Books I Read in 2010

I didn't think I'd like an electronic book reader because I like the look and feel and smell of books. It took only a few days to change my mind.

Aside from the obvious advantages of buying books at less cost, the small size of a Kindle makes it easy to carry it everywhere. Those of us in whom dead time with nothing to read induces anxiety bordering on panic, this is an ideal security blanket.

My eyes do not like small print. In Kindle, pressing a button changes print size through a range of from tiny to huge. If light is dim, I simply enlarge the text a step.

Another advantage is, you can have that book you just read a review of, Right Now! When you remember a favorite author you haven't read in a few years, a search of the electronic bookstore at the moment you think of it brings up the author's titles. This accounts for the cluster of novels by Alan Furst near the end of the list and the first appearance of the prolific Loren Estleman after an absence on my lists of more than a year.

Because my Kindle is always with me, I get much more reading done than otherwise. I read more than one-third of last year's books on my Kindle in the last one-fifth of the year. Because of Kindle, and because I've finished reading Churchill's multi-volume account of World War II, my annual lists will probably approach or exceed the 70+ average before I retired and no longer had as much time to read.

The only disadvantage I've found is, maps are often too small. perhaps I'll delve further into the instruction manual to see if there is a zoom feature I'm not aware of.

The only paper books I read now are quarterly literary magazines. I haven't checked yet to see if subscriptions to "Granta" are available at the Kindle Store, but I will. If the cost is significantly lower than the conventional version, lack of photos in color may be acceptable. (If color is important, more money will get you a reader with color.) I'll continue receiving "Glimmer Train" as paper, regardless of electronic availability, only because I'm a charter subscriber and my set is complete.

Books Read in 2010—47
(K) is for Kindle
* means not the first reading

1. Betrayal -- John Lescroart
2. The Hinge of Fate -- Winston S Churchill
3. “Granta” 109
4. The Catcher in the Rye -- J D Salinger *
5. No Country for Old Men -- Cormac McCarthy *
6. The African Queen -- C S Forester
7. Ask the Pilot -- Patrick Smith
8. “Glimmer Train” 74
9. Split Image -- Robert B Parker
10. The Earp Brothers of Tombstone -- Frank Waters
11. Last Tales -- Isak Dinesen
12. The Girl who Played with Fire -- Stieg Larsson
13. Closing the Ring -- Winston S Churchill
14. The Last Stand -- Nathaniel Philbrick
15. The Lost Symbol -- Dan Brown
16. The Madness of Mary Lincoln -- Jason Emerson
17. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest -- Stieg Larsson
18. Supreme Justice -- Phillip Margolin
19. Where Have All the Leaders Gone? -- Lee Iacocca
20. Wo De Hombe -- W J Siemens
21. “Glimmer Train” 75
22. Shadow of Power -- Steve Martini
23. “Granta” 110
24. Chief Joseph -- Kent Nerburn
25. “Granta” 111
26. “Glimmer Train” 76
27. Triumph and Tragedy -- Winston S Churchill
28. The Professional -- Robert B Parker
29. Nine Dragons -- Michael Connelly
30. Painted Ladies -- Robert B Parker (K)
31. “Granta” 112
32. Our Kind of Traitor -- John le Carré (K)
33. The Reversal -- Michael Connelly (K)
34. Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman -- Jon Krakauer (K)
35. The Foreign Correspondent -- Alan Furst (K)
36. Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol I (K)
37. Spies of the Balkans: A Novel -- Alan Furst (K)
38. American Detective -- Loren D Estleman (K)
39. The Polish Officer -- Alan Furst (K)
40. “Granta” 113
41. Eaarth -- Bill McKibben (K)
42. “Glimmer Train” 77
43. The Archivist’s Story -- Travis Holland (K)
44. Road Dogs -- Elmore Leonard (K)
45. Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession
-- Craig Childs (K)
46. Djibouti -- Elmore Leonard (K)
47. Flyboys -- James Bradley (K)