2005 Books
I thought I might point out a few highlights of the fifty some books I read in 2005. In no particular order, here are some books that I think are worthwhile for others to read:
- Mysteries of Pittsburg by Michel Chabon – I’m two for two as far as really enjoying Chabon’s books go. I should probably try some more.
- Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan – I think this was the best SF book I read in 2005.
- Candy Freak by Steven Almond – Fun!
- Stiff: The curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach – Strangely fun.
- An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sachs – I like his books. I wouldn’t start with this one, but it’s interesting.
- The Plot Against America by Philip Roth – The best book I read in 2005.
- The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold – I put off reading this for a long time because The Spirit Ring, which is unrelated, was so mediocre. I was a fool.
- The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket – I just randomly picked one in this series. You should start at the beginning though. They are fun little books, at least to me
- The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft – This is probably one of his most accessible works for the modern reader, and a pretty good story overall. If you’ve never read any Lovecraft this would not be a bad place to start.
- Bully for Brontosaurus by Stephen Jay Gould – I read two Gould books in 2005, both collections of his “Natural History” magazine columns. I think this was the more interesting of the two, because of 1) the essays on the Voyager space mission, 2) the chiding of my favorite Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, and 3) the goofy marginalia in the library copy that I read
Of course, you can view the complete list of books I read at books.chazin.net.
Addendum – I’m looking for books to read in 2006. Suggestions would be appreciated! Note that I read a fairly varied bit, so almost anything would be considered.