Tuesday 1 January 2013

Reading 2012

During 2012 I read 47 fiction and 10 non-fiction books. My favourites were The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (historical fiction) for its incredible insight into how people feel during wartime and Infidel, My Life by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (non-fiction) for completely changing my thoughts on religion.

The fiction I gave 10 stars to were:

Dunmore, Helen - The Siege
Shaffer, Mary Ann - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Pratchett, Terry & Baxter, Stephen - The Long Earth
Kane, Ben - Hannibal, Enemy of Rome
Burnett, Frances Hodgson - The Secret Garden
Shute, Nevil - A Town Like Alice
Iggulden, Conn - The Conqueror Series
Galloway, Steven - The Cellist of Sarajevo

The non-fiction I gave 10 stars to were:

Ali, Ayaan Hirsi - Infidel, My Life
Albanov, Valerian - In the Land of White Death
Seierstad, Asne - One Hundred and one Days

The other books I read were the following. The books with a star did not receive 10 stars, but I still consider them 'must-reads':

*Szpilman, Wladyslaw - The Pianist (non-fiction)
Dobbs, Horace - The Magic of Dolphins (non-fiction)
Bryson, Bill - Notes From a Big Country (non-fiction)
Cornwell, Bernard - The Last Kingdom
Cornwell, Bernard - The Pale Horseman
Niffenegger, Audrey - The Night Bookmobile
Cornwell, Bernard - The Lords of the North
Cornwell, Bernard - Sword Song
Cornwell, Bernard - The Burning Land
Cornwell, Bernard - Death of Kings
Drayson, Nicholas - A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
King, Rachael - The Sound of Butterflies
Shreve, Anita - Resistance
Earle, Liz - Skin Secrets (non-fiction)
Savage, Sam - Firmin
*Haddon, Mark - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time
*Du Maurier, Daphne - Rebecca
*Seierstad, Asne - With Their Backs to the World (non-fiction)
*Adams, Richard - Watership Down
*Verne, Jules - Around the World in Eighty Days
*Joyce, Rachel - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz - The Angel's Game
Lewycka, Marina - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Jian, Ma - Red Dust (non-fiction)
Cornwell, Bernard - Redcoat
Cornwell, Bernard - The Fort
Cornwell, Bernard - Rebel
Cornwell, Bernard - Copperhead
Cornwell, Bernard - Battle Flag
Cornwell, Bernard - The Bloody Ground
*Lee, Harper - To Kill A Mocking-Bird
Dann, Colin - King of the Vagabonds
Potter, Beatrix - The Fairy Caravan
*Adams, Douglas - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Adams, Douglas - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Adams, Douglas - Life, The Universe & Everything
Adams, Douglas - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
Adams, Douglas - Mostly Harmless
Montgomery, LM - Anne of Green Gables
Fitzgerald, F Scott - The Great Gatsby
Paolini, Christopher - Eragon
Paolini, Christopher - Eldest