Bookoholic13's 2012 Assault on Mt. TBR - Part 2

This year, I seriously need to attack Mt. TBR, so the actual challenge part of my 12-in-12 category challenge will technically not be the categories, but rather resisting acquiring new books. Since I read about 100 books per year, 75 books (or more) should be off Mt. TBR. Also, most of these (60 or more) should be given away.

1. January totals - Mt. TBR: 10/11 (Given away: 11)
2. February totals - Mt. TBR: 6/6 (Given away: 6)
3. March totals - Mt. TBR: 5/5 (Given away: 4)
4. April totals - Mt. TBR: 7/8 (Given away: 7)
5. May totals - Mt. TBR: 4/12 (Given away: 3)
6. June totals - Mt. TBR: 6/8 (Given away: 5)
7. July totals - Mt. TBR: 11/13 (Given away: 8)
8. August totals - Mt. TBR: 3/7 (Given away: 4)
9. September totals - Mt. TBR: __ (Given away: __)
10. October totals - Mt. TBR: __ (Given away: __)
11. November totals - Mt. TBR: __ (Given away: __)
12. December totals - Mt. TBR: __ (Given away: __)

GOALS:
Running totals - Off Mt. TBR: 52
Running totals - Given away: 48

TOTAL BOOKS READ:

January

Off Mt. TBR:
1. The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney Finished January 5th TIOLI
2. When the Air Hits Your Brain by Dr. Frank T. Vertosick Jr. Finished January 10th
3. It Takes A Wizard by Thomas Hart Finished January 13th
4. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith Finished January 15th TIOLI
5. Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantock Finished January 22nd TIOLI
6. Sabine's Notebook by Nick Bantock Finished January 22nd
7. The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock Finished January 22nd
8. Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman Finished January 23rd TIOLI
9. The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz Finished January 27th TIOLI
10. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill Finished January 30th TIOLI
-------------
Newbies:
1. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James Finished January 20th

February

Off Mt. TBR:
1. The Sacred and Profane by Faye Kellerman Finished February 3rd TIOLI
2. Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill Finished February 13th TIOLI
3. Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs Finished February 18th TIOLI
4. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison Finished February 19th
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg Finished February 19th
6. The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan Finished February 28th

March

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Milk and Honey by Faye Kellerman Finished March 3rd TIOLI
2. Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs Finished March 8th TIOLI
3. The Alienist by Caleb Carr Finished March 18th
4. Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill Finished March 23rd TIOLI
5. From Hell: Being a Melodrama in Sixteen Parts by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell Finished March 27th

April

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Day of Atonement by Faye Kellerman Finished April 2nd TIOLI
2. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Finished April 6th
3. Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs Finished April 7th TIOLI
4. Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill Finished April 14th TIOLI
5. Soulless by Gail Carriger Finished April 17th
6. The Magicians by Lev Grossman Finished April 23rd
7. False Prophet by Faye Kellerman Finished April 30th
-------------
Newbies:
1. Suddenly, a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret Finished April 15th

This has also turned out to be visit-home-month!



May

Off Mt. TBR:
1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt Finished May 6th
2. Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan Finished May 8th
3. My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl Finished May 10th
4. Dance on My Grave by Aidan Chambers Finished May 12th
-------------
Newbies:
1. Fångar på Bohus by J O Rune Hasslöf Finished May 9th
2. Love, Cherish Me by Rebecca Brandewyne Finished May 16th
3. Sirila gentlemän sökes by Karin Brunk Holmqvist Finished May 24th
4. Zelda by Lina Neidestam Finished May 25th
5. Prins Charles känsla by Liv Strömquist Finished May 25th
6. Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds Finished May 26th
7. Macbeth by William Shakespeare Finished May 26th
8. Eld by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren Finished May 31st

June

Off Mt. TBR:
1. The Complaints by Ian Rankin Finished June 10th
2. Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill Finished June 12th
3. Grievous Sin by Faye Kellerman Finished June 14th TIOLI
4. The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett Finished June 18th
5. Storm Front by Jim Butcher Finished June 20th
6. The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill Finished June 29th TIOLI
-------------
Newbies:
1. Railsea by China Miéville Finished June 8th
2. Maran by Lina Neidestam Finished June 20th

July

Off Mt. TBR:
1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown Finished July 5th
2. Röde Orm by Frans G. Bengtsson Finished July 6th
3. Sanctuary by Faye Kellerman Finished July 10th TIOLI
4. The Cauldron of Three by Lloyd Alexander Finished July 11th
5. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander Finished July 12th
6. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander Finished July 13th
7. Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander Finished July 14th
8. The High King by Lloyd Alexander Finished July 15th
9. My First Sony by Benny Barbash Finished July 18th
10. Past Continuous by Yaakov Shabtai Finished July 29th
11. Talking to the Enemy: Stories by Avner Mandelman Finished July 30th
-------------
Newbies:
1. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher Finished July 26th
2. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher Finished July 29th

August

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Christine Falls by Benjamin Black by Jim Butcher Finished August 4th
2. Justice by Faye Kellerman Finished August 12th TIOLI
3. A Trumpet in the Wadi by Sami Michael Finished August 16th
4. Blue Has No South by Alex Epstein
5. The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev
6.
-------------
Newbies:
1. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher Finished August 3rd
2. Death Masks by Jim Butcher Finished August 5th
3. The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin Finished August 9th
4. The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham Finished August 18th
5. Falling Glass by Adrian McKinty
6. Death of a Hollow Man by Caroline Graham

September

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Prayers for the Dead by Faye Kellerman TIOLI
2.
-------------
Newbies:
1.

October

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Serpent's Tooth by Faye Kellerman TIOLI
2.
-------------
Newbies:
1.

November

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Jupiter's Bones by Faye Kellerman TIOLI
2.
-------------
Newbies:
1.

December

Off Mt. TBR:
1. Stalker by Faye Kellerman TIOLI
2.
-------------
Newbies:
1.

#19

Deadly Décisions by Kathy Reichs

A nine-year-old girl is killed in the cross-fire of a motorcycle gang war and Tempe volunteers to help, but things get very complicated when her nephew comes for a visit with his new-found love for all things Harley Davidson. My main attraction to this series is the forensic information that is given and this installment is no exception; there is an inordinate amount of details pertaining to forensic and police work and to the biker world. It worked for me because I have a special interest, but if you're looking for a standard whodunit or procedural mystery, you will get a severe case of information overload. Also, there's the main-character-acts-stupid-and-gets-in-trouble bit that I have a problem with, especially since, in this case, it's only to let the reader know one piece of information which we easily could have figured out for ourselves. Good read if you want the scientific bit, rather poor read if you don't.

Just thought I'd stop in and say hello in your new thread!

I've read a few of Kathy Reich's books, and I feel the same way about her. I find the writing mediocre but I do like the forensic information. I still have a couple of her books on my shelves that I mean to read one day.

Welcome! :) I got the first 12 books from a friend who knows my interest in forensics, so I figured this year's TIOLI challenge was a perfect way to go through them. And, absolutely, without that interest, I really don't see how they could be interesting - the writing is as you say somewhat mediocre in the non-technical aspects.

I agree, I only read 2 or 3 of them.

Ah, thanks for the warning on Kathy Reich. I think I'd rather pick up a non-fiction book on forensics. Can't stand characters that are stupid to move the plot along.

I really like the fact that the new continuation feature automatically stars you for me so I don't lose track of you.

I've read some of the Kathy Reichs and have some more on the shelves, but agree that the writing could be a little better.

Stopping by to visit your new thread!

->17 avatiakh:
That's probably enough to get a feel for them. I'll let you all know if the style changes later in the series.

->18 cammykitty:
That's my biggest pet peeve - I want the "baddies" to be clever enough to put up a decent fight rather than my main character bumbling into trouble by her/himself (AKA Sookie Stackhouse Syndrome. :))

->19 dudes22:
Very nifty feature, isn't it!! For the forensics it's great, but not for quality writing or storyline.

->20 lkernagh:
Welcome - glad to have you along! :)

Wow - I'm envious of your TBR smack-down so far this year! Mine is quite the opposite (due to the many library books that have been seducing me lately), but I'm hoping to turn the corner and reform my wicked ways within the next couple of weeks.

My Mom read and liked the Kathy Reichs series, but that was a few years ago (and she only reads mysteries, if that makes a difference) and I know she hasn't touched anything new of hers in a while. Hope you enjoy the rest of the books!

I'm somewhat impressed at well - with the caveat that it's only March... It did help that I boxed up the ones I want to read then give away, so when I'm looking for something new to read I empty them out on the floor and have (so far) found something to catch my eye. My library has kindly started a wishlist function, so I can put the bookbullets on it and not feel I have to get them right now. Keeping my fingers Xed for both of us that the resolve lasts! :)

Yah.... a TBR smack-down! Awesome!

Yeah - it's always good to make some progress on the TBR. I'm doing ok - 15 out of 22 read are off the shelf (for me that's prior to 1 Jan). But most have been ones I put there last year and not the older ones. Going to try and work on those this year.

15 of 22 is pretty great - a lot better than I did last year! :)

Thirteen off the TBR for me so far - and six new additions. Giving me a total dent of seven books in the mountainrange! I've also given away eight books. Very proud of myself here!

You're doing very well too! Yey us! :)

I'm afraid to look at my stats but will to answer the Q&A thread...

->29 psutto:
LOL - a quarter isn't bad either. I think it's about on par with what I did last year! :)

I bought another 4 books at the weekend too and they're so shiney I just have to read them over and above my planned reading :-o although they all at least fit my categories

->31 psutto:
"although they all at least fit my categories"
Or you could just wedge them in...! :)

- - - - -



#20

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

In 1896 New York City, Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt enlists infamous psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and reporter John Moore to help him find a serial killer who preys on the weakest of the weak, the child prostitutes. This is a long, but fascinating foray into the early days of psychological profiling. If the topic is of specific interest to you (as it is to me), I would highly recommend this rather gruesome mystery. The historic elements are also a big bonus here since the author is an historian and paints a vivid picture of end of the century New York. The draw-back of this barrage of historical detail is that the emphasis is not always on the characters, and, although they are intriguing and complex, I don't always feel what I'm told that they feel. It's a minor quibble, though, and the story is definitely engaging and the details would make any history-buff giddy.

Eva, I'm assuming you are a Dr Who fan from your profile picture. I've just picked up Running Through Corridors, Volume 1: The 60s: Rob and Toby's Marathon Watch of Doctor Who by Robert Shearman (he wrote the daleks episode in the new Dr Who) and Toby Hadoke, they're both Dr Who fanatics. I've only read day 1 and think it's going to be a fun, geeky read.

That sounds brilliant! I saw some episodes of the "old series," but it wasn't shown in Sweden, so I only watched when I was in the UK. I am a huge fan of the new series (although it's seems to be changing a little too much for me - the new companion was jsut announced and I'm wary...). I have had the idea to watch every episode from the start - maybe I'll read this one as a companion when I do. :)

Oooh, Running Through Corridors sounds great! When I first started watching the good Doctor a few years ago, I thought to start from the very beginning. I was so bored that I gave up after 2 (very long) episodes. At some point I would like to watch most of them, but I don't think it'll be any time soon. Adding the book to my WL! And Eva, who is the new companion?

Her name is Jenna-Louise Coleman and I've seen her on a soap called Emmerdale and, unfortunately, she's one of my least favorite actors. She's going to be in Julian Fellowes' new mini-series, Titanic, however, and hopefully she'll redeem herself there so that I won't be set against her when she starts Who (Fellowes is the creator of Downton Abbey, so I'm really looking forward to Titanic!!). Also, I'm seriously worried that the Who-people are starting to shy away from us geeks and are pandering to the tweeny-crowd instead. I just want a clever/funny companion and an even cleverer/funnier Doctor - is that so much to ask? :)

The Alienist has been off and on my wishlist for years as I am more a fan of history than I am of mysteries.. I think after your review it's back on, I mean I should just take the plunge!

I don't watch the new Dr Who but I would be intrigued to know if they ever plan to have a female doctor..

The Alienist is on my To Read Later list.... just don't know when I will get around to it!

The alienist has been tempting me as its sitting on our work book swap table

Good review of The Alienist, I read it a couple of years ago and was left with a similar feeling of information overload, though I enjoyed it like you.

Definitely recommending The Alienist for the historic portions - New York at the turn of the century seemed a hard place indeed.

->37 clfisha:
I was hoping that we'd have a female one when Donna turned into Doctor-Donna, but that didn't last long. We do have a female timelord now, which is a step in the right direction, even if she's not the Doctor.

=>14 -Eva-:

Was interested in the Kathy Reich books. Not anymore. ;-)

Yes, you definitely need a pre-existing interest in forensics, otherwise I would just pass - or go for the TV series, perhaps. :)

I love the TV series. Which is what spawned my general interest in the original books. Lately I have been far too disappointed with bestsellers that became TV shows or movies - in contrast to a popular belief: the adaptations are usually better - that I just can't be bothered checking out another book series that will disappoint me.

I've not yet watched the TV series, but I have heard from lots of people that they like it better than the books and I can guess that the huge amount of forensic detail in the books may be the reason. Also, they might not be very similar and the screenwriter might just be better than Kathy Reichs at drama...

I have to admit that with the huge amount of books that I (and, indeed, we all) want to read, it's sometimes a relief when one of them get made into a good movie or TV series so I can cross it off the list. :)

"I have to admit that with the huge amount of books that I (and, indeed, we all) want to read, it's sometimes a relief when one of them get made into a good movie or TV series so I can cross it off the list. :)"

Haha, where's the LIKE button on LT? ;-)

#21

Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill

Dr. Siri Paiboun and Nurse Dtui are called away to distant Vieng Xai to investigate a mummified arm found protruding from a cement block and hopefully discover to whom the arm and the rest of its body belongs. The descriptions of the landscape, the bureaucratic government, the spirit-permeated atmosphere, and the charming characters make this book another great installment in a great series. The characters are getting more and more fleshed out as well and both Dtui and Geung get to have adventures of their own, separate from Dr. Siri. The stakes are high (particularly Geung's) and the mummy mystery is as intriguing as they come, as long as you don't mind that the supernatural will have a hand in solving the puzzle.

#22

From Hell: Being a Melodrama in Sixteen Parts by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

Alan Moore's take on the Jack the Ripper mystery is nothing short of a treatise in graphic novel format, including a heavily detailed Appendix to explain not only his own ideas about the role of society and psychology, but to expound on many other experts' as well. I don't think anyone can argue the fact that Alan Moore is a bit of a genius and this book does nothing to change that. Moore's decision to develop Stephen Knight's ideas about the identity of the Ripper and the Mason conspiracy is dramatically extremely appealing even if it's not one that most experts think likely to be true.

The art, however, is somewhat disappointing to me; Eddie Campbell is very good at setting a dismal mood and his architectural drawings are beautiful, but his characters are so roughly sketched that they are sometimes indiscernible from one another, which makes some scenes incomprehensible until you turn to the Appendix to read about what is actually going on. I read the annotations concurrently with the story and would recommend reading them like this even though they slow down the reading pace and some of the drama is lost - in fact, without them I would have misunderstood the storyline quite a few times.

March Summary:

Number of books: 5 (poor!)
Pages: 2,125 (decent)
Off TBR: 5 (good!)
Given away: 4 (good!)
Books bought: 0 (great!)
TIOLI books: 3

Best read of the month: From Hell - Alan Moore is a genius, it's as simple as that.
Least good read of the month: None - the rest were all good reads.

From Hell will definitely be a future read for me. Glad you enjoyed it even with its faults.

Great review of from hell, I have it pegged to reread next year (along with a book on Hawksmoor) but I just want to get it out now :)

I am really looking forward to reading the Cotterill series soon. I've read one of his books and I enjoy reading books taking place in the Far East.

I like the fact that you include "given away" in your statistics. Are you a Bookcrosser, by any chance?

Great review of From hell. Even greater monthly recap! (Oh, and as someone who has no knowledge of Doctor Who whatsoever - not because I'm not a geek, but just because it's never really crossed my path - the above discussions of "We at least have a female timelord now" seem puzzlingly surreal in a interest-invoking way. I kind of like those kind of series who can never make their mind up about anything...)

I am looking forward to trying out the Cotterill's Dr. Siri series. My library system has the series available as audiobooks so I think I will try out listening to audio books with this series.

->53 mathgirl40:
I'm on BC, but only to log books that I've received. I give the books away to friends, on PBS or BM, or to my Friends of the Library bookstore. As long as they don't take up room at home... :)

->54 GingerbreadMan:
I hope it does cross your path some time - it's a very clever (and funny) show!

->55 lkernagh:
It looks like the reader is Nigel Anthony - I hope he's really good, Dr. Siri deserves it! :)

ETA - This is for Anders:

#23

Day of Atonement by Faye Kellerman

Peter Decker and Rina are spending their honeymoon in Brooklyn with the inlaws when a boy disappears and Decker volunteers to track down not only the boy, but his psychopathic companion as well. Even though the crime-part is seriously creepy, perhaps the creepiest in the series so far, this installment in the series is also one of the funniest. Decker trying to be comfortable while being hosted by his wife's deceased husband's family in cramped quarters in Brooklyn makes for some interesting situations. There are also a few surprises when it comes to family relations that put a different spin on the story. A high-stakes mystery with some interesting insight into Orthodox Jewish life.

It's been a few years since this book's original publication, but the series is turning out to be remarkably undated, perhaps because it partially takes place in the Orthodox Jewish world which, let's be honest, doesn't change very much. Ever. The only time I noticed anything amiss was when Decker promises to buy tickets to Disneyland and agonizes over the fact that they cost $21.50. $21.50? Really? Last time I went (end of February this year), they were $80.00!! Well, what can you do, it is the Happiest Place on Earth after all. :)

>56 -Eva-: Thank you kindly for that crash course! Where would you say is a good starting point? "Must see from the very beginning in order not to get confused, even though the first season isn't very good" (a la Buffa the Vampire Slayer) or "We tend to make it up as we go along, so just jump in anywhere" (a la, say, Lexx)?

>57 -Eva-: ... Spending their honeymoon in Brooklyn with the in-laws...

Wouldn't everyone want that? :)

->58 GingerbreadMan:
Oh, is that why I'm completely nonplussed as to why people like Buffy - because I've only tried season 1. :)

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with the "older" Doctor Who, although I'm sure there'll be protests from those who grew up with it (mainly because the production value is somewhat low and a modern viewer will think it's silly).

Since they were aware of there being a new generation of watchers and so throw in explanations, I'd start from the beginning of the "new" series. It started in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, but he only did the first series and then David Tennant took over as the Doctor. Brilliant idea that - when an actor leaves, the Doctor regenerates into another form, so we have the same Doctor with a different face. :)

->59 dudes22:
Charming, right?! It's even worst - it's his wife's deceased husband's family. Awkward! :)

>60 -Eva-: I'd say (and most seems to agree) that Buffy really kicks in by the middle of season 2. But you kind of need a knowledge of the basics before then. I actually think season 1 is good too, but in a more camp, corny way.

Aww poor Buffy season 1. Ok I liked it because it's amusing and look I don't hate the film :)

Even tho I dont watch Dr Who now I agree with Eva; start with the new. I have fond memories of K9 and Tom Baker but who knows how it held up and the special effects were of the egg box sprayed gold type ;)

egg box sprayed gold type
This. And props that wobble when the actors walk by. :)

The Bakerman will always be the Bakerman, but I'll contend that Tennant may be the best Doctor ever - possibly because he's a Whovian himself and just throws himself into the role with reckless abandon. And K9 makes a cameo in the new series!

Hmm, I might give Buffy another chance then...

I catch Buffy sometimes on my way to sleep. Just the other night they had the first of the series on. Young Giles! What a difference from the actor's appearance on Merlin as Uther Pendragon!

Saw Anthony Stewart Head in a queue in front of me buying coffee in Paddington station last year - was too British and polite to try and talk to him though...

the "real" Doctor Who is always the one you grew up with & therefore for me its Tom Baker

there was a Dr Who film (against the Daleks) in the 60's too where the Doctor was played by Peter Cushing...

->64 mamzel:
"Young" Giles made me smile. My first encounter with Anthony Head was when he was in a series of coffee commericals in the 80s - a series that was so romantic it had all the girls a little bit in love with Mr. Head (I might still be, a little bit....) :) I did not know he was on Merlin - must check that out!!

->65 psutto:
I think even I would have tried to talk to him - see above for puppy love reason. :) Are you old enough to remember those Nescafe Gold Blend commercials??

Van Helsing would make an interesting Who storyline! There was a vampire-episode in a recent episode and that was brilliant!!

>66 -Eva-: I remember the Nescafe Gold Blend commercials! It looks like you can view them on YouTube if anyone is interested.

Here is a link to a lovely "Gold Blend Explained" clip if you have missed this masterpiece. :)

I did love the two of them so much! :)

Count me in as another fan of geeky TV series (Buffy, Star Trek, etc.) who sadly, has had no experience of Dr. Who. I keep meaning to remedy this, but I too have no idea where to start.

Speaking of Merlin, I've watched the first three seasons, as my 13-year-old daughter is a huge fan and insisted I watch them with her. I've enjoyed the series, though I have mixed feelings about some aspects, but certainly Anthony Stewart Head's acting is excellent as always.

I may have missed most of the geeky TV series, but Doctor Who is an old love and even more now that it's been resurrected in a new/better format. :) Yes, definitely start with Christopher Eccleston's episodes. It's a kid series at heart, but quite scary at times (anyone not freaked out by the episode "Blink" is just mad).

#24

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

This is an evocative tale of life in the Nigerian village of Umuofia at the end of the 1800s, mainly focusing on the life of Okonkwo, a fearless warrior, and his family. The book is obviously a classic, even held up as the "archetypal modern African novel," but at the same time incredibly readable. Okonkwo is not a very appealing character, but because of his conservative stance regarding traditions, he is the perfect protagonist for the reader to view the village and the changes that come about; although the rituals that the Igbo practice are quite brutal, Okonkwo manages to make them seem almost (if not completely) reasonable, and what is really interesting is how Achebe manages to describe these traditions, compare them with the "milder" missionary rituals, and make the Igbo come across as the more tolerant and open-minded of the two cultures. My favorite part is the voice that Achebe has chosen to tell the story - while reading, you get the feeling that you're listening to an episodic oral folktale since even the oddest occurrences are mentioned as fact and the main gist of the story is the outcome, like it is in a fable.

#25

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Temperance Brennan is called in to help identify victims at a plan crash, but is dragged into a bigger mystery when she finds a foot whose owner has passed on long before the plane ever departed. As usual with Reichs' books, there is an immense amount of forensic information, which I find interesting, but in this one we're also treated to endless lists of (acronyms of) government agencies who get involved in investigating accidents like this, and after being fed the list a third time, I was getting tired of it. The mystery part is also somewhat farfetched and, frankly, unlikely, and I must admit this was an installment I didn't enjoy as much as the others. Also, I'm not sure Reichs has ever encountered a Chow-Chow, because the one in this book acts more like a Labrador, but it's a symptom that I've seen in her other books as well - Reichs has an uncanny talent for putting strange bits in her books that could easily have been correct information had she bothered asking someone or looking up the topic in a book. Perhaps she concentrates so much on getting the forensic information right that everything else is forgotten, but that's not a great attitude to have when you write fiction, is it? Like I said, this is not my favorite installment, but since I really enjoyed the forensic parts, I'll continue to read the series.

Another great review of Things Fall Apart, I'm waiting impatiently to get my hands on a copy.

I read the vast majority of the Reichs books when I was in my mid to late teens, so was far less critical of them, but the more recent ones are losing their shine for me. Fatal Voyage was a weaker one for me as well.

I feel like I am playing my own version of dodgeball - avoiding all the reviews for Things Fall Apart while I, like Alana, impatiently wait to get my hands on the library copy I have placed a hold on.

I only managed to get to Things Fall Apart because it was already on Mt. TBR - it's a fairly quick read too once you get going.

->73 SouthernKiwi:
I do enjoy the forensic parts very much, but I feel I may give up fairly soon after this one - hopefully the next installment is one of the better ones!

yep things fall apart definitely moving up my must read list..

and yes old enought to remember the 80's sadly...

"old enought to remember the 80's sadly..."

I didn't want to make any assumptions... :)

#26

Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin COtterill

Dr. Siri Paiboun travels with his friend, politburo member Civilai, to Pakse in order to thwart a conspiracy to overturn the government, but when Siri becomes more interested in a fisher's son's mysterious death, Nurse Dtui steps in and saves the day instead. As in the other installments in the series, we get a great sense of place and time, some very charming and intriguing characters, a history-lesson about Laos, and a twisty mystery with a happy-ish ending - in other words, exactly what I want and have come to expect from each installment of this series.

#27

Suddenly, a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret

As usual (this is Keret after all), here is a collection of stories of the sometimes surreal, the sometimes bizarre, the sometimes humdrum, all with an insight into something much bigger than expected. Stories like the one about a lonesome Russian with a magic goldfish, a dead wife reincarnated in a French Poodle, and a girl who unzips her boyfriend and finds a completely different man inside are not uncommon to Keret, they are indeed to be expected, but there is always that other side, the human side, to the madness - Keret is an absolute master at seeing the world in a grain of sand and this new collection is only more proof of the same brilliance.

In other news, this is what's going on in my home town this weekend: http://www.youtube.com/embed/D1WwakXSDFI?rel=0
The track is only a mile from where I live, so I now eat, drink, and breathe WROOOM-WROOOM-WROOM!! - I'm not a huge race-fan, but the party is brilliant!

I really need to get around to starting Cotterill's Dr. Siri series. As I am starting to get into audiobooks, I did listen to the sample provided to see if I liked the reader's voice. I wasn't really impressed with the reader - forgot his name - and didn't download book one in the series to listen to. I will probably download book 1 after I finish with my current audiobook, The Kitchen House since there is nothing to lose in trying it out. Worst case, I will place a hold on a hardcover copy the library has.

Enjoy the race..... and the party!

I used to love a bit of F1 (haven't watched it for years I admit) I can imagine the whole event being noisy, glamorous and fun, with the parties being even more so! :)

oh and lucky I have already made a notw of Keret (can't think why :) ) so no book bullets for me!

->81 lkernagh:
I was hoping that the reader would be someone with a hint of Lao accent, but that might be asking too much. :)

->82 clfisha:
It's easy to get into it with the people and the noise and the atmosphere - good times!

" I have already made a notw of Keret (can't think why"
Oh, so you have heard of him before. Interesting... :P

Just catching up with your reviews, and it's nice to see another positive review of Things Fall Apart. I'm hoping to get to it soon.

It's very powerful in all its apparent simplicity - hope you find it to be so as well! :)

#28

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Curvy, swarthy, big-nosed, Italian, and (thus) unmarriageable Alexia Tarabotti accidentally kills a rogue vampire and joins a group who is trying to thwart a plot to eradicate supernatural beings. Although clearly fluff, it's got to be said that this is really entertaining fluff. The characters are outrageous and funny, the romance bits are very "romancy" (although, I could honestly do with a little less pawing), and the plot reasonably entertaining. I really appreciate that it's a very tongue-in-cheek story that doesn't take itself seriously in any way (hullo, the main love-interest is a growling Highlander werewolf!). Don't, however, expect accuracy when it comes to Victorian England or its language - it's just the backdrop to a supernatural romance romp with a collection of quite charming characters.

Oh, this wasn't for me at all!



#29

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

One day Quentin Coldwater is handed a mysterious book which shows him the way to his new school, the magicians' college Brakebills Academy, which in turn will lead him to the place of his childhood obsession, the magical land Fillory. Although this book has been described as a merge of Harry Potter grown up and the Narnia mythology, it unfortunately is neither. Sure, it has elements of and is highly derivative of both storylines, but this is mainly a coming-of-age story which doesn't really lead anywhere - at least not anywhere good. Although there are a few exciting parts, prepare for a huge amount of ennui and teenage angst and a minimal dose of magic. The one thing I learned from this book is that it is possible to make going to wizard school seem dull.

Sounds like very little fun. Skipping that one.

>86 -Eva-: Whuddaya mean Soulless is not an accurate description of Victorian Britain???

LOL! Yes, that should have been reduntant, but I have seen a few reviews faulting it for being inaccurate and just wanted to give a heads-up that this is a romp, not a treatise. :)

Thanks for the review of The Magicians. I'd been wondering if I should read it, as I'd heard lots about it, but it sounds like it might not be worth the trouble.

It was distressingly not-magical. Lots of alcohol and drugs and sex and bored teenagers. I did want it to be good.

I've just read a really positive review of The Magicians, it does seem to divide opinion. I'm still to read it but as I'm meant to be rereading all the HP books this year I won't get to it for a long while.

I may have misunderstood what it was supposed to be about, but I thought a book that actually has the word "Magicians" in the title should describe magic with some sort of wonder. Dull magic is evidently not my kind of magic. :)

Sorry to see The Magicians was.... well.... nothing to write home about and have made a note of your review for Soulless..... another series on my radar screen that I have yet to start.

I have both of your latest reads sitting on the tbr shelves. There's a lot of mixed reviews for The Magicians so it's been quite easy to leave it on the back-burner for now. Sorry to see you didn't enjoy it though.

At least I have put the expectations of The Magicians at a level where it might be enjoyed... Think Less Than Zero in the HP/Narnia universe and you might hit it right. :)

And a heads-up for those of you who enjoy the writings of Mr. Miéville - Tor has published an excerpt from Railsea (due out in May). At least from these two pages, it looks like Anders may have been right when he predicted that it would be a good idea to read Moby Dick before tackling this... :)

Darn it Eva..... I come to your thread because I thought you had read Gentlemen of the Road and instead I leave looking forward to the next Miéville...... ;-)

ooo excerpt... still I may have to read it next year if its alongside Moby Dick sigh.. hmm or maybe the Wikipedia entry ;)

->98 lkernagh:
Mwahahahah!!

->99 clfisha:
I might succumb and just read the Cliffs Notes. :) *deservedly hangs head in shame*

Well, friends, that's me out for the next month. I'm off to see my family in Sweden and will be back at the end of May. Wishing you all good reading in the meantime!!! I'm hoping to spend a lot of my holiday reading, so I'll have a shedload of bookbullets for you when I return. :)

Bon Voyage and will be in training so I can dodge those book bullets.

Have a great trip Eva! Like Kerri, I look forward to trying to dodge the book bullets on your return! ;-)

Enjoy your trip and the time with your family Eva!

Safe trip Eva! Give my best to the west coast! (Tip: Eld, the continuation of Cirkeln just came out)

Happy holidays.. please don't bring *that* many book bullets back.

looks round for flak jacket....

have a great holiday!

Enjoy yourself and have a great vacation.

Safe trip, Eva. See you soon.

We'll miss you, but have a great time in Sweden.

Have a great time back home!

Enjoy your vacation! I look forward to hearing about your vacation reading when you get back.

Finally caught up with you, just when you're off! Have a great vacation Eva!

I hope you have a great time on your vacation, and I look forward to being hit by your many BBs when you get back. And thanks for all of the Doctor Who discussion, and for filling me in on the new companion! AND - I didn't know that David got married and had a baby! See, the US gossip mags just are not up on the good British dish like they should be. :(

BTW, that animated DW gif for Anders was wonderful! And I totally agree, if you're not afraid in "Blink", there is something wrong with you! Those Weeping Angels are completely scary, and when they re-appeared this past season, they freaked me out all over again! Moffat & Co are geniuses!!!

Have a good trip! Good to see your review on The Magicians. It got a lot of good press and lots of people love it, but I was at a conference last year where one of the audience members writhed in agony while telling us how awful it was. Now I understand what all the awfulness is about.

& Soulless, I'm reading it right now. I guess I expected it to be a little less fluffy, but that's alright. It is fun - and what, other than pawing, would you expect from a werewolf in a kilt?

#30

False Prophet by Faye Kellerman

Peter Decker's new case brings him into the glamorous Hollywood world when a celebrity is assaulted, but things are not as they initially seem and seediness turns out to be as prevalent amongst the rich as amongst the poor. As in other installments of the series, the mystery is taut and the stakes are high for Peter as well as for Rina when the victim decides that Peter should be her next conquest. Some of the characters are more than unlikely and their actions hardly probable, but it's forgivable if you're a follower of the series. The pacing is good and the standard characters are as interesting as ever.

#31

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

After joining what he thinks is the college crème de la crème, Richard Papen finds out that the ideal is far from real and that murder sorts out the wheat from the chaff more efficiently than anything. In Sweden, this genre is called "aka-porr" (i.e. "academia porno" - nothing to do with sex, btw.) and it really lives up to the name: an utter and complete glorification of all things intellectual. It's not my favorite genre, but I can absolutely understand people's fascination with Tartt's somewhat deranged group of characters (although I can't understand why Bunny is even part of the group). I probably should have read this before I went to Uni because the characters come over as rather pretentious when they should be solely engaging. It's still a fascinating story with sky-high stakes and no relief until the end (or not even then, actually), so definitely worth the read, regardless if you like "aca-porn" or not.

#32

Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan

At age sixteen, Brendan Behan traveled from Ireland to England, carrying explosives on behalf of the IRA - this is the story about his capture, trial, and subsequent three-year Borstal sentence. Behan's coming-of-age is a story of loosening youth's rigorous ideological conviction and accepting a more moderate personality and the journey is psychologically enlightening as well as entertaining. The story in itself is obviously intriguing since not many of us (I assume) have spent time in a mid-1900s Borstal, but it's Behan's uncanny grasp of dialogue and dialects that really makes this story stand out - the multitude of voices that are presented in this story reads like a linguistic tour of the British Isles, as well as one of class divisions. Recommended to anyone interested in the time, the history, or the language.

Reviewed in Swedish, because it's of local interest only and I very much doubt it'll ever be translated into Swedish.



#33

Fångar på Bohus: Antologi om människoöden från 1300-talet till sent 1700-tal by J O Rune Hasslöf

Författarna till denna antologi är mer eller mindre lokala historie-fantaster som tyvärr inte alla innehar en helt engagerande skrivar-talang, men som absolut har ett tillräckligt spännande ämne att skriva om så att läsupplevelsen ger en hel del. Förstås är berättelserna om kända landsförbrytare eller kungligheter intressanta ur det historiska perspektivet, men jag tycker att historierna om de mindre kända, mer folkliga fångarna är mest givande eftersom de ger en bättre bild av hur dagligt liv på fästningen och i staden “Kongelf” egentligen tedde sig genom århundradena. Rekommenderas för Kungälv/Bohus-innevånare eller läsare som har ett speciellt intresse av fästningen eller området.

#34

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

Oswald Cornelius' diaries tell of his adventures when he and his companions set out to procure the sperm of the crème de la crème of early 1900s society with the help of an infallible aphrodisiac. It's raunchy at its best and a bit dirty-old-man at its worst, but of course quite funny at the same time. I can only imagine that Dahl had a great time imagining the various proclivities of the various artists and the royals. Interesting that he makes the painters into the most intriguing characters and the writers either boring or peculiar - you would think it would be the other way around. I do admit that I prefer his children's stories and his Tales of the Unexpected a lot more than this, but it's still worth a gander, if only to take a different look at the Dahl brain.

#35

Dance on My Grave by Aidan Chambers

After Barry dies, his boyfriend Hal is arrested when he is found dancing on Barry's grave. Coming-of-age story about how love can be all-permeating for teenagers and about how its idealized image can make a person blind. Unlike many YA novel, this one is almost exclusively for YA readers - the philosophizing about death and love are much too simplistic for adults. The cinematic format with scenes from different angles and retakes of important moments, however, would interest all readers, regardless of age.

#36

Love, Cherish Me by Rebecca Brandewyne

I first read this when I was thirteen and absolutely loved it; my best friend and I took turns reading the same worn copy over and over again. It was somewhat silly, but it managed to appeal to the slightly infantile taste of a romantic teenager. Upon rereading it now, it's obvious that it's quite a bit more than just silly - in fact, it's downright preposterous. Despite the romance-hogwash, however, all the mad and convoluted melodrama is strangely appealing and I can still remember why it was so mesmerizing. Plot? It's the standard - young beautiful noble woman meets dark mysterious troubled stranger and falls in love against her wishes and mayhem ensues (quite a few times) and it all ends happily ever after. Recommended? Not really, not unless you're under thirteen and in the mood for some severe bosom-heaving in the Wild West.

#37

Sirila gentlemän sökes by Karin Brunk Holmqvist

Two elderly ladies become accidental blackmailers, win back their homes, and find a handsome gentleman each to put some spice into their last few years. Entertaining and cute, but basically the same story as the author's successful debut (Potensgivarna), but not as funny or quirky.

#38

Zelda by Lina Neidestam

Idealistic, feminist blogger Zelda's crusades against vanilla society and her constant dissing of girly-girls coupled with her own reluctant femininity and sexuality makes for a entertaining, if sometimes exaggerated, criticism of a world ruled by an equally reluctant patriarchy. Currently not available in English.

#39

Prins Charles känsla by Liv Strömquist

A graphic version of several theories regarding relationships and human psychology and sexuality. It is a work of satire, but Strömquist's comics only relay various researchers' materials are just that rather than adding much new, so the edge isn't really there. I also think it's supposed to be funny, but I find the collection so one-sided that it comes across as purely cynical and rather too acrimonious to sympathize with. There are some interesting points about when love-marriages started to become the norm, but other than that, any selfless act is treated as a prisoner's fearful act rather than any expression of love or affection. Could have been funny and interesting, but I found it solely depressing and sad. It may be that I'm too much of a romantic to accept the points made. No edition in English as of now.

#40

Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds

Part graphic novel, part plain text story about Tamara Drewe who inherits her mother's country house and moves in, wreaking havoc on the functional and dysfunctional relationships in the village with her flirty eyes and surgically enhanced nose. Engaging story of the clashes between solid country life and the flighty city life - the juxtaposition between pop-stars in flashy sports-cars and farmhands who work the land and pluck the feathers of ducks is acute. The story is loosely based on a Hardy-novel and it is evident that the drama-part is more that of a 19th century novel, but since the all the characters and their problems are distinctly modern, the mix of styles makes the story quite unique.

#41

Macbeth The Graphic Novel: Original Text (Unabridged, British English) by William Shakespeare

A graphic novel version of my favorite Shakespeare play would have a fair chance of winning me over, and this one does. The art is very engaging and the characters distinct. There are a few times where I would have directed the characters differently, but I'm sure that any Shakespeare-lover has their own idea of which lines should be said with which emphasis. The artists have done a great job with many of the pivotal scenes and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who wants a somewhat more accessible way of reading The Bard. This edition has the original text, but there are two other versions available as well, one in "Plain Text" which has the same lines but using modern English and one in "Quick Text" which gives the bare minimum to understand the storyline.

Thank you all!!

I had a really great trip and got to spend a lot of time with my family, which was lovely. Time flew by much too fast, of course, but that just means we had a great time. I read a lot less than I was planning to, but I did get through some of Mt. TBR as listed above.

->105 GingerbreadMan:: So excited! I picked it up to read on the return flight and am about half-way through!

->114 LauraBrook:: The US ones seem to only cover what people look like, and none of the "useful" information! :) And, yes, "Blink" is about the scariest thing I've ever seen!

->115 cammykitty:: "what, other than pawing, would you expect from a werewolf in a kilt?" - This is very true, of course, and, if I'm honest, I don't have that much against pawing and nothing at all against kilts! :)

It's good to be back!!!!!!!!!

Welcome back and it's good to know you enjoyed your break with the family.

It was great to see you active on the threads again, Eva. Sounds like you had a great vacation and managed to get quite a lot of reading in as well!

It's good to have you back! I'm impressed that you've already caught up on reviews of your vacation reading!

Nice to see you back and to learn that you had a great trip!

Welcome back and great to see you posting again. I've read others by Aiden Chambers that I've enjoyed and I intend to read everything he's written eventually.

Welcome back Eva, and I'm another who's impressed you've got all your reviews done already - I need to write 2 and I keep putting even those off.

>122 -Eva-:: severe bosom-heaving in the Wild West
Lol that's a great one liner to sum up a book!

Lots of reading done on vacation!

Good reviews

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time!

Thank you all! Three days after getting back, I feel like need another trip - who knew getting back to work was so dull compared to being on vacation?! :)

Just catching up on my monthly summaries:

April Summary:

Number of books: 8 (good)
Pages: 2,588 (good)
Off TBR: 7 (good)
Given away: 7 (good)
Books bought: 1 (good)
TIOLI books: 3

Best read of the month: Suddenly, a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret - a new books from my favorite author - no surprise there.
Least good read of the month: The Magicians by Lev Grossman - too much ennui and angst from people who get to go to wizarding school!

Good to have you back (or, er, well, to have you away again, technically, I suppose :))! Must be a strange work place you frequent, comparing so unfavorably to a couple of weeks time off, lots of reading and seeing your family. A sure sign something needs to be changed at work. Take it up with your boss! ;-)

>117 -Eva-: I really liked The secret history, but found Special topics in calamity physics unlikely and corny. Now it strikes me it could perhaps be about me and the fifteen years between those two reads, rather than the books themselves. Never heard the term aka-porr, but it's very good. I'll adopt it!
>118 -Eva-: Behan is really quite something. I should get around to reading more of his.
>125 -Eva-: Good to see we can disagree on something sometime! I really liked Prins Charles Känsla - even if it is pretty depressing. Just a week ago I saw a rather brilliant stage adaptation of it, by the way. Roars of laughter!

Funny thing that - preferring vacation to work... :)

I do wish I had read The Secret History when I was younger - I'm sure I would have been quite mesmerized. Behan's dialogue is just brilliant - not too surprising he became a playwright! :) Prins Charles was much too depressing to me, but I can see how a live version with a good cast could work much better - that way the actors could tint it with their humor.

In one of my shortest and most to the point reviews, I described Behan's plays as "Fassbinder in wellingtons". It still strikes me as a good summing up :-)

OK, that's hilarious!! :)

ETA: And getting more and more apt as I think about it. :)

Glad you're back, Eva. You sure got a lot read!

Thanks mamzel! I did get quite a few books read - and was clever enough to write the "reviews" as I was going along. :)

For those interested, this is BBC's Meet the Author: China Miéville where he talks about Railsea, about genres, and about the Olympic Games.

Interesting, thanks for the link

Welcome back!

Hey, just because a book may never be translated doesn't mean I don't want to read up about what this is going to be about. :-)

I am fascinated by "local" interest stuff. In this internet age we often seem to think that everyone everywhere hears/listens/watches the same stuff... when this is clearly not the case and it is always good to see a reminder about more non-generic areas, even if they are of strictly local interest.

Thanks for the link to the Mieville interview! I loved his comments about playing with the conventions of various genres. I thought that The City and the City was brilliant in that respect.

->145 IrishHolger:
Thanks!! That's a good point - in all honesty, this may have been a case of laziness since I wrote that paragraph for something else and then didn't bother translating into English. :) The book is about prisoners at Bohus Fortress.

->146 mathgirl40:
He's big on stretching genres, and, yes, The City & The City did really well in that aspect!

My second most anticipated book of the year didn't disappoint! I saved it for my flight home from Sweden and it was perfect - I got completely sucked in and the hours just vanished!



#42

Eld by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren

I was excited, but somewhat wary in picking up this second installment in the trilogy, since it was never a given that it would live up to its brilliant predecessor. I worried for naught, though, because not only does it live up to the promise, it quite exceeds it. The girls are continuing their training to stop the apocalypse, but while they should concentrate on the battle with the demons which is still ahead of them, Anna-Karin is put on trial for last year's magic and there is now another threat, a cult, which seems to take over the entire town and will prove to be a lot more sinister than the group initially expects.

As in the first book, the most important part of the story is the personal relationships of the main characters who may be "The Chosen Ones," but that does not mean that they are suddenly going to be best friends - the bully is still a bully, magic powers or no. The magic is important, yes, but it's the fact that it's so firmly rooted in the ordinary and the mundane that makes it work. Engelsfors may be on the path of becoming the modern-day Armageddon, but it's also just a small town where everyone knows everyone else and keeping up appearances is more important than any individual's welfare. The girls may be witches, but they are also teenage girls with normal teenager problems and the authors never forget that - demons may be dangerous, but so is the feeling you get when the love of your life only has eyes for someone else.

The stakes are as high as they can be (since the authors bravely don't shy away from killing off main characters), the cult-people as freaky as they can be (is there anything as scary as fanatics?), and our little group works on overcoming their acrimony and, along with the reader, start to understand, forgive, and even appreciate each other’s foibles. The last part of the trilogy, Nyckeln (=The Key), is due out in the fall of 2013 and judging by the first two parts, I can only assume that the grand finale will be quite out of the ordinary.

You make me want to re-read Eld already weeks after finishing it. Do you, like me, firmly believe this series will conquer the world big time?

I do hope so! I am convinced that Swedish teenagers and Swedish small-town life is generic enough to work at least in the Western world.

It'll all come down to marketing - I've seen the UK cover and it's much more standard-YA cover than the Swedish books, so I'm hoping it doesn't get lost in the mass of books already in the genre. And, translation!!! I do hope they've got someone good!!

And then there's the movie option... I know Strandberg and Elfgren broke with the filmcompany that has optioned the film, but they're working on the issues - and then there's the question of which US company does the remake......

You and I will have to carry the torch and see if we can convince our fellow readers that it's worth a shot - once they start reading, they will not be able to stop! :)

Yes, I saw that this morning as well. Rankin is visiting NZ from 12 Nov as well, so this time I'm going to make the effort to see him talk.

That'd be brilliant - I do hope he comes over to LA as well!!!

I haven't read the second Malcolm Fox book, The Impossible Dead, I better do that before then.

Your review of Eld has made me put the first book Cirkeln on my wishlist. I see that it will be released in Canada this July.

->154 avatiakh:
I haven't read the first one.... I've been hesitant to start so close to Rebus - I didn't want to compare them unfavorably - but now I'll have to get going! :)

->155 mathgirl40:
I do hope you like it!! And, hoping that the translation is good! :) It's a fantastic story and it'll be really interesting to see how it reads to a non-Swede.

Oh, I'm getting all excited - a new Rebus, I, too, will have to get going with The Complaints - I'm just waiting for my brother to pass it along. Also the translation of Cirkeln coming in July is something to look forward to as well.

It's not Rebus but still pretty good intro to a new series. I was so comfortable with Rebus and loved his taste in music.

->157 DeltaQueen50:
Yey - more people trying Cirkeln - hope it works in English!!!

->158 avatiakh:
This is a great reference site for the Rebus music, in case you hadn't seen it before - it's by one of "your people," I believe - a Kiwi, that is. :)

Another catch-up:
May Summary:

Number of books: 12 (great)
Pages: 3,394 (great)
Off TBR: 4 (poor)
Given away: 3 (poor)
Books bought: 1 (good)
TIOLI books: 0

Best read of the month: Eld by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren - brilliant part 2 in a brilliant series!
Least good read of the month: Prins Charles känsla by Liv Strömquist - this one didn't work at all for me. I have heard that it's different from her other books, so I may give her a try in the future.

Thanks for the link to the Rebus music site, I thought there must be one but never went looking.

I'm catching up with people today. Thanks so much for the link to the Mieville interview. It gave me an idea of setting up a database of links of interviews and blogs for popular authors for my library next year. I fully intend to have this book ready for the new school year (and have read it first).

#43

Railsea by China Miéville

Sham Yes ap Soorap becomes the Doctor's assistant on the moletrain "Medes" and gets to take part in a great moldywarpe hunt, which in turn creates a chance for him to help out some fellow orphans, and he may just have found the route across the great railsea to Heaven itself. An homage to Moby Dick, undoubtedly since Captain Naphi has Captain Ahab's obsession in her hunt for the great mole Mocker-Jack, but more than that, it's an adventure tale of old, reminiscent of Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, with some Oliver Twist and a dash of Mad Max added in for good luck.

I particularly liked the segues between the points of view that are directed by a strangely archaic narrator who also has a wicked sense of humor and who remarks how numerous are the details of the great train and its functions, but how extraordinarily tedious it would be to describe them all (Moby Dick, anyone?).

A derivative work, but at the same time a very typical Miéville in originality, and with some extra humor thrown in, it means that although it's not technically a YA book, it does allow a younger reader to be part of the sometimes bloody tale. It's not my absolute favorite in the Miéville oeuvre, mainly because although the world-building is good, it's not quite as luscious, as "treacly," as in his other books. It is, however a story full of battles and pirates and monsters and quests and friendship, and it is well worth the read when you have a hankering for a good old ripping yarn.

Note: The ampersands may be tedious to read, but they do have symbolic value and deserve the trouble.

I neededn't have worried about Rankin: Malcolm Fox is just as interesting as Rebus - I can imagine them getting on like a house on fire. Or Rebus punching Fox in the face. Or both.



#44

The Complaints by Ian Rankin

Malcolm Fox works in the Professional Standards Unit of the Complaints and Conducts Department and investigates, nay, spies on other cops for a living. Needless to say, Fox is not a popular guy, which he can live with, but when his family is attacked, he has to do something about it. It's inevitable that Fox will be compared to Rebus, the question is: how well does he hold up? Fairly well, I'd say. He's not as funny since he doesn't have the same irreverence, but Fox is quite interesting in his own rights. A bit "slow but steady, and only occasionally to be feared" which turns out to be when his reputation and his family is in danger. A twist on Rebus without the alcohol and the dark mind and who thinks before he acts could be an apt description - what they have in common is their sense of justice, although Fox will go the official route and Rebus take things into his own hands. The story gets a little convoluted at the end, but all in all it's an intriguing mystery and Rankin's talent for writing great dialogue shines on as ever.

Railsea sounds good, I'll hold off I have a few of his others to get to as yet. Pleased that you enjoyed The Complaints, did you read Doors Open?

>162 -Eva-: Yay! And especially yay since it doesn't seem like having read Moby Dick before is an absolute necessity?

Thanks for the reviews of Railsea and The Complaints. They are very reassuring as I like both these authors and hope to get to these books sometime in the future. Still debating whether I should try to attack Moby Dick first before Railsea.

->164 avatiakh:
I've read all the Rebus ones, the graphic novel Dark Entries, and this one, so I still have a few Rankins left to go. Railsea is definitely good, but if you have others of his waiting, go for those first.

->165 GingerbreadMan:
I watched a movie (the one with Gregory Peck) and glanced through one of those student-guides and that felt more than enough - I may have missed some references, but it didn't feel that way at all; the story is quite Miéville as it is. :)

->166 mathgirl40:
Both definitely recommended!! :) If you were planning on reading Moby Dick anyway in the near future, then yes, but I don't think it's required. I've tried Moby Dick in the past and it's probably one I'll not get back to, ever. :)

a story full of battles and pirates and monsters and quests and friendship, and it is well worth the read when you have a hankering for a good old ripping yarn.

Very happy to read this comment about Railsea!

got moby dick on the shelf and will probably hanker for railsea once I've started it

You're all in for a good one with Railsea!! For those of you who will tackle Moby Dick beforehand, I'll be very interested to see how much I've missed by my "skimming." :)

#45

Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill

Hmong villagers kidnap Dr. Siri Paiboun so that Yeh Ming, the shaman who lives in Siri's body, can save the headman's daughter from a demon and the curse of the pogo stick. This is another great installment of a series that provides brilliant local color, strange politics and history, charming characters, and an intriguing mystery. Also, Judge Haeng gets a bit of a boot in this installment as well, which regular readers will enjoy. As long as you're prepared that part of the mystery is solved by involvement of the supernatural, this is highly recommended.

#46

Grievous Sin by Faye Kellerman

After Peter and Rina's daughter is born, a baby is kidnapped from the hospital ward and Peter feels urged to take on the case and hunt down the nurse who may or may not be the culprit. Apart from Rina acting like a complete ditz (worrying how sexy she looks right after giving birth), this is a decent installment in the series. The maybe baddie is borderline psychopath, which makes them slightly less interesting, but the resolution of the mystery is surprising enough to keep the interest. I follow this series for its characters and they hold up well here, even if the Jewish element isn't as important in this book as it is in some of the others.

Eva, I just finished the first of the series with Dr. Siri and will definitely continue. I got my first taste of Cotterill with his book Killed at the Whim of a Hat which I luckily got from the ER program.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it - Dr. Siri and his group are great characters. I've not yet gotten my hands on the new Cotterill-series, but it's definitely on the wishlist.

#47

Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett

Former forensic anthropologist David Hunter is on the run from his old life, but when a dead body is found in the forest and it looks like a serial killer is on the loose, he's forced back into service, inadvertently placing his friends in danger. When I started reading this, it was late at night and I was planning on reading a few chapters. At around 2 am, I realized I was halfway through the book and really not wanting to stop. There is a lot of forensic information that I found particularly interesting, but even if it's not a special interest, the story is still absolutely captivating. The stakes are enormous and the mystery virtually impossible to guess due to all the twists and turns - can't wait to read the next installment in the series and can only hope it's as good as this one.

#48

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Professional wizard Harry Dresden is hired by the police to investigate a murder committed through black magic, but the dark mage behind the murder goes after Dresden as well and since he's already on magical probation, keeping himself alive becomes a full-time exercise. Gumshoe wizard in noir-style mystery with magic thrown in sounds like it should be too much of a good thing, but Dresden pulls it off nicely. His dry, ironic humor makes the character all the more likable and the fact that he doesn't make himself out to be a big-shot (even though he's rather powerful), but rather a regular guy merely working for his paycheck makes him all the more appealing. Great beginning to a series and it looks like the following books are getting even higher ratings that this one, so this is definitely a series I plan to continue.

#49

Maran by Lina Neidenstam

A female writer rents a remote cabin to write a novel, but loneliness and the eerie landscape makes her turn to mythology-based porn instead. It's graphic and it's undoubtedly porn, but it's also quite entertaining. The marketing calls it "Feminist Porn" and I can only assume that what makes it that would be that there's an actual storyline and proper dialogue. The stories are very funny though and the drawings quite lecherous and my only wish would have been that the mythologies should have been explored more thoroughly, but that's a minor complaint. Not currently available in English, although I think this one can be appreciated based on art alone. :)

Not come across the David Hunter series before but it seems to have picked up some good reviews. Onto the wishlist it goes.

Glad that you enjoyed Storm Front and I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of the series as long as Fool Moon doesn't put you off. Most people generally agree that the 2nd book is the weakest in the series.

I too may have to put the David Hunter series on my wishlist.

"Feminist Porn?" That doesn't sound quite right, but the cover makes it look like Greek mythology??? That would be fun seen turned on it's side like this. After all, Zeus was laying every little nymph he could find.

->178 AHS-Wolfy:
Thanks for the warning about book 2!

->180 cammykitty:
Interesting description, right?! It does work, though. The cover depicts Näcken, who in Sweden plays the violin to trick you into the stream. Our folktales are filled with not kind characters. And, in this book, they all have their bits out. ;P

Ah, that makes sense. I was thinking he looked rather wicked for Orpheus. I'll have to read some Swedish folklore.

#178: That feedback on book 2 is excellent news for me, I gave up on it even though I was almost at the end. I might just give book 3 a try.

How about that for good timing? :) My goal is to read 100 books per year, and at the end of the first half of the year, here's number 50:



#50

The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill

The corpse of a young woman turns up in Dr. Siri Paiboun's morgue and when more women are found dead under similar circumstances, Dr. Siri must roam the countryside of Laos to find a malicious serial killer. Dr. Siri's new wife is his companion in this hunt rather than Dtui and Geung, but she's a great character so that's not a minus. This installment is more gruesome than the previous installations in the series, which raises the stakes, but also takes away a little of the charm of the previous books. This is more of a standard mystery, solved using brains rather than the supernatural, which is sometimes overwhelming in the previous books. As usual, though, the descriptions of Laos and its people are enchanting.

June Summary:

Number of books: 8 (good)
Pages: 2,581 (good)
Off TBR: 6 (good)
Given away: 5 (good)
Books bought: 0 (great!)
TIOLI books: 2

Best read of the month: Split between China Miéville's Railsea and Ian Rankin's The Complaints - there's just no way for me to choose one over the other.
Least good read of the month: If I have to pick one, it's Lina Neidestam's Maran but it was still pretty great.

Congratulations on hittlng the halfway point at the right time! And how did you get through a whole month and not buy a book! You deserve a medal.

Thanks! I got some for my birthday, so at least I got to fondle some new books. :)

Congrats on being on track with your challenge Eva and .... darn it all.... another review for Colin Cotterill Dr. Siri series. I just might have to break down and check it out. Hope you are having a great weekend!

Ditto Lori! Everything I've read about the Dr. Siri series piques my interest.

Congrats on making your half-way point! & what a month, when your worst book is still pretty good.

Lots of people whose opinions I respect speak well of Colin Cotterill's Dr. Siri series and I have the first book on my tbr shelves. Looks like I might have to move it closer to the actual read pile.

Great that you're right where you need to be reading-wise for the year. And no books bought - wish I could say that! I might have to try out the Dr Siri series myself. Not that I need another series.

Dr. Siri keeps on getting great reviews. I'm thinking of adding the first one to my list to check out.

Hi Eva, looks like you are right on track with your challenge. I am going to have to jump on the Dr. Siri bandwagon as well. Those books seem to be enjoyed by all who try them.

I'm following you in the Dr. Siri series and enjoying them too. It has made me consider reading a book about Laos. So far I have just read what Wikipedia has to offer.

Thanks all!!

->194 mamzel:
Me too - if you find some good fiction from Laos, let me know!

>187 -Eva-: Oh, so books bought for you by someone else doesn't count as new additions? That's a GREAT loophole ;-)

They definitely do not count! It'd be rude to turn gifted books down, right?!? :D (I'm smarter than I look!)

#51

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

In standard Dan Brown style, this is at times fairly engaging with the regular psychopath sending Langdon and company on a wild chase across Washington DC, hunting for the "secret word" of the Freemasons. Unfortunately, most of the book consists of long paragraphs about Masonic rituals and practices rather than a story and I can find that from more reliable sources should I wish to do so. The biggest problem I have with the book is the ginormous plot-hole of Sato: had she said that the CIA were already looking for the baddie, she would have been provided with his address and the whole book would have ended after a few chapters. Instead she acts extremely shady and seems to be collaborating with him, so the book continues much, much too long. Think what you want about the CIA, but even they are not that incredibly inept. Also, the "Langdon suddenly understood everything" cliffhanger gets very old, very fast. Other than that, once you get through the first 2/3 of the book, the plot gets exciting and then ends with an anticlimax. I enjoyed the lunacy of "Da Vince Code" and "Angels and Demons" for their locales, but until he comes up with a more probable conspiracy theory than this and a story that can properly fill all the pages, Mr. Brown should probably find something else to do with his time.

#52

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson

The epic Saga of Red Orm's adventures and his progression from sickly boy to a mighty Viking chieftain, a saga complete with the form's standard deadpan humor and the alliterated verse stanzas. The first part deals with Orm's youth and his first tour with the Vikings, his subsequent capture by and slavery under the Andalusian king, which eventually leads to his success as a warrior and placement at the court as the head of the king's life-guard. The second part is about Orm's conversion to Christianity and the inherent troubles of that as well as a treasure-hunt which proves both lethal and lucrative. And, of course, every turn of the way includes an enormous amount of battle-axing and sword-fighting. This is as proper a story of Vikings as you can find outside of the Icelandic Sagas and it is just as exciting and funny as they are. I have no idea why I haven't gotten through this one before; it's a great story of late 10th century Sweden and its people and a hilarious yarn to boot. Although the language (intentionally dated even at their publication in the 1940s) takes a few pages to get used to, it is such a great story and I couldn't possibly recommend it more.

I got hold of a copy of The Long Ships earlier this year, hoping to read it soon.
There was one of Dan Brown's books that started in the Arctic that was quite fun and I've read most of the others, but I'm not tempted by his latest especially after your review.

The Lost Symbol had its interesting points, but definitely not up to par with the other two I've read. Plus, I have a few Masons amongst family and friends and thus find them less intriguing than others might do, so that didn't help either.

I do hope you enjoy the Vikings!! I was in an exhibit a while back and all the artists included a self-portrait - here's mine: LOL!



No horns on the helmets of real Vikings, though, but they do make for a striking image. :)

>198 -Eva-: Got The lost symbol as a present from my dad a number of years ago - no idea why. Methinks it'll stay submerged in Mt TBR for a while longer.

>199 -Eva-: I've not read it either. Thanks for the nudge! Love you as a viking!

Glad you loved The Long Ships as much as I did!

Great self-portrait!

That's a fantastic self portrait Eva, looks like fun!

Gosh, you are a Viking!

heh love the portrait, you would have made a great Viking :)

Great review, The Long Ships moves further up my wishlist!

Unfortunately my local library doesn't have The Long Ships so I'll have to keep an eye out for it elsewhere.

Eva, you've convinced me. Just have to complete a couple of other books before I can get to it, though. A while ago I read a kid's book called The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer which interested me a great deal. It has similarities to Long Ships.

Thanks all! :) The Sea of Trolls looks like it'll be fun - putting it on the wishlist!

Stopping by for a visit and have to join the others in saying how much we love the self portrait!

ditto

Eva, you make a great Viking! (You scare me ...)

I think I can't hold out any longer, I'm going to add The Long Ships to my Kindle.

I'm very dangerous and scary! I just need a sword - right now, all I could do is pelt you with meatballs! :)

You really got your berserker rage going.

Nah - a berserker with no sword would be busy eating meatballs - hungry, no time for rage.

Hah for lessons on how to be a berserker you have to watch Erik the Viking directed by Terry Jones :-)

Great self portrait!

How about this to make my (and many others') day - Neil Gaiman revealing a new Sandman installment!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GndnR7oSYYk

Best Comicon news ever!! Standing ovations all around!

Great news, I haven't read all of The Sandman yet, I think I'll have to start at the beginning again.

Oo interesting

I really need to start that series. I hear so much about it.

Am a bit nervous about a creator returning to a finished product 25 years later and adding stuff.. mind you he's probably not doing it for the money since he's stupidly rich already & he can certainly tell a story...

I would normally be wary too - prequels can be terrible - but it is Gaiman and he has proven again and again he has the skills. I do hope it will "belong" with the rest. No, not likely it's a financial issue... :)

I'm thinking maybe a Sandman reread-category next year in anticipation of the new one. Hmm...

#53

Sanctuary by Faye Kellerman

When one diamond dealer and his family disappears and another diamond merchant is murdered, the hunt for the culprit(s) leads Peter Decker to Israel with wife Rina in tow as translator cum detective. This is one of my favorite installments of the series, partly because of the new locales (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) and partly because Rina gets to have an actual impact on the mystery-plot. Definitely a must if you have an interest in Judaism, but a solid mystery even if you don't.

#54

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper yearns to become a great hero, but when he follows Hen Wen, the oracle pig, into the forbidden forest and comes upon his hero, Prince Gwydion, he is dragged into a battle against the Horned King and gets more than his fair share of adventure. I somehow missed this series when I was a kid and was worried it might not work for an adult. Wrong - it works quite well. This set-up filled with great characters in an enchanted land ticks all the right boxes. Lots of mythological influences too, which is almost always a plus in my book. Great start - can't wait to read the rest of the series.

#55

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

Prince Gwydion calls together a council to find and destroy the Black Cauldron, which Arawn is using to create his undead "Cauldron-Born" army, and Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper gets a view into the true nature of adventure and glorified heroism. Part two in the series doesn't disappoint - it's shock-full of fun characters and great adventures. I only wish I would have read it when I was a kid - it would have become an all-time favorite.

#56

The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander

Princess Eilonwy is to be taken to the court to learn how to become a princess, but she's kidnapped by Chief Steward Magg on behalf of the sorceress Achren and Taran and his friends have yet another adventure when they set off to free Eilonwy. The shortest (and least complex) of the books in the series, but, as seems to be the common thread in these books, there are hoards of great and funny characters and their adventures are exactly as exciting as I had hoped.

#57

Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander

Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper becomes Taran the Wanderer in order to ascertain his parentage and in the process becomes close friends with the non-royal inhabitants of Prydain and manages to learn what is really of importance in life. Not as much magic as in the other books, but a bildungsroman that sets the stage for the final installment. Without the knowledge Taran gains in these travels, the finale would not be as powerful as it is.

#58

The High King by Lloyd Alexander

Prince Gwydion arrives at Caer Dallben with the news that Arawn's servants have managed to steal the magical black sword, Dyrnwyn, and Taran and his friends set out to retrieve it and to make a stand at the last battle for Prydain. The final installment is mainly a culmination of all the other books and all the great and funny characters come back for at least cameos. The stakes are as high as can be and the finale is heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. This series works very well for me now, but I would have given a lot to have read them as a kid.

Glad you liked the book of three. I loved the Prydain series as a kid--sadly was never able to interest my own daughter in anything by Alexander.

It sounds like this series touched you today. Maybe they reached your inner child!

LOL! I'm still very much a child. Or at least very childish. :) It was definitely still a great series, but I just know it would have been a favorite had I gotten to it when I was younger!

I read the Prydain series a few years ago and loved the characters too. Sadly my daughter wouldn't pick them up, but she does love Diana Wynne Jones and also the Dealing with Dragons books.

I gave up on the first Peter Decker book, mainly because it was a library book and I thought I'd do better reading one of the many crime novels on my tbr instead. Do you think Sanctuary would be ok as a stand alone read, the setting makes it a little more tempting for me.

->234 avatiakh:
"do better reading one of the many crime novels on my tbr instead"
I do know what you mean!

If you only want to try one of the Decker-books, this is a good one. The first half of the book takes place in LA and the second part in Israel, FYI.

Wow Eva, nice fantasy - it is fantasy, right? - run on your recent reading!

OMG, I used to love that movie ("The Black Cauldron") when I was a kid and had NO IDEA that it was based on a series!!! Guess what I'm getting at the library next time???? :D

a Sandman re-read category - now thats a good idea!

A sandman group read next year then :)

->237 LauraBrook:
The film is loosely based on the first two books from what I gather - it's on my Netflix-list, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

->238 psutto: & 239
I'm in!!

Just stopping by to say, I LOVE the fact that we're already talking about group reads for next year!

->241 christina_reads:
Trust your fellow LTers to do that! :)

The Reading Globally-group are having a Middle Eastern-theme this quarter, so I'll try and get through some of the Israelis that are threatening to topple Mt. TBR.



#59

My First Sony by Benny Barbash

10-year-old Yotam relays the fate of his dysfunctional yet loving family through the recordings he makes on a tape recorder he gets from his father. This stream-of-consciousness story takes a few pages to get into since Yotam transcribes recorded conversations that he doesn't always himself understand - although the reader does - along with his own ponderings and tangents thrown in. It never ceases to be fascinating, though, even borderline addictive, since you can virtually feel every person's passion for the point they're making, whether it be right-wing politics or left, religion or secularism, love or hate. It's a tragic, funny, and sometimes frustrating roller-coaster ride which ultimately describes a microcosm of Israeli contemporary society with its numerous and inherently disparate views on life.

Thumb for My First Sony. It sounds fascinating!

Another hit for my tbr pile.

I loved Lloyd Alexander when I was a kid. Isn't he funny!

>237 LauraBrook: The Disney version (it was Disney, right?) is probably among the first films I ever saw in the cinema. Haven't thought or heard about it in thirty years, probably. Has disney made many full-length films as forgotten as that one?

>239 clfisha: Heh. I can just imagine trying to keep that thread orderly. Some people speeding through the whole series in two days, some reading out of order, everybody being in different places. Spoilers galore! :)

I'm wondering if the movie didn't work for people who hadn't read the books and that for people who had, it was disappointing? I've not seen it yet, but the reviews I've seen seem to hint at that.

For Sandman to work as a group read, we'd have to annoy the heck out of our non-participating 13-in-13 mates by making a separate thread for each collection - that might be a bit much. :)

Hmmm good points about the Sandman group read, I'm guessing We'd stick to the trades but what about those with absolute sandman? Have to have a separate thread for each I guess. There are about 10 books? 4 absolute?

And then at least one for the longer story arc, allusions, references, talk of favorite characters and so on...

And maybe one for additions like death, the high cost of living , sandman:the dream hunters etc written by Gaiman then what about all the spin offs written by others (most of which I have no desire to read)

actually just looked at this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(DC_Comics/Vertigo)

There's enough there to keep you busy reading all year!

So realistically what we're saying is that there should be a seperate fans of sandman group set up for 2013 ;-)

I would be in for this Neil Gaiman thing as well.

*silently lurking on the group read sandman discussion.*

Never heard of it. don't know what I might be getting myself into but I am intrigued! Should I run and hide?

>252 lkernagh: The Sandman series is a ten volume graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman (before he started writing novels). It stars mythological and allegorical and literary characters: Morpheus the Dream King is the main character, while other major players are Death, Delirium, Shakespeare, Lucifer, de Sade, Bast the cat goddess and so on. It really is one of the major milestones in comics, or fantastic literature as a whole. So you shouldn't run and hide, you should read them all at least once (and you'll probably want to read them twice!)

I feel Sandman group read is a challenge in itself and therefore must be attempted :) (Sorry for hijacking your thread Eva!)

Seeing as I'm reading the Sandman series for this years challenge I won't be participating if you all decide to give it a go. Will be interested to see what comments develop though.

Highjack away!!! Should we be going with 11 different threads?? That's probably the best (spoiler-wise), but can get a bit unwieldy. Or?

@AHS-Wolfy - you can always chime in on the threads since you have the books in recent memory and then take part in the read for the new installment.

@lkernagh - no running and hiding! Definitely a series worth the time, money, and effort. :)

Just adding my two cents - I would be very interested in a Sandman group read, I read the first volume this year, but would love to join in with the rest next year!

#60

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

Gumshoe wizard Harry Dresden gets called in when a murder victim shows up basically shredded to bits, sending Dresden into a den of troubles, inhabited by various variations of what is commonly known as a werewolf. This second installment of the series is a little less magical, more of a "car-chase" style story, but very enjoyable since Dresden is his usual sarcastic, clumsy self, who manages to survive (barely) due to brains (and dumb luck) rather than brawn. I'll definitely read more of this series!

#61

Past Continuous by Yaakov Shabtai

Past Continuous follows three friends - Goldman, Israel, and Caesar - through their physical and mental meanders through Tel Aviv, discussing its inhabitants, its landscape, and its history. It is considered one of the peaks of modern Hebrew fiction, often compared to the scope of Remembrance of Things Past (which the original Hebrew title, זכרון דברים, also nods at). Not only is the novel a literary tour de force, but reading it can also be one, due to its long, complex sentences (some spanning several pages), which roam from one topic to another (albeit in a remarkably unambiguous way) linking one character to another, however disparate they seem, as if they are all part of the whole - a commune with every single character a member. The story is about a seemingly endless tangle of family relations (keep a notebook at hand if you want to keep track) and convoluted relationships, their arbitrary feuds replaced by happenstance friendships or love-affairs, all clad in a shadowy existential angst where not much contentment is to be found, or even seriously sought.

#62

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

Someone is casting torture spells on ghosts and humans and Harry Dresden and True Knight, Michael, go head to head with vampires and Harry's faerie Godmother to sort out the ungodly mess. I'm still liking Dresden and his sarcastic self, mainly because he's such a "normal" wizard without insurmountable powers. In this installment, though, the best character is Michael, whose quiet disapproval of anything even close to blasphemy is quite funny - scolding Harry for his foul language whilst battling demons from Nevernever makes for some very funny situations.

#63

Talking to the Enemy by Avner Mandelman

This collection seems to be a favorite of everyone who has reviewed it, but it didn't quite hit home for me. A couple of the stories (like "Pity" and "Terror") are straight gut-punches and one ("Mish-Mash") is very funny, but overall the writing was a smidgen too stark to evoke strong emotions in me, although the subject of each story had potential to do so. Many of the stories deal with the internal workings of Sayeret, Shin Bet, and Mossad, so if you have a special interest in those, this collection may prove quite interesting.

July Summary:

Number of books: 13 (great!)
Pages: 4341 (great!)
Off TBR: 11 (great!)
Given away: 8 (great!)
Books bought: 1 (and it was on sale for $0.99 - great!)
TIOLI books: 1

Best read of the month: Röde Orm (The Long Ships) 'cause Vikings are awesome!
Least good read of the month: The Lost Symbol - not enough story for so many pages.

Very productive reading-month for me. Here's to having more of those!! :)

Love the book count and page count for your July reading Eva! You are just smoking through your challenge!

Wow, those are impressive stats for July! Hope the rest of your year is as productive!

Fantastic July stats, Eva. I'm a little envious!

Adding the two Israeli books to my 'Israeli Lit' tbr list though not giving them priority over what's already there. Happy that you've had a productive reading month, I'm hoping that August works for me.

#64

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Queen Mab has bought Harry's debt from his godmother and charges him with the task of finding out who has murdered the Queen of Summer's Knight in order to clear Queen Mab's name. With the whole war going on, this installment has so many storylines going on at the same time as well as numerous new characters that it sometimes gets a little confusing. There might just be that scope is too large for a relatively short book. Not my favorite installment, but still a good page-turner.

I really wanted this to be good, but it turned out to be mainly irritating. I already have copies of books 2-4 in the series, but they'll be given away unread!



#65

Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

When Quirke finds his brother-in-law falsifying the death certificate of Christine Falls, he charges himself with finding out what really happened to the young woman and her baby, a search which will land not only himself but his nearest and dearest in deep trouble. I'm not entirely sure why John Banville decided to try his hand at mystery. I do know that it wasn't a great idea. The writing is quality, no doubt about it, but as a mystery it's a complete failure since the clues are huge red flags and it's impossible not to figure out every resolution well in advance. In addition, every one of the characters turns out to be deceptive and mean and I just couldn't bother to care for even one of them - Quirke is just sulky and/or drunk (yet somehow irresistible to all women...) and not even in a funny way. Even the eventual "baddie" is so generic it's not worth getting up in arms about. Banville should probably stick to the literary genre instead of thinking that the crime genre is a doddle anyone can master.

Dresen is a lot of fun, but I'll take a break from the series now - I feel that they're getting a little "same-y" and I don't want to get bored with them. I did watch a few episodes of the TV-series, but there was some severe miscasting done (and barely any magic) so I can see why it wasn't picked up. Too bad.



#66

Death Masks by Jim Butcher

Harry is challenged to duel a vampire lord, purportedly to end the war, but things get complicated when the Shroud of Turin is stolen and every baddie in the world wants to get their hands/paws on it. Another action-packed and funny installment in the series. Harry is still sarcastic and manages to stumble into more trouble than usual. Luckily, Michael Carpenter and the other knights are there to help out and even Chicago mob boss, Marcone, gets a chance to lend a hand (and a helicopter). Good installment in a solid series.

Hi Eva - Looks like you are enjoying Butcher's Harry Dresden series and sorry to see you taking that book bullet for Christine Falls for me.... I haven't taken the plunge, mainly because I didn't think it fit the type of mysteries I enjoy and happily will avoid it and the other books in the series. ;-)

Not to worry about it not being your type of mystery - it isn't one at all. :D It's a definite "skip" for me, unfortunately.

ditto on the Benjamin Black, now I don't have to try these and can happily remove them from my tbr pile. I couldn't get into the Dresden books, tried the first two but no, I know they get a little better but I have a huge mountain of unread scifi, fantasy etc calling to me. I will be trying Garry Disher's The Dragon Man this month.

Thanks for taken the bullet on Christine Falls. I'll skip that one. Even if it was well done, it doesn't sound good.

I lost interest in the Dresden files part way through and have not, as yet, gone back - not sure what one i gave up on though...

@Eva, it's probably a good thing that you're taking a break from Dresden. I really enjoyed the series but was reading them in chunks of 2 or 3 books at a time. Still waiting for the latest but hoping to pick it up soon.

I think I may have gotten extra frustated because it irks me when "literary" authors think mystery/crime is a throw-away genre that anyone can write and they're going to merge it with their genre (yes, "literary" is a genre as well!) and somehow make it better. Grr. You still need to know how a mystery works in order to put a spin on it and for the merge to work. Just having a character not know what is going on does not a mystery make!
/rant over. :)

I enjoyed Dresden immensely, but a break is in order. I'm thinking the rest of the series will be my go-to books for travel - entertaining action is perfect for that!

I often don't know what's going on - not sure if that makes me literary, a mystery or a throw-away. :)

->277 dudes22:

Maybe a mash-up? :D

Hi Eva, I have to admit your review of Christine Falls made me secretly pleased as I did not enjoy my read of this book either. A lot of people seem to love this series, but I agree, it really wasn't a mystery at all and shouldn't be classed as one. I have agreed to give this series one more try, but I hope the author doesn't deliver another "throw-away" mystery, a good plot is essential in my opinion.

->279 DeltaQueen50:
I read a few reviews of the other books and it seems they get even bleaker and just as lacking mystery-wise, so it's a pass for me. They have all the dressings of Noir, but none of the content - that's not a good thing.

Let me know if you read any of the others and like it!

>278 -Eva-: - Maybe!

So Eva, you are going to not like this news about John Banville/Benjamin Black writing a Phillip Marlowe novel.

Thanks for the warning about Christine Falls. I'd been wondering if I should try it out. Maybe I'd better just stick to my favourite crime writers. :)

->282 avatiakh:
Noooooooooooooo! He can't write proper Noir for his own characters, so why mess with someone else's?! :) Not entirely sure I want Marlowe in a “slightly surreal, or hyper-real, atmosphere.”

->283 mathgirl40:
I do know that there are loads of people who love the series, so it might work for you. If I had ignored that it's labeled as crime and just read it as a bleak novel about 1950s Dublin and Boston, it might have worked better...?

Hi Eva! I'll be joining in for the Sandman series (one of my good friends has been a fan since they were first printed) and I think your recent batch of Jim Butcher books has finally put them on my TBR list. Yay! And thanks for taking one for the team on Christine Falls. Like Paulina, it's one that I've often picked up in the store and put down again - no longer! Thanks for crossing a series off of my Maybe-Read list! (Hey, that never happens!)

A new Marlowe novel? Shakes head sadly.. am never a fan when someone takes over on a character. Seems especially perverse somehow.. Marlowe is a great character but nothing really special these days, Chandler's style however is stunning and practically impossible to copy.

& Marlowe was a character for his time. I totally agree with clfisha.

->285 LauraBrook:
Very good - the more the merrier! :)

->286 clfisha:&287
Not a great prospect, is it.

#67

The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin

Malcolm Fox and his Professional Standards team are sent across the bridge to Fife to investigate a possible cover-up, but when one of the original claimants ends up dead, Fox delves deeper and realizes that current events may hark back to the mid-80s when Scottish Nationalism had a brief fling with terrorism.

Prepare for loads of storylines in this book; large topics like corruption, infiltration, terrorism, and counter-intelligence gets juxtapositioned with personal issues like Fox's having to face his father's illness and to deal with his strained relationship with his sister. While it does make for a much slower read that would be "normal" for a Rankin novel, I don't think the story suffered too much for it. I do have a special interest in the topic (having been a member of the SNP in my proverbially sweet youth), but I think the history, the characters, and Rankin's mastery of dialogue will make this interesting to any reader.

Let's be honest, Fox is no Rebus, but once you get over that, his (sometimes) subtle approach to ascertaining the truth is quite engaging.

My TIOLI-book for August.



#68

Justice by Faye Kellerman

A teenage girl is found dead in a motel and her mafia-connected on/off boyfriend confesses to the murder in order to keep another girl out of the public eye. This is a bit different than the previous installments in the series in that part of the story is told from another character's point of view and that Decker's family is almost entirely absent. At times, it seems a YA love story and at times a mafia story, before returning to be a standard Decker-mystery. Although the plot occasionally teeters on the brink of improbability and the characters (especially the ones we already know) behave somewhat cardboardy, it is quite engaging and keeps the interest up until the (surprisingly) open end.

I haven't gotten around to trying a Malcolm Fox book yet, but I do like the Rebus novels. Sounds like The Impossible Dead will be a good read.

The Fox-series is turning out to be very good indeed! Just separate him from the Rebus II-expectations and he's fantastic! :)

Looks like part 3 in the Fox-series will also be part 18 of the Rebus-series (YES, he's coming back!) and I can't wait to see how that works out! *excited!!*

Tried to create a post on my phone, but the mad scrolling wore me out. Time for a new thread! :)