Books #42

[Cheddar Chalpupa]

I forgot every book I ever read and it'll probably change tomorrow (apart from the first two)....

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
11/22/63 - Stephen King
Project Hail Mary - Andy Wier
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
A Company of Liars - Karen Maitland
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Oh feck me, sorry sorry, mea culpa, should I revise? If I’m the only one, I don’t mind fixing it.

We could go all posh and literati and start a yearly list.
We definitely need our favourite children's books.

 

[daisynoon]

I'm listening to the audiobook of East of Eden (on loan from the library so I have more of a chance of actually getting through it), and I'm 25% of the way through (only 20 hours to go!).

Does anyone else struggle when you know you're still in the relatively nice part of the book (aside from Cathy maybe burning her parents alive, and Charles nearly beating Adam to death, those minor things), and you're waiting for the narrative to reach the really rough parts?

It's good for me to cultivate patience, and I'll stick with the audio over an ebook as long as I can, but I want to be at the end already

 

[emmer_moans]

In no particular order:-

1 - The Running Grave - Robert Galbraith - I didn't breathe throughout the entirity of this reading experience
2 - Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - reading it at 15 kickstarted my interest in reading classics and it has a special place in my heart
3 - 1984 - George Orwell - so poignant and applicable to life, quoteworthy and sometimes I think of Room 101 and the Memory Hole
4 - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend - made me cackle as a teen, made me cackle upon rereading as a 30-something.
5 - The Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling - captivated me as a child, rereading now.
6 - Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - again fond of this from my teen years
7 - Persuasion - Jane Austen - favourite Austen, yearning and second chances.
8 - Northern Lights - Philip Pullman - still lives rent free in my head, I need my own Pantalaimon.
9 - The Grand Sophy - Georgette Heyer - just vibes and Regency fun
10 - An Imaginitive Experience - Mary Wesley - really cared about the characters.

 

[anniemouse]

Here’s mine in no particular order

1. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
2. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
3. A Man Called Ove, Fredrick Backman
4. The Foundling, Stacey Halls
5. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
6. I Who Have Never Known Men Jacqueline Harpman
7. Dear Mrs Bird A J Pearce
8. In Memoriam Alice Winn
9. The Nightingale Kirstin Hannah
10. The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood

Sorry can I please change Dear Mrs Bird to The Island by Victoria Hislop. Thanks

 

[Chocolategoggler]

My list:
1. The Librarians of Rue de Picardie by Janet Skeslien Charles
2. The House In The Cerulean Sea by T J Klune
3. The Switch by Beth O'Leary
4. Atlas The Story Of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley
5. The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
6. A Wedding In Provence by Katie Fforde
7. Date With Justice by Julia Chapman
8. Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley
9. A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer.
10. The Hallmarked Man by J K Rowling

 

[Carapop]

Woodworking was very meh. Read like young adult which I HATE.

I couldn’t get past first page of Age of Innocence, it was so wordy, but it was a very cheap kindle edition and it had typed election as erection!

I’m trying Animal by Lisa Taddeo now but I’m not immediately enchanted. Has anyone read it?

 

[MissHavisham]

Woodworking was very meh. Read like young adult which I HATE.

I couldn’t get past first page of Age of Innocence, it was so wordy, but it was a very cheap kindle edition and it had typed election as erection!

I’m trying Animal by Lisa Taddeo now but I’m not immediately enchanted. Has anyone read it?

I just checked my copy and erection is correct. It's referring to the construction of an opera house, rather than a big old throbber

 

[SaintLeo]

My list before I overthink it more than I already have! In no particular order…

1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
5. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
6. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
7. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
8. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes
10. Riders by Jilly Cooper

There was always going to be a Jane Austen on my list. I went backwards and forwards between P&P, Emma and Persuasion but ultimately P&P won out as it was the first of her books I read and that one that introduced me to her work.

Re Jilly Cooper, obviously an author who is ever going to make those Guardian or NYT lists because of the type of books she wrote, but over the years the Rutshire Chronicles have been the books I’ve gone back to more than any others. I adore the characters and the world she created for them so she has to be in my top 10. I actually think Polo is my favourite but Riders makes the list for the same reason as P&P - the one that started my love for Jilly and all her books.

 

[wishiniwasskinny]

My top 10 in no particular order. Winter Solstice is my utter comfort book. I re-read it every year. The Paper Palace has really stayed with me, it feels like a gorgeous hazy summer dream. I think I’ll re-read this summer.

1. Winter Solstice - Rosamunde Pilcher
2. Small Things Like These - Clare Keegan
3. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
4. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
5. Tomorrow x 3 - Gabrielle Zevin
6. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
7. City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert
8. The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller
9. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
10. Rules of Civility - Amor Towles

 

[Katykatykaty]

I finished Dungeon Crawler Carl at the weekend and after initially enjoying it, I did get bored as it went on. I found the constant opening of prize boxes really irritating and found myself skimming those bits. I wanted the plot to move quicker! Annoyingly though, I really want to know what happens next but not sure I can make my way through any more of the series to find out.

I’ve since started Her First Lie by Lucinda Berry which is the prequel to The Perfect Child that I read a few years ago and loved. Only about 6 chapters in but loving it so far.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Houston. We have a problem.

My top ten list is currently 33 books long. Every time I go to take one out I feel like I am removing a family member.

Come back tomorrow for tomorrow's trauma.

 

[SaintLeo]

We definitely need our favourite children's books.

Already mentally composing my list!

 

[Harlot O'Scara]

Houston. We have a problem.

My top ten list is currently 33 books long. Every time I go to take one out I feel like I am removing a family member.

Come back tomorrow for tomorrow's trauma.

If it helps I just banged out (ooh er) the first 10 that came to mind and pressed post to avoid angsting over it.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

If it helps I just banged out (ooh er) the first 10 that came to mind and pressed post to avoid angsting over it.

This must be my position tomorrow.

 

[Harlot O'Scara]

This must be my position tomorrow.

You can do it!

 

[OwlHen]

I've agonised so much over mine! But other than number 1, which will always be my true love book, the others are in a totally random order.

1. Timeline - Michael Crichton
2. The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead
3. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
5. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
6. All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye - Christopher Brookmyre
7. The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
8. The Tailor of Panama - John Le Carre
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling
10. Slow Horses - Mick Herron

 

[veronica71]

I've agonised so much over mine! But other than number 1, which will always be my true love book, the others are in a totally random order.

1. Timeline - Michael Crichton
2. The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead
3. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid
5. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
6. All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye - Christopher Brookmyre
7. The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
8. The Tailor of Panama - John Le Carre
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling
10. Slow Horses - Mick Herron

Yes - Crichton must be on my list but I can’t work out which book I liked best

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Woodworking was very meh. Read like young adult which I HATE.

I couldn’t get past first page of Age of Innocence, it was so wordy, but it was a very cheap kindle edition and it had typed election as erection!

I’m trying Animal by Lisa Taddeo now but I’m not immediately enchanted. Has anyone read it?

Animal is one of the strangest books Ive ever read but I found it so compelling, but then I read The Guest by Emma Cline and it has such similar themes and vibes and overall ambience.

Id also say The Shards by Brett Ellis Easton would also fall in to a similar genre.

Im probably not making much sense here but I liked all 3 but unreliable unstable narrators are my jam.

 

[Carapop]

Animal is one of the strangest books Ive ever read but I found it so compelling, but then I read The Guest by Emma Cline and it has such similar themes and vibes and overall ambience.

Id also say The Shards by Brett Ellis Easton would also fall in to a similar genre.

Im probably not making much sense here but I liked all 3 but unreliable unstable narrators are my jam.

I am finding it intensely annoying, being a sad girl lit fic fan I would’ve expected me to enjoy the unreliable and unstable but I think I might return to this another time. I fear invoking another slump

Have the Jilly Cooper fans read Lace by Shirley Conran? I’ve not read Jilly but I imagine it might be a similar vibe? It’s not my usual genre but I really enjoyed it. Great fun.