Read 50 books in 2006

I didn’t make 50, but am increasing the number of actual books read each year.

a collection of historical stories based on real New England pirates. fun reading.

A great Brit, and a great writer. This is a collection of stories. The title story is one of the best in the collection. Many of the stories focus on music, or loss and death. Very interesting.

A classic of SF, but not so much a classic for me.

More Shirley Jackson in top form. A number of the stories have a thread that connect them, that being mention of one “Jim Harris”. The final story is jackson’s most popular “The Lottery.” A haunting tale indeed, but as the last story it truly builds on the momentum and impact of previous stories. Many of the stories deal with a character’s disconnect from society, or how to cope -or not- with society. Aside from “The Lottery” one of my faves was “Flower garden” one of the longest int he collection. Somne are short and humorous with an underbelly of nastiness or unseemliness. Another favorite was the very short “My Dear Alphonse.” Many of the stories were written int he 40s and 50s and the mood of the pieces, and the description of the characters and habits transport you to that era.

Orson Scott Card deals with love, isolation, reality, relationships - and mystery - in this one. The closest in style is his novel “Homebody.” I liked it, but not his best work. it’s nice, however, to see stand-alone novels that span the inportant moments in one person’s life.

This one, by James Gunn, has a very familiar classic 60’s scifi style. Sparse on characterization, big on idea. The premise that America is split in two, based on wealth, the have’s and the have-not’s with respect to medical treatment, is a force that completely changes the culture of the medical profession and society as a whole. A chance at immortality also plays a large part in the suspense/thriller aspect of the novel. I was most fascinated by the idea that persons who could not keep up their medical payments could be repossessed; that is, body parts and organs, including the ones that keep them alive, could be taken if payment wasn’t coming.

This short novel by Shirley Jackson was very interesting. Her use of language, of repitition, and of withholding information, were key in creating this bubble of reality. The style is similar to some of her other works and to other books from the 60s. Having read this in one sitting added to the emotional impact and interest in the characters since much of what is important is conveyed in subtle ways.

This is part of the series about Bean, a series parallel to the Ender series. Orson Scott Card does well with characters and bringing out their deep thoughts; this time, set against a futuristic Earth that could find itself on a path to world war.

This mammoth book will take me a while. I’ve heard that some of my favorite characters don’t appear in this outing.