the great catching up...

47. Tongue by Kyuang Ran Jo (An excellently written tale of food, sorrow & revenge.)

48. Twitter Wit

49. Enchanted Dreams by Nancy Madore

50. Red Carpet Rose by Pat Brady

51. Garden of the Perverse edited by Sage Vivant & M. Christian

52. Illustration Now edited by Julius Wiedeman

53. Paris Changing: Revisiting Eugene Ateget's Paris by Christopher Rauschenberg

54. Philip Marlowe's Guide to Life by Raymond Chandler (Words of wisdom from the master of the tough call.)

55. Steamed: a Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister (Kept expecting it to get better, silly me.)

56. Best American Erotica 2005

57. The Proof of the Honey by Salwa Al Neimi (A study of Middle Eastern feelings towards the erotic from an insider.)

58. Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange (A nice Pride & Prejudice novel from Darcy's side, carefully kept to original tones & word choice.)

59. A Touch of Deadly by Charlaine Harris (Brain-junk fun)

60. Rose is Rose: Right on the Lips by Pat Brady

61. Best American Erotica 2004

62. Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni

63. Fables 13: the Great Fables Crossover (the most disappointing volume in the otherwise fantastic Fables series)

64. The World According to Twitter by David Pogue & his 500,000 Followers

65. The Anxiety of Everyday Objects by Aurelie Sheehan (Wonderfully written. The adventures of whimsical dreamer in an office job. Excellent.)

66. Best American Erotica 2008


67. Autobiography of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda


68. Yellow Dog by Charles de Lint


69. Portable Childhoods: Stories by Ellen Klages (Wonderful fantasy short stories of a similar vein as Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things.)

70. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (Pretty good fantasy. Death sentence traded for a food tasting job, interesting scenario, but the main character wasn't enticing enough to get me through the sequel.)


71. The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting What You Want by Cameron Tuttle

72. The Wild Things by Dave Eggars (Pretty close to the movie, very emotionally dense.)


73. Instructions by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess (Everything you need to know about how to live is in fairy tales, instruction manual by extract. Excellent.)

74. Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess


75. The Year of Yes by Maria Dahvana Headley


76. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan


77. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Why would a teen girl commit suicide? What drives us to the bottom? What would you do if you got there? Excellent, not an upper. Strong argument for the importance of all actions, no matter how small a decision might appear to be.)

78. Demo by Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan (graphic novel) (A bunch of awesome short stories about extraordinary people.)


79. Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

80. Shrimp by Rachel Cohn (sequel to Gingerbread)

81. Cupcake by Rachel Cohn (finishing the trilogy)

82. Luxe by Anna Godbersen (1899 NYC. betrothals, scandals, secrets...first in quartet.)

83. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (Not as good as the main Twilight books, it exists for the obsessed, more so than I. Luckily short.)

84. Herotica 5

85. Ooku: The Inner Chambers. Vol. 1. by Fumi Yoshinaga. (Alterna-history. What if a disease killed off 75% of teen males in ancient Japan & kept doing so for centuries? How would it change culture, state infrastructure & interpersonal relationships? Excellent adult manga.)

86. Rumors by Anne Godbersen (The Luxe quartet continues.)

87. Envy by Anne Godbersen

a lot of reading can happen when you're out sick (nothing too strenuous though)

37. Rose is Rose: 15th Anniversary Collection by Pat Brady



38. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (re)



39. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (re)



40. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (re)



41. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (re)



42. The Big Bento Boy of Unuseless Japanese Inventions by Kenji Kawakami



43. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Once Upon a Time... by Serena Valentino & FSc (re)



44. Tokyo: a certain style, text & photos by Kyoichoi Tsuzuki



45. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Beautiful Beasts by Serena Valentino & FSc (re)



46. Rose is Rose: Running on Alter Ego by Pat Brady

30. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (This was a very engaging autobiography-style portrait of Japan as it was opening to the west, of the evolution of gaijin [foreigner] from the differences in cultural etiquette, and how a traditional art form updated itself to remain relevant in changing times.)

31. A Year in Japan by Kate J. Williamson (A delightful volume of wonderfully executed watercolors and observations.)

32. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Two novella, engaging & sparse writing style.)

33. Stitches: a memoir by David Small (Tragic, moving, inspiring. The terror of a childhood made of secrets.)

34. The Floating World by Cynthia Gralla (Toyko's entertainment world in the '90s with amazing descriptions of the power of dance and feeling admired, heart-wrenching narration of anorexia.)

35. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (re) (As good as it was in elementary school, probably better. "Whole Story" edition was an added entertainment.)

36. High-Spirited Rose is Rose by Pat Brady

7. City Chic by Nina Willdorf

8. The Character of Rain by Amelie Nothomb (re)

9. The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint (re) (My first experienc with De Lint's Newford & Jilly Coppercorn)

10. Promises to Keep by Charles de Lint (So far the novel with the youngest Jilly, to my knowledge)

11. Memories of my Melancoly Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (re)

12. PostSecret: Confessions of Life, Death, and God edited by Frank Warren

13. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

14. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

15. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

16. Definately Dead by Charlaine Harris

17. A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids by Margot Diaz

18. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

19. Yotsuba&! 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma (re) (Manga made of joy.)

20. Yotsuba&! 2 (re)

21. Yotsuba&! 3 (re)

22. Yotsuba&! 4 (re)

23. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

24. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

25. The Lost Painting by Joanthan Carr (the true story of a lost & found Carravaggio)

26. Yotsuba&! 5

27. Yotsuba&! 6

28. The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious--and Perplexing -- City by David Lebovitz (Amusing musing on living in Paris)

29. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Book List 2010

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (re) (Comfort food.)

2. A Guide to Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux (Some of her reactionary stances make far more sense in light of the original copyright, 1964, but she can be admired through and through for her absolute faith in her own way.)

3. How to Wrap Five Eggs: Traditional Japanese Packaging by Hideyuki Oka with photos by Michikazu Sakai (Seldom instructional, but very inspirational.)

4. Sundays at Tiffany's (re) (Comfort food, too sweet still.)

5. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (Junk food.)

6. Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (More junk food.)

reads from Halloween on past Solstice

167. Tokyo Fiance by Amelie Nothomb (Dear Amelie Nothomb, I'm in love with you...)

168. Frazz: Live at Bryson Elementry by Jeff Mallett (comics)

169. 99% Perspiration: a Frazz Collection by Jeff Mallett (comics)

170. Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

171. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (re)

172. Anticrista by Amelie Nothomb (not one of her best, but it will do for a fix if you're already addicted to her)

173. The Life of Hunger by Amelie Nothomb (wonderful)

174. Sulpheric Acid by Amelie Nothomb (another fix)

175. The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

176. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games, book 2)

177. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

178. Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl

179. When Wanderers Cease to Roam: a traveler's journal of staying put by Vivian Swift

180. The Life of Hunger by Amelie Nothomb (re. Yes, it was that good.)

181. The Secret Lives of Men & Women: a Post Secret book edited by Frank Warren

182. Her Fearful Symmetry by Andrey Niffenegger (graveyards. the identity crisis of twinness. what could love be like in extreme enough situations?)

183. Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

184. The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Nancy Madore (not recommended. a self-help book in a harlot's disguise.)

185. The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint (wonderful & without the "too many characters, doing too many things in unrealted places" problem he sometimes stumbles into.)

186. Lust & other stories by Susan Minot (not as over the top & skull-excavating as Rapture, but not bad. it's easy to see how this kind of writing was laying ground for Evening & Rapture.)

187. Still Life by Irving Penn (photos)

188. The Best Time to Do Everything by Michael Kaplan

the good stuff

159. Across the Nightengale Floor: Tales of the Otori Book One by Liam Hearn

160. On Reading by Andre Kertesy (photography. very lovely!)

161. Ghost Girl (poems) by Amy Gerstler (like playing in a shop full antique toys, a bit whimsical, a pit like a treasure hunt in a friend's back yard)

162. The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White, The Writer & the City series (a wonderful little read for anyone who loves obsure, footnote-ish history, cities, Paris... J.E. & A.B. would probably both enjoy.)

163. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Informative, intriguing, gross at points in a CSI kind of way. Awesome.)

164. Gourment Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery (Same author as The Elegance of the Hedgehog. She needs to publish again as soon as possible.)

165. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (re) (Still awesome, maybe my favorite Neil Gaiman, maybe.)

166. Idoru by William Gibson (Not quite as lovely as Pattern Recognition, but still good futuristic fun with computers.)