Books read, 2019

  •  155 books read this year,  that may be a record.


  • 29.12.19 Work Happy, Jill Geiser. Important
  • 28.12.19. Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse. Jennifer Worth. Good.
  • 27.12.19 The Wedding Quilt, Jennifer Chiaverini. Confusingly organized.
  • 23.12.19 Highest Duty, Capt Sully Sullenberger. Good.
  • 20.12.19 The Black Echo, Michael Connoly. Good.
  • 18.12.19. The Devils Cave, Bruno series, Martin Walker. Better.
  • 16.12.19. Flask of the Drunken Master. Susan Spann. Good.
  • 14.12.19. Call the Midwife. Jennifer Worth. Good.
  • 13.12.19 The Education of an Idealist. Samantha Power. Oooof.
  • 9.12.19. This is going to hurt, Adam Kay. Good. Hilarious and sobering
  • 8.12.19 Cross-Country Quilters, Jennifer Chiaverini. Sweet.
  • 6.12.19 Nutshell, Ian McEwan. Beautifully written.
  • 6.12.19. The Alchemist's Illusion, Gigi Pandian. Good.
  • 4.12.19. Blue Moon, Lee Child. Stressful
  • 2.12.19 Code name Pauline, Pearl Witherington Corioley. Interesting
  • 31.11.19 Royal Holiday, Jasmine Guillory. Good.
  • 30.11.19 The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Michael Connoly. Good.
  • 29.11.19 A crowded Grave, Martin Walker. Good.
  • 27.11.19 The Wedding Party, Jasmine Guillory. Good.
  • 22.11.19 With the End in Mind, Kathryn Mannix. Good, important
  • 18.11.19 The Proposal, Jasmine Guillory. Good.
  • 17.11.19 A better Man, Louise Penny. Excellent.
  • 14.11.19 Black Diamond, Bruno. Martin Walker. Good.
  • 8.11.19.Blade of the Samurai, Susan Spann. Good.
  • 7.11.19 The Dark Vineyard, Martin Walker. Excellent
  • 6.11.19 The Wedding Date, Jasmin Guillory. Don't normally read romance, but this was good.
  • 3.11.19 The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow. Utterly brilliant. ,
  • 3.11.19 Elusive Elixir, Gigi Pandian. Better.
  • 31.10.19. Claws of the Cat, Susan Spann. Good!!
  • 30.10.19 Why we Sleep. Matthew Walker. Useful
  • 27.10.19 Go the f**k to sleep. Alan Mansbach. Ummm, no.
  • 26.10.19.Dyer's English, Benjamin Dryer. Brilliant, though he'd hate that term.
  • 23.10.19 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling. Marvelous
  • 18.10.19 The Masquerading Magician, Gigi Pandian. Meh. Finish the book.
  • 10.10.19 Harry Potter and the half-blood prince, JK Rowling. Excellent
  • 6.10.19 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. J K Rowling. Grim but excellent
  • 5.10.19 Bruno, Chief of Police, Martin Walker. Very good
  • 3.10.19 Enigma, Robert Harris. Fine
  • 2.10.19. Death and Judgement, Donna León. Too much, don't read it. Possibly done with the series.
  • 29.9.19. The Accidental Alchemist, Gigi Pandian. Excellent.
  • 28.9.19 The colour or magic, Terry Pratchett. Good.
  • 22.9.19 Gastronomical Alphabet, MFK Fisher, Fine
  • 22.9.19 Gastronomical Me, MFK Fisher, Gently cruel
  • 21.9.19 How to Cook a Wolf, MFK Fisher. Good
  • 20.9.19 Radunda's 3rd Cruise, Aurthur Ransome, Sadly dry, but thin
  • 20.9.19 High Endeavours, life and adventures of Beryl and Miles Smeeton, Miles Clark. Excellent
  • 18.9.19 Swallowdale, Arthur Ransome, Fabulous
  • 18.9.19 Swallows and Amazons, Aurthur Ransome, Wonderful
  • 16.9.19 Gypsy Moth Circles the World, Ser Francis Chichester, Good.
  • 15.9.19 Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett, Very good
  • 14.9.19 Winter Holiday, Arthur Ransome, Great!
  • 14.9.19 Pigeon Post, Arthur Ransome, Very good!
  • 13.9.19 Secret Water, Arthur Ransome, Excellent
  • 12.9.19 Little Sister, Barbara Gowdy, Weird, but OK
  • 12.9.19 The 100 Year House, Rebecca Makkai, fine
  • 11.9.19 The Shepherd's crown, Terry Pratchett, Excellent
  • 10.9.19 Talking to Dragons, Patricia C Wrede, Great too.
  • 10.9.19 Calling on Dragons, Patricial C Wrede. Great!
  • 10.9.19 Searching for Dragons, Patricial C Wrede, Excellent
  • 9.9.19 Dealing with Dragons, Patricial C Wrede. Wonderful.
  • 9.9.19 We didn't mean to go to Sea, Arthur Ransome, Marvelous
  • 8.9.19 Thud, Terry Pratchett, Marvelous
  • 7.9 Res és impossible, Killian Journet, Bé
  • 6.9 Kingfisher Days, Susuan Coyne, Excellent
  • 5.9 Gourmet Rhapsody, Muriel Barbery, Meh, all purple prose
  • 4.0 Silk, Alessandro Bariccio, unusual.
  • 3.9 Yiddish for Pirates, Gary Bladwin. Pretty Grim for a comedy
  • 3.9.19 Sweet Thames Run Softly, Robert Gibbings, disappointing
  • 2.9.19 The Glass Room, Ann Cleeves, Very good indeed.
  • 1.9.19 The Long Way, Bernard Motissier, Fine
  • 31.8.19 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling, Excellent
  • 29.8.19 Razor Girl, Carl Hiassen. Excellent
  • 29.8.19 The Cookbook Collector. Allegra Goodman. Scattered.
  • 28.8.19 The Bitter Taste of Time. Beá González. Grim.
  • 28.8.19 Dress your family in corduroy and Denim. David Sedaris. His brother is the funniest part.
  • 27.8.19 The Solitude of Prime Numbers. Paolo Giordano. Meh.
  • 26.8.19 The Forgotten Foot. M. F. K. Fisher. Very good
  • 25.8.19. Jalna. Mazo de la Roche. Bad. Subsequent novels terrible.
  • 24.8.19 Golden Tresses of the Dead. Alan Bradley. Good.
  • 23.8.19. Dressed for Death, Dona León. Good.
  • 21.8.19 Educated, Tara Westover. Stressful.
  • 18.8.19, Silent Voices, Anne Cleeves. Good.
  • 17.8.19 The Rise of the Ultrarunners, Adharanand Finn. Good
  • 12.8.19. A Great Reckoning, Louise Penny. Again, good.
  • 11.8.19 The Outsiders, S. E Hinton. I'm not the target audience, but good.
  • 10.8.19. The Birth House, Ami Mackay. Good.
  • 9.8.19 Death in a Strange Country, Donna Leone. Good.
  • 28.7. 19. Calypso, David Sedari. Fine.
  • 25.7. 19. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe. Distressing but good.
  • 14.7. 19, Death at La Fenice, Donna León. Good.
  • 14.7.19 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. JK Rowling. Brilliant
  • 29.6.19, Depth of Winter, Craig Johnstone. A little much, but fine
  • 22.6.19 The Little Paris Bookshop, Nina George. A wee bit melodramatic, but good.
  • 20.6.19.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J K Rowling. Brilliant
  • 19.6.19 A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis. Yes.
  • 19.6.19 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. J. K. Rowling. Fabulous, of course.
  • 18.6.19 Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame Onwouache and Joshua Davis Stein. Fine
  • 15.6.19 Power Forward, Reggie Love, fine
  • 14.6.19 Findings, Kathleen Jamie. Largely lovely
  • 13.6.10 Bird Detective, Bridget Stutchbury. Fascinating if not compelling
  • 12.6.19 The Master of Disguise, Antonio J Mandez. Interesting
  • 10.6.19. Running with the Kenyans, Arhadararan Finn. Good writing makes such a difference
  • 8.6.19 The Elephant in the Room, Tommy Tomlinson. The man can write.
  • 6.6.19 The Nature of the Beast, Louise Penny. Too intense
  • 6.6.19 The Storied Life of A J Firky, Gabrielle Zevin, I think I've read it before and it was good both times
  • 4.6.19 Birds, Art, Life. Kyo Maclear. Generally good, beautifully written.
  • 1.6.19 Hidden Depths, Anne Cleeves. Good.
  • 28.5.19 Goodnight from London, Jennifer Robson. Last book of hers. :-(
  • 23.5.19 Becoming, Michelle Obama, good.
  • 19.5.19 Rich People Problems, Kevin Kwan, fine
  • 17.5.19 The Fated Sky, Mary Robinette Kowal. Good.
  • 16.5.19 Moonlight over Paris, Jennifer Robson. Schmatzy but good
  • 15.5.19 The Goddess of Yantai. Ian Hamilton. Ok
  • 14.5.19 After the War, Jennifer Robson. Good.
  • 7.5.19 Somewhere in France, Jennifer Robson. Chic lit at its best. Historically accurate
  • 6.5.19 Under Heaven, Guy Gabriel Kay. Excellent.
  • 2.5.19 China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan, trite but satisfying
  • 1.5 19 the Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson. Too dark by fa, but done
  • 29.4.19 Fate, Ian Hamilton. So good I stayed up till 2am to finish it.
  • 25.4.19 Norwegian Wood, chopping, stacking and drying wood the Scandinavian way. Lars Mytting. Surprisingly good
  • 20.4.19 Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin. Bloody good, and the first Russia lit I've read.
  • 20.4.19. Past Tense, Lee Child. Not my favourite.
  • 14.4.19 Absolutely on Music, Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa. Fascinating
  • 13.4.19 Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan. Good.
  • 10.4.19. Precious Cargo, Craig Davidson. Very good
  • 10.4.19 The Anna Karenina Fix, Viv Groskop. Unique and great
  • 6.4.19. The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig. Beautiful and frightening and so important
  • 3.4.19. Nine Women, One dress. Jane L. Rosen. Fluff, but good fun fluff.
  • 2.4.19 Operació Urnes, Laia Vincens i Xavi Tedó. Frustrant però interessant
  • 1.4.19 Lily and the Octopus, Stephan Rowley. Weird, but OK.
  • 30.3.19 Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver. I'd have quit early on for any other author, but it was good, finally. Just.
  • 28.3.19 The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, Nova Jacobs. Stretched belief. But ok
  • 26.3.19. Dragon's Teeth. Michael Creighton. Very good. .
  • 25.3.19 Die me a river. Dianne Swanson. Odd and not good.
  • 24.3. 19 Crocodile tears, Anthony Horowitz, meh.
  • 23.3.19 Miriam Shamar Hits the road. Sheba Karim. Light, fine.
  • 22.3.19 Telling Tales, Ann Cleeves. Good
  • 21.3.19 Skunk Works, Ben R Rich and Leo Janos. Surprisingly good, mostly.
  • 20.3.19 Woolly, Ben Mezrich. Very good.
  • 17.3.19 Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett. Fabulous
  • 14.3.19 A Tiding of Magpies, Steve Burrows. Good.
  • 12.3.19 The Gown, Jennifer Robson. Excellent, up till 3am to finish it.
  • 10.3.19. Snake head, Anthony Horowirz. Over the too.
  • 9.3.19 Inside of a dog, Alexandra Horowitz. Fascinating.
  • 5.3.19.Who thought this would be a good idea? Alyssa Mastromonaco and Lauren Oyer. Good.
  • 5.3.19 The Imam of Tawi-Tawi, Ian Hamilton, good.
  • 2.3.19 The Lady Astronaut of Mars, Mary Robinette Kowal. Good.
  • 1.2.19 Ark Angel, Anthony Horowitz. Ridiculous.
  • 21.1.19 Scorpia, Anthony Horowitz. Fine, not great.
  • 17.1.19 The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal. Good science, mediocre writing.
  • 7.2.19 The Christmas Scorpion, Lee Child, ending a little abrupt.
  • 7.2.19 Sightlines, Kathleen Jaime, very good.
  • 20.1.19 C. J. Samson, Tombland. Fine.
  • 7.1.19 Eagle Strike, Anthony Horowitz. Meh.
  • 4.1.19 The Crow Trap, Anne Cleeves. OK.

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