November 10th, 2006

Ok, here is where I try to list what I’ve read for the year, so I can go back and put in a number estimate for a stir of bones and Tehanu in the prior entry. I’m pretty sure things are missing, though maybe not more than four or so.

Read in 2006:

• The Dark Horse Book of the Dead Edited by Scott Allie. (1) [graphic novel, anthology]. I borrowed (well, Kurt borrowed) this book from David. A couple of the stories were great, but most were ehhh. Now that I’ve noted it down, I should probably return it. Let that be a lesson to all you would-be loaners of books to me : it can take me eleven months to return them!
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett. (2) [specfic]. I borrowed this book from Sarah. I finished it during 01/06. I enjoyed it, but feel like I don’t have to read it again, nor own it.
• A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1) by Ursula K. Le Guin. (3) [YA, re-read]. I borrowed this from Chris the last time I was in Jackson. I finished it during 03/06.
• The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) by Ursula K. LeGuin. (4) [YA, re-read]. Borrowed this one from Chris too. I finished it during 04/06.
• The Farthest Shore (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 3) by Ursula K. Le Guin. (5) [YA, re-read]. Yes, from Chris. I finished it during 04/06.
• The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror Eighteenth Annual Collection edited by Kelly Link, Gavin Grant, and Ellen Datlow. (6) [specfic, anthology]. I checked this one out of the library. I finished it during 04/06. You can read my review.
• Worldwired by Elizabeth Bear. (7) [specfic]. I own this baby. Bought it with cash. I finished it during 05/06. You can read my review.
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. (8) [specfic]. I borrowed this from Sarah. I finished (and returned!) it during 05/06. I really liked it a lot, much much better than I liked American Gods and I liked that. It may well be my favorite Gaiman work. I’ll probably re-read it sometime, so I probably need to buy a copy when it comes out in paperback.
• Feather Your Nest : The Complete Guide to Outfitting, Cleaning, Organizing and Caring for Your Home by Cerentha Harris. (unfinished) [non-fiction]. I read about 100 pages of this during 06/06. I checked this out of the library. At first the woman sounded really practical, talking about the wisdom of not overcleaning but then she took a left turn into crazyland and was urging the reader to disinfect every square inch of their home every twelve hours and I had to put the thing down and back away.
• Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link, Shelley Jackson. (9) [specfic]. I borrowed this from the library. I read it during 06/06. Thankfully, I was given it for my birthday, so I don’t have to cry about not owning it. It’s a wonderful book. Every story in it is amazing, though some are stratospherically amazing while others are just whoa amazing. I heart Kelly Link. I want to marry her and have like ten thousand of her babies. I’m as infatuated with her work as I was with Jeff Vandermeer’s work last year. She’s just incredibly talented and wonderful to read. Do I have to tell you – again – to go read The Faery Handbag?
• The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. (10) [YA]. I checked this out of the library and read it to Sophia. It was a great find, which I looked for because Naomi Kritzer mentioned it positively on her blog. We read a chapter nightly, and finished it during 06/06. It maybe shouldn’t count as a book read for me, but I want to note what year I read it to Sophia, because I’m sure to wonder later. Also, I would have read it even without Sophia, it’s really good, but it probably would not have taken me as long.
• Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones. (11) [YA]. I got this as a birthday present last year. I finished it on 07/06. There’s a really cool perspective trick in this book. Also, it’s fun to read. Does Diana Wynne Jones get the most underrated YA author award? She’s awesome and yet hardly anyone seems to know her.
• The Seeing Stone (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 2) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (12) [YA]. Library, finished 07/06, Sophia.
• Lucinda’s Secret (Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 3) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (13) [YA]. Library, finished 07/06, Sophia.
• The Essential Ellison: A 35 Year Retrospective by Harlan Ellison. (14) [specfic, non-fiction, anthology]. I checked this book out of the library. I finished it during 08/06. I read every word of this thousand page volume. Every word. Some words weren’t worth reading, but the ones that were…oh my.
• Greenwitch by Susan Cooper. (15) [YA]. I own this. I read it aloud to Kurt while he drove. We finished it during 08/06. We’ve been reading this whole series aloud. It’s taking us years (like four so far, I think) to get through them that way, but it’s a nice way to read them.
• Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold. (16) [specfic]. I own this. I finished it during 08/06. What a fun read.
• The Ironwood Tree (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 4) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (17) [YA]. Library, finished 08/06, Sophia.
• The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories by Gene Wolfe. (18) [specfic, anthology]. I own this (well, it was a gift to Kurt). I’m so glad I got around to reading this. I need to go back and re-read a number of the stories in here.
• The Wrath of Mulgarath (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 5) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (19) [YA]. Yes, library. Yes, Sophia. Finished early in 09/06. When we got to the last word on the last page, Sophia said, “Can we read these again sometime?” That’s a pretty good endorsement.
• Low Red Moon by Caitlin R. Kiernan. (20) [specfic]. I checked this out of the library. I finished it during 09/06. It was good, better than Threshold You can read my review.
• Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen. (21) [YA]. I checked this out of the library. I finished it during 09/06. It was pretty good.
• Tales of the Quintana Roo by James Tiptree Jr., Glennray Tutor. (22) [specfic, anthology]. I checked this out of the library. I finished it during 09/06. It was not at all what I expected from reading other Tiptree stories. I liked it anyway.
• The Year’s Best Science Fiction Twenty Second Annual Collection (Year’s Best Science Fiction) by Gardner R. Dozois. (unfinished) [specfic]. I checked this out of the library during October, got bogged down in one of the stories, ran out of renewal time and had to return it. I’m determined to check it out again and finish it before the end of the year. The stories I had read in it were wonderful, and I want to compare it to the Fantasy/Horror collection.

So, it looks like my year was mostly YA, and mostly drawn from library books. No wonder my to-be-read shelf never has any fewer books on it. It also looks like it’s good I didn’t take up the 52 book challenge, because I’m only about halfway there. Maybe next year.

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