I am desperate and need you all to help me please!

[ColonelBrandonsBiggestGroupie]

I have got one and a half history books left and then I am, once again, bookless. I have been to three different libraries in the last ten days and have failed to find even a single book that I fancied or hadn't read before.

I have some Nectar points to spend, so I could have a bit of an Amazon splurge - but what shall I get?

1. Favourite writers are Jane Austen and Stephen King
2. I like v well written fantasy (ie Tolkein) or v well written historical who-dunnit stuff (eg Doyle or Sansom) or quirky history books
3. I am a snob and get very twitchy about shoddy writing but can't stand overly self conscious crap (step forward Ian McEwan)
4. I am very, very fussy
5. I read very, very quickly so the bigger the book, the better

Please help!

Great thread.

I'll suggest Ash: A Secret History, by Mary Gentle.

It's huge - was split into four volumes in the US. Historical fantasy.

Haven't read any Asimov since I was a teenager, so that might be worth a re-look. Will look into 'Ash' too.

Dean Koontz - have read a few but see him as vastly inferior to King, I'm afraid. He's a bit too preachy for my liking, although I quite liked the first couple I read but then they all got rather samey and boring: he's a clunkier writer than King, too, I think.

Thank you all. This is the thread of my dreams! :)

Finished the Marcel Theroux - I rate it. Thank you to whoever rec'd it - the thread is too long for me to remember who, sorry.

Have read about 40 pages of the Kelly Gang too - he has v quickly created a strong and v credible narrative voice and I'm impressed so far.

sorry - haven't read the whole thread so don't know if this has already been suggested but have you tried This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson?

fabulously well-written historical fiction (imo)

I've read it and it's superb - if you know anything else like it, please shout! :)

at David Robertson!

'Twas my birthday a few days ago and I usually get tons and tons of booktokens, so I had the list I'd compiled from this thread all ready to spend in Exeter.

Not one book token. NOT ONE!!!!!

(However, I did get an iPad so that's OK, really!)

What are you reading now, Colonel? I've picked up some thing dh got from a charity shop as I'm out of new books to read.

(Mind you, I've downloaded loads of free stuff on the iPad; not the same though.)

Happy birthday! I hope you had a lovely day, despite the appalling lack of book tokens.

I'm reading The True History Of The Kelly Gang (Peter Carey) and liking it a lot. Next up is Smyrna by Giles Milton.

I've been in the same book club for 10 years - our all time favourite and a good chunky one is 'Of Human Bondage' Somerset Maugham. And you've probably read it but Margaret Atwood 'The Oryx and the Crake' (I've not read the sequel but apparently also good). I'll get our bk club list out and see what else got thumbs up!

The sequel to O&C is much, much better than O&C - you must read it!

Of Human Bondage always reminds me of Educating Rita - 'it sounds filthy, doesn't it?!' :)

Minesarioja Have finished The Kelly Gang and really enjoyed it - thank you for the rec as I would never have chosen it without this thread. :)

I love reading beautiful writing. Some of my favourites below, a real mixed bag I know!!

'Wolf Hall', Hilary Mantel
'Roots', Alex Haley
'Gone with the Wind', Margaret Mitchell
'The Mayor of Casterbridge', Hardy
'The Famished Road', Ben Okrey
'Their Eyes Were Watching God', Nora Neale Hurston
'The Mill on the Floss', George Elliot
'Anna Karenin', Tolstoy
'The Fingersmith', Sarah Waters
'The Dressmaker', Beryl Bainbridge

Just read some of the reviews for 'The Kelly Gang' definitely going onto my 'to read' list - sorry I haven't read all the thread, but thanks to whoever it was who first recommended.

I assume you're referring to The Year of the Flood as the "sequel" to Oryx and Crake. I liked it better but I think that's because I prefer stories with more than one character to interact with each other, and I understood them to be related rather than a linear series, actually both stories take place at the same time. YOTF made me want to read O&C actually

Yes, Elkie - I was being lazy by calling it the 'sequel' because I couldn't be bothered to type the title out! There was enough overlap to see how they conencted but I thought the characters and their situations in YOTF were far more interesting than in O&C and it was easier to connect with them.

Thanks for the list Mamameugh

'Wolf Hall', Hilary Mantel - read it; okay but her writing style annoyed me somewhat
'Roots', Alex Haley - read it as a teenager but can't remember much of it
'Gone with the Wind', Margaret Mitchell - hated this and gave up after about 70 pages
'The Mayor of Casterbridge', Hardy - read 'em all - appreciated him far more as a teen than I do now
'The Famished Road', Ben Okrey - not read this and will look into it
'Their Eyes Were Watching God', Nora Neale Hurston - couldn't get on with this; it felt too 'worthy'
'The Mill on the Floss', George Elliot - can't stand her
'Anna Karenin', Tolstoy - must read this
'The Fingersmith', Sarah Waters - hated it
'The Dressmaker', Beryl Bainbridge - never read any of hers: convince me why I should?!

An interesting range there though, so thank you.

Have started the Giles Milton but struggling to get into it - I think the history is maybe too recent for me!