*waves* Hi, I was in the 75.books challenge... and finished, so... here I am.
the other thread Message edited by its author, Jul 30, 2009, 5:54am.
26. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (p58)
27. Die Säulen der Erde by Ken Follett
28. Sharpe's Rifles by Bernhard Cornwell (p62)
29. Deutsche Geschichte by Manfred Mai (p67)
30. Sharpe's Gold by Bernhard Cornwell (p68)
31. Sagen des Klassischen Altertums by Gustav Schwab (p69)
32. Abenteuer der Silvesternacht by ETA Hoffmann (p70)
33. The American Senator by Anthony Trollope
34. Disteln für Hagen by Joachim Fernau (p73)
35. Wahrscheinlich liest wieder kein Schwein (p74)
36. Rosen für Apoll by Joachim Fernau (p78)
37. Glenkill by Leonie Swann (p87)
38. Der Milchkontrolleur by Thomas Morgenstern
39. Geschichte der deutschen Literatur by Manfred Mai (p91)
40. Das Fräulein von Scuderi by ETA Hoffmann (p92)
41. Der Schrecksenmeister by Walter Moers (p93)
42. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Benedict Flynn (p94)
43. Idioten. Fünf Märchen by Jakob Arjouni
44. Flight of the Heron by DK Borster (p98)
45. Gleam in the North by DK Borster
46. Dark Mile by DK Borster
47. Der Heilige Eddy by Jakob Arjouni (p100)
48. Fool by Christopher Moore (p103)
49. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (p109)
50. Die Marquise von O. by Heinrich von Kleist
Message edited by its author, Jul 30, 2009, 5:55am.
51. Auf der Suche nach Troja by Heinrich Schliemann
52. Silks by Dick Francis
53. Gesundheit an Bord by Klaus Volbehr
54. Als Mariner im Krieg by Joachim Ringelnatz
55. Der Name der Rose by Umberto Eco
56. Der Ölprinz by Karl May
57. Master and Commander by Patrick o'Brian
58. Homers Heimat (Homer's Home) by Raoul Schrott
59. Gilgamesh translated by Raoul Schrott
60. The Clumsiest People in Europe: Or, Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World by Todd Pruzan (p116)
61. The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer (p118)
62. Journal of a Regimental Officer during the Rcent Campaign in Portugal and Spain by Anon (probably Peter Hawker) (p120)
63. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (p121)
64. Ein Schuss, ein Schrei by Roger Willemsen (p95)
65. The Priviledge of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (p123)
66. Sharpe's Havoc by Bernhard Cornwell (p124)
67. The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner (p125)
69. Sartre's Sink by Mark Crick (p126)
70. Micromegas by Voltaire (p122)
71. The Big U by Neal Stephenson (p130)
72. Kéraban the Inflexible by Jules Verne (p134)
73. Sharpe's Honour by Bernard Cornwell (p136)
74. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (p137)
75. Vom Kriege, Teil 1 by Carl von Clausewitz (p138)
76. Die Suppe des Herrn K. by Mark Crick
77. Wellington's Army by Oman
78. Ilias by Homer
79.
Halting State by Charles Stross
Good, fast paced sf, cyberpunk roots, draws on LARP, MMORG, traditional RPG and re-enactment as well as recent soft- and hardware developments. Very much up my alley, I'll look for more books by this author.
80. Hipparchikos by Xenophon
aquascum, what did you think of
Genius Squad? I'd read the first (
Evil Genius?) some years ago, but was underwhelmed. Did it improve, or do you have to be a fan of the series to start off with?
@ wookiebender: Hm, I thought it wasn't as interesting as Evil Genius... in the first book I liked the twisted worldview of the protagonist, but now he's just trying to be 'good' and 'normal'. And the plot was a LOT more predictable this time round. So, I think you probably won't like it, I wasn't that impressed, either.
82.
Nation by Terry Pratchett
...well, I completely agree with this:
knitbusy's reviewMessage edited by its author, Aug 17, 2009, 5:33am.
I shall skip
Genius Squad then. Thanks. :)
I like all the five-star reviews Pratchett's got there for
Nation! I'm a bit so-so on his novels - when they're good, they're terribly good (funny, satirical page-turners), but I remember getting stuck in what I think of as his "indifferent" middle patch, where the satire just didn't really seem to be there any more and all the plots were a bit thin. And I haven't quite gotten back into gear and into reading any of his later books, although I've heard they're quite excellent.
I suppose if I see it at the library, I'll probably be tempted...
Ah, I agree. There are a couple of books that are just not that funny... but I think that my view of the world shifted ... what some people see as funny, satire or parody seems like reality to me... (yes, I'm a bit cynical).
But I hope there will be a German translation of Nation this year, so I can give it to my godchild for christmas. It feels like it's aimed at 10 or 11year olds, so that would fit nicely. A lot of reviews say 'brilliantly funny' or 'razor-sharp satire', but... I think Pratchett has an astounding insight into hoe human minds work and how humans behave and holds up a mirror...
I'm not making any sense, am I?
83.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
You're making sense to me, I think that's Pratchett's great skill as well: understanding how humans work, whether for good or evil. (I think his plot endings could do with a bit more polish, however!)
And please let me know you didn't knock off
Les Miserables in two days, but have been reading it alongside all the other books! (I'm yet to read that one. At the moment, I seem to have developed a fear of any book with more than 300 pages.)
uuuhm... in my defense, I tore two ligaments in my ankle a few days ago and am not supposed to do anything but sit and keep the ankle cool and elevated...
That's a pretty nifty set up for reading! I'm still impressed you got through
Les Miserables in only a couple of days, enforced reading time or not.
Mmm, enforced reading time...
ETA: You know, I can't work out which book you're reading in the photo.
Message edited by its author, Aug 20, 2009, 5:58am.
It's Genius Squad.
And I read a lot of 19th century stuff this year, so Les Miserables wasn't hard to read... and I downloaded it into my mobipocket reader, so it didn't look threatening... and there's a lot of dialouge...
Message edited by its author, Aug 20, 2009, 6:22am.
85.
Das kann ich auch! by Christian Saerendt
and I'm slowly chewing my way through an abyssmal book on the secrets of Diskworld... it's really bad, but I persevere...
88.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
and I gave up on that 'secrets of Diskworld' book. I don't usually give up like this, but this book is really, truely, stomachturningly horrid.
Oh,
The Graveyard Book is on Mt TBR. I love his stuff. Another good read, I hope?
How can someone make a horrid Discworld book? The mind boggles.
My poor mind... do you want quotes? Let me show you some:
I am talking about this
Secrets of the Wee Free Men and Discworld: The Myths and Legends of Terry Pratchett's by the way.
"Pratchett has said in more than one book that the witches aren't believers in the gods. (See, for example, page 15 of the paperback edition of Witches Abroad.) This is because they can see the gods and elementals at times and aren't very impressed by what they see, kind of like how we feel whenever we read stories from Greek mythology." *headdesk*
"Discworld might not have the shiny linoleum of suburbia embodied in Charmed or Bewitched. But it has what those shows don't have: a community of magic practitioners whose exploits will entertain you without fear of cancellation."
I gave up after that...
How dare they diss Greek mythology! I am *headdesking* in sympathy with you.
They did not understand what Pratchett was saying at all!
And omg Pratchett is using elements of Greek mythology
was one of the secrets of Discworld revealed... *has bruise on head*
Message edited by its author, Sep 4, 2009, 5:56am.
89. Sharpes's Escape by Bernhard Cornwell
90.
Und Sie Bewegt Sich Doch by Luciano De Crescenzo
Interesting book on the beginning of modern thinking... don't know if there is a translation into English.
91.
Signal and Noise by John Griesemer
Another one of those books I would not have 'read' ... but I did a lot of driving lately and listened to the audio book version. Not my cuppa.
94. Erzählungen by Joachim Ringelnatz
96.
Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
... I am underwhelmed. And found the mentall illness of the protagonist (he hears god's/some saints' voice) rather offputting.
All in all the book reads like a novelisation of a movie. The characters remain flat and two dimensional, and the cast remains stereotypical.
98.
A History of the Peninsular War (January to September 1809) by Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman
With particular attention to May... *grins*
and yes, I have been reading and rereading this tome all year, while moving coloured sticky notes across a map of Portugal and Spain
105.
The Folklore of Discworld: Legends, myths and customs from the Discworld by Terry Pratchet and Jacqueline Simpson
This is an exellent, exellent reference book for the 'things that everyone knows' that crop up on the Discworld (and have strange parallels in different parts of the trouseres of space-time continuum, like, say, on Earth). Mirthfully the authors trace escaped particles of narrativum across the universes and observe their astonishing effects.
I have been looking for a book like this for years, and much regret buying some that were not co-authored by the man himself. It is charming to note the difference in writing styles of the authors and I caught myself grinning occasionally, thinking 'this is pure Pratchett'.
In 16 chapters different species, regions or character groups of the Diskworld are examined and their folk-loric or legendary background traced back to it's roots and presented for easy reference. A lot of chapters are sub-divided; for example the Chapter 'Beasties' has the sub-chapters 'Dragons', 'Basilisk and Chimera', 'Sphinx', 'Phoenix', 'Salamander', 'Unicorn' and 'The Luggage'.
But it is easy to find specific persons or places or events using the magnificent Index, and the Bibliography is mouth-watering and very tempting.
I am very happy I found this.
106.
Rauhnacht: Kluftingers neuer Fall by Volker Klüpfel/Michael Korbl
I absolutely love the series. I don't usually read whodunnits, but the characters are so very real and lifelike... an exellent read
108. The autobiography and services of Sir James McGrigor by Sir James McGrigor
India, Egypt, Red Sea, Walcheren, Portugal, Spain, France... all the interesting diseases!
109.
Der Weltensammler by Ilija Trojanow
It's strange: I have little problem reading - and enjoying - real diaries, autobiographies or memoirs of the time this fictional work is set in, but it was a struggle to finish reading this. The prose... not my cuppa.
Message edited by its author, Nov 3, 2009, 11:26am.
110.
Mr. Midshipman Easy by Captain Marryat
An entertaining read, although not quite what I expected... but I suppose they wanted to entice young men into the navy, not scare them away.
111.
Unseen Academicals by Terrry Pratchett
great, just great. The essence of football. And love Hix.
112.
Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners by Josephine Ross
Examines the manners of Regncy society by having a look at the correspondence between Jane Austen and one of her nieces as well as Austen's work. A must read for anyone writing (fan)fic in that era.
113.
Sharpe's Sword by Bernard Cornwell
ah... Harper, Curtis, Spears, Sharpe in a cavalry charge... what's not to love?
113b.
Sharpe's Skirmish by Bernard Cornwell
a booklet directly following Sharpe's Sword
114. Recollections of the Peninsula by Moyle Sherer
written 7 years later by a romantic Pollyanna seeing events through rose-tinted spectacles. Not for the weak of stomach...
Quote:
But how shall I picture the British soldier going into action ? He is neither heated by brandy, stimulated by the hope of plunder, or inflamed by the headly feelings of revenge ; he does not even indulge in expressions of animosity against his foes; he moves forward, confident of victory, never dreams of the possibility of defeat, and braves death with all the accompanying horrors of laceration and torture, with the most cheerful intrepidity.
...He isn't? He doesn't? He does? ... perhaps Sherer was on drugs. Or something.
Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 6:10am.
118.
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
Charming parody of the traditional ghost story and a satire of the American way of life. You really want to wring their materialist necks and drown the boys (but I don't like children at the best of times, so I might be a tad prejudiced...
One thing that bothers me is that a 15-year old girl is referred to as 'little girl' or 'little child'.
120. Aus Xenophons denkwürdigen Nachrichten by Xenophon (audio)
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