I second the recommendation for Woman in White. Interesting but not too heavy, and Marian is an excellent antidote to Cosette.
As far as modern goes, I heartily recommend Neal Stephenson. Aside from a really twisted sense of humor, the guy has a way of weaving together a bunch of disparate geeky interests into one narrative, and dragging the reader along for the ride. I haven't read the Baroque Cycle yet, and it looks mind-bogglingly involved, but Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon were both excellent nerdy fun. The Diamond Age wasn't as strong, IMO, but it did have neo-Victorians and a kickass heroine.
Also, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series has been my excuse for light reading over the past, oh, six months or so. It's great fun.
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If you want to laugh your ass off, Vive la Révolution by Mark Steel is flat-out the most hilarious and awesome history of the French Revolution ever written.
I second the recommendation for Woman in White. Interesting but not too heavy, and Marian is an excellent antidote to Cosette.
As far as modern goes, I heartily recommend Neal Stephenson. Aside from a really twisted sense of humor, the guy has a way of weaving together a bunch of disparate geeky interests into one narrative, and dragging the reader along for the ride. I haven't read the Baroque Cycle yet, and it looks mind-bogglingly involved, but Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon were both excellent nerdy fun. The Diamond Age wasn't as strong, IMO, but it did have neo-Victorians and a kickass heroine.
Also, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series has been my excuse for light reading over the past, oh, six months or so. It's great fun.