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61. The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death by Laurie Notaro (219 pages)

62. Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (295)

63. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (636 pages)

64. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (766 pages)

65. A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce (284 pages)

66. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (607 pages)

67. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (607 pages)

68. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (544 pages)

69. Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson (262 pages)

70. Blubber by Judy Blume (153 pages)

 

Bold=It’s great—read it now!!

Italics=It sucks—run away!

Plain Text=It’s varying degrees of ok. SPOILERS (particularly for Harry Potter)

( Read more... )

Hi everyone,

Just joined a few weeks ago and have been lurking to get a feel of the community and how people generally post before I started participating. I tried to read 50 books last year, and only made it to 32, but this year I'm fairly confident I'll make it. So, here's the list of what I've read so far, with some extra info/summary/rating bits for the ones I enjoyed and would recommend the most.

( #1-5 )

6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Summary: Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.
Thoughts: I heart this series so hard. I first heard about it years and years ago, but was always a bit reluctant to try it (it was too 'geeky'). This year I decided to exercise my geek, and I did not regret it! The story is confusing at times, lmfao-funny, full of wonderful irony and sarcasm, and just so completely brilliant that it boggles the mind. I would say that Adams isn't necessarily for everyone, as his writing tends to lean towards the completely insane a good portion of the time, but if you can get behind that kind of writing, it is a MUST READ.
Rating: 10/10

( #7-14 )

15. The Bone Key – Sarah Monette
Summary: The dead and the monstrous will not leave Kyle Murchison Booth alone, for an unwilling foray into necromancy has made him sensitive to-and attractive to-the creatures who roam the darkness of his once-safe world. Ghosts, ghouls, incubi: all have one thing in common. They know Booth for one of their own . . .
Thoughts: I really enjoyed the cohesiveness of this series. Even thought the stories were separate and could be read as stand-alones, I thought they flowed very well into each other. Each was unique and interesting, and I finished the book feeling a deep-seeded connection with Kyle. Perhaps it's the librarian in me.
Warning: There is homosexuality in one of the stories (I won't say which so as not to spoil anything), so if that's not your thing, I would not recommend choosing this book to read.
Rating: 10/10

( #16-17 )

18. Scarlet and the White Wolf – Kirby Crow
Summary: Scarlet of Lysia is an honest peddler, a young merchant traveling the wild, undefended roads to support his aging parents. Liall, called the Wolf of Omara, is the handsome, world-weary chieftain of a tribe of bandits blocking a mountain road that Scarlet needs to cross. When Liall jokingly demands a carnal toll for the privilege, Scarlet refuses and an inventive battle of wills ensues, with disastrous results.

Scarlet is convinced that Liall is a worthless, immoral rogue, but when the hostile countryside explodes into violence and Liall unexpectedly fights to save the lives of Scarlet's family, Scarlet is forced to admit that the Wolf is not the worst ally he could have, but what price will proud Scarlet ultimately have to pay for Liall's friendship?
Thoughts: This was my first foray into both e-books and gay fiction. At first, I was uncertain as to whether I would enjoy either. I was hooked within the first twenty pages. The writing isn't perhaps on par with Tolkien or Jacques, but the story is absolutely compelling and I loved every minute of it. I loved the contentious relationship between Liall and Scarlet in the beginning of the series. The intrigue and political strife, both of which normally bore me to death, were both very interesting to read. I loved everything about this book, and it's two sequels.
Notes on format: I read this novel and the two sequels as e-books and found that I read faster in the e-book format than I do in the paper format. However, the books are available in print, if you prefer the paper format.
Rating: 9/10

( #19-35 )

36. Hero – Perry Moore
Summary: Thom Creed is used to being on his own. Even as a highschool basketball star, he has to keep his distance because of his father. Hal Creed had once been one of the greatest and most beloved superheroes of The League—until the Wilson Towers incident. After that Thom's mother disappeared and his proud father became an outcast.

The last thing in the world Thom would ever want is to disappoint his father. So Thom keeps two secrets from him: First is that he's gay. The second is that he has the power to heal people. Initially, Thom had trouble controlling his powers. But with trail and error he improves, until he gets so good that he catches the attention of the League and is asked to join. Even though he knows it would kill his dad, Thom can't resist. When he joins the League, he meets a motely crew of other heroes, including tough-talking Scarlett, who has the power of fire from growing up near a nuclear power plant; Typhoid Larry, who makes everyone sick by touching them, but is actually a really sweet guy; and wise Ruth, who has the power to see the future. Together these unlikely heroes become friends and begin to uncover a plot to kill the superheroes.

Along the way, Thom falls in love, and discovers the difficult truth about his parents' past. This is a moving, funny, and wonderfully original novel that shows that things are not always what they seem, and love can be found in the unlikeliest of places.
Thoughts: If I attempted to describe how much I enjoyed this book, I know I would fail. It was just... absolutely brilliant. The struggles and heartache Thom goes through are so heart-wrenching they're painful to read. His parents were both complete train wrecks. Spoiler *His mother was completely disgusting character, whom I felt absolutely no sympathy for.* His father I felt equal parts pity and hatred for. But even with all the pain, the book also has a lot of humor. Thom's fantasies about Uberman were pure snort-inducing brilliance and the clusterf*ck of mishaps he gets into made want to palm-face. All-in-all, I highly recommend this as a fantastic read.
Rating: 10/10

( #37-40 )

41. The Elf and the Shoemaker – M. L. Rhodes
Summary: Logan Shoemaker's honest, hardworking, and loves what he does. Though he never expects to get rich, he's fared well enough to stay comfortable with his quirky metaphysical store, Shoemaker's Magick Shoppe. But when the economy falls on hard times, his store pays the price. As each month passes, slow sales turn into no sales, and soon Logan's living off ramen noodles and sleeping in a freezing house during the cold winter nights as he struggles to make ends meet. His personal life isn't much better--the worse business at the store grows, the more isolated and lonely he becomes. After a string of mishaps that wipe out the last of his small savings, he finally hits rock bottom the day he discovers the disconnection notice from the electric company hanging on his door. That night, desperate and in despair, he makes a plea to the universe, asking for help. Needless to say, he never anticipates receiving a response so quickly. Not only does he awaken the next morning to find on his kitchen table four little bottles of a special potion labeled "PASSION," but he keeps remembering the erotically charged dream he'd had during the night. A dream where a tall, gorgeous man with pointed ears comes to his bed and shows him just what kind of magick they can make together. But was it a dream? All Logan knows is that his customers can't get enough of the special potion--an aphrodisiac--and he can't stop thinking about the sweet seduction of the nighttime visitor who made it. As he tries to sort out what's real and what's not, he discovers there's a much bigger world out there than he'd ever believed, and his true heart's desire might come in a most unexpected form.
Thoughts: My only problem with this story was that it was too short. I would have enjoyed an epilogue of some sort. Otherwise, this was an excellently written retelling of an old fairy tale with a gay twist. I loved it.
Rating: 9/10

( #42-44 )

Disclaimer: Summaries stolen from BN.com because I am rubbish at them.

Title: Blindsighted
Author: Karin Slaughter
Rating: 4/5
Book: 55
Pages: 310 pgs
Total Pages 19,752
Next up: The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

Awesome read! Slaughter really knows how to draw a reader into the book! I definately would recommend this one to all myster lovers!

xposted to 50bookchallenge, 15000pages and bookworm84

( Book Description from book jacket or back of the book: )

I recently began reading this series of historical mysteries set in Imperial Russia featuring the dashing detective/secret agent Erast Fandorin. Akunin has stated that his intention with the Fandorin series is to explore the various sub-genres of detective fiction and so each of the novels has a different focus. I have to admit this quite intrigued me as so often crime writers find a comfortable niche and then write to formula.

Book 129: The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin Book 01)
Author: Boris Akunin, 1998. Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield, 2003.
Genre: Historical Detective/Espionage. Conspiracy.
Other Details: Hardback, 249 pages

The first novel in the series is a conspiracy mystery and introduces the 20-year old Erast Fandorin at the start of his career as a detective. His father had recently died bankrupt forcing Fandorin to abandon his studies at Moscow University and take on a clerical role with the police. He is meticulous, well-mannered and highly literate and so soon is being mentored by his kind-hearted supervisor, Xavier Grushin.

The novel opens in May 1876 in a public park as a university student commits suicide in front of a young noblewoman. This apparently open-and-shut case is given to the inexperienced Fandorin. In the course of his investigations Fandorin discovers that the student was engaged in a game of Russian roulette with another student and that he had recently changed his will to leave his considerable fortune to the Moscow chapter of an international network of schools for orphan boys founded by an English noblewoman, Lady Astair. This strikes Fandorin as suspicious and it is not long before he finds himself stumbling into a conspiracy with a chilling agenda complete with a femme fatale, who exerts an almost hypnotic influence over men as femme fatales are expected to do and a white-eyed assassin, who pops up and does what mysterious assassins do for a living.

The novel is well written and has a labyrinthine plot that demands close attention. It also contains a gentle romance as Fandorin falls in love with Elizaveta, the young woman who had witnessed the initial suicide. I loved it and its final pages left me reeling and certainly eager for more! As a result I started immediately upon the next book in the series.

Book 129: The Turkish Gambit (Erast Fandorin Book 02)
Author: Boris Akunin, 1998. Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield, 2005.
Genre: Historical Fiction. Espionage. War.
Other Details: Paperback. 288 pages.

Akunin changes his approach here by giving centre stage to Varvara Suvorova, a young 'Russian woman holding 'progressive" ideas. As the novel opens she is travelling disguised as a boy to meet up with her fiancé who has volunteered to serve in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. When her money and luggage are stolen she finds herself stranded in a rather rough tavern. Fandorin, also in disguise, comes to her rescue though in a rather unorthodox fashion. He is also on his way to the front line having just escaped from Turkish captivity. When they reach the Russian HQ, Varvara finds that her fiancé is too busy with his duties as a cryptographer and so she spends her time at the correspondent's club where she encounters a variety of colourful characters. Meanwhile Fandorin is advised by one of his contacts that a Turkish agent is conducting an intelligence operation against the Russian army and may even be have infiltrated Russian headquarters and so he begins an investigation.

It was interesting to have Fandorin assigned to a main supporting role and to see him and his actions mainly through Varvara's perspective. She thoroughly dislikes him at the start though this view is softened over time as she begins to understand his personality. This viewpoint also strengthens the sense of Fandorin's isolation in his role as an intelligence officer and highlights the changes that have taken place since his introduction in The Winter Queen.

Again, Akunin delivers a strong, complex plot with a range of well developed characters. I really should have made a note of some of the names and backgrounds when they were first introduced as I struggled a bit later on. He weaves into the narrative historical details of this war. I felt it was also a strength to forefront Varvara's experience of the horrors of war such as when the dead and wounded are brought back to camp.

These both are multi-layered, thought provoking narratives that not only convey an exciting story but address historical and political aspects of the period. It marks them out as much more than the kind of 'easy reads' associated with many detective novels. I also smiled when reading one newspaper review that likened Fandorin to an 'anti-James Bond' in terms of his relationships with women, which he keeps very formal. This thought had crossed my mind as well.

Biography: A Very Short Introduction – Hermione Lee
(Oxford: OUP, 2009)

There is, I think, an idea that biography is an impartial, objective presentation of facts about a person, as though the writer has had full access to everything about a person that has ever existed. This is far from any kind of reality so far as biographical or life writing is concerned. As the dust flap on this VSI points out, biography 'is by no means a fixed or stable form of literature. Biography has gone through many centuries of change and exists in many different versions.' Having said that, when I was young I never really gave it a thought, happily devouring biographies and assuming I had some grip on the person as a result. I continued in this vein until Iain Hamilton wrote about the difficulties of trying to write a biography of J.D. Salinger, famously private, who refused Hamilton access and cooperation, and most importantly, the right to quote from his works. Peter Ackroyd suffered similarly in trying to write a biography of T.S. Eliot, but managed to circumvent the quotation restrictions imposed by the Eliot estate through some ingenious and very stylish paraphrasing. Instances like this remind us that writing a biography is not a right; by the same token, writing an authorised biography is not the easy ride it might seem to be. Beyond that, authors write biographies because they want to explore a theory, because they have an axe to grind, because they think a previous biographer got it wrong, or because new information has come to light, or because a new generation may see a person's actions in an entirely different light. And so it goes on.

Lee's Biography raises these and other issues involved in the writing of biography in what is, in my view, an extremely neat and informative introduction to the study and writing of biography.

Out of 5

****

63/50 bookss. 126% done!

Yikes! I'm amending my original goal from 50 books by December 31 to 50 books by January 31st.

Book 21: Sacred Stone (The Oregon Files) by Clive Cussler. 500 pages.
Genre: Action adventure.
Plot: Juan Cabrillo and his crew - the Corporation, a private company of mercenaries with consciences - have to save the Muslim religion from a fanatic who plans on using an ancient radioactive meteorite to destroy Mecca. It's as ridiculous as it sounds, but Clive Cussler, the master of the formulaic action story, knows what he's doing. I don't enjoy the Oregon series nearly as much as his Dirk Pitt series, but it's a fun ride nonetheless.
Rating: 7 of 10. He gets bonus points for switching it up and having the Muslims be the targets here, instead of the terrorists.

Book 22: The Giver by Lois Lowry. 180 pages.
Genre: Young adult slightly dystopian fiction.
Plot: From Amazon.com, "In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy". I reread this for the first time since the fifth grade, and I found myself as engrossed this time around. I read it in one sitting, not because of how short it is (though that helped), but because I just didn't want to stop reading. I highly recommend this for absolutely everybody.
Rating: 10 of 10.

22 / 50 books. 44% done!

6233 / 15000 pages. 42% done!

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

( the last paragraph of this review has spoilers )

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

Book Forty-Six

Title: To Say Nothing of the Dog
Author: Connie Willis
Page Count: 493
Genre: Ostensibly sci-fi

Synopsis/Thoughts: Oh my goodness. Where has this book been all my life? I loved, loved, loved it! It's got everything...time travel, romance, wit, characters bumbling around making fools of themselves as they try to prevent the breakdown of the space-time continuum. I don't fling around the five-star ratings lightly, but this book deserves every one!

Ned Henry is a time traveler from 2057. His task is to find out if an atrocious piece of Victorian art, a figural urn known as "the bishop's bird stump", was inside Coventry cathedral when it was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. If he doesn't, his employer, the draconian Lady Schrapnell, will have a fit. She is trying to rebuild Coventry cathedral as an homage to her great-great-great-great grandmother, and every detail has to be perfect. Problem is, he's made so many trips back in time, he's now suffering from a malady known as time-lag (symptoms of which include excessive sentimentality and Difficulty Distinguishing Sounds). Knowing he'll never be able to get any rest with Lady Schrapnell on his case, he escapes to Victorian England, hoping to get some much needed R&R. Because nowhere could be more restful than Victorian England, right? Little does he know that fellow time traveler and part-time nymph (or is it naiad?) Verity Kindle has caused an historical incongruity that could have disastrous consequences. Now it's up to Ned and Verity to babysit Lady Schrapnell's great-great-great-great grandmother, Tossie, in 1888 to prevent the entire world's history being altered. Oh, and Ned still has to find the bishop's bird stump before the christening of the new Coventry cathedral! What follows is a comedy of errors that would make Bertie Wooster proud.

I really cannot recommend this book highly enough. I was chuckling out loud almost the entire way through, but for all its silliness and seeming randomness, everything comes together seamlessly at the end. I think this one is definitely going to end up in my top five all-time favorites

Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Themes/Topics: Scientific Advancement, Cloning, Organ Donation, Soul

WOW. I mean, just wow. This book was fantastic. Chilling, sad, and thoughtful are the best words that come to mind. A world where clones exist merely as organ donors certainly gives you cause to pause and think. I found this book to be flat, in a way, but it fit. The characters don't have much personality, but they aren't really supposed to, and it totally works.

I love this book and will highly recommend it to all the readers I know.

A Christmas Promise

Anne Perry

13-yr-old Gracie Phipps is going about her usual chores on London's more questionable
streets when she is appealed to by an 8-yr-old urchin, Minnie Maude Mudway, who needs
help finding her friend, Charlie, who is lost, and who happens to be a donkey.

Charlie disappeared after the sudden death of Minnie Maude's Uncle Alf, a rag-and-bone
man who might have picked up a treasure that was never intended for him, and which may have cost him his life.

As Gracie and Minnie Maude search for clues to Charlie's disappearance, they are aided by a kind, mysterious man, Mr. Balthasar, and they learn more about London's dark secrets than even they, with their streetwise ways, had known.

I definitely enjoyed A Christmas Promise, but not quite so much as the last two Anne Perry Christmas books I've read. Perhaps I'm now saturated with them, but I have to say that even though I love happy endings and charming books the ending of A Christmas Promise was just a bit too precious, even for me.

#44 - Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008, 333 pages)

Jhumpa Lahiri deserves every bit of recognition she has been given since her first collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, received the Pulitzer Prize. Her second book, Unaccustomed Earth, was named one of the 10 best books of 2008 by the New York Times Book Review, and that award is completely justified.

Just as her first book presented short stories about people from India adjusting to life and others in a foreign place, her second book featured eight more tales in the same vein. The stories seem simple at the outset, but Lahiri's beautiful prose highlights the importance of what so many people take for granted, the reason why I adore Lahiri's books. The stories in this book are beautiful, but it is the final three stories, all of which are related, that captured and then broke my heart. Those three stories, simply put, are breathtaking.

I strongly encourage anyone to read Lahiri's stories. They are smart, beautiful, haunting, and so amazingly well-written. That is why I give this book, a very strong five out of five stories.

Total Books Read: 44 / 50 (88 percent)
Total Pages Read: 12,643 / 15,000 (84 percent)

Book Forty-Five

Title: Death In Kashmir
Author: M. M. Kaye
Page Count: 256
Genre: Mystery

Synopsis/Thoughts: Note: I stole the synopsis from Goodreads, because I'm too lazy to do one of my own right now. When young Sarah Parrish takes a skiing vacation to Gulmarg, a resort nestled in the mountains above the fabled Vale of Kashmir, she anticipates an entertaining but uneventful stay. But when she discovers that the deaths of two in her party are the reuslt of foul play, she finds herself entrusted with a mission of unforseen importance. And when she leaves the ski slopes for the Waterwitch, a private houseboat on the placid shores of the Dal Lake near Srinagar, she discovers to her horror that the killer will stop at nothing to prevent Sarah from piecing the puzzle together.

I really liked this mystery set in India at the end of British Raj. In addition to being a suspenseful murder mystery with an ending I didn't predict, it is an all-around well written book. The author spent much of her life in India, and it shows in the vivid descriptions of the scenery, which I found to be captivating. They made me wish I could see the places I was reading about! The characters are well-drawn, and there is a touch of romance as well, though not so much as to be overbearing. All in all this was a very enjoyable read and I plan on picking up the others in the series.

Book Forty-Four

Title: Evermore
Author: Alyson Noel
Page Count: 306
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis/Thoughts: ( cut for length, spoilers and massive amounts of snark )

Title: Hunter x Hunter volume 4
Mangaka: Yoshihiro Togashi
Genre: Shounen
Book details: Manga, 192 pages
Rating: 5/5

Baka-Updates Manga Summary: Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other men. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.

My Review:

Unofficial title: 'Volume Collection of Hisoka's Creepiest Faces Evar'.

I loved Gon in this volume - all his practice comes to a conclusion! I loved the Hisoka & Gon interaction. I really love the friendships developed in HxH. They can be sweet, supportive, comforting, even protective.

Gon's stubbornness really comes out in this volume (and the last one) and shows you that Gon's not just a "pretty face" so to say.

( Spoilers )

Title: Hunter x Hunter volume 3
Mangaka: Yoshihiro Togashi
Genre: Shounen
Book details: Manga, 192 pages
Rating: 5/5

Baka-Updates Manga Summary: Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other men. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.

My Review:

We get to see Kurapika's eyes react in this volume. I wish we could see the color for real, not like in the anime or even on the manga cover. It's got to be something to see if the whole clan was, well, you know for them. This volume also warms you up to Kurapika more if you were unsure about him before. :)

HxH has some cool little illustrations sometimes, and one of them is in chapter 20; it's the one of Killua in black (and white) with a dragon on his shirt and reptile tattoos on his arm.

Leorio is kind of a douche in this volume. Such a temper! But you learn to accept his faults (or ignore them). =P

I 'm really enjoying the Predator & Prey round - Gon's practice and the two who ended up teaming up after Tompa's trick. We also meet Illumi for the 'first' time! He's...interesting, to say the least.