Biblio Baggins' 2006 Reading List

114 books read in 2006, my lowest total since 109 in 1997. From 1996 through 2006 I have read 1,212 books. The most in a single year – 150 in 2001.

Here’s the complete book list for ’06. Numbers following the book indicate the date it was completed and number of pages.

Comments to follow.

January
1. A Gesture Life, Chang-rae Lee. Fiction, 1-4, 356
2. Shoedog, George Pelecanos. Thriller, 1-7, 200
3. The Hearing, John Lescroart. Legal Thriller, 1-11, 451
4. The Second Chair, John Lescroart. Legal Thriller, 1-14, 387
5. The Beet Queen, Louise Erdrich. Fiction, 1-22, 338
6. Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin. History, 1-25, 754
7. Brooklyn Follies, Paul Auster. Fiction, 1-26, 306
8. Teacher Man, Frank McCourt. Memoir, 1-28, 258
9. Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, George
Pelecanos. Thriller, 1-29, 234

February
10. The Crazed, Ha Jin. Fiction, 2-3, 323
11. God’s Pocket, Pete Dexter. Fiction, 2-8, 274
12. The Widow of the South, Robert Hicks. Fiction, 2-13, 418
13. The Body Artist, Don DeLillo. Fiction, 2-14, 124
14. Purity of Blood, Arturo Perez-Reverte. Fiction, 2-15, 267
15. Christopher Marlowe, Poet & Spy, Park Honan. Biography, 2-19, 367
16. The Big Blowdown, George Pelecanos. Thriller, 2-19, 313
17. Tracks, Louise Erdrich. Fiction, 2-22, 226
18. The Two Minute Rule, Robert Crais. Thriller, 2-26, 325

March
19. John Paul Jones, Evan Thomas. Biography, 3-2, 311
20. The Music of Chance, Paul Auster. Fiction, 3-2, 217
21. The Best British Mysteries 2005, ed. Maxim
Jakubowski. Mysteries, 3-4, 341
22. California Girl, T. Jefferson Parker, Mystery, 3-7, 370
23. The Gang That Wouldn’t Write Straight,
Marc Weingarten. Journalism, 3-12, 294
24. The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell. Fiction 3-12, 329
25. 18 Seconds, George D. Shuman. Thriller, 3-16, 308
26. Andrew Jackson, Sean Wilentz. Biography, 3-19, 166
27. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin
Thomason. Fiction, 3-20, 368
28. What’s The Matter With Kansas?, Thomas Frank.
Current Events, 3-24, 251
29. A Sudden Country, Karen Fisher. Fiction, 3-27, 366
30. The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King,
Michael Craig. Poker, 3-30, 262

April
31. The Pale Horseman, Bernard Cornwell. Fiction, 4-2, 346
32. Nabokov’s Butterfly, Rick Gekoski. Books on Books, 4-4, 240
33. Hell to Pay, George Pelecanos. Mystery , 4-5 , 344
34. Every Secret Thing, Laura Lippman. Mystery, 4-8, 388
35. Wildlife, Richard Ford. Fiction , 4-10 , 177
36. Every Book Its Reader, Nicholas Basbanes.
Books on Books, 4-14, 316
37. The Crown of Columbus, Michael Dorris and
Louise Erdrich. Fiction, 4-18 382
38. Riding with the Blue Moth, Bill Hancock. Adventure, 4-21, 246
39. The Promise of Happiness, Justin Cartwright. Fiction , 4-23, 306
40. Apex Hides the Hurt, Colson Whitehead. Fiction , 4-25, 212
41. Manhunt, James L. Swanson. Civil War History, 4-28, 391
42. The Beginning Place, Ursula K. LeGuin. Fantasy , 4-29, 183

May
43. By A Spider’s Thread, Laura Lippman. Mystery, 5-4, 354
44. March, Geraldine Brooks. Fiction, 5-10, 273
45. D.C. Noir, edited by George Pelecanos. Short Stories, 5-12, 308
46. Digging to America, Anne Tyler. Fiction, 5-15, 277
47. The Game of Silence, Louise Erdrich. Fiction, 5-19, 248
48. City Room, Arthur Gelb. Journalism, 5-21, 641
49. The Whistling Season, Ivan Doig. Fiction, 5-25, 345
50. Wolves Eat Dogs, Martin Cruz Smith. Fiction, 5-30, 336
51. Clemente, David Maraniss. Baseball, 5-31, 354

June
52. The Hard Way, Lee Child. Thriller, 6-1, 371
53. Let Me Finish, Roger Angell. Memoir, 6-4, 302
54. Four Souls, Louise Erdrich. Fiction, 6-8, 210
55. Alentejo Blue, Monica Ali. Fiction, 6-14, 299
56. Sundog, Jim Harrison. Fiction , 6-19, 241
57. Baltimore Noir, ed. Laura Lippman. Short stories, 6-20, 291
58. The Foreign Correspondent, Alan Furst. Espionage, 6-23, 273
59. The Flaming Corsage, William Kennedy. Fiction, 6-25, 209
60. At Canaan’s Edge, Taylor Branch. History, 6-29, 771

July
61. The Poe Shadow, Matthew Pearl. Fiction, 7-2, 367
62. The Night Gardener, George Pelecanos. Thriller, 7-5, 371
63. The Places In Between, Rory Stewart. Non-Fiction, 7-8, 297
64. No Good Deeds, Laura Lippman. Thriller, 7-10, 343
65. Heat, Bill Buford. Cooking, 7-13, 315
66. By A Slow River, Philippe Claudel. Fiction, 7-15, 194
67. James A. Garfield, Ira Rutkow. Biography, 7-18, 139
68. Piece of My Heart, Peter Robinson. Thriller, 7-23, 436
69. Manhattan Noir, ed. Lawrence Block. Short stories, 7-24, 257
70. Fantasyland, Sam Walker. Baseball, 7-25, 344
71. A Summons to Memphis, Peter Taylor. Fiction, 7-27 , 209
72. A Death In Belmont, Sebastian Junger. Non-Fiction, 7-28, 260
73. Talk, Talk, T.C. Boyle. Fiction, 7-31, 340

August
74. Pegasus Descending, James Lee Burke. Fiction, 8-3, 356
75. Francis Crick Discoverer of the Genetic Code,
Matt Ridley. Biography, 8-3, 210
76. Positively Fifth Street, James McManus. Poker, 8-16, 385
77. The Whole World Over, Julia Glass. Fiction, 8-24, 509
78. The Fourth Bear, Jasper Fforde. Fiction, 8-29, 383

September
79. Remember Me, Irene, Jan Burke. Mystery, 9-2, 303
80. Guests of the Ayatollah, Mark Bowden. History, 9-6, 637
81. Forgetfulness, Ward Just. Fiction, 9-9, 258
82. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon. Fiction, 9-13, 297
83. Open Secrets, Alice Munro. Short Stories, 9-19, 294
84. Henry Adams and the Making of America,
Garry Wills. History, 9-24, 404
85. Special Topics in Calamity Physics,
Marisha Pessl. Fiction, 9-29, 514

October
86. My Life In France, Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme.
Biography, 10-1, 302
87. Poker Face, Katy Lederer. Poker, 10-2, 209
88. The Road, Cormac McCarthy. Fiction, 10-4, 241
89. The Tender Bar, J.R. Moehringer. Memoir, 10-7, 368
90. The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai. Fiction, 10-12, 324
91. Chronicles, Bob Dylan. Autobiography, 10-16 , 293
92. The Emperor’s Children, Claire Messud. Fiction, 10-22, 431
93. Echo Park, Michael Connelly. Mystery, 10-25, 416
94. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bill Bryson.
Humor, 10-27, 320
95. After This, Alice McDermott. Fiction, 10-30, 288

November
96. The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield. Fiction, 11-6, 406
97. The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama. Non-Fiction, 11-9, 362
98. The Mission Song, John LeCarre. Thriller, 11-12, 337
99. I Sailed With Magellan, Stuart Dybek. Short Stories, 11-16, 307
100. Paco’s Story, Larry Heinemann. Fiction, 11-18 , 210
101. Kidnapped, Jan Burke. Mystery, 11-20, 366
102. The View from Castle Rock, Alice Munro. Stories, 11-25, 349
103. 50+ Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America,
Bill Novelli. Non-Fiction, 11-26, 239

December
104. The Echo Maker, Richard Powers. Fiction, 12-1, 451
105. Nature Girl, Carl Hiaasen. Fiction, 12-3, 306
106. Fear of the Dark, Walter Mosley. Mystery, 12-8, 308
107. Infamous Scribblers, Eric Burns. History, 12-12, 412
108. L.A. Rex, Will Beall. Crime, 12-12, 353
109. Late Wife, Claudia Emerson. Poetry, 12-16, 54
110. The Lay of the Land, Richard Ford. Fiction, 12-21, 485
111. Muhammad, Karen Armstrong. Biography, 12-22, 214
112. Camouflage, Joe Haldeman. Speculative Fiction, 12-23, 296
113. Ambition & Love, Ward Just. Fiction, 12-28, 277
114. To the Power of Three, Laura Lippman. Mystery, 12-31, 430