Petey's
Reading List 2005
Petey's
reading list for 2005 is shy a few books (no more than a half-dozen)
because, at the beginning of the year, I hadn't yet conceived
of this project, and I was less than diligent in keeping track
of the books I'd read. When I realized that a reading list afforded
me another opportunity to add a new section, and new pages,
to the Perfect Text Web site, I started collecting library receipts,
as they're an efficient means of keeping an accurate record
of the genre fiction that I like to read.
You'll
notice that my reading preferences include an eclectic mix of
genre fiction—science fiction and fantasy, mystery and
suspense, action thrillers, contemporary and popular fiction—with
a smattering of non-fiction thrown in for times when I get to
feeling that there's too much sanity in my life.
Clicking
on a book's title opens a new window and takes you to the specific
book on the Powell's Books Web site. There, you can learn more
about the book, learn more about the author, or purchase the
book if you're so inclined.
Tricky
Business, by
Dave Barry
Black
Notice, by Patricia Cornwell
Split
Second, by David Baldacci
The
Arraignment, by Steve Martini
Children
of the Streets, by Harlan Ellison
Song
of Susannah, by Stephen King
The
Magic Circle, by Katherine Neville
The
Jury, by Steve Martini
Prey,
by Michael Crichton
The
da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
The
King of Torts, by John Grisham
The
Attorney, by Steve Martini
The
Christmas Train, by David Baldacci
The
Summons, by John Grisham
Isle
of Dogs, by Patricia Cornwell
The
Matarese Countdown, by Robert Ludlum
Point
of Origin, by Patricia Cornwell
The
Last Juror, by John Grisham
Lost
Boy, Lost Girl, by Peter Straub
The
Body Farm, by Patricia Cornwell
Bagombo
Snuff Box, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
The
Bubble of American Supremacy, by George Soros
The
Tristan Betrayal, by Robert Ludlum
Blow
Fly, by Patricia Cornwell
Eureka,
by William Diehl
Darwin's
Blade, by Dan Simmons
Changing
Planes, by Ursula K. LeGuin
Black
Evening, by David Morrell
Dark
Justice, by Jack Higgins
The
Moment She was Gone, by Evan Hunter
The
Protector, by David Morrell
The
Conspiracy Club, by Jonathan Kellerman
Dead
Lines, by Greg Bear
The
Dark Tower, by Stephen King
The
Secret, by Harold Robbins
Therapy,
by Jonathan Kellerman
Long
Lost, by David Morrell
The
Scarpetta Collection (volume 2), by Patricia Cornwell
The
Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, by Storm Constantine
The
Teeth of the Tiger, by Tom Clancy
Twisted,
by Jeffrey Deaver
The
Vanished Man, by Jeffrey Deaver
The
Winner, by David Baldacci
State
of Fear, by Michael Crichton
Life
Expectancy, by Dean Koontz
In
the Night Room, by Peter Straub
The
Clinic, by Jonathan Kellerman
The
Rules of Silence, by David Lindsey
Garden
of Beasts, by Jeffrey Deaver
Echo
Bay, by Richard Barre
Freedomland,
by Richard Price
Animosity,
by David Lindsey
Hard
Freeze, by Dan Simmons
Dead
for Life, by Ethan Black
On
the Road, by Jack Kerouac
Hour
Game, by David Baldacci
Darwin's
Children, by Greg Bear
Samaritan,
by Richard Price
Quick,
by T.M. McNally
The
Murder Book, by Jonathan Kellerman
Basket
Case, by Carl Hiaasen
A
Winter Haunting, by Dan Simmons
I
am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe
Parallel
Worlds, by Michio Kaku
Deception
Point, by Dan Brown
Twisted,
by Jonathan Kellerman
The
Road to Ruin, by Donald E. Westlake
After
the Rain, by Chuck Logan
Blinding
Light, by Paul Theroux
The
Broker, by John Grisham
Angels
& Demons, by Dan Brown
Hardcase,
by Dan Simmons
Dark
Harbor, by David Hosp
League
of Shadows, by Ron Terpening
Stardust,
by Neil Gaiman
Velocity,
by Dean Koontz
Sea
Dragon Heir, by Storm Constantine
The
Other Wind, by Ursula K. LeGuin
Skinny
Dip, by Carl Hiaasen
The
Power of the Dog, by Don Winslow
One
More for the Road, by Ray Bradbury
Trace,
by Patricia Cornwell
Marijuana:
What's a Parent to Believe?, by Timmen L. Cermak,
M.D.
Legacy,
by Greg Bear
Freakonomics,
by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Taverns
of the Dead, edited by Kealan Patrick Burke
The
Light-years Beneath My Feet, by Alan Dean Foster
Vapor
Trail, by Chuck Logan
Primal
Shadows, by Alan Dean Foster
The
Face of the Assassin, by David Lindsey
The
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Borderlands
5, edited by Elizabeth E. & Thomas F. Monteleone
For
all practical purposes the year is over; the countdown to 2006
is now measured in hours and minutes, rather than in days. Because
I know I'm not going to read another book between now and midnight,
the total count for books read in 2005 stops at 92, some 12 books
shy of my goal of 104-which would have given me a two-books-per-week
average. Total pages read in 2005 currently stands at 31,511,
with the pages of four books yet to be tallied.
Now
that 2005 has drawn to a close, it's time to reflect on the books
I've read during the year, and the authors who wrote them. Perennial
favorites and some newly discovered authors provided an eclectic
mix of stellar fiction, with most genres represented to one degree
or another. Westerns and Gothic Romances, about as compelling
to read as cereal boxes and non-prescription medication warning
labels, are notably absent.
Of
the writers whom I read for the first time in 2005, Greg Bear
(Dead
Lines), Storm Constantine (The
Wraiths of Will and Pleasure), Alan Dean Foster (The
Light-years Beneath My Feet) and Neil Gaiman (Stardust)
are standouts. Runners-up include Richard Price (Freedomland),
Richard Barre (Echo
Bay) and T.M. McNally (Quick),
with an honorable mention for David Hosp (Dark
Harbor).
Among
the standout novels on my 2005 reading list are Patricia Cornwell's
Isle
of Dogs, David Baldacci's The
Christmas Train, Alan Dean Foster's Primal
Shadows, and Don Winslow's The
Power of the Dog.
Anthologies
edited by Kealan Patrick Burke (The
Taverns of the Dead) and Elizabeth E. Monteleone and Thomas
F. Monteleone (Borderlands
5) tie for fist place in that category, with T.M. McNally's
Quick
sliding easily into a close third place.
To
be sure, 2005 lead me to some of the best fiction written in the
last decade. Dare I hope that 2006 will lead me to more of the
same?
For
more popular titles, see Petey's
Reading List for 2006 and
2007, then check out Petey's
Reading List for 2008 to see titles recently added to Petey's
growing library.
Copyright
© 2005 by Phil Hanson
All rights reserved.
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