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pontalba's 2014 Reading List


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BOOKS READ 2014

 

 

JANUARY

 

The Accounting by William Lashner 4/5

Wayward Pines: Before the Fall by Stephen Romano 3/5 (Kindle Words)

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner 5/5

Run by Blake Crouch 3/5

Stoner by John Williams 5/5

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling 3.5/5

Veritas by William Lashner 4/5

Out of Time by various 3/5

The Secret History by Donna Tartt 4/5

Barkeep by William Lashner 4/5

 

FEBRUARY

 

Octopussy & The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming 5/5

The Sisterhood by Helen Bryan 3/5

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming 4/5

Dr. No by Ian Fleming 3.5/5

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly 4/5

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 4/5

Japantown by Barry Lancet 4/5

The Black Ice by Michael Connelly 4/5

The Martian by Andy Weir 5/5

Dropped Names by Frank Langella 4/5

The Intercept by Dick Wolf 4.5/5

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley 5/5

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt 3/5

 

MARCH

 

Rivers by Michael Farris Smith  3/5

The Black Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black 4.5/5

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 4/5

Nomad: A Wayward Pines Novella by Robert Swartwood 3/5

An American Nightmare: A Wayward Pines novella/short story by Bryan Higby 2/5

On the Beach by Nevil Shute 5/5

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner 5/5

The Unvanquished by William Faulkner 5/5

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler 4/5

Blood Work by Michael Connelly 4/5

 

APRIL

 

I am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith 3.5/5

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry 5/5

Beverly: A Wayward Pines Novella by Ryan Cole 4/5

The Redundant Man: A Wayward Pines Novella by Marsha Morman  3.5/5

First Contact: A Wayward Pines Novella by Steven Konkaly 3/5

Big Fish by Thomas Perry 3.5/5

The Postman by David Brin 3/5

11/22/63 by Stephen King 4.5/5

Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda  4/5

Naoko by Keigo Higashino 4/5

 

MAY

 

A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot 3/5

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr 4/5

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West 4/5

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny 4/5
Drive by James Sallis 4/5

Driven by James Sallis 4/5

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters 3/5

Recoil by Jim Thompson 3/5

Storm Front

Fool Moon

Grave Peril all by Jim Butcher

A Dish Taken Cold A Novella by Anne Perry 4/5

Countdown City by Ben H. Winters 3.5/5

Summer Knight 3.5/5

Death Masks 3/5  by Jim Butcher

Vanishing Act (A Jane Whitefield Novel)  by Thomas Perry 4/5

Slip & Fall by Nick Santora 3.5/5

Dance for the Dead (A Jane Whitefield Novel) b Thomas Perry4/5

 

JUNE

 

Supreme Justice by Max Allen Collins 4/5

Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh 4/5

Flags in the Dust by William Faulkner 5/5++

Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke 4/5

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough 5/5

The Grass Crown by Colleen McCullough  5/5

Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon 3/5

Blood Rites: A Harry Dreseden Novel by Jim Butcher 3/5

The Son by Jo Nesbo 5/5

 

JULY

 

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman 3.5/5

Dead Beat A Harry Dresden book by Jim Butcher 3/5

ST: Specter by William Shatner 3/5

Laundry Man by Jake Needham 2.5/5

Blood Feud The Clintons vs. The Obamas by Edward Klein 3/5

The Unquiet Grave by Steven Dunne 5/5

American Gods by Neil Gaiman 4/5

The Dinner by Herman Koch 4/5

World of Trouble: The Last Policeman Book III by Ben H. Winters 4/5

The Last Town: Book Three of the Wayward Pines Series by Blake Croudh 4/5

Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch 4/5

 

AUGUST

 

The Mad and The Bad by Jean-Patrick Manchette  3.5.5

Rain Girl by  Gabi Kreslehner 4/5

Holy Orders by Benjamin Black 5/5

 

SEPTEMBER

 

I, Claudius by Robert Graves 5/5

Claudius the God by Robert Graves 4/5

Sparrow Migrations by Cari Noga 4/5

Tunnel Vision by Aric Davis 4/5

Wyatt by Garry Disher 4/5

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes 5/5

 

OCTOBER

 

I Am Spartacus: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist by Kirk Douglas 4/5

Lexicon by Max Barry 5/5

The Condor Passes by Shirley Ann Grau 3.5/5

Snowbound by Blake Crouch 4/5

Niv by Graham Lord 3.5/5

 

NOVEMBER

 

The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case by Michael A. Ross 4/5

Ratcatcher (John Purkiss Book 1) by Tim Stevens 3/5

Truman's Spy, A Cold War Thriller by Noel Hynd  2..5/5

missing person by Patrick Mondiano 4/5

Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute 5/5

Positron (consisting of 4 novellas) by Margaret Atwood 3.5/5

The Survival of Thomas Ford by John A. A. Logan 4/5

 

DECEMBER

 

A Fortunate Life by Robert Vaughn 5/5

The Final Silence by Stuart Neville 3/5

Lord John and The Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon 2/5

Malice by Keigo Higashino 4/5

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro 5/5

Edited by pontalba
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I started keeping lists of books read in 2007.  Wish I'd done it sooner.

 

These are links to my past book logs, here.

 

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/11186-pontalbas-2013-reading-list/    99 books read

pontalba's 2012 reading list  65 books read
pontalba's 2011 reading list  92 books read
pontalba's 2010 reading list  74 books read
pontalba's 2009 reading list  36 books read
pontalba;s 2008 reading list  62 books read
pontalba's books read list (2007)  59 books read

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I am not one to set reading goals for myself.  However I have, this year, decided that there a few broad parameters.

 

I have a set of books that are equivalent to a college course called Contemporary Civilization from Columbia University.  I'll be tackling them this year. 

 

Also, since I have the full set of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, it's time to get them off the shelf. :)

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Happy reading in 2014, Kate. :D Look forward to seeing what you make of the Dark Tower books - I've been eyeing them up myself for years!

 

 

Kate

 Best of luck in the coming year , in your reading and every other area !

 

Thank you, both.  :D 

 

I believe I read the first of the Dark Tower series when it first came out.  I wasn't sure, having mixed it up in my mind with The Stand.  However, I read The Stand, earlier... in 2013 (should I call it this year because it's still 2013 as I type this, or last year...2014? Weirdness. :)  )  I liked whatever it was I read then... :roll:  , so hopefully, I'll like the rest.

 

May your reading year (and all things) be happy and fulfilling! :doowapstart:

 

~I'm going to list the books mentioned in above posts in a little bit.

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OK.  The list I mentioned above from Columbia University is as follows:

 

Homer - Iliad

Homerus - Homeric Hymns

Homer - Odyssey

Herodotus - The Histories

Aeschylus - Oresteia

Sophocles - Oedipus the King

Euripides - Medea

Aristophanes - Eleven Plays [the Greek Classics]

Thucydides - History of the Peloponnesian War

Plato - Symposium, Apology

The Trials of Socrates

The Bible: Genesis, Job, Luke, John

Virgil - Aeneid

Augustine - Confessions

Dante - Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso

Boccaccio - Decameron

Montaigne - Essays

Shakespeare - Hamlet

Cervantes - Don Quixote

Austen - Pride and Prejudice

Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment

Woolf - To the Lighthouse

Havel - The Garden Path and Other Plays

 

I already own all, and have placed them in plain view, on a shelf right next to, above the computer.  :)  A few I've read, of course.  But will reread as part of the goal.

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Well, that's just a bit of light reading for you then!   :lol:

 

Hope you have an interesting year of books ahead of you, pontalba, and enjoy your 2014 reading. :)

 

I wish you a great reading year in 2014, Pontalba :)!

 

Thank you, both, so much!  I hope yours will be as well! :D

 

Oh, Kate!

That's a bunch of really great reading there!

I know there are those you will enjoy.

Happy reading for 2014! :)

 

I know as well!  :kissing:  :boogie:

 

 

Ooh, that reading list looks good ! :D

 

I`ve been thinking about Montaigne and Dante myself lately, so I`ll be interested in seeing what you think.  I read The Aeniad a while back and enjoyed it.

 

Happy 2014 Readingness ! :smile:

 

Thanks LP, you too!!  :friends0:

 

Also, last year...well, almost last year, still almost 6 hours to go for us...I snagged a beautiful copy of The Iliad...translated by Stephen Mitchell (new translation).  Autographed, from Powells.  It's gorgeous.

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Well, 2013 was a good reading year, I managed to break my old record of 92, with 99 books read this (2013) year.  If I hadn't had a couple of dry spells, it coulda, woulda been more, oh well.  :)  I'm happy with it anyhow!

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Also, last year...well, almost last year, still almost 6 hours to go for us...I snagged a beautiful copy of The Iliad...translated by Stephen Mitchell (new translation).  Autographed, from Powells.  It's gorgeous.

 

Oh awesome!  I read the Fagles translation, but I've coveted this one.  I read a fair bit of it and it is a brilliant translation  :smile:   I saw his translation of The Odyssey has also recently been published  :D

 

Happy reading in 2014, Kate  :D

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Happy reading in 2014 Kate, and good luck with your challenge, those books look very intimidating to me, I think I'll wait for the movies.  ;)  :giggle2:

 

:hny:

 

:rolol:   Thanks chalie!  They are intimidating!  To me as well. :)  I've had them, or most of them for 6 and a half years, about time I got to it! 

 

 

 

Oh awesome!  I read the Fagles translation, but I've coveted this one.  I read a fair bit of it and it is a brilliant translation  :smile:   I saw his translation of The Odyssey has also recently been published  :D

 

Happy reading in 2014, Kate  :D

 

I've only read part of the Introduction, and it is beautifully done.  I think I'll have to track down his translation of The Odyssey as well, thanks for mentioning!  The list of his translations, etc in this book is amazing, what a prolific fella!

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Kate

So glad you found the book in such beautiful condition .

Wonderful total for last year ! Nothing to shake a stick at .

Good luck with your goals this year . I'm sure you'll do great .   :yes:

 

Thanks, Julie.  They were the books in a course Charles took at University, so he has read most of all of them, years ago.  So, I'll have lots of discussion and help. :)

 

 

Happy New Year, Kate ! :D

 

Thanks, LP!  I hope yours is as well.  :D

 

 

Happy New Year and Happy Reading Kate!  :smile:

 

The Columbia University list looks challenging  :D ... I'm struggling with the titles  :blush2:  :D 

 

Best of luck  :hug:

 

They are challenging, to say the least, but such a basis for just about everything.  I can't wait!

 

Happy and healthy New Year to you and Alan as well.  :flowers2:

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I am not one to set reading goals for myself.  However I have, this year, decided that there a few broad parameters.

 

I have a set of books that are equivalent to a college course called Contemporary Civilization from Columbia University.  I'll be tackling them this year. 

That's a daunting-ish list there! Plato's Symposium (basically Socrates via Plato) was a good read for me, and I have Aeschylus - Oresteia,Sophocles - Oedipus the King and Euripides - Medea in my TBR list. They could be there for quite some time too  :blush2: .

Happy Reading! :smile:  

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That's a daunting-ish list there! Plato's Symposium (basically Socrates via Plato) was a good read for me, and I have Aeschylus - Oresteia,Sophocles - Oedipus the King and Euripides - Medea in my TBR list. They could be there for quite some time too  :blush2: .

Happy Reading! :smile:

 

Today's In Our Time on Radio 4 was all about Symposium: all IOT programmes are available as podcasts on the IOT BBC website page. If you're not familiar with them, they're usually pretty good to listen to: Melvyn Bragg gets three experts in whatever field being discussed to discuss the subject. There were three fairly prominent philosophers on from what I heard (I couldn't stop to listen beyond the intros).

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Today's In Our Time on Radio 4 was all about Symposium: all IOT programmes are available as podcasts on the IOT BBC website page. If you're not familiar with them, they're usually pretty good to listen to: Melvyn Bragg gets three experts in whatever field being discussed to discuss the subject. There were three fairly prominent philosophers on from what I heard (I couldn't stop to listen beyond the intros).

Thanks for letting me about IOT, I circled this one in the RT weeks ago, then forgot about it :blush2: .Good timing with IOT  :smile: . I would be lost with the IOT podcasts, one of the best programmes on R4. It should be particularly good, as Angie Hobbs is very interesting and incredibly sharp on IOT,  so it be great to listen to.

Also on is Frisbee Sheffield, Director of Studies in Philosophy at Christ's College, University of Cambridge - I had to google that name, and it is not a mistake, that name and title are true  :smile:  :giggle2: 

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