As you may be aware, I am inviting guests to join me here at Grab This Book to help me curate the Ultimate Libary. It is a feature I have dubbed Decades, the reason for which will soon become apparent.  Each guest gets to nominate five books which they believe should be included in the definitive collection of unmissable reads.  Other than limiting my guest to five books (Rule One), I also insist that they only select one book per decade over five consecutive decades (Rule Two).

Simple!

Or apparently not as everyone who starts making a list suddenly finds choosing just five books is HARD.  Then choosing only one book per decade is also HARD.  But there have to be rules or anarchy ensues.

You can visit the Library HERE.

Today I am thrilled to welcome Chris McDonald.  Chris grew up in Northern Ireland before settling in Manchester via Lancaster and London. He is the author of the excellent DI Erika Piper series, A Wash of Black, Whispers In The Dark as well as the forthcoming third – Roses For The Dead. He has also recently dabbled in writing cosy crimes, as a remedy for the darkness. The first in the Stonebridge Mysteries was released in early 2021. He is a full time teacher, husband, father to two beautiful girls and a regular voice on The Blood Brothers Podcast. He is a fan of 5-a-side football, heavy metal and dogs. 

You can (and should) visit Chris’s Amazon Page here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chris-McDonald/e/B083VRLYPM?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1613758627&sr=8-2

The Archive of Blood Brothers podcasts can be found here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-blood-brothers-podcast/id1504641524

And without futher ado – Chris’s wonderful choices…the first guest to take us up to a 2020 release

DECADES

1987 – Misery – Stephen King

I wasn’t alive when this was published! I only read my first King book last year, and very quickly read more. I’m a scaredy cat, and starting with The Shining was a bad idea! Misery was a masterclass in tension – the action happens in a house but never grows dull. Annie is a terrifying character and does some shocking things! King made it scary, funny, tense and pacy and blew my mind in the process. I ordered The Stand off the back of reading this but was overawed by the sheer size of it!! Maybe this year…

1997 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – JK Rowling

Harry Potter is where my love affair with reading started. I remember the moment I set eyes on the cover – I was passing Easons in Ballymena on my way back from the toilet. I was ten years old and was entranced by the display. I ran back to my mum who gave me the money to go and buy it. I was blown away by this story, as millions were and continue to be. It led to me queuing at midnight outside Waterstones for the latter books, where I would go home with my cherished copy and read until the morning. The world was massive and main characters were frequently in peril. It was eye opening stuff and I truly believe that without this eureka moment, I wouldn’t enjoy books like I do!

2001 – Heavier Than Heaven – Charles R Ross

This is a non-fiction book. It’s a biography of Kirt Cobain and one of the books I re-read regularly. Nirvana were a massive part of my teenage years, and continue to be one of the bands I come back to regularly. Kurt was an extraordinary human being – flawed and talented in equal measure. This book is a warts and all account – it paints him in a very fair light and is a perfect read for any music fan.

2010 – Slow Horses – Mick Herron

Foolishly, I’ve waited 11 years to discover this man’s genius. The Slough House series features MI5 rejects, all of whom have made a massive mistake and ended up as Jackson Lamb’s underling. Again, the characters make this book – the plot is great, but I could easily read 300 pages of the cast having a chat over a cup of coffee! As the series has worn on, Herron has tackled bigger political issues, though the characters have remained as acerbic as ever!

2020 – We Begin At The End – Chris Whitaker

We Begin At The End blew me away. It won our Blood Brothers book of the year award and was my vote. It’s a story set in small town America. The story is wonderful, but the book will be remembered for the characters – Duchess Radley in particular. Chris’s writing is just so, so good and will be fully deserving of all the awards he will inevitably win!

My thanks to Chris for these brilliant selections – I have read three of the five which is my highest personal completion percentage so far!  I will add all five books to The Library where they join the ten books selected by Sharon Bairden and Heather Martin.

Decades Will Return