Deeden

Archangel by Robert Harris (Buy this)

A wonderfully strange thriller. Set in modern-day Russia, an unusual time period for Harris’ books, it fulfils all of the requirements of a modern thriller. Convoluted plot, strange coincidences, narrow escapes and dastardly villains; a wonderful combination. The ending is so completely implausible but I don’t particularly care. I prefer his other books but this one is not bad.

Berlin : The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor (Buy this)

Another cracking book from Beevor after the fantastic Stalingrad. Brilliantly researched and written as usual, it covers the vast sweep of events whilst showing how people at all levels were affected. As with Stalingrad I would have been happy with a book twice as long as Beevors style is so readable.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Buy this)

Another sci-fi classic. I originally started to read this many years ago and was becoming very puzzled as to how the story was going to be finished in the number of pages left when I discovered that it wouldn’t. The last 50-60 pages were missing so the story just ended mid-sentence. I was extremely disappointed but didn’t get my hands on another copy of the book for a long time.

Dune by Frank Herbert (Buy this)

An old favourite. When I first tried to read this I couldn’t picture it and gave up. It was only after seeing the David Lynch film that I really got into the book. It is an excellent book although I still find it hard going, I don’t know why. One of these days I’ll actually read the sequels.

The Kenneth Williams Diaries (Buy this)

Definitely the best book I read in 2003. A fascinating account of Williams’ life through his own diaries. I was worried that I may not like him as much after reading this but in reality I liked the man even more. He was a complicated and confused man yet I can see why he was liked at the time, even by the people who he was difficult with. I’ll re-read this at some point and I’m looking forward to it even now.

Homicide: a Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon (Buy this)

I love the TV series “Homicide: Life on the Street” and this is the book that the series was based on/inspired by. The reviews I had read of the book were universally positive so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m glad I did, it is excellent. Simon spent a year with the Baltimore Homicide department and brilliantly covers the frustrations and struggles of the detectives as they try to solve murders in one of the murder capitals of the US.

I was surprised at quite how much of the first season of the TV series was based on actual cases from the book. I kept recognising aspects of various cases from when I watched the show. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone, it’s well written and provides a fascinating insight into the US justice system.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute (Buy this)

On the Beach covers the last few months of human life on Earth after a nuclear war causes radioactivity to spread around the Earth. It covers the lives of a number of people in Australia and shows how they cope. Nothing sensational happens, people just get on with life and deal with the end in their own way. I love the book and re-read it every so often. Bizarrely I find it a very uplifting book.