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Original poster

Not sure what I want to read next. Ideas please?

33 replies

ComeDoonTheStairs · 03/06/2021 09:07

Hi everyone.
I love reading books that deal with family relationships and have multiple POV/multiple storylines (and preferably where the ending is not completely predictable).
I recently really enjoyed the Sussex trilogy by William Nicholson, which focused on multiple members in the community. Others that I really enjoyed recently are Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, The Holiday by T. M. Logan, and Warnings of Gales by Annie Sanders.
I would appreciate it if anyone has any recommendations.
Thank you!

OP posts:
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elkiedee · 12/06/2021 21:08

The Cazalet books were my first thought on reading your initial post - thanks for coming back to share what you're trying. Hope you continue enjoying.

Original poster
ComeDoonTheStairs · 10/06/2021 23:43

I have just started the first book of the Cazalet chronicles and am thoroughly enjoying it. Howard really lets you see what the characters are thinking, and I'm already curious to see where people will end up as the series continues.

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yoshiblue · 07/06/2021 08:41

Second My Brilliant Friend Quartet if you've not read. All about the friendship of two girls in 1960s Naples and the wider families/communities. The four books follow them through their lives. I think the first book feels a little slow as it has to introduce all characters and set the scene, but as you work through the series you won't want them to end.

Original poster
ComeDoonTheStairs · 05/06/2021 18:01

Thanks, @OneWhiteWhisker. Actually I did try reading some of Haddon's short stories awhile back, and your thoughts about being well-written but having a weird grimness summed it up very well. Glad you enjoyed his novels and I will definitely be checking them out!

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onewhitewhisker · 05/06/2021 11:50

enjoy OP! re Mark Haddon, I really liked spot of bother and the red house which is similarly a family drama but sadder/darker. However his short stories, The Pier Falls, I really didn't like - they were mostly well written but had a weird grimness about them. Haven't read his most recent one.

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 04/06/2021 20:34

Slaughterhouse Five & Cat's Cradle, both by Kurt Vonnegut

Tunnel Vision by Keith Lowe

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Original poster
ComeDoonTheStairs · 04/06/2021 20:18

I just looked up Troubled Blood and it is indeed the fifth book in the series. Is this a series you would want to most definitely read in order (I know it matters more for some books than others!)

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devildeepbluesea · 04/06/2021 20:09

I recommend the Simon Serrailler series. Although it's crime, some of the best bits are about the protagonists family.

I second Troubled Blood also. And absolutely amazing book. Albeit, the 4th or 5th in a series...

Original poster
ComeDoonTheStairs · 04/06/2021 20:05

Thanks for all the additional recommendations. That Web site sounds great and I will likely create an account.
I would probably really enjoy Troubled Blood, as I enjoyed The Casual Vacancy as well. That Mark Haddon book also sounds very intriguing: I read The Curious Incident when I was an early teenager but have not yet read any of his adult novels. While I am not usually into fantasy, that Robin Hobb trilogy also sounds great.
I decided to start a book I had forgotten I had purchased earlier, Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell (had really enjoyed his first book, Diary of a Bookseller), but when I finish it I will look forward to looking at the books recommended on here. Thanks for everyone's time!

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onewhitewhisker · 04/06/2021 13:33

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. Follows a husband and wife and their young adult son and daughter. a light read, funny but with some serious themes, gently warm without being saccharine.

Cazalet Chronicles is a great shout. Or Jonathan Coe's rotter's club and sequels?

TheFairyCaravan · 04/06/2021 07:29

I really didn’t enjoy The Thursday Murder Club,, it was like plodding through treacle.

I did like Grown Ups though.

Alltheprettyseahorses · 04/06/2021 07:20

10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World by Elif Shafak. Gorgeous book.

I hated The Thursday Murder Club; muddled plot, ridiculously soppy and too often irritatingly, mawkishly over-sentimental in the same way the 44 Scotland Street books are.

If you're interested in a murder mystery, J K Rowling's Troubled Blood is wonderful. It made me feel like I'd been plonked down in the middle of the main characters' lives.

KihoBebiluPute · 04/06/2021 07:07

There's a website called "what should I read next?" which you can use to enter the details of a book you like and it will match it to the favourite books of other readers and give you suggestions of other favourites from people with similar tastes to you. The suggestions are generally better if you create an account and add a list of a few favourite books rather than the basic suggestion tool for people without an account, which only uses a single title.

www.whatshouldireadnext.com

titsintiers · 04/06/2021 07:02

Also Daisy Jones and the six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I loved the different perspectives in it.

Dunlin · 04/06/2021 07:01

The Liveship Traders trilogy by Robin Hobb has what you want OP in spadefuls. It’s fantasy but don’t let that put you off. Fantastic characters and multiple storylines.

OnlyToWin · 04/06/2021 06:59

The Neapolitan quartet - starting with My Brilliant Friend - it’s an unusual series of books but very engaging.

Rainbowqueeen · 04/06/2021 06:55

The mother in law by Sally Hepworth

movinghousedrama · 04/06/2021 06:53

PS controversial opinion on the Thursday Murder Club -I found it a bit boring!

movinghousedrama · 04/06/2021 06:53

If you liked Grown Ups by Marian Keyes, you'd probably like most of her books. The Walsh sisters series is fab, and I also loved The Break.

MinnieJackson · 04/06/2021 01:22

Grown ups is the only MK book I've read, are there any other really good ones?
I also keep hearing about how great Richard Osman 's book is but I'm on a tight budget lol and I prefer paperbacks to kindle

Original poster
ComeDoonTheStairs · 03/06/2021 22:31

Thanks everyone!

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MrsRabbits · 03/06/2021 21:25

Grown Ups by Marian Keyes. Loved it. Fits your brief I think

movinghousedrama · 03/06/2021 21:03

Six wicked reasons by Jo Spain

Before I met you by Lisa Jewell

And echo the Seven Sisters recommendation although some are better than others. Currently reading the Sun Sister and really enjoying it.

ChelseaChop · 03/06/2021 21:01

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo

PansyIvy · 03/06/2021 20:57

The Most Fun we Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. Covers four sisters in a US based family over time and looks at their points of views during major life events (birth, death, etc). Fascinating read

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