I did struggle with Crow Road. It’s one of Iain Banks’s earlier novels, and it shows. I did enjoy The Bridge, which came out before, but that was focussed on story – Crow Road is heavily character based, where the action is minimal, and the whodunnit doesn’t really start until three-quarters of the way through,…

I realised I loved Jean-Paul Didierlaurent’s The Reader on the 6.27 when I took offence at “trousers corkscrewing” down someone’s legs – they don’t corkscrew, they concertina. The writing (and Ros Schwartz’s translation) is so elegant and poetically rhythmic, that the rare off-word pulls the reader out of Guylain Vignolles’ magical world. The blurb on…

This is a quick read and offers some sensible approaches to exploratory software testing. There’s no great insights, and personally I don’t feel I’m going to approach testing any differently as a result of this book, but it certainly contains information that others may find helpful. See review on Goodreads.

I’ve always loved magical realism, ordinary worlds elevated by enchantments. My bookshelves are lined with Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s books, I’ve been stunned by the capacity of Jorge Luis Borges, and more recently, I enjoyed The Night Circus (which will draw many comparisons with the Toy Makers). So it’s not a huge surprise that Robert Dinsdale’s…

My rating: 4 out of 5 This reads like it was knocked out by a ten-year-old with touerrets, but Sarah Millican’s autobiography, “How to be Champion”, has an endearing honesty that makes it very readable. She writes about her life, with each chapter appended by a few comic how-to-be-champion suggestions to get the book onto…

My rating: 4 out of 5 Dirk Kurbjuweit has written a well-crafted literary novel that bounces around the life of the semi-autobiographical character Randolf, his highly strung but intelligent and gorgeous wife Rebecca, and their two children. He follows their turmoil as Dieter Tiberius, the downstairs neighbour, becomes more and more sinister, appearing to threaten…

My rating: 4 out of 5 I read business books and blogs, so was keen to read this one – to see what hurdles the three Airbnb founders encountered, how their product revolutionised the travel industry, and what impact their product has had on individuals and communities. Leigh Gallagher’s The Airbnb Story does address bits…

My rating: 4 out of 5 I listen to a range of podcasts (personal development, many aimed at writing, and a few for business skills) and Steven Pressfield’s War of Art kept being mentioned as influential to the many creative and entrepreneurial guests. It’s easy to see why: it gives life and personality to concepts…

My rating: 5 out of 5 Jon McGregor’s Reservoir 13 made the Man Booker 2017 long list, his second novel to be long listed (his If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things made the 2002 list) and it’s good candidate to take the prize. The story revolves around the disappearance of Rebecca Shaw, a teenager holidaying…

Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review. My rating: 5 out of 5 Salman Rushdie’s The Golden House was one of those treats where I started the book without knowing a thing about it. Immediately you know you’re in the safe hands of a storyteller, not just a plotter or a writer, but a…