What I Read (2012)

Jan. 31, 2012  Le Livre d'Or de la science-fiction: A.E. Van Vogt
"Anthology of works of mid-century SF writer.  A couple are interesting."

Feb. 4, 2012  Vinyl Cafe Unplugged by Stuart Mclean
"A really good, easy to read and enjoy collection of short stories about a record store owner and family."

Feb. 13, 2012  Life Itself by Roger Ebert
"Ebert's memoirs, mostly in blog post form.  Not a cohesive, well-planned book, but some great individual passages."

Feb. 20, 2012  Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan
"Rand cleanses saidin & Matt meets the Daughter of the Nine Moons.  Okay."

Feb. 20, 2012  Journal d'un degonfle: Rodrick fait sa loi by Jeff Kinney
"Continues to be fun"

Mar. 16, 2012  Tumbling After by Paul Witcover
"First book I finished in Australia.  Marvelous, fantastic, original.  Highly recommended & thought provoking.  Haunting."

Mar. 29, 2012  Deception on His Mind by Elizabeth George
"Good setting & characters, well-researched on Islam.  Murderer not persuasive."

Apr. 7, 2012  Snatchers by Helen Cresswell
"Interesting, original.  YA book w/ fairy-tale like atmosphere."

Apr. 8, 2012  A Shorter History of Australia by Geoffrey Blainey
"Readable & fairly interesting; not gripping, and anti-labor bias."

Apr. 11, 2012  O, Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
"Finished after a long interval.  Very evocative portrayal of the "Holy Land""

Apr. 12, 2012  Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
"Great characters, witty dialogue, a lot of fun."

Apr. 2012  In Calmer Times: The Supreme Court and Red Monday by Arthur J. Sabin
"Very readable overview of Supreme Court handling of Communist cases, with emphasis on Hoover."

Apr. 28, 2012  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
"Fast-moving, first-person account.  Doesn't pull punches.  Surprising lack of focus on moral quandaries."

Apr. 29, 2012  White Darkness by David A. McIntyre
A Doctor Who novel set in 1915 Haiti & featuring voodoo and a really well done Cthulhu theme."

May 19, 2012  Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
First Phryne Fisher mystery, set in 1920s Melbourne.  Very fun character, though a bit Mary-Sue."

May 23, 2012  The Cartoons That Shook the World by Jytte Klausen
"More journalism than scholarship, but definitely worth reading."

May 2012  Infernal Sorceress by Gary Gygax
"Mediocre fantasy novel of roguish Ferret & Raker."

June 3, 2012  Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
"What an amazing read!  Mobile cities in a post-apocalyptic landscape vie for resources.  Full of exciting action scenes, nicely executed twists, and cinematic potential."

June 7, 2012 The Future of Blasphemy: Speaking of the Sacred in an Age of Human Rights by Austin Dacey
"Excellent analysis of blasphemy with recourse to moral theory & deep conceptual analysis."

June 18, 2012  Les fiancees de l'enfer by Chrystine Brouillet
"Police thriller.  Good characterization, but poorly plotted, with all resolution occurring 'off-camera.'"

June 30, 2012  A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane
"A stasis-locked species begins to awaken on Mars.  Solid, and good character development."

July 4, 2012  Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
"Second in series about psychic corpse-finder.  Very good characters, with interesting romantic subplot."

July 13, 2012 Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn
"Book 2 in werewolf DJ story, as Congressional hearings launch.  Interesting angle, somewhat loosely plotted.  Not as good as first."

July 22, 2012  Nightside City by Lawrence Watt-Evans
"Excellent SF noir private detective novel set on a planet where there is perpetual darkness, but daytime is coming and will ruin the city.  Really well-written."

July 2012  Church & State: Australia's Imaginary Wall by Tom Frame
"Adopts very much a middle-ground approach, advocating no formal legal separation but that Christians not try to intermingle beliefs w/ gov't affairs."

August 2, 2012 November 1975: The Inside Story of Australia's Greatest Political Crisis by Paul Kelly
"Fascinating, important story.  Gough comes across as arrogant & disdainfully blind, Fraser as shrewd, and Kerr so worried about being fired he was willing to deceive in order to strike first."

August 2, 2012  Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
"Book 10.  Slow in some spots, but gets better.  Still a lot of threads, would like to see them start to come together."

August 6, 2012  Open Constitutional Courts by Patrick Keyzer
"An excellent argument for abolishing standing and costs in constitutional cases in Australia."

August 6, 2012 House of Serpents by Lisa Smedman
"Omnibus of three novels set in Forgotten Realms.  Hlondeth, city of serpent-men Yuan-ti and human slaves.  Interesting setting sets it apart, as does focus on psionics.  Well-written and evocative."

August 9, 2012  Pool of Radiance by James M. Ward & Jane Hong
"Great nostalgia after playing game so often as a teenager."

August 15, 2012  Journal d'un degonfle: Trop c'est trop by James Kinney
"Third book in the series, and still very funny."

September 24, 2012 The Enemy of My Enemy by Jeremy & Kelly Patrick
"Awesome Star Wars novel based on our RPG characters.  Unbiased review."

September 24, 2012  Pools of Darkness by James Ward & Anne Brown
"So-so sequel set 10 years after Pools of Radiance, as Phlan is kidnapped."

September 29, 2012 In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George
"Two bodies found on the moor, and Lynley keeps Havers off the case after the end of the last book.  Solid, but subplots more interesting than main case."

October 1, 2012  Silver Marches by Ed Greenwood & Jason Call
"Sourcebook for Forgotten Realms, detailing area of North centered by Silverymoon.  Pretty good."

Oct. 2012  The Best Show in Football: The 1946-1955 Cleveland Browns by Andy Piascik
"Argues the Browns had the greatest football dynasty ever.  A fun look at the earliest years of the franchise."

Nov. 4, 2012  Letterati: An Unauthorized Look at Scrabble and the People Who Play It by Paul McCarthy
"Very focused on elite tournament players and their grudges w/ Hasbro."

Nov. 11, 2012  The Build Up by Phillip Gwynne
"Crime novel set in the (Aussie) Northern Territory.  Great characters and evocation of setting.  Could use better plot and narrative structure."

Nov. 12, 2012 Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
"Disappointing sequel.  Very talky & rather slow, with goofy developments re: resurrection of characters."

Nov. 12, 2012 Canadian Maverick: The Life and Times of Ivan C. Rand by William Kaplan
"Fairly well-written book, but I'm not persuaded the subject was noteworthy or important enough to deserve it."

Nov. 15, 2012  Charlie Bone et le mystere de minuit by Jenny Nimmo
"Average story, with many similarities to Harry Potter, of young boy who discovers he has strange powers and is sent to school with others of his kind."

Nov. 18, 2012  The Outlaws of Mars by Otis A. Kline
"Standard sword-and-planet adventure, full of action but racist problems."

Nov. 25, 2012  Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
"Sweet, touching story."

Dec. 4, 2012  Ordered Universes: Approaches to the Anthropology of Religion by Morton Klass
"Very focussed on establishing better definitions of key terms, but admirable concern for objectivity."

Dec. 4, 2012  Probability Moon by Nancy Kress
"Interesting story about world where inhabitants must 'share reality' or suffer psychic pain; first of trilogy, leaving some Qs unanswered.  Well-written."

Dec. 9, 2012  Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
"Play is worth reading, though Faustus' motivations are somewhat cryptic."

Dec. 9, 2012  Robots Have No Tails by Henry Kuttner
"Collection of short stories about a wacky, alcoholic inventor.  Some fun."

Dec. 16, 2012  Template by Matthew Hughes
"Interesting universe w/ clearly defined cultures.  Plot strong at first, but peters out."

Dec. 17, 2012  Mrs. Jeffries & the Mistletoe Mix-Up by Emily Brightwell
"Okay characters, but plot doesn't hold up on examination."

Dec. 2012  Doctor Who & the Zarbi by Bill Strutton
"Aliens are far less goofy here than on screen."

Dec. 28, 2012  I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
"First person by Corran Horn, searching (very slowly!) for kidnapped wife.  Incorporates material from other novels."

Dec. 2012  Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
"Incredibly boring for the most part, almost plotless until the final 1/4."