What have you read that's good and clean lately?

[Terri]

Rae wrote: "Can we put nonfiction material on here?"
Absolutely!

[The Flipped Page (Susan]

I just read "When Breath Becomes Air". So poignant, heartfelt and lovely.
When Breath Becomes Air

[Gabriella]

I saw a book that was recommended in this thread but I can’t find it now and I can’t remember the name or authour. It had something to do with a fairy godmother and cover was light green and it was a teen book. Does anyone know the name of it?

[Carinne]

Here is a list of the books I recommend. First of all, they are not all 'squeaky clean'. If you want a detailed description of the content, check out my reviews of them on my good reads page. I generally list what I remember of objectionable content. If I don't list anything then that means there isn't much. I don't like the F word. I put books down after a couple of them. I will usually list any that I remember being in the books. I don't like lots of other language either. I don't like detailed sex. I don't want to hear about any heaving body parts. I'm OK with 'off screen' sex...as long as there isn't much of it. I'm also ok knowing affairs and such happened as long as I don't have to hear the details. I love spiritual books, but I have a hard time with many 'Christian' books as they stuff it down your throat. I love books which inspire me but don't preach. I also love good writing and character sketches. I don't read tons of YA as the writing is usually so dumbed down, so if I like a YA book its fantastic writing or a fantastic plot. Feel free to ask me more details about a book if you'd like to know. I do my best to warn people of content to the best of my memory as everyone has different levels of 'clean'.

General Fiction:
*Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro…..I love a good character sketch
*Christy by Catherine Marshall
*Cold Sassy Tree by Ann Olive Burns….SO cute…love Southern Lit
*The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig….so cute. Chuckled through the whole thing
*Orphan Keeper by Cameron Wright
*Gilead series by Marilynne Robinson….love all 3, but you have to like character sketches and great writing
*Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee….worth a read
*Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford….very sweet
*The Help by Kathryn Stockett
*The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver….so good, need to re-read
*Peace Like a River by Leif Enger….memorable, spiritual anthology, great read
*City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell….. incredible! One of my all time favorites
*The Robe by Douglas Lloyd……inspiring and spiritual
*The Light Between the Oceans by ML Stedman…..cried through the last 1/3 of it.
*Anything by Anne Tyler…..I think my favorite is the Amateur Marriage….but you have to like character sketches
*Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale….silly fiction, just fun
*Kate Morton’s books….all VERY good. I think my favorite is the Lake House
*A Gentelman in Moscow by Amor Towles…..LOVED it!
*The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Ann Mary Shaffer
*The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundarsan….I love books about India
*Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner….an incredible writer
*Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
*Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman….I love southern lit
*All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr….I savored the writing, but more language than I usually like
*Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
*The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach….one of the most unique books I’ve ever read
*The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman …..Neil Gaiman is awesome! (if you stick to his YA)
*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman….a new take on the Jungle Book set in a graveyard…Neil Gaiman is awesome!
*Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
*Angels and Demons by Dan Brown..he just writes fun books
*The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield..gothic page turner
*Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card…..I should have read it sooner, but more language than I usually like
*Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd…..just like the movie. Good
*The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd….she writes solid, good southern stories
*The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
*Juliet by Anne Fortier…..nothing special, I just really liked it
*Jim the Boy by Tony Earley….again great character sketch
*Books by Rosamunde Pilcher (shell seekers is her most famous)….I love English authors
*books by Susan Meissner…..just fun stories. My favorite is probably Secrets of a Charmed Life and Girl in the Glass
*Books by Jillian Cantor…again just entertaining stories. Loved The Hours Count and Margo
*Lisa See books…although I have to gear up for her. All Chinese stories are depressing.
*Enchanted Inc series by Shanna Swendson….just fun, quick and cute
*Susanna Kearsley books….all the same formula with some sort of romance and time travel. Nothing special but fun.
*Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley…fun, cute little mystery series set in a 1950s English village
*The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore…fascinating
*Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson….love novels set in a charming English village
*The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom….quick, lovely little book
*News of the World by Paulette Jiles…..sweet little book!
*The Genius Plague by David Walton….sci-fi spy thriller, just fun page turner
*The Doomsday Book by Connie Wills….sci-fi time travel with a twist
*Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson….quiet character sketch
*Once Upon A River by Dianne Setterfield….fun, quirky, sort of fantasy
*Virgil Wander by Leif Enger…not as good as Peace Like a River, but still a great read
*The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan…nothing fantasic, but a fun read

Non-Fiction:
*At-Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson….just interesting
*Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard…SO good
*7 Miracles That Saved America by Chris Stewart
*Gifted Hands by Ben Carson
*Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand….inspiring and difficult to take
*The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport
*A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierly
*Son of Hamas by Hassan Mosab Yousef
*Jim Gaffigan books…just funny
*Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson….changed me
*Symphony for the City of the Dead by MT Anderson
*Home by Julie Andrews..her memoirs
*My Life in France by Julia Child…..love her descriptions of France
*Boys in the Boat….interesting
*My, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer…..surprisingly interesting and entertaining
*Little Princes by Conor Grennan
*Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
*Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku…a little over my head in parts but fascinating!

Classics (Old Classic or Modern Classics):
*A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith….one of my all time favorite books
*Little Women…anything by Lousia May Alcott really
*To Kill A Mockingbird
*Uncle Tom’s Cabin
*Anything by Gene Stratton Porter my favorite is Girl of the LImberlost
*Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
*The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald….you either love it or hate it. I love it
*A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
*My Antonia by Will Cather…my favorite of hers. O Pioneers is good too
*Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
*Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth
*Tom sawyer/Huck Finn by Mark Twain
*Enchanted April by Elizabeth van Armin…..so sweet
*Black Beauty by Anna Sewell……love it and I don’t even like horses
*Anything by Frances Hodgson Burnett….love children’s classics
*Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte….love it
*Requiem For a Wren by Nevil Shutte
*Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy…so fun
*Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter….excess of sweet but fun.
*Books by Elizabeth Goudge….Green Dolphin Street is her best I think
*Howard’s End by EM Forester
*Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck
*Forsyte Saga by John Gallsworthy….SO good! Love this series

Epics: (I LOVE long, long, epic stories)
*Les Miserables…if you haven’t read it, its great for a tear or two at least
*Gone With the Wind…..one of my all time favorites
*Lonesome Dove…..never thought I’d love a western, but lots of talk about prostitutes
*The Far Pavillions by MM Kaye…..another of my very favorites. Love, war, heroes and Indian princesses….what more could you want?
*Shadow of the Moon by MM Kaye….nearly as good as the Far Pavillions
*Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor….gone with the wind meets 1600s England
*Katherine by Anya Seton
*Island of the World by Michael O’Brien


YA Lit that’s worth reading:
*The Little Britches series by Ralph Moody…..fabulous, and one I want to read to my boys
*Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt……so good
*I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb…..I laughed through the whole thing
*Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia….fun fantasy, audio really good
*Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer…..just tickled me
*Hunger Games…if you haven’t already…just read them
*Elizabeth George Speare books….she’s great
*Steelheart series by Brandon Sanderson…..again just fun
*Jessica Day George’s Princesses of Westfalin series…..just fun
*The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner….lots of political intrigue.
*Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin…..really fantastic. Well written, lots of discuss and a page turner
*My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand….SO cute! Chuckled through the whole thing

[Hannah]

Quite a list! I spy some of my own favorites on it!

[C.]

[Gabriella]

Gabriella wrote: "I saw a book that was recommended in this thread but I can’t find it now and I can’t remember the name or authour. It had something to do with a fairy godmother and cover was light green and it was..."

Also, I think the book was similar to by Janette Rallison, except there is a real fairy godmother in mine, the cover is green and i think it was written by a man.

[Kld2003]

Carinne, we must be soul sisters. I have read over 40 of the books on your list so our book tastes must be similar. Thanks for posting your recommendations, I have many new ones to try now.

[Jen]

Thanks for taking the time to put together this fabulous list! I have read and loved some of these. Some are on my "to read" list and I will be adding a few more!

[Carinne]

You all are most welcome. Its a list I keep on my computer as I get asked for book recommendations frequently. Let me add (in complete full disclosure) that there are a few books I read years ago before I really kept track of content in order to inform people. So, there is a possibility I've missed something in a book. But, every book I'd feel comfortable recommending to my church book club (or they are actual books we've read for my church book club) except maybe All The Light We Cannot See, Ender's Game and Dan Brown books. Dan Brown because I can't remember all the possible content, Ender's Game because there is much more language than I usually recommend to people and All The Light We Cannot See for the same reason...plus there was a rape scene (although not descriptive). I probably shouldn't have included it on this list. Hope that helps.

[Rochelle]

Thank you for taking your time to share!

[Jamie]

Great list, Carinne! Thanks so much. I have read some, have some on my to-read list and added a bunch more.

[Sandy]

The Shell Seekers by Rosalind Pilcher

[Kaley]

I recommend any of Katherine Reay's fiction. Her characters have depth, and I love how she pulls inspiration from Jane Austen. She has a new one coming out in May!!


Terri wrote: "I'd love to hear some recommendations you have for good clean books you've read lately. Here's a few of mine:

In YA fiction -
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is histori..."

Terri wrote: "I'd love to hear some recommendations you have for good clean books you've read lately. Here's a few of mine:

In YA fiction -
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg is histori..."

[Shirley]

I can recommend anything by these authors below. They write great stories that are passionate but clean:
Rachelle Christensen
Michelle Pennington
Shannon Guymon
Cami Checketts
Jenni James
Ashtyn Newbold
Kimberly Krey

[Joseph]

DISCOVERY MODE: When Survival Becomes Your Only Way Home

[C.S.]

I've been reading Sally Berneathy's Death By Chocolate cozy mysteries and I've really enjoyed them.

My books are clean and get good ratings. See cskjar.com for all of them.

[Tiffany]

[C.]

Honeysuckle Hollow~Totally engaging and enchanting, magical realism!

and

Clean, sweet, werewolf/ indian/shifter paranormal HS teen romance.

[Ken]

I'm enjoying Wendell Berry's Port William series, and think it would appeal to many in this group.

[[deleted user]]

I Recently Read

SO GOOD! and Clean!

[[deleted user]]

I Finished

Also Clean!!!

[Sandy]

Legion The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson. Love everything I have read by him. There is some language (Mild cursing, usually followed by the comment "No Swearing!")

[Noelle]

For fantasy lovers, Brandon Sanderson is a fairly clean writer. My recent love is Michael J Sullivan, especially his Riyria revelations and Chronicles. Excellent, clean books.

[Maria]

I recently discovered Sally Britton. She writes clean Regency Era romance.
Also, I have a "clean" shelf if you want to look at that. Mostly romance.

[April]

If you're in the mood for a clean mystery series, check out my new cozy, Previous Engagements.

I second Sally Britton! Her books are sweet regency and you'll love the characters.

[J.P.]

Just finished two mysteries that were clean (not sure of the rating system here, but the first might fall under PG-13) that I REALLY enjoyed.

1) The Stranger Diaries

2) Best Murder in Show

The first is more of a Gothic suspense and has lots of literary themes tied in which I liked. The second is a cozy mystery set in England...in a town similar to the Cotswolds. Both were excellent!

[Amanda]

I recently read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale and loved it. She always surprises me with books that look as if they are strictly middle school girl books, when in reality they are wonderfully written stories with interesting characters that anyone can enjoy.

[Amanda]

The Crown Of Dalemark quartet by Diana Wynne Jones. So good and my favorite of her writing.

[J.P.]

Amanda wrote: "I recently read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale and loved it. She always surprises me with books that look as if they are strictly middle school girl books, when in reality they are wonderf..."

This sounds interesting--despite the cover issue. ;) I will check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!

[J.P.]

Amanda wrote: "The Crown Of Dalemark quartet by Diana Wynne Jones. So good and my favorite of her writing."

Oooh, another new-to-me author. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

[Carl]

I have not only read "Lost and Found: The Forest Chronicles Book 1", by Amanda H. Williams, but I produced it as an audiobook for her. It is available on Audible and iTunes. I highly recommend it as a clean goodread.

Carl Barr
leftdeskproductions.com

[Amanda]

JP, if you like fantasy you NEED to check out Diana Wynne Jones. She wrote so many great books in her lifetime.

[C.]

I am on page 195 of ~ and it is clean and a wonderful-feel good read, keeping a smile on my face while reading. So many nice, fun characters. :D

[The Flipped Page (Susan]

Amanda wrote: "I recently read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale and loved it. She always surprises me with books that look as if they are strictly middle school girl books, when in reality they are wonderf..."
Shannon Hale has some fantastic reads!! I love her writing! All the Books of Bayern are wonderful!

[Amanda]

Yes, Susan! Goose Girl was my first read of hers and it got me hooked.

[Sheri Blaise]

The Department of Sensitive Crimes, by Alexander McCall Smith. He has written many books, most notably The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. One of my favorite authors.

[[deleted user]]

I Read

and Am Currently Reading . it's Clean So Far

[[deleted user]]

deleted user wrote: "I Read

and Am Currently Reading . it's Clean So Far"

UPDATE

I Finished it is SO Good and Clean

[Crystal]

Marlene wrote: "These are some of the clean reads I've read this year.

The Hired Girl
I loved this cute book about a country girl that is hired by a Jewish family.

The Chosen by Chiam Potok
One of the best boo..."

I appreciate your direct and short descriptions to these books! It cuts down on my having to look up each book to see if they will fit with my senior book club. Thank you! I wish all would do this!

[Marilyn]

Carinne wrote: "You all are most welcome. Its a list I keep on my computer as I get asked for book recommendations frequently. Let me add (in complete full disclosure) that there are a few books I read years ago b..."

Thank you for your generous offering!

[Lea]

I thoroughly enjoyed Six Floors from Somewhere

[Cheryl]

Tate: The Montana Marshalls

Tate|415498 86]

Fun, exciting read, Book Two is just as fun as the first.

[Happy Reading Watching]

love on willow loop by Carina Taylor

[C.]

Just finished a good clean ghost story~ rate it 4-stars.

[Marilyn]

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

[Hannah]

Really enjoyed this one!

[[deleted user]]

We Hunt The Flame!!!

[Ken]

The Advocate
Historical fiction by Randy Singer, based on speculation that Theophilous of the Gospel of Luke was a Roman advocate (defense attorney). No profanity, but graphic descriptions of gladiator contests and other brutal ancient Roman practices, as well as some "off-screen" sex important to the plot. Strong Christian message, but emotionally wrenching.

[Kelli]

I finished Mission Hollywood by Michelle Keener tonight. I really liked it! It's a new release and I can't wait to read more from her. Super clean, well developed characters, interesting storyline.