Booklist 2008

[batyatoon]

So a little over a year ago, I decided to keep a log of all the books I read in 2008. I'm pretty sure I missed at least a couple around the middle of the year, and I kind of decided arbitrarily not to include graphic novels or plays, but this is still pretty close to comprehensive.

The List:
1. Spin, Robert Charles Wilson (first time)
2. Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett (first time)
3. Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik
4. Black Powder War, Naomi Novik
5. Empire of Ivory, Naomi Novik
6. His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik
7. Up the Down Staircase, Bel Kaufman
8. Neuromancer, William Gibson
9. The Stars Dispose, Michaela Roessner (first time)
10. Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
11. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
12. Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
13. These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder
14. Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder
15. On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder
16. In the Garden of Iden, Kage Baker
17. The Stars Compel, Michaela Roessner (first time)
18. Four Past Midnight, Stephen King (first time)
19. Lord Peter Views the Body, Dorothy Sayers (first time)
20. Gaudy Night, Dorothy Sayers
21. Born Standing Up, Steve Martin (first time)
22. Busman's Honeymoon, Dorothy Sayers
23. Foundation, Isaac Asimov
24. Foundation and Empire, Isaac Asimov
25. Second Foundation, Isaac Asimov
26. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
27. A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin
28. A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin
29. Tunnel in the Sky, Robert A. Heinlein
30. Mirror Dance, Lois McMaster Bujold
31. A Feast for Crows, George R. R. Martin (first time)
32. Ethan of Athos, Lois McMaster Bujold
33. Diplomatic Immunity, Lois McMaster Bujold
34. Moon Called, Patricia Briggs (first time)
35. A College of Magics, Caroline Stevermer
36. Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Stephen King
37. Mairelon the Magician, Patricia C. Wrede
38. Magician's Ward, Patricia C. Wrede
39. Four Past Midnight, Stephen King (incomplete)
40. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein (incomplete)
41. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
42. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
43. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
44. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
45. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
46. Sister Light, Sister Dark, Jane Yolen
47. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
48. The Time of the Dark, Barbara Hambly
49. The Walls of Air, Barbara Hambly
50. The Armies of Daylight, Barbara Hambly
51. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
52. Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson (first time)
53. Mother of Winter, Barbara Hambly
54. Icefalcon's Quest, Barbara Hambly
55. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
56. Bellwether, Connie Willis
57. Remake, Connie Willis (first time)
58. Requiem, Robert A. Heinlein
59. Wise Child, Monica Furlong (incomplete)
60. The Warrior's Apprentice, Lois McMaster Bujold
61. Firelord, Parke Godwin
62. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
63. Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson
64. The Tale of Desperaux, Kate DiCamillo
65. Mossflower, Brian Jacques
66. The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson (first time)
67. The Marvelous Land of Oz, L. Frank Baum
68. Ozma of Oz, L. Frank Baum
69. Mariel of Redwall, Brian Jacques
70. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, L. Frank Baum
71. The Road to Oz, L. Frank Baum
72. The Emerald City of Oz, L. Frank Baum
73. Cell, Stephen King (first time)
74. Tik-Tok of Oz, L. Frank Baum
75. Tales of Known Space, Larry Niven
76. The Patchwork Girl of Oz, L. Frank Baum
77. The Scarecrow of Oz, L. Frank Baum
78. Rinkitink in Oz, L. Frank Baum
79. World of Ptavvs, Larry Niven
80. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
81. Limits, Larry Niven
82. The Tin Woodman of Oz, L. Frank Baum
83. The Magic of Oz, L. Frank Baum
84. Glinda of Oz, L. Frank Baum
85. N-Space, Larry Niven
86. Playgrounds of the Mind, Larry Niven
87. Ringworld, Larry Niven
88. The Ringworld Engineers, Larry Niven
89. Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
90. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo (first time)
91. The Planet That Wasn't, Isaac Asimov
92. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
93. Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
94. Another Fine Myth, Robert Asprin
95. Myth Conceptions, Robert Asprin
96. Myth Directions, Robert Asprin
97. Hit Or Myth, Robert Asprin
98. Myth-ing Persons, Robert Asprin
99. M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link, Robert Asprin
100. Myth-nomers and Im-Pervections, Robert Asprin
101. M.Y.T.H. Inc. In Action, Robert Asprin
102. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
103. So You Want To Be A Wizard, Diane Duane
104. Deep Wizardry, Diane Duane
105. High Wizardry, Diane Duane
106. A Wizard Abroad, Diane Duane
107. Pattern Recognition, William Gibson (first time)
108. A Wizard Alone, Diane Duane
109. Pattern Recognition, William Gibson (near-immediate reread)
110. Mirabile, Janet Kagan (first time)
111. Uhura's Song, Janet Kagan
112. Little Myth Marker, Robert Asprin
113. Wizard's Holiday, Diane Duane
114. Wizards at War, Diane Duane (first time)
115. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
116. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Roald Dahl
117. James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
118. Shadowplay, Jo Clayton
119. Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy (first time)
120. Hearts In Atlantis, Stephen King
121. Shadowkill, Jo Clayton
122. The Girl with the Silver Eyes, Willo Davis Roberts
123. The Armageddon Rag, George R. R. Martin
124. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
125. House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
126. Thud!, Terry Pratchett
127. Matilda, Roald Dahl
128. The BFG, Roald Dahl
129. The Witches, Roald Dahl
130. Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book, Maxine Hong Kingston
131. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
132. Going Postal, Terry Pratchett
133. The Snow Queen, Joan Vinge (first time)
134. Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett
135. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
136. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
137. Borders of Infinity, Lois McMaster Bujold
138. Mirror Dance, Lois McMaster Bujold
139. Komarr, Lois McMaster Bujold
140. Just After Sunset, Stephen King (first time)
141. The Westing Game, Ellen Rankin
142. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
143. Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy
144. Playing with Fire, Derek Landy (first time)
145. Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold
146. Mirabile, Janet Kagan
147. The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson (first time)
148. Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury
149. Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Stephen King
150. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
151. The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King


I'd given some vague thought to analyzing trends and patterns, but ... nah. (Anyone feeling compelled to analyze, however, is welcome to share!)

Comments

[batyatoon]

I reread way more often than I read new things, yeah -- especially because I enjoy reading on my lunch break at work, and if I am reading something new I have a hard time putting it down when I need to get back to actually working.

Generally I will go "I need something to read" and go look at the bookshelf, and pull out the first one that makes me say "Oh yes I am in the mood for that!" Frequently books come in clumps, either same series or same author or similar theme, but sometimes they don't.

Sometimes, though, I'll reread something specifically to refresh my memory of it, if I'm either writing or RPing something directly or indirectly related to it.

I am curious as to what you thought of Pattern Recognition!

[littlegirltoast.livejournal.com]

It's been a few years now, perhaps as many as five, and what I mainly remember is that I read it as a favour to my dad because I have a tendency to mock him rather mercilessly for liking William Gibson so much; an author towards whom I harbour great prejudice for reasons both unjust and true.

And I remember not feeling very strongly about it, which was disappointing since I could neither argue with him into the wee hours over it nor finally tell him he was right and I was wrong and it really is just the most wonderful book. I just was finished with it and that was fine (not a good sign - books I really love leave me mourning the characters when it's time to part).

I don't remember feeling a lot of empathy with the protagonist, which I find to be a big deal. But it's been, as I said, ages and I don't remember what prevented that or even if that was the problem.

So I am no use basically!

[batyatoon]

Five years ago really? I thought ... *checks Wikipedia* Huh. It was published in 2003 -- for some reason I thought it was much more recently.

Ah well. I have been trying to work out whether the reasons I loved that book so much are very, very specific and personal or more general. So any response is useful.

Also YAY ROALD DAHL. Would you believe our local library did not have copies of Matilda, The Witches, or The BFG? I was horrified! And I wound up buying my own damn copies.

[littlegirltoast.livejournal.com]

I may have overestimated how long it was ago (edgy grammar... watch out!), but I think it was still pretty fresh at the time.

You may also remember me from the musical, Jesse: The Boy Who Hated Nearly Everything Like It Was Awful! so what I think of something is not necessarily indicative of what is general versus specific about liking things.

I used to be like YAY ROALD DAHL but after reading his autobiography I was more like AWW ROALD DAHL and then once I tripped gaily through a collection of his short fiction for adults I was quite a bit more like BOO ROALD DAHL and it coloured my feeling toward his children's work in retrospect. He was just such a deeply damaged person, so full of unresolved rage and hate and misanthropy, that I don't really like the idea of him forming a very large part of a child's early understanding of the truth about people. And that's what books are for, right? He just never really strays very far from exalting the occasion of very awful things happening to very awful people, and I think that's morally pretty rude. I understand how he got that way, poor guy had a hell of a time of it, but I feel like presenting his work to kids should require heavy contextualization so as to prevent warping.

Then again, as so many have said before, "I turned out just fine."

[littlegirltoast.livejournal.com]

Oh my god does he ever hate women though. Hate hate hate hate hate.

[batyatoon]

Iiiii am not convinced of this. Or at least not convinced that he hates women more than he hates humanity in general, which: considerably.

[littlegirltoast.livejournal.com]

Have you read any of his adult fiction? The collection Switch Bitch is a fairly potent concentration of I-hate-ladies tales.

[batyatoon]

I've read some of his adult fiction -- Someone Like You and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More -- but no, not that one. Hrm. Possibly I should.

[batyatoon]

The interesting thing that struck me about Dahl's work on this rereading -- or rather the interesting thing that struck me about children's fiction in general and made me say "oh hey, Dahl does that a hell of a lot, doesn't he?" -- is the recurring thing of being a child in the power of an adult who is not sane and who means you harm.

Seriously this is all over children's fiction and I think the reason it's there is twofold: (a) every child at some point in hisher life feels that way, and (b) the only way a child can justifiably do anything seriously risky and important is if the adults who ought to be responsible for the child's welfare are either absent, helpless, incompetent, or evil.

...possibly I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I COULD GO ON.

[littlegirltoast.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if every child does feel that way at some time, but it certainly makes an indelible mark when a child does. I think it's a pretty good umbrella for catching most kinds of childhood trauma - the children of alcoholics and otherwise abusive or out-of-control individuals who present an unpredictable and arbitrary source of parently things or danger can often be seen to never altogether recover.

[batyatoon]

Possibly not every child. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say -- probably every child at some point in life has a fantasy (by which I mean a self-told story that one knows not to be true, not necessarily accompanied by any desire for it to be true) about how all the adults in one's life are wicked stepmothers.