Seventy per cent

At the start of this year I decided to set myself the goal, as part of a reading challenge on the Good Reads website, of reading 100 books during 2011. Last year I read 65-70, and a similar amount in 2009. For most people, this is a phenomenal amount of novel reading - and for me it's a lot, particularly when I also do so much reading of other things as part of my at time very hectic hectic job. I know there are several other bloggers, reviewers, and readers for whom 100 books a year wouldn't necessarily be that big a number. For me, however, it was a stretch, so I thought it was a good target to set myself.

As of today, I'm right on target - 70 books read. Here's the line-up so far (in reverse order), with links to my reviews or articles, where they are available online. The titles marked with a (*) are 'new to me' crime writers in 2011:

• THE LOCK ARTIST by Steve Hamilton
• LUTHER: THE CALLING by Neil Cross
• A MAN YOU CAN BANK ON by Derek Hansen*
• BITTERROOT by James Lee Burke
• SIX SECONDS by Rick Mofina
• THE AFFAIR by Lee Child
• THE ACCIDENT by Linwood Barclay
• RETRIBUTION by Val McDermid
• THE DARK END OF THE STREET edited by Jonathan Santlofer and SJ Rozan
• CROSS FIRE by James Patterson
• THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta
• THE COLOR of LAW by Mark Gimenez
• FLASH AND BONES by Kathy Reichs
• SHELTER by Harlan Coben
• GOOD AS DEAD by Mark Billingham
• NGAIO MARSH: HER LIFE IN CRIME by Joanne Drayton
• THE SILENT GIRL by Tess Gerritsen
• COLLECTING COOPER by Paul Cleave
• TABOO by Casey Hill*
• THE FAT BURNING KITCHEN by Mike Geary
• LETHAL DELIVERIES by Ken Benn*
• BY ANY MEANS by Ben Sanders (plus feature article)
• THE TROUBLED MAN by Henning Mankell
• BACK OF BEYOND by CJ Box
• THEODORE BOONE: THE ABDUCTION by John Grisham
• RED WOLF by Liza Marklund
• IT’S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE, IT’S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE by Paul Arden
• EXACERBYTE by Cat Connor
• MYSTERY by Jonathan Kellerman
• THE WRECKAGE by Michael Robotham
• THE KILLING PLACE by Tess Gerritsen*
• BLEACHERS by John Grisham
• LIFE’S GOLDEN TICKET by Brendon Burchard
• KILLING HOUR by Andrew Gross*
• IRON HOUSE by John Hart (plus feature article)
• CARTE BLANCHE by Jeffery Deaver (plus feature article)
• NO OPPORTUNITY WASTER by Phil Keoghan
• THE ATHENIAN MURDERS by Jose Carlos Somoza*
• BLACK WATER by T. Jefferson Parker*
• DROP SHOT by Harlan Coben
• THE JANISSARY TREE by Jason Goodwin*
• CITY OF BONES by Michael Connelly
• CURLY FROM SHIRLEY by Emma Pullar
• SMILING JACK by Ken Catran*
• SHADOW SISTER by Simone van der Vlugt*
• PAYBACK by Simon Kernick
• MIXED BLOOD by Roger Smith*
• THE FIFTH WITNESS by Michael Connelly (plus feature article)
• LOVE YOU MORE by Lisa Gardner*
• THE CRIME OF HUEY DUNSTAN by James McNeish*
• CANDIED CRIME by Dorte Jakobsen*
• YOU’RE NEXT by Gregg Hurwitz (plus feature article)
• LIVE WIRE by Harlan Coben
• SHAOLIN BURNING by Ant Sang
• FRIENDLY FIRE by Michael Wall*
• HOLLYWOOD HILLS by Joseph Wambaugh*
• THE SENTRY by Robert Crais
• THE MOON AND FARMER MCPHEE by Margaret Mahy
• FOLLOW THE MONEY by Peter Corris*
• SHATTER THE BONES by Stuart MacBride
• A POLITICAL AFFAIR by Andrew Porteous*
• BORDERLANDS by Brian McGilloway*
• STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens*
• BOUND by Vanda Symon (plus feature article)
• BURIED ALIVE by JA Kerley
• THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN by James Lee Burke
• THE EXECUTIONER by Jay Bennett*
• THE PROMISED LAND by David Hewson*
• IN PLAIN SIGHT by CJ Box
• LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS by James Lee Burke

I'll follow up with some thoughts on the overall range of titles I've read so far this year, in another post soon. Feel free to share your thoughts on any of the above titles or authors. Have you read any/many of these books this year? What have been your favourite books so far in 2011? Who are your 'new to you' writers this year? What is the best debut novel you've read? Who is the author you have read the most?