I'm re-using this BCID for a book journal/blog

(12/01) I can't believe I haven't thought of this before, replacing my general journal and books-read list with a single yearly digest.

I have some catching up to do, but herewith will be a record of what I read this year and other related 'chat' :)

January 2009

(09/01) The first Ipswich Caffe Nero meet-up of the year;

Acquired
(1) 'Dreamfighter and other Creation Tales' by Ted Hughes (not registered)
(2) An Office desk calendar thingy; read and ready to pass on, probably a good candidate for a themed release
(3) 'Mary Swann' by Carol Shields - a gift/controlled release from TurquoiseFloyd, a fellow Shields fan

I took 4 books along, so a net deficit (just!)

(10/01)
Read#1
'Quantum of Solace' by Ian Fleming

(19/01)
Read#2
'Restless' by William Boyd

(22/01)
Read#3
'The Dreamfighter and Other Creation Tales' by Ted Hughes

(29/01) Currently reading:

'Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi **abandoned**

'The Diary of a Superfluous Man' by Ivan Turgenev

I'm off to a Leeds meet-up tonight with 3 books to take along, and probably a 4th to leave in the office before I leave Halifax tomorrow...aah, but I bought a book (Angels & Demons) and picked up 2 from the meet :(

(1) Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
(2) Imperium by Robert Harris
(3) The Best Inventions in the last 2000 Years...or similar title?

February 2009

I'm working in Peterborough and living away during the week, so no excuses for reading v. slowly. Although these random dips do come and go :)

Acquired
- 2 'orphans' from the Caffe Nero OBCZ bookshelf
- 1 book from the Feb meet-up; The Naked Civil Servant, the Quentin Crisp classic
- A bequest to BookCrossing from DW; a pressie from me which she found frustrating, 'Revenge of a Middle-Aged Woman'

(03/02)
Read#4
'The Diary of a Superfluous Man' by Ivan Turgenev

(23/02)
Read#5
'Hemingway's Chair' by Michael Palin

March 2009

Acquired
(1) An impulse supermarket 'quick read', The Cave by Kate Mosse
(2) A couple of 'swops', the new edition (2nd hand) Moonraker, to read and pass on...very fortunate find as this is the next of the Bond series, and a second copy of White Teeth from Pin Mill, for my book-loving DD to read
(3) And, another impulse buy! The Booker winner, 'The White Tiger'

(01/03)
Read#6
'The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years' ed. John Brockman

(08/03)
Read#7
'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga

(16/03)
Read#8
'The Science of the X-Files' by Michael White

(30/03)
Read#9
'So Many ways to begin' by Jon McGregor

April 2009

(06/04)
Read#10
'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming

(08/04)
Read#11
'The Cave' by Kate Mosse

(11/04)
Read#12
'The Little Book of Money' by David Boyle

(17/04) My first wild release working away in Peterborough, not very adventurous, left in the works cafe!

(18/04) At today's Ipswich meet-up I took 4 'wild' releases and the latest Bond for a fellow 'crosser. I managed to come away with only a single book, and that only after shameless pushing from SemioticGhost!

(20/04) I thought I was doing quite well clearing books this year, so i've just done some quick sums...although i've released 17 books so far this year, i've actually acquired 18 (registered+found) so I have gained 1 book!!! I will now have to release a few more books in April to redress that balance.

(25/04)
Read#13
'Happenstance' by Carol Shields

May 2009

(01/05)
Read#14
'Pies and Prejudice' by Stuart Maconie

(14/05)
Read#15
'The Light of Day' by Graham Swift

(26/05)
Read#16
'Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Reading
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe
After Nature by W G Sebald
The Rotters' Club by Jonathan Coe

I've released a few books during May but managed to buy only 1 (the new Faulks 'Bond' - not registered yet) and picked up 1 at the Ipswich meet (John Peel auto-/biog)...so a good net deficit this month I think :)

June 2009

I should have finished The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe, but I left it at my sister's house...so it will have to wait to be recorded here later

(13/06)
Read#17
'The Rotters' Club' by Jonathan Coe

(14/06)
Read#18
'After Nature' by W G Sebald

(18/06)
Read#19
'Hey Nostradamus!' by Douglas Coupland

Omigosh, i've already registered 4 new books in June and haven't finished yet for the month, those darned birthday books vouchers!

(30/06)
Read#20
'Astonishing Splashes of Colour' by Clare Morrall

(02/07)
Read#21
'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' by Alan Sillitoe

July 2009

(05/07)
Read#22
'The Bridges of Madison County' by Robert James Waller

I've just had another look at the 'The Man Booker Prize' commemoration book, I thought I could fight it, but i'm too weak...I have to count the nominees (short-list) and winners that i've read!

I grabbed an opportunity to release (offload!) some books at a charity sale in the office this morning. Hopefully the finders/buyers won't mind :)

(11/07) I finished a big clear out at today's Ipswich meet-up, including my 700th release!!

(16/07)
Read#23
'Devil May Care' by Sebastian Faulks

(24/07)
Read#24
'Quarantine' by Jim Crace

Currently Reading
'Emotionally Weird' by Kate Atkinson
'The Mystery of Things' by A.C.Grayling

...and a borrowed book (not BC) 'All Round Genius: The Unknown Story of Britain's Greatest Sportsman'

August2009

(03/08)
Read#25
'Emotionally Weird' by Kate Atkinson

(07/08)
Read#26
I've finished the incredible story of Max Woosnam, Britain's least known Corinthian sportsman...will return to Pete at tomorrow's Ippy meet-up. Thanks :)

My review: This is a great Edwardian ‘ripping yarn’ about a sportsman from a bygone age where amateurism, duty & loyalty, and honest endeavour were prized above some of the baser metals of the modern day…but the world was changing, and with hindsight we can see that Max Woosman was caught in the middle of the changes. There was a new world order in the aftermath of the WW1 carnage, sports were becoming more professional, less likely to be at the whim of arcane governing bodies and old school traditions, and more susceptible to media, globalization and the need for year-round entertainment and the specialisation that this required.

In the end Max didn’t really fit; he was an excellent athlete, a Palinesque ‘good egg’, and a committed amateur who seemed to want it all, juggling many sports, a job, a family (his ideals)…that said, you can’t help but admire his energy and catalogue of achievements including captaining English amateur and professional football teams, Chelsea and Man City, Olympic and Wimbledon doubles champion, a Cambridge ‘blue’ cricketer and racquets (squash) player, a scratch golfer, and a 147 snooker player – phew!

(11/08)
Read#27
'The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits' by Emma Donoghue

(18/08)
Read#28
'Electric God' by Catherine Ryan Hyde

(28/08)
Read#29
'All Families are Psychotic' by Douglas Coupland

I've just come back from Scotland with quite a few acquisitions; although I won't make the mistake of earlier in my BC career by registering everything, including the 'Personal/Permanent Collection'. I bought a couple of first editions - Fleming and Graham Swift - found in the sublime Barter Books in Alnwick ('annick') which we stumbled on by accident on our journey up the A1. I've also got The Great Writers 'Stories for Summer' from Abe Books to add to the collection of the rather lovely series wot I bought as part-works many years ago.

(02/09)
Read#30
'Families and how to survive them by Skynner & Cleese

September 2009

(09/09)
Read 31
'Blind Faith by Ben Elton

(15/09)
Read 32
The Bad Dog's Diary by Martin Howard

Borrowed from me mum (not BC); I wasn't sure I would enjoy this but persevered. This is a dog's eye view of the world, to be precise the 12 month diary a Blake, a mischievous, if not downright BAD, mongrel trying to control his owner, get to 'scoot' with Ella, and take control of the park. It all has a happy ending, and there's enough interest to keep it just the right side of twee...if you don't like dogs I would avoid this, but as the relatively new owner of 'Alfie' I enjoyed it :)

(16/09)
Read 33
'The Mystery of Things' by A.C.Grayling

(26/09)
Read 34
'Dr Johnson's Dictionary' by Henry Hitchings

(01/10)
Read 35
'Vernon God Little' by DBC Pierre

October 2009

(05/10)
Read 36
'Three to see the King' by Magnus Mills

(06/10) I seem to be acquiring books like a mad person recently atm; 13 newly registered and another 3 from meet-ups in the last two-and-a-bit months. I must read more and/or stop getting more books!!

(08/10)
Read 37
'Dressing up for the Carnival' by Carol Shields

(19/10)
Read 38
'The Love Secrets of Don Juan' by Tim Lott

(22/10)
Read 39
The Shack by William Paul Young

..as recommended by daughter and wife. I bought it up at Grand Central Station, ooh, the outrageous main ticket hall, as seen in about a millions films!

This was no more and no less than I expected; a bit of a sentimental, spiritual-religious, parable. The premise is that the troubled Mackenzie 'Mack' meets his God (Gods!) in a transformed shack, a remote location that plays a key part in a family tragedy. His conversion, or rather re-enlightenment is a bit too simple, and the actions and philosophies of the trinity of God, Jesus and the spirit Saraya(sp?), a bit too contrived and unbelievable to this agnostic. I think I would have liked the underlying story of redemption more without the preaching, which was of course the whole idea. This is being passed on to my MIL.

ps. I read a similar book Ishmael which puts human evolution into context of the biblical stories, e.g. the 'meaning' behind the tree of knowledge, Cain & Abel etc. This deserves to be a bigger success than the 'Shack' IMHO

(29/10)
Read 40
'Giving up the Ghost' by Hilary Mantel

In a neat synchronicity I have registered 5 books in October and released 5 :)

November/December 2009

(05/11)
Read 41
'From Russia with Love' by Ian Fleming

(09/11)
Read 42
'The Incredible Lightness of being in Aberystwyth' by Malcolm Pryce

(12/11)
Read 43
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Borrowed from DD to read with the Ipswich Splinter Group, well at least vicariously join in with this month's book choice.

Of course I must have read this in the past, as formerly a big Christie fan, but I came to this with fresh eyes after a long break...and a real pleasure it was too :)

This is the first join-up between the near-simpleton Hastings and Poirot, although there is a hint of past meetings in Belgium. This is set during WWI, with Hastings convalescing at a friends house, P stopping with some other displaced countrymen at the charity of Emily Ingleworth. The matriarch of the house is not well loved, except for doting servant and new 'toyboy' husband. In the course of the convoluted affair various members of the family and acquaintances are drawn into the circle of suspicion. P sees through it all with his 'little ideas' (many times) and 'grey matter' (only once here). We are led to believe that there is 'method in his madness', but i'm not convinced, I think the evidence and the deductions are closer to some magically transference than a logical series of cause-and-effect, and the application of any number of aphorisms on how to solve a crime. No wonder Hastings is almost permanently confused and lagging many steps behind the Belgian's thought processes.

I found a great quote, which I shall make my own :)

"This is good. He has more intelligence than would appear, this long-faced Monsieur Lawrence [of yours]"

(24/11)
Read 44
'Friends Like These' by Danny Wallace

With meet-ups in Ipswich and New York this month i've managed to release 10 books and only picked up 2 - a good net result to clear my shelves :)

(30/11)
Read 45
'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury

(14/12)
Read 46
'The Sea House' by Esther Freud

(21/12)
Read 47
'Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith


(23/12)
Read 48
'Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Currently Reading
The Book Thief
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

I've picked up a few books travelling in New Zealand and Australia (most of December!) A couple will go straight to 'Private Collection'. And, a lot of releases while i've been away...4 so far, and maybe 2 or 3 more if I carry on reading at my current rate :)