Hello, 2014!

I have big plans for you.

1. Significant Shimmer Shenanigans. We’re releasing Issue 18 (guest edited by Ann VanderMeer) in January; plus we have some enormous plans for 2014. Stay tuned…

2. Write all the things. Especially the novel, but also a bunch of short fiction. No Really This Time I Mean It. For Serious.

3. Health. This means doing a lot of yoga and a lot of swimming and eating better (more vegetables, fewer Doritos) and deepening my pranayama and meditation practices. There may also be a tai chi class starting in January.

I also have a trio of second tier targets.

4. Read all the books. I hit 105 in 2013; can I do 150 in 2014? And read even more of the short fiction.

5. Do all the art. I’ve already signed up for I think 4 classes for next year? plus I still have some from 2013 that I haven’t finished. So. I’ve already rearranged one room to have a dedicated art space; now I just need to do all the art.

6. Keep developing my own business. All in good time.

Books Read, 2013

I could do a Year In Review, but instead I’ll just say: I read some books this year.

In addition to these books, I discarded a handful of books that I was not enjoying at all, and have another 20 or 30 or 50 that I’ve started but not yet finished. This looks like a long list but it’s just scratching the surface of what I’d like to read.

I also read a bunch of short fiction — basically everything from Strange Horizons, Lightspeed, Nightmare, BCS, Apex, Clarkesworld, Ideomancer, uh and a bunch of others.

105. City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare. Sequel to City of Bones. More shenanigans.

106. Fat Vampire 2, Johnny Truant. What is it with me and fat vampires this year??

105. Fat Vampire, Johnny B. Truant. What it says on the tin.

104. Yes, Chef. Marcus Samuelsson. Autobiography.

103. Red Glove, Holly Black. Sequel to White Cat. Magic and Mobsters, book 2.

102. Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh. Yay book!

101. Twenty Palaces, Harry Connolly. Prequel to the series.

100. Evil Dark, Justin Gustanis. Sequel to Hard Spell.

99. Wild Card, Jamie Wyman. Trickster gods play poker.

98. The Lives of Tao, Wes Chu. Training montage with aliens and tai chi.

97. Wayward, Blake Crouch. Sequel to Pines. Our Hero is the sheriff now; hijinks ensue.

96. Wild Mind, Natalie Goldberg.  Writing as practice.

95. Hard Spell, Justin Gustainis. Cop in supernatural-infested Scranton.

94. Pines, Blake Crouch. Man gets into a car accident in small Idaho town; hijinks ensue.

93. In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan. Eat food, mostly vegetables, not too much.

92. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare. Hidden supernatural world in New York.

91. The Field Guide, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Children find guide to fairies, hijinks ensue.

90. Indexing, Seanan McGuire. Federal fairy-tale investigation unit.

89. The Night Is Watching, Heather Graham. Haunted theater in a historical Arizona town.

88. Twelve Sharp, Janet Evanovich. Hijinks, identity theft, kidnapping, murder.

87. The Warlock’s Curse, M. K. Hobson. Book 3 of the series; hijinks in the next generation.

86. Fat White Vampire Blues, Andrew Fox. New Orleans vampire story.

85. Rock Your Plot, Cathy Yardley. Short collection of plot advice.

84. The Night Ranger, Alex Berenson. Hostage rescue in Kenya/Somalia.

83. Midnight, Stephen Leather. Book 3, sophia.

82. Nightmare, Stephen Leather. Book 2, his sister.

81. The Bone Flower Throne, T. L. Morganfield Rapey aztec hijinks.

80. Chasing Darkness, Robert Crais. Old case reopens.

79. The Walk, Lee Goldberg. Earthquake in LA

78. Blood Safari, Deon Meyer. Africa, environmentalist, bodyguard.

77. Heaven’s Prisoner’s, James Lee Burke. Alafair origin story.

76. Chomp, Carl Hiaasen. “Reality” tv star vs loveable animal handlers

75. The Bat, Jo Nesbo. Harry Hole in Australia.

74. Adaptation, Malinda Lo. Planes crash due to birds; teens at the center of giant government conspiracy.

73. Doll Bones, Holly Black. Kids take direction from haunted doll, hijinks ensue.

72. Gooseberry Bluff Community College of Magic. Our Heroine investigates demon trafficking at community college; hijinks ensue.

71. The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination, ed. John Joseph Adams. Mad scientist shorts.

70. Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone. Magicians, dead gods, cigarettes.

69. Redshirts, John Scalzi. Extras object to having their lives controlled by the script.

68. Celebromancy, Michael Underwood. Magic via celebrity.

67. Geekomancy, Michael Underwood. Magic via geeky attachment to pop culture.

66. Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. There sure was a lot of cleaning in this book.

65. Just A Geek, Wil Wheaton.

64. Fade to Black, Francis Knight. Magic and industry and the underworld.

63. Graveminder, Melissa Marr. Surprise, you’re in charge of the dead in your little town.

62. The Empty Chair, Jeffrey Deaver. Lincoln Rhyme vs Insect Boy

61. Shadow Unit 13, Bear and Co.  Yay Shadow Unit!

60. The Blessed and the Damned, Michael Wallace. Even more polygamist hijinks.

59. The Wicked, Michael Wallace. Further polygamist hijinks

58. Mighty and Strong, Michael Wallace. Cult of ex-polygamists

57. The Righteous, Michael Wallace. Murder among the polygamists.

56. Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top. ed. Ekaterina Sedia. Collection of circus stories.

55. The Coyote Road, ed. Datlow and Windling. Collection of trickster stories.

54. Aloha from Hell, Richard Kadrey. Sandman Slim Book 3. Back to Hell.

53. Kill the Dead, Richard Kadrey. Sandman Slim Book 2. Zombies.

52. The Seersucker Whipsaw, Ross Thomas.  Electoral hijinks in Africa.

51. The Novellas, Lealan Patrick Burke. Collection of horror novellas.

50. Morgue Drawer for Rent, Jutta Profijt. Bureacratic hijinks.

49. Morgue Drawer Next Door, Jutta Profijt. Nuns and hijinks.

48. Morgue Drawer Four. After his death, a car thief works with the coroner to fight crime.

47. After Life, Rhian Ellis. Old murder in a town of mediums.

46. Wide Open, Deb Coates. Army girl returns home with ghosts to deal with sister’s death.

45. Kill Whitey, Brian Keene. Russian mobster is hard to kill.

44. Against the Fall of Night, Arthur C. Clarke. Far-distant future humanity.

43. The Human Division, John Scalzi. The serial.

42. Getting Shit Done, LaVonne Ellis. LaVonne’s take on productivity.

41. Cold Magic, Kate Elliott. The cold mage and the wrong daughter.

40. Life, Keith Richards. Autobiography.

39. I Hate Killers, Barry Lyga. Son of serial killer fights crime.

38. Crossing, Andrew Xia Fukuda. Teen-aged Asian kid faces racism, serial killers, and a high school musical.

37. Demolition Angel, Robert Crais. Starkey and bombs.

36. The Forgotten Man, Robert Crais. Spoiler: it’s not his dad.

35. The Last Detective, Robert Crais. Girlfriend’s son is kidnapped.

34. The Sentry, Robert Crais. Pike and Dru.

33. The First Rule, Robert Crais. Old friend of Pike’s is killed, hijinks ensue.

32. Wild Seed, Octavia Butler. Two superhumans have contrasting perspectives on eugenics.

31. Midnight Blue-Light Special, Seanan McGuire. Book 2. Covenant comes to town, hijinks ensue.

30. Writing without Teachers, Peter Elbow. Do lots of freewriting and don’t fret.

29. The Collected, Brett Battles. Assassins captured by former victim, hijinks ensue

28. Impulse, Steven Gould. Book 3, starring Cent.

27. A Latent Dark, Martin Kee. Shadows and souls, vaguely steampunky.

26. Garrett Investigates, Elizabeth Bear. previously unpublished Garrett stories.

25. Bad Moon Rising, Ed Gorman. Private detective investigates commune.

24. The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson. Modern Jack the Ripper, ghosts.

23. Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012, ed. Dan Ariely, Tim Folger

22. Nightfall, Stephen Leather. Negotiator’s father has sold his soul to a devil; hijinks ensue.

21. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Horace McCoy. Desperate dancing in the 30s.

20. The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness. Book 2. Living and fighting among the enemy.

19. Partials, Dan Wells. Teens rebel against tyranical dystopia.

18. Knock Knock, S. P. Miskowski. Generational horror in the woods.

17. The Pleasure of My Company, Steve Martin. OCD guy finds love.

16. Line and Orbit, Sunny Moraine and Lisa Soem. Gay science fiction romance. Genetics.

15. Blood Oranges, Kathleen Tierney. Urban fantasy parody.

14. Phantom, Jo Nesbo. New drug violin, hijinks ensue.

13. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness. Kid on a planet where everyone can hear men’s thoughts.

12. A Fall of Winter, Elizabeth Hunter. It’s the last of the 4. I can stop now.

11. The Force of Wind, Elizabeth Hunter. Apparently I can’t stop reading these damn vampire books.

10. This Same Earth, Elizabeth Hunter. More vampires and old books.

9. A Drop of the Hard Stuff, Lawrence Block. 1st year of AA

8. A Hidden Fire, Elizabeth Hunter. Vampires, old books.

7. The Keeper, Sarah Langan. Should have read this before The Missing.

6. After The First Death, Lawrence Block. Alcoholic wakes up after blackout with dead hooker.

5. Dinocalypse Now, Chuck Wendig. Dinosaurs and apes and superheroes and hijinks.

4. The Missing, Sarah Langan. Evil telepathic virus makes people insane, world ends

3. Good Behavior: A Dortmunder Novel. Donald E. Westlake. Burglary hijinks with nuns.

2. Sandy My Name, Judy Gilligan. Family struggles to care for foster child with undiagnosed fetal alcohol syndrome.

1. The Maze Runner, James Dashner. Post-apocalyptic YA.