trinityofone

Happy 2009, everybody! I am celebrating with the final installment of Booklog—2008!

( 281. Real World — Natsuo Kirino ) I picked this up because I’ve been wanting to read Kirino’s Out, but my copy hasn’t arrived yet. Having read this, I’m still very much looking forward to it.

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( 282. Blindness — José Saramago ) any sort of transcendence…I just don’t see it.

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( 283. Charlotte Sometimes — Penelope Farmer ) Maybe I’ll try again in another ten years, but I’m still not sure if I’ll know what to make of this book.

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( 284. The City of Ember — Jeanne DuPrau ) I will also be looking for the sequel.

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( 285. Off Main Street — Michael Perry ) the effect is utterly unlike the amazing power of Population: 485. Read that instead.

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( 286. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World — Haruki Murakami ) Perhaps it is best to bid the year farewell with brevity.

Total Books 2008: 286!

...Which is actually one less book than last year. Haha. But last year I didn't finish my booklog—I crapped out at book 230 of 287! So I win! Take that, 2007 me!

A review of the best and worst of 2008 is forthcoming! here!

So close! Luckily, there are very few things at this point that I could actually read.

( 251. A Monstrous Regiment of Women — Laurie R. King ) I only wish there were some well-written ones that gave Watson the respect he deserves (and maybe even a good storyline!).

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( 252. Conrad’s Fate — Diana Wynne Jones ) this was fun enough to make me want to reread this series—in order, from the beginning!—sometime soon.

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( 253. Batman: Dark Victory — Jeph Loeb ) Loeb’s Batman continues to be about ten times more interesting than almost any others I’ve encountered, however.

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( 254. Don Quixote — Miguel de Cervantes ) Suck of that piece of analysis, Harold Bloom!

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( 255. A Wild Sheep Chase — Haruki Murakami ) Yikes.

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( 256. Turnabout — Margaret Peterson Haddix ) I find myself having less and less patience for dumb books.

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( 257, 258, 260, 262, 265-270. Transmetropolitan: Vol. 1-10 — Warren Ellis ) Go read it now!

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( 259. The Salaryman’s Wife — Sujata Massey ) I will have to get my Japan fix elsewhere.

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( 261. To Darkness and to Death — Julia Spencer-Fleming ) By far not the best book in the series, but still enough to keep me interested in continuing.

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( 263. Twenty-Four Eyes — Sakae Tsuboi )this novel constitutes a marked departure from all that, being so staunchly pacifist.

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( 264. Wrong About Japan — Peter Carey ) I didn't learn anything from this book, except that Carey is kind of a downer on vacations.

Total Reviews: 270/283

And why not another Yuletide rec for good measure? NyQuil, Succubi, and Other Tall Tales (Tanya Huff's Smoke books, Lee/Tony). So much fun!

*puff puff*

( 231. In Your Face — Scarlett Thomas ) this is a well-written mystery with a complex and interesting amateur female detective at its core.

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( 232. Amulet: The Stonekeeper — Kazu Kibuishi ) this is definitely a series with promise. I hope I get to continue with it.

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( 233. Iron Man: Hypervelocity — Adam Warren ) this level of persistent, rapid-fire technobabble makes my poor, inadequate wetware brain hurt.

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( 234. A Reader’s Manifesto — B.R. Myers ) he also made me really want to read some Balzac. Fair trade, I say.

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( 235. Out of Time — Caroline B. Cooney ) Way to suck me back in, Cooney. Way to suck me back in.

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( 236. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running — Haruki Murakami ) I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re a) really into running or b) have recently become a big Murakami fangirl, like some people I could mention.

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( 237. Prisoner of Time — Caroline B. Cooney ) apply that last sentence to my relationship with these books IN GENERAL, and it’s possible that truer words have never, at any time, been spoken.

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( 238. Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs — Dave Barry ) It never stops being funny.

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( 239. Dark Water — Koji Suzuki ) I felt the collection stayed disappointingly shallow.

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( 240. Laughing Gas — P.G. Wodehouse ) Is this condition diagnosable? Is there someone I should see?

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( 241. The Devil’s Whisper — Miyuki Miyabe ) I look forward to checking out more of her work.

Total Reviews: 241/277

( 211. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent — Galen Beckett ) if Garritt does not turn out to be gay for his new actor friend, I will eat my hat. Or, not owning a hat, I will go out and buy one, then eat it. Srsly.

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( 212. After Dark — Haruki Murakami ) This is well worth losing sleep over.

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( 213. A Small and Remarkable Life — Nick DiChario ) How’s that for a small and utterly unremarkable review?

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( 214. American Born Chinese — Gene Luen Yang ) incredibly clever and cool. Definitely recommended.

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( 215. Norwegian Wood — Haruki Murakami ) he writes about doing laundry in a way that makes me want to do laundry. Laundry. I rest my case.

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( 216. Blood Meridian — Cormac McCarthy ) maybe McCarthy is hugely overrated. I’m willing to wait this one out.

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( 217. Books of Magick: Life During Wartime: Vol. 1 — Si Spencer ) A universe where you’ve got no reason to root for John Constantine is a sad, sad place, and I don’t want to hang out there.

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( 218. Laika — Nick Abadzis ) I cried like a baby and I wasn’t even PMSing. Damn.

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( 219. Good Bones and Simple Murders — Margaret Atwood ) I kind of want to make Chuck and Margaret have tea and, let’s see, listen to the musical stylings of KISS together. Yes. Yes, I need this now.

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( 220. The Elephant Vanishes — Haruki Murakami ) Oooh, I think I’m throwing down! Novels > Short Stories — discuss!

Total Reviews: 220/264

Happy (early) Thanksgiving, everyone! Here's some more booklog to whet your appetite. Well, book reviews make me hungry, anyway.

( 192. Time Was — Nora Roberts ) This book was first published in 1989, and from my perspective in the far distant future of the 21st century, it really does seem like a long ago, primitive era—and not one I’d care to revisit.

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( 193. A Well-Timed Enchantment — Vivian Vande Velde ) this book didn’t impress me much when I was 12, and it doesn’t impress me much now either.

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( 194. Elantris — Brandon Sanderson ) a lot of fantasy novels, this one included, could do with being a lot less epic.

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( 195. Clockwork — Philip Pullman ) the journey is interesting, anyway.

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( 196. Naked Pictures of Famous People — Jon Stewart ) It’s funny ‘cause it’s true.

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( 197. I Was Told There’d Be Cake — Sloane Crosley ) does it make her the second coming of David Sedaris, as a bunch of reviewers seem to think? No, it does not.

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( 198. The Silver Metal Lover — Tanith Lee ) I enjoyed this book very much, especially the middle sections when it’s just Jane, Silver, and the music they make.

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( 199. Iron Man: Extremis — Warren Ellis ) then I remember that Ellis’ run on Hellblazer didn’t exactly rock my world either.

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( 200. The Uncommon Reader — Alan Bennett ) I can’t help be enchanted by the idea that books and reading really might be this transformative.

Total Reviews: 200/235

Guess who’s ridiculously behind on her booklog again? Yes, that would be me.

( 168. Who Can Save Us Now? — Ed. by Owen King & John McNally ) I’d like to produce a collection of superhero stories in which absolutely no emo is allowed.

I’m listening to Death Cab For Cutie as I write this, but that’s beside the point.

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( 169. Bright Young Things — Scarlett Thomas ) I definitely recommend it.

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( 170. Dreams From My Father — Barack Obama ) Obama’s a comic book fan! I’m sure he’d appreciate the analogy.

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( 171. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict — Laurie Viera Rigler ) What a waste of time.

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( 172. When Will There Be Good News? — Kate Atkinson )try to write something a little lighter next time, Kate, okay? For my sake?

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( 173. Marvels — Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross ) the art is gorgeous.

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( 174. Iron Man: Execute Program — Charlie & Daniel Knauf ) it has the right combination of action, character development, and fun fantasy “whoa”-factor to keep me happy.

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( 175. Close to Shore — Michael Capuzzo ) you could just watch Jaws again, which I did the day after finishing the book—I found it much more satisfying.

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( 176. Seducing Mr. Darcy — Gwyn Cready ) I’ve probably already wasted enough time on this foolishness.

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( 177. Astro City: The Tarnished Angel — Kurt Busiek ) why must your pacing flow like molasses hit with a supervillain’s freeze-ray?

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( 178. The Subway Chronicles — Ed. by Jacquelin Cangro )not even worth reading to lighten the commute.

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( 179. You Don’t Love Me Yet — Jonathan Lethem ) this book makes me never want to read a single word of his again.

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( 180. Cycler — Lauren McLaughlin )examples of decent published genderfuck are simply too few and far between.

Total Reviews: 180/224

Now I've got to try to recruit volunteers to call Georgia this weekend. Yes, another phone bank. I CAN'T STOP.

( 149. The Soldier and the Unicorn — Helen Louise Caroll ) I think it would be best enjoyed read aloud with a group of friends, preferably while drunk.

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( 150. Quiet, Please — Scott Douglas ) there’s a third kind: humor that totally doesn’t work. Librarians everywhere can feel free to shelve this book in that section.

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( 151. Superman/Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told — Edmond Hamilton, et. al. ) All right, so not the greatest, but those two were pretty darn fun.

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( 152. Out of the Deep I Cry — Julia Spencer-Fleming ) I am going to keep reading these books because Spencer-Fleming has created a couple—and an arc of sexual tension—that I really believe in and want to see find resolution.

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( 153. Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle — David Michelinie, et. al. ) still cringing about Tony’s hair. Egad!

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( 154. The Dreyfus Affair — Peter Lefcourt ) I wish more people would write books about baseball players in love—then I wouldn’t have to read the same one over and over.

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( 155. The Stranger Beside Me — Ann Rule ) If you’re interested in true crime, I think this is a very thoughtful, thorough example of the genre. It is not, however, for the faint of heart.

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( 156. Sex for America — Ed. by Stephen Elliott ) Fandom could come up with a better assortment of “Politically Inspired Erotica” in about five minutes. Fail, published fiction, fail!

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( 157. Dead Until Dark — Charlaine Harris ) I can only hope that the show proceeds to more interesting ground, because reading this book, all I could think was: been there, done that, have the lousy fang marks.

Total Books: 157

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words and support regarding my job situation. I’m…dealing, I guess. The worst part (semi-ridiculously) is realizing all the things I had on my work computer that I lost. I knew that I had lost music—anybody got any Death Cab For Cutie, Goldfrapp, or Feist albums they wanna share with me (or Feist’s live version of “I Feel It All” from The Colbert Report)?—but I figured out for sure yesterday that I had lost quite a bit of writing. Both fanfic and original stuff—gone. I know it was stupid to keep it all on a computer that wasn’t really mine without backups, but I never thought—well, I never thought this would happen, did I?

Anyway, one of the things that I did have a backup of (*headesk*) was my booklog, so:

( 122. Kitchen Confidential — Anthony Bourdain ) I found this to be an interesting read about a fascinating industry.

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( 123. Life Class — Pat Barker ) The Regeneration books are still really, incredibly good. This just…isn’t.

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( 124. Fun Home — Allison Bechdel ) This is definitely up there with Maus and Persepolis on my list of favorite graphic novels.

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( 125. The Long Walk — Stephen King ) I read it in one sitting, which makes me totally as hardcore as the characters in this book who all walk themselves to death, right?

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( 126. Red Seas Under Red Skies — Scott Lynch ) I can’t wait for the next one.

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( 127. The Man Who Folded Himself — David Gerrold ) I suppose I could go back in time to say that much more succinctly, but we all know that WOULDN’T END WELL, would it?

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( 128. Victory of Eagles — Naomi Novik ) Moar Perscitia, plz!

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( 129. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party — M.T. Anderson ) It’s commendable.

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( 130. Personal Days — Ed Park ) I’m happy to clear space on my shelf for both, just as there’s room in my DVD cabinet for both the British and the American The Office.

ETA: I wrote this review right after I read the book, and posting it now, the irony of the fact that I read this book just a few days before being laid off myself isn’t lost on me. I even cited it to my coworker (who was also laid off) as an excuse for my nervousness when I received the email calling us into the meeting where they fired us. I guess it’s not paranoia if…blah blah blah.

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( 131. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks — E. Lockhart ) Anyone who thought Twilight offered a good role model or an important narrative for women needs to read this book. Or else be smacked over the head with it.

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( 132. The Nick Adams Stories — Ernest Hemingway ) I guess what I’m really saying is, I wish Hemingway had just manned up and written a cookbook.

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( 133. American Nerd — Benjamin Nugent ) I’m still waiting for a well-rounded book on this subject. This wasn’t it.

Total Books: 133

The people have spoken! And they have said: read Don Quixote. I’m about 100 pages in right now and enjoying it very much.

The people also said a lot of good things about Middlemarch, so I will try to read that soon. Apparently, however, everybody hates French literature—not one person thought I should read Swann’s Way. You all just made Proust start crying into his madeleines. Nice job, guys.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been reading in between pretending to be literary:

( 94. & 98. The Princess Diaries & Princess in the Spotlight — Meg Cabot ) I can see why people like these books and will probably read more as I will inevitably continue to be very, very bored on a regular basis while trapped behind my desk.

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( 95. World War Z — Max Brooks ) I really do think this is beyond terrific: dynamic, creative, and truly unique. I’ll be making a careful stash of blunt objects, now.

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( 96. Enemy Mine/Another Orphan — Barry B. Longyear/John Kessel ) A better bet would be to track down a collection that contains Enemy Mine and more than one other tale.

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( 97. In the Bleak Midwinter — Julia Spencer-Fleming ) Overall, I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the next book in the series when my mood rolls around that way again.

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( 99. & 107. The Choking Doberman & The Mexican Pet — Jan Harold Brunvand ) I’m going to continue to enjoy these wonderful ’80s relics.

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( 100. Dead Clever — Scarlett Thomas ) It’s weird: I wouldn’t hesitate to read another Scarlett Thomas novel if I came across one—her writing is that good—but every one I’ve read has exasperated me in one way or another. This is no exception.

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( 101. Guards! Guards! — Terry Pratchett ) I hope to read the rest of the Watch books in a more timely manner than I’ve proceeded with the Discworld novels so far.

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( 102. First Date — Karen Kendall ) Romances like this make me want to stay single forever. Joy.

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( 103. Not Quite What I Was Planning — Ed. by Rachel Fershleiser & Larry Smith ) I continue to dig the concept and look forward to dipping back in occasionally, now that I’ve read the whole thing.

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( 104. The Art of Fiction — David Lodge ) I bet Lodge was a rockin’ professor, and I wish he’d been mine.

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( 105. Cruel Shoes — Steve Martin ) All in all, not quite my thing, but certainly unique!

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( 106. Unscientific Americans — Roz Chast ) In summation: Roz Chast = WIN.

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( 108. Waiting for Gertrude — Bill Richardson ) Strange and unsettling and not, ultimately, for me.

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( 109. Succubus Blues — Richelle Mead ) not brilliant but enjoyable, and far more surprising/delightful than the “Sex and the City with a little Buffy thrown in” mix it’s billed as.

Total Books: 109

I was going to wait till I had 10, but I had these written up and the Chevy guys are being slow with their copy, so why not. Might as well round-off May, right?

( 81. Murder Must Advertise — Dorothy L. Sayers ) this is a book with a climactic cricket game. I'm sold.

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( 82. Apex Hides the Hurt — Colson Whitehead ) the reader is ultimately not left with very much.

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( 83. Four and Twenty Blackbirds — Cherie Priest ) I’m trying to figure out if I want to bother reading it or not. At the moment I’m actually leaning toward not.

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( 84. Magic Study — Maria V. Snyder ) These books are quite fun, and sometimes, that’s just what you need.

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( 85. Forty Signs of Rain — Kim Stanley Robinson ) I am kind of determined to like these books despite my reservations. Bring on volume two!

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( 86. The Entropy Effect — Vonda N. McIntyre ) I don’t think I really want to read derivative works unless there are sexy bits in ’em. I AM SHALLOW OKAY.

Total Books: 86