A list in no particular order, what I read, and what I thought of it. Surprisingly, no Star Wars this year!

1. A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs - After being disappointed by Tarzan and a book called I Am A Barbarian, I never thought I'd read ERB again...but WOW! I picked this up in a used bookstore in Mesa and have been kicking myself for not getting the rest of the series they had there. The director of Wall E is developing the movie, and I can't wait to see what he does with it. One of the best adventure stories I've read in a long time.

2. The Sweet Hereafter by Russel Banks - A very well written novel about a tragic schoolbus accident in a small town and its aftermath.

3. Cloudsplitter by Russel Banks - After reading Sweet Hereafter I gave this fictional account of the abolitionist John Brown a try. It didn't impress me as much as the other novel.

4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - Now Blood Meridian is one of my all-time favorite books. I can read it again and again. But that said, I don't think McCarthy is very good at writing a satisfying ending (I'm looking at you, No Country For Old Men). This one was a step better than No Country, but still a little dissatisfying. A boy and his son navigate a bleak, cannibalistic post apocalpytic future on foot. Very depressing, but McCarthy is always brilliant. I guess Oprah liked it, and they're making a movie...

5. The Shadow Unmaks by Walter Gibson - A turning point in the 30's pulp series about the enigmatic crimefighter with the chilling laugh. His true secret identity is revealed, but I gotta say it's not the best I've read.

6. Russ Manning's Magnus Robot Fighter vol. 1 - A terrific Dark Horse collection of this interesting 60's comic series about a hero who takes on a corrupt robot government (with his steel smashing fists!) in the future. Pretty cool.

7. The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantrill and his Confederate Guerrillas by Edward R. Leslie - An interesting biography about a little known (or celebrated) figure in American Civil War History. It was a little repetitive at times, but the politicking that went over a few years back concerning the final interment of his remains (which were on display at the Kansas State Historical Society after being swiped from his grave by his childhood 'friend') was particularly interesting.

8. Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson - A very funny account of a Canadian English teacher's hitchiking trip across the Japanese islands. He followed the blooming of the cherry blossoms as they swept east. Every other Japanese person who picked him up assured him that "You'll never make it. Japanese do not pick up hitchhikers."

9. Depraved: The Shocking True Story Of America's First Serial Killer: Herman Mudgett Alias Dr. H.H. Holmes by Harold Schecter - I don't usually read true crime stuff, but as a former Chicagoan I'd heard the stories of the infamous booby trapped Murder Castle where this guy supposedly did in a lot of tourists in town for the World's Fair. It was kind of a dry read for so lurid a title, and only a chapter or so of it was about his Chicago crimes.

10. The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore - One of the most talented writers in comics, but this was a disappointment. I recognized the genius of the various styles implemented in telling vignettes from different eras in the League's past, but barring the hilarious first person account of a Cthulthu cult's botched summoning of an Elder God by a clueless British dilettante (I think his name was Bunny or Reginald or something), I was mostly underwhelmed. It didn't further the story of the League and didn't hold a candle to the previous two installments. I sold this on ebay after I read it and bought some Star Wars Miniatures.

11. The Night Boat by Robert R. McCammon - An odd little novel about a World War II German U-Boat who is cursed by a shaman after bombarding a bunch of Caribbean islands. The U-boat is trapped underwater after a depth charging by the Brits and surfaces in the 1970's where it's now undead crew unleashes hell on the island again. Interesting premise, so-so execution, but enjoyable.

I also read the ongoing Walking Dead comic by Robert Kirkman which I highly recommend to anybody who likes zombies.

Keep reading everybody! 2009's off to a bang so far with the surprisingly great H. Rider Haggard's She...definitley intend to pick up Karen Traviss' Republic Commando series this year (been meaning to), and Matthew Stover's new Luke Skywalker novel, and more Barsoom if I can manage it.