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Books of 2007
Jan. 4th, 2008 02:40 pm( Full list of 59 books )
By the Numbers:
59 books in total
56 books that were new to me, I re-read a couple of Potters and I accidentally re-read Babel-17 as I'd forgotten I'd read it
53 different authors (including 4 books by 2 authors)
49 fiction
41ish books I consider Good
38 male authors
31 new authors
26.5 UK authors (Malcolm Gladwell was born in the UK but raised in Canada)
20 American authors
19 books that were part of a series
19 Fantasy books
15 female authors (I feel a bit bad about that)
14 SF books
13 2007 books (according to a quick check on amazon)
10 non-fiction
9 books that are kinda written for children
7 books I consider Bad
5 Masterworks (one fantasy, four sf)
3 Hugo Award Winners (lord of light, dispossessed, starship troopers)
2.5 Canadians authors
1 each of Irish, Italian and Indian authors
Best 2007 book
I think this goes to One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson, which I actually finished at about 12.30am on January 1st 2008, but felt should be included in the 2007 list. It's a great mystery novel that effortlessly intertwines plots and characters and is perfectly paced throughout.
Honourable Mention - A Spot of Bother was a lovely read for a summer afternoon, wonderfully real characters and very entertaining.
Worst book of 2007 and possibly of all history - The Diviners by Rick Moody, I stuck with it through over 500 pages, just 'cos I assumed it was going to go somewhere or do something. I was wrong.
Dishonorable mention - Foucault's Pendulum, if you like 500 pages of exposition about the vagueries of the Templars it might be ok. I do not.
Best non-fiction - of the somewhat pathetic 10 non-fiction books I'd recommend 5 of them. Long Tail, Tipping Point and Don't Make Me Think are all interesting and well written. Penguins Stopped Play is hilarious wether you know anything about cricket or not. I felt cheesy buying Richard Hammond's biography, but then stayed up until 4am to finish it and found it to be a remarkable insight into dealing with brain injuries.
Walking away with most of the other good awards will be Scott Lynch for his brilliant Gentleman Bastard series. Lies of Locke Lamora takes the best book of the year award and Red Seas Under Red Skies was only deprived the 2007 award because I expected slightly better from the plot. He would also take awards for best characters, best universe, "I can't believe he did that!" and "Most eagerly awaited sequel". I can't recommend these books highly enough, they're extremely well written and hugely entertaining to read.
Miscellaneous Awards
Best title - Special Topics in Calamity Physics, how brilliant is that?! Not a bad book either actually.
Best concept poorly told - toss up between The Brief History of the Dead and The Book of Dave
Best concept well told - an alternate history with dragons during the Napoleonic Wars. Genius.
What the blithering heck is going on? - Lord of Light
Best Book I Should Have Read Ages Ago - Starship Troopers, absolutely brilliant.
By the Numbers:
59 books in total
56 books that were new to me, I re-read a couple of Potters and I accidentally re-read Babel-17 as I'd forgotten I'd read it
53 different authors (including 4 books by 2 authors)
49 fiction
41ish books I consider Good
38 male authors
31 new authors
26.5 UK authors (Malcolm Gladwell was born in the UK but raised in Canada)
20 American authors
19 books that were part of a series
19 Fantasy books
15 female authors (I feel a bit bad about that)
14 SF books
13 2007 books (according to a quick check on amazon)
10 non-fiction
9 books that are kinda written for children
7 books I consider Bad
5 Masterworks (one fantasy, four sf)
3 Hugo Award Winners (lord of light, dispossessed, starship troopers)
2.5 Canadians authors
1 each of Irish, Italian and Indian authors
Best 2007 book
I think this goes to One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson, which I actually finished at about 12.30am on January 1st 2008, but felt should be included in the 2007 list. It's a great mystery novel that effortlessly intertwines plots and characters and is perfectly paced throughout.
Honourable Mention - A Spot of Bother was a lovely read for a summer afternoon, wonderfully real characters and very entertaining.
Worst book of 2007 and possibly of all history - The Diviners by Rick Moody, I stuck with it through over 500 pages, just 'cos I assumed it was going to go somewhere or do something. I was wrong.
Dishonorable mention - Foucault's Pendulum, if you like 500 pages of exposition about the vagueries of the Templars it might be ok. I do not.
Best non-fiction - of the somewhat pathetic 10 non-fiction books I'd recommend 5 of them. Long Tail, Tipping Point and Don't Make Me Think are all interesting and well written. Penguins Stopped Play is hilarious wether you know anything about cricket or not. I felt cheesy buying Richard Hammond's biography, but then stayed up until 4am to finish it and found it to be a remarkable insight into dealing with brain injuries.
Walking away with most of the other good awards will be Scott Lynch for his brilliant Gentleman Bastard series. Lies of Locke Lamora takes the best book of the year award and Red Seas Under Red Skies was only deprived the 2007 award because I expected slightly better from the plot. He would also take awards for best characters, best universe, "I can't believe he did that!" and "Most eagerly awaited sequel". I can't recommend these books highly enough, they're extremely well written and hugely entertaining to read.
Miscellaneous Awards
Best title - Special Topics in Calamity Physics, how brilliant is that?! Not a bad book either actually.
Best concept poorly told - toss up between The Brief History of the Dead and The Book of Dave
Best concept well told - an alternate history with dragons during the Napoleonic Wars. Genius.
What the blithering heck is going on? - Lord of Light
Best Book I Should Have Read Ages Ago - Starship Troopers, absolutely brilliant.
