Attention fellow gals! I'm looking for a book similar to......

Disclaimer: I'm not saying that guys haven't read the following books I'm about to list, or that all girls are into this style of lit. I'm just saying that it's likely that more girls have read these books! :) That being said...

I am looking for a book that reads like the following:

*The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
*The Mermaid Chair (^same author)
*The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
*Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
*The Color Purple by Alice Walker
*The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

...Something fairly easy to read, narrated personably, but not cheap/silly; something with depth and spirit to it; and preferably something feminine. Anyone have any thoughts/ideas?

Also, my favorite book ever is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. If anyone could recommend me a book that is similar-- or as good as-- I would be so very grateful!

Thank you so much!!! :)

I have only read The Secret Life of bees so Im not really able to make any recommendations. Library Thing has a built in "read alike" feature you can try out though!

There is a link to recommendations on your home page, if you click that there is an option that reads "Read alikes for _____"

http://www.librarything.com/profile/yellowfairy3/recommendations/readalikes

I'm not sure that link will work but that should take you directly to it. Hope that helps!

You might take a look at Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. It's a book written from the perspective of a man, but it has the feeling of some of the books you have mentioned. A thinking book that's easy to read.

Another one to think about would be If Today Be Sweet by Thrity Umrigar She has also written The Space Between Us, which is more famous and more powerful, but also more depressing.

You've checked out other books by the same authors? Sounds like a stupid question, I know, but Flagg, Walker and Kingsolver all have fairly large catalogues of work and they're all worth a read. In particular, I'd recommend Possessing the Secret of Joy, Welcome to the World, Baby Girl and Prodigal Summer. And you do know that Mists of Avalon is one of a series that includes The Forests of Avalon and Lady of Avalon? though, IMO, 'Mists' is far and away the best of the series.

Toni Morrison's writing is very similar to Alice Walker's - perhaps a little heavier going - and I'd suggest starting with Beloved, Paradise or Solomon's Song. For a very English 'take' on this type of novel (easy to read/depth/spirit/girly), you could also try Eilzabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April.

I've drifted a bit from the 1st person narration you requested but the books you've listed all put me in mind of my personal category of 'beautifully written' so I'm also inclined to recommend 84 Charing Cross Road, The Go-Between, anything by John Irving or - one of my all-time favourite books if you're interested in historical fiction, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber or his much shorter books Under the Skin and The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps.

And how about some Daphne du Maurier? Rebecca is the obvious starting point, though I'd also recommend almost everything else, especially My Cousin Rachel, Frenchman's Creek and The House on the Strand. Rebecca, unlike so many classics, actually has a sequel by another writer (Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale) that is an excellent book and worthy of its inspiration, (a couple of other writers have also attempted to write a follow-up to Rebecca but have been much less successful in pulling it off).

If any of these strike a chord, you are very welcome to take a browse through my library - http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Booksloth&deepsearch=beautiful+writing - especially under the tag of 'beautiful writing' and I'd be happy to give you more info on anything there that takes your eye.

I have read all those books except the Poisonwood Bible and I would recommend

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by, Beth Hoffman
The Help by, Kathryn Stockett
The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell by, Loraine Despres
anything by, Kaye Gibbons ,Billie Letts,
Celia Rivenbark-her humor is irreverant and very fun and light read!
I second Daphne Du Maurier

These don't fill all of your requirements but you may like to check them out.
The Ballad of Frankie Silver by Sharon McCrumb
Last Lessons of Summer by Margaret Maron
Never Let me Go by Kasuo Ishiguro

Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy by Jean Webster. Epistolary like Guernsey. DLL is about an orphan girl given a scholarship to college and DE is about one of her college friends who is "persuaded" to become head of the orphan asylum. They're old but classic.

Another epistolary that I love and have re-read several times is A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsyth Hailey.

I really liked Daddy Long Legs.

You, yellowfairy3, might also like:

Time Travellers Wife and Gabaldon's books. I haven't read either of these myself, but others I know who have read some of what you've listed also like them

From my own readin, I would also suggest Passing by Nella Larsen

I would second The Time Traveller's Wife as meeting your criteria.

My book club has read 3 or 4 of the books on your list. Another book that we all enjoyed quite a bit was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It's a historical fiction/memoir taking place in Seattle during WW2. It's a really bittersweet lovely story. There is a bit of drama, an air of mystery and a sweet underflow of romance. I think you won't be let down by this story.

You might enjoy The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Right now I'm reading Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad - a collection of emails between two very different women. Definite resonances of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society but this one is true.

I've read almost all of those books, so I hope my recommendations fit:

If you haven't tried the Diana Gabaldon series yet, you must take a look (I think "Outlander" is the first one--these books were as absorbing to me as "The Mist of Avalon".

For some reason, I thought of "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith (I think)--it's an old one, not exactly like the ones you've listed but definitely a sweet yet spirited read.

I've all the books you listed. Here are some of my recommendations:
Eat, Love, Pray
The Friday Night Knitting Club
The Color of Water
The Grave Digger's Daughter
Hope this helps!

Good suggestions, all. I especially endorse the Daddy Long Legs recommendation.

Am I the only one that noticed "fellow gals" is an oxymoron?

One that I just picked up due to good reviews and definitely fits this group is The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. WWII homefront.

#16 MerryMary "Am I the only one that noticed 'fellow gals' is an oxymoron?

No ;-)

Edited to add: But maybe not.

I felt that way, that there was a contradiction in terms in 'fellow gals.' But women have been admitted to fellowships since before I was born (a long time ago), so as a matter of fact I have no problems with it. 'Gals,' however, is a bit informal, and fellows is not; it may be in that juxtaposition that I feel pinched.

Robert

For The Mists of Avalon, I would particularly recommend Marie Jakober's The Black Chalice, which has similar themes, but with a less familiar Germanic mythology.

#18/19 I'm with Mr.D here. It's only because we are used to hearing the 'other' usage of the word as something exclusively masculine that it sounds odd but if the OP had said 'fellow Americans' or 'fellow hummingbirds' (or whatever) it wouldn't seem odd at all.

if the OP had said ...'fellow hummingbirds'... it wouldn't seem odd at all.

ummmm, nooooooo, of course not...

...backs slowly away...

Well, MrAndrew, how about 'fellow pygmy jerboas' then?

I'm okay with 'fellow feminists' so I don't think I am too much constrained by gender in this one.

Robert

I knew what she meant. I just thought it was funny. I'm easily amused.

Moi, aussi.

What I can recommend in the style of "Fried Green Tomatoes" is "The Rock Orchard" by Paula Wall. Really nice summer book and easy to read. Good story, I liked it very much!