For the past three months I have been spring cleaning my to-be-read piles by reading some physical volumes which have been there for far too long. I started the challenge at the beginning of March with high hopes of clearing 25 books away and finding some excellent stories as well – here’s what I thought when I started.
I can definitely say that the challenge has been a success. I managed to read all 25 books I had chosen in the time allotted. I have enjoyed some excellent books and read a variety of genres, from history to biography to travel to true crime to literary fiction and even including one crime novel. The books have been set in the UK, America, France, Egypt, Eastern Europe and various parts of Africa. Of the books that I chose I have passed fifteen on to be read by someone else, kept nine on my shelves and thrown one away because it had missing pages.
I shall definitely be doing this again in the Autumn because I have still too many neglected and unread books in various piles around my house. These are books that I thought that I would enjoy when I acquired them but for which I seem to have lost enthusiasm or where I have been distracted by other stories.
Have a look at my list below to see what I thought of my spring cleaning books – click on the title to connect to the review.
Books I thought were excellent
Fire in the Blood – literary fiction set in France
Thunderclap – memoir and history of art in England and Netherlands
Last Orders – literary fiction set in the UK
A Desert in Bohemia – literary fiction set in Eastern Europe
The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit – memoir set in Egypt and America
The Grass is Singing – literary fiction set in Africa
Eating an Elephant – memoir set mainly in America
The Good Doctor – literary fiction set in South Africa
The Herb of Grace – novel set in the English countryside
Railsea – fantasy set in a world of trains
Books that I enjoyed reading
Walking Through Spring – travel book set in England
Rivets, Trivets and Galvanised Buckets – mainly history but also memoir set in England
The Fountain Overflows – literary fiction set in England
Once in a House on Fire – memoir set in Manchester
The Last Kind Words Saloon – Western set at the OK Corral
Blood on the Page – true crime set in London
A Sort of Life – autobiography set in England
Mask of Betrayal – crime novel set in England
Insufficiently Welsh – travel book set in Wales
Brazzaville Beach – check opinion – literary fiction set in Africa
Books that were a little disappointing for me
The Midnight Library – fantasy novel set after death in an imaginary library
Tide – history and travel set mainly in Europe
Moonshine, Monster Catfish and Other Southern Comforts – travel book set in the Southern states of the USA
Mail Obsession – travel and history set in UK
Landline – fantasy book set in America
Anne Is Reading 
To only have 5 that were a bit disappointing is a great finish to your challenge. It’s lovely that so many were excellent reads too
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It’s been an excellent three months. Without this challenge I dread to think how long it would be before I read these books, if at all – look at what I would have missed out on….
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