New Books of 2015 pt.3

This is the third batch of physical books that I have acquired this year. The reasons and methods of acquisition are more diverse than the first and second batches.

There are nine books here, bringing the running total of hard copy books acquired during 2015 so far to 23, which increases my paper book reading target from the original 20 to 28 (because I said I’d try and read the greater of 20 or five more than I’d acquired.) So far I’ve finished 15 books, of which seven were paper. You can see my 2015 reading progress on Goodreads.

A quarter of the way through the year and I’ve picked up more physical books than I expected to for the whole year. However some of this is front loaded because my birthday is in January. Also I managed to only come away from the scouts jumble sale with two books (the bottom two in the picture).

Of the others three were free (two ARCs and a giveaway from a conference). Another only cost me 50p (Colonel Gaddafi‘s Hat). The last group are Veronic Roth’s Divergent series, well three of them, the fourth is on pre-order in paperback.

In terms of reading progress I’m a bit ahead of target. I should manage 28 hard copy books if the remaining three quarters are the same as the first.

Divergent series by Veronica Roth

I’ve already published my review of Divergent which explains why I bought it and what I thought of it. I’d characterise the whole series as a personal recommendation from a friend since I ordered them all in one go rather than waiting until I’d read the first before committing to the rest of the series.

The Middle Kingdom Ride by Chris Pyle and Ryan Pyle

This was an ARC. It came as an unsolicited pitch from a publisher. What made me say yes was that it was an intriguing premise of a very unusual journey. I wanted to know how the guys had got on riding their motorbikes around China. You can see what I thought when the review is published (I’ve read it and written the review, but I’m still juggling the schedule about, suddenly I appear to have a lot of material to post).

The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality by Gahan Hanmer

Another ARC, which I’m in the midst of reading just now. The review will be posted on 22 April to coincide with a blog tour, I also have an author interview with Gahan to post too. What made me agree to this one was the story was about an attempt to set up a fake mediaeval kingdom in the modern world. As a (lapsed) 17th century re-enactor it ticked my ‘experimental archaeology’ box and I thought it would be worth reading.

Digitizing Government by Alan Brown et al

This was a freebie from a work related event, but one that I actually would like to read. My day job is leading digital transformation within government (well a bit of it). So I grabbed this with both hands. It isn’t technically an ARC, the guys were giving it away anyway.

Colonel Gaddafi’s Hat by Alex Crawford

This was 50p in a clearout in The Works, very modern history, more journalism than anything else. However it meets my interest in first hand accounts of crises, and the more so because a work colleague has recently returned from being seconded to Libya and he told some very interesting stories about it.

Not Ordinary Men by John Colvin

Purchased from the scouts jumble sale. It’s a history of the battle of Kohima in the Far East in WW2. I acquired it because the Burma battles are a gap in my WW2 history and my grandfather was involved as a DUKW driver in 1187 RASC company (although I dont believe he was directly involved in Kohima, his unit was designated ‘Theatre Troops’ because it was such an asset in crossing water obstacles and keeping the advance supplied).

Providence Their Guide by David Lloyd Owen

The other scouts jumble sale purchase. This is a first hand account by the leader of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and was just irresistible. I’ve got a lot of other first hand accounts of the long range war in the western desert, so this is a good addition.

Progress Update

In terms of the year to date I have read 5 of the books that Ive acquired and am making progress with two others. I’ve also read three others in hard copy too. At the 31st March I’ve read 18 books, 8 in hard copy and ten on my kindle. If that progress is carried on over the remaining three quarters of the year then I ought to manage 72 titles, with 32 in hard copy.