What I read last year
Time for my annual post about the books I've read last year. Under a cut:
January:
An Unclean Legacy, Jenna Moran
Blackout, Connie Willis
All Clear, Connie Willis
February:
To Ride a Rathorn, P.C. Hodgell
Bound in Blood, P.C. Hodgell
Honor's Paradox, P.C. Hodgell
I was originally intending just to read the last, but it quickly became clear I needed to back up two volumes for a memory refresh.
Supervolcano: Eruption, Harry Turtledove
March:
The History of King Lear, Nahum Tate
This is the version of the play which introduces a romance between Cordelia and Edward, and gives it a happy ending. Read because I was acting in it for LibriVox, of course.
James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice Sheldon, Julie Philips
Everyone I know seems to have read this back when it came out, but I somehow didn't get to it then.
The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson
Edward III, Thomas Kyd and possibly William Shakespeare
Another LibriVox play -- having read it, I find myself doubtful that Shakespeare had much to do with writing it.
Hide Me Among the Graves, Tim Powers
April:
The Fable of the Swan, Jenna Moran
Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess, Phil and Kaja Foglio
The Magician King, Lev Grossman
The Child That Books Built, Francis Spufford
The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
Another memory refresh, before reading the sequel.
May:
The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss
The Troupe, Robert Jackson Bennett
The Bird of the River, Kage Baker
The Strange Gentleman, Charles Dickens
Before Dickens became a novelist, he wrote two-act farces. Who knew?
Leviathan Wakes, "James S.A. Corey"
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Pepys
Read one day at a time, online, for nearly ten years.
June:
Famous Play Decisions, Terence Reese and David Bird
Embassytown, China Miéville
The Dragon's Path, Daniel Abraham
The King's Blood, Daniel Abraham
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe
The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin
Blackout, "Mira Grant"
Redshirts, John Scalzi
July:
Under the Dome, Stephen King
The Shadowed Sun, N.K. Jemisin
The Far West, Patricia Wrede
Patricia may take it as a compliment that I didn't feel the need to re-read the first two of these before I read the third.
Neptune's Brood, Charles Stross
August:
The Sand Pebbles, Richard McKenna
Sword Song, Rosemary Sutcliffe
Cress Delahanty, Jessamyn West
The Friendly Persuasion, Jessamyn West
At Farthing Party, Elise Matthesen read a hilarious excerpt from Cress Delahanty, so I got these two out of the library.
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson
September:
Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything, Randy Cohen
Not actually all that different from any other collection of advice columns.
Songs of the Dying Earth, George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, eds.
Acquired the previous December and read in bits and pieces over the course of the year. Far too much to read all at one time.
The Cardturner, Louis Sachar
Holes, Louis Sachar
Rolling Thunder: The Coming Earth Changes, J.R. Jochmans
A book of predictions for the last two decades of the twentieth century, picked up cheap because it sounded like something amusing to laugh at.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairland and Led the Revels There, Catherynne M. Valente
An ARC of the latter won on tor.com, meaning I had to buy the former.
Rapture of the Nerds, Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross
I found this relentlessly picaresque, to the point of exhaustion. I'm honestly not sure whether I'm recommending it or the opposite.
Grand Central Arena, Ryk E. Spoor
October:
The Sharing Knife: Passage, Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sharing Knife: Horizon, Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sharing Knife: Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold
Katie happened to pick these up to re-read, so I read them too.
You Know Me Al, Ring Lardner
Offered cheap at the Kindle store, so I bought it.
The Apocalypse Codex, Charles Stross
The Butterfly Kid, Chester Anderson
November:
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
This one took a long time; it's long, and I enjoyed it -- I have the sequel and plan to read it and the third -- but it lacked the I-want-to-read-itosity that makes long books finish quickly.
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold
December:
You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop, John Scalzi
Plus the others in the Subterranean Scalzi Bundle.
The Rhesus Chart, Charles Stross
Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
The Bible Repairman and Other Stories, Tim Powers
Against the Light, Dave Duncan
Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock
Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill
The Summer Country, Jim Hetley
Quite enjoyable, I plan to get to the sequel soon.
Supervolcano: All Fall Down, Harry TurtledoveI suppose the title is meant to suggest "ashes, ashes". Really "All muddle through" would have been a better title, if one less evocative.
Phoenix Rising, Ryk E. Spoor
January:
An Unclean Legacy, Jenna Moran
Blackout, Connie Willis
All Clear, Connie Willis
February:
To Ride a Rathorn, P.C. Hodgell
Bound in Blood, P.C. Hodgell
Honor's Paradox, P.C. Hodgell
I was originally intending just to read the last, but it quickly became clear I needed to back up two volumes for a memory refresh.
Supervolcano: Eruption, Harry Turtledove
March:
The History of King Lear, Nahum Tate
This is the version of the play which introduces a romance between Cordelia and Edward, and gives it a happy ending. Read because I was acting in it for LibriVox, of course.
James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice Sheldon, Julie Philips
Everyone I know seems to have read this back when it came out, but I somehow didn't get to it then.
The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson
Edward III, Thomas Kyd and possibly William Shakespeare
Another LibriVox play -- having read it, I find myself doubtful that Shakespeare had much to do with writing it.
Hide Me Among the Graves, Tim Powers
April:
The Fable of the Swan, Jenna Moran
Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess, Phil and Kaja Foglio
The Magician King, Lev Grossman
The Child That Books Built, Francis Spufford
The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
Another memory refresh, before reading the sequel.
May:
The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss
The Troupe, Robert Jackson Bennett
The Bird of the River, Kage Baker
The Strange Gentleman, Charles Dickens
Before Dickens became a novelist, he wrote two-act farces. Who knew?
Leviathan Wakes, "James S.A. Corey"
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Pepys
Read one day at a time, online, for nearly ten years.
June:
Famous Play Decisions, Terence Reese and David Bird
Embassytown, China Miéville
The Dragon's Path, Daniel Abraham
The King's Blood, Daniel Abraham
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe
The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin
Blackout, "Mira Grant"
Redshirts, John Scalzi
July:
Under the Dome, Stephen King
The Shadowed Sun, N.K. Jemisin
The Far West, Patricia Wrede
Patricia may take it as a compliment that I didn't feel the need to re-read the first two of these before I read the third.
Neptune's Brood, Charles Stross
August:
The Sand Pebbles, Richard McKenna
Sword Song, Rosemary Sutcliffe
Cress Delahanty, Jessamyn West
The Friendly Persuasion, Jessamyn West
At Farthing Party, Elise Matthesen read a hilarious excerpt from Cress Delahanty, so I got these two out of the library.
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson
September:
Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything, Randy Cohen
Not actually all that different from any other collection of advice columns.
Songs of the Dying Earth, George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, eds.
Acquired the previous December and read in bits and pieces over the course of the year. Far too much to read all at one time.
The Cardturner, Louis Sachar
Holes, Louis Sachar
Rolling Thunder: The Coming Earth Changes, J.R. Jochmans
A book of predictions for the last two decades of the twentieth century, picked up cheap because it sounded like something amusing to laugh at.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairland and Led the Revels There, Catherynne M. Valente
An ARC of the latter won on tor.com, meaning I had to buy the former.
Rapture of the Nerds, Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross
I found this relentlessly picaresque, to the point of exhaustion. I'm honestly not sure whether I'm recommending it or the opposite.
Grand Central Arena, Ryk E. Spoor
October:
The Sharing Knife: Passage, Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sharing Knife: Horizon, Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sharing Knife: Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold
Katie happened to pick these up to re-read, so I read them too.
You Know Me Al, Ring Lardner
Offered cheap at the Kindle store, so I bought it.
The Apocalypse Codex, Charles Stross
The Butterfly Kid, Chester Anderson
November:
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
This one took a long time; it's long, and I enjoyed it -- I have the sequel and plan to read it and the third -- but it lacked the I-want-to-read-itosity that makes long books finish quickly.
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Lois McMaster Bujold
December:
You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop, John Scalzi
Plus the others in the Subterranean Scalzi Bundle.
The Rhesus Chart, Charles Stross
Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
The Bible Repairman and Other Stories, Tim Powers
Against the Light, Dave Duncan
Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock
Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill
The Summer Country, Jim Hetley
Quite enjoyable, I plan to get to the sequel soon.
Supervolcano: All Fall Down, Harry TurtledoveI suppose the title is meant to suggest "ashes, ashes". Really "All muddle through" would have been a better title, if one less evocative.
Phoenix Rising, Ryk E. Spoor