willoyd

Favourite read: To The Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey. My only new read six star novel this year, and fully worthy of 'favourite' status. Even so, it was closely challenged by a pack of nature books, led by Adam Nicolson's The Seabird's Cry. Favourite author: Adam Nicolson, who wrote two of the best books of the year (The Seabird's Cry and Sea Room). Most read author: Georges Simenon, with 5 books. Also a very close contender for favourite author of the year, as he always is. Favourite book cover: Down the River by HE Bates. The covers of pretty much all the Littler Toller Nature Classics are attractive, but this one is blessed with a gorgeous woodcut by the wonderful Agnes Miller Parker, whose work decorates the pages of the book as well. Book you abandoned: Two Brothers by Ben Elton. He shouts at you on stage, and he shouts at you in his books. Awful. Book that most disappointed you: Jacob's Room is Full of Books by Susan Hill
, which completely failed to live up to its precursor, Howards End is on the Landing. Whisky Galore was a close challenger though, such a let down compared to the superb 1949 film. Funniest book: More About Paddington - or indeed any of the Paddington books. Pure joy, and genuine laugh out loud material. Favourite literary character: Maigret, Paddington, Stephen Maturin are all perennial favourites, but the one who grabbed me most this year was Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain. She's some survivor and such a powerful character. 
Favourite children's book: Flood Warning by Paul Berna. A virtually unknown gem that deserves to be a classic.
 Closely challenged by my favourite reread of the year (these two were are interchangeable, as strictly speaking this is a reread as well, even if the last read was around 45 years ago!). Favourite classic? I can't separate The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett, and George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss. Both big, meaty, gripping and beautifully written. Favourite non-fiction book The Seabird's Cry by Adam Nicolson. Favourite biography: Nelson, The Pursuit of Victory by Roger Knight. I'm still reading this, but its going to obviously lead the way. Packs a lot of information in whilst remaining eminently readable. Favourite collection of short stories I'm not a fan of short stories, but the three in A Maigret's Christmas completely lived up to Simenon's always high standards, especially in the atmosphere generated. The last, and shortest, was almost the best on this front. 
Favourite poetry collection: I didn't read any poetry book fully, but I enjoyed occasionally dipping into Housman's A Shropshire Lad. Favourite illustrated book I come back to Agnes Miller Parker's woodcuts in Down the River, although I also enjoyed Keeping's illustrations in Flood Warning and Bruce Pearson's drawings in A Sparrowhawk's Lament. Favourite publisher: Surprising myself (I usually prefer the smaller publishers), I'm going to say Penguin. I love their Maigret series, and I'm starting to get into their Penguin Monarchs series, which includes some of the best history writers around. Favourite audiobook Listened to my first one in a while this year, and what a good one it was too: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. It's the reader who makes or breaks an audiobook, and the gentle but resonant tones of Tim Jerome are just perfect. Favourite re-read Until the very last minute this was Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which comfortably confirmed its six stars. However, in the last few days of the year I reread Winter Holiday, Arthur Ransome's fourth Swallows and Amazons book, for the first time in over 30 years, and just loved it all over again, confirming itself as one of my favourites in the series. It's the perfect children's classic, although modern day children may now find it hard to relate to activities that they would be 'protected' from doing. As an adult who had those opportunities, it's just a wonderful story, told in Ransome's usual unfussy and empathetic style.

A pleasure! A good selection of books too - there's quite a few between others which are either on my TBR list, or which I've enjoyed a lot in the past!

No panic Frankie - the challenge itself doesn't start until the New Year, and we can all get going on other books anyway. Indeed, if anybody else wants to join in the first few weeks of the year, it would work OK. Thanks for letting us know anyway - always better!

Some mini-reviews. Yet more mini-reviews to help me catch up! The Road to Somewhere by David Goodhart ***** A book on the why of Brexit - why did the vote happen the way it did? Well written, I found this thoroughly illuminating (I've used that phrase before, but it's the most apposite). Focuses on the differences between the Anywheres, primarily Remainers whose sense of identity comes mostly through their achievements and 'success', and Somewheres, primarily Leavers, whose sense of identity comes mostly through their setting and their context. Simplistic summary of a careful piece of analysis, which has much to say about the state of our society, especially government, within the UK. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson **** Superbly written, slim, novel, about two sisters growing up in a midwest settlemen, in the care of a succession of womenfolk from their family, their divergent paths, and the profound impact of the last of this succession, their aunt. In fact the plot and the subtexts are way too complex to summarise, but suffice to say that this provoked the best discussion about a book in our book group all year. We all agreed that it did suffer a little bit in the middle third, but pulled itself together before the end. We also agreed that we all wanted to reread it to get to better grips with all those strands, especially after our discussion. One word or warning - you need to be fully awake to tackle this, no late night reading! I'm absolutely sure that this will land up on a higher rating next time round, but a good 4 stars for starters. The Card by Arnold Bennett **** Another Five Towns (Stoke) based novel, somewhat lighter and sharper than The Old Wives' Tale or Clayhanger. Very much in the picaresque mold, with the hero lucking his way through a blossoming career in local business and politics. Enjoyed it, but felt it lacked the depth of the other two novels, even if it had the most modern feel (or perhaps that was the reason why?). Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor *** I've enjoyed discovering Elizabeth Taylor this year, this being the third I've now tackled. She writes incisively and without any waste, almost a cross between Muriel Spark and Barbara Pym, but very much her own woman. This was as well written as the previous novels, the elderly Mrs Palfrey discovering the 'joys' of living in retirement in a somewhat second-rate hotel in SW London, and making friends with an even more impoverished young writer who conspires with her to help keep up appearances amongst her judgemental co-residents. It's cuttingly amusing, gently sympathetic, and probably as good as anything of hers I've read to date, but I just couldn't warm to it in the same way that I did to the others. Can't quite work out why - maybe it was just that touch bleaker? - but I was quite glad to move on. The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian ***** Why has it taken me so long to come back to this brilliant series of books? Centred, as they all are, on the friendship between Jack Aubrey, Royal Navy sea captain at the of the Napoleonic Wars, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and spy, this one starts in the Far East, taking up where Desolation Island left off, and travels westwards to the United States of the 1812 war with England, taking in shipwreck, fighting actions and high drama on land. O'Brian renders his characters and setting exquisitely without ever losing sight of the fact that he's telling a story. This series is simply one of the best. Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter *** I read this just over ten years ago, and gave it three stars then. After a conversation about the series, and with no recollection of the outcome, I picked it up again. The plot was as intricate as one would expect. What I didn't expect was how horribly dated the book read, and how wooden the writing was. In particular, Dexter just cannot write about emotion and feelings (at least he couldn't here; maybe it got better) - some passages were just excruciating to read. Three stars was, in fact, about right, if anything generous, and I'm not sure I whether I will bother with any of the others. Certainly, on this evidence, the TV series is far superior to the books. Harvest by Jim Crace **** Set in a somewhat indeterminate past, but one which saw the arrival of enclosures and sheep, this is the story of the downfall of an entire village, triggered by the smallest of events: the ripple that becomes an irrepressible tsunami. This was my first experince of the author's work, and my first reaction was to be completely bowled over by the writing, creating a slightly out of focus image where the colours and other senses are enhanced but nothing ever seems quite sharp edged, whilst the strong rhythm of the language made this a very easy read. There were one or two aspects of historical accuracy that niggled slightly, and the tightness of the plot wavered somewhat in the last third, losing me slightly, which is why it doesn't quite achieve a fifth star. But a good, provoking read, which I'm looking forward to discussing with my book group. Flood Warning by Paul Berna ****** This was a book that I was amazed to find in a charity shop recently - a book that I recognised as one I read in my pre-teens, but had never even seen since. Translated from French, it tells of the impact of a huge flood on the Angers-Saumur area, through the experiences of a small boarding school. It's only 160 pages long, but I loved the author's voice, distinctively French, and was completely gripped by all aspects of the narrative. Whilst a Puffin book (strongly enhanced with line illustrations by a relatively young Charles Keeping), the language would now probably be a bit older - I certainly never felt there were any concessions either in language or content. At 50p (both the original price and the charity shop price!), this has been the bargain of the year so far!

Oooh, good one. It's great when there's a personal connection to a book.

In which case, my challenge to you is The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher, a book that has intrigued me for a while, and just needs to be read!

You don't need to register. The way to get onto a list if unregistered is: 1. Go to LibraryThing home page. 2. Click on the magnifying glass in the Search box at the top right of the screen (don't write anything in the box!). 3. Click on 'Members' in the list that has now appeared on the left hand side of the screen. All that will happen is that 'Members' will show in bold. 4. Type 'madeleinescott' into the search box in the centre of the screen. 5. Click on the link that now shows, which should read 'madeleinescott'! This will take you to Madeleine's Profile page, from which you can access her books. When we're here @Madeleine, is it like last year, when anything not rated or otherwise tagged as read or is good to choose?

We each challenge each other with whatever book we each choose from the respective lists; they are usually different books. You could challenge me with the same book, but I would ask you not to simply because, as you have surmised, I've decided that I will also read the books I challenge others with anyway! You won't be short of choice (I hope!) as I have rather a lot of books in my To Read collection on LibraryThing!

I am sad to say, I so agree with you (not quite the most disappointing for me, but on the short list). The original film has long been amongst my half dozen or so favourites, and I read the book whilst in the Outer Hebrides this year. What a let down! (The more recent film was OK, but not a patch on that original one).

Definitely needs investigating. What taste!

Ooooh I think you're in for a treat. I loved this. (Hope you do too!). I've just googled Backlisted to investigate after your comment above. It looks interesting - must pursue further. Looks a bit like the sort of thing Slightly Foxed does, reviving older books. I really ought to broaden my internet horizons when it comes to books: I keep making superficial efforts to find interesting stuff on books (blogs etc), but struggle to get beyond almost purely American material.

Claire - Thank you for my challenge - it's slipped under my radar a bit, so I'm glad you've brought it forward. Hayley beat me to it on To Serve Them All My Days (I sort of remember the television series, and have meant to read it for a while now - it's a chunky book, but I think it'll be an easy one), so, instead, my challenge to you is a bit different (!): The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller. It's been sat on my shelves a while, and looks a fairly light but interesting read about even more books (as long as it doesn't give us ideas for adding to our TBR lists)! Alexi - I've yet to read a Sarah Waters although I've seen a couple on TV, so thank you for hopefully kicking me off with a new author. My challenge to you is Graham Robb's Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris. It's a TBR we share, and dipping into it tonight as I was choosing books, it intrigues, so I hope it proves an entertaining read for you. Hayley - Thank you for Tess - I've singularly failed to tackle my Hardy list this year, in spite of listing him as a focus for fiction reading in my book blog, so hopefully that'll kickstart those efforts again. One of those books I can't believe I haven't read before, but I haven't! Our lists do look rather different don't they? Variety is definitely one of the joys of reading! Little Pixie. I've added your TBR lists to the others on the first post, following what you said in an earlier post. If I've got it wrong, please correct me! In the meantime, using those lists, my challenge to you is Peter Ackroyd's The House of Doctor Dee. This must be one of my longest standing TBRs, although I have really enjoyed the Ackroyd books I have read, so hopefully this will help us both tick it off!

I've put the link in at the end of the first post in the thread, with the others. The way I did it was to go to the first of the three posts listing your TBRs. I clicked on the 'Share this post' symbol at the top right of this post, next to 'Report post' (when you rollover the symbol, it puts up a little post-it showing 'Share this post'). That brings up a box showing the URL of the post, which I copied. I then highlighted the words in my post that I wanted to use as the link, clicked on the 'Link' symbol on the editing ribbon at the top of the post (it's the chain picture, fifth from the left), and then pasted the URL into the box that comes up. This should set the link up.

Willoyd's Challenge lists Challenges to me 1. Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis (Madeleine) 2. Field Notes from a Hidden City by Esther Woolfson (Chesilbeach) 3. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (Karen.d) 4. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (Alexi) 5. Tess of the D'Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy (Chaliepud) 6. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth (Little Pixie) 7. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (Frankie) 8. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (MRTR) 9. La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman (Ben) Challenges by me 1. Madeleine - The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher 2. Chesilbeach - The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller 3. Karen.d - Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom 4. Alexi - Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb 5. Chaliepud - The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney 6. Little Pixie - The House of Doctor Dee by Peter Ackroyd 7. Frankie - Dead Wake by Erik Larson 8. MRTR - Stalingrad by Antony Beevor 9. Ben - SPQR by Mary Beard

This thread is for the Round Robin Challenge in 2018. This will include participants' lists, and any discussion of books and lists. If you want to discuss or ask questions about the challenge in general, or take part, please go to the thread Round Robin Year-Long Challenge, which is where the idea of the challenge was introduced, participants have 'signed' up and challenges made.

That will definitely suffice! So....my challenge to you is The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney. That's one that is on my TBR shelf too: I read and loved Tenderness of Wolves, and whilst this looks very different, I've heard good things about it.

We seem to have enough people to make the challenge, so I suggest we go to the next stage, choosing books for each other. If we get any other people joining in, then they can easily slot in. For this stage, each person needs a list of TBR books from which others can select that person's challenge books. If each person posts on this thread where their list is, or will be, then I will copy the details into the first post, against each person's name, so we then have an easy reference point. If the list isn't ready, that doesn't matter, but do let this thread know when it is, so that people can start choosing! The ideal is for everybody to have a complete list of challenge books by the start of the New Year, although obviously we need to be reasonably flexible, especially if anybody joins in later on. Once people start challenging here, I suggest that I (or somebody else - it doesn't matter!) then start a new thread specifically for the 2018 challenge, so that people can post their lists at the start, and then use the rest of the thread for comment, discussion etc, keeping this thread for challenges, admin etc (I think that would be easier than trying to run it all off one thread - a bit like the English County Challenge had a thread to discuss the challenge, then another set for the challenge itself). BTW, I usually list both the books with which I challenge others and those with which I've been challenged. (I'll aim to read both lists, unless we acquire a few more participants, but that's a personal thing - the challenge itself is to read books with which we've been challenged by others). I hope all that makes sense. My list is on LibraryThing, under the username Willoyd. I have put a link to my profile page there on the first post in this thread. Under Collections, click on 'To Read', and that will bring up all my books which I intend (at some stage!) to read. To challenge me, choose any one of them!

Of course! I've added your name to the list at the top of the thread.

No idea how LT works, or GR works? I must admit, I went over to LT some years ago as could not get on with the way GR works. I still go back to GR for discussions etc, which are better, but for cataloguing my books, LT is IMO head and shoulders better. That may be out of date now, but every time I think of trying GR again, somebody complains about more changes!

Brilliant! That's perfect. Hope we can help make it a wee bit smaller!

Just a bumping of this invitation. Six of us have signed up, which makes it viable, but more would be even better! Anybody else interested in having a go? See the thread here for more details.

Yes, I thought her research excellent too. I've never seen any of Game of Thrones, so things wouldn't have struck any chords in that context. I never thought about hallucination through cold etc. Could be, but I thought it was being used to underline the fact that they were not in the Westerner' world but, rather, somewhat out of their depth in that of the native Americans. Different angles - would definitely be a good book for a reading group to analyse and discuss.

Interesting review of To The Bright Edge of the World. I read this back in June, loved it (review here), and felt the supernatural aspects to be more down to magical realism built into the book, linking in with Native American mysticism and the wildness/inaccessibility of the location. Normally, I am not a fan of things slightly fantastical like that, but for me it worked in this context. It's a long while since I read Hotel du Lac - before I started rating and reviewing books. My memories of it are that I enjoyed it, but found it just a bit too coolly clinical to be a favourite. That's only the long distance aftertaste though - I'm tempted to revisit it in the light of your review!

Finished The Card (Arnold Bennett) in fairly quick time - an easy, rather inconsequential but fun read. Now seem to have found myself reading three books! First of all started Roger Knight's chunky biography of Nelson, The Pursuit of Victory. Well written and very interesting but physically too big to read in bed at night (especially when lights are out and I don't have a Kindle edition!), so started Patrick O'Brian's The Fortunes of War, the next book in the Aubrey-Maturin series that I'm reading (but haven't made much progress on this year). Then, for some reason, got going on Jim Crace's Harvest, the first book for the newly formed reading group I've started with (am in two now). All good reads so far, but am not used to juggling this many books!

It would be lovely to see more of you! Thank you Alexi and Chaliepud. We're up to 6 now - starting to become viable!