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Favorite Books of 2000

18:28 Thu 04 Jan 2007. Updated: 06:17 23 Aug 2009
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So this is only about six years late…

The first six books I read in 2000 were all excellent:

A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn (05/01/2000).

Simply a must-read for anyone who wants to understand American history.

Stalingrad, Anthony Beevor (11/01/2000).

I’m quite fond of Beevor as a writer, and this is where that fondness first came about. A gripping and strong account of the battle for Stalingrad in Word War II.

Deterring Democracy (20/01/2000), Letters from Lexington (24/01/2000), Power and Prospects (31/01/2000), all by Noam Chomsky.

Sadly, I can’t remember specifics about any of these, just that I like them at the time. I probably still would, since Chomsky’s political analysis is typically incisive. Deterring Democracy is most likely the most important of the three.

Resisting the Virtual Life, ed. James Brook and Iain Boal (04/02/2000)

I should re-read this to see if it’s now dated. It is quite academic in tone, a book of essays looking at the downsides of the continuing "information age". I remember really liking some of the essays in it, but sadly cannot remember which ones. Still probably worth reading, if at least to get a different perspective.

Full Exposure, Susie Bright (17/06/2000)

An excellent book on sexuality and attitudes to it, and on sexual creativity.

House Of Leaves, Mark Z Danielewski (05/07/2000)

An absolutely fantastic "literary horror" novel. It’s creepy and disturbing in odd ways while also both beautifully and frustratingly structured. Probably the best fiction I read (at least for the first time) in 2000.

Understanding Comics (27/10/2000), and Reinventing Comics (28/10/2000), by Scott McCloud

Both fantastic critical works on the comics medium. I recommend them to anyone who wants to understand how the medium works, and the possibilities in it. (These are anomalous entries in that they are ‘comics’, or ‘sequential art’ works themselves, and I don’t normally track them as books. I made an exception for these two because of their academic/critical nature… they’re the only non-fiction comics I think I’ve read.)

I also read Stephen R. Donaldson’s Gap series again, and enjoyed it again, but I’ve discussed it before.

The full list of books I read in 2000:

  1. A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn (05/01/2000)
  2. Stalingrad, Anthony Beevor (11/01/2000)
  3. Deterring Democracy, Noam Chomsky (20/01/2000)
  4. Letters from Lexington, Noam Chomsky (24/01/2000)
  5. Power and Prospects, Noam Chomsky (31/01/2000)
  6. Resisting the Virtual Life, ed. James Brook and Iain Boal (04/02/2000)
  7. Software, Rudy Rucker (07/02/2000)
  8. Wetware, Rudy Rucker (08/02/2000)
  9. Freeware, Rudy Rucker (10/02/2000)
  10. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, Tim Burton (10/02/2000)
  11. The Chill, Ross MacDonald (13/02/2000)
  12. The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penrose, Bruce Robinson (17/02/2000)
  13. Nothing Burns in Hell, Philip José Farmer (17/02/2000)
  14. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (again) (17/02/2000)
  15. Beyond Hypocrisy, Edward S. Herman (not including The Doublespeak Dictionary) (17/02/2000)
  16. The Naked God, Peter F. Hamilton (24/02/2000)
  17. Hyperion, Dan Simmons (again) (28/02/2000)
  18. The Fall of Hyperion, Dan Simmons (again) (03/03/2000)
  19. The Radiant Way, Margaret Drabble. (10/03/2000)
  20. The Salesman, Joseph O’Connor (12/03/2000)
  21. Middle Ground, Margaret Drabble (21/03/2000)
  22. Exiles ofthe Rynth, Carole Nelson Douglas (28/03/2000)
  23. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula LeGuin (31/03/2000)
  24. The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith (around the end of March)
  25. The Stars my Destination, Alfred Bester (07/04/2000)
  26. Storm Warning, Mercedes Lackey (08/05/2000)
  27. Storm Rising, Mercedes Lackey (11/05/2000)
  28. Storm Breaking, Mercedes Lackey (18/05/2000)
  29. Lord Tyger, Philip José Farmer (20/05/2000)
  30. The Innocent, Ian McEwan (21/05/2000)
  31. The Cluetrain Manifesto, Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger (24/05/2000)
  32. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (25/05/2000)
  33. Eight Million Ways to Die, Lawrence Block (27/05/2000)
  34. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice (31/05/2000)
  35. Everybody Dies, Lawrence Block (01/06/2000)
  36. The Sheep Look Up, John Brunner (05/06/2000)
  37. A Thousand Words for Stranger, Julie E. Czernada (11/06/2000)
  38. Profit Over People, Noam Chomsky (11/06/2000)
  39. Full Exposure, Susie Bright (17/06/2000)
  40. Time to Murder and Create, Lawrence Block (19/06/2000)
  41. The Devil Knows You’re Dead, Lawrence Block (21/06/2000)
  42. The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton (21/06/2000)
  43. The Copper Crown, Patricia Kennealy (24/06/2000)
  44. The Temptation of Jack Orkney and other stories, Doris Lessing (01/07/2000)
  45. House Of Leaves, Mark Z Danielewski (05/07/2000)
  46. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling (07/07/2000)
  47. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (13/07/2000)
  48. Six of Swords, Carol Nelson Douglas (15/07/2000)
  49. This’ll Kill Ya, Harry Willson (25/07/2000)
  50. The Final Programme, Michael Moorcock (27/07/2000)
  51. A Cure for Cancer, Michael Moorcock (03/08/2000)
  52. High Five, Janet Evanovich (10/08/2000)
  53. Hamlet on the Holodeck, Janet H. Murray (17/08/2000)
  54. The English Assassin, Michael Moorcock (19/08/2000)
  55. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (22/08/2000)
  56. Gun, with Occasional Music, Jonthan Lethem (23/08/2000)
  57. Strip Tease, Carl Hiaasen (17/09/2000)
  58. Song of Kali, Dan Simmons (23/09/2000)
  59. In the Midst of Death, Lawrence Block (27/09/2000)
  60. The Sins of the Fathers, Lawrence Block (27/09/2000)
  61. On My Way to Paradise, Dave Wolverton (21/10/2000)
  62. Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud (27/10/2000)
  63. Reinventing Comics, Scott McCloud (28/10/2000)
  64. Magical Urbanism, Mike Davis (14/11/2000)
  65. King Rat, China Mieville (17/11/2000)
  66. Look to Windward, Iain M. Banks (19/11/2000)
  67. Clay’s Ark, Octavia E. Butler (22/11/2000)
  68. Mind of my Mind, Octavia E. Butler (24/11/2000)
  69. Lucky You, Carl Hiaasen (25/11/2000)
  70. The Doomsters, Ross MacDonald (29/11/2000)
  71. The Ivory Grin, Ross MacDonald (01/12/2000)
  72. Find a Victim, Ross MacDonald (02/12/2000)
  73. The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story, Stephen R. Donaldson (again) (03/12/2000)
  74. The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge, Stephen R. Donaldson (again) (03/12/2000)
  75. The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises, Stephen R. Donaldson (again) (06/12/2000)
  76. The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order, Stephen R. Donaldson (again) (09/12/2000)
  77. The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die, Stephen R. Donaldson (again) (10/12/2000)
  78. Patternmaster, Octavia E. Butler (11/12/2000)
  79. Flaubert’s Parrot, Julian Barnes (16/12/2000)
  80. Set in Darkness, Ian Rankin (20/12/2000)
  81. The Business, Iain M. Banks (23/12/2000)
  82. One of Us, Michael Marshal Smith (26/12/2000)

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