Currently reading anything by a British writer? Showing 301-350 of 1,160

[Rosemarie]

Carol, it took me a while to figure out how to get my symbol. I went to personal profile and took it from there. I tried a few until I settled on the rose.

[Andrea]

Don't know if that counts, but currently I'm reading some theoretical texts for my BA Thesis. Right now I'm taking a look at Sexual Practice/Textual Theory. Sexual Practice/Textual Theory: Lesbian Cultural Criticism
I'd also love to get my hands on a really nice book on rhetorics with a great list of fallacies that I used for a research, but I just can't remember the title or the author. Drat.

[Werner]

Andrea, nonfiction books count just as well as fiction, as long as they're written by British authors.

There's a Goodreads group whose entire focus is helping people identify books for which they've forgotten author/title information! It's called What's the Name of That Book? They have a pretty good track record of success; I belong to it myself, and they've been able to identify some books for me that I'd despaired of ever locating again. Here's the link to the group's main page: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... .

[Carol]

I started reading H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald. It is new.

Werner, thanks for the link to the book of names we have forgotten. That is wonderful. I still really am confused by Goodreads, maybe I will get it in time.

[Werner]

Glad I could help, Carol! (I've been on Goodreads since February 2008 myself; I learned as much as I know --which is a long way from exhaustive!-- about navigating the site by trial and error, but I'm still learning new things all the time.)

[Carol]

I am reading The Infidel Stain by M.J. Carter and enjoying it immensely.

[Rosemarie]

My library had a copy of an Edmund Crispin novel and I am going to start reading it soon. It is called Love Lies Bleeding. Meanwhile, I am almost to the midpoint of Martin Chuzzlewit, around page 400.

[Kathleen]

I could kick myself as my Mother had a lagre, but not 53, collection of books by Norah Lofts and they were thrown out in a move. So hard to replace now. I am glad you have them. I read them all when I was in my teens. And am currently reading Greenery Street. Just finished High Wages.

[Maria]

I love reading anything by P.D.James. My first one was A Private Patient. I loved it and then proceeded to read The Lighthouse and A Certain Justice. I love the mystery, intrigue and suspense in each of these novels.

[Jane]

I'm reading The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope,when I've finished I might watch the TV adaptation with David Suchet which I avoided watching on TV as I knew I wanted to read the book first sometime. I read Dr Thorne several years ago and the TV show of it didn't work IMO. Trollope shows how the press then aren't much different from nowadays. For good or bad. I was a huge fan of Norah Lofts when I was younger. Her books illuminate history.

[Rosemarie]

Jane, I agree with you about reading the book first, then watching, or sometimes deliberately not watching, an adaptation.
I have only read one book by Norah Lofts. Do you have any favourites that you would recommend?

[Jane]

Hello Rosemarie,I'd recommend Bless This House,its the first one I read but also I think one of the best anyway. It's about a house and a family interlinked over centuries and there are intricacies and secrets to the storyline that you "get" without being specifically told plus things get resolved over centuries and the different characters of the house residents are strikingly drawn. I think the inspiration for the house Merravay is that wonderful tower in Essex,called is it Layer Marney.

[Werner]

Rosemarie, if you and Jane don't mind my chiming in on the conversation (since I count Lofts as a favorite writer myself!), I'll echo the recommendation of Bless This House. It was one of the first Lofts novels I read (back in the early 70s), and I have it on my to-reread shelf as well, though as yet I've never reviewed or rated it. Some other Lofts novels that I have reviewed, and rated as five-star books, are How Far to Bethlehem?; Afternoon of an Autocrat, Madselin, and Hester Roon.

[Rosemarie]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I did read How Far to Bethlehem years ago and enjoyed it. I'll check to see if I can get some of them at the library.

[Werner]

Hope you enjoy them, Rosemarie!

[Rose]

Hi! Right now I'm re-reading some Muriel Spark. I'm having a private Spark festival. I've re-read "Loitering with Intent," "The Comforters," and I'm almost finished "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

I thought "The Driver's Seat" was scary, but I'm going to try it again.

I think, as some of you have said, that some of the best writers use humor, such as Austen. It adds to the meaning of the work and actually makes it deeper. I think there's a difference between 'humor' and 'light-weight.'

Humor can be deadly. And that's my favorite kind.

[Rosemarie]

Tom,I read the Three Men books and this is the first time I have heard of The Idle Fellow books. I liked the others, and sometimes a light read is good. I majored in German literature, so I know what you mean about that other guy.


RosaBeatrice, I have often found that it is much harder to write a good funny book than a sad one. And the sharpest stings can come from humorous barbs.

[Kathleen]

Maria wrote: "I love reading anything by P.D.James. My first one was A Private Patient. I loved it and then proceeded to read The Lighthouse and A Certain Justice. I love the mystery, intrigue and suspense in ea..." Me, too. And Ruth Rendell.

[Oksana]

Hi, Tom! I am happy to hear that you liked Jerome K. Jerome's books. I read Three Men in a Boat, Three Men on the Bummel and Diary of a Pilgrimage. I used to give Three Men in a Boat to my friends as a present. Last year, I gave it to my American friend who had never heard about this author. She said: "It is the stupidest book I ever read." That dampened my enthusiast about sharing this book with anyone. I am happy that you appreciate his humour!

[Rosemarie]

I have heard of Spike Milligan but have not read anything by him. Living in Canada as I do, I am fortunate to be able to get Canadian, British and American books with ease. I am a big fan of British humour along the lines of Monty Python for TV and the Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy for books and TV.

I am currently still working my way through Martin Chuzzlewit by Dickens and thoroughly enjoying it, but it is over 800 pages long.
I am rereading Emma for another group. It has always been my least favourite Austen so this time I am looking for details that make it more enjoyable, especially her writing style.
For absolute relaxation I am rereading a Miss Read book, Celebrations at Thrush Green. Reading her books is like visiting with friends.

[Aled]

Hey Sci-Fi fans I am a British Author take a look at my book. Reign: Among Its Beauty and History a Radical New Government Is Forming on Planet Saerilia. Two Best Friends Are Now Caught in the Midst of the Violence, Will They Find a Way Out?

[Rosemarie]

Aled, that is quite the title!

[Aled]

Hahahaha the title is Reign, for some reason the description is attached to it. I will have to fix that!

[Oksana]

I love Spike Milligan. "I can speak Esperanto like a native!" :)

[Werner]

Aled wrote: "Hahahaha the title is Reign, for some reason the description is attached to it. I will have to fix that!"

It's fixed now, Aled! (I'm a Goodreads librarian, so I'm authorized to correct typos in the database.)

[Carol]

I love Muriel. Spark!

[Rose]

Werner wrote: "Andrea, nonfiction books count just as well as fiction, as long as they're written by British authors.

There's a Goodreads group whose entire focus is helping people identify books for which they'..."

I just joined the group you mention, Werner. The only problem right now is that I can't remember anything at all about the two or three books I was looking for last year.

But, knowing me, I'm sure I'll be frantic to find something else soon.

Great idea for a Group.

[Susanne]

I just finished reading Atonement by Ian McEwan.I couldn't put this book down and read it in 4 or 5 days. I am definitely going to read more of his books. I was also impressed by his book On Chesil Beach. I have heard his earlier books are different in style.

[Rosemarie]

Susanne, I read Atonement last year and it is an excellent book. I have read one other book by him, The Black Dogs, and the style and content are completely different, but also a good book.

[Rosemarie]

I am reading Richard the Third by Shakespeare and the writing is absolutely stunning. The language is beautiful, but Richard is portrayed as an evil, evil person. I can't wait to read The Daughter of Time in August, but I will. My to read pile keeps growing.
I went to a different library yesterday, which had an Elizabeth Goudge book called A City of Bells, so I got it out.

[Carol]

I read Richard III to prepare to see the play performed at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. Both were absolutely incredible. What is even more fascinating is that Richard III's bones were found beneath a car park that was being excavated a few years ago. There is a documentary about it and the controversy about him.

[Rosemarie]

I had heard that they found his bones, but not that they were under a car park. I saw the play on a school trip when I was 16 and was woefully unprepared-- the teacher did not tell us anything about the play! However, my friends and I were all excited to see Alan Bates play Richard.

[Alicia]

Susanne wrote: "I was also impressed by his book On Chesil Beach..."

Which reminded me of one of my favorites, On The Beach, by Nevil Shute - and I just spend an enjoyable quarter hour reading up on Nevil Shute (British, emigrated to Australia).

One of my very favorite books is his last, Trustee from the Toolroom. As an engineer, I appreciated much of what he wrote.

[Alicia]

Carol wrote: "I read Richard III to prepare to see the play performed at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. Both were absolutely incredible. What is even more fascinating is that Richard III's bones were found be..."

I believe there is also a very detailed National Geographic article on discovering the bones.

[Rosemarie]

I am a big fan of Nevil Shute. We studied The Pied Piper way back in high school and it is still one of my favourite Nevil Shute books.

[Alicia]

Rosemarie wrote: "I am a big fan of Nevil Shute. We studied The Pied Piper way back in high school and it is still one of my favourite Nevil Shute books."

I shall have to add that one to my TBR list.

I didn't like A Town Like Alice as much as I thought I would; it didn't have the ending weight of some of the others. Maybe if I had any real life experience of Alice Springs...

[Rosemarie]

I saw a wonderful serialization of A Town Like Alice back in tne 70's or 80's, and when I tried to read the book I didn't like it and couldn't read it. He has a wide range of topics represented in his novels so each one is different, which is a good thing.

[Alicia]

Rosemarie wrote: "I saw a wonderful serialization of A Town Like Alice back in tne 70's or 80's, and when I tried to read the book I didn't like it and couldn't read it. He has a wide range of topics represented in ..."

Just adding: I spent an hour on the Nevil Shute Foundation site, nevilshute.org, and can recommend it to anyone who does like his books. I think I was in a nostalgic mood.

[Marianne]

I love any British author who add history to their stories. One of my favorites is Anne Perry. Her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series makes you feel you are back in that time period. Cater Street Hangman was the first in the series and reading it you could almost feel like you were in the cold London fog with the characters. I always look for new authors to read so any suggestion would be greatly accepted!

[Werner]

Marianne, I see from your bookshelves that you've already discovered Ellis Peters, and (though she's not British) Elizabeth Peters. Another writer of historical mysteries set in England (though she's an American herself) that I'd recommend is Madeleine E. Robins. Her Sarah Tolerance series is actually set in a slightly alternate Regency-era London, where Queen Charlotte is the regent; but she's well-versed in the actual history (and always explains the historical background, and any instances where her world diverges from it, in an afterward to each of the three novels).

[Marianne]

Werner wrote: "Marianne, I see from your bookshelves that you've already discovered Ellis Peters, and (though she's not British) Elizabeth Peters. Another writer of historical mysteries set in England (though she..."

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look her up. Ellis Peters is a favorite. I was sorry when I read all the Cadfael books available. Elizabeth Peters is a phenomenal writer. She has written books under several other names.

[Rosemarie]

There is a set of mysteries called The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athlelstan which I enjoyed reading. The auther given by goodreads is Paul Doherty, but when I read them it was under his pen name --the last name was Harding(?).

[Alicia]

Rosemarie wrote: "There is a set of mysteries called The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athlelstan which I enjoyed reading. The auther given by goodreads is Paul Doherty, but when I read them it was under his pen na..."

Have you read In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden? I like books which present aspects of the monastic life - a road I could not travel (I have big problems with obedience).

[Rosemarie]

Alicia, I read House of Brede quite a few years ago and I think it is one of her best books. I totally would have trouble with obedience! I am a believer in rules that make sense, but arbitrary rules are not for me.

[Alicia]

Rosemarie wrote: "arbitrary rules are not for me."

They aren't arbitrary; they are designed for a certain lifestyle, to make it possible - if you want that lifestyle, and it has certain peace and strength to it, you must do what makes it possible for a large group to live in community.

I want the peace - but not that way. It is not me. But I think if it had been, books like this one, which show the struggle the main character had to go through to get what she wanted, would have done the trick.

I can see the negatives of the monastic life for me, and not the positives. But I'm attracted to the stories, and she wrote that one so well.

[Rosemarie]

Alicia, thank you for the explanation regarding the rules. Inner peace is so valuable nowadays, when there is so much going on in the world. Years ago I read a memoir of a young woman who left a convent called I Leap Over The Wall which describes the life there in fascinating detail, and how difficult the decision to leave was. The author is Monica Baldwin.

[Alicia]

Rosemarie wrote: "Alicia, thank you for the explanation regarding the rules. Inner peace is so valuable nowadays, when there is so much going on in the world. Years ago I read a memoir of a young woman who left a co..."

There was a movie with Audrey Hepburn, The Nun's Story, which I remember in great detail. It's usually obedience - she got involved in caring for allied patients during the war, and couldn't obey whatever it was they wanted her to do. She saw it as what it was: exposing that she could obey when it wasn't particularly difficult, but not when things got important, and realized she wasn't a suitable nun. The scenes where she returns to the world are particularly poignant.

[Rosemarie]

I remember reading the novel, a touching sensitive story.

[Werner]

Back when I was a grade-school kid, I read the Reader's Digest condensed version of The Nun's Story (written by Kathryn Hulme) --I don't read condensed versions any more, because I think if I'm going to read a book, I owe it to both the author and myself to read it in full; but back then I'd never thought of it that way, and read quite a few of them because they were ready to hand. If I'd read the whole novel now, with a more mature understanding, I'd undoubtedly get more out of it than I did back then.

Alicia, the only Rumer Godden novel I've read is The Dark Horse, set in Calcutta in the 1930s, which this group did as a common read last year. But if you like novels dealing with the cloistered life, I'd recommend that one: one of the major characters is a Mother Superior, and her convent is an important locus of events. (Godden, of course, was Anglo-Indian, and a Roman Catholic herself.)

[Rosemarie]

There is another Rumer Godden novel about nuns called Black Narcissus which I read years ago, so I don't remember that much about it. The title is fascinating.