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.

@Tinkhasflown we read the first 50 pages for our first week of book club and I absolutely hated it. We are 75% now and i have enjoyed it. I don’t love it or think it deserves the hype but if I was reading alone I would have just whizzed through it with a solid 2 stars - which in my matrix means ‘I liked it’ (3 is really liked and 4 my 5 because I reserve 5 for the best of the best). I would say persevere and try to get past about 50-75 pages then there is a bit more plot.

@FuckingHateRats you are most welcome.

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
8. Frenchman’s Creek, Daphne du Maurier
9. The Outsider, Albert Camus

10. The Battle of Green Lanes, Cosh Omar 11. Malamander, Thomas Taylor 12. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

Well, following my post this morning I have finished. You already know my feelings - meh. Much lauded book about a girl who lives in the swamp in North Carolina alone after being abandoned by her family. I became more of a page turner and had nice short chapters. For me, the descriptive nature narrative was over the top and weirdly even with all the detail I couldn’t really imagine the landscape. The write is a biologist/nature writer by trade though so maybe it appeals if you understand those things a bit more.

It was also a bit ‘written for book club discussions.’

Thanks @StColumbofNavron, I'll persevere for another bit.

Welcome to all the new joiners. It's never too late. I love hearing all the recommendations

Number 10: *My dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. I thought this book was fantastic. A difficult read as the teacher just made my skin crawl.
Number 11 *The Midnight Library Matt Haig. I read this after reading such good reviews on here but I felt disappointed by it. I think I hyped it up to much in my mind. I did like the concept.

I’m on a roll the week.

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
8. Frenchman’s Creek, Daphne du Maurier
9. The Outsider, Albert Camus

10. The Battle of Green Lanes, Cosh Omar 11. Malamander, Thomas Taylor 12. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens 13. The Interest: How the British Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery, Thomas Taylor

Non-fiction about the Interest, a large group of pro-slavery plantation owners, MPs, journalists etc who resisted the abolition of slavery. His thesis is that abolition only became a reality because the Tory government collapsed, reform took place in Britain and crucially the enslaved population revolted. He argues that without all three combining it would not have occurred at the time that it did because the Interest was simply too powerful. This is a great book, really insightful, balanced and well evidenced. I was expecting tough reading about the way that the enslaved were treated and it was horrific to read but I was less informed about the backlash and violence experienced by missionaries and other pro-abolition individuals.

It’s very accessible and he is doing the rounds at virtual book launches so well worth catching him if you are interested in this topic as he is a great speaker.

Duh, not Thomas Taylor, he is the children’s writer - Michael Taylor!

I have totally lost my reading mojo but at least I finally finished The Hobbit with DS so that counts for something I suppose

@KobaniDaughters it’s all reading. Well done and you have my respect. I’ve never even picked it up off a shelf (a metaphorical one since I don’t actually own it).

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

5.The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde

1. The Silver Sword, by Ian Serraillier - A reread of a book from childhood which has always stuck with me.

I'm also about a third of the way through Honor, by Lyn Cote, a Quaker romance set in the 1800s. The heroine is disinherited early on because she plans to emancipate the slaves on her grandfather's plantation, and is subsequently forced into a marriage of convenience with a surly Deaf glassblower. Naturally she's able to learn complex sign language at extraordinary speed, and he secretly has a heart of gold. Oh and according to the blurb she gets involved in the Underground Railway at some point, but keeps it a secret from him.

Not a bad read.

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

10. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer 11. Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde 12. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano 13. Vox by Christina Dalcher 14. The Mandibles: A Family, 2029 - 2047 by Lionel Shriver

Was not a fan of this at all. It’s been on my list to read for a while because I should have loved it - the premise was right up my street. I finally picked it up on a Kindle Daily deal last month and am glad I only spent 99p. I remembered when I started it that part of my resistance was down to Lionel Shriver’s enduring philosophy of “why use half a dozen words when you can use five dozen instead?” Overly wordy but devoid of real depth. None of the characters were in any way likeable - not necessarily a problem in a book, but I just didn’t care about any of the characters, even Willing who was I think supposed to be the best of the bunch. The story felt largely plotless. I know it’s meant to be a sort of saga, but even so, the interesting areas of the story seemed glossed over, either by “oh here we are 18 years down the line” or “then all of these things happened” in two paragraphs after endless pages of irrelevant waffle earlier in the book. The ending, including the sort of twist, felt rushed, almost as if Lionel herself was bored of her tale.

Shame. I still think it’s a great premise for a novel!

Finished Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith.
I love this series, and this was one of the best (I wasn't keen on Silkworm as it was really too gory for me). Sad it's finished but I'm going to keep the book (hefty hardback, I actually don't normally keep books I've read) and re-read it eventually when the TV series catches up to this one.

@drspouse I’ve not read any of the Robert Galbraith books yet, but Cuckoo’s Calling was on the Kindle Daily deals recently, so I picked it up. (Can anyone tell that I have a problem with buying daily deals?!) Your review has reminded me, so I may make that next on my list to read.

@drspouse I loved Troubled Blood it's definitely my favourite of the series.

@TheAnswerIsCake I scrolled through my past orders today to find some pens I had previously bought and I definitely thought ‘I have a problem.’

[quote StColumbofNavron]@TheAnswerIsCake I scrolled through my past orders today to find some pens I had previously bought and I definitely thought ‘I have a problem.’[/quote]
We need to start Kindle Deals Addicts Anonymous or something! I’ve just gone and counted at least 25 Kindle books purchased since Jan 1st. I really need to stop buying until the TBR collection is a little more depleted!

I try so hard to only buy kindle deals if they're down to 99p on my wish list. Doesn't stop me adding to my wishlist though. But I think it makes me think I'm saving money as they are books I wanted anyway.. Nevermind that my TBR pile grows faster than I read.

I’m signed up to BookBub too so I get daily emails with lots of books on. I probably should make them monthly because I would think twice about buying all those books at once (I think). I’d say out of seven days I’m buying perhaps 4 books on average. Plus I just bought two hard copy books as well.

Pleasantly surprised to see at Tesco that paperbacks are 2 for £9.
I noticed some titles mentioned on here including:
American Dirt
Midnight Library
My Dark Vanessa

Didn't have a lot of time today but will go back next week for a proper gander.

An old book club I used to belong to had a member who wouldn’t read a book if you could buy it in the supermarket. He sounds like a bellend but he actually was rather fabulous and interesting.

@MargotMoon thanks for the Jenny Colgan recommendation. Never read any of her books before the boarding school stories sound like exactly what I'm in the mood for!

Have reserved the first two in the series from the library.

I got a subscription to the Shelterbox book club for my birthday but I've yet to find out what the first book is - their emails went into spam so I didn't even get the voting announcement.

@mum2jakie I'm just about to start the second one. In the introduction she says she intends to write 6 books in the series but this one was published in 2009 so I'm a bit worried that she hasn't done the others and we are going to be left hanging!

Oh it's ok I've just been on her website, she published the 3rd - Lessons - in 2019. Fingers crossed she has knocked out the other 3 during lockdown

10. Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier - this was the only one of Du Maurier’s ‘big’ novels which I hadn’t read and I loved it. This was an Audible listen for me and it was read brilliantly by Tony Britton. As I’m passionately Cornish I’m always fussy about Cornish accents in films etc but Britton’s were perfect. I love the way DuMaurier writes about landscape as much as her characters. I feel sure that many of you have already read this but, just in case... On the death of her mother, Mary Yelland is sent away from her idyllic farming life on the Helford River to live with her aunt at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor. When she arrives, she finds that her aunt’s husband is a cruel drunk and gradually learns that he is involved in smuggling and worse. It is such an exciting read but I was frustrated by Mary’s final decision.

11. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton number 1). Having binge watched the Netflix series I thought I’d read this. Very enjoyable romance set in the Regency period. The dialogue is laughably anachronistic in places but it’s a fun and sexy read.

I’m now listening to, and loving, Home Stretch by Graham Norton on Audible. Not sure what my next actual read will be.

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
8. Frenchman’s Creek, Daphne du Maurier
9. The Outsider, Albert Camus

10. The Battle of Green Lanes, Cosh Omar 11. Malamander, Thomas Taylor 12. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens 13. Twenty Years After, Alexandre Dumas

Sequel to The Three Musketeers. Took a while to get going with a lot of nonsense subplotting, but once it got started it was really good fun. The characters are so funny. I’m sure many of you know the plot but the foursome embark on a mission to save Charles I of England (spoiler: we know how that ends). There is a load of intrigue along the way including the former musketeers being on opposing sides at one point.

I read it in a Kindle compendium with all the others in the series so it was really frustrating that for ages I had no idea how far I was until I looked up how many chapters there were to calculate my own percentages.