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Original poster

Coming off a literary high - please help

438 replies

CoteDAzur · 07/04/2012 09:40

I just read Cloud Atlas and This Thing Of Darkness in quick succession, both epic, fantastic books of great scope and vision.

Now I don't now what to do with myself. Read another book, but what? What can I read now that won't be a huge disappointment after these two wonderful books that I have just finished?

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besmirchedandbewildered · 08/04/2012 22:17

Because I'm dull like that, I'm going to throw "Oscar and Lucinda" out there again. I also really liked the first bit of "Illywhacker" but the last bit on the pet shop does my nut a bit.

BulletProofMum · 08/04/2012 22:10

Lots of great ideas here. I've taken notes! I enjoyed dark tower series but did find them a very light read. Nice to see something other than glorified 'chic lit' discussed here

doingthehokeycokey · 08/04/2012 21:53

Sorry havent read the whole thread but has anyone mentioned 'The Hare with the Amber Eyes' ? Non-fiction and utterly brilliant.

coolbeans · 08/04/2012 21:53

I loved Middlesex and hated the Virgin Suicides. I nearly didn't read Middlesex because I found VS so supremely irritating, but it was another kettle of fish altogether. Can take or leave Cloud Atlas. Sometimes the classics are worth another airing even if you've already read them. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is still fantastic as is John Wyndhams The Chrysalids. Handmaid's tale is wonderfully thought provoking as is The Children of Men by P.D. James.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/04/2012 21:50

Yawn to SF - though 'Engleby' was okay.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/04/2012 21:48

'True say dat' as dd1 would say - shudder. :)

I finished, 'The Road' but was underwhelmed by it - and the ending is v contrived, I thought.

retiredgoth2 · 08/04/2012 21:47

Yes.

Arthur & George is splendid..

Julian Barnes is at his best when his journalistic streak comes out...

(see Nothing To Be Frightened Of. An extended essay, really. But the fear of death, and the desire to leave a mark, are what has always fuelled him. Me. Most of us)

Does anyone else remember when he was the Observer's tele critic? Succeeded, I think, by Sebastian Faulks. Who, incidentally, is not so much. I recently read A Week In December. Guff.

Voidka · 08/04/2012 21:47

I still think Wolf Hall is brilliant!

dementedma · 08/04/2012 21:40

another vote for "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides - I really enjoyed this.
Gave up on "The Road" - beautifully written but boring.

CanCant · 08/04/2012 21:39

I know you can't Remus! Wink

Life would be very boring if we all liked the same things though Grin

Metabilis3 · 08/04/2012 21:38

@cote ? I said just go from book 2. Don't bother to re-read book 1. The new book (which comes out on 24 April) comes between books 4 and 5. So we will all be reading it out of sequence but if you don't read too quickly, you could manage to read it in sequence. I'd also strongly recommend Under the Dome (which is also DT as are practically all SKs books. You'll understand once you've read the DT sequence) and Stephen Donaldson's Gap series which is just stunning. Complete book crack, so it is.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/04/2012 21:38

I can't get on with Marakami - especially Wild Sheep Chase. I did quite like After Dark (have I remembered that right?) but the sheep one and the bird one were too silly for me.

CanCant · 08/04/2012 21:35

cote if you liked Hyperion, please try Vernor Vinge's 'Fire Upon the Deep' and Mary Doria Russell's "The Sparrow'.

I would definitely recommend Murakami- Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is most well-known, but I like Wild Sheep Chase best.

Arthur and George is a good Julian Barnes... though I love History of the World... Grin

Lovely to see retiredgoth here! Smile

I loathe Dune... Wink

If you like graphic novels, may I recommend Posy Simmonds?
I love all her works, but Tamara Drewe and Gemma Bovary easiest to get hold of. She has done a wonderful children's book too Baker Cat.

Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 21:20

No worries, I can come back to it later. Since I got my Kindle last year, I've been reading on average three books/month.

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RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/04/2012 21:09

Not seen the film - I loved the book. It's short though - not the epic you're after now!

Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 21:07

retired - That is one of the few books by Philip K Dick that I haven't read.

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Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 21:06

I loved Middlesex. Should I read Virgin Suicides? (watched the film but didn't think much of it)

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RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/04/2012 21:02

What about, 'Middlesex' by Jeffery Eugenides (sp?). That is vast. Personally I much preferred his first novel, 'The Virgin Suicides' though.

retiredgoth2 · 08/04/2012 21:01

Ok. I shall re-submit myself to Dune!

(and confess that my aversion has as much to do with distancing myself from my 16 year old self as anything else...)

So. Sci Fi. I read The Man In The High Castle a couple of weeks ago, and enjoyed it, until the ending.

Which, frankly, I didn't understand...

Can anyone shed any light? Was it a dream world or a parallel universe or what?

Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 21:00

Remus, I read The End Of Mr Y several years ago when it came out. It was interesting, although got a bit silly in the end. Some good ideas in there, though.

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Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 20:57

Lanark sounds interesting, thanks for the recommendation.

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RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 08/04/2012 20:56

Yes, it was clearly v well researched but the whole murder stuff just got increasingly ridiculous. I did enjoy it more than the one about Dickens' wife 'Girl In A Blue Dress' or something like that, which was stupifyingly boring.

Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 20:55

The film was awful and its latter half was completely different than the book. It isn't even just the plot - how can a book that rests mostly only inner thoughts of characters be filmed? The whole chess play aspect of the book was completely lost in the film.

Now you have to read Dune, too. And stop this heresy about pins in eyes at once! Smile It has consistently been elected the best sci-fi of book of all time, from Amazon in 2000 to Reddit just last year, so I dare say you may have missed something there.

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EasterBunnyHobs · 08/04/2012 20:54

I didn't enjoy 'Widow for one year' by John Irvine, and for about three-quarters of the book, found 'Owen Meaney' really hard going, but then it took a twist and I really loved the ending.

Loved 'Cloud Atlas'. Have you read 'Lanark' (think it's by Alisdair Gray)? That is a similar style of book to Cloud Atlas, but (I think) older. Very good and well worth a read.

Original poster
CoteDAzur · 08/04/2012 20:51

I was disappointed with the latter half and the ending, too, but how else could it have ended? I checked some of its stuff and Dan Simmons was very faithful to facts. Like WK's "twin" - apparently, he was quite vocal about repeatedly seeing "him" Shock

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