(symptom: being excessively engaged in tasks that require exquisite attention to detail, such as list-making)
Summary
122 books by 84 different authors (having read 15 by Lois McMaster Bujold, 6 by Michael Connelly, 5 by Kate Elliott; 4 each by Orson Scott Card and Colin Dexter; 3 by Janet Evanovich; and 2 each by Rosemary Aubert, Catherine Asaro, Antonia S. Byatt, Octavia E. Butler, Jim Crace, Roddy Doyle, Michael Dibdin, and Sarah Dunant) from around the world (including Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Germany, South Africa, and India).
Genres
Short stories, <1%
Horror, <2%
Young adult, 3%
Young adult, 3%
Alternate history, 5%
Humor, 8%
Fantasy, 11%
Thriller/suspense, 11%
Action & adventure, 13%
Action & adventure, 13%
Historical, 16%
Romance, 17%
Romance, 17%
SciFi, 22%
General & literary fiction, 24%
Mystery & detective, 39%
General & literary fiction, 24%
Mystery & detective, 39%
(total greater than 100 due to some books fitting multiple categories)
NOTE: NO non-fiction. I certainly wasn't counting textbooks at this time.
NOTE: NO non-fiction. I certainly wasn't counting textbooks at this time.
Given that, you'd think my ratings would be skewed toward the top of the curve. But no...
My Ratings (out of 10)
9 or 10, 9%
7 or 8, 26%
5 or 6, 37%
4 or less, 28%
Top 10 Reads of 2005
- Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War, by Sebastian Faulks (1993 - romantic historical fiction)
- The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold (1986 - scifi action/ adventure)
- The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (2001 - general & literary fiction)
- Possession: A Romance, by Antonia S. Byatt (1990 - romantic historical fiction)
- Dream of Scipio, by Iain Pears (2002 - historical fiction with mystery)
- Memory, by Lois McMaster Bujold (1996 - scifi romantic comedy)
- Mirror Dance, by Lois McMaster Bujold (1994 - scifi action/ adventure)
- A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (1999 - scifi romantic comedy)
- Holes, by Louis Sachar (1998 - young adult mystery & adventure story)
- Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold (2003 - romantic fantasy)
Least Favorite Books of 2005
- Flight, by Jan Burke (2001 - mystery & detective)
- Murther and Walking Spirits, by Robertson Davies (1991 - fantasy)
- Lord of the Silent, by Elizabeth Peters (2001 - historical mystery)
- Tears of the Giraffe, by Alexander McCall Smith (2000 - mystery & detective)
- The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek (1983 - general & literary fiction)
- Underworld, by Don DeLillo (1997 - historical fiction)
- Firestorm, by Nevada Barr (1996 - mystery & detective)
- Synners, by Pat Cadigan (1991 - scifi)
- Two for the Dough, by Janet Evanovich (1996 - romantic comedy & mystery)
- The Stars Are Also Fire, by Poul Anderson (1994 - scifi)
(when reading a full 50% as many books in any previous year, it is difficult to select only the very best and the very worst of the year)
The Chronological List
January
The Feast of Stephen, by Rosemary Aubert
Red Mass, by Rosemary Aubert
The Winter Queen, by Boris Akunin
Tears of the Giraffe, by Alexander McCall Smith
The Murder Room, by P. D. James
The Butcher Boy, by Patrick McCabe
Firestorm, by Nevada Barr
The Spoilt Kill, by Mary Kelly
Brick Lane, by Monica Ali
Flight, by Jane Burke
Sunset Limited, by James Lee Burke
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke
The Moon's Shadow, by Catherine Asaro
Possession: A Romance, by Antonia S. Byatt
February
Skyfall, by Catherine Asaro
Wild Seed, by Octavia E. Butler
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card
Xenocide, by Orson Scott Card
Children of the Mind, by Orson Scott Card
March
Patternmaster, by Octavia E. Butler
American Woman, by Susan Choi
Synners, by Pat Cadigan
April
Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Lovely Bones, by Alive Sebold
Shards of Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler
The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Vor Game, by Lois McMaster Bujold
May
Lord of the Silent, by Elizabeth Peters
Cetaganda, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Ethan of Athos, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Postman, by David Brin
A Whistling Woman, by A. S. Byatt
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie
Mr. White Confession, by Robert Clark
Brothers in Arms, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Mirror Dance, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Life and Times of Michael K, by J. M. Coetzee
Bucket Nut, by Liza Cody
The Last Coyote, by Michael Connelly
Being Dead, by Jim Crace
Tell No One, by Harlan Coben
June
The Hours, by Michael Cunningham
Memory, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Fred and Edie, by Jill Dawson
Two for the Lions, by Lindsey Davis
Reading in the Dark, by Seamus Deane
Forests of the Heart, by Charles de Lint
Komarr, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Fasting, Feasting, by Anita Desai
The Stars Are Also Fire, by Poul Anderson
The Final Country, by James Crumley
Underworld, by Don DeLillo
Bone Dance, by Martha Brooks
The Sirius Crossing, by John Creed
Last Bus to Woodstock, by Colin Dexter
The Wench Is Dead, by Colin Dexter
The Jewel that Was Ours, by Colin Dexter
July
The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt
How German Is It = Wie Deutsch Ist Es, by Walter Abish
The Delicate Storm, by Giles Blunt
A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Eighth Day, by John Case
The Poet, by Michael Connelly
Genesis, by Jim Crace
The Night of the Triffids, by Simon Clark
The Damescened Blade, by Barbara Cleverly
Murtherr and Walking Spirits, by Robertson Davies
Dead of Jericho, by Colin Dexter
Trunk Music, by Michael Connelly
The Van, by Roddy Doyle
Dragon and the George, by Gordon R. Dickson
Garden of Beasts, by Jeffrey Deaver
August
Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier
Dead Lagoon, by Michael Dibdin
Diplomatic Immunity, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Way Through the Woods, by Colin Dexter
Dancing After Hours, by Andre Dubus
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling
Resurrection Day, by Brendan DuBois
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, by Roddy Doyle
Fatlands, by Sarah Dunant
The Black Ice, by Michael Connelly
The Siege, by Helen Dunmore
Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold
September
Medusa, by Michael Dibdin
The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek
Midnight Sun, by Ramsey Campbell
City of Bones, by Michael Connelly
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant
The Hallowed Hunt, by Lois McMaster Bujold
October
The Chymical Wedding, by Lindsay Clarke
King's Dragon, by Kate Elliott
Deception Pass, by Earl Emerson
Prince of Dogs, by Kate Elliott
November
The Narrows, by Michael Connelly
Popcorn, by Ben Elton
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
The Burning Stone, by Kate Elliott
What Are You Like?, by Anne Enright
Two for the Dough, by Janet Evanovich
Dream of Scipio, by Iaian Pears
Child of Flame, by Kate Elliott
Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde
December
Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War, by Sebastian Faulks
Small Boat of Great Sorrows, by Dan Fesperman
Three to Get Deadly, by Janet Evanovich
The Gathering Storm, by Kate Elliott
The Jane Austin Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler
Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned, by Kinky Friedman
Independence Day, by Richard Ford
Headlong, by Michael Frayn
High Five, by Janet Evanovich
A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines
Full Dark House, by Christopher Fowler
The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
In the Country of the Blind, by Michael Flynn
Making History, by Stephen Fry
