* denotes reading an electronic copy (on phone/PSP/etc)
January
1. Bruce Sterling — Heavy Weather (my first Sterling book. I’m fairly confused by it — not sure I like his writing style. I have a copy of Islands in the Net, I’ll probably give that a try before I give up on him.)
2. Gordon Van Gelder (Editor) — The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology (almost certainly the best collection of science fiction short stories I have ever read)
February
3. Goeffrey Hindley — Medieval Sieges and Siegecraft (pretty descriptive title. good information)
* 4. H. P. Lovecraft — At the Mountains of Madness (I’ve read quite a bit of Lovecraft now — I’m liking it all quite a bit)
March
* 5. Cory Doctorow — Little Brother (I stayed up till 3 am to finish this — I haven’t done that for any book in years. I think this book should be required reading in the USA.)
6. Bernard Beckett — Genesis (this was short and excellent. not really sure what else to say about it)
* 7. Cory Doctorow — Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (this was also good; more standard scifi-fare, about Disney World in a post-scarcity Earth)
8. David Currie — Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic (the “conversion” story of an Evangelical preacher turned Catholic apologist. he explains many differences between Catholic and Protestant beliefs and the justification for those beliefs. excellent read.)
* 9. Cory Doctorow — CONTENT: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright and the Future of the Future (some good stuff in here, such has a brief history of copyright and copyright infringement. some bits got repetitive toward the end, just because the same topic might be covered in an essay for a different audience, etc)
* 10. Cory Doctorow — Eastern Standard Tribe (I seem to be on a Doctorow kick. this one, though, falls a little flat. great ideas, insufficient implementation. as one Amazon review says: “I was left feeling that this will probably be a fun book to read when Doctorow finisihes[sic] writing it.”)
* 11. Oscar Wilde — The Importance of Being Earnest (this was excellent — almost a combination of Much Ado About Nothing and My Fair Lady. I’d really like to see this performed now)
April
12. Iain M. Banks — Consider Phlebas (Banks’ first Culture novel. strange that the protagonist is actually an enemy of the Culture. pretty bleak subject matter. good read)
13. Iain M. Banks — Use of Weapons (another great Culture novel. I love this series)
14. Stephen King — The Gunslinger (1st book in the Dark Tower series, which I’ve been meaning to read for some time. I’m definitely hooked)
May
15. John Sutherland — How to Read a Novel: A User’s Guide (this was good. One part history, one part explanation, and one part snark)
16. Stephen King — The Drawing of the Three (2nd book in the Dark Tower series. no less hooked at this point)
17. Stephen King — The Waste Lands (book 3 — not putting these down till I finish them)
June
18. Stephen King — Wizard and Glass (book 4 — nothing new to say, though this one was almost annoyingly full of foreshadowing. that may be some meta-plot there, though…)
19. Michael Crichton — Andromeda Strain (pretty decent for its age. I wish it was a bit more complete though – seems really short)
20. Nick Sagan — Edenborn (sequel to Idlewild, which I read last year. picks up the story 18 years later. interesting writing style. can’t wait to finish out the trilogy!)
21. Stephen King — Wolves of the Calla (book 5 — I think this one is my favorite yet)
22. Stephen King — Song of Susannah (book 6 — very interesting stuff that I can’t talk about due to spoilers — one book left!)
July
* 23. Jules Verne — From the Earth to the Moon (I love reading older books like this – the completely unfamiliar styles of exposition and dialogue are so interesting)
24. Nick Sagan — Everfree (this is the final installment of his trilogy, following Idlewild and Edenborn. I liked it quite a bit. There was a bit I didn’t like when it was introduced, but Sagan does well at tying it up in the end in a way I’m happy with)
25. Stephen King — The Dark Tower (book 7 — the original finale, at least until he finishes book 8, which takes place between books 4 and 5; do try to keep up. I liked it, of course)
26. Rob Grant — Incompetence (interesting and not what I expected. The title mainly refers to the setting, not the plot focus, which is more of a murder-mystery.)
27. Stephanie Meyer — Twilight (ok, really, what’s the big deal? This was a perfectly decent novel. I don’t understand all the hate. I’ll be finishing the series)
August
28. J. Maarten Troost — Lost on Planet China (great semi-autobiography about the author traveling through China for several months)
September
29. Robert A. Heinlein — The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (easily my favorite book so far this year. Heinlein is shaping up to be my favorite author, as well)
30. Donald Palmer — Does the Center Hold?: An Introduction to Western Philosophy (I think this book explains things fairly well, but I also feel I’m not retaining anything I read. Probably not a good choice to read straight through — needs some exercising so you actually remember what you learned)
October
31. Isaac Asimov — Foundation (this is the 2nd time I’ve tried to read this, and I’m glad I gave it another chance. very good, even if it does have some archaic concepts)
32. Charles Stross — Accelerando (this novel is the first I’ve read exploring the concept of the technological singularity, and it comes out pretty terrifying. I’m still looking forward to the next few decades, though!)
33. Ernest Hemingway — The Old Man and the Sea (I can see why this is his most-loved novel. Excellent writing, though I really wish it was longer!)
34. Isaac Asimov — The Caves of Steel (hmm. Good story. Narrator is surprisingly misogynistic, though. Lots of “silly woman”-style comments)
November
35. William Gibson, Bruce Sterling — The Difference Engine (I wanted to love this, I really did. Parts of it were great. I think I just don’t like Sterling’s writing style.)
36. John Varley — Millennium (Another great time travel story. I really do love them the best, when I can find them. This one is definitely recommended)
37. Cynthia Voigt — Homecoming (now that was a book. very, very good)
38. Cynthia Voigt — Dicey’s Song (I think, if you have not read these two books, you are doing a disservice to yourself. The same goes for your children.)
39. Frank Herbert — Destination: Void (good grief there were so many typos. decent story, though. apparently it’s a series and I have the second book, so we’ll see how that goes.)
40. Robin Williams — The Non-Designer’s Design Book (just what it says on the tin. good read.)
41. Geoffrey James — The Zen of Programming (a nice short series of zen-style pieces of wisdom about programming)
December
42. Richard P. Feynman — Don’t You Have Time To Think? (a collection of letters Feynman wrote throughout his life. Gives good insight into the mind and personality of this great physicist and teacher)
43. Panasonic — Operating Instructions: DMC-GF1 (hey, this is 195 pages and I read the whole thing. It counts, ok?)
44. Wil McCarthy — The Wellstone (Scifi novel of immortality and programmable matter. I don’t think I would have understood the setting without first reading his nonfiction book Hacking Matter, though after I finished I did see a glossary in the back. You’ll need it!)