26-ish books in 2021

[MercedesDeMonteChristo]

Thought I’d kick start the new thread for this year.

I’m starting with Outlander by Diana Gabalon and reading Anna Karenina Tolstoy one chapter a day, so expect to finish September sometime - I’m on chapter 4.

@Wildernesstips glad I’m not alone. I’ve been told the second installment is better, but I’m not in a huge rush to try it!

@BaconAndAvocado it sounds different somehow. The Distance Between Us, The Hand That First Held Mine, Instructions for a Heatwave and This Must be the Place have all been firm favourites though.

@StColumbofNavron Cake is indeed the answer, although not got for the teeth or the waistline! Solves many other problems though! I usually get through 5 or 6 books in each of Jan and Feb and then take down to a boo or two a month. The dark, cold evenings lend themselves to reading lots, I get distracted once Spring arrives!

@Kobanidaughters I might have to add Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close to my TBR pile. I saw the film (must be nine years ago now, as I took my very young baby son to a mother and baby screening) and loved it, but have never read the book.

@HoundOfTheBasketballs

My work laptop has updated and now won't let me access the on-train wifi on my way to and from work anymore. This means I now have two hours and twenty minutes every day for reading! Consequently, until I get this fixed, I'm on a bit of a roll:

4. The Warehouse - Rob Hart
This is set in the near future where everyone works for Amazon a company called The Cloud. If you work for them you also live in one of their facilities, a MotherCloud. This was good. Close enough to being a possible future for us all it was a bit scary. But the ending was disappointing.
5. Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty
I liked this, good premise and entertaining characters. I won't say much else yet as I noticed someone else on the thread is reading this.
6. The Silent Companions - Laura Purcell
This was fab. Gothic horror set in a Victorian Manor House. Complete with an anxious, newly widowed protagonist, some creepy servants, disagreeable villagers and many things going bump in the night. Sat around and ignored DP for two hours finishing this one evening!

It was me reading Nine Perfect Strangers! I just finished it last night. A rather odd book I have to say. I liked her writing style and the characters but it just got more bizarre and unrealistic as it went on! I felt like she tried to "see up" the ending as well. One of those books where I'm not sure how I feel about it really!

[quote Wildernesstips]@TheAnswerIsCake I totally agree with your summary of The Prison Doctor in that it lacked depth but was nevertheless interesting.[/quote]
I would second (third?!) this too! I love books like this where you get glimpses into interesting professions. I thought this book was a bit light and this might sound mean but the author seemed to be trying to force the issue that she's the only one who ever cared or did any good within the setting. Which got a bit nauseating!

My books so far this year. I do post in the 50 books but find it moves a bit fast!

1. The Three Mrs Wrights - Linda Keir
2. Holly's Christmas Countdown - Suzie Tullett
3. Butterfly Kisses - Patrick Logan
4. The Push - Ashley Audrain
5. The Last Thing To Burn - Will Dean
6. The Silent Treatment - Abbie Greaves
7. How to Disappear - Gillian McAllister

My favourite of the year so far has been The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean. The main character is a woman who has been trafficked from Vietnam and lives with her "husband" on an isolated farm. Anytime she does something "wrong" he burns one of her few remaining possessions. It can be a bit graphic but it really had me gripped.

I will look out for that one @Matilda2013.

I’ve bought two kindle books today but haven’t found anything worth clicking on my BookBub emails for weeks so I’m going to just ignore that I’ve bought more books.

I've not bought many kindle books this month because I'm trying to only buy ones on my wishlist that drop to 99p. But I have ordered a physical Pre-order for every month from January to July so far wee treat to myself!

Finished book 3, Lethal White by Robert Galbraith. Really found the plot intriguing and the locations and characters drawn well. Slight cheat when Strike tells Robin what happened but not us. Will now watch it on TV with DH who will moan he can't follow the plot while falling asleep.

@StColumbofNavron I started it last night! I’m enjoying it.

I’ve added The Silent Companions to my list.

@drspouse are you just reading the series? I read Troubled Blood last year (book 5) and it is so good! You've got so much to look forward to!

Yes, I'm reading them in order, and I've asked for that one for my birthday next month.

1. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
2. Diary of a Provincial Lady, E M Delafield
3. The Duke & I, Julia Quinn
4. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
5. Us, David Nicholls
6. The Autumn of the Ace, Louis de Bernieres

7. Migrant City: A New History of London, Panikos Panayi

My first non-fiction of the year and broadly related to my own work so feel like it is a win. A very accessible history of London as as migrant city. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Restuarants and Footballers and Boxers. I’m not sure it provided anything new, but I’m glad I read it and would recommend.

I’m slogging through The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich. Tough going but very informative. About women who fought in the Soviet Union during WW2.

Didn’t she win the Nobel or something?

I've had a slow start and only just finished my second book of the year!

Tally so far:

1. The Hills Is Lonely - Lillian Beckwith
2. Early Riser - Jasper Fforde. I thought this book was ok, but had pacing issues. It seemed to drag in the middle, then really pick up speed in the last quarter. I was also annoyed that it ended with a deus ex machina resolving everything in the last two chapters.

My third book will be The Sellout by Paul Beatty. Hope it's as funny as the reviews suggest.

Yes, stcolumbo, she deserves it. I read what the censors wanted to pull out of the book (its in the intro) and I can see why.

Slow reader here, just finished my first book of the year coming up for air by George Orwell. Terrific read. Was recommended on another MN thread.
Am also half way thru when the crawdads sing by Delia Owens, a birthday pressie I'm really enjoying

I'm.on my 6th....I'm reading The Push at the moment

I’m reading Girl, Woman, Other - about halfway through and it’s brilliant! I keep thinking about it. Can’t wait to get back to it this evening

@Shaunshe Girl, Woman, Other was the best book I read last year. It's amazing isn't it?

@rc22 I’m really enjoying it. Such an easy book to get into, so engaging.
I’d heard some criticism over the style and punctuation etc but I don’t really mind it- it kind of adds to the flow and conversational tone.
I finished On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous before this so I guess this is #2 for this year after not reading anything for a couple of years!
Will be reading through this thread for more recommendations

@Shaunshe I read it last year and enjoyed it. I got used to the lack of punctuation etc but I didn’t really think it added anything. I think it would have been equally good if it had full stops.

[quote StColumbofNavron]@Shaunshe I read it last year and enjoyed it. I got used to the lack of punctuation etc but I didn’t really think it added anything. I think it would have been equally good if it had full stops.[/quote]
Yes, this re Girl, Woman, Other. I also read it last year and was in some ways surprised that I enjoyed it, because I actually found the lack of punctuation irritating initially. Once I got used it, it wasn't an issue - I suppose I did stop really noticing. But I think a lot of people (based on reviews online) have given up on the book, which is a shame, because the stories are otherwise engaging and fantastic. I can't help but feel it could reach an even wider audience - that it deserves- if it were conventionally punctuated!

(Also, it does bring to mind Adrian Mole's experimental novel without vowels!)

Another Girl, Woman, Other fan here @Shaunshe def also one of my favourite reads last year

I started Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and it’s BRILLIANT. Right up my street and I’m so glad to have picked up something so engaging (and different) after Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I listened to Kindred last year and really enjoyed it but this is something else. Highly recommending for anyone who’s a fan of post apocalyptic sci-fi fiction (like Margaret Atwood - there’s a similar feeling to Oryx and Crake). Has anyone read her other books and have further recommendations?

Finished yesterday:

6. The Open House - Sam Carrington
A new author for me, a 99p Kindle book. Honestly, I wouldn't bother. It wasn't terrible, but it was another storyline that was littered with "twists" for twists sake and some of the "revelations" were obvious from the get-go. My own fault for picking yet another "gripping, twisty, psychological thriller you can't put down" or however they describe them on Amazon! (And no wonder I've got through so many books this month, as I did skim read this one from about a third of the way in!)

Good news is that It has shaken me out of picking these up for a while. I'm now reading Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez and have some less formulaic fiction in mind next!

Invisible Women is amazing. I have recommended it to so many people.