Comments on: WHAT’S IN _YOUR_ BEACH-BAG?

By: Chatonne-Chatonne

Chatonne-Chatonne — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:34:00 +0000

Humm…I’m always late to comment but -oh well-

I read anything I want, pretty much wherever I want but it’s true that, if I begin reading something I’m really into, I get rather pissed if interrupted; adding to that the fact that I’m a bit of a “maniac” with the condition of my books, so if by great misfortune someone playfully dirty or damage a book I really enjoy (^_^), I can’t guarantee my reaction. So indeed, if I must go to the beach with a group of friends, it might be wiser for me that I bring along some chick-litt than a “Lord John”…

Speaking about chick-litt, I recently read my first of the genre (I think) : the famous Kinsella’s first “Shopaholic” book…which I found funny the 1st quarter, and unexpectedly stressing after :/

By: Pierce

Pierce — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:11:00 +0000

I am reading The Time Traveler’s Wife and it’s pretty good so far.

By: Isa

Isa — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:13:00 +0000

I agree with Outlander being infinitely re-readable! I think I re-read that one in particular because that’s where the love story starts. And I save the very best books for the beach– if anything’s being read while I’m there it’s got to be as great as my surroundings! btw I loved your latest book excerpt Diana!

By: kingston

kingston — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:24:00 +0000

I can’t believe I came across this, because Outlander was what was in my beach bag, while at the beach in Port Dover, Ontario. Now your novels are in my purse, diaper bag, gym bag…everywhere I am.

By: not important

not important — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:51:00 +0000

Ah, late to the party, as usual, but I had to say...I feel the same way about the beach. I am fair-skinned and mostly Irish, therefore I go from zero to crispy in about fifteen minutes, sunscreen be damned.
Regardless of my feelings about the beach, this is a concept I can grasp. I prefer to call these books "junk food". Sometimes I read something with way to much DEEP MEANING (as your husband put it)...and then I just want to read something light. A snack between meals, if you will. To me, these are normally the oversize paperbacks of Jennifer Weiner, Jane Green, etc. Chick-lit, I believe they call it now. Also, the Stephanie Plum novels of Janet Evanovich, which I enjoy, read in a day and then really never read again.

I wouldn't put Outlander in there with the ever-afters, it's in the infinitely re-readable category of "comfort food" for me, with my The Mirror of Her Dreams and Corelli's Mandolin.

By: EileenOg

EileenOg — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:12:00 +0000

My parents always served mashed rutabega with Thanksgiving dinner. One year, my mother-in-law served it when we spent the holidays with her. She knew my family always served it, but she didn’t know that I NEVER ate it. Ick. Nice of her, though.
I agree about Kristen Lavransdatter. I recently read it again after waiting 27 years. I was so weepy after the first time I read it that my husband asked me never to read it again!!

By: JenerEight

JenerEight — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 10:22:00 +0000

OK, so it's not summer here in Oz, but I did have surgery recently and had to take a couple of weeks off work, and therefore got in a lot of extra reading.
I picked up Julianne Lee's 3 part series (I believe there's more to come?) starting with Knight Tenebrae, mainly because according to the cover blurb, they involve time travel and Scottish history.
Nothing at all like our beloved Outlander series (shorter for one thing!) and set in the 1300s, but an easy "disposable" read, I suppose.
Jen in Oz

By: honeycut

honeycut — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:13:00 +0000

After reading some of the comments here I recently checked out Ariana Franklin’s ‘Mistress of the Art of Death’ from the library. It was a very good read. Having finished it in a couple of days is always a good indicator. I am now on the look out for ‘The Serpent’s Tale.’ Have read that there will be a third book with Adelia — authenticating discovered bones that may or may not be that of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. http://www.arianafranklin.com/franklin-qa.htm

Thanks for the recommendations!

By: gloinp

gloinp — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:40:00 +0000

“The Eight” by Katherine Neville,
“World Without End” by Ken Follett and the latest by James Collins “The Last Oracle”. They are already packed and ready for the cottage.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:39:00 +0000

I always regress to my childhood books in the summer – makes it even easier to escape the stresses of audulthood. Harry Potter, the Enchanted Forest series by Patricia C. Wrede, Enid Blyton’s boarding school stories, as well as the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, the Chronicles of Narnia, and anything by Tamora Pierce. I’m also a pretty big Star Wars geek, and I love the original books by Timothy Zhan, and the Rogue Squadron series as well.
I’m leaving tomorrow for 2 and a half weeks on an archeaological dig in Israel, and I’m taking the Outlander books that I have in paperback – I read through books pretty quickly, but hopefully the sheer mass of them will slow me down a bit so I won’t have to pack as many books.