Can you recommend me an easy, gripping book?

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Have you tried any of the Terry Pratchett Discworld series? They are a hoot.

I’m almost done reading I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis and I highly recommend it! It’s got mystery, murder, history, romance (not the typical, sappy kind), intrigue, betrayal and so much more! Talk about a gripping read!!

Finished reading Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet for a 21st Century American Studies course and it was wonderful. Funny, weird, magical realist book in which three scientists who spear-headed research on the atom bomb are, somehow, brought into the present. They attempt a peace campaign against the U.S. government and hilarity (sort of) ensues.

And, as always, I must recommend Tove Jansson’s Moomin series.

Have you read the Sherlock Holmes stories yet? They’re nearly brainless yet quite good, and only a dollar.

For fluffy sci-fi that is very gripping – though a bit of a mindfuck – I recommend the Wool series by Hugh Howey.

World War Z by Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks, soon to be made into a movie, supposedly.

Magic Street by Orson Scott Card.

Anything by Isaac Asimov is pretty darn good. Even if you’ve seen the movie, I, Robot stands the test of time.

Harlan Ellison is worth looking at if you’ve never tried him before. I’ve heard interviews with him and in real life he’s a hoot; eccentric, cantankerous and smart as a whip.

Also, if you like suspense (but not at all a typical murder mystery type of thing) try The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacqueline Michard. The movie butchered it horribly and missed so much. The first person narratives of the thoughts and feelings of each protagonist is what makes the book what it is. The movie was a piece of crap.

If you enjoyed The Stand, and like historical fiction and sci-fi, I highly recommend Stephen King’s 11/22/63.

MISERY by none other than Stephen King himself

Do you like steampunk? There’s The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder, The Map of Time by Felix Palma, and the Johannes Cabal novels by Jonathan L. Howard. There’s also the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, if you haven’t read it.

I wouldn’t call all of these mindless, but they won’t make you work too hard. They’re both easy reads and absorbing.

I just remembered something a little off beat but delightfully well written with frequent touches of humor, whimsy and practicality. And since you’re in college, you are one of the target demographics and may find it rather useful.

I got it from Amazon for a penny over the mailing cost ($3.99) technically “used” but it looks good as new.

The Pot And How To Use It by Roger Ebert (NO , it’s not about MJ and, YES, it’s the same guy who’s one of the best writers of film criticism)

And I think that’s what makes it such an enjoyable read. He’s just a terrific writer. The “Pot” of which he speaks is the humble rice cooker; it’s not the fancy one with all the bells and whistles either.

And the rest of the full title, incidentally is: “The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker” Imagine that !

It’s just the plain, cheapo 3 cup model with three settings: cook, warm, and off. Especially cheap at thrift stores. I got mine for the princely sum of $6.00 :)

For years he has used it to make delicious healthy meals of lots of different things in addition to just rice. (he even takes it with him each year as he travels to the weeklong Sundance film festival.)

The book is not long and doesn’t have a ton of recipes (which some people have criticized about it) but just lots of practical hints, tips and advice which he has gleamed from his years of using it daily.

I think you’d enjoy it immensely.

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http://www.amazon.com/The-Pot-How-Use-It/dp/0740791427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362812229&sr=8-1&keywords=the+pot+and+how+to+use+it+the+mystery+and+romance+of+the+rice+cooker

I recently read Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, and loved it!

Have you read Congo by Michael Crichton? If you like his work you should love that one! I know the idea of a talking ape sounds really lame and the movie was horrible but I enjoyed that book so much when I read it. I’m not even sure why. It’s an easy but exciting read.

I’ll suggest a few more if I think of them but that came immediately to mind.

Try Tom Clancy’s “Net Force” – straightforward, intelligent, modern-ish with relatively fast paced action.

Some more of my favorites.All of them take you into another time and world so they are very absorbing. Some of them are long but they are all “easy” reads. In each case I was sorry that the book had to end.

The Crimson Petal and the White

Water for Elephants

Fingersmith

Atlas Shrugged is both easy and gripping enough to make up for not having your requested sci-fi aspect. The Singularity is Near might be gripping and contain sci-fish elements but not as easy a read. One Second After is easy and gripping and sci-fish but not nearly so good a book as the first two I mentioned.

@muhammajelly I would no call Atlas Shrugged easy. I consider myself a somewhat avid reader (3–4) books a month in the summer but for the life of me I could not get into Atlas Shrugged. Soooooooo boring.

My Uncle actually directed the Atlas Shrugged movies, haven’t seen them yet though cause I found the whole thing sooo obscenely boring I couldn’t imagine liking the movie.

The Hunger Games.