What Should I Read Next?

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I don't blame you at all, Nadine. That cover is awful. Which is disappointing since the first book had such a beautiful one. But I would definitely still read it since it's a continuation of the series.

[Kathy]

I loved My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton so much. But if you want a shorter book (but way more intense emotionally) I'd go with Heart Berries.

[Jody]

I really enjoyed Yes Please - I wasn’t even a fan of hers but had heard so many good things about it. It was actually my very first audiobook ever. I watched Parks & Rec after reading it, and I think I would have enjoyed the book even more if I was already a fan.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Well I own Yes Please and Fates and Furies so I may just choose between those two... although my mom recommended My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton (and I'm going watch the musical this weekend!) so... I'm still torn. I appreciate all the suggestions though!

[Milena]

Good point, Jody. I probably would have enjoyed Yes Please more as an audiobook. I read it before I was an audiobook listener.

[Sarah]

All my library holds seem to come in at once! Any recommendations out of these lot? There's a few obscure-ish ones

Silver
Aquarius
Rocket Girls
A Night to Remember
The Pursuit of Love

[Pam]

Sarah - I suggest The Pursuit of Love! I haven’t read any of them but have Nancy Mitford on my list. It sounds good!

[Milena]

Help! I find myself in a situation where I have all these books at once from the library, and have no idea what to read next. I am currently finishing up The Silent Patient, and listening to The Library Book.

My choices:
The Winter of the Witch
The Round House
The Old Drift
Washington Black
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
The Haunting of Hill House
Unmarriageable
The Stone Sky (previously started, but pulled back by library from my Kindle)

[Nadine in NY]

@Milena - I am currently struggling through The Old Drift. This book is long and feels LONGER. Serpell's writing style doesn't really work for me, it's got an emotionless remove that is common in literature but I never like - right now (just having finished Part 1: The Grandmothers) this feels like a 2 star read for me.

(All this means I still havent gotten to my own "read next" because I have to finish this book first! )

I would read The Stone Sky next ( because I finished Obelisk Gate last month and I'm excited for Stone Sky!)

[Milena]

Nadine wrote: "@Milena - I am currently struggling through The Old Drift. This book is long and feels LONGER. Serpell's writing style doesn't really work for me, it's got an emotionless remove that is common in l..."

That does make sense. I should finish it while I still remember what's going on. But am excited to hear others' opinions on this long list of possibilities.

[Pam]

Milena - I haven’t read any of them but I might go with Washington Black! It sounds interesting to me and it’s on my TBR.

[Entropia]

@Milena I'd choose The Haunting of Hill House, I watched show recently and it was quite good soft horror, I added book to tbr to check out the original.

[Milena]

Thanks, everyone. I am no closer to a decision, unfortunately. And I will need to start one of them today.

[Pam]

Milena- I find myself in your situation all the time! I usually read a page or two from each book and see if one catches my interest more than another. If it’s an author I’ve never read, I can usually tell within the first few pages whether I like the writing style or not.

[Milena]

Bluegrass Pam wrote: "Milena- I find myself in your situation all the time! I usually read a page or two from each book and see if one catches my interest more than another. If it’s an author I’ve never read, I can usua..."

That's a great idea, thank you.

[Tracy]

Entropia wrote: "@Milena I'd choose The Haunting of Hill House, I watched show recently and it was quite good soft horror, I added book to tbr to check out the original."

I had the same thought. I loved the book. I LOVED the TV adaptation ( although it was very different) and I just watched The Haunting last night.

Still have not finished any of my 3 library books. I renewed 2 of them and There There is now overdue, so Im going to try and force myself to finish it today. Its really good, I just haven't been into reading :/

My brain hurts... I hope it gets better soon. I'm turning into a vegetable with all this TV bingeing

[Milena]

Tracy wrote: "Entropia wrote: "@Milena I'd choose The Haunting of Hill House, I watched show recently and it was quite good soft horror, I added book to tbr to check out the original."

I had the same thought. I..."

Hope you feel better soon. I am the opposite, have no desire to watch TV/streaming at all.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I find myself in the same situation. I have SO many books out from the library right now. I read The Witch Elm last and am now reading Circe. Circe isn't overly complex or anything but I'm now in the mood for a good quick read. Any thoughts?

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
No Exit by Taylor Adams
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks
The Craftsman by Sharon J. Bolton
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda

[Sophie]

I haven’t read any on your list, but from what I heard Crazy Rich Asians seems quite a light read!

[Brooke]

Laura wrote: "I find myself in the same situation. I have SO many books out from the library right now. I read The Witch Elm last and am now reading Circe. Circe isn't overly comp..."

That is quite a list! I've read the first 5, and out of those I would say Crazy Rich Asians is the lightest. No Exit was a quick read for me, but it stressed me out! (It was stressful like a horror movie is stressful....I wanted to yell at the character to not do it!) I loved Where the Crawdads Sing. It is a great option for the "sense of place" prompt if you haven't filled it yet.

[Irene]

I read crazy rich asians and where the crawdads sing, crazy rich asians is light and fluffy and funny and a quick read, but where the crawdads sing is probably the best book I read this year, it is so beautiful and a quiet quick read also, so i vote for the crawdads...

And I really want to read on the come up too...

And my book club is reading Circe but I cannot go to the meeting because I will be travelling, so not sure if I will read it or not. I read Song of Achilles and I thought it was ok but I was not super excited about it, but I heard Circe is better.

So many books...

[Milena]

I loved Where the Crawdads Sing, but even though it reads easily, it is not a light book. On the Come Up is young adult, so may be what you're looking for, but I didn't love it. Crazy Rich Asians is light and fun, but longer than you would think. If that doesn't put you off, I would go with Crazy Rich Asians.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Crazy Rich Asians is the best short fluffy book I've read in a while! I typically stay away from thrillers when I'm in that sort of mood because I'm not really interested in getting my heart racing lol.

I really liked On the Come Up, but I wouldn't describe it as light (although it wasn't quite as intense as The Hate U Give).

Excellent choices!

[Nadine in NY]

I'm finding On the Come Up to be very slow, but I think that's because I don't care much about the idea of becoming a performer/rapper/singer.

I haven't read that Megan Miranda book, but I think that's the one I'd go for, her books tend to be page turners.

[Milena]

Nadine wrote: "I'm finding On the Come Up to be very slow, but I think that's because I don't care much about the idea of becoming a performer/rapper/singer.

I haven't read that Megan Miranda book, but I think t..."

I listened to the audiobook of On the Come Up. I was really into it the first half, and then I started to lose interest. It was always going to be hard to live up to The Hate U Give.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

That's definitely the danger when an author has a real knockout for their debut novel, Milena.

I'm leaning towards reading No Exit first since I'm feeling a need to get back to a good thriller, my usual genre. But then I will likely have a hard time choosing between Crawdads and Crazy Rich Asians. It seems like the votes are pretty split there...

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe? It seems like I can't really go wrong with with either :)

[Milena]

Laura wrote: "That's definitely the danger when an author has a real knockout for their debut novel, Milena.

I'm leaning towards reading No Exit first since I'm feeling a need to get back to a g..."

It depends on what you're in the mood for. You couldn't really have two more different books.

[Sarah]

Hi everyone. I need help with which books to take on holiday with me (I don't have a e-reader so physical books need whittling down). It's two weeks so I can get through quite a few usually but my shortlist is way too long

Jurassic Park
Meddling Kids
Lorna Doone
Mirror, Mirror
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Off to Be the Wizard
The Witch of Salt and Storm
The Life of P.T. Barnum
Kilmeny of the Orchard
Ivanhoe

[Johanne]

I can't tell you what to bring, but I know how you feel... I have a very real fear of bringing too few books when I go on holiday and I always bring too many even though I whittle it down. I usually put the books out and go with two things - pick the one(s) that you really feel like reading right now, and then mix with different types of books, so you have books for different moods.

[Johanne]

And I now have an ereader, which helps me bring a more realistic amount of physical books, just knowing I have the ereader just in case...

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I really liked The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue! It's quirky, easy reading that would be great for a vacation read. I haven't read the rest of them, but The Witch of Salt and Storm is also on my TBR.

[Nadine in NY]

Sarah wrote: "Hi everyone. I need help with which books to take on holiday with me (I don't have a e-reader so physical books need whittling down). It's two weeks so I can get through quite a few usually but my ..."


I came here intending to help you, but I haven't read any of those, so I can't help!! I recommend you bring Ivanhoe, because then you'll never run out of something to read.

When I arrive for my two week stay at my mom's house at the beach, I bring an overflowing tote bag of books, like four times as many books as I can actually read during the vacation. "Just in case" :-)

[Milena]

I have only read Jurassic Park from that list. I think it would make an excellent vacation book. Sometimes it's hard to pay attention to serious books on vacation. I usually stick with something light.

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Here's a vote for Meddling Kids! I *loved* it. If you enjoy(ed) Scooby Doo, you'll find a lot of charming references in this homage to the gang. It's face-paced and has a few spooks, but it's not a hard-core thriller; I'm a total chicken when it comes to scary stuff, but even I managed to hang in there with this one.

[Sarah]

Thanks guys. I cracked open Jurassic Park today so I guess that's definitely coming with me

[Irene]

I also only read Jurassic Park, and I would recommend it. Before I bought my Kindle I tried to bring books on holiday with very thin pages and a small font, so that I would have the maximum amount of story for the minimum amount of weight. Especially when travelling from one place to the other by public transport, if you go by car just bring them all. Depends on where you go but scheduling in some bookshopping time can also be fun :-)

[Jody]

Another one who’s only read Jurassic Park from that list! Recently too, and I really enjoyed it - I think it would be a great holiday read.

[Sarah]

Hi everyone. All of my library holds have come in at once (again) so I need a bit of help picking which one to start with. I've got:
Circe
Archenemies
A Crystal of Time
Pirate Latitudes
The Hobbit or There and Back Again
Fingersmith
The Poppy War
Mirror Mirror

[Nadine in NY]

Sarah wrote: "Hi everyone. All of my library holds have come in at once (again) so I need a bit of help picking which one to start with. I've got:
Circe
Archenemies
A Crysta..."


I gave both Circe & Fingersmith 5 stars, so I highly recommend both. But if all books are due at the same time, I'd knock out a quick read first, just to feel like I've made progress: read Archenemies. And then tell me if it's good, because I haven't read it yet!!

[Milena]

I vote for Circe, with Fingersmith a very close second. I have not read any of the others.

[Sarah]

Thanks. I went with Circe because it is the thinnest and I have been waiting for ages for it

[Irene]

I enjoyed Pirate Lattitudes and Circe, although for me Circe did not live up to the hype. I didn't read the others.

[Milena]

Like Nadine, I also rated Circe 5 stars.

[Emma]

Hi, I am having trouble deciding what to read next, there is simply too much choice. Here are a few of my next reads:



Thanks for your help!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I haven't read any of those, Emma, but I would probably start with City of Girls!

[Milena]

I haven't read any of them either, and I would also probably go for City of Girls.

[Irene]

I haven't ready any of them either but I would start with The Tattooist of Auschwitz or the one by Elif Shafak.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ok I'm trying to decide what to read for the published before 1950 prompt. I figured I'd read something off of my 40 Before 40 list, so here's what I have:

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)
The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1922)
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1923)
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1927)
Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (1928)
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (1931)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
I, Claudius by Robert Graves (1934)
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (1940)
The Women on the Porch by Caroline Gordon (1943)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946)
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1948)

Which one should I go with? I just finished The Bluest Eye and I'm about to start The Great Alone, for reference.

[Milena]

Personally, I would go for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I love both of those. I think I've only read two of the others. I am not very good about reading classics.

[Pam]

Emily- I strongly suggest A Tree Grows in Brooklyn! I resisted reading it for decades because I thought it was a kids book, which it’s not. I fell in love with it immediately! I read it as a group read w my mom, her sister, and my sister. It had a very personal connection for us since my grandmother (and my mom and her siblings) grew up in Greenpoint, the neighborhood next to Williamsburg, where the story is set. Its the best coming-of-age story I’ve read!