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Jan. 1st, 2012 02:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsAnnual reading log post! (DW readers, sorry that all the review links go to LJ posts -- next year I'll try to keep better track on both platforms.)
Overall, if I kept track accurately -- which is always sort of a big 'if' -- it looks like I read 143 books this year, plus 128 volumes of comics and manga. Weirdly, I think grad school actually caused those numbers to go up rather than down, partly because between school and work I spent more time on the subway, and partly just because I let myself read more speedy self-indulgent fiction instead of sticking through the denser stuff. I'm glad I stuck out the quotas as long as I did, though, and may pick them back up once I'm out of school again.
I'm also behind on a few write-ups from the end of the year, but I am going to catch up on the ones I haven't done! Especially since some of the best books I read this year are ones I haven't figured out what I want to say about here yet.
Books
1. Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo
2. The Folk Keeper, Franny Billingsley
3. White Cat, Holly Black
4. Istanbul: Memories and the City, Orhan Pamuk
5. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman
6. The Walls of Air, Barbara Hambly
7. The Burning City, Alaya Dawn Johnson
8. Lettres d'une Peruvienne, Francoise de Graffigny
9. Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff
10. Dragon's Gate, Laurence Yep
11. The Armies of Daylight, Barbara Hambly
12. Not Less Than Gods, Kage Baker
13. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, Mo Yan
14. Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties, Marion Meade
15. The Women of Nell Gwynne's, Kage Baker
16. Across the Universe, Beth Revis
17. White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi
18. The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Adventures of Jacky Faber, On Her Way to Botany Bay, L.A. Meyer
19. Leviathan, Scott Westerfield
20. M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang
21. The Silk Road in World History, Xinru Liu*
22. A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman
23. Blackout, Connie Willis
24. Child of the Owl, Laurence Yep
25. Behemoth, Scott Westerfield
26. New York Night: The Mystique and its History, Mark Caldwell
27. The Lady Matador's Hotel, Cristina Garcia
28. The Illyrian Adventure, Lloyd Alexander*
29. Diplomatic Immunity, Lois McMaster Bujold*
30. Fledgling, Octavia Butler
31. Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, Carl Wilson
32. Voices in an Empty House, Joan Aiken
33. Three Poets of Modern Korea, ed. James Kimbrell
34. The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan
35. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux*
36. My Face Is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations, Mary Frances Berry
37. Sideshow, Sheri S. Tepper*
38. The Magicians of Caprona, Diana Wynne Jones*
39. Shadow Lord, Laurence Yep
40. The Red House Mystery, A. A. Milne
41. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu
42. Down With Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire, Michael Dobbs
43. Devil's Cub, Georgette Heyer
44. The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett*
45. Mama Day, Gloria Naylor
46. The Book of Lost Books, Stuart Kelly
47. A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett*
48. Ash, Malinda Lo
49. Among Others, Jo Walton
50. Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett*
51. The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
52. Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin
53. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, Dorothy Gilman
54. I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett
55. The Conquest, Yxta Maya Murray
56. Red Glove, Holly Black
57. The Time of the Ghost, Diana Wynne Jones*
58. Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell
59. The Shadow of the Moon, the Sea of Shadow, Fuyumi Ono*
60. A Thousand Leagues of Wind, The Sky at Dawn, Fuyumi Ono*
61. An Artificial Night, Seanan McGuire
62. Late Eclipses, Seanan McGuire
63. The Shore at Twilight, The Sky at Daybreak, Fuyumi Ono
64. T.H. White: A Biography, Sylvia Townsend Warner
65. All Clear, Connie Willis
66. The Serpent's Children, Laurence Yep
67. When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
68. Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold
69. Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture, Robert G. Lee
70. The Secret Country, Pamela Dean*
71. Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, Dorothy Gilman
72. Mountain Light, Laurence Yep
73. The Hidden Land, Pamela Dean*
74. The Goshawk, T.H. White
75. Redemption in Indigo, Karen Lord
76. The Whim of the Dragon, Pamela Dean*
77. The True Game, Sheri S. Tepper*
78. Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, Kevin Young
79. The Bowery Man, Elmer Bendimer
80. Fly-By-Night, Frances Hardinge*
81. Fly Trap, Frances Hardinge
82. A Person of Interest, Susan Choi
83. The Demon's Surrender, Sarah Rees Brennan
84. On Her Own Ground: The Life of Madame C.J. Walker, A'Lelia Bundles
85. The Oracle Glass, Judith Merkle Riley*
86. Black Ships, Jo Graham
87. The Stories of Ibis, Hiroshi Yamamoto
88. The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John, Volume 1, Catherynne M. Valente
89. Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy and Meshugas of Yiddish Theater in America, Stefan Kanfer
90. Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha, Dorothy Gilman
91. Hardboiled and Hard Luck, Banana Yoshimoto
92. Magic Below Stairs, Caroline Stevermer
93. The Foundling, Georgette Heyer
94. The Waters Rising, Sheri S. Tepper
95. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett*
96. The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett*
97. Cold Magic, Kate Elliot
98. Steam-Powered II: More Lesbian Steampunk Stories, ed. JoSelle Vanderhooft
99. Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway
100. Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett*
101. How Video Works: From Analog to High Definition, Marcus Weise and Diana Weynand**
102. The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code, Leonard J. Leff and Jerold L. Simmons
103. Brushes of History: Memoirs and Poems, Oliver French
104. Filter House, Nisi Shawl
105. Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Adrienne Kress
106. Travels with Herodotus, Ryszard Kapuscinski
107. Another Pan, Dina and Daniel Nayeri
108. The Public Domain, James Boyle**
109. Mort, Terry Pratchett*
110. The Bobbed-Haired Bandit: A True Story of Crime and Celebrity in 1920s New York, Stephen Duncombe and Andrew Mattson
111. The Homeward Bounders, Diana Wynne Jones*
112. Regeneration, Pat Barker
113. Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s, Frederick Lewis Allen
114. The Enchantress of Florence, Salmon Rushdie
115. Sourcery, Terry Pratchett*
116. Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle, Dorothy Gilman
117. Remix, Larry Lessig
118. The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong
119. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett**
120. The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong
121. The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong
122. Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940: How America Lived Through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, David Kyvig
123. So Shelly, Ty Roth
124. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, Anne Fadiman
125. Witch Eyes, Scott Tracey
126. The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
127. Pyramids, Terry Pratchett*
128. The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
129. The Lost Conspiracy, Frances Hardinge
130. The Forbidden Game, L.J. Smith
131. Guards, Guards, Terry Pratchett*
132. Lady Catherine's Necklace, Joan Aiken
133. The Eye in the Door, Pat Barker
134. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
135. Eric, Terry Pratchett*
136. Cart and Cwidder, Diana Wynne Jones*
137. The Invasion, K.A. Applegate*
138. The Visitor, K.A. Applegate*
139. The Encounter, K.A. Applegate*
140. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret, Glynis Ridley
141. The Message, K.A. Applegate*
142. The Predator, K.A. Applegate*
143. Moving Pictures, Terry Pratchett*
Comics and Manga
1. Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 14, Bisco Hatori
2-3. After School Nightmare, Volumes 4-5, Setona Mizushiro
4-5. W Juliet, Volumes 2-3, Emura
6. Skip Beat, Volume 1, Yoshiki Nakamura
7-10. W Juliet, Volumes 4-7, Emura
11-12. Skip Beat, Volumes 2-3, Yoshiki Nakamura
13. Basara, Volume 1, Yumi Tamura
14. 20th Century Boys, Volume 13, Naoki Urasawa
15-19. Skip Beat, Volumes 4-8, Yoshiki Nakamura
20-34. Skip Beat, Volumes 9-23, Yoshiki Nakamura
35-36. After School Nightmare, Volumes 6-7, Setona Mizushiro
37. High School Debut, Volume 1, Kazune Kawahara
38-39. W Juliet, Volumes 8-9, Emura
40-45. High School Debut, Volumes 2-7, Kazune Kawahara
46. After School Nightmare, Volume 8, Setona Mizushiro
47-52. High School Debut, Volumes 8-13, Kazune Kawahara
53. Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 15, Bisco Hatori
54-56. Basara, Volumes 2-4, Yumi Tamura
57-58. After School Nightmare, Volumes 9-10, Setona Mizushiro
59-60. Basara, Volumes 5-6, Yumi Tamura
61. Gunnerkrigg Court: Orientation, Tom Siddell
62-68. Basara, Volumes 7-13, Yumi Tamura
69. Gunnerkrigg Court: Research, Tom Siddell
70-73. Basara, Volumes 14-17, Yumi Tamura
74. Star Trek: The Manga, Various
75-84. Claymore, Volumes 1-10, Norihiro Yagi
85. Black Canary and Oracle: Birds of Prey, Chuck Dixon
86. Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds, Gail Simone
87. Birds of Prey: Sensei and Student, Gail Simone
88. Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn, Gail Simone
89. Birds of Prey: Blood and Circuits, Gail Simone
90-91. Basara, Volumes 18-19, Yumi Tamura
92-95. Hana-Kimi, Volumes 4-8, Hisaya Nakajo
96-101. Basara, Volumes 20-25, Yumi Tamura
102. Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East, Joann Sfar
103. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Goldblatt
104-105. 20th Century Boys, Volumes 14-15, Naoki Urasawa
106-107. Basara, Volumes 26-27, Yumi Tamura
108-112. Kekkaishi, Volumes 1-5, Yellow Tanabe
113. Castle Waiting, Volume 2, Linda Medley
114-17. Kekkaishi, Volumes 6-9, Yellow Tanabe
118-125. Claymore, Volumes 11-17, Norihigo Yagi
126-128. 20th Century Boys, Volumes 16-18, Naoki Urusawa
(* denotes a reread, ** denotes something read for school)
As always, feel free to talk to me about any of these!
Overall, if I kept track accurately -- which is always sort of a big 'if' -- it looks like I read 143 books this year, plus 128 volumes of comics and manga. Weirdly, I think grad school actually caused those numbers to go up rather than down, partly because between school and work I spent more time on the subway, and partly just because I let myself read more speedy self-indulgent fiction instead of sticking through the denser stuff. I'm glad I stuck out the quotas as long as I did, though, and may pick them back up once I'm out of school again.
I'm also behind on a few write-ups from the end of the year, but I am going to catch up on the ones I haven't done! Especially since some of the best books I read this year are ones I haven't figured out what I want to say about here yet.
Books
1. Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo
2. The Folk Keeper, Franny Billingsley
3. White Cat, Holly Black
4. Istanbul: Memories and the City, Orhan Pamuk
5. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman
6. The Walls of Air, Barbara Hambly
7. The Burning City, Alaya Dawn Johnson
8. Lettres d'une Peruvienne, Francoise de Graffigny
9. Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff
10. Dragon's Gate, Laurence Yep
11. The Armies of Daylight, Barbara Hambly
12. Not Less Than Gods, Kage Baker
13. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, Mo Yan
14. Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties, Marion Meade
15. The Women of Nell Gwynne's, Kage Baker
16. Across the Universe, Beth Revis
17. White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi
18. The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Adventures of Jacky Faber, On Her Way to Botany Bay, L.A. Meyer
19. Leviathan, Scott Westerfield
20. M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang
21. The Silk Road in World History, Xinru Liu*
22. A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman
23. Blackout, Connie Willis
24. Child of the Owl, Laurence Yep
25. Behemoth, Scott Westerfield
26. New York Night: The Mystique and its History, Mark Caldwell
27. The Lady Matador's Hotel, Cristina Garcia
28. The Illyrian Adventure, Lloyd Alexander*
29. Diplomatic Immunity, Lois McMaster Bujold*
30. Fledgling, Octavia Butler
31. Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, Carl Wilson
32. Voices in an Empty House, Joan Aiken
33. Three Poets of Modern Korea, ed. James Kimbrell
34. The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan
35. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux*
36. My Face Is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations, Mary Frances Berry
37. Sideshow, Sheri S. Tepper*
38. The Magicians of Caprona, Diana Wynne Jones*
39. Shadow Lord, Laurence Yep
40. The Red House Mystery, A. A. Milne
41. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu
42. Down With Big Brother: The Fall of the Soviet Empire, Michael Dobbs
43. Devil's Cub, Georgette Heyer
44. The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett*
45. Mama Day, Gloria Naylor
46. The Book of Lost Books, Stuart Kelly
47. A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett*
48. Ash, Malinda Lo
49. Among Others, Jo Walton
50. Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett*
51. The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
52. Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin
53. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, Dorothy Gilman
54. I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett
55. The Conquest, Yxta Maya Murray
56. Red Glove, Holly Black
57. The Time of the Ghost, Diana Wynne Jones*
58. Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell
59. The Shadow of the Moon, the Sea of Shadow, Fuyumi Ono*
60. A Thousand Leagues of Wind, The Sky at Dawn, Fuyumi Ono*
61. An Artificial Night, Seanan McGuire
62. Late Eclipses, Seanan McGuire
63. The Shore at Twilight, The Sky at Daybreak, Fuyumi Ono
64. T.H. White: A Biography, Sylvia Townsend Warner
65. All Clear, Connie Willis
66. The Serpent's Children, Laurence Yep
67. When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
68. Cryoburn, Lois McMaster Bujold
69. Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture, Robert G. Lee
70. The Secret Country, Pamela Dean*
71. Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, Dorothy Gilman
72. Mountain Light, Laurence Yep
73. The Hidden Land, Pamela Dean*
74. The Goshawk, T.H. White
75. Redemption in Indigo, Karen Lord
76. The Whim of the Dragon, Pamela Dean*
77. The True Game, Sheri S. Tepper*
78. Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, Kevin Young
79. The Bowery Man, Elmer Bendimer
80. Fly-By-Night, Frances Hardinge*
81. Fly Trap, Frances Hardinge
82. A Person of Interest, Susan Choi
83. The Demon's Surrender, Sarah Rees Brennan
84. On Her Own Ground: The Life of Madame C.J. Walker, A'Lelia Bundles
85. The Oracle Glass, Judith Merkle Riley*
86. Black Ships, Jo Graham
87. The Stories of Ibis, Hiroshi Yamamoto
88. The Habitation of the Blessed: A Dirge for Prester John, Volume 1, Catherynne M. Valente
89. Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy and Meshugas of Yiddish Theater in America, Stefan Kanfer
90. Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha, Dorothy Gilman
91. Hardboiled and Hard Luck, Banana Yoshimoto
92. Magic Below Stairs, Caroline Stevermer
93. The Foundling, Georgette Heyer
94. The Waters Rising, Sheri S. Tepper
95. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett*
96. The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett*
97. Cold Magic, Kate Elliot
98. Steam-Powered II: More Lesbian Steampunk Stories, ed. JoSelle Vanderhooft
99. Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway
100. Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett*
101. How Video Works: From Analog to High Definition, Marcus Weise and Diana Weynand**
102. The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code, Leonard J. Leff and Jerold L. Simmons
103. Brushes of History: Memoirs and Poems, Oliver French
104. Filter House, Nisi Shawl
105. Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Adrienne Kress
106. Travels with Herodotus, Ryszard Kapuscinski
107. Another Pan, Dina and Daniel Nayeri
108. The Public Domain, James Boyle**
109. Mort, Terry Pratchett*
110. The Bobbed-Haired Bandit: A True Story of Crime and Celebrity in 1920s New York, Stephen Duncombe and Andrew Mattson
111. The Homeward Bounders, Diana Wynne Jones*
112. Regeneration, Pat Barker
113. Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s, Frederick Lewis Allen
114. The Enchantress of Florence, Salmon Rushdie
115. Sourcery, Terry Pratchett*
116. Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle, Dorothy Gilman
117. Remix, Larry Lessig
118. The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong
119. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett**
120. The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong
121. The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong
122. Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940: How America Lived Through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, David Kyvig
123. So Shelly, Ty Roth
124. The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, Anne Fadiman
125. Witch Eyes, Scott Tracey
126. The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
127. Pyramids, Terry Pratchett*
128. The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
129. The Lost Conspiracy, Frances Hardinge
130. The Forbidden Game, L.J. Smith
131. Guards, Guards, Terry Pratchett*
132. Lady Catherine's Necklace, Joan Aiken
133. The Eye in the Door, Pat Barker
134. We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
135. Eric, Terry Pratchett*
136. Cart and Cwidder, Diana Wynne Jones*
137. The Invasion, K.A. Applegate*
138. The Visitor, K.A. Applegate*
139. The Encounter, K.A. Applegate*
140. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret, Glynis Ridley
141. The Message, K.A. Applegate*
142. The Predator, K.A. Applegate*
143. Moving Pictures, Terry Pratchett*
Comics and Manga
1. Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 14, Bisco Hatori
2-3. After School Nightmare, Volumes 4-5, Setona Mizushiro
4-5. W Juliet, Volumes 2-3, Emura
6. Skip Beat, Volume 1, Yoshiki Nakamura
7-10. W Juliet, Volumes 4-7, Emura
11-12. Skip Beat, Volumes 2-3, Yoshiki Nakamura
13. Basara, Volume 1, Yumi Tamura
14. 20th Century Boys, Volume 13, Naoki Urasawa
15-19. Skip Beat, Volumes 4-8, Yoshiki Nakamura
20-34. Skip Beat, Volumes 9-23, Yoshiki Nakamura
35-36. After School Nightmare, Volumes 6-7, Setona Mizushiro
37. High School Debut, Volume 1, Kazune Kawahara
38-39. W Juliet, Volumes 8-9, Emura
40-45. High School Debut, Volumes 2-7, Kazune Kawahara
46. After School Nightmare, Volume 8, Setona Mizushiro
47-52. High School Debut, Volumes 8-13, Kazune Kawahara
53. Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 15, Bisco Hatori
54-56. Basara, Volumes 2-4, Yumi Tamura
57-58. After School Nightmare, Volumes 9-10, Setona Mizushiro
59-60. Basara, Volumes 5-6, Yumi Tamura
61. Gunnerkrigg Court: Orientation, Tom Siddell
62-68. Basara, Volumes 7-13, Yumi Tamura
69. Gunnerkrigg Court: Research, Tom Siddell
70-73. Basara, Volumes 14-17, Yumi Tamura
74. Star Trek: The Manga, Various
75-84. Claymore, Volumes 1-10, Norihiro Yagi
85. Black Canary and Oracle: Birds of Prey, Chuck Dixon
86. Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds, Gail Simone
87. Birds of Prey: Sensei and Student, Gail Simone
88. Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn, Gail Simone
89. Birds of Prey: Blood and Circuits, Gail Simone
90-91. Basara, Volumes 18-19, Yumi Tamura
92-95. Hana-Kimi, Volumes 4-8, Hisaya Nakajo
96-101. Basara, Volumes 20-25, Yumi Tamura
102. Klezmer: Tales of the Wild East, Joann Sfar
103. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Goldblatt
104-105. 20th Century Boys, Volumes 14-15, Naoki Urasawa
106-107. Basara, Volumes 26-27, Yumi Tamura
108-112. Kekkaishi, Volumes 1-5, Yellow Tanabe
113. Castle Waiting, Volume 2, Linda Medley
114-17. Kekkaishi, Volumes 6-9, Yellow Tanabe
118-125. Claymore, Volumes 11-17, Norihigo Yagi
126-128. 20th Century Boys, Volumes 16-18, Naoki Urusawa
(* denotes a reread, ** denotes something read for school)
As always, feel free to talk to me about any of these!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 06:32 pm (UTC)Also, how is The Enchantress of Florence? I'm very fond of Salmon Rushdie (I ADORE Haroun and the Sea of Stories), but I haven't picked that one up yet.
ALSO. If you haven't read The Poisoner's Bible, you should. Deeply entertaining PLUS poison PLUS a plucky forensic scientist PLUS 1920s New York.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 06:47 pm (UTC)Hmmm, I had sort of mixed feelings on The Enchantress of Florence. It was a very well-written book, and does all the things Salman Rushdie does well with stories and magical realism, it's just that when I pick up a book called The Enchantress of Florence I expect it to be . . . maybe . . . about a strong and powerful woman? And that is not exactly what I got. :-/
And ooh, thank you for the rec! I will put it on the list for next year. :D