Books, hockey, and a bucketful of snark
Being the musings of a Yorkshire lass living in the USA. I'm a book geek, bird nerd, grammar Nazi, and hockey nut. Sarcasm is my default setting.
A Book a Day - August 2014
Day 1 Most arresting opening lines
Live by Night - Dennis Lehane, and One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Day 2 Best pairing of words and pictures
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
Day 3 Favourite collection of short stories
Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman, and The Golden Apples of the Sun - Ray Bradbury
Day 4 Best graphic novel
When the Wind Blows - Raymond Briggs
Day 5 Classic hero/ine or antihero/ine
Michael Henchard (The Mayor of Casterbridge) - Thomas Hardy
Day 6 Best for a bedtime story
Slinky Malinki - Lynley Dodd
Day 7 Enjoyed by several generations
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Day 8 Never fails to cheer me up
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend
Day 9 Most powerful storytelling
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
Day 10 Best-written bestseller
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Day 11 Ideal for a book group
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Day 12 Most practical book
One is Fun - Delia Smith
Day 13 Favourite 'controversial' read
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Day 14 Best quick read
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
Day 15 Best lonnnnnngggg read
The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkein
Day 16 This book defends the undefended
Do Penance or Perish - Frances Finnegan
Day 17 Most beautifully designed book
The Imp of the Perverse - Edgar Allen Poe (designed by Helen Friel)
Day 18 I read to impress (& did it?)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M Pirsig
Day 19 Best YA book
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Day 20 The sequel was even better than the first
Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel
Day 21 Helps to tackle a tricky subject
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr
Day 22 C19th novel characters: let's play shag/marry/kill
Captain Troy, Edward Rochester, Angel Clare
Day 23 Best picture book for older readers
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
Day 24 Whose life? Best biography/autobiography
Claire Tomalin (Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Mary Wollenstonecraft, Samuel Pepys)
Day 25 Recommendation for a bank holiday
On Foot in the Yorkshire Dales, Roland Smith
Day 26 A book worth persevering with
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Day 27 Classic most relevant to now
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
Day 28 Most timeless contemporary book
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Day 29 Was totally worth the hype
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Day 30 Best back-to-school book
Jennings and Darbishire - Anthony Buckridge
Day 31 Top book of the month
