Best reads - Club Together Book Club?
I'm just about coming to the end of Deborah Moggach’s book, Heartbreak Hotel. I found it a very enjoyable read and very amusing. But what should I read next? Any recommendations?
I also wondered if anyone would be interested in a Club Together book club? According to a member survey earlier last year, reading is the most recurring leisure activity whilst caravanning. I know I’m a book worm and I’m sure there’s a few of us out there
who enjoy a good read. Anyone interested or any suggestions?
Comments
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We seem to have the original start topic from Rowena but unfortunately without all the interesting replies. What have you been reading recently? I've just read "The Co-op's Got Bananas" by Hunter Davies. I've always enjoyed reading his books and articles. This one was about himself, growing up in the North through WW2 and onwards to the start of his career in journalism. I paid £2 for this secondhand hardback on Amazon!
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It's a pity that the original thread seems to have got lost as there were some excellent recommendations on it. I read 2 or 3 books a week at home, more when we're away so I'd certainly say yes to the idea of a book club.
I mainly read crime and thriller novels - all the popular British and American writers but I also like picking up books at random from our local library shelves.
Two of the best of these random picks I've read recently are "All the light we cannot see" by Anthony Doerr, set during World War II and "To the bright edge of the world" by Eowyn Ivey set in Alaska. Both great for their brilliant descriptive writing. Highly recommended!
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I have not read a fiction book for ages!!! However I do like political autobiographies and current reading Ed Balls, Speaking Out. Not quite House of Cards but an interesting insight and as yet no mention of Strictly!! Recently finished Alan Johnson's third book. It was whilst reading this that I realise all his books were named after Beatles songs. Whilst I appreciate that not everyone wants to read about politics Alan's first book, This Boy is about growing up in post war London in the fifties and nothing about politics. For anyone of a certain age it will bring back poignant memories of those days and the struggles many of us endured.
David
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I enjoyed "This Boy" too, I went on to read the next book "Please Mister Postman" which gets steadily more political doesn't it and a bit fragmented? Might read The Long and Winding Road but am just about to start on Chris Mullins political diaries.
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On this trip I've read 3 Ian Rankin "Rebus" novels and 3 Peter James's Roy Grace ones. For a change I'm now reading a Penguin Classic, Robert Graves' "Wife to Mr Milton" based round the English Civil War of 1642. It's written from the point of view of Marie Powell, who married John Milton at the age of 16. It's a bit of heavy going but does give an insight into the politics of the age.
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I have finished Ed Balls, Speaking Out. Not a bad read with some interesting insights although anyone looking for "juicy bits" would no doubt be disappointed!!!
Next on the agenda is something which I expect to be a bit grimmer but often history is like that. The book is called "The German War" by Nicholas Stargardt a history Professor from Oxford. He sets out to commentate on the Second World War from a German perspective, but not from the High Command or political leaders point of view but from the point of view of ordinary Germans. Its a thick volume and closely typed, so a lot of reading.
David
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I'm really enjoying Chris Mullins political diaries which start at the beginning of "new labour" they are quite revealing about the various characters around at that time. The bureaucracy in the EU was also revealing, I'm waiting for the expenses bit, this will be even more entertaining!
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Brue
I looked at the Chris Mullins books but was a bit confused about the chronological order. Is his latest book Hinterland part of the series?
David
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I was confused too and started with the last diaries "A Walk on Part." I've got "Hinterland" lined up to follow which is a political memoir following the end of the diaries, probably covering previous ground already but I think it will be a good read. The diaries are quite personal, sometimes the noisy baby who won't sleep takes centre stage, if you had one of those you feel some sympathy.
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Just reading an interesting book called "The Reader on the 6.27" by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent. Although French (how did you guess?) its written in English about a young man who works in a paper pulping factory and he saves bits of books that he reads out to his fellow travellers on the train to work every day. It develops into a love story, a la Amelie, Very well written and not normally my thing but recommended.
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Took the latest Michael Connelly, Harry Bosch, away to Bath last week and enjoyed it as usual and was pleased to find a Sam Eastland book about his Inspector Pekkala (set in Stalins Russia) that was missing from my collection. A good series of books if anyone doesn't already know of him.
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I read that Harry Bosch book over Christmas, W. An excellent series of books, I reckon Michael Donnelly is the best of the American detective writers, consistently good storytelling. I also like Harlan Cohen's Myron Bolitar series which is a bit more humorous and John Connolly's Charlie Parker series, a bit darker than most.
Just about to start the latest Rebus which finally arrived at the library for me last week!
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Ought to mention separately the latest of my random picks - "The Shock of the Fall" by Nathan Filer. It's been on the kindle best seller list for ages so I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about when I spotted it on the library shelves. A story about mental illness which sounds a bit grim but is, in fact, entertaining and thought provoking and very, very readable. Highly recommended!
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I agree Mousey, about Michael Connelly. Consistently good.
Did you ever try any of Lawrence Block's books with Matt Scudder as his main character or his books about Keller, a hired killer? Sounds grim but there's a lot of humour in his Keller books, usually found with the word "Hit" in the title. His books when he first started out are a bit on the "tough guy/vunerable woman" style prevalent in the 50's so I would skip them.
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Don't know whether anyone has read books by Fred Vargas but a find this Frenchwoman has a way of keeping you engrossed in them. They are murder mysteries with an interesting array of detectives and the characters are very well fleshed out with a good dollop of humour.
Anyone wishing to try them should start with the first one, naturally, called The Chalk Circle Man. Just re-reading it and it is still good second time around.
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I am coming to the end of reading a series of recent political autobiographies. Everything from Dennis Skinner to Ken Clarke, apart from political indigestion (and indignation but not much inspiration) I shall not be reading anything similar for a long time. I have had to stop reading them late at night due to the occasional nightmare and won't be recommending these as relaxing holiday reads!
Has anyone got some better suggestions?!
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Two brilliant books (well, I thought so, brue!) which I suggested on the previous page.
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and To The Bright Edge Of The World by Eowyn Ivey - not sure if you were looking for novels but they're both a very good read.
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Historical fiction/fantasy is my kettle of fish, wasn't really a book worm till we started going abroad regularly on holiday.
Just finished the Assassins creed series, brilliant!!
Although not in the same criteria, I also enjoyed the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child.
Sorry but no intellectual matter as previously posted.
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I thought I'd replied to this, in fact it showed up in latest discussions! I came on to add something good as an edit and I find there's no post from me 😲.
Have you read C J Sansom? About a lawyer in Henry Vlll reign. Starts with eye dissolution of the monasteries and goes on through 6, so far, books.
Author has a degree in law and also history.
I can recommend them.
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Not read that one yet, but I'm sure it will.
I really enjoyed those books and was really looking forward to seeing the film when it was released,
An then they cast Tom Cruise as the lead !!!
How totally wrong did they get that??
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Just finished reading "Nightingales in November" by Mike Dilger.
He picks 12 birds that either visit us or are homesters and follows their lives during a 12 month cycle. Quite a good book to dip into over a prolonged period, maybe month by month.
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I read an interview with Lee Child which, I think, gave the impression he was going to kill/pension Jack Reacher off after 21 novels. But "Night School" which is the 21st in the series takes him back to 1996. There's another "Midnight Line" due to be published later this year which, I suppose will be the 21st in sequence. So maybe that'll be the end? Certainly all the adventures have been getting very samey just lately. It must be very difficult for an author to keep coming up with new ideas for the same character, so maybe time for Jack to jump before he's pushed?!!
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It must be very difficult for an author to keep coming up with new ideas for the same character
Funnily enough I think that Michael Connelly does it very well with Bosch, but I agree with you.
Ironically having found myself recommending Lawrence Block's "Keller" series to you I found myself reading the last one that he wrote about him and I thought it was 1 book too many. The denouement after the previous book seemed to wrap things up so well.
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