Now I know Simon, who is hosting the 1940 Club along with Karen, is very excited, given that one of his favourite books of all time, was published in 1940. I know he’ll be hoping lots of people read it this week. I read Frank Baker’s Miss Hargreaves a while back. It is as fabulous as Simon says.

Graham Greene’s whisky priest made his appearance in 1940 too. The Power and The Glory is a challenging read, but well-worth the effort.

I was also bowled over (eventually) by Adolfo Bioy Casares’s The Invention of Morel, and always meant to reread to review properly. This week would be an ideal opportunity to do that … though I’m pressed for time and Simenon’s roman durs, The Strangers in the House, will probably elbow it out. These books and all that scrambling to the top of the TBR – it’s sometimes a dirty fight.