2012: The Year in Review

Another trip around the Son on the Third Rock! How did 2012 go?

I managed to read 446 short works last year (the exact number is always a slippery one as I manage every year to forget to note anywhere from a couple to several dozen short works—this number if probably pretty accurate). Several good new-to-me authors were found (e.g., Ken Liu, E. Lily Yu), several old friends were revisited (Harlan Ellison and Arthur C. Clarke, among others). I did buy into one waste of time (the Zombie vs. Robots series of short works).

I managed to read 84 longer works this past year. As usual, I read many books simultaneously, and several of the books I read last year are in the process of being re-read (e.g., Neal Stephenson, Myke Cole), so they will show up on my 2013 list as well. Highlights for new writers included Saladin Ahmed, Myke Cole and Joe Abercrombie (at the urging of Myke Cole, as a matter of fact). Old friends revisited (or seen for the first time) included Samuel R. Delany, Glen Cook, and Terry Pratchett.

The new editions of Neil Gaiman's Sandman stories were completed last year, so I finished my initial run through the series and followed that by re-reading the first ten volumes during the last few days of the year.

In fact, I probably read more "graphic novels" this year than in any year when I found a chunk of the Naruto manga available. I'm still not hooked on superheroes, in fact, the graphic novels shelves done't even get a visit most times I am in a bookstore, but I'm more aware of what I like and will seek more of it.

Finally, I read several good works of history this past year, as you see in this entry.