Book recommendation

[milly143]

I don't read very much at all but really fancy getting a good book to relax with this weekend. The few books I have read have all been based on true stories, such as 'A Boy Called It' and I have really enjoyed them. Can anyone recommend anything?

[loopyc]

if you liked a boy called it you could try sickned, the little prisoner, also danniella westbrookes biog is a really good yet horrific read.

[kitty1950]

I have just finished reading a book called 'Behind Closed Doors' by Jenny Tomlin, it's a true story of abuse, neglect and survival against the odds, it was very good and Jenny Tomlin is the mother of the actress and singer Martine McCutcheon. Well worth a read.

[devilwoman]

torey hayden is good for true stories too, ones called ghost girl, cant remember the others but very good reading.

[kitty1950]

Helen Forrester - By the waters of Liverpool, Tuppence to cross the Mersey, Liverpool Miss, Lime Street at Two, these are all about her life growing up from a posh lifestyle to the slums of Liverpool, I read these 20 years ago and literally couldn't put them down, she has also written some fictional novels which are fairly good.

[andy-hughes]

After the rigours of true life, I usggest a good fiction read - any of the 'Reacher' novels by Lee Child are excelent. They are chronological, but it's not essential to read them in order, you can soon piece Reacher's history together.

[spudqueen]

How about 'A Town Like Alice' by Nevile Shute? It is a fantastic story, set in Malaysia during the second world war and Australia after the war. It's not a true story (as far as I am aware) but an EXCELLENT read.

[SaxyJag]

What about:

Kathy O'Bierne, Kathy's Story: The Hell of the Magdalen Laundries (ISBN: 1840189681)

June Gould, The Light in the Window (ISBN:0091902053) - the memoirs of a woman who worked as a nurse in one these places.

[raysparx]

Hi milly, Try Angelas Ashes guarentee you wont put it down till youv'e read it,it is by Frank mcCourt, his life growing up in Ireland a truly great read,

enjoy whatever you decide on, Ray

[Litchick]

Bergdorf Blondes - Plum Sykes.....just a fun,silly, fast read.

[kopend]

Have you tried Martina Cole's books?

[kitty1950]

I had forgotten about Angelas Ashes, what a brilliant book that was. I read it through once on holiday and immediately read it again, that is a book I could read over and over again and also watch the film many times. I also read the sequel entitled 'tis about his life in America which was good but not as riveting as Angelas Ashes.

[Litchick]

Kitty, did you find that the movie (Angela's Ashes) was portrayed EXACTLY as you thought it would be from reading the book? Down to the pieces of stale bread on the mantlepiece the movie was just as I had pictured it! It was unbelievable! I agree -- great book.

[kitty1950]

Yes Litchick I did find that the film was exactly how I had imagined it whilst reading the book. I'm just glad they didn't show the bit about riding on the backs of saints and sucking the snot from their noses, I found that bit was gross and still makes me feel sick when I think about it. The same goes for the spitting in Titanic, there are some bodily functions that don't need to be embellished. Bye :o)

[Lizziedrip]

I'm reading Remember Me by Lesley Pearce, it was on the telly recently (although I missed it) about a girl transported to Australia for theft. V. Good so far.

I book I read years ago that always sticks in my memory is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, about a little girl growing up in the depression years.

All of the Penny Vincenzi novels I've read have been good, most recently Sheer Abandon, excellent.

Daughter reading Don't Ever Tell by Kathy O'Beirne (Magdalen Laundries), so that's my next one.

[spangle111]

Try Perfect Victim by Christine McGuire & Carla Norton.
'Colleen Stan was a sweet-natured 20-year-old when she set out to hitchhike from her home in Washington to southern California. Seven years later, she emerged from hell, the victim of a bizarre and chilling crime.'

It is the true story of 'the girl in the box'
This is as compelling a slice of sleazy Americana as you�re likely to come across. It�s the true story of how Colleen Stan was picked up by Cameron and Janice Hooker while hitchhiking and made their sex slave, her submission to her captors finally so total that she never tried to escape, even when she was allowed out to work.

Perfect Victim is their story, a disturbing look at what lies under the surface of small-town America.

[enilorac89]

You could try Sophia's Story or We Need To Talk About Kevin. They're both very good books. Wel, WNTTAK isn't actually a true story, but it's very good anyway.

[mosesg]

I have read some ot the books by Jodi Picolt and althouth they are fiction are really good and can recommend My Sisters Keeper

[Echo]

I recommend anything by Louis de Bernieres. Also, if you like reading plays (since they are short and not as cumbersome to get through as novels) "A Taste of Honey" - I forget the author but this is a fantastic read.