Alexi

Thread open! Cookies for all. Although after last night we are an alcohol free zone! Happy 2018 everyone.

Spare post.

ROUND ROBIN CHALLENGE Challenges to me: 1. Willoyd - Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb 2. Madeleine - Heresy by S J Parris 3. Karen.d - The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins 4. Chesilbeach - Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters 5. Chaliepud - Time and Time Again by Ben Elton 6. Little Pixie - 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 7. Frankie - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 8. More reading time required - Joyland by Stephen King 9. Ben - The Beach by Alex Garland Challenges by me: 1. Willoyd - The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters 2. Madeleine - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 3. Karen.d - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 4. Chesilbeach - The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 5. Chaliepud - Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 6. Little Pixie - Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver 7. Frankie - Once in a House on Fire by Andrea Ashworth 8. More reading time required - Skagboys by Irvine Welsh 9. Ben - The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

US STATES CHALLENGE Another list! My experience of US literature is alarmingly bad, so this is the list I am working off. Only one (Alabama) is/was a reread Books in RED are ones I have read. 01. To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee (Alabama) 02. White Fang - Jack London (Alaska) 03. The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver (Arizona) 04. True Grit - Charles Portis (Arkansas) 05. East of Eden - John Steinbeck (California) 06. Plainsong - Kent Haruf (Colorado) 07. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates (Connecticut) 08. The Saint of Lost Things - Christopher Castellani (Delaware) 09. To Have and Have Not - Ernest Hemingway (Florida) 10. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt (Georgia) 11. From Here To Eternity - James Jones (Hawaii) 12. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson (Idaho) 13. The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow (Illinois) 14. The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington (Indiana) 15. A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley (Iowa) 16. The Wizard of Oz - L Frank Baum (Kansas) 17. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe (Kentucky) 18: Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice (Louisiana) 19. The Cider House Rules - John Irving (Maine) 20. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler (Maryland) 21: Walden - Henry David Thoreau (Massachusetts) 22. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (Michigan) 23. Main Street - Sinclair Lewis (Minnesota) 24. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner (Mississippi) 25. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain (Missouri) 26. A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean (Montana) 27. My Antonia - Willa Cather (Nebraska) 28: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson (Nevada) 29. Peyton Place - Grace Metalious (New Hampshire) 30. Independence Day - Richard Ford (New Jersey) 31. Red Sky at Morning - Richard Bradford (New Mexico) 32. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton (New York) 33. Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier (North Carolina) 34. The Round House - Louise Eldrich (North Dakota) 35. The Broom of the System - David Foster Wallace (Ohio) 36. Paradise - Toni Morrison (Oklahoma) 37. Sometimes a Great Notion - Ken Kesey (Oregon) 38. Rabbit, Run - John Updike (Pennsylvania) 39. The Witches of Eastwick - John Updike (Rhode Island) 40. The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd (South Carolina) 41. Welcome to Hard Times - EL Doctorow (South Dakota) 42. A Death in the Family - James Agee (Tennessee) 43. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy (Texas) 44. The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff (Utah) 45. Pollyanna - Eleanor H. Porter (Vermont) 46. Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver (Virginia) 47. Snow Falling on Cedars- David Guterson (Washington) 48. Washington DC - Gore Vidal (Washington DC) 49. Shiloh - Phillis Reynolds Naylor (West Virginia) 50. The Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach (Wisconsin) 51. Close Range: Wyoming Stories - E. Annie Proulx (Wyoming) 7/51 completed

THE ENGLISH COUNTIES CHALLENGE - ALEX'S VERSION One more book to finish so will post some general thoughts here when done. Books in RED are ones I've read. 1. Bedfordshire - My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates 2. Berkshire - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 3. Bristol - The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young 4. Buckinghamshire - The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper 5. Cambridgeshire - The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers 6. Cheshire - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell 7. City of London - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 8. Cornwall - Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier 9. Cumbria - Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome 10. Derbyshire - Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks 11. Devon - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 12. Dorset - Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 13. County Durham - Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens 14. East Riding of Yorkshire - South Riding by Winifred Holtby 15. East Sussex - Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne 16. Essex - The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James 17. Gloucestershire - Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee 18. Greater London* - Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 19. Greater Manchester - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 20. Hampshire - Watership Down by Richard Adams 21. Herefordshire - On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin 22. Hertfordshire - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 23. Isle of Wight - The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham 24. Kent - The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates 25. Lancashire - Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson 26. Leicestershire - The Right to an Answer by Anthony Burgess 27. Lincolnshire - The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot 28. Merseyside - An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge 29. Norfolk - The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley 30. North Yorkshire - Dracula by Bram Stoker 31. Northamptonshire - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 32. Northumberland - The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin 33. Nottinghamshire - Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence 34. Oxfordshire - The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford 35. Rutland - Set In Stone by Robert Goddard 36. Shropshire - Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse 37. Somerset - Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore 38. South Yorkshire - A Kestral For A Knave by Barry Hines 39. Staffordshire - The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett 40. Suffolk - The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald 41. Surrey - Emma by Jane Austen 42. Tyne and Wear - Another World by Pat Barker 43. Warwickshire - Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes 44. West Midlands - Middlemarch by George Eliot 45. West Sussex - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons 46. West Yorkshire - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 47. Wiltshire - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope 48. Worcestershire - The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

BOOKS ACQUIRED 2018 The Very First Damn Thing by Jodi Taylor Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor No Time like the Past by Jodi Taylor Munich by Robert Harris A Perfect Silence by Alba Ambert Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding How Hard Can it Be by Allison Pearson The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F Scott Fitzgerald Indignation by Philip Roth T2: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh Dead Men’s Trousers by Irvine Welsh The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver by Shawn Inmon The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata Disney by Rees Quinn What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor Once In A House On Fire by Andrea Ashworth Fifty Years of Hurt by Henry Winter

TBR L-Z Camilla Lackberg - The Ice Princess Paul Lake - I'm Not Really Here Erik Larsen – In the Garden of Beasts Doreen Lawrence - And Still I Rise Valerie Lawson - Mary Poppins, She Wrote John Le Carre - Call for the Dead Debra Lee – Taken Harper Lee – Go Set a Watchman Sheri Leigh - Graveyard Games Sinclair Lewis - Main Street Eric Lomax - The Railway Man Jack London - White Fang Karen Lord - Redemption in Indigo Samantha Mackintosh - Kisses for Lula Kevin Maher - The Fields Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall Scott Mariani - The Alchemist's Secret Howard Marks - Mr Nice Andrew Marr - History of Modern Britain Andrew Marr - My Trade Ian Marshall - The Class of 92 Ann M Martin - Kristy's Great Idea Daniel Martin - Black Tie, White Noise George R R Martin – A Clash of Kings George R R Martin – A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow George R R Martin – A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold George R R Martin – A Feast for Crows George R R Martin – A Dance with Dragons: Dreams and Dust George R R Martin - A Dance with Dragons: After the Feast Robert K Massie - Nicholas and Alexandra Kimberly McCreight - Reconstructing Amelia Bob McElwain - Free to Die Katie McGarry - Pushing the Limits Brian McGilloway - Little Girl Lost Reg McKay - The Last Godfather Christina McKenna - The Disenchanted Widow Philipp Meyer - American Rust Ben Mezrich - The Accidental Billionaires Candy Miller - Kalahari Passage Kimberley Rae Miller - Coming Clean Pankaj Mishra - Age of Anger Brian Moore - Beware of the Dog Liane Moriarty - What Alice Forgot Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer - Dear Lupin: Letters to a Wayward Son JoJo Moyes - Me Before You Haruki Murakami - 1Q84 Urzula Muskus - Long Bridge out of the Gulags Jo Nesbo - Nemesis Jo Nesbo - The Redeemer Jo Nesbo - Phantom Jo Nesbo - The Snowman Jo nesbo - The Devil's Star Jo Nesbo - The Leopard Patrick Ness - A Monster Calls Patrick Ness - The Crane Wife David Nicholls - Starter for Ten John Niven – Kill Your Friends Solomon Northup - 12 Years A Slave Sean O’Connor - Handsome Brute Joseph O'Neill - Crime City Louise O’Neill – Only Ever Yours Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient Chuck Palahniuk - Fight Club S J Parris - Heresy S J Parris - Treachery James Patterson - Kiss the Girls James Patterson - Cat and Mouse Chris Pavone - The Expats Chris Pavone – The Accident Keith A Pearson - The 86 Fix Stef Penney - The Tenderness of Wolves Karen Perry – The Boy That Never Was Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent Caryl Phillips - Final Passage Sylvia Plath – The Bell Jar Ian Plenderleith - Rock and Roll Soccer Oliver Potzsch - The Hangman's Daughter Jeff Ragsdale, David Shields and Michael Logan - Jeff, One Lonely Guy Ian Rankin - Fleshmarket Close Arthur Ransome - Swallowdale Lexi Revellian - Replica Tom Reynolds - Blood Sweat and Tea Kate Riordan – The Girl in the Photograph Graham Robb - Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris Benjamin Roberts - Gunshots and Goalposts Trevor Roberts – Caught by Cameras Veronica Roth – Divergent Angus Roxburgh - Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the struggle for Russia Edward Rutherfurd – Sarum Dorothy L Sayers – Whose Body Victor Sebesteyen – 1946: The Making of the Modern World Tina Seskis - One Step Too Far Anna Sewell - Black BeautyGeorges Simenon – Pietr the LatvianMartin Sixsmith - Philomena Karin Slaughter - Indelible Christopher Smith - Fifth Avenue Tom Rob Smith - Child 44Bradley Somer – FishbowlDiana Souhami - Murder at Wrotham Hill Dana Stabenow - A Cold Day for Murder Kathryn Stockett - The Help Harriet Beecher Stowe – Uncle Tom’s Cabin Mari Strachan - The Earth Hums in B Flat William Styron - Sophie's Choice Anthony Summers - Not in your Lifetime Antal Szerb - Journey by Moonlight Donna Tartt - The GoldfinchDaniel Taylor – I Believe in Miracles Hunter S Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Lesley Thomson - The Detective's Daughter Rosy Thornton - Ninepins Peter Thurgood - The Stories behind London's Streets Nicholas Timmins - The Five Giants Amor Towles - A Gentleman in Moscow Scott Turow - Reversible Errors Anne Tyler – A Spool of Blue Thread Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five David Wailing - Fake Kate Karen Thompson Walker - The Age of Miracles Sam Warburton - Refuse to be Denied Mark Ward - Hammered Mike Ward - Gullhanger Heather Wardell - Seven Exes is Eight too Many Sarah Waters - Tipping the Velvet Sarah Waters – The Paying Guests Sarah Waters - FingersmithS J Watson – Second Life Katherine Webb - The Misbegotten Andy Weir – The Martian Irvine Welsh - Skagboys Scott Westerfeld – Pretties Kate Williams – The Storms of War Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport – On the Clock Sarah Winman - When God was a Rabbit David Winner - Brilliant Orange Scott Wittenberg - The May Day Murders Christian Wolmar - The Great Railway Revolution Jennifer Worth - Call the Midwife Nathan Yates - Beyond Evil A B Yehoshua - Friendly Fire Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Angel's Game Markus Zusak – I Am the Messenger Stefan Zweig - The Post Office Girl

TBR A-K Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of LondonDouglas Adams - Hitchhikers Guide to the GalaxyCecilia Ahern - The Marble Collector Uwem Akpan – Say You’re One of Them Frederick Lewis Allen – Only Yesterday Frederick Lewis Allen – Since Yesterday Frederick Lewis Allen – The Lords of Creation Maria Angels Anglada - The Auschwitz Violin Kate Atkinson - A God in Ruins Fredrick Backman – A Man Called OveDavid Baldacci - Absolute Power Sam Baldwin - For Fukui's Sake JG Ballard - Empire of the Sun Nonna Bannister - The Holocaust Diaries Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending Anthony Beevor - StalingradJeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian – The SystemDennis Bergkamp - Stillness and SpeedH G Bissinger - Friday Night Lights Malorie Blackman - Noughts and Crosses Tracy Bloom - No one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday Judy Blume - Tiger Eyes Attilio Bolzoni - White Shotgun Kathryn Bonella- Hotel K Anthony Bourdain - Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain - A Cook's Tour Mark Bowden - Killing Pablo Tom Bower - No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone Ray Bradbury - Farenheit 451 Rodric Braithwaite - Moscow 1941: A City and it's People at War Anne Bronte - The Tenant of Wildfell HallMax Brooks - World War ZBill Browder – Red Notice Helen Bryan - War Brides Edward Bunker - Mr Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade Jimmy Burns - La RojaJessie Burton – The Miniaturist Luca Caioli - MessiMichael Calvin - The Nowhere Men Mark Cappell - Run Run Run Lewis Carroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Noel Cawthorne - Witch Hunt: History of a PersecutionMichael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay Tracy Chevalier - Falling Angels Lee Child - Killing Floor Lee Child - The Affair Noam Chomsky – Occupy Agatha Christie – Halloween Party Agatha Christie – Lord Edgware Dies Agatha Christie – Towards Zero Agatha Christie – The Sittaford Mystery Agatha Christie – After the Funeral Agatha Christie – Appointment with Death Agatha Christie – Curtain Agatha Christie – Destination Unknown Agatha Christie – They Came to Baghdad Agatha Christie – The Pale Horse Agatha Christie – Murder in the Mews Agatha Christie – Taken at the Flood Agatha Christie – Poirot’s Early Cases Agatha Christie – Postern of Fate Agatha Christie – Cards on the Table Agatha Christie – Crooked House Agatha Christie – Passenger to Frankfurt Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie – Cat Among the Pigeons Agatha Christie – Ordeal by Innocence Agatha Christie – N or M? Agatha Christie – Death in the Clouds Agatha Christie – One, Two, Buckle my Shoe Agatha Christie – Evil Under the Sun Agatha Christie – Sparkling Cyanide Agatha Christie – Dumb Witness Agatha Christie – The HollowSusanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell David Cohen - Bringing them up RoyalSuzanne Collins - The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins - Catching Fire Suzanne Collins - Mockingjay David Conn - Richer Than God Thomas H Cook - The Last Talk with Lola Faye Susan Coolidge - What Katy Did George Cooper - The Origin of Financial CrisesRobert Dallek - John F Kennedy: An Unfinished LifeJames Dashner –The Maze Runner Robert Davies - The Man Who Lived at the End of the World John Deering - Bradley Wiggins: Tour de ForceBarbara Demick – Nothing to Envy Diana Dempsey - Falling Star Becky Dennington - Me and the Ugly C Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Crime and PunishmnentDavid James Duncan - The Brothers K Mark Dunn - Ella Minnow Pea Steven Dunne - The Reaper Sam Eastland - Siberian Red Damien Echols - Life After Death: Eighteen years on Death Row Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith - My Secret Sister Nick Edwards - In Stitches Ben Elton - Two BrothersBen Elton – Time and Time Again Tan Twan Eng - The Gift of RainMichel Faber – The Hundred and Ninety Nine Steps Rio Ferdinand - 2 Sides Charles Fernyhough - Pieces of Light Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones' BabyJoseph Finder - Paranoia Helen FitzGerald - The Cry Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Ken Follett - Pillars of the Earth Eric Foner - Give Me Liberty John Foot - Calcio Michael Frayn - Skios Barbara Freethy - Ryan's Return Dawn French - A Tiny Bit MarvellousFrancis Fukuyama - Political Order and Political DecayNeil Gaiman - Stardust Neil Gaiman – Anansi Boys Neil Gaiman – The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman – Everwhere Alex Garland - The Beach Antonio Garrido - The Corpse Reader Lisa Genova - Still Alice Tess Gerritsen - The Silent Girl Tess Gerritsen - Bloodstream Stella Gibbons - Cold Comfort Farm George Gissing - The Unclassed Guinevere Glasfurd – The Words in my Hand David Goldblatt - The Game of Our Lives Alex Grecian - The Black Country Graham Greene – Brighton Rock Phillippa Gregory - The Kingmaker's Daughter John Grisham – The Whistler John Grisham – A Time to Kill George Grossmith - Diary of a Nobody Richard Guard - Lost London Heather Gudenkauf - These Things Hidden Carla Guelfenbein - The Rest Is Silence Romesh Gunesekera - ReefMatt Haig – The HumansDuncan Hamilton - Provided You Don't Kiss Me Dashiell Hammett - The Maltese Falcon Chad Harbach - The Art of Fielding Jane Harper - The Dry Robert Harris - Imperium Thomas Harris - Red DragonJonathan Harvey – The Secrets We Keep Nadia Hashimi - The Pearl that Broke its Shell Ben Hatch - The P45 Diaries Noah Hawley - The Good Father Terry Hayes - I am PilgrimJohn Heilemann and Mark Halperin - Double Down Richard Herley - The Penal ColonyJason Hewitt – The Dynamite Room Howard Hockin - High StakesAndrew Hodges – Alan Turing: The Enigma Steena Holmes - Finding Emma Ninni Holmqvist - The Unit A M Homes – May We Be ForgivenRafael Honigstein – Das RebootAnthony Horowitz- MoriartyAnthony Horowitz - The House of Silk John Hoskison – Inside Victor Hugo - Notre Dame de Paris Victor Hugo - Les Miserables Graham Hunter – BarcaChristopher Isherwood – Goodbye to Berlin Eowyn Ivey - The Snow ChildQuintin Jardine - Lethal Intent Liz Jensen - War Crimes for the Home Lisa Jewell - The House We Grew Up In Jonas Jonasson - The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and DisappearedAndy Jones – The Two of Us Owen Jones - The Establishment Rachel Joyce - PerfectBen Judah - This is London M R C Kasasian - The Secrets of Gaslight LaneAndrew Kaufman – Born Weird Oliver Kay - Forever Young Carolyn Keene - The Secret of the Old Clock Lindsey Kelk - I Heart Hollywood Lindsey Kelk - I Heart LondonHannah Kent - Burial Rites Simon Kernick – RelentlessSimon Kernick - The Business of DyingJudith Kerr- When Hitler Stole Pink RabbitYasmina Khadra – What the Day Owes the NightStephen King – JoylandStephen King – Mr MercedesStephen King – The StandStephen King - ITBarbara Kingsolver - Flight Behaviour Ayse Kulin - Last Train to IstanbulChris Kyle – American Sniper

BOOKS READ 2018JANUARY Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons 3/5 Age of Anger by Pankaj Mishra 4/5 Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor 4/5 Joyland by Stephen King 3/5 Heresy by SJ Parris 3.5/5 Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome 3/5 FEBRUARY I Believe in Miracles by Daniel Taylor 4/5 The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich 3.5/5 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 5/5 MARCH A Perfect Silence by Alba Ambert 4/5 The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell 4/5 Me Before You by JoJo Moyes 3.5/5 Time and Time Again by Ben Elton 3/5 APRIL The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 4/5 No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor 4/5 Not in your Lifetime: The Assassination of JFK by Anthony Summers 5/5 Reef by Romesh Gunesekera 2/5 MAY 2 Sides by Rio Ferdinand 3/5 Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 4/5 Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 3.5/5 Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond 5/5 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F Scott Fitzgerald 4/5 JUNE The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 5/5 The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach 4/5 Bridget Jones' Baby by Helen Fielding 3/5 JULY Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen 4/5 Indignation by Philip Roth 2/5 AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Hello and welcome to 2018! One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep this blog better updated... As a result, not all books will get reviews, not all those with reviews will be full reviews, just whatever I feel like writing and I hope that will help. In terms of challenges, I am participating in the round robin challenge, and I'm also going to try and tick off a few from my World challenge, US States challenge and the 1001 list, but no set numbers on each - just whatever I feel like! Also... to reduce (slightly) the old TBR. Pretty similar aims to last year, let's see if I can do them this time...!

Will send you a Pm

I abandoned J My spreadsheets are updated but I’m moving onto 2018 now. I might write reviews for the English Counties Challenge (which I’m about to finish, around 50 pages to go) but that’s it.

Alex's Challenge List Challenges to me: 1. Willoyd - Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb 2. Madeleine - Heresy by S J Parris 3. Karen.d - The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins 4. Chesilbeach - Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters 5. Chaliepud - Time and Time Again by Ben Elton 6. Little Pixie - 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 7. Frankie - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon 8. More reading time required - Joyland by Stephen King 9. Ben - The Beach by Alex Garland Challenges by me: 1. Willoyd - The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters 2. Madeleine - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 3. Karen.d - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 4. Chesilbeach - The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 5. Chaliepud - Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel 6. Little Pixie - Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver 7. Frankie - Once in a House on Fire by Andrea Ashworth 8. More reading time required - Skagboys by Irvine Welsh 9. Ben - The Post Office girl by Stefan Zweig

Brilliant, thank you! Great challenge, thank you! That one has been languishing on the TBR for a few years now but I keep looking at it and thinking it sounds like a good read so hopefully one that will prove a great 2018 choice. Looks like I'll be joining you on the Waters too.... Thank you- I've heard lots of good things about her so time I judged for myself!

My TBR is at the front of my blog thread - if anyone can tell me how to link to it in this post I would happily do so! It is in three posts in there, with obviously those struck out the ones I have already read. My challenge to Claire is The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry because it is on my TBR and I have heard great things about it. My challenge to Chaliepud is Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel for exactly the same reason! Willoyd I challenge you to The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. I have multiple books of hers on my TBR and I'm intrigued by this one - and would like your thoughts on it

Loved reading your post Noll! I am so glad you've had a good year

Count me in

I'm halfway through Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. It's not Christmas reading but I'm loving it. This is is my third Austen (after P and P and Emma) but this - so far - is my favourite. I'm finding it really engaging and can't wait to have a chance to pick it up. Just wish December wasn't so busy and I could devote more time to it!

That's really disappointing

Sounds like a good idea. I've just finished a fabulous non-fiction book and said I really must read more - especially since adding three more to the TBR based on the first book's recommended further reading! - but somehow they do seem to get pushed aside. I'm trying to finish the English Counties Challenge by the end of the year, but I've left some books I really want to read to the end so hopefully shouldn't be off putting!

Me too I have been keeping lists updated but haven't reviewed any books since the ones I read in April and it seems far too daunting. I'm reading at a great pace which is only making the list worse!! I keep intending to sit down and get them all done in a day but keep putting it off. Been buying some Christmassy short stories today and that's way more fun!

I have Big Little Lies on my TBR after my Dad was talking about it. My Dad reads a lot, but doesn't talk books a lot, so I felt I had to download it! Great to hear you enjoyed it. I'm currently reading The Right to an Answer by Anthony Burgess, which is my alternative for Leicestershire for the English Counties Challenge.

I think @willoyd's suggestion is a good one I was really struggling from the middle of July through to August, and then I had my time in hospital so I had time to read but no real motivation. I got stuck into Lorna Doone, and while I only rated it a 3/5 and it took me ages to get through (I think it's around 700 pages paperback) I found it's really kick started my mojo. Before that I was trying shorter, easier reads and still taking ages to get through them!

Sorry I haven't replied to this thread in weeks - I've been ill for several of them now and in and out of hospital. Not overly profitable for reading either! Only two two books read in that time, although I am now close to the end of Lorna Doone, and I'm not sure i would have enjoyed it if not having the time to read in great chunks. Poppy - I haven't seen the TV adaptation but I will try and seek it out. I find TV series much more faithful than films, probably because they have to be less sensational and they have more time to devote to the subject. But the ones that change the ending remain unforgivable! Willoyd - thanks for the recommendation! I will seek it out. It sounds exactly like what I wanted from the Revill work and half got. Of the English Counties Challenge, which I'm now close to finishing, The Go-Between is some way down the list. I've enjoyed most of them, with a couple of exceptions so far. It's good to know there are others out there who don't subscribe to the Amazon reviewers thoughts of brilliance!

Congratulations on finishing the ECC Claire! I have seven to go and hoping to get it done by the end of the year. I took a break from St Mary's after not liking the ending to the last one I read (I have A Trail Through Time on my TBR as the next unread one, so a few to go) but I am getting tempted back in!