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.

Superspecs I’ve just bought Such a Fun Age, was it any good?

Yes, I really enjoyed it. An easy read but covering important issues and good to see things from different perspectives.

I look forward to it.

In the throes of finishing Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor.

1. A Man Called Ove
2. The Midnight Library
3. Hamnet
4. Circe
5. Your Neighbour's Wife
6. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor 3/5

I love books about time travel, the reason for me trying this book.
It's okay.
The language is basic and sometimes overly trendy (for me!)
Quite clever and and amusing in places but I won't be reading any more in the series.

Book 6, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Sprout.
Felt it was a bit like Jodi Picoult only with more depression and less glamour. It got rave reviews but I was a bit "meh".

1. Thursday Murder Club. Got a bit tiresome towards the end

1. Mexican Gothic - was ok

1. The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell - I couldn’t get into this. Have really enjoyed her other books

1. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. Excellent but a very different book to read

1. Scrublands by Chris Hammer. Was good but dragged on. Not as good as other outback noirs I’ve read best being The Dry by Jane Harper

About to start book

1. The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins. I I I loved American Dirt and The Crocked Branch so hoping I shall love this too

Putting my full list here so I can keep track.

1. Just My Luck by Adele Parks
2. The Prison Doctor by Amanda Brown
3. The Doctor Will See You Now by Amir Khan
4. The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish
5. The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan
6. The Open House by Sam Carrington
7. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
8. Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates
9. The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff

New addition is
10. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Saran Foer

I was reminded of this by a previous poster in this thread. I saw the film when my son was tiny, so must be 9 years ago now, and remember crying in the cinema (hormones! It was a Mum and baby screening). I really loved this all over again. I had actually forgotten a lot of the detail and the ending didn’t come back to me until I was a good way through the book. It can actually be really difficult to write convincingly in the “voice” of a child, but this book manages it without becoming mawkish. (Rhiannon Navin’s Only Child and Esther Freud’s Hideous Kinky are two other books I love that are brought to mind for doing this well.) It was also fitting for me to read immediately after The Only Plane in the Sky, as the book is set in the immediate period after 9/11 as the story follows 9 year old Oskar solving the mystery of a key he finds in his father’s belongings after he is killed in the attacks.

My only niggling criticism of this book was the formatting, which is unconventional in that speech does not always start on a new line, which made some conversations difficult to follow easily. I believe it works to portray Oskar‘s - as the narrator - perception of each interaction but can be confusing and slow down reading In order to comprehend.

Do people mention books they couldn't read? I failed to read the beekeeper of Aleppo (the narrators voice seemed very fake to me) and the gippsland massacres by pd gardner (makes you lose faith in humanity, we are the worst, had to stop before despair).

I've been on a reading spree. No 8 Lazy Bones by Mark Billingham. Really enjoyed this, much better than the previous two books.
No 9 All the lonely people by Mark Gayle. Such a lovely book, it made me very emotional.
Now started on My Dark Vanessa.

Moresugar I mentioned all the books I’ve read or attempted to so I can keep track (and short summary of my opinion on the book if anyone is interested 😬) I tried to read Beekeeper of Aleppo last year I couldn’t get in to it shall try again.

For me, I would mention them but I wouldn’t count them. There are no rules though, and it’s still useful for people to hear about negative experiences too I think.

Thanks ohwhynot and stcolombofnavron. Same, I like finding out what books people didn't like too.

1. The Christmas invitation
2. The Seafront Tea Rooms

3. Comfort and Joy by Cathy Bramley It's a short story so not sure if it counts really but I enjoyed it. Follows on from another of hers that I've read. It's been on my phone for ages waiting to be read.

Not sure what to read next. Grown ups by Marian Keyes and Tales out of School by Gervase Phinn arrived yesterday. Going to try to read my what I've got now rather than buy more. I must have about 10 unread books knocking around.

Hi mogloveseggs 🙂I haven't been to the cafe yet today, hope there's some niceties left!

I've got Grown Ups sitting impatiently on my bookshelf. I've never read any Marian Keyes but liked the look of this.

Just checking in - all my reading over the last week or so has been for work and I’m not counting those books this year, but has meant leisure reading has taken a back seat. Back on it and have started The Yellow House by Sarah Broom and am gripped so far

@TheAnswerIsCake I loved Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and I agree with you about the similarities and authenticity of creating a child’s world with Hideous Kinky, in fact I’d love to read that again so will put it on the tbr pile. I love this thread for reminding me to re read books I’ve loved before, I never really think to but it’s the height of luxury for me!

@Kobanidaughters

I actually re-read Hideous Kinky last year. I first read it when it was fairly newly released, so more than 25 years ago, and it was a real unexpected gem that stayed with me. I’ve never dared watch the film though as I don’t want to ruin it. If you love those two books then I do recommend Only Child. It’s written from the point of view of a young boy in the aftermath of a school shooting. Was a real tear-jerker for me though.

Great recommendation @TheAnswerIsCake that sounds right up my street

@BaconAndAvocado

Hi mogloveseggs 🙂I haven't been to the cafe yet today, hope there's some niceties left!

I've got Grown Ups sitting impatiently on my bookshelf. I've never read any Marian Keyes but liked the look of this.

Hiya! No me neither but there's always something nice in the fridge I've only read one Marian Keyes years ago so it will be nice to give a different author a try.

9. The Angel Tree by Lucinda Riley
I love Lucinda Riley’s books and think that I’ve read all of them now apart from the Seven Sisters series which I didn’t get on with for some reason. This was one of her early books which she has ‘extensively re-written’ and re-published. It is a multi-generational family romp set around a country pile. A bit far-fetched in places and I do find her dialogue a bit grating at times but it was engrossing and enjoyable nonetheless.

I’m listening to Jamaica Inn on Audible and really enjoying it.

Not sure what my next ‘actual’ read will be. I don’t feel like anything too literary at the moment. Anyone got any recommendations along the lines of Kate Morton, Lucinda Riley etc?

10. The Target - David Baldacci
Nice, easy airport lounge thriller. I love these kinds of books, all adventures and super spies, soldiers and assassins. My dad gives them to me when he's finished with them so it's nice to have a regular supply of easy reads to hand.

I was in on this thread right at the start and then didn’t finish my first book for ages - there’s about 10 pages of posts for me to read because I haven’t been checking the thread!

First two done though.

1. Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Inspired by watching a Tv show about the top 25 books, I thought this was a classic I’ve never read so I ought to try. I’m pleased I’ve read it, it was ok, but I won’t re-read. I wasn’t overly blown away by it. Kept finding other things to read so it took me ages to finish.
2. Fire Under The Snow - Palden Gyatso. I’ve had this on my shelf for years but there was always something else that grabbed me more. It is the autobiography of a Tibetan monk who was imprisoned by the Chinese during the invasion of Tibet. He spent years in prison, and was horribly tortured. This is something that was on the edge of my awareness but I knew very little about it. The book gripped me - I really didn’t expect it to, but I found it hard to put down. I have learnt so much. It was a deeply horrifying read but I am so pleased I finally got round to picking it up.

I am still working through War and peace, a chapter a night. Or I was until Fire Under the Snow, when it got neglected, so I need to go back to it!

Ah, I wrote a fabulous essay on why Lady Chatterly was not a story about the gamekeepers phallus for my undergrad. Good times. (And by fabulous I mean, I got my best essay mark, whether it was objectively fabulous I don’t know).

1. Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

Light, fluffy and fun. That's all there is to say really!!

1. The Hills Is Lonely, by Lillian Beckwith
2. Early Riser, by Jasper Fforde
3. Dear Mrs Bird, by AJ Pearce
4. My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell - Easily the best book I've read so far this year.

11. Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde

I haven’t read anything by this author in a long time, but previously loved Pay It Forward and Love in the Present Tense. I spotted this on Prime Reading and decided to give it a go. It’s about divorced single mother, Brooke, whose young daughter goes missing during a car-jacking and is found by homeless 16 year old Molly. The story brings Brooke and Molly and their stories together.

I really enjoyed this on a simple level. It’s a story that goes from A to B and tells you about what happens to the characters along the way. There is no “shocking twist” so common currently in popular British writing, and it reminded me that “gripping” and “shocking” are not synonymous. This is a tale about people, at its heart.

12. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

I finally read this after receiving several recommendations. It follows the story of an airline flight in which everyone dies except 12 year old Edward. The narrative moves between the final hours on board and Edward’s life in the following years, including his accidental discovery of many letters written to him by the families of other victims.

I liked it, but didn’t love it, although I’m finding it hard to articulate why. Many of the characters, including Edward, just felt a bit superficial and perhaps it covered too much, but not enough, at the same time, if that makes sense. It could in now be accused of over-sentimentality though.