meanderer in 2015

Here is the list of books I have read in 2015. My prediction (based on several years of empirical evidence) is that I will not reach the magic 75. Now that is in the open, the pressure is off.

1. Maskerade by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
2. The Collectors by Philip Pullman. Audiobook.
3. Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh by Joseph Conrad. Audiobook.
4. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
5. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Audiobook and Kindle.
6. Shackleton's Boat Journey by Frank Worsley. DTB
7. Great Britain's Great War by Jeremy Paxman. Audiobook.
8. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
9. Mountain Man by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook.
10. The Hospital by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook.
11. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. Audio and Kindle.
12. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon. DTB.
13. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Audiobook.
14. Safari: Mountain Man by Keith C Blackmore. Audio and Kindle.
15. Jingo by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
16. In At the Death by David Wishart. DTB
17. The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook
18. Clarissa's England by Clarissa Dickson Wright. Audiobook.
19. The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor. DTB.
20. Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves. Kindle.
21. Hellifax by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook.
22. Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson. Kindle.
23. Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season by Nick Heil. Audiobook.
24. Thank You, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse. Audiobook.
25. Whoops!: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay by John Lanchester. Audiobook.
26. The Stone Cutter by Camilla Lackberg. Kindle.
27. Great Battles of the Ancient World by Professor Garrett G Fagan. Audiobook
28. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook
29. Lost at Sea by Jon Ronson. DTB
30. Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Audiobook.
31. Well Fed by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook.
32. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Audiobook.
33. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Audiobook.
34. Ides of April by Lindsey Davis. Kindle
35. So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson. Audiobook.
36. The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths. DTB
37. Thin Air by Ann Cleeves. Kindle.
38. Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane. Audiobook.
39. A Room of Full of Bones by Ellie Griffiths. DTB
40. Everest 1953: The First Ascent to the Roof of the World by Mike Conefrey. Audiobook.
41. Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter. Kindle
42. Them by Jon Ronson. Audiobook.
43. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. Audiobook.
44. Stuffocation by James Wallman. DTB
45. The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle. Audiobook.
46. Northern Lights: His Dark Materials Trilogy, Book 1 by Philip Pullman. Audiobook.
47. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doylr. Audiobook.
48. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom. Audiobook.

1. Maskerade by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Discworld does Phantom of the Opera. And very well it does it too.

Welcome back!

#3 Thanks.

2. The Collectors by Philip Pullman. Audiobook. A short story really. Nicely read by Bill Nighy.

3. Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh by Joseph Conrad. Audiobook. I will need to listen to this one again and give it my full concentration. Or, who knows, I might even actually read it.

4. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Another enjoyable Discworld romp.

5. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Bought this as a "Whispersync" book from Amazon. I've read the reviews and comments about the confusing use of "he" and it was a problem at times, but it did not detract from the book. I also started watching the BBC adaptation at the same time, just to add to the mix.

6. Shackleton's Boat Journey by Frank Worsley. This book covers the story of Shackleton's expedition in the Endurance from when the ship became stuck in the pack ice and finally sank. It is an amazing story of bravery and determination and was written by one of the men who travelled in the James Caird from Elephant Island to South Georgia and then crossed South Georgia to reach a whaling station and rescue. I have listened to and enjoyed Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing but there is something special about reading a first-hand account.

7. Great Britain's Great War by Jeremy Paxman. Audiobook. A history of WW1 told from the British perspective and a large part of the book focuses on the events in Britain and how Britain changed as a consequence of those events. There are also accounts of the major events of the war and life in the trenches and battlefields.

8. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Discworld does Christmas. RIP Terry Pratchett.

9. Mountain Man by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook. Zombie apocolypse. Entertaining listen.

10. The Hospital by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook. A short prequel to the Mountain Man series. The image of the creeping mass of zombie babies will stay with me for a while.

11. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. Audio and Kindle. I read this series as a teenager but I don't remember anything about them. Definitely a book of its time expecially with regards to attitudes towards women.

12. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon. DTB. An entertaining read.

13. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Audiobook. A look at how the big guy doesn't always win.

14. Safari: Mountain Man by Keith C Blackmore. Audio and Kindle. Rats!

15. Jingo by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Discworld does war, Lawrence of Arabia and Leonardo da Vinci.

16. In at the Death by David Wishart. DTB. Marcus Corvinus investigates an apparent suicide. Engaging enough, but there were one or two too many chatting-things-over-with-Perilla and oh-my god-why-didn't-I-realise-that scenes in this one.

17. The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. Discworld does Australia.

18. Clarissa's England by Clarissa Dickson Wright. Audiobook. Idiosyncratic. A mix of personal anecdotes and history read by the author who has an individual writing and narrating style. She does not mince her words or hide her opinions (especially in regard to the "antis" or anti-hunting groups) and at times I felt as if I was being admonished by a strict school mistress whilst at other times being told a confidence by a friend. She makes a few pronunciation errors when reading the book but I can imagine her response to any editor who was brave enough to ask her to reread a passage.

19. The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor. DTB. Once again the blend of fictional and actual events and characters works well to create an entertaining read.

20. Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves. Kindle. An excellent addition to the Vera Stanhope series. You can really feel the bleak winter setting.

21. Hellifax by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook. Just as good as the others in this series. Gruesome in places, but a real page-turner (well it would be if it wasn't an audiobook). Excellently read.

22. Snowblind by Ragnar Jonasson. Kindle. Nicely atmospheric

23. Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season by Nick Heil. Audiobook. One account of the events on Everest in 2006. Highlights the challenges and dangers of climbing the world's highest mountain.

24. Thank You, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse. Audiobook. Gently amusing, but of its time.

25. Whoops!: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay by John Lanchester. Audiobook. An explanation of what when wrong in the noughties.

26. The Stone Cutter by Camilla Lackberg. Kindle.
More Scandiwegian crime.

27. Great Battles of the Ancient World by Professor Garrett G Fagan. Audiobook
Excellent accounts of some key battles from the ancient world. Even better now that Audible provided the reference material as a PDF.

28. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook
Discworld does vampires.

29. Lost at Sea by Jon Ronson. DTB
The stories behind some of Ronson's published articles, looking at some of the fringes of society.

30. Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Audiobook.
Book 2 in the series about Thomas Cromwell. Hilary Mantel must has listened to the critics of Wolf Hall and the sometimes confusingly vague use of "he". Things were much clearer this time.

31. Well Fed by Keith C Blackmore. Audiobook.
Satisfying end to the Mountain Man series. A shame that it is the end though.

32. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Audiobook.
This must be the third or fourth time I have started this book. Previously, I gave up because I became confused by the different diary extracts, sometimes recounting the same events. I imagine this is easier to follow in the written word. This time I persevered and agree that it is a classic of adventure writing.

33. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Audiobook. A catalogue of broken promises, treaties not worth the paper they were written on and deception.

34. Ides of April by Lindsey Davis. Kindle. Had my doubts at first, but got into it after a couple of chapters.

35. So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson. Audiobook. I remember some of the "shamings" mentioned in the book, others I have completely forgotten about or never knew about. One of the chapters is about a company which will create a lot of internet noise for its clients in order to try and drown out the articles about the "shaming". This was done for Lindsey Stone and it seemed to have worked, but when I searched for Lindsey Stone the results were all about the thing that she did and the picture of it, so maybe it was not so successful after all or maybe it is the fact that the whole story has been brought back into public attention by the book.

36. The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths. DTB. Engaging detective story set on the Norfolk coast.

37. Thin Air by Ann Cleeves. Kindle. A fine addition to this Shetland crime series.

38. Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane. Audiobook. A book about words and landscape. A good source of information about other writers on the landscape.

39. A Room of Full of Bones by Ellie Griffiths. DTB. A pleasant, light read.

40. Everest 1953: The First Ascent to the Roof of the World by Mike Conefrey. Audiobook. I now have a much better understanding of the events surrounding the 1953 ascent of Everest as well as of the climb itself. The books puts the expedition nicely into context and gives a good account of what happened after the climb.

41. Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter. Kindle. The first of the Inspector Morse books. Different from what I expected.
42. Them by Jon Ronson. Audiobook. a look at the world of conspiracy theorists. Made most of them seem like strange paranoid people. But maybe that was the point?

43. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. Audiobook. The first Sherlock Holmes book.

44. Stuffocation by James Wallman. DTB. In this book the author makes a case for his solution to the problems caused by a materialistic society. He gives case studies of individuals who have turned against materialism and have followed minimalist, voluntary simplicity or medium chill lifestyles each of which, Wallman claims, have their own problems. His solution is to focus on experiences rather than material goods; to live what he calls an experientialist lifestyle. As I read this book I realised that I have been adopting a more experientialist way of living over the last few years without really noticing. I spend less on things, have been decluttering, go on more holidays and no longer take on extra work or promotions at the expense of my free time.

45. The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle. Audiobook. Continuing my Holmes odyssey.

46. Northern Lights: His Dark Materials Trilogy, Book 1 by Philip Pullman. Audiobook. Full cast unabridged version of the first book in the His Dark Materials triology with narration by the author.

Have a lovely holiday, Tony

Thanks, Paul. I hope that you have a great holiday too.

47. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doylr. Audiobook. My travel through the adventures of Holmes and Watson continues.

48. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom. Audiobook. Children's classic.