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Original poster

Desperate for a good book! A well-written escapist read where I forget who and where I am.

66 replies

merrymelody · 19/05/2025 08:59

Please my fellow bookworms, suggest some titles that will whisk me away from reality. Nothing dystopian, no science fiction or fantasy. It has to be well written, that’s essential. I like historical fiction, contemporary fiction, thrillers, ghost stories, mysteries, comedy, romance, biographies, autobiographies, philosophy and art. I like stories about children, too.

OP posts:
Original poster
merrymelody · 20/05/2025 20:35

Has anyone read any Margaret Atwood, apart from The Handmaid’s Tale?

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Weepixie · 20/05/2025 11:30

10 minutes and 38 seconds in this strange world - great book, great author written from the perspective of a murdered sex worker as her dying mind stops working

Is by Elli Shafak and like almost all of her books is wonderful.

waltzingparrot · 20/05/2025 11:30

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

cromwell44 · 20/05/2025 11:26

Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchet fit the contemporary fiction bill but you've probabaly read most of their output. I'd recommend Tom Lake, The Dutch House, Bel Canto and Commonwealth by Ann Patchet and pretty much anything by Elizabeth Strout.
I also enjoyed Stone Yard Devotional by Charllotte Woods.

Anewnamejustforthis · 20/05/2025 09:51

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers, possibly my favourite book ever (and I am super hard to please), or the Boudicca series by Manda Scott or Eleanor Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels...all books to lose yourself in.

Sunnysideup999 · 20/05/2025 09:45

A Fine Balance - by Rohinton Mistry

Theaspidistraiswilting · 20/05/2025 09:39

Lots of great recommendations- thank you!

InglouriousBasterd · 20/05/2025 08:18

Yes to Kate Atkinson! Got totally lost in Life after Life.

I recently finished Homecoming by Kate Morton and it definitely fits the bill!

insomniaclife · 20/05/2025 08:16

Patrick O’Brien Master and commander series is always the right answer!

classics …
jane austen
barchester chronicles (Trollope)
wilkie collins

excellent modern writers …
jonathan franzen
william boyd
John boyne
Sebastian faulks

quirky …
The Wolf Den trilogy Elodie Harper
the safekeep by Yael hmmm Wouden?
the Ian Mortimer time traveller series

PurpleChrayn · 20/05/2025 08:00

I recently loved Maggie Shipstead’s “Great Circle” and Gabrielle Zevin’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” - both set in worlds I usually have little interest in (aviation and video game production, respectively) but incredibly transporting.

Original poster
merrymelody · 20/05/2025 01:46

Lots of interesting suggestions here, many of which I’ve read but years ago. Please keep the suggestions coming…

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Original poster
merrymelody · 20/05/2025 01:43

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 19/05/2025 09:43

Susan Howatch, Starbridge novels. The history of the Church of England through the twentieth century. Sounds dull, but really isn’t.

Adored these… maybe I should reread them! Thanks

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Original poster
merrymelody · 20/05/2025 01:42

HarrietBond · 19/05/2025 09:40

Kate Atkinson? If you haven't already read her (non Jackson Brodie) books, they'd be perfect for you. Start with Behind the Scenes at the Museum or Life After Life.

Jackson Brodie is also good by the way - but some people have only come across those and don't realise all the other books exist!

Edited

Love Kate Atkinson! Thanks

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Original poster
merrymelody · 20/05/2025 01:40

endofthelinefinally · 19/05/2025 09:39

One of my favourite books is Pillars of the Earth and the rest of the series. Ken Follett

Yes, I’ve read the series. Thanks.

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DaisyDukesAuntie · 19/05/2025 22:09

Moonshine by Victoria Clayton

tobee · 19/05/2025 21:31

Fgfgfg · 19/05/2025 21:16

The Feast by Margaret Kennedy
An underrated author from the mid 20th century.

Yes!

Fgfgfg · 19/05/2025 21:16

The Feast by Margaret Kennedy
An underrated author from the mid 20th century.

cloudjumper · 19/05/2025 21:12

Miss Benson’s Beetle
A Terrible Kindness
The Signature of All Things
The Help
James
Horse
The Midwife

Nevertrustacop · 19/05/2025 21:10

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 19/05/2025 09:43

Susan Howatch, Starbridge novels. The history of the Church of England through the twentieth century. Sounds dull, but really isn’t.

I loved these.

tobee · 19/05/2025 20:59

Have you read The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters?

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

Anything by Beryl Bainbridge especially Injury Time, A Quiet Life and Every Man For Himself

Non fiction:- Free by Lea Ypi - growing up in Albania at the fall of communism

Santasbigredbobblehat · 19/05/2025 20:41

Yes to Cazalet chronicles.
Yes to the Jackson Brodie books.
Yes to Prairie Fires.

I love A S Byatt The Children’s Book.

howdoibegin · 19/05/2025 20:08

Have you ever read The Cazalet Chronicles?

Occitane · 19/05/2025 18:22

Do you like Maeve Binchy’s books? There are lots of good ones, but one of my favourite books ever is Light a Penny Candle. It’s about a little girl who goes to stay with a family in Ireland as an evacuee.

I also love Adam and Eve and Pinch Me by Ruth Rendell. I couldn’t put it down!

cheeseandhamtoastie · 19/05/2025 18:20

Garden of her heart - Zoe Richards. Her second book is out this summer All About the Bees.

TumbledTussocks · 19/05/2025 18:01

I love Phaedra Patrick‘a books