If anyone's really bored... here are some books I enjoyed, what else might I like?

[hopefully]

Not posted on here before, but there seem to be lots of alarmingly well read people, so I'm hoping someone can make some recommendations.

I'll read really pretty much anything at all, with the possible exception of 'classics' (I have started War and Peace 4 times, and my record is page 25). Also any book with sloppy editing, which discounts a lot of chick lit (although I love it when its tightly edited). My all time most hated book in terms of editing was Eragon, and one of the Harry Potters (maybe the 5th one?)

I've got 5 weeks of annual leave coming up before maternity leave starts, and I'm hoping I might find time to read some books in between pre-washing 8 million nappies...

So here's what I've read recently:
Many books by Terry Pratchett (been re-reading discworld books)
The time travellers wife
The lovely bones
A couple of Terry Goodkind books
Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
Yes Man - Danny Wallace
The Thursday Next books - Jasper Fforde
Dirk Pitt novels - Clive Cussler
The book of lost things - can't remember author's name!
Shopaholic and baby - Sophie Kinsella (sorry, I know I said I liked good editing!)
The Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
The artemis fowl books - Eoin Colfer

Sorry, I know there's a bit of a jumble in there - I'll read almost anything! I love fantasy, but also non-fiction, 'literature' ones like the lovely bones. Erm....

Anna Karenina is the best book ever!

Same here LadyThompson - I picked up The Light Years in desperation when stuck somewhere with no reading material of my own, and was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. Very involving, much more so than I expected.

Anything by Emily Barr. Unputdownable stuff.

Margaret Atwood 'The Blind Assassin'

Also seconding Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' triology.

Oh, goodo Cyteen. I have found others of hers disappointing, though The Beautiful Visit is nice to read around Christmas...beautiful house parties etc.

Another fave of mine is John Updike - the Rabbit books, or else Couples.

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Am going to put all these together in a list and start working my way through, I think! It's been such a long time since I bought new books, have been re-reading my bookshelves for aaaaages, so this is very exciting for me. [geek emoticon]

I'll keep you updated on how I get on! (Not that it's probably very interesting for you, but I always like it when someone tells me they liked/didn't like a book I suggested).

Oh, and thank you very very much for the suggestions!

Can I recommend Robert Harris and William Boyd. Both fab authors. Also have you read Phillip Pullman? His Dark Materials and Sally Lockhart series are both excellent. And Garth Nix's Abhorsen books are wonderful too.

Ooh yes, William Boyd is very good and very prolific, so there's loads of his stuff to keep you occupied.

Robert Rankin for books sort of in the comic sci-fi genre.

Rachel's Holiday by Marion Keyes for decent chicklit.

just started Sebastian Faulks' Engleby, so far so good..

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Christiana - me and Cyteen just said that! Her characterisation is superb.

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If you want to have a go at another Russian novel which is a bit more accessible than War and Peace, try Master and Margarita by Bulgakov - really good. Or, an easier Tolstoy is Ivan Ilyich. Very short, unlike War and Peace. I actually liked War and Peace, except the ending is lousy, which is a bit offensive after all those zillions of pages.

The Mark Chadbourn books are good - kind of 'age of science over, back to an age of magic with dragons over the M4'

If you feel like being all intellectual (an all), then the best Russian novel I have ever read is 'A day in the life of Ivan Ivanisovitch'. Blardy amazing writing - you can see why he got the Nobel for it

Have you read the Phillip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' - a total must.

Christiana, yes I did know. Did you know that they each wrote a bit of one of each other's books, for a wheeze? Jane has got a new book coming out in October called LOVE ALL. I've read a proof. It's good.

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