Books 47-70, 2011 wrap up
I haven’t yet written up the accounting of the books I’ve read since my last reporting in mid-September. I had a goal of 50 books for 2011, I ended up reading a total of 70 (this was helped by forced convalescence in April after getting the shunt in my ear). There are quite a few books to catch up on, so I won’t say much about each book, unless I really liked it. They are listed below in random order.
47-49. Right Ho, Jeeves; Joy in the Morning; Very Good, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse. These three are collected into an omnibus edition called Just Enough Jeeves. A short story collection and two novels featuring the not-terribly-bright Wooster and his very bright valet Jeeves. These are charming, and very funny stories. Madcap adventures, a little bit of mayhem, very witty writing. Loved these, and want to read more Jeeves this coming year.
50. The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa. A YA novel about a young misfit who finds out she is the daughter of Oberon (yes, that Oberon). The first of a series, this was recommended to me by Patrice Sarath, and it was good. I’ll for sure look for the next in the series.
51. The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. A stand-alone prequel to Shadow of the Wind. Set in 1920s Barcelona, this is the story of a struggling writer who makes a book deal with a mysterious publisher that seems too good to be true. Like Shadow of the Wind, this is a labrynthine, intelligent thriller imbued with the dark, gothic atmosphere of pre-War Barcelona.
52. The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages. One of my favorite books I read this year. The story of a young girl whose father is a part of the Manhattan Project. She’s an unusual girl, because she prefers science and building things to the usual pursuits of girls. She ends up befriending another girl, an artist, and they build an uneasy friendship. There is a follow up to this book, which I bought at World Fantasy. I’ll need to break that out soon.
53. Lust for Life, by Irving Stone. Biographical novel about the life of Vincent Van Gogh. Loved this book! It made me want to learn more about Van Gogh, his art and his life. In an interesting twist, there was a new biography of Van Gogh that came out right after I finished reading this book. The new biography was getting a lot of press (I saw a story about it on 60 Minutes) because the authors posit that Van Gogh did not kill himself, but that his death was an accidental homicide. I don’t know what’s what, but they seemed to have a lot of good sources for their supposition, so who knows?
54. Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, by Genevieve Valentine. This was a weird, strange, and absolutely wonderful novel about a traveling circus. It’s set in some undefined period after a great war, and the ring mistress collects misfits and creates a circus from the people she comes across. I can’t say much more without giving away an important secret in the book, but you learn a lot about each of the people in the circus as the novel goes along.
55. Angels of Darkness. A collection of 4 novellas featuring angels. Includes a new Samaria novella by one of my favorite writers, Sharon Shinn.
56. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, by Mark Hodder. The first of a steampunk series set in a slightly alternate Victorian England (Queen Victoria was murdered as a young queen). Spring Heeled Jack is going around molesting young girls, only it seems he’s molesting them in different time periods without aging any. The book cover has a fantastic design, but the writing has to keep me, and it did. I have the second book in this series, and I’ve recently seen the next one on the book shelves. This was a really fun book to read.
57. The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, by Deborah Blum. Nonfiction accounting of efforts to change the NYC coroner’s office during the time of Prohibition. Very interesting read. During the course of the book, you learn about the various kinds of poisons that were common at the time, often found in every day products in the home. The books focuses on a new Medical Examiner, Charles Norris, and his chief toxicologist Alexander Gettler, and their efforts at transforming the field of forensic medicine in NY and around the country. I enjoyed this book a great deal.
58. Ghosts by Gaslight, ed. by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers. An anthology of “steampunk and supernatural suspense.” Some terrific stories in this anthology.
59. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. I counted War and Peace as 3 books. The translation I have is separated into 3 books, and it’s a total of 1600 pages, so I think that’s quite legitimate. I read the first 2 books earlier in the year, and wanted to finish it before the year ended. It was very emotional going through the end of the war with Napoleon as he came into Moscow and was then repelled. It’s war, not everyone makes it out alive. It was more emotional an ending than I was expecting. Glad I read it, I enjoyed it, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
60 and 61. Carpe Corpus and Fade Out, by Rachel Caine. The continuation of the Morganville Vampire series. The town of Morganville has been at the mercy of Bishop, an evil vampire. Claire and her friends get involved in an underground resistance and help the town fight back. And in the process, they may be changing the rules of Morganville.
62. Deryni Rising, by Katherine Kurtz. Old school high fantasy, didn’t do much for me.
63. Raiders of the Lost Corset, by Ellen Byerrum. Another in the Lacey Smithsonian crimes of fashion series. It’s an easy read, fun, I liked it.
64. Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier. Historical fiction set in and around Brighton, England in the early 19th c. and centers around two unlikely women fossil hunters trying to make their discoveries in a field dominated by men.
65. Too Late the Phalarope, by Alan Paton. Set in 1950s South Africa, the story of a young white policeman who violates one of the strictest laws in his country when he engages in an affair with a young black woman, and the effect this has not only on him, but on his entire family. Beautifully written. I bought it because I loved Cry, the Beloved Country so much, and I really enjoyed this as well, even though it was difficult to read at times.
66. Ragnarok, by A. S. Byatt. A retelling of the Norse myths from the perspective of a young English girl sent to the country during WWII.
67. 13 Rue Therese, by Elena Mauli Shapiro. This is a really unusual story about a set of mementos from a woman, Louise Brunet, who lived in Paris during WWI and beyond. The story is told as a young American professor comes into possession of her mementos, and we unravel a story of love lost, love found, and war. An interesting book, with a strange ending that I didn’t quite see coming (or really get). But still, worth reading.
68. Luka and the Fire of Life, by Salman Rushdie. A story written for his youngest son, it’s a young boy’s adventure through an imaginary landscape clearly influenced by gaming, as he seeks the Fire of Life so that he can save his dying father’s life. As he progresses through this landscape, he comes to realize that the stories his father has told him his whole life hold the key to getting through his quest. Charming book.
69. Mini Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella. Continuation of the Shopaholic series. Becky has a wild 2 year old girl who has a tendency to get banned from stores. Becky’s husband suggests they get professional help, only they have trouble keeping a nanny. And during all this, Becky tries really hard to plan a colossal surprise party for her husband. It’s a sweet, silly book. I’ve read all the books in this series, and the ending clearly sets up a new book. I did find myself getting a little annoyed at Becky and her constant lies as the book went along. Sure, it all works out in the end, but it just became too much. I don’t really know if I want to keep reading in this series.
70. Cain, by Jose Saramago. His last ever novel, published in Portuguese just before he died. It’s a very small novel, and highly irreverent. A retelling of many of the stories from the old testament from the perspective of Cain, who is cursed by God to be a wanderer and vagabond after he kills his brother Abel. It’s clear that Saramago had little use for the god of the old testament, and packs in a lot in the short novel. He asks many of the questions that anyone really reading the old testament would ask themselves (such as why it what Cain did so evil, when God directs armies to wholesale slaughter tens of thousands of innocent people, and that’s okay). I love Saramago’s novels, and highly recommend this one.
47-49. Right Ho, Jeeves; Joy in the Morning; Very Good, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse. These three are collected into an omnibus edition called Just Enough Jeeves. A short story collection and two novels featuring the not-terribly-bright Wooster and his very bright valet Jeeves. These are charming, and very funny stories. Madcap adventures, a little bit of mayhem, very witty writing. Loved these, and want to read more Jeeves this coming year.
50. The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa. A YA novel about a young misfit who finds out she is the daughter of Oberon (yes, that Oberon). The first of a series, this was recommended to me by Patrice Sarath, and it was good. I’ll for sure look for the next in the series.
51. The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. A stand-alone prequel to Shadow of the Wind. Set in 1920s Barcelona, this is the story of a struggling writer who makes a book deal with a mysterious publisher that seems too good to be true. Like Shadow of the Wind, this is a labrynthine, intelligent thriller imbued with the dark, gothic atmosphere of pre-War Barcelona.
52. The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages. One of my favorite books I read this year. The story of a young girl whose father is a part of the Manhattan Project. She’s an unusual girl, because she prefers science and building things to the usual pursuits of girls. She ends up befriending another girl, an artist, and they build an uneasy friendship. There is a follow up to this book, which I bought at World Fantasy. I’ll need to break that out soon.
53. Lust for Life, by Irving Stone. Biographical novel about the life of Vincent Van Gogh. Loved this book! It made me want to learn more about Van Gogh, his art and his life. In an interesting twist, there was a new biography of Van Gogh that came out right after I finished reading this book. The new biography was getting a lot of press (I saw a story about it on 60 Minutes) because the authors posit that Van Gogh did not kill himself, but that his death was an accidental homicide. I don’t know what’s what, but they seemed to have a lot of good sources for their supposition, so who knows?
54. Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, by Genevieve Valentine. This was a weird, strange, and absolutely wonderful novel about a traveling circus. It’s set in some undefined period after a great war, and the ring mistress collects misfits and creates a circus from the people she comes across. I can’t say much more without giving away an important secret in the book, but you learn a lot about each of the people in the circus as the novel goes along.
55. Angels of Darkness. A collection of 4 novellas featuring angels. Includes a new Samaria novella by one of my favorite writers, Sharon Shinn.
56. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, by Mark Hodder. The first of a steampunk series set in a slightly alternate Victorian England (Queen Victoria was murdered as a young queen). Spring Heeled Jack is going around molesting young girls, only it seems he’s molesting them in different time periods without aging any. The book cover has a fantastic design, but the writing has to keep me, and it did. I have the second book in this series, and I’ve recently seen the next one on the book shelves. This was a really fun book to read.
57. The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, by Deborah Blum. Nonfiction accounting of efforts to change the NYC coroner’s office during the time of Prohibition. Very interesting read. During the course of the book, you learn about the various kinds of poisons that were common at the time, often found in every day products in the home. The books focuses on a new Medical Examiner, Charles Norris, and his chief toxicologist Alexander Gettler, and their efforts at transforming the field of forensic medicine in NY and around the country. I enjoyed this book a great deal.
58. Ghosts by Gaslight, ed. by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers. An anthology of “steampunk and supernatural suspense.” Some terrific stories in this anthology.
59. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. I counted War and Peace as 3 books. The translation I have is separated into 3 books, and it’s a total of 1600 pages, so I think that’s quite legitimate. I read the first 2 books earlier in the year, and wanted to finish it before the year ended. It was very emotional going through the end of the war with Napoleon as he came into Moscow and was then repelled. It’s war, not everyone makes it out alive. It was more emotional an ending than I was expecting. Glad I read it, I enjoyed it, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
60 and 61. Carpe Corpus and Fade Out, by Rachel Caine. The continuation of the Morganville Vampire series. The town of Morganville has been at the mercy of Bishop, an evil vampire. Claire and her friends get involved in an underground resistance and help the town fight back. And in the process, they may be changing the rules of Morganville.
62. Deryni Rising, by Katherine Kurtz. Old school high fantasy, didn’t do much for me.
63. Raiders of the Lost Corset, by Ellen Byerrum. Another in the Lacey Smithsonian crimes of fashion series. It’s an easy read, fun, I liked it.
64. Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier. Historical fiction set in and around Brighton, England in the early 19th c. and centers around two unlikely women fossil hunters trying to make their discoveries in a field dominated by men.
65. Too Late the Phalarope, by Alan Paton. Set in 1950s South Africa, the story of a young white policeman who violates one of the strictest laws in his country when he engages in an affair with a young black woman, and the effect this has not only on him, but on his entire family. Beautifully written. I bought it because I loved Cry, the Beloved Country so much, and I really enjoyed this as well, even though it was difficult to read at times.
66. Ragnarok, by A. S. Byatt. A retelling of the Norse myths from the perspective of a young English girl sent to the country during WWII.
67. 13 Rue Therese, by Elena Mauli Shapiro. This is a really unusual story about a set of mementos from a woman, Louise Brunet, who lived in Paris during WWI and beyond. The story is told as a young American professor comes into possession of her mementos, and we unravel a story of love lost, love found, and war. An interesting book, with a strange ending that I didn’t quite see coming (or really get). But still, worth reading.
68. Luka and the Fire of Life, by Salman Rushdie. A story written for his youngest son, it’s a young boy’s adventure through an imaginary landscape clearly influenced by gaming, as he seeks the Fire of Life so that he can save his dying father’s life. As he progresses through this landscape, he comes to realize that the stories his father has told him his whole life hold the key to getting through his quest. Charming book.
69. Mini Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella. Continuation of the Shopaholic series. Becky has a wild 2 year old girl who has a tendency to get banned from stores. Becky’s husband suggests they get professional help, only they have trouble keeping a nanny. And during all this, Becky tries really hard to plan a colossal surprise party for her husband. It’s a sweet, silly book. I’ve read all the books in this series, and the ending clearly sets up a new book. I did find myself getting a little annoyed at Becky and her constant lies as the book went along. Sure, it all works out in the end, but it just became too much. I don’t really know if I want to keep reading in this series.
70. Cain, by Jose Saramago. His last ever novel, published in Portuguese just before he died. It’s a very small novel, and highly irreverent. A retelling of many of the stories from the old testament from the perspective of Cain, who is cursed by God to be a wanderer and vagabond after he kills his brother Abel. It’s clear that Saramago had little use for the god of the old testament, and packs in a lot in the short novel. He asks many of the questions that anyone really reading the old testament would ask themselves (such as why it what Cain did so evil, when God directs armies to wholesale slaughter tens of thousands of innocent people, and that’s okay). I love Saramago’s novels, and highly recommend this one.