Best book you read this year?

I have just finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I listen to Audible books and I just could not stop listening. I am generally a fan of mysteries or memoirs. But this book was so unusual that I was hooked. Now I am listening to Wes Streeter’s autobiography One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up. Really liking it.

Definitely, Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout, love all her books.

Probably “Lessons in Chemistry”, rightly feted for its humour and the reminder of life for women in the 1950s

A difficult decision, but I think A Terrible Kindness is my choice.

Clawdy thank you for the Kate Atkinson mention. I used Borrow Box and I have really enjoyed listening to it.

Thanks for the recommendations ladies. I’ve downloaded Demon Copperhead onto my Kindle and started it last night. Thanks Terribull. And I will download your suggestion too dragonfly ... Cloud Cuckoo Land’. It can be my next read.
😊

Cat out of Hell by Lynn Truss. I'm trying to find her follow up, The Lunar Cats, but haven't succeeded yet.

I've just finished White Swans... in many ways a really gruelling book to read but it's fascinating as well. It's about China and Mao's rise to power and the extreme cruelty that he did to his own people. It's historical but also has insights into Chinese culture etc. There is some amazing recounting of strength, determination etc.
Not for the faint hearted as the descriptions of cruelty are very, very graphic.
I read it as apparently it is one of the 100 books you should read. I'm glad I did.

The Whalebone theatre by Joanna Quinn is a long read but worth it.

Philippa111

I've just finished White Swans... in many ways a really gruelling book to read but it's fascinating as well. It's about China and Mao's rise to power and the extreme cruelty that he did to his own people. It's historical but also has insights into Chinese culture etc. There is some amazing recounting of strength, determination etc.
Not for the faint hearted as the descriptions of cruelty are very, very graphic.
I read it as apparently it is one of the 100 books you should read. I'm glad I did.

oops. Its called Wild Swans!

Another who loved Demon Copperhead, I'd also add The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell.

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel. It was an eye opener, and you fell in love with the characters in the family.

this description from the publisher:

"This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.

When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.

Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. Until one day it explodes."

I've just re-read Still Life by Sarah Winman and loved it just as much as I did first time round.
I've also loved Mother's Boy by Patrick Gale and A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe 2023 is turning out to be a very good year for books.
I'm presently "swithering" whether to download Shrines of Gaiety. Kate Atkinson is a favourite author but I've heard mixed reviews about this one.

Almost finished The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell couldn't put it down a tale of blended families with a secret.

Oh yes, The Marriage Portrait is great.

Hope you like it Urms it takes a bit of getting into.

I loved ‘Demon Copperhead’ it was really engrossing Terribull thank you! A long read too and these days that’s a real bonus for me if I’m enjoying the book.

Now for your suggestion dragonfly. I will start it tomorrow.
It’s bedtime here now for us.
x

I can’t deny it I’d probably say Demon Copperhead too - but I also loved The Book of Eve by Meg Clothier - a feminist fantasy - I’m a fantasy fan but read all sorts, write reviews for local paper and reviews for a Midwifery magazine.

Urmstongran

I loved ‘Demon Copperhead’ it was really engrossing Terribull thank you! A long read too and these days that’s a real bonus for me if I’m enjoying the book.

Now for your suggestion dragonfly. I will start it tomorrow.
It’s bedtime here now for us.
x

So glad you enjoyed it Urmstongran, yes a book is never too long if it's as good as this one was.

Sending you best wishes at a difficult time nice to read your posts. x

The People on Platform 5

Light reading but a fascinating view of the people you may regularly see on a train.

I've read many books by Millie Jo888hnson. I love Anne Tyler and Ann Strout.

Not a new book but I only read it this year. Three Hours Rosamund Lupton. A psychological thriller about a siege at a school in rural Somerset. The three hours of the title refer to the length of time the siege lasts. It's gripping.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins .. set in Mexico and tells the story of a woman and her son's escape from a drug cartel ... couldn't put it down!

I also enjoyed American Dirt and several of the other novels mentioned here including Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land and Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry. Elizabeth Zott is a great character.

I have read Shrines of Gaiety too. It rattled along but I wasn't convinced by some of the characters. I felt there were too many in it to allow Kate Atkinson to develop any of them enough. She has written better imo, Life After Life and A God in Ruins.

In a recent edition of A Good Read, Niamh Cusack choose Lila by Marilynne Robinson. The discussion prompted me to go back and reread the first in the series, Gilead. John Ames must be one of the loveliest, kindest and most thoughtful male characters in literature. It's a very moving story and highly recommended. So, although it's almost 20 years old, Gilead has been my favourite read this year. If you read it and enjoy it you might also like Stoner by John Williams.