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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. A partial version of the list exists on my Goodreads profile.

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
9.76J.R.R Tolkien25
9.63Ken Wilber8
9.50John Boyd2
9.00Robert Johnson2
8.86David Zindell7
8.83Philip Jose Farmer6
8.75Stephen Donaldson4
8.50Jonny Steinberg4
8.50Leonard Q. Ross2
8.50Nicholas Mosley2
8.50Mark Twain2
8.25David Eddings20
8.25Kazuo Ishiguro4
8.14Raymond E. Feist7
8.00Hermann Hesse8
8.00"Margaret, Tracy" "Weis, Hickman"6
8.00Barry Miles3
8.00Vladimir Nabokov3
8.00Nnedi Okorafor3
8.00Robert M. Pirsig3

Top authors (quantity)

AvgAuthorNo. Books
7.58Ursula K. Le Guin45
5.86 Various35
9.76J.R.R Tolkien25
7.14Frank Herbert22
8.25David Eddings20
7.69Margaret Atwood13
7.08Isaac Asimov12
6.45Tom Sharpe11
6.90Kim Stanley Robinson10
6.89J.M. Coetzee9
6.56Robert Heinlein9
9.63Ken Wilber8
8.00Hermann Hesse8
7.75Isabel Allende8
6.38Mongane Wally Serote8
6.38Iain M. Banks8
6.13Arthur Conan Doyle8
6.00William Shakespeare8
8.86David Zindell7
8.14Raymond E. Feist7

20 most recent books

TitleAuthorScoreDate read
Very Far Away From Anywhere ElseUrsula K. Le Guin62025-06
RadixA.A. Attanasio62025-06
The Bee StingPaul Murray72025-05
The Unreal and the RealUrsula K. Le Guin72025-04
Bodhichitta: Practice for a Meaningful Life Lama Yeshe Rinpoche92025-04
Winnie and Nelson Portrait of a MarriageJonny Steinberg92024-11
DraculaBram Stoker72024-11
Love Letter to the EarthThich Nhat Hanh42024-11
The Diamond That Cuts Through IllusionThich Nhat Hanh52024-11
Freedom Through UnderstandingLama, Lama Yeshe, Zope Rinpoche72024-11
The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of ComputationCory Doctorow72024-10
The Stars My DestinationAlfred Bester62024-09
Evolution: A novelKen Barris62024-09
Flowers for AlgernonDaniel Keyes82024-08
The Mosquito CoastPaul Theroux72024-08
DarkdawnJay Kristoff62024-07
GodsgraveJay Kristoff62024-06
Manifesto: A New Vision for South AfricaSongezo Zibi52024-05
Saving South AfricaChris, Sandile Pappas, Mnikathi52024-05
The Prague CemeteryUmberto Eco62024-04

20 random books

TitleAuthorScoreDate read
The Animal's ConferenceErich Kastner72015-09
The Third ProphecyAhmed Essop52009-10
Funny Money: In Search of Alternative CashDavid Boyle72005-10
The Known WorldEdward. P. Johnson72010-09
Slow ManJ.M. Coetzee52022-01
Northern LightsPhilip Pullman72016-12
No one gets out of here alive"Jerry, Danny" "Hopkins, Sugerman"72000-02
The SnapperRoddy Doyle72005-08
The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of ComputationCory Doctorow72024-10
"Pluto, Animal Lover"Laren Stover61997-11
The Lord of the FliesWilliam Golding71995-10
Enchanter's End GameDavid Eddings91990-01
Guns, Germs and SteelJared Diamond72012-01
Tales of the NorthmenR.L. Green61986-05
The EnneadJ. Mark71987-05
Binti: The Night MasqueradeNnedi Okorafor72018-08
MagicianRaymond E. Feist91989-05
King Harald's SagaSnorri Sturluson51993-08
Science Fantasy Various61989-06
Amazon DreamRobert Reed71998-11