New to me authors read in 2008

I saw this meme on a few other blogs, including Mysteries in Paradise and Petrona, and thought I'd have a go. A trawl through my 2008 reads revealed that almost half of the books I read last year were by new to me authors. There were 24 authors and 27 books.

I have bolded all first books whether they were 2008 or not, and have marked with an asterisk those authors who have gone on my definitely-want-to-read-again list. My reviews, when there is one, are linked.

*Lenny Bartulin - A Deadly Business

*Tony Black - Paying for It

*Paul Cleave - Cemetery Lake

*Paul Cleave - The Killing Hour

*Colin Cotterill - The Coroner's Lunch (2006)

*Phillip Gwynne - The Build Up

*Anne Holt - The Final Murder

*Stieg Larsson - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Donna Leon - Death at La Fenice (1992)

Donna Leon - The Girl of His Dreams

David Levien - City of the Sun

*Dominique Manotti - Rough Trade (2000)

Guillermo Martinez - The Book of Murder

*Brian McGilloway - Gallows Lane

*Adrian McKinty - Dead I Well May Be (2004)

*Adrian McKinty - The Bloomsday Dead
Camilla Nelson - Crooked

Camilla Noli - Still Waters

*Matt Rees - The Bethlehem Murders (2007)

*Giampiero Rigosi - Night Bus (2006)

*Andrea Maria Schenkel - The Murder Farm

Steve J. Spears - Murder at the Fortnight

*Simone van der Vlugt - The Reunion

Irvine Welsh - Crime

Jincy Willett - The Writing Class

*Chris Womersley - The Low Road (2007)

Edward Wright - Damnation Falls

Meme - 6 things you didn't realise you wanted know about me (and couldn't be arsed about anyway)

These memes are multiplying at an alarming rate. One day I'll get you for this Karen .

So, six probably quite boring things that you don't really need to know about me, but read on if you've really got nothing else to do:

1. On my very first holiday on my own, a bus trip to Central Australia when I was 19, I earned the nickname 'Horizontal Helen' - and no, not for the reason you're all thinking (get your minds out of the gutter!), but because I'd spend almost the whole time we were travelling in the bus sprawled across 2 seats sleeping. I've always suffered from motion narcolepsy, put me in something moving and I'm gone - luckily this doesn't affect me when I'm actually doing the driving!
2. As a kid I was the biggest tomboy you ever met. I would have sold my soul to be a boy, and it was just so unfair that Mum wouldn't let me go around without a shirt and pee standing up. Then all those girlie hormones kicked in at about 13, and that was that. But I'm still not very girlie.
3. I might be middle aged but I still listen to JJJ, and buy and download current rock, indie and alternative music. The word eclectic was invented for my music collection. *
4. I once worked at the Gas Company transferring all the customer records to automated cards, making lots of little pencil marks that a very primitive computer could read. I lasted 3 months.
5. I'm actually very shy, but people who know me don't believe it.
6. I don't snore, absolutely not, never, it's impossible, and I can't understand why a certain person keeps telling me I do. And furthermore, I absolutely do NOT hog all the bed. **

* 3. (amended) I'm sad old fart who can't quite come to grips with this getting old gig, and am desperately trying to hang on to long lost youth any way I can.
** 6. (amended) I'm deeply self-delusional.

123 Meme

It seems I've been tagged (gee ta muchly, Karen ).
So here's what I have to do:

• Pick up the nearest book.
• Open to page 123.
• Find the fifth sentence.
• Post the next three sentences.
• Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you in the first place

Ok, nearest book is probably an ARC of Shatter by Michael Robotham which I just found left under my front door mat by our kind and patient postie, and courtesy of the lovely Andrea. But as Karen already did this one, I'll do the next nearest, The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill, my current read.

'What do you think we should do?' Dr Nguyen asked.
'Look, I have to go south for a couple of days. Do you think you could stretch out your official autopsy till I get back?'

I have to say, I'm really loving this book, Siri Paiboun would have to be one of the most original and engaging characters I've ever read.

Now, I'm pretty new to this blogging thing, and don't have that many blogging contacts yet, so the last part of this meme is the hardest bit for me, as it seems everyone I know has already been tagged. I hope nothing dreadful happens to me if I break the chain! :)