Well, after last post I thought I'd better read one of the Richard & Judy titles, as part of my booksellerly duties! I've had a proof copy of William Boyd's Restless on the shelf for a long time now, almost read it last year (but I'd just finished Sarah Waters excellent The Night Watch and didn't want more WWII) so thought now was the perfect time to get stuck in, especially as it had also just won the Costa Best Novel prize. I enjoyed Boyd's Any Human Heart but had never read anything else from his sizeable backlist. And unfortunately, if Restless is anything to go by I won't be reading anything else. I really wanted to like this book, and was determined to plow on despite reservations. But by the halfway point I was succesfully predicting every forthcoming plot development, and felt that the strongest presence in the book was Boyd himself. I hate giving up on a book halfway through but sometimes it's best to cut your losses and run!

So now I'm almost finished my next book, a debut novel by American author Brad Listi called Attention.Deficit.Disorder. This is book well worth getting hold of, despite only being published in the US (at the moment). At first it appears to be, as the title would suggest a random series of events, starting with the suicide of the main character's ex-girlfriend. But as you move through the novel a bigger picture emerges from the randomness.

And once that's done...?

Yesterday was shopping day so I've got some exciting NEW books to look forward to:

What's Left?: How Liberals Lost Their Way by Nick Cohen

Felt really animated by the extract in The Observer a few weeks back so I'm eager to read the whole book. It's good to feel inspired by politics again!

The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters by G.W.Dahlquist

A beautiful looking book, if dauntingly large (768 pages!). I regret not signing up for Penguin's innovative serialisation of this before Christmas, but at least I can read this format at my leisure.

The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri

My absolute favourite crime author, if not just favourite author! Sicily, food, mystery - if you haven't read any Camilleri yet please, please, please check out his backlist. I usually wait for the paperback editions but now I have to find out what's happening in Inspector Montalbano's world!