Three books!

[FreddoBaggyMac]

Thought I'd try this simple idea for a bookthread and see how it goes!

Please recommend three books that you've read recently (preferably ones that are not too populist or too well discussed!)

In return for this you can ask for advice on three other books which you are contemplating reading, and other mumsnetters will reply and tell you if they're any good (I hope )

Here goes... Three books I've read recently and enjoyed:

1. Learning to Swim by Clare Chambers - First read this ten years ago and it's even better than I remember, brilliantly written imo. I still miss Abigail even though I read it quite a few books ago!!

1. Jubilee by Eliza Graham - Good book for a royal wedding year I think... Very English and atmospheric and apparently written by a mumsnetter (makes me very jealous!)

1. Glasshopper by Isabel Ashdown - I haven't actually finished this yet, but so far I'm loving it. Lots of 80s nostalgia (in both a good and bad way!)

Three books I am considering and would like advice on if anyone out there has read them:

1. This perfect world by Suzanne Bugler
2. The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale
3. Another Clare Chambers book. Have read both 'In a good light' and 'learning to swim' and loved them madly! Are any of her others as good?

Hope I get a few responses - thank you in advance!

Haven't read any of the books you are considering, but the best book I have read in the last six months was definitely 'I Know This Much is True' by Wally Lamb.

'A Spot of Bother' by Mark Haddon was brilliantly funny and a quick read. Ideal if you've just been reading something 'heavy' or 'worthy' and need a break!

Vanessa Gebbie's short story collection 'Words from a Glass Bubble' was fantastically moving.

I highly recommend all three of these!

Ummm, not really 'considering' my next read, or after advice... I just go to my bookshelf, which is full of books I mean to read someday, and have a good old browse...

Thanks Wooly. I remember I've actually read that Wally Lamb one a long time ago and loved it... it's probably lurking at the back of my shelves somewhere and you've inspired me to have a look for it and read it again. Will look up the others you mention...

Yes, read it again! It was my second reading of it and it had lost none of its impact. His other book 'She's Come Undone' was excellent, too.

It might be 'She's come undone' that I've read actually Wooly... I just know it was a Wally Lamb and it was excellent. I will have to have a thorough hunt through my shelves (and read some of his other books!)

I was interested in what you said about Glasshopper as that's on my 'to read' list. Keep us updated when you finish it!

Just reread "The Blessing" by Nancy Mitford which has inspired me to reread Love in a Cold Climate and the Pursuit of Love which are two of my absolute all time favourite books.

One of my favourite books is An Instance of the Fingerpost by Ian Pears - mystery set in 18th(?) century Oxford with so many twists and turns - it's not a whodunnit but a real physcological thriller and it ends up somewhere completely different from where it started. Also reread recently and enjoyed just as much as the first time.

Hmm, seem to be doing a lot of re-reading at the moment!

Freddo, I have just finished This Perfect World by Suzanne Bugler and wasn't too impressed to be honest. It was fairly pacy and had some effectively harrowing bits to it, but it relied too much on class stereotypes - I thought the portrayal of the represssed sahm and her ghastly friends who she meets in John Lewis for coffee was bordering on parody at times. None of the characters are very endearing at all. If you want a better portrayal of childhood bullying and it's effects on adults later, then Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood is superb.

I See you like Wally lamb - the hour I first believed by him is incredible - inspired by the columbine shootings.

Thanks everyone :-) Have struck This Perfect World off my list Moules and will look into Cat's Eye! Am definitely going to catch up on some Wally Lamb.

FreeButton, 'Love in a cold Climate' is on my (very expansive) shelves and is one I've been meaning to read for years so perhaps I should get on with it... it's great how this thread has inspired me to read books I already have instead of buying new ones!

The Other Boleyn Girl or anything by Phillipa Gregory.

Except her books written about the present day.

I also read Learning to Swim about 10 years ago and loved it - I remember feeling like I was actually there in the story. I also read A Dry Spell by Clare Chambers not long afterwards, but was slightly disappointed by it and didn't feel it was on the same par as Learning to Swim.

I can recommend all three books I last read:

1. Sister by Rosamund Lupton - This may be a bit too populist, but I couldn't put it down and didn't see the twist at the end coming at all.

1. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - The story of twin brothers growing up in Ethiopia; lots of medical detail (their father is a doctor and mother a nurse, and they become doctors themselves), which has been criticised by some reviewers, but I didn't find that it detracted from the story.

1. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - A surreal story that cuts a fine line between fantasy and reality. I didn't find this as much of a page turner as the other two books, but still a compelling read.

My next three reads will be chosen from the 20 or so books I brought back from my last trip to the UK. I'm just about to start The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, but haven't decided on the next two.

Oh please please do read Love in a Cold Climate. It is so easy to read but so witty and light and touching and I just loved it.

Also you may find youself obsessed with the Mitfords. Can really recommend the biography of all the sisters. It's wonderful.

Linzer I have Sister on my shelf of 'To reads' and DH is currently reading Cutting for stone, so will pinch that off him when he has finished. I obviously have too many good books waiting to be read already and no excuse for buying anymore :-) This is great because these mumsnet book threads normally have me spending a fortune at Amazon!

I've read The Book thief and liked it a lot on the whole, although I think I found it a bit slow in places - worth reading for the end though.

It's good to come across another fan of learning to swim - I loved it soooo much, even more now than when I first read it ten years ago. In a good light is the only other Clare Chambers I've read so far and I would say that was just about as good as Learning to swim, so I'd recommend that one to you!

FreeButton, OK, will read Love in a Cold Climate next I promise ;-)

Agree that MN book threads can be lethal for the bank account - I had a big parcel from Amazon waiting for me when I went back to the UK at Christmas (and ended up spending about the same amount again at various shops; all the 3-for-2 offers are just too tempting!).

I really can't justify buying any more books at the moment as I must have enough enough on my bookshelf to keep me going for the next year at least, but have just been reading the reviews of In a Good Light on Amazon and am very tempted... Am also thinking about adding Love in a Cold Climate to my to-buy list! Thanks for the recommendations.

I've changed my mind about which book to read next and have just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (bought on the strength of MN recommendations - have heard that it's a good light read).

Linzer, have you read any other Murakami, as Kafka On The Shore is fairly hardcore and, as a long term admirer of his work, I'm always recommending him to people but never Kafka as a start. It's very much a revisiting of his favourite themes, and a little easier to digest when the reader is familiar with them. Glad you still liked it though. For a book more grounded in real life, although it's still Japan, which seems to me to be otherworldy at the best of times, try Norwegian Wood. I remember, on my last re-read of this I was beginning to think, halfway through, why am I bothering, not much happening here, then it reaches a certain point and is just beautiful. Absolutely lovely.

Kafka on the Shore is the only book by Murakami that I've read to date, although I was looking at Norwegian Wood not long ago and wondering whether to buy it (but, as I said above, I really can't justify buying any new books until I've read at least a few more from my to-read pile).

I must admit it did take me a while to get into Kafka on the Shore, especially as it was so different from anything else I've read recently, so it's interesting to hear that some of his other work is a bit more accessible. I also found the translation a little too American at times, especially the dialogue - but a British translation may well have jarred just as much for an American reader!

I've just discovered that I can actually read again after bf two babes for nigh on three years ...

I've just finished

1. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortensen, real story of a failed climber who has made an impression on N Pakistan and Afghanistan's perception of the west by building schools for girls and dis-associating himself from the US Govt.

Could have been worthy but was easy to read, informative and inspirational - has real life action and adventure as well as humility...

2. Can Any Mother Help Me - Jenna Bailey, puts MumsNet into context as a collection of women from my Granny's generation correspond about all kinds of topics and grwo old together - virtually, before the virtual world existed.

Easy to read, made me laugh, cry, empathise and feel re-assured.

Both of these came recommended by good friends who knew I'd like them, so I wouldn't ordinarily assume you would too except that...

In a former life I was a tragic Mitford fan and will now go and buy 'The Blessing' which was just re-published I think ..

and dh brought Cutting for Stone back from his last trip to US for me, so will start on that too.

Was looking for inspiration and will try the Rose Tremain one also, but I think this three read and three to read a great idea..

I'll have to think of a third.

Ooh thanks for reminder about Clare Chambers. I read In a Good Light a few years back and absolutely loved it, but then forgot all about her.

Recent recommendations:
'Get Her Off the Pitch' by Lynne Truss
*excellent read, actually mildly disturbing in the changes LT says being a sports writer triggered in her.
'Gladstone' by Roy Jenkins
*Marvellous read - RJ always very partisan about his biography subjects which is enjoyable.
'French Revolutions' by Tim Moore
*have read it a million times but will read it a million times more.

I really, really didn't like Sister by Rosamund Lupton - I felt totally unsatisfied by the twist.

I recommend:
Alias Grace - Margaret Attwood (my go to book for a good read, even about six times over now)

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger (I was actually in love with this book, would get up at 6 to read it before I went to work)

Blow our House Down - Pat Barker. It's a hard read but amazingly written - based on the Yorkshire Ripper's victims. I read this at university and have re-read it several times since.

The forgotton garden ....kate morton.

To kill a mockingbird.....[again]

A thousand splendid suns.....awesome.

Great thread, this is my second post Hi to everyone. ......

More thanks everyone!

Linzer - guess what, I've got The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on my shelves - let me know what it's like.

Wooly - I'm very well into Glasshopper now and loving it, it's beautifully written and quite different to anything I've read recently. The characters are so real and often tragic , but it still manages to be an uplifting book (so far anyway...)

OscarandLulu, Three cups of tea is another one on my shelves! DH read it a while ago and loved it... I have far too many books to read already and am still going to be off to Amazon after this to read about all these other recommendations including those from you Mackerel. I've also rediscovered reading after babies over the last year and it is wonderful!

ItsMeYourCathy, I also loved Her fearful symmetry. The graveyard book by Neil Gaiman is a great book along those lines too... really enjoyable even if it's not the type of thing you'd normally read.

Matchbox20, have not tried Kate Morton yet but love the other two books on your list!

I have read a few recently from Persephone publishers - ie new publications of older writing. eg
The Saplings Noel Streatfield.
Miss Pettigrew lives for a Day - Winifred Watson.
But the one I really enjoyed and would recommend was
Good Evening Mrs Craven by Mollie Panther Downes.
It's short stories set in the WW2 but on the domestic front rather than in front line battle. Really good read. The author was the London correspondent of the New Yorker magazine for years, very well known in the US, but less so here. She writes so well and certainly some of the short stories are better than others, but I particularly enjoyed the title one - Good Evening Mrs Craven.

Thinks London, will have a look for that one. have read a few persephone's in the past (the Saplings is on my amazon wishlist) - they're beautiful books just to look at never mind read!

I'm only a few pages into the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society , which looks like it will be a nice light read but hasn't (yet) got me hooked - I'll let you know how I get on, Freddo.

I've heard good things about Three Cups of Tea (almost bought it but didn't in the end), while A Thousand Splendid Suns and Her Fearful Symmetry are on my to-read shelf, however. I'm also rediscovering reading now that the children are slightly older and am really enjoying catching up on everything I've missed over the last few years!

1. The Passage- Justin Cronin:
   I really enjoyed this massive book. I especially liked the huge leap into the future during the second half of the book.
   Reminded me a lot of The Stand.

2. Room -Emma Donoghue:
   This book is one of those you will finish quickly as you can't put it down. It is told from a 5 yo point of view and he has lived in one room all of his life.
   I don't want to give too much away but it is very intresting and one part will have you hanging off the edge of your seat.

3. Under The Dome -Stephen King;
   I haven't liked his recent books so was really please that this was more like his older books. Very good although reminds me a little of The Simpsons Movie .

Am now reading Insomnia by Stephen King I am not sure what I will read next.