List the Books You Read in 2012, and Rate Them

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Ok, so this is just a continuation of the "List the book you read in a year" thread. It's not really a contest, just a list to share with others.

I'm hoping to top last years's number of 54.

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

[Charles Darnay]

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

Careful with that - Oryx is not representative of her other work. I really enjoyed it but have hated everything else I read by her (don't ask why I kept reading her stuff). That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

__________________________________________

My 2012 is beginning with two fairly large books. First in Tale of Genji (which is being discussed elsewhere on this forum so I will leave it at that. Second is Mark Helprin's "Soldier of the Great War". I'm about halfway through and it is fantastic. I read his "Winter Tale" a few years back and aside from the ending I loved it. Whereas "Winter's Tale" was huge in its scope and the focus was more on the scenery and description than character, "Soldier" has a wonderful central character who's exploits are well-written and very fun.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Careful with that - Oryx is not representative of her other work. I really enjoyed it but have hated everything else I read by her (don't ask why I kept reading her stuff). That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.


Interesting. Makes me want to read her other stuff even more, haha.

[Charles Darnay]

Interesting. Makes me want to read her other stuff even more, haha.

Fine, but if you read "Handmaids' Tale" and hate it, you brought it upon yourself.

[tonywalt]

I have taken a few days off and I am almost finished Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000 (2009).

Very good book.

[mona amon]

Careful with that - Oryx is not representative of her other work. I really enjoyed it but have hated everything else I read by her (don't ask why I kept reading her stuff). That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

As for me, I didn't like Oryx and Crake as much as Alias Grace, The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin. My favourite is Cat's Eye which I thought was really very good.

--------------

First book of 2012 - Charlotte Bronte's Shirley. Not her best, but still the work of a genius. 8/10

[Delarge]

1. 1Q84 (book 1) by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. I think the trilogy can go in any direction from here. Might become one of his finest or one of his worst. I am looking forward to reading the second.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

[JuniperWoolf]

That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Year of the Flood was very good. It had this crazy nature-based religious group, it was really a great commentary on the whole "green" movement that's been gathering so much speed in the last few decades. It's also a part of the Oryx and Crake story, it doesn't pick up where it left off but it tells the story from outside the dome and then in the end scene it tells you what Snowman decides to do with the people that he finds (and it also tells you who those people are) so it picks up where O&C left off, but only for a very short while.

1. The Phantom of the Opera - 7.5/10
Pretty decent, I like how extremely French it was. I loved The Persian, and it did a really good job exploring the importance of physical appearance. If Eric didn't look like a walking corpse, he would have been on par with the greatest geniuses who had ever lived. Also, the whole house by a lake in a cave under the Paris opera house thing was pretty cool. Great visuals.

[Delarge]

1. 1Q84 (book 1) by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. I think the trilogy can go in any direction from here. Might become one of his finest or one of his worst. I am looking forward to reading the second.

2. 1Q84 (book 2) by Haruki Murakami -- 8/10. Really a good follow-up from the first book. The pace has quickened and the story is getting more and more weird in a very Murakamian way. Now I cannot wait for the last book to get translated into Danish.

[Scheherazade]

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry 6/10. Somewhat mixed feelings. Trying to keep in mind that it is a YA book but still found the writing pedantic and somewhat forced. Thought-provoking storyline for children.

2. The Collector by Fowles - 10/10 - A breath-taking book, a page-turner, thought-provoking. I am very happy to see that, after 25 years, the book still affects me in the same manner; even more so because I feel I have been able to appreciate some aspects of the book more this time round. And my belief that Fowles is one of the best writers of the 20th century has been confirmed once again.

3. The Sheltering Sky by Bowles - 6/10 - Even though it is a well-written book that keeps you reading, I am left with "blah" feeling when I finished it. What was the point? By now, I know that I am not keen these Americans-in-search-of-self-through-journey type of books and this one will just go into that pile for me.

4. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene - 8/10 Humorous and interesting. Very much enjoyed this one. Regret not having read his books any sooner.

5. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 9/10 - A fantastic story written in first person. It contains heavy sections on religious (Christian) issues but still the author manages to make it about the human nature and condition. Hard to put down.

6. March by Geraldine Brooks 8/10 - Another first-person narrative and an interesting take on what happens to the father of March girls (Little Women) when he leaves his family behind to join the war.

7. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - 8/10 - Hard to put down, absurd, heart-warming and tragic.

8. Advise and Consent by Allen Drury -7/10 - A political thriller from 1950s. It is amazing to see that things hardly ever changes where politics is concerned.

9. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk - 8/10 - A murder mystery taking place in 16th century Istanbul where Turks are struggling to come to terms with their relationship with the Western world.

10. The Winter of Our Discontent by Steinbeck - 10/10 -Wonderful.

11. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson 8/10 - Story of two sisters and their growth from childhood to womanhood in the care of various female relatives. Very good descriptive passages.

12. Cannery Row by Steinbeck 10/10 Marvelous characters, marvelous narration.

13. Look Back in Anger by John Osborne - 9/10 Powerful, shocking and angry.

14. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - 6/10 It started as a promising historical novel with some elements of fantasy thrown in but quickly deteriorated into a predictable cliche. Rather disappointing.

15. Blindness by Saramago 9/10 Phew. Simply could not put it down, feeling disgusted with humanity and falling in love with it all the same. Marvelous writing (albeit a little hard to get used to) and, thankfully, good translation.

16. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard - 9/10 An excellent play rich with word plays and wit.

17. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - 9/10 As always Gaiman manages to lure you into the story with his great style of narrative and turns the story into a page turner.

18. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King - 7/10 An interesting sequel to Sherlock Holmes stories. Entertaining page turner.

19. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes -8/10 Uncomplicated, solid writing enriched with a compelling storyline. I was disappointed with the ending as it felt very predictably unpredictable.

20. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 7/10 An interesting structure, stories being told from different perspectives, expanding on a time period of many decades in the lives of semi-celebrities and the circles they move. I did not feel moved enough to care but I enjoyed the writing style very much.

21. The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington 7/10 A quick read with a very predictable and dramatic story line.

22. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier 8/10 Another enjoyable, page-turner from Du Maurier. And a great ending.

23. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 10/10 Marquez's style is perfect. My only problem with this book is not being able to read it in its original.

24. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner 7/10 Even though I quite enjoyed her writing style, I felt that the story was behind the times. The ending left me quite disappointed.

25. Daisy Miller by Henry James - 8/10Great introduction to James and touching story.

26. The Importance of Being Earnest by Wilde 10/10 Quirky, witty and cynical. Keeps getting better and better each time I read.

27. The Sportwriter by Richard Ford - 6/10 Good writing style with a boring storyline.

28. On Beauty by Zadie Smith - 8/10 Two black families dedicated two different approaches to life, religion and politics and how their lives touch each other. Smith writes with ease, detailed without being stuffy or forced. Well worth the time!

29. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher - 6/10 Story of a 10-year-old boy who tries to come to terms with the death of a sister who's killed in a terrorist attack and the divorce of his parents following her death. Most issues oversimplified and sugarcoated. Cannot help but wonder whether it is one of those books that were written at the right time and place to be popular.

30. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - 8/10 Another children's book that deals with death but in a more honest, open and realistic way. The book is enriched with the illustrations.

31. Howards End by EM Forster - 8/10 Read it again after a while and have to admit it felt even better this time round.

32. Love in the Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford - 5/10 What promised to be an engaging, quirky book turned into a disappointing blah.

33. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - 6/10 Another re-read. Not sure why I don't like this book but the whole "aww, poor things" does not do it for me. Considering how much I enjoy Wharton's style, it is a surprise.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10

[OrphanPip]

Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

When were this first two you listed written, Pip?

[Drkshadow03]

Just 1 so far.

1) The Best Short Stories by Guy De Mauppasaunt (Wordsworth Classics edition): Soooo good! I can't believe I haven't read any of his work before. (blog has more in depth reactions).

I started The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, which I was really liking, but stopped to read Don Juan. I'm on Canto 4 of Don Juan by Lord Byron, which is very hit-or-miss for me so far.

[OrphanPip]

When were this first two you listed written, Pip?

The History of the Nun was published in 1689, and the Fair Jilt in 1688.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Wow, that is quite early for prose. I read Don Quixote, but aside from that, I don't think I've read much at all pre-1800. I'll have to check some of the other 1600s stuff out sometime.

[OrphanPip]

Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.

Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.

[JuniperWoolf]

2. Another book of short stories from Lovecraft, 10/10 he's a master.

3. This (http://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327) Seneca book, 6.5/10. Sooo, life is long if you read philosophy and dedicate a chunk of every day to thinking about it? Shocker, the philosopher is pro-philosophy.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

[Delarge]

1. 1Q84 (book 1) by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. I think the trilogy can go in any direction from here. Might become one of his finest or one of his worst. I am looking forward to reading the second.
2. 1Q84 (book 2) by Haruki Murakami -- 8/10. Really a good follow-up from the first book. The pace has quickened and the story is getting more and more weird in a very Murakamian way. Now I cannot wait for the last book to get translated into Danish.

3. Enten-Eller by Søren Kierkegaard -- 10/10. Simply brilliant. By far the best I have ever read in my native language. I didn't understand all parts of it, but nevertheless loved the prose and musings on moral, love, passion, marriage, the arts etc. Really makes you think about how to live the good life, and that is to me what philosophy like this should be all about.

[Sionn Harrow]

The Prince by Machiavelli-- 10/10. Machiavelli was a boss.
Paradise Lost by John Milton-- 5/10. The story was good, but Milton's poetry is so, so slow. I kept falling asleep while trying to read the thing. And oh yeah, the view of love sucked.

[dysfunctional-h]

So far (1st book and a half of 1Q84), so good. Watching the story unfold (well untangle is a better word for it) in front of me is quite enjoyable (8.5/10 for now, probably higher once I finish it). I just finished Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus--a brilliant book, particularly for those familiar with modern music and late Beethoven. It functions well as both a sardonic portrait of bourgeois culture during the Weimar era, and a fascinating allegory whose tangled webs of symbolism take a while to seep in (9/10 at the moment). Reading an article on JSTOR comparing it to Conrad's Under Western Eyes certainly helped. Will have to get to reading that at some point.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10

[JuniperWoolf]

4. A Game of Thrones - I've heard way too much about it not to read it. I usually hate fantasy, but I didn't hate this one. Good characters, I loved Jaime Lannister (and the twin sex was somewhat intriguing). 7/10


4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10

I think someone in my house has this one laying around somewhere, maybe I'll give it a go next.

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.

[Paulclem]

4. A Game of Thrones - I've heard way too much about it not to read it. I usually hate fantasy, but I didn't hate this one. Good characters, I loved Jaime Lannister (and the twin sex was somewhat intriguing). 7/10



I think someone in my house has this one laying around somewhere, maybe I'll give it a go next.

A Game of Thrones is the best fantasy I've read. Once I got used to the one chapter per character view approach, which I initially didn't like, I was hooked. It was only a blip though because Martin is an excellent writer and the story is really strong with fantastic characters as you pointed out.

Do Androids....The title put me off somewhat for a while - I thought Blade Runner was a better one, but actually the title is entirely appropriate. I kept seeing flashbacks to Harrison Ford in the film - though I had only a hazy idea of the story. (It was a long time ago and I think I'd had a few). The book, as is usual, has much more in it, though not all the ideas worked for me such as Mercerism.

Sorry - I've been blabbering on again.

[Paulclem]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.


When I was in the 6th form in school, one of our English teachers - a really good teacher he was - spoke to us about Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto". He thought it really funny that a giant hand had fallen out of the sky - with no apparent explanation - and crushed the baddie. I've kept it in mind al this time, and I now have it poised on the Kindle. Should be good.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.
7. Sandman #1-8 by Neil Gaiman, et al -- 9/10. Possibly the best graphic novels that I've ever read. Good, dark story with just the right amount of black humor. I wasn't too crazy about the artist of the first 6, though. The charCter designs struck me as much too cartoony for the dark tone of the story.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

Comics/graphic novels:

1. Sandman #1-8 by Neil Gaiman, et al -- 9/10. Possibly the best graphic novels that I've ever read. Good, dark story with just the right amount of black humor. I wasn't too crazy about the artist of the first 6, though. The charCter designs struck me as much too cartoony for the dark tone of the story.
2. Avengers # 500-503 by Brian Michael Bendis, et al -- 6/10. Mostly read because it's a lead up to the Civil War series. Pretty common superhero stuff--the Avengers are attacked and outnumbered and they must figure out why. Good brainless entertainment.
3. Marvel's Civil War by Mark Millard, et al -- 8/10. This is probably the most hyped/talked about Marvel series/event that took place over the last decade, excepting the death of Captain America, which follows shortly. It's about the government wanting to register and emlly all superheroes--no more vigilantism. One side, headed by Iron Man is for it, another, needed by Captain America, is against it, and it culminates in an epic battle. I found the story pretty good--it wasn't a bad social commentary, of sorts.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.

[Desolation]

11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.

[PMLondonderry]

So far:

finished "An Irish Country Village." It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it's cute, light, and easy. It was a nice book to read in bed before sleeping. I'd give it a 7/10.

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin- 7/10. Interesting most of the time, but it wasn't as engaging as I like my books to be. Sorry Benji Frank.

Walden- 8/10- I love my Transcendentalists. The only reason I didn't give this a 10 was because part of me feels Thoreau is a tad too "ranty" (for lack of better terms) and leans too far into the extreme. I draw inspiration from Transcendentalism, but I like to keep to the middle road.

Oxherding Tale- 9/10. Really good book that I had to read for my Black Literary Postmodernism class. It's a neo-slave narrative. I really enjoyed it.

today I just read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow- 8/10- I love Washington Irving's descriptive writing. Also, anything that lingers in the creepy side of folktales/religion really gets me. Probably why I am also such a huge Hawthorne fan.

The Canterbury Tales (Millers tale, General prologue, wife of bath, and pardoners tale)- 6/10- The only reason I give them a 6 is because of the difficulty of the English with such little time to get them all read. I would have enjoyed them more had I had more time to digest and dig through the meaning a little more. However, again, I like all things that call out religion and society on their hypocrisies and Chaucer does an amazing job at doing that. Especially in The Pardoner's Tale.

Beowulf- 9/10. I'm the girl that fell asleep every night to Braveheart when she was 6 years old. Anything about historical war in ancient Europe is a weakness for me. It's my football.

And I'm about to start Spenser's "The Faerie Queen."

[Charles Darnay]

so far:

Tale of Genji - 8/10 - It certainly took me longer than a month! Beautiful writing and some great scenes - it was a bit hard to get through at points, but I blame myself for reading other books at the same time. You really need to commit yourself to this on its own to get the full benefit.

Soldier of the Great War (Mark Halprin) - 8/10 - all around great story! Witty, well written, excellent characters. I took away some points for Halprin's unfortunate tendency to drag stories out longer than they need be. There's a good 100 pages that really did not need to be there.

Saga of the Confederates (Icelandic Saga) 5/10 - it gets some points for being different than any other saga I've read....but when you read an Icelandic Saga, you read it for the battles, and Viking feats....this one focuses too much on rhetoric, which seems out of place.

Comedy of Errors - Shakespeare 10/10 - one of those few Shakespeare plays I never got around to until now, Comedy of Errors has assumed a spot on my top 5 Shakespeare play list. It is brilliant in its simplicity and it is so fun to read.

The Beautiful and Damned (Fitzgerald) 9/10 - I love Fitzgerald, granted this was only the second book of his that I read (Gatsby being the other). I prefer Gatsby, but this was still great. Gloria is both a wonderful and irritating character, which is the point, and some of the descriptions are extraordinary. It does get a bit repetitive at times, but such is my only complaint.

[OrphanPip]

The Faerie Queen is a long read, took me three months to finish, not because of its length particularly, but it's difficult to absorb in large chunks.

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.

[Pierre Menard]

Dreamtigers - Borges - I just love Borges. This is a delightful collection of parables, mini-stories, semi-essays and poems. Many of which I've read before, but never this author-sanctioned translation. Also I love having them at hand in one small book. I've heard some accuse Borges of coldness in the past, but I couldn't disagree more. I find great warmth alongside intellectual depth in his work. I don't think I'll ever get sick of JLB. 9.5/10

The Wasteland and Other Poems (Penguin Classics) - T.S. Eliot. My first real reading of Eliot and I found it excellent. Definitely want to check out the rest of his stuff. 8/10

Finished off The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Big, sprawling book that I felt just at times was a little too 'sprawling'. But highly enjoyable and something I must revisit later in life. 7.5/10

Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata - Excellent! Loved it. A short work of real subtlety and beauty. Probably the best thing I've read this year aside from Dreamtigers. 9/10

Macbeth - Shakespeare - It's Shakespeare, I don't need to say much. 9/10

The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) - Kafka - Good intro into Kafka. The Metamorphosis was a standout but his stories overall can definitely take some getting used to, however it definitely made me want to extend my Kafka reading. I have a feeling I may end up loving him, much like Borges' gradual growth on me (Borges is now my favourite writer). 7/10

Human Chain - Seamus Heaney - Another good intro into an author of obvious considerable poetic talent. Will be reading more, without doubt. 7/10

I've also been reading bits and pieces of Montaigne, Baudelaire, Frost, Pessoa, Chekhov and a Japanese poetry collection, but I haven't finished any of them yet so I won't add them.

Also, these ratings are purely based on personal enjoyment at the time, and aren't meant to be objective statements of worth overall.

[Francie]

So far...

Hollywood, Charles Bukowski - 8/10
The Pregnant Widow, Martin Amis - 9/10
Meltdown, Ben Elton - 6/10
The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghust - 10/10
(re-read) The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera - as always, 10/10
Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis - 6/10

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otronto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.

[hazelk]

The Sisters Brothers..10/10

Doc....10/10

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

Books:

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 9/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

Comics/graphic novels:

1. Sandman #1-8 by Neil Gaiman, et al -- 9/10. Possibly the best graphic novels that I've ever read. Good, dark story with just the right amount of black humor. I wasn't too crazy about the artist of the first 6, though. The charCter designs struck me as much too cartoony for the dark tone of the story.
2. Avengers # 500-503 by Brian Michael Bendis, et al -- 6/10. Mostly read because it's a lead up to the Civil War series. Pretty common superhero stuff--the Avengers are attacked and outnumbered and they must figure out why. Good brainless entertainment.
3. Marvel's Civil War by Mark Millard, et al -- 8/10. This is probably the most hyped/talked about Marvel series/event that took place over the last decade, excepting the death of Captain America, which follows shortly. It's about the government wanting to register and emlly all superheroes--no more vigilantism. One side, headed by Iron Man is for it, another, needed by Captain America, is against it, and it culminates in an epic battle. I found the story pretty good--it wasn't a bad social commentary, of sorts.
4. Captain America # 22-42 by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 8/10. This comprises the "Death of Captain America" saga, from the vents leading up to Cap's death, the death itself, and the story of Cap's old sidekick, Bucky, taking up the mantle as the new Captain America. It's a good story with a pretty surprising amount of emotional depth, and good art.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.

I really need to give this a re-read. It was my first Pynchon novel, and after reading some of his other work, I think I'd get a better grasp of it.

[Calidore]

The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton -- Great sci-fi epic about the souls of the dead returning and possessing the living. Hamilton created a very deep universe and technology, and has dozens of characters involved in their own stories. As a result, this entire work runs roughly 3500 pages in three oversize paperbacks, but it never feels padded or gets boring. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent space opera. 9/10

[Paulclem]

The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton -- Great sci-fi epic about the souls of the dead returning and possessing the living. Hamilton created a very deep universe and technology, and has dozens of characters involved in their own stories. As a result, this entire work runs roughly 3500 pages in three oversize paperbacks, but it never feels padded or gets boring. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent space opera. 9/10

I've been contemplating beginning one of his trilogies - is it The Void? I'll definately give him a whirl.

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10

[Paulclem]

1. 12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otronto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.

I was disappointed with Moll Flanders which, whilst revolutionary at the time, I found to be repetitive. I'm reading The Castle of Otranto at the moment. It's quite mad isn't it. (I had thought it was a giant hand - perhaps my memory is failing, but I wasn't disappointed it being a helmet).

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton -- Great sci-fi epic about the souls of the dead returning and possessing the living. Hamilton created a very deep universe and technology, and has dozens of characters involved in their own stories. As a result, this entire work runs roughly 3500 pages in three oversize paperbacks, but it never feels padded or gets boring. Highly recommended for fans of intelligent space opera. 9/10

Oooooh, that sounds really good. Going on my wish list.

[Calidore]

I've been contemplating beginning one of his trilogies - is it The Void? I'll definately give him a whirl.

Nope, that's his recent series, which I'm currently hunting down. I've now picked up a standalone novel of his also: Fallen Dragon. I'm definitely a fan now.

The Night's Dawn trilogy consists of The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God.

[Calidore]

Oooooh, that sounds really good. Going on my wish list.

It is. Good characters, tons of ideas, and quality action scenes. What else is needed?

You do have to pay attention some, especially at first--he opens things with a technobabble-heavy space battle--but he's never trying to be obtuse, and it's not hard to follow, and the ideas are cool. He's just worked out his universe in great detail. Check out the opening chapter in a bookstore, and if you like the way he handles it, you'll like the whole thing.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Almost every sci-fi/fantasy novel I've ever read begins really confusing and then slowly reveals itself as it goes along. I'm currently reading Meiville's The City and the City, and it's exactly that way. It comes with the Genre territory.

[OrphanPip]

I was disappointed with Moll Flanders which, whilst revolutionary at the time, I found to be repetitive. I'm reading The Castle of Otranto at the moment. It's quite mad isn't it. (I had thought it was a giant hand - perhaps my memory is failing, but I wasn't disappointed it being a helmet).

The weird thing about Otranto is, that while the plot is insane, it's also amazingly predictable.

[JuniperWoolf]

5. I read Antigone in it's entirety a couple of weeks ago. I read snippets in classics so I thought I'd really like the whole thing, but it turns out that my prof just axed the boring bits so I didn't gain much more from it this time. Still, I like Antigone (surprise surprise). 8/10

6. Re-read Maus on my days off. It always makes me feel slightly nauseous, but that just means it's effective. 8/10

7. A Clash of Kings - okay, I like this fantasy. Someone told me that it was a tv show too, so I watched the whole first season a couple of weeks ago. The show is better than the books in my opinion (as usual, I love filmed versions of stories more than text versions almost every time as long as they're done well). When I saw that season two was coming out in April, I read the second book. I'm very happy that they got the swashbuckling female pirate type in there, that's one of my favorites. Asha's like Isabella from DA. 7.5/10

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I thought the adaptation was very good, but I still liked the book of Game of Thrones better. Still, I read all four books and was already pretty infatuated with them before the tv series started, so I'm not sure it was even possible for them to meet my expectations.

You have to go on and read the third, Juniper. It's wisely considered the best of the series, and definitely has the best plot turns.

[Veho]

Interesting thread - I like to nosy at what others are reading.

I'm off to a slow start this year - I did move country though in January, to be fair!

1) Anna Karenina - Tolstoy 7.5/10 - I thought it was great - a fabulous set of characters.

2) Me Before You - Jojo Moyes 7/10 - Chick-lit but better. Don't judge.

[JuniperWoolf]

You have to go on and read the third, Juniper. It's wisely considered the best of the series, and definitely has the best plot turns.

I was considering whether I'd go directly into the third, but now that I've read this I know I will.

[Calidore]

Needed something lighter after that monster SF trilogy, so I went with Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud (the Bartimaeus trilogy), which I wanted to read before giving it to the kid. Excellent YA fantasy told in the style of an Icelandic hero saga. I liked Bartimaeus but loved this. 9/10

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

Books:

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?
8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 9/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

Comics/graphic novels:

1. Sandman #1-8 by Neil Gaiman, et al -- 9/10. Possibly the best graphic novels that I've ever read. Good, dark story with just the right amount of black humor. I wasn't too crazy about the artist of the first 6, though. The charCter designs struck me as much too cartoony for the dark tone of the story.
2. Avengers # 500-503 by Brian Michael Bendis, et al -- 6/10. Mostly read because it's a lead up to the Civil War series. Pretty common superhero stuff--the Avengers are attacked and outnumbered and they must figure out why. Good brainless entertainment.
3. Marvel's Civil War by Mark Millard, et al -- 8/10. This is probably the most hyped/talked about Marvel series/event that took place over the last decade, excepting the death of Captain America, which follows shortly. It's about the government wanting to register and emlly all superheroes--no more vigilantism. One side, headed by Iron Man is for it, another, needed by Captain America, is against it, and it culminates in an epic battle. I found the story pretty good--it wasn't a bad social commentary, of sorts.
4. Captain America # 22-42 by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 8/10. This comprises the "Death of Captain America" saga, from the vents leading up to Cap's death, the death itself, and the story of Cap's old sidekick, Bucky, taking up the mantle as the new Captain America. It's a good story with a pretty surprising amount of emotional depth, and good art.
5. Marvel's House of M by Brian Michael Bendis, et al. -- 8.5/10. A wonderdully comic-hooky story. An insane mutant warps reality into a world where mutants rule humans, and as various X-Men and Avengers begin to realize what has happened, they must find a way to fix the world! Good stuff.
6. Wolverine: Origins #1-10 by Daniel Way, et al. -- 6/10. Wolverine has always been a favorite of mine. The story is good enough, but I'm not a huge fan of the artwork. Still, I'll have to keep going in the series to see what happens between Wolvy and his insane, newly revealed son.

[ave d]

I would like to join in.

Jan.1, 2012 - present I've read...

1. Hello Americans, the second (and last-published, so far) part of Simon Callow's ambitious 3-part biography of Orson Welles. Articulate, sympathetic, filled with obscure information and details about Welles' fascinating life and career in the 1940s (from just after Citizen Kane through his film of Macbeth). The chapters on his time in Brazil and the filming of It's All True were my favorite part and it has a lot of stuff that's not in the 90's documentary on that film.
9/10 for an addictive and even-handed read about one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century (probably in my top 10-15).

2. The Island of the Day Before - Umberto Eco. I loved the first half of this, but it didn't quite hold my interest in the more bizarre later parts. I've already half-forgotten the ending.
6/10 for swashbuckling and scholarly eccentricity.

3. Africa and Africans in the making of the Atlantic world, 1400-1800 by John Thornton.
I'd say the difficulty level is about a 6 or 7/10. The narrative of people and events is secondary to Thornton's complex braid of causal arguments drawn from his comprehensive engagement with the primary and secondary literature. I rate the book itself a 7.5/10 because although it took a fair amount of concentration and time to get through the densely footnoted text, the arguments are careful and draw a number of surprising conclusions about the slave trade and cultural influence. I have to qualify this rating by saying that I'm not very well read on the subject, so I don't have a lot to compare this book to outside of what's "common knowledge" and the detailed historiography presented by the book itself.

4. Ambient by Jack Womack.
4/10 (below average) - for a twisted and somewhat funny apocalyptic view of Manhattan, but the ideas and satire are all pretty blunt and obvious, and if you're well-versed in sci-fi or hard-boiled cliches I don't think this will stand out all that well.

5. Wuthering Heights. I liked the surprisingly low-key ending but for 4/5 of its length I could not get past the "waiting for something to happen" stage of reading or engage with any point of view in the story.
5.5/10 (average-ish).

6. The Sea and Poison. Shusaku Endo's short novel about the guilt and moral failure of a group of Japanese doctors and nurses who perform live vivisections on POWs during WWII.
6/10 for engaging the subject at all and maybe another 0.5/10 for doing it pretty thoughtfully.

7. Casualties of War. The (true) story of a group of American soldiers who abducted, raped and murdered a civilian in Vietnam, told mostly from the point of view of a soldier who didn't participate and eventually turned his comrades in. The book is very short and was originally published as an article in The New Yorker in 1969.
6.5/10 for powerful (but distressing) war journalism.

8. World Hunger: 12 Myths by Frances Moore Lappe et al.
6.5/10 For doing a good job of hitching strong arguments to both direct experience and thorough research. Not really a fun read at all but worth the effort. For now here's my only complaint (of sorts): I found it somewhat difficult to follow the drift of some of their arguments because it sometimes seems every other sentence directs you to an end-note at the back of the book, so I don't think the authors were completely successful in their goal of "not presenting their story as just a list of facts and numbers". The upshot is that the obsessive end-notes and list of sources makes their research very transparent. Worth reading.

9. The False Prison: A Study of the Development of Wittgenstein's Philosophy Volume 1 by David Pears.
I've read the Tractatus Logico Philosophicus and Philosophical investigations and Ray Monk's biography of Wittgenstein. Thankfully I don't have to rate TLP or PI because I did not understand them (especially the Tractatus) well enough to do them justice, I don't think. The bulk of this book attempts an exegesis of Wittgenstein's early system (the TLP), and it raises many questions and leaves their answers incomplete or difficult to obtain. This makes the book very difficult (I would rate the Tractatus Logico Philosophicus 10/10 for difficulty, and think this is still a 7.5 or 8/10). I had to concentrate a lot while reading it and would often start reading in my normal/fiction attention span for a couple pages only to realize that I'd missed or forgotten the entire point. I think the author himself summarizes this difficulty well: "we find it hard to hold two things in our minds at once, the solution and the original problem." In spite of that difficulty Wittgenstein is worth engaging with because I still find myself almost daily puzzling over some of his ideas ever since I first read Philosophical Investigations a year ago. One of which is his "doctrine of showing" -- i.e. that some things in language can be shown but not said. It's so hard to understand what he means by "showing" and "saying", making it seems like a paradox. Pears sums it up in this passage: "When Wittgenstein made his selection from his copious exploratory notes and put the Tractatus together, his leading idea was that we can see further than we can say. We can see all the way to the edge of language, but the most distant things that we see cannot be expressed in sentences because they are the pre-conditions of saying anything." (and then he goes on to complicate that picture with his analysis). I would rate volume 1 of The False Prison very highly because I do feel I understand the Wittgenstein's philosophy a good deal better now that I've read it (and that it's worth trying to understand), and that the author makes the most honest and unpretentious choice in always trying to clarify a problem, even if that means he sometimes has to be circuitous and not try to misrepresent the ideas' difficulties by boiling them down to simple explanations.
Vol.1 rating: 8/10

10. The Eccentricities of a Nightingale (in The Theatre of Tennessee Williams, vol.2).
I find it hard to rate Tennessee Williams, because I just love his language, even at his most flowery/pretentious. If I'm being perfectly objective, this is probably one of my second-least favorite play by him that I've read so far (Orpheus Descending - 9/10, Suddenly, Last Summer - 8.5/10, A Streetcar Named Desire - 8.5/10, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - 8/10, The Glass Menagerie - 7/10, Battle of Angels - 5/10), so it's only fair to give it a low rating: 5.5/10.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10

[Paulclem]

Nope, that's his recent series, which I'm currently hunting down. I've now picked up a standalone novel of his also: Fallen Dragon. I'm definitely a fan now.

The Night's Dawn trilogy consists of The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God.

Got the Reality Dysfunction the other day. Very good so far.

You might like Iain M Banks and Neal Asher.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?
8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.
9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

P.S. I'm done listing the comics. I read them so fast (one comic takes about 15 minutes) it's a pain keeping track of them.

[lawpark]

People! It is only early March ... and you have read so many big books already!

My list this year - mostly small books, and it is a fast first 2-3 months for me (because of a couple of long flights):

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read the Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary (he is truly that, despite the apparent contradiction in the phrase). What he write over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong. The first half building up as to why Christianity is more true / advanced than other religions are quite hopelessly out-of-date, even though they are still somewhat treated in similar way a century later by leading theologians like Hans Ur von Balthasar.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how a) the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much (despite post-modernization or globalization), while b) the world itself has changed quite a bit (at the time of the conversation, clearly the intellectual interest of history was still revolving around how the U.S.S.R. and Marxism would evolve. [note: added on Mar 10]

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.
16. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 6/10. Some of the short stories from this collection are better than others, but there's a definitely recognizable formulaic tendency that makes many of the less original "cases" a little boring. Although, plenty of the fun campy nonsense of Holmes.
17. Margaret Harkness - In Darkest London - 7/10. Mixed feelings about this admittedly poorly constructed novel, but there is a certain power in the stark depictions of the impoverished East End of London in the 1880s. Reminiscent of The Jungle.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.

[Paulclem]

9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.

Agreed. To The Ligthouse had a profound effect on me by introducing Stream of Consciousness writing.

I am as yet unsure why this was so, at a time when I was pretty well unaware, being quite young, of formal descriptions of the mind beyond a little Freud.

It is fruitless to speculate too much, but suffice to say I later gained an interest and practice in Buddhism, which is very much a discipline of the mind. Reflecting now, it throws up an interesting implication - but you never know. Perhaps one day I'll find out. :D

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?
8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.
9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.
10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book. I give it a 10/10.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read the Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary (he is truly that, despite the apparent contradiction in the phrase). What he write over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong. The first half building up as to why Christianity is more true / advanced than other religions are quite hopelessly out-of-date, even though they are still somewhat treated in similar way a century later by leading theologians like Hans Ur von Balthasar.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how a) the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much (despite post-modernization or globalization), while b) the world itself has changed quite a bit (at the time of the conversation, clearly the intellectual interest of history was still revolving around how the U.S.S.R. and Marxism would evolve.

8. Gita Govinda. original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. 8/10. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form. Actually quite similar to several books I read in the second half of 2011 (Kalidasa's Birth of Kumura (about Shiva, 10/10), Nammalvar's poems (about Vishnu, 9/10), and Hala's Sattasai, 10/10) in its themes about love, intermingled with the vast ocean of mythologies at the background. Somehow, at least this translation I read, I do not feel it is as good as the others I have read several months ago.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter. I read the first half of the book last year, and finished the second half in several hours. One argument (which I buy) is nations exist in pre-modern world (Israel, Sri Lanka, Japan and Poland was used as examples to illustrate the formation of nations with myths, history, legal codes, power center, religion and language). The supposedly provoking question is why do human beings identify themselves with imagined communities, and why sometimes the priority of this identify becomes so high to be destructive? Of course, no clear answers (except that biological explanations are discredited) emerge. [Added on April 1, 2012]

[Babyguile]

I'm not going to rate them I just want to keep track of what I've read.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.
14. Malone Dies by Samuel Becket - 10/10...The best Beckett I've read so far. His long, winding internal monologue reaches a natural apex in the corner of a dark room.
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - 8/10...It was a very beautiful book. Sometimes it sank, but the moments when it grabs one by the frontal lobe and pulls them streaming down the river with it make it an wonderful read.
16. Dubliners by James Joyce - 7/10...I'm used to reading novels, so I had trouble deciding how to approach this collection of short stories. One of the chief advantages was being able to simply skip a story if I didn't care for it and move onto the next (I only did this twice, with "Counterparts" and "A Mother"). Not all of the stories were great, but there were a few real knockouts. "Little Cloud" was stupendous in particular. But, naturally, it was "The Dead" that really, really stood out (on its own, it would be a 10, surely).

[Babyguile]

I'm not going to rate them I just want to keep track of what I've read.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

[Jassy Melson]

I finished David Copperfield--which took me three months to read (I think I'm losing my interest in Dickens). Next up is Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

[Babyguile]

I'm not going to rate them I just want to keep track of what I've read.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Robin Hobb seems like a name I've heard a lot when it comes to fantasy. How was Foret Mage?

[OrphanPip]

Robin Hobb seems like a name I've heard a lot when it comes to fantasy. How was Foret Mage?

She's OK, her attention to themes of colonialism and environmentalism differentiate her a bit from the usual fantasy writers. The sort of fantasy American frontier setting of the novel is a refreshing departure from the medieval European like setting, but she's not the first to do that.

[Babyguile]

Robin Hobb seems like a name I've heard a lot when it comes to fantasy. How was Foret Mage?

You should definately read her then if you keep hearing her name. She is popular for a reason. I liked this book, but I certainly wouldn't start with that book or that trilogy if you're new to Hobb because it is considered to be her poorest work. In fact, I imagine that only diehard Hobb fans (like myself) could manage to make it through to the end of that trilogy. It has a lot of flaws.

[Babyguile]

The sort of fantasy American frontier setting of the novel is a refreshing departure from the medieval European like setting, but she's not the first to do that.

Yes! and she is an antidote to a lot of fantasy trash in many other ways besides.

[Babyguile]

I'm not going to rate them I just want to keep track of what I've read.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.
16. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 6/10. Some of the short stories from this collection are better than others, but there's a definitely recognizable formulaic tendency that makes many of the less original "cases" a little boring. Although, plenty of the fun campy nonsense of Holmes.
17. Margaret Harkness - In Darkest London - 7/10. Mixed feelings about this admittedly poorly constructed novel, but there is a certain power in the stark depictions of the impoverished East End of London in the 1880s. Reminiscent of The Jungle.
18. Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melnibone - 7/10. Interesting little fantasy novel that is surprisingly still a fresh departure from the normal range of fantasy despite its age.
19. Michael Moorcock - The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - 8/10. I like this one too.
20. Philip Pullman - Northern Lights - 6/10. Interesting fantasy novel.
21. Philip Pullman - The Subtle Knife - 8/10. I find this one a lot more interesting than the first in the series. There's a strikingly difference of tone and feel between novels in this series, much like in Moorcock's series.
22. William Godwin - Caleb Williams - 7/10. An early social critique of the state in novelistic form, showing Godwin's own scepticism towards any form of institution. There's something very Frankensteinish in some scenes where Caleb is being chased across Great Britain by Lord Falkland, I'm sure it influenced his daughter's novel.
23. Oscar Wile - The Picture of Dorian Gray - 10/10. Always worth a re-read.
24. Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Trooper - 5/10. Meh, there's something interesting about the narrative structure of this text, and how little action there is in the novel that is mostly about the idea of civic responsibility and military service. The political philosophizing is preposterous but amusing like most of Heinlein's wacko ideas.

[Paulclem]

8. [i]The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

.

Mieville is a great writer. I thought The City and The City was the weaker of his novels, but it was still very good.

Perdido Street Station is really good, but I thought The Iron Council the best.

[Babyguile]

I'm not going to rate them I just want to keep track of what I've read.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts

Women in Athenian Law and Life Roger Just

[mona amon]

My list so far -

1. First book of 2012 - Charlotte Bronte's Shirley (re-read). Not her best, but still the work of a genius. 8/10
2. The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu (re-read). A beautiful book which I enjoyed very much, and it's been around for a thousand years, so a well deserved 10/10
3. The Good Earth - Pearl Buck. Well written. Flows well and has many good points, but a bit simplistic and falls just below the mark. 6/10
4. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner. What a beautiful book! Quentin Compson and Benjy and Caddy will haunt me forever! 10/10
5. Daddy-Long-Legs - Jean Webster. I saw it on project Guttenburg and downloaded it as I remember liking it as a kid. A very sweet, innocent sort of story. 7/10

[Babyguile]

I'm not going to rate them I just want to keep track of what I've read.

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts

Women in Athenian Law and Life Roger Just

The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.
14. Malone Dies by Samuel Becket - 10/10...The best Beckett I've read so far. His long, winding internal monologue reaches a natural apex in the corner of a dark room.
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - 8/10...It was a very beautiful book. Sometimes it sank, but the moments when it grabs one by the frontal lobe and pulls them streaming down the river with it make it an wonderful read.
16. Dubliners by James Joyce - 7/10...I'm used to reading novels, so I had trouble deciding how to approach this collection of short stories. One of the chief advantages was being able to simply skip a story if I didn't care for it and move onto the next (I only did this twice, with "Counterparts" and "A Mother"). Not all of the stories were great, but there were a few real knockouts. "Little Cloud" was stupendous in particular. But, naturally, it was "The Dead" that really, really stood out (on its own, it would be a 10, surely).
17. At Swim - Two - Birds by Flann O'Brien - 9/10...Great, strange little book. I'll definitely be digging deeper into O'Brien's works.
18. Exiles by James Joyce - 7/10...Good, not great. At first, it seemed like a bit of a love song from Joyce to Joyce and against everyone else. But, in the end, I came out thinking "Aw, he loves his wife. That's sweet."
19. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - 5/10...I love Hemingway, and think that he's written many great works. This isn't one of them. I get the over-arcing themes...Quiet perseverance, grace under pressure, man is not made for defeat, and so on...But all of his books cover those things pretty well. This came off as redundant and dull to me.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10
9. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton. Very good sci fi with credible, well thought out worlds, and an interesting take on ethnicity and religion in space. It races at a thumping pace - all 1100 pages - and this is only part one of a trilogy. 8/10

[Babyguile]

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts

Women in Athenian Law and Life Roger Just

The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman

David Copperfield Charles Dickens

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

[mona amon]

My list so far -

1. First book of 2012 - Charlotte Bronte's Shirley (re-read). Not her best, but still the work of a genius. 8/10
2. The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu (re-read). A beautiful book which I enjoyed very much, and it's been around for a thousand years, so a well deserved 10/10
3. The Good Earth - Pearl Buck. Well written. Flows well and has many good points, but a bit simplistic and falls just below the mark. 6/10
4. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner. What a beautiful book! Quentin Compson and Benjy and Caddy will haunt me forever! 10/10
5. Daddy-Long-Legs - Jean Webster. I saw it on project Guttenburg and downloaded it as I remember liking it as a kid. A very sweet, innocent sort of story. 7/10
6. My Antonia - Willa Cather. There's something very appealing about well written, nostalgic, childhood reminiscences like this one, and I did like it, but on the whole it was ho-hum. 6/10

To make my list longer -
Short Stories -
1. The Killers - Earnest Hemingway. 9/10
2. A rose for Emily - William Faulkner. 7.5/10

Plays -
1. The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare. Not my favourite Shakespeare. The only great parts were the ones with Shylock in it, the trial scene especially. The rest of the play sucked, if I may say so. :p 8/10
2. The Jew of Malta - Marlowe. I thought it would be a big bore, but it turned out to be a cracker! 6.5/10

[Babyguile]

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

Being dubious and cynical about the whole transgender cause I may find that book interesting but aggravating: I can predict the stance she is likely to take having read enough of her poetry. It's short so I might read it though.

Jackie Kay came to my University a couple of months ago. I had my name down to attend her talk but more important plans (family) clashed and so I couldn't attend. I was devastated!

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I didn't find much of a stance in her book. She sort of just showed the loves of people around this transgender person--I never thought she endorsed or condoned it, she just showed it. Of course, for close-minded people against something like transgender people (and I have absolutely no clue why any one would be against, or even dubious or cynical, a put the transgender "cause," unless one is one of those people who thinks anyone who loves differently is wrong) Jackie Kay not explicitly condemning it is condoning it in their eyes.

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.
16. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 6/10. Some of the short stories from this collection are better than others, but there's a definitely recognizable formulaic tendency that makes many of the less original "cases" a little boring. Although, plenty of the fun campy nonsense of Holmes.
17. Margaret Harkness - In Darkest London - 7/10. Mixed feelings about this admittedly poorly constructed novel, but there is a certain power in the stark depictions of the impoverished East End of London in the 1880s. Reminiscent of The Jungle.
18. Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melnibone - 7/10. Interesting little fantasy novel that is surprisingly still a fresh departure from the normal range of fantasy despite its age.
19. Michael Moorcock - The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - 8/10. I like this one too.
20. Philip Pullman - Northern Lights - 6/10. Interesting fantasy novel.
21. Philip Pullman - The Subtle Knife - 8/10. I find this one a lot more interesting than the first in the series. There's a strikingly difference of tone and feel between novels in this series, much like in Moorcock's series.
22. William Godwin - Caleb Williams - 7/10. An early social critique of the state in novelistic form, showing Godwin's own scepticism towards any form of institution. There's something very Frankensteinish in some scenes where Caleb is being chased across Great Britain by Lord Falkland, I'm sure it influenced his daughter's novel.
23. Oscar Wile - The Picture of Dorian Gray - 10/10. Always worth a re-read.
24. Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Trooper - 5/10. Meh, there's something interesting about the narrative structure of this text, and how little action there is in the novel that is mostly about the idea of civic responsibility and military service. The political philosophizing is preposterous but amusing like most of Heinlein's wacko ideas.
25. Ann Pratchett - Bel Canto - 8/10. Read for the forum book club, a fun book that's an easy read, sharply written but probably not going to have much lasting impact on me.
26. Steven Ericson - Garden of the Moon - 5/10. Wordy, meh.

Need to pick something new to read.

[Babyguile]

I didn't find much of a stance in her book. She sort of just showed the loves of people around this transgender person--I never thought she endorsed or condoned it, she just showed it. Of course, for close-minded people against something like transgender people (and I have absolutely no clue why any one would be against, or even dubious or cynical, a put the transgender "cause," unless one is one of those people who thinks anyone who loves differently is wrong) Jackie Kay not explicitly condemning it is condoning it in their eyes.

What a ridiculous post on so many levels! I didn't even state what my opinion was on the issue, so as not to put the thread on an unrelated tangent. So you actually assumed that you knew what my stance was. You then carry on this arrogance and war-mongering by indirectly calling me a bigot and close-minded.

Let's just stick to talking about books young man. And on that point I'd ask you to start reading literature more critically because you are clearing not understanding Jackie Kays' narrative; there is no way she would write a book with such a protagonist, who in many ways mirrors her own identity, only to not explore and give commentary on the ISSUE of transgender individuals.

[Easter]

What a ridiculous post on so many levels! I didn't even state what my opinion was on the issue, so as not to put the thread on an unrelated tangent. So you actually assumed that you knew what my stance was. You then carry on this arrogance and war-mongering by indirectly calling me a bigot and close-minded.

Let's just stick to talking about books young man. And on that point I'd ask you to start reading literature more critically because you are clearing not understanding Jackie Kays' narrative; there is no way she would write a book on transsexuality only to turn it into a love story and neglect the former issue altogether.

Well, it may not be my place, but from an outsider's point of view... I don't think he was trying to offend you or have the post be as inflammatory as you took it!

You mentioned in your earlier post that you were pretty sure you could predict the stance Jackie Kay would take in the book, and MM was just stating that he didn't actually see much of a stance. And I really don't think he was referring to you when he was talking about close-minded people! He was just saying that for some people who ARE close-minded, the subject matter itself is enough to create a "pro" stance on the issue.

I could be wrong, and sorry if I'm intruding... but that's what I got from it, as an outsider reading over those posts...

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

What a ridiculous post on so many levels! I didn't even state what my opinion was on the issue, so as not to put the thread on an unrelated tangent. So you actually assumed that you knew what my stance was. You then carry on this arrogance and war-mongering by indirectly calling me a bigot and close-minded.

Let's just stick to talking about books young man. And on that point I'd ask you to start reading literature more critically because you are clearing not understanding Jackie Kays' narrative; there is no way she would write a book with such a protagonist, who in many ways mirrors her own identity, only to not explore and give commentary on the ISSUE of transgender individuals.
I was talking about people in general, I didn't mention you specifically--I never even said "bigot."

You haven't read the book, so you're obviously in no position to comment on Jackie Kay's narrative. She does explore and give commentary on the issue, but she does it subtly. She merely shows how people may act in such a situation--there're no "evil" characters who hate transgender, nor are there perfect characters. Even the two main characters, the transgender man and his wife, aren't perfect. Oh, but who am I to give commentary? I've only read the book and you haven't. Surely, you know more.

But, I agree. Let's stick to the original point of this thread. Let's stick to talking about books, young woman (you're younger than me, after all). This would, of course, entail you actually follow the directions of the thread by rating the books you list. If you don't want to do this, please refrain from cluttering up the thread; you can easily "keep track of what you've read" in a Word document.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

[Babyguile]

I was talking about people in general, I didn't mention you specifically--I never even said "bigot."

You haven't read the book, so you're obviously in no position to comment on Jackie Kay's narrative. She does explore and give commentary on the issue, but she does it subtly. She merely shows how people may act in such a situation--there're no "evil" characters who hate transgender, nor are there perfect characters. Even the two main characters, the transgender man and his wife, aren't perfect. Oh, but who am I to give commentary? I've only read the book and you haven't. Surely, you know more.

But, I agree. Let's stick to the original point of this thread. Let's stick to talking about books, young woman (you're younger than me, after all). This would, of course, entail you actually follow the directions of the thread by rating the books you list. If you don't want to do this, please refrain from cluttering up the thread; you can easily "keep track of what you've read" in a Word document.

Cluttering up the thread? That's really hurtful; I like to share books that I read and hope people express opinions on them. That is what this forum is all about. Moreover, you do not hold a monopoly over this thread just because you created it. In other words I can post whatever I like. I wonder how many threads you have derailed in the past, even if just slightly.

[Babyguile]

Anyway, Mutatis, let's not continue this quabble any further. PM me if you wish.

...the end (I will allow you the last word).

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Anyway, Mutatis, let's not continue this quabble any further. PM me if you wish.

...the end (I will allow you the last word).

You told me not to, remember? The reason why is mutual, I assure you.

Anyways, it's not too hard to rate the books you list. You're the one wanting to stick to the original point of the thread. Do it, then.

[Buh4Bee]

I'm just going to say, hmmm...

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read the Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary (he is truly that, despite the apparent contradiction in the phrase). What he write over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong. The first half building up as to why Christianity is more true / advanced than other religions are quite hopelessly out-of-date, even though they are still somewhat treated in similar way a century later by leading theologians like Hans Ur von Balthasar.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how a) the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much (despite post-modernization or globalization), while b) the world itself has changed quite a bit (at the time of the conversation, clearly the intellectual interest of history was still revolving around how the U.S.S.R. and Marxism would evolve.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. 8/10. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form. Actually quite similar to several books I read in the second half of 2011 (Kalidasa's Birth of Kumura (about Shiva, 10/10), Nammalvar's poems (about Vishnu, 9/10), and Hala's Sattasai, 10/10) in its themes about love, intermingled with the vast ocean of mythologies at the background. Somehow, at least this translation I read, I do not feel it is as good as the others I have read several months ago.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter. I read the first half of the book last year, and finished the second half in several hours. One argument (which I buy) is nations exist in pre-modern world (Israel, Sri Lanka, Japan and Poland was used as examples to illustrate the formation of nations with myths, history, legal codes, power center, religion and language). The supposedly provoking question is why do human beings identify themselves with imagined communities, and why sometimes the priority of this identify becomes so high to be destructive? Of course, no clear answers (except that biological explanations are discredited) emerge.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. My general impression is it is very similar to Guizot's History of Civilization in Europe (French work published in 1828), except that it starts earlier and ends till 19th century. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear. On the other hand, it is still quite a fast-paced sweeping story of Western history, and at times insightful. His description of formation of larger states in Europe in the 17th/18th century reminds me of the transition from Spring & Autumn to the Warring States period in China. Ranke was concerned about his contemporary history, and highlighted the importance he saw as the founding of a democratic republic in USA - this was his foresight. Of course, his Euro-centrism did show through, yet he interestedly (maybe to me only) phrase it as the "Roman-Germanic Idea" - given it a more defined "centrism" on Western European.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Clarified many of the ideological basis of the various historiographies. Also highlighted how litter we actually knew about pre-modern African history, and how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.
16. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 6/10. Some of the short stories from this collection are better than others, but there's a definitely recognizable formulaic tendency that makes many of the less original "cases" a little boring. Although, plenty of the fun campy nonsense of Holmes.
17. Margaret Harkness - In Darkest London - 7/10. Mixed feelings about this admittedly poorly constructed novel, but there is a certain power in the stark depictions of the impoverished East End of London in the 1880s. Reminiscent of The Jungle.
18. Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melnibone - 7/10. Interesting little fantasy novel that is surprisingly still a fresh departure from the normal range of fantasy despite its age.
19. Michael Moorcock - The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - 8/10. I like this one too.
20. Philip Pullman - Northern Lights - 6/10. Interesting fantasy novel.
21. Philip Pullman - The Subtle Knife - 8/10. I find this one a lot more interesting than the first in the series. There's a strikingly difference of tone and feel between novels in this series, much like in Moorcock's series.
22. William Godwin - Caleb Williams - 7/10. An early social critique of the state in novelistic form, showing Godwin's own scepticism towards any form of institution. There's something very Frankensteinish in some scenes where Caleb is being chased across Great Britain by Lord Falkland, I'm sure it influenced his daughter's novel.
23. Oscar Wile - The Picture of Dorian Gray - 10/10. Always worth a re-read.
24. Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Trooper - 5/10. Meh, there's something interesting about the narrative structure of this text, and how little action there is in the novel that is mostly about the idea of civic responsibility and military service. The political philosophizing is preposterous but amusing like most of Heinlein's wacko ideas.
25. Ann Pratchett - Bel Canto - 8/10. Read for the forum book club, a fun book that's an easy read, sharply written but probably not going to have much lasting impact on me.
26. Steven Ericson - Garden of the Moon - 5/10. Wordy, meh.
27. John Cleland - Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, 5/10. I wonder how difficult it was for Cleland to come up with so many ways to describe penises and vaginas.

[Babyguile]

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts

Women in Athenian Law and Life Roger Just

The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman

David Copperfield Charles Dickens

Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show Richard Laymon

Forest Mage Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts
What did you think of Douglas's Slave Narrative and "The Yellow Wallpaper."

Women in Athenian Law and Life Roger Just

The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman

David Copperfield Charles Dickens

Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro
What did you think of Douglas's Slave Narrative and "The Yellow Wallpaper"?

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10
9. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton. Very good sci fi with credible, well thought out worlds, and an interesting take on ethnicity and religion in space. It races at a thumping pace - all 1100 pages - and this is only part one of a trilogy. 8/10
10. A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin. The story continues apace whilst we catch up with Bran, Jon, Davos and Tyrion to mention but a few. An excellent read with great, grotequeries of characters roaming an evocative and dangerous landscape. 9/10

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

Note: I am trying to limit my comments to at most 3 lines - re-edited some comments published before

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

[Babyguile]

What did you think of Douglas's Slave Narrative and "The Yellow Wallpaper"?

I don't have an opinion on them because I was too busy cramming other people's opinions on them into my head.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

[Buckthorn]

1. Trust me I'm a junior doctor by Max Pemberton- 6/10. A very funny and eye opening account of a doctors first year in medicine
2. The last werewolf by Glen Duncan 6/10. A good story about the last werewolf on earth, this started out really well but I found it slowly went downhill.
3. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham 5/10. A story about a family who decide to skip Christmas. It was funny in some places and would be nice to read at Christmas.
4. Under the dome by Stephen King 7.5/10. This started out really well, a story about a town that suddenly gets cut off from the outside world by an invisible dome, its a good story but I was expecting a bit more from Stephen King
5. Small man in a book by Rob Brydon 6/10. Rob Brydon's autobiography, I'm not a huge fan of autobiography's but this was really interesting.
6. Where does it hurt by Max Pemberton 7/10. The junior doctors second year of medicine spent working in a drug and alcohol clinic is a real eye opener and really funny as well
7. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 8.5/10. I didn't think I would like this but I loved it, the story of a couple in 1920's Alaska who can't have children, then one night they build a child from snow.
8. The doctor will see you now by Max Pemberton 7/10. The junior doctors 3rd year in medicine back in hospital in dementia and A&E. This was funny but also touching.
9. Labyrinth by ACH Smith 8/10. This is a novelization of the movie Labyrinth, it was a fleshed out version of the movie but immensely enjoyable.
10. Do androids dream of electric sheep by Philip K Dick 8/10. An extremely thought provoking book, really like it.
11. Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan 7/10. A good fantasy about magic, gods and werewolves
12. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 8/10. I didn't think I was going to like this a story about 24 kids from the districts of Panem forced to fight to the death, but I ended up loving it. It reminded me of the Running Man by Richard Bachman but was unputdownable
13. The words of making by David Forbes 8/10. The second book in the Osserian saga about a prince who is the most powerful wizard in hundreds of years. They are basic fantasy novels but there is something about the books that I really enjoyed
14. Catching fire by Suzanne Collins 7/10. Second book in the Hunger Games, a good book but not as good as the first.
15. The commanding stone by David Forbes 8/10. Third book in the Osserian saga, really enjoyable but a bit disappointing at the end. There was supposed to be a fourth book which would tie up all the loose ends, but its not going to happen.
16. The mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 7.5/10. The final book in the Hunger games, this was better than the second but still not as good as the first. Mockingjay had a good ending but the middle of the book felt sloppy and weak.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

26. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov -- 5/10. Well, pretty much the same situation as Maupassant, only worse. A lot of the stories seemed pointless, or plotless. They would just end with absolutely no payoff. I guess I didn't get it. I enjoyed a few stories.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.
14. Malone Dies by Samuel Becket - 10/10...The best Beckett I've read so far. His long, winding internal monologue reaches a natural apex in the corner of a dark room.
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - 8/10...It was a very beautiful book. Sometimes it sank, but the moments when it grabs one by the frontal lobe and pulls them streaming down the river with it make it an wonderful read.
16. Dubliners by James Joyce - 7/10...I'm used to reading novels, so I had trouble deciding how to approach this collection of short stories. One of the chief advantages was being able to simply skip a story if I didn't care for it and move onto the next (I only did this twice, with "Counterparts" and "A Mother"). Not all of the stories were great, but there were a few real knockouts. "Little Cloud" was stupendous in particular. But, naturally, it was "The Dead" that really, really stood out (on its own, it would be a 10, surely).
17. At Swim - Two - Birds by Flann O'Brien - 9/10...Great, strange little book. I'll definitely be digging deeper into O'Brien's works.
18. Exiles by James Joyce - 7/10...Good, not great. At first, it seemed like a bit of a love song from Joyce to Joyce and against everyone else. But, in the end, I came out thinking "Aw, he loves his wife. That's sweet."
19. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - 5/10...I love Hemingway, and think that he's written many great works. This isn't one of them. I get the over-arcing themes...Quiet perseverance, grace under pressure, man is not made for defeat, and so on...But all of his books cover those things pretty well. This came off as redundant and dull to me.
20. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - 10/10...This is the second time that I've read it, and it hit me in a much more profound way this time around. Really brilliant read.
21. Ulysses by James Joyce - 11/10...I've been preparing to read this for the last 3 years. Since I got out of high school, I've been on a self-study course of literature, and this is a fitting end. Next week, I start my time in proper college. As such this was a strategic read...I wanted it to be the last book that I read from an "uneducated" nonacademic viewpoint. I wanted the words to flow over me, without any worry of stopping every few sentence to break down and analyze everything. I'm happy with what I didn't understand of this towering novel. As an added bonus, I managed to finish it on Bloomsday, and I'll probably be coming back to both it and Portrait every couple of years. I have no qualms about calling Ulysses the greatest book I've ever read.

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

15. French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons. 9/10. Very enjoyable introduction that sheds light on the times, key authors, works, themes and styles. Surprised to find how Pascal was portrayed as an influential outsider even within the tradition of French Literature.

16. Nalan Xingde Ci Poetry Selection - selected and commented on by Sheng Dongling. 7/10. A Chinese work Nalan Xingde was an early Qing dynasty talented genius who died young. His ci poetry is too sad for me - but I found the occasion of attending a funeral to flip through the ~100 short poems selected.

17. A Study on Tangshi Pinhui - by Shen Dongcheng. 4/10. Ph.D. thesis that is just a bunch of statistics. Tangshi Pinhui is arguably the first truly "canonical" Tang poetry selection (with 5,000+ poems selected), completed in early Ming dynasty. The more famous, later and much shorter selection 300 Tang Poems is clearly influenced by Tangshi Pinhui.

[mona amon]

My list so far -

1. First book of 2012 - Charlotte Bronte's Shirley (re-read). Not her best, but still the work of a genius. 8/10
2. The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu (re-read). A beautiful book which I enjoyed very much, and it's been around for a thousand years, so a well deserved 10/10
3. The Good Earth - Pearl Buck. Well written. Flows well and has many good points, but a bit simplistic and falls just below the mark. 6/10
4. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner. What a beautiful book! Quentin Compson and Benjy and Caddy will haunt me forever! 10/10
5. Daddy-Long-Legs - Jean Webster. I saw it on project Guttenburg and downloaded it as I remember liking it as a kid. A very sweet, innocent sort of story. 7/10
6. My Antonia - Willa Cather. There's something very appealing about well written, nostalgic, childhood reminiscences like this one, and I did like it, but on the whole it was ho-hum. 6/10

To make my list longer -
Short Stories -
1. The Killers - Earnest Hemingway. 9/10
2. A rose for Emily - William Faulkner. 7.5/10

Plays -
1. The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare. Not my favourite Shakespeare. The only great parts were the ones with Shylock in it, the trial scene especially. The rest of the play sucked, if I may say so. 8/10
2. The Jew of Malta - Marlowe. I thought it would be a big bore, but it turned out to be a cracker! 6.5/10


Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie 6.5/10

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10
9. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton. Very good sci fi with credible, well thought out worlds, and an interesting take on ethnicity and religion in space. It races at a thumping pace - all 1100 pages - and this is only part one of a trilogy. 8/10
10. A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin. The story continues apace whilst we catch up with Bran, Jon, Davos and Tyrion to mention but a few. An excellent read with great, grotequeries of characters roaming an evocative and dangerous landscape. 9/10
11. D-Day by Anthony Beevor. A comprehensive account of D-Day and the battle for Normandy. Beevor is a good story teller with an eye for relevant and interesting detail. 9/10

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

26. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov -- 5/10. Well, pretty much the same situation as Maupassant, only worse. A lot of the stories seemed pointless, or plotless. They would just end with absolutely no payoff. I guess I didn't get it. I enjoyed a few stories.

27. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- 8/10. Over all a quite enjoyable read. I think the biggest strength of the books is character development--I was always looking forward to seeing what was next for the main people. It doesn't receive a perfect score because I think it's longer than it needs to be and because some of the longer militaristic sections didn't interest me. And I skimmed the second epilogue, which seemed completely self-indulgent on Tolstoy's part.

28. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10. A good inclusion to a good series. Not much more to really say. It had the same flaws and strengths the first two did. She knows how to end chapters on cliff-hangers, that's for sure.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

26. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov -- 5/10. Well, pretty much the same situation as Maupassant, only worse. A lot of the stories seemed pointless, or plotless. They would just end with absolutely no payoff. I guess I didn't get it. I enjoyed a few stories.

27. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- 8/10. Over all a quite enjoyable read. I think the biggest strength of the books is character development--I was always looking forward to seeing what was next for the main people. It doesn't receive a perfect score because I think it's longer than it needs to be and because some of the longer militaristic sections didn't interest me. And I skimmed the second epilogue, which seemed completely self-indulgent on Tolstoy's part.

28. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10. A good inclusion to a good series. Not much more to really say. It had the same flaws and strengths the first two did. She knows how to end chapters on cliff-hangers, that's for sure.

29. Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- 7/10. So far, and aside from Hawthorne and Poe, my favorite of the "great" short story writers, though I still wasn't blown away, except for one story: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." that one I'd give a 10/10.

30. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay -- 6/10. A good, entertaining YA fantasy novel. It was my first read of Kay, and while I wasn't immensely impressed, I may give him another chane. The biggest weakness of the story was the adult character--I found their willingness to go along with the two main characters, aged 15, and their crazy stories a bit far-fetched. I wish the adults had stayed out of it. I did like how history was woven into the fantasy story, though.

31. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison -- 9/10. My first novel by Morrison, and I really, really liked it. I love novels that sort of bend genres, and this one did that for sure, mixing family drama with mystery with suspense thriller (at times), all combined with supernatural overtones and a superb prose style. Will definitely be reading more by her.

32. The Aspern Papers by Henry James -- 4/10. Not much more to say than I found it boring. Boring story, boring characters, and man did it draaaaag. And there wasn't even a payoff at the end.

33. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -- 5/10. Felt I had to give James one more chance. Won't be giving him another. While the story was more interesting, it also dragged and had uninteresting characters. I didn't get the ending at all and didn't care enough to try and figure it out.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.
14. Malone Dies by Samuel Becket - 10/10...The best Beckett I've read so far. His long, winding internal monologue reaches a natural apex in the corner of a dark room.
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - 8/10...It was a very beautiful book. Sometimes it sank, but the moments when it grabs one by the frontal lobe and pulls them streaming down the river with it make it an wonderful read.
16. Dubliners by James Joyce - 7/10...I'm used to reading novels, so I had trouble deciding how to approach this collection of short stories. One of the chief advantages was being able to simply skip a story if I didn't care for it and move onto the next (I only did this twice, with "Counterparts" and "A Mother"). Not all of the stories were great, but there were a few real knockouts. "Little Cloud" was stupendous in particular. But, naturally, it was "The Dead" that really, really stood out (on its own, it would be a 10, surely).
17. At Swim - Two - Birds by Flann O'Brien - 9/10...Great, strange little book. I'll definitely be digging deeper into O'Brien's works.
18. Exiles by James Joyce - 7/10...Good, not great. At first, it seemed like a bit of a love song from Joyce to Joyce and against everyone else. But, in the end, I came out thinking "Aw, he loves his wife. That's sweet."
19. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - 5/10...I love Hemingway, and think that he's written many great works. This isn't one of them. I get the over-arcing themes...Quiet perseverance, grace under pressure, man is not made for defeat, and so on...But all of his books cover those things pretty well. This came off as redundant and dull to me.
20. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - 10/10...This is the second time that I've read it, and it hit me in a much more profound way this time around. Really brilliant read.
21. Ulysses by James Joyce - 11/10...I've been preparing to read this for the last 3 years. Since I got out of high school, I've been on a self-study course of literature, and this is a fitting end. Next week, I start my time in proper college. As such this was a strategic read...I wanted it to be the last book that I read from an "uneducated" nonacademic viewpoint. I wanted the words to flow over me, without any worry of stopping every few sentence to break down and analyze everything. I'm happy with what I didn't understand of this towering novel. As an added bonus, I managed to finish it on Bloomsday, and I'll probably be coming back to both it and Portrait every couple of years. I have no qualms about calling Ulysses the greatest book I've ever read.
22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 9/10...Class reading. This is the 3rd time I've read the book, and for this class I read 5 critical analyzes of the novel. I feel like I understand it pretty well at this point. Great novel, always a favorite.
23. Charlotte Temple by Susana Rowson - 2/10...Class reading. Meh.
24. Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville - 8/10...Class reading. Brilliant.
25. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs - 7/10...Class reading. It's not exactly high art, but it was a very moving and informative read that packed quite a punch.
26. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - 6/10...Class reading. Suitably captivating while reading, but it sort of disappears once the book is closed. It's a very important book, though.
27. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman - 10/10...Class reading. Another one I've read on my own before, but I somehow loved it even more this time than last.
28. Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James - 9/10...Class reading. Well, if it's an indication of what I thought of this, I went out and got three more of James' books after our class discussion.
29. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - 9/10...Class reading. Beautifully written, emotionally powerful, and all around captivating and sad in a sort of hopeful way.

[Buckthorn]

1. Trust me I'm a junior doctor by Max Pemberton- 6/10. A very funny and eye opening account of a doctors first year in medicine
2. The last werewolf by Glen Duncan 6/10. A good story about the last werewolf on earth, this started out really well but I found it slowly went downhill.
3. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham 5/10. A story about a family who decide to skip Christmas. It was funny in some places and would be nice to read at Christmas.
4. Under the dome by Stephen King 7.5/10. This started out really well, a story about a town that suddenly gets cut off from the outside world by an invisible dome, its a good story but I was expecting a bit more from Stephen King
5. Small man in a book by Rob Brydon 6/10. Rob Brydon's autobiography, I'm not a huge fan of autobiography's but this was really interesting.
6. Where does it hurt by Max Pemberton 7/10. The junior doctors second year of medicine spent working in a drug and alcohol clinic is a real eye opener and really funny as well
7. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 8.5/10. I didn't think I would like this but I loved it, the story of a couple in 1920's Alaska who can't have children, then one night they build a child from snow.
8. The doctor will see you now by Max Pemberton 7/10. The junior doctors 3rd year in medicine back in hospital in dementia and A&E. This was funny but also touching.
9. Labyrinth by ACH Smith 8/10. This is a novelization of the movie Labyrinth, it was a fleshed out version of the movie but immensely enjoyable.
10. Do androids dream of electric sheep by Philip K Dick 8/10. An extremely thought provoking book, really like it.
11. Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan 7/10. A good fantasy about magic, gods and werewolves
12. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 8/10. I didn't think I was going to like this a story about 24 kids from the districts of Panem forced to fight to the death, but I ended up loving it. It reminded me of the Running Man by Richard Bachman but was unputdownable
13. The words of making by David Forbes 8/10. The second book in the Osserian saga about a prince who is the most powerful wizard in hundreds of years. They are basic fantasy novels but there is something about the books that I really enjoyed
14. Catching fire by Suzanne Collins 7/10. Second book in the Hunger Games, a good book but not as good as the first.
15. The commanding stone by David Forbes 8/10. Third book in the Osserian saga, really enjoyable but a bit disappointing at the end. There was supposed to be a fourth book which would tie up all the loose ends, but its not going to happen.
16. The mockingjay by Suzanne Collins 7.5/10. The final book in the Hunger games, this was better than the second but still not as good as the first. Mockingjay had a good ending but the middle of the book felt sloppy and weak.
17. The stand by Stephen King 9/10. I think I've read this 5 times now, its one of my favourites and was as brilliant as always
18. Pirate latitudes by Michael Crichton 4/10. Didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as some of his other books, bit of a disappointment.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10
9. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton. Very good sci fi with credible, well thought out worlds, and an interesting take on ethnicity and religion in space. It races at a thumping pace - all 1100 pages - and this is only part one of a trilogy. 8/10
10. A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin. The story continues apace whilst we catch up with Bran, Jon, Davos and Tyrion to mention but a few. An excellent read with great, grotequeries of characters roaming an evocative and dangerous landscape. 9/10
11. D-Day by Anthony Beevor. A comprehensive account of D-Day and the battle for Normandy. Beevor is a good story teller with an eye for relevant and interesting detail. 9/10
12. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. A very good thriller about a Moscow Chief investigator Inspector Arkady solving the deaths of three people in Moscow. The action moves from Moscow to the US, with good characterisation and a plot that keeps you guessing. 7/10
13. All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings. A good account of the battles of WW2 not covered by Hastings. This includes the Pacific campaign, Burma, Singapore, with good overviews of the other campaigns. Hastings dispels some myths about who actually won the war, despite the claims, and is good at describing the thought that went into strataegic decisions, and the repercussions of those momentus events. 7/10

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

15. French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons. 9/10. Very enjoyable introduction that sheds light on the times, key authors, works, themes and styles. Surprised to find how Pascal was portrayed as an influential outsider even within the tradition of French Literature.

16. Nalan Xingde Ci Poetry Selection - selected and commented on by Sheng Dongling. 7/10. A Chinese work Nalan Xingde was an early Qing dynasty talented genius who died young. His ci poetry is too sad for me - but I found the occasion of attending a funeral to flip through the ~100 short poems selected.

17. A Study on Tangshi Pinhui - by Shen Dongcheng. 4/10. Ph.D. thesis that is just a bunch of statistics. Tangshi Pinhui is arguably the first truly "canonical" Tang poetry selection (with 5,000+ poems selected), completed in early Ming dynasty. This book influenced the more famous, later and much shorter selection 300 Tang Poems.

18. Spanish Literature: A Very Short Introduction. - by Jo Labanyi. 8/10. Also very well written. Covered only Spanish as a country / nation, not as a language though.

19. English Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Jonathan Bate. 8/10. Written almost as a literature introduction. Again coverage excludes non-British authors, at least explicitly excludes American literature.

20. Italian Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Peter Hainsworth & David Robey. 8/10. Interesting coverage of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Plus how Italian lacks a driving vernacular language at its center until very recently.

21. Whose Bible is It? A Very Short History of the Scriptures - by Jaroslav Pelikan. 7/10. This is a bestseller written by a scholar. The interesting bit is primarily translation of Jewish Tanakh into Greek before Christianity.

22. Words of the World - by Abran de Swaan. 8/10. Use a metric 'Q-value' to study why and how specific languages gain prominance in specific regions. Essentially highlight the importance of numbers of second-language learners.

23. Basic Pimsleur Hindi - audio book. 7/10. First time I tried Pimsleur. Completed the 10 lessons (30 min each). Reasonably interesting way to get orientation to a new language.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.
14. Malone Dies by Samuel Becket - 10/10...The best Beckett I've read so far. His long, winding internal monologue reaches a natural apex in the corner of a dark room.
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - 8/10...It was a very beautiful book. Sometimes it sank, but the moments when it grabs one by the frontal lobe and pulls them streaming down the river with it make it an wonderful read.
16. Dubliners by James Joyce - 7/10...I'm used to reading novels, so I had trouble deciding how to approach this collection of short stories. One of the chief advantages was being able to simply skip a story if I didn't care for it and move onto the next (I only did this twice, with "Counterparts" and "A Mother"). Not all of the stories were great, but there were a few real knockouts. "Little Cloud" was stupendous in particular. But, naturally, it was "The Dead" that really, really stood out (on its own, it would be a 10, surely).
17. At Swim - Two - Birds by Flann O'Brien - 9/10...Great, strange little book. I'll definitely be digging deeper into O'Brien's works.
18. Exiles by James Joyce - 7/10...Good, not great. At first, it seemed like a bit of a love song from Joyce to Joyce and against everyone else. But, in the end, I came out thinking "Aw, he loves his wife. That's sweet."
19. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - 5/10...I love Hemingway, and think that he's written many great works. This isn't one of them. I get the over-arcing themes...Quiet perseverance, grace under pressure, man is not made for defeat, and so on...But all of his books cover those things pretty well. This came off as redundant and dull to me.
20. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - 10/10...This is the second time that I've read it, and it hit me in a much more profound way this time around. Really brilliant read.
21. Ulysses by James Joyce - 11/10...I've been preparing to read this for the last 3 years. Since I got out of high school, I've been on a self-study course of literature, and this is a fitting end. Next week, I start my time in proper college. As such this was a strategic read...I wanted it to be the last book that I read from an "uneducated" nonacademic viewpoint. I wanted the words to flow over me, without any worry of stopping every few sentence to break down and analyze everything. I'm happy with what I didn't understand of this towering novel. As an added bonus, I managed to finish it on Bloomsday, and I'll probably be coming back to both it and Portrait every couple of years. I have no qualms about calling Ulysses the greatest book I've ever read.
22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 9/10...Class reading. This is the 3rd time I've read the book, and for this class I read 5 critical analyzes of the novel. I feel like I understand it pretty well at this point. Great novel, always a favorite.
23. Charlotte Temple by Susana Rowson - 2/10...Class reading. Meh.
24. Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville - 8/10...Class reading. Brilliant.
25. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs - 7/10...Class reading. It's not exactly high art, but it was a very moving and informative read that packed quite a punch.
26. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - 6/10...Class reading. Suitably captivating while reading, but it sort of disappears once the book is closed. It's a very important book, though.
27. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman - 10/10...Class reading. Another one I've read on my own before, but I somehow loved it even more this time than last.
28. Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James - 9/10...Class reading. Well, if it's an indication of what I thought of this, I went out and got three more of James' books after our class discussion.
29. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - 9/10...Class reading. Beautifully written, emotionally powerful, and all around captivating and sad in a sort of hopeful way.
30. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser - 6/10...Class reading. It had a little bit too much Victorian flare for my tastes, but it wasn't bad.
31. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - 7/10...Class reading. I liked it a lot better this time around than the last time I read it, when I was 16. Still, all of the men in the book are ****ing *******s.
32. Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo - 7/10...I love DeLillo, so it only seemed right to read this before the movie comes out on Friday. It was very good, and DeLillo's dry language never fails to impress me. However, I couldn't help but notice that all of the best lines/scenes in the novel were easily compressed into the trailer for the movie.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

26. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov -- 5/10. Well, pretty much the same situation as Maupassant, only worse. A lot of the stories seemed pointless, or plotless. They would just end with absolutely no payoff. I guess I didn't get it. I enjoyed a few stories.

27. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- 8/10. Over all a quite enjoyable read. I think the biggest strength of the books is character development--I was always looking forward to seeing what was next for the main people. It doesn't receive a perfect score because I think it's longer than it needs to be and because some of the longer militaristic sections didn't interest me. And I skimmed the second epilogue, which seemed completely self-indulgent on Tolstoy's part.

28. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10. A good inclusion to a good series. Not much more to really say. It had the same flaws and strengths the first two did. She knows how to end chapters on cliff-hangers, that's for sure.

29. Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- 7/10. So far, and aside from Hawthorne and Poe, my favorite of the "great" short story writers, though I still wasn't blown away, except for one story: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." that one I'd give a 10/10.

30. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay -- 6/10. A good, entertaining YA fantasy novel. It was my first read of Kay, and while I wasn't immensely impressed, I may give him another chane. The biggest weakness of the story was the adult character--I found their willingness to go along with the two main characters, aged 15, and their crazy stories a bit far-fetched. I wish the adults had stayed out of it. I did like how history was woven into the fantasy story, though.

31. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison -- 9/10. My first novel by Morrison, and I really, really liked it. I love novels that sort of bend genres, and this one did that for sure, mixing family drama with mystery with suspense thriller (at times), all combined with supernatural overtones and a superb prose style. Will definitely be reading more by her.

32. The Aspern Papers by Henry James -- 4/10. Not much more to say than I found it boring. Boring story, boring characters, and man did it draaaaag. And there wasn't even a payoff at the end.

33. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -- 5/10. Felt I had to give James one more chance. Won't be giving him another. While the story was more interesting, it also dragged and had uninteresting characters. I didn't get the ending at all and didn't care enough to try and figure it out.

34. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski -- 9/10.

35. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- 7.5/10.

36. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons -- 8.5/10.

37. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov -- 8/10.

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

15. French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons. 9/10. Very enjoyable introduction that sheds light on the times, key authors, works, themes and styles. Surprised to find how Pascal was portrayed as an influential outsider even within the tradition of French Literature.

16. Nalan Xingde Ci Poetry Selection - selected and commented on by Sheng Dongling. 7/10. A Chinese work Nalan Xingde was an early Qing dynasty talented genius who died young. His ci poetry is too sad for me - but I found the occasion of attending a funeral to flip through the ~100 short poems selected.

17. A Study on Tangshi Pinhui - by Shen Dongcheng. 4/10. Ph.D. thesis that is just a bunch of statistics. Tangshi Pinhui is arguably the first truly "canonical" Tang poetry selection (with 5,000+ poems selected), completed in early Ming dynasty. This book influenced the more famous, later and much shorter selection 300 Tang Poems.

18. Spanish Literature: A Very Short Introduction. - by Jo Labanyi. 8/10. Also very well written. Covered only Spanish as a country / nation, not as a language though.

19. English Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Jonathan Bate. 8/10. Written almost as a literature introduction. Again coverage excludes non-British authors, at least explicitly excludes American literature.

20. Italian Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Peter Hainsworth & David Robey. 8/10. Interesting coverage of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Plus how Italian lacks a driving vernacular language at its center until very recently.

21. Whose Bible is It? A Very Short History of the Scriptures - by Jaroslav Pelikan. 7/10. This is a bestseller written by a scholar. The interesting bit is primarily translation of Jewish Tanakh into Greek before Christianity.

22. Words of the World - by Abran de Swaan. 8/10. Use a metric 'Q-value' to study why and how specific languages gain prominance in specific regions. Essentially highlight the importance of numbers of second-language learners.

23. Basic Pimsleur Hindi - audio book. 7/10. First time I tried Pimsleur. Completed the 10 lessons (30 min each). Reasonably interesting way to get orientation to a new language.

24. Dreaming in Hindi - Katherine Russell Rich. 8/10. Interesting memoir of authors' year of learning Hindi in a small town in Rajasthan in 2001, sprinkled with cultural observations about India and theories about Second Language Acquisition.

25. Read and Write Hindi Script - Rupert Snell. 8/10. Helps ease into reading Devanagari script.

26. Colonial Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Rolena Adorno. 7/10. Overall still interesting as the other VSI; my major grievance is that it completely ignores Portuguese works and almost 100 years between Baroque and Independence.

[Lykren]

0. The Tale of Genji. -/10. I started this the previous year. I can't rate it because it's now my favorite book.

1. Moby Dick. 8/10. Yes, it was long-winded and included too much information about whales, but the story was powerful enough and the descriptions florid (I like florid sometimes) enough to get it an 8.

2. Ulysses. 10/10. Well. I hadn't felt like this from reading a book since I was a child and everything was new. Some part of me had woken up by the time I was finished.

3. War and Peace. 9/10. Another good book to start the year off with. I didn't care too much for the parts about the war, but Natasha Rostov was really a great character, and more than enough to redeem the philosophical-historical bits. Which I also didn't like.

4. Pride and Prejudice and Emma both receive 9/10. (Perhaps I am using an inflated scale?) Loved these both extraordinarily. Pride and Prejudice felt sort of floating and charmed somehow, whereas Emma had, I thought, as much psychological introspection and insight as a Dostoevsky novel.

5. Sense and Sensibility. 7/10. While not as good as the other Jane Austen books, it was still a wonderful read, thanks to he luxurious style. Would that I could write like that!

6. Lord Jim. 6.5/10. Hard to follow. It did create a sufficiently murky atmosphere which served as an excellent backdrop to the theme of Jim's degradation, and some of the descriptions were quite poetic. But altogether the style felt like a mishmash somehow.

7. Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 7.5/10. Another stylistic tour de force. It makes me want to read more Hardy - although the ending seemed forced. Gosh, did it have to be so relentlessly sad for Tess?

8. Middlemarch. 8/10. I just like big novels, so that was a plus. I felt the writing really contained something in it of the English countryside. Some of the characters seemed a little weak.

9. Pygmalion. 6/10. Delightful. Insubstantial.

10. Brideshead Revisited. 8.5/10. I'm recommending this to everyone I know who likes to read. It reminded of The Great Gatsby in so many ways, which is a good thing. And what a heartbreaking love story.

11. Waiting for Godot. 5.5/10. I liked this much less than I expected. It just felt repetitive and dull and ugly and all sorts of icky things. Couldn't care less about Vladimir and Estragon. There was some redeeming wit, however.

12. The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. 8/10. Very creepy, and it made me ask a lot of questions inside myself. It also had skilled use of dialogue (obviously, to be good it has to, it's a play).

13. Jane Eyre. 7/10. Mr. Rochester was a wonderfully-constructed character, but I felt the romance between the two grew slightly unbelievable. And St. John wasn't all that interesting.

14. Wuthering Heights. 8/10. Man this was hard to rate. I wasn't sure I liked it after I read it, but it grew on me in memory. The story was hard to read at times, but that just meant it was well-communicated. The writing style was like air so clear and stiff it blinds you with tears.

15. A Tale of Two Cities. 6.10. More lively than the only other Dicken's I've read (Great Expectations) and some of the prose, especially in the first half (such as the chapter Echoing Footsteps) was great. I didn't care enough about the characters by the second half for the story not to sag for me, however.

And I just started The Good Soldier, quite good so far.

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.
16. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 6/10. Some of the short stories from this collection are better than others, but there's a definitely recognizable formulaic tendency that makes many of the less original "cases" a little boring. Although, plenty of the fun campy nonsense of Holmes.
17. Margaret Harkness - In Darkest London - 7/10. Mixed feelings about this admittedly poorly constructed novel, but there is a certain power in the stark depictions of the impoverished East End of London in the 1880s. Reminiscent of The Jungle.
18. Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melnibone - 7/10. Interesting little fantasy novel that is surprisingly still a fresh departure from the normal range of fantasy despite its age.
19. Michael Moorcock - The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - 8/10. I like this one too.
20. Philip Pullman - Northern Lights - 6/10. Interesting fantasy novel.
21. Philip Pullman - The Subtle Knife - 8/10. I find this one a lot more interesting than the first in the series. There's a strikingly difference of tone and feel between novels in this series, much like in Moorcock's series.
22. William Godwin - Caleb Williams - 7/10. An early social critique of the state in novelistic form, showing Godwin's own scepticism towards any form of institution. There's something very Frankensteinish in some scenes where Caleb is being chased across Great Britain by Lord Falkland, I'm sure it influenced his daughter's novel.
23. Oscar Wile - The Picture of Dorian Gray - 10/10. Always worth a re-read.
24. Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Trooper - 5/10. Meh, there's something interesting about the narrative structure of this text, and how little action there is in the novel that is mostly about the idea of civic responsibility and military service. The political philosophizing is preposterous but amusing like most of Heinlein's wacko ideas.
25. Ann Pratchett - Bel Canto - 8/10. Read for the forum book club, a fun book that's an easy read, sharply written but probably not going to have much lasting impact on me.
26. Steven Ericson - Garden of the Moon - 5/10. Wordy, meh.
27. John Cleland - Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, 5/10. I wonder how difficult it was for Cleland to come up with so many ways to describe penises and vaginas.
28. Natsume Soseki - Kokoro - 9/10, a very slow and contemplative novel that I found strangely enchanting.

I've read a bunch of other stuff since I stopped doing the ratings, some comics, some novels, some poetry, but I'm too lazy to go through the trouble of listing it, so we'll forget the last 2 months.

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

15. French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons. 9/10. Very enjoyable introduction that sheds light on the times, key authors, works, themes and styles. Surprised to find how Pascal was portrayed as an influential outsider even within the tradition of French Literature.

16. Nalan Xingde Ci Poetry Selection - selected and commented on by Sheng Dongling. 7/10. A Chinese work Nalan Xingde was an early Qing dynasty talented genius who died young. His ci poetry is too sad for me - but I found the occasion of attending a funeral to flip through the ~100 short poems selected.

17. A Study on Tangshi Pinhui - by Shen Dongcheng. 4/10. Ph.D. thesis that is just a bunch of statistics. Tangshi Pinhui is arguably the first truly "canonical" Tang poetry selection (with 5,000+ poems selected), completed in early Ming dynasty. This book influenced the more famous, later and much shorter selection 300 Tang Poems.

18. Spanish Literature: A Very Short Introduction. - by Jo Labanyi. 8/10. Also very well written. Covered only Spanish as a country / nation, not as a language though.

19. English Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Jonathan Bate. 8/10. Written almost as a literature introduction. Again coverage excludes non-British authors, at least explicitly excludes American literature.

20. Italian Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Peter Hainsworth & David Robey. 8/10. Interesting coverage of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Plus how Italian lacks a driving vernacular language at its center until very recently.

21. Whose Bible is It? A Very Short History of the Scriptures - by Jaroslav Pelikan. 7/10. This is a bestseller written by a scholar. The interesting bit is primarily translation of Jewish Tanakh into Greek before Christianity.

22. Words of the World - by Abran de Swaan. 8/10. Use a metric 'Q-value' to study why and how specific languages gain prominance in specific regions. Essentially highlight the importance of numbers of second-language learners.

23. Basic Pimsleur Hindi - audio book. 7/10. First time I tried Pimsleur. Completed the 10 lessons (30 min each). Reasonably interesting way to get orientation to a new language.

24. Dreaming in Hindi - Katherine Russell Rich. 8/10. Interesting memoir of authors' year of learning Hindi in a small town in Rajasthan in 2001, sprinkled with cultural observations about India and theories about Second Language Acquisition.

25. Read and Write Hindi Script - Rupert Snell. 8/10. Helps ease into reading Devanagari script.

26. Colonial Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Rolena Adorno. 7/10. Overall still interesting as the other VSI; my major grievance is that it completely ignores Portuguese works and almost 100 years between Baroque and Independence.

27. The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 3, 1400-1800 - Series editor Daniel Woolf. 9/10. Most substantial work I have read this year: 700 page book with Introduction + 33 chapters covering traditions across the globe, with some overemphasis on European / American traditions.

28. Zhaoming Wenxuan Yanjiu ("[A] Study of [Literary] Anthology by [Crown Prince] Zhaoming") - by Fu Gang. 8/10. Good introduction to the background of the formation of this canonical anthology of ancient Chinese literary texts, together with some analysis of the actual selection and selection criteria.

29. Oxford India Ghalid: Life, Letters and Ghazals - edited by Ralph Russel. 8/10. Interesting to me both in his letters which shed light on 19th century Dehli around the time of the Mutiny, and also as introduction of the ghazal genre.

30. Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Sabina Knight. 8/10. Good read - perspectives somewhat different from typical Chinese books on this, but does not seem to do much "violence" to the tradition. Last chapter on modern Chinese literature has quite a few new names for me personally.

[OrphanPip]

1. Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
2. Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
3. Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
4. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.
5. Lynn Breedlove - One Freak Show - 7/10, a transcription of lesbian/trans man musician and comic Lynn Breedlove's show One Freak Show, essentially a series of humorous anecdotes about her life and the status of trans people in the LGBT community in the United States. Some parts of it are not that great, but it's a short breezy read, so the bad parts are easy to overlook.
6. Richardson - Pamela - 5/10. This is a painful read but a very influential book, the first part is much better than the "how to be a good housewife" manual that forms the final part of the novel.
7. Arthur Conan Doyle - Sign of Four - 8/10. Campy, fun Sherlocke Holmes novel that is terribly racist in parts.
8. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey - 9/10. Probably Austen's funniest novel, we all know a girl like Isabella Thorpe.
9. Robert Louis Stevenson - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - 9/10. This is a re-read, but it's always a fun light read.
10. Craig Thomson - Habibi - 8.5/10. Wonderful graphic novel, but a bit long in parts. I particularly like the tongue and cheek retelling of the Noah's arc story. I don't think it's as powerful a comment on how people relate to religion as Blankets, maybe because of the lack of personal depth that Thomson's earlier work had.
11. Henry Fielding - Joseph Andrews and Shamela - 7/10. A fun read. To get the most out of Shamela you have to read Pamela first.
12. Daniel Defoe - Journal of the Plague Year - 5/10. I thought I had included this since I read it in January, but oh well. It's an OK read, a lot of it is terribly boring reprinting of death statistics and Defoe's meandering philosophizing on the best way to handle a plague, but it is occasionally spiced up with Defoe's clever little "slice of life" stories. Defoe's Rebecca is a much better novel, I read it last year and it was a lot of fun.
13. Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto - 6/10. Bizarre novel that opens with someone being mysteriously crushed by a giant helmet that appears out of nowhere.
14. Henry James - The Aspern Papers - 8/10. There's something special about this that's hard to place a finger on.
15. Michael Adams - Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Multiculturalism in Canada - 8/10. Great book that addresses a lot of the misinformation and media hysteria about immigrants with actual empirical evidence. Pollster Michael Adams doesn't shy away from waxing philosophical on ideas like Canadian and Quebecois national identity, which is probably the weakest part of his book when he tries to explain why the data is as it is. However, the data he gathers itself is compelling evidence that multiculturalism has not failed, but has been successful and is continuing to be even more successful as a strategy of integration for a just and liberal society.
16. Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 6/10. Some of the short stories from this collection are better than others, but there's a definitely recognizable formulaic tendency that makes many of the less original "cases" a little boring. Although, plenty of the fun campy nonsense of Holmes.
17. Margaret Harkness - In Darkest London - 7/10. Mixed feelings about this admittedly poorly constructed novel, but there is a certain power in the stark depictions of the impoverished East End of London in the 1880s. Reminiscent of The Jungle.
18. Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melnibone - 7/10. Interesting little fantasy novel that is surprisingly still a fresh departure from the normal range of fantasy despite its age.
19. Michael Moorcock - The Sailor on the Seas of Fate - 8/10. I like this one too.
20. Philip Pullman - Northern Lights - 6/10. Interesting fantasy novel.
21. Philip Pullman - The Subtle Knife - 8/10. I find this one a lot more interesting than the first in the series. There's a strikingly difference of tone and feel between novels in this series, much like in Moorcock's series.
22. William Godwin - Caleb Williams - 7/10. An early social critique of the state in novelistic form, showing Godwin's own scepticism towards any form of institution. There's something very Frankensteinish in some scenes where Caleb is being chased across Great Britain by Lord Falkland, I'm sure it influenced his daughter's novel.
23. Oscar Wile - The Picture of Dorian Gray - 10/10. Always worth a re-read.
24. Robert A. Heinlein - Starship Trooper - 5/10. Meh, there's something interesting about the narrative structure of this text, and how little action there is in the novel that is mostly about the idea of civic responsibility and military service. The political philosophizing is preposterous but amusing like most of Heinlein's wacko ideas.
25. Ann Pratchett - Bel Canto - 8/10. Read for the forum book club, a fun book that's an easy read, sharply written but probably not going to have much lasting impact on me.
26. Steven Ericson - Garden of the Moon - 5/10. Wordy, meh.
27. John Cleland - Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, 5/10. I wonder how difficult it was for Cleland to come up with so many ways to describe penises and vaginas.
28. Natsume Soseki - Kokoro - 9/10, a very slow and contemplative novel that I found strangely enchanting.
29. Yukio Mishima - Confessions of a Mask - 7/10, an easy read, but I didn't get too much out of it. Some moments are disturbing, mostly it is just a bit tragic.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. [I]Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

26. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov -- 5/10. Well, pretty much the same situation as Maupassant, only worse. A lot of the stories seemed pointless, or plotless. They would just end with absolutely no payoff. I guess I didn't get it. I enjoyed a few stories.

27. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- 8/10. Over all a quite enjoyable read. I think the biggest strength of the books is character development--I was always looking forward to seeing what was next for the main people. It doesn't receive a perfect score because I think it's longer than it needs to be and because some of the longer militaristic sections didn't interest me. And I skimmed the second epilogue, which seemed completely self-indulgent on Tolstoy's part.

28. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10. A good inclusion to a good series. Not much more to really say. It had the same flaws and strengths the first two did. She knows how to end chapters on cliff-hangers, that's for sure.

29. Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- 7/10. So far, and aside from Hawthorne and Poe, my favorite of the "great" short story writers, though I still wasn't blown away, except for one story: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." that one I'd give a 10/10.

30. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay -- 6/10. A good, entertaining YA fantasy novel. It was my first read of Kay, and while I wasn't immensely impressed, I may give him another chane. The biggest weakness of the story was the adult character--I found their willingness to go along with the two main characters, aged 15, and their crazy stories a bit far-fetched. I wish the adults had stayed out of it. I did like how history was woven into the fantasy story, though.

31. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison -- 9/10. My first novel by Morrison, and I really, really liked it. I love novels that sort of bend genres, and this one did that for sure, mixing family drama with mystery with suspense thriller (at times), all combined with supernatural overtones and a superb prose style. Will definitely be reading more by her.

32. The Aspern Papers by Henry James -- 4/10. Not much more to say than I found it boring. Boring story, boring characters, and man did it draaaaag. And there wasn't even a payoff at the end.

33. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -- 5/10. Felt I had to give James one more chance. Won't be giving him another. While the story was more interesting, it also dragged and had uninteresting characters. I didn't get the ending at all and didn't care enough to try and figure it out.

34. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski -- 9/10.

35. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- 7.5/10.

36. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons -- 8.5/10.

37. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov -- 8/10.

38. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller -- 8.5/10.*

39. Labyrinths by J.L. Borges -- 9/10.

40. Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale -- 9/10.

41. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely -- /10.

42. The Trial by Franz Kafka -- 7/10.

43. Grettir's Saga by Jesse Byock (translator) -- 5/10.

44. Sir Gawain and the Green Night by Burton Raffel (translator) -- 8.5/10.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10
9. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton. Very good sci fi with credible, well thought out worlds, and an interesting take on ethnicity and religion in space. It races at a thumping pace - all 1100 pages - and this is only part one of a trilogy. 8/10
10. A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin. The story continues apace whilst we catch up with Bran, Jon, Davos and Tyrion to mention but a few. An excellent read with great, grotequeries of characters roaming an evocative and dangerous landscape. 9/10
11. D-Day by Anthony Beevor. A comprehensive account of D-Day and the battle for Normandy. Beevor is a good story teller with an eye for relevant and interesting detail. 9/10
12. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. A very good thriller about a Moscow Chief investigator Inspector Arkady solving the deaths of three people in Moscow. The action moves from Moscow to the US, with good characterisation and a plot that keeps you guessing. 7/10
13. All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings. A good account of the battles of WW2 not covered by Hastings. This includes the Pacific campaign, Burma, Singapore, with good overviews of the other campaigns. Hastings dispels some myths about who actually won the war, despite the claims, and is good at describing the thought that went into strataegic decisions, and the repercussions of those momentus events. 7/10
14. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. An interesting quick read this as Barnes reviews a life lived and muses upon memory, assumption and the harm we can spread as the unknowing young. 8/10

[Scheherazade]

14. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. An interesting quick read this as Barnes reviews a life lived and muses upon memory, assumption and the harm we can spread as the unknowing young. 8/10Read this one not long as well, Paul.

I was a little disappointed with the ending but it was a good introduction to Barnes.

[Paulclem]

Read this one not long as well, Paul.

I was a little disappointed with the ending but it was a good introduction to Barnes.

After discussions on modernism and the UK and US, I thought I'd start to give some more modern literary stuff a whirl. Yes, the ending was a bit disappointing, but I felt the journey gave me enough. He's certainly easy to read considering the themes of memory and time.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10
2. The House of the Dead by Doestoyevsky. A brilliant depiction of life in a Siberian jail in the 19th century. The characterisation, the relentless drudgery described, the themed chapters that veer away from a chronological account, the events that punctuated the years in jail and the pathos of the men and animals all combine in to a life of slow horror. 10/10
3. The Battle for Crete by Anthony Beevor. An interesting and comprehensive account of the fall of Crete in WW2 when the Germans launched their first and only parachute invasion. It charts the dithering and incompetence of the British command, and how they lost a battle they nearly won. 8/10
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick. Set in a dystopian, nuclear future, a Bounty Hunter is charged by the police department to "retire" 6 new androids produced by a shady corporation. It examines the relationship of man to living and non-living beings in an autopsy of empathy. A good, though provoking read. 8/10
5. Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett. This concerns the time travels and trials of Commander Vimes in Ankh-Morpork. It's a great plot, and an enjoyable read. The thing with Pratchett's books is the weak humour, often based upon tired stereotypes such as the "Aunties" that patrol certain streets and are reputedly deadly with an umbrella. We've seen this kind of thing with the Grannies in Monty Python. Nevertheless a good read. 7/10
6. Embassytown by China Mieville. You never know quite what you're going to get with Mieville's work, as the blurb never does justice to the story. I had a space opera preconception about this book, but was surpried to find it being about language - the hosts of an alien planet have a unique way of communicating with humans - which may prove to be an allegory about the failure of human cultures to speak and understand one another. There's political intrigue, exotic aliens and landscapes, and a story that is both surprising and interesting. 8/10
7. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. This book has everything, love, death, betrayal, hermits, ghosts, giant hands, helmets and feet, murder, corsairs, a lost child, a discovered son, a mad Lord, sentences of death, usurpers, piety, familial love, tragedy, coincidence, melodrama, imprisonment, escape. divine justice... For a book written over 200 years ago, it has it's qualities and flaws. It is plot driven with little development of character or a sense of place, but, as one of the first gothic novels it deserves a whirl. 6/10
8. Archangel by Robert Harris. A very good thriller set in post Glasnost Russia. Fluke Kelso, a hisorian whose specialism is Stalin, is drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to the heart of Russian politics laced with murder, insanity and power. 9/10
9. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton. Very good sci fi with credible, well thought out worlds, and an interesting take on ethnicity and religion in space. It races at a thumping pace - all 1100 pages - and this is only part one of a trilogy. 8/10
10. A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin. The story continues apace whilst we catch up with Bran, Jon, Davos and Tyrion to mention but a few. An excellent read with great, grotequeries of characters roaming an evocative and dangerous landscape. 9/10
11. D-Day by Anthony Beevor. A comprehensive account of D-Day and the battle for Normandy. Beevor is a good story teller with an eye for relevant and interesting detail. 9/10
12. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. A very good thriller about a Moscow Chief investigator Inspector Arkady solving the deaths of three people in Moscow. The action moves from Moscow to the US, with good characterisation and a plot that keeps you guessing. 7/10
13. All Hell Let Loose by Max Hastings. A good account of the battles of WW2 not covered by Hastings. This includes the Pacific campaign, Burma, Singapore, with good overviews of the other campaigns. Hastings dispels some myths about who actually won the war, despite the claims, and is good at describing the thought that went into strataegic decisions, and the repercussions of those momentus events. 7/10
14. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. An interesting quick read this as Barnes reviews a life lived and muses upon memory, assumption and the harm we can spread as the unknowing young. 8/10
15. The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F Hamilton. The second book in the trilogy, I was a little disappointed at his use of certain historical figures such as Al Capone. Nevertheless, the story rips along, and delivers on many fronts. It is a sweeping space opera with a huge cast and 1100 pages to accommodate them. Worth the read if you've already read The Reality Dysfunction. 6.5/10
16. Neuromancer by William Gibson. A kaleidoscopic sci fi about a dysfunctional society whose criminals steal data and assets in a tron-like virtual world that is vague enough to not seem too anachronistic. We follow the action through the experiences of Case, a former cyber criminal who is rescued from the street and fixed to engage in a high tech mission for an AI. Given that this was written in the 1980s, it stands the test of time well. 8/10

[morinia]

1. Coetzee -Life and times of Michael K - Great book though I can't explain why.

2. Haldor Laxness - Independent People. An Icelandic writer (won the Noble in 1955). I don't know why I am so enchanted by the way he writes.

3. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden - Joanne Green. I read it many years ago but enjoyed it this time around so much better.

4. Milan Kundra - Farwell Waltz. - Kundera is such a mind stimulator. He makes you wonder endlessly in the small alleys of his quirky tales. A great classic writer.

5. D.H Lawrence - Women in love. A confused story with confused characters by a probably confused Lawrence. Nevertheless I love love love him.

6. Journey Into the Past - Stefan Zweig. Makes me ache in whatever he writes. I admit I need to be in a special mood to be able to read him. Zweig's "The World of Yesterday' is a must read, IMHO.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10. It's the story of a bet made between god and the devil on whether a kid (Joby), by the age of 40, will choose to be good and evil, and all of creation depends on his decision. I found it to be a very good read, very engaging, and I became very attached to the characters, while really hating others. One of the things that really bothered me, and something that knocked it down a point, is the author's overuse of italics. It became distracting. Still highly recommended, though.

4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10. Definitely some of the most interesting short stories I've read. I loved some, wasn't too crazy about others, and sometimes I just didn't know what the hell was going, but his originality really struck me as brilliant.

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman --7/10. I wanted to like this book more than I did, even though I did really enjoy it. After all the praise, I was expecting too much, though. The ideas were original, but I just didn't find the main character's attitude about his situations believable.

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10. It was good. The writing was good, but I just can't say that the story intrigued me throughout. I much preferred her experiences as a child and with the mad woman over the romance stuff, which was boring.

7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10. I'm becoming more of a fan of magical realism, and this book is why. Strange story, well (and unusually) written, interesting characters. What more is there to say?

8. The City and The City by China Meiville -- 8/10. This is an author I've been meaning to read for some time,*and he didn't disappoint. The story was good, the world well built and original, and the writing nice and fast-paced. Just a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

9. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8/10. This was surprisingly enjoyable (I never have high expectations when going reading epic poetry, enjoyment wise). It was an excellent adventure story and quite fast paced. Plus, I loved the gory battle scenes. Movies like 300 really aren't far off the mark, it seems.

10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10. This is a a semi-autobiographical book of (connected) short stories about the Vietnam war. I found it to be an amazing read; it's beautifully written; at times funny, horrifying, sad, and always poignant; a wonderfully quick paced read; and a non-heroic look at the Vietnam war. And don't think it's a book just for people interested in war--it's themes are universal. I seriously could not find a single flaw in this book.

11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, though I found some inconsistencies with the main character and a particularly annoying plot turn near the end. All in all, though, and enjoyable read. Read my review here (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1125395#post1125395).

12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/10. A good read with some pretty obvious flaws. It's a bit long-winded, often giving more backstory than the reader wants or needs, and the climax comes way to early. Salander, (the character referenced to on the title) is an excellent character, though.

13. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10. A beautifully written gothic mystery that brought to mind Poe and Hawthorne. The imagery was great, the prose lyrical, the story captivating, and the characters excellently crafted. A really good book.

14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10. I just couldn't get into this. Just too long and too much rambling on about so-and-so killing so-and-so and what not. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I think I enjoy The Odyssey much more.

15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10. I think this is really one of the greatest prices of sci-fi ever written. Clarke seems to get short-changed whsn people discuss the great sci-fi authors, but he wrote some wonderful stuff--one just needs to find them within his huge oeuvre. Wonderful story, quickly paced, and incredibly thoughtful. A definite must read for any sci-fi fan.

16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10. A very unique novel about a female jazz singer who lived his life as a man, and the perspectives of those who knew him. The prose is absolutely beautiful--it's clear that Kay is a primarily a poet--but there just wasn't much of a plot . . . barely any at all, actually. That's fine for some, but not for me. If it had a bit more narrative, it would've gotten a 10.

17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10. Another book similar to Trumpet, it is about a transgender man (I read both books for a class I'm currently taking), particularly a Chinese immigrant to Jamaica during the early 1900s. Maybe it's because I just read Trumpet, but I just couldn't get interested in this book, even though it was quite well written and compelling.

18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10. Sometimes I read a book and think, "Am I missing something?" Well, file this collection of short stories in that category, because I didn't find them all that great. There were a couple I enjoyed, but after hearing over and over how Maupassant is one of, if not the, greatest short story writer of all time, I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10. A good novel, but the plot got pretty slow at points and the second half of the book is almost exclusively a romance story, which I'm not a fan of. My favorite aspect of this novel was the incorporation of classical music.

20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10. A murder mystery set in the 16th century Turkish art world. Despite the beautiful writing and interesting narrative style (why it actually got a 5), the story too often got bogged down in long descriptions and philosophical meanderings. Plus, I found none of the characters likable. A disappointing read from a Nobel prize winning author.

21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10. A good portrayal of the holocaust and all its horror. The writing is very minimalsric (it's easy to see why it's widely used in schools), but that's not a bad thing in this case, though it was a little too simple for my taste. It could have been longer, too.

22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry -- 7/10. There's no doubt that O. Henry had quite a lot of skill with the written word, but his stories, while some of them being excellent, all followed the same "twist ending" formula that become obvious--I was rarely unable to guess the twist. It seemed some of his stories suffered in that the only goal they served was to trick the reader with a clever ending.

23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10. Hawthorne really is a master of his craft. Barring a few, I found all the short stories in his first collection quite wonderful. His writing is absolutely beautiful. My favorite stories were "Young Goodman Brown," "Earth's Holocaust," "The Celestial Railroad'" and "Roger Malvin's Burial," the last of which being my favorite.

24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.*Even though most claim the it as their favorite, I enjoyed Catching Fire more than The Hunger Games, but maybe that's because I knew so much already before reading THG. It kept me turning the page, that's for sure, despite it's flaws--cliches and sappy love triangle, principle among them.

25. X-Men: Messiah Complex by Ed Brubaker, et al -- 9/10. I wasn't going to include comics in my list, but this was so good (and so long, at 350+ pages) I thought it deserved a spot. The story centers around rescuing the first mutant child after nearly all mutants' powers were taken away in a precious story line. The story is convoluted like all comics, but I found it to be well crafted, well thought out, and well written--the dialogue, especially.

26. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov -- 5/10. Well, pretty much the same situation as Maupassant, only worse. A lot of the stories seemed pointless, or plotless. They would just end with absolutely no payoff. I guess I didn't get it. I enjoyed a few stories.

27. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- 8/10. Over all a quite enjoyable read. I think the biggest strength of the books is character development--I was always looking forward to seeing what was next for the main people. It doesn't receive a perfect score because I think it's longer than it needs to be and because some of the longer militaristic sections didn't interest me. And I skimmed the second epilogue, which seemed completely self-indulgent on Tolstoy's part.

28. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10. A good inclusion to a good series. Not much more to really say. It had the same flaws and strengths the first two did. She knows how to end chapters on cliff-hangers, that's for sure.

29. Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- 7/10. So far, and aside from Hawthorne and Poe, my favorite of the "great" short story writers, though I still wasn't blown away, except for one story: "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." that one I'd give a 10/10.

30. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay -- 6/10. A good, entertaining YA fantasy novel. It was my first read of Kay, and while I wasn't immensely impressed, I may give him another chane. The biggest weakness of the story was the adult character--I found their willingness to go along with the two main characters, aged 15, and their crazy stories a bit far-fetched. I wish the adults had stayed out of it. I did like how history was woven into the fantasy story, though.

31. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison -- 9/10. My first novel by Morrison, and I really, really liked it. I love novels that sort of bend genres, and this one did that for sure, mixing family drama with mystery with suspense thriller (at times), all combined with supernatural overtones and a superb prose style. Will definitely be reading more by her.

32. The Aspern Papers by Henry James -- 4/10. Not much more to say than I found it boring. Boring story, boring characters, and man did it draaaaag. And there wasn't even a payoff at the end.

33. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -- 5/10. Felt I had to give James one more chance. Won't be giving him another. While the story was more interesting, it also dragged and had uninteresting characters. I didn't get the ending at all and didn't care enough to try and figure it out.

34. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski -- 9/10.

35. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- 7.5/10.

36. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons -- 8.5/10.

37. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov -- 8/10.

38. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller -- 8.5/10.*

39. Labyrinths by J.L. Borges -- 9/10.

40. Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale -- 9/10.

41. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely -- /10.

42. The Trial by Franz Kafka -- 7/10.

43. Grettir's Saga by Jesse Byock (translator) -- 5/10.

44. Sir Gawain and the Green Night by Burton Raffel (translator) -- 8.5/10.

45. Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino -- 7.5/10.

46. X-Men: Second Coming by Christopher Yost, et al -- 8/10.

47. Candide by Voltaire -- 8.5/10.

48. Sandman: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman, et all -- 9/10.

49. The Lais of Marie de France by Glyn S. Burgess (translator) -- 9/10

50. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- 7/10.

51. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway -- 8/10.

52. Portnoy's Complaint by Phillip Roth -- 5/10.

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

15. French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons. 9/10. Very enjoyable introduction that sheds light on the times, key authors, works, themes and styles. Surprised to find how Pascal was portrayed as an influential outsider even within the tradition of French Literature.

16. Nalan Xingde Ci Poetry Selection - selected and commented on by Sheng Dongling. 7/10. A Chinese work Nalan Xingde was an early Qing dynasty talented genius who died young. His ci poetry is too sad for me - but I found the occasion of attending a funeral to flip through the ~100 short poems selected.

17. A Study on Tangshi Pinhui - by Shen Dongcheng. 4/10. Ph.D. thesis that is just a bunch of statistics. Tangshi Pinhui is arguably the first truly "canonical" Tang poetry selection (with 5,000+ poems selected), completed in early Ming dynasty. This book influenced the more famous, later and much shorter selection 300 Tang Poems.

18. Spanish Literature: A Very Short Introduction. - by Jo Labanyi. 8/10. Also very well written. Covered only Spanish as a country / nation, not as a language though.

19. English Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Jonathan Bate. 8/10. Written almost as a literature introduction. Again coverage excludes non-British authors, at least explicitly excludes American literature.

20. Italian Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Peter Hainsworth & David Robey. 8/10. Interesting coverage of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Plus how Italian lacks a driving vernacular language at its center until very recently.

21. Whose Bible is It? A Very Short History of the Scriptures - by Jaroslav Pelikan. 7/10. This is a bestseller written by a scholar. The interesting bit is primarily translation of Jewish Tanakh into Greek before Christianity.

22. Words of the World - by Abran de Swaan. 8/10. Use a metric 'Q-value' to study why and how specific languages gain prominance in specific regions. Essentially highlight the importance of numbers of second-language learners.

23. Basic Pimsleur Hindi - audio book. 7/10. First time I tried Pimsleur. Completed the 10 lessons (30 min each). Reasonably interesting way to get orientation to a new language.

24. Dreaming in Hindi - Katherine Russell Rich. 8/10. Interesting memoir of authors' year of learning Hindi in a small town in Rajasthan in 2001, sprinkled with cultural observations about India and theories about Second Language Acquisition.

25. Read and Write Hindi Script - Rupert Snell. 8/10. Helps ease into reading Devanagari script.

26. Colonial Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Rolena Adorno. 7/10. Overall still interesting as the other VSI; my major grievance is that it completely ignores Portuguese works and almost 100 years between Baroque and Independence.

27. The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 3, 1400-1800 - Series editor Daniel Woolf. 9/10. Most substantial work I have read this year: 700 page book with Introduction + 33 chapters covering traditions across the globe, with some overemphasis on European / American traditions.

28. Zhaoming Wenxuan Yanjiu ("[A] Study of [Literary] Anthology by [Crown Prince] Zhaoming") - by Fu Gang. 8/10. Good introduction to the background of the formation of this canonical anthology of ancient Chinese literary texts, together with some analysis of the actual selection and selection criteria.

29. Oxford India Ghalib: Life, Letters and Ghazals - edited by Ralph Russel. 8/10. Interesting to me both in his letters which shed light on 19th century Dehli around the time of the Mutiny, and also as introduction of the ghazal genre.

30. Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Sabina Knight. 8/10. Good read - perspectives somewhat different from typical Chinese books on this, but does not seem to do much "violence" to the tradition. Last chapter on modern Chinese literature has quite a few new names for me personally.

31. The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India - by Sheldon Pollock. 9/10. Another substantial work. Focuses on the career of Sanskrit and vernaculars in South Asia for political and literary discourses, and made comparison with western Europe.

32. Brevisima Relacion de la Destruccion de las Indias - by Bartolome de las Casas (originally published in 1552). I read a Chinese translation. 8/10. Actions described are horrible! True, Las Casas did not know of the effects of old world diseases on native Americans; but now I also wonder if Crosby's "Columbian Exchange" in effect white-washed atrosities committed by Spaniards (and Germans in Venezuela).

33. Sui Yangdi - by Miyazaki Ichisada. Chinese translation. 8/10. Book written in 1965, almost half a century ago. Just a popularizing account of the Sui Emperor who ruled China for around 600A.D. Easy read, but not particularly eye-opening.

[Desolation]

1. The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth - 9/10...This was my first exposure to Roth, and it definitely made me want to keep going through his catalog.
2. Post Office by Charles Bukowski - 6/10...Reading Bukowski is nice because it makes me feel like a better human being. Otherwise, he kind of annoys me.
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - 7/10...Kind of hard to make heads or tails of it. I've heard it frequently said that this is the most accessible of Pynchon's books, but I think they meant "shortest." It seems to me that Pynchon works better when he has more space to spread his wings.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - 8/10...I liked it a lot. It was even very difficult to put down.
5. Watt by Samuel Beckett - 9/10...Kind of like speeding down a highway in reverse on LSD with a low quality mash-up of Black Flag and Mozart blasting at top volume.
6. White Noise by Don DeLillo - 10/10...Funny, angry, creative, compelling. I couldn't find any fault with it.
7. Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett - 7/10...Not quite up to par with Watt, but still entertainingly disorienting.
8. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy - 9/10...Tolstoy shows about as much power and insight here in 50 pages as he did with 1,200 pages in War and Peace.
9. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - ?/10...Sometimes, a good book needs to stir a while in your head before you can say whether or not you actually enjoyed it. Woolf's an incredibly powerful writer, I can at least say that much.
10. Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth - 8/10...I kind of wish that I had read Portnoy's Complaint first, as it seems that it would've greatly informed this reading. Still very good, though.
11. V. by Thomas Pynchon - 10/10...What a book! Long, rambling, hard to follow, almost perfect from start to finish. A perfect example of the word "Difficult" being thrown around callously at truly captivating novels.
12. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes - 8/10...A remarkable study of destructive desire rendered in beautifully poetic prose.
13. The Recognitions by William Gaddis - 10/10...For two weeks, every single drop of energy and mental faculty that I could muster has gone into reading this gigantic novel. It really took a lot out of me, but it was well worth it. In just under 1,000 pages Gaddis manages to stuff in themes ranging from the nature of reality/authenticity, religious satire, the creative process, and so much more. There's a new truth bursting from every page.
14. Malone Dies by Samuel Becket - 10/10...The best Beckett I've read so far. His long, winding internal monologue reaches a natural apex in the corner of a dark room.
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - 8/10...It was a very beautiful book. Sometimes it sank, but the moments when it grabs one by the frontal lobe and pulls them streaming down the river with it make it an wonderful read.
16. Dubliners by James Joyce - 7/10...I'm used to reading novels, so I had trouble deciding how to approach this collection of short stories. One of the chief advantages was being able to simply skip a story if I didn't care for it and move onto the next (I only did this twice, with "Counterparts" and "A Mother"). Not all of the stories were great, but there were a few real knockouts. "Little Cloud" was stupendous in particular. But, naturally, it was "The Dead" that really, really stood out (on its own, it would be a 10, surely).
17. At Swim - Two - Birds by Flann O'Brien - 9/10...Great, strange little book. I'll definitely be digging deeper into O'Brien's works.
18. Exiles by James Joyce - 7/10...Good, not great. At first, it seemed like a bit of a love song from Joyce to Joyce and against everyone else. But, in the end, I came out thinking "Aw, he loves his wife. That's sweet."
19. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - 5/10...I love Hemingway, and think that he's written many great works. This isn't one of them. I get the over-arcing themes...Quiet perseverance, grace under pressure, man is not made for defeat, and so on...But all of his books cover those things pretty well. This came off as redundant and dull to me.
20. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - 10/10...This is the second time that I've read it, and it hit me in a much more profound way this time around. Really brilliant read.
21. Ulysses by James Joyce - 11/10...I've been preparing to read this for the last 3 years. Since I got out of high school, I've been on a self-study course of literature, and this is a fitting end. Next week, I start my time in proper college. As such this was a strategic read...I wanted it to be the last book that I read from an "uneducated" nonacademic viewpoint. I wanted the words to flow over me, without any worry of stopping every few sentence to break down and analyze everything. I'm happy with what I didn't understand of this towering novel. As an added bonus, I managed to finish it on Bloomsday, and I'll probably be coming back to both it and Portrait every couple of years. I have no qualms about calling Ulysses the greatest book I've ever read.
22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 9/10...Class reading. This is the 3rd time I've read the book, and for this class I read 5 critical analyzes of the novel. I feel like I understand it pretty well at this point. Great novel, always a favorite.
23. Charlotte Temple by Susana Rowson - 2/10...Class reading. Meh.
24. Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville - 8/10...Class reading. Brilliant.
25. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs - 7/10...Class reading. It's not exactly high art, but it was a very moving and informative read that packed quite a punch.
26. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - 6/10...Class reading. Suitably captivating while reading, but it sort of disappears once the book is closed. It's a very important book, though.
27. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman - 10/10...Class reading. Another one I've read on my own before, but I somehow loved it even more this time than last.
28. Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James - 9/10...Class reading. Well, if it's an indication of what I thought of this, I went out and got three more of James' books after our class discussion.
29. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - 9/10...Class reading. Beautifully written, emotionally powerful, and all around captivating and sad in a sort of hopeful way.
30. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser - 6/10...Class reading. It had a little bit too much Victorian flare for my tastes, but it wasn't bad.
31. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - 7/10...Class reading. I liked it a lot better this time around than the last time I read it, when I was 16. Still, all of the men in the book are ****ing *******s.
32. Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo - 7/10...I love DeLillo, so it only seemed right to read this before the movie comes out on Friday. It was very good, and DeLillo's dry language never fails to impress me. However, I couldn't help but notice that all of the best lines/scenes in the novel were easily compressed into the trailer for the movie.
33. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot - 8/10...I read it to myself, and scratched my head a bit, so I read it again. And then I read it out loud. I don't know if I ever made any more coherent sense of it, but I really felt it when I read it aloud.
34. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov - 9/10...Amazing, amazing book. Jesus Christ...So good.
35. The Power and the Glory by Grahame Greene - 7/10...Class reading. The prose was really good, and the story was engaging enough, but it never quite popped for me.
36. Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson - 8/10...A woman believes herself to be the last human alive, and muses upon her travels since the rest of the world died, along with long, confused discussions of art, literature, and menstruation. A very quircky little book that I liked quite a lot.

[lawpark]

No one has read anything since late October??!!

Is it related to the change in the forum software?

[lawpark]

1. The Vision of God - Vladimir Lossky. 7/10. About Orthodox theology, written middle of last century. Vladimir is a Russian theologian living in the emigre community in France; his father N.O. Lossky is a philosophy who has written a History of Russian Philosophy with the last section covering his own son Vladimir.

2. Pathways of Modern China - Ray Huang. 8/10. Chinese book. A refresher for me about Ray Huang's view on history. I find it more authentic than last I read him (about a decade ago), as he is honestly trying to interpret Chinese history in the 20th century such that the sacrifices of his fathers' and his own generation are not all wasted.

3. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Volume 1- Jeroslav Pelikan. 8/10. A 5-volume classic completed in 1970's. Trying to account for doctrinal development in a somewhat "objective" style.

4. Sophocles I / Three Tragedies - 9/10. This the Grene / Lattimore edition of the 3 Theban Plays. I find myself liking them a lot - mostly because the plays are quite fast-paced. Among the three, I personally like Oedipus the King the most.

5. An Outline of a Theory of Civilization - by Fukuzawa Yukichi. 9/10. Written in 1875. I read a Chinese translation. Actually very impressed by this pragmatic visionary . What he wrote over 130 years ago still strikes me as true and right direction if we were put back to 1875 again. This dude deserves to have his face printed on 10,000 Yen bills!

6. Lectures on Divine Humanity - by Vladimir Solovyov. 7/10. Lectures in 1878-1811. Most interesting is his "Sophiology" - but he didn't expound much on it actually. Vs. Fukuzawa (they wrote at around the same time), he was clearly the idealistic visionary who got things wrong.

7. Toynbee on Toynbee - A Conversation between Arnold J. Toynbee and G. R. Urban. 8/10. Book was published in 1974 based on a radio conversation when Toybee was 83 years old. The two parts of this small book shows how the world of historiography (i.e. the fundamental issues faced with doing / writing history) really has not changed that much.

8. Gita Govinda. Original by Jayadeva in Sanskrit, translated into English by Lee Siegel. 8/10. Part of the now bankrupt Clay Sanskrit Library series. Dual theme of erotic love and bhakti devotion to Krishna, written in poem / song form.

9. Nationalism: A Very Short Introduction - written by Steven Grosby. 6/10. One of the Oxford pocketbooks. The book itself is actually not bad, my low ratings just reflect my lack of interest in the subject. It is one of the few VSI's that I wish is actually shorter.

10. On the Epochs of History (German Title: Über die Epochen der neueren Geschichte)- by Leopold Ranke. 8/10. I read a Chinese translation. It was a set of lectures delivered to the Duke of Bavaria in 1854, published after Ranke's death in 1888. Ranke was founder of modern history as an academic discipline - yet in this work this aspect of Ranke is by now means clear.

11. African History: A Very Short Introduction - by John Parker and Richard Rathbone. 8/10. Another one in the Oxford series. It is really a book an the "meta-historiography" of African history rather than African history itself. Highlighted how almost everything we know as happening in Africa has its roots during the modern (roughly post-1400) period.

12. The World from 1450 to 1700 - by John Wills Jr. 8/10. A fast pace worldwide tour through the "pre-modern" world in the new tradition World History in less than 160 pages, written by the author 1688: A Global History.

13. The Completion of Traditional China (by two Japanese authors). 7/10. A pocket-book published in 1977 in Japan, as a 11-volume series of "Eastern Ocean History". I read a Chinese translation from Taiwan. Narrative stopped very abruptly right before the Opium War - but the focus on foreign trade and silver-based economy is innovative for its time.

14. Who made the history of the past 500 years - by Han Yuhai. 9/10. A Chinese work that tries to integrate World Systems Theory and other authors into a cohesive viewpoint of modern World History and Chinese History - divided into two-phases of the Long 16th Century and the Long 19th Century.

15. French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons. 9/10. Very enjoyable introduction that sheds light on the times, key authors, works, themes and styles. Surprised to find how Pascal was portrayed as an influential outsider even within the tradition of French Literature.

16. Nalan Xingde Ci Poetry Selection - selected and commented on by Sheng Dongling. 7/10. A Chinese work Nalan Xingde was an early Qing dynasty talented genius who died young. His ci poetry is too sad for me - but I found the occasion of attending a funeral to flip through the ~100 short poems selected.

17. A Study on Tangshi Pinhui - by Shen Dongcheng. 4/10. Ph.D. thesis that is just a bunch of statistics. Tangshi Pinhui is arguably the first truly "canonical" Tang poetry selection (with 5,000+ poems selected), completed in early Ming dynasty. This book influenced the more famous, later and much shorter selection 300 Tang Poems.

18. Spanish Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Jo Labanyi. 8/10. Also very well written. Covered only Spanish as a country / nation, not as a language though.

19. English Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Jonathan Bate. 8/10. Written almost as a literature introduction. Again coverage excludes non-British authors, at least explicitly excludes American literature.

20. Italian Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by Peter Hainsworth & David Robey. 8/10. Interesting coverage of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Plus how Italian lacks a driving vernacular language at its center until very recently.

21. Whose Bible is It? A Very Short History of the Scriptures - by Jaroslav Pelikan. 7/10. This is a bestseller written by a scholar. The interesting bit is primarily translation of Jewish Tanakh into Greek before Christianity.

22. Words of the World - by Abran de Swaan. 8/10. Use a metric 'Q-value' to study why and how specific languages gain prominance in specific regions. Essentially highlight the importance of numbers of second-language learners.

23. Basic Pimsleur Hindi - audio book. 7/10. First time I tried Pimsleur. Completed the 10 lessons (30 min each). Reasonably interesting way to get orientation to a new language.

24. Dreaming in Hindi - Katherine Russell Rich. 8/10. Interesting memoir of authors' year of learning Hindi in a small town in Rajasthan in 2001, sprinkled with cultural observations about India and theories about Second Language Acquisition.

25. Read and Write Hindi Script - Rupert Snell. 8/10. Helps ease into reading Devanagari script.

26. Colonial Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Rolena Adorno. 7/10. Overall still interesting as the other VSI; my major grievance is that it completely ignores Portuguese works and almost 100 years between Baroque and Independence.

27. The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 3, 1400-1800 - Series editor Daniel Woolf. 9/10. Most substantial work I have read this year: 700 page book with Introduction + 33 chapters covering traditions across the globe, with some overemphasis on European / American traditions.

28. Zhaoming Wenxuan Yanjiu ("[A] Study of [Literary] Anthology by [Crown Prince] Zhaoming") - by Fu Gang. 8/10. Good introduction to the background of the formation of this canonical anthology of ancient Chinese literary texts, together with some analysis of the actual selection and selection criteria.

29. Oxford India Ghalib: Life, Letters and Ghazals - edited by Ralph Russel. 8/10. Interesting to me both in his letters which shed light on 19th century Dehli around the time of the Mutiny, and also as introduction of the ghazal genre.

30. Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction - Sabina Knight. 8/10. Good read - perspectives somewhat different from typical Chinese books on this, but does not seem to do much "violence" to the tradition. Last chapter on modern Chinese literature has quite a few new names for me personally.

31. The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India - by Sheldon Pollock. 9/10. Another substantial work. Focuses on the career of Sanskrit and vernaculars in South Asia for political and literary discourses, and made comparison with western Europe.

32. Brevisima Relacion de la Destruccion de las Indias - by Bartolome de las Casas (originally published in 1552). I read a Chinese translation. 8/10. Actions described are horrible! True, Las Casas did not know of the effects of old world diseases on native Americans; but now I also wonder if Crosby's "Columbian Exchange" in effect white-washed atrosities committed by Spaniards (and Germans in Venezuela).

33. Sui Yangdi - by Miyazaki Ichisada. Chinese translation. 8/10. Book written in 1965, almost half a century ago. Just a popularizing account of the Sui Emperor who ruled China for around 600A.D. Easy read, but not particularly eye-opening.

34. India before Europe - by Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot. 8/10. Recent general political and cultural (focused on architectural) history of South Asia between 1200-1750. Informative coverage of both North and South India.

Haven't been reading much lately, as taking an online history class took up most of my reading time ...
Happy new year everyone!

[Babyguile]

^ Then include the books you've read in your history class :)

Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass

Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South by Roger D. Abrahams

Night Show by Richard Laymon

Forest Mage by Robin Hobb

The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts

Women in Athenian Law and Life by Roger Just

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien

I know The Fellowship of the Ring is not classed as a book in itself, but this thread really ought to be bumped and it is the most I can do to contribute.

[Reader of Books]

Books read in 2012

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10.
3. The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- 8/10.
4. Collected Fictions by J.L. Borges -- 8/10.
5. American Gods by Niel Gaiman -- 7/10.
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë -- 7/10.
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie -- 8.5/10.
8. The City and the City by China Meiville -- 8/1010.
9. Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale -- 8.5/10.
10. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien -- 10/10.
11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- 6.5/10.
12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson -- 6/1013. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron -- 9/10.
14. The Iliad by Homer -- 6/10.
15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke -- 9/10.
16. Trumpet by Jackie Kay -- 8/10.
17. The Pagoda by Patricia Powell -- 6/10.
18. The Best Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant -- 6/10.
19. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett -- 7/10.
20. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk -- 5/10.
21. Night by Elie Wiesel -- 7/10.
22. The Best Short Stories of O. Henry -- 7/10.
23. Mosses from an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 8/10.
24. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.
25. The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov -- 5/10.
26. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -- 8/10.
27. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 7.5/10.
28. Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- 7/10.
29. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd -- 7/10.
30. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison -- 9/10.
31. The Aspern Papers by Henry James -- 5/10.
32. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James -- 6/10.
33. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski -- 9/10.
34. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- 8/10.
35. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons -- 8/10.
36. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov -- 8/10.
37. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller -- 8/10.
38. Labyrinths by J.L. Borges -- 9/10.
39. The Aeneid by Virgil -- 8.5/10
40. The Trial by Franz Kafka -- 7/10.
41. Grettir's Saga by Jesse Byock (translator) -- 5/10.
42. Sir Gawain and the Green Night by Burton Raffel (translator) -- 8.5/10.
43. Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino -- 7.5/10.
44. Candide by Voltaire -- 8.5/10.
45. Sandman, Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman, et al -- 8.5/10.
46. The Lais of Marie de France by Glyn S. Burgess (translator) -- 9/10
47. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- 7/10.
48. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway -- 8/10.
49. Portnoy's Complaint by Phillip Roth -- 5/10.
50. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell -- 10/10.
51. The Golden Legend (excerpts) by Jacobus de Voragine -- 7.5/10.
52. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding -- 9/10.
53. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay -- 6/10.
54. The Magus by John Fowles -- 6/10.
55. Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli -- 8/10.
56. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman -- 7/10.
57. Life of Pi by Yann Martel -- 8.5/10.
58. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll -- 7/10.
59. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll -- 7.5/10.
60. Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman, et al -- 8/10.
61. The Giant Book of Poetry by William Roetzheim (editor) -- 8/10.
62. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- 10/10.
63. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger by Stephen King -- 8.5/10.
64. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King -- 9/10.

[lawpark]

So, which is the one book you have read in 2012 that you liked most?

For me, it would be French Literature: A Very Short Introduction - by John Lyons.

[2X2E5]

Notes From the Underground by Dostoevsky 10/10 <3

Idiot by Dostoevsky 9/10
The Plague by Camus 9/10
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe 10/10
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera 9/10
Adolphe by Constant 8/10
Vita Nuova by Dante 7/10
Love by Stendhal 9/10

[Bibliophile79]

Here's my list. I used the 5 star rating system from my Goodreads account (but I also included 1/2 star ranks where applicable). Also included dates

January
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire 12/31/11 - 1/8/12 ***
Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin 1/8 - 1/10 *****
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich 1/10 - 1/11 *** 1/2
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 1/11 - 1/19 *****
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman 1/19 - 1/23 *****
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk 1/23 - 1/26 ***

February
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski 1/26 - 2/3 ****
The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett 2/3 - 2/7 **
The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology by Joseph Campbell 2/7 - 2/22 **
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis 2/22 - 2/24 *****
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 2/24 - 2/28 **** 1/2

March
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut 3/2 - 3/5 **
Supergods by Grant Morrison 3/5 - 3/10 *** 1/2
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 3/10 - 3/13 ****
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 3/13 - 3/22 **** 1/2
March by Geraldine Brooks 3/22 - 3/27 ****
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore 3/27 - 3/28 *****
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert 3/28 - 3/29 ****
Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind 3/29 - 3/30 ****

April
Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind 3/30 - 4/9 *****
Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind 4/10 - 4/18 **** 1/2

May
Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind 4/20 - 5/1 ****
The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 5/3-5/4 ***
Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 5/6 - 5/8 ***
Driving Mr. Yogi by Harvey Araton 5/8 - 5/10 *****
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King 5/10 - 5/14 ****
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami 5/14 - 5/19 **
Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories: And Other Disasters by Jean Shepherd 5/19 - 5/20 ****

June
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury 6/7 - 6/8 ****
Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith 6/8 - 6/13 **** 1/2
The Complete Far Side 1980-1994 by Gary Larson 4/25 - 6/26 **** 1/2
The Instructions by Adam Levin 6/13 - 6/28 * 1/2
Marvels by Kurt Busiek 6/26 - 6/28 *****

July
A Fistful of Fig Newtons by Jean Shepherd 6/29 - 7/1 ***
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller 6/28 - 7/1 ****
How To Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by Jenna Jameson and Neil Strauss 7/1 - 7/3 ****
Fletch Won by Gregory McDonald 7/3 - 7/7 *** 1/2
The Reivers by William Faulkner 7/7 - 7/11 ***
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett 7/11 - 7/15 ****
The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman 7/23 *****
The Sandman Vol. 2: A Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman 7/24 *****
Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard 7/22 - 7/26 **** 1/2
The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman 7/28 ****
The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman 7/29 *****

August
North and South by John Jakes 7/26 - 8/3 ****
Love and War by John Jakes 8/3 - 8/18 ****
Odd Interlude by Dean Koontz 8/19 - 8/20 ****
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins 8/20 - 8/29 **
Grendel by John Gardner 8/29 - 8/30 **** 1/2

September
True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey 8/30 - 9/2 ***
Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore 9/3 - 9/4 **
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 9/4 - 9/12 ****
This Book Does Not Exist by Mike Schneider 9/12 - 9/14 **
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski 9/14 - 9/20 ****
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter 9/20 - 9/24 **** 1/2

October
Heaven and Hell by John Jakes 9/24 - 10/8 ***
This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It by David Wong 10/8 - 10/12 ****
Baal by Robert McCammon 10/13 - 10/17 **
The Twelve by Justin Cronin 10/17 - 10/23 ****
Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King 10/24 - 10/30 ***

November
Mercury Falls by Robert Kroese 11/10 - 11/17 ***
Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese 11/17 - 11/21 **
Mercury Rests by Robert Kroese 11/21 - 11/23 **
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks 11/23 - 11/29 **

December
Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey 11/29 - 12/7 **** 1/2
City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte 12/7 - 12/ 10 *****
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling 12/10 - 12/18 ***
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 12/18 - 12/20 ****
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 12/20 - 12/22 *** ½
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore 12/22 - 12/24 *** ½

Is there a 2013 thread floating about?

[Scheherazade]

Is there a 2013 thread floating about?That is an impressive list, 79!

Here is the 2013 log:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?73181-Captain-s-(Reading)-Log-Stardate-2013-01-365

[Bibliophile79]

Thank you. Last year was kind of a slow year though, I read 91 books in '11 lol