Sublime, from the opening "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" to "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done" - a classic, grown-up, politically & socially aware Dickens. Not as much slapstick as his other, more famous books (perhaps?) but quite an emotional roller-coaster.

(Jan'13) After almost 10 years i'm 'removing' this from my Permanent Collection (its not really going anywhere!) and using this for my new year reading list/booklog instead :)

(03/01/13)
Read 1
Killing Floor by Lee Child

(05/01/13)
Read 2
The Magical Worlds of LOTR by David Colbert

(14/01/13)
Read 3
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner (not registered)

This treasured school copy was lent to me by Pete/Samwise, the 1st of a fantasy series, very much in the Tolkien mould. There are a lot of the familiar features here; wizards, dwarves, a magic gem, a journey filled with danger & bravery etc. etc. The unusual part is that its firmly rooted in a real Cheshire landscape...Alderley Edge, not somewhere i'm familiar with...in some recent unspecified past. Anyhoo, this is good fun, full of layered mythology and hints of bigger themes, obviously Garner with an eye on the sequels ;) Thanks Pete.

(21/01/13)
Read 4
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

(27/01/13)
Read 5
The Book of Penguin

Not registered, from the bookshelf at Pearson in Harlow...part of the same group as Penguin! This is an odd little corporate 'vanity' book. There are some interesting snippets of history, Allen Lane, 'inventor' of the cheap paperback and a design classic in 1935, and the continuing growth and evolution of such a huge international publishing house. But in the end, the style subsumes the substance and its all a bit too precious (if you don't work for Penguin that is!) I will replace on the shelf.

(29/01/13)
Read 6
Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

A Short Introduction to the Crusades by Christopher Tyerman - not finished

The Bond Files: File 001 (not finished)
Less than a 3rd through this monster guide to all things Bond, and only (only!) the books covered, to come separate ‘Files’ about the films, TV, comics, games etc. Of course the books are the mother-lobe, the source of the endearing and enduring interest in the franchise. As a Bond and Fleming fan I have read all the original books, but was still a little surprised how short the actual output and time span was, easily eclipsed by the work of 2 official ‘ghost writers’ John Gardner & Raymond Benson. This only goes up to 1999 so doesn’t cover the more recent ‘celebrity’ homages. Also, other facts I should have known; the last novel was not published in Fleming’s lifetime (‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, 1965), and that the first of Gardner’s novels, Colonel Sun, was as early as 1968. Each book is exhaustively reviewed in terms of plot, snippets of Bond background, inaccuracies, locations, villainous foibles etc. So far, so much fun :)

(16/02/13)
Read 7
On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming

(27/02/12)
Read 8
A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson

(04/03/13)
Read 9
Woe Is I by Patricia T.O'Connor

(13/03/13)
Read 10
Walking on Glass by Iain Banks

(25/03/13)
Read 11
How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff

(25/03/13)
Read 12
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

(06/04/13)
Read 13
The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland

(12/04/13)
Read 14
It's Only a Movie by Mark Kermode

(30/04/13)
Read 15
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill

(05/05/13)
Read 16
Die Trying by Lee Child

(09/05/13)
Read 17
An Optimists Tour of the Future by Mark Stevenson

(19/05/13)
Read 18
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

(27/05/13)
Read 19
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

(31/05/13)
Read 20
A Bit of a Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs

(11/06/13)
Read 21
The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith (not registered)

Borrowed from a neighbour, herewith my mini book review tweet, 'And so the series meanders on like the sluggish rain-swollen brown rivers of Botswana. Miracles occur, but of the heart not of the body.'

(18/06/13)
Read 22
The Good Man Joseph and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman (not registered)

This is brilliantly conceived and perfectly constructed re-telling of the life of Jesus through the eyes of his twin brother Christ. This review includes spoilers, which is odd considering that this is one of the most famous stories ever told. However, my bible knowledge is woeful, so I’m probably missing a lot references and subtleties here. Pullman takes the bones of the new testament and creates a back story to explain some (most) of the miracles and the [human] guiding hands behind the Christ-ian ‘strategy’ including the contemporaneous chronicle of the events. So, Jesus had a brother, a quiet, more studious and less charismatic individual who quietly looks after his more famous sibling. As Jesus’s fame rises, Christ faithfully documents what his brother says and does and passes these scrolls onto a mysterious stranger. The stranger has a plan for a new church to preserve the memory and teachings of Jesus, and to get Christ dual-billing with his brother! But I won’t spoil the twist, suffice to say the role of Judas and the details of the crucifixation and resurrection have been ‘re-imagined’ as a Hollywood producer might say. And, putting aside the obvious religious pitfalls (what no Christian uprising against PP?), who’s to say that this version of the truth (or Truth) is no more correct and valid than the adopted, authorised and much adapted writ?

(02/07/13)
Read 23
Life! Death! Prizes! by Stephen May (not registered)

INCLUDES BIG SPOILERS
This is one of those books that that is so believable and engaging, almost immediately, that you are hooked; I didn’t want to finish it. Also, I saw and heard Stephen May at a recent book festival and he came across as a very witty and clever author. I don’t think the cover design and the blurb lets you know quite how funny and emotional this book is.

The main plot follows 19-year-old Billy Smith in the weeks after his mother is killed in a failed mugging, trying to come to terms with his grief, the ‘ghost’ of his mother’s attacker, his dysfunctional family, and his own life issues… and, oh yes, bringing up his 6-year old half-brother! To call this a ‘coming of age’ novel is a bit too trite. Billy and Oscar survive the lows and the blows to the happiest possible conclusion (in the circumstances). I think SM loved these characters so much in the end – as we the readers do – that nothing short of this finale would be acceptable. What are authors if not masters of destiny for their creations?

(10/08/13)
Read 24
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold

(22/08/13)
Read 25
Black Bodies & Quantum Cats by Jennifer Ouellette

(02/09/13)
Read 26
The Closed Circle by Jonathan Coe

(24/09/13)
Read 27
Tripwire by Lee Child

(08/10/13)
Read 28
1974 by David Peace

(10/10/13)
Read 29
I Am Right You Are Wrong by Edward de Bono

(27/10/13)
Read 30
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

(09/11/13)
Read 31
City Boy by Geraint Anderson

(27/11/13)
Read 32
The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling

(08/12/13)
Read 33
Lyttleton's Britain by Iain Pattinson

(23/12/13)
Read 34
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

(30/12/13)
Read 35
Hemingway Adventure by Michael Palin