2011 - New year, more books! What Bunkie's reading.

I made it to 75 in 2010 (and then some, I just forgot to update!), so I figured I'd give it another go in 2011. I mostly just keep up with what I read here, I don't do a lot of commentary.

Finished:

1. True Courage by Dee Henderson
2. Lady of the Trillium by Marion Zimmer Bradley
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb
5. First Light by Bodie and Brock Thoene
6. Deadly Sanctuary by Sylvia Nobel
7. Jazz Funeral by Julie Smith
8. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
9. Soul Intent by Dennis Batchelder
10. Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson
11. Espresso Shot by Cleo Coyle
12. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
13. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
14. Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass
15. Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison
16. The Last Symbol by Dan Brown
17. Fires of Nuala by Katherine Kimbriel
18. On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle
19. Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart
20. Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry
21. Sophie's World by Jostan Gaarder
22. Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson
23. The Black Company by Glen Cook
24. Shadows Linger by Glen Cook
25. The White Rose by Glen Cook
26. Spinward Fringe: Broadcast 0 by Randolph Lalonde
27. Spinward Fringe: Broadcast 1 and 2 by Randolph Lalonde
28. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
29. No Safe Haven by Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse
30. Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor
31. The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
32. ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor
33. Magyk by Angie Sage
34. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
35. How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks
36. For Keeps by Chautona Havig
37. What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst
38. The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
39. Hidden Fires by Katherine Eliska Kimbriel
40. Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb
41. Forest Mage by Robin Hobb
42. Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb
43. Greywalker by Kat Richardson
44. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
45. Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
46. Ancestors of Avalon by Diana Paxson
47. Northlight by Deborah Wheeler
48. Deception on His Mind by Elizabeth George
49. Surface in Heaven by Joseph Fullam
50. Heirs of Mars by Joseph Robert Lewis
51. The Hardest Thing to Do by Penelope Wilcock
52. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Currently reading:

The Soul of C.S. Lewis: A Meditative Journey Through Twenty-Six of His Best-Loved Writings by Jerry Root
A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
Quirky Kids: Understanding and Helping Your Child Who Doesn't Fit In - When to Worry and When Not to Worry by Perri Klass and Eileen Costello
Deadly Engagement by Lucinda Brant
Shadows on the Gulf by Rowan Jacobsen

Welcome back!

Hi bunkie, glad to see that you made it back. I was wondering if you got your Secret Santa books yet?

>2 drneutron: Thanks for the welcome! Hopefully I'll be more active in the group this year than I was last year.

>3 cal8769: Hi, Santa! :-) Sadly, my books have not yet arrived - at least they hadn't as of last Thursday, 12/30. But I was able to sneak a peek at your choices, and whichever of them I get, I'll be excited to read them! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I left town straight from work on Friday, so maybe they'll be waiting at the post office for me today.

Glad to see you back with us again, Lisa!

Thanks, Stasia!

Hey, I got the 13th installment of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series for Christmas. That's so long, whenever I get it finished, shouldn't it count as two books? LOL

I hope you like them (Whenever you get them!) It was tougher than I thought, picking out books for someone you don't know. I haven't got my books yet either.

#6: Unfortunately, no. I wish some of the longer books I read counted as two too!

Ah well, it was a nice thought! LOL

I finished Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb - I was reading it for one of this month's TIOLI challenges. I love her work - her books always just suck me right into whatever world she's creating. The only things of hers I have left to read are the Soldier Son books, and I'll be sad when those are done!

Hooray, more books for the TBR pile! I just ordered a handful from Half.com - The Sparrow (per the recommendation of NocturnalBlue), The Earth Hums in B Flat (on my wish list for a while), Dreamers, Discoverers and Dynamos, Quirky Kids (both of those to try to help my older son, who's very definitely unique!), Experiencing God Day by Day, Women of the Bible, Beautiful in God's Eyes, and The Power of a Praying Parent (those are all for my spiritual growth - two are devotional books, and I may only get through one of those this year). I love having new books on the way!

And I just finished up First Light, my third January TIOLI book. If you're a fan of Christian fiction, check out some of the works of Bodie and Brock Thoene. The characters are marvelously written, they're real people that I can relate to, and the historical detail is always fascinating to me. I finished up their Shiloh Legacy series last year, and it touched me so much, I'm going to do a giveaway of the set on my blog (when my home computer is up and running and I can get to my blog).

And now I'm only reading one book! That just won't do, I'd best start at least one or two more as soon as I can. :-)

#10: Wow! Nice haul, Lisa!

BTW - I love The Sparrow. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it.

I loved The Sparrow too, Lisa. You should definitely read it soon!

I got my copy of A Glastonbury Romance for the group read here. That's not going to be a quick read, I don't guess! I'm interested to get started on it, though.

I've now started A Glastonbury Romance. If any of you have read the Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake, that's what this reminds me of - very wordy, almost overly so, in its descriptions. I gave up on Gormenghast because that drove me nuts, but I shall press on with A Glastonbury Romance. I'm only on page 50, I can't quit now!

I'm also reading A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin. Will the fifth book in that series ever come out?!

On an unrelated tangent, apparently my Nook got too cold sitting on my nightstand, in my house, by an outside wall (yes, I know it's 20-something outside, but that's OUTSIDE!). It's locked up, and I can't remember how to get it unlocked. I guess I'll just let it sit until the battery runs down, and then recharge it and hope for the best.

I refuse to read the Martin series until he finishes it. As he appears in no hurry to do so, I can live without reading them until he does.

You're a better woman than me, then. LOL I'll probably have to do like I did with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time - when the new book comes out, I'll have to restart at the beginning and read the whole mess over to remember who's who and what's what!

Another one that's taking forever to come out is The Captal's Tower by Melanie Rawn. It's volume three in her Exiles series, and it's been so long since I read the first two that if the third is ever released (and some days, I have my doubts), I will definitely have to re-read them.

I know what you mean about re-reading series. These days, I try and wait until the series or trilogy is complete until I start on the first one. It is not like I do not have anything to read in the meantime!

Finished A Feast for Crows. Now I'm really irritated that the fifth book isn't out yet, because I want to see what happens next!

Precisely why I have not started the Martin series. I am not starting it until he finishes it!

Started reading The Sparrow last night, after several glowing recommendations here on the 75ers group. I'm on chapter 3, and so far it's very interesting!

#21: I love The Sparrow. I hope you are still enjoying it, Lisa!

Hi, Lisa! I'm in the middle of A Clash of Kings and really loving the series. Like St asia, I kept putting off starting it because I wanted Martin to finish the series before I started it, to avoid frustration, but I finally gave in because of the HBO (? or is it Showtime?) series that will start up soon.
Oh, and I *loved* The Sparrow - glad you are too!

Lisa - Can't wait to see what you think of The Sparrow. I read A Game of Thrones last year and loved it. I'm going to try to spread the series out so that Martin gets the next one written by the time I get there!

>22 alcottacre:, 23, and 24 - Still loving The Sparrow! I desperately want to know what happens next, so it's very hard for me to put it down of a night. I don't even mind the use of flashbacks to tell the story, which usually drives me nuts.

>24 porch_reader: - I'm not holding out much hope. His website says he was working on A Dance With Dragons in something like 2006 or 2007. There is an excerpt on the site, but I'm not sure if that's helpful or just maddening. LOL

Just finished Danger in the Shadows. I love Dee Henderson's books. Her characters are so real, so human, that I feel like they're personal friends by the end of a book (and especially by the end of a series!). And it's refreshing to read good books that also have a good message and where the characters have a strong faith. I like it, anyway - I realize that not everyone shares that with me. :-)

I'm now starting Parnassus on Wheels, thanks to the lovely Stasia and the LendMe feature of Nook books. It looks interesting, and I'm looking forward to getting into it!

Parnassus on Wheels is a fun read so far. I love Helen McGill. Any woman who'd flaunt the convention of her time, buy a traveling bookstore on wheels, and set out on an adventure is my kind of woman!

I finished Espresso Roast by Cleo Coyle this weekend. It was the first of her coffeehouse mysteries that I've read, and I like it. I kind of wish I'd started at the beginning of the series, but it is what it is. The book was substantive enough that I didn't see right through the whodunnit, but light and entertaining enough that it was just a quick, enjoyable read. I like Claire as the protagonist, and her ex-husband's mother is a delight and a lovely addition to the story. I'll be reading more of her books, and I'd give this one a solid four stars.

#27: Glad to see you are enjoying Parnassus, Lisa!

>28 alcottacre: - Done with Parnassus on Wheels - it was lots of fun, and a quick read. Thanks for loaning it to me, Stasia!

Now reading: Carved in Bone, for which I can also thank Stasia. It's her fault I keep adding books to my TBR pile. LOL (Not that I mind! ;-) ) I do love a good forensic read, and thus far, this one doesn't disappoint.

I really liked Carved in Bone. I need to get the sequel. I always plan on finishing all of the series that I have started but I always get sidetracked.

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

>31 Whisper1: - I'm pretty sure I've added my name to the thread - I'll look through to make sure!

Finished The Sparrow - just, WOW. Jesuit priests? Aliens? Space travel? Yeah, right, you might think. This is such a good book, I can't even describe it. And it's such an amazing look at faith and how we can fall away from it and return to it. It's going to be added into my permanent collection and re-read, for sure.

I also finished Carved in Bone. What a ride! This is a fictional work with some basis in fact, and it was a heck of a thriller. I didn't see the ending coming until it smacked me upside the head, and I had a hard time putting the book down because I just couldn't wait to see what came next. Stasia, I'm glad you mentioned this one - it was well worth the read!

#29/32: I am glad you liked Parnassus and Carved in Bone, Lisa!

I loved The Sparrow too! The sequel, Children of God, is a good read, but not up to the first book IMO.

Lisa - You've been doing some good reading lately! The Sparrow is hard to describe, isn't it? It's definitely one that I could re-read.

Finished Fires of Nuala, one I got through Early Reviewers. I really liked it! It's a fantasy novel about a con woman who gets entangled in the political goings-on in the world where she's gone to do a job, and ends up falling in love in the process. The characters were well-written, and it was one of those books where I felt like the protagonists had become friends by the time I was finished with it. I'd give it an enthusiastic four stars.

You've been reading some really interesting books that I've added to my look-for list. Thanks!

I finally got Hidden Fires, another in the Nuala series. (It may just be a trilogy and not actually a series.) I'm looking forward to reading it!

I've started Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. It's an interesting concept - Sophie starts getting what is basically a philosophy correspondence course delivered to her by someone she's never met, and she also starts getting things for another girl named Hilde. She doesn't know Hilde, but it appears that Hilde's father is sending things intentionally to Sophie with the hope that she will pass those things along to Hilde. There are a lot of bits that read like a philosophy textbook, and that's a bit dry, but I'm enjoying watching Sophie start to question the world around her and her efforts to identify and meet the unknown philosopher.

And my currently reading list looks pretty long! A couple of those are year-long devotional books that I won't finish until much later in the year - I just keep them there so as not to forget that I'm reading them.

I had Homespun Bride and Hide in Plain Sight on my Nook - they were free downloads, I thought, eh, for free, it's worth a try. I read both of them when I found myself with just my smartphone (hooray for Nook on the smartphone!) and didn't have anything else to read. Both were decent reads. Not "oh my goodness, these are the best books I've ever read in my whole entire LIFE!", but enjoyable. Both are romance novels, and Hide in Plain Sight has a bit of a mystery/suspense twist to it as well. They're both Christian in tone as well, so if characters working through their faith are appealing to you, give these a read.

I've slowed down on my reading a lot lately. Not sure why that is. I'm sure part of it is because I started a new job that I have to drive to, so I no longer have time on the bus to read like I once did.

That's good to know, Bunkie. I downloaded both of them too!

Still reading - up to 27 books now!

I got the Spinward Fringe books as free Nookbooks. They turned out to be surprisingly good reads! I'd recommend them.

I really miss having time on the bus to read.

Loved The Looking Glass Wars! I'm anxious to get on to the next two books in the series, but I have a lot of books I need to read for Early Reviewers, so I'd better hit those up first. My to-read list will never be empty. LOL

I still need to read The Looking Glass Wars. I bought it last year and have not gotten to it yet. Glad to see you loved the book, Lisa!

Stasia, get it! I've started Seeing Redd now, the second in the series, and I wish I had more time to read on any given day.

Just finished No Safe Haven - I got it through Early Reviewers, and really enjoyed it. Anyone who's a fan of Dee Henderson's O'Malley series would probably find it a good read.

I soldier on! Up to 31 now.

The Healer's Apprentice was another Nook freebie. It was a sweet little book, and one that has characters with strong moral values. Pretty darned good for a freebie. :)

I'm almost done with ArchEnemy. My to-read pile is so big, I'll have a hard time deciding what to read next! (And it just dawned on me: I have a book that's something like four weeks overdue at our church library because I keep forgetting to read it and bring it back. D'oh.)

I will have to recommend No Safe Haven for my youngest daughter who loves Dee Henderson's books. Thanks, Lisa!

Much more reading, comments to make, but it's late and past bedtime! I promise not to disappear for a month this time. LOL

And WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin is now available for pre-order, will be out on July 12!!! It's about time!!!

Still reading, just not posting much! My dad has been doing not real well with the Parkinson's, so I've been traveling a bit to help with him, and my job keeps me so busy that I just don't take much time to post. My Internet activity has diminished considerably. LOL

Glad to see you checking in though :)