[KellyT]

What books has everyone been reading throughout the lockdown? One thing I’ve benefited from with all the staying at home recently is the extra reading time! My passion for reading has been re-ignited and I’ve discovered some real gems.

Does anyone else feel the same, or do you guys have anything interesting on your reading list for the coming months? I’d really love to hear any recommendations from any bookworms in the Community.

I’ve added a shortlist below with some of my recent reading highlights 😊:

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart – Set against the bleak backdrop of 1980s Glasgow, this novel is a heartbreaking coming-of-age story that explores poverty, addiction, and finding hope against the odds. A must-read in my opinion!

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite – A unique take on the serial killer thriller – dark, funny, and satirical. A real page-turner!

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood – The sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale, an epic tale told from three different perspectives that examine gender, authority, and oppression. This one had me hooked from beginning to end.

Next on my reading list is Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.

[RossM]

I recently finished Ready Player 2 by Ernest Clyne. I’m a big fan of the first book and I picked this up hoping for another fix of pop culture nostalgia and Sci Fi fun. However, I was left feeling a bit disappointed overall. The characters feel like shells of their former self and there is a definite push of modern pop references down our throats as if the author wanted us to know how geeky he is. The last third is entertaining Sci Fi, and I feel that if the book had started on this route it would have been better. I can't help feel that the book was written with the inevitable sequel to the movie in mind and lost part of the appeal that made the series in the first place.

[ChristinaG]

Thanks for those recommendations @KellyT , I've added 'My Sister, the Serial Killer' to my list! It sounds like my kind of read :)

I've just finished 'Where the Crawdads sing' by Delia Owens. It's about a young girl who has been abandoned by her family and left to bring herself up in a marsh in North Carolina in the late 1960s. It was a great read!

I've recently bought myself a kindle (I know, I'm very late to the party) so I'm looking forward to discovering loads more this year!

[25H]

I'm not much of a book reader as most of my time is now spent on computer's.

However I do like reading autobiographries.
The latest one I've started is about the actor David Jason - My Life whose name is actually David White.
He could not have the stage name David White as at that time David White was already taken.
He chose 'Jason' after 'Jason and the Argonaughts!!

[heanor_man_34]

It's been a fair number of years since I last read-sixteen in fact!

It was called 'Secret Smile' by Nicci French and later turned into a TV programme on ITV1 featuring David Tennant.