Paul C's Roads Less Travelled in 2026 - 5
This is a continuation of the topic Paul C's Roads Less Travelled in 2026 - 4.
This topic was continued by Paul C's Roads Less Travelled in 2026 - 6 .
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2026
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1PaulCranswick
I have always thought that sport is the way to bring different races and cultures together in friendship and friendly rivalry. One of my sporting heroes of my youth was Viv Richards (Now Sir Vivian Richards) of Antigua, the West Indies and Somerset. A wonderful brave and attacking batsman and one of the finest cricketers I have ever seen. The West Indies cricket team of the mid 1970s to mid 1980s is the greatest team I have ever seen play the game.
2PaulCranswick
The Opening Words
For the Non-Fiction Challenge in February which has Jazz as its theme I am reading Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick.
"On June 27, 1992, in Hampton, a small city located within the expansive tidal coast of ocean, ports and beaches in southeastern Virginia, 8,332 people sat in the air-conditioned Hampton Coliseum on a Saturday night to hear seventy-five-year-old Ella Fitzgerald give one of the last concerts of her six-decade-long career."
Interested...............................?
For the Non-Fiction Challenge in February which has Jazz as its theme I am reading Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick.
"On June 27, 1992, in Hampton, a small city located within the expansive tidal coast of ocean, ports and beaches in southeastern Virginia, 8,332 people sat in the air-conditioned Hampton Coliseum on a Saturday night to hear seventy-five-year-old Ella Fitzgerald give one of the last concerts of her six-decade-long career."
Interested...............................?
3PaulCranswick
Poetry
World War 1 gets all the plaudits when it comes to poetry but the Second World War produced a few really good poets too Keith Douglas certainly and probably my favourite, Alun Lewis.
With Valentine's Day tomorrow this is his lovely "Goodbye"
Goodbye
So we must say Goodbye, my darling,
And go, as lovers go, for ever;
Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels
And make an end of lying down together.
I put a final shilling in the gas,
And watch you slip your dress below your knees
And lie so still I hear your rustling comb
Modulate the autumn in the trees.
And all the countless things I shall remember
Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;
I fill the carafe with a drink of water;
You say ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’
And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmth
For the next resident, and these dry flowers,’
And turn your face away, afraid to speak
The big word, that Eternity is ours.
Your kisses close my eyes and yet you stare
As though God struck a child with nameless fears;
Perhaps the water glitters and discloses
Time’s chalice and its limpid useless tears.
Everything we renounce except our selves;
Selfishness is the last of all to go;
Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,
Our footprints leave a track across the snow.
We made the universe to be our home,
Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,
Our hearts are massive towers of delight,
We stride across the seven seas of death.
Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emerald
I placed upon your finger in the street;
And I will keep the patches that you sewed
On my old battledress tonight, my sweet.
1942
World War 1 gets all the plaudits when it comes to poetry but the Second World War produced a few really good poets too Keith Douglas certainly and probably my favourite, Alun Lewis.
With Valentine's Day tomorrow this is his lovely "Goodbye"
Goodbye
So we must say Goodbye, my darling,
And go, as lovers go, for ever;
Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels
And make an end of lying down together.
I put a final shilling in the gas,
And watch you slip your dress below your knees
And lie so still I hear your rustling comb
Modulate the autumn in the trees.
And all the countless things I shall remember
Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;
I fill the carafe with a drink of water;
You say ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’
And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmth
For the next resident, and these dry flowers,’
And turn your face away, afraid to speak
The big word, that Eternity is ours.
Your kisses close my eyes and yet you stare
As though God struck a child with nameless fears;
Perhaps the water glitters and discloses
Time’s chalice and its limpid useless tears.
Everything we renounce except our selves;
Selfishness is the last of all to go;
Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,
Our footprints leave a track across the snow.
We made the universe to be our home,
Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,
Our hearts are massive towers of delight,
We stride across the seven seas of death.
Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emerald
I placed upon your finger in the street;
And I will keep the patches that you sewed
On my old battledress tonight, my sweet.
1942
4PaulCranswick
Books Read:
January:
1. The Place of Tides by James Rebanks (2024) 285pp {Non-Fiction} Penguin/Allen Lane (Completed 1/1/26) 8/10
2. Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano (1996) 204 pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 3/1/26) RLT Challenge/ TM Challenge 6/10
3. Girl by Ruth Padel (2024) 107 pp {Poetry} Vintage (Completed 4/1/26) 4/10
4. Shardik by Richard Adams (1974) 592 pp {SF/Fantasy} Oneworld (Completed 6/1/26) BAC/TM Challenge 7/10
5. Antarctica by Claire Keegan (1999) 209pp {Short Stories} Faber (Completed 7/1/26) 8.5/10
6. The Good Father by Noah Hawley (2013) 384pp {Fiction} Hodder TM Challenge (Completed 10/1/26) 7.5/10
7. antibody by Rebecca Salazar (2025) 139pp {Poetry} McClelland & Stewart (Completed 12/1/26) 3/10
8. Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li (2025) 172pp {Non-Fiction} 4th Estate (Completed 13/1/26) 7/10
9. The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell (2017) 455pp {SF/Fantasy} Hodder (Completed 17/1/26) 7/10
10. Suspicion by Friedrich Durrenmatt (1953) 157pp {Thriller} Pushkin Vertigo (Completed 18/1/26)
11. The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey (2025) 221pp {Fiction} Canongate (Completed 20/1/26)
12. The Hill Bachelors by William Trevor (2000) 245pp {Short Stories} Penguin (Completed 21/1/26)
13. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan (2023) 275pp {Non-Fiction} Vintage (Completed 23/1/26)
14. Before the Fact by Francis Iles (1932) 326pp {Thriller} Pan (Completed 24/1/26)
15. Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin (2024) 383pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 25/1/26)
16. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987) 324pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 29/1/26)
17. The War of the Poor by Eric Vuillard (2019) 79pp {Fiction} Other Press (Completed 30/1/26)
18. The Distinctly Competent District Councillor by Jonas Jonasson (2026) 132pp {Fiction} 4th Estate (Completed 31/1/26)
February
19. Love Forms by Claire Adam (2025) 295pp {Fiction} Faber (Completed 2/2/26)
20. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo (1831) 501pp {Fiction} Penguin Completed (2/2/26)
21. Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan (2021) 279pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 3/2/26)
22. After by Morris Gleitzman (2012) 209pp {Fiction} Penguin (Completed 5/2/26)
23. What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute (1939) 245pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 9/2/26)
24. The Autumn Throne by Elizabeth Chadwick (2016) 484pp {Fiction} Sphere (Completed 18/2/26)
25. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin (2015) 399pp {Short Stories} Picador (Completed 18/2/26)
26. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick (2024) 436pp {Non-Fiction} Norton (Completed 19/2/26)
27. The Separation by Christopher Priest (2002) 405pp {SF/Fantasy} Gollancz (Completed 23/2/26)
28. Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch (2025) 155pp {Poetry} Chatto & Windus (Completed 24/2/26)
29. Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (1832) 304pp {Short Stories} Ebook (Completed 27/2/26)
30. Lublin by Manya Wilkinson (2024) 196pp {Fiction} And Other Stories (Completed) 27/2/26)
31. Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky (2024) 226pp {Fiction} Ecco
32. Strange Pictures by Uketsu (2022) 236pp {Thriller} HarperVia
January:
1. The Place of Tides by James Rebanks (2024) 285pp {Non-Fiction} Penguin/Allen Lane (Completed 1/1/26) 8/10
2. Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano (1996) 204 pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 3/1/26) RLT Challenge/ TM Challenge 6/10
3. Girl by Ruth Padel (2024) 107 pp {Poetry} Vintage (Completed 4/1/26) 4/10
4. Shardik by Richard Adams (1974) 592 pp {SF/Fantasy} Oneworld (Completed 6/1/26) BAC/TM Challenge 7/10
5. Antarctica by Claire Keegan (1999) 209pp {Short Stories} Faber (Completed 7/1/26) 8.5/10
6. The Good Father by Noah Hawley (2013) 384pp {Fiction} Hodder TM Challenge (Completed 10/1/26) 7.5/10
7. antibody by Rebecca Salazar (2025) 139pp {Poetry} McClelland & Stewart (Completed 12/1/26) 3/10
8. Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li (2025) 172pp {Non-Fiction} 4th Estate (Completed 13/1/26) 7/10
9. The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell (2017) 455pp {SF/Fantasy} Hodder (Completed 17/1/26) 7/10
10. Suspicion by Friedrich Durrenmatt (1953) 157pp {Thriller} Pushkin Vertigo (Completed 18/1/26)
11. The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey (2025) 221pp {Fiction} Canongate (Completed 20/1/26)
12. The Hill Bachelors by William Trevor (2000) 245pp {Short Stories} Penguin (Completed 21/1/26)
13. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan (2023) 275pp {Non-Fiction} Vintage (Completed 23/1/26)
14. Before the Fact by Francis Iles (1932) 326pp {Thriller} Pan (Completed 24/1/26)
15. Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin (2024) 383pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 25/1/26)
16. Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987) 324pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 29/1/26)
17. The War of the Poor by Eric Vuillard (2019) 79pp {Fiction} Other Press (Completed 30/1/26)
18. The Distinctly Competent District Councillor by Jonas Jonasson (2026) 132pp {Fiction} 4th Estate (Completed 31/1/26)
February
19. Love Forms by Claire Adam (2025) 295pp {Fiction} Faber (Completed 2/2/26)
20. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo (1831) 501pp {Fiction} Penguin Completed (2/2/26)
21. Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan (2021) 279pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 3/2/26)
22. After by Morris Gleitzman (2012) 209pp {Fiction} Penguin (Completed 5/2/26)
23. What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute (1939) 245pp {Fiction} Vintage (Completed 9/2/26)
24. The Autumn Throne by Elizabeth Chadwick (2016) 484pp {Fiction} Sphere (Completed 18/2/26)
25. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin (2015) 399pp {Short Stories} Picador (Completed 18/2/26)
26. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick (2024) 436pp {Non-Fiction} Norton (Completed 19/2/26)
27. The Separation by Christopher Priest (2002) 405pp {SF/Fantasy} Gollancz (Completed 23/2/26)
28. Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch (2025) 155pp {Poetry} Chatto & Windus (Completed 24/2/26)
29. Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (1832) 304pp {Short Stories} Ebook (Completed 27/2/26)
30. Lublin by Manya Wilkinson (2024) 196pp {Fiction} And Other Stories (Completed) 27/2/26)
31. Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky (2024) 226pp {Fiction} Ecco
32. Strange Pictures by Uketsu (2022) 236pp {Thriller} HarperVia
5PaulCranswick
Currently Reading
6PaulCranswick
Roads Less Travelled
THE AMERICAN CONTINENTs OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Our tour of the less well traveled pathways of the American continents in 2026.
I will not impinge on the wonderful American Author Challenge and I am not looking to repeat the Canadian author challenges that have featured as this is largely about everywhere else on the continent.
This will be our journey:
JANUARY - CHILEAN AUTHORS: https://www.librarything.com/topic/377059
1. Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano
FEBRUARY - ANGLO CARIBBEAN AUTHORS : https://www.librarything.com/topic/378317
1. Love Forms by Claire Adam
MARCH - MEXICAN AUTHORS
APRIL - HISPANIC NORTH AMERICANS
1. antibody: poems by Rebecca Salazar
MAY - BRAZILIAN AUTHORS
JUNE - NON-FICTION ABOUT THE AMERICAS
JULY - CUBAN AUTHORS
AUGUST - FRANCO CARIBBEAN
SEPTEMBER - COLOMBIAN AUTHORS
OCTOBER - FIRST NATION NORTH AMERICANS
NOVEMBER - ARGENTINIAN AUTHORS
DECEMBER - OTHER PARTS OF THE CONTINENTS
THE AMERICAN CONTINENTs OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Our tour of the less well traveled pathways of the American continents in 2026.
I will not impinge on the wonderful American Author Challenge and I am not looking to repeat the Canadian author challenges that have featured as this is largely about everywhere else on the continent.
This will be our journey:
JANUARY - CHILEAN AUTHORS: https://www.librarything.com/topic/377059
1. Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano
FEBRUARY - ANGLO CARIBBEAN AUTHORS : https://www.librarything.com/topic/378317
1. Love Forms by Claire Adam
MARCH - MEXICAN AUTHORS
APRIL - HISPANIC NORTH AMERICANS
1. antibody: poems by Rebecca Salazar
MAY - BRAZILIAN AUTHORS
JUNE - NON-FICTION ABOUT THE AMERICAS
JULY - CUBAN AUTHORS
AUGUST - FRANCO CARIBBEAN
SEPTEMBER - COLOMBIAN AUTHORS
OCTOBER - FIRST NATION NORTH AMERICANS
NOVEMBER - ARGENTINIAN AUTHORS
DECEMBER - OTHER PARTS OF THE CONTINENTS
7PaulCranswick
British Author Challenge (Hosted by my friend Amanda)
January - Cressida Cowell & Richard Adams https://www.librarything.com/topic/376836#n9049588
Shardik by Richard Adams, The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
February - Elizabeth Chadwick & Nevil Shute
What Happened to the Corbetts by Shute
The Autumn Throne by Chadwick
March -
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
January - Cressida Cowell & Richard Adams https://www.librarything.com/topic/376836#n9049588
Shardik by Richard Adams, The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
February - Elizabeth Chadwick & Nevil Shute
What Happened to the Corbetts by Shute
The Autumn Throne by Chadwick
March -
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
8PaulCranswick
NON-FICTION CHALLENGE
Hosted this year by my friend Benita.
JANUARY : PRIZE WINNERS - Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
FEBRUARY : JAZZ - Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick
Hosted this year by my friend Benita.
JANUARY : PRIZE WINNERS - Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
FEBRUARY : JAZZ - Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick
9PaulCranswick
The Time Machine
I will be reading 200 books one from each of the last 200 years, I will read them in date order and limit myself to one book per author.
Starting 2025 and ending 31 December 2026. I am combining this with my 50 Modern Classics from last years and other years I covered last year. The older books I will try to read in sequence
1826 : The Last Man by Mary Shelley
1827 : The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
1828 : Pelham by Edward Bulwer Lytton
1829 : The Misfortunes of Elphin by Thomas Love Peacock
1830 : At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honore de Balzac
1831 : The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
1832 : Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving
1908 : The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck
1932 : Before the Fact by Francis Iles
1939 : What Happened to the Corbetts bt Nevil Shute
1945 : The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
1946 : Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson
1947 : We Always Treat Women Too Well by Raymond Queneau
1952 : All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg
1953 : Suspicion by Friedrich Durrenmatt
1954 : The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
1960 : The Great Fortune by Olivia Manning
1961 : Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
1963 : The Experience of Pain by Carlo Emilio Gadda
1965 : Lost Empires by JB Priestley
1966 : Silence by Shusaku Endo
1967 : Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
1974 : Shardik by Richard Adams
1975 : The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
1976 : Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor
1977 : Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
1978 : The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
1979 : The White Album by Joan Didion
1987 : Beloved by Toni Morrison
1988 : The Pigeon by Patrick Suskind
1991 : The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis
1996 : Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano
1997 : God's Gift to Women by Don Paterson
1999 : Antarctica by Claire Keegan
2000 : The Hill Bachelors by William Trevor
2002 : Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
2007 : The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen
2008 : The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
2009 : In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
2011 : What it is Like to go to War by Karl Marlantes
2012 : Nagasaki by Eric Faye
2013 : The Good Father by Noah Hawley
2014 : The End of Eddy by Louis Eduoard
2016 : Conclave by Robert Harris
2017 : The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann
2018 : A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley
2019 : The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
2020 : The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
2021 : The Heeding by Rob Cowen
2022 : Heart Lamp Stories by Banu Mushtaq
2023 : Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
2024 : The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
2025 : Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
53/200
10PaulCranswick
A-Z Challenge
A = 12 Books: Richard Adams, Claire Adam
B = 12 Books: Roberto Bolano, Lucia Berlin
C = 12 Books: Cressida Cowell, Elizabeth Chadwick
D = 8 Books: Friedrich Durrenmatt
E = 6 Books: Lauren Elkin
F = 8 Books: Richard Flanagan
G = 12 Books: Elaine Garvey, Morris Gleitzman
H = 12 Books: Noah Hawley, Victor Hugo
I = 6 Books: Francis Iles, Washington Irving
J = 6 Books: Jonas Jonasson
K = 6 Books: Claire Keegan
L = 8 Books: Yiyun Li
M = 12 Books: Toni Morrison, Iris Murdoch
N = 6 Books: Megan Nolan
O = 6 Books: Claire Oshetsky
P = 8 Books: Ruth Padel, Christopher Priest
Q = 3 Books:
R = 8 Books: James Rebanks
S = 12 Books: Rebecca Salazar, Nevil Shute
T = 8 Books: William Trevor, Judith Tick
U = 6 Books: Uketsu
V = 6 Books: Eric Vuillard
W = 8 Books: Manya Wilkinson
X = 3 Books:
Y = 3 Books:
Z = 3 Books
Total 200
32/200
A = 12 Books: Richard Adams, Claire Adam
B = 12 Books: Roberto Bolano, Lucia Berlin
C = 12 Books: Cressida Cowell, Elizabeth Chadwick
D = 8 Books: Friedrich Durrenmatt
E = 6 Books: Lauren Elkin
F = 8 Books: Richard Flanagan
G = 12 Books: Elaine Garvey, Morris Gleitzman
H = 12 Books: Noah Hawley, Victor Hugo
I = 6 Books: Francis Iles, Washington Irving
J = 6 Books: Jonas Jonasson
K = 6 Books: Claire Keegan
L = 8 Books: Yiyun Li
M = 12 Books: Toni Morrison, Iris Murdoch
N = 6 Books: Megan Nolan
O = 6 Books: Claire Oshetsky
P = 8 Books: Ruth Padel, Christopher Priest
Q = 3 Books:
R = 8 Books: James Rebanks
S = 12 Books: Rebecca Salazar, Nevil Shute
T = 8 Books: William Trevor, Judith Tick
U = 6 Books: Uketsu
V = 6 Books: Eric Vuillard
W = 8 Books: Manya Wilkinson
X = 3 Books:
Y = 3 Books:
Z = 3 Books
Total 200
32/200
11PaulCranswick
English Language Awards
50 Awards I will Monitor With Current Winner
1. BOOKER PRIZE: Flesh by David Szalay READ
2. BOOKER INTERNATIONAL: Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq READ
3. GOLDSMITH'S PRIZE: We Live Here Now by C.D. Rose
4. ORWELL PRIZE FOR FICTION: Heart Be at Peace by Donal Ryan
5. JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE: My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Rijneveld
6. HAWTHORNDEN PRIZE: Lublin by Manya Wilkinson READ
7. NERO FICTION PRIZE: Lost in the Garden by Adam S Leslie
8. BRITISH BOOK AWARD WINNER: James by Percival Everett READ
9. DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE: The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
10. WOMEN'S PRIZE: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden READ
11. WALTER SCOTT PRIZE: The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller READ
12. SCOTTISH BOOK AWARD: What Doesn't Kill Us by Ajay Close
13. WALES BOOK AWARD: Clear by Carys Davies
14. WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION AWARD: The Artist by Lucy Steeds READ
15. BETTY TRASK AWARD: Winter Animals by Ashani Lewis
16. AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST FICTION PRIZE: Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon READ
17. ONDAATJE PRIZE: Clear by Carys Davies
18. JHALAK PRIZE: Anansi's Gold by Yepoka Yeebo
19. THE WRITERS PRIZE: The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright READ
20. THE ENCORE PRIZE: Lublin by Manya Wilkinson READ
21. IMPAC DUBLIN PRIZE: The Adversary by Michael Crummey
22. IRISH BOOK AWARDS: Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell READ
23. PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION: James by Percival Everett READ
24. NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible and His Mother by Rabih Alameddine
25. KIRKUS PRIZE: The Slip by Lucas Schaefer
26. NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD: My Friends by Hisham Matar
27. LA TIMES BOOK AWARD: Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet
28. PEN FAULKNER AWARD: Small Rain by Garth Greenwell
29. PEN HEMINGWAY AWARD: Early Sobrieties by Michael Deagler
30. THE CENTER FOR FIRST FICTION: Natch by Darrell Kinsey
31. GILLER PRIZE: Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa
32. GOVERNOR GENERAL PRIZE: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards
33. MILES FRANKLIN PRIZE: Ghost Cities by Siang Lu
34. PRIME MINISTER'S AWARD: Theory & Practice by Michelle De Kretser READ
35. OCKHAM NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARDS: Delirious by Damien Wilkins
36. CNA FICTION AWARD: The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil by Shubnum Khan
37. T.S. ELIOT PRIZE: Fierce Elegy by Peter Gizzi
38. FORWARD PRIZE: Avidya by Ravinthiran & Wellwater by Solie
39. PULITZER POETRY: New and Selected Poems by Marie Howe
40. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD POETRY: The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith
41. GRIFFIN PRIZE: Psyche Running by Durs Grunbein
43. DUFF COOPER PRIZE: Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux
44. WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION: The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke READ
45. WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE: Survivors: Lost Stories of the Last Captives by Hannah Durkin
46. ORWELL NON-FICTION PRIZE: Looking at Women, Looking at War by Victoria Amelina
47. BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE: How to End a Story by Helen Garner
48. CUNDHILL PRIZE: The Summer of Fire and Blood by Lyndal Cooper
49. PULITZER PRIZE FOR HISTORY: Native Nations by Duval & Combee by Fields-Black
50. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
I have not included other prizes for more specific genre fiction; thrillers, sci-fi/fantasy, horror, YA etc because it would spiral to over a hundred awards.
I have not included foreign language awards (other than as translated into English) as again there are so many great awards that I simply couldn't keep up with them all.
I have only included single book awards and not awards that award multiple books or lifetime achievements.
I have favoured UK awards admittedly on the selfish grounds that I hail from there and my reading origins are bound by place.
Where Awards have multiple categories (British Book Awards etc) I have only included the fiction winner unless separately included.
Currently 14/52 books read
50 Awards I will Monitor With Current Winner
1. BOOKER PRIZE: Flesh by David Szalay READ
2. BOOKER INTERNATIONAL: Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq READ
3. GOLDSMITH'S PRIZE: We Live Here Now by C.D. Rose
4. ORWELL PRIZE FOR FICTION: Heart Be at Peace by Donal Ryan
5. JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE: My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Rijneveld
6. HAWTHORNDEN PRIZE: Lublin by Manya Wilkinson READ
7. NERO FICTION PRIZE: Lost in the Garden by Adam S Leslie
8. BRITISH BOOK AWARD WINNER: James by Percival Everett READ
9. DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE: The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
10. WOMEN'S PRIZE: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden READ
11. WALTER SCOTT PRIZE: The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller READ
12. SCOTTISH BOOK AWARD: What Doesn't Kill Us by Ajay Close
13. WALES BOOK AWARD: Clear by Carys Davies
14. WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION AWARD: The Artist by Lucy Steeds READ
15. BETTY TRASK AWARD: Winter Animals by Ashani Lewis
16. AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST FICTION PRIZE: Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon READ
17. ONDAATJE PRIZE: Clear by Carys Davies
18. JHALAK PRIZE: Anansi's Gold by Yepoka Yeebo
19. THE WRITERS PRIZE: The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright READ
20. THE ENCORE PRIZE: Lublin by Manya Wilkinson READ
21. IMPAC DUBLIN PRIZE: The Adversary by Michael Crummey
22. IRISH BOOK AWARDS: Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell READ
23. PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION: James by Percival Everett READ
24. NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible and His Mother by Rabih Alameddine
25. KIRKUS PRIZE: The Slip by Lucas Schaefer
26. NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD: My Friends by Hisham Matar
27. LA TIMES BOOK AWARD: Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet
28. PEN FAULKNER AWARD: Small Rain by Garth Greenwell
29. PEN HEMINGWAY AWARD: Early Sobrieties by Michael Deagler
30. THE CENTER FOR FIRST FICTION: Natch by Darrell Kinsey
31. GILLER PRIZE: Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa
32. GOVERNOR GENERAL PRIZE: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards
33. MILES FRANKLIN PRIZE: Ghost Cities by Siang Lu
34. PRIME MINISTER'S AWARD: Theory & Practice by Michelle De Kretser READ
35. OCKHAM NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARDS: Delirious by Damien Wilkins
36. CNA FICTION AWARD: The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil by Shubnum Khan
37. T.S. ELIOT PRIZE: Fierce Elegy by Peter Gizzi
38. FORWARD PRIZE: Avidya by Ravinthiran & Wellwater by Solie
39. PULITZER POETRY: New and Selected Poems by Marie Howe
40. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD POETRY: The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith
41. GRIFFIN PRIZE: Psyche Running by Durs Grunbein
43. DUFF COOPER PRIZE: Wild Thing by Sue Prideaux
44. WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION: The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke READ
45. WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE: Survivors: Lost Stories of the Last Captives by Hannah Durkin
46. ORWELL NON-FICTION PRIZE: Looking at Women, Looking at War by Victoria Amelina
47. BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE: How to End a Story by Helen Garner
48. CUNDHILL PRIZE: The Summer of Fire and Blood by Lyndal Cooper
49. PULITZER PRIZE FOR HISTORY: Native Nations by Duval & Combee by Fields-Black
50. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
I have not included other prizes for more specific genre fiction; thrillers, sci-fi/fantasy, horror, YA etc because it would spiral to over a hundred awards.
I have not included foreign language awards (other than as translated into English) as again there are so many great awards that I simply couldn't keep up with them all.
I have only included single book awards and not awards that award multiple books or lifetime achievements.
I have favoured UK awards admittedly on the selfish grounds that I hail from there and my reading origins are bound by place.
Where Awards have multiple categories (British Book Awards etc) I have only included the fiction winner unless separately included.
Currently 14/52 books read
12PaulCranswick
Best 100s
Best British 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103389
Best North American 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103390
Rest of the English Speaking World 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103392
Best in Translation 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103393
Best British 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103389
Best North American 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103390
Rest of the English Speaking World 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103392
Best in Translation 100: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378301#9103393
13PaulCranswick
BOOKS ADDED (hopefully a reduction here!!!)
January
1. Ruin and Renewal by Paul Betts
2. Super Pulses by Jenny Chandler
3. The Road Cyclist's Companion by Peter Drinkell
4. The Heart is a Shifting Sea by Elizabeth Flock
5. Elidor by Alan Garner
6. Angel Island by Inez Haynes Gillmore
7. One of Our Ministers is Missing by Alan Johnson
8. Wilder: How Rewilding is Transforming Conservation and Changing the World by Millie Kerr
9. August Blue by Deborah Levy
10. The War of the Poor by Eric Vuillard READ
11. An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi
12. On Reflection: Looking for Life's Meaning by Richard Holloway
13. Selected Poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson
14. Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch READ
15. A Lonely Man by Chris Power
16. Together: A Manifesto Against a Heartless World by Ece Temelkuran
17. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick READ
18. North Sun, or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford
19. Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux
20. Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse
21. The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman
22. Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
23. The Distinctly Competent District Councillor by Jonas Jonasson READ
24. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
25. Miss Jane by Brad Watson
February
26. Fulfillment by Lee Cole
27. Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
28. The Bone Chests by Cat Jarman
29. Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
30. Our Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt
31. The Imagined Life by Andrew Porter
32. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick
33. The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet
34. The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix
35. Indignity by Lea Ypi
36. The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason
37. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
38. Plastic: A Poem by Matthew Rice
39. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
40. The Atlas Six by Olivia Blake
41. Malice by John Gwynne
42. All Down Darkness Wide by Sean Hewitt
43. I Found Myself...The Last Dreams by Naguib Mahfouz
44. Between Britain by Alistair Moffat
45. How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva
46. All in it Together by Alwyn Turner
47. The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
48. Israel: A Personal History by Goran Rosenberg
49. Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
50. Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst
51. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
52. Foretokens by Sarah Howe
53. Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry
54. Lublin by Manya Wilkinson READ
55. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly
56. Pulse by Cynan Jones
57. Everest by Ashani Lewis
58. The Evidence by Christopher Priest
59. Being Lolita by Alisson Wood
26 non-fiction
12 fiction
4 poetry
9 SF/fantasy
3 crime / thrillers
By Men 29
By Women 25
Read: 5
January
1. Ruin and Renewal by Paul Betts
2. Super Pulses by Jenny Chandler
3. The Road Cyclist's Companion by Peter Drinkell
4. The Heart is a Shifting Sea by Elizabeth Flock
5. Elidor by Alan Garner
6. Angel Island by Inez Haynes Gillmore
7. One of Our Ministers is Missing by Alan Johnson
8. Wilder: How Rewilding is Transforming Conservation and Changing the World by Millie Kerr
9. August Blue by Deborah Levy
10. The War of the Poor by Eric Vuillard READ
11. An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi
12. On Reflection: Looking for Life's Meaning by Richard Holloway
13. Selected Poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson
14. Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch READ
15. A Lonely Man by Chris Power
16. Together: A Manifesto Against a Heartless World by Ece Temelkuran
17. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick READ
18. North Sun, or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford
19. Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux
20. Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse
21. The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman
22. Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
23. The Distinctly Competent District Councillor by Jonas Jonasson READ
24. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
25. Miss Jane by Brad Watson
February
26. Fulfillment by Lee Cole
27. Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
28. The Bone Chests by Cat Jarman
29. Always Home, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
30. Our Was the Shining Future by David Leonhardt
31. The Imagined Life by Andrew Porter
32. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick
33. The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet
34. The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix
35. Indignity by Lea Ypi
36. The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason
37. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
38. Plastic: A Poem by Matthew Rice
39. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
40. The Atlas Six by Olivia Blake
41. Malice by John Gwynne
42. All Down Darkness Wide by Sean Hewitt
43. I Found Myself...The Last Dreams by Naguib Mahfouz
44. Between Britain by Alistair Moffat
45. How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva
46. All in it Together by Alwyn Turner
47. The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
48. Israel: A Personal History by Goran Rosenberg
49. Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
50. Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst
51. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
52. Foretokens by Sarah Howe
53. Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry
54. Lublin by Manya Wilkinson READ
55. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly
56. Pulse by Cynan Jones
57. Everest by Ashani Lewis
58. The Evidence by Christopher Priest
59. Being Lolita by Alisson Wood
26 non-fiction
12 fiction
4 poetry
9 SF/fantasy
3 crime / thrillers
By Men 29
By Women 25
Read: 5
14PaulCranswick
Book Stats 2026
Books Read : 32
Pages Read in completed books : 9,059
Longest book : Shardik : 592 pp
Shortest book : The War of the Poor : 79 pp
Mean book length : 283.09 pp
Pages per day average in completed books : 153.54
Books written by men : 16
Books written by women: 16
Non-Fiction : 4
Fiction : 15
Poetry : 3
Thriller : 3
SF/Fantasy : 3
Drama :
Short Stories : 4
1830s : 2 books
1930s : 2 books
1950s : 1 book
1970s : 1 book
1980s : 1 book
1990s : 2 books
2000s : 2 books
2010s : 6 books
2020s : 15 books
UK Authors : 9
USA Authors : 8
Chile Authors : 1
Ireland Authors : 4
Canada Authors : 1
China Authors : 1
Switzerland Authors : 1
Australia Authors : 2
France Authors : 2
Sweden Authors : 1
Trinidad Authors : 1
Japan Authors : 1
Challenges :
Roads Less Travelled : 3 books
Non-Fiction Challenge : 2 books
British Author Challenge : 4 books
Time Machine Challenge : 9 (51)
26 Short Story Collections : 4/26
Caroline Memorial Reads : 1
1001 Books : 2
Awards :
Baillie Gifford Prize : 1
Pulitzer Prize : 1
Read : 32 books
Added : 59 books
Change to TBR : +27
January Books : 18
January Pages : 4,689
Pages Average : Per book : 260.50 Per Day : 151.26
February Books : 14
February Pages : 4,370
Pages Average : Per book : 312.14 Per day : 156.07
Books Read : 32
Pages Read in completed books : 9,059
Longest book : Shardik : 592 pp
Shortest book : The War of the Poor : 79 pp
Mean book length : 283.09 pp
Pages per day average in completed books : 153.54
Books written by men : 16
Books written by women: 16
Non-Fiction : 4
Fiction : 15
Poetry : 3
Thriller : 3
SF/Fantasy : 3
Drama :
Short Stories : 4
1830s : 2 books
1930s : 2 books
1950s : 1 book
1970s : 1 book
1980s : 1 book
1990s : 2 books
2000s : 2 books
2010s : 6 books
2020s : 15 books
UK Authors : 9
USA Authors : 8
Chile Authors : 1
Ireland Authors : 4
Canada Authors : 1
China Authors : 1
Switzerland Authors : 1
Australia Authors : 2
France Authors : 2
Sweden Authors : 1
Trinidad Authors : 1
Japan Authors : 1
Challenges :
Roads Less Travelled : 3 books
Non-Fiction Challenge : 2 books
British Author Challenge : 4 books
Time Machine Challenge : 9 (51)
26 Short Story Collections : 4/26
Caroline Memorial Reads : 1
1001 Books : 2
Awards :
Baillie Gifford Prize : 1
Pulitzer Prize : 1
Read : 32 books
Added : 59 books
Change to TBR : +27
January Books : 18
January Pages : 4,689
Pages Average : Per book : 260.50 Per Day : 151.26
February Books : 14
February Pages : 4,370
Pages Average : Per book : 312.14 Per day : 156.07
15PaulCranswick
This thread is dedicated to :
My eldest child, Yasmyne, who will celebrate her 29th birthday on 27 February (where did the time ago).
Effervescent as soluble vitamin C, diligent, opinionated and articulate, I am inordinately proud of our first born
My eldest child, Yasmyne, who will celebrate her 29th birthday on 27 February (where did the time ago).
Effervescent as soluble vitamin C, diligent, opinionated and articulate, I am inordinately proud of our first born
16PaulCranswick
Welcome to my fifth thread of 2026.
17figsfromthistle
Happy new one!
18amanda4242
Happy new thread!
20RebaRelishesReading
Happy new one Paul!
21PaulCranswick
>17 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. That was quick.
>18 amanda4242: Thanks dear Amanda......almost as quick.
>18 amanda4242: Thanks dear Amanda......almost as quick.
22PaulCranswick
>19 quondame: Thanks Susan. Lovely as always to see you.
>20 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba. xx
>20 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba. xx
23booksaplenty1949
>1 PaulCranswick: Sun may have set on the British Empire but sports of British origin continue to rule. Why would an Afghani horseman try to get a dead goat through a goal when he could be, erm, doing whatever it is these two are trying to do?
25PaulCranswick
>23 booksaplenty1949: Indeed, you are exactly right. The main role of the wicket keeper there is to avoid getting biffed by the batsman!
>24 bell7: Thank you, Mary. xx
>24 bell7: Thank you, Mary. xx
27booksaplenty1949
>9 PaulCranswick: Is this for 200 years of books? If so, right place for me to announce that Rural Rides just bit the dust and I am ready to take on Notre Dame de Paris, which you devoured in two days, as I recall. My copy, 600+ pages, in French, will not, I suspect, be such a page-turner, but we shall see.
29PaulCranswick
>26 atozgrl: Thank you, Irene.
>27 booksaplenty1949: Well done. Whilst I have rudimentary French there is no way I could read Hugo in the original vernacular.
>27 booksaplenty1949: Well done. Whilst I have rudimentary French there is no way I could read Hugo in the original vernacular.
30PaulCranswick
>28 drneutron: Thanks DocRoc. Always honored to have you drop by.
31alcottacre
>2 PaulCranswick: I am very interested, Paul. I look forward to your review of that one when you are done.
>4 PaulCranswick: Your reading year is off to a great start!
Happy new thread!
>4 PaulCranswick: Your reading year is off to a great start!
Happy new thread!
32PaulCranswick
>31 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. I have always been a big fan of Ella Fitzgerald. Tremendous singer, torchbearer and trailblazer.
34PaulCranswick
>33 mdoris: Indeed Mary. She went to the hospital for a thorough check up and a chest xray but I am pretty sure that she is on the mend.
36EBT1002
>2 PaulCranswick: Yes, interested!
37PaulCranswick
>35 Kristelh: Thanks book twin and I have along weekend coming up, too.
>36 EBT1002: That is two yes's already, Ellen! I will admit to not knowing too much about Ella Fitzgerald's life so I am interested to get going on it.
>36 EBT1002: That is two yes's already, Ellen! I will admit to not knowing too much about Ella Fitzgerald's life so I am interested to get going on it.
38vancouverdeb
Happy New Thread, Paul and I sure hope you get back to the UK soon, and get that dog you are dreaming of! If you live in a townhouse with a very small yard, you are sure to keep busy with walks - three a day .
39PaulCranswick
>38 vancouverdeb: The fresh air will certainly do me good, Deb.
42PaulCranswick
>40 hredwards: Thank you, Harold. I am biased of course in the matter of my kids!
>41 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi xx
>41 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi xx
43Dejah_Thoris
Happy new thread, Paul - Yasmyne is gorgeous in that photo.
44PaulCranswick
>43 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you, Princess.
45PaulCranswick
I am looking forward to meeting up with Nina (humouress) and her husband this lunchtime for food and gossip. My failure to meet with her over the last number of years has lead her to believe that I may be a hologram. Hopefully I will prove to be three-dimensional today!
We are meeting in a restaurant on the top floor of Suria KLCC (level 4 of the mall (actually the sixth floor)) which coincidentally is only the same level as my temple of books, Kinokuniya.
We are meeting in a restaurant on the top floor of Suria KLCC (level 4 of the mall (actually the sixth floor)) which coincidentally is only the same level as my temple of books, Kinokuniya.
47PaulCranswick
>46 alcottacre: Once I get this project settled Stasia, Hani and I will do a bit of traveling and definitely a trip stateside is on the cards. I so much look forward to meeting you and some of my other dear friends over there soonish.
48PaulCranswick
Bearing in mind my message in >45 PaulCranswick: whereby I will be in KLCC with Nina today and there is certain to be a book or three in my future, I had planned to give my regular Friday jaunt to my book temple a temporary miss.
But then the Women's Prize Longlist was announced so I HAD TO go there on an urgent basis to see what of the Longlist was available. This is what I found:
32. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick
33. The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet
34. The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix
35. Indignity by Lea Ypi
these also caught my eye and had new release 20% discounts
36. The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason
37. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
38. Plastic: A Poem by Matthew Rice
But then the Women's Prize Longlist was announced so I HAD TO go there on an urgent basis to see what of the Longlist was available. This is what I found:
32. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick
33. The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet
34. The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix
35. Indignity by Lea Ypi
these also caught my eye and had new release 20% discounts
36. The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indridason
37. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty
38. Plastic: A Poem by Matthew Rice
50Deern
Happy new thread Paul, happy weekend and happy Valentine’s day to you and Hani, although it seems she’s still in the UK? I hope she’ll get the all clear to travel back asap.
I get confused with those timestamps on threads which I think is some US time, I don’t know which, in any case far from you. So the meetup took place yesterday?
I read on the previous thread that you consider getting a puppy. I’m planning getting a dog as soon as I reach retirement, though maybe not a puppy. I miss a dog in my life.
We got a 1 year old spaniel from an asylum when I was in my teens, she was wild the first couple of years and never tired on walks, but she was my soul dog. She had issues with strangers, but was the best family dog ever. I smile whenever I see one. Friends of my parents always had beagles who it seems can have WILD puppy years, but they’d always get another one. Both spaniels and beagles are like labradors great eaters and might climb chairs to steal food from tables and counters. Their last beagle licked the plates clean in the dishwasher when they left the door open for a moment. And they both need looong walks or much happy running time outside, so the cottage sounds like the better choice.
I get confused with those timestamps on threads which I think is some US time, I don’t know which, in any case far from you. So the meetup took place yesterday?
I read on the previous thread that you consider getting a puppy. I’m planning getting a dog as soon as I reach retirement, though maybe not a puppy. I miss a dog in my life.
We got a 1 year old spaniel from an asylum when I was in my teens, she was wild the first couple of years and never tired on walks, but she was my soul dog. She had issues with strangers, but was the best family dog ever. I smile whenever I see one. Friends of my parents always had beagles who it seems can have WILD puppy years, but they’d always get another one. Both spaniels and beagles are like labradors great eaters and might climb chairs to steal food from tables and counters. Their last beagle licked the plates clean in the dishwasher when they left the door open for a moment. And they both need looong walks or much happy running time outside, so the cottage sounds like the better choice.
51PaulCranswick
>49 mdoris: Nice to see you, Mary. We have just finished the meet-up. Met Nina and Rama (her husband) in a very busy KLCC. Last minute change of restaurant as my original choice was absolutely packed full. I rearranged a Japanese restaurant and coincidentally I was on video call with Hani when Nina, Rama and their boys arrived. The two guys nipped off to do their own thing and we had a very enjoyable food laden catch up (at least it certainly was for me).
Nina very generously donated to my stocks of Single Malt whiskey a very nice Glenlivet. The restaurant was conveniently located thirty or so steps from my palace of books in Kinokuniya to where we of course repaired. I added two books to Nina's collection and one to a reluctant Rama's collection.
Nina also got for me:
39. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
not to be entirely outdone and just to show that I do know my way around the place, I quickly added:
40. The Atlas Six by Olivia Blake
41. Malice by John Gwynne
42. All Down Darkness Wide by Sean Hewitt
43. I Found Myself...The Last Dreams by Naguib Mahfouz
44. Between Britain by Alistair Moffat
45. How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva
46. All in it Together by Alwyn Turner
47. The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Nina very generously donated to my stocks of Single Malt whiskey a very nice Glenlivet. The restaurant was conveniently located thirty or so steps from my palace of books in Kinokuniya to where we of course repaired. I added two books to Nina's collection and one to a reluctant Rama's collection.
Nina also got for me:
39. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
not to be entirely outdone and just to show that I do know my way around the place, I quickly added:
40. The Atlas Six by Olivia Blake
41. Malice by John Gwynne
42. All Down Darkness Wide by Sean Hewitt
43. I Found Myself...The Last Dreams by Naguib Mahfouz
44. Between Britain by Alistair Moffat
45. How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva
46. All in it Together by Alwyn Turner
47. The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao
52PaulCranswick
>50 Deern: Thank you for the Valentine wishes, Nathalie and I will send them right back to you - in a platonic manner of course xx
The meet-up was today for lunch and we took some photos (well Rama did) and I think Nina will share them later.
Yes it is true that Spaniels, Labradors and Beagles are fairly difficult to house train but they are the size and style of dog that most appeals to me. If I get the penthouse then it would present a problem - a cottage just outside the city is my priority purchase to be honest.
Hani will be back here on Tuesday morning. She is no longer COVID positive and her chesty cough is clearing too.
The meet-up was today for lunch and we took some photos (well Rama did) and I think Nina will share them later.
Yes it is true that Spaniels, Labradors and Beagles are fairly difficult to house train but they are the size and style of dog that most appeals to me. If I get the penthouse then it would present a problem - a cottage just outside the city is my priority purchase to be honest.
Hani will be back here on Tuesday morning. She is no longer COVID positive and her chesty cough is clearing too.
54PaulCranswick
>53 SirThomas: Thank you, Thomas
55figsfromthistle
>45 PaulCranswick: Oh how nice to finally meet! Enjoy
56Kristelh
Happy platonic Valentine wishes, Book Twin. It seems you had a very nice Valentine with food, friends, and books!
57humouress
Phew! I thought I ought to drop by your thread, Paul, and discovered that I haven't visited since your first thread. (I haven't been very active on LT in the last few months and I tend to leave the longer threads for last - which, of course, continue to proliferate at speed.) I'm afraid I dozed off this afternoon after that very filling lunch (thank you for hosting) and am only now finishing catching up, since we went out again for dinner. I'm sorry we missed Hani but it was nice seeing her on your phone. Thank you for the books, even Rama's (that was sneaky of you to take it off my pile, for which I got in trouble) - which he has already started reading.
58PaulCranswick
>55 figsfromthistle: It certainly was nice to finally meet up with Nina and her husband Rama - his facial expression when I suddenly appeared in the bookshop with a pile of nine books in my arms was priceless as was Nina's comment "don't worry, he does this every week!".
>56 Kristelh: I did have a lovely day, Kristel. Valentine wishes too to you my Book Twin (platonic ones as well of course), xx
>56 Kristelh: I did have a lovely day, Kristel. Valentine wishes too to you my Book Twin (platonic ones as well of course), xx
59PaulCranswick
>57 humouress: Howdy, neighbour! As you can see from the time of this post, I have been napping too!
Glad to see that the Kino visit proved infectious to Rama! Hope your dinner at Chef Wan's was good - did you have the set menu?
Glad to see that the Kino visit proved infectious to Rama! Hope your dinner at Chef Wan's was good - did you have the set menu?
60atozgrl
>51 PaulCranswick: It sounds like a wonderful meet-up, Paul! I'm glad that you and Nina were finally able to get together.
61PaulCranswick
>60 atozgrl: Yes, Irene. I have always been blessed by my LT meet-ups all have always matched expectations. We really are a uniformly wonderful group.
64PaulCranswick
>62 Whisper1: & >63 Whisper1: Thank you dear Linda. xx
65vancouverdeb
The Quiet Mother was very good, I thought, Paul. I"m glad you had a such an enjoyable meet up with Nina and her husband and soon Hani will be home. All good news.
66PaulCranswick
>65 vancouverdeb: Yes indeed, Deb. I am a huge fan of Indridason.
Hani will set off home tomorrow and I will see her on Tuesday morning.
Hani will set off home tomorrow and I will see her on Tuesday morning.
67witchyrichy
Happy new thread! Glad Hani is doing better. The meetup sounds like it was fun.
70Dejah_Thoris
>51 PaulCranswick: I have no idea if you'll like All Systems Red (I love it), but it at least it's short if you happen to hate it!
71PaulCranswick
>70 Dejah_Thoris: Since it was a present from Nina, Princess, I shall try my best to love it.
72Familyhistorian
Happy new thread, Paul. Nice to see that you finally had a meet up with Nina and family. It's about time!
73PaulCranswick
>72 Familyhistorian: Indeed it was long overdue, Meg. Nina also mentioned to me how she enjoyed meeting one of my favourites when she visited Canada.
74humouress
>59 PaulCranswick: Rama claims to have been a reader in days gone by and we do have a few shelves of books that he's acquired over the years but I've known him to read maybe fewer than five books.
We ended up going à la carte at Chef Wan's - various dietary requirements and my cousin is a born and bred Malaysian so we made use of her expertise.
We ended up going à la carte at Chef Wan's - various dietary requirements and my cousin is a born and bred Malaysian so we made use of her expertise.
75PaulCranswick
>74 humouress: Our meet-up and my own proclivity for book acquisition my rub-off on him!
I do like Chef Wan's place, Nina, but it is honestly not as good as Hani can do at home.
I do like Chef Wan's place, Nina, but it is honestly not as good as Hani can do at home.
76PaulCranswick
Yesterday I added my 1,000th book in the last 25 months
48. Israel: A Personal History by Goran Rosenberg
49. Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
48. Israel: A Personal History by Goran Rosenberg
49. Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
77booksaplenty1949
>76 PaulCranswick: Well, at least you’re not buying a thousand books every two years. That would be insane.
78PaulCranswick
>77 booksaplenty1949: In this decade so far in completed years 2020-2025:
I have added: 3,343 books to my collection
I have read 863 books
2025 READ : 140 ADDED : 612
2024 READ : 133 ADDED : 336
2023 READ : 160 ADDED : 600
2022 READ : 156 ADDED : 1,130
2021 READ : 151 ADDED : 365
2020 READ : 123 ADDED : 300
Twice in the decade before that I added in excess of 1,000 books in a year.
I have added: 3,343 books to my collection
I have read 863 books
2025 READ : 140 ADDED : 612
2024 READ : 133 ADDED : 336
2023 READ : 160 ADDED : 600
2022 READ : 156 ADDED : 1,130
2021 READ : 151 ADDED : 365
2020 READ : 123 ADDED : 300
Twice in the decade before that I added in excess of 1,000 books in a year.
79booksaplenty1949
>78 PaulCranswick: I was being facetious re “25 months” rather than 24. By all means keep on keeping on!
80m.belljackson
From Around the World in 80 Dogs -
Telomian (Malaysia)
Having been raised with the indigenous people
who lived in stilt houses, the Telomian has
developed a pretty unique skill. After a hard
day protecting their family from the tropical
creepy-crawlies below, the Telomian would have
to climb ladders back up to their home.
This resulted in them developing superbly strong grips.
Now they can hold objects, hang onto branches,
and open doors.
Telomian (Malaysia)
Having been raised with the indigenous people
who lived in stilt houses, the Telomian has
developed a pretty unique skill. After a hard
day protecting their family from the tropical
creepy-crawlies below, the Telomian would have
to climb ladders back up to their home.
This resulted in them developing superbly strong grips.
Now they can hold objects, hang onto branches,
and open doors.
81booksaplenty1949
I do not read a lot of contemporary fiction but book club friend was interested in my opinion of Flesh, which I have just finished. Highly conceptual, but engaging in parts. Felt that it was the narrator rather the main character who was curiously detached from events. His fall was handled in a somewhat abrupt and summary fashion, I felt.
82PaulCranswick
>79 booksaplenty1949: Yes, I did get that and I did guffaw!
>80 m.belljackson: Not heard of them to be honest, Marianne, but that is fascinating.
>80 m.belljackson: Not heard of them to be honest, Marianne, but that is fascinating.
83PaulCranswick
>81 booksaplenty1949: I did like parts of that novel quite a bit but it was a little too episodic to satisfy entirely.
84m.belljackson
>82 PaulCranswick: Just checked and Youtube has features on Telomian!
85alcottacre
>47 PaulCranswick: I so much look forward to meeting you and some of my other dear friends over there soonish.
I cannot tell you how excited for the opportunity to meet both you and Hani, Paul!
>48 PaulCranswick: Nice, Juan! I posted my list of acquisitions to the 'This Just In' thread this past Friday.
>51 PaulCranswick: Wow! Nice haul, Paul!
>76 PaulCranswick: I have added that many to the BlackHole but not to my actual physical holdings, so you have me beat :)
I am so happy that you and Nina finally got a chance to meet up!
I cannot tell you how excited for the opportunity to meet both you and Hani, Paul!
>48 PaulCranswick: Nice, Juan! I posted my list of acquisitions to the 'This Just In' thread this past Friday.
>51 PaulCranswick: Wow! Nice haul, Paul!
>76 PaulCranswick: I have added that many to the BlackHole but not to my actual physical holdings, so you have me beat :)
I am so happy that you and Nina finally got a chance to meet up!
86PaulCranswick
>84 m.belljackson: I will go and have a look, Marianne.
>85 alcottacre: I have definitely added far to many books for me to even have the remotest chance of even the pretense of keeping up.
God willing, we will make something of a tour of the states sometime fairly soon.
I will go over and check out your additions.
Nina and Rama were very good company.
>85 alcottacre: I have definitely added far to many books for me to even have the remotest chance of even the pretense of keeping up.
God willing, we will make something of a tour of the states sometime fairly soon.
I will go over and check out your additions.
Nina and Rama were very good company.
87PaulCranswick
HANI IS BACK.
Just collected her safely from the airport and she spent most of the journey complaining of how much weight I had gained and that she was going to sort me out!
Still I had prepared for the occasion and was merely delighted to have her back with me.
Just collected her safely from the airport and she spent most of the journey complaining of how much weight I had gained and that she was going to sort me out!
Still I had prepared for the occasion and was merely delighted to have her back with me.
88CDVicarage
>87 PaulCranswick: That's good news, Paul.
89PaulCranswick
And she came bearing gifts:
50. Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst
51. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
52. Foretokens by Sarah Howe
53. Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry
54. Lublin by Manya Wilkinson
50. Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst
51. Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
52. Foretokens by Sarah Howe
53. Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry
54. Lublin by Manya Wilkinson
90PaulCranswick
>88 CDVicarage: Indeed, Kerry, I feel so happy that I have my boss back.
91SirThomas
>87 PaulCranswick: YAY! - I am happy for you!
92PaulCranswick
>91 SirThomas: Thank you my dear friend. She is sleeping.
93booksaplenty1949
>90 PaulCranswick: I’ve read that it is not good for man to be alone.
94PaulCranswick
>93 booksaplenty1949: Alone, no more! And well, it feels good.
95figsfromthistle
>87 PaulCranswick: nice ! Glad she is back home. You must be very happy 🙂
97PaulCranswick
>95 figsfromthistle: I am, Anita.
>96 hredwards: Sort of mixed messaging I guess, Harold, but she know what is good for me.
>96 hredwards: Sort of mixed messaging I guess, Harold, but she know what is good for me.
98amanda4242
>87 PaulCranswick: Hurray!
99PaulCranswick
>98 amanda4242: Thanks, Amanda.
100m.belljackson
>86 PaulCranswick: the first of the Telomian on YouTube are Boring - further down is a fascinating Malaysian tale =
Telomian - the Wild Dog of the Jungle!
Telomian - the Wild Dog of the Jungle!
101RBeffa
>76 PaulCranswick: wowz. That is a few books. I wouldn't mind reading some Le Fanu. The little I have read I enjoyed.
103hredwards
>97 PaulCranswick: It's nice to have someone to look out for us.
104Kristelh
So happy that Hani has returned and bearing gifts too. It is not good for man to be alone. I second that.
105PaulCranswick
>100 m.belljackson: Thank goodness Kuala Lumpur is far away from the National Parks and the Rainforests; climbing dogs would psyche me out, Marianne!
>101 RBeffa: Surprisingly, Ron, Carmilla was chosen by the staff in the bookstore as their book of the month!
>101 RBeffa: Surprisingly, Ron, Carmilla was chosen by the staff in the bookstore as their book of the month!
106PaulCranswick
>102 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi. Ramadan starts tomorrow (Thursday) so we will be able to fast together and more importantly break fast together.
>103 hredwards: Yes it is Harold. I have to say that she is very good in that role!
>103 hredwards: Yes it is Harold. I have to say that she is very good in that role!
107PaulCranswick
>104 Kristelh: Some would say that "mad" was a sort of unconscious slip but I think that, on balance, it well describes Hani's husband!!
108msf59
Happy New Thread, Paul. Hooray for A Manual For Cleaning Women. I LOVED that collection. I even got Joe, who is not a big fan of short fiction to read it and he also loved it. It is too bad Berlin had to pass away at an early age.
109PaulCranswick
>108 msf59: Hi Mark. Yes it is a good collection and a weighty one too.
110Kristelh
>107 PaulCranswick: oops, will fix that
111PaulCranswick
>110 Kristelh: No problem, Kristel, it made me smile. xx
112booksaplenty1949
>106 PaulCranswick: https://www.americamagazine.org/short-take/2026/02/17/lent-and-ramadan-a-time-fo... Lent starting tomorrow (Wednesday) here so we can share the blessings.
114vancouverdeb
I'm glad Hani is home, Paul . Enjoy Ramadan.
115PaulCranswick
>112 booksaplenty1949: Yes the timing is nicely aligned but of course Lent is a little longer than Ramadan.
>113 mdoris: She is very much on form too, Mary.
>113 mdoris: She is very much on form too, Mary.
116humouress
It's nice to know that Hani is home. I'm sorry we missed her. We are back in Singapore but I'm abandoning my husband and heading Down Under with @superboy for a few weeks.
117PaulCranswick
>116 humouress: Ramadan starts tomorrow so I will be doing my best to lose a bit of weight. Nice trip ahead for you both and I am sure that Singapore will still be intact when you return. xx
118richardderus
>87 PaulCranswick: Well, if anyone can sort you out it is The Bosslady so sorted you very soon will be. It helps that it's Ramadan. No sense wasting All that misery of fasting, is there?
119PaulCranswick
>118 richardderus: I don't know whether it is a touch of masochism, RD, but I actually enjoy the enforced discipline of Ramadan. The eating together at the breaking of fast especially.
120johnsimpson
Hi Paul, Happy New Thread mate. You will be glad to have dear Hani back with you even if she says she is going to sort you out. A great thread topper mate, what a player the master blaster was, i was in awe when watching him make 232 at Trent Bridge and then 291 at the Oval in the long hot summer of 1976.
121ocgreg34
>4 PaulCranswick: Nice list so far!!
After I read Beloved, I found non-fiction book called Modern Medea by Steven Weisenburger that was supposed to be Morrison's inspiration for her book. It's a fascinating book if you can find a copy.
After I read Beloved, I found non-fiction book called Modern Medea by Steven Weisenburger that was supposed to be Morrison's inspiration for her book. It's a fascinating book if you can find a copy.
122EllaTim
Hi Paul! Good for you, having Hani back home with you. Even when it’s Ramadan. And getting back in shape feels good too, in the end!
123PaulCranswick
>120 johnsimpson: I remember those innings too, John. What a player he was! Love to you and Karen mate.
>121 ocgreg34: I will look for it, Greg, thank you. Always a pleasure to have you drop by.
>121 ocgreg34: I will look for it, Greg, thank you. Always a pleasure to have you drop by.
124PaulCranswick
>122 EllaTim: I think, Ella, especially when it is Ramadan because breaking the fast together is something I have always loved.
125RebaRelishesReading
>87 PaulCranswick: LOL -- sounds like a lovely reunion. I know you're glad she's back.
126PaulCranswick
>125 RebaRelishesReading: I am of course delighted that she is back, Reba, but there is something distinctly of the Regimental Sergeant-Major about her manner that makes me nervous at the same time.
127PaulCranswick
BOOK #24
The Autumn Throne by Elizabeth Chadwick
Date of Publication : 2016
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Fiction
Challenges : BAC
Pages : 484 pp
This book covers as the title suggests the later part of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine - wife to two kings (Louis of France and then Henry II of England). It covers her incarceration for abetting the uprising against Henry by three of his sons (Henry, Richard and Geoffrey), the death of Henry and her release and her Regency for Richard, her efforts to ransom him and subsequently her guidance of the earlier part of King John's rule.
Very much in the Sharon Penman mold of historical fiction writing and very well realized.
The Autumn Throne by Elizabeth Chadwick
Date of Publication : 2016
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Fiction
Challenges : BAC
Pages : 484 pp
This book covers as the title suggests the later part of the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine - wife to two kings (Louis of France and then Henry II of England). It covers her incarceration for abetting the uprising against Henry by three of his sons (Henry, Richard and Geoffrey), the death of Henry and her release and her Regency for Richard, her efforts to ransom him and subsequently her guidance of the earlier part of King John's rule.
Very much in the Sharon Penman mold of historical fiction writing and very well realized.
128PaulCranswick
BOOK #25
A Manual for Cleaning Ladies by Lucia Berlin
Date of Publication : 2015
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Genre: Short Stories
Challenges : Short Story Challenge (3/26)
Pages : 399 pp
Such a shame that Lucia Berlin's success was so modest in her lifetime. This book propelled her to renown but unfortunately she had died 12 years earlier.
She was a tremendous stylist and hugely suited to this format of writing with the keenest of eyes to observe the minutiae of human existence. There is Raymond Carver here in droves and more enjoyably so I would hazard.
Whilst the title story is a wonderful title, it is possibly the weakest of the tales here. Recommended.
A Manual for Cleaning Ladies by Lucia Berlin
Date of Publication : 2015
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Genre: Short Stories
Challenges : Short Story Challenge (3/26)
Pages : 399 pp
Such a shame that Lucia Berlin's success was so modest in her lifetime. This book propelled her to renown but unfortunately she had died 12 years earlier.
She was a tremendous stylist and hugely suited to this format of writing with the keenest of eyes to observe the minutiae of human existence. There is Raymond Carver here in droves and more enjoyably so I would hazard.
Whilst the title story is a wonderful title, it is possibly the weakest of the tales here. Recommended.
129PaulCranswick
I came across this scribbled in one of my old notebooks
This is a sort of mature Valentine's poem for my good lady wife. By the way just to clarify the third nipple referred to is not actual - it refers to a rather large protruding mole on her collarbone!
BEARS
Every crease, every line, every fold, every blemish
bears testimony to a life lived full.
Crow's feet dapple eye corners put there
by the times I brought you to smile,
by the times I inflicted a frown
and by the cares of a loving but difficult relationship.
The Caesarean scar; keloid and slightly purple -
a reminder of a daughter emerged gasping
and by the love that put it there;
it's ragged acreage a bond immemorial.
That warm, confiding body whose every contour
I have savoured,
whose every cell I have pondered
with it's third nipple and subtle elasticity.
At once familiar yet remaining wondrous.
I cannot abstain from its knowledge
nor envision it's loss henceforward.
This is a sort of mature Valentine's poem for my good lady wife. By the way just to clarify the third nipple referred to is not actual - it refers to a rather large protruding mole on her collarbone!
BEARS
Every crease, every line, every fold, every blemish
bears testimony to a life lived full.
Crow's feet dapple eye corners put there
by the times I brought you to smile,
by the times I inflicted a frown
and by the cares of a loving but difficult relationship.
The Caesarean scar; keloid and slightly purple -
a reminder of a daughter emerged gasping
and by the love that put it there;
it's ragged acreage a bond immemorial.
That warm, confiding body whose every contour
I have savoured,
whose every cell I have pondered
with it's third nipple and subtle elasticity.
At once familiar yet remaining wondrous.
I cannot abstain from its knowledge
nor envision it's loss henceforward.
131PaulCranswick
>130 SandDune: It is indeed, Rhian. We have been too long apart to be honest. Erni on the other hand is, I am sure, less sure that it is a good thing moving from my laissez-faire household management to the scrutiny and criticism of Hani being in charge.
132Dejah_Thoris
>87 PaulCranswick: Congratulations on having Hani safely home!
133PaulCranswick
>132 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you, Princess
134SilverWolf28
Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378812
135PaulCranswick
BOOK #26
Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Non-Fiction
Challenges : Non-Fiction Challenge
Pages : 436 pp
Workaday.
Was Ella Fitzgerald little more than a breathing jukebox. Here it is all about the music, the sessions, the records, the shows, but she hardly scratches the surface of who Ella really was.
As a record of musical longevity it is readable, as a substantive biography of such an important American cultural figure, this is disappointing.
Becoming Ella Fitzgerald by Judith Tick
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Non-Fiction
Challenges : Non-Fiction Challenge
Pages : 436 pp
Workaday.
Was Ella Fitzgerald little more than a breathing jukebox. Here it is all about the music, the sessions, the records, the shows, but she hardly scratches the surface of who Ella really was.
As a record of musical longevity it is readable, as a substantive biography of such an important American cultural figure, this is disappointing.
136PaulCranswick
>134 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver.
137PaulCranswick
Double posted so I will relate that yesterday for the first day of fasting, Hani (and Erni) cooked up a storm with fried mee (noodles), chicken rice, spicy mixed vegetable, roti canai and more.
138Familyhistorian
Wonderful to see that Hani is in charge again. Hopefully Ramadan will jump start your diet, Paul.
139PaulCranswick
I am going to have another go at selecting the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist for 2026 as usual and as usual I expect to be poor at such guesses.
There will always be some off the wall selections - new authors etc that they shine a light on and I haven't heard of. Anyway here goes:
1. Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
2. The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
3. Flashlight by Susan Choi
4. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
5. The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine
6. The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
7. Helm by Sarah Hall
8. Audition by Katie Kitamura
9. The Names by Florence Knapp
10. A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
11. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
14. Endling by Maria Reva
15. The Antidote by Karen Russell
16. Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
There will always be some off the wall selections - new authors etc that they shine a light on and I haven't heard of. Anyway here goes:
1. Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
2. The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
3. Flashlight by Susan Choi
4. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
5. The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine
6. The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
7. Helm by Sarah Hall
8. Audition by Katie Kitamura
9. The Names by Florence Knapp
10. A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
11. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
14. Endling by Maria Reva
15. The Antidote by Karen Russell
16. Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
140PaulCranswick
>138 Familyhistorian: Not if she cooks as much as yesterday, Meg. I am still struggling to stand up straight!
141booksaplenty1949
>140 PaulCranswick: I have heard Ramadan described as “rescheduled eating” rather than “fasting.” I gather it is not uncommon to actually gain weight over the month.
142vancouverdeb
>139 PaulCranswick: I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist, Paul. We'll see how you do. I am not sure what to expect.
143PaulCranswick
>141 booksaplenty1949: It is fasting all right - not even a sip of water during the daylight hours, but it is also true that some Muslims overeat to an extraordinary extent with the sun out of the way for the day.
>142 vancouverdeb: I am sure that there will be a few more slightly obscure picks in the actual list. If I get 5 out of the 16 I will be satisfied.
>142 vancouverdeb: I am sure that there will be a few more slightly obscure picks in the actual list. If I get 5 out of the 16 I will be satisfied.
144booksaplenty1949
>143 PaulCranswick: The water part is truly sacrificial.
145Kristelh
Seems like a pretty good Women’s Prize list. Will be looking forward to seeing how you did.
146PaulCranswick
>144 booksaplenty1949: It is the bit that gets most people. Also the fact that they cannot smoke! I have never smoked a cigarette so that doesn't bother me in the slightest.
147PaulCranswick
>145 Kristelh: If I can predict half of them Kristel a little dance would be in order.
148PaulCranswick
I saw over on Vivian's thread that one of my favourite awards - The Walter Scott Prize has announced its Longlist and an interesting looking list it - as always - is.
Historical fiction -especially of a literary bent is quite possibly my favourite genre. Here is the Longlist with the award blurb included:
VENETIAN VESPERS John Banville
The turn-of-the-twentieth-century tale of English journalist, Evelyn Dolman, whose delayed honeymoon in Venice following his marriage to American heiress Laura Rensselaer falls victim to the tradition of the romantic curse of the city. The pair eventually take up residence in the sinister Palazzo Dioscuri, a stone’s throw from St Mark’s. From the outset, narrator and protagonist Evelyn warns us to expect something disquieting amid the brooding atmosphere of Venice’s wintry chill, so beloved by writers throughout the ages.
THE TWO ROBERTS Damian Barr
Scotland, 1933 and, on his first day at Glasgow School of Art, Bobby MacBryde will meet another Robert – and will never leave his side. Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun’s intertwined story is one of art and class, devotion and obsession. As they together devour 1930s hidden Glasgow, they must also hide their love for each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their now almost-forgotten artistic talents take them all over Europe, and as the continent explodes under WW2 bombs, the bright stars of MacBryde and Colquhoun will also burn, as they pay the devastating price for trying to change the world.
EDEN’S SHORE Oisín Fagan
The eighteenth century is almost at its close, and Irishman Angel Kelly sets sail from Liverpool aboard the Atlas with the intention of creating a Utopian commune in Brazil. But a mutiny on board means Kelly finds himself stranded on the coast of an unnamed Spanish colony in Latin America, and the aftermath leaves Kelly unwittingly caught up in a series of crises, culminating in displacement, rebellion and a deadly game of chase between empires. Populated by a cast of revolutionaries and pirates, capitalists and aristocrats, sailors and soldiers, slaves and spies, and set in an era of global upheaval, Eden’s Shore is tale of greed, revenge and love.
HELM Sarah Hall Owned
Helm has blasted Cumbria’s Eden Valley since the dawn of time. A ferocious, mischievous wind which has been the subject of wonder and folklore down the centuries, Helm is the central character as Sarah Hall weaves the story around the chronicles of those who have been bewitched by it through the ages, anchored in the symbiotic relationship between people and nature. From the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate Helm to the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish it; from the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture it to the farmer’s daughter who fell in love with it; and now Dr Selima Sutar, surrounded by her measuring instruments, alone in her observation hut, fearing the end is nigh.
THE PRETENDER Jo Harkin
England, 1483, and the country is in peril. Hated King Richard III is not long for the throne, and the man who will become Henry VII is ready to snatch the crown for himself. In a remote village far from royal tumult, twelve-year-old John Collan lives a simple life with his widowed father. But history has other plans for young John. Having been stolen from his family and exiled – first to Oxford, then to Burgundy, and then Ireland John is being groomed for power. He is no longer John Collan but, instead, Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick and rightful heir to the throne. Far from home at the Irish court and preparing for a war that will see him either take his place as rightful king or die trying, John has only his own intuition and the unreliable counsel of his host’s daughter, Joan, to navigate his destiny as he is tossed into the chaos of history unfolding.
BOUNDARY WATERS Tristan Hughes
Set in Lower Canada at the dawn of the nineteenth century, Boundary Waters tells the story of Arthur Stanton, a young man lacking direction and desperately seeking the approval of his father. Inspired by tales of travellers, he signs up to join the fur trade, and, with a ragtag band of voyageurs, embarks on an epic journey north. Set during an era of shifting boundaries between nations and cultures, amid the starkly beautiful landscapes of the upper great lakes, Arthur’s journey becomes a tragicomic story of fortune-seeking, ill-starred love and redemption, in a land where misapprehensions can be fatal.
THE MATCHBOX GIRL Alice Jolly
It is 1938 in Vienna and young Adelheid Brunner does not speak. Instead, she writes and draws, and her dream is to own one thousand matchboxes. An utter mystery to her grandmother, Adelheid will stop at nothing to achieve her dream. Then Adelheid meets Dr Asperger, who lets children play all day and who understands the importance of matchboxes. He invites Adelheid to come and live at his Vienna paediatric clinic, where she, and other children like her, will live under his observation. But Vienna is not a safe place to be in 1938, and when the Nazis march into the city, a new terrible world is created, one of violence and fear and difficult choices. Why are the clinic’s children disappearing, and where do they go? Adelheid starts to suspect that some of Dr Asperger’s games are played for the very highest stakes. To survive, she too must play a game whose rules she cannot yet understand.
EDENGLASSIE Melissa Lucashenko Owned
Set across two centuries, Edenglassie opens in 1854, as Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Brisbane – or Edenglassie, as it was once briefly known – where his community still outnumbers the British settlers. Initially, tensions simmer amid a fragile peace, but when colonial unrest is unleashed, Mulanyin’s passion for his new bride stands in direct opposition to his loyalty to his threatened homeland. Cut to modern day, and fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny when her grandmother Eddie has a fall. Thanks to a shrewd journalist, Eddie becomes a local celebrity, dominating the headlines as ‘Queensland’s Oldest Aboriginal’, and bringing past and present crashing together with consequences for Eddie and Winona that they could never have predicted.
BENBECULA Graeme Macrae Burnet
On the remote Scottish island of Benbecula, on 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate, murdered his father, mother and aunt. Tried at Inverness, he was found to be criminally insane and spent the rest of his life in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison. Graeme Macrae Burnet recounts the gruesome story – a narrative about madness, murder and the uncertain nature of the self – through the eyes of Angus’s older brother, Malcolm, now himself ostracised by the community, living an isolated existence, and haunted by his traumatic past – all while he tries to keep a grip on his own sanity.
ONCE THE DEED IS DONE Rachel Seiffert READ
Set in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, Once the Deed is Done sees Ruth Novak, a 32-year-old Red Cross volunteer from England, arrive at one of the Northern German factories that has propped up Hitler’s war machine through the forced labour of Poles and Ukrainians. There she finds that the guards have fled, that paperwork has been burned, and that hundreds of hungry men have been left stranded within. But where are the women? Meanwhile, young Benno has been witness to something he barely understands – to women fleeing in the snowy night, to soldiers and strangers, to townspeople closing ranks – and now he and the other town children are curious about the refugees on their doorstep.
THE ARTIST Lucy Steeds READ
A sweltering summer in Provence, 1920, and Ettie moves through her uncle’s remote farmhouse, silently making his artistic genius possible. Joseph, an aspiring journalist, has been invited to the house, believing that interviewing the reclusive painter Edouard Tartuffe will make his professional reputation. But everyone has their secrets. Ettie has spent years cultivating hers. But now she is ready to be seen, even if it means setting light to her entire world amid the oppressive heat of that Provence summer.
SEASCRAPER Benjamin Wood Owned
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He is, at heart, a folk musician, but that dream remains private. Instead, he rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey beach to scrape for shrimp, before spending the rest of his day selling what he has found, attempting to wash away the salt and scum from his skin, pining for local girl Joan Wyeth, and practising songs on his guitar. One day, a striking American visitor arrives, bringing with him a promise of Hollywood glamour that Thomas cannot resist. But is the stranger from afar telling the truth, and can his inspiration really carry Thomas away from his life of drudgery?
Historical fiction -especially of a literary bent is quite possibly my favourite genre. Here is the Longlist with the award blurb included:
VENETIAN VESPERS John Banville
The turn-of-the-twentieth-century tale of English journalist, Evelyn Dolman, whose delayed honeymoon in Venice following his marriage to American heiress Laura Rensselaer falls victim to the tradition of the romantic curse of the city. The pair eventually take up residence in the sinister Palazzo Dioscuri, a stone’s throw from St Mark’s. From the outset, narrator and protagonist Evelyn warns us to expect something disquieting amid the brooding atmosphere of Venice’s wintry chill, so beloved by writers throughout the ages.
THE TWO ROBERTS Damian Barr
Scotland, 1933 and, on his first day at Glasgow School of Art, Bobby MacBryde will meet another Robert – and will never leave his side. Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun’s intertwined story is one of art and class, devotion and obsession. As they together devour 1930s hidden Glasgow, they must also hide their love for each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their now almost-forgotten artistic talents take them all over Europe, and as the continent explodes under WW2 bombs, the bright stars of MacBryde and Colquhoun will also burn, as they pay the devastating price for trying to change the world.
EDEN’S SHORE Oisín Fagan
The eighteenth century is almost at its close, and Irishman Angel Kelly sets sail from Liverpool aboard the Atlas with the intention of creating a Utopian commune in Brazil. But a mutiny on board means Kelly finds himself stranded on the coast of an unnamed Spanish colony in Latin America, and the aftermath leaves Kelly unwittingly caught up in a series of crises, culminating in displacement, rebellion and a deadly game of chase between empires. Populated by a cast of revolutionaries and pirates, capitalists and aristocrats, sailors and soldiers, slaves and spies, and set in an era of global upheaval, Eden’s Shore is tale of greed, revenge and love.
HELM Sarah Hall Owned
Helm has blasted Cumbria’s Eden Valley since the dawn of time. A ferocious, mischievous wind which has been the subject of wonder and folklore down the centuries, Helm is the central character as Sarah Hall weaves the story around the chronicles of those who have been bewitched by it through the ages, anchored in the symbiotic relationship between people and nature. From the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate Helm to the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish it; from the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture it to the farmer’s daughter who fell in love with it; and now Dr Selima Sutar, surrounded by her measuring instruments, alone in her observation hut, fearing the end is nigh.
THE PRETENDER Jo Harkin
England, 1483, and the country is in peril. Hated King Richard III is not long for the throne, and the man who will become Henry VII is ready to snatch the crown for himself. In a remote village far from royal tumult, twelve-year-old John Collan lives a simple life with his widowed father. But history has other plans for young John. Having been stolen from his family and exiled – first to Oxford, then to Burgundy, and then Ireland John is being groomed for power. He is no longer John Collan but, instead, Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick and rightful heir to the throne. Far from home at the Irish court and preparing for a war that will see him either take his place as rightful king or die trying, John has only his own intuition and the unreliable counsel of his host’s daughter, Joan, to navigate his destiny as he is tossed into the chaos of history unfolding.
BOUNDARY WATERS Tristan Hughes
Set in Lower Canada at the dawn of the nineteenth century, Boundary Waters tells the story of Arthur Stanton, a young man lacking direction and desperately seeking the approval of his father. Inspired by tales of travellers, he signs up to join the fur trade, and, with a ragtag band of voyageurs, embarks on an epic journey north. Set during an era of shifting boundaries between nations and cultures, amid the starkly beautiful landscapes of the upper great lakes, Arthur’s journey becomes a tragicomic story of fortune-seeking, ill-starred love and redemption, in a land where misapprehensions can be fatal.
THE MATCHBOX GIRL Alice Jolly
It is 1938 in Vienna and young Adelheid Brunner does not speak. Instead, she writes and draws, and her dream is to own one thousand matchboxes. An utter mystery to her grandmother, Adelheid will stop at nothing to achieve her dream. Then Adelheid meets Dr Asperger, who lets children play all day and who understands the importance of matchboxes. He invites Adelheid to come and live at his Vienna paediatric clinic, where she, and other children like her, will live under his observation. But Vienna is not a safe place to be in 1938, and when the Nazis march into the city, a new terrible world is created, one of violence and fear and difficult choices. Why are the clinic’s children disappearing, and where do they go? Adelheid starts to suspect that some of Dr Asperger’s games are played for the very highest stakes. To survive, she too must play a game whose rules she cannot yet understand.
EDENGLASSIE Melissa Lucashenko Owned
Set across two centuries, Edenglassie opens in 1854, as Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Brisbane – or Edenglassie, as it was once briefly known – where his community still outnumbers the British settlers. Initially, tensions simmer amid a fragile peace, but when colonial unrest is unleashed, Mulanyin’s passion for his new bride stands in direct opposition to his loyalty to his threatened homeland. Cut to modern day, and fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny when her grandmother Eddie has a fall. Thanks to a shrewd journalist, Eddie becomes a local celebrity, dominating the headlines as ‘Queensland’s Oldest Aboriginal’, and bringing past and present crashing together with consequences for Eddie and Winona that they could never have predicted.
BENBECULA Graeme Macrae Burnet
On the remote Scottish island of Benbecula, on 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate, murdered his father, mother and aunt. Tried at Inverness, he was found to be criminally insane and spent the rest of his life in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison. Graeme Macrae Burnet recounts the gruesome story – a narrative about madness, murder and the uncertain nature of the self – through the eyes of Angus’s older brother, Malcolm, now himself ostracised by the community, living an isolated existence, and haunted by his traumatic past – all while he tries to keep a grip on his own sanity.
ONCE THE DEED IS DONE Rachel Seiffert READ
Set in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, Once the Deed is Done sees Ruth Novak, a 32-year-old Red Cross volunteer from England, arrive at one of the Northern German factories that has propped up Hitler’s war machine through the forced labour of Poles and Ukrainians. There she finds that the guards have fled, that paperwork has been burned, and that hundreds of hungry men have been left stranded within. But where are the women? Meanwhile, young Benno has been witness to something he barely understands – to women fleeing in the snowy night, to soldiers and strangers, to townspeople closing ranks – and now he and the other town children are curious about the refugees on their doorstep.
THE ARTIST Lucy Steeds READ
A sweltering summer in Provence, 1920, and Ettie moves through her uncle’s remote farmhouse, silently making his artistic genius possible. Joseph, an aspiring journalist, has been invited to the house, believing that interviewing the reclusive painter Edouard Tartuffe will make his professional reputation. But everyone has their secrets. Ettie has spent years cultivating hers. But now she is ready to be seen, even if it means setting light to her entire world amid the oppressive heat of that Provence summer.
SEASCRAPER Benjamin Wood Owned
Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He is, at heart, a folk musician, but that dream remains private. Instead, he rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey beach to scrape for shrimp, before spending the rest of his day selling what he has found, attempting to wash away the salt and scum from his skin, pining for local girl Joan Wyeth, and practising songs on his guitar. One day, a striking American visitor arrives, bringing with him a promise of Hollywood glamour that Thomas cannot resist. But is the stranger from afar telling the truth, and can his inspiration really carry Thomas away from his life of drudgery?
149booksaplenty1949
My copy of Notre Dame de Paris is 733 pages and I must say that I am not tearing through it at anything near your pace, despite the fact that I am mostly skipping the blizzard of footnotes on every page of my edition. Did read the lively Introduction which discussed Hugo’s use of the historical setting to explore contemporary French politics.
150PaulCranswick
>149 booksaplenty1949: I enjoyed it but I didn't think it was on nearly the same level as Les Miserables
151avatiakh
>148 PaulCranswick: A few of those look like interesting reads. I've had Benbecula out from the library for some weeks, holding off from reading it as i want to finish His Bloody Project first but running out of loan time.
I'll look out for The Matchbox Girl.
I'll look out for The Matchbox Girl.
152PaulCranswick
>151 avatiakh: I like Burnet, Kerry, and he seems to have a particular niche to his writing. I will have a look in the book stores here and see if there are any I can add.
153Kristelh
Thanks for posting that list Paul. I will have to research the books and see which I can locate. I do like literary historical fiction if it is well done and researched.
Recently read The Betrothed. This is a great historical novel.
Recently read The Betrothed. This is a great historical novel.
154alcottacre
>87 PaulCranswick: Wonderful!
>89 PaulCranswick: Even better!
>127 PaulCranswick: My local library has exactly one of Chadwick's books and it was not that one. I am going to have to look further afield.
>135 PaulCranswick: It is too bad that the biography was not better. I guess I will give that one a pass.
>139 PaulCranswick: And I have read none of those titles either. . .
>148 PaulCranswick: Oh, nice! I am a big historical fiction fan so the Walter Scott Prize is the one for me.
Happy whatever to you and Hani, Paul!
>89 PaulCranswick: Even better!
>127 PaulCranswick: My local library has exactly one of Chadwick's books and it was not that one. I am going to have to look further afield.
>135 PaulCranswick: It is too bad that the biography was not better. I guess I will give that one a pass.
>139 PaulCranswick: And I have read none of those titles either. . .
>148 PaulCranswick: Oh, nice! I am a big historical fiction fan so the Walter Scott Prize is the one for me.
Happy whatever to you and Hani, Paul!
155PaulCranswick
>153 Kristelh: I read it last year and it is a good old fashioned romp of a story, Kristel, isn't it?
156PaulCranswick
>154 alcottacre: I expected so much more from the biography of Ella, Stasia. Well researched in terms of her recording and performing career but there was an absence of insight somehow.
157m.belljackson
>156 PaulCranswick:>154 - You might want to check out the JAZZ titles I noted on Nonfiction challenge = Lots of insights!
158mahsdad
>148 PaulCranswick:. Hi Paul, Happy Weekend
Helm. I think I must read this for a not “too” obvious reason. 😂
Helm. I think I must read this for a not “too” obvious reason. 😂
159Familyhistorian
Ohh, book lists! You've reminded me that I should get back to Benbecula before I have to take it back to the library. Best of luck with your fasting/diet.
160booksaplenty1949
>156 PaulCranswick: I have read insightful, entertaining books about people I had no real interest in, and complete duds about far more intrinsically worthwhile ones. When a biographer has clearly failed to connect with his/her subject the exercise is quite painful.
161PaulCranswick
>157 m.belljackson: Yes, Marianne, I would certainly bow to your superior knowledge and experience in this regard! I will go and have a look. The biography fell down not because of a lack of knowledge of the music - I think that the author loved her songs but she didn't look to far beyond that.
>158 mahsdad: Hahaha Jeff, I wonder! Who would have thought your lineage may have come from a wind?!
>158 mahsdad: Hahaha Jeff, I wonder! Who would have thought your lineage may have come from a wind?!
162PaulCranswick
>159 Familyhistorian: Thank you Meg. I love this time of year funnily enough. We are three days done or 10%. Hani has a date with three of her friends for breaking fast this evening but she will make me a favourite of mine for my own fasting.
>160 booksaplenty1949: It had a robotic empty feeling which surprised me because the subject was certainly not robotic.
>160 booksaplenty1949: It had a robotic empty feeling which surprised me because the subject was certainly not robotic.
163vancouverdeb
>148 PaulCranswick: As you probably know I am a huge fan of historical fiction as well, Paul . Of the books listed I have read BENBECULA and Seascraper. Both are quite short. I reviewed them both, and I must say I think it takes a strong stomach to read Benbecula. I'll see what other of the books I get too. I"ve read a couple of books from the series by John Banville and was not too taken by them.
164PaulCranswick
>163 vancouverdeb: I do know that, Deb, and our reading so often aligns. Banville is a very hit and miss author for me. I have a number of his on the shelves and I find that his mystery books mainly written as Benjamin Black are more atmospherically enjoyable. Sometimes I think he is just too clever for his own good. He reminds me of a sort of Irish version of Julian Barnes.
165booksaplenty1949
>162 PaulCranswick: I was similarly disappointed by Edward White’s bio of Carl Van Vechten. It was very thorough and scholarly, but I felt that White didn’t really understand why anyone was interested in this man. Perhaps he found Princess Diana a more congenial subject, although I see the word “academic textbook” in one of the LT reviews of Dianaworld.
166PaulCranswick
>165 booksaplenty1949: I think I wanted to know more about the subject not just what songs she recorded and what shows she gave.
167booksaplenty1949
>166 PaulCranswick: Check out review of Ruth Crawford Seeger by the same author.
169PaulCranswick
The Daily Telegraph asked the erudite and opinionated Simon Heffer to select his 20 Essential Works of History. Obviously given the paper and the selector this is a very Anglo-centric but no less interesting (at least to me for that).
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/best-history-books/
His selections (roughly chronologically):
1. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon
2. The History of the Crusades by Runciman
3. The Hundred Years War by Sumption
4. History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth by Froude
5. Roundhead Reputations by Worden
6. The Noble Revolt by Adamson
7. The History of England from the Accession of James II by Babington Macaulay
8. The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle
9. Gold and Iron by Stern
10. The Expansion of England by Seeley
11. The Secularisation of the European Mind by Chadwick
12. The Sleepwalkers by Clark
13. The First World War by Hew Strachan
14. The Strange Death of Liberal England by Dangerfield
15. English History 1914-1945 by Taylor
16. The Third Reich: A New History by Burleigh
17. The People's War by Calder
18. France: The Dark Years by Jackson
19. The Pride and Fall Sequence by Barnett
20. The End of History and the Last Man by Fukuyama
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/best-history-books/
His selections (roughly chronologically):
1. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon
2. The History of the Crusades by Runciman
3. The Hundred Years War by Sumption
4. History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth by Froude
5. Roundhead Reputations by Worden
6. The Noble Revolt by Adamson
7. The History of England from the Accession of James II by Babington Macaulay
8. The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle
9. Gold and Iron by Stern
10. The Expansion of England by Seeley
11. The Secularisation of the European Mind by Chadwick
12. The Sleepwalkers by Clark
13. The First World War by Hew Strachan
14. The Strange Death of Liberal England by Dangerfield
15. English History 1914-1945 by Taylor
16. The Third Reich: A New History by Burleigh
17. The People's War by Calder
18. France: The Dark Years by Jackson
19. The Pride and Fall Sequence by Barnett
20. The End of History and the Last Man by Fukuyama
170PaulCranswick
BOOK #27
The Separation by Christopher Priest
Date of Publication : 2002
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Genre (SF/Fantasy) Speculative fiction
Awards : Arthur C. Clarke Prize
Pages : 405 pp
This is a brilliant feat of literary deceitfulness.
Twins, two sides of the same coin, but two different stories. Which one is true? Are they both untrue? Are they both true?
Priest takes on dopplegangers, doubles, and propaganda and pulls it off without having to really explain our lack of complete comprehension.
Recommended.
The Separation by Christopher Priest
Date of Publication : 2002
Origin of Author : UK
Gender of Author : Male
Genre (SF/Fantasy) Speculative fiction
Awards : Arthur C. Clarke Prize
Pages : 405 pp
This is a brilliant feat of literary deceitfulness.
Twins, two sides of the same coin, but two different stories. Which one is true? Are they both untrue? Are they both true?
Priest takes on dopplegangers, doubles, and propaganda and pulls it off without having to really explain our lack of complete comprehension.
Recommended.
171booksaplenty1949
>169 PaulCranswick: #13 and #14 should be reversed if we are looking at chronology. The Liberal Party, the subject of Dangerfield’s very interesting book, collapsed in the run-up to WW I.
172PaulCranswick
>169 PaulCranswick: No I think it is just about right. Strachan's history actually only takes us up to 1916 which is about the time that the Liberal government imploded in recriminations over Asquith's style and the more quixotic Lloyd-George. It was only after the War that they were fully and properly trounced in elections. The 1918 election was a weird affair with a National Party Liberal Coalition splitting the Liberal vote which they did again in 1922 when Labour finally became the official opposition but the two Liberal Parties (one lead by Asquith and one by Lloyd George still commanded almost 27% of the vote). It was the fracture between those behind Asquith and those behind Lloyd-George that quickened the death of Liberal England and as such this was only truly felt after the war and so the ordering is just about OK.
173PaulCranswick
The International Booker Prize Longlist has been announced and there were some familiar ones on the list and some that many will be surprised missed out (Jon Fosse) in particular.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NQRYLm_4cwg
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NQRYLm_4cwg
174amanda4242
>173 PaulCranswick: The Witch?! That steaming pile of $*%# made the list?! Yet another reminder of why I don't follow that prize.
175PaulCranswick
>174 amanda4242: So I guess you won't want that one to make the shortlist, Amanda! Every longlist has a couple of books that amaze me that they managed to get published never mind put forward for a major prize.
176amanda4242
>175 PaulCranswick: Every longlist has a couple of books that amaze me that they managed to get published never mind put forward for a major prize.
This. 100% this.
This. 100% this.
177PaulCranswick
>176 amanda4242: Hahaha, I love it when you get animated about a book you pretty much ensure that I will not be prioritizing that one.
178ChrisG1
>170 PaulCranswick: I recently read my first Christopher Priest novel - The Prestige - and now I've got to read a bunch more!
179PaulCranswick
>178 ChrisG1: I will certainly go and look for more too, Chris. Screwing with my mind for most of the novel but it sort of made sense at the end.
180booksaplenty1949
>172 PaulCranswick: You sound pretty authoritative here so I stand corrected.
181PaulCranswick
>180 booksaplenty1949: I was always fascinated by the rivalry between Asquith and Lloyd-George whose animus changed the course of British politics as much as anyone did in the last two hundred years.
182EllaTim
>173 PaulCranswick: I’m glad The Remembered Soldier is on the list. I liked that one.
183PaulCranswick
BOOK #28
Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch
Date of Publication : 2025
Origin of Author : UK (Anglo-Irish)
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Poetry
Pages : 155pp
Murdoch the novelist - one of the most important of the second half of the twentieth century.
Murdoch the philosopher - nowadays a little overlooked as a philosopher, I remember she was much valued as a thinker by my old seat of learning, Warwick University which awarded her a honorary degree in 1979.
Murdoch the poet - well never until now. These poems were found amongst her papers and handwritten manuscripts in the attic of her husband, John Bayly.
What they reveal is someone technically exceptional - especially in the sonnet and hugely confessional. Iris Murdoch was famously free with her favours and lived and loved to the full - both men and women feeling the wrathful warmth of her passions. Some of the poems which "celebrate" and commemorate her feelings for the manifold loves, lovers, confidantes and friends are viscerally raw, graphic in detail and simply splendid. Interestingly the ardor of the poems to her husband, John Bayly, are less ardent and more brimming with fondness.
This is an early poem to the unidentified "M.S." and called simply "To M.S."
She doesn't know I love her - for I hide
My love under a casual relationship.
She cannot feel it burning in my hands
When I touch her cool white hands.
She cannot see it blazing in my eyes
When I look into her calm grey eyes.
She cannot hear it trembling in my voice
When I speak to her. She will never know
My love - and never love me. Yet she gives
Me bright gifts unconsciously.
Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch
Date of Publication : 2025
Origin of Author : UK (Anglo-Irish)
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Poetry
Pages : 155pp
Murdoch the novelist - one of the most important of the second half of the twentieth century.
Murdoch the philosopher - nowadays a little overlooked as a philosopher, I remember she was much valued as a thinker by my old seat of learning, Warwick University which awarded her a honorary degree in 1979.
Murdoch the poet - well never until now. These poems were found amongst her papers and handwritten manuscripts in the attic of her husband, John Bayly.
What they reveal is someone technically exceptional - especially in the sonnet and hugely confessional. Iris Murdoch was famously free with her favours and lived and loved to the full - both men and women feeling the wrathful warmth of her passions. Some of the poems which "celebrate" and commemorate her feelings for the manifold loves, lovers, confidantes and friends are viscerally raw, graphic in detail and simply splendid. Interestingly the ardor of the poems to her husband, John Bayly, are less ardent and more brimming with fondness.
This is an early poem to the unidentified "M.S." and called simply "To M.S."
She doesn't know I love her - for I hide
My love under a casual relationship.
She cannot feel it burning in my hands
When I touch her cool white hands.
She cannot see it blazing in my eyes
When I look into her calm grey eyes.
She cannot hear it trembling in my voice
When I speak to her. She will never know
My love - and never love me. Yet she gives
Me bright gifts unconsciously.
184PaulCranswick
>182 EllaTim: It is definitely one of the books on the list I would be most interested in, Ella.
185booksaplenty1949
>183 PaulCranswick: Her novels hold no appeal for me, although I own all the Penguin ones for their Harri Peccinotti covers. But this poem is compelling.
186PaulCranswick
>185 booksaplenty1949: I was surprised how much I enjoyed some of the poetry in her secret stash. I like some of the novels - especially when I was younger - but I have found that differentiating one from the other is not always easy after a while.
187booksaplenty1949
Finished Question 7, at your recommendation. Mixed feelings. Of course a memoir is “self-regarding”—-that’s the point. But I often didn’t find the author as interesting as he clearly finds himself and dear old Mum and Dad. Australian victimhood, lashing out at Oxford, a bore. Discussion of the atom bomb was thought-provoking, although Szilard narrative owed a lot to Flanagan’s (acknowledged) sources. But definitely best part of the book for me.
188PaulCranswick
>187 booksaplenty1949: I obviously liked it much more than you did - thought it was really well written - but we can't all like the same things always!
189booksaplenty1949
>188 PaulCranswick: Have you read other things by Flanagan? I thought his prose was first-rate; maybe a novel rather than a memoir would get me past my issues.
190PaulCranswick
>189 booksaplenty1949: I read his Booker winner The Narrow Road to the Deep North which I liked but wasn't blown away by.
191booksaplenty1949
>190 PaulCranswick: I see from the description that the novel deals with a soldier taken prisoner by the Japanese in WW II, a subject of interest to me—-and obviously to Flanagan, son of a survivor. Possibly sparked for me by watching Tenko many years ago.
192richardderus
>169 PaulCranswick: A list that practically screams, "I'M A FARAGE MAN! IN 1939 I'D HAVE SUPPORTED MOSELY!"
*shudder*
*shudder*
193PaulCranswick
>191 booksaplenty1949: Yes it is his father's story again here really. I seem to remember a sort of dual timeline plot but it is some time since I read it.
>192 richardderus: Not sure that that is entirely fair RD. AJP Taylor was a hero of mine growing up and a very ardent socialist. I admit that the books are generally relating to British history but some of the classics are very good books to be fair and much of the content and themes are anything but reactionary or ultra nationalistic. Even the imperialistic book by Seeley advocated against the benefits of "retaining" India but it must be acknowledged that, despite having views that have been disabused nowadays, it was enormously influential 140 years ago. It would not have been on my own list and neither would Dangerfield's but it was tremendously well written. Clark's book takes the view that it was unfair to blame Germany for WWI which would have hardly been Oswald Mosley's position in 1939.
I will allow that the inclusion of Fukuyama is something of an outrider and his role in promoting war with Iraq is something to be despised certainly. Mosley was a strange and odious character - he was firstly a member of the Conservative Party, then was in the Labour Party for seven years until 1931, serving as a minister under Ramsay MacDonald before becoming disillusioned in the Great Depression and being seduced by the racist and anti-semitic sloganeering of Mussolini and Hitler. Farage is a different kettle of fish to Mosely and more dangerous as he has an affable charm to mask the paucity of his policies.
>192 richardderus: Not sure that that is entirely fair RD. AJP Taylor was a hero of mine growing up and a very ardent socialist. I admit that the books are generally relating to British history but some of the classics are very good books to be fair and much of the content and themes are anything but reactionary or ultra nationalistic. Even the imperialistic book by Seeley advocated against the benefits of "retaining" India but it must be acknowledged that, despite having views that have been disabused nowadays, it was enormously influential 140 years ago. It would not have been on my own list and neither would Dangerfield's but it was tremendously well written. Clark's book takes the view that it was unfair to blame Germany for WWI which would have hardly been Oswald Mosley's position in 1939.
I will allow that the inclusion of Fukuyama is something of an outrider and his role in promoting war with Iraq is something to be despised certainly. Mosley was a strange and odious character - he was firstly a member of the Conservative Party, then was in the Labour Party for seven years until 1931, serving as a minister under Ramsay MacDonald before becoming disillusioned in the Great Depression and being seduced by the racist and anti-semitic sloganeering of Mussolini and Hitler. Farage is a different kettle of fish to Mosely and more dangerous as he has an affable charm to mask the paucity of his policies.
194richardderus
>193 PaulCranswick: Okay...you're going to know more than I do about the topic, it's your country. I'm pretty repulsed by everything I've ever read about Mosely, from a Mitford perspective or a Depression-era UK perspective, he's an opportunist sleaze with easy to sway hatreds common to his class.
Fukuyama's book is neoliberal codswallop.
Fukuyama's book is neoliberal codswallop.
195PaulCranswick
>193 PaulCranswick: Agree completely, RD. Mosley's ideas were as repulsive to the Brits in the 1930s as they remain today. I cannot think of a single redeeming feature of the guy.
Fukuyama's name adequately describes my reaction to much of his thinking. So again agree completely.
Fukuyama's name adequately describes my reaction to much of his thinking. So again agree completely.
197alcottacre
>156 PaulCranswick: That had to be a disappointing read then! I have not finished it quite yet - I will be done with it by Saturday, but one of the books Caroline recommended is Red Comet about Sylvia Plath and it is excellent.
>169 PaulCranswick: An interesting list. I have not even heard of most of those books.
>170 PaulCranswick: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Paul.
>173 PaulCranswick: I hope The Remembered Soldier wins! Of course, it is the only one on the list that I have read, but it was excellent.
Happy whatever to you and Hani!
>169 PaulCranswick: An interesting list. I have not even heard of most of those books.
>170 PaulCranswick: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Paul.
>173 PaulCranswick: I hope The Remembered Soldier wins! Of course, it is the only one on the list that I have read, but it was excellent.
Happy whatever to you and Hani!
198booksaplenty1949
>195 PaulCranswick: Mosley’s ideas were/are repulsive, but his career, as you point out, took many dramatic turns. The TV miniseries Mosley, based on Rules of the Game/Beyond the Pale, two volumes of biography by Mosley’s son, is a riveting look at this manipulative man.
199PaulCranswick
>196 amanda4242: Yay! This is one month where my choices off the shelves runs to several hundred!
>197 alcottacre: The Priest book is not quite my genre, Stasia, but it was really well done.
The Remembered Soldier is not in the stores here yet but I will look for it.
>197 alcottacre: The Priest book is not quite my genre, Stasia, but it was really well done.
The Remembered Soldier is not in the stores here yet but I will look for it.
200PaulCranswick
>200 PaulCranswick: Churchill went from Conservative to Liberal to Conservative but the differences between the parties at that stage was less marked than it became.
Mosely went from Conservative to Labour to Fascist. Or from Right to Left to Far Right. Quite extraordinary.
Mosely went from Conservative to Labour to Fascist. Or from Right to Left to Far Right. Quite extraordinary.
201SilverWolf28
Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/379026
202PaulCranswick
>201 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver
203Berly
>170 PaulCranswick: The Separation!! OOHH! You got me with that. Onto the WL it goes. : )
204PaulCranswick
>203 Berly: You like the genre more than me too, I think, Kimmers! Genuinely a winner.
205PaulCranswick
My page count this year isn't at all bad but my book number is below target.
I am working on finishing four or five books in the time left this month. Let's see how I do.
I am working on finishing four or five books in the time left this month. Let's see how I do.
206alcottacre
>205 PaulCranswick: I am working on finishing four or five books in the time left this month. Let's see how I do. You are not alone, Paul. I am doing the same.
207PaulCranswick
>206 alcottacre: Yes but you are already at 60 books done, Stasia! xx
208alcottacre
>207 PaulCranswick: What has that got to do with the number I still need to read in February? Lol
Besides, I have a lot more time on my hands than you do :)
Besides, I have a lot more time on my hands than you do :)
209PaulCranswick
>208 alcottacre: True and true again!
210Familyhistorian
>193 PaulCranswick: Thanks for highlighting the twists and turns of Mosley's career. I was only aware of the Battle of Cable Street from the POV of family history as my gran and grandad ran a pub on Dock Street which makes me wonder how the "battle" played out through their eyes.
Best of luck finishing those tomes for the end of the month!
Best of luck finishing those tomes for the end of the month!
211booksaplenty1949
I’ll be happy to finish Notre Dame de Paris soon enough to join the March discussion of the next Zola novel in a timely fashion for the group read. Tess_W, our Dear Leader, generously allows two months for each Zola novel but I have FOMO if I can’t join the discussion right away.
213thornton37814
Just saying "hi" as I try to catch up on threads.
214beeg
Hi Paul, still trying to catch up and ya know what, I can see it’s not gonna happen. I read where the red fern grows in elementry school and it was the first book that made me cry.
215PaulCranswick
>210 Familyhistorian: Meg, some people are drawing parallels between the 1930s and the 2020s but I don't quite see it myself. The parties on extremes on both left and right are anaemic by the standards of that turbulent decade. The books are continuing to a reasonable conclusion hopefully, Meg.
>211 booksaplenty1949: You seem to be making slightly more heavy weather of The Hunchback than I did. My next book and almost done for the time machine challenge is Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving.
>211 booksaplenty1949: You seem to be making slightly more heavy weather of The Hunchback than I did. My next book and almost done for the time machine challenge is Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving.
216PaulCranswick
>212 alcottacre: Thank you on both counts dear Stasia. xx
I will get some of them done at least.
>213 thornton37814: Always a pleasure to see you active, Lori. xx
I will get some of them done at least.
>213 thornton37814: Always a pleasure to see you active, Lori. xx
217PaulCranswick
>214 beeg: I don't think catching up matters all that much to be honest. Just go at whatever pace you enjoy or are comfortable with and dip in as and when it suits you best.
Lovely to see you here, certainly.
Lovely to see you here, certainly.
218booksaplenty1949
>215 PaulCranswick: Reading it in French is definitely slower going for me. I am pacing myself, at the moment, with Flashman’s Lady, and quite enjoying, as I expected, although the first 90 pages were entirely devoted to cricket, which is also a foreign language to me.
219booksaplenty1949
Apropos of the strange visit of jackson22 to your last thread, apparently LT is being inundated with student “members” seeking to get around bans/blocks on accessing social media and other sites on school property. Admin seems to be playing whack-a-mole. Discussed today in group Talk about LibraryThing under topic “Fighting nonsense.”
220PaulCranswick
>218 booksaplenty1949: Oh of course, I had forgotten that you were reading it in French! It would take me longer still. I love the Flashman books but it is decidedly English in its world-view and Victorian English at that!
>219 booksaplenty1949: I did feel that he or she was pretty juvenile in the art of communication.
>219 booksaplenty1949: I did feel that he or she was pretty juvenile in the art of communication.
221witchyrichy
>127 PaulCranswick: Sounds like a good read...I enjoy Chadwick's work and am an Eleanor of Aquitaine fan girl.
>129 PaulCranswick: Lovely tribute.
>148 PaulCranswick: I was not familiar with this prize. The list sounds fascinating but I am not sure BENBECULA is for me. I did add Boundary Waters, The Pretender and The Artist made it my list. Historical fiction is my first choice.
>129 PaulCranswick: Lovely tribute.
>148 PaulCranswick: I was not familiar with this prize. The list sounds fascinating but I am not sure BENBECULA is for me. I did add Boundary Waters, The Pretender and The Artist made it my list. Historical fiction is my first choice.
222PaulCranswick
>221 witchyrichy: She is England's version of Sharon Penman and I really like that method of storytelling and recreation. Historical fiction is a favourite of mine too which is why the Walter Scott Prize is high on my list of prizes to watch.
The poem to Hani was written at a difficult time in our relationship which, I suppose many couples face during their lives together and love either endures and overcomes or dies on the vine. Ours overcame thankfully.
The poem to Hani was written at a difficult time in our relationship which, I suppose many couples face during their lives together and love either endures and overcomes or dies on the vine. Ours overcame thankfully.
223PaulCranswick
BOOK #29
Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving
Date of Publication : 1832
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Male
Genre : Travelogue / History / Tales & Fables
Pages : 304pp
This is a very interesting book of an author I have never tried before. Part travelogue, part architectural digest, part history of the Moorish occupation of Andalusia and Granada in particular and then coloured by several short stories, myths, fables and other curious tales.
Fascinating and enjoyable it is instructive that the book was the culmination of an extended stay Irving made in the Alhambra a couple of years earlier. He later became the USA ambassador to Spain (appointed by President Tyler) in 1842 until 1846.
Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving
Date of Publication : 1832
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Male
Genre : Travelogue / History / Tales & Fables
Pages : 304pp
This is a very interesting book of an author I have never tried before. Part travelogue, part architectural digest, part history of the Moorish occupation of Andalusia and Granada in particular and then coloured by several short stories, myths, fables and other curious tales.
Fascinating and enjoyable it is instructive that the book was the culmination of an extended stay Irving made in the Alhambra a couple of years earlier. He later became the USA ambassador to Spain (appointed by President Tyler) in 1842 until 1846.
224PaulCranswick
BOOK #30
Lublin by Manya Wilkinson
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Fiction
Awards : Hawthornden Prize, Wingate Prize and RSL Encore Award
Pages : 196pp
I guess that Lublin is what many would describe as a "marmite" book and it is appropriate therefore that I am one of the few who cannot decide whether I like marmite or not!
The tale is a meandering coming of age journey to the city of Lublin where our three young Jewish late teens head to seek their fortune by selling brushes and bristles.
It is filled with spatterings of Jewish humour (not all of which jumps from the page with the requisite hilarity) and the anti-semitism they faced in those dangerous days in the early years of the 20th century.
Somehow we know that their destination may provided more and less than they expect and we half expect the denouement although not fully either.
I have seen scathing reviews of this but the writing deserves praise and I will look avidly for what she does yet because when she does pull it off properly it will be one hell of a book and I will probably then own up to a sneaking fondness for marmite.
Lublin by Manya Wilkinson
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female
Genre : Fiction
Awards : Hawthornden Prize, Wingate Prize and RSL Encore Award
Pages : 196pp
I guess that Lublin is what many would describe as a "marmite" book and it is appropriate therefore that I am one of the few who cannot decide whether I like marmite or not!
The tale is a meandering coming of age journey to the city of Lublin where our three young Jewish late teens head to seek their fortune by selling brushes and bristles.
It is filled with spatterings of Jewish humour (not all of which jumps from the page with the requisite hilarity) and the anti-semitism they faced in those dangerous days in the early years of the 20th century.
Somehow we know that their destination may provided more and less than they expect and we half expect the denouement although not fully either.
I have seen scathing reviews of this but the writing deserves praise and I will look avidly for what she does yet because when she does pull it off properly it will be one hell of a book and I will probably then own up to a sneaking fondness for marmite.
225PaulCranswick
BOOK #31
Poor Deer by Clarie Oshetsky
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female* Claire self-describes as a woman online webpage but uses they / their pronouns. I don't want to misgender so I want to make that clarification clear.
Genre : Fiction
Awards : Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Women
Pages : 226 pp
Clair Oshetsky has been lauded by my friend Richard Derus on his thread and to anyone who will listen. Well I am glad I listened because this is a splendidly discomforting novel.
It is about living with the consequences of our deeds and being true to ourselves and ultimately to others. Guilt and self-regard, ownership and conscience (whether aware or externally self-imposed).
Recommended.
Poor Deer by Clarie Oshetsky
Date of Publication : 2024
Origin of Author : USA
Gender of Author : Female* Claire self-describes as a woman online webpage but uses they / their pronouns. I don't want to misgender so I want to make that clarification clear.
Genre : Fiction
Awards : Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Women
Pages : 226 pp
Clair Oshetsky has been lauded by my friend Richard Derus on his thread and to anyone who will listen. Well I am glad I listened because this is a splendidly discomforting novel.
It is about living with the consequences of our deeds and being true to ourselves and ultimately to others. Guilt and self-regard, ownership and conscience (whether aware or externally self-imposed).
Recommended.
226PaulCranswick
And to round off my February reading:
BOOK # 32
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Date of Publication : 2022
Origin of Author : Japan
Gender of Author : Male (apparently)
Genre : Thriller
Pages : 236pp
This is a publishing sensation from Japan spreading across Asia and into Europe and beyond. The book has already exceeded 2 million sales in only three years of being released. Deceptively simple in its telling and ingenious in its construction, the stories are strange and deftly compelling.
I will definitely gobble up the two other books currently released by the Japanese book tuber.
BOOK # 32
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Date of Publication : 2022
Origin of Author : Japan
Gender of Author : Male (apparently)
Genre : Thriller
Pages : 236pp
This is a publishing sensation from Japan spreading across Asia and into Europe and beyond. The book has already exceeded 2 million sales in only three years of being released. Deceptively simple in its telling and ingenious in its construction, the stories are strange and deftly compelling.
I will definitely gobble up the two other books currently released by the Japanese book tuber.
227PaulCranswick
I forgot to add my Friday purchases:
55. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly
56. Pulse by Cynan Jones
57. Everest by Ashani Lewis
58. The Evidence by Christopher Priest
59. Being Lolita by Alisson Wood
Jolly is on the Walter Scott longlist
Jones is a favourite
Ashani Lewis has had great reviews
Priest is because I read and loved his The Separation last month
Wood grabbed me because it is a subject matter I feel strongly about.
55. The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly
56. Pulse by Cynan Jones
57. Everest by Ashani Lewis
58. The Evidence by Christopher Priest
59. Being Lolita by Alisson Wood
Jolly is on the Walter Scott longlist
Jones is a favourite
Ashani Lewis has had great reviews
Priest is because I read and loved his The Separation last month
Wood grabbed me because it is a subject matter I feel strongly about.
228Kristelh
Happy March Paul. It looks like February was a good reading and acquiring month. Hope your trend continues into March. I am currently reading Venetian Vespers which I got from the library. I have Seascraper requested. So I might get two of the longlist read.
229PaulCranswick
>228 Kristelh: February was a pretty good month for me book twin. Onto March!
230avatiakh
>223 PaulCranswick: I picked up a copy when I was in Granada but haven't read it as yet, more of a souvenir.
>224 PaulCranswick: I picked Lublin off the library shelves at random last week. I'll read a few pages and see how marmite it is for me. Btw I'm a marmite lover.
>226 PaulCranswick: Was sure that I'd read something by Uketsu but on checking I haven't. That cover is familiar. There's over 80 holds at the library so it will be a while before my turn.
>224 PaulCranswick: I picked Lublin off the library shelves at random last week. I'll read a few pages and see how marmite it is for me. Btw I'm a marmite lover.
>226 PaulCranswick: Was sure that I'd read something by Uketsu but on checking I haven't. That cover is familiar. There's over 80 holds at the library so it will be a while before my turn.
231PaulCranswick
>230 avatiakh: Lovely as always to see you, Kerry.
You would be far more aware of the cultural and religious references in Wilkinson's book. I enjoyed it but not unreservedly so.
Uketsu's book is a quirky one to say the least but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
You would be far more aware of the cultural and religious references in Wilkinson's book. I enjoyed it but not unreservedly so.
Uketsu's book is a quirky one to say the least but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
232richardderus
>225 PaulCranswick: I'm glad you enjoyed, PC, it's a "splendidly discomforting" novel indeed. It never lets up on the squirm-inducing truthtelling about the power of the story that gets told about you forming your life. I hope more Oshetsky's in your future!
233PaulCranswick
>232 richardderus: Thanks RD. Hit the right spot indeed. The last three books of the month all held a certain skewed charm that was irresistible.
234alcottacre
>225 PaulCranswick: I am currently reading that one!
>227 PaulCranswick: I listed mine on the 'This Just In' thread, Juan :)
I am happy to see that your February ended well!
>227 PaulCranswick: I listed mine on the 'This Just In' thread, Juan :)
I am happy to see that your February ended well!
235PaulCranswick
>234 alcottacre: An interesting book well recommended by Richard.
I will go and have a look at what you just added, Juana.
I will go and have a look at what you just added, Juana.
This topic was continued by Paul C's Roads Less Travelled in 2026 - 6 .
