imagine_that: (book)
( Jan. 4th, 2015 05:50 pm)
And here's my annual list of the best "new-to-me" books I read last year.

This year's count is 28 (assuming I didn't lose track of any that I read...and I really might have this year - I've been very distracted). That means I hit my goal of finishing at least 26 books in a year, which is getting tougher and tougher as a stay-at-home mother of TWO kids now. My full list can be found here.

The best book of the year was probably the short story collection Happily Ever After edited by John Klima. Almost every story hit the mark for me, which is rare in a short story collection. (Of course all but one story in the anthology was a reprint, heavily sourced from the Datlow and Windling collections. So this anthology may be a heavy retread if you have read a lot from those collections.)

The best list can be found here.

Best "New" Reads 2014

Fiction - Adult

Happily Ever After Edited by John Klima
Memoirs of An Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin

Fiction - YA and Children's

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Scarlett, Cress)
The Cold Cereal Saga by Adam Rex (Cold Cereal, Unlucky Charms, Champions of Breakfast)
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Comics

Sandman vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman
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It's that time again, the best new-to-me books that I read last year.

My book count improved for the year - 28 this time. Still being a stay-at-home mother, my aim is to hit 26 a year (roughly one every 2 weeks), so I surpassed that. Go me. :) My full list can be found, as always, on goodreads: 2013 list.

My absolute best book of the year was "Waiting" by Ha Jin.

Read it if you think it might appeal to you. There's a reason it's a National Book Award winner. And my best of the year rarely lines up with any major awards!

Full list of best book can be found here. (I've got reviews on about half the list this year.)

Best "New" Reads 2013

Fiction
Waiting by Ha Jin
Birthmarked trilogy by Caragh O'Brien (mostly the first two: Birthmarked and Prized)

Graphic Novels
Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid
The Collected Strangers in Paradise vol 1 by Terry Moore (note this is collected in about 3 different ways, and I didn't like some of the other "vol 1s" nearly as much)

Non-fiction
Mom: A Celebration of Mothers From StoryCorps edited by Dave Isay
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imagine_that: (book)
( Jan. 4th, 2012 04:09 pm)
It's that time again, folks. Here are my best "new" reads (as in new to me - rereads don't count) of 2011.

I will say the parenting an infant/young toddler does not leave one much time to read (other than the same book 20 times in a row to the toddler yelling "kitty train" at the top of her lungs!), and my total for this year is only 26. (And 4.5 of those were rereads, and one was a parenting book.) The full list, as usual, can be found here on Goodreads.

Since the total is so low (and I did a few series this year), I'm just going to do a Top 5 list (and try to be pickier about my reading choices in 2012!). I'm going to forgo choosing the absolute best of the year, as nothing really stands out to me. The best list can be found here.

Best "New" Reads of 2011

Beggars In Spain by Nancy Kress
Taran Wandererby Lloyd Alexander
Mazel by Rebecca Goldstein
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn, vol 1 and vol 2
Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente
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imagine_that: (book)
( Jan. 1st, 2011 06:17 pm)
This has been an odd reading year for me, but I think that's only to be expected. This year I was pregnant, quit my job, living out of a suitcase and bouncing from place to place for several weeks, in the hospital twice and had a baby. Right.

This year I read 43 books (possibly more depending on how you want to count reading large chunks of What to Expect... and similar titles). Of these, 3 were rereads, and do not get included in this list (despite being some of the best things I've read this year). The list in its entirety can be found on goodreads.

The overall best book of the year was The Night Counter by Alia Yunis.

Onto the best of the new (to me that is):

Best "New" Reads 2010

Fiction - Adult

The Night Counter - Alia Yunis
A Fine And Private Place - Peter S. Beagle
The Illuminator - Brenda Vantrease
The Persistence of Vision -John Varley

Nonfiction - Adult

The Doula Guide to Birth: Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Should Know - Ananda Lowe

Graphic Novels

Invincible Vol 6.: A Different World - Robert Kirkman
Tiny Tyrant Vol 1.: The Ethelbertosaurus - Lewis Trondheim
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It's (past!) that time again, folks! Time for my best "new" reads of the year list. This list encompasses any books I read this year that were new to me (no rereads). This year I read 80 books (not including picture books...well mostly, I let one sneak on there). Overall best book of the year was The History of Love closely followed by With the Light (or the book that finally let me appreciate manga). The entire list for the year can be found here on my goodreads account. The best list itself is a separate shelf, and some of the books have mini-reviews on them.

Best "New" Reads of 2008

Fiction - Adult

City of Baraboo by Barry B. Longyear
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Disobedience: A Novel by Naomi Alderman
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Nonfiction - Adult

Gang Leader For A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh

Comics

The Girls' Guide to Guys' Stuff Presented by Friends of Lulu
With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe (Vol 1, Vol 2)
Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened edited by Jason Rodriguez


Fiction - Children and YA

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Firebirds Rising edited by Sharyn November
Boy Meets Boy David Levithan
The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, The Pool of Fire)
Paper Towns by John Green
Thornspell by Helen Lowe
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Better late than never on the book list. As always, this list compiles my best reads of last year that are new to me (that means rereads do not make it on to this list) excluding picture books.

Some stats before the list. This year saw 77 books completed (I think...I had a bad journaling year and may have missed some in the catch up), and that whole list can be found here. The overall best book this year was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

What fascinates me about these lists, is that I read plenty of adult books, but very few of them wind up on the best of the year list. Also, this year almost all of the children's/YA on this list is fantasy, and there is no adult fantasy. Anyway, on to the list...


Best "New" Reads of 2007

Fiction - Adult

Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See

Nonfiction - Adult

Confessions of the Other Mother: Nonbiological Lesbian Moms Tell All! - Harlyn Aizley (ed)

Graphic Novels

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things - Ted Naifeh
Castle Waiting - Linda Medley (not a repeat from a previous year - this is the full edition which warrants its own mention)
The Plain Janes - Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Bone: Eyes of the Storm - Jeff Smith

Fiction - Children's and YA

So Far From the Bamboo Grove - Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Beast - Donna Jo Napoli
Billy Hooten: Owlboy series Owlboy and The Girl With the Destructo Touch - Thomas E. Sneigoski
Un Lun Dun - China Mieville
The Shadow Thieves - Anne Ursu
The Magic City - E. Nesbit
The Sea of Trolls -Nancy Farmer
Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delights - David Elliott
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It's that time again! This year has been a productive reading year for me, with 71 books read and finished (not counting scores of picture books). The whole list can be found here.

There is a tie in my mind for the best book I read this year. The two best are: Time and Again by Jack Finney and Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen.

I'm aware my adult novels look paltry this year. Partially this is because I'm reading quite a bit of kids/YA for work. But honestly, I read a fair deal of "grown-up" stuff, and very little of it was as good as the books meant for younger readers.

But enough blabber. Without further ado, here are the best new (to me) books of 2006:

Best "New" Reads of 2006

Fiction - Adult

A Sudden Wild Magic by Diana Wynne Jones
Time And Again by Jack Finney
Archangel by Sharon Shinn

Fiction - Adult/YA

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Graphic Novels

V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Runaways : Pride and Joy by Brian K. Vaughn
Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen
Bone: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Banana Sunday by Root Nibot and Colleen Coover
Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson

Fiction - Children's and YA

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
The Keys to the Kingdom series Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, and Sir Thursday by Garth Nix
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
A Dog Called Grk by Joshua Doder
Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson
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