[pdurrant]

My goal is to buy fewer books than I read. And so end up with fewer unread books.

I started 2020 with 1018 books on my TBR pile, I think, after adjusting for omnibuses expanded to individual books.

Books removed from TBR

Read and Reading

1. December 31st, 2019: Oathbreaker by Martin Jensen - £1.00 - 5/5 - 233pp
   Another splendid murder mystery set in the days of King Cnut
2. January 2nd: Grantville Gazette #87 edited by Bjorn Hasseler - £3.61 - 4/5 - 165pp
   The non-Grantville story was fun, but the rest were shorter and didn't grab me as much as usual. The 'fact' articles I just skimmed as usual.
3. January 3rd: F&SF, January/February 2020 edited by C. C. Finlay - £3.75 - 5/5 - 246pp
   Another excellent selection of stories.
4. January 6th: Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - £1.99 - 5/5 - 1121pp
   A nice pause point, with an excellent teaser for the third book.
5. January 10th: Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer - £1.20 - 4/5 - 340pp
   A Good mystery, although it wrapped up a bit too quickly for my taste.
6. January 19th: Through Fiery Trials by David Weber - £4.88 - 4/5 - 849pp
   The story is finally moving along. I think we should have been here a couple of books ago.
7. February 2nd: The Valley of Shadows by John Ringo & Mike Massa - £4.29 - 5/5 - 284pp
   Fast action adventure covering the start of the zombie plague
8. February 5th: Guilty Not Guilty by Felix Francis - £0.99 - 4/5 - 285pp
   Needs to cut down on the info dumps, but otherwise a good story and a fun, quick read.
9. February 6th: All the Plagues of Hell by Eric Flint and Dave Freer - £4.29 - 5/5 - 441pp
   A most enjoyable continuation of their mediaeval fantasy.
10. February 9th: Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell - £0.99 - 5/5 - 277pp
    Excellent late dark ages/early mediaeval historical fiction.
11. February 11th: The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cornwell - £1.99 - 5/5 - 254pp
    How hero continues to make trouble.
12. February 13th: The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer - £1.20 - 5/5 - 254pp
    Excellent romance
13. February 14th: Some of the Best of Tor.com: 2019 edition - Free - 5/5 - 529pp
    An excellent collection of short fiction, some of it brilliant.
14. February 22nd: Unto The Last Generation by Juanita Coulson - Free - 2/5 - 171pp
    [ABANDONED]Nice premise. Terrible in setup, plot and characterisation.[/ABANDONED]
15. February 22nd: A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill - Free - 5/5 - 302pp
    Excellent historical murder mystery set in 1930s New South Wales. Most enjoyable. Start of a series, but complete.
16. February 23rd: A Man’s Word by Martin Jensen - £0.99 - 5/5 - 204pp
    Another excellent murder mystery in the time of King Cnut
17. February 24th: Asimov's SF for March/April 2020 edited by Sheila WIliams -£2.49 - 5/5 - 309pp
    Another excellent issue.
18. February 25th: Analog SF for March/April 2020 edited by Trevor Quachri - £2.49 - - 343pp
    Another excellent issue, although I'm saving the serial for when all parts are available in September.
19. February 26th: Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige - Free - 4/5 - 311pp
    A fun murder mystery set in England in the 1890s. A bit American here and there. (blond bangs).
20. February 28th: Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J K Rowling - £5.52 - 5/5 - 459pp
    Bears up under a second reading.
21. March 1st: F&SF, March/April 2020 edited by C. C. Finlay - £3.75 - 5/5 - 246pp
    Another excellent issue. Worth it even at the high price.
22. March 2nd: Grantville Gazette #88 edited by Bjorn Hasseler - £3.61 - 4/5 - 170pp
    Some of the Grantville stories were just a bit too short for my liking. The longer ones were good. A very good DF story, and an OK fantasy round out the issue.
23. March 6th: Mark of the Cat by Andre Norton - Free - 4/5 - 239pp
    First part of a duology. Classic Norton, with young heroes and animal interactions
24. March 11th: Year of the Rat by Andre Norton - Free - 3/5 - 253pp
    It got a little too mystical for me, but OK.
25. March 15th: A Decline in Prophets by Sulari Gentill - £0.99 - 5/5 - 299pp
    Most enjoyable 1930s Australian murder mystery
26. March 18th: River of Night by John Ringo - £3.00 - 5/5 - 346pp
    The goodies win and the baddies die. Evenyually.
27. March 21st: Dancing with Myself by Charles Sheffield - Free - 4/5 - 330pp
    Good stories. Some articles a little dated.
28. March 28th: Death at Gallows Green by Robin Paige - Free - 5/5 - 280pp
    A most enjoyable murder mystery with a hint of romance.
29. March 29th: Lamentation by C. J. Sansom - £1.99 - 5/5 - 577pp
    A brilliant evocation of Tudor London. A a good mystery, too.
30. April 2nd: By the Pricking of my Thumbs by Agatha Christie - £0.43 - 3/5 - 190pp
    Too complex, and not enough resolution. Disappointing in plot, quite fun in other ways.
31. April 4th: Sleipnir by Linda Evans - Free - 4/5 - 247pp
    OK, but Odin seemed a little more studpid than he should have been.
32. April 5th: Crashing Sun by Edmond Hamilton - £2.22 - 2/5 - 184pp
    [ABANDONED]No, I can't see what I saw in these.
33. April 7th: Highfire by Eoin Colfer - £0.99 - 4/5 - 255pp
    Pretty good, but I didn't really get a feel for the setting.
34. April 10th: A Very British History by Paul McAuley - Free - 4/5 - 461pp
    Any interesting mix of SF stories. An author to look out for.
35. April 20th: Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - £1.34 - 5/5 - 281pp
    An excellent novel, giving a good start to the series, but satisfying in itself.
36. April 22nd: Jimmy the Hand by Raymond E. Feist and S. M. Stirling - £0.51 - 5/5 - 301pp
    A splendid little side take in his Midkemia series
37. April 24th: Red Dragon by Jerry Pournelle - £1.33 - 3/5 - 162pp
    Rather pedestrian spy thriller
38. April 25th: Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly - £0.99 - 5/5 - 282pp
    Excellent fantasy. Splendid stuff.
39. April 26th: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - £0.99 - 4/5 - 185pp
    Good short stories with an interesting linking narrative. Holds up surprisingly well.
40. April 28th: King of the Dead by R. A. MacAvoy - £1.93 - 5/5 - 522pp
    Really excellent fantasy.
41. April 30th: Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro - Free - 5/5 - 264pp
    An excellent start to the series. A bit more graphic sexually than I was expecting.
42. May 2nd: Star Wars IV: A New Hope by George Lucas - £0.33 - 2/5 - 185pp
    [ABANDONED - the casual racism was too much.]
43. May 2nd: Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie - £0.63 - 5/5 - 202pp
    An enjoyable mystery.
44. May 4th: One-Eyed Jack by Lawrence Watt-Evans - £1.93 - 5/5 - 245pp
    An excellent Dark Mystery
45. May 5th: The Chinese Maze Murders by Robert Van Gulik - £0.73 - 5/5 - 246pp
    Excellent murder mystery set in Ancient China.
46. May 6th: The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia - £1.91 - 3/5 - 200pp
    OK, but not good enough to really hook me.
47. May 8th: F&SF, May/June 2020 edited by C. C. Finlay - £3.75 - 4/5 - 253pp
    A mixed bag, but I enjoyed the vast majority.
48. May 10th: World Divided by Mercedes Lackey et al. - £2.40 - 1/5 - 415pp
    [ABANDONED. Just not interesting.]
49. May 11th: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson - £0.99 - 5/5 - 1308pp
    Wonderful epic fantasy, and the book ends at a satisfying stopping point, while leaving plenty for the next volume.
50. May 15th: Love in Amsterdam by Nicholas Freeling - £0.99 - 2/5 - 155pp
    [ABANDONED at 50%. Massive back story of one suspect completely put me off]
51. May 16th: The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold - £2.49 - 5/5 - 117pp
    Excellent Penric novella
52. May 17th: The Miller's Dance by Winston Graham - £0.99 - 5/5 - 353pp
    Excellent historical melodrama
53. May 20th: In the Empire of Shadow by Lawrence Watt-Evans - £1.98 - 5/5 - 263pp
    Impressively gritty fantasy. I'm looking forward to the conclusion.
54. May 21st: Watership Down by Richard Adams - £0.99 - 4/5 - 454pp
    Surprisingly good. Only not 5* because the inconsistent use of Lapine irritated me a bit.
55. May 25th: The Children of the Gates by Andre Norton - £2.50 - 3/5 - 328pp
    Two unrelated novels except for the psychic abilities. Not really to my taste.
56. May 29th: Old Twentieth by Joe Haldeman - £1.01 - 3/5 - 228pp
    OK, but a glitch or two for me, and overall not as good as I hoped for.
57. May 31st: One for the Money by Janet Evanovitch - Free - 5/5 - 187pp
    Most enjoyable crime adventure.
58. June 2nd: Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer - £0.33 - 5/5 - 170pp
    Absolutely delightful, as expected.
59. June 3rd: The Reign of the Brown Magician by Lawrence Watt-Evans - £1.98 - 4/5 - 287pp
    OK, but I was a bit disappointed in the ending.
60. June 4th: Death in a Desert Land by Andrew Wilson - £0.99 - 5/5 - 283pp
    Another splendid mystery inserted into Agatha Christie's life.
61. June 7th: Saint Odd by Dean Koontz - £0.99 - 5/5 - 281pp
    A fitting conclusion.
62. June 8th: In the Midnight Hour by Patty O'Shea - Free - 4/5 - 284pp
    Paranormal Romance. Good for that kind of thing.
63. June 10th: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - £0.02 - 4/5 - 245pp
    A good YA adventure.
64. June 15th: Dark Eden by Chris Beckett - £0.99 - 3/5 - 383pp
    OK. The different voices were different enough, IMO.
65. June 18th: Accepting the Lance by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - £3.86 - 5/5 - 438pp
    Excellent, as always.
66. June 20th: Pillar of Fire by Judith Tarr - £1.07 - 2/5 - 571pp
    Unsatisfactory retelling of the exodus, up to the crossing of the Red Sea.
67. June 23rd: The Trials of Rumpole by John Mortimer - £0.33 - 5/5 - 169pp
    Excellent, as expected.
68. June 24th: Fantasy Magazine #3 - £0.31 - 3/5 - 160pp
    I didn't like enough of the stories to make it above 3/5
69. June 27th: The Prince Commands by Andre Norton - Free - 4/5 - 162pp
    A sort of YA Prisoner of Zenda. No fantasy except the made-up kingdom.
70. June 29th: Rumpole Returns by John Mortimer - £0.33 - 5/5 - 153pp
    Wonderful
71. June 30th: Baen Free Stories 2011 by Baen Books - Free - 4/5 - 244pp
    Enjoyable stories set in the various Baen authors' series.
72. July 3rd: Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings - £1.00 - 4/5 - 238pp
    OK mystery set in Victorian Canada, but I felt the villain was not introduced early enough.
73. July 6th: The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer - £0.99 - 3/5 - 237pp
    It seems a lighter read than Artemis Fowl, aimed at a slightly younger audience. I didn't like it as much, and I doubt I'll buy any more in the series.
74. July 7th: False Value by Ben Aaronovitch - £0.99 - 5/5 - 279pp
    Absolutely brilliant. Great stuff. I'm looking forward to the next one.
75. July 8th: [I]Lone Star Planet[/I[ by H. Beam Piper & J. J. McGuire - Free - 4/5 - 94pp
    Fun story with Piper's classic competent man.
76. July 9th: Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin - £0.99 - 5/5 - 238pp
    An engaging hunt for a serial killer. I'm warming to Rebus.
77. July 10th: Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer - £1.20 - 5/5 - 287pp
    Another delightful regency romance.
78. July 10th: Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö - Free - 3/5 - 199pp
    Rather dull police procedural, with a tiny bit of tension at the end.
79. July 13th: Metro Girl bu Janet Evanovich - Free - 4/5 - 188pp
    A fun bit of Action/Romance nonsense.
80. July 14th: Ratking by Michael Dibden - £3.79 - 3/5 - 259pp
    Rather depressing murder mystery set in a corrupt Italy
81. July 19th: Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer - £1.20 - 5/5 - 239pp
    Simply splendid regency romance. Utterly delightful.
82. July 20th: Doctor Who: Fugitive by Tony Lee - £0.53 - 2/5 - 155pp
    A Graphic Novel. Not my kind of thing. Abandoned the other 18.
83. July 20th: Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman - £0.99 - 4/5 - 256pp
    An excellent collection of horror-leaning short stories.
84. July 24th: The Better Part of Valour by Tanya Huff - £1.00 - 3/5 - 289pp
    Reasonable MilSF. Not good enough to make me continue with the series just now.
85. July 25th: Vendetta by Michael Dibden - £1.99 - 4/5 - 248pp
    A improvement.
86. July 28th: The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson - £0.02 - 3/5 - 245pp
    A light YA historical Romance. I'm not surprised I hadn't heard of it before.
87. July 29th: The Vatican Rip by Jonathan Gash - £0.84 - 4/5 - 201pp
    Usual Lovejoy fun, still a very flawed hero.
88. July 30th: Service of All the Dead by Colin Dexter - £1.19 - 4/5 - 248pp
    Excellent mystery. And even Morse gets one thing wrong.
89. July 31st: The Quantum Garden by Derek Künsken - £1.99 - 5/5 - 297pp
    A good continuation of The Quantum Magician, with serious time travel.
90. August 2nd: Galaxy's Edge #2 by Mike Resnick - £0.40 - 4/5 - 288pp
    A good set of stories, new and reprints.
91. August 5th: Lightspeed Magazine #10 - £0.36 - 4/5 - 94pp
    Good, but short.
92. August 7th: A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton - Free - 5/5 - 223pp
    An enjoyable PI mystery. Set in now historical 1980s.
93. August 8th: Day of the Dead by Neil Gaiman - £0.58 - 5/5 - 42pp
    An annotated script for a Babylon 5 episode. Great fun.
94. August 8th: The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambley - £0.35 - 5/5 - 310pp
    Absolutely splendid sword and sorcery.
95. August 9th: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - £1.99 - 4/5 - 275pp
    Not quote my kind of thing, although very good suspense/murder plot
96. August 10th: Carnivores of Light and Darkness by Alan Dean Foster - £0.66 - 4/5 - 304pp
    Fun fantasy. One long story in three parts, of which this is part one.
97. August 13th: Cabal by Michael Dibden - £2.99 - 4/5 - 248pp
    More Zen in corrupt Italy. Poking fun at Dan Brown, I think.
98. August 16th: Essays in Humanism by Albert Einstein - Free - 3/5 - 148pp
    Interesting, but not unmissable
99. August 18th: Redemolished by Alfred Bester - £0.58 - 3/5 - 376pp
    Minor SF works by Bester, with some non-SF articles, and some articles about Bester. For the completist.
100. August 22nd: Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie - £0.41 - 2/5 - 219pp
     Oh dear. On a par with "The Big Four". She's not good at international intrigue.
101. August 24th: Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers - £0.05 - 4/5 - 233pp
     Excellent mystery, but wow, the contemporary attitudes and language!
102. August 26th: Sharpe's Revenge by Bernard Cornwell - £0.99 - 5/5 - 269pp
     Enjoyable, as always.
103. August 27th: Murder by Matchlight by E. C. R. Lorac - £1.49 - 4/5 - 182pp
     Pedestrian murder mystery, fascinating contemporary WWI London background.
104. August 28th: Stig of the Dump by Clive King - £0.99 - 5/5 - 116pp
     Stands up to a re-read as an adult.
105. August 28th: The Stars at War by Jerry Pournelle - £1.33 - 2/5 - 416pp
     Weird mix of short stories and political essays. Ugh.
106. September 1st: Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich - Free - 3/5 - 208pp
     Not as fun as the first, IMO.
107. September 2nd: Armada by Ernest Cline - £0.99 - 3/5 - 314pp
     Many more plot holes than Ready Player One, even though a quick fun read.
108. September 3rd: The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri - £0.99 - 4/5 - 191pp
     Interesting plot, but I'm not sure I like Montalbano himself.
109. September 5th: The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia - £1.35 - 4/5 - 216pp
     Fantasy using Russian folklore. Enjoyable.
110. September 7th: Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths - £0.99 - 5/5 - 233pp
     Another excellent mystery, set about 10 years after the previous one.
111. September 8th: Lightspeed Magazine #2 edited by J. J. Adams - £0.58 - 4/5 - 220pp
     I enjoyed the stories, the non-story articles were OK.
112. September 11th: The Annals of the Heechee by Frederik Pohl - £2.67 - 2/5 - 284pp
     Not very good. With one incident of casual racism to show that it's a post-racism society. Sigh
113. September 13th: Flight of a Witch by Ellis Peters - £0.99 - 5/5 - 233pp
     An excellent mystery, seeing the Felse's from another viewpoint.
114. September 16th: The Dead of Jericho by Colin Dexter - £1.19 - 5/5 - 238pp
     Morse is really the Morse we know now.
115. September 19th: Whirligig World by Hal Clement - £0.02 - 3/5 - 16pp
     A brief look at how the planet was worked out, and some of the errors made in a follow-up in 1999.
116. September 19th: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood - Free - 2/5 - 145pp
     Style over substance. Not to my taste
117. September 20th: Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson - £0.02 - 1/5 - 195pp
     Dreadful. It's hard to beleive that this is the author of Treasure Island.
118. September 24th: The White Magic Five and Dime by Steve Hockensmith and Lisa Falco - Free - 5/5 - 206pp
     A really good start to a new series. Satisfying.
119. September 26th: Lecture Demonstration by Hal Clement - £0.02 - 5/5 - 18pp
     An excellent short story set on Meskelin
120. September 26th: A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins - £0.99 - 3/5 - 328pp
     OK, but a bit trite in places, and too much on recent events.
121. September 30th: Odd Interlude by Dean Koontz - £0.99 - 4/5 - 190pp
     Good, but adds nothing significant to the series. And interlude indeed.
122. October 3rd: The Last Emperox by John Scalzi - £0.99 - 4/5 - 227pp
     Good, but I was disappointed in the ending.
123. October 4th: The Collected Stories by Arthur C Clarke - £1.99 - 4/5 - 1183pp
     All short stories from the first to the last. Many previously collected, and two or three are brilliant. 4/5 overall.
124. October 13th: Lifelode by Jo Walton - £1.99 - 5/5 - 182pp
     A fascinating world with a strange time structure and magic system, and the story architecture reflects that. Ebook formatting should be better.
125. October 19th: Tunnel Through the Deeps by Harry Harrison - £0.99 - 4/5 - 185pp
     Steam-punk-ish melodrama. Good fun.
126. October 21st: Grantville Gazette VIII (print) edited by Eric Flint - £1.89 - 5/5 - 422pp
     All good stories, and from long enough ago that I didn't really remember them
127. October 22nd: [I]Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg - Free - 3/5 - 250pp
     Very readable fantasy romance, but not good enough on the background and attitudes to be more than 3/5
128. October 24th: [I]A Liaden Universe Constellation 4[/I[ by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - £4.54 - 5/5 - 253pp
     The expected excellent short-ish stories in the Liaden universe.
129. October 25th: Tombland by C. J. Sansom - £0.99 - 5/5 - 829pp
     Splendid working of a Shardlake mystery into Kett's Uprising.
130. October 29th: Journey to the Heart of Luna by Andy Frankham-Allen - £0.23 - 2/5 - 103pp
     I should have finished this in a day. That it took three emphasises to the fact that I wasn't enthralled by it. The other 11 are discarded.
131. November 1st: All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot - £0.99 - 5/5 - 391pp
     More excellent tales of a Yorkshire Vet in the 1930s.
132. November 3rd: Masterpieces edited by Orson Scott Card - £4.81 - 3/5 - 502pp
     Some excellent stories, but I didn't agree with most of his selections.
133. November 7th: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - £0.02 - 3/5 - 87pp
     Written as a bit of a mystery story, but the plot point is now known to everyone, so it no longer works.
134. November 8th: Shadow's Blade by David B. Coe - £2.12 - 3/5 - 272pp
     OK, but a bit too much magic and new rules turning up unexpectedly
135. November 12th: Masquerade in Lodi by Lois McMaster Bujold - £2.49 - 5/5 - 97pp
     Simply splendid, as expected.
136. November 12th: Harpy's Flight by Megan Lindholm - £1.99 - 4/5 - 203pp
     A very good introduction and story. I'm looking forward to the next ones in the series.
137. November 13th: The Big Time by Fritz Leiber - £1.73 - 4/5 - 270pp
     A scene in the Time Wars. Good.
138. November 14th: Naughty Neighbour by Janet Evanovich - Free - 3/5 - 115pp
     A typical romance. Light and fluffy, with plot holes galore. But readable.
139. November 15th: Sharpe's Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell - £0.99 - 5/5 - 339pp
     As expected, excellent. A great fictionalised account of the battle of Waterloo, with notes at the end.
140. November 19th: Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman - Free - 5/5 - 285pp
     A most enjoyable contemporary fantasy, mostly set off-world.
141. November 20th: The Riddle of the The Mile by Colin Dexter -£1.19 - 4/5 - 213pp
     Morse messes up, and bodies drop like flies.
142. November 22nd: Rumpole at Christmas by John Mortimer - £0.99 - 4/5 - 115pp
     With the stories all together, they're a little bit too similar in places. But fun.
143. November 23rd: The Span of Empire - £2.00 - 5/5 - 563pp
     Excellent Mil SF/Space Opera
144. November 29th: Thraxas of Turai by Martin Scott - £5.50 - 4/5 - 172pp
     Good stuff, but what a cliff hanger.
145. November 30th: Refusal by Felix Francis - £1.99 - 5/5 - 317pp
     Impressive use of recurring characters. A good, fast read.
146. December 1st: The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri - £1.19 - 4/5 - 163pp
     Good mystery with Inspector Montalbano
147. December 3rd: Neptune Crossing by Jeffrey A. Carver - Free - 4/5 - 296pp
     Fun alien, interesting idea, not quite sure about the hero.
148. December 6th: Quofum by Alan Dean Foster - £3.85 - 2/5 - 224pp
     Incredibly slow, dull characters, all for a reveal in the final few pages and no real resolution. Very disappointing.
149. December 11th: Lightspeed Magazine #3 edited by John Joseph Adams - £0.58 - 3/5 - 100pp
     Good and original. But....
150. December 12th: Damage by Felix Francis - £1.99 - 5/5 - 342pp
     Excellent thriller in the horse racing world.
151. December 13th: Shadow Sight by E. J. Stevens - Free - 1/5 - 237pp
     [ABANDONED - about 40%. Just not well enough done. Characters simply unbelievable]
152. December 14th: Non-fiction 2011 by Baen Books - Free - 3/5 - 157pp
     Always interesting.
153. December 16th: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler - £0.67 - 4/5 - 191pp
     Very good characterisation and plot. An enjoyable read.
154. December 18th: Lucky Universe by Joshua James - Free - 3/5 - 294pp
     A shaky start, but it got better. I'm interested to see what happens next.
155. December 20th: Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch - £1.99 - 5/5 - 136pp
     Delightful set of short stories, with introductions.
156. December 22nd: The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin - £0.99 - 5/5 - 340pp
     Excellent urban fantasy.
157. December 24th: The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson - £0.02 - 4/5 - 219pp
     It was good, but I didn't much like knowing the eventual outcome right from the start. A lovely cameo from Alan Breck Stuart
158. December 28th: The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones - £1.95 - 4/5 - 552pp
     Good. Interesting magic. Ridiculous fighting scenes. Enjoyable.

Books added to TBR

Freebies

1. January 10th: Greylady by Peter Morwood (not added to TBR)
2. January 29th: Some of the Best of Tor.com 2019 (read)
3. February 11th: A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill (read)
4. February 15th: Unto The Last Generation by Juanita Coulson (abandoned)
5. February 23rd: Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige (read)
6. February 29th: Death at Gallows Green by Robin Paige (read)
7. March 4th: Dancing with Myself by Charles Sheffield (read)
8. March 23rd: Oakshot Complete Works of Lewis Carroll (not added to TBR)
9. March 24th: A Very British History by Paul McAuley (read)
10. March 29th: Oakshot Complete Works of Mark Twain (not added to TBR)
11. March 29th: Oakshot Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (not added to TBR)
12. March 29th: Oakshot Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe (not added to TBR)
13. March 29th: Oakshot OZ The Complete Collection (not added to TBR)
14. April 15th: Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (already owned. not added to TBR)
15. July 8th: Time for the Stars by Robert A Heinlein (not added to TBR)
16. September 22nd: The White Magic Five and Dime by Steve Hockensmith (read)
17. October 1st: Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg (read)
18. November 30th: Some of the Best from Tor.com 2016 by Tor.com (unread)
19. November 30th: Rocket Fuel by Tor.com (unread)
20. December 1st: The Assassin's Riddle by Paul Doherty (unread)
21. December 1st: Lost Mars edited by Mike Ashley (unread)
22. December 16th: [I]Lucky's Marines[/i} nine books by Joshua James (read 1/9)

Bought

• January (8/£25.79): Grantville Gazette #87, F&SF January/February 2020, Eye Spy, Through Fiery Trials, The Valley of Shadows, All the Plagues of Hell, The Pagan Lord, Guilty Not Guilty
• February (6/£8.94): Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Analog SFF March/April 2020, Asimov's SF March/April 2020, A Decline in Prophets
• March (3/£8.35): Grantville Gazette #88, F&SF March/April 2020, To the Land of Long Lost Friends
• April (4/£3.96): Highfire, Dragonsbane, Haven of Darkness, Incident on Ath
• May (5/£9.21): F&SF May/June 2020, The Terridae, Spectrum of a Forgotten Sun, Love in Amsterdam, The Physicians of Vilnoc
• June (6/£6.83): The First Rumpole Omnibus (Rumpole of the Bailey, The Trial s of Rumpole, Rumpole's Return),Death in a Desert Land, Someday the Rabbi Will Leave, Accepting the Lance
• July (5/£6.45): The Fowl Twins, False Value, Murder by Matchlight, Stig of the Dump, The Quantum Garden
• August (3/£3.47): Closer to the Chest, Armada, The Colours of all the Cattle
• September (3/£3.97): Now You See Them, Don't Panic, Tombland
• October (11/£17.33): The Last Emperox, Tunnel Through the Deeps, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, Every Living Thing, Symbol of Terra, The Quillian Sector, Liaden Universe Constellation 4, Grantville Gazette Print VIII, Lifelode
• November (7/£15.94): Proof, Masquerade in Lodi, Harpy's Flight, Rumpole at Christmas, Refusal, Damage, Thraxas of Turai
• December (7/£6.94): Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, The Big Sleep, Farewell my Lovely, The Long Goodbye, Lucky Tales from the Folly, The City We Became, Queen of Storms

Analysis
TBR: [B]901/B]
Books read: 158 (including 30 freebies, 1 re-reads, 6 abandoned)
Books otherwise removed from TBR pile: 50 (6 read previously, 44 discarded)

Books removed from TBR pile: 207
Books added to TBR pile: 90 (including 22 freebies, 2 omnibus counted as 6)
Removed/Added: 2.30
Net reduction for 2020: 117

Non-free books read: 128 (including 1 re-reads)
Total cost of books read: £197.84
Average cost of books read: £1.55

Non-free books bought: 68 (including 2 omnibus counted as 6)
Total cost of books bought: £117.18
Average cost of books bought: £1.72


Rating System:
1: Bad.
2: Poor. (Or just not to my taste.)
3: Satisfactory.
4: Good.
5: Excellent.

Pages are as given by the ADE algorithm in Calibre, or from the Amazon web page.