2009 Reading Summary
I read 116 books, which does not count books that I started and gave up on or books that I read only portions of (sometimes large ones) for research. It also largely excludes my online and magazine-based short fiction reading, since the idea of discussing every short story I read in any sort of detail is overwhelming. Since I've never kept track of my reading like this, I have no idea whether that's a lot or not. I've noticed some folks on my f-list who've gotten through about half that, and then again I've noticed some who've gone through three times that.
I can tell you that I still have a lot of books here that I wish I had been able to read this year, and a lot of them will still be here next year when I write this summation. Books > time and all that. I notice, particularly, that I didn't read that many classics this year--I had hoped to get through another Dickens, and the Edith Grossman translation of the Quixote. Both of those will happen this year.
In my first-half summation post I listed my ten favorite books so far. They were:
The Adventures of Amir Hamza, Lord of the Auspicious Planetary Conjunction, by Ghalib Lakhnavi and Abdullah Bilgrami, translated by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
From the Files of the Time Rangers by Richard Bowes
Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul's Historic Black Community, gathered and edited by Kate Cavett (Hand in Hand Productions)
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (Part One of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox)
Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn
On Revolution by Hannah Arendt
The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach, translated by Doryl Jensen
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang
White Butterfly by Walter Mosley
Hmong and American: Stories of Transition to a Strange Land by Sue Murphy Mote
For the second half of the year, these were the books that stood out:
Flora's Dare by Ysabeau Wilce
The Riddle-Master of Hed (full trilogy) by Patricia McKillip
Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad
The Hunger Games (and Catching Fire, the sequel) by Suzanne Collins
Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Brown Harvest by Jay Russell
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing, edited by Delia Sherman and Christopher Barzak
The idea of actually picking the best book I read this year is intimidating, but before I think about it too much I'd place The Magic Toyshop, The Carpet Makers, The Latehomecomer, Wizard of the Crow and The Adventures of Amir Hamza in the top five.
Anyway, on to 2010.
I can tell you that I still have a lot of books here that I wish I had been able to read this year, and a lot of them will still be here next year when I write this summation. Books > time and all that. I notice, particularly, that I didn't read that many classics this year--I had hoped to get through another Dickens, and the Edith Grossman translation of the Quixote. Both of those will happen this year.
In my first-half summation post I listed my ten favorite books so far. They were:
The Adventures of Amir Hamza, Lord of the Auspicious Planetary Conjunction, by Ghalib Lakhnavi and Abdullah Bilgrami, translated by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
From the Files of the Time Rangers by Richard Bowes
Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul's Historic Black Community, gathered and edited by Kate Cavett (Hand in Hand Productions)
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (Part One of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox)
Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn
On Revolution by Hannah Arendt
The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach, translated by Doryl Jensen
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang
White Butterfly by Walter Mosley
Hmong and American: Stories of Transition to a Strange Land by Sue Murphy Mote
For the second half of the year, these were the books that stood out:
Flora's Dare by Ysabeau Wilce
The Riddle-Master of Hed (full trilogy) by Patricia McKillip
Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad
The Hunger Games (and Catching Fire, the sequel) by Suzanne Collins
Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Brown Harvest by Jay Russell
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing, edited by Delia Sherman and Christopher Barzak
The idea of actually picking the best book I read this year is intimidating, but before I think about it too much I'd place The Magic Toyshop, The Carpet Makers, The Latehomecomer, Wizard of the Crow and The Adventures of Amir Hamza in the top five.
Anyway, on to 2010.