Books read in 2011
For the first time in years I have made my target of eight books a month! The figure of 96 does include one book I read twice this year, so if you count the list, it will only come to 95, but since I do include re-reads, it makes no sense to exclude re-reads in the same year. Tomorrow's task will be learning to do pivot tables again so I can run some statistics again, and then maybe (ambitiously) compare this year to last year.
Fiction: General
1. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman at the charge (Flashman Papers ; 4)
2. Hilary Mantel, Fludd - I didn't enjoy this as much as her historical novels
3. Alexander McCall Smith, La's orchestra saves the world
4. Sebastian Faulks, Birdsong - vastly over-rated, unless you are supposed to think the hero is such a pill that you are disappointed when he fails to be blown to smithereens in a trench
5. C.J. Sansom, Winter in Madrid - I prefer the Shardlake series but Sansom is always a good read
6. Alexander McCall Smith, The world according to Bertie (44 Scotland Street ; 4)
7. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman in the Great Game (Flashman Papers ; 5)
8. Robert Penn Warren, All the king's men
9. Anchee Min, Pearl of China
10. Pat Barker, Regeneration (Regeneration trilogy ; 1)
11. Elizabeth Jane Howard, The light years (The Cazalets ; 1) - quartet set around WW2 with very well-written characterization of children growing up
12. Elizabeth Jane Howard, Marking time (The Cazalets ; 2)
13. P.G. Wodehouse, Leave it to Psmith
14. Hilary Mantel, A place of greater safety - I never thought I would feel sympathetic to Robespierre!
15. Alessandro Manzoni, I promessi sposi - and I never thought I would fancy reading this again once I got out of school!
16. Elizabeth Jane Howard, Confusion (The Cazalets ; 3)
17. Elizabeth Jane Howard, Casting off (The Cazalets ; 4) - the finale was a bit creepy-stalkerish cop-out
18. Alexander McCall Smith, The unbearable lightness of scones (44 Scotland Street ; 5)
19. Alexander McCall Smith, The full cupboard of life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ; 5)
20. Alexander McCall Smith, The Double Comfort Safari Club (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ; 12)
21. Angela Carter, The magic toyshop
22. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman and the Redskins (Flashman Papers ; 7)
23. Sylvia Townsend Warner, Lolly Willowes or the loving huntsman - one of my favourite books ever, due a re-read
Fiction: Crime/thrillers
1. Donna Leon, A noble radiance (Commissario Brunetti) - I enjoy these, especially when you can spot the Italian idioms slipping into the American author's writing
2. C.J. Sansom, Heartstone (Shardlake ; 5) - well worth the wait
3. Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, The laughing policeman - picked this up at a library sale after watching a lot of Wallanders on BBC4 but did not enjoy it much
4. Barbara Hambly, Dead and buried (Benjamin January ; 9)
5. Anne Perry, Seven Dials (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 23) - after many years I caught up on this series; the mysteries are readable as always but Charlotte is well into Mary Sue territory these days
6. Anne Perry, Long Spoon Lane (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 24)
7. Anne Perry, Buckingham Palace Gardens (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 25)
8. Anne Perry, Treason at Lisson Grove (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 26)
9. Anne Perry, No graves as yet (World War 1 series ; 1) - I had been unaware of these, a series of five mysteries set around two Cambridgeshire brothers, one a theology don and the other in the secret services, starting in summer 1914
10. Anne Perry, Shoulder the sky (World War 1 series ; 2) - not sure I can handle three more novels on why pacifists are deluded patsies or evil traitors
Fiction: Fantasy
1. Glen Cook, Gilded latten bones (Garrett P.I.) - I loved the early Garrett books but the last few I've read have made me wonder if the author is getting more rigid or I am becoming more alert to some subtexts
2. Tanya Huff, Blood debt (Vicki Nelson ; 5)
3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings ; 1) - the Rob Inglis audiobook
4. J.R.R. Tolkien, The two towers (The Lord of the Rings ; 2) - the Rob Inglis audiobook
5. Barbara Hambly, Circle of the moon (Raven sisters ; 2)
6. C.E. Murphy, Heart of stone (Negotiator ; 1) - I love gargoyles and I enjoy the Walker Papers despite preferring third person to first person narratives; this series is third person and has a gargoyle love interest and I didn't really take to it
7. Barbara Hambly, Those who hunt the night (Asher & Ysidro ; 1)
8. Barbara Hambly, Travelling with the dead (Asher & Ysidro ; 2)
9. K.J. Parker, The folding knife
10. Sylvia Townsend Warner, Kingdoms of Elfin
11. Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals (Discworld)
12. Laurel K. Hamilton, Guilty pleasures (Anita Blake ; 1) - not as bad as I expected, but it made little of the St Louis setting
13. J.R.R. Tolkien, The return of the king (The Lord of the Rings ; 3) - the Rob Inglis audiobook
14. Terry Pratchett, Snuff (Discworld)
15. C.S. Friedman, Feast of souls (Magister trilogy ; 1) - as recommended by emily_shore/ some years ago, but I waited for the whole trilogy to be written
16. C.E. Murphy, Walking dead (Walker Papers ; 4)
17. C.S. Friedman, Wings of wrath (Magister trilogy ; 2)
18. C.S. Friedman, Legacy of kings (Magister trilogy ; 3)
19. Daniel Abraham, The price of spring (Long price quartet ; 4) - I would like to buy this, but they didn't bring it out in mass market paperback...
20. Barbara Hambly, Stranger at the wedding
21. C.E. Murphy, Demon hunts (Walker Papers ; 5)
Fiction: SF
1. Holly Lisle, Hunting the Corrigan's blood
2. China Miéville, The city & the city - very clever
3. Sherri S. Tepper, Shadow's end
4. C.J. Cherryh, Betrayer (Foreigner ; 12)
5. Steven Brust, Tiassa (Vlad Taltos ; 13)
6. Sherri S. Tepper, The gate to women's country
7. Octavia E. Butler, Patternmaster (Seed to harvest ; 4)
8. Connie Willis, All clear (Black-out ; 2) - the ending was a bit of a cop-out
9. Charles Stross, The family trade (Merchant Princes ; 1) - I am hugely enjoying these - like the Foreigner series with more economics instead of aliens
10. Sarah A. Hoyt, Darkship thieves - utter pants, the worst book I read this year, three words: telepathic cat aliens
11. Sophia MacDougall, Romanitas (Romanitas ; 1) - I want to RP in this universe!
12. S.L. Viehl, Stardoc (Stardoc ; 1)
13. Sophia MacDougall, Rome burning (Romanitas ; 2)
14. Charles Stross, The hidden family (Merchant Princes ; 2)
15. Charles Stross, The clan corporate (Merchant Princes ; 3)
16. Charles Stross, The merchants' war (Merchant Princes ; 4)
Fiction: YA/Children
1. Michael Morpurgo, War horse
2. Philip Pullman, The ruby in the smoke (Sally Lockhart quartet ; 4)
3. Cornelia Funke, Reckless - I liked this more than Inkheart
4. Emily Diamand, Flood child [original title: Reavers' ransom] - very enjoyable "After London" setting
5. Mary Stewart, The little broomstick - an old favourite I mentioned to someone a few weeks ago and got a hankering to read again
Fiction: Graphic
1. Tiziano Sclavi, Il sortilegio (Dylan Dog ; 297)
2. Edward Gorey, The evil garden
Non-fiction
1. Barbara W. Tuchman, The march of folly : from Troy to Vietnam
2. Cheri Huber, There is nothing wrong with you. - Rev. ed. - this is the book I read twice, following a recommendation in a blog thread - a sort of Buddhist CBT
3. Cheri Huber, What you practice [sic] is what you are : a guide to having the life you want
4. David Pearson, Why do we need so many old books? The value of the Plume Library in the modern world
5. Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the attic : despatches from the unfinished Civil War - very interesting, especially to someone as ignorant of the Civil War and its aftermath as I am
6. Daniel L. Everett, Don't sleep, there are snakes : life and language in the Amazonian jungle - intriguing and slightly disturbing account of the Piraha people who essentially have no use for the concept of imagination
7. Robert Sullivan, Rats : observation on the history and habitat of the city's most unwanted inhabitants - brilliant book, changes the way you look at cities
8. Alice Outwater, Water : a natural history - the first of a number of gizzits from elegaer
9. Elaine Morgan, The scars of evolution
10. Umberto Eco, How to travel with a salmon and other essays
11. Irene M. Pepperberg, Alex & me : how a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence - and formed a deep bond in the process
12. Marylou Heiss & Robert J. Heiss, The tea enthusiast's handbook : a guide to enjoying the world's best teas - my new obsession...
13. Beppe Severgnini, L'inglese : lezioni semiserie
14. Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia
15. Richard Mabey, Weeds : in defence of nature's most unloved plants
16. John McPhee, The Pine Barrens
17. Deanne Stillman, Mustang : the saga of the wild horse in the American west - an interesting short book about wild horses in America with a tedious short book of anecdotes of military, cowboy and film horses stuck into it
18. Ben Goldacre, Bad science - can't believe I hadn't read this before: depressingly true but laugh out loud funny
Books not finished in 2011 (yet):
1. Laurence Sterne, The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman - by my rules it doesn't count towards this year's reading, but I wanted to record the fact that I am halfway through it, and enjoying it enough to have renamed my LJ in hommage to Sterne. Next year, shamelessly nicking the idea from eledonecirrhosa, I am keeping a list of books not finished rather than forcing myself to finish tripe like the Sarah A. Hoyt which I only finished because I was halfway through it before the true horror of the telepathic cat alien perfect boyfriend plot became apparent, and was a bit behind my notional target of 8 books a month.
Fiction: General
1. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman at the charge (Flashman Papers ; 4)
2. Hilary Mantel, Fludd - I didn't enjoy this as much as her historical novels
3. Alexander McCall Smith, La's orchestra saves the world
4. Sebastian Faulks, Birdsong - vastly over-rated, unless you are supposed to think the hero is such a pill that you are disappointed when he fails to be blown to smithereens in a trench
5. C.J. Sansom, Winter in Madrid - I prefer the Shardlake series but Sansom is always a good read
6. Alexander McCall Smith, The world according to Bertie (44 Scotland Street ; 4)
7. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman in the Great Game (Flashman Papers ; 5)
8. Robert Penn Warren, All the king's men
9. Anchee Min, Pearl of China
10. Pat Barker, Regeneration (Regeneration trilogy ; 1)
11. Elizabeth Jane Howard, The light years (The Cazalets ; 1) - quartet set around WW2 with very well-written characterization of children growing up
12. Elizabeth Jane Howard, Marking time (The Cazalets ; 2)
13. P.G. Wodehouse, Leave it to Psmith
14. Hilary Mantel, A place of greater safety - I never thought I would feel sympathetic to Robespierre!
15. Alessandro Manzoni, I promessi sposi - and I never thought I would fancy reading this again once I got out of school!
16. Elizabeth Jane Howard, Confusion (The Cazalets ; 3)
17. Elizabeth Jane Howard, Casting off (The Cazalets ; 4) - the finale was a bit creepy-stalkerish cop-out
18. Alexander McCall Smith, The unbearable lightness of scones (44 Scotland Street ; 5)
19. Alexander McCall Smith, The full cupboard of life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ; 5)
20. Alexander McCall Smith, The Double Comfort Safari Club (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency ; 12)
21. Angela Carter, The magic toyshop
22. George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman and the Redskins (Flashman Papers ; 7)
23. Sylvia Townsend Warner, Lolly Willowes or the loving huntsman - one of my favourite books ever, due a re-read
Fiction: Crime/thrillers
1. Donna Leon, A noble radiance (Commissario Brunetti) - I enjoy these, especially when you can spot the Italian idioms slipping into the American author's writing
2. C.J. Sansom, Heartstone (Shardlake ; 5) - well worth the wait
3. Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö, The laughing policeman - picked this up at a library sale after watching a lot of Wallanders on BBC4 but did not enjoy it much
4. Barbara Hambly, Dead and buried (Benjamin January ; 9)
5. Anne Perry, Seven Dials (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 23) - after many years I caught up on this series; the mysteries are readable as always but Charlotte is well into Mary Sue territory these days
6. Anne Perry, Long Spoon Lane (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 24)
7. Anne Perry, Buckingham Palace Gardens (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 25)
8. Anne Perry, Treason at Lisson Grove (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt ; 26)
9. Anne Perry, No graves as yet (World War 1 series ; 1) - I had been unaware of these, a series of five mysteries set around two Cambridgeshire brothers, one a theology don and the other in the secret services, starting in summer 1914
10. Anne Perry, Shoulder the sky (World War 1 series ; 2) - not sure I can handle three more novels on why pacifists are deluded patsies or evil traitors
Fiction: Fantasy
1. Glen Cook, Gilded latten bones (Garrett P.I.) - I loved the early Garrett books but the last few I've read have made me wonder if the author is getting more rigid or I am becoming more alert to some subtexts
2. Tanya Huff, Blood debt (Vicki Nelson ; 5)
3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings ; 1) - the Rob Inglis audiobook
4. J.R.R. Tolkien, The two towers (The Lord of the Rings ; 2) - the Rob Inglis audiobook
5. Barbara Hambly, Circle of the moon (Raven sisters ; 2)
6. C.E. Murphy, Heart of stone (Negotiator ; 1) - I love gargoyles and I enjoy the Walker Papers despite preferring third person to first person narratives; this series is third person and has a gargoyle love interest and I didn't really take to it
7. Barbara Hambly, Those who hunt the night (Asher & Ysidro ; 1)
8. Barbara Hambly, Travelling with the dead (Asher & Ysidro ; 2)
9. K.J. Parker, The folding knife
10. Sylvia Townsend Warner, Kingdoms of Elfin
11. Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals (Discworld)
12. Laurel K. Hamilton, Guilty pleasures (Anita Blake ; 1) - not as bad as I expected, but it made little of the St Louis setting
13. J.R.R. Tolkien, The return of the king (The Lord of the Rings ; 3) - the Rob Inglis audiobook
14. Terry Pratchett, Snuff (Discworld)
15. C.S. Friedman, Feast of souls (Magister trilogy ; 1) - as recommended by emily_shore/ some years ago, but I waited for the whole trilogy to be written
16. C.E. Murphy, Walking dead (Walker Papers ; 4)
17. C.S. Friedman, Wings of wrath (Magister trilogy ; 2)
18. C.S. Friedman, Legacy of kings (Magister trilogy ; 3)
19. Daniel Abraham, The price of spring (Long price quartet ; 4) - I would like to buy this, but they didn't bring it out in mass market paperback...
20. Barbara Hambly, Stranger at the wedding
21. C.E. Murphy, Demon hunts (Walker Papers ; 5)
Fiction: SF
1. Holly Lisle, Hunting the Corrigan's blood
2. China Miéville, The city & the city - very clever
3. Sherri S. Tepper, Shadow's end
4. C.J. Cherryh, Betrayer (Foreigner ; 12)
5. Steven Brust, Tiassa (Vlad Taltos ; 13)
6. Sherri S. Tepper, The gate to women's country
7. Octavia E. Butler, Patternmaster (Seed to harvest ; 4)
8. Connie Willis, All clear (Black-out ; 2) - the ending was a bit of a cop-out
9. Charles Stross, The family trade (Merchant Princes ; 1) - I am hugely enjoying these - like the Foreigner series with more economics instead of aliens
10. Sarah A. Hoyt, Darkship thieves - utter pants, the worst book I read this year, three words: telepathic cat aliens
11. Sophia MacDougall, Romanitas (Romanitas ; 1) - I want to RP in this universe!
12. S.L. Viehl, Stardoc (Stardoc ; 1)
13. Sophia MacDougall, Rome burning (Romanitas ; 2)
14. Charles Stross, The hidden family (Merchant Princes ; 2)
15. Charles Stross, The clan corporate (Merchant Princes ; 3)
16. Charles Stross, The merchants' war (Merchant Princes ; 4)
Fiction: YA/Children
1. Michael Morpurgo, War horse
2. Philip Pullman, The ruby in the smoke (Sally Lockhart quartet ; 4)
3. Cornelia Funke, Reckless - I liked this more than Inkheart
4. Emily Diamand, Flood child [original title: Reavers' ransom] - very enjoyable "After London" setting
5. Mary Stewart, The little broomstick - an old favourite I mentioned to someone a few weeks ago and got a hankering to read again
Fiction: Graphic
1. Tiziano Sclavi, Il sortilegio (Dylan Dog ; 297)
2. Edward Gorey, The evil garden
Non-fiction
1. Barbara W. Tuchman, The march of folly : from Troy to Vietnam
2. Cheri Huber, There is nothing wrong with you. - Rev. ed. - this is the book I read twice, following a recommendation in a blog thread - a sort of Buddhist CBT
3. Cheri Huber, What you practice [sic] is what you are : a guide to having the life you want
4. David Pearson, Why do we need so many old books? The value of the Plume Library in the modern world
5. Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the attic : despatches from the unfinished Civil War - very interesting, especially to someone as ignorant of the Civil War and its aftermath as I am
6. Daniel L. Everett, Don't sleep, there are snakes : life and language in the Amazonian jungle - intriguing and slightly disturbing account of the Piraha people who essentially have no use for the concept of imagination
7. Robert Sullivan, Rats : observation on the history and habitat of the city's most unwanted inhabitants - brilliant book, changes the way you look at cities
8. Alice Outwater, Water : a natural history - the first of a number of gizzits from elegaer
9. Elaine Morgan, The scars of evolution
10. Umberto Eco, How to travel with a salmon and other essays
11. Irene M. Pepperberg, Alex & me : how a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence - and formed a deep bond in the process
12. Marylou Heiss & Robert J. Heiss, The tea enthusiast's handbook : a guide to enjoying the world's best teas - my new obsession...
13. Beppe Severgnini, L'inglese : lezioni semiserie
14. Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia
15. Richard Mabey, Weeds : in defence of nature's most unloved plants
16. John McPhee, The Pine Barrens
17. Deanne Stillman, Mustang : the saga of the wild horse in the American west - an interesting short book about wild horses in America with a tedious short book of anecdotes of military, cowboy and film horses stuck into it
18. Ben Goldacre, Bad science - can't believe I hadn't read this before: depressingly true but laugh out loud funny
Books not finished in 2011 (yet):
1. Laurence Sterne, The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman - by my rules it doesn't count towards this year's reading, but I wanted to record the fact that I am halfway through it, and enjoying it enough to have renamed my LJ in hommage to Sterne. Next year, shamelessly nicking the idea from eledonecirrhosa, I am keeping a list of books not finished rather than forcing myself to finish tripe like the Sarah A. Hoyt which I only finished because I was halfway through it before the true horror of the telepathic cat alien perfect boyfriend plot became apparent, and was a bit behind my notional target of 8 books a month.