So we're not quite halfway through December yet, but I think it's okay to have our annual "What did you read this year?" thread about now. The question of the hour should hopefully be fairly self-explanatory. Not counting books I started and didn't finish, or re-reads: -The Meaning of Night and The Glass of Time by Michael Cox -American Creation and Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis (I got on a little American Revolution kick after watching John Adams.) -1776 and The Path Between The Seas by David McCullough -Tales of Beedle The Bard by J.K. Rowling -Tales From The Perilous Realm by J.R.R. Tolkien (Had read "Farmer Giles of Ham" before, but nothing else in the book.) -Different Seasons, The Green Mile, the first two Dark Tower books, and On Writing: A Memoir of The Craft by Stephen King -The New Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker (Edited by Leslie S. Klinger) -Citizen of The Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein -Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke -The Making of 'Star Wars' by J.W. Rinzler -Gentlemen of The Road, The Final Solution, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier And Clay by Michael Chabon -Three Doc Savage books: The Man of Bronze, The Phantom City, and The Monsters -Marco Polo: From Venice To Xanadu by Laurence Bergreen -A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs -In The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker -The 13 Clocks by James Thurber -Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds -The Illustrated Man, Fahrenheit 451, and Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury -The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick -Crime Stories, and Other Writings and Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett -The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde I'm hoping to be able to pick up The Help by Kathryn Stockett before the year's out, but I don't exactly have the money to buy it and the library has a hundred holds on it. In the realm of audiobooks, all of which I had read in print before: -The Graveyard Book and Stardust by Neil Gaiman -The Ladies of Grace Adieu, and Other Stories and Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Read by Simon Prebble and Davina Porter) -The first five Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling (Read by Jim Dale) -Dune by Frank Herbert (Read by Simon Vance and Others) -Every James Bond novel from Casino Royale to On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (Read by Simon Vance) All that, and it still felt like I didn't read as much this year as I normally do.
Endurance, by Alfred Lansing (nonfiction) Dreadnaughts Curse, by Howard Hoyt Hilton (fiction) Telex From Cuba, by Rachel Kushner (fiction) Havana Nocturne, by TJ English (non-fiction) The Airmen and the Headhunters, by Judith Heimann (nonfiction) Intrepid, by Bill White (nonfiction) The American Home Front, by allister cooke (nonfiction) A Dawn Like Thunder, by Robert Mrazek (nonfiction Destoyermen trilogy, by Taylor Anderson (fiction) Fidel Castro: my life, by Fidel Castro (arguably nonfiction) By Order of the President, by WEB Griffin (fiction) Variable Star, by Robert Heinlein and Spyder Robinson (fiction) The Great Escape, by Kati Marton (nonfiction) The War Journal of Major Damon 'Rocky' Gause, by Damon 'Rocky' Gause (nonfiction) Catch Me If You Can, by Frank Abagnale (nonfiction) A Trip to the Beach, by Melinda Blanchard (nonfiction) The Lost Fleet, books 1-4, by Jack Campbell (fiction) The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (fiction) Designated Targets, trilogy by John Birmingham (fiction) The Race Beat, by Gene Roberts (nonfiction) Silent Thunder, by Iris Johanson (fiction) Flory, by Flory Van Beek (nonfiction) Easy Company Soldier, by Don Marlarkey (nonfiction) Voyage of the Devilfish, by Michael DiMercurio (fiction) Starks War, by John Birmingham (fiction) The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown (fiction) FLAK, by Michael Veitch (nonfiction) Red Phoenix, by Larry Bond (fiction) The Bedford Boys, by Alex Kershaw (nonfiction) The Ghost Mountain Boys, by James Campbell (nonfiction) Charlatan, by Pope Brock (nonfiction) The Last Colony, by John Scalzi (fiction) Resistance, by Agnes Humbert (nonfiction)
Not quite as much diversity as I'd have hoped for. Perhaps I'll read a wider range of books in 2010. The Appeal - John Grisham The Dresden Files: Storm Front - Jim Butcher The Dresden Files: Fool Moon - Jim Butcher Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury Star Trek - A Singular Destiny - Keith R.A. DeCandido Star Trek: The Next Generation - Losing the Peace - William Leisner Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Soul Key - Olivia Woods Star Trek: Voyager - Full Circle - Kirsten Beyer Star Trek: Voyager - Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer Star Trek: Titan - Over a Torrent Sea - Christopher L. Bennett Star Trek: Titan - Synthesis - James Swallow
Wow. I have not read nearly as much as you guys, so I am feeling a tad illiterate right now. I've read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and to my knowledge that's about it. I feel embarrassed. I need to read more.
Armor by John Steakley [2/15 - 2/19] God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert [2/19 - 2/24] Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson [3/2 - 3/9] After so much reading for school, I just couldn't bring myself to read for pleasure much this year. Next year, it will be different.
Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker, a re-read of the Calvin & Hobbes collection and about 30 textbooks.
An incomplete list of what I've read this year, not including books I started and didn't finish and those I reread: Lots of Trek: Dayton Ward - Star Trek Vanguard: Open Secrets William Leisner - Losing The Peace Dave Galanter - Troublesome Minds Mere Anarchy Christopher L. Bennett - Star Trek Titan: Over A Troubled Sea Keith R.A. DeCandido - A Singular Destiny William Shatner - Academy: Collision Course Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Enterprise: By The Book Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens - Federation Andrew J. Robinson - A Stitch in Time S. D. Perry - Avatar Book One & Two David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang - Abyss The Mission Gamma books S. D. Perry - Rising Son S. D. Perry - Unity non-Trek: John Peel - Doctor Who: Mission To The Unknown John Peel - Doctor Who: The Mutation of Time Donald Cotton - Doctor Who: The Mythmakers Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman - Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker Theodor Fontane - Irrungen Wirrungen Theodor Fontane - Effi Briest Homer - Illiad Homer - Odyssey Friedrich Nietzsche - Der Fall Wagner Friedrich Nietzsche - Götzendämmerung (I'm about to finish that) Well, that looks really embarassing with all the tie-in literature. Maybe I should read less of that, but there's so much TrekLit I want to read. In all likelihood, I've forgotten a bunch.
I haven't read very much this year. I've read the first 8 Inspector Rebus novels back to back, and enjoyed them thoroughly. Also enjoyed seeing Rankin's writing style develop (and imporve). I also read Dan Brown's Lost Symbol in the middle of all that. It was nice to get back to Rebus!
For some reason, I completely left this of my above list. It and a re-read of the previous Vanguard novels were the extent of my TrekLit this year, unfortunately (I so need to get caught up).
I'm not very good at keeping track, from what I remember: Non-fiction: Hyperspace - Michio Kaku, fun pop-physics with a nice look at subject in relation to history, literature, and the arts. Emergence - Richard Sole, and interesting read despite the theory rather untangling at the end. The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan, awesome, of course. The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Magister's Pox - Stephen J. Gould, fantastic. 2009 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market - A necessary evil. Fiction: The Good Faeries of New York - Martin Miller, fantastic. Mysterious Skin - Scott Heim, one of the most affecting and personally important novels I've ever read. We Disappear - Scott Heim, good, though not as good as his first. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain, brilliant. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves - PG Wodehouse, the best for a laugh. (reread) the Harry Potter series (reread) The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, awesome, of course. The Lost World and Other Stories - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Accidental Time Machine - John Haldeman, fun start, trite resolution. Contact - Carl Sagan, awesome, of course. The Liar - Stephen Fry, absolutely delightful, dirty, dirty, linguistic fun. The Man in the Brown Suit - Agatha Christie, so-so. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie, fantastic. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie, pretty darn good. The Time-Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger. LAME. MARY SUES GALORE! The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid, fun, if trashy crime drama. The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid, same. The Last Temptation - Val McDermid, same. The Torment of Others - Val McDermid, same. Beneath The Bleeding - Val McDermid, same. Two DS9 novels (because I'm a nerd) Time's Enemy The Abyss There are probably more that I can't remember, plus a kids picture book or two every work day. I'd say the book that affected me the most this year was Mysterious Skin, and the book I found most disappointing was the dreadfully snobbish Time Traveler's Wife.
I haven't kept track, but to the best of my memory, this is what I have read. Fiction: Weapons of Choice - John Birmingham Designated Targets - John Birmingham Final Impact - John Birmingham Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman Pandora's Star - Peter F. Hamilton Judas Unchained - Peter F. Hamilton The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski To Dream in the City of Sorrows - Kathryn M. Drennan The Forever War - Joe Haldeman Non-Fiction: Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill - Matthieu Ricard Currently Reading: The Mote in God's Eye - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Haven't read nearly as much as I wanted to due to the workload at the office. Here's the books I found time for apart from technical literature: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore (read it for the 5th time and enjoyed it just as much as the first time) Fluke - Christopher Moore The Floating Girl - Sujata Massey Hades - Russes Andrews Terrorist - John Updike Fatal Error - Michael Ridpath The Swiss, the Gold, and the Dead - Jean Ziegler The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain The Trudeau Vector - Juris Jurjevics Magma - Thomas Thiemeyer All the Life On Mars (UK) tie-in books Star Trek: Titan - Taking Wing - Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels Star Trek: Titan - The Red King - Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin Star Trek: Titan - Orion's Hounds - Christopher L. Bennett Star Trek: Vanguard - Harbinger - David Mack Star Trek: Vanguard - Summon the Thunder- Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore Add to that a ton of audio books on my MP3 player and you get the picture.
I keep a list of everything I read in a year, so I'm well-prepared for occasions like this. Fiction The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan The Major Works by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser Emperor and Galilean by Henrik Ibsen (translated by Brian Johnston) Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë A Scene from Faust by Alexander Pushkin The Stone Guest by Alexander Pushkin Mozart and Salieri by Alexander Pushkin Rusalka by Alexander Pushkin The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot The Human Factor by Graham Greene Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner Die Walküre by Richard Wagner Siegfried by Richard Wagner Götterdammerung by Richard Wagner The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy Boris Godunov by Alexander Pushkin The Miserly Knight by Alexander Pushkin A Feast In Time Of Plague by Alexander Pushkin The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire (translated by James McGowan) Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama True Patriot Love: Four Generations in Search of Canada by Michael Ignatieff The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder by W. H. Hodgson Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (translated by Richard Freeborn) God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl The Man from St. Petersburg by Ken Follett The Pillars of the Community by Henrik Ibsen (translated by Una Ellis-Fermor) Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen (translated by Una Ellis-Fermor) The Song of Roland by Anonymous (translated by Dorothy L. Sayers) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Crucible by Arthur Miller Shogun by James Clavell Zofloya; or, The Moor by Charlotte Dacre Fifth Business by Robertson Davies The Manticore by Robertson Davies The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling Non-Fiction England’s Last War with France: Fighting Vichy, 1940-1942 by Colin Smith A Short History of Reconstruction by Eric Foner Barbarian Virtues: The United States Encounters Foreign Peoples At Home And Abroad, 1876-1917 by Matthew Frye Jacobson Masculinity and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 by Gail Bederman Byzantium: The Early Centuries by John Julius Cooper, Viscount Norwich Byzantium: The Apogee by John Julius Cooper, Viscount Norwich Byzantium: Decline and Fall by John Julius Cooper, Viscount Norwich The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862 by Carol Sheriff Graphic Fiction Jack of Fables: Jack of Hearts by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, et al. Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli House of Mystery: Room and Boredom by Matthew Sturges, Bill Willingham, et al. The Savage Sword of Conan v.1 by Roy Thomas, et al. Daredevil v.1 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, et al. Daredevil v.2 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, et al. Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt by J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck Daredevil v.3 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, et al. Swamp Thing: Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore et al. The Savage Sword of Conan v.2 by Roy Thomas et al. Swamp Thing: Love and Death by Alan Moore et al. Fantastic Four: Books of Doom by Ed Brubaker and Pablo Raimondi Swamp Thing: The Curse by Alan Moore et al. Swamp Thing: A Murder of Crows by Alan Moore et al. Jack of Fables: The Bad Prince by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, et al. Jack of Fables: Americana by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, et al. Alan Moore’s Wild Worlds by Alan Moore, Scott Clark, Al Rio, et al. Jack of Fables: Turning Pages by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, et al. Jungle Girl by Frank Cho, Doug Murray, and Adriano Batista Tomb of Dracula Omnibus v.1 by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, et al. Swamp Thing: Earth to Earth by Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, and Alfredo Alcala Swamp Thing: Reunion by Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Stephen Bissette, Alfredo Alcala, John Totleben, and Tom Yeates Top Ten: Book 1 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon Top Ten: Book 2 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon Swamp Thing: Regenesis by Rick Veitch, Alfredo Alcala, et al. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910 by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill The Savage Sword of Conan v.3 by Roy Thomas et al. Star Trek: Countdown by Mike Johnson, Tim Jones, and David Messina Starman Omnibus v.1 by James Robinson and Tony Harris The Savage Sword of Conan v.5 by Roy Thomas et al. Starman Omnibus v.2 by James Robinson and Tony Harris House of Mystery: Love Stories for Dead People by Matthew Sturges, Luca Rossi, Bill Willingham, et al. Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson v.2 by Walt Simonson et al. Swamp Thing: Spontaneous Generation by Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcala. Swamp Thing: Infernal Triangles by Rick Veitch, Jamie Delano, Stephen Bissette, Afredo Alcala, and Tom Mandrake. Thor: Ages of Thunder by Matt Fraction, Patrick Zircher, et al. Sleeper: Season 1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Madame Xanadu: Disenchanted by Matt Wagner, Amy Reeder Hadley, and Richard Friend Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson v.3 by Walt Simonson, Sal Buscema, et al. Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson v.4 by Walt Simonson, Sal Buscema, et al. X-23: Target X by Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Mike Choi & Sonia Oback Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson v.5 by Walt Simonson, Sal Buscema, et al. The Immortal Iron Fist: The Mortal Iron Fist by Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman, et al. Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, and Michael Lark Astro City: The Dark Age (Part I): Brothers & Other Strangers by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson Fables: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, et al. Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke Final Crisis: Revelations by Greg Rucka and Philip Tan Daredevil Omnibus v.1 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, et al. Astro City: The Tarnished Angel by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson Captain Britain Omnibus by Alan Davis, Alan Moore, David Thorpe, and Jamie Delano Gotham Central: Jokers and Madmen by Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, and Michael Lark Hercules: Prince of Power by Bob Layton Jack of Fables: The Big Book of War by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Tony Akins, Russ Braun et al. Sleeper: Season Two by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter by Kieron Gillen, Kano, et al. Battlefields: Dear Billy by Garth Ennis and Peter Snejbjerg Battlefields: Night Witches by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun Battlefields: The Tankies by Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra The Immortal Iron Fist: Escape from the Eighth City by Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman, et al. Queen and Country: Definitive Edition v.1 by Greg Rucka et al. The Savage Sword of Conan v.4 by Roy Thomas et al. Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships by Eric Shanower Bone: One Volume Edition by Jeff Smith Queen and Country: Definitive Edition v.2 by Greg Rucka et al. WE3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely Queen and Country: Definitive Edition v.3 by Greg Rucka et al. Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. Thunderbolts: Caged Angels by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
I saw this series on the shelf one day at the bookstore. It looks interesting. How is it? You read opera?
Very fun. Very obviously part of the post-Rowling wave, but it's got a lot of originality to it (and is distinctively American in tone). As someone who really enjoys Greek mythology, the author does a great job mixing it into his fantasy world (even extremely minor figures and stories). The libretti, to get some understanding of the story. Later I tracked down a series of performance DVDs that have subtitles, which I'll watch whenever I have the time.