Dan's 2010 Reading Plans

I generally try to lay out a reading plan, if not in written form, then in my mind, as I enter a new year. Last year I knew I would be focusing on finding some new authors and reading a lot of fiction. For 2010, I have a couple of thoughts.

There are some series I want to re-read. Specifically, Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series (been years since I read any of those); Tony Hillerman's Navajo Tribal Police mysteries (I've never read them in chronological order); maybe The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (this one I read over a 10- or 11-year period as King saw fit to dribble them out.....). Then there is another Southwestern series of mysteries by David and Amy Thurlo that look good, in the spirit of Tony Hillerman. I may also re-read Asimov's Robot novels.

I also have about 5 Hugh Corbett mysteries left, and Paul Doherty has a couple of other mystery series with different characters that I will look at. Like the Hugh Corbett books, some of them I may have to locate used, as they are a bit obscure.

I also want to read some more classic history - Carthage, ancient Greece, etc. Maybe something on Hannibal, Alexander the Great. I have a pretty good feel for ancient Rome - the start of the Republic and the move into the Empire. I would like to read about the decline and fall of Rome as well. Then maybe move into the Middle Ages. Should be a good year, reading-wise!

Dan's 2009 Reading List

Time to close out the year, from a reading perspective..... I am still reading a book, but doubt I will complete it before midnight tomorrow night - Stephen King's latest, 'Under the Dome'. It's 1,071 pages, and as of now (12/30/2009, 4:00 pm) I am on page 240. This one seems headed towards a 'Stand'-like good vs evil sort of routine, a modern-day 'Lord of the Flies' in a small Maine town that somehow becomes trapped under a (you guessed it) 'Dome'..... But King always does a good job with characters, and I am all about the characters, so I can forgive a little bit of a formulaic plotline. But more about it when completed.

So, with no further ado, the 2009 list, with some commentary afterwards.....

1) Stephen Ambrose – Nothing Like It In The World – Jan

2) Constantine Pleshakov - The Tsars Last Armada – Jan

3) Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi – The Monster of Florence – Jan

4) Dennis Lehane – The Given Day – Jan

5) John Connolly – The Black Angel – Feb

6) Paul Doherty – Crown in Darkness – Feb

7) Paul Doherty – Spy in Chancery – Feb

8) Paul Doherty – The Angel of Death – Feb

9) Harry Turtledove – Opening Atlantis – Feb

10) Steve Berry – The Charlemagne Pursuit – Feb

11) Gerald R Ford – A Time to Heal: Autobiography – Feb

12) Steve Berry – The Amber Room – Mar

13) Paul Doherty – The Prince of Darkness – Mar

14) Dennis Lehane – Shutter Island – Mar

15) John Connolly – The Reapers - Mar

16) Steven Saylor – Roman Blood – Mar

17) Steve Saylor – The House of the Vestals – Mar

19) John Connolly – The Unquiet – Mar

20) Patrick O’Brian – Master and Commander – Mar

21) Diana Preston – The Boxer Rebellion – Mar

22) Steven Saylor – The Arms of Nemesis – Mar

23) Arthur C Clarke – The Last Theorem – Apr

24) William Dietrich – The Dakota Cipher – Apr

25) John Le Carre – A Most Wanted Man – Apr

26) Nick Drake – Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead – Apr

27) PC Doherty – Murder Wears a Cowl - Apr

28) Greg Iles – Spandau Phoenix – Apr

29) Dennis LeHane – Gone, Baby, Gone – May

30) Steven Saylor - Catalina’s Riddle – May

31) Robert Harris - Imperium – May

32) William Diehl – Primal Fear – May

33) David L Robbins – Last Citadel – May

34) Matthew Pearl – The Last Dickens – May

35) Stephen King – Just After Sunset – May

36) Robert Harris – Pompeii – May

37) David L Robbins – War of the Rats – May

38) Robert Masello – Blood and Ice – Jun

39) David L Robbins – The End of War – Jun

40) Steven Saylor – The Venus Throw – Jun

41) Various – The Tainted Relic – The Medieval Murderers – Jun

42) Craig Dirgo – The Einstein Papers - Jun

43) Steven Saylor – Murder on the Appian Way – Jun

44) Bernard Cornwell – Agincourt – Jul

45) Robert Masello – Bestiary – Jul

46) Steven Saylor – Rubicon – Jul

47) Steven Saylor – Last Seen in Massilia – Jul

48) Preston/Child – Cemetary Dance – Jul

49) John Lawton – Blackout – Jul

50) Steven Saylor – A Mist of Prophecies – Jul

51) John Lawton – Old Flames – Jul

52) John Gardner – The Garden of Weapons – Aug

53) Steven Saylor – The Judgement of Caesar – Aug

54) Steven Saylor – The Triumph of Caesar – Aug

55) John Lawton – A Little White Death – Aug

56) Bruce Weber – As They See ‘Em – Aug

57) John Connolly – The Lovers – Aug

58) Anthony Everitt – Cicero – Aug

59) Philip Freeman - Julius Caesar – Sept

60) Daniel Silva – The Defector – Sept

61) Harry Ferguson – Operation Kronstadt – Sept

62) Brent Ghelfi – Volk’s Game – Sept

63) Charles Todd – A Test of Wills – Sept

64) Charles Todd – Wings of Fire – Sept

65) PC Doherty – Assassin in the Greenwood – Sept

66) Brent Ghelfi – Volk’s Shadow – Sept

67) Charles Todd – Search the Dark – Sept

68) Tim Sebastian – The Spy in Question – Oct

69) PC Doherty – The Song of the Dark Angel – Oct

70) John Lawton – Bluffing Mr Churchill – Oct

71) Charles Todd – Legacy of the Dead – Oct

72) Brent Ghelfi – The Venona Cable – Oct

73) Charles Todd – The Watchers of Time – Nov

74) PC Doherty – The Devil’s Hunt – Nov

75) Jeff Shaara – No Less Than Victory – Nov

76) John Lawton – Flesh Wounds – Nov

77) Brian D’Amato – In The Courts of the Sun – Nov

78) Paul Doherty – The Demon Archer – Dec

79) John Lawton – Second Violin – Dec

80) Charles Todd – Fearsome Doubt – Dec

81) Steven Saylor – Roma – Dec

82) Ron Darling – The Complete Game – Dec

83) Anthony Everitt – Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome - Dec

Non-fiction book titles are in bold.

The total of 83 way surpasses previous years since I have been keeping track (I started seriously in 2003). The previous high was in 2005, with 51. This is probably due to a couple of factors -

1) Most of my reading (88%) was fiction in 2009. Since much of my non-fiction
reading tends to be history, which can be quite ponderous tomes, the fiction
tends to move along much more quickly for me.

2) I discovered several new authors this year - Steven Saylor (the Gordianius the
Finder mysteries of ancient Rome); Paul (PC) Doherty (several mystery series
including the Amerotke ancient Egypt mysteries and the Hugh Corbett
mysteries set primarily in England of the early 14th century - I started the latter
series in December 2008); John Lawton (the Frederick Troy mysteries set in
the mid-20th century) and Charles Todd, whose Inspector Ian Rutledge series
is set in post-WWI England. Good mysteries all, and very difficult to put down
once started..... Unfortunately, I've finished the Gordianus series and am
anxiously awaiting a new one!

You'll notice that I only read one Presidential bio in 2009 - Gerald Ford', in February. It was actually his autobiography - the first one I have read in my 'Presidential (and Others) Series'. I could not find a very satisfactory biography of him yet. And I am taking a sabbatical from this series, as Carter is still alive, and I don't believe that there is sufficient historical perspective available yet on any of the Presidents from Carter onwards. This series will probably never be completed, for that same reason.....

As far as the mysteries are concerned, all of them take place in historically interesting points in time - ancient Egypt, the end of the Roman Republic, post-WWI England, World War II, etc. They all blend some range of historical fact or an actual mystery and historical characters with fictional characters and activities - a great combination for a histry and mystery buff! I would especially highly recommend the Gordianus series to anyone interested in ancient Rome. Saylor's books are all built around interesting relationships between actual historical characters such as Cicero, Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar and various fictional characters. Paul Doherty's Hugh Corbett series does the same, with the added twist of using actual historical mysteries that are solved by his main character, the Chief Clerk to King Edward I of England. Again, cool historical intersections abound.

Well, that's about it for 2009, time to close out the list. I have some thoughts on what I want to do for 2010 that I will post separately.