At the Water's Edge: Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea - evolution, by Carl Zimmer
Punch with Care - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Dead Ernest - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Undersea Warrior: The World War II Story of "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo - biography/WW II, by Don Keith
The British Pacific Fleet: The Royal Navy's Most Powerful Strike Force - WW II, by David Hobbs
What If? - AH (essays), edited by Robert Cowley
The Aethers of Mars - SF/steampunk, by Eric Flint and Charles E Gannon
What If? 2 - AH (essays), edited by Robert Cowley
My Real Children - AH, by Jo Walton
Only nine books this time round, though none of them were rereads.
Note to self: Stop wasting so much time on the computer and read more!
I have many interests, so this is going to be a blog on lots of subjects. Submarines, my family, history, books I read, the space programme, archaeology, astronomy, current events, the occasional joke.... Just don't expect any politics, sports or deep philosophy, and we should get along fine.
01 July 2015
02 January 2015
Book list - 2014
Here's the complete list of books I read in 2014. I didn't set a goal for this year, so I can't report success in reaching it (nor must I admit to failure, either).
An asterisk indicates a reread. Numbers refer to the order in which the books were read.
"Adult" Fiction (27 books)
1. Figure Away - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
2. Old Bones - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
3. Spring Harrowing - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor *
4. The Danish Scheme - AH, by Herb Sakalaucks
5. Make No Bones - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
6. The Crimson Patch - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
7. 1636: Seas of Fortune - AH (short stories), by Iver Cooper
8. Icy Clutches - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
11. Curses! - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
12. New Amsterdam - AH/fantasy, by Elizabeth Bear
13. Twenty Blue Devils - mystery, by Aaron Elkins
15. The White City - AH/fantasy, by Elizabeth Bear
16. Night of the Living Deed - mystery, by E J Copperman
17. The Martian - SF, by Andy Weir (ARC)
18. The Mysterious Island - adventure, by Jules Verne *
19. The Grand Tour - historical fantasy, by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
20. Mammoth - time travel, by John Varley
22. 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies - AH, by Eric Flint and Charles E Gannon
23. Mairelon the Magician - historical fantasy, by Patricia C Wrede *
24. Magician's Ward - historical fantasy, by Patricia C Wrede *
25. Skin Game - urban fantasy, by Jim Butcher
26. MASH - Korean War fiction, by Richard Hooker
27. The Good, the Bad, and the Emus - mystery, by Donna Andrews
29. The Ides of April - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
30. The Nightingale Before Christmas - mystery, by Donna Andrews
31. Enemies at Home - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
33. Against the Tide of Years - AH, by S M Stirling *
Children's/YA Fiction (3)
9. The Old Powder Line - children's time travel, by Richard Parker
14. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures - children's, by Kate DiCamillo (Newbery Medal, 2014)
32. Mockingjay - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
Non-Fiction (3)
10. Locomotive - children's railroading, by Brian Floca (Caldecott Medal, 2014)
21. Sober Men and True: Sailor Lives in the Royal Navy 1900-1945 - naval history, by Christopher McKee
28. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) - travelogue, by Jerome K Jerome
The main categories were mysteries (13), AH (6), and fantasy (6). Aaron Elkins was the most-read author of the year (5 books); Phoebe Atwood Taylor and Patricia C Wrede were second (3 each). And 9 of the 33 books were rereads.
My favourites? I'd say The Martian, by Andy Weir, was the best book I read all year. These seven (listed in the order in which I read them) were also very good:
Having not set a goal for last year, I'm not setting one for this year either. But I do hope to do a lot more reading this year....
An asterisk indicates a reread. Numbers refer to the order in which the books were read.
"Adult" Fiction (27 books)
1. Figure Away - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
2. Old Bones - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
3. Spring Harrowing - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor *
4. The Danish Scheme - AH, by Herb Sakalaucks
5. Make No Bones - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
6. The Crimson Patch - mystery, by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
7. 1636: Seas of Fortune - AH (short stories), by Iver Cooper
8. Icy Clutches - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
11. Curses! - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
12. New Amsterdam - AH/fantasy, by Elizabeth Bear
13. Twenty Blue Devils - mystery, by Aaron Elkins
15. The White City - AH/fantasy, by Elizabeth Bear
16. Night of the Living Deed - mystery, by E J Copperman
17. The Martian - SF, by Andy Weir (ARC)
18. The Mysterious Island - adventure, by Jules Verne *
19. The Grand Tour - historical fantasy, by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
20. Mammoth - time travel, by John Varley
22. 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies - AH, by Eric Flint and Charles E Gannon
23. Mairelon the Magician - historical fantasy, by Patricia C Wrede *
24. Magician's Ward - historical fantasy, by Patricia C Wrede *
25. Skin Game - urban fantasy, by Jim Butcher
26. MASH - Korean War fiction, by Richard Hooker
27. The Good, the Bad, and the Emus - mystery, by Donna Andrews
29. The Ides of April - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
30. The Nightingale Before Christmas - mystery, by Donna Andrews
31. Enemies at Home - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
33. Against the Tide of Years - AH, by S M Stirling *
9. The Old Powder Line - children's time travel, by Richard Parker
14. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures - children's, by Kate DiCamillo (Newbery Medal, 2014)
32. Mockingjay - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
10. Locomotive - children's railroading, by Brian Floca (Caldecott Medal, 2014)
21. Sober Men and True: Sailor Lives in the Royal Navy 1900-1945 - naval history, by Christopher McKee
28. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) - travelogue, by Jerome K Jerome
The main categories were mysteries (13), AH (6), and fantasy (6). Aaron Elkins was the most-read author of the year (5 books); Phoebe Atwood Taylor and Patricia C Wrede were second (3 each). And 9 of the 33 books were rereads.
My favourites? I'd say The Martian, by Andy Weir, was the best book I read all year. These seven (listed in the order in which I read them) were also very good:
New Amsterdam, by Elizabeth BearThe first book of 2015 will be At the Water's Edge, by Carl Zimmer.
The Grand Tour, by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Mammoth, by John Varley
Mairelon the Magician, by Patricia C Wrede
Skin Game, by Jim Butcher
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), by Jerome K Jerome
Against the Tide of Years, by S M Stirling
Having not set a goal for last year, I'm not setting one for this year either. But I do hope to do a lot more reading this year....
01 January 2015
Book list - Oct-Dec 14
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) - travelogue, by Jerome K Jerome
The Ides of April - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
The Nightingale Before Christmas - mystery, by Donna Andrews
Enemies at Home - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
Mockingjay - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
Against the Tide of Years - AH, by S M Stirling *
Only six books this time round, one of them a reread (marked by an asterisk). And I'm still at 58 of 75 on the Carnegie Medal winners.
The Ides of April - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
The Nightingale Before Christmas - mystery, by Donna Andrews
Enemies at Home - mystery, by Lindsey Davis
Mockingjay - YA SF, by Suzanne Collins
Against the Tide of Years - AH, by S M Stirling *
Only six books this time round, one of them a reread (marked by an asterisk). And I'm still at 58 of 75 on the Carnegie Medal winners.