Reading

I have been an avid book reader my entire life, my parents having instilled a love of reading from a very young age, saying that I have never been a particularly fast reader.

In 2022, I started using the libib Library Management app to track the books I had read during the year.

In 2023 I read 33 books. This is that list:

Jan 2023

Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, Book 6) – Robert Jordan

Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time Book 7) – Robert Jordan

Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time Book 8) – Robert Jordan

Winters Heart (The Wheel of Time Book 9) – Robert Jordan

Feb 2023

Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time Book 10) – Robert Jordan

Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time Book 11) – Robert Jordan

Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time Book 12) – Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Mar 2023

Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time Book 13) – Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Memory of Light (Wheel of Time Book 13) – Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson

No Plan B – Lee Child

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase – Jonathan Stroud

Apr 2023

Lockwood & Co: The Whispering Skull – Jonathan Stroud

Lockwood & Co: The Hollow Boy – Jonathan Stroud

Lockwood & Co: The Creeping Shadow – Jonathan Stroud

May 2023

Lockwood & Co: The Empty Grave – Jonathan Stroud

7th Heaven (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

8th Confession (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Jun 2023

9th Judgment (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

11th Hour (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Jul 2023

12th Of Never (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Unlucky 13 (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

14th Deadly Sin (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Aug 2023

15th Affair (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

16th Seduction (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Sep 2023

Kiss the Girls – James Patterson

17th Suspect (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Oct 2023

18th Abduction (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

19th Christmas (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

20th Victim (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Nov 2023

21st Birthday (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Dec 2023

Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena

22 Seconds (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson with Maxine Paetro

Based on my fairly straight-forward taste in literature, do you have any book recommendations for me to read in 2024?

I still love the feel of a physical book in my hands and throughout my life I have collected many, many books.

At the end of 2021 I started to track the books I read, mostly because I started to read a ‘new’ book and realise shortly into the story that I had read it before (sometimes rather recently too). I also didn’t want to start duplicating books on my shelves because I wasn’t tracking them properly.

I know there are many library apps and book reading tracking apps out there, but I settled on the simple and elegant libib Library management web app. Using libib to track my reading in 2022 I can now say I completed 31 books in that year, and I can share that list here. The first of what will hopefully be an annual list of books read in the year:

Jan 2022

• Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse) – James S. a. Corey
• Ready Player One – Ernest Cline
• Foundation – Isaac Asimov
• Die Trying. A Jack Reacher Novel. – Lee Child
• Tripwire – Lee Child

Feb 2022

• Caliban’s War – James S. A. Corey

Mar 2022

• Abaddon’s Gate – James S. A. Corey
• Cibola Burn – James S. A. Corey

Apr 2022

• Echo Burning – Lee Child
• Without Fail – Lee Child

May 2022

• Nemesis Games – James S. A. Corey
• Babylon’s Ashes – James S. A. Corey
• Visitor – Lee Child
• Persuader – Lee Child

Jun 2022

• Persepolis Rising -James S. A. Corey
• Tiamat’s Wrath – James S. A. Corey

Jul 2022

• Gone Tomorrow – Lee Child
• Leviathan Falls – James S. A. Corey
• Nos4r2 – Joe Hill

Aug 2022

• 61 Hours – Lee Child
• Fragile Things – Neil Gaiman

Nov 2022

• Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman
• Conspiracy of Bones – Kathy Reichs
• Past Tense – Lee Child
• No Middle Name: Jack Reacher Short Stories) – Lee Child
• Blue Moon – Lee Child

Dec 2022

• Better Off Dead – Lee Child
• 5th Horseman (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
• 6th Target (Women’s Murder Club) – James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
• Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time, Book 4) – Robert Jordan
• Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, Book 5) – Robert Jordan

Reading is my relaxation from the grind of the normal work day.
From the criminal/mystery of Jeffery Deaver, escapist thrills of Robert Ludlum, scientific/technological theories of Michael Crichton to the historical fiction of Robert Harris. I love it all.

But it is always good to come back to the witty and off-beat writing style of Terry Prachett. And his latest – Wintersmith – has me enthralled in his universe all over again, I love it.

After Wintersmith I am moving on to Trudi Canavan’s “Last of the Wilds“, then maybe “Jian” by Eric Van Lustbader .

Here’s to a month of great reading.

Current reading The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum.

A little old in theme – written in 1979 – but still fun.

Not sure what I will read next… Feel for a little Orson Scott Card