Books you thought no one else has read

[tweetysylvester]

It's so fun to find rare books to read, or just look up or hear about less known books, so thought I'd start a thread about this. Nostalgic novels, YA books, current titles you discovered very randomly...

Both of these! Giggling in the Shrubbery had a very funny story about a headmistress warning her boiled eggs she was going to eat them up.

Ooh I’ve read that! It was the book after Sophie’s World, came out when I was a Uni. Still have it, though can’t really remember what it was about 😬

I read this when it first came out. Her writing style has changed a lot over the years

Her book Cold Christmas is my favourite ever book. Only come across it mentioned on here. Used to dream about making into one of those BBC children's tv clsssic serials from the 1980s!!

Speaking of YA, the Zentyre series by June Considine, so eerie and compelling.

Headless Angel by Vicki Baum. I've mentioned it before on here but never met another reader.

For me, it's another children's book, for young children, No One at Home by Christine Pullein-Thompson. The author used to write horse books so if I ever mentioned it to other children they'd go "ooh I know her; horses" and I'd say "no" and they'd lose interest!! 😬

It was about 3 young siblings coming home after school to find their mum, who worked in the laundrette, didn't come home. The children decided to go across London to their granny's house by themselves. It was written in 1964 and I loved it as it was an adventure but so believable and grounded iyswim. The illustrations were great too!:-

A slightly different one but The Last Victim by Jason Moss has haunted me for years.

Summary from Wikipedia-

In 1994, Moss was an 18-year-old college student at UNLV. While studying for his honors thesis, he established relationships by correspondence with John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, Elmer Wayne Henley, and Charles Manson. He obtained samples of correspondence from and interviews with these men. Moss researched what would most interest each subject, and cast himself in the role of disciple, admirer, surrogate, or potential victim.
In his book Moss said that he had been interested in a career with the FBI. He thought that gaining the trust of a serial killer, possibly learning more about their stated crimes or unsolved murders, was a way to distinguish himself as a job candidate.[1]
Moss claims to have forged the strongest relationship with Gacy; their letters led to regular Sunday morning phone calls, during which Gacy reiterated his innocence even as he gave Moss a guided tour of his world. In the book, Moss recounts his correspondence and eventual two meetings with Gacy about two months before the killer was executed. Moss believed that he became Gacy's "last victim" after this face-to-face meeting in prison, in essence being psychologically overpowered by the manipulative, depraved sociopath whom he claims prison officials left him alone and unsupervised with for two consecutive days and in which he alleges Gacy repeatedly threatened to rape and murder him while alone in his presence. For a time he suffered nightmares from the encounter.[2] Moss felt that this misadventure allowed him to understand how a killer's mind works in controlling the vulnerable and forcing them to submission.

It really got under my skin, especially parts where Gacy honed in on Moss’ relationship with his younger brother.

I’ve never know anyone else who’s read it, which is a shame as I’d love to chat about it!

I always thought it’d make an amazing Netflix documentary. It was made into a fairly low-budget tv movie at one stage (I haven’t seen it). The author died by suicide about 7 years after it was published, and it’s very hard to get hold of a copy now (even on Amazon- it’s only on Audible) so I’m guessing the family wanted to let this awful story die with him.

Also love The Thirteen Days of Christmas - but has anyone ever read one of her other books, now out of print, called The Nightwatch Winter?

And has anyone else ever read The Red Towers of Granada by Geoffrey Trease?

Lots of old favourites on this thread, including the Pullein-Thompsons, Monica Dickens, etc.

Laura Blundy by Julie Myerson, about a Victorian woman who has the worst run of bad luck ever.

The bleakest and most depressing book I've ever read. Wishing to find someone else who has shared the bleakness!

Also, the Secret River about the early settlement of Sydney. Also incredibly bleak and depressing, but fascinating! I understand it was made into a tv show in Australia so probably better known now, but I don't know anyone else who's read it.

Off to read the thread now to see if either of these are mentioned 😁

I love Monica Dickens!

The boy who stole time by Mark Bowsher, found it on a bench in the park a couple of years ago. I’m a Harry Potter fan and found this equally good.

i did a bit of googling and found out it was his first book but I think there’s another due out soon.

I've read them and also "No More Meadows" which is my particular favourite of hers 🙂

I think I’ve read almost all her books, @Pianoaholic, but maybe not quite all - she wrote so many! We read The Fancy for the Rather Dated Book Club which runs on here and we all loved it (do please join in, new members welcome!).

Her memoir An Open Book is very interesting too, and tells the real story behind One Pair of Hands/One Pair of Feet.

I read this... or started it at least. I think I found it a bit of a Garner/ Tolkein rip off and went off it, but maybe I should give it another go!

However I do love The Water of the Hills and have read that several times.

Many people will have read this but I never meet any in life, and I love it! In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan LeFanu.

I’ve not met anyone in real life who’s read any Gene Stratton Porter. A girl of the Limberlost was one of my favourite books as a child and I recently came across ‘Freckles’, a prequel to it.

I read them both, many years ago, but can't remember much about them.

I haven't read any of the above!

YA author - William Sleator The Boy Who Reversed Himself and Invitation to the Game

Not sure of the second title. The first is about a teenager who goes into higher dimensions but accidentally reverses himself so eg food tastes different
The second one is about a group of teenagers who are kidnapped and end up in a maze. Lights and music sound and they are given food. So they all try and recreate their movements to get fed again. The last scene sees them freed but in the world again the traffic lights beep and they all automatically start their weird dance again

I liked science fiction as a teen

That's the third in a trilogy written by Katherine Hull and Pamela Whitlock, the first was The Far Distant Oxus, which they wrote together when they were about 15. They sent the manuscript to Arthur Ransome (Swallows and Amazon) who recommended it to his publishers and wrote an introduction to the book.

I bought a Jenny Overton book a couple of years ago because it looked interesting but it’s neither of those - it’s called Creed Country. There’s something a tiny bit Antonia Forest-ish about her writing, I thought.

Oh I remember that! Didn't he have a "sweet tooth" with a flower on it?

Just bought this because of your recommendation - can't wait to read it! 😁

@sandgreen , I've also just ordered Independent People; it sounds excellent. And I would love to visit Iceland one day, so reading books set there can only be a good thing ..

@mimbleandlittlemy I've read Jean de Florette in French; I had no idea it was available in an English translation. (I don't think The Water of the Hills is a very good title, but it's an excellent, heartrending story).

@Pianoaholic I read One Pair of Feet ages ago and have Mariana on my TBR pile. I think I also read One Pair of Hands but remember OPOF much more clearly.

@Livinggently Somerset Maugham is great; very underrated.

I absolutely loved The Family at One End Street too.

For anyone who wants to revisit The Family who Lived in a Barn, Persephone Books currently publish an edition with the most beautiful cover.

A pp mentioned James Thurber. Famous as the author of Walter Mitty, I love his collection of humorous writings My Life and Hard Times. Written in 1933, they're still laugh-out-loud funny. I don't think many people have heard of him .. but I could be wrong ..

What a brilliant thread! Thanks OP.

Geoffrey Trease!

I read all of his books - well everything my local library had at any rate, but I think that really was all the historical fiction he wrote up to the mid 70s; the library had a great historical fiction section, and there was a school.series too, set in the Lake District iirc.

I loved his characters. I seem to remember there were some inspiring girls in his books.

I went 'on An-Excursion-to-London' to the John Singer Sargent exhibition last (?) year and was delighted to see 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose'!

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian.

A really good book, supernatural/ witchcraft themes.