UKC

So I stroll into Waterstones for a browse with an itchy palm ready to spend some money. I start to browse the tables and pick up a few books and I get in a quandry...some are in the "buy one get one half price" promotion, some are not, I have books at home that I haven't read...why am I buying more? In the end I left with nothing...anyway. Who's read any of these that I almost grabbed and what did they think?

Wolf Hall - no explanation needed, and I love historical fact/fiction
Pure - Andrew Miller , looks interesting again historical fiction, won an award
The Man who fell to Earth - Walter Tevis , old school sci fi peaked my interest
Les Mis - yes yes, movie too long, stage show even longer...book is a weapon. But the prose looked fantastic ...and no singing!(tempted by Hunchback Notre Dame as well)
Revolutionary Road - Nick Hornby reckons it's his favourite book

It goes without saying that I could buy these for much less on Amazon, but I love book shops and so have no issue paying a bit more supporting them (they probably pay tax as well

In reply to Game of Conkers:
Pure is a good book--the dark and atmospheric sort of historical fiction with lots of brooding but a fairly simple plot. I wouldn't say it's a 5* book but I certainly enjoyed it.

Les Miserables is on my list ... not sure I'm brave enough to tackle it this year though!

In reply to Only a hill: Thx, will give Pure a go then. I know what you mean about Les Mis, it's a bit of a brute. Ideal for some Himalayan trekking (where I got through some James Clavell classics

In reply to Game of Conkers:

Wolf Hall is excellent. Also worth checking out Mantel's earlier work, I loved Beyond Black.

In reply to Game of Conkers:

Another vote for Pure

In reply to Bulls Crack: ...and another

In reply to Game of Conkers:

Of your list the only one that I've read is Wolf Hall. It's a stunningly good book and I'd recommend it very highly.

In reply to Game of Conkers:

I vote for Pure too. Really enjoyed it - still thinking about the book months later, and that's a good sign I think.

It'd be interesting to know what you thought once you've read it.

In reply to Game of Conkers:

Les Mis is still one of the best books I can remember reading and I was glad it was long as it meant it was't over too soon! Couldn't entertain the idea of watching any of it reproduced in a singing voice - what a travesty!
By contrast Hunchback, while enjoyable, was much less gripping and soon forgotten.