Books Ron Read in 2000

A year in (parentheses) is the book's publication date; a date in [brackets] is the date I finished the book.

Comments on the Year 2000

I didn't read a lot of books in 2000, compared to previous years. This is probably because I have been reading a lot of books in Esperanto. Esperanto is one of the easiest languages in the world, but it's still a foreign language, and complex books can be slow going for me. For example, I read La Majstro kaj Margarita (the Esperanto translation of the Russian masterpiece The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov) for months.

The Books

1. Gene Wolfe, Caldé of the Long Sun (1995) ... Part 3 of The Book of the Long Sun. (This book is now available as part of Epiphany of the Long Sun (2000)) [13 Jan; reread]


2. Gene Wolfe, Exodus from the Long Sun (1996) ... Part 4 of The Book of the Long Sun. (This book is now available as part of Epiphany of the Long Sun (2000)) [13 Jan]


3. Andrew Looney, The Empty City (1991) ... the science fiction novel that was the origin of the excellent game Icehouse. The "Empty City" link will take you to a page where you can buy the book or read the etext. [14 Jan]


4. Gene Wolfe, On Blue's Waters (1999) ... Part 1 of The Book of the Short Sun, midway in quality between the New Sun and Long Sun books. [17 Jan]


5. Bruce Sterling, Distraction (1999) ... entertaining and thought-provoking, not to mention terribly hip, SF. I'll buy anything Sterling writes. [28 Jan]


6. Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass (1996) ... Part 1 of His Dark Materials, very good juvenile fantasy. [12 Mar]


7. Philip Pullman, The Subtle Knife (1998) ... Part 2 of His Dark Materials, very good juvenile fantasy. [14 Mar]


8. Ralph Anspach, The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle (1998) ... really excellent! Tells the story of the fraud perpetrated by Parker Brothers when they patented the public domain folkgame Monopoly (actually invented by Atlantic City Quakers), and the lawsuit to expose them. A gripping read, and true, too. [10 Jun]


9. Jim Munroe, Angry Young Spaceman (2000) ... A charming science fiction novel. I liked the author enough to read his previous book (below). Read the etext [16 Jun]


10. Jim Munroe, Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask (1998) ... Postmodern superhero SF. Fun! [22 Jun]


11. Ulrich Matthias, Fajron Sentas Mi Interne ... "I Feel Fire Within" (Esperanto). OK coming-of-age novel about a sensitive young Esperantist. Read the etext [2 Jul]


12. Harry Harrison, Naskigxo de la Rustimuna Sxtalrato (1996) ... an Esperanto translation of the next item. The Stainless Steel Rat stories have always featured a good deal of Esperanto, and Harrison speaks it fluently. Quite funny. [26 Jul]


13. Harry Harrison, A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (1985) ... English original of the above. The origin story of Slippery Jim diGriz. [26 Jul]


14. Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted (1987) ... Interesting anarchistic political philosophy, but a bit more of a pot-boiler than the previous novel (above). [29 Jul]


15. "Doko" (David K. Jordan), Rakontoj prapatraj pri nia lando antaux multaj jarcentoj kiam okazemis mirindaj aferoj (1996) ... "Stories of our forefathers about our country, many centuries ago, when there tended to occur wonderful things": "Falselore" stories about the mythical land of Esperantujo. Gutbustingly funny if you speak Esperanto. Maybe you should learn. [6 Aug]


16. Gene Wolfe, In Green's Jungles (2000) ... Part 2 of The Book of the Short Sun[17 Aug]


17. Claude Piron, La Bona Lingvo (1989) ... Very good analysis of current linguistic trends in Esperanto. Sets forth the ideal of a simpler, purer language. [16 Sep]


18. David L. Miller, Gods and Games (1970) ... a good Ludist book. [21 Sep]


19. Eugene Byrne, Thigmoo (1999) ... Socialist Extropianism? Heresy! Fun. [1 Oct]


20. Trevor Steele, Apenaux Papilioj en Bergen-Belsen (1994) ... a moving story about a young man caring for Holocaust survivors in 1960s Germany. In Esperanto, but there is an English translation, Hardly Butterflies in Bergen-Belsen. [6 Oct]


21. Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass (2000) ... The long-awaited Part 3 of His Dark Materials, very good juvenile fantasy. [23 Oct]


22. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1998) ... yep, I've finally started reading them. [31 Oct/1 Nov!]


23. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999) ... What can I say? [6 Nov]


24. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) ... Surely you've read this? [10 Nov]


25. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (1948/1954) ... Read aloud to my wife Marty. [Nov?]


26. Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita (1929-1940; translation 1995) ... "Manuscripts don't burn." What happens when the devil takes a trip to 1930s Moscow? Though it made me laugh in many places, and gripped my attention throughout, its greatness escaped me until the last few chapters. Now I must read it again. In the character of the Master (a somewhat ironic title, in my reading), I felt that Bulgakov had described me and my fate. I wonder if others feel the same. Note that you should attempt to get the Burgin/O'Connor translation, widely reputed the best in English. (Other translations were made from censored Russian editions or miss the charm and humour.) I read about half of the Esperanto translation too, La Majstro kaj Margarita, also quite good in its own way but not written in the streamlined bona lingvo Claude Piron advocates (see above), therefore heavy going -- keep your PIV (unabridged Esperanto dictionary) handy! [20 Nov]


27. Gene Wolfe, Strange Travelers (2000) ... [22 Nov]


28. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (1948/1954) ... Read aloud to my wife Marty. [29 Nov]


29. J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) ... [30 Nov]


30. Barrington J. Bayley, The Forest of Peldain (1985) ... [3 Dec]

If you click on a book title in the index, the link will usually take you to a page where you can buy the book, although sometimes I have linked to an information page, in the case of books that aren't generally available. Similarly, if you click on an author's name, the link will take you to a page where you can buy books by that author. Although I have had to be creative with books that are not readily available (such as self-published or small-press books, or books in Esperanto), usually the purchasing links will point to the online home of the brick-and-mortar Powell's City of Books, in Portland, Oregon.

Books Ron Read | Ron's Info-Closet