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Need a "good" book that will suck me in and hold my attention

40 replies

BeaArthursUnderpants · 23/07/2016 09:34

I used to be able to get absorbed in any book without even trying. These days my attention span is much shorter, and it makes me sad that I don't read nearly as much or as wide of a variety of books as I used to. I'd love recommendations for "good" (not too trashy) books that will suck me in right away. I really want to get back into being a reader!

Some of my favorites in recent years have been:
The Goldfinch
A Little Life
Atonement
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
The Interestings
My Brilliant Friend (et al.)
The Namesake
Anything by Jeffrey Eugenides, Michael Chabon, Jennifer Egan

I would love any suggestions. Thanks so much!

OP posts:
LuckySantangelo1 · 23/07/2016 09:38

Have you read The Secret History by Donna Tart?

gettingtherequickly · 23/07/2016 09:39

Gone girl
Life after life

KingJoffreyLikesJaffaCakes · 23/07/2016 09:40

Pinstripes by Faith Bleasedale

AnyFucker · 23/07/2016 09:46

All the light we cannot see

Book of strange things

Skrewt · 23/07/2016 09:49

I loved Liz Nugent's "Unravelling Oliver" and am now reading her second book: "Lying in wait" which I am also enjoying.

whirlwinds · 23/07/2016 09:50

The Mists of Avalon

sazerashez · 23/07/2016 09:52

Anything by Sarah waters or Kate Atkinson.

ILoveAGoodBrusselSprout · 23/07/2016 09:53

I loved 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini. I've retread it numerous times. 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', Louis de Bernieres, was wonderful too, in a much different way.

PartiallyStars · 23/07/2016 09:54

The Little Stranger
Never Let Me Go
Bone Clocks

HelenaJustina · 23/07/2016 10:01

Yy to All the Light We Cannot See
In recent years I have read:
History of the Rain
The Snow Child
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Elizabeth is Missing
A Man Called Ove
A God in Ruins
A Year of Marvellous Ways

All the above is 'modern fiction'

I also like Dorothy L Sayers, Georgette Heyer. There are some good auto/biographies out there too. For example:
The King's Speech
My Animals and Other Family
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Atul Gwande's books

5tardusty · 23/07/2016 10:09

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

PacificDogwod · 23/07/2016 10:12

The Life of Others
The Kingwood Bible
Anything by David Mitchel - big fan here Blush

PacificDogwod · 23/07/2016 10:14

The Secret Lives of Bees

PlugUgly · 23/07/2016 10:15

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Anything by Kate Atkinson

PacificDogwod · 23/07/2016 10:16

The Fishermen

Sorry, I am rubbish at remembering titles, so have to run off to actually look at them Blush

PacificDogwod · 23/07/2016 10:16

Poison wood Bible - not Kingswood, see, I am rubbish Sad

BikeRunSki · 23/07/2016 10:21

Anything by Douglas Kennedy - I've never been able to out any of his books down. A Special Relationship was the first one I read. State of the Union had me up all night reading. *The Heat of Betrayal^ had me totally gripped one lunchtime, I had to flexi the afternoon off!!

Other authors -"The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain. Fascinating novelisation of Ernest Hemmingway's early years as an author in France and Spain during the "Belle Epoque". Didn't think I'd like it when a friend recommended it, but I loved it.

Southernc0mfortmirror · 23/07/2016 10:21

Fates and furies - Lauren Groff. Similar feel to A Little Life, although the plot was very different.

RepentAtLeisure · 23/07/2016 11:10

I'm reading East of Eden and it's fascinating.

Weatherland is next on my list.

ParadiseCity · 23/07/2016 11:12

I really enjoyed the Ove book mentioned above and have exactly the same concentration issue!

AnyFucker · 23/07/2016 19:47

I hated that Ove book

The writing was very clichéd. The bloke reminded me if my dad (arsey bastard who didn't mind who he insulted). I took it on holiday to read (after recommendations on here) and left it in the apartment library with the other tosh Smile

VanessaBet · 23/07/2016 19:58

Sounds like you have very similar taste to me OP.

Have you read any Maggie O'Farrell? I have read all of hers and really enjoyed this year's 'This Must be the Place'. Also this year I've liked 'The Life and Death of Sophie Stark', and 'Black Swan Green', which was an older David Mitchell I hadn't read before (love his others too).

Last year I whizzed through all the Poldark novels after being mesmerized by Aidan Turner's scything on TV, and I'm a big fan of the Game of Thrones aka 'Song of Ice and Fire' series although ususally I stick to modern lit.

Have you joined Goodreads? I get a lot of my recommendations from there. If you add books you've read and give them a rating of 1 to 5 stars it will suggest other books you might enjoy.

confusionis · 23/07/2016 19:59

The passage is amazing. Its sequel the twelve much less so.

PepperMallow · 23/07/2016 20:02

I recently read The Lake House by Kate Morton which I really enjoyed.

MinervaMcG · 23/07/2016 20:17

Have you read any Michael Cunningham (e.g. The Hours) or Ann Patchett (Bel Canto).

These definitely fit the brief

As does any Kate Atkinson, Sarah Waters, Maggie O'Farrell (The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox), Jonathan Coe (The Rotters Clib), Rohinton Mistry, Patrick Gale, Jon McGregor, Elizabeth Taylor (Angel).

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