books

this evening i constructed this bookshelf, a gift from my brother and sister-in-law for their holiday home.

in 2013 i tried to read 50 books. i failed, but managed 42 which i think is pretty good going (or a sign that i need to get out more?!). it's the first year that i have listed the books i've read, including a mini-review and a rating. it's actually really nice to have a record of the books i have read because my memory is a little terrible and i often forget the feelings i have post-reading (the full list is below, mostly for my own information).

my favourite book of the year was without doubt 'A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali' by Gil Courtemanche. it's rare that a book makes me cry, this one made me weep. i also loved re-reading 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver.

this year i won't try to read 50 books (as i can't be guaranteed a 24 hour delayed flight in amsterdam en route to zambia and two weeks in france). my book related resolutions this year are to read more non-fiction and less african literature. i need to diversify.

1) Real England - The Battle Against the Bland (Paul Kingsnorth)
2) Radio Congo (Ben Rawlence)
3) The Black Album (Hanif Kureshi)
4) Crome Yellow (Auldous Huxley)
5) Welcome to Biscuit Land (Jess Thom)
6) The Perks of being a Wallflower (Stephen Chobsky)
7) Revolution in World Missions (K. P. Yohannah)
8)The Wizard of the Nile (Matthew Green)
9) Don't Run Whatever You Do (Peter Allison)
10) Running with the Kenyans (Adharanand Finn)
11) Capital (John Lanchester)
12) Leadership 101 (John C. Maxwell)
13) Wonder (R. J. Palacio)
14)Red Letter Christians (Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo)
15) The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
16) Dangerously Alive (Simon Guillebaud)
17) A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (Gil Courtemanche)
18) Chavs - the Demonisation of the Working Class (Owen Jones)
19) Quiet - the Power of Introverts in a World that can't stop talking (Susan Cain)
20) The Appointment (Herta Muller)
21) A Grief Observed (C. S. Lewis)
22) Faith (Jennifer Haigh)
23) Gone to the Forest (Katie Kitamura)
24) Dreams in a Time of War (Ngugi Wa Thiong'o)
25) One Day the Shadow Passed (Jonathan Reggio)
26) Bundu (Chris Barnard)
27) A Woman's Place - 1910 to 1975 (Ruth Adam)
28) Shadowlands (Brian Sibley)
29) The Hairdresser of Harare (Tendai Huchu)
30) A Travellers Life (Eric Newby)
31) Mukiwa (Peter Godwin)
32) Helen Sloan's Diary (Jeff Lucas)
33) Up Close and Personal (Jeff Lucas)
34) Evolving in Monkey Town (Rachel Held Evans)
35) Unconditional (Justin Lee)
36) Hope Dangerously (Lori Salierno)
37) The Bookstore (Deborah Meyler)
38) One Day I Will Write about this Place (Binyavanga Wainaina)
39) Between Two Rivers (Dorothy AlKhafaji)
40) Exile (Jakob Ejersbo)
41) All The Living (C. E. Morgan)
42) Half a Life (V. S. Naipaul)