Summer reading

Those of you who are tired of George R. R. Martin’s meandering opus, A Game of Thrones, might like some Barbara Hambly’s novels. They have mystery, good and evil, monsters, and magic–and things get resolved.

The Antryg Windrose Chronicles (Empire of Gwenth fantasy):
1. The Silent Tower
2. The Silicon Mage (1 & 2 are also published together as Darkmage.)
3. Dog Wizard
4. Stranger at the Wedding (standalone novel in same universe, next summer)

The Kingdom of Darwath fantasy series:
1. The Time of the Dark
2. The Walls of Air
3. The Armies of Daylight
4. Mother of Winter
5. Icefalcon’s Quest

The Unschooled Wizard fantasy series (possibly the same universe in a different era):
1. The Ladies of Mandrigyn
2. The Witches of Wenshar
3. The Dark Hand of Magic

Winterlands (Dragonsbane) a ruined quasi-Scotland with dragons:
1. Dragonsbane
2. Dragonshadow
3. Knight of the Demon Queen
4. Dragonstar

Bride of the Rat God (standalone, 1920s Hollywood with Chinese magic)

Victorian vampires (Victorian Europe with vampires):
1. Those Who Hunt the Night
2. Travelling with the Dead
3. Blood Maidens (haven’t read this one)

Benjamin January mysteries (historical, New Orleans 1830s):
1. A Free Man of Color
2. Fever Season
3. Graveyard Dust
4. Sold Down the River
5. Die Upon a Kiss
6. Wet Grave
,,,etc.

Also recommended:
* Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series
* Philip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart Victorian series (lighter, YA style, but quite standable)
* Guy Gavriel Kay‘s Fionavar Tapesty series

On reading

This random bookish quotation was brought to you by http://www.bookcrossing.com.

The perils of ambulatory reading. If you have never said Excuse me to a parking meter or bashed your shins on a fireplug, you are probably wasting too much valuable reading time. –Sherri Chasin Calvo

Books read in 2009

This list isn’t as complete in previous years, but I’ve also been too busy to read constantly. I could certainly beef it up by adding some of the longer or more memorable science-fiction magazines that I read last year, but they’re not officially books. And I have an unusually large collection of half-read books this year. It will do as ise.

Books read in 2009:

1. The English Gentleman’s Wife by Douglas Sutherland (humor)
2. When I Was Your Age by Joan Malerba-Foran (families & parenting)
3. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (science fiction)
4. Blood Bank (stories) by Tanya Huff (science fiction). Our last glimpse of Henry FitzGerald & Victoria Nelson.
5. Tracking by David R. Palmer (science fiction)
6. Heart of Valor by Tanya Huff (science fiction)
7. Year’s Best SF 10 (stories) edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer (science fiction) [re-read]
8. ReVisions, (stories) edited by Julie E. Czerneda & Isaac Szpindel (science fiction) [re-read]
9. The Del Rey Book of Fantasy and Science Fiction: 16 original stories (science fiction)
10. Hunter of Worlds by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction) [re-read]
11. Confessions of a French Baker by Peter Mayle & Gerard Auzet (cooking, food & wine)
12. Universe 15 edited by Terry Carr (science fiction) [re-read]
13. Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (science fiction)
14. Best SF Stories from New Worlds 8 edited by Michael Moorcock (science fiction)
15. The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
16. Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke (science fiction)
17. First Contacts by Murray Leinster (science fiction)
18. Explorer (First Contact 6) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
19. Destroyer (First Contact 7) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
20. Dead Heat by Dick Francis & Felix Francis (mystery) [re-read]
21. Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers (mystery) [re-read]
22. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
23. Isaac Asimov’s Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction 8: Monsters edited by Isaac Asimov (science fiction)
24. Year’s Best SF 3 edited by David G. Hartwell (science fiction)
25. For Kicks (mystery) [re-read]
26. Enquiry (mystery) [re-read]
27. Catfantastic: Nine Lives and Fifteen Tales (fantasy) [re-read]
28. Isaac Asimov’s Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction: Curses edited by Isaac Asimov (science fiction)
29. Man-Kzin Wars VI inspired by Larry Niven (science fiction)
30. Pretender (First Contact 8) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
31. Rat Race by Dick Francis (mystery)
32. The Flight of the Swan by Elizabeth Webster (romance)
33. The Sleep Thieves by Stanley Coren (nonfiction)
34. Flying Finish by Dick Francis [re-read] (mystery)
35. Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
36. Great Feuds in Medicine by Hal Hellman (science)
37. Slay Ride by Dick Francis (mystery). The last old Dick Francis mystery that I hadn’t read.
38. Witch Repair (Children’s)
39. Climbing Mount Improbable: The Forty-fold Path to Vision by Richard Dawkins (science)
40. The Lilac Bus (stories) by Maeve Binchy (fiction)
41. Vampire Bugs: Stories Conjured from the Past by Sharon Dennis Wyeth (Children’s)
42. Tomorrow, the Stars (stories) edited by Robert A. Heinlein (science fiction)
43. Past Imperfect (stories) edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Harry Seagriff (science fiction)
44. Never Pick Up Hitchhikers! by Ellis Peters (mystery)
45. A Teacup in a Storm: An Explorer’s Guide to Life by Mike Conefrey (nonfiction). How expeditions illustrate leadership.
46. A Little Learning is a Dangerous Thing (quotations)
47. Astounding (stories) edited by Harry Harrison (science fiction). A memorial to the late editor John W. Campbell, Jr.
48. Turning the Grain (science fiction)

Bookcrossing’s top 100 books for 2008

The 100 most popular books on Bookcrossing are listed on member stinalyn’s blog, “Strixaluco: The 2008 Bookcrossing Top 100.”

Actually, stinalyn points out, it’s really the top 120 books, thanks to a 25-way tie for 96th place.

This being Bookcrossing, it’s also a release challenge.

It’s also Robert Burns Day so Bookcrossers are releasing books of his poetry or his novels in appropriate places.

Books to read

I went to Book City today looking for this week’s copy of Nature, which is a special edition on evolution. They didn’t carry it,  but I found a few books. I manfully resisted the Best American Science Writing 2008 and Best American Science & Nature Writing 2008. But I did pick up three books:

• a set of John McPhee’s essays on American geology, Annals of the Former World
• a history of evolution of the animal kingdom, Creatures of Accident by Wallace Arthur
• a raging controversy in evolution that could be legitimately taught, Dawkins vs. Gould by Kim Sterelny. That’s approximately “the selfish gene” vs. punctuated equilibrium.

I also have a few books from last year in my to-be-read pile.

• I’d like to re-read The John McPhee Reader, a set of mixed essays about people, places, and science.
• Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson, about the Galveston Hurricane in 1900
• Coral: A Pessimist in Paradise, by Steve Jones
• In fiction, there’s Irving Wallace’s The Word and The New English Bible (with Apocrypha).
• And I still have Carl Zimmer’s Soul Made Flesh to read. His writing is always a treat.

On my trip to the bookstore and back I gave away two children’s books even though I hadn’t got around to registering them with Bookcrossing.

Books read in 2008

Books read in 2008:

1. ReVisions, edited by Julie E. Czerneda & Isaac Szpindel (science fiction)
2. Year’s Best SF 11, edited by David G. Hartman & Kathryn Cramer (science fiction)
3. Year’s Best SF 12, edited by David G. Hartman & Kathryn Cramer (science fiction)
4. The Best of Gregory Clark by Greg Clark (re-read) (humor)
5. Lost Children, by Edith Pargeter (mystery)
6. The Deep Blue Good-by (Travis McGee 1) by John D. MacDonald (mystery)
7. A Purple Place for Dying (Travis McGee 3) by John D. MacDonald (mystery)
8. Wild Horses by Dick Francis (mystery)
9. Nightmare in Pink (Travis McGee 2) by John D. MacDonald (mystery)
10. Decider, by Dick Francis (mystery)
11. The Quick Red Fox (Travis McGee 4) by John D. MacDonald (mystery)
12. The Best American Science Writing 2007, edited by Gina Kolata (science)
13. Man and Animal (paperback edition) by Heinz Freidrich (science)
14. Marsbound by Joe Haldeman (science fiction)
15. New Writings in SF-24 edited by Kenneth Bulmer (science fiction)
16. The Seventh Omni Book of SF edited by Ellen Datlow (science fiction)
17. Best SF Stories from New Worlds 8 edited by Michael Moorcock (science fiction)
18. The New Tomorrows edited by Norman Spinrad (science fiction)
19. Millennium 3001 edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Russell Davis (science fiction)
20. Asimov’s: Voice in the Dark, by Jack McDevitt, and other stories (science fiction)
21. Ice Lake by John Farrow (mystery)
22. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon by Bob Ward (nonfiction)
23. One Fearful Yellow Eye (Travis McGee 8 ) by John D. MacDonald (re-read) (mystery)
24. Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany (science fiction)
25. The Sky So Big and Black by John Barnes (science fiction)
26. Universe 15 edited by Terry Carr (science fiction)
27. Dress Her in Indigo (Travis McGee 11) by John D. MacDonald (mystery)
28. Finity by John Barnes (science fiction)
29. Evolution’s Captain: the Dark Fate of the Man Who Sailed Charles Darwin Around the World by Peter Nichols (history)
30. Come to Grief by Dick Francis (re-read) (mystery)
31. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (science fiction)
32. Pale Gray for Guilt (Travis McGee 9) by John D. MacDonald (mystery)
33. Cat Encounters edited by Sean Manley and Gogo Lewis (fiction)
34. The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler (mystery)
35. The Identity of Man by Jacob Bronowski (philosophy of science)
36. Finity by John Barnes (re-read) (science fiction)
37. The High Window by Raymond Chandler (mystery)
38. Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact on Human Affairs by May R. Berenbaum (popular science)
39. Comeback by Dick Francis (mystery)
40. Mistral’s Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton (fantasy)
41. Berserker Blue Death by Fred Saberhagen (science fiction)
42. Daring Missions of World War II by William B. Breuer (history)
43. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris (religion)
44. The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King (mystery)
45. Why Darwin Matters by Michael Shermer (science)
46. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (fiction)
47. Incredible Rogers Pass by Art Downs, Ed Cesar, & Frank W. Anderson (nonfiction, travel, history, outdoors & nature)
48. Spring Moon by Bette Bao Lord (fiction)
49. 1990 Annual World’s Best SF edited by Donald A. Wollheim (re-read) (science fiction)
50. Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert (mystery)
51. Amleth, Prince of Denmark by Saxo Grammaticus (drama)
52. Analog: Tenbrook of Mars, by Dean McLaughlin, and other stories (science fiction)
53. The Whole Hog by Lyall Watson (animals, science, nonfiction)
54. The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard [on LibraryThing | on BookCrossing] (science fiction)
55. May Your First Love be Your Last by Gregory Clark
56. Dead Heat by Dick Francis & Felix Francis (mystery)
57. Hellburner by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction)
58. Idoru by William Gibson (science fiction)
59. Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton (fantasy)
60. It Came from the Far Side by Gary Larson (cartoons, humor)
61. Asimov’s: Voice in the Dark, by Jack McDevitt, and other stories (science fiction)
62. The House of Green Turf by Ellis Peters (mystery) [re-read]
63. Telzey Amberdon (Federation of the Hub 1) by James H. Schmitz (science fiction, story collection) [re-read]
64. The Far-seer, by Robert J. Sawyer (science fiction)
65. The Awful Secret by Bernard Knight (mystery) [re-read]
66. Agent of Vega by James H. Schmitz (science fiction) [re-read]
67. The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois (science fiction)
68. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (religion)
69. Asimov’s: Dancing it All Away at Nadoka, by Lucius Shepard; Robot Dreams, by Isaac Asimov; and other stories (science fiction)
70. Asimov’s: Flowers of Edo, by Bruce Sterling; Perpetuity Blues, by Neal Barrett, Jr.; Cannibals, by Nancy Kress; and other stories (science fiction)
71. The Noble Outlaw (Crowner John 11) by Bernard Knight (mystery)
72. Victory of Eagles (Temeraire 5) by Naomi Novik (science fiction)
73. Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life by Carl Zimmer (science)
74. Darwin’s Century: Evolution and the Men Who Discovered It by Loren Eiseley (science)
75. The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain (fantasy)
76. Asimov’s: Horse Racing, by Mary Rosenblum; In the Age of the Quiet Sun, by William Barton; The Ice War, by Stephen Baxter; and other stories (science fiction)
77. F&SF: Pump Six, by Paolo Bacigalupi; Arkfall, by Carolyn Ives Gilman; and other stories (science fiction)
78. Trial Run by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
79. Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IIB, edited by Ben Bova (science fiction)
80. Uther (A Dream of Eagles 7) by Jack Whyte (fiction)
81. Man-Kzin Wars VI by Donald Kingsbury, Gregory Benford; concept by Larry Niven (science fiction) [re-read]
82. Asimov’s: Gypsy Trade, by R. Garcia y Robertson; Outnumbering the Dead, by Frederik Pohl; All Vows, by Esther M. Friesner; and other stories (science fiction)
83. Dead Cert by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
84. Blood Sport by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
85. I think I’m Outta Here by Carroll O’Connor
86. For Kicks by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
87. Risk by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
88. The Flowers of Nicosia by David Ira Cleary, & other stories
89. Nerve by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
90. High Stakes by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
91. Flying Finish by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
92. In the Frame by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
93. Forfeit by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
94. The Danger by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
95. Reflex by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
96. Break In (a Kit Fielding mystery) (mystery) [re-read]
97. Shattered (mystery) [re-read]
98. Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (science)
99. Destroyer (First Contact 7) by C. J. Cherryh (science fiction) [re-read] (next up, Pretender)
100. Evolution for Everyone by David Sloan Wilson (science)
101. Twice Shy by Dick Francis (mystery)
102. Cheaper by the Dozen by Gilbreths (biography) [re-read]
103. Enquiry by Dick Francis (mystery)
104. Driving Force by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
105. Alex and Me by Irene M. Pepperberg (science)
106. Proof by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
107. Under Orders (a Sid Halley mystery) by Dick Francis (mystery)
108. 10-lb Penalty by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
109. Comeback by Dick Francis (mystery) [re-read]
110. An Ape Came Out of My Hatbox by Lyn Hancock (outdoors & nature)
111. The Sport of Queens by Dick Francis (autobiography)
112. F&SF: A Different Country/As the Day Runs Down (science fiction)
113. The Far-Out Worlds of A. E. Van Vogt by A. E. Van Vogt (science fiction)

Lists of books read in 2007 and books read in 2006 are also on my ‘blog.