50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Eleven

^ Sorry for the lack of spaces, MN doesn't like pasting from a spreadsheet :-(

Joining Eine in the 200 club. Actually 199 at the moment as one is reserved for tomorrow.

1 The xenophobes guide to the English Anthony Miall
2 Between the stops Sandi Toksvig stop the bus, let me off
3 Once gone Blake Pierce
4 The Guilty Mother Diane Jeffrey
5 The little book of hygge Meik Wiking
6 It’s too late now AA Milne too late to wish I hadn't bothered
7 The world I fell out of Melanie Reid
8 The Hunting Party Lucy Foley hunting for a decent plot?
9 Christmas at Rachel’s pudding pantry, Caroline Roberts
10 The Patron saint of lost souls Menna van Praag a must read
11 The octopus nest Sophie Hannah
12 The 50 list Nigel Holland
13 The power trip Jackie Collins
14 The lost child Patricia Gibney
15 Heads you win Jeffrey Archer
16 Titanic survivor: Life boat number 5 Pierre Beaumont
17 Sunny Side Up Susan Calman
18 Honeysuckle House Christina Jones
19 Double take tales Donna Brown
20 The deal of a lifetime Frederick Backman
21 My life in comedy Nicholas Parsons
22 Seahouses Richard Barnett
23 Little fires everywhere Celeste Ng
24 A crime short story collection Bloomsbury
25 Little girl missing JG Roberts
26 The second book of general ignorance John Lloyd (QI)
27 New Zealand calling Alex Richards
28 Swimming with orca Ingrid Visser a whale of a read
29 The sealand incident Brent Saltzman a reading incident too
30 Ka Mate Dan Coxon
31 Fresh off the boat Simon Collins
32 New Zealand James Boyle
33 The british colonisation of New Zealand Charles River
34 The laughing policeman Glenn Wood but not a laughing reader
35 Trustee from the toolroom Nevil Shute
36 The very picture of you Isabel Wolff
37 Cop Out Glenn Wood
38 The divine storyteller William McCandless
39 Swell: a water biography Jenny Landreth
40 If clouds were sheep Sue Andrews
41 The telephone box library Rachael Lucas
42 Two old fools down under Victoria Twead
43 You’ll never see me again Lesley Pearce
44 Keep calm and swim to France Mark Ransom
45 Step by step, my life in journeys Simon Reeve excellent
46 Christmas at the lucky parrot garden centre Beth Good
47 Hourly Histories American Revolution Hourly Histories
48 Squashed possums: off the beaten track in NZ Jonathan Tindale
49 All balls and glitter Craig Revel Horwood
50 The Photographer's Saga Petra Durst-Benning
51 Pulse Felix Francis
52 The Sealwoman's Gift Sally Magnussen
53 QI Book of general ignorance QI
54 The pants of perspective Anna McNuff
55 Pied Piper Nevil Shute
56 Round the bend Nevil Shute
57 The Flower Shop Petra Durst-Benning
58 Breaking Borders James Asquith
59 The corner shop in Cockleberry Bay Nicola May
60 If street lights could glow ultraviolet Katherine Highland A must read
61 The Seedwoman Petra Durst-Benning
62 Secrets at At Bride's Debbie Young
63 New Zealand: days in wonderland Mark Wallace
64 Mythos Stephen Fry
65 Hope Close Tina Seskis
66 Walking Shorts Mark Richards
67 Father, Son and the Pennine Way Mark Richards
68 A wedding at the beach hut Veronica Henry
69 The complete Uxbridge English dictionary Uxbridge English dictionary A laugh out loud read
70 Father and son return to the Pennine Way Mark Richards
71 Father, son and the Kerry Way Mark Richards
72 All that she can see Kerry Hope Fletcher
73 Travelling in a box Mike Wood
74 Two in a box Mike Wood
75 While the world is still asleep Petra Durst-Benning
76 Family life on a narrowboat Richard MacKenzie
77 Unsinkable Jane MacDonald
78 The Champagne Queen Petra Durst-Benning
79 Fierce Bad Rabbits Clare Pollard
80 Stories from the heart Amanda Prowse
81 Mr Portobellos morning paper Amanda Prowse
82 The queen of beauty Petra Durst-Benning
83 A short history of nearly everything Bill Bryson
84 Expedition Steve Backshall
85 The girl from the sea Shalini Boland
86 The perfect family Shalini Boland
87 The bookshop on the shore Jenny Colgan
88 Rough Magic Lara Prior-Palmer
89 things you will never find Daniel Smith
90 Dumped actually Nick Spalding
91 The Space Race Hourly History
92 Guilty, not guilty Felix Francis
93 Closer KL Slater
94 Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland
95 The Night you Left Emma Curtis
96 The Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife
97 Charlee and the chocolate shop Jessica Redland
98 Beyond the Lens Robert Rodriguez
99 A short history of (my town) local author
100 KIdnapping my daughter Rachel Jensen to say it's dire is to compliment
101 Beowulf, Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney
102 Forest Therapy Sarah Ivens don't bother
103 This thing of darkness Harry Thompson Have I got news for you? It's a great read
104 Queens of the Kingdom Nicola Sutcliff
105 Wham, George and Me Andrew Ridgley
106 Confessions of a Police Constable Matt Delito
107 Pad's Army Paul Addy
108 Nothing Ventured Jeffrey Archer
109 Iceberg Paul Kavanaugh
110 Further confessions of a GP Benjamin Daniels
111 Crazy Street Archie McFee Crazy waste of time
112 The Girlfriend Michelle Francis
113 A prison diary 3 Jeffrey archer
114 The other side of the coin Angela Kelly
115 The woman upstairs Ruth heard
116 In your defence Sarah Langford
117 Some kids I taught and what they taught me Kate Clanchy
118 Lessons Jenny colgan
119 years in hell Jamie Morgan Kane
120 The swimming pool years mark richards
121 Master of his fate Barbara Taylor Bradford
122 The secret mother shalini bolland
123 Rapid fire Europe Jason smart
124 Britain by the book Oliver tearle
125 The January man Christopher Somerville Compulsory reading
126 Anti-social nick pettigrew
127 Tea by the nursery fire Noel streatfield
128 Lost child ds Butler
129 A Yorkshire vet through the seasons Julian Norton
130 A home from home Veronica Henry
131 The boy in the photo Nicole Trope
132 The other daughter Shalini Boland
133 Twist in the tale Jeffrey Archer
134 Playdate Alex Dahl
135 Open Secret Stella Rimington
136 I am an island Tamsin Calidas
137 Names for the Sea Sarah Moss
138 Beethoven Hourly History
139 The other you JS Monroe
140 I am watching you Teresa Driscoll
141 The last thing she ever did Gregg Olsen
142 Three Hours Rosamund Lupton
143 That glimpse of truth david miller Better than reading the phone directory
144 A honeybee heart has 5 openings helen jukes
145 You are awful (but I like you): Travels through unloved Britain by Tim Moore tim moore
146 One million tiny plays about Britain Craig Taylor craig taylor
147 The Tangleweed Flower Shop lilac mills
148 The Tangleweed Tea Room lilac mills
149 starry skies over the chocolate pot café jessica redland
150 the difference a day makes carole matthews
151 prison diary 3 jeffrey archer
152 Behind the Smile Emma Pearson
153 Proof Dick Francis
154 Winter Holiday Arthur Ransome
155 close to where the heart gives out malcolm alexander
156 Coming home to the loch Hannah Ellis
157 Food and Drink in Swallows and Amazons Robin Selby
158 The Secret GP Max Skittle
159 Blue Girl Emma Gracie
160 The bookshop of hopes and dreams Hannah Ellis
161 Christmas at the farmhouse Rebecca Boxall
162 End to end cycle route - lejog Royston Wood
163 Just a few bumps Emily Nash
164 Last Xmas Greg Wise
165 Diving in Katherine May
166 Making waves Katherine May
167 Undertow Katherine May
168 New class at malory towers Enid Blyton
169 Just passing through Mary-Jane Houlton
170 Confessions of a teacher Jane Saloman Her attitude is horrendous
171 Zikora Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
172 Freddie mercury in his own words You can tell it's his own words
173 Two chalet girls in India racist twaddle
174 What have we got toulouse Nikki McArthur
175 Dare I weep, dare I mourn John Le Carre content warning. a good book
176 The Crossing The Crossing
177 Confessions of a male nurse Michael Alexander
178 Christmas wishes on Sunflower Street Rachel Griffith
179 The christmas break up club Luci Beach
180 Confessions of a school nurse Michael Alexander
181 The Christmas List Chrissie Manby
182 Against all Odds: How Margaret Thatcher won the 1975 Tory leadership election Stephen Robinson surprisingly good
183 Nuts at Christmas Simon Northouse laugh out loud
184 The Empire of Light: and other short stories Adela Steventon
185 Summer days on sunflower street Rachel Griffith
186 Christmas calamity at the vicarage Emma Organ
187 Autumn on sunflower street Rachel Griffith
188 Merry Bloody Christmas Ellie Scott
189 The beach cabin Fern Britton
190 The Other Son Nick Alexander
191 The cosy castle on the loch Alice Ross
192 Coming home again Chang-rae Lee
193 Christmas spirit Nicola May made me cry. Recommended
194 Stephen Hawkings interview Stephen Hawkings interview
195 Leaving home: short pieces Jodi Picoult
196 Ian fleming interview fleming interview
197 Intimations Zadie Smith
198 Confessions of a NY taxi driver Eugene Saloman
199 The lockdown diary Spencer Brown timely and funny
200 The new years eve shorts Mimi barbour

Where's @SatsukiKusakabe gone anyone?

Those were books 85 to 91, by the way - more reviews to come when I've fortified myself with a cup of tea and a mince pie.

Terpsichore, that Pen Vogler book has gone straight to the top of my TBR list (well, second place, after a history of biscuits ). Food history is a very big interest of mine, so 800 pages about the history of food, eating and cooking is very much my cup of tea (ho ho). In fact, I'm currently listening to the audiobook of The Hungry Empire in small chunks, which is about the relationship between common British foodstuffs and Britain's colonial history.

Wow, there's been a real spurt of reading action at the end of this year - maybe a consequence of so many people being put into tier 4/unable to see family? I know I've been reading more than usual just to avoid the squabbling from the DCs...

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reviews, Keith - I really enjoyed reading them!

Thank you also to southeastdweller for keeping these threads going all year (and for heeding our pleas for a final 2020 one - I've got lots of reviews to catch up on and would feel weird putting them on a 2021 thread!)

I'm now on books 95 and 96 (and am wondering whether I can push through to 100 with a bit of judicious children's book reading, or whether this is a futile goal and I'm only cheating myself ) so I'm going to update in batches as I can't face doing all of the reviews at once.

The Carer by Deborah Moggach
Enjoyably tart book about two late middle-aged siblings whose lives are turned upside-down when their father gets a new live-in carer. At first, Robert and Phoebe see Mandy as a complete “treasure” – yes, she’s a bit “common”, but she seems devoted and enthusiastic about her work and they are relieved that they can pay her to do the caring that they don’t want to/can’t do themselves. But their father (an octogenarian professor emeritus of particle physics) seems to be changing oddly under Mandy’s influence, and the siblings start to wonder if all is as it seems… Things come to a head halfway through the book (not in the way that I’d expected!) and all sorts of things come out of the woodwork; the second half of the book examines the fall-out and the events leading up to it from various perspectives. I’d assumed this was going to be a Sophie Hannah-style thriller with a devious “twist” but it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, Moggach casts a rather beady eye on family relationships (between parents and children, between siblings, and between spouses), on ageing, and on the interplay between money, intelligence, success and opportunity. The characters are realistically unlikeable at times and, although there’s a certain amount of social satire going on, there isn’t a lot of flab either. I enjoyed this a lot!

The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday
Competent police procedural that I bought in a charity shop last January and have been saving up for Christmas this year. A serial killer (referred to for most of the book as “The Photographer”) sends a grisly advent calendar to the local CID; behind most of the doors is a photograph of a crime scene from an unsolved murder, which only the killer could have taken. Needless to say, there is also an elaborate code involved, linking dates, locations and numbered doors on the calendar. Can the police catch the killer before the last few empty doors are filled? (Yes, of course they can.) There was nothing earth-shattering about this book, but the writing was not terrible and the exploration of the characters’ back stories raised it above many other pot-boilers of this type.

The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton
A childhood favourite that I haven’t read for ages, which was brought to mind recently by a conversation with DD (and I see that ChessieFL also read it very recently). I was fretting that it wouldn’t live up to my memories of it, but I needn’t have worried – it was wonderful . The four Kitson children live with their widowed father Ralph; the oldest daughter, Anne (who prefers to be known as “Annaple” because she has romantic notions) is being wooed by the wealthy young merchant Francis Vere, but won’t have him because she feels that he is too prosaic. The younger three children conspire to get Annaple married off (partly because they’ve had enough of her terrible cooking), and egg Francis on to think of more and more ludicrously romantic gifts to present to Annaple on each of the twelve days of Christmas.

Like a lot of my favourite books from childhood (it was first published in 1974, and I would have read it in the mid-1980s), it involves a historical setting – weirdly, this is never mentioned explicitly, but judging from Shirley Hughes’ illustrations, I reckon it’s some time in the second half of the 17th century. The setting, the understated period details and the spare but evocative language all meant that this was a magical read for me – like The Children of Green Knowe and The Dark is Rising, both of which I’ve also just re-read. Like those books, it is really wonderful at evoking atmosphere – each of the chapters is titled with the relevant feast for that day (so not just St Stephen’s Day, but also Churching Day, Adam’s Day, Eve’s Day and Dancing Day). The celebrations and carols for that day frame the action, and give a real sense of Christmastide as a time for communal celebration rather than just personal feasting/present acquisition or sickly “family time” as modern books tend to emphasise. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to re-read this (probably because it was in a box under my bed until a couple of months ago ) but it’s definitely going to be a regular re-read from now on!

Dead Famous by Greg Jenner
I started this months ago and then got bogged down and distracted by other books. Once I’d got going again, I flew through it! It’s an entertaining but fundamentally serious-minded look at the history of celebrity: when did we start to have “celebrities”, what is the difference between “celebrity”, “fame” and “notoriety”, and how did people become (and stay) famous in the past? There are loads of colourful and entertaining anecdotes, as you would expect, but there is also a serious attempt to grapple with cultural theory and to put it in its proper context (as the historical consultant for Horrible Histories, I reckon Greg Jenner is probably uniquely suited to this job). Chapters cover the routes to stardom, money, celebrity bodies and merchandise, and everything is meticulously referenced (he mentions in the epilogue that it took him 6 years and 1.4 million words of notes to put this book together, and I believe it – it even spills over onto his website!). Among the more obvious suspects like Byron, Lizst and WG Grace, you get to find out about the now-forgotten stars of their age, like the firebrand Tory clergyman Henry Sacheverell (arguably the first modern “celebrity”), the sultry dancer Cléo de Mérode (whose affair with King Leopold of Belgium led to the brilliant portmanteau nickname Cléopold, and whose fans were creepily obsessed with her ears), the “divine Master Betty” (a Regency child star who was a cross between Shirley Temple and The Beatles), and, er, Clara the Rhino (who was the hottest star to tour 1740s Europe).

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Haven’t read this for years, but it was a lovely way to spend Christmas/Boxing Day (I listened to the Hugh Grant version that Audible are giving away free at the moment). I’d forgotten how funny some of it is!

Grimble and Grimble at Christmas by Clement Freud
Another book I haven’t read for at least 20 years! Grimble is a boy of about 10 (“You may think it is silly to say someone is about ten, but Grimble had rather odd parents who were very vague and seldom got anything completely right”). This book is really two long short-stories put together. In the first, Grimble comes home from school one Monday to find an empty house; his parents have left a globe with two flags stuck in it, one in England (saying “GRIMBLE”) and one in Peru (saying “US”). Further notes around the house (his parents like leaving cryptic and sometimes trolling notes around the house) suggest five different people he can call on while they are away, from Colonel Featherstone to the station master. Each day, he calls on a different person, only to find that they are also mysteriously out and have left him notes with instructions on how to make dinner. In this way, he manages to spend the time until his parents return. The second half is about Grimble’s attempts to earn enough money for a “proper” Christmas because he thinks that his parents will be too forgetful/disorganised to do it themselves (not quite as sad or neglectful as that makes it sound!).

The book is illustrated by Quentin Blake, and is a bizarre mixture of surreal humour and cookery advice (Clement Freud was both a food writer and an MP when he wrote this book) that was right up my street. To give you a flavour of it: [Grimble’s parents have sent him a telegram saying “THINKING ABOUT YOU. MESSAGE IN THE IRONING CUPBOARD. DON’T FORGET TEETH. LOVE FATHER AND MOTHER.”]

“He went up to the ironing cupboard, rummaged about a bit among the clothes, and finally in the pocket of his bathing trunks he found the message. It was written in green ink on a large squashed-fly biscuit and said, DO NOT EAT THIS BISCUIT BECAUSE EATING GREEN INK IS BAD FOR YOU. LOVE FATHER AND MOTHER. ‘If that is a grown-up joke I am glad I am a child,’ though Grimble, brushed his teeth angrily, and looked at the list of people his parents had told him to go and see if he needed anything.”

Ruth's First Christmas Tree by Elly Griffiths
I downloaded this 6 months ago as a Kindle freebie and this seemed as good a time as any to read it. It’s a short story that is number 4.5 in the series, going between A Room Full of Bones and A Dying Fall (indeed, there’s a long excerpt from the latter at the end of this book). It was weird going back so far in the series now that I’m on book 12 and a lot has happened in Ruth’s turbulent love/professional/crime-fighting life! The story itself is pretty short but sweet – not the most enthralling mystery (in fact there are a couple of loose ends left untied) but a nice, easy, atmospheric read for fans of the series.

Thanks for the new thread southeast.

I’ll update properly tomorrow.
Right now I’m in the middle of The Meg (a giant rampaging killer shark is on the loose), so that’s either going to be the final book of 2020 or the first one on my 2021 list.

I’ve just started reading the Ruth Ware one Bestiswest. I’m about 10% in and enjoying it so far.

71. Vet in a Spin by James Herriot. As above.

72. Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves. More Vera, more crime.

73. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.

Three different American women's experiences in WWII. Usually I dislike novels that recount three different women's experiences, however these women are all interesting individuals. One is a journalist broadcasting updates on the war from London to the US, another is the postmistress of a small Cape Cod town, responsible for letters and telegrams and so the first recipient of any bad news reaching her friends and neighbours, and the third is the lonely young wife of the local doctor, left in limbo after he has felt compelled to join up and fight.
So far, so well-written, and the postmistress in particular is an intriguing and well-drawn character. However, there are some glaring mistakes which scream to the reader and completely spoil the book. If it seems reasonable to you that Frankie, the journalist, jumps on a train, crosses the Channel and continues by train to Berlin at the height of the war, in total safety, just to check a few things, knock yourself out with this book.
In an otherwise readable and emotionally perceptive novel, this is ridiculous - what happened to rigorous editing? Or any basic knowledge of wartime conditions at all ..

It genuinely isn't worth finishing Cludgie an ending that is obviously meant to be profound and just isn't.

Thanks for the new thread southeast.

Eine I've made several attempts this year to finish The Starless Sea, I've had it in library ebook format so it's been returned a few times as I've not been invested enough to complete it. I find it difficult to DNF books so not given up on it yet but agree, its definitely no Night Circus!

Thanks Cake and Best but I've just spotted my own French error and I will be fuming with the embarrassment for at least four days...

Type A personality Ahoy.

Ooh thank you @highlandcoo I've been meaning to read Restoration for years, I'll have to get onto it in 2021

This has been on my Wishlist for ages.

Sniggering at your one-liners Eine. Especially liked

Darwin. A boat. Like this book or vacate this thread

Thanks, Keith. I'll check those out.

Thanks, South. Wake me up when all the lists are over!

Thank you for the extra bonus thread SouthEast. I can see this is going to be bumping up my 2021 TBR list - I've already added Reading Lolita in Tehran and now need to read the rest of the thread!

Laughing at your Anais Nin review EineReise

@bettbattenburg I found this with Swing Time too, the only other Zadie Smith novel I have read - very well written but didn't grab me. I think her long form essays and articles for the New Yorker and other such sites are her best work

@Boiledeggandtoast Thank you, I was able to focus on non-fiction better than fiction this year so ended up with a more eclectic and science-y list than usual

I can't wait to read Hidden Valley Road now - it's on my kindle and so many here have mentioned it. Have also downloaded Old Baggage and Another day in the death of America and have put Piranesi and Hamnet on the list

I made a mistake in Standouts on last thread.

Standouts Fiction :

Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders

A greek chorus of ghosts witness Abraham Lincoln's grief for his son

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

A young woman is sent to her Aunt and Uncle's creepy pub to live. Smuggling capers.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

A family feels cursed by a stolen jewel

Small Island by Andrea Levy

Looking at the racism experience of the Windrush generation

Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Achede

Twin sisters lives go in very different directions during the Biafran war

All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Unforgettable account of German troops in WW1.

Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott

A fictionalised biography of Truman Capote

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

A woman re-examines her relationship with a teacher in the Me Too era

American Dirt by Jeanine Cumins

A woman tries to escape Mexico with her son after becoming the target of a drug cartel

This Thing Of Darkness by Harry Thompson

Darwin. A boat. Like this book or vacate this thread.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

4 friends face multiple tragedies

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A singer with the IT Factor gives a band that Je Ne Suis Quoi. Ate it like fast food. Still aggravated by the last sentence NO RACHEL THEY OWE YOU NOTHING YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED SIT THE FUCK DOWN

The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugoby Taylor Jenkins Reid

A young woman is asked to interview an aging enigmatic film star.

Before The Coffee Gets Cold/Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A tiny Japanese coffee shop has time travel powers.

The Guest Cat by Takeshi Hirade

A couple become overly attached to their neighbours cat

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

A woman becomes a vegetarian. Mayhem ensues. Amazing frankly.

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans

Mattie, a former suffragette, tries to find meaning in her life

Circe by Madeleine Miller

Greek myths and legends. Beautifully written

Lanny by Max Porter

A precocious small child causes his parents concern.

Non Fiction :

Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Enlightening and topical about racial construct issues of the UK

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

A large US family receives multiple diagnoses of schizophrenia devastating a generation.

Love Child by Allegra Huston

Allegra, sister of Anjelica, is raised by the film director John Huston unaware she is the love child of her mother a ballerina and a British viscount.

Catch And Kill by Ronan Farrow

Journalist Farrow attempts to expose Harvey Weinstein and finds himself under surveillance.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

I am the AL-EX-AND- he are/we are meant to be a colony that runs independently, meanwhile Britain keeps shittin' on us endlessly

Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner

Memoir of Princess Margaret's best friend who had a full life of her own.

A Woman Of No Importance by Sonia Purnell

Biography of Virginia Hall an unsung WW2 spy.

Kick by Paula Byrne

Biography of John F Kennedy's sister Kathleen

Long Walk To Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Self explanatory

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

The link between physical unwellness and mental health

Another Day In The Death Of America by Gary Younge

A 24 hour picture of underage gun deaths

Rough Magic by Lara Prior Palmer

A young woman participates in the worlds hardest horse race.

First Lady by Sonia Purnell

Biography of Clementine Churchill

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine

Authors memoir of her life in music

Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey

A trumpet sound from Britain's overlooked underclass

Mrs Jordan's Profession by Clare Tomalin

A biography of Dora Jordan, King William IV mistress

Noble Savages by Sarah Watling

Biography of the Olivier sisters

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Autobiographic perfection

No Place To Hide by Glenn Greenwald

The Snowden Whistleblowing Affair

Mindfuck by Christopher Wylie

The scary truth about Cambridge Analytica

To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine

A deep and affecting look at her parents marriage.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

Self explanatory

Walking With Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne

Gorgeously Written Memoir

The 💩💩💩💩 List

The Gift Of Fear by Gavin De Becker

Should be retitled The Gift Of Rape Apology

Written In History by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Money for old rope.

Delta Of Venus by Anais Nin

Nauseating. As erotic as sandpaper to the arse.

IT by Stephen King

1000 pages of annoying people, low scare rate, rampant homophobia and racism

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

A pretentious, baffling and half baked novel, which is frankly a devastation coming from The Night Circus writer

I attempted a quick raid on the last thread with my final book for 2020, but got there too late, so:

104: Scoff - Pen Vogler

Enjoyable, fact-packed goldmine of a book about the history of food, cooking and eating. Very long - over 800 pages on my BorrowBox library copy - but organised in quite short chapters, so you can pick it up and delve at leisure. It’s also bang up to date, referencing COVID lockdowns, flour and yeast shortages (and Mumsnet!). Anyone who’s keen on food or social/domestic history would appreciate this.

I’ll come back later with some 2020 stats - though not my whole list, as some will be relieved to hear But I’m pleasantly surprised to have reached, and just edged past, 100.

Thread 11? Wow.

Nothing new to add but already spent money on the basis of this thread and bought the ski chalet Ruth Ware book.
Never been skiing and not likely to either (tendency to break bones) but always entertained a fantasy of hurtling down slopes and drinking hot chocolate.

Betts it was Stitches who recommended it earlier this year that put it on my radar. I know others have read and enjoyed it too. Is book crossing still a thing? I used to worry they would just get binned if they weren't claimed.

Book club this year are having an extended reading list with 12 themes which we can dip into throughout the year if the book of the month doesn't appeal. I've had a lovely time putting together suggestion shelves for each theme and have been researching best of x theme lists. I can't wait to see which others get added and which books get chosen for each one. We're trying to improve the quality of what we read as there have been some stinkers this year and it's very thriller heavy from the turn taking selections.

Aaargh I hadn't finished!!! Trying again

Well 😂

This unexpected extra thread will allow me to shamelessly revel, so here we go :

The Full 200 :

BOOKS 2020

1. Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
2. Vox by Christina Dalcher
3. In Evil Hour by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. Spasm by Lauren Slater
5. Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
6. Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders
7. Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson
8. Lion by Saroo Brierley
9. Tony And Susan by Austin Wright

10. The Purveyor Of Enchantment by Marika Cobbold 11. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier 12. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnett 13. Friendly Fire by Patrick Gale 14. The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 15. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng 16. The Girl With All The Gifts by MR Carey 17. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 18. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth 19. Touch by Claire North 20. A Year Of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman 21. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 22. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth 23. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 24. Small Island by Andrea Levy 25. Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper 26. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff 27. Ayoade On Top by Richard Ayoade 28. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman 29. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman 30. Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge 31. My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite 32. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 33. The Wings Of The Dove by Henry James 34. The Mirror And The Light by Hilary Mantel 35. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 36. The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 37. The Five by Hallie Rubenhold 38. Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 39. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers 40. The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 41. Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker 42. The Gift Of Fear by Gavin de Becker 43. Capital by John Lanchester 44. Love Child by Allegra Huston 45. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss 46. All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 47. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 48. Little by Edward Carey 49. Lost Girls by Robert Kolker 50. Becoming by Michelle Obama 51. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman 52. Normal People by Sally Rooney 53. Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor 54. Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow 55. The Rainbow Comes And Goes by Diana Cooper 56. The Light Of Common Day by Diana Cooper 57. Trumpets From The Steep by Diana Cooper 58. Nod by Adrian Barnes 59. Derby Day by DJ Taylor 60. The Power by Naomi Alderman 61. Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld 62. The Memory Of Love by Aminatta Forna 63. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini 64. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow 65. Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner 66. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 67. The Psychology Of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas 68. Queen Bees by Sian Evans 69. A Woman Of No Importance by Sonia Purnell 70. Disobedience by Naomi Alderman 71. Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce 72. Kick by Paula Byrne 73. The Dry by Jane Harper 74. Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller 75. Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott 76. This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone 77. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell 78. The Other Half Of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen 79. Long Walk To Freedom by Nelson Mandela 80. American Dirt by Jeanine Cumins 81. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters 82. Corpus Christi by Bret Anthony Johnston 83. The Coincidence Authority by John Ironmonger 84. Permanent Record by Edward Snowden 85. The Lost Art Of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice 86. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things by JT LeRoy 87. The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk 88. Stasiland by Anna Funder 89. Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid 90. The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler 91. The Wall by John Lanchester 92. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 93. Another Day In The Death Of America by Gary Younge 94. Written In History by Simon Sebag Montefiore 95. Queen Mab by Kate Danley 96. The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock 97. Caging Skies by Christine Leunens 98. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 99. Milkman by Anna Burns 100. Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield 101. This Thing Of Darkness by Harry Thompson 102. Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer 103. Churchill : Walking With Destiny by Andrew Roberts 104. First Lady by Sonia Purnell 105. Don’t Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller 106. Court Number One : The Trials That Shook The Old Bailey by Thomas Grant 107. Helter Skelter : The True Story Of The Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry 108. Gotta Get Theroux This by Louis Theroux 109. A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn 110. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara 111. Quartet In Autumn by Barbara Pym 112. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright 113. Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine 114. No One Writes To The Colonel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 115. The Ratline by Philippe Sands 116. Delta Of Venus by Anais Nin 117. The Bitter Glass by Eilis Dillon 118. The Inheritance Of Loss by Kiran Desai 119. The Professors House by Willa Cather 120. IT by Stephen King 121. Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid 122. Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote 123. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy 124. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance 125. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie 126. The Kennedy Curse by James Patterson and Cynthia Fagan 127. Transcription by Kate Atkinson 128. Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession 129. Dune by Frank Herbert 130. Armada by Ernest Cline 131. Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey 132. Instrumental by James Rhodes 133. The Binding by Bridget Collins 134. Us by David Nicholls 135. A Story Lately Told by Anjelica Huston 136. Watch Me by Anjelica Huston 137. Mrs Jordan’s Profession by Claire Tomalin 138. Noble Savages by Sarah Watling 139. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo 140. Mexican Gothic by Silvio Moreno-Garcia 141. The Alienist by Caleb Carr 142. The Angel Of Darkness by Caleb Carr 143. Mongol by Uuganaa Ramsay 144. Wild Swans by Jung Chang 145. Just Kids by Patti Smith 146. To War With The Walkers by Annabel Venning 147. No Place To Hide by Glenn Greenwald 148. Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson 149. Heartburn by Nora Ephron 150. A History Of Britain Vol 1 : 3000 BC-1600 AD by Simon Schama 151. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 152. Corregidora by Gayl Jones 153. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith 154. One On One by Craig Brown 155. Pale Rider by Laura Spinney 156. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson 157. Unnatural Causes by Richard Shephard 158. Trustee From The Toolroom by Nevile Shute 159. The Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas Harris 160. Mindfuck by Christopher Wylie 161. To Throw Away Unopened by Viv Albertine 162. Quite by Claudia Winkleman 163. The Power Of The Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy 164. The Crown In Crisis by Alexander Lerman 165. Devolution by Max Brooks 166. Putin’s People by Catherine Belton 167. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 168. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 169. Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 170. Daddy by Emma Cline 171. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide 172. The Peculiar Life Of A Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault 173. Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore 174. The Postman’s Fiancee by Denis Thériault 175. The Vegetarian by Han Kang 176. Before The Coffee Gets Cold : Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 177. The Queens Gambit by Walter Tevis 178. I Will Not Grow Downward by Yikealo Neab 179. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 180. Old Baggage by Lissa Evans 181. Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans 182. A Promised Land by Barack Obama 183. V For Victory by Lissa Evans 184. Anyone For Edmund? By Simon Edge 185. The Diary Of A Provincial Lady by E.M Delafield 186. Not The End Of The World by Kate Atkinson 187. The Order Of Time by Carlo Rovelli 188. Modern Love ed. Daniel Jones 189. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 190. Reaching Down The Rabbit Hole by Allan Ropper 191. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey 192. Walking With Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne 193. Affinity by Sarah Waters 194. Foundation by Isaac Asimov 195. Jack by Marilynne Robinson 196. Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk 197. Circe by Madeleine Miller 198. Relentless by Wudasie Nygazi 199. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 200. Lanny by Max Porter

I made a mistake in Standouts on last threa

Standouts Fiction :

Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Achede
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
American Dirt by Jeanine Cumins
This Thing Of Darkness by Harry Thompson
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Before The Coffee Gets Cold/Tales From The Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The Guest Cat by Takeshi Hirade
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Old Baggage by Lissa Evans
Circe by Madeleine Miller
Lanny by Max Porter

Non Fiction :

Why I'm Not Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Enlightening and topical about racial construct issues of the UK

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

A large US family receives multiple diagnoses of schizophrenia devastating a generation.

Love Child by Allegra Huston

Allegra, sister of Anjelica, is raised by the film director John Huston unaware
Catch And Kill by Ronan Farrow
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner
A Woman Of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
Kick by Paula Byrne

Thanks for new thread.

294. Murder At The Gorge by Frances Evesham

Latest in the series, pretty average really.

Hoping there will be one more to get my number to a nice round 295!