In 2019 I set myself a challenge to read 26 books but managed to sneak in a last book between Christmas and New Year to take me to 27. In this post I'll give my overall rating for each book and a little description as to why.
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| Books of 2019 - a few missing because they were borrowed or returned |
Great follow up to 'The Magician' and what felt particularly good is that it was a completely different storyline to the previous book. Classic adventure book about following a quest but with multiple storylines interwoven following the characters from the previous book. Very easy read.
2. Neil Oliver - A History of Ancient Britain (2011) [9.2/10]
This book is fairly large for saying that it ends in the Roman period of Britain. This is less a look into the political landscape of Britain and more how the ancient peoples lived and died. What struck me was how early Brits began to claim land through ancestral rights and that the only buildings might have only been graves in early Britain. There's loads of really useful and interesting information!
3. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief (2007) [9/10]
I watched the film several years ago on a plane which was fairly ok, but the book was really well written and shows a normal family who didn't support the nazis but had to appear to in order to fit in. As an avid book reader it was very heartwarming to read.
4. Bernard Cornwell - The Sword Song (2007) [7/10]
Having read the previous books in the series, this was pretty repetitive hence the 7. Nothing wrong with the book at all, written as well as all his other books.
5. Bernard Cornwell - The Burning Land (2009) [8/10]
Next in the series after the above. Much better than the previous story wise. Uthred doing Uthred stuff and helping form England. I also started listening to the history of England podcast so some of the names and words started lining up.
https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk
https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk
6. Bernard Cornwell - Heretic (2004) [7/10]
The third and final book in the Grail series to conclude whether Thomas of Hookton gets the grail and avenges his father. Nice way to end the series, a little predictable but that might be because I didn't have a break between books, so three Bernard Cornwell's in a row.
7. Robert C. Martin - Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftmanship (2008) [6.5/10]
A long read which was I have reviewed in my blog before. Some great tips to take forward in my day to day work. This is definitely not a 'fun' read and some of the tips seem somewhat obvious, but putting the thought process of writing clean code into words was extremely useful.
8. The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell - The Freedom Writers Diary (1999) [2.8/10]
I don't think there was anything wrong with the book, I enjoyed the film but for whatever reason I couldn't really get into the style of writing. There were lots of diary entries talking about the same events and it just wasn't my cup of tea unfortunately.
9. Christina Dalcher - Vox (2018) [8.4/10]
A modern take on The Handmaidens Tale it reminded me of a book I read along time ago, but can no longer find (it was a modern take on 'animal farm'). I like it when old books with a very pertinent message are rethought and this one is fantastic. In a world where women are limited to a certain number of words it obviously grates because its ridiculous, but makes you think that if things are not as they should be, in work, at home etc. we are all responsible to stand up and help each other. very well written!
10. Neil Gaiman - The graveyard book (2001) [9.5/10]
Best book of the year for me. It was the first Neil Gaiman book I had read and it was so well written and magical.
11. Neil Gaiman - American Gods (2004) [9/10]
Very different to The Graveyard Book. Read this whilst on holiday in the USA and there are some disturbing parts, but it's a very innovative story about the gods brought to America by the people who remember them. Great read although thought the ending fell a little flat - but that might just be because my holiday was over.
12. The Secret Barrister - The Secret Barrister: Stories of the law and How It’s broken (2018) [9/10]
Before reading this book I hadn't really given the law, court, the judiciary service and life after a rightful or wrongful accusation. This is a little bit of a heavy read for most, not exactly a page turner but gives a really important insight into how the law works in the UK, what is affecting the system and how it could affect you, the law abiding reader and thus why you and I and everyone should be invested in keeping it impartial and fair. 100% recommend as a read.
13. Pat Baker - The Silence of the Girls (2018) [7.4/10]
Looking at the battle of Troy from the point of view of the women who might have lived through the times was a great premise. The view is normally about the fighting, heroism and adventure these epic battles brought and how warrior men were affected (The Odyssey for example) so it was refreshing to see the world from a different point of view.
14. J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (1997) [8/10]
Classic. I had read it before and fancied a nice, easy read which it duly delivered on. You can't deny the magic in the pages especially when every time you read it it takes you back to being a carefree child.
15. Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman - Good Omens (1990) [7/10]
Had slightly higher expectations of this book, partially because of its already humungous following and the TV series but it was signifcantly not as good - in my opinion - as any Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman book I had read before. It was funny throughout and an easy read.
16. Adrian Tchaikovsky - Children of Time (2015) [9.2/10]
I'm sure other books have been written with similar plots before but this really was a great read. Humans escaping an uninhabitable earth must fight for a place on a terraformed world already inhabited. This has evolution, space travel, human politics and even had me giving sympathy to spiders - and I'm a massive arachnophobe.
17. Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange (1962) [7/10]
This takes a while to get past the writing style which is purposely obstructive. The first quarter of the book is gruesome and not particularly nice at all, however, it does make you think about what makes people violent, and whether the ability to have rage, anger and the choice to be good or bad is an essential part of being human.
18. Martin Amis - Time's Arrow (1991) [6.5/10]
Written by flowing backwards through time the book is a great concept and reads easy enough, but the plot doesn't really go anywhere. lots of little funny parts so, worth a read.
19. Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner (2003) [7.2/10]
A book I had intended to read for several years but never got round to, it shows the senseless destruction caused by war and ideology, it shows how wealth, power and achievements can be diminished in an instance and the small bubbles we inhabit within our own communities.
20. Henry Williamson - Tarka the Otter (1927) [6.5/10]
I hadn't realised how much otter hunting had occurred and, how recently the practice has continued to. The book shows from the otters point of view as we follow his life, his childhood and how it fights to survive.
21. Michel Faber - Under the Skin (2000) [7.4/10]
This was unusual, and post reflection makes me wonder what the book was trying to say. However, I struggled to put it down the I was reading it and finished it in a few days.
22. Neil Gaiman - Stardust (1999) [9/10]
I love the film and have watched it several times. Its amazing how true the film was to the book; which was just as funny, exciting and brilliant as the film had been.
23. Stephen King - Misery (1987) [9.4/10]
Another book that had been on my read list for a while. Stephen King is phenomenal at making you feel like you are living the story, the fear of the author and the experience they are having on the page. He puts so much thought into the plot, the characters and how events play out and this shines through as you read because it becomes so believable.
24. Roger Hutchinson - Calum's Road (2006) [7.2/10]
We took a trip to Scotland this August and one of the books I found from looking for "books based in Scotland" was Calum's road. Calum himself was a no nonsense man who tried to make his community lived in and hang onto his ancestral way of life by building a road. It was interesting to see how rural life has been affected by centralised government, education and a move away from the local.
25. H.G.Wells - War of the Worlds (1898) [7.5/10]
Although this was written donkeys ears ago, it still read as incredibly realistic and plausible. An astonishingly easy read. The film with Tom Cruise did it a great justice and the book I read came with lots of interesing information on H.G. Wells
26. Stella Gibbons - Cold Comfort Farm (1932) [7.3/10]
This book is hilariously written and was a great one to complete my 26 book challenge on. A little mystery, michevious and buckets of dry laughs which are the essential ingredients for a good read.
27. Christina Henry - Lost Boy (2017) [8.8/10]
A novel spin on the classic story of Peter Pan showing the boy who never grows up in a much darker light then you ever might have thought. This is almost a thriller and follows one of the lost boys called Jamie in his adventures on the island where they all live.
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