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.

Did he write About a Boy? I really enjoyed that.

@StColumbofNavron About a Boy was Nick Hornby

Ah yes. His name feels familiar though, maybe I read one about a musician.

I’ve decided to count books I read with DS9 too as they are novel or novella length now and I do the reading.

Brilliantly, Crawdads is 99p on Kindle today (saw a thread here) and my book club partner also saw it and messaged us, the third member has a copy already so that’s our next read once we dissected Frenchman’s Creek today.

*we’ve

StColumbofNavron Tony Parsons used to be a music journalist back in the day.

Great to see so many new people on this thread, I love reading all the book recommendations.

Alas, I have dropped off a bit since the semester restarted and work is just mental busy. I'm teaching a new subject this semester on top of the two I normally teach and there is just so much prep for online teaching. Combine that with home schooling 3 primary school kids and days are so long that I fall into bed at night and am barely able to read 2 pages of my book!

Oops sorry that turned into a bit of a whinge. I did manage to finally finish Book 4 Everything I never Told you by Celeste Ng. I really enjoyed this book. It is an intricate look into the everyday workings of the family with the added issues of race and lost dreams and conversations that need to take place but never did. Under normal circumstances I would say that I would have flew though this book as I really liked how it was written.

I'm also counting the books I am reading to the children, so Book 5 is Ratburger - David Walliams and we are halfway though Book 6 - Mr Stink - David Walliams. We are making our way through his boxset.

I don't know what my next book will be, but I definitely need an easy read that is not at all taxing on the brain.

I've made a slow start to 2021 but I'm blaming that on picking two quite long books to kick off with.

1. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

In this, the second in the Book of Dust Trilogy, Lyra, now twenty, finds herself in grave danger once again. I really enjoyed being back in Lyra's world again amongst a huge cast of characters, some familiar, others new. Looking forward to the third book already.

1. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Lots of darkness and brutality in this Strike novel with the twists and turns you would expect from a crime novel. The Strike/Robin relationship is the most enjoyable part of these books for me.

Great to see so many new people on this thread, I love reading all the book recommendations.
It really is moving fast! Lovely to see everyone and all the recommendations.

I counted Book 3 twice so I'm further on than I thought

1. What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty
2. Dear Leader, Jang Jin-sung
3. The Hand that First Held Mine, Maggie O'farrell
4. The Provincial Lady, E M Delafield
5. Rat burger, David Walliams
6. Everything I never Told You, Celeste Ng

Mr Stink will be number 7. I'm thinking of trying Marian Keyes The Break which has been recommended by a friend for a light read.

I’ve got myself into a situation with multiple really bloody long books on the go.

Over the weekend, I read My Dark Vanessa by Elizabeth Kate Russell. It's an absolutely gripping book but very disturbing. It tells the story of a teenage girl who is groomed and abused by a teacher and about how she goes into adulthood believing that she has been in a genuine, loving relationship with this man and continues to try to protect him. My sixth book of the year.

Book 5 The duke and I by Julia Quinn. I listened to this on audiobook at night as been having trouble sleeping. It was ok, much prefer the TV series. It was just an easy read.
I've started book 6 which is Chris Carter Hunting Evil. So far, so good but I do love a thriller.

rc22 I’ve just finished My Dark Vanessa. A very difficult book to read but really well written.

Next book We Begin at the End by Chris Whittaker (number 4)

This thread is rattling along this year! Lockdown is obviously having a positive impact on our reading. I'm still enjoying sneaky reading on my commute every day!

7. Red Notice - Bill Browder
Read this for a book club. It's a true story/memoir of a man who started out as a hedge fund manager and became a human rights activist because of his experiences living and working in Russia under Putin. I found the second half much more readable than the first half once we got beyond the hedge fund bits. Browder is clearly an exceptional man.

8. The Secrets Between Us - Louise Douglas
This was good, although I have to say incredibly far-fetched. The main protagonist makes some terrible, irrational decisions throughout. Having just split up with her partner following a baby loss she moves straight in with a man whose wife is missing. As the story progresses it becomes less and less clear whether he might have murdered her. Worth reading if you're willing to suspend your disbelief.

9. The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright - Beth Miller
This is just lovely. Warm, uplifting and funny. Mrs Bright gets up one morning and walks out on her husband of 29 years. Her family and friends are in turn horrified and supportive. A story about life and all it's funny twists and turns. Highly recommended.

Off to make notes on all your recommendations now and see what's available for less than a fiver on Kindle!

Hi, can I join this?
I recently subscribed to kindle unlimited so am mainly reading indie authors.
So far this year I have read

1. Immortal Defiance by Laura Maybrooke

This is a fantasy/ rebellion / romance. Really well written with a plot that is full of excitement and adventure, it is the first of a trilogy with the third due out in March so I am now reading like crazy to get through book 2 before book 3 comes out

1. Shakespeare's Bear by Harry Oxford

This is a children's story about a bear who grows up with the family of the famous playwright William Shakespeare. I am reading this aloud to my children as a Bedtime story (they are 8 and 11 so will soon grow out of stories) the book weaves in themes and lines from the plays and uses rich vocabulary. I love this one

I need to check my kindle to see what else I have read this year.. If you let me join the fun I will come back...

@LauraAshleySofa welcome!!

Hey everyone, just checking in really and loving catching up with what everyone’s reading - welcome newbies.

I suddenly booked some work so have had to put aside leisure reading for work but am slowly reading through the next Octavia Butler book I have lined up. I think after that I’ll read The Secret Commonwealth @CharliesMouse, thanks for reminding me I’ve had that on my book shelf since it came out!!

I couldn't get into The Sellout, so I've started Dear Mrs Bird (AJ Pearce) for a complete change of pace.

I'm about 60 pages in, and it's a very light, quick read so far. It's enjoyable enough, but some of the 1940's vernacular feels forced at times. Avoid if you have no patience for excessively chipper protagonists though!

Thank you for letting me in.

I checked my kindle, I have read quite a few shorter books but I want to include 2 more on my official list.

1. My rainbow to keep by Michelle L Jeffrey's

This is a true story about how the author dealt with her grief after losing her daughter. I cried so much and I was definitely moved by the story which was beautifully written.

1. Ghost River by Chad Ryan

This is a Stephen King type of horror, it took me until around a third of the way through the book to really understand and visualise what was happening but my patience was rewarded by a really strong climax at the end.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's suggestions here for more reading inspiration.

@DonEmmanuelsDingleberries - she gets a lot less chipper quite soon!

Finally finished my first book!
The Christmas invitation by Trisha Ashley. Felt like a chore which is suck as shame as I normally love her books.
@Tinkhasflown Ds got code name bananas by David walliams and it's brilliant we're reading it together so I guess that's another on my list.

1. The Duke and I Julia Quinn. It was ok. An easy read but I’m not reading any more in the series. I’ll leave that to Netflix and enjoy the fruits of their labours

I’ve got the next couple @InterstellarDrifter because they were 99p and when I’m busy or have deadlines and just need something to read at bedtime that isn’t too taxing I think they’ll be useful. I’m not in any rush though.

Finished book two today
The seafront tea rooms by Vanessa Greene. It's a reread and a book I love.

Finished book 5 Airhead by Emily Maitlis. Interesting though easy to read. Wish I hadn't looked at the Goodreads reviews as they read like Twitter trolls. How dare a woman front a news programme?