racking up the list

[kaigou]

Actually, with maybe one or two books I've forgotten (because they were that forgettable), here's what I squeezed into my brain managed to read in the past year. Yowser. Plus, comments, just because, but trying to be fair whenever possible. (Besides, if you have recommendations for me, this'll tell you what did, and did not, appeal to me & why.)

EDIT: forgot one. Tells you something that I'd blocked out memory so thoroughly of it. Added it to end of fiction list. Asterisks indicate those books I finished only by skimming, just out of sheer obstinancy -- whether this meant just the last few chapters, or the entire second half, and by reading every few paragraphs or random pages here and there, I ain't saying. Suffice it to say, books with asterisks are ones where finishing took concerted effort on my end.

FICTION


1. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin.
   
2. A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin.
   
3. A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin.
   ◦ George R R Martin
   Plus: Understands the concept of throwing rocks at characters.
   Minus: Throws boulders.
   Read more? Possibly. Uncertain about rumors that next book is two parts & neglects my favorite characters.
   
   
4. Black Sun Rising*
   ◦ CS Friedman
   Plus: Intriguing premise.
   Minus: Character motivations not convincing.
   Read more? Doubtful.
   
   
5. Nightlife*
   ◦ Rob Thurman
   Plus: Strong character voice.
   Minus: Needs lots more work on economics of underground.
   Read more? Maybe. Will wait for reviews this time.
   
   
6. Paladin of Souls
   
7. The Curse of Chalion
   ◦ Lois McMaster Bujold
   Plus: No one is clearly good or clearly bad; complex intrigue.
   Minus: Sometimes gets lost with so many characters.
   Read more? Eventually.
   
   
8. His Majesty's Dragon
   
9. Black Powder War
   
10. Throne of Jade
    ◦ Naomi Novik
    Plus: Excellent twist on dragon genre and Napoleonic historical fiction.
    Minus: background characters often too background.
    Read more? Absolutely.
    
    
11. Valiant
    ◦ Holly Black.
    Plus: This woman can make you taste the grit between your teeth.
    Minus: The bad mother trope is a standard of YA, but really not my thing.
    Read more? Absolutely!
    
    
12. Last Light of the Sun
    
13. Sailing to Sarantium*
    ◦ Guy Gavriel Kay
    Plus: Gorgeously researched.
    Minus: Ponderous, loves the editorializing.
    Read more: Thanks, but not my thing.
    
    
14. Smoke and Shadows
    
15. Blood Price
    
16. Blood Trail
    
17. Blood Pact
    
18. Blood Debt
    ◦ Tanya Huff
    Plus: bisexual protag.
    Minus: Just because you're pretty much it when it comes to urban fantasy with strong and rounded GLBT characters doesn't mean you can slack on filling plotholes.
    Read more? I've read enough, but I could be convinced by a trusted friend, maybe.
    
    
19. King Rat
    ◦ China Mieville
    Plus: Melts English into fantastical combination of archaic and slang that works.
    Minus: his politics got in the way of his story.
    Read more? Doubtful.
    
    
20. Compass Rose
    
21. Barbed Rose
    ◦ Gail Dayton
    Plus: well-rounded world-building, fascinating relationship concepts
    Minus: veers just a little close to Mary Sue at times
    Read more? Yes. Totally.
    
    
22. The Gypsy*
    ◦ Steven Brust & Megan Lindholm
    Plus: Wait, something will come to me. Poetic language, perhaps.
    Minus: First half of book could've been cut and nothing lost.
    Read more? Not if the others are anything like this one.
    
    
23. Giants of the Frost
    ◦ Kim Wilkins
    Plus: entrancing, suspenseful, cool take on Norse legends
    Minus: on the bleak side, main character a little neurotic (though that did work in context)
    Read more? If I'm certain other works also have fantasy element; she normally writes 'paranormal romance', which isn't my thing
    
    
24. Moon Called
    ◦ Patricia Briggs
    Plus: For once, the werewolves aren't better than humans, nor all "in touch with nature" crap
    Minus: They're still werewolves.
    Read more? maybe, could be convinced by any friends who read it first
    
    
25. Something from the Nightside*
    ◦ Simon R. Green
    Plus: Urban fantasy with only hints at intricate backstory.
    Minus: Unable to stop shoving hints at intricate foreboding backstory down my frickin' throat.
    Read more? Pretty much a no.
    
    
26. Perfect Circle
    
27. Mockingbird
    ◦ Sean Stewart
    Plus: Amazing quirky human characters, believable fantastical magical realism
    Minus: Stories keep ending, damn it.
    Read more? You got it.
    
    
28. Bedlam's Bard*
    ◦ Mercedes Lackey, Rosemary Edghill
    Plus: Uhm, okay, among the first to really mix fantastical into modern urban setting
    Minus: Oh, look, another frickin' Renfest addict character. And the italics, how they burn!
    Read more? You'd have to pay me.
    
    
29. Strange Adventures of Rangergirl
    ◦ Tim Pratt
    Plus: quirky, engaging main character, peculiar and different premise
    Minus: Walked the edge of 'writer writing about writer' with instead 'writer writing about comic-book writer'
    Read more? Possibly.
    
    
30. A Prince Among Men*
    ◦ Robert Charrette
    Plus: Concept. That's about it.
    Minus: Everything else.
    Read more? No. Just no.
    
    
31. Tropic of Night
    
32. Night of the Jaguar
    
33. Valley of Bones
    ◦ Michael Gruber
    Plus: Amazing crossover between fantastical/magical-realism, police procedure, thriller, and anthropological treatises.
    Minus: Can go a bit thin when mixing magic into finale, walking the line on magic ex machina.
    Read more? Hell yeah.
    
    
34. The Traveler
    ◦ John Twelve Hawks
    Plus: Gibson's love child + cool take on modern world to create believeable paranoia
    Minus: A little too paranoid at times, just something in the tone...
    Read more? Possibly.
    
    
35. Storm Front
    
36. Fool Moon
    
37. Grave Peril
    
38. Summer Knight
    ◦ Jim Butcher
    Plus: Harry is a screwup, deadpan humor rocks, and even tangential characters are strongly written
    Minus: Introducing new characters in later books is done awkwardly.
    Read more? only because reviews/critics say his 5th book is the strongest in the series
    
    
39. Heroics for Beginners
    ◦ John Moore
    Plus: Skews every possible fantasy cliche.
    Minus: Can't see I'd want more; one was enough.
    Read more? doubtful; reviews indicate his next books are the same schtick
    
    
40. Hard Rain
    
41. Rain Storm
    
42. Killing Rain
    ◦ Barry Eisler
    Plus: Awesomely multicultural, with strong feeling of been-there
    Minus: Goes a little overboard on the fighting/guns details, verging on showing-off
    Read more? Hell yeah.
    
    
43. Nine Layers of Sky
    ◦ Liz Williams
    Plus: bleak, wintry setting; fascinating twist; unusual protags
    Minus: love story wasn't nearly as developed -- rushed at points, that is
    Read more? Possibly.
    
    
44. Playback
    ◦ Raymond Chandler
    Plus: dude, it's Raymond Chandler.
    Minus: the guy is dead and I've read all his work now.
    Read more? Guess I'm stuck with rereading...
    
    
45. The Anubis Gates
    ◦ Tim Powers
    Plus: Contains everything and the kitchen sink, and three llamas in there somewhere.
    Minus: A few chapters near the end had distinct "oh shit have to finish soon" feeling.
    Read more? yes
    
    
46. Gun with Occassional Music
    
47. Amnesia Moon*
    ◦ Jonathan Lethem
    Plus: Love child of Hunter Thompson and Raymond Chandler, on acid.
    Minus: Needs some serious work on providing an ending...any ending.
    Read more? No, sadly.
    
    
48. Once Upon Stilletos
    ◦ Shanna Swendson
    Plus: great voice, still kooky, still down-to-earth girl in city, still charming
    Minus: the series' arc-villian plot is starting to look rather thin
    Read more? hell yeah
    
    
49. Bourne Identity
    
50. Bourne Ultimatum
    ◦ Robert Ludlum
    Plus: Damn, I didn't see that coming...or that...or that...
    Minus: Verges on over-involved, glossing potential plotholes
    Read more? Yep!
    
    
51. Melusine
    ◦ Sarah Monette
    Plus: Excellent character voice, great portrayal of (magical-induced) madness
    Minus: Dragged; diverging stories needed to merge earlier, somehow
    Read more? Depends on reviews/critiques
    
    
52. Privilege of the Sword
    ◦ Ellen Kushner
    Plus: Believable main protag, complex intrigue
    Minus: Still verges on melodrama at times.
    Read more? maybe, if friends recommend
    
    
53. Dragon's Eye
    ◦ James Hetley
    Plus: strong lesbian characters, evocative setting/description
    Minus: The Mary Sue! Kill it! Kill it!
    Read more? no
    
    
54. Staying Dead
    
55. Curse the Dark
    
56. Bring it On*
    ◦ Laura Anne Gilman
    Plus: strong female character, capable handling of secondary characters
    Minus: tertiary characters blend; yet another Sekkrit Organizashun Running Everything
    Read more? not sure; getting tired of Sekkrit Org trope.
    
    
57. Lies of Locke Lamora
    ◦ Scott Lynch
    Plus: snarky, up-to-no-good inventive and immoral protags, yay; secondary characters not TSTL
    Minus: ending a bit too pat and/or quick compared to build-up
    Read more? yes
    
    
58. Song of the Beast
    ◦ Carol Berg
    Plus: Really did manage to keep plot/motivation simple and withhold payoff for 300+ pages.
    Minus: Background characters sometimes became mix-and-match.
    Read more? yes
    
    
59. Rush*
    ◦ Kim Wozenkraft
    Plus: intense, pulled no punches
    Minus: some end to the bleakness, please, and enough with the TSTL
    Read more? no thanks.
    
    
60. Path of Blood
    ◦ Diana Pharaoh Francis
    Plus: strong female character, didn't flinch on consequences
    Minus: Single POV can = unreliable narrator can = unexpected behaviors from secondary characters
    Read more? yep, rest of series is sitting right here!
    
    
61. Singer of Souls
    ◦ Adam Stemple
    Plus: Different take on power of music, drug use, fairy world
    Minus: Ending was distinctly emotionally unsatisfying
    Read more? maybe
    
    
62. Living Next Door to the God of Love*
    ◦ Justina Robson
    Plus: Interesting premise, some gorgeous turns of phrase.
    Minus: Even the entire thesaurus won't mask an ignorance of physics in a story whose lynchpin is physics: ends up a lot of pretty words signifiying jack.
    Read more? Ha, ha. Not unless Robson's been cut off from Scientific American and Babbelfish.
    
    
    NONFICTION
    
    
63. Trust Me
    ◦ Richard Ratcke
    
    
64. Phoenix: Cesare Borgia: His Life and Times
    ◦ Sarah Bradford
    
    
65. Undercover and Alone
    ◦ William Queen
    
    
66. Hot Shots and Heavy Hits
    ◦ Paul Doyle
    
    
67. Without A Badge: Undercover in the World's Deadliest Criminal Organization
    ◦ Jerry Speziale
    
    
68. Speed Tribes
    ◦ Karl Taro Greenfeld
    
    
69. Alec Baldwin Doesn't Love Me
    ◦ Michael Thomas Ford
    
    
70. Cesar's Way
    ◦ Cesar Millan
    
    
71. Do You Speak American?
    ◦ Robert MacNeil
    
    
    DIDN'T FINISH
    
    

• Princess of Roumania
  ◦ Paul Park
  Why: because I couldn't make heads nor tails of the opening chronology, and two chapters of a whole lotta telling with scant showing was enough to disincline me to keep going.
  
  
• Nightwatch
  ◦ Sergei Lukyanenko
  Why: it felt like...the kind of thing that, in the US, would get sent back with a note to investigate writer's critique groups. Good premise, needs work. In Russia, perhaps it was so unusual this made its flaws forgiveable; perhaps its translator just couldn't grasp subtleties so used simple third-grade words, which compounded a rather sparse characterization style.
  
  
• The Black Tattoo
  ◦ Sam Enthoven
  Why: because if I want a he's-the-chosen-one Mary Sue story filled with cardboard stereotypes and rushed development, I'll go read some fanfiction.
  
  
• The Levanter
  ◦ Eric Ambler
  Why: I'd just come off reading Ludlum and Eisler; Ambler's style is far slower and more thoughtful. I just couldn't adjust, I suppose.
  
  
• The Polish Officer
  ◦ Alan Furst
  Why: Same as for Ambler, though Furst's characterizations, premise, and setting are masterfully done.
  
  
• Pattern Recognition
  ◦ William Gibson
  Why: I wanted to like it, I really did. But I paused to do something else...and never went back. One chapter in, and I still hadn't hit that, "I wonder what's going to happen" feeling.
  
  
• The Birth of Venus
  ◦ Sarah Dunant
  Why: Unbelievably gratuitous historical inaccuracies that jarred me so much I wanted to mail the book back to the author with a note: "feminism? Newsflash: twentieth-century concept. Really."
  
  
• The Borgia Bride
  ◦ Jeanne Kalogridis
  Why: Lucrezia Borgia as a jealous, rapacious, poisoning evil-doer -- a slander debunked for some time now. Find another villian, please, she's been villianized enough.
  
  
• The Night Manager
  ◦ John le Carré
  Why: Everything hinged on me believing the protag would uproot his life to kill this one guy. A third of the way in, I still didn't believe it. Nuff said.
  
  
• Outside the Dog Museum
  ◦ Jonathan Carroll
  Why: Just couldn't get into it. Tried, failed, maybe will try later. Haven't traded the book in, at least.

I suspect I'm missing a few, here and there (probably in the nonfiction category mostly), but hey. Wow. That's quite a bit, considering I didn't really start reading this year until about March, when I started working (and thus had money, and lunchtime, to burn).

Part of the reason I read so much was a) this 52-book challenge going around, which prompted much moaning from participants that they'd never, ever get that many books read! And b) the realization that if I'm going to keep from treading the same tired tropes myself, I need to be aware of what's out there. It's not competition per se, so much as "what is being read/sold".

I was going to ponder what I'd learned from what I've read, but I'll save that for a later post. Now I just need a chance to boggle.

Comments

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

Wow . . . First, totally impressed that you can remember what you read last year. Cause pretty much it's a fog to me. For the most part. I do remember not finishing the same Park novel, for the same reasons. I've not read Barry Eisler, but I may now. I think you read the weakest of Carol's novels, though. Which says a lot about how well she can write. Do you have a top novel you read last year? One that sticks in your head as want to read again? I'm trying to think if I have any of those . . . Not sure at this point. Maybe Patricia McKillip's Od Magic. I reread Bleak House, but that's Dickens and Hey--I'm usually up for rereading Dickens. I will probably read the Novik books again, but that's sort of a recap to catch me up again for the next book when it comes out. I've been hearing about Once Upon Stilletos. Need to pick that up. I liked Mooncalled, but part of that is because it's light and quick and fun, and part of it is that it's set around here. And I've heard Patti Read from it it and she's a fab reader.

And now, anon. Because I have work I must do. Don't laugh. I'll get some done.

Di

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

Hrm, I'd recommend at least one of Eisler's works (they're pretty supported on the previous, so you can pick up at any point, though you'll get spoilers for the previous). He's tight, fast, good with the multiculturalism, has an ear/eye for settings, and solid on the usual thriller (without the whole Sekkrit Organization crap I hate so much).

I'd also say Gruber isn't to be missed -- start with his first, having that PhD brain you might enjoy it more. Really seamless mix of magical realism, police procedural, and he just 'gets' the voices of Miami so well.

In urban fantasy? I dunno. None of them truly scratched my itch the way I wanted, not to the degree DeLint did when I first read him. I'd say Holly's Tithe for its nitty-gritty version of NYC, and Shanna's Enchanted Inc for its charming stranger-in-a-strange-land version (and totally awesome upsidedownness on the usual trope). Once Upon Stilleto's was the 2nd in the series.

Shanna's, it's best to start with the first in her series. Not because you'd have to, but because it's all so quirkily kooky you might as well start at the beginning and enjoy all of it. It's like chicklit but not Bridget-Jones-self-absorption, more like what I'd expect to read if someone were writing a treatment for a Claudette Colbert vehicle: that kind of charming, gawky at times, unselfconcious, eyes-wide-open feeling.

Those two in the fantasy genre, and the first two in the thriller genre. I guess those are the ones that made me stop and go, damn it! Why can't I write like that?

[christeos-pir.livejournal.com]

Even more interesting is that you read very little, at least genre, the previous year while re-revising Dancing.

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

I think at the time I was still mostly reading nonfiction, when I read. Coming off the time in school, I had to shake that dislike any time I saw a book, that post-college association of book=assignment.

Erm, not that I'm saying everyone has that reaction. Make sure to read for pleasure while in school, that might help. (I didn't, either time.)

[hinotori.livejournal.com]

Oooooh. My list of "to read"-books just gained another five books or such. :D Also, I'm really, REALLY impressed with the sheer volume you managed to get through -- I think I only read what, thirty books this year? Not little as a whole, but it withers in comparison. And I'm twenty books short of the "50 books" challenge, too. *grumbles*

I've got Martin's A Murder Of Crows upstairs and strongly suspect that it will prompt its share of "HOW COULD HE!?"-posts... We'll see.

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

Yes, but you've been at uni -- I can only imagine how many other books sit on your shelf that you've had to read, that IMO would most definitely count as "reading". The fact that you had to do it for a class is no less reading. IMO. Nyah.

[maldoror-gw.livejournal.com]

'George R R Martin...Read more? Possibly. Uncertain about rumors that next book is two parts & neglects my favorite characters.'

Yeah, the next book was divided into two parts, and only deals with half the characters. I adore this man's writing, but at this point, I'm afraid I have to say that this humble reader believes he could have used a little editing ^^; It's a bit too late in the story to start yet ANOTHER plot line with brand new POV practically-main characters, from a whole different country at that. I'll still get the next one, probably, but I'm suddenly a little worried.

I picked up Princess of Roumania. As in, picked it up off the bookshelf, read the synopsis, and then put it back on the bookshelf and walked away composing LJ editorials in my mind on How Not To Write Your Back Cover, and How Mary Sues Are Coming Out Of The Fandoms And Into Your Bookstore.

I've got a couple of those on my to-read list already, from your previous recs ^_^ And I also picked up two urban fantasy books awhile back, because you've gotten me interested in the genre now - it's not usually my style, I was traumatized by too many Lackey wanabes when young, tragic story. The first one should have been the best thing since sliced bread and turned out to suck eggs. The other one is in my book list; roman noir meets supernatural, and a quick glance at dialogue shows the protag to talk/act a little like Marlowe, or at least he wants to. Since I adore Chandler as well...I'll have to give it a shot.

Am amazed at your literary voracity...But you're perfectly right, you have to know what's already been done, what catches the publisher's eye, what critics think etc.

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

I only even read as much as I did of Princess because I got it free with the gift pack at WFC -- same goes for Black Tattoo. Neither struck me as worth much, and I don't care how much people fawn over them. (It could be that some parts of YA just leave me cold; I'll give it that much.) Both, too, have some of the best & most award-winning cover art for the year, too, which seems to me an instance of dressing the pig in silk, or however the phrase goes: still a pig.

...and How Mary Sues Are Coming Out Of The Fandoms And Into Your Bookstore.

OMG, YES. *dies*

If by the roman noir + supernatural you mean Simon Green's books... ahem. Well, let me know how that works out for you. I'll be curious to hear your reaction. (IMO, he got the "Chandler quirky phrases" right, but missed the six lessons on "Chandler never said in eighty lines what he could say with six words".)

If you mean Lethem's book (is there a kangeroo assassin in it?) then, hold on, it's a wild ride.

Personally, I think my list reveals that I'm not really an urban fantasy -- or even fantasy of any ilk -- person at heart. I'm hardly SFF, for that matter. I've always preferred the thrillers, the ones with derring-do and intrigue, from Shogun and Count of Monte Cristo and Hunt for Red October.

Perhaps this is why Gruber was possibly the only one on the list to truly scratch every single itch, because he covered all the bases: the fantastical, the unexplained, the police procedural, the suspense, the thriller, the chase. He had flaws, but in terms of what I'd want from a book? He came closest.

[maldoror-gw.livejournal.com]

Lol, actually, you mentioned the author in question, and I didn't recognize the name. It's Jim Butcher, 'Dead Beat'. And now I'm worried I don't have them in the right order...there was no way to tell (ask me how much that annoys me, when a book in a series isn't clearly indicated).

.......Kangaroo assassin.........

*adds another book to her to-read list*

[theotherdigit.livejournal.com]

Hey, recs (sort of)! Great. Need books for my breaks at uni to keep my sanity intact, but was never very good at picking'em at random AND am almost done working my way through all of the Pratchett books at my local library (NOOOOOES! @_@). Only read three of these, too: Giants of the Frost (readable but rather dull), Storm Front (liked it muchly; shall have to get the rest of the series), and Heroics for Beginners (fun, but kind of flat). Which leaves ... lots of new stuff. *_* [glee]

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

I can tell you that I don't like Pratchett's too-clever-by-half writing style (comes across as way too self-aware to me), and on the other end of the spectrum, I dislike the way Gaiman takes himself way too seriously. Yet, when they collaborated on Good Omens, they came up with a book that remains one of my all-time favorites.

Yes, Giants was dull at times -- it had a very different pacing, much more 'european film' kind of feel. In that case, I wouldn't suggest Nine Layers of Sky, which felt equally like it was a grainy, Russian, Soviet-era (albeit post-Soviet era) work. For all that, it's hard to pass up a fantastical-fiction piece like Nine Layers (or Giant) in which the protag is a female scientist. About damn time, and enough with the "ooh, but as a woman I'm so in tune with nature and nuturing!" crap.

Looking over the list, I'd suggest Strange Adventures. It can move fast, and its characters are engaging, but it also has a sort of edgy quirk here and there that's unexpected. It works, on the whole.

[maldoror-gw.livejournal.com]

'in which the protag is a female scientist. About damn time, and enough with the "ooh, but as a woman I'm so in tune with nature and nuturing!" crap.'

Hear hear! We can blow up the planet just as well as the men can!! Equal rights for mad women scientists!!

[theotherdigit.livejournal.com]

1. Heh. I did like Good Omens, but I'm pretty sure that I liked it less than Neverwhere (the only Gaiman book I read) and the stuff that Pratchett wrote alone. :P It seemed ... milder, if that makes sense.

2. Hmm, hey, have you read either Master and Margarita or Monday Begins on Saturday? Both are urban fantasies, of sorts, that I enjoyed a great deal, but ... I read them in russian, so I'm not sure how good the english translations are, and the latter plays around with russian folklore, so it may not be as fun if you don't get the references. Still, if you can find'em in a nearby library or something, you should probably give them a try.

3. For all that, it's hard to pass up a fantastical-fiction piece like Nine Layers (or Giant) in which the protag is a female scientist. About damn time, and enough with the "ooh, but as a woman I'm so in tune with nature and nuturing!" crap.
Am all for sexual equality and women not being all about nurturing and such - hell, I personally don't seem to have any nurturing instinct - but when it comes to books and movies? I don't really care about that. x_X Getting frustrated/mad about it would be kind of like taking offense at a blond joke just because you're a blond. And anyway, many women ARE like that. So ... I wouldn't really mind it if all the good books had male leads.

4. Mnyeh. Strange Adventures isn't one of the ones that my library has. Could try requesting it, I guess, but then even if they accept it'll take a while before they actually purchase it.

[anghara.livejournal.com]

I freely admit that of all the possible oblivions I would like to avoid in this lifetime the deadly phrase "I didn't finish" is one of the worst - that doesn't mean that a reader violently disliked the book, necessarily, just that it completely and utterly failed to connect at all...

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

I agree with you there. I can recall saying the same thing when writing lengthy essays as part of philosophy/theology major: if I got no reaction but "yeah, okay, next," then I'd failed in my dialectic.

I did go back and edit the post, though, so it's a bit clearer why I put down the books I did. In fact, there are only one or two for which I simply didn't want to keep reading. There are others that I think it might have just been the mindset I was in -- some books really are 'mood' books. It's like being up for a comedy and walking in halfway through a suspenseful horror.

It could be good, but it's going to have to be really good to get you to stay -- way more than it might need to be, normally, were you already primed for its offerings.

Looking over the list, there are a great many I did skim (since I edited to add, that, too) -- since that indicates where the premise was so worth it, but something had me gritting my teeth and skipping parts. Those frustrate me the most, to want to shake the author: you have a great idea, here! powerful, fascinating! why can't you live UP to it?

[roseya19.livejournal.com]

I was going to ponder what I'd learned from what I've read, but I'll save that for a later post. Now I just need a chance to boggle.

I am boggling too. All this since March!? Yeesh! And when I think of how *few* books I actually read this last year in comparison... You had a very good reason for reading so much though. And your list has given me some things to look for. Many of these I've heard of and read *about*, but have never bothered to track down and read.

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

Heh. I probably shouldn't post what's already in my to-read stack, or what's on my to-buy-to-read stack, either. The only thing in my favor, possibly, is that I read even faster than I write!

[no-ron.livejournal.com]

impressive.
alas, i'm a slow reader. i don't understand how anyone can read a novel in a day or less (as i've heard it's possible).. wish i could..
hehe, but we have some (http://no-ron.livejournal.com/2006/04/05/) overlap.
the SOIAF novels made it to my faves, as have the Dresden Files.
i read Pattern Recognition in 2005 and it was one of the best reading experiences i ever had (i suspect it was not just the book but the right mindset at the time as well, and it just clicked).. but then, i have a thing with Gibson. apparently, you don't.. :)))