Book 76 If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor.

8/10. Beautiful poetically-written story based around the doings of ordinary people in an unnamed city somewhere in England. Everything is revealed in it's own time and at such a slow pace that the feeling is one of impending menace, but we never lose sight of the humanity of the characters. We know something horrible is going to happen but you don't find out what til the last few pages. An absorbing read and another book with a cracking opening.

Book 50 The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks

8 out of 10. Fascinating case studies of various brain afflictions and how they manifest themselves by the doctor who performed the awakenings that became a Robin Williams movie (adapted from his book). Sounds a dry, but well worth a read with some real eye-opening chapters. Noticed it on an Amazon list of books to steal from public libraries. I should have!

Book 50 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

7 1/2 out of 10. Interesting read, once you've got used to the Nadsat language Burgess uses. I found it strangely quite relevant but at the same time dated in it's themes. Odd how. he chooses classical music as his background rather than modern tunes, but I suppose that would have dated the story rather quickly. The themes of crime and violence being brainwashed out of the main character which result in his de-humanisation are very firmly set in the 60's, but the thread of state intervention in our lives is very up to date. In the final analysis, I didn't really enjoy this book, hence the low-ish score.