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Original poster

book for me to read over Christmas...

33 replies

MerryAnnSinglemas · 20/12/2007 15:38

...light and easy please - I want to fill in before I start on my next book group one which is Wuthering Heights
Suggestions please !

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Original poster
MerryAnnSinglemas · 21/12/2007 12:01

yes saw that - in fact I saw a copy in 2nd han book shop and nearly bought it !!

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Hoonette · 21/12/2007 11:55

There was a MN thread yesterday about Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, which is on TV on Boxing Day. It's a children's (well, a girl's) book and many would say a classic. Nice easy reading!

Original poster
MerryAnnSinglemas · 21/12/2007 11:43

thanks - I can rely on mumsnet for good literary advice - W.Heights hasn't arrived yet but I should have time to read it after Christmas.

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Swedes2Turnips1 · 20/12/2007 20:33

Raymond Carver - short stories. Easy to dip in and out of. Or what about some Chekhov short stories?

Roobie · 20/12/2007 20:25

Second "Restless" by William Boyd - fantastic easy read.

bookofchristmascarolsmum · 20/12/2007 20:22

Wuthering Heights is great but draw a family tree to help keep track of everyone once the story gets cracking .

Nights at the circus by Angela Carter is fabby if you like magic realism books. All her books are great actually. The Constant Mistress and there's a kind of prequel to that which I can't quite rememember the name of.

MarsyChristmas · 20/12/2007 19:16

Restless by William Boyd. Loved it!

Original poster
MerryAnnSinglemas · 20/12/2007 19:15

thanks again everyone - sometimes you can look and look and not see anything,so a nudge in the right direction is good !

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TenLordsaLapin · 20/12/2007 19:13

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters - bonkers but fab, Sherlock Holmes on crack sorta fing

Ella Minnow Pea - a must for anyone interested in vocabulary and words

The Raw Shark Texts - almost impossible to describe, an amnesiac is pursued by a shark formed of text... really fantastic book in all senses!

IorekByrnison · 20/12/2007 19:05

Would second recommendation of Cloud Atlas. In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant is great too and v easy to read when tired and frazzled.

Original poster
MerryAnnSinglemas · 20/12/2007 18:51

I have just read through A Child's Christmas in Wales to get festive and the Christmas chapter of A Country Child !

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MariNativityPlay · 20/12/2007 18:21

Or if you can't get What a Carve-Up, The Rotters' Club, or my particular fave, The House of Sleep and to fellow Coe acolyte the prunester
A very different festive treat might be Robertson Davies' lighthearted collection of ghost stories for Christmas, High Spirits

Original poster
MerryAnnSinglemas · 20/12/2007 18:14

ooh,thanks all ! will look in library tomorrow,failing that Waterstones... like Jonathan Coe v much - Moondog, your recommendation looks unputdownable

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janeite · 20/12/2007 17:38

Yes the Philippa Gregory ones are quite fun; easy to read but not chick-lit-crappo. However, I think once you've read one or two they get very samey.

OhGiveUsAPruniPudding · 20/12/2007 17:17

Oh Wuthering Heights is a good page-turner, don't dread it, it's quite gripping (if flawed, there may be some past threads on here if you can bear searching, or start one and then crib all the best MN quotes ).

I always recommend this one: Jonathan Coe, What a Carve-Up! (his exclamation mark). It's a bit of a whodunnit (but not really), a family history, a searing commentary on corruption in politics, it's got some very funny lines and a poignant ending. He writes wonderfully as well.

plumandolive · 20/12/2007 17:04

I really realy couldn't get on with Cloud Atlas- I really like Anita Shrieve too and I think William Boyd is totally fab- the last one I read was Blue Afternoon- but all his are really well written but not heavy.

bufobufo · 20/12/2007 16:42

Yes, Anne Tyler definitely, great books

ArcticRoll · 20/12/2007 16:40

Anne Tyler novels-light reads but beautifully written.

moondog · 20/12/2007 16:25

This will be on my bedside table.
Highly recommended.

casbie · 20/12/2007 16:22

the reading group ?

casbie · 20/12/2007 16:22

the reading group ?

bookofchristmascarolsmum · 20/12/2007 16:20

I'm reading mother's day by Kirsty Scott. It's quite frothy but it's keeping me engrossed. Normally I skimread books.

GrimmaTheNome · 20/12/2007 16:19

I'm planning on reading kids fiction, having ordered Swallows&Amazons for DD

FluffyMummy123 · 20/12/2007 16:17

Message withdrawn