FlossieT may take a while to act on a nudge...

...but this looks like TOO much fun not to.

Here's a couple of shelves from my stack. Note I have cheated somewhat by marshalling them into neatly photographable form - this gives a little bit of context (my chosen nudging shelves are in the bottom-left).



The only thing I did to instil any vague semblance of order was to put all the Salley Vickers together.

They haven't all come out that well, so in text form...

Top shelf:
The Story of Childhood - Libby Brooks
The Sweetest Dream - Doris Lessing
The Silver Swan - Benjamin Black
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips
The Quincunx - Charles Palliser
Minor Arcana - Diana Wynne Jones
Black Mass - John Gray
The Birth of Venus - Sarah Dunant
French Revolutions - Tim Moore
Notes from an Exhibition - Patrick Gale
The Meaning of Night - Michael Cox
The Scandal of the Season - Sophie Gee
Hateship, friendship, courtship, loveship, marriage - Alice Munro
G - John Berger
Good Behaviour - Molly Keane
The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter
Watching the English - Kate Fox
Consequences - Penelope Lively
Miss Garnet's Angel - Salley Vickers
Where Three Roads Meet - Salley Vickers
The Other Side of You - Salley Vickers

Bottom shelf:
No one belongs here more than you - Miranda July
Molly Fox's Birthday - Deirdre Madden
The Secret Purposes - David Baddiel
On Becoming a Fairy Godmother - Sara Maitland
Wormwood - G.P. Taylor
Girl meets Boy - Ali Smith
Bait and Switch - Barbara Ehrenreich
Exchange - Paul Magrs
Elsewhere - Gabrielle Zevin
Where Wizards Stay Up Late - Kate Hafner & Matthew Lyon
Estates - Lynsey Hanley
Death of a Murderer - Rupert Thomson
Starter for Ten - David Nicholls
Thursday's Child - Sonya Hartnett
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - Elizabeth Taylor
Lord Peter Views the Body - Dorothy L. Sayers
Katherine - Anya Seton
End Games - Michael Dibdin
Asking Around - David Hare
The Sea - John Banville
The Hamilton Case - Michelle de Kretser
How to Live Dangerously - Warwick Cairns
Ways to Live Forever - Sally Nicholls
Julius Winsome - Gerard Donovan
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

I'm going to nudge you towards The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter. It's a little odd--Have you read others by Carter?--and, in my opinion, well worth a read. If you haven't read any Carter, it would be a good one to start with.

Hello Rachael and WELCOME to the group. You have given us lots of fodder for thought.

I read The Kite Runner and was one of very few that thought it was overrated. I did not enjoy it much so did not bother with A Thousand Splendid Suns.

John Banville is a superfluous and intellectually stimulating writer - but have not read The Sea so cannot nudge that one. I read The Lemur which is his attempt at mystery - not too impressed so not yet tried The Black Swan.

So, as I am a fan of dark prose and Russian authors I am going to nudge the Alexander Solzhenitsyn title. I had a run on his work when I was a teen and thought it was very good, although that was 30 years ago so the details are fuzzy.

Ooh, lots of possibililities but I am going to nudge The Magic Toyshop too.

Karen, A Thousand Splendid Suns was much better than The Kite Runner, in my opinion.

Flossie, I've read a few of your book, but they didn't quite knock me out: The Sea, Scandal of the Season, The Birth of Venus, The Meaning of Night.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is lovely, if you're not in the mood for something action-packed.

Oh my, I would never call John Banville superfluous!!! I could nudge The Sea, also G, but I think I'll give you a gentle push towards a very fine social study: Estates. And I'll de-nudge Watching the English, simply for being too repetitive!

Marvellous list Rachael, by the way!

Of course, CK,what a trip up - that should be superlative not superfluous

...and that is too bad about Watching the English which is also on my TBR.

I'd definitely support the nudges for John Banville and Angela Carter, two of my most favourite authors.

If you've not read him before, The Sea is a good introduction to John Banville because it's a little more plot driven than some of his books. Although I tend to prefer the dreamlike reminiscences, self-exiled solitude and regrets of Eclipse. Careful though, his narrators are not always that trustworthy!

Angela Carter is a re-weaver of fairy tales into Freudian adult stories, dripping in sensous and sumptuous prose. The Magic Toyshop is a fine, short example.

Uh-oh! I'm going to disagree with the Big Fish uptop and nudge The Kite Runner :) It was my top book for 2006!

Great list of books!! I'm going to nudge the Kite Runner as well, because I really enjoyed it until near the end. Can I de-nudge the Birth of Venus? I forgot that I'd read it (never a great sign) but re-reading the blurb on here brought it all back. I did finish it, but really didn't find it satisfying, and I usually like light historical fiction.Some of the background with Savonarola and Florence was interesting, but I've read better non-fiction on the period.

I have to say I did like The Birth of Venus, maybe in part because it was set in a period I don't really know. I'd certainly be open to recommendations for non-fiction on that period

I would definitely de-nudge Gods behaving Badly though. I threw in the towel on that one at the end of the second chapter. It wasn't badly written, but it felt pointless and I couldn't find anyone to care about enough to carry on.

So many to choose from! By my count, The Magic Toyshop is edging ahead at the moment, with The Sea (hmm can't get the touchstone to work) and then The Kite Runner close behind.

I think I may have read The Company of Wolves as we watched the film at school for our 'film club' - I have vague memories of 'spotting the differences' between the two - but have never taken it further, and always thought I ought to. I picked up Toyshop in a charity shop a couple of weeks back - just can't resist those Virago spines.... I also have an unread copy of Love that I got from a swap site on one of my other TBR shelves.

#9 dylanwolf, the unreliable narrator is one of my absolute favourite devices so I think John Banville and I may be friends. I went to hear him read from The Lemur at the beginning of October and it was wonderful to hear him talking about the differences between writing as Banville and as Benjamin Black.

PS #12 FleurFisher: not quite contemporaneous with Savonarola, but around the same period and also Florence: I thought Brunelleschi's Dome was a great read - fascinating, and very accessible explanations of the technicalities of the architecture without it feeling like you were being talked down to.

Thank you, that looks like a great book. Another one for the wishlist!

I would definitely nudge The Quincunx, The Meaning of Night, Good Behaviour, The Magic Toyshop, and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. I liked them all.

You certainly have a good selection there, Rachael!

I haven't read many of those. I agree that the Kite Runner is overrated. I found it contrived. That said, I don't feel that reading it was a waste of time, and I did enjoy it after I finally got into it.

The Birth of Venus is entirely without merit. The only reason to read it is if you're studying cases of badly written historical fiction. Otherwise, throw it in the recycling bin. I agree that Brunelleschi's Dome is excellent though. And I'm sorry to hear that Gods Behaving Badly bites--I was looking forward to that one.

I'm going to disagree with no 6 and nudge Watching The English - I think it's scarily accurate. I kept recognising pieces of my own behaviour (and being quite disappointed that they weren't aspects of my own, independent personality). I've also given the book to large numbers of my friends who are non-Brits resident in the UK, and I think they've all enjoyed it.

I also second the nudge for Mrs Palfrey. Really good book, and it's pretty unusual to read such a sympathetic portrayal of an elderly protagonist.

I didn't think Gods Behaving Badly was bad, it's reasonably amusing - but certainly not as good as the hype.

Another nudge for Mrs Palfrey from me. I also loved the Magic Toyshop but was only 17 or 18 when I read it, so couldn't tell you exactly why. Am planning to re-read it soon, now I have it in a beautiful Virago limited edition.

I too thought The Kite Runner was over-rated.

#17 Couldn't agree with you more on The Birth of Venus. You could almost predict when the kinky sex scenes would be stuck in ("kinky" as in designed to shock, usually by being violent and sadistic--not erotic).

I have had the author's next book in my TBR piles for about two years now but have little desire to pick it up.

I would nudge either of the Khaled Hosseini books. I think The Kite Runner was a great novel for a first time writer but I liked the story arc of A Thousand Splendid Suns better. Most people I know, in real life that is, read one then immediately or soon after read the other anyway - usually they are borrowing my copies lol.

>3 kiwidoc: I remember trying to read Ivan Denisovich as a teenager, and about 2/3 of the way through the book finally reallized that some of the characters I had been struggling to keep apart were really the same person. I gave the book back to the library, rather than start over. Russian names are awful! I don't think I've dared read another long Russian novel since.

Oh, I'm so sad about The Birth of Venus :-( It only cost me 30p at a library sale, but I was hoping it would be brilliant because of the setting. I spent four days in Florence this year after wanting desperately to go there for over 10 years, loved it to bits, and hence am now a complete sucker for all things Firenze. I may still give it 30 pages to convince me...

I'm going to go with The Magic Toyshop for my next read (having decided to ditch one of my two library books as I am clearly in the wrong place at the moment), followed by Mrs Palfrey if I can fit it in. Thanks for the nudging, all, and I am already looking forward to posting my next pile!

I think we've already talked about this one on my 75 thread, so it won't surprise you that I'm nudging One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
I also read the Alice Munro this year and thought it was excellent.
My reaction to Watching the English was similar to wandering-star's, above - I was quite disappointed to realise that much of what I think of as "me" is perhaps not as unique as I thought! I thought it was very good, although perhaps a bit long.

So many to nudge! I adored both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. They, plus Death of a Murderer (short of nudges here, I guess, because it's probably only of interest in the UK but it is a fabulous book).

Minor nudges too for The Quincunx, The Magic Toyshop, Watching the English and all the Salley Vickers ones as long as you don't mind the religious overtones. I haven't actually read Three Roads yet (on order) but the other two are my favourites of hers.

My top nudge would go to The Kite Runner, followed closely by One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Good Behavior (Keane is so wickedly catty), and The Magic Toyshop.

Definite non-nudges go to The Quincunx - a miserable attempt at trying to copy the Victorian writing style, The Meaning of Night (the narrator is way too hysterical), Girl Meets Boy, and anything by Diana Wynne Jones.

Why? Admittedly I haven't read Diana Wynne Jones for 15 years or more, but I loved her stuff when I was younger.

I'd like to know that as well! The last of hers that I read (Conrad's Fate) was very disappointing, but I too loved her books when growing up, and have even re-read two or three in more recent years. I thought Fire and Hemlock was excellent.

#27 and #28, You are asking for a logical explanation. I have none. I simply find her writing irritating. That said, many of my friends speak of her fondly. I guess I'm just getting cranky in my old age (48 on November 15th).

>29 urania1:, I wasn't really asking for logical. "irritating" will do.... (insert truism of your choice about isn't it good we all have such varied taste/diff'rent strokes/etc.)

Urania, 48's hardly old...

By the way, I really enjoy your straight-shooting comments. Keep 'em coming!

OK, I have finished my first nudged book - The Magic Toyshop. I have to admit I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. There were some very well-written passages, and it was an interesting take on the transition to womanhood, but in the end I just found the grotesque Uncle Philip too much of a caricature. I'm sure that the very stylized characterisation is part of the point - it just didn't work for me. Hasn't put me off Angela Carter though - I certainly intend to try a couple more of hers.

Now partway through Mrs Palfrey which is quite a contrast! Rather lovely so far. I seem to have read quite a lot of books about old age this year so it fits in nicely with that particular strand.

edit to fix typo

Mrs Palfrey was great - have bought a copy for Christmas for a relative who I think will love it. Sharp social observation, but without descending into scathing disgust, and all with a lovely wistful air of consciousness of former glories and future pain. I want to read a lot more Elizabeth Taylor now.

Books that have also been nudged on this thread that I read in November:

The Kite Runner - not all were in agreement with this, and I'm afraid I have to put myself in the "underwhelmed" camp. Here, with apologies to the 75ers that have already endured this ad nauseam, I will also do my standard pitch for The Wasted Vigil, which is a truly incredible Afghanistan novel. I read this first a month or so ago, and I think it will take a very special book indeed to come close. Having read something so amazing did make the Hosseini seem very clunky. Sorry! But thanks for nudging anyway.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - I'm still struggling to come to grips with why exactly I found this so readable, because on the face of it, it's the sort of book that I shouldn't enjoy: political, although in a very skilful way, macho, and set somewhere very, very, very cold. The characterisation of the protagonist is so carefully done, though, and the little asides about the social structures within the camp so precisely observed. I really didn't like the translation I was reading, though, and may be in danger of joining that translation-geeks group before I try to up my level of reading in translation.

I may well pick up on some more of the ideas in this thread in the New Year (have my eye on The Sea in particular) but December is going to belong first of all to Doris Lessing; once I've finished The Golden Notebook (hmm, maybe that should be "if I finish", since I keep finding I've read 5 pages without taking anything in and have to retrace my steps), I have in mind a cozy programme of comfort reading to ease me into the festive season....

Lots of thanks to all who nudged! I'll definitely be here again with a new stack in 2009.

Coming in late to this discussion, the only one I've read is Lord Peter Views the Body, which is a short story collection; anything by Dorothy Sayers is good, so this is my nudge.

I haven't read Minor Arcana, but I've read most of her other books. It seems to me that the quality is falling off rather; her earlier stuff was brilliant - I loved the Chrestomanci novels, and A Tale of Time City and The Magicians of Caprona.

I know I've come into this conversation WAY late...but I feel like I should say that if you are in the mood for something light-hearted, don't read The Kite Runner. I actually almost didn't make it through the novel because I was so depressed by what was going on...it does end on a hopeful note though

#34 - FlossieT - don't give up on The Golden Notebook- if you go to the BBC Women's Hour archives there is an interview with Doris Lessing about the book which may give you another perspective on it. The interview was featured on 25 August, 2008.

Ooh, mrspenny - thanks for that! I think I'll stay the course - I've read about a hundred pages, which in my mind is too much to give up without a fight as that is too much reading time invested to throw away. The problem is, I found the 'Free Women' portion that comes first very readable, and tore through it, but now we've got to the first of the notebooks and I am really struggling to stay engaged with the trials and tribulations of being a communist in the 1950s... I know, it's very shallow of me. But I'll definitely check out that interview - thanks. The Golden Notebook has been on my list for a while, but I was prompted to finally pick it up now by the Golden Notebook project - I'm a bit of a sucker for this whole interactive-fiction thing.