willoyd Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) Book List 2013 Previous book lists: 2009, 2010-2011, 2012 January 1. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro (Jan 2) G ** February 2. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (Feb 2) G ****** 3. Antarctica by Gabrielle Walker (Feb 18) **** 4. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada (Feb 23) G * March 5. Underground, Overground by Andrew Martin (Mar 9) **** 6. The Glass Painter's Daughter by Rachel Hore (Mar 16) **** 7. King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine (Mar 22) ***** April 8. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber (Apr 13) ***** 9. A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark (Apr 18) *** 10. Capital by Maureen Duffy (Apr 28) **** May 11. Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville (May 12) G *** 12. Bankside by David Brandon and Alan Brooke (May 14) *** 13. The Last Viking by Stephen Bown (May 20) **** 14. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf (May 27) ***** June 15. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (Jun 7) ****** 16. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Jun 8) *** 17. Light by Margaret Elphinstone (Jun 15) G ***** July 18. Seasons in the Sun by Dominic Sandbrook (Jul 12) ***** 19. Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple (Jul 17) *** 20. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Jul 27) R ****** 21. White River by Jamie Whittle (Jul 28) *** August 22. Findings by Kathleen Jamie (Aug 4) ***** 23. A Month in the Country by JL Carr (Aug 14) RG ****** 24. To Sea and Back by Richard Shelton (Aug 20) **** 25. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Aug 21) G ** 26. The Darling Buds of May by HE Bates (Aug 22) *** 27. Ashenden by W Somerset Maugham (Aug 28) **** September 28. Walk the Lines by Mark Mason (Sep 14) *** 29. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif (Sep 21) G *** October 30. A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor (Oct 3) GU ** 31. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (Oct 12) G ***** 32. The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne (Oct 27) ***** 33. Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende (Oct 31) G ***** November 34. Sweet Poison by David Gillespie (Nov 6) *** 35. Armchair Nation by Joe Moran (Nov 21) **** 36. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James (Nov 23) G *** 37. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary-Anne Shaffer and Annie Burrows (Nov 25) GR **** 38. Circle Line by Steffan Hughes (Nov 29) ** 39. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald (Nov 30) *** December 40. The Plantagenets by Dan Jones (Dec 1) **** 41. A Little History of Literature by John Sutherland (Dec 6) **** 42. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (Dec 9) ***** 43. Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon (Dec 11) ****** 44. Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin (Dec 20) ***** 45. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Dec 21) **** 46. Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (Dec 22) *** 47. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (Dec 22) ** 48. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Dec 23) R ***** 49. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee (Dec 23) *** 50. Forever X by Geraldine McCaughrean (Dec 24) *** 51. Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford (Dec 25) **** 52. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (Dec 26) ****** 53. Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff (Dec 27) *** 54. The Courier's Tale by Peter Walker (Dec 29) ***** 55. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin (Dec 30) **** 56. The Matisse Stories by AS Byatt (Dec 30) G ** Unfinished and insufficient completed to count towards reading list. 1. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (Jan 31) UG * 2. Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (Feb 24) UG * 3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Feb 25) U * 4. Starter for Ten by David Nicholls (Mar 17) UG * Ratings * Disliked this, Very rarely finished. ** Disappointing. Usually finished but may not be. *** Solid read, even if perhaps not fully engaging. **** Very good, involving read. ***** Excellent, an outstanding read, even if not quite making it onto my favourites list. ****** An all-time favourite. A star in brackets means that I can't decide which of two grades to give as yet! U=unfinished, A=audiobook, R=reread, G = reading for book groups Edited December 30, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) Books rated as 6-stars A record of the 87 books I've given my top rating to: Fiction (60) Ackroyd, Peter: Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem Ackroyd, Peter: Hawksmoor Atkinson, Kate: Case Histories Austen, Jane: Sense and Sensibility Austen, Jane: Pride and Prejudice Austen, Jane: Emma Bronte, Charlotte: Jane Eyre Bronte, Emily: Wuthering Heights Buchan, John: John Macnab Carr JL: A Month in the Country Carr JL: The Harpole Report Carre, John Le: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Chaucer, Geoffrey: The Canterbury Tales Chevalier, Tracey: Falling Angels Childers, Erskine: The Riddle of the Sands Collins, Norman: London Belongs To Me Cunningham, Michael: The Hours Cooper, Susan: The Dark is Rising Davies, Martin: The Conjuror's Bird Dickens, Charles: Bleak House Dickens, Charles: David Copperfield Elphinstone, Margaret: The Sea Road Elphinstone, Margaret: Voyageurs Ewing, Barbara: Rosetta Greig, Andrew: The Return of John MacNab Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Herbert, Frank: Dune Horwood, William: Skallagrig Hulme, Keri: Bone People Japrisot, Sebastian: A Very Long Engagement Kipling, Rudyard: Puck of Pook's Hill Kipling, Rudyard: Rewards and Fairies Lee, Harper: To Kill A Mockingbird Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall Melville, Herman: Moby Dick Mitchell, David: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet Miller, Andrew: Pure Monsarrat, Nicholas: The Cruel Sea Moorcock, Michael: Mother London O'Brian, Patrick: The Mauritius Command Pears, Ian: An Instance of the Fingerpost Penney, Stef: The Tenderness of Wolves Pullman, Philip: Northern Lights Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children Seth, Vikram: A Suitable Boy Smiley, Jane: A Thousand Acres Smith, Dodie: I Capture the Castle Stephenson, Neal: Cryptonomicon Stevenson, Robert Louis: Kidnapped Thackeray, William: Vanity Fair Thompson, Harry: This Thing of Darkness Tolkien JRR: The Lord of the Rings Tolstoy, Leo: War and Peace White, TH: Mistress Masham's Repose Willis, Connie: To Say Nothing of the Dog Woolf, Virginia: Mrs Dalloway Woolf, Virginia: The Years Woolf, Virginia: To The Lighthouse Woolf, Virginia: Between the Acts Woolfenden, Ben: The Ruins of Time Non-fiction (27) Cocker, Mark: Crow Country Dawkins, Richard: The Blind Watchmaker Fadiman, Anne: Ex Libris Frater, Alexander: Chasing the Monsoon Hanff, Helen: 84 Charing Cross Road Hastings, Max: All Hell Let Loose Holland, James: Dam Busters Hoskins, WG: The Making of the English Landscape Huntford, Roland: Shackleton Junger, Sebastian: The Perfect Storm Longford, Elizabeth: Wellington, The Years of the Sword Lee, Hermione: Virginia Woolf Moore, Richard: In Search of Robert Millar Nichols, Peter: A Voyage for Madmen Pennac, Daniel: The Rights of the Reader Rackham, Oliver: The History of the Countryside Pinker, Stephen: The Language Instinct de Saint-Exupery, Antoine: Wind, Sand and Stars Salisbury, Laney and Gay: The Cruellest Miles Simpson, Joe: Touching the Void Taylor, Stephen: Storm and Conquest Tomalin, Claire: Pepys, The Unequalled Self Uglow, Jenny: The Pinecone Unsworth, Walt: Everest Weldon, Fay: Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen Wheeler, Sara: Terra Incognita Young, Gavin: Slow Boats to China Edited December 29, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) Non-fiction lists No overall TBR list - that's simply the unrated books on my LibraryThing account. However, I have been meaning to make greater inroads into the list of non-fiction doorstoppers on my shelves than I've managed to achieve over the last year or two, so have decided to list those I've not read here as a specific list for encouragement!! Rules are that book should be greater than 500 pages, and that only one book by an author to be listed at one time. A few are multi-volume works. Goodness knows how long they will take to read! I've also been collecting the series of memoirs being published by Slightly Foxed (possibly my favourite 'magazine', if that is how such a beautiful production can be described), but have barely made any inroads to them, so am going to give them a go this year. Rather slimmer than the doorstoppers, they are listed at the end. As the doorstopper list is a changeable feast, books that have been read are listed at the end. For the Slightly Foxed list, books in blue have been read. Doorstoppers History 01. The Noble Revolt by John Adamson 02. The Crusades by Thomas Asbridge 03. The Pursuit of Glory by Tim Blanning 04. The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin 05. This New Ocean by William Burrows 06. The Identity of France by Fernand Braudel 07. World Crisis v1: 1911-1914 by Winston Churchill 08. The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clarke 09. The Seven Years War by Julian Corbett 10. Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies 11. The Penguin History of Modern China by Jonathan Fenby 12. A History of Europe by HAL Fisher 13. The World on Fire by Amanda Foreman 14. The Thirties by Juliet Gardner 15. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons 16. The Presidents by Stephen Graubard 17. Catastrophe by Max Hastings 18. The Battle of Britain by James Holland 19. The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk 20. The Birth of the Modern by Paul Johnson 21. Postwar by Tony Judt 22. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by TE Lawrence 23. The History of England by Thomas Macauley 24. The History of Christianity by Diarmid Macculloch 25. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson 26. Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson 27. The History of Germany since 1789 by Golo Mann 28. The Line Upon the Wind by Noel Mostert 29. Pax Britannica trilogy by Jan Morris 30. History of Venice by John Julius Norwich 31. The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham 32. Global Catastrophe by Geoffrey Parker 33. The Making of the British Landscape by Francis Pryor 34. America, Empire of Liberty by David Reynolds 35. The Penguin History of the World by JM Roberts 36. The England of Elizabeth by AL Rowse 37. Never Had It So Good by Dominic Sandbrook 38. The Culture of the Europeans by Donald Sassoon 39. An Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama 40. Trial by Battle by Jonathan Sumption 41. Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas 42. The German Genius by Peter Watson 43. The Thirty Years War by CV Wedgwood 44. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson Biography 01. Dickens by Peter Ackroyd 02. The Brontes by Juliet Barker 03. Nikolaus Pevsner by Susan Harries 04. Titian by Sheila Hale 05. Stanley by Tim Jeal 06. Churchill by Roy Jenkins 07. Hitler by Ian Kershaw 08. Salisbury by Andrew Young 09. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin 10. God's Architect by Rosemary Hill 11. The Pursuit of Victory by Roger Knight 12. Darwin by Adrian Desmond and James Moore 13. Queen Anne by Anne Somerset 14. Bismarck by Jonathan Steinberg Travel and Exploration 01. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard 02. Into the Silence by Wade Davis 03. In Europe by Geert Mak 04. Maximum City by Suketu Mehta 05. Old Glory by Jonathan Raban Read this year Seasons in the Sun by Dominic Sandbrook ***** The Plantagenets by Dan Jones **** Slightly Foxed Editions 01. Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliffe **** 02. My Grandmothers and I by Diana Holman-Hunt 03. A Cab at the Door by VS Pritchett 04. A Boy at the Hogarth Press & A Parcel of Time by Richard Hoggart *** 05. A Late Beginner by Priscilla Napier 06. Corduroy by Adrian Bell 07. The Missing Will by Michael Wharton 08. Another Self by James Lee-Milne 09. The High Path by Ted Walker 10. A House in Flanders by Michael Jenkins 11. A Sort of Life by Graham Green 12. The Young Ardizzone by Edward Ardizzone 13. People Who Say Goodbye by PY Betts 14. Hand-grenade Practice in Peking by Frances Wood 15. Mr Tibbit's Catholic School by Ysende Maxtone Graham 16. Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith 17. Mango and Mimosa by Suzanne St Albans 18. The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley 19. A Late Education by Alan Moorehead 20. My Grandfather & Father Dear Father by Denis Constanduros 21. The Real Mrs Miniver by Ysende Graham 22. Country Boy by Richard Hillyer 23. The Past is Myself by Christabel Bielenberg Edited December 27, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) Classics TBR listI also want to get stuck more into the classics, so this is my list of classics to read (the definition of 'classic' has been stretched on occasions!).Only one book/series per writer allowed at any one time, so will only add the next from that author once the previous one has been read.Le Pere Goriot by Honore de BalzacThe Mandarins by Simone de BeauvoirThe Master and Margarita by Mikhael BulgakovEvelina by Fanny BurneyAgnes Grey by Anne BronteVillette by Charlotte BronteWuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (reread) ******Possession by AS ByattThe Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (reread)The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore CooperThe Deptford Trilogy by Robertson DaviesDavid Copperfield by Charles Dickens ******Nicholas Nickleby by Charles DickensDon Quixote by Miguel de CervantesThe Three Musketeers by Alexander DumasThe Mill on the Floss by George EliotThe Siege of Krishnapur by JG FarrellTom Jones by Henry FieldingThe Good Soldier by Ford Madox FordNorth and South by Elizabeth GaskellI, Claudius by Robert GravesKing Solomon's Mines by H. Rider HaggardFar From The Madding Crowd by Thomas HardyCatch-22 by Joseph HellerLes Miserables by Victor HugoThe Turn of the Screw by Henry James ****Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome **Ulysses by James JoyceLes Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de LaclosOf Human Bondage by W Somerset MaughamTitus Groan by Mervyn PeakeA Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony PowellMidnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (reread)The Jewel in the Crown by Paul ScottWaverley by Walter Scott Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyDoctor Thorne by Anthony TrollopeAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyThe House of Mirth by Edith WhartonThe Once and Future King by TH WhiteThe Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf *****Night and Day by Virginia WoolfThe Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola Edited December 22, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) Books read from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Total read = 120 out of 1294. 1. Books from the original 2006 list (115 read). 2000s 011. The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd ***** 019. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon ****** 029. The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor ***** 033. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides **** 049. Life of Pi by Yann Martel **** 1900s 72. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson ****** 081. Amsterdam by Ian MacEwan **** 89. The Hours by Michael Cunningham ****** 095. Enduring Love by Ian MacEwan * 115. The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald *** 116. The Reader by Bernard Schlink * 141. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth ****** 153. The Crow Road by Ian Banks **** 157. Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg ***** 190. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro **** 209. The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul by Douglas Adams **** 210. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams **** 247. Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd ****** 265. Waterland by Graham Swift ****** 288. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie ****** 293. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco ****** 301. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams ***** 339. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre ****** 375. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut * 379. The Godfather by Mario Puzo *** 389. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke **** 400. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov ***** 428. The Graduate by Charles Webb *** 430. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre ** 450. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark **** 456. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee ****** 488. Justine by Lawrence Durrell * 494. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien ****** 506. The Story of O by Pauline Reage * 508. Lord of the Flies by William Golding **** 510. The Go-Between by LP Hartley ** 511. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler **** 521. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway *** 527. Foundation by Isaac Asimov **** 539. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov **** 542. Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford ****** 547. Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell * 559. The Plague by Albert Camus * 564. Animal Farm by George Orwell ** 566. The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford ***** 579. The Outsider by Albert Camus * 584. Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf ****** 586. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler **** 599. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler **** 601 Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson ***** 610. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien **** 611. The Years by Virginia Woolf ****** 650. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons ***** 654. The Waves by Virginia Woolf ***** 656. Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham ***** 660. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett *** 667. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque *** 675. Orlando by Virginia Woolf **** 676. Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence * 686. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf ****** 695. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie **** 698. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf ****** 699. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ** 716. Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf ***** 740. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf ***** 743. The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan **** 761. A Room With A View by EM Forster ***** 777. The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers **** 781. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle **** 783. Kim by Rudyard Kipling **** 1800s 789. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James **** 794. Dracula by Bram Stoker ***** 803. The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith * 804. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle ***** 811. La Bete Humaine by Emile Zola **** 820. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson **** 822. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson ****** 825. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain **** 831. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson ***** 833. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James **** 839. Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy **** 848. Around The World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne **** 853. Middlemarch by George Eliot ***** 854. Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll **** 857. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy ****** 862. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott *** 863. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins **** 867. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne **** 868. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll **** 875. Silas Marner by George Eliot *** 876. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens **** 880. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins ***** 886. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert ***** 890. Bleak House by Charles Dickens ****** 892, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell **** 896. Moby Dick by Herman Melville ****** 898. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens ****** 900. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell ***** 902. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ****** 904. Vanity Fair by Wllliam Thackeray ****** 905. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte ****** 906. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas ***** 913. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens *** 918. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens ***** 930. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott *** 932. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen ***** 933. Persuasion by Jane Austen *****] 936. Emma by Jane Austen ****** 937. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ***** 938. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ****** 939. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ****** 1700s 970. Candide by Voltaire **** 985. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe * 1001. Aesop's Fables by Aesopus ** 2. Books added in 2008 (5 out of 282 read) 055. The Dumas Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte *** 058. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell **** 174. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym *** 205. The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz *** 234. The Call of the Wild by Jack London **** 3. Books added in 2010 (0 out of 11 read) Edited December 21, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) English Counties Reading Challenge (Willoyd's variation) This is closely based on the English Counties Challenge listed in the Reading Challenge section. I've listed a few different books, primarily to replace books already read which I don't want to reread, mainly because I've read them too recently. These are marked with an asterisk. 01. My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates (Bedfordshire) 02. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (Berkshire) 03. The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young (Bristol) 04. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (Buckinghamshire) *****(*) 05. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers (Cambridgeshire) 06. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (Cheshire) 07. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (City of London) ***** 08. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (Cornwall) 09. The Maid of Buttermere by Melvyn Bragg (Cumbria) 10. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (Derbyshire) 11. To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfield (Devon)* 12. Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (Dorset) 13. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens (Durham) 14. South Riding by Winifred Holtby (East Riding of Yorkshire) 15. Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne (East Sussex) 16. The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James (Essex) **** 17. Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee (Gloucestershire) 18. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (Greater London)* 19. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Greater Manchester) 20. Watership Down by Richard Adams (Hampshire) 21. On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin (Herefordshire) 22. Howard's End by EM Forster (Hertfordshire)* 23. England, England by Julian Barnes (Isle of Wight) 24. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells (Kent)* 25. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (Lancashire) 26. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend (Leicestershire) 27. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Lincolnshire) 28. An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge (Merseyside) 29. The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley (Norfolk) 30. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (North Yorkshire) 31. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (Northamptonshire) 32. The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin (Northumberland) 33. The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence (Nottinghamshire)* 34. The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (Oxfordshire) 35. Set In Stone by Robert Goddard (Rutland) 36. Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse (Shropshire) 37. Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore (Somerset) 38. A Kestrel For A Knave by Barry Hines (South Yorkshire) 39. The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett (Staffordshire) 40. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald (Suffolk) *** 41. Emma by Jane Austen (Surrey) 42. Another World by Pat Barker (Tyne and Wear) 43. Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes (Warwickshire) 44. Middlemarch by George Eliot (West Midlands) 45. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (West Sussex) 46. Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (West Yorkshire)* 47. Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope (Wiltshire)* 48. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (Worcestershire) Edited December 26, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Reserved Edited December 7, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Review of 2012, Looking forward to 2013.In terms of quantity, this has to be one of my best years yet: the first time I've hit the 60 book mark, highly appropriate for Diamond Jubilee year! As in previous years, the final total largely came off the December splurge, holidays and bad weather being a perfect mix for reading! This year, this month came in at 16 books, not quite the record (19 last year). Even so, the rest of the year was definitely a cut above previous years, especially when allowing for the August – September dip when, with Olympics, Paralympics and the usual frantic start to the school year, I read just three books, my lowest two-month total ever.In terms of quality, 2012 was a bit more mixed. Most notable was the lack of 6 star fiction reads: just one new one until the very last couple of days of the year: Andrew Miller's superb Pure. This was joined at the last gasp by Virginia Woolf's last novel, Between the Acts. The other three were all non-fiction, including my book of the year, Jenny Uglow's The Pinecone, one of my favourite writers on absolutely top form. It's worth mentioning the other two as well, both, coincidentally, about flying, even if very different books: James Holland's Dam Busters, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery's wonderfully lyrical Wind, Sand and Stars. Unlike last year, there were no great new discoveries (although I continued with last year's, enjoying two more of Virginia Woolf's output), but I did enjoy my first experiences of Somerset Maugham. However, Oliver Twist and Madame Bovary did surprise me in how much I enjoyed them, the former especially in being a more complex and rewarding read than any of the films or musicals had suggested.On the downside, one book stood out in its awfulness: James Herbert's Ash. This could be a serious contender for the worst book I've ever read. The other one-star read, Gideon Defoe's Pirates could at least be sort of be forgiven as being aimed at younger children's sense of humour! Two others that disappointed me, having expected so much more, were Ian Pears's Stone Fall, such a letdown after An Instance of the Fingerpost, and Kathryn Stockett's The Help, where I really struggled to see how it had garnered so many rave reviews – very ordinary.Two other aspects of reading have also taken off this year. Firstly, the media I'm using is much more varied: I'm reading far more on my Kindle, and indeed on my phone, whilst I've started listening to audiobooks more too – I'm currently steadily working my way through Roy McMillan's reading of Don Quixote. Secondly, I've joined a couple of book groups, and that is producing some interesting reading, including the unfortunate Ash and The Help. However, the latter led to a hugely pleasurable evening's discussion (helped by being held round the kitchen table whilst consuming a Christmas buffet!), so it proved a good choice after all! It'll be interesting to see how both develop in 2013.So, what about next year? I did say last year that whilst not being keen on setting targets, those sixty books would be a good figure to aim for. I also mentioned that I would like to "make some inroads into some of the big doorstopper reads that I have had lined up for some time but for one thing and another have never got around to." On that front, target or otherwise, I completely failed! So this year, I'm going to prioritise two areas of reading: those doorstoppers, and some of the classics that I've been meaning to read for some time. To help that, I've set up two reading lists on a couple of earlier posts to help me tick off some of that backlog. Otherwise, the big target this year is to limit my expenditure on books – I've plenty of good material to read on the shelves, and things like the Kindle Daily Deal seem to come up with enough interesting reads. As for numbers? Not so bothered – just hope that I get some good books to read - but can't resist aiming for another sixty, but will quite happily accept less if I get through a few of those biggies. Edited June 16, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I particularly enjoyed these books, Willoyd: The Master and Margarita by Mikhael Bulgakov Catch 22 by Joseph Heller Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome Frankenstein by Mary Shelley And I have many of your other classics on my TBR pile, so I'll be interested to see what you make of them. Happy Reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) And I have many of your other classics on my TBR pile, so I'll be interested to see what you make of them. Happy Reading! Thanks Kylie. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that list. Catch 22 is a particularly interesting one for me: I've tried it two or three times, and it's never got a hold, but I've always tried at times when I've had other distractions, so want to give it one more go when I can really get my teeth into it. FWIW, I remember loving the film when I saw it quite a few years ago. Edited June 16, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I remember enjoying the film too - and it's not a particularly easy book to adapt, given the many characters and the way the story chops and changes. I hope you get on with it much better the next time you read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Hello willoyd, Your 6-star fiction list is very encouraging - as I intend to read quite a few of those titles this year. Wishing you lots more 6-star books this year. And what's a "doorstopper", please? (Do you mean the book is so heavy and huge that it can be used as a door-stopper? Or have I got that wrong? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) And what's a "doorstopper", please?(Do you mean the book is so heavy and huge that it can be used as a door-stopper? Or have I got that wrong? ) Absolutely right! I see they're referred to as 'Doorsteps' in the reading challenges section, so 'doorstopper' might be a personal colloquialism. Edited June 16, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) Thanks Kylie. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that list. Catch 22 is a particularly interesting one for me: I've tried it two or three times, and it's never got a hold, but I've always tried at times when I've had other distractions, so want to give it one more go when I can really get my teeth into it. FWIW, I remember loving the film when I saw it quite a few years ago. I seem to be having the same issue with catch 22 myself, it's not holding my attention so it's taking me longer to read than normal. I am getting there though. Happy reading in 2013! Edited December 31, 2012 by Devi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Catch-22 took me a little while to get into the flow of but once I did it had me reading it at every chance I got. Good luck with 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I always enjoy reading your reviews Willoyd, so looking forward to seeing what you have to say about the books you read next year. I was just going through your list of 6-star books, and delighted to see so many of my favourites on there, but have to admit there were a few I didn't get on with and rated 1- or 2-stars, so just goes to show, we all have different tastes! Happy reading in 2013! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) I was just going through your list of 6-star books, and delighted to see so many of my favourites on there, but have to admit there were a few I didn't get on with and rated 1- or 2-stars, so just goes to show, we all have different tastes! Wouldn't have it any other way (but still glad we can agree on some at least)! So, go on, which ones? Edited June 16, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I see they're referred to as 'Doorsteps' in the reading challenges section, so 'doorstopper' might be a personal colloquialism. Oooh! I thought a "doorstep" was something else! (Nevermind!) Your "doorstopper" made more intuitive sense to may - I may borrow it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I love all the non-fiction lists in this thread, I don't read nearly enough non-fiction so I think I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for ideas! Happy reading in 2013, Willoyd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Ha ha, knew you'd ask! Agree with: Austen, Jane: Sense and Sensibility Austen, Jane: Pride and Prejudice Carr JL: A Month in the Country Chevalier, Tracey: Fallen Angels Seth, Vikram: A Suitable Boy Don't agree with: Austen, Jane: Emma Bronte, Emily: Wuthering Heights Pullman, Philip: Northern Lights Tolkien JRR: The Lord of the Rings White, TH: Mistress Masham's Repose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Awh Chesil, not a Northern Lights fan? That's one of my favourite trilogies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 (edited) Don't agree with: Austen, Jane: Emma Yes, that's often one of the Austen canon that people don't like it seems, along with Mansfield Park. i studied it for A-level, and it was the book that introduced me to Jane Austen, so I suppose it had a stronger impact than for others. Bronte, Emily: Wuthering Heights Now that's one I wouldn't have guessed. Pullman, Philip: Northern Lights Tolkien JRR: The Lord of the Rings These two are about as close to fantasy as I'm likely to get when it comes to rating a book highly - not my scene normally - I'd normally rate fantasy in the 1/2 star bracket. They are both novels where I can quite see others not rating them at all. I just think both are brilliantly imaginative and thought through stories (some of LOTR might seem a bit of a cliche now, but only because others have tried to follow). BTW, Ben, this 6-star rating is just for Northern Lights, not for the whole of the Dark Materials trilogy. For me, the next two books, never quite lived up to the first. White, TH: Mistress Masham's Repose This is one I read years ago, one of my earliest 6-star ratings, before I started writing reviews, so can't quite remember why. I remember loving bot the premise and the quirkiness of the story. Your naming it surprised me a bit - I can see why not a 6-star rating, but not one I would have put down as likely to be rated at the bottom end (but then, looking at the Amazon reviews, it's a rare book indeed that doesn't have at least a couple of 1-star reviews. Edited October 27, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 BTW, Ben, this 6-star rating is just for Northern Lights, not for the whole of the Dark Materials trilogy. For me, the next two books, never quite lived up to the first. Oh by no means is the trilogy as a whole 6/6, I'd agree with you. I think the magic of the first is never successfully replicated in the others, but overall it's still a trilogy that I find myself coming back to in times of reading droughts - so there must be something about it for me (although I'm certainly not sure what that something is). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I love the Northern Lights trilogy, myself. Haven't read it in years, actually, should read it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Had a look at your classics list Willoyd & have quite a few of the same books Wuthering Heights, Tom Jones, North & South, Catch 22 & Of Human Bondage, i've read & enjoyed. Villette & The Mill On The Floss i didn't like in fact i couldn't even finish Villette. Desperate Remedies, Possession, The Deptford Trilogy, Midnight's Children & The Gormenghast Trilogy are all on my TBR pile so i look forward to reading your thoughts on these when you get round to them. I'm embarrassed to say i confused The Deptford Trilogy with The Deptford Mice bought it for the children & didn't realise my mistake till i got it home Happy Reading in 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.