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Reading report for September 2009

I only finished 13 books this month, which would have been about average for most years except this one. Since I read 20+ books every month of the year up to now, this is actually quite far below average, but I‘m not worrying. After all, one needs to have a social life too.

In the challenges, I read:

3 Icelandic books:
Benedikt Gröndal: Sagan af Heljarslóðarorrustu - a literary parody that tells the story of the battle of Solferino as if it were an Icelandic Saga.
Páll Líndal: Reykjavík 200 ára - a short 200 year history of the city of Reykjavík, mostly told in photographs.
Þórarinn Eldjárn: Sérðu það sem ég sé - a collection of quirky short stories from one of Iceland‘s best short story writers.

TBR challenge:
John Berendt: The City of Falling Angels - a combination of travel book and the history of the fire that destroyed the Fenice opera house in Venice.
Dashiell Hammett: Red Harvest (also a Top Mystery read) – a brutal crime thriller.
Betty MacDonald: Onions in the Stew - funny memoir.
James/Jan Morris: Heaven's Command - history of the British Empire during Victoria‘s reign.
Lily Prior: La Cucina - romantic novel about a woman‘s love affair with food and a man.
JD Robb: Portrait in Death - futuristic police procedural.

Top Mysteries Challenge:
Len Deighton: Mexico Set and London Match - spy thrillers
Dashiell Hammett: Red Harvest (also on the TBR list)

And non-challenge:
Adam Jacot de Boinod : The Meaning of Tingo - a dictionary of interesting words expressing things English can not express in one word. I have been reading it in the bathroom for several weeks.
Lynn Viehl: Shadowlight - romantic urban fantasy.

I don‘t know how much reading I will be able to do in October, as there are big changes afoot in my life. Either I will do hardly any reading at all, or I will do nothing but read and cook and sleep. I have just lost my job, which sucks, but I am financially in a good place for 6 months at least, and I plan to take a holiday before I begin to search for a job.

I may – and this is still just a possibility – be going off travelling for a while. If anyone has a copy of the latest or next-latest issue of Lonely Planet India, I am willing to exchange it with the latest Lonely Planet Egypt.
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