Friday, August 13, 2010

What I Read (2009)

Here's what I read in 2009. I have some book logs from several years ago which I'm very curious to read now, but they're buried at the bottom of my closet and I'm simply too lazy to dig them out.
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Jan. 2009 Heat by Nancy Holder "Buffy/Angel crossover novel involving Chinese dragons, terra cotta soldiers, and etc."

Jan. 26, 2009 A History of Christianity by Kenneth Scott Latourrette "First in a 2-volume series, stops at 1500 C.E. Very pro-Christian and leaves out much of the most interesting stuff."

Jan. 27, 2009 Pursuit by Elizabeth Hand "The sixth and final young Boba Fett novel, as he gets a chance to attack Mace Windu. An exciting climax to the series."

Feb. 2009 Wild Space by Karen Miller "Probably the best Star Wars novel I've ever read, tells of how Bail Organa and Obi-Wan bonded during the Clone Wars."

Feb. 2009 Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris "Sookie Stackhouse investigates the death of her cousin and gets in various misadventures."

Feb. 2009 Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt "A great book about a modern sorceror's adventures in protecting the city she rules. Nice humor and creatively edgy."

Feb. 2009 X-Wing: Wraith Squadron by Aaron Allston "A nice entry in the series as a group of commando-trained cast-offs form up a new starfighter wing."

Feb. 28, 2009 Academic Legal Writing by Eugene Volokh "Not a lot for me, but a good book to give to a student."

Mar. 8, 2009 Harry Potter et le prisonier D'Azkaban by J.K. Rowling "I can finally give Mario back these books."

Mar. 11, 2009 Poison Sleep by T.A. Pratt "The second Marla Mason book, about a comatose reality-changing rape victim. Still very entertaining."

Mar. 24, 2009 Nation by Terry Pratchett "A really good, non-Discworld book about science vs. religion and dealing with tradition."

Mar. 30, 2009 Broulliard Sanglant by Nancy Holder "Jack the Ripper is actually an evil faerie and has come to Sunnydale to start a faerie war. Lame!"

Mar. 31, 2009 Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno "Lead-in to Revenge of the Sith. Pretty good."

Apr. 12, 2009 The Naked Public Square by Richard John Neuhaus "A dense and well-written book that covers a lot more than you might think."

Apr. 13, 2009 The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan "Rand takes the sword Callandar and the Stone of Tear falls in another exciting entry."

Apr. 16, 2009 Le crime de Culdéric by Francie Pelletier "A novel about a teen and her boyfriend's involvement in discovering who was responsible for murdering a woman whose ghost they've encountered."

Apr. 22, 2009 The Great Brain by John Fitzgerald "A funny book about a mischievious older brother in 1890's Utah."

Apr. 23, 2009 La Malédiction by Sonia K. LaFlamme "Limpid ghost/haunted house story."

Apr. 23, 2009 The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos "A prequel to B5, telling the story of Sheridan's wife's encounter with the shadows. Really good stuff."

Apr. 29, 2009 The Sunnydale High Yearbook by Golden & Holder "I really like this--it's quite sweet, funny, and authentic. A great Buffy keepsake."

Apr. 29, 2009 Something in the Water by Trevor Baxendale "My first Torchwood book (# 4) in the series. A 'water hag' from the planet Strepto is impregnating men. Quite gory and gross, a decent read."

May 13, 2009 Another Life by Peter Angelides "Torchwood book (# 1) about a giant spaceship in the water causing flooding and a body-switching alien. Not too shabby."

May 17, 2009 The Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley "A fun trilogy, fast-paced and set in new, unrevealed sectors of the galaxy: the Corporate Sector and the Hegemony."

May 26, 2009 Skypoint by Phil Ford "Torchwood book (# 8) about something in an apartment block that is eating people. Really well done, non-Rift related, fast moving and edgy."

May 27, 2009 Tunnels by Gordon & Williams "French translation about a museum curator and son's discovery of an underground city of Albinos. Interesting idea, but surprisingly boring."

June 5, 2009 Pack Animals by Peter Anghelides "Torchwood book (# 7) about alien tech that brings magic cards to life. Silly plot but good subplots."

June 8, 2009 Full Circle by Michael Palin "Travel diaries of trip around the Pacific. Surprisingly uninteresting."

June 9, 2009 Best Practices for Legal Education by Roy Stuckey "Comprehensive critique of U.S. legal education--quite dry, but with some convincing points."

June 9, 2009 Missing: Sanctuaire by Meg Cabot "Great main character--a spunky, snarky teen."

June 25, 2009 The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan "What a great, exciting book--I love this series!"

July 1, 2009 Order 66 by Karen Traviss "Last of the Republic Commando books. Order 66 is a little underwhelming but solid."

July 1, 2009 Dead Reign by T.A. Pratt "Really funny, as Marla has to deal with Death wanting her dagger."

July 3, 2009 Trace Memory by David Llewellyn "Torchwood # 5. A man named Michael keeps bouncing through time and the pasts of each Torchwood member. An average book, but fun to see some character moments before they joined Torchwood."

July 2009 Wizards at War by Diane Duane "Something is weakening the fabric of the universe. Below average and disappointing."

July 2009 Border Princes by Dan Abnett "Torchwood novel about a 'fake' member of the team named James--very good."

July 28, 2009 Ultimatum Pour OSS 117 "A spy novel set in Venezuela. I can't say I understood most of it."

Aug. 2009 Chaos Bleeds by James A. Moore "Okay video game tie-in."

Aug. 10, 2009 Toutes Les Lumieres De Hong Kong by Maragret Mayo "Romance Harlequin about a young girl who takes a job for a fashion designer in Hong Kong and the love triangle that forms with him and her best friend."

Aug. 2009 The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov "First book was amazing, as Harry Seldon comes up with a plan through the study of psycho-history to allow for the reformation of empire 1,000 years hence. Latter two books not so good."

Aug. 16, 2009 Almost Perfect by James Goss "An amazing Torchwood novel! Absolutely hilarious and well-written. The Perfection are out to re-make the world in their own image."

Aug. 19, 2009 X-Wing: Iron Fist by Aaron Allson "A nice page turner, as the Wraiths try to track down Warlord Zsinj's Iron Fist."

Aug. 2009 The Battle For America 2008 by Dan Balz & Haynes Johnson "Account of the 2008 Presidential race--not a lot of secrets, but a fun and engaging read."

Sep. 6, 2009 Slow Decay by Andy Lane "Doctor Scotus' weight-loss clinic is turning people into monsters in this quality Torchwood book."

Sep. 12, 2009 The Desperate Mission by Jude Watson "First in the 'Last of the Jedi' young adult series, about Obi-Wan's life on Tatooine."

Sep. 2009 Le Sac de Couffignal by Dashell Hammett "Translation of three Hammett short stories. Best part is the lengthy post-script by his lover, Lillian Hellman."

Sep. 23, 2009 I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert "Stephen Colbert's book--really quite hilarious."

Sep. 25, 2009 Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover "Adds more insight on Ani's friendship with Palps."

Oct. 8, 2009 La lune des jardins sans soleil by Jean-Louis Trudel "A very creative SF novel about a stowaway orphan and the 'bonsai-children' warriors who help her out."

Oct. 12, 2009 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte "Novel by the youngest Bronte sister, about a woman who leaves her alcholic husband to start a new, secret life."

Oct. 13, 2009 X-Wing: Solo Command by Aaron Allston "Very exciting as hunt for Warlord Zsinj heats up."

Oct. 15, 2009 The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan "Rand kills Rahvin/Gaebril, while Moraine and Lanfear disappear into a gateway."

Oct. 27, 2009 Marie Quatdoigts by Roger des Roches "Young adult novel about a girl with four fingers on each hand and her new red-haired friend whom she takes to the catacombs."

Oct. 2009 The Nature of the Judicial Process by Benjamin Cardozo "A book about judges and judging; very wish-washy in a way, but also probably very accurate."

Oct. 2009 Brothers of the Snake by Dan Abnett "A Warhammer 40K book. I was thrown by this being a series of connected short stories. Very military SF without a lot of cultural flavour."

Oct. 2009 Dark Warning by Judge Watson "A quite nice hand-off from Obi-Wan to new character Ferus in attempt to create safe refuge for Jedi."

Nov. 6, 2009 Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque by Edgar Allan Poe "Short stories, a few of which show trademark horror while a surprising number are humorous."

Nov. 7, 2009 Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno "Story of Jedi Roan Shryne's attempt to survive aftermath of Order 66. Good insight into Anakin becoming Darth Vader."

Nov. 2009 La mystérieuse affaire d'Echo Falls by Peter Abrahams "A really likable mystery about a schoolgirl who models herself after Sherlock Holmes."

Nov. 28, 2009 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte "Jane falls in love with Mr. Rochester only to discover his insane wife in the attic."

Nov. 29, 2009 Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris "A pretty mediocre Torchwood novel about simulacram-zombie invasion."

Dec. 1, 2009 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde "Very fun and readable, as Thursday keeps Eyre intact."

Dec. 2009 Spell Games by T.A. Pratt "4th book in the Marla Mason series, as Marla's con-man brother comes to town."

Dec. 11, 2009 Starfish by Peter Watts "An undersea station is the birthing ground of a rival genome, Behemoth. Characters are interesting, if difficult to connect to."

Dec. 19, 2009 The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton "A really nice book as Isolder of Hapes & Han battle for Leia on Dathomir."

1 comment:

Bal said...

Your reading list puts mine to shame...

Have you read any of Brandon Sanderson's other works? I've been thinking of picking up the Mistborn trilogy or the Way of Kings (which I hear is supposed to be the first of ten IIRC).

What do you think of Sanderson vs. Jordan? Personnally I read the last book for the story and didn't really notice a great difference in writing style ... but I know some people really had issue with that but I don't get it...