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hawkwing_lbA new year means that the book counter resets to zero. Even if I did finish some of these before January 1.
Books 2011: 1-10
1. Richard Morgan, The Steel Remains.
A brilliant book. Brutal, dark, atmospheric, with fluent, fluid prose and an assembly of interesting characters. It is a better book than Black Man, or perhaps merely entirely different and much more to my taste.
I recommend it.
2. Scott Westerfeld, Behemoth.
YA sequel to Leviathan. Interesting, engaging, and mostly quite cheerful.
3. Scott Westerfeld, Extras.
YA, in the Uglies universe. I'd been putting off reading it for... more than a year. But it's brilliant, and a lot more sharp-edged in comparison to Behemoth.
4. Ursula LeGuin, Powers.
The third book in the Annals of the Western Shore, and in my opinion the weakest, although it is impossible not to praise anything LeGuin writes. For me, anyway.
5. Violette Malan, The Storm Witch.
An engaging fantasy with few pretensions. Entertaining.
6. Amanda Downum, The Bone Palace.
Brilliant. Incredibly atmospheric, with a very engaging set of characters. Never mind the mystery, I could have read about Savedra and Ashlin for a whole book on their own.
non-fiction
7. Robert Garland, The Eye of the Beholder: Deformity and Disability in the Greco-Roman World. Duckworth, London, 1995.
A fascinating examination of how deformity was viewed in the ancient world. Garland is perhaps a little insensitive and occasionally clearly unaware of his own privilege, but this is thought-provoking material.
8. David Fredrick, (ed.) The Roman Gaze: Vision, Power, and the Body. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 2002.
A collection of very interesting papers on how the Romans saw themselves and others. The most interesting, to my mind, is John R. Clark's "Who's Laughing At Sex?" concerning a set of explicit wall-paintings in the Suburban Baths at Pompeii.
9. Carolyne Larrington (trans.), The Poetic Edda. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
A recent translation of the Elder Edda. Interesting, but I'm always going to be more of a fan of the Mediterranean, I think.
10. Li Po and Tu Fu, Poems. Penguin, New York, 1973. Translated by Arthur Cooper.
Interesting, but I'm reasonably sure it is Not My Thing.
Tune in next week for more exciting updates. Or not.
Books 2011: 1-10
1. Richard Morgan, The Steel Remains.
A brilliant book. Brutal, dark, atmospheric, with fluent, fluid prose and an assembly of interesting characters. It is a better book than Black Man, or perhaps merely entirely different and much more to my taste.
I recommend it.
2. Scott Westerfeld, Behemoth.
YA sequel to Leviathan. Interesting, engaging, and mostly quite cheerful.
3. Scott Westerfeld, Extras.
YA, in the Uglies universe. I'd been putting off reading it for... more than a year. But it's brilliant, and a lot more sharp-edged in comparison to Behemoth.
4. Ursula LeGuin, Powers.
The third book in the Annals of the Western Shore, and in my opinion the weakest, although it is impossible not to praise anything LeGuin writes. For me, anyway.
5. Violette Malan, The Storm Witch.
An engaging fantasy with few pretensions. Entertaining.
6. Amanda Downum, The Bone Palace.
Brilliant. Incredibly atmospheric, with a very engaging set of characters. Never mind the mystery, I could have read about Savedra and Ashlin for a whole book on their own.
non-fiction
7. Robert Garland, The Eye of the Beholder: Deformity and Disability in the Greco-Roman World. Duckworth, London, 1995.
A fascinating examination of how deformity was viewed in the ancient world. Garland is perhaps a little insensitive and occasionally clearly unaware of his own privilege, but this is thought-provoking material.
8. David Fredrick, (ed.) The Roman Gaze: Vision, Power, and the Body. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 2002.
A collection of very interesting papers on how the Romans saw themselves and others. The most interesting, to my mind, is John R. Clark's "Who's Laughing At Sex?" concerning a set of explicit wall-paintings in the Suburban Baths at Pompeii.
9. Carolyne Larrington (trans.), The Poetic Edda. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
A recent translation of the Elder Edda. Interesting, but I'm always going to be more of a fan of the Mediterranean, I think.
10. Li Po and Tu Fu, Poems. Penguin, New York, 1973. Translated by Arthur Cooper.
Interesting, but I'm reasonably sure it is Not My Thing.
Tune in next week for more exciting updates. Or not.
