The blog is back

My name is Matt Wright and it's been two years, seven months and five days since I last blogged.

I suppose the immediate question is 'why?', and I'm afraid that an escalating workload is the mundane response.

Without wishing to shine too strong a light on personal matters, it's been a difficult many months, and now I find myself with some time on my hands and an ever-burning desire to keep writing something, anything, I suppose it's natural that I have returned to this blog.

I should point out that I did indeed read the 100th book of the one-year challenge (it was Catcher in the Rye) in early January 2011, and I have continued to read over the intervening months and years, but I never felt the urge to commit any thoughts to screen, partly due to the time involved.

Now though, the library is my oyster - or something like that.

I've mentioned previously (if you've forgotten, that's completely understandable, so check out the links to the right) how books can lift your spirits. So in that vein, I'm returning with a couple of tales/links I've come across in recent months.

The first couple are heart-warming stories of how art, once created, can take on a life of its own - Mind the Gap  and The Best Author Letter Ever.

This, meanwhile, is a terrific obituary of the sort that is rarely written in modern times where the hagiography generally rules - Hypocrite.

So, the blog is back. I've updated the 1-100 list, including links, and I do intend to go back and blog the books I passed over on as part of the challenge, if not those I've read in the meantime. But because you can't live in the past, I'm keen to read and post some new stuff, too.

I'm looking forward to it.

#95 Player One, by Douglas Coupland (William Heinnemann)

Player One is one of the strangest books I've read this (last) year. It begins with what seems like the start of the apocalypse, throws together some of the most bizarre characters you could hope to meet, follows them in real-time for five hours as a host of questions relating to religion and the meaning of our existence are explored, and then ends.

Beautiful blonde Rachel, or 'Player One', is the key character within this setting. Unable to express or understand any emotion, the reader sees everything unfold through her eyes - and perhaps that's why everything is so curiously uninvolving.

The mood is such that when a sniper starts killing people from the top of a hotel, you don't really care, and while things start at a rollicking pace, the focus shifts from what seems a fascinating wider picture to the lives of a few people, and my interest waned as a result.

Douglas Coupland is often hailed as a 'visionary author', and while answers are few and between, he certainly poses some intruiging questions concerning the future of the planet and human nature, and there are some nice touches, such as using language you would normally associate with computers/technology to emphasise the disconnect between the characters (a conversation is not 'restarted, it is 'rebooted', for example).

But the fact I was more interested in what was happening away from where the characters were perhaps best illustrates how involved I was in the story.

That said, the final appendix dictionary, explaining (invented) terms that will be applicable in the future - "Deomiraculosteria: God's anger at always being asked to perform miracles" - was very funny in places and was worth an extra mark on its own.

So, rating time:

#95 Player One, by Douglas Coupland (William Heinnemann) - 7/10

Next up: Road Dogs, by Elmore Leonard (Pheonix)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

Oh dear, it's 2011

Seven days into 2011, you're probably wondering whether I completed the challenge - even if it's just because you're hoping I haven't so you can take the piss.

It's been a long year, but a hugely enjoyable one, even though I fell just one book short.

Yep, that's right. After 365 days, 119 blogs (so far) and more pages than the Queen, I came up just one novel shy from completing the task I set myself at the start of the year.

But I'm not too bothered (he writes through gritted teeth). At the very start of the year - and you can look this up to check I'm not lying - I said that the aim of the challenge was simply to compel me to read more, and in that pursuit I have been successful.

In hindsight, the fact I came up one short, and that a few reviews remain outstanding, suggests that I took on a bit too much. I'm not one for excuses, but my workload has been huge at times and it's taken its toll.

Indeed, I actually had an entire day - New Year's Eve - to read my final book, The Catcher in the Rye, in case you were interested. Unfortunately, it was on that very day that my company was taken over and, instead of my plan to leave nice and early, I was forced to spend numerous hours dealing with the ramifications.

Even then, I could probably have finished the book that evening with some dedicated reading, but I'd promised the Wench that I would go to a fancy dress New Year's Eve party with her and I couldn't go back on my word - even if it was to complete a challenge which had taken me the best part of a year. So it's her fault, you understand.

I do intend to read that 100th book, even if its somewhat belated, and complete the reviews. I also have a few more blogs in mind, and I want to reflect on the year as a whole, so I'll get to all of that over the next few days.

But for now, I'll end with some congratulations to my nemesis, the Friend of the Wench, with whom I have battled most enjoyably throughout the past 12 months, and who successfully completed his own 100-book challenge. Well done to him - and he's written a nice recap of the highs and lows of the year (and not just because it includes some pleasant words about me). You can read it here.

Back soon...

#94 The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene (Vintage)

After The Ministry of Fear gave me such a wonderful introduction to Graham Greene, I'm afraid I was again left slightly disappointed by The Heart of the Matter, my third Greene novel of the year.

On reflection, I think it's been the pace of The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American which has caused this reaction. Throughout both novels, you feel like you're meandering your way through the story, to the extent that it feels like there is a lack of purpose. That might not be true, but that's the impression created - one which dovetails quite nicely in the attitude of Scobie, the main character in The Heart of the Matter.

Scobie is a police officer in a war-time African state, forced to endure the heat, the mistrust of colleagues, a struggling relationship with his wife and more. He stoicly tries to do his job and maintain his faith, only to end up with an equally loveless and complicated relationship with another woman and blackmailed by a local gangster.

It's a story about suffering, whether that's the incidents which Scobie must investigate, his relationships or the inner turmoil he endures, and perhaps because of that, it's a difficult novel to warm to, and rarely enjoyable, for all that it retains the reader's interest.

So, rating time:

#94 The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene (Vintage) - 6/10

Next up: Player One, by Douglas Coupland (William Heinnemann)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#93 The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

I've become a bit of a Malcolm Gladwell convert recently, as you'll be able to tell by the fact that The Tipping Point is my third book by the same sociological author in a matter of months. But it's another remarkable book.

The beauty of Gladwell's writing is that he takes everyday familar occurances and applies a microscope to them to reveal their deeper meaning and what they tell us about ourselves and the human race. In lesser hands, the result would be incredibly dry, even boring, but Gladwell chooses his subjects wisely, tells a fine tale and infuses his stories with drama and rich context.

Two days after finishing this book, which nominally explores 'how small things made a big difference', I was telling someone how vervets are amazingly attuned to other vervets, but despite evolution's greatest efforts, still cannot recognise the tracks made by their greatest predators.

As Gladwell writes: "Vervets have been known to waltz into a thicket, ignoring a fresh trail of python tracks, and then act stunned when they actually come across the snake itself." Yet vervets are "incredibly sophisicated when it comes to questions about other vervets. If vervets hear a baby vervet's cry of distress, they will look immediately not in the direction of the baby, but at its mother - they know instantly whose baby it is."

You jump from that to what television programme Sesame Street, a syphilis epidemic and the war on crime in New York, which started with tackling graffiti on the subway, can tell you about how ideas, trends and social behaviours are spread around the world, and how learning lessons from suicide can help combat smoking.

It's truly fascinating, and my only disappointment is that I'm running out of books by Gladwell to read. And vervets.

So, rating time:

#93 The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) - 9/10

Next up: The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene (Vintage)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

The finish line approaches

A quick question - what's more important, the reading of the books, or the blogging?

This is something I've given plenty of thought as the end of the year - and the end of this 12-month, 100-book challenge - approaches. Unfortunately, and sorry for sounding like a broken record, but this is one of my busiest times of the year work-wise, and when you couple that with a Christmas that was anything but relaxing, featuring long drives, gas leaks and lots of cooking, my leisure time has suffered.

As a result, I've had to prioritise. Rather than a blow-by-blow account of the challenge, I've been forced to focus on the actual reading. But I didn't want any readers to become disheartened by my seeming lack of progress, so I thought it best to post a quick update...

So, it's been 20 days since my last confession, and I have now finished 98 books.

These were:

#93 The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

#94 The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene (Vintage)

#95 Player One, by Douglas Coupland (William Heinnemann)

#96 Road Dogs, by Elmore Leonard (Pheonix)

#97 Four-iron in the soul, by Lawrence Donegan (Penguin Group)

#98 Fevre Dream, by George RR Martin (Gollancz)

Reviews will follow, but now I'm starting to consider the all-important question: what will be the identity of my last book.

Number 99 has been selected - Our Man in Hibernia, by Charlie Connelly. It's a book I've been looking forward to reading for most of the year, not least because the author is a friend - not that I will allow that to affect my notoriously stingy marking.

But what of number 100. I'll try to keep you posted...

NB: And The Friend of the Wench is up to 98 as well!

#92 The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom (Little, Brown)

I had conflicting emotions after turning the last page of Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven. On the one hand, I found the novel, the death of an elderly maintenance man who works at a fairground, overly simple. But it's deceptively effective and, for all that I'm not one for the subject of religion, which is as integral as the title suggests, it was quite moving at times.

In contrast to The Grapes of Wrath, this isn't a book to dwell on, and it's a nice easy read - just what I needed at this stage of the challenge. And while I bridled a bit at the portrait of heaven which was portrayed, there were a number of nice touches.

Some background is probably needed. Eddie dies (don't worry, it's not much of a spoiler) and enters heaven, where he meets five people who have influenced his life, or whose lives he has influenced (hence the title) - whether he was aware of it at the time or not.

It's a clever idea, which doesn't lessen as the book progresses, and speaking (or writing) as someone who's a big fan of the interconnectedness of life, and its holistic nature, I enjoyed the links between each character and the underlying sentiment that although Eddie himself believed he had wasted his life ensuring that the fairground rides were safe, it wasn't until he died that he could appreciate how much joy he had brought to the children through the rides.

That said, I think it's always difficult when authors or directors start to define concepts such as heaven, because it's always more powerful in the imagination - whether you believe in such things or not, and, having finished the book around a week ago, my biggest criticism is that The Five People You Meet in Heaven doesn't make much of a lasting impression.

So, rating time:

#92 The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom (Little, Brown) - 7/10

Next up: The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#91 The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Penguin Group)

Well, it's finished. No, not the challenge, but my reading of The Grapes of Wrath - a Pultizer Prize-winning novel and acknowledged American classic. But I found it awfully hard-going at the start.

I love author John Steinbeck, and Of Mice and Men is among my favourite novels, but I've always been a bit daunted by The Grapes of Wrath, as much for its sweeping look at the Great Depression as its not insignificant length. Suffice to say, I've renewed this book no fewer than five times since I withdrew it from the libary in mid-October...

But the book itself is a masterpiece. While it's relatively easy to portray events - if difficult to do it well - to create a mood is much harder, and to create one which so pervades the novel a barely believable triumph.

The Grapes of Wrath begins with despair and fear as the Joad family leaves the Oklahoma dustbowl and year after year of failed crop harvests in search of work in the promised land of California, and relates how they hang on to hope in spite of the hardship and sacrifice they encounter.

It's a 'hard' book in many ways. The suffering is huge, while the language is so evocative that the reader feels like the family, making progress so slowly that persistence and resilience are required in abundance. Every alternate chapter gives a short overview of the plight of families like the Joads and reinforces the magnitude of their plight in the 1930s.

And yet. Despite the fight for food, the lack of work, the absence of a home, the ill treatment by police and Californian residents, strikes, the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage west, illness and even death, The Grapes of Wrath is above all an inspirational story of hope and how family and human nature can overcome almost anything.

I could go on, but I'll limit myself to one more word: excellent.

So, rating time:

#91 The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Penguin Group) - 9/10

Next up: The Five People You Meet in Heaven , by Mitch Albom (Little, Brown)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#90 Mortal Causes, by Ian Rankin (Orion)

You know you're in safe hands with Detective Inspector John Rebus, not to mention his creator, Ian Rankin.

It's easy to dismiss a series such as this as straightforward crime novels. It's indisputable that that's what they are. They're relatively easy to read and very entertaining, but that wouldn't be giving Rankin nearly enough credit, because it takes great skill to construct something as simple and effective.

Over the years, I've dipped in and out of the Rebus series, to the extent that I'm never quite sure which ones I've previously read. That it doesn't really matter where in the series you enter, and that each novel brings a huge amount of satisfaction and pleasure, probably explains why I keep returning.

Rankin's chief success lies in his depiction of Edinburgh, as much a character in his books as Rebus himself. And in a world where the latest book, television programme or film contains so many twists and turns at every corner that it leaves you wondering which way you're facing, Rankin's low-key plotting and gradual reveal makes a nice change.

Not that there aren't a few shocks. The world Rebus inhabits - in the case of Mortal Causes, one where paramilitary terrorist activity is encroaching on the detective's world - is a nasty one, full of murder and violence, lying and cheating, much of it conducted by Rebus himself.

But Rebus always remains the man you'd like out on the streets tackling crooks on your behalf - just as long as we can read all about it.

So, rating time:

#90 Mortal Causes, by Ian Rankin (Orion) - 7/10

Next up: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Penguin Group)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#89 Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler (Vintage)

After reading The Accidental Tourist, I told my More Literary Work Colleague that I hadn't been hugely impressed with Anne Tyler, only to be be put firmly in my place, to the extent that I felt inclined to give another of her books a go. Breathing Lessons was that book.

It was both an improvement and an interesting read - not least because for the first time this year, I've seen something of myself in one of the characters.

Breathing Lessons revolves around one day in the life of the ever-optimistic yet misguided Maggie, who cannot help meddling in the lives of those around her. She thinks nothing of telling a tiny lie if she believes it will reconnect her son with his errant wife and child, and as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that similar small mistruths in the past have led to this unfortunate and unhappy point.

Maggie's husband is the stoic Ira, a quiet man who tries to get on with life, is keen to avoid arguments, is happy to accept situations which have developed and believes it is pointless to try to change the past. I identified with him a lot.

The events related within Breathing Lessons are quite mundane - going to a funeral, going to see your grandchild, dealing with family illness - but the realism of the relationships which are portayed is what makes the novel worth reading.

So, rating time:

#89 Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler (Vintage) - 7/10

Next up: Mortal Causes, by Ian Rankin (Orion)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#88 No and Me, by Delphine De Vigan (Bloomsbury)

Unable to get to the library after running out of books to read, I actually had to invest in a new book to maintain my momentum as the final month of this challenge approached. I didn't have much time, I was only able to dash into a WH Smith while collecting some contact lenses from the store opposite, and the novel I ended up with was No and Me.

The last time I hastily selected a book emblazoned with a sticker denoting it had been chosen by Richard and Judy's Book Club, I was rewarded with a novel of surprising excellence: How to Talk to a Widower, which I've praised many times before. Unfortunately, No and Me didn't have quite the same impact.

Despite having previously studied French Literature and the likes of Moliere and Camus, I read the translated version, and I'm afraid I was left a bit disappointed.

The tale of a child genius, Lou, who befriends and starts to care for a homeless girl, No, after she agrees to help her with a school project, it's by no means bad or without interest. But for a book which has homelessness as its main subject, it's a bit too light and frothy for my taste, not grimy enough at all. Indeed, I've since been interested to learn that this was marketed as an adult book in France, but has been targeted at the more teen and chick-lit market in this country.

There are some nice touches. The impact of No on Lou's family and how she helps them to heal while her own life continues to disintegrate is a poignant contrast, and I enjoyed Lou's random experiments on everyday objects.

But while their relationships between the duo, and older, cooler friend Lucas ring true, I can't help feeling the way the story puts a lot of emphasis on the fact the Lou has an incredibly high IQ of 160 for a 13-year-old is partly used by the author to get around the issue of her precocious language, which never seems realistic.

So, rating time:

#88 No and Me, by Delphine De Vigan (Bloomsbury) - 6/10

Next up: Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler (Vintage)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#87 Sharpe's Company, by Bernard Cornwall (Harper Collins)

A friend of mine, Big Gay Rob, swears by Sharpe (almost more than Sharpe does himself in the novels). His girlfriend doesn't mind; she reckons Sean Bean, who played Richard Sharpe in the television series of the books, is 'all man'. And I have to admit that, after finishing Sharpe's Company, I can't argue with either point of view.

Sharpe's Company is the proverbial right rollicking read. You're never more than a heartbeat away from another battle, another betrayal, another beautiful woman to catch Sharpe's eye amid the never-ending plot and intrigue of an army at war.

The focus of this book is the Siege of Badajoz in Spain in the early 1800s, and things aren't going well. Sharpe's lost his captaincy and is being bated by an enemy within the ranks, while the battle isn't going any better...

That he's going to come through it all is never in any doubt, and there is very little to surprise readers. But there is plenty of frenetic fun and excitement en route as Sharpe bests what appear to be insurmoutable odds to win the battle, protect his woman and rid the army of (a bit of) corruption.

The above is all well and good, of course. But even as a relative newcomer, I know author Bernard Cornwell prides himself on his historical accuracy, and the authenticity of the setting and the events combines with even the most outlandish plot to produce a very enjoyable book.

So, rating time:

#87 Sharpe's Company, by Bernard Cornwall (Harper Collins) - 8/10

Next up: No and Me, by Delphine De Vigan (Bloomsbury)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#86 The Heart of a Goof, by PG Wodehouse (Everyman's Library)

Another PG Wodehouse, and another book from the great man about sport, but this time it's golf which is the focus of The Heart of a Goof.

Earlier this year, I read a book devoted to Wodehouse's love of cricket and the effect of the sport on his work. It now seems surprising that there was no mention of golf, because Wodehouse clearly has a deep affection for the game, and, in a foreword, even mounts a vociferous defence against any potential criticism that he is wasting words on what some might consider an inconsequential subject.

As if I didn't like Wodehouse enough already, he points out that it's through golf and other sports that real drama is created and is most truly evident. Which is exactly the argument I make to the Wench when I want to watch a significant sporting event...

But enough of that. The book itself is a collection of short stories, but has the neat trick that each is introduced and related by the same person, 'the Oldest Member' of a golf club, who adroitely traps someone into listening to his latest tale. With some of the stories also containing the same characters, it never feels like a simple compilation, though, and there is plenty of progression and real character depth.

You're never far from a humorous situation with Wodehouse, and of all the authors I have read this year, there isn't one who is easier to read and who makes turning the pages such an reflex action - and so enjoyable.

So, rating time:

#86 The Heart of a Goof, by PG Wodehouse (Everyman's Library) - 8/10

Next up: Sharpe's Company, by Bernard Cornwall (Harper Collins)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#85 Magnificent Bastards, by Rich Hall (Abacus)

I'm a big fan of the stand-up comedy of Rich Hall, one of the more intelligent and laconic comedians on the current circuit, but Magnificent Bastards, his collection of tall tales, didn't inspire the same pleasure.

It's perfectly fine, and there are some nice touches within the short stories, particularly with regard to the creation of some quirky characters. But the collection is quite disparate and never really gels together to become a greater sum than its parts.

The best story is of a man who vacuums prairie dogs as he plots to reclaim his family home, but on the flip side there is a bizarrely hyperbolic tale of a girl who invites 45,000 MySpace friends to a party at her house.

So, rating time:

#85 Magnificent Bastards, by Rich Hall (Abacus) - 6/10

Next up: The Heart of a Goof, by PG Wodehouse (Everyman's Library)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#84 What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin Books)

Giving it 10/10 probably tells you all you need to know, but further evidence of how much I liked Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers is the fact that I more or less went straight out and bought another of his books, What the Dog Saw.

It's not as good. But that's like comparing Asafa Powell to Usain Bolt. In anyone's terms, when it comes to running very quickly indeed, Powell is outstanding. But he's not Bolt.

Anyway, metaphors aside, it's a fascinating read, as Gladwell turns his attention to finding interesting stories in apparently any mundane subject he puts under his microscope, whether it's the failure of companies to compete with Heinz's Tomato Ketchup to what hair dye advertising did for the empowerment of women, which was my favourite tale, and the dangers of over-analysing decisions with the benefit of hindsight.

So, rating time:

#84 What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin Books) - 8/10

Next up: Next up: Magnificent Bastards, by Rich Hall (Abacus)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#83 The Wire Re-up, edited by Steve Busfield and Paul Owen (Guardian Books)

I received The Wire Re-up from the Wench for Christmas, but there is a reason why I've only just got around to finishing it.

The book is a mixture of articles, interviews, and viewers' responses, views and interpretations to the groundbreaking American TV drama, the "best thing that has ever been on television" etc. Stop me if you've heard this all before.

Because the books follows each episode of the programme, in sequence, it was my plan at the start of the year to watch each hour-long show before reading the appropriate section. Unfortunately, that's an extra 60 hours of television to add to this challenge, and when I realised I was only four episodes in about a month ago, I swiftly abandoned those plans.

So how's the book? Pretty good, as it goes, and while it's clearly a 'present product' (the Wench bought it me for Christmas, I bought it for my dad) and has its share of filler, such as a quiz set by the actors, it also contains a large amount of serious study and discussion about the show, with many of the best bits coming from viewers themselves who responded to a Guardian blog.

I should confess that I followed the blog avidly, albeit as a lurker without having the confidence to offer my own opinions. Perhaps this posting redresses the balance.

It's interesting that the main thing I took away from The Wire Re-up was a reminder of how funny the programme was/is. It's a show of such realism, containing so many horrors and appalling violence, that you forget the many laugh-out-loud moments.

You wouldn't read this book without having watched The Wire, and I can imagine that many people would consider all the philosophising about a television programme incredibly pompous. But it's their loss.

So, rating time:

#83 The Wire Re-up, edited by Steve Busfield and Paul Owen (Guardian Books) - 7/10

Next up: What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin Books)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

One month to go

I know it's technically December 3rd, but I meant to write this two days ago - so after 11 months of a life dominated by fictional works, let's just pretend...

Regular readers may have noticed that the blogs have dried up of late, the result of a combination of an excruciating work schedule and my computer going kaput. It's a technical term. Even this posting isn't going to have a nice accompanying photo because it's too much hassle on the computer I'm now using.

However, the one thing that hasn't suffered is my reading. And although my yearly total alongside apparently remains rigidly stuck on 82 - falling a fair way short of my nemesis, the Friend of the Wench - he may be somewhat disconcerted to learn I may not be quite so far behind as he thinks.

So, coming up over the next few days as I play catch-up, are reviews of the following:

The Wire Re-up, edited by Steve Busfield and Paul Owen (Guardian Books)

What the Dog Saw, by Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin Books)

Magnificent Bastards, by Rich Hall (Abacus)

The Heart of a Goof, by PG Wodehouse (Everyman's Library)

Sharpe's Company, by Bernard Cornwall (Harper Collins)

No and Me, by Delphine De Vigan (Bloomsbury)

Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler (Vintage)

So, here we go...

#82 The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler (Vintage)

Nick Hornby is one of my favourite writers, but I’m going to have to stop taking his advice about books to read. The front of my copy of The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler, sees Hornby proclaiming it is ‘brilliant, funny, sad and sensitive”, while the reverse sees the effusive writer of the likes of Fever Pitch saying ‘My favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world, is Anne Tyler”.

It’s statements like those which influence my book selections for this challenge, but much like One Day, I find that, unfortunately, Hornby’s tastes don’t tally with my own.

I can’t entirely blame Nick. The Accidental Tourist is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel, so it’s clear that at least some critics agree with Hornby rather than me, and William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis starred in an award-winning film of the same name. But while the story was entertaining enough, it never gripped me. It was never funny enough or poignant enough to generate in me the emotional response that others have apparently experienced.

Like How to Talk to a Widower, the main character is a man recovering from grief, in his case the death of his son. He is a guidebook writer for businessmen who have no intention of seeing the sights of the places they visit, but just want to know about their home comforts – the Accidental Tourist in question. But he’s also an accidental tourist in his own life, a man who is unable to engage with others and loses his marriage as a consequence.

Into his life enters a bizarre dog trainer, who gives him the strength to rebuild his life and lead to him having to actively make a decision on how he wants to spend his remaining days, but I was never significantly moved by the ups and downs and twists and turns. Sure, there were times I raised a chuckle, but I never reached the emotional highs and lows Nick hinted at. It’s my loss, I know.

So, rating time:

#82 The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler (Vintage) - 6/10

Next up: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Penguin Group)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#81 Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (Vintage)

“Our library,” says a character in Brave New World in reply to a question as to whether the shelves have any Shakespeare, “contains only books of reference. If our young people need distraction, they can get it [elsewhere]. We don’t encourage them to indulge in any solitary amusements.”

It’s a paragraph which sums up Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s classic view of a future in which the majority of people have not a care in the world, where war and conflict has been eradicated – but where people have merely become automatons. The contrast is provided by the savage reservations, where people have complete freedom but are forced to live primitively, forcing the conclusion that with technological progress comes a loss of liberty – a concept with which any Blackberry user would quickly concur.

Appropriately enough for this blog, literature features strongly in Brave New World. The title of the book is taken from The Tempest (Shakespeare is prominent throughout) and reading itself is a form of rebellion.

The beauty of Brave New World is its satirical subtlety. Huxley could have laid his vision of a Dystopian future on with a trowel, but it’s the smaller points which have the greatest impact. The founder of the new world order is Henry Ford, who has become a religious icon, so people exclaim ‘Ford!’ instead of ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ and make the sign of the ‘T’ (for the Model T Ford) instead of the cross.

The most disturbing elements relate to the reproduction techniques now being used by civilised society and the promiscuity which is so prevalent, but rather than portray black and white, Huxley makes sure to paint many of the alternatives just as bleakly. It’s a book, like HG Wells’ The Time Machine or George Orwell’s1984, which poses many philosophical questions and is rather short on hope.

To that end, many claim some of Huxley’s writings have already become true. We have not yet got individual helicopters, but what’s ‘soma’ if it’s not Prozac or similar drugs, while amid recession we are encourage to embrace consumerism (“ending is better than mending; the less stitches, the more riches”).

If I had one criticism of Brave New World, it’s the ending. The plot – much criticised upon publication, apparently - isn’t exactly pulsating with life, and things come to a conclusion which is too neat, if still dreadful.

Overall then, Brave New World is on the ‘classics’ list for a reason. And you can read what the Friend of the Wench made of it here.

So, rating time:

#81 Brave New World, By Aldous Huxley (Vintage) - 8/10

Next up: The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler (Vintage)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating

#80 The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, by Glenn Taylor (Blue Door)

Early ‘Trenchmouth’ Taggart must be one of the most incredible characters I’ve read this year, and this novel, the story of the life of a man who is an outlaw, murderer, deadshot, inventor, woodsman, musician, journalist and much more, one of the most incredible tales.

It’s a book that while you’re reading it, you’re caught up in the bizarre twists and turns he takes, from nearly drowning as a baby and receiving the oral infection which would give rise to his nickname to his final days protecting the environment and his family. Not forgetting the alcoholism, mental instability, Blues innovator, outcast and union strike periods and more in between. But once it’s completed, you take stock and ponder just how believable it really all was.

In many ways, it doesn’t matter. I’ve read many books where so much time has been spent establishing the setting that the story itself suffers. Here, the story, a real old American take, undoubtedly takes precedence and while I’m sure the places and timeline have been exhaustively researched, it wouldn’t make much difference if they hadn’t.

Whether you enjoy The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart will depend on what you think of the main character, an anti-hero who is compelling and repellent by turns. Me, I alternated between the two, and these feelings mirrored what I thought of the book as a whole.

So, rating time:

#80 The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, by Glenn Taylor (Blue Door) - 6/10

Next up: Brave New World, By Aldous Huxley (Vintage)