6) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe This was recommended to me by our good friend Nina, and although it's taken a while for me to get to it, I"m really glad she did, and mea culpa on my part for having not got to a novel that has sold over 20 million copies and… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 6: Things Fall Apart
Category: literary fiction
Year 3 / Book 5: The Lie of the Land
5) The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig What a thoroughly enjoyable read this was: another one pulled from the 'Best Of' Lists, Amanda Craig's novel follows a family who move to Devon because they can no longer afford to live in London (and can't afford their divorce). So they move to the slightly… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 5: The Lie of the Land
Year 3 / Book 4: A Horse Walks Into A Bar
4) A Horse Walks Into A Bar by David Grossman This was so heavily recommended in the end-of-year books of 2017 round-ups that I put it on the Christmas list; Santa delivered, and here we are. It's a novel about an Israeli stand-up comedian, and is set over the hour and a half or so… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 4: A Horse Walks Into A Bar
Year 3 / Book 1: What the World Will Look Like When the Water Leaves Us
1) What the World Will Look Like When the Water Leaves Us by Laura van den Berg First book of 2018 and it's an excellent book of short stories from this American writer. My wife Katie bought me her more recent book of short stories about a year ago (Isle of Youth) which was fabulous,… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 1: What the World Will Look Like When the Water Leaves Us
Year 2 / Book 53: Home Fire
53) Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie A bonus book sneaking under the wire that I finished on New Year's Eve. Looking back at the year's reading, I can see that I've done better on gender split this year (28 male authored books, 25 female authored books) but well over half are crime, detective or police… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 53: Home Fire
Year 2 / Book 41: Conclave
41) Conclave by Robert Harris If you’re going to read a literary thriller, you can do a lot worse than Robert Harris, in my opinion. Fatherland is top notch, of course, and I hugely enjoyed The Fear Index and, to a lesser extent, The Ghost as well. And the Roman ones - and we are back… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 41: Conclave
Year 2 / Book 39: Lincoln in the Bardo
39) Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Fortuitously, I found myself finishing this off as it was announced as this year’s Booker Prize winner. I’m a fan of George Saunders: if you haven’t read any of his short stories, you are in for a treat: they are moving, incisive and extremely funny by turns.… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 39: Lincoln in the Bardo
Year 2 / Book 38: By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
38) By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart So this is about as far from my typical read as it’s possible to get: I picked it up at the trusty Acton Central community bookshelf, partly because the title rang a bell from past studies, and partly because it was thin… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 38: By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
Year 2 / Book 34: A Beautiful Young Wife
34) A Beautiful Young Wife by Tommy Wieringa Tommy Wieringa is a Dutch writer, and this slim novel(la) is the first I've read by him: I can't remember where I ran across his name but he's been on the Wish List for months, and I took the plunge a few weeks back. And I'm very… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 34: A Beautiful Young Wife
Year 2 / Book 33: Missing, Presumed
33) Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner This came highly recommended, although I think it was last year's thriller / police procedural of choice (there's now a follow-up on the market as well). For obvious reasons, I won't go too much into the plot, but it starts with a young woman disappearing, and that is the… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 33: Missing, Presumed
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 