50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2021, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read. Could everyone embolden their titles and/or authors as well, please, as it makes the books talked about easier to track?

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here and the fourth one here.

How're you getting on so far?

OOoo I'm first! Never been first before.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast

Will do my list now.

1. Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally 2. Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson 3. Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse by David Mitchell 4. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn 5. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner 6. Dishonesty Is The Second Best Policy by David Mitchell 7. Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry 8. Aquarium by David Vann 9. The Enchantment Of Lily Dahl by Siri Hustvedt 10. La’s Orchestra Saves The World by Alexander McCall Smith 11. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh 12. Tangerine by Christine Mangan 13. Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain by Barney Norris 14. The Inheritors by William Golding 15. Around The World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne 16. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell 17. Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier 18. A History Of Britain Vol 1 : 3000 BC-1605 AD by Simon Schama 19. Arthur and George by Julian Barnes 20. Dinner With Edward by Isabel Vincent 21. The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins 22. Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy 23. A History Of Britain Vol. 2 : 1603-1776 The British Wars by Simon Schama 24. A History Of Britain Vol. 3 1776-2000 by Simon Schama 25. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli 26. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman 27. How Much Of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang 28. A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking 29. Columbine by Dave Cullen 30. A Demon Haunted Land by Monica Black 31. The Art Of War by Sun Tzu 32. Wiccan Book Of Candle Spells by Lisa Chamberlain 33. Very Practical Magic by Nicola Kelleher 34. Luna by Tamara Driessen 35. The Hiding Game by Naomi Wood 36. Everyday Magic by Samra Haksever 37. Love Spells by Samra Haksever 38. Mama Moon’s Book Of Magic by Samra Haksever 39. Natural Magic by Doreen Valiente 40. Irish Witchcraft by Lora O’Brien 41. The Crystal Code by Tamara Driessen 42. Everyday Tarot Magic by Dorothy Morrison 43. The Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett M Graff 44. Candide by Voltaire 45. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo 46. Ulysses by James Joyce

Not sure whats next need a break after all the racism and Shakespeare discourse.

And thank you southeast

Here is my list so far:

1. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

2. The Body by Bill Bryson

3. The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

4. On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming

5. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

6. The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick

7. Difficult Women- a history of feminism in 11 Fights by Helen Lewis

8. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mantel

9. How the Girl Guides Won the War by Janie Hampton

10. Heresy by S. J. Parris

11. Paris by Edward Rutherfurd

12. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

13. Dear Mrs Bird by A.J. Pearce

14. First Man by James R Hanson

15. Absolute Pandemonium by Brian Blessed

16. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

17. Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer

18. Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner

19. The White Ship by Charles Spencer

20. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

21. The Huntress by Kate Quinn

22. Are you there God? It's me Margaret by Judy Blume

23. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

24. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
    This was a memoir by Trevor Noah, who was born to a black mother and white father in South Africa as Apartheid was beginning to crumble in the early 1990s. As it was illegal for people of difference races, his birth was (literally) a crime. It was a fast paced, at time harrowing, and at times funny story of his childhood, with his formidable mother, largely absent father, step-father and extended family. Understandably he found it hard to fit in anywhere, and as a result developed a great resilience and ability to relate to virtually everyone.
    I found his mother the most interesting of the other people he talked about, a truly impressive woman, Trevor decided it was preferable to spend a week in jail rather than phone her when he was arrested to ask her to bail him out,
    I also liked the description of Cheese Boys in the township – if your family are rich enough to have cheese in the fridge – you are a Cheese Boy. Young men spent most of the time posturing to be seen as Hood rather than Cheese. Trevor freely admits he was Cheese, but at least he was one of them!
    Harrowing and grim at times, but funny in places. A good read.

Shoutouts to @bettbattenburg and @SatsukiKusakabe who were missed on the last thread

I hope you are both ok

Bringing my list across

1. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
2. The Testaments - Margaret Atwood
3. The Baby Group - Caroline Corcoran
4. Who Killed Ruby? - Camilla Way
5. The Angina Monologues - Samer Nashef
6. The Shelf - Helly Acton
7. Too Scared To Tell - Cathy Glass
8. I Can't Believe You Just Said That- Danny Wallace
9. No One Ever Has Sex On A Tuesday - Tracy Bloom

10. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds InThis Strange World - Elif Shafak 11. Her perfect Lies - Lana Newton 12. The Warning - Kathryn Croft 13. Between You And Me - Lisa Hall 14. Dead To Me - Lesley Pearse 15. Below The Big Blue Sky - Anna McPartlin 16. Unnatural Causes - Dr Richard Shepherd 17. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro 18. So.....anyway - John Clees 19. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck 20. We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver 21. Night Music - Jojo Moyes 22. The Road - Cormac McCarthy 23. 29 Seconds - T M Logan 24. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman 25. All That Remains - Sue Black 26. The Girl Louding Voice - Abi Dare 27. Johnny got his Gun - Dalton Trumbo

28. Last Night - Mhairi McFarlane

I feel it's an injustice to call this 'just' a chick lit book, it's a story about enduring friendships, loyalty, deceit, love and loss, it makes you look at how you value not only those around you but yourself too.

It tells the story of a group of friends who met in their teens and are now in their 30's. Eve is funny, with a dry, sarcastic wit, she's immensely likeable and is the kind of friend it makes you want to have. It follows the group and a life altering event that they find themselves dealing with. The description of the book is a Rom Com, but it is so much more.

Enjoyably readable, I escaped into Eve's world and got lost in it for a few hours.

Many Thanks Southeast, my list so far:
1. The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré
2. One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown
3. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
4. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
5. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
6. The Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean
7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
8. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
9. Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner
10. Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell DTTMOT
11. The Home Stretch by Graham Norton
12. Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
13. The Soldiers Art by Anthony Powell DTTMOT
14. The Military Philosophers by Anthony Powell DTTMOT

15. The Offing by Benjamin Myers
16. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
17. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
18. The Last House On Needless Street by Catronia Ward

Now reading my first ever Agatha Christie And Then There Were None, and listening to the fantastic The Long Song by Andrea Levy, a reread.

Thanks southeast! Here's my list:

1. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13&3/4 - Sue Townsend
2. Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
3. The Dinosaurs Rediscovered - Michael J. Benton
4. Written in Bone - Sue Black
5. Life on Earth - David Attenborough
6. How to Talk to Anyone - Leil Lowndes
7. The Terror - Dan Simmons
8. Earthlings - Sayaka Murata
9. Night School - Richard Wiseman

10. A Life on Our Planet - David Attenborough 11. Piranesi - Susanna Clarke 12. The Artists’s Way - Julia Cameron 13. Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell 14. Find Your Voice - Caroline Goyder 15. Nation - Terry Pratchett 16. You Let Me In - Camilla Bruce 17. Why You?: 101 Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again - James Reed 18. Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens 19. Laura Lake and the Luxury Press Trip - Wendy Holden 20. Wild and Free - Wendy Holden 21. Defining You - Fiona Murden 22. Brilliant Customer Service - Debra Stevens 23. Celebrating the Southern Seasons - Juliet Batten 24. The Luck Factor - Richard Wiseman

Currently have a few things on the go, but the main one is Girl, Woman, Other which I'm enjoying.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit

Shoutouts to *@bettbattenburg and @SatsukiKusakabe* who were missed on the last thread

I hope you are both ok

Eine I think they might both be around but with name changes? I got a bit lost when everyone changed names but I'm pretty sure they are still here. I hope so!

Thanks for the new thread southeast

Here’s my list so far:

1. Sweet Pea by C J Skuse F
2. Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
3. Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
4. Skitter by Ezekiel Boone
5. Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey
6. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
7. The Pandora Room by Christopher Golden
8. Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
9. Goodbye to Malory Towers by Pamela Cox

10. The Trench by Steve Alten 11. The Foundling by Georgette Heyer 12. Monster by C J Skuse Feb 13. American Gods by Neil Gaiman Mar 14. Birthday Boy by David Baddiel 15. In Bloom by C J Skuse 16. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 17. The Guest List by Lucy Foley 18. Unwind by Neal Shusterman 19. Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas 20. Escape the Diet Trap by Dr John Briffa 21. In The Wake of The Plague by Norman F Cantor 22. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata 23. The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter 24. American War by Omar El Akkad 25. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell 26. Hard Time by Jodi Taylor 27. Survival of the Sickest by Dr Sharon Moalem 28. One Night For Love by Mary Balogh 29. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 30. The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson 31. Archangel by Sharon Shinn

32. Hater by David Moody

A wave of sudden violent attacks is rocking society. Suddenly ordinary people are turning on whoever’s nearest them, for no apparent reason, and whatever it is is spreading.

This was not told in a very interesting way. And there are some very violent scenes. It was, however, short.

33. She Was The Quiet One by Michele Campbell

So-so psychological thriller sort of book that was a bit too predictable.

Twins Bel and Rose start at a new boarding school after their mother’s death. Things don’t go well, and it culminates in one twin being murdered with the other twin the top suspect.

Thank you southeast for the new thread; always my favourite corner of the internet.

My list so far and some new ones. (Oh and I have upgraded The Searcher to bold as I am still thinking about it several weeks later.)

1. I am an Island, by Tamsin Calidas
2. Emma's Island, by Honor Arundel

3. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, by Sue Townsend 4. Wintering, by Katherine May

1. The Law of Innocence, by Michael Connolly
2. This is Chance, by Jon Mooallem
3. The Book of Lamps and Banners, by Elizabeth Hand
4. Emma in Love, by Honor Arundel
5. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman

10. The Less Dead, by Denise Mina 11. The Searcher, by Tana French

12. Girl A, by Abigail Dean. I feel very ambivalent about this. It's gripping, extremely well done, and is a great exploration of how siblings raised in an abusive environment might respond to each other when they return to a 'normal' life. However I hadn't realised that it was inspired by Fred and Rose West and the Turpin family, and now I feel a bit grubby and unsure whether reading it is exploitative.

13. The Ruins, by Mat Osman Loved this. You definitely have to suspend disbelief, but if you're OK with that then this is a wildly entertaining thriller that romps through the 90s music scene, luxury hotels, US West Coast excesses, twin rivalry and all sorts in between. Reminded me of Iain Banks (which is high praise). I knew that Mat Osman was in Suede but I hadn't realised that he is also Richard Osman's brother. Wonder how the dinner table conversation goes at Osman family occasions!

14. What Doesn't Kill You, by Tessa Miller Memoir, guidance and manifesto about her experience of being chronically ill with Chron's. Quite how she manages to make this elegant and sometimes funny when it's so dark I don't know, but it's excellent. I imagine it's invaluable for anyone newly diagnosed with Chron's but I think it's equally helpful for anyone with any kind of chronic illness.

15. Glorious Rock Bottom, by Bryony Gordon I knew of Bryony Gordon but hadn't read any of her previous books. I bought this in a 99p deal and was expecting something a lot lighter than it actually was, which is a very raw account of Bryony's addiction and recovery. Very good but you definitely have to be ready for it, which I'm not sure I was!

Thank you for the new thread southeast. Bringing across my list and adding new reads:

1. A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel
2. Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor

1. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson
2. Banker - Dick Francis
3. Old Baggage - Lissa Evans

6. Crooked Heart - Lissa Evans

1. The Guest List - Lucy Foley

8. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

1. A Symphony of Echoes - Jodi Taylor

10. A Second Chance - Jodi Taylor 11. The Spy and the Traitor - Ben MacIntyre 12. The Danger - Dick Francis 13. A Song for Summer - Eva Ibbotson 14. Alternative Li(v)es - Arnie Arnstein 15. The Offing - Benjamin Myers 16. A Trail Through Time - Jodi Taylor 17. No Time Like The Past - Jodi Taylor 18. Confusion - Elizabeth Jane Howard 19. Thirteen - Steve Cavanagh 20. Proof - Dick Francis 21. The Warden - Anthony Trollope 22. A Month in the Country - JL Carr 23. My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell 24. What Could Possibly Go Wrong - Jodi Taylor 25. American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins 26. Small Pleasures - Clare Chambers 27. Three Act Tragedy - Agatha Christie 28. Break In - Dick Francis 29. Bolt - Dick Francis 30. Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin 31. Regeneration - Pat Barker

Following on from reading Regeneration I have read:

32. The Eye in the Door - Pat Barker

Still set in WW1 and our neurologist, Captain/Dr Rivers has relocated from the Scottish rehabilitation centre for those soldiers suffering mental health issues to a London hospital. The main focus of the book is on Billy Prior who appeared as a patient in Regeneration. Billy is complex, an officer from a working class family and an abusive background. He is intelligent, has a chip (or a number of chips) on his shoulder and sleeps with anything that moves of either sex. Billy is working at the Ministry of Munitions but is keen to be cleared to return to the front. I found it difficult to warm to Billy (although I like Rivers) so whilst an interesting read, I didn’t like this as much as Regeneration.

33. The Ghost Road - Pat Barker

The final book in the trilogy and the focus is still on Dr/Captain Rivers and Billy Prior. Billy gets cleared and returns to the front for the final months of the war. We also learn some more about Rivers’ background and his work pre-war studying societies in Pacific Islands. Billy has mellowed/matured slightly for this book and that, combined with being at the front, made this a better read for me than the second book.

Adding myself to the new thread by echoing the comments on the last one - very impressed that Eine actually read/listened to Ulysses. I've tried a couple of times and given up after the first chapter. Maybe one day I'll force myself to read 10 pages a day or something, just so I can say I've read it!

Thanks for the new thread. Here’s my list

1. Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
2. What Lies Between Us - John Marrs

3 Who Killed Ruby - Camilla Way

1. The Casual Vacancy JK Rowling
2. In an Instant- Suzanne Redfern
3. Girl A - Abigail Dean
4. Exit - Belinda Bauer
5. Hungry - Grace Dent
6. Stop at Nothing Tammy Cohen

10. The Woman Who Stole My Life - Marian Keyes 11. Witch Week - Diane Wynn Jones 12. Blood Orange - Harriet Tryce 13. The Girl With the Louding Voice - Abi Dáre 14. The Bigamist - Mary Turner Thompson 15. Into Thin Air - John Karakauer 16. One by One - Ruth Ware 17. Last One at the Party - Bethany Clift

Greenwich Park - Katherine Faulkner
Quite enjoyed this - probably because I live and went to school close to aforementioned park, so could readily imagine a lot of the settings in it. It’s a pretty typical psychological thriller and to be honest I guessed the “baddie” fairly early on, but changed my mind a few times. Enjoyable enough though.

Thanks for the new thread, southeast.

Will do full list later, but just finished Such a Fun Age, by Keiley Reid.
I was impressed by this. It's a cliche to call someone a "fresh voice", but she really did have something original to say about race and how it bears down on interactions between her characters. The story ends up with two white characters scrapping over a third, a younger black woman, each wanting to prove they're cooler and less racist and are going to be the one to save her from all her mid-twenties insecurity about the future. The author skewers a certain kind of white liberal self-congratulation about one's anti-racist credentials.

The Eye on the Door is a load of bollocks.

It should have been called Billy Fucking Prior or Fucking Billy Prior or Billy Prior Fucking. All of these work, content-wise.

I find Pat Barker's sex scenes very disturbing.

Thanks for the new thread, South. I intend to read nothing but Georgette Heyer on this one.

Many thanks for the new thread southeast

Here's my little list:

1. Feel better in 5 – Dr Chatterjee
2. To kill a mockingbird – Harper Lee
3. The Christmas Chronicles – Nigel Slater
4. The Lioness of Morocco – Julia Drosten
5. Casting off – Elizabeth Jane Howard
6. The Shipping News – Annie Proulx
7. Go set a watchman – Harper Lee
8. Paris Echo – Sebastian Faulks

I hope it’s ok to join in at this stage. My reading took a massive hit due to homeschooling so there are some easy, ‘haven’t got much mental reserve’ reads. I’ve also decided to go back to some Terry Pratchett this year and have started with a re-read of the Witches series.

1. Sold to the Viking Warrior - Michelle Styles
2. Betrothed to the Enemy Viking - Michelle Styles

3. Entangled Life - Rupert Sheldrake 4. Celtic Myth and Religion - Sharon Paice Macleod

1. The Book of Taliesin - translated by Gwyneth Davies and Rowan Williams
2. The Warrior Knight and the Widow - Ella Matthews
3. Under the Warrior’s Protection - Ella Matthews
4. Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
5. Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett

10. Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett 11. The Mermaid of Black Conch - Monique Roffey

12. Foxfire, Wolfskin - Sharon Blackie
Just finished this one. Great reimagining of folk tales with the women’s perspective centred.

Thanks for the new thread @southeastdweller. Still giggling over Eine's comments at the end of the last one. I've read a bit of Ulysses many years ago but gave up pretty early on and nothing you've said inspired me to start again. Apparently Finnegan's Wake is even more impenetrable.

I like the sound of The Ruins @noodlezoodle. Have added it to my wish list.

Bringing my list over

1. Ramble Book - Adam Buxton
2. The Darkness - Ragnar Jonasson
3. Burnt Sugar - Avni Doshi
4. Fleishman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser Anker
5. The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie
6. Feersum Endjinn - Iain M Banks
7. The City of Brass - S A Chakraborty
8. Inversions - Iain M Banks
9. The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

10. Look to Windward - Iain M Banks 11. Excession - Iain M Banks 12. The Old Drift - Namwali Serpell 13. Outline - Rachel Cusk 14. Three Hours - Rosamund Lupton 15. Divergent - Veronica Roth 16. Insurgent - Veronica Roth 17. Allegiant - Veronica Roth 18. The Marlow Murder Club - Robert Thorogood 19. Shadow Box - Luanne Rice 20. Where the Crawdads sing - Delia Owens 21. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness 22. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath 23. Psychosis 4:48 - Sarah Kane 24. 84K - Claire North 25. The Ask & The Answer - Patrick Ness 26. The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro 27. Of Monsters and Men - Patrick Ness 28. Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald 29. Bear head - Adrian Tchaikovsky 30. The Camomile Lawn - Mary Wesley 31. Because of you - Dawn French

And I've just finished 32. The Mermaid of Black Conch - by Monique Roffey. This has been reviewed a few times on here. It's set in the mid 70s on a small Caribbean island where two white Americans catch a mermaid in a fishing contest. The story switches between a third person narrator, the journal of a fisherman who is in love with the mermaid and poetry from the mermaid herself. I really enjoyed this. The descriptions of the mermaid, her fishiness and body parts are brilliantly done and quite visceral, as well as the overall background of the island and still ongoing conflict between the white owner and black workers. The characters are beautifully drawn and it touches on lots of themes, love, family, absent fathers, racism, jealousy and living in a place where everyone knows you. Recommended.

Thanks for the new thread southeast. I’m not bringing a list over but here’s my latest reviews:

105. The Quest for Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy

This is a weird book. JP-H published a biography of Queen Mary (the current Queen’s grandmother) in the late 1950s. I haven’t read it. This new book is his notes of some of the interviews he held while researching the book. There are some interesting anecdotes but there’s a lot of description about what the various interviewees looked like and what their houses were like, and unless you’re familiar with the royal family tree from that period it’s tricky to keep track of who is talking and who they’re talking about - Queen Mary herself is referred to as Queen Mary, the Duchess of York, and Princess May among other titles depending which period of her life is being discussed. Throw in other Duchesses of York and Princess Marys and it’s very confusing. I don’t feel I have learnt much from it so might give the actual biography a go sometime.

106. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

I think this is written quite cleverly from the point of view of Christopher. The author never explains what condition(s) Christopher has but I think it’s generally assumed that he is on the autistic spectrum. I have no experience of autism so have no idea how accurate it is, but I know that the spectrum is very wide anyway so this may reflect some people’s experiences but not others. Anyway, I found the way it explained Christopher’s thought processes very interesting.

Quick question - if you keep your books in alphabetical order where would you put Daphne du Maurier? I’ve always put her under D as the ‘du’ is part of her surname, but I was in two different bookshops yesterday who filed her under M.

1. Transcendence, by Gaia Vance.
2. Fat Cow, Fat Chance, by Jenni Murray
3. The Push, by Claire McGowan
4. A Field Guide to the English Clergy, by The Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie

5. Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer

1. Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemon: Travels in Sicily on a Vespa, by Matthew Fort
2. You Aren't What You Eat: Fed up with Gastro culture, by Steven Poole
3. Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk
4. Born to be Mild: Adventures for the Anxious, by Rob Temple

10. Written in Bone, by Sue Black 11. A Chip Shop in Poznan, by Ben Aitken 12. The Darkest Evening, by Ann Cleeves 13. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig 14. The Postscript Murders, by Elly Griffiths 15. Hickory Dickory Dock, by Agatha Christie 16. The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins, by Antonia Hodgson 17. A Death at Fountains Abbey, by Antonia Hodgson 18. Tales from the Folly, by Ben Aaronovitch 19. The Silver Collar, by Antonia Hodgson 20. The Pull of the Stars, by Emma Donohue 21. The Last, by Hanna Jameson 22. More than a Woman, by Caitlin Moran 23. Slough House, by Mick Herron 24. The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis 25. Prairie Fires: the American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Caroline Fraser 26. Small Pleasures, by Clare Chambers 27. Rapid Fire Europe, by Jason Smart 28. Three-Act Play, by Agatha Christie 29. The Fall of the House of Byron, by Emily Brand 30. Such a Fun Age, by Keiley Reid

I've been stingy with the stars, but I've enjoyed it all really.

Hello! Thank you for the new thread

1. The Woman in the White Kimono - Ana Johns
2. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
3. Intuitive Eating 4th Edition - Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
4. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
5. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
6. James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
7. The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan
8. One Shot - Lee Child
9. Dissolution - C J Samson

10. Dark Fire - C J Samson 11. This Naked Mind - Annie Grace 12. Everything that Remains - Joshua Millburn 13. The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell 14. On Connection - Kae Tempest

Thank you @southeastdweller
Welcome @SulisMinerva
Pepe isn't here yet so can't tag her, but the comment about interpretive dance made me chuckle

Will bring list over when not on phone.