As before, here my summary of the year
January - E. Burke, Reflections on the revolution in France
February - R. Gildea, Children of the Revolution
March - N. Gordimer, None to remember me
April - Homer, tr. Lattimore, The Iliad
May - V. Seth, The Golden Gate
June- D. Erasmus, Praise of Folly
July - L. Sciascia, The wine dark sea
August - M.Banffy, They were found wanting
September - G. Elliot, Scenes from clerical life
October - W. Faulkner, Go down, Moses
November - M. Druon, La Louve de France
December -J. Banville, The Untouchable
Interesting. I read a lot this year (145 books, just short of 2008's record 148), but very differently. Must less fiction, only about a third, compared to well over half in the last three years. A lot of history - more (for fun) than fiction for the first time since 2005. However for BOTM, a different picture. No 'cultural' books, and a step up in fiction and history: last year's 6:5:1 has been replaced by 0:8:4. The fiction / non-fiction divide here is a little blurred, but the Iliad should be History, and Druon is historical fiction. Neither are books of the year.
Instead, Fiction has to go to The Golden Gate - a modern classic, even if it has taken me about eight years to read it since someone recommended it to me. Banffy was great too, but nothing like the unrestrained exuberance of what surely will be Seth's only real survival in a generation. His other stuff is fine, but limited. An honourable mention to Banville, but it's just not as good.
Non-fiction is more finely poised: Burke, Erasmus and Gildea were all excellent. But Burke's treatment of the revolution is magisterial, and his language a glory to behold. Brilliant. Everyone should read it; even if everyone doesn't agree. I, of course, did.
Friday 31 December 2010
Bibliography, December 2010
Acquired (6)
O.S. Card, Xenocide
S. Hill, Howard's End is on the Landing
W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz
A. Trollope, The way we live now
M. Twain, A Tramp Abroad
H. Walpole, The Castle of Otranto
Read (16)
BOTM: J. Banville, The Untouchable
J. Austen, Northanger Abbey
O.S. Card, Xenocide
E. Cruikshanks (ed.), The Stuart Courts
A. Gide, La symphonie pastorale
D. Goleman, Social Intelligence
R. Mistry, A fine balance
S. Hill, Howard's End is on the Landing
A.W. Montford, The Hockey Stick illusion
A. Ross, The rest is noise
A. Trollope, The way we live now
M. Twain, A Tramp Abroad
E. Zola, J'Accuse
New acquisition has begun!
Anyway, book of the month was Banville about the Cambridge spies, which was excellent. Finely tuned, and achingly sad. I think the ending was unnecessary, as the pathos has already happened, the final betrayal wasn't needed, and in some senses was a little overneat. However, it was within acceptable parameters. The rest was very sound indeed.
It's a fascinating area, our western Communists, and I've read a few novels on them. It remains to me astonishing how so many of our elites could be seduced by it, but that's hindsight for you. Christopher Hitchens put it well I think in the Blair debate, when he spoke of communism, in the context of the ANC and the brilliant intellectuals. I'm not sure I believe, as he does that it 'represent[ed] some high points in human history' though it clearly wasn't worth it. However, the attraction of the ideal was a real one, though as this novel shows loaded with ambiguity, self-delusion and a total inability to understand the reality of the game being played. As such, a tragedy for all concerned.
O.S. Card, Xenocide
S. Hill, Howard's End is on the Landing
W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz
A. Trollope, The way we live now
M. Twain, A Tramp Abroad
H. Walpole, The Castle of Otranto
Read (16)
BOTM: J. Banville, The Untouchable
J. Austen, Northanger Abbey
O.S. Card, Xenocide
E. Cruikshanks (ed.), The Stuart Courts
A. Gide, La symphonie pastorale
D. Goleman, Social Intelligence
R. Mistry, A fine balance
S. Hill, Howard's End is on the Landing
A.W. Montford, The Hockey Stick illusion
A. Ross, The rest is noise
A. Trollope, The way we live now
M. Twain, A Tramp Abroad
H. Walpole, The Castle of Otranto
M. Willaert, Servir au CongoE. Zola, J'Accuse
New acquisition has begun!
Anyway, book of the month was Banville about the Cambridge spies, which was excellent. Finely tuned, and achingly sad. I think the ending was unnecessary, as the pathos has already happened, the final betrayal wasn't needed, and in some senses was a little overneat. However, it was within acceptable parameters. The rest was very sound indeed.
It's a fascinating area, our western Communists, and I've read a few novels on them. It remains to me astonishing how so many of our elites could be seduced by it, but that's hindsight for you. Christopher Hitchens put it well I think in the Blair debate, when he spoke of communism, in the context of the ANC and the brilliant intellectuals. I'm not sure I believe, as he does that it 'represent[ed] some high points in human history' though it clearly wasn't worth it. However, the attraction of the ideal was a real one, though as this novel shows loaded with ambiguity, self-delusion and a total inability to understand the reality of the game being played. As such, a tragedy for all concerned.
Monday 20 December 2010
The end of the project, in numbers
With Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, I am done. There are no readable books in the house bought by or for me that I have not read. And with Christmas round the corner, I am ready for new blood. Anyway, I've been running the stats from 2009 - 2010, and here's the summary. In those 23.5 months:
The project overall has been a triumph though. There have been a stellar set of books over the last two years that I am not sure I would have got round to reading, but were excellent. Of the books of the month, almost all were bought some time ago, and some were real gems. I'd single out:
Otherwise, it's been a triumph. I'm off to read Susan Hill's book about reading all her books now (actually, due to the snow delay, I'm not. I'm downloading free books on the Kindle instead - Mark Twain for now)
- I started with 320 unread books
- A further 37 books were bought (excl. Reference)
- Hence the eligible base was effectively 357
- I read 228 of the books
- I threw away 129 books unread
- Hence 36% of the books I hadn't read, I will never read
The project overall has been a triumph though. There have been a stellar set of books over the last two years that I am not sure I would have got round to reading, but were excellent. Of the books of the month, almost all were bought some time ago, and some were real gems. I'd single out:
- Catch 22 (Read Feb 09; bought 1997)
- Trollope's Palisers, but especially Phineas Redux (May 09; bought April 07)
- Kendall's biography of Louis XI (June 09; bought March 06)
- Tremlett's Ghosts of Spain (Sept 09; bought Jun 07)
- Burke (Jan 10; bought Feb 08)
- The Golden Gate (May 10; bought Jan 06)
- Praise of Folly (June 10; bought Sept 02)
- Faulkner, Go down, Moses (Oct 10, bought Jul 07)
Otherwise, it's been a triumph. I'm off to read Susan Hill's book about reading all her books now (actually, due to the snow delay, I'm not. I'm downloading free books on the Kindle instead - Mark Twain for now)
Thursday 2 December 2010
Bibliography, November 2010
Books read (9)
BOTM: M. Druon, La Louve de France
Anon, Gawain and the Green Knight
M. Druon, Le Lis et le Lion
M. Druon, Quand un roi perde la France
B. Goldacre, Bad Science
J. Hannam, God's Philosophers
M. Keen, History of England in the Later middle ages
G. O'Collins, Christology
F. Raphael, The glittering prizes
Remaining - 9
Nearly there.
I struggled to find a Book of the Month, as many were flawed: Hannam, though interesting, seems to be labouring under the delusion that the Sixteenth century was in the medieval era; Goldacre was great fun, but too obviously his columns stitched into a book. Le Lis et le Lion, the conclusion of Druon's sextet, to which the seventh (shit) book was added later, was hugely enjoyable, but did have a dull start about law. So, that leaves me in a quandry. Druon's preceding work overcomes it. In English, the She-wolf of France, his account of the siezure of power by Isabella and Roger Mortimer was great. The whole lot were good though and I'm delighted I've read them, even though it is nearly two years since I was bought them at Christmas. Apparently, they are very famous in France; I can see why.
BOTM: M. Druon, La Louve de France
Anon, Gawain and the Green Knight
M. Druon, Le Lis et le Lion
M. Druon, Quand un roi perde la France
B. Goldacre, Bad Science
J. Hannam, God's Philosophers
M. Keen, History of England in the Later middle ages
G. O'Collins, Christology
F. Raphael, The glittering prizes
Remaining - 9
Nearly there.
I struggled to find a Book of the Month, as many were flawed: Hannam, though interesting, seems to be labouring under the delusion that the Sixteenth century was in the medieval era; Goldacre was great fun, but too obviously his columns stitched into a book. Le Lis et le Lion, the conclusion of Druon's sextet, to which the seventh (shit) book was added later, was hugely enjoyable, but did have a dull start about law. So, that leaves me in a quandry. Druon's preceding work overcomes it. In English, the She-wolf of France, his account of the siezure of power by Isabella and Roger Mortimer was great. The whole lot were good though and I'm delighted I've read them, even though it is nearly two years since I was bought them at Christmas. Apparently, they are very famous in France; I can see why.
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