derdahinteninderecke's first attempt at this challenge

Hullo,
This is the first time I'm trying this challenge since I only started with Librarything last year. As such, I have two question: to what measure do comic books count? I assume I could read a dozen of those for one regular book and meet this challenge in course of a few weeks. However I gathered this is not the actual goal of the challenge. The other one is, do rereads count? When the mood strikes me I read books again, so...

Anyhow, what I read so far (commuting is reading time if you don't have to drive)

On an unrelated note, taking note of the changing expressions and barely audible comments of your fellow commuter and co-worker on your reading habits is fun! ("Isn't that book different from yesterdays?", "Wait. This morning you had a green book, this is blue, what happened to the other one?" - "I finished it.", ...)

List:
1. Feenzorn by Jim Butcher (Summer Knight)
2. Bluthunger by Jim Butcher (Death Masks)
3. Silberlinge by Jim Butcher (Blood Rites
4. The Adventures of Unemployed Man by Erich Origen (comic)
5. Gott höchstselbst by Marc-Antoine Mathieu (comic)
6. Codex Alera 1 by Jim Butcher
7. Die Delphininsel by Arthur C. Clarke
8. Exaxxion, Volume 1-7, by Kenichi Sonoda
9. Erdlicht by Arthur C Clarke
10. Babel-17 by Samuel Delany
11. Leichenblässe by Simon Beckett (Whispers of the Dead)
12. Der lächelnde Odd und die Reise nach Asgard by Neil Gaiman (Odd and the Frost Giants)
13. Niemalsland by Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere)
14. Neon Genesis Evangelion, volume 1-12, by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
15. Coraline, once again by Neil Gaiman
16. Die Erste Wahrheit by Dawn Cook
17. Die Geheime Wahrheit by Dawn Cook
18. Die Verlorene Wahrheit by Dawn Cook
19. Die Letzte Wahrheit by Dawn Cook
20. Highschool of the Dead by Daisuke Sato and Shouji Sato, volume 1-5
21. Codex Alera 2 by Jim Butcher
22. Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
23. The Longing of Shiina Ryo by Ryuno
24. Codex Alera 3 by Jim Butcher
25. Codex Alera 4 by Jim Butcher
26. Alle Roboter-Geschichten (The Complete Robot) by Isaac Asimov
27. Schwarzer Humor: Der große Zitatenschatz by Andreas Ehrlich (Editor)
28. Der letzte Zeuge by Rochus Misch
29. Codex Alera 5 by Jim Butcher
30. Fast tot by Ralph Haselberger
31. Unter Beschuss (Under Fire) by Marc Lindemann
32. Norwegen - Heimat der Trolle (Norway - Home of the Trolls) by Eli Ketilsson
33.-35. 20th Century Boys volume 1-22, 21st Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa
36. Onkel Dagobert - Sein Leben, Seine Milliarden by Don Rosa
37. Sofie's Welt by Jostein Gaarder
38. Room by Emma Donoghue
39. Squirrel seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Welcome! The rules are up to you, so if you want to count comic books, go right ahead. As an alternate, I know that some list but don't count comic books or magazines. That way they get recorded as part of the yearly list. I certainly count re-reads. Again, it's up to you.

Welcome! I count graphic novels and re-reads on my list.

No rules! No police! Whatever floats your boat!

Welcome. I read a few graphic novels and definitely count them, I am quite a slow reader though so they do take me days to finish like a novel would. I would list everything you read as it's the variety that I find interesting, the number is just a goal that some make and others don't.

Welcome to the group, Arne!

Okay, I finished Codex Alera 1, next up is Leichenblässe by Simon Beckett.

Now I'll only have to look if I can bribe my local book dealer to stock on books I'll buy anyways so I won't have to order them separately.

Good luck with the bribery scheme!

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

I just finished Erdlicht by Arthur C. Clarke (originally Earthlight) after raiding the local library for books.
It is a nice read, actually, and pretty hard on the science side if you disregard the points in which science marched on (plants and atmosphere on the moon) but these point were pretty much only there for scenery. The book itself tells of the struggle of Sadler in uncovering a spy on the moon base. Problem is, there had been neither war nor intelligence for over two hundred years so when the powers that be saw an armed conflict on the horizon they didn't have a lot of experience to fall back on.

Be that as it may, the talk with my book store went pretty well. They put the volumes I ordered aside (not on the shelf as I asked) but told me I had all the time I wanted (a few months) for buying them one after the other. So, no bribery.
I really can't see why they don't want to put my orders in the regular shelves for others to buy - I'd buy them anyway so no loss to them, right? *shrugs*

That is very nice of your bookstore. When I worked at a bookstore, we gave customers one month before we put them on the shelves. It sounds like they care more about retaining their customers, which is lovely.

Well, considering I bought three quarters of the book I own there I suppose they'd be willing to do small favours like this. Also, they're nice :)

#12: Sounds like your bookstore is being very nice!

That they are.

In kind of related matters: Are there any good zombie books out there? I already got World War Z and the Zombie Survival Guide (both by Max Brooks) but anything beside those? I usually go for tongue-in-cheek works, so that would be an added bonus.

I liked Feed, but I didn't think it was as good as World War Z. Most of the book isn't about the Zombie attacks, but the effects the attacks have had on society. I liked how the disease developed in the book.

If you like short stories, Zombies vs. Unicorns is great. It started as an online debate about whether zombies or unicorns were better, and Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier continue the debate in the book and it's very funny. It has a great fantasy author line-up.

I haven't read the graphic novel Walking Dead: Compendium One, but I hear it's very good.

I have read Walking Dead and it IS good! It subverts the expectations of the genre and at the same time plays them straight. Best of all, there is no plot armor and anyone can die. Nothing is sacred - it is the best depiction of the zombie apocalypse I have had the pleasure to experience so far.
Hrm... I just remembered I Am Legend. It has been made into a movie (with Will Smith), but I think there were significant deviations in the plot towards the end. Oh well.

I just finished Babel-17. It was interesting, but didn't really float my rubber ducky. Its ideas on the connection between thought and speech were interesting and reminded me of Snow Crash but other than that it kind of bored me. Being rather soft on the science part didn't help matters.

I hope your next read is a better one for you!

*sighs*
It wasn't better. I just finished Whispers of the Dead. I only read it since my brother insisted on its quality of writing. I have to agree on that, it is well written and the descriptions are very balanced on what to put in and what to leave out to invoke the best imaginary scenes.
Alas, the genre just rubs me wrong. I don't like thriller. And albeit I appreciate the craftsmanship in the writing I did not like it in general.
But I am not sad, especially considering my next book: Der lächelnde Odd und die Reise nach Asgard by gaimanneil::Neil Gaiman. When I opened the book to look for its original title, the smell... why am I still writing when I can read? (Odd and the Frost Giants)

I just finished Der lächelnde Odd und die Reise nach Asgard by Neil Gaiman (Odd and the Frost Giants).
Who would have thought it was such a short story? But a nice one. A very enjoyable fairy tale, well written. It gave me a very satisfied feeling. I think I will reread it a few times. And think on it with a content smile.

Glad to hear Odd and the Frost Giants was good. I think this is the only work by Neil Gaiman I haven't read. Thanks for reminding me about it.

It really makes me wish I had children to whom I could read it.

I finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
I read both Stardust and the Graveyard Book by the same author and half expected Neverwhere to have same feeling. I actually wanted it to have it - but it didn't. Given Gaiman is one of my favourite authors I am somewhat partial to the book.
So, yeah, I liked it.
Neverwhere tells the sory of Richard Mayhew, a run-of-the-mill nine-to-five businessman working a nondescript job in London. He has a beautiful fiancée, a nice flat, daily worries and in short - a life.
This all comes to a stop when a bloodied, snot-nosed girl falls out of a wall and in front of him and his wife-to-be. Good Samaritan that he immediately discards his plans for the night and helps the girl into his flat after she insisted on not calling doctors. His entourage was less than enthused by this and stomped away.
But this is a mere beginning. Richard is necessitated into London-below-London, a world where things are as they always have been and many things can kill a person and even more don't mind it. A grotesque and alluring shadow of the London he knows, yet so twisted it exactly the opposite and the literally same to what he knows. And so his quest for returning to his old life begins...

Next up is The Practice Effect by David Brin, and since I just got the newest volume of the series, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Neverwhere is definitely my favourite Gaiman.

#24

I liked it, too. I'm undecided on where it stands on my list of favourite books, though.

On a related note, I just finished Coraline, also by Neil Gaiman.
It felt... strange. Many parts of the story and description are underdeveloped. They felt like chalk or pencil paintings compared to the usual oil-filled canvases he paints. All in all I liked the movie better. This doesn't happen often...
I've still got three or so books by him, at least. But I'll probably intermix others authors now. I don't want to overdose on Gaiman ^^;;

Also, is there a tutorial on Touchstones somewhere? I found a short description but it doesn't help with the recurring errors occuring in the first post (#1).

Anansi Boys is my favorite Gaiman, but I did like Neverwhere a lot too. And of course, I love his collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens.

Good Omens is the present I have in mind for my brothers birthday. He likes both Gaiman and Pratchett and doesn't know of their collaboration.

D'oh. Here I was thinking I didn't own any Pratchett but I know we have Good Omens, I just couldn't remember who the other author was. Must read that soon.

Weeh, 4 books this time! I finished the Truth Series.
Die Erste Wahrheit, Die Geheime Wahrheit, Die Verlorene Wahrheit and Die Letzte Wahrheit, all by Dawn Cook.
Next up is the 2nd volume of Codex Alera.

PS: Forgot to mention the first five volumes of Highschool of the Dead by Daisuke and Shouji Sato.

#29: Did you like the Truth series? I have not heard of it before.

Actually, yes. I was surprised I did, though. The better part of that surprise stemmed from the fact I had neither heard of it nor did I have a lot of expectations or even an idea what it entailed. It was strange to discover its romantic core. Please don't get me wrong, it is well written and superbly intertwined in the regular plot but at its heart the Truth series is full of romance. The way I discovered it? I kept telling my brother (who owns the books and who I have trained to never spoiler), "There is a strange focus on the feelings and emotions as well as expectations and insights into the lead characters, isn't it?" But it is really well done! There is no real angsting on why such and such is (not) possible and only the most appropriate amounts of 'o woe is me'. So yeah, if you don't mind a heavy romantic subplot, it is a worthwhile read. The first two books are one arc that can stand on its own, but to get the whole conclusion you'd have to read the four books in its entirety.

As for the plot: Alissa is a young woman (17-20 or so) from the highlands, is thrown out by her mother to find the Hold, a mystical place where magic is taught, after she showed sign of being pulled to it anyways. On her way she happens to meet Strell, a traveling musician on his trip home. Happens to meet means: She fell down a ravine and he helped her out. They part and Strell meets (unbeknownst to him) Alissa's mother who trades with him and tells him of a tragedy that had killed his whole family. Full of grief he heads for home, coincidentally meets Alissa again and - with nothing to lose - joins her quest. During her travel Alissa is contacted by a Master of the Hold who warns her and forbids her to come to it. If I didn't mention it before, Alissa is stubborn and a way to make her do something is to forbid it. Thus they keep travelling and finally reach the Hold. It is empty except for a Keeper (magically trained human) who is kind of creepy.

Telling anything more would be rude, though. I'd point you to another site dealing with tropes and description of various works of literature, TV and cinema but, alas, the entry for the Truth series is woefully underrepresented. (A point I'm trying to remedy).

I will have to see if my local library has the books. Thanks for the input on them!

Finished Codex Alera 2.
Interesting. especially in comparison to the Truth series I read prior to that. Former has certainly more action in it, more stuff happening. Actually, it is a bit hard to get used again to the fast pacing. Oh well!
I don't know what's next. Maybe some robot stories.

#33: I need to get back to the Codex Alera series!

If you do, please don't spoiler it for me! So far only five of the six books are out here, and I read only the first two. The others will follow, though :D

Oh, no. I do not believe in spoilers! (unless specifically asked for, of course)

#36
Do not believe? How does that work? Telling a person the story or ending of a work who does not wish to be informed of either is commonly referred to as spoiling it. I dislike that being done to me since I already have a hard enough time not to do it myself. Belief does not enter it. I suppose you did mean you avoid spoiling others yourself...

Be that as it may, another book finished:
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
It is an interesting story. The premise is, there suddenly appears to be a forcefield enclosing the Earth without any warning whatsoever. It is at an altitude of about 100km or so and the moment it appeared everything in low earth orbit came crashing down. The stars disappeared and the governments try to find out what happened.
Interesting point to mention: The main protagonists are not the personally trying to find out what happened but rather continue living their lives with a certain focus on the forcefield but, well, life goes on. So it really takes years to discover the reasons behind it.

So, Entry 23 and 24. Since it's pretty much half time I suspect I won't be able to hit the 75 goal. Meh.

Anyway, The Longing of Shiina Ryo by Ryuno is, for now, a webnovel. The author is looking for a publisher and had sent in his manuscript to various agents. He was praised for his unique style, engaging storytelling and then sent away. Which is sad.
The concept is obviously inspired by many light novels, a literary concept very popular in Japan. Light novels are essentially series of books, short to medium in length, accompanied by drawings of the various scenes in the book. Those are not the focus though - they're more likely a pointer to visualize the persons and what is happening. The series genre are usually speculative fiction with a focus on the character interactions.
To be honest, I like the story. It is told in 1st person by Shin-Tsu, a japanese student. After some travels and many moves he finally settled down in the city in which he knows an internet friend lives, the titular Shiina Ryo. Shin² had always been on the move to avoid the and flee from, what he dubbed, mystery. This he calls whatever makes his life such an interesting endeavour. There are many allusions to what already happened to him due to this "Mystery" - time travel, dimension hopping, et cetera - but his past isn't the focus of this novel, but rather the present. His meeting of Shiina and her friend, and discovering his escape from Mystery didn't work this time, either. He snarks a decent commentary, though.
A special feature I want to point out: Shin² is genre savvy. He doesn't know he's a characters in a light novel, but he suspects it. Furthermore Shiina, a top student with constant A's and also considerably beauty, is aware she might look like a Mary Sue but insist she isn't. So conversational references to stylistic devices, tropes and pop culture are common and well done.

Honestly, I wish a publisher would have the guts to publish this book, and possible sequels. I would pay money for this, for a dead tree copy lying on my shelf, a copy I could easily lend a friend with the intent advise "Read. This."

Next up, Codex Alera 3 by Jim Butcher. It is the third in a hexalogy. After Tavi's first adventure, in which he saved the valley of Calderon and the his second, in which he prevented a civil war from breaking out, this is his third. After his training to become a cursor finished (somewhat) he gets the order to disguisedly join a newly formed legion incorporating troops from all over Alera instead of the more locally recruiting regular legions. The goal of this endeavour is to form a legion less likely to engage cities and settlements since there will always be officers and legionares coming from that particular city rebelling if those are attacked. Thus this new legion couldn't be used to engage in inner conflicts of Alera and used against certain High Lords or Alera Impera itself. On the road to said legion the sky turns red and darkens with red clouds making aerial transport nigh-impossible. The High Lord of Kalare uses this happy circumstance to finally start the civil war that had been brewing for ten years already...
What angers me most in this series of books? The fifth volume will be published in Germany (which is the version I read) in mid July and I have no clue when the last will the see light of day. And no, importing the UK/US-version is not up to debate. This should tell you how I think of the book, right? It is addictive, to a certain extent. And I honestly hate to wait for my fix! Argh!

PS: What's next? I don't know. Well, I know what I'm reading currently, of course, but predicting what I will finish next is... hard. I tend to jump all over the place.

Number 25, Codex Alera 4 by Jim Butcher, was a nice book, but subjectively not on par of the other entries in the series. In this volume it has been two years since the battle against the canim at Elinarcus. Tavi continues leading the first alerian legion as captain Rufus Scipio but the politics of the capital get a hold of him. Expecting to see his men slaughtered in upcoming battles he goes for another approach - negotiating with the canine invaders. The politician Arnos sees this as proof for high treason, imprisoning him. To prevent the upcoming bloodshed he flees and tries to get a token which he can use to barter with the canim forces for a cease fire.
The First Lord on the other hand ninjas into Kalare's lands to deal with the threat he poses, with Amara and Bernard at his sides.

Alle Roboter-Geschichten (The Complete Robot) by Isaac Asimov is a collection of many short stories dealing with Asimovs pafourite pastime - robots and the human interaction with them. It is pretty to the point in its scope but by far not all-encompassing. Furthermore I already read it once, years ago, in the library but found the book in may at a yard sale. Yay for me!

Next up? Der Letzte Zeuge by Rochus Misch, I think. Or whatever strikes my fancy.

I got Schwarzer Humor: Der große Zitatenschatz by Andreas Ehrlich for my birthday and read it instantly. Since it is a collection of quotes I don't really know if one can really read such a book as it is, but it was fun. It has a very black humoured selection of quotes, choosing from 2500 years of cumulated history. If you're feeling chipper this book may make you feel less so, and if you're angry this gives you enough reasons to justify that.
Be that as it may, it was a fun read.

A friend of mine lent me a book recently, Der letzte Zeuge by Rochus Misch. It was at a barbecue with attached small bonfire. After I got the book I spent most of the evening squinting at the pages, trying to read in the fading light of the day and flickering shadows of the fire.

The book itself is a biography of and by someone many people know but didn't consider, many of those also rather powerful. Rochus Misch was telephone operator, bodyguard and messenger for Adolf Hitler. Which is strange, since he wasn't exactly a nazi. He was mostly a guy known for not causing trouble. For this reason his CO decided to send him when asked for a reliable man able to work for the Führer and not to cause trouble. His general disposition of "sure, why not" made him accept the offer, in conjunction with his prior injury (bullet went through one lung). So he operated the telephone switchboard beginning in May 1940 and was finally released from service in May 1945. During that time he did his job and whatever was expected of him at the time.

This biography opens a window into the world of Adolf Hitler from a point of view that is so close to him it seems surreal. I read about a Hitler in pyjamas asking for his hot-water bottle late at night, about Hitler in positions of no relevance to history at all. It was surreal.

Nevertheless, quite good though.

On a side note, he was imprisoned and tortured after the war, only returning home 8 years later to finally meet his wife again and a daughter of 10 years, never being able to overcome the estrangement created during that time.

#41: I wish that one were translated into English. My German is nowhere near good enough to read it in that language.

Hi derdahinteninderecke, I like your review - this might be a book for me. Not available in my library (as usual), but I wishlisted it at amazon.de. Maybe with my next order.

I just had a quick look at your profile page and noticed that you rated Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher with 5 stars. I've had this on my shelf for ages, I really should read it soon.

#43 Indeed, you should. I bought it from the hip for its title - I neither knew much about Walter Moers (except Käpt'n Blaubär) but when I saw the title - The City of Dreaming Books - I knew I had to get it. It was worth every cent.

Welp, yesterday I finished Codex Alera 5 by Jim Butcher and am once again feeling angrish for having to wait for the next volume to be translated. Till now I had it good - I bought the books when I felt like it and the fifth came out a few days ago which was entirely to my liking but now I'll have to wait... *sigh*
The book in itself is fine. There had been better ones in the series, though.

Then I read Fast tot by Ralph Haselberger. It is a zombie book, the usual, except its staging area is Germany, around Marburg. I got it as a present by my brother who incidentally is studying in the very city so I had the opportunity to visit him and the descriptions in the story were quite accurate.
As to its quality... Well, I suppose I'm spoiled by World War Z. But it was decent.

Next book on the pile is Sophie's Welt by Jostein Garder. Will I read it? It depends.

Is that also called Sophie's World? I've read that one and it was quite fascinating but can be dense in a few places. This is my sister's favourite author and she thinks The Solitaire Mystery is even better so I'll hopefully get to that soon. I will be very interested to read your review of Sophie if you do read it.

I agree with Leonie about Sophie's World. It can be dense at times, but it is a pretty good read.

Sophie's World/ Sophies Welt is among the few books I abandoned half way through. That was many years ago, and it wasn't so much the philosophy that put me off, it was the writing style. But that was so long ago, I think I should pick it up again and give it a second try. I just finished Wer bin ich - und wenn ja, wie viele? by Richard David Precht, another philosophy compendium, and didn't like it a bit. Many of the amazon reviewers who didn't like it either recommended "Sophie" instead, saying it's more neutral and above all better researched.

I started Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher last night. I won't finish it in time for the TIOLI, but the beginning is great. I'm just learning about the book hunters.

Well, I suppose Sophie's Welt and Sophies World are congruent. Wiki at least agrees.

I started the book once already during my school time a few years ago but did not finish it. I don't exactly remember the reason, but I think the book bored me at the time. Maybe another try since a few years passed will make it more accessible.

Hah! Like I said, something wriggled its way in front of me. Unter Beschuss (Under Fire) by Marc Lindemann is my first non-fiction book in a long time. It deals with the situation in Afghanistan from a German point-of-view - What Germany did wrong, what they did right, the backgrounds to some of the political decisions, the chronological correlation of Taliban attacks to inner-political turmoil in the various ISAF-participants.
It is however strongly laden with opinion and personal perspective, a point one should keep in mind when reading it. The author himself is a reservist and served a few month in 2004 and 2009 in Afghanistan, so he does have legitimate knowledge of changes and proceedings at place.

What's next... probably Sophie's Welt or Ein Gutes Omen (Good Omens by Neil Gaiman). We'll see.

Good Omens is pretty good! I hope you enjoy it if that is the book you chose.

There was a quick sneak attack. Norwegen - Heimat der Trolle (Norway - Home of the Trolls) by Eli Ketilsson. It is a rather short book, 62 pages, but nevertheless impressive for its illustrations. Actually, that is the whole point - it shows illustrations and images of trolls by the famous Norwegian painter Theodor Kittelsen. To their side are little poetic texts describing features of trolls. At the end there is a short biography as well as a little insight to the painter given by his youngest son of 81 old at the time of publishing.
The great allure for the book was the style of drawing, it is reminiscent of Miyazaki's Nausicaä im Tal der Winde, in a sense, and generally of beings older than mountains.

I wish I read Norwegian!

Once again foiled by more interesting read, curses!
Okay, what I intermittently read were all 22+2 Volumes of 20th Century Boys and 21st Century Boys, respectively. And boy was that worth it!
Urasawa paints an interesting world: Kenji and his school friends built a secret fortress in a field of wheat in the Summer of 1969 and 1970. There they read manga, talked and generally enjoyed their free time. On such joy was a game of world domination, with pea shoters and ridiculously evil organizations overthrown by the hero and his friends. They even created their own sign to signify their dreams.
Now imagine Kenji's wonder when he is notified of the suicide of one such friend, with a letter later arriving and asking him for a talk. Who would commit suicide just after inviting a school friend to a serious talk? And why is their sign on the letter...?
Stranger and stranger things occur, such as a sect getting more and more followers and the leader of said "friendship"-sect, significantly called "friend" himself, using the symbol of Kenji and his friends for himself. And what are these rumours about an epidemic illness in Africa, with the victims dying of massive blood-loss through their skin?

Seriously, telling you anything more would amount to spoilering, and with such a good story that is preposterous. Nevertheless, for the first few volumes Kenji tries to unearth the identity of the "friend", his connection to Kenji's school friends, and generally comes to the climax pretty soon, making one wonder what will happen for the next 18 volumes or so. Suffice to say, the plans Kenji made as a child are made reality.

I don't know if you're used to manga as a medium but pretty soon one realizes, that in many series there are only a few different faces and the characters differ by hairdo or clothes. NOT IN THIS CASE. It is a testament of Urasawa's skill to be able to recognize the adult characters based on the children's faces without the need for distinguishing marks. You realize the boy with the shifty look and the seasoned thug are the same person since their faces look alike.
Furthermore, the surroundings are top-notch, too.

But the great feat is the story, really. It has so many twists and turns a Gordian Knot looks like child's play in comparison. And even though the reader is privy to informations the characters are not, one is still on the edge of the seat in suspense on what happen--- arg! Next volume! NEXT!

On other notes, Sophie's World still bores the hell out of me. Even though the philosophical parts are interesting I don't like the presentation. And Sophie seems like a brat (I'm at about 40% and still trudge on).

Interesting take on Sophie's World, it does have its trying passages but strangely for me, it was the philosophers that kept me going. The presentation is quite weird though, I agree with you there.

I suspect it is the feel of reading a non-fiction book I have to overcome if I want to succeed with Sophie... *sighs*

Never mind that, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa was on! I can't really put into words how much I love Rosa's style, storytelling, characterization, art, I simply can't. If I had to choose one comic artist/writer to name my favourite, Don Rosa it would be. In that vein I will be totally biased when I tell you the companion book is all one could have wished for and more. It includes all 12 chapters in coloured glory as well as the additional chapters as well. To each and everyone Rosa wrote a little text explaining and pointing out and showing all his work.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I love it. Wait, I can tell as well!
I remember the time I still read the comic books (they were called "Micky Maus", but still featured the Ducks) and the welcome surprise when an issue featured a story of The Life and Times. THEY were the only reason I collected issues as a kid, and pretty much every issue not containing Rosa's work was worth less and thusly discarded.

Sometimes, when I clear up the attic and I stumble upon an issue, I skim through the pages only hoping this issue contains one of Rosa's stories. If it does, disregard whatever I was doing at the time and what uncomfortable position I was in, it's story time!

Sofies Welt by Jostein Gaarder
To be blunt: Not as advertised.
When I was in school it was one of the books one was expected to read since it was "good", "well-written" and "you'll like it!"

I did not.

Sophie's World is a non-fictional book pretending to be fictional. It would work as such if it I had been told it was "The History of Philosophy with fictional interludes". I still wouldn't have liked it, I think, since Sofie is kind of a brat and not really likeable to me.

I think it's pretty telling that I'm finishing the next book on my list probably a mere week after the arduous two months+ it took to gnaw at Sofie.

That reflects my impression (or what I remember of it). :-)
Have you read the new Moers yet? I feel tempted, but I'll wait a bit longer with it.

You mean the follow-up to Stadt der träumenden Bücher? I'm sorely tempted, it was one of the more surprisingly good books I read. Actually I bought it on a whim - it looked interesting, and well, the title was REALLY intriguing. We'll see.

And since I'm here already:
Ein gutes Omen by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman, done.
I have read a few of the Discworld books and Nation, as well as a few books by Gaiman, so it was naturally a must read, even though I gave it as a gift to my brother (who enjoyed it as well).

It is really hard (I couldn't do it) to distinguish who wrote what part. But I for my part think it reads slightly more like a Pratchet book. Yet some of-the-wall developments are so like both of them...

But who cares about the authors? It's the book that matters, and that is well. A short introduction: The antichrist is born and among us and due to accident was born not to a satanistic cult but a rather spectacularly regular Englishman. It kind of continues in that vein. Both Good and Evil are kind of... incompetent, and have been influenced by mankind to a degree. Six-thousand years can do that to a person.
Be that as it may, the end is nigh, Armageddon is upon us and what was supposed to be the antichrist is in all honesty a mere child (and for the story of no relevance, hence almost completely ignored). The real antichrist, on the other hand, is living the life one might expect from a TV show, with perfect weather every day, grabbing apples fro geezers to old to effectively defend their groves. He has friends - a gang of eleven-year-olds like himself (mischief- and trouble-makers, but not even remotely on par with the antichrist himself). He doesn't know, though, what evil fate awaits him...

And that's it. There are other characters (an angel, a demon, a witch hunter, a witch, prophecies (a whole buck load!) and more), of course, but you'll want to read the book yourself, aye?

What's next? I don't know. There are books piling next to my bed, but I have no idea which one I will read next. Anyways, have fun :)

Yes, it's called Das Labyrinth der träumenden Bücher. I heard on TV that it has an 'evil' cliffhanger and will sure have another sequel. So I thought I'd wait with the reading till the sequel is not too far away anymore.

Hmm... I never tried the Discworld series. I had a computer adventure game, many many years ago and got stuck very early in, maybe because I had not read the books first.
Your description of that "Omen" book sounds tempting though, and it has an average rating of 4.31. So maybe I should give Pratchett a try in 2012.

Ooh, if you want to give him a try, go for Nation first, it is by far the Pratchet book I like most. Well, I can't recommend it to you since I don't know what you like and am therefore not able to give a good guess, but, well, it is pretty damn good in my opinion. Furthermore it is not as wacky, I suppose, as the Discworld books. On the other hand, I haven't read a lot of those, so I don' know how the later volumes turned out... Oh well.

Okay, Room by Emma Donoghue is done.

And, to be honest it was not what I expected. I bought it with a certain thoughts in mind - being about a boy being raised in a room and never having left it, with all what he experienced being the room.
I thought of the reason for that being mysterious, a novelized thought experiment.

That was not the case.

Room is about a boy being raised in a room by his Ma, with everything beyond Room not being real, and only his Ma, him and everything in Room being real.
His day begins in the morning, when he and his mother wake up, breakfast at a certain time, then a bath, then games, then a short time watching TV but not too long because that makes the brain go mushy, then playing games, then lunch, then rest, then sport, then playing games, then dinner, then playing games, then going into the cupboard to sleep when he comes, then counting the squeaks, then waiting till he leaves then maybe going to bed with Ma.

Jack - the boy - is five years old.

Essentially, Room tells the story one hears on the news - someone kidnapped a young woman, imprisoned her and raped her for years before she somehow got out. However, the viewpoint is that of the product of such continuous rape, a little child, and its experiences and thought on its situation.

A boy of mere five years does not know lot, but Jack is not dumb, not even close, especially since he can already read and write. This was obviously one way to kill time, teaching and asking and telling.

But the story doesn't stop there. It begins with Jack being on the eve of his fifth birthday, and his mother thinking him old enough to know a bit more about their real situation. The reader can see a lot being told between lines, the implications, with most of them flying right over Jack's head.

However, they start plotting their escape soon enough.

Spoiler:

After their success the painful acclimatization process begins. With Jack never having been exposed to other persons his social interactions are way below his age while his factual knowledge is way above. But then, a lot of what he technically knows he never experienced and well...

It is heart wrenching. In a pity-inducing way. In a way that makes me want to punch the evil out of the world.
Hence, Room is not for the faint-of-heart. Keep tissues nearby.

Next was a spontaneous buy, Squirrel seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris. I was on a visit home and whaler there took a look at "my" old bookstore, and found that little gem there. It's pretty easy why I chose it: It has a quirky cover illustration and the title of one story, "The Parenting Stork". How could that be wrong?

It wasn't, by the way. This collection of short story or rather fables is fabulous! The animals eat each other and are at peace with this - no confusion there. They can talk to their prey, and, well... for instance, there is a baboon professionally grooming a cat for a party or an owl listening to the partying rectal parasites of a hippo! How greatly absurd is that?!

Seriously though, it is well written and very enjoyable. I can easily recommend it to everyone 12 and older, and if you have no qualms with the discussion of sex you can go even lower. But beside that, the fables address many undertones of our society and portraits them in the ridiculous fashion they deserve.

PS: I signed up for that Santa Thing. Let's see how that'll turn out :)