Alexi

The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom Synopsis: The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. (From Goodreads) Thoughts: I have had this on my TBR for a couple of years, bought after I enjoyed The Five People You Meet in Heaven by the same author. That book was full of emotion and magic, and was one of my favourite reads that year so no pressure then... Sadly, this one failed to live up to the predecessor. Rather than an alternative view of heaven, and its effects both on the afterlife and on earth, here we had a tribute to the nonsense of current society. Woman gets phone call claiming to be from heaven and TV crews descend on a small town to cover an event which quickly descends into farce. I found it hard to seriously believe that any TV station wouldn't immediately dismiss these people as total cranks, but there we are. Sully Harding has recently lost his wife in tragic circumstances, and rather than an exploration of the afterlife, this turned into more of a mystery novel with one man on a crusade to disprove the 'miracle'. The problem is, Sully is very difficult to feel any emotional connection to - which is weird, given his history should inspire that. Part of the problem was we were quickly taken away from his story arc - which was easily the most interesting - to deal with minor TV producers, and therefore the pacing felt off. I realise this is quite a negative review and gives the impression I didn't enjoy the book at all. That's not the case, it was an easy, quick read to start the year off and I never felt like abandoning it, but Albom struggled to create the feelings he so effortlessly managed with The Five People here. It felt like it should be a similar read, but actually they were totally different genres almost, and the first was therefore a much more meaningful, and memorable read. This one was good, but nothing about it deserved more than a 3. 3/5 (I liked it)

This sounds like a fascinating read. Added to the wishlist! I really must try Claire Tomalin this year, every review I read of her work just intrigues me further.

Wow, what a pretty kindle case! Claire, you are amazingly talented. You are a reading machine so far this year, J

Goodness - I feel a lot better about my TBR having seen yours! Judging by similar comments, you are performing a public service I hope you have a brilliant year of reading in 2017.

Happy New Year, and I hope you have a wonderful year of reading in 2017.

Happy 2017 Brian! Hope you have an excellent year of reading.

I have Alone in Berlin on the wish list after a recommendation from Brian (?). So will be intrigued to hear your thoughts.

Happy 2017 Chrissy! I'm also a big Jodi Taylor fan, although trying to space the books out rather than inhale all at once

Thanks Frankie! I'm actually about to start Trainspotting, so I hope it goes as well for me as it did for you Thank you! For some reason, I keep looking at Jonathan Strange and then putting it down... must give it a chance soon.

It's certainly not scary - I was more referring to the language being more accessible than I have been led to believe. I'm not particularly impressed so far mind!

I'd also be up for a group read of Middlesex! I'm halfway through The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Less intimidating than I expected.

Speaking as someone who has suffered from depression (as you know) and someone who is friends with you (as I hope you know ) I certainly didn't take offence or find you intolerant. By contrast, I have found Townsend's books (other than Mole) to inspire feelings of intolerance in me! It wasn't that one that I've found the worst, I'd have to google the title, but I definitely remember wanting to slap the lead character!!

Happy reading in 2017 Noll!

Oh dear - I'm halfway through NW and struggling! I'm reading other things alongside it because I'm reluctant to abandon but maybe I should take the hint... Happy reading in 2017 Ben! You've got an amazingly varied TBR. No doubt I will add many to my wish list as a result of your thoughts....

Glass of wine please Looking forward to keeping up to date with your blog. Pleased to see you have already read and enjoyed a lot of the ECC books that still await me - our similar tastes means this fills me with confidence Have a great reading year

Thank you! Right back at ya

Thank you! I will try and get round to the books you mention this year. I really want to read some more King, only three read so far yet several on the TBR! It's certainly an odd time in the US! Not the right time for us, but hopefully we will get to move there at some point in the future. I can't even remember the synopsis of The Humans now! Will have to look it up. You can! Good to see you around again Sure I will be getting some recs off you this year. Thanks Gaia! The challenge has been good to us so far, let's hope that continues! Our numbers are ever expanding Hi J I'm embarrassed to say I haven't needed to find too many alternatives because most are totally new! I have only reread one (Swallows and Amazons) and replaced a Sherlock and Adrian Mole due to having already read them. No question there are many I feel I should have already read! Here's to a positive 2017 in books and out

I'm starting the year with catching up on everyone's new blogs! I'm also halfway through The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom.

And with that, I do declare this thread OPEN! Happy 2017 to all.

Spare post.

Spare post.

US STATES CHALLENGE Another list! Books in RED are ones I have read. 01. To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee (Alabama) 02. White Fang - Jack London (Alaska) 03. The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver (Arizona) 04. True Grit - Charles Portis (Arkansas) 05. East of Eden - John Steinbeck (California) 06. Plainsong - Kent Haruf (Colorado) 07. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates (Connecticut) 08. The Saint of Lost Things - Christopher Castellani (Delaware) 09. To Have and Have Not - Ernest Hemingway (Florida) 10. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (Georgia) 11. From Here To Eternity - James Jones (Hawaii) 12. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson (Idaho) 13. The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow (Illinois) 14. The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington (Indiana) 15. A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley (Iowa) 16. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (Kansas) 17. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe (Kentucky) 18: Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice (Louisiana) 19. The Cider House Rules - John Irving (Maine) 20. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler (Maryland) 21: Walden - Henry David Thoreau (Massachusetts) 22. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (Michigan) 23. Main Street - Sinclair Lewis (Minnesota) 24. As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner (Mississippi) 25. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain (Missouri) 26. A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean (Montana) 27. My Antonia - Willa Cather (Nebraska) 28: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson (Nevada) 29. Peyton Place - Grace Metalious (New Hampshire) 30. Independence Day - Richard Ford (New Jersey) 31. Red Sky at Morning - Richard Bradford (New Mexico) 32. The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald (New York) 33. Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier (North Carolina) 34. The Round House - Louise Eldrich (North Dakota) 35. The Broom of the System - David Foster Wallace (Ohio) 36. Paradise - Toni Morrison (Oklahoma) 37. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey (Oregon) 38. Rabbit, Run - John Updike (Pennsylvania) 39. The Witches of Eastwick - John Updike (Rhode Island) 40. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd (South Carolina) 41. Welcome to Hard Times - EL Doctorow (South Dakota) 42. A Death in the Family - James Agee (Tennessee) 43. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy (Texas) 44. The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff (Utah) 45. Pollyanna - Eleanor H. Porter (Vermont) 46. Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver (Virginia) 47. Snow Falling on Cedars- David Guterson (Washington) 48. Washington DC - Gore Vidal (Washington DC) 49. Shiloh - Phillis Reynolds Naylor (West Virginia) 50. The Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach (Wisconsin) 51. Close Range: Wyoming Stories - E. Annie Proulx (Wyoming) 8/51 completed

THE ENGLISH COUNTIES CHALLENGE - ALEX'S VERSION Two substitutions for books I had already read before the challenge started (Greater London and Leicestershire) Books in RED are ones I've read. 1. Bedfordshire - My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates 2. Berkshire - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 3. Bristol - The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young 4. Buckinghamshire - The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper 5. Cambridgeshire - The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers 6. Cheshire - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell 7. City of London - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 8. Cornwall - Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier 9. Cumbria - Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome 10. Derbyshire - Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks 11. Devon - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 12. Dorset - Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 13. County Durham - Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens 14. East Riding of Yorkshire - South Riding by Winifred Holtby 15. East Sussex - Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne 16. Essex - The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James 17. Gloucestershire - Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee 18. Greater London* - Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 19. Greater Manchester - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 20. Hampshire - Watership Down by Richard Adams 21. Herefordshire - On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin 22. Hertfordshire - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 23. Isle of Wight - The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham 24. Kent - The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates 25. Lancashire - Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson 26. Leicestershire - The Right to an Answer by Anthony Burgess 27. Lincolnshire - The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot 28. Merseyside - An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge 29. Norfolk - The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley 30. North Yorkshire - Dracula by Bram Stoker 31. Northamptonshire - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 32. Northumberland - The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin 33. Nottinghamshire - Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence 34. Oxfordshire - The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford 35. Rutland - Set In Stone by Robert Goddard 36. Shropshire - Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse 37. Somerset - Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore 38. South Yorkshire - A Kestral For A Knave by Barry Hines 39. Staffordshire - The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett 40. Suffolk - The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald 41. Surrey - Emma by Jane Austen 42. Tyne and Wear - Another World by Pat Barker 43. Warwickshire - Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes 44. West Midlands - Middlemarch by George Eliot 45. West Sussex - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons 46. West Yorkshire - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 47. Wiltshire - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope 48. Worcestershire - The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall 45/48 completed

BOOKS ACQUIRED 2017 Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor A Kestral for a Knave by Barry Hines Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling The Turn of the Screw by Henry James The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope The Vanquished by Robert Gerwarth Nina is Not Ok by Shappi Khoorsandi A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson No Hunger in Paradise by Michael Calvin Forever Young by Oliver Kay The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot A History of Britain Volume 1 by Simon Schama All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein Lorna Doone by R D Blackmore The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry American Gods by Neil Gaiman The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson The North by Paul Morley Not in Your Lifetime by Anthony Summers Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie 2 Sides by Rio Ferdinand Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne The Right to an Answer by Anthony Burgess The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley The Darling Buds of May by H E Bates The Dry by Jane Harper The Misses Mallett by E H Young Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen Since Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen The Lords of Creation by Frederick Lewis Allen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Age of Anger by Pankaj Mishra The Five Giants by Nicholas Timmins Rock and Roll Soccer by Ian Plenderleith Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich

TBR L-Z Camilla Lackberg - The Ice Princess Paul Lake - I'm Not Really Here Erik Larsen – In the Garden of Beasts Doreen Lawrence - And Still I Rise Valerie Lawson - Mary Poppins, She Wrote Debra Lee – Taken Harper Lee – Go Set a Watchman Sheri Leigh - Graveyard Games Eric Lomax - The Railway Man Karen Lord - Redemption in Indigo Samantha Mackintosh - Kisses for Lula Kevin Maher - The Fields Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall Scott Mariani - The Alchemist's Secret Howard Marks - Mr Nice Andrew Marr - History of Modern Britain Andrew Marr - My Trade Ian Marshall - The Class of 92 Ann M Martin - Kristy's Great Idea Daniel Martin - Black Tie, White Noise George R R Martin – A Clash of Kings George R R Martin – A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow George R R Martin – A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold George R R Martin – A Feast for Crows George R R Martin – A Dance with Dragons: Dreams and Dust George R R Martin - A Dance with Dragons: After the Feast Robert K Massie - Nicholas and Alexandra Kimberly McCreight - Reconstructing Amelia Bob McElwain - Free to Die Katie McGarry - Pushing the Limits Brian McGilloway - Little Girl Lost Reg McKay - The Last Godfather Christina McKenna - The Disenchanted Widow Philipp Meyer - American Rust Candy Miller - Kalahari Passage Kimberley Rae Miller - Coming Clean Brian Moore - Beware of the Dog Liane Moriarty - What Alice Forgot Roger Mortimer and Charlie Mortimer - Dear Lupin: Letters to a Wayward Son Motley Crue – The Dirt Haruki Murakami - 1Q84 Urzula Muskus - Long Bridge out of the Gulags Jo Nesbo - Nemesis Jo Nesbo - The Redeemer Jo Nesbo - Phantom Jo Nesbo - The Snowman Jo nesbo - The Devil's Star Jo Nesbo - The Leopard Patrick Ness - A Monster Calls Patrick Ness - The Crane Wife David Nicholls - Starter for Ten John Niven – Kill Your Friends Solomon Northup - 12 Years A Slave Sean O’Connor - Handsome Brute Joseph O'Neill - Crime City Louise O’Neill – Only Ever Yours Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient S J Parris - Heresy S J Parris - Treachery James Patterson - Kiss the Girls James Patterson - Cat and Mouse Chris Pavone - The Expats Chris Pavone – The Accident Stef Penney - The Tenderness of Wolves Karen Perry – The Boy That Never Was Sylvia Plath – The Bell Jar Oliver Potzsch - The Hangman's Daughter Jeff Ragsdale, David Shields and Michael Logan - Jeff, One Lonely Guy Ian Rankin - Fleshmarket Close Louise Rennison - Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging Lexi Revellian - Replica David Revill - London by Tube Tom Reynolds - Blood Sweat and Tea Kate Riordan – The Girl in the Photograph Graham Robb - Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris Trevor Roberts – Caught by Cameras Veronica Roth – Divergent Angus Roxburgh - Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the struggle for Russia Edward Rutherfurd – Sarum Dorothy L Sayers – Whose Body Victor Sebesteyen – 1946: The Making of the Modern World Tina Seskis - One Step Too Far Anna Sewell - Black Beauty Georges Simenon – Pietr the Latvian Martin Sixsmith - Philomena Karin Slaughter - Indelible Christopher Smith - Fifth Avenue Tom Rob Smith - Child 44 Zadie Smith - NW Bradley Somer – Fishbowl Diana Souhami - Murder at Wrotham Hill Ali Sparkes - Frozen in Time Dana Stabenow - A Cold Day for Murder Kathryn Stockett - The Help Harriet Beecher Stowe – Uncle Tom’s Cabin Mari Strachan - The Earth Hums in B Flat William Styron - Sophie's Choice Antal Szerb - Journey by Moonlight Donna Tartt - The Goldfinch Daniel Taylor – I Believe in Miracles Jodi Taylor – A Trail Through Time Hunter S Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Georgie Thompson and Imogen Lloyd Webber - The Twitter Diaries Lesley Thomson - The Detective's Daughter Rosy Thornton - Ninepins Peter Thurgood - The Stories behind London's Streets Scott Turow - Reversible Errors Anne Tyler – A Spool of Blue Thread Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five David Wailing - Fake Kate Karen Thompson Walker - The Age of Miracles Sam Warburton - Refuse to be Denied Mark Ward - Hammered Mike Ward - Gullhanger Heather Wardell - Seven Exes is Eight too Many Sarah Waters - Tipping the Velvet Sarah Waters – The Paying Guests Sarah Waters - Fingersmith S J Watson – Second Life Katherine Webb - The Misbegotten Andy Weir – The Martian Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting Irvine Welsh - Skagboys Scott Westerfeld – Uglies Kate Williams – The Storms of War Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport – On the Clock Sarah Winman - When God was a Rabbit David Winner - Brilliant Orange Scott Wittenberg - The May Day Murders Christian Wolmar - The Great Railway Revolution Jennifer Worth - Call the Midwife Mona Yahia - When the Grey Beetles Took Over Baghdad Nathan Yates - Beyond Evil A B Yehoshua - Friendly Fire Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Angel's Game Markus Zusak – I Am the Messenger Stefan Zweig - The Post Office Girl Anonymous - Tales from the Secret Footballer