What books would you read to cheer up if you were stuck in bed with a cold?
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I would read one of two works. Actually I have done this on more than one occasion. Either Watership Down or All Creatures Great and Small. These books can be healing. Oh, I would also read anything by Gerald Durrell on his collecting expeditions as a young man. Hilarious and gracious, all these books can get me through just about any illness I have ever had.
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I would read Spider Robinsons' Callahan stories because the folks in them are always helping each other. Also their adventures are interesting and just plain good reading.
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Lonesome Dove. While not everything in the book is cheerful, the humor throughout the book brings a smile to my face no matter how blue I might be feeling, and it's a damn good story to boot!
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I would read The Stand by Stephen King. In the book, the majority of the world dies because of a superflu developed by the military. I would read it and be glad that I just have a cold.
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I read Where the Heart is, one of Oprah's picks to my 16-year-old following her surgery. We both loved the book, and it really cheered her up.
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The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
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I'd choose Esperanza's Box of Saints, a novel by Maria Amparo Escandon. This delightful, magical, and uplifting book would take me right out of my sick bed!
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My all time favorite book is from my childhood. It was A. Child's Garden of Verses. Who could forget the Land Of Counterpane.
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Lilian Jackson Braun. Any of her "cat" mysteries would do it for me..The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Lived High, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, The Cat Who Blew the Whistle et al. When I'm down with a cold I want something to read that soothes me, and her books do it for me everytime. Also, I'm a cat fancier and I can relate to the feline characters in her books.
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Charles Dickens' Bleak House, because no matter how badly I felt, I would know that everybody in that book felt worse.
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If I were ill, I'd read something--anything--by Dave Barry. I think he's the funniest writer alive, and his books never fail to cheer me up!
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I'd probably re-read a few big favorites like a Gordon Liddy thriller, Sparks' The Notebook, or Mayes' Spin Priests.
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Rereading The Lord of the Rings is always tempting, but more cheering would be James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the sequels.
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I would read the mysteries of Marissa Piesman, or my old stand-by, Hell's Bells by Cindy Packard. Where is she???
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Funny you should have this topic. I have missed 3 days of work this week due to a bad cold. In fact the doctor said if I were 2, I would have the croup. I read Stolen Lives for book club and it certainly got my mind off my miseries. Then I read Seven Up by Janet Evanovitch and I had a good time laughing. That also was good to get my mind off me.
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Any book by Maeve Binchy or Robert B. Parker.
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I would read A Year in Providence by Peter Mayle. This is a very charming and quick read of a book. A lot of humor...and of course food and wine.
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I would read Jan Karon and Diane Mott Davidson.
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I would read Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani - a warm, feel good book.
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I like to read historical fictions and fantasy because I am carried away from my cold to another world, time, place, and setting. One of my favorite books that I like to read when I am sick is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It never fails to move me or leave me in a state of awe.
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Books on Anthropology
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I would suggest Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune or re-read some of the better Georgette Heyer Regency novels, if you can find one. Otherwise dear Jane (Austen), The Brethren, or Auntie Mame. NOT Joseph Conrad or such grim stuff, you get nightmares.
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Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe
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Amazingly I just spent several days in bed with the latest winter flu. I used the time to reread or discover Elizabeth Peters AKA Barb Michaels. Read more than 10 of her books. Loved them all. It is a pleasure to read books with few to no typos. I also considered rereading Lord of the Rings but.. the Gormagast trilogy was here as well.
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No doubt about it, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.
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Any time is great to enjoy Stephanie Plum...she is the best, my favorite.
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Anything by Lawrence Block!!!!
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Anything by Carl Hiaasen--preferably Basket Case but only because I haven't read it yet! He can stand up to rereading.
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Without a doubt, I would read all of Janet Evanovich's books all over again.
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To cheer me up I'd read any of JANET EVANOVICH's books like Hot Six.
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I would probably reread The Stand for the 37th time and be thankful I didn't have Captain Trips! Aside from that, the book just ends on such a hopeful note. It would have to be some cold, though, to get through the 1,000+ pages of the book! Second choice would be Plains of Passage (Jean Auel) to get ready for the next installment in April, and find Ayla's cure for the common cold.
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I would read some light books such as page-turner mysteries or a love story.
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I would read Bewitchin' by Jill Barnett. I did read this one when I was sick with more than a cold and it did wonders to cheer me up.
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The book I would read if I were sick would undoubtedly be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I adore this book anyway and it's wit and sharp observations always make me laugh! The ending is of course perfect and I need a happy ending when I am sick.
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Does it matter? The mere fact that I have a good excuse for staying in bed so I can read at length is cheering enough.
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Most anything by Bill Bryson
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One of my all-time favorite books to make me laugh is James Thurber's Let Your Mind ALONE!. I used to read it regularly just to make me laugh, but it sat on my shelf for the past 11 years without being touched. My 7th grader is now reading it, and I was reminded of how much I enjoyed Thurber's wit and humor in sharing it with him. It is bound to make anyone feel better!
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John Grisham's Skipping Christmas is one to make you smile when out of commission with a cold, and any mystery is the best distraction when not feeling well
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Almost anything by J. A. Jance or Anne Perry
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I would like to read something light and funny. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham comes to mind. Even though the holidays are over, the characters in this book will probably relate to someone you already know.
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If I were sick in bed, I'd select a nice, sweet romance novel to read, something like The Nanny's Secret by Monica McLean - a fantastic story about love vs. amnesia.
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I would probably listen to one of the books by Jan Karon, read by John McDonough. One of the Midford series. Those books just make you feel good. Laughing always cheers me up, so maybe I would read, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.
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I'd read Girlfriends. It's definately a feel good book.
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Any book by Richard Russo; Pride and Prejudice; The World According to Garp
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Although I prefer murder mysteries and gruesome horror to romance novels, if I were stuck in bed with a cold, I would like to read a bunch of Nora Roberts bodice-busters.
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So many to choose from, but for the sake of survey, I'd choose Empire Falls by Richard Russo or his earlier book Straight Man. His novels ooze humanity and humor. Impossible not to laugh out loud at some parts. And the man's writing is beautiful.
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Anything by John Grisham or Louis L'Amour's later work would transport me
Anonymous
Great books to read while sick in bed are Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. They're perfect comfort books.
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If stuck in bed for a few days, I'd recommend reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
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THE RECKONING, Metropolis Ink
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Any books, believe it or not, by Tomi DePaola: I think he is hilarious. His new chapter books are great and I know they are children books, but he has a great sense of humor.
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Stuck in bed with a cold, I'd turn to the following to cheer me up: Straight Man by Richard Russo; any of the Rumpole novels by Mortimer, and of the Lovejoy novels by Gash.
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Anything by Carl Hiassen or Elmore Leonard...I laugh out loud wherever I am.
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Every so often, even if I don't have a cold, I reread one of my comfort books. I particularly recommend Open House by Elizabeth Berg. If you don't end up liking Sam and King, you deserve to be stuck in bed with a cold!
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Bridget Jones' Diary. As well as any of Anne George's southern sister mysteries.
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I would read WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID by Valerie Block. It's a page turner and it just makes you laugh --- in fact I laughed out loud throughout the entire book. It's perfect to snuggle up to and read all day long!
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Miss Julia Takes Over by Ann B. Ross. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind was good and this looks as though it will be, too.
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Definitely........ George Carlin's Brain Droppings and Napalm and Silly Putty. I think he is a talented comedian.
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I would read Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.
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I Moved Your Cheese. Darrel Bristow-Bovey.
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If I was stuck in bed with a cold, I'd read It Takes a Village Idiot. I can't remember the author, but the book is totally amusing and sure to cheer you up.
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That's a nice question! I like it! Well, I would read the book Living, Loving,& Learning by Leo F. Buscaglia. That's a great book. I like it.
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I would read WinterDance by Gary Paulsen. The BloodHound books, but V. Lanier
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I would read anything by Terry McMillan. She has a way of telling stories that makes me laugh out loud. She puts humor in otherwise somewhat tragic everyday events. I would also read anything by Jimmy Breslin, I am specifically thinking about The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, although I read it many years ago I can still remember how it made me glad that I had picked it up and decided to read it.
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I would take E. W. Knappman's 1994 page book Great American Trials From Salem Witchcraft to Rodney King. Why? Well, a cold is a little trial, and I wouldn't feel so bad reading about the big trials.
