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These pages are all about the books I've read. In 1985 I started recording and rating the books I read, perhaps to remind myself not to reread some forgettable trash, or perhaps to honour my first '10', The Lord of the Rings.

I've kept it going more or less continually since then, first on paper, then on Access, and now, more usefully, with a MySQL database. No obsessive compulsive comments please.

You can do all the things the statistician part of me finds exciting - rank books and authors, view average scores for a particular month etc. Use the menu options at the top. I've included a few of the more interesting options below and to the right as a 'front page'. If you don't find them exciting, hit that back button now.

Top authors (at least 2 books)

AvgAuthorNo. Books
9.73J.R.R Tolkien22
9.50John Boyd2
9.00Philip Pullman3
8.83David Zindell6
8.83Philip Jose Farmer6
8.75Stephen Donaldson4
8.50Nicholas Mosley2
8.50Leonard Q. Ross2
8.50Barry Miles2
8.25David Eddings20
8.25Charles Dickens4
8.25Umberto Eco4
8.14Raymond E. Feist7
8.00"Margaret, Tracy" "Weis, Hickman"6
8.00Hermann Hesse6
8.00Robert M. Pirsig3
8.00Tatamkhulu Afrika3
8.00 Osho3
8.00Vladimir Nabokov3
8.00Thomas More2

Top authors (quantity)

AvgAuthorNo. Books
5.87 Various30
7.64Ursula K. Le Guin25
9.73J.R.R Tolkien22
8.25David Eddings20
6.45Tom Sharpe11
7.40Frank Herbert10
6.89Isaac Asimov9
6.56Robert Heinlein9
6.38Mongane Wally Serote8
8.14Raymond E. Feist7
6.86Kim Stanley Robinson7
6.71Jack Kerouac7
6.00William Shakespeare7
5.00L. Ron Hubbard7
8.83David Zindell6
8.83Philip Jose Farmer6
8.00"Margaret, Tracy" "Weis, Hickman"6
8.00Hermann Hesse6
7.67Ben Okri6
7.17A.A. Attanasio6

20 most recent books

TitleAuthorScoreDate read
Voodoo HistoriesDavid Aaronovitch52010/1
NightfallIsaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg62009/12
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and ClayMichael Chabon72009/12
Experiencing the GreenmanRob Hardy & Teresa Moorey12009/12
The Angel and other poemsTatamkhulu Afrika82009/11
Hopeful MonstersNicholas Mosley92009/11
Hello at LastSara Jenkins62009/11
The Third ProphecyAhmed Essop52009/10
In Black and WhiteJake White, Craig Ray62009/10
Against a Dark BackgroundIain M. Banks62009/10
HothouseBrian Aldiss42009/9
MatrixPatrick Cullinan72009/9
Paula SpencerRoddy Doyle52009/8
He: Understanding Masculine PsychologyRobert Johnson82009/8
White LightningJustin Cartwright62009/7
The Book ThiefMarcus Zusak62009/5
The Broken GodDavid Zindell102009/5
Wuthering HeightsEmily Bronte72009/5
About a BoyNick Hornby72009/5
The Buddha of SuburbiaHanif Kureishi72009/5

20 random books

TitleAuthorScoreDate read
The King Beyond the GateDavid Gemmel81993/5
The Facts Speak for ThemselvesBrock Cole62003/2
"Pluto, Animal Lover"Laren Stover61997/11
A Tough TaleMongane Wally Serote81994/11
Woza Albert!"Percy,Mbongeni,Barn." "Mtwa,Ngema,Simon"61994/6
Things Fall ApartChinua Achebe71997/1
Japan Editors of Time-Life61993/7
A Long Walk to FreedomNelson Mandela71998/6
ImmortalityMilan Kundera61995/11
The Beautiful Screaming of PigsDamon Galgut72006/7
The End of the RoadJohn Barth71997/12
Dragonlance Legends 1"Margaret, Tracy" "Weis, Hickman"81988/2
Foundation and EarthIsaac Asimov61993/11
DurdaneJack Vance81990/2
RidersJilly Cooper52001/1
Woza Albert!"Percy,Mbongeni,Barn." "Mtwa,Ngema,Simon"61994/2
LilaRobert M. Pirsig81995/2
MaiaRichard Adams21995/1
The Angel and other poemsTatamkhulu Afrika82009/11
HeadhunterMichael Slade71988/8