Monday 4 June 2012

What I read in 2011

Eve reads to Meg in 2011

I love reading lists.

Looking at a friend's yearly reading retrospective is a bit like that distracted sideways bend some of us do to scope out the bookshelves in other people's houses...but much less awkward.

I have a sanguine hope that there will be a forthcoming post about which books were the highlights of my year.

Miscellaneous non-fiction  —
  • Musicophilia: Tales of Music & the Brain - Oliver Sacks
  • 5 Cities that Ruled the World - Douglas Wilson
  • Loving the Little Years – by Rachel Jankovic
  • Raising Babies - by Steve Biddulph
  • Parenting in the Pew - Robbie Castleman

Books about Christianity and the Christian worldview —

  • Truth with Love: The Apologetics of Francis A. Schaeffer - by Bryan Follis
  • Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth - by Douglas Wilson & Douglas Jones
  • Family Driven Faith - by Voddie Baucham
  • The Plain Man Looks at the Beatitudes - William Barcley
  • Escape from Reason - Francis Schaeffer
Biographies —
  • William Tyndale: If God Spare My Life - Brian Moynahan
  • Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy - by Eric Metaxas
  • Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life - Colin Duriez

Fiction 
  • Silas Marner - by George Eliot
  • The Children of Men - by P.D. James
  • The Foolish Immortals - by Paul Gallico
  • True Grit - by Charles Portis
  • Framed - by Frank Cotrell Boyce
  • The Daughter of Time - by Josephine Tey
  • Rendezvous with Rama - by Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Refugees - by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Miranda Going Home - by Eleanor Spence
  • The Rider of the White Horse - by Rosemary Sutcliff
  • Mansfield Park - by Jane Austen (reread with Peirce)
...by John Buchan:
  • The 39 Steps
  • Witchwood
  • Greenmantle
...by P.G. Wodehouse:
  • Laughing Gas
  • Leave it to Psmith
...by N.D. Wilson:
  • 100 Cupboards
  • Dandelion Fire
  • The Chestnut King
  • The Dragon’s Tooth
...by Jill Paton Walsh:
  • The Wyndham Case
  • A Piece of Justice
...some “golden age” mysteries:
  • Mystery Mile - by Margery Allingham
  • The Man in the Brown Suit - by Agatha Christie
  • Lonesome Road - by Patricia Wentworth

Books I gave up on  —

  • What Maisie Knew - by Henry James

6 comments:

  1. A great list, and a great photo!

    I enjoyed Angels in the Architecture, Escape from Reason, The Children of Men, Mansfield Park (a classic!), The 39 Steps, 100 Cupboards, The Wyndham Case (Cambridge! yay!), A Piece of Justice (mathematics! yay!), and anything by Wodehouse.

    I think I'm pretty much over Arthur C. Clarke.

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  2. Hee hee. Yes, the gone-visiting sideways-bend.

    Lovely! Haven't you read Mr Standfast yet? It's my ~favourite~.

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  3. I joined the laugh at the sideways bend. :) It's my signature stance when visiting a new house, one I'm becoming known for.
    I immensely enjoyed Metaxas' Bonhoeffer, so much so that I'm now reading some of Bonhoeffer's theology. He's very sound, and one of my historical heroes.
    Mansfield Park--one of Austen's most underappreciated novels in the literary circles I am part of. Love The 39 Steps and Greenmantle. :)And I have only just begun hearing of Sutcliff; I shall really have to put her on my priority reading.

    I found your blog through In Which I Read Vintage Novels. :)

    Schuyler

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  4. I love reading lists, too! Thanks for this.

    I was thrilled to find a Rosemary Sutcliff's The Silver Branch at a library sale the other day. Soon I'll be dipping in to see what I think...

    Kara

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    Replies
    1. I only read The Silver Branch once, a while ago, but I really loved it!

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  5. Radagast, I probably won't read any more Clarke in a hurry. The concept was intriguing, but the characters were lifeless.

    Suzannah, yes - Mr. Standfast will be on my 2012 list. ;) And it IS good.

    Schuyler, you'll probably have to read a couple of Sutcliffs before you make a final judgement. I heartily recommend The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch (good one, Kara!), The Lantern Bearers, The Armourer's House and The Queen Elizabeth Story (both of the latter written for young girls - just lovely!). I love Mansfield Park, and my husband enjoyed it a lot.

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