Have you read any good books lately?

Does anyone read Persephone books? These are good quality, paperback reprints of books that have mostly been out out of print in the UK for several years. Their greatest find, in my opinion, are the books by Dorothy Whittle who was writing mainly between the wars. The rest of their catalogue is worth looking at too and they publish new titles regularly. They are quite expensive new but do crop up second hand occasionally.

I like sci-fi, horror and crime genres as a whole. I try to buy from charity shops wherever possible and then donate the book back when I have finished it.
A question - why is it often the same books you see over and over again in charity shops, while nothing from certain writers? For example, one of my favourite authors is Stephen King, but I never see his books second-hand? Where do they go?

I've read lots of good books, all the time as I'm an avid reader
I recently discovered Kia Abdulla and have read two by her recently.
Those people next door.
Truth be told.
I hope to read her other books soon.

Thanks Greenfinch. I shall have a look. Suppose I hadn't seen it was because we go through the self checkouts.
CLASP is a great organisation

I’ve just finished All the broken pieces by John Boyne. It’s the sequel to The boy in the striped pajamas .
An author I really like is Patrick Gale . He’s books are very thought provoking. I also follow him on twitter, I refuse to use X.

I would definitely recommend that you look at the Books thread, as I have found it so helpful in finding new authors. However, I’ve recently discovered Sue Moorcroft, who is a prolific writer, and I’m really enjoying her books. Sometimes I like to read a gentle, romantic novel with likeable characters and no violence.

I like to give books as birthday or Christmas presents to my grand sons, I have no grand daughters. I am sorry to say only one of them reads them and he is reading 'The boy in the Striped Pyjamas' at the moment. Anyway, I would recommend the Julia Donaldson books for younger ones and Percy Jackson, Wimpy Kid, and the Horrible Histories books for older ones. I am sure at least some of these are familiar to you.

Books by Lesley Pearse are a great read.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Highly recommended.

Melvyn Bragg's memoir is wonderful, so is Ken Clarke's.

Rose Tremaine wrote some good books snd each is different to the others. Notably zi loved Music and Silence, The Colour and Reformation when she writes in the first person of a man

@Bumface I love anything by Lesley Pearse. Yes sad in places but the stories are so worth it. She draws from personal experience too.

If anyone has a kindle sign up for Bookbub. It is an e-mail once a day. I get lots of really good book at a very reasonable price, sometimes free. They are often older books or the first in a series but if it's free you loose nothing if it's not for you. You get nothing other than that e-mail so no pestering you.

Sorry to digress a little. One not to read is Lorraine Kelly's The Island Swimmer. Can't believe she wrote such rubbish.

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold. It’s about the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper and gives insight into what life was like for a lot of women at that time

The Feather Thief. Would make a good film
Also all the Strike series by JK Rowling. V readable

Take a look at the King's Watch series by Mark Hayden. Modern British/celtic fantasy.

I love books by Elizabeth Strout.

I saw only a few minutes of it, Glorianny - it prompted me to look for the Kindle book. In fact I thought I’d read it many years previously, but hadn’t. Given the fairly graphic descriptions of ‘genteel’ poverty, I was really surprised to find a ‘traditional’ cheerful ending.

Another one of his I’ve still got somewhere is A Clergyman’s Daughter - sold off by the British Council library in Nicosia in the early 70s! Must dig out and re-read.

I've just finished Blood Rites by Rachel Lynch. I love her books! Zealot's Bones by D.M Mark is unputdownable! The description before Chapter 1 of the very fake ''psychic'' giving a reading was quite comical!

I also go for Puffins by Drew Buckley, The Robin by Mike Read, Jake King and Martin Allsop, Doctor Proctor's Fart Power by Jo Nesbo, The Salem Witch Society by K.N Shields, The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler, Villains It Takes One To Know One and Vendetta by Paul Ferris. And various others.

Favourite genre is horror/psycho.

Definition is where I can get my choppers into it, into the stories and characters and totally ensconce in the book!

I never watch the films as I usually find they're nothing like the books!

I read lots of Annie Proulx (Shipping News) when I discovered her - That Old Ace In The hole and Postcards are good. I’m on a roll with Australian detective thrillers at present, all set in rural South Australia with descriptions of the landscape which draw you in. 2 brilliant authors are Chris Hammer and Garry Disher. Look them up on Fantastic Fiction.

I generally read fantasy fiction and very occasionally sci fi. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay is a beautifully written introduction to FF. I also like factual books and have just finished The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore, a mammoth book tracing the history of the world from the Stone Age by following certain families and dynasties. Truly a mind changing book.

I am re-reading for probably the fifth time, The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. It is a story 'woven' around the making of tapestries in the 15c. Sounds dull but she is an excellent writer. I have read nearly all her books from the library but I decided to buy this finally for a few pounds on Ebay.
She absorbs the reader straight away. It would make a great film.

Kate Morton is my favourite. I have all hers. Just finished The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. It's taken me a year to read it, on & off. It was very odd and disturbing! I need something light next!

I'm interested in the Persephone books. I'm reading Pamela Hansford Johnson's An Impossible Marriage, set in the 1930s but written in the 1950s. It's a coming-of-age story of a girl growing up in a not very smart area of London, her parents,
her friends, her job, her marriage.