willoyd

I loved it. A lot of Ackroyd's books are not only set in London, but have London as an integral character. In terms of London, I rate Ackroyd as a modern-day Dickens (about whom Ackroyd is an expert and biographer) In addition to Hawksmoor they include: The Great Fire of London The House of Doctor Dee Dan Lemo and the Limehouse Golem The Clerkenwell Tales The Lambs of London Other fiction I have enjoyed with London as an important part of the book (asterisk = particular favourites) Mother London by Michael Moorcroft* post-war London London Belongs To Me by Norman Collins* prewar and wartime London London Bridges by Jane Stevenson - modern London Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier London of William Blake many/most of the Sherlock Holmes stories* Victorian London Mrs Dalloway*, and to a slightly lesser extent The Years* by Virginia Woolf - London between the wars and prewar The Great Stink by Clare Clark - Victorian London The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin - Victorian London The series of Victorian murder mysteries set in London by Lee Jackson are quite entertaining - Victorian London There are literally hundreds of others, but these are the first few that immediately jump to my mind aside from those mentioned by chesilbeach. I can recommend the website 'Fictional Cities', where the author focuses on three of his favourite cities: Venice, Florence and London. http://www.fictionalcities.co.uk/thames.htm

The Sea Road by Margaret Elphinstone ****** The last few years has seen the year get off to a good start with a book that I've rated really highly, and this year has proved no exception. I've had The Sea Road on my TBR list for some time, but for some reason have never quite got around to it. Big mistake, as it proved to be absolutely brilliant. The story is about Gudrid Thorbjornsdottir, who features in a number of the Icelandic sagas, including Eirik's Saga and the Graenlendinga Saga, and is the story of her her upbringing in Iceland and travels to Greenland and beyond. The difference is that it's as seen from her point of view - she's recounting the story to an Icelandic monk whilst on pilgrimage to Rome later in her life. Gudrid thus comes over as a complete person, not just the rather 2D character that is portrayed in the sagas, and we get the inside line on the life, loves, fears, superstitions, beliefs, and attitudes of a remarkable woman surviving in a very male orientated society right on the edge of the known world. It's also at a time when Christianity is starting to make headway into the Vikings' pagan religion, and these tensions are a vital part of that story. Whilst we can see how she and the other characters can fit the heroic saga mould, they are all so much more human, actually making the story even more remarkable. I also loved the author's development of the settings. Being no academic historian, I can't vouch for the authenticity, but as a reader, both place and time felt consistently right - the characters were of necessity much closer to the land (and sea!) and the weather than we are today, so these were major themes, and it was occasionally quite a shock to emerge from the book into the modern world. This was a book that I positively resented having to put down. It was only 240 pages long, but it was so intense that it covered as much ground as some books twice as long. I started it thinking it would be a quick read before term started, but found that it was much bigger and more demanding than that, and it thus took me a lot longer - but then I didn't want it to end! I would love to have been able to devote a single sitting to this, but it was just too big and time too short. A great way to start the year off - and I hope a real discovery: I look forward to reading more of her books. I've looked for her name here and on other reading forums, and I'm surprised at the low profile she has.

FWIW Dickens is one of my half dozen favourite authors, and Bleak House is one of my half dozen greatest books. OCS is good too, but BH is simply superb. That opening chapter has to be one of the all time great scene setters. Mind you, Dickens doesn't use one word when five (or more!) will do quite happily, so you have to be comfortable with his tendency to verbosity.

All I can say Kylie is that it's a great comfort to read your lists, and know that there is at least one person who is more addicted to acquiring books that they desperately want to read, but never quite get around to reading, than me!!! The word awesome is way overused in this world, but I think it applies accurately here. I notice your comments about enjoying books about books, and that you've got Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing on your priority list. Definitely want to recommend it, not least because I think you will relate very much to some of the things she says! It was my favourite non-fiction read last year. One thing I'm definitely taking away from your blog - I'm going to start a list of books acquired, not just read. Hopefully, when it's sat there staring at me, it might help me rein in my wilder tendencies. But then again, maybe not! Hope you have a great year's reading this year!

Thanks Kylie - flattery will get you everywhere! I'm glad you said that about To The Lighthouse as that is high on my to read list at present, but it's meant to be a bit harder going than the ones I've read so far. I've also got The London Scene too, not just for Virginia Woolf, but because I'm a London history fan and have a fairly eclectic collection of books about the city.

I do agree, Ruth, it was a great read - one of my favourites in 2009. Hope you enjoy Bleak House!

Thoughts on 2010, and looking ahead to 2011 Overall, one of the better years for reading, with over one-third of the books read earning 5 stars or more. That either indicates a good year, or that I'm getting a bit less picky, but I do think it's the former! 55 books is also my highest yearly total to date. Discovery of the year has been Virginia Woolf. I'd read Mrs Dalloway before and quite enjoyed it, but returned to it again mid-year and absolutely loved it. Equally so the rapid follow-up, The Years, and the short stories Mrs Dalloway's Party later on in the year. Can't wait to try more! Mild surprise is that rereading a couple of my favourite author, Jane Austen, didn't generate quite the same enthusiasm as previously. I thoroughly enjoyed both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, but they didn't come across as quite the all-time raves as I had had them down for previously. I'm really hesitant now about revisiting what for me are the big three, P&P, S&S, and ]Emma, just in case they don't quite come up to scratch. One book that I did enjoy, having taken too many years to pluck up the oomph to reread having detested it as a child, was Lord of the Flies. I'm glad I did, as it's a really good read. I obviously came to it too early. But it wasn't just a year of rereads - indeed they were very much in the minority - and I enjoyed a whole string of new experiences, with just one reread in my top 10 fiction: 1. The Years by Virginia Woolf 2. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis 3. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre 4. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 5. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon 6. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen 7. Footprints in the Sand by Sarah Challis 8. In The Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant 9. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R King 10. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell Sara Gruen and Sarah Challis were completely new authors for me, and I definitely want to try more of them. At the other end of the spectrum, the big disappointment was Moll Flanders, of which I'd expected so much more. Wooden and tedious, it made much better television. Otherwise there wasn't anything really dire, with just a couple of others where I really couldn't bring myself to wade through to the end. Non-fiction didn't feature as much as usual, but of those I did read, Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing and Philip Hoare's Leviathan stood out. Susan Hill was one of those rare authors who successfully crossed the divide for me, and I also enjoyed her fiction classic, The Woman in Black. Another one who I will try more of in the future. So onto next year. A slightly different set of targets to usual: I'm going to aim to reduce the number of books (or at least allow myself to read fewer) and complete a few of my bigger doorstoppers that I've had lined up for a while, but never quite got around to reading. These are mostly on the non-fiction front, although I've got my eye on Les Miserables!. Another priority will be some of the historical biographies I've got piled up; I can't quite believe that my only biog last year was Nigel Slater's Toast, a pleasant enough read, but no more. I'm also studying with the OU next year (their Year 1 Arts Past and Present), so a fair bit of reading time will centre on that. All in all, I think it will be a slightly more non-fiction orientated year this year, but things have a habit of changing, so we'll see!

The Crime at Lock 14 by Georges Simenon **** I love the atmosphere created in Simenon's Maigret stories. He uses colour and weather a lot, but I always picture them in 1930s style black and white cinema. They're not the sort of crime story where you can follow the trail of clues laid by the author and try and guess the result. Instead, Maigret is more instinctive, and it's all about his insight into the psychology and character of those involved. Lock 14 is even more atmospheric than usual, set on the canals and providing a picture of a life long gone, in the midst of the transition from horse drawn to motor powered boats. A touch of extra interest was provided by the fact that I've stayed not 100 metres away from the scene of the crime! All in all, one of the better Maigrets for me, and a good example of a series that is 5-6 stars collectively, but rarely returns greater than 4 individually, along with the likes of Donna Leon, Andrea Camilleri et al. Addictive, and a great way to finish the year off.

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri **** Having read a couple of the later Montalbanos, have now gone back to start to read the sequence properly from Book 1. Good, intricate plot, loads of atmosphere, plenty of character, this promises to be a great series. Toast by Nigel Slater ** Read this fairly quickly when I realised the TV version was going to be transmitted tonight, as I don't like watching then reading. I'm a fan of Nigel Slater's cookery writing, and enjoyed his writing, but the book as a whole never really grabbed me. Enjoyable, yes, but only really at a somewhat superficial level. I think this was because I never warmed to any of the protagonists including, most definitely, the author himself. Indeed, they all come across as being thoroughly unlikeable, but I could also see why they were like they were, not least because they were products of the social attitudes of the time. The book received a whole string of 4/5 stars on Amazon, but I feel more in accord with the small minority who were somewhat more ambivalent. At best I can say that I sort of enjoyed it; I think I'll go back to the food books!

I've read a couple of her children's books, and met her on a couple of occasions when she's come to talk to children at school (she's as interesting a talker as she is writer!), but this is the 'oldest' I've read so far - good enough that I am looking forward to reading some of her adult fiction.

It's the Open University's Year 1 course: "Arts: Past and Present", so quite a variety is the answer. First unit looks has reputations as its main theme, first of all looking at Cleopatra, then Christopher Marlowe and Dr Faustus, followed by modules on Cezanne, Michael Faraday, Stalin etc. - basically it tries to link all the key arts subjects together. Reviews by past students are really positive, so am looking forward to it rather a lot! I suspect it may impact on my reading though (don't know whether positively or negatively yet).

Sounds like you were a bit like me on the Kindle - a bit skeptical to start with, and now somewhat committed! I find mine an absolute godsend with commuting and so on - it was brilliant when we went to Venice a few weeks ago for a weekend break, and all I needed to take was the Kindle - no guide book, no dictionary, no books. Made travelling with hand luggage a whole lot easier. Had a bit of a panic last week, when it started freezing and needing rebooting all the time. Think I've worked out the problem though - I had an unlit Amazon cover, which apparently has been causing quite a few people problems. As soon as I took it off, it started working again fine, so have now ordered a Tuff-Luv from Amazon, and am investigating rumoured refunds from Amazon. Hope you continue to have trouble free enjoyment. (BTW - reading your post on Abby's thread - yes, a good 200+ on the TBR pile too. Ouch!

Read your last few posts with considerable interest. I've got both Blackout and All Clear on my TBR pile, having read, and thoroughly enjoyed, both The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, both of which use the same conceit of time travelling for academic study, with some characters reappearing throughout the sequence. Have you read either of the earlier books? From your review, it sounds as if these latter two are more in the style of Doomsday (set in the early 14C), whilst TSNOTD is a more humorous pastiche on Victorian melodrama (but equally enjoyable, in a different way, although still retaining the suspense!). I loved both books, even though some of Willis's language grated with me slightly, as too many Americanisms started creeping into what is meant to be an English setting. I've also been looking into Cleopatra biographies, as she is the subject of the first part of a course I'm studying, so thanks for that promising review! Have you read any other biogs to compare with the Schiff version?

Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Adele Geras **** A short book, but the author packs a lot into the space! A classic scenario with a range of linked characters (extended family) all brought together in one space (in this case a large English country house-hotel) where they are cut off (snowed in) from the rest of the world, and then all the secrets start to be revealed. A well-worn plot line, but none the worse for the retelling, especially when written with such an eye to character and atmosphere. My only (minor) gibe is that I felt the ending was a bit abrupt, and didn't like the way one or two of the situations were 'resolved', not ringing one hundred percent true, whilst another couple of other threads were initiated, but were then never really developed. Minor cavils though - this was a thoroughly engrossing read.

Mrs Dalloway's Party by Virginia Woolf ***** A very slim volume of 7 short stories that complement Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway. Loved every second of this. I find that Woolf demands intense concentration to read, and the short bursts of these stories means that I can manage that comfortably, and even go back and reread without struggling to keep the rhythm and continuity of a longer novel going. I love the way her writing so successfully shows the inner self, and develops characters faster and more intensely than almost any other author I can think of. She is definitely my author, and discovery, of the year.

Christmas holiday books The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy *** Not one of his greats, but interesting in that this was his last novel, somewhat experimental. I love his landscapes, but his characters are a bit more patchy, especially his men, who I rarely relate to. Pretty much par for the course then, as the 'hero' of this book definitely has some problems with his idealisation of his "Well beloved". Kept wanting to shake him and tell him to get real! An enjoyable read that came to an end much faster and more abruptly than I anticipated. Lord of the Flies by William Golding **** This is a book that we were read when I was at school, at 11/12. I absolutely detested it at the time, and have never felt willing/able to go back to it. After some online discussion a couple of months ago, decided to get a copy and give it another go, and, of course, it proved to be a far better book than I remember. Definitely a case of a book about children being mistaken for a book for children. Reading this made me realise what a bad choice of book this was for me at the time! Golding can certainly set a scene, and generate a very powerful sense of atmosphere. All in all, am glad I gave this another go, eventually!! The Woman in Black by Susan Hill ***** Read pretty much in one sitting on Boxing Day morning. Powerful stuff! Plotting was fairly conventional for a Victorian style ghost story, which it evoked superbly, to the extent that I was completely nonplussed when cars were mentioned! What I loved, though, was the way she generated such a malevolent atmosphere, ratcheting the tension up with every page. The ending was fairly predictable, but for some reason I didn't see it coming, and was completely sideswiped by it. A great book for a Christmassy ghost read - should have definitely read it in the evening by the light of a flickering candle though!!

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaardner ** Loved the first half of this, but gradually the narrative started to grate and two many assumptions and random jumps started to creap into the philosophy, to the extent that I really struggled with the last 100 pages or so, resorting to skim reading the philosophy after Immanuel Kant just to stay awake (literally). The narrative was never that great in fact - it always felt like a vehicle for the philosophy, and things never really developed beyond the two (one?) dimensional - but this only really came to the fore when it the surrealism took over! I did enjoy it though, and will revisit some of the philosophy sections to try and get a better grip on the subject material, but given the comments I'd previously read and given the fascinating first half, I have to admit to an overall sense of disappointment - maybe I was just expecting too much. Not an author who I will rush to revisit, and that is why, although originally awarding it 3 stars, I later downgraded to 2 - it was just that bit too disappointing.

Speaking as a fifty-ish man who is really into history.... There are absolutely loads of good books around at present - does he have a favourite period? Following on from Univerze's Hornblower suggestion - Patrick O'Brian? Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series? Allan Mallinson's Matthew Hervey series? Non-military, but great historical crime stories - CJ Sansome's Shardlake series (or even Sherlock Holmes?) Alternatively what about some non-fiction? Military history good reads include Antony Beevor's books Stalingrad, D-Day and Berlin, or Peter Snow's To War with Wellington (but lots of others depending on time periods etc and depth your father may be interested in) Non-military non-fiction that makes for really exciting reading (the sort of stuff you touch on - really thinking you are there) include Sebastian Junger's the Perfect Storm, Gay and Laney Salisbury - The Cruellest Miles and Peter Nichols - A Voyage for Madmen Any more precise ideas of interests? In the meantime, hope that helps.

I'd agree with those who disliked Lord of the Flies: possibly my most hated (yes, as strong as that) book to date. Others I have positively disliked: The Great Gatsby: what was the point? Did I care? Did I heck. Moll Flanders: great on TV, wooden, repetitive, overdetailed in the book. Justine (Alexandria Quartet): pompous, overblown and totally pleased with himself (pretty much how his brother seemed to rate him in My Family and other Animals, and easy to see why). I'm sure there are others, but those will do for the moment!

I cannot disagree with quite a few of those listed here: Jane Eyre, the selection of Jane Austens, Ann Karenina, Time Traveller's Wife and so on, whilst I haven't read a few of the others (e.g. Gone With The Wind). But, I'd be struggling to name the greatest. However, these three haven't been mentioned to date (probably unsurprisingly), but in each one the love story got completely under my skin, and marked them out as very special in their own way, certainly enough to go on my short list: A Very Long Engagement (Sebastien Japrisot) Love in a Cold Climate (Nancy Mitford) I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)

Dry Store Room Number One by Richard Fortey *** The author goes behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum in London, taking a look at the people who work there, the work they do, and a bit of the history on the way. An enjoyable read. It lacked a bit of focus, wandering backwards and forwards across the museum landscape, occasionally stopping off to focus the lens on an individual and/or their work, before nipping off to look elsewhere. It certainly passed the time very pleasantly, and I enjoyed the insights into a museum that I used to frequent a lot as a a child (and still do with children I teach every now and again), but it lacked a certain bite, a real raison d'etre, as well as maps of the museum (it sounds like a real rabbit warren) and background in the history and development of the building itself. Anecdotal, chatty, eminently readable, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but was ultimately left asking the question - why? 3 out of 6 stars.

Don't let the 3 put you off - I still regard that as a decent read. I certainly want to read more of his books - have Blue Afternoon on my TBR shelf. I get the impression this would make a better film than book, but have yet to check the theory out! Me too. Thoroughly enjoyed Call for the Dead and A Murder of Quality, but this was in a different league. Possibly the best spy novel I've yet read. Didn't realise that - agree, it's the combination I really enjoy.

I think Guido as a character is brilliant - anything but a doormat, as he shows in Fatal Remedies, where he tells Paola exactly what he thinks of her activities. He's only a 'doormat' to the extent that he recognises that for a marriage to work, you've got to be prepared to give and take, to work towards finding common ground, to at least try and see things from somebody else's point of view. One of the reasons I love this series is that he and his family are so 'normal' - so many detectives are fatally flawed when it comes to relationships, and can't quite make it as normal human beings. I can relate to him in a way that I can't with so many others. Whilst in Venice, we spent some time tracking down some of the places mentioned in his book, including the street he is meant to live in. Definitely increased my enjoyment of the book and series. OH is completely addicted too now!

I think that's something we could all do, but I wouldn't have thought 22 books was tragic - that's almost a book a fortnight, and if you've got other things to do (like work!) it's a goodly rate, especially if you are tackling big stuff like Crime and Punishment. I've picked up my reading over the past year or so, but only because I've managed to get some mega-bursts in: last year for instance I read 30% of my year's books in the last two weeks of the year! Equally, summer holidays see me pick up, and are usually the time I have to focus on 'big' stuff, as I find it hard to sustain rhythm during term time, when I can easily slip back to reading a book a month (that's how long it took me to read Pickwick Papers this autumn). Compared to a lot of people here, I'm probably classified as not reading much (I reckon 40 books in a year is good going), but at the school where I teach, that's regarded as being a total bookworm!

Same here: our collection is organised fastidiously by subject (fiction being the first one), and then ordered depending on the subject: e.g. fiction alphabetically by author, history by chronology or by continent/country if not one time period, biography chronologically, travel by continent then country, and so on and so on. It's become a bit of a joke in our household, me and my 'sorting', but I've tried to be more relaxed, and find I simply can't.