If there's one book I should buy as a paperback this summer, it would be...

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If you had to recommend one book to buy as a paperback to read on the beach or by the pool this summer, which would you recommend?

I disliked Where the Crawdads sing and the Thursday murder club - I found them twee.

but I loved Circe by Madeline Miller.

100 Years of Lenni and Margot

The Book thief by Markus Zusak. The Messenger by the same author is also really good (& completely different to the book thief).

@TheNoodlesIncident thank you for those tips, I will look out for all the titles you mentioned (I've found a cheap copy of A High Wind in Jamaica on eBay! I'm reading The Provincial Daughter at the moment, by EM Delafield's daughter)

Oh, yes, Circe is brilliant!

They're not historical fiction, but The Rivers Of London series is fab.

This is my absolute favourite book. I think I might need to give it another read.

I have just finished reading Pride and Prejudice. I’d never read a word of Jane Austen, and had always been curious. Got to say I was very impressed. I even sat up until two in the morning to find out what happens (then woke up with a migraine from the eye strain lol).

For what it’s worth, these are the paperbacks I’d take to a desert island:

PG Wodehouse: Right Ho Jeeves
Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisisted
Oscar Wilde: Dorian Grey
Dickens: David Copperfield
Bill Bryson: Short History of Nearly Everything
Ian McEwan: Atonement
Patrick Fermor: A Time of Gifts

When I go away in August, I’m going to take Wolf Hall and Sapiens.

@OMGOMGOMGHELP Have you read Sharon Penman? The best historical fiction.

The Water Of The Hills - Marcel Pagnol. Breathtaking.

Such a fun age by Kiley Reid
The private joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu
Girl A by Abigail Dean
10 minutes and 38 seconds in this strange world by Elif Shafak
Erotic stories for Punjabi widows by Balli Kaur jaswell
The white tiger by Aravind Adiga
Three hours by Rosamund Lupton

"@CosmopolitanPlease You might remember when the Provincial Lady and her mates talk about a book they've read, High Winds In Jamaica. I was intrigued by their comments and searched online for it. It was actually a really entertaining read too and well worth the effort to find it. (I had thought initially it was probably fictional but it turned out to be real "

I remember that bit in Provincial Lady! Never read the book but the film was on a few times when I was a kid and found large parts of it traumatising! 😱😱

That is never read the book of High Wind in Jamaica!

And Provincial Daughter is fun too!

The King Arthur books by Mary Stewart are all excellent.
Pretty much anything by Bill Bryson. Notes From A Small Island is one of those books that makes you laugh out loud on the train.
I also really enjoyed Station Eleven and JoJo Moyes is reliably great.

I really enjoyed What Alice Forgot. It had some heart in it but also some humour. It’s not a book I would have chosen to read but my Mum really enjoyed it so I gave it a go

The Dictionary of Lost Words

I’m on book 2 of the 7 sisters series. Really enjoyed the first one. Nice easy read for summer hols.

@CactiHug If you like historical fiction I’m reading The Crystal Cave at the moment and really enjoying it. It’s the origin story of Merlin and King Arthur.
oh, this is my most read book in my whole collection. I had that as a child and have read it so many times. I bought the others when I was an adult (I took them out of the library when I was a child, but didn't like them) and was still disappointed. I started watching the film with my DC a couple of years ago and they were aghast at the quality and refused to watch the rest 😂

@beguilingeyes All of them. Here be Dragons 💔 I wanted to call DD Joanna but DH vetoed and I didn't even tell him why! Took me ages to track down all of the de Quincy ones.

So many to choose from! I'm ordering the DC's summer books and wanted to sneak in one for me. Might not get away with 10!

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell based on the life and early death of Shakespeare's son. It's mostly fictional. I loved it (although wgern dues it's very sad).

I enjoyed Nadine Dorries books. They are easy reading and ideal for the pool. I discovered too late that it's best to read them in order! Just ignore the fact that she is a politician.

Not comfortable with the Delia Owens’ husband and stepson’s link to the murder of a poacher. Afaik they are still wanted for questioning in Zambia.

(Delia Owens = writer of Where the Crawdads Sing”).

Ancient Evenings Norman Mailer
Possession A S Byattt
Suitable Boy Vikram Seth
An equal music Vikram Seth
Wolf hall Hilary Mantel
No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series
Scotland Street series
Anything by Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux for travel books ( especially Dark Star Safari and A walk in the woods )
Dark Materials trilogy Phillip Pullman ( for a delightful fantasy fix )
A fine balance Rohinton Mistry ( harrowing in parts but an unforgettable read )
Silver Castle Clive James

All excellent page turners

I love this book! I need to re-read it - I had forgotten all about it! I like the pig. Is she called Maud?

Great thread!

One to save for the winter - utterly magical
Snow Child
It stayed with me for years

Sapiens is anything but a relaxed pool side read, but very educational