Books Read 2012

[Odin]

Last year's thread is here.

I'm currently working on:
Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol IV (Ed Parker)
The Towers of Midnight (Robert Jordan)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

Finished:
The Night Eternal (Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan)
Luna Marine (Ian Douglas)
Europa Strike (Ian Douglas)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J. K. Rowling)
Star Corps (Ian Douglas)
Battlespace (Ian Douglas)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J. K. Rowling)
Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein)
Star Marines (Ian Douglas)
Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol II (Ed Parker)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J. K. Rowling)
11/22/63: A Novel (Stephen King)
Infinite Insights into Kenpo, Vol III (Ed Parker)
Inheritance (Christopher Paolini)
The Wind Through the Keyhole (Stephen King)
Dreadnaught (John G. Hemry writing as Jack Campbell)
In Fury Born (David Weber)
The Eye of the World (Robert Jordan)
The Great Hunt (Robert Jordan)
The Dragon Reborn (Robert Jordan)
The Hobbit (J. R. R. Tolkien)
Hatchet (Gary Paulsen)
The Shadow Rising (Robert Jordan)
The Fires of Heaven (Robert Jordan)
The Clockwork Three (Matthew J. Kirby)
The Lord of Chaos (Robert Jordan)
A Crown of Swords (Robert Jordan)
A Path of Daggers (Robert Jordan)
Winter's Heart (Robert Jordan)
Crossroads of Twilight (Robert Jordan)
Knife of Dreams (Robert Jordan)
Horns & Wrinkles (Joseph Helgerson)
The Gathering Storm (Robert Jordan)

[Bad Demographic]

Currently reading:


Read:
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
The Affair by Lee Child
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
I Shall Wear Midnight byTerry Pratchett
The God Engines by John Scalzi
Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs
The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed by Patrick Rothfuss, illustrated by Nate Taylor
Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs
The Mall of Cthulhu by Seamus Cooper
The Book of Heroes by Miyuki Miyabe
The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones
Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones
Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio book)
The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones
The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron
Catching Fire Suzanne Collins
MockingJay by Suzanne Collins
Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins
Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs
Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
The Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
The Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler
The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker
The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett
May Contain Traces of Magic by Tom Holt
The Tough Guide to FantasyLand by Diana Wynne Jones
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
Red Shirts by John Scalzi
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks
Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Blonde Bombshell by Tom Holt
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
Barking by Tom Holt
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt
The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones
The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones
Second Son by Lee Child
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
Bird of the River by Kage Baker
Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones
Drowned Ammet by Diana Wynne Jones
Seeing Further: The Story of Science, Discovery and the Genius of the Royal Society by Bill Bryson (partial)
You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here But It Helps by Tom Holt
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt
The Portable Door by Tom Holt
Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
Dr. Who: Shada: The Lost Adventure by Douglas Adams and Gareth Roberts
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Eric by Terry Pratchett
The Woman Who Died a Lot: a Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
A Wanted Man by Lee Child
Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones
Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith
Believing is Seeing by Diana Wynne Jones
Stopping for a Spell by Diana Wynne Jones
Sin City Vol. 7: Hell and Back by Frank Miller

[disarm]

2011 was my first time participating in one of these threads, and I think it was a pretty successful year...read 16 novels, two biographies, the first 84 issues of The Walking Dead, and a 1400-page anesthesiology text from cover to cover while studying for my board exams. I've really gotten back into reading for leisure over the last year and a half after quite a few years of being focused on school and am looking forward to another book-filled year

Finished

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins - January 3
Among the Living - Timothy Long - January 13
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - January 23
Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman - February 14
Coraline - Neil Gaiman - February 23
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith - March 6
Badass Zombie Road Trip - Tonia Brown - March 16
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks - April 7
The Magicians - Lev Grossman - July 4
The Magician King - Lev Grossman - October 23
The Strain - Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan - October 29
The Fall - Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan - November 14
The Night Eternal - Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan - December 7
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein - December 14
Blaze of Glory - Sheryl Nantus - December 25


In Progress

Ghost in the Wires - Kevin Mitnick

[Isgrimnur]

1. Fighting the Flying Circus by Eddie Rickenbacker
2. Beating Back the Devil: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service
3. Acceptable Loss by Kregg P. Jorgenson
4. SKYJACK: The Hunt for D. B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray
5. A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy by Robert Moore
6. The Knock at the Door: A Mother's Survival of the Armenian Genocide by Margaret Ahnert
7. George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I by Miranda Carter
8. Neuromancer by William Gibson
9. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
10. Count Zero by William Gibson
11. Proximity: A Novel of the Navy's Elite Bomb Squad by Stephen Phillips
12. Land with No Sun: A Year in Vietnam With the 173rd Airborne by Command Sergeant Major Ted G. Arthurs
13. The Falklands War 1982 (Essential Histories) - Osprey
14. Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam by Mark Bowden
15. Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov
16. The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov
17. History of the Jews by Paul Johnson
18. Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov
19. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
20. Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
21. The Complete Peanuts 1979-1980 by Charles M. Schulz
22. The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982 by Charles M. Schulz
23. The Argentine Fight for the Falklands by Martin Middlebrook
24. Unarmed Combat (Sas & Elite Forces Guide) by Martin J Dougherty
25. K-19 The Widowmaker The Secret Story of The Soviet Nuclear Submarine by Peter Huchthausen, Capt. USN (Ret.)
26. Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs by Steve Davies

[lildrgn]

Last year, 31 books.

Favorite books of 2011:
Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Killing Moon by Chuck Hogan
The Drop by Michael Connelly

Favorite new author of 2011:
Stuart Neville

Let's see how many I get this year.

Books read (all on Kindle unless noted):

1. Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
4. Run by Blake Crouch
5. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
6. Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry
7. Gideon's Corpse by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
8. Sanctus by Simon Coyne
9. Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley (book!)
10. The Hanging Tree by Bryan Gruley (book!)
11. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
12. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
13. Sleepwalk With Me: And Other Painfully True Stories by Mike Birbiglia
14. Ghost Story by Peter Straub
15. The First Rule by Robert Crais
16. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
17. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
18. Hannibal by Thomas Harris
19. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
20. Meg by Steve Alten
21. The Basement by Stephen Leather
22. The Sentry by Robert Crais
23. 61 Hours by Lee Child
24. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
25. Already Dead by Charlie Huston
26. No Dominion by Charlie Huston
27. A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell (book)
28. The Vault by Ruth Rendell (book)
29. The Haunted by Bentley Little (book)
30. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (book)
31. The Worst Thing by Aaron Elkins (book)
32. The Skeleton Box by Bryan Gruley (book)
33. Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham (book)
34. Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
35. Broken Harbor by Tana French (book)

Now reading:
The Black Box by Michael Connelly

On Hiatus:
Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
14 by Peter Clines
Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford (book)
Trapped by J.A. Konrath and Jack Kilborn
Dream Team by Jack McCallum
Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

[Jaymann]

I am working on 11/22/63. Not a big Steven King fan, but I have often considered this theme, and he wrote the book before I could.

[moghedian]

READING

--Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

READ
-The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
- Watchers of Time by Charles Todd
- Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder
-The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
-Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry
(ZOMBIES!....sort of)....read this a while back but there are a couple
more books in the series I haven't read so I wanted to get back up to speed!
-The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry ..enjoyed the first one, the library had the next one so I got it
-11/22/63 by Stephen King
-Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
-Level 26:Dark Orgins by Anthony E. Zuicker
-Ice Fire by David Lyons
-Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke
-The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James (NOOK)
- The Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott and Colette Freedman (NOOK)
- How to Travel the World For Free by Michael Wigge (NOOK)
--Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
-- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (NOOK)
--Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (NOOK)
--The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma
--77 Days in September by Ray Gorham (NOOK)
--Killer Show: The Station Nightclub Fire by John Barylick (NOOK)
--The Rook: A Novel by Daniel O'Malley

[YellowKing]

Now Reading:

Dance of Dragons - George R. R. Martin

[JonathanStrange]

Read quite a bit this past year, mostly fiction. However, when I stopped and did a quick scan of the more memorable books, I found they were mostly nonfiction history or science. I thought some might be interested in these books; I think they deserve a wider readership.

Anyhow, in rough order My Top Ten Favorite Books of 2011:

1. The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hours of the Roman Republic Robert O'Connell A vivid account of one of the most famous battles in history. "Hannibal, you know how to win a battle, but not how to use the victory." - Maharbal, Hannibal's cavalrygeneral.

2. The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945 Ian Kershaw Kershaw examines in detail the reasons why the Germans fought on. I don't think he comes up with "new" reasons and motivations but he supports his conclusions well.

3. Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization Richard Miles The book's a bit on the scholarly side, in terms of writing and detail, but it's a great one-volume history of Carthage.

4. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt Toby Wilkinson I've this in Kindle and Hardback versions; another strong one volume text. Egypt needs more than one book, but if I had to have only one...

5. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin Timothy Snyder Between 1933 and 1945, 14 million people were murdered in Eastern Europe. The geographic region between and shared by Germany and Russia was, to put it mildly, a very dangerous neighborhood.

6. The Reapers Are The Angels Alden Bell I feel I've read dozens of post-apocalyptic books - and more than a few where the fall is caused by zombies or vampires or zombie vampires - and I rarely remember the characters. But I remember Temple. This is not another YA novel of the end times (like The Forest of Hands and Teeth or This World We Live In) - it is intense and harsh, a southern gothic tale, "a fresh take on a zombie novel."

7. The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World Edward Dolnick
A behind-the-scenes study of Newton and the world he was born into and the one he helped create.

8. Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal James D. Hornfischer I've neglected the Pacific campaign, esp. the USN's role. I'd always sort of thought the USN basically rolled over a hapless enemy; it turns out we didn't and the Japanese weren't.

9. The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence Paul Davies Another book - a worthwhile one - for those of us wondering "If the Universe is teeming with aliens...Then where is everybody?" (another book on my "To Read" list)

10. The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Brian Greene Greene's one of many physicists writing popular physics books; he may be the most prolific as well. If you're going to only read one physics for nonscientists - and you've read Hawkings - Greene's very readable.

[tgb]

Boardwalk Empire, the source for the series (although it's a more comprehensive history of Atlantic City starting just after the Civil War and into the modern era. Nucky's story is just one chapter of a larger picture).

[Smutly]

Just started reading some bizarro fiction (new genre for me).

I just finished The Haunted Vagina and am now reading Zombies and Shit, both by Carlton Mellick III.

The first was more of a short story about a woman's vagina literally being a pathway to a new world and one man's adventures in said world. It was okay.

The second appears to be a "Running Man" meets "Mad Max" meets "Night of the Living Dead". It appears to be a more serious effort and so far I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

If anyone else reads bizarro and has any recommendations I'm all ears.

[theohall]

Reading:
I Zombie I - Jack Wallen

Read:
How Firm a Foundation - David Weber
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline - This book is awesome, as others have stated elsewhere.
A Rising Thunder - David Weber
Along Came a Spider - James Patterson
Kiss The Girls - James Patterson
Jack and Jill - James Patterson
A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Moneyball - Michael Lewis
Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Into the Black: Odyssey One - Evan Currie
Because of Winn-Dixie - Kate DiCamillo
Before They are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie
The Last Explorer: Hubert G. Wilkins Hero of the Great Age of Polar Exploration - Simon Nasht
Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie
Perfect Assassin - Ward Larsen
The Messenger - Ward Larsen
Wheat Belly - William Davis, M.D.
Stealing Trinity - Ward Larsen
Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling
The Heart of Matter: Odyssey One - Evan Currie
The Killing Floor - Lee Child
Bolos: The Honor of the Regiment - created by Keith Laumer
Bolos: The Unconquerable - created by Keith Laumer
The Compleat Bolo - created by Keith Laumer
The Closing of the Muslim Mind - Robert Reilly
The Terrorist Next Door - Eric Stakelback
Agenda 21 - Glenn Beck & Harriet Parke
Killing Kennedy - Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugarde

[Archinerd]

Reading:
-Nonfiction-
Barrows Boys by Fergus Fleming. Historical accounts of expeditions during the 1800s under the direction of John Barrow, Second Secretary to the British Admiralty.
Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay. About the origins and stories surrounding pigments, dyes, etc.
Drawn In by Julia Rothma. "A peek into the inspiring sketchbooks of 44 fine artists, illustrators, graphic designers and cartoonists"

-Fiction-
Kraken by China Mieville
Zone One by Colson Whitehead

Finished:

[Baroquen]

For 2011 - I read a total of 13 books, which is decent for me, as I spend so much time playing games and reading web stuff. Books included some re-reading and new reads of Card's Ender books, a few Alex Cross novels, the first two Stieg Larrson books, "Game of Thrones" and "Clash of Kings", and some non-fiction to shake things up.

Currently reading:
"Moneyball" - free on my Kindle.
(Also, a guilty-pleasure quick read of a pro wrestling memoir hardly worth mentioning.)

Both should be done soon. Then, will probably go back to one of the above series before hitting something non-fiction after. Maybe. Probably.

[SlapBone]

Finished
Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
The Outlaw Album - Daniel Woodrell
The God Engines - John Scalzi - Novella
The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt
The Rook - Daniel 0'Malley
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart - Jesse Bullington
The Atrocity Archives - Charles Stross
The January Dancer - Michael Flynn
The Jennifer Morgue - Charles Stross
Down On the Farm - Charles Stross - Short Story
Overtime - Charles Stross - Short Story
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack - Mark Hodder
Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding
Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks - Ken Jennings

Working on:

The Bayou Trilogy - Daniel Woodrell
Reamde - Neal Stephenson
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace

[Holman]

I liked keeping a list last year, but I lost steam and didn't keep it updated after the summer. This year, more better!

The Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War, Peter Englund -- Follows twenty individuals' experience (all sides, civilian and not) through their surviving diaries and letters.
Old Man's War, John Scalzi -- Military SF in the Heinlein tradition, but with a sense of humor about it.
On SF, Thomas Disch -- Critical essays by a Grand Old Man fed up with Science Fiction's BS.
The Business of $cience Fiction, Mike Resnick and Barry Malzberg -- Collected co-written essays by two Grand Old Men concerned with the publishing and economics of the genre.
The Missing of the Somme, Geoff Dyer -- Dyer is known as a witty, sardonic novelist and critic, but this is a very affecting book about the World War One dead.
(Incidentally, Dyer's upcoming book is Zona, about the Russian SF movie Stalker, from which the games-of-the-same-name derive.)
Otherwise Known as the Human Condition: Selected Essays and Reviews, Geoff Dyer
Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D.H. Lawrence, Geoff Dyer -- Spoiler: he's not actually writing about Lawrence.

[Jolor]

The Hunger Games - Collins
Altar of Bones - Carter
Catching Fire - Collins
Mockingjay - Collins
The Osiris Ritual - Mann
Under Heaven - Kay
Half-Blood Blues - Edugyan
Enclave - Reed
Ysabel - Kay
Unholy Night - Grahame-Smith
The Immorality Engine - Mann
The Bone House - Lawhead
The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief - Macintyre
The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man: (Burton & Swinburne In) - Hodder
The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack - Hodder
Rasputin's Bastards - Nickle

Reading
The Black Prism - Weeks

[MHS]

Ugh. I stink at these.

Finished
Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I didn't want to read this because the plot sounded pretty contrived to me, but it was a good book and a really fast read. The atmosphere is what carries this book, as the plot is pretty thin and the characters aren't all that interesting.

The Warlock by Michael Scott. Book 5 of the Alchemyst series. Not as strong as the first 4, but it's a fun series and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo. No help with odds, calculating EV, or developing better range reading abilities, but reminded me of a lot of essentials for my mindset when playing. Glad I re-read it.

Kill Everyone: Advanced Strategies for NLHE Poker

Harrington on Hold 'Em 1

The Poker Blueprint by Tri Nguyen

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. A frothy bit of lesbian Victoriana involving a layered con scam in London.

And, having been on a bit of a zombie kick lately:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Plague of the Dead and Thunder And Ashes by Z.A. Recht

Currently Reading

Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry

The Raiser's Edge- Tournament Strategies for Today's Aggressive Game

[LawBeefaroni]

Reading:

• The Everything Soup, Stew, and Chili Cookbook
• Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability
• Dances with Dragons (yeah, shelved it because I was hating it and didn't want to finish disappointed but I'm going to pick it up again)
• Crazy '08
• Ready Player One
• Sex on the Moon

Finished:
Ready Player One: Eh, an 80's fetishist's grand wank. Way too many references shoe-horned in (and the plot even called for constant 80's references) and lots of really interesting ideas that went unexplored. A really quick, popcorny read. Enjoyable but disappointing. [2/14/2012]

Sex on the Moon

Crazy '08
BTW, to keep easy access to this thread, at the top of the OP, click on "Bookmark Thread." You can then find it "Manage Bookmarks" quickly in your User Control Panel.

[deadzone]

Just finished the Hunger Games Trilogy

Currently reading Carrion Comfort

[Isgrimnur]

BTW, to keep easy access to this thread, at the top of the OP, click on "Bookmark Thread." You can then find it "Manage Bookmarks" quickly in your User Control Panel.

Or we could ask a forum moderator to sticky it.

[Lassr]

Ratings: 1 to 10*

The Terror-Dan Simmons 5*
The Night Eternal-Del Toro and Hogan 8*
Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile-J.L. Bourne 6*
Monster Story-McCarty Griffin 6*
Who Goes There?-John W. Campbell 6*
Search -Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens 6*
Day of the Triffids-John Wyndham 7*
Star Wars: The Cestus Deception -Steven Barnes 4*

Reading:
Alice Will-Ashley Chappell

[Scuzz]

I finished reading The Prize by Daniel Yergin last night.

A book on the history of the oil industry from the 1850's to 1990. Full of names that you will recognize from any history class. I found it to favor the oil industry but maybe I was looking for something that isn't really there. The second half of the book....1930's on I thought were very interesting.

[Pyperkub]

Haven't read much this year - too many Steam sale games so far.

Finished:
Thieves' World: First Blood (Thieves' World/Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn)
Inheritance (Eragon bk 4)
The Liberation of Max McTrue

Currently reading:
The Heroes
Infinite Reality
11/22/1963
Expert Oracle Database 10g Administration
Active Directory

[Odin]

Thieves' World: First Blood (Encapsulates the first 2 Thieves' World anthologies)

Holy cow, I think I still have about a dozen of the original paperbacks in that series. I remember I liked it quite a bit - especially the way characters wove in and out of different authors' stories.

[noxiousdog]

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
Raising Stony Mayhall - Daniel Gregory

[Pyperkub]

Thieves' World: First Blood (Encapsulates the first 2 Thieves' World anthologies)

Holy cow, I think I still have about a dozen of the original paperbacks in that series. I remember I liked it quite a bit - especially the way characters wove in and out of different authors' stories.

yeah, I kind of wanted to read them again, and found it on Kindle in the 2 for 1 format.

I remember way back when, I even had the RPG box:



which was really cool.

[Odin]

I remember seeing that in the bookstore, but never picked it up.

[Covenant72]

Last year with the purchase of my Kindle, I found myself getting into the bad habit of reading half a book (or less) and moving onto something else. Too many choices tend to divide my attention up to a point that I don't finish anything (I have the same issue with video games). So starting last month, I began to make a concerted effort to actually finish the books I have started. I will put down my list of books I am in the process of reading, what I am currently working on and move them over to complete (along with notes) as I finish them off. Several of the books on my list are the first in series. Based on how I much I enjoy them, I will continue or abandon the series. Series that I am already committed to, I will put books that I finished last year into the complete list, as they were completed in the last month or so anyway and it's makes for a more complete list.

Finished (final):

• Jurassic Park - Read this one a long time ago and decided to re-read it on a whim. It's very different than the movie (much darker) and is well worth a read.
• The Passage - Fantastic book about a vampire apocalypse. It's the first in a planned trilogy and the 2nd book comes out in october. Can't wait to pick it up.
• Pawn of Prophesy - First book of The Belgariad which I'm not certain I ever actually read before. Someone mentioned it somewhere and I decided to check out a few pages, next thing I know I was finished. Great book!
• Reamde - Turned out to be pretty decent. Not one of Stephenson's best, but still quite enjoyable. The end fell apart and kinda felt like he didn't know quite how to resolve everything, but I still enjoyed the overall ride.
• Dune - A sci-fi classic that I somehow never managed to read. Very deep sci-fi with lots of interesting ideas going on. I picked this up and put it down several times for whatever reason but ended up enjoying it.
• The Strain - First in a trilogy about vampires by Guierrmo Del Toro. Not too complicated, reads like a movie with traces of Blade in there. Goes by pretty quick and is nice when you are looking for something light.
• Under the Dome - Another unplanned read, I had tried to read this a couple years ago and it didn't catch. This time I picked it up on a lark and ended up blowing through it in under a week. A good book with some interesting themes and easy to get through.
• Ender's Game - I read this a couple years ago for the first time and loved it. The urge struck me over the weekend to re-read it and since it's a really quick read, I snuck it in. Got through it in about a day and enjoyed it just as much as the first time.
• Anathem -This was an unplanned re-reading of one of my favorite books. The mood struck me recently (probably from working through Reamde) and I decided to plow through it over the course of a week. Even better then 2nd time through and reaffirms that this is one of my favorite sci-fi books ever.
• Ready Player One - what a great book! A little slow to start but picks up immensely and never slows down about 20% in.
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - A great mystery with lots of nifty twists and turns. I blew through this in a few days and am looking forward to where the story goes from here.
• The Hunger Games - Light reading with a very cool premise. This is young adult literature that can be enjoyed by everyone, just don't expect anything super deep. I'm looking forward to how the story progresses. Feels like it's going to get a lot bigger in scope over the next two books.
• Magician: Apprentice - A fairly standard fantasy novel that somehow manages to elevate itself to greatness. The characters are very likable and the writing is quite charming.
• Imajica - My favorite Clive Barker novel, I read it once before many moons ago and decided to reread it recently to re-experience it. Just as fantastic the 2nd time around.

[rshetts2]

Thanks to my Nook, I read quite a lot last year. I didnt keep up with the book thread as well.as I would have liked though. Ill hopefully done better this time around.

[Zarathud]

With the Kindle, I hoped to keep better tabs on my reading habits. The 2012 list will go here, impressions will follow.

Reading:

Completed:
Consider Phlebas, by Ian M. Banks
The Player of Games, by Ian M. Banks
The Steel Remains, by Richard K. Morgan
The Cold Commands, by Richard K. Morgan
Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

[Zarathud]

I can see why people would like Ian M. Banks, but I'm done with him.

After reading that the back story in the Eclipse board game drew heavily on his work, I decided to read Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games. After two books, I'm absolutely frustrated with his narrative conclusions. I've almost thrown my Kindle across the room twice so far this year, and I'm not going to risk a third time.

I like space operas and world building, and science fiction and fantasy can provide compelling social commentary with a talented author. However, the people in Banks' books become minor players compared to his worlds. The narrative follows the smallest details of the environment and atmosphere, to the extent that the characters not only fail to develop but become more flat in comparison.

I liked Gurgeh in Player of Games, but his obsession with the end game completely ruined him as a character. I even liked the annoying drones for a while, but the "big reveals" turned the characters inside out by making them and their struggles meaningless. What's more annoying is that the endings seem to come out of nowhere. In part, I'm convinced that the nihilistic deus ex machina nature of the Culture weakens his storytelling and becomes a convenient manner to wrap up plot lines.

Perhaps I've just been spoiled in 2011 by the interesting characters in Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicle), Joe Abercrombie (The First Law), Brent Weeks (Black Prism) and Greg Keyes (Age of Unreason/Elder Scrolls).

[A nonny mouse]

I read a lot of books last year, but never posted. Maybe I'll do that in my ample free time. ha.
I normally have 3-4 books going at the same time, so If I hit a dry patch or need a change of pace, I switch to something else.

Currently reading:
John Adams by David McCullough (been on-and-off reading this for a while)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln By Doris Kearns Goodwin (another I have been reading on-and-off)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman


Completed:
A Feast for Crows
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - my sister recommended this. I thought it was good
Ghost Soldiers: The forgotten epic story of World War II's most dramatic mission by Hampton Sides - Excellent book.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - I can see why young readers were (are) hooked on these. not all kiddy candy fluff.
Last Call: The rise and fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
Headstone by Ken Bruen
The Triumph of the Fungi: A Rotten History by Nicholas P. Money
Blitz by Ken Bruen


Read previously but would recommend:
Anything by Ken Bruen, especially his Jack Taylor series (starting with The Guards)

[Fretmute]

Currently Reading:

• The Cobra Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn (Technically a re-read)

Completed:

• Stonewielder, by Ian C. Esslemont

[Gumps]

I hope that I can make a dent in my 30+ nook books waiting to be read, not to mention my 150+ physical books. I need to retire soon so I can catch up on my back log.

Finished Books - 2012
Drood - Dan Simmons (historical fiction starring Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins)

Mistborn: Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson (nook)(excellent book - cemented in my mind why I think Sanderson is probably the best new fantasy writer in a long time. Very few can create a UNIQUE world like him. His magic systems- Allomancy and Feruchemistry - are unique and interesting).

Mistborn: The well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson (nook). You think this s going to have the typical fantasy tropes, but then you are surprised by the direction the story takes. Truly deep characters with none being perfect. I can't wait to read the conclusion.

Mistborn: The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson (nook). This was the conclusion to the first trilogy, and it didn't disappoint in the slightest. Plenty of surprises, even though there were clues scattered throughout the whole series. Favorite magic system EVER.

The Venetian Betrayal - Steve Berry (Third in the Cotton Malone Books). Not bad, but not my favorite of the Cotton Malone books that I have read. Too much exposition. It seems that the book was rushed and not enough thought was put into the characters and their motivations. That said, it was interesting how the story of Alexander the Great was used as the basis for the story.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins This seems to be the hot book right now, especially with the movie coming out this weekend. I loved the overall concept of the story and many of the plot lines. The writing was simplistic, but it was a youth book, and the characters were predictable. It was an overall above average read and in the right hands, I could see it making a pretty good movie.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins The second book of the series surpassed the first in my opinion, if only because I was truly carried along by the story. Unlike the first book, I was truly surprised at many of the plot twists that occurred. I wish we could see more growth in the main character, but she basically returns to where she started the first book as a character (in re: her ability to discuss her Concerns, her inability to trust, etc). The only other real down side to the book, is that I feel the publisher insisted that she come in under 400 pages, thus the conclusion to the story was covered in about 10 pages, mostly through exposition versus natural story telling. I have never been one for someone to tell what happened or is happening versus experiencing it.

Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan Since I have loved everything Sanderson related, I decided to pick up the Wheel of Time series where I left off, just so I could get back caught up to the Brandon Sanderson penned novels. I remember why I quite the series. Unlikeable characters, lack of any real character growth, plodding storylines, too many open story lines with too many characters (you can be epic without being over burdensome). All contributed to a blah story. Only two novels to go until Sanderson takes over.

The Inklings - Jeffrey Koterba This is a memoir from the cartoonist Jeffrey Koterba. Not one of my favorite reads. Nothing profound, nothing of any real substance.

Foundation - Isaac Asimov(nook) I read this once probably close to 25 years ago and enjoyed it. This time I read it and loved. It was obvious why this is considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time. Basically a collection of short stories/novellas each of which takes a look at society through a future lens. The utilization of a Sheldon crisis allowed Asimov to address different societal pressures and their results.

Currently Reading
(memoir).

[Gumps]

I like space operas and world building, and science fiction and fantasy can provide compelling social commentary with a talented author. However, the people in Banks' books become minor players compared to his worlds. The narrative follows the smallest details of the environment and atmosphere, to the extent that the characters not only fail to develop but become more flat in comparison.

I can understand how you could feel that way, but I still seemed to really like "Player of Games" and "Use of Weapons". That said if you like space operas, along with making you think, I would recommend The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton (starts with the Reality Dysfunction).

[Baroquen]

Since I babbled in my last entry of this thread, I'll start my list here.

READ:
"Moneyball" by Michael Lewis (Kindle)
I read this mainly to try out my Fire, and because it was free. I'm a big baseball fan, but hadn't really felt the urge to read this in the last few years until now. That said, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not a huge A's fan, nor a rabid follower of Bill James, but I recognized most names, and liked the behind the scenes look at the team. Was a fun, light read.

Not sure what I'll read next.

[silverjon]

So far this year, I've read 3 excellent mysteries by Louise Penny, a so-so thriller called The Informationist, the 3rd book in the Monstrumologist YA series, some decent erotica novellas and most of a sex-slasher novel by Lawrence Block under a pseudonym.

I have way too much nonfiction out from the library and all I want to read is pulp.

And I won't be updating this thread with anywhere close to everything I read over the year. Too onerous when I could be using that time to read.

[Archinerd]

Currently reading:
The Triumph of the Fungi: A Rotten History by Nicholas P. Money

hmm. This looks like something I might like. Let us (me) know if it's good.

[Reemul]

On my Kindle I keep a folder for each year called Read 2011 and Read 2012 and so on. Last year I read 118 which was a bit of a shock, 5 so far this year. On a bit of a WH40k run atm

Ultramarines 01
Space Wolf 1
Chosen Prey - John Sandford (book 12 of 21)
Veteran by Gavin Smith
Zero Day - David Baldacci