My Year in Books
It wasn't a good year for me in books. I made this resolution to read all the books I bought and hadn't read yet, and I found that there was, in many cases, a reason I hadn't read these books. Maybe I picked them up free or cheap because no one wanted them, or I was interested in the title or the cover art and never noticed that my brief reading of the back or the first page didn't draw me in.
A lot of these are going to Half Price Books. I got a box started. Is the moral that I should be more selective in book purchases? Someday, by gum, I'll get me one of those electronic book readers and not worry about it.
So this year, I read 38 books - considerably down this year, no doubt due to all that exercise. Here they are in rough order read, with very short reviews. I'll put the ones I recommend in bold. Looks to me like the year started out strong but ended weak. A lot of the books I owned and hadn't read were memoirs. The bad news: there are 37 books still on my "To Read: Owned" list. Well, onward! How did I ever buy so many books without reading them? I blame the yearly book sale at Case.
Being Dead by Jim Crace - a quiet love story between unremarkable people that starts with their brutal murder. I quite liked it.
The Little Book of Hindu Dieties by Sanjay Patel - cute! And informative. Fluffy non-fiction
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis - Lovely! Dark! I adore how she does time travel.
The Rebel Angels by Robinson Davies - not as fun as Fifth Business, but all the same hallmarks.
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran - bits of it are lovely, but the whole wasn't as good as the parts.
A Spectacle of Corruption by David Liss - A solid 18th Century mystery, again I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous book by Liss.
The James Tiptree Award Anthology #2 - some great stories, none really awful, all having to do with sex in some way.
Straitjacket & Tie by Eugene Stein - the story never really pulls together. I was promised aliens.
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust (In Search of Lost Time #1) - I now completely understand what people mean when they say Proust was a self-absorbed prat. Not sure that's worth it.
Grid Systems: Principals of Organizing Type by Kimberly Elam - this was Brian's book and I was stuck on a long bus trip so I read it. Learned a lot about why some layouts work better than others.
Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London by Fergus Linnane - found myself longing for more primary sources, but a good overview.
Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories by Vladamir Nobokov - some of these early stories are stunningly mediocre, which made me feel good, especially since Nobokov sounds like a jerk in his forwards.
This is Not a Novel by David Markson - it's not a novel. Yay. More like a book-length poem. I liked it.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - A few lovely bits and some long boring bits.
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks - truly lovely nonfiction.
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - more disturbing than the film but also slower paced.
Coffee and Kung Fu by Karen Brichoux - not nearly enough Kung Fu, but a fluffy read.
Testing by Charles Oberndorf - A re-read because I was tired of all these disappointments! Recommended.
Sheltered Lives by Charles Oberndorf - while I was re-reading Charlie's books may as well read my favorite. This one has a male prostitute in it! Yay!
The Sandwalk Adventures by Jay Hosler - graphic novel about Darwin - very cute and sweet!
Preacher: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis - graphic novel someone recommended to me it sucked.
Kick-Ass by Mark Miller - graphic novel. Didn't suck but I like how they changed things in the movie.
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles by Mike Davis - dense and dry and pedantic though there are parts that come to life.
Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller - best memoir I've ever read.
Somebody to Love? A Rock-and-roll Memoir by Grace Slick - not great literature but charmingly honest.
Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation by Jimmy Carter - meant for kids! How did I miss that? Still, I read it and it wasn't too painfully simple. Would recommend for a ten-year-old or so.
Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story by Ray Charles - what a character! Great fun.
Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook by Carolyne Larrington - It's what it says on the tin. Sadly, I already had most of the stuff in there in other sources.
The Book of Margery Kempe - because it was quoted in the sourcebook I thought I'd give it a go. It's a medieval memoir, so it's not really big on detail you want - like what they had for breakfast - and more on stuff you don't care about - like long rants on what God Wants. But I'm glad I gave it a read. There is exactly one bit of costuming information, where she rants against dagged clothing.
Discourse on Methods and Meditations by Descartes - worth a second read now that I'm older, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. Except the part where he talks about robots. I like that part.
Dancing Barefoot by Wil Wheaton - aw, Wil. Not great but not bad either. Very Gen-X, or whatever we are.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - the story doesn't unfold so much as sink deeper into itself. Stellar science fiction, but I didn't care for the ending.
The Last Street Before Cleveland: An Accidental Pilgrimage by Joe Mackall - utter drivel - I was hoping for hometown love.
Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks - my older sister adored this book when we were young. I found it painfully obvious though interesting from a historical perspective, like how the author clearly thought hairstyles were related to drug use.
City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan by Beverly Swerling - just awful. Sensationalism mixed with modest amounts of history. Wish I hadn't given the book the time I did.
The Queen's Slave Trader: John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I, and the Traffic in Human Souls by Nick Hazelwood - obviously the author's main intent is to implicate Elizabeth I in the slave trade, but what really stands out is the absurdity of early trade across the Atlantic. A lot of this could be imported into a science fiction setting and people would consider it far-fetched!
Crown of Slaves by David Weber - awful pulp and not in the good way.
The Gates of Hell (Heroes in Hell #2) by C.J. Cherryh and Janet E. Morris - never really comes together. There are interesting bits, but I never felt like I knew where it was going, and in the end it just... doesn't go anywhere.
Right now I'm reading "Invitation to a Beheading" by Nabokov. It's pretty good. Here's hoping 2011 is a good year for books!
A lot of these are going to Half Price Books. I got a box started. Is the moral that I should be more selective in book purchases? Someday, by gum, I'll get me one of those electronic book readers and not worry about it.
So this year, I read 38 books - considerably down this year, no doubt due to all that exercise. Here they are in rough order read, with very short reviews. I'll put the ones I recommend in bold. Looks to me like the year started out strong but ended weak. A lot of the books I owned and hadn't read were memoirs. The bad news: there are 37 books still on my "To Read: Owned" list. Well, onward! How did I ever buy so many books without reading them? I blame the yearly book sale at Case.
Being Dead by Jim Crace - a quiet love story between unremarkable people that starts with their brutal murder. I quite liked it.
The Little Book of Hindu Dieties by Sanjay Patel - cute! And informative. Fluffy non-fiction
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis - Lovely! Dark! I adore how she does time travel.
The Rebel Angels by Robinson Davies - not as fun as Fifth Business, but all the same hallmarks.
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran - bits of it are lovely, but the whole wasn't as good as the parts.
A Spectacle of Corruption by David Liss - A solid 18th Century mystery, again I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous book by Liss.
The James Tiptree Award Anthology #2 - some great stories, none really awful, all having to do with sex in some way.
Straitjacket & Tie by Eugene Stein - the story never really pulls together. I was promised aliens.
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust (In Search of Lost Time #1) - I now completely understand what people mean when they say Proust was a self-absorbed prat. Not sure that's worth it.
Grid Systems: Principals of Organizing Type by Kimberly Elam - this was Brian's book and I was stuck on a long bus trip so I read it. Learned a lot about why some layouts work better than others.
Madams: Bawds and Brothel-Keepers of London by Fergus Linnane - found myself longing for more primary sources, but a good overview.
Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories by Vladamir Nobokov - some of these early stories are stunningly mediocre, which made me feel good, especially since Nobokov sounds like a jerk in his forwards.
This is Not a Novel by David Markson - it's not a novel. Yay. More like a book-length poem. I liked it.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - A few lovely bits and some long boring bits.
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks - truly lovely nonfiction.
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - more disturbing than the film but also slower paced.
Coffee and Kung Fu by Karen Brichoux - not nearly enough Kung Fu, but a fluffy read.
Testing by Charles Oberndorf - A re-read because I was tired of all these disappointments! Recommended.
Sheltered Lives by Charles Oberndorf - while I was re-reading Charlie's books may as well read my favorite. This one has a male prostitute in it! Yay!
The Sandwalk Adventures by Jay Hosler - graphic novel about Darwin - very cute and sweet!
Preacher: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis - graphic novel someone recommended to me it sucked.
Kick-Ass by Mark Miller - graphic novel. Didn't suck but I like how they changed things in the movie.
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles by Mike Davis - dense and dry and pedantic though there are parts that come to life.
Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller - best memoir I've ever read.
Somebody to Love? A Rock-and-roll Memoir by Grace Slick - not great literature but charmingly honest.
Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation by Jimmy Carter - meant for kids! How did I miss that? Still, I read it and it wasn't too painfully simple. Would recommend for a ten-year-old or so.
Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story by Ray Charles - what a character! Great fun.
Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook by Carolyne Larrington - It's what it says on the tin. Sadly, I already had most of the stuff in there in other sources.
The Book of Margery Kempe - because it was quoted in the sourcebook I thought I'd give it a go. It's a medieval memoir, so it's not really big on detail you want - like what they had for breakfast - and more on stuff you don't care about - like long rants on what God Wants. But I'm glad I gave it a read. There is exactly one bit of costuming information, where she rants against dagged clothing.
Discourse on Methods and Meditations by Descartes - worth a second read now that I'm older, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. Except the part where he talks about robots. I like that part.
Dancing Barefoot by Wil Wheaton - aw, Wil. Not great but not bad either. Very Gen-X, or whatever we are.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - the story doesn't unfold so much as sink deeper into itself. Stellar science fiction, but I didn't care for the ending.
The Last Street Before Cleveland: An Accidental Pilgrimage by Joe Mackall - utter drivel - I was hoping for hometown love.
Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks - my older sister adored this book when we were young. I found it painfully obvious though interesting from a historical perspective, like how the author clearly thought hairstyles were related to drug use.
City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan by Beverly Swerling - just awful. Sensationalism mixed with modest amounts of history. Wish I hadn't given the book the time I did.
The Queen's Slave Trader: John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I, and the Traffic in Human Souls by Nick Hazelwood - obviously the author's main intent is to implicate Elizabeth I in the slave trade, but what really stands out is the absurdity of early trade across the Atlantic. A lot of this could be imported into a science fiction setting and people would consider it far-fetched!
Crown of Slaves by David Weber - awful pulp and not in the good way.
The Gates of Hell (Heroes in Hell #2) by C.J. Cherryh and Janet E. Morris - never really comes together. There are interesting bits, but I never felt like I knew where it was going, and in the end it just... doesn't go anywhere.
Right now I'm reading "Invitation to a Beheading" by Nabokov. It's pretty good. Here's hoping 2011 is a good year for books!