Tidied up the bookcases, and put away the stuff I have read since the last update in November last year. Occasional comments added below;
SJ Watson – Before I Go To Sleep – entertaining story, a good idea, pretty well done imo.
C Watson – The language of Kindness
M Daniel – Jack the Ripper (fiction, book tied into the TV series with Michael caine)
R Wiseman – 59 Seconds
M Crichton – Prey
A Fraser – The Gunpowder Plot
B Aaronovitch – What Abigail Did That Summer (I really enjoy the Rivers of London books.)
J Lanchester – Capital (ok novel, quite interesting, many characters not very likeable)
Harry Leslie Smith – Harrys Last Stand (fascinating personal account of recent history. A Passionate book)
E kostova – The Historian – Interesting variation on the Dracula story.
C Jones & Dr D Doidin – The Maybrick Murder and the Diary of Jack The Ripper
MJ Trow – Interpreting the Ripper Letters (pretty guff tbh)
A Moore/E Campbell – From Hell – Master Edition (have to say I LOVED this, and graphic novels/comics are not usually my thing. Phenomenally well researched, really great storyline. Exceptional!)
L Scott – Picnic Comma Lightening (quite a deep book exploring our digital lives, how it shapes experience, and emotion, including themes like bereavement)
S King – The Stand (ok. I kinda felt it had been built up a lot, so perhaps my expectations were a bit high seeing as how people rave about this book)
W Davies – Overcoming Anger and Irritability
H Coben – Caught (Coben is heralded as a bright spark, and Netflix have optioned more than 1 book. This was ABSOLUTE FUCKING DRIVEL including one or 2 major plot gaps. I mean, how can a police detective with a specialism in IT crime not know how to set up a fucking facebook page? Made me angry)
A Kay – Undoctored
R Galbraith – the ink Black Heart (the strike books are marmite. This was long, and done in a different style – lots of confusion as people and their online alter ego’s is difficult to work out, but I really enjoyed it)
M Albom – the 5 people you meet in heaven (simply a nice pleasurable read. Easy going, but makes you think.)
J Glennie – Trainspotting 25th anniversary (overpriced coffee table book that I managed to pick up as a bargain)
S Wood – Deconstructing jack
S Braithwaite – Spaceships over Glasgow (Mogwai frontman autobiography. Interesting, though a lot left out imo)
E Donoghue – Frog Music (not a patch on Room)
D aaronovitch – Voodoo Histories (examination of the impact of conspiracy theories on social thinking. Interesting)
JK Toole – A confederacy of Dunces (supposedly a classic, am unsure why?)
Q tarantino – Cinema Speculation (actually so much more readable and accessible than I expected it to be)
R Bradbury – The Illustrated Man (revisiting a character from “something wicked” this is a really really good story!)
B Craston – A Life in parts
P Highsmith – Strangers on a Train (by all accounts a classic, but the characters again were of their time, hence I didn’t enjoy as much as others)
J Ritter – The Great Glorious Goddamn of it All
John Connolly – A Game of Ghosts (first introduction to Charlie Parker. Loved it. Am definitely going to get more from this author and from this series. Dark, compelling, crime/murder mystery with a hint of the supernatural)
Lee Child – Blue Moon (first introduction to Reacher. Have to say, contrasted with the John Connolly book it is weak. The book equivalent of fast food)
Arthur C Clarke – The City and the Stars
J berendt – Midnight in the Graden of Good and Evil
B Easton Ellis – The Rules of Attraction
N&T I’anson – Jacob the Ripper (A really excellent putting forward of a potential suspect. A niche book for sure, but excellent)
Randall Munroe – What If? (excellent exposition of bizarre scenarios and thought experiments. Loved it)
C Palahniuk – Pygmy (got rave reviews, but actually is a bit shit. Funny in highlighting some US behaviours, but not all that great.
V Deary – How to Live
I Asimov – The Naked Sun
A davies – Just Ignore Him (actually, quite a depressing, or heartbreaking read in many ways.)
E leonard – Get shorty
M Mcnamara – I’ll Be Gone In The dark
