Sunday, January 24, 2010

Robert B Parker RIP

Robert B Parker passed away on Monday. He made a huge impact on the crime scene in the '70s and published over 60 novels, most famously the Spenser series. His work was tough, funny, intelligent and romantic. From all accounts so was he.

One of my favourite writers. I'm sorry that he's gone.

Monday, January 04, 2010

2009 reading

I'm probably forgetting a bunch of stuff but here's a rough list of what I read last year. Probably would've helped if I hadn't waited until halfway through the year to start listing my reading. And if I hadn't then lost the list.

* = not finished by the end of 2009
** = reread
*** = not quite a reread but heavy skimming of books that have been read previously

Novels:
GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD -- Michael Chabon*
THE MASTER SNIPER -- Stephen Hunter
THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS -- PG Wodehouse
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE -- James M Cain
THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY? -- Horace McCoy
SOME OF YOUR BLOOD -- Theodore Sturgeon
TAMING A SEAHORSE -- Robert B Parker
THE DRIVE-IN: THE BUS TOUR -- Joe R Lansdale
THE LOVERS -- John Connolly
ALTERED CARBON -- Richard Morgan
ECHO BURNING -- Lee Child
THE ROAD -- Cormac McCarthy
THE TURNAROUND -- George Pelecanos
THE GATES -- John Connolly
TOMATO RED -- Daniel Woodrell
MARATHON MAN -- William Goldman
STARSHIP TROOPERS -- Robert Heinlein*
BATMAN BEGINS -- Dennis O'Neil*
THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT -- Robert B Parker***
GOD SAVE THE CHILD -- Robert B Parker***
MORTAL STAKES -- Robert B Parker***
PROMISED LAND -- Robert B Parker***

Collections:
VERY GOOD, JEEVES! -- PG Wodehouse
E PLURIBUS UNICORN -- Theodore Sturgeon*
WAKING NIGHTMARES -- Ramsey Campbell*
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S -- Truman Capote*
EARTHMAN GO HOME -- Harlan Ellison*
DARK VISONS -- Stephen King, Dan Simmons, George RR Martin*
NIGHT VISIONS 3 -- Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Tuttle, Clive Barker*

Short stories:
A bunch of Thomas Ligotti stories
Desperate Hours -- Jonathan Marshall
Guy Walks into a Bar ... -- Lee Child
The Sticky Wicket -- James Herriot
The Ant and the Grasshopper -- W Somerset Maugham
The Man From Glasgow -- W Somerset Maugham
The Pitch -- Dennis Etchison
The Accountant -- Robert Sheckley
Miss Marple Tells a Story -- Agatha Christie
The Last Seance -- Agatha Christie
The Snail-Watcher -- Patricia Highsmith
The Day of Reckoning -- Patricia Highsmith
The Baby Spoon -- Patricia Highsmith
A Curious Suicide -- Patricia Highsmith
A Rose for Emily -- William Faulkner
The Man Who Didn't Ask Why -- CS Forester
Examination Day -- Henry Slesar
The Seed from the Sepulchre -- Clark Ashton Smith
Home Away from Home -- Robert Bloch
You've Got to Have Brains -- Robert Bloch
The Mannikin -- Robert Bloch
The Graveyard Rats -- Henry Kuttner
The Wonderful story of Henry Sugar -- Roald Dahl
The Willows -- Algernon Blackwood
Oh Whistle and I'll Come to you my Lad -- MR James
Lost Hearts -- MR James
Canon Alberic's Scrap-book -- MR James
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral -- MR James
Number 13 -- MR James
The Girls in Their Summer Dresses -- Irwin Shaw
The Heart of a Goof -- PG Wodehouse
High Stakes -- PG Wodehouse
Buried Treasure -- PG Wodehouse
The Letter of the Law -- PG Wodehouse
The Monster -- Joe Haldeman
Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds -- Dan Simmons
A Way Home -- Theodore Sturgeon
Talent -- Theodore Sturgeon
The Man Born Blind -- CS Lewis
Forms of Things Unknown -- CS Lewis
Apples -- Ramsey Campbell
The Open Window -- Saki
Denton's Death -- Martin Amis
Activity Time -- Monica Dickens
Eyes -- Charles L Grant

Scriptbooks:
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING -- Joss Whedon
DR WHO: THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG -- Robert Holmes*

Non-Fiction:
CREATORS ON THE FANTASTIC FOUR -- Tom Defalco
WILL STORR vs THE SUPERNATURAL -- Will Storr*
A PATH WITH HEART -- Jack Kornfield*
ZANSHIN -- Vince Morris**
THE ELEMENTS OF ZEN -- David Scott and Tony Doubleday
AT HELL'S GATE -- Claude Anshin Thomas
BUDDHISM WITHOUT BELIEFS -- Stephen Batchelor
HARDCORE ZEN -- Brad Warner
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP -- Brad Warner
ZEN WRAPPED IN KARMA DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE -- Brad Warner
THE COMICS JOURNAL LIBRARY 6: THE WRITERS -- Tom Spurgeon**
MEDITATIONS ON VIOLENCE -- Rory Miller
LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF VIOLENCE -- Lawrence A Kane and Kris Wilder*
WORKING WITH WARRIORS -- Dennis Martin*
IMPOSSIBLE TERRITORIES: AN UNOFFICIAL COMPANION TO THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BLACK DOSSIER -- Jess Nevins
GRANT MORRISON: THE EARLY YEARS -- Timothy Callahan*
TARANTINO -- Jim Smith
NORMAN ROCKWELL -- Kara Ann Marling
THE PRE-RAPHAELITES -- Christopher Wood*
WONDER WOMAN: THE COMPLETE HISTORY -- Les Daniels*
ZEN FOR BEGINNERS -- Judith Blackstone and Zoran Josipovic
THE ESSENTIAL BATMAN ENCYCLOPEDIA -- Robert Greenberger*
THE NAKED ARTIST -- Bryan Talbot*

Poetry:
The Charge of the Light Brigade -- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The Lady of Shallot -- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening -- Robert Frost
Fire and Ice -- Robert Frost**
To Lucasta, On Going to the Wars -- Richard Lovelace
The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock -- TS Eliot
Macavity: The Mystery Cat -- TS Eliot
The Second Coming -- WB Yeats
Dolor -- Theodore Roethke
The Tiger -- William Blake**
The Sick Rose -- William Blake**
A Poison Tree -- William Blake
On Art and Artists -- William Blake
The Clod and the Pebble -- William Blake
A Tragedy -- E Nesbit
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time -- Robert Herrick
How Pleasant to Know Mr Lear -- Edward Lear
Jenny Kiss'd Me -- Leigh Hunt
The Lazy Writer -- Bert Leston Taylor
La Belle Dame sans Merci -- John Keats
I Tracked a Dead Man Down a Trench -- Walter Lyon
The Raven -- Edgar Allen Poe**

Comics:
JLA: NEW WORLD ORDER -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: AMERICAN DREAMS -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: ROCK OF AGES -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: JUSTIC FOR ALL -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: WORLD WAR III -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: EARTH 2 -- Grant Morrison**
JLA/WILDCATS -- Grant Morrison**
JLA: YEAR ONE -- Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn**
JUSTICE LEAGUE: A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE -- Mark Waid and Fabian Nicezia
FANTASTIC FOUR: IMAGINAUTS -- Mark Waid
FANTASTIC FOUR: UNTHINKABLE -- Mark Waid
FANTASTIC FOUR: AUTHORIATIVE ACTION -- Mark Waid**
FANTASTIC FOUR: DISASSEMBLED -- Mark Waid**
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISING STORM -- Mark Waid**
DAN DARE -- Garth Ennis
THE UNCANNY X-MEN: BEYOND THE FURTHEST STAR -- Chris Claremont
STREETS OF GLORY -- Garth Ennis
FALLEN ANGEL -- Peter David
THE QUESTION: ZEN AND VIOLENCE -- Dennis O'Neil
THE QUESTION: POISONED GROUND -- Dennis O'Neil
THE QUESTION: EPITAPH FOR A HERO -- Dennis O'Neil
THE QUESTION: WELCOME TO OZ -- Dennis O'Neil
THE QUESTION: RIDDLES -- Dennis O'Neil
THE NEW FRONTIER -- Darwyn Cooke
ANIMAL MAN -- Grant Morrison**
ANIMAL MAN: ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES -- Grant Morrison**
ANIMAL MAN: DEUS EX MACHINA -- Grant Morrison**
BATTLEFIELDS -- Garth Ennis
WAR STORIES -- Garth Ennis**
SCARLET IN GASLIGHT -- Mike Powell
THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS -- Frank Miller**
BLAZING COMBAT -- Archie Goodwin and various artists
RUNAWAYS: DEADEND KIDS -- Joss Whedon
SPYBOY: -- Peter David
BATMAN BEGINS -- Scott Beatty
EDUARDO RISSO'S TALES OF TERROR -- Carlo Trillos
CRIMINAL: LAWLESS -- Ed Brubaker**
MURDER ME DEAD -- David Lapham
TWO GUNS -- Steven Grant
Y- THE LAST MAN: WHYS AND WHEREFORES: Brian K Vaughan
CAPTAIN AMERICA: OPERATION REBIRTH -- Mark Waid
CAPTAIN AMERICA: PROTECT AND SERVE -- Mark Waid
CAPTAIN AMERICA/ CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY -- as many of the non-collected Mark Waid issues as I could find.
IRREDEEMABLE -- Mark Waid
FIGHT TO THE DEATH: BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL -- Larry Hama
SIN CITY: BOOZE, BROADS AND BULLETS -- Frank Miller**
DARK BLUE -- Warren Ellis**
CONAN AND THE SONGS OF THE DEAD -- Joe R Lansdale
ALLSTAR SUPERMAN VOL 2 -- Grant Morrison
THE FLASH: THE RETURN OF BARRY ALLEN -- Mark Waid
THE FLASH: TERMINAL VELOCITY -- Mark Waid
THE FLASH: RACE AGAINST TIME -- Mark Waid
THE LIFE STORY OF THE FLASH -- Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn**
GREEN LANTERN/SUPERMAN: LEGEND OF THE GREEN FLAME -- Neil Gaiman**
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: TIME OF YOUR LIFE -- Joss Whedon, Jeph Loeb
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: PREDATORS AND PREY -- Jane Espenson, Steven S. DeKnight and Drew Z. Greenberg
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: DEATH AND DATING -- Mark Waid, Dan Slott, Roger Stern
THE LONE RANGER -- Brett Matthews
HITMAN -- Garth Ennis***
THE COMPLETE NEW STATESMEN -- John Smith
CAPTAIN AMERICA: WAR AND REMEMBRANCE -- Roger Stern