1. Her Brilliant Career by Rachel Cooke
This was a Christmas present from James and it's about career women in the 1950s. I had never heard of any of these amazing women and it was an inspiring read.
2. Penelope Fitzgerald, A Life by Hermione Lee
Jennifer gave me this for Christmas and I loved it. It's a detailed biography of Penelope Fitzgerald, who I had heard of but never read. What a brilliant person she was, I really enjoyed reading about her.
3. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
And Jennifer gave me this book for my birthday, one of Penelope Fitzgerald's best known books. This was my chance to finally read one of her works and it did not disappoint - so much meaning and feeling conveyed in a seemingly simple narrative. Fitzgerald was truly a great writer.
4. Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
Great idea, great start, but it went on a bit! And I was left a bit confused at the end.
5. The Broken Man by Josephine Cox
I can't quite explain why this was so bad - it was written in a very stilted style as if by a twelve year old.
6. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
An interesting book but it left me feeling a bit unsatisfied because I would have liked to find out more about what happened to many of the characters, but after their own chapter they were hardly referred to again.
7. Are We Nearly There Yet? By Ben Hatch
I deliberately chose this as a bit of light relief but it was very sad in parts! I did enjoy it though, and some parts made me laugh out loud.
8. The Road to Rouen by Ben Hatch
As is often my way, I went straight on to read the author's next book. I enjoyed it although again quite sad in places.
9. Sick Notes: True Stories by Tony Copperfield
Anecdotes from the life of a GP. I chose it because Jamie may be a GP one day and found it quite interesting although not that revelatory.
10. Trading Up by Candace Bushnell
I'm looking for upbeat books and this was recommended to me a while ago. I am baffled by what the book was aiming for, it seemed disjointed and inconclusive.
11. Carry the One by Carol Anshaw
A book club choice and very readable if very downbeat. A tragedy affects the lives of a group of friends.
12. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
I decided that the time was right for a bit of crime. And it was indeed a good and riveting read, about a crime spree being investigated by medical examiner Kay Scarpetta so I went straight on to ...
13. Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell
because I enjoyed the first one so much. And it was very entertaining in a bloodthirsty kind of way!
14. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
This was recommended at a meeting I went to about working with children and I found it very moving.
15. All That Remains by Partricia Cornwell
Back to Kay Scarpetta! There's a serial killer on the loose and Marino is up to his old tricks!
16. Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell
After a killer is executed why is he still committing murders? Kay Scarpetta is on his trail.
17. A Tale for the time being by Ruth Ozeki
I loved this book! It was really interesting and rather strange. I liked the way that the two worlds started to intermingle, and the blurring between reality and spirituality.
18. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta didn't catch the serial killer in the last volume so he's still at large and Marino is still eating
too much junk food!
19. From Potter's Field by Patricia Cornwell
Lucy's in trouble so Aunt Kay is helping as well as doing her day job and chasing the same old serial killer.
20. The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
A book club choice which I enjoyed - although the plot was rather far-fetched and I guessed the twist in the ending well ahead of time!
21. Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell (vol 7)
A crazed religious cult leader taking over a nuclear power station - luckily Scarpetta is on the case!
22. Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell (vol 8)
A torso in the rubbish dump and a case of smallpox - all in a day's work for Kay Scarpetta.
23. Where memories go: Why Dementia Changes Everything by Sally Magnusson
I saw this in a bookshop and decided to download it. It is a personal and beautifully written account of the author's mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease. It is heart-breaking but sensitive and it really spoke to me about my own experiences.
24. Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell
Time to head back to the gory world of Kay Scarpetta - which feels easier to me than the sad and scary world of dementia in the last book!
25. Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell (vol 10)
Oh dear, things aren't going too well for Kay! And now the hairy serial killer is after her.
26. Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell (vol 11)
Kay is getting a bit of psychotherapy to try to deal with her past. Turns out that this could be held against her in court.
27. Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell (vol 12)
More trouble for Kay and co, and the hairy serial killer is still at large. However a big surprise is in store for Kay - almost unbelievable. No, in fact ridiculously unbelievable!
28. Trace by Patricia Cornwell (vol 13)
Another mad killer on the loose but this time we achieved an (almost) happy ending!
29. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
Time for a rest from Kay - this was recommended to me by Heather
30. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
31. World War Z by Max Brooks
33.Predator by Patricia Cornwell (vol 14)
I think I went back to Kay too soon, I found this depressing as well as gory so I decided that I needed something upbeat and undemanding - some biographies / autobiographies.
34. Bonkers: My Life in Laughs by Jennifer Saunders
I have always liked Jennifer Saunders so I found her biography interesting. However I also thought it was written almost reluctantly and she gave nothing away about herself, it was very controlled.
35. No Holding Back by Amanda Holden
Amanda Holden has had a bad press in the past and she is very candid and likeable in this autobiography. James always laughs at me when I comment how likeable people are in their autobiographies!
36. The Real Mrs Brown by Brian Beacon
This was a very interesting biography of a very interesting and unique character.
37. Dear Fatty by Dawn French
This autobiography was much more revealing than that of her friend Jennifer Saunders; it was very open, frank, and sometimes painful.
38. Heft by Liz Moore
Cheered up by autobiographies I turned back to novels. This reminded me a wee but of The Shipping News (although not so good) and I enjoyed it.
39. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
I really enjoyed J.K.Rowling's first foray into detective novels and this one was just as good, very satisfying.
40. Perfect by Rachel Joyce
This was recommended to me by Catherine. It was very well written, intense, and I found the
characters' behaviour very frustrating - it was like a perfect storm of destruction.
41. The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams
Also recommended by Catherine. This had very similar themes to the novel I just read (Perfect) and
again it was very well written.
42. Last Friends (Old Filth Trilogy) by Jane Gardam
Also recommended by Catherine and an absolute joy like the other two in the trilogy - definitely aimed at the fans!
43. Absolutely: A Memoir by Joanna Lumley
Back to a cheerful biography. I really like Joanna Lumley but her biography didn't really reflect her very interesting life.
44. David Jason: My Life by David Jason
And yet another biography! This was much better, very interesting and chatty.
45. My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding
This was very interesting and well written.
46. Is it just me? by Miranda Hart
But this was hard going - had some good bits but far too silly.
47. A Life of Contrasts by Diana Mosley
Fascinating - what an amazing life she had.
48. Facades: Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell by John Pearson.
I spent about half of the book hating the Sitwells but gradually became rather fond of them!
49. Hard Choices: A Memoir by Hillary Clinton
This was interesting but for me rather hard going, however I stuck with it and felt that I learned a lot.
50. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
This is the same author who wrote Cloud Atlas, and while it is not as ambitious or brilliant, it is still very good.
51. Only When I Laugh: My Autobiography by Paul Merton
I felt that I found out more about this comedian and presenter who has been around for my whole adult life - although he was a bit cagey about his marriage to Caroline Quentin which is fair enough.
52. There's Something I've been dying to Tell You by Lynda Bellingham
I read this because Lynda Bellingham was in the news with her decision to stop her cancer treatment and have one last Christmas - sadly she died just a couple of days after I finished reading the book in
October 14. It is very well written and she comes across as a very brave lady with a great sense of humour.
53. Book of the Dead (Scarpetta 15) by Patricia Cornwell
I steeled myself for another gory Scarpetta book but found that this one was less gore and more plot, and all the better for it.
54. Lost and Found: My Story by Lynda Bellingham
I decided to read Lynda Bellingham's first autobiography and really enjoyed it; she was a lovely lady.
55. Time and Again by Jack Finney
An interesting book with a time travel theme.
56. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Interesting in parts, another fairly guarded autobiography.
57. Not my father's son by Alan Cumming
Really good - very well written.
58. Petty Tours; Travels in the British Isles by H.K. Miller
An engaging and charming travel book by Hugh. He is a talented and witty writer.
59. We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Recommended by Heather, very interesting, a good read and thought provoking.
60. Fathomless Riches by Richard Coles
Fascinating autobiography by the ex Communards singer who has become a vicar; his spiritual journey.
