# Any good books?



## katie (Sep 15, 2010)

I would like some book recommendations because at the age of 24 I have finally become a bookworm! (I was hoping this would happen at school so I would turn out clever, oh well).

I'm going to read the Joanne Lees book, No Going Back.  The main reason I want to read it is because the owner of a hotel in Darwin put us up for a week (for 100 bucks & it was 4 star ), apparently Joanne Lees mentions staying there, so quite excited about reading it.  Also hoping she mentions some other places.  I don't know if the book will be that good though.  

Any suggestions?


----------



## rossi_mac (Sep 16, 2010)

I haven't got to that stage yet!

Wifey is enjoying the final book in the Millenium trilogy, no idea what it is called, but it's the trilogy with the dragon tattoo girl.

Last book I remember enjoying tremendously was a Harlan Coben book.


----------



## Caroline (Sep 16, 2010)

I liked The Black magician Trilogy by Trdi Canavan, finished reading Magicians Assistant (can't remember who it is by), am currently reading Okei by Mitsugu Saotome.

The books I come back to on a regular basis are The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein, The Earth Sea Trilogy by Ursula Le Guin and The Narmia Chronicals by CS lewis.

I also like Terry Prachett books, I find some of them hilariously laugh out lout funny


----------



## Copepod (Sep 16, 2010)

Books for Australia (that I enjoyed in relation to my travels there):
When I was helping my friend with flood research on the Fitzroy River in northern WA, whih involved camping out in bush with just swags, no tents, for up to 10 nights, we had a very old copy of a book of Banjo Patterson poems and learned a couple by heart. His most famous poem in Waltzing Matilda, but Clancy of the Overthrow was our favourite. So, any poems by Banjo Patterson. 
The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery - an ecological / environmental book (non fiction), which makes far more sense when you've been in the land on gum trees, forest fires etc. 
Rabbit Proof Fence is a film (2002) about Western Australia, in a former time, when whites treated aboriginal people appallingly. 
Whitefella Jump Up by Germaine Greer covers some of the same material. 
On a similar theme to No Turning Back, there are several books about the Dingo Baby Murder / Chamberlain family. First will put you off hitch hiking, second about bush camping, but I've done both extensively with no problems. 

We stayed one night in a posh hotel in Cable Beach, Broome, WA, just before setting off into the bush - 1 room between 3 of us was OK (one other friend had come to share the driving from Perth).  I think it was connected with pearl diving, but didn't find any book to read about it.


----------



## novorapidboi26 (Sep 16, 2010)

Its unfortunate that I dont read books, I could probably manage it just never tried..........

My misses has hammered through two authors recently, tori hayden and cathy glass................its kinda real life inspired stories about kids in abusive homes and similar infortunate circumstances, can be quite emotional.......


----------



## margie (Sep 16, 2010)

Hi Katie

Do you enjoy all genres or is there a particular type you like to read.

If you don't specify you may get lots of suggestions that aren't your style.


----------



## bigpurpleduck (Sep 16, 2010)

margie said:


> Hi Katie
> 
> Do you enjoy all genres or is there a particular type you like to read.
> 
> If you don't specify you may get lots of suggestions that aren't your style.



Agreed! I love reading but don't like anything too serious. Most of my recommendations will be for lighthearted novels which make you smile


----------



## AlisonM (Sep 16, 2010)

I'm with Caroline, if I'm looking for escapism the LOTR series is ace, as are the Ursula Le Guin stories. I love Terry Pratchett for a good laugh out loud, rib-cracking time. Robert Rankin's Brentofrd Trilogy is another belly laugh series. I love his idea that the London Underground is really hell.

For a bit of romance I've recently been rereading all the Jane Austen's. I just finished Northanger Abbey. And for more fun, there's the "Tale of Para Handy" by Neil Munro. The Scots among us will know these stories well. I've been rereading them recently too.


----------



## MargB (Sep 16, 2010)

Get into the library and see which authors you like or haunt charity shops bookshelves. 

I like crime series and enjoy the Dick Francis books.  James Patterson and Geoffrey Deaver are good too.  I don't seem to read many 'one-off' books, I like the continuity and knowing the characters.

Travelwise - Bill Bryson books make me laugh and he did one on Australia as he travelled around.


----------



## AlisonM (Sep 16, 2010)

Some towns have a 'Read and Return' shop* where you can buy books second hand and take them back when you're done, getting back a portion of what you paid. Not that I ever take the books back, I usually only buy ones I know I will reread. Others I borrow from the library.

* There's one here and I believe there used to be one in Exeter, they may not call themselves that, but that's what they do.


----------



## Caroline (Sep 16, 2010)

AlisonM said:


> I love his idea that the London Underground is really hell.
> 
> As a regular under ground user, the London Underground is hell on a good day. On a bad day just don't go there....


----------



## katie (Sep 16, 2010)

rossi_mac said:


> I haven't got to that stage yet!
> 
> Wifey is enjoying the final book in the Millenium trilogy, no idea what it is called, but it's the trilogy with the dragon tattoo girl.
> 
> Last book I remember enjoying tremendously was a Harlan Coben book.



Ah I would have liked to read that trilogy but unfortunately I saw the film first by happenstance (didn't learn that word from a book) and the next film is out soon! I might read the 3rd one though 



Caroline said:


> I liked The Black magician Trilogy by Trdi Canavan, finished reading Magicians Assistant (can't remember who it is by), am currently reading Okei by Mitsugu Saotome.
> 
> The books I come back to on a regular basis are The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein, The Earth Sea Trilogy by Ursula Le Guin and The Narmia Chronicals by CS lewis.
> 
> I also like Terry Prachett books, I find some of them hilariously laugh out lout funny



Thanks Caroline.  I could never read Lord of the Rings, I'm not really into that kind of thing and hated the films!  To make up for it my older brother read it and loves the films   Narnia is great though!



Copepod said:


> Books for Australia (that I enjoyed in relation to my travels there):
> When I was helping my friend with flood research on the Fitzroy River in northern WA, whih involved camping out in bush with just swags, no tents, for up to 10 nights, we had a very old copy of a book of Banjo Patterson poems and learned a couple by heart. His most famous poem in Waltzing Matilda, but Clancy of the Overthrow was our favourite. So, any poems by Banjo Patterson.
> The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery - an ecological / environmental book (non fiction), which makes far more sense when you've been in the land on gum trees, forest fires etc.
> Rabbit Proof Fence is a film (2002) about Western Australia, in a former time, when whites treated aboriginal people appallingly.
> ...



Urgh, I would love to be camping in the bush without a tent *cries*.
I have seen the rabbit proof fence, great film.  They don't treat aboriginal people much better now! 

I really wanted to go pearling but unfortunately _everybody_ wants to go pearling so it's difficult to get a job doing it.  Housekeeping in Kakadu was still an experience though.



margie said:


> Hi Katie
> 
> Do you enjoy all genres or is there a particular type you like to read.
> 
> If you don't specify you may get lots of suggestions that aren't your style.



Yes Margie, think you are right  Umm I can tell you what kind of things ive read and what I don't like. Terry Prachett & JRR Tolkein type fantasy is not my kind of thing at all.

The subject has to really interest me because I have te attention span of a fish...  The first book I enjoyed reading was To Kill a Mocking Bird.  More recently I've read The Da Vinci Code, Brave New World, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, The Righteous Man by Sam Bourne (silly book), Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane and I'm half way through The Selfish Gene.


----------



## katie (Sep 16, 2010)

bigpurpleduck said:


> Agreed! I love reading but don't like anything too serious. Most of my recommendations will be for lighthearted novels which make you smile



Like my films I quite like my depressing books 
Actually though... I read Russell Brand's Biography and it was very funny, I would also read Frankie Boyle's book, because he's hilarious!  I guess I don't like funny fiction very much.


----------



## katie (Sep 16, 2010)

AlisonM said:


> ...
> 
> For a bit of romance I've recently been rereading all the Jane Austen's. I just finished Northanger Abbey. And for more fun, there's the "Tale of Para Handy" by Neil Munro. The Scots among us will know these stories well. I've been rereading them recently too.



I think that reading romance novels would just be depressing for me 


Thanks for all the suggestions so far everyone!


----------



## Northerner (Sep 16, 2010)

I read Frankie Boyle's autobiography - reviewed it here: http://bookworthalook.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-shit-life-so-far-frankie-boyle.html

If you liked Brave New World, you might like 'We' by Yevgeni Zamyatin which predates it. Also, a bizarre book by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov 'Master and Margerita'. I also really enjoyed Laurie Lee's 'As I walked out one midsummer morning'. For non-fiction, I'd recommend 'The Unfolding of Language' by Guy Deutscher, or 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' by Jon Ronson.

Just a few random suggestions from the hundreds I could make!


----------



## bigpurpleduck (Sep 16, 2010)

Katie, I think your book taste is the complete opposite to mine! Other than romantic novels, Harry Potter & LOTR I also love the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel, but they take a long time to get hooked on and can get a bit boring at some points.

Asne Seierstad published a couple of books about her experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. She spent time with "normal" families there to find out the impact of the war(s) on them. Makes very interesting reading but not very lighthearted!


----------



## AlisonM (Sep 16, 2010)

In the 1984/Brave New World vein, there's Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury which was made in to a movie with Julie Christie back in the 60s.


----------



## xxlou_lxx (Sep 16, 2010)

I suggest anything by Tess Gerritsen  All of her books are awesome! And of course im reading one (when I get a minute) at the moment.


----------



## katie (Sep 16, 2010)

Northerner said:


> I read Frankie Boyle's autobiography - reviewed it here: http://bookworthalook.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-shit-life-so-far-frankie-boyle.html
> 
> If you liked Brave New World, you might like 'We' by Yevgeni Zamyatin which predates it. Also, a bizarre book by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov 'Master and Margerita'. I also really enjoyed Laurie Lee's 'As I walked out one midsummer morning'. For non-fiction, I'd recommend 'The Unfolding of Language' by Guy Deutscher, or 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' by Jon Ronson.
> 
> Just a few random suggestions from the hundreds I could make!



I think i'll read the Frankie Boyle book sometime hehe.  You need to get reading because there's only one book review for August and none for september 

I didn't like the language in Brave New World  It was difficult to read, but I read it for Religious Studies and it was interesting.  I will look up all the other books you mentioned, thanks.



bigpurpleduck said:


> Katie, I think your book taste is the complete opposite to mine! Other than romantic novels, Harry Potter & LOTR I also love the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel, but they take a long time to get hooked on and can get a bit boring at some points.
> 
> Asne Seierstad published a couple of books about her experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. She spent time with "normal" families there to find out the impact of the war(s) on them. Makes very interesting reading but not very lighthearted!



maybe I have no imagination? 

The Asne Seierstad books do sound interesting, I will read about them, before deciding whether... to read... them.



AlisonM said:


> In the 1984/Brave New World vein, there's Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury which was made in to a movie with Julie Christie back in the 60s.



A hedonistic world, how could that possibly go wrong?   Was the film any good?


----------



## katie (Sep 16, 2010)

xxlou_lxx said:


> I suggest anything by Tess Gerritsen  All of her books are awesome! And of course im reading one (when I get a minute) at the moment.



well I don't like romance novels much, but I'll take a look at one of her medical thrillers one day


----------



## Dizzydi (Sep 16, 2010)

MargB said:


> Get into the library and see which authors you like or haunt charity shops bookshelves.
> 
> I like crime series and enjoy the Dick Francis books.  James Patterson and Geoffrey Deaver are good too.  I don't seem to read many 'one-off' books, I like the continuity and knowing the characters.
> 
> Travelwise - Bill Bryson books make me laugh and he did one on Australia as he travelled around.



I was just going to recommend James Patterson - awesome I'm additcted to the Alex cross one's and the womans murder club - brilliant very fast paced read and I just love Jeffrey Deaver as well. Also C J Sansom Historical murder mystery. 

I love lots of different authors but those above are my favourites.


----------



## MeanMom (Sep 16, 2010)

> The first book I enjoyed reading was To Kill a Mocking Bird.



Has to be the best book of all time.If you like it try 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett which has a similar setting. 
Have you tried any Terry Pratchett? I see you mention him together with Lord of the Rings as a type of book you wouldnt like. I dont find Terry Pratchetts books anything like LOTR, they are very funny for a start and the fantasy world they are set in a just a mirror of this world ( bit like Gullivers Travels - no really). 
If you like a bit of a thriller you cant beat 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier. I hope you havent seen it on TV or film as that would give away the plot, but even if you have i would read the book as it is a really good read.


----------



## AlisonM (Sep 16, 2010)

katie said:


> Was the film any good?



Yes, it was an excellent film. Could maybe do with updating, but I really enjoyed it. It was on at some ungodly hour of the night earlier in the year and I watched cos I couldn't sleep.


----------



## MargB (Sep 16, 2010)

Dizzydi said:


> I was just going to recommend James Patterson - awesome I'm additcted to the Alex cross one's and the womans murder club - brilliant very fast paced read and I just love Jeffrey Deaver as well. Also C J Sansom Historical murder mystery.
> 
> I love lots of different authors but those above are my favourites.



Oooh, I have never read C J Sansom so I will see what is in the library!  Just getting into the Lyndsey Boxer books but reading them out of sequence!

Have now read most of the Alex Cross ones - they can be iffy when he shares the authorship with someone else which he seems to do quite a bit.

Have you ever ready any Alex Kava novels?  My friend likes Kathy Reichs but they just bore me.


----------



## Northerner (Sep 16, 2010)

Another interesting book I read and couldn't put down was 'Mary Barton' by Elizabeth Gaskell (described as the female Dickens!). Absolutely loved the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake - like a rich, gothic painting in words


----------



## katie (Sep 16, 2010)

carolynsurry said:


> Has to be the best book of all time.If you like it try 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett which has a similar setting.
> Have you tried any Terry Pratchett? I see you mention him together with Lord of the Rings as a type of book you wouldnt like. I dont find Terry Pratchetts books anything like LOTR, they are very funny for a start and the fantasy world they are set in a just a mirror of this world ( bit like Gullivers Travels - no really).
> If you like a bit of a thriller you cant beat 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier. I hope you havent seen it on TV or film as that would give away the plot, but even if you have i would read the book as it is a really good read.



Yes, awesome book  I read it because my brother got to read it as part of english class at school, because he was in a higher set than me.  I was annoyed that I didn't get to read it at school because I knew i'd like it. So even though I didn't read the books I was supposed to read for Enlgish, I did read that one in my own time haha.

The reason I put LOTR and Terry Pratchett together is because my brother (again) would read them when he was younger.  I guess because I didn't read much I thought of them as being geeky and too clever for me?! I could give Terry Pratchett a read now but I don't think it would be my kind of thing. 

I loved shutter island so I will have a look at Rebecca 



AlisonM said:


> Yes, it was an excellent film. Could maybe do with updating, but I really enjoyed it. It was on at some ungodly hour of the night earlier in the year and I watched cos I couldn't sleep.



I might take a look at the film


----------



## Dizzydi (Sep 16, 2010)

MargB said:


> Oooh, I have never read C J Sansom so I will see what is in the library!  Just getting into the Lyndsey Boxer books but reading them out of sequence!
> 
> Have now read most of the Alex Cross ones - they can be iffy when he shares the authorship with someone else which he seems to do quite a bit.
> 
> Have you ever ready any Alex Kava novels?  My friend likes Kathy Reichs but they just bore me.



Not tried Alex kava, will look out for them. I have read a few Kathy reichs thought they were ok. I love history novels as well. 

In fact my all time favourite is pillars of the earth by ken follet and the follow up (name has gone out of my head) absolute brilliant read. Got both for my ma for Christmas.


Di x


----------



## MargB (Sep 17, 2010)

I used to read a lot of history, family saga type books.  Claire Rayner actually wrote a very good series of books around a family in London over the years and I really enjoyed it.  Don't have a lot of time for what she says as an 'expert' on whatever topic she chooses at the time but did enjoy reading her books.

I grew up reading books.  My whole family read books.  Our summer holidays were spent going to the library, reading a book in the library, then taking out one or two to bring home and read when we weren't playing out in the garden.  My brothers read all the Biggles books and I read the Bobsey Twins.  We also always had the Classic Illustrated comics/magazines and I wish we had kept them as they are now worth a fortune!!  Reading at school was ridiculously slow but teachers did not like it if you read the book by yourself at home.  Books see me through bad/sad times.  I lose myself in a book and am lucky to be able to place myself in the location where the book is, time just flies.  It can drive other people crackers though as I don't ignore them, I just don't hear them!

The downside of reading books is that I sit in one place and don't exercise enough.  Unlike as a kid when playing out involved playing football or cricket or all the Olympic events in an Olympic year.  I loved hurdling.


----------



## Caroline (Sep 17, 2010)

Ellis Peters is quite a good read too, and a lot of people are familiar with Brother Cadfael because he was on telly.


----------



## rossoneri (Sep 17, 2010)

katie said:


> Like my films I quite like my depressing books


For depressing or dark reads I would suggest Patrick McGrath's books.  His stories often involve a psychiatrist so there is a similarity to Shutter Island.  Sadly what I view as being the best of his works, The Grotesque, appears to now be out of print.  It was also filmed in the 1990s but I reckon the book is the better choice, unless the thought of Sting in the buff is particularly appealing.

Kurt Vonnegot?s Slaughterhouse 5 is another dark book but with plenty of humour and a rather odd story line, it combines a POW?s perspective of the allied bombing of Dresden with tales of alien abduction, but don?t be put off by how odd that sounds.  

I would also like to second Northerner's suggestion of The Men Who Stare At Goats, definitely read the book before watching the film adaptation.  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt is another good dark non-fiction choice, although again better if you have not seen the film, which like TMWSAG turned the story into more of a fictional tale.


----------



## Northerner (Sep 17, 2010)

For spy genre, I'd recommend anything by Lionel Davidson - particularly The Rose of Tibet, The Night of Wenceslas and Kolymsky Heights - absolutely gripping stuff! Not the sort of thing I would normally read, but I got Kolymsky Heights as book of the month through a book club and enjoyed it so much I went out and bought his entire oeuvre !


----------



## Copepod (Sep 17, 2010)

katie said:


> Urgh, I would love to be camping in the bush without a tent *cries*.
> I have seen the rabbit proof fence, great film.  They don't treat aboriginal people much better now!
> 
> I really wanted to go pearling but unfortunately _everybody_ wants to go pearling so it's difficult to get a job doing it.  Housekeeping in Kakadu was still an experience though.



No point using a tent in Kimberley region in June / July / August, as no rain and few insects. We had a shower bag to hang up from a tree, which was fine until my friend's male PhD supervisor came to visit, which meant we had to hang it up further away and behind a tree. Also had to wear clothes for river crossings, which was a bit inconvenient 

On a previous trip, I cleaned rooms for month of April, in a hotel in Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains - no snow yet, but getting cold, and job included subsidised restaurant meals and shared room accommodation, plus a certain number of free chairlift passes per week. Man from Snowy River is another Banjo Patterson poem / song / film.

I know a male Antarctic scientist (not my partner, I hasten to add) who insists on taking the complete works of Jane Austin every time he goes South, and his family only allowed him to name one of the hens "Emma".


----------



## NiVZ (Sep 18, 2010)

Hello,

I'm a big fan of Lee Child and Harlan Coben.  I also read Kathy Reichs and Karin Slaughter.

I'd class them all as thrillers with a kind of law enforcement / forensics / something to solve type books.

I've also liked the first two John Twelve Hawks books and am currently reading the third in the trilogy.

NiVZ


----------



## katie (Sep 19, 2010)

Copepod said:


> No point using a tent in Kimberley region in June / July / August, as no rain and few insects. We had a shower bag to hang up from a tree, which was fine until my friend's male PhD supervisor came to visit, which meant we had to hang it up further away and behind a tree. Also had to wear clothes for river crossings, which was a bit inconvenient
> 
> On a previous trip, I cleaned rooms for month of April, in a hotel in Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains - no snow yet, but getting cold, and job included subsidised restaurant meals and shared room accommodation, plus a certain number of free chairlift passes per week. Man from Snowy River is another Banjo Patterson poem / song / film.
> 
> I know a male Antarctic scientist (not my partner, I hasten to add) who insists on taking the complete works of Jane Austin every time he goes South, and his family only allowed him to name one of the hens "Emma".



Ideally I would probably use a tent to keep myself away from any snakes or crocs - felt completely safe in our tent.

I cleaned rooms for a hotel in Kakadu national park and it was my favourite job ever, I would go back there tomorrow if I could - even though it was back-breaking and the rooms were outside so we were in the heat alot of the time.

----

I'm reading my Joanne Lees book now and she's talking about all these places in the northern territory that I've been to - why can't I be there  damnit


----------

