Favourite book recommendations please

[Ticklemycarpets]

Having struggled to read books, I now have audible.

I have not read a fiction book since school, so feel free to recommend classics that most people have read.

Hit me with your favourite books of all time.

I should add, I like stories that touch you, make you see the world a bit differently after.
I'm not a fan of fantasy, science fiction or crime.

Not a classic (yet) but 3 people have raved to me this week about Hamnet by Maggie o'Farrell

The 100 year old man who climbed out of a window. Can't remember the name of the writer . Very funny book

Jane Eyre
The Eagle of the Ninth
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
The Diary of a Nobody
Bridget Jones Diary
Shogun
Mixed bag, I love them all.

Forgot to add The Cazalet Chronicles. Absolutely brilliant.

Jane Eyre
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Great Expectations

Just a few of my favourites.

"Map of Love" by Adhaf Soueif was a favourite of mine for years. It's a love story, but Adhaf writes beautifully about her homeland and the novel really gives you a sense of how it might have felt to experience British colonialism as an Egyptian Arab. It's not a classic but it really transported me to a different time and place, and the romance was poignant and captivating. Thoroughly recommend it if you liked Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

Something a bit different from novels, how about a travel book? ( when we are able to travel!) Route 66 And All That. By Paul Strong. Very informative, very funny. The author ( british) and an American friend are both retired, Route 66 has always been on the bucket list. Follow Paul and Steve on their road trip sampling the landmarks, the food and the characters they meet on the journey on this historic trip.

If you haven't read fiction since school and struggle to read, ease yourself back into it - don't necessarily start with the Victorian heavyweights!

I love Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes - witty but thought-provoking too.

Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is gorgeous.

Small Island by Andrea Levy.

Secret River - Kate Grenville: definitely makes you think!

Animal Farm
To Kill A Mockingbird
Gone With The Wind
We Need To Talk About Kevin
The Time Travellers Wife
Carrie's War

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Alias Grace, The Robber Bride and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Also Stoner by John Williams

I think many of the above may be too much for someone who hasn't read for a while? Maybe.

Definitely Stoner (though I love that) and Ishiguro.

Standard Deviation is one I read recently by someone or other which is good.
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson was really good.

So many...

@Alonelonelylonersbadidea

I think many of the above may be too much for someone who hasn't read for a while? Maybe.

Definitely Stoner (though I love that) and Ishiguro.

Standard Deviation is one I read recently by someone or other which is good.
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson was really good.

So many...

That's a fair point.

In terms of classics I love all Jane Austen's novels which while witty and clever are very accessible, especially Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion. Lady Susan is short and while not as accomplished it's still fun.

I also really loved Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The storyteller - Jodi Picoult

My favourite book in audiobook format was 'The Help'. It's read by different narrators which really helps to bring it to life.

I don't know what the Audible versions are like but I think that The Girl With the Louding Voice and The Sealwoman's Gift fit the description of books that touch you and make you see the world a bit differently.

As soon as I read your post I thought of this - Where the Crawdads sing- just try it

Oh i just remembered the audiobook of The Secret Life of Bees! That is fabulous!

Recent books that I couldn't put down include American Dirt and 19 Minutes if you're looking for something to keep you engaged. Classics are fab, but sometimes you need to be in the right frame of mind :)

I'm an English teacher and would genuinely recommend that if you haven't read any fiction in a while then stay away from most classics. They're great but probably not as a starting point. Some great books that are really well-written but definitely accessible to a lapsed reader might be things like:
The Help
The Heart's Invisible Furies
Circe / Song of Achilles

Alternatively I find when I stray away from reading it can sometimes be easier to come back using a non fiction book. I've enjoyed Strangeways (a memoir of a prison guard) and Unnatural Causes (a memoir of a pathologist) or even an autobiography can be a great way in. Happy reading!

It's not fiction - but I've just finished 'Featherhood' by Charlie Gilmour which makes you think about families and what it means to be someone's Dad.

Any Human Heart by William Boyd.