Mindless relaxing book

[MgoSam]

Does anyone have any recommendations for good fiction book that are mindless? Normally I read more nonfiction books, but I would like recommendations for books that I can get from the library that are good for relaxing and not needing to think at all.

[velocistar237]

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

[Kriegsspiel]

I'm not sure how a book would classify as mindless, do you just mean "fiction?"  Anyways, I second the OSC recommendation, all of his stuff is great.  Definitely read the Ender's Game trilogy, then the Bean series.

The Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn.

A Song of Fire and Ice (if you have facebook, you'll see everyone freaking out about Game of Thrones... these are those books) by George Martin.

Those 3 groups will keep you busy for a year or so.

[sheepstache]

Terry Pratchett books are some of the most mindless reading I've come across.

[mushroom]

Just devoured Watership Down by Richard Adams a couple days ago and it was fantastic. OK, it's a kid's book, but any adult can definitely enjoy it. It's about rabbits on a journey to find a home after they're displaced, and full of fun and adventure, but also cool references and allegory. Makes you appreciate the perspective of a rabbit, too :).

[Kriegsspiel]

Have you ever seen the cartoon?  Jesus that's a terrifying movie.  Evidently when we were younger, our parents wanted to get some yard work done, so they plopped us young'uns in front of Watership Down.  Probably scarred us for life.

[mushroom]

No, I haven't, but now I totally want to see it!

[ToeInTheWater]

if you want to read for free, another option is to download the kindle app and check here:  http://www.freereadfeed.com/

can filter by genre so if you only want mystery or romance or whatever, you can search only those

b

[velocistar237]

OK, it's a kid's book, but any adult can definitely enjoy it.

Plenty of "Young Adult" novels are easy reading and decent quality, definitely better than TV. Card's novels are in the YA section in my library. Holes by Louis Sachar was fun. The Harry Potter series was good overall though irritating at times. The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Project Gutenberg has plenty of classics. Check out Dickens, Austen, and Swift. The Prisoner of Zenda. Moon+ Reader for Android is a good reader for free books. I like my Kindle.

Check out goodreads.com to get recommendations based on books you liked.

[MgoSam]

Thanks for your responses. I have read Ender's Game, and thought it was ok but not nearly as great as EVERYONE. I should re-read it and read the sequels, thanks for the reminder on them.

For mindless, I meant a book that you can just get lost into. I have noticed that when I come home from work, I spend too much of my time either watching tv or on the computer, two things that both are terrible habits and also are not at all productive. I would rather just get a good book and lose myself into it for a while.

I love nonfiction, but lately I have noticed that it is harder and harder for me to get into it and keep reading. Instead I have been finding it more of a chore, which tells me that it is time to change themes  for a book or two.

[mugwump]

If you like SciFi/Fantasy,  Lois Bujold is one of the most absorbing writers around.  Start with The Warrior's Apprentice.

[kt]

i just devoured "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. Very easy to read but absorbing and, I thought, beautiful. Again, perhaps a teen book really but I loved it.

[TansyPants]

Cross stich and serries by diana gabaldon. Historical novels, based in 1740's scotland.
anything by terry pratchett for laughs. Especially his collaboration with neil gaiman, Good Omens. Also, anything by neil gaiman.
Dune by frank herbert. Much like enders game, the first book is the best, but the others are worth reading.
assassins aprentice, liveship traders, and the fool serries from robin hobb (all books set in the same world)
the mistborn trilogy by brandon sanderson.
Daemon and freedom by  daniel suarez. Dystopian future, but a really interesting look at our current technologies. Gets much more uplifting as you go on, lots of gratuitous violence though.
oh! I nearly forgot laurie king and her beekeepers apprentice serries! Fabulous! Retired sherlock holmes takes teenage, orphened jewish girl as an apprentice. Set in 1920's and exceedingly well written series.name of the wind is also fantastic, though unfinished :(

...my dad claims i have a reading disorder. I read so much i fail to get other things done...

If you want a really long break from non fiction, check out the wheel of time series.
If you'd like to combine learning with fiction, i highly reccomend Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. Hpmor.com. free. Harry potter is boyy genius raised by an oxford proffessor. Brings the scientific method and the art of rationality to hogwarts.

Sorry for typos. My phone is freaking out and showing me only the right side of my text. It's weird, but it's also free, so i keep it.

Happy reading!

[arebelspy]

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

Odd coincidence, my wife just read that this past weekend, after it sitting on our shelf the last 6+ months (we got it from my parent's house, I had apparently read it a decade+ ago, but don't remember the story at all).

She said it's like a fantasy romance, without much sex.  Slow to start, but then she got really into it and read the whole thing in basically a day.

I second ORS's Ender series, read up until Ender in Exile or whatever that one was (read like 9 of them or so).  Keep in mind the three direct sequels, rather than the parallel novels, are much more adult.  The parallel novels, along with the original, are much more young adult.

As far as something to get lost in, I recently read the Tapestry Series by Henry Neff.  The first one in the series is called The Hound of Rowan.

One of the most entertaining young adult novels in a long time, and the first one I couldn't put down in quite awhile.  4 of them are out, and the 5th and final one is coming out later this year.

The first one very much mirrors Harry Potter (you will see lots of similarities, including the new clueless first year at the magic school playing the new magical game and somehow being amazing at it), but then the series gets out of that shadow and the 2nd and onward are more creative.

Definitely recommend it to anyone who likes those type of fun reads.

[Adventine]

I'm not sure how a book would classify as mindless, do you just mean "fiction?"  Anyways, I second the OSC recommendation, all of his stuff is great.  Definitely read the Ender's Game trilogy, then the Bean series.

The Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn.

A Song of Fire and Ice (if you have facebook, you'll see everyone freaking out about Game of Thrones... these are those books) by George Martin.

Those 3 groups will keep you busy for a year or so.

A Song of Ice and Fire, while excellent, is definitely NOT relaxing. See: Season 3, Episode 9 (I wonder if HBO's actually going to show what the book describes happens to R/C after the wedding)

For something less stressful, Robert A. Heinlein has some fast-paced adventure novels. My favorites are The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Have Space Suit, Will Travel.

If you're willing to try comics, Fables by Bill Willingham, Sandman by Neil Gaiman, and Blankets by Craig Thompson are all extremely entertaining. Several levels above normal superhero comics in terms of art and writing.

[Kriegsspiel]

A Song of Ice and Fire, while excellent, is definitely NOT relaxing. See: Season 3, Episode 9 (I wonder if HBO's actually going to show what the book describes happens to R/C after the wedding)

Oh well, based on the OPs second post it doesn't look like 'relaxing' is his focus really.  I have only seen a few of the HBO episodes, I didn't think it was very well done :/

For something less stressful, Robert A. Heinlein has some fast-paced adventure novels. My favorites are The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Have Space Suit, Will Travel.

Starship Troopers was absolutely awesome.  Not like the movie at all; the book is amazing.

[matchewed]

Dresden Files if you like magic in the modern world.

Most of Tom Robbins is quite entertaining and witty in a way which is fun to read. Neil Gaiman's work is a good read too. And check out Brian Sanderson, he completed the Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan died and I've checked out his solo work. Easy read and good.

*Edit* I have to plug Haruki Murakami, not necessarily mindless but his shorter novels are incredible and one of his longer ones is great.

[grantmeaname]

Robert Twelve Hawks' Traveler series is good and very engrossing, but a little dystopian.

[Storypage]

Most fiction bestsellers are mind numbingly mindless and relaxing, so just scan the NYT bestseller list and pick one. You will likely be fine. I prefer the stuff that requires some mental work on the part of the reader, but those don't tend to be bestsellers.

[Adventine]

A Song of Ice and Fire, while excellent, is definitely NOT relaxing. See: Season 3, Episode 9 (I wonder if HBO's actually going to show what the book describes happens to R/C after the wedding)

Oh well, based on the OPs second post it doesn't look like 'relaxing' is his focus really.  I have only seen a few of the HBO episodes, I didn't think it was very well done :/

For something less stressful, Robert A. Heinlein has some fast-paced adventure novels. My favorites are The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Have Space Suit, Will Travel.

Starship Troopers was absolutely awesome.  Not like the movie at all; the book is amazing.

The TV series does get dragging sometimes. But I'm a big enough fan to keep watching.

Starship Troopers! Forgot about that one. It IS amazing.

[Lans Holman]

P.G. Wodehouse is my go-to author whenever I need to leave reality behind and just laugh incessantly.  Any of the Jeeves and Wooster or Blandings Castle books.

[unitsinc]

Just devoured Watership Down by Richard Adams a couple days ago and it was fantastic. OK, it's a kid's book, but any adult can definitely enjoy it. It's about rabbits on a journey to find a home after they're displaced, and full of fun and adventure, but also cool references and allegory. Makes you appreciate the perspective of a rabbit, too :).

I read it a year or two ago and....I teared up at the end. I was 26.

[unitsinc]

I second ORS's Ender series, read up until Ender in Exile or whatever that one was (read like 9 of them or so).  Keep in mind the three direct sequels, rather than the parallel novels, are much more adult.  The parallel novels, along with the original, are much more young adult.

This. The Ender universe books are amongst some of my favorites and ARS was spot on with his description. If you liked Ender's Game(presuming you'll read it) you'll love the spin off series. If you want more, read the direct sequels, they get pretty adult in theme and bring up a lot of philosophical thoughts.

Note: If you happen to not like to support people you find immoral, then do some background checks on the guy. If you deem him crazy and don't want to support, hit up the library(which is of course what all good mustachians do.) If it doesn't matter, ignore this bit.

[MgoSam]

If you want a really long break from non fiction, check out the wheel of time series.

Happy reading!

I just finished the final book. I felt extremely sad that a story that I have waited over half my life for, is now over. I think I am going to try reading Brandon Sanderson's own epic.

[MgoSam]

I finished Ender's Game and loved it! Plan on reading the sequel, Speaker for the Dead.

In my car, I listen to John Sanderson's Prey series (of crime based in Saint Paul). Next book, not sure.

[DaftShadow]

Since there are so many sci-fi/futurist fans here, figured I might want to recommend some new ones for ya'll :)

• Culture Series - Iain M. Banks
  A fantastic universe to explore, and each book explores it in a different way.  One of my favorites.  Start with Player of Games if you want some excitement right off the bat, but they are all very fun to read, and you do not need to read them in order...
  
  
• Accelerando - Charles Stross
  What life might be like living through The Singularity.  Follows 3 generations over the next 100 years, and how their experiences shape - and are shaped by - the massive changes in technology that occur.  Hilarious and fun, you really get involved with the characters.  I've re-read this book many times.  Highly recommended if you enjoy this genre.
  
  
• Deep Survival - Laurence Gonzales
  Nonfiction book about people who found themselves in the toughest of survival situations, and lived to tell the tale.  The author's goal is to explain how the mind/body react in intense situations such as these, and help you understand what to pay attention to if it were to ever occur to you.  Truly a fun read.
  
  
• The Business - also Iain Banks
  A sort of semi-conspiracy tale about a fictional 'secret' multi-billion dollar business and it's machinations on the future, told from the perspective of an up-and-comer in the organization.  Not exactly mustachian, but exciting nonetheless.  :)
  
  
• What Technology Wants - Kevin Kelly. 
  Nonfiction book about technology and innovation thru the history of human existence.  Quite a fun read.  If you enjoy tech and discussions about the future, this is a great book. 

Cheers,
~ DaftShadow

[Winter's Tale]

I highly recommend any of Neil Gaiman's books.  American Gods is in my top 3 books of all time.  The premise is that all of the immigrants who came to America brought with them their gods/deities from folklore and religion.  The old gods feel they are being forgotten in the modern world and decide they want to do something about it.

I also love The Graveyard Book and Stardust.  Neil's voice and imagination are incredible.

[Adventine]

I finished Ender's Game and loved it! Plan on reading the sequel, Speaker for the Dead.

In my car, I listen to John Sanderson's Prey series (of crime based in Saint Paul). Next book, not sure.

I'm a third of the way into Speaker for the Dead. Starts out slow but is pretty good so far!

[arebelspy]

I finished Ender's Game and loved it! Plan on reading the sequel, Speaker for the Dead.

In my car, I listen to John Sanderson's Prey series (of crime based in Saint Paul). Next book, not sure.

It's very different - more adult.  The parallel novels with Bean are much more like the original (see earlier comments in thread).

Still good though, more interesting philosophically.

[Kriegsspiel]

I read Daniel Suarez' book about drones and it was awesome.  I think I found out about him from John Robb, but anyways, just finished Daemon.  It was awesome.  Reminded me of Fight Club, The Matrix, and The Davinci Code.

[Dee 72013]

 To the Vanishing Point by Alan Dean Foster

[basd]

The books that have captivated me the most are Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett. Historical novels set in 12th and 14th century England, respectively. Highly recommended.

And from the same author, the first two installments in the Century Trilogy. I've read Fall of Giants (no. 1) twice, a great novel set around the start of WW I in England, Wales, America, Russia and other places. I have just purchased a copy of Winter of the World (no. 2), which is about the events leading up to WW II. The final book has not yet been released.

Each of these books is at least around 900 pages, but so well written I hard a hard time putting them down.

[totoro]

Watership Down and the Ender's series were great.  I read young adult fiction almost exclusively.  If you like these types of books just google the top picks online and you'll get some good recommendations such as this top 100 list (not mine):   

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams
 2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
 3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
 4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson X
 5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
 6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews
 7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher X
 8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
 9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway X
 10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block X
 11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor X
 12. Forever / Judy Blume
 13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
 14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
 15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X
 16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray X
 17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot X
 18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
 19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card X
 20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
 21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky
 22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
 23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn X
 24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan X
 25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer X
 26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X
 27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
 28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
 29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
 30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
 31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
 32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer X
 33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
 34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman X
 35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
 36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
 37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
 38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
 39. Looking for Alaska / John Green X
 40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes X
 41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse X
 42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen X
 43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
 44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
 45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
 46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
 47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
 48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
 49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X
 50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
 51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart X
 52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
 53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry X
 54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
 55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
 56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
 57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
 58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
 59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
 60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta X
 61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr X
 62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
 63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock X
 64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
 65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
 66. Step From Heaven / An Na
 67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
 68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
 69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
 70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
 71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini
 72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen X
 73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer X
 74. The Golden Compass / Phillip PullmanX
 75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison X
 76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan X
 77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
 78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff X
 79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling X
 80. Holes / Louis Sachar X
 81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X
 82. Push / Sapphire
 83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
 84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
 85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
 86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli X
 87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
 88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
 89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
 90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X
 91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
 92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
 93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld X
 94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
 95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
 96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
 97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
 98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin X
 99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak
 100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak

[Avolonte]

The Shining Girls, The Dog Stars, Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, The Family Fang--all easy, entertaining reads (for me). I have The Fault in Our Stars on hold at the library; it got good reviews. I get a lot of recommendations off NPR.

[Will]

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books are good mindless reading.  I really enjoy thrillers/legal drama type stories where someone is killed or on trial for something else big (but usually murder), but the books by Grisham, Michael Connelly, Baldacci, Meltzer and Lescroart can be a little heavy. The Stephanie Plum series of books (start with "One for the Money") have murder and mayhem, but a lot of comedy and make for quick, fun, mindless reads!

[ender]

I like ender's game :)

(see the nick)

Though I'm not sure I'd call it a mindless book. Definitely a book which is hard to put down.

Mindless? I liked reading hunger games, at least the first one. It felt completely mindless and was ok writing which kept me fairly interested in reading it.

[crazy jane]

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books are good mindless reading.  I really enjoy thrillers/legal drama type stories where someone is killed or on trial for something else big (but usually murder), but the books by Grisham, Michael Connelly, Baldacci, Meltzer and Lescroart can be a little heavy. The Stephanie Plum series of books (start with "One for the Money") have murder and mayhem, but a lot of comedy and make for quick, fun, mindless reads!

I agree they are lots of fun and they are available for free from my local cloud library. I think I'm in love with Ranger.

[kittenstache]

I love Sue Grafton's "alphabet" mysteries: "A is for alibi", "B is for burglar", and so on.
Well-crafted plots and the heroine, P.I. Kinsey Millhone, is a mustachian woman!
She drives an old beater, lives in a tiny apartment and lives a bad-ass life on a shoestring budget.

[Albert]

Another SciFi fan here... Larry Niven is probably my favourite author (Integral trees, Destiny's road, Ringworld series). From more classic literature Isaac Asimov and Stanislas Lem. I wouldn't call any of them completely mindless, but still easy to read.

Not usually a fan of Steven King, but I did enjoy The Dark Tower series. Even less of a mindless stuff, though.

[Lans Holman]

This thread seems to need to be split in two, one for the original "mindless relaxing" and another for "stimulating scifi" or something like that.  I'm going to second the suggestion of Neal Stephenson for the latter (Cryptonomicon being probably my favorite, and his new one by far my least).  As far as the former goes I just finished a Kinky Friedman and that certainly fit the bill.

[daverobev]

Mindless? Anything by Jilly Cooper, Mills & Boon, Dan Brown.. heh.

Relaxing. Hmm. David Eddings' stuff is.. pretty easy to read. Terry Brooks. Terry Goodkind. (All fantasy).

Kim Stanley Robinson's stuff that is NOT Mars I found less interesting, not exactly mindless but not too heavy (Mars is awesome.. but not mindless or relaxing!). The Wild Shore is the first in his first trilogy, then Forty Signs of Rain is the first in his third series I guess it is.

[pachnik]

This is in the detective fiction genre.

The author is Ian Rankin and he wrote a series of detective novels.  The main character is a detective called John Rebus.  Ian Rankin is a Scottish author and the series is set in modern Edinburgh in real time.  So Rebus ages and eventually retires after about a dozen cases.  The series is extremely well written and the character of John Rebus grew on both me and my husband.  We still talk about "what would Rebus do". 

I never really liked detective stories except for the classics like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie but the Rebus books are great though they aren't completely mindless. 

[Quinn]

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Sci-fi with lots of references to 80's pop culture. Couldn't put it down once I started, easily one of my new favorites.

[basd]

This is in the detective fiction genre.

The author is Ian Rankin and he wrote a series of detective novels.  The main character is a detective called John Rebus.  Ian Rankin is a Scottish author and the series is set in modern Edinburgh in real time.  So Rebus ages and eventually retires after about a dozen cases.  The series is extremely well written and the character of John Rebus grew on both me and my husband.  We still talk about "what would Rebus do". 

I never really liked detective stories except for the classics like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie but the Rebus books are great though they aren't completely mindless.

I just read my first Rebus novel and I am hooked as well. Planning to go to the library to pick up another one this afternoon.

If you like Rankin, you might like Elizabeth George's Lynley novels as well. I've read the whole series front to back over the course of a year and a half and they're amazing (although the quality does decline somewhat towards the later novels).

[pachnik]

Thanks Basd.

I have put Elizabeth George's Lynley novels on my list.

[Frugalteacher]

Any of the discworld novels by Terry Pratchet are great for what you're looking for. Their funny easy reads that you can finish in a couple of days. Plus theres a ton of them.

[Daley]

I'm kind of surprised that none of Elmore Leonard's work has popped up in this thread yet. Nearly the entire run of the man's work from his westerns to his crime fiction novels (which doesn't even begin to wholly capture the genres some of these truly bend into at times) are the very definition of fun, quick reading entertainment. Hollywood has repeatedly mined his works for both movies and TV series, and most of the resultant filmed works actually survive the transition and are genuinely enjoyable to watch (and even award winning at times)... even when they involve Charles Bronson as a melon farmer. (Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, Justified, Mr. Majestyk, Out of Sight just to name a few)

Give any of the following a shot as a starter to his works (no order other than alphabetical):

3:10 to Yuma (short)
Hombre
LaBrava
Rum Punch
Swag

Sometimes crude, sometimes shocking, not many genuinely happy endings, but always colorful and a fun read. He's been a part of my personal library for decades... strategically placed f-bombs and all.

[Ben]

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

Odd coincidence, my wife just read that this past weekend, after it sitting on our shelf the last 6+ months (we got it from my parent's house, I had apparently read it a decade+ ago, but don't remember the story at all).

Ha! My wife read this a week or two ago as well, per my recommendation, also remembering it from a decade prior :)

[Albert]

I recently read "The hundred-year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson and I think it fits in the desired category. Easy to read, but not to an extent that it's not worth doing it.

[MgoSam]

I recently read "The hundred-year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson and I think it fits in the desired category. Easy to read, but not to an extent that it's not worth doing it.

I absolutely agree with you, I listened to this on a trip from Chicago and absolutely loved it!

Many of the posts are excellent, plenty to add to my reading list for my upcoming trip to Vegas.