76-79 I’ve become terrible at updating my thread, though at least I’m still doing it. Dirk Gently was a bit of a disappointment ***; SKSG was daft and somewhat holey of plot **; Magician’s Nephew had some wonderful moments ***; The Haar was gruesome, sad, silly and then more gruesome ****.
October 31, 2025 at 3:20 PM
76-79 I’ve become terrible at updating my thread, though at least I’m still doing it. Dirk Gently was a bit of a disappointment ***; SKSG was daft and somewhat holey of plot **; Magician’s Nephew had some wonderful moments ***; The Haar was gruesome, sad, silly and then more gruesome ****.
73-75 Forgot about this thread, and reading has been hard going this last few weeks due to the exhaustion of September evenings. Human Condition **** (heavy, not as interesting as Origins of Totalitarianism). Blue Bedspread *** (unsettling, moving in part but not enjoyable). Kamusari *** (breezy)
September 21, 2025 at 5:21 PM
73-75 Forgot about this thread, and reading has been hard going this last few weeks due to the exhaustion of September evenings. Human Condition **** (heavy, not as interesting as Origins of Totalitarianism). Blue Bedspread *** (unsettling, moving in part but not enjoyable). Kamusari *** (breezy)
64-72. Kindle reads over the two weeks on the big boat. Too many to detail but How Fascism Works and Mornings in Jenin were particularly brilliant, as was White Noise (read for the first time since week 1 of my degree, 23 years ago 😬). Now WAAAY ahead of my 100 in a year target!
August 29, 2025 at 11:28 PM
64-72. Kindle reads over the two weeks on the big boat. Too many to detail but How Fascism Works and Mornings in Jenin were particularly brilliant, as was White Noise (read for the first time since week 1 of my degree, 23 years ago 😬). Now WAAAY ahead of my 100 in a year target!
61-63. Borrows from the library on deck 16 of the big boat. The Rankin was fun (made me want to go back and read the early Rebus books, and I think I will - ****); de Bernières’ short stories were largely fun but lightweight ***; the Goldblatt book was epic in scale and expertly written *****
August 29, 2025 at 11:24 PM
61-63. Borrows from the library on deck 16 of the big boat. The Rankin was fun (made me want to go back and read the early Rebus books, and I think I will - ****); de Bernières’ short stories were largely fun but lightweight ***; the Goldblatt book was epic in scale and expertly written *****
60. Now this was excellent. Clever and funny and deep and yes, maybe a little bit pretentious, but maybe the best fiction I’ve read this year so far. *****
August 12, 2025 at 9:50 PM
60. Now this was excellent. Clever and funny and deep and yes, maybe a little bit pretentious, but maybe the best fiction I’ve read this year so far. *****
59. This was a mixed bag, as is often the case with short story anthology type efforts. Its Goodreads blurb describes it as “light but profound”, which I’d say is half right. 2 1/2 stars.
August 11, 2025 at 8:53 PM
59. This was a mixed bag, as is often the case with short story anthology type efforts. Its Goodreads blurb describes it as “light but profound”, which I’d say is half right. 2 1/2 stars.
58. Googled “best books on Kindle Unlimited” and followed the trail. This was…underdeveloped is perhaps the word? I mostly enjoyed it but it felt rushed, too short and lacking in suspense. If I could, I’d get the author to go back and rewrite it, adding another 100 pages. Alas I can’t do that. ***
August 11, 2025 at 8:50 PM
58. Googled “best books on Kindle Unlimited” and followed the trail. This was…underdeveloped is perhaps the word? I mostly enjoyed it but it felt rushed, too short and lacking in suspense. If I could, I’d get the author to go back and rewrite it, adding another 100 pages. Alas I can’t do that. ***
57. This was really superb. Probably in my top three Beatle books (Rev in the Head is number one, if you’re interested). Thoroughly excellent and excellently thorough. Five stars.
August 4, 2025 at 10:23 AM
57. This was really superb. Probably in my top three Beatle books (Rev in the Head is number one, if you’re interested). Thoroughly excellent and excellently thorough. Five stars.
56. Disappointed with this - on Kindle Unlimited but looked good. The story is sensational and moving and deserves better than this short, breezy retell. *
August 3, 2025 at 9:25 AM
56. Disappointed with this - on Kindle Unlimited but looked good. The story is sensational and moving and deserves better than this short, breezy retell. *
55. Daft, fun, twisty thriller. Point Horror with adult themes, basically. ***
August 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM
55. Daft, fun, twisty thriller. Point Horror with adult themes, basically. ***
54. Honestly, this dragged at times, but any opportunity to see The Beatles’ story from a different angle is a win for me. There’s no sugar coating - Evans’ weaknesses are laid bare, which makes it at times a difficult read. ***
August 2, 2025 at 9:19 PM
54. Honestly, this dragged at times, but any opportunity to see The Beatles’ story from a different angle is a win for me. There’s no sugar coating - Evans’ weaknesses are laid bare, which makes it at times a difficult read. ***
This TeacherTapp question amused me, because the band I was half-arsedly in from Y10 till the end of sixth form was, for a while, called None of the Above. I wonder what the %s will look like.
July 30, 2025 at 2:33 PM
This TeacherTapp question amused me, because the band I was half-arsedly in from Y10 till the end of sixth form was, for a while, called None of the Above. I wonder what the %s will look like.
53. A fun investigation of the silly and esoteric. Exactly like the fabulous No Such Thing as a Fish podcast, which I only belatedly realised was where I knew the author’s name from. ****
July 25, 2025 at 8:11 PM
53. A fun investigation of the silly and esoteric. Exactly like the fabulous No Such Thing as a Fish podcast, which I only belatedly realised was where I knew the author’s name from. ****
52. This will, I strongly suspect, be #1 when I come to rank my favourites of the year. I can’t do it justice; read it. It’s gripping and moving and surprisingly funny. ******* (yes that’s seven out of five, blame Dave Melzer).
July 23, 2025 at 6:28 PM
52. This will, I strongly suspect, be #1 when I come to rank my favourites of the year. I can’t do it justice; read it. It’s gripping and moving and surprisingly funny. ******* (yes that’s seven out of five, blame Dave Melzer).
50-51. Couple of Kindle pageturners [sic]. What Lies Between Us pulled off the unreliable narrator trope and its twists far better imo. The First Girl was enjoyable enough.
July 21, 2025 at 7:25 AM
50-51. Couple of Kindle pageturners [sic]. What Lies Between Us pulled off the unreliable narrator trope and its twists far better imo. The First Girl was enjoyable enough.
49. Falling well behind my target of 100 for the year, but on the plus side I’ve already read more books than the whole of 2024. This was interesting, but maybe lacking a little pizzazz. This is problem with “enigmatic, unknowable criminal mastermind” as a subject I guess. ***
July 16, 2025 at 6:26 AM
49. Falling well behind my target of 100 for the year, but on the plus side I’ve already read more books than the whole of 2024. This was interesting, but maybe lacking a little pizzazz. This is problem with “enigmatic, unknowable criminal mastermind” as a subject I guess. ***
My brothers in law have started making up cryptic crossword clues. Anyone feel like helping me? 😂
July 9, 2025 at 7:54 PM
My brothers in law have started making up cryptic crossword clues. Anyone feel like helping me? 😂
47-48. Finished these two last night. Mystery Spinner is a fascinating biography of Jack Iverson, sporting outsider and forgotten genius of cricket. Last Murder is a clever, unpredictable and moving novel. Both 4 1/2 stars.
July 8, 2025 at 6:06 AM
47-48. Finished these two last night. Mystery Spinner is a fascinating biography of Jack Iverson, sporting outsider and forgotten genius of cricket. Last Murder is a clever, unpredictable and moving novel. Both 4 1/2 stars.
46. Fourth Stephen King book of the year, and the pick of the bunch. This might even be my favourite of his. Hmm. Top five certainly, along with Misery, Carrie, The Shining and Needful Things. (IT and The Stand are too long, deal with it). *****
July 2, 2025 at 9:14 PM
46. Fourth Stephen King book of the year, and the pick of the bunch. This might even be my favourite of his. Hmm. Top five certainly, along with Misery, Carrie, The Shining and Needful Things. (IT and The Stand are too long, deal with it). *****
45: Feels like cheating as I’m “using” it in class but hey ho, this picture book is gorgeous and communicates a very important message very effectively. ****1/2
July 1, 2025 at 7:20 AM
45: Feels like cheating as I’m “using” it in class but hey ho, this picture book is gorgeous and communicates a very important message very effectively. ****1/2
44: Traitors NZ and report-writing have slowed my reading down quite a lot, but this was thrilling, fascinating and - no mean feat - even-handed. *****
July 1, 2025 at 6:30 AM
44: Traitors NZ and report-writing have slowed my reading down quite a lot, but this was thrilling, fascinating and - no mean feat - even-handed. *****
43: My normal habit of reading a couple of books at a time has spiralled out of control of late. This was the quickest, and frankly least good, of the four I’ve been switching between. It was fine, but no more than that. **1/2
June 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
43: My normal habit of reading a couple of books at a time has spiralled out of control of late. This was the quickest, and frankly least good, of the four I’ve been switching between. It was fine, but no more than that. **1/2
35-42: Managed 9 books in the 16 days of this half term break. Here are the other 8. Not doing star ratings because frankly I can’t be arsed. Pick of the bunch probably The Ask and the Answer. Orbital was a superb but lost a star as the idea for its best chapter is nicked from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.
June 8, 2025 at 8:40 PM
35-42: Managed 9 books in the 16 days of this half term break. Here are the other 8. Not doing star ratings because frankly I can’t be arsed. Pick of the bunch probably The Ask and the Answer. Orbital was a superb but lost a star as the idea for its best chapter is nicked from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.
34. An absolute hoot. Funny, violent, full of twists. Everything turned up to 11, camp as hell. Loved it.
May 24, 2025 at 9:35 PM
34. An absolute hoot. Funny, violent, full of twists. Everything turned up to 11, camp as hell. Loved it.
33. Ok, this might be sacrilege but honestly this was a struggle. I rolled my eyes on several occasions. Sure it’s a classic, influential, important etc. But honestly, one of the least enjoyable books I’ve read this year. **1/2
May 22, 2025 at 9:32 PM
33. Ok, this might be sacrilege but honestly this was a struggle. I rolled my eyes on several occasions. Sure it’s a classic, influential, important etc. But honestly, one of the least enjoyable books I’ve read this year. **1/2