The qatsi awards

At the end of 2018 I noted it hadn't been a brilliant year. Well, the same goes for 2019, possibly in spades, and it doesn't look great for 2020 either. But in between, there have been highlights: here are mine.

• Fiction - The Bedlam Stacks, by Natasha Pulley


• Non-fiction - SPQR, by Mary Beard


• Music - Olivier Latry's organ recital at the Proms


• Film and Theatre - First Man


• Museums and Exhibitions - Cutting Edge at Dulwich Picture Gallery


• Food and Drink - Pelikan in Stockholm

Honourable mentions for A Vineyard in Andalusia and An English Murder (fiction); 4th Rock from the Sun and The Invention of Air (non-fiction); Canzionere Grecanico Salentino and Queen Victoria's piano (music); Skansen in Stockholm, the Gustavianum in Uppsala (museums and exhibitions).

Perhaps hibernation for the duration would be the best option.