Category Archives: 101greatreads

The vanishing futurist by Charlotte Hobson (Faber)

Posted on May 4, 2017 by drewsmith28

“In May 1914, much against the advice of my parents, I took up the post of governess to the Robelev family of No 7 Gagarinsky Lane, Moscow” THERE is an endearing description on page two of this provocative, colourful entertaining, … Continue reading →

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The Third Plate by Dan Barber (Abacus)

Posted on April 21, 2017 by drewsmith28

“A corn cob, dried and slightly shriveled, arrived in the mail not long after we opened Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Along with the cob was a check for $1,000” THE best place to read this book would be on … Continue reading →

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Ashes in the Wind by Christopher Bland (Head Zeus)

Posted on March 24, 2017 by drewsmith28

“John Burke wants to be Tomas Sullivan. John wants Tomas’s worn brown boots, the scabs on his knees, his green jersey darned with whatever coloured wool had come to his mother’s hand. He wants to talk like Tomas.” AN old … Continue reading →

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The poet by Michael Connelly (Orion)

Posted on March 8, 2017 by drewsmith28

“Death is my beat. I make a living from it.” IF you have a cold or flu, then Michael Connelly is a good companion. Being a bit dopey helps with the severe plot twists, not twists at all really but … Continue reading →

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Homo Deus by Yoav Noah Harari ( (Penguin)

Posted on February 16, 2017 by drewsmith28

“At the dawn of the third millennium, humanity wakes up, stretching its limbs and rubbing its eyes. Remnants of some awful nightmare are still drifting across its mind.” HOWEVER awful events might have been through history, it is over. It … Continue reading →

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The noise of time by Julian Barnes (Vintage)

Posted on January 24, 2017 by drewsmith28

“All he knew was that this was the worst time.” IT is 1936, Stalin is reaching the height of his paranoia. The child prodigy and revolutionary treasure Shostakovich is denounced in Pravda. Short paragraphs rather than chapters paint tableaux of … Continue reading →

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The bird tribunal by Agnes Ravatn (Orenda)

Posted on January 13, 2017 by drewsmith28

“My pulse raced as I traipsed through the silent forest. The occasional screech of a bird, and, other than that, only naked, grey deciduous trees, spindly young saplings and the odd blue-green sprig of juniper in the muted April sunlight.” … Continue reading →

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Days without end by Sebastian Barry (Faber)

Posted on November 29, 2016 by drewsmith28

“The method of laying out a corpse in Missouri sure took the proverbial cake.” ELENA Ferrante took four books to portray her Neapolitan chronicles, so Sebastian Barry follows the fortunes of the McNulty family in different, self standing tomes, just … Continue reading →

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On writing by Stephen King (Pocket)

Posted on November 17, 2016 by drewsmith28

“This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit.” BEFORE you are tempted to take out your feather plume and dip it in the black ink, before you type in the password on your computer, … Continue reading →

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His bloody project by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband)

Posted on October 16, 2016 by drewsmith28

“I am writing this at the behest of my advocate, Mr Andrew Sinclair, who since my incarceration here in Inverness, has treated me with a degree of civility I in no way deserve.” GOOD writing is like singing, you hit … Continue reading →

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