Sometimes I think I might delete this blog to free up the tiny bit of internet space it takes up... especially since I only manage to do anything with it about once a year.

This is going to be a quick run through everything I've read this year (don't worry all the PhD related stuff has been left out) which turns out to be not very much at all, due to PhD stuff, and being chained to a laptop everyday all day. Titles with very brief reviews, in no particular order:

Bonnie Greer - Entropy: sad, joyful; introspective, retrospective; and like the author, full of ideas.

Adam Foulds - The Quickening Maze: beautifully written, but a bit too slight for everything packed into it.

Ali Smith - The First Person and Other Stories: I'm not reviewing this - as far as I'm concerned Ali Smith can do no wrong when it comes to books.

AL Kennedy - What Becomes: Yes I read it again. And again. And before the year is out I might yet read it again. Do I need to explain...?

Stuart Hall - The Raw Shark Texts: Mad, mad, book about ... well, I couldn't even begin to explain. You'd think I'm insane. Go away and read it.

Nathaniel Rich - The Mayor's Tongue: The ending, sadly, lets it down.

Mohammed Hanif - A Case of Exploding Mangoes: This one surprised me - a serious book which is having too much fun to take itself seriously. Go away and read it.

Peter Ferry - Travel Writing: Can't remember if I read this at the end of 2009 or not, I seem to remember that its about storytelling and obsession and love and travel. Or something.

Stig Larsson - Millenium Trilogy: Ok, I gave in. Last week. Oddly compulsive. Run of the mill prose, needed 500 pages cutting from the total of about 2000, and a sharp editor, but hats off for creating a character who can kick that drivel which is Twilight out of the water (and no I haven't read those, and I won't be. Ever. Anyone caught reading them should be put on a compulsory and intensive course reading the likes of Virginia Woolf)

Back to the typing now.