I need some new books to read at the gym. Does anyone have any suggestions of great books you've read recently? I'm not a harry potter fan (I know, I know!) so that series is out. I like both fiction and non-fiction. What are some of your favorites?

My favorite book of all time is Dancing Naked, by Shelley Hrdlitschka, and another good one i recently read was Beach girls, by Luanne Rice.

Thanks! I'll look for those. I just re-read She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb and right now I'm reading House of Sand and Fog - I just started it but it's an enjoyable read so far. I'm not all that picky about the actual story of the book, but it HAS to be enjoyable to actually read through the paragraphs and sentences. If the book doesn't "flow" well, I get bored pretty quickly and give up.

I appreciate your suggestions, thank you .

Well, I AM a Harry Potter fan, but I also love the Dirk Pitt Series by Clive Cussler. They are action adventure books and are kind of like James Bond meets Indiana Jones. I used to love the bodice ripper romance novels, but after a few dozen, they get more and more predictable and I get bored. Then, I just got from the library The Magician's Nephew...a 'childrens book' that is the first in the series of the Chronicles of Nardia. Book 2 of this series, the Witch, the Wardrobe and the Lion or something like that, is coming out in the movies this fall and it looks GOOD!! I like my DD to read the books to the movies before seeing them...it's just one of those things with me.

So, that's my suggestion. That, and get books from the library with the hard covers...they prop up better on the treadmils and bikes at the gym...

I've read some of Luanne Rice's, I liked them too. Somehow, I missed Dean Koontz, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I really like the few I've read so far. Patricia Cornwell is wonderful too.

Are you a mystery fan? Some of my favorite mystery authors are Anne Perry, Dick Francis, Lilian Jackson Braun, J.D. Robb, Rett McPherson, Robert Parker, Nancy Atherton and the grand dame herself Agatha Christie.

For non-mystery, I love Jeanne Ray's books, like Julie and Romeo, Eat Cake and Step-Ball-Change. Also try Evening Class by Maeve Binchy and The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney.

I've been reading the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Universe (there's 5 books that make up the whole series). I'm not a big sci-fi fan & I'm really enjoying them so no worries there. I like to read books that have been made into movies too. They're usually better than the movie and I figure that if enough people found it interesting that someone made it into a movie it must be pretty good (not always true though, alas).

I also like fiction that teaches some history or philosophy along the way so I've always like the Rutherford books - Sarum, Russka, London, The New Forest. Each of these tells the story of a place from pre-history to modern times through fictionalized families that stay in the area all through the book. Warning: they're realllllly long but they do move pretty quickly and each chapter is its own story (one era in the place) so they're good for reading in spurts.

One of my all time favorite books is The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears. It may not be suited for gym reading but it is a fabulous book. He also writes "the art history mysteries" which are much lighter, shorter, and easier reads.

I don't read at the gym - I read in the bathroom Nothing like a long Calgon soak with a good book or a magazine (I've yet to drop one in the tub...)

I'm 3/4 through The Devil Wears Prada. Pretty good book!

One to *avoid* (IMO) is the second book by the authors of The Nanny Diaries titled Citizen Girl. Just a BAD BOOK...does not bode well for future efforts by the team. (incidentally, while I enjoyed most of the Nanny Diaries, I was less than satisifed with the ending...)

Also - the Chronicles of Narnia actually starts with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A few years ago, the publishers for some reason decided to rearrange the order of the books chronologically, rather than by order of being written - I've read them both ways (they were my favorite books as a child and I still enjoy reading them from time to time) and they just 'read' better in their original order (also, I'm looking forward to the Disney movie of LWW which is coming out this holiday season...I've already got a hot date with my 9 YO nephew to see it!).