readers advisory for all discussion

Okay so for the next two weeks(possibly more) I'm going to be stupidly stressed out and have basically no ability to focus. Traditionally in this situation I would read short stories but I've recently not liked the experience of reading short stories.

So I need novels that are fun and fast but are something that I don't have to be fully invested in to enjoy (I'm not asking for that Make me forget about my life thing I don't like that).

I tried reading Save as Draft but I found the characters idiotic. I like Matt Beaumont, Tom Robbins, and sometimes Christopher Moore. So think realistic and rational/logical, I don't like the concept of traditional chicklit and if I wanted a romantic comedy I'd watch a movie. I actually do like stuff set in offices.

pacing: I would like the pacing to be fast, this doesn't mean it can't be long that's perfectly fine, but anything with a lot of details to remember is just going to drive me crazy at this point.

storyline: I would like a book with minimal plot... no seriously I feel no need for a story arc have you read The Pets? okay that has a plot but it is a low key hiding under the bed kind of plot I want that at the moment or like Personal Days. basically these are books that have fairly simple plots and are more just about people than a complicated story that turns out however in the end... It doesn't have to be funny, even though all the examples I'm giving are.

frame: american/british/post colonial/european. something normal/traditional. do not under any circumstances use this as an opportunity to broaden my horizons I will shank you with your book recommendation.

characterization: quirky is fine, and actually fun. either minimalist or hipster, over detail bugs the fuck out of me. I don't need to know a characters every thought.


so please help me find books to read till my brain comes back from vacation!!

Have you read Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. I know it takes place in an office, and I think it's supposed to be kind of quirky and even though it got lots of attention I don't think it will broaden your horizons in any way.

I like how that was both a recommendation and a dig at the same time. I think I have it somewhere I will look.

thanks greg.

You can also try this book, Company. It's amusing and a kind of funny absurd look at office work.

cool. thanks.

Try Design Flaws of the Human Condition by Paul Schmidtberger. Nothing profound, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists is also pretty good.

And, of course, Sam Lipsyte's The Ask is due to come out in paperback on March 1st.

Greg wrote: "Have you read Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. I know it takes place in an office, and I think it's supposed to be kind of quirky and even though it got lots o..."

I'll throw out a recommendation for this one as well. Twas a good read, written from the interesting POV of the collective "we" of the entire office, rather than from one specific character's POV. I liked it.

David wrote: "Try Design Flaws of the Human Condition by Paul Schmidtberger. Nothing profound, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Tom Rachman's [book:The Imperfecti..."

I've actually read the first one and it's one of my favorite books. so you are on the right track.

I am hesitant about lipstye cause I tried to read another one of his books and hated it.

I know! The Man Who Wrote the Book by Erik Tarloff. Easy read, very funny, smarter than you think it's going to be in the end. (It's about a junior English professor at a small Christian college who writes a soft porn book to pay the rent. It becomes a runaway best-seller. Hilarity ensues.

I haven't actually read Lipsyte's book either, so maybe I shouldn't have recommended it.

Okay, this is a bit off the wall, but how about The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook -- I about died from laughing over the cement monkey. Southern belles grab life by the tail and swing it over their heads while singing dixie.

thank you david.

Deb that recommendation made me smile!

Maybe you'd like something by J.P. Donleavy? His characters are not considered likeable. It isn't fluff but rather comedic episodes without getting into deep inner life turmoil (I'm putting that badly). The Ginger Man is good.

cool. I saw a copy of the ginger man at strand while I was buying the man that wrote the book. $6 I think yes

i found another office book for you, jazz:

Personal Days.
this guy is the foundnig editor of the believer.

it claims to be a comic delight.

gary shteyngart says "i laughed until they put me in a mental hospital"

i will leave it at the desk for you.

karen

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

very good recommendation though

oh, god and you even mentioned it earlier in the thread. i am the dumbest. but i have good intentions!! i saw it when i was doing returns, and i had never really looked at it before, and i thought "jasmine"!!

grumble... you can reshelve it then....

it's okay karen, it's because you think of me when you see books I would like. you should keep doing that since you tell me about so many awesome books I haven't read.

did you read any of these?

I tried to read the man who wrote the book, I didn't like it, it was too boring I bought a couple others but didn't actually read them yet.

no worries, ball.