Recent Book Activity

I was born in the flat and damp north west of England, but have lived on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands (off the coast of West Africa, but part of Spain) since 1987. Other interests, writing, blogging, travel, photography, hiking, snorkelling, food and wine, Blues and its origins in African music, good conversation, my dog, but most of all my sons, who are adult now, but still "my kids"!

I've devoured books almost as far back as I can remember, encouraged by my lovely mom and my inspiring aunt. Books are my refuge, my school, my pleasure (sometimes guilty, sometimes not), my window on the world, and my abiding passion.

Trading is difficult, because postage from here is expensive, and, there are so many with which I'm loathe to part as yet, I'm sure the time will come when I downsize my book collection too. However, if you won't be offended by a "no", there is no harm in asking, is there? :=)

I used to have lists of books I'd read each year on here going back years, but with the changeover in the BC website it seemed like time to pare down my profile which had gotten a bit straggly. I regret that now, the lists of books that is, so I began again this year. I also decided to mark them with a star if they are exceptional and two stars if they are exceptionally exceptional - can't be bothered with five stars! Some years I have more time for reading than others, of course, but a good year would be a year when there are lots of stars I think. Quality over quantity!

2012
1. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
3. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Books Read 2011

1. The Everglades River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas *****
2. What I Talk about when I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami ****
3. The Art of Non-Conformity byt Chris Guillebeau
4. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
5. The Dangerous Summer by Ernest Hemingway ****
6. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
7. The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski *****
8. A Journey of One's Own by Thalia Zepatos
9. Hard Rain by Mark Edwards *****
10. Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
11. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer***
12. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
13. The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto "Che" Guevara
14. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk*****
15. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami**
16. The Solo Traveler's Handbook by Janice Waugh
17. Awakening the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
18. Hemingway Adventure by Michael Palin
19. Sun After Dark by Pico Iyer****
20. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer****
21. The Beckoning Silence by Joe Simpson****