In 2017, I read 49 books... My target was 50. So close! This year, my goal is to read 60 books... As at the end of April I have read 23. So far, so good! How am I going to make sure I beat my target this year? 1. I keep a book database. It's … Continue reading My Reading Goal 2018
Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armoured bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal - including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world. Can one small girl make a difference in such great … Continue reading The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
Orphan Pip Pirrip's life is transformed by a vast, mysterious inheritance. A terrifying encounter with the escaped convict Abel Magwitch in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decrepit Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella at Satis House; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form … Continue reading Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Set across Istanbul and Oxford, from the 1980s to the present day, Three Daughters of Eve is a sweeping tale of faith and friendship, tradition and modernity, love and an unexpected betrayal. Peri, our main character, is prompted by an old polaroid photo of 3 young women and their professor, to reminisce about her time at … Continue reading Three Daughters of Eve – Elif Shafak
War is obsolete - you are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in conflict. Famine is disappearing - you are more at risk of obesity than starvation. Death is just a technical problem - equality is out - but immortality is in. What does our future hold? Thought provoking, shocking and entertaining. A scientific yet philosophical book … Continue reading Homo Deus – Yuval Noah Harari
In 16th century Venice, the city's famed glassmakers are secretly perfecting one of the Old World's most astonishing inventions: the mirror. An object of glittering yet fearful fascination - was it reflecting simple reality, or something more spiritually revealing? Taking the state of the art technology off the island is a crime punishable by death. … Continue reading The Mirror Thief – Martin Seay
A decade ago, fourteen-year-old Suzanne Lombard, the daughter of Benjamin Lombard—then a senator, now a powerful vice president running for the presidency—disappeared in the most sensational missing-person case in the nation’s history. Still unsolved, the mystery remains a national obsession. For legendary hacker and marine Gibson Vaughn, the case is personal. Fitzsimmons' debut novel is … Continue reading The Short Drop – Matthew Fitzsimmons
Fire your boss, do what you love and work better to live more. You can change your job to change your life. Read The $100 Startup if you are sick of the 9 to 5 and/or want to start a "side hustle". There's ample inspiration to start on "the quest to personal freedom" but it is not … Continue reading The $100 Startup – Chris Guillebeau
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. Set in post-war Germany, … Continue reading The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
The story of Anthony Doerr's year in Rome. An adventure in the ever-bewitching Eternal City and the foreign country of fatherhood: wandering the streets and trying to write, attending the vigil of a dying pope and raising two growing baby boys. One of my favourite authors tells the story of his year living in one … Continue reading Four Seasons in Rome – Anthony Doerr
Lyric and sensual, D.H. Lawrence's last novel is one of the major works of fiction of the 20th century. Filled with scenes of intimate beauty, explores the emotions of a lonely woman trapped in a sterile marriage and her growing love for the robust gamekeeper of her husband's estate. "Highbrow porn" - my husband called … Continue reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D.H. Lawrence
