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Mar 11, 20231 min read
1051. Amanda Jennings - The Haven
This started well but deteriorated. Starts in 1995 (but should have been 20+ years earlier) with three hippies who decide to escape...
Sep 17, 20221 min read
1012. James Joyce - Ulysses
I don’t normally write up a book I haven’t finished, but I will make an exception here. I have read it before (on holiday in Majorca...
Feb 25, 20221 min read
950. Owen Jones - This Land
A book about the failure of the Corbyn experiment in the Labour party. Far too long and detailed for me. Jones clearly endorsed the...
Feb 18, 20221 min read
948. Henry James - Washington Square
A serious and classic novel in response to the above thoughts; I am not sure if I have read this before, although we bought it in 1978!...
Feb 15, 20221 min read
946. Lisa Jewell - The Night She Disappeared
This is pretty good. A contemporary mystery thriller, narrated largely by Kim, the mother of Tallulah, the disappeared girl in question,...
Jan 26, 20221 min read
939. Maxim Jacubowski (Ed) - Daggers Drawn
An anthology of modern crime short stories. Quality quite variable; the best I thought by Denise Mina, about a family with a disturbed...
Sep 10, 20211 min read
893. Tayari Jones - Silver Sparrow
As P said, this is much better than 'An American Marriage'. A story about a bigamous marriage written from the standpoint of the two...
Aug 17, 20211 min read
885. Uzma Jalaluddin - Ayesha At Last
A cleverly written take on 'Pride & Prejudice', based in the muslim immigrant community in Toronto. So we have Ayesha (Elizabeth Bennett)...
Jul 19, 20211 min read
878. Sadie Jones - The Snakes
One of P’s. I quite enjoyed this and it was original in that the two central characters Dan and Bea (Dante P suggested?!) are both dead...
May 7, 20211 min read
858. Henry James - The Portrait Of A Lady
I have read this before, I think a very long time ago, as I had forgotten most of the plot. Long, hard work, but brilliant. The plot can...
Jan 7, 20211 min read
841. Tayari Jones - An American Marriage
This was good, but not that good - I think the publicity has over-egged it. I struggled with a couple of aspects; were the 3 central...
Feb 6, 20201 min read
748. James Joyce - Dubliners
Triggered no doubt by no 746, I read these for probably the 3rd time in my life and enjoyed them more than previously. But enjoyed may...
Nov 2, 20191 min read
726. Peter James - Dead At First Sight
I heard this guy on the radio and thought ‘Here’s a crime writer I have never heard of’. But a poor writer. The plot theme was...
May 22, 20191 min read
685. Luke Jennings - Codename Villanelle
This is the book or novella around which Killing Eve is based. It is pretty much complete junk (although does provide a bit of background...
Jan 7, 20191 min read
648. Ragnar Jónasson - The Darkness
An Xmas present from Dan, an Icelandic detective/ thriller. The heroine is a semi-retired and slightly superannuated policewoman in...
Jun 2, 20181 min read
594. Henry James - The Wings Of A Dove
Maybe optimistic to pick a difficult late James after enjoying 593, but you can see the logic I hope. And I read the Ambassadors...
Sep 12, 20171 min read
522. Lisa Jewell - I Found You
One of Paddy’s from the library. I loved this (as did she). Romance/thriller set in a seaside north Yorkshire village, starting with a...
Apr 6, 20171 min read
478. E.L. James - Fifty Shades Of Grey
Could be a parody of Pride and Prejudice, except I can’t think of 2 suitable nouns. Nonetheless, girl falls for incredibly rich and...
Jul 1, 20161 min read
416. Lisa Jewell - The Girls
Another from P (I can’t decide what to read at the moment so am piggy backing on her choices). This was brilliant, I thought. A...
Mar 27, 20161 min read
387. Henry James - The Ambassadors
Bought in February 1977 from the 2nd hand book store in the town where we then lived, but never as far as I can tell, read until now. One...