New Year's Booklist

While at the library today, I became even more aware of the New Year swiftly rolling in: all of the receipts printed for loaned books and DVDs and audiobooks and CDs were printing 2014 again and again.

Pondering this during one of my down moments, I decided to gander through my book list from this year, and share with everyone the many pages and authors I read in the last 364 days.

With the turn of the New Year I am currently reading The Abominable by Dan Simmons.
It's a hefty, near-700 page book about a 1925 expedition that may or may not involve a yeti. Also, there is an intriguing introduction involving handwritten accounts from one of the supposed mountain climbers. Have yet to decide if it's more or less legitimate with a flourish of Simmons' fiction, or if even the entire context is fictitious, a la Neil Gaiman's "Sandman: Dream Hunters" and Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead."

And then the other books I read this year; broken down into categories.

Non-fiction
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman
The Hungry Sea: A Swordboat Captain's Journey by Linda Greenlaw

Fiction
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card
Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia
The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Graphic Novels / Comics
Chi's Sweet Home, Vol. 1-9 by Kanata Konami
Arkham Asylum: Serious House on a Serious Earth, Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
The Filth by Grant Morrison and Chris Weston
Sin City, Vol. 2-6 by Frank Miller
Metamorphosis (Kabuki) by David Mack
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
Sandman Series, Vol. 1-10 by Neil Gaiman, et al
Sandman: Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano

Things I've Read...Catch Up, Part 2

I have one more book to finish and then you'll be getting another dose of this. For the time being, six books I read not too long ago.

• Gaches Mansion: An Historic Landmark Preserved - Janna Gage
  This short little book gives a good insight and history of one of La Conner's most famous and celebrated buildings, from the founding family, to the night it was almost burned down in April 1973. From when it was a home, to apartments, the Museum of Northwest Art and finally the Quilt & Textile Museum that hosts amazing shows all year.
  
• Maus, Vol. 1 & 2 Vol. 1 - Art Spiegelman
  This wonderfully written and illustrated graphic novel retells one man's survival of the Holocaust, and how he is coping during the 1980s. There are two stories in one: that of the Spiegelman's relationship with his father (the subject), and the father's story of the 1940s as it is being remembered. I don't know why I didn't read this book in high school, but I'm glad I was able to get my hands on the two volumes: (My Father Bleeds History; And Here My Troubles Began)
  
• Hunters of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
• Sandworms of Dune - " "
  I read these two giant books back-to-back, so just looking back I can't remember where they are separated, but I still count them as two books (1,000+ pages combined). After taking a few years to write and flesh out prologues to the late Frank Herbert's story of Dune, the writing duo Brian and Kevin came back to where Frank left off, and ran with it. Personally, I had to finish this series to have closure, but still feel like they crammed too much into just two final books. Plus, you can't beat the original, Frank-written books.
  
• The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Sartrapi
  Another very compelling and amazingly written / illustrated survivor's tale. Sartrapi was a little girl in Iran during the change in regimes. Once the situation became too dangerous for her (especially with her rebellious nature), her parents send her abroad in Europe, where she comes into womanhood and finally makes it back to Iran. This is another one that I missed out on, but am glad I was finally able to read it. Highly recommended, especially to younger girls and women.
  
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
  Not going to lie, this took me forever to read, I literally trudged through it like one would do in a swamp. I started in early September, and it took me until almost March to finish. Kundera tells the story of three couples, and the interconnections between everyone's lives, as well as the history and reason for why they each behave the way they do. One of the most in-depth and insightful books I've ever read; it is certainly worth the hike.
  

Things I've Read...Catch Up, Part I

While preparing my several blogs for their 2011 updates and revamping, I noticed that I have been lacking in the updates of my Things I've Read series (as well as not reading as much as I used to).

• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
  Mary Roach has a morbid fascination to report on the odd nooks and crannies in this world, and in this book she takes the morbid part very seriously. Yes, she looks into all the weird things that happens to our bodies after we die, from art exhibits to recycling; cremation to test dummies.

• Powersat - Ben Bova
  Sci-fi writer Bova is best known for his Grand Tour series of a future where humanity explores space beyond The Moon. But this is not that series, exactly. This is a look into how all of this was possible, by the attempts and creation of the power satellite. A driven company looks to create a massive solar collector in space, while other companies and a terrorist cell take aim at the massive station. 

• Children of Men - P. D. James
  P. D. James, known for her crime stories pens about an alternative reality where humanity is faced with a mysterious, mass sterilization of all men in the early 90s. The story is in England, 2021, when a dictator seeks to hold power, while a small cell of resisters try to tell him otherwise.

• SuperFreakonomics - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
  The sequel to the massively successful, and equally enjoyable, Freakonomics, the Steves are at it again in revealing interesting numbers with the weirdest origins and relations. A few topics include oral sex, terrorists and life insurance, global cooling, and hospital efficiency.

• Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
  Ariely challenges the conventions of "rational thought" and what we think we know in his book about what truly makes our decisions for us--and how to tweak the outcomes. Through a series of anecdotes, studies, and other findings, readers find the "secret" behind Starbucks, the major influence of the word "FREE" on our minds, and how in control we really are (not) in an "excited state."

• A Pleasure to Burn - Ray Bradbury
  A compilation of short stories and original versions of Bradbury's classic, Fahrenheit 451. This isn't meant to be read like a novel, but more of a library for fans to peruse and peak into the mind workings of one of the greatest contemporary writers alive.

Things I've Read...

Here are the last six books I've read since my last post on the matter (back in January)--as well as the blogs I have been frequenting lately.

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
This book is about one of the largest medical mysteries, and is unknown to a majority of the public. It tells of the story of the HeLa cells, what they are, and from who they came from. Skloot not only writes about Henrietta Lack's life, but the life of her family since the 1950s, and the story behind Skloot tracking everything and everyone down. After decades of the world not acknowledging the HeLa cells came from a person, finally the truth is exposed for all to read.

Things I've Read...

Since this is a blog about writing and books, I might as well throw some things out there that I like to read--or what I read frequently.

The last six things I've read:

• Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian - Scott Douglas
This is a very well-written and humorous account of one man's experience as being a librarian, interacting with patrons and co-workers, and wondering about life.