mikekn

31. The Green Hills of Earth - Robert A. Heinlein [728/1602]
A nice collection of short stories from the 1940s. Some of them show their age more then others, but most of them are quite good.

This will be my last book for the year - I've got a busy weekend ahead, so I don't see me getting through another one too quickly.

( Year in review )

30. Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke [725/1598]
Very interesting. Though I think it says something about the difference between newer and older SF that I kept waiting for a "surprise" twist.

With about 10 days left in the year, I might be able to squeeze one more book in. Just have to pick it quickly :)

29. Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card [722/1594]
My copy of "Ender's Game" was part of an omnibus edition also containing "Speaker for the Dead", so I decided to read both (in part so I can check the book off as being read). I actually liked Speaker better then Ender's Game - it was less predictable and a more enjoyable read for me.

Eventually I'll have to finish up this series, but not right now. I've been getting more of the 50 books via the Paperback Book Swap, so I've got plenty to read right now :)

28. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card [716/1587]
At the recommendation of many people, I finally read Ender's Game. It is an interesting book - good characters in difficult circumstances. I've started "Speaker for the Dead" already.

27. The Sharing Knife: Beguilement - Lois McMaster Bujold [713/1582]
Book one in a new fantasy series by LMB. I was hoping for a new Chalion book, but this one has good characters and a very interesting world. Unfortunately it is only part one of a longer story, so now I get to wait for the next book (some time next year I believe).

26. Wintersmith - Terry Pratchett [713/1581]
Wintersmith is a Tiffany Aching story, so it is sort of a Young Adult Discworld book. But I'm a fan of anything with the witches, so that's not a problem.

25. Mammoth - John Varley [712/1579]
A story of time travel and woolly mammoths. Not his greatest work but still better them many other books out there.

The paperback book swap is doing a good job at keeping my Book to Read number from moving very much. It hasn't been under 700 since March. I don't think I'll be able to make quite as big a dent in the last two months that I did last year, but hopefully I'll at least be able to get it back down to where it was at the start of the year.

24. Dzur - Steven Brust [712/1578]
I actually finished this last month on my trip to Ohio. It took me a bit of time to get back into the story - it's been too long since I read the last one. Fortunately (for me), this story doesn't really dive back into the older plots but is more of a side quest. It sets up and resolves some new problems, leaving Vlad's old problems still hanging over his head.

23. Venus Preserved - Tanith Lee [712/1577]
Book four of the Secret Books of Venus. It took me a while to get through this one - mostly because of how busy things have been. Unlike the first three books, this one is set in the far future. The city of Venus sank into the ocean and is later reclaimed and rebuild as an underwater city/tourist attraction.

Hopefully as the season changes I'll have more time for reading. I'd like to see the number of books unread drop back under 700...
Next up Steven Brust's Dzur.

22. Crystal Dragon - Sharon Lee & Steve Miller [713/1577]
I almost got to finish this before heading off to Pennsic, but ran out of time. Sharon and Steve do a good job of bringing it all together and setting everything up for the main series. Another fun read - but nothing spectacular.

21. Crystal Soldier - Sharon Lee & Steve Miller [713/1576]
Taking a short break from Tanith Lee to finish off the latest Liaden books. This book, and the one following it, take place in the distant past (relative to the previous books) and follow the story of Jela, Cantra and the Tree from the very beginning. Good read - I've gone immediately on to the next book :)

20. A Bed of Earth - Tanith Lee [713/1575]
Book three of the Secret Books of Venus. While the first two books had water and fire as themes, this one had earth. This took form in one of the main characters - a member of the grave diggers guild. More good stuff :)

I really slowed down on my reading recently, so what should have taken a week or less was closer to 6 weeks. Add in the recent acquisitions from the paperbackswap, and I'm really falling behind on my reading. Still, I'm ahead of where I was last year (only 11 books read by the end of July). If I pick up the pace a little, I still have a shot at reaching my 50 book goal for the year (a long shot, but still a shot).