What are you reading? Book recommendations please! 📚️

Rolaliton228

really is the best way to unwind

I’d recommend 'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig - it’s very immersive and thought-provoking. Right now, I’m into some fantasy, which is great for total escapism

SmellyBin

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1119255#Comment_1119255

It took me two months before I had the guts to start reading The Midnight Library, but it wasn't that difficult at all - mentally speaking. I expected it to be rather heavy, but it was impressive and shows us how messy life is. For all of us.

MissMarple

I watched the trailer for Sweetpea @Mary_Scope It reminded me of an Irish series on Netflix called Obituary. It has a similar darkly funny vibe.

SmellyBin

I found Don't Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlaine in the little free library and it was a tonic for the soul! So funny it had me laughing out loud several times, but in the background - without being preachy or obnoxious - it was also about the way society looks differently at men and women.

It seems Robert Bryndza's new book will be about a serial killer, but I am not into that currently. I prefer crime novels to be about things that can happen for real or at least feel a bit real. Like a murder related to jealousy or greed.
For that reason I like the Peter Decker series by Faye Kellerman, him being so down to earth. But the books are not cheap whether it is an e-book or a paperback.

Rachel_Scope

I've had to put aside The Defence because I've just borrowed Bob Mortimer's autobiography and I'm already hooked! He's just so funny and it's very surprising to learn about his childhood.

MissMarple

I couldn't get Don't Forget About Me @SmellyBin but I've found another Mhairi McFarlane audiobook on my library app, titled Between Us and added it to my reading list. Have your read lots of Robery Bryndza? I've been meaning to try his books for a while but haven't got to it yet. Any title you would recommend?

Mary_Scope

I finished The Inmate by Freida McFaddden last night and unfortunately, i think this is my least liked book of hers I've read so far. It was very predictable and very far fetched. I find that her books can be really hit or miss because I absolutely loved The Housemaid!

SmellyBin

The Coco Pinchard series by Bryndza is very good, but those are definitely not crime novels. Absolutely something you might want to read with the current difficulties worldwide. To cheer yourself up.
I enjoyed all books from the Kate Marshall and Erika Foster series I read, but Fear the Silence (a standalone) was not my cup of tea, @MissMarple

And let me know what you think of the book by Mhairi, I only read Black and White by her (apart from Forget Me book), but wasn't that impressed with it…

Yup, the Karin Slaughter book was another stunning one, lots of twists and turns, and I enjoyed the southern drawl with the characters.
Weirdly, I decided (to cheer myself up) to read a book by Alexandra Potter Me and Mr Darcy as it was on sale and it looks so familiar. Aaargh. I checked my account on Amazon, but I didn't purchase it before. If I had read this through a little free library, I probably would've remembered (not that many English books available)… so now I am utterly confused. Perhaps I only read the sample a while back? I have no idea 🙃🫤

SheffieldMan1976

I read (listened to) WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre's autobiography Audiobook last year, he's currently playing a heel (bad guy) on screen but in real life he comes across as a right nice bloke, kind of Scottish lad you could sit and have a coffee with and talk about almost anything.

MissMarple

Thanks @SmellyBin The Kate Marshall and Erika Foster books sound more like my cup of tea. I've added them on Kindle. Not sure when I'll get to them. I have over a hundred books on my TBR list already 😅

I've almost finished Vivian Dies Again by Caroline Hulse. I can recommend it for a fun, time-travelling whodunnit.

SmellyBin

I've just finished Watch Over Her by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, very impressive. Makes me wonder if we ever moved on from the 1930s and 40s and futurism…

In an Italian monastery, a sculptor named Mimo lays on his deathbed. For decades, he has lived among the monks who watch over his masterpiece, an arresting statue that haunts all who see it.

During his final hours, he reveals his life story: his impoverished childhood, brutal apprenticeship, and, most important, his meeting with Viola Orsini, the only daughter of a powerful and dangerous aristocratic family. Mimo and Viola are instantly drawn to one another, viewing themselves as outsiders—Mimo, for his dwarfism, Viola for her ability to remember everything she has ever read or experienced. Together, they traverse the unrest of the twentieth century, from the rise of fascism to the violence of the world wars. While Mimo becomes a celebrated artist, Viola chases her own dreams of becoming an emancipated woman. Over the decades, they will lose and find each other time and again, but never will they give up on the love they share.

Immersive and full of heart, Mimo’s adventures are ribald and hilarious, challenging conventions of his day.

SmellyBin

Has anyone ever read A Good Man in Africa? I am wondering if it is not too heavy…

SmellyBin

I've just finished The Ice House by Minette Walters, her debut. I really liked it, quite a gem to come across in a little free library :)