Year End Summary

It's been a good year - quality and quantity. I have read 78 new books, and many of them have been excellent. Some, such as the Hunger Games series, Matterhorn, and Room, were well reviewed in the press this year, and others were older and/or not widely promoted.

Memorable books that I may or may not have metioned in the last year included:

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson - the final book in the trilogy by the late Swedish author, this wrapup was not as engaging as the first two books but still satisfying. I am only sorry the author is gone and that there will not be more tales forthcoming.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was popular enough that a film is in the works, a novel of the lives of black maids in the segregated South. Personal and moving.

I discovered Lee Child's Jack Reacher series this year and read all seventeen books available this year. A great character, even if some of the plots are a bit too much. I'll continue to follow this author.

Translated from Russian, the series of books by Sergei Lukyanenko on a world secretly populated by dark and light magicians, vampires, and werewolves who live in truce, and police each other's actions under the terms of an elaborately drawn treaty began with Night Watch, followed by Day Watch and Twilight Watch. A dark but carefully plotted series.

I also read the first book in a new young adult series that postulates a world where young people are computer-matched with their ideal mates, and their behaviors are carefully monitored. When the young heroine, Cassia, is matched with two different boys in error, she's told that one was a mistake, but she isn't so sure. It looks like a good beginning to an interesting series.

Hoping for more great books in 2011.

The House of Night series

A new young adult series lent to me by a friend describes a "high school" for vampires. In the world of Zoey Redbird, vampirism happens to some teenagers in puberty, and when it strikes, they acquire a Mark - a crescent moon on their foreheads - and must live around adult vampires until they either Change to full vampires, or die. So there are Houses of Night where the fledglings learn their history and religion, and go to school from 8pm to 3am.

Zoey gets Marked, which gets her away from her religious step-father and mother, who just don't understand her anyway, and goes to the House of Night where she makes friends, is attracted to boys - her old human boyfriend, a talented fledgling who wants to be an actor, and a professor who is the Poet Laureate of vampires. Her grandmother, a Cherokee, loves her and supports her in the change in her life.

Zoey discovers she is very talented in the ways of the Goddess Nyx, the vampires' god, and quickly takes on responsibilities, makes friends and enemies, is adopted by a cat (as most vampires are), and begins to have adventures.

A light series, sometimes over the top, but interesting reading. There are seven books in the series thus far. I have read four and will keep on until I get bored, or run out of books.
---
Other books read since the last post: In the Woods - Tara French; The Risk of Darkness - Susan Hill; Worth Dying For - Lee Child; Side Jobs - Jim Butcher.

Hunger Games series

The titles by Suzanne Collins are marketed as young adult, but really not limited to young adult readers. Actually, I often believe that YA books are as creative, or more so, than many books written for the adult audience. The Harry Potter books are a good example of this - and this series also has a lot of very grown-up ideas and responsibilities being carried on the shoulders of young protagonists.

The setting is the US after a war - and it is divided into 12 districts, plus the capital city. People in the capital live in luxury, while the districts supply various goods and mostly live in poverty or near-poverty. The districts once rebelled and thus are being restricted so they cannot rebel again. On top of that, there are some pretty sadistic controls built into the system that are reminiscent of the decadence of past societies - like the Roman bread and circuses, the people are kept pacified by plenty of bloody entertainment, along with near-starvation.

The Hunger Games are the annual Olympics - being chosen for the competion is something like being chosen for the arena. Two young people are chosen from each district - a girl and boy from each - and then thrown into combat where the last one living wins. Not only do they win their lives, but they live in luxury for the rest of their days, and every person in their district gets additional food for the next year. Everything is televised, and everyone is required to watch. There are elaborate ceremonies before hand, interviews, costuming, etc., to draw in the public. It is a mix of our reality television plus a sports team affiliation, but with lots of blood and suffering.

So when Katniss, a 15 year old girl who supports her family by (illegal) hunting to supplement their meagre diet, sees her younger sister chosen to participate, she doesn't hesitate to volunteer to replace her in the Games.

Book 1 takes Kat through the games and eventual triumph. Book 2 concerns a special, 25-year event that pulls back the winners of the annual games to compete against each other. Book 3 details Kat's transition from competitor to leader of the rebellion against the capital rulers in an effort to free the people from the tyranny of their society.

An excellent effort.
___
Other books read since last post - 61 Hours by Lee Child, Little Men by Louisa May Alcott.

E-books and more

I bought a Nook recently and have been getting accustomed to e-books. It is a difficult transition. For one thing, having no physical book in one's hands makes it a bit more difficult to recall what I have read and what I haven't yet finished, since I no longer have piles of books to discern the difference.

With that said, here is what I have read since my last entry:

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is probably the "newest" book on my recently read list. A novel about being an infantryman in Vietnam, it has been hailed as the first realistic depiction of what it was like to serve in that war, complete with the stupidity of the higher-ups in exaggerating the body count for public relations. There were moments when I simply shook my head at the incidents. Worthwhile.

I became enamored of Lee Child's series on ex-Military Policeman Jack Reacher, who travels with only the clothes on his back in an exploration of America and puts things right. I first read the thirteenth book in the series, Gone Tomorrow, and liked it well enough to order the preceding twelve books, which I tore through in succession. Reacher as a character is very well drawn, and his particular life and talents serve as a jumping-off point for his finding, and correcting, injustices. Great series. I look forward to much more from this author.

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadry reminded me of the Harry Dresden series in that the protagonist is not quite human, and has some superhuman powers. In this case, "Slim" is a damned soul who fought his way out of hell. If you can swallow the premise, the adventure is worth the read.

I revisited the history of World War II in The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, both by Herman Wouk. Don't know how I missed these when one of my favorite novels by this author, The Caine Mutiny, is worth rereading every couple of years. These two follow the involvement of a family through service in WWII, in Europe, the war in the Pacific, and in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. At times, the author devolves into thick historical overviews, which might encourage skimming, but the reader picks up some knowledge even in spite of the lectures.

Books read thus far this year exceed the goal of 52, and it is only September. As of today, I've read 58 new books in 2010.

Innocent - Scott Turow

It's been decades since Turow's most famous bestseller, "Presumed Innocent", a novel that became an excellent film with Harrison Ford. That novel had a lovely twist, a surprise ending that made it memorable. Now Turow returns to familiar ground with a novel of Rusty Sabich, his wife and son, and manages to surprise yet again with a twist at the end that puts the events of the book in a new light.

Rusty Sabich, now a judge, has tried hard for twenty years to manage his home and professional life to reduce the stress on his wife, Barbara, who we learned in the first novel was the killer of Rusty's mistress, and who seemed willing to allow him to pay for it with a trial and a possible sentence of murder. Only Rusty knew the truth, and after his acquittal he attempted to repair the marriage and soothe the madness of his wife's jealousy.

Now, however, Rusty is feeling the weight of living a life where nothing is what he wants, and makes the same foolish error - he has another affair. In this case, however, the woman involved is earnest in loving him and ultimately wiser than he, and they part. But when his ex-mistress meets his son Ned, now a college student and much more her contemporary, she has to hide the truth from him while she and Rusty now cannot escape each other's company.

The night after Ned and Anna visit Rusty and Barbara for dinner - the first time Anna meets Barbara as "Ned's girlfriend", Barbara dies. Rusty does not notify anyone for more than a day. Is it shock and grief, as he claims, or is it murder?

Rusty's old colleague and nemesis, Tommy Moto, is now the District Attorney. Tommy still believes that Rusty was guilty of the murder for which he was acquitted so many years ago. Now, Barbara's death has raised his suspicions once again. Eventually, Judge Sabich is indicted for the murder of his wife.

Is Rusty, again, Innocent? As usual, Turow leaves the answers to the very end, and the result is nearly as satisfying.
---
Other books read since last entry - The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist; Deception by Jonathan Kellerman; Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane; Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver.

Case Histories - Kate Atkinson

This one is quite good. The first three chapters each present a case study of a particular family's tragedy. The characters in all three cases are beautifully drawn and one understands just how devastating each incident is - and then the author spends the rest of the book unravelling the mystery of each one. In all three cases, the answer of what really happened is not what the reader thinks.

Case one - the beloved youngest daughter of four disappears from the backyard where she and one of her older sisters are "camping out" overnight.

Case two - a lawyer convinces his eighteen year old daughter to work in his law firm's office over the summer, as he is afraid for her safety at her bartending job. On her first day at work, a man comes in asking for the lawyer, who happens to be out at court, and kills the daughter.

Case three - a woman isolated in a country cottage with a baby and an obvious case of postpartum depression snaps, and her husband lies dead on the floor after being killed with an axe.

A delightful balance of character study and driving plotline as private investigator Jackson Brodie gets involved in all three cases.

Dissapointing

Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell; Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carroly Erickson.

Dear me. I really picked a pair of bad ones here.

I loved the Sex and the City series on HBO, and when I saw the book on Barnes & Noble's bargain section, I thought I would be in for a fun read. OMG. Not the case at all. Some characters in this collection of columns were vaguely familiar, but this is one of those rare cases where the TV/film versions were markedly better than the source material. Waste of time and money.

So, too, the other listed book on Marie Antoinette. I like historical fiction as a rule - it is a painless way to pick up some bits of history while, hopefully, exploring well-drawn characters, even if some of it is imagined. But since the author chose to write this slim book as if it were a journal or diary, what we are given is piecemeal musings by its fictional writer - items that often have no context and are horribly subjective and self-serving. It is a shame that such a lazy author is actually published and, apparently, makes a living at it. At least the book is probably compostable.

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Great book. I enjoy historical fiction and this is a doozy. Although set in somewhat the present day, it is a tale of a grandfather, mother and father, and daughter who all become involved in a search for the historical model for Dracula - Vlad Tepes the Impaler, a prince of what is now Romania but then was Transylvania and Wallachia. Although Vlad was killed in battle in 1476, the historians stumble across hints and legends that suggest that he may still be alive.

The story wanders between present and past as the daughter of the historian begins to learn more about the obsession that has consumed her family for generations - especially when her father, like her mother and grandfather before him, disappears....

Intriguing.

Half Broke Horses/Jeannette Walls

As a genre, this "novel" is hard to categorize. It is a memoir in part - the story of the author's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, but the author calls it a novel as she extrapolates the feelings and dialog of the subject as she has no way of knowing exactly how things happened.

With that said, Lily Casey is an interesting, independent, and sometimes exasperating woman who had a life that was certainly atypical. Growing up on a ranch with a father who trained horses, she became a schoolteacher, gambler, horse racer, and rancher - as well as wife and mother. She learned to fly a plane and drive an automobile in terrifying fashion.

She also managed to get fired from almost every teaching post she had because she never could conform to the standards of the community. (One wonders why she never seemed to understand that it was as much her personality as it was the timidity of her employers that was responsible for that.)

With that said, this is an interesting book, a quick read, and the author brings a unique and fascinating portrayal of a tenacious woman to life.
---
Other books read since last post - the Jacqueline Carey series: Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar, Kushiel's Scion, Kushiel's Justice, Kushiel's Mercy.

Kushiel's Legacy series - Jacqueline Carey

Okay, I have read the first book in this series, Kushiel's Dart, and I was impressed enough that I have ordered all of the other paperbacks (there are six). I didn't yet order the seventh as that is just in hardback.

I don't quite know how to classify the setting but would term it as an alternative universe historical novel. It is set in a time frame where horses and carriages are the norm, there are farmers, peasants, kings and nobles, and a gypsy-like tribe of nomads. The land is Europe, but with names that differ based upon the variant in religion and history. In Carey's world, a different savior sprang from the blood of Jesus and the tears of Mary Magdaline to create Eula, who more resembles Dionysus than Christ. The followers of Eula are told to "Love as you will" and thus the concept of promiscuity and the condemnation of courtesans and prostitutes that is true in our universe is absent in theirs. Instead, men and women who follow the art of prostitution do so in emulation of one of Eula's "apostles" and are venerated as if they were priests and priestesses, because they are seen as following a calling and serving the goddess Naamah.

With this premise, the life of the main character, Phedre, is a fascinating one. She is not only a prostitute, but one who finds pleasure in pain, and she is unique enough to be revered as touched by the god. Her unique talents leads her into political intrigue, war, slavery, and eventually to serve the Queen and be rewarded with a title and lands as a part of the nobility.

The first book is dense with detail, the characters are good, and if the machinations and plot twists are somewhat thick and at times confusing, it is still a decent read with delicately drawn sex scenes that avoid crudity but still draw clear pictures of the action.

Worthwhile reading.