Book recommendations - help me spend my Amazon vouchers

[TrillianAstra]

I have £17.23 of Amazon vouchers, what books shall I get?

I commute nowadays so read quite a lot, mainly on Kindle.

What have you read recently and why would you recommend it?

Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch is fun - magic realist police procedural.
Just been recommending Diary of a Provincial Lady on another thread, which has made me realise that she is in fact the original Mumsnetter.

1. Caitlin Moran - How to be a woman. It's funny, frank and really well written. I read it so quickly then cursed myself for finishing it too soon!
2. Agatha Christies - Pure comfort blanket in a book Love them.
3. Nicole Upson - Can't remember the title, but it's a Josephine Fey mystery. I enjoyed her first one, just getting into this one now.

"The Original Mumsnetter"? sounds intriguing.

I already have Caitlin Moran - downloaded it the day it came out #sad

Eat, Love pray - Elizabeth Gilbert - then the next one she wrote is Commitment ( I've not read it yet)

Thanks for your suggestion muminawe (and good name!) but I think we may have slightly different tastes as I just can't stand that title. Sorry.

The Provincial Lady leads a very middle class life, though she is constantly broke. She posts about the sort of trivia that makes up the stereotypical posher MN threads, dead pot plants, snotty neighbours, never having the right clothes, or enough money, getting overinvolved in her DC's obsessions, servant problems and a lovely husband who doesn't quite see the point of her issues.

If you enjoy the "Help! I'm having a dinner party but the cat has eaten the chicken/Oh dear heavens how did that get down the back of the sofa?" sort of thread (and I do, there's not enough of them at the moment IMO) then the Provincial Lady may be for you.

I've just finished 'The Knitting Circle' by Ann Hood which is described by one reviewer as a beautifully written tear-jerker which is a pretty apt description! Story of a group of women drawn together through different tragedies, that emerge through the novel, by a knitting club. Really enjoyed it and only 1.99 at the moment so a bit of a bargain read.

Also read and really enjoyed over the summer - 'The Help' which is a really compelling and enjoyable read, and 'Afterward' by Rosamund Lipton, which is a page-turner with a difference.

Also, both Cath Staincliffe's books on Kindle "The Kindest Thing' and 'Witness' were real page-turners, if you like crime/court-room/human interest stories.

HTH

I've finished three gooduns recently. 'Don't move' by Margaret Mazzatini was fabulous, really interesting and bits of the plot really surprised me which is rare. I loved The Bolter, a biography of Idina Sackville, was fascinating and very Nancy Mitford. And 'Black Mass' by John Gray was all about how we will never build a utopian society and we must stop interpreting history on that way and should completely change our expectations and desires for he human race. I loved it.

Ooh, try Mavis Cheek's novels. She's my favourite author. Her books are feminist, witty, well written and very easy to read. Fab.

I really like Diane Chamberlain. I got one of her books in the christmas kindle sale and have read alot of her others since. They are a bit like Jodi Picoult. i also like Linwood Barclay. his latest one is still expensive on the kindle, I have requested it from the library. I also enjoyed Room and The Help. And Afterwards which I really enjoyed dispite not liking Rosamund luptons previous book, Sister.

Thanks, loads of suggestions :)

I've read The Help (someone lent it to me back when I used to read paper books), I'll check out how many of these are a) available and b) cheap on Kindle (cheaper = more books!)

The Provincial Lady is:

• partly by Jilly Cooper!! :o
• not on Kindle :(

Nicole Upson/Josephine Fey appear to not exist

(doing well here)

Rivers of London: bought

Mavis Cheek: put on Kindle Price Drop Tracker (will buy them if they drop)

Cath Staincliffe: bought one (cheap! will but another if I like it)

Don't Move: not on Kindle

Black Mass: not on Kindle

Will think about the others, I don't not-like Jodi Picoult but I'm not sure if I want to spend money on her.

The Provincial Lady is really, really NOT by Jilly Cooper

And she is absolutely fantastic and unmissable - get her on proper book if they don't do her on Kindle . . .

(AnyonebutLuLu, have you read the one where she spends time on a collective farm in Soviet Russia?)

Sorry I gave you duff information! The author is Nicola Upson and it's a Josephine Tey mystery here

No, I've read Provincial Lady in Wartime and Goes to the US, (I firget the actual names) but I haven't read a Russia one.

The Jilly Cooper thing is because there's an edition with a preface by JC saying how great it is.

Oh, shame, it was just the intro. I just saw the name on Amazon and got over-excited!

Is that the first one Celia? If there are a group I like to start from the beginning.

Its this one - actually, a bit of a cheat as its not really a Provincial Lady books, but EMD writing as herself. But tbh its hard to tell the difference, and its a really interesting read (I particularly love her comments about how the diet on the communal farm is ok in general, but she does worry that the lack of sugar must be terribly bad for the children )

I was bored to distraction by The Provincial Lady on reading it after a rec on here. I didn't finish it because I was so irritated by it.

I enjoyed The Bolter and I'm currently reading a non-fiction book called Courtesans, which I'm enjoying. It's about five English courtesans and makes interesting reading (how much condoms cost in the 1800s etc!).

Who wrote "Courtesans" Remus? The Bolter was good and would love some similar reads.

Here. It's not like The Bolter but has a similar focus on women 'doing their own thing despite being judged' as it were!

Thanks, have placed a library reservation. Am struggling to get into The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet at the moment so will look forward to this arriving!

I don't understand the fuss about David Mitchell at all. I tried Cloud Atlas and just couldn't get on with it.

"Room" was very good.

I am currently reading "God Collor" by Marcus. Brigestoke which is also very good but it is non fiction and you have to be either a) an atheist or b) very open minded about faith (I am in camp b)