The Reading Page

Well, there's no way an endeavour like this could be anything but pretentious but here goes anyway.  In the interests of keeping track of what I've read in a given year I've decided to keep a personal diary of what books I've just finished reading and what I thought of them - very brief thoughts.  I'm going to start this with the book I'm currently reading but here's a few titles I recently finished and my thoughts about them.  This is roughly a month's worth of reading in no particular order.
Tales From Under the Rim: the Marketing of Tim Hortons by Ron Buist Not bad but rather slight.  The story of the famous (to Canadians) Roll Up the Rim to Win marketing campaign and a bit of history about Tim Horton's
Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr A very interesting book by a very interesting man.
In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-tech Marketing Disasters by Merril (Rick) Chapman A very interesting book, well written and funny.   Not so much focused on marketing but examples of poor decisions at all levels mostly in the computer industry.  The description of Coleco's Adam computers is priceless.
The Penguin Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where and Why? by Erik Millstone and Tim Lang Very interesting book.  Covers food production and consumption and how things have changed.  I found it a fairly balanced work but I have a left leaning bias as it is.  Informative and depressing.
Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen by Garth Nix His Old Kingdom series.  Very good fantasy series.  Well worth reading.  I've also read four of the six books in the Seventh Tower series and the first two in the Keys to the Kingdom series.
The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman Haven't been reading too many comic books these days but this is a ery good graphic novel.  I've read American Gods and quite liked it.
Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen My wife's suggestion.  Very good.  I don't normally read non-historical mysteries but Carl's a good writer and I like his comic touches.
Okay so here's the actual list.  I won't be listing any books I've read to the children as bedtime stories but other than that anything I've finished is game.  (Can't remember the last book I didn't finish so there probably won't be many of those).
1) Minding the Store by Stanley Marcus This is Mr. Marcus' account of the founding of the Neiman-Marcus company and his years at the helm.  A very interesting book about a very interesting man and company.  Well worth reading.  Nice insights into the business world.

Finished October 04/2004.
2) Into Battle by Garth Nix This is the fifth book in the Seventh Tower series. 

Finished October 09/2004 (No, it didn't take me five days to read as I was reading something else in between that I will finish later).
3) The Violet Keystone by Garth Nix The sixth and final book in the Seventh Tower series. I enjoyed the series quite a bit.  Well written and a very interesting world.

Finished October 11, 2004.
4) Lionboy by Zizou Corder The story of a young boy who can speak to cats whose parents are kidnapped.  It's set in a future post-petroleum world and is quite good.  Zizou Corder is the pen-name of Louisa Young and her daughter Isabel Corder.   Apparently their lizard is named Zizou.  The sequel Lionboy: the Chase is just out.

Finished October 14, 2003.
5) Designing for People by Henry Dreyfuss This is considered to be one of the classics of industrial design.  Originally published in 1955 and republished in 1967 with the author's revisions of his predictions for the future.  A very interesting book which shows how much things have and haven't changed.  The company he founded is still going strong after 75 years and you can see some of things he designed at this website: http://ndm.si.edu/EXHIBITIONS/hd/exhibition.html

Finished October 19, 2004.
6) The Day the Universe Changed by James Burke Finally!  I've been trying to finish this for a heck of a long time.  In fact I've been reading this in between other books on this list.  I quite enjoyed the book as I did the TV series when it aired.   Sometimes the call of fiction is just too strong:-)

James Burke is still going strong and his latest project is something called the Knowledge Web:  

"The Knowledge Web today is an activity rather than a web site—an expedition in time, space, and technology to map the interior landscape of human thought and experience. Thanks to the work of a team of dedicated volunteers, it will soon be an interactive space on the web where students, teachers, and other knowledge seekers can explore information in a highly interconnected, holistic way that allows for an almost infinite number of paths of exploration among people, places, things, and events."   http://www.k-web.org/

Finished October 21, 2004
7) Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett The third Discworld book.  I love Pratchett's writing.  It's poetic at times and almost always funny with an economy of words I envy.  Funnily enough I was not at all impressed when I first read The Colour of Magic.  Probably didn't get it at the time.

Finished October 22, 2004 - a reread.
8) America (the book) : a Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction as presented by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart I love the Daily Show and find it hilarious.   Pretty much everything I know about American politics I learnt from the Daily Show (which is kind of sad I suppose). Not the sort of book to read in public.  I kept bursting into laugher in front of my kids and all I could ever say was "It's adult humour."  I did a fair bit of quiet snickering waiting at gymnastics class too.   Lebensraum for Marlboro Country.  Hilarious.

Finished October 24, 2004
9) Zulu Heart by Steven Barnes Yes it does sound like a romance novel (and the cover's not much help in that department).  What it really is though is the sequel to Barnes' Lionheart which is an alternative history book set in a North America that was colonized by Africans instead of Europeans.  The Europeans and the natives are the oppressed peoples with the Europeans being the slaves.  Not a bad book and one I enjoyed reading.

Finished October 26, 2004
10) The Knight by Gene Wolfe The start of a new fantasy series from Gene Wolfe.  Plenty of big names in literate fantasy providing plugs on the back.  An interesting story from a great writer.  My only criticism is that I don't entirely like Mr. Wolfe's fill in the blanks storytelling style.  He doesn't deal in a linear storytelling style and it can be confusing if you're not paying close enough attention to the story.  Recommended with reservations.

Finished November 01, 2004.
11) Explorer by C.J. Cherryh A rare foray, for me into Sci-Fi.  I used to read quite a bit of sci-fi but I haven't recently.  I like Cherryh but found the story rather slow moving.  I've read others in the Foreigner series so I eventually remembered what the background was but I can't imagine someone new to the series being able to get into it.  Not bad all in all.

Finished November 05, 2004.
12) Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne-Jones YA novel by the very prolific Ms. Wynne-Jones.   I quite enjoyed it.  There's going to be an anime movie by the very talented Hayao Miyazaki (a fan website in English) based on this book out next year (2005) which I'm looking forward to.  Mr. Miyazaki wrote and directed such anime classics as My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away.  All good stuff so it'll be interesting to see how the movei turns out. 

Finished November 15, 2004
13) Quest for the Best by Stanley Marcus An interesting book on the "best" by the late Stanley Marcus.  It's very interesting reading on what he considered to be the decline in quality and those things that are the enemies of quality.  Published in 1979 it's very interesting how his insights about the rise of brands and how bigger doesn't=better still hold up.

Finished November 17, 2004
14) Fire and Hemlock by Diane Wynn Jones It took me a while to get into this one but it was ultimately rewarding.  Very interesting story with a lot of depth.

Finished November 22nd, 2004
15) Hexwood by Diane Wynn Jones Quite enjoyed this one.  A good read and an interesting sci fi fantasy.

Finished November 25th, 2004
16) Aunt Maria by Diane Wynn Jones Loved it.  Quite an enjoyable book with a very interesting plot.  Just begs to be made into a movie.

Finished November 26th, 2004 (And yes quite obviously I'm on a Diane Wyn Jones jag right now).
17) Charmed Life by Diane Wynn Jones Another good book by Ms. Jones.  I'm going through them much faster now:-)  (Which is not a indictment or anything).

Finished November 29th, 2004
18) The Magicians of Caprona by Diane Wynn Jones Another good one by Ms. Jones and I did work this day!

Finished November 29th, 2004
19) The Homeward Bounders by Diane Wynn Jones Another really good story with a sad ending.

Finished November 30th, 2004.
20) The Ogre Downstairs by Diane Wynn Jones Aimed at a younger audience and quite a good book.

Finished December 1st, 2004
21) The Time of the Ghost by Diane Wynn Jones Another good story with an appallingly irrittating spolier review on the back cover.  (In the edition I read anyway).

Finished December 2nd, 2004
22) Deep Secret by Diane Wynn Jones An adult novel from Ms. Jones.  Haven't read anything by her yet that I haven't liked and this one didn't go against that.

Finished December 4th, 2004
23) Dogsbody by Diane Wynn Jones Liked it.

Finished December 6th, 2004
23) Cart and Cwidder by Diane Wynn Jones Book 1 of her Dalemark Quartet.  I've read it before but for some reason I don't think I've ever read any of the others.  I shall remedy that.

Finished December 6th, 2004
24) Great Buildings of the World by Time Inc. Billed as "the world's most influential, inspiring, and astonishing structures."  Does a pretty good job for a 170 page book I'd say.  Why they didn't include a picture of the Lonaberger Basket Company head office I don't understand.  They mention it but a picture is worth a thousand words.

Finished December 08, 2004
25) Going Postal by Terry Pratchett His latest.  Must be the millionth book by now.  I suspect no one knows for sure or it's some sort of secret:-)  Not bad.   Thought the ending was a tad weak but the writing and humour were up to the usual (good) standard.

Finished December 11th, 2004
26) Drowned Ammet by Diane Wynn Jones Book 2 of her Dalemark Quartet. Quite good.

Finished December 14th, 2004
27) The Spellcoats by Diane Wynn Jones Book 3 of the Dalemark Quartet. Really liked it.  The magic in it is quite different and interesting.

Finished December 16th, 2004
28) The Crown of Dalemark by Diane Wynn Jones The final book of the Dalemark Quartet.  In all the fantasy novels I've ever read I don't believe that I ever recall reading a novel before where the person traveling from a "modern" world" to a fantasy world does so from a modern version of that fantasy world.  But maybe I'm just not remembering that.  I enjoyed the whole series.

Finished December 20th, 2004
29) The Hobbit Graphic Novel by J.R.R. Tolkein - illustrations by David Wenzel, text abridged by Charles Dixon with Sean Deming I've always thought Tolkein could use a good editor.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time I recall really enjoying the Hobbit.

Finished December 21st, 2004.
30) Amber and Ashes by Margaret Weis The start of a new Dragonlance series,  The Dark Disciple.   I think I've read a Dargonlance book before but this series is set long after the events I know anything about.  Not bad.  I kind of like fantasy were the gods take an active role in the story and the male lead is an interesting character (so's the female lead but I'm not particularily drawn to "evil" characters - not that she's "evil" in the maniacal laughter sense.

Finished December 25th, 2004
31) Wasteland of Flint by Thomas Harlan I quite enjoyed his Oath of Empire series.   I thought this one was over-written.  There was just too much description of activities for my taste.  I thought it detracted from the story which was an interesting one.  The sequel, House of Reeds doesn't seem to suffer from that thankfully.

Finished January 7th, 2005 (My reading rate seems to have really slowed down lately.  I don't tend to read much on weekends or holidays though.  Too much else to do).
32) House of Reeds by Thomas Harlan Better than the first book in this series (see the previous entry) but it suffers from a little too much gore if you ask me.  I'm not such a fan of it that I need such graphic scenes of it.

Finished January 12th, 2005
33) candyfreak: a Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond An interesting read of the authors journey across the US touring some small candy factories.  Along the way he describes his past and some information on the candy industry in the United States.  Quite an interesting read.\

Finished January 13th, 2005
34) The Great Escape by Ian Watson Finally.  Only stubbornness made me finish this.  I found it quite the chore to finish it.  Can't really say what it was about this collection of short stories that I found so dull and dreary but that's how I found it.  Quite relieved to be done with it.

Finished January 16th, 2005.
35) Conqueror's Moon by Julian May The start of a new fantasy series by Julian May.   The series is called The Boreal Moon Tale and has some very nice magic in it.   Very interesting and well worth reading.  The book has some very divided reviews on Amazon.  Some people loved it and others loathed it.  I enjoyed it and I'll read the rest of the series I imagine.

Finished January 20th, 2005
36) Red Slippers: More Tales of Mithgar by Dennis L. McKiernan Well I guess you should give every author a chance.  This was Mr. McKiernan's.  I won't be reading any more of his works though.

Finished January 26th, 2005
37) Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevemer Finally, something worth reading.  What a great book.  Charming in fact.  Well written and interesting.  I loved Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles though I haven't read anything by Caroline Stevemer.  Written as a series of letters between two cousins in a post-Napoleonic England where magic works.  Very nice book.  Definitely the best I've read this year.  I look forward to the sequel.

Finished January 30th?, 2005
38) Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde The latest Thursday Next book by Mr. Fforde.   I enjoyed this one better than The Well of Lost Plots.  Fairly silly but well written.  There's an exhaustive (and exhausting) website at: http://www.jasperfforde.com/.  As my wife complained sometimes he's just too damn clever.  Playing spot the literary reference can just plum tucker you out.  It would make for a cool RPG world though...

Finished February 01, 2005
39)  Golf Has Never Failed Me: The Lost Commentaries of Legendary Golf Architect Donald J. Ross by Donald J. Ross Interesting little book put together from some unpublished notes and published commentary by one of the foremost golf course architects of the 20th century.  You (or at least I) have to like a man who is disgusted by people who can only think or talk about one topic.  In this case golf.

Finished February 04, 2005

40) Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke Liked this one much better than Inkheart.   Don't know if that's the fault of the translator or the text itself.

Finished February 06, 2005
41) The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson I enjoyed it.  The first two thirds or so was rather predictable but still well written.  The main character Annika was well realized. 

Finished February 08, 2005
42) Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker
 It was okay.  I like Abarat quite a bit but this sequel didn't seem to grab me. 

Finished February 13, 2005
43)The Briar King by Greg Keyes I liked his stuff back when he was still J. Gregory Keyes.  This book raised my hackles a bit when I saw all the reviews and plugs on the back and the first few pages, particularily those from authors I don't care for.  A good book doesn't need that sort of help.  Despite the blurbs though the book turned out to be pretty good (if not as fabulous as the reviews promised:-)) after a weak start and a few truly dreadful passages, e.g. likening two hills with masculine names to a woman's breasts and stating a character rode through the cleavage, ugh.  Not as good as The Riverborn and Blackgod though, two of his early books well worth seeking out.  

I'll be reading the sequel The Charnel Prince.

Finished February 18, 2005
44) The Nameless Day by Sara Douglass Book one in The Crucible series.  I read the Wayfarer Redemption series which was pretty good too (if terribly confusing what with the different book titles here in Canada from Australia).  This is quite good and very interesting and different.  Definitely recommended.

Finished March 01, 2005
45) The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes Book Two of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone and the sequel to The Briar King.  Now this was more like it.  Damn good and a page turner.  Better than the Briar King and very engrossing.  I have a bad feeling that the sequel is some way off:-(

Finished March 04, 2005
46) Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey Volume 1 of The Sundering.  I would never have guessed that someone could do something new with the tired old Dark Lord premise but Ms. Carey did indeed manage to do just that.  It's almost as though the Lord of the Rings is being told from Sauron's viewpoint but here at least the so-called Dark Lord seems to have some reason for his wrath.  I rather enjoyed her Kushiel series as well.

Finished March 08, 2005
47) The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker Book One of The Prince of Nothing.  Quite good though perhaps not up to the overblown praise on the cover:-)

Finished March 15, 2005.
48) The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker Book Two of The Prince of Nothing.  I liked it better than book one despite a bodycount worthy of a George R. R. Martin novel:-)

Finished March 19, 2005.
49) The Wounded Hawk by Sara Douglass Book Two of the Crucible.  (Does anyone even write fantasy books that are standalone?)  I enjoyed it.  Sara Douglass is a good writer.  She gets to the point and her storytelling is engrossing and enjoyable.

Finished March 23rd, 2005.
50) Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented An Era and Defined a Generation by Chris Turner. I liked it.  Not just an examination of The Simpsons but a somewhat broader look at the last 15 years or so.  I certainly didn't agree with everything the author had to say but enough of it to enjoy the book.

Finished March 31, 2005.
51) Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel by Scott Adams Enjoyed it but then I usually do enjoy Mr. Adam's work.   Quite funny.

Finished April 04, 2005.
52) The Ruby of the South by Philip Pullman Book 1 in the Sally Lockhart quartet.  Good stuff from Mr. Pullman.  The Victorian style cover and familiarity with His Dark Matter series led me to buy it.  I definitely recommend it.

Finished April 05, 2005
53) The Pride of Carthage: a Novel of Hannibal by David Durham What a snoozefest.  One of those books you're happy to finish.

Finished April 09, 2005 (I've been reading this one and off for quite a while actually).
54) Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World by Jill Jonnes Now this was more like it.  An engrossing account.  Makes you appreciate our modern world and enforces how different things were 100 years ago.  Well worth reading.

Finished April 13, 2005
55) The Synthetic Beast: When Corporations Come to Life by Andy Turnbull. A book by a Canadian author.  Rather a strange concept behind it.  The author believes that large organizations (be they governments, businesses, movements, etc.) tend to achieve a state akin to being alive when they grow past a certain point.  These "synthetic beasts" then "do" things that benefit themselves whether they would be good for humankind or not.  It makes a certain amount of sense I suppose but the author ruins the book by going off on some oddball rants towards the end of the book.  He ends up mostly sounding like some kook longing for some non-existent old days.  Worth skimming for the thinking it makes you do I'd say.

Finished April 22, 2005
56) Carnegie by Peter Krass A very interesting account of a complicated person.  I never realized just how rich he was (at his peak wealth something like 100 billion in modern dollars -  second richest man in history after John D. Rockefeller - 200 billion) or how much money he ended up giving away.  Pretty much all of it.   An amazing person who was guilty of some pretty shady business and labour practices during his business life but ended up benefiting millions of people.  The Carnegie Foundation and various other funds and foundation he set up are still benefiting millions of people.  The influence he had during his life was amazing as well.

It did take me quite a long time to read though:-)

Finished April 30, 2005
57) The World of Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse I love Wodehouse.  What a great comic writer.  The short stories in this collection are just gems.  Whenever I feel depressed or find the world a grim place I can just read one of these (or watch an episode from the TV series with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie - my wife and I just got the complete set) and it'll cheer me right up.  Great stuff.

Finished May 05, 2005
58) The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson A young adult title. Somewhat predictable but well-written. Started reading it to the kids but they lost interest. This was read during the next entry.

Finished May 13, 2005
59) The Most of Wodehouse by P. G. Wodehouse More Wodehouse.  Samples of his various series. The best is still the Jeeves stories though the novel at the end Quick Service was quite good.

Finished May 21, 2005
60) The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs How could I forget this one?  Not because it was bad for goodness sake as it was quite an enjoyable read.

Finished  May 27, 2005
61) Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass Book One of The Troy Game.  Not the most original premise, characters entangled through the ages but then again what is?  A good read.

Finished June 03, 2005
62) Viking Odinn's Child by Tim Severin Yup, that Tim Severin.  Guess he decided to put all that primary research on Norse sagas and Irish chronicles to good [fictional] use.   An enjoyable read that manages to keep much of the feel of the sagas [in translation admittedly which is all I've read them in] while managing to modernize them enough to not be too off putting.  I'll read the sequels.

Finished June 11, 2005
63) Gods' Concubine by Sara Douglass The sequel to Hade's Daughter.  Book 2 in the Troy Game.  Still worth reading but I hope she stops at three books.

Finished June 13, 2005
64) In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith The sixth book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  Always a pleasure to read something with substance.  McCall Smith's books in this series are a joy to read and really give you a sense of a different world (Botswana).  Highly recommended.

Finished June 15, 2005
65) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares I enjoyed the book and the movie.  Both are worthwhile.

Finished June 17, 2005
66) Goodknyght: Tales of the Dark Forest, Book 1 by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore Good goofy fun.

Finished June 19, 2005
67) Whizzard!: Tales of the Dark Forest, Book 2 by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore How sad.  I read it not that long ago but I can't remember when I finished it:-(  It was enjoyable though.

Finished ???
68) Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies by Allan Neuwirth Make that the most popular American animated TV shows and Movies with nary a reference to anime.  But a very good read nonetheless.   Who knew making a cartoon was so complicated? 

A while back I read roughly half of Animation: the Whole Story by Howard Beckerman.  The history bit in the beginning is fascinating (for example did you know that the very first animated feature film was Argentinian (1916)?  I didn't get very far into the technical stuff in the second half though because it's a little too detailed for my tastes.  But again, who knew there are so many ways to do animation?

Finished June 25th, 2005
69) Trollogy: Tales of the Dark Forest, Book 3 by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore An uneven attempt to spoof the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.  The frist half is quite funny but the second is kind of draggy.   Given that the sidekick character Cliff the somewhat suicidal Lemming is hilarious.

Finished June 27, 2005
70) This Scepter'd Isle by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis It was okay.  Would I recommend it as a must read?  No, but it was okay.

Finished July 1, 2005
71) The Unhandsome Prince by John Moore Kind of uneven.  Some bits were quite funny but other bits seemed awkward.  Worth reading though.

Finished July 3, 2005
72) Hunters of the Dark Sea by Mel Odom Never heard of the author before but the cover was intriguing (some whalers in a long boat fighting off some tentacles).  It was quite a good yarn actually and probably the most engaging book I've read in quite a while.   Definitely worth a read.  (The man has written an amazing amount of stuff.   Just look at all the books! http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Mel_Odom.htm Impressive.)

Finished July 5, 2005
73) The Curse of the Gloamglozer by Paul Stewart and Chris Ridell Book Four in the Edge Chronicles which I somehow missed when was reading the series.  Quite good, a very different fantasy setting.   Very entertaining.

Finished July 8, 2005
74) The Homer Book and The Bart Book edited by Bill Morrison Two very thin compilations of Simpson trivia dedicated to you know who.  I'm a big fan so I enjoyed them.  (My favourite bit was the combination of Mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard which was in the Simpson fridge. I can't for the life of me remember the name but it now came with relish!)

Finished July 11, 2005
75) The Castle in the Air by Diane Wynn-Jones A sequel of sorts to Howl's Moving Castle and quite good. 

Finished July 12, 2005
76) The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age edited by Harry Turtledove and Noreen Doyle Not a big short story fan so I'm not sure why I bothered.  New tales of the Bronze Age seems to be a bit of a stretch for some of the stories (Blood Wolf and Giliad) and I couldn't read The Myrmidons or finish Giliad.   Pretty mixed bag I'm afraid.  I like the Judith Tarr story and the S. M. Stirling one but the rest didn't do much for me.  (I started reading a short story collection by Gene Wolfe but gave it up a waste of my time).

Finished July 14, 2005
77) Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke Phew, what a long book!  Took me almost two weeks to read it.  But what a treat.  This is one of those books you either love or hate. (See the reviews on Amazon). It takes quite a while for the book to get moving and it's written in a style reminiscent of someone like Jane Austen (so I'm told as I've never read any Jane Austen). I quite enjoyed it and loved the very dry humour in the book and the beautifullu poetic language that Ms. Clarke wisely doesn't overdo.  You can read a sample of her writing here.  (I must say that the style isn't the same as the book.  The interviews with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell provide a much better idea of what the book is like. http://www.jonathanstrange.com   I highly recommend it but it's not for everyone.

Finished July 26, 2005
78) Freeglader by Paul Stewart and Chris Ridell Book Seven in the Edge Chronicles.  Quite good, a very different fantasy setting.   Very entertaining.

Finished July 27, 2005
79) Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J.K. Rowling Book six of the series.  A worthy addition.   Quite enjoyable.  I like the Harry Potter books.  Now I just have to wait two years for book seven:-(

Finished July 29, 2005
80) The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Book one of His Dark Materials.  A reread.   Excellent stuff.  It's one of the many candidates for the race to capture some of the movie cash Harry Potter has generated (there's lots of candidates, the Spiderwick Chronicles, Artemus Fowl, etc.) though I cannot imagine that a movie based on the series will be that good.  You never know.  (The Chronicles of Narnia is up next.   The trailer looks like Lord of the Rings for the younger set).  Much richer and more detailed than the Harry Potter series.  (I recall not liking the third book that much when I read it.  It's on my list so we'll see how it holds up).

Finished July 31, 2005
81) The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman Book two of His Dark Materials.  Another reread.  Interestingly both my wife and my eleven year old daughter feel that the character of Will is much more sympathetic than Lyra.  Have to say I agree with them.   Lyra is a selfish brat.

Finished August 3rd, 2005
82) The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman Book three of His Dark Materials.  I was right I don't like this one as well as the other two.  There's so many improbable things going on and frankly I don't find the way the loose ends are tied up particularily satisfying.  Oh well, the first two are still quite good.

Finished August 4th, 2005
83) The Forests of Silence by Emily Rodda This is Book 1 of Deltora Quest a fantasy series aimed at children that my eleven year old daughter has been reading.  There's sixteen or so inter-related books in three series.  Well written and a quick read for an adult.   I found it enjoyable.

Finished August 5th, 2005
84) The Barbed Coil by J. V. Jones I like J. V. Jones especially The Baker's Boy series and book 1 of the Sword of Shadows trilogy.  This was a reread (the first of her books I'd ever read actually) and it was okay but not great.  The tone of her books can vary quite a bit.  This one falls between The Baker's Boy and The Sword of Shadows trilogy.  Pretty good.

Finished August 8th, 2005
85)  Kingdom of the Grail by Judith Tarr I really like Ms. Tarr's books set in the bronze age.  I'm heartily sick of new books written about King Arthur, Troy or any other overdone setting so the only reason I picked this up was because I don't buy new hardcovers.  I think I started this sometime ago and then abandoned it.  It was okay but I prefer her other works.

Finished August 18th, 2005
86) The Big Book of Blues by Robert Santelli (Yes I do actually "read" reference books.  Only rarely though).  Took me forever to get through.  I'd actually started it quite a while ago and stopped reading in the "c's".  Fascinating stuff but the editing was kind of sloppy.  The present tense was used for dead people quite often which shows that this is an updated edition.  Interesting stuff though I really wish he had explained more of the nicknames...

Finished August 23rd, 2005
87) Tailspin: Public Relations Disasters - The Inside Stories & the Lessons Learned by Gerry McCusker. Interesting book on public relations.  The author makes a strong case for more industry certification and standards in the industry but you still got the sense that sometimes at least he's more annoyed because a situation was handled badly rather than it occured at all.

Finished August 26th, 2005.
88) Make Love!*: The Bruce Campbell Way by Bruce Campbell. Very funny.  Definitely recommended reading.

Finished August 29th, 2005.
89) I Know That Name!: the People Behind Canada's Best-Known Brand Names from Elizabeth Arden to Walter Zeller by Mark Kearney and Randy Ray Sort of interesting brief bios of the names behind some famous (and not so famous) Canadian businesses/brand names.  A few of the people covered are of very questionable Canadian origin (most notably the Dow behind Dow Chemicals as while he was born in Canada he left at age 6 weeks.  They do acknowledge this though.

Finished August 30th, 2005
90) Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire Hmm, clever book I suppose and pretty well written.  I think the Publishers Weekly review on the Amazon sums up the book's shortcomings quite well.  The pace can be quite slow and ruminations on good and evil are pretty boring.  Actually I thought book was at its best in the last few chapters when the Witch is trying to get her sister's shoes back from Dorothy.

Finished September 02, 2005
91) The Grand Tour: Or the Purloined Coronation Regalia by Patricia C.Wrede and Caroline Stevemer The Sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. Written as journal entries instead of letters it takes up where the first book left off. It was pretty good but I thought the first one was better. The last part was the best bit..

Finished September 08, 2005
92) Darkwitch Rising by Sara Douglass Book three of the Troy Game.  Ugh, I'm getting heartily sick of these characters.  I like her writing and alll but this story has dragged on long enough.   I was hoping she was going to wrap things up soon but as I got closer to the end I got the depressing feeling that I would have to churn through another one.  Oh well.   Or maybe I won't bother...

Finished September 15th, 2005
93) Night of Knives by Ian Cameron Esslemont This novella is set in the same setting as the Malazahn Book of the Fallen by Steve Erikson.  Cam is co-creator of the world, along with Steve Erikson.   The story is quite good (though it suffers from poorish editing.  Nothing too major though) and well paced.   The characters are nicely done, Temper and Kiyala and the setting is described in a very nice fashion.  I particularily liked the character of the fisherman.  Main complaint?  It's too short.  Very nice gritty heroic fantasy.  Fits very nicely into the whole Malazahn mythos.  (And yes Cam is a friend of mine).

Finished September 19th 2005
94) Brand Failures: the Truth Behind the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of all Time by Matt Haig. I enjoy reading these sorts of books, could be part of the job I suppose but I actually do read them for pleasure.  It's amusing to read about the bizarre decisions companies have made in the past and makes me feel better for working for the government.  Nothing like a little schadenfreude to make your job more enjoyable.  Well written and if the only glaring mistake is where the author refers to Canada's Report on Business Magazine as Reporter magazine.  Some of the failures are hoary old retreads, e.g. the Chevy Nova (it won't go in Spanish) and the like but there's a nice assortment of English cases I was unaware of.  Well worth reading.

Finished September 20th, 2005
95) The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde Hilarious.  I love Jasper Fforde's writing.  This is set in the same universe as the Thursday Next novels only set about 20 years after those.  The way he manages to intergrate the "real world" with fairy tales is delightful.  The story is about the murder investigation of Humpty Dumpty by the Nursery Crimes Division of Reading's police department.  It's not noir unfortunately but maybe that's for the best.

Finished September 22nd, 2005.
96) Artemis Fowl: the Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer I like the Artemis Fowl books.  This is the fourth one.  I particularily like the way the character of Artemis has been changing with the series.  A good read.

Finished September 26th, 2005
97) The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks First book in The Fourth Realm series.  I enjoyed it.   It's well written and the characters are nicely done.  A good read.

Finished September 28th, 2005
98) The Rover by Mel Odom The first book in a series whose name I don't know.  It was okay I guess.  Any book that has hobbit-like characters falls into the soft and fluffy school of fantasy as far as I'm concerned.  (This also includes those series that are told by "story-tellers").  People like Robert Jordan,and Terry Brooks and the like.  Authors who write stories where continuing characters are the most important thing in the book.  There's nothing wrong with this but often the stories suffer from being less believable and "soap-operish" than the alternative, the gritty fantasy.  This is the realm of people like Glen Cook, Steven Erikson and R. Scott Baker, authors who wouldn't touch a hobbit with a ten foot troll and aren't afraid to kill off characters because the story itself is more important than any individual character.  Glen Cook's been writing this sort of stuff for a long time but the exemplar of the genre has to be George R. R. Martin whose "A Song of Ice and Fire" seies is an absolute bloodbath.  There is no point getting attached to any character as they are all on the chopping block.  I think pretty much every character from the first book are dead (usually in some grisly fashion too!).  Despite that I'm looking forward to reading the next installment when it comes out in November.  And I've promised myself to never read another Wheel of Time book.  Maybe Molasses fantasy is a good typecast for that sort of stuff, slow and sickly sweet.

Finished September 30th, 2005
Well that's it a year in the life of Oliver's reading.  I'm sort of surprised it's as many (and as few) as 98 titles.   I would probably have hit 100 if I hadn't read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and The Big Book of Blues but they were both worth it. Back to anonymous reading...

Last updated October 03, 2005