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usuallyhats
I am going to have a go at listing all the books and films wot I read and see this year, hopefully with not entirely uninteresting comments about them. Of course this is all dependent on a) me not being lazy and b) me working out how to edit posts (I've done it before but can never remember how) (ETA I worked it out! It was indeed very obvious). So here goes:
Books of 2007
*read for book group
1. A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett A reread; not my favourite of his books by any means but still v. enjoyable.
2. Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks Yay, proper scifi! Immensely inventive and I loved the scope of it, especially with the epilogue which sort of puts the characters into perspective - there's a real sense that they're a tiny part of a much larger universe, but it doesn't undermine the sense that they matter(ed).
3. The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss I have finally decided that I like Mark Gatiss despite not enjoying the League of Gentlemen and this book is one of the reasons why. Fun, exciting, witty and the villains had a wonderfully melodramatic plan.
4. Doctor Who Short Trips: The Muses Bit of a mixed bag; the Third Doctor story was incredibly irritating but most of the rest were pretty good, especially the one with Four and the final one with all of them.
5. The Witch of Clatteringshaws by Joan Aiken A fitting end to the series. When I was reading it I thought that it felt a bit rushed but the author's note at the end explained it. I love this series, Joan Aiken's alternative timeline is beautifully imagined and created and the macabre elements are great!
6. The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes Heee! Lovely, honest and self deprecating. I really identified with his kitchen pedantry and enthusiasm.
7. The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch* I really enjoyed this, though others in the book group didn't (one person, apparently, because it had the temerity to be about the middle class rather than the working class. Huh?). I love the way Iris Murdoch creates atmosphere and the world her characters inhabit really appeals to me (the characters themselves, not so much). She writes very well on the muddle of life, how choices are never really clear cut good vs evil, and how a course of action that seems obvious to you can be completely derailed by someone else behaving in a way that seems obvious to them. Um, if you see what I mean.
8. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick Ooo, this was great! I was expecting something like The Plot Against America which I read last year, but it was so much more readable and approachable. I loved how the book's world felt like a real world, like Philip K. Dick had created a whole world outside the characters' experiences. And the style, particularly in the Japanese bits, was lovely.
9. Thud by Terry Pratchett Another reread; I have finally reread them all (except Wintersmith which is too new for a reread yet)! What I love about the Discworld is how it keeps growing and maturing whilst still being recognisably the same world. Terry Pratchett could probably have made a fortune just writing more or less the same book over and over again; I love that he hasn't.
10. Doctor Who Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors I... should not read horror *has fear* I liked the Ian story the best. Yay, Ian!
11. Shirley by Charlotte Bronte Very different to her other books which are all pretty different to each other. I really admire her ability to create characters that I believe in and like. And it was very amusing how her couples couldn't stop talking long enough to propose! I loved the friendship between Shirley and Caroline in particular.
12. Stamping Butterflies by Jon Courtenay Grimwood He has such a confident writing style, all his books just sweep me along with them, even when I don't really know what's going on. This one was much easier to understand than the Arabesk ones (which I also liked) so that was a relief. The future chapters didn't grip me at first but eventually I got into them. And I liked the way everything came together towards the end.
13. Kalki by Gore Vidal* OK, that was not what I was expecting! I thought it was very good though and handled lots of themes in an interesting way. Though it did leave things a bit open-ended as to whether it was the supernatural or not which always annoys me. Make up your minds!
14. Doctor Who: City of the Dead by Lloyd Rose Eeee! Well written, lyrical, and very funny in places (the contents of the Doctor's pockets springs to mind...). I really enjoyed the matter of fact treatment of the supernatural. And Eight, Fitz and Anji are great.
15. The Flying Sorcerors Comic scifi/fantasy short stories; some good, some not so good. Mostly "heh, I see what you did there" funny rather than "haven't laughed so much since Grandpa got his beard caught in the mangle" funny.
16. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison I love her observational sympathy, I believed every character and it was down to the little everyday details of their lives. The afterword was an interesting read too and I think she's right about its main flaw: the relative slightness of Pecola herself as a character. Still good though.
17. Lend Me Your Ears by Boris Johnson I do not agree with Boris (we are of course on first name terms) with many things but I do love the way he writes. He has a wonderfully bold turn of phrase and he makes me laugh. His writing is very clear, thoughtful and honest. A bit more context for some of the pieces - a date at least - would have been nice though.
18. Truckers by Terry Pratchett Another reread but I really didn't remember this book at all! Lots of fun, particularly the extracts from the Book of Nome.
19. The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark I don't really know what I thought about this one. Some bits of it I enjoyed, but it wasn't really like I expected. Though it does get points for using one of my favourite phrases in the title.
20. Doctor Who: Grave Matter by Justin Richards Very enjoyable, with spot on voices and characterisations of Six and Peri. Plus, Hitch-hiker's joke!
21. Surprised by Joy by CS Lewis I really enjoyed this, especially the literary bits; they made me want to be more widely read than I am!
22. Diggers by Terry Pratchett Reread! Grimma was great in this one, and I'm looking forward to rereading Wings and finding out what Masklin, Angalo and Gurder got up to.
23. Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov Oh, this was nice! It would have been so easy to be all "oh noes, isn't the world terrible?" with this story but it really wasn't like that at all, it felt positive and hopeful throughout, and was suffused with affection. Nabakov's writing style is great too - his use of language is very precise, vivid and unusual.
24. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters* I thought that this was very enjoyable but not as good as it thought it was. The structure was quite annoying (I may have shouted abuse at it when, just as I was really getting into the 1947 section and wanting to know what happened, I turned the page to see 1944 in big letters) and I felt that it was an attempt to give the book more depth than it really had. That being said, it was immensely readable, the descriptions were vivid and evocative and she wore her research very lightly - she was obviously very knowledgeable but I never felt like I was being hit over the head with the period detail.
25. This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson Oh, this was wonderfully written and detailed and beautiful and it broke my heart a bit, yes. The intellectual arguments were very done, not dry at all, and they felt like living conversations rather than arguments already settled. But oh the unfairness of it all!
26. Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric by Ian Briggs Needed to recover a bit from the last one, luckily SFX gives good free gifts. Lots more blood, nudity and poetry than I remember from the tv version :-) but it was very interesting to see it all fleshed out with the bits that they couldn't do on screen.
27. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons HEE! I have read this before but I had not at that time reached the Age of Discretion so I didn't get it. But it was great! It felt effortless and very affectionate.
28. Doctor Who: Heart of TARDIS by Dave Stone Hah! Much silliness and joy. The less silly parts weren't as good but the silliness was fantastic.
29. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill Oh books, stop hurting me!
30. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem Very interesting ideas.
31. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje* Beautifully lyrical and I liked the deliberate looseness of the structure.
32. Doctor Who: The Witch Hunters by Steve Lyons Oh yay! I liked this. I am very fond of The Crucible and Our Heroes slid into it so neatly (though knowing the Crucible so well meant it was a wee bit jarring to find out that Abigail was actually 11/12). And hurray for Ian/Barbara! OTP, y'all. And! They went to Bristol, yes.
33. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson Not so keen on this one due to some issues with his attitudes to women and People From Abroad. Still had moments of funny though.
34. Temeraire by Naomi Novik (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
naominovik) I knew I was going to love this and I wasn't disappointed! I really liked the matter of fact presentation of the dragons and the way they were fitted into society. And Tememraire himself was a wonderfully engaging character.
35. Doctor Who: The Devil Goblins from Neptune by Keith Topping and Martin Day Fun! I am not that keen on Three but I do love UNIT and there was a lot of UNIT based goodness in this. Also I love that the author's note at the beginning ended with "Action by Havoc", hee.
36. Doctor Who: The Empire of Glass by Andy Lane Oh, Stephen, why do bad things always happen to you? I liked the integration of the historical bits and the aliens in this.
37. Doctor Who: Human Nature by Paul Cornell Now this was very good. Benny is excellent! Well written and interesting with some very funny lines (and some very creepy bits also).
38. The Widow and the King by John Dickinson Interesting and absorbing, very well created fantasy world. He is writing more books, please?
39. Sir Thursday by Garth Nix (Keys to the Kingdom pt. 4) Much love for this series, wildly inventive with some great characters.
40. See Delphi and Die by Lindsey Davis Fun, and I also appreciate the fact that the characters do change and grow over the course of the series.
41. Doctor Who: Fear of the Dark by Trevor Baxendale Effective thriller. I liked the portrayal of the relationships between Five, Nyssa and Tegan. The guest cast was a bit 2D though.
42. The Adventure of English by Melvyn Burgess This suffered a bit by not being as thorough as David Crystal or as funny as Bill Bryson, but it was still a good, interesting read once it got going.
43. Doctor Who: Dreams of Empire by Justin Richards Gets lots of extra points simply by being a Second Doctor book! Good read, interesting plot and alien society. Also made me giggle every now and then.
44. Eva by Peter Dickinson Excellent. Makes you feel the big ideas going on in it as well as just understand them. My only criticism would be that some of the minor characters weren't terribly well fleshed out, but it was Eva's book and she was very well drawn.
45. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh* I never enjoy his books as much as I expect to and they're never as funny as I think they're going to be either. It was certainly very good but it was also cold, almost callous at times. I didn't really care about any of the characters so it never really hooked me.
46. Doctor Who: Bullet Time by David A. McIntee Made me gasp out loud at one point! Interesting thriller.
47. AK by Peter Dickinson Very powerful. And his ability to write well in so many genres never ceases to impress me.
48. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Well created world, very creepy atmosphere. Interesting ideas and I enjoyed working out what was going on.
49. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Reread as I read Peter Pan in Scarlet over Christmas, and I actually think I like that one better. Is that a terrible heresy?
50. Doctor Who: Empire of Death by David Bishop Would have been pretty solid without the heavy handed anti-abortion bits. But it was nice that Nyssa got to be all competent and stuff.
51. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman One of my favourite books of his, I think. Interesting, funny, well written, very pleasing.
52. Doctor Who: Wages of Sin by David A. McIntee I loved being able to see a Liz 'n' Jo teamup! Well constructed historical.
53. Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman Nice little book though I'm glad I got it from the library rather than paying for it!
54. Doctor Who: Genocide by Paul Leonard Cor, Sam is annoying. Otherwise a good read. I particularly liked the characterisation of Jo. Thought the deaths of her two friends were a bit gratuitously nasty though.
55. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer Rather worrying how much of this book hasn't dated. I think it may have permanently altered the way I see things: no longer able to take off my feminism goggles.
56. Boy by Roald Dahl Very evocative book for me as I read it so much when I was little. He led a fascinating life; it's very much a portrait of a world that barely exists any more. His writing style does so much whilst seeming to be so effortless.
57. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie Neatly constructed stories.
58. Doctor Who: Demontage by Justin Richards Oh, great fun! Inventive villain and lots of good moments.
59. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut* Interesting ideas, very powerful vision.
60. Doctor Who: City at World's End by Christopher Bulis Captures the feel of a First Doctor story very well. Also incredibly shippy for Ian and Barbara, yay!
61. Going Solo by Roald Dahl See Boy... Rereading this the tragedy of the WW2 sections really struck home, the sheer waste of life.
62. Doctor Who: Wolfsbane by Jacqueline Raynor Very atmospheric, plus lots of funny moments. The Eight and Harry teamup works very well.
63. Two Lives by Vikram Seth Fascinating and moving picture of both the people concerned and the history they lived through.
64. Doctor Who: Revolution Man by Paul Leonard That was cool! I love the way the EDAs stretch the boundaries of what you can do on Dr Who.
65. The Children of Men by PD James Very different to the film in terms of plot, tone etc etc but they both work well individually.
66. Doctor Who: Dominion by Nick Walters Inventive aliens! And nice to see the TARDIS landing on Earth and not going to the UK/USA for a change.
67. Dead Air by Iain Banks Good, readable, but suffered a bit as the characters were a bit unsympathetic.
68. The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke Lyrically written, full of inventiveness.
69. Doctor Who: Prime Time by Another very enjoyable book, with really good characterisation and a great cliffhanger.
70. The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen Fascinating character interaction, as always.
71. Doctor Who: Byzantium! by Keith Topping OK, did Keith Topping have a Big Book of Sixties Slang to hand when he was writing Ian's dialogue? A bit patchy, this one, but Barbara was as awesome as ever.
72. Doctor Who: Fear Itself by Nick Wallace I liked the stucture of this one and the way it all came together. Strong characterisation, pity it was written later so Anji had to get reset.
73. Persuasion by Jane Austen Not one wasted sentence. Funny, wise, moral, lovely.
74. Happy Days by Samuel Beckett I love how the lyricism of his writing brings hope to the bleakness of his situations.
75. Doctor Who: Verdigris by Paul Magrs HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE *pauses for breath* HEEHEEHEEHEE
76. The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson A little more "generic fantasy" than I expect from him but still incredibly readable, also interesting in terms of how he plays with gender-based expectations.
77. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin* Great book group book as everyone enjoyed it and everyone picked up on different elements of it.
78. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling Had its own post, oh yes.
79. Doctor Who: The Taint by Michael Collier Some nice characterisation of the leads but I got all the secondary characters muddled up.
80. Doctor Who: Independence Day by Peter Darvill-Evans A bit hrm about Ace's treatment here. Well fleshed out world though.
81. The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning Oh, Harriet! Beautifully written, great characters. And there is a sequel trilogy! Yay.
82. Doctor Who: Alien Bodies by Lawrence Miles Fantastic. Engaging, entertaining, brain stretching...
83. The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin Now this is what sci-fi is capable of - imaginative engagement with big ideas and how they could really play out, what would work, what wouldn't and how human (or alien) nature would affect things.
84. Doctor Who: The King of Terror by Keith Topping Some nice moments but overall not keen. What happens to Turlough is particularly nasty and as for Tegan...
85. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami Ah, so this is what all the fuss is about! Now I get it. Beautiful, real, fascinating.
86. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell Wonderful characters, especially Molly, well drawn relationships, emotional honesty.
87. Doctor Who: Psi-Ence Fiction by Chris Boucher Great use of Leela's character.
88. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Very strange. Made me feel a great deal of sympathy for Gregor whilst also being distanced from him.
89. Doctor Who: Unnatural History by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman Fast paced and entertaining. I really liked Dark Sam.
90. Mr Pye by Mervyn Peake* One of those books that, while you know what is happening is very odd indeed, doesn't really feel that strange. Naturalistic prose.
91. Doctor Who: Autumn Mist by David A. McIntee Nice characterisation, both of our heroes and the secondary characters. Plus, elves!
92. Doctor Who: Imperial Moon by Christopher Bulis Victorians! In! Space! Awesome. And Turlough and Five were great too. Emily Boyes-Dennisen and her relationship with Captain Whatsisface were particularly well done.
93. Doctor Who: Interference books 1 and 2 by Lawrence Miles Wow. Feel like my brainz have been given a good stirring.
94. H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brian I love this series. I love how the prose style reflects the movement of the ships, great sweeps and curves of elegant writing. I love the characters, and how real their world feels.
95. Doctor Who: The Shadow in the Glass by Justin Richards and Stephen Cole Good, did well at creating fleshed out minor characters, especially the pseudo-companion girl whose name I have forgotten.
96. Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones Oh wonderful, very inventive and lovely characters.
97. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie I saw this on the telly last year and still could not remember whodunnit, sigh.
98. Dombey and Son Very good, apart from the usual Dickensian annoyences like the preternaturally wise child and the rather alarming little girl-ness of Florence.
99. Doctor Who: The Blue Angel by Paul Magrs and Jeremy Hoad YAY. Oh yes, had love for this and its madness.
100. Making Money by Terry Pratchett Didn't quite have the sparkle and memorability of, say, Going Postal, but Moist is a great character and even off his game Pterry's better than most.
101. Doctor Who: Relative Dementias by Mark Michalowski Ooo, liked the way this played with time, and Ace's characterisation.
102. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks Wonderfully inventive and readable.
103. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper Oh, this brings back memories of ye audio version. Great atmosphere.
104. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper As above... Very rich fantasy environment, and I liked the idea that Will's gifts are in many ways a burden.
105. Greenwitch by Susan Cooper I can see why this is the least loved of the sequence, but it's still very good.
106. The Grey King by Susan Cooper Again, the atmosphere is fantastic. Great sense of place.
107. Cecilia by Fanny Burney Oh love. Characters felt very real.
108. Doctor Who: The Taking of Planet Five by Mark Clapham and Simon Bucher-Jones A bit technobabbly at times, but I enjoyed the stuff about TARDISes.
109. Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper The ending of this breaks me a bit. I liked the way it brought in the idea of how the Dark works through ordinary people.
110. Doctor Who: Bunker Soldiers by Martin Day Very strong and well written, great characterisation.
111. Viga-Glums Saga I love the strange precision of language that you get in Norse translations.
112. Doctor Who: Frontier Worlds by Peter Anghelides Oh yes. Spot on with all the regulars, especially Fitz, plus some very strong secondary characters.
113. If on a winter's night a traveller by Italo Calvino Very interesting!
114. Doctor Who: The Face of the Enemy by David A. McIntee Hurray for Ian'n'Babs and their love, plus UNIT and Delgado!Master. Joy.
115. The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell Fascinating and clearsighted.
116. Doctor Who: Parallel 59 by Natalie Dallaire and Stephen Cole Hmmm. Some interesting ideas, but doesn't quite come off. Also suffers from an attack of interchangeableminorcharacter-itis.
117. The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies* This never really clicked with me. I quite liked the two narrators but some of the minor characters were just awful.
118. Doctor Who: Amorality Tale by David Bishop Quite frustrating as it had some good bits but I was really put off by the idea of the Doctor and Sarah palling up with a gangster. Plus some of the violence was a bit too ultra for my tastes.
119. The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock Oh now this was good. Interesting, convincing, well written, inventive and very enjoyable.
120. Doctor Who: The Shadows of Avalon by Paul Cornell Luckily I already knew about Evil!Romana so I was prepared; I could deny it ever happened and get on with enjoying the book, which otherwise was really good.
121. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Bit too much gore and so on but otherwise I was very impressed by this.
122. Doctor Who: The Last of the Gaderene by Mark Gatiss Straightforward and enjoyable. Also had some good Jo stuff.
123. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst Wonderful precision of writing, really drew me in and made me feel like I was living it rather than just reading it.
124. Doctor Who: The Fall of Yquatine by Nick Walters Oh, the EDAs are just so good!
123. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds This took a while to get going, but when it did, wow.
124. The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton by Kathryn Hughes Interesting and even handed.
125. Tulku by Peter Dickinson Great sense of atmosphere. Surprising and enjoyable.
Films of 2007
1. Daredevil Jess saw this when it first came out, I seem to remember, and told me that I'd love it cos it was "even more cheesy and ridiculous than Spiderman!" She... wasn't wrong. There was much inappropriate giggling and enjoyment. Apart from the bit where he pulled one of his teeth out after a fight, that was just Wrong.
2. The New World Strange film. I think I enjoyed it; it certainly made me feel very calm. I'm also not usually keen on the kind of film wot is all about mood and not plot so it's to its credit that it still managed to hook me. And it was v. pretty.
3. The English Patient No, I'd never seen this one before. Commence mockerage... now. Oh I loved it. Such intensity of emotion, whether joy or sorrow, beautifully shot, great actors ("it's Lewis! And Sayid! What?"). Hurray!
4. Layer Cake This was pretty cool, very slick, and the end surprised me... Contained many familiar faces also ("Burn Gorman, what?"), squee, Colm Meaney, he is fab. Reminded me again of how magnetic Daniel Craig is on screen, which I don't really get from still photos of him.
5. Walk the Line I enjoyed this, though I did want to box Johnny Cash's ears and tell him to buck his ideas up a few times, which probably wasn't the idea.
6. Munich I should probably have concentrated on this more and watched it all in one go, then I probably would have appreciated it more. But it was still very good and well shot. Also Eric Bana is a very beautiful man. Hmm I feel my thoughts should be less shallow but they aren't.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End I made a whole post about this! Basically I liked it a great deal in many ways :-)
8. The Prestige Ooo, I like! Brilliantly twisty and yet satisfying plot, great acting and sets etc. Hurray. Particularly liked the way it played with ideas of truth and illusion.
9. Hot Fuzz Fun! Liked this a lot more than Shaun of the Dead since there was no jarring tone switch at the end and also it was set in Gloucestershire. All the best things come from Gloucestershire. Yarp.
10. Withnail and I Oh yes. I think I have a new favourite film.
11. Dirty Dancing Again...
12. Belleville Rendezvous That was shiny! Very very very strange though.
13. The Princess Bride I hope I never get tired of this film. So wonderful!
14. V for Vendetta Some interesting stuff, but also some headdeskiness and nonsensicality. Good effort, I suppose.
Books of 2007
*read for book group
1. A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett A reread; not my favourite of his books by any means but still v. enjoyable.
2. Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks Yay, proper scifi! Immensely inventive and I loved the scope of it, especially with the epilogue which sort of puts the characters into perspective - there's a real sense that they're a tiny part of a much larger universe, but it doesn't undermine the sense that they matter(ed).
3. The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss I have finally decided that I like Mark Gatiss despite not enjoying the League of Gentlemen and this book is one of the reasons why. Fun, exciting, witty and the villains had a wonderfully melodramatic plan.
4. Doctor Who Short Trips: The Muses Bit of a mixed bag; the Third Doctor story was incredibly irritating but most of the rest were pretty good, especially the one with Four and the final one with all of them.
5. The Witch of Clatteringshaws by Joan Aiken A fitting end to the series. When I was reading it I thought that it felt a bit rushed but the author's note at the end explained it. I love this series, Joan Aiken's alternative timeline is beautifully imagined and created and the macabre elements are great!
6. The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes Heee! Lovely, honest and self deprecating. I really identified with his kitchen pedantry and enthusiasm.
7. The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch* I really enjoyed this, though others in the book group didn't (one person, apparently, because it had the temerity to be about the middle class rather than the working class. Huh?). I love the way Iris Murdoch creates atmosphere and the world her characters inhabit really appeals to me (the characters themselves, not so much). She writes very well on the muddle of life, how choices are never really clear cut good vs evil, and how a course of action that seems obvious to you can be completely derailed by someone else behaving in a way that seems obvious to them. Um, if you see what I mean.
8. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick Ooo, this was great! I was expecting something like The Plot Against America which I read last year, but it was so much more readable and approachable. I loved how the book's world felt like a real world, like Philip K. Dick had created a whole world outside the characters' experiences. And the style, particularly in the Japanese bits, was lovely.
9. Thud by Terry Pratchett Another reread; I have finally reread them all (except Wintersmith which is too new for a reread yet)! What I love about the Discworld is how it keeps growing and maturing whilst still being recognisably the same world. Terry Pratchett could probably have made a fortune just writing more or less the same book over and over again; I love that he hasn't.
10. Doctor Who Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors I... should not read horror *has fear* I liked the Ian story the best. Yay, Ian!
11. Shirley by Charlotte Bronte Very different to her other books which are all pretty different to each other. I really admire her ability to create characters that I believe in and like. And it was very amusing how her couples couldn't stop talking long enough to propose! I loved the friendship between Shirley and Caroline in particular.
12. Stamping Butterflies by Jon Courtenay Grimwood He has such a confident writing style, all his books just sweep me along with them, even when I don't really know what's going on. This one was much easier to understand than the Arabesk ones (which I also liked) so that was a relief. The future chapters didn't grip me at first but eventually I got into them. And I liked the way everything came together towards the end.
13. Kalki by Gore Vidal* OK, that was not what I was expecting! I thought it was very good though and handled lots of themes in an interesting way. Though it did leave things a bit open-ended as to whether it was the supernatural or not which always annoys me. Make up your minds!
14. Doctor Who: City of the Dead by Lloyd Rose Eeee! Well written, lyrical, and very funny in places (the contents of the Doctor's pockets springs to mind...). I really enjoyed the matter of fact treatment of the supernatural. And Eight, Fitz and Anji are great.
15. The Flying Sorcerors Comic scifi/fantasy short stories; some good, some not so good. Mostly "heh, I see what you did there" funny rather than "haven't laughed so much since Grandpa got his beard caught in the mangle" funny.
16. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison I love her observational sympathy, I believed every character and it was down to the little everyday details of their lives. The afterword was an interesting read too and I think she's right about its main flaw: the relative slightness of Pecola herself as a character. Still good though.
17. Lend Me Your Ears by Boris Johnson I do not agree with Boris (we are of course on first name terms) with many things but I do love the way he writes. He has a wonderfully bold turn of phrase and he makes me laugh. His writing is very clear, thoughtful and honest. A bit more context for some of the pieces - a date at least - would have been nice though.
18. Truckers by Terry Pratchett Another reread but I really didn't remember this book at all! Lots of fun, particularly the extracts from the Book of Nome.
19. The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark I don't really know what I thought about this one. Some bits of it I enjoyed, but it wasn't really like I expected. Though it does get points for using one of my favourite phrases in the title.
20. Doctor Who: Grave Matter by Justin Richards Very enjoyable, with spot on voices and characterisations of Six and Peri. Plus, Hitch-hiker's joke!
21. Surprised by Joy by CS Lewis I really enjoyed this, especially the literary bits; they made me want to be more widely read than I am!
22. Diggers by Terry Pratchett Reread! Grimma was great in this one, and I'm looking forward to rereading Wings and finding out what Masklin, Angalo and Gurder got up to.
23. Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov Oh, this was nice! It would have been so easy to be all "oh noes, isn't the world terrible?" with this story but it really wasn't like that at all, it felt positive and hopeful throughout, and was suffused with affection. Nabakov's writing style is great too - his use of language is very precise, vivid and unusual.
24. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters* I thought that this was very enjoyable but not as good as it thought it was. The structure was quite annoying (I may have shouted abuse at it when, just as I was really getting into the 1947 section and wanting to know what happened, I turned the page to see 1944 in big letters) and I felt that it was an attempt to give the book more depth than it really had. That being said, it was immensely readable, the descriptions were vivid and evocative and she wore her research very lightly - she was obviously very knowledgeable but I never felt like I was being hit over the head with the period detail.
25. This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson Oh, this was wonderfully written and detailed and beautiful and it broke my heart a bit, yes. The intellectual arguments were very done, not dry at all, and they felt like living conversations rather than arguments already settled. But oh the unfairness of it all!
26. Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric by Ian Briggs Needed to recover a bit from the last one, luckily SFX gives good free gifts. Lots more blood, nudity and poetry than I remember from the tv version :-) but it was very interesting to see it all fleshed out with the bits that they couldn't do on screen.
27. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons HEE! I have read this before but I had not at that time reached the Age of Discretion so I didn't get it. But it was great! It felt effortless and very affectionate.
28. Doctor Who: Heart of TARDIS by Dave Stone Hah! Much silliness and joy. The less silly parts weren't as good but the silliness was fantastic.
29. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill Oh books, stop hurting me!
30. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem Very interesting ideas.
31. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje* Beautifully lyrical and I liked the deliberate looseness of the structure.
32. Doctor Who: The Witch Hunters by Steve Lyons Oh yay! I liked this. I am very fond of The Crucible and Our Heroes slid into it so neatly (though knowing the Crucible so well meant it was a wee bit jarring to find out that Abigail was actually 11/12). And hurray for Ian/Barbara! OTP, y'all. And! They went to Bristol, yes.
33. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson Not so keen on this one due to some issues with his attitudes to women and People From Abroad. Still had moments of funny though.
34. Temeraire by Naomi Novik (
naominovik) I knew I was going to love this and I wasn't disappointed! I really liked the matter of fact presentation of the dragons and the way they were fitted into society. And Tememraire himself was a wonderfully engaging character.35. Doctor Who: The Devil Goblins from Neptune by Keith Topping and Martin Day Fun! I am not that keen on Three but I do love UNIT and there was a lot of UNIT based goodness in this. Also I love that the author's note at the beginning ended with "Action by Havoc", hee.
36. Doctor Who: The Empire of Glass by Andy Lane Oh, Stephen, why do bad things always happen to you? I liked the integration of the historical bits and the aliens in this.
37. Doctor Who: Human Nature by Paul Cornell Now this was very good. Benny is excellent! Well written and interesting with some very funny lines (and some very creepy bits also).
38. The Widow and the King by John Dickinson Interesting and absorbing, very well created fantasy world. He is writing more books, please?
39. Sir Thursday by Garth Nix (Keys to the Kingdom pt. 4) Much love for this series, wildly inventive with some great characters.
40. See Delphi and Die by Lindsey Davis Fun, and I also appreciate the fact that the characters do change and grow over the course of the series.
41. Doctor Who: Fear of the Dark by Trevor Baxendale Effective thriller. I liked the portrayal of the relationships between Five, Nyssa and Tegan. The guest cast was a bit 2D though.
42. The Adventure of English by Melvyn Burgess This suffered a bit by not being as thorough as David Crystal or as funny as Bill Bryson, but it was still a good, interesting read once it got going.
43. Doctor Who: Dreams of Empire by Justin Richards Gets lots of extra points simply by being a Second Doctor book! Good read, interesting plot and alien society. Also made me giggle every now and then.
44. Eva by Peter Dickinson Excellent. Makes you feel the big ideas going on in it as well as just understand them. My only criticism would be that some of the minor characters weren't terribly well fleshed out, but it was Eva's book and she was very well drawn.
45. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh* I never enjoy his books as much as I expect to and they're never as funny as I think they're going to be either. It was certainly very good but it was also cold, almost callous at times. I didn't really care about any of the characters so it never really hooked me.
46. Doctor Who: Bullet Time by David A. McIntee Made me gasp out loud at one point! Interesting thriller.
47. AK by Peter Dickinson Very powerful. And his ability to write well in so many genres never ceases to impress me.
48. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Well created world, very creepy atmosphere. Interesting ideas and I enjoyed working out what was going on.
49. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Reread as I read Peter Pan in Scarlet over Christmas, and I actually think I like that one better. Is that a terrible heresy?
50. Doctor Who: Empire of Death by David Bishop Would have been pretty solid without the heavy handed anti-abortion bits. But it was nice that Nyssa got to be all competent and stuff.
51. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman One of my favourite books of his, I think. Interesting, funny, well written, very pleasing.
52. Doctor Who: Wages of Sin by David A. McIntee I loved being able to see a Liz 'n' Jo teamup! Well constructed historical.
53. Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman Nice little book though I'm glad I got it from the library rather than paying for it!
54. Doctor Who: Genocide by Paul Leonard Cor, Sam is annoying. Otherwise a good read. I particularly liked the characterisation of Jo. Thought the deaths of her two friends were a bit gratuitously nasty though.
55. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer Rather worrying how much of this book hasn't dated. I think it may have permanently altered the way I see things: no longer able to take off my feminism goggles.
56. Boy by Roald Dahl Very evocative book for me as I read it so much when I was little. He led a fascinating life; it's very much a portrait of a world that barely exists any more. His writing style does so much whilst seeming to be so effortless.
57. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie Neatly constructed stories.
58. Doctor Who: Demontage by Justin Richards Oh, great fun! Inventive villain and lots of good moments.
59. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut* Interesting ideas, very powerful vision.
60. Doctor Who: City at World's End by Christopher Bulis Captures the feel of a First Doctor story very well. Also incredibly shippy for Ian and Barbara, yay!
61. Going Solo by Roald Dahl See Boy... Rereading this the tragedy of the WW2 sections really struck home, the sheer waste of life.
62. Doctor Who: Wolfsbane by Jacqueline Raynor Very atmospheric, plus lots of funny moments. The Eight and Harry teamup works very well.
63. Two Lives by Vikram Seth Fascinating and moving picture of both the people concerned and the history they lived through.
64. Doctor Who: Revolution Man by Paul Leonard That was cool! I love the way the EDAs stretch the boundaries of what you can do on Dr Who.
65. The Children of Men by PD James Very different to the film in terms of plot, tone etc etc but they both work well individually.
66. Doctor Who: Dominion by Nick Walters Inventive aliens! And nice to see the TARDIS landing on Earth and not going to the UK/USA for a change.
67. Dead Air by Iain Banks Good, readable, but suffered a bit as the characters were a bit unsympathetic.
68. The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke Lyrically written, full of inventiveness.
69. Doctor Who: Prime Time by Another very enjoyable book, with really good characterisation and a great cliffhanger.
70. The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen Fascinating character interaction, as always.
71. Doctor Who: Byzantium! by Keith Topping OK, did Keith Topping have a Big Book of Sixties Slang to hand when he was writing Ian's dialogue? A bit patchy, this one, but Barbara was as awesome as ever.
72. Doctor Who: Fear Itself by Nick Wallace I liked the stucture of this one and the way it all came together. Strong characterisation, pity it was written later so Anji had to get reset.
73. Persuasion by Jane Austen Not one wasted sentence. Funny, wise, moral, lovely.
74. Happy Days by Samuel Beckett I love how the lyricism of his writing brings hope to the bleakness of his situations.
75. Doctor Who: Verdigris by Paul Magrs HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE *pauses for breath* HEEHEEHEEHEE
76. The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson A little more "generic fantasy" than I expect from him but still incredibly readable, also interesting in terms of how he plays with gender-based expectations.
77. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin* Great book group book as everyone enjoyed it and everyone picked up on different elements of it.
78. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling Had its own post, oh yes.
79. Doctor Who: The Taint by Michael Collier Some nice characterisation of the leads but I got all the secondary characters muddled up.
80. Doctor Who: Independence Day by Peter Darvill-Evans A bit hrm about Ace's treatment here. Well fleshed out world though.
81. The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning Oh, Harriet! Beautifully written, great characters. And there is a sequel trilogy! Yay.
82. Doctor Who: Alien Bodies by Lawrence Miles Fantastic. Engaging, entertaining, brain stretching...
83. The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin Now this is what sci-fi is capable of - imaginative engagement with big ideas and how they could really play out, what would work, what wouldn't and how human (or alien) nature would affect things.
84. Doctor Who: The King of Terror by Keith Topping Some nice moments but overall not keen. What happens to Turlough is particularly nasty and as for Tegan...
85. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami Ah, so this is what all the fuss is about! Now I get it. Beautiful, real, fascinating.
86. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell Wonderful characters, especially Molly, well drawn relationships, emotional honesty.
87. Doctor Who: Psi-Ence Fiction by Chris Boucher Great use of Leela's character.
88. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Very strange. Made me feel a great deal of sympathy for Gregor whilst also being distanced from him.
89. Doctor Who: Unnatural History by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman Fast paced and entertaining. I really liked Dark Sam.
90. Mr Pye by Mervyn Peake* One of those books that, while you know what is happening is very odd indeed, doesn't really feel that strange. Naturalistic prose.
91. Doctor Who: Autumn Mist by David A. McIntee Nice characterisation, both of our heroes and the secondary characters. Plus, elves!
92. Doctor Who: Imperial Moon by Christopher Bulis Victorians! In! Space! Awesome. And Turlough and Five were great too. Emily Boyes-Dennisen and her relationship with Captain Whatsisface were particularly well done.
93. Doctor Who: Interference books 1 and 2 by Lawrence Miles Wow. Feel like my brainz have been given a good stirring.
94. H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brian I love this series. I love how the prose style reflects the movement of the ships, great sweeps and curves of elegant writing. I love the characters, and how real their world feels.
95. Doctor Who: The Shadow in the Glass by Justin Richards and Stephen Cole Good, did well at creating fleshed out minor characters, especially the pseudo-companion girl whose name I have forgotten.
96. Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones Oh wonderful, very inventive and lovely characters.
97. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie I saw this on the telly last year and still could not remember whodunnit, sigh.
98. Dombey and Son Very good, apart from the usual Dickensian annoyences like the preternaturally wise child and the rather alarming little girl-ness of Florence.
99. Doctor Who: The Blue Angel by Paul Magrs and Jeremy Hoad YAY. Oh yes, had love for this and its madness.
100. Making Money by Terry Pratchett Didn't quite have the sparkle and memorability of, say, Going Postal, but Moist is a great character and even off his game Pterry's better than most.
101. Doctor Who: Relative Dementias by Mark Michalowski Ooo, liked the way this played with time, and Ace's characterisation.
102. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks Wonderfully inventive and readable.
103. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper Oh, this brings back memories of ye audio version. Great atmosphere.
104. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper As above... Very rich fantasy environment, and I liked the idea that Will's gifts are in many ways a burden.
105. Greenwitch by Susan Cooper I can see why this is the least loved of the sequence, but it's still very good.
106. The Grey King by Susan Cooper Again, the atmosphere is fantastic. Great sense of place.
107. Cecilia by Fanny Burney Oh love. Characters felt very real.
108. Doctor Who: The Taking of Planet Five by Mark Clapham and Simon Bucher-Jones A bit technobabbly at times, but I enjoyed the stuff about TARDISes.
109. Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper The ending of this breaks me a bit. I liked the way it brought in the idea of how the Dark works through ordinary people.
110. Doctor Who: Bunker Soldiers by Martin Day Very strong and well written, great characterisation.
111. Viga-Glums Saga I love the strange precision of language that you get in Norse translations.
112. Doctor Who: Frontier Worlds by Peter Anghelides Oh yes. Spot on with all the regulars, especially Fitz, plus some very strong secondary characters.
113. If on a winter's night a traveller by Italo Calvino Very interesting!
114. Doctor Who: The Face of the Enemy by David A. McIntee Hurray for Ian'n'Babs and their love, plus UNIT and Delgado!Master. Joy.
115. The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell Fascinating and clearsighted.
116. Doctor Who: Parallel 59 by Natalie Dallaire and Stephen Cole Hmmm. Some interesting ideas, but doesn't quite come off. Also suffers from an attack of interchangeableminorcharacter-itis.
117. The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies* This never really clicked with me. I quite liked the two narrators but some of the minor characters were just awful.
118. Doctor Who: Amorality Tale by David Bishop Quite frustrating as it had some good bits but I was really put off by the idea of the Doctor and Sarah palling up with a gangster. Plus some of the violence was a bit too ultra for my tastes.
119. The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock Oh now this was good. Interesting, convincing, well written, inventive and very enjoyable.
120. Doctor Who: The Shadows of Avalon by Paul Cornell Luckily I already knew about Evil!Romana so I was prepared; I could deny it ever happened and get on with enjoying the book, which otherwise was really good.
121. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Bit too much gore and so on but otherwise I was very impressed by this.
122. Doctor Who: The Last of the Gaderene by Mark Gatiss Straightforward and enjoyable. Also had some good Jo stuff.
123. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst Wonderful precision of writing, really drew me in and made me feel like I was living it rather than just reading it.
124. Doctor Who: The Fall of Yquatine by Nick Walters Oh, the EDAs are just so good!
123. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds This took a while to get going, but when it did, wow.
124. The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton by Kathryn Hughes Interesting and even handed.
125. Tulku by Peter Dickinson Great sense of atmosphere. Surprising and enjoyable.
Films of 2007
1. Daredevil Jess saw this when it first came out, I seem to remember, and told me that I'd love it cos it was "even more cheesy and ridiculous than Spiderman!" She... wasn't wrong. There was much inappropriate giggling and enjoyment. Apart from the bit where he pulled one of his teeth out after a fight, that was just Wrong.
2. The New World Strange film. I think I enjoyed it; it certainly made me feel very calm. I'm also not usually keen on the kind of film wot is all about mood and not plot so it's to its credit that it still managed to hook me. And it was v. pretty.
3. The English Patient No, I'd never seen this one before. Commence mockerage... now. Oh I loved it. Such intensity of emotion, whether joy or sorrow, beautifully shot, great actors ("it's Lewis! And Sayid! What?"). Hurray!
4. Layer Cake This was pretty cool, very slick, and the end surprised me... Contained many familiar faces also ("Burn Gorman, what?"), squee, Colm Meaney, he is fab. Reminded me again of how magnetic Daniel Craig is on screen, which I don't really get from still photos of him.
5. Walk the Line I enjoyed this, though I did want to box Johnny Cash's ears and tell him to buck his ideas up a few times, which probably wasn't the idea.
6. Munich I should probably have concentrated on this more and watched it all in one go, then I probably would have appreciated it more. But it was still very good and well shot. Also Eric Bana is a very beautiful man. Hmm I feel my thoughts should be less shallow but they aren't.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End I made a whole post about this! Basically I liked it a great deal in many ways :-)
8. The Prestige Ooo, I like! Brilliantly twisty and yet satisfying plot, great acting and sets etc. Hurray. Particularly liked the way it played with ideas of truth and illusion.
9. Hot Fuzz Fun! Liked this a lot more than Shaun of the Dead since there was no jarring tone switch at the end and also it was set in Gloucestershire. All the best things come from Gloucestershire. Yarp.
10. Withnail and I Oh yes. I think I have a new favourite film.
11. Dirty Dancing Again...
12. Belleville Rendezvous That was shiny! Very very very strange though.
13. The Princess Bride I hope I never get tired of this film. So wonderful!
14. V for Vendetta Some interesting stuff, but also some headdeskiness and nonsensicality. Good effort, I suppose.
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Date: 12 Jan 2007 13:52 (UTC)no subject
Date: 17 Jan 2007 17:29 (UTC)