25 (ish) books in 2019

[Chickoletta]

Inspired by, but also slightly overawed by, the 50 book thread, this is a thread for those who love to log their reading but don't have the time or inclination for such a high target. The aim is to read 25 books but it really doesn't matter if you don't get close to that or far exceed it - the idea is to exchange recommendations and thoughts.

I loved this thread last year and was really inspired by some of the suggestions so have taken the liberty of starting this year's version.

I only managed 19 books last year due partly to being a slow reader (even though I'm an English graduate and teacher) and also it being a rather busy and stressful year. I'm definitely hoping to beat that score in 2019.

Please number your books and give titles in bold to make it easy to follow as well as sharing thoughts about them.

My favourite book of last year was The Heart's Invisible Furies', as recommended here.

Just finished my first book of the year:

1. 'Why Mummy Drinks' by Gill Sims (bought for me by my own mother for Christmas - no offence taken!!)
Light hearted and well-observed, this was very enjoyable. Some laugh out loud moments as well as many wry observations about family life. I think I would have enjoyed it more if her children didn't sound so totally insufferable!

Looking forward to sharing our reading this year.

Well done toffee1000. Slow and steady does it!

I’ve finished The city and the city which is book number 3 for me. It took me a while to get into as murder mystery isn’t usually my thing, but it grew on me and I thought the way the reader was left to come to their own understanding of how the cities worked as the book progressed was done well. Unfortunately I read the ‘whodunnit’ bit at 3am up with a poorly baby on very little sleep so I’m not sure I fully understood what had happened. Recommended , although I may have to try to catch up with the TV version as I’m struggling to see how it would translate well visually.

Re Murakami...I have read a few of his but as CharliesMouse says they make me feel a bit unsettled. They do stick in the mind though. Norweigan Wood is worth a read if you haven’t and I thought his non fiction was very readable too. (he wrote a book about running and one about the sarin attacks on the Tokyo metro)

I’m now kicking off with The Luminaries. I think this may take some time, it’s a bit of a doorstop...

I finished book 2 last night - The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. Having loved 4 of her previous novels, I was so excited about getting my hands on this one but didn't enjoy it as much overall. I love her writing and liked the setting and characters of this one, which moves backwards and forwards in time connected to the same story as have her previous books. This one felt over-complicated though - some of the sub-plots were so convoluted that I completely lost track of how they related to the main story (Ada's childhood in India and the bullying incident at boarding school).
At 585 pages long, I also felt that it needed a really good editor to just chop a few chapters.
I still enjoyed it, overall, it not nearly as much as The House at Riverton which remains a real favourite. Would love to know what I ger Kate Morton fans made of this one.

I've just picked up Frederica by Georgette Heyer as book 3.

Finished The Child by Fiona Barton - I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet. I really enjoyed it.
Now reading The Portrait by Antoine Laurain.
I stopped half way with The Island and not sure if I will go back to it as I have a list of great sounding books I want to read and The Island was becoming a chore - I have enough of those in my life

I'm a big fan of Murakami. Like Charlie's mouse, I read The Wind-up Bird Chronicles first and was equally blown away. I too am looking forward to his latest, Killing Commendatore and would normally have picked it up straight away but the hardback is massive so no good for my commute or my bed, which is mostly when I read! I also recommend A Wild Sheep Chase.

I finished Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, it was excellent, with a devastating ending. Recommend it.

1. was The Diary of a Provincial Lady by EM Delafield, which I heard about here. It's gently amusing and entertaining, and fascinatingly modern in the era of Bridget Jones etc. Enjoyed it.

1. Fancied a change of mood so now reading He Said She Said by Erin Kelly. So far, so intriguing.

Finished The Portrait by Antoine Laurain
I loved this book, it's the 2nd by Antoine Laurain that I've read and I'm definitely going to try and get hold of all of his books. I highly recommend this author, he's a great story teller. This book and The Red Notebook were both beautifully written stories set in France. Fairly short and both easy, pleasurable reads.
I'm going to read The Heart Goes Last next. I didn't buy this when it came out because of the reviews but I found it in the library & I'm looking forward to it now.

So I only really started reading #2 on Friday but am already this far through! This thread is definitely motivating me to read more and not spend so much time idly browsing the Internet.

Just finished number 3 Macbeth by Jo Nesbo, I really liked the idea and enjoyed it overall, but found certain parts seemed to drag on needlessly.

Onto number 4 Tin Man by Sarah Winman

Also started number 5 Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig (audio)

I finished book 5 Faking Friends by Jane Fallon after my friend gave it to me. I read it very quickly over the weekend. It was grand, a pretty light read but I did enjoy it. Have started book 6 now, *The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

I’ve just finished number 6 Five Days by Douglas Kennedy and although I’ve enjoyed a lot of his titles this was not one of his best. 3 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

I tried to read Widows by Lynda Laplant having never seen the TV series, but my god I couldn’t do it. Sorry Lynda I know it was pretty groundbreaking to have a female criminal gang but let’s just say the writing left a lot to be desired. I shall take a view of what to read now but I have some library books I should prioritise. Yay for reading though ..... I feel like I’ve really got my mojo back

sorry a bit of a late joiner here. not exactly hibrow! but here goes

1. A nightingale Christmas Carol Donna Douglas
2. The Nightingale Christmas Show Donna Douglas

3.Beneath A Frosty Moon Rita Bradshaw

1. Snowflakes In The Wind Rita Bradshaw

5.Break of Dawn Rita Bradshaw 6.Last Words Share J Ryan

1. So much owed Jean Grainger
2. Dillys Hope Rosie Goodwin

9 Orphans from the Storm Rita Bradshaw 10. The Bannister Girls Jean Saunders

Another late joiner, if that's ok.

So far this year I've read

Little fires everywhere
The diary of a bookseller
Little big lies
White teeth

Currently reading How to stop time

Tried to read The croft in the hills but didn't get into it.

I used to read lots but my phone took over so I'm making the effort to read more.

I finished The Tattooist of Auschwitz . I read it really quickly and so glad I stopped putting it off and delved into it. I don't think it is the best written book in the world, but I definitely recommend it!

Trying to decide what to read next,. I'm considering The Kite Runner as I have Khaled Hosseini other books. I actually think that A Thousand Splendid Suns is possibly my favourite ever book - I might read it again this year! I also have The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty anyone read it? I enjoyed Big Little Lies so thought I might like this too.

Decisions decisions

Just finished book 7 Slayer by Kiersten White absolutely amazing and a must read for Buffy fans. I was lucky enough to get an early copy but it's released next week.

Gosh I'm only on 3 so far, I just can't find anything that's grabbing me.

I've just finished The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley. It was ok. Not what I expected and very very slow going.

I'm going to have a proper look at the thread now, see if I can find some books that sound like my kind of thing!

IdClimbHimLikeATree

What’s the best book you’ve ever read or your favourite in recent times? Perhaps we can recommend something off the back of that? It’s shit when you can’t find a groove with a book.

*SpiritedLondon
*
My favourite book ever is After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell. I also love Lisa Jewell, some Jojo Moyes, some Liane Moriarty. I love Robert Galbraith (but not JK's none-Harry Potter stuff). I think it's a time thing really but I miss thinking about a book and reading it in my spare time instead of staring at my phone and just reading at bedtime.

Finished number 3:
Conversations with Friends Sally Rooney.
I bought it as I had loved 'Normal People'. It took me longer to get into but I really enjoyed the second half particularly. I found the main protagonist difficult in many ways,
But it was good and I'm glad I read it.

Finished book no.9 The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood. It was better than I expected (because of reviews I had read).
Readers expect so much of Margaret Atwood because of her previous work & are therefore more critical of her writing. I really enjoyed this book & am glad I borrowed it from the library rather than paying for it when it came out.
I have dumped The Island now so not counting it. May go back to it one day.
Now half way through book no.10 Peach by Emma Glass - I expect to finish it today as it's not very long, and so far so good.

Can I join? I've read these so far this year, and enjoyed all of them:

1. The Tattooist of Auschwitz (although confused as to why it's been heading up the list of fiction books in the Guardian, when it's supposedly a true story )
2. The House Swap - Rebecca Fleet
3. Let Me Lie - Clare McIntosh
4. The Boy at the Door - Alex Dahl
5. Our House - Louise Candlish

Now reading The Woman in the Window - AJFinn, and finding it a bit hard to get into, but it's early days so will keep going.

And I’ve finished #2!! that was just ten days. I made a more concerted effort to actually read as opposed to put it down for days at a time. It was an enjoyable book; taking real people and inventing a story with them. The murder that took place really did happen, but wasn’t ever solved and the Mitfords had nothing to do with it IRL.

#3 is Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith, I liked the previous two books so I’m looking forward to this one.

Finished Human Crocket by Kate Atkinson yesterday.

Just trying to decide what to read next

Finished Peach by Emma Glass.
I recommend this book, you can read it in a sitting or 2.
It would be a great book for a book club/discussion.
Now reading The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain.

4: A Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

I don't usually read crime fiction but I thought I'd give this a go as I enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books. I found the pacing a bit ploddy and pedestrian and the plot slightly uninspiring. (Perhaps influenced by having watched the TV series and remembering the story as I read it.) But I enjoyed the company of Robin and Strike so will probably, on balance, read the other novels in the series too.

*Human Croquet

Bloody autocorrect

I have just finished #3 Normal People by Sally Rooney. I really enjoyed it although wasn't 100% happy with the ending. I am really enjoying this thread - it's giving me lots of authors I haven't previously read so I've got lots to choose from. Not sure what my next book will be yet!