Books read in 2011
Silk, Caitlin Kiernan. Great mood, awesome flavor, weird bizarre ending that didn't quite seem to fit.
Hearts in Atlantis, Stephen King. Each section was great, but didn't feel like a cohesive whole.
The Lonesome Night in October, Roger Zelazny. Meh.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson. Slow start, but a good read, if a bit rapey.
Saving Faith, David Baldacchi. Terrible, wooden characters and a hackneyed plot.
The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson. OMG CLIFFHANGER WTF!
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson. I've always felt a kinship with Berger, and I felt that the ending of this one was both dishonest and unrealistic. Not to mention the exact opposite of romantic. *sigh*
Spirit Dances, C.E. Murphy. AUGH CATIE AUGH! Why must you end like THIS?!? *flails*
A Child Called "It"; One Child's Courage to Survive, David Pelzer. I read this ages ago, and it sure as shit left an impression. A good book for all the privileged to read.
Bee Season*, Myla Goldberg. Fascinating tie-in between symbol imagery and the Kabbaleh.
The Stardust Lounge: Stories from a Boy's Adolescence, Deborajh Digges. Teenage changelings: what do you do when your child suddenly becomes your antithesis at adolescence?
Neptune Rising, Jane Yolen. Gorgeous, as always. Probably one of my most oft-read books of my late childhood/early teens.
WLT* (abridged), Garrison Keillor. A little confusing, which probably would have been helped by keeping the damn thing at full length. Very sweet ending, though.
The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier. Based on the unicorn tapestries, it's amusing but not screamingly brilliant.
Right Angles to Faeryland, C.E. Murphy. Unpublished work, but it was 260 pages, so I'm including it, by damn! Traditional tropes done perfectly, indeed.
Eros Ascending, Mike Resnick. Space opera re-reading for when I'm sick--perfect!
Weep No More, My Lady, Mary Higgins Clark. Not bad. Set in the world of a high-end health spa, which amused me. A good sickbed read.
Sword-dancer, Jennifer Robinson. Not quite as good as when I read it 20 years ago, but damn near.
The Wild Things,* David Eggers. Not half bad. Made me want to dig out a copy of Where the Wild Things Are. A faithful adaptation to the point of simply being an explication.
Color for Your Home, Sunset Magazine. A couple of good things in there. Most of it I think I knew already, though.
Love and Desire Photoworks, William Ewing. Ooh, pretty photo book! (There were essays in there, too!)
A Year Straight: Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Lesbian Beauty Queen, Elena Azzoni. Some hilarious anecdotes of Mr Wrong, when she thought she was looking for Ms Right--only to get derailed. Otherwise, reads like many other dating mishap books. Love the last two lines.
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand, Carrie Vaughn. Total crack, as always. I should know better than to start one of her books late at night.
Kitty Raises Hell, Carrie Vaughn. Yep, there went Monday. Impossible to get enough.
Kitty's House of Horrors, Carrie Vaughn. Good, good, good. Excellent suspense and more crack for the brain.
Kitty Goes to War, Carrie Vaughn. The weakest of the series, but still damn good.
Kitty's Big Trouble, Carrie Vaughn. Still fabulous. Perfectly consistent entertainment.
Tempest Rising, Nicole Peeler. Entertaining, a little soft-core, some eyeball rolling. Not great, but not horrible. Would give the next one a shot.
Halfway to the Grave, Jeaniene Frost. Again, some eyeball rolling, some soft-core. I may be too feminist to enjoy this and the book listed above, but again, willing to give the next one a shot.
What's Really Wrong With You: A Revolutionary Look at How Muscles Affect Your Health, Thomas Griner and Maxine Nunes. Wow, parts of this I agreed with, but mostly I wanted to throw it across the room. "We don't need science, I have anecdotal proof!"
Full Moon Rising, Keri Arthur. Oh, man, I almost knocked myself unconscious with all the eyeball rolling. I mean, "I wished I had my 4" heels rather than my 6" ones because they're easier to run in." Considerably more smut, and a size queen to boot. Finished it, but won't be reading any more.
Dragon of the Lost Sea, Laurence Yep. Comfort reading for 25+ years, and still just as satisfying.
Year's total: 32