Last year was the first year I set out a target of books to read - 12 for the year. I failed miserably. I think I got to 5 in the end. I’m clearly no Rick O’Shea (97 books in 2014 Actually, looks like he finished 100 books by the 31st of Dec).

I’ve set myself a similar target for this year, but I’ve put a little bit more planning into it this time.

I’m currently reading 4 books, that I plan to finish in January - Paul Theroux’s excellent The Great Railway Bazaar, the really interesting The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes, Charles Emmerson’s The Future History of the Arctic, and a book for review that I’m reading by Nicholas Ryan called Zombie War.

Last year was the first time I ever gave up on a book. I’m going to start doing that more if I don’t like the book - I’m starting to realise I don’t have time for bad books anymore. With that in mind I have a provisional reading list for 2015, but I may be dropping any of them if they turn out to be terrible.

• January: Finish the above books.
• February: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. I’m really looking forward to this book, I love the Discworld books.
• March: Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. To my eternal shame, I’ve never read any of Gaiman’s novels so I’m looking forward to this.
• April: Season on the Brink by John Feinstein. I’m a massive Feinstein fan. I’ve read Open and One on One, and loved both books so looking forward to reading another of his as soon as possible.
• May: Paul Theroux’s next travel book after The Great Railway Bazaar - The Old Patagonian Express. I’m currently loving The Great Railway Bazaar so hoping I enjoy his other travel writing. I bought them all in Chapters a few months back on a recommendation. I still can’t remember who that was. Sorry but thanks!
• June: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Haven’t seen the movie but the book comes well recommended so will try to get to it this year.
• July: Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. I loved the movie, so hope the book lives up to it. Perfect Bastille day reading!
• August: How I Found Livingstone by Henry Morton Stanley. I don’t know much about this book but it looks really interesting so I’ll take a look in August.
• September: Brian O’Driscoll’s autobiography. I think we’ll be reaching peak excitement for the Rugby World Cup so I’ll take my mind off it by reading about our greatest ever rugby player.
• October: Wool by Hugh Howey. This one comes amazingly well recommended. Might push it up the list if I buy it before October.
• November: Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise. I’m a big fan of Nate’s 538 Site so looking forward to this book.
• December: I’m leaving this slot a bit vague. If something comes up during the year, I’ll add it to this slot, but if nothing comes up, I might read another Feinstein (The Army vs Navy football book looks really good), or the next Paul Theroux travel after the above books.

So that’s the list. There may be changes or additions to this list. I tend to review books that I find really good or if asked by authors so keep an eye on twitter to see if anything from above really stands out for me.