The 2005 Book List

[celticdragonfly]

Early last year I saw some LJ posts with people talking about a challenge to read 52 books in the year. Now, I knew I was going to read more than 52 books over the year, there was no question of that. But I thought it might be interesting to find out if I read more than 52 *new* books over the year, as opposed to rereads. I tended to do a lot of rereads. And it would be interesting to keep track. So early in January I started keeping a locked post that I edited and updated regularly with the books I was reading. After all, people look at our household library and ask me questions like "wow, how many books do you have?" (we're working on getting them cataloged), and "how many books do you read?"

Then I managed to wrangle the paperwork that despite not living in Fort Worth proper got me a Fort Worth library card - and access to their website, and the ability to request books from all over the different branches to be delivered and held waiting for me at the counter of my favorite branch. Bwahahaha, I became the Book Spider at the center of the Library Web. I went off on various mini-research-binges on whatever I felt like. Whee! See a book mentioned, wonder if it's any good? Request it! Oh yeah.

173 books total. 128 new books, 45 rereads. 49 non fiction, 124 fiction. Everything from thick heavy non fiction to a bunch of fluffy fun needlework-connected mysteries while I was sick at my parents' house last week.

(I'm not sure if I should count full-size chapter books read aloud to the kids a chapter a night. We were doing that for a lot of the year. If that counts, add 6 fiction rereads to the list. Now they're back to kid-sized books, definitely not counting those.)

First-time reads are in bold.
December completion

Cutwork by Monica Ferris
Hanging By a Thread by Monica Ferris
A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris
Unravelled Sleeve by Monica Ferris
A Stitch in Time by Monica Ferris
Framed in Lace by Monica Ferris
Crewel World by Monica Ferris
Knitting Vintage Socks : New Twists on Classic Patterns by Nancy Bush
Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
The writer's guide to everyday life in Regency and Victorian England, from 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes
The book of hope : how women can overcome depression by De Rosis, Helen
An elegant madness : high society in Regency England by Murray, Venetia
The Sleeping Beauty by Jacqueline Navin
Bundori by Laura Joh Rowland
Surpassing the love of men : romantic friendship and love between women, from the Renaissance to the present by Faderman, Lillian. (This was an amazingly good book. I recommend it. It also got me started on Open me carefully : Emily Dickinson's intimate letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson, which sadly, I had to send back to the library before I had time to finish it.)
The Sherwood ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

November completion

The merchant of Venus by Ellen Hart (badly proofread - how annoying. Discrete for discreet, reigns for reins, lilly for lily, etc. Don't think much of this author)
A brother's price by Wen Spencer
At all costs by David Weber
The Perfect Gift, by Christina Skye
Fuzzies and Other People
Fuzzy Sapiens
Little Fuzzy, all three by H. Beam Piper
The slave community : plantation life in the antebellum South by Blassingame, John W.
Hannah's journal : the story of an immigrant girl by Moss, Marissa
Down North : the book of Cape Breton's magazine by Caplan, Ronald.
New people : miscegenation and mulattoes in the United States by Williamson, Joel.
Thomas Jefferson : an intimate history by Brodie, Fawn McKay

October completion

The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks
Liaden Universe Companion, Volume 1, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Thud, by Terry Pratchett
Quilter's Complete Guide, by Marianne Fons & Liz Porter
Dies the Fire, by S.M. Stirling
The plantation mistress : woman's world in the old South by Clinton, Catherine
A breath of snow and ashes by Gabaldon, Diana
A piece of justice : an Imogen Quy mystery by Jill Paton Walsh
The Wyndham case by Jill Paton Walsh
Conquistador by Stirling, S. M.

September completion

Fever Season, Graveyard Dust, and A Free Man of Color,
Sold Down the River, Die Upon a Kiss, Wet Grave, Days of the Dead by Barbara Hambly
(yes, I went on a feeling-in-pain comfort re-reading spree. I do that sometimes.)
The unstrung harp, or, Mr. Earbrass writes a novel by Gorey, Edward
Because I said so: 33 mothers write about children, sex, men, aging, faith, race, & themselves by Moses, Kate
Queen Victoria's daughters by Benson, E. F.
Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh

August completion

Thrones, Dominations, by Dorothy Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh
Busman's Honeymoon, by Dorothy Sayers
Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers
Have His Carcase, by Dorothy Sayers
Strong Poison, by Dorothy Sayers
Sprig Muslin, by Georgette Heyer
Sylvester, by Georgette Heyer
Athyra, by Steven Brust
I Dare, by Lee and Miller
Plan B, by Lee and Miller
Emily's quest, by Montgomery, L. M.
Emily climbs, by Montgomery, L. M.
Cold mountain by Frazier, Charles
Phoenix, by Steven Brust
Taltos, by Steven Brust
Scout's Progress, by Lee & Miller

July completion

Local Custom, by Lee & Miller
Eleanor of Aquitaine : a life by Weir, Alison.
Carpe Diem, by Lee & Miller
Agent of Change, by Lee & Miller
Conflicts of Honor, by Lee & Miller
Dared and done : the marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning by Markus, Julia
Through fire & water : an overview of Mennonite history by Loewen, Harry
A Hat Full of Sky, by Terry Pratchett
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Justice Hall by Laurie King
The Moor by Laurie King
A Letter of Mary by Laurie King
O Jerusalem by Laurie King
A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King (yes, yes, Locked Rooms ate my brain and now I'm rereading the series)
Chill factor by Caine, Rachel.
The ivy crown by Luke, Mary M.
Locked rooms : a Mary Russell novel by King, Laurie R.

June completion

The phoenix guards by Brust, Steven
Rainbow Valley
The riddle of Amish culture by Kraybill, Donald B
On the backroad to heaven : Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren by Kraybill, Donald B.
Anne of Ingleside
Annie on my mind by Garden, Nancy.
Amish society by Hostetler, John Andrew, 1918-
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne of the Island
Anne of Avonlea

May completion:

Anne of Green Gables
Out of this world : a woman's life among the Amish by Swander, Mary.
A stroke of midnight by Hamilton, Laurell K.
The Unhandsome Prince, John Moore
Crossing over : one woman's exodus from Amish life by Garrett, Ruth Irene.
The Unruly Queen: The Life of Queen Caroline, by Flora Fraser
Just plain people : tales and truths of Amish life by Beachy, Eli R
The Salmon of Doubt, by Douglas Adams
Finding Serenity: Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, ed. by Jane Espenson
Lucifer's crown, by Carl, Lillian Stewart.
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Levitt, Steven D.
Ballykissangel : the new arrival by Miller, Hugh
Little house in the Ozarks: the rediscovered writings, by Wilder, Laura Ingalls, 1867-1957.
Homesteading on the plains, by Wade, Mary Dodson.
Alexandra : the last tsarina, by Erickson, Carolly
A Little House sampler by Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Inside Laura's little house by Collins, Carolyn Strom.
Teckla by Brust, Steven
Yendi, by Brust, Steven
Jhereg, by Brust, Steven
Why Christianity must change or die, by Spong, John Shelby.
At Knit's End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Freedom and Necessity, by Stephen Brust and Ellen Bull
A good yarn by Macomber, Debbie.
A treasury of royal scandals, by Farquhar, Michael.

These batch I'm not counting towards my total, but I want a record of them so I know which ones I've seen:
Piecework magazine presents a facsimile edition of Weldon's practical needlework. Volume 2
Piecework magazine presents a facsimile edition of Weldon's practical needlework. Volume 4
Piecework magazine presents a facsimile edition of Weldon's practical needlework. Volume 6
Piecework magazine presents a facsimile edition of Weldon's practical needlework. Volume 8
Last-minute knitted gifts /

April Completion:

Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers
Victorian domesticity : families in the life and art of Louisa May Alcott by Charles Strickland
Have His Carcase, by Dorothy Sayers
How right you are, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Ya-Yas In Bloom, Rebecca Wells
The right choice : the incredible failure of public education and the rising hope of home schooling by Klicka, Christopher J.
The love you make : an insider's story of the Beatles, by Peter Brown
Inside the Victorian home : a portrait of domestic life in Victorian England, by Judith Flanders
How to really love your child, by Ross Campbell
Carry On, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse
We Few, John Ringo and David Weber
The Inimitable Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse
Royal Sisters, by Anne Edwards
Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse
More Charlotte Mason Education: A Homeschooling How-To Manual, by Catherine Levison



March completion:

Folk Bags: 30 Knitting Patterns & Tales from Around the World, by Vicki Square. (Eh. Might want to do the Tibetan satchel or the Irish creel someday, but not feeling a burning urge to do so)
A History of Hand Knitting, by Richard Rutt (that was a lovely session of textile geeking out!)
The Basic Steps to Successful Homeschooling, by Vicki A. Brady
The Illuminator, by Brendan Rickman Vantreage (my, that was depressing)
The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck (yeah, it's a reread, it's just been a couple decades)
The Emancipator's Wife, by Barbara Hambly (that wasn't terribly good for mental stability)
Unnatural Death, by Dorothy Sayers
Homeschooling The Early Years, by Linda Dobson
No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting, by Anne L. Macdonald
The Hallowed Hunt, Lois McMaster Bujold
Real-Life Homeschooling: The Stories of 21 Families Who Teach Their Children at Home, by Rhonda Barfield
Mark Twain, Lives and Legacies, by Larzer Ziff (what a name!)
The Crazy Years, Spider Robinson
Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
Dead Water, Barbara Hambly
Kim, Rudyard Kipling
The Shadow of Saganami, David Weber

Jan-Feb completion:

The Game, Laurie King
Days of the Dead, Barbara Hambly
Wet Grave, Barbara Hambly
Die Upon A Kiss, Barbara Hambly
Frederica, Georgette Heyer
A Civil Contract, Georgette Heyer
Arabella, Georgette Heyer
The Foundling, Georgette Heyer
Fever Season, Barbara Hambly
Graveyard Dust, Barbara Hambly
Sold Down the River, Barbara Hambly
April Lady, Georgette Heyer
The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer
A Pair of Pistols, Georgette Heyer
Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer
Changing Habits, Debbie Macomber
A Free Man of Color, Barbara Hambly

Comments

Yet another record!

[bkseiver.livejournal.com]

You always did blow them away at the Library summer reading programs! Congratulations on a worthy achievement!

Re: Yet another record!

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and why is there no special program for me to get cool stuff for this? Huh?

Re: Yet another record!

[hopeevey.livejournal.com]

My local libray has a summer reading club for adults :)

What did you think of the needlework mysteries? I've thought about picking them up myself.

Re: Yet another record!

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've found them reasonably enjoyable. Characters that kept my interest, which is of primary importance to me. It's not incredible word sculpture like Bujold, or the most gripping plots ever, but I enjoyed them.