Books Read in 2013
This year's tally is roughly a third less than last year's all-time high of 125. I put this down to not forcing myself to finish books I don't like, which is definitely a good thing. Highlights in bold; and you can read more about my Top 10 here.
1. Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain
2. The February House by Sherill Tippins
3. Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
4. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
5. Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain
6. Me and Mr Booker by Cory Taylor
7. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
8. Marilyn: the Psychiatric Biography by Gordon D. Jensen
9. Union Street by Pat Barker
10. Hard Twisted by Joseph C. Greaves
11. A Treacherous Likeness by Lynn Shepherd
12. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
13. She Bop (3rd edition) by Lucy O'Brien
14. Pussy Riot! A Punk Prayer for Freedom, ed. Feminist Press
15. Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann
16. November 22, 1963 by Adam Braver
17. Bette Davis: Larger Than Life by Richard Schickel
18. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
19. Lincoln's Little Girl by Cecelia Holland
20. All the Beggars Riding by Lucy Caldwell
21. Marilyn: The Tragic Venus by Edwin P. Hoyt
22.Y: A Novel by Marjorie Celona
23. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (re-read)
24. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
25. America Bewitched: Witchcraft After Salem by Owen Davies
26. The Book of Fate by Parinoush Sainee
27. Marilyn: The Last Months by Eunice Murray, Rose Shade
28. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
29. Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers
30. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
31. Lover of Unreason: Assia Wevill by Yehuda Koren, Eilat Negev
32. Shakedown by James Ellroy
33. Girl Trouble by Carol Dyhouse
34. Brigitte Bardot by Ginette Vincendeau
35. Abraham Lincoln by Thomas Keneally
36. Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon
37. Mr Lincoln's Wars by Adam Braver
38. Gatsby Girls by F. Scott Fitzgerald
39. Careless People: The Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell
40. Wish I Was There by Emily Lloyd
41. Possessed by the Devil: the Islandmagee Witches by Andrew Sneddon
42. Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers
43. Elizabeth Taylor by Susan Smith
44. Elizabeth Taylor: An Informal Memoir by Elizabeth Taylor
45. My Life With Cleopatra by Walter Wanger
46.Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot, ed. English P.E.N.
47. Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations by Peter Evans
48. Living With Miss G by Mearene Jordan
49. Bogart: In Search of My Father by Stephen H. Bogart
50. Brighton Belle by Sara Sheridan
51. Death Was in the Blood by Linda L. Richards
52. Goldcord Asylum by Jude Starling
53. Amy 27 by Howard Sounes
54. Making the Fall by Richard D. Meyer
55. Famous Faces Yet Not Themselves: The Misfits and Icons of Postwar America by George Kouvaros
56. Black Milk: On Motherhood, Writing by Elif Shafak
57. Manson by Jeff Guinn
58. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (re-read)
59. No Place to Call Home by Katharine Quarmby
60. Slavery Inc. by Lydia Cacho
61. The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien (re-read)
62. America's Mistress: Eartha Kitt by John D. Williams
63. The Liberty Tree by Suzanne Harrington
64. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
65. Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
66. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (read, re-reading)
67. The Girl by Samantha Geimer
68. Jean Shrimpton: An Autobiography by Jean Shrimpton
69. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
70. The Searchers: An American Legend by Glenn Frankel
71. Vivien Leigh by Kendra Bean
72. Last Night at the Viper Room by Gavin Edwards
73. The DiMaggios by Tom Clavin
74. Rain by W. Somerset Maugham (re-read)
75. Rain: A Play by John Colton, Clemence Randolph
76. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (re-read)
77. Minding Marilyn by Dianne DeWilliams
78. Stephen Ward Was Innocent, OK? by Geoffrey Robertson
79. Marilyn Monroe: Poems by Lyn Lifshin
80. Pauline Boty: Pop Artist and Woman by Sue Tate
Currently reading Rye Spirits: Faith Faction and Fairies by Annabel Gregory; The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals by Michelle Morgan; and re-reading The Goldfinch. Only 3 weeks after finishing this 800-page novel, I started all over again. For fiction, this has to be some kind of personal record - but then, it's by Donna Tartt, and such is my devotion to Ms Tartt that if she rewrote the phone book, I'd pore over it for years, searching for hidden meanings...)
1. Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain
2. The February House by Sherill Tippins
3. Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
4. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
5. Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain
6. Me and Mr Booker by Cory Taylor
7. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
8. Marilyn: the Psychiatric Biography by Gordon D. Jensen
9. Union Street by Pat Barker
10. Hard Twisted by Joseph C. Greaves
11. A Treacherous Likeness by Lynn Shepherd
12. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
13. She Bop (3rd edition) by Lucy O'Brien
14. Pussy Riot! A Punk Prayer for Freedom, ed. Feminist Press
15. Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann
16. November 22, 1963 by Adam Braver
17. Bette Davis: Larger Than Life by Richard Schickel
18. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
19. Lincoln's Little Girl by Cecelia Holland
20. All the Beggars Riding by Lucy Caldwell
21. Marilyn: The Tragic Venus by Edwin P. Hoyt
22.Y: A Novel by Marjorie Celona
23. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (re-read)
24. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
25. America Bewitched: Witchcraft After Salem by Owen Davies
26. The Book of Fate by Parinoush Sainee
27. Marilyn: The Last Months by Eunice Murray, Rose Shade
28. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
29. Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers
30. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
31. Lover of Unreason: Assia Wevill by Yehuda Koren, Eilat Negev
32. Shakedown by James Ellroy
33. Girl Trouble by Carol Dyhouse
34. Brigitte Bardot by Ginette Vincendeau
35. Abraham Lincoln by Thomas Keneally
36. Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon
37. Mr Lincoln's Wars by Adam Braver
38. Gatsby Girls by F. Scott Fitzgerald
39. Careless People: The Invention of The Great Gatsby by Sarah Churchwell
40. Wish I Was There by Emily Lloyd
41. Possessed by the Devil: the Islandmagee Witches by Andrew Sneddon
42. Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers
43. Elizabeth Taylor by Susan Smith
44. Elizabeth Taylor: An Informal Memoir by Elizabeth Taylor
45. My Life With Cleopatra by Walter Wanger
46.Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot, ed. English P.E.N.
47. Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations by Peter Evans
48. Living With Miss G by Mearene Jordan
49. Bogart: In Search of My Father by Stephen H. Bogart
50. Brighton Belle by Sara Sheridan
51. Death Was in the Blood by Linda L. Richards
52. Goldcord Asylum by Jude Starling
53. Amy 27 by Howard Sounes
54. Making the Fall by Richard D. Meyer
55. Famous Faces Yet Not Themselves: The Misfits and Icons of Postwar America by George Kouvaros
56. Black Milk: On Motherhood, Writing by Elif Shafak
57. Manson by Jeff Guinn
58. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (re-read)
59. No Place to Call Home by Katharine Quarmby
60. Slavery Inc. by Lydia Cacho
61. The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien (re-read)
62. America's Mistress: Eartha Kitt by John D. Williams
63. The Liberty Tree by Suzanne Harrington
64. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
65. Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
66. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (read, re-reading)
67. The Girl by Samantha Geimer
68. Jean Shrimpton: An Autobiography by Jean Shrimpton
69. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
70. The Searchers: An American Legend by Glenn Frankel
71. Vivien Leigh by Kendra Bean
72. Last Night at the Viper Room by Gavin Edwards
73. The DiMaggios by Tom Clavin
74. Rain by W. Somerset Maugham (re-read)
75. Rain: A Play by John Colton, Clemence Randolph
76. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (re-read)
77. Minding Marilyn by Dianne DeWilliams
78. Stephen Ward Was Innocent, OK? by Geoffrey Robertson
79. Marilyn Monroe: Poems by Lyn Lifshin
80. Pauline Boty: Pop Artist and Woman by Sue Tate
Currently reading Rye Spirits: Faith Faction and Fairies by Annabel Gregory; The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals by Michelle Morgan; and re-reading The Goldfinch. Only 3 weeks after finishing this 800-page novel, I started all over again. For fiction, this has to be some kind of personal record - but then, it's by Donna Tartt, and such is my devotion to Ms Tartt that if she rewrote the phone book, I'd pore over it for years, searching for hidden meanings...)