What Was The Last Book You Read Because Someone Else Recommended It To You? (6/12/22)

[Marc]

What was the last book you read because someone recommended it to you and how was your reading experience with it overall?

[Jennifer]

I read The Last House on Needless Street. I honestly would have never picked this up. I tend to not read the newest publications.

The first chapter was confusing, I did read it a couple times, before it clicked. I found Ted to be sympathetic. I figured out what was happenng, but needed to know what was going to happen. The story was both sad and positive at the same time. There is abuse that was hard to read.

I gave it 4 stars. I have no regrets.

[Hugh]

I have just reviewed one that was recommended by somebody I used to work with...

[Nidhi]

Elena Knows and Companion Piece. I read them one after other.

I liked both of them.

[Vesna]

Difficult to pinpoint when on GR, because it's not uncommon that a GR friend's superlative review influences me to read the book or if s/he strongly recommends it in the group discussions. This is also a great thing about this forum. as I've rarely been disappointed.

[Bretnie]

I just finished The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer that a friend recommended at least 10 years ago? Never seems like the right time to read a book about cancer, but after finally starting it, I found it really interesting.

[Whitney]

Like Vesna, it's hard to pinpoint. I'd say at least half the books I read initially come on my radar because someone on GR or a podcast recommended them. Frequently, seeing repeated recommendations from trusted sources is what pushes it to the top of the list. Like Jennifer, "The Last House on Needless Street" was one of those.

The last one I read because a real life friend recommended it was Under the Skin. I did not love it, despite loving the movie.

[LindaJ^]

Vesna and Whitney have it spot on. I've read many books because of reviews or discussion on GR. Not too many recommendations in real life. Last I remember was a book of essays - Impossible Owls: Essays by Brian Phillips - recommended by a younger friend. It was excellent.

[Hugh]

I don't get many real life recommendations either, but that makes them easier to remember than who wrote what about books that have been discussed at length on this site.

[Jenna]

My in person book club just read The Complete Ballet: A Fictional Essay in Five Acts by John Haskell. I had never heard of it but am going to be raving and recommending it everywhere from now on. I have not yet had a chance to write a review but my summary is "read this book!" :)

[Joy D]

My nephew recommended a book he was interested in, which I read and very much enjoyed:
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo

[Lark]

Marc wrote: "What was the last book you read because someone recommended it to you and how was your reading experience with it overall?"

It feels like all the books I read were recommended by someone else, usually someone who belongs to this group, but once out of the blue someone at a bus stop recommended The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, and even though it's #8 in a continuing series, and even though I almost never read murder mysteries, I loved it. What a strange book! And I ended up reading a lot more of Penny's writing.

[Alwynne]

A 1919 novel by a relatively neglected author Stella Benson Living Alone an uneven but inventive, sometimes delightfully eccentric, perspective on women's lives in England during WW1.

[Marcus]

A friend recommended The Cemetery in Barnes by Gabriel Josipovici. I think it was because I used to live close to Barnes and shop there at a farmer's market. It was published in 2018. I now have 12 books by Josipovici, although joyously I haven't read them all yet.

[Marc]

I think the two most recent recommendations were:

- Chiral Mad, "recommended to me" on Twitter by the editor (so I did take it with a grain of sand, but I liked both the concept, the cover, and the word "chiral"). Outcome: Mostly a disappointment.

- Things We Lost in the Fire, "recommended to me" as an invite in this group to join a discussion in another GR group. Outcome: Highly enjoyable and worthwhile.

I really don't remember the last time someone said, "you should read X" and I actually took them up on it, or someone handed me a book and said "here, read this." I guess getting books as a gift is sort of like a recommendation but recent gifts have been based on what I like not on what others who are giving had actually read first. Lots of books I do read are based on discussions here, members' reviews, etc.

[Alwynne]

It happens to me a fair amount, have friends who routinely surprise me with books as gifts and vice-versa, and get a few recommendations on here. I do try to follow them up but can be a bit slow. As gifts I'd probably prefer gift vouchers or things on my various lists, but do sometimes receive books I've enjoyed.

[Jennifer]

I am in a group that we do "Bossy Book Challenges" sometimes there is a theme. We all say what we won't read and then our Boss offers generally about 3 books to choose from. I have to say the only one that disappointed me were the Brian Sanderson books I read....
So its fun and thats how I read things I just may never even pick up or even know about.