I just finished "Good Night Mr. Wodehouse" and enjoyed it. And it inspired me to get something by Wodehouse to take to the beach with me.
Like a PP, enjoying the Jane Smiley trilogy (Some Luck, Early Warning, and Golden Age).

Also a huge Wolf Hall/BUtB fan. When is her third book coming out? I can't wait!

I found it hard to put down Life After Life (by Kate Atkinson). Same for My Brilliant Friend (by Elena Ferrante). I stayed up late to finish reading The Goldfinch.

I really enjoyed The Last Policeman trilogy, by Ben Winters, so much so that I've pre-ordered his new book coming out this summer.

The two most engrossing books I've read recently are All the Light We Cannot See (yes, some patience is required) and Cutting for Stone.

Total airplane reading (easy and quick but good enough to keep your attention for several hours):

Reconstructing Amelia

Bare Bones: I'm Not Lonely If You're Reading This

Anonymous wrote:All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. So, so good
The Goldfinch (and anything else by Donna Tartt)
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

I'm currently loving Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa
Lahiri.

I loved The Goldfinch and liked (but did not love) The Signature of All Things, but I found All The Light We Cannot See to be trite and poorly written. I just cannot figure out all the love for this book.

I do want to try the Jhumpa Lahiri book as I've enjoyed her previous work.

Anonymous wrote:I just started Modern Lovers by Emma Straub. It's good. Definitely better than I expected, given how I've learned not to expect much whenever a book is promoted beyond all get-out. (Exhibit A: Sweetbitter. Which I thought suckedass).

I have this on my list to try this summer too. Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I too was skeptical because this book got SO much press and the description of the plot sounded super annoying.

Anonymous wrote:Margaret Atwood's trilogy Oryx and Crake. Sooooo good.

Second Station Eleven.

Loved Book Thief

Jane Smiley's triology (Iowa)

Kate Atkinson's Life after Life and God in Ruins

Zone of Interest by Martin Amis

Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Invention of Wings

Orphan Master's Son

Longbourn

Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies

Just a few of my faves!

We have similar tastes. I couldn't put down Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. Also loved Life After Life. I'm going to try some of the other recommendations on your list.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. So, so good.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

And another vote for All the light we cannot see

I'll have to check out some of the recommendation on this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liane Moriarty books are awesome: Big Little Lies, Whag Alice Forgot

Have you read Gone with the Wind? I read that for the first time a couple summers ago and absolutely loved it. I couldn't put it down. Huge book and I carried it with me everywhere.

FFS

FYI, people use this expression when their criticism is obvious. Those books are highly acclaimed so WTF are you talking about?

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I recommend this book to everyone, it's amazing.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

It's not a novel, but Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is VERY good. I couldn't put it down. Chernow is a great writer and manages to make a biography of a historical figure from the 1700s not the least bit dry and dull. Great insight into Jefferson, Washington, Madison, etc. as well.

Anonymous wrote:Just finished luckiest girl alive by Jessica knoll. Perfect balance of insight into old money main line philly, suspense, and mystery - total beach read - loved it. If you like gone girl or girl on the train, you will like this..

Plus 1

Just finished luckiest girl alive by Jessica knoll. Perfect balance of insight into old money main line philly, suspense, and mystery - total beach read - loved it. If you like gone girl or girl on the train, you will like this..

Anonymous wrote:OP, here. Thank you! I am not looking for light or so-called beach reads, just something utterly engrossing.

I found liane moriarty totally engrossing. Not at all challenging and I read it on the beach, but I read "what Alice forgot" in two days.

The City of Mirrors. But you probably already have it if you are a fan of the Passage Trilogy. If not, check out the first book (The Passage). Second book is The Twelve. By Justin Cronin.

All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. So, so good
The Goldfinch (and anything else by Donna Tartt)
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

I'm currently loving Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa
Lahiri.