Other than somehow skipping 46-49 in my numbering scheme, I have read fewer books than I thought this year. The other possibility--and it's a very real one--is that I've actually read the books that were originally 46-49 and somehow forgot what they were.
Anyway, 57 books. It's a semi-respectable total for me, what with being in school and all the other things I've been reading: articles on information science, fic, short stories...
Anyway.
I read 12 books (21%) of non-fiction, broken down into the sub-categories of history, biography, writing, literary criticism, and linguistics. This is on par with 26% non-fiction in 2006 and 20% non-fiction in 2005.
Yay, trends!!
In the fiction category, I read:
6 mainstream
15 romance
3 SF
18 fantasy
3 horror
Which, proportionally, is par for the course for me, though I usually fit in more SF.
I only re-read one book. This is also part of the recent trend. I used to re-read madly. I'm rather surprised at this lack of re-reading, but can only surmise that emotionally solid enough that I don't need the comfort of re-reading old faves (in spite of school stress (and in fact, the only way to handle school stress was to read about information science, anyway)), and I did in fact re-read that book right in the middle of school stress. --Oh, wait. I did re-read the first three Harry Potter books in an effort to just go straight through the series and be done with it. But that almost doesn't count. Somehow. I swear.
I discovered many new-to-me authors this year, the standouts being Sarah Micklem, Megan Hart, Lionel Shriver, Ruth Downie, Tananarive Due...
I think my favorite book was Jo Walton's Farthing.
53) Tease by Suzanne Forster (romance)
54) Lady Beware by Jo Beverley (romance)
55) Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie (romance)
56) Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster (uhm...)
57) General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn (YA)
Well, I haven't passed 60 this year, but passing 50 is good. But more on my performance, later...
Reviews after the cut.
Tease by Suzanne Forster (romance)
After Megan Hart's work (in the same Harlequin Spice line), I suppose anything would be something of a disappointment. There were definitely points I desired to slap the heroine. Too many of them, probably. It worked out okay in the end, more or less, but there were some eyerolls even close to the end. Motivations were iffy. The fact that the heroine wasn't always sure which man was in her bed seemed unlikely. The misunderstandings between, well, everyone, were annoying, and did not ratchet up the tension. And here's the really weird thing: this is in the line billed as erotic romance, and somehow, all of the sex scenes--every single one of them--ended at the point of penetration and faded to black. Bizarre.
Lady Beware by Jo Beverley (romance)
Lovely Beverleyness once again. I adore this author. I heap love and praise on her head. If you haven't yet read her (and you even vaguely like romance), why not??
Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie (romance)
A very entertaining Crusie. Exactly what I was in the mood for over the holidays. Funny stuff. Funny enough that I overlook the occasional moments of dimness on the heroine's part, and I can ignore the phrase "she licked into his mouth" in reference to tongue-kissing. Almost.
Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster (uhm...)
Too much fun. I "died" several times. I'm deeply amused by Webster's snarky commentary. I look forward to going through this a few more times, as I explore the other ways out.
61) General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn (YA)
I didn't connect with this Shinn effort the way I usually do, but it was well-written and enjoyable nonetheless, and had an extremely nice presentation of the arguments about imperialism and colonialism. I think Shinn works best for me when she's writing fantasy. This was Ruritanian, not fantasy.
...they have sucked away my soul. And by soul, I mean time. But also my soul.
First of all, I have been cleaning and shopping and cleaning and shopping in alternating frenzies. Clean up. Dirty the house. Buy presents. Give them away. Repeat.
The bonus here is that after tomorrow's clean up, there'll be a New Year's party, and after that there's another clean up, and my mom comes, and then there'll be another clean up... Wait. Hm.
Basically, once school derailed writing, it's been nearly impossible to reattain my focus. (Not that I had focus. I guess I mean output.) I so need my focus back. I have purchased new calendars and am ready to buckle down and start again--for reals--as I put goals and achievements in the calendars to keep myself honest. It should work, right? Right.
Okay. Enough resolve, we'll see what actually happens. For now, I'm going to do my last book report of the year, and then finish out with my reading-year summary. Ta. Da.
You can tell it's been far too long since I've actually written. I opened up my works-in-progress file and sort of hovered over it, eagerly, wondering what to poke at first.
Yay!
Published this year:
"Huntswoman." Aoife's Kiss. (March 2007) (reprint)
"The Roman and the Regency." Quantum Kiss. (January 2007)
Sold this year:
"Almanac for the Alien Invaders" to Asimov's
"Sun's East, Moon's West" to Electric Velocipede
Total submissions this year: a mere 25, but I'll be up to 27 by year's end, at least--maybe 30.
Upcoming publications (next year): stories in Asimov's and The Field Guide to Surreal Botany.
Goals this year? Of course! But let's talk about that later.
Finished short stories:
"Lawncare in the Afterlife"
"The Girl-Prince"
Looking back, did you write more than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?
I made a really good start. I got really side-tracked pretty early on, however. A distinct lack of focus, and then school.
My favorite story this year (of my own):
Of the two I wrote? Uh, sure. "The Girl-Prince." But you know, it's probably one of my favorites, period.
My best story this year:
Most fun story:
Hardest story to write:
Yeah. "The Girl-Prince." This is a very simple meme when you only complete 2 stories.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
Yes, it's a risk to not have a plan that you can stick to. I took the risk of slacking this year, I think, and the risk of lack of focus. Yes, I learned from it--I learn you don't have much to show at the end of it.
Do you have any goals for the New Year?
Yea verily. The goal is to FOCUS.
I have nothing but snow and time on my hands right now.
It is SO THE BEST FEELING.
Tomorrow, I might even write.
Jer Tolbert pointed out The problem with 99.9 % of so-called 'solutions' to the Fermi Paradox at Sentient Developments today.
I take no small delight in hating the Fermi Paradox because I think it's just a silly, pointless speculation, and the answer is obviously one of resolution. Think of how long it took humanity to spread to the New World (hundreds of thousands of years, depending on how you count backwards for humanity). Now, think of how long it took for Europeans to find the New World (at least 10,000 years, depending on which theory you believe). Okay? The aliens just haven't found us yet, or vice versa. The cosmos is a big place, and there's a lot of time in it.
Personally, I think that first contact is not where humanity shines, and I have to think that most other species with an innate manifest destiny gene are probably just as bad as we are, so I'm all for not proving the Fermi Paradox wrong in any capacity any time soon.
But, I'm also rather pleased with the FP solution that I've come up with (not the issue of resolution, mind you) for By Right of Conquest (and by extension, "An Almanac for the Alien Invaders," though it's not mentioned in the short story). But it's a big old spoiler, and I don't know if I'm going to be sharing it yet. It's kind of the prevalent theme of the last half of BRC. So. Another time...
Back to school work for me.
46) Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder by David Weinberger (non-fiction)
47) Out Front with Stephen Abram: A Guide for Information Professionals by Stephen Abram (non-fiction)
48) Foundations of Library and Information Science by Gayle Rubin (non-fiction)
49) Dirty by Megan Hart (romance)
50) Broken by Megan Hart (romance)
51) Twice the Temptation by Suzanne Enoch (romance)
52) A Touch of Minx by Suzanne Enoch (romance)
Reviews after the cut.
Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, Out Front with Stephen Abram: A Guide for Information Professionals, and Foundations of Library and Information Science.
I read these three for school, along with a slew of articles that will certainly not get mentioned here. I rather like the articles better, in general, but that's how it is with professional fields, I guess. More info in an article. Less balderdash. I feel the same way about anthropology. In any case, Weinberger's would be great for non-librarians, but Abram is the ground-breaker in my future profession, and I think I appreciated his book the most. The Rubin book is a great introduction. I got to choose the Weinberger, as it happens, but I think that whoever selected books for my class did a great job. (I say "whoever" because I think all sections are reading the same things.)
As for Megan Hart's Dirty and Broken... these are not typical romance. First, they're categorized as "spice" or "erotic romance" or some such (but not "romantica"), and the sexual component is heavy. And yet, I'd say they are some of the best-written books Harlequin has put out. Period. I've pored over the internet for reviews that do these books justice, but I think most people doing the reviewing get hung up on the liberal use of the word "cunt" or the fact that the books are genre-atypical. Well. Humbug to all of that. Hart's characterization skills are mighty, and it's a rare romance novel that has me invested in more than just wondering when the couple is going to hook up or say "I love you." There are subplots that are interesting! There aren't true villains! There is depth and complexity and subtleness!
The nearly Aspergian qualities of one heroine (Elle of Dirty) contrast sharply with the extreme emotional awareness of the other (Sadie in Broken), and prove that Hart is no one-trick pony. These books are not chick lit, but they have many factors in common (the romance is not the sole focus, for example) with chick lit. At the same time, there is an emotional resonance far beyond any chick lit I've ever read, something sort of on par with *gasp* modern literature, but without the pretentious shit that so turns me off of modern literature.
I think I've found a new fave.
And as for old fave, Suzanne Enoch: Twice the Temptation and A Touch of Minx are both Sam and Rick stories. (Twice is one regency paired with a Sam/Rick adventure.) I love Sam so much. I'm not sure Rick is actually worthy of Sam, but he's not half bad. Not even a quarter bad. Or maybe I over-identify with Sam's loose moral code somewhat? I mean, cat burglar who won't steal from museums, just greedy bastards! Alright then! Anyway, I don't know how much more Enoch can wring from this series (my best guess? Three books. Though I think we probably should only have one more at most), but I look forward to seeing what she does.