Books Read: 2021

In 2021, I read 60 books:  34 nonfiction, 26 fiction.  Thirteen were re-reads.

FICTION

Sherlock Holmes (A. Conan Doyle), all of which were re-reads:

A Study in Scarlet

The Sign of Four

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sherlock Holmes pastiches:

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (Nicholas Meyer), a re-read  Pretty good

The Monster of St. Marylebone (Wayne Worcester)  Not that good

The Revenant of Thraxton Hall (Vaughn Entwistle) Passable

The Thistle of Scotland (L.B. Greenwood)  Pedestrian

The Haunting of Torre Abbey (Carole Bugge)  Passable

Other Mysteries

A Trick of the Light (Louise Penny)  Annoying.  I am done with this series.

Dead as a Dodo (Jane Langton)  Pretty good

The Sibyl in Her Grave (Sarah Caudwell) a re-read  Good stuff

Artists in Crime (Ngaio Marsh) a re-read  A favorite

Death Notes  (Ruth Rendell)  Pretty good

From Doon with Death  (Ruth Rendell)  Passable

Speaker of Mandarin  (Ruth Rendell)  So-so

Death of an Englishman (Magdalen Nabb)  Forgettable

The Incredible Crime  (Lois Austen-Leigh)  Also forgettable

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Alan Bradley)  a re-read  A favorite series

Other Fiction

The Portable Veblen (Elizabeth McKenzie)  Eccentric and charming

Excellent Women  (Barbara Pym)  Quite enjoyable

Some Tame Gazelle  (Barbara Pym)  Good

Jane and Prudence (Barbara Pym)  not quite up there

Piranesi  (Susanna Clarke)  most unusual fantasy, loved it

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke) re-read  excellent stuff

NONFICTION

Three re-reads of delightful mid-century humor and gardening by Beverley Nichols):

Merry Hall

Laughter on the Stairs

Sunlight on the Lawn

The Cards Can't Lie (Alice Hutton)  History of tarot decks; rather dull.

Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher (Jim Arnosky)  Aimed at youngsters but nice drawings

Images of America: The Manhattan Project at Hanford Site

The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook (Peter Haining, editor)

The Hanford Reach (Susan Zwinger)

American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America (Robert Hughes)

The World of Copley (Time-Life World of Art series)

The World of Turner (ditto)

Johann Sebastian Bach (Hannsdieter Wohlfarth)

No Vulgar Hotel (Judith Martin) Musings on Venice; could have been better

The Art of Practicing (Madeline Bruser) Music practice advice

How to Live Like a Lord without Really Trying (Shepherd Mead)  humor

Reading the OED (Ammon Shea) I liked this one quite a bit

The War of Art (Steven Pressfield) Can't remember a thing about it

The World of James McNeill Whistler (Horace Gregory)

The Secret Lives of Color (Kassia St. Clair)  Fun stuff

The Most Obliging Man in Europe (Christopher Platt) about Oxford servants; a bit dull

The History of the Snowman (Bob Eckstein)  odd little history book

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa (R. A. Scotti)

Calling Bullshit (Carl Bergstrom; Jevin West) The use and misuse of data; good

Farewell in Splendor (Jerrold Packard) Queen Victoria's last days; overwritten

A Strange Business (James Hamilton) 19th-century art and business in U.K.; too dull

Orchid Fever (Eric Hansen)  fun look at obsessive orchid fans

Mystery: A Seduction, A Strategy, A Solution (Jonah Lester) musings on mystery and its uses

Rooted (Lyanda Haupt) Excellent thoughts on nature

The Crooked Path: An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft (Kelden)

The Bookseller of Florence (Ross King) Good biography/history (15th-century)

The Real Witches' Handbook (Kate West)

The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance (Joscelyn Godwin)

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (John Koenig)  fun book of invented words

And my favorite book of 2021:

Leonardo da Vinci (Walter Isaacson) one of the best biographies I've ever read

There are plenty of books on my To Be Read pile for the coming year.  Time to get started!