panI think this is my first pan. Picked this up on the strength of the connection with my birthplace. But the writing is clunky, the plot not terribly exciting, and the descriptions of the characters of colour are a bit dodgy. Also the main character does something at the end which they would never have done, and isn‘t justified at all. End of this author for me !
pickChallenging at times without explanatory notes but interesting nonetheless especially with some of his letters for context.
The wanton Boy that kills the Fly
Shall feel the Spider‘s enmity.
🪰🕷️
pickAn easy read, and certainly worth giving it a go. It‘s a bit stunted though with very stop start chapters. Didn‘t quite reach the Gerard Woodward heights.
pickAnother tour de force from Des
pickFirst read this 30 years ago at school. A classic, and a stark reminder that the war wasn‘t just fought in Europe.
#realbooksarebest
pickTremendous overview of the history of fascism in the US.
panA rather silly book, rarely humorous. Not even convinced the Stewart Lee blurb on the cover is genuine. Comes across as if the author has a bit of a vendetta.
pickTremendous jaunt through the last 120 or so years of the great British pub. If you love pubs then you‘ll love this 🍻
so-soMmm, experimental ! Good for Ballard that he doesn‘t give a monkey‘s. Written in the 70s too, wow. Not for the fainthearted.
pickEssential reading to help correct the nonsense spouted by mainstream media and those with power.
so-soMildly amusing, can be read in a few sittings.
pickVery interesting depictions of South America just before the millennium. Also good if you like motorcycles.
pickGranta 25. Not on Litsy, have suggested it but I don‘t know how long that takes to be reviewed.
An interesting set of stories, from the gripping account of the Gibraltar killings to a murder tale in South Africa which annoyingly continues in the next issue !
pickVery informative and eye opening history
so-soThe premise and the plot, and scene setting, are great, but then it gets a bit waylaid and the ending is a bit weak. Also, he seems to have an odd way of writing about women and non-white people.
pickEbook. Thought provoking, and although not right on all fronts this a must read for the historical interpretations and alternative views that most are blinkered to.
pickQuick read, pleasant enough. Mildly thoughtful. His trilogy was amazing.
so-soI felt the author could have used better analogies to get across complex ideas. Books like these should be read and reviewed by lay people rather than peers.
pickA joy to read, effortless 600 pages. Not what I was expecting, a pleasant surprise.
pickA tremendous overview of the key scientific topics of life in the universe despite some of the theoretical explanations not really being suitable for the general reader.
pickNot bad, not sure what all the fuss is about. Solidarity with the author. If you don‘t like it, don‘t read it.
pickVery interesting, informative, serious yet casual review of the history of the first 21 years (1971-1992) of the UK‘s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) - ‘Europe‘s most successful consumer organisation.‘ Now for the 40, and 50, year histories !
pickAlthough a little flat in the closing chapters it‘s a rip roaring read and a very good evocation of wartime
pickWhistle stop tour of a convoluted history.
pickA tour de force. Should be mandatory reading for all.
so-soGentle and pleasant enough read although a tad clunky. Unfortunately it‘s not really a detective novel. And major crime committed by the author in saying that the River Thames starts at Thame !
pickI wanted to check out our local library for the first time since moving to the area and picked up this Quick Read. A pleasant collection of writing by ‘normal‘ people about their jobs.
so-soGood descriptions and characters but the plot was one dimensional for me.
pickVery good intro to the subject, readable in a couple of days. Great series of books.
pickA great refreshing of classic liberalism for our times, and a reminder we must all resist encroachments on free speech. ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant.‘
pickWasn‘t sure how Baddiel would transfer to a novel - but this is well worth a read, and the final third becomes more dramatic than the more pedestrian first two-thirds.
pickWhat‘s good about this book is the narrative in between the puzzles giving some background to the history of them. Slight downside is that a few of the puzzles are ambiguously worded, and tenuous to say the least.
