Back at the start of the year someone came up with the silly idea that everybody should read 52 books this year (Xeno). I knew that I would not be up to the task, though I read all day everyday, I never get around to reading very many books in a year. The challenge pretty quickly dropped to 24, just two books a month. I am glad to say that I actually did meet this challenge. Here is the list of books I completed this year (with a 5 star rating denoted by *):

• Toast by Charles Stross ***
• Dune by Frank Herbert ****
• Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert **
• Glasshouse by Charles Stross ****
• Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie ***
• Pump Six by Paolo Bacigalupi ****
• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi ****
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card — This was a 5 star until I read the final chapter, at which point it became a 3 star.
• His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik *****
• Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik ****
• Black Powder War by Naomi Novik *****
• Leviathan by Scott Westerfield ***
• Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman *****
• Old Man’s War by John Scalzi ****
• Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik ****
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ***
• Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik *****
• Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik *****
• Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi ***
• Systemic Shock by Dean Ing *** - this is actually a nostalgic trip back to my early teen years. At the time I would have given it 7 out of 5 stars.
• Single Combat by Dean Ing ***
• The Last Colony by John Scalzi ***
• Storm Front by Jim Butcher ****
• Dark Time by Dakota Banks **
• The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx

It’s worth noting that most of the books got high ratings, not because I love everything I read, but because I tend to stop reading anything that isn’t entertaining me. The only two star ratings were books that came as personal recommendations, so I felt like I needed to finish them. I very nearly completed several other books and then just lost interest at some point. One that I vaguely regret having quit on was On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I really wanted to like this book, and the first third of it flew by and then it became a struggle, and then I just couldn’t muster sufficient giveashit to finish. Oh well.

Well, I failed pretty massively.

As E already said, we had a thing going to try to read more.  I didn’t succeed.  Maybe next year.

Here’s what I did get through.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross

The Reader by Bernharnd Schlink

Ripped by Greg Kot

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Game Change by Mark Halperin

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Baby Chase by Tony Kornheiser

Encounter by Milan Kundera

I’m currently reading The Sack of Rome by Alexander Stille.  I saw him give a lecture earlier in the year and quite enjoyed it, and his book is very interesting, if a bit of a dry subject.

My favorite for the year has to be The Rest is Noise.  Very well written and informative.

We’ll see how I do next year.  I doubt it’s ever a bad thing to want to read more, and network television has done great things to keep me away from it.