Year-End Wrap Up

It's been a pretty good year. My count of new books read this year is 63. Aside from those reviewed earlier on this blog, there are a couple I want to mention as especially memorable for 2007 - good and bad.

The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier - and this was recommended by Oprah! Ok, the man himself is talented and an icon, but please, next time hire a better ghostwriter. Or get one, sir, for if you wrote this yourself it just proves you should stick to acting. Could have been great -- the material he had to work with promises an intriguing story but somehow it never ties together. Interesting bit here and there, but disjointed overall. And there is a lot of stuff hidden, I dare say. You can tell that probably the best stuff has been left out. Why write a biography if not to tell the truth?

Naomi Novik has impressed me with her first novel, His Majesty's Dragon, which I read in 2006, so this year I picked up the other two novels in the series, Throne of Jade and The Black Powder War. She has great concepts - in the time of the Napoleonic Wars, what if there were dragons? Yes there are navies and ground forces to fight the wars, but in addition, dragons are used as aircraft, some of them so large that they carry large crews and heavy weapons. The central character, Will Laurence, bonds with the dragon Temeraire. In Throne of Jade, they journey to China and back, which is exciting, interesting, and beautifully written. Black Powder War focuses on the war itself, not quite so compelling, but still worth reading.

Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent was a very good memoir on a very interesting subject, as Norah decided to research what it was like to be a man in society from the inside, and took on the identity of Ned. What are men like when women aren't around? Are they really unable to talk about their feelings? Are their social roles as constricted as women's seem to be? An excellent view from the "other side".

Dearly Devoted Dexter - the second book by Jeff Lindsay on the character (now also a Showtime series) of Dexter, a serial killer who only kills bad guys. This is one rare occurance when the series outshines the books.

Others worth a look - Stephenie Meyer's young adult/vampire trilogy - Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse. Kate Braestrup's memoir, Here if you Need Me. And Barack Obama's early memoir, Dreams from My Father.

I also re-read during the year, usually when I run out of new books to be read or when I want to head back into something familiar and loved. This year my favorite re-read is The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye. Set during the British government's rule of India, it layers in politics and war with the tale of a young English boy born and orphaned in India, who is adopted by his Indian nurse and believes himself to be her son until she died when he is eleven. He's packed back to England for a "proper education" then returns to India as a British officer. His past has never let go of him and he reunites with a princess that he knew as a child. A long book, but one that is beautifully descriptive of India and her people.

Happy New Year... and good reading to you in 2008.