*2021 - 50 BOOKS FOR THE YEAR*

I`ve started book 46, another by Scott Turow, but so far not really enjoying it, it`s a mixture of law and business, but hoping it livens up a bit.

Thanks Sarah, yes whilst trying to find out more about the content of the book on line, I see there has been a film made, I think Amazon may have it, but it's not one of those included with Prime membership. As you say, very harrowing, particularly descriptions of the women's deterioration and eventual deaths. Most shocking was how the Radium Dial Company did everything they could to shirk any responsibility towards afflicted employees.

Terribull I thought The Radium Girls was a really good read, but quite harrowing. Did you know there is a film that’s been released of this book. I think it’s going to be available on Netflix but wouldn’t swear to it.

I've had a very busy time so have taken much longer to finish number 33, Fall From Grace by Tim Weaver than I normally would. It is a long, involved thriller in the David Raker, Missing Persons Investigator series and l loved it. You think you have worked out what happened then there is yet another twist. I took off half a star for two Americanisms, though: flashlight and parking lot in a British book by a British author. Petty, l know, but l found it irritating.

I finished Presumed Innocent, but it wasn`t an easy read, lots of American legalise, good twist near the end.

I`ll keep that in mind. At the moment I`ve got 3 carrier bags of assorted books to get through that I had given to me, so might take about a month to get through them.

I think you would Hellogirl1 I first read them over 50 years ago so like you in my teens. I have reread them numerous times and each time enjoy them immensely. Go for it! The Grand Sophy is next on my Georgette Heyer list but you could pick any of them.

Juno56, that was a blast from the past, I read all Georgette Heyer`s books when in my teens. Wonder if I`d enjoy them now as much as back then?

16 Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell's, beautifully written, skilful portrayal of the central character, Anne Hathaway, or Agnes as she was known in the book. Her palpable grief in the loss of her son Hamnet was incredibly moving. Having visited Stratford on Avon umpteen times the description of the town, outlying areas and dwellings described resonated in my mind's eye. I thought the book conjured up a filmic atmosphere, particularly the character of Agnes who spent much time faffing about with herbs turning them into medicinal compounds, how much of that was true or conjecture who knows, but I can see a film coming out of the book at some stage.
17 Ralph's Party Lisa Jewell, one of her earliest books, and heaven's above she used a lot of bad language back then, I can almost visualise an editor or two advising her to tone it down a bit. Glad she has, I love much of what she writes now.
18 Take Six Girls (Audio) The Lives of the Mitford Sisters - Laura Thompson. Much has been written about them so the content wasn't new to me, I'd read about Nancy, probably most famous for her books and her "u and non u classifications" the latter blown out of all proportion allegedly! Unity an absolute horror who hero worshiped and met Hitler, clearly unhinged and inept she bungled shooting herself in the head and lived out the final years of her life in a childlike state. Diana a slightly toned down version of Unity spent most of her adult life in thrall to her fascist husband Oswald Moseley. Pamela and Deborah were fairly non political compared with their extremist siblings, the latter became the Duchess of Devonshire. Communist Jessica the other writer in the family, did at least have some redeeming qualities immersing herself in the US civil rights movement where she lived as an adult. I enjoyed listening to the book except when the narrator would from time to time effect an excruciating upper class accent when in Mitford character which I found horrible to listen to.
19 The Farm at the Edge of the World Sarah Vaughan, I got this out of the library because I'd enjoyed the writer's other two books I'd read, this one was ok, but as with a lot of earlier books not as good as the ones she has written more recently.
20 My Name is Lucy Barton Elizabeth Strout, never read any of her books before, this was brief, but I liked it a lot and will probably try Olive Kitteridge by this author next.
21 The Darkest Evening (Vera) Anne Cleves. AC always delivers for me, I enjoyed this one.
22 Right now I'm reading The Radium Girls Kate Moore Not an easy read. An account of the women who worked in factories throughout the 1920s painting clock and watch dials with luminous paint made from radium. Whilst they earnt way above the national average wage so at the outset, just after the First World War this was a lucrative occupation. As time wore on the women began to suffer from insidious illnesses often starting with the loss of teeth and oral infections that never healed, crumbling jaw bones, arthritis, sarcomas, agonising deteriorating conditions lead to their eventual deaths. Needless to say their employers denied responsibility. The women sought umpteen diagnosis from doctors and dentists before finally taking legal action against their employers. I'm about 3/4 through so have yet to reach the final outcome. The injustice they suffered was truly shocking!

#27 The Burning Page Genevieve Cogman. #28 Bath Tangle Georgette Heyer. #29 A Bachelor Establishment Jodi Taylor writing as Isabella Barclay. #30 Castle of Wizardry David Eddings. #31 The Library of Lost and Found Phaedra Patrick.

#24. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

12th book was the Midnight Library. It was OK, an easy read but annoyingly superficial at times although I think the author thought he'd written a rather more meaningful book than he actually had! I'm going to read another Ann Tyler book next, probably "Redhead at the side of the road"

Book 45, just started, is Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow.

I seem to have lost my way with reading recently, but am still ploughing through The Co-op’s got Bananas - bedtime reading - as well as “Written in History: Letters that changed the world”, which contains the famous Tide Letter from the then Princess Elizabeth to her sister Queen Mary, a long rambling (engineered to take so long to write it would missed the tide which would have taken her to the tower) plea with her not to condemn her to death. Mary probably read about half of it and said “Oh FGS, I can’t be a***d to read anymore of this - just tear up the bloody arrest warrant”. I read another of Elizabeth’s missives to one of her counsellors, in the British Library once. She wasn’t given to excessive punctuation or brevity, but oh, it was so heavy with veiled threat and “don’t think We don’t know what you have been up to, my Lord, We are watching you.”
Sorry, bit of a ramble. Anyway that is book 19.

Book 44 turned out to be another by Michael Morpurgo, called Shadow. I started it just after dinner, and finished it before tea, just didn`t want to put it down, it`s a lovely story.

#33 The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal. A historical novel, set in London in the 1850s at the time of the Great Exhibition. I really enjoyed it, lots of period detail and also quite sinister at times!
#34 A Springtime Affair by Milly Johnson. Some chick lit for a change, an enjoyable read.
#35 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Our latest book club choice, it was really thought-provoking, I loved it.

Blood Orange did get better, but not really the thriller that I was expecting.
Last night I started book 43, one that I was given, and didn`t really expect to read much of it, but I finished it today, just before dinner time, and LOVED it! It`s called Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew-A Storymaker`s Journey, by Michael Morpurgo, a collection of short stories, one of which, The Silver Swan, had me in tears. I`ve previously only read War Horse by him, but this book is great.
Book 44 not christened yet.

I think I need to catch up a bit! I read every day but obviously quite slowly as I've only read 12 books so far this year. I logged the first 3 books some time ago so ...
#4 A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling - a bit heavy going.
#5 The Carer by Deborah Moggach
#6 Bone China by Laura Purcell
#7 Crow Lake by Mary Lawson - really enjoyed this.
#8 Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne - not my usual type of reading but he's a good writer and I found his spin on the Bounty story very interesting.
#9 The Beauty of Broken Things by Victoria Connelly - not one of her best.
#10 Your Neighbour's Wife by Tony Parsons.- it started well but then it all got a bit silly.
#11 Wakenhurst by Michelle Paver.
#12 Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer. I've never read anything of his before and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. As soon as I finished it I downloaded The Sins of the Father which is the next book in the series (The Clifton Chronicles). There are 7 altogether! It will be interesting to see if I read them all.
I'm going to give Jeffrey a bit of a break while I read my next book
#13 The Dig by John Preston. The film was good so I hope the book is too.

Blood Orange is still a bit slow. It`s supposed to be a thriller, but more like chick-lit at the moment, and I don`t really like the main characters. But I will persist.

#23. The Daughters Of Cain by Colin Dexter.

Finished Liars and Thieves, very good. Have just read the first few pages of Blood Orange, by Harriet Tyce, book 42. It`s slow up to now, but haven`t read enough to really form an opinion yet.

Just finished The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler which was recommended by someone on here. I thoroughly enjoyed it and having done a quick check it was my 11th book as I failed to mention "Men without Women" Murakami. I've read several of his books and this book of short stories did not disappoint. I also found "Norwegian Wood" intriguing when I read it last year. Just about to start The Midnight Library. I had my 2nd vaccination on Thursday and it seems to have zapped my energy so I'm spending time reading when I should be gardening.

That was OK for a change. Will soon be starting book 41, Liars and Thieves, book 6 in the Scott Cullen series by Ed James.

Cry Baby was very good. Now reading The Biscuit Factory Girls, by Elsie Mason, set during WW2, enjoying it, a lighter bit of reading, book 40.

Just finished Shuggie Bain, it was a difficult read at times but very moving and thoroughly recommend provided you can cope with sadness. I'm losing count!