sadietoo Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Has anyone else tried these? IMO..they are very addictive (although not if you like a thumping good whodunnit as you generally get to know more about the life of his family than you do the crime!) I first came across Susan Hill many years ago when I read "In the Springtime of the Year" which is a beautiful and very moving tale... I have bought her "Howards Way is on the Landing" for my BF christmas pressie this year, Basically this looks back over her reading "history" and the authors she loves (and hates) and those that influenced her the most. Reading tastes change over the years of course but it made me think about the authors whose books have left any sort of lasting impression on me...here are some of them (some of them are out of print now just to show you how old I am!!) Anne Tyler Joyce Carol Oates Hilary Mantel Angela Huth, Patrick Gale Rebecca Wells Sally Vickers..just for Miss Garnett's Angel, my favouritist book ever. cos I love Venice! Penelope Lively Doris Lessing Anya Seyton Howard Spring Margaret Marshall Jilly Cooper Nancy Mitford James Herriot Mary Stewart A book called "the Aggravations of Minnie Ash" and if anyone can remember who wrote that you could put me out of my misery!! Enid Blyton!!(famous five series...were to me what Harry Potter was to my kids!) Who are your "must haves" on your book shelves?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 'Fraid I haven't time at the mo to post a similar list, but your book query is quicker to sort out. The Aggravations of Minnie Ashe was written by Cyril Kersh and its ISBN is 0-7181-0722-5. Before you marvel at my memory, I'll point out that I just searched in http://www.abebooks.co.uk, since that's the best book web site I've come across to date. In other words, I cheated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I am sat here looking at my book shelf,so it might even be alphabetical Mitch Albom Bill Bryson Dan Brown Chris Cleve Eoin Colfer Jilly Cooper Ben Elton Arthur Golden Phillipa Gregory Mike Gayle Joanne harris Nick Hornby Alexander McCall Smith Tony Parsons Philip Pullman J.K Rowling JD Salinger Chris Stewart JRR Tolkien I have lots of other books too, but these are the authors I will always pick up a new work by,if I see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busybird Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 As a child I loved Enid Blyton (Secret 7, Famous Five, Mallory Towers and so on) Laura Ingalls Wilder 'Jill' series by Ruby Ferguson (horsey books) Sue Barton, nurse books by Helen Dore Boylston As a teenager I read and reread Tolkien but also liked the James Herriot series and the Hitchhiker books (still love those). I also went through a phase of liking Jeffery Archer books . In my 20's I really got into the classics (loved Jane Austin and Thomas Hardy but couldn't enjoy Dickens) but also liked Iain Banks and for a lighter read Ben Elton and Nick Hornby. I then had children and had neither the time nor the energy to read anything for years I now enjoy attending a Book Group and, through them, read a much more eclectic mix of literature. I have bought a lot of Margaret Atwood but most of my 'books I have loved' are by differwent authors each time. We have just finished 'Water for Elephants' by Sara Gruen which was a bit of a grown up fairy story but interesting and enjoyable Haven't heard of Simon Serrallier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The books that have made the most impression on me this year have been. The Book Thief The Kite Runner Both gave me a different insight into other cultures and were very moving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The books that have made the most impression on me this year have been. The Book Thief The Kite Runner Both gave me a different insight into other cultures and were very moving I loved the Kite Runner although pretty harrowing and I am 1/2 way through The Book Thief and really enjoying it. I think James Patterson books are great to get you going again if you haven't read for a while or don't have too much time to concentrate on a more meaty read. You can get through them so quickly and they are always pretty entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I love threads like this it means that If I need a new author, I just look in the list for someone with similar tastes to mine, and randomly pick a new one I have 3 floor to ceiling bookcases in a row , SIL laughed when she realised that I had actually put them into alphabetical order by author, then by title without looking, some of the books that I will go back to are: Sidney Sheldon James Patterson Wilbur Smith Matthew Reilly Lee Child Sue Grafton and the obvious, Enid Blyton JK Rowling I love reading cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 'Fraid I haven't time at the mo to post a similar list, but your book query is quicker to sort out. The Aggravations of Minnie Ashe was written by Cyril Kersh and its ISBN is 0-7181-0722-5. Before you marvel at my memory, I'll point out that I just searched in http://www.abebooks.co.uk, since that's the best book web site I've come across to date. In other words, I cheated. Many thanks for the link Major...if it wasn't Christmas I would treat myself to a copy..I'll check back and see what's available in the New Year. I totally agree about the abebooks site though, it's totally fab, and going straight on to my favourites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 What a strange coincidence - I've just read my first 'Simon Serailler' novel - I just picked up the book in my local Book Exchange shop, saw it was by Susan Hill and thought that it would be bound to be a good read. It was an excellent read, and made me think that I must look for some more - I don't know how many she's written about him. I'm also re-reading Mary Stewart 'Touch Not the Cat' at the moment, an old favourite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Right. Got a few minutes to take stock. Must haves in the literary line. For me, the first must have is to have at my disposal a far wider choice than just my favourites, hence the inclusion of John Grisham on our shelves; good fun, but literary chewing gum nonetheless. As for typical favourites, though, here's a list of authors: Terry Pratchett J K Rowling Dorothy L Sayers C S Forester Bernard Cornwell Patrick O'Brien Charles Dickens Bronte sisters Julian May Sebastian Faulkes Douglas Adams Probably evident from above is that my ideal is a book with both a cracking story and good characterisation. If either is missing, the book just feels unbalanced to me, and ends up hard work. It's for that reason that I personally feel Winston Graham, Agatha Christie, Jeffery Archer and Dick Francis should have had their pens surgically removed for the common good. Oh, and I've noticed that no-one is ambivalent to Thomas Hardy. Some love his work, some detest it. I'm the latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
