Books of 2008
Over the course of the last year, I've been trying to keep track of books I read on LibraryThing (they have a groups/forum type section in addition to their awesome book cataloging capabilities).
While I haven't been great at keeping the list up, I did manage to post every month or so, and I think I captured most of the books I read. One of the things this exercise highlighted to me was that I re-read books entirely too much. In particular, I re-read crappy fantasy books too much. I tend to turn to them when I'm sick or having insomnia or really busy at school-in other words, when I need to not put any actual ideas in my head, and just soothe myself with familiar, comforting pap. While this works for its intended purpose, it depresses me to look at all the re-read books and think about what new, interesting, quality books I could have read in their place. Sigh. While re-reading books will always be something I do (when I'm having insomnia, I can't afford to read something interesting that might contribute to my staying awake), I have been making an effort to cut back. You can see that in the second half of the year, my re-reads decreased. There were also some re-reading that were done intentionally, like going over the Hyperion books after reading the second duology in the series, or reading Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets after seeing the movie, because I specifically wanted to revisit those books.
Okay, enough babbling. Here's the list:
(Bolded books are ones I really really recommend)
1. Endymion by Dan Simmons
2. Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
3. Hyperion by Dan Simmons *re-read
4. Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons *re-read
5. Naked by Dave Sedaris *re-read
6. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card *re-read
7. Trader by Charles de Lint *re-read
8. Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
9. Killashandra by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
10. Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
11. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
12. Dragonquest by Anne McCaffry *re-read
13. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
14. Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling
15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
16-18: The Belgariad Vol. 1 by David Eddings *re-read
19-20: The Belgariad Vol. 2 by David Eddings *re-read
21-23: The Malloreon Vol. 1 by David Eddings *re-read
24-25: The Malloreon Vol. 2 by David Eddings *re-read
26:Illium by Dan Simmons
27.Olympos by Dan Simmons
28. Computers and Cognition by Winograd & Flores
29. The Diamond Throne by David Eddings *re-read
30. The Ruby Knight by David Eddings *re-read
31. The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings *re-read
32. Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
33. Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
34. Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
35. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
36. Overclocked by Cory Doctorow
37. Renegades of Pern by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
38. Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
39. Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
40. Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow
41. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
42. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
43. Down and out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
44. The Scar by China Mieville
45. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling *re-read
46. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
47. Shadowmarch by Tad Williams *re-read
48. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams *re-read
49. Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams *re-read
50. To Green Angel Tower Part 1 by Tad Williams *re-read
51. To Green Angel Tower Part 2 by Tad Williams *re-read
52. Spook Country by William Gibson
53. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
54. The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger
55. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
56. Kinki Lullaby by Isaac Adamson *re-read
57. Dreaming Pachinko by Isaac Adamson *re-read
58. Tokyo Suckerpunch by Isaac Adamson *re-read
59. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
60. Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
61. Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
62. Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
63. Iron Council by China Mieville
64. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
65. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
66. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
67. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
68. Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton
69. Bellwether by Connie Willis
71. City of Golden Shadows by Tad Williams *re-read
72. River of Blue Fire by Tad Williams *re-read
73. Mountain of Black Glass by Tad Williams *re-read
74. Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams *re-read
75. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
76. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
77. Rolling Thunder by John Varley
78. Atonement by Ian McEwan
79. Jennifer Government by Max Barry
80. Windflower: a Novel by Nick Bantock
81. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card *re-read
Grand total: 81, with 42 re-reads and 39 new books read in 2008.
China Mieville is my favorite new author of the year-just absolutely stunning-I will read everything and anything he writes. An indescribably imaginative author, with a wonderfully steampunky flavor that still manages to be literary. Anathem was probably the most impressive single work I read, although Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union was also suprisingly deep and engaging. I've been digging into some old-school science fiction lately, like Dick's Man in a High Castle, Farmer's Riverworld series, Miller's Canticle for Lebowitz, which is amazing (and reminded me of Anathem, although I suppose it's supposed to be the other way around), and Asimov's Foundation series, which I'm still working on. I've really been enjoying it all; although the writing can be of variable quality, and compelling/complex characters are often hard to find, the ideas behind the work are always impressive and watching the authors play around with them is interesting.
On my plate in the near future: Foundation & Empire and Second Foundation by Asimov, a series of rare Tim Powers books/short stories/chapbooks, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Sleznick, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami, the rest of the Riverworld series by Farmer. And, of course, I have to start school again, which means academic reading.
While I haven't been great at keeping the list up, I did manage to post every month or so, and I think I captured most of the books I read. One of the things this exercise highlighted to me was that I re-read books entirely too much. In particular, I re-read crappy fantasy books too much. I tend to turn to them when I'm sick or having insomnia or really busy at school-in other words, when I need to not put any actual ideas in my head, and just soothe myself with familiar, comforting pap. While this works for its intended purpose, it depresses me to look at all the re-read books and think about what new, interesting, quality books I could have read in their place. Sigh. While re-reading books will always be something I do (when I'm having insomnia, I can't afford to read something interesting that might contribute to my staying awake), I have been making an effort to cut back. You can see that in the second half of the year, my re-reads decreased. There were also some re-reading that were done intentionally, like going over the Hyperion books after reading the second duology in the series, or reading Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets after seeing the movie, because I specifically wanted to revisit those books.
Okay, enough babbling. Here's the list:
(Bolded books are ones I really really recommend)
1. Endymion by Dan Simmons
2. Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
3. Hyperion by Dan Simmons *re-read
4. Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons *re-read
5. Naked by Dave Sedaris *re-read
6. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card *re-read
7. Trader by Charles de Lint *re-read
8. Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
9. Killashandra by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
10. Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
11. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
12. Dragonquest by Anne McCaffry *re-read
13. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
14. Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling
15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
16-18: The Belgariad Vol. 1 by David Eddings *re-read
19-20: The Belgariad Vol. 2 by David Eddings *re-read
21-23: The Malloreon Vol. 1 by David Eddings *re-read
24-25: The Malloreon Vol. 2 by David Eddings *re-read
26:Illium by Dan Simmons
27.Olympos by Dan Simmons
28. Computers and Cognition by Winograd & Flores
29. The Diamond Throne by David Eddings *re-read
30. The Ruby Knight by David Eddings *re-read
31. The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings *re-read
32. Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
33. Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
34. Nerilka's Story by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
35. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
36. Overclocked by Cory Doctorow
37. Renegades of Pern by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
38. Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey *re-read
39. Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
40. Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow
41. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
42. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
43. Down and out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
44. The Scar by China Mieville
45. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling *re-read
46. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
47. Shadowmarch by Tad Williams *re-read
48. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams *re-read
49. Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams *re-read
50. To Green Angel Tower Part 1 by Tad Williams *re-read
51. To Green Angel Tower Part 2 by Tad Williams *re-read
52. Spook Country by William Gibson
53. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
54. The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger
55. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
56. Kinki Lullaby by Isaac Adamson *re-read
57. Dreaming Pachinko by Isaac Adamson *re-read
58. Tokyo Suckerpunch by Isaac Adamson *re-read
59. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
60. Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
61. Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
62. Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
63. Iron Council by China Mieville
64. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
65. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
66. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
67. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
68. Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton
69. Bellwether by Connie Willis
71. City of Golden Shadows by Tad Williams *re-read
72. River of Blue Fire by Tad Williams *re-read
73. Mountain of Black Glass by Tad Williams *re-read
74. Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams *re-read
75. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
76. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
77. Rolling Thunder by John Varley
78. Atonement by Ian McEwan
79. Jennifer Government by Max Barry
80. Windflower: a Novel by Nick Bantock
81. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card *re-read
Grand total: 81, with 42 re-reads and 39 new books read in 2008.
China Mieville is my favorite new author of the year-just absolutely stunning-I will read everything and anything he writes. An indescribably imaginative author, with a wonderfully steampunky flavor that still manages to be literary. Anathem was probably the most impressive single work I read, although Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union was also suprisingly deep and engaging. I've been digging into some old-school science fiction lately, like Dick's Man in a High Castle, Farmer's Riverworld series, Miller's Canticle for Lebowitz, which is amazing (and reminded me of Anathem, although I suppose it's supposed to be the other way around), and Asimov's Foundation series, which I'm still working on. I've really been enjoying it all; although the writing can be of variable quality, and compelling/complex characters are often hard to find, the ideas behind the work are always impressive and watching the authors play around with them is interesting.
On my plate in the near future: Foundation & Empire and Second Foundation by Asimov, a series of rare Tim Powers books/short stories/chapbooks, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Sleznick, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami, the rest of the Riverworld series by Farmer. And, of course, I have to start school again, which means academic reading.