Lockdown reading

[ina]

Having more time than normal, and not having the energy (for various reasons) to do anything more physical, I have been re-reading a lot of old favourites. Well, the fact that I couldn't get my monthly top-up of new books from Waterstones helped, too...

Amongst other books, I have been reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; the Glass Bead Game (Hermann Hesse); Blackout (Marc Elsberg); The Swarm ( Frank Schätzing) - the last two especially because they contain a lot of useful dealing with catastrophes - I found a lot of it strangely similar to what we've been experiencing in the current crisis, although none quite so disastrous, thankfully); and just now I've started reading the Day of the Triffids again. That was one of our set books at school. I also read through piles of other books - of course, the complete disc world series... And just now all my Ngaio Marsh books (I only have 9 of them, must find the others somewhere!).

What have you all been reading? Can you suggest anything that might be new to me? (Oh, one new one, which I'd just been sent as an unseasonal Christmas/birthday present from Germany - The secret Life of trees, Peter Wohlleben - highly recommendable!).

[Green Aura]

I'm afraid I haven't been reading anything remotely useful - just pure escapism. I've just read every book by Robin Hobb and thoroughly enjoyed every one.

[Flo]

My Amazon Fire (Kindle equivalent) has provided a lot of trash reading or as Maggie puts it "escapism". It's what you get for paying Amazon £7.99 a month. I've got one or two classics (The Night Circus, The left hand side of darkness) that I paid for to keep but mostly it's cheap and cheerful. Daughter has recently discovered Robin Hobb's Liveship series which she loved on her kindle.

I can't say that I can help Ina with a reading list as her choice of books includes a lot of things that I have put on my list of won't ever get beyond the first chapter of books. It's a good thing that some people like the Hitchhiker's guide and Day of the Triffids and the Disc world series.

I have a second hand comprehensive weeds of the UK book and also a common British trees book (both best Oxfam purchases) that I can recommend but don't think that's what Ina is after though they are probably my best read ones after a day at the plots.

[ina]

I'm all for escapism... After all, that's why I read so many "classic crime" books!

Oh, another doorstop kind of book I love - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke). British magic at its best. And the Artemis Fowl series... More modern magic.

Hadn't heard of Robin Hobb - will investigate!

[Green Aura]

Hadn't heard of Robin Hobb - will investigate!

Do so, ina, she's written several series (Liveships being one such) that all concentrate on different aspects of the same fantasy world, so all the books share some characters, places etc.

She also writes under the name Megan Lindholm. I've enjoyed every single one.

[ina]

Sounds like my kind of thing - a world to immerse myself in. Just hope the libraries will open again soon. Although I do buy a lot of books, there is a limit to what I can afford. And I need more book shelves...

[Flo]

Oh, another doorstop kind of book I love - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke). British magic at its best.

Now there we can agree on that

Hadn't heard of Robin Hobb - will investigate!

Nice easy reading after some of the other things you have listed

[Flo]

Has anyone read the Rivers of London by Ben Dylan Aaronovitch - these and the following on ones were what led me to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Light hearted, daft, but a good read I reckon.

[Green Aura]

Yes, I've read them all and thoroughly enjoyed them too.

[Green Aura]

I'm currently reading a series by Jim Butcher - similar theme to the Rivers of London series but set in Chicago. Not nearly as good IMHO. I'm enjoying the story lines but the lead character needs a good slap.

[Viper254]

Read more than I've read for years over lockdown and I'm keen to keep it up if I can. We are having more evenings where we're just sat reading, rather than TV or DIY, which are our usual evening pursuits.

Chewed through some Aldous Huxley, got some James Hogg next. I haven't really bought books for a while - it's just a case of reading whatever's in the phone-box-come-book-swap up the road.