I will split this year into two different challenges, because I don't know yet how busy I'll be in the second half of the year ;)
So here goes, I'm aiming to have read 50 books by July, 31st.
1. Mordshunger by Frank Schätzing (Audio)
A terrific story, suspenseful till the very end. Fantastic narration by the author himself.
Rating 5/5
2. Zwischenspiel mit Kugelmaß. CD. Und andere Erzählungen by Woody Allen (Audio)
Rating 4/5
3. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
A hilarious story about a girl who is turned into a vampire and left alone to cope with her condition. Fortunately , she soon meets Tommy, who agrees to help her with chores to be done during daylight hours.
Even though there are several laugh out loud sequences, it doesn't quite compare with 'A Dirty Job', which was funnier and more absurd, but it's interesting to learn more about some of the characters from that novel such as The Emperor of San Francisco and his men.
Rating 4/5
4.
The Hound of the Baskervilles According to Spike Milligan by
Spike MilliganThis is a parody of the Sherlock Holmes Case 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', where proverbs are taken at face value and both Holmes and Watson act different than we would expect of them. Even though there are some funny scenes the book didn't live up to my expectations and overall was more weird than funny.
Rating 3/5
5.
Seifenopern selbst gemacht. Bastelbuch für Serienfreaks by Christian von Aster
Did you ever wonder why life in soap operas was more exciting than your own? Then this book is for you, in short chapters it points out what you should consider (friends, target audience, scenarios) to transform your life into a soap opera and attract millions of viewers! Christian von Aster has definitely seen too many soap operas and he perfectly transforms this knowledge in this quaint little parody. Even though it isn't his best work, his brilliance does sparkle in several places.
Rating 4/5
6.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by
Austin Grossman (audio)
Fatale, a member of a group of Superheroes called the New Champions, and Dr. Impossible, a Super villain on the brink of taking over the world, take turns to tell this story.
It reads a lot like a comic book, with chaotic jumps in time (flashbacks, gradually revealed Origins, etc.) and lots of action. Even though I am not a comic book geek I did enjoy the story and was especially captivated by the different viewpoints of the main characters. If you are familiar with the famous comic book heroes and villains you will enjoy definitely enjoy it.
Rating 4/5
Message edited by its author, Mar 20, 2008, 1:24pm.
7.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by
C. S. LewisThe recent movie adaption of this charming little story stayed astonishingly close to the original. The book itself was a fast and easy read, however, I was at times a bit distracted by the role of the narrator, especially when he addressed the reader directly, but maybe I'm not used to that.
Rating 4/5
8.
The Novice (Black Magician Trilogy) by
Trudi CanavanWith Sonea starting her studies in the Magician's Guild the overlying storyline really gets moving. One unexpected event chases another and we suffer together with Sonea, when she is tormented by her class mates.
A terrific and gripping story, a real page turner!
Rating 5/5
9.
Tod und Teufel by Frank Schätzing (Audio)
A fascinating thriller set in Cologne of 1260, which works fantastically as a dramatized audio book.
Rating 4/5
Message edited by its author, Jan 23, 2008, 2:52am.
10.
The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection by
Neil Gaiman (Audio)
A selection of Neil's children's stories are narrated by himself in this neat audio collection. I enjoyed listening to the stories the way they were meant to be heard and I especially liked the poem "Crazy Hair", which is both surreal and funny.
Rating 5/5
13. Der WG-Triumphator by Christian von Aster
Another one of Christian von Aster's early works. This ironic self-help-book contains advice on how to survive in a flat share, what pitfalls to look out for and which pastime activities to avoid. All in all an entertaining read, but it lacks the depth of von Aster's later works.
Rating 4/5
14. Nodwick Chronicles VI (Nodwick Chronicles) by
Aaron WilliamsThis final collection contains the Nodwick Comic Books 31 - 36.
In this hilarious showdown Nodwick and his employers have to face Baphumaal to prevent his taking control of the entire universe, however, there are a couple of subplots to be dealt with first.
Even if you're not familiar with all of Nodwick's adventures you'll still enjoy this very much. There are too many funny lines and scenes to count and there's even a guest appearance of Frodo and Harry Potter :).
Rating 5/5
16.
A Little Silver Book of Streetwise Stories by Brian Keene
The eleventh book in Borderlands Press "Little Book" Series is another winner. Brian Keene presents an entertaining short story collection featuring killers, aliens, ghosts, zombies, Santa Claus, bunny rabbits and much more. In addition to a selection of his best short stories, this book contains five all new stories and two that were previously only available online.
Rating 5/5
17
Duma Key by Stephen King (audio)
It was a very intense experience. The story starts slow with a lot of background information (as King's books so often do) but ends in a thunderstorm. The only thing which bothered me a bit was the foreshadowing of future events which was overdone in my opinion. John Slattery does a good job as Narrator keeping the suspense alive.
Rating 5/5
Message edited by its author, Mar 20, 2008, 1:23pm.
18.
The Worst Years of Your Life by
Mark Jude PoirierRating 4/5
19.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett (audio)
Even though Moist's adventure as deputy chairman of the Bank of Ankh-Morpork is a very enjoyable read, it lacks the brilliance of Terry's earlier work.
Rating 5/5
20. Es klopft by Franz Hohler
Rating 4/5
21.
Selected Shorts: Lots of Laughs! (audio)
This collection contains seven humorous short stories recorded live by Symphony Space. The live recording has the advantage that you can hear the audience's reaction, however, a couple of verbal errors crept in which couldn't be edited out.
My favorite stories in this collection are 'Chivalry' by
Neil Gaiman, 'On the U.S.S. Fortitude' by
Ron Carlson and 'Fatso' by Etgar Keret.
Rating 4/5
22. Shipwreck Hunter: Deep, Dark & Deadly in the Great Lakes by Gerry Volgenau
A fascinating look at the lives of David Trotter, one of the best shipwreck hunters and divers in the Great Lakes. The book focuses on the discovery of the side wheel Steamer "Detroit" and the tragic accident that almost left Danny Fader paralyzed for life. This book is a must-read for any diving-enthusiast.
Rating 4/5
Message edited by its author, Mar 20, 2008, 1:23pm.
23.
Utopia by
Thomas More (audio)
Utopia offers an interesting critical look at live in the 16th century on the one hand as well as proposing an idea for an ideal civilization. Whether Utopia was meant to be a satire or represented More's personal views remains unclear, however, the discourse on Utopia contains several jokes and offers light reading.
Rating 4/5
24. The Folks 2 by
Ray Garton (Cemetary Dance Book Club)
A captivating tale of an incestuous family and how they react when they learn that one of their adopted sons fell in love with an outsider and plans to leave them.
Rating 4/5
Message edited by its author, Mar 23, 2008, 2:21pm.
25.
The Queen of Wolves: The Vampyricon, Book III (Vampyricon) by
Douglas CleggThe final volume of Douglas Clegg's Vampyricon is a real page-turner which ties up the loose endings from the previous books and slowly prepares the road for a final confrontation which leaves nothing to be desired.
Rating 5/5
26.
The Brightonomicon by
Robert Rankin (audio, radio play)
The radio adaption of Robert Rankin's Brightonomicon is simply brilliant. In 13 episodes Hugo Rune and his trusted acolyte Rizla, who can't remember his past, try to solve mindbogglingly difficult conundrums to prevent the end of the world. But be warned, there is Spaniel involvement.
Fans of Robert Rankin's work shouldn't miss this adaption as it works perfectly as a play.
Rating 5/5
27. House Infernal by
Edward Lee (Cemetary Dance Book Club)
All Venetia Barlow wanted to do in her summer break was to earn a couple of extra credits by helping to restore St. John's Prior House. But then she starts hearing voices... from Hell, and slowly she discovers the many secrets the Prior House has hidden so well over the years.
A terrific novel which combines a lot of with well-thought-out descriptions (Mephistopolis, the city in Hell with it's different districts is a very fine example) and a suspenseful storyline with steadily mounting tension until the story concludes in a brilliant finale, but be warned, on the way you'll encounter a couple of unexpected developments.
I finished the second half of the book in one sitting, it was way too gripping to put down.
Rating 5/5
Message edited by its author, Mar 23, 2008, 2:21pm.
28.The Unadultered Cat by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett looks at Cats and wonders: "Where have all the Real Cats gone?" and so he composed this short, funny and entertaining novel describing what a Real Cat is, where it comes from and what a Real Cat Owner has to cope with. Gray Jolliffe's cartoons are funny, on the spot and a perfect addition to Pratchett's novel.
Rating 4/5
29. Aller Anfang by Franz Hohler and
Jürg SchubigerA charming little book containing short stories recounting different possibilities of the origins of the universe and life on earth. The stories are accompanied by wonderful illustrations by Jutta Bauer.
Rating 5/5
30.
Four Letter Word: Invented Correspondence from the edge of Romance edited by
Joshua Knelman and
Rosalind PorterLove Letters can be addressed to people, to places or to ideas, they can contain romance, happiness, bitterness or any other sentiment, they can also be funny, sad, moving or a everything at once, they can be sent with snail mail or with e-mail... This diverseness is perfectly represented in this book which collects invented Love letters from 41 authors, well-known ones as well as newcomers and located all over the world. All in all an inspiring, funny and moving book, and I enjoyed every page of it :)
Rating 5/5
31.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
After seeing the Final Cut of Blade Runner I decided the time has come to read the original novel. Blade Runner is based on Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'. However, the term loosely based would be more appropriate.
Both the movie and the novel have the same starting situation and roughly the same plot. Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter is called in to track down a couple of androids who illegally landed on earth. His research takes him to a multinational company who manufactured these androids, where he hopes to prove the effectivity of the test used to detect these androids.
An analysis of the differences could fill a book all by itself, but I’ll try to cover some of the important ones.
Most importantly the world that the story is set in: Whereas Blade Runner shows us a future where overpopulation is still a problem and even though people might not be happy it is still possible to live on earth. In the novel earth is a wasteland, which is covered by a radioactive cloud caused by a devastating World War and thus most people have fled to colonies on Mars and other planets. To make life more bearable on earth the people have turned to Mercerism and empathy boxes, which simulate feelings.
The character of Rick Deckard also shows significant differences. Whereas in the movie he is a loner, a retired and respected bounty hunter who is called in because of the severity of the situation, he is married in the novel and more importantly always standing in the shadow of Dave Holden, the best bounty hunter in the city, he is only charged with this case because Holden was almost killed by one of the androids.
With all these differences it is surprising to find sequences in the book that have found their way into the movie almost unchanged, and even more surprising, when the consequences of these scenes stand in complete contrast.
What I’m trying to say with this is that I loved the book and that it is a worthy read even if you have seen the movie. You might even enjoy the story more knowing what happened in the movie.
Rating 5/5
32. Anansi Boys by
Neil GaimanAnansi Boys tells the story of two brothers which haven't met for dozens of years (who have actually forgotten that they had a brother), how they met again after their father died and how their lifes got turned upside down by this meeting.
A hilarious story about friendship, love and the power of Gods. Highly recommended to anyone with a sense of humour and anyone who liked American Gods.
Rating 5/5
33.
Guliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (audio)
Written about 300 years ago this story has aged very well and Gulliver's adventures are event today very entertaining. Gulliver's Travels was meant to mock the hordes of books about adventurous travels released at the time which often exaggerated the dangers faced and the belitteled the intellect of the natives encountered. And so Gulliver meets giants, tiny people, horses which rule over men and people living on a floating island. In addition to the entertainment value these episodes hold it is also very interesting to see how critical Jonathan Swift was of English society and values. This criticism is never voiced by the main character directly, but surface through the discussions Gulliver has with the people he meets.
The Audiobook version published by Alcazar AudioWorks features a terrific Narrator which makes the story a joy to listen to.
Rating 4/5
34.
Invisible Fences by
Norman Prentiss (Cemetary Dance Book Club)
A very good first novel which convinces with its concise and fluent storytelling as well as its portrayal of how storys told to children can affect their later life.
Rating 4/5
Message edited by its author, May 6, 2008, 11:48am.
41.
The Somnambulist by
Jonathan BarnesRating 3/5
42.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (audio)
Rating 4/5
43.
Zwerg und Überzwerg by Christian von Aster
For hundreds of years the dwarves have led more or less peaceful lives and focused on prospecting and drinking beer. If only the women hadn't all vanished during the last Great War they could even look optimistically into the future. But then dark portents appear: the black sliver spider, the dwarf who doesn't drink any beer and a dwarf with gold teeth. All Omens of a dark prophecy which predicts the end of all dwarves. Has the end really arrived or is it just part of a dark conspiracy?
The book is a pleasure to read. The humorous anecdotes about dwarf history and the enthralling story which progresses at a high pace make this novel a real page turner. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy with a humorous touch.
Rating 5/5
Message edited by its author, May 30, 2008, 5:32am.
84.
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists: A Novel by
Gideon DefoeA lightweight read with lots of funny scenarios and dozens of anachronisms.
Rating 4/5
85.
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
Rating 5/5
C1. Stephen King's The Stand: Captain Trips #1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Rating 5/5
86. Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted by Carrie Smith
Rating 2/5
87. Medieval literature for children by Daniel T. Kline
Medieval literature for children offers a fascinating look into the medieval ages. The book contains a collection of essays, each focusing on a different work from medieval times, discussing the origins and authors (if known) of the work, putting it into context as children's literature and finally giving a small excerpt of the work itself. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about life and literature in the Middle Ages.
Rating 5/5
Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2008, 4:56pm.
88.
Dark Tower: The Long Road Home Premiere HC by
Peter DavidRating 5/5
C2. Stephen King's The Stand: Captain Trips #2 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Rating 5/5
89. Halloween and Other Seasons by Al Sarrantonio
Rating 3/5
C3. Dark Tower Treachery #1 by Robin Furth
Rating 5/5
90. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
Rating 5/5
91. Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
Rating 5/5
92. Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow
Rating 4/5
Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2008, 4:56pm.
111. Das abartige Artefakt. by
Christian von AsterNach dem Sieg über den Überzwerg gönnt sich der Schicksalszwerg eine wohlverdiente Pause. Doch die Änderungen welche der Kampf gegen den Überzwerg mit sich gebracht haben schlimmere Auswirkungen als erwartet. Das verstummen des Orakels führt dazu, dass der grosse Verwalter vermehrt die Geschicke der Zwerge selbst in die Hand nimmt und die freiwillige Felswehr sorgt mehr schlecht als Recht für Ordnung in den Gängen. Als sich die Götter dann wieder zu Wort melden, beim grossen Verwalter in Form von Bierschaum und beim Hohepriester in Form eines Steines, muss der Schicksalszwerg erneut ausrücken um den definitiven Untergang der Zwergenheit abzuwenden.
Eine gelungene Fortsetzung welche die im ersten Band aufgebaute Mythologie der Zwerge geschickt in gewohnt lockeren und amüsanten Fussnoten ergänzt. Die Geschichte selbst bietet Spannung bis zum Schluss und ist gespickt mit gewitzten Wortgefechten und witzigen Szenen. Ein Muss für jeden Zwergen-Freund, wobei die vorherige Lektüre des ersten Bandes empfehlenswert ist um den ganzen Umfang der Geschichte zu geniessen.
Rating 5/5
112. Darwins Schildkröte by
Timo BaderRating 4.5 / 5
(back to top)
