What I read in 2005

In December 2004, I was told by an acquaintance that she read 50 new books a year. When I commended her on being such a voracious reader, she said that she only reads romance novels. Now I don’t know what romance novels entail, but I still think 50 new books a year is quite impressive. I aimed to read 25 new books in 2005. I failed miserably.

Here’s what I did read last year. 14 books, with the War dominating the first half of the year, and lighter reading the second half. I'll write a full review of each of them later.

1. Terror and liberalism by Paul Berman
Recommended.

2. How mumbo-jumbo conquered the world by Francis Wheen
Recommended.

3. World on fire: how exporting free market democracy breeds ethnic hatred and global instability by Amy Chua
Not recommended.

4. Granta 57—India: the golden jubilee
Recommended.

5. My name is red by Orhan Pamuk
Recommended.

6. Dark continent: Europe’s twentieth century by Mark Mazower
Recommended.

7. Desperately seeking paradise: journeys of a sceptical Muslim by Ziauddin Sardar
Highly recommended.

8. The war for Muslim minds: Islam and the west by Gilles Kepel
Recommended.

9. Granta 84—Over there: how America sees the world.
Weakly recommended.

10. Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser
Weakly recommended.

11. Street fighting years: an autobiography of the sixties by Tariq Ali
Weakly recommended

12. Flashman and the mountain of light by George MacDonald Fraser
Recommended.

13. Cloud atlas by David Mitchell
Highly recommended.

14. Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
Highly recommended.