What book are you reading now because it is doing my head in that I can't find something I want to read so am going to steal your ideas instead..!

[foxinsocks]

I finished Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd (which I enjoyed but it wasn't a can't put down book - I stopped it and came back to it but did finish it and ultimately enjoyed it).

I am half way through Little Stranger but cannot make myself finish it. I've got to the stage where I half hope the whole of Hundreds Hall goes up in flames with Dr Faraday in the middle of it.

I've also started 2 other books - A Week in December (Sebastian Faulks) and Fifty Grand (McGKinty) and they are grabbing me but not in the way I was hoping they would. I imagine I'll finish both but I'm really hoping for a great book next iykwim.

So what are you reading and would you recommend it?

I am re-reading Village Diary by Miss Read which is probably not a great work of literature but is lovely comfort reading

An American Wife (rec by someone on here!)
Is very good so far, baout a htird of the way in, easy to read.

Just finished The Bolter which was good.

Half way through Kingdom by tHe Sea by Paul thereaox, not v good though.

Also read Reluctant Fundamentalist last month whoich was brilliant.

I enjoyed Kingdom by the Sea when I read it (must have been about 12 or 13 years ago now) but did enjoy Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island more (Kingdom by the Sea gets mentioned in the latter).

I'm reading 'Cutting for Stone'

I am reading Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir - a fictionalised account of the life of Lady Jane Grey. Weir is a massively respected and accessible writer of non-fiction history but this is her first attempt at historical fiction. I'm really enjoying it.

thank you for all of these

I am going to look them all up. If it wasn't for recommendations like these, I would never have heard of half these books.

A Sweet Obscurity by Patrick Gale - it's brilliant as is everything he's ever written. Am also working my way through Andrea Levy's back catalogue after reading Small Island.

I am the same, I get loads of recommendations from Mumsnet!

Kerry- same as DH then. and there are another 2 feckers to come!

mrssawdust - I really enjoyed it aswell, read the book last summer whilst on holiday. My dd1 has read a lot of tudor novels by phillipa gregory aswell that are ather good.

I really did dislike Lady Jane Grays mother, but then I suppose I was suppoesed to.

I have just started 'A Prayer For Owen Meany' and hope it is going to be as good as loads of Mers have said it is.

MNers even.

I like Patrick Gale but have read most of them I think (but will now go back and check)

lol at reading a series like that - you kind of want to carry on just because you've invested so much time in it!

Sanderson is expanding the notes he made so maybe they will be as good?

Ivykaty yes her mother is a beeeatch! And yes I guess we're supposed to dislike her! I've read Philippa Gregory too. I want to start on the Shardlake Tudor whodunnits at some point too (can't remember author)

I think though it really made me think about how it all worked, I read another one after

about Queen Catherine, who was berothed to Arthur and then married Henry 8th - that was very good aswell. Such an insight into who Catherine of Aragon was and what made her tick and how she changed English history just loved it - can't think of the name of the book?

has it started off ok janeite? I see it has good reviews on amazon though the description of 'christian mystic novel' is putting me off a bit.

I remember the World acoording to Garp but haven't read any John Irving since then.

Only read a couple of pages - can't say I'm particularly grabbed by it yet - hence the fact that I'm on here instead of reading it!

Have you read any other Sarah Waters books? If not, don't let The Little Stranger put you off, I thought Fingersmith and Affinity were much better. Like you half way through I wished the whole lot would go up in flames .

Recently read The Outcast by Sadie Jones which i thought was excellent and have just started The Road home by Rose Tremain which looks promising.

'One Day'

in was the only book in wstones top ten that I hadn't read

ooh yes, you like similar books to me. I've read all the other Sarah Waters (enjoyed them) and did enjoy The Outcast too - in fact, v readable I thought.

I'm going through a phase of enjoying books like that I think (I imagine if I read Engelby now I would enjoy it more - at the time I was a bit scathing of it. If you haven't read that, I'd recommend it (Engelby that is)).

I quite liked 'a prayer for Owen Meany' and read his most recent one a while ago - title escapes me, but its about tattoos.
Just read 'Stone Virgins' by Barry Unsworth on recommendation from DP
I rather liked 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norris' too
Wouldn't recommend 'Chesil Beach' by Ian McEwan though, its a bit thin, but I suppose it is well written

I have that but haven't started it mii. Would be interested to hear what you think!

I've just finished 'Shakespeare's Truth' by an author I've not heard of before - Rex Richards and it was FAB! Very Dan Brown-esque and even had the Queen being kidnapped and Prince William being bumped off in a particularly nasty way! It's a real 'why-dunnit' rather than 'who' to be honest...based around the fact that Shakespeare couldn't even write his name, barely a book, it tells the story of why who actually wrote the plays/sonnets was kept a secret for years by the Royals. A blindingly good read. Hope his next book's as good!!