Books Read in 2011
1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson. This book reminded me of a cross between "Bend it Like Beckham" (the film), random Monty Python sketches, and an amalgam of Jane Austen novels (with a small sprinkling of the BBC series "Monarch of the Glen"). As I have enjoyed all of those listed entertainments, I enjoyed this book. Some reviews of the book that I encountered on Amazon suggested that the characters were stereotypical, but I rather saw them as embodying certain stereotypes rather than being cardboard NPCs. Each to his own, I suppose.
2. The Late, Lamented Molly Marx, Susan Kaslow. The first 'chick lit' I've read in a while. I don't recall such books reminding me so strongly of women's magazine 'editorial' advertisements as this one did--even though I found the theme rather interesting and some of the author's assertions to be quite thought-provoking.
As I normally read reviews of books that I at least peripherally enjoy, so I did for this one...and I really must wonder at the state of the reading public. There is somewhat of a mystery in this book; it follows along with the plot rather nicely. The mystery, as it were, is quite conclusively solved. We are outright TOLD 'whodunit', and yet some reviewers thought the ending was unsatisfying and unresolved. What's not to understand?
3. Bite Me, Christopher Moore. Yet another in Moore's series of humorous vampire novels set in SF. I don't think I've ever disliked one of his books, honestly. A fun romp for a snowy ATL morning.
4. Pest Control, Bill Fitzhugh. (Re-read)
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. Like Pippi Longstocking on acid, crossed with a police procedural, a conspiracy thriller, and an amalgam of every Bergman movie ever made. I was drawn in and enjoyed it, although I expected not to.
6. The Girl who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson. This one was also enjoyable, although Wm. and I saw the film first, so the mystery was a bit anticlimactic.
7. When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead. A Newbery Award, YA book which concerns time travel and riffs heavily off A Wrinkle in Time. What's not to like? It turns out--nothing. I wish I'd read this in the 70s (as it is set there).
8. The Demon Trapper's Daughter, Jana Oliver. The first in Jana's new series, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Set in a dystopian Atlanta, a young heroine, who is taking on her father's demon trapping mantle as an apprentice, kicks ass and takes names.
9. Tales from a Goth Librarian, Kimberly Richardson.
10. All The King's Children: The Human Legacy of Alex Sanders, Jimahl di Fiosa.
11. A Coin for the Ferryman: The Death and Life of Alex Sanders, Jimahl di Fiosa.
12. Written in Time, Jerry and Sharon Ahern.
13. Firechild, The Life and Magic of Maxine Sanders, Maxine Sanders.
14. The Alex Sanders Lectures, Alex Sanders.
15. The Door into Summer, Robert A. Heinlein.
16. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith.
17. Replay, Ken Grimwood (re-read)
18. Witchcraft Today, Gerald Gardner (re-read)
19. What Witches Do, Stewart Farrar (re-read)
20. Morlock Night, KW Jeter (re-read). The book that started it all.
21. Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurences Novel, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. Met these folks at SPWF! Lots of fun :)
22. Infernal Devices, KW Jeter. I hadn't read this all those years ago, and this is, indeed, a much more recognizably steampunk work than Morlock Night, really, as it features clockwork automata and a reluctant watchmaker. (read on Kindle)
23. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson. (read on Kindle)
24. The Gospel According to Verdu, Emilie P. Bush. (read on Kindle)