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Booker Longlist 2026: Books #4, #5 and #6

Next three are done, and this time, I wasn't as impressed (although I am sure views will differ!) My next two, as I approach the halfway mark, is Douglas Stuart's John of John, one of the heavy hitters (and favourites to win), and the highly praised All Them Dogs, so I am preparing for bedazzlement :-) The rolling list is below. 1. The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis 2. Switzy by Emma Cline 3. Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman ✅4. The End of Everything by M. John Harrison: 5/10 5. The Disappearers by Marlon James ✅6. Black Bag by Luke Kennard: 7/10 7. The Renovation by Kenan Orhan ✅8. May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry: 8.5/10 ✅9. The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley: 6/10 ✅10. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: 9.5/10 11. John of John by Douglas Stuart 12. All Them Dogs by Djamel White ✅13. The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams: 5/10 The End of Everything by M. John Harrison: 5/10 Have we got up to one of the Booker Stinkers already? Well ... maybe. Sort of. ...
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Booker Longlist 2026: Books #2 and #3

Well, the time has rolled around for the Booker Prize longlist again! The thirteen titles in contention are: 1. The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis 2. Switzy by Emma Cline 3. Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman 4. The End of Everything by M. John Harrison 5. The Disappearers by Marlon James 6. Black Bag by Luke Kennard 7. The Renovation by Kenan Orhan ✅8. May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry: 8.5/10 ✅9. The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley: 6/10 ✅10. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: 9.5/10 11. John of John by Douglas Stuart 12. All Them Dogs by Djamel White 13. The Vivisectors by Missouri Williams I had already read the Strout book prior to the list (review is here ), but have decided to take a tilt at banging through the rest of the longlist in advance of shortlist announcement in late September. We'll see how we go! I'll tick each title on the list as I cover it. Kicking off, here are two of the shorties (under 250pp) that I started with. I listened to the au...
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Crime Fiction of July

This has been a much bigger reading month for me than the two preceding, largely because I spent a week in social isolation in the lead-up to surgery and then a week recovering from surgery, which left more available time for books. As is not unusual for me at times of physical and psychological stress, I dropped back to one of my favourite comfort-read genres, which is mystery fiction.  Rather than doing a detailed review of each of the six titles I read, here's a little para about each just to give a flavour! No covers because, frankly, I can't be bothered :-P I've just stepped off into the 2026 Booker Prize longlist reading challenge, so my reading for the next two months will be Booker-dominated (and so will any book posting to this blog). I may end up missing these lighter reads by the end of that! To every season, its book will come... 1. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz This is the first book in Horowitz's very popular Horowitz and Hawthorne series, which f...
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Second quarter 2026 in review

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The second quarter of 2026 has come to an end, and what a massive three months it has been! Workload has been intense to (at times) borderline hellish, with three very large projects in play. I travelled twice for work, once internationally (to Auckland for a week in June). I also squeezed in a weekend away to the Mornington Peninsula with the whole extended family. The three months was also chocked full of social and life commitments, including the festival that was my middle daughter's 21st birthday celebrations. I went to the theatre, the movies, parties, dinners. I hosted friends and family and was hosted by them. There wasn't a lot of slack in the days, the weeks or the months. We've adjusted to our new normal as a household of three, and have settled into maintaining our relationships with my two elder daughters who now live independently. It's had moments of being bittersweet, but overall, I am very grateful that we have been able to remain close and loving in ou...
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Three outstanding books that I was not disappointed by

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I'm going into hospital for a (hopefully relatively minor) surgery tomorrow, but before I do, I thought I'd give some thoughts on the wonderfully palate-cleansing three books I have just finished - such a great change after being disappointed by the Barnes and Yuzuki books (see last post!) I read these three books in tandem, alternating between them as the mood struck, and I thought each of them was near-perfect of its type. All were relatively short - more evidence, if more were needed, that you don't have to write doorstoppers to pull off something great - and they were incredibly different in tone, style and affect from each other. One was contemplative and moving, one hilarious and witty, one dark and sad and incredibly powerful. I would recommend each of them without hesitation, but for very different reasons. "It was one of those jolly, peaceful mornings that make a chappie wish he’d got a soul or something" I can't believe I've never read Wodehouse ...
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Two not-terrible books that I was somewhat disappointed by

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I've just finished two books that have both been on my bedside TBR pile for some time. Both of them are books I was keenly anticipating reading, based largely on the regard in which I hold earlier works by the authors. Now, having completed both, I find myself ... underwhelmed? Neither are awful books - both have points of interest, both have things to recommend them - but given what each of these writers has shown themselves capable of in the past, these books just ain't it. This book, billed as a novel (spoiler alert - it is not in fact a novel) is purported by Barnes to be his last book. However. Given this is the same writer who gave a long-form interview over a decade ago that was billed as The Last Interview, and has been nonetheless all over the press ever since, giving more interviews than a Bridgerton actor, I think we can take that with a grain of salt. For the sake of Barnes' legacy, I actually hope it is disingenuous, because this would not be a strong note on w...
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Some books I read in May and June

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The last two months have been incredibly hectic, with two stints of work travel (including one overseas trip), a very heavy workload, and some very significant family milestones. While I haven't stopped reading (of course, when do I ever?), I have read less than is my usual wont, and I haven't been writing up very extensive notes. In lieu of trying to play catch-up with longer reviews, I thought I'd do one post here that gives a shorter look at some of the books I've read and enjoyed over this eight weeks. While these are hardly deep dives, hopefully they give some taste of the books and what I liked about each of them! I have excluded the books I didn't like much, as well as the one book I am saving for a proper review (Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear). I'll go category-based to divide them up. Mysteries This was a really enjoyable historical mystery, embedded in a location and historical moment that I, as an Australian, have heard of, but knew little about ...
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