Experimental Cookery 2021: Chicken Bihari Kebab

Another one from the recipe book that came with the spice kit, this was another quick (ish) and easy meal to produce. I say quick-ish because it consisted of two quick steps separated by a full day. So preparing the meal wasn't any great effort, but it does require remembering to marinade the meat the day before you want to eat - something I forgot last week.

In terms of the result, this one was fine, but...

Both LC and I felt that this would have been considerably better if made closer to summer, and probably on the barbeque. Which isn't a criticism of the meal as such, just something to remember for the future.

Additionally, we were both somewhat surprised at just how mild the flavour on these was. We had expected something rather stronger. Again, that's not a criticism, just an observation. We'll certainly have these again, subject to the above note.

And that's pretty much that. There are two more recipes in the booklet, both of which I'll tackle next week, and then it will be a case of using up the remaining spices gradually over time. All in all, a good Christmas present, despite the delay in using it!

Funsize's Lockdown Birthday

As the previous post implies, Funsize has recently turned three. Whereas the first birthday saw us borrowing a hall and hosting a big party and the second year saw me taking the day of work for a daddy-daughter trip to the aquarium followed by a visit from many family members, this year was celebrated in lockdown.

The day started before the previous one really ended - it proved difficult to put FS to bed on Saturday, after which LC and I spent some time decorating the downstairs and laying out presents. Which meant we were already up against it, as going to bed after midnight is no longer as enticing as it was (and it was never all that enticing, if I'm being honest).

On waking, FS's immediate request was to have cake. She had been excited to help me in the kitchen on Saturday, only to be cruelly denied the ability to actually taste the cake we'd made, and again she was to be denied. Such a shame.

However, her disappointment was to be short-lived as we took her downstairs, whereupon all those efforts hanging bunting and blowing up balloons were worthwhile. And then she spent an hour or so tearing apart wrapping paper. Good times.

We then headed out for an early lunch, which we purchased from a McDonalds drive-through. I have no excuse.

From there we headed over to the Scottish Owl Centre, which is one of very few things that are still open. Fortunately, the weather was bright and sunny, albeit cold. Also fortunately, this is something the FS has very much enjoyed before, so we knew it was a decent choice. And so it proved. We enjoyed about an hour and a half of looking at the owls, including a talk from the keepers, before FS gradually decided it was time to move on. Then a quick play on an extremely busy playpark (not surprising on the first day of really decent weather in ages), and then home.

At this point we were then able to arrange a short playdate with one of the FS's friends. Obviously, the travel restrictions meant that family weren't able to visit, which is a real shame, while lockdown meant there was no chance for a party. But what is still allowed, we did. It's obviously no substitute, but it was also very welcome for all that.

Then FS helped me decorate the cake, something she'd been desperate to do all weekend, and then it was time for the Zoom and Skype calls to both sets of grandparents - and two lots of blowing out candles. (Poor thing - FS really wanted to try the cake, and after the first candle blowing she still couldn't! But it was, eventually, worth the wait.)

Then a birthday buffet, which I over-catered rather spectacularly, an evening watching "Spies in Disguise" (which is a reasonable way to spend a couple of hours, if you already have Disney+), and then bed for a very tired but very happy three-year-old.

It was a good day, though at the end of it LC noted a little sadness about it all - obviously, the lockdown meant no opportunity for a real party and also no chance to see family in person. For all concerned, but especially the two sets of grandparents, that's hard to take. And as good as the technology is, it again is just no substitute.

I totally understand that, of course. However, the major mitigation of that is that she's still young enough that she probably won't remember any of this, and resilient enough that when it's all over and done with she should just pick up where things left off. So rather than focusing on what she missed out on, it's okay to focus on what was possible. And it was a good day.

But here's hoping it is the only birthday she ever has to have in lockdown.

Experimental Cookery 2021: Chocolate and Strawberry Dessert Cake

For Christmas I received "Mary Berry's Simple Comforts". Shortly thereafter LC and Funsize took a look through the book and the latter decided that this particular cake was the one that she wanted for her birthday (probably due to the strawberries). So on Saturday I made the cakes and then yesterday they were decorated with strawberries and cream:

The cake was easy to make and decorate - the hardest part was knowing exactly when to stop whisking the various components (and remembering to fold in the various items carefully!). The result looks pretty close to the picture in the book. It's wider and therefore shorter, due to my using a bigger cake tin than was indicated, but that's no bad thing.

In terms of taste, it's lovely. As might be expected from a fairly dense chocolate sponge, vanilla-infused cream, and strawberries. The only downside is that we probably have a bit much for three people and a cake that will only last for two days (fresh cream...). Still, I'm sure we can rise to the challenge...

I would certainly at least consider having this again. The only doubt I have is provoked by the fact that we don't have cakes very often - there are really only two occasions in the year when I might make this, and I'm somewhat inclined to try something new rather than repeat myself.

Day 50: Update on... Stuff

I didn't formally set goals for this year, but I figured it was worth an update anyway. So...

• Books: By Day 50 I should expect to have completed 8.22 books, so I'm a little ahead of target here. I am, however, fast running out of reading material.
• Weight: This is down very slightly from the start of the year, so I'm cautiously happy with progress here.
• Blogging: Likewise, I am pretty happy here - I'm pretty much on target both here and on the Imaginarium.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: My major task for my holiday last week was to repaint that room, including two coats for the walls (due to a colour change). The room still needs the carpet replaced, which will occur once lockdown finally ends, and some more furniture, and then we'll be ready to move Funsize in. All in all, that's pretty promising.
• Tadpole #2: There are now just under two months to go. We're probably about as ready as we can be. Though there is still one non-trivial purchase to make - one of the few things you can't reuse is the matress for the crib, so we'll need to get a new one.

Generally speaking, things are going about as well as could be hoped. It has been a stressful few months, but things do seem to be gradually improving. I'm currently looking forward to three key things (other than the above): getting the vaccine, the end of lockdown, and getting some better weather.

And that's that, really.

Restart Brexit?

I see that the Independent today has an article with some Tories calling for the government to restart Brexit talks. Social media has therefore gone into a whirlwind of people laughing at Brexiteers and the government, and the notion of "Get Brexit Done", and so on and so forth.

The thing is, of course the government should be restarting talks, in at least some form. In fact, they should never have stopped.

Three reasons:

Firstly, the notion of "Getting Brexit Done" was always a nonsense. Yes, leaving the EU was an event, and ending the transition period was also an event. But the reality is that we remain intimately tied to the EU in a wide variety of ways, large and small. Some of those are ties that we want to retain long-term, some we may wish to allow to diminish... and there are some that have ended that we might well want to renew. So we should talk.

Secondly, it is a fact that the eventual withdrawal agreement was negotiated and signed off with almost indecent haste, especially towards the end. That inevitably means that it is flawed in a variety of ways, with some parts not working for us, some not working for the EU, and some not working for either party. So of course talks should continue, to see if improvements can be made for mutual benefit.

But thirdly, the EU remains our closest and most important neighbour, and unless it ceases to exist as an entity it will always remain so. And, despite our recent issues, it remains an ally. As anyone who has a neighbour knows, it is much better to have a good relationship with them than to have a poor one - and an antagonistic relationship can be all sorts of awful. So we should talk, and keep talking.

#9: "The Star Wars Book", by Pablo Hidalgo, Cole Horton, and Dan Zehr

Experimental Cookery 2021: Tandoori Chicken, and Mint & Coriander Chutney

Two more from the same spice kit as previously, these are both more or less as the name implies.

The Tandoori chicken was easy to prepare, but did involve a long marinade step (which meant it was delayed a day). The chutney proved to be much easier than I had initially expected, as a stick blender did almost all of the work.

In terms of result, the Tandoori chicken was very nice but would, I think, be better if finished on a barbeque. Certainly, I plan to do this again in summer when that will be a possibility. The chutney was okay, but really needed more mint and coriander - it was just a little bland. To be honest, I'm not sure I'll bother with that one again.

And that's that. There will be another recipe from this pack next week...

#7: "Sharpe's Revenge", by Bernard Cornwell
#8: "The Alchemist", by Paulo Coelho (a book from The List - seventeen to go)

Whedon

I had really hoped that the Joss Whedon allegations were untrue. It helped that I could largely ignore them, having next to no interest in either version of the "Justice League" movie.

However, even at the time it was obvious that there was something really not right in the filming of "Angel" series 4, and so when Charisma Carpenter made her statement it had the unmistakeable ring of truth. Given that other stars of "Buffy" have now come out in solidarity, it very definitely looks like a pattern of behaviour.

Damn.

The upshot of that is that I'm now no longer interested in any future project that has Whedon associated in any major capacity. I'll still give him the credit for what he has done - I'm still a fan of "Buffy", "Angel", "Firefly", "Toy Story", and "The Avengers". Having red in your ledger doesn't erase the black. But as for new projects... no. Just no.

It's also worth noting that there has been talk of a "Buffy" reboot for several years, and there is always talk of a "Firefly" reboot/restart. But in both cases I was never interested without his significant involvement, and now I'm not interested if he is involved in any significant way.

Time to let those IP die, I'm afraid.

Experimental Cookery 2021: Chicken Curry

For Christmas 2019 (!) I received a kit of spices for various chicken dishes. This has sat in a cupboard until recently, when I decided I really had to start using it - and the chicken curry was the first of the recipes.

This proved to be a quick and easy recipe - soften a base of veg, add the spices and form the sauce, then add the chicken, and then simmer.

The result was highly successful - I liked it, LC liked it, and Funsize raved over it, coming back for seconds and indeed thirds. So we'll be having it again!

Next up is tandoori chicken, which also looks good.

The Pink Tax... and it's reverse

In case you haven't heard the term before, "the pink tax" refers to the relative pricing of some items when marketed to men versus women - most commonly shown in the form of the pink version of the item being sold at a higher price than the identical blue item. Which is, of course, crazy - both that so many manufacturers do that, and that they are actually able to get away with it (presumably because women do indeed buy the pink item).

Examples of the pink tax are many and varied, of course. Possibly the most egregious was the "woman's pen", which was simply a pen made in pink, but with the price doubled. Another common example are razor blades, which are slightly different for the sexes, but in many cases largely interchangeable. And then there are cases where the items being sold generally are different - but where the "male" version of the tool is coldly functional, the "female" version is less functional but of greater aesthetic appeal... and significantly more expensive.

As I said, the whole thing is crazy. But it does, at least, seem to be getting a little better. (Though, to quote a recent TV show, actually talking about racial issues, "it always gets better. But never enough, and never quickly enough.")

Anyway, the reason I mention this is that yesterday while at Tesco there was an item I needed to pick up, and they very definitely had a pink and a blue version. Surprisingly, though, and just for once, the pink version was the cheaper - largely because that one was reduced to clear while the other was full price.

The upshot being that I proceeded to buy the pink item. For two reasons: (1) I'm never actually going to use said item in public, and (2) I honestly don't care anyway. Pink and blue are both perfectly good colours, and we would really benefit from breaking our obsession that one is for boys and the other for girls.

But maybe that's just me.

#5: "White Oleander", by Janet Fitch (a book from The List - eighteen to go)

#6: "Tome of Beasts II", from Kobold Press

Credit Where It's Due

It's fair to say that the UK government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis has been absolutely abysmal - a monstrous death toll, disastrous economic consequences, and vast amounts of public money given to chancers largely for no results. In general, the Scottish government have been doing better, though as I said in another post it's a difference of degree rather than type.

But where the vaccine roll-out is concerned, I feel I do need to give credit where it's due - after a slow start, the UK government have reached a very good rate of delivery, such that there's some genuine hope for the future. (Although there is one massive caveat - I'll get to that momentarily.) And, on the topic of vaccine delivery, I'm afraid the Scottish government just isn't doing as well, nor indeed is it doing well enough. And, again, it's a difference of degree rather than type, which means that the same caveat applies.

(That caveat concerns the increased delay between doses, where they were approved for a 3-week delay, the manufacturers recommend a 3-week delay (although it should be noted that they are obliged to do so), and yet the government has elected for a longer delay of up to 12-weeks. That's one hell of a gamble, and we must all desperately hope that they've got it right - the consequences if not are too horrible to contemplate.)

So I feel I must offer a very cautious congratulations to the UK government on this part of the process. And ask that the Scottish government please up their game.

Not Coping

Fair warning: what follows is just a moan. There's no happy conclusion, nor is there a book listed at the end of the post. So maybe look away? I'm also well aware that this one is somewhat lacking in perspective. But it's my blog, so sometimes I'm going to post about me.

It's fair to say that I'm not coping with this new lockdown at all well. Whereas last time it at least happened just as we hit the Easter holidays, and also just as the weather turned really nice, this one suffers from lots of short days, dark nights, and pretty dire weather.

Additionally, I'm finding the closure of just about everything really hard to take. Not that I'd be inclined to go many places anyway... but there's a difference between choosing to not go somewhere and having nowhere to go in the first place.

Mostly, though, it's just the slog of routine that sucks - work all day, then deal with my list of tasks in the evening, then do it all again. And then at the weekend don't really do anything.

I'm missing people, both in the general and the specific. Basically, the third most meaningful relationship I've had in the "real world" this year has been with the checkout assistant at Tesco this week. And while she was perfectly nice, and somewhat amusing on the topic of the Christmas playlist, it's not really right.

I fin myself intensely frustrated by the lack of information - when will this end, and how will things look when that happens? When can I expect to receive the vaccine? And so on. And yet, I'm also well aware that the powers that be shouldn't be giving out that information. It's better they stay quiet until they have solid answers, because it's much better to under-promise and over-deliver.

Actually, that more or less sums up the situation entirely - much as I don't like it, they're mostly doing the right things now. It's right that I'm at the bottom of the queue for getting the vaccine, it's right that I should be avoiding people as much as possible.

And, as I said up top, relatively speaking we're almost certainly doing better than almost everyone, and much better than a great many people. I'm aware I should really be counting blessings rather than just moaning.

But that doesn't really help. Moaning into the void does, perhaps surprisingly. Though more than anything, what I really need is a problem that I can actually solve (and that will stay solved).

Anyway, if you've made it thus far, I commend your forbearance. Normal service will return soon. I hope.

Loss of a Mentor

Yesterday afternoon, shortly after I finished work for the week, I received an email informing me that my advisor of studies from my university days had passed on. On the one hand, this wasn't a huge surprise - it was twenty years ago, and his health had been in decline for some time. On the other hand, something like that always comes as a shock. TAW was somewhat unique amongst university lecturers in that he made a strong effort to remain in touch with his former students, and so his passing leaves another hole in the world.

Funnily enough though, it's sad but not a great tragedy. He had a long and happy life, he had a fulfilling career that he clearly enjoyed, and he touched a lot of lives in a very positive manner. We should all be so lucky.

Order of Preference

There is, yet again, some discussion of a second independence referendum and the circumstances under which it might happen. And, in the event that Westminster refuses permission for such a thing, whether the SNP should use an election as a proxy for such a referendum.

My strong preference is that this matter should be addressed with a referendum. People vote in elections for a variety of reasons, and consequently it is really hard to pin down a single cause for them voting a particular way. This is especially so in Scotland where the SNP are able to make a unique offer to the public that they can provide minimally competent governance (albeit even that just barely). The only alternate government is a Con/Lib/Lab unionist coalition, and given the vacuum of talent on offer even between those parties, that's a prospect that I find frankly terrifying. So giving people a choice between independence or a coalition of calamity isn't ideal.

Likewise, my strong preference is that such a referendum should occur with the underpinning of a Section 30 order. That puts to rest all doubts about the validity of it, means there will be no large-scale boycott, and should ensure that the result is respected.

However, we cannot allow Scottish democracy to exist at the whim of a Prime Minister who owes his position almost entirely due to English votes. (In the 2019 election even if 100% of the people of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland voted Labour, Boris would still be PM; conversely, had England been excluded from the vote, Ian Blackford would now be PM.)

Additionally, it needs to be understood by our politicians that a mandate is not permission to do something; it is an instruction to do that thing.

So, my preferred course of action is as follows:

In the first instance, the SNP (and Greens if they want) should run on a manifesto with a clear and unambiguous commitment: if they win a majority, either alone or together, they will hold a second independence referendum.

If they win a majority then they should apply one final time for a Section 30 order to hold that referendum. (Obviously, if they don't win a majority, the issue is moot.)

If they are denied the Section 30 order, they should proceed anyway - referendums in the UK are by default consultative anyway, so this should be possible. (Obviously, if they are granted the Section 30 order, the issue is moot.)

At this point, the UK government may allow the referendum to go ahead (in which case the issue is moot), or they may block it - either by winning a legal challenge using existing law or by using emergency legislation to explicitly and formally reserving the required power. (At the moment, there is some doubt as the issue has never actually been tested. What isn't in doubt is the UK government's ability to close any possible loophole.)

If the UK government do block the issue, then at that point I believe the SNP (and the Greens, if they want) should stand in every future election on a manifesto with a clear and unambiguous pledge: if they win a majority of the seats, that will be taken as a statement that the people of Scotland want independence, and they will seek to negotiate accordingly.

Sooner or later, it's likely they'll win that majority, at which point the people of Scotland will have had our say. After which, it is a matter for the diplomats.

That is a slower process than just using May's election to short-cut the process and going straight to the final step. However, I do think it is a necessary delay. (My view is that the SNP and the Greens should have started the process with the 2016 election, and we should already have done steps 1 and 2 by now, but they didn't and we haven't - the manifestoes weren't quite clear enough, and they chose not to press the issue when May and Boris said "no". But that's the past - we are where we are.)

The only issue with that approach is time - standing in 2021 on "we want a referendum" means that it will be 2026 before the next scheduled election. So either that means five more years of waiting or it means collapsing the parliament for an early election (which isn't ideal for several reasons). And, of course, in the meantime we're likely to see Holyrood gutted, if not shut down completely.

But I think those delays are necessary. If the current majority for independence is actually as solid as the polls indicate then they should remain solid as we work through the stages. If it isn't then perhaps we shouldn't be heading for independence anyway - something like that really does need to be the settled will of the majority, and not just a knee-jerk response to Boris, Brexit, or the balls-up of the pandemic response.

Inauguration Day

So, all being well, today is the day that Donald Trump ceases to be the sitting US President and Joe Biden is sworn in. We made it!

I must admit, though, that I'm going to feel a whole lot better once this day is over and done with - there's a horrible thought lurking in the back of my mind that if this were a season finale there would be one almighty plot twist coming up...

#4: "William Shakespeare's Star Wars: The Merry Rise of Skywalker", by Ian Doescher

Experimental Cookery 2021: Roast Tikka Chicken

The first experimental cookery of 2021 comes from Jamie's "5 Ingredients" - a book that I've had for a while and like a great deal in theory, but haven't found much opportunity to actually use. This was one that he cooked in the accompanying show and that we've thought for a while that we'd like to try but have never quite gotten around to until now.

In terms of preparation it's actually hard to see how this could be any easier, although it is somewhat messy - roughly cut up a few things, rub the tikka paste on the chicken, and then cook. (I should note that I omitted the cauliflower from the dish - LC doesn't eat it and I can't, so there didn't seem much point.)

Once cooked, it was a simple matter of carving the bird and then eating. And it was about as good as we'd expected - nice spicy potatoes, nice chicken... basically, it was nice. I have no doubt that we'll have this again, though I'm not entirely sure when.

And that's about that, really. Except for one more note: Jamie said to cook for an hour, but I ignored that. Instead, I followed the guidance on the chicken itself, which said 40 mins per kilo plus 20 mins. Since the bird we had was a little larger than in the book, I figured that made sense.

#3: "Tasha's Cauldron of Everything", from Wizards of the Coast

Nadir

I really thought we'd reached rock bottom, and that finally we'd hit a point where something was so horrible and so obviously wrong that it was finally, truly indefensible. Specifically, I am referring to the most recent Free School Meals fiasco.

The principle was simple: since schools are closed, parents would instead be given help to feed their children. In some areas, this took the form of a voucher worth £15 a week, that could only be spent on appropriate items. In some others, it took the form of a box containing food.

Well, fair enough, I guess. I have opinions both about what the appropriate value of that top-up should be and also how it should be delivered, but I can appreciate that there are arguments to be made in other ways. I don't see supplying a box of food as being inherently problematic.

But that value of that food should equal the value of the food that can be purchased by the voucher. That is, the box should include £15 worth of food. (And since economies of scale should kick in, it should actually hold more than could easily be purchased at a supermarket for the money.)

Instead, it turns out that hundreds of people were receiving boxes containing £5 worth of food. And, worse, many of those were boxes intended for two weeks, not one - and so the shortfall wasn't even 'just' two-thirds of the value, but rather five sixths.

Once upon a time, that would have shocked and outraged me - how could someone do such a thing? How could the government sign off on a deal that allowed that to happen.

Unfortunately, my cynicism has reached a point where I can see the answer to that all too easily.

But I did at least think it would be seen as indefensible. How wrong I was. Even that, even the poorest children in our country being starved, was met with a multitude more than willing to cheer them on.

What a wretched little country we have become.

Transformers: Earthrise

I really enjoyed the first part of the "War for Cybertron" trilogy. If the very first series of the very first show was the perfect cartoon for the 8-year-old me, "War for Cybertron" was the perfect one for the 43-year-old me - darker and more mature, with much stronger grey areas, motivations, and factions. It's fair to say that it was a little slow, but I didn't mind that.

Unfortunately the second chapter, "Earthrise", just didn't live up to the first. It retained the slower pace of the series, but because the characters were largely separated throughout it missed much of what I found worthwhile about the first. Worse, where there were some interesting ideas, such as the inclusion of Scorponok and Sky Lynx, they just didn't seem to know how to deal with those, such that those characters seemed to be stuck in a loop - rather than having a coherent conversation they just repeated a handful of stock lines over and over.

The other feature of note in the series were the cameos: as mentioned we see Scorponok and Sky Lynx, but also Alpha Trion, Galvatron, and even such obscure characters as Doubledealer. All of which is cool, except that the show therefore suffers the same weakness as "The Force Awakens", "Ready Player One", and almost all of Disney's recent live-action remakes of their classic cartoons - it coasts along on the well-wishes generated by reminding us of something that used to be awesome, without actually having to be very good itself. Dig a little between the surface, though, and you find it's all just surface.

One last thing: although I remember Prime being all noble and self-sacrificing, and so forth, I don't actually remember him being utterly stupid. And so, while I can just about understand him agreeing an alliance with Megatron in desperate circumstances, and for the mutual good of all, I really can't see him doing so, suffering the inevitable sudden and unexpected betrayal, and then immediately doing exactly the same thing again.

And then the show ended.

I was, sad to say, bitterly disappointed with this second part of the trilogy. I will watch the third part when it becomes available, but my hopes have been thoroughly dashed now. How that third part turns out will determine my recommendation for this one - at present, I'm saying "avoid", but if part three is excellent then this may be necessary as a bridging episode.

#2: "Starsight", by Brandon Sanderson

Experimental Cookery 2020: Turkey Curry

Our second use for the leftover turkey was in curry form, using the guidance from Hugh's "Love Your Leftovers". This was also a quick and easy meal to put together, and was by far the more successful of the two. I would definitely have this again, subject to my caveat that I don't expect to do too many Christmas dinners to generate the leftovers to use.

Experimental Cookery 2020: Turkey and Ham Christmas Casserole

Despite the date of posting, this was made in 2020, hence the date above. The recipe comes from the Hairy Bikers "One Pot Wonders" book, which is rather a good one. As the name implies, it's a good way to get through some of the leftovers from Christmas dinner, of which we had plenty.

This was quick and easy to put together - a gentle reheating of the meat in some juice, then the addition of a topping assembled by food processor, and then bake.

Taste wise it was... well, it was okay I guess. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan - we have four portions in the freezer, and I'm contemplating just binning them. I have two main thoughts here. Firstly, there was just too much spinach in it - indeed, adding the spinach at all may have been a mistake. Secondly, as a result of making this up I've found I just don't like chestnuts, or at least not by themselves, so I would definitely be inclined to skip these in future.

Except that I don't expect to make this again, both because I don't expect to be doing too many Christmas dinners, and even if I did I would expect to use the leftovers for something else. A shame.

#1: "Sharpe's Siege", by Bernard Cornwell

Books of the Year 2020

As part of the end-of-year round-up, I can once again present a list of books read in the past year.

Here is the list:

1. "Lethal White", by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
2. "Dragon of Icespire Peak", from Wizards of the Coast
3. "The Next Person You Meet in Heaven", by Mitch Albom
4. "Mythos", by Stephen Fry
5. "The Red Tent", by Anita Diamant *
6. "The Stiehl Assassin", by Terry Brooks
7. "Sharpe's Rifles", by Bernard Cornwell
8. "Raw Spirit", by Iain Banks
9. "Fall on Your Knees", by Ann-Marie MacDonald *
10. "Firefly: Big Damn Hero", by James Lovegrove
11. "Sharpe's Havoc", by Bernard Cornwell
12. "Sharpe's Eagle", by Bernard Cornwell
13. "Heroes", by Stephen Fry
14. "The Stone Diaries", by Carol Shields *
15. "I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire", by P.N. Elrod **
16. "Sharpe's Gold", by Bernard Cornwell
17. "Further Tales of Little Grey Rabbit", by Denis Judd after Alison Uttley
18. "Skyward: Claim the Stars", by Brandon Sanderson
19. "I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin", by P.N. Elrod **
20. "Eberron: Rising from the Last War", by Wizards of the Coast
21. "Sharpe's Battle", by Bernard Cornwell
22. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
23. "Centuries of Stories", edited by Wendy Cooling
24. "The Count of Monte Cristo", by Alexandre Dumas *
    
25. "Blindness", by Jose Saramago *
26. "Sword of Kings", by Bernard Cornwell
27. "Call for the Dead", by John Le Carré
28. "Sharpe's Company", by Bernard Cornwell
29. "50 Literature Ideas You Really Need to Know", by John Sutherland
30. "The Stone Angel", by Margaret Laurence *
31. "The Broken Sword", by Poul Anderson
32. "Sharpe's Sword", by Bernard Cornwell
33. "Carte Blanche", by Jeffery Deaver
34. "The Fall of Gondolin", by J.R.R. Tolkien
35. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", by Betty Smith *
36. "Throne of the Crescent Moon", by Saladin Ahmed
37. "Sharpe's Skirmish", by Bernard Cornwell
38. "A Suitable Boy", by Vikram Seth *
39. "Firefly: The Magnificent Nine", by James Lovegrove
40. "Sharpe's Enemy", by Bernard Cornwell
41. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", by Roald Dahl * **
42. "The Testaments", by Margaret Atwood
43. "Ulysses", by James Joyce *
44. "Whispers Under Ground", by Ben Aaronovitch
45. "Sharpe's Honour", by Bernard Cornwell
46. "The Last Wish", by Andrzej Sapkowski
47. "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" by Roald Dahl **
48. "The Lies of Locke Lamora", by Scott Lynch
49. "Fifth Business", by Robertson Davies *
50. "Fire and Blood", by George R.R. Martin
51. "Fantastic Mr Fox", by Roald Dahl
52. "I Know This Much Is True", by Wally Lamb *
53. "The Sword Saint", by C.F. Iggulden
54. "Sharpe's Regiment", by Bernard Cornwell
55. "The Long Tomorrow", by Leigh Brackett
56. "Faeries", by Brian Froud and Alan Lee
57. "Icewind Dale - Rime of the Icemaiden", from Wizards of the Coast
58. "Sharpe's Christmas", by Bernard Cornwell
59. "The Celestine Prophecy", by James Redfield *
    
60. "A Christmas Carol and other Christmas writings", by Charles Dickens * **
61. "The Pillars of the Earth", by Ken Follett *
    

So that's 61 books. That includes 15 books from The List. There are only 3 RPG books, and 5 re-reads. There are 5 books for Funsize.

There are a few candidates for book of the year, with "The Testaments", "The Next Person You Meet in Heaven", "Blindness" and "The Red Tent" all being very strong. But the win goes to "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", by Betty Smith. I also need to give an honourable mention to the Sharpe series, which has been excellent throughout, without there being any stand-out novel that could take the title in its own right.

Sadly, there have also been some stinkers this year - "I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin" and "Carte Blanche" were just a waste of time, and I just couldn't get into "The Lies of Locke Lamora" (though that may be my issue rather than Lynch's). "Ulysses" was just painful. But the runaway winner of worst book of the year is "The Celestine Prophecy", given its ability to make "The Da Vinci Code" look good.

And that's that. As I've mentioned, I'm not setting any formal goals for 2021, though I will keep track of my reading here. I would quite like to get Shakespeare read, and take a big bite out of the remaining books on The List, but we'll see how it goes.