Best Books Read in 2007

[bibliogramma]

Yes, this is very late. In fact, I haven't even finished writing comments for all the books I read in 2007 - life has this horrible habit of getting in the way of my blogging.

I'm not going to limit myself to 10, and I'm going to count series as one entry on my list. And I'm not going to count re-reads, because this year I re-read some of my favourite books of all time, such as The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin, The Maerlande Chronicles by Elisabeth Vonarburg, King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett, and Woman on the Edge of time by Marge Piercy, so that would just make the list very long indeed.

So here's my selection of the best books and series I read in 2007, in alphabetical order by author or editor:

Carnival, Elizabeth Bear

The Jenny Casey trilogy: Hammered, Scardown, Worldwired, Elizabeth Bear

The Marq'ssan Cycle: Alanya to Alanya, Renegade, Tsunami, L. Timmel Duchamp

Drag King Dreams, Leslie Feinberg

Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire that Never Was, Angélica Gorodischer, trans. Ursula K. LeGuin

So Long Been Dreaming: Post Colonial Science Fiction and Fantasy, (eds.) Nalo Hopkinson, Uppinder Mehan

The Isles of Glory trilogy: The Aware, Gilfeather, The Tainted, Glenda Larke

Warchild, Burndive, Cagebird, Karin Lowachee

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, Charles Mann

Glorifying Terrorism, (ed.) Farah Mendlesohn

His Majesty’s Dragon, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire of Ivory, Naomi Novik

James Tiptree Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, Julie Phillips

The Wess'har Wars series: Crossing the Line, City of Pearl, The World Before, Matriarch, Ally, Karen Traviss

The Orphan’s Tales: In The Night Garden, Catherynne M. Valente

Farthing, Jo Walton

Comments

[calico-reaction.livejournal.com]

Cool!

Have you read the second volume of the Valente yet?

[bibliogramma.livejournal.com]

Yes, I finished it last week. Lovely, wonderful, mesmerising, lyrical, all of that great stuff.

I really have trouble finding words to express my response to these two books, probably because they work so much at the level of oral trad and poetry, both of which affect me strongly at a non-verbal/emotional level.

[calico-reaction.livejournal.com]

I had the same trouble. I could barely TALK about the first book, let alone form anything coherent.

[xochiquetzl]

I'm reading Naomi Novik's first right now. :)

[bibliogramma.livejournal.com]

Oh, you're in for a real treat. They just keep getting better.

[idella]

I can never count my rereads amongst my favourite reads of any year (even when they are) because in my head it doesn't work that way. The only time I make an exception is if I feel radically different about a book upon rereading it.

I didn't love his His Majesty's Dragon but so many people do that I'm going to give it another try. And I liked it well enough the first time that it's not something I'm dreading.

I badgered my old library into buying that Tiptree bio! Haven't read it yet, but I plan to.

Farthing made my best of the year list, too. Oh, I wince thinking about it, though. It was such a painful read. I'm looking forward to reading Walton's two follow-ups.

[bibliogramma.livejournal.com]

The thing about the Temeraire series is that they keep getting better as Laurence's worldview is forcibly expanded by the experieces he is forced to undergo through his relationship with Temeraire. Plus, one sees Laurence's world more and more critically as Temeraire, who is the ultimate naive visitor, questions what he sees around him more and more, and learns more and more about the world of dragons.

Farthing is just brilliant. And chilling. I'm waiting impatiently for the paperback version of Ha'penny to come out so I can devour it.

[idella]

Yeah, when Ha'Penny comes out in paperback, I'm definitely getting someone to bring it back with them from Florida from me.