Which book to read from this list....

[NewYearNewNickname]

I have several books on my shelf that I haven't read and have told myself I can't buy a new book until I have read at least one of them.

The list is
Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
If This is a Man - Primo Levi
The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan
Moriarty - Anthony Horowitz (this is the least appealing to me but I could be persuaded)
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

Any suggestions as to which to read next, feeling like I need some inspiration.

TIA

Primo Levi is always worth reading. Not a fan of Faulks myself.

Night Circus is ace.
As is If This is a Man.

Both very different!

Forgot I also have The Sellout, can't remember the author.

I enjoyed The Night Circus, not keen on Sebastian Faulks tbh I'd give that a miss

Narrow Road to Deep North is great. I'd give The Sellout a miss.

Narrow road to the deep north, harrowing but a good read.

I hated both Narrow Road and Birdsong.

If This is a Man well worth reading, but harrowing.

I haven't read the others but would probably go for the Sellout, read it while it's current.

Narrow road to the deep north is fantastic although I would haver preferred it ending one disc earlier. I listened to the audiobook which is superb and read by the author.

I hated The Night Circus!

Birdsong is very good (and a modern classic).

Primo Levi is excellent, but not an easy read, due to the subject material. He was a slave labourer in Monowitz (part of the Auschwitz/Birkenau complex), during WWII. As you can imagine he experienced starvation, brutality, etc. It's a very good book though.

I have 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' to read and have heard it's excellent.

Well I have started with the Sellout, mainly as it is a book I do want to read and like Satsuki said it is current but will read Narrow Road next as that definitely seemed to get the most recommendations.
Thanks everyone

Birdsong is very engaging and gripping. I found one daughter reading at 3am with tears streaming down her face, she was so wrapped up in the story.

I have recently read Narrow Road it was in a similar vein (war, suffering, love and loss) and the description was so good I could almost smell the fetid jungle air.

Both wonderful books but I would suggest a light read in between these two.

I read Narrow Road after reading The Railway Man, a non-fiction account of life for POWs on the Burma-Siam railway. NR seemed lurid and mawkish in comparison.

Depends what you feel like. The Night Circus is far more whimsical than the war ones but I loved it. Good if you're into magical realism, it would be more fun than some of the others. Primo Levi is a classic but harrowing. I liked the Narrow Road, read Birdsong a long time and was a bit bored.

Satsuki that is why I didn't like the last few chapters. I loved the all names in the book and he reads it really well.

The parts set on the railway are graphic. It was truly horrific listening and knowing that was where my grandfather spent the war. He only spoke to me about his experiences once and then it was more to recount their small defiances, their small victories against their captors.

Night Circus is captivating, read that first.

Have you read The Railway Man? I really recommend it if you can bear it. It did not shy away from describing the horror but did so with a quiet dignity that was humbling. I will never forget it - as you say, it was the small acts of resistance and compassion they made that I found incredibly moving. I finished it feeling it was a duty to know what those people were made to endure. They were truly heroic. for your grandfather.

(I thought Narrow Road went too far for me in comparison, unnecessarily graphic, and the plot outside the war ended up a bit far fetched.)

If this is a man is excellent, and also Narrow road.

The Narrow Road was relentlessly harrowing. Found it really got me down unless you like reading about unmitigating misery. Remember Birdsong some years ago and was impressed. Thought this was an amazing book.