2003: Ruth's Year in Books
Jan. 1st, 2004 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rsadelleA couple of years ago, I decided that I would keep a list of all the books I read. It would be, I thought, interesting to see how much, and what, I actually read. So when I read a book, I wrote it down in my writing binder. I liked the whole project so much that I've been doing it again each year.
What's here:
January 5 Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman. Entertaining tale of the son of a mobster who falls in love with the daughter of the FBI agent out to get him. First reading.
January 10-11 The Ghost Sister by Liz Williams. I found out about this book on some list of lgbt sci fi. It's not really worth reading. First reading.
January 12 Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesgar. Terrible, terrible book that is somehow now a whole series. There isn't one sympathetic character in the whole thing. First reading.
January 13 The Bones in the Attic by Robert Barnard. Sort of average searching for the answer to a mystery in the past novel. First reading.
January 19 Remake by Connie Willis. Fantastic book that played a formative role in my attitude toward the advances in special effects technology. Third reading.
January 20 A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles. This book deals with the topics of religion and dysfunctional families. Unfortunately, the author doesn't manage to develop either one very well. First reading.
January 25 Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. A fantastic book. It has some of the same feel as Maureen F. McHugh's China Mountain Zhang. First reading.
January 26-27 China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh. After reading Solitaire, I wanted to read this again. Third reading.
January 29-February 2 Half the Day Is Night by Maureen F. McHugh. Not quite as fabulous as China Mountain Zhang, but better than Nekropolis. First reading.
February 7-8 Substitute For Love by Karin Kallmaker. An absolutely ghastly lesbian romance novel. Stay far, far away. First reading.
February 15-16 King's Dragon by Kate Elliott. I read this on the recommendation of a friend. Despite its hefty size, I liked it enough to read the next book. First reading.
February 17 Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. With every reading, it moves higher up on my favorite fairy tale retellings list. Third reading.
February 20-26 Echoes of Lies by Jo Bannister. Not very good British mystery. First reading.
March 1-2 Prince of Dogs by Kate Elliott. The second in a series. Barely good enough for me to read the next book. First reading.
March 3-7 The Burning Stone by Kate Elliott. The third in the series, and about where I lost patience with it. Too many characters and too much stupidity on the part of one of the main ones. First reading.
March 8 The Horned Man by James Lasdun. This novel was bad, pretentious, and obvious. Stay away. First reading.
March 11 In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming. A fairly average mystery that might have been better if it were British. First reading.
March 14 Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs. Fantastic sequel to Dragon Bones. I highly recommend them both. First reading.
March 15 Bellwether by Connie Willis. Still my favorite Connie Willis book. Fifth or sixth reading.
March 15-16 The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling. Good genderbending fantasy. First reading.
March 17- Enemy Glory by Karen Michalson. The back of the book made it seem interesting, but I couldn't get into it. First reading (unfinished).
March 21-22 Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling. First book in the Nightrunner series. Well worth reading. First reading.
March 23-25 A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer. A favorite of mine. Fourth or fifth reading.
March 26-28 Stalking Darkness by Lynn Flewelling. Second book in the Nightrunner series, also very good. First reading.
March 29-30 Traitor's Moon by Lynn Flewelling. Third book in the Nightrunner series, again, very good. First reading.
March 31-April 1 Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. A classic of gay fantasy, but I found it to be not that good and I dislike the reissue book cover. Second reading.
April 5-6 The Psalms of Herod by Esther M. Friesner. One of my favorite books. A girl in a post-apocalpytic world. Third or fourth reading.
April 7-8 The Sword of Mary by Esther M. Friesner. Sequel to The Psalms of Herod. Third or fourth reading.
April 11-12 Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Good, and very different from the movie. Second reading.
April 13 Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy. Not a great Maeve Binchy book, but readable. Second reading.
April 15-17 Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. One of my favorite books. Third reading.
April 20-21 Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean. Another Scottish ballad retelling from Pamela Dean. Not as good as Tam Lin. Second reading.
February 22-27 Edward Windsor: Royal Enigma by Wendy Leigh. Absolutely ghastly biography of Prince Edward. First reading.
April 27 Mel by Liz Berry. British teen fluff novel. Fifth or sixth reading.
April 27 Will You Be My POSSLQ? by Eve Bunting. Mediocre teen novel. Second reading.
April 29-May 2 In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker. First book in a fantastic series. This book doesn't seem that good until you realize that she's only just setting up the main characters and the whole universe. First reading.
May 3 Easy Connections by Liz Berry. I've read this book many times before and this time it finally creeped me out. Fifth or sixth reading.
May 4 The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. Sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Very good, but also sad; I was crying in fewer than twenty pages. First reading.
May 6- The Tower Room by Adele Geras. This sounded interesting because it's a fairy tale retelling, but upon starting the book, I found it to be pretty bad, which explains why I'd never read it a second time. Second reading (unfinished).
May 8-January 11, 2004 Aqua Erotica edited by Mary Ann Mohanraj. A dual gimmick erotica collection where not only does each story involve water, but the book itself is waterproof. So good I couldn't read more than a story or two at a time. First reading.
May 16 Sky Coyote by Kage Baker. Second book in this fantastic series. First reading.
May 18 Mendoza in Hollywood by Kage Baker. Third book in the fantastic series. First reading.
May 19 The Graveyard Game by Kage Baker. Fourth book in the series, still fantastic. First reading.
May 21-24 Black Projects, White Knights by Kage Baker. A wonderful collection of short stories set in the same universe as the novels of The Company. First reading.
May 24-25 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. A fun novel of time travel and literary intrigue. Second reading.
Dates Unknown Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. Somehow I never wrote this down, but I'm sure I read it just after I reread The Eyre Affair to which it is a sequel. First reading.
May 26-28 Devlin's Luck by Patricia Bray. Mediocre fantasy novel. First reading.
May 29-June 1 The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E. McKenna. This book was so unremarkable that I don't even remember reading it. First reading.
June 2 The Other Shepards by Adele Griffin. Overly predictable young adult novel. First reading.
June 6-7 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. I read this on a friend's suggestion and found that I quite enjoyed it. Jennifer Crusie writes extremely fluffy, non-sickening romance novels with good sex scenes. First reading.
June 7-8 Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress. The first in a very interesting trilogy. First reading.
Dates Unknown Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress. The second book in the trilogy. First reading.
Dates Unknown Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. Thus far, this is my favorite Jennifer Crusie book. First reading.
Dates Unknown Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan. Mediocre young adult novel where everything's solved a little too easily. First reading.
June 23-24 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. The best Harry Potter book yet. First reading.
June 27-28 Beggars Ride by Nancy Kress. The last book in the trilogy. First reading.
June 28- The Princess Diaries by Meggin Cabot. The movie was okay, but I couldn't get very far into the book. First reading (unfinished).
June 28- Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner. This book sounded good, but it wasn't. First reading (unfinished).
July 4-6 Heidi by Johanna Spyri. A friend had this story idea that involved herding sheep, which made me read Heidi. I'd forgotten that Heidi has goats. Third reading.
July 6 My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr. This was a fairly good book that made me cry, but I was a little dissatisfied with the ending. First reading.
July 6-12 Stardoc by S.L. Viehl. More or less engaging novel of a doctor in space. At times, it reads more like consecutive episodes of Space ER rather than a coherent novel. First reading.
July 15-19 The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells. Very good novel with fantastic characters and an enjoyable plot. First reading.
July 20-24 City of Bones by Martha Wells. Another fantastic novel by Martha Wells. First reading.
July 25-26 Quest for a Maid by Frances Mary Hendry. Something else I was reading made me think of this fantastic children's novel. Fifth or sixth reading.
July 26-27 Turning the Storm by Naomi Kritzer. The fabulous sequel to Fires of the Faithful. First reading.
July 30-August 2 Vampire Vow by Michael Schiefelbein. A gay monk vampire novel that wasn't quite as bad as I expected it to be. First reading.
August 3 Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. I was kind of disgusted by some aspects of this novel, but not enough to make me stop reading it. First reading.
August 9 Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold. Semi-interesting novel. First reading.
August 10-13 Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith. Absolutely fantastic first novel in a sci fi series. First reading.
August 15-17 Rules of Conflict by Kristine Smith. Second in the series. Still fantastic. First reading.
August 18-22 Law of Survival by Kristine Smith. Third in the series, which continues to be fantastic. First reading.
August 23 Once Upon A Galaxy edited by Wil McCarthy, Martin H. Greenberg, and John Hellers. Fairy tales in space. Pretty much only worth reading for Tanya Huff's Shoemaker and the Elves retelling. First reading.
August 24 Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard. Ho-hum mystery novel with some homoerotic subtext. First reading.
August 25-30 Isaac Asimov's Space of Her Own (Abridged) edited by Shawna McCarthy. A fairly average collection of sci fi by women. It does have a few really good stories, including two by Connie Willis that I hadn't read before. First reading.
August 30 Lucy the Giant by Sherri L. Smith. Mediocre teen novel. First reading.
August 30-31 Beyond Varallan by S.L. Viehl. Second StarDoc novel. More coherent, but not a great book. First reading.
August 31-September 1 Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold. Surprisingly uninteresting book. First reading.
September 1-5 Endurance by S.L. Viehl. Third StarDoc novel. This is where it really starts to go bad. I have the fourth, but I don't think I'll ever get around to reading it. First reading.
September 13-15 Shade and Shadow by Francine G. Woodbury. Worthwhile tale of magic at Oxford. Interesting main character who has a lot of subtext with his best friend. First reading.
September 17-18 The Gate of Ivory by Doris Egan. Great first book in a trilogy. Third or fourth reading.
September 20 Mel by Liz Berry. British teen novel. Sixth or seventh reading.
September 20 How I Fell in Love and Learned to Shoot Free Throws by Jon Ripslinger. Overly predictable teen novel. First reading.
September 21 In The Cut by Susanna Moore. Not my usual kind of book, but it had a fantastic ending, and it could be a really great movie. First reading.
September 29-October 4 Alien Taste by Wen Spencer. It seemed like it might be good. A sensitive guy with a mysterious past, raised by lesbians, who's a tracker who meets up with an FBI agent. It had one great conversational exchange, but it was overall rather ho-hum. First reading.
October 4 Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy. Slightly better than mediocre mystery. Another stop on my lesson that the Amazon recommends list is not always right on target. First reading.
October 5 Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters. Better than average teen novel. First reading.
October 5-6 Apprentice Fantastic edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis. Again, mostly worth reading for the stories by Tanya Huff and Fiona Patton, although there's also a fantastic story by Michelle West. First reading.
October 6 Holes by Louis Sachar. I still haven't seen the movie, but the book is an enjoyable fable. First reading.
October 11 The Color of Absence edited by James Howe. A more or less okay collection of stories about loss. First reading.
October 19 Wyrmhole by Jay Caselberg. A sci fi novel that looked like it would be interesting but wasn't. First reading (unfinished).
October 19 Am I Blue? Coming Out From the Silence edited by Marion Dave Bauer. Only when I finished this mediocre collection did I look at the publication date and realize that it seems dated because it's ten years old. First reading.
What's here:
- Books I read in 2003.
- Authors of the books.
- Dates I read the books.
- Short notes about each book.
- Approximately how many times I've read the book.
- Magazine and newspaper articles I read, either for work or for fun.
- Web-published fiction I read.
- Short stories and individual chapters I read to remind myself of what the book was about.
- The Bible, which I am reading in a year, a little bit each day, with a friend of mine.
January 5 Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman. Entertaining tale of the son of a mobster who falls in love with the daughter of the FBI agent out to get him. First reading.
January 10-11 The Ghost Sister by Liz Williams. I found out about this book on some list of lgbt sci fi. It's not really worth reading. First reading.
January 12 Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesgar. Terrible, terrible book that is somehow now a whole series. There isn't one sympathetic character in the whole thing. First reading.
January 13 The Bones in the Attic by Robert Barnard. Sort of average searching for the answer to a mystery in the past novel. First reading.
January 19 Remake by Connie Willis. Fantastic book that played a formative role in my attitude toward the advances in special effects technology. Third reading.
January 20 A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles. This book deals with the topics of religion and dysfunctional families. Unfortunately, the author doesn't manage to develop either one very well. First reading.
January 25 Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. A fantastic book. It has some of the same feel as Maureen F. McHugh's China Mountain Zhang. First reading.
January 26-27 China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh. After reading Solitaire, I wanted to read this again. Third reading.
January 29-February 2 Half the Day Is Night by Maureen F. McHugh. Not quite as fabulous as China Mountain Zhang, but better than Nekropolis. First reading.
February 7-8 Substitute For Love by Karin Kallmaker. An absolutely ghastly lesbian romance novel. Stay far, far away. First reading.
February 15-16 King's Dragon by Kate Elliott. I read this on the recommendation of a friend. Despite its hefty size, I liked it enough to read the next book. First reading.
February 17 Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. With every reading, it moves higher up on my favorite fairy tale retellings list. Third reading.
February 20-26 Echoes of Lies by Jo Bannister. Not very good British mystery. First reading.
March 1-2 Prince of Dogs by Kate Elliott. The second in a series. Barely good enough for me to read the next book. First reading.
March 3-7 The Burning Stone by Kate Elliott. The third in the series, and about where I lost patience with it. Too many characters and too much stupidity on the part of one of the main ones. First reading.
March 8 The Horned Man by James Lasdun. This novel was bad, pretentious, and obvious. Stay away. First reading.
March 11 In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming. A fairly average mystery that might have been better if it were British. First reading.
March 14 Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs. Fantastic sequel to Dragon Bones. I highly recommend them both. First reading.
March 15 Bellwether by Connie Willis. Still my favorite Connie Willis book. Fifth or sixth reading.
March 15-16 The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling. Good genderbending fantasy. First reading.
March 17- Enemy Glory by Karen Michalson. The back of the book made it seem interesting, but I couldn't get into it. First reading (unfinished).
March 21-22 Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling. First book in the Nightrunner series. Well worth reading. First reading.
March 23-25 A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer. A favorite of mine. Fourth or fifth reading.
March 26-28 Stalking Darkness by Lynn Flewelling. Second book in the Nightrunner series, also very good. First reading.
March 29-30 Traitor's Moon by Lynn Flewelling. Third book in the Nightrunner series, again, very good. First reading.
March 31-April 1 Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. A classic of gay fantasy, but I found it to be not that good and I dislike the reissue book cover. Second reading.
April 5-6 The Psalms of Herod by Esther M. Friesner. One of my favorite books. A girl in a post-apocalpytic world. Third or fourth reading.
April 7-8 The Sword of Mary by Esther M. Friesner. Sequel to The Psalms of Herod. Third or fourth reading.
April 11-12 Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Good, and very different from the movie. Second reading.
April 13 Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy. Not a great Maeve Binchy book, but readable. Second reading.
April 15-17 Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. One of my favorite books. Third reading.
April 20-21 Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean. Another Scottish ballad retelling from Pamela Dean. Not as good as Tam Lin. Second reading.
February 22-27 Edward Windsor: Royal Enigma by Wendy Leigh. Absolutely ghastly biography of Prince Edward. First reading.
April 27 Mel by Liz Berry. British teen fluff novel. Fifth or sixth reading.
April 27 Will You Be My POSSLQ? by Eve Bunting. Mediocre teen novel. Second reading.
April 29-May 2 In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker. First book in a fantastic series. This book doesn't seem that good until you realize that she's only just setting up the main characters and the whole universe. First reading.
May 3 Easy Connections by Liz Berry. I've read this book many times before and this time it finally creeped me out. Fifth or sixth reading.
May 4 The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. Sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Very good, but also sad; I was crying in fewer than twenty pages. First reading.
May 6- The Tower Room by Adele Geras. This sounded interesting because it's a fairy tale retelling, but upon starting the book, I found it to be pretty bad, which explains why I'd never read it a second time. Second reading (unfinished).
May 8-January 11, 2004 Aqua Erotica edited by Mary Ann Mohanraj. A dual gimmick erotica collection where not only does each story involve water, but the book itself is waterproof. So good I couldn't read more than a story or two at a time. First reading.
May 16 Sky Coyote by Kage Baker. Second book in this fantastic series. First reading.
May 18 Mendoza in Hollywood by Kage Baker. Third book in the fantastic series. First reading.
May 19 The Graveyard Game by Kage Baker. Fourth book in the series, still fantastic. First reading.
May 21-24 Black Projects, White Knights by Kage Baker. A wonderful collection of short stories set in the same universe as the novels of The Company. First reading.
May 24-25 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. A fun novel of time travel and literary intrigue. Second reading.
Dates Unknown Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. Somehow I never wrote this down, but I'm sure I read it just after I reread The Eyre Affair to which it is a sequel. First reading.
May 26-28 Devlin's Luck by Patricia Bray. Mediocre fantasy novel. First reading.
May 29-June 1 The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E. McKenna. This book was so unremarkable that I don't even remember reading it. First reading.
June 2 The Other Shepards by Adele Griffin. Overly predictable young adult novel. First reading.
June 6-7 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. I read this on a friend's suggestion and found that I quite enjoyed it. Jennifer Crusie writes extremely fluffy, non-sickening romance novels with good sex scenes. First reading.
June 7-8 Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress. The first in a very interesting trilogy. First reading.
Dates Unknown Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress. The second book in the trilogy. First reading.
Dates Unknown Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. Thus far, this is my favorite Jennifer Crusie book. First reading.
Dates Unknown Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan. Mediocre young adult novel where everything's solved a little too easily. First reading.
June 23-24 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. The best Harry Potter book yet. First reading.
June 27-28 Beggars Ride by Nancy Kress. The last book in the trilogy. First reading.
June 28- The Princess Diaries by Meggin Cabot. The movie was okay, but I couldn't get very far into the book. First reading (unfinished).
June 28- Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner. This book sounded good, but it wasn't. First reading (unfinished).
July 4-6 Heidi by Johanna Spyri. A friend had this story idea that involved herding sheep, which made me read Heidi. I'd forgotten that Heidi has goats. Third reading.
July 6 My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr. This was a fairly good book that made me cry, but I was a little dissatisfied with the ending. First reading.
July 6-12 Stardoc by S.L. Viehl. More or less engaging novel of a doctor in space. At times, it reads more like consecutive episodes of Space ER rather than a coherent novel. First reading.
July 15-19 The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells. Very good novel with fantastic characters and an enjoyable plot. First reading.
July 20-24 City of Bones by Martha Wells. Another fantastic novel by Martha Wells. First reading.
July 25-26 Quest for a Maid by Frances Mary Hendry. Something else I was reading made me think of this fantastic children's novel. Fifth or sixth reading.
July 26-27 Turning the Storm by Naomi Kritzer. The fabulous sequel to Fires of the Faithful. First reading.
July 30-August 2 Vampire Vow by Michael Schiefelbein. A gay monk vampire novel that wasn't quite as bad as I expected it to be. First reading.
August 3 Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. I was kind of disgusted by some aspects of this novel, but not enough to make me stop reading it. First reading.
August 9 Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold. Semi-interesting novel. First reading.
August 10-13 Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith. Absolutely fantastic first novel in a sci fi series. First reading.
August 15-17 Rules of Conflict by Kristine Smith. Second in the series. Still fantastic. First reading.
August 18-22 Law of Survival by Kristine Smith. Third in the series, which continues to be fantastic. First reading.
August 23 Once Upon A Galaxy edited by Wil McCarthy, Martin H. Greenberg, and John Hellers. Fairy tales in space. Pretty much only worth reading for Tanya Huff's Shoemaker and the Elves retelling. First reading.
August 24 Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard. Ho-hum mystery novel with some homoerotic subtext. First reading.
August 25-30 Isaac Asimov's Space of Her Own (Abridged) edited by Shawna McCarthy. A fairly average collection of sci fi by women. It does have a few really good stories, including two by Connie Willis that I hadn't read before. First reading.
August 30 Lucy the Giant by Sherri L. Smith. Mediocre teen novel. First reading.
August 30-31 Beyond Varallan by S.L. Viehl. Second StarDoc novel. More coherent, but not a great book. First reading.
August 31-September 1 Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold. Surprisingly uninteresting book. First reading.
September 1-5 Endurance by S.L. Viehl. Third StarDoc novel. This is where it really starts to go bad. I have the fourth, but I don't think I'll ever get around to reading it. First reading.
September 13-15 Shade and Shadow by Francine G. Woodbury. Worthwhile tale of magic at Oxford. Interesting main character who has a lot of subtext with his best friend. First reading.
September 17-18 The Gate of Ivory by Doris Egan. Great first book in a trilogy. Third or fourth reading.
September 20 Mel by Liz Berry. British teen novel. Sixth or seventh reading.
September 20 How I Fell in Love and Learned to Shoot Free Throws by Jon Ripslinger. Overly predictable teen novel. First reading.
September 21 In The Cut by Susanna Moore. Not my usual kind of book, but it had a fantastic ending, and it could be a really great movie. First reading.
September 29-October 4 Alien Taste by Wen Spencer. It seemed like it might be good. A sensitive guy with a mysterious past, raised by lesbians, who's a tracker who meets up with an FBI agent. It had one great conversational exchange, but it was overall rather ho-hum. First reading.
October 4 Monkeewrench by P.J. Tracy. Slightly better than mediocre mystery. Another stop on my lesson that the Amazon recommends list is not always right on target. First reading.
October 5 Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters. Better than average teen novel. First reading.
October 5-6 Apprentice Fantastic edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis. Again, mostly worth reading for the stories by Tanya Huff and Fiona Patton, although there's also a fantastic story by Michelle West. First reading.
October 6 Holes by Louis Sachar. I still haven't seen the movie, but the book is an enjoyable fable. First reading.
October 11 The Color of Absence edited by James Howe. A more or less okay collection of stories about loss. First reading.
October 19 Wyrmhole by Jay Caselberg. A sci fi novel that looked like it would be interesting but wasn't. First reading (unfinished).
October 19 Am I Blue? Coming Out From the Silence edited by Marion Dave Bauer. Only when I finished this mediocre collection did I look at the publication date and realize that it seems dated because it's ten years old. First reading.
October 19- The Stone Prince by Fiona Patton. I liked some of her short stories, but this novel was not good. It had too many characters and went on forever. First reading (unfinished).
October 26 Looking for Home by Jean Ferris. A good teen novel. I love the idea of a restaurant that only serves round food. Third reading.
November 9- Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff. I think this could be good if I were in the mood for it, but I couldn't finish it. First reading (unfinished).
November 11 The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. A lot of people I know like the A Series of Unfortunate Events books, but I didn't think that much of this book. First reading.
November 11-27 Contact Imminent by Kristine Smith. Fantastic fourth book about Jani Killian. First reading.
November 28-29 Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. I was skeptical of this as it's an epistolary novel, which I usually don't like, but it was very good. First reading.
November 30-December 24 The End of the Game by Sheri S. Tepper. This is actually three novels in one volume, and I don't think it's ever taken me this long to read a book. The first book in the volume is good, but there's a jump to the second, and the third had me annoyed. First reading.
December 24-26 East by Edith Pattou. A fantastic retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. First reading.
December 27-January 1, 2004 Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. The first part of the book is really good, but it slows down a bit in the middle and there isn't enough closure at the end. First reading.