Monthly Archives: December 2012

2012: Bek’s Best Books

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

So it looks like it’s that time again – sum up the year in various ways –  First I suppose are the basic stats: I read 158  books this year  –   54 (34%) were audio books, 22 (14%) were … Continue reading →

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Istanbul Passage

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon 2012/ 401 pages Rating:  7.5 I don’t *usually* read spy-novels but I’ve read enough to know a good one when I see it.  Kanon’s latest is one of these. Set in Istanbul circa 1945 WWII … Continue reading →

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The End of the Affair

Posted on December 27, 2012 by

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene – 1951 / 192 pages read by Colin Firth 6h 28m rating – 8.5 Greene writes from a confused Catholic perspective about a man who is having an affair with a woman … Continue reading →

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The Count of Monte Cristo

Posted on December 27, 2012 by

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – 1854 Read by John Lee –   47 hours (Oxford Edition – 1130 pages) Rating – 10  (they just don’t write them like this anymore) I enjoyed this book far far … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, classic, France | 1 Comment

Care of Wooden Floors

Posted on December 26, 2012 by

Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles 2012/299 pages rating  8 When the unnamed narrator house-sits his friend’s flat in an unnamed Eastern European city he should have known it might be a bit of trouble.  The two friends are … Continue reading →

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Slouching Toward Bethlehem

Posted on December 23, 2012 by

Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion 1968 / 256 pages audio / Diane Keaton / 6h 53m rating – 7 I’ve wanted to read this since probably 1968 (when I heard of it) but the book and I were never … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, classic, essays, self-select, US, woman author | Leave a comment

The Sense of an Ending x 2

Posted on December 20, 2012 by

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes 2011 / 165 pages rating 8.5 Another group is reading this Booker winner so I’ll play and reread it. I give it that high of a rating because it’s well written for … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, British, fiction | 1 Comment

NW

Posted on December 20, 2012 by

NW by Zadie Smith 2012/416 pages read by Karen Bryson 10h 58m rating – 10 So many interconnected characters – all from the same lower class neighborhood of very mixed ethnicities.  Leah and Natalie/Keisha have been best friends since a … Continue reading →

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Split Second

Posted on December 18, 2012 by

Split Second by David Baldacci 2003 (1st of series) audio – Scott Brick / 11h 40m rating B+ My son recommended this series to me and the first book is a good start for it.   Political intrigue is the … Continue reading →

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The Bell Jar

Posted on December 17, 2012 by

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 1963 / 234 pages Rating – 9 The Bell Jar is a moderately short novel.  It’s based on Plath’s experiences as a student in New York when she was about 20 or so (1953) … Continue reading →

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The Book of Evidence

Posted on December 16, 2012 by

The Book of Evidence by John Banville 1989 / 219 pages Rating – 8.5 Freddie Montgomery, a 38-year-old scientist, seems to bumble through life and now he’s out of luck and out of money and seriously wanted by some really … Continue reading →

Posted in detective/mystery, fiction, Ireland, Kindle/ebook | Leave a comment

Wild

Posted on December 16, 2012 by

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 2012 / 336 pages read by Bernadette Dunne/13h 6m rating – 7.5 I doubt I would ever have read this if it hadn’t been chosen as a reading … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Audio, memoir/ bio, non-fiction, US, woman author | Leave a comment