Books Read in 2011

[maverick_weirdo]

Picked up from almeda. I'm going to track which books I read this year. Last year I read 55

• 'Date' below means the date I finished reading it;


• Origin abreviations: [ARC] means advanced reading copy; [G] means gift or giveaway (free); [L] means I got it from the library; [N] means new book (retail);
  [O] means online book; [P] means proofreading; [R] means a re-read; [S] means secondhand.


1. Jan 20: The Lodge of the Lynx by Katherine Kurtz & Deborah Turner Harris (The Adept #2) 1992, Urban Fantasy [S]
I find I'm more interested in the characters than the story
2. Jan 26: The Habitation of the Blessed by Catherynne Valente (A Dirge For Prester John #1) 2010, Fantasy [N]
Sureal tale within a tale within a tale
3. Feb 22: Islands in the Mist by Patrick Weeks, SF [P]
Manned aerial combat kites. What more do I need to say?
4. Feb 23: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (Fairyland Series #1) 2010, YA Fantasy [ARC]
   A beautifully balanced adventure of whimsy and suffering
   • Jul 30: The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland — For a Little While [O]
     A petite poignant prequel
5. Mar 27: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, 2009, Fantasy [G]
A lively story, in spite of it's darker tones
6. Mar 29: Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire (October Daye #4) 2011, Urban Fantasy [N]
A hero's instincts can be their strength or their weakness.
7. Mar 31: Imager's Intrigue by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Imager Portfolio #3) 2010, Fantasy [N]
Another politics of power story
8. Apr 18: Millennial Mythmaking edited by John Perlich and David Whit, 2010, Non-Fic [G]
About how SF&F genre has changed the definition of "mythic hero"
9. Apr 19: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #1) 2006, Urban Fantasy [N]
Harsh world with good characters
10. Apr 24: Darkship Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt, 2010, Space Opera [S]
an okay story, though the science and politics were a bit iffy
11. Apr 26: Storm Front by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #1) 2000, Urban Fantasy [S]
Solid storytelling
12. Shadow Unit, Season 3, 2011 [O]
    • May 01: Ligature by Elizabeth Bear & Emma Bull (Episode 3.07)
      The Anomaly is evolving
    • May 10: Wireless Girl by Emma Bull and Stephen Shipman (Episode 3.08)
      The tension is building
    • Jul 31: The Small Dark Movie of Your Life by Leah Bobet (Episode 3.09)
      Wow, drastic end of Season 3, The Anomaly is resisting being studied.
13. May 06: Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #2) 2007, Urban Fantasy [S]
An ok story, I'm getting a little tired of the focus on how unenlightened werewolves/vampires are.
14. May 19: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #1) 2001, Urban Fantasy [S]
"Werewolves. There's more than one kind of werewolf?"
15. May 22: The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window by Rachel Swirsky, 2010, Fantasy, Nebula Winner [O]
    An extended version ghost story
16. May 27: Regeneration by Julie E. Czerneda (Species Imperative #3), 2006, Alien SF [S]
    Writes really cool aliens
17. May 27: Selected Short stories by Mary Robinette Kowal, 2006-2011, SF [O]
    • Bound Man, (Twenty Epics, July 2006)
      The burden of destiny
    • Waiting for Rain, (Subterranean Magazine, Fall 2008)
      A wine story
    • Evil Robot Monkey, (Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, 2009)
      Nominated for Hugo Award
    • For Want of a Nail, (Asimov’s, September 2010)
      Hugo Award Winner
    • Tomorrow and Tomorrow, (Apex, reprint, January 2011)
      A dark story
    • Water to Wine, (Subterranean Magazine, reprint, Spring 2011)
      A wine story
18. May 28: Ill Wind by Rachel Caine (Weather Warden #1) 2003, Urban Fantasy [S]
    A wild ride with an unexpected ending
19. May 30: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #3)2008, Urban Fantasy [S]
    A fae plotline. I think I prefer the fae plotlines
20. Jun 01: In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker (The Company #1) 1997, SF, Time Travel [S]
    A strong period piece
21. Jun 06:Mendoza In Hollywood by Kage Baker (The Company #3) 2000, SF, Time Travel [S]
    Adds whole new meaning to "What did you know, and when did you know it?"
22. Jun 12: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge, 2006, SF, Urban [S]
    My favorite chapter "How-To-Survive-The-Next-Thirty-Minutes.PDF"
23. Jun 19: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #1) 2004, Fantasy [S]
    Young orphen sheepherder becomes hero. Good read.
24. Jun 28: Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint (A Newford Book) 2000, Urban Fantasy [S]
    Not his best book. I found the villians a bit petty
25. Jul 05: Geist by Philippa Ballantine (The Order #1) 2010, Fantasy [N]
    An adventure where the intrigue is kept simple
26. Jul 17: Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #2) 2005, Fantasy [N]
    The battle scenes took up a bit more than I would have liked, but overall a good story.
27. Jul 28: Who Goes There by John W Campbell, 1938, SF [O]
    A classic
28. Jul 30: Bearers of the Black Staff by Terry Brooks (Legends of Shannara #1) 2010, Fantasy [S]
    Familiar writing style, maybe a bit too familiar
29. Aug 04: Transfigured Lady by Mary Robinette Kowal, Period Fantasy [P]
    In "rough" form it's a marvelous story, once it is polished it will be a gem.
30. Aug 09: The Measure of Magic by Terry Brooks (Legends of Shannara #2) 2011, Fantasy [ARC]
    I can't decide if it was the fault of impulsive & immature characters, or a heavy-handed plot
31. Aug 17: The Infernal City by Greg Keys (Elder Scrolls #1) 2009, Fantasy, RPG [N]
    I think people would get more out of it if they had played the game
32. Aug 30: Lord of Souls by Greg Keys (Elder Scrolls #2) 2011, Fantasy, RPG [ARC]
    The various puzzle pieces end up coming together nicely
33. Sep 01: Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Retrieval Artist #1) 2002, Alien SF [S]
    A brilliant story of conflicting cultures
34. Sep 05: Stardoc by S.L. Viehl (Stardoc #1) 2000, Alien Space Opera [S]
    A bit more disturbing than your typical "Space Opera"
35. Sep 15: Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold (Mah-Jong #1) 2008, Urban Fantasy [N]
    An o.k. story, but for some reason it didn't thrill me
36. Sep 19: Halting State by Charles Stross, 2007, SF, Urban [N]
    A virtual game turns into spy vs. spy, told in a tongue-in-cheek style
37. Oct 08: Spectyr by Philippa Ballantine (The Order #2) 2011, Fantasty [N]
    A good story, although it suffers a bit from "middle-book-syndrome"
38. Oct 24: Restless Spirit by Matthew Schwartz (Novelette), SF [P]
    Mars has may risks, some more subtle than others
39. Oct 28: Kraken by China Miéville, 2010, Urban Fantasy [N]
    A well balanced British satire.
40. Nov 03: Silently And Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (novella) 2011, SF, [N]
    The premise of teaching an A.I. through "figurative communication" rather than "literal communication" is very clever.
41. Nov 07: One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire (October Daye #5) 2011, Urban Fantasy [N]
    This is Toby the Detective.
42. Nov 12: The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff (Confederation Series #5) 2010, Space Opera [N]
    Very different from the previous books, Torin is not the same without a team.
43. Nov 14: Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal (Glamour Series #2) 2012, Period Fantasy [ARC]
    Jane Austen meets Scarlet Pimpernel
44. Nov 18: Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Series) 2010, Space Opera [N]
    Touching and relevant
45. Nov 29: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicle #1) 2007, Fantasy [N]
    It has been a while since I read an epic this lush
46. Dec 02: Cursor's Furey by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #3) 2006, Fantasy [N]
    Plucky young hero takes command with courage and luck



47. Dec 00: Title by Author (Series #0) Year Published, Genre [origin]
    notes