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Sunday, January 01, 2012

2011 - the year in books

As I did last year, this year I am posting no big list of what the year brought me or what I plan for 2012.  Instead, you get just the year in books.  Although this year I think the list is more exact because I tried to remember to write it down on a list whenever I finished a book, or at least every three or four.  I haven't added the numerous gardening books, cook books, preserving books, simple living and general craft books that I dip into regularly throughout the year.  Someday I'll write a separate post about all of them.  Maybe it will help convince me to get rid of those cookbooks that I never actually use.

Happy new year everyone!

(BC) = Book club books
(RR) = something I've re-read - there are some books, such as by Georgette Heyer, that I invariably read every year when the escapism of new fiction isn't enough and I want to escape into familiar stories that always make me laugh or cry.
  1. Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck (BC - my choice)
  2. The Long Emergency - James Howard Kunstler
  3. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (BC)
  4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon
  5. My Roots - Monty Don
  6. Bear Island - Alastair MacLean 
  7. The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (BC)
  8. Lucky Man - Michael J. Fox
  9. A Woman of Our Times - Rosie Thomas 
  10. Dies the Fire - S. M. Stirling 
  11. Nemesis - Philip Roth (BC)
  12. Northern Lights - Philip Pullman (RR)
  13. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman (RR)
  14. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman (RR)
  15. A Perfect Proposal - Katie Fforde
  16. Smith - Leon Garfield
  17. Haunted - Kelley Armstrong (RR)
  18. Goldfinger - Ian Fleming
  19. Domes of Fire - David Eddings (RR)
  20. The Shining Ones - David Eddings (RR)
  21. The Pearl Diver - Jeff Talarigo (BC)
  22. The Hidden City - David Eddings (RR)
  23. One Day - David Nicholls
  24. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (BC)
  25. Seek the Fair Land - Walter Macken (RR)
  26. The Little Princess - Francis Hodgson Burnett
  27. The Cry from Street to Street - Hilary Bailey (RR)
  28. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
  29. Into the Woods - Jean Hegland
  30. Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
  31. A Feast for Crows - George R.R.Martin
  32. A Fine Balance - Robinton Mistry (BC)
  33. My Last Duchess - Daisy Goodwin
  34. Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde (my first Flipback)
  35. Friday's Child - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  36. An Infamous Army - Georgette Heyer
  37. Pistols for Two - Georgette Heyer
  38. Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
  39. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - David Mitchell (BC)
  40. Faro's Daughter - Georgettet Heyer (RR)
  41. The Unknow Ajax - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  42. The Corinthian - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  43. A Civil Contract - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  44. The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer (RR)
  45. The Gathering Stom - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (RR)
  46. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
  47. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin (BC)
  48. The Book of Dave - Will Self (BC - my choice)
  49. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
  50. Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde
  51. Jauche und Levkojen - Christine Brückner (audio book, read by Eva Mattes)
  52. Der Malteser Falken - Dashiell Hammett (audio play)
  53. Dinosaur Planet - Anne McCaffrey (RR)
  54. Sassinak - Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon (RR)
  55. Absolute Beginners - Colin Macinnes 
  56. The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde
  57. World Made by Hand - James Howard Kunstler (RR)
  58. Rabbit Run - John Updike
  59. The Witch of Hebron - James Howard Kunstler
  60. The Female Eunuch - Germaine Greer
  61. The Land of Painted Caves - Jean M. Auel
  62. Broken - Kelley Armstrong
  63. Hitchens vs. Blair: Be It Resolved Religion Is a Force for Good in the World - The Munk Debates
  64. Dies the Fire - S.M. Stirling (RR)
  65. What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained - Robert L. Wolke
  66. The End Of Food: The coming crisis in the world food industry - Paul Roberts (not quite finished but will today probably)

P.S. Just because a book is on this list doesn't mean it's a good one.  I've read some great books this year and some truly, truly awful ones.  No responsibility accepted if you pick a name off this list and are disappointed!
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2 comments:

  1. Nikki (www.bookpunks.com)Saturday, January 07, 2012 5:22:00 pm

    Looks like I've read a wopping five books from your list. Did you see mine already? It's here if you didn't, and I would love it if you added a link to think post to my collection of book list links. (!!!) http://www.clickclackgorilla.com/2011/12/28/the-year-in-books-2011/

    Anyway, what did you think of The Left Hand of Darkness and Into the Forest? Two books I personally quite like. Le Guin is one of my favorite authors.

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  2. MoonwavesSaturday, January 07, 2012 7:09:00 pm

    I'm very behind on reading blogs and any online stuff. Trying not to spend too much time in the internet cafe - says she who has been sitting here watching episodes of New Girl and Vampire Diaries for FOUR hours.

    I didn't realise that you only started this two years ago. That makes me feel a little bit less behind the times anyway. Will try and do the linky thing now.

    Saying a bit more about some of the books I'm reading is high up on the list of stuff I plan to post about sometime. Quickly, on the two you asked about: Left Hand of Darkness pissed me off with what I could loosely call sexism but the book club discussion centred around it being more satirical in nature than I had given it credit for so I will be re-reading it at some stage to see if I can get past that. I read Into the Forest after you and FitW raved about it and really didn't like it, which surprised me. But the entire family was just so dysfunctional and unlikeable, it was hard to care about them. On the other hand, it was by no means the worst book I read last year. :)

    My favourite find was definitely Jasper Fforde.

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