mikekn

...but first a Happy Birthday wish to kbuxton! May you get lots of cool books :)

I've finally gotten back into the swing of reading regularly. I doubt I'll get that many books finished by the end of the year, but at least these last few months will be better then the first ones. I went back through a lot of my old book posts and added some tags to make them easier to find in the future. Of course it is only after I finish that I hit on the idea of also tagging them with the author of the book. I'll have to save that for the next time I get bored and want to dig through old posts.

Because I never got a summary of my 2004 list, I'm putting it here under the cut (just so it will be available next time I go looking for it).

( Book Log 2004 )

30. Flatland - Edwin Abbott [809/1517 53.32%]
Finally got to read this. It was...interesting... Not the book I'd choose to be the last thing I read in 2004, but that's how it ended up (I'm only half way through James Marrow's newest short story collection).

Over the holidays I got rid of a few books I've read and several that I don't think I'll ever get to (mostly old SF short story collections). In the process I managed to offset all the books I picked up over the same time period. I got all the rest of Christopher Moore's books for christmas and some misc SF/Fantasy (de Lint, Willis, Hamilton) at a used bookstore. The net result is I've got 28 books to go to meet my 2005 goal (yay!).

29. Jack Faust - Michael Swanwick [714 to go]
I've had this book for several years now. I had picked it up on the recommendation of a friend in college (ok, more then several years). I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it, since my friend and I share an enjoyment of the strange and bizarre. What it is is an interesting retelling of the story of Johannes Faust with a SF twist. Probably not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

28. Going Postal - Terry Pratchett [809/1525 53.05%]
The latest Discworld novel. Always a quick but enjoyable read. This one introduces a bunch of new characters, but I suspect we won't get a second book focusing on them (too specialized).

At this rate I may actually finish 30 books this year. It seems like a pretty small number when I look at all the books I've got waiting to be read. I think for next year I need to set a target - not for how many books I read, but how many I leave unread. Something that combines reading more and buying less (but still buying some). Hmm...

27. Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore [808/1520 53.16%]
This is the first book I read from Christopher Moore, and I'll probably be reading a lot more of his work in the future.  In addition to being a well written and humorous novel, this one had the added bonus of having a modern interpretation of Emperor Norton as a character.

26. I Sing the Body Electric - Ray Bradbury [807/1520 53.09%]

"I Sing the Body Electric" is a collection of eighteen short stories by Ray Bradbury published around 1969 (there is a new version of this book which contains additional and newer stories).  I've always enjoyed his short stories - some favorites from this volume are "Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby's Is a Friend of Mine", "The Terrible Conflagration up at the Place" and "The Man in the Rorschach Shirt".

Seems like it's been weeks since I had a chance to read.

24. The Eternal Footman - James Morrow [805/1520 52.96%]
Finished this one up on the trip out to Colorado.  This is the final book in Morrow's Godhead trilogy.  While the first book (Towing Jehovah) remains my favorite, I enjoyed this one as well (in spite of how long it took me to finish it).

25. Citizen of the Galaxy - Robert Heinlein [806/1520 53.03%]
Grabbed because I needed another book to take on my trip.  Not one of his better stories, but not bad either.  Started it on the plane to Colorado, and finished it on the trip back from Colorado. 

I ran into a used book store before heading to the airport, so I was able to pick up  Ray Bradbury's "I Sing the Body Electric" collection to start when Citizen finished.

23. Something Rotten - Jasper Fforde [802/1504 53.32%]

Just finished Jasper Fforde's latest Thursday Next novel.  Fun book, and quick read (partially because it's very hard to put down).  This one wraps up a lot of the loose ends from the previous three books, but still leaves room for additional stories.

22. Sewer, Gas & Electric - Matt Ruff [801/1504 53.26%]

Finished another book this week.  This is Matt Ruff's second novel, published back in 1997.  I really enjoyed his first novel, "Fool on the Hill", and I've been saving this one for a while now.  In some ways it reminded me of the Illuminatus Trilogy.  Definitely worth the wait.

21. Glory Season - David Brin [801/1500 53.40%]

Good story! Very detailed SF world.  I can't think of any of Brin's stories that I haven't enjoyed, but this one is near the top.  Started reading this at Pennsic because I didn't want to bring along a hardback book - very glad I did.

20. Steel Beach - John Varley [800/1500 53.33%]

Finished this before heading off to Pennsic.  Throughout the entire book I had this feeling of deja vu.  Never enough that I knew what was going to happen next, but enough that I recognized most everything that did happen.  Most likely I read the book several years ago and forgot to update my list.  Still, I enjoyed it thoroughly and am looking forward to the other Varley books (Golden Globe, Red Thunder), which I know I've not read yet.  But first I need to finish the David Brin book I started at Pennsic (Glory Season).

19. The Riddle of the Wren - Charles de Lint [799/1499 53.30%]
Started this on the train to New York last week, and finished it on the train home this week.  Very nice, I'll be reading more of his stuff soon, but right now I want to catch up on some authors that I've been saving (folks who's books I love, but who only publish something every few years).