willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Book List 2014 Previous book lists: 2009, 2010-2011, 2012, 2013 January 1. Under Another Sky - Charlotte Higgins (Jan 4) ***** 2. The Romans Who Shaped Britain - Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard (Jan 10) **** February 3. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby - Charles Dickens (Feb 3) ***** 4. Darwin - Adrian Desmond and James Moore (Feb 27) **** 5. The Late Monsieur Gallet - Georges Simenon (Feb 28) *** March 6. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion (Mar 3) ***** 7. A Commonplace Killing - Sian Busby (Mar 7) G ** 8. Dune - Frank Herbert (Mar 14) RC ****** 9. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (Mar 20) ****** 10. It's All Greek to Me - Charlotte Higgins (Mar 22) *** 11. What Maisie Knew - Henry James (Mar 29) *** April 12. Explorers of the Nile - Tim Jeal (Apr 12) **** 13. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver (Apr 14) G ***** 14. A Very Long Engagement - Sebastien Japrisot (Apr 26) RC ****** 15. The Return of the Soldier - Rebecca West (Apr 27) C *** May 16. When God was a Rabbit - Sarah Winman (May 4) G **** 17. Red Nile - Robert Twigger (May 18) **** 18. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell (May 26) ***** 19. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde (May 28) **** 20. The Darling Buds of May - HE Bates (May 29) *** 21. Acts of Union and Disunion - Linda Colley (May 30) ***** June 22. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien - Georges Simenon (Jun 27) **** 23. Bottoms Up in Belgium- Alex Le Sueur (Jun 28) *** July 24. The Sisters Brothers - Patrick de Witt (Jul 21) ** 25. Silas Marner - George Eliot (Jul 25) RG **** 26. The Spy Game - Georgina Harding (Jul 30) *** August 27. Slow Train to Switzerland - Diccon Bewes (Aug 2) ***** 28. On the Road Bike - Ned Boulting (Aug 8) **** 29. The Pursuit of Glory - Tim Blanning (Aug 10) ****** 30. Miss Jemima's Swiss Journal - Jemima Morrell (Aug 13) **** 31. Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald (Aug 15) ***** 32. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (Aug 17) ***** 33. Night at the Crossroads - Georges Simenon (Aug 18) **** 34. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy (Aug 23) ****** 35. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops - Jen Campbell (Aug 25) *** September 36. Thomas Hardy, The Time-Torn Man - Claire Tomalin (Sep 13) ***** 37. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (Sep 14) RG *** 38. Thus Was Adonis Murdered - Sarah Caudwell (Sep 19) ** 39. The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert (Sep 29) **** October 40. The Year After - Martin Davies (Oct 5) G **** 41. Watership Down - Richard Adams (Oct 19) R *** 42. The Potter's Hand - AN Wilson (Oct 29) ***** 43. A Crime in Holland - Georges Simenon (Oct 31) **** November 44. The Fears of Henry IV - Ian Mortimer (Nov 8) *** 45. Moonfleet - J Meade Faulkner (Nov 12) **** 46. Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope (Nov 20) ***** 47. The Rabbit Back Literature Society - Pasi Jasskelainen (Nov 22) *** 48. Cider with Rosie - Laurie Lee (Nov 29) ** 49. An Awfully Big Adventure - Beryl Bainbridge (Nov 30) ***** December 50. Possession - AS Byatt (Dec 11) **** 51. Brighton Belle - Sara Sheridan (Dec 13) *** 52. Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte (Dec 14) **** 53. The Franchise Affair - Josephine Tey (Dec 16) *** 54. Behind the Beautiful Forevers - Katherine Boo (Dec 19) ** 55. The Longest Afternoon - Brendan Simms (Dec 19) **** 56. The Ballad of Peckham Rye - Muriel Spark (Dec 21) **** 57. A Bear Called Paddington - Michael Bond (Dec 21) R ****** 58. The Nine Tailors - Dorothy Sayers (Dec 22) ***** 59. The Gate of Angels - Penelope Fitzgerald (Dec 24) ***** 60. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (Dec 25) R ****** 61. Underground England - Stephen Smith (Dec 28) ** 62. Dead White Female - Lauren Henderson (Dec 30) *** 63. Swimming to Heaven - Iain Sinclair (Dec 31) **** Unfinished Don Fernando - W Somerset Maugham (May 31) U * The Dinner - Herman Koch (Aug 19) G * The Innocence of Father Brown - GK Chesterton (Nov 15) ** Ratings * Disliked this, rarely finished. ** Disappointing, may be unfinished. *** OK, a decent enough read. **** Good, an involving read, hard to put down. ***** Excellent, outstanding. ****** An all-time favourite. U=unfinished, A=audiobook, R=reread, G=read for book group, C=read for online reading circle Edited May 29, 2017 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Books rated as 6-stars A record of the 92 books I've given my top rating to: Fiction (63) 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 Cooper, Susan: The Dark is Rising Cunningham, Michael: The Hours Davies, Martin: The Conjuror's Bird Dickens, Charles: Bleak House Dickens, Charles: David Copperfield Dunant, Sarah: In the Company of the Courtesan 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 Hardy, Thomas: Far From The Madding Crowd Herbert, Frank: Dune Horwood, William: Skallagrig Hulme, Keri: Bone People Japrisot, Sebastian: A Very Long Engagement Kipling, Rudyard: Puck of Pook's Hill/Rewards and Fairies Lee, Harper: To Kill A Mockingbird Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall Melville, Herman: Moby Dick Milne, AA: Winnie-the-Pooh/House at Pooh Corner 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 Steinbeck, John: Of Mice and Men 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 (29) Blanning, Tim: The Pursuit of Glory Brown, Hamish: Hamish's Mountain Walk 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 August 23, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Non-fiction lists No overall TBR list - that's simply the books listed on my LibraryThing account as TBR (basically all hard copy books that aren't pure reference). However, last year I started two lists to encourage reading in two areas, one being non-fiction, the other being classics. They are now supplemented by the English Counties challenge. The non-fiction list is split into two categories: 'doorstoppers' and Slightly Foxed editions. For the purposes of this list 'doorstoppers' are books that are generally longer than 500 pages; a few are multi-volume works. I've had a tendency to acquire them over the years, and then not get around to reading them; it's all too often easier to pick up a quicker read! As with the classsics list in the next post, only one unread book per author is allowed on the list at any one time. Books read during the year are highlighted; books read from previous years are listed at the end. It's thus not a list that's likely to be completed as it'll be refreshed at least annually, but then the aim isn't completion, but to encourage reading this sort of book more often. 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 (I said this last year, but failed miserably!). Doorstoppers History (50) The Noble Revolt by John Adamson The Pursuit of Glory by Tim Blanning ****** The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin The Identity of France, v1: History and Environment by Fernand Braudel World Crisis, v1: 1911-1914 by Winston Churchill The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clarke The Seven Years War by Julian Corbett Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies The Penguin History of Modern China by Jonathan Fenby The People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes A History of Europe, v1: Ancient and Medieval by HAL Fisher The Civil War, v1: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote The World on Fire by Amanda Foreman The Thirties by Juliet Gardner The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire v1 by Edward Gibbons The Presidents by Stephen Graubard Christendom Destroyed by Mark Greengrass Catastrophe by Max Hastings High Minds by Simon Heffer The Battle of Britain by James Holland The Histories by Herodotus The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk The Birth of the Modern by Paul Johnson Postwar by Tony Judt The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by TE Lawrence The History of England v1 by Thomas Macauley Reformation: Europe's House Divided by Diarmid Macculloch Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson The History of Germany since 1789 by Golo Mann The Line Upon the Wind by Noel Mostert Pax Britannica, v1: Heaven's Command by Jan Morris The History of Venice by John Julius Norwich The Sea and Civilisation by Lincoln Paine The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham Global Catastrophe by Geoffrey Parker The Making of the British Landscape by Francis Pryor Africa, A Biography of the Continent by John Reader America, Empire of Liberty by David Reynolds The Penguin History of the World by JM Roberts The England of Elizabeth by AL Rowse Never Had It So Good by Dominic Sandbrook The Culture of the Europeans by Donald Sassoon An Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama The Hundred Years' War, v1: Trial by Battle by Jonathan Sumption Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas The German Genius by Peter Watson The Thirty Years War by CV Wedgwood The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson Europe's Tragedy by Peter H Wilson Biography (15) Dickens by Peter Ackroyd The Brontes by Juliet Barker Darwin by Adrian Desmond and James Moore **** Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin Titian by Sheila Hale Nikolaus Pevsner by Susan Harries God's Architect by Rosemary Hill Stanley by Tim Jeal Churchill by Roy Jenkins Hitler by Ian Kershaw The Pursuit of Victory by Roger Knight Wellington, The Path to Victory by Rory Muir Queen Anne by Anne Somerset Bismarck by Jonathan Steinberg Elizabeth Gaskell by Jenny Uglow Salisbury by Andrew Young Travel and Exploration (5) The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard Into the Silence by Wade Davis In Europe by Geert Mak Maximum City by Suketu Mehta Old Glory by Jonathan Raban Read in 2013 Seasons in the Sun by Dominic Sandbrook ***** The Plantagenets by Dan Jones **** Slightly Foxed Editions 01. Blue Remembered Hills by Rosemary Sutcliff *** 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 24. Period Piece by Gwen Raverat 25. I Was A Stranger by John Hackett 26. Portrait of Elmbury by John Moore Edited August 14, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Classics TBR list The second TBR list: my list of classics to read (the definition of 'classic' has been stretched on occasions!). Again, only one unread book/series per writer is allowed at any one time in the main list.Books that have been read during the year are highlighted; those from previous years are listed at the end. As with the non-fiction doorstoppers, this means that the list will probably never be completed, but that isn't the aim, rather to encourage reading more classics per year! There are currently 44 books to be read on the list.Le Pere Goriot by Honore de BalzacThe Mandarins by Simone de BeauvoireThe Old Wives' Tale by Arnold BennettAgnes Grey by Anne Bronte ****Villette by Charlotte BronteThe Master and Margarita by Mikhael Bulgakov (reread)Evelina by Fanny BurneyPossession by AS Byatt ****Don Quixote by Miguel de CervantesThe Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (reread)The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore CooperThe Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens *****The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles DickensThe Three Musketeers by Alexander DumasMiddlemarch by George EliotThe Siege of Krishnapur by JG FarrellTom Jones by Henry FieldingThe Good Soldier by Ford Madox FordHoward's End by EM ForsterNorth and South by Elizabeth Gaskell *****To The Ends of the Earth by William Golding (trilogy)I, Claudius by Robert GravesLife and Fate by Vassily GrossmanFar From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy ******Catch-22 by Joseph HellerDune by Frank Herbert (reread) ******Les Miserables by Victor HugoWhat Maisie Knew by Henry James ***Ulysses by James JoyceLes Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de LaclosSons and Lovers by DH LawrenceOf Human Bondage by W Somerset MaughamParadise Lost by John MiltonTitus 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 ScottFrankenstein by Mary ShelleyAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyCan You Forgive Her? by Anthony TrollopeThe Age of Innocence by Edith WhartonThe Once and Future King by TH WhiteNight and Day by Virginia WoolfLa Fortune des Rougon by Emile ZolaRead in 2013Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ****** (reread)David Copperfield by Charles Dickens ******The Turn of the Screw by Henry James ****Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome **The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf ***** Edited December 20, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Three Classics Lists To go with my campaign to read more classics, three lists to help me as reference: - The novels of Charles Dickens, listed in chronological order of writing. - The Rougon-Macquart series of novels by Emile Zola, listed in the order suggested by Zola himself. - The novels (and short stories) of Thomas Hardy, again in chronological order of writing. Whether I get around to reading them all........! Charles Dickens novels 01. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club **** 02. The Adventures of Oliver Twist ***** 03. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ***** 04. The Old Curiosity Shop 05. Barnaby Rudge 06. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit 07. Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son 08. The Personal History of David Copperfield ****** 09. Bleak House ****** 10. Hard Times 11. Little Dorrit 12. A Tale of Two Cities 13. Great Expectations **** 14. Our Mutual Friend 15. The Mystery of Edwin Drood Emile Zola's Rougon-Macquart Series 01. La Fortune des Rougon 02. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon 03. La Curee 04. L'Argent 05. Le Reve 06. La Conquete de Plassans 07. Pot-Bouille 08. Au Bonheur des Dames 09. La Faute de L'Abbe Mouret 10. Une Page d'amour 11. Le Ventre de Paris 12. La Joie de vivre 13. L'Assommoir 14. L'Oeuvre 15. La Bete humaine 16. Germinal 17. Nana 18. La Terre 19. La Debacle 20. Le Docteur Pascal Thomas Hardy's novels 01. Desperate Remedies (1871) 02. Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) 03. A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) 04. Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) ****** 05. The Hand of Ethelberta (1876) 06. The Return of the Native (1878) **** 07. The Trumpet Major (1880) 08. A Laodicean (1881) 09. Two on a Tower (1882) 10. The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) 11. The Woodlanders (1887) 12. Tess of the D'Urbevilles (1891) 13. Jude the Obscure (1895) 14. The Well-Beloved (1897) *** Short Stories 15. Wessex Tales (1888) 16. A Group of Noble Dames (1891) 17. Life's Little Ironies (1894) Edited December 6, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) English Counties Reading Challenge (Willoyd's variation) This is tied in with the English Counties Challenge listed in the Reading Challenge section. However, I've listed a few different books, primarily to replace books already read which I don't intend to reread (but may!), usually because I've read them too recently - these are marked with a +. Books that I've read are picked out in blue, those read this year are in bold. Completed: 14/48 01. My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates (Bedfordshire) 02. The 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. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome / The Maid of Buttermere by Melvyn Bragg (Cumbria) 10. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (Derbyshire) 11. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie / To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfield (Devon) 12. Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (Dorset) ****** 13. The Life and Adventures of 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. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (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 Darling Buds of May by HE Bates (Kent) *** 25. Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neill + (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. Dracula by Bram Stoker (North Yorkshire) 31. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (Northamptonshire) 32. The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin (Northumberland) 33. Sons and Lovers 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. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (West Yorkshire) ***** 47. Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope (Wiltshire) ***** 48. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (Worcestershire) Edited May 29, 2017 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Books read from 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die This list is taken from the Arukiyomi spreadsheet which includes the 1305 books that have featured in the 4 editions to date, using his numbering sequence, most recently published at the top. It is kept solely for interest: I'm not attempting it as a challenge as there are far too many books on the list that I have no intention of even attempting to read, whilst there are too many others not on it (but I think should be!) that I do want to read. I do, however, have a fascination with lists, so.....Total read = 131 out of 13051302. Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes ***1255. The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd *****1250 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon ******1231. The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor *****1227. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides ****1215. Life of Pi by Yann Martel ****1178 Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson ******1167. Amsterdam by Ian MacEwan ****1161 The Hours by Michael Cunningham ******1159. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver ****1155. Enduring Love by Ian MacEwan *1128. The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald ***1127. The Reader by Bernard Schlink *1096 A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth ******1075. The Crow Road by Ian Banks ****1073. The Dumas Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte ***1072. Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg *****1057. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell ****1041. Possession by AS Byatt ****1032. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro ****1005. The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul by Douglas Adams ****1004. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams ****0962 Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd ******0931 Waterland by Graham Swift ******0903 Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie ******0895 The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco ******0883. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams *****0830 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre ******0782. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut *0777. The Godfather by Mario Puzo ***0768. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke ****0746. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov *****0715. The Graduate by Charles Webb ***0713. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre **0688. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark ****0675 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee ******0668. Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee ***0636. Justine by Lawrence Durrell *0630 The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien ******0611. Lord of the Flies by William Golding ****0609. The Story of O by Pauline Reage *0605. The Go-Between by LP Hartley **0604. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler ****0593. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym ***0590. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway ***0583. Foundation by Isaac Asimov ****0567. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov ****0564 Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford ******0560. Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell *0547. The Plague by Albert Camus *0529. Animal Farm by George Orwell **0527. The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford *****0513. The Outsider by Albert Camus *0505 Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf ******0503. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler ****0490. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler ****0487. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson *****0479 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ******0477 The Years by Virginia Woolf ******0476. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien ****0450. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers ****0440. The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz ***0428. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons *****0420. The Waves by Virginia Woolf *****0416. Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham *****0412. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett ***0403. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque ***0395. Orlando by Virginia Woolf ****0394. Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence *0383 To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf ******0371. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie ****0367 Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf ******0366. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald **0347. Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf *****0328. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West ***0316. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf *****0313. The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan ****0295. A Room With A View by EM Forster *****0276. The Call of the Wild by Jack London ****0275. The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers ****0269. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle ****0267. Kim by Rudyard Kipling ****0256. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James **** 0250. What Maisie Knew by Henry James ***0249. Dracula by Bram Stoker *****0239. The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith *0238. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle *****0232. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde ***0229. La Bete Humaine by Emile Zola ****0216. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson ****0213 Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson ******0210. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain ****0203. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson *****0199. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James ***0193. Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy ****0184. Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy ******0182. Around The World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne ****0177. Middlemarch by George Eliot *****0176. Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll ****0173 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy ******0167. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins ****0163. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne ****0162. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ****0155. Silas Marner by George Eliot ***0154. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens ****0148. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins *****0143. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert *****0142. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell *****(*)0138 Bleak House by Charles Dickens ******0136. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell ****0132 Moby Dick by Herman Melville ******0130 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens ******0128. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell *****0126 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ******0125. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte ****0124 Vanity Fair by Wllliam Thackeray ******0123 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte ******0122. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas *****0113. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens *****0106. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens *****0105. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens *****0090. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott ***0088. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen *****0087. Persuasion by Jane Austen *****0084 Emma by Jane Austen ******0083. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen *****0082 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ******0081 Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ******0045. Candide by Voltaire ****0031. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe *0001. Aesop's Fables by Aesopus ** Edited December 15, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Reserved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Reserved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) Review of 2013, Looking Forward to 2014 The year got off to a slow start, in fact the slowest start ever, mainly because I got somewhat bogged down in some rather disappointing book group reads. Indeed, by the end of February, of the seven books I'd tried, five had scored two stars or less; I had really begun to wonder whether book groups were going to be my thing or not. Fortunately, this period also included another book group choice, David Copperfield, the first six star read of the year! After that, things warmed up a bit, and 2013 turned into one of the better years in terms of both quality and quantity. This year was meant to be more about which books I read rather than how many, with the focus on some of the classics and non-fiction doorstoppers that have been looking at me from the shelves for rather longer than I would have liked. Progress may not have been spectacular, but eight books down is better than none, and it's at least got things started. I'd like to do better in 2014 though! Even so, and allowing for that somewhat ropey start, it's certainly felt a better year's reading this year than most previous ones. Four six-star books (plus two re-reads) is about par for the course, but there was a much higher proportion of 5-star reads than normal, making 2013 only the second year to hit the 30% mark for the top two grades. In spite of all this though, David Copperfield retained its premier status throughout the year to be my Book of the Year, although Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising and Fay Weldon's Letters to Alice both made late and rather unexpected challenges, making it a much tighter decision than I had anticipated at the start of the Christmas period! At the other end of the scale, the ranks of duff book group choices meant that there was also a higher than average number of 'bad' reads, only 2009 seeing more 1 /2 star gradings. Duffer of the Year is a difficult one – I disliked all the one star books fairly strongly (that's why they got 1 star!) - but I'm going to give it to Gone Girl, the sole one-star book that wasn't a book group selection, mainly because of the overpowering sense of boredom and intense dislike of the main protagonists it engendered. No I don't precisely know what happened, as I didn't finish it, but I reckon I could make a pretty good guess if I was the slightest bit interested, but I'm not! So, what of the forthcoming year? I know I've said it for at least the past couple of years, but I really do want to make some inroads into some of the less developed regions of my book shelves this year, so I'm deliberately not even going to consider what this year's overall total should be. Instead, I'm setting just one goal: at least twenty books off the challenge lists above (maybe even thirty??). I also want to see if I can create more time for reading......! 2013 Accolades Fiction and Overall Book of the Year: David Copperfield – Charles Dickens Fiction Runner-up: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell Rest of the fiction shortlist: The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper Light – Margaret Elphinstone King Solomon's Carpet – Barbara Vine The Crimson Petal and the White – Michel Faber Sacred Hearts – Sarah Dunant Non-fiction Book of the Year: Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen – Fay Weldon Non-fiction Runner-up: The Real Jane Austen – Paula Byrne Rest of the non-fiction shortlist: Findings – Kathleen Jamie Charles Dickens, A Life – Claire Tomalin Seasons in the Sun – Dominic Sandbrook Duffer of the Year: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Rest of the duffer shortlist: Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada The Boy Who Wore Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne Starter for Ten by David Nichols Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers Edited February 25, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 Welcome to my reading blog for 2014. I've still some reviews to finish off after my usual Christmas splurge on reading, but this thread is now open! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I do like your categories .. 'Duffer of the Year' There are bound to be duffers in 2014 ... it's all part and parcel of being a reader but I hope you have as few as possible Happy Reading Willoyd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) ]There are bound to be duffers in 2014 ... it's all part and parcel of being a reader but I hope you have as few as possible Thank you! You're right of course - it would be awfully boring if there weren't, not least because it would mean one never tries anything new. The corollary of all those duffers is that every now and again one reads something absolutely brilliant, and one brilliant book is worth three or four duffers. Perhaps the biggest one for me last year was that David Copperfield was a book group choice. I'd started it already a couple of times and got nowhere. I was a bit more persistent this time given it was a group book, and boy did it pay dividends! I also discovered Penelope Fitzgerald that way - really enjoying exploring her work now. Edited February 7, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexi Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I'm now going to go back over my 2013 reads to find a duffer of the year! Happy reading in 2014 are you persevering with your book groups? I keep thinking I'd like to join one but then I find it hard enough to contribute to the Reading a Circle because I get distracted by other books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Will You've got your list quite organized , even by category ! I wish I were that organized. I have good intentions, but you know what they say about those . Just a comment on 2 of your nonfiction books : Team of Rivals and Old Glory are both excellent . I hope you enjoy them as much as I did . Best of luck in 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) Happy reading in 2014 are you persevering with your book groups? I keep thinking I'd like to join one but then I find it hard enough to contribute to the Reading a Circle because I get distracted by other books! Thank you! I'm still active in both book groups. One I'm enjoying a lot, the other is OK, but I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick with it. The first is a group of friends who set up their own group to encourage more reading, and who I found through my local library almost by chance: I asked the librarian if they knew of a local group with space; they didn't, but two days later emailed to say that somebody from this group had commented in passing that they were looking for a new member, so they put us in touch. We circulate round people's houses and choose books in turn (every few months we make a nomination each, they're put into a hat, and then drawn to give the order). Book choices are very varied and the discussion is really lively and fun. The second group was one set up by the local library service; we meet in a local pub. It's fine, really nice bunch of people, but it's all a bit more serious, maybe because most people don't really know each other and it's a wee bit more formal. The books are provided by the library service; as a result, they all feel rather samey. Have to admit, I've only really enjoyed two books so far ( one a reread!), and mildly enjoyed another. Most have been, frankly, somewhat dull, not helped by the lack of variety. But I missed a few meetings in the summer (thank goodness - the books definitely didn't appeal!), so I'm going to give it a bit more of a go before making a decision. There are rather a lot of books on my own TBR lists that I'm keen to get stuck into..... Edited December 30, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookmonkey Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 I thought of joining a book group, but the thought of having to read a book I haven't chosen puts me off - makes me think of high school English. I worry there'd be too many bad ones like you seem to have had this year. I loved David Copperfield, and plan to read the rest of Dickens at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Hope you have a good reading year in 2014, Willoyd. Some of the books in your 2013 Accolades list are among my favourites and some others are on my wish list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) I thought of joining a book group, but the thought of having to read a book I haven't chosen puts me off - makes me think of high school English. I worry there'd be too many bad ones like you seem to have had this year. I understand your concerns, having had them myself. I think it's all about finding a group that's right for you. I don't mean so much the books rather the right combination of people for you (I left a group a few years ago simply because I found it way too pretentious). Having the odd 'bad' book doesn't put me off, a big compensation being that I get introduced to other good ones that I mightn't have read at all. Actually, having the occasional bad 'un is good! It certainly leads to a much more stimulating discussion, especially if others enjoyed it. The most boring discussions are when we all like the book! I certainly don't feel obliged to finish books either, which helps. The really big advantage of a book group is the chance to talk, face to face, with others about something you all enjoy, reading, with the advantage of having a book to focus on, about which there will almost always be a real diversity of opinion. Some of the most enjoyable evenings this year have been with my book group (especially the December, Christmas, meeting - food, fizz, and lots of fun discussion and chat: brilliant!). Some of the discussions have even changed my mind about a book; I can think of at least two where I've come away much more positive about a book than when I arrived! I think if the book groups were my only reading, as they are for some, then I'm not sure whether I'd stick it out, but for me last year they represented a quarter of my reading (15/60), which I think is a fair proportion, and that's belonging to two groups. Of course, that means I missed some sessions. For me the personal contact with other readers is too important to miss out on. Edited December 31, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Great thread, willoyd! I'm glad you had a nice reading year in 2013. I hope 2014 will be a good reading year for you too . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Happy Reading in 2014 ! Looking at your Classics list, I`m now thinking of bumping up my copies of A Jewel in the Crown and A Dance to the Music of Time in the vast TBR list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Happy reading in 2014! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I'm looking forward to your reviews this coming year. Enjoy your reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) Book purchases Books bought before the end of last year, that have arrived this week: Under Another Sky - Charlotte Higgins - bought with book token; started reading this week. The Histories - Herodotus, tr. Tom Holland - ditto. Lates translation, that have started to dip into. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien - Georges Simenon. Preordered last year - Penguin are reprinting all the Simenon stories. Longbourn - Jo Baker. Another pre-order, just out in paperback. Edited January 12, 2014 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I hope you enjoy your new books ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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