In 2010 I managed to read a so-so 44 books – I’m pretty sure that’s less than I’d read in previous years, so I’m keen to improve on that this year. Not that quantity should get in the way of quality, but I often scan a bookshop or library and think to myself that life is way, way too short to read all the books I want to, so I’d better get going!

As usual, I’ll keep adding to this reading list of books (usually fiction) I’ve read during 2011. Do leave your thoughts and comments at the bottom, or a link to your own reading list if you have one. I always like perusing other people’s lists to get some new ideas for my to-read list.

1. Twenty-Somewhere by Kristan Hoffman – yes, my writing friend whose blog I closely follow – someone who I know I’m going to be able to say “I knew her before she was famous”. Twenty-Somewhere was also my first ever e-book, read on my new iPad. Oh – before I forget – it’s an episodic, chick-littish read, following three college friends as their lives take different paths in their twenties – lots of fun.
2. Dexter Is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay. A totally random read for me, I found it on a summer reading list from the local ABC radio, in connection with our upcoming writers festival. A thriller featuring cannibalism, not my normal style at all, but well-written, great story, and, well, totally different! Since I’m aiming to read some different genres this year, I’m glad I read this. Don’t think I’ll go back and read the others in the series, though.
3. The Still Point by Amy Sackville – I read most of this last year but just finished it off – a story of an Arctic misadventure and its impact a couple of generations later, and a nice enough story but I felt like I knew nearly all about it right from the start and then the book slowly told me not much.
4. Dancing In The Moonlight by Raeanne Thayne … oh goodness me. In the spirit of expanding my genre experience, and with the thrill of downloading books on the Kindle app on my iPad, I tried a Harlequin romance novel. The reviews said stuff like “not as corny as its title” and “I didn’t even realise it was a romance novel until the end” but … these reviews were wrong. Romance genre experiment officially over.
5. Indelible Ink by Fiona McGregor is an excellent piece of Australian literature, with the same kind of “slice of modern life” feel to it as I got from Christos Tsiolkas’ The Slap. If you’re a fan of the other Aussie fiction I like, you’ll like this.
6. In the Wake by Per Petersen, a Norwegian writer of some note. Haunting, lyrical story. Very readable and lovely.
7. Heart Songs by Annie Proulx, since she’s coming along to the Perth Writers Festival this year. It’s a short story collection which started out all being about hunting (not really my taste) but ended up being much broader – beautifully written.
8. The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter, a new Aussie novelist who will also be at the Perth Writers Festival. Bit of a mystery novel, bit of a typical lit fic, definitely enjoyable and nice to see a novel set partly in New York but with an Australian perspective.
9. Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan (also coming for the Perth Writers Festival) – a novel about a Catholic priest, it had a great beginning, a great ending but for me, a bit of a so-so middle with a hefty chunk of back story that had me skipping through it to “get back to the story”.
10. Why You Are Australian by Nikki Gemmell – a non-fiction “letter to her children” detailing her trial return to Australia for a few months, trying to decide whether she could live her again after many years as an ex-pat in London. For me, a beautiful homage to what is best about my country and why I wanted to raise a family here and not elsewhere. To the general reader who is either not Australian or hasn’t had an ex-pat life, and doesn’t have children – perhaps less of interest.
11. Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris of Chocolat fame, though it’s best not to think about that, because the two books couldn’t be more different – yet are both excellent. Blueeyedboy is kind of a mystery/thriller told through online fan-fiction and blog-style entries. Bizarre but excellent.
12. Wonders of a Godless Worldby Andrew McGahan, one of my favourite Aussie writers. Every book he writes seems totally different, and this was no exception; a vaguely fantasy-style story that’s hard to explain yet a beautiful read. Perhaps my favourite of his?
13. Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, a re-read of this YA book I read at least a decade ago, after seeing Melina Marchetta speak at the Perth Writers Festival (ooh, just Wikipedia-ed her and discovered we share the same birthday!). Excellent novel. Vivid and honest about the life of an Aussie-born teenage daughter of immigrants in Sydney, and it says a lot about Australia and our way of life here, both good and bad. With a suitable dose of teenage angst!
14. Baby Steps: A Bloke’s-Eye View of IVF by Jason Davis – creative non-fiction, which you may recall I decided to put on this list; a fluffy account of a slightly more important subject, but interesting to see a man’s perspective.
15. The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan is a cross between comedy and crime, lots of fun and with a few interesting plot twists. I think it’s the first in an ongoing series, although I probably didn’t enjoy it quite enough to grab the next one.
16. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins, another non-fiction (but well-written) addition to my list. Scary stuff about the pressure teenagers are under to succeed in high school and college life in the United States.
17. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta – yes, I had to keep reading her stuff after loving Looking for Alibrandi last month. This YA novel was good, but not great – nowhere near as powerful as her debut.
18. Surfacing by Margaret Atwood; I haven’t read any of her stuff for ages but since I’ve been following her on Twitter (she’s a real addict – @MargaretAtwood) I felt the need.
19. The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta, again. This is her newest, and involves the same characters as Saving Francesca, but five years on (and it stands alone as a novel). Heaps better than Saving Francesca in my opinion, excellent in fact, although definitely for the older end of YA or even just for fully-grown adults like me! Great Aussie slice of life.
20. What is Left Over, After by Natasha Lester, a local writer who I met at the Perth Writers Festival. This novel won the TAG Hungerford award and I can see why it beat mine. A million times better! It’s got a great storyline about a woman suffering from a tragic loss and much of it is set in the south-west of WA.
21. Land’s Edge by Tim Winton – it’s a memoir, rather than a novel, but is typical Winton – quite mesmerising, especially for a fellow West Aussie like me who can picture the beaches and coastlines he’s talking about. I learnt we grew up in the same Perth suburb, and am hoping that’s a Lucky Thing!
22. Dead Line by Stella Rimington – another in her Liz Carlyle spy series, and yes the only spy author I read – but she’s authentic! And lovely! And I saw her at the Perth Writers Festival a few years ago. I’ve even got another of hers on my to-read pile right now.
23. Fall Girl by Toni Jordan – her second, and one I was inspired to read after seeing her at the Perth Writers Festival again. Excellent book, amazing how she got me all sympathetic to this family of con-men (and con-women), so funny with many laugh-out-loud moments and some lovely twists in the plot. Something different to everything else I’ve read lately, so very refreshing!
24. Avoiding Mr Right by Anita Heiss. I really wanted to *love* this book, because I love the idea of it – urban Aussie chick lit with a strong Aboriginal woman as the protagonist. But unfortunately I just couldn’t get past the chick lit part. It’s just not my genre. If it’s yours, however, then this is an excellent book. If I were a chick lit lover I think the only criticism I’d have is that it reads at times like a guidebook to Melbourne cafes and pubs (not necessarily a bad thing!).
25. Present Danger by Stella Rimington – yes, another in the Liz Carlyle series, this time caught up in the leftovers of the Northern Ireland conflict. Good but I should have left a bigger gap between reading the previous one and this – it started to all sound a bit the same.
26. When My Husband Does the Dishes by Kerri Sackville, an Aussie blogger turned published author – this is non-fiction and hilarious, easy for any wife and mother to relate to.
27. Belly Dancing for Beginners by Liz Byrski – a local writer – and I admit when I started this novel I thought I was not going to like it, as it seemed clearly aimed at women somewhat older than me. Fortunately I read on, and it was a delight. I love books set in Perth (so exciting to know the places!) and the characters here were so lifelike yet so interesting. A great read.

Tags: 2011 reading list

Posted in Reading Fiction | 3 Comments »