2014 Reading List

I've never kept any kind of record of what I read, or when I've read it, and last year I was interested to see the distribution of my reading, both in my choice of reading matter, and how many books I read in total. The only effect that making the list as I went along had was that I made a little bit of a conscious effort NOT to read lots of books by the same author back to back. Though, to be honest in May and June I went a bit mad on Eric Ambler, Ed McBain, Gavin Lyall and Michael Dibdin, but you can't have everything. The one thing this list doesn't do is give any kind of indication of how much I enjoyed the books, what I thought of them, or whether I'd recommend them to anyone else. So perhaps this year's list will include some thoughts after each book!

January

Beyond Black - Hilary Mantel
Speaking from among the Bones - Alan Bradley
Standing in another man's grave -  Ian Rankin
Espedair Street - Ian Banks
The 44 Vintage - Anthony Price
Carrying the Fire - Michael Collins

February

Complicity - Iain Banks
The Red Thumb Mark - R Austin Freeman
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Full Dark House - Christopher Fowler

March

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
The Secret Pilgrim -John le Carre

April

Where The Bodies are Buried - Christopher Brookmyre
Tomorrow's ghost - Anthony Price
The Stranger House - Reginald Hill
The Secret Servant -  Gavin Lyall
Bring up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel

May

The conduct of Major Maxim - Gavin Lyall
The Crocus List - Gavin Lyall
Uncle Target - Gavin Lyall
Old Filth - Jane Gardam
Fever Pitch - Nick Hornby
Cosi fan Tutti - Michael Dibdin
The Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
A Long Finish - Michael Dibdin
The Heckler - Ed McBain

June

Cop Hater - Ed McBain
Shooting Script - Gavin Lyall
Epitaph for a Spy - Eric Ambler
Journey into Fear - Eric Ambler
Lady, Lady I did it! - Ed McBain
Blood Rain - Michael Dibdin
Crucible of Gold - Naomi Novik

July

Moon over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
The Man in the Wooden Hat - Jane Gardam
The Last Runaway - Tracy Chevalier
Stalky and Co - Rudyard Kipling
The Most Dangerous Game - Gavin Lyall

August

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
The Elusive Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
Enigma - Robert Harris
Eldorado - Baroness Orczy

September

And then you die - Michael Dibdin
If this is a man - Primo Levi
We are all completely beside ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler
Police at the Funeral - Margery Allingham

October

Lord Tony's Wife - Baroness Orczy
The Moro Affair - Leonardo Sciascia
Hide your Eyes - Margery Allingham
Miss Garnet's Angel - Salley Vickers
The War of the Worlds - HG Wells

November

Last Friends - Jane Gardam
Living Dolls - Natasha Walker
The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
Towards the End of the Morning - Michael Frayn
Kolymsky Heights - Lionel Davidson

December

The Wake - Paul Kingsnorth
Saints of the Shadow Bible - Ian Rankin
A Delicate Truth - John le Carre
The Flight of the Maidens - Jane Gardam