unloved stepchildren no more, in December

Inspired by rarelibri, here are some of the books which I was excited about before I acquired, but never seem to be the ones that I reach for when it's time to start a new book. I'll read one of these in December - which one will it be?

Midnight by Julien Green
Amagansett by Mark Mills
Schooling by Heather McGowan
Delhi by Kushwant Singh
Plant Dreaming Deep by May Sarton
The Two Hearts Of Kwasi Boachi by Arthur Japin
Light by Torgny Lindgren
By The Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Women In The Wall by Julia O'Faolain
The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead

Not sure if I'll go by volume of nudges - it might be by what comments make me most excited about reading a particular book...

A huge nudge for The Man Who Loved Children by Christina Stead. It is an excellent novel which examines the dynamics of family, beautifully written by an outstanding author.

I'm going to suggest the addition of a word to our glossary for a "nudge with a caveat." A cudge? A nudgeat? Anyway, I nudge Amagansett with the understanding that it is a well-executed historical mystery, a book definitely in the genre category, despite marketing blurbs and reviews which would lead you to believe otherwise. If you enjoy elegantly written mysteries (which I do) then Amagansett is a good one for you. It would be a fun, relaxing read, if that's what you're in the mood for.

wandering_star, that's exactly how I chose my nudge pile as well; I don't know why it is that certain books get less and less attractive the longer you leave them on the shelf, no matter how much you wanted to read them when you bought them.

I haven't read any of your pile, but I'm really looking forward to reading By the Sea some time soon, as it's been recommended recently by several LTers in the 75 group whose opinions I value - so I suppose that's a nudge.

Ooo, wandering_star, I've given only 18 books 5 stars, and two of them are on your list: The Man Who Loved Children and Women in the Wall. I'm giving you a huge shove towards both of those. Neither is an easy or light read, but they are excellent.

The Man Who Loved Children stayed with me for a long, long time.

Same as christiguc.

I, on the other hand, did not like The Man Who Loved Children. My nudge goes to The Women in the Wall. I haven't read it, but it sounds wonderful. I recently purchased Light myself, but I haven't read it. Treat Schooling as the ugly step-child that it is.

By the Sea is very well-written and culturally fascinating - it's set in Zanzibar. A nudge for that.

The Man Who Loved Children is on my MUST READ list for 2009.

I'm also nudging By the Sea, a favorite from my 2007 reading.

Read whatever, just send Schooling to the orphanage.

Another big nudge here for Women in the Wall which is wonderful.

I hear great things about The Man Who Loved Children and I love Christina Stead but as I have yet to read I can't really nudge it.

Hmm... interesting! At the moment there are (net) three nudges each for Women In The Wall, The Man Who Loved Children and By The Sea. I think at the moment it's The Man Who Loved Children - because there are more nudges from people who've actually read it, and I like the hint of controversy ;-)

I'll also be moving Amagansett up the list, following Theaelizabet's nudgeat. How can you go wrong with an elegantly written mystery?

Oh dear - not too good a strike rate on these. I'm afraid that I ended up ditching both The Man Who Loved Children and Amagansett... In the first, I found Sam's babytalk too annoying, and I couldn't get my head round either his personality or Henny's - just as I thought I understood them they would do something really out of character (or out of what I thought should be their character...)

Amagansett was fine, although the heavily literary tone of the descriptions was a little irritating, but I just stopped being interested.

Apologies to all who nudged! I hope that I'll have a better experience with your recommended books next time...

I loved The two hearts of Kwasi Boachi! Didn't know there was an English translation. My suggestion is to read this one, I don't know one of the others.