2010 Reading List

Number of books read in 2010: 150
New reads: 143

Number of books read in 2009: 103
Number of books read in 2008: 99
Number of books read in 2007: 85
Number of books read in 2006: 64
Number of books read in 2005: 56

Average read per month: 12.5
Average read per week: 2.88

Number read in worst month: 8 (May)
Number read in best month: 35 (! December)

Female authors: 34
Male authors: 31

Fiction: 138
non-fiction: 12 (marked *; 2009: 16, 2008: 12, 2007: 10, 2006: 4, 2005: 2)

Scifi/fantasy: 30
Mystery/crime: 63
Literature/fiction: 38
Graphic novels: 2
Horror: 1
YA: 7
Poetry: 0 (A few individual poems read but no complete collections/works)

Languages
Malay: 1
Chinese: 1

January
Winterstrike by Liz Williams
The monster in the box by Ruth Rendell
Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason, trans. Bernard Scudder
The devil’s eye by Jack McDevitt
Stoner by John Williams
Silence of the grave by Arnaldur Indriðason, trans. Bernard Scudder
The heather blazing by Colm Tóibín
Holding the man by Timothy Conigrave
Voices by Arnaldur Indriðason, trans. Bernard Scudder

February
The draining lake by Arnaldur Indriðason, trans. Bernard Scudder
Arctic chill by Arnaldur Indriðason, trans. Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb
Wo zai Zhongguo de na xie shir: Shou bu yuan zhi yuan wei de wai guo liu xue sheng Han yü zuo wen he ji edited by Zhu Qiliang*
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indriðason, trans. Victoria Cribb
Leadership and self-deception: Getting out of the box by the Arbinger Institute*
Tales from the End Cottage by Eileen Bell
The man from Beijing by Henning Mankell

March
Gaudy night by Dorothy L. Sayers
A map of the world by Jane Hamilton
Augustus by John Williams
The Makioka sisters by Tanizaki Junichiro
Snake agent by Liz Williams
Talking to strange men by Ruth Rendell
Hotel by Arthur Hailey
Fresh from the country by Miss Read
The demon and the city by Liz Williams

April
Village school by Miss Read
Precious Dragon by Liz Williams
When you reach me by Rebecca Stead
The shadow pavillion by Liz Williams
Village diary by Miss Read
Strong poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
Five red herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
Miss Clare remembers by Miss Read
Emily Davis by Miss Read
Coyote by Allen Steele
Coyote rising by Allen Steele
Coyote frontier by Allen Steele

May
The cat by Georges Simenon
Storm in the village by Miss Read
Coyote horizon by Allen Steele
Merpati putih terbang lagi by Khadijah Hashim
Over the gate by Miss Read
Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen
The call of the wild by Jack London
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

June
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Power trip: The political journey of Kevin Rudd by David Marr*
Destination Moon by Hergé
Coyote destiny by Allen Steele
Village affairs by Miss Read
Clear and convincing proof by Kate Wilhelm
The unbidden truth by Kate Wilhelm
Dead in the family by Charlaine Harris
Unseen by Mari Jungstedt; trans. Tiina Nunnally
The warden by Anthony Trollope

July
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Cover her face by P.D. James
Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
Unknown by Mari Jungstedt; trans. Tiina Nunnally
The killer’s art by Mari Jungstedt; trans. Tiina Nunnally
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Sleight of hand by Kate Wilhelm
Cold case by Kate Wilhelm
Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
Darkly dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

August
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Dearly devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
The small house at Allington by Anthony Trollope
Last chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope
Snakehead by Peter May
The little house in the big woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
The warrior’s apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Vor game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Shards of honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

September
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
A morbid taste for bones by Ellis Peters
Don’t look back by Karin Fossum; trans. Felicity David
One corpse too many by Ellis Peters
Brothers in arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
Mirror dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
He who fears the wolf by Karin Fossum; trans. Felicity David
Ask the cards a question by Marcia Muller
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Winter’s bone by Daniel Woodrell

October
The walking dead volume 1: Days gone by by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset; trans. Tiina Nunnally
Matter by Iain M. Banks
Monk’s hood by Ellis Peters
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Nothing to envy: Ordinary lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick*
A civil campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Crooked letter, crooked letter by Tom Franklin
Diplomatic immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

November
Last rituals by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir; trans. Bernard Scudder
St.Peter’s Fair by Ellis Peters
My soul to take by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir; trans. Bernard Scudder and Anna Yates
The leper of St. Giles by Ellis Peters
The virgin in the ice by Ellis Peters
The sanctuary sparrow by Ellis Peters
The help by Kathryn Stockett
The devil’s novice by Ellis Peters
Country driving: A journey through China from farm to factory by Peter Hessler*
Dead man’s ransom by Ellis Peters
Case histories by Kate Atkinson
The pilgrim of hate by Ellis Peters
An excellent mystery by Ellis Peters
Ender’s game by Orson Scott Card
A small death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson
The raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters
Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon

December
Breaking night by Liz Murray*
Death in a strange country by Donna Leon
The rose rent by Ellis Peters
The heretic’s daughter by Kathleen Kent
The hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters
From Doon with death by Ruth Rendell
Brother Haluin’s confession by Ellis Peters
Sins of the fathers by Ruth Rendell
The heretic’s apprentice by Ellis Peters
The anonymous Venetian by Donna Leon
A rare Benedictine by Ellis Peters
The light of other days by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter
After the fall by Kylie Ladd
The potter’s field by Ellis Peters
The summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters
A Venetian reckoning by Donna Leon
Cognitive surplus: Creativity and generosity in a connected age by Clay Shirky*
The holy thief by Ellis Peters
Acqua alta by Donna Leon
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot*
The death of faith by Donna Leon
A noble radiance by Donna Leon
How successful people think by John C. Maxwell*
Fatal remedies by Donna Leon
The glass castle by Jeannette Walls*
Friends in high places by Donna Leon
A sea of troubles by Donna Leon
Escape by Carolyn Jessop*
Wilful behaviour by Donna Leon
Crocodile on the sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Girl in translation by Jean Kwok
Singing saltwater country by John Bradley with Yanyuwa families*
Uniform justice by Donna Leon

* non-fiction

150 books! This is a new record for me! (I wonder if I will be able to maintain this in 2011…)

Highlights of the year:

Stoner by John Williams. Understated, wonderful story of a man’s life.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. I wouldn’t have read this if I hadn’t had an electronic version. The treebook is bulky and daunting.

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. Again, I have had a paper copy of this for years but never made much headway with it as it is a heavy book. With the ebook version I got completely immersed in the life of this medieval Norwegian woman. Kristin Lavransdatter lived in such a different time and environment to mine, and yet I really related to her story. It was a good book to be reading as I turned 40.

Cognitive surplus: Creativity and generosity in a connected age by Clay Shirky. Do I need to say much about this book? A surprisingly easy read.

The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. If you’re the sort of person who likes end-of-year best of booklists, you will see this book listed on most lists. It is indeed superb. All about medical research, immortal cell lines, cancer, family… (I am not doing it justice. Read it!)

Singing saltwater country by John Bradley with Yanyuwa families. Book of the year for me. Bought the ebook version from Kobo (yay for 33% off vouchers) despite wondering if it would “work” in ebook format. So glad I did. I read it almost in one sitting – the story of a man’s education in an Australian Aboriginal community, John Bradley learned to see things in the Yanyuwa way (the Yanyuwa people live in the Northern Territory). It’s such a different way of seeing the world – it mustn’t be lost! All Australians should read this wonderful book, IMHO.

Sheer fun: the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series (I have enjoyed this so much I am putting off reading the last book in the series, as I don’t want it to end!). Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series. I want to go to Venice!

This list does not include a number of management books I have been idly reading all year (e.g. On becoming a leader by Warren Bennis, The power of pull: How small moves, smartly made, can set big things in motion by John Hagel, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison, The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization by Peter Senge, Open leadership: How social technology can transform the way you lead by Charlene Li).

Also:
2010 has to be the year of the ereader and the iPad. Everything changed once I got these two devices – everything. As someone who is addicted to reading an avid reader, being able to carry around huge numbers of books with me has been a boon. Also, being able to get easy access to books from the comfort of my own desktop – this is wonderful. All this raises a number of questions for me, for which I have no answers:

1. How are my reading habits going to change over the coming years? I am losing my love of bookshops! Just thinking about how much my reading used to be determined by the casual browse. It’s been changing slowly, to more recommendations from friends online and litblogs – it’s going to keep changing, determined by access and availability…
2. How is publishing going to change? Can we stop with the geographic restrictions, please?
3. Copyright?
4. What does this mean for libraries? I’m not the only one thinking about this: see Jamie LaRue’s blog, also Eric Hellman – are we indeed screwed?

Previous reading lists.