I'm in a reading rut. Does this book exist?

[madteaparty]

Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Eta to second The Count of Monte Cristo. I don’t know whether to read that or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with DD next.

Edited October 10, 2023 by madteaparty

[Vida Winter]

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a favorite of mine.

[VickiMNE]

I really enjoyed the reading the Mrs. Read series (written in the 50s+).  The first book is The Village School.  It is all about characters; subsequent books dive deeper.  

[KungFuPanda]

Oooooh, this!

[Beth S]

All the Light We Cannot See?

[Terabith]

8 hours ago, Kidlit said:

I've read The Chosen and Davida's Harp.  Do you recommend another?

Others I like are My Name Is Asher Lev, The Gift of Asher Lev, The Chosen, and The Promise.  

[Jaybee]

Have you read Elizabeth Gaskell's books? North and South is good, as are the others. My favorite, however, is Wives and Daughters. The character development is so good. She takes her characters from being rather flat to full-fledged humans--kind of like we do in real life as we get to know people.

Wilkie Collin's The Moonstone and The Woman in White

A newer book is Daniel Nayeri's Everything Sad is Untrue. Autobiographical and has Christian themes. When I started it, I was a little befuddled at the acclaims it was getting because it was a little hard to get into. But it is actually using the circular way of thinking of many peoples in the world, and building on each circle. Then at one point, bam! it all starts coming together and is riveting from that point on.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Jaybee
Apparently Nayeri's name was autocorrected to Sayer. Which it just did here and I have to change it again.

[sassenach]

Have you heard of the podcast “What Should I Read Next?”  This thread reminds me of it. You might enjoy listening to her recommendations. 

[Lady Florida.]

11 hours ago, Kidlit said:

This is one I've never read!

The Count of Monte Cristo is definitely worth a read. 

10 hours ago, 4kidlets4me said:

East of Eden 

 

 

I love both The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. East of Eden is more character driven which might be your best choice between the two.

50 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

Have you read Elizabeth Gaskell's books? North and South is good, as are the others. My favorite, however, is Wives and Daughters. The character development is so good. She takes her characters from being rather flat to full-fledged humans--kind of like we do in real life as we get to know people.

Wilkie Collin's The Moonstone and The Woman in White

 

I love Wives and Daughters! North and South is also very good but I prefer the former.

Another classic author worth reading is Anthony Trollope, specifically The Way We Live Now. Many of his other books belong to a series but for his stand alones I'd choose this one. 

[Jaybee]

33 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

I love Wives and Daughters! North and South is also very good but I prefer the former.

Same

[LostSurprise]

These Is My Words by Nancy Turner; I described it to my husband as 'exciting Laura Ingalls' and sent his aunts a copy to pass around. Turner based it on the the life of her great-grandmother, so it's fictionalized but based on the real settling of the southwest. 

Classic coming-of-age with Anne of Green Gables vibe: The Secret Garden, The Penderwicks, Little Women, The House at Green Knowe, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Summer Book.

 

A little more modern: The Queen's Gambit, Tam Lin, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Wee Free Men, Spinning Silver. Coming of age but with a little less magical peace and a little more drama or social commentary. 

 

[Grace Hopper]

14 hours ago, TechWife said:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is a delight. 

I enjoyed this so much! Echoing the recommendation. 

13 hours ago, kbutton said:

I really liked Everything Sad is Untrue. My kids (teen and YA) ate it up and have told DH that he has to read it.

Good to hear this, it’s next up in my TBR stack. 

4 hours ago, Beth S said:

All the Light We Cannot See?

I was coming in to recommend this. One of the best books ever written, imo. It’s coming out soon as a film (Netflix maybe?) and I am terrified they’re going to mess it up. 
 

Doerr is an excellent literary writer. Another chunky title of his is Cloud Cuckoo Land. It’s a bit disjointed at first but if you stick with it all comes together  (a la Crazy Stupid Love). He also has a short story collection that is brilliant, The Shell Collector. I wouldn’t say his writing makes one feel warm and fuzzy, but it does make one feel. 
 

Someone in the reading threads mentioned Miss Benson’s Beetle, and it is one of my favorites this year (thanks to whoever recommended it - was it you, @Kidlit?😂).

I’ll add one more from my 2021 list, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper. 
 

If you truly want YA I’d say The Hate You Give or the complete Anne of Green Gables or Narnia series, depending on which part of the cozy reading spectrum you want to fall into. I am not up on really recent YA titles and I am a sucker for the classics; if you want the classic route maybe look through the Newbery Medal list and see if there are any you’ve not yet read. 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[Grace Hopper]

1 hour ago, LostSurprise said:

These Is My Words by Nancy Turner; I described it to my husband as 'exciting Laura Ingalls' and sent his aunts a copy to pass around. Turner based it on the the life of her great-grandmother, so it's fictionalized but based on the real settling of the southwest. 

Classic coming-of-age with Anne of Green Gables vibe: The Secret Garden, The Penderwicks, Little Women, The House at Green Knowe, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Summer Book.

 

A little more modern: The Queen's Gambit, Tam Lin, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Wee Free Men, Spinning Silver. Coming of age but with a little less magical peace and a little more drama or social commentary. 

 

Oh boy, if you haven’t read every one of The Penderwicks books, put those on your list. So good!

[Jaybee]

Oh, I have also enjoyed The Vanderbeekers books. Along the lines of The Penderwicks.

[Lori D.]

Realistic, with deeply drawn characters
- In This House of Brede (Godden)
- News of the World (Jiles)
- Simon the Fiddler (Jiles)
- The Friendly Persuasion (West)
- The Other Bennett Sister (Hadlow)
- The Confessions of X (Wolfe)
- Once Upon a River (Sutterfield) -- author of The Thirteenth Tale (a modern day Bronte-like novel); OUaR has gentle magical realism, and a very positive, uplifting feel
- Jim, the Boy (Early) -- along the lines of Moon Over Manifest; I do NOT like the sequel (Blue Star), which wrecks the characters so beautifully drawn in Jim, the Boy

Lighter, with clearly drawn characters and some humor
- Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons)
- Miss Buncle's Book (D.E. Stevenson)
- The Jane Austen Society (Natalie Jenner)

Series
- Josephine Tey books
(Daughter of Time is the best of her Inspector Grant mysteries; Miss Pym Disposes, and, Brat Farrar are technically mysteries, but much more about developing character and psychology of people under stress; I have not read these non-mystery novels that she published under the name of Gordon Daviot: Kif: An Unvarnished History; The Expensive Halo; The Privateer)

- Barbara Pym novels
(I've read and enjoyed her first 3 published novels: Some Tame Gazelle; Excellent Women; Jane and Prudence are the 1st 3)

- Maisie Dobbs series (Winspear)
(mysteries, but so much is about the people/times of England in the 1920s (so, post-WW1 issues), 1930s (depression era), and 1940s (home front issues of WW2 years) 

- Finding Nouf; City of Veils; Kingdom of Strangers (Ferraris)
3-book series of mysteries set in Saudi Arabia; "hard crime" (serial killers), but the major focus is on developing characters and exploring the culture of modern-day Saudi Arabia -- fascinating!

- Jon Mote mysteries (Taylor)
Technically mysteries, but really much more about character exploration and development that continues through the series, so read in order: Death Comes for the Deconstructionist; Do We Not Bleed; Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees; The Mystery of Iniquity.

Children's Books
- Two Are Better Than One (Brink)
- The Little White Horse (Goudge)
- The Perilous Gard (Elizabeth Marie Pope)
- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate; The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate (Jacqueline Tate)

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Lori D.

[Wishes]

Cloud Atlas

[Terabith]

Completely different than YA, but honestly I might look at some of Mary Doria Russell's novels, especially The Sparrow and Children of God.  

Or Noah Gordon's novels, starting with The Physician.

[Beth S]

4 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

I was coming in to recommend this. One of the best books ever written, imo. It’s coming out soon as a film (Netflix maybe?) and I am terrified they’re going to mess it up. 
 

100% my perpetual fear.

I'll add "The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth von Arnim.

Because it made me recall that "Enchanted April" (1991) did a great job of adapting the book.

 

[carriede]

All the Light We Cannot See

[Kidlit]

21 hours ago, Vida Winter said:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a favorite of mine.

I have never read anything by Tartt that I recall. Thanks!

[Kidlit]

19 hours ago, VickiMNE said:

I really enjoyed the reading the Mrs. Read series (written in the 50s+).  The first book is The Village School.  It is all about characters; subsequent books dive deeper.  

I remember these, but I have never read one of them. Thank you!

[Kidlit]

15 hours ago, Terabith said:

Others I like are My Name Is Asher Lev, The Gift of Asher Lev, The Chosen, and The Promise.  

Oh, I've read the Asher Lev ones, too.  I don't remember reading The Promise, though. 

[Kidlit]

16 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Oooooh, this!

I want to read this!

[Kidlit]

15 hours ago, Beth S said:

All the Light We Cannot See?

I read this one while lying in bed with the flu.  It was the best convalescence I've ever experienced!  🤣. I remember it very well due to the unusual circumstances and the fact that I read it in one great gulp.  
 

This is still the only thing by Doerr I've read, though 

[Kidlit]

14 hours ago, Jaybee said:

Have you read Elizabeth Gaskell's books? North and South is good, as are the others. My favorite, however, is Wives and Daughters. The character development is so good. She takes her characters from being rather flat to full-fledged humans--kind of like we do in real life as we get to know people.

Wilkie Collin's The Moonstone and The Woman in White

A newer book is Daniel Sayer's Everything Sad is Untrue. Autobiographical and has Christian themes. When I started it, I was a little befuddled at the acclaims it was getting because it was a little hard to get into. But it is actually using the circular way of thinking of many peoples in the world, and building on each circle. Then at one point, bam! it all starts coming together and is riveting from that point on.

I've never read Gaskell or Collins!  

Is this Daniel Nayeri?  I have read that one!

[Kidlit]

14 hours ago, sassenach said:

Have you heard of the podcast “What Should I Read Next?”  This thread reminds me of it. You might enjoy listening to her recommendations. 

Yes! I had actually forgotten about it, though. Thanks for the reminder!

[Kidlit]

13 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

Another classic author worth reading is Anthony Trollope, specifically The Way We Live Now. Many of his other books belong to a series but for his stand alones I'd choose this one. 

I've never read Trollope. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Jaybee]

1 minute ago, Kidlit said:

I've never read Gaskell or Collins!  

Is this Daniel Nayeri?  I have read that one!

Oh good grief! Yes, it is, I don't know how that came out as Sayer!! Going now to change it.

[Jaybee]

I'm excited to have all these new suggestions. I haven't seen a lot of these before. I am currently reading Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series as soon as each one gets free from the library, and was wondering what I would read when I'm done.

[Kidlit]

11 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

 

I was coming in to recommend this. One of the best books ever written, imo. It’s coming out soon as a film (Netflix maybe?) and I am terrified they’re going to mess it up. 

 

Perish the thought! 
 

 

Someone in the reading threads mentioned Miss Benson’s Beetle, and it is one of my favorites this year (thanks to whoever recommended it - was it you, @Kidlit?😂).

'T'wasn't I, but it is now duly noted. ✅

11 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

I’ll add one more from my 2021 list, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper. 
 

If you truly want YA I’d say The Hate You Give or the complete Anne of Green Gables or Narnia series, depending on which part of the cozy reading spectrum you want to fall into. I am not up on really recent YA titles and I am a sucker for the classics; if you want the classic route maybe look through the Newbery Medal list and see if there are any you’ve not yet read. 

I've read THUG.  What a story! 
 

Anne is my go-to but I've read all of the LM Montgomery novels (all of 'em--Anne, Emily, Pat, Marigold, all the more adult ones--all of 'em!) and Narnia MULTIPLE times!  I've also written papers on all of them (well, Anne, Emily, and Narnia) in undergrad and grad school.  ❤️

[Kidlit]

11 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Oh boy, if you haven’t read every one of The Penderwicks books, put those on your list. So good!

Yes!  Love all the Penderwicks! I just sent a young teen home with the first one last week from the library (I'm a children's librarian). 

[Kidlit]

Thank you, @Lori D., for that list!  
@Wishes and @Terabith, I've not read any of your recommendations. Thanks!

[Kidlit]

6 hours ago, Beth S said:

100% my perpetual fear.

I'll add "The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth von Arnim.

Because it made me recall that "Enchanted April" (1991) did a great job of adapting the book.

 

I've never heard of Enchanted April, neither the book nor the movie. 

[TechWife]

On 10/9/2023 at 9:59 PM, Kidlit said:

I read Little Fires Everywhere and Our Missing Hearts but not this one.  I really loved Our Missing Hearts. 

Little Fires Everywhere was excellent. I'll have to put these two on my list.

[TechWife]

What about: 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (it can be a little slow in places, but good nonetheless)

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

 

 

[TechWife]

15 hours ago, sassenach said:

Have you heard of the podcast “What Should I Read Next?”  This thread reminds me of it. You might enjoy listening to her recommendations. 

This one and "A Sense of Place," which recommends books based on how well they are rooted in their location.

[Frances]

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

[Kidlit]

7 hours ago, TechWife said:

What about: 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (it can be a little slow in places, but good nonetheless)

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

 

 

I've read Gentleman and Dutch House but not the other two. When I've tried to read Gilead, I've found it so poignant that it makes me sad and I give up.  One day I'll power through.

[Amoret]

You probably have more suggestions than you need, but a few others:

If you have read a lot of 19th century British lit, you might check out the Goth Girl books -- they are short children's books, but very funny and full of allusions to Victorian novels.

Also, if you haven't read the the children's novels Peter Nimble and Sophie Quire (a two-book series by Jonathan Auxier), you might like them as well. The Night Gardner and Sweep are also worth reading --the former is like a Gothic novel for kids, and the latter is like Dickens for Kids. If you want "Chaucer" for kids, check out The Inquisitor's Tale.

Egg and Spoon is a YA book that is part historical fiction and part Russian folktale. It is by the same author as Wicked (Maguire), but the books are nothing alike. I loved E&S but did not like Wicked for various reasons)

The Coincidence Makers is not particularly well written, but it is a wonderful work of magical-realism with an interesting premise. It's also a quick read.

A Man Called Ove or Connie Willis's time travel books (To Say Nothing of the Dog, Black Out and All Clear, or the Doomsday Book) are also really good.

I've heard that Doerr's travel writing is also very good (and I,too, loved All the Light We Cannot See), but I couldn't make it through Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Whenever I find myself in a reading rut and want something comforting, I always turn to Jane Austen. I don't think you can read Pride and Prejudice too many times. 😀

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Amoret

[Lori D.]

12 hours ago, Kidlit said:

I've never heard of Enchanted April, neither the book nor the movie. 

The book is good -- kind, gentle, charming -- but for once, I actually think the movie version is a bit better, as it slightly tweaks the ending and makes it much more satisfying. The rest of the movie sticks close to the book -- also a rarity, lol. 

Enchanted April is one of my go-to comfort food movies. One woman's small act of grace overflows and transforms everyone. Plus, gentle humor and spectacular acting throughout. Just lovely. 💕

 

ETA
My current go-to comfort food books are

- The Goblen Emperor (Addison)
I absolutely love the depth of development of the world and characters, but especially the gentle, kind tone of this book. It follows a young man who has been relegated to a distant estate, and when his emperor father and his older half brothers are all killed in an accident, he is suddenly the new emperor, and must learn the ins and outs of court life and the politics of the court/courtiers. I love his choices of kindnesses and forgiveness as he learns to negotiate this Elven system that doesn't want him as emperor, since he is half-Elven, half-Goblin. Lovely book.

- The Other Bennett Sister (Hadlow)
I listed this one up-thread. I adore this one -- it's like discovering an even more in-depth Austen novel. It embeds a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice told through the point of view of the middle sister, Mary -- the novel starts before P&P, covers major moments of P&P (through Mary's POV), and then the second half of The Other Bennett Sister is all about Mary's life in the 3-5 years after P&P takes place. The author has done SO much research, that this feels so very real and alive, and she has such a kind and gentle treatment of Mary, who is living at a time when an unmarried woman in her 20s has so very few possibilities or prospects open to her.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Lori D.

[Lady Florida.]

3 hours ago, Lori D. said:

The book is good -- kind, gentle, charming -- but for once, I actually think the movie version is a bit better, as it slightly tweaks the ending and makes it much more satisfying. The rest of the movie sticks close to the book -- also a rarity, lol. 

Enchanted April is one of my go-to comfort food movies. One woman's small act of grace overflows and transforms everyone. Plus, gentle humor and spectacular acting throughout. Just lovely. 💕

 

I love that book and it's definitely worth reading/recommending. I agree with you though that this is one of those rare cases of the movie being better. That doesn't mean the book isn't good - it's lovely. The movie is even lovelier.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm loving this thread.  I, too, am in a reading rut.  And I need some audiobooks for my commute (it can't be too deep or too emotional because I have to be put together when I get there.)  

On 10/10/2023 at 9:16 AM, LostSurprise said:

These Is My Words by Nancy Turner; I described it to my husband as 'exciting Laura Ingalls' and sent his aunts a copy to pass around. Turner based it on the the life of her great-grandmother, so it's fictionalized but based on the real settling of the southwest. 

I loved this book.  The way she uses language and how it changes as the character grows is almost a character itself.  

 

On 10/10/2023 at 6:29 AM, Beth S said:

All the Light We Cannot See?

One of my all time favorites.