[Duodora]

Originally Posted by Katiesue

I've read five of his books so far and my favorite to date is "Can You Forgive Her". This book is the first of the Palliser Novels. The next in the series is "Phineas Phinn" which is also very good. I recommend beginning with these.

Also another thought, I recently read "Old Goriot" by Balzac and loved it also. Haven't read anything else by him yet, but he was also very prolific like Trollope.

Sounds good--I downloaded "Can you Forgive Her" and will start with that one.

And wow--Prolific is a good way to describe Balzac! I've never read anything by him, but I downloaded Old Goriot Thanks for the suggestions!

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Smart. Light. Hmmm....

Chick-Lit:
Jennifer Crusie -- Start with either "Welcome to Temptation" or "Agnes and the Hit Man" Both are in paper. Bits? I dunno... But they have smart dialog, fun and funny characters and situations, snappy dialog, etc. Loads of fun.

S.F. (I know you said not, but...):
David Drake & Eric Flint: "Belisarius I: Thunder at Dawn" Yeah, it's SF. Yeah, there're battles. There's also loyal bodyguards dissing their general; a "slave" who 'gently educates' his prince...

Historical romance (regency, in this case):
Almost anything by Georgette Heyer. I suggest "The Grand Sophy" or perhaps "The Unknown Ajax" as good places to start.

Xenophon

Oh don't get me wrong--I love sci fi/fantasy--I just feel like I've been reading it almost exclusively lately *sigh.* But those four or so lines of Belsarius I made me hop on over to Baen and buy it! Darn you Baen and your DRM-free extremely well priced ebooks! Thank you

I'll check out Jennifer Cruise--I looked for ebooks and couldn't find any--but I'll check them out in paper!

Thanks for the suggestions on where to start with Georgette Heyer! Both of those books look like a lot of fun!

Originally Posted by tompe

One of my favorites and a good book to start with is Frederica.

That one looks nice too! Thank you

Originally Posted by Leep

I just finished "Marley & Me" which I downloaded from my public library ebook collection. If you like dogs, it was humorous and very well written.

cheers

I'm a huge dog lover...the problem is, and I know this sounds childish, I really hate it/can't handle it if the dog dies in the end--and with so many books about pets, that's exactly what happens. As to keep this thread spoiler-free...I'll send you a message about it! (yes, I know I'm lame...)

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I don't know either... Humor/Satire.

If you like those I also have some John Hodgman (I am PC guy) on my wish list. _The Area of My Expertise_ doesn't have a Kindle version but Fictionwise has it. Although the $14 price seems a little step when Amazon has the pbook for $4.99.

BOb

Haha, satire or humor makes sense

The Areas of My Expertise looks good--booksonboard has it for $12--still a little pricey (I still can't figure out why some ebooks are so cheap and some are significantly more than a normal paperback), but it's not too bad! I can't wait to get started on that one too, thank you!

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Trollope is certainly "smart," but he's not "light." (EDITED: He's not light in his themes. I find his writing no more difficult than contemporary fiction.)

I think, however, that Charles Dickens would make a better 'read.' I certainly find his writing more accessible (and has more entertainment value) than Trollope's work. Trollope's prose was often very plodding and pedestrian, whereas Dickens was (and remains) a pre-eminent prose stylist, his writing fresh and vibrant and alive.

Don

P.S.: As Katiesue mentions, there is a HUGE number of Trollope and Dickens already on MobileRead.

Thank you--I already have 5 or 6 Trollope on my cybook--waiting to be read I've read the first page or two of each, and they look great--I definitely like his writing style.

I see what you mean about the distinction between light in content and light in hm...reading difficulty. I suppose I should have elaborated somewhere earlier in the thread--but I'm mostly looking for books that I can read sort of bits and pieces here and there (and possibly waiting several days in between bits) and still follow/enjoy.

I have to say I'm a little bit leery of Dickens--although admittedly that's because of sort of a bad experience with Great Expectations in high school. Do you have any suggestions of particular books? I'd definitely like to give him another chance. Thank you!