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Original poster

I am desperate and need you all to help me please!

239 replies

ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 30/04/2011 15:39

I have got one and a half history books left and then I am, once again, bookless. I have been to three different libraries in the last ten days and have failed to find even a single book that I fancied or hadn't read before.

I have some Nectar points to spend, so I could have a bit of an Amazon splurge - but what shall I get?

  1. Favourite writers are Jane Austen and Stephen King
  2. I like v well written fantasy (ie Tolkein) or v well written historical who-dunnit stuff (eg Doyle or Sansom) or quirky history books
  3. I am a snob and get very twitchy about shoddy writing but can't stand overly self conscious crap (step forward Ian McEwan)
  4. I am very, very fussy
  5. I read very, very quickly so the bigger the book, the better

Please help!

OP posts:
Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 14/05/2011 09:19

Thank you Jasmine. I don't know what the Thor movie is but I'll have a google of the book, anyway.

Thanks too, Warthog. I've been meaning to try some AT for years and still haven't done it. Do they need to be read in a certain order?

I finished Lady Audley's Secret last night and enjoyed the story (although guessed all of the twists because they were so obvious) but my goodness, the author witters on a lot and gets in the way of her own characters - I just scanned those bits - eg: an entire page about how great women look in front of a teapot etc!

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jasminejo24 · 14/05/2011 03:39

hmm you may not like greek god at the ladies club.
its about a god called darius i think who turned into a statue and was broken. his soul leaves the statue until a female sculptor in modern day america is sculpting a statue from photos of a broken one archaeologists found, (being darius of course)
the statue is to be sold at the ladies club to make money for the orphanage the sculptor grew up in.
however as darius' soul enters the statue he becomes alive again and lots of fun ensues as an ancient greek god walking round in the modern day
its quite funny with a love story thats not soppy and some fighting action.
its a liiiiiitle like the new thor movie i suppose

warthog · 13/05/2011 22:44

sorry - such a long thread i don't know if this has been suggested yet:

anthony trollope - all the barchester chronicles.

excellent reads, except maybe the last one.

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 13/05/2011 22:42

Mawkish indeed - blurgh. And the more I read about the way he treated his wife, the more I dislike him. All these bloomin' long-winded stories for the family around the fireside - and his wife kicked out of the family home. Pah!

Okay - I may well try Les Mis then - I actually know nothing at all about it and have never seen it nor even a summary of it.

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Jux · 13/05/2011 22:38

I don't go muhc for Dickens myself either actually! I think I meant that it does concentrate on the injustices brought on hte poorest and least powerful in society. It's very dark, which is how I see Dickens though I don't like his mawkishness. Hugo doesn't suffer from that.

Little Nell [boak]

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 13/05/2011 22:34

It wasn't me! Looking it up now. If Les Mis is like Dickens, I will not read it!

Thanks Parietal too.

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Jux · 13/05/2011 22:29

Oh yes, Les Miserables. Very Dickensian, (but French).

Who recommended Margerite Yourcenar - Memoirs of Hadrian? If it wasn't you, then you will definitely love it. (If it was you, thank you thank you thank you!).

Parietal · 13/05/2011 22:18

Might be a bit different from the genres you've suggested, but I loved The Last Life by Clare Messud. Great writing.

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 13/05/2011 20:44

Yemen not Yemon - Yeh MON is what Year 10 pupils who are trying to be hard say! :)

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Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 13/05/2011 20:33

LOVE This Thing Of Darkness - one of my favourite books ever.
terry brooks - can't get on with him
had a good giggle at angus thongs and full frontal snogging - read them all :)
also salmon fishing in the yemon - bored me
one i think was called greek god at the ladies club - not heard of this but it sounds hideous and I would need to know more!
malorie blackmans noughts and crosses - read them all
the wee free men - read
the number one ladies detective agency - read them all
Six Wives - David Starkey - read
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot - will look into this
The Help - Kathryn Stockett - read
Jamaica Inn or My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier - read nealry all of hers, I think - both of these, yes
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo - not read this, thanks
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulkes- couldn't get on with it
Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky - read
A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Solzhenitsyn - read

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :)

But thank you all!

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BiscuitNibbler · 13/05/2011 20:21

Six Wives - David Starkey
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
Jamaica Inn or My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulkes
Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky
A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Solzhenitsyn

I know a couple of others have already recommended the Henrietta Lacks book, but just wanted to say that it was much much better than I thought it would be when I read the description, and it has stayed with me. A truly astonishing story.

jasminejo24 · 13/05/2011 19:08

yay a fellow prattchet admirer
terry brooks isnt to bad.
had a good giggle at angus thongs and full frontal snogging
also salmon fishing in the yemon
one i think was called greek god at the ladies club.
malorie blackmans noughts and crosses
the wee free men
the number one ladies detective agency

cant think of any more at the moment

Batteryhuman · 13/05/2011 19:07

Thanks to this thread I have just spent £25 on Kindle books........

Batteryhuman · 13/05/2011 19:04

Has anyone mentioned This thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson, fictionalised account of Darwin and Robert Fitzroy's voyages and more. I loved it.

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 13/05/2011 18:59

I've read them all, JJ! :)

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jasminejo24 · 13/05/2011 18:54

i adore terry prattchets discworld novels.. tolkein esque fantasy crossed with great humour and storylines that are hard to see comming try the hogfarther or the wyrd sisters

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 13/05/2011 18:30

Hi Gail - I have an hour in the bath every evening which is my sacred 'me' time and that is when I do the bulk of my reading. I also read very quickly. I work full time and as a teacher I bring A LOT of work home but I see reading as essential and must admit that dp does the bulk of the housework. Also the girls are teenagers now and need less entertaining!

Wild Swans is still lying abandoned on the bedside table - it was really annoying me. I finished 'Alone In Berlin' which I did enjoy, despite the occasional clunkiness and the fact that the dialogue wasn't always credible. I'm now reading 'Lady Audley's Secret' which I am enjoying for the most part, although it rambles a bit in places!

OP posts:
gailforce1 · 13/05/2011 13:36

Colonel what are you reading now? Did you finish Wild Swans? Thanks for the thread, I am using for my "to read" books!

I have given up going to the library to find books - seems that a huge number of "chick lit" has recently been invested in and has filled the shelves! I go on line and use the catalogue. It is easy to search either by author or book title and then order. Reservation fee 25p which I don't mind paying. However, I do find that I have a huge list of ordered books which all come in at the same time! I am amazed how many books you read - how do you find the time?

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 12/05/2011 08:01

Thanks both. I keep meaning to look for Robertson Davis, Jux because I know you've mentioned him before - but his name keeps slipping out of my head. he is now written down on my 'going to the library' list.

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bibiane · 11/05/2011 23:16

The lovely Mary Wesley. Re-reading Harnessing Peacocks at the moment and the Camomile Lawn is a hoot!
As she didn't publish her first novel until she was 70, there's still hope for the would be writer.

Jux · 11/05/2011 11:24

Please please please try Robertson Davies. He is my favourite author of all time along with Balzac. I would love to know what you think of him.

Original poster
ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie · 10/05/2011 20:13

Thanks for all of these.

LOVE Sansom - wish he'd write some more books v v quickly!

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bibiane · 10/05/2011 12:29

If you like historical novels have you tried Sharon Penman. my favourite is Here Be Dragons.
Also CJ Sansom is sheer delight try Revalation and Dark Fire.
Mustn't forget Colleen Mc Culloch whose novels on Ancient Rome I wish had been around when I did classics at school.
Can't resist recommending Rosemary Sutcliffe. Still have a treasured copy of Sword at Sunset from school days.
Hilary Mantels A Place of Greater Safety I rate as even better than Wolf Hall but I have a soft spot for the French Revolution.
Avalon, Katherine and Green Darkness by Anya Seton.
You must try the Susan Howatch novels Sins of the Father, The Rich are different and The Wheel of Fortune. The plots are based on historical 'families' . Wonderful and re-readable.

Hope this helps to fill a few hours. Try Amazon's second-hand books if difficult to get hold of.

Jux · 09/05/2011 22:01

Robertson Davies. Here and there are two more trilogies when you've finished with that one.

thehairybabysmum · 09/05/2011 21:49

Realyy...TBH i cant remember the details, i read too fast and it was years ago, but the whole series was amazing...totally gripping.