kporte

Henning Mankell is a good read too, and likened to Rankin if you like crime novels

Peepster

Peter Kay, The Sound of Laughter. Omg I was crying with laughter about 4 pages in, just loved it.

scottishcelts

Hi Peeps - i'll have to get that one

Bravemouth by Pamela Stephenson is good (about the Big Yin)

Dreamy

Ooh no, but I shall look out for them now I like finding new authors to read (although Himself says we're not having any more bookcases )

itigo

Just reading The Faraway tree series to our 4 year old. She is loving it. We have a modern version though and only the 3rd one as an old copy. They have Americanised the names and modernised the language so you don't sound so spiffing reading them out loud! Bessie is now Beth, Fannie is Frannie and Dick is Rick. Lots of other names have changed too I'm sure.

I am reading lots of Marian Keyes at the moment (need chick lit as its light and my brain is frazzled!). Her under the duvet books are a collection of articles and musings by the author as herself and they are hysterical and give you an insight as to where ideas come from for her books.

Last year when I was stuck in hospital, I read the Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - very good read.

For crime I like Harlen Coben.

If anyone was into Guns N Roses, Slash's autobiography was fascinating and as you can imagine, excessive - I felt like a saint reading it! Have also read 2 of Richard Hammond's books which were good and Jools Holland's.

Did get into Bill Bryson a few years ago and have read lots of his - many are laugh out loud funny!

ChocolateBabz

Few ideas from a trailing wife who loves to read...

For the Stephen King fans (me too!) The Dark Tower Series (that'll keep you going)
For the Dean Koontz fans (me too) The Odd Thomas books
Jean M Auel's Earth's Children Series
Cormac McCarthy - The Road

Vampire Fans - I loved the Twilight series (and am not ashamed to admit it) - also look out for Stephanie Meyer's other book The Host
Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series (HBO show True Blood is based on them)
MaryJanice Davidson - Queen Betsy Books
Elizabeth Kostova's - The Historian

Modern Romance - Dorothy Koomson, Marian Keyes, Mary K Andrews

If you are not adverse to Teen literature Uglies, Pretties & Specials by Scott Westerfeld or The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Hubby loves all things Clive Cussler, Wilbur Smith or Campbell Armstrong (Adventure Books for Big Boys )

Am currently reading Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and have Octavia E Butlers Lilith's Brood & The Child Thief by Brom sitting with spines uncracked

P.S. Also have Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' half read by my bedside. Bit too much for my poor wee head at sleepy time !

scottishcelts

All the Sophie Kinsella books -she's fab

littleal

Sorry to chip in here from across the Tasman. Our book club is reading an Aussie book this month called "The Slap". Books are expensive here and The Book Depository are out of stock. Do you have an Oz book website that I could try that might be cheaper than the Kiwi ones?

Thanks

sasbear

I agree - good book.

Also 'The Kite Runner' didn't think it was my 'kind' of book - but one of the best books I have read in a while

BadgeIsBack

That's no good.

I have to ad-lib much of my daughter's Beatrix Potter books. Some of them are plain bizarre, and at 7pm of an evening are hard-work.

scottishcelts

Oh that's kporte's favourite book

scottishcelts

My book of the month is 'Caring for cut flowers'

herrchook

I'm reading The Magic Faraway Tree to my eldest just now. The language is beautiful, so magical

herrchook

If you're looking for a great book by an Aussie author then you've got to get some Garth Nix.

If you read and enjoyed Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials then you'll love Nix's work.

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga books are really great stories. Perhaps not the best written books in the world, but highly readable and wonderful characters. I'm almost done with her latest book - The Host. It was a slow starter but it's grown on me.

Another couple of books I can highly recommend are Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle.

Loving this thread, I think I'll make a note of loads of these books and get myself onto Book Depository

SillyOldBag

My favourite books of this year are Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series which I'm being very methodical about and reading in the right order! My late parents always loved them, but they didn't really interest me in theory, but I decided to give them a whirl a few months back and I'm loving them!

Another two books I've loved and am really looking forward to the third in the trilogy to come out is Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" The first one took me a while to get into it and it was only when I was stuck at the hospital with nothing to do that I forced myself to get passed the first chapter and thereafter I was gripped!

Having a bit of a break from detective novels before I go back to Inspector Rebus, and am half-way through George R R Martin's "A Game of Thrones" - it's good stuff so far and there are quite a few in the series, so that should keep me happy for a little while!!

One thing I hate about one-off books is that I've just usually got to really like characters and then they're gone from my life and I never "see" them again - that's why I like series.

Glad to have come across this thread as I like to get ideas of different books to try out! It was from another forum that I found the Millennium Trilogy and the George R R Martin books.

I'm rambling - I'll shurrup now