2006 Books 91 - 95

91. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Audiobook read by Ralph Cosham - Not only a fantastic adventure story, also a study of Imperialism gone very, very, bad.

92. The Privilege Of The Sword by Ellen Kushner - Kushner brings back Alec from her first book (Swordspoint) to play a major role in this third visit to Riverside, the fictional Middle Age world where there's nothing too trivial to inspire a sword fight. Alec and his relationships and feuds were all I needed to enjoy this book, but on top of that, the main plot and new characters are pretty darn good.

93. Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster - A collection fo lectures Forster gave in the late 20's on what makes a novel. Although I found some of his examples a little unreachable, and definitely disagreed with some of his opinions on certain authors, Forster's explanations on what a novel is, at it's foundation, are incredibly clear and simple. This small book could replace a lot of "the novel as literature" theory courses.

94. This Is Not Chick Lit: Original Stories by America's Best Women Writers edited by Elizabeth Merrick - Ignore the defensive first half of the title (which really makes no sense at all, when the collection's introduction is titled "Why Chick Lit Matters") and focus on the the subtitle, because that's what this anthology is - well written fiction by some very talented people, who are female. There's a broad range of stories and styles: some coming close to the genre the title says it is not, some so far away that there's barely a female in the story, let alone a relationship issue, and in between, really, really good original short stories.

95. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - Historical fiction, mystery, coming of age and probably a couple other genres are combined to make this wonderful story, populated with original and interesting characters. Two plots run side by side through most of the book, linked only by a book that carries the same title as this book. The author does a wonderful job of slowly bringing the two stories together, and then adds a twist worthy of the very real characters she's created.