Bleak House, by Charles Dickens

Bleak House is, according to some, one of Dickens’ best books. I thought I better read it.

At the heart of the story is a long-running civil law suit, and the effect this has on the young wards of the court. It is also a story about secrets and mysteries, including a hidden scandal and, in the closing sections of the book, a murder.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl is a thrilling read.

I won’t give away the story, but will just say that this book invites you to make assumptions, but then blows those assumptions away in a series of plot twists.

As it Happens, Jimmy Savile

I borrowed Jimmy Savile’s autobiography from our local library. Unsurprisingly, given his notoriety, it wasn’t on display. But I ordered a copy from the archives held in the warehouse.

For those few who don’t already know, Jimmy Savile was a flamboyant, eccentric, and a (once) much-loved celebrity, with a successful career as a DJ and his own long-running TV show, Jim’ll Fix It. But he was mainly revered for his astonishing ability to raise millions of pounds for charity.

Edgelands, by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts

Edgelands:

is enticingly subtitled: Journeys into England’s True Wilderness and is an exploration of the in-between places on the edge of our towns.

The book is arranged into chapters, each with a punchy one-word title:

Cars, Dens, Containers, Retail, Pallets, Sewage, etc.

On Walking, by Phil Smith

This is one of those books you either love or hate.

It’s full title, On Walking:…and Stalking Sebald implies you will be following Phil Smith as he follows in the footsteps of the German author, W.G. Sebald, on a walking tour in Suffolk.

But the book is much more than a travelogue of the author’s trip. It incorporates a mix of poetry, philosophy, and reflections on walking. It is an entertaining, frustrating and challenging read. And is illustrated with photographs that both illuminate and mirror the scatological (in the urban-dictionary sense) nature of the writing.

The Believing Brain, by Michael Shermer

In this book, Michael Shermer describes the way our brains function and how this leads us to construct beliefs.

Shermer starts by recounting the experiences of three people with strong beliefs. He then takes the reader through some neurological and psychological research findings.

The basic premise Shermer presents is that our brains are ‘programmed’ to find patterns and to make sense of our perceptions,

Moonwalking with Einstein, by Joshua Foer

Moonwalking with Einstein: the art and science of remembering everything

Joshua Foer opens the book with a teaser. He is a young journalist attending the USA Memory Championship in 2006. But he is not there as a journalist, he is there as a contestant.

Stet, by Diana Athill

Diana Athill was an influential editor who worked for several publishing houses in London. This memoir covers the 50 years she spent in the industry.

The book is remarkably interesting for far more than its insights into the world of literary publishing. Diana Athill is honest in her descriptions of her relationships with colleagues, competitors and writers. She also drops tantalising hints about her colourful personal life, the details of which are covered, I assume, in some of her other autobiographical books.

China since 1949, by Linda Benson

The Chinese regard their country as the centre of the Universe and the only truly civilised place to live.

But to us in the West, China is a strange place. An alien world.

Recently I wrote a novel set in 7th Century China, during the Tang Dynasty. In preparation, I began reading every book I could find in my local library with ‘China’ in the title.

The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Everyone knows that Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym used by J.K. Rowling in her recent venture into crime fiction.

I picked up her latest book, The Cuckoo’s Calling in my local library with some trepidation. Would I like it?