21) All Out War by Tim Shipman Of late, I've largely been trying to avoid in-depth political reading, as politics feels mostly depressing but also inward-looking, divisive and energy-absorbing. But then this book by Sunday Times political correspondent Tim Shipman popped up in my eyeline, and I was suddenly diving headlong into the referendum of last… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 21: All Out War
Category: Year 2
Year 2 reviews
Year 2 / Book 20: The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman
20) The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman by Mindy Mejia There are few things that I hate more than the descriptions on Amazon that say 'the most psychologically twisty and suspenseful thriller you'll read this year' as part of the book title. Though they clearly work, as they are becoming more and more commonplace. So… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 20: The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman
Year 2 / Book 19: The Descent of Man
19) The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry For too long, I thought of Grayson Perry as 'that artist that wears a dress who won the Turner Prize'. It was his set of Reith Lectures which alerted me to the fact that this was also someone thinking deeply and clearly and brilliantly about modern life… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 19: The Descent of Man
Year 2 / Book 18: The Last Mile
18) The Last Mile by David Baldacci It's fair to say this won't be winning any literary prizes anytime soon. For some reason, I was in the mood for some trashy page-turning nonsense that woudn't tax my brain, and this popped up in the Kindle. Baldacci is one of those machine-like James Patterson creatures who… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 18: The Last Mile
Year 2 / Book 17: Black Night Falling
17) Black Night Falling by Rod Reynolds I like a bit of hard-boiled crime writing as much as the next reader, so I was looking forward to this: I'd read lots of glowing feedback about this and its predecessor by Reynolds. But I left it a bit underwhelmed and wondering quite what the fuss is… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 17: Black Night Falling
Year 2 / Book 16: My Name Is Lucy Barton
16) My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout I'll be honest with you: I'd never heard of Elizabeth Strout until this Christmas (or was it the Christmas before?) when I was reading those pre-Xmas 'authors recommend their books of the year' articles, and this book got mentioned more than any other. So excuse ignorance, but… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 16: My Name Is Lucy Barton
Year 2 / Book 15: The Dry
15) The Dry by Jane Harper I heartily recommend reading Laura Wilson's monthly crime/thrillers round up in the Guardian: a great route to finding authors and books you might otherwise not run across. I regularly read through, pick ones that sound interesting, add them to a Wish List for future reference, and then buy one… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 15: The Dry
Year 2 / Book 14: The Power
14) The Power by Naomi Alderman Have you ever wondered what a world in which teenage girls and then women are the ones with the power and the strength? And what might become of society? Or felt a little burst of lightning between your finger tips? Well, wonder no more. Naomi Alderman's near-future dystopia is… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 14: The Power
Year 2 / Book 13: A Thousand Cuts
13) A Thousand Cuts by Thomas Mogford This is the fourth (or possibly fifth) Spike Sanguinetti mystery by Thomas Mogford, and I think this is one of the best. What raises them above the average or the norm for me is the setting on Gibraltar, which is a place I don't know at all (apart from… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 13: A Thousand Cuts
Year 2 / Book 12: Devices and Desires
12) Devices and Desires by PD James Busy times tend to mean more crime in reading terms for me, and there are few better at the top of the game than PD James in her pomp. She is as quintessentially English as her main detective leading man, Adam Dalgleish - and incredibly adept at bringing… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 12: Devices and Desires
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 