All About Books discussion

Evelyn's challenge has inspired me to create one of my own to list the books on my shelves that I really should read by the end of 2015. I may add to this as time goes on, though I don't really like to tie my reading down too much. These ten (though my copy of Seven Pillars is two volumes) should be plenty enough to work through:

1. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
2. Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon: With Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and the Desert by Austen Henry Layard
3. Life by Richard Fortey (READ: 29/7/2015)
4. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (READ: 15/1/2015)
5. Bird Migration by Ian Newton
6. Woodlands by Oliver Rackham
7. A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World? 3000 BC - AD 1603 by Simon Schama
8. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive by Jared Diamond
9. King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz (READ: 5/3/2015)
10. Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence (or… Revolt in the Desert, since I have both) (READ: 30/4/2015)

Paul I'll be crossing my fingers for you! Good luck and happy reading : )

Thanks Evelyn. A few of these are books I started and put aside for one reason or another… the Simon Schama will be the difficult one as I was finding reading it to be like wading through treacle! I thought of adding Darwin's Journal Of Researches too, but as I said, I don't want to go too mad with tying myself down and end up frustrated by the self-imposed restriction.

I did try something similar a couple of years ago but it wasn't entirely successful as I didn't complete it; however I did read the majority of the books on that list so it got me to read some I wanted to that I'd put off for one reason or another.

Number 4 and 8 I've been meaning to read for a while too...this year I'm going to try read more non-fiction so it might be the year! I'll be interested to hear what you think of them :)

Erica wrote: "Number 4 and 8 I've been meaning to read for a while too...this year I'm going to try read more non-fiction so it might be the year! I'll be interested to hear what you think of them :)"

Good luck Erica; hope you managed to fit in more non-fiction. I've gone through a bit of a mad non-fic. period this year as only about 25 of the 84 books I've read this year were fiction.

First book completed:

4. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (READ: 15/1/2015)

It was difficult to get into this book, his explanations in places were very leaden and drawn-out, with long sections that could have benefitted from editing, but there were areas that I really found interesting so I find it very difficult to decide if I actually enjoyed it or not!

I found myself a little biased against the book though because I couldn't escape feeling an air of antagonism and superciliousness when he discussed the theories of others. His forthrightness is well-known and he's certainly passionate but find it grates horribly; I much prefer the warmth and open attitudes of the likes of Tinbergen and Fortey.

Good review Paul. My father and sister are currently reading his book The God Delusion. Do far they're finding it compelling reading...think it's a little less bogged down with science.

I found a really cheap copy of The God Delusion a couple of years ago, though as time goes on my interest to actually read it has diminished to the point where I may just put it with my next load of books to take to charity.

I found The Selfish Gene a little difficult, but mainly due to my ignorance of science. If you find Dawkins' voice irritating then I would advise to take The God Delusion to the charity shop, as I suspect he will annoy in this one too. I loved the book, but then I'm not irritated by his style. I can however recommend The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution by him, which doesn't suffer from this problem and is an excellent and very comprehensive read, much more animal focused.

There were certainly parts where my eyes glazed over Pink!

I do have a copy of the Ancestor's Tale, I was going to keep that as it is likely to be more of interest, though I will be reading Richard Fortey's Life first.

Second book complete;

King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz

very interesting read, though his discussion of keeping wild animals raised an eyebrow at times. Fascinating discussions of Jackdaw and Water Shrew behaviour though.

Third book read... it's been a long time coming!

Revolt in the Desert by T.E. Lawrence

Paulfozz wrote: "Third book read... it's been a long time coming!

Revolt in the Desert by T.E. Lawrence"


Always wanted to read this one. What did you think Paul?

Some parts were good but there were so many tribes and places mentioned that it blurred together a little. I'm glad to have read it though.

I've started three of the remaining seven books (Woodlands, Collapse, Life) but I've been having doubts about my ability to finish them all; it's going to be quite challenging to read all these by the end of the year if my reading continues as it has so far; my concentration hasn't really been up to the task. Hopefully that will improve over the next few months.

I've just started Collapse myself for a f2f book club. I'm finding it interesting.

It's very good. I've read a tiny bit more of my copy, but haven't really been able to devote much time to reading so am only about a quarter of the way through it.