Pepe, Skirmish and others who are reading Dance to the Music of Time, did you hear the recent Backlisted podcast about Powell? It inspired me a little to give it another go as everyone on the podcast absolutely LOVED him and lots of lively conversation about how clever he is, how funny etc. I have only read the first one and was rather underwhelmed but am considering giving him another chance. There were a group on there who had read one book a month for a year and I did consider trying that.....
13. The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley
A group of thirty-somethings, old friends from Oxford, head to an isolated Highland hunting lodge for a luxury New Years break. Cue drunkenness, arguments, the revelation of secrets and a death. The setting of this was fabulous but I found the plot majorly over-egged - EVERY character is hiding some kind of dark secret (except possibly the baby) and the author rather ties herself in knots jumping back and forth between before and after the discovery of the body without revealing who has died until the end.
14. Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes, Alastair Humphreys
Humphreys is an adventurer and travel writer who spends his time doing things like cycling across Antarctica. This book was inspired by the many conversations he's had with people who say they would love to have an adventure but they don't have the time, or the budget, or the kit. It starts with the simplest, cheapest adventures you can have: sleep outdoors for one night. Swim in a river. Take a train to somewhere 20 miles or so away from home then make your way back. The trips in the book (they're themes rather than specific locations) are all within the UK and take anything from a few hours to a few days.
I really liked this - he writes honestly and inspiringly about the realities of sleeping out in the open, getting wet, getting lost, and feeling amazingly alive while doing so. Really made me think about wanting to get out and about more (and I am the world's biggest wuss). He has a blog if you want to get a taste of his style - Google "microadventures"
15. Watling Street: Travels Through Britain and its Ever-Present Past, John Higgs
This is a book that you immediately wonder why no-one has written before - Higgs travels from Dover to Anglesey following the route of the ancient Watling Street (which was a road before the romans made it one of theirs), commenting on Britain, our history and culture as he goes. The route is a gift, taking him as it does from the famous white cliffs, through Kent (Dickens, Chaucer, Thomas Becket, James Bond) up to the City of London, Tyburn, Bletchley Park, and so on until he reaches Wales and the home of the Druids on Anglesey. He has a wide gaze which takes in traditional history (Kings, battles etc), legend, myth, modern counter culture and much more - where else could you find a book that jumps from the Canterbury Pilgrims to Brexit to a very moving story about Rod Hull and Emu?
He's fascinated by people who are on the edge of society and I think I find the modern wizards and writers of sci fi and comics rather less interesting than he does. However, I loved this book and rattled through it in next to no time. It's also the first thing I have read which has made me feel slightly less crappy about Brexit and a little more optimistic about our power to come out the other side.