on the theme of 60's america, joan didion's been my go to for years, esp 'slouching towards bethlehem' and 'the white album'. i've also been reading 'slow days, fast company' by eve babitz which is along the same vein and i find it very witty and sharp so farneil_thomson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:10 pm I am in need of some book recommendations. Either fiction/non-fiction, but something which is fairly light as I am an extremely slow reader and take a long time to digest words. Anything involving music, films, 1960s America, Robert De Niro or detectives should go down well. No complicated plots. Something which will grip me. Classic literature is good.
Unlike Joe, I haven't been through all (in fact any) of Zadie Smith's books, so feel free to pick one of them.
If you have a recommendation I need you to really sell it to me. Persuade me why your book is better than others. Why should I give it the time of day?
If I really enjoy your book then I'll send a handwritten thank you card for turning me onto it.
Love Neil x
another one i enjoyed a lot is 'close to home' by michael magee, it's set in belfast and is a rly compelling portrait of a guy from a working-class family in the aftermath of the troubles and how he deals with his life slowly unravelling. astonishingly written book, one of my fav works of fiction of the past few years
