Hi Ficbot,
When I was at about the level you are describing, I read
French Stories / Contes Français, which is great because it has the French and the English side-by-side. The stories are all by major French authors -- you will find some passe simple, but it's not too overbearing.
Also,
Candide by Voltaire is a great book to read at this level because the chapters are short and it is also funny, which makes it less work to get through. Again, you will find some pass simple -- it's tough to find literary writing without this tense as it is still used regularly for this type of writing -- but it's not overbearing. I remember how intimidating the passe simple was when I was learning French, so you are not alone in wanting to avoid it. Even a lot of native French speakers like to avoid it as much as they can! Wikipedia actually has a
great and succinct summary of the passe simple which you might find helpful (and not too intimidating).
If you'd like to take a break from the passe simple and do some reading that doesn't have it, French newspapers are a great place to go -- two are
Le Monde ,
France-Amerique.
Good luck! Bon courage!