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Original poster

What are your favourite books that aren't highbrow or fluffy?

95 replies

purplefig · 16/01/2020 16:10

My maternity leave is starting soon and I'd like to have a list of books I can delve into. (Should that opportunity presents itself!)

I'm not after anything too highbrow, but equally not total fluff either. I'm thinking along the lines of...

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller
Casual Vacancy - JK Rowling
Normal People - Sally Rooney
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

Any suggestions?

OP posts:
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3rdNamechange · 20/03/2020 19:40

Larchfield- Polly Clark
First Fifteen Lives of Harry August -Claire North.
CJ Samson- Shardlake books
The Rosie Project series.

pallisers · 20/03/2020 18:43

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is lovely and uplifting. His first book is lovely too.

irregularegular · 20/03/2020 12:00

Poisonwood Bible
Elena Ferrante Neapolitan Novels - take a little getting into, I recommend a paper version for easy referring back. but worth it.
Mornings in Jenin ( a little heavy, but very beautiful)
A Town Called Alice

irregularegular · 20/03/2020 11:52

I really like Andrea Levy. I had a spell without reading when children were babies. I struggled to find the sweet spot that was easy to read but worth reading. Small Island was the first book I really enjoyed.

Also, Where the Crawdads Sing.

Jossykaye · 20/03/2020 11:44

Recommend anything by Kate Morton - time slip, family secrets and twists. Katherine McMahon ‘The Rose of Sebastopol’ or ‘The taxidermist’s Daughter’, historical with unusual heroines.

TeaAddict235 · 14/03/2020 20:29

My life on a plate - India Knight

I read this after a miscarriage, and it gave me a great distraction. It is hilarious.

mrsgumpy · 12/03/2020 23:30

Can I also recommend Elena Ferrante - her Neopolitan series.

ThePurpleMoose · 11/03/2020 09:10

Alexander McCall Smith? I love the Scotland Street and No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series - very gentle with a bit of humour, and the former reminds me of living in Edinburgh. I enjoy a couple of chapters in the bath while DH looks after very active 9mo DD - my ultimate treat at the moment Grin

For after baby arrives, you might want to consider reading on a kindle/tablet/phone - much easier to handle when you only have one hand available if you're feeding or snuggling Smile

Sweetener12 · 11/03/2020 08:58

I love Warrior Cats, this is a series of books which I adore. They may look childish but in fact they are exciting.

mrsgumpy · 10/03/2020 22:57

Wonderful suggestions here.

Can I also recommend Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Wood

And Saints for All Occasions by J Courtney Sullivan

Sertchgi123 · 10/03/2020 22:48

Diane Chamberlin

Mark Billingham

Peter James

Harlan Coben

Sertchgi123 · 10/03/2020 22:45

Lee Child - The Jack Reacher series

Nonnymum · 10/03/2020 22:41

I've fairly recently discovered Baraba Pym. She is like a twentieth century Jane Austen. Witty books about middle class lives. I really enjoyed them. Quartet in Autumn is one of my favourites

Echobelly · 10/03/2020 22:39

I'll second Madeline Miller's Greek myth books, they are a smashing read.

CJ Sansom's Tudor mysteries are fun

Chickoletta · 10/03/2020 22:31

Also Georgette Heyer, if you enjoy historical novels.

Chickoletta · 10/03/2020 22:30

Another vote for Kate Morton and Lucinda Riley.

GetTheSprinkles · 07/03/2020 09:54

The Sellout - Paul Beatty
Anything Marian Keyes

Thirtyrock39 · 07/03/2020 09:31

Laurie graham books are brilliant as well

Thirtyrock39 · 07/03/2020 09:30

You have very similar reading taste to me
I've recently really enjoyed the following books that were easy to read:- (sorry can't remember all authors but I keep a list of titles on my phone to recommend)
Our house
Old baggage (my fave book of last year)
The hearts invisible furies John Boyn
Mrs everything
The interestings meg wolitzer
American wife Curtis sittenfeld
The familiars
The new Mrs Clifton
The places I've cried in public

Am currently enjoying 'such a fun age'

TheGlaikitRambler · 07/03/2020 09:22

Daisy Jones and the Six
Where the Crawdads Sing
Blood Orange
Circe
The Song of Achilles

FromTheAllotment · 07/03/2020 09:18

Yy to the chronicles of st Mary’s and the rivers of London series.

Andy Weir, The Martian and Artemis, both really good. The Martian is loads better as a book than a film.

babybythesea · 07/03/2020 09:14

And then fiction.
I love A Map of Love - Adhaf Soueif
Kate Morton - there’s loads of them but my favourite is The Forgotten Garden
Saplings - Noel Streatfeild. A darker version of Ballet Shoes for grown ups.

babybythesea · 07/03/2020 09:08

Gerald Durrell - My Family and Other Animals. I love all of his books but this is the best known.
Anything by Bill Bryson but Notes From a Big Country might work well on maternity leave. It’s a series of articles he wrote reflecting on life in the States and Britain and the differences after he left Britain and returned to the US. Easy to pick up, read a bit, and put down.

Binterested · 06/03/2020 15:52

Oh yes enjoyed Jennifer Weiner. And Marian Keyes.

I’m reading Dorothy Whipple Someone At A Distance at the moment. I loved They Were Sisters.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Signature of All Things was brilliant.

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 04/03/2020 22:30

The Merrily Watkins "spiritual detective" novels by Phil Rickman. Set in Hereford and the Marches, wonderfully atmospheric.