50 books
Find (very) short reviews of the following titles behind the cut:
‘The Small Bachelor’ by P.G. Wodehouse
‘Sunstroke’ by Tessa Hadley
‘The Big Sleep’ by Raymond Chandler
‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
‘Down Under’ by Bill Bryson
‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
‘The Small Bachelor’ by P.G. Wodehouse
A caper is probably the best way to describe this book. Everything that could go wrong for the protagonists did go wrong. I enjoyed it, but I’ve never read any Wodehouse before and was expecting a lot, so ended up a little disappointed. 3/5
‘Sunstroke’ by Tessa Hadley
Another short story collection, again I felt a little let down. I think I’ve been lucky with the previous collections I’ve chosen! This was still interesting, focused around women in all stage of life (and with some really good stories), but it didn’t light me on fire. 3/5
‘The Big Sleep’ by Raymond Chandler
There was recently a crime literary festival in my town, so this book was my nod to that, as well as an effort to get into a genre I’ve mostly ignored. Very readable, but it didn’t leave me with a lasting desire to go read more. 3.5/5
‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Set in Nigeria during the civil war (and, later, Biafra) I picked this up because it’s one of those ‘big books’. You know the kind - everyone’s talking about them and they’re in the window of every bookshop! Well, I may be a little late to the party, but this was well worth the wait. It took me a while to get in to, but then I read the last 150 pages in one day. Definitely worth checking out. 5/5
‘Down Under’ by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson takes his humorous eye and pen to Australia in this travelogue. One of my family members is moving there soon, so this had special interest for me - Bryson is right when he calls Australia ‘forgotten; we really do know so little about it! Interesting and informative as always, Bryson recounts the history, geography and dangerous animals of this continent for our reading pleasure. 4/5
‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
Set just after the second world war, this novel follows a young female writer as she searches for a topic for her new book - and finds one in the society, a book group formed during the war to give residents of Guernsey an excuse to meet while under Nazi occupation. This is an epistolary, but don’t let that put you off - it’s incredibly readable; I found it hard to put down. 5/5
Total: 46/50
I’m pretty close to my final total! I’m also halfway through several books, so no last-minute panic reading this year :)
‘The Small Bachelor’ by P.G. Wodehouse
‘Sunstroke’ by Tessa Hadley
‘The Big Sleep’ by Raymond Chandler
‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
‘Down Under’ by Bill Bryson
‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
‘The Small Bachelor’ by P.G. Wodehouse
A caper is probably the best way to describe this book. Everything that could go wrong for the protagonists did go wrong. I enjoyed it, but I’ve never read any Wodehouse before and was expecting a lot, so ended up a little disappointed. 3/5
‘Sunstroke’ by Tessa Hadley
Another short story collection, again I felt a little let down. I think I’ve been lucky with the previous collections I’ve chosen! This was still interesting, focused around women in all stage of life (and with some really good stories), but it didn’t light me on fire. 3/5
‘The Big Sleep’ by Raymond Chandler
There was recently a crime literary festival in my town, so this book was my nod to that, as well as an effort to get into a genre I’ve mostly ignored. Very readable, but it didn’t leave me with a lasting desire to go read more. 3.5/5
‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Set in Nigeria during the civil war (and, later, Biafra) I picked this up because it’s one of those ‘big books’. You know the kind - everyone’s talking about them and they’re in the window of every bookshop! Well, I may be a little late to the party, but this was well worth the wait. It took me a while to get in to, but then I read the last 150 pages in one day. Definitely worth checking out. 5/5
‘Down Under’ by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson takes his humorous eye and pen to Australia in this travelogue. One of my family members is moving there soon, so this had special interest for me - Bryson is right when he calls Australia ‘forgotten; we really do know so little about it! Interesting and informative as always, Bryson recounts the history, geography and dangerous animals of this continent for our reading pleasure. 4/5
‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
Set just after the second world war, this novel follows a young female writer as she searches for a topic for her new book - and finds one in the society, a book group formed during the war to give residents of Guernsey an excuse to meet while under Nazi occupation. This is an epistolary, but don’t let that put you off - it’s incredibly readable; I found it hard to put down. 5/5
Total: 46/50
I’m pretty close to my final total! I’m also halfway through several books, so no last-minute panic reading this year :)