Hayley

I’ve read one (Consider Phlebas) so I’m looking forward to seeing what the others are like! Someone I know was given that whole set of books and they don’t read, so they asked if I wanted them, which is why I have so many! Have you read all of the ones on my list?

Completely agree, I love them too! I’ve just got two short stories left in Tom Cox’s Help the Witch but I have no idea what I want to read next!

It did, that’s true

Thanks! Ha ha! It should!!

Hi Kaz, welcome to the forum!

Yes! He was a good unlikeable character. To be fair though, in the Railway Detective, murder is probably what’s happening in the erecting shed. Or the discovery of a body. Or a dramatic chase scene...

Me either and I suspected exactly the same people you did! I just thought

Thank you! I haven’t really read any reviews of The Starless Sea so that’s good to hear!

I bought two more books today because I had a £10 Waterstones voucher and no self control. So my first two 2020 book purchases were The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and The House Without Windows by Barbara Newhall Follett. Both have really beautiful covers. This picture doesn't even do justice to The House Without Windows. The edges of all the butterfly wings are speckled with gold

Interesting article! I don't think I have a particular tribe either but I'm closest to organising 'by value'. I have two shelves that don't get any direct sunlight and that's where I keep my favourite, special edition books (it's also where I take a lot of the giveaway pictures because the light is quite good there, just in front of the four copies of Household Words I got for £10 on ebay!). I also keep my few signed books all together on a different shelf. Then I put the books I haven't read yet together and the books I've read and loved enough to keep together. Within that system though they're just on whatever shelf they fit on (although I do try to keep books by the same author together). Quite a lot of my unread books aren't even on a shelf at the moment though, I have them stacked on the floor because they don't fit anywhere. If there was a 'chaotic value' tribe, I might be part of that!

I'm a bit scared to count mine but I'm fairly sure it's less than 80, so thanks @Raven, I feel better now

I'm already really good at that

The perfect combination, right!? I’m so glad you’re pleased with it, it’ll be with you soon!

Happy reading for 2020! Hugely recommend both the Wilkie Collins books you’ve got. You also made me realise I haven’t added my kindle books to my list!

Happy BCF anniversary Gaia! (so sorry it's late!) and huge congratulations on your move too! How exciting! I hope you have fun, making it all just how you want

Sorry for the huge delay, I don't know how I missed this! Great review of A Christmas Railway Mystery (much more detailed than the one I posted earlier!). I agree that the twists were good, but I also thought that the disappearance was more interesting than the actual murder. I nearly bought The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas, I'm glad I went for A Christmas Railway Mystery instead now!

Ok, thread open! January is going to be a really busy month for me, so I don't know how much reading I'm really going to get done, and I probably won't be on here quite as much as usual (I'm still checking in a few times every day, but my comments might be a bit brief!). I have lots of books I'm excited to read though so I'm sure I'll make up for it. Currently reading Tom Cox's Help the Witch.

Purchased in 2020: January: Follett, Barbara Newhall. The House Without Windows Morgenstern, Erin. The Starless Sea February: Aaronovitch, Ben. False Value Laakso, Laura. Roots of Corruption Monstrous Little Voices: New Tales from Shakespeare's Fantasy World ed. Jonathan Oliver and David Moore Rubenhold, Ruth. The Five

I didn't make any progress on my Discworld re-read last year, which is shocking, so hopefully I'll get a chance to cross some more off the list this year... 1. The Colour of Magic2. The Light Fantastic3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards! Guards! 9. Faust Eric 10. Moving Pictures 11. Reaper Man 12. Witches Abroad 13. Small Gods 14. Lords and Ladies 15. Men at Arms 16. Soul Music 17. Interesting times 18. Maskerade 19. Feet of Clay 20. Hogfather 21. Jingo 22. The Last Continent 23. Carpe Jugulum 24. The Fifth Elephant 25. The Truth 26. Thief of Time 27. The Last Hero 28. The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents 29. Night Watch 30. The Wee Free Men 31. Monstrous Regiment 32. A Hat Full of Sky 33. Going Postal 34. Thud! 35. Wintersmith 36. Making Money 37. Unseen Academicals 38. I Shall Wear Midnight 39. Snuff 40. Raising Steam 41. The Shepherd's Crown

I love starting a fresh new book blog This year I've set my Goodreads goal to 50, again, and maybe this will be the year I make it! I'm also determined to keep my reading list here up to date, which I was really rubbish at last year. Quite a few books have been added to my shelf (and floor... and under my bed... and basically in every available space) since last January, so here we go... On My Shelf Abercrombie, Joe. Best Served Cold Abercrombie, Joe. Half a King Abercrombie, Joe. Half the World Abercrombie, Joe. Red Country Adams, Douglas. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Adams, Douglas. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Adams, Douglas. Life, The Universe and Everything Adams, Douglas. So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments Ballantyne, R.M. The Coral Island Banks, Iain. The Bridge Banks, Iain M. The Algebraist Banks Iain M. Excession Banks Iain M. Feersum Endjinn Banks Iain M. Inversions Banks, Iain M. Look to Windward Banks Iain M. Matter Banks Iain M. The Player of Games Banks Iain M. Use of Weapons Barker, Clive. Weaveworld Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451 Brennan, Marie, A Natural History of Dragons British Myths and Legends vol. 1: Marvels and Magic. ed. Richard Barber British Myths and Legends vol. 2: Heroes and Saints. " British Myths and Legends vol 3. History and Romance. " Brontë, Anne. Agnes Grey Brontë, Anne. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Brontë, Charlotte. The Professor Brontë, Charlotte. Shirley Brontë, Charlotte. Villette Burton, Jessie. The Muse Butcher, Jim. Cold Days Butcher, Jim. Dead Beat Butcher, Jim. Proven Guilty Byatt, A.S. The Children's Book Caldecott, Andrew. Rotherweird Christie, Agatha. Murder on the Orient Express Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Clarke, Susanna, The Ladies of Grace Adieu Classic Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories ed. Rex Collings Collins, Bridget. The Binding Collins, Wilkie. The Haunted Hotel and Other Stories Connolly, John. The Book of Lost Things Cox, Tom. Help the Witch De Muriel, Oscar. Loch of the Dead Dickens, Charles. Christmas Stories Vol. 1 Dickens, Charles. Nicholas Nickleby Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop Dickens, Charles. The Pickwick Papers Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose Evans, Claire. The Fourteenth Letter Faulks, Sebastian. Birdsong Fforde, Jasper. One of Our Thursdays is Missing Fforde, Jasper. The Woman Who Died A Lot Gaylin, Alison. Into the Dark Gowar, Imogen Hermes. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows Grossmith, George and Weedon. The Diary of a Nobody Halls, Stacey. The Familiars Hardie, Titania. The Rose Labyrinth Hardy, Thomas. Under the Greenwood Tree Harkness, Deborah. Shadow of Night Harkness, Deborah. Time's Convert Horowitz, Anthony. Magpie Murders Hoving, Isabel. The Dream Merchant Jemisin, N.K. Fifth Season Jemisin, N.K. The Obelisk Gate Jemisin, N.K. The Stone Sky Kidd, Jess. Things in Jars le Carre, John. A Most Wanted Man Lynch, Scott, The Lies of Locke Lamora Marston, Edward. The Iron Horse Marston, Edward. Murder on the Brighton Express Marston, Edward. The Railway Viaduct McDermid, Val. The Distant Echo Miéville, China. Kraken Miéville, China. The Scar Mirless, Hope. Lud -in-the-Mist More, Thomas. Utopia Morton, Kate. The Distant Hours Mosse, Kate. Citadel Mosse, Kate. The Taxidermist's Daughter Owen, Lauren. The Quick Peake, Mervyn. Titus Groan Peake, Mervyn. Gormenghast Peake, Mervyn. Titus Alone Perry, Sarah. The Essex Serpent The Penguin Book of English Short Stories Ed. Christopher Dolley Pratchett, Terry. I Shall Wear Midnight Price, Steven, By Gaslight Purcell, Laura. Bone China Russel, Craig. Brother Grimm Setterfield, Diane. The Thirteenth Tale Stansfield, Katherine. The Magpie Tree Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men Taylor, Jodi, And the Rest is History Taylor, Jodi. A Trail Through Time Tolkien, J.R.R. Tree and Leaf, Smith of Wooton Major, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Vance, Jack, City of the Chasch Vance, Jack, The Dirdir Vance, Jack, Emphyrio Vance, Jack, The Eyes of the Overworld Vance, Jack, The Gray Prince Vance, Jack, The Green Pearl Vance, Jack, The Houses of Iszm Vance, Jack, Madouc Vance, Jack, The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph Vance, Jack, Rhialto the Marvellous Vance, Jack, Servants of the fiddleh Vance, Jack, To Live Forever Vance, Jack, Wyst:Alastor 1716 Verne, Jules. Five Weeks in a Balloon Verne, Jules. From the Earth to the Moon Verne, Jules. Round the Moon Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Victoire, Stephanie. The Other World, It Whispers Wells, H.G. The Time Machine Wells, H.G. The Island of Dr. Moreau Wells, H.G. The War of the Worlds Wells, H.G. The First Men in the Moon Wells, H.G. The Invisible Man Wesolowski, Matt. Six Stories Zusak, Marcus. Bridge of Clay Phew, I think that's all of them...

Great first review! I've been really intrigued by The Salt Path ever since I heard about it so it's nice to see such a detailed review. I'm particularly looking forward to your reviews of The Five and Winter for the same reason! I'm also very interested to hear what you think about Folk. I really liked it, but it's not quite like anything I've ever read before.

That would make it a lot easier to stay up to date with reviews

Ok, we're 11 days into 2020 and I need to finish my 2019 reviews so I can finally start my new thread! So, since Once Upon a River, I have read... Echo Murder by Laura Laakso 4.5/5 - I really enjoyed it The second book in the Wilde Investigations series and, like the first, it brings a great variety of interesting characters, a believable magical world and a clever, totally unique, murder mystery. When police start to investigate the fatal stabbing of Tim Wedgebury, they're surprised to find him alive and well. Assuming at first that it was some sort of magical prank, they're even more surprised when he has his second "fatal" accident, and then a third... I was completely stumped by this mystery, which was very cleverly delivered in a way that lets us further explore the way Old London and its magical community works. In this book we also get to see Yannia's (the main character's) home, the Wild Folk conclave. This is a huge contrast to the New and Old London settings, as the Wild Folk live very secluded, nature-based lives. The author writes beautifully from Yannia's perspective about the Wild Folk's connection with nature, but there's something unsettlingly cult-like about the conclave and I'm very interested to find out how Yannia's going to connect her two very different lives in future books. The third book isn't out yet though, so I'll just have to wait The Woman in Black by Susan Hill 3.5/5 - I enjoyed it I don't read much horror but, as this is a book people are always talking about, and I wanted something spooky for October, I thought I'd give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised! I think I (unfairly) assume that all horror is going to be full of stupid clichés (probably based on every horror film I've ever watched) but this was set up very nicely, had great atmosphere and simultaneously made you feel like there was a satisfying conclusion without getting rid of the threat. I can't say I've suddenly become a horror fan, but I enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a good spooky book. Tales of Unease by Arthur Conan Doyle 4.5/5 - I really enjoyed it I think it's fair to say that none of the stories in this collection are going to make you feel uneasy, there's just something too comforting about the way Arthur Conan Doyle tells a story. There's a great variety of really unique and well crafted stories here though, with everything from science fiction (The Horror of the Heights and The Terror of the Blue John Gap) Mummies (The Ring of Thoth and Lot No.249) and even a unicorn (Playing With Fire). It's a collection that gives you that 'I can't wait to find out what the next one will be' feeling. So you might not be scared, but you'll definitely be impressed. The Farthest Shore (Third book in the Earthsea Cycle) 4.5/5 - I really enjoyed it I just love this series and its beautiful, detailed, fantasy world. (I've just realised, while writing this, that it's going to be really hard to review anything about the story without spoilers for the other two books, so this is going to be vague...). Once again Le Guin makes you feel like you're going on a real adventure, discovering new islands and communities and new things about magic. There are also some very poignant comments about life and death in this one, as well as about fear, human nature and the cycle of life. Those topics don't seem overwhelming though, as huge as they are, Le Guin has a way of presenting really difficult subjects in a simple and gentle way, without ever losing that feeling of adventure that makes all three books so special. Definitely hugely recommend this series to all fantasy fans. They're a rare combination of being very detailed and also extremely easy to read. The Book Collector by Alice Thompson 4/5 - I really liked it I really like things based on fairy tales, so when I read the synopsis of this book, which includes things like a book collector, a very creepy book of fairy tales, and insanity, I thought I'd probably like it. When I first started reading it I started to think 'Oh, this isn't really what I thought it would be, it's not that creepy, and it's more about a relationship than it is about books.' BUT THEN. Violet, the main character, starts to become very suspicious about a particular book her husband keeps locked away in his safe. Why won't he let her read it? And why has he started going for walks in the middle of the night? When Violet's son is born, she starts to have strange visions, and her husband decides she should spend some time in the local asylum, to make her better. While there's no doubt that Violet really was experiencing hallucinations, the line between what's real and what's in Violet's imagination becomes increasingly blurred. When she returns home and discovers that women have been going missing from the asylum, the confusion only deepens. This is a book that builds in intensity until the last shocking scene. I felt slightly stunned after I finished it (which I did in one sitting). Not only do I recommend, I would also really like someone else to read this so we can talk about what on earth happened . Who Killed Zebedee? by Wilkie Collins 4/5 There are actually two stories in this book, 'Who Killed Zebedee?' and 'John Jago's Ghost'. The latter is actually a lot longer, more than double the length, so I'm not sure why 'Who Killed Zebedee?' is the title but anyway... I've loved everything I've ever read by Wilkie Collins. He tells an excellent mystery and these are no exception. In the first, a woman believes she murdered her husband in her sleep, but she has no idea where the knife that killed him (mysteriously inscribed with an unfinished note) came from. In the second, two men have been convicted of murder with overwhelming evidence, but one simple secret told on a late night walk might just save them from hanging. These aren't quite as good as Collins' full novels, hence the 4.5 stars, but they're still really good quick reads. A Christmas Railway Mystery by Edward Marston 3/5 - I enjoyed it I had been resisting buying a new Christmas-themed book until I saw this on offer in The Works (I wasn't actually looking for books, I was looking for pens, I promise...). I've read a couple of the Railway Detective books before and they were pretty good, so I knew what to expect with this one. They aren't particularly amazing books. The characters are a little bit cliched and the plots aren't hugely memorable (I can't, for example, remember who the murderer was now, and I only read it a few weeks ago), but they do give you a good traditional murder mystery still and I did enjoy reading it. (Extra note: I just had a really good think about the end of the book and remembered who the murderer was... and honestly it would have been more exciting if it had been one of the other suspects). Ok that's all my 2019 reviews done! Now to make my 2020 thread. Bye 2019 books!

And it's been a whole week already! So, the names have been drawn (well, they're actually spun on a colourful wheel which is a lot of fun for me) and the winner of the first 2020 giveaway is... @Brian.!

(Let's just pretend this has been here since last week and I didn't just post it as an announcement accidentally... ) I wanted to post this winter giveaway on the very first day of 2020 because it's all about starting a new reading adventure... Get organised and inspired by the Book Bucket List (which has pages to make review notes, check lists of classics and gives recommendations for a variety of genres), make your mark with your own book plates and have a nice cup of Shakespeare tea, to keep you going through those long reading sessions . (The tea is an 'English Breakfast' black tea blend by https://www.rosieleatea.co.uk/). Patreon supporters are entered into the giveaway automatically. The winner will be drawn at random next week and if you want to become a patreon supporter you can do so here... https://www.patreon.com/bookclubforum . Huge thanks and a very happy new year to everyone who supported during 2019. You made it possible to keep the forum going and I'm so, so grateful to you all