Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England (Penguin History), Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Brendan Behan, Borstal Boy, Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Peter Furtado (ed) Histories of Nations: How Their Identities Were Forged, Margaret Attwood, The Handmaid's Tale, Simon Bradley, The Railways: Nation, Network and People

Have left this too long again, I can hardly remember reading 'Religion and the Decline of Magic.'  Three more 'classics' in the list for me to scratch off on my wall chart. 'The Handmaid's Tale' was chilling, and with Trump in charge it's becoming a more possible future. It's even more worrying when you realise (late in the day if you’re a slow learner like me) that a world where women are subjugated and not free to make their own decisions isn't a dystopian vision, it's true of most of the world historically and geographically. Still. Tottenham are second in the table and the wisteria is about to bloom, so we might as well enjoy the small things before the impending apocalypse.