So…since I am going to be one-armed for the next 2.5-3 months I need some books…lots of books! Please tell me your favorite. Keith has agreed to go to Half Price Books for me with a list. So help me out and load me up. I am not doing good guys. I think I spent most of Friday staring out the window counting down the hours until I could take more pain medicine and go to bed. Like my friend, Katie, said, “This sucks.” I am depressed and hoping that maybe getting wrapped up in some books with make me temporarily forget. Thanks guys.
Filed under: Uncategorized |
HEALTHY LIVING WITH KELLY 
For chick lit, I love everything by Kristin Hannah! Her books are great. I also really loved America Wife – excellent book.
Some of my favorites are from Jennifer Weiner and Jane Green. I love them for a little silly chick lit. Jodi Picoult is good, too. I hope you can get lost in some great stories. I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you. Believe me when I say, you are in my thoughts. Good luck tomorrow. *hugs*
The Art of Racing in the Rain was really good. As was The Help.
Hang in there!
Not sure if this will be convenient since you can’t drive, but you should consider a library card too – they’re free and can save you a ton of money since you’ll need so many books. 🙂
Sookie Stackhouse series – the books that True Blood is based on. SO GOOD! And there’s 10 books in the series so far, so that’ll keep you busy. (And you could watch the TV show too – it’s kind of weird but good.)
I love anything by Jodi Picoult. She wrote My Sisters Keeper, which was a great book but I also like The Pact and Plain Truth by her
I really am liking the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. There 3 books in the series and are smart but fun reads. I also got into the Twilight series…they are goofy but a nice distraction as long as you don’t mind pg13 porn.
Hey Kelly , I love reading your blog . I can honestly say I have been where you are now, back in October of last year I did almost the exact same thing to my left thumb only with a hatchet. I will spare you the details . Bu let’s just say that I was in the ER most of the night at was about to go into emergency surgery when they decided they did not need. The reason why I am telling you all this is cause you wil make it through, I am not saying there will not be days when you won’t want to scream and cry cause there will be. My advice scream, cry, yell and be mad but also know that now you can have someone waiting on you hand and foot :). By the way some good books are : the Friday night knitting club, Comfort food, Eat Pray Love. Hope this helps you and my thoughts and prayers are with you .
You’ve gotten some good advice so far already… and I’m definitely with Allena in that if you have a library near by, that’s the way to go! That way if you think the book totally sucks or just cant get into it, you can bring it back! And they also have movies too!!
Anyways… some of my favorites:
-Water for Elephants
-The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
-Jodi Picoults books… I was so resistant to her at first because it seems like it’s “trendy” to like her, but every book I’ve read so far is really good. Just finished the Tenth Circle and am now reading Vanishing Acts.
-Any of Rohl Dahl’s books… it’ll lighten the mood, and they’re awesome. 🙂
-Me Talk Pretty One Day (another mood lightner)
Check out this list… it actually has TONS of great reads! http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/arts-culture/book-club-reading-list-00000000033208/index.html
When I was laid up after my Cornea transplants and had to look at the ceiling for 4 days each time, I listened to books on cds which I had gotten from the library.
Take this time to learn a language! The Rosetta Stone software is great!
Have you ever read “Night”? It’s short and sad, which might not be what you’re looking for, but it’s SO GOOD. Sorry you’re bumming, girl. I’m thinking of you.
My all time favorite is Nicholas Spark’s “The Wedding”. I went to the book store the other day and was told that I would like James Patterson’s “Sunday’s at Tiffany’s”. I haven’t read it, but I keep thinking about it and I think I am going to grab it this week. You could start an online book club! I would read with you!
Sundays at Tiffany’s was good !
I read it BEFORE the time travelers wife and enjoyed it way more than TTW but some say it is similar
Anyway – Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas is great also by James Patterson 😉
Nicholas Sparks – Dear John was a great read as was the Lucky One
Not sure if you like mysteries, but Mary higgins clarks books are good, all sue graftons books as well. And of course Eat pray love if you have not read it.
Hope this helps.
Authors—Jane Green, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult
Books…Prep, American Wife, Twilight…..Also, Eat Pray Love is supposed to be good as well as Water for Elephants and The Help, but I’ve never read these!
The Historian and Pillars of the Earth are both awesome reads. Addicting and long, good features considering the circumstances.
take care-
Yes. I hear you on this. I spend a lot of time ( alot) lying on my bed reading.
– Harry Potter (I have not read them all though)
– Anything by Nick Hornby
– Jodi Picoult “Perfect Match”
– Sophie Kinsella “Remember me”
– Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief
–
I desperately need new books too, but I can’t get to the library!!
The last 3 books I read have been re-reads…which is definitely nice, but I want something fresh now.
Have you read the Lord of the Rings trilogy? good stuff.
Boy, I could go on forever…I will come back with more later if something grabs me.
I second a lot of the books already mentioned above, but you should also read the Hunger Games series. It’s a YA series. The first book is The Hunger Games, the second is Catching Fire, and the third, Mockingjay, comes out later this month. So, so good.
Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane. Its hilarious!
She also has a book called Forget About It, or something along those lines. Its really, really easy to read and along the same lines as Sophie Kinsella’s Remember Me. I read them both, and would read them both again.
Janet Evanovich – The Stephanie Plum Series – Entertaining and light read. There are 16 books in the series now!
Twilight Series – Got totally sucked up in these (pun not intended)
Marian Keyes – Several books out there. Very entertaining.
Same Kind of Different As Me – by Denver Moore and Rod Hall (very uplifiting biography. Set in Texas!!)
Sophie Kinsella is also great for a beach read/chic lit
That’s it off the top of my head – If I think of any additional I will let you know……..
Middlesex…Atonement (although only if you haven’t seen the movie yet!)…Truth and Beauty…The Patron Saint of Liars…Straight Man…March.
Those are some of my favorites!
I too love Jane Green. Half price books usually has 1 copy of each of her books. I have most of them too if you want to borrow them.
I think the books off of Oprah’s old list are usually pretty good. I’ve read about 15 of those and they were great.
I really need to get back into reading! I bought a new Jane Green book to read yesterday, when I picked up Dan a copy of Friday Night Lights.
Ok so I just caught up with everything- I’m so sorry you have to deal with surgery and all this is going on! I’ll be thinking about you tomorrow. 🙂
I would suggest a few books by Sophia Kinsella. She seems to know her stuff when it comes to light-hearted reads. 🙂
Check out a great list of books on one of Abby’s recent posts: http://www.abbynormally.com/2010/07/bookworm/
Two I’ve read recently and enjoyed:
Baking Cakes in Kigali
Three Cups of Tea
Book that’s on my list to read
Geography of Bliss
Oh and I love travel stories so anything by Bill Bryson and also Tony Hawks. Oh, yes, must read because it’s hilarious – Traveling Round Ireland with a Fridge
I have Art of Racing in the Rain (really good), a new Jennifer Weiner Book (Good Friends or something), a book about a lady opening a restaurant (with some romance mixed in 🙂 ) and several books by the lady that wrote The Other Bolyn Girl. You can have any and all that you’d like.
Everything I’ve read in the past year has to do with food!
The Last Chinese Chef (novel)
Michael Pollan books
Might I suggest puzzles – very relaxing. Love that suggestion to learn a new language.
Oh and I have one of Chelsea Handler’s books. Freakin funny! Jensen would always make fun of me for sititng there quietly reading my book and then all of the sudden bustingout laughing so hard I cry outof nowhere.
Great book on running is Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. One of my favs.
Oh what a GREAT topic!!
I just wrote a Book Review on my blog about a new book “Balancing Acts”.
– It’s Not About The Bike (Lance Armsrong)
– Into Thin Air (Jon Krakuer)
– My Sister’s Keeper (Jodi Picoult)
Go old school – read some Nancy Drew or Sweet Valley High 🙂
P.S – thanks for this post – because I’m getting some really good ideas here 😉
A funny one too – Sh*t my dad says! I think there’s a blog off of it too…
Try reading the book “Ultramarathon Man”. It is so inspiring!
I’ve been trying to think of some good “injury lit” for you! If you like historical fiction, anything by Tracy Chevalier (she wrote Girl With a Pearl Earring) or Phillipa Gregory (she wrote The Other Boleyn Girl) is great. I just finished reading a cute series about a woman who goes to culinary school and works at a bakery in France, I think one of the books was called Let Them Eat Cake
i’m so bummed for you girl. i would say babysitter’s club all the way 🙂 i know this sucks for you, but you have hundreds and thousands of us cheering you on!
You need to read The Hunger Games. I think you’d love it. But, I don’t know if you’ll find it at the used book store, they are still pretty new.
Anything by Bill Bryson and David Sedaris…both are hsyterical writers.
If you want “turn your brain off, suck you in” kind of books, all the above are perfect.
Also The Kite Runner, The Red Tent (one of my faves), three Cups of Tea.
I second Red Tent (my all time fave) and The Kite Runner also on my Top 5
Anything by Jen Lancaster, Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin.
Im starting the Lost Girls and it seems pretty interesting so far
[…] Healthy Living Kelly asked for books to keep her occupied during her post-surgery recovery. A number of people mentioned Jodi Picoult books (an author I enjoy) so I look forward to browsing through the other suggestions. […]
Just found your blog via couchpotatoathlete. Seems like I found you at a low point for you 😦 Thought I’d suggest some books, because you’re going to need some distraction while you’re laid up!
I agree with those who have already suggested The Sookie Stackhouse series, the Stephanie Plum series, The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Harry Potter, the Twilight series, Into Thin Air by Krakauer, It’s Not About the Bike by Lance.
I’d also like to add:
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (WWII Italy – beautifully written)
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith (uplifting and humorous)
Good luck and hang in there!
Aww, girly, I wish I could be there to cheer you up! I’d totally play cards and scrabble and watch movies with you! And since I already know your recipes are awesome, I’d totally be able to make tasty food for you, but I’m sure Keith is being a hero for you with all of that. As far as my fave books go, my top five are:
1. East of Eden
2. End of the Affair
3. The Alchemist
4. The Time Traveler’s Wife
5. Little Women
Enjoy!
Not a book, but when I was on bedrest my entire pregnancy, I watched the entire Sex and the City DVD collection. Not sure if you like it, but any of the full seasons of any cable show make the time go by a bit easier!
Good luck tomorrow! ;(
What a perfect time to get in some reading! Reading is so perfect for taking your minds off things.
Some favorites of mine:
A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner, which is also fabulous)
Tuesdays with Morrie and Have a Little Faith – both Mitch Albom
The Giver – Lois Lowry (this is a short one, aimed at younger readers. It has a great message about how living in a seemingly “perfect” world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be).
I just wanted to say that I am so sorry about your hand and I’ve been thinking of you even if I haven’t been able to comment. Hope you are doing okay!
I LOVE to read, and some of the best I’ve read lately are “Shadow of the Wind” and “Big Machine”. Both books I couldn’t put down. And the Steig Larsson Trilogy for something fun and easy 🙂
Have you joined GoodReads? You can easily see what others recommend 🙂 I really enjoyed The Help, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Freakonomics, and Pillars of the Earth (this one is huge so it’ll keep you occupied for a while! -also this is the type of book I would normally dismiss right away, but I was told it was good so I gave it a shot, and it was)
Best wishes for tomorrow! ~ Take Care….
I am reading Gang Leader for A Day right now and it is SOOOO good! At least I think so, and it was recommended by a friend who loved it, too!
1. Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins is one of the best book series I’ve read! You MUST read that;).
2. I’m currently reading The Help and really like it.
Enjoy reading!! I look forward to seeing what you decide to read and what you think of the books! I also love when bloggers ask for reading suggestions b/c it also gives me ideas to add to my library queue:).
Hope the surgery goes well tomorrow(I think that’s the day!).
Michael Malone’s Time’s Witness
Anil’s Ghost (I can’t remember the author)
Good Harbor (Anita Diamant)
That’s off the top of my head for the moment.
2 of the last 3 books I’ve read and really recommend are:
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (HILARIOUS. Like, laugh-so-hard-you-might-die hilarious. It starts out a little slow but I couldn’t control my laughter at some points. I’ve also heard that a lot of his other books are good so you might check them out, too.)
My Life as an Experiment (also called The Guinea Pig Diaries) by A.J. Jacobs (More insanely interesting than funny, but it does have it’s chuckle-worthy moments.)
The 3rd book I read was kind of depressing even though it was quite good so I wouldn’t recommend it. 😛
My favorite book series of all time is Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I also really like a lot of P.G. Wodehouse books, such as Something Fishy (also called The Butler Did It in the US, for some reason) and Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (called Bertie Wooster Sees it Through in the US).
I hope you feel better soon! Stay strong. 🙂
I’m on the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo bandwagon, too! I think I’ve told you this before, but if you can just get through the first 30 pages, you will really like it! Ohh and definitely The Alchemist if you haven’t read it already. It’s so inspiring, which is just what you need right now 🙂 Thinking about ya! xo
I’m halfway through Eat Pray Love, and I’m really enjoying it (I started reading it yesterday!) If you want a fun book, I love the Mysterious Benedict Society series. There are three and they’re just fun lighthearted books for young adults, but they’re definitely a good read.
I’m so sorry honey. If you can navigate to my Reflections page, you will see a ton of book reviews. Not all will be to your taste, but I love a lot of different styles.
Thinking of you.
If you like beach reads (chic lit), I second the recommendation of anything by Jennifer Weiner or Emily Griffin. The latest Sophie Kinsella “Twenties Girl” was really cute.
If you haven’t read Bridget Jones I & II you must correct that ASAP! SERIOUSLY!
And in the same vein, “Pride & Prejudice”.
I am completely obsessed with John Sanford’s “Prey” series. If Keith can find any Prey books, I’m sure you will love them! They’re the type of book that you just can’t stop reading!
Hang in there today!
I was going to say Pillars too but a bunch of people already beat me to it. I also love everything by Carl Hiaasen – he’s a columnist for the Miami Herald and has written dozens of really hysterical novels about south Florida. Sick Puppy and Basket Case were my favorites. David Sedaris essays always have me in tears too.
Good luck w/ the surgery!
I am just catching up with everything you’re going through….I am so, so sorry!! I will be praying you have a very quick recovery, girl!!
Hmmm….I just got done reading “The Help” and LOVED it! I also plan to read “Sarah’s Key” and “Water For Elephants” – they are supposed to be reallllly great, too.