I didn’t read all the books on my shelf this year (let’s be real, I never will), and it’s wishful thinking that I managed to read more than I acquired, but I read quite a bit, and re-read some past favorites, which I have not been able to do much of in the past few years.
I used to be a big re-reader, until the end of 2013, when I made a resolution to read more new authors. Then I started collecting books faster than I could keep up. Over the summer, I re-read Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle and fell in love with it all over again. I can’t wait for the continuation in the Dreamer Trilogy she’s working on right now. In order to finally read books two and three of Greg van Eekhout’s Daniel Blackland trilogy, I re-read California Bones, and it was even better than I remembered. I think 2019 might be the time to re-read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. And I may have to revisit Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels, because a new one is coming out and I am pumped!
Here’s the roundup, by numbers :
novels: 31
novellas: 7
short story: 7
short story collections: 5
short story anthology: 2
graphic novels: 2
lit magazine: 1
essay collection: 1
memoir: 1
nonfiction: 1
(for title information, you’ll have to stalk me on Goodreads)
And the standouts:
Black Unicorn, Companions on the Road, and The Winter Players – Tanith Lee
Plum Rains – Andromeda Romano-Lax
In the Vanishers’ Palace – Alliete de Bodard
Black Magick Vols 1 and 2 – Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott
Wicked Wonders – Ellen Klages
Her Body and Other Parties – Carmen Maria Machado
“Bitter Grounds” – Neil Gaiman
The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales – Dominik Parisien (Editor)
Sourdough – Robin Sloan
Double Feature – Emma Bull and Will Shetterly
Biggest Surprises:
Double Feature: Where has Liavek been all my life? I can’t believe I was so completely unaware of this invented port city that is made of my secondary-world fantasy dreams. I need to buy all the collections of Liavek stories and cuddle them in my coat this winter.
Crazy Rich Asians: I picked up Crazy Rich Asians as a fluff read before seeing the movie, but it was much smarter and more culturally educational than I expected. I immediately read China Rich Girlfriend and was disappointed that the magic was diminished. I will probably read Rich People Problems as my guilty pleasure of 2019, but then again, maybe not. I have a lot of exciting books on my shelf.
eabrenner 