Reading list 2012

Slightly more cutting edge and here-and-now than the 2011 list:

1. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein. Archetypal adventure story that isn't quite as big or exciting as it was when you were young. ***
2. Monsieur by Lawrence Durrell. Deeply strange mess of narrators and characters, who may have all written each other into existance. *
3. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Long, mostly good account of the rise of Thomas Cromwell. Complex, and lacks some dramatic vitality. ***
4. Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone by JK Rowling. Likeable enough child's fantasy about an orphan wizard. **
5. The Mercy Seat by Martin Waites. Rubbish modern noirish thriller set in the North of England. Obvious plot and crap characters. Less than No Star
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Satire of celeb culture and reality TV as teens battle to the death for sport. What's not to like? **
7. The Devil's Footprints by John Burnside. Long-even-though-it-is-short novella about a middle aged plonker. No star
8. The Agenda by Bob Woodward. Intruiging account of the dealing and politics of Clinton's first few months. *
9. About A Boy by Nick Hornby. Smug and twee account a thirty something bloke and a miserable teenager. No star
10. The Hillicker Curse by James Ellroy. Brutally frank account of the author's sexual and social dysfunction, though perhaps too much. *
11. Falk by Joseph Conrad. Odd novella about romantic-sexual frustration, and cannibalism. Or was it the other way round? *
12. The Several Lives of Joseph Conrad by John Stape. Adequate introduction to the writer, but with little consideration of the writing. *
13. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Second Hunger Games installment repeats the tropes of the first book while advancing the plot arc slightly. *
14. Other People's Wars by Nicky Hager. Interminable analysis of New Zealand's support of The War On Terror. Should have been interesting. Isn't. No star
15. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Pointless yarn about a kid who runs about a lot, has no family and brings people together. Spinelli has done better. No star
16. Bridge to Terabithia by Katharine Paterson. In progress.
17. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling. In progress.
18. Clockers by Richard Price. In progress.
19. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In progress.
20. The Third Reich by Michael Burleigh. In progress.
21. Capital, Vol. 1 by Karl Marx. In (very slow) progress.