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.

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, Michael Taylor 14. Twenty Years After, Alexandre Dumas 15. The Disappearance of Emile Zola: Love, Literature and the Dreyfus Case, Michael Rosen 16. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Marina Lewycka

After Nadia and Vera’s mother dies their elderly father marries a far younger woman that they disapprove of. Lots of interwoven history of communism and the Second World
War and ideas about being a migrant, home and belonging. It is also quite witty in places. An easy, optimistic read.

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, Michael Taylor 14. Twenty Years After, Alexandre Dumas 15. The Disappearance of Emile Zola: Love, Literature and the Dreyfus Case, Michael Rosen 16. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Marina Lewycka 17. Gargantis, Thomas Taylor

Read with my 10 year old at bedtime. It’s a good 300 pages and quite complex and some great prose. Gargantis is a storm that is threatening to destroy Eerie on Sea and Violet and Herbie must save the day. It’s the second in a series and it wasn’t as good as the first but we did really enjoy it.

15. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
I read this because it's "recommended literature" and although I read a lot I don't consider myself well-read. I also chose it because I like dystopian fiction.
Well, I don't care if it's a classic, it's totally mental! All the characters are batshit. The world is just described with no context until everything is explained by one of the characters in the last chapter.
No don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it. It was actually really funny in places and a lot of the ideas are well thought out and clever. It's just a bit mad. It's also very short and ends rather suddenly.
At least it's another one ticked off the list of "books I should read before I die."

Hi All
No12 Grown Ups by Marian Keys.
I thought this would be better than it was. Lots of characters and a lot going on. I kept having to go back to the family tree. Also had to skim read first chapter once or twice as kept forgetting the actual plot.
Certainly couldn't put up with a family member like Jessie. I'd be moving and changing my phone number.

1. Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell
2. Comet in Moominland - Tove Jansson
3. Miss Benson's Beetle - Rachel Joyce
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
5. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
6. Dear Mrs Bird - A.J Pearce
7. The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop - Clare Balding
8. Because of You - Dawn French
9. The Angel Tree - Lucinda Riley

10. Jamaica Inn - Daphne DuMaurier 11. The Duke and I - Julia Quinn

12. Home Stretch - Graham Norton
I loved his previous two novels and enjoyed this just as much. Based around the story of 4 young people whose lives change after they are involved in a fatal car accident. This is set over 30 years and includes several twists, some of which were fairly predictable but others weren't. Explores themes of sexuality and identity, set in Ireland, so quite similar to John Boyne - a bit faster paced and less literary.

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, Michael Taylor 14. Twenty Years After, Alexandre Dumas 15. The Disappearance of Emile Zola: Love, Literature and the Dreyfus Case, Michael Rosen 16. Gargantis, Thomas Taylor 17. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Marina Lewycka 18. The Uses and Abuses of History, Margaret Macmillan

An excellent book on the practice of history and how it can be and has been used and abused. I’ve dipped into this before but it was good to read it in its entirety. It’s not very long and has nice succinct chapters and avoids jargon.

I’m actually really pleased with my non- fiction count this year. Four in total and my goal was 3 non-fiction from my physical shelf.

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 6.The Silver Sword, by Ian Serraillier

1. Honor, by Lyn Cote - This was ok, but probably won't read any more of her work. The protagonist, Honor, was a bit too good to be true, and I found myself more interested in the story of her emancipated maid, Royale. Sadly the book never really explored Royale's thoughts or feelings in any great depth, and I felt her character was ultimately used as a prop to show how wonderful and progressive Honor was.

I'm continuing with the American frontier theme with One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow, by Olivia Hawker. It's about two farming families living in the Wyoming prairies in 1870, the Webbers and the Bemises. As the only inhabitants for miles around, the two families have relied on each other for survival over the years. Then it all goes to pot when Mr Bemis catches his wife shagging Mr Webber, and shoots his neighbour dead. Mr Bemis goes to jail, and the two wives left behind are forced to work together to survive the winter. I'm only about 50 pages in, but I think it's an interesting premise and looking forward to reading more.

10. Big Girl Small Town by Michelle Gallen

I enjoyed this. It's set in Northern Ireland and is about a girl who works in a chip shop whose dad went missing in the troubles. A very warm and funny book.

@rc22 I've started this book but I'm really struggling to get into it. I think it's the dialect. I keep trying to read it with a northan Irish accent in mind but can't seem to get to grips with it.

@princessspotify I think I'd have struggled if I hadn't watched Derry Girls!

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, Michael Taylor 14. Twenty Years After, Alexandre Dumas 15. The Disappearance of Emile Zola: Love, Literature and the Dreyfus Case, Michael Rosen 16. Gargantis, Thomas Taylor 17. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Marina Lewycka 18. The Uses and Abuses of History, Margaret Macmillan 19. The Wrong Side of the Table, Ayser Salman

Memoir of an Arab American woman working in Hollywood. I come from a similar background so some of her stories and anecdotes made me smile and nod in agreement, but it was clearly written to be funny lol funny. I did enjoy it, it was light and amusing even when talking about more sensitive issues. A decent 2/5.

Correction: The Wrong End of the Table

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 15. Scattered Minds by Gabor Maté 16. Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy 17. May Contain Nuts by John O’Farrell. 18. The Prison Doctor: Women Inside by Amanda Brown 19. Q by Christina Dalcher

20. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Lots of talk about this one on this thread already. Like others, I found some bits difficult to read but I think the book captures the complexities of human emotion really well. It shines a light on how differently people see things from different angles and how what you want to believe vs what you know to be true can be at complete odds. Definitely needs a trigger warning for anyone who has suffered abuse as a result of any kind of power imbalance.

21. Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller

This is a sort of re-read. I picked up the book on a 3 for 2 in Waterstones in Plymouth City centre just after I moved there for a job 17 years ago (odd the things you remember). I was about halfway through when Imislaid the book. I wasn’t gripped enough by it to seek out a replacement, so I never finished it. Something about My Dark Vanessa brought it back to mind - although it’s a very different book. The teacher-student relationship in Notes is very much a secondary storyline, but both books feature obsessional, unhealthy and inappropriate relationships. I still fell that this book lacked real sparkle - if anything is too subtle to be really gripping.

22. The Choice by Claire Wade

This kept coming up as a suggestion for “if you loved Christina Dalcher...”, the premise was interesting (the banning of sugar, enforced exercise and weigh-ins) and I vaguely remembered reading about it when the author won The Good Housekeeping novel completion (MIL has a subscription and saves copies for me!). I was an interesting read but somehow it felt a little forced. Some of the blurb I read was very much pushing the “what would you do in this situation” angle, but I couldn’t get to that because so many of the characters and details felt too far beyond plausibility. It’s not that I don’t believe we couldn’t accidentally walk in to a dictatorship, but just that if we did a lot would change. It wouldn’t essentially be normal life with some bits removed, which is what the story seemed to present. The ending also felt unnecessarily dragged out by trying to avoid “and then they all lived happily ever after”. Not a fan of neat endings and everything just going back to normal, but there is no need to overwork it either.

Book 12 My Sister the Serial Killer I'm sure this has been reviewed here before but I thoroughly enjoyed this. A different read from my recent books - how do you live with the knowledge that your sister is as serial killer and do you continue cleaning up her mess..

Book 13 was The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. I've always wanted to read this and was inspired by discussions on this thread. I really didn't enjoy it though, maybe I just didn't get it, but I hated all the characters....

I've just started Book 14 Big Girl, Small Town as mentioned by @rc22. It has sparked my interest because I'm from NI....
I definitely get @princessspotify comments about reading it with an accent. The Derry accent is very strong and there is quite a lot of local slang included. Plenty of people must struggle as the author has a glossary and pronunciations on her website www.michellegallen.com/glossary

Having finished my third book in a week and a half, I haven’t actually read any of my fourth book for ages. I haven’t been well recently, I have a kidney stone and they are so painful! Thankfully today there isn’t any pain, which can happen with kidney stones sometimes (pain disappearing for a while then coming back), so I’ll start reading again soon.

I have finally finished a book after a month of just not being able to get into anything

12. Went for Conversations With Friends it kind of did what I expected, I liked it enough to read it fairly quickly but it wasn’t particularly life changing in any way. But hopefully it’s helped get my mojo back into reading

Books I finished this month were:

5. Rules by Jenny Colgan
Thoroughly enjoyed the second instalment of the boarding-school-for-grownups. Will definitely read the third at some point

6. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
I thought this was beautifully written. I can't think how to describe it which doesn't sound cheesey but I felt nourished by it!

7. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I know it's had mixed reviews on here but I loved this

@Tinkhasflown I felt that way about the Great Gatsby as well. Such a horrible collection of people, how can we possibly be expected to give a shit about what happens to them? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@toffee1000 My sympathies! I had kidney stones, unbelievable pain. Hope you get them passed soon!

@MargotMoon I concur about Gentleman in Moscow

I tell everyone about Gentleman in Moscow, then I tell them not to read it because I can’t actually bear the thought of them not liking it.

11 Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito

I think I've enjoyed this more than anything else I've read this year. Absolutely gripping.

@StColumbofNavron Useful way to work out if they have a cold, dead heart or not I guess?

I've just read Jim Reaper by Paul Kelly and The confessions of an invisible Man by Graham Hey, I've really enjoyed them both.
I've read 7 and a half books so far this year now, so I'm happy that I'm still on track.

One of my New Year resolutions was to buy fewer books (and definitely none from Amazon) and use the library/charity shops more.

I definitely use the library more but it doesn't always have what I want and charity shops aren't open yet. Someone I follow on Twitter posted this link to a website called Bookswap which looks good so I've signed up for that bookswap.co.uk/referral/7438

Time for a bit of a clear out!

@StColumbofNavron

I tell everyone about Gentleman in Moscow, then I tell them not to read it because I can’t actually bear the thought of them not liking it.

I feel exactly the same way about A Gentleman in Moscow. An exquisite book. His first book, The Rules of Civility is equally wonderful.