the UrbanSpaceman 2005 bookshelf
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My Book Rings and Rays completed in 2005
Others' Book Rings and Rays completed in 2005
Books Read in 2005
World Space Week 2005 Mass Release
Castaway Books 2005
My current BookCrossing page
My Book Rings and Rays completed in 2005
I launched fifteen book rings and rays in 2005, but only four are complete so far. The remaining eleven are listed on my current BookCrossing page.
The Glass Bead Game, Herman Hesse - International Book Ray: April-August 2005
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, T.S. Eliot - International Book Ring: May-September 2005
The Prestige , Christopher Priest - International Book Ring: May-September 2005
The Scar, China Mieville - UK Book Ring: May-September 2005
Others' Book Rings and Rays completed in 2005
I joined sixty-five book rings and rays in 2005 and completed forty-five of them. The remaining twenty are listed on my current BookCrossing pageand will (I expect) be completed during 2006.
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami. Run by Robert-Walker.Read December 2005
The Places In Between, Rory Stewart. Run by Caro1.Read December 2005
Wild Talent Wilson Tucker. Run by Wistful Dragon. Read November 2005
The Vesuvius Club Mark Gatis. Run by Starry-Starry/Netstation. Read November 2005
Time out of Joint, Philip K Dick. Run by WistfulDragon. Read November 2005
Tiger by the Tail, Alan E Nourse. Run by WistfulDragon. Read November 2005
Sabriel, Garth Nix. Run by DaemonWolf.Read November 2005
My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult. Run by Jenatleisure. Read November 2005
The Virgin Suicides Jeffrey Eugenides. Run by Jenatleisure. Read October 2005
Shakespeare, My Butt! John Donoghue. Run by Acanthium32. Read October 2005
Mrs.P's Journey: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Created the A-Z Map
, Sarah Hartley. Run by DaemonWolf.Read October 2005
Helloland, Nick Walker. Run by Detailista. Read October 2005
Geisha Liza Dalby. Run by Skribble. Read October 2005
Written On The Body Jeanette Winterson. Run by DaemonWolf. Read September 2005
Let Me Go, Helga Schneider. Run by Caro1.Read September 2005
The Confessions of a Flesh-Eater, David Madsen. Run by MelancholyMan.Read September 2005
The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Run by Anglersrest. Read July 2005
The Salesman, Joseph O'Connor. Run by Anfield.Read July 2005
Sophie's World, Jostein Gaader. Run by Moondreamer.Read July 2005
Hotel World, Ali Smith. Run by ChelseaGirl. Read July 2005
The Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf, David Madsen. Run by Fellraven. Read June 2005
Between A Rock And A Hard Place, Aron Ralston. Run by GlasgowGal.Read June 2005
Gut Symmetries, Jeanette Winterson. Run by Daemonwolf. Read June 2005
Felidae on the Road, Akif Pirincci. Run by Shylock. Read June 2005
The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd. Run by Katie1980.Read June 2005
The Enchantment of Lily Dahl, Siri Hustvedt. Run by Caro1. Read June 2005
The State of Poetry, Roger McGough. Run by Nice-cup-of-tea. Read June 2005
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini. Run by Caro1.Read May 2005
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman. Run by Aubriel. Read May 2005
The Way I Found Her, Rose Tremain. Run by Swanofkennet. Read May 2005
Touching the Void, Joe Simpson. Run by GlasgowGal. Read May 2005
The London Pigeon Wars, Patrick Neale. Run by Parsleyraisin. Read May 2005
It Ends With Magic, Spike Milligan. Run by Spike1971. Read May 2005
Bitter Fruit, Achmat Dangor. Run by Winterson. Read May 2005
Saturday, Ian McEwan. Run by Caro1. Read April 2005
My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult Maskerade, Terry Pratchett. Run by Catrionamoore. Read April 2005
Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett. Run by Catrionamoore. Read April 2005
Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett. Run by Catrionamoore. Read April 2005
The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, Liz Jensen. Run by Caro1. Read April 2005
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell. Run by Caro1. Read April 2005
Random Acts of Kindness, Danny Wallace. Run by jacinta2000. Read March 2005
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier. Run by Tutleymutley. Read March 2005
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. Run by Caro1. Read March 2005
Felidae, Akif Pirincci. Run by WistfulDragon. Read March 2005
Books Read in 2005
Inspired by some other BCers, I thought it would be interesting to keep track of what I read during the year (and now I'm aiming to do this each year). In 2005, I read 124 books listed below alphabetically by author. Books that are re-reads are marked with an *
Somewhat belatedly (i.e. in July), I thought that I would try the A-Z Reading Challenge - this meant that I had to read 26 books by authors new to me during the year, one author per letter of the alphabet. My A-Z books are marked with a #.
Feed#, Matthew T. Anderson
Question and Answer*, Poul Anderson
Phule's Company*, Robert Aspirin
Labyrinths*, Jorge Luis Borges
The Aleph*, Jorge Luis Borges
Elementals#, A.S.Byatt
Wise Children, Angela Carter
Fireworks, Angela Carter
The Long Good-Bye*, Raymond Chandler
Playback*, Raymond Chandler
The Troika, Stepan Chapman
Utz, Bruce Chatwin
Girl with a Pear Earring#, Tracy Chevalier
If I Don't Know, Wendy Cope
Geisha# Lisa Dalby
Bitter Fruit, Achmat Dangor
The Golden Man, Philip K Dick
Time out of Joint*, Philip K Dick
Masters of Everon, Gordon R Dickson
Stranger on a Train#, Jenny Diski
Skating to Antarctica, Jenny Diski
The Vanishing Princess, Jenny Diski
Shakespeare, My Butt! John Donoghue.
The Ship That Sailed The Time Stream, G.C.Edmondson
Popcorn, Ben Elton
The Wig My Father Wore#, Anne Enright
The Virgin Suicides Jeffrey Eugenides
The Eyre Affair#, Jasper Fforde
Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
The Well of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque, Jeffrey Ford
Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder.
Neverwhere#, Neil Gaiman.
New Worlds 4*, ed. David Garnett
The Vesuvius Club Mark Gatis
Theo Slugg in Dead Trouble, Simon Goswell
Blue Limbo, Terence M Green
Things That Never Happen, M. John Harrison
The Course of The Heart, M. John Harrison
Mrs.P's Journey: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Created the A-Z Map
Sarah Hartley
The Bat Tatoo, Russell Hoban
Star Child, James P Hogan
Psychic Detective: The Unicorn, Hans Holzer
The Kite Runner , Khaled Hosseini
Shanghai Baby#, Wei Hui
The Enchantment of Lily Dahl, Siri Hustvedt.
A Pale View of Hills#, Kazuo Ishiguro.
The Ninth Life of Louis Drax#, Liz Jensen
Biggles' Chinese Puzzle, Captain W E Johns
The Secret Life of Bees#, Sue Monk Kidd.
The Stepford Wives#, Ira Levin.
Never Come Back , John Mair*
The Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf, David Madsen
The Confessions of a Flesh-Eater, David Madsen
Making Happy People, Paul Martin
Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin
More Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin
Further Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin
Saturday, Ian McEwan.
The Comfort of Strangers, Ian McEwan.
The State of Poetry, Roger McGough.
The Restraint of Beasts, Magnus Mills
The Lust Lizard`of Melancholy Cove, Christopher Moore
King Rat, China Mieville
Iron Council, China Mieville
It Ends With Magic, Spike Milligan.
Market Forces, Richard Morgan
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World#, Haruki Murakami
Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami
Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami
The Elephant Vanishes, Haruki Murakami
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, Haruki Murakami
South of The Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
The London Pigeon Wars, Patrick Neale
The Time Traveler's Wife#, Audrey Niffenegger
Sabriel, Garth Nix
Tiger by the Tail, Alan E Nourse
The Salesman#, Joseph O'Connor
Felidae#, Akif Pirincci
Felidae on the Road, Akif Pirincci
Maskerade, Terry Pratchett
Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett
Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett
The Affirmation*, Christopher Priest
The Quiet Woman*, Christopher Priest
The Separation*, Christopher Priest
The Prestige *, Christopher Priest
Dreams of Flesh and Sand# W T Quick
Between A Rock And A Hard Place, Aron Ralston
Natural History#, Justina Robson
Them: Adventures with Extremists, Jon Ronson
Let Me Go, Helga Schneider.
Wind, Sand and Stars*, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Pleasure Express, Sara Sheridan
Touching the Void, Joe Simpson
Hotel World, Ali Smith
The Child That Books Built, Francis Spufford
Labyrinth of Night, Allen Steele
The Places In Between, Rory Stewart
Darkness Visible - A Memoir of Madness, William Styron
The Year Of Our War#, Steph Swainston
A Grain Of Wheat#, Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Wild Talent Wilson Tucker.
Agent of Byzantium*, Harry Turtledove
Pascali's Island#, Barry Unsworth
Dust of Far Suns, Jack Vance
Bartelby and Co.#, Enrique Vila-Matas
Bless The Thief#, Alan Wall
The Lightning Cage, Alan Wall
The School of Night, Alan Wall
Random Acts of Kindness, Danny Wallace
Join Me, Danny Wallace
Helloland, Nick Walker
Empire of Bones, Liz Williams
The Poison Master, Liz Williams
Gut Symmetries, Jeanette Winterson
Written On The Body Jeanette Winterson
Buying A Fishing Rod For My Grandfather#, Gao Xingjiang
Red Sorghum#,Mo Yan
The Shadow of the Wind#, Carlos Ruiz
World Space Week 2005 Mass Release
In my other BC 'identity' of WSW-BC, I was the instigator/organiser of the 2005 World Space Week mass release. If you want to know more, check out my WSW-BC bookshelf.
Castaway Books 2005
For the 2005 Kingston Readers' Festival I had to decide what my Castaway Books were (i.e. the six books I would take with me were I to be shipwrecked on a desert island).
This proved very challenging (to say the least!). After much deliberation and quite a lot of guilt for some of the books I left out, I ended up with three non-fiction and three fiction.
1. Interplanetary Flight – An Introduction to Astronautics, Arthur C. Clarke, Temple Press Ltd, 1950.
2. Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, ISBN 0679724346, Vintage Books, 1989. (This specific version of the Tao Te Ching is a large format, beautifully presented one)
3. No Need To Die: Real Techniques of Survival, Eddie McGee, ISBN 0901764418, Paul H Crompton 1979.
4. Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings, Jorge Luis Borges
5. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
6. The Long Good-Bye, Raymond Chandler
If the brief had been to choose my six favourite works of fiction (or had I interpreted it that way), then Calvino, Eco, Harrison, Kafka, Murakami and Nabokov would all have been in the running for the next three slots.
