1) Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers One of my work colleagues a) only reads fiction by women and b) preferably only from at least forty years ago. Working with Gen is obviously having an effect, as my first book selection of the year (despite an avalanche of book gifts over Xmas) was this little nugget… Continue reading Year 5 / Book 1: Strong Poison
Author: nicktemple1
Year 4 – quick review
So, as we move into year 5 of this endeavour of reading a book a week, a quick recap on the books from the past year. I've read 26 books by men and 26 by women. 12 by people of colour. I've read 17 non-fiction books, and 35 fictional. Of the 35, 22 could be… Continue reading Year 4 – quick review
Year 4 / Book 52: Turn the Ship Around!
52) Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet So the last book of 2019 (finally caught up on reviews!) is a book by a submarine captain about how he turned round the worst fleet in the US Navy. Of course, it's actually a leadership / business / management book which shares those lessons in such a… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 52: Turn the Ship Around!
Year 4 / Book 51: Lanny
51) Lanny by Max Porter Max Porter became known for Grief is the Thing With Feathers, a book which (despite combining two of my favourite book-related subjects, in death & Ted Hughes) has remained shamefully unread on the Kindle. For some reason, I instead picked up his next novel, Lanny, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 51: Lanny
Year 4 / Book 50: The Godmother
50) The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre In a strong field of good thrillers and crime books that I've read towards the end of 2019, this is right up there. It has won several prizes in France and Europe, and I can completely see why, as funny, sharp, and thrilling. It features the wonderfully droll Patience… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 50: The Godmother
Year 4 / Book 49: Black Dahlia, Red Rose
49) Black Dahlia, Red Rose by Piu Eatwell The 'Black Dahlia' was the name given to Elizabeth Short, a young woman killed in Los Angeles in early 1947, and has since been made famous by authors like James Ellroy (who wrote a fictional book with that title) and by countless people still trying to solve… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 49: Black Dahlia, Red Rose
Year 4 / Book 48: To The Lions
48) To The Lions by Holly Watt I hugely enjoyed this thriller, which is both a dive into the depths of human depravity and evil (steel yourselves!) and also a fascinating look at the world of investigative journalism, and how they overlap with the criminal worlds they are trying to expose. Casey and Miranda are two… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 48: To The Lions
Year 4 / Book 47: Broadsword, Danny Boy
47) Broadsword, Danny Boy by Geoff Dyer I'm a signed-up fan of Geoff Dyer, who I think is a wonderful, slightly uncategorisable writer who drifts from vignettes about artists, photographers and filmmakers to flights of travelogue fancy which walk the tightrope of memoir and fiction. He's a great stylist and seems to write in a way… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 47: Broadsword, Danny Boy
Year 4 / Book 46: The Cracked Looking-Glass
46) The Cracked Looking-Glass by Katharine Anne Porter First of all, I'd like to be very clear that in no way did I choose this book because it was barely a novella and therefore enabled me to play catch up when behind on reading books. Absolutely not. That sort of behaviour doesn't wash on this blog.… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 46: The Cracked Looking-Glass
Year 4 / Book 45: Beside the Syrian Sea
45) Beside the Syrian Sea by James Wolff As anyone who's read the last several reviews will be able to tell, it's been mostly crime and thrillers in the last few weeks - and mostly the quality has been high. I had high hopes for this as well, as it came armed with blurbs and quotes… Continue reading Year 4 / Book 45: Beside the Syrian Sea
