I have a confession that brings me shame. Sometimes
I buy the books that are recommended in “People” magazine. This is a terrible
thing, I know, and it may get me kicked out of the intelligentsia. Or at least
viewed with disdain by my serious reader friends.
Here’s the thing: A lot of the time “People”
book recommendations are pretty good. Just like they have a nose for figuring
out which celebs are getting horizontal, “People” has a nose for decent books.
We’re not talking War and Peace here, but if you’re looking for decent
literary fiction, you could do worse. I read Truth In Advertising
(reviewed earlier), and I just finished The Good House, because “People”
recommended them. Both were good books. Not popcorn. Not Dostoyevsky. Somewhere
in between.
Neither has made it onto my list of favorites.
Which include:
- Life of Pi
- Bel Canto
- Cold Mountain
- I Capture The Castle
- Middlesex
- Everything Is Illuminated
- The Time Traveler’s Wife
- In The Fall
- The History Of Love (by Krauss)
- The Miracle Life Of Edgar Mint
- Fluke
- Cutting For Stone
But if, like me, you often take a break
between bigger reads, check out “People” recommends for a good in-betweener
book. You can do this while waiting in line at the grocery store. Peruse “People”
magazine’s book page instead of getting suckered in by the Enquirer headline.
No good can come from trying to figure out which celebrity has ballooned in
size, been snapped at the beach and had her head blurred out beneath the
headline “Guess Who This Is?” But a lot of good can come from checking out “People”,
like reading The Good House by Ann Leary for instance.
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