Book List 2011
Just like the one last year, only aiming for 50 instead of 100. First reads only, public, recommendations welcomed, etc. However! To make it more interesting, I'll put in a few sentences about each book and how I felt about it. ^_^
1. Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul. This is another author who does a fantastic job of creating a world without over-describing everything. Dragonspell starts out with a slave girl being sent to the city with a dragon egg, but quickly turns into a fascinating adventure. I need to read the rest of these.
2. Behemoth - Scott Westerfeld. I cannot even tell you how much I love Scott Westerfeld. This is the sequel to Leviathan, which is set during World War I...only this is an alternate timeline. A STEAMPUNK timeline. The opposing sides are made up of the Darwinists and the Clanker - the people who create everything as a living creature, even guns, and those who make everything mechanical. Awesomeness in book form. WANT THIRD BOOK NAOW.
3. The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan. Same general concept as his Percy Jackson series (ancient gods not dead, evil old powers trying to take over the world in various fashions), yet Egyptian instead of Greek. SO. AWESOME.
4. Fairest - Gail Carson Levine. Much like Ella Enchanted is a twist on Cinderella, Fairest has deep ties to Snow White. Set in a neighboring country to Frell (where Ella Enchanted takes place), where music is the most important thing to life, Aza is an amazing singer. Add a handsome prince, a sort-of wicked queen, and some gnomes. I didn't enjoy this as much as I remember liking Ella Enchanted, but I'm not sure if it was the story or that I'm 23 instead of, oh, about 13.
5. King's Wrath - Fiona McIntosh.
6. Frek and the Elixir - Rudy Rucker. This is one book where an interesting concept was overwhelmed by overuse of fake words, difficult-to-grasp concepts, and jumping from one situation to another at lightning speed. If the book was a series rather than a single 450ish page novel, it would have been much more enjoyable. Not to mention if Rucker had used more normal words. I'm all for adding pretend words to things, but conversations where four out of every five words are fake? GAH. Overkill. That said, I loved odd combination of technology and nature, where the houses were grown - literally! - but the walls were entirely TV screens.
7. Badass - Ben Thompson. Hilarious, irreverent, and awesome. Favorite quote: "Unfortunately, Lady Luck is a sadistic, kinky, bitch goddess who loves to bite you in the ass and steal your wallet when you least expect it."
8. Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey.
9. Arrow's Flight - Mercedes Lackey.
10. Arrow's Fall - Mercedes Lackey.
11. Old Town in the Green Groves - Cynthia Rylant. Written to fill in a gap between Plum Creek and Silver Lake. I'm not sure how I feel finding out that Laura Ingalls Wilder left out so much time and important stuff. It is kind of like having someone walk up to you and be all "Oh, hi. I'm your half brother." Like there is something WRONG with the world.
12. Incarceron - Catherine Fisher.
13. Dragonknight - Donita K. Paul.
14. Fragile Eternity - Melissa Marr.
15. Catacombs - Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough.
16. The Hunchback Assignments - Arthur Slade.
17. Strangers from the Sky - Margaret Wander Bonanno.
18. A Wizard of Mars - Diane Duane. These books just get better as they go. The author has done a fantastic job of updating the series (the first was published in 1983 and the most recent just last year) as time progresses, WITHOUT actually changing much of the core of the story, or making you feel like the characters have had miraculous technology etc jumps.
19. The Dark Deeps: The Hunchback Assignments 2 - Arthur Slade.
20. Exile's Honor - Mercedes Lackey.
21. Exile's Valor - Mercedes Lackey.
22. Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson.
23. The Lost Gate - Orson Scott Card.
24. Foundation - Mercedes Lackey.
25. Intrigues - Mercedes Lackey.
26. The Serpents of Arakesh (Karazan Quartet Book 1) - V.M. Jones.
27. Beyond the Shroud (Karazan Quartet Book 2) - V.M. Jones.
28. Prince of the Wind (Karazan Quartet Book 3) - V.M. Jones.
29. Quest for the Sun (Karazan Quartet Book 4) - V.M. Jones.
30. Storm Warning - Mercedes Lackey.
31. Storm Rising - Mercedes Lackey.
32. Storm Breaking - Mercedes Lackey. While I enjoyed this trilogy, I felt that a lot of it was unneeded. So much time was spent going into the mechanics of stuff, or people talking about how stuff worked that I felt like the plot could have been stuck into one or two books and the rest ditched. Or put in a companion novel for the people who really wanted to know.
33. Dragonknight - Donita K. Paul.
34. The Key to Rondo - Emily Rodda.
35. Rowan the Strange - Julie Hearn.
36. Eyes of a King - Catherine Banner.
37. The Underneath - Kathi Appelt.
38. The Various - Steve Augarde.
39. A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin.
40. A Storm of Swords - One: Steel and Snow - George R. R. Martin.
41. The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan. While I know more about Greek mythology than Egyptian, I am certainly enjoying this series better than his Percy Jackson one. All the depth and fascination, sooooo much less teenager angst. :D
42. Endymion Spring - Matthew Skelton.
43. A Feast for Crows - George R. R. Martin.
44. Book of Enchantments - Patricia C. Wrede.
45. Across the Universe - Beth Revis. I almost didn't pick this one up, as it looked more like a teenaged romance novel than a sci-fi book, but I'm very glad I did. It had just the right balance between intrigue, sci-fi, and love story.
46. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi.
47. Owlflight - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
48. Owlsight - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
49. Owlknight - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
50. Dragonfire - Donita K. Paul.
51. Goblin Quest - Jim C. Hines.
52. One Good Knight - Mercedes Lackey.
53. Fortune's Fool - Mercedes Lackey.
54. The Black Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
55. The White Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
56. The Silver Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
57. Goblin Hero - Jim C. Hines.
58. Goblin War - Jim C. Hines.
59. Before Green Gables - Budge Wilson.
60. The Sleeping Beauty - Mercedes Lackey.
61. The Fairy Godmother - Mercedes Lackey.
62. The False Princess - Eilis O'Neal.
63. Trickster's Girl - Hilari Bell.
64. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney.
65. The Merlin Conspiracy - Diana Wynne Jones.
66. The Snow Queen - Mercedes Lackey.
67. A Storm of Swords - Two: Blood and Gold - George R. R. Martin.
68. A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin.
69. Snuff - Terry Pratchett.
70. The Story of Doctor Dolittle - Hugh Lofting. For once, there is a story where I like the movie a zillion times more than the book. :\
71. Divergent - Veronica Roth.
72. Libyrinth - Pearl North. A fascinating idea, but the fact that I couldn't figure out how to pronounce either Libyrinth or Libyrian drove me BATTY. I also feel that she jumped into the journey too fast. I would have preferred more lead-up and discussion, rather than OHAI HERE IS A MAP, LET'S GO.
73. The Floating Islands - Rachel Neumeier.
74. Stardust - Neil Gaiman.
75. Joust - Mercedes Lackey. Dragons + Egypt = !!!!
1. Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul. This is another author who does a fantastic job of creating a world without over-describing everything. Dragonspell starts out with a slave girl being sent to the city with a dragon egg, but quickly turns into a fascinating adventure. I need to read the rest of these.
2. Behemoth - Scott Westerfeld. I cannot even tell you how much I love Scott Westerfeld. This is the sequel to Leviathan, which is set during World War I...only this is an alternate timeline. A STEAMPUNK timeline. The opposing sides are made up of the Darwinists and the Clanker - the people who create everything as a living creature, even guns, and those who make everything mechanical. Awesomeness in book form. WANT THIRD BOOK NAOW.
3. The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan. Same general concept as his Percy Jackson series (ancient gods not dead, evil old powers trying to take over the world in various fashions), yet Egyptian instead of Greek. SO. AWESOME.
4. Fairest - Gail Carson Levine. Much like Ella Enchanted is a twist on Cinderella, Fairest has deep ties to Snow White. Set in a neighboring country to Frell (where Ella Enchanted takes place), where music is the most important thing to life, Aza is an amazing singer. Add a handsome prince, a sort-of wicked queen, and some gnomes. I didn't enjoy this as much as I remember liking Ella Enchanted, but I'm not sure if it was the story or that I'm 23 instead of, oh, about 13.
5. King's Wrath - Fiona McIntosh.
6. Frek and the Elixir - Rudy Rucker. This is one book where an interesting concept was overwhelmed by overuse of fake words, difficult-to-grasp concepts, and jumping from one situation to another at lightning speed. If the book was a series rather than a single 450ish page novel, it would have been much more enjoyable. Not to mention if Rucker had used more normal words. I'm all for adding pretend words to things, but conversations where four out of every five words are fake? GAH. Overkill. That said, I loved odd combination of technology and nature, where the houses were grown - literally! - but the walls were entirely TV screens.
7. Badass - Ben Thompson. Hilarious, irreverent, and awesome. Favorite quote: "Unfortunately, Lady Luck is a sadistic, kinky, bitch goddess who loves to bite you in the ass and steal your wallet when you least expect it."
8. Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey.
9. Arrow's Flight - Mercedes Lackey.
10. Arrow's Fall - Mercedes Lackey.
11. Old Town in the Green Groves - Cynthia Rylant. Written to fill in a gap between Plum Creek and Silver Lake. I'm not sure how I feel finding out that Laura Ingalls Wilder left out so much time and important stuff. It is kind of like having someone walk up to you and be all "Oh, hi. I'm your half brother." Like there is something WRONG with the world.
12. Incarceron - Catherine Fisher.
13. Dragonknight - Donita K. Paul.
14. Fragile Eternity - Melissa Marr.
15. Catacombs - Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough.
16. The Hunchback Assignments - Arthur Slade.
17. Strangers from the Sky - Margaret Wander Bonanno.
18. A Wizard of Mars - Diane Duane. These books just get better as they go. The author has done a fantastic job of updating the series (the first was published in 1983 and the most recent just last year) as time progresses, WITHOUT actually changing much of the core of the story, or making you feel like the characters have had miraculous technology etc jumps.
19. The Dark Deeps: The Hunchback Assignments 2 - Arthur Slade.
20. Exile's Honor - Mercedes Lackey.
21. Exile's Valor - Mercedes Lackey.
22. Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson.
23. The Lost Gate - Orson Scott Card.
24. Foundation - Mercedes Lackey.
25. Intrigues - Mercedes Lackey.
26. The Serpents of Arakesh (Karazan Quartet Book 1) - V.M. Jones.
27. Beyond the Shroud (Karazan Quartet Book 2) - V.M. Jones.
28. Prince of the Wind (Karazan Quartet Book 3) - V.M. Jones.
29. Quest for the Sun (Karazan Quartet Book 4) - V.M. Jones.
30. Storm Warning - Mercedes Lackey.
31. Storm Rising - Mercedes Lackey.
32. Storm Breaking - Mercedes Lackey. While I enjoyed this trilogy, I felt that a lot of it was unneeded. So much time was spent going into the mechanics of stuff, or people talking about how stuff worked that I felt like the plot could have been stuck into one or two books and the rest ditched. Or put in a companion novel for the people who really wanted to know.
33. Dragonknight - Donita K. Paul.
34. The Key to Rondo - Emily Rodda.
35. Rowan the Strange - Julie Hearn.
36. Eyes of a King - Catherine Banner.
37. The Underneath - Kathi Appelt.
38. The Various - Steve Augarde.
39. A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin.
40. A Storm of Swords - One: Steel and Snow - George R. R. Martin.
41. The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan. While I know more about Greek mythology than Egyptian, I am certainly enjoying this series better than his Percy Jackson one. All the depth and fascination, sooooo much less teenager angst. :D
42. Endymion Spring - Matthew Skelton.
43. A Feast for Crows - George R. R. Martin.
44. Book of Enchantments - Patricia C. Wrede.
45. Across the Universe - Beth Revis. I almost didn't pick this one up, as it looked more like a teenaged romance novel than a sci-fi book, but I'm very glad I did. It had just the right balance between intrigue, sci-fi, and love story.
46. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi.
47. Owlflight - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
48. Owlsight - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
49. Owlknight - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
50. Dragonfire - Donita K. Paul.
51. Goblin Quest - Jim C. Hines.
52. One Good Knight - Mercedes Lackey.
53. Fortune's Fool - Mercedes Lackey.
54. The Black Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
55. The White Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
56. The Silver Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon.
57. Goblin Hero - Jim C. Hines.
58. Goblin War - Jim C. Hines.
59. Before Green Gables - Budge Wilson.
60. The Sleeping Beauty - Mercedes Lackey.
61. The Fairy Godmother - Mercedes Lackey.
62. The False Princess - Eilis O'Neal.
63. Trickster's Girl - Hilari Bell.
64. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney.
65. The Merlin Conspiracy - Diana Wynne Jones.
66. The Snow Queen - Mercedes Lackey.
67. A Storm of Swords - Two: Blood and Gold - George R. R. Martin.
68. A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin.
69. Snuff - Terry Pratchett.
70. The Story of Doctor Dolittle - Hugh Lofting. For once, there is a story where I like the movie a zillion times more than the book. :\
71. Divergent - Veronica Roth.
72. Libyrinth - Pearl North. A fascinating idea, but the fact that I couldn't figure out how to pronounce either Libyrinth or Libyrian drove me BATTY. I also feel that she jumped into the journey too fast. I would have preferred more lead-up and discussion, rather than OHAI HERE IS A MAP, LET'S GO.
73. The Floating Islands - Rachel Neumeier.
74. Stardust - Neil Gaiman.
75. Joust - Mercedes Lackey. Dragons + Egypt = !!!!