2015: My year in books

February 02, 2016  /  Kam Oi Lee

Whoa, this is pretty cool: Goodreads generated this mosaic of my book covers and reading statistics. Nice to be able to see "54 out of 40 books read"! (In other words I exceeded my goal for 2015). That sure gives me a sense of accomplishment :)

Believe it or not, I went through a couple of years where I hardly read anything. Somehow my attention span had become that of a mosquito. I feel that's one of the damages that's being done to all of us by today's constant technological distractions (phones, texting, and So Shul Mee Dee Uh). But it can be repaired. Behold the evidence!

Also: seriously, discovering audio books has changed my life. I've been able to read/listen to so many more books. I've listened to books that were so long that I would have never gotten through them in tree-book format. I've also listened to a few where the audio experience was so amazing that it really added an extra dimension to the book (for example, Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, read by the author, totally bowled me over).

Anyway, here's my list for 2015:

1. A Brief History of the Samurai - by Jonathan Clements
non-fiction, history, Japan

2. Trouble is My Business - by Raymond Chandler
fiction, crime, mystery, detective, noir

3. The Killer Inside Me - by Jim Thompson
fiction, crime, mystery, noir, thriller

4. The Ultimate Weapon - by John W. Campbell Jr.
fiction, science fiction

5. Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath - by Michael Norman
non-fiction, history, war, World War II

6. The Compleat Bolo - by Keith Laumer
fiction, science fiction

7. The Guns of August - by Barbara W. Tuchman
non-fiction, history, war, World War I

8. Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet, #1) - by Orson Scott Card
fiction, science fiction, young adult

9. The Iraq War: The Military Offensive, from Victory in 21 Days to the Insurgent Aftermath - by John Keegan
non-fiction, history, war, military history

10. Playback - by Raymond Chandler
fiction, mystery, crime, detective, noir

11. 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History - by Charles Bracelen Flood
non-fiction, history, Civil War, American history

12. Nemesis (Harry Hole, #4) - by Jo Nesbø
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

13. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World - by Margaret MacMillan
non-fiction, history, European history, war

14. Planet of the Damned - by Harry Harrison
fiction, science fiction

15. Thirteen Days in September: Carter, Begin, and Sadat at Camp David - by Lawrence Wright
non-fiction, history, politics, Israel, Egypt, American history

16. The Glass Cage: Automation and Us - by Nicholas Carr
non-fiction, science, technology, philosophy

17. The Dark Defiles (A Land Fit for Heroes, #3) - by Richard K. Morgan
fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, epic fantasy

18. Thirteen (Th1rte3n) - by Richard K. Morgan
fiction, science fiction, cyberpunk

19. All Cats are Grey - by Andre Norton
fiction, science fiction

20. Plague Ship (Solar Queen, #2) - by Andre Norton
fiction, science fiction

21. The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East - by Eugene Rogan
non-fiction, history, war, military history

22. Half a King (Shattered Sea, #1) - by Joe Abercrombie
fiction, fantasy, young adult

23. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other - by Sherry Turkle
non-fiction, psychology, science, technology, sociology

24. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - by Marie Kondo
non-fiction, self-help, how to

25. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - by Susan Cain
non-fiction, psychology

26. The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future - by Vali Nasr
non-fiction, religion, Islam, history

27. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business - by Neil Postman
non-fiction, sociology, culture, philosophy

28. Signature Kill (Frank Behr #4) - by David Levien
fiction, thriller, mystery, crime

29. Digital Vertigo: How Today's Online Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing, and Disorienting Us - by Andrew Keen
non-fiction, science, technology, social science, philosophy

30. Darkness at Noon - by Arthur Koestler
fiction, historical fiction, literature, Russia, politics

31. Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia - by Ahmed Rashid
non-fiction, history, politics, religion, Islam, war, terrorism

32. The Devil's Star (Harry Hole, #5) - by Jo Nesbø
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

33. Frelseren (Redeemer) (Harry Hole, #6) - by Jo Nesbø
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

34. Salt: A World History - by Mark Kurlansky
non-fiction, history, food

35. Snow Angels (Inspector Kari Vaara, #1) - by James Thompson
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

36. Between the World and Me - by Ta-Nehisi Coates
non-fiction, memoir, race, politics

37. Lock In (Lock In, #1) - by John Scalzi
fiction, science fiction, mystery, crime

38. The Snowman (Harry Hole, #7) - by Jo Nesbø
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

39. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - by Daniel James Brown
non-fiction, history, sports, biography

40. Dersu the Trapper - by Vladimir Arsenyev
non-fiction, adventure, Russia

41. The Leopard (Harry Hole, #8) - by Jo Nesbø
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

42. Night Has a Thousand Eyes - by Cornell Woolrich
fiction, mystery, noir, suspense

43. Spark - by John Twelve Hawks
fiction, science fiction, thriller

44. Coyote Waits (Leaphorn & Chee, #10) - by Tony Hillerman
fiction, mystery, crime

45. The Selfish Gene - by Richard Dawkins
non-fiction, science, biology

46. The Three-Body Problem (Three-Body, #1) - by Cixin Liu
fiction, science fiction

47. The Shining Girls - by Lauren Beukes
fiction, mystery, thriller, science fiction

48. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers - by John Gardner
non-fiction, language, writing, reference

49. Talking God (Leaphorn & Chee, #9) - by Tony Hillerman
fiction, mystery, crime

50. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa - by Eugene B. Sledge
non-fiction, history, memoir, World War II

51. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - by Stephen King
non-fiction, language, writing, memoir

52. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS - by Joby Warrick
non-fiction, history, politics, war, religion

53. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us - by Michael Moss
non-fiction, food, health, science

54. The Crossing (Harry Bosch, #20) - by Michael Connelly
fiction, mystery, crime, thriller

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