The joyful habit of wide reading
In recent years, I've been keeping track of my reading, and last year, I read 126 books. To my surprise, (and I learned this quite by chance), this count almost doubled that of celebrated author and blogger Mark Manson, who read 66 and stopped reading a few more. Apparently, instead of constantly escaping into books, he saves some time to write! Unlike his, my list includes many women authors, and I love fiction, because it weaves together history, psychology, philosophy, sociology and more. Here's what I read in 2017:
January
Madeleine Masson Christine:
SOE Agent and Churchill’s Favourite Spy
Ian McEwan Nutshell
(CD)
Donna Leon The
Waters of Eternal Youth (CD)
Anne Perry Revenge
in a Cold River (CD)
Shakil Choudury Deep
Diversity
Josephine Tey A
Shilling for Candles
Alexander McCall Smith Precious
and Grace
Abraham Verghese Cutting
for Stone (CD)
Julia Spencer-Fleming In
the Bleak Midwinter
Elif Shafak Honor
Elif Shafak The
Forty Rules of Love 11
February
Julia Spencer-Fleming To
Darkness and to Death
Julia Spencer-Fleming One
was a Soldier
David Bergen Stranger
David Malouf Remembering
Babylon, Short Stories (both unfinished)
Julia Spencer-Fleming Through
the Evil Days
Martha Nussbaum Anger
and Forgiveness (great but didn’t finish it)
Elif Shafak The
Bastard of Istanbul
Trevor Noah Born
a Crime (CD)
Julia Spencer-Fleming Out
of the Deep I Cry 9
March
Janie Chang Dragon
Springs Road
Val McDermid Out
of Bounds
Ian Rankin Rather
Be the Devil (CD)
Donna Leon Falling
in Love (CD)
Yann Martel The
High Mountains of Portugal (CD)
Julia Spencer-Fleming A
Fountain Filled with Blood
Rose Tremain The
Gustav Sonata
Val McDermid A
Darker Domain
Julia Spencer-Fleming I
Shall Not Want
Val McDermid The
Skeleton Road (CD) 10
April
Marcus du Sautoy The
Music of the Primes
Val McDermid Splinter
the Silence
Val McDermid The
Retribution
Alan Bradley As
Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (CD)
Alan Bradley The
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (CD)
Alan Bradley The
Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag (CD)
Richard Wagamese Embers
Neil Ferrier Churchill
the Man of the Century, a Pictorial Biography
Lisa See Shanghai
Girls
Eric Lebege, Arnaud deLalande The Case of Alan Turing
G.H. Hardy A
Mathematician’s Apology 11
May
Jim Ottanami & Leland Purvis The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded (graphic novel)
Jennnifer Robson After
the War is Over
Jennifer Robson Somewhere
in France
Chris Cleave Everyone
Brave is Forgiven
William Manchester & Paul Reid The Last Lion: Winston Leonard Spencer
Churchill (CD)
Donna Leon Earthly
Remains
Anne Perry Death
on the Serpentine
Alexander McCall Smith The
Bertie Project
Craig Johnston An
Obvious Fact (CD)
Leilah Nadir Orange
Trees of Baghdad (unfinished)
Carys Davies The
Redemption of Galen Pike
Joy Kogawa Gently
to Nagasaki
Lewis Thomas The
Fragile Species 13
June
Jennifer Robson Goodbye
from London
Betsy Warland Oscar
of Between
Neil Gaiman The
Ocean at the End of the Lane (CD)
Dick and Felix Francis Dick
Francis’s Damage (CD)
Dick Francis Bloodline
(CD)
Lawrence Block The
Burglar who Counted the Spoons
Rauni Ollikainen Finnish Beginnings
Ian Fleming Casino
Royale (CD)
David Mitchell Cloud
Atlas (CD)
Sonja Larsen Red
Star Tattoo
Elinor Florence My
Favourite Veterans
Heidi Greco Flight
Paths (poetry) 12
July
Derek Bickerton Bastard
Tongues
Ayelet Tsabari The
Best Place on Earth
Dick/Felix Francis Refusal
(RB Audio)
Annie Daylon Of
Sea and Seed
Leila Abouleila The
Kindness of Enemies
Noviolet Bulawayo We
Need New Names (CD)
Betsy Warland What
Holds us Here
Oliver Sacks Hallucinations
Felix Frances Front
Runner
Dick Francis Triple
Crown (CD)
Dick/Felix Francis Crossfire
(CD)
Dick/Felix Francis Ten-Pound
Penalty (audio)
Jennifer Robson Midnight
in Paris 13
August
Betsy Warland Only
this Blue
Alexander McCall Smith My
Italian Bulldozer
Alexander McCall Smith A
Distant View of Everything
Julia Gardiner Portrait
of an Era: An Illustrated History of Britain 1900-45
Dick Francis Second
Wind
Dick & Felix Francis Even Money
Dick & Felix Francis Silks
Dick Francis Wild
Horses
Dick Francis Come
to Grief
Dick Francis Decider
Dick Francis Twice
Shy
Craig Johnson Any
Other Name (CD)
Sherman Alexie War
Dances (CD)
Lucilla Andrews In
an Edinburgh Drawing Room (CD) 14
September
Sherman Alexie You
Don’t Have to Say you Love me
Craig Johnson The
Highwayman (CD)
Craig Johnson Dry
Bones (CD)
Louise Penny Glass
Houses
Louise Ehrdrich The
Round House (CD)
Jane Duncan My
Friends the Mrs Millers
Marjorie Nicholson What
did you do in the war, Mummy? 7
October
Steven Pressman The
War of Art
Sue Grafton Y
is for Yesterday
Brendan Burchard The
Motivation Manifesto (not finished)
Florence Scovell Shinn The
Power of Intuition
Lucilla Andrews No
Time for Romance
Mary Walsh Crying
for the Moon
Joan Flood Left
Unsaid
Ann Patchett Truth
and Beauty (CD)
Anne Hillerman Song
of the Lion (CD)
Regina Martino Shungite:
Protection, Healing and Detoxification
John Mortimer Rumpole
and the Reign of Terror 11
November
Emma Donoghue Touchy
Subjects (short stories on CD)
Anne Perry An
Echo of Murder
Ann Cleves Cold
Earth
Kate Quinn The
Alice Network
Ann Cleeves The
Seagull
John Mortimer Rumpole’s
Last Case (CD)
A.S. Byatt Ragnarok:
the end of the Gods (CD)
Ben MacIntyre Rogue
Heroes: The History of the SAS
Bill Richardson The Bachelor Brothers Bed &
Breakfast Pillow Book 9
December
Mark Manson The Subtle Art of not Giving a Fuck
John MacLaughlin Gray The White Angel
Tracy Chevalier, Editor Reader,
I Married him
Robert Galbraith The
Call of the Cuckoo