Well, this is actually going to run Dec 30- Dec 30. Just because ;) This will end up being the master post, and in my memories.
1.
The Waste Lands, Stephen King. The third of the darktower series, I really cannot believe I haven't read these before. It's very evocative writing that pulls you in. With the different story lines converging, you start to see how well this series is pulling together the strands while still introducing more. Very excited for the next.
2, 3, 4 & 5.
A is for Alibi,
H is for Homicide,
M is for Malice and
P is for Peril, Sue Grafton. Part of the Alphabet Series by Sue Grafton. Crime fic, and some of my light books. I find them well written and put together, perfect for when I'm sorta sick, and what something easy, but still good. I think 4 in a row was a bit much though, but i've now filled all the holes in the series, and have them all read from A-R
6.
Cause Celeb, Helen Fielding
A brilliant book, her first in fact. It's an amazing juxtaposition of the famine in Africa with the celebrity lifestyle in London, and the way the two timelines are set up... If you haven't read this book, grab it!
7.
Shade's Children, Garth Nix
This was a good book in a lot of ways. Fantasy, and dealt with some adult concepts, but it seemed like the fact he's mainly a young adult writer really shows through. It does manage to keep you wondering for much of the book, and the concepts behind it are great. Definitely interesting, and easy to read.
8.
The Pirate Queen, Alan Gold.
Total Historical fluff, about an Irish Pirate Grace O'Malley, and Queen Elizabeth I. Like I said, fluff. Very fluff. But entertaining
9.
Deep Secret, Diana Wynne Jones
Now, if you don't realise that I love Diana Wynne Jones you've either been living under a rock, or are new to this lj. Some of the best young-adult (and children's, though this was def the young adult type) fantasy fiction out there, and this book was no exception. I devour them, and they are always such a pleasure.
10.
Mistral's Kiss, Laurell K Hamilton
The good things? Merry is still with Doyle and realises she loves him mostest. The bad things? Too many to list. PLOT! Plot wqould be great, and I don't mean three seconds of it interspersed between each 10 page sex scene (which start on something like page 8).
11.
Marvel !602, Neil Gaiman (Graphic Novel, issues 1-8)
The marvel universe in 1602. Being a marvel baby, i'm loving it, but if you aren't familiar with the universe it would likely be pretty odd. Still, it made me happy.
12.
Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. I've already said how much I loved this book. The strange but fascinating tale of a man who's wife dies, and the only witness to her death was the family dog. In his grief he attempts to teach the dog to talk, and at the same point, reviews their life, slowly revealing more about the two of them, and their relationship.
13.
Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters. Another fasscinating book, i'd never read this before! The story of a girl in England in the 1880's, and her life, well, first as an oyster girl, then as the companion of a male impersonator, then as a male impersonator herself, and eventually as a london tom. Quite interesting to see how she goes through her life, and that at some points I wasn't all that sympathetic to her as a character, but I was still fascinated to follow her story.
14.
Unexpected Magic, Diana Wynne Jones. A collection of short stories. Some very amusing (i loved the one with the 17 million alien names for coffee, something i've always found bizarre in fantasy) and some fell a bit flat. Good collection though, more adult fantasy, then the young adult stuff i'm used to her writing.
15.
Fantasy Stories, chosen by Diana Wynne Jones. This collection was a real mix, everything from the Grimm brothers & Frank Baum, to very modern tales, to modernised takes on old tales. Loved it.
16.
Disobedience by Naomi Alderson. The story of Ronit, an orthodox jew from Hendon in London, who moved away from all of that to New York, and of Esti, the girl she left behind. When Ronit's father dies, she comes home, their two lives meet again, and they must deal with the past they've both been avoiding and how it is affecting their present. Quite a good book, and quite interesting. I disliked the two differnet fonts they use to distinguish the two storylines, but that's purely superficial.
17.
Oberntwyn, Isobelle Carmody. Lots of people have recommended Isobelle Carmody to me since i've moved to Oz. I'm glad I piced it up. It's on the upper end of young adult fantasy i'd say. Set in a Post Apocolyptic world, where only regional places survived, and everythign is run by a council, and the Herders, a religious group. More and more people are labelled misfits, with strange mutations or powers. This is the story of some of them.
18.
The Farseekers, Isobelle Carmody. The second of the Obernewtyn Chronicles. It further develops many of the characters, and continues the story well. Not as good a the first, but still a good book. Not a series you can read out of order.
19.
Wine of Angels, Phil Rickman. An interesting story, about and Anglican Minister who moves to a small town in Wales with her teenaged daughter. A bit of a mystery/thriller, it's a good story, but a bit too long. It wanders in the middle a bit, but gathers it back up at the end. A lot of history is built into the story, and it's good. I do recommend this.
20.
Puppet, by Joy Fielding. Another sort of mystery, only this one of the past. Amanda is 28 and estranged from her entire past really when she gets a phone call from her ex that her mother has shot a man in cold blood in a hotel lobby. She returns to Toronto and tries to get to the bottom of why, and learn things about a life she ran away from. Really good, and captures Toronto perfectly.
21.
The Green Mile, Books 1-6, Stephen King. No, i've never seen the movie. No, i've never read the books. So glad that I have now. It's not a thriller, as it's billed, but a story of a death row jail in 1932, the inmates and the guards. It's amazing how it gets to you, and gets under your skin. Fast to read, and very enjoyable.
22.
Night of Many Dreams, Gail Tsukiyama. The story of three women in a Hong Kong family that starts during the second world war. It's a captivating sort of book, the chapters flip between two sisters and their aunt, and I found myself empathising with all three of the characters. By the end though, it feels rushed, skipping huge gaps in order to cover a large portion of their lives, about 15 years altogether. I think it definitely could have been longer, rather then to skip through so much.
23 - 26. Ill Wind, Heat Stroke, Chill Factor, Wind Fall by Rachel Caine. Books one to four of the
Weather Warden series, I didn't read these all in a row, but I did read them all over the past two weeks, so it's easier to do it this way. What can I say, Urban Fantasy based on the premise that the weather is controlled (sometimes not very successfully) by weather wardens. Centers around the Joanne Baldwin, one of the wardens, and the many battles she faces. They are fast paced, and highly entertaining. Quite enjoyed these.
27.
Blondel's Song: The Capture, Imprisonment and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart, by David Boyle. Fascinating book. I love history books that are easy to read, yet still detailed enough, and researched enough that they don't simply skim over things. What I found interesting about this book was the social context Richard's crusade, his imprisonment, and later, the social and economic effects of those and his ransom.
28.
Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, by Tracey Quan. Fluff. Amusing, but even then, I feel like this book was rather a waste of an afternoon. Was especially disappointed by the ending, which felt rather trite, but then, I'm not sure I was expecting more.
29.
Wolves of Calla, Stephen King. Yep, he did it again. Both the story of the current group, and the story of Roland after he just became a Gunslinger, I loved every single second of this book.
30.
Strange Candy, Laurel K Hamilton. A collection of short stories she's written over the years. Some are really really good. Some are total crap. It's a mix. It's still worth reading
31.
She May Not Leave, Fay Wheldon. The story of two women really, a grandmother, and her granddaughter, in the UK. Intertwined with the story of various au pairs. Odd in moments, and I didn't really like the ending, but I did love the book, and how the stories intertwined.
32.
Ursula's Under by Ingrid Hill. Another one of those books with intertwining stories. This one the story of a family, mixed in with a variety of their ancestors, of how they got to this place. It's very very well done, and very very good. I devoured this one.
33.
Of Marriageable Age, Sharon Maas. Just brilliant. One of those books that intertwines a few stories from past and present,a nd keeps you guessing until the very end how they all interconnect. Set in India and British Guyana in the early 1900's and 1950's and 1920's the descriptions and characters are wonderful and engaging.
34.
Ashling, Isobelle Carmody. The third of the Obernewtyn Chronicles, this one was much better than the second. They sit somewhere between young adult fantasy and adult, and this book sees a lot more development than the last. Apparently there is going to be a fourth
35.
Italian Frescoes: The Age of Giotto, Joachim Poeschke. Oh my goodness. This book, filled with amazing reproductions of 14th century italian frescoes in such detail as i've not seen before is my dream come true. The costuming ideas alone that have come from this. Guh. The first read was more of a skim, taking in bits, but more bits left my head then stayed in. The second read will involve post it notes and a note book. This is total book porn for me
36. U
2 by U2. It took me months to get through this, somehow, even though they're my favourtie band I'd forget it was beside my bedside table. Totally worth it, for the photos alone, the stories about each other, and themselves, and that you really feel like you get to know who the band are in this book
37.
CSI: Killing Game, Max Allan Collins. Yes, a book based on the show. It was fluff, but entertaining fluff, which was all i required it to be.
38.
The Crocodile on the Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters. The first of the Amelia Peabody mysteries set in victorian egypt, a period I love. I read this book in about a day. Again, slightly fluff, but well reasearched into the time period, and the archaeological methods of the day. It was great to have it played out so well.
39.
Nights of Rain and Stars, Maeve Binchy. Oh goodness, a Binchy book NOT set in Ireland! Though there are Irish characters. It was a typical Binchy book, people with problems, coming together and sorting them out, often through some pain, and turmoil. But it was still a good read, I enjoyed it, and finding out the stories of all the characters.
40.
The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones. Newest of the Chrestomanci books, it continues the series in its awesomeness. More a story about Cat Chant and the villages surrounding the Chrestomanci castle, and it helps to flesh things out immensely for the universe. Not that they really needed it, these are great books.
41.
The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe. Wildly dry and amusing, I can't recommend it highly enough and its hard to explain the book, other then that it's pirates, in an adventure with charles darwin. Find it. Read it. Now.
42.
Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain. A fiction work of his, which while entertaining, isn't as good as his non fiction somehow. But you can definitely see the influence in his life in this.
43.
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett. A re-read, and another book I love. Susan and Death, how can it get better?
44.
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. So a friend of mine harassed me into reading this book. HARASSED I SAY! Told me that it was the best sci fi/cyberpunk book he'd ever read. Well, I have to say, he's likely right. ZOMG THE AWESOMENESS. See, that was me being squealy. I need to find more books by this guy.
45.
Night Rising by Chris Marie Green. Okay, we know I like urban fantasy. This isn't the sort of urban fantasy I like. Plot was weak, characters were just okay, perspective of the villans scenes were just ick, and while it had some things I liked, overall, it was barely worth the time.
46.
Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. This however, was the sort of urban fantasy I like. A bit heavy on the sex, but it was good, and well written, and didn't detract from the plot in an Anita Blake kinda way.
47.
How to Eat by Nigella Lawson. A combination of her stories, recipes and tidbits of things she knows. Great. I need to own this book as it's more about food then anything else.
48. Sleeping with Fishes, Maryjanice Davidson
49 & 50 Undead and Unnapreciated, Undead and Unreturnable, Maryjanice DavidsonTotal and complete fluff. The first about a mermaid/marine biologist, and the other two about a vampire queen named Betsy. I read these when my brain needs a break, cause as much as they are total fluff? They're highly enjoyable fluff.
51. The Magicians Guild, Trudi CaravanFairly classic fantasy rec'd by a friend, and so well done. Intrigue, people you love, people you hate, complicated situations,a nd no easy way out. A good example that even though it's stereotypical of the genre it's not bad, in fact, it's great.
52. Enders Game, Orson Scott CardClassic Sci-fi. I enjoyed it, and parts of it made me shockingly uncomfortable. Not sure what my overall opinion is really
53. For a Few Demons More, Kim HarrisonHi, can you tell I like urban fantasy? This book made me cry. Which means either I am a sook, or it was frakking awesome. I suspect somewhere between the two extremes, though I know I am a sook. Enjoyable, and I love the characters, even if I want to bitch slap Rachel some days.
54. The Alphabet of Light and Dark, Danielle WoodA moving story about a girl gone back to Bruny island to delve into the history of her family and her own history. Intertwined with the story of a very very very disturbing man who kills cats for pleasure. There's more to it then that, but buh... I adored the one storyline, and was almost ill once during the other.
55. Science of Discworld III:Darwin's WatchI liked this one better than the second, but not as much as the first. It still did feel like trying to hard a few times, but was entertaining and informative nonetheless.
56. The Keeping Place, Isobelle Carmody.WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S NOT THE LAST BOOK???? Seriously. It was good, but it went on forever. I think this story got away from her a bit, and the scope grew too much. But it is good, if a bit too long.
57. Lion in the Valley Elizabeth PetersMore fluff, this time Egyptology fluff. Amelia is addictive, and I start thinking in her voice after a while. It's disturbing, believe me.
58 & 59 Prince Caspian & The Last Battle, CS LewisRereads, but not for about 2 years. I really need to find a copy of Dawn Treader somewhere. I loved Prince Caspian, but the ending of the Last Battle bothers me more and more over the years. It's like Lewis drops the overtones bit of the religous overtones and leaves you with... Yeah...
60. Fables, Vols 1-8 (this so counts in my world)
Seriously, more pages then some of the books I read in this! Brilliant. If you haven't read Fables, do so, now. It's amazing.
61. The Harlequin, Laurell K HamiltonShe didn't have sex for almost 200 pages.
There was PLOT
There was only a little of her gaining goofy new powers every two seconds
There was EDWARD
There was her being scared and omg almost herself again...
There was me being ecstatic and wishing it hadn't taken the last 4 books of drivel to get this far, and omg there's still so far to go, but it's getting there? I can but hope.
62-65
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Battle by CS Lewis. Now this was a re-read with a purpose. I was writing up an application for Lucy Pevensie for
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the_blank_slate. It was still, however, really good to re-read them all. I found myself looking at things differently as well, because now Lucy was what I was focussed on, and trying to see things from her perspective. I was also reminded how much I disliked the very end of the Last Battle. They're travelling off with Aslan with no concern for their parents, who aren't there, or Susan, who was left behind, completely alone. That has always made me so sad.
66
Firestorm by Rachel Caine. The most recent in the Weather Warden books. I like how these all seem like a part of something bigger. Things happen, and each book is brought to a conclusion (sort of) but more events start that carry on into the next. I really like these ones.
67
Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. Another re-read. I adore this book, and i'd never actually re-read it. It was fascinating to go through it knowing what happened, bemoaning things that were happening, wanting to scream and shake the characters and tell them to not say or do that thing. This remains one of my favourite book series of all time.
68
Beastly Tales from Here and There by Vikram Seth. A collection of tales told in verse from around the world, plus two written by VS. Light, entertaining, and lovely.
69
Pirates in an Adventure with Whaling by Gideon Defoe. I didn't enjoy this as much as the first, though I still found it greatly amusing. It's the right kind of silly.
70
Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood. Odd, because i'd not read this before, though I've read the rest of the series. In a way it was like going back in time with Phryne, and I kept wondering things like 'where are her girls' only realising she hadn't adopted them yet. I enjoyed it greatly, as I do all the firefly books.
71
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Oh wow. Wow wow wow. A series of letters written from a wife to her estranged husband about what brought them to this point. Their son is in jail for a columbine-style shooting at his school, and the book is... Well, it's captivating, and well done, and I highly highly highly recommend it.
72
Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb. An amusing murder mystery based around a sci fi convention (Rubicon) in the US in the 1980's. It's dated, but it's still hilarious, especially to anyone in the fandom.
73
Lady Friday by Garth Nix. The fifth book of the Keys to the Kingdom series, I find they've gotten stronger as they've gone along. Young Adult, and sometimes a bit more of the young then adult, but I love the idea behind these books a great deal.
74
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JKR. Loved it. Hated the epilogue. Pls to be seeing three posts prior if you would like spoilers.
Books so far: 74
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