2012 books
2) Larry Niven, Ringworld, 1970 ( RE-READ )
Still very much into my exploration of early Niven, I do wonder how Niven feels today about most people still reckoning his crowning moment was something he wrote more than forty years ago. I think I first read this in 1976 and Ringworld has lost none of its energy, particularly the opening few chapters which positively sparkle with crackling dialogue and quickly-sketched scenes that still manage to come vividly alive. The argumentative quartet of humans and aliens setting out to explore the Ringworld artefact were memorable enough for me to want to revisit this universe when the first sequel appeared in 1979 yet that's something I never got around to, so Ringworld was a rather necessary re-read before picking up The Ringworld Engineers. Yes, it felt great to read this again.