2012 Reading List
Transformers: Armada Volume 1
Chris Sarracini
Published: 2003 | Pages:144
My Rating: 2/5
Ugn, really?The art is kind of mediocre, the story is fairly gibberish with the whole Minicons thing. the kids look like they are like 5 which is just rediculous.Basically, don’t bother and stick to the main line IDW Transformers comics.
Description: The Decepticons, feeding off the energy of captured Mini-Cons, are about to begin a hostile takeover of the Transformers home planet, Cybertron. Do Optimus Prime and the heroic Autobots stand a chance of defending the planet against these super-powered villains? And will the Mini-Cons ever get their freedom back? The action is so explosive that the shock waves will shake not only Cybertron but even planet Earth right down to the core!
Description: Come along, Toto, she said. We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again. Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home. With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.
Shortpacked!, Vol. 1: Brings Back The Eighties
David Willis
Published: 2005 | Pages:135
My Rating: 4/5
Description:
Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter
The Waiter
Published: 2008 | Pages:302
My Rating: 3/5
Description: Waiter Rant offers the server’s unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places. Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age thirty-eight, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he’s truly thrived.
AFK
Huckleberry Hax
Published: 2008 | Pages:206
Description: A Second Life® detective reflects on cases and confessions, on love, on anger, on understanding Second Life as perhaps the greatest liberator there has ever been, and on falling for the oldest trick in the book, just the same…
The Ralph S. Mouse Audio Collection (Ralph #1-3)
Beverly Cleary
Published: 1980 | Pages:7
My Rating: 5/5
These were my favorite books when I was a kid and I found them just as enjoyable today. My only real complaint was thatbthe collection from Audible puts them out of order with what should be the last book in the second position.
Description: Mouse and the MotorcycleRalph S. MouseRunaway Ralph
Kill Decision
Daniel Suarez
Published: 2012 | Pages:400
My Rating: 3/5
I absolitely love Daemon and FreedomTM, probably my favorite books ever. Kill Decision is not part of that series but has some vaguely similar themes. It’s an interesting concept of Drones gone ary and is a decent read but not nearly as good as Daniel Suarez’s previous two novels. It starts off strong but seems to kind of wander off later in the story without a clear direction. We jump from single airplane like drones to insectile swarms with little real explanation.
Description: Unmanned weaponized drones already exist—they’re widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, bestselling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results. Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned—and thanks to her research, automated—drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the “kill decision” during battle has remained in the hands of humans—and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences. But as forces even McKinney and Odin don’t understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.
Lucifer’s Hammer
Larry Niven
Published: 1977 | Pages:629
My Rating: 3/5
Description: THE LUCKY ONES WENT FIRST…The gigantic comet has slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilizationBut for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival—a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known….
Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 4
Simon Furman
Published: 2011 | Pages:352
My Rating: 4/5
Description:
Description: She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six.Out of work and out of money, Stephanie blackmails her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, el-primo bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. Her first nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli’s the inamorato who charmed Stephanie out of her virginity at age sixteen. There’s still powerful chemistry between them, so the chase should be interesting…and could also be extremely dangerous.
Description: My name is Katniss Everdeen.Why am I not dead?I should be dead.Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.
Lullaby
Chuck Palahniuk
Published: 2002 | Pages:260
My Rating: 3/5
An interesting idea with the whole killing poem. Unfortunately like a lot of Palahniuk’s books it kind of falls apart into meaningless randomness and repetition of the same concepts during the middle half of the book.I found it enjoyable though, better than Survivor.
Description: Lullaby is a comedy/drama/tragedy. In that order. It may also be Chuck Palahniuk’s best book yet.
11/22/63
Stephen King
Published: 2011 | Pages:849
My Rating: 4/5
Description: In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane — and insanely possible — mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald…
Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
Ernest Cline
Published: 2011 | Pages:374
My Rating: 3/5
This books kind of comes off to me as a Daemon Lite. Or maybe a better comparison is Snow Crash Lite. It has it’s moments at times but other parts are really sappy and kind of meh.Then there are the awkward segments, mostly in the first third of the book, where the author just starts rambling off bullet point lists of 80s pop culture. “Here are a list of John Hughes films”, “Here’s a list of Rush songs”, “Here’s a list of popular Atari titles.”All the pop culture references are neat but it makes things feel pandering and unoriginal.Not to mention the wholely annoying aspect of this book being set in 2045 yet somehow NOTHING of significance has happened since like 2010 and everyone is obsessed with the 80s. It’s like the friendly Steve Jobs Mary Sue who is running the contest was somehow managed to just roll back original thinking the day he Oasis world.It is an ok read with it’s moments but the obsession witg the 80s actually kibd of ruins it.
Description: Librarian’s note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereIN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
Suzanne Collins
Published: 2008 | Pages:374
My Rating: 2/5
The books starts off a little slow and repedetive with its “I am going to dump on myself but why does everyone think I am so great?” schtick. It picks up a bit when the game itself starts and oddly this plot point of Katniss not getting why people like her mysteriously just seems to vanish. There is a point where the characters are frustrated because they can’t really figure out what Katniss’ real personality is, unfortunately, this holds true in the story as well. She just is what she needs to be for the story. She can Hunt, and … well, hunt… otherwise she mostly just acts confused and lost.Things move along for a bit before the rather forced romance subplot tries to push it’s way to the front making things a little confused on what we are supposed to focus on and really care about. By the end, we don’t get the twist we hope for (though I suspect it may show up in the sequels) and what we are left with is a rather predictable torn romance story about a couple of kids trying to kill one another.Also, the level of class disparity between the Districts and the City seems a little too far fetched, not to mention that it is hard to tell just how many people are in this world. There is little real history on the world at large other than it exists in the remains of North America. Are there others still living in the world on other continents? If District 12 has somethibg 8000 people (the only population given by the book), how avout the other districts? even if they have twice as many people, that still is well under a million people not counting the Capital, which couldn’t be too large given it is supported by the backs of what are essentially slaves from the districts. Basically, the story is ok, but there are aome holes in the world which leave questions.
Description: Could you survive on your own in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don’t live to see the morning?In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love.
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)
Suzanne Collins
Published: 2009 | Pages:391
My Rating: 4/5
I really liked this a lot more than The Hunger Games, which I pretty much hated. Basically, this book feels like the book that The Hunger Games wanted to be but failed miserably at pulling off. Kind of predictable though actually.
Description: Sparks are igniting.Flames are spreading.And the Capitol wants revenge. Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.
Steve Jobs
Walter Isaacson
Published: 2011 | Pages:630
My Rating: 3/5
Despite that I pretty much hate Apple, I already knew a surprisingly large portion of the history of Steve Jobs. That said, while the book was interesting, it didn’t really teach me anything new. If anything, it mostly just served to reaffirm the idea that Jobs’ is a pretty smart guy but he’s also pretty much a huge self entitled asshole.
Description:
Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 3
Simon Furman
Published: 2011 | Pages:348
My Rating: 4/5
Description: Devastation, as well as Spotlights: Galvatron, Ramjet, Wheelie, Blaster, Arcee, Grimlock, and Mirage.
Survivor
Chuck Palahniuk
Published: 1999 | Pages:289
My Rating: 3/5
I do enjoy a lot of aspects about this book, there are some interesting concepts and ideas, but there are also some kind of morbid points and a bit too much repetition on some other points that I dislike. It is a good read and has kind of a “What really happened?” sort of end, which I like.
Description: Fight Club comes this wickedly incisive second novel, a mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious vision of cult and post-cult life.Tender Branson—last surviving member of the so-called Creedish Death Cult—is dictating his life story into the flight recorder of Flight 2039, cruising on autopilot at 39,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. He is all alone in the airplane, which will crash shortly into the vast Australian outback. Before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child and humble domestic servant to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiah, author of a best-selling autobiography, Saved from Salvation, and the even better selling Book of Very Common Prayer (The Prayer to Delay Orgasm, The Prayer to Prevent Hair Loss, The Prayer to Silence Car Alarms). He’ll reveal the truth of his tortured romance with the elusive and prescient Fertility Hollis, share his insight that “the only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage,” and deny responsibility for the Tender Branson Sensitive Materials Sanitary Landfill, a 20,000-acre repository for the nation’s outdated pornography. Among other matters both bizarre and trenchant.Not since Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night and Jerzy Kosinski’s Being There has there been as dark and telling a satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world. Unpredictable, compelling, and unforgettable, Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak; and it cements his place as one of the most original writers in fiction today.
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 2
Naoko Takeuchi
Published: 2003 | Pages:235
My Rating: 5/5
Consideraly better from a plot and structure standpoint then volume 1 which suffers horribly from it’s introduction heavy plots.
Description:
Girl Parts
John M. Cusick
Published: 2010 | Pages:218
My Rating: 2/5
This is essentially what Short Circuit would be like if, instead of a Nuclear Warmachine, Johnny Five was a 17 year old girl.It starts out kind of interesting but ends up a little odd and kind of lame.
Description: From a debut author! What happens when a robot designed to be a boy’s ideal “companion” develops a will of her own? A compulsively readable novel from a new talent. (Ages 14 and up)David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded Rose –and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Parted from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend. In a stunning and hilarious debut, John Cusick takes rollicking aim at internet culture and our craving for meaningful connection in an uberconnected world.
Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 2
Simon Furman
Published: 2010 | Pages:392
My Rating: 4/5
Description:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)
Stieg Larsson
Published: 2005 | Pages:480
My Rating: 4/5
Description: An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.
Neko Ramen: Curry Is Also Delicious!
Kenji Sonishi
Published: 2010 | Pages:160
My Rating: 3/5
Picked this up for like 90% off at a closing Borders because it has a neat cat and is about Ramen. It’s ok. It seems to be more of a serialized strip of spme sort. Some of the jokes also seem to be lost in culture or translation.
Description:
101 Incredible Experiments for the Weekend Scientist
Rob Beattie
Published: 2007 | Pages:128
My Rating: 4/5
This is a decent little selection of sciency experiments and weekend projects. many of the projects can be greatly improved if you know what you’re doing but it does a decent job of keeping things simple and layman.If you are like me and know a lot about Physics and Chemistry you may find it a little too simplistic.
Description:
Star Trek: Countdown
Mike Johnson
Published: 2009 | Pages:102
Description: Star Trek, the upcoming blockbuster film from Paramount Pictures! JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman present the origin of Nero, the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the entire universe. Don’t miss this story that brings STAR TREK back to the big screen!
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Renewal Edition, #1)
Naoko Takeuchi
Published: 2003 | Pages:240
My Rating: 4/5
I have seen much of the show but read none of the manga. A decent though somewhat simplistic story design. it actually mostly just makes me want to watch the show again where a bit more happens.
Description: This new edition of Sailor Moon will feature:- An entirely new, incredibly accurate translation!- Japanese-style, right-to-left reading!- New cover art never before seen in the U.S.!- The original Japanese character names!- Detailed translation notes!This version of Sailor Moon will be completely true to original. Join us as Sailor Moon returns to the U.S. for the first time in years!
Bumblebee & Me: Life as a G1 Transformer
Dan Gilvezan
Published: 2011 | Pages:106
My Rating: 5/5
I really rather enjoyed this book. It is essentially a telling of Dan Gilvezan’s time working with the transformers cartoon series over the years. it is pretty much limited to The Transformers.Also of note, the audio version is available via Audible cheaper thant he paper or eBook edition. It is also read by Dan Gilvezan himself. Considering he does voice work for a living, I have to say it is excellent to hear him doing the read and even if you don’t really do Audiobooks, the Audio version of this book is probably a better experience than the print edition. Also of note, it’s pretty short. The audiobook was something like 90 minutes.
Description: Gilvezan,
Josh Miller aka “Ramen Junkie”. I write about my various hobbies here. Mostly coding, photography, and music. Sometimes I just write about life in general. I also post sometimes about toy collecting and video games at Lameazoid.com.