I kind of got stuck on Wodehouse’s shorts, then lost all the work is a stupid file transfer error. But L helped me redo it and I knocked out a few new plays since then. As of now my total is 35 books (you can see the whole list here: https://astart.ca/publishing/ebooks

Of note, I actually got paid to produce a few of these so I guess that makes me a professional?

Well it’s Year 9 of this “experiment.” I guess it’s a habit now.

Been a heck of year hasn’t it? One might suppose in such a year of lockouts and stoppages that my reading total would have gone up—not like I had much else to do… But, not so much.

One thing to note as you scroll the following list is the lack of rereads this year—more on that later. So without further ado…

January (8)

The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
Lady Astronaut Book 1 – ebook;

The Lady Astronaut of Mars Mary Robinette Kowal (2014)
Lady Astronaut Book 0.5 – ebook;

The Fated Sky Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
Lady Astronaut Book 2 – ebook;

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers (2014)
Wayfarers Book 1 – ebook; reread

A Closed and Common Orbit Becky Chambers (2016)
Wayfarers Book 2 – ebook;

All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders (2016)
– ebook;

Tripoint C.J. Cherryh (1994)
Company Wars Book 6 – ebook;

Master and Commander Patrick O’Brian (1969)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 1 – ebook;

February (7)

Post Captain Patrick O’Brian (1972)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 2 – ebook;

Record of a Spaceborn Few Becky Chambers (2018)
Wayfarers Book 3 – ebook;

HMS Surprise Patrick O’Brian (1973)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 3 – ebook;

The Mauritius Command Patrick O’Brian (1977)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 4 – ebook;

Consider Pheblas Iain M. Banks (1987)
Culture 1 – ebook;

Desolation Island Patrick O’Brian (1978)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 5 – ebook;

Ack-Ack Macaque Gareth L. Powell (2013)
Ack-Ack Macaque Book 1 – ebook;

March (9)

The Fortune of War Patrick O’Brian (1979)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 6 – ebook;

Willfull Child Steven Erickson (2014)
Willfull Child Book 1 – ebook;

The Poppy War R. F. Kuang (2018)
The Poppy War Book 1 – ebook;

The Surgeon’s Mate Patrick O’Brian (1980)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 7 – ebook;

The Dragon War R. F. Kuang (2019)
The Poppy War Book 2 – ebook;

The Quartered Sea Tanya Huff (1999)
The Quarters Book 4 – ebook;

Autonomous Annalee Newitz (2017)
– ebook;

The Killing Light Myke Cole (2019)
The Sacred Throne Book 3 – ebook;

The Ionian Mission Patrick O’Brian (1981)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 8 – ebook;

April (12)

Black Star Renegades Michael Moreci (2018)
Black Star Renegades Book 1 – ebook;

Treason’s Harbour Patrick O’Brian (1983)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 9 – ebook;

The Forge David Drake and S.M. Stirling (1991)
The General Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Hammer David Drake and S.M. Stirling (1992)
The General Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Anvil David Drake and S.M. Stirling (1993)
The General Book 3 – ebook; reread

The Steel David Drake and S.M. Stirling (1993)
The General Book 4 – ebook; reread

The Sword David Drake and S.M. Stirling (1995)
The General Book 5 – ebook; reread

The Far Side of the World Patrick O’Brian (1984)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 10 – ebook;

Sixteenth Watch Myke Cole (2020)
– ebook;

The Reverse of the Medal Patrick O’Brian (1986)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 11 – ebook;

Leviathan Wakes James S.A. Corey (2011)
Expanse Book 1 – ebook;

The Letter of Marque Patrick O’Brian (1988)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 12 – ebook;

May (8)

Caliban’s War James S.A. Corey (2012)
Expanse Book 2 – ebook;

The Thirteen Gun Salute Patrick O’Brian (1989)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 13 – ebook;

The Nutmeg of Consolation Patrick O’Brian (1991)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 14 – ebook;

The Last Emperox John Scalzi (2020)
Interdependency Book 3 – ebook;

Abbadon’s Gate James S.A. Corey (2013)
Expanse Book 3 – ebook;

Clarissa Oakes Patrick O’Brian (1992)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 15 – ebook;

The Wine-Dark Sea Patrick O’Brian (1993)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 16 – ebook;

Wrath of Betty Steven Erickson (2016)
Willfull Child Book 2 – ebook;

June (12)

Network Effect Martha Wells (2020)
Murderbot Book 5 – ebook;

The Commodore Patrick O’Brian (1995)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 17 – ebook;

Queen Timothy Zahn (2020)
Sibyl’s War Book 3 – ebook;

Accepting the Lance Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2019)
Liaden Book 15 – ebook;

The Search for Spark Steven Erickson (2018)
Willfull Child Book 3 – ebook;

An Illusion of Thieves Cate Glass (2019)
Chimera Book 1 – ebook;

Lord Valentine’s Castle Robert Silverberg (1980)
Lord Valentine Book 1 – ebook; reread

Cibola Burn James S.A. Corey (2014)
Expanse Book 4 – ebook;

Oathbound Mercedes Lackey (1988)
Vow and Honor Book 1 – ebook;

Oathbreakers Mercedes Lackey (1989)
Vows and Honor Book 2 – ebook;

Oathblood Mercedes Lackey (1998)
Vows and Honor Book 3 – ebook;

The Yellow Admiral Patrick O’Brian (1996)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 18 – ebook;

July (10)

The Hundred Days Patrick O’Brian (1998)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 19 – ebook;

A Conjuring of Assassins Cate Glass (2020)
Chimera Book 2 – ebook;

Tooth and Claw Jo Walton (2003)
– ebook;

Jade City Fonda Lee (2017)
The Green Bone Saga Book 1 – ebook;

Split Infinity Piers Anthony (1980)
Apprentice Adept Book 1 – ebook; reread

Untitled L.A. Vermeer (?)
– manuscript;

Blue Adept Piers Anthony (1981)
Apprentice Adept Book 2 – ebook; reread

Juxtaposition Piers Anthony (1982)
Apprentice Adept Book 3 – ebook; reread

Ukridge Stories P.G. Wodehouse (1920)
– ebook; link

Blue at the Mizzen Patrick O’Brian (1999)
Aubrey–Maturin Book 20 – ebook;

August (9)

Love among the Chickens P.G. Wodehouse (1920)
– ebook; link

Nemesis Games James S.A. Corey (2015)
Expanse Book 5 – ebook;

Ninefox Gambit Yoon Ha Lee (2016)
Machineries of Empire Book 1 – ebook;

Raven Stratagem Yoon Ha Lee (2017)
Machineries of Empire Book 2 – ebook;

Jade War Fonda Lee (2019)
The Green Bone Saga Book 2 – ebook;

The Final, Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey Patrick O’Brian (2004)
Aubrey/Maturin Book 21 – ebook;

Maske: Thaery Jack Vance (1974)
– ebook; reread

Cocaine Blues Kerry Greenwood (1989)
Phryne Fisher Mysteries Book 1 – ebook

Revenant Gun Yoon Ha Lee (2018)
Machineries of Empire Book 3 – ebook;

September (8)

The Way of the World William Congreve (1700)
– ebook; reread link

Babylon’s Ashes James S.A. Corey (2016)
Expanse Book 6 – ebook;

A Pillar of Fire by Night Tom Kratman (2018)
A Desert Called Peace (Carrera) Book 7 – ebook;

Flying Too High Kerry Greenwood (1990)
Phryne Fisher Mysteries Book 2 – ebook

Days of Burning, Days of Wrath Tom Kratman (2020)
A Desert Called Peace (Carrera) Book 8 – ebook;

Cobra Traitor Timothy Zahn (2018)
Cobra Rebellion Book 3 – ebook;

Gideon the Ninth Tamsyn Muir (2019)
Locked Tomb Book 1 – ebook;

Alliance Rising C.J. Cherryh & Jane S. Fancher (2019)
The Hinder Stars Book 1 – ebook;

October (8)

Harrow the Ninth Tamsyn Muir (2020)
Locked Tomb Book 2 – ebook;

Deal with the Devil Kit Rocha (2020)
Mercenary Librarians Book 1 – ebook;

A Deadly Education Naomi Novik (2020)
Scholomance Book 1 – ebook;

New Moon Ian McDonald (2015)
Luna Book 1 – ebook;

With the Lightnings David Drake (2000)
Lt. Leary Book 1 – ebook; reread

Lt. Leary, Commanding David Drake (2001)
Lt. Leary Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Relentless Moon Mary Robinette Kowal (2020)
Lady Astronaut Book 3 – ebook;

The Far Side of the Stars David Drake (2003)
Lt. Leary Book 3 – ebook; reread

November (12/4)

The Physicians of Vilnoc Lois McMaster Bujold (2020)
Penric & Desdemona Book 8 – ebook;

Murder on the Ballarat Train Kerry Greenwood (1991)
Phryne Fisher Mysteries Book 3 – ebook;

Wolf Moon Ian McDonald (2017)
Luna Book 2 – ebook;

Persepolis Rising James S. A. Corey (2017)
Expanse Book 7 – ebook;

The Galaxy Ballroom Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2019)
Liaden Book 15.5 – ebook; (short story)

The Door Though Space Marion Zimmer Bradley (1961)
– ebook;

Moon Rising Ian McDonald (2019)
Luna Book 3 – ebook;

Lord Arthur Savile’s Crimes and Other Stories Oscar Wilde (1908)
– ebook; link

The Raven Tower Ann Leckie (2019)
– ebook;

Last Man Out Elliot Kay (2018)
Poor Man’s Fight Book 4 – ebook

The Perfect Gun Elizabeth Bear (2019)
– ebook; (short story)

The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex Tamsyn Muir (2020)
Locked Tomb Book 0.5 – ebook; (short story)

Death at Victoria Dock Kerry Greenwood (1992)
Phryne Fisher Mysteries Book 4 – ebook;

The Origin of the Flow John Scalzi (2019)
Interdependency Book 0.5 – ebook;

A Year and a Day in Old Theradane Scott Lynch (2019)
– ebook

Tinker Wen Spencer (2003)
Elfhome Book 1 – ebook;

December (9)

The Wolf Who Rules Wen Spencer (2006)
Elfhome Book 2 – ebook;

Guns of the Dawn Adrian Tchaikovsky (2015)
– ebook;

The Green Mill Murder Kerry Greenwood (1993)
Phryne Fisher Mysteries Book 5 – ebook;

Deerskin Robin McKinley (1993)
– ebook;

Children of the Fleet Orson Scott Card (2017)
Fleet School Book 1 – ebook;

Tiamat’s Wrath James S. A. Corey (2019)
The Expanse Book 8 – ebook;

Children’s Stories Oscar Wilde (1888)
– ebook; link

Or What You Will Jo Walton (2020)
– ebook;

Trader’s Leap Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2020)
Liaden Book 19 – ebook;

((\
(-.-)
o_(“)(“)

The Afterword

So. Huh. I thought the final tally would show that I plowed through the books this year. But as I went back through the last few years’ totals, I realized that just wasn’t true. After a little contemplation I decided one reason (and trust me, there are many more excuses to come) was me making a concerted effort to get through my “To Be Read” stack and thus limiting the number of rereads—which always go a lot faster. And another reason was that for most of the year, lying-on-the-couch reading just wasn’t…appealing? So 80% of the 2020 reading was really just in the evenings before-going-to-sleep reading. I don’t know why that was so, but it was. “2020, huh, what is it good for…”

The numbers

112 books (and 4 standalone short stories)
15 rereads
9.33 books/month, .3 books/day

(Note: the short stories were a result of me downloading stories from the inter-webs and then making them into standalone ebooks. Eventually I will combine them into collections, but I had no real way of recording them in the count, so there they are, sticking out like sore thumbs.)

2020 Monthly totals

January — 8
February — 7
March — 9
April — 12
May — 8
June — 12
July — 10
August — 9
September — 8
October — 8
November — 12/4
December — 9

The Reread \ To Be Read Situation

You might want to skip down to So, What Did I Read since this section is purely self-indulgent and quite likely borderline-whinging unless you have strong opinions on the proverbial yet ubiquitous To Be Read Stack.

My ebook library now sits at 886 books. Compared to the 735 I had last year at this time. That’s an increase of 151 books… can you see where this is going?

My unread stack now sits at 72 as compared to the panic-inducing 87 of last year. A decrease of only 15 books. And yet I read 97 new books in 2020, only occasionally taking a break and dipping back into the old stuff for relief. And it is important to note that unlike regular bibliophiles (which incidentally I don’t actually count myself as being among) I abhor a to be read stack and count it as a black mark. Never in my life have I ever had more than four or five unread books, and usually that was from a particular buying binge or the starting of a new multi-book series. The situation as described last year was/is intolerable and I worked hard in 2020 to deal with it. To my obvious despair, as I counted it all up this last week of December and found the total to be still completely unacceptable.

The why is complex. Some of it is L’s acquisition of 20 Phryne Fisher Mysteries that I said I wasn’t going to read and then, ever so slowly, started in on. I’ve only read 5 so far but that forced me to file the other 15 in my to-be-read ‘pile’ rather than dump them as I had originally intended.

Some of it was stubborn complete-ism on my part. Quite a few series were added to or completed by their authors in 2020, so obviously I went out and got them rather than wait until I actually had time to read them (which is a really new [and bad] habit for me). That accounts for another 10 or so. As well I mistakenly acquired a book 5 of a series (Fleet Elements by Walter Jon Williams) and upon that unhappy discovery, felt I needed to go get books 1–4.

Also I decided to read the Aubrey/Maturin Books (22) and the Expanse novels (8) which was a massive mistake if I had really intended to knockdown the already unwieldy unread pile. I also added a few new emergency classics I don’t really intend to read like The Great Gatsby and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Confusing the numbers further there was also a concerted effort to acquire ebook copies of old favourites. So in reality the Grand Total encompasses another ~45 books that are ones that I have read before (in paper) but are now in a to-be-reread pile. So they are new acquisitions but not counted as unread. But then again, I also moved the 30 or so “unread” ebooks from last year that fell into this category into that to-be-reread pile, deleting them from the to-be-read total—so that just makes it worse.

All in all a distinct failure and I really, really intend to stop acquiring new titles until I have the pile down to 10 or so with another 15-20 of long-term good intentions/emergency titles (Around the World in Eighty Days, Middlemarch, Treasure Island, a bunch of Verne etc.).

So, What Did I Read?

I had heard great things about the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks but for some reason ended up getting an Expanse title by James S.A. Corey. I think it was me reading Earl’s mention of them last year in his list that got them jumbled in my head. Which is why I read the Expanse series this year. I did read Consider Phlebas by Banks and will likely continue on with them if I ever get through my pile.

I also read the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal — another series I had meant to put off acquiring, but L wanted to read them so I got sucked in. A particular apt series to read in 2020. I revisited Tanya Huff and Mercedes Lackey’s classic fantasy universes and of course indulged in the much anticipated full-length Murderbot novel.

Non SF/Fantasy

I also racked up an amazing (for me) total of non-genre books. I started in on the Aubrey/Maturin books because…well…sailing—and it turned out I really enjoyed them. There was also Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne books (I had watched the excellent TV series and was eventually tempted to the dark side (mysteries…shudder). My work with Standard Ebooks added one play, some Wodehouse and 2 collections of Oscar Wilde stories which in reality started as 4 or 5 volumes. There are links to these titles in the list so feel free to download and enjoy. L finished her YA MS and I got to read that (it was damn good and I am keen to hear what the publishers say).

All in all that’s 32 non sf/fantasy books. Close to a third.

(The Aubrey/Maturin books set off a reread of the first couple of David Drake’s RCN Series which is, in some ways, a remarkably close SF reworking of the Aubrey books.)

a note about gender

I have long not cared a whit about the gender of my authors—and, having grown up in the now slightly icky SF tradition of women hiding their gender behind initials, I can still be mildly surprised some days when I find out an old favourite was written by a woman. (By which I mean I never bothered to look it up, not that I am surprised a woman wrote it.)

But this year, for some reason, I thought I would count. Turns out I read 42 books by women. That’s close to 40%. And if you removed the relentlessly masculine (and definitely not sf/fantasy) Aubrey/Maturin books, it would likely have been close to 50%. Which in a historically male dominated genre, is pretty damned good, if I do say so myself…and I do. So I hereby give myself a self-satisfied nod and stuff that particular stat back onto the back closet top shelf where it belongs. Just read good books people. Judge me if you will.

Modern SF Redux and more excuses

Last year I brought up the topic of the state of modern Science fiction and Fantasy and admired it for how it had “kicked it up a notch.” And after reading a whole sh#t-ton of newer stuff this year I still stand by my judgement—but have a caveat to offer.

I like schlock. And publishers are, understandably, not publishing much of it these days in their efforts to elevate the genre. Even a book touted as a “space opera” like Elizabeth Bear’s Ancestral Nights takes a bit more effort that I can (or am willing to) sustain over the course of 100 books/year. My brain starts to be full and the escapism part of reading starts to diminish in ever increasing waves. This is another reason why my count is a bit down. I read for pleasure, not edification, so a great romp is always greatly appreciated.

Some of my favourites of the year (The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang, Fonda Lee’s The Green Bone Saga, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, and most especially Ann Leckie’s The Raven Tower) were dense enough that they in no way could qualify as a light read. So I often found myself trying to find something a bit lighter and more “fun”—yet another reason for acquiring titles rather than continually taking from the “To Be Read” pile (I know, I know…excuses, excuses). And the better a book was, the more you had your brain cells and guts wrenched around—I particularly was affected by Robin McKinley’s Deerskin and she pulled me out of it just as I was considering abandoning the book for the sake of my mental health…2020 will do that to you. It’s enough to want to make you stop reading good books. (OK, not really, but you get my drift.)

So while I commend the modern editors for their exaltation, elevation and expansion of the genre(s), could we maybe still publish some quality space lasers and explosion stories and thoughtless muscled heroes (of any gender whatsoever) succeeding against stupid odds—just for some relief? (I’ve got the aforementioned Fleet Elements series cued up so maybe that will be my 2021 guilty pleasure.)

A Note About Home-made Books

I “made” 3 illicit editions of books this year (other than the 4 short stories). All three are not available as ebooks and 2 of them are likely never to be issued as they are old and desirable to no one but weirdos like me. The third though, ah that one is an example of the stupidity of how rights are being handled in a digital age.

Frederick Pohl’s Gateway was literally a gateway for my science fiction reading. It was among the earliest and best sf novels I read and has been a timeless goto that I have reread many, many times. So I took it into my head that it was just what I needed in 2020. Nope. Not available as an ebook. And even if I wanted to, my paper copy is one of those books literally held together by masking tape.

But hold on! The rest of the series (which are ok but not anywhere near in the class of the original…sort of an Ender’s Game scenario) were available. Here’s the thing though. Baen holds the rights to Books 3, Heechee Rendezvous and 4, The Annals of the Heechee, and Tor (MacMillan) owns the rights for Book 2, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon and The Boy Who Would Live Forever (nominally Book 5, which I have never read as it was written 20 years after the others). No one, as far as my extensive searching (accompanied by much swearing), owns the rights to the first book in this monumental series and thus, because the world of electronic rights is bizarre, was unavailable as an ebook.

Seriously? Books 2-5 are available but not the original? Who came up with a universe where that was reasonable? It’s something out of some futuristic corporate dystopian novel.

So I stole it. I found a site that had bad OCR posted in html, wrote a python script to download the text. Went through and fixed the gross errors and formatted all the sidebar stuff (there is a lot if it in Gateway) and made my own, illicit, ebook. If and when the rest of the publishing world ever gets their heads out of their collective asses I will most assuredly acquire a licit copy, but until then… seriously?… no Book One? Aaargh.

(Note: I did buy the other 3 books so several someone’s got their money out of this debacle.)

Wrap it up already

In conclusion, I think this is enough maundering—how ’bout all y’all draw your own conclusions. As for me, in summary, good books, and plenty of ‘em.

And now on to 2021!

---

My fellow book counters: Leslie’s 2020 book and music list and the one, the only, the original, Earl’s 2020 retrospective.

Links to previous years’ book count posts:

• 2012 (85)
• 2013 (95)
• 2014 (106)
• 2015 (92)
• 2016 (101)
• 2017 (120)
• 2018 (142)
• 2019 (123)

So this happened…

I’ve been working with the Standard Ebooks Project for a few years now and it turns out I’m among the top contributors. So as a reward we got promoted 🙂

I’ve talked about the project and listed my ebook contributions previously (2019 update and the 2020 update) but briefly “Standard Ebooks takes ebooks from open-sources repositories like Project Gutenberg, formats and typesets them using a carefully designed and professional-grade style manual, fully proofreads and corrects them, and then builds them to create a new edition that takes advantage of state-of-the-art ereader and browser technology.”

Alex, the founder, wanted to try and build in some support as the project has been growing by leaps and bounds so he has made the shift to a non-profit (it’s way more complex than that in reality) and invited a core group of us to help represent the project. As the project gains more and more momentum in the broader community he is trying to negotiate the shift from self-funded hobby to a full-time commitment. Wish us luck and be sure to check out the growing list of books.

Oh and feel free to contribute…

Well it’s that time again. I am a little late this year as I haven’t actually written anything before New Years day — as a result additional commentary might not be all that well thought out. But as The Raes said back in 1978, Que sera, sera. So without further adieu, here is what I read in 2019:

Books 2019

January (10)

The Gate Thief Orson Scott Card (2013)
Mithermage Book 2 – ebook;

Gatefather Orson Scott Card (2015)
Mithermage Book 3 – ebook;

The Consuming Fire John Scazi (2018)
The Interdependency Book 2 – ebook;

Friendly Fire Dale Lucas (2018)
Fifth Ward Book 2 – ebook;

The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story Stephen R Donaldson (1990)
The Gap Cycle Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge Stephen R Donaldson (1991)
The Gap Cycle Book 2 – ebook; reread

Stand by for Mars Carey Rockwell (1952)
Tom Corbett: Space Cadet Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises Stephen R Donaldson (1992)
The Gap Cycle Book 3 – ebook; reread

The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order Stephen R Donaldson (1994)
The Gap Cycle Book 4 – ebook; reread

Major Barbara George Bernard Shaw (1905)
– ebook; reread

February (10)

The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die Stephen R Donaldson (1996)
The Gap Cycle Book 5 – ebook; reread

Six Characters in Search of an Author Luigi Pirandello (1921)
– ebook; reread

Star Hunter Andre Norton (1961)
– ebook;

The Armored Saint Myke Cole (2018)
The Sacred Throne Book 1 – ebook;

Our American Cousin Tom Taylor (1858)
– ebook;

Firebird Jack McDevitt (2011)
Alex Benedict Book 6 – ebook;

The Queen of Crows Myke Cole (2018)
The Sacred Throne Book 2 – ebook;

Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw (1913)
– ebook;

An Ember in the Ashes Sabaa Tahir (2015)
An Ember in the Ashes Book 1 – ebook;

A Torch Against the Night Sabaa Tahir (2016)
An Ember in the Ashes Book 2 – ebook;

March (13)

A Reaper at the Gates Sabaa Tahir (2018)
An Ember in the Ashes Book 3 – ebook;

Coming Home Jack McDevitt (2014)
Alex Benedict Book 7 – ebook;

Short Fiction Ivan Bunin (1907)
– ebook;

The Second Mrs. Tanqueray Arthur Pinero (1893)
– ebook; reread

Chanur’s Venture C.J. Cherryh (1984)
Chanur Book 2 – ebook; reread

Sing the Four Quarters Tanya Huff (1994)
Quarters Book 1 – ebook;

Dr Faustus Christopher Marlowe (1604)
– ebook; reread

Under a Graveyard Sky John Ringo (2013)
Black Tide Rising Book 1 – ebook; reread

To Sail a Darkling Sea John Ringo (2014)
Black Tide Rising Book 2 – ebook; reread

Islands of Rage and Hope John Ringo (2014)
Black Tide Rising Book 3 – ebook; reread

Strands of Sorrow John Ringo (2015)
Black Tide Rising Book 4 – ebook; reread

Fifth Quarter Tanya Huff (1995)
Quarters Book 2 – ebook;

No Quarter Tanya Huff (1996)
Quarters Book 3 – ebook;

April (18)

The Alchemist Ben Jonson (1610)
– ebook; reread

Alice Payne Rides Kate Heartfield (2019)
Alice Payne Book 2 – ebook;

A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine (2019)
Teixcalaan Book 1 – ebook;

Shards of Honor Lois McMaster Bujold (1986)
Vorkosigan Book 1 – ebook; reread

Barrayar Lois McMaster Bujold (1991)
Vorkosigan Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Warriors Apprentice Lois McMaster Bujold (1986)
Vorkosigan Book 3 – ebook; reread

Mountains of Mourning Lois McMaster Bujold (1989)
Vorkosigan Book 4 – ebook; reread

The Vor Game Lois McMaster Bujold (1990)
Vorkosigan Book 5 – ebook; reread

Ceteganda Lois McMaster Bujold (1995)
Vorkosigan Book 6 – ebook; reread

Borders of Infinity Lois McMaster Bujold (1989)
Vorkosigan Book 7 – ebook; reread

Brothers in Arms Lois McMaster Bujold (1989)
Vorkosigan Book 8 – ebook; reread

Ethan of Athos Lois McMaster Bujold (1986)
Vorkosigan Book 6.5 – ebook; reread

Mirror Dance Lois McMaster Bujold (1994)
Vorkosigan Book 9 – ebook; reread

Memory Lois McMaster Bujold (1996)
Vorkosigan Book 10 – ebook; reread

Komarr Lois McMaster Bujold (1998)
Vorkosigan Book 11 – ebook; reread

A Civil Campaign Lois McMaster Bujold (2000)
Vorkosigan Book 12 – ebook; reread

Winterfair Gifts Lois McMaster Bujold (2004)
Vorkosigan Book 12.5 – ebook; reread

Diplomatic Immunity Lois McMaster Bujold (2002)
Vorkosigan Book 13 – ebook; reread

May (15)

Cryoburn Lois McMaster Bujold (2010)
Vorkosigan Book 14 – ebook; reread

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance Lois McMaster Bujold (2012)
Vorkosigan Book 15 – ebook; reread

The Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen Lois McMaster Bujold (2016)
Vorkosigan Book 16 – ebook; reread

The Flowers of Vashnoi Lois McMaster Bujold (2018)
Vorkosigan Book 16.5 – ebook; reread

A Passage of Stars Kate Elliot (1990)
Highroads Book 1 – ebook; reread

Revolution’s Shore Kate Elliot (1990)
Highroads Book 2 – ebook;

The Price of Ransom Kate Elliot (1990)
Highroads Book 3 – ebook;

Falling Free Lois McMaster Bujold (1998)
– ebook; reread

Finders Melissa Scott (2018)
Firstborn, Lastborn Series Book 1 – ebook;

The Cloud Roads Martha Wells (2011)
Raksura Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Serpent Sea Martha Wells (2012)
Raksura Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Siren Depths Martha Wells (2012)
Raksura Book 3 – ebook; reread

The Edge of Worlds Martha Wells (2016)
Raksura Book 4 – ebook;

Blackcollar Timothy Zahn (1983)
Blackcollar Book 1 – ebook; reread

Backlash Mission Timothy Zahn (1986)
Blackcollar Book 2 – ebook;

June (6)

Tarnsman of Gor John Norman (1966)
Gor Book 1 – ebook; reread

Spinning Silver Naomi Novik (2018)
– ebook;

Cold Welcome Elizabeth Moon (2017)
Vatta’s Peace Book 1 – ebook;

Into the Fire Elizabeth Moon (2018)
Vatta’s Peace Book 2 – ebook;

Ancestral Nights Elizabeth Bear (2018)
White Space Book 1 – ebook;

Starless Jacqueline Carey (2018)
– ebook;

July (10)

Madness in Solidar L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2015)
The Imager Portfolio Book 9 – ebook; reread

Treachery’s Tools L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2016)
The Imager Portfolio Book 10 – ebook; reread

Assassin’s Price L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2017)
The Imager Portfolio Book 11 – ebook; reread

Endgames L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2019)
The Imager Portfolio Book 12 – ebook;

Short Fiction Mack Reynolds (2019)
– ebook;

Imager L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2009)
The Imager Portfolio Book 1 – ebook; reread

Imager’s Challenge L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2009)
The Imager Portfolio Book 2 – ebook; reread

Imager’s Intrigue L. E. Modesitt Jr. (2010)
The Imager Portfolio Book 3 – ebook; reread

The Merry Wives of Windsor William Shakespeare (1605)
– ebook;

Terminal Uprising Jim C. Hines (2019)
Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse Book 2 – ebook;

August (10)

Octavia Gone Jack McDevitt (2019)
Alex Benedict Book 8 – ebook; reread

Henry V William Shakespeare (1599)
– ebook; reread

Merchanter’s Luck C.J. Cherryh (1982)
Alliance-Union– ebook; reread

Finity’s End C.J. Cherryh (1997)
Alliance-Union – ebook; reread

Empress of Forever Max Gladstone (2019)
– ebook;

Warhorse Timothy Zahn (1990)
– ebook; reread

Pawn Timothy Zahn (2018)
Sibyl’s War Book 1 – ebook;

The Orphans of Raspay Lois McMaster Bujold (2019)
Penric and Desdemona Book 7 – ebook;

Red Sister Mark Lawrence (2017)
Book of the Ancestors Book 1 – ebook;

Grey Sister Mark Lawrence (2018)
Book of the Ancestors Book 2 – ebook;

September (7)

Rimrunners C.J. Cherryh (1989)
Alliance-Union – ebook;

Nevernight Jay Kristoff (2016)
The Nevernight Chronicle Book 1 – ebook; reread

Godsgrave Jay Kristoff (2017)
The Nevernight Chronicle Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Jeeves Stories P.G. Wodehouse (1920)
– ebook;

DarkDawn Jay Kristoff (2019)
The Nevernight Chronicle Book 3 – ebook;

Good Company Dale Lucas (2019)
Fifth Ward Book 3 – ebook;

Holy Sister Mark Lawrence (2019)
Book of the Ancestors Book 3 – ebook;

October (6)

Through Fiery Trials David Weber (2019)
Safehold Book 12 – ebook;

Hammered Elizabeth Bear (2005)
Jenny Casey Book 1 – ebook; reread

Scardown Elizabeth Bear (2005)
Jenny Casey Book 2 – ebook; reread

Worldwired Elizabeth Bear (2005)
Jenny Casey Book 3 – ebook; reread

Denver is Missing D. F. Jones (1971)
– ebook; reread

On the Beach Neville Shute (1957)
– ebook; reread

November (11)

The End of the Matter Alan Dean Foster (1977)
Pip and Flinx Book 4 – ebook; reread

Flinx in Flux Alan Dean Foster (1988)
Pip and Flinx Book 5 – ebook; reread

Mid-Flinx Alan Dean Foster (1995)
Pip and Flinx Book 6 – ebook; reread

Reunion Alan Dean Foster (2001)
Pip and Flinx Book 7 – ebook;

Flinx’s Folly Alan Dean Foster (2001)
Pip and Flinx Book 8 – ebook;

Sliding Scales Alan Dean Foster (2004)
Pip and Flinx Book 9 – ebook;

Crystal Singer Anne McCaffrey (1982)
Crystal Singer Book 1 – ebook;

Killashandra Anne McCaffrey (1985)
Crystal Singer Book 2 – ebook; reread

Crystal Line Anne McCaffrey (1992)
Crystal Singer Book 3 – ebook;

Running from the Diety Alan Dean Foster (2005)
Pip and Flinx Book 10 – ebook;

The Ruins of Gorlan John Flanagan (year)
Ranger’s Apprentice Book 1 – ebook;

December (7)

Bloodhype Alan Dean Foster (1973)
Pip and Flinx Book 11 – ebook;

Trouble Magnet Alan Dean Foster (2006)
Pip and Flinx Book 12 – ebook;

Knight Timothy Zahn (2019)
Sibyl’s War Book 2 – ebook;

Velocity Weapon Megan E. O’Keefe (2019)
The Protectorate Book 1 – ebook;

The Harbors of the Sun Martha Wells (2017)
Raksura Book 5 – ebook;

Patrimony Alan Dean Foster (2007)
Pip and Flinx Book 13 – ebook;

Flinx Transcendant Alan Dean Foster (2008)
Pip and Flinx Book 14 – ebook;

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The Stats

123 books
64 rereads
0 audiobooks
10.25/month, .337/day

My ebook library now sits at 735 books.

This is significant because for the first time in my entire life I have a backlog of unread books to get through. Frankly I am a bit ashamed: 87 unread books! Now granted, around 31 are ebook copies of paper books I have previously read, and a further 16 are classic fiction, emergency books (like Around the World in 80 Days or Middlemarch) that I downloaded many years ago “just in case,” but that still leaves a whopping 40 titles I need to get through to establish some equilibrium. Time to cut down on the rereads I guess…

What I Read

As usual it was primarily SF and Fantasy.  Due to my work in the Standard ebook project I did add a bit of variety including 9 plays and 4 non-sf/f titles which included a massive collection of depressing, yet fascinating Russian short stories and  a bunch of the original Jeeves stories. I commend both to your attention.

Significant among the rereads were Stephen R Donaldson’s Gap Cycle which, while I was among the legion of Thomas Covenant fanboys back in the day,  seem to me to be a much better work and certainly more able to stand the test of time. I also revisited Elizabeth Bear’s first published books, the Jenny Casey series which were still great though they bore the rough edges of a new writer. I say this only because she has gone on to become probably my most revered author of the modern age—man that woman can spin a good story… again and again… and again. I also reread the entire Bujold Miles Vorkosigan tale, all 16 books with associated side stories and novels, and John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising zombie apocalypse trilogy — both of which were as enjoyable as ever.

I did reread and then finish off two series: the first was Martha Wells’ Rakusa where I reread the first three books and finished off the last two. I have to say it was ok, but paled in comparison to much more excellent Murderbot series of novellas. Part of that is that the Rakusa novels had a very clunky, episodic feel—I admit to being a bit nervous about the forthcoming Murderbot novel…maybe her forté is shorter fiction? Speaking of test of time, the second series I finished off definitely suffered, although I don’t know if that was me or the books. I first encountered Alan Dean Foster’s Flinx and his sidekick minidrag Pip back in the late 70s. It was certainly some of the earliest SF I ever read. I faithfully read along as he published new novels until about 1995 (Book 6) and then sort of dropped the ball for almost 25 years. As of today I have one more to read (Strange Music, Book 15, published in 2017) and then I assume he is done. What started as  a sort of advanced YA morphed into a more adult-oriented series but I  am not sure the style suited it. Suffice it to say I was not as enamoured of the later books and even the early ones reread a bit less than my expectations/memories.

Another eye opener was my decision to reread the Tarnsman of Gor which was the first in the Gor series written by John Norman. Written in the style of Burroughs’ Barsoom books, they are definitely not recommended for any reader that can’t situate themselves in a 50s or 60s mindset. Seriously. They would probably cause a brain aneurism for most younger, modern readers. And while the first one isn’t that bad, I seem to remember that by Book 8 or 9 he started to spend whole chapters talking about the natural servility of women and other pretty ridiculous theologies. It was good to remind myself of the past, but I find myself pretty settled in the future now, thank-you very much.

One last word on the past. I edited a collection of Mack Reynolds stories for Standard Ebooks. Written in the 50s mostly for SF rags, they are a pretty amazing look into the future of human political systems and technology. I was truly impressed about how much he got right. An underrated author if you ask me.

Modern SF

One last bit on the theme. It occurred to me this year that modern Science fiction and Fantasy these days (let’s say the last 15 or so years) is a lot tighter and better written than the older stuff. I am too lazy to seriously look at what that means or why it is (I left that all behind with my English degree) but overall the craftsmanship is way up. I am sure a lot of that is the people in the trade these days—both writers and editors— are standing on the shoulders of giants, and that the freeing of the publishing world from the oppressive yoke of traditional publishing has contributed to greater exposure for authors. (Note: I am being extremely sarcastic about the oppressive yoke bit, but not about the potential contribution. See Hugh Howey and Andy Weir.)

Whatever the reasons, I have found a new interest in fantasy, an interest which had almost died out with the never-ending, multi-book, soap opera-like series that had dominated the market that last bunch of years, and I was delighted several times this past year with authors like Sabaa Tahir, Mark Lawrence and Jay Kristoff. Even the now venerable Jacqueline Carey stretched her wings with a most excellent stand-alone novel: Starless. 

And the SF has  kicked it up a notch too; check out some truly “novel” and exciting stuff by people like Arkady Martine and Megan E. O’Keefe.

All this to say, I am enjoying the new crop of my chosen genre’s publishing efforts. Congratulations to each every one of you that has contributed to what I will deign to call a resurgence 😉

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C’est tout. As I said I am behind times so hopefully you can already catch Leslie’s 2019 book & music list here and the one, the only, the original Earl’s list here.

Links to previous years book posts:

• 2012 (85)
• 2013 (95)
• 2014 (106)
• 2015 (92)
• 2016 (101)
• 2017 (120)
• 2018 (142)

 

 

 

 

Books I have read — 2018

Well it look like this is the seventh year I have been recording my ‘books read.’ One of the things I have noticed is that I am actually rushing through books occasionally or choosing to not read some of the longer 500+ page books because they might affect my count—seems we humans can become competitive with anything, even counting books. So I am seriously considering giving up the counting. On the other hand, as you will see, I blew my previous numbers out of the water so…who knows what 2019 holds except, obviously, more books.

So without further ado, here are the books of 2018:

January

Issola Steven Brust (2001)
Vlad Taltos Book 9 – ebook; reread

Dzur Steven Brust (2006)
Vlad Taltos Book 10 – ebook; reread

Jhegaala Steven Brust (2008)
Vlad Taltos Book 11 – ebook; reread

Iorich Steven Brust (2010)
Vlad Taltos Book 12 – ebook; reread

Tiassa Steven Brust (2011)
Vlad Taltos Book 13 – ebook; reread

Hawk Steven Brust (2014)
Vlad Taltos Book 14 – ebook; reread

First Watch Dale Lucas (2017)
The Fifth Ward Book 1 – ebook;

Fortune’s Pawn Rachel Bach (2013)
Paradox Book 1 – ebook; reread

Honor’s Knight Rachel Bach (2014)
Paradox Book 2 – ebook; reread

Heaven’s Queen Rachel Bach (2014)
Paradox Book 3 – ebook; reread

Oath of Swords David Weber (1995)
War God Book 1 – ebook; reread

The War God’s Own David Weber (1998)
War God Book 2 – ebook; reread

Wind Rider’s Oath David Weber (2004)
War God Book 3 – ebook; reread

February

War Maid’s Choice David Weber (2012)
War God Book 4 – ebook; reread

An Oblique Approach David Drake & Eric Flint (1998)
Belisarious Book 1 – ebook; reread

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Mark Twain (1889)
– audiobook; reread

In the Heart of Darkness David Drake & Eric Flint (1998)
Belisarious Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Time Machine H.G Wells (1895)
– audiobook;

Just So Stories Rudyard Kipling (1902)
– audiobook;

Destiny’s Shield David Drake & Eric Flint (1999)
Belisarious Book 3 – ebook; reread

Fortune’s Stroke David Drake & Eric Flint (2000)
Belisarious Book 4 – ebook; reread

The Hounds of Baskerville Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
– audiobook;

The Tide of Victory David Drake & Eric Flint (2001)
Belisarious Book 5 – ebook; reread

The Happy Prince and Other Tales Oscar Wilde (1888)
– audiobook;

March

The Dance of Time David Drake & Eric Flint (2006)
Belisarious Book 6 – ebook; reread

Killing Gravity Corey J. White (2017)
Voidwitch Saga Book 1 – ebook;

Assassin’s Fate Robin Hobb (2017)
The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy Book 3 – ebook;

Valor’s Choice Tanya Huff (2000)
Confederation Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Better Part of Valor Tanya Huff (2002)
Confederation Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Heart of Valor Tanya Huff (2007)
Confederation Book 3 – ebook; reread

Valor’s Trial Tanya Huff (2008)
Confederation Book 4 – ebook; reread

The Truth of Valor Tanya Huff (2010)
Confederation Book 5 – ebook; reread

An Ancient Peace Tanya Huff (2015)
Peacekeepers Book 1 – ebook; reread

April

An Peace Divided Tanya Huff (2017)
Peacekeepers Book 2 – ebook; reread

Good Guys Steven Brust (2018)
– ebook;

Karen Memory Elizabeth Bear (2015)
Karen Memory Book 1 – ebook; reread

Stone Mad Elizabeth Bear (2018)
Karen Memory Book 2 – ebook;

A Call to Duty David Weber, Timothy Zahn (2014)
Manticore Ascendant Book 1 – ebook; reread

A Call to Arms David Weber, Timothy Zahn (2015)
Manticore Ascendant Book 2 – ebook; reread

A Call to Vengeance David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope (2018)
Manticore Ascendant Book 3 – ebook;

Neogenesis Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (2017)
Liaden Book 21 – ebook;

May

Wizard’s Bane Rick Cook (1989)
Wiz Biz Book 1 – ebook; reread

Wizardry Compiled Rick Cook (1989)
Wiz Biz Book 2 – ebook; reread

Wizardry Cursed Rick Cook (1991)
Wiz Biz Book 3 – ebook; reread

Wizardry Consulted Rick Cook (1995)
Wiz Biz Book 4 – ebook; reread

The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde (1891)
– audiobook;

Wizardry Quested Rick Cook (1996)
Wiz Biz Book 5 – ebook; reread

Three Parts Dead Max Gladstone (2012)
The Craft Sequence Book 1 – ebook;

Two Serpents Rise Max Gladstone (2013)
The Craft Sequence Book 2 – ebook;

Full Fathom Five Max Gladstone (2014)
The Craft Sequence Book 3 – ebook;

Last First Snow Max Gladstone (2015)
The Craft Sequence Book 4 – ebook;

June

Four Roads Cross Max Gladstone (2016)
The Craft Sequence Book 5 – ebook;

All Systems Red Martha Wells (2017)
Murderbot Diaries Book 1 – ebook;

Void Black Shadow James Corey (2018)
Void Witch Book 2 – ebook;

Ruin of Angels Max Gladstone (2017)
The Craft Sequence Book 6 – ebook;

On Basilisk Station David Weber (1992)
Honor Harrington Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Honor of the Queen David Weber (1993)
Honor Harrington Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Short Victorious War David Weber (1994)
Honor Harrington Book 3 – ebook; reread

Field of Dishonor David Weber (1994)
Honor Harrington Book 4 – ebook; reread

Flag in Exile David Weber (1995)
Honor Harrington Book 5 – ebook; reread

Honor Among Enemies David Weber (1996)
Honor Harrington Book 6 – ebook; reread

In Enemy Hands David Weber (1997)
Honor Harrington Book 7 – ebook; reread

July

Echoes of Honor David Weber (1998)
Honor Harrington Book 8 – ebook; reread

Ashes of Victory David Weber (2000)
Honor Harrington Book 9 – ebook; reread

The Prisoner of Limnos Lois McMaster Bujold (2017)
Penric & Desedmona Book 6 – ebook;

The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame (1908)
– audiobook;

Points of Impact Markos Kloos (2018)
Frontlines Book 6 – ebook;

Kidnapped Robert Louis Stephenson (1886)
– audiobook;

Too Like the Lightning Ada Palmer (2016)
Terra Ignota Book 1 – ebook;

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carrol (1865)
– audiobook;

Kushiel’s Dart Jacqueline Carey (2001)
Kushiel’s Legacy Book 1 – ebook; reread

Northanger Abbey Jane Austen (1817)
– audiobook;

Major Barbara George Bernard Shaw (1907)
– audiobook; reread

August

The Quantum Thief Hannu Rajaniemi (2011)
Jean le Flambeur Book 1 – ebook;

The Shadow of a Torturer Gene Wolfe (1980)
The Book of the New Sun Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Claw of the Conciliator Gene Wolfe (1981)
The Book of the New Sun Book 2 – ebook; reread

The Black Company Glen Cook (1984)
The Black Company Book 1 – ebook; reread

Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas (1844)
– audiobook;

**Shadows Linger Glen Cook (1984)
The Black Company Book 2 – ebook; reread

Howard’s End E.M. Forester (1910)
– audiobook;

**The White Rose Glen Cook (1985)
The Black Company Book 3 – ebook; reread

Lady Windermere’s Fan Oscar Wilde (1892)
– audiobook;

The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton (1920)
– audiobook;

September

Drifter William C. Dietz (1991)
Drifter Book 1 – ebook; reread

The Colors of Space Marion Zimmer Bradley (1963)
– ebook;

Arrows of the Queen Mercedes Lackey (1987)
Heralds of Valedemar Book 1 – ebook; reread

Arrow’s Flight Mercedes Lackey (1987)
Heralds of Valedemar Book 2 – ebook; reread

Arrow’s Fall Mercedes Lackey (1988)
Heralds of Valedemar Book 3 – ebook; reread

Freedom’s Landing Anne McCaffery (1995)
Catteni Book 1 – ebook; reread

Freedom’s Choice Anne McCaffery (1996)
Catteni Book 2 – ebook;

Terminal Alliance Jim C. Hines (2017)
Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse Book 1 – ebook;

Freedom’s Challenge Anne McCaffery (1998)
Catteni Book 3 – ebook;

Love of Mother-Not Alan Dean Foster (1983)
Pip & Flinx Book 1 – ebook; reread

Taar-Aiym Krang Alan Dean Foster (1972)
Pip & Flinx Book 2 – ebook; reread

Freedom’s Ransom Anne McCaffery (2002)
Catteni Book 4 – ebook;

October

Orphan Star Alan Dean Foster (1977)
Pip & Flinx Book 3 – ebook; reread

The Flowers of Vashnoi Lois McMaster Bujold (2018)
Miles Vorkosigan Book 14.5 – ebook;

Foundation Mercedes Lackey (2008)
Collegium Chronicles Book 1 – ebook;

Intrigue Mercedes Lackey (2010)
Collegium Chronicles Book 2 – ebook;

Changes Mercedes Lackey (2011)
Collegium Chronicles Book 3 – ebook;

Redoubt Mercedes Lackey (2012)
Collegium Chronicles Book 4 – ebook;

Bastion Mercedes Lackey (2013)
Collegium Chronicles Book 5 – ebook;

The Privilege of Peace Tanya Huff (2018)
Peacekeeper Book 3 – ebook;

Artificial Conditions Martha Wells (2018)
Murderbot Diaries Book 2 – ebook;

Refugee Piers Anthony (1983)
Bio of a Space Tyrant Book 1 – ebook; reread

Mercenary Piers Anthony (1984)
Bio of a Space Tyrant Book 2 – ebook; reread

Mansfield Park Jane Austen (1814)
– audiobook;

Politician Piers Anthony (1985)
Bio of a Space Tyrant Book 3 – ebook; reread

Executive Piers Anthony (1985)
Bio of a Space Tyrant Book 4 – ebook; reread

Statesman Piers Anthony (1986)
Bio of a Space Tyrant Book 5 – ebook; reread

Closer to Home Mercedes Lackey (2014)
The Herald Spy Book 1 – ebook;

Closer to the Heart Mercedes Lackey (2015)
The Herald Spy Book 2 – ebook;

November

Closer to the Chest Mercedes Lackey (2016)
The Herald Spy Book 3 – ebook;

Rogue Protocol Martha Wells (2018)
Murderbot Diaries Book 3 – ebook;

Trading in Danger Elizabeth Moon (2003)
Vatta’s War Book 1 – ebook; reread

Marque and Reprisal Elizabeth Moon (2004)
Vatta’s War Book 2 – ebook; reread

Engaging the Enemy Elizabeth Moon (2006)
Vatta’s War Book 3 – ebook; reread

Command Decision Elizabeth Moon (2007)
Vatta’s War Book 4 – ebook; reread

Victory Conditions Elizabeth Moon (2008)
Vatta’s War Book 5 – ebook; reread

The Engines of God Jack McDevitt (1994)
Academy Series (Priscilla Hutchins) Book 1 – ebook;

Exit Strategy Martha Wells (2018)
Murderbot Book 4 – ebook;

Head On John Scalzi (2018)
Lock In Book 2 – ebook;

The Forever War Joe Haldeman (1974)
The Forever War Book 1 – ebook; reread

A Separate War Joe Haldeman (1999)
The Forever War Short Story – ebook;

Forever Free Joe Haldeman (1999)
The Forever War Book 2 – ebook;

The Airlords of Han Francis Philip Nolan (1929)
Buck Rogers Book 2 – ebook; reread

Echo Jack McDevitt (2010)
Alex Benedict Book 5 – ebook;

Lustlocked Matt Wallace (2016)
Sin du Jour Book 2 – ebook;

December

Lustlocked Matt Wallace (2016)
Sin du Jour Book 2 – ebook;

The Prisoner of Zenda Anthony Hope (1894)
– ebook;

Pride’s Spell Matt Wallace (2016)
Sin du Jour Book 3 – ebook;

Greedy Pigs Matt Wallace (2017)
Sin du Jour Book 5 – ebook;

Gluttony Bay Matt Wallace (2017)
Sin du Jour Book 6 – ebook;

Taste of Wrath Matt Wallace (2018)
Sin du Jour Book 7 – ebook;

The Runelords (The Sum of All Men) David Farland (1998)
Rune Lords Book 1 – ebook;

Space Opera Catherynne M. Valente (2018)
– ebook;

The Cosmic Computer H Beam Piper (1960)
– ebook;

Alice Payne Arrives Kate Heartfield (2018)
Alice Payne Book 1 – ebook;

20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne (1870)
– audiobook;

The Devil’s Eye Jack McDevitt (2008)
Alex Benedict Book 4 – ebook;

Static Ruin Corey J. White (2018)
Voidwitch Saga Book 3 – ebook;

The Lost Gate Orson Scott Card (2011)
Mithermages Book 1 – ebook;

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Some numbers

142 books in total! That’s .389 books/day; 2.73 books/month; 11.8 books/month. A RECORD!

This unbelievable total includes 70 rereads and 17 audiobooks, which means I read 55 new books.

By month

January (13)
February (11)
March (9)
April (8)
May (10)
June (11)
July (11)
August (10)
September (12)
October (17)
November (16)
 December (14)

My ebook library now contains 628 ebooks and—despite previous maunderings—I still have 862 paper books (sci-fi and fantasy only — the others have long since been absorbed into L’s library which makes mine look puny). A far cry from the 234 I started with 2012. Oh, and for those of you who care, that’s an average of 65 books added per year…call it $520/year which I think is quite reasonable in bibliophile circles.

Audio books

I listened to 17 mostly-new titles (only 2 rereads…relistens?). If you look closely you can discern my most productive periods in the glass studio as that’s when I listen to most of them. Also of note is that the audio books comprise all of my non-sci-fi and fantasy content. I was pleasantly surprised by most of them—although being an English major it is a) astonishing that I haven’t read these classics before and b) a bit of a duh moment that I should find them of sufficient quality to praise. I particularly liked Northanger Abbey and The Age of Innocence. 

An audiobook recap:

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Mark Twain
The Time Machine H.G Wells
Just So Stories Rudyard Kipling
The Hounds of Baskerville Arthur Conan Doyle
The Happy Prince and Other Tales Oscar Wilde
The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
Kidnapped Robert Louis Stephenson
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carrol
Northanger Abbey Jane Austen
Major Barbara George Bernard Shaw
Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas
Howard’s End E.M. Forester
Lady Windermere’s Fan Oscar Wilde
The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton
Mansfield Park Jane Austen
20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne

Habits

A lot of the reason for the increase in the books-read count was rereading series which tends to go quickly. I re-chewed my way through the rest of Brust’s Vlad books, Anthony’s Bio of a Space Tyrant, Moon’s Vatta’s War, Mercedes Lackey’s Heralds of Valdemar, Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun, Rick Cook Wiz Biz, the first 4 books of Foster’s iconic Pip & Flinx books, Rachel Bach Paradox, both Huff’s Confederation and Peacekeepers series, David Drake & Eric Flint Belasarius and a lot of Weber: Honor Harrington books up to Book 9 (I just couldn’t justify buying new copies of the rest of them as I feel the series started to go downhill), the Manticore Ascendant series, and the War God books. A few of these I hadn’t read since I was in my 20s. Wolfe aged well but Piers Anthony did not (although it was interesting to see how much societal mores have changed over the past few decades). And I still love Pip.

I also added in some new series. Max Gladstone Craft Sequence, Lackey’s Collegium Chronicles and The Herald Spy (which are really just one long series) and, to my delight, discovered that Joe Haldeman had written sequels to his classic The Forever War.

2018 saw the resurgence of the short form sci-fi/fantasy novel. While technically novellas these shorter — ~100 page books — are closer in size to the standard pulp fare I grew with. Anyway, Tor seems to be at the forefront of this movement selling the books for around $6 and usually being a series of 3 or 4 titles. I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Wallace’s Sin du Jour series, Corey White Voidwitch, and of course Martha Well’s excellent Murderbot.

Housekeeping

I got involved in an ebook project, Standard Ebooks, which aims to take copyright free books (mostly sourced from the industrious Gutenberg Project) and apply high standards to both editorial and typography—something quite missing from the standard Gutenberg ebook fare. To date I have “produced” two ebooks: The Airlords of Han and A Prisoner of Zenda and am working on a third title. Check them out if you are looking for free ebooks—I guarantee a satisfactory experience

The big news of 2018 is that I have dumped Apple’s iBooks from my  life entirely. I used to organize and catalog my ebooks in Calibre and then copy the books over to the Apple ecosystem to update my various i-devices. But Apple moved all the books out of iTunes and into their new iBooks app, crippling most of the features along the way. I have put up with it for two years hoping for a version 2 but there has been zero improvement and I just couldn’t take it anymore. So now I use Calibre Companion to move books to my Nexus and iPhone and (since my iPad is ancient) Stanza to copy books to the iPad. It means a few extra steps but it is worth it not to have to put up with Apple’s bllsht…and this from an Apple fanboy. 

I have ranted before about “distributors” getting too involved and too powerful in the process of ebook dissemination so I won’t go into it other than to say I won’t ever be buying an ebook from Apple again.

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So that’s it. I am writing this a bit early but I assume you will, as always, be able to see Leslie’s 2018 book list here and the-man-originally-responsible-for-this-bloated-monstrosity-of-a-post Earl’s list here.

Links to previous years book posts:

• 2012 (85)
• 2013 (95)
• 2014 (106)
• 2015 (92)
• 2016 (101)
• 2017 (120)