(member)

16/05/2008 19:33

recommendations?

I´m going to have a long break in a few weeks time,(if I don´t suddenly get a new job and have to start straight away) and thought I´d stock up with some good books and enjoy some off time since I have been working so hard this spring.
I´d be grateful for recommendations.
some whodunnit, I´ve read pdjames and elizabeth george, any other author you´s recommend?
I like interesting biographies or real life stories as well.
if you have read a really good book, I´d really like to know
Thanks

(member)

16/05/2008 20:56

Re: recommendations?

Have you read any Sally Beauman? I enjoy her books - they are well-written and intelligent, with very good plotting - a bit dark (but no more so than PD James!). I'm re-reading The Language of Love at the moment, and am really hooked on it, in spite of remembering the eendings. Minette Waters is also goodNeither Beauman nor Waters writes Whodunnits, but their stories usually have a mystery at their heart.

Enjoy your time off!

(member)

16/05/2008 21:18

Re: recommendations?

Have you read 'The Kite Runner'? Not a whodunnit but certainly biographical and gripping reading.
My husband reads Donne Leon whodunnits. They are all based in Venice and she is a very erudite lady so they are well written.(She lives in|Venice and knows it well)
I have also had C J Sansom whodunnits recommenmded. They are based in Tudor times.
Talking of History....'The Other Boleyn Girl' is a jolly good read too.
happy reading!

(member)

16/05/2008 21:57

Re: recommendations?

thank you Mayday and valaber. I will lookinto these books/authors. thanks. I´m really grateful.

(member)

17/05/2008 11:29

Re: recommendations?

Claire Tomalin's biog of Samuel Pepys - The Unequalled Self - is fascinating and a nice chunky read.

You might like The Little Friend and The Secret History by Donna Tartt - both are above average whodunnits.

(member)

17/05/2008 16:29

Re: recommendations?

Also by Claire Tomalin - Jane Austen, A Life - a very good read.

Val McDermid also writes really good thrillers/crime novels - very detailed and gripping.

2 really good novels I've read recently - A History of Love by Nicole Krauss and Certainty by Madeleine Thien; both feature the younger and older generation living in the present but affected by their past. I was moved by both of these well written novels.

Happy Reading - whether or not you choose any of the above - there are so many wonderful books out there!

J x

(member)

17/05/2008 19:17

Re: recommendations?

If you like crime stories, I enjoy Patricia Cornwell's books and also Ruth Rendell.
I also endorse the Kite Runner as an extremely good read, along with the Book Thief (discussed elsewhere on this forum) and Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Enjoy your break - it must be lovely to have a nice long time to devote to reading!

(member)

17/05/2008 22:31

Re: recommendations?

thank you all for all recommendations! I have made a LONG list now, and will look all these books/authors up.
Thanks!!!

(member)

19/05/2008 08:35

Re: recommendations?

Hi Maja, If you like who dunnits, then I can heartily recommend P.J. Tracy's books. P.J. Tracy is a mother-daughter team - Patricia J. and Traci Lambrecht.
Some praise for their books are :
A furiously paced tale - Library Journal
A mix of high tech and street smart police work... an enticing read - People
A fast paced and intriguingly plotted mystery - The Boston Globe
A thriller to remember - New York Daily News
Not only original but genuinely funny. The characters are fresh, the plot intricate, and the ending is absolute dynamite.... a truly satisfying, terrific read! - Nevada Barr

This wonderful team have written:
Monkeewrench
Dead Run
Snow Blind
Live Bait

I haven't read their 4th, Live Bait yet.... will be startign that ere long. Already looking forward to their 5th.... 6th.... 7th..... books.

It always concerns the same Minneapolis police team, with teh same main characters, and the Monkeewrench team - a small group of highly eccentric, brilliant IT specialists who each time anew end up working closely with the police. The characters are brilliant, and so original!!!
Cannot advice it highly enough!
One word of warning though! Read the books in sequence, starting with Monkeewrench.

ENJOY!!!

(member)

19/05/2008 09:55

Re: recommendations?

Hi Chatelaine,

I've read P J Tracy's books too. I can't praise them highly enough..a brilliant read. Wonder when the next one will be in the shops? I keep looking.

perry

(member)

19/05/2008 17:25

Re: recommendations?

Hej Maja!

One I think you will definitely enjoy is 'The Snow Geese' by William Fiennes. It has very many plaudits, such as: 'A remarkable journey into the depths of the Canadian Arctic, following the flight of migrating snow geese ..... travel writing at its very best,' and, 'One of the most engrossing travel books I have read ... '(Conde Nast Traveller), and, 'An inspired work of natural history and travel'.

Will be interested in your reaction if you decide to read it.

Treetops

(member)

23/05/2008 10:41

Re: recommendations?

I´m making a note of that Treetops. Thanks. I´m looking forward to some reading time.

(member)

23/05/2008 12:07

Re: recommendations?

I've just recently read some Agatha Christie for the first time every. What a joy! Loved them .... I've bought a whole heap to read during the summer (if I get time!) ..... I feel like she's a present waiting to be unwrapped by me.

Thoroughly recommend her (well, there is a reason her books are still sold in such vast numbers .... she's good!)

(member)

23/05/2008 15:03

Re: recommendations?

Ruth Rendell is a blooming good read Maja - I've read loads but The Bridesmade and The Crocodile Bird were partiuclarly good.

My favourite of hers though is 'A Dark Adapted Eye' - but I can't remember if this is by Ruth Rendell or the other name she writes under - Barbara Vine. My D has my copy at the moment so I can't check but its one of those two.

(member)

24/05/2008 16:23

Re: recommendations?

i would add Nicci French, Jodie picoult and Anita Shreve to the long list already suggested. A thousand splendid suns by t Khaled Houssine ( Kite Runner author) is another very good read, and how about Atonement? Could go on and on--- think you will have enough for a few weeks!! Happy reading!

(member)

24/05/2008 21:24

Re: recommendations?

Hi Maja, I've just finished a great read by Mark Gimenez "The Abduction". If you like thrillers this is for you. A real page turner.I think you may enjoy it. I did.

(member)

24/05/2008 22:12

Re: recommendations?

Have you read Antonia Fraser's biography of Marie Antoinette? It's a very good read - well-researched and full of detail but reads like a novel, a real page-turner.

(member)

24/05/2008 23:08

Re: recommendations?

I can´t thank you enough. I´m making notes of every book title suggested, and I just know that I will have a lovely summer, come rain or shine,reading! thank you all!!

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