Dec 10: avatiakh asks for a nudge

Hi everyone, I'm new to the group but love the idea of being nudged.


Shadowlands by Brian Sibley
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Kes or A Kestrel for a knave by Barry Hines
The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald
Double Vision by Pat Barker
The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge
The Player of Games Iain Banks
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
Goshawk Squadron by Derek Robinson
The book of Daniel by EL Doctorow
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess

Hopefully my jpeg has appeared. Anyway I'd like to be nudged towards a couple of books to read before the end of the year. A few are new to my tbr pile and some have been there too long! I will also be reading a few library books and a lot of teen fiction at the same time. Look forward to your suggestions.

I will nudge The Good Soldier. It's one of my favorite British novels written in the World War I era (shortly after, but it deals with effects of the war).

I will nudge The Fifth Child, an interesting and quirky book.

A slight nudge for The Reluctant Fundamentalist - a good but not great book, a quick read, but an especially timely look at Pakistan and the West

I liked The Reluctant Fundamentalist a lot, and it's the only one on the list that I've read (although there are several here from my TBR pile). Also, it's a quick read.

I'm really nudging authors instead of books, as I haven't read any of these. Nevertheless, Penelope Fitzgerald and E.L. Doctorow are two of my more favorite writers (and I've read several of their other books) so I'll grant nudgoids to The Beginning of Spring and The Book of Daniel.

Welcome to the group!

I'm going to nudge Player of Games simply because I doubt many in this group have read it. I've only read maybe three Banks' novels, but this one is kind of intriguing - a gifted player of games is lured across the galaxy to a culture where everything is 'played for' and the stakes are very high indeed. Science fiction is considered a literature of ideas (the good stuff, anyway) by those of us who read it; this 'idea' is interesting.

The Book of Daniel was my introduction to EL Doctorow and I was very impressed. It's my nudge. The Fifth Child is a tough book to read but I think a lot depends on how realistic or fantastic you find it. I thought it lost some of its power because, although written as real, it stretched the bounds of credibility a bit too far. But it is thought provoking, disturbing and worth read. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is OK but nothing memorable whilst Double Vision is easily my least favourite book by Pat Barker who I normally like a lot.

My two nudges are:

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing if you like reading something a bit different.

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan - this French writer captures teen angst quite well and it is a worthwhile read. Although some say it is dated (1950s) in its issues, I thought it was rather a timeless study. Her following books were not nearly as engaging.

The Banks, Fitzgerald, Barker and Bainbridge books would all be nudgoids because I have read others by those authors and enjoyed them.

I'm like #6 - nudging authors - and on that basis would go for Shadowlands and The Good Soldier. I am not a huge fan of Iain M. Banks' SF, but I respect the judgement of those who are (including avaland), so would also say that if you like his stuff, The Player of Games is worth a look.

It's so bizarre to see Bonjour Tristesse unread. It's such an easy book. Something that's bitter-sweet, beautifully well-written. I read it in the summer, which I think is the best time for it. I enjoyed it very very much, thanks for reminded me, by the way, I still want to read more by Sagan, that one was fabulous.

I'll read Bonjour tristesse next and then try The Fifth Child. I do also want to try some Iain M Banks' scifi as I found The Wasp Factory to be shockingly good.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback, it is great to get comments on the writers and books. I've just discovered Sagan when looking for books for my books in translation category for the LT 999 challenge. I have Wonderful Clouds to read for that.
By the way Sibylle it's summer here in New Zealand so I've picked the right time to read Bonjour tristesse.

If you're a mum you should read The Fifth Child. If you plan to be a mum sometime in the future you should wait. It's a creepy book but you really have to know what it's like to have children of your own before it can work its full . . . thing. So a secondary nudge for The Reluctant Fundamentalist in the meantime.

I will put in a nudge for The Good Soldier. I haven't read it but have heard very good things from people who I respect their literary opinion.