It was a good reading year for me (meaning I found time to read).
Here’s the 36 books I did read (in the order I read them) and the reason I didn’t finish the 37th.
Me: Elton John
The Song Remains the Same: Andrew Ford & Anni Heino
The Wichita Lineman: Dylan Jones
The David Foster Wallace Reader
Inclusive Design for Organisations: Jonathan Hassell
Form Design Patterns: Adam Silver
Under a Mackerel Sky: Rick Stein
Researching UX: User Research: James Lang & Emma Howell
A Nest of Occasionals: Tony Martin
The Jeff St John Story: Jeffrey St John
The Ethical Design Handbook: Trine Falbe, Kim Andersen & Martin Michael Frederiksen
Capitalism & Disability: Marta Russell
Bit Tyrants: Rob Larson
Bruny: Heather Rose
Cruel to be Kind: Will Birch
Almost a Mirror: Kristen Krauth
Conversational Design: Erika Hall
Understanding Media: Marshall McLuhan
Eric Clapton: Eric Clapton
Who I Am: Pete Townshend
Inherent Vice: Thomas Pynchon
Boy Swallows Universe: Trent Dalton
Lanny: Max Porter
Digital Compassion: Per Axbom
The Animals in that Country: Laura Jean McKay
When Giants Walked the Earth: Mick Wall
Strange Things Happen: Stewart Copeland
Of a Boy: Sonya Hartnett
He Died with a Felafel in his Hand: John Birmingham
Gould’s Book of Fish: Richard Flanagan
Paul Kelly: Stuart Coupe
Friday on My Mind: Jeff Apter
Friday Night at the Oxford: Glen Humphries
Healer: Glen Humphries
Nick of Time: Nick Hampton
Tune In: Mark Lewisohn
As for All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton, this from 17 November:
Hm. Unusual but perhaps not surprising. I’ve now had four goes at getting stuck into Trent Dalton’s latest book, All Our Shimmering Skies.
I’ve been unable to continue each time.
That’s not because of any literary failings – quite the opposite. Dalton writes gloriously, creating crystal clear portraits of the characters and their relationships with each other.
The trouble is, I can’t deal with the content emotionally. I’m sure it’s all down to my current fragile state of mind, but I just break down crying. I just can’t deal with the emotional trauma.
The closest I can remember to this happening before is when I read Lord of the Flies as a teenager. I had to stop several times because it was just too emotionally wrenching.
I’m sure I’ll come back to All Our Shimmering Skies when my own life is a little less complicated.
Powerful stuff, books.
(2021 update: I finished it, I loved it)