Bibliography, 2015

As ever, my list. I've put dates on because I think it's the kind of minor detail everyone is crying out for. A very good showing for recent books this time:

January - M. Cunningham, The hours (1999)
February - J. Wood, The Fun Stuff (2013)
March - P. Barker, The Ghost Road (1995)
April - P. Lively, Moon tiger (1987)
May - M. Robinson, Gilead (2004)
June - M. Pollan, Cooked (2014)
July - F.M. Ford, No More Parades (1925)
August - J.B. Priestley, English Journey (1934)
September - Cao Xuequin, Story of the Stone: the golden days (C18)
October - M. James, A Brief History of Seven Killings (2015)
November - H. Yanagihara, A Little Life (2015)

December - E. de Waal, The white road (2015)

Overall levels are slightly up on 2014 despite a very poor end and I read more books this year than any year since I've had a baby. However, it was absolutely dominated by fiction (75% of all reading; two thirds of BOTMs), a level not seen since 2012 - last time I had a small baby. Quality however, was much better and the months Feb to August outstanding.

A lot of the fiction was genuinely brilliant. However, my favourite by some distance was Gilead which I've bought for several priests and was beautifully done, and indeed beautiful. It's her masterpiece. It clearly gains from my religion - next time someone lets me preach I shall be using this wonderful passage about existence - but I can't imagine it loses much for the godless. Honourable mention for A little life and especially Moon tiger.

Non-fiction is smaller, but well contested. Essentially it's a three way showdown between Priestley, Polland and Wood. Wood wins from Pollan, though it's the latter who has caused me to bake bread, there were a few hippie infelicities in it. I can't remember any from Wood. It may be that I don't read enough literary analysis, but almost all of his collected essays were illuminating and insightful; some were revelatory.All were elegant. Most importantly, he also seems to have similar dislikes to me.