Books in 2012

There really is no good way to download a listing of all the books you buy from Amazon. You can capture a file with copy/paste, but it isn't in the best viewing format. What I did was paste it into Excel, then parse the data so I had a Title, Author and Date Purchased. This allows me to look at the data in a number of ways.

For instance, when I first purchased my Kindle I downloaded a lot of free books, most of which I haven't yet read, or were books I read as a child but were free. I did, in fact, read some of the latter. For instance, I read Freckles again, which was most enjoyable. I also read all the Sherlock Holmes books. Elementary, my Dear Watson, which he never really says in any of the stories.

Quite a few free books looked interesting, but I couldn't bring myself to run off and read them right away. Some are historical, such as Bill Cody's autobiography or a few of Teddy Roosevelt's books. I haven't read them yet.

At some point I downloaded one of Jim Hines's books, Goblin Quest and then captured his next three books in rapid succession. They were just too fun not to do so.

The best thing I did with my Kindle, though, was to download The Hunger Games trilogy. I didn't do this because it was popular, but I read a review and trusted the reviewer. I needed something to read to Darling as she went through her surgeries and recoveries in November and December and I chose those three books (in one volume!).

So while Darling awaited her first surgery I started reading the first book to her, The Hunger Games. In the first few pages I realized I made an error in judgment. My poor Darling hadn't eaten since midnight, it was approaching noon of the next day and the first hundred pages were all about food, with wonderful descriptions of texture, taste and variety. She just smiled at me. I did finish reading that series to her and, as the list at the end shows, I downloaded and read the Gregor the Overlander series to her as well. We're working on A Princess of Mars at the moment.

I've decided that electronic books might save me from the situation I find myself in. I own too many books. I own hundreds less than I used to, so I've pared them down, but I am now down to a mere five bookshelves and must reduce the number left drastically. I think that if I am able to obtain a book electronically I should eliminate the hard copy, unless I have a signed edition, it was a gift (or has other sentimental value) or it is one of my Gemmell books.

I think I once thought I'd be able to someday own a library of my own - a real library like in My Fair Lady but that isn't going to happen. Fortunately, AMAZON will keep the list for me.

Although I have to work to make it usable...

Before I go, I want to heartily recommend Nick Harkaway's books, or at least The Gone-Away World. I find that Harkaway makes me miss Vonnegut, and that's a good thing.

I'll give more details of these books in future postings, but there are not any in this list that I wouldn't recommend.

Books I've downloaded in 2012.

Edie Investigates by Harkaway, Nick

The Gone-Away World by Harkaway, Nick

The Prophet & The Wanderer by Gibran, Kahlil

Aladdin and His Wonderfully Infernal Device by Morris, Tee

Hollowland (The Hollows, #1) by Hocking, Amanda

All New Square Foot Gardening by Bartholomew, Mel

Her Own Devices, a steampunk adventure novel (Magnificent Devices) by Adina, Shelley

The Case for the Resurrection by Strobel, Lee

Hearts of Smoke and Steam (The Society of Steam, Book Two) by Mayer, Andrew P.

Falling Machine, The (The Society of Steam, Book One) by Mayer, Andrew P.

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces by Hart, Rhonda Massingham

City of the Falling Sky (The Seckry Sequence Book 1) by Evans, Joseph

Pellucidar by Burroughs, Edgar Rice

The Galactic Mage (The Galactic Mage Series) by Daulton, John

Adventure by London, Jack

The Steampunk Detective by Pitt, Darrell

Goblintown Justice (Shotguns & Sorcery) by Forbeck, Matt

John Carter: Adventures on Mars Collection (Illustrated) (Five "John Carter of Mars" novels in one volume!) by Burroughs, Edgar Rice

Ingenious (Synchronicity Trilogy, Book 3) by McCloskey, Michael

Industrious (Synchronicity Trilogy, Book 2) by McCloskey, Michael

Gregor the Overlander Collection (Books 1-5) by Collins, Suzanne

Insidious (Synchronicity Trilogy, Book 1) by McCloskey, Michael

The Trilisk Ruins (Parker Interstellar Travels) by McCloskey, Michael

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Clarke, Susanna

Extraction Point! by Taylor, Travis S., Osborn, Stephanie

Six Against The Stars: Book 1 (The Six Against The Stars duology) by Hunt, Stephen