Books! #2 What are you reading, recommendations & reviews

[Caffeine Fiend]

I read loads when breastfeeding!! Kindle is fab for that as you only need one hand I did used to read lots in the night feeds when baby was really small as I needed to be more aware of what I was doing but would be so tired Id need to re-read again in the morning

 

[slugella]

Ok so this is a hard question but if you had to choose a favourite book to recommend what would it be?

If you find it too difficult to choose you can have up to 3. Saying this as I don't think I will be able to choose just one

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

Ahh congratulations on your pregnancy hopefully your sickness and tiredness starts to ease soon.
I only really rediscovered my love for reading after having my little girl (now 3.5!) I would read my kindle whilst waiting for hospital appointments and then when she was a newborn and slept a lot I would find there was only so much daytime tv I could watch so would read instead....also found it handy having the kindle app on my phone and when we would go out and she would fall asleep in the car I could sit on the drive and read my book!

*waves* Hello fellow car napper veteran. My Kindle app saved me and still does when my 3.5yo has the odd car nap. My 5mo has never really had a car nap as we rarely go anywhere that requires the car

 

[Katykatykaty]

Ok so this is a hard question but if you had to choose a favourite book to recommend what would it be?

If you find it too difficult to choose you can have up to 3. Saying this as I don't think I will be able to choose just one

Ooh that’s a really tough question. I’m just gonna go with what comes to mind first and not over think it. Basing these on what I remember genuinely being gripped by and not wanting to put down and then having it stick in my head afterwards ...

1) Bird Box by Josh Malerman - my heart was in my mouth at so many points and I was so genuinely terrified at one point that I can still picture it so clearly!

2) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I remember reading this on the first day of a holiday and I read it one sitting (I was up till 4am as didn’t want to put it down). I first read it 11 years ago and every few years I pick it up again and love it just as much as I did the first time.

3) Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig - this book changed my life and I just absolutely adore it. It helped me through several bad times in my life and I loved how easy it was to read despite such tough subject matter. I’ve bought it as a gift for so many people through the years to help them the way it helped me. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

 

[ses3711]

One Day- I know it’s soppy and I’m into thrillers but it just resonated deeply with me on another level. As you follow the characters every year you really feel like you go on a journey with them. I loved this book so much...

Little Women has a special place in my heart top. My Nan gave me an illustrated version as a child.

Im mostly into thrillers now with a bit of chick lit thrown in now and again.

 

[Geranium]

Ok so this is a hard question but if you had to choose a favourite book to recommend what would it be?

If you find it too difficult to choose you can have up to 3. Saying this as I don't think I will be able to choose just one

This is really really hard - I have so many. But here’s three.

King Cotton by Thomas Armstrong. Set in Liverpool and Lancashire during the American Civil War and about the cotton famine. It’s a massive, long book but incredibly readable. I have destroyed at least two copies by reading them so much and have two second hand copies in reserve. There is an abridged version but that loses so much detail.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I never tire of Jane Austen, the language, the insight, the humour, the characters.

Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler. Same reasons as for the above, plus Anne seems to have incredible insights into how families and relationships work and change. Very hard to pick just one.

Honourable mention - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. A real comfort read I never tire of!

 

[slugella]

One Day- I know it’s soppy and I’m into thrillers but it just resonated deeply with me on another level. As you follow the character’s every year you really feel like you go on a journey with them. I loved this book so much...

Little Women has a special place in my heart top. My Nan gave me an illustrated version as a child.

Im mostly into thrillers now with a bit of chick lit thrown in now and again.

One Day is one of mine too, I absolutely adore it. My copy is so battered from rereading it.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is another that comes to mind. I'm currently reading her newest book Transcendent Kingdom but not as into it.

 

[Kitt]

Wow thanks everyone for the really thoughtful responses. I’ll keep you updated on how I get on. We’ve just moved house and have no WiFi / tv yet so I’m going to try and take advantage and read more this week after work.

 

[Geranium]

Ooh that’s a really tough question. I’m just gonna go with what comes to mind first and not over think it. Basing these on what I remember genuinely being gripped by and not wanting to put down and then having it stick in my head afterwards ...

1) Bird Box by Josh Malerman - my heart was in my mouth at so many points and I was so genuinely terrified at one point that I can still picture it so clearly!

2) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I remember reading this on the first day of a holiday and I read it one sitting (I was up till 4am as didn’t want to put it down). I first read it 11 years ago and every few years I pick it up again and love it just as much as I did the first time.

3) Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig - this book changed my life and I just absolutely adore it. It helped me through several bad times in my life and I loved how easy it was to read despite such tough subject matter. I’ve bought it as a gift for so many people through the years to help them the way it helped me. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

I didn’t realise Bird Box was a book! I must read it. Loved the Hunger Games too. I remember starting it on Saturday morning and my husband getting angry with me because I didn’t get up until lunch time!

 

[slugella]

This is really really hard - I have so many. But here’s three.

King Cotton by Thomas Armstrong. Set in Liverpool and Lancashire during the American Civil War and about the cotton famine. It’s a massive, long book but incredibly readable. I have destroyed at least two copies by reading them so much and have two second hand copies in reserve. There is an abridged version but that loses so much detail.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I never tire of Jane Austen, the language, the insight, the humour, the characters.

Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler. Same reasons as for the above, plus Anne seems to have incredible insights into how families and relationships work and change. Very hard to pick just one.

Honourable mention - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. A real comfort read I never tire of!

I'm currently reading Rebecca as wanted to read it before I watched the film and I'm really struggling with it. The writing is beautiful, the descriptions of the house etc. But I find the characters unlikeable and a bit boring, and the plot quite predictable. I think maybe as I went into it with super high expectations which makes it feel more disappointing?

It's my goal to read some Jane Austen this year - I can't believe I have never read any of hers. I bought Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility.

 

[Geranium]

I'm currently reading Rebecca as wanted to read it before I watched the film and I'm really struggling with it. The writing is beautiful, the descriptions of the house etc. But I find the characters unlikeable and a bit boring, and the plot quite predictable. I think maybe as I went into it with super high expectations which makes it feel more disappointing?

It's my goal to read some Jane Austen this year - I can't believe I have never read any of hers. I bought Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility.

They are both great. Kind of at different ends of a the spectrum. S &S is about youthful falling in love and Persuasion is about a more mature love affair. Let me know what you think.

 

[Katykatykaty]

I didn’t realise Bird Box was a book! I must read it. Loved the Hunger Games too. I remember starting it on Saturday morning and my husband getting angry with me because I didn’t get up until lunch time!

Bird Box is so much better as a book than the film. I loved the film and have watched it several times but the book in incredible. There’s a sequel to it called Malorie but I’ve yet to read it.

 

[Geranium]

I'm currently reading Rebecca as wanted to read it before I watched the film and I'm really struggling with it. The writing is beautiful, the descriptions of the house etc. But I find the characters unlikeable and a bit boring, and the plot quite predictable. I think maybe as I went into it with super high expectations which makes it feel more disappointing?

It's my goal to read some Jane Austen this year - I can't believe I have never read any of hers. I bought Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility.

Du Maurier has a very distinct style and I can see it’s not everyone’s taste. I don’t think it matters if you don’t like the characters - Max is a pompous arse and the heroine is a mixture of humility and ego. The dominant and fascinating character is Rebecca, a brilliant anti-heroine who dominates the book. Sally Beauman wrote a novel exploring Rebecca’s point of view which was very well done.

If you really don’t like i wouldn’t force yourself - life’s too short!

 

[slugella]

Du Maurier has a very distinct style and I can see it’s not everyone’s taste. I don’t think it matters if you don’t like the characters - Max is a pompous arse and the heroine is a mixture of humility and ego. The dominant and fascinating character is Rebecca, a brilliant anti-heroine who dominates the book. Sally Beauman wrote a novel exploring Rebecca’s point of view which was very well done.

If you really don’t like i wouldn’t force yourself - life’s too short!

Unlikeable characters isn't usually a deal breaker for me, it's just that the heroine is a bit dull so far. The writing really is beautiful in parts, and Rebecca has caught my interest. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through so I think I will give it a bit longer and see how I get on.

 

[Sazie1]

I didn’t realise Bird Box was a book! I must read it. Loved the Hunger Games too. I remember starting it on Saturday morning and my husband getting angry with me because I didn’t get up until lunch time!

The book Bird Box is so much better than the movie. I was really disappointed when I saw the movie.

 

[Shineyshine]

Ok so this is a hard question but if you had to choose a favourite book to recommend what would it be?

If you find it too difficult to choose you can have up to 3. Saying this as I don't think I will be able to choose just one

A great question, not easy to answer.

I think I would have to say Wild Swans. I read it several times cover to cover and never tired of the stories of those women’s lives. Amazing. I don’t generally go for biographical books, historical fiction and thrillers are more my thing, but this comprised history along with such fascinating life stories that I truly cherished that book. I haven’t gone back to it for years but I’m thinking now could be the time.

Also have to say both Just William and Diary of a Nobody will always hold a place in my heart!

 

[Geranium]

A great question, not easy to answer.

I think I would have to say Wild Swans. I read it several times cover to cover and never tired of the stories of those women’s lives. Amazing. I don’t generally go for biographical books, historical fiction and thrillers are more my thing, but this comprised history along with such fascinating life stories that I truly cherished that book. I haven’t gone back to it for years but I’m thinking now could be the time.

Also have to say both Just William and Diary of a Nobody will always hold a place in my heart!

I never managed to get into Wild Swans, then I lent someone my copy and it was never returned! That has happened so often I now never lend books! Read Diary of a Nobody at college and loved it. Some bits of it still make me giggle when I think about it all those years later!

 

[slugella]

A great question, not easy to answer.

I think I would have to say Wild Swans. I read it several times cover to cover and never tired of the stories of those women’s lives. Amazing. I don’t generally go for biographical books, historical fiction and thrillers are more my thing, but this comprised history along with such fascinating life stories that I truly cherished that book. I haven’t gone back to it for years but I’m thinking now could be the time.

Also have to say both Just William and Diary of a Nobody will always hold a place in my heart!

I was dusting my shelves this morning and my partners copy of Wild Swans caught my eye and I thought oh I really should read that! Your post has encouraged me to bump it up the to be read list

 

[Shineyshine]

I never managed to get into Wild Swans, then I lent someone my copy and it was never returned! That has happened so often I now never lend books! Read Diary of a Nobody at college and loved it. Some bits of it still make me giggle when I think about it all those years later!

Diary of a Nobody was such an unexpected delight for me. So funny and charming. Will always love it.

I was dusting my shelves this morning and my partners copy of Wild Swans caught my eye and I thought oh I really should read that! Your post has encouraged me to bump it up the to be read list

I’m sure you will enjoy it. It’s so interesting and moving to hear the way women lived and survived. A wonderful book.

 

[Amelia99]

Just finished a book called “The Appeal” by Janice Hallett. Really enjoyed it. It’s a quirky take on the whodunnit genre.