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Feb 23, 20181 min read
574. Margery Allingham - The Tiger In The Smoke
Another Susan Hill recommendation. I have never read this author before, detective novels written I think in the 1950’s. This was a...
Jan 13, 20181 min read
566. Jane Austen - Emma
I found this quite hard work, but ultimately probably enjoyed it. Emma is a prototype unreliable narrator (although not the narrator in...
Nov 4, 20171 min read
546. Kate Atkinson - Human Croquet
Tried to read this years ago (in Oslo I think) and couldn’t get on with it. Enjoyed it much more this time; it is quite a difficult book,...
Oct 21, 20171 min read
544. Ali Smith - Autumn
No 538 re-read before due back in the library. Brilliant, book of the year I think. No easier to follow 2nd time round, but brilliant...
Jun 20, 20171 min read
503. Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
The first Jackson Brodie novel; this is classy ‘detective’ writing compared to some of those above. As I have read a lot of these before...
Jun 11, 20171 min read
496. Jane Austen - Mansfield Park
I had never read this and quite enjoyed it (P, who is more of an Austen fan than me, read it a few days later and didn’t, oddly). Read...
May 16, 20171 min read
487. Kate Atkinson - Behind The Scenes At The Museum
Possibly her first (famous or actual first?) book. Good, but difficult and hard work. The main narrative is a Tristram Shandy like...
Feb 22, 20171 min read
469. Jane Austen - Sense And Sensibility
I found this difficult and hard work. The two sisters (Elinor – sense) and (Marianne – which I think means passion) both fall in love...
Nov 11, 20161 min read
443. Eric Ambler - The Light Of Day
The 2nd of the above books. I hugely enjoyed this for the 1st 80%, but the final element of the plot was very disappointing. The hapless...
Sep 24, 20161 min read
432. Kingsley Amis - Lucky Jim
After my dismissive comment at no.429 above, I thought I should re- read Amis (I think this is the only book of his I have ever read,...
Oct 19, 20151 min read
346. Margaret Atwood - The Heart Goes Last
Another of P’s library books; I don’t think I have read any Margaret Atwood before. I enjoyed this until the end, when it morphs into a...
Sep 22, 20151 min read
339. Kate Atkinson - Emotionally Weird
Couldn’t get on with this at all, despite my enthusiasms above. Maybe I was just enjoying Madrid and Granada too much. Very much a...
Sep 15, 20151 min read
337. Kate Atkinson - Started Early, Took My Dog
The last (I think) of the Brodie books. I found this the least enjoyable. It was somehow too dense and lacked the lightness of touch of...
Sep 11, 20151 min read
336. Kate Atkinson - When Will There Be Good News
Enjoying these so much, I immediately bought the 3rd Brodie novel (no.335 is the 1st and no.336 the 2nd). This took a bit of time to get...
Sep 7, 20151 min read
335. Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
This is even better; the first in the Jackson Brodie series. Begins with three quite unconnected murders, happening at different times...
Sep 4, 20151 min read
334. Kate Atkinson - One Good Turn
I am obviously becoming a fan. This is another very good book, quite different, a comic private eye novel featuring Jackson Brodie,...
Aug 29, 20151 min read
333. Kate Atkinson - A God In Ruins
As it is a library book, due back 5 September, I thought worth another read. It is actually quite an old fashioned novel, reminded me at...
Aug 25, 20151 min read
332. Kate Atkinson - A God In Ruins
What a wonderful title! And a wonderful book, possibly highlight of the year so far. The story of a family, largely a man, spanning the...
Jun 9, 20151 min read
310. Jane Austen - Pride And Prejudice
And now for something completely different, Paddy’s aeroplane reading, rather classier than mine. I haven’t read this for years and my...
Apr 17, 20151 min read
298. Naomi Alderman - Disobedience
This was excellent as well, although the ending disappointed me, and again totally different. Heavily framed by orthodox Judaism, about...