Alexi

I'd be up for this! I never read them but my brother had two tapes I listened to endlessly. Not sure which ones they were now, can't remember anything about them - so god knows if they were books 1 and 2 or 33 and 34

Happy 2016 Janet! May your year be colourful and joyous.

I have a number of NFL books and a couple about the college system on my TBR Brian so interesting to read your thoughts on this one. While I watch around 3 NFL games a week (some on delay!) I don't have much time for the college game given work has me watching so much English/Spanish football, but the process really interests me as US Sports are so different from European with the draft system. I have The System on my TBR which has come very highly recommended on the $$ of college ball.

Great review of Our Endless Numbered Days! Onto my wishlist now

I haven't read any Dumas yet but really inspired to now! I'm currently listening to North and South on audiobook on work journeys.

I'm starting A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam - think it's going to be an emotional read! It also counts for Bangladesh in my World Challenge.

I bow down to your lists Frankie! Have a wonderful year

Happy New Year Brian! I tend to find reviews a pain when I get too far behind so I stopped posting last year's and have started afresh this year with the resolution to stay on top of it this time...

Catcher in the Rye... UGH. Put it down before you throw it out of the window.

She's one of those wonderful writers (IMO) who can write really beautifully without that becoming the main thing about the book. She combines great writing with a good plot - my favourite type of book! I shall look forward to seeing your thoughts when you get to it Great start to the year! Although it's sometimes unavoidable (no one deliberately selects to read a dud!) it's always nice to start on a positive note. I had very few total duds last year, here's to more of the same. Thanks Kay I have 20 odd books from the 1001 list on my TBR so I genuinely have no excuse whatsoever! The ECC is proving greatly enjoyable. Very few books I've not really, really liked - although I loathed A Very Big Adventure... At least that one was from Merseyside, I hope to get on with "my own" county so to speak!

Happy 2016! I hope you have a fantastic reading (and non reading!) year. Look forward to comparing notes about the ones we have both read and adding to my wishlist and TBR from the others

I have the app with all 1305 from all the editions on it. I'm going to make it a retirement project.... So I've got 40 years to go before I can properly tackle it I'm knocking 10 off a year though so I'm making progress!

Happy 2016! LOL at the hamster wheel of unread books - such an apt description! No doubt your blog will add to my ever expanding wish list and TBR as usual

Wish list extends by one! I'm ashamed to say most of these books were new to me, although I have substituted for Greater London and Leicestershire and reread for Cumbria, the rest are/were new reads. I never even read Winnie the Pooh! The fact it's based on a true story really adds to it, doesn't it? Just awful.

I've been putting the series off as well - your review is tempting me...!

Copied from my book log: I had never heard of this book before embarking on the English Counties Challenge but given its choice for Derbyshire I looked it up and immediately was intrigued by the synopsis. It didn't disappoint. Although the Christmas period meant I read the first 100 pages in snatches, when I sat down properly I gobbled this book up. It does deserve to be read in chunks I think and is much improved for it. Brooks is a wonderful writer who can conjure up vivid descriptions and strong emotions through the power of her words and characters. Anna, our protaganist, is a complex figure and often I forgot she was only 18, she had seen so much of life - most of it horrendous. This is based on the true story of the villagers of Eyam, who decided to isolate themselves when the plague came to save surrounding villages and their inhabitants. Cut off from the world and seeing friends and neighbours cut down in their midst, this is a wonderful exploration of the human condition and what it might be driven to in the right circumstances, especially in a world of 1666 which was driven by religion rather than science. It took a dark turn several times in completely unexpected ways and Brooks does have the power to shock even when you think she's dealt everything she can throw at you, more comes. It's a rollercoaster ride through death and life, told in beautiful words. I'm really glad we picked this book - this story deserves to be told and Brooks is the woman to do it. 4.5/5

Completed my first book of 2016! As ever in January I aim to be prompt with reviews. By March it will have fallen down... Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks Synopsis: A young woman’s struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village. In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection. So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction. (From Amazon) Thoughts: I had never heard of this book before embarking on the English Counties Challenge but given its choice for Derbyshire I looked it up and immediately was intrigued by the synopsis. It didn't disappoint. Although the Christmas period meant I read the first 100 pages in snatches, when I sat down properly I gobbled this book up. It does deserve to be read in chunks I think and is much improved for it. Brooks is a wonderful writer who can conjure up vivid descriptions and strong emotions through the power of her words and characters. Anna, our protaganist, is a complex figure and often I forgot she was only 18, she had seen so much of life - most of it horrendous. This is based on the true story of the villagers of Eyam, who decided to isolate themselves when the plague came to save surrounding villages and their inhabitants. Cut off from the world and seeing friends and neighbours cut down in their midst, this is a wonderful exploration of the human condition and what it might be driven to in the right circumstances, especially in a world of 1666 which was driven by religion rather than science. It took a dark turn several times in completely unexpected ways and Brooks does have the power to shock even when you think she's dealt everything she can throw at you, more comes. It's a rollercoaster ride through death and life, told in beautiful words. I'm really glad we picked this book - this story deserves to be told and Brooks is the woman to do it. 4.5/5

Thank you! I've been eyeing up The Goldfinch for two years or so now, I really must get it read before the end of this year! Thanks Frankie The 1001 books challenge is really enjoyable - I doubt I will ever read half the books on it, but the ones I'm reading and trying have all been worth it in different ways. When I first looked at the list I had only read 20 something and I was quite ashamed of it - I felt I should have read way more. I think 60 is healthier but it's suckered me in now...

Happy New Year Kylie! I'm half intimidated, half truly envious of your lists! Hope you have a great reading year and book fair

Thanks muchly, everyone. I hope to make 2016 a cracker! Thanks BB! I will definitely try and get to those before the year is out. Thanks Anna. I am fairly sure I bought that one on your recommendation so will certainly let you know what I make of it True on both counts My TBR is now getting to ridiculous levels, must make a serious effort to reduce it... ....but life does get in the way! (Am currently posting save the dates I should have sent before Christmas. Sigh.)

I didn't find that at all! I'm super interested in US history and politics so I might have noticed it less than others I guess, but it's interesting others found that. I hope you do enjoy it when you give it a go It's long, but very readable IMO. I've also read The Shining and Different Seasons. All three are so different but I loved them all.

The writing is beautiful. I've read a good 50 pages today and it has now properly sucked me in.

Yes, I'm trying to up my non fiction game as well. I buy loads but then for some reason read very few in 2015! I'm halfway through Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I'm enjoying it but I think it deserves to be read in chunks rather than the snatches I currently have time for.

Happy reading James! Your blog often throws up gems I hadn't considered before so will be following along as ever. How's the novel going?

Happy reading year!