Would someone like to choose what I read next?

Ok I have about 45 books in my 'to read' pile/shelves. I am finishing off a couple at the moment and I have a book club one to start in the next couple of weeks, so if someone like to put forward their choice from the below list, it would be a great help as I really can't decide what to read next! There is only about 29 books below as I am at work away from my books, so this is all I can remember!

Please help! Thank you in advance.

The Line of Beauty – Alan Hollinghurst
The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl – Tracy Quan
About Grace – Anthony Duerr
One Good Turn – Kate Atkinson
Human Croquet – Kate Atkinson
Birds Without Wings - Louis De Bernieres
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
Wild Swans – Jung Chang
To the Edge of Sky - Anhua Gao
This Book Will Save Your Life – A. M. Homes
Elizabeth and her German Garden – Elizabeth von Armin
Humble Pie - Gordon Ramsay
Riding the Iron Rooster – Paul Theroux
The Children of Men – PD James
Mary Lavelle – Kate O’Brien
I Bought a Mountain – Thomas Firbank
My Brilliant Career – Miles Franklin
The Road to Nab End – William Woodruff
The Shape of Things to Come – HG Wells
Gentlemen & Players – Joanne Harris
Good Behaviour – Molly Keane
Julius – Daphne Du Maurier
Frost in May – Antonia White
Fireworks – Angela Carter
Family Money – Nina Bawden
The Professor’s House – Willa Cather
The Abortionist’s Daughter – Elisabeth Hyde

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton is a wonderful book! I would definitely recommend that one.

I loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. However, opinion is mixed on LT.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime has the advantage that it will only take you the weekend to read and is very readable. If you also choose the non-fiction Wild Swans you'll have the pleasure of feeling more knowledgeable.

I'd say Children of Men. It's not light reading, though.

BTW, this would be a good idea for a group. There's plenty of people who have a hard time deciding what to read next.

Thanks for the recommendations so far. I have to admit I have already read a few chapters of Curious Incident but got waylaid by something else. It didn't grab me instantly but maybe I should persevere. Haddon's other book was a gift from a friend so it's not as if I'm a fan.

9days, I'm fine with 'heavy' reading so I may just try The Children of Men next. I saw the film and was a little disappointed but I've been told that the book and the film are quite different.

Anyone have anything more to say on the others? Once I get a few more replies, I will go with the most recommended.

And please do go ahead and start a group based on this topic. I will probably need help again and I'd love to help out others.

There is (or was) a What Should I Read? type of group already, but I'm failing at finding it through the Group Search.

The recent film of The Children of Men is very different from the book. It uses the same basic premise (no children born anywhere in the world after a certain date) and then goes in a considerably different plot direction and completely different theme/meaning direction. The book was quite compelling and the movie pretty bad (even looking at it on its own and not comparing it to the book).

There's a Go Review that Book group.

You choose a books for the person above you to read, they read and review it, and choose one for the person who last posted.

Re choice, I don't know any of those which haven't already been suggested. I can't believe Gordon Ramsey is ever Humble though, so that might be worth reading.

Gordon Ramsey is definitely NOT humble in the book (as you'd expect) and it's not well written but entertaining none-the-less if you're interested in him.

My choice of what to read next is affected by what I've just read - light follows heavy, contemporary follows historical, etc. so what you've just finished would affect my choice for you.

I liked both Mark Haddon books - they're very different. Curious Incident is worth persevering with. Spot of Bother is funny and a very easy read. Wild Swans was fascinating.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

I too would vote for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I loved the pictures. It made me laugh, but at the same time I was sorry for the young man. You end up rooting for him.

The only other one on your list I have read was the Abortionist's Daughter. It was pretty good. A typical mystery.

I would go for My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, interesting and definitely entertaining!

I would read Birds Without Wings. I love Louis de Bernieres.

>10 janeekelly:, janeekelly I totally agree. I tend to follow the heavy, light pattern. I have just finished Mustn't Grumble (an amusing travelling around Britain book) and just finishing The Bullet Trick, so both quite light to read (although the Bullet Trick's subject matter is quite dark).

It looks like Curious Incident is winning.

1> Ok I have about 45 books in my 'to read' pile/shelves.
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No suggestions on what to read next but just a comment on the TBR pile. In study after study it has been scientifically proven that people with TBR piles with less than a hundred books in them leads to a prolonged deep depression that is nigh on impossible to pull out of. So rush out and buy/borrow/steal enough books as soon as possible to get the TBR pile up to at least 100 books. 200 is even better. The soothing peace that will flood your being is not to be underestimated.

>16 VisibleGhost:, VisibleGhost, those are just the books I have physically. If you added up my To Read list, it would probably be over 100. I really do need more shelf space!

>16 VisibleGhost:, Visible Ghost, I'm with you, my "To Be Read" piles just keep growing and growing (140 or so at the moment) and an un-bought wishlist almost as long. But my husband has the completely opposite view - he finds it stressful to have loads of books waiting to be read and he even banned me giving him books for his birthday in July (which of course I ignored - what else can you give them??).

Go with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time BEFORE A Spot of Bother, just so you can read these 2 terrific but very different Haddon books in the order in which they were written.

If you choose One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson, let me know if you liked it . . . I'm dying to read it!

>18 janeekelly:, janeekelly, I have to admit I'm the same as your husband. I freak out a little if I have too much in my To Read pile. This is why I have put it to you good people what my next choice should be :) I have also told my husband to stop me from buying books for a while but I just can't resist bargains, so the pile grows!

>19 booksinbed:, booksinbed (what a great username! Its where I do most of my reading) I think it may just have to be Curious Incident next going by the recs here. I did pick it up again today for a quick read and think I may be more open to it now. I will definitely let you know when I read One Good Turn. Have you read Case Histories? I believe it's meant to be a sequel of sorts.

#1 & #18, I know large TBR piles or lists do bother some people. I found out and admitted to myself that I like surfing the net, browsing bookstores, checking the books section of all kinds of publications to find out about even more books, almost as much as I like reading. I might spend an hour in a day reading and an hour 'searching' for new books. Both pursuits make me equally happy so my TBR stuff will never get to one or zero which is fine with me but probably does make some feel overwhelmed.

OK, curiousity got the better of me and I looked at my read and TBR lists for 2007 and totaled some numbers. I have read and finished 51 books this year. I have started and given up on 18 books, two of which will get a second chance sometime. My 2007 TBR lists contain 189 possibles at the moment and 54 that have been crossed out or deleted from consideration after furthur research or thought.

This book will save your life was a good read IMO
Curious incident was enjoyable too, cant go wrong with those two!!