Little appears to change. I've read a similar number of books as I have each of the previous four or five years (the same long commute for work) and mLittle appears to change. I've read a similar number of books as I have each of the previous four or five years (the same long commute for work) and my reading tastes have also remained pretty similar over the past five or ten years (mainly police/crime thrillers, plenty of science and autobiography non-fiction, and a good smattering of classic and contemporary novels which have piqued my interest). The way it fell, when I wrote out all my four and five star reviews to help compile the 'Top Reads' lists below, it made the most sense to split these in to three lists of sixteen books in the general (slightly wobbly at the edges) categories of 'crime', 'non-crime novel' and 'non-fiction' as I did at the end of 2017.
As in previous years, though many of my favourite books have been written by authors already my favourites, there have been a few new authors come on to my radar. Those I'll be keeping in mind include Ross Raisin, Angela Marsons, Graham Greene, Sally Rooney, Tim Parks, Ismail Kadare, David Lodge and Helen Cserski. Unsurprisingly perhaps, just as I had at the start of 2019, at the end of the year I have over 150 books on my 'to be read' list - I appear to be buying and being gifted/loaned books as fast as I can read them! I'm going to have to have a bit of a break from shopping for books until I can get my TBR down to double figures, I guess.
TOP SIXTEEN 'CRIME FICTION' READS 1) 'Mercy' - Jussi Adler-Olsen (read review) 2) 'Written In Bones' - James Oswald (read review) 3) 'Strange Loyalties' - William McIlvannay (read review) 4) 'Love Like Blood' - Mark Billingham (read review) 5) 'Resolution' - Denise Mina (read review) 6) 'Apostle Lodge' - Paul Mendelson (read review) 7) 'The Prisoner Of Brenda' - Colin Bateman (read review) 8) 'When The Devil Drives' - Christopher Brookmyre (read review) 9) 'Brat Farrar' - Josephine Tey (read review) 10) 'The Long Drop' - Denise Mina (read review) 11) 'Now We Are Dead' - Stuart MacBride (read review) 12) 'Silent Scream' - Angela Marsons (read review) 13) 'Body Double' - Tess Gerritsen (read review) 14) 'Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks' - Christopher Brookmyre (read review) 15) 'The Red Road' - Denise Mina (read review) 16) 'The Damage Done' - James Oswald (read review)
TOP SIXTEEN 'NON-FICTION' READS 1) 'How Not To Be A Boy' - Robert Webb (read review) 2) 'This Is Going To Hurt' - Adam Kay (read review) 3) 'Storm In A Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life' - Helen Czerski (read review) 4) 'The Epigenetics Revolution' - Nessa Carey (read review) 5) 'Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst' - Robert M. Sapolsky (read review) 6) 'Everybody Lies: What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are' - Seth Stephens-Davidowitz (read review) 7) 'Crime Scientist' - John Thompson (read review) 8) 'The Language Instinct: The New Science of Language and Mind' - Steven Pinker (read review) 9) 'Dark Heart: The Story of a Journey into an Undiscovered Britain' - Nick Davies (read review) 10) 'F*** You Very Much: The surprising truth about why people are so rude' - Danny Wallace (read review) 11) 'Love from Boy: Roald Dahl's Letters to his Mother' - Donald Sturrock (read review) 12) 'Improbable Destinies: How Predictable is Evolution?' - Jonathan B. Losos (read review) 13) 'One Man And His Bike' - Mike Carter (read review) 14) 'The Art Of Genes: How Organisms Make Themselves' - Enrico Coen (read review) 15) 'All Points North' - Simon Armitage (read review) 16) 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' - Paul Hoffmann (read review)
Happy New Year to everyone, and happy reading for 2020....more
At times I felt that a couple of aspects of this - the author's keenness to include his research on WWI, and the motif of uncertainty (how much of whaAt times I felt that a couple of aspects of this - the author's keenness to include his research on WWI, and the motif of uncertainty (how much of what is described is real, and how much is imaginary) - did slightly get in the way of an interesting plot. However, the descriptive strength, and the compulsion to find out what happened, as obvious as this turned out to be, did win me over.
This powerfully dark novel focuses on Quinn, a young man returning to the small Australian settlement from which he was forced a decade previously. Changed by war, haunted by his experiences and his past, it makes for an unusual novel which at times required suspension of disbelief. For me it did however, judging also by the fact I read it over a weekend, work overall for me as a reader, despite some misgivings....more
A quick and easy read, I was however a little underwhelmed as I felt this potted history of a London prep school for catholic boys fell between two stA quick and easy read, I was however a little underwhelmed as I felt this potted history of a London prep school for catholic boys fell between two stools. It was neither a detailed and dry factual tome providing a complete study of the institution, nor a light and humorous fictional haunt of the style of Molesworth or St Trinians. The focus on the (relatively few) staff members who’d made the school what it was/is, the limited resource from which pre-1950s aspects could be drawn, it all felt slightly under-baked in my humble opinion. ...more
An interesting and generally entertaining read, this follows a young woman in the 1940s and 1950s in the main, her time working for British IntelligenAn interesting and generally entertaining read, this follows a young woman in the 1940s and 1950s in the main, her time working for British Intelligence during the war, and the BBC afterwards. As with the only previous Kate Atkinson novel I have read, I can’t criticise the author’s ability to set a story in convincing context, and in general I thought the plot and central character were also pretty damn good. I’ve improved my opinion of the author having not much enjoyed ‘Life After Life’.
That’s not to say some aspects didn’t irritate me with this. Some of the characters were so stereotypical they became indistinguishable cardboard cut-out supporting cast there only to serve the plot. I also found VERY awkward the habit of the author in breaking up conversations with internal monologue - every interaction between people seemed to involve a half page where one person’s long train of thought/recollection was detailed between each spoken sentence. The overall effect of this was it felt like there would’ve been long pauses between every statement in a dialogue, utterly unconvincing....more
A light, simple and readable introduction to the communication medium of e-mail (and IM, a bit) which wasn't without merit, but which in truth felt daA light, simple and readable introduction to the communication medium of e-mail (and IM, a bit) which wasn't without merit, but which in truth felt dated (written 2007) and for a different audience (older, more American) than myself.
I expected this to be a little more of an amusing trip through some of the pitfalls than it turned out to be. Perhaps because I use e-mails so much in a professional context, and in a pretty well-defined manner, it wasn't very relevant to me. Much of this fell more in the area of advising people to use good and correct language, and exercise a little caution and common sense - all pretty self-evident and not worth writing a 250+ page book about. There was hence relatively little to interest me, though I can appreciate it being a useful read to folk a little less comfortable with the medium....more
This was a bit of a random purchase - I'm not a massive cricket fan, and have never played or coached the sport - but for a quid it seemed worth a punThis was a bit of a random purchase - I'm not a massive cricket fan, and have never played or coached the sport - but for a quid it seemed worth a punt. Brearley writes intelligently, without excessive boasting nor a revisionist nature that can blunt some reissued books. Though slightly dated, though I maybe would've liked a bit more discussion on applying principles of captaincy to non-cricket uses (this was left to the final few chapters of the book, after a detailed exploration of every aspect of cricket), this would be well recommended to scholars or casual followers of the game....more
Disappointing. I picked this up having found interesting the two TV documentaries Clarke Carlisle had presented - on racism and on depression in footbDisappointing. I picked this up having found interesting the two TV documentaries Clarke Carlisle had presented - on racism and on depression in football and the wider world. I probably hence had higher expectations of this autobiography than was reasonable. Carlisle comes across as a decent, generally likeable and intelligent man.. but he is a footballer after all, and the ability of a sportsperson to tell an engaging and absorbing story is perhaps never going to be that of a professional author.
Sections where he talks about his personal struggles with honesty and frankness, discussions of the stresses of the game and the short and fragile career that is part of football, I found interesting. There were some well thought-out and well stated arguments here which reinforce the public opinion of the author as an intelligent commenter on the game. Too much of the book however felt simplistic and immature - tales of drunken japes and changing room humour, snipes at former managers and players who he disagreed with, and a (completely understandable, yet overly repeated) significant number of pages amounting to "I am coming to the end of my career, I'm struggling to make ends meet a bit, I love my supportive wife and family, I hope something else comes along that I can earn a crust doing" made too much of this autobiography a bit less interesting....more
This slightly oddly titled book (it’s about the use of large data sets, which these days happen to be most readily accessible online, as opposed to beThis slightly oddly titled book (it’s about the use of large data sets, which these days happen to be most readily accessible online, as opposed to being about people lying on the internet per se) was very interesting, readable and amusing. Though - like many popular/social science books I have read - it will probably end up only partially recalled by myself, a number of little quirky facts and explanations piqued my interest and will stick in my mind. The digitisation of year book photos to produce an ‘average’ face for students each decade (and how they gradually started to smile). The link between hurricanes and consumption of strawberry pop-tarts. How online searches suggest adult breast-feeding might be a fetish for Indian men. Plus a fair amount more solid stuff which discusses how ‘big data’ can impact politics, economics and public health. I did however find it a little US-centric in places and the author seemed a little twee when he spoke more about his personal life (which, call me cold, interested me less than the science and maths) so a four and a half overall....more
An appealing and involving tale - mainly concerning two narrative strands (a screw-up of a Dublin cop, and an American woman returning to Ireland to fAn appealing and involving tale - mainly concerning two narrative strands (a screw-up of a Dublin cop, and an American woman returning to Ireland to find her birth mother after finding out she'd been adopted as a baby) written with a high quality and a dark humour. I enjoyed 'The Star of the Sea' by the same author a decade and a half ago, and had high hopes here which weren't disappointed even with me now being a substantially older man. There were aspects which reminded me a little of Colin Bateman here, there was a lot to enjoy here. That said, as well there was also plenty to appreciate regarding the intelligence and sensitivity with which failure, disappointment and mortality was discussed. It was however too long and got bogged down in the middle....more
I have seen the film, and I enjoyed it, but that was twelve years before I picked up the novel second hand. Enough time had passed to remember only thI have seen the film, and I enjoyed it, but that was twelve years before I picked up the novel second hand. Enough time had passed to remember only the basic premise and the themes explored, which didn't blunt my enjoyment of the book.
There's relatively little I have to say about the basic plot. McMurphy, a cocksure criminal chancer obtains a transfer from a prison work farm into a psychiatric hospital as he sees this as an easy alternative, and locks horns with the authoritative head nurse Ratched. The novel explores the impact of his chaotic and confrontational nature on the strict and restricted atmosphere imposed on the ward by the aforementioned controlling matriarch.
The novel is readable and entertaining, and has a number of important points to make. The first-person perspective (from the POV of The Chief, a psychologically mute/deaf resident with a somewhat privileged opportunity to observe) of the novel works differently to that of the excellent film, and there are differences in how aspects of the narrative are handled in the two formats. It certainly made for a thought-provoking read, I certainly understand the critical acclaim received.
Of course it also reminded me of my feelings seeing the film that - call me sociologically 'conservative' if you will - I felt myself siding more with the authority figure, favouring the rules and necessary restrictions and calming the situation, than the supposed hero and his meddling immaturity and desire to have his own way, fuck the consequences. Which perchance might say something about the time it was written/set compared to now....more
Somewhere between a three and a four star, this had plenty I quite liked, but a number of qualities which prevented me from really enjoying the story.Somewhere between a three and a four star, this had plenty I quite liked, but a number of qualities which prevented me from really enjoying the story. The novel's opening chapters deal with two couples, three of the four being good friends and colleagues (plus the fairly new girlfriends of one of the men), agreeing to swap partners during a crazy weekend away together. The majority of the book explores the consequences of this night and the effect on the four of them as couples and individuals.
It's fairly obvious stuff, in truth, but sensitively handled, and with some unexpected twists that make this more than the expected 'Was that a mistake? It has caused me to question myself, my choices and my existing relationships' that was naturally going to form the main focus of this short, but at times intense, story.
Alas, aside from the fact I found most of it pretty predictable, I didn't much invest in the four main characters because I found them mainly unlikeable - which lowered my enthusiasm about the novel. I'm no moralistic prude, but I basically came to the conclusion that these people probably deserved all the complicated and at times traumatic shit that came their way, because of the way they behaved at, and after, the time they chose to damage their relationships by indulging in (albeit consensual) 'swapping'. Maybe had the section of the book prior to the partner swapping been longer and felt like less of a 'get drunk, take coke, make a likely regrettable sexual choice without considering the likely fall-out' narrative that occurred at great pace, I would have found more to sympathise with in the latter 80% of the book, but I assume the author chose this placing and emphasis....more
Undoubtedly high quality prose, and an attempt to say something quite profound about fear, human nature and individualism vs. collectivism, this made Undoubtedly high quality prose, and an attempt to say something quite profound about fear, human nature and individualism vs. collectivism, this made for a rich and at times absorbing read, intelligent and thought-provoking. The novel describes a man writing his mother-in-law’s memoirs, focusing particularly on a event which estranged her from her husband shortly after WWII.
Alas, for all the objective merits of this short tale, subjectively I never found enough to connect me with the characters. So little common ground, I felt McEwan’s message weakened by having to imagine how these characters might have felt, as opposed to feeling it myself. ...more
Not my kind of thing, alas - much more ‘psychological thriller’ targeted at female readers, I suspect - the four or five main characters are all womenNot my kind of thing, alas - much more ‘psychological thriller’ targeted at female readers, I suspect - the four or five main characters are all women, the focus is on their seemingly constant thoughts about what other people think and how they themselves feel, I’m clearly not the target audience. A psychologist, the mothers of two young men who are probably murderers, the mothers of victims who meet at a support group, a female police detective. All these people to me seemed flaky and a little pathetic - how much they are swept away by emotional fragility and how little sense (and professionalism) they have. There is some deliberate confusion of the reader, and a lot more accidental confusion due to the author not making their characters distinctive enough in my opinion. Or maybe it just didn’t hold my attention. ...more
DNF at ~50%. This for me was much more like 'Waterland' (which I struggled through because it came recommended, and persisted with in spite of not enjDNF at ~50%. This for me was much more like 'Waterland' (which I struggled through because it came recommended, and persisted with in spite of not enjoying it completely) than the serendipitous punt of 'Shuttlecock' (which had unpleasant characters but a narrative which interested me) - and I gave up at around half-way.
The novel follows an aged academic looking back on his life, as well as discussing family and other people in great biographical detail. A few of these vignettes were interesting and real, piquing my interest for a handful of pages, but the majority felt tedious and disconnected. There was just too little to hold together the various small tales told, too few of the characters held my interest, and epistolary sections about distant ancestors in 19th Century Britain were the final straw in breaking my fragile interest. Swift writes with beauty and no little talent of small description, I have no doubt the fragments did eventually pull together into some kind of plot... but there was just far far too little here to motivate me to continue....more
Very interesting, and (as was discussed in the introduction, which I left till the end) an intriguing counter-point to 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll Very interesting, and (as was discussed in the introduction, which I left till the end) an intriguing counter-point to 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' published four or five years earlier. Like Stevenson's novel, I read this with a general expectation and knowledge of the plot, and it proved to have greater depth and more to say than expected.
However, I found it difficult to completely immerse myself in. Firstly because the edition I was reading seemed* to have* every other word* marked with an asterisk* referring to a footnote that didn't seem to add* anything of much value. Secondly because Wilde's prose is so relentlessly clever and full of aphorisms that it often felt like style was smothering substance. Nevertheless, where it stuck to gothic horror it was enjoyable....more
A lot to admire about the powerful sense of time and place in this novel, the author creating a strong feeling of the atmosphere between people and thA lot to admire about the powerful sense of time and place in this novel, the author creating a strong feeling of the atmosphere between people and the atmosphere they were living in. I found the plot, when it came together, was interesting and felt real too. Certainly this is a book - about murder, xenophobia and tension in a backwater Norwegian town - which will stay with me.
For all this, it didn't completely work for me. The relentless grimness and fragmented nature of the novel made this short novel a bit of a slog at times. Perhaps the translation gave it a little more bleakness than in its original language. It felt to me like the author had been listening to early 1980s Bruce Springsteen (esp. the album 'Nebraska') for too long in a dark room alone, there was just too much of a sense of everything being completely fucked, too little light, which (curiously - I don't normally need a happy ending, but this was too desperate) left me feeling I appreciated the book more than enjoyed it....more
A complete punt, I picked this up cheaply from the library because it looked like it’d be a quick and interesting read. That it was. There’s a qualityA complete punt, I picked this up cheaply from the library because it looked like it’d be a quick and interesting read. That it was. There’s a quality to the writing here, a fragmented biography, an insight into a woman who is part of a dysfunctional sniping unbalanced married couple. The value of this approach lies in the fact we hear one half only of the story, her attempts to explain how she came to this point, unreliable and incomplete narrative.
The final third of the book was pretty relentless in its unpleasant nature, a needy wife and an angry husband tormenting each other in their differences, words and actions. I can see how many readers would find this all too much, and at times I did myself, but able to view it a little more objectively it just felt frustrating and sad as opposed to particularly upsetting me. I would have liked more balance, I would have liked more of a linear approach (the first half at times felt like a series of writing exercises), but I’m glad I gave this a go....more
A well-balanced and readable biography of the mathematical genius, Paul Erdos. Not going too far in to the mathematics, this content was well contextuA well-balanced and readable biography of the mathematical genius, Paul Erdos. Not going too far in to the mathematics, this content was well contextualised and pitched at the intelligent non-expert, plenty to stimulate further interest. The story of Erdos' early life and influences was also detailed and given colour, clearly the author was passionate about his subject. The second half did perhaps lose a little impact - slightly repetitive anecdotes about how stereotypically 'head in the clouds' and unusual an academic Erdos could be, counterbalanced by plenty of tales of how he influenced so many lives inside and outside the field (bordering on sycophancy). Still, there was a lot to take from the book and it made for an enjoyable read....more
I realised too later - after I had started reading this book at the start of my day's commute - that this was written by the author who wrote 'If NoboI realised too later - after I had started reading this book at the start of my day's commute - that this was written by the author who wrote 'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things'. I was expecting a crime thriller, a police procedural, a quiet mystery. I got McGregor exercising his one-trick pony.
For all the fact that there was a lot of beautifully observed writing here, insightful description of the changing seasons and times of a group of locals in a village where a teenage girl goes missing, human nature and nature itself, a realism and a number of effective and affecting vignettes... there was just too little substance for me. 'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things' is a shorter book in terms of both pages and the chronology of the narrative, and I didn't feel (as with this book) that I was being smothered with incompletely delineated characters and their fairly ordinary lives. In the end I cared little for the villagers and felt cheated of a resolution to the promising set-up. If McGregor was planning to say something understated about people and time and how a loss like this affects folk, his subtlety lost my attention....more
Decent, but I am starting to suspect that Peter Robinson is starting to flag a bit with the DCI Banks series. Many of the aspects I have enjoyed previDecent, but I am starting to suspect that Peter Robinson is starting to flag a bit with the DCI Banks series. Many of the aspects I have enjoyed previously about the series - the setting well-described, the characters relatable and familiar, the plot intricate - but the longer the series goes on, the more I find well-worn tropes of Banks' tangents in to discussing music and literature a little tiresome, the main characters described in the same way book after book beginning to feel unimaginative, little throwaway remarks as 'in jokes' for long-term followers of the series slightly clunky.
This novel starts with the Eastvale police detectives investigating the increasingly linked discoveries of the bodies of a female student found in an abandoned car, and a local businessman and financier dead at the bottom of a gully. It's a procedural novel with a decent pace.
There's a part of me which wants to re-read some of the earlier books in order to try and work out whether the format is tiring slightly, or if it's subjective on my part and a natural reaction to a lack of novelty. All the same, this was entertaining and enjoyable enough and I am sure fans will enjoy this latest installation....more
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