20 Books of 2020 (Pt.12)

Reading books is one of the biggest highlights of my entire existence. Without it I think I would go completely blank and void of any thought or feeling whatsoever. I feel like I've been given a great opportunity when it comes to reading because I enjoy it so much. I never believe people who say they don't like reading - they just haven't found the right book for them yet. Thankfully, I was very, very young when I discovered my love of reading. I would now like to take the time to talk to you about my mother, who nurtured this...

When I was very, very young, my mother used to read me stories - like any mother would. When her sister, my aunt, came over from India, my aunt taught me how to write and so - I picked up a very Indian style of handwriting. But my mother continued to nurture my love for reading by taking me on trips to the library. She made sure I had a library card (which was a strange faded reddish-pink colour) and even though the library itself wasn't very big or welcoming, she'd still sit there with me and read.

In those days, I didn't live near the town centre where I could go to the bookstore and purchase anything. And plus, the bookstore was a completely different bookstore back then. Instead of the "Waterstones" it is now, it was once "Ottakers" and I went there sporadically in comparison to living only a mere three streets away from Waterstones, like I do at the present moment. My mother would still take me to the Ottakers and sit with me to either read or choose a book to buy from the children's section. It was a quiet experience walking on to that dark green carpet and running my little legs to choose a book.

The point is that when my mother nurtured my love for reading and language, she wasn't only doing that because of me. She was doing that also to prove to herself that she could raise a child that still loved to read in an age where it was becoming uncool to do so. I never cared for what was cool or not - I had no friends anyway. However, my love for reading was always what kept me grounded and I think my mom knew that too. I was a troublemaker at school but I was also very apt to learn. I loved learning through reading and so, I would basically live in the school libraries wherever I went to school. At university, I loved the libraries even more, filled with masses of information and then there's the Birmingham City Library. I cannot express in words what it means to me to go there and sit just to read.

Reading books has always brought me back to my mother. Even though she's in her mid-50s now, she still loves reading too and she still encourages my love of it (even though the amount I do it annoys her to the point of no return because I don't really do anything else with my spare time). I know she really wouldn't have it any other way though. So without further introduction, I think it's time to start part 12 of our journey. Here's books numbered 221-240 - I hope you enjoy them and visit my page for more of the different sections if you missed any...

221-230

221. We Think the World of You by JR Ackerley

This book was absolutely heart-wrenching and, at the same time it was absolutely hilarious because it was so satirical. It's about a man who has a friend who is in jail and the family and this man are in a mood with each other over who can contact him. The dog comes into it and the protagonist finds out that the family have been abusing his friend's dog as much as hitting the dog and disallowing it to go outside. After this, the protagonist takes the dog for a few days, looks after it and shows it the world. He becomes obsessed with the idea that the dog is actually the most cherished item of his friend and that the family tensions mean that the dog could never live in harmony with them. A brilliantly symbolic novel, it has all the workings of a family drama in about 200 or so pages. It has such momentum that you'll fall in love with the people who actually want to protect this animal.

222. Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr

This one was more of a horror than a crime novel but I enjoyed this as one of the most enjoyable out of them all. It was such an amazing novel because there was so much atmosphere and so much mystery. From about halfway through the book because of the way people are acting, you think you know who it is and then, it goes even deeper. From private affairs to a pair of muddy boots to a secret passageway under a river and then, all the way to a supposedly haunted castle - this book proves to be an enigma on top of an enigma. It is such an amazing thing to read in the dark of the night because it is a brilliant masterpiece. It stars a magician and a man being used as a human torch because he died after he was set on fire. I read the whole thing in one sitting. It was a mindfuck of an experience.

223. Murder in the Mill-Race by ECR Lorac

This book was absolutely wild. It starts with a couple who are new to the village learning about a young woman called Nancy who committed suicide by jumping in the river. After this, another woman - older than Nancy - is found dead in the river. It is Sister Monica. A highly religious and orderly figure that had the whole village terrified of her. As suspects are raised and things are found out - it seems that Sister Monica was holding some close-guarded secrets before her death. It also seems like a number of people may have been involved - including her maid, a couple of doctors and even the more religious members of the community. As gazes intensify towards one another, the community seeks to protect itself from outsiders at whatever cost necessary. I absolutely loved this book and I never really saw the ending coming. The fact that it ends where it does is not only like a cliffhanger, but it also isn't. There's something really satisfying and not quite finished about the ending that I really enjoyed and you have to appreciate to. Please read this book!

224. The Colour of Murder by Julian Symons

This book was very exciting and very different to all the crime I've read so far. The first part of this book is where the protagonist is narrating his life before the crime, what he was doing and how it all happened before it happened. Then, the second part is the trial on which the protagonist (John) is accused of murder. In the midst of it are illicit affairs, a dying father, an unsustainable and unhappy marriage, a shady uncle and a mother who is overtly emotional and protective about her son. The whole question is about how far would you go for love and whether this man John, who has blackouts, can remember everything correctly. If he can't, I'm sure he is in serious trouble. I thought the ending was spectacular, the book was incredibly clever and the whole winding and turning of John's life and the court case lets you know more about it than you can piece together quick enough. In the end it all comes down to memory and how much can you remember if you're known for having blackouts.

225. The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude

This was absolutely amazing because for a very, very long time I thought it was the least likely person - the niece. Then, it turned out to be someone else entirely with a whole new backstory. This book is about a man who is found shot dead in his own home. It is found that someone had shot him from through the window and immediately, his niece who was on a walk after an argument with him is suspect. After this, we find out that the dead man wasn't well liked amongst his clients - evicting some of them on to the street and making them homeless. He had a temper and there are death threats found signed M.L. The only problem is, none of the many, many suspects have the initials M.L - so who could it be? I found this mystery so damn exciting because there were so many leads and then so many dead ends. For a very long time, I suspected the niece but it wasn't the case at all - however, there are so many other suspects that you need to pay attention to everything everyone is saying. It really is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.

226. Fire in the Thatch by ECR Lorac

I really actually enjoyed this one because it doesn't go straight to the crime. First, it actually goes through a guy moving into a rented property whilst the family drama involving the landlord and his daughter-in-law unfolds. The daughter-in-law (June) wanted her friend (Tom) to move in there, but instead a man named Nick Vaughan has moved in and now, he's been found dead with his house burned down. Tom and his best friend are the immediate suspects, so is June - but the daughter Anne thinks that there was more to Nick Vaughan than meets the eye. There was something not quite right about his past and now, even though miles away from where he once was, he's had to pay the ultimate price for it. Filled with intrigue and who knows who, this book is an intense whirlwind of an experience. The one thing I like about ECR Lorac's novels is that they normally contain a small cast of tight-knit characters who all have some sort of link to each other. Instead of having the crime committed way out there, the crime is very close to a sheltered community and nobody is willing to give each other in, even if they know who it was.

227. Murder by Matchlight ECR Lorac

This one was way different to the others I've read. ECR Lorac knows how to create a really good atmosphere. At night, London is completely silent and a man is taking a nightly walk along the street when he hears the utmost commotion from the surrounding area. It is a fight between two men. One man kills the other man by smashing his head in. Fortunately enough, our protagonist sees the face of the murderer and states to the police that he'd know that man's face anywhere. The only problem is that even though the protagonist tried to restrain the murderer, he got away. Now, there's nothing left but to find him - and that proves a strenuous task in itself. This is one of the most mind-boggling crime books I've read because right from the first page, you're thrust into the night scene of early 20th century London - you're forced to walk the shadows with the CID and ultimately, politics and money may have something more to do with it than meets the eye.

228. Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro

I enjoyed this so much that I'll actually call it one of my favourite books of the year. From around the beginning of what is generally known as the pre-Civil War era, this book takes a look at how Shakespeare has played a role in understanding the history of the American People. Ranging from ideas on immigration to do with Shakespeare's "Tempest" to ideas on marriage concerning "The Taming of the Shrew" and even to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in the viewpoint of "Julius Caesar" and "Macbeth". You all know how much I enjoy Shakespeare right? So, I wanted to share this extra special book with you - this is an achievement of literature, it is a monument of nonfiction and I really think Shakespeare himself would be pretty proud of this book. It is an absolute wonder, a delight and such an informative read. Jame Shapiro is a genius.

229. The Z Murders by J Jefferson Farjeon

I enjoyed this one, yet again and it was again, pretty different and strange for me to read. I didn't know who the killer was going to be and I didn't really have any suspects on my mind. This was because this book is about two men who are on a train together, one falls asleep and the other wonders why the sleeping one isn't snoring (because he usually does). Upon turning him around, the man realises that the other man is dead and phones the police straight away. When the police turn up, there's a bag, another dead body, someone's sister and a bunch of other things involved to catch this serial killer. Yes, I said it, serial killer. Jefferson Farjeon really knows how to make things creepy as hell and leave you thinking 'honestly, it was right there all along'. It was an amazing read and different from anything I've read by Jefferson Farjeon before. I very much enjoyed myself and I'm looking forward to more of these classics in the future.

230. Death of an Airman by Christopher St John Sprigg

From start to finish this one had me completely stumped. It's about a pilot who has a plane crash and dies. It's thought he died from hitting his head but when the body is exhumed, it is found that there's a bullet lodged in the same space as the head-wound. This means that both were inflicted on purpose and that he was possibly dead before in the plane. After this, the air club is investigated. Consisting of an Australian Bishop, a young female pilot, a wealthy lady and a strange young man - this could prove more difficult than ever as alias, double lives, marriages and affairs rise to the surface. Who you thought it was all along is not just not it, your second guess isn't it either! From start to finish, it is an absolute amazing event of a novel - a masterpiece by a man who didn't even see 30 years' old after being killed in the Spanish Civil War.

231-240

231. Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? by James Shapiro

Yes, I am now going through and doing my best to read the works of James Shapiro. When I was in university, I read the works of Jonathan Dollimore, Stephen Greenblatt and everyone else you can name in the Shakespeare studies realm from the lectures by Coleridge to the works of AC Bradley (I know, right?). But Shapiro, as an American, has an entirely different approach to studying Shakespeare. Shapiro has an ingenious amount of rich history interwoven with his books in which each and every era after Shakespeare's death paints a picture in how we have come to know Shakespeare today. In this book, we get the theories surrounding other people who may have wrote Shakespeare, forgeries of Shakespearean documents, people who have astonishing links to Shakespeare and people who just wanted to exploit the genius for their own gain after his death. An entirely different aspect of Shakespeare to his book Shakespeare in a Divided America, Shapiro proves once again that he is in fact a Shakespeare genius.

232. Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert

This book begins with a suicide. A man named Percy has shot himself. After this, we get the narration by a lawyer called Tony all the way through what seems like a shocking tale of affairs, lovers, rivalries and strange happenings. People disappear and reappear at odd times, people say the strangest things about each other, whispers and shouts echo these turbulent love affairs throughout the book. And then, one night at a party - everything just seems to go bad. After Hilary storms out and lashes out at some people at the party - seemingly in a nervous breakdown, somewhere else a man is found dead in the river. He was dressed for the party. But the question is how did he get there and who put him there? The biggest question though is through these rivalries, which one of the guests wanted him dead and why? This book is dead creepy. It makes you feel uncomfortable all over like your skin is crawling because everyone is suspect of everyone else and it is really one of those heart-pounding novels you cannot say no to.

233. Bats in the Belfry by ECR Lorac

This is one of those books where you kind of wish you didn't find out what the title meant. But anyways. After a night of seemingly odd discussions about death and murder, a man from the group goes missing never to be seen again. After a bunch of people are suspected of aiding him in his journey to remain unseen, more details start to uncover about tensions within the group itself. From affairs to politics and even to murder, there are things that you don't exactly tell your friends. I will hand it to ECR Lorac in the fact that atmosphere is this writers strength as is a small but indecisive set of characters. It is one of those novels where every couple of pages you have to pause and process what just happened because so many people are being so elusive, you cannot really help but suspect them of having a hand in this man's disappearance. But when bodies start to turn up, that's when you absolutely shit yourself. It's one of those really eerie mysteries where every single event connects to the last. Even from the very first conversation in the book.

234. The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons

This book was pretty great to be honest because Julian Symons never tells you a straight-up murder story. The murder is always shaded in a lot of backstory and familial tension, so much grief and agony and then - slam, the murder. This is what happens in this novel as well. We get a young man who attends his aunt's house in Belting and now, she's got cancer. The two uncles want their inheritance but, just in the strangeness of events, the lost husband of the aunt writes that he is still alive from the plane crash that happened ages before. Not believing that this is the real deal, the two uncles want their inheritance so badly that they rally up against this being, whoever he is and believe that he is taking the sick woman for a ride. The young man doesn't know what to think but with his parents dead and his aunt his only real family, he is set to inherit quite a bit. The question really is: which side is he on? Symons' writing style is perfect for crime, there's always so much going on, so many connections and so many strange events, you have to notice how the situation turns in and out of favour of certain people and where it does so. In this novel, it's about inheritance and money, it's about motive and identity and ultimately it is about the family name.

235. 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro

This book by James Shapiro is an absolute masterpiece. I can't even begin to understand how much research he would've had to do for this book. It begins with the build-up to the year 1599 in which during the 1590s, William Shakespeare's life is at a serious crossroads - does he write plays only or does he stick to high-brow poetry? Well, it's a bloody good thing he decided to do plays isn't it? The sonnets make up for the poetry I think. But when you read this book you realise that Shakespeare, above everything else, was a businessman. He wanted to make some money and he wanted to make it on the stage. It was a brilliant scheme having a main hub for theatre in the middle of London - The Globe. This book goes through the political turmoil that almost lost the audience of "Julius Caesar" and the strong actors required to play the most turbulent female parts of Shakespeare's greatest plays of the 1590s - it is an absolutely amazing book. I never would have thought that there was even more I could learn about Shakespeare, his time and his plays, but the way in which Shakespeare fits as a businessman is probably hardly covered by literature. Shapiro does a very good job of explaining it here.

236. Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate

I really did enjoy this one because I love how Raymond Postgate writes. This I found, was very similar to the writing of his other book Verdict of Twelve. It goes through each of the suspects back stories and you discover some frightening and yet, strange information about each one. One has killed a woman called Ann and is now being blackmailed, another is a Nazi Spy, one is a man who worked with the deceased man in the army and doesn't like him, another is a mother and her sick daughter. There's other characters too that, in some light, come across as shady and shadowy people. After this, you find out the strain between the relationship of the deceased man and his wife and you can only put together the pieces - but I'm sure you won't guess the correct answer straight away because you weren't reading between the lines. It's fairly obvious when you've read the whole book but at first, the actual answer would seem almost impossible. It's a brilliantly deep and shadowy crime with a ton of atmosphere. I really, really enjoyed this one.

237. Mystery on the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts

This one was incredible. In the very first chapter, two men are found dead upon a random boat. This leads the inspector to question the business partner, Nolan. From this, we get a number of shady leads, dodgy deals, money issues, fights and lawsuits. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that it was abnormal to see in crime literature that two people die at the same time. What they initially thought was that it was either a murder-suicide or a suicide pact. After this, the web starts to untangle and we see that there was actually many events and many bad happenings, strange things and odd occurrences leading up to this very moment. Freeman Wills Croft is probably the best writer I know at setting things in the water, it makes it far more difficult to identify a suspect because we don't know where the boat was either intending to go or had come from and that too, we find out with difficulty. It was pretty amazing to see it unravel. It was short, but it was intense.

238. The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton

In this book, there were many secrets I wasn't prepared for. For example, the first thing that happens is a man has been violently stabbed in the back. After this, there are a bunch of affairs and money difficulties that interweave a place called "The Rose and Crown" into the novel. It's one of those where you discover things about the dead man as you go through the book. When I was reading it, the one thing I was thinking was 'is there any end to the shady shit I'm going to learn about this character?' The one thing I really enjoyed though is that the murder wasn't really the only thing they were investigating. As the title states, the secrets about people and places that are uncovered play a vital role in how the plot develops and who you really suspect. In reality, you'll never really guess who it is...

239. The 12.30 From Croydon by Freeman Wills Crofts

This book was intense. At first it begins with a woman who is really excited about going on her first plane journey but is also really worried about her mother (whom she is going to see). When they all get off the plane, one man is found to have died whilst on the plane. Then, it follows a man called Charles Swinburne - the nephew of the deceased who wants his uncle dead. The difference between this book and other crime novels is that this one follows the criminal around and works up to the crime. You get to see the reasoning and the rationalising behind the crime. You get to see the monetary motivations and the familial tensions. This is a great book for people who want a different modern crime novel to the usual ones where you follow the detective around. To be honest, the first description of the plane taking off is actually pretty brilliantly written and then, you've got the rest. It truly is surprising.

240. The Contender by William J. Mann

Well, I had been putting this one off for a while because I read Marlon Brando's autobiography. The reason why I put it off was actually because his autobiography was so god awful. I actually wanted to play a drinking game where you take a shot every time Brando boasts about himself. This book though, is very surprising because it paints him as a normal person with likes and dislikes - even going as far as to say that he came to hate acting. The book commences with a number of things including Brando's own son pleading guilty to manslaughter. It is a strange story that doesn't really paint Brando as he painted himself in his autobiography. It makes you both like him and loathe him - but he really was no more than a human being after all.