kirsty requests nudge

Help, I need a nudge.

Friend from work has lent me a big pile of books but I don't know what to start on first:

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Number9Dream by David Mitchell
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Goodnight Steve McQueen by Louise Wener
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres

She also gave me The Pillars of the Earth but I don't want to read that first as then she may never see any of her other books ever again!

Looking forward to seeing your nudges.

I'm going to give a nudge to The Pillars of the Earth. Not only am I going to nudge it but I'm going to drop it on your foot. ;-> I know you said you don't want to read it first BUT...if it is the size of the book, don't let that dissuade you. I'm no speed reader and was surprised at how quickly I moved through it since I was really pulled in by the story.

I haven't read any of those, but I would start with black swan green if the pile were in front of me.

Number9dream! Number9dream!! Read the first page and see if you can bear to put it down afterwards.

What an adorable friend! She has lent you some wonderful books.

I have to start with a massive nudge for The Other Hand (aka Little Bee in USA). I can't praise his books highly enough and this is one of my favourite novels of all time - just keep tissues handy.

But then I'd also have to nudge Pillars of the Earth, Black Swan Green (I haven't yet read number9dream though it's on Mount TBR and I have no reason to think it won't also be great) and Birds Without Wings.

All of these will lead you on to other wonderful things (if you haven't already read them - Incendiary by Cleave; Cloud Atlas by Mitchell; the sequel World Without End by Follett and Captain Corelli's Mandolin by de Bernieres. Now is probably the time to take some extended sick-leave for a reading sabbatical.

And a huge de-nudge for My Name is Red - so were my eyes before I'd got a quarter of the way through this blisteringly boring book.

Thanks everyone for the nudges.

#5 I didn't know Little Bee and The Other Hand were the same book thanks for clearing that up.

The jury is in and the verdict is: Black Swan Green. It was a very scientific decision in the end, it was on the top of the pile and it has a very pretty cover. After that I'm going to read Pillars of the Earth as ca_dmv might throw it at my head next otherwise :P