December 2010 Reads

Continuing a trend from the past few months, I list last month's reading over halfway into the succeeding month.  Lots of short books read this month, it seems, as I finished off the year by re-reading some art illustration books from the Sparrow series that gave me some pleasure.  Since there's close to 70 books on this monthly list, I'll keep any comments brief.

380  Vizconde de Lascano Tegui, De la elegancia minentras se duerme

381  Andrzej Sapkowski, Camino sin retorno

382  Umberto Eco, Il Cimitero di Praga

383  Umberto Eco, El cementerio de Praga 

384  Patti Smith, Just Kids

385  Javier Negrete, Atlántida

386  Richard Parks, On the Banks of the River of Heaven

387  Hiromi Goto, Half World

388  Andrzej Sapkowski, Narrenturm

389  Henry David Thoreau, Walden

390  Miguel de Unamuno, San Manuel Bueno, Martír

391  Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule

392  R. Scott Bakker, Disciple of the Dog

393  Angela Carter, Fireworks:  Nine Profane Pieces

394  Camilo José Cela, La familia de Pascual Duarte

395  Howard Jacobson, The Finkler Question

396  Amelia Gray, Museum of the Weird

397  Roberto Arlt, El juguete rabioso

398  Herman Melville, Moby Dick

399  Alejo Carpentier, Guerra del tiempo

400  John Milton, Paradise Lost

401  Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. III

402  Damon Galgut, In a Strange Room

403  Ian Cameron Esslemont, Stonewielder

404  Michael Cisco, The Narrator

405  Tom McCarthy, C

406  Peter Carey, Parrot & Olivier in America

407  Andrea Levy, The Long Song

408  Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer

409  Karen Tei Yamashita, I Hotel

410  Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker

411  Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. IV

412  John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress

413  Carlos Fuentes, La Silla del Águila

414  Fernando Arrabal, El cementerio de automoviles/El Arquitecto y el Emperador de Asiria

415  Henry Fielding, Tom Jones

416  Lionel Shriver, So Much for That

417  Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

418  Niccolo Macchiavelli, The Prince

419  Gabriel García Márquez, Los funerales de la Mamá Grande

420  Anthony Huso, The Last Page

421  David Mitchell, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

422  Sarah Bakewell, How to Life or A Life of Montaigne

423  Robert Lopez, Asunder

424  Felix Gilman, The Half-Made World

425  Livy, History of Early Rome, Books I-V

426  Naguib Mahfouz, Adrift on the Nile

427  Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

428  Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. V

429  Naguib Mahfouz, Arabian Nights & Days

430  Dexter Palmer, The Dream of Perpetual Motion

431  Walter Scott, Ivanhoe

432  Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. VI

433  Ashley Wood, Sparrow #0

434  Ashley Wood, Sparrow #1

435  Phil Hale, Sparrow #2 

436  Kent Williams, Sparrow #3

437  Shane Glines, Sparrow #4

438  Phil Hale, Sparrow #5

439  Rick Berry, Sparrow #6

440  Ashley Wood, Sparrow #7

441  Glenn Barr, Sparrow #8

442  William Wray, Sparrow #9

443  Jim Mahfood, Sparrow #10

444  John Watkiss, Sparrow #11

445  Sergio Toppi, Sparrow #12

446  Camilla d'Errico, Sparrow #13


There, all of my 2010 reads/re-reads are now available on this blog.  Feel free to inquire about particular titles, since I was in no mood at the time to write anything more than the reading number and the author/title.

November 2010 Reads

The past few months, it seems I delay more and more in the posting of the previous month's reading.  In my defense, the past couple of weeks have been very hectic ones, something that I hope will ease up later this week.  Sadly, November was not conducive for reading; I read the fewest amount of books in at least two years, at only 16 books.  Only seven of these books were original reads, as I re-read one fantasy series published in Spanish and one classic translated into English.  But these were, without exception, good books that I read/re-read this month.

364  Christine Montalbetti, Western (already reviewed)

365  Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust (re-read; plan on reviewing it in the near future.  Classic that moved me even more after my first re-reading in 13 years)


366  Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, v. II (hope to review in the near future, as I have lots to say about this book)

367  Gert Jonke, Homage to Czerny (I had originally hoped to have a full review of this book as part of the Dalkey Archive books that I was reviewing back in October, but time constraints prevented me from getting to it in time.  For the most part, I enjoyed this deceivingly complex work.)

368  John Vaillant, The Tiger (I'll have much more to say about this non-fiction novel when I write my Best of 2010 lists.  It's a must-read, though)

369 K. David Harrison, The Last Speakers (reading this non-fiction work on dwindling languages made for a perfect complement to Vaillant's book.  Will say more on it in a couple of weeks)

370  Joel Lane, The Witnesses are Gone (I had hoped to have a full review of this PS Publishing novella by now, but I likely will do a re-read and review it sometime in early 2011.  Was entertaining the first time through)

371  Confucius, The Analects of Confucius (already reviewed)


372  Andrzej Sapkowski, El último deseo (re-read; Spanish; I enjoyed it again, of course)

373  Andrzej Sapkowski, La espada del destino (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

374  Andrzej Sapkowski, La sangre de los elfos (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

375  Andrzej Sapkowski, Tiempo del odio (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

376  Andrzej Sapkowski, Bautismo de fuego (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

377  Andrzej Sapkowski, La torre de la golondrina (re-read; Spanish; review forthcoming)

378  Andrzej Sapkowski, La dama del lago, v. 1 (re-read; Spanish; review forthcoming)

379  Andrzej Sapkowski, La dama del lago, v. 2 (Spanish; review forthcoming)


December has been a much better reading month so far, as I'm currently on book #399.  More on that at the end of the month or first of January, however.

October 2010 Reads

For the second month in a row, it seems I end up waiting until nearly the halfway mark of the following month to list the previous months read.  Read almost 30 books in October, which is one of my worst months in the past couple of years (and so far, November is even worse, although I'll have some reading time around Thanksgiving that'll help me catch up to some extent).  Only the briefest of thoughts on these:

335  Tucker Max, Assholes Finish First (very "politically incorrect," but damn if I didn't laugh out loud several times)

336  Momus, The Book of Jokes (already reviewed)

337  Adrian Tchaikovsky, Salute the Dark (fourth volume in his Shadows of the Apt series; this one was decent, but it and the third volume just were not as good as the second in terms of characterization, pacing, and plotting)

338  Tim Lieder, She Nailed a Stake Through His Head:  Tales of Biblical Terror (this was a lame anthology, as several stories just failed to do anything with the Biblical premise.  Very, very disappointing, probably one of the weakest anthologies I've read in years, with nary a good story to be found within its 100+ pages)

339  F. Marion Crawford, Khaled (this short novel, reprinted in the 1970s as part of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, was a decent Orientalist fantasy.  Might re-read/review it next year)

340  Max Mallmann, O Centésimo en Roma (Portuguese; already reviewed)

341  Joy Chant, Red Moon and Black Mountain (decent entry in the Ballantine series, might review next year)

342  Ray Bradbury, The October Country (collection; it's f'n RAY BRADBURY, one of my favorite SF writers and this is perhaps one of his two best anthologies.  What do you think I thought about this collection?)

343  Lin Carter, Imaginary Worlds (1972 non-fiction piece on the history of spec fic; some interesting points, but laced through with some egregious errors of interpretation)

344  Mario Vargas Llosa, ¿Quién mató Palomino Molero? (Spanish; This 1986 murder-mystery, based on actual events in 1950s Peru, was a gripping read, although I consider it a step below Vargas Llosa's greatest novels)

345 Gerson Lodi-Riberio and Luis Filipe Silva, Vaporpunk (Portuguese; I'll have more to say about this 2010 Luso-Brazilian anthology after I finish my translations of four story beginnings later this week)


346  Brian Conn, The Fixed Stars (review forthcoming around Thanksgiving)

347  Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan & The Hill of Dreams (the first was one of the creepiest, weirdest fictions I've read in a while, so yeah, I liked it.  The second wasn't quite as good as the first, but still quite good on the whole)


348  Tibor Moricz, Saint-Clair Stockler and Eric Novello (eds.), Imaginarios Volume 1 (Portuguese; this SF/F anthology had some interesting stories, but outside of it serving as perhaps a sample of Brazilian SF/F writing, there really isn't a theme to it.  This isn't a criticism as much as it is a statement that it's hard to say anything other than "there are some good stories in it, but there's nothing unifying to them in terms of story types.")

349  David Sedaris, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk (these reworking of fables to represent modern worries and concerns mostly hit their marks.  Plus the thought of a chipmunk worrying what her squirrel beau means by "jazz" was quite amusing to this Squirrelist)

350  Angela Carter, Wise Children (I want to re-read this novel before commenting much on it, but this wasn't a Carter novel that I took to as quickly as I did with most of her other works)

351  George MacDonald, Phantases (I plan on re-reading/reviewing this next year.  It was decent, but not a great read)

352  Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight (I already reviewed it, but for those that missed it, this novel was just a mess)

353  Emma Donoghue, Room (already reviewed)

354  Matt Bell, How They Were Found (already reviewed; collection)

355  Nicole Krauss, Great House (already reviewed)

356  Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. I (already reviewed)

357  Robert Coover, Noir (enjoyed it quite a bit; amusing take on noir)

358  Tibor Moricz, Saint-Clair Stockler and Eric Novello (eds.), Imaginarios Volume 2 (Portuguese; see my earlier comments on the first volume)

359  Brendan Connell, Metrophilias (planning on reviewing this and another collection of his in the next 10 days or so)

360  Mario Vargas Llosa, El sueño del Celta (Spanish; already reviewed)

361  Franz Kafka, The Castle (very good, but I found that I got more out of his The Trial)

362  Norman Thomas di Giovanni, The Lesson of the Master:  On Borges and His Work (a combination of biography, memoir, and thoughts on translation, all of which were appealing to me)

363  A.L. Todd and Dorothy B. Weisbord, Favorite Subjects in Western Art (OK intro to its subject; outdated approach to art, unfortunately)

September 2010 Reads

Better late than never, I suppose.  Forty-one books read this month.  Mostly a list and not a commentary, alas.


294  Olaf Stapledon, Star Maker (reviewed here)

295  Walter Tevis, Mockingbird (reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)

296  William Morris, The Well at the World's End (seminal fantasy, but dry at times)

297  Michael Moorcock, Gloriana (reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)

298  Anne Fadiman, Ex Libris (nice appreciation of books read.  Thanks to Fábio Fernandes for recommending it to me)

299  Patricia McKillip, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)

300  Brian Aldiss, Helliconia (reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)

301 Poul Anderson, Three Hearts and Three Lions (reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)


302  Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man (OK to decent read)

303  Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic (interesting premise, but the story didn't impress me that much)

304  Joe Halderman, The Forever War (someday, I will re-read and review this.  Very good work)

305 Larry Niven, Ringworld (OK, but nothing all that great about it)

306  Jack London, The Scarlet Plague (excellent story of a mass near-extinction of humans)

307  John Crowley, The Solitudes (one day I'll write an appreciation of the Ægypt Cycle books)

308  George Meredith, The Shaving of Shagpat (excellent 19th century oriental fantasy)

309  Hernán Rivera Letelier, El arte de la resurrección (Spanish; fairly good work)

310  Darin Bradley, Noise (good debut effort, but not among the best 2010 debuts I've read so far this year)

311  Gail Carriger, Blameless (good, but at times I wonder if she's beginning to repeat herself)

312  Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (very good debut effort.  Moving)

313  Lord Dunsany, At the Edge of the World (nice 1970s collection of some of his earlier short stories)

314  John Crowley, Love & Sleep (see earlier comment)

315  Reza Negarestani, Cyclonopedia (I really ought to do a review sometime, but a re-read is in order first.  Outstanding on the initial read)

316  John Crowley, Dæmonomania (see earlier comment)


317  John Crowley, Endless Things (see earlier comment)


318  Sam Sykes, Tome of the Undergates (oil and water here.  I think some would enjoy this debut more than I did.  Just not the sort of adventure/quest I was in the mood to read, with me never really being able to engage with the prose, characters, situations, setting, etc.  Maybe next time.  Maybe)


319  Thomas Homer-Dixon, The Upside of Down (good poli-sci book on contemporary problems, revolving around energy/resource usage)


320  Grace Krilanovich, The Orange Eats Creeps (three lit creeps have already eaten this orange, I believe)

321  Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (eds.), Steampunk II:  Steampunk Reloaded (full review in early November.  I have a hot/cold relationship with steampunk fictions and that was evident in reading this anthology)

322  Miguel de Unamuno, Niebla (Spanish; good early Modernist work)

323  William Beckford, Vathek (now one of my favorite oriental fantasies)


324  John Ajvide Lindqvist, Handling the Undead (an undead/zombie story that I actually loved!  Might need to write a full review of this sometime soon)


325  Hannes Bok, The Sorcerer's Ship (some good descriptions, marred by a sometimes flat storytelling style)

326  Katherine Kurtz, Deryni Rising (her debut book, and its Welsh/Celtic storyline was executed well)


327  Lucius Shepard, Viator (Shepard writes damn good stories, ya know?)

328  Amal El-Mohtar, The Honey Month (prose, poetry, honey tasting all blended into one odd but delightful stories that deserve to be read, one a day)

329  Viscount Lascano Tegui, On Elegance While Sleeping (review in the near future)

330  Gert Jonke, The System of Vienna (review in the near future)

331  Ann Radcliffe, The Italian (one of the best Gothic novels of the late 18th century)


332  René  Belletto, Dying (review forthcoming)

333  Poul Anderson, Hrolf Kraki's Saga (retelling of a fragmentary Norse saga.  OK rendering, but nothing special to me)

334  Lin Carter (ed.), Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I (four novellas, all good to very good)


As for October 1-12, I have since read another 16 works, with hopes to read another 15-20 by month's end.

August 2010 Reads

Here are the books completed in August.  A lot of these are part of the Gollancz SF or Fantasy Masterworks series, so there are a bunch of reviews here and elsewhere already posted or will be written in the very near future.  Some are re-reads, but most are not.  I believe four languages (English, Spanish, Serbian, Portuguese) were read this month, with at least one book for each language.  And this is the infamous month of reviewing Goodkind, Stanek, and yaoi.  Now for the reads:

259  David Lindsay, A Voyage to Arcturus (re-read; already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

260  Zoran Živković, Skrivena Kamera (Serbian; review in next month, I hope)


261  Zoran Živković, Cámera oculta (Spanish; see above)


262  Zoran Živković, Hidden Camera (re-read; see above)


263  Terry Goodkind, The Law of Nines (already reviewed)


264  Oliverio Girondo, En la Masmédula (Spanish; mindfuck poems)


265  Philip K. Dick, The Simulacra (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)


266  George R. Stewart, Earth Abides (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)


267  Jack Vance, Lyonesse:  Suldrun's Garden (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)


268  Jack Vance, Lyonesse:  The Green Pearl (see above)

269  Jack Vance, Lyonesse:  Madouc (see above)

270  H.G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon (already reviewed)

271  Lucious Shepard, Life During Wartime (already reviewed)

272  Keith Roberts, Pavane (already reviewed)

273  Karel Čapek, R.U.R. (already reviewed)

274  Bisco Hatori, Ouran High School Host Club (already reviewed)

275  Yuiko Takamura, Caged Slave (already reviewed)

276  Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings (already reviewed)

277  Tim Powers, The Anubis Gates (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

278  Lord Dunsany, Time and the Gods (re-read; already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

279  Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

280  Tim Powers, The Drawing of the Dark (review forthcoming here)

281  Robert Stanek, Keeper Martin's Tale (already reviewed)

282  Mary Robinette Kowal, Shades of Milk and Honey (review in near future)

283  Fábio Fernandes, Os Dias da Peste (Portuguese; already reviewed)

284  Christopher Priest, Inverted World (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

285  Gustav Meyrink, The Golem

286  Kazu Kibuishi,  Flight:  Volume 7 (very good graphic novel anthology)

287  Sherri Tepper, Beauty (re-read; already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

288  Ward Moore, Bring the Jubilee (already reviewed)

289  John M. Ford, The Dragon Waiting (already reviewed on SFF Masterworks blog)

290  Geoff Ryman, The Child Garden (review forthcoming here)

291  Walter M. Miller, Jr., Dark Benediction (review forthcoming on SFF Masterworks blog)

292  Olaf Stapledon, Last and First Men (review forthcoming here)

293  Karen Lord, Redemption in Indigo (review forthcoming here)


In Progress: 

Walter Tevis, Mockingbird

Miguel de Unamuno, Niebla (Spanish)

July 2010 Reads

July was a bounce-back month for me.  Finished with BAF4 materials and had a bit of time to read/re-read all of Jorge Luis Borges' writings that I own, all but one of which (a collection of all his poetry) were under 300 pages.  Read a few books for the SFF Masterworks reviewing project (later today or tomorrow, I'll be reviewing over there J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World, Kate Wilhelm's Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, and maybe Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside).  Finished up reading/re-reading 60 books total for July.  And here they are, with perhaps a few words on books that will not be reviewed or have not been reviewed prior to now:

199  Cordwainer Smith, The Rediscovery of Man (reviewed on SFF Masterworks)

200  E.R. Eddison, Mistress of Mistresses (reviewed on SFF Masterworks)

201  Jonathan Carroll, Voice of Our Shadow (reviewed on SFF Masterworks)

202  Ian McDonald, The Dervish House (already reviewed here)

203  Jorge Luis Borges, Discusión (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

204  Mia Couto, Every Man is a Race - very good short story collection set in Africa

205  Jorge Luis Borges, Historia universal de la infamia (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

206  Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death (already reviewed here)

207  Jeff VanderMeer, The Third Bear (reviewed two short stories, outstanding collection)

208  Jorge Luis Borges, Historia de la eternidad (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

209  Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares, Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

210  Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

211 Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares, Dos fantásticas memorables/Un modelo para la muerte (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

212  Happy Smiley and Friends, Happiness at the End of the World - I meant to do a full review before now but got delayed, so here is a paragraph summation of this short collection of stories written by Singaporean SF fans and writing students:

Happiness at the End of the World is a short collection of stories that contain takes on SF motifs such as the effects of technology on people's lives, first encounters with alien civilizations, and the like.  Most of the stories read well; a few were a bit ragged and were harder to follow.  Although there was nothing groundbreaking in either style or story conventions, these stories were pleasant to read.  It was a good, decent collection from writers who doubtless will continue to improve as they gain more experience in the craft of constructing stories.

213  Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (re-read; already reviewed)

214  Fletcher Pratt, The Well of the Unicorn (reviewed for SFF Masterworks)

215  Bret Easton Ellis, Less Than Zero (re-read; one of my favorite Ellis books)

216  Bret Easton Ellis, Imperial Bedrooms (just-released sequel to Less Than Zero. Meant to write a review, but got bogged down.  Worthy follow-up to Less Than Zero, this time about 25 years later.  Not for everyone, though, but I did enjoy it greatly.  Perhaps a longer review around the end of the year)

217  Jorge Luis Borges, El Aleph (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

218  Jorge Luis Borges and María Esther Vásquez, Literaturas germánicas medievales (Spanish; already reviewed)

219  Steven Erikson, Toll the Hounds (re-read; second commentary on this planned for the next 1-2 weeks)

220  Nikolai Gogol, The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories (commented on two stories; entire collection is superb)

221  Jorge Luis Borges, Otras Inquisciones (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

222  Jorge Luis Borges, El 'Martín Fierro' (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

223  Jorge Luis Borges, Leopoldo Lugones (Spanish; already reviewed)

224  Jorge Luis Borges, El hacedor (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

225  J.G. Ballard, The Drowned World (review forthcoming on SFF Masterworks)

226  Lewis Grizzard, Southern by the Grace of God (reprint of humorous newspaper articles.  Grizzard was a favorite columnist of mine until his death in the mid-1990s)

227  Kate Wilhelm, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (review forthcoming on SFF Masterworks)

228  Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (18th century work is one of the earliest Gothic novels.  Entertaining)

229  Jorge Luis Borges and Esther Zemborain, Introducción a la literatura norteamericana (Spanish; already reviewed)

230  Amelia Beamer, The Loving Dead (review forthcoming)

231  Jorge Luis Borges and María Esther Vásquez, Introducción a la literatura inglesa (Spanish; already reviewed)

232  China Miéville, Kraken (review forthcoming; great use of squirrel in fiction)

233  Jorge Luis Borges, Elogio de la sombra (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

234  Jorge Luis Borges, El libro de los seres imposibles (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

235  Jorge Luis Borges, El informe de Brodie (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

236  J.G. Ballard, Crash (powerful, fascinating, like watching porn and a crash at the same time for the sorts of guilty feelings invoked)

237  Robert Silverberg, Dying Inside (review forthcoming on SFF Masterworks)

238  Samuel Delany, Dhalgren (reviewed on SFF Masterworks)

239  Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita (re-read; outstanding satire)

240  Jorge Luis Borges, The Book of Imaginary Beings (already reviewed the Spanish edition)

241  Poul Anderson, Tau Zero (review forthcoming in 1-2 weeks on this blog)

242  Jorge Luis Borges, Prólogos con un prólogo de prólogos (Spanish; already reviewed)

243  Jorge Luis Borges, El libro de arena (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

244  Jorge Luis Borges, Libro de sueños (Spanish; already reviewed)

245  David Soares, O Evangelho do Enforcado (Portuguese; already reviewed)

246  Jorge Luis Borges and Alicia Jurado, Qué es el budismo (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

247  Carlos Gardini, Tríptico de Trinidad (Spanish; review here in next 1-3 days)

248  Jorge Luis Borges, Obra poética (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

249  Goran Petrović, Ситничарница "Код срећне руке" (Serbian; review forthcoming)

250  Goran Petrović, La mano de la buena fortuna (Spanish; review forthcoming)


251  Jorge Luis Borges, Siete Noches (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

252  Jorge Luis Borges, Nueve ensayos dantescos (Spanish; already reviewed)

253  Jorge Luis Borges, La memoria de Shakespeare (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

254  Jorge Luis Borges, Atlas (Spanish; already reviewed)

255  Jorge Luis Borges, Prólogos de La Biblioteca de Babel (Spanish; already reviewed)

256  Jorge Luis Borges, Biblioteca Personal (re-read; Spanish; already reviewed)

257  Jorge Luis Borges, Silvana Ocampo, and Adolfo Bioy Casares (eds.), The Book of Fantasy (re-read; already reviewed)

258  André Gide, L'immoraliste (French; very good, disturbing story about a man's moral crisis and what he does about it.  Will want to re-read it more as my French improves, as while I got the gist of the story, there were some nuances that I'm sure I missed, as I sensed rather than experienced directly a very powerful read here)


In Progress:

David Lindsay, A Voyage to Arcturus (re-read; review forthcoming on SFF Masterworks)

Steven Erikson, Dust of Dreams (re-read; second commentary forthcoming in next 1-2 weeks)


Future Plans:

I will be reading/reviewing close to two dozen works by Serbian authors during the month of August and perhaps into early September.  Some of these will be read only in English, others only in Spanish, some in a combination of those two languages and Serbian.  Probably will be a review every 1-3 days, starting tomorrow or Tuesday.  Probably will also resume the Malazan re-read project commentaries once I finish the remaining stories.  Might be a bit shorter, since some of the books were read in June and July. 

June 2010 Reads

Was a bit too tired the other day to post these, but here goes.  28 books, most of which were read in the last 10 days of the month (BAF 4 readings dominated the first 20 days).  Several re-reads as well.  Anyways, the list:

171 Zoran Živković, Писац у Најам (Serbian; already reviewed)

172 César Aira, Parménides (Spanish; already reviewed)

173  Steven Erikson, Midnight Tides (re-read; review forthcoming)

174  Ian Cameron Esslemont, Night of Knives (re-read; reviewed years ago)

175  César Aira, Un episodio en la vida del pintor viajero (Spanish) - enjoyed this one quite a bit.  Not likely to review it in the near future, though.

176  Steven Erikson, The Bonehunters (re-read; review forthcoming)

177  Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel - posted three essays based on essays in this book, might write four others later.

178  Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares, Crónicas de H. Bustos Domecq (re-read; Spanish; review forthcoming)

179  Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders (eds.), Swords & Dark Magic (already reviewed)

180  Robert Freeman Wexler, The Painting and the City (already reviewed)

181  William Hope Hodgson, The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' (review forthcoming on the SFF Masterworks blog)

182  William Hope Hodgson, The House on the Borderland (see above)

183  William Hope Hodgson, The Ghost Pirates (see above)

184  Steven Erikson, Reaper's Gale (re-read; review forthcoming)

185  Ian Cameron Esslemont, Return of the Crimson Guard (re-read; review forthcoming)

186  Dan Simmons, Endymion (re-read; review forthcoming)

187  Jorge Luis Borges, El idioma de los argentinos (re-read; review forthcoming)

188  Jorge Luis Borges, Evaristo Carriego (re-read; review forthcoming)

189  Mia Couto, The Last Flight of the Flamingo - this was a short, funny, enjoyable read, with more layers to it than just satire.

190  William Hope Hodgson, The Night Land (review forthcoming on the SFF Masterworks blog)

191  James Blish, A Case of Conscience (review posted on the SFF Masterworks blog)

192  Gene O'Neill, Taste of Tenderloin - decent to good collection of horror-tinged stories.

193  Thomas Ligotti, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race - essay based on this non-fiction will be forthcoming

194  Pope John Paul II, Gift and Mystery - book about his fifty years as a priest.  Interesting.

195  Jorge Luis Borges, Inquisiciones (Spanish; already reviewed)

196  Jorge Luis Borges, El tamaño de mi esperanza (Spanish; review forthcoming)

197  Rachel Swirsky, Through the Drowsy Dark - one of the best 2010 story collections I have read.  Must-read.

198  Karen Russell, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - This 2006 collection may be the best slipstream-ish collection I have read to date.


In Progress:

Steven Erikson, Toll The Hounds (re-read)

Cordwainer Smith, The Rediscovery of Man (to be reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)

E.R. Eddison, Mistress of Mistresses (to be reviewed on the SFF Masterworks blog)

May 2010 Reads

For the first time ever, I've reviewed every single book that I completed (one review was of a story I read in parallel text fashion with two languages), so just a listing of the completed books this time. 33 books in total completed this month and two partials (as well as several journals/magazines read in part or full for BAF 4, but those won't be listed here).

138  George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones 

139  Robert Jordan, A Crown of Swords 

140  George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

141  Robert Jordan, The Path of Daggers

142  George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

143  Robert Jordan, Winter's Heart 

144  George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows 

145  Robert Jordan, Crossroads of Twilight 

146  R. Scott Bakker, The Darkness That Comes Before 

147  Robert Jordan, Knife of Dreams 

148  R. Scott Bakker, The Warrior-Prophet

149  Robert Jordan, New Spring 

150  R. Scott Bakker, The Thousandfold Thought 

151  Victor Pelevin, Buddha's Little Finger 

152  Steven Erikson, Gardens of the Moon

153  R. Scott Bakker, The Judging Eye 

154  Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates

155  Dan Simmons, Hyperion

156  Peter Burke, Varieties of Cultural History

157  Thomas Ligotti, Songs of a Dead Dreamer

158  Michal Ajvaz, The Golden Age

159  Manuel Mujica Lainez, El unicornio (Spanish)

160  Zoran Živkovic, Escher's Loops

161  Zoran Živkovic, Esherove petlje

162  Tariq Ali, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree

163  Steven Erikson, Memories of Ice

164  Adam Roberts, Yellow Blue Tibia

165  Dan Simmons, The Fall of Hyperion

166  Ursula Le Guin, The Eye of the Heron

167  Minister Faust, The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad

168  Steven Erikson, House of Chains

169  Shirley Jackson, Novels and Stories (Library of America edition)

170  Sébastien Doubinsky, The Babylonian Trilogy


And here are the three books that I started but did not complete before May ended:

 Jeff VanderMeer, The Third Bear

Dan Simmons, Endymion

Steven Erikson, Midnight Tides

April 2010 Reads and Re-reads

Due to a variety of factors (including reading a dozen or so books that really could have been improved if they were half their length), I finished the month of April with my lowest monthly reading total in over a year and a half at only 25 books.  However, I'm still on pace for my goal of reading/re-reading at least 400 books this year.  Below are the books I've read.  Some will have comments, others references to reviews past and forthcoming:

113 Joel Shepherd, Sasha (fair-to-middling at best.  Never really engaged with this story of a spunky princess learning how to be a fighter)

114 Joel Shepherd, Petrodor (the second volume did not improve my opinion of the first)

115 Richard Peabody (ed.), Gravity Dancers (read for BAF; no comments)

116 Samuel Delany, Neveryóna (deep and mostly entertaining.  Glad I read it)

117 Salman Rushdie, Shame (I believe this was his second novel.  On par with the very good Midnight's Children)

118 Dani Shapiro (ed.), Best New American Voices 2010 (read for BAF; no comment)

119 Brooks Hansen, The Chess Garden (very good story.  Will want to re-read this before writing a review, though, now that I've read too many epic fantasies in the interim)

120 Jaime Martínez Tolentino, Cuentos fantásticos (Spanish; re-read; decent)

121 Robert Jordan, From the Two Rivers (re-read; first half of The Eye of the World; already reviewed)

122 Robert Jordan, Into the Blight (re-read; second half of The Eye of the World; already reviewed)

123 Frank Herbert, Dune (re-read; already reviewed)

124 Horacio Quiroga, Cuentos de amor de locura y de muerte (Spanish; re-read; outstanding story collection)

125 Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah (re-read; already reviewed)

126 Alexander Pushkin, Boris Godunov and Other Dramatic Works (play collection; very good)

127 Horacio Quiroga, Cuentos (Spanish; excellent story anthology)

128 Robert Jordan, The Great Hunt (re-read; already reviewed)

129 Frank Herbert, Children of Dune (re-read; already reviewed)

130 Robert Jordan, The Dragon Reborn (re-read; already reviewed)

131 Stanislaw Lem, Solaris (re-read; dull, with only occasional patches of interesting scenes and themes)

132 Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune (re-read; already reviewed)

133 Robert Jordan, The Shadow Rising (re-read; already reviewed)

134 Frank Herbert, Heretics of Dune (re-read; already reviewed)

135 Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven (re-read; already reviewed)

136 Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse:  Dune (re-read; already reviewed)

137 Robert Jordan, Lord of Chaos (re-read; already reviewed)


Won't be listing the magazines and journals read this month, in part because most of them I only read fragments from here and there, skipping over stories not suitable for consideration for BAF 4.  Not many partial reads either to share, none really that wouldn't be restarted at the beginning, so those won't be listed here at all.

Future Plans:

Continue the re-reading project of alternating SF/epic fantasy series.  Finish the WoT series (currently on The Path of Daggers, with #9-11 and the prequel New Spring to follow), as well as finishing the SOIAF series (currently on A Clash of Kings).  After the SOIAF series is complete, start re-reading/reviewing R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing and The Aspect-Emperor books, to be alternated with, after the WoT books are finished, with Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen.  The Bakker will be followed by Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos and Matthew Stover's The Acts of Caine books.  Might also have time for C.S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy.

And if this starts to drive me mad, I'll mix in books by Gene Wolfe, Manuel Mujica Lainez, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Zoran Živković, and maybe a few others.

Already am on #140 for the year, so who knows?  Maybe I'll aim for 50 books read/commented upon this month...or maybe not?

March 2010 Reading List

Books

81  Jeff VanderMeer, The Day Dali Died (poetry, short fiction; VanderMeer's early work, fairly good)

82  Italo Calvino, t-zero (very good story collection)

83  Roberto Bolaño, El Tercer Reich (already reviewed)

84  Adrian Tchaikovsky, Empire in Black and Gold (already reviewed)

85  Italo Calvino, Marcovaldo (nice, minor work of his detailing the life of a man with the best of intentions)

86  Italo Calvino, The Castle of Crossed Destinies (clever tarot-based work, but not his best writing)

87  César Aira, Los fantasmas (Spanish; brilliant novella-length work)

88  Gail Carriger, Changeless (review forthcoming; highly recommended)

89  Karin Lowachee, The Gaslight Dogs (review forthcoming; recommended)

90  Italo Calvino, Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno (Italian; Calvino's first novel.  OK, but thankfully he improved a lot since this book was published)

91  Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago (already reviewed)

92  José Saramago, Caín (Spanish; already reviewed)

93  Mizuki Nomura, Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime (already reviewed)

94  Blake Charlton, Spellwright (already reviewed)

95  Toni Morrison, Song of Soloman (already reviewed)

96  Leopoldo Lugones, Cuento, Poesía, Ensayo (selected collection; too much emphasis on things other than the author's writings, unfortunately)

97  Alexey Pehov, Shadow Prowler (already reviewed)

98  John F. Williams, Hating Perfection (already reviewed)

99  Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals (enjoyed this bestiary/cooking guide quite a bit)

100  J.K. Huysmans, The Damned (already reviewed)

101  Kate Griffin, A Madness of Angels (already reviewed)

102  Kate Griffin, The Midnight Mayor (already reviewed)

103  Kenzaburo Oe, Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness (already reviewed)

104  Karel Čapek, War with the Newts (already reviewed)

105  Adrian Tchaikovsky, Dragonfly Falling (already reviewed)

106  Adrian Tchaikovsky, Blood of the Mantis (already reviewed)

107  Alasdair Gray, Lanark:  A Life in 4 Books (already reviewed)

108  Saul Bellow, More Die of Heartbreak (already reviewed)

109 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Petals of Blood (already reviewed)


110  Walter Moers, Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures (already reviewed)

111  Nadine Gordimer, A Guest of Honour (review forthcoming)

112  Thomas Pynchon, V. (review forthcoming)


Magazines/Journals:

14 The Kenyon Review, Fall 2009

15  Not One of Us, #42

16  The New Yorker, all March issues

17  Tin House, #40

18  Ep;phany, Fall/Winter 2009

19  Gulf Coast, Summer/Fall 2009

20  Glimmer Train Stories, #74

21  Glimmer Train Stories, #71


In Progress (magazines/journals)

About two dozen journals in various states of read, so I hope to do a separate feature in the next couple of weeks covering that topic.

Future Plans (books)

Will be finishing up the two week reading/reviewing project I outlined a few days ago.  Then I plan on spending more time this month on the journals and story collections that I've received recently (pics forthcoming on those), but I may just review a book that is related to my MA history research.  Haven't decided for sure, but if I do, it'll be after April 15.

February 2010 Reads

Forty books (most of them re-reads, though) and 8 journals and magazines read in full this month, with a few partial reads.  This will be mostly just a listing of the book, no real commentary due to wanting to sleep before 2 AM.

Books

41  Italo Calvino, Italian Folktales (very good; interesting variations on Anglo-French folktales that I've read for years)

42  David Foster Wallace, This is Water (re-read; helps to set priorities straight)

43  Philip Pulman, The Subtle Knife (merely OK)

44  William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray, Walter Canis Inflatus (Latin; farting dogs amuse me)

45  Roberto Bolaño, Estrella Distante (re-read; essay forthcoming)

46  Roberto Bolaño, Nocturno de Chile (re-read; see above)


47 Roberto Bolaño, La literatura nazi de América (re-read; see above)


48  Roberto Bolaño, Amberes  (re-read; see above)

49  Roberto Bolaño, Monsieur Pain (re-read; see above)


50  George MacDonald, Lilith (re-read; good precursor to 20th century spec fic)

51  Umberto Eco, Baudolino (Italian; merely OK for Eco)

52  Umberto Eco, Baudolino (English; re-read; see above)

53  Steven Erikson, Crack'd Pot Trail (review possibly forthcoming; not quite as good as his other Mazalan novelas/short novels)

54  Adam Rapp, Ball Peen Hammer (already reviewed)

55  Martha Greenwald, Other Prohibited Tales (poetry; good)

56  Liana Quill, Fifty Poems (poetry; author has potential, but these were more sketches than anything else)

57  Christopher Salerno, Minimum Heroic (poetry; fairly good)

58  Roberto Bolaño, Amuleto (re-read; essay forthcoming)


59  Roberto Bolaño and A.G. Porta, Consejos de un discípulo de Morrison a un fanático de Joyce (re-read; essay forthcoming)


60  Roberto Bolaño, El gaucho insufrible (re-read; already touched upon in an essay)


61  Catherynne M. Valente, Under in the Mere (re-telling of the Arthurian core myths; very good prose)

62  Roberto Bolaño, Llamada telefónicas (re-read; essay already written on it)

63  Roberto Bolaño, Putas asesinas (re-read; see above)


64  Roque Dalton, Las historias prohibidas del pulgarcito (re-read; poetry; work of one of Latin America's best poets of the 1970s)


65  Stefanie Freele, Feeding Strays (short story collection; good)


66  Roberto Bolaño, El secreto del mal (re-read; see above)


67  Alex Haley, Roots (meant to write an essay on this and the mini-series last week; damn good story that straddles fiction and non-fiction)


68  Roberto Bolaño, Entre paréntheses (re-read; see above)


69  Osonye Tess Onwueme, Why the Elephant Has No Butt (clever, humorous retelling of Nigerian folk tales involving animals)

70  Roberto Bolaño, La Universidad Desconocida (re-read; see above)

71  Roberto Bolaño, Los detectives salvajes (re-read; essay forthcoming)

72  Roberto Bolaño, Una novelita lumpen (essay forthcoming)

73  Roberto Bolaño, La pista del hielo (essay forthcoming)

74  César Aira, Cómo me hice monja (short, almost too short, sometimes brutal with the prose, but mostly great)

75  Italo Calvino, The Uses of Literature (interesting takes on the value of literature; collected essays and interviews)

76  Kay Kenyon, Prince of Storms (excellent close to one of the better SF series of the past decade.  Might try to write a full review shortly)

77  Jorge Volpi, El fin de la locura (re-read; good)

78  Adolfo Bioy Casares, El sueño de los héroes (re-read; good, but not as appealing as two other works of his that I read on the 28th)

79  Adolfo Bioy Casares, De las cosas maravillosas (re-read; short essays on things Bioy Casares enjoyed in life.  Very good)

80  Adolfo Bioy Casares, La invención de Morel (re-read; best work of his that I've read.  Highly recommended.)


Lit Journals and Magazines

No comment on these, due to evaluating them for Best American Fantasy 4:

6  Ninth Letter, Fall/Winter 2009-10

7  On Spec, Fall 2009

8  Electric Velocipede 19, Fall 2009

9  The Kenyon Review, Winter 2010

10  Ectone 8:  The Brutality Issue, Fall 2009

11  New England Review Vol. 30, No. 3 Fall 2009

12  American Short Fiction, Spring 2009

13  Harvard Review 36, Spring 2009 


In Progress:

Roberto Arlt, El jorobadito (re-read)

The Southern Review, Fall 2009

Roberto Bolaño, 2666 (re-read)


Future Plans:

Books only:

Adrian Tchaikovsky, Empire In Black and Gold 

Roberto Bolaño, El Tercer Reich 

January 11-31 Reads

Books

15 David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas (this 2004 Booker Award finalist was certainly worthy of the praise it's received over the past 5-6 years. Will have to re-read before I could hope to write anything approaching a formal review, though, as I read it while waiting to see the doctor and that tends to cloud memories somewhat...)

16 Graham Greene, The Quiet American (scary how prescient Greene was about how Vietnam would affect those involved in it. Very good read.)

17 Juan Filloy, Op Oloop (Spanish; very odd story, but ultimately enjoyable)

18 Alexandre Dumas, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo II (see comments about part I)

19 David Soares, A Conspiração dos Antepassados (Portuguese; going to be writing a feature about his works in the next week or two. Very good story that involves Fernando Pessoa, Alastair Crowley, and one of the more enduring tragic myths/legends of Portuguese history)

20 George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (eds.), Warriors (review forthcoming; very strong anthology)

21 Lisa Tuttle, My Death (re-read; very good)

22 Maureen F. McHugh, China Mountain Zhang (one of my regrets now is that I procrastinated on reading this until now. Damn fine story.)

23 Terrence Holt, In the Valley of the Kings (re-read; one of my favorite 2009 collections)

24 Rick Moody, Demonology (collection; very good)

25 Chang Hsi-Kuo, The City Trilogy (this omnibus of Chinese SF was odd to read, as certain plot developments seemed a bit unnatural for me, as one used to Western cultural expectations more or less, but the three stories, taken as a whole, were worthwhile reading ultimately)

26 Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili (re-read; Italian; classic)

27 Sergio Toppi, Sharaz-De (re-read; Italian; graphic novel; first of two volumes recasting tales from Arabian Nights. Highly recommended)

28 Sergio Toppi, Sharaz-De Volume 2 (re-read; Italian; graphic novel; see comments above)

29 J.W. Wenham, Elements of New Testament Greek (interesting overview of Koine Greek as found in the New Testament)

30 H.H. Munro, The Complete Works of Saki (review forthcoming)

31 David Soares, Lisboa Triunfante (Portuguese; feature forthcoming; enjoyed this novel almost as much as the first one of his)

32 Don DeLillo, Point Omega (had intended to have a review posted on Sunday, but reading got in my way. Perhaps in the next few days)

33 Pedro Calderón de la Barca, El médico de su honra (Spanish; classic 17th century play)

34 Chrétien de Troyes, Yvain (French; this dual Old French/Modern French translation almost kicked my ass in terms of me grasping what was transpiring. But I did get the gist of it, largely due to knowing the story from prior readings of English translations)

35 David Toscana, El último lector (re-read; Spanish; good-to-very good)

36 Catullus, Catullus (Latin; collection of Catullus' poems. First time reading all of them in Latin. Good stuff, on the whole, but the longer poems were not as appealing to me for some reason.)

37 Dino Buzzati, Poema a fumetti (re-read; Italian; graphic novel; re-telling of the Orpheus/Eurydice myth. Very, very well-done)

38 Roberto Bolaño, Tres (Spanish; poetry; re-read; Bolaño is criminally underrated as a poet)

39 Roberto Bolaño, The Romantic Dogs (bilingual; poetry; re-read; see comments above)

40 Carlos Fuentes, Gringo viejo (Fuentes is excellent when he writes historical novels from an up-close-and-personal perspective. This fictionalization of Ambrose Bierce's final days is a prime example of this) 




Fiction Magazines and Lit Journals


No comments on these, for various reasons:


4 The New Yorker, January 18, 2010

5 Fantasy & Science Fiction, January/February 2010


In Progress

Ninth Letter, Winter 2010

Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2009

January 1-10 Reads

Here is the first reading update for this year.  Unlike previous years, I will also be listing fiction magazines and lit journals that I will be reading as part of my duties as series editor for Best American Fantasy 4.  Perhaps this will spark greater curiosity in this anthology and (hopefully) more readers of this fine anthology series.  As is usually the case for me, the titles will be in order they were read, plus a tiny bit of commentary.


Books


1  N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (debut novel due out Feb. 25.  Will be writing a full review of this work in the next couple of weeks.  Very strong debut to a trilogy that has the misfortune of having the same name as Christopher Paolini's series)

2  G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker, Air Volume Two:  Flying Machine (graphic novel collection of an ongoing comics series.  Plan on saying more about this collaborative effort when the third volume is released in a couple of months.  Highly recommended.)

3  G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker, Cairo (graphic novel set in Egypt with a mixture of current socio-political commentary and Arabic myths involving the djinn.  These two authors/illustrators do outstanding work)

4  Caitlín R. Kiernan, Silk (her 1998 debut novel.  Could tell the genesis of certain narrative traits that she manages to use to greater effect in her latter stories.  Strong debut, though.  Will read other earlier works by her in the near future)

5  Clare Dudman, One Day the Ice will Reveal all its Dead (historical novel based on German geologist Alfred Wegener's latter life and his death in Greenland in 1931.  Very good story.)

6  Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Values in a Time of Upheaval (what the future Pope Benedict XVI had to say about corrupt modern-day societies before he became Pope in 2005.  He has a way with words and I certainly had things to consider afterwards, even if I'm far from a conservative of any stripe)

7  Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass (had never read his most famous YA trilogy, so I thought I'd finally take the plunge. Not bad, but a bit boring in spots, or so my Inner 10 year-old is telling me)

8  Kevin Brockmeier (ed.), Real Unreal:  Best American Fantasy Volume 3 (I will be mailing my review copy to a friend to review here, since I feel any opinions I might have on this - positive, in case you're curious - would be unduly biased due to the fact that I'm helping with the development of the fourth volume.  But do read this volume when it comes out next month, lest the rabid squirrels find you and devour your hearts and souls)

9  Mary Robinette Kowal, Scenting the Dark and Other Stories (just-released limited-edition of her first story collection. Very strong stories. Don't believe any are eligible for BAF4, though, although there weren't any bad stories in this slim collection)

10  Oliverio Girondo, Scarecrow & Other Anomalies (re-read; bilingual edition.  This gives a whole new meaning to "weird fiction."  Very good, though)

11  Alexandre Dumas, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo I (French; first volume of Dumas' secondmost famous work.  Uneven, digressive work so far.)

12  Geoff Dyer, Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi (if I had read this 2009 novel before now, it would have appeared among the best mimetic fictions of that year.  Outstanding execution.  Highly recommended.)

13  Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes (eds.), A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters (another in a long line of monthly themed anthologies from DAW.  Read this to see if any stories merited consideration.  Not bad, but not all that good as a whole.  Some good individual stories, though.)

14  Diana Schutz (ed.), Noir:  A Collection of Crime Comics (graphic novel anthology showcasing the talents of several of the best artists working in the noir narrative mode.  Very, very good.)



Fiction Magazines and Lit Journals


No comments on these, for various reasons:


1  Alaska Quarterly Review, Spring-Summer 2009

2  Weird Tales, Fall 2009

3  Weird Tales, Spring 2009


In Progress

Alexandre Dumas,Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 2


David Soares, A Conspiração dos Antepassados