Reading List – 2009

Several years ago, I heard about the 50 book challenge: Read 50 books in 1 year. Basically, one book a week. All my life, I have read constantly, but I’d never actually counted how many books I read each year. So, starting in 2007, I began keeping track of the books that I read in an effort to see if I was reading 50 books a year. And for the past two years, I have been right around that number. Feel free to check out the 2008 and 2007 lists.

1. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union – Michael Chabon – Jan 6
2. The Blade Itself – Joe Abercrombie – Jan 7
3. Before They Are Hanged – Joe Abercrombie – Jan 9
4. Last Argument of Kings – Joe Abercrombie – Jan 10
5. Chronicles of The Black Company – Glen Cook – Jan 18
6. Ender in Exile – Orson Scott Card
7. Aldous Huxley: An English Intellectual – Nicholas Murray – Feb 20
8. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky – March 24
9. Gates of Fire – Steven Pressfield – March 26
10. The Knight – Gene Wolfe – April 3
11. The Killer Angels – Michael Shaara – April 11
12. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood – April 22
13. The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester – April 24
14. The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester – April 27
15. Nova – Samuel Delany – April 30
16. Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fist-fight in Heaven – Sherman Alexie – May 5
17. The Crystal World – JG Ballard – May 8
18. “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” – Richard P. Feynman – May 11
19. QED – Richard Feynman – May 14
20. Nightwatch – Sergei Lukyanenko – May 15
21. Daywath – Sergei Lukyanenko – May 16
22. The Forever War – Joe Haldeman – May 17
23. The Years of Talking Dangerously – Geoffrey Nunberg – May 23
24. Mars – Ben Bova – May 27
25. The Long Goodbye – Raymond Chandler – May 29
26. The Iliad – Homer – June 21
27. Serenity: Those Left Behind – Joss Whedon – June 23
28. 1984 – George Orwell – June 30
29. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull – Richard Bach – July 1
30. Lamb: The Gospel of Biff Christ’s, Childhood Pal – Christopher Moore – July 4
31. Prelude to Foundation – Isaac Asimov – July 8
32. Cosm – Gregory Benford – July 12
33. The Sotweed Factor – John Barth – August 2
34. Twilight Watch – Sergei Lukyanenko – August 4
35. Last Watch – Sergei Lukyanenko – August 6
36. Rogue Moon – Algis Budrys – August 9
37. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah – Richard Bach – August 11
38. Eon – Greg Bear – August 20
39. The Elegant Universe – Brian Greene – unfinished
40. The Eye of the World – Robert Jordan – September 9
41. The Great Hunt – Robert Jordan – September 12
42. The Dragon Reborn – Robert Jordan – September 14
43. The Shadow Rising – Robert Jordan – September 15
44. The Fires of Heaven – Robert Jordan – September 17
45. Lord of Chaos – Robert Jordan – September 20
46. A Crown of Swords – Robert Jordan – September 23
47. The Path of Daggers – Robert Jordan – September 25
48. Winter’s Heart – Robert Jordan – September 26
49. Crossroads of Twilight – Robert Jordan – September 29
50. Knife of Dreams – Robert Jordan – October 1
51. Best Served Cold – Joe Abercrombie – October 8
52. Old Man’s War – John Scalzi – October 9
53. The Ghost Brigades – John Scalzi – October 14
54. The Sunrise Lands – SM Stirling – October 18
55. The Scourge of God – SM Stirling – October 22
56. The Sword of the Lady – SM Stirling – October 26
57. The Gathering Storm – Robert Jordan & Brian Sanderson – October 28
58. Starship Troopers – Robert Heinlein – October 29
59. Red Storm Rising – Tom Clancy
60. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
61. Around the World in 80 Days – Jules Verne – November 23
62. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving – December 11
63. The Uncommon Reader – Alan Bennett – December 27

May 10 – I’m bad about updating this regularly, but I keep a note on my desktop where I record that I finished a book and update this page in big batches. At 17 books so far, just past a third of the way through the year, so I’m on pace to hit 50 right now. Everything listed so far, I’ve quite enjoyed. Gates of Fire, the two Bester books and Nova are books I’d read before (though, I didn’t remember that I’d read Nova until I started reading it again — another future benefit from having these lists; I’ll know if I’ve read something or not!)