What are some good novels?

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PinkFridge

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 6:02 pm

Amarante wrote:

Yes popular authors do get in a rut and just start cranking them out.

Have you read any of the Kellerman books. He is like that. And his wife also. The first one was great about the murder in the mikvah and then a few others and then they began running out of steam.

But sometimes I just like the characters and so it's comfy to visit old friends so to speak and the plot is less important.

Nancy Pickard (who I don't think would quite fit the bill) wrote in an introduction to one of her books that the nature of the genre, small town where murders are happening on a regular basis, is kind of creepy. Don't you just want to yell at the character, Run! Move already!

Personally, I've got fed up with the Death on Demand series for just that reason. I do enjoy Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow series. Fairly lighthearted - as lighthearted as murder mysteries go. The Helma Zukas books (by Jo Dereske) were interesting too. (I know they titles are going to come in drips and drabs.)

MagentaYenta

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 7:55 pm

spring13 wrote:

Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
...

Anything and everything by Ivan Doig and I'd throw Barry Lopez in there too.

The Etiquette of Freedom, and the practice of the wild, by Gary Snyder and Jim Harrison (about our relationship with nature and the wild.) "The wild requires that we learn terrain , nod to all the plants and animals and birds, ford the streams and cross the ridges and tell a good story when we get back home."

amother

Teal

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 8:18 pm

Gone Girl

riveting, but somewhat disturbing and creepy...but oh so awesome..

Gerbera

Thu, Jan 07 2016, 3:03 am

If you're in the UK and don't mind used books try AwesomeBooks. It's free delivery and Bargain Bin books are all 2.69 pounds. I live in Canada and order exclusively from there. Books always in great condition.

I just read The Way We Were by Sinead Moriarty, which I loved!

I like reading Jill Mansell, Tasmina Perry, Louise Bagshawe, Tilly Bagshawe, Karen Quinn, Jane Fallon, Milly Johnson, sasha wagstaff, Wendy Holden for 'chick lit'

Lucinda Riley....Orchid House/Hothouse Flower and Midnight Flower were amazing

For more thriller reading....Daniel Silva (his books feature a Mossad agent as the main character), Catherine Coulter, David Baldacci, William Bernhardt, Harlan Coben

Legal thrillers: Perri O'Shaughnessy, John Grisham, Brad Meltzer, Lisa Scottoline

Jeffrey Archer is great

I used to like Faye Kellerman...don't like her recent stuff that much

Bruria

Thu, Jan 07 2016, 5:11 am

Agatha Christie,Michael Crichton,John Grisham, James Patterson are all good authors

wazup

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 11:49 am

I like this thread. anyone got anything else?

amother

Magenta

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 12:06 pm

Lots of great suggestions here.
You might like Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series, set in Quebec. Also Ann Patchett, State of Wonder.
Happy reading!

Fox

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 12:58 pm

I second Saralem's suggestion of the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency books -- truly unique and a wonderful window into a middle-class Africa that we in the West see too infrequently. These books constantly make me question my assumptions.

I've also enjoyed reading the mysteries written by J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame) writing as Robert Galbraith.

For something light and comic, I always enjoy the Jaine Austen series by Laura Levine.

Raisin

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 1:20 pm

I'm guessing OP is in Israel.

These are some of my favourite writers:

Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine. She writes under both names. I liked everything except for the chief inspector wexford mysteries which were a bit formulaic. You might like those however. The barbara vine books are really excellent. Crime novels but with a lot of psychology thrown in. Often goes into the criminals mind and builds up the situation until a crime is committed.

She wrote quite a lot of books so if you like one you will have a lot to catch up on. Sadly she just recently passed away. Sad

Stephen King - not his horror books, but some of his other, especially more recent books are pretty good. I like Under the Dome and the Stand in particular.

If you haven't read Agatha Christie you might enjoy that.

For chick lit Sophie Kinsella is pretty good. I don't like other chick lit but her books are really funny.

I read Room and there was nothing disturbing in it. No graphic scenes.

If you have a kindle or tablet there are tons of classics that you can read for free, if someone would invent a shabbos mode. Wink

Or you have time during the week.

Amarante

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 1:51 pm

Some more suggestions.

Hill of Secrets - Michal Hartstein

Murder mystery by an Israeli author. Milieu is the middle/upper class religious sector. If anyone reads who is familiar with the setting, would love to get your feedback

My Name is Lucy Barton - Elizabeth Strout

Currently reading. Moving book about mother daughter relationship. I enjoyed Olive Kitteridge by her. She writes well about human relationships.

Guest Room - Chris Bohjalian. I enjoyed Midwives by him as well as The Sand Castle Girls. This was a bit edgier.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes the spellbinding tale of a party gone horribly wrong: two men lie dead in a suburban living room, two women are on the run from police, and a marriage is ripping apart at the seams.

The Readers of broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald. Loved this. If you liked Guernsey Literary, it's for you. Translated from the Danish where it was a best seller.

Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her book-loving pen pal. When she arrives, however, she finds Amy's funeral guests just leaving. The residents of Broken Wheel are happy to look after their bewildered visitor -- not much else to do in a small town that's almost beyond repair. They just never imagined that she'd start a bookstore. Or that books could bring them together – and change everything

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard - Susan Meissner

Fun book set around the making of Gone With The Wind. Old Hollywood chick lit. Some bonbons, a fluffy quilt and a book like this Very Happy

The Girl On the Train - Paula Hawkins. If you liked Gone Girl, this is for you. Same kind of twisty story.

Fates and Furies - Lauren Goff. Long extremely well written book about a marriage. Great literary fiction which made most of the best of lists for 2015

Miri7

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 1:59 pm

The Goldfinch

anon for this

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 3:02 pm

If you like your mysteries on the light side, consider Lawrence Block's Burglar series with Bernie Rhodenbarr. They're very funny, with great dialogue, and not at all gory.

I read some of Elizabeth George's early books but haven't been as interested lately. It seems that, like a lot of popular series titles, the books get longer as the series continues. Don't know why that is--are publishers reluctant to edit successful writers?

Raisin, I also liked Stephen King's The Stand. I have the expanded/ updated edition. I'm just curious, why don't you consider it horror?

Amarante, I read Girl on the Train and Hill of Secrets on my kindle.

HelloG

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 5:04 pm

Sun inside rain

Chloe22

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 5:43 pm

I like books by Liane Moriarty

gp2.0

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 5:43 pm

These are authors of books I read recently:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips - modern romance
Patrick Rothfuss - fantasy
Robert Galbraith - murder mystery
Georgette Heyer - regency romance
Andy Weir - science fiction
Rainbow Rowell - pure awesome
Meg Cabot - funny chick lit
Sophie Kinsella - funny chick lit
Nora Roberts, Iris Johansen - murder mystery
P. D. James - omg pride and prejudice sequel - death comes to pemberley

chicco

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 6:11 pm

I read a lot. These are books that stick out in my head as really, really good.

Liane Moriarty- What Alice Forgot
Fredrik Backman- A Man Called Ove, and My Grandma Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Ka Hancock- Dancing on Broken Glass
Kate Morton- The Forgotten Garden, The Secret Keeper, and The House at Riverton
John Boyne- The House of Special Purpose
Nicole Krauss- The History of Love, The Great Room, Man Walks into a Room

If you are going to choose just one, go with The History of Love!

chicco

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 6:21 pm

You got me thinking...
I really like books by Anne Tyler, Diane Chamberlain, and David Baldacci.

Some others that I would really recommend:

The Paris Architect
The Shoemaker's Wife
The Perfume Collector

gp2.0

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 9:18 pm

Some great novels that I read awhile ago:

Water for Elephants
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The Night Circus
A Discovery of Witches (OMG this series!)

sprayonlove

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 11:07 pm

Any of the novels by Liane Moriarty! what alice forgot and big little lies are two excellent ones. But all of her books are good 🙃

sprayonlove

Mon, Jan 18 2016, 11:26 pm

Maya wrote:

And if you haven't yet, check out Maeve Binchy's books.

Which one do you recommend out of her books?

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