| Title |
Author |
Date Started |
Date Finished |
Mini-Review |
| When Gravity Fails |
George Effinger |
3/24/13 |
|
I’m finding this one hard to get into, but I’m not ready to give up. |
| World War Z |
Max Brooks |
3/10/13 |
3/22/13 |
Book club pick. My own. As a book club book, I think I might have failed. I know at least a few people read it (and at least two of them liked it), but I also know that at least one person did not. I really liked it. It was engrossing and disturbing and hard to put down. I cried twice. It’ll be interesting to see how the movie turns out. |
| A Memory of Light |
Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson |
3/3/13 |
3/9/13 |
It’s finally here! And I don’t want to do ANYthing other than read it. Update: I’m so sad it’s over. It ended well. I need more. |
| Towers of Midnight |
Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson |
2/17/13 |
3/2/13 |
Gotta re-read this so I can read the LAST BOOK EVER in the series. |
| The Secret Keeper |
Kate Morton |
2/9/13 |
2/17/13 |
Book club book. I think I joined the right book club. Memoirs aside, I’ve really enjoyed all of the books so far. This one was really good. |
| The Dragonbone Chair |
Tad Williams |
1/11/13 |
2/11/13 |
I was in the mood for fantasy, so I decided it was high time I got around to reading the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. It had a slow start, but I enjoyed the first one. I have a list to get through, but I plan to continue this series about three or four books from now. |
| Defending Jacob |
William Landay |
1/6/13 |
1/11/13 |
Book club pick (even though I can’t make it to the meeting this month). Good book, weird ending. Abrupt. And now that’s been a few days since I finished it, maybe unsatisfying. But that might be part of the point. |
| The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry |
Rachel Joyce |
12/25/12 |
1/5/13 |
I almost never read books that I haven’t found through some sort of recommendation anymore, but I picked this one up because I liked the cover. Update: SUCH a good decision. I loved this book. There’s one part of it that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s kind of a throwaway. I cried (good tears) over the end. |
| The Fall of Hyperion |
Dan Simmons |
12/10/12 |
12/25/12 |
Sequel to Hyperion. Thank goodness it picked up right where Hyperion left off. That ending was too abrupt. This one ended better. There are a couple more in the series that I definitely want to read. I realize this is not much of a review, but this is all I’ve got right now. I liked it. Period. |
| Adulthood Rites |
Octavia Butler |
12/2/12 |
12/9/12 |
Sequel to Dawn. Good, but not as good as Dawn. I still want to read the third, though. |
| Dawn |
Octavia Butler |
11/28/12 |
12/2/12 |
I don’t even know where to start with this one. I liked it, and I’m going to read the sequel next, but the first book (while very interesting) felt like it was setting up the rest of the series more than standing on its own as a book. (It’s about a post-apocalyptic Earth with aliens, by the way.) |
| Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand |
Helen Simonson |
11/25/12 |
11/27/12 |
LOVED this book. It was chosen for book club, and I read it in two days and loved every minute of it. I laughed, I cheered, I wanted to punch people, and then I cheered some more. It’s a really nice, very British, totally wonderful book. |
| Hyperion |
Dan Simmons |
11/10/12 |
11/24/12 |
More classic SF I’ve been missing out on for years for no good reason. I really like this one, but I wasn’t expecting it to end as abruptly as it did (and to not even come close to being finished). I knew it was part of a series, but I kind of assumed it would have an ending. And wouldn’t you know, I don’t have the next one. I will soon. |
| The Waters Rising |
Sheri S. Tepper |
10/27/12 |
11/9/12 |
Set in the same dystopian world as one of her previous novels. I’m probably going to re-read that one soon. Update: Not her best. Too much exposition. WAY too much in the beginning, but even later on, one character would give this detailed explanation of something, and another character would say, “Let me see if I understood you correctly,” and then restate the explanation using different words. Sometimes that was necessary for me to get it, but wouldn’t it have been better to state it clearly one time? And if that had only happened once, it would be okay, but it happened over and over again. I think Tepper is great, but this book is only for die-hard fans, I think. |
| Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail |
Cheryl Strayed |
10/22/12 |
10/26/12 |
Another memoir for this month’s Book Club pick. Yay. I do better if I assume it’s fiction, so we’ll see how it goes. Update: It started okay, but I got bored with the author about halfway through. Couldn’t relate. |
| The Forge of God |
Greg Bear |
10/5/12 |
10/21/12 |
Picked up almost at random from the shelves, it’s science fiction written in 1987, set in 1996. Pretty interesting to see what he got right and wrong about technology from that close, alien invasion aside. The second half was a little odd, but I would be revealing a plot point if I said why. |
| Watcher of the Dead |
J.V. Jones |
9/27/12 |
10/5/12 |
Next book in the Sword of Shadows series. Probably not the last one, but the last one written so far. Update: I want more! Why do I always get sucked into unfinished series? |
| The Shadow of the Wind |
Carlos Ruiz Zafon |
9/21/12 |
9/27/12 |
Yeah, I really liked this book. It was twisty and turny and somewhat guessable, but not completely, and I really liked it. |
| A Sword of Red Ice |
J.V. Jones |
9/3/12 |
9/21/12 |
Continuing the Sword of Shadows series. I still like it a lot, but the pace is SO SLOW. |
| Coraline |
Neil Gaiman |
9/3/12 |
9/3/12 |
Filling in my Gaiman gaps. It didn’t disappoint. Left me with some creepy images, though. I can’t decide if seeing the movie would help with that or not. |
| Little Brother |
Cory Doctorow |
9/1/12 |
9/2/12 |
Set in the immediate future, it’s all about terrorism and the government and teenage hackers fighting back. Couldn’t put it down, so I stayed up late to finish it. |
| Before I Go To Sleep |
S.J. Watson |
8/30/12 |
9/1/12 |
This was a book club selection (we’re meeting to discuss it this weekend). GOOD choice. I really liked this one. I read it in two days, during all the free time I could spare and some I couldn’t. It’s like a cross between Memento and 50 First Dates (but without all Adam Sandler idiocy). Gripping. |
| 11/22/63 |
Stephen King |
8/26/12 |
8/30/12 |
I think I got hooked by this book faster than any other Stephen King book I’ve read, and then I didn’t want to put it down. There were a couple of things that annoyed me, but for the most part, it was pretty good. And not too scary. |
| Notes From a Small Island |
Bill Bryson |
8/18/12 |
8/25/12 |
Travel books aren’t usually my thing, but I love everything UK, and Bill Bryson is funny, and I need a dose of England right now. |
| A Fortress of Grey Ice |
J.V. Jones |
8/5/12 |
8/18/12 |
Sequel to A Cavern of Black Ice (Sword of Shadows series). The first book set up a lot of action to come, but could mostly stand on its own. This one could never stand by itself. It moves things along (and introduces a few characters I really like), but it ended abruptly and very much like “To find out what happens next, tune in next week!” I will, certainly, but after a break for a couple other books on my list. |
| Another Bullshit Night in Suck City |
Nick Flynn |
8/2/12 |
8/3/12 |
Good, but SO not my thing. Memoirs in general are not my thing, but certainly not when they’re about alcoholic drug addicts and their alcoholic homeless dads. It was engrossing, but not something I plan to seek out again. |
| A Cavern of Black Ice |
J.V. Jones |
7/21/12 |
8/5/12 |
This started out a little slow, but it’s a four (five?) book series, so there’s plenty of time. I care about the characters, but I’m not entirely sure where the plot will go beyond the first book. |
| Living Dead in Dallas |
Charlaine Harris |
7/21/12 |
7/21/12 |
I got this book to take to England, and then was not at ALL in the mood to read it there. I read it in about 3.5 hours the other day. It’s an easy read, but I’m not going to be in any hurry to read more, I think. I like the TV show. The books are a little hard to swallow. And of course, I don’t mean the subject matter. It’s something about the style, something about the narrator. In the show, she’s amusingly irritating, but I find her way more irritating in the books. |
| Gone Girl |
Gillian Flynn |
7/17/12 |
7/21/12 |
Good! And not at all what I expected when I started it. Which is also good. |
| The Age of Miracles |
Karen Thompson Walker |
7/15/12 |
7/17/12 |
Near-future speculative fiction. Engrossing. Made me a little afraid to go outside in the summer heat. |
| Thursday Next: First Among Sequels |
Jasper Fforde |
7/3/12 |
7/13/12 |
Love these books. The only minor quibble I have is that I rarely remember the details of the earlier books in the series. I remember major plot points (and occasionally minor ones), but not which events happened in which books. But that could be because I’ve taken such long breaks in between books. |
| First Lord’s Fury |
Jim Butcher |
6/27/12 |
7/3/12 |
Book 6 in The Codex Alera. Actual review (kind of): Good fantasy. Interesting world-building, cool magic system. Occasionally a flippant remark seems out of place (belonging more in the Dresden Files), but I like the style enough to let it go. |
| Princep’s Fury |
Jim Butcher |
6/20/12 |
6/27/12 |
Book 5 of The Codex Alera |
| Captain’s Fury |
Jim Butcher |
6/17/12 |
6/20/12 |
Book 4 of The Codex Alera |
| Cursor’s Fury |
Jim Butcher |
6/14/12 |
6/17/12 |
Book 3 of The Codex Alera |
| Academ’s Fury |
Jim Butcher |
6/8/12 |
6/14/12 |
Book 2 in The Codex Alera. |
| The Furies of Calderon |
Jim Butcher |
6/3/12 |
6/8/12 |
The first book in Jim Butcher’s more traditional fantasy series. Update: And it was good! |
| Ghost Story |
Jim Butcher |
6/1/12 |
6/3/12 |
This is the latest Dresden Files book. I called the ending from miles away, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The biggest problem is that I have no idea when the next one will come out. |
| Coming Home |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
5/26/12 |
5/31/12 |
I love this book. Love it to pieces. |
| The Colour of Magic |
Terry Pratchett |
5/26/12 |
5/26/12 |
My first Terry Pratchett. I tried Thud a while back, but didn’t get very far, so I don’t count it. This was fun. I read the whole thing on the plane ride home (bought it at Heathrow (hence the u in the title)). I didn’t love it, but I’d like to try more of the Discworld books. |
| Nine Coaches Waiting |
Mary Stewart |
5/20/12 |
5/25/12 |
This was much better for my vacation. Even if it was set in France instead of England. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sounds a little stilted, but is absolutely true. |
| Little, Big |
John Crowley |
5/17/12 |
|
Started it on the plane, but I wasn’t getting into it, so I put it down. I’ll come back. Soon. |
| Rose Daughter |
Robin McKinley |
5/8/12 |
5/13/12 |
Robin McKinley’s second shot at Beauty and the Beast. Similar, but different. Still good, and possibly better. I would need to re-read the first one to be sure. Which I may do. Because I love her. |
| Let’s Pretend This Never Happened |
Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess |
4/20/12 |
5/8/12 |
I pre-ordered this and it arrived last week, but with all the homework and the in-laws, I’ve barely had time to read. Must make time! Update: I finally made time, and it was as funny as promised. (Funnier than the Bible. Watch the book trailer.) |
| The Prestige |
Christopher Priest |
3/6/12 |
4/24/12 |
I saw this movie in the theater when it came out, and I really liked it. I’ve been listening to the audiobook in 30-60 minute chunks at the gym, and I enjoyed it, but it moved SO slowly. The movie is substantially different, and I think in this case that’s a good thing. (A good adaptation is always a good thing, but usually I like the book better. As you do.) I want to see the movie again, at least partly to erase the memory of the book. And the end – totally unsatisfactory. The book, I mean. I have so many questions! And not the good kind. |
| The Outlaws of Sherwood |
Robin McKinley |
4/13/12 |
4/20/12 |
I’ve said a bunch of times that I LOVE Robin McKinley’s books. I still mean it, but this one wasn’t as good. It’s not the same style and didn’t grab me the same way. It got better as the book went on, and I certainly enjoyed it (and didn’t want to put it down as it got nearer the end), but she wasn’t as imaginative in her retelling of this story as she has been with others. |
| Just A Geek |
Wil Wheaton |
4/9/12 |
4/12/12 |
I’ve been meaning to read this for a while. He took a number of his blog posts and added a framework that gives more background and sometimes excuses for his tone or insecurities. Highly enjoyable. |
| The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society |
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows |
4/9/12 |
4/10/12 |
LOVED this book. We listened to it on a long car ride. The readers were terrific, the accents fantastic. The story is funny, sad, moving, and sweet. Everyone should read this book. |
| The Snow Child |
Eowyn Ivey |
3/26/12 |
4/6/12 |
I ended up really liking this one. I read it for a book club I might be joining, and the beginning is a little…dark, but it got better. I cried a couple of times, once on the plane. |
| A Princess of Mars |
Edgar Rice Burroughs |
3/11/12 |
3/26/12 |
John’s dad gave me this book a couple of years ago, but I put off reading it (for reasons I don’t understand). John and I were considering seeing the movie last weekend, but we both want to read it first, so here I go. Update: I bet I would have liked this a lot if I were a 10-year-old boy. In the 50s. Two-dimensional characters and an episodic plot with an abrupt ending. I expected better. |
| Norstrilia |
Cordwainer Smith |
3/6/12 |
3/11/12 |
I found this book on a list of novels science fiction fans should read. I am one, so I am reading. Just barely started it, and the title finally makes some sense (slur North Australia together to get Norstrilia), but I still think of nostrils every time I pick it up. Update: I liked it, but I feel like it could have been better. It was full of ideas that didn’t seem fully formed. Or they were fully formed in the author’s head, but could have been explored much more in the book. That would have made the book much longer, but it would have been worth it, I think. Maybe those could have been companion books, instead. |
| Death in Kashmir |
M.M. Kaye |
2/17/12 |
3/5/12 |
I borrowed this book from Jess a LONG time ago. Finally started it. I like it, but I haven’t been reading much lately. Two weekends in a row with visitors and lots of schoolwork have made it difficult to find time. Sad. Update: The amount of time it took me to finish this book has no bearing on how much I liked it. Because I did. Like it. It’s a good mystery, but I was a bit distracted by the British colonialism aspect. |
| Hammered |
Elizabeth Bear |
1/29/12 |
2/16/12 -ish |
It took me a few pages to get into this one, but it turned out to be pretty good. AND it has sequels, which makes me happy. I just don’t have them. Which makes me sad. |
| All Clear |
Connie Willis |
1/20/12 |
1/29/12 |
Oh, this was good. Very good ending. I might have gotten a little misty-eyed. Word of advice: don’t wait a year and a half after reading Blackout to read this one. Read them back to back (especially since they were intended to be one book in the first place). I love Connie Willis. And Robin McKinley. They’re quickly climbing the ranks to favorite author status. |
| Mockingjay |
Suzanne Collins |
1/18/12 |
1/20/12 |
I liked the third book, and I’m satisfied with the ending, but I think a few of the scenes could have benefited from the treatment the author gave the arena scenes. Especially towards the end. |
| Catching Fire |
Suzanne Collins |
1/16/12 |
1/18/12 |
Started today. Halfway through. Update: Also good. More comments to come. |
| The Hunger Games |
Suzanne Collins |
1/14/12 |
1/16/12 |
I’ve been hearing about this book for months, and then I started hearing that it was good from people I trust. I knew that if I liked it, I’d want to jump right into the rest of the trilogy, so I held off starting it until I had all three. I have all three now. Update: It was good. I’m going to wait until I’m done with the trilogy to get into more detail. |
| Faithful Place |
Tana French |
1/6/12 |
1/14/12 |
I loved her first two books, so I have very high expectations for this one. I wasn’t sure what to read after the Culture book (space opera science fiction), and I picked up Faithful Place not entirely sure I was in the right mood for it, but it hooked me immediately (just like her last two). Yay! Update: Oh, it was good. Very good. I like how her books don’t necessarily have the endings you expect, but once you’re done, you know they’re the right endings. |
| The Player of Games |
Iain M. Banks |
12/15/11 |
1/5/12 |
The next Culture novel. Just started. Update: Very, very good. It got going a lot faster than Consider Phlebas and it kept going. It had nothing to DO with Consider Phlebas – I have no idea if any of the Culture novels are related, aside from being set in the same universe. These first two don’t share characters or events. |
| The House That George Built |
Wilfrid Sheed |
12/7/11 |
|
Non-fiction (gasp!) about George Gershwin and many, many others. It reminds me that I want to reread The Golden Age of Movie Musicals and Me by Saul Chaplin. Update: I wasn’t crazy about this one. It didn’t follow any sort of pattern that made sense to me. I returned it without finishing it. (It was a library book.) |
| I Love You, Beth Cooper |
Larry Doyle |
12/9/11 |
12/12/11 |
The very beginning was a little painful, but it got good fast. It reads like a movie (and since the author came from TV, that makes sense), and I flew through it. Good stuff. |
| The Parable of the Sower |
Octavia Butler |
12/4/11 |
12/7/11 |
Octavia Butler has been on my must-read list for a long time, but I’ve never picked up one of her books. I picked this one up at the library and was hooked on the first page. What was I waiting for? SO good. |
| The Hero and the Crown |
Robin McKinley |
12/2/11 |
12/4/11 |
I wanted more from this story. Not in the way that sounds, though. I wanted it to keep going. I want more STORY. I get completely wrapped up in her books, and I’m never ready when they end. |
| Fuzzy Sapiens |
H. Beam Piper |
11/23/11 |
12/1/11 |
Also cute, but if they’re supposed to be intelligent and treated like people, why are they being treated like pets? |
| Little Fuzzy |
H. Beam Piper |
11/19/11 |
11/22/11 |
Very cute. |
| Hidden Empire |
Orson Scott Card |
11/15/11 |
11/19/11 |
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. |
| The Beggar Queen |
Lloyd Alexander |
11/11/11 |
11/13/11 |
The third book in the Westmark trilogy – same problem, and the ending is rushed. |
| The Kestrel |
Lloyd Alexander |
11/8/11 |
11/10/11 |
The second book in the Westmark trilogy – it’s a little uneven. |
| Westmark |
Lloyd Alexander |
11/6/11 |
11/7/11 |
I’m not sure what prompted this, but I was in the mood to re-read the Westmark trilogy. This one was just like I remembered. |
| Perdido Street Station |
China Mieville |
10/8/11 |
11/5/11 |
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. |
| The Blue Sword |
Robin McKinley |
10/3/11 |
10/8/11 |
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. |
| Consider Phlebas |
Iain M. Banks |
9/14/11 |
9/24/11 |
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. |
| Case Histories |
Kate Atkinson |
9/13/11 |
10/3/11 |
I have no idea why it took me so long to want to read this, but I really liked it. |
| The Broken Kingdoms |
N.K. Jemisin |
9/7/11 |
9/12/11 |
2nd in The Inheritance Trilogy (that started with the 100K Kingdoms). Update: Loved! |
| The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms |
N.K. Jemisin |
9/1/11 |
9/6/11 |
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. |
| Best Served Cold |
Joe Abercrombie |
8/11/11 |
8/31/11 |
Fantasy, but the dark and gritty kind. Just started it. We’ll see. |
| Never Let Me Go |
Kazuo Ishiguro |
8/7/11 |
8/8/11 |
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. |
| Faerie Wars |
Herbie Brennan |
8/2/11 |
8/7/11 |
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? |
| The Pumpkin Eater |
Penelope Mortimer |
7/31/11 |
8/1/11 |
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? |
| Spindle’s End |
Robin McKinley |
7/26/11 |
7/31/11 |
Robin McKinley. I’ve decided I love her. It’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Really good. |
| Bold as Love |
Gwyneth Jones |
7/22/11 |
7/26/11 |
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. |
| Changes |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
The most recent (except for the one about to come out) Dresden Files book. Oh the ending. I need the next one. |
| To Your Scattered Bodies Go |
Philip Jose Farmer |
|
|
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. |
| Born to Run |
Christopher McDougall |
|
|
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. |
| Heart-Shaped Box |
Joe Hill |
|
|
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. |
| Side Jobs |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
A collection of short stories from The Dresden Files. |
| Turn Coat |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Book 11 of The Dresden Files – a new book! |
| Small Favor |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Re-reading Book 10 of The Dresden Files. |
| White Night |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Re-reading Book 9 of The Dresden Files. |
| Proven Guilty |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
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. |
| Dead Beat |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Re-reading Book 7 of The Dresden Files. I might have a problem. |
| Blood Rites |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Re-reading Book 6 of The Dresden Files. I just can’t stop. |
| Death Masks |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Re-reading Book 5 of The Dresden Files. |
| Summer Knight |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Re-reading Book 4 of The Dresden Files. |
| Grave Peril |
Jim Butcher |
End of May 2011 |
Early June 2011 |
Re-reading Book 3 of The Dresden Files. |
| The Blue Bedroom |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
Late May 2011 |
Later May 2011 |
Oh, Rosamunde Pilcher, I love you. Short stories that made me tear up a couple of times. |
| Fool Moon |
Jim Butcher |
Late May 2011 |
Later May 2011 |
Re-reading Book 2 of The Dresden Files. Still good. |
| Burglars Can’t Be Choosers |
Lawrence Block |
Late May 2011 |
Later May 2011 |
The first Bernie Rhodenbarr book. It’s cute. I like it better when he has friends, though. And a bookstore. |
| Storm Front |
Jim Butcher |
Late May 2011 |
Later May 2011 |
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. |
| Bitterwood |
James Maxey |
|
|
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.) |
| Heyday |
Kurt Andersen |
|
|
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. |
| The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest |
Stieg Larssen |
|
|
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. |
| The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
I decided to take a break from science fiction and read a light mystery. I like these. |
| The Windup Girl |
Paolo Bacigalupi |
|
|
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. |
| Forever Free |
Joe Haldeman |
|
|
While I was on the subject, I read the third one. Not as good, and he totally cheated at the end. |
| Forever Peace |
Joe Haldeman |
|
|
I liked this one as much as The Forever War. I would have read a sequel here. |
| The Forever War |
Joe Haldeman |
|
|
More classic science fiction I’d never heard of until recently. So far, so good. |
| Inside of a Dog |
Alexandra Horowitz |
|
|
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. |
| Beyond the Shadows |
Brent Weeks |
|
|
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! |
| Shadow’s Edge |
Brent Weeks |
|
|
Finished the first one and jumped straight into the second one. Good fantasy. |
| The Way of Shadows |
Brent Weeks |
|
|
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. |
| The Liar |
Stephen Fry |
|
|
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. |
| My Love Affair with England |
Susan Allen Toth |
|
|
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. |
| No Second Chance |
Harlan Coben |
|
|
This was a recommendation. A good one. Mystery/thriller/cops and lawyers and doctors and a kidnapping. Good stuff. |
| Humans |
Donald Westlake |
|
|
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. |
| Tool of the Trade |
Joe Haldeman |
|
|
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. |
| Dead Until Dark |
Charlaine Harris |
|
|
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.) |
| The Girl Who Played With Fire |
Stieg Larssen |
|
|
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. |
| A Test of Wills |
Charles Todd |
|
|
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. |
| The English American |
Alison Larkin |
|
|
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. |
| An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England |
Brock Clarke |
|
|
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. |
| Small Town |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
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. |
| Swan Thieves |
Elizabeth Kostova |
|
|
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. |
| Princess Academy |
Shannon Hale |
|
|
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). |
| The Alien Years |
Robert Silverberg |
|
|
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. |
| Sunshine |
Robin McKinley |
|
|
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. |
| Agent to the Stars |
John Scalzi |
|
|
A quick, fun read. I’ve read all the Scalzi I have now. Must get myself to the bookstore. |
| Rainbows End |
Vernor Vinge |
|
|
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. |
| The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo |
Stieg Larsson |
|
|
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. |
| Another View |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
Early January 2011 |
Early January 2011 |
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. |
| Something Rotten |
Jasper Fforde |
Early January 2011 |
Early January 2011 |
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. |
| The Burglar in the Closet |
Lawrence Block |
Late December 2010 |
Late December 2010 |
Lawrence Block has become one of my go-to authors when I’m traveling. Easy and enjoyable plane reading. |
| Blackout |
Connie Willis |
|
|
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. |
| Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog!) |
Jerome K. Jerome |
|
|
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. Update: Didn’t do it for me. I’m glad Connie Willis got her inspiration from it, but I much prefer her book. |
| Origin |
Diana Abu Jaber |
|
|
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. |
| The Well of Lost Plots |
Jasper Fforde |
|
|
The next Thursday Next novel. Love these books. They make me want to read MORE. And not just this series. |
| Treason’s Shore |
Sherwood Smith |
|
|
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. |
| Matthew Flinders’ Cat |
Bryce Courtenay |
|
|
Holly noticed that I really like The Power of One, so she sent me another Bryce Courtenay book. ‘Cause she’s cool. |
| The Towers of Midnight |
Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson |
|
|
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. |
| The Gathering Storm |
Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson |
|
|
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 to re-read this one before I’m allowed to read the new one. |
| Count Zero |
William Gibson |
|
|
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. |
| Slant |
Greg Bear |
|
|
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. |
| The Power of One |
Bryce Courtenay |
|
|
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! |
| Eight Million Ways to Die |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
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. |
| Beauty |
Robin McKinley |
|
|
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. |
| The Magician’s Assistant |
Ann Patchett |
|
|
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. |
| The Emperor’s Children |
Claire Messud |
|
|
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. |
| Flashforward |
Robert J. Sawyer |
|
|
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. |
| Every Secret Thing |
Laura Lippman |
|
|
This was my first Laura Lippman novel. Really liked it. Like, couldn’t put it down liked it. |
| Breath |
Tim Winton |
|
|
Good. Not what I usually read, and the ending was a little rocky, but I liked the descriptions of Australia and surfing. |
| Slanted Jack |
Mark Van Name |
|
|
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. |
| The Art of Racing in the Rain |
Garth Stein |
|
|
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. |
| The Short Forever |
Stuart Woods |
|
|
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. |
| The Sins of the Fathers |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
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. |
| The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club |
Dorothy Sayers |
|
|
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. |
| Zoe’s Tale |
John Scalzi |
|
|
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. |
| Small Favor |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
The next Dresden Files book. And for now, the last one I own. I need to find the next one soon. |
| A Fire Upon the Deep |
Vernor Vinge |
|
|
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. |
| Lost in a Good Book |
Jasper Fforde |
|
|
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. |
| The Machineries of Joy |
Ray Bradbury |
|
|
I put this one down. I guess I wasn’t in the mood for short stories. |
| The Accidental Time Machine |
Joe Haldeman |
|
|
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. |
| Murder on the Orient Express |
Agatha Christie |
|
|
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… |
| White Night |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Dresden Files. Still really like them. |
| The Burglar in the Rye |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
I just started it, but it’s going well so far. |
| Under Gemini |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
|
|
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. |
| Proven Guilty |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
The next Dresden Files book. I hope I’m reading these in order… |
| The Likeness |
Tana French |
|
|
Tana French’s second novel, after In the Woods, was also really good. I think I might have liked this one more, actually. |
| Warbreaker |
Brandon Sanderson |
|
|
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. |
| Hit List |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
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. |
| Dead Beat |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
The next Dresden Files book. I must have been on a series kick. Still good! |
| The Last Colony |
John Scalzi |
|
|
The next book after The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi, whose writing I love. More science fiction. |
| Children of God |
Mary Doria Russell |
|
|
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. |
| Nose Down, Eyes Up |
Merrill Markoe |
|
|
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. |
| The Ghost Brigades |
John Scalzi |
|
|
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 (in that series). |
| A Dance at the Slaughterhouse |
Lawrence Block |
|
|
Lawrence Block again, different lead character, TOTALLY different style of mystery. Still good. |
| In The Woods |
Tana French |
|
|
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. |
| Blood Rites |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
Dresden Files #6. |
| The Burglar in the Library |
Lawrence Block |
mid-May 2010 |
mid-May 2010 |
Lawrence Block, cozy mystery, LOVED IT. |
| Death Masks |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
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. |
| The Impossible Bird |
Patrick O’Leary |
|
|
So far, weird and a little confusing. I’ll let you know. Update: it stayed weird and confusing and I didn’t like it. |
| Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future |
Mike Resnick |
|
|
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. |
| Prisoner of Birth |
Jeffrey Archer |
|
|
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. |
| The Archer’s Tale |
Bernard Cornwall |
|
|
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. |
| Infinite Dreams |
Joe Haldeman |
|
|
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. |
| The Dresden Files, Books 1 through 4 |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
I’m enjoying this series, as light fantasy/mystery, but I wouldn’t call it good. No, good, but not great. Total brain candy. |
| Run |
Ann Patchett |
|
|
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. |
| Bel Canto |
Ann Patchett |
|
|
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. |
| The Road |
Cormac McCarthy |
|
|
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. |
| Ender in Exile |
Orson Scott Card |
|
|
Just as good as the others, and satisfying to have some of that lost time filled in. |
| A War of Gifts |
Orson Scott Card |
|
|
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. |
| Bodily Harm |
Margaret Atwood |
|
|
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. |
| Run Before the Wind |
Stuart Woods |
|
|
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. |
| Storm Front |
Jim Butcher |
|
|
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. |
| Pillars of the Earth |
Ken Follett |
|
|
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. |
| Outlander |
Diana Gabaldon |
Early February 2010 |
|
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. |
| The Taking |
Dean Koontz |
|
|
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. |
| This Rough Magic |
Mary Stewart |
|
|
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. |
| Flowers in the Rain |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
|
|
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 the really good category, but they’re nice, feel-good, love stories. |
| Anathem |
Neal Stephenson |
|
|
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. |
| Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone |
Carol Berg |
|
|
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. |
| Pope Joan |
Donna Woolfolk Cross |
|
|
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. |
| Her Fearful Symmetry |
Audrey Niffenegger |
|
|
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. |
| Whole Harry Potter series |
J.K. Rowling |
|
|
Again. I love those books. I just needed to read the whole thing from start to finish. |
| A Long Shadow |
Charles Todd |
|
|
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. |
| The Witches of Eastwick |
John Updike |
|
|
I’m not sure why I even picked this one up. I didn’t like the writing at all. |
| The Gathering Storm |
Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson |
|
|
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. |
| Thornyhold |
Mary Stewart |
|
|
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. |
| Snow in April |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
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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. |
| Slaughterhouse Five |
Kurt Vonnegut |
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I haven’t actually finished this one yet. |
| The Day of the Storm |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
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A not great Rosamunde Pilcher book. It was nice to read, but not something I loved, not something I need to reread. |
| Old Man’s War |
John Scalzi |
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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. |
| Holy Fools |
Joanne Harris |
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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. |
| The Story of Edgar Sawtelle |
David Wroblewski |
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I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I like the parts that were actually about the dogs, and one of those made me cry a little, but the end took me by surprise and is why I only liked it. |
| The Magicians |
Lev Grossman |
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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! |
| King’s Shield |
Sherwood Smith |
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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. |
| Mars Trilogy |
Kim Stanley Robinson |
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Very good, but sometimes dry. Took a long time to get through all three books. |
| The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao |
Junot Diaz |
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I’m getting through it, enjoying it to some extent, but it’s not my thing. |
| Promised Land |
Connie Willis |
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Light fiction. Didn’t start well (main character is a total bitch), but she came around and so did the story. |
| The Practice Effect |
David Brin |
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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. |
| The Time Traveler’s Wife |
Audrey Niffenegger |
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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. |
| Fablehaven |
Brandon Mull |
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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. |
| A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius |
Dave Eggers |
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Not for me. It’s a memoir and the guy tries out too many styles. I couldn’t get into it enough to care. |
| The Shell Seekers |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
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Really like this one, too. Cried twice. |
| The Sparrow |
Mary Doria Russell |
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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. |
| September |
Rosamunde Pilcher |
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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. |
| The Secret of Lost Things |
Sheridan Hay |
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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. |
| The Alienist |
Caleb Carr |
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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. |
| One Jump Ahead |
Mark Van Name |
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Science fiction, action, pretty good. |
| The Pilot’s Wife |
Anita Shreve |
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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 by surprise and out of the story. A lot. |
| Dune |
Frank Herbert |
early summer 2009 |
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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. |
| The Android’s Dream |
John Scalzi |
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Really liked it, but in a totally different way. It was light, fun, entertaining. No crying here. |
| The Book Thief |
Markus Zusak |
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Really liked it. Cried at the end. |
| Eifelheim |
Michael Flynn |
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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. |
| The Boy Detective Fails |
Joe Meno |
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Meh. Not my kind of book, I think. |
| Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency |
Douglas Adams |
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I laughed a few times, but I think I just wasn’t in the mood. |
| The Eyre Affair |
Jasper Fforde |
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Totally weird, totally awesome. |
| People of the Book |
Geraldine Brooks |
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Fantastic! |
| Otherland series |
Tad Williams |
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Long, but gripping. |
| The Samurai’s Garden |
Gail Tsukiyama |
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Bittersweet, serene. |
| Gentlemen and Players |
Joanne Harris |
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I totally guessed, but still very much enjoyed the ride. |
| Hero of Ages (Mistborn) |
Brandon Sanderson |
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Loved that I didn’t figure out what was being hinted at the whole time. |
| War of the Flowers |
Tad Williams |
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Enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. |
| Axis |
Robert Charles Wilson |
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Spin was better. |
| Yiddish Policemen’s Union |
Michael Chabon |
February 2009 |
February 2009 |
Didn’t grab me until the last third. That’s a lot of pages to wade through to finally get interested. |