Books read this year
31. Maskerade - Terry Pratchett
30. Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett
29. Soul Music - Terry Pratchett
28. Out of the Darkness - Peter David
27. Armies of Light and Dark - Peter David
26. The Long Night of Centauri Prime - Peter David
25. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett
24. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Al Franken
23. Flash and Bones - Kathy Reichs
22. Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett
21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling
18. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling
17. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
16. Night of the Living Trekkies - Kevin David Anderson
15. Lemony Snicket: An Unauthorized Autobiography - Lemony Snicket
14. The Last Colony - John Scalzi
13. The Ghost Brigades - John Scalzi
12. Small Gods - Terry Pratchett
11. Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett
10. Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett
9. Moving Pictures - Terry Pratchett
8. Eric - Terry Pratchett
7. The Complete Wreck: A Series of Unfortunate Events 1-13 - Lemony Snicket
6. Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett
5. Spider Bones - Kathy Reichs
4. Pyramids - Terry Pratchett
3. Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett
2. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
1. Sourcery - Terry Pratchett
Pratchett's Phantom parody. I am a huge Phantom fan, the original book by Gaston Leroux as well as the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical. Pterry does a great job with his parody of opera in general and Phantom in particular. And, of course, I love the witches. (Especially Nanny Ogg.) I'm not sure how much I'm going to like his rendition of Agnes/Perdita if only because there seemed to be a little bit of fat stereotyping going on, but I trust Pterry as a writer enough to think that there will probably be much more to her character in later appearances. I will admit to slight disappointment over the Agnes/Perdita dynamic. When I'd read the character description in the back of previous books it described Agnes and Perdita as being separate personalities and, this being the Discworld, I had expected it to be something more supernatural than a teenage girl and her fantasy life. More of a Jekyll and Hyde type scenario. I like what it is and would not have been disappointed at all had I not been primed to think something else.
Incidentally at the same time as I was reading this a friend on Facebook had gone to see Phantom and kept posting random snippets of songs as his status. Between the two I decided to go out and re-purchase the original soundtrack. (I loaned my previous copy to my aunt years ago and haven't seen it since.) I still don't have the register to sing along with all the songs, but when I'm alone in the car on my long commutes it's fun to make the attempt anyway. ;)
30. Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett
29. Soul Music - Terry Pratchett
28. Out of the Darkness - Peter David
27. Armies of Light and Dark - Peter David
26. The Long Night of Centauri Prime - Peter David
25. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett
24. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Al Franken
23. Flash and Bones - Kathy Reichs
22. Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett
21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling
18. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling
17. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
16. Night of the Living Trekkies - Kevin David Anderson
15. Lemony Snicket: An Unauthorized Autobiography - Lemony Snicket
14. The Last Colony - John Scalzi
13. The Ghost Brigades - John Scalzi
12. Small Gods - Terry Pratchett
11. Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett
10. Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett
9. Moving Pictures - Terry Pratchett
8. Eric - Terry Pratchett
7. The Complete Wreck: A Series of Unfortunate Events 1-13 - Lemony Snicket
6. Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett
5. Spider Bones - Kathy Reichs
4. Pyramids - Terry Pratchett
3. Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett
2. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
1. Sourcery - Terry Pratchett
Pratchett's Phantom parody. I am a huge Phantom fan, the original book by Gaston Leroux as well as the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical. Pterry does a great job with his parody of opera in general and Phantom in particular. And, of course, I love the witches. (Especially Nanny Ogg.) I'm not sure how much I'm going to like his rendition of Agnes/Perdita if only because there seemed to be a little bit of fat stereotyping going on, but I trust Pterry as a writer enough to think that there will probably be much more to her character in later appearances. I will admit to slight disappointment over the Agnes/Perdita dynamic. When I'd read the character description in the back of previous books it described Agnes and Perdita as being separate personalities and, this being the Discworld, I had expected it to be something more supernatural than a teenage girl and her fantasy life. More of a Jekyll and Hyde type scenario. I like what it is and would not have been disappointed at all had I not been primed to think something else.
Incidentally at the same time as I was reading this a friend on Facebook had gone to see Phantom and kept posting random snippets of songs as his status. Between the two I decided to go out and re-purchase the original soundtrack. (I loaned my previous copy to my aunt years ago and haven't seen it since.) I still don't have the register to sing along with all the songs, but when I'm alone in the car on my long commutes it's fun to make the attempt anyway. ;)