Recent Book Activity

My bookshelf does not reflect the real maid-of-kent. The books that are dearest to my heart are on the shelves in my little library and not used for bookcrossing purposes. Occasionally a BC book tries to find its way into my library but, in true BC spirit, I pass it on and buy my own copy.

Many of the books I register are ones I have picked up in charity shops or been donated by people leaving the country who can't take all their books with them. Being an ex-pat has its advantages and word is getting around in the ex-pat community here that if you have books you don't need, maid-of'-kent will be very willing to take them off your hands.

Bookcrossing has changed my life, for which I thank my daughter DJGib for introducing it to me and I thank Bruce and colleague for setting it up in the first place.

My most treasured BC experience was being able to provide bed and board to Bruce and family when they got stuck in the Netherlands due to some volcano erupting in Iceland. They are one of the nicest families I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

Books read 2012 (R) = recommended

31 This Perfect Day - Ira Levin
30 Alice through the Needle's Eye - Gilbert Adair
29 Animal Farm - George Orwell (R)
28 To a God Unknown - John Steinbeck
27 The Bell - Iris Murdoch (R)
26 The Day of the Triffids -John Wyndham
25 Scoop - Evelyn Waugh
24 Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell (R)
23 Stuart - a life backwards - Alexander Masters (R)
22 Marathon Man - William Goldman
21 Starter for 10 - David Nicholls (R)
20 His coldest winter - Derek Beaven
19 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
18 A Woman in Berlin - anonymous (R)
17 A Secret Madness - Elaine Bass (R)
16 For the good of the cause - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
15 The Realm of Shells - Sonia Overall
14 Birthstone - D.M. Thomas
13 Nourishment - Gerard Woodward (R)
12 Snowdrops - A.D. Miller
11 Surfacing - Margaret Atwood
10 If nobody speaks of remarkable things - Jon McGregor
9 The Anonymous Venetian - Donna Leon
8 The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman (R)
7 Cop Killer - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (R)
6 The Locked Room - May Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
5 The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt (R)
4 The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (R)
3 The Snowman - Jo Nesbo (R)
2 An Uncertain Place - Fred Vargas
1 Being There - Jerzy Kosinski


Books read 2011 (R) = recommended

80 The Abominable Man - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
79 One Day - David Nicholls (R)
78 Old Filth - Jane Gardam
77 The Territory of Men - Joelle Fraser (R)
76 Going Loco - Lynne Truss
75 The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
74 The Quiet American - Graham Greene
73 Murder at the Savoy - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (R)
72 The King's Speech - Mark Logue, Peter Conradi (R)
71 The Plague - Albert Camus (R)
70 Mortal Causes - Ian Rankin
69 The Cruel Mother - Siân Busby
68 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
67 The Fire Engine that disappeared - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (R)
66 Life Class - Pat Barker (R)
65 Girl in the Cellar - The Natascha Kampusch Story - Allan Hall and Michael Leidig (R)
64 The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (R)
63 The Laughing Policeman - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
62 The X Files Ground Zero - Kevin J. Anderson
61 The Man on the Balcony - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (R)
60 Border Crossing - Pat Barker (R)
59 The Shape of Snakes - Minette Walters
58 The Red Queen - Philippa Gregory
57 Diary of a Madman and other stories - Nikolai Gogol (R)
56 And to my nephew Albert I leave the island etc - David Forrest (R)
55 My shit life so far - Frankie Boyle
54 The Bottle Factory Outing - Beryl Bainbridge (R)
53 Fleshmarket Close - Ian Rankin (R)
52 Rabbit-Proof Fence - Doris Pilkington
51 Lies of Silence - Brian Moore (R)
50 The Scapegoat - Daphne du Maurier
49 The Northern Light - A.J. Cronin (R)
48 Another World - Pat Barker (R)
47 Before she met me - Julian Barnes
46 Mixed Fantasies - Brenda Blethyn (R)
45 Strangers on a Train - Patricia Highsmith
44 The Chimney Sweeper's Boy - Barbara Vine (R)
43 The Amateur Marriage - Anne Tyler (R)
42 The Winter of our Discontent - John Steinbeck (R)
41 Up a tree in the park at night with a hedgehog - Robert P. Smith
40 Italian Shoes - Henning Mankell (R)
39 I'm the King of the Castle - Susan Hill
38 The Millstone - Margaret Drabble (R)
37 The Autobiography of the Queen - Emma Tennant
36 The Man who went up in Smoke - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (R)
35 The Murderer - Georges Simenon
34 The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi (R)
33 Bag of Bones - Stephen King
32 Where are the Children? - Mary Higgins Clark
31 The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway (R)
30 Terminal - Colin Forbes
29 My Uncle Oswald - Roald Dahl (R)
28 Roseanna - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (R)
27 Meridon - Philippa Gregory (R)
26 The Favoured Child - Philippa Gregory (R)
25 By Stealth - Colin Forbes
24 Chameleon - William Diehl
23 Bad Blood - Lorna Sage
22 The Ballad of Peckham Rye - Muriel Spark
21 What I was - Meg Rosoff
20 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
19 Mary Anne - Daphne du Maurier
18 The Comfort of Strangers - Ian McEwan
17 Death at La Fenice - Donna Leon
16 An unsuitable Job for a Woman - P.D. James
15 Mrs de Winter - Susan Hill(R)
14 Wideacre - Philippa Gregory (R)
13 Moab is my Washpot - Stephen Fry (R)
12 The Girl who kicked the Hornets' Nest - Stieg Larsson(R)
11 The Girl who played with Fire - Stieg Larsson (R)
10 Alien 3 - Alan Dean Foster
9 The Chalk Circle Man - Fred Vargas
8 Wilt - Tom Sharpe
7 A Town like Alice - Nevil Shute
6 The Girl of his Dreams - Donna Leon
5 The Yacoubian Building - Alaa Al Aswany (R)
4 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (R)
3 The Spanish Gardener - A.J. Cronin (R)
2 Shannon's Way - A.J. Cronin (R)
1 My name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok (R)

Books read 2010 (R) = Recommended

71 Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
70 The Pianist - Wladyslaw Szpilman
69 A Chemical Prison - Barbara Nadal
68 The Man who wasn't there - Pat Barker (R)
67 Up for Grabs - Erle Stanley Gardner
66 The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
65 Netherland - Joseph O'Neill
64 Long Way Round - Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
63 Twelve Red Herrings - Jeffrey Archer
62 Monday Mourning - Kathy Reichs
61 The Gravedigger's Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates
60 The Nice and the Good - Iris Murdoch
59 Ordinary People - Judith Guest (R)
58 The Net - Leonore Fleischer
57 The Geographer's Library - Jon Fasman
56 Out of Africa - Karen Blixen
55 A Twist in the Tale - Jeffrey Archer
54 Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse (R)
53 The Kill - Emile Zola
52 The Pearl - Jon Steinbeck
51 Before the Frost - Henning Mankell (R)
50 The Whole Day Through- Patrick Gale (R)
49 Aliens - Alan Dean Foster
48 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans (R)
47 The Green Years - A.J. Cronin (R)
46 The Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton
45 Cry Freedom - John Briley (R)
44 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer (R)
43 The Lord God made them all - James Herriot
42 Alien - Alan Dean Foster
41 Double Jeopardy - Colin Forbes
40 Chart Throb - Ben Elton
39 Disclosure - Michael Crichton
38 Devil may care - Sebastian Faulks (R)
37 The Citadel - A.J. Cronin (R)
36 DeKok and the Sombre Nude - A.C. Baantje (R)
35 Wash this blood clean from my hand - Fred Vargas (R)
34 In the Beginning - Chaim Potok
33 Uniform Justice - Donna Leon (R)
32 One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey (R)
31 The Small Miracle - Paul Gallico
30 The Snow Goose - Paul Gallico
29 The Terminal Man - Michael Crichton
28 The Grand Babylon Hotel - Arnold Bennett (R)
27 A mysterious affair of style - Gilbert Adair (R)
26 The Fortune of the Rougons - Emile Zola
25 The Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood
24 In the Dark - Mark Billingham
23 The Queen's Fool - Philippa Gregory (R)
22 The Luck of Ginger Coffey - Brian Moore
21 Liza of Lambeth - Somerset Maugham
20 Faceless Killers - Henning Mankell (R)
19 A Death in Belmont - Sebastian Junger (R)
18 The Stars Look Down - A.J. Cronin
17 Thérèse Raquin - Emile Zola (R)
16 Atonement - Ian McEwan (R)
15 Pauper's Child - Meg Hutchinson
14 Eye of the Needle - Ken Follett (R)
13 The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
12 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - Alan Sillitoe (R)
11 The Lonely Passion of Miss Judith Hearne Brian Moore (R)
10 A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
9 The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory (R)
8 The Missing - Tim Gautreaux (R)
7 Boy in Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne (R)
6 Talking Heads - Alan Bennett
5 Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier (R)
4 An Equal Stillness - Francesca Kay
3 The Seance - John Harwood (R)
2 Secret Smile - Nicci French
1 The Glass Room - Simon Mawer (R)