Book List 2005/2006
As was successful last year this will be my list of books for the coming year. Last year I realised I read a lot of junk food and made a conscious effort to read more challenging books. I really enjoyed that. Towards the end of the year I started a lot of non-fiction books which I have yet to finish to they will get bumped into this years list.
25th December to 24th January.
1. The Gourmet Gardener by Bob Flowerdew (non-fiction) Probably fairly obviously this is a book on growing food in the garden (and a little bit on flowers). It it is a good whistle stop tour through the best sorts of varieties to grow on a good range of fruit veg and flowers with a brief section on the soil conditions etc for each plant. I think I would probably read a more in depth book on some of the aspects of plant care covered in this but it is a good read and very helpful for choosing what fruit/veg to grow.
2. As Black as he's painted by Ngaio Marsh (fiction) Not happy reading this at all. I appreciate all the arguments about the "period" it was written in and that sort of thing but fundamentally this book had element of racism in it that I was not comfortable with it all.
3. Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith (fiction) fantastic thriller, I really enjoyed this book even though there were very few sympathetic characters in the book.
4. Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge (fiction)I thought that this book was really fresh and engaging. The use of language in itself as well as a motif was particularly good.
5. The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (fiction) Another children's book to kick off the year. This one was recommended by my Dad and was great fun. I think the idea of a combat lawyer is deeply cool - I want to be one :)
6. Just Law by Helena Kennedy (non-fiction) I love this women's work and writing again she has turned a spotlight on some of the unpleasant aspects of the british legal system.
7. Five Hundred Years After by Steven Brust (fiction) Another one in the Phoenix guards series. I found this one slightly easier to read than the first and therefore enjoyed it a lot more.
8. The Veiled Kingdom by Carmen Bin Ladin (autobiography) Book club book - therefore we don't talk about it.
25th January to 24th February
9. The Paths of the Dead by Steven Brust (fiction) This is a reread because I bought the next two in the series recently and then realised it had been so long since I read the first one (a year) that I couldn't remember the plot.
10. The Low Fat Cookbook by Rosemary Conoley (non-fiction) This is a terrible book. The recipes are generally awful and make you feel like you want to cry after you have eaten them.
11. Ainsely Harriot's Low Fat Meals in minutes (non-fiction) Generally quite good, food is tasty and interesting and you don't feel like you are missing out on anything - not quite as good as the Top 200 Low Fat Recipes but still an excellant addition to my library.
12. The Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust (fiction) - This is pulp fantasy, it does what it sez on the tin.
25th February to 24th March
13. The Human Brain by Susan Greenfield (non-fiction) - This was a great pop science book on the brain. I really enjoyed it, particularly the section on neuropharmacology which is also a great word.
14. The Silver Wheel (non-fiction) - this is a pagan-pop-women's-psycology book which I bought many many moons ago lent to someone before I read it, got it back and finally read it. The time for it has passed though. Maybe if I had read it 4 years ago I would have though it was amazing as it is I think 5% of it was interesting and much of it I disagreed with particularly its comments on feminism - because men and women are all paid the same no doncha know. However the illustrations were really amazing and very inspiring, probably worth a lot more than the book.
15. The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour - this is the ultimate guide to self sufficiency and contains reams of practical advice. I can see it will be a brilliant reference guide for years and years to come.
16. Armadale by Wilkie Collins (fiction) - This is another excellant Wilkie Collins book. I loved the change in sympathies that occurred about halfway through the book as it made it feel like a complete tragedy, you sympathised with every character's personal tragedy.
17. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands by Mrs Seacole (non-fiction) - This is the autobiography of Mrs Seacole a black nurse who worked with soldiers in the Crimea, it had some interesting social commentary on racism, sexism and slavery but ultimately very little happened and it wasn't as interesting as I had hoped.
18. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (fiction) This was a Poirot mystery only really interesting for how the bridge game played a part in the murder. Other than that it was pretty weak in terms of plot and generally a bit of filler.
19. Captain Altrista by Arturo Perez-Reverte (fiction) The first in a new pseudo-Dumas series set in Spain and written by a Spanish author. Really good start to what is clearly a series but it was far too short. It was just getting interesting when the book finished. I hope that there are many more though. It has also inspired me to read Alexander Dumas' stuff whcih I never have.
20. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore/David Lloyd (fiction) I have never read this graphic noval and I always wanted to and given that the movie is coming out. It was dark and stylish and very cool although I felt that the plot was both blown to early and never revealed but that was part of its charm.
25th March to 24th April
21. Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte (fiction) This is the second in the series of the adventures of Captain Altrista. This was focussed on the capture of his young side kick by the Spanish Inquisition. The plot was pacy and excellant but YET AGAIN IT WAS TOO SHORT.
22. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (fiction) I think that this is my second favourite Virginia Woolf novel after Orlando. The scenes over the dinner party were particularly good and I loved the way she would hop inside someone's head we would hear their thoughs about loveing another character then we would go inside another character's head at exactly the same moment and see how oblivious they were to the thoughts of the first character. It was really interesting.
23. Sethra Lavode by Steven Brust (fiction) not great, pulp fantasy that like breaking its own rules in non-cool ways. This book was particularly bad. Basically the main story kinda ended in the middle of book two and this was book three. The long term plot in this book should have been part of a much longer epic more on the scale of George R R Martin but it wasn't and it was done in a rushed way which made it feel a bit pointless.
24. The Call of Cthulu and Other Stories by HP Lovecraft (fiction) This is the first HP Lovecraft I have ever read and I can well see why it was turned into an RPG, it is full of imaginative and other chilling tales with tonnes of recurring background detail. I particularly enjoyed the Shadow over Innsmouth and the twist at the end (It wasn't completely unexpected but lots of fun anyway).
25. Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (fiction) I recently started to compile a list of seminal fiction I think I should read. I will hopefully put it up on LJ eventually and this book was on the list. I liked it but what I liked most about it was finding out the RB was trying to get it published during the McCarthy era and the only publisher who would touch it with a barge pole was Hugh Hefner!
26. The Three Muskateers by Alexandre Dumas (fiction) I great classic which I heartily enjoyed despite its being very different to the book I was expecting. I certainly intend to read the others over the course of the next few years. However I felt that the overal plot arc and the way it developed was a bit weak with a sort of milling around section in the middle waiting for things to happen.
27. The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (fiction) I didn't like this at all. I felt that the this was completely a concept book and a concept which I had seen done much much better elsewhere. This was in no way a love story to me and I did not find it remotely romantic. It was a book about determinism, questions over consent, the role of women and the grooming of children. On top of my other misgivings plotwise almost nothing really happened it was just a catalogue of the domestic lives around the concept as such I found it pretty boring and way too long.
25th April to 24th May
28. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop (fiction) This was part of a trilogy which I read all in one go so I will save my comments for the final book.
29. Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop (fiction)
30. Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop (fiction) The blurb on the back said that this Trilogy was about looking at a world turned upside down where women wield the power, sexual, magical and political and men are second class citizens. I am not sure if it achieved what it set out to do but it was a very very interesting read on a gender politics level and the different potential scenarios it threw up. As a fantasy novel is was ok, it had a lot of nice background and fairly interesting plot. In fact the magical background was sufficiently detailed I thought it would have made an excellant RPG.
31. Toast by Nigel Slater (biography) This is a biog of Nigel Slater. Part of the problem is I am only dimly aware of who he is so his biog was not as interesting as it could be. In fact it wasn't very interesting at all and I was quite pleased at how short it was.
32. The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards (fiction) I have to admit it, I love this little nuggets of brain candy. Readable, the characterisation comes through well, I can often practically here the lines spoken in the actors voice. It isn't high art, amazing SF or brilliant literature but it does exactly what it says on the tin and sometimes that it exactly what you want. And dudes it has pirates!
25th May to 24th June
33. The Stone Rose by Justin Richards (fiction) Dr Who novel - mind candy but fun.
34. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (fiction) This was my second Evelyn Waugh book. Last year I read Vile Bodies and thorough enjoyed it. This was no exception. I loved the depiction of a different time and he described it all wonderfully vividly
35. The Complete Book of Herbs (non-fiction)
36. The Feast of the Drowned (fiction) Dr Who novel - mind candy again but I enjoyed it.
25th June to 24th July
37. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold (fiction) Bujold had been recommended to me by quite a few people. Unfortunately I thought it was dull, formulaic and lacked pace and interest. I have been told that the second in the series is much better. However I think I will probably pass on it.
38. The Mountains of Madness and other stories by H P Lovecraft (fiction) More great Lovecraft stuff. I just really enjoy his world and I can see why it makes such a gret RP background.
39. The Stone by Adam Roberts (fiction) I thought this was a fairly bog standard SF novel. It has a couple of nice ideas but poor editing in the beginning really spoit it for me.
40. Solider of the Mist by Gene Wolf (fiction) This was a really interesting book about a soldier who had lost his short term memory but instead had gained the ability to see the gods. It is a bit slow moving and often repeats itself because of the subject matter. I have enjoyed individual scenes but not the novel as a whole.
41. The Light of Other Days by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter (fiction) This was a really good SF book which cardinalsin has been pushing me to read for ages. I was acutally really impresed about the quality of the writing and the cool ideas involved. Definately worth reading.
25th July to 24th August
42. The Prose Edda by Snori Sturluson (fiction/mythology) This is one of the primary sources of Norse myth and it was great fun to read.
43. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (fiction) This is a darkly sexual retelling of old fairly tales. I loved it. It was a wonderfully subversive twist on the familiar stories and definately worth a re-read.
44. A First Course in Psycology(Psycology) This is an introduction to psycology and I found it very interesting. It really worked as an introduction to a vast subject. Giving the reader a good understanding of basic
25th August to 24th September
45. Preachers of Hate: The Rise of the Far Right by Angus Roxburgh (Politics) This is a book I have been meaning to read for years. It is a whistlestop tour through the rise of the far right in the last 6 years in various different European Countries and how their policies have been adopted into the mainstream. I don't think we are on the verge of being swept away by a racist tide as the author sometimes suggests. However I do now have a much better understanding of racist groups across several European countries not just here. I also understand why the rise of racist political parties has been more marked in other European Countries but less so here and in Germany. Generally very interesting and I am pleased that I read it.
46. Soldier of Aretes by Gene Wolf (fiction) Generally not a very satisfying ending.
25th December to 24th January.
1. The Gourmet Gardener by Bob Flowerdew (non-fiction) Probably fairly obviously this is a book on growing food in the garden (and a little bit on flowers). It it is a good whistle stop tour through the best sorts of varieties to grow on a good range of fruit veg and flowers with a brief section on the soil conditions etc for each plant. I think I would probably read a more in depth book on some of the aspects of plant care covered in this but it is a good read and very helpful for choosing what fruit/veg to grow.
2. As Black as he's painted by Ngaio Marsh (fiction) Not happy reading this at all. I appreciate all the arguments about the "period" it was written in and that sort of thing but fundamentally this book had element of racism in it that I was not comfortable with it all.
3. Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith (fiction) fantastic thriller, I really enjoyed this book even though there were very few sympathetic characters in the book.
4. Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge (fiction)I thought that this book was really fresh and engaging. The use of language in itself as well as a motif was particularly good.
5. The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (fiction) Another children's book to kick off the year. This one was recommended by my Dad and was great fun. I think the idea of a combat lawyer is deeply cool - I want to be one :)
6. Just Law by Helena Kennedy (non-fiction) I love this women's work and writing again she has turned a spotlight on some of the unpleasant aspects of the british legal system.
7. Five Hundred Years After by Steven Brust (fiction) Another one in the Phoenix guards series. I found this one slightly easier to read than the first and therefore enjoyed it a lot more.
8. The Veiled Kingdom by Carmen Bin Ladin (autobiography) Book club book - therefore we don't talk about it.
25th January to 24th February
9. The Paths of the Dead by Steven Brust (fiction) This is a reread because I bought the next two in the series recently and then realised it had been so long since I read the first one (a year) that I couldn't remember the plot.
10. The Low Fat Cookbook by Rosemary Conoley (non-fiction) This is a terrible book. The recipes are generally awful and make you feel like you want to cry after you have eaten them.
11. Ainsely Harriot's Low Fat Meals in minutes (non-fiction) Generally quite good, food is tasty and interesting and you don't feel like you are missing out on anything - not quite as good as the Top 200 Low Fat Recipes but still an excellant addition to my library.
12. The Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust (fiction) - This is pulp fantasy, it does what it sez on the tin.
25th February to 24th March
13. The Human Brain by Susan Greenfield (non-fiction) - This was a great pop science book on the brain. I really enjoyed it, particularly the section on neuropharmacology which is also a great word.
14. The Silver Wheel (non-fiction) - this is a pagan-pop-women's-psycology book which I bought many many moons ago lent to someone before I read it, got it back and finally read it. The time for it has passed though. Maybe if I had read it 4 years ago I would have though it was amazing as it is I think 5% of it was interesting and much of it I disagreed with particularly its comments on feminism - because men and women are all paid the same no doncha know. However the illustrations were really amazing and very inspiring, probably worth a lot more than the book.
15. The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour - this is the ultimate guide to self sufficiency and contains reams of practical advice. I can see it will be a brilliant reference guide for years and years to come.
16. Armadale by Wilkie Collins (fiction) - This is another excellant Wilkie Collins book. I loved the change in sympathies that occurred about halfway through the book as it made it feel like a complete tragedy, you sympathised with every character's personal tragedy.
17. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands by Mrs Seacole (non-fiction) - This is the autobiography of Mrs Seacole a black nurse who worked with soldiers in the Crimea, it had some interesting social commentary on racism, sexism and slavery but ultimately very little happened and it wasn't as interesting as I had hoped.
18. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (fiction) This was a Poirot mystery only really interesting for how the bridge game played a part in the murder. Other than that it was pretty weak in terms of plot and generally a bit of filler.
19. Captain Altrista by Arturo Perez-Reverte (fiction) The first in a new pseudo-Dumas series set in Spain and written by a Spanish author. Really good start to what is clearly a series but it was far too short. It was just getting interesting when the book finished. I hope that there are many more though. It has also inspired me to read Alexander Dumas' stuff whcih I never have.
20. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore/David Lloyd (fiction) I have never read this graphic noval and I always wanted to and given that the movie is coming out. It was dark and stylish and very cool although I felt that the plot was both blown to early and never revealed but that was part of its charm.
25th March to 24th April
21. Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte (fiction) This is the second in the series of the adventures of Captain Altrista. This was focussed on the capture of his young side kick by the Spanish Inquisition. The plot was pacy and excellant but YET AGAIN IT WAS TOO SHORT.
22. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (fiction) I think that this is my second favourite Virginia Woolf novel after Orlando. The scenes over the dinner party were particularly good and I loved the way she would hop inside someone's head we would hear their thoughs about loveing another character then we would go inside another character's head at exactly the same moment and see how oblivious they were to the thoughts of the first character. It was really interesting.
23. Sethra Lavode by Steven Brust (fiction) not great, pulp fantasy that like breaking its own rules in non-cool ways. This book was particularly bad. Basically the main story kinda ended in the middle of book two and this was book three. The long term plot in this book should have been part of a much longer epic more on the scale of George R R Martin but it wasn't and it was done in a rushed way which made it feel a bit pointless.
24. The Call of Cthulu and Other Stories by HP Lovecraft (fiction) This is the first HP Lovecraft I have ever read and I can well see why it was turned into an RPG, it is full of imaginative and other chilling tales with tonnes of recurring background detail. I particularly enjoyed the Shadow over Innsmouth and the twist at the end (It wasn't completely unexpected but lots of fun anyway).
25. Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (fiction) I recently started to compile a list of seminal fiction I think I should read. I will hopefully put it up on LJ eventually and this book was on the list. I liked it but what I liked most about it was finding out the RB was trying to get it published during the McCarthy era and the only publisher who would touch it with a barge pole was Hugh Hefner!
26. The Three Muskateers by Alexandre Dumas (fiction) I great classic which I heartily enjoyed despite its being very different to the book I was expecting. I certainly intend to read the others over the course of the next few years. However I felt that the overal plot arc and the way it developed was a bit weak with a sort of milling around section in the middle waiting for things to happen.
27. The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (fiction) I didn't like this at all. I felt that the this was completely a concept book and a concept which I had seen done much much better elsewhere. This was in no way a love story to me and I did not find it remotely romantic. It was a book about determinism, questions over consent, the role of women and the grooming of children. On top of my other misgivings plotwise almost nothing really happened it was just a catalogue of the domestic lives around the concept as such I found it pretty boring and way too long.
25th April to 24th May
28. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop (fiction) This was part of a trilogy which I read all in one go so I will save my comments for the final book.
29. Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop (fiction)
30. Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop (fiction) The blurb on the back said that this Trilogy was about looking at a world turned upside down where women wield the power, sexual, magical and political and men are second class citizens. I am not sure if it achieved what it set out to do but it was a very very interesting read on a gender politics level and the different potential scenarios it threw up. As a fantasy novel is was ok, it had a lot of nice background and fairly interesting plot. In fact the magical background was sufficiently detailed I thought it would have made an excellant RPG.
31. Toast by Nigel Slater (biography) This is a biog of Nigel Slater. Part of the problem is I am only dimly aware of who he is so his biog was not as interesting as it could be. In fact it wasn't very interesting at all and I was quite pleased at how short it was.
32. The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards (fiction) I have to admit it, I love this little nuggets of brain candy. Readable, the characterisation comes through well, I can often practically here the lines spoken in the actors voice. It isn't high art, amazing SF or brilliant literature but it does exactly what it says on the tin and sometimes that it exactly what you want. And dudes it has pirates!
25th May to 24th June
33. The Stone Rose by Justin Richards (fiction) Dr Who novel - mind candy but fun.
34. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (fiction) This was my second Evelyn Waugh book. Last year I read Vile Bodies and thorough enjoyed it. This was no exception. I loved the depiction of a different time and he described it all wonderfully vividly
35. The Complete Book of Herbs (non-fiction)
36. The Feast of the Drowned (fiction) Dr Who novel - mind candy again but I enjoyed it.
25th June to 24th July
37. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold (fiction) Bujold had been recommended to me by quite a few people. Unfortunately I thought it was dull, formulaic and lacked pace and interest. I have been told that the second in the series is much better. However I think I will probably pass on it.
38. The Mountains of Madness and other stories by H P Lovecraft (fiction) More great Lovecraft stuff. I just really enjoy his world and I can see why it makes such a gret RP background.
39. The Stone by Adam Roberts (fiction) I thought this was a fairly bog standard SF novel. It has a couple of nice ideas but poor editing in the beginning really spoit it for me.
40. Solider of the Mist by Gene Wolf (fiction) This was a really interesting book about a soldier who had lost his short term memory but instead had gained the ability to see the gods. It is a bit slow moving and often repeats itself because of the subject matter. I have enjoyed individual scenes but not the novel as a whole.
41. The Light of Other Days by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter (fiction) This was a really good SF book which cardinalsin has been pushing me to read for ages. I was acutally really impresed about the quality of the writing and the cool ideas involved. Definately worth reading.
25th July to 24th August
42. The Prose Edda by Snori Sturluson (fiction/mythology) This is one of the primary sources of Norse myth and it was great fun to read.
43. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (fiction) This is a darkly sexual retelling of old fairly tales. I loved it. It was a wonderfully subversive twist on the familiar stories and definately worth a re-read.
44. A First Course in Psycology(Psycology) This is an introduction to psycology and I found it very interesting. It really worked as an introduction to a vast subject. Giving the reader a good understanding of basic
25th August to 24th September
45. Preachers of Hate: The Rise of the Far Right by Angus Roxburgh (Politics) This is a book I have been meaning to read for years. It is a whistlestop tour through the rise of the far right in the last 6 years in various different European Countries and how their policies have been adopted into the mainstream. I don't think we are on the verge of being swept away by a racist tide as the author sometimes suggests. However I do now have a much better understanding of racist groups across several European countries not just here. I also understand why the rise of racist political parties has been more marked in other European Countries but less so here and in Germany. Generally very interesting and I am pleased that I read it.
46. Soldier of Aretes by Gene Wolf (fiction) Generally not a very satisfying ending.