I got out of the habit of keeping track of the books I was reading here. Let me see how many of them I can remember.
The Periodic Table, which I can’t believe I hadn’t got around to before. Lovely; everyone should read it.
The Mezzanine, which marked a pause in my relationship with Nicholson Baker, as the ratio of style to content seemed to tip too far in favour of the former. That’s not really a criticism I can justify in any detail, but this is my blog and I don’t have to. I have since read some of his New York Times articles and my Baker-love is back.
The Uncommon Reader: there’s nothing wrong with this, but I’m as big a fan of Alan Bennett’s prose as you’re likely to meet, and I didn’t love it.
The Rain Before It Falls – see above, but replace “Alan Bennett” with “Jonathan Coe”.
Bollocks to Alton Towers, which despite its title is a sweet and thoughtful guide to some lesser-known tourist spots around Britain.
Frantic – Scott Pack, whose judgement I trust, recommended this, but I’m afraid I found it a fairly run-of-the-mill thriller. If you’re looking for a story about missing children (and who isn’t?) then I suggest Sophie Hannah’s Little Face as a more interesting example of the genre.
Wrong About Japan, which is nothing like anything I’d usually read, but which I enjoyed very much and finished in a couple of hours (it is very short). It’s the closest I’ve come to an account of Tokyo that makes it sound as exciting, as bewildering and as alien as I found it.
I have also read four library books, all of which I have forgotten the names of.
