Books Read 2013

Dec 30, 2013 02:19

Picked up from Almeda. I'm going to track which books I read this year. Last year I read 59
  • 'Date' below means the date I finished reading it;
  • Origin abreviations: [ARC] means advanced reading copy; [G] means gift or giveaway (free); [L] means I got it from the library; [N] means new book (retail); [O] means online/electronic book; [P] means proofreading; [R] means a re-read; [S] means secondhand.
  • Entries in Bold contain Hugo Award Eligible Material


    1. Jan 09: Empire State by Adam Christopher, 2012, Angry Robot, SF Superhero-Pulp-Detective, [L]
        It is a fresh spin on classic tropes
    2. Jan 27: Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell (Widdershins #1) 2012, Pyr (Prometheus Books), Fantasy [L]
        The book is as hard to pin down as it's protagonist
    3. Jan 28: Kiss Me Twice by Mary Robinette Kowal, TBD, TBD, SF [P]
        In a future with A.I.'s murder is still murder
    4. Feb 23: The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin (Dreamblood #1) 2012, Orbit (Hachette), Fantasy [L]
        "Spiritual Guardians" in a desert culture.

    5. Mar 05: 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson 2012, Orbit (Hachette), SF, Space Opera [L]
        The ideas are more powerful than the story
    6. Mar 27: A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr (The Staff & The Sword #1) 2013, Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group), Fantasy [ARC]
        Errol starts as a wonderfully flawed character, but conflict rubs off his rough edges making him like a polished stone.
    7. Mar 29: Touched By An Alien by Gini Koch (Katherine Katt #1) 2010, Daw (Daw), SF [S]
        Racy, Campy Alien story
    8. Apr 05: Scholar by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Imager Portfolio #4) 2011, Tor (Macmillan), Fantasy [N]
        Enjoyable story in spite of the author's over reliance on familiar themes.
    9. Apr 06: Old Man's War by John Scalzi (OMW #1) 2005, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
        An interesting spin on military SF
    10. Apr 25: The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer (Shattered Sigil #1) 2011, Night Shade Books (NSB), Fantasy [G]
        A compelling story of constraints
    11. May 04: The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (OMW #2) 2006, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
        Answers many questions of the first book.
    12. May 11: The Hidden City by Michelle West (The House Wars #1) 2007, Daw (Daw), Fantasy [G]
        Epic without being overly complex
    13. May 16: Changeless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate #2) 2010, Orbit (Hachette), Fantasy [L]
        A lively (if predictable) story where the biggest twist was the teaser for the next book
    14. May 31: The Palace Job by Patrick Weeks, 2012, Tyche Books, Fantasy [N]
        Ocean's Eleven in a secondary world fantasy. Too many characters unfortunately
    15. Jun 21: The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe (Wall of Night #1) 2010, EOS (HarperCollins), Fantasy, secondary world [S]
        Characters, setting, and plot are promising, but not fully rewarding.
    16. Jul 26: Blackout by Mira Grant (Newsflesh #3) 2012, Orbit (Hachette), SF [N]
        There were some large disbelief hurtles early on, but they paid off in the end
    17. Jul 28: Music City by Sara M. Harvey, TBD, TBD, Urban Fantasy [P]
        Exploring some of the less known Celtic roots of Nashville
    18. Aug 26: The Girl who Soared over Faryland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (The Girl Who... #3) 2013, Feiwel and Friends (MacMillan), Fantasy, YA [G]
        September and the author have both grown in the third book of this series.
    19. Sep 04: Pilgrimage by Matthew Wayne Selznick (Charters #2) 2013, MWS Media, SF (superhero) [N]
        A very different book than the first
    20. Sep 16: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Peculiar #1) 2011, Quirk (Quirkbooks), YA, Period/Urban Fantasy [G]
        A clever gimmick leads to fascinating adventure
    21. Sep 21: Redshirts by John Scalzi, 2012, TOR (Macmillan), SF Space Opera [G]
        A genre platypus, it looks like a duck at first but then becomes something else
    22. Sep 27: Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander (Edie Spence Series #1) 2012, St. Martins (Macmillan), Urban Fantasy [S]
        Fairly Satisfying
    23. Oct 02: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Temeraire #1) 2006, Del Rey (Random House), Historical Fantasy [S]
        I love when characters are in training
    24. Oct 10: Princeps by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Imager Portfolio #5) 2012, Tor (Macmillan), Fantasy [N]
        I like his administrative adventures
    25. Oct 25: Chimes At Midnight by Seanan Mcguire (October Daye #7) 2013, Daw (Daw), Urban Fantasy [N]
        In a story I was waiting for, less was revealed than I hoped
    26. Nov 08: Libriomancer by Jim Hines (Magic ex Libris #1) 2012, DAW (Daw), Urban Fantasy [N]
        An inventive ride
    27. Nov 19: Imager's Battalion by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Imager Portfolio #6) 2013, Tor (Macmillan), Fantasy [N]
        Covers some new ground, though the ending was never in doubt
    28. Nov 22: The Last Colony by John Scalzi (OMW #3) 2007, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
        A good story, though a bit more high view than I usually like
    29. Dec 18: Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (OMW #3) 2008, Tor (Macmillan), Space Opera [S]
        My complaint about the previous book being "high view" this book fixes it.
    30. Dec 31: Indexing by Seanan McGuire, 2013, 47North (Amazon), Urban Fantasy [N,O]
        The ultimate modern fairy tale

books, annual

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