Book meme

[swordznsorcery]

Shamelessly ganked off liadt, some bits about books encountered in 2017.



How many books read in 2017?

Fifty-two.

Non-fiction:

Life With Kenneth Connor, by Jeremy Connor
Last Chance To See, by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine
Lion: A Long Way Home, by Saroo Brierley
Packing For Mars: The Curious Science Of Life In The Void, by Mary Roach
The Complete Illustrated Cookery Book, by Mollie Stanley Wrench
Birds Of Britain, by Robin Reckitt
Ivory, Apes & Peacocks, by Alan Root
The Curious Gardener's Almanac, by Niall Edworthy
The Splendid Outcast, by Beryl Markham
West With The Night, by Beryl Markham

Fiction:

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Requiem Shark, by Nicholas Griffin
The Talisman Ring, by Georgette Heyer
Spartan Gold, by Clive Cussler & Grant Blackwood
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Hound Of The Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis
The Return Of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Difference Engine, by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
A Symphony Of Echoes, by Jodi Taylor
The Valley Of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Magician: Master, by Raymond E Feist
His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Normandy Privateer, by David McDine
The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, by Jöel Dicker
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Tishomingo Blues, by Elmore Leonard
Dexter Is Delicious, by Jeff Lindsay
Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult
We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea, by Arthur Ransome
My Family & Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell (counting this as fiction, as it's a heavily fictionalised memoir)
Swallows & Amazons, by Arthur Ransome
Rabbit, Run, by John Updike
Last And First Men, by Olaf Stapledon
Silverthorn, by Raymond E Feist
The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford
How To Stop Time, by Matt Haig
The Time-Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Timeline, by Michael Crichton
The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M Cain
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
The Map Of Time, by Félix J. Palma
Valdez Is Coming, by Elmore Leonard
Now We Are Six Hundred, by James Goss
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh (re-read)
Hombre, by Elmore Leonard
The Stranger, by Albert Camus
An English Murder, by Cyril Hare
Ensign Royal, by JD Davies
The Rage Of Fortune, by JD Davies

Fiction/Non-Fiction?

42/10, which surprises me. I don't usually read so much fiction! The non-fics were mostly memoirs as well. I do usually try to read a few of those every so often, but my non-fic reads are usually history or science (or the history of science where possible, as that's a particular favourite of mine). I don't seem to have read much in that line this year.

Male/Female authors?

42/10 (as a book count). It's a bit different in real terms, as some authors repeat themselves, and a couple of books have multiple authors.

Favourite book read?

Really couldn't say. Best fiction book was probably Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford, which I really loved. Best non-fiction possibly Ivory, Apes & Peacocks, by Alan Root.

Least favourite?

Several contenders! The Brothers Karamazov for one. Talk about interminable. I also didn't get along at all well with The Time Traveller's Wife, which was pretty dreadful. Then there was The Map Of Time, which was recommended to me as a good time travel book, but was pretty dire. Started out well. Nicely written, with a pleasing lightness of touch. Unfortunately it went on for about eight hundred pages, with about three hundred pages worth of plot. Likewise Timeline. Seemingly I either love or hate Crichton's books, with very little middle ground.

Oldest book read?

I think that would be Black Beauty (1877)

Newest book read?

Now We Are Six Hundred (2017)

Longest book title?

Packing For Mars: The Curious Science Of Life In The Void.

Shortest book title?

Hombre.

How many re-reads?

Hard to say! I did a complete Sherlock Holmes read through over the course of 2016 and 2017, and I know that I had read some before. Certainly some of the short stories. Danged if I could say for sure though. So... a bit more than one (the one definite one being Brideshead Revisited [insert own joke here about revisiting it]).

Most books read by a single author?

Five, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Any in translation?

Yes, The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair, and The Stranger (both translated from French).

How many books were borrowed from the library?

Several. Eighteen, I think.

I had no clue what was going on:

None. I had absolutely no idea where Golden Hill was going, which was delightful, but that's not quite the same thing.

Favourite character encountered last year:

Arutha, one of the main characters in Raymond Feist's Riftwar saga.

Plans for 2018:

More non-fic. I'd like to read more history, especially as I find I have some big gaps in my knowledge of ancient history. So something in that line, hopefully. Also I have the next few of JD Davies' series about Matthew Quinton, Restoration-era Naval officer, lined up on my Kindle, and I'm very much looking forward to them.

Comments

[liadt]

Lotsa books! And a year of classic literature too. I read 'Black Beauty' many times when I was a child. There was a short story compilation of horse tales inspired by BB I enjoyed more (there were more happy endings!).

You don't seem to have done well on time travel books! My 'worst' book was more ho-hum than truly dreadful/offensive.

[swordznsorcery]

The time travel books didn't turn out well, no! I suppose there was nothing objectionable really. Mostly just dull. When it's a book that's been lauded by critics and the public alike, as "The Time Traveller's Wife" was, it's always odd to be so turned off by it, but then, despite being ostensibly about time travel, it's not really a sci-fi book. I'm not sure it's intended for sci-fi fans, either. And Michael Crichton's "Timeline" was just full of irritating people doing stupid things.

"Now We Are Six Hundred", on the other hand, was utterly delightful, and I highly recommend it.

[liadt]

Sometimes I assume if something is popular it must be bland to appeal to the widest amount of people possible.

[swordznsorcery]

That's not a bad thesis actually. I can certainly see it applying to some of the really big sellers. I think the thing with "The Time Traveller's Wife" is that it seemed to be a bit different, but if you actually stop and look at it, it isn't. It's a really ordinary story, but told out of order, as the guy jumps about through time. So it looks far more interesting than it is. Maybe that's why it appealed so much to a lot of people.

[liadt]

Something different, something the same is a good recipe, although it sounds like TTW didn't get the ratio right for you! Can't say I'm very interested in it now you've described it.

[evelyn_b]

I feel like I ought to re-read The Time Travelers' Wife - I read it back when it came out and liked it well enough, but have heard nothing but negative reviews of it since. I feel like I must have missed something!

Also, hello, little dalek! <3

Happy reading!

[swordznsorcery]

I've read many positive reviews of it, and I also feel as though I've missed something! I suppose it's bound to move people in different ways. At heart it's a romance, I guess, and those are never my sort of thing.

Thank you! :) Back to non-fic at the moment, and a very enjoyable book about the history of astronomy.

[thisbluespirit]

Also I have the next few of JD Davies' series about Matthew Quinton, Restoration-era Naval officer, lined up on my Kindle, and I'm very much looking forward to them.

Enjoy! It's lovely to have some new installments of a favourite lined up!

I'm v impressed by the numbers of library books borrowed, too. Good work! ;-)

[swordznsorcery]

Yes, I was surprised at the amount of librarying! I haven't really been near one since I graduated, but I was determined to broaden my reading horizons last year, and that seemed the best way to do it. It led to some interesting experimentation.

[kis]

That is a LOT of books! I'm sure my list is nowhere near that length - but I'm currently wading through Ulysses at Mr Kis' urging. (Loving the language. Confused as hell about the plot!) Mr Kis is also a bit fan of Dostoevsky. 'Nuff said?

[swordznsorcery]

I guess it is a lot of books. My reading fell by the wayside for a long time, so I've been trying to read as much as possible, and as widely as possible, just recently. It's been a fun experiment. "Ulysses" is one that I've been meaning to try. From what I've heard, it seems nobody understands it! Some would argue that Joyce himself didn't, or didn't mean for anybody else to.

[kis]

My current working theory is that it's about moving away from being weighed down by death to embracing life - but I'm only a third of the way through!