willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Thread Contents Post number 02. Book List 2020 03. Favourite books 04. Favourite authors 05. Tour of the United States 06. Classic fiction: Dickens, Zola 07. Fiction: O'Brian, Sansom, Leon, Simenon 08. Some stats 09. spare 10. spare 11. spare 12. spare 13. spare 14. 2019 review, 2020 preview 15. Accolades for 2019 Edited April 22, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Book List 2020 Previous book lists: 2009, 2010-2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 January 01. The Summer Isles by Philip Marsden ***** 02. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy G ***** 03. Charles I, An Abbreviated Life by Mark Kishlansky **** February 04. Life Without Diabetes by Roy Taylor *** 05. Maigret in New York by Georges Simenon *** March 06. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles G ***** 07. Emma by Jane Austen R ****** 08. The Napoleonic Wars by Mike Rapport R **** April 09. Becoming by Michelle Obama G ***** 10. The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent *** 11. Joy by Jonathan Lee **** 12. Pale Rider by Laura Spinney **** 13. Stoner by John Williams GU *** 14. The Easternmost House by Juliet Blaxland **** 15. Napoleon by David Bell **** 16. A Game of Birds and Wolves by Simon Parkin ***** 17. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton G ***** 18. The Seafarers by Stephen Rutt ***** 19. Harpole and Foxberrow, General Publishers by JL Carr ***** 20. Circe by Madeline Miller G *** May 21. George IV, King in Waiting by Stella Tillyard *** 22. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens G ***** 23. Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene G ***** XX. The House by Simon Lelic G * 24. How To Stop Time by Matt Haig G ** 25. Playback by Raymond Chandler ***** 26. The Regency Revolution by Robert Morrison ***** 27. Salt on Your Tongue by Charlotte Runcie **** 28. The Little Grey Men by 'BB' **** 29. How I Won The Yellow Jumper by Ned Boulting A **** June 30. Home by Julie Myerson ***** 31. Wing by Matthew Francis **** 32. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler GU *** 33. Swifts and Swallows by Mike Unwin **** 34. The Twelve Birds of Christmas by Stephen Moss **** 35. The Hollow Crown by Dan Jones **** 36. Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 by Naoki Higashida G *** 37. The War of the Worlds by HG Wells ***** July 38. The Library of Ice by Nancy Campbell **** 39. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood GR *** 40. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell G ****** 41. The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd ***** 42. Thrones, Dominations by Jill Paton Walsh ***** 43. Gold by Chris Cleave G * August 44. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson GR ****** 45. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot GR ****** 46. Travels with a Donkey by Robert Louis Stevenson **** 47. A Month in the Country by JL Carr GR ****** 48. The Last Englishman by Byron Rogers R ***** September 49. The 100-Year Old Man Who.... by Jonas Jonasson G ** 50. The Affluent Society by J.K. Galbraith *** 51. Stop What You're Doing and Read This by Carmen Callil and others **** 52. The Death of King Arthur, transl by Simon Armitage R *** 53. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich U ***** 54. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite G *** 55. Working with Nature by Jeremy Purseglove *** October 56. Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo G ***** 57. Raw Spirit by Iain Banks R *** 58. To War with Whitaker by Hermione Ranfurley **** 59. Plainsong by Kent Haruf U **** 60. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout G *** 61. Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman **** 62. Dear Reader by Cathy Retzenbrinck **** 63. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson G ** November 64. The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola R **** 65. The Covid-19 Catastrophe by Richard Horton **** 66. Orison for a Curlew by Horatio Clare **** 67. Injury Time by Beryl Bainbridge **** 68. Island Stories by David Reynolds ***** 69. Greenery by Tim Dee *** 70. Ariel, A Literary Life of Jan Morris by Derek Johns **** 71. Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris ***** 72. Maigret's Memoirs by Georges Simenon ***** December 73. The Body by Bill Bryson G **** 74. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton G **** 75. A Lost Lady by Willa Cather **** 76. Wintering by Katherine May **** 77. Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey **** 78. From Mull to Cape by Richard Guise *** 79. Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry U ***** 80. Wintering by Stephen Rutt *** 81. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf R ****** 82. A Maigret Christmas by Georges Simenon R ***** 83. Paddington Abroad by Michael Bond ***** 84. The Hours by Michael Cunningham R ****** Ratings * Disliked this (probably a lot), likely to be unfinished. ** Disappointing: didn't really engage with or like this, may be unfinished. *** OK: decent enough read, but not unputdownable. **** Good: into the realms of not wanting to put it down. ***** Excellent: outstanding, even if not quite a favourite.****** A favourite: something makes this special, even if only personal to me. A=audiobook, G=Reading group read, R=reread, U=USA States Challenge read, X=unfinished Edited January 1, 2021 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Favourite Books A record of the 127 books and series to which I've given my top rating. These aren't necessarily the best literature I've read, but the books that are personal favourites, that, for whatever reason, struck a special chord in my reading. Individual books within a series are likely to have scored less, but the rating is for the series as a whole. The lists are divided into Fiction Non-fiction Children's Fiction Fiction (79) 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 Buchan, John: John Macnab Carr JL: A Month in the Country Carr JL: The Harpole Report 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: A Christmas Carol Dickens, Charles: Bleak House Dickens, Charles: David Copperfield Dunant, Sarah: In the Company of the Courtesan Eco, Umberto: The Name of the Rose Eliot, George: Middlemarch Elphinstone, Margaret: The Sea Road Elphinstone, Margaret: Voyageurs Ewing, Barbara: Rosetta Fforde, Jasper: The Eyre Affair Goscinny, Rene: Asterix in Britain Greig, Andrew: The Return of John Macnab Guareschi, Giovanni: The Don Camillo series Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Hardy, Thomas: Far From The Madding Crowd Herbert, Frank: Dune Heyer, Georgette: The Grand Sophy Hill, Reginald: On Beulah Height Holtby, Winifred: South Riding Horwood, William: Stonor Eagles, The Horwood, William: Skallagrig Hulme, Keri: The Bone People Ivey, Eowyn: To the Bright Edge of the World Japrisot, Sebastian: A Very Long Engagement Le Carre, John: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Lee, Harper: To Kill A Mockingbird Leon, Donna: The Brunetti series Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall McMurtry, Larry: Lonesome Dove Melville, Herman: Moby Dick Miller, Andrew: Pure Miller, Andrew: Now We Shall Be Entirely Free Mitchell, David: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet Monsarrat, Nicholas: The Cruel Sea Moorcock, Michael: Mother London O'Brian, Patrick: The Aubrey-Maturin series O'Farrell, Maggie: Hamnet Pears, Ian: An Instance of the Fingerpost Penney, Stef: The Tenderness of Wolves Perry, Sarah: The Essex Serpent Proulx, Annie: The Shipping News Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children Seth, Vikram: A Suitable Boy Simenon, Georges: The Maigret series Smiley, Jane: A Thousand Acres Smith, Dodie: I Capture the Castle Steinbeck, John: Of Mice and Men Stephenson, Neal: Cryptonomicon Stevenson, Robert Louis: Kidnapped Swift, Graeme: Waterland Taylor, Elizabeth: A View of the Harbour Thomas, Dylan: Under Milk Wood Thompson, Harry: This Thing of Darkness Tolkien JRR: The Lord of the Rings Tolstoy, Leo: War and Peace Waugh, Evelyn: Brideshead Revisited 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 Zafon, Carlos Ruiz: The Shadow of the WindNon-fiction (40) Blanning, Tim: The Pursuit of Glory Brown, Hamish: Hamish's Mountain Walk Clayton, Tim: Waterloo Cocker, Mark: Crow Country Dawkins, Richard: The Blind Watchmaker Fadiman, Anne: Ex Libris Frater, Alexander: Chasing the Monsoon Gogarty, Paul: The Water Road Hanff, Helen: 84 Charing Cross Road Harding, Thomas: The House By The Lake Hastings, Max: All Hell Let Loose Holland, James: Dam Busters Hoskins, WG: The Making of the English Landscape Howell, Georgina: Daughter of the Desert Huntford, Roland: Shackleton Jamie, Kathleen: Findings Junger, Sebastian: The Perfect Storm Lee, Hermione: Virginia Woolf Lewis-Stempel, John: The Running Hare Liptrot, Amy: The Outrun Longford, Elizabeth: Wellington, The Years of the Sword MacGregor, Neil: Germany, Memories of a Nation Moore, Richard: In Search of Robert Millar Nichols, Peter: A Voyage for Madmen Nicolson, Adam: The Seabird's Cry Pennac, Daniel: The Rights of the Reader Pinker, Stephen: The Language Instinct Rackham, Oliver: The History of the Countryside de Saint-Exupery, Antoine: Wind, Sand and Stars Salisbury, Laney and Gay: The Cruellest Miles Sands, Philippe: East-West Street Schumacher, EF: Small is Beautiful Simpson, Joe: Touching the Void Taylor, Stephen: Storm and Conquest Tomalin, Claire: Pepys, The Unequalled Self Tree, Isabella: Wilding Uglow, Jenny: The Pinecone Unsworth, Walt: Everest Weldon, Fay: Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen Wheeler, Sara: Terra IncognitaChildren's Fiction (8) Berna, Paul: Flood Warning Bond, Michael: The Paddington Bear series Kipling, Rudyard: Puck of Pook's Hill/Rewards and Fairies Milne, AA: Winnie-the-Pooh/House at Pooh Corner Pullman, Philip: Northern Lights Ransome, Arthur: The Swallows and Amazons series Sutcliff, Rosemary: The Eagle of the Ninth White, TH: Mistress Masham's Repose Edited July 13, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Favourite authorsTo qualify for this list, I have to have read at least three books by that author (amazing how many where I've just read two, especially non-fiction!), so no one-book wonders (it's the book then, not the author!). None of the books themselves need to have reached a six star rating, but they do need to have been rated consistently highly. Authors may be listed under both fiction and non-fiction. I've only included authors of adult books - for favourite children's authors, see favourite book list, as the two lists are pretty much the same.Fiction Jane AustenJL Carr Charles DickensSarah DunantMargaret Elphinstone Thomas HardyDonna LeonPatrick O'BrianGeorges Simenon Virginia Woolf Non-Fiction Tim ClaytonLisa JardineJan MorrisSimon SchamaClaire TomalinJenny Uglow Edited December 30, 2019 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) A Tour of the StatesMy experience of American literature being much narrower than I would like, I decided to take a tour of the states in a similar way to our own English Counties challenge: 51 books, one set in each of the American states (including Washington DC). In fact, the English Counties was modelled on an American States challenge here, but in the spirit of broadening that experience, I have amended it using these rules: a. it must be fiction; b. an author can only appear once; c. nothing before 1900; d. no children's books; e. no rereads. Inevitably some great books and authors will have been left off, but the process itself has already helped identify those holes, and I aim to fill them in as additional reading! Blue means read, bold blue means read this year. 20/51The Keepers of the House - Shirley Ann Grau (Alabama) *****To The Bright Edge of the World - Eowyn Ivey (Alaska) ******The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver (Arizona) ****The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks - Donald Harington (Arkansas) East of Eden - John Steinbeck (California)Plainsong - Kent Haruf (Colorado) ****Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates (Connecticut)The Saint of Lost Things - Christopher Castellani (Delaware)A Land Remembered - Patrick Smith (Florida)The Color Purple - Alice Walker (Georgia)The Descendants - Kaui Hart Hemmings (Hawaii)Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson (Idaho) ****The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow (Illinois)The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields (Indiana)The Bridges of Madison County - Robert Waller (Iowa) ****In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (Kansas)Nathan Coultar - Wendell Berry (Kentucky) *****All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren (Louisiana)Empire Falls - Richard Russo (Maine)Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler (Maryland) ***Ethan Frome- Edith Wharton (Massachusetts) ***The Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison (Michigan)Main Street - Sinclair Lewis (Minnesota)As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner (Mississippi)Stoner - John Williams (Missouri) ***A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean (Montana)My Antonia - Willa Cather (Nebraska) *****The Ox-Bow Incident - Walter van Tilburg Clark (Nevada)Peyton Place - Grace Metallious (New Hampshire)The Sportswriter - Richard Ford (New Jersey) ****Cities of the Plain - Cormac McCarthy (New Mexico)Underworld - Don DeLillo (New York)Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier (North Carolina) *****The Plague of Doves - Louise Erdrich (North Dakota) *****Winesburg, Ohio - Sherwood Anderson (Ohio) ***True Grit- Charles Portis (Oklahoma) **** Trask - Don Berry (Oregon)The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara (Pennsylvania)The Witches of Eastwick - John Updike (Rhode Island)The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd (South Carolina) ***Welcome to Hard Times - EL Doctorow (South Dakota)A Death in the Family - James Agee (Tennessee)Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry (Texas) ******The Nineteenth Wife - David Ebershoff (Utah)The Secret History - Donna Tartt (Vermont)The Known World - Edward P Jones (Virginia)Snow Falling on Cedars- David Guterson (Washington) ***Advise and Consent - Allen Drury (Washington DC) *****Storming Heaven - Denise Giardina (West Virginia)The Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach (Wisconsin)The Virginian - Owen Wister (Wyoming) Edited December 21, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Classics fiction Two authors whose books I want to focus more on: Charles Dickens Emile Zola's Rougon-Macquart series Charles Dickens01. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837) **** 02. The Adventures of Oliver Twist (1839) ***** 03. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1839) *****04. The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) *** 05. Barnaby Rudge (1841) 06. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) 07. Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son (1848)08. The Personal History of David Copperfield (1850) ******09. Bleak House (1853) ****** 10. Hard Times (1854) 11. Little Dorrit (1857)12. A Tale of Two Cities (1859) ***** 13. Great Expectations (1861) **** 14. Our Mutual Friend (1865) 15. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) The Christmas Books16. A Christmas Carol (1843) ******17. The Chimes (1844) *** 18. The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) 19. The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1846)Emile Zola's Rougon-Macquart Series01. 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 Edited December 21, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Fiction focus Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series CJ Sansom's Shardlake series Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series Georges Simenon's Maigret books Books in standard blue are those read in previous years; 2020 books are in bold. Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series 01. Master and Commander02. Post Captain03. HMS Surprise04. The Mauritius Command05. Desolation Island 06. The Fortune of War07. The Surgeon's Mate08. The Ionian Mission09. Treason's Harbour10. The Far Side of the World11. The Reverse of the Medal12. The Letter of Marque13. The Thirteen Gun Salute14. The Nutmeg of Consolation15. Clarissa Oakes16. The Wine-Dark Sea17. The Commodore18. The Yellow Admiral19. The Hundred Days20. Blue at the Mizzen CJ Sansom's Shardlake series 01. Dissolution (2003) 02. Dark Fire (2004) 03. Sovereign (2006) 04. Revelation (2008) 05. Heartstone (2010) 06. Lamentation (2014) 07. Tombland (2018) Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series 01. Death at La Fenice (1992) **** 02. Death in a Strange Country (1993) **** 03. The Anonymous Venetian (1994) **** 04. A Venetian Reckoning (1995) **** 05. Acqua Alta (1996) **** 06. The Death of Faith (1997) **** 07. A Noble Radiance (1997) **** 08. Fatal Remedies (1999) ***** 09. Friends in High Places (2000) **** 10. A Sea of Troubles (2001) 11. Wilful Behaviour (2002) 12. Uniform Justice (2003) 13. Doctored Evidence (2004) 14. Blood from a Stone (2005) 15. Through a Glass, Darkly (2006) 16. Suffer the Little Children (2007) 17. The Girl of His Dreams (2008) 18. About Face (2009) 19. A Question of Belief (2010) 20. Drawing Conclusions (2011) 21. Beastly Things (2012) 22. The Golden Egg (2013) 23. By Its Cover (2014) 24. Falling in Love (2015) 25. The Waters of Eternal Youth (2016) 26. Earthly Remains (2017) 27. The Temptation of Forgiveness (2018) 28. Unto Us A Son Is Given (2019) Georges Simenon's Maigret novels 1-26 read prior to 2020 27. Maigret in New York *** 28. Maigret's Holiday 29. Maigret's Dead Man 30. Maigret's First Case 31. My Friend Maigret 32. Maigret at the Coroner's 33. Maigret and the Old Lady 34. Madame Maigret's Friend 35. Maigret's Memoirs ***** 36. Maigret at Picratt's **** 37. Maigret Takes a Room 38. Maigret and the Tall Woman 39. Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters 40. Maigret's Revolver 41. Maigret and the Man on the Bench 42. Maigret is Afraid 43. Maigret's Mistake 44. Maigret Goes to School 45. Maigret and the Dead Girl 46. Maigret and the Minister 47. Maigret and the Headless Corpse 48. Maigret Sets a Trap 49. Maigret's Failure 50. Maigret Enjoys Himself 51. Maigret Travels 52. Maigret's Doubts 53. Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses 54. Maigret's Secret 55. Maigret in Court 56. Maigret and the Old People 57. Maigret and the Lazy Burglar 58. Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse 59. Maigret and the Saturday Caller 60. Maigret and the Tramp 61. Maigret's Anger 62. Maigret and the Ghost 63. Maigret Defends Himself Edited December 21, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Some Stats The Last 10 Years (to end 2019) Books read - 654 (370 in the past 5 years) Most books in a year - 80 (2016) Fewest books in a year - 50 (2011) Most pages in a year - 23626 (2018) Most books in a month - 19 (Dec 2011) Highest average month - 13.5 (December) Lowest average month - 3.5 (February) % Fiction / Non-Fiction - 69 / 31 % Male / Female author - 58 / 42 Star ratings 1 - 28 (4.2%, including 0 rereads) 2 - 55 (8.3%, 0 rereads) 3 - 183 (27.6%, 10 rereads) 4 - 207 (31.3%, 7 rereads) 5 - 125 (18.9%, 13 rereads) 6 - 64 (9.7%, 23 rereads) 2019 figures Books read - 75 Most books in a month - 14 (December) Fewest books in a month - 1 (January) Pages in the year - 22427 (299 average per book) Most pages - 845 (Lonesome Dove) Fewest pages - 100 (A Christmas Carol) % Fiction / Non-Fiction - 51 / 49 % Male / Female author - 56 / 41 % Paper / Electronic - 83 / 17 (No audiobooks this year) % Owned / Borrowed (inc Library) - 73 / 27 Star ratings 1 - 2 (2.7%, 0 rereads) 2 - 5 (6.7%, 0 rereads) 3 - 23 (30.7%, 0 rereads) 4 - 25 (33.3%, 1 reread) 5 - 13 (17.3%, 1 reread) 6 - 7 (9.3%, 3 rereads) TBR list End of... 2017 - 1472 2018 - 1378 2019 - 1331 Edited January 2, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) spare post Edited April 22, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) Spare post. Edited April 22, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) spare post Edited January 3, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) spare post Edited January 3, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) spare post Edited January 3, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) Review of 2019, Preview of 2020 It was a funny old year. Intended as one where I concentrated on more of my bigger tomes, and thus likely to see an overall reduction in books read, it certainly started that way: January was the first month since keeping records where I only completed one book, most of the month focused on the Trollopian doorstopper, The Way We Live Now (and a good read it was too!). After that, though, the big book focus seemed to slide off a bit (not least with book group choices to get through) and the year started to pick up speed, so much so that by the end the total had reached my second highest number of books ever, 75, although only third ranking on pages (22400 in round terms). Admittedly it did include a number of biggies, but nowhere near as many as intended. Perhaps the most significant trend was the continuing rise in the proportion of non-fiction books, up from last year's high of 42% to 49%, or just one less than fiction (37 vs 38). Having said that, whilst last year non-fiction books dominated the accolades, this year saw fiction make a comeback, with Girl, Woman, Other coming out on top (a rare year where I agree with the Booker judges!), in front of the gripping Gertrude Bell biography by Georgina Howell, Daughter of the Desert; three of the four new 6-star books were novels too. Otherwise, there was little change in the profile of my reading, although, in line with popular trends, I appear to be using my e-reader less year on year, and turning back to 'proper' books. Female authors represented around 40% of my reading, and around a quarter of my books were borrowed from the library, not dissimilar to other recent years. I would like to increase both numbers, although with a substantial backlog of my own books to get through, the latter may not change for a while. In terms of the various challenges I set myself (other than more doorstoppers!), some progress was made on most fronts, but in all cases it would be good to have done more. In particular, I'd like to make bigger inroads in 2020 into my tour of the USA, where 4 books were completed (admittedly double last year, and including the epic Lonesome Dove). At 15 of the 50 now read, completion date at current rates is still some years off. The accolades listed in the following post highlight the books that made the biggest impact on me this year, both positive and negative. It was good to get just 2 1-star books this year - both thoroughly deserving of their scores it has to be said! A new 'award' has been introduced this year - Discovery of the Year - a new one always one of the best experiences one can have in reading. Last year it would have gone to Willa Cather (and Elizabeth Taylor would have been in there in previous years), but the first winner is George Mackay Brown, an author who I was introduced to by a book group choice, and whose work I'm really looking forward to exploring if this year's experiences are anything to go by. So, what of next year? I'm almost reluctant to set any goals, as they are almost a guarantee that I won't achieve them, if recent years are anything to go by again, but, probably foolishly, I'll give it a go. They are all too similar to those of other years: - To make some inroads into my backlog of doorstoppers (one every two months?) - To get a good number of states under my belt in my tour of the USA (can I reach half way?) - To buy less and use the library more All a bit vague and repetitive perhaps, but my only other 'goal' is to keep on enjoying reading, and too many precise goals to get hung up over will inevitably impact on that (negatively!). To that end, I've further slimmed down the lists in the preliminary posts, particularly all those 'Before You Die' ones. They're interesting enough, and good for ideas, but otherwise, as someone on these boards recently said, 'they're just lists'. Now I enjoy lists, but these were somebody else's lists, not mine, so if I'm going to have them, I'd generally rather focus on my lists! So, out they go, and, instead, I'm going to look at creating my own personal version of '1001 books to read'. In fact, it probably won't be 1001 books long, and it will almost certainly not have the diversity of the original lists, but at least all the books are of interest to me. So, it'll be a list of books I've either read, and feel were essential to my adult reading development (and/or loved!), or books that I feel I want and 'need' to read. It will include both fiction and non-fiction, but otherwise pretty much anything goes at present. What I can pretty much guarantee is that it won't be balanced or all-encompassing, but it will be personal, and live as a work in progress! Edited May 7, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) Accolades for 2019 Book of the Year 1. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 2. Daughter of the Desert by Georgina Howell 3. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Fiction Book of the Year Winner: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo Runner-up: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry Shortlist: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Now We Shall be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown Non-fiction Book of the Year Winner: Daughter of the Desert by Georgina Howell Runner-up: The Five by Hallie Rubenheld Shortlist: The Prime Ministers by Steve Richards Icebreaker by Horatio Clare Duffer of the Year Winner: I See You by Clare Mackintosh Shortlist: The Widow by Fional Barton Discovery of the Year George Mackay Brown Most Disappointing of the Year The Making of the British Landscape by Nicholas Crane Reread of the Year Paddington Helps Out by Michael Bond Edited January 2, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 (edited) Welcome to my reading blog for 2020. This thread is now open! Edited January 3, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Happy Reading in 2020! I really enjoyed reading your Review of 2019, Preview of 2020 post. It's great you had only 2 1-star reads in 2019. I hope you'll do well on your goals for 2020, with the States of USA tour etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 I hope you have a great reading year @willoyd! I think it's nice to have some vague goals. I find it fun to work towards some reading goals but if they're too specific they just become a chore. I look forward to finding out what 2020's 'Discovery of the Year' will be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Good luck with your reading year. It's good to see someone else on here reading as much non fiction as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Brian. said: Good luck with your reading year. It's good to see someone else on here reading as much non fiction as I do. Thank you. And first read of this year is non-fiction too: Philip Marsden's The Summer Isles, the story of his journey up from Cornwall to the Summer Isles off the west coast of Scotland, via the west coast of Ireland. Only 70-80 pages in, but this isn't one to rush! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 (edited) The Summer Isles by Philip Marsden ***** A Christmas present, this is an account of a sailing voyage the author, who had never before skippered anything more than day trips before, made from Cornwall to the Summer Isles, via the west coast of Ireland. It was made in memory of his aunt, who was killed in a walking accident on Ben More Assynt, and with whom he had always intended to visit the islands. This could have been a fairly standard account - there is a myriad of similar books - but the quality of writing, the fascinating people he encounters, and the deep sense of how personal this was that pervades both narrative and journey, all makes for something distinctly greater. My only 'complaint' is that there is, in fact, very little about the Summer Isles themselves, barely a couple of pages, if that; this should have been entitled 'Journey to....'. Oh, and whilst there are a couple of illustrative maps at the front, yet again a book about something so spatial is completely inadequately mapped. What is it about publishers - are we so map illiterate nowadays that they are almost completely forgotten, and even when not, so inadequately developed? It's not as if they require any further expense, unlike photos. Although, on that subject, a few illustrations wouldn't have gone amiss either, particularly of people mentioned. But nothing should take away from the writing, which made for a superb start to the New Year's reading. Next book: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (Book group selection) Edited January 14, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) New Year acquisitions A few books acquired in first three weeks of the year: Charity shops The White King by Leada De Lisle (biography of Charles I) Everyman for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge (hardback, 1st edition) * Among Muslims by Kathleen Jamie Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (Everyman Classic) * The Prize of All the Oceans by Glyn Williams Close Ranges, Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx * Kindle Sale 1989 The Berlin Wall, My Part in It's Downfall by Peter Millar Early Season sales Underland by Robert Macfarlane * Lotharingia by Simon Winder * Books on my Big Read list On that note, Big Reading list is now collated: 773 books in total, roughly evenly split between fiction and nonfiction. However, noteable how few nonfiction books read (47) compared to fiction (148), so aim to make some progress on the former this year. List is fluid though, and subject to revision. Edited April 15, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 On 17/01/2020 at 9:55 AM, willoyd said: 1989 The Berlin Wall, My Part in It's Downfall by Peter Millar Checked checked this out and it looks really good, I'll have to get a copy for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 Reading Update Two more books finished in the past couple of weeks: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy Charles I, An Abbreviated Life by Mark Kishlansky Both good reads (the former excellent), and reviews will follow in due course - it's all a bit frantic at the moment. I'm currently reading The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton for one of my book groups, but whilst I like what I've read so far, I'm struggling a bit to get into it - too many distractions, and bit daunting (750+ fairly densely printed pages). A few more book acquisitions in the past 10 days - partly because I succumbed to the temptation of a local library sale with some quite nice condition hardback volumes going for silly (50p) prices (and not ex-library either) - these marked *. The rest from an Oxfam raid. Particularly pleased with the JB Priestley whose writing I'm definitely getting into, whilst the Maigret's were pristine - surely unread. Fiction All Among the Barley - Melissa Harrison* Festival at Farbridge - JB Priestley Maigret's Patience - Georges Simenon Maigret and the Loner - Georges Simenon Maigret and the Wine Merchant - Georges Simenon Non-Fiction The Other Side of Eden - Hugh Brody* Lawrence in Arabia - Scott Anderson* Wartime Britain - Juliet Gardiner* This is London - Ben Judah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted February 15, 2020 Author Share Posted February 15, 2020 (edited) Reading Update mid-February Gosh it's gone awfully quiet here, not least on this thread, so a quick update after a three week hiatus: I'm still reading Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries and, to be honest, have not made huge progress, as am not quite half way through yet (around p. 350). That's not a problem with the book - far from it - but I've had a fairly frantic month, which is likely to carry on for another week or so. Indeed, I'm in danger of actually reaching the end of the month without a single book completed, which would be a first for at least 12 years! Big book + lots of work = not a good formula! In the meantime, I've still managed a few acquisitions (surprise, surprise!), mostly through charity shops (not the Kindles!): Fiction and Poetry The Gentle Axe by R.N. Morris The Night Manager by John Le Carre Wing by Matthew Francis (poetry) Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine (Kindle) Non-fiction Sagaland by Richard Fidler and Kari Gislason Leviathan by David Scott Napoleon the Great by Andrew Roberts Incredible Journeys by David Barrie Edited February 24, 2020 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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