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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:
Redsrule · 18/01/2017 21:49

The Buried Giant by Ishiguro was stunning, a book that keeps you thinking for days after. Also loved The Essex Serpent and The Lie Tree.

AcademicInHiding · 18/01/2017 13:02

Seconding All the Light We Cannot See, A Little Life, Americanah and The Goldfinch.

I'm currently reading Jamaica Inn. I'm ashamed to say I've never read it before but it's absolutely fantastic. Du Maurier has a wonderful way of evoking feelings.

Feenie · 18/01/2017 13:01

Ooh, and 99p atm.

Feenie · 18/01/2017 12:59

What She Knew - couldn't put it down.

www.amazon.co.uk/What-She-Knew-Gilly-Macmillan-ebook/dp/B01K1IZNIE/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

anonymousbird · 18/01/2017 12:35

Marking my spot for recommendations! Plenty in this thread I've read/would love to read.

Poppytime · 17/01/2017 09:48

Thanks Dotty - I might give it a go after the Goldfinch. This thread is going to keep me going for a bit, thanks for the suggestions!

BikeRunSki · 15/01/2017 19:26

The Light Between Oceans.

Had to stay up to 2am on a work night to finish it.

beatricequimby · 15/01/2017 19:25

The Return by Hisham Mattar, beautifully written, thoughtful, moving about his life and his father's. His father was a Libyan dissident captured by Gaddafi and when the Arab Spring started, Mattar went back to Libya to see if he could find out what had happened to him.

Others mentioned on here. I loved Americanah and I Capture the Castle and thought My Brilliant Friend was very forgettable. Seemed like I had read a different book to everyone else.

Vidorra · 15/01/2017 19:03

Was just about to say A Man called Ove too. Loved it.

EllenGriswald · 15/01/2017 19:03

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Dotty342kids · 15/01/2017 19:00

Poppytime - I read the latest Margaret Attwood (The Heart Goes Last?) and loved it. Back to the dystopian stuff she does so brilliantly.

Dotty342kids · 15/01/2017 18:58

Ooh some great suggestions here. The book I've been recommending to anyone this year is A Man Called Ove (can't remember the author). It's quirky, funny, sad and uplifting, a real gem of a story.

BooToYouToo · 15/01/2017 18:54

All the light we cannot see
Conclave
Cartel

The last two were shared from my husband's kindle. Not something I'd normally choose (one is about electing a new pope, the other about Mexican Drug wars) but really gripping .

BadKnee · 14/01/2017 21:33

I loved A Little Life too. It does stay with you. The character of Jude is so beautifully drawn and the story of friendships and how they change through life is one that holds you. Read The Goldfinch while I was ill so read for hours at a stretch. Gripped by it.
A God in Ruins - superb. Again - such strong character and an insight into a world.

One that I haven't seen mentioned yet - William Boyd Sweet Caress - a strong sense of place and time, modern history, strong character. Brilliant

dalek · 10/01/2017 21:32

A Dictionary of mutual understanding - gorgeous and brilliant!

OldLibrary · 09/01/2017 20:57

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

A revelation.

PetalMettle · 09/01/2017 20:55

Charles dubow indiscretion is one of the best books I've ever read

Destinysdaughter · 09/01/2017 20:53

Reading the reviews of A Little Life on Amazon, it seems a very marmite book, pp either love it or hate it!

LuciaInFurs · 09/01/2017 14:55

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James. It's a difficult read because of the subject matter but I could not put it down. I finished it in a day and it's not a small book.

Myfanwyprice · 09/01/2017 10:40

I found The goldfinch difficult to read, but felt bereft when I finished it and couldn't stop thinking about it.

Myfanwyprice · 09/01/2017 10:39

My three favourite books last year were A little life, The light between the oceans and The truth about the Harry Quebert affair, very different books but absolutely loved them all.

Poppytime · 09/01/2017 10:09

I agree with a little life - quite long but was a good read.

Just started goldfinch! Anyone read the new Margaret Atwood? It doesn't get great reviews on amazon but I really enjoyed her classics...

almondfinger · 09/01/2017 00:44

A little life - it will stay with you.

The bricks that built the houses.

AnyFucker · 09/01/2017 00:13

I have just finished The Unseen World by Liz Moore and really enjoyed it.

BabCNesbitt · 09/01/2017 00:07

Solar Bones by Mike McCormack - won the Goldsmiths Prize last year and I thought it might be too hard going, but it sucked me in and I couldn't get it out of my head for days.