50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Seven

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2018, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, and the sixth one here.

Thanks southeast ! :)

Thank you Southeast

Thanks for the new thread, southeast

I've found my copy of The Pumpkin Eater so all is well

Thanks southeast! Here's my list so far:

1. White Teeth - Zadie Smith
2. According to Mark - Penelope Lively
3. Conversations With Friends - Sally Rooney
4. Grief is the Thing With Feathers - Max Porter
5. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
6. The Game Theorist's Guide to Parenting - Kevin Zollman and Paul Raeburn
7. Out of Time - Miranda Sawyer
8. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
9. Gut Symmetries - Jeanette Winterson

10. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury 11. Born A Crime - Trevor Noah 12. The Silence Between Breaths - Cath Staincliffe 13. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing - Eimear McBride 14. Shadowlands: The True Story of C.S.Lewis and Joy Davidman - Brian Sibley 15. The Pedant in the Kitchen - Julian Barnes 16. City of Friends - Joanna Trollope 17. The Position - Meg Wolitzer 18. A History of Britain in 21 Women - Jenni Murray 19. With the End in Mind - Kathryn Mannix 20. I Am, I Am, I Am - Maggie O'Farrell 21. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan 22. Bookworm: a Memoir of Childhood Reading - Lucy Mangan 23. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes 24. Burial Rites - Hannah Kent 25. The End We Start From - Megan Hunter 26. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart 27. The Book of Memory - Petina Gappah 28. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock - Imogen Hermes Gowar 29. The Story of a Marriage - Geir Gulliksen 30. Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan 31. Educated - Tara Westover 32. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng 33. Another Day in the Death of America - Gary Younge 34. Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiny 35. The Heart Goes Last - Margaret Atwood 36. The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes - Janet Malcolm

This is my list so far:

1. Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett
2. Hotel by Joanna Walsh.
3. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
4. Rise Up Women by Diane Atkinson
5. Dog is My Co-pilot
6. Art, Sex, Music by Cosey Fanni Tutti
7. White Girls by Hilton Als
8. Age of Anger by Pankaj Mishra
9. Ingrid Caven by Jean-Jacques Schuhl
10. History by Elsa Morante
11. Lost Japan by Alex Kerr
12. Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: an American lyric by Claudia Rankine
13. Crewe Train by Rose Macauley
14. Territory of Light by Yoko Tshushima
15. Carrington’s Letters edited by Anne Chisholm
16. Insel by Mina Loy
17. The Farm in the Green Mountains by Alice Hurdan-Zuckmeye
18. Molesworth by Geoffrey Willins and Ronald Searle
19. Miss Mole by E.H. Young
20. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
21. Kudos by Rachel Cusk
22. Eliza by Barry Pain
23. Gigli by Irmgard Keun
24. Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum
25. Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics during World War II by F.J. Griffin
26. The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan
27. The Europeans by Henry James
28. Free Woman: Life, Liberation and Doris Lessing by Lara Feigel
29. What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
30. Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry
31. The Owl Service by Alan Garner
32. Let Me Alone by Anna Kavan
33. No Place to Lay One’s Head by Francoise Frankel
34. Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
35. Things I Don’t Want to Know by Deborah Levy
36. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
37. Citizen by Claudia Rankine
38. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
39. The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories by Joan Aiken
40. Death in Ten Minutes by Fern Riddell
41. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
42. The Ministry of Pain by Dubravka Ugresic
43. The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Genocide by Azeem Ibrahim
44. Other People’s Houses by Lore Segal
45. Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Leger
46. The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown
47. All the Devils are Here by David Seabrook
48. Four Day’s Wonder by A.A. Milne
49. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
50. More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
51. .Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
52. .Babycakes by Armistead Maupin
53. .Significant Others by Armistead Maupin
54. Sure of You by Armistead Maupin
55. Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin
56. Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
57. The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin
58. No Turning Back: Life, Loss and Hope in Wartime Syria by Rania Abouzeid
59. Motherhood by Sheila Heti
60. Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki
61. Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
62. . To be a machine: Adventures among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers and the Futurists solving the modest problem of death by Mark O’Connell
63. The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
64. Modernists and Mavericks: Bacon, Freud, Hockney & the London Painters by Martin Gayford
65. The Crossway by Guy Stagg
66. How Democracy Ends by David Runciman
67. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
68. Never Anyone but You by Rupert Thomson
69. Everywoman by Jess Phillips

Not sure why two of the Maupin's are not in bold, keep reformatting but still doesn't take.

Bringing over my list:

1. Sirens - Joseph Knox
2. Winter - Ali Smith
3. Diary of an Ordinary Housewife - Margaret Forster
4. But You Did Not Come Back - Marceline Loridan-Ivens
5. The Dry - Jane Harper
6. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
7. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
8. How to Be Champion - Sarah Millican
9. A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House - Shoukei Matsumoto

10. Inside the Wave - Helen Dunmore 11. Postcards From the Edge - Carrie Fisher 12. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell 13. Exit West - Mohsin Hamid 14. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White… - Reni Eddo-Lodge 15. Women & Power - Mary Beard 16. First Love - Gwendoline Riley 17. The Gender Games - Juno Dawson 18. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro 19. The Good Immigrant - Various 20. Simon vs. The Homesapiens Agenda - Becky Albaertalli 21. Straight Jacket - Matthew Todd 22. Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders 23. Reservoir 13 - Jon McGregor 24. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real…- Johann Hari 25. Bookworm - Lucy Mangan 26. When Will There Be Bad News? - Kate Atkinson 27. In Therapy - Susie Orbach 28. Black Dogs - Ian McEwan 29. Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson 30. Tin Man - Sarah Winman 31. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng 32. Notes on a Nervous Planet - Matt Haig 33. Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret - Craig Brown 34. The Pedant in the Kitchen - Julian Barnes 35. The Blue Touch Paper - David Hare

Have a nice long train journey tomorrow so will start the 700 page doorstopper The Heart's Invisible Furies.

Thanks for the new thread - just checking in. Got a long train journey to London on holidays in a couple of days, so looking forwards to catching up on a bit of reading / audiobooks :)

Piggy you made me with "Some long conversations about industrial relations that I skimmed" - for me the main joy of Mrs Gaskell is all the social / economic history (but then I like Shirley mainly for the Luddites...)

And Scribbly, I think you're being a bit unfair comparing your modern reading to Vanity Fair, surely one of the great novels of all time. Now if we could wait 150/200 years, and see what modern books are still being read then...

Sorry sadi ! I did find its political leanings quite refreshing after Austen but it all got a bit much. Did like the riot bit though :)

I read a really interesting biography of Mrs Gaskell a while back - her life sounded very full (not to say exhausting) - and her eternal struggles with deadlines exactly like all the modern day authors/writers I know (especially those with dc). Sadly I can't remember who it was by, and it was before I joined these threads & started keeping a note of my reading.

Thanks for the thread SouthEast :)

Still on holiday and powering through number 33, the extremely enjoyable Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman by the irrepressible and brilliant physicist Richard Feynman.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast.
Moving my list and will then update on the last few book separately
1. Golden Hill - Francis Spufford

1. How to measure a cow - Margaret Forster

3. 21 women who made British History - Jenni Murray. 4. Home Going - Yaa Gyasi 5. The reader on the 6.27 - Jean- Paul Didierlaurent

1. Fire and Fury - Inside the Trump White House - Michael Wolff

7. Sugar Money - Jane Harris 8. Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

1. The Book of Eleanor - Pamela Kaufman

10. The Victoria Letters - The Heart and Mind of a Young Queen - Helen Rappaport 11. A place called Winter - Patrick Gale 12. Fingers in the Sparkle Jar - Chris Packham 13. Amy and Isabelle - Elizabeth Strout 14. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson 15. Brooklyn - Colm Tóibín 16. Night waking - Sarah Moss 17. How to stop Brexit - Nick Clegg 18. Life after Life - Kate Atkinson 19. A thousand acres - Jane Smiley 20. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson 21. Birdcage Walk - Helen Dunmore 22. All quiet on the western front - Erich Maria Remarque 23. Gut Symmetries - Jeanette Winterson 24. Fall down 7 times get up 8 - Naoki Higashida 25. The girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson 26. Priestdaddy - Patricia Lockwood 27. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock - Imogen Hermes Gowar 28. The more you ignore me - Jo Brand 29. The Reservoir Tapes - Jon McGregor 30. The bone clocks - David Mitchell 31. Unless - Carol Shields 32. The Co-op’s got bananas- Hunter Davies 33. The Witch Finder’s Sister - Beth Underdown 34. Burial Rites - Hannah Kent 35. A Very English Scandal - John Preston 36. Jane Austen at Home - Lucy Worsley 37. When you disappeared - John Marrs 38. The Wolf Border - Sarah Hall 39. Moon Tiger- Penelope Lively 40. Sacrilege - S J Parris 41. Perfect - Rachel Joyce 42. The night rainbow- Claire King 43. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks 44. The passion - Jeanette Winters 45. Lady of the English - Elizabeth Chadwick 46. Behind the scenes at the museum- Kate Atkinson 47. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman 48. Sing, unburied, sing - Jesmyn Ward 49. When I hit you : Or, Portrait of The Writer as a Young Wife - Meena Kandasamy 50. Three things about Elsie- Joanna Cannon. 51. Amsterdam- Ian McEwan 52. Nelly Dean - Alison Case 53. A Boy in Winter - Rachel Seiffert 54. A life in the day - Hunter Davies 55. A hero for high times: A younger readers' guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956 - 1994 by Ian Marchant. 56. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness - Arundhati Roy 57. Educated - Tara Westover 58. White Houses - Amy Bloom 59. Plot 29 - Allan Jenkins 60. Uniquely Human: A different way of seeing Autism - Dr Barry M. Prizant with Tom Fields-Meyer 61. My name is Leon - Kit De Waal 62. The Trick to Time - Kit De Waal 63. wildflower Hill - Kimberly Freeman 64. Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders 65. Enigma - Robert Harris 66. Victorians Undone- Kathryn Hughes 67. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng 68. This thing of Darkness- Harry Thompson 69. Jane Seymour : the haunted Queen - Alison Weir 70. Sight - Jessie Greengrass 71. This is going to hurt- Adam Kay 72. I am, I am, I am - Maggie O’Farrell 73. The Ghost - Robert Harris 74. The Silent Companions - Laura Purcell 75. Women and Power - Mary Beard 76. Bluebird, Bluebird - Attica Locke 77. In the days of rain- Rebecca Stott 78. Reader, I married him - Edited by Tracy Chevalier 79. The wicked cometh - Laura Carlin 80. the year of magical thinking - Joan Didion 81. The shell seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher 82. The end we start from - Megan Hunter 83. The children’s act - Ian McEwan** 84. These is my words: The diary of Sarah Agnes Prine 1881 - 1901. - Nancy E. Turner 85. The Gathering - Anne Enright 86. The Child - Fiona Barton 87. From the heart- Susan Hill 88. Commonwealth- Ann Patchett 89. The Djinn in the nightingales Eye- A.S.Byatt 90. An equal stillness - Francesca Kay 91. I am Pilgrim - Terry Hayes 92. The final solution- Michael Chabon 93. Fell - Jenn Ashworth 94. Hillbilly Elegy : A memoir of a family and culture in crisis- JD Vance 95. Conclave- Robert Harris 96. fat Chance - Nick Spalding 97. Case Histories - Kate Atkinson 98. One good turn - Kate Atkinson 99. When will there be good news? - Kate Atkinson 100. The Explosive child - Ross W Greene 101. Started early, took my dog - Kate Atkinson 102. The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout 103. Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiny 104. Ma’am Darling - Craig Brown 105. Why I am no longer talking to white people about race - Reni Eddo- Lodge

Cheers South! List so far:

1. The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale
2. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
3. The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry

4. What A Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe

1. Death in the Clouds but Agatha Christie
2. The Road Home by Rose Tremain

7. 21st Century Yokel by Tom Cox

1. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
2. Murder At The Vicarage by Agatha Christie

10. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 11. Bad Science by Ben Goldacre 12. Keep on Keeping On by Alan Bennett 13. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon 14. The Witch Finder's Sister by Beth Underdown 15. The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster 16. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier 17. The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory 18. Conclave by Robert Harris 19. The Girl on the Landing by Paul Torday 20. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 21. A Very English Scandal by John Preston 22. The Devil in The Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson. 23. London Under by Peter Ackroyd 24. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie 25. Lullaby by Leila Slimani 26. Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes 27. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor 28. Left Bank by Kate Muir 29. Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton 30. Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie 31. Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott 32. The Party by Elizabeth Day 33. This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay

Marking my place. Thank you for the shiny new thread

Ahh!! Annoyingly the bolding has completely messed up on that list!! No idea why!!
And I have managed to post this on the old thread!! So apologises if you have to endure it twice.
Have been away for a week or so with intermittent WiFi. Taking advantage of a quiet afternoon to update, so apologies for the enormous post.
98. One good turn - Kate Atkinson
99. When will there be good news? - Kate Atkinson
101. Started early, took my dog - Kate Atkinson - Read the Jackson Brodie novels back to back. Had read When will there be ..., before and think they actually work better for being read together. There are subtle (and no subtle) themes that run through that I think I would have forgotten or missed if there was a gap. Easy and enjoyable, but not Atkinson's finest work.

100. The Explosive child - Ross W Greene Read for work and personal interest. Had seen it recommended. Sensible approach which is much harder to implement than the author would have you believe
101. The Burgess Boys - Elizabeth Strout. Have read a few by this author now and she is readable and convincing. Excellent commentary on what it means to be successful in the First world, in this case the USA, and how easily it can all come crashing down in the face of blinding arrogance.
102. Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiny Previousle recommended. Really enjoyed this. Off beat humour that made me laugh out loud, a rare thing for me when reading a book. Have respect for any author who can right comedy well. Could be a stand out for the year.
103. Ma’am Darling - Craig Brown Biography Of Princess Margaret. I started off enjoying this in a gossipy, voyager type of way but pretty soon it started to jar. It quickly became self indulgent. The fantasy marriage sections were just bizarre. As were sections where the same story was told using different literary conventions or styles. Smacked of grandstanding and spinning out a thin line. There was also the weird obsession with how small she was. It was repeated almost as much as how difficult she was. Add in the continuous comparison to Queen - nice sister / nasty sister - endless arguing with 'Tony', round of parties and holidays and it quickly became very tedious. A glorified 'Who’s who’s', it was very repetitive , slight and lacked depth. There was also an odd use of photos. Some described in depth but not seen, even when crucial to the case in point. Drove me mad. I know it wasn't a traditional biography but the Non linear framework drove me mad. No real subject matter, it just seemed to leap all over the place. It seemed to take an age to read and after pages of spectacular about just how many pints of beer the East End gangster / possible lover could balance on his todger I very nearly gave up.
104. Why I am no longer talking to white people about race - Reni Eddo- Lodge Thought provoking and much reviewed. Read quickly but will certainly need to revisit. Not always comfortable reading and made me examine my own actions, behaviours and expectations.

And re Vanity Fair, one of my all time favs.

So many typos reading that back!! Obviously I meant 'write' not 'right' ! Blaming the ☀️

MegBusset, that's one of my favourite books. He's such an enormous character and so warm and human. James Gleick's bio of Feynman is terrific as is the Horizon documentary (on YouTube) called The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.

Yes I really enjoyed Dr Feynman too. So interesting and so many inadvertent lessons for life.

Thanks for the new thread southeast.

I'm marking my place and will bring over my list when I finish my current read, hopefully tonight. It's an interesting non-fiction about natural disasters.

Thanks for the new thread, Marking my place

Cheers for the new thread southeast

I've been off work the past week so got through a bit of reading and crucially hit the half-way mark, woo hoo!!!

1. Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims.
2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
3. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie.

4 Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie.

1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
2. "Blink" Malcolm Gladwell.
3. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig.
4. "Persepolis RIsing" by James SA Corey.
5. “Guernica” by Dave Boling.

10. “Harvest” by Tess Gerritsen. 11. "Grit" by Angela Duckworth. 12. "The Hive" by Gill Hornby. 13. "The Nix" by Nathan Hill. 14. "That's My Boy" by Jenni Murray. 15. "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K Le Guin. 16. "Room" by Emma Donaghue. 17. "No Logo" by Naomi Klein. 18. "French Children Don't Throw Food" by Pamela Druckerman. 19. "The Martian" by Andy Weir. 20. "Freedom Climbers" by Bernadette McDonald. 21. "From Dictatorship to Democracy" by Gene Sharp. 22. "Children of Time" by Adrian Tkchaikosvky. 23. "Three Body Problem" by Cixin Liu. 24. "Poverty Safari" by Darren McGarvey. Finally got this after waiting a while for a copy from the library only to be disappointed. I've already gone through the journey he has asked readers to go on and what I was hoping for was some suggestions as to how someone like me (in a position of relative privilege) can do anything to help that doesn't come across as interfering do-gooder who doesn't have a clue.

25. "Quite Ugly One Morning" by Christopher Brookmyre. I enjoy the Stephanie Plum series so was prepared to like this black comedy crime caper (the first in a long running series) but really didn't. Perhaps I'm growing out of this kind of book...Doubt I'll read any more of the series.

First page of new thread seems like a good time to bring my list over. Amazed at just how many books some people get through.

How Hard Can It Be Alison Pearson
Close To Home Cara Hunter
Before The War Fay Weldon
Lincoln In The Bardo George Saunders
Anatomy Of A Scandal Sarah Vaughan
I'll Keep You Safe Peter May
The Woman In The Window A J Finn
The Vicious Circle Amanda Craig
The New Mrs Clifton Elizabeth Buchan
Faking Friends Jane Fallon
The Heart's Invisible Furies John Boyne
Sirens Joseph Knox
The Seagull Ann Cleeves
Let Me Lie Claire Mackintosh
The Child Fiona Barton
Bring Me Back B A Paris
Remember Me This Way Sabine Durrant
A Rising Man Abir Mukherjee
The Perfect Girlfriend Karen Hamilton
The Pearl Sister Lucinda Riley
Persons Unknown Susie Steiner
Never Greener - Ruth Jones
The Lido Libby Page
Dead if You Don't Peter James
The Break Marian Keyes
Little Fires Everywhere Celeste Ng
The Legacy Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Sarum Edward Rutherford
Why Mummy Swears Gill Sims
Watching You Lisa Jewell
The Party Lisa Hall
The Crow Trap Ann Cleeves.

Without a doubt The Heart's Invisible Furies remains my best read so far, not only for this year but last year as well, my favourite book since "The Goldfinch" I posted a detailed review on an earlier part of thid thread. Worst book, and I know it's much loved on MN, Lincoln In The Bardo, had high hopes but found it almost unreadable. Other than that I tend to judge books on whether they stay with me a while after I've finished them, The Heart's Invisible Furies undoubtedly did and definitely "The Pearl Sister" 4th in the Seven Sisters series, slightly proposperous premise, Millionaire adopts orphan baby girls and names them after the astral Seven Sisters. Easy fast moving escapist joy to read yarns, not unlike Kate Morton, although Lucinda Riley bangs them out a lot quicker. I also enjoyed Edward Rutherford's Sarum, which my son bought for me for Christmas a while back, I'd been putting it off because it's quite a tome, but sometimes an interesting tome is easier to read than a dull shorter book. I have a terrible weakness for picking up £3.99 ers in Sainsburys when I'm doing the weekly shop which can be a mistake, particularly if it's by an author that I've read before and enjoyed, in the expectation that their new novel will deliver the same twists and turns, Claire MacIntosh springs to mind, loved "I Let You Go" thought her new one was pretty dire along with some others such as B A Paris and Lisa Hall. Cara Hunter and Joseph Knox, I hadn't read before but didn't enjoy their offerings. I had high hopes for The Woman In The Window having read a lot about it, but whilst it was Okish, I found it massively overhyped and think I guessed the conclusion. I'd never dipped my toe into the world of Marian Keyes books before and found her a tad disappointing don't know whether "The Break" is up to her usual standard or not. Similarly, Ruth Jones' debut novel, not fantastic compared to some of her writing for tv such as the sublime "Stella" I expected more from her. However, did enjoy some of my Sainsbury purchases such as Anatomy of a Scandal, Faking Friends, The Perfect Girlfriend, Persons Unknown and Watching you. Ann Cleeves is always consistently on form imo. I'm saving the new Sabine Durrant's "Take Me In" for September when I go on holiday and if Kate Atkinson's new book is out then I'll try and get that I hate being away without a good book.

Hello new thread. Lots to catch up on

32. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer simply fab and I loved Sophy to bits. You could see the ending from 10,000 miles away but that didn't really matter as it was so good. Enjoyed the random appearance of ducklings too. What more do you want?

33. The Pale horse by Agatha Christie doesn't follow the usual whodunnit narrative or has a main character who is a detective. This is probably why it was (undeservedly) overlooked. Lots of terrific stuff about seances too.

34. Rowan Williams Being human Not all of the essays in this linked together very obviously but I enjoyed the section on silence in faith particularly. Those who know me may find this hard to believe as I never shut up

35. Reni Eddo-Lodge Why I am no longer talking to white people about race I bought this despite the title and I am glad that I did. I found it absorbing, informative and very persuasive. Before I read this book I was against discrimination but not particularly impressed by positive discrimination. I have had to rethink my views. Also I hadn't really though about how different areas of discrimination overlap, making it even more difficult for some individuals. This is definitely one of my stand -out books of the year as I enjoyed being challenged.

Thanks for the new thread southeast

My list so far:

Books 2018

1. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
2. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
3. See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
4. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
5. Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
6. Holding by Graham Norton
7. Restoration by Rose Tremain
8. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
9. Dave Gorman vs The Rest of the World by Dave Gorman

10. Over the Moon by Imtiaz Dharker 11. Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar 12. Educating Rita by Willy Russell 13. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar 14. The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell 15. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 16. The Prince's Chambermaid by Sharon Kendrick 17. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb 18. Under the Skin by Michel Faber 19. Sugar Money by Jane Harris 20. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier 21. True Grit by Charles Portis 22. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor 23. When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy 24. Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon 25. A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert 26. Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu 27. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy 28. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan 29. He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly 30. Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig 31. H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker 32. An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales by Theresa Breslin 33. The Encyclopaedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg 34. Electra by Sophocles 35. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward 36. And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou 37. The Guns of Navarone by Alistair Maclean 38. The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal 39. Sight by Jessie Greengrass 40. The Idiot by Elif Batuman 41. Skin and Other Stories by Roald Dahl 42. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge 43. The Last Days of Troy by Simon Armitage 44. Tangerine by Christine Mangan 45. A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre 46. A Very English Scandal by John Preston 47. A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab 48. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer 49. Circe by Madeline Miller 50. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson 51. Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton 52. The Unseen World by Liz Moore 53. The Secret Barrister by The Secret Barrister 54. The Reinderr People by Megan Lindholm 55. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively 56. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney 57. Dracula by Bram Stoker 58. The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien 59. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 60. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray 61. Lamentation by C J Sansom 62. The Dry by Jane Harper 63. Lessby Andrew Sean Greer 64. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover 65. The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers 66. The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor 67. The Three Body Problem by Lui Cixin 68. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Currently listening to The Two Towers and Happiness by Aminatta Forna and reading Music and Silence by Rose Tremain.

Would you recommend the Rowan Williams to an atheist, Froglet? (One with an interest in ethics who re-reads the Screwtape Letters fairly often - so happy to read books written from a religious standpoint.)

Sadik the earlier chapters in this book would be perfectly fine for an atheist in particular as they are about mechanistic models of the brain and ways of thinking and understanding humanity. Many humanists might agree with the first half of the book. You might disagree with the second part on silence in what it is good for (and a couple of other chapters), but I have also read what the Dalai Lama has written on silent meditation and its not really an exclusively Christian point of view. I think in this book he is going out of his way to be as inclusive as possible