I am looking to read again and don’t seem to be able to concentrate long enough to get into books and have found going through Amazon’s lists wears me out and causes pain. I seem to get stressed over nothing and have had some horrendous migraines lately.
So please if you have read any good books particularly thrillers could you recommend them or the writer. I have nearly read all of Linda La Plante’s books and found them to be gripping. Also most of Stephen Fry’s books which are not thrillers but I like his style. I need to escape from this world I am creating for myself and get some good relaxation going on.
The girl with the dragon tattoo and the others in the series is very good. I also enjoy any written by Ian Rankin - who wrote the inspector rebus books. Kate Atkinson writes some good books too and they are less dark and easy to read.
I need to escape from this world I am creating for myself and get some good relaxation going on.
The book I am going to suggest has an MS theme-but is certainly NOT the focus of the book. The story is about thinking outwith oneself and the joy that it brings for all.
I read it almost 4 years ago and it has certainly changed my outlook on life in general and has enabled me to cope with my MS.
I cant concentrate or remember characters-this is an easy read book and I still do the 29 Day Challenge on a regular basis-doing it again for 5th time this month actually! Its become a way of life for me.
29 Gifts by Cami Walker (think its still on Amazon-I have perhaps bought most of the copies as gifts! LOL)
It depends on what you like to read. I like crime/thriller/medical so Karin Slaughter, Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs, Stephen Leather…I could go on for ever.
If you like something a bit gentler try Joanna Trollope or Jodi Picoult.
Best place to look for something that you ‘might’ like is your local library. Take out six by different people and if you don’t like them at least they won’t have cost you anything.
I try to get books from the large print dection so I can still see the print when I’m tired.
l have always read the ‘forensic pathology’ type books - all murder and mystery. This was really because it was my mums choice - as she was the one to go to the library - [l couldn’t go - as they did not have a 'loo] Then my daughters friend sent me lots of books by an american author Debbie Macomber. l started on the Cedar Cove series. You have to read them in order. At first l though they were a bit like an American version of the Archers - lots of homely characters - with a few baddies - grannies baking lots of delights. But l got hooked - and l think it is because - in the front of the books all the characters are listed - with the part they play - and who they are related to. SO - if you find you have forgotten what you have previous read - you can check up on the folk. After reading the first three - l then started buying them from amazon- sometimes you only pay a penny for a book plus the postage. l now have a pile of them - all my friends have now read them and l now need to do something with them - l might ask the Library if they will take them as they are -like new.
Another author l love to bits is lsla Dewar - scottish lass- writes wonderful stories - her characters really ‘grab’ you - l recommend you start with Keeping up with Magda.
At the moment l am reading Jodie Piccolt’s House Rules - a novel about a single mum with two teenage boys - the eldest with Aspergers. Another author l really like - and who l did get the chance to meet at a’Book Night’ at our local library is Claire Morrall - her books are also based on the ‘Aspergers’ subject which she has a lot of personal knowledge of -she is a music teacher and has met pupils who have this syndrome. Her books are titled ‘The Language of Others’ and ‘The Curious lncident of the dog in the Night’ - There are two more whose titles l have forgotten. But they are difficult to put down once you start. l am a avid reader - in bed - as l do not sleep much.
I’m going to recommend Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood”.
It’s the story of a true murder of a family, but told in the style of a novel. It’s not really a whodunnit, or a suspense thriller, because there’s never any doubt about whodunnit (though obviously, it was not known at the time).
The killers are portrayed in an almost sympathetic light, insofar as that’s possible, bearing in mind what they’ve done - at least as human beings, not as monsters, or machines. One seems to be a fairly classic psychopath - but that is interesting in itself - a study of what a psychopath is like. The other is portrayed as someone who was not completely without conscience, but perhaps just fell under the influence of the other’s much more powerful and coercive personality. Someone who might not have been a murderer, if life had treated him differently.
But it’s definitely not a book glorifying killers, or killing. The innocent family are sympathetically portrayed as well, as are leading characters in the investigation.
Hi, try Harlan coben and Jeffrey Deaver, all very good and very easy to read books. My favourite book last year is “when god was a rabbit”, different genre but I would suggest its definitely worth a read. Zoe x
‘Are You Dave Gorman?’, by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace. It’s not a thriller, but the true story of what happened when two comedians had a drunken bet about how many people there are in the world called Dave Gorman. It’s a fun read, and very easy to dip in & out of if you’re find you’re not able to concentrate for long.
Sorry about the repetition - my broadband is a string connected to two cocoa tins. l kept pressing and it did not seem to work - l must have pressed about 50 times - so you were lucky to only get 3!
Going to see ‘Salmon fishing in the Yemen’ next week - l read the book - loved it - so will be interesting to see how they have made a film out of what was really a succession of letters.
Buy yourself a cheap e-book reader, and download a mass of free stuff from Project Gutenberg.
No, I did not take my own advice - I bought a tablet computer (somewhat bigger screen), and I am catching up on a lot of the older science fiction that I used to read (and try authors that I did not read before) and a few of the classics as well. All the Project Gutenberg material is supposed to be out of copyright, so don’t look for the more recent stuff. Right now I have several Andre Norton novels, the Complete Sherlock Holmes, and an English translation of Machiavelli’s Prince all sitting on the tablet, and for real hard and softback books, my shelves have:
Charles Stross - the Merchant Princes series, and Halting State (best SF novel ever)
Terry Pratchett - lots of them
John Ringo - Council Wars series
Lois McMaster Bujold - the Miles Vorkosigan series
However, it is your taste that matters. Get a handfull of books (pick a handfull of authors from all those suggested in this thread, and get one by each) and see what suits you.
This isn’t a thriller, but it is a page turner, and it is real escapism, and as well as that it is IDEAL if the ol’ concentration refuses to work. This book is really more of a list than anything, as it is the descriptions and characters of all the people who happened to be on board a train at one time. It is called 253 The Journey of 353 Lifetimes by Geoff Ryman. It is easy to pick up and put aside if you need a rest, as there are so many different characters in the book. I took this book to keep my puny brain occupied when I was travelling from Cardiff to Nottingham one time and the miles just flew by!
Buy yourself a cheap e-book reader, and download a mass of free stuff from Project Gutenberg.
No, I did not take my own advice - I bought a tablet computer (somewhat bigger screen), and I am catching up on a lot of the older science fiction that I used to read (and try authors that I did not read before) and a few of the classics as well. All the Project Gutenberg material is supposed to be out of copyright, so don’t look for the more recent stuff. Right now I have several Andre Norton novels, the Complete Sherlock Holmes, and an English translation of Machiavelli’s Prince all sitting on the tablet, and for real hard and softback books, my shelves have:
Charles Stross - the Merchant Princes series, and Halting State (best SF novel ever)
Terry Pratchett - lots of them
John Ringo - Council Wars series
Lois McMaster Bujold - the Miles Vorkosigan series
However, it is your taste that matters. Get a handfull of books (pick a handfull of authors from all those suggested in this thread, and get one by each) and see what suits you.
Geoff
[/quote] Wow! i know this info wasnt directed at me but ive just looked at this site and cannot believe how many authors/books are free to download, just added it to my favorites,