Tracey elizabeth packham biography of martin

I had hoped that 2024 would be a return to business as usual for me on the review front but unfortunately the year was a bit more up and down than I had hoped.  Things are still a little rocky going into 2025 but I’m hoping that things will level out.

I had set myself a target of 100 books to read in 2025 and I instead managed 72.  I continued to be more disciplined in terms of not picking up every ARC offered to me by publishers but ended up with 24 more books than I started the year with.  I guess it’s progress but I can still do better.

I was less successful in terms of my other reading goals for 2024:

• I aimed for a gender split of 50/50 male and female authored books but it actually worked out as 46/54 skewered towards women, which I’m actually okay with.
• I had a goal that 25% of the books I read in 2024 to be by writers of colour but I fell quite short on that with only 19% (which is better than the 17% I managed in 2023 but could still be better).
• I wanted 40% of the books I read in 2024 to be non-fiction but in the end only managed 33%.  This was better than the 28% I managed in 2023, but again could still be better.

My Blog stats continued to improve in 2024 and I had 20% more visitors when compared with 2023.  This is down to the continued impact of the SLOW HORSES adaptation on Apple TV with Gary Oldman (5 of my top 10 posts for the year were for books in Mick Herron’s SLOUGH HOUSE SERIES) with my most popular review of 2024 being Slough House by Mick Herron.

My links to Amazon UK, Bookshop.org and Waterstones continue to perform well enough to go towards the costs of maintaining the blog’s hosting costs so thank you to anyone who has made a purchase through them.

I am not going to schedule Blog posts for 2025 but will aim to put 1 up per week (although this depends hugely on work and real life commitments).

As per my tradition, I have set out below my favourite books from 2024:

ADULT NON-FICTION:

At My Mother’s Kn

Who is ATC? A Brief Career Overview

Meet ATC, short for A Touch of Class, an electrifying international Eurodance group that brought infectious melodies and thrilling beats to the music scene! Founded in 1997, ATC features a dynamic lineup of four talented members: Joseph "Joey" Murray from New Zealand, Sarah Egglestone from Australia, Livio Salvi from Italy, and Tracey Elizabeth Packham from England. With a distinctive fusion of pop and dance, they revolutionized the late 90s and early 2000s music landscape with their catchy hooks and vibrant performances.

ATC is perhaps best known for their smash hit "Around the World (La La La La La)", which topped charts across Europe, solidifying their status as a prominent act in the Eurodance genre. Their unique ability to blend male and female vocals created a sound that was not only club-ready but also immensely popular among vinyl collectors, owing to their rhythm and flair. With groundbreaking achievements, including an ECHO award for Best Dance Act, ATC left an indelible mark on the music industry, and their notable vinyl releases continue to excite fans and collectors alike.

ATC's Early Life and Background

Born from an extraordinary meeting in Hamburg, Germany, ATC's journey began with an ensemble of diverse backgrounds and experiences. Each artist brought their unique flavor to the group, having met as cast members in the German production of the renowned musical Cats. This multicultural origin laid the groundwork for their collaborative spirit and creative exploration.

Their early experiences with music varied, rooted in a range of cultures and familial support systems. Exposure to musical instruments and performances in their formative years sparked their passion for music. For instance, growing up in performing arts environments instilled a love for stage and sound, blending into their future fascination with vinyl records--a physical manifestation of their artistic endea