I’ve managed to get a decent amount of reading (and some listening) done during half term:
92. Do it Like a Woman… and Change the World- Caroline Criado Perez As with Invisible Women, I chose to listen to the audiobook, as the author reads brilliantly. This tells the amazing stories of many inspirational women, such as a fighter pilot in Afghanistan, the members of Pussy Riot and a woman who travelled across Antartica. Like Perez's excellent later book, it also includes many jaw-dropping moments of inequality.
93. Broken Greek: A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs- Pete Paphides This memoir by Caitlin Moran’s husband (as he is proud to be known) tells the story of his childhood and teenage years growing up in a Greek Cypriot family in Birmingham and his love of music and pop culture. I particularly related to the parts about Adam and the Ants, the Teardrop Explodes, Fame, and Flexipop magazine. My only frustration was that, although The Smiths were foreshadowed on a couple of occasions, the book ended before the band took hold, so I am really hoping for a sequel.
94. The Chilbury Ladies Choir- Jennifer Ryan You may recall that I’d been having trouble concentrating on fiction during the current pandemic, so I tried this one- not the sort of fiction I would normally choose- and it seemed to do the trick. It is written in the form of letters and diaries, and is easy to pick up and put down. There are some interesting subplots but I was disappointed that the titular choir doesn’t get much of a look in!
95. Dear Bill Bryson: Footnotes from a Small Island- Ben Aitken This was lukewarmly reviewed here recently (by whom, I’m afraid I can’t remember), and this piqued my interest enough to download it as part of a Kindle Unlimited trial. The author follows in Bill Bryson’s footsteps, attempting to recreate his Notes from a Small Island journey, but without Bryson’s wonderful writing or wit. Although there are occasional enjoyable moments, I couldn’t entirely see the point.
96. Happier at Home- Gretchen Rubin Another book which a few of us have read recently, this is mainly a rehash of The Happiness Project.
97. The Boy on the Bridge- M. R. Carey I managed accidentally to start a mini-bunfight last year when I enjoyed The Girl with all the Gifts, so it’s probably fortunate that I didn’t think much of the sequel.
98. Infection- M. P. McDonald
99. Isolation- M. P. McDonald
100. Invasion- M. P. McDonald
I read the first one (which was, at some point last year, free on the Kindle) expecting it to be a zombie novel, but surprise! it’s about a flu pandemic. More accurately, it’s about Sympatico Syndrome, a virus with almost 100% mortality rate which causes victims to become very friendly and outgoing before suddenly dropping dead. The trilogy isn’t fantastically well written, and there are some errors (in the third book, the character Travis is referred to as Todd on one occasion), but I raced through the books. I particularly enjoyed the fast-paced first book, although that may be because I prefer apocalyptic novels to post-apocalyptic ones. There is A LOT of looting, which is always fun, and the group's attempts to rebuild society are also interesting.
101. Titanic: the Story of the Unsinkable Ship- Hourly History This more informative and less vague than some of the Hourly Histories, with plenty of information about the actual passengers on the Titanic and whether or not they survived.
102. Tastes of Honey: The Making of Shelagh Delaney and a Cultural Revolution- Selina Todd This book was the last in my library pile from March, which I had been rationing. It is an excellent biography of Shelagh Delaney and it makes some interesting points about the portrayal of working class culture in the arts and the role of women. Todd also discusses other figures who have been influenced by Delaney including Maxine Peake, Andrea Dunbar (playwright of Rita, Sue and Bob Too ) and Morrissey.
103. Nerd Do Well- Simon Pegg I’d already read the book, so was aware of its shortcomings but, as a huge Simon Pegg fan, I wanted to listen to the audiobook on my daily walks. I enjoyed it much more on this format, and the fictional chapters (with which the memoir is interspersed) got on my nerves less with Pegg reading them. In the autobiographical chapters, the main gist is that Pegg wishes he'd known, as a geeky child/teenager, that he would end up working with George Romero/Stephen Spielberg/Mr Spock/whoever, so he could geek out even more. It's rather endearing.