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Reading Challenge 2016 (216 in 2016)


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Old 04-07-2016, 07:23
OxfordGirl
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109) Where Love Lies - Julie Cohen
110) Little Black Lies - Sharon Bolton
111) The Secret Daughter - Kelly Rimmer
112) On Wings of Eagles - Ken Follett
113) The First Time - Kate Monro
114) The Girl with a Clock for a Heart - Peter Swanson
115) Summer evenings at the Seafront Hotel - Vanessa Greene
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Old 04-07-2016, 16:39
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75/ Walking to Babylon by Kate Orman

Number 10 in the Bernice Summerfield series.

This one is a bit odd. I struggled to get into it as the start was trying too hard to be mysterious and different. Then it settles into a fairly standard adventure but it just ends in an abrupt manner.
I think this suffers from the author desperately wanting to write a hard SF novel but being limited by the format of this series.

76/ A Memoir by Cyndi Lauper

I love Cyndi - saw her at the Apollo on Thursday night.
But this is a bit of an odd autobiography. The early life and spirituality stuff I found quite dull but the chapters covering her career and struggles with the record label were really interesting.
A mixed bag but overall I did enjoy it
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Old 05-07-2016, 07:12
OxfordGirl
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116) The Exclusives - Rebecca Thornton
117) Packing Light - Alison Fallon
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Old 06-07-2016, 20:14
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118) Typhoon - Charles Cumming

Charles Cumming is probably one of my favourite authors just now. If you like a good spy thriller I can't recommend him highly enough
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Old 07-07-2016, 21:53
OxfordGirl
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119) Look at Me - Jennifer Egan
120) Sweet Girl - Rachel Hollis
121) Smart Girl - Rachel Hollis
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Old 08-07-2016, 19:55
Sue_C
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32. The Woman who Walked into the Sea by Mark Douglas-Home.

The second book in the Sea Detective series.

A young woman with a small child of her own returns to the Scottish village of her birth in an attempt to discover the circumstances surrounding her mother's death only hours after she was born.

An embittered former housekeeper may be a help or a hindrance and a local beachcomber seems friendly. By chance Cal McGill, the sea detective, is also visiting the village and he becomes involved in the investigation.

Everyone in the village is having a grim time and I found this to be quite a depressing read really. I don't think that I'll read the next one.
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Old 08-07-2016, 20:37
clm2071
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32. The Woman who Walked into the Sea by Mark Douglas-Home.

The second book in the Sea Detective series.

A young woman with a small child of her own returns to the Scottish village of her birth in an attempt to discover the circumstances surrounding her mother's death only hours after she was born.

An embittered former housekeeper may be a help or a hindrance and a local beachcomber seems friendly. By chance Cal McGill, the sea detective, is also visiting the village and he becomes involved in the investigation.

Everyone in the village is having a grim time and I found this to be quite a depressing read really. I don't think that I'll read the next one.
I loved this book, can't wait for the next one!
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Old 08-07-2016, 20:57
d0lphin
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I loved this book, can't wait for the next one!
The next one (The Malice of the Waves) is already out. I read it a few weeks ago.
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Old 09-07-2016, 06:39
OxfordGirl
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122) Jonathan Trigell - Cham
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Old 09-07-2016, 22:49
Katie-Jane
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23) Regarding Anna by Florence Osmund
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Old 11-07-2016, 17:36
jam73
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42) Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All, by Jonas Jonasson
43) A Delicate Truth, by John le Carre
44) Norwood, by Charles Portis (author of True Grit)
45) The Girl who wasn't There, by Ferdinand von Schirach
46) Indemnity Only, by Sara Paretsky ) first 3 titles in the
47) Deadlock, by Sara Paretsky ) VI Warshawski
48) Killing Orders, by Sara Paretsky ) series
49) The Horse with my Name, Colin Bateman
50) Dead at Daybreak, by Deon Meyer
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Old 11-07-2016, 19:33
OxfordGirl
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123) Lee Child - Tripwire
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Old 12-07-2016, 22:50
Katie-Jane
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24) The Little Village Bakery by Tilly Tennant
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Old 13-07-2016, 17:47
cathy27
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96) The Hanging Club by Tony Parsons
97) Pleasure Island by Anna-Lou Weatherley
98) Harbor Street by Ann Cleeves
99) Flawless by Heather Graham
100) Harley Quinn Vol 1: Hot in the City by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner
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Old 14-07-2016, 22:20
d0lphin
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26. Case Histories - Kate Atkinson
10/10 - book 1 of the Jackson Brodie series. I was sure I'd read all of Kate Atkinson's books and decided to re-read this series, but this didn't seem at all familiar so I was pleased to have found one I hadn't read. I love Kate Atkinson's style of writing and the way she tied the loose ends up. There were so many characters and they were all charismatic and interesting. Highly recommended!
27. One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson
9/10 - book 2 in the Jackson Brodie series, this time set over 4 days of the Edinburgh festival which Jackson is visiting with his actress girlfriend. Another excellent read.
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Old 15-07-2016, 17:45
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33. The Vanishing Witch by Karen Maitland. Audible edition narrated by Jonathan Keeble.
A medieval tale set during the reign of young Richard ll at the time of the Peasants Revolt. A cloth merchant is flattered when he is approached by an attractive widow to provide investment advice. History through the eyes of ordinary people mingled with superstition, witchcraft and some suspicious deaths. The story is told by several different different characters including a ghost. A very good book and an excellent narrator.
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Old 16-07-2016, 07:53
OxfordGirl
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124) My Husband's Wife - Jane Corry
125) My Husband's Wives - Faith Cogan
126) Serving Crazy with Curry - Amulya Malladi
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Old 17-07-2016, 16:22
OxfordGirl
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127) JoJo Moyes - The One Plus One
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Old 18-07-2016, 13:28
Faggy
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77/ The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams

Awful book - easily the worst I've read this year.

Supposedly a crime novel but the crime is almost incidental as the main focus is the possible mental instability of the lead character.

However the main problem for me is that it is written in the most affected and pretentious style. The impression I got is that the author is trying too hard to be a "serious novelist".
I do have one of the author's historical non-fiction books to read but I shall avoid any of her fiction.

78/ Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull

A sort of history of Pixar mixed in with a lot of "how to be a good manager and promote creativity" business stuff. The author is a senior person at Pixar.

This isn't the sort of book I'd usually read but all of us at work were given a copy (presumably to "inspire" us) so I decided to give it a go.
The overview of Pixar and how they develop their films and resolve issues with them is interesting but the rest of it didn't massively engage me.
The thing I found most interesting is that despite being given this by my employer they don't follow any of the management styles that he suggests!

79/ Shallow Graves by Jeffery Deaver

This is one of Deaver's early works. Although the basic style is there he'd not quite found his rhythm.
However it is enjoyable and pacey with many interesting characters and plenty of the Deaver twists that regular readers expect.

80/ Quatermass and the Pit by Kim Newman

Part of the BFI series of books analysing classic films.

This is one of my favourite films so it was fascinating to read a critical overview that compared it to the TV serial version as well as previous Quatermass films and Kneale's subsequent work.

Not a long book but well worth a read.

81/ Mapping The Airways by Paul Jarvis

A history of British Airways advertising and promotional literature focussing the use of maps.

Yes I know what it sounds like and it is clearly aimed at a very specialist audience but I found it interesting and the reproductions of old posters and leaflets were lovely.
My only criticism is that the layout of the book (in a landscape format) means that some of the imagery isn't displayed at it's best.

82/ London Underground Stations by Stephen Durnin

I must confess that I love the Tube. Not travelling on it obviously as I hate being crushed against humanity but the history and design of it.

I've got several books on the subject but this is possibly the most niche. It is a book containing nothing but photographs of each and every tube station. No commentary just a photo of each station with a note on when it was built and who the architect was. I loved it but it's clearly not for everyone.
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Old 19-07-2016, 09:59
Katie-Jane
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25) A Year of Being Single by Fiona Collins
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Old 19-07-2016, 21:30
OxfordGirl
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128) Lee Child - The Hard Way
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Old 21-07-2016, 12:46
Faggy
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83/ Firewall by Henning Mankell

Another in the Wallander series.

I enjoyed this and found myself fully engaged but to be honest not an awful lot happens. I find Mankell's writing style makes even Wallander's constant griping about his weight and drinking interesting to read.
The main problem for me is that the plot just ends without any real resolution.
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Old 21-07-2016, 13:37
d0lphin
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27. One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson
9/10 - book 2 in the Jackson Brodie series, this time set over 4 days of the Edinburgh festival which Jackson is visiting with his actress girlfriend. Another excellent read.
28. When will there be Good News? - Kate Atkinson
10/10 - book 3 in the Jackson Brodie series. Jackson nearly dies in a train crash when he accidentally takes a train to Edinburgh instead of London and his life is saved by 16 year old Reggie. Loved it!
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Old 21-07-2016, 18:52
Sue_C
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34. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner.
This was written in the 1980s but feels as though it's set in the 1960s. A fairly successful novelist has been banished by her friends to a hotel in Switzerland after committing a heinous social crime. It's the end of the season and Edith Hope makes the acquaintance of the few remaining guests and reflects on past events. Nothing much happens really but very enjoyable all the same.
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Old 23-07-2016, 11:27
farmer bob
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9) Live Bait by P.J Tracy
10) A Bridge to the Stars by Henning Mankell
11) Jackdaws by Ken Follett
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