Patty

I know this should be about Italian books - but I read English books cos I think that reading should be about relaxing and enjoying and if I read italian it means getting the dictionary out every 5 mins !!! (so many verbs ....so many tenses ) So I just wanted to ask if any of you have read any really good books lately that you would recommend ? Anything at all - serious/light/fiction/non-fiction etc ......just any book that you've read and enjoyed ?? Some of my favourites are:

Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet
The Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson
The Curious Incident of the dog in the night - Mark Haddon
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
Down to a Sunless sea - David Graham
Miss Smilla's feeling for snow - Peter Hoeg
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
A town like Alice- Nevil Shute
Ines of my Soul - Isabel Allende
Labyrinth - Kate Mosse
The Dark Heart of Italy - Tobias ....(cant remember surname)
Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson (bound to make you homesick )


I would like to read some italian books like La Casta - but I fear that I'd pack my bags and head home !!!!

sands

hi Patty,

I also read The Dark Half of Italy, very good. I picked up a book at my friend's house when I was in England last and was completely riveted, try this, a real page turner:

Derailed James Siegel

markute

I really don’t think you have to use every minute of your life to improve your Italian, so reading in English sounds perfectly reasonable! However, if it made you feel any better, you could try an English book about life in Italy.. The following books are all by Tim Parks, an Englishman who’s lived and worked in Italy for a long time:

- ‘Italian Neighbours: An Englishman in Verona’ (an in depth foreigner’s view on everyday life in Italy, maybe not as funny as ‘notes from a small island’, but comparable in some ways..)
- ‘An Italian Education’ (the sequel to the above, tries to answer the question ‘how an Italian becomes Italian, or an Englishman English’)
- ‘Europa, Europa’ (a novel about an expat in Italy who finds himself on a bus to the European Parliament with a bunch of colleagues and Italian students)

Patty

Thanks Sands and Markute - I'll certainly try and get some of the books you've mentioned.
I read a lovely haunting story recently called The Italian House - think the author was Teresa Crane (?) I'm addicted to reading and can read 2 or 3 books in a week - luckily with my workmates we have a system where we all bring our books in and exchange - saves alot of money

Beep

I know what you mean about trying to read in Italian, I find myself trying to work out what tense the verbs are in or thinking ' oh yes I remember learning about this grammar rule at language school and so the story tends to go by the wayside a little...but I keep trying...........Im halfway through Angeli e Demoni by Dan Brown because I thought it might be easier to read something I had read already in English

That being said I thank God for being able to buy books online because I have found it really difficult to find books in English in Verona.

Talking about Tim Parks,his book A Season with Verona (which tells of the trials and tribulations of following Hellas Verona to all their matches for a season)is also worth a read even if you are not a football fan

All Marian Keyes' books are great too,they are funny and heartwarming and feel good

sands

By the way, folks, I've found a great site - wwwbookdepository.co.uk - they DON'T charge for postage overseas! When I mentioned this to my fella he said well the cost will be added to the price of the book but I've compared, and it doesn't So, thanks for keeping me sane Amazon, but this wonderful company will save me from imminent financial disaster - I also read as many books as I can get hold of, and unfortunately don't have a book swap thing going

Beep

There is also an Italian website that sells english books and they have a wide selection and normally they arrive within a week.....when I tried to order from Amazon when I arrived first I was told 5 to 6 weeeks for delivery

sands

And it's name is? .....

Patty

Yes Beeps - I think I've read most of Marian Keyes - she's so funny. Have you read her tru life stuff - she's very honest and it's really good.

Sands - I wish I were a bit closer and I'd bring you a box of books

Going slightly off track a second - where I come from in the Channel Islands we have what we call hedge stalls / honestly stalls. People put things on their garden wall (veg/fruit and .....books!) to sell and a little tin to put your pennies into. Last time we took the car I had my poor hubby slamming on the brakes every 2 minutes - reverse and jump out to buy yet another batch of 50p books Maybe I should hire a van - fill it up and then come back via all your houses

sands

Thanks for the thought, Patty

markute

Beep, that's a shockingly long amount of time, and I thought the postal service was crap where I live because everything has to go via Verona, even letters posted within the same comune! Anyway, amazon or ebay orders from the UK usually take between 1 and 2 weeks here. Have you tried it out yet?

Italian postal services seem so overpriced to me, it might still be worth having stuff shipped over from the UK, and it certainly doesn't take much longer as they usually leave the UK within a day or two and then take the rest of the time to find your house on this side. I know the postal costs are about the same or even cheaper for me if I buy on UK ebay and have the items shipped over rather than paying for the Italian post with Italian ebay.. Has anybody else made that experience?

TestaRossa

Book Dep. is really good and very reliable so far. So is Amazon and Waterstones but more pricey.

For books, many that have been mentioned I loved - Memory Keepers Daughter stands out. I enjoyed the one Tim Parks I read. Just finished Pride and Prejudice for a book club I'm in - my choice and I still love it! Anything by Terry Pratchett and Iain M. Banks (his sci-fi persona).

Most disturbing book I have read has to be We Need To Talk About Kevin. I thought I would hate The Lovely Bones and really enjoyed it ( well, you know!). Another recent one is The Book Thief - on first glance sounds like a heavy read - second world war, jews in hiding in Nazi Germany etc. - but I wizzed through it and really liked it. A serious of books that is taking my US friends by storm starts with the book Twilight - it's a good easy read, but with a twist - it's a vampire/human love story but real chick lit. If you want a bodice ripper with a difference this is it!

I can get through 2 or 3 books a week too, so I have read quite a few - we should compare notes more!

Patty

OOh yes Testarossa - I forgot about The Lovely Bones - I loved it !!!
Also those sad books "A Child called It " and so on - very sad.
Am currently reading The War of Don Emmanuels's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres - a very bizzare story but am enjoying it ! Roll on the next book

sands

That's a great idea actually - let's have an online book club! What do you think?

TestaRossa

We could do it here or as a separate blog?! I'd be game. Don't mind re-reading a book and we could have virtual glasses of wine with each other !

I'm reading a fun book at the moment called "The Course of Honour". It's a fictional account of Vespasian and his mistress from when they first met. It's by the author of the "Falco" books, which are fun too.