Book Resolution 2006: Comprehensive List

Well, with a scant four days left in the year, odds are I'm just barely going to fall short of my goal of reading 50 books this year. Actually, if I'd count the five children's books I read last week I would meet the goal, but that seems a little cheaterly to me.

Since I stopped writing summaries of the books after #12, I'm just going to list them all here for future reference. Maybe I'll go back later and make links for 13-44, but I doubt it.

1. The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman
2. The Dog Listener, by Jan Fennell
3. Shards of Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold
4. Four Ways to Forgiveness, by Ursula Le Guin
5. Ten Little Indians, by Sherman Alexie
6. Indian Killer, by Sherman Alexie
7. The World According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore
8. Life As We Know It: A Father, a Family, and an Exceptional Child, by Michael Berube
9. The Boy Who Loved Windows, by Patricia Stacey
10. Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold
11. Teckla, by Steven Brust
12. Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson
13. The Harvest, by Robert Charles Wilson
14. The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (This one joined Spin at the top of the list of "favorites" from this year.)
15. Darwinia, by Robert Charles Wilson
16. Marley & Me, by John Grogan
17. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
18. The King's Peace, by Jo Walton
19. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, by Ann Lamott
20. Communicating with Orcas, by Mary Getten (I bought this one after taking an orca-watching boat trip in April after the captain mentioned the book.)
21. The Weather Makers, by Tim Flannery (Another favorite)
22. The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd
23. Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos
24. The Hallowed Hunt, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Gods, I wish she could write a book a week for me to devour. Yes, another favorite.)
25. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
26. The Dark Room, by Minette Walters (A mystery novel makes an appearance! A nice change of pace.)
27. The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michael Faber
28. The Will of the Empress, by Tamora Pierce
29. A Princess of Romania, by Paul Park
30. The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
31. The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin (When I bought The Ghost Brigades the bookstore clerk who rang up my sale struck up a conversation about Scalzi, having read Old Man's War but not yet its sequel, which led into a conversation about science fiction in general. When I mentioned being a total newcomer to the genre, and asked if he had any recommendations, he listed The Dispossessed as his favorite book, period. So I bought it the next week. Wow, indeed. Definitely one of the best books I read this year, or any year.)
32. Confessions of a Teenage Sleuth, by Chelsea Cain (Having read ever so many Nancy Drew books as a child, this was enormous fun.)
33. Tales from Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin
34. Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer (Creepy and educational.)
35. The Sharing Knife, by Lois McMaster Bujold (I didn't even know this was coming out until I saw it on display at the bookstore. I'd waited to buy The Hallowed Hunt, number 24 above, until it was out in paperback, but this...no, I bought it instantly and read it immediately. A whole new universe from Bujold--I was delighted.)
36. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien (I generally re-read the whole of Lord of the Rings every year or two, but I hadn't re-read this one for many years. It was high time.)
37. War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull
38. Wings to the Kingdom, by Cherie Priest (The first chapter of this was offered online free, and I liked it so much I had to see what happened.)
39. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susannah Clarke (Best book I read this year, without a doubt. I loaned it to a friend or else I'd probably be re-reading it again already. I didn't read it when it came out, when everyone was raving about it, because I have this problem where I assume I'm not smart enough to "get" the books that all the smart people love. And yet I adored this book. Lesson: get over yourself and read the books being raved about by people whose opinions you respect. You'll likely enjoy them, too.)
40. The Anvil of the World, by Kage Baker
41. Year's Best Fantasy 5, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (Obviously I adore Bujold and Le Guin; who else will I adore? I bought an anthology to help me out.)
42. 40 Signs of Rain, by Kim Stanley Robinson
43. Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey (Because I'd never read anything by her.)
44. Embraced by the Light, by Betty Eadie
45. Ethan of Athos, by Lois McMaster Bujold
46. Arrow in Flight, by Mercedes Lackey

Any additional books that I finish before the end of the year, I'll add them to this list.