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Original poster

Which books have you enjoyed lately?

30 replies

AdaColeman · 26/11/2017 17:07

I need some inspiration for what to read next, so what have you enjoyed?

Recently I've enjoyed
A Good Man in Africa ~ William Boyd
The Fear Index ~ Robert Harris
The way back to Florence ~ Glen Haybittle

I like historical / detective / spy but nothing to gory or frightening! Xmas Grin
I like a series to get into also, but I'll give most things a try.

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Ellisisland · 04/12/2017 10:39

I am, I am, I am - Maggie O'Farrell. memoir of sorts told in 17 brushes with death. Very powerful

Winter - Ali Smith

The Bookmans Tale - Charlie Lovatt. A widowed book dealer comes across a document which will prove Shakespeare was the author of all the plays but there are others out to steal it. Good quick read about the world of books.

The Mitford Murders - Jessica Fellowes. Murder mystery set around the infamous Mitford family.

Original poster
AdaColeman · 03/12/2017 18:39

I'm enjoying Everyone Brave is Forgiven, the plot rolls along well and the characters hold my interest. Based on the author's family history IIRC.

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Liliywil · 03/12/2017 18:20

Read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng recently and it was quite interesting than I imagined it would be.

highlandcoo · 01/12/2017 00:47

Oh, and to add to the recommendations, I've just finished Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. Set during WW2, it's a love story in part, but also an unflinching account of the reality of living through the Blitz in London and the siege of Malta. Well worth a read.

highlandcoo · 01/12/2017 00:45

Thanks so much for flagging up Sugar Money Olly. I'm a huge Jane Harris fan - The Observations is one of my favourite books - but hadn't realised she had another book out. Have ordered it immediately Smile

TossDaily · 30/11/2017 12:51

I've recently loved:

The Underground Railroad
The Museum of Extraordinary Things
Fireside Gothic
The Sellout
Witchborn

OllyBJolly · 30/11/2017 12:48

Really enjoyed Sugar Money by Jane Harris. So well-written and totally absorbing.

Todayissunny · 30/11/2017 12:33

I've read 3 of the changers series (by cooper and cooper I think). Same person but different bodies. Really makes you think about how appearances influence how we behave towards other people and how it impacts behaviour.

Original poster
AdaColeman · 30/11/2017 12:26

Oh, I see that The Book of Dust has won the Waterstones book of the year prize!

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Original poster
AdaColeman · 30/11/2017 12:22

My To Be Read is looking good thanks to all these fab suggestions.

It could be time for a Dark Materials re read before I move to his latest work.

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drinkswineoutofamug · 30/11/2017 08:22

Just finished his dark materials , I like Elly Griffiths books, just read the lady in blue by her. Very good

YoungYolandaYorgensen39 · 29/11/2017 22:21

Burial Rites - Hannah Kent
My Name is Lucy Barton and Anything is Possible - Elizabeth Barton
The Book of Memory - Petina Gappah
Augustown - Kei Miller

And a non-fiction I found fascinating was Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDiarmid.

YoungYolandaYorgensen39 · 29/11/2017 22:11

Bagelbaby - I enjoyed Corrag by Susan Fletcher, which is also based on the Glencoe Massacre. Another - can’t recall title - set on a fictional island in the Hebrides on which a ‘merman’ washes up on the shore, was also very good.

hollygolipo · 28/11/2017 18:19

I've just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine - wonderful book ...

fruityb · 28/11/2017 18:18

How to stop time - Matt Haig. Would fit what you like. It was lovely if a little contrived in places

HappySpade · 28/11/2017 18:15

Just finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - just lovely!

midsomermurderess · 28/11/2017 18:10

The Line of Beauty. Set in 1980s London mostly. ‘A young man becomes attached to a family that's not his own, and casts himself into the life of plentiful riches and gay love affairs that he seems destined for‘. The period is captured beautifully, the ending is crushing.

MightyOWL · 28/11/2017 12:00

Recently I've enjoyed:

I Am Pilgrim
7 Types of Amiguity by Elliot Pearlman
Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell

lastqueenofscotland · 27/11/2017 22:44

Recently reread A Kind Of Loving by Stan barstow which is excellent

Original poster
AdaColeman · 27/11/2017 21:20

Oohh thanks, I'll add that to my list bagelbaby.

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bagelbaby · 27/11/2017 21:17

I’m really enjoying Witchlight by Susan Fletcher. It’s set around the events leading to the Glencoe Massacre. I don’t like historical stuff but this is great.

BigPinkOrchid · 27/11/2017 08:08

Thanks for The Eagle of Spinalonga recommendation Ada. Will add it to my list.

Tarahumara · 26/11/2017 21:19

I recently loved A Gentleman in Moscow.

Original poster
AdaColeman · 26/11/2017 20:41

BigPinkOrchid Oh yes, I enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale. You might like The Eagle of Spinalonga by Nike Azoros as you enjoyed The Island.

The Goldfinch is wonderful isn't it, always worth a re read.

Some super ideas here, thanks everyone, I'll be following them all up.

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buckeejit · 26/11/2017 20:02

Just finished I am pilgrim, fits your bill & pretty good.

My other recs would be different to your preferred genres but I'd go for 'a little life', 'station eleven', 'the goldfinch'

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