Books that 'Cleanse the Palate'

What sorts of books do you pick up when you've read multiple serious tomes* in a row?

*Or just one book that you want to distance yourself from, for whatever reason.

I read an Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple mystery by Agatha Christie or a trashy romance. Last week I read Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas, which cleared my mind up enough to start reading Land of Echoes by Daniel Hecht and continue readiing Viruses, Plagues, & History by Michael B. A. Oldstone.

My alternative approach is to read Bloom County, Calvin & Hobbes, or Peanuts.

Good luck!

I've been in that situation a couple of times. I tend to go back to one of my favorite old fantasy novels, or sometimes to a Dilbert collection.

I sometimes have to do this after an especially bad book, too. Charmed Life or almost any other book by Diana Wynne Jones, anything by Terry Pratchett or Georgette Heyer. Donna Andrews' mysteries. Something funny, usually.

I've noticed that more and more I go into my daughter's room and ask her for something good. LOL Last time she gave me Alcatraz Versus The Scrivener's Bones and that did the trick nicely.

#2 - Oh, how's that Oldstone book? That's one of the topics I've been obsessing over lately!

I will quite often pick a crime or murder mystery, like John Sanford or Agatha Christie or Peter Tremayne

I'll re-read a mystery, especially Josephine Tey. And Wodehouse is always good.

One of my old favorite Star Trek novels does nicely. I'll also second a good Georgette Heyer book.

I have no clue who Georgette Heyer is, MerryMary. Should I be ashamed to admit that?

There's never any shame in discovering a new author.

9> no, but you might want to check her out - she writes very entertaining regencies. You could try The Unknown Ajax or Bath Tangle or The Grand Sophy for starters, but I love them all.

Heyer also writes mysteries, and many people love them but the first one I read, Penhallow, I think it was, ended WRONG for me and I never touched another of her mysteries.

#11 - Hmmm. They don't have any of those at my library. They all look like mystery titles except for two, Lady of Quality and My Lord John.

I second the Star Trek novels, or something from a golden age SF anthology.

I love Regencies, and Heyer always manages to find some humor in her romances.

12> Lady of Quality is good. My Lord John is a historical about the third son of Henry IV and it is one I don't remember at all but I do own a copy so I must have liked it. Time for a re-read, I guess :)

#15 - 'Lady' has the higher rating, so I might give that a shot at some point.

I tend to revert to something comic or something from my childhood, which usually means I end up re-reading a Discworld novel or Anne of Green Gables. And once I start Anne of Green Gables, I feel compelled to read the next 7 books in the series. I'm a completist....

Jan Karon is fairly good for something light and reassuring (but I recognize that a series with an Episcopal priest as the main character might not appeal to our clam's sensibilities). Otherwise, I read a lot of domestic fiction when I want something light Mrs Miniver, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Making of a Marchioness, that kind of thing!

Bear in mind, clam, that Georgette Heyer also wrote light fluffy mysteries as well as Regency historicals. The mysteries by Kate Ross are also quite interesting.

Man, is this timely, clammy. I just now, like 2 minutes ago, finished the last Aegypt novel. And I am spent, in the best possible way. Please, something simple, no deep thoughts for a while.

I'm liking the mystery idea.

*runs off to search Aegypt*

Oh! John Crowley! Okay, I just added Little, Big to my Yule list. :o)

(Blasted touchstones)

Lately, I'll re-read something by Roger Zelazny or stephen Brust. Zelazny has especially re-readable books that, while familiar, always seem to have something new to show me.

#20 Little, Big is still better, thoroughly charming and devastating at once. But Aegypt was really worth the effort. As I said on FB, it's as if the Illuminatus Trilogy were written by a grownup, who can write lovely prose.

*whispers* I am not familiar with the Illuminatus Trilogy, either. *thinks about hiding*

#23 No problem. Illuminatus is a work that should rightfully be read only by those in their 20's. After that it, shall we say, begins to smell funny.

Aegypt deals with some of the same cultural referents and ideas, but has decidedly different conclusions about them. Decidedly different.

#18 -- Funny . . . I'm rereading the Mitford books right now because I needed a comfort reread! I'm also reading Zits comic strip collections.

I will also go for Anne of Green Gables or anything by LM Montgomery, pretty much anything by Robin Mckinley, or the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede.

Pratchett, lee child, john grisham, alexander mccall smith, agatha christie

Depends really what genre the 'heavy' book was. I'll normally try somethig completely different as my recovery book.

My fondest Georgette Heyer memories are from These Old Shades and it's sequel Devil's Cub. In more recent years I've turned to the earlier novels of Robert Goddard for a few interesting twists and turns.

#12 Lady of Quality is a good one! I'd stay away from My Lord John though if you're looking for a light read, Clam. I read it recently and it was not only a tough, dense read with unfamiliar medieval words, but it ended in the middle of a sentence.

When I get stuck on heavier reads, I tend to switch gears and go for YA or romance novels. Just something different, really, until I start craving more depth again.

I have some great audio books. When I need a lift I just re-listen to the Vicky Bliss series by Elizabeth Peters. I always start with Street of Five Moons.

Swoon... Sir John - whichever last name he's using at the moment...

I tend to head for the YA Fantasy books, or something like Alexander McCall Smith. If it's after a number of extremely intense books I may thumb through magazines for a day or so, but then I start to miss the feeling of A Book.

#5 clamairy - I just finished the Oldstone book, Viruses, Plagues & History. It was very "scientific", which I'm not, but I gleaned quite a bit about the social and communicative aspects of some diseases and the history of the epidemics. He has chapters on smallpox, yellow fever, measles, polio, hemorrhagic fevers, AIDS, Mad Cow disease, influenza.

#31 - Maybe I'll get that one through Inter-Library Loan, at some point. I bought The Coming Plague at our library book sale a few weeks ago. I may try to get through that, first. It is fascinating stuff. Have you read Survival of the Sickest? That one is very well written and concise. None of these are palate cleansers. LOL I love them, though.

#32 - clamairy - I haven't heard of either. You're right, they're not palate cleansers. However, I have a persevering interest in bugs and plagues, etc., and it's reflected in my 999 Challenge Category Epidemiology. I have lots of non-epidemiology books to catch up on right now, though, so will wait a while. Next will probably be Flu by Gina Kolata.

Another method I use to cleanse my palate is to start a book that I had to wait a while to get - like right how I've used an Amazon coupon to get The City and the City by China Mieville. I tried to BookMooch it with no success, so broke down and used the coupon. I get to start it today! It will make flu, measles, smallpox, hanta virus, AIDS, Lassa fever, etc. a distant memory.

A good palate cleanser is One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I highly recommend it.

#34 - I found it to be a bit repetitive.

#34 - Ah, Dr. Seuss! One of my kids' favorite was
Hand, hand, fingers, thumb
One thumb, one thumb,
drumming on a drum.
One hand, two hands,
drumming on a drum...

It's been 15 or more years since I read that book, but I did it often enough for 3 kids that I still can about recite the whole thing. Guaranteed to drive even a song that's stuck in your head out.

How about Everyone Poops?

I like Dragonsinger and Dragonsong by Mccaffrey, somtimes I chose a lighter book, by Christopher Pike or Tom Holt. But I don't usually feel the need to palate clense generally and usually it is suffucient to read a short book (that I haven't already read) after a long series, before i go to the next one.

foggidawn (#25), Robin McKinley offers wonderful comfort reads, except for Deerskin. That one is surprisingly harsh. Only one of hers that I gave away to the library for the Friends sale.

I agree, jill. I read that one from the library luckily, and didn't buy it. I was quite surprised, because I did not anticipate a story in that vein from her.

The Wind in the Willows.

#39/40 -- Yep, that's why I said "pretty much" anything by her! ;-)

I reach for a Brother Cadfael, aJeeves & Wooster or anything by Terry Pratchett! 8^)

I settled into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is cheesier than anticipated, but mindless thriller is just right for me now.

I picked up some girly Irish fluff PS, I Love You and I am enjoying it.

When I need a change of tone I usually revisit favourite characters or worlds. What I chose depends on mood. Recently I've reread the Chanur books, for just that reason, but earlier this year it was Lions of Al-Rassan that did the service. And earlier again, all the Foreigner books, or something by Le Guin or Jon Courtenay Grimwood's Arabesque suite, and I think I've reread most of Pratchett's Discworld novels more than twice (not to forget Good Omens). And I foresee Czerneda's Species Imperative trilogy doing the job, in the future.

But if it's a real bad case I prefer films or series. LoTR, Hunt for Red October, Star Wars or Fifth Element, or perhaps some Star Trek.

I'll head for Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series, Crocodile on the Sandbank is the first one, I love Amelia. And for just quick palate cleansing, often some short ghost stories do the trick too, or a Cherry Ames or two *blush*, or a chapter or two of Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World. Take me to the South Pole for a spell, and then I'm refreshed for another bout of reading heavier books, lol.

No censure for reading Cherry Ames. I do it myself from time to time.

:-)

I wanted to like the Mitford series, but without having any idea what they were about I was expecting something set in the UK and was disappointed that they weren't. I wanted something like a cross between the British tv series, The Vicar of Dibley and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Diving into any of the Harry Potter books clears away any Deep Thought cobwebs and frown lines. :-D

Well, that palate cleanser certainly put me back in the mood for something worthwhile. I can't decide between Wolf Hall and The Children's Book. Any thoughts?

Can't help you, littlegeek. I snuffled my way through mine and it was just what the doctor ordered. I should probably read my latest ER book next.

For me Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books are good palate cleansers. When I need a change of pace with something quite different, engaging, reliably good, I like to pick up one in that series.

I spend far too much time wanting to slap Miles silly when I read them. Gah.

Recently tried to reread the series, stalled out when, as usual, he was being an ass.

He likely would deserve the slap, especially in the early books! But he's a clever, endearing fellow, isn't he?

I've reread all of them, some more than once. (For some reason, Cetaganda is a favorite).

Of course, I like Bertie Wooster, too, and he's another ass. :-)

Bertie is a total dim-bulb, w/o Jeeves he would probably not survive long! I love seeing how Jeeves extricates ol' Bertie from his misadventures even when things seem totally hopeless. That will take your mind off whatever RL probs you might have, for a while anyway. 8^)

#38 I agree re some of the older Pern novels. Though after a few exhausting weeks (I've just started working at 7.30 instead of 8.30, plus my toddler has stopped napping when I have her in the afternoon) I have gone back to the very first Katherine Kerr novel and am going to re-read the series. Very very comforting.

Getting in the way of my 1,001 reading though... sigh.

At times like these I want something light but also well-written (can't be doing with having to yell constantly at author/editor for terrible grammar). The Enchanted April invariably does it for me. Failing that, something 'dip-into-able' like collections of letters or diary entries - my favourite of those being The Assassin's Cloak or essays like Virginia Woolf's The Common Reader.

#58 - Oh, I loved movie! (The Enchanted April) I had no idea it was a book first. I might give that a go one of these days.

Edited to add: Of course my library does NOT have it.

#59 One of those almost unheard of instances where book and movie are pretty much equally good and each provides the icing on the other's cake.

#60 - Well, I'm hoping that I've forgotten enough of the story so that the book will still surprise me. Now I have to track it down, though.

Just swing by my place clam, I lucked in and found a lovely Folio edition a couple of months ago that I'll lend you ;-) *sigh* Wouldn't that be fun? Hope you can find a copy, it's a delightful book, I second Booksloth, both the movie and the book, delightful.

#61 There shouldn't be any problem tracking it down. It's in the shops under the Virago Modern Classics banner. I;m assuming that's not just a UK thing? It surely should be published by any good publisher of classics(?)

OOOOooooh! Now I want to go track down the Folio edition; I have a great copy in paperback (clam, you can readily find it in an NYRB trade edition), but I do love hardcover Folio editions.

No, I'm sure clam won't have any problem really in finding a copy of the book. I was just daydreaming how fun it would be to have her drop by to borrow a book. You know, like RL friends do?

jillmwo, it is a lovely edition, I love Folios too.

Palate cleansers for me: Mysteries (only if they have some humor, Stout, Sayers, Christie), Mitford series, comics or humor books, James Herriott stories, or Pratchett.

Love this topic. :)

Oh yes! James Herriott is a lovely palate cleanser.

#67 You do know where he's had his arm. don't you?

LOLOL!!! O Booksloth, that was good for a great bellylaugh!! Thank you!! :-D

:-D

ewwwwww.

#68 - I'm a bit dull-witted right now, but after I thought about that for a second, I joined katylit in the bellylaugh! :D