This year I set myself a target, well more of a vague ambition really, to read 100 books in the year, and half-way through October I finished my 100th book of 2023 – Windswept & Interesting by Billy Connolly.

A quick word about the Billy Connolly book. At times it feels like it is just randomly picking topics, but you realise that those random topics mostly follow some sort of chronology, and it is never boring. You wonder how one person can cram so much into one life. There is also one of the greatest single lines in an autobiography:

“Fuck off”, she hinted

Of those 100 books, only 12 were actual paper books. The rest were all e-books read on my Kindle. Most were fiction, with 16 being non-fiction. I’m so glad I have the Kindle because I really would not have had the space for another 100 books on my shelves.

Some of the books were quite short, but then a couple were thick non-fiction, which always takes longer to read for me, and half a dozen were graphic novels which Jayne thinks does not count. Of the fiction books, four authors account for about half of them!

I think I will now aim for the ‘stretch goal’ of 100 novels in the year.

I am wondering whether, next year, I should go through a major re-reading operation, as a contract to this year where everything was new to me. It would certainly be cheaper! I am thinking I could re-read all my Robert Rankin and Chris Brookmyre books, though I have already read them all 2 or 3 times. Or perhaps I could re-read all the Asimov or Heinlein books?

Or maybe I should just read less and write more? Or get out on my bike more.