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

|summary=Purple prose over vivid description, soap opera over genuine emotional depth. Bookbag didn't enjoy this any more than it enjoyed its predecessor, ''The Kite Runner''. Its weighty setting belies what is in actuality, a pleasant but incredibly light and schmaltzy plot-driven read.

}}

|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.

}}