2005 reading list

Yet another 2005-themed post – sorry! I couldn’t resist because I love lists. Inspired by Jenica again. Other examples are Jessamyn’s (is hers the original?) and Anirvan’s.

Books I read in 2005
The numbers:

Number of books read in 2005: 56
New reads in 2005: 51

Number of books read in 2004: 51

Average read per month: 4.6
Average read per week: 1.07

Number read in worst month: 1 (June)
Number read in best month: 7 (December)

Male authors: 19
Female authors: 20

Fiction: 54
non-fiction: 2

Scifi/fantasy: 19
Mystery: 18
Literature/fiction: 11
YA: 6

Audiobooks: 0

Favorites:
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.
Peter Temple’s The Broken Shore.
Erica Friedl’s Women of Deh Koh.
All the S. Mara Gd mysteries (in Indonesian).
(Hmm – I could review these works)

The List
January
The Stone Within, David Wingrove
Wasiat, Muhammad Mansur Abdullah
White Moon, Red Dragon, David Wingrove

February
Misteri Cinta Segi Lima, S. Mara Gd
Misteri Perkawinan Maut, S. Mara Gd
Thirteen Steps Down, Ruth Rendell
Marriage of the Living Dark, David Wingrove

March
The Soul Weaver, Carol Berg
Jennifer Government, Max Barry
The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
The Murder Room, P.D. James
The Crazed, Ha Jin
Waiting, Ha Jin

April
Pandora’s Star, Peter Hamilton
The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis

May
Against a Dark Background, Iain M. Banks
Before the Frost, Henning Mankell
Coroner’s Pidgin, Margery Allingham
Dancers in Mourning, Margery Allingham
Traitor’s Purse, Margery Allingham

June
Love in a Cold Climate, Nancy Mitford

July
The Beans of Egypt, Maine, Carolyn Chute
Dingo, Sally Dingo
Gilfeather, Glenda Larke
The Tainted, Glenda Larke

August
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
Singularity Sky, Charles Stross
Iron Sunrise, Charles Stross
A Bit of Earth, Suchen Christine Lim
Maigret Hesitates, Georges Simenon
Maigret Takes the Waters, Georges Simenon

September
Black Plumes, Margery Allingham
Foreigner, C.J. Cherryh
Dreamsnake, Vonda McIntyre
Northern Lights, Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife, Philip Pullman

October
The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman
Misteri Dendam Seorang Isteri, S Mara Gd
We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver
Natasya, Abu Hassan Morad
Mallawindy, Joy Dettman

November
Carlucci’s Heart, Richard Paul Russo
Vector, Robin Cook
Wycliffe and the Last Rites, W.J. Burley
The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou, Kristin Hunter

December
Tell No One, Harlan Coben
Seven Little Australians, Ethel Turner
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
Thursday’s Child, Noel Streatfeild
The Torment of Others, Val McDermid
The Broken Shore, Peter Temple
Women of Deh Koh, Erica Friedl

Notes:
My non-fiction reading looks pathetic, but in my defense, I tend to read snippets of non-fiction titles instead of reading whole books. I also tend to like to read essays or articles (e.g. The Best Australian Essays 2003), and magazines like New Scientist (we have a subscription, even).

In terms of materials in other languages, in Chinese I have read essays (e.g. 巴金Ba Jin’s 我为什么写作 Why I write) or short stories (冰心Bing Xin’s 在火车上 On the train) or travel guides (like 故宫便览 Guide to the Forbidden City). I read Chinese far too slowly for my liking!

My Malay/Indonesian reading materials are from the public library so they tend to be popular titles. S. Mara Gd is a great detective/crime fiction writer. Her early work tended to be reworkings of Agatha Christie-like plots, but has steadily improved.

I don’t know why June (one book!) was so pathetic. Perhaps because that was the month I started this blog??

Categories: reading, books, 2005