This page is divided into sections on non
fiction, fiction (including detective
novels, P G Wodehouse, George
Macdonald Fraser and J K Rowling), epublications,
ezines, magazines, bookshops
and publishers, and libraries.
Non Fiction
I very much enjoy reading non-fiction books and magazines. I have
compiled a Non-Fiction Reading List of books (currently a list of
over 170) that I have read or used and recommend. The List includes links to the
homepages of some of the authors.
I am currently reading:
- "Bomber Boys - Fighting Back 1940-1945" by Patrick
Bishop - I have reached page 110
- "Fire & Steam - How the Railways Transformed
Britain" by Christian
Wolmar NEW - I have reached page 12
- "Traffic - Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It
Says About Us)" by Tom Vanderbilt NEW - I have reached page 60
- "Ideas - A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire
to Freud " by Peter Watson - I have reached page 100
- "A Perfect Mess - The Hidden Benefits of
Disorder" by Eric
Abrahamson and David H. Freedman - I have reached page
29
- "The Toyota Way - 14 Management Principles from the
World's Greatest Manufacturer" by Jeffrey K. Liker NEW
- I have reached page
118
I have recently finished reading:
- "The Story of French - The Language that Travelled the
World" by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow
NEW
- "Fighter Boys - Saving Britain 1940" by Patrick
Bishop NEW
- "Napoleon's Buttons - 17 molecules that changed
history" by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson
- "The Logic of Life - Uncovering the New Economics of
Everything" by Tim Harford
- "The Origin of Wealth - Evolution, Complexity, and
the Radical Remaking of Economics" by Eric D. Beinhocker
- "The Great War Generals on the Western Front
1914-1918" by Robin Neillands
- "The White Man's Burden - Why the West's Efforts to
Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" by William
Easterly
- "The Ocean Railway - Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Samuel
Cunard and the Revolutionary World of the Great Atlantic Steamships" by
Stephen Fox
- "The Black Swan - The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by
Nassim
Nicholas Taleb
- "The Age of Turbulence - Adventures in a New
World" by Alan Greenspan
- "Fooled by Randomness - The Hidden Role of Chance in
Life and in the Markets" by Nassim
Nicholas Taleb
- "Evolution of International Aviation - Phoenix Rising" by
Dawna L. Rhoades
- "The Tipping Point - How Little Things Can Make a Big
Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell
- "That Sweet Enemy - The French and the British from
the Sun King to the Present" by Robert
& Isabelle Tombs
Fiction
I have been reading:
- "Special Assignments" by Boris Akunin - I have reached page
205
- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J. K
Rowling - I have reached page 286
- "Imperium" by Robert Harris - I have reached page
207
- "The Lighthouse" by P. D. James - I have reached page
72
I have finished reading:
- "The Death of Achilles" by Boris Akunin
- "Turkish Gambit" by Boris Akunin
- "Murder on the Leviathan" by Boris Akunin
- "The Winter Queen" by Boris Akunin
- "Cat Haiku" by Deborah Coates
- "The Full Alex - Collected Strips 1987-1998" by
Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor
- "Pompeii" by Robert Harris
- "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
- "Angels and Demons" by Dan
Brown
- "The Murder Room" by P. D. James
- "The Cat Who Came to Breakfast" by Lilian Jackson
Braun
- "Death in Holy Orders" by P. D. James
- "The Cat Who Blew the Whistle" by Lilian Jackson
Braun
- "Night Flight" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - set in Argentina
I have also enjoyed the Tintin
and Asterix
comic books.
Below is a list of some of my favourite fiction authors.
Detective Novels
I like British detective novels by authors such as:
MysteryNet.com
is a good source on these classics.
Michael Bond has written an amusing series of novels set in France.
Monsieur
Pamplemousse is a
former detective turned food inspector for a restaurant ratings guide and is accompanied
by his bloodhound Pommes Frites. I have read:
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse" (1983)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Secret Mission" (1984)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse on the Spot" (1986)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Cure" (1987)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse Aloft" (1989)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates" (1990)
|
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests his Case" (1991)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm" (1992)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse on Location" (1992)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Train" (1993)
- "Monsieur Pamplemousse on Probation" (2000)
|
All except the most recent are now available in three Omnibus volumes published by Allison & Busby
P.G. Wodehouse
I enjoy the novels and short story collections (C) of P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) and
have all those featuring Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves:
- "The Inimitable Jeeves" (1923) (C)
- "Carry On, Jeeves" (1925) (C)
- "Very Good, Jeeves" (1930) (C)
- "Thank You, Jeeves" (1934)
- "Right Ho, Jeeves" (1934)
- "The Code of the Woosters" (1938)
- "Joy in the Morning" (1946)
|
- "The Mating Season" (1949)
- "Ring for Jeeves" (1953)
- "Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit" (1954)
- "Jeeves in the Offing" (1960)
- "Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves" (1963)
- "Much Obliged, Jeeves" (1971)
- "Aunts Aren't Gentlemen" (1974)
|
George MacDonald Fraser
I also have and enjoy the Flashman series of twelve historical novels by
George MacDonald Fraser set in the
nineteenth century:
- "Flashman" (1969)
- "Royal Flash" (1970)
- "Flash for Freedom!" (1971)
- "Flashman at the Charge" (1973)
- "Flashman in the Great Game" (1975)
- "Flashman's Lady" (1977)
|
- "Flashman and the Redskins" (1982)
- "Flashman and the Dragon" (1985)
- "Flashman and the Mountain of Light" (1990)
- "Flashman and the Angel of the Lord" (1994)
- "Flashman and the Tiger" (1999)
- "Flashman on the March" (2005)
|
J.K. Rowling
I have read:
- "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
- "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
- "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
|
- "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
- "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"
- "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
|
The author has an official
site while The Leaky Cauldron
is worth a look. The books are published by Bloomsbury
in the UK and Scholastic
Press in the USA.
Epublications
Ezines
A number of ezines are published on the 'Net and I have been keeping an
eye on:
Magazines
I have listed many of the magazine sites that I visit elsewhere but
other magazine sites of interest include:
Bookshops and Publishers
The following online book shops are useful for information about new
book releases:
The local bookshop I frequent most often in Wellington is
Capital Books in Featherston Street. It sells a good range of aviation
books.
The following publishers' sites are also interesting:
The following sites can be used for tracking down out-of-print books:
Libraries
The Wellington City Libraries
and Porirua
City Libraries have sites that includes catalogue access.
BookBrowser describes itself
as The Guide for Avid Readers and is run by two librarians - now combined with
Barnes & Noble
Last modified 11 November 2008
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