Summer reads

I would recommend Dandelion Soup by Babs Horton for anyone who likes books similar to Joanne Harris's, good characters and a bit of a mystery. A brilliant story I have read it several times!
She also wrote A Jarful of Angels, Wilcat Moon and Recipes for Cherubs, but the latter doesnt seem to have quite such good reviews though I enjoyed it.

Capital by John Lanchester. Wonderful read about London today, set inhabitants of one road some gentrified some not. A real tale for our time.
Alas only available in hardback.
If you like detective novels anything by David Hosp and Deborah Crombie.
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Have you tried Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Well researched story of Thomas Cromwell. Takes a different look at the man.
Also Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. First part of a trilogy starting pre 1st WW.
Covers all levels of society

I too thoroughly enjoy Anne Tyler - I always want her novels to go on for longer as I get so engrossed with her characters. I was quite surprised that other people found her books difficult - perhaps too mundane for some! Will certainly try Barbara Pym.

Tiny Sunbirds Far Away by Christie Watson - a debut novel and extremely good read. It's not a light read, with very challenging content; wonderfully written. Well deserved winner of 2011's Costa First Novel Award.

Brilliant book!

Opps-got that wrong -first posting too! Was referring to A Thousand Splendid Suns!!
Am working my way through Howard Spring novels- only just discovered them -they are a really excellent read!

Hello Di and welcome. Hope we will have lots more chats with you

shandy thank for your suggestion of Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks. I ordered it on Amazon and have just started it. It is beautifully written and I've already had a little cry

I also love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a great read, I just have to keep dipping into again, again. I have put aside ready for my holiday next week ,Captain Corelli's Mandolin , so grateful for the comments I will look forward to it now. I have by bedside War Horse, will I have to have the hanky ready ? Happy reading everybody..

Poppydee, you might just need a hanky for War Horse, but it`s a lovely read.
I`m quite fond of Sarah Rayne, on the lookout for more of hers.

Poppydee -you will love War Horse- Michael Murpurgo writes great stuff- Alone on the Wide Wide Sea is a lovely book- I discovered him after my children were all grown up! Thankyou for the welcome by the way whenim64 !

Hello, Di! Welcome.

Thank you for reminding me about Howard Spring - I read them in my twenties and am about to rediscover them. Bet there are no Kindle editions, though!

"War Horse" once had a tough class in tears, poppydee!

Hi Yummy. I have read a lot of historical fiction in recent years. I like the fact that you learn stuff at the same time as having a good read. I am now getting quite good at remembering the order in which certain bits of english history happened. Phillipa Gregory's tudor ones, and the more recent ones about the wars of the roses are all good reads. An earlier series, can't remember where/when is less well written - no real people in them - not so good. Sansom's mysteries set in days of HV111 also excellent. Both Sansom and Gregory have done their Phds in history before turning to fiction.
Guernsey Literary etc etc is good more recent history as is Sansom's book about the Spanish civli war. I read the Hislop one about the civil war which was interesting, but i did not like the modern day part. I thought she might have struggled to get this published if she had not been well connected. Water for Elephants - a slice of 19th century American life on a down at heel travelling-by-train circus. Fascinating window into a world that has long disappeared.
Call the Midwife books also good recent "history" - just still within living memory.

Jess exactly what I thought about Hislop!

Also, though I've mentioned it earlier "Millions Like Us" women's real lives from the last war.

I liked Hislop's story in 'The Island', but find her style repetitive and clichéed. All those girls with 'raven hair'! 'The Return' was interesting for the background, but I thought the plot was just plain silly. Haven't read the third one yet.

I like Bernard Cornwell's novels set in Arthurian times and have read a couple of the Alfred the Great series. The latter are quite gory

Do give The Thread a try Annobel; it is MUCH better than The Return which was just The Island in another setting. The hisory woven into The Thread is what made it a good read.

Thanks for the info, eGJ, I'll have a look on Amazon. Meanwhile, I have found that today's Kindle Daily deal is a Silent Voices, a Vera Stanhope novel by Anne Cleeves so have already started reading it.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_161849367_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000577623&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_r=1SPQV5Q751D0A70T84A8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=264643347&pf_rd_i=341677031

I haven't read it yet, but DD is raving about The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels. It is her second book, twelve years after the wonderful Fugitive Pieces.

Have just re-read, after more years than I care to remember, "Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell and it is a wonderful read. I read it many times as a child but think I got far more out of it this time around. Also one of my favourite books in recent years, "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang and the unforgettable "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston about a black woman's quest for fulfilment and self-discovery in America.

I'm currently reading Mr Standfast by John Buchan, which is a brilliant read.

When I was 11 or 12, I went through all the Richard Hannay adventures and thoroughly enjoyed them. Of course, nowadays they are of their time and by no means politically correct by the standards of the 21st Century. Buchan was certainly a believer in 'the white man's burden' and it shows in the imperialist attitudes of his characters. Nevertheless, they are what used to be called 'rattling good yarns'.

I have just re-read the Hannay books as I got them for my Kindle. I thought they hadn't stood the test of time too well. Apart from the imperialist attitudes (to put it kindly), I find his dialogue very badly written and I skipped huge chunks of description. I think Greenmantle is about the best of them, but I found Mr Standfast far too long.

The Sense of An Ending by Julian Barnes

This was recommended to me by someone at my bookgroup and I read it in a very short time and throughly enjoyed it. It explores memories of relationships of 40 years ago at school and university and the main character is forced to re-evaluate his memories. A thought provoking read.

Thanks to stansgran I am now almost finished "A tree grows in Brooklyn" what a super book and I had never heard of it. Could I suggest the Patrick Gale books "Notes from an Exhibition" was the first one I read and loved about a very interesting and complex family with a lovely peaceful theme running through it, you would have to read it to know what I mean