Changes

'''The Winner'''

|title=The Secret Scripture

|author=Sebastian Barry

|rating=4

|summary=Barry's latest Booker-shortlisted, Costa-nominated novel explores the human impact of Ireland's troubled 20th century history. A very, very good book indeed, beautifully written from start to finish. It is, however, let down by a surprisingly poor ending - but is a recommended read nevertheless.

}}

'''The Shortlist'''

|title=Child 44

|author=Tom Rob Smith

|rating=4

|summary=Leo is a hero after World War 2 and a successful agent in the MGB; a man unquestioningly loyal to his mother Russia, despite having to do questionable duties, until he discovers a mistake in the system and is powerless to do anything. A flawed but engaging detective thriller, which will almost certainly make a great movie.

}}

|title=The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

|author=Mary Ann Shaffer

|rating=5

|summary=An entertaining and moving study of love, friendship and literature against the backdrop of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands.

}}

|title=Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

|author=Oliver Sacks

|rating=3.5

|summary=A look by Oliver Sacks, physician and neurologist, at the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians and everyday people, largely through a series of individual case histories.

}}

|title=Somewhere Towards the End

|author=Diana Athill

|rating=3

|summary=A memoir of the writer and former book reviewer, reflecting on approaching death as well as random thoughts, episodes, likes and dislikes from her ninety years.

}}

|title=Spilling the Beans

|author=Clarissa Dickson Wright

|rating=4.5

|summary=Not just reminiscences about ''Two Fat Ladies'' but a story of a life not always lived wisely but always lived to the full. Highly recommended.

}}

|title=The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

|author=Kate Summerscale

|rating=4.5

|summary=On the night of 29th June 1860 a three year old boy, Saville Kent, had his throat slashed and his body stuffed into a privy in the grounds of Road Hill House, Wiltshire. True crime told as a gripping story. Highly recommended.

}}

|title=A Thousand Splendid Suns

|author=Khaled Hosseini

|rating=3

}}

|title=When Will There Be Good News?

|author=Kate Atkinson

|rating=4.5

|summary=Funny, literary, sharp as a knife, and moving in a dark direction from the horrifying first few pages, this is a deeply gratifying read.

}}

|title=The White Tiger

|author=Aravind Adiga

|rating=4.5

|summary=The 2008 Booker Prize-winner constrasts India's growing economy with its rural poverty.

}}