So this isn't as much a blog post proper as a list of everything I've read last year - and considering how busy I've been with baby, work, graduation and everything else that's happened, it's more than I'd expected.
Also in the past 12 months I've returned to reading novels again. I'm a bit of a lazy reader (see the above distractions!) so I'd got into the habit of reading mainly short stories and graphic novels, without concentrating on any one thing to get through a whole chunk of a novel. But this year I've read a few more. It feels like it's the first time I've read novels for years, but considering I've recently finished a 3 year English Literature course, perhaps it's more appropriate so say it's the first time I've completed a novel of my own choosing in quite a while.
Another theme I've seen in my reading is science-fiction: being a big comic book fan, a lot of people assume that an interest in sci-fi comes as a given, but really - beyond the capes and time machines - I'd never really experienced much sci-fi until this year.
Anyway, here's the list...
The Island of Dr Moreau, H G Wells (1896)
The 39 Steps, John Buchan (1915)
The Seeds of Time, John Wyndham (1959)
The Divine Invasion, Philip K Dick (1982)
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keys (1966)
Carnacki, The Ghost Finder, William Hope Hodgson (1913)
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman (1974)
20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill (2008)
The Vesuvius Club, Mark Gatiss (2005)
Beginners, or What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver (2010/1981)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley (2009)
I, Zombie, Al Ewing (2008)
Love and Mr Lewisham, H G Wells (1900)
Couples, John Updike (1968)
And that's just the novels, I haven't included any graphic novels, single issue comic books or short stories (although 20th Century Ghosts, Beginners and The Seeds of Time are all short story collections). I've done my best to read across a range of genres, times and authors and I think I've done a good job - lots of classic sci-fi, but also a few contemporary authors, some crime novels and even some capital L literature crept in there too. Plus I'd bet that this is the only list this year where a turn of the century novel by HG Wells will be placed next to I, Zombie.
Interestingly, on an Amazon search for I, Zombie, the next item on the list is a novel called I Kissed A Zombie And I Liked It. Don't believe me? See for yourself here. That one didn't make my list.
Maybe next year.
Dad's got me in to John Grisham's legal thrillers. I was pretty suprised to find that I enjoyed them to be honest!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the 39 steps like?
The Island of Dr Moreau is pretty awesome. You should totally read the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. It's amazing. And the Incredible Shrinking Man by Richard Masterson. I stayed up all night reading that one.
ReplyDeleteWhat's on the list for 2011?
Ian: I haven't read any of John Grisham yet - or any courtroom dramas for that matter. For some reason I'm not really drawn to legal stuff on TV or in fiction, but if you recommend them, I'll give them a go.
ReplyDeleteAs for The 39 Steps, it's a classic and you should definitely read it since it's very short. It's good, but essentially it's one long chase scene! Another thing I liked about it was there's very little padding or filler - it's pretty much straight into the action. Although you should probably be aware that John Buchan wrote a lot of his stuff practically as propaganda - it was first published in 1915 and the plot's all about a stiff-upper-lipped British everyman holding his own against a faceless foreign enemy who just happen to be - wait for it - a German spy ring. That's no reason to write it off though!
Jess: We have very similar tastes in books! I've already read The Martian Chronicles and Ray Bradbury is definitely one of my heroes. I've built up a small collection of his collected short stories in hard to find paperback volumes - The Illustrated Man is my fave, so check that one out is you haven't already! I always think his novels are a bit disappointing though, with the exception of Fahrenheit 451. He's more suited to writing short stories.
ReplyDeleteAs for Richard Matheson, I've only read I Am Legend, but he's been on my radar for a while now and I'd love to read some more.
And what I am reading in 2011? Well, that's something I've only just started to think about... As ever there's a whole host of stuff I'd like to read - I want to go back and read sequels and other books by authors I discovered in 2010, but I think I'd also like to read some more horror this year. That's something that slipped by the wayside in 2010, so I want to rediscover scary books and be read for Neil Gaiman's All Hallows' Read in October!