that makes the fluffy stuff not worth it. I generally can only go down to about Bridget Jones's Diary or David Sedaris. Anything below that and I might as well turn on the TV.

BLASPHEMY! Bridget is not "fluffy", but actually serves as a primer on how the western female mind works. I love, love, love Bridget and will not see her demeaned in such a way.

Kelly

[Auspicious]

BLASPHEMY! Bridget is not "fluffy", but actually serves as a primer on how the western female mind works. I love, love, love Bridget and will not see her demeaned in such a way.

Well she did make the cut! But somehow I don't think it will be assigned in college courses 100 years from now. I think part of the problem there is that she's been copied so many times and often so poorly that she's suffered unfairly from it.

[SueC]

I occasionally read People, though if you ask me I'll tell you I really don't give a crap what the celebs are up to.

Me likes the fluff, be it Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, or anybody who writes books similar to them. I seem especially drawn to the ones with the quirky British or Irish gals. I don't know why.

I've been reading James Heriot lately, which seems to have a little more value. He's the small-town Vet who wrote several books with short stories about animals he has treated. They're all "feel-good" stories about the birth of some sheep or cow and I can read one in a few minutes and then walk away from it.

[DCJenn]

Funny story re: Bridget. My friend's mom was on the treadmill attempting to read BJD, and had to get off because she was laughing so hard she almost fell off. So, she sat down on those couches that no one ever uses at the gym and read the whole thing- laughing loudly throughout. She was one of those women that had a laugh that carried throughout a room!

I'll add Sedaris to the list- I love his stuff. and of course, Dan Savage, the meanest gay man in the world.

Jenn

[Sheherezade]

I'm a mystery girl. Right now, I'm enjoying the PJ Tracy books. I also read Martha Grimes and Elizabeth George religously. I've read most of the well known authors and have been trying out some new ones. Unfortunately, I'm not crazy about many of the new series - I just can't get into Janet Evonovich (sp?) or the A as in...series. I've got to like my detective - and I usually don't want to mix murder and humor.

On the humor front, I have to admit to enjoying some of the "chick lit" stuff. I read The First Assistant and Jemima Jones recently. It was like sitting down to gossip with a girl friend. I could probably go for more of that. I'm going to try The Devil Wears Prada out. Bridget Jones was great.

I love Sedaris, too. I like to do history/biography (mostly European) when I'm in the mood for non fiction. I love Alison Weir and David.....hmmm......David Something.....I can't remember. I liked the John Adams biography and I'm thinking about trying out 1776.

Serious books are good, too, but I can't read them without concentrating. This stuff I can read while waiting in line or stirring dinner. I can't wait till Christmas. I know I've got new books under the tree!!!

[planet]

Comics. Really. Calvin and Hobbes, Berkeley Breathed. I have books on the shelves that I periodically take down and read through to relax.