I’m always on the lookout for reading inspiration and like many people will often be swayed by reviews in newspapers, magazines or online. There will always be those authors I will want to read, no matter how good or bad a review. But I enjoy finding authors I am completely unfamiliar with prior to reading a review but become persuaded I need to read. Below are selection of both types. The common denominator being these are all books I really want to read.
- Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe reviewed by The New York Times
I have loved Nina Stibbe ever since I read ‘Love Nina’ which incidentally has since been televised. I also throughly enjoyed ‘Man at the Helm’ Both of these made me laugh. ‘Paradise Lodge’ is about a teenager who gets a job in a nursing home. I got a job in a nursing home when I was a young, jobless graduate, and I feel sure the humour in this novel is something I will find all too familiar. Read the review here
2. My Sunshine Away by MO Walsh reviewed on the Hush blog
I came across this review when perusing the blog of the online store Hush. The subject matter may be a little challenging. A man looks back at his childhood in South Louisiana and in particular the sweltering summer of 1989 when “everything changed” after the brutal rape of his 15-year-old neighbour Lindy Simpson on her way home from track practice. Hush has become a go to online shop for me, and the blog is well worth checking out. In fact there is rarely a book recommendation there that I’m not persuaded I want to read. Read the review here.
3. Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris reviewed in The Guardian
One quiet evening in Salisbury, the peace is shattered by a serious car crash. At that moment 5 lives collide and are drawn together by connection and coincidence. I have to confess I already own this book. The publishers sent it to me to review a few months ago. I also have to confess that until yesterday it had been sitting on my TBR pile untouched . I was reminded of it last week whilst perusing the line up for a forthcoming local literary festival and seeing the author Barney Norris’s name crop up. There is a great review of it in the guardian which i’m sure will persuade you to read it too. Read the review here.
4. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld reviewed by Sarra Manning in Red online
Like Sarra Manning I love Pride and Prejudice which means I’m always drawn to anything even vaguely related to it. However I also approach anything but the genuine article with slight fear and trepidation. This novel by Curtis Sittenfeld is a modern retelling of Pride And Prejudice, again something which makes me a little nervous. However, as American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld is one of the most engrossing novels I have read, I am persuaded I can trust P&P in her hands enough to read this contemporary version. Read the review here.
5. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler reviewed in The London Magazine.
Similarly to the novel by Curtis Sittenfeld, ‘Vinegar’ by Anne Tyler is a contemporary retelling of another classic. This time, Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. I have huge fondness for Anne Tyler and a certain amount of fondness for this particular Shakespeare play. Mainly because I watched my husband perform this many years ago as an innocent 6th former under the fierce guidance of Miss Bennett, a larger than life English teacher. You can read the review here.
I hope this has wetted your appetite and helped you add a few more books to your To be read lists. Let me know of other books you would recommend.
Wishing you all a page turning weekend
Image Changing Pages
I had no idea Vinegar Girl was an adaptation, that suddenly makes me really want to read it.
Author
I’m really interested to see how she has adapted it. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it if you decide to read it.