(symptom: being excessively engaged in tasks that require exquisite attention to detail, such as list-making)
Summary
88 books by 82 different authors (having read 2 each by Martin Amis,
Sebastian Barry, Robert A. Heinlein, Chuck Palahniuk, William Trevor,
and Fred Vargas) from 9 different countries (including Ireland, New
Zealand, Canada, Grenada, and Itay)
Alternate history, 1%
Nonfiction, 2%
Romance, 2%
Short stories, 2%
Horror, 8%
Action & adventure, 8%
General & literary fiction, 13%
Fantasy, 14%
SciFi, 15%
Thriller/suspense, 17%
Historical, 20%
Mystery & detective, 32%
(total greater than 100 due to some books fitting multiple categories)
Genres
Westerns, 1%Alternate history, 1%
Nonfiction, 2%
Romance, 2%
Short stories, 2%
Horror, 8%
Action & adventure, 8%
General & literary fiction, 13%
Fantasy, 14%
SciFi, 15%
Thriller/suspense, 17%
Historical, 20%
Mystery & detective, 32%
(total greater than 100 due to some books fitting multiple categories)
My Ratings (out of 10)
9 or 10, 16%
7 or 8, 48%
5 or 6, 24%
4 or less, 9%
(total less than 100 due to rounding)
Top 10 Reads of 2011
- City of Thieves, by David Benioff (2008 - historical fiction)
- The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry (2008 - fictional autobiography)
- Cities of the Plain, by Cormac McCarthy (1999 - western)
- Away, by Amy Bloom (2007 - historical fiction)
- Beloved, by Toni Morrison (1988 - historical fiction)
- Jack of Shadows, by Roger Zelazny (1975 - fantasy)
- Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow (2008 - fantasy/ horror/ mystery/ verse mashup)
- Ravelstein, by Saul Bellow (2000- fictional biography)
- The Blue, by Mary McCallum (2007 - adventure/ romance)
- Fieldwork, by Mischa Berlinski (2007 - mystery/ anthropology)
Least Favorite Books of 2011
- Emptying the Nest: Launching Your Young Adult toward Success and Self-Reliance, by Brad Sachs (2010 - psychology/ self-help)
- L'Affaire, by Diane Johnson (2003 - contemporary romance)
- Cross Bones, by Kathy Reichs (2006 - mystery)
- Beautiful Dreamer, by Christopher Bigsby (2006 - historical fiction)
- Hunting the Ghost Dancer, by A. A. Attanasio (1992 - historical fiction/ fantasy)
- Over Tumbled Graves, by Jess Walter (2002 - mystery)
- Breaking Faith, by Jo Bannister (2005 - mystery)
- Last Lessons of Summer, by Margaret Maron (2004 - mystery)
- Where I'm Calling From, by Raymond Carver (1989 - short stories)
- The Collectors, by David Baldacci (2006 - thriller)
The Chronological List
January
The Information, by Martin Amis
Hunting the Ghost Dancer, by A. A. Attanasio
A Shadow on the Wall, by Jonathan Aycliffe
Fire Hawk, by Geoffrey Archer
February
Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie
Blacklands, by Belinda Bauer
The Manuel of Detection, by Jedediah Berry
Breaking Faith, by Jo Bannister
House of Meetings, by Martin Amis
March
Matter, by Iain M. Banks
Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow
Annie Dunn, by Sebastian Barry
Kissing Christmas Goodbye, by M. C. Beaton
No Time for Goodbye, by Linwood Barclay
The Chemistry of Death, by Simon Beckett
April
The Collectors, by David Baldacci
Darkmans, by Nicola Barker
The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry
Our Horses in Egypt, by Rosalind Belben
City of Thieves, by David Benioff
May
Ravelstein, by Saul Bellow
Billy Boyle, by James R. Benn
Beautiful Dreamer, by C. W. E. Bigsby
Christine Falls, by Benjamin Black
Fieldwork, by Mischa Berlinski
Scaredy Cat, by Mark Billingham
The Charlemagne Pursuit, by Steve Berry
Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill
June
Hit and Run, by Lawrence Block
The Dead, by Ingrid Black
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Final Solution, by Michael Chabon
Flaubert's Parrot, by Julian Barnes
Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk
Cross Bones, by Kathy Reichs
Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand, by Fred Vargas
This Night's Foul Work, by Fred Vargas
Away, by Amy Bloom
Bangkok 8, by John Burdett
L'Affaire, by Diane Johnson
July
Reading Turgenev, by William Trevor
My House in Umbria, by William Trevor
The Blue, by Mary McCallum
Last Lessons of Summer, by Margaret Maron
Over Tumbled Graves, by Jess Walter
Where I'm Calling From, by Raymond Carver
The Innkeeper's Son, by Peter S. Beagle
The Last Child, by John Hart
American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfield
In Plain Sight, by C. J. Box
The Potter's Field, by Ellis Peters
August
Jack of Shadows, by Rogert Zelazny
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Driving Blind, by Ray Bradbury
Rites of Passage, by William Golding
A World Out of Time, by Larry Niven
Cities of the Plain, by Cormac McCarthy
Ragamuffin, by Tobias S. Buckell
Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk
The Lighthouse, by P. D. James
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, by Robert A. Heinlein
The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
September
Cyteen, by C. J. Cherryh
Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov
The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Emptying the Nest: Launching Your Young Adult Toward Success and Self-Reliance
The Long Goodbye, by Raymond Chandler
October
Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
Nights at the Circus, by Angela Carter
Dress Your Family in Denim and Corduroy, by David Sedaris
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
November
Darkness Peering, by Alice Blanchard
The Patience of the Spider, by Andrea Camilleri
Hotel du Lac, by Anita Brookner
The Voyage of the Narwhal, by Andrea Barrett
Flow by Tears, the Policeman Said, by Philip K. Dick
He Shall Thunder the Sky, by Elizabeth Peters
The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith
Do Unto Others, by Jeff Abbott
Damnation Game, by Clive Barker
December
Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein
Dragondrums, by Anne McCaffrey
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Sovereign, by C. J. Sansom
