I like to collect things and I like to read so here is a collection of the titles of the books I have read since 2002 (when I first started keeping this list). I’d recommend keeping such a list to anyone who likes to read – it’s interesting to look back and see how many books I read each year, what I read and when, etc. The list is in reverse chronological order and will grow with each new title that I read. *
symbols indicate particularly recommended titles.

Buy-ology [Martin Lindstrom]
A Brief History of the Circumnavigators [Derek Wilson]
On Giants’ Shoulders [Melvyn Bragg]
Homo Britannicus: The Incredible Story of Human Life in Britain [Chris Stringer]
The World According to Bertie [Alexander McCall Smith]
Peter Shilton’s Nearly Men [Paul Roberts]
How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered The World [Francis Wheen]
Fighter Boys [Patrick Bishop]
Flashman and the Redskins [George MacDonald Fraser]
The Damned United [David Peace]
*Great Tales from English History: Cheddar Man to the Peasants Revolt [Robert Lacey]
The Snack Thief [Andrea Camilleri]
Problem Solving 101 [Ken Watanabe]
The Best A Man Can Get [John O'Farrell]
*Better: A Surgeon’s Notes On Performance [Atul Gawande]
A Spot of Bother [Mark Haddon]
Cricket, Lovely Cricket? [Lawrence Booth]
* Bad Science [Ben Goldacre]
* Wolf of the Plains [Conn Iggledun]
Silence of the Grave [Arnaldur Indridason]
What Sport Tells Us About Life [Ed Smith]
Viking: King’s Man [Tim Severin]
Blink [Malcolm Gladwell]
The Falls [Ian Rankin]
* In Defense of Food [Michael Pollan]
A Piano in the Pyrenees [Tony Hawks]
* The Hot Topic [Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King]
The Hundred Days [Patrick O’Brian]
Collapse [Jared Diamond]
Provided You Don’t Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough [Duncan Hamilton]
2009 ↑

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (2nd time) [Douglas Adams]
* An Ocean of Air [Gabrielle Walker]
Tainted Blood [Arnaldur Indridason]
White Gold [Giles Milton]
Set In Darkness [Ian Rankin]
Artemis [Julian Stockwin]
* The Back of the Napkin [Dan Roam]
The Universe – A Biography [John Gribbin]
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding [Al Ries and Laura Ries]
The Terracotta Dog [Andrea Camilleri]
Geek Speak [Graham Tattersall]
Sword Song [Bernard Cornwell]
Love Over Scotland [Alexander McCall Smith]
The Undercover Economist [Tim Harford]
Flash for Freedom [George MacDonald Fraser]
* A Bad Birdwatcher’s Companion [Simon Barnes]
The Bad Birdwatchers Guide [Simon Barnes]
May Contain Nuts [John O’Farrell]
Taming the Atom: The Emergence of the Visible Microworld [Hans Christian von Baeyer]
Viking: Sworn Brother [Tim Severin]
* Freakonomics [Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner]
Sharpe’s Gold [Bernard Cornwell]
Quirkology [Richard Wiseman]
2008 ↑

History of the World in Six Glasses [Tom Standage]
Dead Souls [Ian Rankin]
The Meaning of Sport [Simon Barnes]
Ollie [Ian Holloway]
The Yellow Admiral [Patrick O’Brian]
A Measure of All Things [Ian Whitelaw]
The Flood [Ian Rankin]
* The Weather Makers [Tim Flannery]
* Maths Minus Fear [Lawrence Potter]
Viking: Odinn’s Child [Tim Severin]
Fermat’s Last Theorem [Simon Singh]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [J.K. Rowling]
The Shape of Water [Andrea Camillera]
Kydd [Julian Stockwin]
Expresso Tales [Alexander McCall Smith]
The Silent Landscape [Richard Corfield]
The Surgeon of Crowthorne [Simon Winchester]
Flashman and the Mountain of Light [George MacDonald Fraser]
Under the Weather [Tom Fort]
The Lords of the North [Bernard Cornwell]
Skeleton Key [Anthony Horowitz]
Nature’s Numbers [Ian Stewart]
The Periodic Kingdom [Peter Atkins]
Have I Got Views For You [Boris Johnson]
The Science of The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy [Michael Hanlon]
The Black Book [Ian Rankin]
Four Elements: Water, Air, Fire, Earth [Rebecca Rupp]
Gentlemen and Players [Joanne Harris]
2007 ↑

My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes [Gary Imlach]
Sharpe’s Eagle [Bernard Cornwell]
* The Longest Crawl [Ian Marchant]
Point Blanc [Anthony Horowitz]
* The Cloud-Spotter’s Guide [Gavin Pretor-Pinney]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Thirteenth – The End [Lemony Snicket]
The Commodore [Patrick O’Brian]
A Crack in the Edge of the World [Simon Winchester]
The Science of Everyday Life [Jay Ingram]
Flashman’s Lady [George MacDonald Fraser]
Stormbreaker [Anthony Horowitz]
* Penguins Stopped Play [Harry Thompson]
Return of the Timewaster Letters [Robin Cooper]
The Pale Horseman [Bernard Cornwell]
Happiness – Lessons from a New Science [Richard Layard]
Strip Jack [Ian Rankin]
A Death Divided [Clare Francis]
Outposts [Simon Winchester]
A Good Hanging and Other Stories [Ian Rankin]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Twelfth – The Penultimate Peril [Lemony Snicket]
The Wine-Dark Sea [Patrick O’Brian]
* The Timewaster Letters [Robin Cooper]
Saturday [Ian McEwan]
The Planets [Dava Sobel]
44 Scotland Street [Alexander McCall Smith]
Give Me Time [The Mind Gym]
The Da Vinci Code [Dan Brown]
2006 ↑

Addicted [Tony Adams]
Tooth and Nail [Ian Rankin]
Royal Flash [George MacDonald Fraser]
A Walk in the Woods [Bill Bryson]
Sharpe’s Havoc [Bernard Cornwell]
Hide and Seek [Ian Rankin]
The Last English King [Julian Rathbone]
* Big Bang [Simon Singh]
The Age of Scurvy [Stephen R. Bown]
The World According to Clarkson [Jeremy Clarkson]
Knots and Crosses [Ian Rankin]
The Dice Man [Luke Rhinehart]
The Last Kingdom [Bernard Cornwell]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince [J.K. Rowling]
Philosophy in 30 Days [Dominique Janicaud]
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2nd time) [J.K. Rowling]
Artemis Fowl [Eoin Colfer]
Flashman [George MacDonald Fraser]
The Great Arc [John Keay]
Clarissa Oakes [Patrick O’Brian]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Eleventh – The Grim Grotto [Lemony Snicket]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Tenth – The Slippery Slope [Lemony Snicket]
Krakatoa – The Day the World Exploded [Simon Winchester]
My Journey – The First Ten Years [Paul Wotton]
Sharpe’s Rifles [Bernard Cornwell]
The Riddle and The Knight [Giles Milton]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Ninth – The Carnivorous Carnival [Lemony Snicket]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Eighth – The Hostile Hospital [Lemony Snicket]
Neither Here Nor There [Bill Bryson]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Seventh – The Vile Village [Lemony Snicket]
The Science of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials [Mary and John Gribbin]
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1: The Field Guide [Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black]
The Meaning of Everything [Simon Winchester]
The Nutmeg of Consolation [Patrick O’Brian]
2005 ↑

An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Sixth – The Ersatz Elevator [Lemony Snicket]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Fifth – The Austere Academy [Lemony Snicket]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Fourth – The Miserable Mill [Lemony Snicket]
Sharpe’s Prey [Bernard Cornwell]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Third – The Wide Window [Lemony Snicket]
To Be A Pilgrim [Graham Coughlan]
The Valley of Fear [Arthur Conan Doyle]
The Snapper [Roddy Doyle]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the Second – The Reptile Room [Lemony Snicket]
The Hobbit (3rd time) [J.R.R. Tolkien[
The Thirteen Gun Salute [Patrick O’Brian]
The Hound of the Baskervilles [Arthur Conan Doyle]
Heretic [Bernard Cornwell]
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [C.S. Lewis]
The Magician’s Nephew [C.S. Lewis]
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2nd time) [J.K. Rowling]
* A Short History of Nearly Everything [Bill Bryson]
Sharpe’s Trafalgar [Bernard Cornwell]
The First World War [Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson]
The Letter of Marque [Patrick O’Brian]
The Sign of Four [Arthur Conan Doyle]
A Study in Scarlet [Arthur Conan Doyle]
The Remorseful Day [Colin Dexter]
Sharpe’s Fortress [Bernard Cornwell]
Do Not Pass Go [Tim Moore]
The Reverse of the Medal [Patrick O’Brian]
One-Hit Wonderland [Tony Hawks]
The Daughter’s of Cain [Colin Dexter]
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time [Mark Haddon]
Sharpe’s Triumph [Bernard Cornwell]
The Road to McCarthy [Pete McCarthy]
Eats, Shoots and Leaves [Lynne Truss]
2004 ↑

The Far Side of the World [Patrick O’Brian]
Sharpe’s Tiger [Bernard Cornwell]
The Way Through The Woods [Colin Dexter]
The Island of Lost Maps [Miles Harvey]
Vagabond [Bernard Cornwell]
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis [Tony Hawks]
An Unfortunate Series of Events, Book the First – The Bad Beginning [Lemony Snicket]
Treason’s Harbour [Patrick O’Brian]
Samurai William [Giles Milton]
Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix [J.K. Rowling]
The Ionian Mission [Patrick O’Brian]
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2nd time) [J.K. Rowling]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2nd time) [J.K. Rowling]
The Luck Factor [Richard Wiseman]
How to be Good [Nick Hornby]
Parkinson on Football [Michael Parkinson]
Plymouth – A New History [Crispin Gill]
2003↑

The Goalkeeper’s Revenge [Bill Naughton]
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes [Arthur Conan Doyle]
The Hobbit (2nd time) [J.R.R. Tolkien]
The Surgeon’s Mate [Patrick O’Brian]
Paul Sturrock’s Championship Diary [Paul Sturrock and Richard Cowdery]
Ethel and Ernest [Raymond Briggs]
The Universe in a Nutshell [Stephen Hawking]
Henry Winstanley and the Eddystone Lighthouse [Adam Hart-Davis and Emily Troscianko]
* The Amber Spyglass [Phillip Pullman]
* The Subtle Knife [Phillip Pullman]
Harlequin [Bernard Cornwell]
A New Kind of Science (Chapters 1-8) [Stephen Wolfram]
Big Chief Elizabeth [Giles Milton]
Head First [Tony Buzan]
McCarthy’s Bar [Pete McCarthy]
How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper [O.M. Day]
* Northern Lights [Phillip Pullman]
A Beginner’s Guide to Scientific Method [Stephen Carey]
The Fortunes of War [Patrick O’Brian]
The One Minute Manager [Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson]
* The Map that Changed the World [Simon Winchester]
The Jewel that was Ours [Colin Dexter]
In the Heart of the Sea [Nathaniel Philbrick]
The Lord of the Rings [J.R.R. Tolkien]
2002↑