Capital

by John Lanchester
I listened to this on an audiobook and the narrator was fantastic. I enjoyed this book immensely. It is the story of the inhabitants of one London street in the years 2007 to 2008 when the financial crash set in and the story of their lives. There is Roger-a banker directly affected by the crash and various characters in between to old Mrs Letherby who is not affected by the crash in any way but who has her own story that is just as absorbing. All these characters hardly ever interact but are propelled forward by a very thin plot line and the absorbing nature of their own stories. You could argue that many of these individual stories are stereotypical, but the characters are delightfully drawn and I felt genuinely sad to leave them and not know how their stories ended. Was it Poland or Hungary or London? Or was it Poland and Hungary! Ah we will never know. 9/10

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler
If you have watched any films featuring Philip Marlowe from the 40's era the book will not come as any surprise. Some of the one liners are fantastic. The story is typical detective fiction but done very well. You know just about what is happening but there is a twist in the final resolution. A great travel/holiday read 7/10