1. In Search of Lost Time vol. 4 Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust
Proust becomes totally obsessed by homosexuality to the extent that he sees it everywhere.
2. In Search of Lost Time vol. 5 The Prisoner by Marcel Proust
Proust's very strange relationship with Albertine
3. In Search of Lost Time vol. 6. The Fugitive by Marcel Proust
This is the saddest volume of Proust's work. And Proust is painfully honest about his feelings and reactions.
4. In Search of Lost Time vol. 7 Finding Time Again
Years later, during and then after the First World War, Proust reflects on how he can find happiness again outside time by recalling moments from his past life, and realises that all his experiences and the people in his life are interconnected.
5. Rod: The Autobiography by Rod Stewart
I read this after hearing the veteran entertainer being interviewed on the radio. I enjoy autobiographies and found this one honest, funny and self-deprecating. He was a real hell-raiser who seems to have mellowed with age.
6. Marcel Proust's Search for Lost Time by Patrick Alexander
I wasn't quite ready to leave Proust so I decided to read this guide. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I was gratified that it confirmed my views on the plot and characters.
7. The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler
This was a pleasant read - maybe a bit too much like "The Accidental Tourist". It was still a good read, but not her best work.
8. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel or should I call it a mythological novel? My Mum would have loved it too, and I thought that it was very well written.
9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I loved this! It was a real page turner and I genuinely couldn't work out where it was going next. The ending disappointed me a little but was still quite good!
10. The Fear Index by Robert Harris
I have had this novel downloaded to my Kindle for ages now, intending it as a holiday read, so I decided it was high time to read it. Well it was ok but a little run of the mill I thought.
11. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
When we were in Greece last summer Zoey recommended this book to David and he said that he enjoyed it so I decided to read it too. And I'm glad I did because it's a very good science fiction novel, aimed at the teenage market and well written. It ends on a cliff hanger....
12. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
.... so I went straight on to the second in the trilogy. This one gets quite political, questioning the nature of power and good versus evil. Still good though, and ending on yet another cliffhanger ....
13. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
.... so of course I read the final part of the trilogy straight away! It does go on a bit, but ultimately has a fitting ending. I'm glad that I read them - thanks Zoey!
14. Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell
I'm going to hear Maggie O'Farrell speak at Aye Write Glasgow Book Festival on 13th April so I thought that I would read this book next. I enjoyed it very much; a satisfying book with a good ending.
15. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I had to read this Booker prize-winning novel to see what all the fuss was about. Once I got used to Hilary Mantel's distinctive style, especially learning to work out who is saying what in the extensive dialogues between characters, I enjoyed this historical novel a lot. The descriptions of 16th century England are beautiful and evocative.
16. The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
I downloaded this book because I heard part of it on Radio 4 and wanted to read it. And I thought it was excellent in a melancholy, wistful, unresolved sort of way!
17. Stonemouth by Iain Banks
I read this book because it is the April choice for our book club. I think it may have been chosen because of Banks' recent announcement of his terminal illness, when he stated in a touching and eloquent open letter on his website that he has advanced gall bladder cancer and that he only has a few months to live. I have read quite a few Iain Banks novels and this one was very good, set in a little Scottish east coast town. Sad that this will be Banks's penultimate book.
18. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
James gave me J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults. It took me a while to get into it but I really enjoyed it and think that J.K. Rowling has successfully made the transition to adult novels.
19. What have I done? by Amanda Prowse
I saw this when browsing on my Kindle and thought it looked interesting. It has a good subject but the book is not well written and I really wouldn't recommend it.
20. The Secret Lives of Buildings by Edward Hollis
Well this is a very unusual book. Jamie recommended it and it is a very personal, subjective book about architecture, told through the stories of a series of buildings. It is whimsical, even rambling - I love it.
21. Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Another recommendation by Jamie. What an amazing book, I learned so much and it was very moving.
22. The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness
A book club choice. I liked the story but never did quite follow the crane / volcano analogy. A pleasant read.
23. This is Where I Am by Karen Campbell
This was recommended to me by my good friend Fiona. I really enjoyed it - I was a little disappointed by the ending but then I think I would have been disappointed if it had ended any other way! An unusual and interesting book.
24. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle
I have heard this book recommended by so many American bloggers as their childhood favourite so I wanted to find out what it was about. I was not disappointed - it's a very good story.
25. Shadow's Dawn by H.K. Miller
I wanted to read this book because I know the author! It was written by our friends' son Hugh. This is his first novel; I enjoyed it very much and was impressed by his style - especially the description of the main character's journey.
26. Why be Happy when you could be Normal by Jeanette Winterson
I loved this and found her views on life very interesting.
27. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
I very much enjoyed this quirky Swedish book.
28. Moranthology by Caitlin Moran
I wanted to read more of her work after reading "How to be a Woman". this was really a collection of newspaper articles but an interesting read all the same.
29. Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
I have been looking forward to reading the second in the Cromwell trilogy and it didn't disappoint. I loved it.
30. Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman by Richard Feynman
I bought this for james after seeing a documentary about Feynman and it was really fascinating, full of anecdotes about the life of this personable genius.
31. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
I was drawn into this book by the descriptions of Trinidad and its history since the 1950s as seen by the main characters. A good read.
32. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
This was a strange and somewhat dated book which did nonetheless capture something of the very interesting lives of Gertrude Stein and her artist and writer friends in the years before and after the 1st World War in Paris. Sometimes it was lists of names with not enough description, but it was quite funny in places.
33. May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
Ths was very strange and I'm sure I have read similar books before - the hapless "hero" stumbles through life and it's all a bit surreal and unlikely. A pleasant read but at the end I just wondered what's it all about?
34. David Mitchell: Back Story by David Mitchell
I do like a bit of autobiography from time to time. I found the beginning of this one quite good but the second half was little more than a list of programmes that David Mitchell has appeared in and got a bit boring.
35. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Having visited Denali National Park where the unfortunate Chris McCandless died, and then watched the film of the book, I decided to read the book itself. And I'm glad that I did. I found it to be very thoughtful and reflective.
36. The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike) by Robert Galbraith
A fine murder mystery. I downloaded it a while ago and so had totally forgotten that it is by J.K. Rowling! It's a real page turner and very well written.
37. Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver
An intriguing book with an overly earnest ecological message and an unsatisfying ending. I quite enjoyed it all the same.
38. Into that Silent Sea by Francis French and Colin Burgess
A book that James lent me - the story of the first astronauts and cosmonauts between 1961 (first orbit) and 1965 (first space walk). It's very much about the people as well as the missions and I found it to be fascinating.
39. In the Shadow of the Moon by Francis French and Colin Burgess
I went straight on to read the next book in the series about the space missions of the astronauts and cosmonauts, this time from 1965 to 1969. Again it was very interesting and I felt that I learned a lot.
40. Footprints in the Dust edited by Colin Burgess
And then James ordered this one, about the Apollo missions from 1969 to 1975. This book was written by a bunch of different people and although I still enjoyed it, the differences in style made it less coherent and more like a series of essays. It has been interesting finding out about the Apollo programme though.
41. The Killing Place by Tess Gerritson
A book club choice, and another murder mystery. A mix of crime and horror, it was a fun and pleasant read. I have read Tess Gerritson before and I'm sure that I will again.
42. The Red House by Mark Haddon
Another book club choice, I thoroughly enjoyed this account of a week out of a family's life as the two branches of the family go on holiday together after their grandmother's death. The characters were well portrayed and complex; it was really well written.
43. The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris
And yet another book club choice! I thoroughly enjoyed the book and felt that I learned a lot about a community that I don't know even though it is in our country.
44. The Big Picture by Douglas Kennedy
Again, a book club recommendation and a thriller that held my attention - the change of direction annoyed me at first because I thought it was going to be a different kind of book, but it was still good.
45. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
A tantalising glimpse into Paris in the 1920s, about Hemingway's Paris years
46. The Secrets Women Keep by Fanny Blake
I read about this on someone's blog but it was very disappointing. The plot was cheesy and obvious but the worst thing was that it is poorly written, I can't really put my finger on how, it just is.
47. Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy by Helen Fielding
I did enjoy this for nostalgic reasons but frankly it's very predictable and not really very good!
48. The Quarry by Iain Banks
Iain Banks' last novel written just before his untimely death this year. I enjoyed it and thought that it was a great plot, however I didn't feel that the ending was as strong as the rest of the book. Goodbye Iain Banks, you were a great storyteller.
49. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
I thought that I would read Hemingway's own account of those Paris years depicted in "The Paris Wife". Written right at the end of his life, I can feel Hemingway's nostalgia and regret coming through. And he is a great writer.
50. To Heaven by Water by Justin Cartwright
A book club choice and a lovely book, it reminded me a bit of The Promise of Happiness by the same author which I enjoyed a couple of years ago. Ending was a little unsatisfactory though.
Having read 50 books this year I decided to devote most of December to the reading of educational and development books that have been piling up beside my bed - I won't list them here because they don't count as reading for pleasure.
