Just finished Down Under (Bryson). Also anything by Tony Hawks, Pointless (a year with East Stirling), and naval memoirs, "Days of a Dogsbody". Currently on 1415 and a couple from the "Very Short Introduction series".
Those of you who are crime fiction fans all the following are good: Peter Billingham, Stephen Booth, Ellie Griffiths, Donna Leon, Peter James, Martin Edwards
Just looked back at this thread Theo and saw your comment regarding Michael Moorcock - great reading, Jerry C is one of my fav characters..it inspired my rants against the BBC censors on the old 606 web site.
And I would add Jo Nesbo to that list. I've just finished what I suspect will be the last in his Inspector Harry Hole series, The Phantom, and recommend that & every other book in the series as damned good reads.
Judging by the number of books he sells, a lot of people like him. Mind you, Jeffrey Archer sells a lot, so I'm told. I tried to read one of his books once and had to give up as I was laughing too much........
Wot, no Ian Rankin? Rebus rules. Also Peter Robinson and the Banks books. If historical crime fiction is your bag I recommend Suzanna Gregory and the Thomas Challoner books (Resoration period), S.J.Paris and the Giordano Bruno books (Elizabethan period), Rory Clements and the John Shakespeare books (Elizabethan period again) and Philip Kerr and the Bernie Gunther books (before, during and after WWII). At the moment reading 1356 by Bernard Cornwell, the new Grail Quest book (and very good it is too). Any Jack Reacher book is fine by me (by Lee Child). The Jackson Brody books by Kate Atkinson are also excellent. Other books enjoyed this year: The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson; Skios by Michael Frayn; Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. Recently finished Inferno by Dan Brown. Awful!!
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel is a fantastic series of books chronicling the life of a young orphan brought up by primate like peoples!
Just started my 4th odyssey with Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. Twenty books to get lost in. Went through them first in about 1999, went straight round again afterwards, gave it a year or two off and did it again, then made myself wait a good ten years, which is now up. Where did that time go? They aren't immediately accessible, but stick with it and get familiar with the tone, and an immense humour and humanity comes through, along with an amount of Napoleonic War wooden sailing ship knowledge which knocks Forrester into cocked hat.* I like Derek Robinson's RAF novels; 1stWW and 2ndWW. Crime fiction: try Frank Tallis- Vienna pre 1stWW Espionage/noir: Alan Furst is unbeatable. *PS the Master & Commander film was a good stab but got nowhere near the depths of character. It also elided several of the novels into one.
PPS: I find this site extremely useful: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ Helps you locate more by the same author, similar stuff by other authors etc
