Was wondering where you'd got to, Bssh :o

I'm hopefully going to finish The Luminaries this evening. Currently at 97% - so close - just got to get the DC to go to bed and then I can carry on.

Bookworm - enjoy Rebecca; it's one of my ultimate comfort reads!

#36. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain - man finds a stolen handbag and tracks down its owner using clues of what was in the bag. I really enjoyed this in the way I really enjoy films like Sleepless in Seattle. Yes, its plot is frankly ridiculous, but who cares - there was a real feel good factor at the end. I think it would make an excellent beach read

37. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford - a rich American narrates the tale of the collapse of his marriage and that of a English couple he meets in a European spa town. I was absolutely blown away by this book, which relies heavily on the device of the unreliable narrator. I am very impressed by the author's ability to convey a whole other meaning than the literal interpretation of the words put forward by the narrator, who comes across as very sinister. It's a book that requires concentration (for me at least!) but definitely repaid the effort put in.

#38. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Clare North - this would probably be described as a literary thriller in which certain people are reborn to live their lives over again and again while still retaining the knowledge of their previous lives. I realise that I am in the minority, but I didn't really warm to this or enjoy it. To me there was a huge flaw in the logic of the reincarnation, which wouldn't work. Different reincarnates died at different times in different lives, but their souls were still ready to take to the stage at the pre-ordained time of birth in subsequent lives. In order for this to be feasible, there would either need to be a "holding pen" for souls till everyone was ready to be reborn at the correct time, or each soul would need to be split so that it could simultaneously continue in its existing life AND start to live again in the next life, the start of which would have been triggered by the death of another reincarnate.

Hello! Not on Mumsnet much these days so haven't been posting much but have been reading:

39. The Ten-Year Nap, Meg Wolitzer
40. The Makioka Sisters, Junichiro Tanizaki
41. The School at the Chalet, Elinor Brent-Dyer
42. Jo of the Chalet School, Elinor Brent-Dyer
43. Jamaica Inn, Daphne du Maurier
44. Saving Grace, Jane Green
45. Saint Maybe, Anne Tyler

Loved all of these books, especially the Anne Tyler. As a PP has discovered, I have never read du Maurier before but am now hooked. Have Rebecca and My Cousin on my TBR list.

Philip K Dick's cult book Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (on which the film Blade Runner was based) is £1.99 on the Kindle.

Thank you best for the recommendation of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, I've ordered it from the library after thoroughly enjoying My Cousin Rachel.

29. Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin.
    Still working my way through his books starting with the early ones.
    DI Rebus investigates a drug overdose in a squat in Edinburgh, leading to a murder investigation. Not bad.

30. Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin.

DI Rebus is invited to join the police force in London as an expert in serial killings, ruffling a few feathers along the way. Twists and turns aplenty, this is a good book.

Sorry for your misfortune, tumble. Broken Kindle - what horror! I hope your new one arrives soon.

My kindle has broken - gutted! I'm not sure what happened, I don't think I dropped it or anything, but the screen has gone funny.

I will get a new one, as I love it, but in the meantime I am taking the opportunity to read the pile of books beside my bed. Some were presents, some I bought myself because I wanted the actual book, and some have been sitting there since before I got my kindle three and a half years ago!

32. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby. I've seen some lukewarm reviews of this, but I enjoyed it. Not his funniest book, but warm and touching.

18. The Pearl - JohnSteinbeck
19. Lunar Caustic - Malcolm Lowry

Two modern classics from the 'short reads' section of the library, in a blatant attempt to make up my numbers Both very powerful and moving novellas.

Book 81 - A tedious introduction to the poetry of Robert Browning.

JoylessFucker The book my dd recommended is great. I am really enjoying it. Will probably finish it tonight, so, unless anything goes horribly wrong in the final quarter, I can really recommend it.

45. Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg by Keith Lowe

Astonishing book about the July 1943 bombing raids on Hamburg.

The book describes some of the history of bomber command and the USAAF, their role in the bombings as well as the impact and aftermath in the city itself. It's not for the faint-hearted; there are some terrible details. It's also pretty non-judgmental.

The eye witness accounts of the firestorm that were created by the fourth raid are incredible and shocking and a testament to the horror of the aerial bombing war.

Recommended.

I thought Handmaid's Tale was ok, but I find Attwood's writing very cold and clinical. Not my thing.

53. Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham. This was OK but very indebted to Peter Robinson. The crime story was pretty good but Thorne isn't a very memorable character. I think I will probably read the second book in the series and see how things develop.

I managed those two but have failed to finish anything else of hers. I've read Alias Grace a couple of times (though I can't remember the ending).

I've totally given up on Attwood. Handmaid is decent, until the ending, as is Alias Grace. Everything else tediously bangs on about the same old same old and sets my teeth on edge.

Yes, OK, there is a bit of humour. A little bit. There isn't much else, though, as at 28%. Yawn.

Well, if you don't like it, you don't like it. I think she's a fantastic writer and I loved Stone Mattress. There's a lot of humour in her stories, which is one of the things that makes them so enjoyable. But if you're not liking it so far I wouldn't bother.

I'm 28% into my first Margaret Atwood, a book called Stone Mattress: Nine Tales. Is she always this boring? I'm on the 3rd story and am seriously depressed about this book now, because I realised there are 6 1/2 more to go It's all about old people doing old people stuff, with a modicum of fantasy thrown into a corner. The quality of writing isn't impressive, either. "He's here, forsaken by her, abandoned. In time, which fails to sustain him. In space, which fails to cradle him.". Huh?

Can anyone give me hope about the rest of this book? It's looking grim.

I loved, 'Nathaniel's Nutmeg.' His others are well worth a read too.

49. Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton

The story of the 'spice race', the often violent battle between Portugal, England, and the Netherlands for control of the spiceries of the east in the 16th and 17th centuries. It covers the history of the East India Company, the Dutch East India Company, and the bravery of Nathaniel Courthope, who held the Dutch at bay on the tiny, nutmeg-filled island of Run for nearly five years with only a handful of half-starved Englishmen and the native islanders. His determination to hold the island which had pledged allegiance to the King of England set in motion the events that led to the founding of one of the greatest cities on earth - New York.

Very interesting read. It was a brutal trade, and the account of the torture and execution of the English traders on Amboyna by the Dutch was really quite disturbing. There were massacres, sea battles, famine, and hundreds of natives sold into slavery, all centred on control of an island that is barely visible on the map.

I tried and abandoned, 'The Magnetic North.' I just couldn't get into it, which is strange considering my obsession with all things polar.

17. Bone Clocks by David Mitchell - David Mitchell is probably my favourite author, so even though this is not my favourite of his books I still found it incredibly original, exciting and almost mesmerising. He has the most incredible imagination and weaves it together into an amazing story. If you're not a fan of his then you won't like this, but if you liked Cloud Atlas or Ghostwritten then I think you will enjoy this too.

Just started All the Light we Cannot See and although I'm only 50 pages in I'm loving it so far.....

Touching the Void was the book that started me on my love of mountaineering books, I haven't read one for a while as I seemed to have read all the good ones. I loved White Spider and Into Thin Air and read most of Joe Simpson's other books. No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs was quite good too. If anyone has any other recommendations I would be very keen.

For those who like a bit of adventure combined with great writing can I please highly recommend Sara Wheeler's Terra Incognita about her travels in Antarctica. A fantastic book. I have her Arctic one (The Magnetic North) on my "to read" pile.

Great list mmack! It reminds me that I've had an unread copy of A Quiet Belief in Angels on the shelf for years.

43. In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

Elizabeth, New Jersey used to be directly under the flight path for Newark Airport and in 60 days in 1952 3 planes crashed on the city causing numerous deaths. This book looks at the impact these crashes had on a group of people living in the city at the time. It's a great premise for a book but it ends up more of a 'coming of age' novel than anything else. I did enjoy it but it was a little light.

44. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

I won't give away the twist but it's nuts. Again I did enjoy and it has some interesting bits but it didn't blow me away.

Currently reading Inferno by Keith Lowe which is about the impact of the July 1943 bombing raids on Hamburg by the Allies. About half way through but so far it's fantastic. Very very gripping.

54. The A-Z of You and Me – James Hannah

Nope, this didn’t work for me. I found it all a bit meh. The premise is good; a terminally ill man is in a hospice and his kind nurse gets him to play a game to distract himself whereby he has to name a part of the body for each letter of the alphabet and each part tells a story. These different parts link up into his back story and you find out why he has ended up in the hospital and what has happened. Some of the writing is good, but I just didn’t warm to it and it left me cold.

I have started Sophie’s World on my kindle, which I am loving so far, and A Spool of Blue Thread (library book) which is also very good IMHO.

Mmack, you have read two books so far this year which were my top two reads last year: The History of the Rain and Fahrenheit 451. Both awesome, and both about books. I also read Moon Tiger which I thought was excellent.

Book 24 The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley.

I found this one hard to get into. Foley does not shy away from telling rather than showing! Lots of explanations of back story etc.

Interesting structure in that the present day thread is told in past tense and the historical thread told in present. Nice nod to the intersection of the two.

Beautiful sense of place and setting. Romantic.

I loved Touching The Void, Remus. I think it was my first mountaineering book. Very exciting.

I have 3 books on the go at the moment. It could go any way.