As well you know if you’re a returning reader of this blog, I make a note of every book I read. It’s a hallowed, time-honoured tradition that I started last year eons ago. When I first started, I found that watching that list get longer and longer inspired me to read more books, to increase the size of my tally. It became something of a reading challenge.
I also found I read more widely. I tried a few non-horror fantasies and dramas, and I liked broadening my reading-range and picking up some ideas along the way. I’ve actually started something this year; every payday I stroll to the bookshop* and get myself a new book – usually by someone I’ve not heard of, and purely based on the title, cover and blurb. Cos if you don’t judge a book by its cover, you’re lying.
Ever competitive, I’d like the record to state that last year I read 41 books (of novel length). 11 of those were young adult books (that old chestnut; I mean books from my childhood). This year’s reading challenge tally comes to 46, plus change. I’m happy with that.
I’ll keep making a note of the books I read, and not just because my sister got me a book diary for Christmas this year. Over the past months I’ve read widely and taken lots of inspiration from different writers and genres. I’ve also got a better view of current trends by reading contemporary books rather than sticking too heavily to older, trusted authors.
If you’ve any recommendations for 2020, throw them my way! It’s been a great year, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into a new decade. Good luck on your own reading challenge, and Happy New Year!
Here’s the list of books I read in 2019:
Folk Horror Revival – Field Studies
James Herbert – The Rats
Mark Forsyth – The Elements of Eloquence
Mervyn Peake – Titus Groan
Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders
Ransom Riggs – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Danny Wallace – Awkward Situations for Men
William Gibson – Neuromancer
C J Tudor – The Chalk Man
Agatha Christie – Murder at the Vicarage
Belinda Bauer – Snap
Terry Pratchett – The Light Fantastic
Stuart MacBride – The Blood Road
John Cleland – Fanny Hill
English Heritage – Eight Ghosts
Clive Barker – The Damnation Game
Henry James – The Turn of the Screw
Richard Matheson – Hell House
Dana Stabenow – A Cold Day for Murder
Dean Kootz – Intensity
Sheridan le Fanu – Carmilla
J R R Tolkein – The Silmarillion
Tracy Borman – The King’s Witch
George Orwell – 1984
Bill Bryson – A Walk in the Woods
C J Tudor – The Taking of Annie Thorne
Simon Zec – Death of the Suburb
Peter Robinson – The Hanging Valley
Michael MacDowell – The Elementals
Stephen King – 11.22.63
Laura Purcell – The Silent Companions
Val McDermid – The Mermaids Singing
Steve Cavanaugh – Twisted
Stuart Turton – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Robert Galbraith – The Cuckoo’s Calling
Ben Aaronovitch – Rivers of London
Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World
Tana French – The Wych Elm
Laura Purcell – The Corset
Rosalind Kerven – English Fairy Tales and Legends
Neil Gaiman – Smoke and Mirrors
Michelle Paver – Dark Matter
Lina Moriarty – Big Little Lies
Agatha Christie – Death in the Clouds
Adam Kay – ‘Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas
Mo Hayder – Skin
I also read a few short stories this year:
Oliver Ferguson – Dreams of a Demon Machine
O. Henry – The Gift of the Magi
M R James – Various
R L Stine – Various
Me – The Witching Hours
Me – Harvest House
*the bookshop in question is now Steyning Bookshop. I was popping to Waterstones in Worthing but Steyning Bookshop has stolen my cold cold heart with its consistent stocking of gothic thrillers and its friendly service. There’s something pleasingly pub-like about ducking in, saying hello to the owners and asking what they’d recommend.
