Readings of 2007

Below is the list of the books I read in 2007 (and two in 2006, I admit). I read this year nearly 1,000 pages on environmental issues and 6,000 pages for entertainment, excluding magazines and online material.

You can find a best of the books I read in 2007 in my cultural break of November 2007.

The books are graded according to the French system :

• Below 10/20, the book is simply bad.
• 10/20 is average ;
• 15/20 is good ;
• 17 or 18/20 are very good grades ;
• 20/20 is the perfect grade, the kind of book that are worth reading another time.

I don’t finish books below 14 as I consider them too bad for me to waste time reading them.

You will also find for each of them the approximate number of pages.

Finally, all are listed by chronological order. Some have been the subject of a special article when I found it particularly good.

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On environmental issues

• Le plein s’il vous plait by Jean-Marc Jancovici and Alain Grandjean.
  May 2006 ; June | 200 pages | Grade : 18/20

A great book explaining that the only way to decrease our greenhouse gases emissions would be to put a tax on fossil fuels energy sources. I read this one for my Master’s thesis and found it very interesting. Definitively a must-read if you understand French.

I wrote an article in May 2007 dedicated to it. Read the review. (en Français)

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• Collapse how societies choose to fail or succeed by Jared Diamond, Ph.D
  July - August | 575 pages | Grade : 20/20

To the many newspapers that reviewed it is an excellent book on global History, Geography and many other sciences. A fantastic book on Sustainable Development.

Simply a must read ! I dedicated to it a laudatory review.

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• The revenge of Gaïa, Earth climate in crisis and the fate of Humanity by James Lovelock.
  December | 175 pages | Grade : 16/20

A good book as Dr. Lovelock provides interesting ideas and opinions as he is a rare breed, an ecologist that regards nuclear energy as a chance, and not a menace. I will review it soon.

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For entertainment

• Un feu sur l’abîme by Vernor Vinge. (Original English title : A fire upon the deep)
  Summer 2006 | 800 pages | Grade : 19/20

What can be considered as the sequel, thousands year later, of A deepness in the sky. Definitively a great book. If you like sci-fi, it is an essential reading I strongly recommend you.

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• L’échiquier du Mal by Dan Simmons, (French title, original English title : Carrion Comfort)
  Winter | 500 pages | Grade : 08/10 ; Fail

A huge deception. The original idea is interesting but Simmons gets gory too often. Descriptions of unbearable violence abound and made me stop reading it. I clearly don’t plan to finish it one day.

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• Au tréfond du ciel by Vernor Vinge (Original English title : A deepness in the sky)
  December 2006 to April 2007 | 1,000 pages | Grade : 20/20

I really loved this impressive book and talked about it in my Cultural break of April 2007. The fact I give it the maximum grade states it all. To me, Vernor Vinge is one of the best sci-fi authors.

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• The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (original English title)
  May | 460 pages | Grade : 14/20.

A book my dad truly enjoyed but I haven’t been really thrilled by this one. A disappointment as I generally enjoy Mr. Connelly’s books.

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• La cité du gouffre by Alastair Reynolds (original English title : Chasm City)
  June | 1,000 pages | Grade : 17/20.

A sci-fi story telling the tale of a manhunt through time and space. A book I recommend too if you like the genre and particularly space operas.

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• The Closers by Michael Connelly (original English title)
  June | 450 pages | Grade : 17/20

A very good thriller. Unlike The Lincoln Lawyer, I really appreciated this one as it stars Harry Bosch after three year of retirement.

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• L’île mystérieuse by Jules Verne (original French title, English title : The mysterious island)
  July | 900 pages | Grade : 18/20.

A great book by the one of the best French writers of the XIXth century. I already read this sci-fi /anticipation book when I was a teen but decided to re-read as it is excellent. It is such a great book I dedicated to it my Cultural break of July 2007.

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• Hyperion by Dan Simmons (original English title)
  August | 600 pages | Grade : 16/20

A good space opera as it recounts the story of six different people in six different styles. I look forward to reading the follow-up, the Fall of Hyperion as the end of this book is truly suspense-packed.

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• The black ice by Michael Connelly (original English title)
  September | 450 pages | Grade : 16/20

A good thriller featuring Harry Bosch which brings us to Mexico…

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• The Fall of Hyperion (part I) by Dan Simmons (original English title)
  September 2007 | 300 pages | Grade : 14/20

Except the fact that Simmons have a tendency to descriptions of violent massacres (cf. above), quite a good book.

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• The unadulterated cat by Terry Pratchett (original English title)
  October 2007 | 200 pages | Grade : 16/20

A book Qat lend me. Very funny and easy to read in a single afternoon. A prelude to my reading of the Discworld series by the same author.

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• The color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (original English title)
  October 2007 | 200 pages | Grade : 17/20

A very good and very funny book. The first book of the Discworld series, this book tells the adventures of Rincewind, a failed wizard are hilarious. The perfect reading for gray and rainy days.

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• The light fantastic by Terry Pratchett (original English title)
  November 2007 | 200 pages | Grade : 18/20

Even better than the previous one, The light fantastic is simply excellent book that is packed with jokes and puns that will make you laugh out loud for hours. A must read.

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• The fall of Hyperion, (part II) by Dan Simmons (original English title)
  December 2007 | 250 pages | Grade : 09/20 ; Fail

I was sick and tired of descriptions of endless massacres and decided not to finish this book. Too bad Simmons has a tendency to describe extreme suffering and pains as otherwise he would be a quite good sci-fi writer.

Last updated on December 27th, 2007