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The 2013 Books
I missed this post last year, in what was admittedly a haze of work and Friends and Boyperson Quality Time. But I also missed having it: To refer to personally, in the bookstore when handselling, in general. And keeping up with the trends and ebbs in my reading is a worthy goal, so:
#1 -- Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone
#2 -- Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd, A Monster Calls
#3 -- Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan, Team Human
#4 -- Alissa York, Fauna
#5 -- Erin Saldin, The Girls of No Return
#6 -- John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
#7 -- Francisco X. Stork, Irises
#8 -- Alena McNamara, A Returning Power (in draft)
#9 -- Jodi Meadows, Incarnate
#10 -- Lynn Coady, The Antagonist
#11 -- Sarah Prineas, Winterling
#12 -- Kristen Simmons, Article 5
#13 -- Terry Fallis, The High Road
REREAD -- Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping
#14 -- Zoe Whittall, Holding Still For As Long As Possible
#15 -- Dani Couture, Algoma
#16 -- China Mieville, Embassytown
#17 -- Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost
#18 -- Darren O'Donnell, Social Acupuncture: A Guide to Suicide, Performance, and Utopia
#19 -- Upton Sinclair, Oil!
#20 -- Deborah Coates, Wide Open
#21 -- Kendare Blake, Girl of Nightmares
#22 -- Mark Forsyth, The Etymologicon
#23 -- Gina Damico, Croak
#24 -- Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go
#25 -- Joanne Levy, Small Medium at Large
#26 -- China Mieville, Railsea
#27 -- R.J. Anderson, Ultraviolet
#28 -- Gina Damico, Scorch
#29 -- Ross Macdonald, The Drowning Pool
#30 -- Geoff Ryman, The King's Last Song
#31 -- Ross Macdonald, The Ivory Grin
#32 -- Ross Macdonald, The Galton Case
#33 -- Ross Macdonald, The Chill
#34 -- Ross Macdonald, Black Money
#35 -- Ross Macdonald, The Far Side of the Dollar
#36 -- Ross Macdonald, The Goodbye Look
#37 -- Ross Macdonald, The Underground Man
#38 -- Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress
#39 -- Koom Karkesian, The Panic Button
#40 -- The Liminal People
#41 -- Libba Bray, The Diviners
REREAD -- Sean Stewart, Resurrection Man
REREAD -- Sean Stewart, Galveston
#42 -- Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Boys
#43 -- Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
REREAD -- Sean Stewart, The Night Watch
#44 -- Sarah Rees Brennan, Unspoken
#45 -- Rae Carson, Crown of Embers
#46 -- Raymond Chandler, Trouble is My Business
#47 -- Libba Bray, Beauty Queens
#48 -- Charles Stross, Rule 34
#49 -- Robin Sloan, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
#50 -- Jean Little, From Anna
#51 -- Ian Keeling, The Skids (in draft)
NOT-#52 -- Tiffany Trent, The Unnaturalists
#52 -- Charles Stross, Rule 34
#53 -- Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
#54 -- Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Making Bombs for Hitler
#55 -- Megan Crewe, The Way We Fall
#56 -- Megan Crewe, The Lives We Lost
#57 -- Terry Pratchett, Dodger
#58 -- Deborah Coates, Deep Down
#59 -- Ross Macdonald, The Moving Target
#60 -- Hiromi Goto, Half World
#61 -- Ross Macdonald, Find a Victim
#62 -- Ross Macdonald, The Barbarous Coast
#63 -- Ross Macdonald, The Wycherly Woman
#1 -- Ari Folman, Waltz With Bashir
#2 -- Adrienne Kress, The Friday Society
#3 -- George R. R. Martin, Fevre Dream
#4 -- Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
#5 -- Gene Wolfe, Home Fires
#6 -- Rachel Hartman, Seraphina
REREAD -- Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
#7 -- Margo Lanagan, The Brides of Rollrock Island
#8 -- Karen Lord, The Best of All Possible Worlds
#9 -- Brenna Yovanoff, Paper Valentine
#10 -- Lauren Hougen, Untitled manuscript (draft)
#11 -- Robert Heinlein, Farmer in the Sky
#12 -- Alaya Dawn Johnson, The Summer Prince
#13 -- Holly Macdowell, King Solomon's Wives: Hunted
#14 -- John Arcudi, A God Somewhere
#15 -- Charlene Challenger, The Voices In-Between (ARC)
#16 -- Ross Macdonald, The Doomsters
#17 -- Ross Macdonald, The Blue Hammer
#18 -- Merrie Haskell, Handbook for Dragon Slayers
#19 -- James M. Cain, Double Indemnity
#20 -- Kendare Blake, Antigoddess (ARC)
#21 -- Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane
NOT-#22 -- Amanda Sun, Ink (ARC)
#22 -- Erin Bow, Sorrow's Knot (ARC)
#23 -- Raymond Chandler, The Lady in the Lake
#24 -- David Mitchell, Ghostwritten
NOT-#25 -- Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory
#25 -- Elaine Chen, The Good Brother (draft)
#26 -- Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria
#27 -- Samit Basu, Turbulence
#28 -- Madeline Ashby, vN
#29 -- Sarah Rees Breenan, Untold (ARC)
#30 -- Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves (ARC)
#31 -- Scott Lynch, The Republic of Thieves
#32 -- Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl
#33 -- John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
#34 -- Caitlin R. Kiernan, The Drowning Girl
#35 -- Matthew Heiti, The City Still Breathing
#36 -- Elizabeth Wein, Code Name: Verity
#37 -- Craig Thompson, Blankets
The trends and currents of this exercise are even more visible, maybe, with two years' data in the hopper:
I'm reading a lot more YA (which started as basic research, since Above sold as YA and with On Roadstead Farm, I've had to deliberately write one; and ended up continuing out of a certain comfy enjoyment thereupon. I seem to like the YA books that pick fights with tropes and trends in the bracket more -- Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken and Untold; Rainbow Rowell in general -- and the ones that are just plain well-made, like Brenna Yovanoff's Paper Valentine.
I read a lot more of Philippe's books, the old Heinleins and the graphic novels and the Banks, because they were books and they were where I was. I don't always do well with them: He has a taste for a very old-school SF that's not precisely my taste.
I read a lot more in draft, and by people I know already.
I read a lot more hardboiled detective books, because basically they are awesome. They're simultaneously windows into this mourned/idealized/generalized 1940s American world, and condemnations of same, and rife with class politics, and fascinating puzzle-boxes. And everyone's always getting concussions. The stack of Ross MacDonalds up there were bought on clearance at my local used bookstore, who had $20 trade paperback versions, acquired on remainder, for five bucks or so each. They got me through a lot of things this year.
I read a lot of books that were highly imperfect but deeply ambitious, and have gained a serious appreciation for that. I really do prefer books that aim high and fall short than books that stay home and execute their staying home well.
And...I didn't read a lot of books.
On Roadstead Farm has been a hard haul for me, and this year has just been consumed in the thing. There were months at a stretch where I didn't read, this year, because I couldn't hold other books and that one in my head together, at the same time. I want that to be different for 2014; it's one of many places that I would like to build a better balance.
I'm not going to pick out anything specific to discuss this time around, but if there's anything you want to hear about?
#1 -- Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke and Bone
#2 -- Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd, A Monster Calls
#3 -- Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan, Team Human
#4 -- Alissa York, Fauna
#5 -- Erin Saldin, The Girls of No Return
#6 -- John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
#7 -- Francisco X. Stork, Irises
#8 -- Alena McNamara, A Returning Power (in draft)
#9 -- Jodi Meadows, Incarnate
#10 -- Lynn Coady, The Antagonist
#11 -- Sarah Prineas, Winterling
#12 -- Kristen Simmons, Article 5
#13 -- Terry Fallis, The High Road
REREAD -- Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping
#14 -- Zoe Whittall, Holding Still For As Long As Possible
#15 -- Dani Couture, Algoma
#16 -- China Mieville, Embassytown
#17 -- Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost
#18 -- Darren O'Donnell, Social Acupuncture: A Guide to Suicide, Performance, and Utopia
#19 -- Upton Sinclair, Oil!
#20 -- Deborah Coates, Wide Open
#21 -- Kendare Blake, Girl of Nightmares
#22 -- Mark Forsyth, The Etymologicon
#23 -- Gina Damico, Croak
#24 -- Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go
#25 -- Joanne Levy, Small Medium at Large
#26 -- China Mieville, Railsea
#27 -- R.J. Anderson, Ultraviolet
#28 -- Gina Damico, Scorch
#29 -- Ross Macdonald, The Drowning Pool
#30 -- Geoff Ryman, The King's Last Song
#31 -- Ross Macdonald, The Ivory Grin
#32 -- Ross Macdonald, The Galton Case
#33 -- Ross Macdonald, The Chill
#34 -- Ross Macdonald, Black Money
#35 -- Ross Macdonald, The Far Side of the Dollar
#36 -- Ross Macdonald, The Goodbye Look
#37 -- Ross Macdonald, The Underground Man
#38 -- Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress
#39 -- Koom Karkesian, The Panic Button
#40 -- The Liminal People
#41 -- Libba Bray, The Diviners
REREAD -- Sean Stewart, Resurrection Man
REREAD -- Sean Stewart, Galveston
#42 -- Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Boys
#43 -- Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
REREAD -- Sean Stewart, The Night Watch
#44 -- Sarah Rees Brennan, Unspoken
#45 -- Rae Carson, Crown of Embers
#46 -- Raymond Chandler, Trouble is My Business
#47 -- Libba Bray, Beauty Queens
#48 -- Charles Stross, Rule 34
#49 -- Robin Sloan, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
#50 -- Jean Little, From Anna
#51 -- Ian Keeling, The Skids (in draft)
NOT-#52 -- Tiffany Trent, The Unnaturalists
#52 -- Charles Stross, Rule 34
#53 -- Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
#54 -- Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Making Bombs for Hitler
#55 -- Megan Crewe, The Way We Fall
#56 -- Megan Crewe, The Lives We Lost
#57 -- Terry Pratchett, Dodger
#58 -- Deborah Coates, Deep Down
#59 -- Ross Macdonald, The Moving Target
#60 -- Hiromi Goto, Half World
#61 -- Ross Macdonald, Find a Victim
#62 -- Ross Macdonald, The Barbarous Coast
#63 -- Ross Macdonald, The Wycherly Woman
#1 -- Ari Folman, Waltz With Bashir
#2 -- Adrienne Kress, The Friday Society
#3 -- George R. R. Martin, Fevre Dream
#4 -- Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
#5 -- Gene Wolfe, Home Fires
#6 -- Rachel Hartman, Seraphina
REREAD -- Cory Doctorow, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
#7 -- Margo Lanagan, The Brides of Rollrock Island
#8 -- Karen Lord, The Best of All Possible Worlds
#9 -- Brenna Yovanoff, Paper Valentine
#10 -- Lauren Hougen, Untitled manuscript (draft)
#11 -- Robert Heinlein, Farmer in the Sky
#12 -- Alaya Dawn Johnson, The Summer Prince
#13 -- Holly Macdowell, King Solomon's Wives: Hunted
#14 -- John Arcudi, A God Somewhere
#15 -- Charlene Challenger, The Voices In-Between (ARC)
#16 -- Ross Macdonald, The Doomsters
#17 -- Ross Macdonald, The Blue Hammer
#18 -- Merrie Haskell, Handbook for Dragon Slayers
#19 -- James M. Cain, Double Indemnity
#20 -- Kendare Blake, Antigoddess (ARC)
#21 -- Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane
NOT-#22 -- Amanda Sun, Ink (ARC)
#22 -- Erin Bow, Sorrow's Knot (ARC)
#23 -- Raymond Chandler, The Lady in the Lake
#24 -- David Mitchell, Ghostwritten
NOT-#25 -- Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory
#25 -- Elaine Chen, The Good Brother (draft)
#26 -- Sofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria
#27 -- Samit Basu, Turbulence
#28 -- Madeline Ashby, vN
#29 -- Sarah Rees Breenan, Untold (ARC)
#30 -- Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves (ARC)
#31 -- Scott Lynch, The Republic of Thieves
#32 -- Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl
#33 -- John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
#34 -- Caitlin R. Kiernan, The Drowning Girl
#35 -- Matthew Heiti, The City Still Breathing
#36 -- Elizabeth Wein, Code Name: Verity
#37 -- Craig Thompson, Blankets
The trends and currents of this exercise are even more visible, maybe, with two years' data in the hopper:
I'm reading a lot more YA (which started as basic research, since Above sold as YA and with On Roadstead Farm, I've had to deliberately write one; and ended up continuing out of a certain comfy enjoyment thereupon. I seem to like the YA books that pick fights with tropes and trends in the bracket more -- Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken and Untold; Rainbow Rowell in general -- and the ones that are just plain well-made, like Brenna Yovanoff's Paper Valentine.
I read a lot more of Philippe's books, the old Heinleins and the graphic novels and the Banks, because they were books and they were where I was. I don't always do well with them: He has a taste for a very old-school SF that's not precisely my taste.
I read a lot more in draft, and by people I know already.
I read a lot more hardboiled detective books, because basically they are awesome. They're simultaneously windows into this mourned/idealized/generalized 1940s American world, and condemnations of same, and rife with class politics, and fascinating puzzle-boxes. And everyone's always getting concussions. The stack of Ross MacDonalds up there were bought on clearance at my local used bookstore, who had $20 trade paperback versions, acquired on remainder, for five bucks or so each. They got me through a lot of things this year.
I read a lot of books that were highly imperfect but deeply ambitious, and have gained a serious appreciation for that. I really do prefer books that aim high and fall short than books that stay home and execute their staying home well.
And...I didn't read a lot of books.
On Roadstead Farm has been a hard haul for me, and this year has just been consumed in the thing. There were months at a stretch where I didn't read, this year, because I couldn't hold other books and that one in my head together, at the same time. I want that to be different for 2014; it's one of many places that I would like to build a better balance.
I'm not going to pick out anything specific to discuss this time around, but if there's anything you want to hear about?