Books of 2014
Better late than never, I guess?
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
1) Terry Pratchett: Raising Steam (paper, finished 01-10) This latest Discworld novel seemed to lack something of the others, perhaps because it seemed a bit too fast-paced. Like, there wasn't enough time for character development since he was focusing on the progress of the railroad itself over the course of several months.
(Between that and the next, I listened to audio versions of the remaining Discworld books I hadn't heard yet.)
2) Robert Jordan: The Eye of the World (audio, finished 02-13) I decided to listen next to the Wheel of Time series, since I have friends who like it and I like the fact that I won't have to worry about picking something new for a while, assuming I like these books well enough.
3) Robert Jordan: The Great Hunt (audio, finished 03-04) They're not bad so far, though definitely not the best fantasy I've seen/heard. In addition to being problematic for reasons friends had already told me about, I find myself getting annoyed that the main characters continue to not realize what kind of book they're in and get with the program. It's like, for fuck's sake Rand, obviously you're important on a grand scale. Otherwise why would we have been hearing all your angsty whining for the past two thousand pages?
4) Robert Jordan: The Dragon Reborn (audio, finished 03-20)
5) Seanan McGuire (writing as Mira Grant): Feed (ebook, finished 07-04) (Yes, it has in fact been over two months since I finished a book. Lots of podcasts and tumblr in the meantime.) Extremely good and I look forward to devouring (so to speak) the other two in the Newsflesh trilogy. It's a zombie story, but unlike the super tropey ones I've mostly gotten tired of by now, it takes place 25 years after an outbreak that, while disastrous, didn't actually end civilization or anything like that. Also, since I've been following the author on tumblr for awhile now, I must say it's really nice to read something and know that if I do find something in it problematic, I know the author wouldn't get defensive and close up if anyone pointed it out to her.
6) Seanan McGuire (as Mira Grant): Deadline (ebook, finished 07-11) Also extremely good. I unfortunately read the first chapter of the third book by mistake before starting this one, though, so some of the intended tension wasn't there as I basically knew how this one was going to end.
7) Seanan McGuire (as Mira Grant): Blackout (ebook, finished 07-19) Excellent conclusion. The trilogy somewhat reinvigorated zombie horror for me, though I don't know whether enough to actually want to play all the way through any of the related video games I've already bought and downloaded.
8) Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter: The Long Mars (ebook, finished 07-26) Good, but still clearly the middle book of a series. Some arcs were relevant to the "main" plot only inasmuch as one or two of those characters showed up near the end of the main arc. I'm at least hoping those bits will come together by the end of the series in a way that doesn't seem so disjointed.
9) Tahereh Mafi: Shatter Me (audio, finished 08-05) Enjoyable start to a series. A bit less substantial than some I've read recently, though it seems as though more of the worldbuilding and backstory will show up in later books. The stream-of-consciousness style wasn't ideal for the audio format, I think, but it got better with the protagonist getting more well-adjusted. (She started the book on day 264 of complete isolation, so realistically might have been crazier than she started out in the book.)
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
1) Terry Pratchett: Raising Steam (paper, finished 01-10) This latest Discworld novel seemed to lack something of the others, perhaps because it seemed a bit too fast-paced. Like, there wasn't enough time for character development since he was focusing on the progress of the railroad itself over the course of several months.
(Between that and the next, I listened to audio versions of the remaining Discworld books I hadn't heard yet.)
2) Robert Jordan: The Eye of the World (audio, finished 02-13) I decided to listen next to the Wheel of Time series, since I have friends who like it and I like the fact that I won't have to worry about picking something new for a while, assuming I like these books well enough.
3) Robert Jordan: The Great Hunt (audio, finished 03-04) They're not bad so far, though definitely not the best fantasy I've seen/heard. In addition to being problematic for reasons friends had already told me about, I find myself getting annoyed that the main characters continue to not realize what kind of book they're in and get with the program. It's like, for fuck's sake Rand, obviously you're important on a grand scale. Otherwise why would we have been hearing all your angsty whining for the past two thousand pages?
4) Robert Jordan: The Dragon Reborn (audio, finished 03-20)
5) Seanan McGuire (writing as Mira Grant): Feed (ebook, finished 07-04) (Yes, it has in fact been over two months since I finished a book. Lots of podcasts and tumblr in the meantime.) Extremely good and I look forward to devouring (so to speak) the other two in the Newsflesh trilogy. It's a zombie story, but unlike the super tropey ones I've mostly gotten tired of by now, it takes place 25 years after an outbreak that, while disastrous, didn't actually end civilization or anything like that. Also, since I've been following the author on tumblr for awhile now, I must say it's really nice to read something and know that if I do find something in it problematic, I know the author wouldn't get defensive and close up if anyone pointed it out to her.
6) Seanan McGuire (as Mira Grant): Deadline (ebook, finished 07-11) Also extremely good. I unfortunately read the first chapter of the third book by mistake before starting this one, though, so some of the intended tension wasn't there as I basically knew how this one was going to end.
7) Seanan McGuire (as Mira Grant): Blackout (ebook, finished 07-19) Excellent conclusion. The trilogy somewhat reinvigorated zombie horror for me, though I don't know whether enough to actually want to play all the way through any of the related video games I've already bought and downloaded.
8) Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter: The Long Mars (ebook, finished 07-26) Good, but still clearly the middle book of a series. Some arcs were relevant to the "main" plot only inasmuch as one or two of those characters showed up near the end of the main arc. I'm at least hoping those bits will come together by the end of the series in a way that doesn't seem so disjointed.
9) Tahereh Mafi: Shatter Me (audio, finished 08-05) Enjoyable start to a series. A bit less substantial than some I've read recently, though it seems as though more of the worldbuilding and backstory will show up in later books. The stream-of-consciousness style wasn't ideal for the audio format, I think, but it got better with the protagonist getting more well-adjusted. (She started the book on day 264 of complete isolation, so realistically might have been crazier than she started out in the book.)