Here is a list of the books I read in 2009. A lot of armchair traveling this year. I read all of these book on Kindle (iPhone), except where noted:
Tibet:
The Lord of Death (6th book in the Inspector Shan series – Hardcover Book)
The Caryatids – Bruce Sterling
Back on the Fire (Essays) – Gary Snyder
The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson
The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
Novels about Istanbul and the Ottomans:
The Janissary Tree – Jason Goodwin
The Snake Stone – Jason Goodwin
The Bellini Card – Jason Goodwin
The Sultan’s Seal – Jenny White
My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk
The Possibility of an Island – Michel Houellebecq (not finished)
Bicycle Diaries – David Byrne
Sweden:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson
Thailand:
Bangkok 8 – John Burdett
Bangkok Tattoo – John Burdett
Bangkok Haunts – John Burdett
Italy – Nic Costa Series:
The Lizard’s Bite – David Hewson
The Seventh Sacrament – David Hewson (Paperback)
The Garden of Evil – David Hewson
Dante’s Numbers – David Hewson
Laos – Dr. Siri series:
The Coroner’s Lunch – Colin Cotterill (Paperback)
Thirty Three Teeth – Colin Cotterill (Barnes & Nobel eBook)
Disco for the Departed (used Hardcover)
Anarchy and Old Dogs (used Hardcover)
Curse of the Pogo Stick (Hardcver)
The Merry Misogynist (Hardcover)
Mongolia:
Shadow Walker (Used Paperback
The Adversary (Used Paperback)
The City and the City – China Mieville
On the Road (Original Scroll) – Jack Keruac
The King’s Gold – Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Painter of Battles – Arturo Perez-Reverte
Baudalino – Umberto Eco (Paperback)
My favorite books were Jason Goodwin’s series and My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk.
My years list is almost as long. The Janissary Tree and My Name is Red are in a stack waiting for me. I reread On the Road for the first time since I was a teenager. I reaction is still the same. I like the idea but the work itself leaves me wondering where the mystic really comes from. Sort of like Hemingway’s work.
Yeah, it was a good reading year. A book is like instrumental music etc…
Wow! What a fascinating list I really enjoyed the Jason Goodwin books about Iraq. I loaned them to my son Jeff, who will be going to Iraq sometime in 2010.
My next book ? “My Name is Red” and after that I’ll check back.
Thank you so much,Ottmar. You do provide the necessities of life :)
And then your son will read them and discover that the books are not about Iraq at all… Istanbul is in Turkey. But that’s not too far since Iraq and Turkey are neighbors. :-)
“My Name is Red” is a wonderful book. I believe Steve recommended it a while back.
Oh, I do know better. His were the ones with all the good recipes: ) I loaned Jeff Khaled Hossiroi”s “Kite Runner’ and ” a Thousand Splendid Suns” Thanks for setting me straight.
I wish I could claim to have “discovered” _My Name is Red_. However, I have to come clean and let you know that I discovered the book after Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Prize for literature back in 2006.
You missed the best novel on the Ottoman Empire. You should read Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières. You will never forget it.
http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Without-Wings-Louis-Berni%C3%A8res/dp/1400043417
Thanks for the tip, Naheed. I bought the Kindle version and it was already downloaded to my phone.