Elkiedee reads, occasionally reviews and rants for 2016

I'm Luci, a bookworm living in London with my partner, our two boys and one cat.

I'd like to maintain my thread better this year than I did in the last 3 years, but won't make any promises - last year's thread has 154 posts, although that's more than 2013 (121) and 2014 (51). I finished 191 books. I wrote reviews of a few but I owe a lot more.

My reading interests include literary, historical and crime fiction, women's writing old and new, memoirs and biographies, history and politics. I collect Virago Modern Classics and Persephone books, and love trawling charity shops. I have far too many books and can't stop acquiring more, in dead tree versions and on my Kindle, and I also use the libraries in 3 of London's 32 boroughs.

1. 03.01.16 Sarah Winman, The Year of Marvellous Ways 312 pp 4.5 ytd 312 pp

2. 05.01.16 Nick Hornby, Funny Girl 343 pp 4.3 ytd 655 pp

3. 07.01.16 Ian Rankin, Even Dogs in the Wild 345 pp 4.5 ytd 1000 pp

4. 08.01.16 Robyn Cadwallader, The Anchoress 314 pp 4.4 1314 pp

5. 09.01.16 Jean Lucey Pratt, A Notable Woman 736 pp 4.0 2050pp

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The best books I read in 2015

Non fiction

If This is a Woman - Sarah Helm 5*
Hand to Mouth - Linda Tirado

Fiction

Mr Loverman - Bernardine Evaristo 5*
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
A Place Called Winter - Patrick Gale
Critical Mass - Sara Paretsky
Burial Rites - Hannah Kent
Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
Girl at War - Sara Novic
The Darkest Secret - Alex Marwood
Hild - Nicola Griffith

Happy new year Luci! I'm going to pick Hild up from the library today so glad to see it was one of your favourites from last year.

Welcome back!

Happy 2016. I will be following along. Thanks for following my thread last year. Always nice to have recommendations.

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Luci. Hope to see more of you in 2016.

Happy New Year Luci!



"I wish you never-ending dreams
and the furious desire to realise some of them."
— Jacques Brel

Happy New Year, and good luck this year! You certainly are lucky to have the London libraries for resources!

1. 03.01.16 Sarah Winman, A Year of Marvellous Ways

Historical Fiction, borrowed from Islington library, hardback 312 pp, also have a Netgalley (they came through at the same time)

Sarah Winman's second novel, very different from the first one, When God Was a Rabbit. Set in 1940s Devon. The main character, Marvellous Ways is 89.

(review to be written)

Rating: 4.5

Reading, Sunday 3 January 2016

Completed in the early hours:

Sarah Winman, A Year of Marvellous Ways - historical novel set in Devon, England in 1940s, but looking back over a long life to mid 19th century

Currently reading

Nick Hornby, Funny Girl Novel set in 1960s London
Ian Rankin, Even Dogs in the Wild #20 in Inspector Rebus series, set in Edinburgh, Scotland
Robyn Cadwallader, The Anchoress historical novel, England in 1255
Jean Lucey Pratt, A Notable Woman: The Romantic Journals of Jean Lucey Pratt edited by Simon Garfield - diaries of an English woman from 1925 (age 15) to her death 1986
Mhairi McFarlane, It's Not Me, It's You chicklit - set in Newcastle and London, England

Happy new year, Luci!

I really loved When God was a Rabbit but didn't realize she had a new one out. I'll have to look into it...

2. 05.01.16 Nick Hornby, Funny Girl

Historical Fiction, borrowed from Haringey libraries, paperback 343 pp, have acquired own copy from charity shop in Harrogate 18.07.15

Mostly set in 1960s London, with a present day bit at the end

Barbara is a fan of Lucille Ball, and she leaves Blackpool (a seaside town in northern England) to pursue her dream of an acting career in London. She changes her name to Sophie and meets writing duo Tony and Bill.

Rating: 4.3

I might follow you with Funny Girl, Luci. Nick Hornby is always readable isn't he?

Enjoy!

3. 07.01.16 Ian Rankin, Even Dogs in the Wild

Crime fiction, borrowed from Islington Libraries, Hardback 345 pp

Rebus #20 (a favourite series) - Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a visit to Ullapool and further north

Rating: 4.5

4. 08.01.16 Robyn Cadwallader, The Anchoress

Historical fiction, Kindle, purchased 30.05.15

Set in 13th century England

Rating: 4.5

5. 09.01.16 Jean Lucey Pratt, A Notable Woman: The Romantic Journals of Jean Lucey Pratt, edited with introduction and epilogue by Simon Garfield

Diaries, Netgalley e-ArC, 736 pages

Diaries of a middle class woman with literary aspirations, from 15 to her death at 76 - starting 1925, ending 1986, but most of the diaries were from 1925-1950.

Rating: 4.0

Have a lovely weekend Luci.
>18 elkiedee: That is a bit of a chunkster for so early in the year.

>19 PaulCranswick: Well, I started before Christmas, and it's a Netgalley - I've taken page details from online listings. I'm sure I must have got halfway by New Year.

You've been reading away.

I can't say I have one favourite David Bowie song. but this is one of many, from 1979, which expressed well the fears I felt a few years later as a teenager about the threat of nuclear war. Sadly, it still seems to describe too much that's going now:

Fantastic Voyage

In the event that this fantastic voyage
Should turn to erosion and we never get old

Remember it's true, dignity is valuable
But our lives are valuable too

We're learning to live with somebody's depression
And I don't want to live with somebody's depression
We'll get by, I suppose

It's a very modern world but nobody's perfect
It's a moving world but that's no reason

To shoot some of those missiles
Think of us as fatherless scum, it won't be forgotten
'Cos we'll never say anything nice again, will we?

And the wrong words make you listen
In this criminal world

Remember it's true, loyalty is valuable
But our lives are valuable too

We're learning to live with somebody's depression
And I don't want to live with somebody's depression
We'll get by, I suppose

But any sudden movement, I've got to write it down
They wipe out an entire race and I've got to write it down

But I'm still getting educated but I've got to write it down
And it won't be forgotten
'Cos I'll never say anything nice again, how can I?

I really liked The Anchoress one of those books that has stuck with me - such a powerful idea. Hope your reading is going well.

Did you see the list of Bowie's 100 reads? Some great books on there.

>23 charl08: Yes, I really liked that he included Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and several other books that I can't remember at the moment.

Have a lovely weekend!

An interesting review of a children's book I don't want to read:

http://seattlereviewofbooks.com/reviews/the-idea-of-freedom-might-be-too-great-a...

How can something like this be being put out in this century?

>22 elkiedee: Much underrated as a songwriter was Mr. Bowie. Some of his early albums were thoughtful and wonderful.

In his song for Bob Dylan he described him as having "a voice of sand and glue" which I thought tremendously on point.

Have a great Sunday.

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

Thank you Paul, but I hadn't realised that I failed to post on my own thread for more than 11 months!

My last post was mid January last year.

I've read 108 books, and hope to finish at least one more this year.

Hope to do better on reading and posting next year.

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Luci xx