I need books for a hospital stay.

[Gettingbysomehow]

Hi fellow readers. Im going into hospital for a week and I need some reading material to keep me occupied as I wont be able to do anything else and I dont enjoy watching tv.
Has anyone read anything amazing recently?

@Gettingbysomehow physical books or audio?? The giver of stars by jo jo Moyes is beautiful. I really enjoyed the seventh son by Sebastian faulks. Also all the light we cannot see (sorry can't remember the author name.

What sort of books do you like?

I recommend the Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor about a group of time-travelling historians. There are several books in the series so they’d keep you going for a while.

Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession.

I also quite like rereading books when I am in hospital/unwell so you could pick something you enjoyed but read a long time ago.
Otherwise, give us an idea what you like to read and people may have suggestions.

Im taking a few physical books in. I do have kindle on my phone but I prefer a book in my hands. I dont get on with audio books. I keep falling asleep 😁

Yes, I think rereading is a good idea if in hospital. I’d probably start by reading straight through Jane Austen and then straight through Antonia Forest, then straight through Laurie Colwin.

Im actually very easy with genres. I dont like romance Im more into historical, sophisticated horror, anything that grips the imagination really. Not terribly keen on crime.

Im 64 if that makes any difference. I love anything by Hilary Mantel so Ill get one I havent read yet.
I also like psychological and biography.

@Gettingbysomehow i prefer actual physical books 📚 😂❤️

Here to stay by Mark Edwards, psychological thriller.

@Gettingbysomehow tim peake wrote a very interesting auto biography and also a book about space. It tells the story about space travel going back to the beginnings of it all

I've just read 'Behind closed doors ' by B A Paris, couldn't put it down

I love a re-read of old favourites when I want a comfort read. Nancy Mitford and Jane Austen - I re-read Persuasion recently and it was wonderful.
Piranesi by Susannah Clarke is my go to recommendation if you haven't read it yet.
I've been trying for ages to read a biography about Jane Austen but not getting far and have switched to one about John Donne which is actually a cracking read!
I've enjoyed but found a little strange a few books by Andrew Caldecott, but like Mervyn Peake perhaps? Gormenghaust must have been an inspiration.

If you like horror, Stephen King is the obvious choice. I’d also recommend, ‘The Last House on Needless Street’ by Catriona Ward.

Something quite innovative, with sophisticated plotting, is, ‘The Names’ by Florence Knapp, which doesn’t fit neatly into any drama but is well worth a read - contemporary fiction.

So far I have bought Her fearful symmetry by Audry Niffenegger.

Fludd by Hilary Mantel

An experiment in love by Hilary
Antel.

I know I said definitely no love but its Hilary Mantel so I can make an exception.

Tidelands by Phillipa Gregory

Doors of the mind by Michael Bentine of the Goons fame. Behind his comic persona he was a psychic and occultist and Im halfway through his series of books about his occult experiences whih are very illuminating if you are interested in that kind of thing.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver is very good - set in the early 20th century and ghostly

A River Runs Through it by Diana Settlefield

Piranesi- v good

Historical books: the Marriage Portrait and Hamnet by Maggie O'farrell are both v good.

If I was going to spend time in hospital I’d want something guaranteed to cheer me up. My go to books when I’m sad or frightened are:

Evelyn Waugh: The Sword of Honour
P G Wodehouse: Right Ho Jeeves
Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway
Patrick Fermor: A Time of Gifts
Oscar Wilde: Dorian Gray

I also find pretty much anything by Dickens or Jane Austen a comfort.

Have been reading quite a few books by Barbara Kingsolver lately, beautifully written but not overly taxing. If you like biography you might like The Lacuna, which touches on the life of Frieda Kahlo and a character who was involved with her circle.

I've also just finished Unsheltered by her, which weaves a couple of stories featuring women, one an early natural scientist (real person!) in correspondence with Charles Darwin.

I'm also a fan of Hilary Mantel, and while nobody writes anything like her, I would highly rate Barbara Kingsolver.

Im having a facelift so Im not reading about Dorian Gray 😂😂😂

PG Wodehouse’s Wooster and Jeeves books are my go to when I need a comfort read.
Books I’ve read and enjoyed this so far year have been
Atonement - Ian McEwan
I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman
Pachinko - Min Jin Lee
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

A man called ove by Fredrik Backman - lovely read ,thoughtful. The Borgia bride or the devils queen by jeanne kalogridis - both historical based fiction

Robert Harris does some superb historical novels.

John Marr is another author who I rate and is worth considering.

I’d want upbeat, light, reads for a hospital stay. I’d recommend The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Standard Deviation, Tom Lake and The Queen of Dirt Island off the top of my head.

The lacuna and poisonwood Bible by Barbara kingsolver. When the rain clouds gather and Maru by Bessie head.

I also live temple of the familiar by alice walker but thats not to everyone's taste

If you fancy something weird, with a dose of the occult I would recommend The Course of the Heart, M. John Harrison. It's not comfortable reading and definitely not everyone's taste, but it's excellent.

If you haven't already read it, Beyond Black is Mantel's darkest novel. Very different from her historical fiction and just as good. Not remotely feel good though - save it for another occasion.

More conventional hospital reading would be The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. It's a tour de force: historical fiction set in Japan when it was largely cut off from the West, with a newly arrived Dutch clerk, young and a bit wet behind the ears as the main focus. You get a love story, scheming traders, assassins and some genuine cliffhangers. Mitchell is an amazing writer and I reckon he had a lot of fun with this: it's literary fiction, but sort of mashed up with the best kind of cross-cultural action thriller.

Colm Tóibín Brooklyn and Long Island - bloody brilliant books.