Read in 2014
List of the books I’ve read in 2015
- December 2014—Anne de Bretagne from Philippe Tourault.
The history of the last queen of independent Brittany, who became queen of France.
As often is the case for queens at that time, a very tough life between court life and failed pregnancies, but with added political flair and intelligence. - November 2014—Belem : le temps des naufrageurs from Jean-Yves Delitte.
A graphic novel based on the start of the career of Belem, a three-masted ship built in Nantes in 1896.
A tumultuous start of a career, with wrecks and wreckers, which ends (as it indeed happened) with fire on board. A very nice graphic touch for ships and landscapes, the author is an official French Navy painter. - August 2014—Admiralty Manual of Seamanship.
A practical manual for sailors of the English Navy in 1979.
Lost of interesting info on rope-work and nautical knowledge, and quite a few outdated bits too. - July 2014—2312 from Kim Stanley Robinson.
A woman born on Mercury lives and partakes in the events of a year that shapes humanity.
In the same vein as his Mars trilogy, Robinson goes on inventing the future of the solar system with original ideas, while informing us about ourselves, now. Excellent book with interesting characters. - May 2014—Wolf Hall from Hilary Mantel.
An historical novel based on the life of Thomas Cromwell.
A fascinating book, which allowed me to discover England in the 16th century. It’s the start of a trilogy, I will definitely read the rest! - February 2014—Across country, Stories from Aboriginal Australia.
A collection of short stories from and about indigenous Australians.
The stories are varied and interesting, several of them voice the terror of parents: having their children taken away by institutions (police, “welfare”). - January 2014—Neko land (猫ランド) : une vie de chat au Japon from Alexandre Bonnefoy & Delphine Vaufrey.
A photo album about Japanese cats, domestic or strays, in the city, in farmland or by the sea.
Superb photos, nice atmospheres that give quite a lot of hints about life in Japan. - January 2014—Ycelui dont les yeux voient from Yannick Letty.
Superintendent Le Borgne is investigating the horrific murder of a teenager found dead in front of the Plougastel church.
A riveting book mixing suspense and history, with fascinating characters, read in a few hours, leaving me with the need to read the previous books (unfortunately they seem hard to find). - January 2014—Blacksad 5 : Amarillo from Juanjo Guarnido & Juan Díaz Canales.
The feline detective takes on the simple task of driving a car to Tulsa. Nothing goes according to plan.
Much more colour than in the previous books, but it’s still a dark story, fast paced an beautifully drawn. - December 2014—Palmer en Bretagne from Pétillon.
Jack Palmer got himself a bodyguard job working for a rich visitor to Brittany.
It’s slightly less funny than the Corsican enquiry, but full of very funny details which hit their mark. It’s a little weird that everything happens at a distance from Palmer, but it avoids the “I guess everything and explain it to you” pattern.