Z-Ryan's 50 Book challenge

I keep track in a Word file, starting each year on January 1st. Here's what I have so far for 2008 (currently alpha by author):

1. Seven Slayers by Paul Cain (1946)
2. Gate of Ivrel by C. J. Cherryh (1976)
3. Well of Shiuan by C. J. Cherryh (1978)
4. How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey (1987)
5. Cop Hater by Evan Hunter writing as Ed McBain (1956)
6. Las Vegas: A Centennial History by Eugene P. Moehring and Michael S. Green (2005)
7. The Ragwitch by Garth Nix (1990)
8. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (1971)
9. The Black Falcon by Walter B. Gibson writing as Maxwell Grant (1934)
10. The London Crimes by Walter B. Gibson writing as Maxwell Grant (1935)
11. The Salamanders by Walter B. Gibson writing as Maxwell Grant (1936)
12. Njál’s Saga trans. By Lee M. Hollander (1955)
13. The Poetic Edda trans. by Lee M. Hollander (1962)
14. Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange & Menacing World of Antarctica by Nicholas Johnson (2005)
15. The Octopus by Norvell Page writing as Randolph Craig (1938)
16. The Vikings by Else Roesdahl (1997)
17. The White Buffalo by Richard Sale (1977)
18. Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1989)
19. The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1990)
20. The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad (1972)
21. Edda by Snnori Sturluson, trans. by Anthony Faulkes (ca. 1220/1987)
22. The Dying Earth by Jack Vance (1950)
23. The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance (1966)
24. Robur the Conqueror (Robur-le-Conquérant) by Jules Verne (1886)
25. Master of the World (Maître du monde) by Jules Verne (1904)
26. The Lighthouse at the End of the World (Le Phare du bout du monde) by Jules Verne (1905)
27. The Return of the Sword ed. by Jason M. Waltz (2008)
28. Green Ice by Raoul Whitfield (1930)
29. Manhattan Love Song by Cornell Woolrich (1932)
30. Rendezvous in Black by Cornell Woolrich (1948)
31. Vampire's Honeymoon by Cornell Woolrich (1988)
32. Night and Fear by Cornell Woolrich (2004)

Been reading Last Call by Tim Powers, although due to other commitments the pages haven't zipped past as fast as I thought they would. Will probably finish it tomorrow.

I'm about to start on the first of the three novels by Norvell Page in the new (streets yesterday!) compliation of Spider novels from the grand old days, The Spider: City of Doom. I got a great thrill from last year's Spider compilation, The Spider: Robot Titans of Gotham.

Okay, there we go... slower than usual, but:

33. Last Call by Tim Powers (1992)

34. Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi by Rob MacGregor (1991)

Guess I was in a mood for Indy after I felt disappointed with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Now moving through the delerious and rather upsetting adventure of the Spider, The City Destroyer, in The Spider: City of Doom by Norvell Page. I'm shocked with how close some of these supervillain schemes are to modern horrors, and how well Page describes them.

Hi Z-Ryan. Your list is awesome!
I read Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I was disappointed too. How was Rob MacGregor's book?

^ It wasn't that great, mostly wandering and not much in the way of thrills.

Here's my blog post about it:

http://realmofryan.blogspot.com/2008/06/indiana-jones-and-resurrected-tie-ins.ht...

35. The City Destroyer by Norvell Page (1935), collected in The Spider: City of Doom

For a crazy pulp story of the 1930s, this one sometimes had disturbing similarities to modern disasters. Freaky.

36. Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell (1919)

Here's one that has been on my shelf since late 2001. It's one of the classics of early fantasy, but it took until now for me to read it.

37. The Faceless One by Norvell Page (1939), collected in The Spider: City of Doom
38. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (2006)

39. Iron Dawn by Matthew Woodring Stover (1997)
40. Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black (2008)

Actually, I read Iron Dawn last month, but just noticed that I didn't have it up.

I quite enjoyed Me of Little Faith with the exception the play from the early '80s included at the end…simply didn't find this that funny (perhaps you had to be there).

41. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (1986)
42. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (2000)

43. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty (2004)
44. Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett (1978)

45. The Council of Evil by Norvell Page writing as Grant Stockbridge (1940), collected in The Spider: City of Doom.

And with that novel, I've finished all three in the new Spider omnibus, The Spider: City of Doom. The City Destroyer was definitely the best of the three.

46. The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen
47. The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton
48. Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror Steven Alten

I was curious about Meg but expected it to be bad. How right I was.