Books
I like to read - so I read a lot of books. I have
been reading ~100 books a year recently (with a mix
of 35% non-fiction and 65% fiction).
[This was true until my daughter was born :) ]
The following
table lists the category quantities of books read
over the last few years.
(This page updated - May 6, 2008)
|
Year |
Total |
NF/F |
Fiction Categories |
|
|
NF |
F |
Mystery |
SF/Fant |
Suspense |
Fiction |
Other |
| 2007 |
89 |
28 |
61 |
24 |
22 |
2 |
9 |
4 |
| 2006 |
54 |
25 |
29 |
7 |
13 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
| 2005 |
50 |
20 |
30 |
9 |
10 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
| 2004 |
49 |
11 |
38 |
15 |
13 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
| 2003 |
79 |
19 |
60 |
18 |
26 |
4 |
12 |
0 |
| 2002 |
97 |
28 |
69 |
19 |
26 |
8 |
13 |
3 |
| 2001 |
101 |
32 |
69 |
16 |
34 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
| 2000 |
107 |
37 |
71 |
23 |
24 |
5 |
16 |
3 |
| 1999 |
127 |
49 |
78 |
25 |
24 |
2 |
15 |
12 |
| 1998 |
138 |
41 |
97 |
34 |
26 |
6 |
21 |
10 |
| 1997 |
159 |
53 |
106 |
46 |
23 |
4 |
19 |
14 |
| 1996 |
165 |
54 |
111 |
51 |
18 |
3 |
25 |
14 |
| 1995 |
189 |
60 |
129 |
59 |
26 |
3 |
16 |
25 |
| 1994 |
175 |
62 |
113 |
68 |
23 |
5 |
5 |
12 |
| 1993 |
172 |
61 |
111 |
61 |
23 |
2 |
18 |
7 |
| 1992 |
198 |
54 |
144 |
79 |
32 |
5 |
6 |
22 |
| 1991 |
168 |
15 |
153 |
100 |
35 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
| 1990 |
256 |
8 |
248 |
163 |
58 |
15 |
12 |
0 |
Actually - Heather likes to read a lot too. We have a
collection of over 30,000 books in the house (that is
why we had to buy a five-bedroom house! One room for us
and all the others for the books...)
Book Related Links
ex libris
reviews - A guy I know's monthly column of book reviews.
Favorite Authors
I have some favorite authors (hey - doesn't everybody?)
Everything here is fiction related. The only non-fiction
author who I would consider a favorite is John McPhee.
Most of the rest of my NF reading occurs when I see a book on a
topic that interests me. (and lots of topics interest me)
Historical Fiction
- Colleen McCollough
- The Roman Republic series. There have been 5 so far - "First Man
in Rome", "The Grass Crown", "Fortune's Favorites", "Caesar's
Women", and "Caesar".
Mystery Authors - "Thinking" Mysteries
These are mysteries that are more involved with character interactions
then with the mystery itself.
- Elizabeth Daly
- Elizabeth Daly wrote a series of
mysteries featuring Henry Gamadge that are set in the upper
society of New York and were written in the 30's, 40's and 50's.
- Amanda Cross
- The Kate Fansler mysteries which are usually set on
college campuses and have a literary connection.
- Dorothy Dunnett
- The Johnson Johnson mysteries which are set on the sailboat Dolly.
Mystery Authors - Historical Mysteries
These are mysteries set in historical settings (mostly medieval and
Roman).
- Lindsay Davis
- Roman mysteries with Marcus Didius Falco (an informer)
and Helena (his girlfriend - a Senator's daughter who is often
sharper than he is). Lots of travel around the Roman empire
of the time.
-
Steven Saylor
- Another Roman mystery author featuring Gordianus the Finder. Set
during the end of the Republic.
- Elizabeth Eyre
- Mysteries set in Renaissance Italy featuring the enigmatic
Sigismondo and his flunky Benno.
Mystery Authors - Suburban Mysteries
These are the mysteries set in the suburbs, often featuring female
protagonists.
- Valerie Wolzien
- This is a series featuring Susan Henshaw and set in Hancock,
Connecticut.
- Susan Isaacs
- ---
Mystery Authors - Lawyer Mysteries
These are the mysteries featuring lawyers as the main character.
- Judith Van Gieson
- The Neil Hamel mysteries. Set in Albuquerque dealing with
western and environmental topics.
- Lia Matera
- The Laura DiPalma and Willa Jansson series.
Mystery Authors - County Sheriff Mysteries
These are the mysteries featuring county law enforcement.
- Bill Crider
- Sheriff Dan Rhodes of Blacklin County, Texas.
- Steven Havill
- Undersheriff Bill Gastner of Posadas County, New Mexico.
- Susan Rogers Cooper
- Sheriff Milt Kovak of Prophesy County, Oklahoma.
Science Fiction Authors
I tend to prefer fairly "hard" style science fiction.
-
Neal Stephenson (aka Stephen Bury)
- Fairly cutting edge science fiction. Best so far has been
"Snow Crash", but "The Diamond Age" runs a close second.
-
William Gibson
- The original Cyberpunk author. "Neuromancer" still bears the
occasional reread.
-
CJ Cherryh
- She writes some excellent space travel science fiction. Lots
of intrigue and double-dealing and hidden agendas.
- James White
- A set of books dealing with medicine involving various galactic
species.
Fantasy Authors
-
Glen Cook
- The "Black Company" series (which is finally producing
new titles again) and the "Empire in the East"
series have some of the best magic descriptions (and
nastiest magic-users).
Romance
I haven't read many - but I really like the following.
- Jennifer Crusie
- Very amusing romance novels (so far they have been Harlequin
Temptation titles). We tend to read them out loud on road trips.
If you read just one - start with "Manhunting".
- Linda Howard
- The McKenzie brothers series. These are from the Intimate Moment
line.
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This page last modified by
Dave Fandel
on
Tuesday, 06-May-2008 22:19:28 PDT