Books I Read in 2003

(symptom: being excessively engaged in tasks that require exquisite attention to detail, such as list-making)

Summary

92 books by 65 different authors (having read 6 by David Brin; 5 by Arthur C. Clarke; 4 each by Greg Bear and Neal Stephenson; 3 each by Dan Brown and Anne Rice;  and 2 each by Jeffrey Deaver,  E. L. Doctorow, C. S. Friedman, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Laurell K. Hamilton, Nancy Kress, Frederick Pohl, and H. G. Wells) 

Genres

Horror, 1%

Action & adventure, 3%
General & literary fiction, 3%
Short stories, 4%
Romance, 4%

Nonfiction, 4%
Thriller/suspense, 8%

Fantasy, 11%

Historical, 15%
Mystery & detective, 15%

SciFi, 38%

(total greater than 100 due to some books fitting multiple categories)

27 of the 93 (29%) won a major award or were named to a Best Of list in their year of publication

My Ratings (out of 10)
9 or 10, 10%
7 or 8, 41%
5 or 6, 26%
4 or less, 4%
(total less than 100 due missing data)

Top 10 Reads of 2003

1. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson (1999 - historical science fiction with humor and action)
2. The Uplift War, by David Brin (1987 - science fiction)
3. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman (2001 - fantasy)
4. A Coffin for Dimitrios, by Eric Ambler (1939 - thriller)
5. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon (2001 - fantasy)
6. Dreamland, by Kevin Baker (1999 - historical fiction)
7. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (1994 - science fiction)
8. This Alien Shore, by C. S. Friedman (1998 - science fiction)
9. 2010: Odyssey Two, by Arthur C. Clarke (1982 - science fiction)
10. Startide Rising, by David Brin (1983 - science fiction)

Least Favorite Books of 2003

1. Blood Canticle, by Anne Rice (2003 - fantasy)
2. The Kalahari Typing School for Men, by Alexander Mccall Smith (2002 - mystery & detective)
3. An Awfully Big Adventure, by Beryl Bainbridge (1989 - historical mystery)
4. Beggars and Choosers, by Nancy Kress (1994 - science fiction)
5. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, by Neal Stephenson (1995 - science fiction)
6. Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, by Frederick Pohl (1980 - science fiction)
7. Annals of the Heechee, by Frederick Pohl (1987 - science fiction)
8. Cerulean Sins, by Laurell K. Hamilton (2003 - fantasy)
9. 3001:  The Final Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke (1997 - science fiction)
10. The Martian Race, by Gregory Benford (1999 - science fiction)

The List, by Author* 

The House of Doctor Dee, by Peter Ackroyd

A Coffin for Dimitrios, Eric Ambler

Macroscope, by Piers Anthony

Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Kate Atkinson

An Awfully Big Adventure, by Beryl Bainbridge

Dreamland, by Kevin Baker

Eon, by Greg Bear
Moving Mars, by Greg Bear

Anvil of Stars, by Greg Bear

The Forge of God, by Greg Bear

The Martian Race, by Gregory Benford

Sundiver, by David Brin

The Uplift War, by David Brin

Startide Rising, by David Brin

Infinity's Shore, by David Brin
Heaven's Reach, by David Brin

Brightness Reef, by David Brin

Deception Point, by Dan Brown

Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

Where Is Joe Merchant?, by Jimmy Buffett

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon

2010: Odyssey Two, by Arthur C. Clarke
The Hammer of God, by Arthur C. Clarke

2061: Odyssey Three, by Arthur C. Clarke

Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
3001: The Final Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

The Black Echo, by Michael Connelly

Continent, by Jim Crace

What's Bred in the Bone, by Robertson Davies

Moonheart, by Charles de Lint

The Blue Nowhere, by Jeffrey Deaver
Manhattan Is My Beat, by Jeffrey Deaver

White Noise, by Don DeLillo

Sharky's Machine, by Williams Diehl

World's Fair, by E. L. Doctorow

Billy Bathgate, by E. L. Doctorow

Baudolino, by Umberto Eco

The Antelope Wife, by Louise Erdrich

The Third Twin, by Ken Follett

The Sportswriter, by Richard Ford

The Negotiator, by Frederick Forsyth

This Alien Shoe, by C. S. Friedman
In Conquest Born, by C. S. Friedman

The List of 7, by Mark Frost

American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

Neuromancer, by William Gibson

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Queen City Jazz, by Kathleen Ann Goonan

Crescent City Rhapsody, by Kathleen Ann Goonan

Cerulean Sins, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Narcissus in Chains, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Still Waters, by John Harvey

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

The Fatal Shore, by Robert Hughes

The First World War, by John Keegan

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, by Paul Kennedy

Autobiography of My Mother, by Jamaica Kincaid

Beggars in Spain, by Nancy Kress

Beggars and Choosers, by Nancy Kress

The Periodic Table, by Primo Levi

Ancient Shores, by Jack McDevitt

The Good Old Stuff, by John McDonald

Atonement, by Ian McEwan

Birds of America: Stories, by Lorrie Moore

Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley

The Bernini Bust, by Iain Pears

Half Moon Street, by Anne Perry

Annals of the Heechee, by Frederick Pohl
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, by Frederick Pohl

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, by Steven Pressfield

Funeral Games, by Mary Renault

The Bridesmaid, by Ruth Rendell

Blood Canticle, by Anne Rice

Blood and Gold, by Anne Rice

Blackwood Farm, by Anne Rice
The Carl Rogers Reader, by Carl Rogers

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling

Mortal Prey, by John Sanford

The Kalahari Typing School for Men, by Alexander Mccall Smith

Zodiac, by Neal Stephenson
Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, by Neal Stephenson

Schismatrix, by Bruce Sterling

The Mosquito Coast, by Paul Theroux

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

The Food of the Gods, by H. G. Wells
The First Men in the Moon, by H. G. Wells

Filth, by Irvine Welsh

Metropolitan, by Walter Jon Williams

Winters' Tales: Stories and Observations for the Unusual, by Jonathan Winters

*In 2003, I moved across the world and lived in 4 different houses. I don't have a chronological list. I am astonished to be able to archive the list to this extent, 2 continents and 7 computers later.