Books I Read in 2004

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

Summary

94 books by 69 different authors (having read 6 by Catherine Asaro; 4 by Pat Barker; 3 each by Stephen Baxter, David Brin, James Lee Burke, Justin Cartwright, Philip Pullman, and Dan Simmons; and 2 each by Beryl Bainbridge, Kim Newman, and Olivia E. Butler) from around the world (including Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Thailand, and Australia)

Genres

Short stories, 1%
Young adult, 1%
Nonfiction, 1%
Action & adventure, 4%
Humor, 5%
Horror, 5%
Thriller/suspense, 5%
Fantasy, 7%
Romance, 9%
General & literary fiction, 12%
Historical, 20%
Mystery & detective, 20%
SciFi, 24%(total greater than 100 due to some books fitting multiple categories)

51 of the 94 (55%) won a major award or were named to a Best Of list in their year of publication

Top 10 Reads of 2004

1. The Ghost Road, by Pat Barker (1995 - historical fiction)
2. Regeneration, by Pat Barker (1990 - historical fiction)
3. The Blackwater Lightship, by Colm Toibin (1999 - literary fiction)
4. Eye in the Door, by Pat Barker (1993 - historical fiction)
5. Ship Fever, by Andrea Barrett (1996 - short stories)
6. Breakfast on Pluto, by Patrick McCabe (1998 - literary fiction/ humor)
7. Cloudsplitter, by Russell Banks (1998 - historical fiction)
8. Forty Words for Sorrow, by Giles Blunt (2000 - mystery & detective)
9. Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler (1993 - speculative dystopian near-future fiction)
10. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon (2003 - mystery & detective)

Least Favorite Books of 2004

1. Blind Descent, by Nevada Barr (1998 - mystery & detective)
2. Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown (1998 - science fiction suspense/ thriller)
3. Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee (1999 - literary fiction)
4. Prey, by Michael Crichton (2002 - science fiction)
5. Deep South, by Nevada Barr (2000 - mystery & detective)
6. Blow Fly, by Patricia Cornwell (2003 - mystery & detective)
7. There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale, by Sean Astin (2004 - autobiography)
8. Half in Love, by Justin Cartwright (2001 - general & literary fiction)
9. Bones, by Jan Burke (1999 - mystery/ crime fiction)
10. Savannah Blues, by Mary Kay Andrews (2003 - humor, murder/ mystery, romance)

The Chronological List

1st Quarter (AKA Me, Waiting to Hear back on My New Zealand University Application)

River of Darkness, by Rennie Airth

Time's Arrow: Or the Nature of the Offense, by Martin Amis

Midnight Champagne, by A. Manette Ansay

Catch the Lightning, by Catherine Asaro

There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale, by Sean Astin

The Hundred Brothers, by Donald Atrim

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

The Hiding Place, by Trezza Azzopardi

Every Man for Himself, by Beryl Bainbridge

Master George, by Beryl Bainbridge

Cloudsplitter, by Russell Banks

Regeneration, by Pat Barker

The Ghost Road, by Pat Barker

England, England, by Julian Barnes

Ship Fever, by Andrea Barrett

The Time Ships, by Stephen Baxter

Darwin's Children, by Greg Bear

Queen of Angels, by Greg Bear

Manchester Slingback, by Nicholas Blincoe

The Industry of Souls, by Martin Booth

Drop City, by T. C. Boyle

Theory of War, by Joan Brady

Kiln People, by David Brin

Earth, by David Brin

Beside the Ocean of Time, by George MacKay Brown

Heartwood, by James Lee Burke

Cimarron Rose, by James Lee Burke

True History of the Kelly Gang, by Peter Carey

Leading the Cheers, by Justin Cartwright

Half in Love, by Justin Cartwright

Smithereens, by Susan Taylor Chehak

Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee

The Keepers of Truth, by Michael Collins

Breakheart Hill, by Thomas H. Cook

Blow Fly, by Patricia Cornwell

Prey, by Michael Crichton

The Church of Dead Girls, by Stephen Dobyns

The Gate of Angels, by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Blue Flower, by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Difference Engine, by William Gibson

Beyond Recall, by Robert Goddard

Buzz Cut, by James Hall

When We Were Orphans, by Kazuo Ishiguro

English Passengers, by Matthew Kneale

The Bear Went Over the Mountain, by William Kotzwinkle

Breakfast on Pluto, by Patrick McCabe

Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott

The Bloody Red Baron, by Kim Newman

Anno Dracula, by Kim Newman

The Deposition of Father McGreevy, Brian O'Doherty

The Famished Road, by Ben Okri

The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman

Daughters of the House, by Michele Roberts

American Pastoral, by Philip Roth

Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

Rise of Endymion, by Dan Simmons

Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons

Distraction, by Bruce Sterling

The Throat, by Peter Straub

The Blackwater Lightship, by Colm Toibin

Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century, by Robert Charles Wilson

Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen

April

Border Crossing, by Pat Barker

The Eye in the Door, by Pat Barker

Blood Work, by Michael Connelly

May

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

Parable of the Talents, by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler

June

Night Inspector, by Frederick Busch

July

In Every Face I Meet, by Justin Cartwright

Devil's Food, by Anthony Bruno

Wooden Sea, by Jonathan Carroll

Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold

Glory Season, by David Brin

Murder in the Sentier, by Cara Black

August

Last Hawk, by Catherine Asaro
Savannah Blues, by Mary Kay Andrews

November

Radiant Seas, by Catherine Asaro

Evolution, by Stephen Baxter

Forty Words for Sorrow, by Giles Blunt

December

Moon Dance, by S. P. Somtow

Ascendant Sun, by Catherine Asaro

Deep South, by Nevada Barr

The Quantum Rose, by Catherine Asaro

Exquisite Corpse, by Poppy Z. Brite

Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

Bones, by Jan Burke

Jolie Blon's Bounce, by James Lee Burke

Spherical Harmonic, by Catherine Asaro

The Guard, by Ken Bruen

Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown