A Year In Books - 2010

So I'm seeing some 'books read in 2010' posts floating around.  I have to confess, I haven't been a huge reader this year.  But, I wanna play so books I've read in 2010:

The Diamond of Darkhold - Jeanne Duprau
I actually really loved this YA novel.  It's a sequel to City of Ember and takes place a few years after the lead characters left the post-apocalyptic underground city to live above ground.  For whatever reason the above ground stuff reminded me of reading Little House on the Prairie.  Anyway, Lina and Doon return to the now abandoned and dark city of Ember in search of an artifact (the Diamond of Darkhold...which isn't what it sounds like it is)  that may help establish and better their lives in the new, above-ground world.   I have to say that these are probably the gentlest post-apocalyptic stories I've ever read.  But I liked this one.

Blackout - Connie Willis
Time traveling historians trapped in WWII... Part I (I'm still working on reading part II All Clear).  Not a lot to say.  I enjoyed it.   It's not the most fast-paced book in the world, but I enjoyed it.

Dresden Files: Changes - Jim Butcher
First off, damn it!  Cliffhanger.  Just after I finished Blackout (which ended on a cliffhanger) I finished Changes... which ended on a cliffhanger!  ::headdesk::  That said, really exciting Dresden novel because it upends so many things.  And you better write fast, Butcher, because Side Jobs really didn't answer stuff for me.

The Ghost Writer - Robert Harris
Fast paced but I was plagued with the notion that the 'writer running for his life' wouldn't have had to run for his life had he simply not told anyone what he discovered!  My experience with Harris in the past is that he writes a fast-paced book that's enjoyable, but he has the tendency to pull things out of his butt.  This was no different.   There was some fun stuff going on, but there was also stuff clearly being pulled out of his butt.

History of Ancient Greece - Eric H. Cline
Honestly, I don't know that any of it stuck with me. 

Insatiable - Meg Cabot
Holy crap, Batman!  This book is baaaaaad.  The stuff regarding backstage at the soap opera was fun.  But as soon as actual vampires entered the picture this book was on a slippery slope to increasing idiocy, and by that I mean that the heroine is dumber than dirt.  I know the writer was going for satire but... I cannot adequately explain just how enormously ridiculous these characters are except to say they rivaled the characters in The Historian for sheer stupidity... except these characters were chirpy on top of that which only made them more annoying.

Sookie Stackhouse Mystery: Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris
Oh good grief.  I think stoney321  summarized it best.  (Read the stoney post.  It's hilarious.)

The Alchemist and the Executioness - Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell
Loved it!  This is an audio book only so there is no hard copy, but I really enjoyed this fantasy novel which is actually two separate but vaguely related novellas.  The first is the Alchemist who lives in a very fairy-tale-like land (a rather Grimm one -- pun intended) where the land is being consumed by bramble.  Bramble is the 'pollution' of magic, causing magic to be forbidden in the land.  The Alchemist thinks he may have the solution to the bramble, but he's too naive to understand the needs of politics and power and this leads him to both trouble and heartache.  The Executioness lives in the same world, only she is from the poorer side of town.  She's a middle-aged dutiful daughter (with a bum for a husband) from a family whose line of business is to be the state's Executioners.  Only her family has no adult male heir and in a contentious incident with her dying father,  the family 'business' falls to her...on the same day that her world falls apart.  Her sons are stolen by raiders and her poor village is destroyed.  And this in turn leads her on an unlikely journey to becoming a revolutionary leader.

To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
Lighthearted Victorian romp in the same time-traveling universe as the other Connie Willis books that I've read.  The book is fluff involving missing cats, bad Victorian art, and a little matchmaking.  It makes a nice light, lighthearted read.  I enjoyed it.

Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
Neither light nor lighthearted.  This time one of the time-traveling historians is trapped in the middle ages during the black plague.  It's as terrible and harrowing as it sounds.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Loved it!  In a far distant dystopian future where the North American countries that we know are half-forgotten memories that have been replaced by the totalitarian state Panem, the leaders have chosen to entertain and to subjugate their people by insisting that each year every District must select by lottery two kids (a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18) to be sent into The Arena for a televised hunt/fight to the death.  It is the 74th games and Primrose Everdeen was picked, but her older sister Katniss won't allow it and chooses to go in her sisters stead.  Katniss, btw, totally kicks ass.  Love her.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Books 2 and 3 of  The Hunger Game trilogy.  I have some quibbles in places.  There are things that I think could have been handled a little differently and that may have made things work out better, but I still really enjoyed the experience of devouring these books and am glad that I read them. They were interesting, upsetting, and exciting.

Why Evolution is True - Jerry A. Coyne
Title is  self-explanatory.

Still reading...
All Clear - Connie Willis (sequel to Blackout)
Side Jobs - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files short story anthology that has a brief follow-up to Changes)

A Year In Books - 2010

So I'm seeing some 'books read in 2010' posts floating around.  I have to confess, I haven't been a huge reader this year.  But, I wanna play so books I've read in 2010:

The Diamond of Darkhold - Jeanne Duprau
I actually really loved this YA novel.  It's a sequel to City of Ember and takes place a few years after the lead characters left the post-apocalyptic underground city to live above ground.  For whatever reason the above ground stuff reminded me of reading Little House on the Prairie.  Anyway, Lina and Doon return to the now abandoned and dark city of Ember in search of an artifact (the Diamond of Darkhold...which isn't what it sounds like it is)  that may help establish and better their lives in the new, above-ground world.   I have to say that these are probably the gentlest post-apocalyptic stories I've ever read.  But I liked this one.

Blackout - Connie Willis
Time traveling historians trapped in WWII... Part I (I'm still working on reading part II All Clear).  Not a lot to say.  I enjoyed it.   It's not the most fast-paced book in the world, but I enjoyed it.

Dresden Files: Changes - Jim Butcher
First off, damn it!  Cliffhanger.  Just after I finished Blackout (which ended on a cliffhanger) I finished Changes... which ended on a cliffhanger!  ::headdesk::  That said, really exciting Dresden novel because it upends so many things.  And you better write fast, Butcher, because Side Jobs really didn't answer stuff for me.

The Ghost Writer - Robert Harris
Fast paced but I was plagued with the notion that the 'writer running for his life' wouldn't have had to run for his life had he simply not told anyone what he discovered!  My experience with Harris in the past is that he writes a fast-paced book that's enjoyable, but he has the tendency to pull things out of his butt.  This was no different.   There was some fun stuff going on, but there was also stuff clearly being pulled out of his butt.

History of Ancient Greece - Eric H. Cline
Honestly, I don't know that any of it stuck with me. 

Insatiable - Meg Cabot
Holy crap, Batman!  This book is baaaaaad.  The stuff regarding backstage at the soap opera was fun.  But as soon as actual vampires entered the picture this book was on a slippery slope to increasing idiocy, and by that I mean that the heroine is dumber than dirt.  I know the writer was going for satire but... I cannot adequately explain just how enormously ridiculous these characters are except to say they rivaled the characters in The Historian for sheer stupidity... except these characters were chirpy on top of that which only made them more annoying.

Sookie Stackhouse Mystery: Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris
Oh good grief.  I think stoney321  summarized it best.  (Read the stoney post.  It's hilarious.)

The Alchemist and the Executioness - Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell
Loved it!  This is an audio book only so there is no hard copy, but I really enjoyed this fantasy novel which is actually two separate but vaguely related novellas.  The first is the Alchemist who lives in a very fairy-tale-like land (a rather Grimm one -- pun intended) where the land is being consumed by bramble.  Bramble is the 'pollution' of magic, causing magic to be forbidden in the land.  The Alchemist thinks he may have the solution to the bramble, but he's too naive to understand the needs of politics and power and this leads him to both trouble and heartache.  The Executioness lives in the same world, only she is from the poorer side of town.  She's a middle-aged dutiful daughter (with a bum for a husband) from a family whose line of business is to be the state's Executioners.  Only her family has no adult male heir and in a contentious incident with her dying father,  the family 'business' falls to her...on the same day that her world falls apart.  Her sons are stolen by raiders and her poor village is destroyed.  And this in turn leads her on an unlikely journey to becoming a revolutionary leader.

To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
Lighthearted Victorian romp in the same time-traveling universe as the other Connie Willis books that I've read.  The book is fluff involving missing cats, bad Victorian art, and a little matchmaking.  It makes a nice light, lighthearted read.  I enjoyed it.

Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
Neither light nor lighthearted.  This time one of the time-traveling historians is trapped in the middle ages during the black plague.  It's as terrible and harrowing as it sounds.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Loved it!  In a far distant dystopian future where the North American countries that we know are half-forgotten memories that have been replaced by the totalitarian state Panem, the leaders have chosen to entertain and to subjugate their people by insisting that each year every District must select by lottery two kids (a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18) to be sent into The Arena for a televised hunt/fight to the death.  It is the 74th games and Primrose Everdeen was picked, but her older sister Katniss won't allow it and chooses to go in her sisters stead.  Katniss, btw, totally kicks ass.  Love her.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Books 2 and 3 of  The Hunger Game trilogy.  I have some quibbles in places.  There are things that I think could have been handled a little differently and that may have made things work out better, but I still really enjoyed the experience of devouring these books and am glad that I read them. They were interesting, upsetting, and exciting.

Why Evolution is True - Jerry A. Coyne
Title is  self-explanatory.

Still reading...
All Clear - Connie Willis (sequel to Blackout)
Side Jobs - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files short story anthology that has a brief follow-up to Changes)

A Year In Books - 2010

So I'm seeing some 'books read in 2010' posts floating around.  I have to confess, I haven't been a huge reader this year.  But, I wanna play so books I've read in 2010:

The Diamond of Darkhold - Jeanne Duprau
I actually really loved this YA novel.  It's a sequel to City of Ember and takes place a few years after the lead characters left the post-apocalyptic underground city to live above ground.  For whatever reason the above ground stuff reminded me of reading Little House on the Prairie.  Anyway, Lina and Doon return to the now abandoned and dark city of Ember in search of an artifact (the Diamond of Darkhold...which isn't what it sounds like it is)  that may help establish and better their lives in the new, above-ground world.   I have to say that these are probably the gentlest post-apocalyptic stories I've ever read.  But I liked this one.

Blackout - Connie Willis
Time traveling historians trapped in WWII... Part I (I'm still working on reading part II All Clear).  Not a lot to say.  I enjoyed it.   It's not the most fast-paced book in the world, but I enjoyed it.

Dresden Files: Changes - Jim Butcher
First off, damn it!  Cliffhanger.  Just after I finished Blackout (which ended on a cliffhanger) I finished Changes... which ended on a cliffhanger!  ::headdesk::  That said, really exciting Dresden novel because it upends so many things.  And you better write fast, Butcher, because Side Jobs really didn't answer stuff for me.

The Ghost Writer - Robert Harris
Fast paced but I was plagued with the notion that the 'writer running for his life' wouldn't have had to run for his life had he simply not told anyone what he discovered!  My experience with Harris in the past is that he writes a fast-paced book that's enjoyable, but he has the tendency to pull things out of his butt.  This was no different.   There was some fun stuff going on, but there was also stuff clearly being pulled out of his butt.

History of Ancient Greece - Eric H. Cline
Honestly, I don't know that any of it stuck with me. 

Insatiable - Meg Cabot
Holy crap, Batman!  This book is baaaaaad.  The stuff regarding backstage at the soap opera was fun.  But as soon as actual vampires entered the picture this book was on a slippery slope to increasing idiocy, and by that I mean that the heroine is dumber than dirt.  I know the writer was going for satire but... I cannot adequately explain just how enormously ridiculous these characters are except to say they rivaled the characters in The Historian for sheer stupidity... except these characters were chirpy on top of that which only made them more annoying.

Sookie Stackhouse Mystery: Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris
Oh good grief.  I think stoney321  summarized it best.  (Read the stoney post.  It's hilarious.)

The Alchemist and the Executioness - Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell
Loved it!  This is an audio book only so there is no hard copy, but I really enjoyed this fantasy novel which is actually two separate but vaguely related novellas.  The first is the Alchemist who lives in a very fairy-tale-like land (a rather Grimm one -- pun intended) where the land is being consumed by bramble.  Bramble is the 'pollution' of magic, causing magic to be forbidden in the land.  The Alchemist thinks he may have the solution to the bramble, but he's too naive to understand the needs of politics and power and this leads him to both trouble and heartache.  The Executioness lives in the same world, only she is from the poorer side of town.  She's a middle-aged dutiful daughter (with a bum for a husband) from a family whose line of business is to be the state's Executioners.  Only her family has no adult male heir and in a contentious incident with her dying father,  the family 'business' falls to her...on the same day that her world falls apart.  Her sons are stolen by raiders and her poor village is destroyed.  And this in turn leads her on an unlikely journey to becoming a revolutionary leader.

To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
Lighthearted Victorian romp in the same time-traveling universe as the other Connie Willis books that I've read.  The book is fluff involving missing cats, bad Victorian art, and a little matchmaking.  It makes a nice light, lighthearted read.  I enjoyed it.

Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
Neither light nor lighthearted.  This time one of the time-traveling historians is trapped in the middle ages during the black plague.  It's as terrible and harrowing as it sounds.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Loved it!  In a far distant dystopian future where the North American countries that we know are half-forgotten memories that have been replaced by the totalitarian state Panem, the leaders have chosen to entertain and to subjugate their people by insisting that each year every District must select by lottery two kids (a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18) to be sent into The Arena for a televised hunt/fight to the death.  It is the 74th games and Primrose Everdeen was picked, but her older sister Katniss won't allow it and chooses to go in her sisters stead.  Katniss, btw, totally kicks ass.  Love her.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Books 2 and 3 of  The Hunger Game trilogy.  I have some quibbles in places.  There are things that I think could have been handled a little differently and that may have made things work out better, but I still really enjoyed the experience of devouring these books and am glad that I read them. They were interesting, upsetting, and exciting.

Why Evolution is True - Jerry A. Coyne
Title is  self-explanatory.

Still reading...
All Clear - Connie Willis (sequel to Blackout)
Side Jobs - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files short story anthology that has a brief follow-up to Changes)