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New year, new title and new pic for this monthly post. What the heck. Got off to a slow start with four books this month. I've estimated I'll read fifty books in 2016. Ambitious? We'll see.

I started the year off with a decent book about the Beatles recording history by former recording engineer Geoff Emerick. Here, There and Everywhere is a very detailed account of the Fab Four in the studio. Lots of interesting things here and the guy wasn't the biggest fan of his boss, George Martin, or for that matter another George, Harrison. The latter comes off as a more-or-less talentless member of the the group who needed direction from his buddies at every turn. Not sure what Emerick had against Harrison although he seems to warm up to him in post-Beatles years.

Next up was H is for Hawk which I was sorely tempted to ditch. I picked it up because it won several British book awards. The title says it all. It was a memoir... about hawks, and only hawks, other than the death of the main character's father, which was tied to hawks. You get the idea.

My third book was Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes. Nowhere near as interesting or well written as Here, There and Everywhere but nevertheless an account of all of Yes's LPs. If you're into that kind of thing.

The last book of the month was a recent William Boyd novel entitled Sweet Caress. It was a delightful read about a fictional British woman photographer  and the ups and downs in her life and her profession. I like Boyd and here he doesn't disappoint.

Here, There and Everywhere:
My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles - Geoff Emerick - ****
H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald - ***
Close To The Edge - The Story of Yes - Chris Welch - ***
Sweet Caress - William Boyd - ****

How about you? What are you reading? What do you plan on reading this year?
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