Below you will find the ridiculously long list of every book I have read since 2002. I started keeping an annual list of books read on my Livejournal, and the format varied from year to year. Now that I’m on WordPress, I’ve decided to organize things a bit by bringing the old info together here and, hopefully, making individual entries as I read.
It’s all on this one amazingly long page so that you can search for titles and authors you like.
This Year’s Books:
1. Killing Rocks
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire
3. American Vampire Vol. 1
4. One Ring Circus: Dispatches from the World of Boxing
5. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
6. Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics, and Art in Fifteenth-Century Florence
7. Deathless
8. The Hidden Goddess
9. Resurrection Code
10. Fall from Grace
11. Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter’s
12. American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century
13. The Brahms Deception
14. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
15. Miserere: An Autumn Tale
16. Little Face
17. The Tears of the Sun: A Novel of the Change
18. Those Across the River
19. A Bright and Guilty Place: Murder, Corruption, and L.A.’s Scandalous Coming of Age
20. Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris
21. Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large
22. Better off Undead, by DD Barant
22. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – Century – 1910, by Alan Moore
23. Joe the Barbarian, by Grant Morrison & Sean Murphy
Rereads
1. Shadowland
2. Watchers
3. It
4. When the Wind Blows
5. Flowers in the Attic
6. The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker
2010
This was when I switched from Livejournal to WordPress, and the result is that the format changes midway.
1. UNDERTOW, by Elizabeth Bear
2. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING, edited by Elizabeth Kolbert and Tim Folger
3. THE CHAMELEON’S SHADOW, by Minette Walters
4. NEKROPOLIS, by Maureen McHugh
5. REMNANT POPULATION by Elizabeth Moon
6. GUNPOWDER: ALCHEMY, BOMBARDS AND PYROTECHNICS: THE HISTORY OF THE EXPLOSIVE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, by Jack Kelly
7. GALLOWS THIEF, by Bernard Cornwell
8. CORDELIA’S HONOR, by Lois McMaster Bujold
9. THE GHOST MAP–THE STORY OF LONDON’S MOST TERRIFYING EPIDEMIC AND HOW IT CHANGED SCIENCE, CITIES, AND THE MODERN WORLD by Steven Johnson
10. TAKE ME, TAKE ME WITH YOU, by Lauren Kelly
11. THE WARRIOR’S APPRENTICE, Lois McMaster Bujold
12. WE TWO: VICTORIA AND ALBERT: RULERS, PARTNERS, RIVALS by Gillian Gill
13. NIGHTINGALES: THE EXTRAORDINARY UPBRINGING AND CURIOUS LIFE OF MISS FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, by Gillian Gill.
14. THE BLOOD-DIMMED TIDE, by Rennie Airth
15. RIVER OF DARKNESS, by Rennie Airth
16. CEMETERY LAKE, by Paul Cleave
17. SEIZE THE FIRE: Heroism, Duty and Nelson’s Battle of Trafalgar, by Adam Nicolson
18. THE BRIDGE: A JOURNEY BETWEEN ORIENT AND OCCIDENT, by Geert Mak
19. MOZART’S BLOOD, by Louise Marley
20. FAITHFUL PLACE, by Tana French
21. MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH, by Ariana Franklin
22. Quarrel with the King: The Story of an English Family on the High Road to Civil War
23. In Triumph’s Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid for Glory
24. A Star Shall Fall
25. The Uncommon Reader
26. The Best American Crime Reporting 2010
27. All Clear
28. Bloody Crimes
29. Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne, with original color illustrations by E.H. Shepard
30. Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
31. The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
32. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
33. So Cold the River
34. Grandville
35. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
36. The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession (Vintage)
37. The Serpent’s Tale
38. The Troublemakers
39. Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth
40. Death Blows: The Bloodhound Files
2009
1. FLYING IN PLACE, by Susan Palwick
2. THE WITLING, by Vernor Vinge
3. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING, edited by Jerome Groopman M.D. and Tim Folger
4. DREAMERS OF THE DAY, by Mary Doria Russell
5. THE WORLD WITHOUT US, by Alan Weisman
6. DAEMON, by Daniel Suarez
7. ZORRO, by Isabel Allende
8. GEORGE WASHINGTON: FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, by James A. Crutchfield
9. FARTHING, by Jo Walton
10. HA’PENNY, by Jo Walton
11. HALF A CROWN, by Jo Walton
12. DEATH AND THE DEVIL, by Frank Schatzing
13. LOST GIRLS, by Robert Doherty
14. ANYTHING GOES, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY by John Barrowman with Carole E. Barrowman
15. SAHARA: A NATURAL HISTORY by Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle
16. A DARK DIVIDING, by Sarah Rayne
17. THE PRIVATE PATIENT, by P.D. James
18. SPIDER LIGHT, by Sarah Rayne
19. FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER, by Vincent Bugliosi
20. MIRAGE: NAPOLEON’S SCIENTISTS AND THE UNVEILING OF EGYPT, by Nina Burleigh
21. BLACK WATER TRANSIT, by Carsten Stroud
22. HEART-SHAPED BOX, by Joe Hill
23. LOOT: THE BATTLE OVER THE STOLEN TREASURES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, by Sharon Waxman
24. RAPT: ATTENTION AND THE FOCUSED LIFE by Winifred Gallagher
25. THE BEST AMERICAN CRIME REPORTING 2008, edited by Jonathan Kellerman, Otto Penzler and Thomas H. Cook
26. DYING BITES, by DD Barant
27. THE UNCROWNED KING: THE SENSATIONAL RISE OF WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, Kenneth Whyte
28. MOON CALLED, by Patricia Briggs
Rereads
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, by Jane Austen
THE SHAPE OF SNAKES, by Minette Walters
ROOTS OF EVIL, by Sarah Rayne
INTERFACE, by Stephen Bury
2008
1. VICTORY CONDITIONS, by Elizabeth Moon
2. THE BEST AMERICAN CRIME REPORTING 2007, edited by Linda Fairstein (Otto Penzler & Thomas R. Cook, Series Editors)
3. THE DARK WATER THE STRANGE BEGINNINGS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, by David Pirie
4. ELOM, by William R. Drinkard
5. KUSHIEL’S MERCY, by Jacqueline Carey
6. THE YIDDISH POLICEMAN’S UNION, by Michael Chabon
7. CARNIVAL, by Elizabeth Bear
8. THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY, by Eve Zibart and Bob Sehlinger with Rachel F. Freeman and Lea Lane
9. WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, by Laura Lippman
10. IN THE WOODS, by Tana French
11. SHILOH, by Shelby Foote
12. THE BOOK OF BUNNY SUICIDES, by Andy Riley
13. BOOK OF BUNNY SUICIDES II, by Andy Riley
14. YOUR MOUTH IS LOVELY, by Nancy Richler
15. THE GAME, by. Laurie R. King
16. THE VALLEY-WESTSIDE WAR, by Harry Turtledove
17. PANDEMONIUM, by Daryl Gregory
18. THE LIKENESS, by Tana French
19. BARBARIANS, by Terry Jones and Alan Ereira
20. JUSTINIAN’S FLEA: PLAGUE, EMPIRE AND THE BIRTH OF EUROPE, by William Rosen
21. SAM AND TWITCH, by Brian Michael Bendis
22. WITH NAILS: THE FILM DIARIES OF RICHARD E. GRANT, by Richard E. Grant
23. ASTRO CITY: LIFE IN THE BIG CITY, by Kurt Busiek
24. ASTRO CITY: CONFESSION, by Kurt Busiek
25. ASTRO CITY: THE TARNISHED ANGEL, by Kurt Busiek
26. ASTRO CITY: FAMILY ALBUM, by Kurt Busiek
27. THE LAST BREATH, by Denise Mina
28. NAPOLEON’S BUTTONS: 17 MOLECULES THAT CHANGED HISTORY, by Penny Le Couteur & Jay Burreson
29. PRECIOUS BLOOD, by Jonathan Hayes
30. HUMAN SMOKE: THE BEGINNINGS OF WORLD WAR II, THE END OF CIVILIZATION, by Nicholson Baker
31. FALLING, by Christopher Pike
32. WHEN THE HUSBAND IS THE SUSPECT, by F. Lee Bailey and Jean Rabe
33. THE GREAT MORTALITY: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF THE BLACK DEATH, THE MOST DEVASTATING PLAGUE OF ALL TIME, by John Kelly
Rereads
ALWAYS, by Nicola Griffith
INTO THIN AIR, by Jon Krakauer
2007
1. DAYWATCH by Sergei Lukyanenko
2. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2004, edited by Steven Pinker and Tim Folger
3. JAMES TIPTREE, JR.: THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ALICE B. SHELDON by Julie Phillips
4. BREAKFAST WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE, by Eliot Fintushel
5. MAXIMUM RIDE: THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT, by James Patterson
6. 1602, by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Andy Kubert & Richard Isanove (graphic novel)
7. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2005, edited by Jonathan Weiner and Tim Folger
8. ROOTS OF EVIL, by Sarah Rayne
9. THE DEVIL’S FEATHER, by Minette Walters
10. I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU, by Ally Carter
11. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2006, edited by Brian Greene and Tim Folger
12. PHYTOSPHERE, by Scott MacKay
13. THE FATE OF MICE, by Susan Palwick
14. ALWAYS, by Nicola Griffith
15. SHELTER, by Susan Palwick
16. THE ANATOMY OF MOTIVE, by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
17. TALL DARK AND DEAD by Tate Hollaway
18. SINNERS AND SAINTS by Eileen Dreyer
19. POWERS 5: ANARCHY by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (graphic novel)
20. POWERS 6: SELLOUTS by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming(graphic novel)
21. POWERS 7: FOREVER by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (graphic novel)
22. POWERS 8: LEGENDS by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (graphic novel)
23. POWERS 9: PSYCHOTIC by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (graphic novel)
24. ISAAC’S STORM, by Eric Larson
25. POWERS 10: COSMIC by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (graphic novel)
26. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2007, edited by Richard Preston and Tim Folger
27. THE RABBI’S CAT, by Joann Sfar (graphic novel)
28. LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME: EVERYTHING YOUR AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOK GOT WRONG, by James W. Loewen
29. THE MERCHANTS’ WAR, by Charles Stross
30. THUNDERSTRUCK, by Erik Larson
31. THE GUARDNER’S TALE, by Bruce Boston
32. AK47: THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE’S GUN, by Michael Hodges
33. PLAYBACK, by Raymond Chandler, Ted Benoit, & Francois Ayroles
Rereads
THE GUNS OF AUGUST, by Barbara Tuchman
MYSTERY, by Peter Straub
SNOW CRASH, by Neal Stephenson
STAY, by Nicola Griffith
THE SHAPE OF SNAKES, by Minette Walters
2006
1. NIGHT SOLDIERS, by Alan Furst
2. THE JAMES TIPTREE AWARD ANTHOLOGY 2, edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin and Jeffrey D. Smith
3. COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED by Jared Diamond
4. EDDIE IZZARD: DRESS TO KILL, by Eddie Izzard with David Quantick and Steve Double
5. BEHEMOTH: SEPPEKU by Peter Watts
6. LIVING NEXT DOOR TO THE GOD OF LOVE, by Justina Robson
7. BARE BONES, by Kathy Reichs
8. WRITING TREATMENTS THAT SELL: How to create and market your story ideas to the Motion Picture and TV Industry (second edition) by Kenneth Atchity and Chi-Li Wong
9. HOT THROBBING DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR, by Alison Bechdel
10. THE TINDER BOX, by Minette Walters
11. WILD DOGS, by Helen Humphreys
12. END IN FIRE, by Syne Mitchell
13. ISLE OF THE DEAD, by Roger Zelazny
14. DRAG KING DREAMS, by Leslie Feinberg
15. MIND GAMES, by William Deverell
16. ROGUE HARVEST, by Danita Maslan
17. BLOODSUCKING FIENDS, by Christopher Moore
18. INSIDE JOB, by Connie Willis
19. A SMALL AND REMARKABLE LIFE, by Nick DiChario
20. LOST BOY LOST GIRL, by Peter Straub
21. NIGHTWATCH by Sergei Lukyanenko
22. FAITHLESS, by Karin Slaughter
23. THE FINEST CHALLENGE, by Jean Rabin
24. FUN HOME, by Alison Bechdel
25. SLAVES OF OBSESSION, by Anne Perry
26. HORIZONS, by Mary Rosenblum
27. THE BIG OVER EASY, by Jasper Fforde
28. THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS, by Deborah Perlberg
29. HOLES, by Louis Sachar
30. SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING PANTS, by Ann Brashares
31. STAR WARS: ALLEGIANCE, by Timothy Zahn
32. CAUSE OF DEATH, by Patricia Cornwell
33. PRIDE OF BAGDHAD, by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon
34. TSUNAMI, book three of the Marq’ssan Cycle, by L. Timmel DuChamp
35. CASTLE WAITING, by Linda Medley
36. DRAGON AND SOLDIER, by Timothy Zahn
37. ANANSI BOYS, by Neil Gaiman
38. BLINDSIGHT, by Peter Watts (I read this months ago; somehow it didn’t get into the list chronologically even though it and FUN HOME were my best 2006 reads)
Rereads
INTERFACE, by Neal Stephenson
2005
1. GRAVE SECRETS, by Kathy Reichs
2. BOY IN THE WATER, by Stephen Dobyns
3. THE IRON TREE: BOOK ONE OF THE CROWTHISTLE CHRONICLES, by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
4. INNOCENT BLOOD, by P.D. James
5. THE EYRE AFFAIR, by Jasper Fforde
6. METALLIC LOVE, by Tanith Lee
7. A DISTANT MIRROR: THE CALAMITOUS FOURTEENTH CENTURY, by Barbara W. Tuchman
8. WAS, by Geoff Ryman
9. NUMBER ONE LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY, by Alexander McCall Smith
10. FINDERS KEEPERS, by Linnea Sinclair
11. ALANYA TO ALANYA by L. Timmel Duchamp
12. A PLACE IN THE SUN: MARXISM AND FASCISM IN CHINA’S LONG REVOLUTION, by A. James Gregor
13. MAGIC STREET, by Orson Scott Card
14. THE ANUBIS GATES, by Tim Powers
15. THE GUNS OF AUGUST, by Barbara W. Tuchman
16. GREETINGS & OTHER STORIES, by Terry Bisson
17. TRIXIE BELDEN AND THE SECRET OF THE MANSION, by Julie Campbell (sort of a reread, but it’s been 15 years at least)
18. THE MARCH OF FOLLY: FROM TROY TO VIETNAM by Barbara W. Tuchman
19. FROM THE FILES OF THE TIME RANGERS, by Richard Bowes
20. THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION by Samuel L. Delaney
21. LORD VALENTINE’S CASTLE, by Robert Silverberg
22. THE WELL OF LOST PLOTS, by Jasper Fforde
23. DREAD EMPIRE’S FALL: CONVENTIONS OF WAR by Walter Jon Williams
24. SOMETHING ROTTEN, by Jasper Fforde
25. FLEDGLING, by Octavia Butler
26. IN THE FIELD OF FIRE, edited by Jack Dann and Jeanne Van Buren
27. SNAKE AGENT, by Liz Williams
28. DEADLY DECISIONS, by Kathy Reichs
29. THE GHOSTS OF SAIGON, by John Maddox Roberts
30. THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, by Eric Larson
31. BEHEMOTH: B-MAX, by Peter Watts
32. DISORDERED MINDS, by Minette Walters
33. A TYPICAL AMERICAN TOWN, by John Maddocks Roberts
Of the non-favorites, everything was reasonably good except #13, which I strongly disliked, and #3, which was completely unmemorable.
Rereads
DOOMSDAY BOOK, by Connie Willis
ZODIAC, by Neal Stephenson
TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG, by Connie Willis
THE SHAPE OF SNAKES, by Minette Walters
INTO THIN AIR, by Jon Krakauer
2004
SF AND FANTASY
**DREAD EMPIRE’S FALL I – THE PRAXIS, by Walter Jon Williams – Kelpie found them first, and boy am I glad! WJW is at his brilliant best with a galaxy-spanning space opera, star-crossed lovers, and the fragmenting of a once-strong society
**DREAD EMPIRE’S FALL II – THE SUNDERING, by Walter Jon Williams
**THE CHILD GODDESS, by Louise Marley (my IROSF review)
**FIRETHORN, by Sarah Micklem (SF Weekly review)
**FALLEN HOST, by Lyda Morehouse (IROSF review) This is the last of a series, and they really should all be read, in order if possible. These are brilliant, brilliant books, combining religious fantasy with cyberpunk in ways that will blow your mind.
**OLYMPIC GAMES, by Leslie What (SF Weekly and Strange Horizons.)
DREAMS OF THE DESERT WIND, by Kurt R.A. Giambastiani – KRAG’s a smart and interesting writer, and his perspective on the Middle East makes for a novel that’s politically well-informed novel as well as lyrically written.
CALIFIA’S DAUGHTERS, by Leigh Richards (Laurie R. King) (SF Weekly)
**AMERICAN GODS, by Neil Gaiman. I like Gaiman. I loved this. No big surprise there!
RADIANT, by James Alan Gardner. JAG creates a heroine who is an opposite of Festina Ramos in every possible way. Though this novel offers many of the pleasures one has come to expect in Gardner’s fiction, I continue to prefer VIGILANT, whose protagonist is more fully engaged with her society as opposed to being on an adventure in a location far removed from her culture. (This insight courtesy of Kelly, by the way).
THE SOUL WEAVER, by Carol Berg – Completely intriguing and very enjoyable. It is, of course, the third of a trilogy, so read its predecessors first.
THE JAMES TIPTREE AWARD ANTHOLOGY 1, edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, & Jeffrey D. Smith – review forthcoming in SF WeeklyMARQUE AND REPRISAL, by Elizabeth Moon (SF Weekly)
LIFE, by Gwyneth Jones (SF Weekly)
OMNIFIX, by Scott MacKay (SF Weekly)
THE ARCANUM, by Thomas Wheeler (SF Weekly)
MORTAL LOVE, by Elizabeth Hand (SF Weekly)
MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
**THE SHAPE OF SNAKES, by Minette Walters – I had a bit more time for non-SF reading this year, and I used it to catch up on Minette Walters, whose work fascinates me. It’s seamy and compelling at once. This particular book was definitely my best mystery read of the year; I read it three times in the past twelve months.
A CITIZEN OF THE COUNTRY, by Sarah Smith – Not as good as its predecessors, THE VANISHED CHILD and THE KNOWLEDGE OF WATER, essentially because the role of its most marvellous character, Perdita, is diminishing.
ACID ROW, by Minette Walters
FOX EVIL, by Minette Walters
WOULD IT KILL YOU TO SMILE? by Philip Lawson
**THE CLOSER, by Donn Cortez – Okay, folks, get this straight: this is a serial killer book. It has gory murders by the heaps and bounds. Squicky violence and entrails everywhere. That said, it is a very good book. It’s also set in my neighborhood, which gives it cool local color, and has a killer of a closing line.
IN THE MIDST OF LIFE–TALES OF SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS, by Ambrose Bierce. I had thought this was non-fiction, but it’s short stories. Good ones, but AB is often better consumed in small bites with big intervals between. Read all at once, his stories start to feel like they’re all alike.
VIETNAM WAR RESEARCH I believe I talked about most of these as I was reading them, so I’ll spare you the rerun.
SOUL PATROL, by Ed Emanuel
BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, by Ron Kovics
**TAKING FIRE-THE TRUE STORY OF A DECORATED CHOPPER PILOT, by Ron Alexander & Charles W. Sasser
TRIAL OF THE CATONSVILLE NINE, by Daniel Berrigan
THE HILL FIGHTS-THE FIRST BATTLE OF KHE SANH, by Edward F. Murphy
**DRAGON ASCENDING: VIETNAM AND THE VIETNAMESE by Henry Kamm
**PATRIOTS: THE VIETNAM WAR REMEMBERED FROM ALL SIDES, by Christian G. Appy
POLITICS
**DUDE, WHERE’S MY COUNTRY, by Michael Moore
NICKEL AND DIMED: ON (NOT) GETTING BY IN AMERICA, by Barbara Ehrenreich
**PERSOPOLIS, THE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD (Graphic Novel) by Marjane Satrapi – This is nothing short of amazing. It’s the story of the author’s childhood in Iran during the revolution.
NOTEWORTHY REREADS I didn’t write down everything I reread, but here are the highlights…
THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF, by David Gerrold (SF Weekly Classics Review)
LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, by J.R.R. Tolkein
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, by J.R.R. Tolkein
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, by Douglas Adams
THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE, by Douglas Adams
LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING, by Douglas Adams
SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH, by Douglas Adams
MOSTLY HARMLESS, by Douglas Adams
MISC. HISTORY AND OTHER NON-FICTION
ARTILLERY: A HISTORY, by John Norris
AN UNGODLY WAR: THE SACK OF CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE FOURTH CRUSADE, by W.B. Bartlett – this was a good book; I may yet develop an interest in the portions of the Middle Ages that have nothing to do with Joan of Arc
EMERGENCY DOCTOR, by Edward Ziegler in cooperation with Lewis Goldfrank
HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY AND NEVER BE FOUND, by Doug Richmond
PUBLICIZE YOUR BOOK, by Jaqueline Deval
THE INQUISITION, by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
LOOK AWAY: A HISTORY OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, by William C. Davis – Very interesting look at the exercise of nation-building, and the anti-democratic tendencies of Southern Oligarchs. It did tend to get repetitive.
POETRY
**HAND IN HAND-AN ANTHOLOGY OF LOVE POEMS, edited by Carol Ann Duffy – this was an incredibly cool book. (My January 30th LJ entry on same about covers it)
2003
Fiction
A Coalition of Lions, by Elizabeth E. Wein
A Forest of Stars, by Kevin J. Anderson
American Empire: The Victorious Opposition, by Harry Turtledove
Conquistadore, by S.M. Stirling
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Dragon and Thief, by Timothy Zahn
Flinx’s Folly, by Alan Dean Foster
Lest Darkness Fall, by L. Sprague de Camp
Messiah Node, by Lyda Morehouse
Mistress of Dragons, by Margaret Weis
Nine Layers of Sky, by Liz Williams
One Lamp: Alternate History Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by Gordon Van Gelder
Return of Santiago, by Mike Resnick
Shadow of the Storm, by Kurt R.A. Giambastiani
Snare, by Katherine Kerr
Spin State, by Chris Moriarty
Star Dragon, by Mike Brotherton
Stay, by Nicola Griffith
The Binder’s Road, by Terry McGarry
The Changeling Plague, by Syne Mitchell
The Wrong Reflection, by Gillian Bradshaw
The X-President, by Philip E. Baruth
Untied Kingdom, by James Lovegrove
Wyrmhole, by Jay Caselberg
Zulu Heart, by Steven Barnes
Non-Fiction
assorted readings on Charles Darwin including chunks of the excellent Annie’s Box : Charles Darwin, his daughter and human evolution, by Randal Keynes
Battle Cry of Freedom, by James M. McPherson
Crete: The Battle and the Resistance by Antony Beever
Dispatches, by Michael Herr
Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Future, edited by Karen Haber
Hill 488, by Ray Hildreth and Charles W. Sasser
No Peace No Honor: Nixon, Kissinger, and Betrayal in Vietnam, by Larry Berman
The Terrible Hours, by Peter Maas
We were soldiers once -and young : Ia Drang, the battle that changed the war in Vietnam, by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway.
“What I Saw of Shiloh” by Ambrose Bierce
2002
Fiction I’ve Read in 2002
1. The Maquisarde, Louise Marley (excellent)
2. Underland, by Mick Farren (sexist macho vampire spies)
3. The Devil and Deep Space, by Susan R. Matthews (super)
4. Stars & Stripes Triumphant, by Harry Harrison (alternate history on freaky happy pills, with the U.S.A. kicking Queen Victoria’s delicate little hiney)
5. Solitaire, by Kelley Eskridge (excellent, a definite Best)
6. American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold, Harry Turtledove (grim anti-racist stuff, but great. This is his best series to date.)
7.A Mouthful of Tongues, Paul Di Filippo (smutty, weird, and fun)
8. Light Music, Kathleen Ann Goonan (very ok hard/socio SF mix)
9. The Braided World, Kay Kenyon (cool stuff about, among other things, reproductive taboos)
10. Conquistadore, S.M. Stirling (white WW2 vets take over an alternate California and fail to make it a multicultural paradise. Imagine! Seriously, this is a good one.)
11. Apocalypse Door, James D. MacDonald (cheesy but fun–James Bond-y Templar Knights in the here and now. With assassin nuns.)
12. Manta’s Gift, Timothy Zahn (fun space opera with good science–I like Zahn)
13. Night Blooming, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (traditional vampire romance, which I hate even though this example is just fine)
14. Vectors, Michael Kube McDowell (just don’t)
15. Star Risk Ltd., Chris Bunch (a mercenary story, light but fun)
16. Troublemakers, Harlan Ellison (reprints from the God)
17. Trapped, James Alan Gardner (awesome and fun)
18. Ruled Brittania, Harry Turtledove (religious persecution and Shakespeare in danger. How can you say no?)
19. Alternate Generals II, edited Harry Turtledove (Get it just for William Sanders, who deserves all the readers as he can get)
20. Argonaut, Stan Schmidt (fun Hard SF with a fairly cool woman of color as a major protag)
21. Hannibal’s Children, John Maddox Roberts (even with slavery and oppression of women, JMR makes Ancient Rome seem kinda neat)
22. Warchild, Karin Lowachee (slashy)
23. Counting Up, Counting Down, Harry Turtledove (“Deconstruction Gang” is worth the price of the book. I’m still ambivalent about the two stories referred to in the title)
24. The Better Part of Valor, Tanya Huff (I love this series, even if the first was better. Quote from which: “Marines do not eat other Marines.”)
25. Spirit of Thunder, Kurt R.A. Giambastiani (George Custer is President. His son is hanging out with the rebellious dinosaur-riding First Nations people out in the West. Imperfect, but fun.)
26. The Shiva Option, David Weber and Steve White (OMG. All I remember is that reading it was like a year off the time I expect to do in Purgatory)
27. Lion’s Blood, Stephen Barnes (If you can stomach a really grim portrait of slavery, this is AMAZING. And it has a soundtrack!)
28. Appleseed, John Clute (The important thing to remember is that humans smell bad. Bizarre beyond belief, in the best way possible)
29. Maximum Ice, Kay Kenyon (Solid, but I liked The Braided World better)
30. DAW 30th Anniversary Fantasy, edited Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert (Some good, some ho hum, nothing really bad.)
31.Bones of the Earth, Michael Swanwick (Again, the mind reels. Very very good. Touching, too.)
32. Transcension, Damien Broderick (Deeply Cool. One of the year’s best)
33. Channeling Cleopatra, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (I hated this, but as fluff goes–she said grudgingly–it wasn’t bad.)
34. Technogenesis, Syne Mitchell (Solid near-future SF)
Non-Fiction (not reviewed, just here for interest)
1. Reading the Slayer: An Unofficial Companion to Buffy and Angel, edited Roz Kaveny
2. Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
3. Ho, David Halberstam (Ho as in Ho Chi Minh)
4. Joan of Arc, Mary Gordon
5. Joan of Arc, the Image of Female Heroism, Marina Warner
6. Joan of Arc: A Military Leader, Kelly Devries
A few rereads, all top-notch
1. A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L’Engle
2. Up the Walls of the World, James Tiptree Jr.
3. Walk to the End of the World, Suzy McKee Charnas
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
Pingback: Girl Who Played with Fire | A.M. Dellamonica
Pingback: The Dog who Played with Scrabble: Watchers by Dean Koontz | Tor.com