2 — Books 2005
Well, the best I read in 2005. They are in order of my reading them, more or less.
1. Alexander McCall Smith: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies and the whole The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Most recently I read The Full Cupboard of Life.
2. Peter Goldsworthy, Three Dog Night.
3. Andrea Levy, Small Island.
4. Don Watson, Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words.
5. J M Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello.
6. Judith Claire Mitchell, The Last Day of the War.
7. Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty. See also my account of it.
8. Jared Diamond, Collapse.
9. Anita Mason, Angel.
10. Amanda Lohrey, The Philosopher’s Doll.
11. Andrew McGahan, The White Earth.
12. David Malouf, The Great World.
13. Malise Ruthven, A Fury for God — re-read.
14. Mario Vargas Llosa, The Feast of the Goat.
15. Amy Tan, The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings.
16. Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven.
17. Amin Maalouf, On Identity — re-read. An essential book.
18. Bishop Richard Holloway, Doubts and Loves — wonderful.
19. Christopher Hope, Brothers Under the Skin.
20. Noel Tovey, Little Black Bastard.
21. Niall Ferguson, American Colossus.
22. Rex Miller, The Millenium Matrix.
23. John Shelby Spong, Here I Stand.
24. Robert Eaglestone, Postmodernism and Holocaust Denial.
25. Stephen Bates, A Church at War: Anglicans and Homosexuality.
26. Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man.
27. Joseph E Stiglitz, The Roaring Nineties.
28. Nicholas Jose, Original Face.
29. Brian Moynahan, The Faith.
30. Giles Milton, White Gold.
31. Bain Attwood, Telling the Truth About Aboriginal History.
32. Martin Forward, Jesus: A Short Biography — especially supplements Moynahan’s first chapter or two.
33. Alexander Stille, The Future of the Past, which I have just finished. Enthralling and very important.
34. Sue Townsend, Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction.
35. Amy Tan, Saving Fish from Drowning (2005).
UPDATE April 2008 to correct all Blogspot links ==> WordPress and “ninglunbooks” ===> New Lines.
