Annual Books Read Statistics for 2020

 

Here is this year’s Annual Books Read Statistics and Thoughts Post!



Here are the statistics for 2019
 20182017201620152014201320122011 (and the list), 20102009 (and the list).



Books Read323, including the following:
81 novels
37 MG and YA
60 board books
87 essays and non-fiction and comics
30 short stories, plays, and sample chapters
28 poems

I can see the differences already: Having finished school in July, and having more time to read at night as the kids grow older, means I’ve had more time to read novels, even while keeping up with my own writing!

2019: 36 novels, 181 board books, MG, and YA (plus ongoing rereads), 31 essays and non-fiction and comics, 14 short stories and scripts and plays, 16 poems
2018: 66 novels, 133 board books (plus ongoing rereads), 27 essays and non-fiction and comics, 14 short stories and scripts and plays, 21 poems, 23 YA/MG books
2017: 49 novels, 45 board books, although the railway books by Rev. Awry and the Beatrix Potter collection total 49 books (which involve ongoing rereads, including the board books from last year), 27 essays and non-fiction and comics, 24 short stories and scripts, counting the stories read in anthologies as one since I didn’t read all the stories, 17 poems, 13 YA/MG books
2016: 168 novels and MG/YA and essays, etc., 45 board books and over 30 books in the Folio Society collected works of Beatrix Potter, 28 short stories, and 25 poems; Journal of Inklings Studies and Tolkien Society’s Amon Hen and Mallorn issues (counted as one)
2015: 91 novels and MG/YA and essays, etc., 29 board books, and 12 poems
2014: 111 novels and short stories (plus essay collections, comics, and poetry)
2013: 188 novels and short stories (plus poetry)
2012: 142
2011: 124
2010: 92
2009: 131
2008: 101
Note: Not counted every year: ongoing rereads of board books from previous years, monthly readings of Amon Hen and annual readings of Mallorn, most school readings, most beta reads, and tens of thousands of words written and read for writers’ houseparties on thelitforum.com, plus other forum writings, magazines, newspapers, etc.


Average over 52 Weeks325/52=6.2, or three books, two board books, one essay, and a poem, roughly.

This doesn’t seem entirely accurate. I read and reread about 10 or more board books a day! And about an essay and poem every week. Novels vary, depending on whether I’m binging an Agatha Christie reread or not! I also lump all the rereads of board books and count them as one entry, just for the record, but this doesn’t really reflect how often they get read! I also read quite a few sample chapters on Kindle and for some reason didn’t keep track of them!

2019: 278/50=5.6, or two books, two board books, one essay, and a poem
2018: 289/52=5.6, or two books, two board books, an essay, and a poem
2017: 175/50=3.5; two books, two board books, one poem
2016 (averages for this and earlier years are over 50 weeks, usually not counting poems): 4.8, or three books, four board books, and four short stories or essays
2015: 2.6, or two books and one short story and one board book
2014: 2.2, or two books and one short story
2013: 3.5, or three books and two short stories (one more than the previous couple of years)



Authors Read159, counting very many board books. This is an approximate number, as this category gets harder to count each year with all the various children’s books. The fact that it’s lower than the past couple of years may be because I went through another Agatha Christie reread this year...

2019: 180, counting very many board books
2018: 181, counting very many board books
2017: 100, give or take, counting many of the board books
2016: 130, but 103 without board books
2015: 91
2014: 61
2013: 88
2012: 105
2011: 89
2010: 63
2009: 57
2008: 69
Note: Not counted: Beta reads and anthologies



Most Books by One Author: Not counting authors appearing twice or thrice, or various board books (I read 8 books by Mo Willems!), I read:
Judith Holofernes (various essays)

Linwood Barclay (4)

Kate Davies (4)

Anthony Horowitz (4)

Val McDermid (4)

There Will Be Some Introspection — On The Road with Amanda Palmer by Jack Nicholls and Gabrielle Motola (4)

Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess (4)

John Scalzi (4)

Donald J Sobol (4) 

Judy Blume (5) 

JRR Tolkien (6) 

RB (10) 

Beverly Cleary (11) 

Agatha Christie (19) 

Charles M Schulz (26)

2019: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (12), Charles M. Schulz (10), Dr Seuss (9), Roger Hargreaves (8), Mo Willems (8), George R. R. Martin (8), John Scalzi (6), Kait Nolan (5), Eric Hill (5), Nick Bland (4), Robert Munsch (4)
2018: Katherine Paterson (4), John Scalzi (6), Lynne Reid Banks (6), Detection Club (7), JK Rowling/Robert Galbraith (8), Kait Nolan (8), Tolkien (8), and 13 Mr Men and Little Miss books (not counting the ones I keep rereading!)
2017: Robert Munsch (10 plus rereads), Kait Nolan (7) and Monica Byrne (6), followed by four each by Tolkien and Diana Gabaldon and Laura Bradbury, in addition to the Rev. Awry and Beatrix Potter.
2016: Louise Penny, JK Rowling, Tolkien, followed by Kait Nolan and Monica Byrne, plus Neil Gaiman and Somerset Maugham
2015: tied between Tolkien and Gaiman (with second place tied between many authors (Agatha Christie, Walter de la Mare, Joel Dicker, Catherine McKenzie, Kait Nolan, Brenda Novak and Marilynne Robinson) and two board book authors, Sandra Boynton and Julia Donaldson (the creator of the Gruffalo and the Acorn Wood series))
2014: Tied between Louise Penny and J.K. Rowling (Gaiman and Tolkien come in a close second)
2013: Neil Gaiman (plus LM Montgomery, Josephine Tey, Tolkien, Brenda Novak, Stephen King, EL Konigsburg, and Budge Wilson)
2012: Tolkien and Stephen King, plus four Talli Roland books!
2011: I reread The Lord of the Rings and the SilmarillionOutlanderHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (before seeing the last movie)
2010: I again reread the Anne of Green Gables series, including The Road To Yesterday
2009: Rereads included Rowling, Gabaldon, and Agatha Christie



Oldest Book: Oldest works (not the actual copies but the stories and poems) were: Three Tang Dynasty Poets (Penguin Classics)

A Great Wagon by Rumi (poem)

The Saga of King Heidrik the Wise by Christopher Tolkien

Sir Orfeo translated by JRR Tolkien (reread)

The Book of the Sword by Richard Francis Burton (skimmed)

Sailing beyond Seas by Jean Ingelow (1820–97; poem)

Solitude by Baudelaire (poem; read by Neil Finn https://www.neilfinn.com/fangradio)

White Nights by Dostoevsky (reread)

Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky (reread)

A Plain Cookery Book by Charles Elme Francatelli

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Hansel and Gretel (Grimm's Fairy Tales; reread)

12 Days of Christmas

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (reread)

Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe read by Neil Gaiman on Hallowe'en (reread)


2019: The Velveteen Rabbit (reread; tears!), A Bush Christening by AH Paterson, The House at Pooh Corner by AA Milne (reread), In ancient days tradition shows (Old English poem), The Cockatoucan by E Nesbit, Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll (poem; reread), Tis a Fearful Thing by Yehuda Halevi (poem), Running Water by AE Mason, My Heart Leaps Up by William Wordsworth (poem), Don Fernando by Somerset Maugham, From this hour I ordain myself by Walt Whitman (poem), In her maiden bliss: edited version of a review by JRR Tolkien of Hali Meidenhad: An alliterative prose homily of the thirteenth century, edited by FJ Furnivall and O Cockayne, first published in the Times Literary Supplement
2018: Oldest works were Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake (reread), the poem “An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” by Oliver Goldsmith, and the poem “An Eclogue: Willie and Sandy” by Robert Fergusson
2017: The oldest stories were by Herman Melville and Leo Tolstoy, as well as the original Beauty and the Beast by Villeneuve and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe, and poems by Blake and Wordsworth
2016: The oldest physical copy is this impressive collection of Byron’s works from 1835. The oldest stories and poems and letters were by Shakespeare, John Evelyn, Sir Walter Raleigh, Robbie Burns, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Percy Bysshe Shelley
2015: In Dubious Battle (Steinbeck), Absent in the Spring (Westmacott (Christie)), and Jim at the Corner (Farjeon), in physical copies. In reprints and new editions, there were many from the 1930s, but the oldest were Heidi and Wodehouse’s retelling of William Tell, plus the short story “Oh, Whistle, And I’ll Come To You, My Lad” by MR James, from 1904
2014: Childe Harold by Lord Byron and The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
2013: Keats and Byron’s poetry, The Count of Monte Cristo and, considering stories and not publication date, Land of the Seal People by D Williamson. Plus a John Clare poem, an old song from the Shetlands on Kate Davies’ blog, and the short story “Why, Of Course” by JE Casey, from 1912
2012: Cyrano de Bergerac and Voltaire were the oldest authors; the oldest published books (not reprints) were the anthologies The Land of My Fathers – A Welsh Gift Book, and Princess Mary’s Gift Book, both from 1914, including stories and poems by Arthur Conan Doyle, Kipling, etc. Plus Ah King by Maugham, Shakespeare in London by Marchette Chute (reread), and Helena by Evelyn Waugh
2011: 14th Century Book of Good Love by Archpriest Juan Ruiz, though the translation was only 100 years old. Plus the chapter on the Earl of Rochester from Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the Poets, and Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers, as well as Wodehouse
2010: Earl of Rochester, and Perreault’s fairy tales, plus Hours at the Glasgow Art Galleries by TCF Brotchie, An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott and When the Going Was Good by Waugh
2009: Shakespeare and a handful of books from pre-1950
2008: Oldest authors were Aesop and Pliny, and oldest original book was by Dorothy Sayers, followed by John Fante and Steinbeck



Newest BookBooks and stories published in 2020, including 10 Forumites and blogging buddies (and a handful from 2019):

Goodbye, Bobby McGee by Lee Ann Dalton (poem)

Gedicht: Labradoodle (aus meinem Gedichtband "Du bellst vor dem falschen Baum") by Judith Holofernes (poem)

various memoir essays by Judith Holofernes

As you get older by Alice Rebekah Fraser (poem)

Interior Decorating Tips for the Post-Apocalypse by Alice Rebekah Fraser (mini comedy article)

My Soul Rests by Taylor MacDowell (poem)

Fabrication by Kate Davies (poem)

10 Years in the Making by Kate Davies (essays)

Wheesht by Kate Davies

Knitting Season by Kate Davies

A Sad Story by Dorothy Una Ratcliffe (poem)

What You Need To Be Warm by Neil Gaiman (poem)

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Calico Hearts by Roxie Clarke

String of Hearts by Roxie Clarke

Jack by Marilynne Robinson

Jack and Della by Marilynne Robinson (short story)

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

The Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

Still Life by Val McDermid

How the Dead Speak by Val McDermid

Broken Ground by Val McDermid

The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel

Circe by Madeline Miller (loved it!)

Make You Feel My Love by Kait Nolan

A Very Wishful Wedding by Kait Nolan

chapter 1 of a new story by Kait Nolan!

Til There Was You by Kait Nolan

Ten Little Words by Leah Mercer

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

L'Enigme de la chambre 622 by Joel Dicker

The Last Emperox by John Scalzi

You Can’t Catch Me Catherine Mckenzie (ARC)

Death Clerk by Catherine Mckenzie (chapter 1 of a serial story)

Outlander season five episode 11 by Diana Gabaldon (script)

RB novella, flash fiction, screenplay, and short stories

The Obituary by Clare O'Dea (short story)

The Fifth Step by Stephen King (short story)

Best Laid Plaids by Ella Stainton (sample)

Ohio by Monica Byrne (play)

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak

There Will Be Some Introspection — On The Road with Amanda Palmer by Jack Nicholls and Gabrielle Motola

new preface to Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser

There Will Be No Intermission artbook by Amanda Palmer (second edition)

introduction to the new translation of Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley (available at https://us.macmillan.com/excerpt?isbn=9780374110031)

Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous

Outlander Kitchen 2 by Theresa Carle-Sanders

The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth by John Garth

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (the UK edition)

A Recipe for Marketing Indie Books by SK Quinn

John Howe artbook (Ulule crowdfunded)

The Ickabog by JK Rowling

But Not the Armadillo by Sandra Boynton

2019: 44, including roughly 12 Forumites and blogging buddies
2018: 53 (roughly), including nine Forumites and blogging buddies
2017: 31, including roughly six Forumites and blogging buddies, depending on how loosely I define them
2016: 41, including 10 Forumites and blogging buddies
2015: 11 less than 2014, which had exactly the same number (37) as in 2013! 7 Forumites in 2015, and 3 blogging buddies (not counting older books of blogging buddies that I caught up on reading!)
2014: 5 Forumites, as well as blogging buddies
2013: 4 Forumites, as well as blogging buddies, and the Cabinet of Curiosities authors, plus the 60th anniversary edition of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (with an introduction by Neil Gaiman)
2012: 36, including 9 Forumites
2011: 44
2010: 13 plus 10 Forumites
2009: Many more, including books by kc dyer, Hélène Boudreau, Linda Gerber and Diana Gabaldon -- Forumites all!
2008: 2, by Joanna Bourne and Marilynne Robinson


Stories/Authors I Didn’t Like: This is the category under which I hide some honesty. Some of the books that I feel obligated to read (for review purposes or because I received them as gifts) leave me cold. I try not to be mean when doing a review post, especially when sharing a review on Amazon.
There were a few morethan usual this year. I ended up skimming Last Orders by Graham Swift and Esther's Inheritance by Sandor Marai. I just wasn’t in the mood for that sort of non-linear storytelling.
I really wanted to like Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and I enjoyed the historicity, but in the end, I just wanted a deeper pov.
I liked the idea of La tresse by Laetitia Colombani, and the ending came together really well, but the storytelling seemed a bit trite (all tell and no show).
I was a bit surprised at how difficult it was to reread The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen and The BFG by Roald Dahl to my daughter (age 6). The former was a bit preachy and featured a not entirely happy ending. I skimmed quite a lot at the end and told her the mermaid had simply gone home after all. I have no trouble with Andersen’s preachiness or his sadness (I loved as a kid and still love The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf). But six may be a bit young. The BFG is fun, but still a bit hard to explain to a six-year-old in a sheltered world (giants swallowing up entire orphanages full of children!).
I read the Kindle sample of Wanderers by Chuck Wendig and wasn’t inspired to read more. I doubt I’ll ever try to rewrite The Stand myself; I’m always startled by those who dare to try.
Finally, there was The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal. I had just taken one of her workshops at the Surrey International Writers' Conference and I really really wanted to like this book. But I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. For one, the narrator sounded way too modern for someone born in the 1920s and writing in the 1950s, including her use of modern slang. The constant references to trenches with regard to World War II were a bit jarring. There were typos! And, overall, though far be it from me to say this, the characters really didn’t seem to grow or change, and there were a few episodes (e.g. the conversation on the boat in Chicago, and the night of the food riots) that simply had no arcs, where the emotion simply fell flat. Finally, back to The Stand, I could really have used a much better sense of what was going on in the rest of the world! Also, on a personal note, I was a bit disappointed that having gone to the trouble to include her as a character, she didn’t explain in her author’s note the real-life story of Sabiha Gokcen, who was the adopted daughter of Ataturk.

2019: The Outsider by Stephen King: the ending kind of fell flat; Rising Heat anthology featuring Jillian Barnes; hers was the only story I really liked in the anthology! Worth getting it for that alone; Educated by Tara Westover: this was a very well written book, but I got bogged down by the family’s weirdness and skipped the middle bit to read the ending chapters; Square by Barrett and Klassen: weird for weirdness’ sake, it seems; Mr Birthday by Hargreaves: I wish people would stop putting Roger Hargreaves’ name on these books, as none of the new ones are actually written by him!
Year One by Nora Roberts: this one seemed a bit too much like trying to hop into a new-to-her genre just to have more books out in more genres; nothing original in the story
2018: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, which was great fun to read; I simply think the last part should have been a long sequel instead; A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman, which was interesting but rather surface-y; and Cosmos by Carl Sagan, which I couldn’t finish. Too bombastic
2017: Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow and Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville, which I’ve read before. It always drives me crazy. (Not counting Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, which was not at all what I expected it to be like.)
2016: “The Bog Girl” by Karen Russell (short story) and Peanuts Volumes I to VI -- new strips written by random new authors!
2015 (see the 2015 post for my reasons): Two classic Little Golden Books: Colors Are Nice by Adelaide Holl and Leonard Shortall and The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey and Gustaf Tenggren; one new book: JaMaDu: Pippa et le crocodile; another kids’ book: Emily’s House by Niko Scharer and Joanne Fitzgerald; two war-time tales (WWI and WWII): Death of A Century: A Novel of the Lost Generation by Daniel Robinson, and Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear; a classic: 
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (I blogged about this Bradbury book here); an author I otherwise love: The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend; and What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
2014: 2 romances, and the short story collection The Progress of Love by Alice Munro
2013: 1 book I didn’t like but finished: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; and 1 book I didn’t like and didn’t force myself to finish: Jenny Lawson’s semi-autobiographical memoir (I explained a bit about why on the Forum)
2012: No books I actively disliked, but 2 I felt “meh” about: Before Versailles, and Inkheart
2011: Jonathan Franzen, Philippa Gregory and Gillian Bagwell
2010: Libba Bray and Thomas Cobb
2009: Ilyas Halil
2008: 3 authors (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ian McEwan and Ian Rankin) and 1 story (“Hairball” by Margaret Atwood)



Books That Made Me Cry: In the last few years I’ve tried to remember to keep track of this throughout the year because it’s not very accurate at year-end when I can’t remember.
But I forgot again!
Here are the few I did note:

The Best/Worst Christmas Present Ever by Budge Wilson (reread)
Where My Books Go by WB Yeats (poem)
Lost and Found by Jean Little
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (reread)
Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary (reread)

2019: I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (annual reread; first time on screen!), The Velveteen Rabbit (reread), The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
2018: White Fang by Jack London, Autumn Street by Lois Lowry, the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (always), and Color Me Gray and Cutting to the Chase by Rose Phillips
2017: Vera Brittain, and The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
2016: Louise Penny, Kait Nolan, and The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
2015: The Lord of the RingsBe Careful, It’s My Heart by Kait Nolan; The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne (reread); and Going Back by T.L. Watson
2014: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny; The Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter series; The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer; Liza of Lambeth by Maugham; Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon; and How To Fall In Love and One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern
2013: Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi; The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien (reread); The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun by Tolkien; The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows; and She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb (skimming reread) (it’s that last line (“Thayer, I saw her!” I yell. “I saw!”) that gets me. Every. Single. Time.
2012: Bag of Bones by Stephen King; Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury; The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman; All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque; The Fault In Our Stars by John Green; The Casual Vacancy by Rowling (because of Krystal); and Lunatic Heroes by C. Anthony Martignetti (if you haven’t yet, you have to listen to him reading the chapter The Swamp. Bullfrog.
2011: The Scottish Prisoner, and Outlander, both by Diana Gabaldon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by Rowling, and The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, all of which were rereads, but there was also Rowing in Eden by Barbara Rogan; The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen Randle; This and That by Emily Carr; The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells (I bawled); Dancing Through the Snow by Jean Little; Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay; The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson; and Fifteen by Beverly Cleary



Youngest Books: So many board books!
I’ll do what I did last year, and highlight one with illustrations:

That’s Not My Dinosaur (Usborne), combined with dinosaur pyjamas received as a gift!


2019: So many board books! I was really excited to discover The Witch Next Door and The Witch Grows Up by Norman Bridwell – I loved these books as a kid! I highlighted the recipe at the back of Elliot Bakes a Cake by Andrea Beck because I’ve baked this cake!
2018: So many board books! The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak, and Baby Farm Animals by Garth Williams (Little Golden Books) because the pig looks just like Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web.

2017: Bear’s Adventure by Benedict Blathwayt
2016: Things That Go
2015: The Acorn Wood series by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler; Paddington Bear All Day and Paddington Bear Goes to Market by Michael Bond; The Going To Bed Book, Moo, Baa, La La La and But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton; Chu’s Day and Chu’s Day at the Beach by Neil Gaiman; Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg; Emily’s Balloon by Komako Sakai; and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Also these four board books: Pop-up Peekaboo! Farm by Dawn Sirett and Sarah Davis; Colors Are Nice by Adelaide Holl and Leonard Shortall (Little Golden Book); Baby’s Very First Touchy-Feely Book (Usborne) by Stella Baggott; and Baby’s Very First Touchy-Feely Colours Play Book (Usborne) by Fiona Watt and Stella Baggott
2014: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss (reread) (brought to you by Neil Gaiman) and Emil In the Soup Tureen by Astrid Lindgren, plus a few YAs and MGs. Not sure if Go the F*^$ To Sleep and You Have to F*%$ing Eat count
2013: Quite a few board books, just as in the last few years, including: two Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems; Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman; The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman; The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman; Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman; To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr Seuss; Who’s A Pest? by Crosby Newell Bonsall; Star Trek Book of Opposites; Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch; and Rainy Days with Bear by Maureen Hull. Also quite a bit of YA and MG



Fluff but Fun Books: All of these were rereads:

Ha Ha Bonk Book by Allan and Janet Ahlberg

Unriddling by Alvin Schwartz

Garfield in Disguise by Jim Davis

Garfield Swallows His Pride by Jim Davis

Garfield Plays It Again by Jim Davis

Tintin and the Crab With the Golden Claws 

All This and Snoopy Too by Charles Schulz 

We’re All In This Together by Charles M Schulz 

Think About It Tomorrow, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz 

You’ll Flip, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz 

Good Ol’ Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz

This Is Your Life, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz

Nobody’s Perfect, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz 

You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz 

Take It Easy, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz

Good Ol’ Snoopy by Charles M Schulz 

You’re So Smart, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz 

It’s For You, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz

Fun With Peanuts by Charles M Schulz

Nice Shot, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz

You’re Not For Real, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz

It’s Chow Time, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz

Who Was That Dog I Saw You With, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz )

Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz )

You Are Too Much, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz )

You’re A Winner, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz )

What Now, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz

Good Grief, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz

Charlie Brown and Snoopy by Charles M Schulz )

Here Comes Snoopy by Charles M Schulz

Snoopy Come Home by Charles M Schulz

You’re In Love, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz

2019: The Punisher, chapter 1; plus We’re All In This Together; You’ll Flip, Charlie Brown; Nice Shot, Snoopy; Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown?; It’s Chow Time, Snoopy; Charlie Brown and Snoopy; Think About it Tomorrow, Snoopy; and other Charlie Brown rereads from previous years, all by Charles M. Schulz
2018: Here Comes Snoopy by Charles Schultz (reread), Come Home, Snoopy by Charles Schultz (reread), You’re In Love, Charlie Brown! by Charles Schultz (reread), The Hobbit graphic novel by Chuck Dixon, The Caliph’s Vacation by Goscinny (reread), and The Far Side Gallery 1 by Gary Larson
2017: Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson sample pages on the Kindle app and The Herman Treasury 1 by Jim Unger (reread).
2016: None! (not counting Peanuts not written by Schulz)
2015: None!
2014: The F*%#ing books, plus Tintin and Asterix and the Caliph
2013: Some more Andy Capp, the Far Side, and Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader, the Music edition
2012: 2 issues of MAD
2011: Andy Capp, MAD, and an Archie; fewer than the past 3 years



Books/Authors I’d Recommend: Besides all the children’s authors and comics and murder mysteries, here they are, without division into categories, and featuring a handful of children’s authors: I’d recommend all fellow Forumites and bloggers, all the poetry, and Tolkien and Scalzi and Kait Nolan and Agatha Christie and Linwood Barclay and Val McDermid and Monica Byrne and Robert Munsch and Schulz and Mo Willems, plus:

Bulut Mu Olsam by Nazim Hikmet (poem; Should I Be A Cloud? beautiful!)

Where My Books Go by WB Yeats (poem; teary)

Three Tang Dynasty Poets (Penguin Classics)

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (reread)

The Magpie Lord: The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles

Jack by Marilynne Robinson

Jack and Della by Marilynne Robinson (short story)

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

The Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (last reread was August 2013)

A Silent Death by Peter May

That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis (reread)

Circe by Madeline Miller (loved it!)

Ten Little Words by Leah Mercer

Every Man For Himself by Beryl Bainbridge

White Nights by Dostoevsky (reread)

Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky (reread)

Stiff by Mary Roach

Let Your Mind Alone! And Other More or Less Inspirational Pieces by James Thurber

The Points of My Compass by EB White

There Will Be Some Introspection — On The Road with Amanda Palmer by Jack Nicholls and Gabrielle Motola

Unriddling by Alvin Schwartz (reread)

The Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

The Body by Bill Bryson

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous

Outlander Kitchen 2 by Theresa Carle-Sanders

Once There Was A War by John Steinbeck

The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth by John Garth

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (the UK edition)

Captain Scott's Biscuit by Thomas Keneally (essay)

I Give You My Body... How I Write Sex Scenes by Diana Gabaldon

A Recipe for Marketing Indie Books by SK Quinn

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

A Short History of England by GK Chesterton

A Plain Cookery Book by Charles Elme Francatelli

Telling Stories by Tim Burgess

The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis

The sinking of the S.S. Titanic by John B. Thayer

Titanic: A Survivor's Story by Archibald Gracie

The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes

Before Galileo by John Freely

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron

St Francis' Canticle of the Creatures by John Watts

John Howe artbook (Ulule crowdfunded)

Knitting Season by Kate Davies

Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (reread)

The Best/Worst Christmas Present Ever by Budge Wilson (reread)

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (reread)

The BFG by Roald Dahl (reread)

The Grey King by Susan Cooper (reread)

Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (reread)

Lost and Found by Jean Little

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (reread)

Graceful by Wendy Mass

Bunnies' ABC by Garth Williams (Little Golden Books)

I’m going to stop repeating these lists every year as the blog post gets over long. Here’s a random list of authors I’d recommend from each year:
2019: Cecelia Ahern, Margaret Craven, Ernest Hemingway, Somerset Maugham, Kate Davies, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Paul Brickhill, AA Milne, Astrid Lindgren, Nick Bland, Wendy Mass, Crosby Newell Bonsall, Sandra Boynton, E Nesbit, Mary Norton, Margaret Buffie, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
2018: Elie Wiesel, Hugh MacLennan, Siegfried Sassoon, Marilynne Robinson, Jack London, Henrik Ibsen, Dostoyevsky, Julian Barnes, Lynne Reid Banks, Pat Barker, Lilian Jackson Braun, Charles Bukowski
2017: Canadian YA authors: Kit Pearson, Terry Lynn Johnson, Tim Wynne-Jones, and Brian Doyle; Ross Collins, Stephen Kellogg, Luke McCallin, John Steinbeck, W. P. Kinsella, Marina Lewycka, Dorothy Dunnett, John Watts, Beverly Cleary, Vera Brittain, Kate Raworth
2016: Helene Hanff, Margery Allingham, Mary Shelley, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Thomas Hardy, Mary Westmacott, Owen Barfield, Gertrude Bell, Meja Mwangi, Roch Carrier, Betsy Byars, Cecilia Ahern, Rose Tremain, Binyavanga Wainaina, Emily St John Mandel, Leah Mercer, Claire Legrand, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Susan Bischoff
2015: All Forumites and blogger buddies, plus Catherine McKenzie, John Scalzi, Louise Penny, Agatha Christie, Robert Galbraith, Joel Dicker, Eleanor Farjeon, Evelyn Eaton, Komako Sakai, Timothy Findley, Paul Gallico, P.L. Travers, Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg, Michael Bond, Sandra Boynton
2014: Amanda Palmer (non-fiction)
2013: Besides all Forumites and blogging buddies, all of Josephine Tey and E. L. Konigsburg, plus Bill Bryson, Robert Graves, Iain Banks, Roald Dahl, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
2012: The books that made me cry
2011: Forumites and old favourites, Tolkien et al.


Shortest Book: Not counting novellas or short stories or board books or YA/MG or poetry or plays or screenplays or essays, this leaves 
La tresse by Laetitia Colombani, Esther's Inheritance by Sandor Marai, and The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

2019: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin, I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, and Don Fernando by Somerset Maugham
2018: The Only Story by Julian Barnes
2017: A Daughter’s A Daughter by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie)
2016: Black and White Ogre Country by Hilary Tolkien
2015: Farmer Giles of Ham and Smith of Wootton Major by Tolkien; A Christmas Story by Richard Burton; and Aunt Sass by PL Travers
2014: The Tales of Beedle the Bard, same as in 2008, 2010 and 2011. Also the two lovely meet cutes by Kait Nolan, Once Upon an Heirloom and Once Upon a Snow Day
2013: I read a lot more essays and short stories in general, so it was hard to single out just one
2012: The Space Between, a long novella by Diana Gabaldon
2011: The Object Lesson by Edward Gorey (besides short stories, the youngest books, Andy Capp, Archie, and MAD)



Longest Book: Most of the novels I read were all of roughly the same length. Except for the obvious standouts:
The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien; Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith; The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton; L'Enigme de la chambre 622 by Joel Dicker; and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

2019: The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, and A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.
2018: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and La disparition de Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker
2017: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, as well as Laura Bradbury’s Grape series if counted as one, The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, if counted as one, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, and our two gargantuan writers’ houseparties on the Forum, which together ran close to 500,000 words
2016: Besides Tolkien and The Chronicles of Narnia, and the entire Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, this would be English People by Owen Barfield, Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, and Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
2015: Lots of Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings and books 8 and 9 in the History of Middle Earth series) and Joel Dicker. I suppose The Grapes of Wrath is longer than usual too
2014: Every year there’s a Tolkien or Gabaldon in there, and 2014 was no exception
2013: Series: Anne of Green Gables series; all of Josephine Tey’s books; and John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series. Also some long Stephen King: Under the Dome; the uncut The Stand; and 11/22/63. Plus The Count of Monte Cristo
2012: I had no long series that I could count as one book, so I decided to mention Neil Gaiman



Research Books: I had more time for a bit of non-fiction research this year plus, same as last year, a handful of novels I read for vocabulary and setting research:

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Stiff by Mary Roach

Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

a year of essays in The Dalesman by Amanda Owen (https://www.yorkshireshepherdess.com/media/)

A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

The Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

Once There Was A War by John Steinbeck

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (the UK edition)

I Give You My Body... How I Write Sex Scenes by Diana Gabaldon

A Recipe for Marketing Indie Books by SK Quinn

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

A Short History of England by GK Chesterton

A Plain Cookery Book by Charles Elme Francatelli

Sir Orfeo translated by JRR Tolkien

The Book of the Sword by Richard Francis Burton

The Weaker Vessel: Women's Lot in Seventeenth-Century England by Antonia Fraser

Before Galileo by John Freely

Constantinople: Istanbul's Historical Heritage by Stephane Yerasimos

The Grey King by Susan Cooper

2019: My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan, Running Water by A E Mason, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, and Don Fernando by Somerset Maugham
2018: No non-fiction, except A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman, but a handful of novels and poetry I read for vocabulary and setting research (not counting the wartime books): Catalina by Somerset Maugham, the Blackhouse trilogy by Peter May, Sonnets to Orpheus, Part 1 by Rainer Maria Rilke, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stane by J. K Rowling, translated into Scots by Matthew Fitt
2017: Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, plus a couple of novels that could count as research.
2016: I enjoy learning about a specific time period, or exploring geography, and reading about explorers of various times. The closest book to all of that was A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert Gertrude Bell (compiled by Georgina Howell), which was partly for research, along with the three writing craft books, particularly The Story Toolkit: Your Step-by-Step Guide To Stories That Sell by Susan Bischoff
2015: Hardly any non-fiction. Some of the fiction (anything set in or during the wars, along with writing from that time, especially Tolkien’s The Notion Club Papers) could count as research
2014: No non-fiction. Counted L.M. Montgomery and A Rose for the ANZAC Boys by Jackie French as research
2013: Some novels doubled as research. Loved Archaeology is Rubbish by Prof. Mick Aston and Tony Robinson. Skimmed the following: Medieval Civilisation by Jacques le Goff; The Great Explorers (Folio Society); Parragon’s Encyclopedia of Animals: a Family Reference Guide; and Celtic Myths and Legends by Mike Dixon-Kennedy
2011–2012: Various, including books on English history, poetry, Mediterranean flora, Ottoman history, and the Renaissance



Books From the 19th Century and Earlier: Not many. I used to read more older books.
Sailing beyond Seas by Jean Ingelow (1820–97; poem)

A Great Wagon by Rumi (poem)

Solitude by Baudelaire (poem; read by Neil Finn https://www.neilfinn.com/fangradio)

Three Tang Dynasty Poets (Penguin Classics)

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe read by Neil Gaiman on Hallowe'en

White Nights by Dostoevsky

Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky

A Plain Cookery Book by Charles Elme Francatelli

The Book of the Sword by Richard Francis Burton

Hansel and Gretel (Grimm's Fairy Tales)

12 Days of Christmas

2019: All of them are poems, except for one: A Bush Christening by AH Paterson, Tis a Fearful Thing by Yehuda Halevi (poem), Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll (poem; reread), In ancient days tradition shows (Old English poem), “My Heart Leaps Up” by William Wordsworth (poem), From this hour I ordain myself by Walt Whitman (poem), In her maiden bliss: Edited version of a review by JRR Tolkien of Hali Meidenhad: An alliterative prose homily of the thirteenth century, edited by FJ Furnivall and O Cockayne, first published in the Times Literary Supplement
2018: The Shoemaker and Elves by the brothers Grimm (reread), White Fang by Jack London, Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen, Sonnets to Orpheus, Part 1 by Rainer Maria Rilke, “An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” by Oliver Goldsmith, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Dostoyevsky (short story), An Eclogue: Willie and Sandy by Robert Fergusson (poem), Later Days by WH Davies (skimmed), A Foreigner at Home by Robert Louis Stevenson (essay), Winter Evening by Archibald Lampman (poem), various poems by Jock Tamsen, and Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake (reread)
2017: Besides many of the poets, there was Melville, Tolstoy, the original Beauty and the Beast, and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
2016: Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen; The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson; A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson; Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K Jerome; Frankenstein by Mary Shelley; Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy; “A Tradition of Eighteen Hundred and Four” by Thomas Hardy; “The Boy Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was” by the Brothers Grimm; “The Wedding Night” by Ida Craddock; extracts from the diary of John Evelyn; extracts from Lord Byron’s letters about Villa Diodati; plus poems: The Darkling Thrush and The Oxen by Thomas Hardy (may be early 20th Century); Ode on Venice by Lord Byron; Bells by Edgar Allan Poe; Sonnet LXVI by Shakespeare; Sir Walter Raleigh to His Son; Fair Jenny, MacPherson’s Farewell, and Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast by Robbie Burns; Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats by Percy Bysshe Shelley; England and Switzerland, 1802, and extracts from Preludes by Wordsworth
2015: Only 1! The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang. Also three poems, two of which were rereads: “The Fly” by William Blake; “Tyger, Tyger” by William Blake; “January Brings the Snow” by Sara Coleridge
2014: Only 2! Byron’s Childe Harold and Andersen’s The Snow Queen
2013: Only 1! Le Comte de Monte-Cristo par Alexandre Dumas. Plus a few poems, and the Grimm brothers’ story “The Blue Light”
2012: Only 1! The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley, plus poems by Longfellow and Browning, and “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe


Books from 1900 to 1960 (mostly): Most of the Schulz and Christie and Tolkien, plus the following:
Hic Jacet by TH Wilson

Vale “Crosscut” by Dryblower (epitaph for Wilson by Edwin Greenslade Murphy)

Bulut Mu Olsam by Nazim Hikmet (poem; Should I Be A Cloud? beautiful!)

Lullaby by WH Auden (poem)

The Two Trees by WB Yeats (poem; reread)

Where My Books Go by WB Yeats (poem; teary)

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (reread)

Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh

Esther's Inheritance by Sandor Marai (skimmed last few chapters)

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (last reread was August 2013)

To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey (reread, but I had forgotten it!)

That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis (reread)

Perelandra by CS Lewis (reread)

Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis (reread)

Every Man For Himself by Beryl Bainbridge

Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

The Machine Stops by EM Forster (available here: http://www.visbox.com/prajlich/forster.html)

Let Your Mind Alone! And Other More or Less Inspirational Pieces by James Thurber

The Points of My Compass by EB White

Introduction by TS Eliot to Descent Into Hell by Charles Williams

Once There Was A War by John Steinbeck

A Short History of England by GK Chesterton

Tintin and the Crab With the Golden Claws (reread)

The sinking of the S.S. Titanic by John B. Thayer

Titanic: A Survivor's Story by Archibald Gracie

Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (reread)

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (reread)

Mary Poppins by PL Travers (reread)

Mary Poppins Returns by PL Travers (reread)

More About Paddington by Michael Bond (reread)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Bunnies' ABC by Garth Williams (Little Golden Books)

Curious George Rides a Bike by H. A. Rey

Curious George by H. A. Rey

Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Little Golden Book)


I’m going to stop repeating these lists every year as the blog post gets over long. Here’s a shortened list showing only authors’ names:

2019: Some of the Charles Schulz, many of the Dr Seuss, and some of the Eric Hill books, plus The Velveteen Rabbit, various Golden books, Miffy in the Snow, Curious George and Simple Stories, plus Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, Anna Akhmatova, AA Milne, AE Mason, Mary Norton, Ernest Hemingway, Somerset Maugham, JRR Tolkien, E Nesbit, Astrid Lindgren, Margaret Craven, Crosby Bonsall, Ludwig Bemelmans, Crockett Johnson, Margaret Wise Brown, Eric Carle, Graham Greene, Shel Silverstein, Edward Gorey, Eleanor Farjeon, Orhan Veli
2018: Besides the poetry, board books and MG, comics, and non-fiction, there was Elie Wiesel, Hugh MacLennan, Siegfried Sassoon, JRR Tolkien, Lynne Reid Banks, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Patricia Highsmith, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, the Detection Club, Somerset Maugham, Paul Villiard, Lilian Jackson Braun, Charles Bukowski, Henry James, Isaac Bashevis Singer
2017: Besides the poetry, board books, and non-fiction, there was Alistair MacLean, J. R. R. Tolkien, the Rev. Awry, Beatrix Potter, Astrid Lindgren, Madeleine l’Engle, Anya Seton, John Steinbeck, Mary Westmacott
2016: All the Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter, Milne, Maugham, Waugh, G.K. Chesterton, Little Golden Books, all of the Inklings (Tolkien, Owen Barfield, C.S. Lewis, plus Dorothy Sayers), Margery Allingham, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Georges Simenon, Robert Bloch, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Bell, Charles Schulz, James Vance Marshall, Kenneth Grahame, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Yevtushenko, Anna Akhmatova, Beverly Cleary, Roch Carrier, Lucy Ozone and John Hawkinson, Laurent de Brunhoff, Wanda Gag, Garth Williams
2015: Lots of Christie, Dahl, de la Mare, Eaton, Farjeon, Milne, Steinbeck, and Tolkien, plus Beatrix Potter, Watty Piper, Crockett Johnson, Janette Sebring Lowrey and Gustaf Tenggren, Munro Leaf, James Thurber and Louis Slobodkin, Johanna Spyri, PG Wodehouse, Charles Schulz, MR James, CS Lewis, Ray Bradbury, Paul Gallico, PL Travers, George Orwell, Peter McArthur, Nettie Palmer
2014: The Tintin books, L.M. Montgomery, Tolkien, Maugham, Sayers, Christie (plus the Detection Club, including Christie, Sayers, Chesterton, etc.), Wodehouse, Graves, Milne, Howard Carter
2013: Lots of Tolkien, Josephine Tey and L.M. Montgomery, plus Roald Dahl, Eric Linklater, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dr Seuss, CS Lewis, James Thurber, Muriel Spark, Alan Paton, James Edmond Casey, Robert Frost, Jacques le Goff, Emerson, Robert Graves and Alan Hodge
2012: A lot (counting short stories), including all the Tolkien, plus Christie, Sayers, Milne, Bradbury, Waugh, Chute, Maugham, Remarque, Chesterton, and Bodies and Souls (1950s Dell Paperback of crime stories by Christie, Chesterton, etc.)
2011: Only 12 novels and 2 short stories, plus The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
2010: 27
2009: 17
2008: c. 25



Beta Reads: 12, including Ohio by Monica Byrne

2019: 2
2018: 4
2017: 7
2016: 7
2015: 4
2014: 3
2013: 2
2012: 4



Forumites were NOT at it again this year! I don’t understand it. There were a couple of poems I read by Forumites and some of the artists I support on Patreon, but there were no major new releases. How upsetting!


Most Surprising Book: For different reasons: at just the right times:
That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis (a reread but surprisingly apt for this year); Circe by Madeline Miller (loved it!); Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (I’d been meaning to read this book for ages!); The Points of My Compass by EB White (also surprisingly apt; and sad that 100 years on, humans haven’t learned); The Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen and the sequels (I would love to visit her farm!); Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous (touching); The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth by John Garth (new books about Tolkien that are actually good are so rare!); Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (the UK edition; smack dab in my wheelhouse); and Captain Scott's Biscuit by Thomas Keneally (essay; I still long to visit Antarctica some day)

2019: Running Water by A E Mason – I had no idea this author existed. He’s quite good!; The Witch Next Door and The Witch Grows Up by Norman Bridwell – I’d forgotten these books! I loved them as a kid, and was very excited to find them at the library book sale; Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown – I’ve read lots of Brown; she’s hit or miss. But everyone makes fun of this one, and it’s one of her better ones! I hadn’t read it before
2018: Two Is LonelyThe Backward Shadow, and The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks: so modern for their time; The Dream of a Ridiculous Man by Dostoyevsky (short story): beautiful; Handywoman by Kate Davies: inspiring; Six Against the Yard by the Detection Club; A Spring Harvest by Geoffrey Bache Smith; 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass; The Worry Week by Anne Lindbergh; Reader’s Digest June 1965 (reread); Time Twister by Ged Maybury (reread); The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid; La Disparition de Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker (also, Cosmos by Carl Sagan: a surprise, because I expected to like it and didn’t)
2017: Honourable mentions go to A Priest in Gallipoli: The War Diary of Fr Hugh Cameron by John Watts, and Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, A Daughter’s A Daughter by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie), and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
2016 (I’ve shortened this to mention only the authors; the full list is available on the
2016 post): Agatha Christie, Owen Barfield, Somerset Maugham, Rose Tremain, Julian Barnes, Emily St John Mandel, Kazuo Ishiguro, Meja Mwangi, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Binyavanga Wainaina, Henrik Ibsen, Mary Shelley, Helene Hanff, John Watts, Betsy Byars, Mo Willems, Crosby Newell Bonsall;
2015: Farmer Giles of Ham and Smith of Wootton Major by Tolkien, My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl, Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie), and Many Moons by James Thurber, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
2014: Louise Penny, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield, and The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
2013: Poet’s Pub by Eric Linklater, The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, and Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
2012: World War Z by Max Brooks



Nationalities of Authors: Here are the nationalities of authors whose books I read this year (I introduced this category in 2016); there a few new ones this year!:
Argentina

Australia

Barbados

Belgium

Canada

China

Denmark

England

France

Germany

Hungary

Kenya

Iran/Persia

Ireland

New Zealand

Russian Federation

Scotland

Switzerland

Turkey

United States

2019: Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Scotland, Spain (Sephardim), Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, United States
2018: Australia; Austria; Canada; England; France; Ireland; New Zealand; Norway; Romania; Scotland; Sweden; Switzerland; United States; Wales
2017: Australia; Canada; England; France; Germany; Kenya; Russian Federation; Scotland; Sweden (in translation); United States
2016: Australia; Canada; France; Germany; Ireland; Kenya; Norway; Russian Federation; United Kingdom; United States



New category: My publications!
Yes, I have my own book to add to the list!
2017: Summer Fire by Deniz Bevan


Hope you enjoyed this recap!

Happy New Year!


And here's the unadulterated list:

1. Hic Jacet by TH Wilson

2. Vale “Crosscut” by Dryblower (epitaph for Wilson by Edwin Greenslade Murphy) 

3. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

4. A Girl Called Honey (Collection of Classic Erotica Book 21) by Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake

5. The Sins of the Fathers (Matthew Scudder Book 1) by Lawrence Block

6. Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien

7. A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (reread) 

8. The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (reread) 

9. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (reread) 

10. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl (reread) 

11. Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien (reread) 

12. A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson (reread) 

13. Nicholas Was and Click Clack the RattleBag and the Masque of the Red Death read by Neil Gaiman on Hallowe'en (reread) 

14. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (reread) 

15. Last Orders by Graham Swift (skimmed) 

16. Vive la pluie! (elephant and piggie/emile and lili) 

17. RB beta novella

18. I Am Too Absolutely Small for School (Charlie and Lola) 

19. Nenegle Sur La Montagne (board book) 

20. La tresse by Laetitia Colombani

21. Stiff by Mary Roach

22. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

23. The Best Excuse I Ever Heard by John Birtwhistle (poem; https://twitter.com/IMcMillan/status/1320708018028367873)

24. Bunnies' ABC by Garth Williams (Little Golden Books) 

25. The Little Book of Duggee Hugs

26. Petits comptines

27. Let Your Mind Alone! And Other More or Less Inspirational Pieces by James Thurber

28. The Points of My Compass by EB White

29. How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak

30. Stories We Tell Ourselves by Richard Holloway (sample) 

31. short story by RB (beta read) 

32. Mystery Lights at Blue Harbour by Budge Wilson (reread) 

33. A House Far From Home by Budge Wilson (reread) 

34. 10 Years in the Making by Kate Davies (essays) 

35. There Will Be Some Introspection — On The Road with Amanda Palmer part 4: Safe Spaces by Jack Nicholls and Gabrielle Motola

36. Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh

37. My New Friend Is So Fun by Mo Willems

38. Everything Is Going to Be All Right by Derek Mahon (poem) 

39. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

40. Calico Hearts by Roxie Clarke

41. The Magpie Lord: The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles

42. new preface to Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser

43. Bulut Mu Olsam by Nazim Hikmet (poem; Should I Be A Cloud? beautiful!) 

44. The Big Picture by Ellen Bass (poem) 

45. Sailing beyond Seas by Jean Ingelow (1820–97; poem) 

46. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (reread) 

47. Jack by Marilynne Robinson

48. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

49. The Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

50. All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

51. Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie (reread) 

52. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie (possibly a reread?) 

53. The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie (reread) 

54. What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw by Agatha Christie (reread) 

55. Still Life by Val McDermid

56. The Best/Worst Christmas Present Ever by Budge Wilson (reread) 

57. The Murder At the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (reread) 

58. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie (reread) 

59. Nemesis by Agatha Christie (reread) 

60. They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie (reread) 

61. A Pocketful of Rye by Agatha Christie (reread) 

62. A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie (reread) 

63. Introduction by TS Eliot to Descent Into Hell by Charles Williams

64. Goodbye, Bobby McGee by Lee Ann Dalton (poem) 

65. The BFG by Roald Dahl (reread) 

66. Lullaby by WH Auden (poem) 

67. Best Laid Plaids by Ella Stainton (sample) 

68. Ha Ha Bonk Book by Allan and Janet Ahlberg

69. Unriddling by Alvin Schwartz (reread) 

70. The Grey King by Susan Cooper (reread) 

71. screenplay by BB (beta read) 

72. short story by RM (beta read) 

73. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (reread) 

74. On the Occasion of Ray Bradbury’s 100th Birthday: “Meeting the Wizard” by John Scalzi (essay) 

75. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie (reread) 

76. The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel

77. various memoir essays by Judith Holofernes

78. Esther's Inheritance by Sandor Marai (skimmed last few chapters) 

79. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (last time was August 2013) 

80. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig (Kindle sample) 

81. String of Hearts by Roxie Clarke

82. Mary Poppins Returns by PL Travers (reread) 

83. More About Paddington by Michael Bond (reread) 

84. A Silent Death by Peter May

85. Miss Marple and Mystery by Agatha Christie (all non-Poirot short stories; reread) 

86. Sarah and Duck at the Library

87. Sarah and Duck Stay at the Duck Hotel

88. Peppa Goes to London

89. Garfield in Disguise by Jim Davis (reread) 

90. I Dare You Not To Yawn by Helene Boudreau

91. That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis (reread) 

92. Perelandra by CS Lewis (reread) 

93. Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis (reread) 

94. There Will Be No Intermission artbook by Amanda Palmer (second edition) 

95. flash fiction by RB (beta read) 

96. Jack and Della by Marilynne Robinson (short story) 

97. introduction to the new translation of Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley (available at https://us.macmillan.com/excerpt?isbn=9780374110031) 

98. Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

99. The Body by Bill Bryson

100. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

101. Becoming Duchess Goldblatt by Anonymous

102. Circe by Madeline Miller (loved it!) 

103. The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien (reread) 

104. short story by RB (beta read) 

105. The Tolkien Family Album by John and Priscilla Tolkien

106. Fudge-A-Mania by Judy Blume

107. Superfudge by Judy Blume

108. Outlander Kitchen 2 by Theresa Carle-Sanders

109. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien (annual reread (over 30 years!)) 

110. Make You Feel My Love by Kait Nolan

111. Ten Little Words by Leah Mercer

112. a year of essays in The Dalesman by Amanda Owen (https://www.yorkshireshepherdess.com/media/)

113. A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

114. The Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen

115. Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume

116. Clouded Vision by Linwood Barclay

117. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

118. Once There Was A War by John Steinbeck

119. The Gift by Casey Porter (poem) 

120. Gedicht: Labradoodle (aus meinem Gedichtband "Du bellst vor dem falschen Baum") by Judith Holofernes (poem) 

121. The Obituary by Clare O'Dea (short story) 

122. Garfield Swallows His Pride by Jim Davis

123. Hey Duggee little library

124. Sarah and Duck little library

125. Usborne Peep Inside the Forest

126. Ramona Quimby Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

127. Encyclopedia Brown #10 by Donald J Sobol

128. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

129. short story by RB (beta read) 

130. Clifford’s Happy Easter by Norman Bridwell

131. Charlie and Lola: My Wobbly Tooth Must Not Ever Never Fall Out

132. Charlie and Lola: But Excuse Me That Is My Book

133. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

134. The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth by John Garth

135. White Nights by Dostoevsky (reread) 

136. Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky (reread) 

137. The Silmarillion: A Brief Account of the Book and Its Making by Christopher Tolkien (essay) 

138. Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie (reread) 

139. Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (the UK edition) 

140. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J Sobol (reread) 

141. Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch by Donald J Sobol (reread) 

142. Captain Scott's Biscuit by Thomas Keneally (essay) 

143. The Lovecraft Circle and the Inklings: The “Mythopoeic Gift” of H. P. Lovecraft by Dale Nelson (essay) 

144. Muted: A short story in verse by Jessica Bell (poem, natch) 

145. The Art of Asking About Abortion On the Road With Amanda Palmer — Part 3: Ireland; Words: Jack Nicholls, Photographs: Gabrielle Motola (https://medium.com/we-are-the-media/the-art-of-asking-about-abortion-7167d87c1a55) 

146. As you get older by Alice Rebekah Fraser (poem) 

147. Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (reread) 

148. The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo by Judy Blume (reread) 

149. Globi at School

150. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

151. a bunch of sample chapters on Kindle... 

152. Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark by George RR Martin

153. I Give You My Body... How I Write Sex Scenes by Diana Gabaldon

154. My Soul Rests by Taylor MacDowell (poem) 

155. A Recipe for Marketing Indie Books by SK Quinn

156. The Machine Stops by EM Forster (available here: http://www.visbox.com/prajlich/forster.html) 

157. WishFul Drinking by Carrie Fisher

158. The Ickabog by JK Rowling

159. On the Booker by Julian Barnes (essay in London Review of Books) 

160. Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

161. L'Enigme de la chambre 622 by Joel Dicker

162. Every Man For Himself by Beryl Bainbridge

163. Lost and Found by Jean Little

164. chapter 1 of a new story by Kait Nolan! 

165. Outlander season five episode 11 by Diana Gabaldon (script) 

166. Where Is The Voice Coming From? by Eudora Welty (short story) 

167. short story by RB (beta) 

168. Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Handprints by Donald J Sobol

169. Tim Book Two by Tim Burgess

170. Amelia Bedelia Helps Out

171. Amelia Bedelia and the Baby

172. A Short History of England by GK Chesterton

173. A Plain Cookery Book by Charles Elme Francatelli

174. Telling Stories by Tim Burgess (reread) 

175. All This and Snoopy Too by Charles Schulz (reread) 

176. Henry and the Clubhouse by Beverly Cleary

177. The Little Golden Book of Jokes and Riddles

178. Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary

179. Dawn of Darkness by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (poem) 

180. A Great Wagon by Rumi (poem) 

181. The Last Emperox by John Scalzi

182. Fabrication by Kate Davies (poem) 

183. Tintin and the Crab With the Golden Claws (reread) 

184. Mary Poppins by PL Travers (reread) 

185. A Very Wishful Wedding by Kait Nolan

186. short story by RB (beta read) 

187. Redshirts by John Scalzi

188. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

189. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

190. Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

191. Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

192. Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

193. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

194. Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

195. Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary (reread) 

196. Sir Orfeo translated by JRR Tolkien (reread) 

197. Eat Up, Gemma

198. Hansel and Gretel (Grimm's Fairy Tales; reread) 

199. Solitude by Baudelaire (poem; read by Neil Finn https://www.neilfinn.com/fangradio) 

200. I’ll save You Bobo read I Must Have Bobo by Rosenthal and Rosenthal

201. I Must Have Bobo by Rosenthal and Rosenthal

202. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

203. The Two Trees by WB Yeats (poem; reread) 

204. Where My Books Go by WB Yeats (poem; teary) 

205. The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

206. Garfield Plays It Again by Jim Davis (reread) 

207. two short stories by RB (beta read) 

208. No More Teasing by Emma C Clarke

209. The Book of the Sword by Richard Francis Burton (skimmed) 

210. The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson

211. The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis

212. But Excuse Me That Is My Book (Charlie and Lola) 

213. Can I Play Too by Mo Willems

214. The Weaker Vessel: Women's Lot in Seventeenth-Century England by Antonia Fraser

215. Globi's Travels in Switzerland

216. Globi in the Heart of Switzerland

217. Peppa Loves Yoga

218. The Fifth Step by Stephen King (short story) 

219. The sinking of the S.S. Titanic by John B. Thayer

220. Titanic: A Survivor's Story by Archibald Gracie

221. Curious George Rides a Bike by H. A. Rey

222. Curious George by H. A. Rey

223. Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley

224. Christmas at Heathrow by Anthony Horowitz (short story; reread) 

225. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

226. The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes

227. Til There Was You by Kait Nolan

228. Postman Pat’s Sore Tooth

229. Before Galileo by John Freely

230. Stranded by Val McDermid (short stories) 

231. Pourkoa les escargots? 

232. Peppa Goes Swimming

233. The Skull Beneath the Skin by PD James

234. Sure and Certain Death Barbara Nadel

235. You Can’t Catch Me Catherine Mckenzie (ARC) 

236. How the Dead Speak by Val McDermid

237. To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey (reread, but I had forgotten it!) 

238. Bad Guys by Linwood Barclay

239. I Will Surprise My Friend by Mo Willems

240. Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

241. I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron

242. Bad Move by Linwood Barclay

243. Broken Promise by Linwood Barclay

244. Listen to My Trumpet by Mo Willems

245. My Big Sandwich (reading practice book) 

246. St Francis' Canticle of the Creatures by John Watts

247. Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

248. The Saga of King Heidrik the Wise by Christopher Tolkien

249. Blood, Salt, Water by Denise Mina

250. Collected Poirot Short Stories by Agatha Christie (reread) 

251. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

252. Roule Ma Poule by Edouard Manceau

253. The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith

254. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith

255. Folktales from Africa by Alexander McCall Smith

256. I Am Invited to a Party by Mo Willems

257. Death Clerk by Catherine Mckenzie (chapter 1 of a serial story) 

258. Three Tang Dynasty Poets (Penguin Classics) 

259. Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden (poem) 

260. Poems (1973) and The Road of Dreams (1924) by Agatha Christie

261. Star Over Bethlehem by Agatha Christie

262. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie (reread) 

263. Extraordinary People by Peter May

264. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

265. House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

266. That’s Not My Dinosaur (Usborne) 

267. Ou Est Mon Dragon (Usborne) 

268. But Not the Armadillo by Sandra Boynton

269. I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems

270. Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems

271. The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

272. Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans

273. One Snowy Night

274. The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Christmas Eve by Eric Carle

275. Dear Europe: Letters from JK Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Mary Beard and more on The Guardian (cried) 

276. We’re All In This Together by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

277. Think About It Tomorrow, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

278. You’ll Flip, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

279. Good Ol’ Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

280. This Is Your Life, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

281. Nobody’s Perfect, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

282. You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

283. Take It Easy, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

284. Good Ol’ Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

285. You’re So Smart, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

286. It’s For You, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

287. Fun With Peanuts by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

288. Nice Shot, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

289. You’re Not For Real, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

290. It’s Chow Time, Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

291. Who Was That Dog I Saw You With, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

292. Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

293. You Are Too Much, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

294. You’re A Winner, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

295. What Now, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

296. Good Grief, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

297. Charlie Brown and Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

298. Here Comes Snoopy by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

299. Snoopy Come Home by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

300. You’re In Love, Charlie Brown by Charles M Schulz (reread) 

301. various issues of Knitty (http://knitty.com/ISSUEw19/index.php) 

302. There Will Be Some Introspection by Jack Nicholls and Gabrielle Motola (https://medium.com/we-are-the-media/there-will-be-some-introspection-on-the-road-with-amanda-palmer-a32ff8dc0fbc) 

303. Broken Ground by Val McDermid

304. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

305. Exile by Elif Safak (essay in Granta) 

306. Peppa's Christmas

307. 12 Days of Christmas

308. Constantinople: Istanbul's Historical Heritage by Stephane Yerasimos (skimmed for research) 

309. John Howe artbook (Ulule crowdfunded) 

310. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Little Golden Book) 

311. Goodnight Peppa

312. La Reine des Neiges (board book) 

313. Wheesht by Kate Davies

314. Knitting Season by Kate Davies

315. What You Need To Be Warm by Neil Gaiman (poem) 

316. Interior Decorating Tips for the Post-Apocalypse by Alice Rebekah Fraser (mini comedy article) 

317. A Sad Story by Dorothy Una Ratcliffe (poem) 

318. Iummona Gold Gadre Bewunden by JRR Tolkien (poem; reread) 

319. by Sasha Dugdale (poem) 

320. Graceful by Wendy Mass

321. Ohio by Monica Byrne (play) 

322. thelitforum Writers’s Houseparty --Making Spirits Bright (Museum 2) 

323. ongoing rereads of board books from previous years & rereads of all children's Christmas books

324. various poems by R. Wodaski

325. The Jerusalem Bible

Comments

Jeff said…
I am always amazed at your end of the year reading list--I think I'll finish the year reading 54 or 55 books. I see C. S. Lewis' sci-fi on your list. I enjoyed those when I was in college. I am also a big fan Marianne Robinson.

https://fromarockyhillside.com
Deniz Bevan said…
Thank you, Jeff! I reread the CS Lewis trilogy after I found out that the version of That Hideous Strength I'd first read was abridged! Abridged by the author, but still. So I had to find a secondhand copy of the full first edition.