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My Back Pages - 2016



Here, as promised is a month-by-month breakdown of the 67 books I delved into this year. I got off to a strong start and then my intake dwindled for a couple of months until picking back up in April. I'll let you in on my favourites at the end of this list.

January

Here, There and Everywhere:
My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles - Geoff Emerick - ****
H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald - ***
Close To The Edge - The Story of Yes - Chris Welch - ***
Sweet Caress - William Boyd - ****
February

 Purity by Jonathan Franzen 
Still Alice by Lisa Genova.
March

 Natchez Burning - Greg Iles
The Promise (Elvis Cole #20) - Robert Crais

 April

 The Snowman (Harry Hole)- Joe Nesbo ****
Phantom (Harry Hole) - Joe Nesbo ****
The Leopard (Harry Hole) - Jo Nesbo ****
May

 George Harrison Reconsidered ***
The Heart Goes Last - Margaret Atwood ****
Dropping The Needle - The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II ***
The Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead, (Dave Robicheaux #6) - James Lee Burke****
June/.July

  Lust and Wonder - Augusten Burrow ****
The Black House ****
The Lewis Man ****
The Chess Men ****
End of Warch - Stephen King ****
Cometh the Hour (Clifton Chronicles #6) Jeffrey Archer *****
The High Mountains of Portugal - Yann Martell ****
Taken - Robert Crais (Elvis Cole) ****
Dixie City Jam - James Lee Burke (Dave Robichaux) ****
The Corrections -  Jonathan Franzen *****
August

 The Sentry - Robert Crais ****
The Heist - Janet Evanovich ****
The Chase - Janet Evanovish ****
The Job - Janet Evanovich ****
Our Kind of Traitor - John le Carre ****
The View From the Cheap Seats - Neil Gaiman *****
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury *****
Shoe Dog - Phil Knight ****
The Illegal - Lawrence Hill *****
It's A Long Story: My Life - Willie Nelson ***
The Two Minute Rule - Robert Crais ****
Lud-In-The-Mist - Hope Mirrlees ***
September

 Hyperion Cantos (#1) - Dan Simmons ****
The Fall of Hyperion (#2) Dan Simmons ****
Endymion (#3) Dan Simmons ****
The Rise of Endymion (#4) Dan Simmons ****
Nutshell - Ian McEwan *****
One Way Out - The Inside Story of the Allman Brothers Band - Alan Paul ****
The Wonder - Emma Donoghue *****
The 13 Clocks - James Thurber ****
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells *****
October

 Pigs Might Fly - Mark Blake ****
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen *****
The Emerald Lie (Jack Taylor #12) - Ken Bruen *****
Apathy For The Devil - Nick Kent ***
The Crossing (Harry Bosch #20) - Michael Connelly ****
Police (Harry Hole #10) Jo Nesbo *****
Burning Angel (Dave Robicheaux #8) - James Lee Burke ****
The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson * (DNF)
Never Say No To A Rock Star - Glenn Berger ***
St Lucia's Day and Other Stories - Michael Whitman-Jones ****
November

 The Nix - Nathan Hill ****
I Am Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson ***
Rather Be The Devil - Ian Rankin *****
The Trespasser - Tana French ****
The Sun and The Moon and The Rolling Stones - Rich Cohen ****
December

 This Was a Man (Clifton Chronicles #7) - Jeffrey Archer *****
Testimony: A Memoir - Robbie Robertson *****
The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill *****
Not Dead Yet: The Memoir - Phil Collins ****
Moonglow - Michael Chabon ****
Lilly and the Octopus - Steven Rowley *****

 I read a lot of good books last year. Hell, I read a lot of books, period. So it was hard to choose just 10 of my favourite reads. But here's what I came up with...

 2016 Top Ten Favourites:

 The Corrections -  Jonathan Franzen
Cometh the Hour (Clifton Chronicles #6) Jeffrey Archer 
This Was a Man (Clifton Chronicles #7) - Jeffrey Archer 
The Illegal - Lawrence Hill
The View From the Cheap Seats - Neil Gaiman
Nutshell - Ian McEwan
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen 
Testimony: A Memoir - Robbie Robertson 
The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill
Lilly and the Octopus - Steven Rowley 

 If you're interested in a review of any of these books, click on the "Books" button at the top of this page and then scroll down to the month and the book you're interested in. What did you enjoy reading last year? Let me know. And happy reading.
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