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In the final days of 2012 I finally found a book worthy to claim as the Read of 2012. Among the alarming stack of books read there were some notable recommendations. However there wasn't one book that screamed at me to scream at you to read it. You must be thinking how can I even say that considering I read Ready Player One. Sure did, cannot argue that fact. I am all for admitting that the book is cool. So cool that I bullied quite a few friends into buying it. But (tends to always be a but) when you think about it, would you read that book again? The Read of the Year really is going to be something you want to go back to; what is the point of being blown away to never wanting to experience it again? Because Ready Player One really is a hard copy experience of living/breathing/dying in the GAME, once you journey to the final level do you really need to experience that high again? I don't think so.
That being said, what book knocked me over? It is Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey. Now this is where things get a little intense. Not for the faint of heart, the book is SF at it's purest: a truly operatic space adventure. And what a lovely holiday it has been being riveted to the horror found within it's pages. Yes, I did type horror.
The sub-category space opera has been used by me without fully comprehending it's meaning many a time. Thanks to seeing the term splashed out in every single review of Leviathan Wakes I looked it up. Apparently a book that exhibits romanticism or melodrama, usually between two warring factions is a space opera. Oh, and all of this hububaloo must take place in space to make it legit otherwise you are holding in your hand Anna Karenina. Now that would be something, Tolstoy in space.
Leviathan Wakes is turning out to be mega-long, keep-it-coming series. Book two is out with the third to be released in the spring. Co-authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (James A. S. Corey is a sneaky pen name) created a universe in which humanity has expanded beyond the confines of Earth, and settled throughout the solar system. Like The Unincorporated Series, a percentage of humans have never lived on a planet, never seen blue skies, finds the idea of walking on Earth terrifying. Politically you are either of Earth, Mars or the Belt. The concept of being a Belter has drawn me into this story. My imagination has come alive contemplating life in a hollowed-out asteroid. The absolute of space has been wonderfully portrayed in Leviathan Wakes and it is this aspect that makes the book truly remarkable. There are not a lot of SF books that successfully draws you into a world that seems probable but also enviable At least to a point, ignore the horror found in this book and you are all good. I typed that word again, didn't I.
The question is what book dazzled me this year. Sitting here I cannot arrive at a single book deserving of being placed on my top ten. Skirting the issue of my best read of 2012 I am revealing my Top Ten. A Top Ten list while informative is really not about the books themselves. A Top Ten reveals what you as a reader like, duh. My Top Ten does not even hold ten. The top 6 are locked down but four others are up for debate.
A recent addition, Black Out/ All Clear by Connie Willis triumphantly moved into the number 6 position. Time travel has never looked so good. And that is saying something considering Kage Baker has locked down the idea of time travel so soundly in her Company books. Why I love them: packed with WWII trivia, solid plot development, time travel. Read: Twice.
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Can a SF reader call themselves a SF reader if they do not embrace something by Isaac Asimov? A debatable question maybe controversial enough to launch a side blog focusing on the" Foundation Effect"..... The Foundation Series takes spot 5. Why I love them: the idea of pyschohistory - prediction of future events through Mathematics, the suspenseful, alien quality while being old-fashioned. Read: Thrice.
I am a space opera junky. Therefore my top 6 would be of little relevance if Louis McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga was not to be found on it. Of all the books, and by all I mean I am too lazy to count them, my favourites are those featuring the Gems from the Cetagandan Empire. I love secret societies, especially opulent, weird, genetically perfected societies. But above all it goes back to Miles; SF's most charismatic hero ever written. The most recent addition to the Saga, Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is a classic Bujold plot filled with love, intrigue, humour and suspense. Maybe not the best book to pick up if you are new to the Vorkosigan Universe but definitely one of the author's stronger books released in recent years. Read: Most books twice, some more depending on how sappy I felt.
In third happens to be about a Company. Dr Zeus Inc. profits by time travelling from the 24th century into the past to save artefacts deemed valuable to be then retrieved in the future. The Company employees, once human, were transformed as children into immortals. I cannot choose one book from the Kage Baker's series so instead claim the entire group to fill one spot. Why do I love them: the humour, the strong characterization that Kage wrote so well, the love stories and finally her concept of time travel. Read: 4 times maybe more depending on the book.
Without a doubt my favourite book of all time is Dune by Frank Herbert. This blog is really an homage to his genius. It's hold on me is simple. Being a lover of reading, there is nothing more powerful than discovering an author who has complete control over his vision. The wacky thing is. Dune ranks 2. Although it is my favourite SF book, it is not the book that I return to time again to simply lose myself in its pages. Read: Over 20 times....i realize by typing this out that a. I look insane b. I look awesome.
Top Spot happens to be Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert. Book 6 in the Herbert's Dune series, Chapterhouse: Dune has been reviewed by many as weak link in the chain of books. To me though it is the most fascinating of them all. A reader is permitted to go behind the velvet rope. Walk amongst the Bene Gesserit as it struggles to survive against a foe more all encompassing then the God Emperor's (Leto the II, Paul's son, half man, half sandworm...read the books!) Golden Path. Please excuse me I got all Dune there on you. Why I love it: look into the Bene Gesserit, an all women powerhouse, the suspense of what is coming back from the Scattering, the final showdown, the speculation of how Herbert would have closed the series...which is defunct thanks to these. Read: More than Dune. Holy Shit Balls.
An Auntie of one and god-mommy of two I have earned the title Book Auntie, showering the little ones in my life with gifts to spark their imaginations over the years. Now that I am a mommy myself I am able to share those stories with my child as he grows. Here are a few of our favorites....
Alligator Pie, Dennis Lee
If you are Canadian then I can guarantee that you have just quoted the entire first stanza to the Alligator Pie poem. If you are not, well what a great opportunity to find out what little Canadian children are being read. The poems are wonderfully insane as only Dennis Lee can write and the illustration by Frank Newfeld are disturbing enough to trigger little minds to look at them over and over again.
Serious. This book was purchased on the sheer hilarity of the title and shipped off to my niece that day. Opening it up is one ridiculous page after another documenting a farmer's woes when his cows go on strike. Luckily the duck was a neutral party....
When Lois Armstrong Taught Me to Scat, Lovely wonderful illustrations to accompany great sentence like "Chew-itee Chew-itee chew-itee Chop, Crackity Crackity Snappity Poppity Pop!" makes for a great read to cuddle up to at night. Son approved since age one, this book is a favourite at our house.
Trying not to get too sentimental this collection happens to be the first book purchased by me for my little son. At just a week old, and having realized that my entire life for the next 6 months would be spent sitting nursing him, I wanted to do something beyond staring at the wall. Pooh got us through many a long night.
All Aboard the DinoTrain, Deb Lund
Alright, alright I confess I got a Dino loving little boy at home. The pages are filled with weird 4 stanza lined, rhyming drama about a group of dinosaurs taking a train to parts unknown. At this age it is more about the transportation then the destination.
Best Mother Goose Ever, Richard Scarry
I really am unsure of the appeal to this book but it was well-loved by me as a child and now my son. Filled with very British inspired illustrations to accompany classic mother goose poems, this is a must for every little person. Bonus points to your family if your husband reads every single poem out loud in a different accent.
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