Books read in 2011

It's a bit late, but I should try and analyse my booklist for 2011! First of all, I should point out that I think I might have missed out some books, as I ended up being a bit busy at times and got behind with keeping my list up to date. Secondly, the list below is in the wrong order! I've read 49 books this year.

1. Deep Waters - Barbara Nadel
2. The Black Book - Orhan Pamuk
3. Arabesk - Barbara Nadel
4. A 3rd helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
5. Nation - Terry Pratchett
6. A Chemical Prison - Barbara Nadel
7. The Wizard of the Crow - Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
8. Cosmic - Frank Cottrell Boyce
9. Framed - Frank Cottrell Boyce
10. Skinner's Festival - Quintin Jardine
11. Carbon Diaries 2017 - Saci Lloyd
12. Carbon Diaries 2015 - Saci Lloyd
13. Monsters of Men - Patrick Ness
14. The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness
15. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
16. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr
17. The Bride's Farewell - Meg Rosoff
18. Out of Shadows - Jason Wallace
19. The Butterfly Tattoo - Philip Pullman
20. A Rush of Blood - Quintin Jardine
21. The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie
22. The Pale Horse - Agatha Christie
23. Belshazzar's Daughter - Barbara Nadel
24. The Secret Countess - Eva Ibbotson
25. No and Me - Delphine de Vigan
26. Skinner's Rules - Quintin Jardine
27. HIVE: Zero Hour - Mark Walden
28. HIVE: Rouge - Mark Walden
29. Pretty Dead Things - Barbara Nadel
30. Petrified - Barbara Nadel
31. Dance with Death - Barbara Nadel
32. The Other Side of You - Salley Vickers
33. An Expert in Murder - Nicola Upson
34. HIVE: Dreadnought - Mark Walden
35. The Diamond Takers - Karen Wallace
36. The Time Machine - HG Wells
37. Maps for Lost Lovers - Nadeem Aslam
38. Season of the Songbirds - Nadeem Aslam
39. Some Kind of Black - Diran Adebayo
40. The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver
41. Toast - Nigel Slater
42. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

So...

Books by men - 29
Books by women - 20
Books by Barbara Nadel - 7
Books by Mark Walden - 3
Books by Quentin Jardin - 3
Crime/thrillers - 14 (ish?)
Children's/young people books - 18
A prize for literary merit? - Would probably go to Patrick Ness, for the trilogy starting with The Knife of Never Letting Go.

But this year has mostly been about escapism, relaxing from the stress of my day to day job! (Until this summer that is!)

Deep Waters by Barbara Nadel

Yet another Inspector Ikmen series. I was delighted to find myself holidaying in Istanbul, not far from Istiklal Caddesi, the scene of the last Nadel book I read, Arabesk. This time I was excited to discover that the body was found on the banks of the Bosphorus in Eminonu; not far from the balik ekmen boats selling tasty "fish bread". Yum! I read the book each evening with the streetmap to hand, figuring out where the characters were in relation to places that we were visiting.

One day we had chicken breast pudding in the Pudding Shop near the Blue Mosque in Sultan Ahmet. I was excited to realise that it was the famous Pudding Shop, as mentioned in other Barbara Nadel books. And then, the next day, lo and behold, two of the characters in Deep Waters met to share salep in the Pudding Shop!

All of this brought a very welcome extra dimension to my reading. Now, bring on the next one!

The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk

Probably the most exciting thing about reading this was that I started it before I went to Istanbul, read it while in Istanbul, and finished it after I returned from Istanbul! Our trip to Istanbul was unexpected; I was excited about going, having loved the Barbara Nadel Inspector Ikmen series, and enjoyed reading this mysterious book in the weeks surrounding my visit.

The one thing to note is that this is a long book, heavy and slow to read. That's not to say that it isn't enjoyable - on the contrary, I enjoyed it very much. But it was a very slow read. It is philosophical and meandering at times. I have a tendency to steam on ahead with books, wanting to follow the plot and get to the outcome. But for this book, the journey is important. Which is perhaps the same of the city, where simply being in Istanbul is as satisfying and uplifting as the myriad places of interest to visit.

Galip's wife is named Ruya, which means dream. And the novel is dreamlike in its confusion and wandering at times... Although it is also very focused, heading in one direction. It is written in parts, one chapter charting the plot, the main story of the lead character, Galip, who is searching for his wife. But these chapters are interspersed with columns from Ruya's half-brother's newspaper column. Are there clues to be read within those narratives? Or do they simply reflect the action of the present?

I am looking forward to reading "My Name is Red", which we also bought in preparation of our visit.

I should point out that I was reading the Maureen Freely translation. I understand that there is a world of difference between this and the earlier translation into English!

Arabesk by Barbara Nadel

Yet another great Inspector Ikmen novel... This time the action takes places in a small apartment flat on Istiklal Caddesi, and involves a couple of Arabesk singers.

A Chemical Prison by Barbara Nadel

Review to follow

Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel

I woke up early this morning, eventually decided to open my eyes and start reading. Started reading at 8.30am. Eventually finished the book and got up to have a shower at 2.30pm. That's what holidays are all about! Great books! This is the first book in the Inspector Ikmen series. Roll on the rest!

Pretty Dead Things by Barbara Nadel

Barbara Nadel's Inspector Ikmen series often seem to deal with, or perhaps rather refer to, necrophilia, and this book is no exception. However, this book also deals with the hippy past of some of the characters that live in Istanbul, and is another gripping read. It only took me a couple of days to make my way through this story.

Petrified by Barbara Nadel

A perfectly preserved body is found in a room with a dead old woman. What is going on? Another great read with Inspector Ikmen, this time based mainly in Istanbul, with the story taking place before Dance with Death. I am enjoying this series, even though I'm reading them in the wrong order!

Dance with Death by Barbara Nadel

What I really enjoyed about this murder mystery was that it was set in Turkey, particularly in the evocative landscapes of Cappadoccia. It features a Turkish inspector, Cetin Ikmen, his family, friends and colleagues, and a number of investigations. Quite unusual and very readable. I am now reading another one of the series.