My books for 2010!

1. Resurrection Man by Eoin McNamee
A dark, brooding book. Beautifully written, but quite violent. A thriller for the postmodern literature student :P

2. Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
Guilty pleasure, but oh so worth it. Book two of a promising series (I read book one in 2009) with a tough herione, urban magic, and just the right touch of romantic tension.

3. Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Book three! I devoured it in two days. An easy read, but just what I needed. Plenty of adventure, and the storyline is just complex enough.

4. Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara, trans. Cathy Hirano
One of the first Japanese fantasy books, apparently. An old childhood favorite with Light and Dark and what comes in between. Based on Japanese mythology and a great philosophical adventure tale.

5. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
Another childhood favorite series. Lyrical high fantasy in a well-crafted world of wizardry... it never gets old. I'm so excited to finally own a copy of the quartet!

6. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin
Book two of the Earthsea books. This time, on the 'other' continent, from the perspective of a new character. Written in much the same style with musings on magic and death (but not in a gloomy way).

7. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin
Book three! (Bet you knew I was going to say that) The magicians' dealings with death and immortality come to a head in a great adventure story.

8. Tehanu by Ursula K. LeGuin
Book four. A change in style, I think-- not so much an exciting adventure tale with lots of travelling. More of a societal study.

9. The Dark Volume by Gordon Dahlquist.
Nom nom. Lyric Victorian steampunk at its finest-- the sequel to Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. A great winter curl-up-and-read!

10. The Other Wind by Ursula K. LeGuin
Book five of the Earthsea books. It resolves the two storylines (one dealing with wizardry and death, the other with dragons and humans) nicely and comes after some short stories. Definitely a recommended series!

11. The Tain Trans. by Ciaran Carson
I enjoyed Carson's translation of the old Irish epic. It's not too colloquial and yet still very lively.

12. Dubliners by James Joyce
Great short tales of Dublin in the 1900s. Realistic, but still crafted into fiction. Not perhaps the most uplifting, but a rich and detailed read.

13. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
I always have trouble getting through the final chapter of this book, as it gets progressively more artistic and stream-of-consciousness.Still, totally worth reading-- more for the stylistic flair than the narrative.

14. Ulysses by James Joyce
Sigh.

15. Return to Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
A cute collection of stories from a period writer. Mostly about old ladies though, so not quite as relevant to me :P

16. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
I love it! Book 4 in the series. Magic, action, romance, and attitude :)

17. Wildwood by Roger Deakin
A really amazing, poetic non-fiction book about the importance of forests and wood-- mostly in Britain, but in other parts of the world, too. I don't usually read non-fiction but I really enjoyed this :)

18. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
A sort of follow-up/companion book to Oryx and Crake. It's not my favorite Atwood book-- the focus was more on the ecological message than on character development. She often studies human nature and human relationships but oftentimes it just leaves me feeling cold.

19. A Wrinkle Across Time by Madeline L'Engle
An old childhood favorite :) Read a while back, but I forgot to add it until now.

20. Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
The sequel to Bitten, a book about a female werewolf. When I read the first book over a year ago, I really enjoyed it. The sequel let me down a bit-- this may be due to the fact that I have since discovered the Ilona Andrews books. Armstrong's heroine just isn't as complex and the world-building isn't as interesting or well written.

21. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
Yay! Another good one. I've been reading his books mostly out of order but aside from ones with recurring characters that's not really a problem. Sometimes I think they can be a bit formulaic but, overall, always a good read.

22. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stig Larsson
Ok, so it took me a while to get on the bandwagon and read this one. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm looking forward to it now! Some of the graphic scenes were a bit hard to take-- I always find it easier to watch (and turn away) than to read in careful detail. Nevertheless, a good read. I don't read many thriller-type books but I did enjoy it.

23. Myrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh
This book starts out as a traditional fantasy with lots of kingdoms, swords, and intrigue. The main magic in the book is a bit strange, but I enjoyed the adventure of it!

24. Blood and Memory by Fiona McIntosh
Book 2 in the trilogy. I'm starting to think that the author is piling on the hardships a little bit too much-- but it is that sort of book. Anyway, it keeps me reading to find out what happens next!

25. Bridge of Souls by Fiona McIntosh
Overall, a good series and a satisfying ending :) Once I got past the initial strangeness, I did enjoy reading the adventure and it was well-written.

26. Allan Quartermain by H. Rider Haggard
Some of you may have heard of King Solomon's Mines or one of the many film adaptations (the most recent, re-titled Allan Quartermain and the Temple of Skulls, is pretty awful)-- not to mention Quartermain's appearance in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But not many people know that this is part of a whole series of late Victorian novels, following the adventures of Allan Quartermain in Africa. They're quite cheerfully racist-- but then, considering the time in which they were written, Haggard was probably quite progressive in his day. Once you get past this, they're good adventures with lots of shooting and discovering treasure. This book is the last one in the series, and I simply found it online for free through Kindle (you can download Kindle for your computer and then get 'free classics').

You can also go here to discover H. Rider Haggard: http://www.online-literature.com/h-rider-haggard/

27. The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
A very interesting book... slightly pretentious as a 'thought experiment' considering the fourth dimension and a strange sort of world based in collective human thought. But, nevertheless, a good adventure and interesting to read.

28. The Bellini Madonna by Elizabeth Lowry
Another book that I read earlier this semester... probably during exams period, which is why I forgot to record it :P It's about an art historian searching for a lost painting. There's a bit of intrigue, but it's not really a thriller-- it seemed to me to be more about the people although the author didn't really go into that much depth.

29. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I probably should have read this sooner, but I often have a reluctance for jumping on the book-club and top-ten bandwagon. The story was creatively presented, as it's narrated by Death, and once I got past the stylistic use of lists which broke up the narrative, I quite enjoyed both the story and the way it was told.

30. The Ultras by Eoin McNamee
I think I prefer Resurrection Man, which has a more focused narrative and is easier to follow. Both books are set in 70's Belfast, in the midst of the Troubles. However, the confused narrative is part of this book, as it's about extra-secret pseudo-military operatives and shadowy figures that manipulate the violence. There were just so many different names and narrators, and no one really knew anything. Overall a good book, although grim and slightly depressing :P

31. The Parasites by Daphne Du Maurier
I read this in between working on my thesis, which explains why I forgot about it before. That whole summer is sort of a blur. Well, that and the book is not an especially remarkable story. It was more a study of three siblings and their relationships with each other and other people-- so there wasn't really a 'beginning' or an 'end' or something to drive the narrative. Still, it was interesting enough.

32. Redwall by Brian Jacques
Yay, more self-indulgent nostalgia reading! I raided my boyfriend's shelves while visiting his home, hehe. Redwal is definitely one of my favorites in the series, perhaps because I know it the best. The rest sort of blend together after a while. I think even as an older reading, the books are quite accessible and fun.

33. Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques
Not much more to say here; basically the same as last time :) I have started noticing that Jacques uses exclamation marks a bit too much but, yes, other than that, they are surprisingly long for children's books and still very exciting.

34. Salamandastron by Brian Jacques

35. The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques

36. Waterlog by Roger Deakin
Written in much the same vein as Wildwood, but this is all about rivers, oceans, lakes, and generally swimming in the wild and outdoors in Britain. I love how the author journeys around the whole country and talks about different customs and history along the way.

37. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
Book two of the trilogy. Equally gripping with lots of intense action. I liked that the author broadened his perspective and included more narrative voices-- this really enriched the story.

38. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Another great Discworld novel! Very clever commentary, as always-- this time on the workings of bureaucracy. I found it quite timely, really...

39. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson
Not quite as action-driven as the first two books, the conclusion to the trilogy is more about unraveling conspiracies. However, it's complex and the ending is very satisfying as everything comes together.

40. Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
I felt a sudden urge to re-read this childhood favorite quartet, and wasn't disappointed. Adventure and magic, and lots of good friendships abound.

41. Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce

42. Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce

43. The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce
Lots of adventure, and a nice cuddly romance :) What more could a girl want for a nice book to curl up with on a cold winter day?

44. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
I finally got around to re-reading this, in advance of going to see the movie :) I enjoyed it almost more this time around, perhaps because I picked up on different things or had forgotten all of the complexities of the story. I thought that she tied everything up quite well (although the epilogue is a bit self-indulgent).

45. The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams
I greatly enjoyed wandering through a surreal fairyland in this adventure, with touches of social commentary and romance. A good read to finish out the year!

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