Inane Chatter

Well, it’s more than ten.  And it’s in order.

1. Fuzzy Sapiens – Also cute, but if they’re supposed to be sapient, why are they being treated like pets?
2. Little Fuzzy – Very cute.
3. Hidden Empire – I’m trying to get past the politics and into the story.  It’s harder to do that than it used to be.  Update: Story good, preaching bad.
4. Perdido Street Station – This was a recommendation from a Scalzi commenter.  It’s dark.  Grimy.  Let’s start with that and see where it goes from here.  Update: It stayed dark and grimy, and the imagery is so vivid – there are scenes that I will never be able to erase from my brain.  It was good, definitely, but I’m not in a great hurry to read more.
5. The Blue Sword – Robin McKinley.  That says enough.  Although I just started it, so I’ll probably say more later.  Later: I love her.  I don’t have all of her books yet (but I will), and I’m hoping she’s planning on writing tons more.
6. Consider Phlebas – Not quite space opera, but definitely far-future science fiction with aliens and space wars.  This is the first book in the Culture series, and it’s a little hard to get into, but it’s going now.  Yeah, I liked it.  Surprised by the ending.
7. Case Histories – I have no idea why it took me so long to want to read this, but I really liked it.
8. The Broken Kingdoms – 2nd in The Inheritance Trilogy (that started with the 100K Kingdoms).  Update: Loved!
9. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms – I’m only 40 pages in and totally hooked.  I like the writing style.  Update: Really good!  There are a couple of places where I feel like maybe I missed something, but I read it in a kind of disjointed way, so I’m inclined to blame the reader, not the writer.
10. Best Served Cold – Fantasy, but the dark and gritty kind.  Just started it.  We’ll see.  Update: it stayed dark and gritty, and it went places I wasn’t expecting, but overall I liked it.  I’ll read more of his stuff.
11. Never Let Me Go – This was a weird movie that could have been good.  (Carey Mulligan was very good in it.)  The book was better (as usual), but it left me with too many questions.  Good, but not satisfying.
12. Faerie Wars – Stupid title, ridiculous cover art.  The book was recommended, though, and it was pretty good.  Definitely young adult fiction.  Keep that in mind.  And, of course, it’s the first book in a series.  Isn’t everything?
13. The Pumpkin Eater – My sister wanted me to read this.  I’m going to call her to ask her WHY.  Why did she put me through this book?
14. Spindle’s End – Robin McKinley.  I’ve decided I love her.  It’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  Really good.
15. Bold as Love – Contemporary British science fiction with rock stars taking over the government.  It’s the first in a 4-book series (I didn’t know that until I looked it up on Amazon).  It’s…interesting.  Good interesting.  I definitely want to read the others.
16. Changes – The most recent (except for the one about to come out) Dresden Files book.  Oh the ending.  I need the next one.
17. To Your Scattered Bodies Go – The first in the Riverworld Saga, a series I’m supposed to have read.  Or so I understand.  If this turns out to be like Ringworld (Larry Niven), I will be disappointed.  I didn’t particularly like that book, and I could get in trouble at a science fiction convention for saying that.  Update: I gave up on it.  I might pick it up again someday, but it wasn’t doing anything for me.  Practically no character development and hardly any plot.
18. Born to Run – To keep me from reading a scary book at night, I’m also reading this.  Not scary.  But very good.  Both intimidating and inspiring.  It makes me want to try going a little more barely there with my running shoes.
19. Heart-Shaped Box – This is a scary book, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish it.  Okay, it was scary right at the beginning, and that first night, I decided not to read it in bed.  After that, though, it didn’t scare me.  That’s not to say it wasn’t good.  It was.  But I wasn’t too scared to read it.  It reminded me of Stephen King sometimes, and I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.
20. Side Jobs – A collection of short stories from The Dresden Files.
21. Turn Coat – Book 11 of The Dresden Files – a new book!
22. Small Favor – Re-reading Book 10 of The Dresden Files.
23. White Night – Re-reading Book 9 of The Dresden Files.
24. Proven Guilty – Re-reading Book 8 of The Dresden Files.  Much as I enjoy these books, I think I’m reading them back to back like this because then I don’t have to make any hard decisions about what to read next.  It’s much easier to just pick up the next book in the series.
25. Dead Beat – Re-reading Book 7 of The Dresden Files.  I might have a problem.
26. Blood Rites – Re-reading Book 6 of The Dresden Files.  I just can’t stop.
27. Death Masks – Re-reading Book 5 of The Dresden Files.
28. Summer Knight – Re-reading Book 4 of The Dresden Files.
29. Grave Peril – Re-reading Book 3 of The Dresden Files.
30. The Blue Bedroom – Oh, Rosamunde Pilcher, I love you.  Short stories that made me tear up a couple of times.
31. Fool Moon – Re-reading Book 2 of The Dresden Files.  Still good.
32. Burglars Can’t Be Choosers – The first Bernie Rhodenbarr book.  It’s cute.  I like it better when he had friends.  And a bookstore.
33. Storm Front – Starting my re-read of The Dresden Files.  I picked up the last one I knew I’d read, remembered part of the ending but nothing at all about what appeared to be a somewhat important character, and decided that rather than just re-read that one before starting the next one, I’d re-read the whole series.  I do really like these books.
34. Bitterwood – Fantasy, dragons, dragon-slayers – we’ll see.  It came highly recommended.  Update: it was good.  I have the other two in the trilogy and will read them soon.  (The fact that I didn’t rush immediately into the second one means something, but not a ton.)
35. Heyday – A novel set in turn of the century New York.  Isn’t it funny how “turn of the century” still means late 1800′s/early 1900′s?  I gave up on this one.  It didn’t grab me, and there were a couple of scenes near the beginning (and one character in particular) that totally grossed me out, so I decided not to put myself through it.  I figure 130 pages in is plenty of time to make an informed decision.  I vote no.
36. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Listened to it via audiobook while exercising.  Took me FOREVER to get through it that way, but it was really good.  Towards the end, I listened to it anytime someone wasn’t actually talking to me.
37. The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams – I decided to take a break from science fiction and read a light mystery.  I like these.
38. The Windup Girl – Interesting, but not really my style.  It’s set in Thailand in the future, and it’s dirty and grubby and hot and muggy and hungry (the guy set the scene very well, actually), full of ambitious and unscrupulous people.  Not normally a problem in reading material I choose, but it took me a while to get into it.  And then it ended just as it was getting interesting to me.  Not a glowing review, I guess.
39. Forever Free – While I was on the subject, I read the third one.  Not as good, and he totally cheated at the end.
40. Forever Peace – I liked this one as much as The Forever War.  I would have read a sequel here.
41. The Forever War – More classic science fiction I’d never heard of until recently.  So far, so good.
42. Inside of a Dog – That was pretty interesting.  I’d like to see it taken a step further into training, but I definitely like having more insight into what the dogs may actually be paying attention to.  I love them.
43. Beyond the Shadows – End of the trilogy.  I enjoyed the whole thing, but I think the author overreached a little with this one.  The story got too big for just a trilogy.  He tied up some loose ends a little too neatly (and quickly) and left others loose with no hope of resolution.  I still really liked it, though.  Ninja assassins!
44. Shadow’s Edge – Finished the first one and jumped straight into the second one.  Good fantasy.
45. The Way of Shadows – John is reading the third book in this trilogy, and he’s been enjoying it so much I decided to read the first one.  So far, I like it very much.  It boils down to your standard fantasy plot (so far, anyway), with an orphan in training to be an assassin, but why mess with what works?  I’m enjoying it.
46. The Liar – Stephen Fry’s first novel (I think).  It’s taking me a while to get a feel for the plot.  In fact, I’m still working on that.  Update: The end threw me.  I enjoyed it, but I feel like the author cheated a little.
47. My Love Affair with England – Non-fiction, makes me wish I had more time (and money) to spend wandering around England.  I finished the book with a strong desire to visit gardens.
48. No Second Chance – This was a recommendation.  A good one.  Mystery/thriller/cops and lawyers and doctors and a kidnapping.  Good stuff.
49. Humans – I picked this one up because I was looking for a different Donald Westlake novel.  It was cute.  A little cutesy.  Entertaining enough.  Not bad.  What a recommendation.
50. Tool of the Trade – I like Joe Haldeman.  Even though I think of H.R. Haldeman every time I pick up one of his books.  And I liked this book.  It’s only barely science fiction.  I’d call it 90% spy thriller, 10% science fiction, and that 10% is only a plot device.  Since I like spy thrillers and science fiction, I’m very happy with this combination.
51. Dead Until Dark – Light and entertaining, but with the potential to be annoying. I think I wouldn’t like this series if I hadn’t already seen three seasons of the TV show.  (This is the first of the Sookie Stackhouse books, which are what the HBO show True Blood is based on.)
52. The Girl Who Played With Fire – I still don’t own the next book, but I’m confident I can hold out until the paperback comes out.  All the Swedish last names are starting to run together.
53. A Test of Wills – An Ian Rutledge mystery (haunted detective in post-WWI England).  Good.  I might try to read these in order some day, but it doesn’t really matter.  This one is the first, though, if anyone’s interested.
54. The English American – Much better, although I’m wincing in advance.  I think the main character is about to get her heart broken by just about everyone she knows.
55. An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England – I’ll let you know.  At the moment, I’m hoping the main character matures a bit as the story goes on.  Update: he hadn’t matured by the middle of the book, so I gave up.  I really wasn’t interested.
56. Small Town – Lawrence Block murder mystery (not part of a series).  This one is 9/11-centric and a bit more graphic than some of his others.  It was good, but I’m not sure I liked it as much.
57. Swan Thieves – Really good.  It’s been too long since I read The Historian to really compare (same author – this is her second book, I think), but I think I liked this one better.
58. Princess Academy – Young adult, cute story.  I like about half of the premise (the part where the girls have to go to school, real school, to learn how to be a princess, not so much the part where the priests or whoever divined that the future princess had to come from a particular town and then the girls had to compete for the position).
59. The Alien Years - This book felt a bit cliche to me. Aliens invade and tough-minded people hide out in the mountains and form the resistance.  I enjoyed it, but it’s not going on my favorites list.
60. Sunshine – The narrator was sometimes a little annoying, but I was able to get past that.  The most frustrating thing about the book was that it ended and left me with more questions.  Not about the plot, really, but about the backstory.  What’s up with her family, on both sides?  What about her boyfriend?  How about the history?  I want more.
61. Agent to the Stars – A quick, fun read.  I’ve read all the Scalzi I have now.  Must get myself to the bookstore.
62. Rainbows End – Near-future science fiction that took me a little longer than usual to get into, but I did, and I liked it.  Even though the main character was a mean jerk.
63. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – I feel like I’ve caught up to the rest of the world now.  It was entertaining, and the only reason I didn’t jump right into the second one is that I don’t own the third one yet.
64. Another View – Rosamunde Pilcher.  I felt like I should read one of hers while I was in the UK.  This particular story falls in the lower end of the middle when compared to some of her other books.
65. Something Rotten – I love my Thursday Next novels.  A motorway services plays a part in this book, so I found it very helpful to have been to one before I got to that part.  Those stories are a bit more accessible when you’ve actually visited some of the areas Fforde writes about.
66. The Burglar in the Closet – Lawrence Block has become one of my go-to authors when I’m traveling.  Easy and enjoyable plane reading.
67. Blackout – That last book wasn’t really my cup of tea, and I can’t tell you how relieved I was to be totally hooked by this book within three paragraphs.
68. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog!) – The first book I ever read by Connie Willis (who I love), To Say Nothing of the Dog, was written in the style of this book, and since I like that one so much, I figured I’d read this one.  Just barely started it, so I’ll keep you posted.
69. Origin – Crime novel set in Syracuse.  In winter.  I’ve done that once.  I don’t ever need to do it again.  But that’s not the point of the book.  The book was really good.  It made me want more information on the some of the side characters, which can only be a good thing.
70. The Well of Lost Plots – The next Thursday Next novel.  Love these books.  They make me want to read MORE.  And not just this series.
71. Treason’s Shore – This is the last in a fantasy series I really like.  The first book reminds me of Ender’s Game in the way the younger characters (which is most of the main characters) are written.  I’m trying to space it out and read it slower.  I don’t want the story to be over.
72. Matthew Flinders’ Cat – Holly noticed that I really like The Power of One, so she sent me another Bryce Courtenay book.  ‘Cause she’s cool.
73. The Towers of Midnight – Even nerdier now.  It’s the next to last book!  And even though they weren’t all good, I’ve been reading this series for 20 years, and I’m a little sad it’s almost over.
74. The Gathering Storm – Allow me to be nerdier than usual for a bit.  This is book twelve in the Wheel of Time series.  It came out last year.  The next one just came out, and I need re-read this one before I’m allowed to read the new one.
75. Count Zero – I’d be reading Neuromancer if I had a copy, but since I don’t, I’m reading this.  Like the Greg Bear book, I’m having a hard time staying interested.  I haven’t been in the mood to read lately, which is scary all by itself.  Update now that I’ve finished it: It got better, I got interested, and I liked it.  I think Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash was influenced by this.  A lot.
76. Slant – I’m trying a Greg Bear book.  I’m having a hard time getting into it, but I haven’t spent much time on it, so I’m hoping I’ll get hooked.  I’ve been very distracted lately.  Update: I liked it.  Characters didn’t repeat until six chapters in, but it was pretty good.
77. The Power of One – We watched the movie recently (I’d never seen it), and John (who’d seen it, but never read it) bought the book immediately and devoured it.  My turn.  Really good!
78. Eight Million Ways to Die – Typical Lawrence Block, meaning it was pretty good.  I go back and forth about Matt Scudder (the detective in this series).  I prefer the Burglar series, but these work as a palate cleanser.
79. Beauty – Loved this one.  It’s Beauty and the Beast, but very nicely done.  Practical heroine.  The ending is a little abrupt, but I’m looking forward to reading others by the same author.
80. The Magician’s Assistant – Ann Patchett’s latest.  I love her other two, so my hopes are high.  And now that I’ve read it, I did really like it.  Bel Canto is still my favorite, though.  This one was sadder throughout than the other two I’ve read.
81. The Emperor’s Children – I must have picked this one up at a book sale, and I don’t remember why.  I mean, it’s not the sort of book that usually catches my eye.  It’s fairly good so far, but it’s got too many main characters, and I don’t really like any of them.  Lots of main characters is fine with me when I enjoy reading about them.  This is a little more like work.  Update: Yeah, I didn’t like it. I never got to the point where I liked the characters.  I mostly wanted them to shut up already, get over themselves, and THEN they brought in 9/11.  (The book was set in New York.)  There’s nothing wrong with including it in the plot, but it felt manipulative.  If it was supposed to explain the characters’ actions at the end, or show that nothing really changes or I don’t know what, it didn’t succeed with me.  I hate it when I just don’t care.
82. Flashforward – The book the not-very-good TV series was based on.  Aside from the main premise and a couple of minor character points, it’s NOTHING like the TV series.  That’s a good thing ’cause this book isn’t bad.
83. Every Secret Thing – This was my first Laura Lippman novel.  Really liked it.  Like, couldn’t put it down liked it.
84. Breath – Good.  Not what I usually read, and the ending was a little rocky, but I liked the descriptions of Australia and surfing.
85. Slanted Jack – Sequel to One Jump Ahead, which was fun science fiction.  Sadly, it was more fun than its sequel.  Slanted Jack finds our hero in a state of almost perpetual rage, and it’s kind of boring.  He doesn’t need to be that angry.  Or if he does, I need a better explanation.  It wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it was a good follow-up to One Jump Ahead.
86. The Art of Racing in the Rain - It was okay.  I liked the narrative device of telling the story through the dog, and I liked that an explanation for why the dog had such human thoughts and reactions was included, but I think there was a little TOO much drama.  It got a little tiring.
87. The Short Forever – A Stone Barrington novel.  Who names their son Stone?  He’s an ex-cop turned lawyer (aren’t they all ex-cops?) who meets lots of beautiful women, has a history with most of them, and sleeps with all of them.  The mystery itself is pretty good.
88. The Sins of the Fathers – Lawrence Block book with Matthew Scudder as the detective.  Unlike the burglar series, Scudder is a hardboiled freelance not-licensed detective who used to be a cop.  I like him.
89. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club – I started this a couple of days ago, and I’m having a hard time getting interested in it.  I was able to get into it eventually, and I liked it well enough, but I’m not all that excited to try another Dorothy Sayers book.
90. Zoe’s Tale – The next Scalzi book.  It’s a retelling of the last one from the point of view of the teenager, and it’s done pretty well.  I did end up really liking it,  but it took me a little bit to get into it.  Maybe that’s a good thing.  Maybe it means I don’t think like a teenage girl anymore.
91. Small Favor – The next Dresden Files book.  And for now, the last one I own.  I need to find the next one soon.
92. A Fire Upon the Deep – Whenever I’m at a used bookstore, I look for science fiction I’ve heard about but never tried.  This is one I’ve always meant to read, but never really felt strongly about.  I don’t know why I resist some books.  Especially when I usually end up really liking the ones I resist, like this one.  Good book.
93. Lost in a Good Book – This is the sequel to The Eyre Affair, which was crazy and quirky and very good.  And literate.  It helps to know your classic literature when you read these.  I really enjoy these.  This one doesn’t stand alone as well as the first one.  It’s more of a middle-of-the-series book, but it introduces some really neat ideas.
94. The Machineries of Joy – I put this one down.  I guess I wasn’t in the mood for short stories.
95. The Accidental Time Machine – A recent Joe Haldeman novel that I wasn’t crazy about.  It was fine, but not great, and if this were the first book of his I’d read, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to read more.  It’s not, so I’m not giving up.  Besides, I’ve heard an awful lot about The Forever War, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
96. Murder on the Orient Express – I’m pretty sure I’ve read this one before, but I don’t remember whodunit, so I figured I’d read it again.  Since I’m in a mystery mood…
97. White Night - Dresden Files.  Still really like them.
98. The Burglar in the Rye - Lawrence Block.  I just started it, but it’s going well so far.
99. Under Gemini – A short Rosamunde Pilcher novel that, aside from one jarring scene that might not have been jarring in 1976 when it was written, I really liked it.  I’d say this one goes in the middle category for her books; it’s not one of the great ones, but it’s better than some of her others.
100. Proven Guilty – The next Dresden Files book.  I hope I’m reading these in order…
101. The Likeness – Tana French’s second novel, after In the Woods, was also really good.  I think I might have liked this one more, actually.
102. Warbreaker – Another good Sanderson novel.  It’s not even a little bit related to his others and it has a completely different system of magic from his other books, which is pretty cool.  Okay, it’s totally geeky, but you know what I mean.
103. Hit List – Another Lawrence Block mystery, this time about a hit man who’s been targeted.  Funny!  And good.  The ending was a little bit of a letdown, but it was for the main character, too, so I can live with that.  I feel like there was a reason for it.
104. Dead Beat – The next Dresden Files book.  I must have been on a series kick.  Still good!
105. The Last Colony – The next book after The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi, whose writing I love.  More science fiction.
106. Children of God – This is the sequel to The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.  It’s definitely science fiction (space travel, alien races, etc), but it’s mostly about philosophy and religion and dealing with consequences.  And it’s really good.  Both books were.
107. Nose Down, Eyes Up – I’m not sure about this one.  I want to like it more than I do.  There are parts that make me laugh out loud, and other parts not so much.  It’s supposed to be light, but I still need to care about the characters, and I don’t.
108. The Ghost Brigades – Sequel to Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, and I liked it very much.  One more trip to a used bookstore, and now I own all but one of his books.
109. A Dance at the Slaughterhouse – Lawrence Block again, different lead character, TOTALLY different style of mystery.  Still good.
110. In The Woods – I just started it, and I like it, but it’s too early for me to tell.  Update:  I did really like it, but I feel a little cheated by the ending.  Cheated may not be the right word…it’s a good ending, but I wanted more resolution.
111. Blood Rites – Dresden Files #6.
112. The Burglar in the Library - Lawrence Block, cozy mystery, LOVED IT.
113. Death Masks – The fifth Dresden Files book.  Still brain candy and I still like these books.  He’s doling out clues about Dresden’s backstory, and I’m hooked.
114. The Impossible Bird – So far, weird and a little confusing.  I’ll let you know.  Update: it stayed weird and confusing and I didn’t like it.
115. Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future – Science fiction by Mike Resnick, another guy who was recommended to me by I don’t remember who.  I’m in the middle of this one and enjoying it.  It’s basically a western set in space.  I did end up really liking this one.
116. Prisoner of Birth - I listened to this one in the car.  It’s a Jeffrey Archer novel, and I really liked it.  I think I liked it more because I was listening, not reading.  The actor doing the reading could do all the accents, and I’m sure it wouldn’t have nearly as good if I’d been trying to hear those accents in my head.
117. The Archer’s Tale - Silly historical fiction by Bernard Cornwall.  I’d never read anything by Cornwall.  John picked this one up at a book sale, read it, liked it okay, and that’s about my reaction, too.  It was okay.  There’s a sequel (and possibly more – it turns into a Holy Grail quest series), but John’s taking a while with it, and I don’t think I’m that interested.
118. Infinite Dreams – I picked this up because I’d heard good things about Joe Haldeman and wanted to try some short stories first.  I liked them all, and he wrote when some of my favorite science fiction writers were writing, so I’m hooked.  A novel of his will be on my shelf soon.
119. The Dresden Files, Books 1 through 4 – I’m enjoying this series, as light fantasy/mystery, but I wouldn’t call it good.  No, good, but not great.  Total brain candy.
120. Run – The is the book Ann Patchett wrote after Bel Canto.  I don’t think it’s quite as good, but it’s still really really good.  I started it one day and finished it the next.  Totally engrossing.
121. Bel Canto – I love this book.  I’m re-reading it now, and it’s like watching a movie with the sound turned off.  Or replaced with opera (more fitting to the story).  It’s that visual.
122. The Road – It was good.  It wasn’t cheerful, but I don’t think I’ve read any postapocalyptic speculative fiction that was.  A very grim look at the future, but also a good book.
123. Ender in Exile – Just as good as the others, and satisfying to have some of that lost time filled in.
124. A War of Gifts – It’s a short novel by Orson Scott Card, set in the Ender universe, and definitely aimed at little kids.  I still like his writing, but this wasn’t my favorite.
125. Bodily Harm – In the middle of it.  Nope, I gave up on it.  Nothing is happening, and I’ve realized lately that I really need a book to have a plot.
126. Run Before the Wind – mystery by Stuart Woods.  I heard somewhere (don’t remember where – it was a while ago) that his mysteries were pretty good, so I’ve picked up a few at book sales.  This the first one I’ve read, and it was pretty good.  Not everything was obvious.  I suspected a few people all the way to the end and was wrong.
127. Storm Front – This is the first of the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher.  I’d heard good things about them somewhere (can’t remember where), so I bought a bunch of them from a used bookstore.  It was okay.  Kind of a weird combination of hard-boiled detective novel and magic/fantasy.  I’ll read a few more in the series (quick reads) before I give up.
128. Pillars of the Earth – I love this book (although it, too, overdoes the sex a bit, but that’s just something to keep in mind when reading ANYthing by Ken Follett), and I’m re-reading it so I can go read the sequel, World Without End.
129. Outlander – In the middle of it now.  And I quit.  Not interested.  The writing isn’t good enough to keep me interested in the story, which, sex scenes aside, could have been good.  Jess suggested that it might be better to listen to it to then to read it, and I’ll certainly keep that in mind.
130. The Taking – Typical Dean Koontz.  A very capable couple, an ultra-intelligent and loyal dog, innocent kids to keep safe, and some kind of world-ending disaster.  This one was a little weirder, a little grosser, than some, but as usual, it makes for good (not good) travel reading.
131. This Rough Magic – I liked it, and I can certainly see why Jess does (The Tempest, anyone?).  Plus so many people could be the bad guy!  I like this kind of little mystery/adventure.  It’s fun.
132. Flowers in the Rain – a collection of Rosamunde Pilcher’s short stories.  I’ve just started it, but I really liked one of the first ones.  I just really like her.  The rest of the stories were hit or miss, despite their similarities.  Some were just better than others.  This collection doesn’t fall in really good category, but they’re nice, feel-good, love stories.
133. Anathem – The ending was a little…odd, and I feel like things could have been explained a little better for readers (like me) who got a little tired of wading through the technical and philosophical discussions.  I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who wasn’t already a big fan of Neal Stephenson’s.  But I did like it.  I found myself lingering over breakfast before work because I didn’t want to put it down and have to wait to read again until I got home again.
134. Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone – Two books by Carol Berg that were really good.  Total fantasy, so if you’re not into that, you won’t like them at all, but as we all know, I am into that.  I really liked them.  Good characters, good story.  Well paced.
135. Pope Joan – Really good historical fiction.  Was there ever really a Pope Joan?  Who knows?  But it was a good story, well-written, even though at times I found myself thinking (Mom agreed) that there’s no way people then would have had some of those conversations.
136. Her Fearful Symmetry – Now that I’m further away from it, I like it again.  I liked it while I was reading it, and I liked it right after, but then I started thinking and talking about it, and I voiced all the things that bugged me about it.  It’s been a while, so I like it again.  Mostly.  There were just some things about the end that seemed a little off.  The journey through the book was good.
137. Whole Harry Potter series – Again.  I love those books.  I just needed to read the whole thing from start to finish.
138. A Long Shadow – This is one of a series of mysteries set just after World War I in England.  Inspector Ian Rutledge is the protagonist.  I liked it.  Good mystery, good story.
139. The Witches of Eastwick – I’m not sure why I even picked this one up.  I didn’t like the writing at all.
140. The Gathering Storm – The latest in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, written by Brandon Sanderson since Jordan died a couple of years ago.  Loved it, but that was to be expected.  I don’t think I can be objective about something like this.
141. Thornyhold – This was a very nice book.  Sort of a juvenile romance, very light on the romance (aw, they met and fell in love, in the last tiny bit of the book) and pretty light on the magic.  It was just nice.  Like the good Rosamunde Pilcher books.
142. Snow in April – A slightly better Rosamunde Pilcher book, but the love story part was more unbelieveable then in The Day of the Storm.  Still nice to read, but no need to reread.
143. Slaughterhouse Five – I haven’t actually finished this one yet.
144. The Day of the Storm – A not great Rosamunde Pilcher book.  It was nice to read, but not something I loved, not something I need to reread.
145. Old Man’s War – Loved it.  I really like Scalzi, and this book had a (deliberate) Heinlein feel to it (and I love Heinlein, so that can only be good).  Now that I’ve read and really liked two of his books, I’m going to have find all the rest.  And read his blog.
146. Holy Fools – I had a harder time getting into this one than I did the last Joanne Harris book I read (Gentlemen and Players), but I ended up liking it.
147. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle – I liked it, but I didn’t love it.  I like the parts that were actually about the dogs, and once of those made me cry a little, but the end took me by surprise and is why I only liked it.
148. The Magicians – This was billed as Harry Potter for adults.  I can see why, since there’s a school for kids who can do magic, but that’s where the similarity ends.  There are more parallels (overt) to the Narnia books, and I don’t think I liked it that much.  It changes the way you look at some of those stories, and that’s both interesting and bad.  I was happy with how I thought and felt about those stories.  Leave me alone!
149. King’s Shield – This is book three of the Inda series, and it was really good.  I’m annoyed the fourth book isn’t out in paperback yet, ’cause I can’t quite let the story go.
150. Mars Trilogy – Very good, but sometimes dry.  Took a long time to get through all three books.
151. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – I’m getting through it, enjoying it to some extent, but it’s not my thing.
152. Promised Land – Light fiction.  Didn’t start well (main character is a total bitch), but she came around and so did the story.
153. The Practice Effect – This is an older science fiction story by David Brin, who I’m not really familiar with.  It was a little silly, but mostly entertaining.  Nothing special.
154. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Love it.  Love it, love it, love it.  But I think I’m ready to put it to rest.  I’ll see the movie and then maybe be able to move on.
155. Fablehaven – Interesting story, but still a children’s book.  The first couple of Harry Potter books still feel aimed at an older age group than this one.
156. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Not for me.  It’s a memoir and the guy tries out too many styles.  I couldn’t get into it enough to care.
157. The Shell Seekers – Really like this one, too.  Cried twice.
158. The Sparrow – Super good.  Science fiction, but barely.  It was about a tortured soul trying to come to terms with what happened to him, and letting the rest of know what happened in the meantime.
159. September – Really liked it.  It was a nice, comfortable book, with a lovely story about a couple of families in Scotland.  Present day, just small family dramas, no really major conflict.
160. The Secret of Lost Things – It didn’t turn out to be what I thought it was when I started it.  I really liked it at the beginning, but then I didn’t care about the plot anymore once we got about halfway in.
161. The Alienist – this was a recommendation from Joe and Megan.  It took a while to pick up, but when it did, I couldn’t put it down.  The end was a little unsatisfying, though.
162. One Jump Ahead – Science fiction, action, pretty good.
163. The Pilot’s Wife – Totally did not see the ending coming, and in this case, I don’t think that’s a good thing.  I enjoyed it, but the ending took me be surprise and out of the story.  A lot.
164. Dune – Good science fiction.  It ends kind of abruptly, but you can definitely walk away from it.  It’s not a cliffhanger for the other however many books in the series.
165. The Android’s Dream – Really liked it, but in a totally different way.  It was light, fun, entertaining.  No crying here.
166. The Book Thief – Really liked it.  Cried at the end.
167. Eifelheim – It just didn’t grab me.  I liked the present-day story more than the aliens in the 14th century story, but I didn’t believe there was enough evidence for the present-day people to come to the right conclusions.
168. The Boy Detective Fails – Meh.  Not my kind of book, I think.
169. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – I laughed a few times, but I think I just wasn’t in the mood.
170. The Eyre Affair – totally weird, but in a good way
171. People of the Book – fantastic!
172. Otherland series – long, but gripping
173. The Samurai’s Garden – bittersweet, serene
174. Gentlemen and Players – I totally guessed, but still very much enjoyed the ride
175. Hero of Ages (Mistborn) – loved that I didn’t figure out what was being hinted at the whole time
176. War of the Flowers – enjoyed it, but didn’t love it
177. Axis – Spin was better
178. Yiddish Policemen’s Union – didn’t grab me until the last third.  That’s a lot of pages to wade through to finally get interested.