This can be modern or historical, biography or autobiography. From the latest celebrity autobiography to an academic biography of Henry VIII – it all counts! Perhaps you fancy a book on your favourite classic movie star, athlete or musician?
My pick – Princesses, the Six Daughters of George III, by Fraser. Six biographies in one!
Ideas for this one range from a delectable cookery book to a food memoir (like Nigel Slater’s
Toast or Anthony Bourdain’s
Kitchen Confidential), a book on wine to the history of marmalade.
I’ll wrestle with food as politics and moral duty, at least that’s what I expect this book will be about: Hope’s Edge, the Next Diet for a Small Planet, Lappe
4. HISTORY
More scope to indulge a whole range of interests here, including local history, military history or world history. It might be a biography of Anne Boleyn, a book on World War II aircraft, a study of the American civil war, or something with a much smaller focus, like Bill Bryson’s At Home or Mark Kurlansky’s Salt: A World History. Whatever floats your boat!
Ancient Maya history – A Forest of Kings, Schele and Freidel
5. MODERN FICTION
This covers literary and popular fiction, so you can’t really go wrong with this one. From Sophie Kinsella to Haruki Murakami, Wilbur Smith to Isabel Allende, Jenny Colgan to Kate Mosse, you should be able to find something to fit your tastes!
The Forgotten Garden, Morton. Because it’s taking up a good two inches of shelf space, and it’s time to either fall in love with the story or free up some room.
6. GRAPHIC NOVELS AND MANGA
This will be an entirely new genre for me, but I’m looking forward to hitting the library to see what all the fuss is about! First on my ‘to check out’ list will be Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes and Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta.
My choice – The Complete Persepolis by Satrapi
7. CRIME AND MYSTERY
This category will cover everything from the genteel Agatha Christie and the scrummy Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke, through Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson, to the gruesome forensics of Martina Cole and Val McDermid. You could even delve into some gritty true crime if that’s more your style.
I think I’ll delve into ancient crime – A Path of Shadows, by Haney, in which Lieutenant Bak solves crimes for the pharoah Hatshepsut.
8. HORROR
One for Hallowe’en, perhaps! Maybe a modern writer like Stephen King or James Herbert, or you could turn to the classics with Edgar Allen Poe or the ghostly writings of M.R. James? Some YA novels would also fit into this category – Darren Shan, or Lindsey Barraclough’s Long Lankin – but no paranormal romance!
No romance, as far as I can tell from the cover, but some serious spookiness, I think: Un Lun Dun, by Mieville
9. ROMANCE
I’d say the cheesier the better for this one, but it’s up to you! Mills and Boon, paranormal romance, chick lit fluff, whatever. Personally I’ll be browsing our Mills and Boon shelf at the shop and pulling out the trashiest title I can find! 🙂
How about Twilight (Meyer, of course), than which there is no cheesier? Come on – when was the last time you met a sparkly vampire?
10. SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
Again, plenty of scope here. From the hilarious characters of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld to Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings, Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries to Frank Herbert’s Dune, you can go modern or classic, and pick from any number of sub-genres.
Another book I’ve been intending to read for a long time – Lilith’s Brood, by Octavia Butler.
11. TRAVEL
The world is your oyster, as it were! Maybe you’re going somewhere interesting on holiday and want to read up on it first? Rough Guides, Lonely Planet guides, that kind of thing. You could pick a Bill Bryson (always popular) or choose a book on a particular city, country or continent, like Francesco da Mosto’s Venice or one of Michael Palin’s books. Then there are all the delectable memoirs by people who’ve moved abroad and opened a taverna/olive farm/vineyard!
No tavernas and olives – A Viking Voyage, Carter. A bunch of men in wet cold wool breaking their backs in an open boat in the North Atlantic. Maybe this should go in horror?
12. POETRY AND DRAMA
This could be a novelty collection of limericks, a collection by a particular poet, or if that sounds a bit daunting, a single, longer narrative poem. How about ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, ‘Hiawatha’ or ‘The Waste Land’? My particular favourite is probably Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’, which is more like a simple fairytale that just happens to rhyme. Or you could choose a play – how about Ibsen, Miller, Shakespeare or the brilliantly witty Wilde?
There are some serious shading to grim selections on my list – time for a poem and poet that take, who took, nothing seriously. (Maybe Greek independence.) Byron’s Don Juan.
13. JOURNALISM AND HUMOUR
This one might take a little more thinking about, but it should be a bit of fun! Journalism collections can range from Nick Hornby’s Shakespeare Wrote for Money to Marian Keyes’s Under the Duvet, Jeremy Clarkson’s The World According to Clarkson to Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Big Country. Anything that’s been published in a newspaper or magazine first! Humour could be a book of cartoons, a novelty joke book or The Wicked Wit of Oscar Wilde!
Well, it certainly intends to be humor. Let’s see if it succeeds: Myth-ion Improbable, by Asprin
14. SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY
Again, this one throws the doors wide open for you to follow your interests. Always fancied learning more about space? Are you curious about the life of Charles Darwin? Or got a lifelong love for a particular animal? There are some wonderful ‘popular science’ books around too, including things like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, David Attenborough’s natural history books,and the entire works of the brilliantly funny Mary Roach.
My choice – Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Carroll. Much detail about how evolution happens, getting down and dirty among the genes.
15. CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT
This leaves the way open for pretty much anything, whether it’s reading The Hungry Caterpillar or The Magical Faraway Tree to your kids, revisiting the joys of The Secret Garden or Treasure Island, or devouring something from the modern tide of YA. Lots of dystopian fiction, coming-of-age novels and supernatural shenanigans to choose from!
Time for YA – Ink Exchange, by Marr. Tattoos and fairies (faeries?) and high school, oh my!
16. SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
Another wide area! Books on society and women (Female Chauvinist Pigs, Living Dolls), books on society and children (Toxic Childhood, Nurtureshock), books on how television and the internet are affecting our lives, Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, books on Freud or Marx…
The New Faces of Christianity – Believing the Bible in the Global South, by Jenkins. Religious growth in the southern hemisphere; what does that mean for the world’s future?
Oof. That’s an ambitious list – something in every category, and a lot of them are long and several are a long way from easy reading. Well, I did resolve to clear stuff out of this place by the end of the year – I have to read these sometime!