Read 100 books in 2008

A Modest Proposal, J Swift

Because everyone gets the short encapsulation of the argument somewhere in school, because some folks contemporaneous to the publication thought he was actually serious, thus making it a case study for any afficionado of social satire that makes one think, and because I like going back into the full reading of Such Things, and lo! there it was at the Gutenberg Project.
In a nutshell: yes, still worthy of reading the whole thing. oh my.

Spirit Gate, Kate Elliott – thanks be to Tor.com for handing out free etexts in advance promotion of their new website project; these are just the things to make one salivate for more of each writer’s work, and a splendid intro to folks whose writing I hadn’t been aware of before this (silly me).

35. Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson. Continues with characters and further adventures of folks we met in Mistborn. Fascinating, workable magic system, interesting characters who are busy growing, or rather, dealing with all the complex issues life throws their way. Great stuff. (want more)

33. Little Brother, Cory Doctorow. Riveting story, and the “as you know, Bob” exposition doesn’t get in the way for me. Of course, I’m already in the choir; curious as to how this one reads to its target YA audience. There’s a thoroughly spoilered conversation over at Making Light with various takes on the work. Worth reading. Worth handing to teens, along with some cheap electronics and pointers to the how-tos over at instructables.com

34. The Mirador, Sarah Monette. Damn but she’s a good writer. book three in a series, adult themes (ahem) and situations; by which I mean difficult situations and excellent complex character growth. If you like Austen, Delaney, and beaudelaire, you’ll love Monette.

35.

Fascinating microverse, big enough for airships and political arenas as worldlets bounce around inside an icy-edged Dyson sphere, lit – somewhat – by artificial suns. Gravity is a thing you make with spin, right? coolness, to combine zero-G and an atmosphere to roll worlds around in.
A free teaser ebook from Tor.com (hurray, and thank you!) and there are more set in this cosmos. Mmm, delicious, and more tasty reads to come.

Tasty book written by just one (David Freer) of three collaborators who (with Larry Flint and Mercedes Lackey) have created novels in an intereresting alternative history Enlightenment; this one hauls through the Norselands, a profound skeptic leading the way through magic and mythos. Great story. No you don’t have to have read Shadow of the Lion (set in Venice) or This Rough Magic (straying farther afield in the Mediterranean) for these characters or setting to make sense, but you know you’re going to want to.

http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200507/0743499131.htm?blurb

30. The Sharing Knife, Vol 3: Passage. Lois McMaster Bujold. I realize I came into this series wanting more stories of another of the author’s newer universes, and was a little annoyed at kinda knowing too well waht was going to happen in the second book in this series, even though as always her detaily writing of complex characters was and is as always, riveting. This third book breaks new ground, and develops new and known characters, adding complexity, depth and all the challenges of living deeply, and I liked it very, very much. Yes, it’s the sort of book you stay up till 3 am to finish, what?

Alternate history what-if novel, set in a universe where one history-path has the technology to travel to other history-path similar worlds.

Fascinating fantasy novel of political intrigue, with an interesting magical system. Perhaps one doesn’t fall so deeply in love with the characters as with Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint folks, but their story is thoroughly engrossing.
A compelling read, sufficient unto itself, and with promise of another novel to continue the story (already published I think) being a very tasty prospect rather than a frustrating cliffhanger.

Early science fiction, passed into the common domain and produced as an etext by Project Gutenberg. Great fun, reading early speculative scientifictional works, both for the fun what-if ideas as to where technological advances might have gone (hey, not everyone can be a Clarke, Heinlein, or Asimov) as for the story-spinning and fun little “gotcha!” twist at the end.