Great Books Without...

Debbie Macomber , Jan Karon and Dorothea Benton Frank are three authors that write cute feel good stories...just good fiction, not overly romantic or heavy on love scenes. My book club just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, a nonfiction book that we all really enjoyed. The Help is also a great book. They are making a movie based on the book.

I thought someone else had a great suggestion of asking a librarian or book salesman who will probably have some great suggestions.

I just finished The Book Thief and it was AMAZING. There was some foul language but it was in German (not the whole book but the swears) so you could just pretend those words meant something else. :-)

Other good ones - Water for Elephants, The Help - we pick some good ones.

OK ~ Being a "potty mouth" myself, Whats the name of the book w/ great reviews you couldn't read due to the Nasty language?? LOLOL

and I have to agree, the Twilight Series is Fantastic !!!!!!!! she's an amazing write, I'm 34 and Adore the series, and got my mom to read it as well !! Give it shot! The first book just Sucks you right in (Team Edward here BTW) haha

Marian Keys writes great light stuff. Any of the Douglas Adams books (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a Trilogy in Five Parts), Mark Haddon writes great stuff, and my favourite is Saturday by Ian Mckeon. Also, the Harry Potters are a great read, and try Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai for a great personal perspective on the Chinese cultural Revolution. Oh, and The Kite Runner, and A Thousand Suns. So many books, so little time.

Okay, honestly, I love the Twilight series...and I am almost 30! lol I think it is her writing style more than anything because I read another book written by her ("The Host") and it was fabulous! I couldn't put it down. Plus, no foul language or raunchy "love" scenes. ;) www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Literally the BEST book I have ever read is "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. It is so good... I could not put it down. It is very long (like 1500 pages) but I was so addicted to it, from start to finish. When I was done, I gave it to my Mom, who also was addicted to it from page one to page last. An amazing read!

I honestly can't remember how much foul language is in it- I do seem to remember some not-so-desireable words used, but it's mostly, if not entirely, in context (it's a renaissance-era novel).

There is a sequal to it that I also read (and its also addicting) called "World Without End". I highly, HIGHLY recommend both books!

I LOVE anything by John Saul. He writes mystery type ones that come across sci fi at times BUT are NOT sci fi as I hate sci fi. They are hard to explain but soooo good. Haven't had anyone not like them that I recommend him to. Good luck!!

Any book by Karen Kingsbury! Start with Redemption. GREAT start to a series!

I also LOVED The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. And Half Broke Horses.

Another great one that I couldn't put down was Redeeming Love. Highly recommend!

We like Terry Pratchett and I don't recall much if any swearing. His Feegles say things like "Crivens!"

I second Pillars of the Earth, anything by Anita Shreve, Jodi Piccoult or Kristin Hannah (esp. Firefly Lane).

I couldn't put down Margaret George's "Memoirs of Cleopatra" -- quite riveting and very interesting!

I liked the "Pillar of Earth" by Follet as well. I also like almost anything by the guy who wrote Jurrasic Park, Michael Crichton. Very suspenseful and well written. Here is a webpage with 4 website that help you find books you like based on others you have read.
http://www.kimwoodbridge.com/4-sites-to-help-you-decide-w...
We have a great library so I usually just go to the "new" section and take out about 7-10 books and usually at least half are what I hoped they would be.

I recommended a series to someone else on here today, it's by Shanna Swendson and starts with Enchanted, Inc. If you dont mind magic, it's a nice series without any swearing that I can remember.

And for romances I love Lynn Kurland. Time Travel, knights, swordfighting, not raunchy.

I second the JD Robb "Eve Dallas" series - loved it.
Maeve Binchy writes lovely stories with well developed characters and interesting plots
I really enjoyed Sue Grafton's "Kinsey Milhone" series - female PI with lots of quirks and a nifty apartment.
Evanovich (I can't remember the first name) has a series with "Stephanie Plum" - hilarious.

I always ask my librarians for ideas - they have read everything.

Happy reading
God Bless

if you want to be taken away by a writer, and like a little romance/love story, Read anything by Nicholas Sparks!!! they are fast and can really take you away, I just love them... and I don't like a lot of negative language, so I understand how you feel. "Safe Haven" was his most recent and it is now one of my favorites of his, I also like "the Lucky One" "A Bend in the Road" and my favorite of his books is "the Notebook" ( Sooooooo much better than the Movie) really he hasn't written a bad book, I like them all! Strongly recommend all of his books!

I recently read "the Help" and it was VERY good also, I noticed someone else recommended it.

I second "Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End"! Fantastic books and hardly any sex or foul language. Pillars is set in the Dark Ages and World is medieval, so not many modern curses! You should also check out John Jakes. His Kent Family Chronicles from the 70s are fantastic! It was also a mini series as was the North and South trilogy. Homeland was also fantastic. You'll find a few realistically placed swear words and sex scenes in his books, but nothing crazy or over-the-top. I also highly recommend "The Source" by James Michener. I'm not a fan of all of his books, but it was riveting! If you like historical fiction of either the dark and middle ages or Civil War era, check put Bernard Cornwell. I love his books! They get pretty bloody, but very little cursing or explicit sex.

I love to read, so i also am interested in the book you picked up but didn't read.

JD Robb's In Death series is WONDERFUL, I love love love love it, BUT there are LOTS of swear words in there and some pretty kinky steamy sex stuff. I actually wouldn't recommend it to you. I was surprised to see people list it.

Lauren Willig has a series. It starts with 'The pink carnation", the Black Tulip, The silver Orchid etc. If you have ever read or seen the Scarlet Pimpernell it's that time period, the 1800's?? in England and France with Bonapart and the guilletines etc. The Pink Carnation is a female Spy, and i just love the characters in it. Some of them make me laugh outloud, lots of sweet love triangles. and generally a happy ending. There is a bit of switching from past to present day,which is a nice change too. No swearing unless the occasional bugger, said in an english accent, whIch i can forgive them for because they are so darn cute and bumbling.

So for you my friend, we have mystery and intrige, romance and comedy, they make me feel good. I don't have to think too hard, just an escape, but well written.

oh i think the real title is The secret historyof the pink carnation
lauren willig is the author I think someone else mentioned Joining Good reads.com its' great for reading reviews and keeping track of what you've read.

I also loved Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Have you read the Harry Potter series? They really are not just kid books, I promise. The Twilight series is great. And I just read The Hunger Games Trilogy-- wonderful!

My favorite is Gilbert Morris books(lots of continuing sagas)...with all the romance/suspense/drama but VERY CLEAN!

and I still enjoy Eugenia Price, and of course who could forget Grace Livingston HIl for a quick read!! (very old and hard to find ; ) might check your public library for these...??

Do you read John Grisham? "A Child Called It" is really good as well. There is a TON of cursing, but "A Million Little Pieces" is probably one of the most amazing books ever.

Anything by Karen Kingsbury is great. Terri Blackstock writes mysteries. Also, Mary Higgins Clark, Angela Hunt, Kathy Herman, Linda Hall, Kristen Heitzmann.

I've been reading alot of Christian books lately. I check them out at my church library. It's great not reading.about sex scenes and bad language!

I like historical fiction and HATE profanity and vulgarity.

White Fang, Call of the Wild, Prelude to Glory series (Revolunary War stories), Clan of the Cave Bear. Almost anything by Jules Verne (Mysterious Island, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.) or Louis Lamour (Westerns), or Zane Grey (Westerns). Charles Dickens, James Kjelgaard (stories about dogs and wolves). Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone (about the explorers that discovered parts of America.) John Grisham's early books, The Firm, The Runaway Jury, The Rainmaker, etc. Allen Eckert books are about the settling of America, but they are historical fiction based on fact and sometimes TMI about what the indians did to the white setttlers and other indians.

Thats' a good start. Any long time librarian that has worked in the library for at least 20 years will be able to give you lots more than I did. And I didn't even scratch the surface or tell you about James Fenimore Cooper and his books.

Good luck to you and yours.

JD Robb has a good series that does not have foul language but it is set in the future where life is VERY different from our own, so if your only complaint is foul language it would be a fun one. "In Death" series ie: Glory In Death ... they all have a word followed by "In Death"

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors! It's like talking to your British best friend!

My favorite author is Martha Grimes she does a couple of series and I love them all the Richard Jury Mysteries, Emma Graham mysteries and Andi Oliver series.

Rose Mcquinn Mystery series by Alanna Knight
The Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton is ok

Dean Koontz the Odd Thomas series

books with magic in it:
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Emma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray starts with A Great and Terrible Beauty
The Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott

I agree the Twilight series was great.

I get on goodreads.com a lot to get suggestions on books, plus since I read a lot it helps with not re-reading some books that have been out but get republished with new covers. I could go on but I'll stop here :) Enjoy!

Didn't look through other answers, but I really like Kate Collins, her flower shop mysteries....I describe them as girly mysteries. I like them for a light read, don't have have to think too much! Good luck finding ones you like!

I LOVE Beverly Lewis books. I haven't read one I didn't like. They are based on Amish families, but still have romance, mystery, suspence, and all the things that keep you interested in a good book. There are lots to choose from and the story lines vary even though they are based on Amish families.
I hope you find something you enjoy. I don't like the bad language either, and I'm not too into science fiction or vampire stuff. I enjoy the BL books because it seems like a place I could be and people I could know. She is so descriptive I feel like I am there.
Well, now I need to go read a book! :)