52 in 52 – 2009
My second year doing this. I plan to be a bit smarter about my choices and to incorporate more non-fiction into the list. With any luck, I’ll do much better than the eighteen books from 2008.
-K
One – The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Author: J.K. Rowling
Pages: 107
Year Published: 2008
Summary: J.K. Rowling goes back for one more bite at the apple (albeit for charity) with these works of meta-fiction which provided clues and plot points for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Two – Charlie Wilson’s War
Author: George Crile
Pages: 560
Year Published: 2003
Summary: A larger-than-life Texan Congressman and an acerbic, but smart, CIA case officer become the main players in conducting the largest covert operation in CIA history – an armed insurrection by the mujahideen against the Soviet 40th Army and the Afgan communist government.
Three – The Eyre Affair
Author: Jasper Fforde
Pages: 384
Year Published: 2003
Summary: Thursday Next, Litera Tec, is drawn into an extortion scheme when one of Britain’s Most Wanted manages to work his way into Bronte’s Jane Eyre and hold its main character for ransom.
Four – The Cold War: A New History
Author: John Lewis Gaddis
Pages: 352
Year Published: 2005
Summary: Noted Cold War historian John Lewis Gaddis presents a well-written, concise narrative providing an overview of the Cold War.
Five – Hammered
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Pages: 352
Year Published: 2004
Summary: Part cyberpunk, part space opera, Elizabeth Bear’s debut novel tells the story of Jenny Casey, a former Canadian Armed Forces pilot and her struggles to find out why, after 25 years, her former boss seems intent on recruiting her for a VR simulation project involving cyborgs.
Six – Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Pages: 192
Year Published: 2002
Summary: Neil Gaiman presents the wonderful adventure of Coraline, a precocious little girl who, while bored one day, discovers what exactly lies behind the door tucked away in the corner of the living room. What happens next is an adventure involving lost souls, games, and an exploration into the meaning of “bravery.”
Seven – Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life
Author: Steve Martin
Pages: 224
Year Published: 2007
Summary: Steve Martin presents a well-written, touching biography of his years as a stand-up comic. From working at Disneyland selling guidebooks to his performances in front of stadium-sized crowds as “King Tut,” Martin brings his wit, self-deprecation and honesty to one of modern comedy’s truly remarkable stories.
Eight – Another Fine Myth
Author: Robert Asprin
Pages: 200
Year Published: 1978
Summary: It was supposed to be a practical joke, but when a demon, Aahz, is summoned in a display of high magic, things go horribly wrong. Soon, Garkin, the summoner, is dead. Aahz has lost his powers and Skeeve, the magician’s apprentice is finding out the world is a lot more complicated and that imps, deveels, dragons and madmen are all too real.
Nine – Myth Conceptions
Author: Robert Asprin
Pages: 217
Year Published: 1980
Summary: Aahz and Skeeve journey to the kingdom of Possiltum, where they hope to land Skeeve the cushy job of Court Magician. Unfortunately, when they get there, they learn their first asssignment: stop an army about to invade Possiltum, or die trying.
Ten – Fool
Author: Christopher Moore
Pages: 336
Year Published: 2009
Summary: Christopher Moore returns in this delightful re-telling of Shakespeare’s King Lear from the point of view of the Fool. When Lear wishes to retire, he sets in motion events which will eventually tear his kingdom apart. Only Moore’s talent can turn one of Shakespeare’s most epic tragedies into a black, but hilarious comedy.
Eleven – Empire of Ivory
Author: Naomi Novik
Pages: 416
Year Published: 2007
Summary: The Temeraire series continues as Captain Will Laurence and his eponymous dragon are hardly back home when they are sent to the Cape Colony in Africa. In their absence England’s dragons started falling ill, and their only hope rests on a mysterious cure found deep within the jungles.
Twelve – The Hunt for Red October
Author: Tom Clancy
Pages: 480
Year Published: 1984
Summary: Captain Marko Ramius attempts to defect to the United States with the newest addition to the Soviet Navy – the ballistic missile submarine Red October. Tom Clancy’s Cold War thriller follows the progress of a CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, who divines Ramius’ intentions and gets swept up in the mission to a far greater degree than he could imagine.
Thirteen – The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Pages: 320
Year Published: 2008
Summary: Neil Gaiman tells the story of Nobody Owens, an orphan whose family was murdered, and his childhood being raised in a graveyard. Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman’s tale creates an enticing world where ghosts, vampires and others all play a role in young Bod’s rise to adulthood.
Fourteen – The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
Author: Mario Acevedo
Pages: 288
Year Published: 2007
Summary: What appears to be a quirky, fun twist on the private detective subgenre quickly becomes a lukewarm, plastic story with a vampire detective, a dryad and, most disturbingly, only incidental mention of nymphos. Acevedos manages to stretch the “supernatural P.I.” to its breaking point in this novel that is neither good enough, nor bad enough, to warrant even a sympathetic reaction.
Fifteen – The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Author: A.J. Jacobs
Pages: 416
Year Published: 2007
Summary: Esquire magazine reporter A.J. Jacobs embarks on an unusual project: to try and follow, as literally as possible, all of the rules and laws as listed in the Bible. What he discovers along the way is well-written, thoughtful and pretty funny.
Sixteen – The Lords of Discipline
Author: Pat Conroy
Pages: 576
Year Published: 1980
Summary: Pat Conroy’s seminal novel of life at the fictional Carolina Military Institute introduces Will McLean, a cadet in the class of 1967 and world-class slacker. As McClean begins his senior year, the Institute admits its first black cadet in the school’s history and Will is given the task to shepherd him through the harrowing experience that is a cadet’s plebe year.
Seventeen – Elric of Melnibone
Author: Michael Moorcock
Pages: 192
Year Published: 1972
Summary: An albino emperor, Elric rules the ten thousand year-old island nation of Melnibone, but not as his people would wish. When his cousin, Yyrkoon, attempts to usurp the throne, Elric makes a bargain with Arioch, a Lord of Chaos, and starts down the path which will take him all over the Earth.
Eighteen – John Adams
Author: David McCullough
Pages: 768
Year Published: 2001
Summary: David McCullough details the life of John Adams, from his days serving as a member of the Continental Congress, through his tenure as Vice-President and later President of the United States, to his end, at age 90, fifty years after America declared her independence.
Nineteen – A Game of Thrones
Author: George R.R. Martin
Pages: 704
Year Published: 1996
Summary: The first volume in the epic Song of Fire and Ice saga, A Game of Thrones introduces Westeros, a medieval setting in which summers and winters can last for years at a time. When King Robert Baratheon’s chief councillor, Jon Arryn dies, he summons his old friend Ned Stark, lord of the Northern citadel of Winterfell, to be Arryn’s replacement. Once in court, however, Stark begins to unravel a royal secret devastating enough to rend the kingdom apart.
