willoyd

Pretty much at one with Brian on this one; that comment on reaching for the easy reads too often rings some very loud bells! If anything, aiming to read fewer but bigger books. I have a number of lists, which I will aim to make inroads into (they include some pretty hefty and/or challenging books, so fit in with the other plan). On the book buying front, I'm simply going to try and make better use of my library membership - barely a quarter of my reading was of borrowed books. It would be good to move that up to around 50%, something I've never done. But if I don't, and I make good progress on my own bookshelves, I won't be complaining!

I'll do a detailed review later as part of my new thread setup (as I always do), but a quick summary: I read 90 books this year, a record, but that's largely because, like many, my ability to settle down to anything substantial seems to have been shot to pieces, and my average book length was one of the lowest in the past few years (ca. 250 pages). For the past few yeas the proportion of non-fiction books has been steadily rising, and this year it topped more than half for the first time. Most of the really good books were non-fiction too, in particular some of the natural history writing, although one or two fiction stood out. Little of my reading went according to plan: I intended to make some serious inroads into a number of lists/series I'm tackling but, aside from my Tour of the American States, I made little impact on any of them. Indeed, in one or two cases no impact at all! I did, however, get a lot of enjoyment out of the books I read - some real gems there, and few significant disappointments. My main aim next year is, believe it or not, to make a real effort to read fewer books: after a couple of years hiatus, I feel ready to tackle some genuine biggies, both fiction and non-fiction (The won't include War and Peace! One of my all-time favourites, but not ready for my second reread yet!).. I might have a real go at those lists too!

Finished Timothy's Book tonight - what a lovely book to read at Christmas. As stated in previous post, this was an imagining of the world as seen from Timothy the tortoise's viewpoint. But it was so much more too - a meditation on life, how we humans see it, live it, affect it, on the natural world and the 18th century world as a contrast and precursor to our own. Made me think a lot. The writing style required some concentration, but I enjoyed that! A full 6 stars, the fourth set this year. TBH, I see these last two books as very much a partnership (if unbeknownst to the authors!) - one without the other would be all the lesser. So, those 6 stars awarded jointly!

Thank you both - very much. Happy Christmas and New Year!

Yes, I'd pretty much agree with all of that!

It's odd that the links already embedded work fine - like those in my signature. Real pity one can't put any more in - they do look horribly ugly, to the extent that I'll probably not bother with most of the ones I would have done. Is there no chance they'll put this right? (Probably not, as it's been a problem for some time now hasn't it?).

When I click on the link button, and a pop up comes up saying that there's a problem loading the content - is that what you mean? I press OK, and nothing happens.

Of those that I've read, for me Moby Dick is far and away the greatest. But there are quite a few I have yet to read (my American literature remains patchy in spite of my tour of the USA), perhaps most glaringly the two big Steinbecks, The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. Based on my experience of some of his shorter novels, they will surely at least challenge closely. I enjoyed Huck Finn, but didn't find it that good. Perhaps the most commonly cited contender, The Great Gatsby, I personally find something of a disappointment. Studied it for A-level and it never impressed.

Completed the first of a pair of complimentary books. This one was The Portrait of a Tortoise by Sylvia Townsend-Warner and Gilbert White. GW inherited a tortoise from a cousin (Rebecca Snooke) on her death in 1780, note about which he'd been including in his journals since Mrs Snooke's purchase of the animal from a sailor in the early 1770s. The tortoise, named Timothy, lived until approximately 6 months after White's death in 1793 and remained a regular feature in White's journal and letters (the latter collectedd together in his Natural History of Selborne). ST-W collected all the entries involving Timothy into this book, for which she also wrote an extended Introduction (about one-third the length of the book) and notes to White's entries. The result was a slim (just 63 pages!) but fascinating, and rather lovely, volume, of which I have a well read first edition (1946) - 'printed in complete conformity with the 'authorized economy standards'! ST-W also comments at one point that she's not been able to check the how and when of Timonthy's carapace at the Natural History Museum (where it apparently resides) amongst other matters because of the "wartime hibernation" of the relevant papers! 5/6 stars - excellent. So, onto Timothy's Book: Notes of an English Country Tortoise by Verlyn Klinkenborg, an imagining of the world seen from Timothy's viewpoint. BTW, great naturalist though he was, Gilbert White was mistaken on one important point: Timothy was a girl. Gender issues are obviously not just a 21st century thing!

Could you leave it a few days beyond New Year's Eve please? I know it doesn't make an awful lot of difference - blogs can easily be accessed in the Past Book Blogs thread, but it's nice to be able to tidy up blogs and read others whilst still in the 'live' blogs section. Once off in the Past blogs section, it's a bit like they've been buried away. I do mean a few days, not weeks! BTW, are we still unable to add links? I've tried on and off over the past year without joy, and tried again tonight (editing my 2021 blog and signature) again with no success, which reminded me. If not, is there any sort of workaround?

Two more books to add to the list in the past couple of days: The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens **** One of Dickens's Christmas novellas, one that I've not actually read before. It was always going to be hard pushed to even match A Christmas Carol which has grown on me over the years to mature into a favourite, but, after a slightly ropey start where I really couldn't get my head around quite what was going on, something fell into place at just under half way through, and this developed into a thoroughly entertaining read in true Dickens style: heavy on the sentiment, glorious in its descriptions, intricate in its plotting and characterisation. Dickens is, in fact, the one sentimental author whose work I lap up, it's all told with such relish that one can positively chew on it. I really must get stuck back into the full length novels in the New Year. The Holy Roman Empire, A Short History by Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger *** Almost Tardis-like in its efforts to contain the history of an Empire that genuinely lasted pretty much a thousand years, but it helped itself along from the start by pretty much ignoring the first two-thirds! The author also concentrated almost exclusively on the history of the Empire's political structure which, admittedly, was pretty unique. In that sense, it provided a welcome overview, hopefully a useful introduction to the rather heftier volume on the same subject by Peter Wilson that has been almost glowering at me from its place on my bookshelves for a while now, but, aside from the series of Emperors that ruled during this period, barely anybody else got more than a fleeting mention (no, I tell a lie, Martin Luther features fairly prominently at one point) and there was, ultimately, a rather dry, dusty feel to the book. For all that it was barely 150 pages long, it proved to be pretty hard work!

Just finished Barbara Stonneberg-Rilinger's slim little tome The Holy Roman Empire, A Short History. And if you think that's a bit contradictory, it might have been a mere 150 pages long (some feat when dealing with the HRE!) but I found it tough enough going for it to feel like a far larger book! A useful politically-orientated overview, but felt rather soulless. I'm intending to try and tackle Peter Wilson's rather larger effort (700 pages excluding notes!) next year and wanted some sort of framework within which to place it, so hoping that this will prove useful on that front at least. 3 out of 6 stars (an OK read).

I never read the introduction to a novel first for, as Kev67 says, it all too often gives away aspects of the plot. The one exception to that is if it has been written by the author. If it hasn't, it's not an integral part of the book, simply something offered by that particular publisher as a supplement. I almost always go back to it after reading the book itself, and it more often than not provides some useful clarification or supplementation, usually about the context of its being written. I almost always find that having read the book improves my appreciation of the introduction (andof the book itself) - and wonder why they aren't offered as a 'Afterword' instead. Of couse, some introductions are better than others! As a corollary to that, I almost always read the introduction to a piece of non-fiction first. But that's because, unlike with novels, they are almost always written by the author him/herself, and are genuinely intended as an introduction to the main exposition. Even if not written by the author, I still tend to read them: there's almost always little plot to give away!

Very true, but it doesn't have to be an in-depth reason for me. This list is an example of that. It's suggested it's a bucket list. I'm intrigued as to what or whose bucket list? A bucket list aimed at others - this is what you 'should' read - or someone's own personal list? Doesn't need much depth, but without that, it's hard to have any sort of meaningful conversation about it.

Very, very late to this - months after everybody else, but found this an interesting thread which I seem to have overlooked somehow. FWIW I've read 60 of these. I find lists fascinating - what people choose and why. This is an intriguing one, as there seems no rhyme nor reason behind the selection: it's almost as if it's a list compiled by somebody of books they've yet to read and feel they should or want to? The most eccentric aspect for me is the non-fiction. I read a lot of non-fiction,but there's quite a high proportion of non-fiction books I haven't read, much higher than the fiction, and quite a lot where I'm thinking, why on earth this? What this has got me thinking though is that it might be fun (I said I was a list fan!) to put together a bucket list of 100 from my own perspective: books I haven't read yet but really would have liked to. It would certainly be less daunting that the 1000+ books on my TBR list (i.e. on my shelves but yet to read), and might focus the mind wonderfully (or hopelessly). That, of course, would be on top of all my other reading lists and challenges!

The reviews I've read have been rather more mixed - none negative, just not rave. Loved A Gentleman in Moscow, so, like France and lunababymoonchild, I'll be interested to see what you make of it. I'm not in a hurry! Finished The Virginian a couple of days ago - reviewed on my thread (5/6 stars). Just finished Through The Woods by HE Bates: lovely descriptive piece of nature writing, beautifully produced (as ever) by Little Toller with superb woodcut illustrations by Agnes Miller Parker, one of my favourite artists. Definitely at least 5 stars, contemplating the full 6. That's my 85th book of the year - a new all-time high for a calendar year, with a fortnight still to go! Currently reading The Holy Roman Empire, A Short History by Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger. Readable enough, useful overview of the politics and how it functioned - interesting parallels with modern day EU.

Yes, I'd agree with all that - the difference really showed up reading the two virtually back to back. I think that's partly why DM is a stronger book for me. I thought the ending a good one - certainly no anti-climax as quite a few ghost stories are! Even held up on a reread.

And catching up on the reviews, these are the books for November and early December: Waterland by Graham Swift R ****** A reread of a previous favourite. Inspired to do so by the East Anglian holiday which also prompted me to pick up Stella Tillyards The Great Level. In some respects a bit of a follow-on, at least historically, the Tillyard being set in the 17th century, whilst this covered a wider timespan from 19th century to the present day. I didn't actually remember much of this, but was rapidly immersed in the intricate narrative that wove together the narrator's own history with that of his ancestors, examining the role of history and ancestry and its long term impact. Or maybe it was showing how irrelevant it all is...? It certainly kept me transfixed to the end, and comfortably retains its 6-star status. The Mystery of Henri Pick by David Foenkinos *** A stereotypically quirky French novel, based around the discovery of an unknown manuscript that becomes a best-selling novel and its unlikely source: is it all completely legitimate and above board? Enoyable enough, but ultimately inconsequential. A charity shop read, that went back afterwards. Elegy for a River by Tom Moorhouse **** The author recounts his experiences as a researcher into water voles and crayfish in English rivers. Lightly, almost comedically, written (I enjoyed the humour!), but with a serious core to it. I galloped through it, and felt I learned a lot. The Great Flood by Edward Platt **** We are seeing more and more flooding incidents as our climate changes, and the author spends a year visiting incidents and examining their impact, with a particular 'people' focus. It was an absorbing read - I particularly enjoyed tracking his visits on various OS maps, but I'm not sure I learned much if anything new. One of those books where I struggle to remember much a few weeks later (although that may well be a sign of my age - all a bit worrying!). Migration by Melissa Mayntz *** Beautifully illustrated if rather slight monograph on bird migration, which was given as part of a birthday present. I enjoyed what there was of it, and will dip into it as easy to access quick reference on some aspects, but what it really taught me is that I want to read something with a lot more depth! Summerwater by Sarah Moss G **** I've been meaning to read something of Sarah Moss's fiction for some time, and then cropped up as a book group choice! It was a good choice too, presuming it's fairly typical of her writing, as it was fairly slim - a great chance to try out without overly committing! Set in a rain-soaked log-cabin style holiday site on the shores of an unnamed Scottish loch (whiffs of Loch Katrine here), its a series of interior monologues from occupants of different cabins across a single day. The incessant nature of the weather is certainly casting a pall, but at the centre of the narrative, although barely mentioned, is another of the cabins, and the foreign occupants who have been playing loud music till all hours disturbing people. The atmosphere is claustrophobic, and you just know something is going to happen..... I found Moss's characterisations fascinating and utterly lifelike - interesting that, apart from one teenager, they were all female. The chosen structure was also telling - everybody in their own little bubble, reinforced by the rain, only seeing what others doing but only effectively at a distance. I also felt that, very much on the quiet, she was saying a lot about contemporary topics like climate change and immigration. For such a slim read, there was a lot there. One of those reads where I think it will grow well after I've finished it (I can see the 4 star grading going up already!). It'll be interesting to hear what others have to say about it - certainly a good one for a book group, whatever one's feelings. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf **** That and an income of £500 a year is all a woman needs to write....based on a pair of talks she gave in Oxford, this extended essay has come to be regarded as an important element in feminist literature. As ever with Woolf, it's chockablock with figurative writing; this demands a lot closer and more careful reading than I was prepared to give on my initial read, so whilst I really appreciated the quality of her writing and the veracity of much of what she said, I suspect I also missed much - it certainly felt a lot narrower ranging and more simplistic than I expected - and through a particular class-based screen. As with much (all?!) Woolf though, I suspect it needs rereading. Thin Air by Michelle Paver G **** A book club read for December: this particular group chose Edith Wharton's short ghost stories collection last year, and wanted to go down a similar route this year. Having read Paver's earlier book, Dark Matter, I was happy to go along with it as I'd heard the two books were very similar and wanted to see how so, having enjoyed DM quite a lot (5 stars). In the end, I found the gap between the books sufficient that I couldn't really make too detailed a comparison. However, in its own right, I really enjoyed Paver's sense of time and place in Thin Air - it felt well researched without overloading the reader and didn't jar at all with my own experiences in the Himalaya and of winter moutaineering - and was gripped to the end. How To Argue With A Racist by Adam Rutherford ** Having enjoyed the author's work on the radio, and one or two live presentations, I was expecting a well reasoned, scientifically based discussion. Hmmmm. It may have been, but I actually came away rather disappointed. Yes, he tackles some of the more simpistic arguments, but on some of the more nuanced debates, like sporting prowess, he seems to slide around the issue and fails to answer the challenge. I certainly didn't come away from this book thinking I was in any position to argue the latter points, or others. Too much of it, as well, he used unexplained scientific jargon, assuming much of the reader's knowledge, too much in my case. All in all, this proved to be one of the most disappointing reads I've had this year. As one Amazon reviewer suggests: 5 stars for intent, 2 for content. He gave it 3 as a result; I'm afraid I felt let down enough to give it 2. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver R ***** As I realised I hadn't read Dark Matter recently enough to compare with Thin Air in any detail, I decided to give it a go, squeezing it in before the book group meeting. A fair number of reviewers have criticized the author for how alike the two stories are, and I can see what they are on about. Yes, there are some huge similarities, and one can to a large extent say that they are the same story with 2 different settings (Himalayan mountain expedition, Spitzbergen Arctic research expedition). I actually found the comparison more interesting than irritating. Both are set in a similar time frame (1930s), both narrators are 'outsiders' - one owing to class, the other owing to family relationships. 1930s social attitudes are definitely to the fore! The structure of the books show distinct similarities. But, but, but, I positively enjoyed the experience and process of seeing where the stories touched and where they differed; also that sense of place and time that Paver brought to these stories, commented on above. FWI, if I had to choose one, I'd just go for Dark Matter as marginally the better book, enough to get the extra star, but I prefer to see them as a complimentary pair.

Books (and states!) 23 and 24: #22: Missouri: Mrs Bridge by Evan S. Connell ***** Completely coincidentally read after The Stone Diaries, and in so many ways so similar: a biography of a fictional woman, playing very much the wealthy wife and mother role in mid-twentieth century midwest America - similar husband, similar children (2 girls, one boy). Different personality, different mindset, different atmosphere, written rather more sparingly, but the comparison was fascinating. Both books in very different ways say much about the society the women grow up in. This book was followed up ten years later by a parallel volume, Mr Bridge, with both books combinedi into a film starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. The second book is already on order! #23: Wyoming: The Virginian by Owen Wister ***** The original Western, which sneaks in, just, as a 20th century book by barely a couple of years; this is the oldest book on my tour, just pipping Ethan Frome. In some respects, it shows it too, with some attitudes that would look distinctly out of place in a 21st century novel - the west is very Anglo-Saxon for instance! - but putting those aside, it was an absorbing novel, with the caveat that this, as pointed out in the introduction, is a somewhat romanticised view of the cowboy world. On that, I would have preferred rather more of the 'cowboy' story and a bit less of the romance, but the tension between the two was, after all, very much at the heart of Wister's story: masculine vs feminine, West vs East. Having been an avid fan of the TV series in my younger years, I was amazed to find Trampas was the original 'baddie', although a wee bit disappointed that, unlike other characters who were vividly developed, he remained somewhat 2-dimensional throughout. Overall though, the book stood up well some 120 years down the line from its original publication - a ripping yarn with a strong romantic streak, peppered with humour and pathos, and, very important on this tour, a strong sense of place, It made an interesting counter-point to Lonesome Dove, a rather more modern take on the West. I really enjoyed it and can see why it remains something of a classic.

I need to catch up with November and early December books, but, in the meantime, have just finished my book for Wyoming on my Tour of the United States:(number 23 out of 51) The Virginian by Owen Wister ***** The original Western, which sneaks in, just, as a 20th century book by barely a couple of years; this is the oldest book on my tour. In some respects, it shows it too, with some attitudes that would look distinctly out of place in a 21st century novel - the west is very Anglo-Saxon for instance! - but putting those aside, it was an absorbing novel, with the caveat that this, as pointed out in the introduction, is a somewhat romanticised view of the cowboy world. On that, I would have preferred rather more of the 'cowboy' story and a bit less of the romance, but the tension between the two was, after all, very much at the heart of Wister's story: masculine vs feminine, West vs East. Having been an avid fan of the TV series in my younger years, I was amazed to find Trampas was the original 'baddie', although a wee bit disappointed that, unlike other characters who were vividly developed, he remained somewhat 2-dimensional throughout. Overall, the book stood up well some 120 years down the line from its original publication - a ripping yarn with a strong romantic streak, peppered with humour and pathos, and, very important on this tour, a strong sense of place: really enjoyed it.

Currently reading Owen Wister's The Virginian, apparently the original Western novel. Proving an excellent read so far (just on half way through). I remember the TV series with James Drury and Doug McClure (although McClure's character in the TV show was a 'goodie', but is a bit of a 'baddie' in the book!).

A long time later! (Don't know why I didn't see this earlier) I've read exactly half of these. Like Hux I was never overly struck with The Great Gatsby - one of my least liked books from my A-Levels. However, unlike Hux and Hayley, I absolutely loved Moby Dick - one of my all-time top dozen books. I'd agree with Raven about the Wells books - much preferred WOTW to The Time Machine. Without going through it with a fine tooth comb, there are a few immediate stand out oddities to me: # I wouldn't put Hard Times in front of at least half a dozen of the Dickenses left out; # 2 Somerset Maugham books?? Good writer, but one's more than enough (I'd go for Of Human Bondage) # I'm gobsmacked Emma is not there - in my top half dozen ever (personally, I prefer it to both P&P and Persuasion). # Couple of really dated books: Scoop stands out on that (totally agree with Brideshead Revisited though!) There's a pile of other books I'd have in replacing listed ones (it partly depends on what one means by the term 'classic'), not least several of the 'humorous' books, which I found distinctly boring and unfunny (although n that's probably ust me). But then that's half the point of lists!

Finished Adam Rutherford's How To Argue With A Racist. There's an excellent review on Amazon by 'Telemeter' that pretty much says it all: 5 stars for intent, 2 stars for execution, 3 overall. Not surprised it (the review) has garnered 211 'helpful's (one of them being from me!). As far as it goes it's fine, but all too often slides around issues (not least on sporting achievement). Probably the most disappointing book I've read this year - expected much but IMO it failed to deliver - so, as such, I'm disagreeing with 'Telemeter' on this point alone and giving it 2*.

Some more ideas. Some of these I read a while ago, so whilst I enjoyed them at the time, I may have changed my mind if reading them now! Some of these are definitely not contemporary, but they may still satisfy. Oroonoko by Aphra Behn A Season in Sinji by JL Carr The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton Noble House by James Clavell Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (one of five Leatherstocking Tales set in colonial North America) Voyageurs by Margaret Elphinstone The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell (also The Siege of Krishnapur, although this is rather less contemporary) Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh A Quiet American by Grahame Greene (and others) The Black Lake by Hella S Haase The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz The Levant Trilogy by Olivia Manning The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham (and others) Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton Black Mischief/Scoop by Evelyn Waugh The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf Strictly speaking, I suppose the following are post-colonial, but I think they still say a lot about the colonial world - and they're brilliant books! Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth A Bend in the River by VS Naipaul

I haven't watched, although do mean to. I was put off when one of my book groups suggested reading one of their 'Winter Warmer' books, a choice of 12 'must read' titles, and I was completely underwhelmed by the list. None were must-reads, a couple were maybes. Even the Penelope Fitzgerald title (The Bookshop) was perhaps the one Fitzgerald I didn't actually enjoy much! Going through their choices for this list and others, I think I just read different books, as very few have any appeal, and where I have read authors or books, I've more often than not found them wanting (there are some exceptions!). But then Radio 4's Open Book does very little for me either. A Good Read is far more up my street. Trouble is, when it comes to fiction, nobody on these programmes ever seems to read anything more than a few years old, if that. It's as if the twentieth and earlier centuries almost didn't exist. And as for non-fiction.....(other than for a few memoir/biogs)! Nailed it. 3 minutes or 10 minutes, it's always the same on these and other 'arts' programmes.