2012

February

• Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
  

  A great little read… I say ‘little’ because I read it in a day. It’s not as extensive as previous Ender sagas are, but still brings some good information to the Formics table. I learned more about the Buggers than I’ve ever known before, as well as finally finding out what happened to Bean and his children. I’m glad I picked this baby up!

• David and Suzanne’s Big Frickin’ Canadian Motorcycle Adventure by David Moore
  

  Absolutely hilarious! Does it help or hurt that David’s writing voice is the same as my BFF’s? His stream-of-consciousness ramble remains on target throughout the book, and is well worth the price of admission.

• Ex Patriots
  

  As good as the first (Ex Heroes). The survivors in LA are discovered by a remnant of the US military out of Yuma. Don’t let the standard military-paranoia-after-zombiepocalypse lull you… All is definitely not what it seems at the Krypton base.

• Way of the Cheetah by Lynn Viehl
  

  Short but sweet ebook about how to get over yourself and get the writing DONE! I highly suggest it to anyone wishing to make their career in writing, be it fiction on non-fiction.

• Voluntary Madness by Norah Vincent
  

  As usual, an interesting book. The author checks into three disparate mental facilities to uncover the horrid treatment and constant barrage of medicating the mentally ill into submission. Despite putting herself into situations for research purposes, she always learns more about herself in the long run. Being of a naturally depressive nature, I see some of myself peeking out from her mind. I’m glad I read it.

  
  

  
  January

• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  

  One of my all-time favorites, I’ve read this thing about fifty times over the years. I picked up the audiobook at some point, and gave it a listen for the first time.
  

  
  What can I say? Ender Wiggin for President!

• Shaken and Stirred by Joan Opyr
  

  Loved it! The tale weaves along, past and present, the life of Poppy – she’s called home because her alcoholic grandfather is dying. The book is set up along the formulaic lines of ‘estranged character returns to her hometown and rediscovers her past lover,’ but that’s about the only formula I saw. Poppy, her mother and grandmother, the back story of her grandfather, father and Susan all coalesce into a heady mix. By the end, I wasn’t sure where this book was going, but I had to keep reading to find out! It’s an excellent story of self-discovery with a wonderful twist. Read it. Now!

• World War Z by Max Brooks
  

  What an excellent novel! I think I prefer my zombies on the page rather than in the movies—too gory and visceral a picture, but my mind can conjure (or not as the mood takes me) well enough on its own in a literary venue. This particular book reads more like a popular non-fiction, a series of interviews of people who lived through the Zombiepocalypse. Split into sections, the ‘journalist’ follows a series of people from all over the world as they discuss what they went through. Nothing is left by the wayside—this books discusses politics on a world scale, both what we have now and what we end up with in the aftermath. Well worth the read!

• Seppeku: A History of Samurai Suicide by Andrew Rankin
  

  Very well researched and documented book on Japanese history. Rankin searches far back into the distant history and shows where the cultural act of seppeku probably began, tracing it through time. The book is very scholarly and a bit dry in places, heavy with meticulous details. It’s not for the casual reader.

• Game Frame by Aaron Dignan
  

  Interesting book.  It breaks down game development into easy to understand chunks. The subtitle is “Using Games as a Strategy for Success” so you can imagine that the focus is more on the corporate structure toward the end.

• Space Junque by L.K. Rigel
  

  Meh. The author had a lot of potential – a world government, spectacular world building, life a hundred years from now, and the introduction of the Gaea gods returning. Then it bombed. Too short, not enough explanation, too rapid segue way between major storylines. It’s a shame. The world building alone was terrific and believable. I can see this thing becoming HUGE if s/he would expand it. Thank goodness I got the thing in a free ebook. I’d hate to have paid money for this.

• Syndrome by Thomas Hoover
  

  I liked this one. It’s a medical science-fiction genre, along the lines of Robin Cook and late Dean Koontz. A brilliant scientist finds the cure to damned near anything if the thing is chemically manipulated properly. Unfortunately, one of his human trials backfires, and there’s a cover up. I had to suspend my belief with the main character—if there were that many things indicating I was being railroaded into joining the human trials of an experimental process, I’d be damned if I’d walk in the front door to begin with. Other than that, it was a good book.

  
  

2011 Reading List