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Original poster

What have you read recently that was AMAZING?

82 replies

JemimaMuddledUp · 28/12/2016 16:49

Looking for recommendations to add to my list for 2017.

My favourite recent reads are:
Shylock is my Name - Howard Jacobson
A Week in December - Sebastian Faulks
The Muse - Jessie Burton

What have you loved and why?

OP posts:
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33goingon64 · 31/01/2017 10:52

All the Light we Cannot See is the best book I've read in the last 20 years or so. It's up there with Middlemarch and The Outsider for me... life-changing.

Agadooo · 30/01/2017 22:22

Definitely 'All the Light we cannot see' excellent read.

Pallisers · 30/01/2017 22:16

Loved A Little Life but it isn't for everyone.

I thought Hillbilly Elegy (non fiction) was really interesting. Ditto the Susan Kelbold memoir

Far From The Tree also non fiction is really gripping.

starryskies78 · 30/01/2017 22:06

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Brenda - an excellent thriller. The first in a series of "Detective Erika Foster" novels.

IhatchedaSnorlax · 30/01/2017 19:37

I agree with Room & I Let You Go.

Also love The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - I loved it so much that I started reading it again as soon as I'd put it down. I'm halfway through the sequel & absolutely loving it too so fingers crossed it finishes well.

user1483568632 · 30/01/2017 19:31

Belgravia..... Julian Fellows!

Just lovely 😊 reminded me of the houses I worked in around Belgrave Sq.

Tinkhasflown · 30/01/2017 19:11

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold really stayed with me, so much so I never watched the movie.

Plenty on my list now from this thread Grin

IamPaulsMum · 30/01/2017 16:58

What a great thread - lots to delve into.

Recently, have really enjoyed 'Small, Great Things' by Jodi Picoult because it was interesting to look at issues relating to racism from many different angles and it was quite gripping. Also 'A Man called Ove' by Fredrik Backman was very entertaining and gave an insight into the life of a late middle aged man.

reikizen · 28/01/2017 17:01

I also loved the goldfinch, although probably a bit too long and all the light we cannot see is the most incredible book I have read for years. So moving and one that stays with you foe ages afterwards. I'm also obsessed with Raymond chandler and Angela carter at the moment. Going to read the power as soon as it is in paperback.

crapfatbanana · 28/01/2017 16:53

I hardy ever think books are amazing. The last amazing book for me was Sweetland by Michael Crummey, about two years ago.

Recently enjoyed:
The Muse - Jessie Burton
Hagseed - Margaret Atwood

I'm currently reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty which I think is terrific.

Mozartinmyfanjo · 26/01/2017 21:38

Child 44 - l could not put it down.
I liked 'The man called Ove' but mainly cause l could see my DF and could really relate to it.
Now reading "Red bones" by Anne Cleeves, really good too!

Bookreader2403 · 26/01/2017 21:37

I loved Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. It has stayed with me since the day I finished it.

spinningheart · 26/01/2017 21:31

The Boys of My Youth by Joann Beard

This was a real surprise and an absolute treat to read. Its not exactly a memoir but a series of essays about the author's life. Not in chronological order. It was so perceptive and clear. There were 2 stand out chapters - called 'Hal' and 'The Fourth State of Matter'. Both will stay with me for a long time.

Zoe1983 · 26/01/2017 20:33

The Miniaturist

BikeRunSki · 26/01/2017 20:27

The Light Between Oceans, loved it, read it in 3 or 4 goes, had to stay up late (2 am!) on a work night to finish it.

smurfest · 26/01/2017 20:23

Favourites from last year: The Past by Tessa Hadley, The Night Manager by le Carre.

Currently reading The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - and after a little bit of a slow start it is fabulous! Really recommend it.

Glad to see the Buried Giant on the list of a pp - as I have it on the kindle, also The Lie Tree as my dd has got it.

paddyplaistow · 25/01/2017 00:48

I read a lot of good books last year. My favourites were Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans and Call the Dying by Andrew Taylor. They have stayed in my memory.

HappydaysArehere · 24/01/2017 22:33

piebald I saw your recommendation for The Way To Winter by Patrick Gale and bought it. Just finishing it and really enjoyed it. More so than a lot of other books I have been reading recently. I will be looking forward to more of his books. Thank you.

notasausage · 23/01/2017 21:55

"I See You" and "I Let You Go" by Clare MacKintosh. Best books I've read in ages - real page turners. Particularly loved I Let You Go, but I See You also fab - particularly when read during a trip to London (set there). Both crime books written by an ex-detective, lots of twists and turns. If you liked Girl on the Train then you will like these.

Also loved "According to Yes" by Dawn French.

MotherHen1 · 23/01/2017 01:22

Just re-read Asylum by Henry Caralli. Very moving story about refugee children and child trafficking.

DorcasthePuffin · 23/01/2017 00:24

In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi - brilliant memoir of her father, a Holocaust survivor who went on to abuse and lose his American family, then became transgender in his 70s. It's such a thoughtful, painful, funny book.

hopefulpuffin · 23/01/2017 00:20

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It is hands down the best book I've read in ages.

MsFortunaMajor · 23/01/2017 00:16

I read The Silence by Tim Lebbon a few weeks ago, it was brilliant and I raced through it. It was very atmospheric and I keep catching myself thinking about it and wondering what I would do in that situation. That is very vague, but I don't want to give too much away. I wish there was a sequel.

mugglebumthesecond · 21/01/2017 07:08

Lying in wait- Liz nugent! Very clever!

hookiewookie29 · 20/01/2017 19:57

Just discovered Sharon Bolton....police crime fiction.....brilliant!