100 Books for 2018: 1 to 5

Thanks to a combination of busy life and spending too much time getting sucked down an internet black hole in which I puttered from link to link, my lifelong book reading habit suffered. In 2017 I rebooted my Goodreads account and committed to reading 52 books as my 2017 Book Challenge. I hit 55. Last year I decided to stretch myself and go for 100. I finished the final book at 6.30pm on New Year's Eve! I use Goodreads to keep tabs of the books I have read and want to read; I give the books I read a star rating there, but rarely write reviews. I'm going to test my memory and try to write brief reviews of last year's 100 books here, a few at a time. I use the word "read" slightly loosely as I also count audio books. I usually listen to an Audible book in the car when commuting to work, and also download some free audio books from the library (the app for these can be frustrating, so I use it less than I otherwise would).

Book 1 - Beyond the Snow: the Life and Faith of Elizabeth Goudge (Christine Rawlins)
I am a fan of Elizabeth Goudge's gentle, uplifting writing, and enjoyed her autobiography, The Joy of the Snow, so had high hopes of this book. I can't remember much detail now, but large chunks were simply quotations from Miss Goodge's writing. Disappointing.
** 2 stars

Book 2 - Women and Power: a Manifesto (Mary Beard)
Mary Beard, Cambridge professor of classics and presenter of some excellent TV history programmes,  is one of my favourite voices of reason on Twitter. This short book contains slightly extended versions of two lectures given in 2014 and 2017 and is intelligent feminism at its best, drawing on historical examples from the classical world through to the present day.
**** 4 stars

Book 3 - Jane Austen at Home (Lucy Worsley) [Audio]
I like Jane Austen. I like reading (and hearing) about Jane Austen. Lucy Worsley (also a TV historian) is a Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces and an expert on the history of domestic spaces. She puts Jane Austen into the context of the various homes in which she lived, and does it well. I finished this book with a much better understanding of Jane.
**** 4 stars

Book 4 - How to Go Vegan (Veganuary)
Last year I signed up for Veganuary and committed to eating vegan throughout January. The people at  Veganuary do a great job of providing online resources, and for 2018 they published How to Go Vegan.  I found it an excellent introduction to the hows and whys of veganism, encouraging rather than dogmatic. While I never intended to commit to veganism for the long term, I found I enjoyed eating a plant-based diet and largely stuck to it for most of last year, though eating vegetarian/pescatarian when on holiday, and occasionally succumbing to non-vegan cakes, biscuits and chocolate! This year I want to work on eating ethically, trying to find a balance of eating a mainly plant-based diet, supplemented with a limited amount of traditionally raised meat, sustainable fish, traditionally produced cheese and yoghurt, and free range eggs.
***** 5 stars

Book 5 - The Novice's Tale (Ann Swinfen)
This is the second in a series of medieval mysteries set in Oxford in the 1350s in the aftermath of the Black Death (I read the first, The Bookseller's Tale in 2017). The protagonist is Nicholas Elyot,  a bookseller and single parent of two young children, who lost his beloved wife to the plague. A former scholar, who left his studies in order to marry, he moves smoothly between the two Oxford worlds of the townsmen and the university. Each book in the series is well researched, and although the characterisation builds from one book to the next I think they could be read as stand alone stories. In The Novice's Tale Nicholas becomes involved in the hunt for a novice nun who has gone missing from nearby Godstow Abbey. Sadly Ann Swinfen died last year and the series ends prematurely with the fifth book. If you enjoy gentle historical mysteries I recommend these.
**** 4 stars