fabtk's 2011 challenge

Hi all
This is my first year doing the 75 book challenge. My name is Fiona and I’m a teacher from New Zealand. (I usually teach 11 - 13 year olds.) I have listed some of the books I have enjoyed in 2010 on my profile page so you can see what sort of stuff I like. I'll read pretty much anything with a good plot and engaging characters - mostly YA, mysteries, fantasy, literary fiction and a bit of sci-fi.

Inspired by the ideas I have seen on LT, eg TIOLI, I set up some reading challenges for my students last term – number of books, different genre categories, different publication years. It was very successful and I plan on doing something similar when school starts back this year.

January

1. The Likeness by Tana French
2. Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
3. Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
4. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
5. Zombies vs Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
6. Faithful Place by Tana French
7. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - audiobook
8. The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld
9. In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
10. A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming
11. The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
12. Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
13. Dead Cold by Louise Penny
14. The Murder Stone by Louise Penny
15. Frederica by Georgette Heyer - audiobook
16. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
17. Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming
18. To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
19. All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming
20. I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

February

21. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
22. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
23. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill - audiobook
24. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill - audiobook
25. Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers
26. The Risk of Darkness by Susan Hill - audiobook
27. Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
28. The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill - audiobook
29. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place 1 by Maryrose Wood
30. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

March

31. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers - audiobook
32. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
33. The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill - audiobook
34. Matched by Allie Condie
35. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute - audiobook
36. Withering Tights by Louise Rennison
37. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

April

38. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
39. Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold - audiobook
40. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
41. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King
42. Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer - audiobook
43. WWW: Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer - audiobook
44. A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King
45. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
46. Death in Kenya by M.M. Kaye
47. These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
48. Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye
49. Liar by Justine Larbalestier
50. My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
51. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

May

52. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
53. O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
54. One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
55. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
56. A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
57. The Moor by Laurie R. King
58. Pagan's Crusade by Catherine Jinks
59. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

Welcome to the group, Fiona!

Welcome to the group Fiona.
We share so many books that I'm definitely going to be visiting your thread this coming year. This will be my third year doing the challenge, though I haven't set up a thread yet. I'm still busy back in the 2010 group.
You might like to investigate our TIOLI challenges which run each month and Madeline (squeakychu) will be setting up in this group soon.

edit: didn't read your post that well, I see you've already seen the TIOLI!

Hi Fiona

I like children’s and YA books as well as fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, historical, romance and literary fiction.

I am also working my way through 12 books set in new Zealand ready for my trip there in August :)

Have starred you to keep track of you :)

Hi Fiona,

Welcome to the 75 Books Challenge group!

I think it's super-cool that you're using the same kinds of reading challenges that we do here on LT for your school kids. I can't wait to see what kind of original challenges you come up with for the TIOLI challenges. By the way, I messaged you with where you can find more information about the TIOLI challenges.

I think you're going to find this group warm and lots of fun. Enjoy!

P.S. I sent you the TIOLI link before I read Kerry's message (#3 below). Oh, well! You can't have too much of a good thing. :)

P.P.S. I'm glad to see that Kerry (another friendly 75-er Kiwi) already found you. :D

Hi Fiona, your book list caught my eye, I am a huge fan of Juliet Marillier and definitely plan on reading more of her next year. I also have Dairy Queen on my list to read next year as well. Georgette Heyer is another favorite of mine.
And World War Z was very close to the top of my favorites.

I guess what I am saying in my long-winded way, is that we have very similar tastes!

Hi Stasia, Kerry, Sally, Madeline and Judy. Thank you all so much for the welcome! I have been thinking about joining this group for ages, but tend to mostly read, not post on LT. Madeline kindly encouraged me to join when I posted on caffron's lurkers thread. I'm glad I finally got around to joining, and hope I can keep up with all the posts.

I have seen all of your names around, and have starred all your threads. Great to see I've already found people with similar tastes.

Ok, I'm about to go out Christmas shopping with my sister, better go.

> 7

I'm glad I finally got around to joining, and hope I can keep up with all the posts.

You won't be able to do that. I guarantee. Pick the people who have the most similar reading tastes to your own and star their threads. I' hate to lose you by your becoming overwhelmed (which does sometimes happen due to the sheer volume of posts).

Good luck shopping!

Hi Fiona, this year is my first challenge too.

I think it is great that you are using reading challenges with your kids! My daughter's elementary school did summer reading challenges for the whole school - if they reached a certain number of books in total (say 3000, which was doable with about 400 kids) the principal would do something really silly that they loved. One year she dressed up in a chicken costume and did the chicken dance. Another time she climbed up on the roof and sang a song. Just anything to make them feel like she was being totally silly and, in their minds, a little bit like them. The kids and the parents both loved it!

welcome Fiona
We share a lot of books :-)
This year I read two books by Juliet Marillier, The Light Isles books. So I might join you when you read the Sevenwaters books (if I can find translations, I read books in Dutch).
Anita

I love the idea of doing TIOLI-type challenges with your students! There was a time when I wanted to become a teacher, and hearing about your reading challenges reminded me why. I hope you'll keep us updated on how they go.

And I'll definitely be following your thread regardless, considering that three of our top 2010 reads were the same. I'm glad you've decided to start posting.

>8 SqueakyChu:, Madeline - don't worry, I'm doing exactly as you suggest - starring a few threads to follow. But given the reasonably large volume of posts in this group before 2011 has even started, I'm sure it will still be hard enough to keep up!

>9 mlnelson01:, Mary Lynne: your daughter's principal sounds like she is up for anything! The kids would have loved it I'm sure.

>10 FAMeulstee:, Anita: I have actually already read the Sevenwaters books, but was very excited to stumble across a fifth book in the series, Seer of Sevenwaters, when Christmas shopping today. I had never heard of it before but of course I bought it! I haven't yet read any of her other series, apart from her two YA books.

>11 _Zoe_:, Zoe: yeah, getting kids to like reading has always been my favourite thing about teaching. I've already got you starred, we seem to have some similar tastes.

Fiona, in case you are not aware, we have dedicated 'What Are You Reading' threads posted on the Wiki. There is one for both children's picture books as well as one for juvenile/young adult books. You can just check in whenever to see what other group members are reading without having to go through all the threads every day :)

> Good to know, thanks Stasia.

No problem!

Hi, Fiona! Lots of my favorites in your list up there (as well as a few I've been meaning to read) -- I'll be interested to see what you find in the coming year!

Hey, Fiona, we've got a lot of books in common and similar reading tastes, so I've got you starred, although I won't be reading the 2011 threads until January 1!

Welcome! I hope you have a great time with the group this year!

Hi Fiona! I'm the father of an 11 year old girl, and will love to see which books you recommend from your side of the globe. We have over 100 of the same books in our libraries - and it looks like they are the kids books. I've starred your thread

Ditto for what Patrick just said (expect mine's a 2yo boy)!

Thanks for the messages everyone.

>Patrick and Amber - I know a lot more about books for 11 yr olds than 2 yr olds! However, have you read the Pigeon books by Mo Willems? They are my favourites for little kids. Actually, 11 yr olds usually think they're pretty funny too.

Note: I just ditched The Wind-up Bird Chronicles from my 'memorable reads of 2010' list. I was halfway through and enjoying it, but found the second half drifted a bit. There was never much of a plot and it pretty much disappeared towards the end. I liked the writing and some of the scenes and ideas though.

Instead I have added In the Woods by Tana French. Just finished this last night and really enjoyed it. Interesting & likeable characters, good plot and well-written. Not sure how I feel about the ending, so I've moved straight on to the sequel The Likeness to see what happens next.

#21: I haven't read the Willems books, but they're going on the wishlist now - thanks for the recommendation!

Hello, hello! Looks like your list of memorable books contains some I read and enjoyed as well, so consider yourself starred! :)

Happy New Year, Fiona! I'm looking forward to sharing your reading this year.

Book #1 – The Likeness by Tana French



The Likeness is a literary police procedural novel, the sequel to In the Woods, which I read directly before this one. I loved both books, the first one just a little bit more. The Likeness is narrated by Cassie Maddox, a Dublin police officer. When a body is discovered that has a startling resemblance to Cassie, she ends up getting entangled in the dead girl’s seemingly idyllic college student life. This book had everything for me – engaging characters, compelling plot and excellent writing. I did like the first book a little more, mainly because I enjoyed the relationship between Cassie and another character who was not in this book. A great read to start the year. 4.5 stars.

Book #2 – Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier



I have read the previous four Sevenwaters books and very much enjoyed them, especially the first two. They are Irish historical fantasy romances. This one was good, but not as good as some of her others. It had an interesting setting and likeable characters, but the plot and the relationships weren’t particularly compelling. I think the problem I had with it was that that nothing really happened for the first two thirds of the book. However, anything by Juliet Marillier is still worth a read. 3.5 stars.

Nice start to your reading year, Fiona!

Hmm, I may need to look at the first in the series of both these books...

Book #3 - Sapphique by Catherine Fisher



Sapphique is a children’s/YA book, the sequel to Incarceron. The setting of the books is the Realm, a dystopian/utopian future where the ruler has ordered that time must be ‘stopped’ and the inhabitants must all dress, speak and behave in accordance with the specified ‘Era’, an idealised past with lords, ladies and carriages – and picturesque squalor for the poor. One strand of the stories takes place in this world, while the other takes place in Incarceron - a vast, hellish, sentient prison that the less desirable inhabitants of the Realm have been banished to. No one except the Warden knows the location of the prison. The interwoven stories follow Finn and companions in the prison, and the privileged Claudia (the Warden’s daughter) in the Realm as they discover a way to communicate and attempt to free Finn from the prison.

I enjoyed the first book more than the second, because the main thing I liked about Incarceron was the interesting concept and world-building. In the second book there were fewer surprises to discover about the world, and as I never felt any real interest in the characters, I found I had to push myself to keep reading. I did enjoy the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, from fictional legends about some of the key figures in the Realm. I felt they added a extra weight and meaning to the unfolding events. I also felt that both books ended quite satisfactorily. In the end, I am glad to have read the books, but I’m unlikely to reread them.
Incarceron 4 stars, Sapphique 3 stars.

I still need to read Incarceron. Off to see if my local library has it yet. . .

Book #4 - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan



Dash is a bookish, somewhat moody teenage boy that has contrived to be left alone in New York City over the Christmas period by informing each of his separated parents that he will be with the other parent. The much more upbeat Lily is also nearly alone in New York – her parents are away and her affectionate older brother is too wrapped up in his new boyfriend to have much time for her. To keep her occupied, Lily’s brother concocts a project for her – they write some clues in a red Moleskine notebook and leave it on the shelf at the Strand bookstore. Of course Dash finds the book and the two proceed to get to know each other by setting each other challenges through the notebook. The challenges take them to various parts of NYC and cause them to get to know various friends and family members before eventually meeting each other.

Dash & Lily is a fairly lightweight YA book that I raced through in an afternoon. There is a lot of humour in the book and I enjoyed the writing style of the two authors – they alternate chapters, writing from the point of view of the two main characters. I liked this book more than Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist which the authors also collaborated on. This was a much lighter, more humorous book, though it is perhaps not hugely memorable for an adult reader. Worth a read. 3.5 stars.

#31: I will look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Fiona!

#31: I have that home from the library now and look forward to enjoying it too.

#29 -- I liked Incarceron better than Sapphique, as well.

#31 -- I'll have to look at that one. I liked Nick and Norah's infinite Playlist, but was less enthusiastic about Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, another collaboration by Cohn and Levithan.

>29 fabtk: I ended up being pretty disappointed by Sapphique. I think I'll still check out her new series when it comes out, though.

You've read some interesting books so far this year. I also loved The Likeness and I am working on the Sevenwaters Series, but I am not as far along as you.

I am adding Dash & Lily's Book of Dares to my wishlist - Thanks.

#31: Nice review. I liked Nick and Norah alright but "much lighter, more humorous" sounds right up my alley. I will keep an eye out for it.

Book #5 – Zombies vs Unicorns edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier



Zombies vs Unicorns is a short story anthology alternating between zombie stories and unicorn stories. The battle implied in the title is over whether zombies or unicorns make the best story-writing material, not which would win in a fight – only the first story contains zombies and unicorns. The collection’s genesis is explained in the introduction:

Since the dawn of time one question has dominated all others: Zombies or Unicorns? Well okay maybe not since the dawn of time, but definitely since February 2007. That was when Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier began a heated exchange about the creatures’ relative merits on Justine’s blog.

Black and Larbalestier have recruited 12 well-known YA authors to write either a zombie or unicorn story. (Garth Nix, Meg Cabot, Maureen Johnson, Libba Bray, Naomi Novik, Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Kathleen Duey, Cassandra Clare, Carrie Ryan, Alaya Dawn Johnson & Diana Peterfreund.) I have read books by 9 of the 12 authors already and it was interesting to compare their writing styles and see how they tackled a different type of project. There is a wide variety of stories - some humorous, some very dark. I enjoyed some more than others, but all were entertaining. The most enjoyable parts of the book for me were the humorous introductions to each story written by Black and Larbalestier – each trying to promote their chosen creature. A fun read. 4 stars.

Book #6 – Faithful Place by Tana French



Tana French’s third book has a somewhat different feel than her first two books. They are each narrated by a different Dublin police detective, but Faithful Place focuses more on family relationships than on police procedure, and is set in a tougher, older part of town where the characters speak in more uniquely Irish speech patterns.

Police officer Frank Mackay has been estranged from his dysfunctional family for many years. At age 17 he planned to move to London with his girlfriend. When she didn’t show up at their agreed meeting place, he left home and never returned, assuming she had decided to leave without him. Years later, his sister calls to tell him his girlfriend’s suitcase has been discovered in an abandoned house in his old street. He is drawn back into unresolved family issues as he unofficially investigates what happened to his girlfriend. This is another very well written book by Tana French. Great characters, interesting plot and kept me engrossed throughout. 4.5 stars.

Book #7 – The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - audiobook



I read the print version of this book several years ago but remembered very little about it apart from that I enjoyed it. I have been listening to the audiobook version over the past few weeks and liked it even more than the first time I read it. It is the kind of fantasy book I like – not one with quests and swords and cliché but one with a unique plot and appealing characters. The Curse of Chalion follows Cazaril, a destitute former soldier who has escaped from the slave galleys, as he gains a place in the household of the Royesse (princess) of Chalion. He becomes deeply involved in the affairs of the royal family, including the discovery of a curse on the family – which sounds cheesy but really isn’t. The characters are fully developed, the plot is never predictable, there is a good romance and a very interesting 5-god religion. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

>38 fabtk: I'm reading Zombies vs. Unicorns right now and really enjoying it. The bickering back and forth between Black and Larbalestier is hilarious. (Interesting to see how they decided to changed the cover between New Zealand and the US, no written title or authors' names).

I can't wait to read Zombies vs. Unicorns. They recruited an incredible lineup for that one!

Wow Zombies vs Unicorns and The Curse of the Chalion both have caught my attention. Luckily I already have A Faithful Place on my wishlist!

I loved Faithful Place. It was my favorite of the three.

>41 Tanglewood: - 43 They were all good reads - nice to have lots of good ones in a row, and in different genres too. The next one was not so good however:

Book #8 – The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld



I only picked this up because I was at my parents’ place with nothing to read – probably wouldn’t have read it otherwise. It was set in 1920’s New York, with some sections in Europe. The story started from a (real-life) terrorist bombing on Wall St and then followed two different story strands. The more interesting one was about a doctor and a young female radiographer who had studied with Marie Curie. They met during the war while she was travelling about with her elective mute brother using experimental mobile x-ray machines. Their story included quite a lot of interesting stuff about the early uses of radium, Sigmund Freud (who appears as a character) and WW1.

I got bogged down in the other storyline and had to force myself to push through it. It was about a NY policeman investigating the bombing. It included a lot of complicated conspiracy theories about Mexico and Italians and senators and bankers and the Treasury and really I didn’t care that much and couldn’t remember who half of them were. The writing style was interesting – sometimes seeming slightly surreal. Overall, the book was ok, but not really gripping. 3 stars.

BTW the flood of reviews lately is because I've already got way behind and I'm trying to catch up. It's summer holidays for me so I'm getting plenty of reading done!

Book #9 – In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Book #10 – A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming



I read In the Bleak Midwinter and A Fountain Filled with Blood back-to-back and very much enjoyed them. I got them from the library and I can’t wait to get back there to pick up the next in the series! I picked up these books based solely on recent LT recommendations and I’m glad I did. They are mystery/crime novels set in upstate New York. The main characters are a female Episcopalian priest (an ex-Army helicopter pilot) and the local chief of police. There is some romantic tension between them, but as he is married it will be interesting to see where the author goes with this. The mysteries themselves were reasonably interesting – I liked the first one better than the second.
Recommended. 4 stars.

Book #11 – The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Book #12 – Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock



I just read The Off Season and Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - they are the sequels to Dairy Queen. I enjoyed the whole series and found the rural setting and sports focus quite a refreshing change. The books are narrated by DJ Shwenk, a teenage girl living on a struggling dairy farm. A talented athlete from a sporting family, she ends up training a boy from a rival high school football team and then considers trying out for the boys football team herself. Books 2 & 3 follow various family, sporting and relationship issues. The narrator's voice is appealing and the family dynamics and characters in general are done very well.

Two things jumped out at me that I found to be quite interesting cultural/lifestyle differences between NZ & the US. First, I couldn’t believe that DJ’s struggling Wisconsin dairy farm had only about 30 cows! At first I thought the book must be set in the past but realised I was probably just ill-informed. My brother’s dairy farm has about 400 cows, which wouldn’t be considered particularly large – he doesn’t even have any employees. Different systems I guess, but I can’t imagine there can be too many tiny farms like that one left.

The other thing I found a bit weird was a passage, in the second book I think, where DJ sticks up photos of her brothers in their college football uniforms in her locker at school. I can never in a million years imagine anyone I know sticking up photos of their brothers like that, no matter how proud of them they were! And DJ is a very down-to-earth, non-sentimental type person. Would this generally be a common thing to do?

Anyway, the series was excellent and well worth a read. I finished Book 2 & 3 in the same day. 4 - 4.5 stars.

Yay! Now I am finally up to date with reviews. I'm currently reading the second Three Pines book Dead Cold, aka A Fatal Grace.

#47 -- I really enjoyed those books, too. I never really though about the size of the farm, not being from dairy-farming country, so I'm not sure if that's typical or not. It does sound small, on reflection. As for the brothers' college football pictures, it didn't seem out of character to me because, though she's not a sentimental type, she's proud of them and of the schools and teams they're playing for. Moreover, she's at a small-ish school where all of the coaches, most of the teachers, and a lot of her fellow students know her brothers and would ask about them. So, it seems like a not-unusual thing to do. But then, I never went to high school (home-schooled), so what do I know?

I've put Zombies vs Unicorns onto the wishlist - that's quite the dream list of authors!

I loved The Curse of Chalion because it was so lovely and unique. The sequel was, IMO, even better thanks to some great characters and Bujold being a fabulous writer. She never goes quite where I expect her to!

In the Bleak Midwinter is one of my SantaThing books, so I'm glad to hear that it's good! I've also been meaning to read Dairy Queen for ages. One of these days.

>48 foggidawn: Yeah, maybe the football pictures aren't that weird. Maybe it's just that I come from a rather unsentimental family!

>49 archerygirl: The only one of the regular 'YA gang' they didn't get to write in Zombies vs Unicorns seems to be John Green. But maybe fantasy isn't his thing.

>50 _Zoe_: Yes, both very good reads. And quick too. You could polish off Dairy Queen in a couple of hours. And In the Bleak Midwinter in not many more.

I haven't read Dairy Queen yet but I'm from a NZ dairy farming family and 30 cows equals non economic venture to me as well!
I finished Dash and Lily's book of dares and yes, lightweight sums it up. I did like how the Strand Bookshop was featured but there's some sort of NY 'flavour' in these books by Cohn/Levithan that doesn't gel for me.
I followed a little of the Zombies vs Unicorns debate on the blogs a couple of years ago and wasn't sure about the book but I've added it to my tbr list now. I like both Justine Larbalestier (why does she have such a difficult name to spell!) and Holly Black's work.

I've got Curse of Chalion ready to read for Fantasy February and found the sequel last week at a used bookstore so am looking forward to next month!

I'm behind on reviews again, I've been making good use of the public library in the last week or so! Here are some of my latest reads:

Book #13 – Dead Cold by Louise Penny (aka A Fatal Grace)



This is the second of the Three Pines mysteries set in Quebec. I enjoyed this one, though I guessed the murderer very early on, which is pretty unusual for me. Normally I don’t even bother trying to figure it out, I just read for the story and the characters, not the puzzle. But this one reminded me of an Agatha Christie I once read which pointed me in the right direction. 4 stars.

Book #14 – The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (aka A Rule Against Murder)



This is the fourth Three Pines mystery. This was set at a lodge some distance from Three Pines so didn’t have many of the usual town characters. It was a traditional country house murder plot, and being pretty much all set in one place and about one unpleasant family, it was perhaps not quite as interesting as some of her others. 3.5 stars.

Book #15 – Frederica by Georgette Heyer (audiobook)



Frederica is one of Georgette Heyer’s excellent regency romances. I have read this one before but couldn’t remember much about it, apart from the fact I enjoyed it.

The Marquis of Alverstoke is rich, bored, selfish and detests his sisters who continually plague him to help their children in various ways. When Frederica, a distant relation, appears in London asking his help to launch her own incredibly beautiful sister into society, he agrees, largely to annoy his sisters. Frederica is a sensible, intelligent woman, who at 24 has relinquished the prospect of marriage in favour of caring for her orphaned siblings, including a couple of likeable schoolboys who are constantly getting into scrapes. Alverstoke finds to his surprise that he enjoys the company of the entire family, especially of course, Frederica. The book ends satisfyingly, just as you would expect.

The best things about these books are the humour and the period language. I enjoy listening to them as you get to appreciate the full effect of the language. This one was very well read by Clifford Norgate. Audiobooks do however make it glaringly obvious where a bit of editing is needed, as the eye can’t just skim over all the boring bits! A few scenes could definitely have been trimmed a bit. Still a great read/listen and one of my favourite Heyers. 4.5 stars.

Book #16 – Across the Universe by Beth Revis



I’ve seen this one recommended several times on LT and enjoyed it, though with a few reservations. Across the Universe is set on a generation spaceship, during its 300-year voyage from Earth to another habitable planet. Some colonists are cryo-frozen, while a few thousand crew members maintain the ship, grow food etc. The book alternates chapters between Amy, a frozen teenager who unexpectedly wakes up during the journey, and Elder, a teenage boy selected to become the next leader of the spaceship.

Much of the plot is basically a murder mystery and one of my reservations is that the murderer is exceedingly obvious (as I’ve seen other reviewers mention). The other plot revelations are also pretty obvious. The story reminded me a lot of The Giver – a similar sort of dystopian society, and a similar hero. The characters didn’t really do much for me, not that I didn’t like them, just that I didn’t really care about them either way. However I did like the setting of the spaceship and the story was interesting enough to keep me reading late one night until I’d finished it. I think kids/teens would like the book and I would have considered using it as a read-aloud for my class (11-12 yr olds), if it weren’t for a few chapters that involved a lot of sex and an attempted rape that might just be a bit too much. 4 stars.

Book #17 – Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming



This is the third Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery set in the Adirondacks. I am loving this series, especially the relationship between the main characters (a female Episcopalian priest and the married Chief of Police). I think she is handling this interesting setup very well. It gets even more interesting in this book. The mystery is also good – this time there is a missing person case that has links to a historical disappearance, so several chapters are set in the past. The best one of the series so far. 4.5 stars.

Book #18 – To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming



The fourth book in the series. This one all takes place over one very hectic day in the town of Millers Kill. I must admit I found it a bit confusing at first, trying to keep track of so many different characters and distinguish between them. I enjoyed it more as it went on, but so many people making rather unlikely bad decisions was a bit frustrating. It seemed a bit farcical at some points as the various crimes and criminals started overlapping. Anyway, as it got towards the end of the day the tension started building and the ending was pretty good. 4 stars.

Book #19 – All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming



The fifth book is a step above the previous entries in the series. Suddenly everything seems a lot more real and a lot more serious, because the crimes directly affect the characters we have come to know well. I thought this was the best of the series, but it wouldn't have the same impact if you hadn’t already got to know the characters by reading the previous books. Although the book is quite intense, there are still moments of humour, as in all of the series. 5 stars.

Wow, you are racing through that series. I'm trying hard not to add new crime series to my reading so will resist, though I'm very tempted seeing that you've demolished 5 in just a few days.

Yeah they're quick reads, plus I'm still more or less on holiday. (Should be doing more prep work for school but the books are distracting me!) I started the last book in the series an hour ago and will probably finish it tonight.

I noticed that Cassandra Clare is coming for the School programme to the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival (along with Garth Nix) in May so will finally have to crack open her books and get them read. I've been a volunteer the last couple of years and have been lucky enough to see most of the school programme writers.

>57 avatiakh: Lucky!

You are reading some exceeding interesting books. I have read both the first books in the Louise Penny and the Julia Spencer-Fleming series - I must get back to both those series! I too, love Georgette Heyer for the very reasons you mentioned. I haven't tried her in audio yet. Across the Universe is on my already on my wishlist, good to hear it's a pretty decent read.

I finished the last in the series:
Book #20 - I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming



This keeps up the intensity of the previous book with lots of high-stakes events involving the main characters. It is another excellent read. A new character is introduced to the small police force which adds another point of interest, and the ongoing Russ/Clare storyline keeps progressing. I can't wait til the next one comes out in April! Meanwhile I am forcing my sister and my flatmate to read the books so I'll have someone to talk about them with. 4.5 stars.

>57 avatiakh: That sounds cool, I wish more authors would come to Wellington! I have read and enjoyed pretty much everything by Garth Nix, especially the Sabriel series. City of Bones is the only Cassandra Clare I have read. I didn't find it particularly memorable, a bit too angsty paranormal for me, but I often need to read more than one in a series before I really start to enjoy it, so I might give her another shot sometime.

>58 mamzel: I found I enjoyed the Spencer-Fleming series much more than the Penny series, mostly because of the romance, but also because the writing style in the Louise Penny books just seems sort of overwritten, slightly surreal almost and I feel a bit distant from the stories. I will finish reading the series anyway, in fact I've just started The Brutal Telling. The third Spencer-Fleming book really got me hooked, so I recommend reading up to there at least.

#60: I really need to get back to the JSF series. It has been far too long since I read it. Thanks for the reminder, Fiona.

#38 - I just wanted to thank you for the cool review of Zombies vs Unicorns! I finally got my hands on a copy and devoured it. Pun, well, slightly intended. I have to agree with you, the introductions to the stories were the highlights. Have you read Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd yet? Holly Black is also one of the persons responsible for that one, and the introductions there were also hugely entertaining!
Sorry, I tried for the touchstone, but it's not working.

>62 PrincessT: No problem! I haven't heard of Geektastic before but will check it out. (Yay touchstones are working again.)

Well it's been a long time since I posted. School starting back for the year has been the main problem, plus the Christchurch earthquake (my parents were there during it), the Libyan crisis (my flatmate's parents were in Tripoli), a few days off with flu, taking my class on a week-long school camp, plus a week spent preparing for and celebrating my brother's wedding have made this a pretty busy month.

Anyway, I have managed to get a bit of reading done:

Book #21 - The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny



Pretty good. The stakes are raised in this one, with one of the regular characters directly involved in the crime. However, I feel a bit distanced from the characters in this series so I didn’t really care too much. I liked the visit to the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii – a place I had never heard of before, but found very interesting. 4 stars.

Book #22 – Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins



This was a fun YA novel about an American girl in a boarding school in Paris. She makes new friends, notably an impossibly handsome and charming English/French/American boy. It was all perhaps slightly too perfect and pretty predictable, but was a fast, fun read, had an interesting setting and characters. I think teens will enjoy it. 4 stars.

Book #23 – #26 The Various Haunts of Men, The Pure in Heart, The Risk of Darkness and The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill (all audiobooks)




I listened to these as audiobooks and found them excellent. They are English police procedural mysteries in the Simon Serrailler series. The characters, even minor ones, were very well drawn and I felt completely engaged throughout. They are about much more than just murder; there are ongoing stories about Simon’s family and friends too. I should warn that not all of the books end up happily and neatly resolved – they are not ‘cosy’ but certainly not gruesome either. The books were read extremely well by Steven Pacey, who did an amazing job of portraying the different characters and significantly added to my enjoyment of the series. 4.5, 4.5, 4.5, 4 stars.

Book #27 & 28 Have His Carcase and Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers



Two entries in Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series, which I am working my way through for the first time. I am finding the series ok, but not as enjoyable as other Golden Age mysteries I have read by Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh. I like the characters all right, but find many of the actual mystery puzzles depend too much on timings and codes which need to be explained in many, many pages of detail which I tend to skim through. I am more interested in motive than opportunity. Have His Carcase included the character of Harriet Vane which I enjoyed. Murder Must Advertise was set in an advertising agency, and the office dynamics were fun. 3.5 & 3.5 stars.

Book #29 – The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood



This was an enjoyable children’s book written in an old-fashioned, humorous style. A governess newly emerged from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females journeys to her first position and discovers the children she is to look after are rather feral, to say the least. Various mysteries arise while the governess diligently tries to bring a little civilisation to her charges. This is the first in a series. 4 stars.

Book #30 - The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King



This is the first in the Sherlock Holmes & Mary Russell series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more in the series. In this book, a bright and perceptive 15-year-old orphan, Mary Russell, stumbles across Sherlock Holmes who is semi-retired and living in the country. He takes her under his wing, tutoring her in his methods. The book spans several years, as Mary gradually begins to get involved in some of Holmes’ simpler cases and then gets thoroughly embroiled in a case that is extremely dangerous for both of them. A lot of fun. 4.5 stars.

Book #31 The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (audiobook)



The Nine Tailors is set in a small village in the Fens, and involves a missing necklace from years ago, a mysterious unidentified body and more about bell-ringing than you will ever need to know. This was one of the better Sayers’ books. I enjoyed the characters and most of the mystery, though it did drag a little at times. My audiobook version was expertly read by Ian Carmichael. 4 stars.

I'm glad you enjoyed The Mysterious Howling; that was one of my favourite books last year.

I enjoyed the Incorrigible Children as well. I've requested the audio of the Susan Hill books, I just finished listening to Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time read by Derek Jacobi and wouldn't mind listening to some police procedurals, especially if the narrator is recommended.

Good stuff! The Susan Hill series is a favorite of mine. Glad you enjoyed it.

It's great you got time to squeeze in a little reading with everything else going on! ;-)

I'm glad you liked The Nine Taylors more than the other Sayers - it's one of my favourites. I've read most of them, and am wanting to start a re-read in chronological order to make sure I've read them all...

Way behind as usual, but trying to catch up:

Book #32 Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater



Shiver is the first in a YA werewolf romance series. A young girl is dragged from a swing into the woods by wolves but survives the attack. Years later, she is still fascinated by the wolves that appear every winter near her home, especially one with distinctive yellow eyes.

The werewolf setup was quite interesting – they change from human to werewolf when the temperature drops below a certain point each year but over time find it harder and harder to change back into humans each summer. The romance aspect was less satisfying – the two main characters were in love as soon as they met which meant there wasn’t much drama or tension to be had there. I wasn’t really expecting to love the book and I didn’t, but it was ok. I might read the sequels if I happen to come across them at the library. Nice cover. 3 stars.

Book #33 The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill – audiobook



The fifth book in the Simon Serrailler series. Perhaps not quite as compelling as the first three books, but still a very enjoyable book that I finished quickly. The main crime storyline focused on the murders of several prostitutes, but there were many other subplots involving Simon’s family and others. As usual, the author made me care about the fates of everyone involved. The book was again read very well by Steven Pacey. 4 stars.


Book #34 Matched by Ally Condie



This is a dystopian YA novel, a genre I usually enjoy. Matched is about Cassia, a teenage girl in a future world where society has removed most choices from individuals, e.g. your job, what you can eat, when you will die and who you will marry. This last is the main subject of the book. Cassia, having just turned 16, attends her Matching Banquet where she will see for the first time the face and name of the boy she has been assigned to marry. Though happy with her chosen Match, she finds herself beginning to fall in love with someone else.

This book suffered a bit from containing elements that were very similar to The Giver (no individual choices – spouse, job, time of death chosen for you) and The Hunger Games (poverty-stricken and oppressed outer provinces on the verge of rebellion). Given that I know both those (better) books well because I have read them several times to classes, I couldn’t help myself from constantly making comparisons. I think Matched would probably be more enjoyable for those who hadn’t read the other books, or at least hadn’t read them so often or so recently. It was still an enjoyable, quick read. I’ll pass it on to my students and will probably read the sequels 3.5 stars.

Book #35 A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute - audiobook



A Town Like Alice is the story of Jean Paget, a young English woman working in Malaya during WW2. She becomes a prisoner of war and, along with a group of women and children, is forced to undertake a remarkable march around Malaya as successive Japanese authorities refuse to take responsibility for the group. The second part of the book covers Jean’s travel to the Australian outback after the war and her attempt to transform a dire outback settlement into a town like the glorious Alice Springs. Jean is a strong, likeable character, as is her romantic interest.

Starting a story with an elderly lawyer’s detailed account of a client’s will, inheritance provisions, and family trees before launching into the main story is probably not a choice many modern writers would make, but I quite enjoy Nevil Shute’s slow, detailed story-telling style, and the lawyer becomes an important character as the book progresses. Once into the main story, it was quite compelling and I finished the book quickly. I have read A Town Like Alice before years ago, but had forgotten many of the details and very much enjoyed it in audiobook form. The narrator, Robin Bailey, did a great job with a variety of characters and accents. 4.5 stars.

Book #36 Withering Tights by Louise Rennison



This is the first of a new series by the author of the Georgia Nicholson books. The previous series was a comedic diary of the misadventures of a hapless English teenager, and this is along very similar lines. I only read the first two of the previous series, but they have been extremely popular with my students and with a few adults I know too. Withering Tights is set in a small English town where the main character Tallulah is staying while attending the slightly mad local performing arts summer school. Various humorous incidents ensue as Tallulah struggles to find a performing art that she can actually do, and some life lessons are dealt with a light-handed touch. A fun, very fast read that is destined for my classroom bookshelf. 3.5 stars.

I have been away for a bit, Fiona, but hopefully will stay current with you the remainder of the year :)

My feelings on Matched and Shiver are very similar to yours. I've read both in the past few months, and found each one lacking in some way. I think both of them tried to hop on current trends in teen lit, and ended up sounding a little derivative for it.

Thanks for stopping by, Stasia and foggi. As usual I am struggling to get around to writing up what I'm reading and I'm miles behind. Will do a few now and hopefully more tomorrow.

Book #37 Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi



Winner of this year’s Printz Award, this is a fairly dark YA dystopian novel, suited to older teens and adults. It is set in a future Gulf Coast area in a world that has suffered serious environmental damage, among a community of scavengers that survive by stripping the rusting hulks of old ships of any usable metals or items. Many supplement their income by selling body parts or fluids. Nailer works in light scavenge, which means he spends his days crawling through ductwork stripping copper wire for his crew. After a Category 6 hurricanes rips through his beach settlement, Nailer finds one of the sleek white sailing ships that he dreams of working on has been wrecked on shore. Meeting the privileged girl Nita, the only survivor of the ship, leads to a series of events that takes Nailer out of his community and into an even more dangerous situation.

Ship Breaker is original, detailed and believable but is probably less accessible/appealing to many readers than other recent YA dystopias. I enjoyed the world-building and there were many memorable scenes but I didn’t feel that much emotional investment in the characters. 4 stars.

Book #38 The Help by Kathryn Stockett



I’ve seen this all over LT for ages, but never had any particular desire to read it, as the ‘suffering in other countries’ genre is not one of my favourites. However, one of my students lent it to me the other day so I thought I’d better read it. I enjoyed the book and found it quite interesting, not having read much about civil rights etc before. It was a quick, easy read – as demonstrated by the fact that my 12-year old student enjoyed it I suppose. 4 stars.

Book #39 Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold - audiobook



This is the second in Bujold’s Chalion series and focuses on the widowed, middle-aged Dowager Royina Ista, who was a minor character in the first book. Ista has recently been freed from a curse on her family and, determined to establish a degree of control over her life for the first time in years, embarks on a pilgrimage as an excuse to get out of her castle and away from her over-zealous attendants. She gathers some interesting and appealing travelling companions and sets off, however the pilgrimage is soon derailed and she becomes embroiled in the affairs of a border outpost.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially the character of Ista, and the very interesting interactions with the gods. Quite a good romance too. As with The Curse of Chalion, the storyline was far removed from a stereotypical fantasy plot and included plenty of humour. I think I liked it slightly less than Curse but that might also be partly because the audiobook narrator was not as good as the guy that read the first book. 4.5 stars

The Help has gotten so much attention that I was originally put off reading it. I am rethinking that now, and will perhaps check it out of the library, good to hear it's a quick, easy read.

Glad you enjoyed Paladin of Souls--it and Curse are two of my favorite books.

>76 ronincats: Have you (or anyone else) read the Sharing Knife books by Lois McMaster Bujold? I love her Vorkosigan and Chalion books but I read the first Sharing Knife book and found it too cliched fantasy romance for me. Anyone know if they get better?

I need to get to Paladin of Souls soon since I enjoyed the first book in the series so much. Thanks for the review.

Oo-er, I can't wait to read Withering Tights! I was a big fan of the Georgia Nicolson books, and I'm hoping to get a copy of this one sooooon!

Catching up on a few more books:

Book #40 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin



This is an interesting fantasy book that had quite a different feel to it. It followed a young woman from a country province who is summoned to the capital city where her grandfather is the ruler. Most of the book is set within the city, where there is a power struggle going on over who will be the next ruler of the country. This is all pretty standard, but the interesting bit for me was the use of gods as major characters who interacted with the humans. Some parts of the book dragged a little or were a bit cheesy (paranormal romance styles), but overall I enjoyed it and will probably read the sequel. 4 stars.

Book #41 & 42 A Monstrous Regiment of Women and A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King



These are books 2 & 3 of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. The first deals a lot with women’s rights, and involves a charismatic yet possibly sinister female preacher, while progressing the relationship between Russell and Holmes.

The second starts a little slowly, focusing on a letter possibly written by Mary Magdalene, and includes a lot of academic religious information, but gathers pace and turns out well. I particularly enjoyed a cameo appearance by Lord Peter Wimsey as a friend of Russell. Both were very enjoyable and very well-written. I’ve got the next couple out of the library already. 4.5 and 4 stars.

Book #43 Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer - audiobook



Bloody Jack is a young adult historical adventure novel. It follows young Mary ‘Jacky’ Faber, who becomes a beggar on the streets of London when her family dies and then goes to sea as a cabin boy, disguising the fact that she is a girl. Many nautical adventures ensue, and Jacky makes friends and enemies on board as she struggles to keep up her charade. Jacky is a very lively and appealing character. The audiobook was read by Katherine Kellgren who did an excellent job of Jacky’s cockney accent and range of emotions. The book is the first in a series but stands alone well. 4 stars.

Book #44 WWW:Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer – audiobook



I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of this series – Wake and Watch when I listened to them last year, and this was also a lot of fun. The series is about a consciousness/artificial intelligence called Webmind that emerges from the internet. Webmind slowly grows in awareness and morality, with the help of a blind teenage girl maths genius in Canada who gets an implant that restores sight to one eye and also allows her to interact with Webmind. It sounds weird when I write it, but it all sounds quite believable in the book!

The books have several strands which, in the audiobook version are voiced expertly by different actors. The third book has quite an amusing passage in which Webmind chooses the voice he wants to use to communicate with and settles on Audible audiobook narrator Marc Vietor – who is of course narrating Webmind’s parts of the books.

The books range over a lot of subjects from game theory to Helen Keller to high school proms and a chimpanzee/bonobo that communicates using sign language. I found them very entertaining and thought-provoking. 4.5 stars.

Oh, I love the Bloody Jack audiobooks! (The books as well, of course, but I think these audiobooks are particularly well done.) Glad you enjoyed Bloody Jack as well.

#80 I must get hold of the first of the Laurie R King books - I'm sure I'm going to love them; love the idea of a cameo appearance by Lord Peter.

I love the Laurie R. King series, Fiona. I am glad to see you are enjoying the books as well.

I am ridiculously far behind on updating my thread, so I'll just post brief comments to at least get my April reads up. Will try to do May before it ends!

Book #45 Naked in Death by J.D. Robb



I downloaded this to my iPhone on impulse and read it in a couple of hours. Reasonably entertaining in a trashy kind of way. 3.5 stars

Book #46 & #47 Death in Kenya and Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye



I read some of these books when I was at college and picked these up when I noticed them in the library. Though the murder mysteries and characters weren’t particularly well developed, the vivid settings and colonial feel made them quite interesting, though dated.
Looking at Google Earth to see some of the locations made them more interesting. 3.5 and 3.5 stars.

Book #48 These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer – audiobook



I’ve read this before, but didn’t really remember the details. Quite a slow start and a little long, but Georgette Heyers are always entertaining. At first the narration by Cornelius Garrett really annoyed me, but I got used to it after a while. 4 stars.

Book #49 Liar by Justine Larbalestier



A very interesting YA book with a very unreliable narrator. Lots of things to think about and discuss. 4.5 stars.

Book #50 My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger



This was a fun YA read with three teenage narrators. Though generally upbeat, it had some weight to it. I would have enjoyed it more if I knew a lot more about baseball, musical theatre and Mary Poppins, but I got by on a very limited knowledge of all three of these. 4 stars.

Book #51 Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson - audiobook



I very much enjoyed this gentle story set in an English village. It is about the retired Major Pettigrew and his increasingly complicated life as he develops a relationship with the local Indian shopkeeper and deals with various family and village dramas. Very satisfying with a nice sense of humour. The audiobook narration was excellent. 4.5 stars.

The first few books I read in May. Only 5 behind now!

Book #52 Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters - audiobook



A reasonably entertaining old-fashioned mystery set in Egypt. Some sections dragged a little as they were rather predictable, but the characters were fun. I’ll probably try the next one. 3.5 stars

Book #53 O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King



Another entry in the Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell series. This one was set in Palestine, and had a vivid sense of place. I thought the section before they got to Jerusalem could have been a little shorter, but all these books have a fairly slow, scholarly narrative pace, so you get used to it. 4 stars

Book #54 One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming



The seventh in the series. Enjoyable as usual, though perhaps not one of the very best ones. It involves a group of soldiers who have returned from Iraq and how they are dealing/not dealing with it. It was well handled I thought. The actual crime didn’t grab me that much though, and the Russ/Clare relationship, being a bit more settled now, is not quite as interesting as it has been I guess. The author has introduced a relationship between two other characters to counteract this I suspect. 4 stars.

You have been busy with some excellent reading. I have read and also enjoyed Crocodile on the Sandbank and O Jerusalem, but it has been many, many years for both of them. I have added Major Pettigrew's Last Stand to my wishlist as it looks like something that I might like.

I second what Chinquapin says above about your excellent reading. I plan to start the Bloody Jack series soon and perhaps I should try it in audio. Also I have plans to try both the J.D. Robb and Laurie R. King series eventually. Your thread always gives me great ideas!

I enjoyed Crocodile on the Sandbank and have requested the 2nd from the library so hopefully I like it as well - am interested to see if it improves on the first or not.

You have been reading some of my favorite series recently!

I read the M. M. Kaye books years ago. My only regret then was that she had not written more of them.