[Blog Entry] Books of 2005
Books of 2005
For those curious as to what I've been reading for the past year, here's the list. I'll try to make a one-liner comment on each:
January
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll; It's a classic... that's actually too metaphorical that I didn't like it.
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... by Richard Carlson, PH.D.; Just goes to show that I do read nonfiction.
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell; Learned a lot. Too bad applying it in real life needs more work on my part.
February
Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon; Okay in a Robert Jordan-ish sort of way.
Shadow Game by Christine Feehan; A book I ordered by mistake. Avoid it at all cost unless you're a fan of romance... and psychics. Sorry, if you're a fan of cheesy romance and unscientific psychic powers.
March
Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton; It's my guilty pleasure.
Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton; My guiltier pleasure.
Marked for Death by Matt Forbeck; Only if you're a fan of D&D's Eberron campaign setting. And even then...
The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction edited by Gardner Dozois; Simply the best.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk; I can't believe I haven't seen the movie.
Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon; Reading it via sheer momentum.
Culture and History by Nick Joaquin; Surprisingly controversial... at least for conservative and close-minded nationalists.
April
Destiny by Elizabeth Haydon; It's finally over!
Requiem for the Sun by Elizabeth Haydon; A good example on how you can breathe life into a dead commercialist horse.
Dhampir by Barb & J.C. Hendee; Shadow Game isn't the worst book I read for the year. This one is.
Dissolution by Richard Lee Byers; It's a book with evil protagonists!
Insurrection by Thomas M. Reid; More evil-party fun.
Condemnation by Richard Baker; For a party of evil characters, boy do they live long.
The City of Towers by Keith Baker; More passable than the other Eberron novels.
Flying Dutch by Tom Holt; Fantasy comedy... I still prefer Pratchett more.
Faust Among Equals by Tom Holt; More enjoyable than Flying Dutch.
May
Here Comes the Sun by Tom Holt; I don't know where Holt comes up with all these wacky British ideas.
Odds and Gods by Tom Holt; Tom Holt has a distinct writing style.
Barnacle Bill the Spacer and Other Stories by Lucius Shepard; I like it, I like it.
The Crimson Talisman by Adrian Cole; Leave your brain at the door. That means you, Eberron readers.
Dune: The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; It's finally over. And can you say plot hook for a Dune sequel?
Faust first part by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Classic anti-hero fantasy.
The Best of Fantasy 2004 edited by Karen Haber and Jonathan Strahan; An anthology in which I liked majority of the stories.
The Black Company by Glen Cook; If there's a book that defines gritty war fantasy, this is it.
Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi translated by Kevin Leahy; If you've seen the original 1980+ movie, this is the novelization. Nothing more, nothing less.
Shadows Linger by Glen Cook; The plot thickens.
June
The White Rose by Glen Cook; And the first series comes to a close.
The Best of Science Fiction 2004 edited by Karen Haber and Jonathan Strahan; I was hoping it was as good as the fantasy anthology; I was disappointed.
August
Memoranda by Jeffrey Ford; Am I the only one who loves his novels?
Extinction by Lisa Smedman; The evil party still lives!
Annihilation by Philip Athans; Isn't the evil-party saga over yet? It's an enjoyable read though.
The Binding Stone by Don Bassingthwaite; Made me rethink why I'm still reading the Eberron books.
September
The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov; SF + Mystery = Asimov.
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami; So that's why so many people talk about it...
Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk; Ah, horror.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson; Ah, a Gibson novel I could appreciate and understand.
Slayers Vol. 3: The Ghost of Sairaag by Hajime Kanzaka; Funny without being Pratchett, Adams, or Gaiman.
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami; Quality not quantity.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger; It's really SF!
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip; You have redeemed yourself, McKillip.
The Knight by Gene Wolf; It's like reading pre-Tolkien fantasy.
The Two Swords by R.A. Salvatore; Drizzt!!!
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto; My own Murakami.
Three Hearts & Three Lions by Poul Anderson; Only because I'm a fan of paladins.
December
The O. Henry Prize Stories edited by Laura Furman; I'm sticking with my fantasy anthologies.
Philippine Speculative Fiction edited by Dean Francis Alfar; Yay! The only thing that would have made it better was if my name was on the table of contents. =)
Slayers Vol 5 by Hajime Kanzaka; It was okay...
Elic of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock; Elric's my #2 Anti-hero.
Tune in next time for Manga of 2005
Books of 2005
For those curious as to what I've been reading for the past year, here's the list. I'll try to make a one-liner comment on each:
January
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll; It's a classic... that's actually too metaphorical that I didn't like it.
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... by Richard Carlson, PH.D.; Just goes to show that I do read nonfiction.
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell; Learned a lot. Too bad applying it in real life needs more work on my part.
February
Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon; Okay in a Robert Jordan-ish sort of way.
Shadow Game by Christine Feehan; A book I ordered by mistake. Avoid it at all cost unless you're a fan of romance... and psychics. Sorry, if you're a fan of cheesy romance and unscientific psychic powers.
March
Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton; It's my guilty pleasure.
Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton; My guiltier pleasure.
Marked for Death by Matt Forbeck; Only if you're a fan of D&D's Eberron campaign setting. And even then...
The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction edited by Gardner Dozois; Simply the best.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk; I can't believe I haven't seen the movie.
Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon; Reading it via sheer momentum.
Culture and History by Nick Joaquin; Surprisingly controversial... at least for conservative and close-minded nationalists.
April
Destiny by Elizabeth Haydon; It's finally over!
Requiem for the Sun by Elizabeth Haydon; A good example on how you can breathe life into a dead commercialist horse.
Dhampir by Barb & J.C. Hendee; Shadow Game isn't the worst book I read for the year. This one is.
Dissolution by Richard Lee Byers; It's a book with evil protagonists!
Insurrection by Thomas M. Reid; More evil-party fun.
Condemnation by Richard Baker; For a party of evil characters, boy do they live long.
The City of Towers by Keith Baker; More passable than the other Eberron novels.
Flying Dutch by Tom Holt; Fantasy comedy... I still prefer Pratchett more.
Faust Among Equals by Tom Holt; More enjoyable than Flying Dutch.
May
Here Comes the Sun by Tom Holt; I don't know where Holt comes up with all these wacky British ideas.
Odds and Gods by Tom Holt; Tom Holt has a distinct writing style.
Barnacle Bill the Spacer and Other Stories by Lucius Shepard; I like it, I like it.
The Crimson Talisman by Adrian Cole; Leave your brain at the door. That means you, Eberron readers.
Dune: The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; It's finally over. And can you say plot hook for a Dune sequel?
Faust first part by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Classic anti-hero fantasy.
The Best of Fantasy 2004 edited by Karen Haber and Jonathan Strahan; An anthology in which I liked majority of the stories.
The Black Company by Glen Cook; If there's a book that defines gritty war fantasy, this is it.
Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi translated by Kevin Leahy; If you've seen the original 1980+ movie, this is the novelization. Nothing more, nothing less.
Shadows Linger by Glen Cook; The plot thickens.
June
The White Rose by Glen Cook; And the first series comes to a close.
The Best of Science Fiction 2004 edited by Karen Haber and Jonathan Strahan; I was hoping it was as good as the fantasy anthology; I was disappointed.
August
Memoranda by Jeffrey Ford; Am I the only one who loves his novels?
Extinction by Lisa Smedman; The evil party still lives!
Annihilation by Philip Athans; Isn't the evil-party saga over yet? It's an enjoyable read though.
The Binding Stone by Don Bassingthwaite; Made me rethink why I'm still reading the Eberron books.
September
The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov; SF + Mystery = Asimov.
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami; So that's why so many people talk about it...
Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk; Ah, horror.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson; Ah, a Gibson novel I could appreciate and understand.
Slayers Vol. 3: The Ghost of Sairaag by Hajime Kanzaka; Funny without being Pratchett, Adams, or Gaiman.
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami; Quality not quantity.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger; It's really SF!
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip; You have redeemed yourself, McKillip.
The Knight by Gene Wolf; It's like reading pre-Tolkien fantasy.
The Two Swords by R.A. Salvatore; Drizzt!!!
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto; My own Murakami.
Three Hearts & Three Lions by Poul Anderson; Only because I'm a fan of paladins.
December
The O. Henry Prize Stories edited by Laura Furman; I'm sticking with my fantasy anthologies.
Philippine Speculative Fiction edited by Dean Francis Alfar; Yay! The only thing that would have made it better was if my name was on the table of contents. =)
Slayers Vol 5 by Hajime Kanzaka; It was okay...
Elic of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock; Elric's my #2 Anti-hero.
Tune in next time for Manga of 2005
posted by Charles at 6:15 AM
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