2005: Ruth's Year in Books
Jan. 1st, 2006 09:39 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 10-18 Hammered by Elizabeth Bear. First in a trilogy. Good, and I understood most of the French dialogue, except for some of what was in the three-page sex scene. First reading.
January 20-23 Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff. Military sci fi with a kickass heroine. One of my favorite books. Second reading.
January 23-February 5 The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff. Sequel to Valor's Choice. Second reading.
February 8-13 Better Than Running at Night by Hillary Frank. Fairly good young adult novel, but not as good as I Can't Tell You. First reading.
February 14-15 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Fun, hilarious, fluffy romance. First reading.
February 16-23 The Radiant Seas by Catherine Asaro. Part of the wide-ranging Saga of the Skolian Empire, this one continues the story of Soz and Jaibriol. First reading.
February 28-March 15 The Wedding Date by Elizabeth Young. The movie was awesome, but the book sucked. First reading.
March 21-25 The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan. Awesome first novel of The Black Magician Trilogy. The trilogy is so good I bought the whole trilogy for three different people for Christmas. First reading.
April 9 The Novice by Trudi Canavan. Second book in the trilogy. First reading.
April 10-14 The High Lord by Trudi Canavan. Third book in the trilogy. First reading.
April 10-17 Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. I had wanted to read this back in the day when he was on Oprah. I finally got around to it this spring before we took an emotional intelligence training for work. Fairly good, although his argument style at the end of the first part is a little too obvious. First reading.
April 28-29 The Life of the World to Come by Kage Baker. A great novel of the Company. A whole book of Alec Checkerfield. First reading.
April 30 Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. I love the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. This one made me cry on page three. First reading.
May 14-15 Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. Hilarious romance novel. Second reading.
May 27-29 Freedom's Apprentice by Naomi Kritzer. Fantasy novel, sequel to Freedom's Gate. I love Naomi Kritzer's writing. First reading.
June 11-14 Secrets and Confidences: The Complicated Truth About Women's Friendships edited by Karen Eng. Disappointing essay collection. First reading.
June 19-26 Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach edited by Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob J. Staub. An exploration and explanation of reconstructionism. First reading.
June 27- Metsh: On Being Jewish and Queer edited by Angela Brown. Every essay was more disappointing than the last. First reading (unfinished).
June 30-July 5 Scardown by Elizabeth Bear. Second novel in the trilogy. Still pretty good. First reading.
July 9 Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. A great young adult novel. First reading.
July 16 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. Not as good as the last book, but still good. First reading.
July 17-20 The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro. Although this is the Nebula-award winning book in the Saga of the Skolian Empire, I thought it was weak. First reading.
July 25-29 The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Fantastic sci fi mystery novel. First reading.
August 1- City of Pearl by Karen Traviss. Horrible. First reading (unfinished).
August 6-7 Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy. A great urban fantasy novel. First reading.
August 23-26 Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara. Great fantasy novel. First reading.
September 7-10 Extremes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Second Retrieval Artist novel. This one had a somewhat annoying way of ending every chapter with a final-sounding tease to get you into the next chapter. First reading.
September 21-29 Consequences by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Third Retrieval Artist novel. Good. First reading.
September 30-October 7 Buried Deep by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Fourth Retrieval Artist novel. Still good. First reading.
October 11-13 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I couldn't remember the book. I thought that was because it had been so long since I read it. Then I re-read it. It was more likely because it's neither that great nor that memorable. Second reading.
October 15 The Dreyfus Affair by Peter Lefcourt. Gay baseball players in love! Second reading.
October 21 The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy. Melodrama and true love. Fifth or sixth reading.
October 28 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Fun, funny romance. Second reading.
November 1-6 Spherical Harmonic by Catherine Asaro. Dehya's story. Very good. First reading.
November 7-12 The Stone Garden by Mary Rosenblum. Not very good. Might be better if you're older. First reading.
November 14-18 The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Fantastic young adult sci fi. Recommended by both myself and an actual teenage boy. First reading.
November 23-25 The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer. The House of the Scorpion was so good I had to go right out and get another of her books from the library. This one was also great. First reading.
November 28-December 3 The Moon's Shadow by Catherine Asaro. Jaibriol III's story. Very good. First reading.
December 3-4 The Children of the Company by Kage Baker. I think this is the weakest novel of the Company so far. First reading.
December 5-10 Worldwired by Elizabeth Bear. Third book in the trilogy. Not as good as the first two. First reading.
December 12-17 Far From Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters. Fantastic young adult novel about a rural lesbian softball player. First reading.
December 19-30 Skyfall by Catherine Asaro. This one is Roca and Eldrinson's story, which makes it completely out of order, but it's still good. First reading.
What's here:
- Books I read in 2005.
- 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.
January 10-18 Hammered by Elizabeth Bear. First in a trilogy. Good, and I understood most of the French dialogue, except for some of what was in the three-page sex scene. First reading.
January 20-23 Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff. Military sci fi with a kickass heroine. One of my favorite books. Second reading.
January 23-February 5 The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff. Sequel to Valor's Choice. Second reading.
February 8-13 Better Than Running at Night by Hillary Frank. Fairly good young adult novel, but not as good as I Can't Tell You. First reading.
February 14-15 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Fun, hilarious, fluffy romance. First reading.
February 16-23 The Radiant Seas by Catherine Asaro. Part of the wide-ranging Saga of the Skolian Empire, this one continues the story of Soz and Jaibriol. First reading.
February 28-March 15 The Wedding Date by Elizabeth Young. The movie was awesome, but the book sucked. First reading.
March 21-25 The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan. Awesome first novel of The Black Magician Trilogy. The trilogy is so good I bought the whole trilogy for three different people for Christmas. First reading.
April 9 The Novice by Trudi Canavan. Second book in the trilogy. First reading.
April 10-14 The High Lord by Trudi Canavan. Third book in the trilogy. First reading.
April 10-17 Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. I had wanted to read this back in the day when he was on Oprah. I finally got around to it this spring before we took an emotional intelligence training for work. Fairly good, although his argument style at the end of the first part is a little too obvious. First reading.
April 28-29 The Life of the World to Come by Kage Baker. A great novel of the Company. A whole book of Alec Checkerfield. First reading.
April 30 Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. I love the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. This one made me cry on page three. First reading.
May 14-15 Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. Hilarious romance novel. Second reading.
May 27-29 Freedom's Apprentice by Naomi Kritzer. Fantasy novel, sequel to Freedom's Gate. I love Naomi Kritzer's writing. First reading.
June 11-14 Secrets and Confidences: The Complicated Truth About Women's Friendships edited by Karen Eng. Disappointing essay collection. First reading.
June 19-26 Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach edited by Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob J. Staub. An exploration and explanation of reconstructionism. First reading.
June 27- Metsh: On Being Jewish and Queer edited by Angela Brown. Every essay was more disappointing than the last. First reading (unfinished).
June 30-July 5 Scardown by Elizabeth Bear. Second novel in the trilogy. Still pretty good. First reading.
July 9 Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. A great young adult novel. First reading.
July 16 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. Not as good as the last book, but still good. First reading.
July 17-20 The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro. Although this is the Nebula-award winning book in the Saga of the Skolian Empire, I thought it was weak. First reading.
July 25-29 The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Fantastic sci fi mystery novel. First reading.
August 1- City of Pearl by Karen Traviss. Horrible. First reading (unfinished).
August 6-7 Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy. A great urban fantasy novel. First reading.
August 23-26 Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara. Great fantasy novel. First reading.
September 7-10 Extremes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Second Retrieval Artist novel. This one had a somewhat annoying way of ending every chapter with a final-sounding tease to get you into the next chapter. First reading.
September 21-29 Consequences by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Third Retrieval Artist novel. Good. First reading.
September 30-October 7 Buried Deep by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Fourth Retrieval Artist novel. Still good. First reading.
October 11-13 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I couldn't remember the book. I thought that was because it had been so long since I read it. Then I re-read it. It was more likely because it's neither that great nor that memorable. Second reading.
October 15 The Dreyfus Affair by Peter Lefcourt. Gay baseball players in love! Second reading.
October 21 The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy. Melodrama and true love. Fifth or sixth reading.
October 28 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Fun, funny romance. Second reading.
November 1-6 Spherical Harmonic by Catherine Asaro. Dehya's story. Very good. First reading.
November 7-12 The Stone Garden by Mary Rosenblum. Not very good. Might be better if you're older. First reading.
November 14-18 The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Fantastic young adult sci fi. Recommended by both myself and an actual teenage boy. First reading.
November 23-25 The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer. The House of the Scorpion was so good I had to go right out and get another of her books from the library. This one was also great. First reading.
November 28-December 3 The Moon's Shadow by Catherine Asaro. Jaibriol III's story. Very good. First reading.
December 3-4 The Children of the Company by Kage Baker. I think this is the weakest novel of the Company so far. First reading.
December 5-10 Worldwired by Elizabeth Bear. Third book in the trilogy. Not as good as the first two. First reading.
December 12-17 Far From Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters. Fantastic young adult novel about a rural lesbian softball player. First reading.
December 19-30 Skyfall by Catherine Asaro. This one is Roca and Eldrinson's story, which makes it completely out of order, but it's still good. First reading.