It's silly but I loved it after my last break up: The Hell With Love: Poems to Mend a Broken Heart

If you want just plain good entertainment...and like mysteries...The Maggody series by Joan Hess. Just LAUGH OUT LOUD FUN!!!

After my break up I happened to find the book for that movie "He's Just Not That Into You." This was so helpful. It helped me realize that the signs were all there and I should't have been surprised. It allowed me to start moving on. Plus it's an easy read and quite funny.

After my last big break-up, one of the first books I read was Apollo 13. It seems like an odd choice but it was good because a.) I had to concentrate so I was distracted and b.) it made me feel small in the scheme of the universe and thus my problem was small and somehow this was comforting.

Maybe you don't want to take the approach of reading about space disasters and aerospace engineering. If so, I find myteries particularly diverting for distressing times. Here are some selections that have protagonists with varying degrees of skill and love lifes that range from hilarious to disastrous as you don't want to read about someone whose life is perfect: Denise Mina's Garnethill series, Janet Evanovich's number series ("One For the Dough", etc. Also the fluffiest set of the bunch), and Sue Grafton's alphabet series. I also recently read "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck which is a feel good book if I've ever read one.

And best wishes to you. Feel better.

I *ditto* Violet's suggestion of the book He's Just Not That Into You but only if you want some tough love and full frontal truth. You might not be ready for that yet! The Stephanie Plum books are a good diversionary tactic.

The list of good scotches at your local tavern

I'd recommend books with strong female characters, like: THE SHELL SEEKERS by Rosamunde Pilcher. Or books about healing, like THE SAMURAI'S GARDEN by Gail Tsukiyama. Hope you feel better :)

The Magicians Assistant: Ann Pratchatt: never too late to find the love of your life, never think the one you have just left was actually meant to be the one....every corner turns into a road of new adventures and possibilities! x

Gone With the Wind. Will take your mind off your troubles, and you just mind find a dose of inspiration from Scarlett's get-up-and-go.

Hi Meg
Gurl you'll be OK!
I suggest for reading
after a break-up, is
to read cook books.
I recommend Martha
Stewarts books. I
promise you .. you'll
feel better!
STAY STRONG

I'm of the "read something else - something so engrossing it will take your mind off of the break up" school. Depending on the reason for the split, the Steig Larrson books are great. There is some dark stuff (abusive guardianship/power relationship) but if this doesn't reflect her own reasons for leaving or the reason for the split, then you would be very distracted by these books. They are great!

I liked "It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken" by the guy that wrote "He's Just Not That Into You", Greg Behrendt. It's got a similar feel, but different content.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I always read it when I'm down about anything and it always lifts me up again.

High Fidelity saved me

I read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It helped me refocus on myself and my needs. It was my way of getting back to center.

If you want a good laugh/something completely different - David Sedaris is funny... "Me talk pretty one day" made me laugh out loud...

Cynthia Heimel's essay collections, "When your phone Doesn't Ring It'll be Me", "get Your Tongue Out my Mouth, I'm kissing You goodbye"

For self-help, I love Pema Chodron, especially "Comfortable with Uncertainty." Each "chapter" is no longer than 2 pages, so I like to read a chapter before I go to sleep at night, just to keep my monkey mind from making up stories. Her words always let me see life from a larger perspective.