During 2009 I read at least 89 fiction and 21 non-fiction books. I probably forgot to record another one or two and I dipped into a few more.
My top ten titles for the year are:-
Boyd, A. W. The Country Diary of a Cheshire Man - which I had read before but which remains one of the best ever nature diaries of England.
Finlay, Victoria Buried Treasure - a marvellous study of gems and their origins.
Seierstadt, Asne The Bookseller of Kabul - a fascinating and controversial look at Afghanistan and Muslim life.
Drayson, Nicholas A Guide to the Birds of East Africa - brilliantly funny, romantic and entertaining fiction.
Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time –a marvellous, different piece of writing with a real insight into Asperger's
Pratchett, Terry Unseen Academicals - not Pratchett’s best Discworld novel but still gets ten stars in my rating system.
Shreve, Anita Resistance – A well-written story of the Second World War.
Shaffer, Mary Ann The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society - War stories are not my normal reading and yet this is another Second World War book giving a fascinating insight into life in occupied Guernsey.
Farooki, Roopa The Corner Shop - A truly delightful story.
Faulks, Sebastian The Girl at the Lion d'Or - Excellently written. I just wanted more and more.
And since I cannot count well – here’s an eleventh.
Cornwell, Bernard Azincourt - if only because historical novels are usually my favourites and this is as good as they come.
February
4 years ago
l have read three of those and have another three on my to do list....
ReplyDeletea few years back l was running at 72 books for the year, (we read the orange short list in 2 weeks and then the booker in 2 weeks also) but with more hours at work, its on reception, although l can sometimes read at work...great eh? not on reception...
I've only read Guernsey, but I have Lion in a 'books to read' notebook based on your recommendation. I tried the Birds book and I don't know if it was too close to the time I read the latest Mma Ramotswe or not but for me it seemed much like Alex. McCall Smith's series. I will try again though since you like it so much. I love the title, The Corner Shop and will check it out.
ReplyDelete110 is a lot of books!! How do you think that relates to how many you've read in previous years?
ReplyDeleteAt least I've read one of your top 10 :-)
Also, what happened with the read your own books challenge? Did you make it to 20?
ReplyDeleteNot sure about previous years, Helen, except that in 2008 it was 128 fiction and 23 non-fiction – a total of 151. One of my biggest regrets is that I have not kept a list over my lifetime – that would be of great interest in my ‘old age’ (when I reach it!).
ReplyDeleteIn 2009 I read 50 of my own books and 47 from Pensby Library. The rest were GB’s, yours (Helen), or from Stornoway Library.
I enjoyed The Bookseller of Kabul, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa,and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society very much myself. I reviewed the latter two if it interests you:
ReplyDeletehttp://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/guide-to-birds-of-east-africa-by.html
http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie.html
Coventry by Helen Humphries is a book you might enjoy also:
http://freshinkbooks.blogspot.com/2008/08/love-and-war.html
So glad I found your blog. I've book marked it to return and read more.
I hope today is one of your better days (I live with chronic pain myself). Take care.