2017 reading list

[Reigns]

Okay, so I was provided with the next Seanan McGuire book, which of course I had to read immediately.  It's Down Among the Sticks and Bones, a prequel of sorts to Every Heart a Doorway, which I read last year and gave a 4.  For the new book I'd give it a 3.5 overall, but a 4 if you're a fan of the author and liked the old book.  Speaking of which, I also reread Every Heart a Doorway because they're both short books (which is a lot of the reason they didn't get higher scores.)  Still a 4.  Ironically though if you read them both together I'd give that combination a 4.5.  THAT would make a good story, or rather stories.  And despite it all I'd love to read a third book in this setting.  You COULD read them out of order, but honestly I think you get more out of it if you read them in the order that McGuire wrote them. 

JULY

* = reread
1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien - 5/5 *
2. Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L Hughes - 4/5
3. The Haunting of Cassie Palmer, by Vivien Alcock - 2.5/5
4. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
5. Reckoning, by Lili St. Crow - 4/5
6. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman - 3/5
7. Magic for Nothing, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
8. Silence Fallen, by Patricia Briggs - 4.5/5
9. The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong - 4/5
10. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams - 3/5
11. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman - 3.5/5
12. The Rising, by Kelly Armstrong - 4/5
13. Jhereg, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
14. Yendi, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
15. Teckla, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
16. Taltos, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
17. Phoenix, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
18. Athyra, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
19. Orca, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
20. Dragon, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
21. Issola, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
22. Dzur, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
23. Jhegaala, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
24. Iorich, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
25. Tiassa, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
26. Hawk, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5
27. The First Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3.5/5 *
28. The Second Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3/5 *
29. The Third Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhaen - 4/5 *
30. The Martian, by Andy Weir - 5/5
31. Spooky Little Girl, by Laurie Notaro, 3.5/5
32. Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire 3.5/5
33. Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire - 4/5 *

[Godji]

I am far too disorganized to maintain such a list myself, but two books I read recently interesting enough to mention here :

-John Dies At The End. It's... hard to describe really, kind of like Lovecraft under acid. Fantastic/horror story, but with a completely wacky tone which had me laughing out loud numerous times. Difficult to recommend too, since I can see this clearly being hit or miss. Try the first chapter, available here (https://www.7novels.com/241746-john-dies-at-the-end.html) to get an idea, it's quite representative.

-A Wealth Of Humans, by Ryan Avent. I had been intrigued by some of his articles (https://www.1843magazine.com/features/why-do-we-work-so-hard, https://www.1843magazine.com/features/escape-to-another-world) so decided to get his book. You're most likely used to hearing that "machines and computers are destroying/stealing jobs". Well, this is a quite interesting essay on how technological progress has impacted work and more specifically the value of work, and some reflexions, mixing the extremely optimistic and the downright scary on how it may force us to consider some aspects of a "post-work" society. Not necessarily agreeing with all of his musings, but at the very least a good synthesis to feed your own reflexion.

[narsica]

Two more books: The Unbearable Lightness of Being which I hadn't read since high school. It was... not as good as I remembered. Also, God, Medicine, and Suffering by theologian Stanley Hauerwas, which was a decidedly nontraditional take on the whole theodicy thing.

I'm finding that I'm drawn to doing a lot of rereading of books that I haven't read in ages. I've been eyeing Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, which I haven't read in ages. Also Sickness unto Death by Kierkegaard. But I do need to knock some more titles off my unread shelves. Ugh. TOO MANY CHOICES.

1. Clapp's Rock by William Rowe
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3. A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel
4. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
5. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
6. God, Medicine, and Suffering by Stanley Hauerwas

[Reigns]

Godji - I just looked up John Dies At The End and it looks way too bizarre not to own.  It's now on my wish list.  Thanks for the heads up on that!  (This is why I read these threads btw)

[Reigns]

I finally got my hands on Etched in Bone, by Anne Bishop, the newest book of The Others.  It took a bit after it came out because I thought I already had it and just couldn't find it.     Anyway, as always it's an extremely good read.  I heartily recommend this series for anyone who wants good quality series of non-standard fiction.  Humans are prey in these books, for the most part.  And the world belongs to The Others, although sometimes people forget that.  I like the inversion.  4.5 instead of 5 because it's not a constant reread.  But the whole series qualifies as a 5. 

* = reread
1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien - 5/5 *
2. Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L Hughes - 4/5
3. The Haunting of Cassie Palmer, by Vivien Alcock - 2.5/5
4. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
5. Reckoning, by Lili St. Crow - 4/5
6. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman - 3/5
7. Magic for Nothing, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
8. Silence Fallen, by Patricia Briggs - 4.5/5
9. The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong - 4/5
10. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams - 3/5
11. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman - 3.5/5
12. The Rising, by Kelly Armstrong - 4/5
13. Jhereg, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
14. Yendi, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
15. Teckla, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
16. Taltos, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
17. Phoenix, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
18. Athyra, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
19. Orca, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
20. Dragon, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
21. Issola, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
22. Dzur, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
23. Jhegaala, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
24. Iorich, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
25. Tiassa, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
26. Hawk, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5
27. The First Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3.5/5 *
28. The Second Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3/5 *
29. The Third Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhaen - 4/5 *
30. The Martian, by Andy Weir - 5/5
31. Spooky Little Girl, by Laurie Notaro, 3.5/5
32. Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire 3.5/5
33. Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire - 4/5 *
34. Etched in Bone, by Anne Bishop - 4.5/5

[Jazz]

22) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway  Took 5 weeks to read 400 pages.  I really enjoyed Old Man and the Sea, and wanted to try another Hemingway.  I flew through the first 120 pages...and then the style just overwhelmed me.  Very staccato- short sentences, punchy formatting.  It just overwhelmed me.  So I took a break and returned.  Finally pushed through to the end.  The machismo and flat female characters are hallmarks of his, but this was too much for me.  Will have to move on to another author.

1) Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray
2) Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
3) Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne
4) Grunt by Mary Roach
5) Red Star Rogue by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond
6) Being a Beast by Charles Foster
7) Neuromancer by William Gibson
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
9) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke
10) The STEM Leader Guide- Practical Advice for Creating a STEM School by Hans Meeder
11) Hyperion by Dan Simmons
12) The Universe Within by Neil Shubin
13) The Sea Wolf by Jack London
13) Eaarth by Bill McKibben
14) Oil and Honey by Bill McKibben
15) Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment
16) The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
17) Harness the Sun by Philip Warburg
18) SW: Aftermath: Empire's End by Chuck Wendig
19) SW: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
20) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
21)  The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
22) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

[Reigns]

Jazz - a tip of the hat to you for pushing through.  I've personally always found Ernest Hemingway to be, well, horrid. 
You know, I was going to give a long, involved metaphor to make it look like I had given my opinion much thought and deserved to be commenting on a writer of classics...
No.  Horrid works better. 

[Reigns]

So I've been trying to go through and catch up on old series that I used to like but lost track of - or just never got back to.  (See Steven Brust).  That being said I dug out my copy of C.E. Murphy's Urban Shaman which I'd read back in 2006 or so, and quite enjoyed.  I then read a novella and two more books before losing track of the series entirely.  Well, since I've finally gotten my entire library up and organized this year after putting it off for nearly a decade, I decided to give it another go.  Not only did I dig that particular book out and give it another read, but I also ordered all of the subsequent books in the series - another 4 I think?  Regardless, caught up I shall be once I finish, barring earthquake, drought, zombie apocalypse or other disasters of the natural or supernatural kind. 

For this book specifically I still quite enjoyed it - although not perhaps as much as I did the first time around.  At one time I'd have gushed about the writer and the story and handed it a big, fat, glowing 5.  Now I still quite enjoyed the story, the characters in general and the feel of the book, but I have to admit that at times things felt just a bit rushed.   Things started out pretty quickly and escalated from there.  Don't get me wrong - Murphy gave you enough backstory and context that she did pull it off.  I just like my books to build to a crescendo.  That way the denouement feels satisfying - not just like you can finally take a break.  So a 4 is all I can hand it at this point.  Ironically though I'm quite eager to move on with the rest of the series.  I suppose that's because a 4 still qualifies as a book I did quite enjoy - as I believe I mentioned.    Overall if you like urban fantasy this is a book that I would recommend.  But it's not one that will convert readers, like The Dresden Files or some of McGuire's works for instance. 

* = reread
1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien - 5/5 *
2. Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L Hughes - 4/5
3. The Haunting of Cassie Palmer, by Vivien Alcock - 2.5/5
4. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
5. Reckoning, by Lili St. Crow - 4/5
6. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman - 3/5
7. Magic for Nothing, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
8. Silence Fallen, by Patricia Briggs - 4.5/5
9. The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong - 4/5
10. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams - 3/5
11. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman - 3.5/5
12. The Rising, by Kelly Armstrong - 4/5
13. Jhereg, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
14. Yendi, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
15. Teckla, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
16. Taltos, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
17. Phoenix, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
18. Athyra, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
19. Orca, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
20. Dragon, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
21. Issola, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
22. Dzur, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
23. Jhegaala, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
24. Iorich, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
25. Tiassa, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
26. Hawk, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5
27. The First Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3.5/5 *
28. The Second Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3/5 *
29. The Third Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhaen - 4/5 *
30. The Martian, by Andy Weir - 5/5
31. Spooky Little Girl, by Laurie Notaro, 3.5/5
32. Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire 3.5/5
33. Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire - 4/5 *
34. Etched in Bone, by Anne Bishop - 4.5/5
35. Urban Shaman, by C.E. Murphy - 4/5 *

[Godji]

Bizarre perfectly sums up John Dies At The End indeed Reigns!

I picked up, but probably won't start anytime soon, its sequel, "This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It". Title sets the tone.

[syn]

finished book 2 in hamilton's void series. took a break and read the windup girl; decent post-apocalypse (sort of; more post-environmental/economic collapse than say, nuclear winter type stuff) scifi. back to space opera with the conclusion of the void series...

1. death's end, cixin liu/ken liu  - 4.5/5
2. central station, lavie tidhar  - 3.5/5
3. blood song, anthony ryan  - 4/5
4. tower lord, anthony ryan  - 3/5
5. queen of fire, anthony ryan  - 3/5
6. the trespasser, tana french  - 3.5/5
7. the magician's assistant, anne patchett 2.5/5
8. abomination, gary whitta   4/5
9. eeny meeny, m.j. arlidge  - 1/5
10. a man called ove, fredrik backman   - 4/5
11. time salvager, wesley chu   - 3/5
12. goodhouse, peyton marshall  -  3.5/5
13. pandora's star, peter hamilton  - barely 3/5
14. judas unchained, peter hamilton - 3/5
15. the dreaming void, peter hamilton - 3.5/5

16. the temporal void, peter hamilton -- 3/5
17. the windup girl, paolo bacigalupi  -- 4/5
18. the evolutionary void, peter hamilton -- in progress

[Reigns]

Bizarre perfectly sums up John Dies At The End indeed Reigns!

I picked up, but probably won't start anytime soon, its sequel, "This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It". Title sets the tone.

On a whim I threw it into my wish list.  The next day my wife bought it for me.  lol
So apparently I will be reading it, at least eventually.

[Reigns]

So I read the book that contains CE Murphy's novella that relates to The Walker Papers.  It isn't necessary, but does fill in some big holes if you skip it.  This past weekend I finished up Winter Moon, by Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee and C.E. Murphy.  The piece by Lackey isn't the type I'd normally like, but I found -- once again -- that I liked it anyway.  The piece by Lee was pretentious, as is every piece of her writing that I've ever seen.  It wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't something I'd read if it wasn't in the middle of the book I already WAS reading.  The last piece, by Murphy, was quite enjoyable.  I'd give the various novellas, in order, a 3, a 2.5 and a 4.  Overall that nets the book a 3... mostly for having to wade through other things I wasn't feeling right about skipping. 

* = reread

1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien - 5/5 *
2. Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L Hughes - 4/5
3. The Haunting of Cassie Palmer, by Vivien Alcock - 2.5/5
4. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
5. Reckoning, by Lili St. Crow - 4/5
6. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman - 3/5
7. Magic for Nothing, by Seanan McGuire - 4.5/5
8. Silence Fallen, by Patricia Briggs - 4.5/5
9. The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong - 4/5
10. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams - 3/5
11. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman - 3.5/5
12. The Rising, by Kelly Armstrong - 4/5
13. Jhereg, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
14. Yendi, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
15. Teckla, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
16. Taltos, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
17. Phoenix, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
18. Athyra, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
19. Orca, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
20. Dragon, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5 *
21. Issola, by Steven Brust - 5/5 *
22. Dzur, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
23. Jhegaala, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
24. Iorich, by Steven Brust - 4/5 *
25. Tiassa, by Steven Brust - 3.5/5 *
26. Hawk, by Steven Brust - 4.5/5
27. The First Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3.5/5 *
28. The Second Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen - 3/5 *
29. The Third Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhaen - 4/5 *
30. The Martian, by Andy Weir - 5/5
31. Spooky Little Girl, by Laurie Notaro, 3.5/5
32. Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire 3.5/5
33. Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire - 4/5 *
34. Etched in Bone, by Anne Bishop - 4.5/5
35. Urban Shaman, by C.E. Murphy - 4/5 *
36. Winter Moon, by Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee and C.E. Murphy - 3/5*

[Jazz]

Needed some new blood after Hemingway.  I had bookmarked this list from NPR years ago and decided to make some headway.  I was at 31 of 100, so decided to request the top five I haven't read from the local library system.  Went in to get them, and browsed for a few more quick reads.

23) SW: Rebel Rising by Beth Revis   The story of Jyn Erso.  Superfast read (400 pgs in under 6 hours)  Get to see her relationship with Saw and his decline, and her entanglements with both the rebels and the Empire.  Not bad.

24) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card  I had wanted to read this before the movie came out, and never did.  Gives me a greater appreciation of both.  The film had to prize battles over introspection and characters, but the book does the opposite.  Going to request the next two in the series after I'm done with this batch.

Up next: Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

1) Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray
2) Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
3) Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne
4) Grunt by Mary Roach
5) Red Star Rogue by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond
6) Being a Beast by Charles Foster
7) Neuromancer by William Gibson
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
9) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke
10) The STEM Leader Guide- Practical Advice for Creating a STEM School by Hans Meeder
11) Hyperion by Dan Simmons
12) The Universe Within by Neil Shubin
13) The Sea Wolf by Jack London
13) Eaarth by Bill McKibben
14) Oil and Honey by Bill McKibben
15) Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment
16) The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
17) Harness the Sun by Philip Warburg
18) SW: Aftermath: Empire's End by Chuck Wendig
19) SW: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
20) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
21)  The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
22) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
23) SW: Rebel Rising by Beth Revis
24) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

[syn]

finished hamilton's void series. pretty much par for the course. take any comment about the previous books and apply them here (middle-of-the-road space opera, decent story, but did each book really need to be that fucking long??? i can't believe i read 2000 pages of this series, well over 3K if you include the precursor series. oh well).

started and finished talon of god by wesley snipes (yes, THAT wesley snipes) and ray norman... this was a gag gift from one of my sisters. i was stubborn and read it anyway. truly horrible. i've stopped reading far better books than this. at least it was a fast read.

up next, the fifth season by NK Jemisin.

1. death's end, cixin liu/ken liu  - 4.5/5
2. central station, lavie tidhar  - 3.5/5
3. blood song, anthony ryan  - 4/5
4. tower lord, anthony ryan  - 3/5
5. queen of fire, anthony ryan  - 3/5
6. the trespasser, tana french  - 3.5/5
7. the magician's assistant, anne patchett 2.5/5
8. abomination, gary whitta   4/5
9. eeny meeny, m.j. arlidge  - 1/5
10. a man called ove, fredrik backman   - 4/5
11. time salvager, wesley chu   - 3/5
12. goodhouse, peyton marshall  -  3.5/5
13. pandora's star, peter hamilton  - barely 3/5
14. judas unchained, peter hamilton - 3/5
15. the dreaming void, peter hamilton - 3.5/5
16. the temporal void, peter hamilton -- 3/5
17. the windup girl, paolo bacigalupi  -- 4/5

18. the evolutionary void, peter hamilton -- 3/5
19. talon of god, wesley snipes & ray norman -- 0/5
20. the fifth season, n.k. jemison -- in progress

[Jazz]

25) Watchmen by Alan Moore   Felt just like the movie, which is good for the movie.  First ever graphic novel, and not certain I like the medium.

26) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley  Nothing like I expected.  The prose is lush, the monster is amazing, and the moral crises are phenomenal.  One of the best books of the year.

1) Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray
2) Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
3) Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne
4) Grunt by Mary Roach
5) Red Star Rogue by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond
6) Being a Beast by Charles Foster
7) Neuromancer by William Gibson
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
9) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke
10) The STEM Leader Guide- Practical Advice for Creating a STEM School by Hans Meeder
11) Hyperion by Dan Simmons
12) The Universe Within by Neil Shubin
13) The Sea Wolf by Jack London
13) Eaarth by Bill McKibben
14) Oil and Honey by Bill McKibben
15) Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment
16) The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
17) Harness the Sun by Philip Warburg
18) SW: Aftermath: Empire's End by Chuck Wendig
19) SW: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
20) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
21)  The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
22) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
23) SW: Rebel Rising by Beth Revis
24) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
25) Watchmen by Alan Moore
26) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley