Books Read in 2009

[StefanY]

Thought I'd get a jump on the new year and get the new thread started.

Finished
1. (Started in 2008) Alyson Noel - Evermore - 6
2. Henry James - Daisy Miller - 7
3. Shakespeare - Comedy of Errors - 7
4. Roald Dahl - James and the Giant Peach - 7
5.Dante Alighieri - Inferno - 4
6.Mark Twain - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 10
7.Jason Elam and Steve Yohn - Blown Coverage - 2
8. Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black - The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) - 8
9. Charles Chesnutt - The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales - 7
10. Maxine Hong Kingston - The Woman Warrior - 7
11. (Started in 2008) Joe Hill - 20th Century Ghosts - 7
12. Susan Cooper - The Boggart - 6
13. Shawn Grady - Through the Fire - 7
14. (Started in 2008) John Marco - Saints of the Sword - 8
15. (Again, this time in the original Middle English!) Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales - 7
16. Edmund Spenser - The Faerie Queene, Book 1 - 8
17. John Milton - Paradise Lost - 5
18. John Marco, Martin H. Greenberg, Various Authors - Imaginary Friends - 6
19. Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret - 9
20. J. K .Rowling - The Tales of Beedle the Bard - 6
21. Holly Lisle - The Ruby Key - 7
22. Mary Shelley - Frankenstein - 7
23. H. G. Wells - The War of the Worlds - 8
24. Isaac Asimov - I, Robot - 6
25. Walter M. Miller, Jr. - A Canticle For Leibowitz - 7
26. Stephen King - Different Seasons - 9
27. Ursula K. Le Guin - The Left Hand of Darkness - 6
28. Kate Wilhelm - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - 8
29. Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game - 9
30. Marion Bauer - Rain of Fire - 6

Total Pages Read - 9132

Total Books Read 2008 - 21 (1.75/month)
Total Pages Read 2008 - 7249 (604.1/month)

Total Books Read 2007 - 17 (1.42/month)
Total Pages Read 2007 - 6635 (552.9/month)

Total Books Read 2006 - 19 (1.58/month)
Total Pages Read 2006 - 6594 (549.5/month)

[Nikst]

1. Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K.Rowling (Re-Read)
2. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K.Rowling (Re-Read)
3. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
5. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
6. Interworld by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves
7. The Forlorn by Dave Freer
8. The First Named by Jonathan Wylie (Servants of Ark: Book one)
9. The Centre of the Circle by Jonathan Wylie (Servants of Ark: Book two)
10. The Mage-Born Child by Jonathan Wylie (Servants of Ark: Book three)
11. The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
12. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
13. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (Book one of "The First Law" trilogy) Awesome book!! Read it!
14. Stranger in a Strange Land: The Original Edition by Robert A Heinlein (uncut)
15. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie (Book two of "The First Law" trilogy) Awesome book!! Read it!
16. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie (Book three of "The First Law" trilogy) Awesome book!! Read it!
17. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
18. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (AWESOME BOOK! READ IT!!) You can download it for free on the net. But this book is worth buying!
19. The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez
20. Pyramid Scheme by Eric Flint & Dave Freer
21. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
22. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
23. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
24. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Great continuation! Mr Sanderson is the right man for the job!)
25. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
26. Hilldiggers by Neal Asher

[Archaic]

1. Shadows Linger by Glen Cook
2. Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman [reread]
3. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
4. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
5. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
6. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
7. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
8. The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
9. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
10. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
11. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
12. Armor by John Steakley
13. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
14. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
15. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
16. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
17. Shadow Games by Glen Cook
18. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
19. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
20. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
21. Dreams of Steel by Glen Cook
22. The Silver Spike by Glen Cook
23. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

[clong]

I was about half-way through the Twenty-Fourth Annual edition of Gardner Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction, but the library wouldn't let me renew it.

[moonwolf021]

This year I'll keep a better track of what I've read.

1. Grapes of Wrath - 476

[Ghost]

I finished The Pirate King by RA Salvatore


[Side Note]

I was about half-way through the Twenty-Fourth Annual edition of Gardner Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction, but the library wouldn't let me renew it.

Just before Chirstmas I picked up Gardner Dozois' 22nd and 23rd at a used book store. Finished the 22nd and started the 23rd, and found some "new" (to me at least) authors to look for.

[Zybahn]

Last year's list really fell apart for me as I forgot about the thread & then never finished it. I will nonetheless try it again this year. I'll try a countdown, as though I were planning to read 100 books...

[Okay, I'm already falling behind.]

Read:
100. Donald E. Westlake, The Hook
99. Donald E. Westlake, The Ax
98. Jeff Loeb & Tim Sale, Batman: Dark Victory
97. Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
96. Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince and Other Stories
95. Damon Knight, Cities of Wonder
94. Ivo Andric, The Vizier's Elephant
93. Saul Bellow, Seiza the Day
92. Henry Green, Concluding
91. Daniel MacIvor, House Humans
90. Daniel MacIvor, here lied henry
89. James Siegel, Derailed
88. George Saunders, Pastoralia
87. John Mighton, Possible Worlds
86. Matt Cohen, Freud: The Paris Notebooks
85. John Mighton, The Little Years
84. John Mighton, Scientific Americans
83. Daniel MacIvor, Cul-de-sac
82. Donald E. Westlake, Trust Me on This
81. Harold Pinter, Ashes to Ashes

(I've also been revisiting Dr. Seuss's oeuvre, but I won't including those.)

[sweetharleygirl]

JANUARY

1. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
( the ending really made me cry, very good book! )
2. The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton
3. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton

[spiphany]

Finished:
Mary Renault: The Praise Singer (re-read)
Tamora Pierce: Trickster's Choice
Nicholas Nicastro: Antigone's Wake
*Euripides: Bacchae (in Greek)
*W. G. Sebald: Luftkrieg und Literatur (essays; translated as A Natural History of Destruction)
*Thomas Mann: Der Tod in Venedig (Death in Venice)
*Friedrich Schiller: Über die Ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen ("On the Aesthetic Education of Man"; philosophical essay). reread
*Hans Erich Nossack: Der Untergang (report on the firebombing of Hamburg)
*Kleist: Penthesilea
*Friedrich Schlegel: Gespräch über der Poesie and Lucinde
*Christa Wolf: Kindheitsmuster (A Model Childhood). reread, mostlly
*Frederick Beiser: The Romantic Imperative (philosophy/literary history)
*Thomas Bernhard: Heldenplatz. reread
*Hermann Hesse: Steppenwolf. reread
*Herman & Vervaeck: Handbook of Narrative Analysis
*W. G. Sebald: Austerlitz
*Horkheimer & Adorno: Dialektik der Aufklärung ("Dialectic of Enlightenment." Social criticism). reread
*Goethe: Iphigenie in Tauris
*Euripides: Medea (in Greek. reread)
Jo Graham: Black Ships
*Franz Kafka: Der Prozess (The Trial). reread
*Robert Musil: "Die Amsel" (The Blackbird). reread
*Allkemper: Literaturwissenschaft (overview of German literary studies)
*Günter Grass: Im Krebsgang (Crabwalk)
*Uwe Timm: Am Beispiel meines Bruders
Thomas Mann: "Tristan"
*Peter Bürger: Theorie der Avantgarde
*Ruth Klüger: unterwegs verloren
David Malouf: An Imaginary Life
*Euripides: Hippolytus (in Greek)
Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things
Jonathan Stroud: The Golem's Eye
Sheila Finch: Triad
Richard Adams: The Unbroken Web
Dietmar Sauermann (ed): Sagen aus Westfalen (legends)
Tamora Pierce: Trickster's Queen
Sheila Finch: The Guild of Xenolinguists
Naomi Novik: Her Majesty's Dragon
Lian Hearn: Across the Nightingale Floor
A. S. Byatt: Angels & Insects
Thomas Wharton: Salamander
Robert Musil: Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß (The Confusions of Young Torless)
*Peter L. Berger: The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion
Jane Alison: The Love Artist
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
Paul Hazel: The Wealdwife's Tale (reread)
Donna Gillespie: The Light-Bearer (reread)
Diana Abu-Jaber: Crescent (reread)
Betsy James: Listening at the Gate
Ruth Downie: Medicus
Toni Morrison: Song of Solomon (reread)
Barry Hughart: Bridge of Birds
Walter Kaufmann: Tragedy and Philosophy
W.H.D. Rouse: A Greek Boy at Home
Margaret Atwood: The Penelopiad
Naomi Novik: Throne of Jade
Ellen Gilchrist: Anabasis
Lewis Grassic Gibbon: Sunset Song
Bruno Mendetti: Speak, Read, Write French
Daphne Du Maurier: Rebecca (reread)
*John Pedley: Greek Art
*William Biers: The Archaeology of Ancient Greece
Tamora Pierce: Terrier and Bloodhound
Rosemary Sutcliff: Frontier Wolf (reread)
Elisabeth Vonarburg: The Silent City
Elizabeth Bear: Blood and Iron
Rafik Schami: Das letzte Wort der Wanderratte (folk tales/fantastic stories)
Haruki Murakami: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Nicholas Ostler: Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World (reread)
Mary Renault: The Last of the Wine
Wolfgang Mieder (ed): Grimmige Märchen (contemporary fairy tale retellings)
Tim Krohn: Quatemberkinder (reread)
Heinrich Heine: Deutschland, Ein Wintermärchen
*Sophocles: Oedipus Rex (reread, this time in German, just for the sake of variety)
Emine Sevgi Özdamar: Der Spiegel im Hof
*Gotthold Lessing: Emilia Galotti
*Johann Christoph Gottsched: Sterbender Cato
Franz Rottensteiner (ed): Phantastische Zeiten (sf/literary fantasy anthology)
*Racine: Phèdre (in German)
Rafik Schami: Erzähler der Nacht
Heinrich von Kleist: Das Käthchen von Heilbronn
Theodor Storm: Aquis Submersis (reread)
Gottfried Keller: Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (reread)
Jeremias Gotthelf: "Die Schwarze Spinne" (The Black Spider) audiobook
Marlen Haushofer: Die Wand (The Wall)
*E.T.A. Hoffmann: "Der Sandmann"
Günter Grass: Hundejahre (Dog Years)
*Schiller: Maria Stuart
Inge Merkel: Eine ganz gewöhnliche Ehe. (Odysseus und Penelope)
Hugo Loetscher: Der Buckel (short stories)

Plus various articles on Euripides, Kleist, Christa Wolf, tragedy, structuralism, etc.

In progress:
Franz Stanzel: Theorie des Erzählens (narrative theory)
Stanley Appelbaum (ed): Great French Tales of Fantasy/Contes Fantastiques Célèbres
*Guy de Maupassant: Pierre et Jean (in French and German)

(starred entries are books read for class)

[severance]

Completed:
1- Maurice Flanagan - British Gangster & Exploitation Paperbacks of the Postwar Years (non-fiction)
2- Steve Holland - The Mushroom Jungle: A History of Postwar Paperback Publishing (non-fiction)
3- Steve Chibnall - Reginald Heade: England's Greatest Artist (non-fiction)
4- Peter Cheyney - I'll Say She Does!
5- Robert E. Howard - The Right Hand of Doom & Other Tales of Solomon Kane
6- Robert E. Howard - The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane - (for the fragments and miscellanea not in 'The Right Hand of Doom...')
7- Michael Storme - Make Mine a Shroud
8- R. Scott Bakker - The Darkness That Comes Before
9- R. Scott Bakker - The Warrior Prophet
10- R. Scott Bakker - The Thousandfold Thought
11- Charles Williams - The Catfish Tangle
12- Charles Williams - Gulf Coast Girl
13- Brian Ball - Malice of the Soul
14- Stephen Ransome - Some Must Watch
15- Robert Lory - Dracula Returns
16- Robert Lory - The Hand of Dracula
17- Robert Lory - Dracula's Brothers
18- Wade Miller - Guilty Bystander
19- Wade Miller - Fatal Step
20- Ian Fleming - Live and Let Die
21- Mary Reed & Eric Mayer - Four for a Boy
22- Robert E. Howard - Kull: Exile of Atlantis
23- Arthur C. Clarke - The Deep Range
24- John Whitbourn - A Dangerous Energy
25- Donald Hamilton - Murder Twice Told
26- Jonathan Craig - The Dead Darling
27- John D. MacDonald - The Drowner
28- Adam Hardy - Treasure
29- Harold Q. Masur (edited by) - Dolls are Murder
30- Cornell Woolrich - Rear Window and Four Short Novels

not yet completed:
1- Charles Williams - Go Home, Stranger

[krin]

January

1. Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik. Children's Literature 5*/5
2. Half Life by Shelley Jackson. Fiction 3*/5
3. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. Fantasy 4*/5
4. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake. Fantasy 3*/5
5. The Merchants' War by Charles Stross. SF 3*/5
6. The Narrows by Alexander C. Irvine. Urban Fantasy 3*/5
7. The King's Buccaneer by Raymond E. Feist. Fantasy 3*/5
8. Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox. Memoir 3*/5
9. Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life by Michael Dirda. Nonfiction 3*/5
10. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. Fantasy 3*/5

February

11. Gravity Wells by James Alan Gardner. SF 3*/5
12. The Cadaver's Ball by Charles Atkins. Thriller 3*/5
13. A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman. Nonfiction 4*/5
14. In Fond Remembrance of Me: A Memoir of Myth and Uncommon Friendship in the Arctic by Howard Norman. Memoir 3*/5
15. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. Fiction 3*/5
16. Hush by Mark Nykanen. Thriller 3*/5

March

17. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Fantasy 3*/5
18. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Fiction 4*/5
19. Deviant Ways by Chris Mooney. Thriller 3*/5
20. The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace. Fiction 4*/5
21. Six Moon Dance by Sheri S. Tepper. SF 3*/5
22. Middle Church by Bob Edgar. Nonfiction 3*/5

April

23. Stuart Little by E.B. White. Children's Literature 4*/5
24. Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass. Thriller 3*/5
25. Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. Fantasy 4*/5
26. Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell. Thriller 3*/5
27. Mandy by Julie Edwards. Children's Literature 3*/5

May

28. Acorna: The Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball. SF 3*/5
29. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule. Nonfiction 3*/5
30. Talking Hands by Margalit Fox. Nonfiction 3*/5

June

31. The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer. Fantasy 3*/5
32. 1610: A Sundial in a Grave by Mary Gentle. Historical Fiction 3*/5
33. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Fantasy 4*/5
34. The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban. Children's Literature 4*/5
35. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Children's Literature 4*/5

July

36. Gipsy Moth Circles the World by Sir Francis Chichester. Nonfiction/Adventure 4*/5
37. Renfield: Slave of Dracula by Barbara Hambly. Horror 3*/5
38. The Climb Up to Hell by Jack Olsen. Nonfiction 3*/5
39. Dead City by Joe McKinney. Horror 3*/5

August

40. Picoverse by Robert A. Metzger. SF 3*/5
41. The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw. Memoir 3*/5
42. Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein. SF 4*/5
43. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Nonfiction 4*/5

September

44. Denial by Keith Ablow. Mystery 3*/5
45. Green Rider by Kristen Britain. Fantasy 4*/5
46. Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. YA/Urban Fantasy 4*/5
47. Body Dump by Fred Rosen. Nonfiction 3*/5

October

48. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Nonfiction 3*/5
49. Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh. SF 3*/5
50. Fallen by David Maine. Fiction 4*/5
51. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. Historical Fiction 3*/5
52. Travis Holland. The Archivist's Story. Fiction 4*/5
53. A Wolverine is Eating My Leg by Tim Cahill. Nonfiction/Adventure 3*/5

November

54. Find Me by Carol O'Connell. Mystery 3*/5
55. Dreamside by Graham Joyce. Fantasy 3*/5
56. Murder at Hazelmoor (The Sittaford Mystery) by Agatha Christie. Mystery 3*/5
57. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Fiction 4*/5
58. Aunt Dimity: Snowbound by Nancy Atherton. Mystery 3*/5
59. 2041: Twelve Stories About the Future by Top Science Fiction Writers edited by Jane Yolen. SF 3*/5

December

60. Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett. Mystery 3*/5
61. Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. Horror 3*/5
62. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. Urban Fantasy 3*/5
63. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. Urban Fantasy 3*/5
64. Murder in Retrospect by Agatha Christie. Mystery 3*/5
65. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie. Mystery 3*/5

[tollbaby]

1- Next by Michael Crichton
2- Cooking for Mr. Right by Susan Volland

[clong]

1. The Best of Philip Jose Farmer - This left me with mixed feelings. I tend to like Farmer when he's at his funniest.
2. Double or Quits by A.A. Fair - not among the best in the series, but somewhat redeemed by important backstory scenes.
3. They Shall Have Stars by James Blish - I liked one of the two storylines in this first novel of the Cities in Flight series quite a bit...The other one not so much.
4. A Life for the Stars by James Blish - book 2 of the Cities in Flight was quite a change of setting and narrative style, in some ways more effective, in other ways less interesting.
5. The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook was a mixed bag.
6. Earthman, Come Home by James Blish - was moderately entertaining, but only it you didn't stop to really think about it.
7. The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection (edited) by Gardner Dozois - was a bit more of a mixed bag than usual, although I certainly found stories to appreciate.
8. Fools Die on Friday by A.A. Fair, an interesting set-up and a surprising ending, but not one of the best in the series.
9. The Triumph of Time (aka A Clash of Cymbals) by James Blish - which was a fittingly weak conclusion to the Cities in Flight tetralogy.
10. The Marching Morons by C.M. Kornbluth - not the strongest collection ever, but a welcome return to science fiction which felt some kinship to reality.
11. Way Station by Clifford Simak - the best scifi novel I've read in some time, and one of the better early 60s novels in the genre.
12. Journey Beyond Tomorrow by Robert Sheckley - The first half of this kept me highly amused, but it started to lose in the second half. Sheckley at his best is one of the funniest writers in scifi.
13. The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler - not as good as his best.
14. The Practice Effect by David Brin - not as good as his best, either.
15. Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon - which I liked a lot, more than his more famous More Than Human
16. Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson - There is something very natural about Gibson's storytelling (even in a very complicated story), but I didn't find this to be a particularly compelling novel.
17. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler - great atmosphere, but an overly convoluted plot and moments that left me unconvinced.
18. Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish by Dorothy Gilman - not as good as the others I've read in this series
19. The Devil's Eye by Jack McDevitt a very satisfying ending salvaged what was otherwise a someone disappointing entry in the Alex Benedict/Chase Kolpath canon.
20. Bats Fly at Dusk by A.A. Fair - this is the one where Donald is off fighting the Japanese and Bertha tries to solve a tricky murder mystery on her own. I wanted to like this story, but it felt like a bit of a cop out at the end.
21. Noon: 22nd Century by the Brothers Strugatsky - a very good book from one of the best author teams out there.
22. Fish or Cut Bait by A.A. Fair - another fun book in the Donald Lam / Bertha Cool series, if a bit contrived
23. Some Women Won't Wait by A.A. Fair - fun, but not without flaws
24. Spill the Jackpot by A.A. Fair - I think this may be the best of the Lam/Cool books. Donald is a much more complicated character, and Bertha gets in touch with her feminine side. Fun, funny, and touching.
25. Cats Prowl at Night by A.A. Fair - the last of the Lam/Cool books my mother had leant me was pretty good, if not among the best. Donald's on vacation, and Bertha solves this one solo.
26. Space Opera Renaissance edited by Hartwell and Cramer - some great stories, but a bit of a mixed bag
27. The Metamorphosis, the Penal Colony, and Other Stories by Franz Kafka - Some mesmerizing images, but not particularly great storytelling
28. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement - good book, in a classic scifi vein.
29. Pilgrimage to Earth by Robert Sheckley - consistently witty, with the effortless facility that marks early Sheckley.
30. Nightflyers by GRRMartin - "A Song for Lya" is a very good story, and I like "Override", but the other three stories in this collection did little for me.
31. Nightside of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe - not as hard of a read as the Severian series, but with a similar engaging immediacy. I look forward to book 2.
32. Roderick by John Sladek - a good book that could have been a great book with some aggressive editing.
33. Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany - an interesting read, if not among Delany's best. Review written, but can't post it yet.
34. Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer - good book, at times funny and times moving
35. The Trials of Rumpole and
36. Rumpole's Return by John Mortimer - provide more in the same vein, but don't add much to the first book.
37. Lake of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe - a solid follow up to Nightside continues the relentless story of Silk.
38. Escape Attempt by the Brothers Strugatsky - the first two stories were disappointing, the last one quite a good first contact story with a twist.
39. Teckla by Steven Brust - the least satisfying Jhereg book to date
40. The Swords of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber - great fun.
41. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer by Philip K. Dick - not at all what I expected, but I liked it quite a bit.
42. Strange Wine by Harlan Ellison - left me rather disappointed.
43. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner - an interesting exercise in storytelling, with some intriguing ideas. Not nearly as hard of a read as I had expected based on comments I've seen.
44. Slan by A.E. van Vogt - a classic, and only a bit dated.
45 The Dirdir by Jack Vance - The third planet of adventure novel gives us more of the same, if anything a bit more focused. This is unabashedly male escapist fantasy, but in a reasonably innocuous way.
46. The Sword of Angels by John Marco - was John's least effective book to date.
47. The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare - a nice change of pace, and reasonably funny, but clearly not in the same class as the bard's best.
48. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - I've heard it before as a book on tape, and seen the movie several times, but my first time reading it in book form. I'd say that, for what it is, it's just about perfect, except for final climactic confrontation scene, which didn't work for me on multiple levels.
49. Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare - again, a few funny moments, but not in the same class as his best.
50. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - less of a sense of wonder, but a better ending.
51. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - a bit more ambitious than the first two books.
52. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - this one was in a whole new league from the earlier books: funny, touching, scary. Great book.
53. Roderick at Random by John Sladek - had funny moments, but didn't really have much to add to what the first book had already said.
54. and 55. Calde of the Long Sun and Exodus from the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe - more good stuff from Wolfe, although I found the final novel a bit of a letdown.
56. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling - better than the film, but not nearly as good as book 4.
57. Store of Infinity by Robert Sheckley - a couple of great stories, and lots of good ones. Nothing profound (except perhaps the title story), but these are vintage Sheckley at his effortless, entertaining witty best.
58. Crown of Stars by James Tiptree, Jr. - a few good stories, but not up to the level of her best.
59. Merchanter's Luck by CJ Cherryh - another effective story set in the Alliance-Union universe. Believable characters who are doing their best to survive in a challenging universe.
60. San Diego Lightfoot Sue and Other Stories by Tom Reamy - there were several strong stories here, but somehow I didn't like this collection as much as I had expected to.
61. To Marry Medusa by Theodore Sturgeon (aka The Cosmic Rape) - not among his best...includes a few memorable concepts that also appear in TS short stories.
62. Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber - one quite good story, one so-so story, and one in between.
63. Eight Fantasms and Magics by Jack Vance - a nice collection of early sf stories.
64. The City & The City by China Mieville - a bit contrived, but quite a good book nonetheless.
65. Greybeard by Brian Aldiss - a very good book in the pastoral requiem for humanity vein.
66. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling - this one had a few nice moments, but felt awfully contrived and inorganic. Several scenes left me scratching my head.
67. Memoirs of a Space Traveler by Stanislaw Lem - overall, I liked this more than those parts of Star Diaries that were included in the initial English Translation.
68. Phoenix by Steven Brust - somewhat of an improvement over the prior (chronologically anyway) book, but still not as good as the earlier books.
69. The Book of Dreams by Jack Vance - a bit of a mixed bag, but definitely an improvement over books 3 & 4 of the series.
70. Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson - I really liked some things about this book, but overall I think it is the weakest of the series.
71. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle - comments to come in the reading group discussion.

[rip8fan1]

1. The Fire Within - Chris D'Lacey - 7
2. Legacies - F. Paul Wilson - 6
3. One False Note - Gordon Korman
4. Icefire - Chris D'Lacey - 7
5. Night of the Living Gerbil - Elizabeth Levy
6. Charlie Bone and the Beast - Jenny Nimmo - 7
7. Charlie Bone and the Shadow - Jenny Nimmo - 6
8. Area 7 - Matthew Reilly - 7
9. Plum Spooky - Janet Evanovich - 6
10. The Lions of Lucerne - Brad Thor - 7
11. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw - Jeff Kinney
12. Vulcan's Forge - Jack DuBrul - 8
13. The Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly - 7
14. Murder of a Small-Town Honey - Denise Swanson - 7
15. Gregor the Overlander - Suzanne Collins - 6
16. Inkheart - Cornelia Funke - 5
17. The Devil Knows You're Dead - Lawrence Block - 7
18. Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz - 7
19. Point Blank - Anthony Horowitz - 7
20. Mystery of Metru Nui - Greg Farshtey
21. Skeleton Key - Anthony Horowitz - 6
22. Eagle Strike - Anthony Horowitz - 7
23. Trial By Fire - Greg Farshtey
24. The Terror - Dan Simmons - 6 (which I rated too high, should be 4!)
25. The Warrior Heir - Cinda Williams Chima - 8
26. Donkey Kong Country - Michael Teitelbaum
27. My Teacher Ate My Homework - Dan Greenburg
28. Scorpia - Anthony Horowitz - 8
29. Murder of a Sweet Old Lady - Denise Swanson - 7
30. Ark Angel - Anthony Horowitz - 8
31. Wicked - Gregory Maguire - 7
32. Witch Season - Summer - Jeff Mariotte - 8
33. Witch Season - Fall - Jeff Mariotte - 7
34. The Faithful Spy - Alex Berenson - 7
35. Michaelangelo's Notebook (Finn Ryan 1) - Paul Christopher - 7.5
36. Snakehead - Anthony Horowitz - 6
37. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo - Obert Skye - 7
38. Sandstorm (Sigma Force 1) - James Rollins - 8
39. The Lucifer Gospel (Finn Ryan 2) - Paul Christopher - 7.5
40. Blood Captain (Vampirates 3) - Justin Somper - 7
41. Scarecrow (Shane Scofield 3) - Matthew Reilly - 7.5
42. Fire Star (Dragons 3) - Chris D'Lacey - 7
43. Rembrand's Ghost (Finn Ryan 3) - Paul Christopher - 7
44. The Sword Thief (The 39 Clues 3) - Peter Lerangis - 6.5
45. The Godwulf Manuscript (Spenser 1) - Robert B. Parker - 8
46. Hawke (Hawke 1) - Ted Bell - 7
47. Artic Drift (Dirk Pitt 20) - Clive Cussler 7.5
48. God Save the Child (Spenser 2) - Robert B. Parker - 8
49. Witch Season - Winter - Jeff Mariotte - 7
50. The Aztec Heresy (Finn Ryan 4) - Paul Christopher - 8
51. Event (Event Group Thrillers 1) - David Lynn Golemon - 8
52. Witch Season - Spring - Jeff Mariotte - 8
53. The Mystery of the Biltmore House - Carole Marsh - 7
54. Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret - Obert Skye - 6.5
55. Beyond the Grave (The 39 Clues 4) - Jude Watson - 7
56. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum 15) - Janet Evanovich - 7
57. Map of Bones (Sigma Force 2) - James Rollins - 6.5
58. Mortal Stakes (Spenser 3) - Robert B. Parker - 8.5
59. So You Want to be a Wizard (Young Wizards 1) - Diane Duane - 7.5
60. The Fire Eternal (Dragons 4) - Chris D'Lacey - 5.5
61. Relentless - Dean Koontz - 8.5
62. The Crystal Skull - Manda Scott - 6.5
63. Temple - Matthew Reilly - 8
64. The Book of Fate - Brad Meltzer 7
65. Murder in the White House (Capital Crimes 1) by Margaret Truman 7.5
66. Dead and Alive (Frankenstein 3) by Dean Koontz 8
67. A Long Line of Dead Men (Matthew Scudder 12) by Lawrence Block 8
68. The Loch by Steve Alten 7
69. H.I.V.E. (HIVE 1) by Mark Walden 7
70. Lost City (NUMA files 6) by Clive Cussler 7.5
71. Legend (Event Group Thrillers 2) by David Lynn Golemon 6.5
72. Promised Land (Spenser 4) - Robert B. Parker - 7.5
73. Meg (Meg 1) - Steve Alten 7.5
74. The Judas Goat (Spenser 5) - Robert B. Parker - 8
75. Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven 3) - Brandon Mull - 6
76. Final Theory - Mark Alpert - 8.5
77. The Diamond of Darkhold (Books of Ember 4) - Jeanne DuPrau - 6
78. The Pawn - Steven James - 8.5
79. Conspiracies (Repairman Jack, 3) - F. Paul Wilson - 8
80. The Sword of the Templars - Paul Christopher - 7
81. The Trench (Meg 2) - Steve Alten - 7
82. Looking for Rachel Wallace (Spenser 6) - Robert Parker - 7.5
83. Early Autumn (Spenser 7) - Robert Parker - 7.5
84. Syren (Septimus Heap 5) - Angie Sage - 6
85. The Black Circle (The 39 Clues 5) - Patrick Carman - 7
86. The Rattlesnake Season (Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger 1) - Larry D. Sweazy - 7
87. The Hunt for Atlantis (Nina Wilde / Eddie Chase 1) - Andy McDermott - 8.5
88. A Savage Place (Spenser 8 ) - Robert Parker - 8
89. Ceremony (Spenser 9) - Robert Parker - 8
90. The Widening Gyre (Spenser 10) - Robert Parker - 8
91. Valediction (Spenser 11) - Robert Parker - 8
92. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown - 7
93. A Catskill Eagle (Spenser 12) - Robert Parker - 8
94. Taming a Sea-Horse (Spenser 13) - Robert Parker - 8
95. Neon Rain - James Lee Burke - 6.5
96. The Tomb of Hercules (Nina Wilde / Eddie Chase 2) - Andy McDermott - 8
97. Pale Kings and Princes (Spenser 14) - Robert Parker - 7
98. Crimson Joy (Spenser 15) - Robert Parker - 8
99. Playmates (Spenser 16) - Robert Parker - 8
100. Brimstone (Pendergast 5) - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - 7
101. Stardust (Spenser 17) - Robert Parker - 7
102. 2012 - Whitley Strieber - 5.5
103. Breathless - Dean Koontz - 7
104. Pastime (Spenser 18) - Robert Parker - 7.5
105. Double Deuce (Spenser 19) - Robert Parker - 8
106. Paper Doll (Spenser 20) - Robert Parker - 7.5
107. What Were They Thinking? - Kyle Garlett - 8
108. A Study in Scarlet - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - 6.5
109. In Too Deep (The 39 Clues 6) - Jude Watson - 6.5
110. Walking Shadow (Spenser 21) - Robert Parker - 7
111. Double Play - Robert Parker - 7

[JumpingFrog]

1. The Uncollected Wodehouse - P. G. Wodehouse, a nice collection of short stories (most of which I'd never come across before)
2. The Yellow Knight of Oz - Ruth Plumly Thompson, the 2nd Thompson Oz book I've read not up to L. frank Baum standards but much better than The Royal book of Oz

In progress;
The Lad and the Lion - Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Doctor Who Story Book 2009 - Various
The Complete Lyrics of Lorenz Hart - Lorenz Hart (which counts as poetry for me)

[gpackin]

I haven't had the time to do any personal reading at all so far, and it doesn't look like I will have any for the entire year.

[PolarisDiB]

1) Cryptonomicon -- Neal Stephenson
2) The Book of Lost Things -- John Connolly
3) Quicksilver -- Neal Stephenson
4) Spring Moon -- Bette Bao Lord
5) The Confusion -- Neal Stephenson
6) Angels and Demons -- Dan Brown
7) The Woman in the Dunes -- Kobo Abe
8) The Prophet -- Kahlil Gibran
9) The System of the World -- Neal Stephenson
10) Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert Heinlein
11) The Kindly Ones -- Jonathan Littell
12) Film Editing: History, Theory and Practice -- Don Fairservice
13) The Man Who Folded Himself -- David Gerrold
14) Snow Crash -- Neal Stephenson
15) Cloud Atlas -- David Mitchell
16) Out -- Natsuo Kirino
17) Inherent Vice -- Thomas Pynchon
18) The Marquis de Sade: a new biography -- Donald Thomas
19) Amberville -- Tim Davys
20) The Diamond Age; or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer -- Neal Stephenson
21) 2666 -- Roberto Bolano
22) Generation A -- Douglas Coupland
23) Real World -- Natsuo Kirino

Other reading:

McSweeney's 29
Transmetropolitan 5: Lonely City -- Warren Ellis
Transmetropolitan 6: Gouge -- Warren Ellis
McSweeney's 30
Batman: The Killing Joke -- Alan Moore
Transmetropolitan 7: Spider's Thrash -- Warren Ellis
Transmetropolitan 8: Dirge -- Warren Ellis
McSweeney's 31
McSweeney's 32
Transmetropolitan 9: The Cure -- Warren Ellis

--PolarisDiB

[Bob Over Mars]

Hmm, could be fun to keep track of what/how much I read ... was there also a thread like this for 2008?

What I've finished reading so far: Murakami: Norwegian Wood, Dostoevsky: Notes From Underground and a quite short Danish novel (not sure how to translate the title).

Currently reading:

The Brothers Karamazov (p. 200 something)

Gave up on:

'salem's Lot (about halfway through)

[clong]

Hmm, could be fun to keep track of what/how much I read ... was there also a thread like this for 2008?

There was: viewtopic.php?t=117071

[Blackwing]

January:
a= audio book

1. Kage Baker: In the Garden of Iden
2. Elizabeth Peters: The Last Camel Died at Noon
3. Cook: Nights of Sin
4. Rachel Caine: Ill Wind
5. Charlaine Harris: Dead until dark
6. Biggs: Bragon Bones
7. Hamilton: Guilty Pleasures
8. Bujold: Memory a
9. Peter David: House of Cards a
10. David: Into the Void a
11. Martin: The Red King
12. Rusch: Consequences

[moonwolf021]

1. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 476
2. Everlost by Neal Shusterman - 384

[Blackwing]

Finished in February:
a= audiobook, t= I read the Finnish translation, r= read for review

13 Hammond: Ex-Cop r
14 Matheson: I am Legend t
15 Green: Something from the Nightside a
16 Kushner: Thomas the Rhymer t
17 Patricia Briggs: Moon Called
18 Rusch: Buried Deep a
19 Resnick: Starship: Mutiny book 1 a
20 Dave Duncan: Alchemist’s Apprentice a
21 Jack Campbell: Dauntless the Lost Fleet book 1 a
22 Sharon Shinn: Mystic and the Rider a
23 Leena Krohn: Mehiläispaviljonki (in Finnish)

[moonwolf021]

1. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 476
2. Everlost by Neal Shusterman - 384
3. Soul Eater by Michelle Paver - 336

(I've been reading a bunch of middle school aged books lately, that way I can read an entire book in one day despite my crazy schedule. It works and keeps me reading.)

[moonwolf021]

1. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - 476
2. Everlost by Neal Shusterman - 384
3. Soul Eater by Michelle Paver - 336
4. Dark Secrets Dont Tell by Elizabeth Chandler - ?

[moonwolf021]

Currently reading:

The Brothers Karamazov (p. 200 something)

Ahh, Dostoyevsky. After Crime and Punishment, I might read The Brothers Karamzov. Would you recommend it?