Recommend Fiction Authors / Books

Raisin

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 7:14 pm

Sophie kinsella has some really funny books, besides for the shopoholic series.

Have you tried some of the classics? eg Jane Austen, Charles dickens? they are surprisingly readable and enjoyable.

daphne de maurier (author of rebecca) has some really good books as well. If you haven't read rebecca, read that, its excellent, and then go on to the others.

Raisin

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 7:31 pm

Maya wrote:

Thanks, Raisin. I read some of Sophie Kinsella's books. I also read most of Jane Austen, and one of Charles Dickens.

Is Rebecca also a classic?

Kind of a classic - its a very famous book. but an easier read then dickens etc since it is more modern. I think it was made into a hitchcock movie as well. De maurier wrote in the 1930's.

Anthony trollope is another victorian writer I enjoyed somewhat. (Boy were they shallow in those days) Oh and George Eliot - really a woman writer. One of her books, daniel deronda, has some jewish interest.

bashinda

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 10:45 pm

MommyLuv wrote:

Alice Munro

Allegra Goodman -her book "intuition' is a must-read

I know this is an old post but I just read this book and I had to respond.

After a long long time of not reading any secular fiction I succumbed and one of the books was this novel and I didn't understand it. I really felt I wasted my time. I didn't understand what her point was. A lot of the drama seemed stilted at best and it seemed like a waste of time. I really didn't understand the points she was making about truth and science. If her point is that there's no such thing as absolute truth that doesn't quite site well with me. I did enjoy how everything spiralled out of control.

Can you tell me what I'm missing here? I actually enjoyed Sophie Kinsella's Remember me? better which, given that I used to be a literary snob (okay not quite a snob but I read authors like Italo Calvino, Martin Amis, AS Byatt and Iris Murdoch to name a few) is really really sad.

At any rate, it's a good thing Elul is coming. No secular fiction in Elul for me.

Clarissa: thanks for posting about Atonement. I wanted to read but I was worried it would have violent parts so I will indeed skipping it.

For classic books. Great Expectations by Dickens is one of his best and not too long. If you're really adventurous try Bleak House which is much longer but also excellent. Middlemarch by Eliot is also amazing. It's so amazing I had to read it for a course (also Great Expectations) and I still loved both of them. I love anything by Jane Austen.