Literary Year In Review: Top 6, Bottom 4, and Everything In Between

[rsadelle]

You may remember that I keep track every year of the books I read. Every year, I vow to do it on the computer so I don't have to type it up and remember all the way back to January, and every year I end up doing it on paper instead.

Top 6
I read a lot of good books this year, but I forced myself to narrow this down to six, five fiction and one nonfiction. These are the absolute best things I read this year with first lines and in alphabetical order by author's last name.

• The Garden by Elsie V. Aidinoff.

  Something heavy on my center, smooth against my skin, shifting very slightly within itself, stretched and retracted.

• I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter.

  I suppose a lot of teenage girls feel invisible sometimes, like they just disappear.

• Touch the Dark by Karen Chance.

  I knew I was in trouble as soon as I saw the obituary.

• The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt edited by Ruth Andrew Ellenson. (As an anthology, a first line for this one doesn't make sense.)
• Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning.

  There's a stack of folders piled up on the desk in front of me.

• Poison Study and Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder.

  Locked in the darkness that surrounded me like a coffin, I had nothing to distract me from my memories.
  
  and
  
  "We're here," Irys said.

Bottom 4
Usually, if a book is bad, I don't finish it. I generally give a book about 80 pages, and if I don't like it after that, I'm done with it. This year, however, I made it all the way through four books that were just awful.

• The Veiled Web by Catherine Asaro. You may remember me talking about this not too long ago. I kept pushing through it because I've liked other books by the same author.
• Daughter of the Desert by Noel-Anne Brennan. This is just a horrible book. I kept reading in hope that at some point she would stop glossing over all the details and fill them in, but she never did.
• Hot Target by Suzanne Brockman. Someone on my friends list was talking about this book because it has some gay themes. I was in the mood to read a trashy novel. This is not the novel you are looking for. She hits you over the head with the gay equality thing (which makes sense when you read the author's note about her son who is, of course, gay) and the sex isn't any good. To make things worse, I couldn't enjoy the newest Jennifer Crusie novel because the plot was too similar to this and I kept having flashbacks.
• Tall, Dark & Dead by Tate Hallaway. This is another one you may remember me talking about. I was so horribly, horribly disappointed by it. I kept reading it because I know the author can write, and that she can write a sex scene, but in the end, I was only disillusioned. Lyda Morehouse, please go back to writing sci fi and stay away from the paranormal romance.

Everything
As usual, I did post the entire list of everything I read in 2006. I have to admit to feeling a little bit guilty about this list. I haven't yet read the books archivecats sent me for Christmas last year, and I think there are some miscellaneous other books from her and from amatia still on my unread books shelf. I did, however, finally finish reading all the books archivecats loaned me by mail over two years ago, so that's something.

Most Interesting Trend
I read a lot of books by Australian authors this year. The increase in Australian authors is a trend I've noticed over the last year or two. I'm not sure what's causing it, but it's interesting to note.

Comments

[valerie-quinn.livejournal.com]

Happy B'day!

[rsadelle]

Thanks!