which of this random selection of books on my shelf should I read?

[hatwoman]

Down and Out in Paris and London; The Grapes of Wrath; Brave New World; American Pastoral; Wolf Hall; some essays on guilt by Bernard Schlink; the Cruel Sea; the Damned United; Moby Dick

Wolf Hall first

or I could re-read some Jane Austen or even some Shakespeare plays

Read Down And Out In Paris And London, then The Grapes Of Wrath (but be prepared to feel crappy afterwards). Give Moby Dick to the charity shop - it's unreadable. I liked Brave New World but can't remember anything at all about it.

Well, if Jane Austen's involved, you have your answer!

Wolf Hall!
It's fantastic...and thats possibly the squillenth time I've said that here and in rl

Several of those are really good reads but still.....Wolf Hall!

Oh you must read The Grapes of Wrath! It's a fantastic book.

I would start with Grapes of Wrath. I loved it.

The Grapes of Wrath and Down and Out. They're a natural pair. Then the essays to compound the misery.
Only approach Wolf Hall if you can give it soem solid blocks of time, it needs a bit of concentration to follow.

oh I loved Wolf Hall, didn't want it to end! read it read it

Brave New World or American Pastoral for me.

Shispers

deepdarkwood- noooooooooooo

each to his own

I did really love it though. fell in love with thomas cromwell slightly.

I was really enjoying Wolf Hall but I couldn't even get halfway through because I tend to read in bed when I am very tired and it really does need a very alert mind to follow it. Beautifully written, but confusing. I'm going to try again when I'm in a better frame of mind.

Grapes of Wrath is quite short as I remember? Or am I confusing it with Of mice and men, which is a mere paragraph or two?

it was a bit confusing but I kind of liked that I had to work a little bit harder to follow it. Slowed me down-i just steam through books normally and finish them too fast. Dh found it confusing too though...it helped that i realised whenever the main character TC said anything, it was just 'he said', it never his name

moby dick first, but read them all, i say: can't advise about the essays or the cruel sea, haven't read them, but all the rest are fantastic books. except for the damned united, couldn't be doing with it. don't even think of giving moby dick to a charity shop until you've at least tried it, it's a great and frequently beautiful read.

Of Mice And Men is v short. Grapes Of Wrath is a hefty volume of pure misery!

I am reading A Place of Greater Safety now, there are 3 main male characters in that, yet it's always He Said... you have to take take note of the fact that 'He' is sitting on a blue chaise longue when he 'says' it...

brave new world is one of my favourite books! I've not read any of the others.

I want to read Wolf Hall. I quite like Mantel. Yes, read.

I love Down and Out in Paris and London. Read that one.

American Pastoral I found a bit too grim but def worth the read.

Essays on Guilt sound v interesting. You will need to read them and then tell us what they were like.

Who wrote Cruel sea and damned united?

Grapes of wrath, read it so long ago that I can't remember detail, only that I liked it but found it a little stodgy.

I don't think I would manage Moby. I have only read excerpts and they send me t sleep.

OK, read Grapes of Wrath but top it off with something heeee-larious, like Travels with my aunt, by Graham Greene, or Three men on a boat by Jerome K. Jerome - just to stop you killing yourself. Or are you trying to work through your backlog without buying any more? That's my worst habit.

The Grapes of Wrath, but like F Nelson says, you need something light-hearted afterwards.

They're all a bit blokey apart from Wolf Hall aren't they - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Of the ones I know about Brave New World is probably the easiest read, and it will give you the most cultural cv points for time expended - but who knows, you may be some wierdo who reads for enjoyment rather than ticking boxes. I would recommend it first though, as I think you're really missing something if you haven't read it.

DH re-reads Moby Dick regularly and claims that it's a cracking read once you get into it. Whenever I say "what shall I read?" he always answers either Moby Dick, Gibbon, or Ulysses - and I always end up grabbing a battered Georgette Heyer.