Brian's 2013 Book Log

[Brian.]

Brian's 2013 Book Log.

 

This is my book blog/log for 2013. In 2013 I set myself a target of 50 books to read and at the start of the year I didn't think I would make it. In the end I read 58 books despite a few dips in my reading mojo.

 

For 2013 I am going to set myself a lower target, I have changed my work shift and as a result I have less time for reading at work than I used to get. For that reason I am going to aim for 40 books in total for the year. I also want to read Ulysses by James Joyce and 2666 by Roberto Bolano by the end of the year. I think the best way to go about this is to read a little and and often of these books due to their sheer size. I made an attempt at 2666 last year but gave up on it about a quarter of the way through.

 

Apart from that I don't have too many more aims for my reading year. I want to read books by a wider geographical range of authors this year, I have plenty on my TBR list to do this. It would be nice to buy fewer books than I did last year but I know that this might a futile wish.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Brian.

[Brian.]

To Be Read Pile.

Jeff Abbott - Black Jack Point
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Martin Amis - The Rachel Papers
Anonymous - Tale from the Thousand and One Nights
Margaret Atwood - Oryx And Crake
Jane Austen - Emma
Davis Baldacci - The Collectors
Roberto Bolano - Last Evenings on Earth
Roberto Bolano - 2666
Charles Bukowski - Pulp
Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange
William S. Burroughs - Naked Lunch
Albert Camus - The Plague
John le Carre - Smiley's People
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express
J.M. Coetzee - Disgrace
Joesph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Joesph Conrad - The Secret Agent
Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe
Len Deighton - Berlin Game
Patrick deWitt - The Sisters Brothers
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Notes from the Underground
Umberto Eco - Foucault's Pendulum
Bret Easton Ellis - Less Than Zero
Jame Ellory - The Black Dahlia
Ben Elton - Popcorn
Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong
Sebastian Faulks - A Week in December
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Love of the Last Tycoon
Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary
Ian Fleming - Moonraker
Ian Fleming - Diamonds Are Forever
Ian Fleming - From Russia With Love
Vince Flynn - Separation of Power
E.M. Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread
Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections
James Frey - The Final Testament
Anna Funder - All That I Am
Alex Garland - The Tesseract
Alex Garland - The Beach
William Gibson - Neuromancer
Nikolai Gogol - Dead Souls
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Graham Greene -Brighton Rock
Mohsin Hamid - Moth Smoke
Peter Handke - A Sorrow Beyond Dreams
Robert Harris - Archangel
Robert Harris - Pompeii
Robert Harris - Enigma
Ernest Hemingway - A Farewell to Arms
Keigo Higashino - The Devotion of Suspect X
Khaled Hosseini - A Thousand Splendid Suns
Witi Ihimaera - The Whale Rider
Christopher Isherwood - Goodbye to Berlin
Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day
Eowyn Ivey - The Snow Child
Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question
James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
James Joyce - Ulysses
Lars Kepler - The Hypnotist
Simon Kernick - Deadline
Jack Kerouac - The Dharma Bums
Jack Kerouac - Maggie Cassidy
Natsuo Kirino - Out
Chris Kuzneski - Sign of the Cross
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Carlo Levi - Christ Stopped At Eboil
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
Yann Martel - Life of Pi
Andrew Martin - The Necropolis Railway
Cormac McCarthy - The Road
Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach
Yukio Mishima - The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas
Haruki Murakami - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami - Kafka on the Shore
Ryu Murakami - Almost Transparent Blue
Jo Nesbo - The Leopard
Jo Nesbo - The Snowman
Xees Nooteboom - The Following Story
Chuck Palahnuik - Survivor
Chuck Palahnuik - Invisible Monsters
Chuck Palahnuik - Haunted
Orhan Pamuk - White Castle
Terry Pratchett - Mort
Annie E. Proulx - The Shipping News
Vyacheslav Pyetsukh - The New Moscow Philosophy
Thomas de Quincey - Confessions of an English Opium Eater
Jean Rhys - Wide Sargasso Sea
Philip Roth - The Human Stain
Philip Roth - The Plot Against America
Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things
Salman Rushdie - The Satanic Verses
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - Don Quixote
Carl Sagan - Contact
Mekkawi Said - Cairo Swan Song
Jean-Paul Satre - Nausea
Jean-Paul Satre - The Age of Reason
Alice Sebold - The Lovely Bones
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Lionel Shriver - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Aleksander Solzhenitsyn - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Aleksander Solzhenitsyn - Cancer Ward
Kathryn Stockett - The Help
Bram Stoker - Dracula
Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels
J.R.R Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R Tolkien - The Two Towers
J.R.R Tolkien - The Return of the King
J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina
Ivan Turgenev - Fathers and Sons
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Vide Vendela - Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name
Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
Evelyn Waugh - Put Out More Flags
Irvine Welsh - Filth
Irvine Welsh - The Acid House
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting
Tony White - Croatian Nights
Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
Daniel H. Wilson - Robopacalypse
Tim Winton - Shallows
Rudolph Wurlitzer - Flats & Quake
John Wyndham - The Day of the Triffids
Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Prince of Mist
Emile Zola - Germinal
Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

Edited July 23, 2013 by Brian.

[Brian.]

Books Acquired in 2013.

 

 

££ - Bought new.

$$ - Bought, pre-loved.

*** - Gifted to me

 

Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy***

Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller***

The Black Path - Asa Larsson***

The Blood Spilt - Asa Larsson***

Faceless Killers -Henning Mankell***

Airframe - Michael Crichton***

Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck***

The Girl in Berlin - Elizabeth Wilson***

The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells***

The Hot Zone - Robert Preston $$

The Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton $$

The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster $$

Dubliners - James Joyce $$

My Childhood - Maxim Gorky $$

My Apprenticeship - Maxim Gorky $$

Edited January 31, 2013 by Brian.

[Brian.]

Wishlist & Notes.

 

Chingiz Aitmatov - The White Steamship

Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale

Jane Austen - Pride & Prejudice

Paul Auster - Sunset Park

J.G. Ballard - Empire of the Sun

Linwood Barclay - Too Close to Home

Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights

Albert Camus - The Stranger

Arthur C. Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey

Matthew Collin - Guerrilla Radio

Osamu Dazai - No Longer Human

Emma Donoghue - Room

Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Brothers Karamazov

Geoff Dyer - Yoga for People Who Can't be Bothered to Do It

Shusaku Endo - Silence

Tobias Funke - The Man Inside Me

Neil Gaiman - American Gods

John Hawkes - Travesty

Hichael Herr - Dispatches

Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha

Keizo Hino - Isle of Dreams

Michel Houellemecq - The Elemental Particles

Aldous Huxley - Island

Aldous Huxley - The Doors of Perception

Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go

Jansson Tove - The Summer Book

Pal Espolin Johnson - For Love of Norway

Hubert Selby Jr - Last Exit to Brooklyn

Joe McGinniss Jr - The Delivery Man

Franz Kafka - The Trial

Imre Kertesz - Fatelessness

Adam Lazarus - Best of Rivals

Mikhail Lermontov - A Hero of Our Time

Primo Levi - If This Is a Man/The Truce

Jean-Patrick Manchette - Fatale

Ian McEwan - The Innocent

Terrence McKenna - Food of the Gods

Herman Melville - Moby Dick

Haruki Murakami - The Elephant Vanishes

Haruki Murakami - Sputnik Sweetheart

Haruki Murakami - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Haruki Murakami - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase

Haruki Murakami - After the Quake

Haruki Murakami - Dance Dance Dance

Haruki Murakami - 1Q84

Vladimir Nabokov - The Luzhin Defense

Jo Nesbo - The Bat

Eric Newby - A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

Cees Nooteboom - Rituals

John O'Hara - Appointment in Samarra

David Ohle - Motorman

George Orwell - Down and Out in Paris and London

Mark Owen - No Easy Day

Arto Paasilinna - The Year of the Hare

Bruce Porter - Blow

Bertrand Russell - The History of Western Philosophy

Richard Russo - Empire Falls

Ernesto Sabato - The Tunnel

Robert Sabbag - Snowblind

Jose Saramago - Blindness

Will Self - The Book of Dave

Arkady Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic

Koushun Takami - Battle Royale

Shoko Tendo - Yakuza Moon

Rupert Thomson - The Book of Revelation

Newton Thronburg - Cutter and Bone

Adam Thorpe - Flight

Alice Walker - The Colour Purple

Alan Watts - Become What You Are

Alan Watts - The Wisdom of Insecurity

Robert Whiting - Tokyo Underworld

Putu Wijaya - Telegram

John Edward Williams - Stoner

Jonathan Wilson - Behind the Curtain

Jonathan Wilson - Inverting the Pyramid

Ronnie Wood - Ronnie

Edited January 16, 2013 by Brian.

[Brian.]

This thread is now officially open for business

[vodkafan]

Hi Brian you have a lot more than 40 on your TBR pile so will you just choose by whim as you go?

[Brian.]

Hi Brian you have a lot more than 40 on your TBR pile so will you just choose by whim as you go?

 

Yeah, that's how I have decided what to read so far and it seems to work so I will stick with that system.

[frankie]

So you're open for business, hurrah Good job for making it past your target this year. In a way I find it odd that you aren't going to try and top that next year, but of course your changing work situation explains it all. And Ulysses That's a very ambiguous undertaking, I'll be keeping my eyes open on your progress with that.

 

Observations re: your TBR pile:

 

 

Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express

Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

You are in for a treat with these novels! I only read To Kill a Mockingbird maybe last year, I don't know how I'd managed to go so long without having read it. It was so great, a definite classic. I really loath A Clockwork Orange the movie, it's so disturbing and vile, and I really thought I'd dislike the book, too, but quite surprisingly I liked it very much. And that's one of Christie's best novels, in my opinion

 

Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary

William Golding - Lord of the Flies

I don't want to be discouraging, but I can't help it, I disliked Madame Bovary I didn't like the characters or the plot, or anything about the book. I do hope you shall like it, though. Maybe I've now helped you set your expectations really low, and you'll be ever so delighted at the novel when you get to actually reading it! Lord of the Flies was horrorsome, too. I'm glad I've read it and do not have to touch the book ever again.

 

Nikolai Gogol - Dead Souls

Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day

I have these on my TBR pile as well, I have a feeling these are going to be great reads!

 

 

Cormac McCarthy - The Road

I've read one McCarthy book, it was not this one or the Horse men book or whatever it was called, but the other well-known novel. I didn't like it much and I thought I'd never read anything by him ever again. However, I watched The Road as a movie, and it was a great one, but a really, truly depressing one. It left me in a really upset and despairing state for the rest of the evening and the next couple of days. Which means it served its purpose and was well done. I've been thinking about reading the book. I hear it's good. Maybe I'll wait for your review on it.

 

 

Yukio Mishima - The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

I want to hear what you make of this when you've read it, the brother of a friend of mine recommended the book to her and for some reason the title of the novel stuck with me.

 

Salman Rushdie - The Satanic Verses

Have you read any Rushdie before? I want to read something by him, but I'm also intimidated by his books, I don't really know why.

 

Bram Stoker - Dracula

Oh, this is such a great novel, I hope you enjoy it!

 

 

J.R.R Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring

J.R.R Tolkien - The Two Towers

J.R.R Tolkien - The Return of the King

J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit

I thought I was the only person who's not yet read the LotR

 

Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina

This is one helluva long novel, but if you get past all the names that sound the same, it's actually a good read. Not amazing, but I liked it just fine.

 

Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting

This is one of my favorites, I keep re-reading it every now and then, both in Finnish and in English. The language needs getting used to, but I suspect that's the case with Welsh's other titles, some of which I think you've read? There are a few scenes in the book that will forever stay with me, I can't wait for you to read the book and hear what you thought about them

 

 

Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

This is superb, I hope you enjoy!

 

 

Wishlist & Notes.

 

Bloody hell, that's the shortest Wishlist ever You are so modest.

[Ben]

You've got some absolutely cracking reads on your TBR Brian, jealous that you still have To Kill A Mockingbird, Dracula, The Book Thief and a bunch of other really great books left to read. I admire the fact that you're tackling Joyce's Ulysses next year - I'm very tempted to throw down the gauntlet to myself and say that I'll do the same, but I'm not sure I can commit to that (especially when I also want to read Tolstoy's War and Peace).

 

Anyway, best of luck with your reading in 2013, will be interested to pop back and check out your thoughts.

[Alexi]

Best of luck in 2013 Brian! You've got some books on there I'm keen to try so I'll be following your progress with interest!

[Brian.]

So you're open for business, hurrah Good job for making it past your target this year. In a way I find it odd that you aren't going to try and top that next year, but of course your changing work situation explains it all. And Ulysses That's a very ambiguous undertaking, I'll be keeping my eyes open on your progress with that.

I could make my target higher but I just don't think I can get near topping it. Under my old shift pattern I could guarantee 2+ hours reading a night at work, now I can't guarantee any. I might be able to get some in from time to time but not as regular as before. Ulysses is a bit daunting but I want to read it before I die

 

Anthony Burgess - A Clockwork Orange

Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express

Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

You are in for a treat with these novels! I only read To Kill a Mockingbird maybe last year, I don't know how I'd managed to go so long without having read it. It was so great, a definite classic. I really loath A Clockwork Orange the movie, it's so disturbing and vile, and I really thought I'd dislike the book, too, but quite surprisingly I liked it very much. And that's one of Christie's best novels, in my opinion

I aim to read all three this year. The only reason I have the Christie novel is the fact that it was read as part of a reading group here and everyone had good things to say about it. It was a charity shop bargain if I remember correctly.

 

Cormac McCarthy - The Road

I've read one McCarthy book, it was not this one or the Horse men book or whatever it was called, but the other well-known novel. I didn't like it much and I thought I'd never read anything by him ever again. However, I watched The Road as a movie, and it was a great one, but a really, truly depressing one. It left me in a really upset and despairing state for the rest of the evening and the next couple of days. Which means it served its purpose and was well done. I've been thinking about reading the book. I hear it's good. Maybe I'll wait for your review on it.

It is quite a short book so even if I don't get on with it too well it shouldn't be a slog. Is Blood Meridian the book in question?

 

 

Yukio Mishima - The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

I want to hear what you make of this when you've read it, the brother of a friend of mine recommended the book to her and for some reason the title of the novel stuck with me.

I found this on a list somewhere and I really liked to cover of my edition when I saw it in the shop so I couldn't help myself.

 

Salman Rushdie - The Satanic Verses

Have you read any Rushdie before? I want to read something by him, but I'm also intimidated by his books, I don't really know why.

No, I haven't read any Rushdie before and this book looks quite long. I remember it caused load of controversy when it came out in the UK.

 

J.R.R Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring

J.R.R Tolkien - The Two Towers

J.R.R Tolkien - The Return of the King

J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit

I thought I was the only person who's not yet read the LotR

Nope

I loved the movies so hopefully the books will be just as magical.

 

Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting

This is one of my favorites, I keep re-reading it every now and then, both in Finnish and in English. The language needs getting used to, but I suspect that's the case with Welsh's other titles, some of which I think you've read? There are a few scenes in the book that will forever stay with me, I can't wait for you to read the book and hear what you thought about them

I read some Welsh in 2012 and like you say, once you get used to the language in the book he is very entertaining. The movie is an absolute classic as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

This is superb, I hope you enjoy!

Again, purchased on the strength of reviews on here.

 

Bloody hell, that's the shortest Wishlist ever You are so modest.

Ive been a bit sneaky with this one. My wishlist is quite large and on Goodreads at the moment. The only reason I haven't added any to this thread yet is because I know I am getting some of them for Christmas and it would be easier to add afterwards. Don't worry, it will jam packed with books before long.

 

You've got some absolutely cracking reads on your TBR Brian, jealous that you still have To Kill A Mockingbird, Dracula, The Book Thief and a bunch of other really great books left to read. I admire the fact that you're tackling Joyce's Ulysses next year - I'm very tempted to throw down the gauntlet to myself and say that I'll do the same, but I'm not sure I can commit to that (especially when I also want to read Tolstoy's War and Peace).

 

Anyway, best of luck with your reading in 2013, will be interested to pop back and check out your thoughts.

Good luck with War & Peace. I think it's probably wise to commit to just one huge book and then see how you feel afterwards.

 

Best of luck in 2013 Brian! You've got some books on there I'm keen to try so I'll be following your progress with interest!

 

Thanks.

[chaliepud]

Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong

Khaled Hosseini - A Thousand Splendid Suns

Eowyn Ivey - The Snow Child

Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

Cormac McCarthy - The Road

Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

 

6 of my favourites of all time, enjoy!

[bree]

Hello Brian,

 

Some wonderful titles on your To-Be-Read list.

It looks like you have a fulfilling year of reading ahead of you.

 

Good luck, and hope you get to read them all

Edited December 24, 2012 by bree

[Brian.]

Got some great books as gifts, some of which I have been after for a while.

 

Tom Wolfe - The Electic Kool-Aid Acid Test

Walter Mosley - The Man in My Basement

Unica Zurn - Dark Spring

Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain

Yukio Mishima - Confessions of a Mask

Andrea Busfield - Born Under a Million Shadows

Melvin Burgess - Smack

Blaine Harden - Escape From Camp 14

 

I know some of them are quite dark but there is no need to worry Frankie

 

Also got some voucher for Amazon and Waterstones to spend when I get a chance. Yet more to add to the growing TBR

[frankie]

I'm going to come back to comment on some of the earlier things later, but for now:

 

Got some great books as gifts, some of which I have been after for a while.

 

Tom Wolfe - The Electic Kool-Aid Acid Test

 

Awesome! I wanted to find a copy of this for ages, but never had any luck. Finally I managed to find a copy when I was staying at Kylie's in Australia. This should make for a really interesting read. Kylie's already read it and I think she really enjoyed it!

 

 

Walter Mosley - The Man in My Basement

 

So jealous! I added this to my wishlist in 2010 and I've wanted it ever since. I really like the sound of it, I hope it's good!

 

Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain

 

This is one of my absolute favorites And I think the book should appeal to you even if you weren't as huge a dog fan as the rest of us. There's some Formula 1 action as well.

 

 

I know some of them are quite dark but there is no need to worry Frankie

 

No need, it's just your usual darkish stuff with a bit of Wolferesque drugginess The usual!

 

Also got some voucher for Amazon and Waterstones to spend when I get a chance. Yet more to add to the growing TBR

 

You are so lucky

[Devi]

I enjoyed these books when I read them. I hope you do too.

 

Cormac McCarthy - The Road

Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain

 

I have these on my to read list so I look forward to reading what you think of them.

 

Khaled Hosseini - A Thousand Splendid Suns

Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

Patrick deWitt - The Sisters Brothers

Robert Harris - Pompeii

 

Happy reading in 2013!

[julie]

Good luck in 2013 Brian . Nothing wrong with lowering your goal a bit. Reading isn't as much fun if it turns into a work assignment ,it should be done for enjoyment . Looks like you have lots of good reads ahead in the coming year .

Shipping News and Lovely Bones caught my eye . I've read a few others on the list ,and think I've mentioned them before someplace on here . I think you'll like both of them . Shipping News has been a favorite for a long time,and Lovely Bones was told from such a diffferent perspective,it was quite a story ! Makes you THINK a lot while reading it . ( I guess all books are supposed to do that,though,aren't they ? )

[Kidsmum]

Hope 2013 is a good year for you Brian I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you get through 2666 then i might be brave enough to make an attempt at it myself

[Brian.]

Going to spend some of my Waterstones vouchers tomorrow, I feel like a child just before its birthday

[Nollaig]

I love that feeling Brian! I have one book voucher which I should be able to spend in Waterstones - unfortunately I won't be within walking distance of a bookshop until Tuesday evening, and I'm in work Wednesday so it'll be next Saturday before I can go, but I'm really looking forward to spent a guilt-free 20 euro on a book! Have fun book-shopping!

[chaliepud]

Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong

Khaled Hosseini - A Thousand Splendid Suns

Eowyn Ivey - The Snow Child

Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

 

Four of my favourite books of all time, enjoy!!!! Hope you get more time to read than you are anticipating, there are some big tomes there to keep you busy.. Happy New Year Brian!

[Lilywhite]

Happy Reading 2013 Brian.

 

Some great choices on your TBR pile.

[Brian.]

 

I got a bit carried away in Waterstones this morning. I had kept pretty much to my budget until I saw the Tin Tin collection. I'm not sure if comic books count towards a reading tally but I loved them as a kid so I couldn't help myself.

 

Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy

Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller

The Black Path - Asa Larsson

The Blood Spilt - Asa Larsson

Faceless Killers -Henning Mankell

Airframe - Michael Crichton

Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck

The Girl in Berlin - Elizabeth Wilson

The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells

[Ooshie]

That Tin Tin set looks lovely! Takes me back to my childhood when the cartoons were on every holiday

[bobblybear]

I really enjoyed Airframe. It's one of the few books that I remember literally being unable to put down and ended up reading it in a day.