glishara

I have never done one of these before, but more and more people seem to be, so I present the works I have read in 2009, as it goes. I'll mark rereads (these will surely be the majority of my reading), and new audiobooks, though I will not let you guys know every time I listen all the way through The Princess Diaries again because I have it on as background noise at work. And since I will not be satisfied with a simple list, I'll write comments under a cut for each book.

My 2009 Reading List:

1. 1/4/2009 - Crown of Slaves, by David Weber and Eric Flint. ( Analysis )
   
   
2. 1/6/2009 - Forever Princess, by Meg Cabot. ( Analysis )
   
   
3. 1/10/2009 - The Language of God, by Francis S. Collins. ( Analysis )
   
   
4. 1/11/2009 - AUDIO: Making Money, by Terry Pratchett. ( Analysis )
   
   
5. 1/13/2009 - Shadow of Saganami, by David Weber. ( Analysis )
   
   
6. 1/14/2009 - REREAD: Shards of Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold. ( Analysis )
   
   
7. 1/15/2009 - The Blood of Flowers: A Novel, by Anita Amirrezvani. ( Analysis )
   
   
8. 1/16/2009 - AUDIO: Sunshine, by Robin McKinley. ( Analysis )
   
   
9. 1/18/2009 - AUDIO: Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips. ( Analysis )
   
   
10. 1/19/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): The Fifth Elephant, by Terry Pratchett. ( Analysis )
    
    
11. 1/20/2009 - REREAD: Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold. ( Analysis )
    
    
12. 1/20/2009 - Understanding Autism, by Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik. ( Analysis )
    
    
13. 1/22/2009 - Common Sense, by Thomas Paine. ( Analysis )
    
    
14. 1/22/2009 - REREAD: Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett. ( Analysis )
    
    
15. 1/25/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel. ( Analysis )
    
    
16. 1/27/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): The Valley of the Horses, by Jean M. Auel. ( Analysis )
    
    
17. 1/27/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): The Mammoth Hunters, by Jean M. Auel. ( Analysis )
    
    
18. 1/30/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): Forever Princess, by Meg Cabot. ( Analysis )
    
    
19. 1/31/2009 - Ransom My Heart, by Meg Cabot. ( Analysis )
    
    
20. 2/2/2009 - REREAD(?): Moving Pictures, by Terry Pratchett. ( Analysis )
    
    
21. 2/5/2009 - Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. ( Analysis )
    
    
22. 2/8/2009 - REREAD: Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett. ( Analysis )
    
    
23. 2/14/2009 - REREAD: Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett. ( Analysis )
    
    
24. 2/20/2009 - John Adams, by David McCullough. ( Analysis )
    
    
25. 2/24/2009 - AUDIO: Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder. ( Analysis )
    
    
26. 2/25/2009 - AUDIO: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen. ( Analysis )
    
    
27. 2/26/2009 - AUDIO: Emma, by Jane Austen. ( Analysis )
    
    
28. 3/3/2009 - AUDIO: Magic Study, by Maria V. Snyder. ( Analysis )
    
    
29. 3/6/2009 - REREAD: Taltos, by Steven Brust. ( Analysis )
    
    
30. 3/7/2009 - REREAD: Phoenix, by Steven Brust. ( Analysis )
    
    
31. 3/14/2009 - REREAD: Dragon, by Steven Brust. ( Analysis )
    
    
32. 3/15/2009 - I Remember the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein, by Michael A. Burstein. ( Analysis )
    
    
33. 3/18/2009 - Empress, by Karen Miller. ( Analysis )
    
    
34. 3/21/2009 - REREAD: Issola, by Steven Brust. ( Analysis )
    
    
35. 3/21/2009 - REREAD: Dzur, by Steven Brust. ( Analysis )
    
    
36. 3/22/2009 - REREAD: Jhegaala, by Steven Brust. ( Analysis )
    
    
37. 3/22/2009 - REREAD: First Test, by Tamora Pierce. ( Analysis )
    
    
38. 3/23/2009 - REREAD: Page, by Tamora Pierce. ( Analysis )
    
    
39. 3/23/2009 - REREAD: Squire, by Tamora Pierce. ( Analysis )
    
    
40. 3/24/2009 - REREAD: Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce. ( Analysis )
    
    
41. 3/27/2009 - REREAD: A College of Magics, by Caroline Stevermer. ( Analysis )
    
    
42. 4/9/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): The Sharing Knife, Volume 1: Beguilement, by Lois McMaster Bujold ( Analysis )
    
    
43. 4/10/2009 - AUDIO (Reread): The Sharing Knife, Volume 2: Legacy, by Lois McMaster Bujold ( Analysis )
    
    
44. 4/11/2009 - REREAD: The Sharing Knife, Volume 3: Passage, by Lois McMaster Bujold ( Analysis )
    
    
45. 4/12/2009 - The Sharing Knife, Volume 4: Horizon, by Lois McMaster Bujold ( Analysis )
    
    
46. 4/12/2009 - The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. ( Analysis )
    
    

So, volumewise, I don't read a lot of nonfiction. Part of this is that I tend to reread a lot. I have books I go back to all the time. Anything by Tamora Pierce, anything by Bujold, David Weber's (early) Honor Harrington books, Steven Brust's Jhereg books. I don't think there is a book that falls in those categories that I have not read at least a half-dozen times, and there are some (First Test, by Pierce; A Civil Campaign, by Bujold; On Basilisk Station, by Weber) that I have read over 20 times easily. I do the same with audiobooks: as I type this, I am listening to Meg Cabot's Jinx, and I can practically recite the novel from frequent repetitions.

But I do that with popcorn books: books I can blast through without much trouble, books with lively stories and not much thought required to keep up. Nonfiction is not often like that.

With nonfiction, I tend to start a book, read for a while, then get distracted by, "Hey, look, a post office; I haven't read Going Postal in a while," or "Man, I wonder if this scene in Memory could be read THIS way: I should try a reread to see!" And then I read that book, and then another, and then another. Eventually, I remember my nonfiction project, and return to it.

I started my current nonfiction read, David McCullough's John Adams, back in mid-late January. I'm around 2/3 of the way through now, I think. I'm in 1792, at the end of Washington's first term.

I'm finding it very interesting, although I can't focus exclusively on it for very long. What prompted this post originally is my observation that I learn about my own politics by reading biographies of politicians. It's not necessarily that I learn about where I stand, but the intensity of my beliefs becomes clearer by the way I react to learning things about these political figures.

For instance, I always knew I favored education and money for education. But every time this book talks about Adams's passion for education, and his belief that education is the single most important responsibility of a society that wants to succeed, my heart warms to him. THERE, I tell myself, is a guy with his PRIORITIES straight.

Also, I kind of hate Thomas Jefferson at this point. I think I will need to read a book more skewed to him after I am done with this, to see if it repairs my opinion of him.

Anyway. Random ramblings.

Ahhhh.

Crown of Slaves, by Eric Flint and David Weber, is an ABOMINABLY bad book. Seriously. ABOMINABLY.

And I KNOW bad books, people. I read the entirety of the Bio of a Space Tyrant series by Piers Anthony. I mean, I read FANFIC. Recreationally. I read really stupid Harry Potter is magically turned into a girl and falls in love with Snape fanfic.

But no book has ever caused me to stop reading and cradle my head in pain quite so often as this book.

I finished it because I like the Honor Harrington series, and I was starting to feel lost reading the last book because it built on the events in Crown of Slaves. But it was incredibly difficult to force my way through it.

Amusingly, after finishing the book, I learned that January is apparently Bad Books Month. They chose January, because as they said, the rest of the year can only be an improvement.

I suppose that is true.

Seriously, seriously bad, guys.