2007: Ruth's Year in Books
Jan. 1st, 2008 09:46 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 2-4 Eyes of Crow by Jeri Smith-Ready. Fairly good fantasy novel. First reading.
January 5-13 Hero's Song by Edith Pattou. Young adult fantasy novel, good enough. First reading.
January 13 Fire Arrow by Edith Pattou. Sequel to Hero's Song; also good, but it felt like an unfinished trilogy. First reading.
January 15-19 The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin. Mystery novel set in the Ottoman empire. Very good, and I first made apricot and squash couscous while reading it, which made for a very nice lunchtime. First reading.
January 20 Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. First Riley Jensen novel. Fun supernatural adventure/romance. Lots of sex. First reading.
January 22-26 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. This was a Christmas present, and I was a little skeptical when I first started it. But before the end of my first lunchtime reading it, I was engrossed. Excellent. First reading.
January 27 The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. Sequel to The Thief. Also excellent. First reading.
January 27 The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. I so loved the first two books that the moment I finished The Queen of Attolia, I walked over to the library to check out the third one. This is an excellent trilogy, and I highly recommend it. First reading.
January 29 The Book of Eleanor by Pamela Kaufman. I was working through my unread books shelf and tried this one out. It wasn't any good. First reading (unfinished).
February 3-4 Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur. Second Riley Jensen novel. Also good. Still lots of sex. First reading.
February 4-6 Blood Bound by Keri Arthur. Third Riley Jensen novel. You can tell I was enjoying them. First reading.
February 7-11 Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. Good historical young adult novel. First reading.
February 12 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson. I read this as preparation for seeing the movie, and then didn't see the movie. Just as heartbreaking as I remember it being from when our teacher read it to us in elementary school. Second reading.
February 13-17 Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. Fairly good young adult fantasy. First reading.
February 19-21 Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs. Good fantasy novel. Second reading.
February 22-24 Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs. Sequel to Raven's Shadow. Also quite good. First reading.
February 25-27 The Labyrinth Gate by Alis A. Rasmussen. Good fantasy novel. Second reading.
February 28-March 3 Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Okay, but I liked The Goose Girl better. First reading.
March 5-14 Finding Serenity edited by Jane Espenson. Excellent collection of essays on Firefly. First reading.
March 15-16 Fray by Joss Whedon. I read this because one of my friends loved it. I disliked the same things he loved! First reading.
March 19 McClendon's Syndrome by Robert Frezza. A Del Rey Discovery, but not good. First reading (unfinished).
March 24-25 Connections edited by Kelly Lynch. Good collection of m/m short stories. First reading.
March 26-April 7 Priestess of the White by Trudi Canavan. Fairly standard fantasy. Engrossing, but not quite at the same level as her other trilogy. First reading.
April 8-9 Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn. Somewhere between the second Kitty book and the third (this one), Carrie Vaughn learned to write. First reading.
April 10-11 UFOs, JFK, and Elvis by Richard Belzer. Belzer's funny, but the book's only okay. First reading.
April 13-14 Julie and Julia : 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Fantastic story of one woman's year working toward happiness. First reading.
April 14 Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares. Fourth book in the series. Still quite good. First reading.
April 15 A Candle in Her Room by Ruth M. Arthur. A magic in Britain book I used to love when I was younger. I don't need to reread it again. Third reading.
April 16 Half-Moon Scar by Allison Green. I was still working through my unread books shelf, and didn't like this at all. First reading (unfinished).
April 18-22 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenberger. Fantastic novel. First reading.
April 23-28 Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance. Second Cassandra Palmer book, and still excellent. First reading.
April 30-May 2 Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy. End of the Joanne Walker trilogy. So good, even if my inner romantic was frustrated with the ending. First reading.
May 3-5 The Divided by Katie Waitman. Fairly good sci fi novel with interesting themes about what divides us. First reading.
May 7-12 Dark Mondays by Kage Baker. A very depressing book of stories, with one that was really out of place in the collection. First reading.
May 13-19 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The best book I read all year. Another story of a woman's yearlong journey towards happiness. First reading.
May 21-27 Last of the Wildes by Trudi Canavan. Second in the trilogy. First reading.
May 25 Crush by Carrie Mac. Terrible. Just as it was getting interesting, the book ended. Read largely while standing in line to have my palm read at WisCon. First reading.
May 28-29 Voice of the Gods by Trudi Canavan. Third in the trilogy. First reading.
May 30-June 5 Spin State by Chris Moriarty. Sci fi novel with a lesbian protagonist. Second reading.
June 5-12 Spin Control by Chris Moriarty. Sequel to Spin State and the reason I reread the first one. Some interesting ideas, but not great. First reading.
June 10 Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie. Fun romance novel. Clearly I needed a break from serious sci fi. Second reading.
June 12-15 Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff. Interesting, but not great. I think I would have liked it better if I wasn't expecting the big reveal. (I might have figured it out anyway, but the panel I heard about it in at WisCon gave it away.) First reading.
June 16 The Tin Star by J.L. Langley. Gay cowboy romance. Fabulous. First reading.
June 17 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Fluffy het romance novel. Third reading.
June 18 Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. I really tried, but I couldn't get into it, although it did seem familiar. First reading (unread).
June 22-July 7 Tales of the Taormin by Cheryl J. Franklin. This is actually two novels in one volume. I liked them both, but the first one is a little more my style. First reading.
July 7-8 Vertical Run by Joseph R. Garber. Interesting thriller worth reading. Second reading.
July 9 Green Rider by Kristin Britain. I intended to reread this so I could read the sequel, but I couldn't make it through. Second reading (unfinished).
July 8-13 Hearts From the Ashes by Ally Blue, Willa Okati, and J.L. Langley. Gay romance novellas from three authors. First reading.
July 11-14 Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilkes. Terrible paranormal romance. I can't believe I finished it. First reading.
July 16-20 The Sons of Heaven by Kage Baker. Final novel of The Company. Good conclusion, sad it's over. First reading.
July 30-August 5 Cast in Secret by Michelle Sagara. Third in a series. Very good. First reading.
August 6-9 That's Funny You Don't Look Buddhist by Sylvia Boorstein. Good book about being Jewish and Buddhist. First reading.
August 11-13 Embraced by Darkness by Keri Arthur. Fifth Riley Jensen novel. As I was reading it, I thought that this would be my last one. But then she introduced a twist at the end, and now I have to keep reading. First reading.
August 20-24 Grasp the Stars by Jennifer Wingert. Fabulous sci fi. Second reading.
August 24-25 On the Prowl by Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny. Four novellas by different authors. The two by authors I like were good, the one by the author I don't like wasn't, and the one by the author I'd never read was probably better if you'd read her other books in the same world. First reading.
August 26-27 The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan. I reread this to decide if I should keep it or not. Also, because one of my friends said it was like Jane Eyre, which I finally saw a movie version of this year (I never read the book). I didn't think it was that much like Jane Eyre, and while it was good, I didn't keep the trilogy. Second reading.
August 28-30 The Novice by Trudi Canavan. Second in the trilogy. Second reading.
August 31-September 1 The High Lord by Trudi Canavan. Third in the trilogy. Second reading.
September 2 When Demons Walk by Patricia Briggs. Entertaining fantasy with a nice romance. Second reading.
September 3-5 Recovery Man by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Sixth Recovery Artist novel, and fascinating because it now takes the whole series in a different direction that I never expected. First reading.
September 6-10 The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. A tough but rewarding book. Fourth reading.
September 11-17 Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Sequel to The Sparrow. Not as strong a book as the first one, and I think it does ruin some of the impact of the first one. Still, a good book, and one that I kept even as I got rid of so many others this year. Second reading.
September 18-19 Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Not a very good book. She's trying for something like Practical Magic, but that one's such a stronger book that it doesn't work. First reading.
September 22 Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie. Fluffy romance. First reading.
September 24-27 Fires of the Faithful by Naomi Kritzer. Excellent historical fantasy about music and magic. Second reading.
September 27 Turning the Storm by Naomi Kritzer. Equally excellent sequel to Fires of the Faithful. Second reading.
September 30-October 1 The Terrorists of Irustan by Louise Marley. I heard Louise Marley read at WisCon, and the writing and her voice (she used to be an opera singer before she became a writer) were so good that I picked up this book. I do really like the political points it makes. I found, though, that at the end, I felt like I didn't know Zahra as well as I thought I should. First reading.
October 1 Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. Trashy romanc. Third reading.
October 2-6 Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. I read this on the recommendation of Leo from Zen Habits. I found it not practical enough. First reading.
October 7 Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. Pretty good, and definitely better than the other book they cowrote. First reading.
Ocboter 8 The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh. Terrible historical novel. First reading (unfinished).
October 15-20 The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scot Lynch. Fantastic fantasy novel. First reading.
October 21 Remake by Connie Willis. Good sci fi. Fourth reading.
October 22-25 Gods and Pawns by Kage Baker. Excellent collection of stories about the Company. First reading.
October 26-November 3 The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Three novels in one volume. Excellent epic fantasy. Fourth reading.
November 5-16 Serenity Found by Jane Espenson. Collection of essays about Firefly/Serenity. Some good stuff, but not as good as Finding Serenity. First reading.
November 19-25 The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet. Fairly good historical fantasy. Good enough that I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out. First reading.
November 23 The Comeback Kiss by Lani Diane Rich. I found this because I loved Lani Diane Rich's essay in Serenity Found. Okay, but not great. First reading.
November 24 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. Frothy romance novel. Second reading.
November 26-December 1 Pilate's Wife: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Antionette May. Okay historical novel. The research shows a bit too much, and playing up the Jesus connection on the back of the book and in the US title is fairly misleading. First reading.
November 27-28 Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie. Romance novel. I'm still disturbed that the domestic violence issues go unacknowledged for so long. Second reading.
December 1-2 Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. Not one of her better novels. Second reading.
December 3-4 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Clearly one of my favorite frothy romance novels. Fourth reading.
December 6-9 Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. Excellent if heartbreaking novel. First reading.
December 9 Maybe Baby by Lani Diane Rich. Not very good, especially because it's basically the same plot as the other novel by her I read. First reading.
December 10-14 The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. Good historical fantasy novel. Second reading.
December 16-20 Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. One of the best books I've ever read. Fourth reading.
December 20-22 I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Excellent young adult novel by an Australian author. First reading.
December 26-31 The Soloist by Mark Salzman. Okay novel. The ending is nice, but the technique is a little obvious. First reading.
What's here:
- Books I read in 2007.
- 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 2-4 Eyes of Crow by Jeri Smith-Ready. Fairly good fantasy novel. First reading.
January 5-13 Hero's Song by Edith Pattou. Young adult fantasy novel, good enough. First reading.
January 13 Fire Arrow by Edith Pattou. Sequel to Hero's Song; also good, but it felt like an unfinished trilogy. First reading.
January 15-19 The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin. Mystery novel set in the Ottoman empire. Very good, and I first made apricot and squash couscous while reading it, which made for a very nice lunchtime. First reading.
January 20 Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. First Riley Jensen novel. Fun supernatural adventure/romance. Lots of sex. First reading.
January 22-26 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. This was a Christmas present, and I was a little skeptical when I first started it. But before the end of my first lunchtime reading it, I was engrossed. Excellent. First reading.
January 27 The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. Sequel to The Thief. Also excellent. First reading.
January 27 The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. I so loved the first two books that the moment I finished The Queen of Attolia, I walked over to the library to check out the third one. This is an excellent trilogy, and I highly recommend it. First reading.
January 29 The Book of Eleanor by Pamela Kaufman. I was working through my unread books shelf and tried this one out. It wasn't any good. First reading (unfinished).
February 3-4 Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur. Second Riley Jensen novel. Also good. Still lots of sex. First reading.
February 4-6 Blood Bound by Keri Arthur. Third Riley Jensen novel. You can tell I was enjoying them. First reading.
February 7-11 Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. Good historical young adult novel. First reading.
February 12 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson. I read this as preparation for seeing the movie, and then didn't see the movie. Just as heartbreaking as I remember it being from when our teacher read it to us in elementary school. Second reading.
February 13-17 Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. Fairly good young adult fantasy. First reading.
February 19-21 Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs. Good fantasy novel. Second reading.
February 22-24 Raven's Strike by Patricia Briggs. Sequel to Raven's Shadow. Also quite good. First reading.
February 25-27 The Labyrinth Gate by Alis A. Rasmussen. Good fantasy novel. Second reading.
February 28-March 3 Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Okay, but I liked The Goose Girl better. First reading.
March 5-14 Finding Serenity edited by Jane Espenson. Excellent collection of essays on Firefly. First reading.
March 15-16 Fray by Joss Whedon. I read this because one of my friends loved it. I disliked the same things he loved! First reading.
March 19 McClendon's Syndrome by Robert Frezza. A Del Rey Discovery, but not good. First reading (unfinished).
March 24-25 Connections edited by Kelly Lynch. Good collection of m/m short stories. First reading.
March 26-April 7 Priestess of the White by Trudi Canavan. Fairly standard fantasy. Engrossing, but not quite at the same level as her other trilogy. First reading.
April 8-9 Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn. Somewhere between the second Kitty book and the third (this one), Carrie Vaughn learned to write. First reading.
April 10-11 UFOs, JFK, and Elvis by Richard Belzer. Belzer's funny, but the book's only okay. First reading.
April 13-14 Julie and Julia : 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Fantastic story of one woman's year working toward happiness. First reading.
April 14 Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares. Fourth book in the series. Still quite good. First reading.
April 15 A Candle in Her Room by Ruth M. Arthur. A magic in Britain book I used to love when I was younger. I don't need to reread it again. Third reading.
April 16 Half-Moon Scar by Allison Green. I was still working through my unread books shelf, and didn't like this at all. First reading (unfinished).
April 18-22 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenberger. Fantastic novel. First reading.
April 23-28 Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance. Second Cassandra Palmer book, and still excellent. First reading.
April 30-May 2 Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy. End of the Joanne Walker trilogy. So good, even if my inner romantic was frustrated with the ending. First reading.
May 3-5 The Divided by Katie Waitman. Fairly good sci fi novel with interesting themes about what divides us. First reading.
May 7-12 Dark Mondays by Kage Baker. A very depressing book of stories, with one that was really out of place in the collection. First reading.
May 13-19 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The best book I read all year. Another story of a woman's yearlong journey towards happiness. First reading.
May 21-27 Last of the Wildes by Trudi Canavan. Second in the trilogy. First reading.
May 25 Crush by Carrie Mac. Terrible. Just as it was getting interesting, the book ended. Read largely while standing in line to have my palm read at WisCon. First reading.
May 28-29 Voice of the Gods by Trudi Canavan. Third in the trilogy. First reading.
May 30-June 5 Spin State by Chris Moriarty. Sci fi novel with a lesbian protagonist. Second reading.
June 5-12 Spin Control by Chris Moriarty. Sequel to Spin State and the reason I reread the first one. Some interesting ideas, but not great. First reading.
June 10 Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie. Fun romance novel. Clearly I needed a break from serious sci fi. Second reading.
June 12-15 Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff. Interesting, but not great. I think I would have liked it better if I wasn't expecting the big reveal. (I might have figured it out anyway, but the panel I heard about it in at WisCon gave it away.) First reading.
June 16 The Tin Star by J.L. Langley. Gay cowboy romance. Fabulous. First reading.
June 17 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Fluffy het romance novel. Third reading.
June 18 Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. I really tried, but I couldn't get into it, although it did seem familiar. First reading (unread).
June 22-July 7 Tales of the Taormin by Cheryl J. Franklin. This is actually two novels in one volume. I liked them both, but the first one is a little more my style. First reading.
July 7-8 Vertical Run by Joseph R. Garber. Interesting thriller worth reading. Second reading.
July 9 Green Rider by Kristin Britain. I intended to reread this so I could read the sequel, but I couldn't make it through. Second reading (unfinished).
July 8-13 Hearts From the Ashes by Ally Blue, Willa Okati, and J.L. Langley. Gay romance novellas from three authors. First reading.
July 11-14 Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilkes. Terrible paranormal romance. I can't believe I finished it. First reading.
July 16-20 The Sons of Heaven by Kage Baker. Final novel of The Company. Good conclusion, sad it's over. First reading.
July 30-August 5 Cast in Secret by Michelle Sagara. Third in a series. Very good. First reading.
August 6-9 That's Funny You Don't Look Buddhist by Sylvia Boorstein. Good book about being Jewish and Buddhist. First reading.
August 11-13 Embraced by Darkness by Keri Arthur. Fifth Riley Jensen novel. As I was reading it, I thought that this would be my last one. But then she introduced a twist at the end, and now I have to keep reading. First reading.
August 20-24 Grasp the Stars by Jennifer Wingert. Fabulous sci fi. Second reading.
August 24-25 On the Prowl by Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny. Four novellas by different authors. The two by authors I like were good, the one by the author I don't like wasn't, and the one by the author I'd never read was probably better if you'd read her other books in the same world. First reading.
August 26-27 The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan. I reread this to decide if I should keep it or not. Also, because one of my friends said it was like Jane Eyre, which I finally saw a movie version of this year (I never read the book). I didn't think it was that much like Jane Eyre, and while it was good, I didn't keep the trilogy. Second reading.
August 28-30 The Novice by Trudi Canavan. Second in the trilogy. Second reading.
August 31-September 1 The High Lord by Trudi Canavan. Third in the trilogy. Second reading.
September 2 When Demons Walk by Patricia Briggs. Entertaining fantasy with a nice romance. Second reading.
September 3-5 Recovery Man by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Sixth Recovery Artist novel, and fascinating because it now takes the whole series in a different direction that I never expected. First reading.
September 6-10 The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. A tough but rewarding book. Fourth reading.
September 11-17 Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Sequel to The Sparrow. Not as strong a book as the first one, and I think it does ruin some of the impact of the first one. Still, a good book, and one that I kept even as I got rid of so many others this year. Second reading.
September 18-19 Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Not a very good book. She's trying for something like Practical Magic, but that one's such a stronger book that it doesn't work. First reading.
September 22 Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie. Fluffy romance. First reading.
September 24-27 Fires of the Faithful by Naomi Kritzer. Excellent historical fantasy about music and magic. Second reading.
September 27 Turning the Storm by Naomi Kritzer. Equally excellent sequel to Fires of the Faithful. Second reading.
September 30-October 1 The Terrorists of Irustan by Louise Marley. I heard Louise Marley read at WisCon, and the writing and her voice (she used to be an opera singer before she became a writer) were so good that I picked up this book. I do really like the political points it makes. I found, though, that at the end, I felt like I didn't know Zahra as well as I thought I should. First reading.
October 1 Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. Trashy romanc. Third reading.
October 2-6 Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. I read this on the recommendation of Leo from Zen Habits. I found it not practical enough. First reading.
October 7 Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. Pretty good, and definitely better than the other book they cowrote. First reading.
Ocboter 8 The Thrall's Tale by Judith Lindbergh. Terrible historical novel. First reading (unfinished).
October 15-20 The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scot Lynch. Fantastic fantasy novel. First reading.
October 21 Remake by Connie Willis. Good sci fi. Fourth reading.
October 22-25 Gods and Pawns by Kage Baker. Excellent collection of stories about the Company. First reading.
October 26-November 3 The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Three novels in one volume. Excellent epic fantasy. Fourth reading.
November 5-16 Serenity Found by Jane Espenson. Collection of essays about Firefly/Serenity. Some good stuff, but not as good as Finding Serenity. First reading.
November 19-25 The Princes of the Golden Cage by Nathalie Mallet. Fairly good historical fantasy. Good enough that I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out. First reading.
November 23 The Comeback Kiss by Lani Diane Rich. I found this because I loved Lani Diane Rich's essay in Serenity Found. Okay, but not great. First reading.
November 24 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. Frothy romance novel. Second reading.
November 26-December 1 Pilate's Wife: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Antionette May. Okay historical novel. The research shows a bit too much, and playing up the Jesus connection on the back of the book and in the US title is fairly misleading. First reading.
November 27-28 Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie. Romance novel. I'm still disturbed that the domestic violence issues go unacknowledged for so long. Second reading.
December 1-2 Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. Not one of her better novels. Second reading.
December 3-4 Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. Clearly one of my favorite frothy romance novels. Fourth reading.
December 6-9 Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. Excellent if heartbreaking novel. First reading.
December 9 Maybe Baby by Lani Diane Rich. Not very good, especially because it's basically the same plot as the other novel by her I read. First reading.
December 10-14 The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. Good historical fantasy novel. Second reading.
December 16-20 Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. One of the best books I've ever read. Fourth reading.
December 20-22 I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Excellent young adult novel by an Australian author. First reading.
December 26-31 The Soloist by Mark Salzman. Okay novel. The ending is nice, but the technique is a little obvious. First reading.