I need a recommendation for a fiction and non fiction book........................

[lilibet]

and can't be bothered posting on two seperate threads!

The six of us in my book group are each nominating two books and we are going to read all twelve over the next year.

To give you an idea we have loved

Woman in White
Rebecca
Prayer for Owen Meany
Star of the Sea
Tale of Two Cities
The Soldier's Return
I Capture the Castle
Persuasion

And really, really hated

The Notebook
French Lieutenant's Woman
Any "I have had a crap childhood" books
The Lovely Bones
Little Women
Reflections in a Golden Eye

and there are lots of others that as a group we were ambivilent about.

So, suggestions?

Fav non fiction - Nicholas & Alexandra by Robert K Massie - fascinating read & very moving.

Fav fiction - A Town Like Alice by Nevile Shute - a lovely story & so easy to read.

My parents took me to see the film of nicholas & alexandra when I was about 12!

I agree with recommendations for the Bill Bryson.
I made the mistake of giving it to my DH too and he hasn't stopped quoting it at me since.

For the fiction, how about Life of Pi?
It's a fantastic book.

Non-fiction

The Victorians by A N Wilson
The Victorian House by Judith Flanders
Children of the Raj by Vyvyen Brendon

We did madame bovary recently at my book group. Two and a half hours later we were still discussing it.I can fully understand why it's a classic. Great read.

In the same vein as Bill Bryson, John Macarthy's Macarthy's Bar is very very funny.

Round Island with a Fridge by erm.......tall bloke, name will come to me in a min, also funny.

Round Ireland that should be

Or Around Ireland maybe, ffs I can't remember.

I enjoyed Fermat's Last Theorem and The Code Book by Simon Singh.

And Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (prefer this to The Pursuit of Love).

Think it's McCarthy as well. I think I should go now.

yup, that's the one. He did a follow up, On the road to McCarthy I think it was called. Equally hilarious.

I was so sad when I heard he had died.

Round Ireland with a Fridge is by Tony Hawks - it was one of my choices last year and I creid laughing at it

My non fiction choice is going to be this

It's not as harrowing as If This Is A Man, and if people enjoy Primo Time they can then read that.

Still thinking for fiction, We've read so many of the choices here - I think that we may have been going too long!

Non-fiction

Would second The 'Victorian House' someone mentioned.

The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks - a classic

Stick it up your Punter - hilarious book about the Sun (it's really really good, honest)

The Insider - Piers Morgan

Nella's last war - the secret diaries of housewife 49 - just finished reading this (it was a tv drama a few months ago with Victoria Wood) -v v good if you like social history

A woman in Berlin - very harrowing about what happened to the German women when the Russians came in as 'victors'

In Cold Blood - Capote

How can anyone hate the lovely bones?
For a bit of light hearted readig for dog lovers I can recommend
Marley and me.
Be warned though If anyone is feeling emotional (all pregnant women on this site) it WILL make you cry!
Agree Kiterunner v good.
Still readin Wild swans and so far great book.

I loved Lovely Bones, except for one part that really ruined it, which I dont want to say incase I give things away.

You could say what page and then we can read it..

I don't have the book anymore........

Its here I wrote it on another thread so no-one has to see it if they don't want to.

I cannot stand spoilers!!

mumsnet.com/Talk/1377/396792?rnd=1190996828034

For non-fiction I really liked Martin Amis 'Memoirs'. And as he can be a bit of a love-him-or-hate-him guy, could provoke interesting discussion.

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber is fantastic. The protagonist stays with you a looooong time after you've finished.

Fiction: Will Self, The Book of Dave. Completely confused for about the first 10 pages, then found the glossary, started to read some sentences aloud and 'got' it. Hard work but (I thought) funny.
Non-fiction: Tom Holland, Persian Fire. Nice account of the Persian empire hinting at how it parallels modern politics.

Non fiction - we have read England's mistress (biography of Emma Hamilton) which was really good and 'A Million Little Pieces' which was good too.

Will have a think about fiction

How about for fiction another Daphne Du Maurier but a much much lesser known one. That would be interesting to compare the two ?