Books Read in 2011

[naednek]

Books read in 2009.
Books read in 2010.
Now that I got a kindle I hope this will increase my reading.  I mainly read mags last year.

2011 Books read

Decision Points by George W Bush 2-09-11
Have to say I enjoyed it.  It gave me a bigger insight and understanding on the challenges he faced as President.  I recommend giving this a read, no matter what side of the aisle you are on, you might walk away understanding why he made certain decisions.  Some decisions, he made were against his ideology, but did it for the betterment of the country and the world.  And as he said, time will tell whether or not they were right or wrong decisions.

Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith Parts 1-5 by John Jackson Miller  02-10-11
These are a collection of short stories that continue off each other that I found for free off of amazon's kindle website.

Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz 04-12-11
Once again Koontz is too wordy just to fill in space.  He's becoming more and more like Stephen King.

The Rumblin by Jeff Bennington 04-13-11
Short story - pretty meaningless and devoid of character

A Song of Ice and Fire: The Game of Thrones 8-21-11
Really enjoyed the first book and looking forward to finish the series.

A Song of Ice and FIre: A Clash of Kings 12-16-11

[rickfc]

Currently Reading

• A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones

Books Read in 2011

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Dexter 1 - Darkly Dreaming Dexter
• Dexter 2 - Dearly Devoted Dexter
• Dexter 3 - Dexter in the Dark
• Dexter 4 - Dexter by Design
• Dexter 5 - Dexter is Delicious

[Isgrimnur]

The Open Secret of Ireland (1912) by Thomas Michael Kettle

The Half-Orcs series by by David Dalglish

• The Weight of Blood
  
• The Cost of Betrayal
  
• The Death of Promises
  
• The Shadows of Grace
  
• A Sliver of Redemption
  

.

Welsh Fairy Tales by William Elliot Griffis (1921)
Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
101 Things You Didn't Know About Irish History
Inside Delta Force
The Guts to Try: The Untold Story of the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission by the On-Scene Desert Commander
Dead Until Dark (A Sookie Stackhouse Novel)
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Th1rteen R3asons Why
A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire)
A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire)
White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War 1919-1920 and The Miracle on the Vistula
Delta Force: The U.S. Counter-Terrorist Unit and the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission by Col. Charlie A. Beckwith, USA (Ret.) and Donald Knox
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Dear Mom: A Sniper's Vietnam by Joseph T. Ward
WAR by Sebastian Junger
Guy Fawkes: A Complete History of the Gunpowder Treason
Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy

Grand Total: 27

[JayDee]

Completed in 2011

January
1/2 - Catching Fire : The Second Novel in the Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins (Kobo)
1/6 - Mockingjay : The Final Novel in the Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins (Kobo)
1/12 - Tripwire - Lee Child (Kobo)
1/16 - Six Seconds - Rick Mofina (Kobo)
1/24 - Transfer of Power - Vince Flynn (Kobo)
1/30 - Superfreakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (Kobo)

February
2/7 - Blackout - Connie Willis (Kobo)
2/23 - All Clear - Connie Willis (Kobo)
2/28 - Running Blind - Lee Child (Kobo)

March
3/10 - The Third Option - Vince Flynn (Kobo)
3/18 - Think of a Number - John Verdon (Kobo)
3/24 - Echo Burning - Lee Child (Book)

June
6/25 - The Day After Tomorrow - Allan Folsom (Kobo)

July
7/8 - Without Fail - Lee Child (Kobo)
7/15 - Separation of Power - Vince Flynn (Kobo)
7/22 - Persuader - Lee Child (Kobo)

August
8/25 - Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (Kobo)
8/26 - Second Son (short story) - Lee Child (Kobo)

September
9/28 - A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin (Kobo)

October
10/6 - The Enemy - Lee Child (Kobo)
10/13 - Moneyball - Michael Lewis (Kobo)
10/24 - One Shot - Lee Child (Kobo)

November
11/5 - Steve Jobs - Walter Ericksson
11/10 - Cornered - Ron Maclean
11/28 - The Hard Way - Lee Child (Kobo)

[Caine]

reserved should i read anything more interesting than tech manuals

[Laner]

Currently Reading:

Your Money or Your Life

Finished:

1/1 - Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

[Moliere]

January
“Under the Dome” by Stephen King
“Dead or Alive” by Tom Clancy
“Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden
“Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazier

February
“Cleopatra: A Life” by Stacy Schiff
“Forbidden Knowledge” by Roger Shattuck
“The Light of Other Days” by Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter
“Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer
“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver

[CeeKay]

Currently Reading:


Finished:
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Gardens of the Moon: Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Deadhouse Gates: Book Two of The Malazon Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Pirates! An Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe
Pirates! In An Adventure with Ahab by Gideon Defoe

[rickfc]

1/1 - Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

Excellent book.  It was recommended to me by one of the only male doctors in my daughter's pediatricians' office.  It gave me a whole new perspective on raising a girl, and caused me to make several changes in my parenting style.

[rshetts2]

Ill try to keep up with this.  You'll find my list will be mostly fiction as I read books for entertaining escapism.  
Finished

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - genre: Fantasy  

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks - genre: Fantasy.  

 These first two books are series starters and were both excellent reads.  If youre a fan of fantasy, I can highly recommend both books.

Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter - genre: action/suspense  premise:  A disenfranchised ex military sniper and war hero Bob Lee Swagger, gets played by a shadowy "government" agency.  He plays back with a vengeance.  
  This is a re-read for me, having read this originally years ago.  It was bastardized in movie form recently in a Mark Wahlberg vehicle, called The Shooter.  The book is 100 times better.... at least.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - genre: Fantasy  
Fantasy doesnt get much better that this.  Epic in scope ( a projected 10 book series ) so be prepared to be about 15 years older when you finish this series.  

Currently reading:

The Strain  Del Toro/Hogan

[Nth Power]

Currently reading:
Rabbit, Run - John Updike
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson


Finished:
Red Harvest - Dashiell Hammett
Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin
The Monkey's Raincoat - Robert Crais
The Kill Artist - Daniel Silva
A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin
361 - Donald Westlake

[lildrgn]

Read:
1. The Likeness by Tana French (Kindle)
2. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Kindle)
3. Catch Me If You Can by Frank W. Abagnale (Kindle)
4. Faithful Place by Tana French (Kindle)
5. Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan (Kindle)
6. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (Kindle)
7. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Kindle)
8. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (Kindle)
9. The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry (Kindle)
10. Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Kindle)
11. The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer (Kindle)
12. The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville (book!)
13. Collusion by Stuart Neville (Kindle)
14. Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar (Kindle)
15. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Kindle)
16. Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales (Kindle)
17. The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Kindle)
18. A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton (Kindle)
19. The Terror of Living by Urban Waite (Kindle)
20. The Leopard by Jo Nesbo (Kindle)
21. Cold Vengeance by Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child (Kindle)
22. Headhunters by Jo Nesbo (Kindle)
23. Stolen Souls by Stuart Neville (Kindle)
24. War by Sebastian Junger (Kindle)
25. Cherry Bomb by J.A. Konrath (Kindle)
26. The Killing Moon by Chuck Hogan (Kindle)
27. The Drop by Michael Connelly (Kindle)
28. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Kindle)
29. Fallen by Karin Slaughter (Kindle)
30. Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (Kindle)
31. Room: a Novel by Emma Donoghue (Kindle)

Now Reading:


DNF:
Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd (Kindle)
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (Kindle)

Last year's list

[disarm]

i've never participated in these threads before because i've been too busy to read much for a while.  i've found more time in the last few months, picked up a Kindle, and have been on a roll ever since.  let's see where this year goes...

Finished

A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin - January 18
Yao & Artusio's Anesthesiology: Problem Oriented Patient Management - 1,400 pages over 3 months, studying for my anesthesiology board exams (passed!)
The Walking Dead, Issues 1-12 - Robert Kirkman - May 8
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson - May 13
This Is Gonna Hurt - Nikki Sixx - May 16
The Walking Dead, Issues 13-24 - Robert Kirkman - May 19
The Walking Dead, Issues 25-36 - Robert Kirkman - May 22
The Walking Dead, Issues 37-48 - Robert Kirkman - May 26
The Walking Dead, Issues 49-60 - Robert Kirkman - May 28
The Walking Dead, Issues 61-72 - Robert Kirkman - June 3
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson - July 5
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson - July 7
A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin - August 7
Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling - August 14
Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling - August 23
Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling - September 1
Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling - September 16
Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling - September 28
Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling - October 6
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling - October 14
The Walking Dead, Issues 73-84 - Robert Kirkman -  October 31
Watch You Bleed - The Saga of Guns 'n' Roses - Stephen Davis - December 6
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole - December 23
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline - December 25
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - December 29
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins - December 31


In Progress

[ATB]

January
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God    5/5
Dreamland: The Way Out of Juarez          2/5

February
Gears of War: Anvil Gate                       4.5/5      

March
Judge (Wess'har Wars Book 6)                3/5; Series really could have been only 4 books. 5 tops.  Overall series, 4/5.
The Death of Evolution.                             3.5/5
Murder City                                                   4/5

Rest of the Year:

Gears of War Coalition's End 5/5
Game of Thrones 5/5
Clash of Kings 5/5

Feel like I've forgotten a few.



Reading:

Greatest Show on Earth
Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
Jesus Among Other Gods

[Eco-Logic]

Reserved.

Currently Reading:
Shadow's Edge, Brent Weeks

Finished:
Red Breast, Nesbo
The Way of Shadows, Brent Weeks

[Kagath]

Reserved in case I read something...

[whiteboyskim]

This space for rent.

[LoneStarSpur]

Maybe I'll update this this year.   I am reading much more now that I'm not playing games hardly at all.

Completed

• Fatal Revenant - Stephen R. Donaldson
  The Thomas Covenant books are not particularly popular around here, but I've always loved them. Fatal Revenant rivaled anything George R. R. Martin has written for the sheer number of "Holy Shit!" moments.
  
• Against All Things Ending - Stephen R. Donaldson
  Now an almost 3 year wait for the 4th and final Covenant book.  
  
• Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin (re-reading...the HBO series has me all excited)
  
• Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin (holding off on the rest...lent them to my daughter who is now hooked)
  

Current
The Timeships - Stephen Baxter

[Scuzz]

Currently reading the Fourth Omnibus of the Black Company ............

[JayDee]

Just finished the Hunger Games trilogy. The first book was the best and the other two are decent reads, but nothing spectacular. I found the main character to be really annoying by the end of it. For books meant for kids they can get pretty graphic. Overall a good light read that's a nice change of pace from the norm.

[EddieA]

I got a Nook for my birthday a few days ago, so that should let me finish more books this year.

Books Finished
===========
4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
The Amber Room by Steve Berry
The Fiddle Game by Richard A. Thompson
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Arctic Drift by Clive and Dirk Cussler
Simple Genius by David Baldacci
Heat Wave by Richard Castle


Currently Reading
=============
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Gardens of The Moon by Steven Erikson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

[rshetts2]

Saw you were reading Zelazny's  Amber series and wanted to chime in with a recommendation.  Im a big fan of Zelanzy and really enjoyed the Amber series.  If you want to experience Zelazny's best though you should get ahold of Lord of Light.  Simply a fantastic read by one of the greats in science fiction.

[Zinfan]

Unbreakable.  What a fantastic book!  And a true story.

Next up I'm going to find "Reserved"  that many previous posters have listed, it must be great!

[Isgrimnur]

The Open Secret of Ireland by Thomas Michael Kettle

This book is from 1912 and authored by a man that was a member of the Irish Parliament prior to Home Rule being founded in Ireland.  The book is a pointed piece about the reasons and need for Ireland to have their own ability to form a government and escape from the rule of the British. 

Despite the issue still not being resolved by 1914, Kettle joined the Army to fight on the continent and died fighting there in 1916.

My interests have been bent in an Irish direction of late, and I enjoyed reading the piece to gain a bit more historical perspective about what was going on during the time preceding the first World War.

[JayDee]

Finished Tripwire by Lee Child, the third book in the Jack Reacher series. I liked it much better than Book 2 (Die Trying) and was definitely on par with Killing Floor. I can't believe I just discovered this series a couple of months ago. I'm slowly working my way through them, in order. The weird thing is that of the 15 or so books in the series, there is one that's not available in eBook format.

Up next is Six Seconds by Rick Mofina. I'm going into this one blind. I don't know what the plot is but it's getting great user reviews, it's been one of the top 5 most sold books on Kobo's website for the past week, and I got it for $6.

I'm also throwing in a Sherlock Holmes adventure or two in between novels, so that book will be ongoing for a while. It was included as one of the free 100 eBooks that came with my Kobo eReader.

[Tokek]

Finished Reading:
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
The Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

[JayDee]

Finished Six Seconds by Rick Mofina. Started out with a lot of promise but ultimately the payoff was weak.

Next up is Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn. My dad loves these books and has been telling me to read them for a while.

[Isgrimnur]

The Weight of Blood by David Dalglish.

This is the first book in The Half-Orcs series.  It follows two brothers that are half-orcs, a rarity in this world.  There are, of course, full blood orcs, elves, and men, with all the requisite racial issues.

The characters are pretty much cut from the Raistlin/Caramon molds, as there's the slight, sickly magician, in this case a burgeoning necromancer, and the big, strapping fighter brother.  The brothers are not heroes, they are not paragons of virtue, and they do some stuff that's downright evil.

In all, it's an interesting start to what appears to be a five-book series.  It is short.  The paperback clocks at 224 pages.  I read it in a day.  The others seem to be cheap in the Kindle format, so I may continue with it, but I'm not 100% sure at the moment.

[kathode]

Just finished:
Norwegian Wood by Murakami.
Very slow start, but I started liking it a lot towards the end.  The narrator becomes more likable as time goes on, and I really liked pretty much every scene with Midori.

Now starting:

[Crusis]

I finished:

Fires of Heaven - Robert Jordan - It's nice to reread the books. Lots of stuff I forgot over the years.
Beyond Exile: Day by Day Armageddon- J. L. Bourne - Loved it! Read it in 2 days.

Reading: Everything Matters - Ron Currie

[Pyperkub]

I got a Nook for my birthday a few days ago, so that should let me finish more books this year.

Books Finished
===========
4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro


Currently Reading
=============
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Are the Amber books available on the nook?  I didn't see them on the kindle.
Sent from my Epic 4G using Tapatalk

[Crusis]

I finished Everything Matters. It was a very strong book as far as writing. The POV jumps were nearly schizophrenic. On the other hand I really like it when an author can switch to 2nd person and you don't even notice.

The first half was great. The second half not so much and I pretty much hated the ending.

Reading: The Hangman's Daughter and about to start on a friends book for a blurb. He just finished his new book Empire's End. David Dunwoody is his name. He writes great zombies with the Grim Reaper tossed into the mix.

[JayDee]

I finished Everything Matters. It was a very strong book as far as writing. The POV jumps were nearly schizophrenic. On the other hand I really like it when an author can switch to 2nd person and you don't even notice.

The first half was great. The second half not so much and I pretty much hated the ending.

Reading: The Hangman's Daughter and about to start on a friends book for a blurb. He just finished his new book Empire's End. David Dunwoody is his name. He writes great zombies with the Grim Reaper tossed into the mix.

I had to look up 2nd person to see what that even meant. Now that I know what it is I don't think I've ever read a book that was in 2nd person, other than Choose Your Own Adventure Stories. I don't even know how it would work as a full-fledged novel. Wow.

[JayDee]

Finished Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn. I really enjoyed it. It's a political thriller and it's the first in a series of books that feature special CIA agent Mitch Rapp. I've picked up the second book in the series and will read that soon. Between this and the Reacher series, I have my thriller/suspense pulp fiction all set for a while.

I'm changing gears and going to read some non-fiction. I loved Freakonomics and can't believe I missed the second book when it came out. I got Superfreakonomics for 25% off on kobobooks.com so this one is up next. I'm also still chugging through the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

[rickfc]

I'm very quickly making my way through the Dexter series, and while I was thoroughly impressed and entertained with books 1 and 2, books 3, 4, and so far 5, have let me down.

In the first two books, Dexter is a cold, calculating, and methodical killer.  In the latter 3 books, he's more of a mumbling and fumbling idiot that more often than not requires the assistance of other, not-nearly-as-interesting, characters to figure out what's going on and to get himself out of impending death, trouble, or both.

I'm currently about 1/3 of the way through book 5, and unfortunately so far, it's more of the same from books 3 and 4.

[whiteboyskim]

I finished off Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and it's a blast. Very funny, historically accurate (to a degree) and overall a fast read. My big disappointment is that the writer skims over his presidency and the Civil War in comparison to everything else.

I still recommend it though.

[Scuzz]

The Black Company: The Fourth Omnibus by Glen Cook

This contains Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live.


It was nice to have the original annalist back telling the story, and whether that was the reason or maybe it was because the story actually went somewhere but these were the best books in the series since the first 3. This is the end of the story and it is probably about time.

I really loved the first three books of this 9 part series. I would recommend those to anyone anytime. But the series drags after that and while it has it's moments I would have to say that most readers would be better off stopping after those first three books, which are sold as the First Omnibus.

Cook has an interesting style and his way of telling this story, through the annalists, is very unique, but I think it hurts the stories continuity and it takes away the best character in the series for several books.

[Crusis]

I had to look up 2nd person to see what that even meant. Now that I know what it is I don't think I've ever read a book that was in 2nd person, other than Choose Your Own Adventure Stories. I don't even know how it would work as a full-fledged novel. Wow.

The whole book isn't written in second. I would say about 15% of it at the most. It is very well done and very seamless.

I have always enjoyed 2nd person. I took some writing classes and it was sort of shunned but I managed to work some into one of my books.

Ignore if you don't want to see my shameless derail. This is from Among the Living:

The splash of burgundy is shocking against the carpet, red on tan like a tie-dyed t-shirt gone wrong. You try to roll over, but the pain makes you pay for the effort. Your hand is pressed to your neck so that you can still feel spreading warmth against your palm. It flows in a pulsing rush, and if you had a throat, you would probably scream.

How long until you pass on? How long until the blood stops pumping through your heart? It’s going to sputter to a halt soon. Sure you’ve had murmurs before, but this is going to be the granddaddy of them all, the last shuddering pulse of the most complicated muscle in your body running on E.

[rshetts2]

 Ive been on a fantasy kick and the three recent series Ive started have all been excellent.
Im reading Sandersons The Way of Kings right now. This book gives me hope for the Wheel of Time series closers.  It appears that Sanderson is very at ease with massive novels as well since this one weighs in at over 1000 pages.  Anyway, it looks like Ive picked up another massive series to eat up my reading time but Im glad I did.

[Isgrimnur]

The Death of Promises (The Half-Orcs, Book 3) by David Dalglish

Book three continues the ramp up of blood, epic fights, and death.  We get to track a couple of paladins for one of the three major deities and get to see a fourth enter the scene.  I can tell you this would never be my first recommendation for someone looking for a series to read, but it's certainly keeping my interest enough.