books 2008

[youkosiren]

1. Neuromancer : W. Gibson : cyberpunk
   
2. The Book Thief : M. Zusak : a girl's childhood in WWII Germany
   
3. The Sharing Knife: Legacy : L. M. Bujold : in-laws and soul-sucking malices
   
4. The Unbearable Lightness of Being : M. Kundera : philosophy packaged as literary romance
   
5. Tithe : H. Black : teenage girl actually pixie; befriends bl-reading nerd
   
6. Valiant : H. Black : girl runs away; squats in subway tunnels; works for troll
   
7. A Companion to Wolves : S. Monette : man-wolf telepathy; delivers on cover
   
8. What the Dead Know : L. Lippman : disappearance of two sisters; mystery
   
9. Agent Zigzag : B. MacIntyre : career criminal turned WWII double agent
   
10. Bringing Down the House : B. Mezrich : MIT kids turned into blackjack card-counters
    
11. The Big House : G. H. Colt : social anthropology hidden in nostalgic memoir
    
12. All She Was Worth : M. Miyabe : Tokyo loan sharks; mystery
    
13. Cotillion : G. Heyer : best "dandified fop" of a hero ever
    
14. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle : H. Murakami : inscrutable
    
15. Whose Body : D. Sayers : 1st Lord Peter Wimsey mystery
    
16. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! : R. Feynman : makes me want to be a physicist
    
17. The Monsters of Templeton : L. Groff : digging up family secrets
    
18. The Foundling : G. Heyer : hapless hero grows spine, gets girl
    
19. The Innocent Mage : K. Miller : common man becomes hero (in sequel)
    
20. Three Men in a Boat : J. K. Jerome : see title; life observations; flights of fancy
    
21. Complications : A. Gawande : meditation on surgery & medicine
    
22. The Woods : H. Coben : uncovering truth of sister's murder; mystery
    
23. To Say Nothing of the Dog : C. Willis : time travel; best enjoyed after Three Men in a Boat
    
24. The Book of Air and Shadows : M. Gruber : male Mary Sue serial cheater plays detective
    
25. Frederica : G. Heyer : spinster tries matchmaking sister with troublemaking brothers in tow
    
26. My Life & Hard Times : J.T. Grover : autobio; funny childhood anecdotes
    
27. The Mysterious Affair at Styles : A. Christie : mystery, first Poirot story
    
28. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency : A.M. Smith : observations on life in Botswana
    
29. Deja Dead : K. Reichs : forensic anthropology; Bones; mystery
    
30. Beholder's Eye : J. Czerneda : shapeshifter aliens
    
31. Oryx and Crake : M. Atwood : love & friendship in a dystopia
    
32. The Left Hand of Darkness : U.K. LeGuin : first contact; androgyny; anthropology
    
33. Tears of the Giraffe : A.M. Smith : more cases in Botswana
    
34. Old Man's War : J. Scalzi : rejuvenated soldiers in space
    
35. Survival : J. Czerneda : interesting concept, but fell a little short
    
36. Changing Vision : J. Czerneda : shapeshifter aliens pt 2
    
37. At Bertram's Hotel : A. Christie : robbery; Miss Marple mystery
    
38. The Moving Finger : A. Christie : anonymous gossip letters; Miss Marple mystery
    
39. The Automatic Detective : A.L. Martinez : robot detective noir, plus aliens
    
40. Murder at the Vicarage : A. Christie : Miss Marple mystery
    
41. Doomsday Book : C. Willis : time travel; plague
    
42. Murder on the Orient Express : A. Christie : Hercule Poirot mystery