Books I've read this year

[fredericks]

This is not quite a full list, as I've only started keeping track since April 13th, but I think it'll be interesting to keep tabs on what I manage to make my way through. I re-read often, particularly if I liked a book. The first re-read of a book for the year is noted with (R); subsequent re-reads are ignored.

Fiction/Non-Fiction/Short Story Collections
Vintner's Luck - Elizabeth Knox
Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones (R)
As Meat Loves Salt - Maria McCann
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
Cell - Stephen King
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman
Stalking Darkness - Lynn Flewelling
Luck in the Shadows - Lynn Flewelling
(note: I really disliked The Nightrunner Series. Like, REALLY.)
On Writing - Stephen King (R)
Castle in the Sky - Diana Wynne Jones
A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore
Kirith Kirin - Jim Grimsley
The Ordinary - Jim Grimsley
Comfort & Joy - Jim Grimsley
Anno Dracula - Kim Newman
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Dragon's Winter - Elizabeth A. Lynn
The Store - Bentley Little
Storm Front - Jim Butcher
Fool Moon - Jim Butcher
Assasination Vacation - Sarah Vowell*
Grave Peril - Jim Butcher
Summer Knight - Jim Butcher
Death Masks - Jim Butcher
Blood Rites - Jim Butcher
Dead Beat - Jim Butcher
Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher
World War Z - Max Brooks

Plays
Wit - Margaret Edson
Angels in America: Millenium Approaches - Tony Kushner (R)
Angels in America: Perestroika - Tony Kushner (R)


Trade Paperbacks/Graphic Novels
Powers:SuperGroup - Brian Michael Bendis
Stardust - Neil Gaiman (artist Charles Vess)
Marvel 1602 - Neil Gaiman
Sandman: The Dream Hunters - Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano
Powers: The Sellouts - Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Lucifer: Exodus - Mike Carey and artists (various)
Lucifer: The Wolf Beneath the Tree - Mike Carey and artists (various)
Tom Strong, Book Four - Alan Moore, et al.
Powers: Little Deaths - Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Powers: Anarchy - Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Powers: Legends - Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Secret Identity - Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen

The "Meh, Maybe I'll Get Around to Finishing It Eventually" List
An Arrow's Flight - Mark Merlis
Nightswimmer - Joseph Olshan
The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst

Comments

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

My favorite Stephen King comes from his drug-influenced years and I haven't read much of his newer works, so I went into Cell pretty hesitant. The rapid pace of the beginning really drew me in; it wasn't something I expected from King at all. It didn't try to be more than a survival tale until the middle/end, and even that I took in stride because it was all such a light read. And gripping, very gripping. Not nightmare enducing, but a definite "what would you do if most everyone in the world was zombie-like creature". I hope he writes a sequel or continuation of sorts, but even then I worry that he might turn in into an overinflated The Stand (which is my favorite King book but is arguably bloated). This is a pretty cruddy response because I'm not sure if you've read it or not and I don't want to spoil you if you haven't. If you HAVE, what did you think?

Something about Howl - the sequel isn't about Howl but about an Arabian/ME-er prince with a castle that runs around like Howl's. I have it in my possession still but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

[alicetheowl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've read Cell. But I've been unable to find the sequel to Howl's except on Amazon.

I really liked Cell, but my husband hated the ending. I understand his reasoning, but I don't agree with him.