105 Books
This year I managed 105 books, mostly due to the multitasking power of audiobooks. 39 of those 105 books were "read" while doing other things.
My 100th book was The Child Thief by Brom (no first name) - a darker, more interesting version of Peter Pan. I started reading another of his books immediately after but found I couldn't take quite that much dark gruesomeness right away. It's sitting in my library pile right now.
I read very little nonfiction this year. Actually, the only nonfiction that stands out is The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. I decided to read this after seeing the author on The Daily Show or the Colbert Report - I don't remember which one it was. But the book was great and definitely worth a read.
I am anxiously awaiting the sequels for two books - Pegasus by Robin McKinley (which I did not know was not a stand-alone when I started as I have never seen a multiple-book story from her before) and The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen (audiobook). I loved these so much I sometimes find myself thinking about them at odd times and periodically checking the internet for any news on the sequels' progress. Alas, I will be waiting at least a year :(
I discovered that Howl's Moving Castle by Dianne Wynne Jones was actually first in a trilogy, so I reread Howl and sped through Castle In the Sky and House Of Many Ways. Both excellent. Jones has a way of adding twists that I never see coming, but in hindsight I always think, Jeez, I really should have seen that earlier. I treasure being surprised by entertainment; I have consumed so many books, movies, and TV that I almost always know how they will end, at least in a vague way. To be truly surprised is a real treat.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith was really quite good. He wove together historical facts with fiction so well that I often found myself wondering where one ended and the other started. It also almost convinced me that vampires were a logical explanation for some of those historical facts. Almost. The movie sucked, though.
I started the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I finished Percy Jackson, probably because all of them were available as audiobooks, but I'm only three books into Artemis Fowl. Both are excellent, but I had no idea what Artemis Fowl was about when I started them. I just remember that they were popular when I worked at the library, but I had never even read the back. I was delightedly surprised by the premise. Plus the writing is excellent - I am looking forward to the rest.
One of my students got me into The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Strange and interesting, but full of teen angst. I happen to like teen angst, but by the 5th book I was getting kind of bored. I'll finish it when the last books come out, but I like the prequel series, The Infernal Devices, a bit better. That one is strange, interesting, and full of teen angst, but it is set in Victorian England. That makes everything better.
Working Stiff by Rachel Caine was a surprise. I downloaded this with a bunch of other audiobooks for my drive north this summer based solely on the fact that it was available right then without waiting. I had no idea what it was about, but the premise turned out to be pleasantly original. There is a pharmaceutical company that accidentally created a nanite injection that can bring people back to life and keep them that way with daily shots. On her first day of work a funeral director stumbles upon an industrial espionage ring that has been stealing this stuff for the black market. They kill her. She gets brought back by the company's head of security to see what she knows. So sort of a zombie, but not really because revived people don't wander around trying to eat people. The book is more about corporate malfeasance and espionage than anything else. It looks like the start of a series.
Next I started the Bloody Jack Adventures series by L. A. Meyer. I have made it though nine so far, all on audiobook and read by Katherine Kellgren. These books are fun and entertaining, true, but Katherine Kellgren turns them into magic. I cannot say enough by this performer. She uses voices, accents, and speech patterns to give every character her/his own voice, AND she sings beautifully. I will probably listen to any audiobook performed by Katherine Kellgren.
I finally read The Abhorsen Chronicles by Garth Nix. I've actually wanted to read these for years, but never got around to them. The first, Sabriel, I found on audiobook, read by Tim Curry. Excellent audiobook performer. I love the worldbuilding in these books; the magic is very different from the "typical" magic I am used to in other fantasy books. They are also fairly dark, which I always enjoy. I recommend these to anyone that has already been introduced to fantasy; they might be a little intense for fantasy virgins.
Destiny's Road by Larry Niven provided a tantalizing scientific mystery for me. This is set on a world where humans settled, but they have to eat these things called "speckles" or they start losing brain and motor control. There is a road that was made my the landing spacecraft hundreds of years ago, but no one knows where it goes except the Caravans of traders that bring speckles. A young man from the colony does something and has to flee. Most of the book is sort of like Ringworld in that it's a kind of travel diary across an unknown world. But there's also the mystery of speckles and the early history of the colony. The answers that come out just emphasize how awesome Larry Niven's worldbuilding is.
Another book I've meant to read forever and finally got around to: Contact by Carl Sagan. A beautiful book. His prose is so unique - there is a section where describes the fall of night...I cannot quote it exactly, but he says that humans turn on the lights in a futile attempt to deny the opacity of the earth...or something like that. I just remember thinking that was the perfect way to describe nightfall.
Redshirts by John Scalzi - just funny. Not a difficult read, but witty and full of scifi inside jokes. If you can recognize the reference of the title, this book is for you.
I actually went looking for the next audiobook after listening to an interview of John Hodgman, the narrator (info and free chapter). The book is Year Zero, by Rob Reid. It's sort of like Hitchhiker's Guide in that a ridiculous concept (in this case, music copyright laws) gets a human out into the populated galaxy and traveling around. Really funny, and Hodgman is an EXCELLENT narrator for this type of humor.
I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb was funny, but kind of disturbing because I found myself agreeing with a lot of the main character's ideas. Especially about children...these are not nice ideas. It made me wonder, if I had power and money, how bad of a dictator I would be.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy was another audiobook for which the performance of the reader was half the fun. Rupert Degas has the timing for the quippy one-liners down perfectly and his accent is spot-on for this Ireland-set series. I wish I could get more of the series on audiobook, but it is entertaining enough that I will till enjoy simply reading it.
Just a few days ago I finished listening to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This was an audiobook that was not significantly improved by the reader, but was excellent on its own, so I will continue with the series. The audiobook was over 30 hours, though, and the next one is 41 hours, so I think I will continue in book form. This is an epic fantasy series with the same basic plot of hundreds of others - gifted boy orphaned by sinister powers, drags himself up to and through an institution of learning where he struggles socially but not academically, sets off into the world and does great deeds, etc. - but we see that plot so often because it's a good one. Plus the writing for this one is excellent, with surprising but beautiful descriptions of normal things.
I finished my last book of the year yesterday: Cinder by Marissa Meyer is loosely based on Cinderella, but not really. Cinder is a cyborg in a society where cyborgs are second-class citizens. There's still the evil stepmother, but the real adversaries are political problems with Luna and a terrible plague that has been ravaging the whole Earth for 12 years. This is also the first in a series, with the second one apparently based on Little Red Riding Hood. It will be out in a few months and I am very much looking forward to it.
Well, I've been typing for about 2 hours now - time to stop. I hope everyone's years was good and that next year brings more excellent stories to enjoy!
My 100th book was The Child Thief by Brom (no first name) - a darker, more interesting version of Peter Pan. I started reading another of his books immediately after but found I couldn't take quite that much dark gruesomeness right away. It's sitting in my library pile right now.
I read very little nonfiction this year. Actually, the only nonfiction that stands out is The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. I decided to read this after seeing the author on The Daily Show or the Colbert Report - I don't remember which one it was. But the book was great and definitely worth a read.
I am anxiously awaiting the sequels for two books - Pegasus by Robin McKinley (which I did not know was not a stand-alone when I started as I have never seen a multiple-book story from her before) and The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen (audiobook). I loved these so much I sometimes find myself thinking about them at odd times and periodically checking the internet for any news on the sequels' progress. Alas, I will be waiting at least a year :(
I discovered that Howl's Moving Castle by Dianne Wynne Jones was actually first in a trilogy, so I reread Howl and sped through Castle In the Sky and House Of Many Ways. Both excellent. Jones has a way of adding twists that I never see coming, but in hindsight I always think, Jeez, I really should have seen that earlier. I treasure being surprised by entertainment; I have consumed so many books, movies, and TV that I almost always know how they will end, at least in a vague way. To be truly surprised is a real treat.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith was really quite good. He wove together historical facts with fiction so well that I often found myself wondering where one ended and the other started. It also almost convinced me that vampires were a logical explanation for some of those historical facts. Almost. The movie sucked, though.
I started the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I finished Percy Jackson, probably because all of them were available as audiobooks, but I'm only three books into Artemis Fowl. Both are excellent, but I had no idea what Artemis Fowl was about when I started them. I just remember that they were popular when I worked at the library, but I had never even read the back. I was delightedly surprised by the premise. Plus the writing is excellent - I am looking forward to the rest.
One of my students got me into The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Strange and interesting, but full of teen angst. I happen to like teen angst, but by the 5th book I was getting kind of bored. I'll finish it when the last books come out, but I like the prequel series, The Infernal Devices, a bit better. That one is strange, interesting, and full of teen angst, but it is set in Victorian England. That makes everything better.
Working Stiff by Rachel Caine was a surprise. I downloaded this with a bunch of other audiobooks for my drive north this summer based solely on the fact that it was available right then without waiting. I had no idea what it was about, but the premise turned out to be pleasantly original. There is a pharmaceutical company that accidentally created a nanite injection that can bring people back to life and keep them that way with daily shots. On her first day of work a funeral director stumbles upon an industrial espionage ring that has been stealing this stuff for the black market. They kill her. She gets brought back by the company's head of security to see what she knows. So sort of a zombie, but not really because revived people don't wander around trying to eat people. The book is more about corporate malfeasance and espionage than anything else. It looks like the start of a series.
Next I started the Bloody Jack Adventures series by L. A. Meyer. I have made it though nine so far, all on audiobook and read by Katherine Kellgren. These books are fun and entertaining, true, but Katherine Kellgren turns them into magic. I cannot say enough by this performer. She uses voices, accents, and speech patterns to give every character her/his own voice, AND she sings beautifully. I will probably listen to any audiobook performed by Katherine Kellgren.
I finally read The Abhorsen Chronicles by Garth Nix. I've actually wanted to read these for years, but never got around to them. The first, Sabriel, I found on audiobook, read by Tim Curry. Excellent audiobook performer. I love the worldbuilding in these books; the magic is very different from the "typical" magic I am used to in other fantasy books. They are also fairly dark, which I always enjoy. I recommend these to anyone that has already been introduced to fantasy; they might be a little intense for fantasy virgins.
Destiny's Road by Larry Niven provided a tantalizing scientific mystery for me. This is set on a world where humans settled, but they have to eat these things called "speckles" or they start losing brain and motor control. There is a road that was made my the landing spacecraft hundreds of years ago, but no one knows where it goes except the Caravans of traders that bring speckles. A young man from the colony does something and has to flee. Most of the book is sort of like Ringworld in that it's a kind of travel diary across an unknown world. But there's also the mystery of speckles and the early history of the colony. The answers that come out just emphasize how awesome Larry Niven's worldbuilding is.
Another book I've meant to read forever and finally got around to: Contact by Carl Sagan. A beautiful book. His prose is so unique - there is a section where describes the fall of night...I cannot quote it exactly, but he says that humans turn on the lights in a futile attempt to deny the opacity of the earth...or something like that. I just remember thinking that was the perfect way to describe nightfall.
Redshirts by John Scalzi - just funny. Not a difficult read, but witty and full of scifi inside jokes. If you can recognize the reference of the title, this book is for you.
I actually went looking for the next audiobook after listening to an interview of John Hodgman, the narrator (info and free chapter). The book is Year Zero, by Rob Reid. It's sort of like Hitchhiker's Guide in that a ridiculous concept (in this case, music copyright laws) gets a human out into the populated galaxy and traveling around. Really funny, and Hodgman is an EXCELLENT narrator for this type of humor.
I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb was funny, but kind of disturbing because I found myself agreeing with a lot of the main character's ideas. Especially about children...these are not nice ideas. It made me wonder, if I had power and money, how bad of a dictator I would be.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy was another audiobook for which the performance of the reader was half the fun. Rupert Degas has the timing for the quippy one-liners down perfectly and his accent is spot-on for this Ireland-set series. I wish I could get more of the series on audiobook, but it is entertaining enough that I will till enjoy simply reading it.
Just a few days ago I finished listening to The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This was an audiobook that was not significantly improved by the reader, but was excellent on its own, so I will continue with the series. The audiobook was over 30 hours, though, and the next one is 41 hours, so I think I will continue in book form. This is an epic fantasy series with the same basic plot of hundreds of others - gifted boy orphaned by sinister powers, drags himself up to and through an institution of learning where he struggles socially but not academically, sets off into the world and does great deeds, etc. - but we see that plot so often because it's a good one. Plus the writing for this one is excellent, with surprising but beautiful descriptions of normal things.
I finished my last book of the year yesterday: Cinder by Marissa Meyer is loosely based on Cinderella, but not really. Cinder is a cyborg in a society where cyborgs are second-class citizens. There's still the evil stepmother, but the real adversaries are political problems with Luna and a terrible plague that has been ravaging the whole Earth for 12 years. This is also the first in a series, with the second one apparently based on Little Red Riding Hood. It will be out in a few months and I am very much looking forward to it.
Well, I've been typing for about 2 hours now - time to stop. I hope everyone's years was good and that next year brings more excellent stories to enjoy!