A Year of Books: 2010

I've been doing this for a few years now, last year, 2008 and 2007 and it seems like an interesting and maybe even useful thing to continue this year. I really enjoy seeing other people's reading lists (like here, here and here) and enjoy adding my own to the mix.

So, below you'll find a list of all the books I started in 2010. In other words, it'll include a few books I'm still reading as well as a few that I've abandoned. I've been recording every book I've read since 1983 and on my other (mostly lapsed) blog I've been occasionally transcribing the list on a year by year basis. I've stalled a bit the last couple of years, but I'll try and do a few more over the next few months. This list will probably also be re-posted there eventually.

Trends in my reading this year?

• I mentioned abandoned books. It was a bad year for those, for sure. I won't say how many, exactly, or which ones, but as I get older I'm not quite as willing to stick with a book until the bitter end. If I look back at some of the older lists I've done, in those days I would have finished 100% of the books I started.
• My genre tastes are shifting a bit as I get older as well. I find I'm reading more mystery and crime fiction as the years go by and this year is no exception. As you might be able to tell from the list below, I tend towards the hardboiled & noir. It's not that I love SFFH any less, it's just that my horizons have expanded.
• I'm also pleased by how many graphic novels I've read over the last year. I pretty consciously decided at the end of 2009 to make more of an effort that way in 2010 and I've really enjoyed getting into a few series.
• The Buffy the Vampire Slayer obsession continues apace. And it's been fun! I've read Buffy novels, graphic novels, nonfiction, Angel and Spike graphic novels, we even re-watched the whole series from November 2009 to June 2010. By the way, if you haven't rewatched Buffy recently, you really do owe it to yourself. And if you haven't encountered her yet at all, well you owe that to yourself even more. The graphic novel season eight is coming to a close this month and while it's been uneven, it's worth a look.
• My media singularity/cyberculture/future of information/social media obsession also continues apace. Quite a bit of the non-fiction I read falls under that very broad banner and I continue to think it's important to read and think deeply about these issues. Of course, it would be nice if I could force myself to think and write a bit more deeply about those issues by actually finishing a few more book reviews...but that's another issue.
• Quite by surprise and mostly as a result of my reading for the Sunburst Award Jury a while back, I find I'm reading quite a bit of YA fiction and really enjoying it. It's all been SFFH so far (and is likely to stay that way...) and I find I really appreciate the focus on solid characterization and a gripping narrative.
• I've been listing and updating my reading on Good Reads, which has been very fun this year. If you're on the service yourself, add me as a friend!
• Reading resolutions for the new year? Maybe to try and mix a few more SFFH novels into the rotation. And maybe also to read a bit more in the way of actual popular science rather than just the info/cyber/tech stuff.
• And looking back at the year's list all I can think is, "Holy crap, did I ever read a lot of great books last year!"

I'll link to the reviews I've written below, what few there are that I've written. I'm even more behind than I was last year! I'll try and catch up with a bunch of capsule & group reviews but there are a few books, like Shirky's Cognitive Surplus or Jenkins' Convergence Culture, that really deserve a full treatment.

So, without further ado, here's a list of all the books I've read or started this year, more-or-less in order:

1. Terra Insegura by Edward Willett
2. Angel: After the Fall V2: First Night by Joss Whedon & Brian Lynch
3. Rex Libris V1: I, Librarian by James Turner
4. Trigger City by Sean Chercover
5. Money Shot by Christa Faust
6. The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
7. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
8. The Life of Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin
9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Omnibus 3 by Various
10. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
11. Creature From The Black Lagoon: Time's Black Lagoon by Paul Di Filippo
12. The Future of the Internet -- And How to Stop It
by Jonathan Zittrain
13. Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight V6: Retreat by Jane Espenson, Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty, Andy Owens, et al.
14. Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend by Mark Collins Jenkins (review)
15. Spike: After The Fall by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru
16. The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
17. Dead City by Shane Stevens
18. You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier
19. Mind Set!: Eleven Ways to Change the Way You See--and Create--the Future by John Naisbitt
20. Off Season by Jack Ketchum
21. Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn by Larry D. Rosen
22. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
23. Five Fists of Science by Matt Fraction
24. Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Rhonda Wilcox
25. Unwritten V1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
26. The Max by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
27. Hunt at the Well of Eternity by Gabriel Hunt and James Reasoner
28. Stoker's Dracula by Bram Stoker, adapted by Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano
29. The Missing by Sarah Langan
30. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, V1 by Hayao Miyazaki
31. DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education by Anya Kamenetz
32. Angel: After the Fall, V3 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, Nick Runge, and David Messina
33. Angel: After the Fall, V4 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, Franco Urru, and Alex Garner
34. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blood and Fog by Nancy Holder
35. The Other Side by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart
36. Moyasimon 2: Tales of Agriculture by Ishikawa Masayuki
37. Contagious by Scott Sigler
38. Black Hole by Charles Burns (review)
39. Makers by Cory Doctorow (review)
40. White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages (review)
41. The Man with the Iron Heart by Harry Turtledove (review)
42. The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry (review)
43. Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (review)
44. Locke & Key V1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
45. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (review)
46. The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith
47. The Fuzzy Papers by H. Beam Piper
48. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky
49. Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away by Martin Popoff (review)
50. The Walking Dead, V1-12 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, and Tony Moore (review)
51. Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design by Henry Petroski
52. Swastika by Michael Slade
53. Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror by Dan Jolley, Den Beauvais, Dan Vado, Steve Moncuse, et al.
54. Ãoku: The Inner Chambers, V1 by Fumi Yoshinaga
55. Horns by Joe Hill
56. Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory Of The Web by David Weinberger
57. Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik
58. Soft Touch by John D. MacDonald
59. The Unwritten V2: Inside Man by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
60. Fantastic Four: To Free Atlantis by Nancy A. Collins
61. Feed by MT Anderson
62. Queenpin by Megan Abbott
63. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight V7: Twilight by Brad Meltzer, Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty, and Karl Moline
64. The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer
65. Two Generals by Scott Chantler
66. Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen
67. Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science by Steve Paulson (review)
68. Brew North: How Canadians Made Beer and Beer Made Canada by Ian Coutts
69. Hunt Through the Cradle of Fear by Gabriel Hunt and Charles Ardai
70. Dracula The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt
71. Common as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownership by Lewis Hyde
72. Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution by Ronin Ro
73. Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer: Prisoner of the Horned Helmet by Frank Frazetta and James R. Silke
74. The Walking Dead, V13 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn
75. Life by Keith Richards

Notable non-fiction, in no particular order:

• Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen
• Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
• Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky
• Life by Keith Richards
• Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution by Ronin Ro

Notable fiction, in no particular order (It was a great year in fiction reading, so there are actually a bunch more that could have made this list if I'd made it on a different day in a different mood):

• The Walking Dead, V1-13 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, and Tony Moore
• The Other Side by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart
• Two Generals by Scott Chantler
• Black Hole by Charles Burns
• Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
• White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages
• Money Shot by Christa Faust
• The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

I hope this list provides a little inspiration to all my readers to compile their own reading list for the year. I look forward to seeing them -- feel free to drop a link in the comments.