Parlez-vous moo?

The (An) Ode Less Travelled is great.
Anything by Marion Keyes or Lisa Jewell for your chick lit because it takes some reading and is very good
Neil Gaiman if you like fantasy that isn’t science fiction (especially reccommend Neverwhere)

Does any of that help?

I recommend The Hippopotamus or Making History by Fry if you enjoyed the others. The Star’s Tennis Balls is quite good too.

If you enjoy Philippa G (my guilty pleasure too) then I recommend Alison Weir’s stuff.

Have you read Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife? That’s very good, and a good holiday read. Everything Is Illuminated is also worth checking out - the language is beautiful.

And, depending on how much you feel like dumbing down, the first set of diaries by Piers Morgan - The Insider - is a particularly easy and amusing read, even if its author is a little toerag.

Anything by Belinda Jones. Perfect holiday reading and it’ll put you in good stead to plan your next holiday. Jenny Colgan is also good.

Emma Brown by Claire Boylan you might like if you like the classics. It’s based on Charlotte Bronte’s last book - or what was left of it. She finished the story and it’s pretty fabulous (and teary).

Also, go to trashionista.com and look through the 5* category. Loads of reviews there. x

I don’t know if these are any good for you, but I loved The Girls by Lori Lansens, and The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. Maybe not holiday reading though…

Great post…

If you want a break from the chick lit try Small Island by Andrea Levy. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve read in the last year or so, I wrote on it for my masters degree. Its a very well written, very funny and very honest slant on Britain. I really liked it.

Jilly Cooper - Polo is one of my favourite books! You’ve probably read it. Try Patricia Cornwell for crime fiction.

I recently read On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan, but you’ll whizz through that in a day if you’re anything like me.

I also read Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon which was quite entertaining.

I used to keep a list of everything I’d read, I think I need to start it up again.

The McEwan recommended by Jo is a quick read, but not very cheerful. My personal favourites are “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen, and “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole. O, and anything by David Mitchell or Glen Duncan. Ah, holidays. You lucky, lucky thing.

Everything’s illuminated cannot be a maybe, it’s a must read. And then i?ll throw in Safran Foer’s wife, Nicole Kraus, whose History of Loveis just incredible.

Have you read Bill Brysons latest book (although about 2 years old now I think) Adventures of the Thunderbolt kid? Great stuff - as always.
I love Brysons books, infact I read A Brief History of Nearly Everything for the second time recently. I’ve never read a book twice before now.

I cant really recommend any others. My only other favourite authors are Philip K Dick who writes sci fi. He wrote Blade Runner, Total Recal and many other blockbuster movies.
Although my favourite book ever is by him, The Man in the Highcastle, it’s not really for everyone.
And Terry Pratchett, who doesn’t need an introduction.
I guess that’s a list of reads to avoid.

I’ll second Everything is Illuminated. It’s a great holiday book. Very different that everything else that’s out there.

If you want to try really awesome sci fi? Enders Game. by orson scott card or something like that. scott card orson?

Well you know what, I have all the same authors on my ‘love’ list and I also love Dan Brown, so you might be surprised. I have read 3 of his books since the NY and can’t wait for the next.

If you like Jilly Copper then Fiona Walker or Jane Green

Remembered something else, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. They’re a good, fun read, and she’s on 13 now so there’s plenty to be going on with. Starts with One for the Money.

Time Travellers Wife is really good, so i’ll second that.
Also Anna Karenina (if you haven’t already read it) and Little Women is always worth another read.
I also loved This Book might Save your Life and A Million Little Pieces.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is funny and sweet.
I really like the Time Travellers Wife too, tho it is a bit soppy.
The Kite Runner is very good also. (much better than the film). Nice blog!

Zadie Smith- “White Teeth”, it’s epic

David Sedaris, Jodi Picoult.

Do you like mysteries? Ian Rankin, Elizabeth George.

Have you read anything by Christopher Brookmyre? You should go out and buy his next one (due out in August!) and if you don’t like it, send it to me. (Nothing he writes is available over here, so I have to bribe ocean-crossing friends to bring them back for me!)

Oooh Hannah’s right, the Time Traveller’s Wife was AWESOME! Gave me goosebumps. Oh, and Patrick Suskind’s Perfume is a great book - spooky, weird but enthralling.

Oh, and you can’t go wrong with a bit of Harlan Coben for murder stuff with witty dialogue. Have a fab holiday xx

I second the Time Traveller’s Wife, definitely. A page-turner, but a clever one. I’d also say that Terry Pratchett is not quite what you’d expect - fantasy, yes, but also an absolutely fabulous satirist. Brilliant.

To combine the historical romance and Jane Austen section, I can recommend some Georgette Heyer. Not for everyone, but personally, I adore it. It’s romance, but it’s very silly and subversive and the characters are just fantastic. Friday’s Child or Devil’s Cub are the best, with The Grand Sophy and Frederica just behind.

For more Litracher-type stuff, try Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga - long but very enjoyable, and tip-top characterisation. Ditto Middlemarch, George Eliot, although you may have read that.

And for more romancey type stuff, I loved M. M. Kaye’s Far Pavilions - all about India in the nineteenth century. Might not be what you want, but I loved it.

Harlan Coben is good! Crumbs how could I forget him? I love his books. They keep you guessing all the way though. I think his first stand alone was Tell No One, but they’re all worth a read.

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