Books Read in 2009

[Geezer]

I read an interview with Grossman which said he would be writing a follow-up.  I believe Grossman said that the sequel will probably jump ahead several years. 

The book stands well on it's own and does a pretty good job at wrapping everything up (a couple of things a bit too neatly IMO). 

Finished it last night.  Not bad, and I'd read the sequel, but I found the first third awesome, the second third dark and the last third sort of goofy.  The "epilogue" I'm not sure of yet.  It will be interesting to see where the author goes with it, and where it is primarily set.

[Scuzz]

The List of Seven by Mark Frost......


I read this book because I had read a couple golf/history books written by Frost and thought I would give his fiction work a try. It is not bad, but not great. It is designed as a page turner and it works in some places and not in others.

Basically the book involves Arthur Conan Doyle before he wrote his Sherlock Holmes books. The plot revolves around the occult, murder, a plot on the English Crown and finally a very strange but not unexpected twist at the end.

*** of 5

[TheMissingLink]

I've read the first 6 Harry Potter books in the last 4 months or so and they have been amazing.  SOOOO much better than the movies.

[lildrgn]

Just finished The Given Day by Dennis Lehane and will be starting 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly tonight!

[iloveplywood]

Finished the Red Planet trilogy by Kim Stanely (as well as The Martians).  Interesting read, but in my opinion it went downhill after the first book.  Blue Planet in particular took me forever to get through.  To be fair, it is sort of my worst nightmare of a writing style as I'm not that into description and Stanely likes to describe things in great detail (like every crater on Mars).  So if you like description in your fiction you will probably enjoy the books more than I did.   

As a quasi-conservative it was interesting to read about his vision of a non-capitalistic economic system (in theory I have no problem with capitalism being replaced).  I couldn't help but roll my eyes a few times, but I try to keep an open mind while reading fiction so it wasn't so bad.  But if you are sensitive to christian bashing and hate socialism I would probably not recommend the books to you. 

Overall it couldn't have been terrible as I finished the trilogy and I'm glad I did just to see the characters to the end.  It certainly had a nice epic feel to it.  It also had a lot of scientific detail -- way too much for my tastes and it contained a lot of rambling tangents on topics such as psychology.  This isn't all bad, but for me it contributed to the series dragging on for far too many pages.  Anyway here are my rankings (five star system):

Red Planet: 3 stars
Green Planet: 2.5 stars
Blue Plane: 2.0 stars

[lildrgn]

Finished 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly. Now reading Fuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath.

[lildrgn]

Finished Fuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath. Onto The Enemy by Lee Child.

[ATB]

Took some time off. Read a ho hum Mark Twain Book and a pretty boring autobiography about some art thief.

Just completed We Are Soldiers Still...and excellent companion and follow-up to the greatest book about war ever written.

Am now, after many years, re-reading Dracular. Stoker was a genius.

[Isgrimnur]

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong 4/5.

The book does a very good job of covering Armstrong's childhood, Navy flier experience during Korea, and his NACA experience flying the X-15.  Obviously, a significant portion is devoted to his Apollo 11 training and experiences.  At one point, there's a weird left turn to explore contemporary coverage from an author that never had a one-on-one interview with him, but overall the book does a great job exploring Armstrong's life and just how different and private he was from the rest of the people around him.  It doesn't spend a whole lot of time exploring the last 40 years of his life (so far), but then, I guess there's not much call to explore his corporate sponsorships and board of directors work in much more detail than is presented here.  I learned things about the programs he was involved with that I didn't know as well, which is always a bonus for me.

[kathode]

Finally made it through Storm of Swords.  Took months of reading, but wow, what an amazing book.  The chapter where everything gets upended (you know the one if you've read it) was so shocking I had to read it over twice.  Did not see that coming at all.

Jumping right into Feast for Crows, which I hear is not as good, but figure I might as well finish off the series as it currently stands and then I can join the disappointed throngs waiting what's likely at least another year for Dance of Dragons.  My goal is to finish it by the end of the year.

[Isgrimnur]

My goal is to not finish it until Martin finishes writing the next one.

FTFY

[lildrgn]

Finished Dirty Martini by J.A. Konrath. Will resume The Enemy by Lee Child once I can get the Kindle back from my wife.

[Scuzz]

Finished the Red Planet trilogy by Kim Stanely (as well as The Martians).  Interesting read, but in my opinion it went downhill after the first book.  Blue Planet in particular took me forever to get through.  To be fair, it is sort of my worst nightmare of a writing style as I'm not that into description and Stanely likes to describe things in great detail (like every crater on Mars).  So if you like description in your fiction you will probably enjoy the books more than I did.   

As a quasi-conservative it was interesting to read about his vision of a non-capitalistic economic system (in theory I have no problem with capitalism being replaced).  I couldn't help but roll my eyes a few times, but I try to keep an open mind while reading fiction so it wasn't so bad.  But if you are sensitive to christian bashing and hate socialism I would probably not recommend the books to you. 

Overall it couldn't have been terrible as I finished the trilogy and I'm glad I did just to see the characters to the end.  It certainly had a nice epic feel to it.  It also had a lot of scientific detail -- way too much for my tastes and it contained a lot of rambling tangents on topics such as psychology.  This isn't all bad, but for me it contributed to the series dragging on for far too many pages.  Anyway here are my rankings (five star system):

Red Planet: 3 stars
Green Planet: 2.5 stars
Blue Plane: 2.0 stars

I agree completely. I thought the first book was very good and that after that he loses all focus.

[Scuzz]

Flash Forward by Robert Sawyer...

The TV series is based on this book. The book starts out really well and then kinda drags thru the middle to a decent end. I don't know about the science used in the book but it sounded a little too convienent to me.

Decent...not great.

*** of 5

[lildrgn]

Finished Cherry Bomb by J.A. Konrath, onto Borderlands by Brian McGilloway.

[JohnathanStrange]

JANUARY
Odyssey of the West IV A Classic Education through the Great Books* Timothy B. Shutt LIT
Stupid Black Men How To Play The Race Card - And Lose Larry Elder SOC
Great Sky River (Galactic Center, volume 3) Gregory Benford SCI FI
My War Killing Time In Iraq Colby Buzzell CURRENT
The Last True Story I'll EverTell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in IraqJohn Crawford CURRENT
Hard Corps From Gangster to Marine Hero Marco Martinez CURRENT
In Praise of Prejudice The Necessity of Preconceived Ideas Theodore Dalrymple SOC
Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life James Hawkes LIT
Ony A Theory Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul Kenneth R. Miller SCI

FEBRUARY
Dumbing Us Down The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling John Taylor Gatto SOC
Battlespace Book Two of The Legacy Trilogy Ian Douglas SCI FI
Ender's Exile Orson Scott Card SCI FI
Just After Sunset Stories Stephen King FICT
Star Marines Book Three of The Legacy Trilogy Ian Douglass SCI FI

MARCH
The Soul Thief* Charles Baxter FICTION
Alive in Necropolis A Novel Doug Dorst FICTION
The Kings of New York A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, And Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team Michael Weinreb CURRENT
Byzantium The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire Judith Herrin HISTORY
A Concise History of Byzantium Warren Treadgold HISTORY
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World David W. Anthony HISTORY

APRIL
The Mountain People Colin Turnbull NONFICTION
The Decline and Fall of Rome* Thomas F. Madden HISTORY
The Ruin of the Roman Empire A New History James J. O'Donnell HISTORY
Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe William Rosen
Your Heart Belongs To Me Dean Koontz
Is God A Mathematician? Mario Livio
Winston's War Michael Dobbs

MAY
Stalin's Children: Three Generations of Love, War, and Survival Own Matthews
Empires of Trust How Rome Built - and America is Building - a New World Thomas F. Madden
The Turnaround A Novel George Pelecanos
The SuperOrganism The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies E. O. Wilson , Bert Holldobler
The Third Reich At War Richard J. Evans

JUNE
The Source A Novel James Michener
Unbelievable Investigations Into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, And Other Unseen Phenomena, From The Duke Parapsychology Laboratory Stacy Horn
The ESP Enigma The Scientific Case for Psychic Phenomena Dianne Powell, M.D.
The Last Defender of Camelot Roger Zelazny
Give Me Back My Legions! Harry Turtledove
White King And Red Queen How The Cold War Was Fought On The Chessboard Daniel Johnson
Escape From Hell A Novel Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Selections from Dreamsongs 2: Tales of Fantasy, Horror/Sci Fi and a Man Called Tuf* G.R.R. Martin
A Clockwork Orange A Novel* Anthony Burgess
Berserkers The Beginning* Fred Saberhagen
Elric of Melnibone* Michael Moorcock
Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-In-Chief* James McPherson

JULY
Jews, God And History Max I. Dimont
The Yiddish Policemen's Union* Michael Chabon
The Killer Angels A Novel of Gettysburg* Michael Shaara
The Defeat of Rome in the East Crassus, The Parthians, and the Disastrous Battle of Carrhae, 53 BC Gareth C. Sampson
The City of Ember* Jeanne DuPrau
The Discovery of France A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War Graham Robb
A Hymn Before Battle John Ringo
The Middle Ages The Complete Idiot's Guide To Timothy Hall
World Without End A Novel* Ken Follett
A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century* Barbara Tuchman
The Space-Gods Revealed A Close Look At The Theories of Erich Von Daniken Ronald Story
The Skeptic's Dictionary A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions & Dangerous Deceptions Robert T. Carroll
America Anonymous: 8 Addicts In Search of A Life Denizet-Lewis, Benoit
Why We Read What We Read: A Delightfully Opinionated Journey Through Contemporary Best-Sellers Lisa Adams

AUGUST
The Lathe of Heaven Ursula K. Le Guin
How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever* Jack Horner
Fighting Techniques of Naval Warfare Strategy, Weapons, Commanders and Ships 1190 BC - 1942 Thomas Dunne Books
Liberty and Tyranny A Conservative Manifesto Mark R. Levin
Berserker's Planet* Fred Saberhagen
The Man In The High Castle* Philip K. Dick
Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong Reopening the Case of The Hound of the Baskervilles Pierre Bayard
The Art of Conversation A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure Catherine Blyth
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization* Thomas Woods
The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels*Thomas Cahill
Where God Was Born A Daring Adventure Through The Bible's Greatest Stories Bruce Feiler
Empire Rising A Novel of Ancient Akkad Sam Barone
Into the Storm Destroyermen, Bk 1 Taylor Anderson
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber/ The Snows of Kilimanjaro* Ernest Hemingway
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
Relentless A Novel Dean Koontz
The Tyranny of Dead Ideas Unleash A New Economic Prosperity Matt Miller

SEPTEMBER
Europe Between The Oceans 9000 BC - AD 1000 Barry Cunliffe
The Stars, My Destination Alfred Bester
Deathstalker War (Owen Deathstalker, Vol. 3)* Simon Green
Reflections on the Revolution in Europe Immigration, Islam, And the West Christopher Caldwell
Cahokia Ancient America's Great City On The Mississippi Timothy Pauketat
Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold! (The Magic Kingdom of Landover)* Terry Brooks
The Black Unicorn (Magic Kingdom of Landover series #2)* Terry Brooks
Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures In Narnia Laura Miller
No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels Jay Dobyns
Wizard's First Rule (The Sword of Truth)* Terry Goodkind
Rocket Ship Galileo* Robert A. Heinlein

OCTOBER
After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000 - 5,000 BC Steven Mithen
Before the Dawn Rediscovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors Nicholas Wade
I am Legend* Richard Matheson
The Prince* Niccolo Machiavelli
One Second After William R. Forstchen
A Princess of Landover* (Magic Kingdom of Landover series #6) Terry Brooks
Homer & Langley A Novel E. L. Doctorow
The Company A Novel K. J. Parker
Stone of Tears (The Sword of Truth series, book 2)* Terry Goodkind

NOVEMBER
The Law of Nines* Terry Goodkind
The Evolution of God Robert Wright
Dark Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, Vol. 1* H. P. Lovecraft
The Elements of Style Strunk & White
Waiting For My Cats To Die A Morbid Memoir Stacy Horn
Transition A Novel Iain M. Banks
Fragment A Novel Warren Fahy
Conqueror Time's Tapestry Book Two Stephen Baxter
Stitches A Memoir David Small
Thunderstruck* Erik Larson
The Simpsons An Uncensored, Unauthorized History John Ortved

DECEMBER
The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 Chris Wickham
How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower Adrian Goldsworthy
Liberal Fascism The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning Jonah Goldberg
Descartes' Bones A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason* Russell Shorto
Anansi Boys* Neil Gaiman
Alfred & Emily A Life Doris Lessing
Impostor's Daughter A True Memoir Laurie Sandell
The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss
Crusade: Destroyermen, Book II Taylor Anderson
Loser Goes First My Thirty-Something Years of Dumb Luck and Minor Humiliation Dan Kennedy
His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire series, Book 1)* Naomi Novik

[lildrgn]

Ok then, thread over!

[Canuck]

Wow you even put CSL to shame.

[Isgrimnur]

And to think I felt proud that I'm going to get to twelve books this year...

[Moliere]

I'm happy to continue my average of 5 a month.

[ATB]

And to think I felt proud that I'm going to get to twelve books this year...

Yeah. Me too. I'm gonna finish with about 15.  Not sure how people find that much time to read...at least when not in an academic setting.

[lildrgn]

I thought I was doing great. But then, I'm just reading books.

JonathanStrange? He's reading BOOKS.

[PeteRock]

And to think I felt proud that I'm going to get to twelve books this year...

Yeah. Me too. I'm gonna finish with about 15.  Not sure how people find that much time to read...at least when not in an academic setting.

Out of curiosity I went back through this thread and tallied up the number of books I've read this year (titles only started and completed in 2009).  I've never kept track in the past, but my wife is an avid reader and she usually keeps track of the number of titles she's read.  Even though she is a sucker for the latest "vampire smut" and she'll tear through anything from young adult fiction to the smuttiest of supernatural "adult" fare, she still reads a lot and way more than I do.  Still, I wanted to see how I've done this year compared to years past, especially since I now get tons of books from the library. 

Finances limited purchases in the past, especially when books are first released in hardback for a hefty price of admission, but now that I've discovered this place called the library I learned you can get books for free.     It's like a book grocery store, only without any price tags and nothing to slow down my reading binges!  (I am obviously joking, but I still have to wonder why I never took advantage in the past).  The coolest part is my wife and I can go online, input our library card numbers, browse all available titles, reserve what we want (up to 25 or 30 titles at one time), and when our books are ready they send us an email and have the books waiting for us right inside the library entrance.  No card catalogs, no searching through aisles, just an automated system that takes care of everything for us.  The experience is, dare I say, fabulous. 

Since January I managed to finish 23 books.     For me that is probably the most productive reading year I've ever had, including college, and I still have a number of F. Paul Wilson Repairman Jack books to get through before the end of the year.  Now that I know I've already read 23 books this year, perhaps shooting for 30 isn't an unreasonable goal, especially since I have two months to read just seven more books.  I'm certainly nowhere near JonathanStrange's level, but for me 20 to 30 books in a year is quite an accomplishment and a milestone I can be proud of.  I'm reading far more than I ever have, and even if my reading is focused more on entertainment and adventure fiction, reading is still an admirable hobby almost regardless of content (Twilight being a bit questionable  ).  And if I manage to reach my goal of 30 books this year, perhaps I can be even more productive in 2010.   

[lildrgn]

Finances limited purchases in the past, especially when books are first released in hardback for a hefty price of admission, but now that I've discovered this place called the library I learned you can get books for free.   icon_eek  It's like a book grocery store, only without any price tags and nothing to slow down my reading binges!  (I am obviously joking, but I still have to wonder why I never took advantage in the past).  The coolest part is my wife and I can go online, input our library card numbers, browse all available titles, reserve what we want (up to 25 or 30 titles at one time), and when our books are ready they send us an email and have the books waiting for us right inside the library entrance.  No card catalogs, no searching through aisles, just an automated system that takes care of everything for us.  The experience is, dare I say, fabulous.  Fabulous

Preach on, Preacher. I have discovered the library as well and have found it to be the bomb. Back in the day, to get a library card, it took weeks. These days? I walked in, gave my info, kapow, card in hand, books in bag.

Unfortunately, my library is lacking in F. Paul Wilson books. Did try Subterranean by Rollins and couldn't finish it. Telepathic talking? For real?

Anyway, I have some books on hold now and, also awesomely, the library checks out e-books! You get it for 21 days and then it removes itself. Pretty cool!

[Moliere]

Books on mp3 make driving so much easier.

[ATB]

Books on mp3 make driving so much easier. don't count as reading.

FTFY!

[ATB]

Revised total if I finish everything in my stack by years end will be 18 books. The biggest reading year I've had since college in the mid 90s.  Thanks GT!

[PeteRock]

I mentioned to my wife last night how this thread has helped me to keep track of my reading this year and that I had read far more in 2009 than ever before.  She said that she was also keeping track of her finished books, and I made the mistake of asking how many.

53.     But, I guess I shouldn't be too terribly surprised as when we're driving somewhere, even just five minutes down the road, she'll crack open her current book and read while I drive.  If we're watching TV but it isn't one of "her" shows (or if the baseball/football game isn't terribly exciting) she'll read during commercials or during the actual program.  She reads at night before bed, on Saturday/Sunday mornings when she wakes up but doesn't feel like getting out of bed, she reads in the car, while watching TV, during her lunch breaks, etc.  Problem is, if I try to engage her in conversation while I'm driving, during a football game, or during a commercial, she'll just give me "the look" and say, "You're doing it again."  Meaning I'm interrupting her reading again.   

She's always reading.  Guess that means that since she's reading so much she isn't talking, so I should be pleased with her hobby.   

[lildrgn]

Finished Borderlands by Brian McGilloway. Next up: I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle (checked out before I knew about the movie-apparently there is one).

[Canuck]

I don't know if you can do this with the Kindle but with the Sony reader at least, for a lot of libraries you can actually borrow e-books!!  It doesn't get any more convenient than that!

[Kevin Grey]

I don't know if you can do this with the Kindle but with the Sony reader at least, for a lot of libraries you can actually borrow e-books!!  It doesn't get any more convenient than that!

Can't do it with the Kindle- libraries use the Secure .epub format and the Kindle doesn't support that. 

[lildrgn]

I don't know if you can do this with the Kindle but with the Sony reader at least, for a lot of libraries you can actually borrow e-books!!  It doesn't get any more convenient than that!

Can't do it with the Kindle- libraries use the Secure .epub format and the Kindle doesn't support that. 

True... but it can be done.

[lildrgn]

Finished I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle. Onto The Watchman by Robert Crais.

[Scuzz]

I have read 13 books so far this year....I will probably finish with 15. I guess I will have to give up what social life I have and start reading more..............

[lildrgn]

Finished The Watchman by Robert Crais. Onto Mystic River by Dennis Lehane.

[hammer600]

Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb...third book in a trilogy. Enjoyed the book but not quite as good as her other series.

Azincourt by Bernard Cornwall...great battle scenes involving the dreaded English archer.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Before they are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie .. good reading, brutal violence, wonderful dialogue.

[hammer600]

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.  Great read but holy crap can someone tell me what happened at the end?  My wife and I have been debating this for 4 weeks.

[lildrgn]

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.  Great read but holy crap can someone tell me what happened at the end?  My wife and I have been debating this for 4 weeks.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I think it was a Fight Club type thing where the main character was actually the inmate and the whole thing was constructed around him.

Or something like that. I read it last year and have gotten a bit misty on the details.

I'm currently reading Lehane's Mystic River and enjoying it.

[LoneStarSpur]

Just picked up Neal Stephenson's Anathem, and since it's about a million pages long I've obviously not finished it...

...but so far it's the oddest damned book I've ever tried to read. 

[Moliere]

Just picked up Neal Stephenson's Anathem, and since it's about a million pages long I've obviously not finished it...

...but so far it's the oddest damned book I've ever tried to read. 

I would have to agree. It was difficult to wrap my head around a world where scientists are sequestered away like monks from the outside world.