Good Books Anybody?

consultant31

I'm a library assistant and love books and reading, but everyone's tastes are different. I'm an avid crime reader but can't stand Martina Cole, sorry - I favour the likes of Stephen Leather, Lee Child, MIchael Connelly etc.

In our library, we have a book called "Who writes like....?". It lists authors who you may not have heard of, who write in the style of someone you may love to read. It's very useful when you "run out" of authors to look for.

You might like Jill Mansell, Jenny Colgan, Catherine Alliott, Freya North, Alice Sebold (Lovely Bones is excellent) - most of these fall into the "chick-lit" genre, so if you tell the library staff that that is what you like, they will help you find loads of books you'll enjoy.

Good luck and happy reading

PS: Niffenegger's Time Traveller's Wife is fascinating, and very different to almost anything I've ever read!

tesuhoha

Try Rosie Thomas. She is a brilliant writer. I have enjoyed the books you mention and am sure you will love her. Her book Iris and Ruby has just won Romantic Novel of the Year but I would recommend all of the others that she has written.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_n_15/203-8351875-9383124?ie=UTF8&rs=274777&rh=n%3A1025612%2Cn%3A62%2Cn%3A274146%2Cn%3A274777%2Cn%3A525148

Lurleene

I'd agree with the Jodi Picoult recommendations. I went to see her give a talk last week, and had a great evening. How she manages to write all those books and look after her kids, I don't know.

Also If you like books such as The Island I would really recommend Anita Shreve's books, especially ones with a more historical bent such as Fortunes Rocks, Sea Glass or Resistance.

Errata

Anything by Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Jilly Cooper. Plenty of plot and characters you can identify with or recognise ! Why not push the boat out and go for something non-fiction! Biographies, history - Victorians, Edwardians - and of course there's always Jeff Archer! Why not try a classic like Dickens or Trollope?

Tam_Lin

I liked The Time Travller's Wife and The Secret of Bees. I'm just finishing Les Rois Maudits by Maurice Druon and have just started The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney.

kittykirsty

Wow! Where to start?!

I love chick-lit books too, Marian Keyes is Brilliant, I've got her newest one "Anybody Out There?" and thought that was great! "Sushi for Beginners" and "Angels" were brilliant also.

Jane Green is fantastic too: i've read and loved "Mr. Maybe" and "Jemima J". Also I don't think anyone's mentioned Adele Parks, i really enjoy her books. I've read "Still Thinking of You" and "Game Over" again and again!

If you want an easy read that is a little different, I'd highly recommend the "No 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series by Alexander McCall Smith, who knew a white Scottish man could capture the spirit of a "traditionally built" Botswana woman so well?! There's 8 in the series currently and every one of them is brilliant!!

Finally, i recently bought "1001 Books: You must read Before You Die" which has 'great' books of all time as judged by lots of different literary related people. I don't agree with all of them, but there's certainly a lot of great books to work through there, i think I've currently only read about 11 of them fully! Maybe you can find a copy of that in your library! HTH

Penny-less_2

Hi. I am a library assistant too. There are a lot of us about! I agree with previous posters. Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes - well worth a read. Some laugh aloud moments with both authors! My favourite crime writer is Peter Robinson. I also rate Stephen Booth and John Grisham.
Libraries are great for MSEers as you can get hold of brilliant books without spending a penny - as long as you take them back on time!
Have fun!!

Penny

Eels100

Oooooh books, my favourite indulgence!

I'm not a huge chick-lit person but for idle diversion some writers I have really enjoyed are Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code was good but I liked all of his stuff), Michael Cordy (kind of sci-fi but not), Harlan Coben (real page-turners). These things are all kind of thriller/mystery/crime type stories.

I'm completely in love with Ian McEwan at the moment - Atonement was stunning but I have recently read Saturday and although it's very modern and direct compared to the others I have read it's really gripping. His characters are always so vivid. I also recently enjoyed The Secret Purposes by David Baddiel - would never have picked up one of his books but a friend lent me it and I was really pleasantly surprised, a great story, very sad but with a lovely quiet humour.

I'll stop now ... I could go on forever ....!

scubaleopard

Wow Thank you all so much. I can't wait to get to the library-- and then I shall be up all night

Maisie_M

Hi

Just having a go at the Katie Fford books there are about 12 I think in all. They are great and I just cant put them down - totally different from what I would normally read e.g. Colin Forbes, !!!!!! Francis, Agatha Christie, Dan Brown but really fantastic books.

Would also recommend Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series and the Undomestic Godess which had me in hysterics at some stages.

Some great recommendations on here may have to give Marian Keyes a go after Katie!!