Trystorp's Books in a Year - Year Two

Having just finished up my first year of posting my reading choices, I thought I would continue for another.

My first year:
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=12792

Last time around I read 91 books. I'll shoot for 100 this year.

1. Ramage's Mutiny by Dudley Pope 4/5
I am really enjoying this series. Pope is a strong writer and I'm liking the naval setting. These are certainly lighter reading than O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series and are compared to Forester's Hornblower books, which I've yet to read. I definitely need to track those down.

2. Ramage and the Rebels by Dudley Pope 4/5

3. The Ramage Touch by Dudley Pope 3/5

4. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon 5/5

5. Ramage's Signal by Dudley Pope 4/5

6. Ramage's Devil by Dudley Pope 4/5

7. Ramage's Trial by Dudley Pope 4/5

8. Buccaneer by Dudley Pope 3/5

9. Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey 5/5

10. Admiral by Dudley Pope 3/5

Tristorp,
Dudley Pope histories are very good also, if you haven't read any yet.
The Black Ship and Decision At Trafalgar: The Story of the Greatest British Naval Battle of the Age of Nelson, just to name a few.

Thank you for the recommendations - I've been planning to pick some of his non-fiction as I'd read that it was well regarded.

I quite enjoyed the Ramage series but found Buccaneer and Admiral to lack some of the detail that made the others compelling and interesting. They fell to the level of simple adventure stories.

11. The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell 4/5
While this undoubtedly was a brilliant book, too many of the literary references were unfamiliar to me. I still found much of the book to be completely fascinating.

12. The Private Lives of the Roman Emperors by Anthony Blond 1/5
While the Sunday Telegraph claims that "this is the sort of book that gives ancient history a good name," I must strongly disagree. Poorly written, clumsily organized and trite.

13. The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk 4/5

14. War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Nations by Peter Turchin 5/5
This study of collective action in history and what the author calls Cliodynamics, the science of history, I found completely absorbing. I'm looking forward to reading more of the author's books when released.

15. The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner 5/5
Another brilliant book. This one focuses on evolutionary studies in the Galapagos which show evolution happening at breakneak speeds. Fascinating read.

16. The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature by Geoffrey Miller 4/5
Very interesting material but not quite as captivating as I'd hoped.

17. The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations by Eugene Linden 5/5

18. Fat, Forty, and Fired by Nigel Marsh 3/5

19. American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges 5/5

20. Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy 5/5

21. Hannibal's Children by John Maddox Roberts 3/5

22. The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization by Thomas Homer-Dixon 4/5
This was an intriguing read but I felt the writing needed a little more focus.

23. Is Christianity Good for the World? by Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson 3/5

As this was an early reviewers copy, I'll post my review:

Is Christianity Good For the World? Both Hitchens and Wilson get far too caught up in their metaphors and witticisms to add much of value to this debate. There is a lack of straight-forward informative discussion. Both debaters are evasive and aggressive - perhaps this is good form in a debate - but it failed to impress me. At the end of the book, Wilson criticizes Hitchens with the story of a minister who wrote in the margin of his notes, "Argument weak. Shout here." I would go further and apply it to the entire debate. Less shouting and more argument would be appreciated.

24. Beyond the Gap by Harry Turtledove 4/5

25. Standard of Honour by Jack Whyte 5/5

26. In Defense of Atheism: The Case Against Christiantity, Judaism, and Islam by Michael Onfray 5/5

27. Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian 5/5

The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian 5/5

29. The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian 5/5

30. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A. J. Jacobs 4/5

31. Duchess of Milan by Michael Ennis 5/5
One of the best historical novels I've read in a long time.

32. Byzantium by Michael Ennis 5/5

33. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson 4/5

34. The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson 5/5

35. Acacia: The War With the Mein by David Anthony Durham 4/5

36. Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz 4/5

> Trystorp.

If you enjoyed "The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America" you might like to check out;
Travels with Charley in search of America by John Steinbeck
Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least-Heat Moon
Roads : Driving America's Great Highways by Larry McMurtry.

The interesting thing about these books is they were all writen 20 years apart. 1962 for Steinbeck, 1982 for Moon, and 2000 for McMurtry.

Thanks for the recommendations!

37. The Fall of Rome: A Novel of a World Lost by Michael Curtis Ford 5/5

38. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 5/5

39. Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer 4/5

40. Men of Bronze by Scott Oden 5/5

41. Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations by J. Edward Chamberlin 3/5

42. Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America by Felipe Fernadez-Armesto 4/5

43. The Earl by Cecilia Holland 5/5
Cecilia Holland writes fabulous books that I never fail to enjoy.

44. The Long Ships by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson 5/5

45. The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier 5/5

46. Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem 5/5

47. Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow 4/5

48. The Eagle's Conquest by Simon Scarrow 4/5

49. Eric Brighteyes by H. Rider Haggard 5/5

50. The Golden Warrior by Hope Muntz 5/5

Congratulations on reaching 50! Looks like you are on track for another great year of reading. :)
--BJ

Thank you!

51. When the Eagle Hunts by Simon Scarrow 4/5

52. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians by Peter Heather 5/5

53. The Eagle and the Wolves by Simon Scarrow 4/5

54. The Eagle's Prey by Simon Scarrow 4/5
This is the best of the series that I have read so far.

55. The Eagle's Prophecy by Simon Scarrow 4/5

With the start of a new year I've decided to cut this short and put my further reading on the 75 Book Challenge list:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/53680