Friday 27 February 2015

Maggie's Favourites


There's nothing like a good book to completely take you over for a while.
Since I've been sleeping on my own these last few months on account of Harry having to sleep in his bedsit downstairs, I've found one of the advantages of being by myself is that I can read for as long as I like and can switch the light off when I like. If I wake up and can't get back to sleep, I can put the light on again and read until I'm sleepy. No one will nag me about it and it's my own fault is I stay up too late and feel tired when I get up the next day.
I also read in the day time too, especially through the cowboy films that Harry has on TV during the afternoons.
During good weather, I take a book out with me to a park or open space and also to appointments.
I've recently enjoyed:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry :- Rachel Joyce
The Secret Keeper :- Kate Morton
A Street Cat Named Bob :- James Bowen
The Forgotten Garden:- Kate Morton
Little Mercies:- Heather Gudenkauf
Starting Now:- Debbie Macomber
The Weight of Silence:- Heather Gudenkauf
The Snow Child :- Eowyn Ivey
The Horse Whisperer :- Nicholas Evans
Just Take My heart :- Mary Higgins Clark
Sold :- Zana Muhsen
Cellar Girl :- Josephina Rivera
Stalked :- Kate Brennan
The Last Runaway :- Tracy Chevalier

I must admit that *enjoyed* sometimes meant that I couldn't put the book down rather than having received contentment from it. Some of the above books are true stories that may be gruesome in content at times but have been compelling to read and took a lot of courage to write. I admire anyone who can turn their life around from a bad situation and often use it for good.

Has  any one read anything from my list. What is your favourite book?

19 comments:

Celia said...

I haven't read any of the titles from your list but that's good to know there are still so many out there to chose from. I am working my way through Jacqueline Winspear's Masie Dobbs novels and Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt Victorian mysteries. I do the same as you, reading in bed. ;-)

Eddie Bluelights said...

Gosh Maggie, you do read a lot ~ you put me to shame . . . . Love Eddie . . :) x

Rosaria Williams said...

Wonderful!
No, I have not read any of these; thanks for sharing with us.

Rosaria Williams said...

Wonderful!
No, I have not read any of these; thanks for sharing with us.

dianefaith said...

I've "read" the two Kate Morton books plus The Unlikely Pilgrimage book. Actually, I listened to them. My eyes tire quickly, but I can and do listen to recorded books almost every day. Ear buds bother me, so I invested in a small, soft speaker that I hold close to my ear. No one else can hear.
Thanks for sharing; I'll be checking out some of your other titles.

Gosia said...

Thanks for suggesting I believe I am going to read one of them

Wendy said...

I've read most of Debbie McComber's books, which I enjoy. Haven't read any of the others. I do love to read and can understand you taking books to appointments, etc.

Great way to spend an evening, or afternoon….

Hilary said...

I see two on your list that I've read and very much enjoyed.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Snow Child. Now you make me want to read more from your list. Thanks. Let me know if you want me to share my list of favourites with you, too. I keep track of the ones I really liked.

Sally Wessely said...

Your list sounds like a good one to consult when looking for that next book to read. I've not read any of these.

I am enjoying "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand right now. What a story!

Rose said...

I'm a reader, too, Maggie, and since my husband has been sleeping on the couch because of his bad back, I often stay up way too late reading. I loved Kate Morton's books; I also read The House at Riverton, but didn't like it as much as the other two. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was excellent, wasn't it? Besides my usual detective fiction, I read "All the Light We Cannot See" a couple of weeks ago. I highly recommend it, though it takes place during WWII, so naturally it's not all light and happiness. If you do enjoy mysteries or detective stories, I really, really like Deborah Crombie's Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid series.

Shammickite said...

I'm a reader too, and I post a list of books I have read at the end of each year, you can see the list on my blog. A couple of books I could not put down.... The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Stedman, and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. And of course anything by Kate Atkinson, David Mitchell, Tracy Chevalier, Michael Crummey.

Secret Agent Woman said...

I've not read a single one of those, although I have read other books by some of those authors. I recently finished up a run of Jodi Picoult books, which are always fun.

MARY G said...

I got stuck in the Kate Morton book. And am presently reading a detective series, that being about the height of my intellectual capacity until it thaws around here.

I am intrigued by the rest of your list. Thanks!!!

Wisewebwoman said...

I've read most of them but on so many levels I really enjoyed Harold.

I love to hear how you are making lemonade in the night time absence of your good man.

XO
WWW

Anonymous said...

Hello Maggie
I'm glad to see there is a little bit of pleasure back in your life again.
I've read four of the titles in your list - both of Kate Morton's, The Last Runaway and 'Harold's Pilgrimage'. I enjoyed them all - Kate's backwards/forwards in time style annoys me at times and I am always on the list at the library for Tracy's newest release. The book about Harold's trek up and down the main roads of England really kept me interested from the first page to last
Take care
Cathy

Akelamalu said...

I've not read anything from your list. My favourite authors at the moment are Thomas Perry and John Sandford so I'm working my way through their books on my Kindle.

Shammickite said...

Hi Maggie.... thanks for your blog comments, don't forget that I'm British too, and always said the "Pinch and a Punch, First of the month" thing at school, but the pinch and the punch weren't always very gentle! The saying about the lion and lamb too.... well known from my childhood.

Suldog said...

I haven't read any of these, but I always love seeing someone's reading list. Never know when you might discover something great on their recommendation. Thanks!

Suburbia said...

I loved the first one on your list, a great read and her writing style is perfect