2012 Books in Review

[jethrien]

Revised ratings are in parentheses.

1 Leviathan by Scott Westerfield 5
2 Abhorsen by Garth Nix 3.5
3 Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine 4.5
4 No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper 3.5
5 The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia 3.5
6 Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi 4
7 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin 4
8 Lola Carlyle Reveals All by Rachel Gibson 1.5 (1)
9 Shade's Children by Garth Nix 2.5
10 Perdido Street Station by China Mieville 5
11 A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin 3.5
12 Watching the English by Kate Fox 5
13 The Hidden Family by Charles Stross 2
14 The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan 4
15 Dreadnought by Cherie Priest 3.5
16 Among Others by Jo Walton 4
17 Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger 4
18 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer 2.5
19 Reamde by Neal Stephenson 4
20 The Silent Gondoliers by William Goldman 4
21 The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin 3.5
22 Snuff by Terry Pratchett 3
23 Fair Coin by E.C. Myers 3
24 Timeless by Gail Carriger 4.5
25 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson 3.5
26 Manhunting by Jennifer Cruisie 4.5
27 Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins 4.5
28 The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay 4
29 Mr g by Alan Lightman 2
30 Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey 4
31 White Teeth by Zadie Smith 3
32 Russia by Martin Sixsmith 4.5
33 Behemoth by Scott Westerfield 5
34 The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope 5
35 Lessons After Dark by Isabel Cooper 3.5
36 Oath of Gold by Elizabeth Moon 5
37 The Cider House Rules by John Irving 3
38 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 2
39 Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruisie 4
40 The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy 5
41 Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert 3.5
42 The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan 4
43 Crawling Between Heaven and Earth by Sarah Hoyt 3
44 Resonance by Chris Dolley 3.5
45 Jim Baen's Universe 2 by Multiple 3
46 Beloved by Toni Morrison 5
47 The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels 3.5
48 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 3.5
49 The Shining by Stephen King 5
50 I, Crimsonstreak by Matt Adams 2
51 The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco 2
52 The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen 3.5
53 After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn 4.5
54 A Test of Wills by Charles Todd 3
55 Queen of Swords by Judith Tarr 3.5
56 Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold 3.5
57 Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence 2
58 Redshirts by John Scalzi 3.5
59 The Mayo Clinic's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy by Roger Harms and Myra Wick 5
60 Reading Judas by Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King 3.5
61 Ninja Burger Honorable Employee Handbook by Michael L. Fiegel 1
62 Revelations by Elaine Pagels 4
63 Constellation Games by Leonard Richardson 4.5
64 A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin 4
65 Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman 5
66 1421 by Gavin Menzies 4 (1)
67 Fly into Fire by Susan Jane Bigelow 3
68 Pilgrim of the Sky by Natania Barron 3.5
69 A Series of Ordinary Adventures by Stevie Caroll 3.5
70 Matchbox Girls by Chrysoula Tzavelas 4.5
71 Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Cruisie 4.5
72 Agent Garbo by Stephen Talty 5
73 Home from the Sea by Mercedes Lackey 3.5
74 The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Keen 4.5
75 Dirt is Good for You by Babble.com 3.5
76 Pandora's Legions by Christopher Anvil 1.5
77 Martian Summer by Andrew Kessler 2.5
78 Diplomatic Baggage by Brigid Keenan 2.5
79 The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Cruisie 3.5
80 The Way of the Traitor by Laura Joh Rowland 3
81 Engraved on the Eye by Saladin Ahmed 4.5
82 The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp 4
83 Nell Gwyn: Mistress to a King by Charles Beauclerk 2.5
84 Mindkiller by Spider Robinson 3.5
85 Time Pressure by Spider Robinson 2.5
86 Pump Six by Paolo Bacigalupi 5
87 Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link 1 (1.5)
88 Goliath by Scott Westerfield 4
89 The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre 3
90 The Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby's First Year by Mayo Clinic 5
91 Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson 4.5
92 The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne 4
93 A Fire Upon the Deep by Verner Vinge 5
94 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray 3
95 Quantum Coin by E.C. Myers 4
96 Zoo City by Lauren Beukes 4.5
97 The Sagan Diary by John Scalzi 2
98 The God Engines by John Scalzi 5
99 You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop by John Scalzi 3
100 Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow 3.5
101 Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson 3
102 World War Z by Max Brooks 5
103 Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman 3


So 103 books versus last year's 123. The change in my commute with my new job cut out about 20 minutes of reading time a day, and it shows.


Adjusted rating average to 3.6, pretty similar to last year. 61 were by male authors, 47 by female (there are some that have both).

Genres:
Fantasy 30
Science Fiction 18
Fantasy/Science Fiction 2
Romance 9
History 7
Literary fiction 6
Parenting Guide 6
Pop science 6
Historical fiction 5
Mystery 3
Memoir 3
Horror 3
Military Thriller 2
Classic literature 1
Essays 1
Humor 1

About the same fantasy and SF as last year. Fewer literary fiction, way fewer classics. A lot more pop science and obviously parenting guides.



This came out oddly, when I checked my ratings. But here were the top, with a remarkable scattering across genres.

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Immersive, brilliant, complicated, deeply creepy.

The Shining by Stephen King. Also deeply creepy. Surprisingly realistic from a psychological standpoint.

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy. A re-read that stood up. This is everything military thrillers should be and rarely are.

Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. A ton of fascinating and useful information I'll probably be checking back on for some years.

The Mayo Clinic's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy by Roger Harms and Myra Wick. I realize this doesn't help a lot of you, but it's been a bible for me, and is just exceptionally well done.


And the roll of shame:
Pandora's Legions by Christopher Anvil. Wildly uneven, condescending, and ill-thought out.

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link. Increasingly incoherent and pretentious.

Lola Carlyle Reveals All by Rachel Gibson. Insultingly sexist and manages to lose track of its own plot.

1421 by Gavin Menzies. I really liked this one until I found out that most of his conclusions are spurious and/or possibly falsified.

Ninja Burger Honorable Employee Handbook by Michael L. Fiegel. A single joke, stretched across an entire book.

We'll see whether 2013 is better or worse for reading. Should be interesting!