PAUL C WITH A CLEAN SLATE IN '22 - Part 18

PLACES FROM MY PAST

This is Port Vendres in Languedoc Rousillon where we used to go to training camp. The training camp was based in nearby Canet Plage but I used to cycle here and Collioure and train in the hills surrounding the seaside town. It is an unspoilt secret almost in Spain.

The Opening Words

The Asian Book Challenge is visiting the "Stans" this month and it is a part of the world that I am generally not too familiar with. Earlier in the year I bought Sovietistan



"I am lost. The flames in the crater have erased the stars and then drained all the shadows of light. The fiery tongues hiss and spit; there are thousands of them. Some are as big as a horse, others no bigger than raindrops. A gentle heat strokes my cheeks; there is a sweet, sickly odour. Stones loosen from the edge and tumble into the flames without a sound. I step back onto firmer ground. The desert night is cold, without fragrance."

Interested ....................?

Books Read First Quarter

JANUARY

1. American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin (2019) 160 pp (AAC) - GN
2. The Forward Book of Poetry 2022 by Various Poets (2021) 155 pp - Poetry
3. Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne (1994) 274 pp - Thriller/Mystery
4. Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill (2008) 183 pp - (NF Challenge) NF
5. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (1998) 671 pp - (Asian Book Challenge{ABC}) Fiction; 1001
6. The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (1962) 158 pp - (World Books/Food) Fiction
7. The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter (1958) 216 pp - (BAC) YA Fiction
8. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) 114 pp - Fiction
9. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (2020) 343 pp - (ABC) - Fiction (?)
10. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (1982) 192 pp - SF/Fantasy
11. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom (2011) 230 pp - Fiction/Holocaust
12. The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty (1972) 208 pp - Fiction; Pulitzer
13. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (2008) - 103 pp Fiction/Rebecca NYC reads
14. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (2002) - 131 pp Non Fiction / Holocaust
15. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin (2002) 384 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
16. Up With the Larks by Tessa Hainsworth (2009) 278 pp Non Fiction
17. Cheryl's Destinies by Stephen Sexton (2021) 88 pp - Poetry
18. Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol (2001) 246 pp - Thriller/Mystery / Asian Book Challenge
19. The List of Books by Frederic Raphael (1981) 154 pp - Non Fiction / Reference
20. Disquiet by Zulfu Livaneli (2017) 163 pp - Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
21. Turkey : A Short History by Norman Stone (2017) 185 pp - Non-Fiction
22. Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson (2011) 247 pp - Thriller/Scandi
23. The Wild Iris by Louise Gluck (1992) 63 pp - Poetry
24. A Foolish Virgin by Ida Simons (1959) 216 pp - Fiction
25. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (1928) 329 pp - Fiction / 1001 Books
26. The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (1969) 224 pp - Fiction / Booker Winner

5,715 pages

FEBRUARY

27. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel (2015) 244 pp - Fiction
28. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria (2021) 156 pp Non-Fiction/ABC
29. Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison (2018) 164 pp Non-Fiction
30. The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa (2015) 288 pp Fiction /Asian Book Challenge
31. Door into the Dark by Seamus Heaney (1969) 44 pp Poetry
32. The Yellow Wind by David Grossman (1988) 218 pp Non-Fiction/Asian Book Challenge
33. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) 343 pp Fiction / Booker Winner
34. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (1974) 197 pp Fiction
35. The Wrecking Light by Robin Robertson (2010) 90 pp Poetry
36. The Others by Sarah Blau (2018) 239 pp Thriller /ABC
37. Portable Kisses by Tess Gallagher (1992) 80 pp Poetry/ AAC

2,063 pages

MARCH

38. Rise Like Lions : Poetry for the Many edited by Ben Okri (2017) 258 pp Poetry
39. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (1958) 179 pp Non-Fiction
40. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (2021) 225 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
41. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi (2013) 283 pp Fiction/ Asian Book Challenge
42. Songs of Mihyar the Damascene by Adonis (1961) 116 pp Poetry/Asian Book Challenge
43. Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa (1983) 93 pp Fiction /Short stories
44. The Twits by Roald Dahl (1980) 87 pp Fiction /YA
45. The Historians : Poems by Eavan Boland (2020) 67 pp Poetry
46. Night Haunts by Sukhdev Sandhu (2007) 144 pp Non-Fiction
47. The Old Boys by William Trevor (1964) 170 pp Fiction
48. Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2015) 244 pp Non-Fiction/Memoir
49. The Fell by Sarah Moss (2021) 180 pp Fiction
50. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926) 203 pp Fiction
51. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (2018) 243 pp Fiction / Asian Book Challenge
52. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (2021) 337 pp Fiction

2,829 pages

Books Read Second Quarter

APRIL

53. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979) 180 pp Science Fiction/1001
54. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (1874) 389 pp Fiction/Re-read Reassessment
55. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961) 128 pp Fiction/Re-read Reassessment
56. Mrs England by Stacey Halls (2021) 425 pp Fiction
57. The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham (1919) 215 pp Fiction /Re-Read Reassessment
58. Poems : Giosue Carducci by Giosue Carducci (1907) 175 pp Poetry / Nobel Prize winner
59. White Mughals by William Dalrymple (2002) 501 pp Non Fiction / Shared Read (Stasia)
60. Weaveworld by Clive Barker (1987) 722 pp SF/Fantasy; BAC; Guardian Books
61. The Saddlebag by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (2000) 253 pp Fiction /Asian Book Challenge
62. Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah (1988) 281 pp Fiction
63. A Village Life by Louise Gluck (2009) 71 pp Poetry/AAC wildcard
64. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene (1938) 269 pp Fiction/Re-Read Reassessment

3,609 pages

MAY

65. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung (2017) 251 pp Fiction/Asian Book Challenge / Short Stories
66. Peterloo : Witnesses to a Massacre by Polyp (2019) 109 pp BAC / Graphic Book
67. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid (1985) 148 pp 1001 Books
68. The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allen Poe (1844) 99 pp AAC/1001 Books/ Short Stories

CURRENTLY READING

BOOKERS, PULITZERS, NOBEL WINNERS, 1001 BOOKS FIRST ED. & ETC

I have an ongoing challenge to read all the Booker Winners, all the Pulitzer Fiction Winners, something by each Nobel and all the 1001 Books First Ed Books. I will track my progress here:

BOOKERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 34 / 57
BOOKERS IN 2022 : 2 (36 / 57)
The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

PULITZERS READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 19 / 94
PULITZERS IN 2022 : 1 (20 / 94)
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

NOBEL LAUREATES READ BY DEC 31 2021 : 74 / 118
NOBEL WINNERS IN 2022 1 (75/118)
Poems by Giosue Carducci

1001 BOOKS FIRST ED READ BY DEC 2021 : 319
1001 BOOKS IN 2022 5 (324)
My Name is Red
Tarka the Otter
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Annie John
The Purloined Letter

GUARDIAN 1000 BOOKS READ BY DEC 2021 : 349
GUARDIAN BOOKS IN 2022 4 (353)
My Name is Red
Lolly Willowes
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Weaveworld

WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS READ BY DEC 2021 : 7 / 26
WOMEN'S PRIZE WINNERS IN 2022

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA - The Children Who Stayed Behind by Bruce Carter
February - Mo / Renault
March - Between the Wars - Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
April - Weaveworld by Clive Barker
May - Comics, Graphic Novels & Audiobooks - Peterloo : Witnesses to a Massacre

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Graphic Books - The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 by Khor Shing Yin
February - Tess Gallagher - Portable Kisses
March - Bernard Malamud
April - Louise Gluck (Wildcard) - A Village Life
May - Nineteenth Century - The Purloined Letter

ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE 2022

Here is the link to the General Thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/337731#n7692635

These will be the monthly jaunts for the ABC challenge.

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors link to thread
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244
1. My Name is Red
2. Last Train to Istanbul
3. Hotel Bosphorus
4. Disquiet

FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
Link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/339017
1. The Blue Between Sky and Water
2. The Yellow Wind
3. The Others

MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
link to thread https://www.librarything.com/topic/340000
1. Frankenstein in Baghdad
2. The Songs of Mihyar the Damascene
3. Celestial Bodies

APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
link to thread : https://www.librarything.com/topic/340943#n7802013
1. The Saddlebag

MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
link to thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341521

JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
1. Cursed Bunny
OCTOBER - INDO CHINA PLUS - Authors from Indo-China and other countries neighbouring China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian Authors
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere
1. Homeland Elegies
2. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World
3. Intimacies
4. Night Haunts

I was able just about to cover the whole of the continent and I didn't include one for Russia as most of the authors are decidedly European in their ethnicity and leaning.

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS SINCE 2021

Around the world in books challenge. I want to see how many countries I can cover without limiting myself to a specific deadline. Continued from last year.


1. United Kingdom - The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard EUROPE
2. Ireland - The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde EUROPE
3. Lithuania - Selected and Last Poems by Czeslaw Milosz EUROPE
4. Netherlands - The Ditch by Herman Koch EUROPE
5. Armenia - The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian ASIA PACIFIC
6. Zimbabwe - This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga AFRICA
7. United States - Averno by Louise Gluck AMERICA
8. Australia - Taller When Prone by Les Murray ASIA PACIFIC
9. France - Class Trip by Emmanuel Carrere EUROPE
10. Russia - The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov EUROPE
11. Denmark - Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard EUROPE
12. Democratic Republic of Congo - Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanze Mujila AFRICA
13. Canada - I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven AMERICA
14. Italy - The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri EUROPE
15. New Zealand - Dove on the Waters by Maurice Shadbolt ASIA PACIFIC
16. India - A Burning by Megha Majumdar ASIA PACIFIC
17. Libya - The Return by Hisham Matar AFRICA
18. Pakistan - Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid ASIA PACIFIC
19. South Korea - Diary of a Murderer by Kim Young-Ha ASIA PACIFIC
20. Morocco - The Curious Case of Dassoukine's Trousers by Fouad Laroui AFRICA
21. Thailand - Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana ASIA PACIFIC
22. Norway - Echoland by Per Petterson EUROPE
23. Belgium - I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne EUROPE
24. Sweden - Still Waters by Viveca Sten EUROPE
25. Trinidad - Half a Life by VS Naipaul AMERICAS
26. Sudan - Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih AFRICA
27. Uruguay - Springtime in a Broken Mirror by Mario Benedetti AMERICAS
28. Syria - My Country : A Syrian Memoir by Kassem Eid ASIA PACIFIC
29. Ghana - The God Child by Nana Oforiatta Ayim AFRICA
30. Austria - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl EUROPE
31. Germany - Cat and Mouse by Gunter Grass EUROPE
32. South Africa - No Turning Back by Beverley Naidoo AFRICA
33. Mauritania - Arab Jazz by Karim Miske AFRICA
34. Cuba - The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier AMERICAS
35. Nigeria - Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie AFRICA
36. Portugal - The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso EUROPE
37. Japan - Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe ASIA PACIFIC
38. Senegal - At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop AFRICA
39. Malta - The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi EUROPE
40. Chile - A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende AMERICAS
41. Lebanon - The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf ASIA PACIFIC
42. Spain - The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon EUROPE
43. Somalia - The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed AFRICA
44. Malaysia - Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw ASIA PACIFIC
45. Mexico - Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue AMERICAS
46. Latvia - The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaian Berlin EUROPE
47. Malawi - Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver AFRICA
48. Turkey - My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk ASIA PACIFIC
49. Egypt - The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz AFRICA
50. Argentina - My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec - AMERICAS
51. Iceland - Black Out by Ragnar Jonasson - EUROPE
52. Jamaica - Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison - AMERICAS
53. Palestine - The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa - ASIA PACIFIC
54. Israel - The Yellow Wind by David Grossman - ASIA PACIFIC
55. Iraq - Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi - ASIA PACIFIC
56. Papua New Guinea - Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa - ASIA PACIFIC
57. Oman - Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi - ASIA PACIFIC
58. Iran - The Saddlebag by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani - ASIA PACIFIC
59. Tanzania - Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah - AFRICA
60. Antigua - Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid - AMERICAS


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

100 NOVELS 100 AUTHORS

1 Things Fall Apart Achebe, Chinua
2 Watership Down Adams, Richard
3 Half of a Yellow Sun Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
4 Jack Sheppard Ainsworth, William Harrison
5 Northanger Abbey Austen, Jane
6 The Twin Bakker, Gerbrand
7 Another Country Baldwin, James
8 The Black Sheep Balzac, Honore de
9 Silence of the Girls Barker, Pat
10 The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett
11. Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
12 The Sheltering Sky Bowles, Paul
13 Orenda Boyden, Joseph
14 Rumours of Rain Brink, Andre
15 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
16 Wuthering Heights Bronte, Emily
17 The Good Earth Buck, Pearl
18 The Plague Camus, Albert
19 Jack Maggs Carey, Peter
20 O' Pioneers Cather, Willa
21 The Woman in WhiteCollins, Wilkie
22 To Serve Them All My Days Delderfield, RF
23 David Copperfield Dickens, Charles
24 Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor
25 Justine Durrell, Lawrence
26 Invisible Man Ellison, Ralph
27 The Round house Erdrich, Louise
28 Passage to India Forster, EM
29 The Promise Galgut, Damon
30 Sea of Poppies Ghosh, Amitav
31 I, Claudius Graves, Robert
32 The Quiet American Greene, Graham
33 The Growth of the Soil Hamsun, Knut
34 The Return of the Native Hardy, Thomas
35 The Go-Between Hartley, LP
36 Plainsong Haruf, Kent
37 The Rainbow Troops Hirata, Andrea
38 Les Miserables Hugo, Victor
39 A Prayer for Owen Meany Irving, John
40 The Dig Jones, Cynan
41 Mister Pip Jones, Lloyd
42 The Far Pavilions Kaye, MM
43 Small Things Like These Keegan, Claire
44 The Dictator's Last Night Khadra, Yasmina
45 Darkness at Noon Koestler, Arthur
46 The Unbearable Lightness of Being Kundera, Milan
47 To Kill a Mockingbird Lee, Harper
48 The Grass is Singing Lessing, Doris
49 If Not Now, When? Levi, Primo
50 The Road to Lichfield Lively, Penelope
51 How Green is My Valley Llewellyn, Richard
52 Lovely Green Eyes Lustig, Arnost
53 Palace Walk Mahfouz, Naguib
54 The Fixer Malamud, Bernard
55 A Place of Greater Safety Mantel, Hilary
56 One Hundred Years of Solitude Marquez, Gabriel Garcia
57 The Moon and Sixpence Maugham, W Somerset
58 Bel-Ami Mauppasant, Guy de
59 The North Water McGuire, Ian
60 Docherty McIlvanney, Hugh
61 A Fine Balance Mistry, Rohinton
62 The Redundancy of Courage Mo, Timothy
63 The Colour of Blood Moore, Brian
64 The Bell Murdoch, Iris
65 A House for Mr Biswas Naipaul, VS
66 The Financial Expert Narayan, RK
67 Hamnet O'Farrell, Maggie
68 1984 Orwell, George
69 Jean de Florette Pagnol, Marcel
70 Cry, the Beloved Country Paton, Alan
71 The Sunne in Splendour Penman, Sharon
72 The Memory of the Forest Powers, Charles T
73 The Yellow Birds Powers, Kevin
74 The Shipping News Proulx, Annie
75 The Wedding Queffelec, Yann
76 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
77 Shame Rushdie, Salman
78 The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
79 Fame is the Spur Spring, Howard
80 Golden Hill Spufford, Francis
81 The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck, John
82 This Sporting Life Storey, David
83 Waterland Swift, Graham
84 The Gift of Rain Tan Twan Eng
85 The Heather Blazing Toibin, Colm
86 Lord of the Rings Tolkien, JRR
87 The Road Home Tremain, Rose
88 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists Tressell, Robert
89 The Children of Dynmouth Trevor, William
90 Breathing Lessons Tyler, Anne
91 Sacred Hunger Unsworth, Barry
92 Rabbit, Run Updike, John
93 The In-Between World of Vikram Lall Vassanji, MG
94 Fingersmith Waters, Sarah
95 Ethan Frome Wharton, Edith
96 The Nickel Boys Whitehead, Colson
97 Night Wiesel, Elie
98 A Picture of Dorian Gray Wilde, Oscar
99 The Shadow of the Wind Zafon, Carlos Ruiz
100 Germinal Zola, Emile

BEST GENRE PICKS

BOOKS OF THE MONTH

January - Small Things Like These
February - If Beale Street Could Talk
March - Intimacies
April - Mrs England

BOUGHT AND READ IN 2022

1. Appaloosa by Robert Parker
2. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.
3. Without a Claim by Grace Schulman
4. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
5. Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
6. There, There by Tommy Orange
7. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura READ MAR 22
8. Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin READ JAN 22
9. Another Now by Yanis Varoufakis
10. A Separation by Katie Kitamura
11. Travelling in a Strange Land by David Park
12. Free Food for Millionaires by Lee Min Jee
13. Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller
14. The Lady from Tel Aviv by Rabai Al-Madhoun
15. Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon
16. Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
17. The Others by Sarah Blau READ FEB 22
18. The Order of the Day by Eric Vuillard
19. Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay
20. King Cnut by W.B. Bartlett
21. Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
22. Ottoman Odyssey by Alev Scott
23. Has the West Lost It? by Kishore Mahbubani
24. A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
25. A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
26. Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
27. Days in the History of Silence by Merethe Lindstrom Open Library Loan READ JAN 22
28. My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec (Open Library Loan) READ JAN 22
29. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (Open Library Loan) READ JAN 22
30. Benjamin's Crossing by Jay Parini
31. Outlawed by Anna North
32. Bestiary by K-Ming Chang
33. The Ruin of Kasch by Roberto Calasso
34. Roundabout of Death by Faysal Khartash
35. The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
36. Salt : A World History by Mark Kurlansky
37. The Greek Myths : The Complete and Definitive Edition by Robert Graves
38. Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
39. The Histories by Tacitus
40. Silent House by Orhan Pamuk
41. The Generation Game by Sophie Duffy
42. Wild Grass by Ian Johnson
43. This Living and Immortal Thing by Austin Duffy
44. Until I Find Julian by Patricia Reilly Giff
45. The Boy With the Tiger's Heart by Linda Coggin
46. The Day of Silence and Other Stories by George Gissing
47. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams READ APR 22
48. The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
49. Beast by Paul Kingsnorth
50. The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
51. Heading Inland by Nicola Barker
52. Rift by Beverley Birch
53. The Cry of the Go-Away Bird by Andrea Eames
54. Modern Gods by Nick Laird
55. Swing Hammer Swing! by Jeff Torrington
56. The Sands of Mars by Arthur C Clarke
57. Coromandel Sea Change by Rumer Godden
58. A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons by Geoffrey Hindley
59. The Profiteers : Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World by Sally Denton
60. In the Wolf's Mouth by Adam Foulds
61. Daydreams of Angels by Heather O'Neill
62. The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk
63. Opium by Salar Abdoh
64. The Nest by Kenneth Oppel READ FEB 22
65. Three Light-Years by Andrea Canobbio
66. Prague : A Novel by Arthur Phillips
67. The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig
68. The Dark Circle by Linda Grant
69. Portable Kisses by Tess Gallagher READ FEB 22
70. Down Among the Wild Men by John Greenway
71. Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann
72. The Lover of Horses by Tess Gallagher
73. The End of the Day by Bill Clegg
74. The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
75. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
76. Mad Boy by Nick Arvin
77. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria READ FEB 22
78. Sleeping on Jupiter Anuradha Roy
79. Son of the Century by Antonio Scurati
80. Political Order and Political Decay by Francis Fukuyama
81. The Manningtree Witches by A.D. Blackemore
82. Vertigo by WG Sebald
83. In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova
84. Redemption Ground by Lorna Goodison READ FEB 22
85. The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
86. A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
87. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
88. The Powerful and the Damned by Lionel Barber
89. The Better Half by Sharon Moalem
90. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
91. Downsizing by Tom Watson
92. Desert Flower by Waris Dirie
93. Common Ground by Naomi Ishiguro
94. The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa READ MAR 22
95. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
96. They by Kay Dick
97. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
98. The Silence of Scheherazade by Defne Suman
99. Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford
100. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
101. The Tyranny of Merit by Michael J Sandel
102. Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
103. In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi
104. The Inequality Machine by Paul Tough
105. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
106. The Fell by Sarah Moss READ MAR 22
107. Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney READ MAR 22
108. Learwife by JR Thorp
109. Matrix by Lauren Groff
110. Ghosted by Jenn Ashworth
111. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
112. The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
113. I Will Miss You Tomorrow by Heine Bakkeid
114. The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard
115. All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton
116. The Late Sun by Christopher Reid
117. A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself by Peter Ho Davies
118. The Interpreters by Wole Soyinka
119. Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
120. A Vicious Circle by Amanda Craig
121. How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
122. The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
123. The Collapse of Globalism by John Ralston Saul
124. Land : How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World by Simon Winchester
125. Moonglow by Michael Chabon
126. We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan
127. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
128. Fault Lines by Emily Itami
129. Tenderness by Alison MacLeod
130. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
131. The Great Level by Stella Tillyard
132. The Pact We Made by Layla Alammar
133. Spring by Ali Smith
134. Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
135. The Bread the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini
136. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
137. The Book of Form & Emptiness Ruth Ozeki
138. This One Sky Day by Leone Ross
139. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
140. The Push by Audrey Audrain
141. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
142. A Very Nice Girl by Imogen Crimp
143. Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
144. The Familiars by Stacey Halls
145. Ill Feelings by Alice Hattrick
146. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
147. Burntcoat by Sarah Hall
148. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
149. Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
150. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung READ MAY 22
151. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
152. Assembly by Natasha Brown
153. The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
154. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
155. The Colony by Audrey Magee
156. For the Good Times by David Keenan
157. The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
158. The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi
159. Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
160. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
161. Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski
162. Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth
163. Southernmost by Silas House
164. A Man by Keichiro Hirano
165. Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss
166. Songbirds by Christy Lefteri
167. Pandemic by A.G. Riddle
168. The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton
169. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
170. Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
171. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
172. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
173. Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
174. Male Tears by Benjamin Myers
175. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy READ APR 22
176. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
177. The Moon and Sixpence by W Somerset Maugham READ APR 22
178. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
179. The Bell by Iris Murdoch
180. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
181. The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch
182. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
183. Call it Sleep by Henry Roth
184. The Clocks in this House All Tell Different Times by Xan Brooks
185. The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
186. O'Pioneers by Willa Cather
187. The Four Winds by Kristin Hann
188. The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
189. Nostalgia by Mircea Cărtărescu
190. Mansfield Park by Jane Austin
191. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
192. The Kingdom by Emmanuel Carrere
193. Push by Sapphire
194. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
195. Brighton Rock by Graham Greene READ APR 22
196. Dignity by Alys Conran
197. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark READ APR 22
198. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
199. A Burnt Out Case by Graham Greene
200. The Rack by A.E. Ellis
|201. Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard READ MAR 22
202. Winter by Karl Ove Knausgaard
203. Spring by Karl Ove Knausgaard
204. Summer by Karl Ove Knausgaard
205. The Magician by Colm Toibin
206. Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham
207. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
208. Careless by Kirsty Capes
209. Pilgrims Way by Abdulrazak Gurnah READ APR 22
210. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
211. The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine
212. The President's Gardens by Muhsin Al-Ramli
213. In the Country by Mia Alvar
214. Poetry Will Save Your Life by Jill Bialosky
215. Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell
216. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto
217. Transit by Rachel Cusk
218. West by Carys Davies
219. In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant
220. The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis
221. The Witches of St. Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones
222. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
223. The Turner House by Angela Fournoy
224. A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes
225. Old Men in Love by Alasdair Gray
226. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
227. The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
228. Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff
229. The Evening Road by Laird Hunt
230. Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All by Jonas Jonasson
231. The Transition by Luke Kennard
232. A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
233. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
234. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
235. The Man Without a Shadow by Joyce Carol Oates
236. Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje
237. Almost Love by Louise O'Neill
238. The Portrait by Willem Jan Otten
239. First Love by Gwendoline Riley
240. Looking for Mr. Goodbar by Judith Rossner
241. The Humbling by Philip Roth
242. The Butt by Will Self
243. The World to Come by Jim Shepard
244. The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons
245. The Dictionary of Animal Languages by Heidi Sopinka
246. In the Days of Rain by Rebecca Stott
247. The Neighborhood by Mario Vargas Llosa
248. Remember Me by Fay Weldon
249. Kipps by HG Wells
250. Resolution by A.N. Wilson
251. Animalia by Jean Baptiste Del Amo
252. The Autumn of the Ace by Louis de Bernieres
253. White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht
254. The Mother by Yvette Edwards
255. The Human Factor by Graham Greene
256. Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah
257. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
258. Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
259. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
260. Writers & Lovers by Lily King
261. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
262. The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham
263. The Razor's Edge by W Somerset Maugham
264. On Politics by Alan Ryan
265. The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson
266. Batlava Lake by Adam Mars-Jones
267. Dottie by Abdulrazak Gurnah
268. Vilette by Charlotte Bronte
269. Sovietistan by Erika Fatland
270. Mother Mother : The Sunday Times Bestseller by Annie Macmanus
271. Evelina by Fanny Burney
272. Go Big by Ed Milliband
273. Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles
274. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
275. 20 Fragment of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
276. Bomber by Len Deighton
277. Mrs England by Stacey Halls READ APR 22
278. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky
279. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
280. Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
281. The Cruel Way by Ella Maillart
282. Travels With Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski
283 The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
284 The Abyss and Other Stories by Leonid Andreyev
285 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
286 The School for Good Mothers Jessamine Chan
287 Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
288 Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
289 The Answer to Everything by Luke Kennard
290 Good Neighbours by Sarah Langan
291 The Couple Next Door Shari Lapena
292 Pleasantville by Attica Locke
293 She Lies in Wait Gytha Lodge
294 How to Disappear by Gillian McAllister
295 Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway
296 Paradise Lost by John Milton
297 The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
298 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
299 On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev
300 Ten Great Works of Philosophy commentaries by Robert Paul Wolff
includes:
301 The Death of Socrates by Plato
302 Poetics by Aristotle
303 Meditations on the First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
304 An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume
305 Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics by Immanuel Kant
306 Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
307 The Will to Believe by William James
308. The Waves by Virginia Woolf
309. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
310. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
311. The New Oxford Book of War Poetry edited by Jon Stallworthy
312. The Wish Child by Catherine Chidgey
313. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
314. The Foundling by Stacey Halls
315. Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey
316. Prep by Curtis Sittenfield
317. The Years by Virginia Woolf
318. Darkness Visible by William Golding
319. The Last Family in England by Matt Haig
320. Seasons of Purgatory by Shahriar Mandanipour
321. Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal
322. Naked Earth by Eileen Chang
323. Child of God by Cormac McCarthy\
324. River by Esther Kinsky
325. Stet by Diana Athill
326. Animal by Lisa Tadeo
327. The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm
328. Sonnets by William Shakespeare
329. The Italian by Ann Radcliffe
330. Flamingo by Rachel Elliott
331. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (replacement as someone borrowed it and failed to return it)
332. Suttree by Cormac McCarthy (I closed the book and left it on the train station platform)
333 Dark Avenues by Ivan Bunin
334 The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
335 The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
336 Wild Palms by William Faulkner
337 Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
338 The Mother by Maxim Gorky
339 Cathedral by Ben Hopkins
340 Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence
341 The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
342 The Wall by Jean-Paul Sartre
343 Desiree by Annemarie Selinko
344 In America by Susan Sontag
345 Smoke by Ivan Turgenev
346 Virgin Soil by Ivan Turgenev
347 The Castle of Otranto by Hugh Walpole
348 The Attack on the Mill by Emile Zola
349. The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh
350. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
351. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy
352. Real Estate by Deborah Levy
353. Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin
354. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
355. Dark Neighbourhood by Vanessa Onwuemezi
356. Katalin Street by Magda Szabo
357. The Confusions of Young Torless by Robert Musil
358. The Devil's Dance by Hamid Ismailov
359. The Behaviour of Love by Virginia Reeves
360. A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
361. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
362. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
363. Complete Poems of John Keats by John Keats
364. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
365. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
366. Martin Eden by Jack London
367. War and War by Laszlo Krasznahorkai
368. Selected Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley by Percy Bysshe Shelley
369. After the Sun by Jonas Eika
370. Selected Poetical Works of Blake by William Blake
371. The Poetry of Lord Byron by George Byron
372. Daughters of the Labyrinth by Ruth Padel
373. Gigi by Colette
374. Zorrie by Laird Hunt
375. Love in Idleness by Amanda Craig
376. Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal
377. The Slaughterman's Daughter by Yaniv Iczkovits
378. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
379. Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor
380. Salt Lick by Lulu Allison
381. Wilhelm Meister by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
382. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
383. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
384. Middle Passage by Charles Johnson
385. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
386. First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami
387. Salka Valka by Halldor Laxness
388. My Cleaner by Maggie Gee
389. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
390. The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
391. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
392. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
393. Enon by Paul Harding
394. Purposes of Love by Mary Renault
395. The Guts by Roddy Doyle
396. Lanterne Rouge by Max Leonard
397. In One Person by John Irving
398. Lucky Breaks by Yevgenia Belorusets
399. Lean Fall Stand by John McGregor
400. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
401. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
402. Murmur by Will Eaves
403. The Pugilist at Rest by Thom Jones
404. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
405. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
406. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
407. A Love Story by Emile Zola
408. Madam by Phoebe Wynne
409. Below Deck by Sophie Hardcastle
410. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
411. Men Who Feed Pigeons by Selima Hill
412. The Kids by Hannah Lowe
413. Still Life by Sarah Winman
414. Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro
415. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
416. Transcription by Kate Atkinson
417. Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
418. Civilisations by Laurent Binet
419. Plain Pleasures by Jane Bowles
420. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
421. I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke
422. The Death of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee
423. Second Place by Rachel Cusk
424. Roxana by Daniel Defoe
425. Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
426. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
427. A New Name by Jon Fosse
428. The Double Tongue by William Golding
429. Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah
430. A Small Revolution in Germany by Philip Hensher
431. The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman
432. The Golden Bowl by Henry James
433. Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner
434. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
435. Severance by Ling Ma
436. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
437. Tangerine by Christine Mangan
438. Greenlights by Mathew McConaughey
439. Shakespearean by Robert McCrum
440. Beastings by Benjamin Myers
441. Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
442. The Wanderers by Tim Pears
443. Mama Amazonica by Pascale Petit
444. The Colossus by Sylvia Plath
445. Within a Budding Grove by Marcel Proust
446. King Lear: Arden Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
447. Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
448. Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic
449. The Aenid by Virgil
450. Fools Crow by James Welch
451. Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
452. War : How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan
453. The Europeans by Orlando Figes
454. Money and Government by Robert Skidelsky
455. A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman
456. Time and Power by Christopher Clark
457. Dearly by Margaret Atwood
458. Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli
459. East West Street by Phillipe Sands
460. Breakout at Stalingrad by Heinrich Gerlach
461. The Hidden Pleasures of Life by Theodore Zeldin
462. The Road to War by Richard Overy
463. English Pastoral by James Rebanks
464. Stalingrad by Antony Beevor
465. Blood, Tears and Folly by Len Deighton


ADDED : 465
READ : 22
BALANCE : 443

BOOK STATS

Books read : 64
Books added : 405

Days per book : 1.88
Projected total : 195
LT yearly best : 157

Pages read (completed books) : 14,216
Daily average : 118.47
Projected total : 43,240

Longest Book : 722 pages
Shortest Book : 44 pages
Average Book Length : 222.13

Gender
Male : 36
Female : 26
Various : 2

Genre :
Graphic Books : 1
Poetry : 11
Thriller/Mystery : 4
Non Fiction : 12
Fiction : 33
SF/Fantasy : 3

Origin :
USA : 13
UK : 23
Turkey : 3
Germany : 1
Egypt : 1
Ireland : 4
Norway : 2
Argentina : 1
Canada : 2
Iceland : 1
Netherlands : 1
Jamaica : 1
Israel : 2
Iraq : 1
Syria : 1
Papua New Guinea : 1
Oman : 1
Italy : 1
Tanzania : 1
Iran : 1
Various : 2

Challenges :
British Author Challenge : 3
American Author Challenge : 3
Non-Fiction Challenge : 1
Asian Book Challenge : 15
New Nobel Laureates : 1
1001 Books First Edition : 3
Guardian 1000 Books : 4
Around the World Books : 12
Holocaust Reading : 2
Booker Winners : 2
Pulitzer Winners : 1
Rebecca NYC Reads : 1

Next is yours

Happy new thread!

>17 amanda4242: Thank you dear Amanda.

The virtual bookshelf is yours!

>2 PaulCranswick: I have Postcards from Stanland knocking around here, permaybehaps I'll dig it out.

>19 richardderus: That looks interesting too, RD.

I have read Erika Fatland's first section which is on Turkmenistan and which is oddly compelling. She is a good observer and that is a characteristic of all good travel writers.

Greetings! I see it is a thread in progress.

Happy new thread!

>2 PaulCranswick: There are some fabulous descriptive passages in that rather whirlwind tour of the 'stans.

Happy new one!

>21 Kristelh: Always takes me a while to get fully up and running, Kristel. More than welcome at any time!

>22 quondame: Thanks Susan. I am impressed with it so far, I must say.

>23 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. xx

Happy new thread!

>26 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you, Kro!

>2 PaulCranswick: Ive finished but Id love to talk about it.In my review I said it was the best travel/history that I read in a very long time. Its interesting, funny, heartbreaking frustrating and anger all at the same time. and while I do get the five of them mixed up I learned so much about them

>28 cindydavid4: I saw your comments, Cindy and so far I am apt to agree with you. She has a very good way of describing things that is both very immediate as well as vivid. Kari Dickson the translator from the Norwegian must also be extremely capable and must take some of the credit for realising Erika's intention so seemingly flawlessly.

Yes, I totally agree. There wasn't a moment when the translation was showing; it was all so smooth

>30 cindydavid4: I would hazard, Cindy, that whatever Fatland writes next will also be tremendous.

Happy new thread Paul!

Happy new thread Paul!
My thoughts are with you and your family.

>32 humouress: Thank you neighbour!

>33 SirThomas: Thanks Thomas, I am truly blessed by such good friends.

Happy New Thread, Paul. I like the Port Vendres topper. Lovely place. I hope you had a good weekend.

Happy new thraed, Paul!

Sorry to read that your MIL got COVID, I hope it will be a short and mild case.
>1 PaulCranswick: Port Vendres looks lovely. I never have been that far south, only to Carcassone once very briefly.

>35 msf59: It is and for the grandeur of how the place looks, it is or used to be pretty understated, Mark.

>36 FAMeulstee: I really, really love that part of France, Anita. Lovely to see you as always.

>1 PaulCranswick: Well, that's just gorgeous. Happy new one!

>38 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

Happy new thread, Paul, and what a gorgeous photo topper!

So sorry to hear about your MIL's prognosis and COVID-positive test. Big hugs to Hani and the rest of your family as you go through this.

>40 bell7: Thank you, Mary.

Hani looks tired out, poor lady. When I got back from work she was snuggled up in bed like a hibernating chipmunk. She needs a good rest.

>31 PaulCranswick: she does have a couple of other books The Border - A Journey Around Russia which came out in 2019, and High: A Journey Across the Himalayas, Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal and China which comes out in August. Definitely will put both on my list.

Happy new thread, Paul!

How is The Brothers Karamazov going? I am almost 400 pages in at this point.

happy new thread, Paul!

Saying "happy new thread" just doesn't feel right, given what's going on in your life. So instead, here's a virtual hug, and wishes for strength and comfort for all of you, and as gentle a passing as possible for your mother in law.

Hi Paul, Happy New Thread mate. Sorry to hear that your MIL has caught Covid, just something else for Hani and you all to worry about.

The Stokes innings was stupendous, i was listening to the commentary and no one escaped his punishment. What has not been reported massively is that the young Worcestershire bowler, Josh Baker, who Stokes mauled for 34 in the over got a message from Stokes to ask if he was alright and spoke to him at length about it and assured him that things will get better as Brathwaite mauled him for four sixes in the T20 world cup, a lovely thing for him to do.

I was impressed with young Haines at Sussex, rather than bat out the day and get 500 and plenty for a boring draw, he declared and set Middlesex 370 from 77 overs, not an overly generous target but Middlesex got home with 19 balls to spare. He has had a little bit of stick but if they had won they would have praised him. He is a young man and this is a learning curve for him, good on him for setting this challenge, he just needs better bowlers.

Overall, the Championship is providing some excellent batting and some bowlers are doing well, they have to learn to use their skill set to winkle batters out.

>42 cindydavid4: As will I, Cindy. I think that they will be good books too.

>43 alcottacre: Very slowly as I have been engrossed in Sovietistan when I haven't been sleeping!

>44 banjo123: Thank you, Rhonda. xx

>45 ArlieS: Thanks Arlie. The stresses and strains are telling a little on Hani who was to say the least emotionally supercharged yesterday.

>46 johnsimpson: Hiya John. Haynes deserves a lot of credit and they were a bit unfortunate that Middlesex batted so well in the final innings and that Crane couldn't winkle them out. If Stokes continues in this vein of form (along with Brooks too) then we are in for a splendid summer. The two Parkinson brothers look a class apart as spinners too, I must say.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS

A little bit of a surprise winner in The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen.
I do have this one on the shelves and will read it soon. Didn't get too much coverage as a potential winner.



I must admit that the poetry winner caught my eye Frank : Sonnets by Diane Seuss and I will look for that one too.

>50 PaulCranswick: - Odd, this very book just announced itself in my email via Pushkin, Malcolm Gladwell's company, as an audiobook winner. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

>51 jessibud2: I am probably going to take advantage of my foresight and read it early. I'm told that many people supposedly in the know were completely taken by surprise with this winner and have been unable to obtain a copy. Good old Fitzcarraldo Editions who are doing a great job of identifying excellent literary fiction.

Wordle 325 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Fairly inspired third guess.

Update on the Thread Posting League

The most interesting thing is the 2nd and 3rd shuffling between Richard and Katie - a few posts between them all year.

Here are the 87 threads with more than 75 posts:

1 PaulCranswick 4,704
2 richardderus 2,811
3 KatieKrug 2,810
4 scaifea 2,683
5 msf59 1,902
6 karenmarie 1,596
7 alcottacre 1,561
8 laurelkeet 1,494
9 jnwelch 1,439
10 crazymamie 1,133

11 bell7 1,089
12 FAMeulstee 1,087
13 FamilyHistorian 959
14 figsfromthistle 937
15 Berly 796
16 MickyFine 783
17 drneutron 768
18 BBLBera 729
19 rebarelishesreading 650
20 LizzieD 613

21 lyzard 597
22 mstrust 590
23 jessibud2 567
24 Caroline_McElwee 551
25 SandDune 529
26 curioussquared 510
27 klobrien2 507
28 Whisper1 500
29 AMQS 453
30 Weird_O 430

31 Donna 421
32 Quondame 420
33 cbl_tn 391
34 thornton37814 390
35 EBT1002 385
36 Humouress 373
37 swynn 367
38 laytonwoman3rd 362
39 johnsimpson 357
40 mahsdad 350

41 foggidawn 333
42 sibyline 314
43 loving-lit 312
44 brenzi 310
45 ronincats 289
46 Sir Thomas 286
47 avatiakh 284
48 ffortsa 284
49 EllaTim 267
50 Ursula 259

51 ArlieS 252
52 Streamsong 249
53 SqueakyChu 244
54 coppers 242
55 Carmenere 219
56 AnneDC 216
57 mdoris 216
58 Banjo 206
59 Chatterbox 197
60 Aunt Clio 194

61 fairywings 193
62 fuzzi 160
63 Oberon 156
64 witchyrichy 145
65 Rbeffa 139
66 zuazer 136
67 London 131
68 tiffin 124
69 kristelh 122
70 CDVicarage 106

71 ChrisG1 103
72 PaulStalder 98
73 Feca67 97
74 PawsForThought 96
75 PersephonesLibrary 93
76 CassieBash 90
77 kgodey 90
78 vivans 90
79 Dianekeenoy 86
80 aktakukac 84

81 hredwards 83
82 amanda4242 82
83 BBGirl55 80
84 bumblybee 80
85 ctpress 80
86 silverwolf28 77
87 kac522 75

>54 PaulCranswick: I barely made it onto that list! I'll do much better with the reading stats.

55 For sure, Amanda!

Top four or five, I'm thinking.

If I go from the same list and only go with those over 75 posts.

>54 PaulCranswick: You are firmly at the top, Paul. Only 293 posts to go for 5,000!
I am in between my favorite numbers, and 1,087 is a prime number :-)

>57 FAMeulstee: Well spotted, Anita with the prime number! I have a great year posting and owe all of it to having so many friends generous with their time to stop here and contribute. xx

READING LEAGUE

Usual qualifications and apologies for any unintended mistakes. Same 87 threads covered so qualification is 75 posts. Three already have 2x150. 11 are at 75 and beyond. Almost three quarters of the threads are on target to pass 75.

1 alcottacre 182
2 Chatterbox 173
3 silverwolf28 150
4 amanda4242 138
5 richardderus 129
6 FAMeulstee 127
7 klobrien2 112
8 Quondame 87
9 FamilyHistorian 85
10 kgodey 82
11 AnneDC 79
12 cbl_tn 77
13 PaulCranswick 68
14 curioussquared 67
15 fairywings 66
16 Sir Thomas 65
17 swynn 64
18 Dianekeenoy 60
19 CDVicarage 59
20 vivans 59
21 figsfromthistle 57
22 lyzard 57
23 scaifea 57
24 tiffin 56
25 avatiakh 54
26 kristelh 54
27 hredwards 53
28 fuzzi 52
29 BBLBera 51
30 brenzi 51
31 karenmarie 49
32 foggidawn 48
33 thornton37814 48
34 Whisper1 48
35 ChrisG1 47
36 jnwelch 47
37 Oberon 47
38 Berly 46
39 sibyline 46
40 KatieKrug 43
41 mstrust 43
42 bell7 42
43 Weird_O 42
44 kac522 40
45 bumblybee 39
46 MickyFine 39
47 rebarelishesreading 39
48 Caroline_McElwee 38
49 Donna 38
50 msf59 38
51 drneutron 36
52 ArlieS 35
53 crazymamie 35
54 Feca67 33
55 AMQS 31
56 laytonwoman3rd 31
57 Rbeffa 29
58 witchyrichy 29
59 mahsdad 28
60 Banjo 27
61 mdoris 27
62 CassieBash 26
63 ronincats 26
64 SandDune 26
65 johnsimpson 25
66 Aunt Clio 24
67 coppers 24
68 ctpress 24
69 EllaTim 24
70 Streamsong 24
71 Ursula 24
72 EBT1002 23
73 ffortsa 23
74 loving-lit 23
75 zuazer 22
76 laurelkeet 20
77 PersephonesLibrary 20
78 Carmenere 16
79 Humouress 16
80 SqueakyChu 16
81 LizzieD 15
82 PaulStalder 15
83 aktakukac 14
84 London 14
85 jessibud2 11
86 BBGirl55 10
87 PawsForThought 10

>59 PaulCranswick: We are reading a lot of books together, Paul.
That makes a total of 4133 books read (again a prime number!).

>60 FAMeulstee: Indeed, Anita. Mean average is 47.5 books each. Median average is 40 books.

>59 PaulCranswick: ...ummm...while your recordkeeping is astonishing, given that it's voluntary, I'm actually at 129 reads for 2022. Post 2 has siblings at posts 6 and 7....

ETA links because it seemed only polite

>62 richardderus: My failure was to understand that your Burgoigne's were separate to your fuller reviews and that you include your Pearl Ruled books as read. So I add your full reviews to your Burgoines to your Pearl Ruleds?

I have amended the list, dear fellow to reflect your input.

Hi Paul, and happy new thread.

From your last thread, I’m so sorry to hear the news about Hani’s mum being too weak for Chemo. Barely two months to live is awful news for her and the family to hear. I’m also sorry to read that she got Covid. I hope that the rest of the family stays safe. Thoughts and prayers to all of you.

>1 PaulCranswick: Beautiful photo of a beautiful place.

>14 PaulCranswick: An amazing haul so far this year.

>54 PaulCranswick: 6, 1596. 6*((1*5)+(9-6) = 6*8 =48=half of 8 and 8. My brain’s tired today – this is the best I can do.

>59 PaulCranswick: 31, 49. (31 * -1) + 49 = - 31 + 49 = 18 = 1*8 = 8. There, that’s a bit better.

>64 karenmarie: I would so miss your numbers Karen if I didn't get your regular updates. xx

All this math makes my brain hurt.
I'm glad you do it Paul so I don't have to. ;)

>63 PaulCranswick: Yes, that's the ticket. I'll make the process easier and create tickers for the other two, and move them to be posts 3 and 4, on thread 11.

>59 PaulCranswick: Hmm...not in top three...must read more.

>54 PaulCranswick: I am always amazed at how many posts I get on my threads given that I am not here half the time, lol.

39th and 65th position, not too shabby but room for improvement i think. The reading is doing well but the posting has been a bit shabby and i will rectify this.

The Cricket so far this season has given me a lot of hope for the rest of the summer, Stokes has got his ideas and plans, Root batting where he should be, he wants Anderson and Broad back in the fold and i think his positivity will rub off on the players. I just hope that those looking after the Test Squad will see what happened to Root and how bad he looked at the end and make sure that Stokes has some time away from all the media duties, that is why you have a Vice captain and speaking of this position, i believe it is Crawley but to be honest he doesn't deserve a Test position at the moment, there are more options based on performances so far this season.

I'm way down in the reading leagues this year. I still hope to finish with 150, but I don't know if I'll make it or not.

I just read books, I don't count them:) but congrats to those who are on the list!!!

Hi Paul, I got a late start this year so I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm so sorry to hear about Hani's mother.
I get overwhelmed reading all your book lists, but I've added Small Things Like These to my WL.

>66 hredwards: It isn't a chore at all Harold! I love keeping stats and it is only a bit of fun after all.

>67 richardderus: I am pleased you gave me feedback and corrections, RD, as I am sure that there are other occasions where I misread threads.

>68 amanda4242: You are still going at more than a book a day which, for me, is extraordinary over a prolonged period.

>69 alcottacre: I am certainly not amazed at your posting numbers, Stasia, the acre is a must go stop on so many of our schedules and I don't think I speak just for myself in saying that you are a much loved part of this wonderful group.

Happy newish thread, Paul. Sorry to see that Covid has made your MIL's situation worse but isolating her when she needs family around her.

Thanks for the stats. I knew I should have been up to date on posting about my latest reads. Somehow that slips away from me.

>70 johnsimpson: Your numbers have what English cricket has been lacking, John - consistency!
For me Crawley is nowhere near consistent enough of a batsman to be close to the England squad. Key is a known fan of his which worries me but surely his form precludes him?! Broad would be my vice captain for now.

>71 thornton37814: It is rare indeed for my reading numbers to be exceeding yours, Lori, but I am sure that you will steadily rise through the ranks as you have the capability of consistently reading 25 books a month when you get in your groove.

>72 cindydavid4: Given that you are not maintaining a thread in the group, Cindy, it is difficult for me to monitor your reading numbers. I agree of course that it is what you read in a qualitative sense (and that quality judged by you) rather than quantitive terms that matter most.

>73 Oregonreader: Lovely to see you Jan. I'm sure that catch up you will! I keep my stats on the 140 busiest threads each year but often shorten this number when putting up my lists as the books read list takes a while to do as I need to read every thread.

>76 Familyhistorian: My MIL tested negative last night and they will test her again today in which case she will be sent home tomorrow. Hani will return to Singapore on Friday and I may need to take the day off work to drive her down there.

I know that some of the threads are less up to date than others but eventually it should correct.

Wordle 326 3/6

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Another solid day with wordle. I am averaging less than four over the last twenty or so games.

>75 PaulCranswick: It is sweet of you to say so, Paul. Thank you.

>79 PaulCranswick: I hope she continues to test negative, Paul!

Happy whatever!

>81 alcottacre: Wasn't kidding either!

Let's hope so, Stasia. I will take Hani back down there on Friday. She is a bit upset because the kids are grumbling that she should take a flight. I told her not to stress I am happy to take her.

I have almost finished Sovietistan and I think it will make my top 100 Non-Fiction Books which got to me thinking as to what that list would be. Thinking about this also reminded me that I do not read anywhere near enough good non-fiction these days.

I will put up my list in groups of 5 alphabetical by author and limited to one book per author for the list.

1. Foundation by Peter Ackroyd.



This is the first volume in a 6 volume history of England by the novelist and critic and it takes us from the dawning of the nation to the fall of the Plantagenet kingdom in 1485. It has all the verve and shimmer of history told by a very good novelist.

2. The Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed



Who says economics need be boring? Ahamed magnificently tells the story of the bankers and treasury/finance ministers who presided over the economic collapse in the inter war years. Superb.

3. Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich



To be honest some of this is almost too harrowing and sad to read. Alexievich has an unusual style as she unfolds her tale via interviews with those directly impacted. The results are startling and more often profound than mundane.


4. Millennium : A History of the Last Thousand Years by Felipe Fernandez Arnesto



What makes this very ambitious work all the more fascinating is that its perspective is not the usual Eurocentric / Western viewpoint that most history published to that point seemed to express. His view that Western hegemony is at best fleeting seems ever more prescient daily.

5. Sinister Twilight by Noel Barber



This is popular history told with a very critical eye on the British possessors of the island who capitulated so shabbily and tamely to an enemy almost out of munitions but who would prove not to play by the same rules that the vanquished did.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

6. Conflicts of Interest : Diaries, 1977-80 by Tony Benn



Most visitors here will know of my affection and esteem for the late socialist politician Tony Benn for whom I worked as a student back in 1984 in Chesterfield. His diaries are brutally honest and probably distanced him from some of his erstwhile colleagues but he was always fair and balanced. His frustrations at the Winter of Discontent and the shocking loss in May 1979 plus his move to make Labour more accountable to its rank and file are well worth a read.

7. In Place of Fear by Aneurin Bevan



Bevan oversaw the creation of the National Health Service and was the leading light of the left in the immediate post war years. Tragically died too soon. What is remarkable in reading this book is how much of it is still relevant today.

8. The Western Canon by Harold Bloom



One of the most incisive minds of the last century when it came to an appreciation of literature. Never could reading about reading be so readable!

9. Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden



This book divides readers but I revel in the poets eye for detail amid the spectral landscape of the trenches. I always find this a moving and compassionate account of those difficult days of war that Blunden's generation were forced to confront.

10. Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain



I remember this most for the grief expressed for the loss of one's loved ones in war. This is also one of the most effective books in emphasising the sacrifice and courage of women in wartime.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

11. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown



I have always been fascinated by the plight and history of the Native Americans and whilst this is not a perfect book it did help keep that interest burning through my college years. The perspectives used to tell the stories was at the time revolutionary.

12. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson



Bryson makes science lively and interesting. One of the few books that could stop the floodtide but which can be read quickly as it draws you into its pages with the ease of his non-technical writing.

13. Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke



Evolution and responsible government over the violence and uproar of revolution. Burke's castigation of the French Revolution helped to set out Britain (and America's) alternative route to representative government. Eminently readable after all these years even though I don't fully agree with its premise.

14. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote



Don't think that Capote would have been a great pal. Seems to have been something of a user but he was able to conjure up a very atmospheric retelling of these murders in heartland America. Reads like a thriller.

15. Guilty Men by Cato (Michael Foot)



Rushed off with Britain at peril of invasion and rings with the passion afforded by the errors of the politics of appeasement which had brought the Empire to crisis.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

16. Papillon by Henri Charriere



I'm not sure how much of this was really non-fiction but it is a marvellous story of derring-do, set in France and Devil's Island as Papillon tries to escape the chains of his miscarried incarceration.

17. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin



Chatwin died far too early. He did leave behind a small but impressive body of work including two fascinating books of quirky travel. I slightly prefer this one looking at a harsh landscape and the strange expatriate communities that remained there in the hope of riches.

18. Their Finest Hour by Winston Churchill



I'm not sure that anyone wrote personal historical accounts quite like the great man. Amid the obvious self-vindication there is an insight into the affairs of state in a time of war and the immense erudition of the man who lead the British to a victory in the Second World War which seemed impossible when he assumed office.

19. The Donkeys by Alan Clark



The Donkeys are of course the Generals on the Western Front in the First World War. Set in 1915 and the battle of Loos, Clark, brilliantly dissects the failure of leadership that lead to "lions being lead by donkeys".

20. The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark



Clark's main contention that the traditional view that Germany was to blame for the start of World War One was a gross exaggeration has attracted plenty of flack. He does, however, do a more than capable job of arguing his corner. I think his analysis that the war arose from a failure of all sides to wake up to the dangers they were collectively facing is persuasive and had more than a ring a truth about it. Excellently written and provoking whatever one's personal views on war culpability are.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

Unwanted double post. I am sure that my unscientific approach to my selections will result in my missing out some books that I simply must include - but if I can't remember them that easily they don't deserve their place on the list!

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

21. Hope and Glory by Peter Clarke



The is part of the Penguin History series and tells the story of Britain in the twentieth century in a satisfying manner. A great single volume read.

22. The Promised Land : The Reinvention of Leeds United by Anthony Clavane



Much more than a book about football. It is a love letter to my home area and to Northern life. Wonderful book.

23. The Future of Socialism by Anthony Crosland



This book was very influential on Labour thinking in the sixties and seventies imagining a middle way but doing so with hope and positivity. Too much of a compromise at the time for some but would be a radical agenda today.

24. Return of a King by William Dalrymple



Dalrymple recreates an impossible Afghanistan. As impossible in the 1800s as it was in the following century under the Russians and the century after that with the American lead coalition failing to sustain.

25. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell



Non fiction can also be delightful. The recreation of the Durrell family's chaotic childhood times on the Greek Islands is wonderful and must be savoured. I can smell the thyme and catch the salted sea air in the olive groves and breathing through the lemon trees.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

26. Chronicles by Bob Dylan



Some were disappointed that Bob didn't kiss and tell more but his musings were compelling and insightful for all that.

27. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan



Not everyone came to America and made their fortune; some found misery and heartache. This tells the story of those confounded by the American Dustbowl and it does it very well indeed.

28. Sovietistan by Erika Fatland



I have never included a book in a best of list when I have not even quite finished it (although it will be done by tonight). Entertaining wander through the Stans which is the locale for our Asian Book Challenge this month incidentally.

29. A Time for Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor



Much as I appreciate the 28th entry in this list, it cannot match Fermor's book for erudition and linguistic verve. On a walk across Europe to Constantinople, Fermor encounters a Europe on the cusp of disaster.

30. Royal Blood : King Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes by Bertram Fields



This expands upon Daughter of Time that wonderful novel which acquits Richard of slaying his nephews. This with far more forensic detail comes to the same conclusion much to my satisfaction!

Thanks for the stats! Although my posting has waned off a bit, I am quite pleased with 14th place :)

>59 PaulCranswick: I love the symmetry if making 42 on the list and reading 42 books!

Also I'm blown away that my posting stats are just outside of the top ten, though I have been noticing lately that Wordle-related posts are helping me get there, if only because I'm posting every day.

And again lots of great books, Paul. Thank you for the stats, I flke to find myself there...

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

31. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl



With the transport of 75 years the first question remains; why? Frankl pretty much answered that near the time and this is essential reading about how to endure and how to empathise with those who would do you to death.

32. Cromwell : Our Chief of Men by Antonia Fraser



Magisterial biography of one of the greatest Englishman although my Irish blood cries foul! Almost established a lasting republic in our hotbed of monarchy. Exceptional grasp of her subject by Fraser.

33. The Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers by S.E. Frost



This wasn't always great reading but taught me so much about what the thinkers thought and often to understand why they thought that way.

34. On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis



The importance of history to guide to prosecution of public policy is brilliantly expounded by Gaddis.

35. The History of Economics by John Kenneth Galbraith



Galbraith took difficult and dry subjects and made them understandable in a readable and affable manner. Even when I didn't quite agree with some of his arguments one couldn't help but admire his delivery or his temper in reaching his conclusions.

>90 figsfromthistle: Still close to Canada's number one poster this year, Anita.

Your thread is rightly gaining plenty of posts as you are always lively, interesting, affable and welcoming.

>91 bell7: Plenty of us are posting up wordle Mary so that doesn't explain on its own the ever increasing popularity of your thread. I think it has something to do with Mary, Mary. xx

>92 SirThomas: We could both manage 75 books this month, already which I will be happy with.

You will always have a place over here my friend.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

36. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande



How useful has this sensitive book been over the last couple of dreadful years? A must have and must read to anyone getting on in years.

37. Inside Right by Ian Gilmour



This expounds a conservatism far removed from Thatcherism. She called Gilmour "a wet" but he was certainly wise and even got a thumbs up at the time from a then VERY committed socialist as I was. Set my course of reading plenty of work by writers I was generally opposed to and it always helped me shape and redefine my own world view.

38. Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves



Graves brings his talents to bear to the Western Front. Less poetic and more pragmatic; less sentimental than some memoirs but ultimately disabuses one of the romanticism of warfare of this horrid, mud caked nature.

39. Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne



The Comanches were behind the sofa scary. My favourite movie is The Searchers and this has the flavour of it but also leaves the impression that these were a proud, difficult but strangely admirable people pushing against an inexorable tide.

40. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff



I cannot conceive that a book lover and especially a lover of buying books as I am could possibly not have this book as an essential addition to their library. Deft and with a wonderfully sure touch - this is exquisite.

I know that The Worst Hard Times, Man's Search For Meaning and Being Mortal would make my list. Also The Year of Magical Thinking would for sure make my list of favorite non-fiction.

I always enjoy your lists, Paul - thanks for taking the trouble. So far, the only one I've read is "Empire of the Summer Moon" (excellent book), and, as it happens, I just started on "A Brief History of Nearly Everything." Looking forward to the rest of the list. Lots of great ideas for my TBR list.

>78 PaulCranswick: true that. just being silly and out of line. carry on

>97 Kristelh: It isn't on my list, Kristel because I haven't read it yet but I guess I must now read it soon.

>98 ChrisG1: I get such a kick out of positivity from my lists and from sharing about the books I like, Chris. I will put up the next batch shortly.

>99 cindydavid4: Definitely not out of line, Cindy. xx I wish I was able to include everybody's numbers and if you share 'em I'll gladly include them.

>86 PaulCranswick: Pappilion was non fiction? I read it on the flight home from Israel and loved it, assumed it was a novel (but I wasn't really paying attention) It will make me happy thinking of it as true. Regardless I loved the read

>88 PaulCranswick: hope and glory was excellent; the movie of it was not a bad adaptation at all

>102 cindydavid4: It is supposed to be a memoir although I do believe that there must be some embellishing of the facts.

This was taken from wikipedia :

Although Charrière always maintained, until his death in 1973, that events in the book were truthful and accurate (allowing for minor lapses in memory), since the book's publication there have been questions raised about its accuracy. The authenticity of the book was challenged most notably by French journalist Gérard de Villiers, author of Papillon Épinglé (Butterfly Pinned), who stated that "only about 10 per cent of Charrière's book represents the truth.

Charriere himself said his book was a memoir.

>103 cindydavid4: That is a tremendous film, Cindy, but the book I listed is a straightforward history of the twentieth century and not John Boorman's screenplay which I believe was at least in part fictional.

Oh I loved Time of Gifts. Have reread it often, what a journey. Also loved Between the Woodsand Water. Have you read the third in the series that was published posthumously? The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos Written based on Paddys notes that he was using to try to write the book but kept getting distracted by life. I also read his bio which I didnt care for because it knocked him down a few pegs in my estimation of him. But still interesting

>105 PaulCranswick: wouldn't surprise me, I actually watched it first before realizing it was based on a book.

>100 PaulCranswick: Paul, it is about grief and loss so may not be one you like and maybe you'll find it speaks to you.

I read that, and saw the Broadway one woman show with Vanessa Redgrave. Very moving and poignant, speaks truth about the so callled stages of grief, and for me at least was instrumental in helping my sis with the loss of her husband of 40 years. Not one I would have give her to read at the time tho.

>106 cindydavid4: I have only read that one, Cindy but i have Mani on the shelves and hope to read it soon. What a tremendous writer, Fermor was. I'm not sure what in his biography you found to be negative about him because I always found Fermor a fascinating and exhilarating force of nature. Apparently he stayed physically very capable until his death at aged 96.

>107 cindydavid4: I will go and seek out the movie and watch it again, Cindy as it evoked a great period in the history of the UK and its people.

We can take a great deal of pride in the stoicism of the general populace in the period when we stood alone in Europe against Hitler.

>108 Kristelh: I do appreciate her as a writer, Kristel, so I will check out on Friday whether it is in the bookstore.

>109 cindydavid4: Sometimes reading about something that is very close to us can be a comfort too. I know with the losses I have suffered over the last year I took solace in poetry and surprisingly The Book of Common Prayer which is a book I have kept close by me despite of my Islamic ponderings.

I posted my fave nonfiction on my thread and what I learned is I am not very good at cataloguing my reads. I need to spend more time on my virtual shelving I think.

I also posted some nonfiction that I would like to get to.

>86 PaulCranswick: Impressive list, though Harold Bloom not a favorite >

just wondering if Sir Winston ever offers what could have been history making alternatives

to his torching and sinking of the French Ship and its soldiers...?

>96 PaulCranswick: Haven't read the book but is a very good motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.

>83 PaulCranswick: Read a novel by Ackroyd. His take on the Frankenstein story. Very good. Interesting.

>85 PaulCranswick: Like Bryson's humor. His book "Thunderbolt Kid" was very good depiction of growing up in America in the '50s and '60s.

Enjoyed In Cold Blood very much, but don't think I care much for Capote, himself.

From 1001 books; nonfictions that are worth mentioning

Electric Kool-aid Test Gonzo Journalism
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Gonzo Journalism

Novelized non-fiction In Cold Blood. I also agree >117 hredwards: that I don't much appreciate Capote's methods.

>82 PaulCranswick: Well, thank you again.

>83 PaulCranswick: I have not read a single one of those titles. I am going to have to remedy that issue. I have read Svetlana Alexievich's Secondhand Time and can that recommend it to you if you have not read it.

>84 PaulCranswick: At least I have read 2 of those: the Harold Bloom and the Vera Brittain, which I have read at least twice.

>85 PaulCranswick: A few more BBs that I get to dodge: the Dee Brown, Bill Bryson, and Truman Capote.

>86 PaulCranswick: The only one here that I have read is the Churchill book.

Be back later to go through more. . .

Of those I have read:
Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich. I liked her Secondhand Time and The Unwomanly Face of War better.
I read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee long before I joined LT. It is on the list to read again someday.
A Short History of Nearly Everything made it to my top 50.
I wouldn't count Papillon as non-fiction.
In Patagonia was a very good read, I loved his book The Songlines.
Sovietistan by Erika Fatland
I loved A Time of Gifts and the two next books Between the Woods and the Water and The Broken Road
Goodbye to All That made it to my top 50

I have made a non-fiction top 50 at my wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/User:FAMeulstee/Top-50

>113 Kristelh: I will go and take a peek, Kristel. The benefit of such lists is that it creates plentiful reading options especially when it is a reader you know has similar tastes to your own.

>114 m.belljackson: Yeah I know, Marianne, you generally hold a pretty negative view of Britain's role in the world. What would you have had him do, let the Nazis use the french fleet against the British navy? They sunk the French fleet at a time when America remained isolationist and sitting on their hands.

>115 hredwards: I have seen it and the Hopkins/Bancroft combination worked well, Harold. The book is much better though!

>116 hredwards: I haven't read too much of his fiction, actually Harold but I do have that one on the shelves and must get to it soon.

>117 hredwards: I also appreciate Bryson's humour, Harold. My thoughts on Capote coincided with yours entirely too. Not a nice chap apparently but he did produce a belter of a book!

>118 Kristelh: I haven't yet read either of those, Kristel, but they are very much on my radar. Three of us with the same view of Capote!

>119 alcottacre: I do appreciate the uniqueness of Alexievich's style, Stasia. I am going to read her Unwomanly Face of War this month all being well.

>120 FAMeulstee: Papillon is definitely intended by the author to be non-fiction, Anita, although I will admit it is something of a tall tale. I am pretty sure that all of history is not entirely true either (see the way the Tudors slandered Richard III for example) but Henri Charriere was adamant that he was providing a memoir.

I can't wait to go and see your list!

ETA

There are another two on your list which will appear in my own (to come).

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

41. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Hariri



Thought provoking anthropological history of mankind. It is a book that challenges the reader, makes them think and becomes a book that stays with the reader long after it goes back on the shelf.

42. The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner



This really is a tremendous introduction to the major thinkers of economic theory. It is readable, helps the general reader understand normally very dry concepts and is very fair in its evaluations. A must have for any student of economics, politics or the history of ideas.

43. Histories by Herodotus



This of course has to be included. The Grandpappy of all history writers. Herodotus places us very firmly into the warring theatres of his time and tales tall tales tall-ly.

44. If Only They Could Talk by James Herriot



The first in the series of James Herriot books about his life as a vet in Yorkshire either side of the war. American readers won't recognise the title but as I understand it All Creatures Great and Small sort of included the first two British books and I read the British versions back in the day.

45. Hiroshima by John Hersey



Simply tremendous journalism. The cost of war laid bare. I am not sure whether the US or Japan are truly to blame for those two bombs but I sure hope that they don't ever get used again.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

46. The Age of Revolution by Eric Hobsbawm



The series of social-economic histories that took Hobsbawm in four volumes from the French Revolution to the new millennium is amongst the best historical writing period. Hobsbawm's Marxism does not get in the way of his analytical dissection of the period. Informative but still readable, Hobsbawm was a master of his subject and held court at Kyran's university (Birkbeck College, London) until very late in his long life.

47. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby



Can be appreciated and easily understood by football fans everywhere. The tribalism, the passion and the absorption that the english game instils in its devotees is wonderfully recreated by Hornby even if he is misguided enough to follow Arsenal!

48. The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes



As a book on a very specific time and place in history I am not sure it has been bettered. Enthralling reading from start to finish.

49. The State We're In by Will Hutton



Time slices are great things. Hutton's book was very influential as it marked a period critically by assessing where the British economy was failing in comparison with its main rivals at the end of Thatcherism and at a time when Blair was about to take centre stage. Very influential at the time and proven right in almost every particular.

50. A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins



Very difficult book to put down. Jenkins was a past editor of the Times and he tells the story of my country with a verve that is unsurpassed.

>122 PaulCranswick: I'll have to check out the book.

>124 PaulCranswick: Looking forward to the rest of your list, Paul.

>125 PaulCranswick: I am reading Sapiens right now.

>125 PaulCranswick: A bit off topic but have you seen the new series of All Creatures Great And Small? It airs on PBS here and we just finished Season 2. Wonderful series. I have yet to read the books but my wife tells me they are wonderful.

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Made heavy weather of the puzzle today.

>127 hredwards: I don't know anyone, Harold, who was not charmed by the book.

>128 FAMeulstee: Sapiens and its subsequent book Homo Deus made quite an impression on me. I'm not sure that I agreed with him on everything but it was certainly quite an interesting take on how we got to where we are and where we are headed towards.

>129 hredwards: I haven't seen it, Harold and I am not sure that it is easily available here in Malaysia but I adored the original BBC series and we used to watch in religiously back in the early 1980s - my brother, my mum and I.

>121 PaulCranswick: You might also feel "pretty negative" after reading The 1619 Project.

What I would have had him do?!

Board the ship with many men (which he had),
many guns and haul all the soldiers off,
THEN sink it.

Yep, blame the USA for remaining isolationist after The Revolutionary War...

and...the War of 1812...

>133 m.belljackson: I am sorry, Marianne, but we won't agree about history. Britain had no choice with the French; navy warnings were given but unheeded. They capitulated to the Germans and became our enemy as a result and we were in a war. There was no way the British could have or should have risked vital and scarce British lives by trying to board the French fleet. Not an option at all. Sink them or leave them to the Germans - Vichy would have handed them straight over.

This is what Churchill said directly on the issue:

“This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned. It recalled the episode of the destruction of the Danish Fleet in Copenhagen harbor by Nelson in 1801; but now the French had been only yesterday our dear allies, and our sympathy for the misery of France was sincere. On the other hand, the life of the state and the salvation of our cause were at stake. It was Greek tragedy. But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.”

To cite the 1812 conflict as justification for leaving Britain to stand alone against Fascism whilst Hitler was slaughtering the innocents in Europe is extraordinary. The USA gained hegemony over the world economy by staying out of both world wars until the UK had bankrupted itself keeping the world free from fascism. Then it used the Marshall Plan to build up Germany and Japan after the war and ensure that Britain got no fruits from their "victory". And still the UK always supports the US on the world stage on the basis of a special relationship that only exists when it suits the bigger partner.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

51. This Boy by Alan Johnson



One of the best Prime Ministers or at least Labour leaders we never had telling the story of his humble beginnings. Demonstrably human and humane, this is one of the finest political biographies I have read and the politics barely gets a look in.

52. The Anarchists by James Joll



Very sound overview of a political movement that looks to utopia and fails to see that human nature is stacked against its realisation.

53. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanthi



Often paired with Gawande's superb book but this one holds up a wonderful example of constancy and courage in the face of one's mortality. A book to read, remember and hope to live by.

54. The Face of Battle by John Keegan



Keegan was a masterful understander of the military tactics and theory. He fought no wars and did not himself go into battle but he was able to convey the acrid stench of gunpowder and the swishing of blades and the flying cannon shot like few others.

55. The Return of Depression Economics by Paul Krugman



This is Krugman at his most trenchant and observant. He was able to understand perfectly what happened to the world economy in 2008 but also how it would be possible to improve things. I generally agree with him on economics but not always although here I find myself nodding along whilst reading.

>134 PaulCranswick: Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt both had the difficulty of staunch domestic opposition to involvement in both World Wars. Huge majorities of both parties were against involvement & only through clever manipulation were they able to provide any assistance at all. I'd even say they both created provocations that guaranteed we'd be attacked, which provided the stimulus necessary to win domestic support.

Presidents really cannot go beyond their people's consent, so I think you're being a bit unfair in your assessment. And really, do you expect the country with a more powerful military and economy to take a back seat in a war's aftermath?

What's striking to me is how the British molded the younger (if larger) power in their own image to become the new "world policeman."

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

56. Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence



This book was a heck of a challenge to read to a young mind but it is one that made a huge impression on me. Lawrence was a great man whose influence was profound on the modern world in assisting the Arabian world to come to itself for better or worse. A splendid book if you can wade through it.

57. Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee



My favourite non-fiction book. Period. I met Laurie Lee more than once and he always encouraged me to continue writing my poetry. I haven't quite justified his confidence in me but I have retained a love for his most charming work.

58. If This is a Man by Primo Levi



Not my favourite book by Levi but my favourite of his non-fiction. Important look at the survival instinct inherent in humankind. Moving and terrible.

59. The Pendulum Years by Bernard Levin



For me this is finest general book on modern history. Levin was an urbane observer of British life and his book is nostalgic but fresh at the same time.

60. War Memoirs by David Lloyd-George



This is a fascinating disputatious and sweeping review of the inaptly named Great War by the man who lead us to ultimate victory but at an enormous cost. Lloyd-George pulls no punches whatsoever and dishes the dirt and settles the scores along the way. 2,000 pages to read but it is worth it.

>136 ChrisG1: I was responding Chris to the quite constant anti-British and frankly anti-American rhetoric inherent in the so called 1619 project. It is self flagellation and will tear down the western society that has provided all the freedoms that allows the very criticism.

Britain is the only major power that actually lost money over slavery because it spent a fortune policing the seas blockading the Atlantic to prevent Portugal, France, the US and Spain continuing their trade. 70% of all slaves went to Brazil so there is nothing uniquely or inherently bad or evil about America or Britain. At the same time that the Atlantic slave trade was ongoing the Arab slave trade enslaved several times more than the number that went across the ocean. The only unique thing about Britain was that it stepped up and abolished slave trading at a time when it did genuinely lead the world.

I am pro American and have always been so and from an American point of view I understand entirely why - especially in World War One - the USA stayed aloof from the fray. But to justify not standing up to Hitler because of the Battle of New Orleans is madness. Britain can take pride from walking away voluntarily from its empire and being the cradle of western democracy as it is now. I am proud to be British and owe no debt to anyone for the vagaries of history.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

61. A History of England by Thomas Babington Macaulay



To be fair my reading has always been the abridged version rather than the several volumes he published in his lifetime. This brilliant work covers the Whig period of England from James II to the death of William III. Macaulay was a huge influence on the inculcation of the teaching of British culture in India.

62. The Fight by Norman Mailer



I always felt sorry for George Foreman as it seems everybody but Ali thought he would win. Why his punches didn't seem to hurt Ali when they flattened everyone else is a sublime mystery. Foreman eventually became a better man after losing to Ali. Ali took too many blows subsequently proving his greatness. Mailer captures the atmosphere of the moment in Zaire excellently.

63. The Return by Hisham Matar



Matar feelingly tells the story of his vain search for his missing father. He knows he won't find him and we know he won't find him but it doesn't lessen the love or the heartbreak looking.

64. The Dark Continent by Mark Mazower



This is the sad and somewhat squalid story of Europe in the last Century. Very readable and important history from an historian often unfairly undervalued.

65. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt



McCourt rightly won a Pulitzer for this tale of his tough but loving upbringing in rural Ireland. Could have been my family; it could have been so many. We are grateful for our future by understanding our past - the good and the bad.

>138 PaulCranswick: I hadn't before, but thinking on the British anti-slavery activities, my cynical self doesn't credit that government action would have gone beyond words on paper unless there was an economic motive for denying cheap labor to other powers while busy looting India and drugging China. Yes, there were effective abolitionists in power, but to fund the navy's activities blockading and chasing, something powerfully selfish was likely in play.

>140 quondame:
I cannot argue with your comments about motive, Susan, and we will never know. I come from Irish/Working Class stock that was downtrodden by the British landed classes more than any other but that does not mean I should view history merely through the lens of castigation.

We are not able to put ourselves in the shoes of those British politicians who stepped up to the plate some 200 years ago and abolished then blockaded and then prevented the slave trade. That it was done is a fact. That it is unique is a fact. That Britain received no credit for doing so is also a fact.

We can be critical of colonial policy now but it is too simplistic to describe what happened in India as mere "looting". I am no imperialist and I heartily welcome the disbanding of Empire and the example it set but to judge history in such harsh black and white terms or to try and blame all societies ills on things that happened centuries ago is hogwash. I don't blame the Vikings for the Norman Conquest or Richard II for the rise of the Tudors or Oliver Cromwell for the Easter Uprising - history is a mosaic that fits together uneasily. The people of today are responsible for today and tomorrow not for the history of several generations ago. I am interested in equality and especially equality of opportunity and the creation of a caring and sharing society not one group's desire to take revenge on another.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

66. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill



Many people here will know my concern with personal freedoms. It stems largely from an appreciation of the work of JS Mill and Jeremy Bentham. Tony Benn married liberalism to socialism in a way that I appreciated and admired immensely. In so many ways this classic text of liberalism set the tenor for the socialist movement as it anticipated some of the things it idealised and should still stand for.


67. Hitler : My Part in his Downfall by Spike Milligan



War shouldn't be any laughing matter but it was funny when Spike Milligan got involved in it. His war memoirs are hilarious and manic but the sadness and horror of it does creep through the sniggers.

68. The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris



This is reading outside my normal comfort zone as I don't do science particularly well but Morris' anthropological study of humankind is splendidly fun reading.

69. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris



This weighty biography of Teddy Roosevelt in power has gravitas in abundance. It is more admirable than enjoyable but in its learned pages we get an idea of what a President with real energy and intellect can achieve.

Roosevelt was a good President, racially enlightened for his time he encouraged and consulted Booker T Washington and he was an early conservationist whose work setting up the first National Parks was vital. His overseeing of the Panama Canal construction was also far sighted. He was for his public a little too hawkish in foreign policy and saw early America's leadership potential in World affairs when his people were very skeptical of it.

70. Ill Met by Moonlight by W. Stanley Moss



And we meet Patrick Leigh Fermor again as he was a participant and a leading one in the abduction of General Kreipe which is entertainingly set out here. Moss and Fermor got criticism subsequently for alleged reprisals carried out by the Germans against the local population but this seems to have been utterly debunked these days.

A true war adventure that enthrals and confounds in equal part.

>138 PaulCranswick: Ummm...a quick online Search will show you how many Americans were mobilized
and how many soldiers and U.S. citizens were killed in World War One.

They would be surprised that their sacrifice is now considered "...aloof from the fray."

>141 PaulCranswick: Paul, I don't think my statements about British colonialism, and the wealth it supplied to the middle and upper classes of the UK included any blame for what happen in the 20th century, but looting certainly did occur, or were all those crown jewels fairly purchased? It's also worth noting that sugar beets started to replace sugar cane about the time that the British freed their west Indian slaves.

Hi Paul!

I’m just breezing through. I love that topper photo! Just beautiful!

84, Charing Cross Road is such a delight. I’ve only read it twice and should again. I also loved A Fatal Shore and read it twice. Now I sound like a big rereader, but I’m really not, except when a book is so good it begs to be reread. Glad you been reading some very good ones!

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

71. Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby



Love story. Travel book. A book about war and survival. All these things can describe this excellent memoir from Newby and the themes equate to a book which is greater than the sum of its parts.

72. The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven



Acidly unsparing. Surely there has never been an actor's memoir remotely as good as this. Dishes the dirt but retains its class against all expectations.
Also my mother's favourite book which gravitates me toward it.

73. Shout! by Philip Norman



There was the Beatles and then there was everybody else. Grew up loving their music and I can sing every one of their tracks even to this day.

Simply the best Beatles biography ever written and heaven knows there have been enough of them!

74. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell



Was it only in retrospect that the aims and ideals of the republican side in the Spanish Civil seem naive and doomed to obvious failure. The zeal and hope and eventual disappointment of that conflict are set down by Orwell in an unforgettable manner.

75. The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine



Nowadays it is hard to conceive as to why Paine was such a divisive figure in his lifetime - the devil incarnate to those devilish British. His ideas and ideals - quite plainly set down here helped frame the American constitution and seem largely self-evident, even modest, by the standard of the 21st century.

Once again, Paul, I have to say "well said". >138 PaulCranswick:, >141 PaulCranswick:.

>143 m.belljackson: I am familiar with the statistics, Marianne. The First World War was 1914-1918 not 1917-1918 and I have never nor would I ever dismiss the sacrifice of anybody in a time of war. Whilst the American forces had no decisive role in WW1 their introduction was a huge boost to allied morale at a very difficult time and for that reason if no other helped end the conflict and impress upon Germany & Austro Hungary the eventual certainty of defeat.

Every death in war is a tragedy and ought to be avoidable amongst seemingly civilised nations. The world war 1 death tolls for military and civilians is staggering and sobering:

Total deaths : 16,543,185

From that total some nations individual totals :

Russia : 3,311,000
Ottoman Empire : 2,921,844
Germany : 2,476,897
France : 1,697,800
Austro-Hungary : 1,567,000
Britain : 1,225,914
Australia : 61,928
Canada : 66,944
New Zealand : 18,050
USA : 117,465

It is clear that when the USA did join the war it did so wholeheartedly. It is extraordinary that the Ottoman Empire lost almost 14% of its entire population to war deaths. Most European nations lost between 2 and 4% of their populations and the USA 0.13% but in a short time period.

Stats from the Robert Schuman Centre

http://www.centre-robert-schuman.org/userfiles/files/REPERES%20%E2%80%93%20modul...

>144 quondame: No Susan you didn't. I am no apologist for imperialism but it wasn't just a case a "looting" - Britain did give much as they were taking away! A system of administration that has served those countries such as Singapore that made use of and improved upon it quite splendidly. Not everything was done in the name of greed although much of it was - imperialism was and remains rapacious - present day Africa is being raped by China without any attempt at improving their living conditions or putting any infrastructure in place there.

>145 Copperskye: Lovely to see you Joanne. Always a pleasure to have you stop by dear lady. I do of course notice how often we like the same books!

>141 PaulCranswick: Thank you Kristel. It is nice to get the occasional voice in support! xx

I won't try to catch up, Paul, before this thread, but I do feel for Hani and you about her mother. I see I've slipped drastically in the ratings, as I've expected, but fun to see them. Hope the rest of the family is well.

>59 PaulCranswick: You're not at the top of the list?! ;-)

I just logged book #51...

>148 PaulCranswick: The War to End All Wars was not only the most recent, but the most devastating reason for American isolationism in World War II.

People were still alive who had lost their sons and brothers and husbands. No one wanted to face that again.

Americans were just waiting for Britain and France to win as they approved The Lend Lease Act.
Sure wish Biden had set that up from Day 1.

Yet, even before Pearl Harbor, Americans were moving toward fighting in another "European" war.

>151 ronincats: I have missed you greatly around the threads, Roni.

Lovely to see you back posting and I am sure your reading will take on its usual sprightliness soon enough. xx

Hani is in a very delicate state but she and her mum will probably come up to Kuala Lumpur very soon as she wants the TLC.

>152 ocgreg34: Hahaha Greg, I could never keep up with Stasia, Suz, Amanda, Silver or Anita. Next time I will broaden the list to all the threads in the top 140 posts. Always great to see you here, buddy.

>153 m.belljackson: It also helps to explain appeasement as a policy too but it doesn't justify or excuse it, Marianne.
The Second World War was primarily as a result of the collective failure of the European powers after 1918 and which America is largely blameless. There was clearly though an existential threat to the USA from the extremes of fascism and communism as well as the imperialist ambitions of Japan envious of the attempted American blockade. It was always a question of when not if given the wider circumstances. The people of Europe wanted to go to war even less.

It is an interesting what if to consider what America would have done had Germany declared some form of neutrality with the USA after Pearl Harbour and disassociated itself from Japan. Or even if Hitler was apprised in advance of the Japanese intention to attack. It helped lose him the war for sure.

Paul--Well, glad to know I am still keeping up with books and posts!! Thanks for the numbers update. : ) Hope your MIL continues to test negative for Covid and that you can take Hani up to see her soon.

LOVE you list of favorite NF books. So much for me to ponder!

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

76. The Winter King by Thomas Penn



The importance of Henry Tudor in consolidating the Tudor dynasty is often overlooked. His parsimonious nature enabled Henry VIII's extravagance. His sanguine temperament wedded him literally to the female house of York and his skullduggery eliminated any potential threats to his reign.

Not as cinematic as two of his dynasty to follow but an interesting story very well told.

77. What is Property? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon



That famous rhetorical question and its inevitable answer frames this treatise on the nature of ownership and governance and political economy. Proudhon is much better as describing than prescribing and some of his economic understanding is iffy at best but this is crucial more for its ethical intelligence rather than its scientific vigour.

78. Life by Keith Richards



"Keef" has a face like a badly ironed anorak but he has written a tremendously vivid tale of survival and revival. How the man managed to live until 50 never mind keep performing at 75 is beyond me but there are hints as to why here.

79. Slaughterhouse by David Rieff



It is 27 years since I read this book and fumed about the West's mendacity and complicity in Bosnia. It seems like yesterday and I was hopeful that things would change fundamentally and for the better. Unfortunately orthodox and catholic and muslim and free thinker all form a heady loveless brew in that part of the world only solvable by separation.

80. The Holy Fox by Andrew Roberts



With my anti-fascist views and my disdain for the slothful western governments that appeased European extremes, Lord Halifax is a natural target and someone I would be unlikely to admire.
I came away from this excellent biography from the impressive Andrew Roberts though convinced of Halifax's well meaning wrongheadedness. He was starting to harden his views and it is unclear what would have transpired had he grabbed the reins of power when Chamberlain made clear he wanted him too. Halifax recognised the more capable man for the business at hand and for that we are to be grateful. We don't know what fist of things Halifax would have made but he would not have been as inspirational but he may have been just as effective. I came away liking him against my better judgement.

>156 Berly: Nice to see you around the threads, Kimmers and I hope that augurs that you are feeling much better.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

81. The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson



The story of John Cooke an obviously able and good man who took on the role of prosecutor in the Regicide trial of Charles I. Wonderfully vivid and searing history and argument from a very gifted litigator.

82. The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau



Another big influence on my thinking during my formative student years. The concept of the General Will and the need for society are propounded tellingly here. There was little or nothing scientific about Rousseau's approach but he was all the more readable for that.

83. A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell



This is the daddy of all the sweeping overviews of Western Thought which Grayling, Scruton and other have done but less well. Russell is always engaging and never impossible to follow which counts for a lot with some of the sleepier elements of philosophy.

84. Wind, Stars and Sand by Antoine de Saint-Exupery



I don't care for aviation. I don't much like endless descriptions of the night sky. This however is compellingly beautiful.

85. How are We to Live? by Peter Singer



I struggled with my last few selections and this one included. It was on and off my list a few times but I read it at a time when I shared many of Singers concerns more determinedly than I do now. I think sadly these days also of realpolitik when Singer can be a little naive in his calls to act. Creditable and hopeful but the thirty years since it was written make his carrion calls more urgent now than then.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

86. World War One : A Short History by Norman Stone



Stone is much maligned for his Thatcherite politics and I didn't like him for it either but he was an excellent writer of history in the main and at his very best here. It is quite a feat to condense the Great War into a single slim volume and still have it retaining some elan. He would have been my political enemy but I can attest to his ability to set down persuasive and opinionated history.

87. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius



Racy to the point of being gossipy; Suetonius presents us with the Potentates of Ancient Rome with all their madness, foibles, discretions and indiscretions laid bare.

A great rollicking read and begs the question as to how on earth Rome kept its empire

88. River of Time by Jon Swain



Tremendous sense of place in this memoir of a reporter living and working in Indo China. Swain showed so much promise that I am surprised he doesn't seem to have published much else.

89. The Origins of the Second World War by AJP Taylor



AJP Taylor was my favourite historian when I was younger. Urbane, erudite and wise. He could also take a different line to most other historians and argue his point magnificently. Here he takes the position that World War Two mainly started due to Hitler's miscalculations rather than due to his evil planning.

90. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger



The mythical or near mythical Empty Quarter takes centre stage here as Thesiger ventures into harsh terrain with an equally uncompromising band of guides.

You almost have to wash the sand off your skin after reading this, so vividly does he create the arid atmosphere.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

91. The Making of the English Working Class by EP Thompson



Required history reading for any would be socialist or social reformer. I saw Thompson lecture many moons ago and I was transfixed. What an intelligent and decent man.

92. History of England by GM Trevelyan



History as a story. This is how I learned the subject and in particular how I learned to love the subject. It is how I learned the story of our island nation and it is amazing the thrill I get still by picking up that dog eared book that dates back to 1953 (it belonged to my Grandfather who had passed before I was born - the same year I was born actually).

93. The Guns of August by Barbara W Tuchman



Tremendous narrative impetus in the retelling of the first month of the Great War. 600 pages whizz by and you end it wanting to know what happens next. Simply brilliant. Has different views to Christopher Clarke with Tuchman being a little more orthodox and probably slightly more supported in her conclusions.

94. And the Weak Suffer What They Must? by Yanis Varoufakis



I distinctly remember footage of this punk of a Greek finance minister turning up on his motor bike and in his leathers looking for the grey suits to cut Athens some slack. I immediately liked him and when I heard him and then read his thoughts I liked him the more. Points out the hypocrisy of the rich and the haves in dealing with the poor and the have nots.

95. The King's War by C.V. Wedgwood



It is true that Charles was a poor king but he was an even poorer general.

The King amid the calamity of war. Prince Rupert, the Earl of Essex, Fairfax, Ireton and of course Cromwell are here. If I could have gotten any book of history read as a bedtime story then I am looking for Dame Cecily to do the honours. Great narrative.

100 FAVOURITE NON-FICTION BOOKS

96. A Short History of the World by HG Wells



People today remember Wells for his science fiction but he was quite the public intellectual back in the day. This world history skims for sure but has all the charm you would expect with the storyteller's art to the fore.

97. The Book of Common Prayer (The Church of England) introduction by James Wood



I have recently updated my extremely dog eared copy with a lovely new deckled-edged version with a preface by James Wood. It is still the good old book from the Church of England that has accompanied me through good times and bad and which has stayed with me despite my reaching out to Islam. I would take this book and the Albermarle Book of Modern Verse to the ends of the earth with me and it must be on my list.

98. All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein



Sorry Carl but Bob normally got first billing! I remember reading this in college and being amazed that they were able to bring down a President with the power of the pen.

99. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf



I always have struggled to stay in step with Virginia Woolf and her dazzling imagination but this more leisurely pace suited me exceptionally. An important book for feminists of either gender and one I am glad to include here.

100. The Anabasis by Xenophon



The Persian Expedition as I always think of this book is brilliantly translated by Rex Warner. A page turner for sure.

Glad to see Hommage to Catalonia and And the Weak Suffer What They Must? on your list, Paul.

I have read Histories by Herodotus and The Anabasis by Xenophon, they didn't make it to my top 50.
I have read The Naked Ape long before LT.

The following books are on mount TBR:
If This is a Man by Primo Levi
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Wind, Stars and Sand by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, I have read the other two of the Airman's Odyssey

>163 FAMeulstee: I really like Varoufakis, Anita - he talks a lot of sense.

If I had made a fifty list Herodotus would almost certainly survive the cull; I don't believe Xenophon would.

>164 PaulCranswick: Varoufakis other book Adults In The Room is also very good, I had a hard time choosing between the two.
The third book I have read by him is Talking to My Daughter About the Economy. No top 50, still a solid 4 star read.

ETA: He has also some interesting thoughts about the roots of the war in Ukraine:
https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2022/04/23/our-moral-duty-to-ukraine-and-to-each-...

>94 PaulCranswick: thank you for your kind words, Paul.

What a fascinating list of top 100 nonfiction. Many I haven't read but others, such as 84, Charing Cross Road, I wholeheartedly agree with.

I do not share many of your nonfictions. It is obvious that you’re much into history and politics, etc. Mine probably center on things like memoirs (which I don’t really consider nonfiction because who knows if they’re true, memory is very suspect) and I also like some essays, some sociology, etc. I usually do like nonfiction when I read it but it’s not my go to reads.

>164 PaulCranswick: I will definitely read more books by him, Anita and I have at least one more at home.

I really hope the "adults in the room" he famously made reference to can be wheeled out to end the catastrophe in Ukraine. Long term sanctions are going impoverish many and engender a long war - proactive action is needed to break the deadlock. Someone needs to extend a hand to Zelensky and unfortunately also to Putin and try to broker a settlement of sorts. A neutral Ukraine with its rights respected and protected must be the aim now. Winning over Russia and Putin is careless talk and peace is fostered from a win-win scenario if one can be found. We were hoping that the Americans would be able to lead the free world again effectively after Trump but Biden does not seem to be that guy. If the Dems want to recover in time for the mid terms send Bill Clinton or Obama or Al Gore to broker that deal and take the world from the brink.

>165 FAMeulstee: You are welcome, Mary. You well know that you'll always be one of my favourite people in our group. xx

Hanff is a slam dunk though right?

>167 Kristelh: I was a little horrified looking through my list at how homogenous it was - history (Britain and War especially), Political theory (especially socialism) and economics taking up too many spots for sure. Not surprising is it, Kristel, that I turned into an opinionated so and so?!

I want to lighten my reading load a little - read more travel, more books on nature and sports and memoirs laced with humour and plenty of sex!

your comments about Wind Stars and Sand (which I loved) reminded me of this poem. I never cared for aviation stories but this poem called High Flight by John Gillespie McGee, was always used as a tv channel night sign off* when I was a little girl. loved it then, still do

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (1922 - 1941) was born in Shanghai, China, to an English mother and an American father. At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, trained as a pilot, and was sent to England to fly a Supermarine Spitfire with the 412 Fighter Squadron. After a high altitude test flight one day, John wrote his parents a letter and enclosed a poem--this one--that test flight inspired. He was killed a few months later, when his plane collided with that of another British military pilot.

*yes boys and girls we only had 4 channels on our tv, and they shut down at midnight. Miss those days, actually.

>169 PaulCranswick: which is why I so love getting into reading globally, and thank you and others for getting me interested in reading outside my comfort zone. Have found some wonderful reads Ill never forget

BTW I have two full shelves of travel narratives, Id be glad to send you list of my favs to you!

>170 cindydavid4: The "sunlit silence" - I like that, Cindy!

>171 cindydavid4: This group has been wonderful for broadening my own reading horizons and I love the recommendations that have come my way along the way.

>170 cindydavid4: Love that one. Thanks for the reminder.

>173 humouress: Howdy neighbour.

Hmm- on your non-fiction list -no books( great histories) by Margaret MacMillan or Orlando Figes( a lot of Russian social history)?
I read The Netanyahus- it was a hoot. The story skewered academia, manners, moving troublesome lecturers on to another city......

>169 PaulCranswick:, I don't think of you as opinionated but I suppose you are, lol. I think of you as informed and good at articulating your knowledge or make that opinion. I don't always agree with you but also don't disagree either but I so appreciate your nuggets that you scatter about.

I totally love reading travel books.

>174 PaulCranswick:

Well I see this "new" thread is ticking along, full of stats and also a brand new book list. That partly explains the astonishing number of posts!
Already I am mentally trying to figure out my candidates for top non-fiction but I am going to hold off and get some work done!
Sorry to hear MIL has COVID--that sounds like the last thing she needs. I hope it's very mild.

>170 cindydavid4: - Wow, that brings back memories! *High Flight* was actually the title of the text book of poetry we had in high school (maybe even elementary school?). In fact, it may still reside on a shelf somewhere in this house with other books that old!

I see I am not the only one suffering from COVID. I certainly hope that Hanni's mother is feeling better. She has enough on her plate right now.

I'm glad you posted the non-fiction list, Paul. So many good ones there and so many I haven't read. Cider with Rosie is calling to me as it has been ever since you shared a while ago that it is a favorite of yours. Maybe I'll finally get to it when I read through the small stack of library books are begging for attention.

>175 torontoc: I cannot include what I haven't yet read, Cyrel! I have a couple of books by MacMillan on the shelves but nothing by Figes. What do you recommend I read of his?

I have started The Netanyahus today too and it does look like a keeper so far.

>176 Kristelh: Thanks for the kind words, Kristel xx

I hope to read more travel books myself and just ordered Road to Oxiana which was recommended to me by Stasia.

>177 humouress: Love that, Nina! Is it Grommett?

>178 AnneDC: Lovely to see you Anne.

My MIL has tested negative at last thankfully but has a problem with water on her lungs which they are currently dealing with. I am so sad these few days when I see her on the video call and that tough, proud lady looks so frail. Life isn't too fair sometimes and I just hope that Hani gets a bit more time with her mum.

Love to see your list of non-fiction, Paul. I enjoyed Wind, Sand, and Stars when I read it over a decade ago now and I have Saint-Exupery's Flight to Arras on my list of books I want to get to this year. Both were gifts from my grandfather at the same time but clearly I got to one of them before the other!

>179 jessibud2: As a versifier of sorts, Shelley, it always brings me cheer for poetry to be celebrated and Cindy's is a good one for sure. Rare is the day, that I don't read any poetry. Today I sampled a bit of Keats:

My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot
But being too happy in thine happiness -
That thou, light-winged dryad of the trees,
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

>180 Donna828:
Even with COVID you are on your rounds, Donna, well done! Healing, fast healing vibes sent down the ether to you dear lady.

Glad that the non-fiction list is appreciated. I don't read enough non-fiction and was a little worried I may be scraping the barrel by the time I got close to a 100 books.

>183 curioussquared: Those books have an ethereal beauty, Natalie with the piquant sadness of knowing that he wouldn't live much beyond his time of writing.

>168 PaulCranswick: It is this that creates the next, more vicious war. Let's step out of WWII's long shadow and skip directly to the Piketty/Varoufakis Plan to reconstruct the entire Russophone disaster area, eh what?

Speaking of whom, I was surprised by Capital in the 21st Century's absence of mention (or did I just miss it?)!

Happy weekend-ahead's reads.

>186 richardderus: You didn't miss it, RD. I haven't read anything by Piketty I am ashamed to admit but on the wishlist it dutifully goes.

Varoufakis is definitely someone worth listening to.

>86 PaulCranswick: I've picked up 2 BBs so far from these lists, and it's so few only because I'm being very restrained.

Edited to add: by the time I got all the way through the thread, I'd added so many books to my list that I'd stopped counting. You are a wicked man, Paul, spreading tsonduku wherever you go ;-)

>181 PaulCranswick:, I gave it 5 stars and it made my list of fav nonfiction.

>188 ArlieS: Restrained and Paul are not often in the same sentence, Arlie. Friday is bookshop day and I have been doing plenty of research on non-fiction this week?! Saving grace is probably that Hani is in situ.

>189 Kristelh: I am looking forward to it landing here, Kristel. x

>182 PaulCranswick: No, that's Morph although they both came from Aardman Studios.

>189 Kristelh: Yeah, and my restraint flew out the window as I read farther in the thread.

I now have 9 new entries on my TBR list.

1. Millennium : A History of the Last Thousand Years by Felipe Fernandez Arnesto
2. The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark
3. Sovietistan by Erika Fatland
4. Cromwell : Our Chief of Men by Antonia Fraser
5. The History of Economics by John Kenneth Galbraith
6. Inside Right by Ian Gilmour
7. The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner
8. The Dark Continent by Mark Mazower
9. What is Property? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

I noticed a couple of books by Rebecca West and one about her with no finished dates in you library, but not the impressive Black Lamb and Grey Falcon.

I suspect my other favorite non-fiction dealing with fiber/fabric/clothing would not interest you particularly.

>88 PaulCranswick: Just take it as given that I am adding nonfiction books to the BlackHole right, left, and center!

>89 PaulCranswick: I love The Daughter of Time! It is one of my all-time favorites.

I have read several of your favourite nonfiction books, Paul, but there are a lot that I have not read. I will get on that, lol.

Happy whatever!

HI Paul, This has been so wonderful to peruse all your fav. non fiction books and I sure have added a number to my tbr lists, with thanks! I read a lot of non fiction but I guess the books are mostly in the nature/ food/ travel/society analysis categories.

>162 PaulCranswick: Some great books that I will need to check out. I would also recommend The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341723

>181 PaulCranswick: oh that is a good one, let me go through my books and give you a list of my favs
\

>193 quondame: I tried to read that and could not get through it. But I got enough to do my own reading about the area. Very troubling past. May have to make another attempt now that I have more background in history

>191 humouress: I see, Nina. Morph has a svelte look which I should be aiming for!

>192 ArlieS: Proudhon and Gilmour are pretty heavy going and I am relieved that they are in my past, as much as I did derive plenty from them! Good luck tracking all of those down, Arlie.

>193 quondame: You never know, Susan - a good writer can always spin a good yarn! I have come close to adding West's massive overview of the Balkans but it is usually a bit pricey at about $40 in paperback.

>194 alcottacre: Ricardian history is close to my heart, Stasia and I will always favour writers who look to clear him of the slanders placed upon him by the House of Tudor.

>195 mdoris: Thanks Mary. What my list did reveal to me was that my reading needs to cover a wider spectrum but we can't help what we are interested in.

>196 ocgreg34: Thank you Greg, I have heard of both of them but you have impelled me to actively go and look for them!

>197 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver, I must do better with the readathons and I am grateful that you are keeping them going.

>198 cindydavid4: I very much look forward to that, Cindy. x

>199 cindydavid4: It is a surprise how daunting looking West's book is given that her most renowned work of fiction is brief though impactful.

>201 PaulCranswick: Me too. I could not even begin to read Alison Weir's book from a few years back that basically said that Richard did it.

>201 PaulCranswick: Yeah, it has made me reluctant to read a lot of her stuff in truth Stasia and I am normally ok with reading things that posit a view opposed to my own. Blindspot, I guess.

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Looked like this could have been an awkward one, but I got there in the end.

>181 PaulCranswick: If you like Russian History read The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia. i have read many of his books. A People's Tragedy The Russian Revolution 1891-1924 is good as well. They are very long histories!

Paul, one of my fav HF writers is Sharon Kay Penman.Her first book Sunne in Spendor is an excellent read about the war of roses, and she throws in her hat for Richard not killing his nephews.

>206 PaulCranswick: Well, we all have them. It could be worse, lol.

This list of travel narratives are in no particular order; they are ones on my bookshelf that stand out as favs, tho I think I have left out some. These books are more then travel narratives, they are history, geography, people and culture all wrapped up between the covers.

the global soul Pico Iyer at his best

innocents abroad the more things change the more they stay the same

Travels with Charlie it hasn't aged well but it was one of my HS favs

educating alice an enjoyable romp

kingdom by the sea Theroux at his least judgemental and most entertaining

Shadow of the silk roadColin Thurbons writing is never dry, and is filled with history

my kind of place she also write the library book

cider for rosie these books by Laurie Lee are just so charming, and sad

the valley of the assassin Freya Stark traveled through arabia alone. she has several other books but I think its the best

an unexpected light written just after 9/11 the author brings the country in focus and looks at the culture and history

Memories Moscow to the black sea Journey of the authors escape from Russia

no hurry to get home she has other books, they are all wonderful. She worked at the New yorker for many years

travels with a tangerine travel following ibn battuta, muslim traveler in medieval times

sovietistan the stans

time of gifts the following three books are of Lehmors journey from amsterdam to istanbul in 1939 when he was only 18

between woods and water

the broken road

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance philosophy during a father son trip around america

travels with herodotus one of my fav discoveries from this group

may you be the mother of a hundred sons voices of women in india

the world in a city Traveling the neighborhoods of NYC

blue latitudes follows the travels of Captain Cook

a walk through the woods Bryson tackles the Appalacian Trail

>208 torontoc: Kinokuniya didn't have either of those, Cyrel, but they did have Natasha's Dance and one other............
I also spotted something by Margaret MacMillan.

>209 cindydavid4: Yes, Cindy, it is a favourite book of mine too and included in my 100 Novels by 100 Authors. Obviously her supportive view of Richard didn't sway me at all!

>210 alcottacre: So many blindspots I will keep bumping into things!

>211 cindydavid4: Thanks for that, Cindy. Some familiar and some less so but all interesting.

Ommigosh, I am so late to the party (I 100% blame COVID), but, Sovietistan (from >2 PaulCranswick:) looks pretty interesting. I am still (officially) reading Among the Russians which was written in the 1980s, I believe. It is some kind of magic, the way that man writes! (I see Cindy in >211 cindydavid4: agrees!) So I intend to finish it...but Sovietstan looks great too. I am all over Russia at present - this started when I watched Dr Zhivago a few months ago, and my interest has been intensified with Putin's lunatic actions in the Ukraine.

>162 PaulCranswick: I didn't know H G Wells was the type to write something like A Short History of the World! (My mum was/is right- you *do* learn something new every day if you keep your wits about you!)
I absolutely loved A Room of One's Own when I read it a few years back, so much so that I bought a copy for my academic supervisor. I also utterly loved The Women's Room by Marilyn French (recommended by out good LT friend Cushla). Game changers, both of them.

My travel books
The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron
The River of Doubt
Sixty Degrees North Around the World in Search of Home - Malachi Tallack
Travels with Charley I love everything by Steinbeck
Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific - J. Maarten Troost
Places in Between Rory Stewart
A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson
Into the Wild Jon Krakauer
Wild by Nature: one Woman, one Trek, one thousand nights - Sarah Marquis
Journey to Alcarria - Camilo Jose Cela (1001)
Country Driving: a Chinese Road Trip by Peter Hessler
The Windows of Brimnes: An American in Iceland
By Bill Holm
Notes from a Small Planet - Bill Bryson
Great Railway Bazaar Paul Theroux.

And I have so many others I wish to read.

Oh, travel books- Paul Theroux early books. His later works are kind of grumpy. The Great Railway Bazaar is a favourite.
Natasha's Dance by Figes is good- it is a cultural history. Another more recent one that I liked is Just Send Me Word A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag. Still warning you that they are chunksters! -you know 500 to 800 pages.

Hi Paul! I started The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay last night. Just letting you know if you're able to join.

I need to come back and spend time with you 100 non-fiction books when life slows down a bit!

>205 alcottacre: >206 PaulCranswick: I read that slanderous "history" by Weir. Should have been classified as a novel since she provided little to no evidence for her conclusions. I, too, am okay with historians who posit theories that differ from mine, but I want at least some historical basis for their conclusions. Just quoting Shakespeare isn't enough. Ugh, it made me so mad, I refuse to read anything she writes, even her fiction. (Here's my original review of it from back in '08, in case you're interested: https://www.librarything.com/topic/26393#432458.) Another "historian" wrote a similarly fact-free scree against about Julius Caesar, and I've been annoyed with him ever since I read it, or tried to and DNFd it, a decade or more ago. I think it was Caesar by Christian Meier.

>214 LovingLit: I didn't know H G Wells was the type to write something like A Short History of the World!

I still have my two volume copy of it, reread it often in hs. Alot obviously dated but at the time it pushed my interest in world history

Id forgotten about among the russians actually I don't think Ive read anything by Thubron that I didn't like. Ths lost heart of Asia is another great one.

>215 Kristelh: oh I forgot about places in between . Also read River of Doubt. I love everything by Steinbeck as well. I was surprised to find one I had'nt read the short reign of Pippin the IV Hilarious book about a frenchman who discoveres that he is a descendant of Charlemange. Madness ensues.

>219 Storeetllr: im a huge fan of historic fiction, but insist on historical accuracy in the story. Alison Weir used to write it, but her Eleanor was so horrible, I havent read a thing since. I love Norah Loft and Eliz Chadwick, and of course the late Sharon kay Penman

>215 Kristelh: I read The Road to Oxiana earlier this year and very much enjoyed it. I am kicking myself for waiting so long to have gotten to it!

>219 Storeetllr: I agree, Mary. Document, document, document. I do not want to hear your opinion posing as nonfiction! It drives me crazy when supposedly "nonfiction" writers make an assertion that they have absolutely no basis for other than they think that is the way it was. Ugh!

Happy whatever, Paul!

Another interesting list Paul! Don’t know where to start, there is so much there!

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I seem to be in an unwanted groove!

>214 LovingLit: Probably the only thing that is really good about COVID-19 is how we can wheel it out to blame it for everything! xx
I do like Thubron and have several of his books on the shelves. I am struck by the mention of Marilyn French in two ways - firstly because it goes onto my hit-list and secondly because it is a timely reminder of Cushla who I miss in the group.

>215 Kristelh: That is a great list, Kristel which I have copied and shall keep. I have some of the ones you mention on the shelves and some impending.

>216 torontoc: You are right, Cyrel in pointing out the length of some of Figes books, it struck me too that 800 pages seems to be his default setting!

I remember liking at least one of Theroux's railway books but I don't accurately remember which one it was!

>217 cbl_tn: Yes Carrie, I will start it today too, thanks for reminding me!

I am looking forward to it although I am and was never a comic strip kinda guy.

>218 thornton37814: No problem Lori - my door is always wide open for you dear lady!

>219 Storeetllr: I like your post Mary! Alison Weir has a perfect right to her point of view but she needs to do more work in trying to justify her conclusions rather than conclude because it is what you are disposed to do. I have read some of her writing on the period and am aghast at some of the unsupported opinion masquerading as fact. I don't want to read her further on the topic but I did see that Thomas Penn has just published on the subject who I believe will not be Ricardian but whom I would expect to be more balanced.

>220 cindydavid4: It is surprising how the public view of Wells has dulled in the decades since his passing. He was revered in his lifetime and was put up several times for the Nobel Prize apparently but these days only a specific (but still significant) portion of his work gets attention.

Not much love from me for Alison Weir either but plenty for Sharon K Penman

>221 alcottacre: You are the reason I ordered Byron, Juana.

Exactly my sentiments on non-fiction. I feel that nowadays in our judgmental society we tend to pick up people writing works of fiction and accuse them of cultural appropriation (when mis-appropriation is really what is alleged) but give people a free pass when writing unsupported opinion and making it seem like gospel. This is part of the reason why public standards in media and broadcasting have fallen so badly as the extremes of both right and left are often positing shamelessly prejudiced and divisive views as facts when quite often they are anything but that.

>222 EllaTim: Take your time, Ella!!
Just tell me about your own favourite Non-Fiction read (s).

>228 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul!
I don’t read nearly as much non-fiction as I’d like. But I’ve started to be more interested in history, so I liked your list.

My own reading used to be more oriented to nature books. I loved a book by Frans de Waal: Chimpanzee Politics. Very interesting, and its images stay with you, next time you see politicians posturing you think ah yes, the Great Apes.

I loved Genome by Matt Ridley. He kept me reading, so interesting, as this is a new field where we have learned so many new and interesting things in the last twenty years.

And recently I started Immune by Philipp Dettmer. He tries and succeeds in making a complex field accessible to lay people.

>229 EllaTim: See Ella, you just demonstrated perfectly another reason why I love this group. You state firstly and modestly that you don't read nearly enough non-fiction and then you reel off three titles that I don't have - two of which I had never heard of - which get me checking out whether I can quickly go and buy 'em. xx

Yesterday's additions and some of them will not surprise given my focus these few days:

451. Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
452. War : How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan
453. The Europeans by Orlando Figes
454. Money and Government by Robert Skidelsky
455. A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman
456. Time and Power by Christopher Clark
457. Dearly by Margaret Atwood

RD is to blame for Piketty
MacMillan and Figes were because of Cyrel
Skidelsky is a Keynesian historian who lectures in my old University of Warwick
Tuchman is Tuchman and always wonderful
I really like Clark's writing even if his apologia for Germany is a little too stretched for me
Atwood's latest poetry collection and the first by her I purchased.

The last two books I managed to pick up on a special sale for $3 each.

Paul - has The 1619 PROJECT been banned in Malaysia?!

>232 m.belljackson: I am not aware of that, Marianne. I don't support the banning of books whether I agree with their content or not and Malaysia generally doesn't either.

>227 PaulCranswick: My recommending one book to you does not make up for the thousands you have piled on me, Juan :)

>231 PaulCranswick: If you want a reading partner for the Tuchman book, let me know. It has been years since I read any of hers! Nice haul.

>234 alcottacre: It isn't one book my dear friend as I recall distinctly following your advice to read Ariel Burger last year and being recommended a winner (it almost made my list).

I was reading the opening pages of my six non fiction picks to Kyran and he liked the opening page of Christopher Clark's book the most but I know for certain that Tuchman will deliver. Next month could see that one hit my reading desk - I'll keep you updated, Juana.

>235 PaulCranswick: Please do. That should give me time to find my copy, lol.

I got a copy of Sinister Twilight in today. Not sure when I will get to it, but at least it is in-house.

ETA: I found my copy of A Distant Mirror. I thought I should look for it before I forgot!

>236 alcottacre: It is a really long time since I read Barber's history of the fall of Singapore. I also liked his book on the Malaya Emergency War of the Running Dogs

>236 alcottacre: No, no. You are not allowed to make any more recommendations to me. I fall for them every time, lol.

>223 PaulCranswick: It was "Phew" day for me. I don't enjoy it when the puzzle devolves into a guessing game. I had the last four at #4...then guessed wrong at #5...then luckily guessed which word They wanted at #6. But it's all luck then, no solving involved, and that's not the fun bit for me.

If you haven't read Paris 1919Six Months that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan- you should think about doing so!
Another history writer ( especially about World War 11) who I like is Anthony Beevor.

>170 cindydavid4: Thanks for giving readers of Paul's thread an opportunity to experience that wonderful poem! Yes, I am old enough to remember those sign off days.

And thanks, Paul, for an always interesting thread...

>205 alcottacre: I enjoyed Daughter of Time also, and thought the author made a pretty good case for Richard not doing it!

>230 PaulCranswick: You really are the perfect gentleman, Paul!
I'm going to have to save this thread somehow, so many interesting books.

>238 alcottacre: I cannot promise that, Juana! xx

>239 richardderus: Couldn't agree more, RD. I saw three possible answers when I had two guesses left which means it just becomes a game of chance. So far I haven't lucked out under such circumstances but it will happen.

>240 torontoc: It is on the shelves, Cyrel, so I will definitely read it but the one I just bought looks nicely digestible! I have heard good things about Beevor.

>241 kaida46: If it is interesting at all it is because I benefit from such lovely and generous visitors. xx

>242 kaida46: Josephine Tey was clearly one of the good guys, Deb! The Sunne in Splendour is the finest evocation of Ricardian rehabilitation. I love the Bard of course but he did pander to those blasted Tudors and his Richard III may have been memorable as a piece of theatre but it was a work of misdirecting propaganda.

>243 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella, you made me smile. My staff made cream puffs of all shapes and sizes yesterday and gave me five to bring home - one each for Belle, Yasmyne, Yasmeen, Erni and Kyran. I put the open box before Belle, Yasmeen and Kyran (Yasmyne was out at a party and Erni was elsewhere). Yasmeen asked Belle to choose first which she did and Kyran tried to take the next one. I stopped him and said "Ladies First!" to which he replied "Sexist!" but which Yasmeen happily accepted and took her cream puff.

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Back to normalcy today!

More history related additions today with Hani safely in Singapore:

458. Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli
459. East West Street by Phillipe Sands
460. Breakout at Stalingrad by Heinrich Gerlach
461. The Hidden Pleasures of Life by Theodore Zeldin
462. The Road to War by Richard Overy
463. English Pastoral by James Rebanks
464. Stalingrad by Antony Beevor
465. Blood, Tears and Folly by Len Deighton

>231 PaulCranswick: From those Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty is on mount TBR.
(It is Piketty, without "n")

>248 PaulCranswick: English Pastoral by James Rebanks was a very good read, you can find my thoughts here.

>249 FAMeulstee: Oops for the typo with Piketty's name. Thanks for spotting that (Edited).

I think I remember your positive review of the book by Rebanks.

>232 m.belljackson: Just to update you Marianne - it definitely isn't banned in Malaysia because they have a copy in Kinokuniya.

Stalingrad by Beevor is excellent but you have to be in the mood for reading about the detail.

>252 torontoc: I always read the opening paragraph to see whether there is a connection or not and Beevor sets the scene of the summer Saturday in June 1941 with Berliners enjoying the sun but worried about the likely next steps of war.

>248 PaulCranswick: Given y'all's retirement destination, surely she can grandfather history reads in...?

>248 PaulCranswick: I get the feeling that she has given up worrying about how many books I add so long as I can keep us in accommodation that allows us to house them all.

HI Paul, I have greatly enjoyed both Rebanks books but the others listed in >248 PaulCranswick: are unknown to me.

>251 PaulCranswick: And?

>231 PaulCranswick: I really liked many of the poems in Dearly, Paul.

>256 mdoris: Beevor and Overy are fairly well known military historians, Mary. Deighton is more famous as a novelist but he considered this his best work.

>257 m.belljackson: There is no "and", Marianne, you asked me if it was banned and I checked for you and it isn't.

>258 Caroline_McElwee: I read the first couple to Kyran and he really liked them too, Caroline.

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Today's game is a bit sneaky.

Hi Paul! I see you are still housing many many books!
Hope you and your family are doing well!

>262 ChelleBearss: I do have them all in much closer proximity at last Chelle. Hani is in Singapore at the moment ministering to her terminally ill mother but I have the joy of having my three children together for a rare few weeks and the pleasure of seeing my eldest for the first time in more than 2 and a half years.

Lovely to see you posting. xx

>255 PaulCranswick: Sounds like a good compromise.

>264 ArlieS: It is funny, Arlie, because she keeps telling me that she doesn't want a big house! My selection of home in England will obviously have a lot to do with potential shelving space and high ceilings.