Book List 2013
Total 42 books.
January
Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age, Tom Crouch
Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders, William Drennan
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain
February
On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood, Irmgard Hunt
March
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen (re-read)
Persuasion, Jane Austen (re-read)
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen (re-read)
The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice (re-read)
April
Dragon and Phoenix, Joanne Bertin
Sabriel, Garth Nix
Graceling, Kristen Cashore
Dragonsblood, Todd McCaffrey
A Summer to Remember, Mary Balogh (re-read)
May
The Ghatti's Tale: Finders-Seekers, Gayle Greeno
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, Ben Macintyre
Ringworld, Larry Niven
June
City of Bones, Cassandra Clare
The Heart of Myrial, Maggie Furey
The Lives They Left Behind, Darby Penney and Peter Stastny
July
Women of the Silk, Gail Tsukiyama
Greenwitch, Susan Cooper (re-read)
The Gray King, Susan Cooper (re-read)
City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
August
All the Weyrs of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
Spirit of the Stone, Maggie Furey
The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers, Tom Standage
September
A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
Mistborn, Brian Sanderson
October
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
November
Dragon Prince, Melanie Rawn
Storm Front, Jim Butcher
Masques, Patricia Briggs
By the Sword, Mercedes Lackey
Lord John and the Private Matter, Diana Gabaldon
December
The Curse of Chalion, Lois Bujold (re-read)
Paladin of Souls, Lois Bujold (re-read)
The Ghatti's Tale: Finders-Seekers, Gayle Greeno (re-read)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain (re-read)
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945, Leo Marks (re-read)
A lot of re-reads this year. I don't read as much as I used to, and I don't read as much new material either. It's been several years since I've made a concerted effort to read a lot of new books.
Anyway, on to my personal book awards.
Best nonfiction: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain. Insightful.
Most depressing: The Lives They Left Behind, Darby Penney and Peter Stastny. About mental hospital patients, very sad. Death in a Prairie House is a close second. Both nonfiction.
Best fiction: Sabriel, Garth Nix. I really liked the interesting system of magic in this one.
Surprisingly good: The Ghatti's Tale: Finders-Seekers, Gayle Greeno. Seriously, this book has giant telepathic cats. I picked it up thinking, how corny, I just have to read this. It was corny, but hey, I can get into that. Also: I want a giant telepathic cat.
Surprisingly bad: The Heart of Myrial, Maggie Furey. How can an epic fantasy with a dragon on the cover be this bad? Because it was BORING.
Better the First Time Round: Greenwitch, Susan Cooper. I hadn't read this one in probably 20 years. This one is like eating the slightly congealed leftovers from yesterday's Imo's Pizza. I wondered why I thought it was so great originally.
January
Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age, Tom Crouch
Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders, William Drennan
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain
February
On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood, Irmgard Hunt
March
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen (re-read)
Persuasion, Jane Austen (re-read)
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen (re-read)
The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice (re-read)
April
Dragon and Phoenix, Joanne Bertin
Sabriel, Garth Nix
Graceling, Kristen Cashore
Dragonsblood, Todd McCaffrey
A Summer to Remember, Mary Balogh (re-read)
May
The Ghatti's Tale: Finders-Seekers, Gayle Greeno
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, Ben Macintyre
Ringworld, Larry Niven
June
City of Bones, Cassandra Clare
The Heart of Myrial, Maggie Furey
The Lives They Left Behind, Darby Penney and Peter Stastny
July
Women of the Silk, Gail Tsukiyama
Greenwitch, Susan Cooper (re-read)
The Gray King, Susan Cooper (re-read)
City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
August
All the Weyrs of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
Spirit of the Stone, Maggie Furey
The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers, Tom Standage
September
A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
Mistborn, Brian Sanderson
October
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
November
Dragon Prince, Melanie Rawn
Storm Front, Jim Butcher
Masques, Patricia Briggs
By the Sword, Mercedes Lackey
Lord John and the Private Matter, Diana Gabaldon
December
The Curse of Chalion, Lois Bujold (re-read)
Paladin of Souls, Lois Bujold (re-read)
The Ghatti's Tale: Finders-Seekers, Gayle Greeno (re-read)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain (re-read)
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945, Leo Marks (re-read)
A lot of re-reads this year. I don't read as much as I used to, and I don't read as much new material either. It's been several years since I've made a concerted effort to read a lot of new books.
Anyway, on to my personal book awards.
Best nonfiction: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain. Insightful.
Most depressing: The Lives They Left Behind, Darby Penney and Peter Stastny. About mental hospital patients, very sad. Death in a Prairie House is a close second. Both nonfiction.
Best fiction: Sabriel, Garth Nix. I really liked the interesting system of magic in this one.
Surprisingly good: The Ghatti's Tale: Finders-Seekers, Gayle Greeno. Seriously, this book has giant telepathic cats. I picked it up thinking, how corny, I just have to read this. It was corny, but hey, I can get into that. Also: I want a giant telepathic cat.
Surprisingly bad: The Heart of Myrial, Maggie Furey. How can an epic fantasy with a dragon on the cover be this bad? Because it was BORING.
Better the First Time Round: Greenwitch, Susan Cooper. I hadn't read this one in probably 20 years. This one is like eating the slightly congealed leftovers from yesterday's Imo's Pizza. I wondered why I thought it was so great originally.