Picks 2019

My reading/reviewing took a knock last year, and I haven't read anything like the number of books I usually would. As a result, I haven't gone for a full Top Ten of the year (also, you might note, I'm late posting this). Anyway, here we are, with some of my favourite books of 2019





Stillicide by Cynan Jones. Breath-catching, heart-wrenching, stunning - a series of self-contained but linked short stories set in a bleak, not-too distant, future where providing water to big cities requires military precision and armed guards. Although it's a long step from Jones' previous works set in rural Wales, there's the same precision and attention to detail, his ability to get inside a character's head and create living, breathing people is just the same.






The Sea Within Me by Sarah Dobbs. More dystopian sci-fi, this time in an England threatened by rising sea-levels and terrorists. In grim, beleaguered Newark by the Sea, the government is trialing a scheme to combat crime and fear which erases anything unpleasant from people's minds - a way to keep the population happy, or a form of mind control?







The 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' vibe continues with Bridget Collins' The Binding. A gripping tale of betrayal and hidden secrets set in a vaguely Victorian setting, unhappy memories are gathered by a form of magic, and bound into books. When Emmett is apprenticed as a bookbinder, he starts to uncover his own hidden memories - and his view of the world changes completely.





And The Wind Sees All by Gudmundur Andri Thorsson Another collection of short stories, this time fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle to paint a portrait of the inhabitants of an Icelandic fishing village. At a cursory view they seem happy, respectable, comfortable in their life and ways, but behind the smiling faces heartache, betrayal and deceit lurk.









My last pick - Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield - is a bit of a cheat as I also included it in last year's 'best of' list; it was only available then as an e-book, now it's in 'proper' book form. It's an astounding piece of storycraft - a tale as much about the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the frequently puzzling world, as it is about a girl rescued from the river one dark, stormy night.

Snowy Favourites

With snow and ice lying around for the third day, we started thinking about our favourite snowy reads - so here's yet another Top 5 list

Maryom's Top 5

When I started thinking of snowy day stories, the first one that sprung to mind was the AA Milne one in which Pooh and Piglet go in search of a woozle - admittedly it's not a complete story, just a chapter from Winnie the Pooh but it's complete in itself and captures the essence and excitement of snow and of tracking something through it.
There are lots that didn't quite make the Top 5 - Cold Mountain and Possession both have memorable snow storms though the overall feel isn't 'snowy'; almost anything Russian is bound to include snow - Dr Zhivago, War and Peace, Eugene Onegin - and so many murder mysteries - The Murder on the Orient Express, The Virgin in the Ice, The Opposite of Amber .....

Anyway, these are the ones that made the final cut;

In Which Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and nearly catch a Woozle - classic snowy weather hunting tale for the under-5s

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith - faceless dead bodies and fur smuggling introduce us to Arkady Renko of the Moscow militia.

Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow by Peter Hoeg - Nordic Noir. The police claim a boy's death is an accident, Miss Smilla, with her indepth knowledge of snow, insists it's murder.

The Still Point by Amy Sackville - memories of a polar explorer unearthed by his great-grand niece on a hot summer's day, making the cold colder and the heat, hotter.

Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson - snow covered fir trees alternate with ripe strawberries against the background of teen love and a murder trial.

The Mole's Top 5

Well I don't see how any top 5 snowy stories can be completed (or even started) without including The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Magic, snow, friendship and love - all the components for an excellent story.

And when it comes to magic The Lion The Witch And The Wardobe by C S Lewis has captured so many imaginations since it was first published and is still capturing them today.

But snow is not all soft and fluffy whiteness as we see in Dark Matter by Michelle Paver when we see the darkest and most hostile side to winter.

And when people become dark in their intentions and join forces with winter we end up with stories like Dead Of Winter by P J Parrish. A truly chilling and thrilling tale.

But sometimes the darker side of people does not involve murder and mayhem as we see in Legend Of A Suicide by David Vann when winter conspires with mood to bring very dark times.

Your Top 5 snowy stories

Do tell please?