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How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe: A Novel by Charles Yu. This was the Sword and Laser’s latest pick and I decided to read it since I haven’t read one of their selections in a while. The title made me think of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I don’t know if they have any similarities since I have read Hitchhiker’s Guide, but other Sword and Laser listeners are making that comparison, so I guess there are some.

The book is about a time machine repairman, Charles Yu, who is searching for his father who left his family and is somewhere out in time. You learn about Yu’s broken family and how Yu feels responsible for his father going away. To me, this book was just okay. It’s was interesting, sad, and funny in parts, but mostly I was just trying to get through it so I could get back to my Wheel of Time book. All the sci-fi references and jargon were cute at first, but after a while I got annoyed with it. Maybe if you liked Hitchhiker’s Guide, you’ll like this one more than I did. Or just wait until they make a movie out of it.

I said this was a 2010-2011 list, so I just deleted what I’ve already read and carried the rest over. I also added a few.

Book List 2011

• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
• Go, Mutants: A Novel, Larry Doyle
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Mick Foley
• The Associate, John Grisham
• The Fourth Hand, John Irving
• The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 4: The Heart’s Desire, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 5: The Best Defense, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 7: The Calm Before, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 8: Made to Suffer, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 9: Here We Remain, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 10: What We Become, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 11: Fear the Hunters, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 12: Life Among Them, Robert Kirkman
• The Walking Dead, Volume 13: Too Far Gone, Robert Kirkman
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larson
• The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larson
• The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest, Stieg Larson
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Giver, Lois Lowry
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
• Kraken, China Mieville
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
• Either You’re in or You’re in the Way, Logan and Noah Miller
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
• A Memory of Light, Brandon Sanderson
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
• Private Parts, Howard Stern
• The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
• Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams