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Original poster

Absolutely Unputdownable Books

259 replies

spacemonkey · 27/02/2004 18:54

Just interested to know what books mumsnetters found absolutely impossible to put down ...

Here are some of mine:

  • Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
  • anything by Jane Austen
  • Villette - Charlotte Bronte
  • Diary of a Nobody - George & Weedon Grossmith
  • If This Is A Man - Primo Levi
  • His Dark Materials Trilogy - Philip Pullman
  • The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell
  • Moab is my Washpot - Stephen Fry
  • Things Can Only Get Better - John O'Farrell
  • The Consolations of Philosophy - Alain de Botton

and (ahem) all the Harry Potters

What are yours?

OP posts:
JoolsToo · 25/09/2004 18:46

thanks miaou - as its on my shelf I'll definitely give it go - once I start a book I HAVE to finish so I hope I enjoy it as much as you did!

ebbie22 · 25/09/2004 19:31

Has anyone read Fat ladies club...Excellent..

SusiS · 26/09/2004 08:37

yep, read that one!!! was soooo funny

codswallop · 26/09/2004 09:08

no didnt like it
I like douglas kennedy fo unputdownable but slightly crap

Chinchilla · 26/09/2004 20:21

I read 'The Secret History' on holiday (Donna Tartt), and could NOT put it down. Couldn't get into her second though.

sportyspice · 26/09/2004 20:28

I don't normally get the time to read much but i did find Jordans book completely addictive and had read it in 3 days.

hoxtonchick · 26/09/2004 20:30

Oh I like this thread. I've remembered I like Howard Jacobson too.

codswallop · 26/09/2004 20:53

do you ever look at books you have rad int eh shop and wish you hadnt so you could read them again?

yoyo · 26/09/2004 23:41

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly is excellent. Remember the days when you coud lie in bed all day reading ? This is just thet sort of book.

Demented · 03/10/2004 18:38

Joolstoo, I've just started The Little Friend, about 50 pages in, and so far I'm really enjoying it. I'm not far enough on with it to know whether I'll just get completely fed up but at the moment it's caught my attention, don't be too put off.

Roobie · 03/10/2004 19:38

For real laugh out loud moments as well as plenty of empathy I would strongly recommend "I Don't Know How She Does It" by Allison Pearson. Dh even read it after me and thought it was a hoot. It's a novel about this high-powered city fund manager and how she struggles with looking after her two young children, being a good mum and wife etc. Loads of recognisable dilemmas and amusing observations (the stuck-up school gate mums are labelled "The Muffia"!!).

Roobie · 03/10/2004 19:45

Also excited to see Robertson Davies mentioned - I thought it was only me (and my mate Richard!) who had ever read his books. The Deptford Trilogy is a fabulous read....just off the Amazon to look for the Salterton Trilogy now which I haven't read.
Would also recommend "Carter Beats the Devil" by Glen David Gold - enthralling story about the life of a magician/illusionist around the time of Houdini etc.

Skate · 03/10/2004 20:10

Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code. Fab.

All time fav - To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee.

JoolsToo · 03/10/2004 20:41

Demented - thanks, keep me posted! - I've just started Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides - but I haven't got very far yet - less time on here I think would be a start!

Demented · 03/10/2004 22:28

Oh, let me know how you get on with Middlesex, I've got that on my wish list at Amazon.

Skate · 03/10/2004 22:42

I liked 'Middlesex' - found it really easy to read and really interesting. Will always remind me of ds3 as I read it in the few days up to his birth in August. I finished the evening I went into labour .

HelloMama · 03/10/2004 22:51

'Of Marriageable Age' by Anita Maas. Fantastic! Also 'The Red Tent' by Anita Diamant is also great, as you end up discussing it with all your friends.

Also still can't forget about any book by Judy Blume, in particular 'Forever' which was the talking point for many an hour throughout my teens - still can't meet anyone called 'Ralph' and keep a straight face. If you've read it you'd know what I mean!

Marina · 03/10/2004 22:53

Another enthusiastic vote for Middlesex, I finished it not long ago and really enjoyed it. I scrolled down through this thread earlier and see that ExpatKat KNOWS Jeffrey Eugenides! You lucky woman. He's a marvellous writer, you tell him so!
Roobie, hope you can track down the Salterton Trilogy - and I also loved Carter Beats the Devil. Were you thinking of The Deptford Trilogy while reading it?

JoolsToo · 03/10/2004 22:56

OOooh! - I read Carter Beats the Devil on recommendation from a guy at work - he really sang its praises - sadly I thought it was rubbish! He said I was the only person he knew who thought so - each to their own I say!

CountessDracula · 03/10/2004 22:58

I agree emphatically with everything that sponge likes except I hate Peter Carey.

Also

Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The crimson petal and the white, can't remember who by
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Loads more can't think now as am off to bed!

JoolsToo · 03/10/2004 22:59

I'm off to bed now too - must get some Middlesex under my belt!

grumpyfrumpy · 04/10/2004 17:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dogwalker · 04/10/2004 17:26

Just reading a book called The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen. Psychological thriller and very well written. I love all Dan Browns books.

bundle · 05/10/2004 11:17

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Fan-blooming-tastic.

Original poster
spacemonkey · 05/10/2004 11:19

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton - fabulous book

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