Book/author recommendations - possibly a series

If you're into historical fiction the CJ Sampson "Shardlake" series is good. The Twilight series also seems to be everywhere at the moment , I haven't gone there yet as vampires aren't usually my thing but once I've read my pile at home I might give them a go.

I noticed that the Twilight series seems popular but like you, I dont think I could get into a book about vampires

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Depends what you are in to.

Tom Holt - start with The Portable Door - v light, funny, fantasy-ish fiction (but don't let that put you off)

Eoin Colfer - Artmis Fowl - a children's book, first in a series also fantasy-ish, but excellent.

Garth Nix - Sabriel triliogy - another children's fantasy series, but also excellent.

Both those two series of books are written for children, but they aren't childish, IYSWIM. I have happily recommended them to adult friends, who have loved them.

I've recently read Miss Pettigrew lives for a day and loved it (not a series) and have just started Mariana, which looks good so far (both from www.Persephonebooks.co.uk both from recs on here)

A year in the *** - Stephen Clarke - the first in a series of novels about living in Paris.

For chick-littyness you can't beat Marian Keyes

If you like crime fiction, I can recommend Ian Rankin, Michael Connolly and Kathy Reichs - not particularly light-hearted though!

Step away from twilight! Any author who uses drug instead of dragged should be shot.

The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is wonderful. It's by Alexander McCall Smith and I found them are a really easy read, but the imagery is an absolute delight. You may have seen the TV adaptation of the first book in the series directed by Anthony Minghella. It was on telly around the time he died and was fab.

Thanks for all the recommendations

xx

Im reading Michael Connolly at the moment, rather unlight hearted but good.

Douglas Kennedy also writes some interesting fiction - not a series as such, but similar themes - just avoid The Woman in the Fifth: the ending was bloody irritating! ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=douglas+kennedy

Which one are you reading? I've read the whole series (twice) and am waiting for the latest to come out in paperback <tight icon>

Totally agree - not his best book at all!

I am loving, absolutely loving, Persephone books at the moment - not a series at all, but once you're "discovered" them you gert totally hooked on them as a genre.

Totally agree - not his best book at all!

I am loving, absolutely loving, Persephone books at the moment - not a series at all, but once you're "discovered" them you gert totally hooked on them as a genre.

I love Kate Atkinson - her books are easy to read, slightly odd but in a good way. I've got her latest one in my 'to read' pile. Probably the easiest one to start off with is One Good Turn - a murder mystery with quite a good twist. I think some of the books might be linked but I'm useless at remembering the detail of books and it's never troubled me!

I recommend Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar novels (crime) and also Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy (fantasy). Both easy to read page turners!

I'm reading The Black Ice at the moment

If you are looking for easy, escapism type chit lit then I'll second what Flowery said - Marian Keyes is good and there's a number of books about the same family.

Patricia Scanlan books are also good easy reading the 'City Girls' series was good (holiday / lying by the pool type reading.

If you are reading them in order, you have so many to look forward to! (is that the one with Calexico and Mexicali??)

I completely forgot to mention the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik (historical/fantasy - Napolionic wars with battle dragons)

No I'm not reading in order, just saw this in asda for £1 but will get some more! It is with Calexico

Zoe, I think The Black Ice is the second (or third) in the series (The Black Echo is first I thnk) so you've started very near to the beginning of the series and not got too far ahead of yourself.

I concur - and I speak as someone who recently read all four twilight books in some kind of marathon self indulgence session. I've been feeling a bit queasy ever since...It's like reading someone else's diary while eating a whole box of quality street - strangely compelling at the time but leaves you feeling rather ashamed ?

This synopsis made me laugh though: https://cleolinda.livejournal.com/602881.html

Thats good to know!

I second The Portable Door series, these are fab.

Have just read Slumdog Millionaire (originally published as Q&A) and that was a great read.

For thrillers, Simon Kernicks are page turners, and all of Christopher Brookmyres books are excellent

L
xx

Everything I know about Twilight I learned from Cleolinda ?

I'm reading the Kate Atkinson books someone mentioned earlier, although I think they said One Good Turn was a good book to start with - it's actually the second book in the Jackson Brodie novels, the first is Case Histories. I'm also reading a couple of Alexander McCall Smith's series. The No1 Detective Agency series is the best of those, IMO.

Meg Cabot has a few chick lit series on the go if you're looking for something in that genre. There's the Heather Wells series, the Queen of Babble series and the 'Boy' series.

I've just started reading the Nora Roberts/JD Robb's crime series In Death, which are a weird mix of romance and murder. Not classics but I'm enjoying them.