rosalita focuses on 75(ish) books for 2012: Take 2

I hope you've followed me along from my first thread of 2012. Just a few housekeeping notes:

The ticker, of course:


The rating scale:
★ - hated it/possibly didn't even finish it (lousy)
★★ - it was okay, I suppose (mediocre)
★★★ - enjoyed it (good)
★★★★ - loved it! (very good)
★★★★★ - all-time favorite (amazing)

January
1. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle (review)
2. Ape House, Sara Gruen
3. Pop Goes the Weasel, James Patterson
4. The Quiet Game, Greg Iles
5. The Enemy, Lee Child
6. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, Elisabeth Tova Bailey
7. The Stranger's Child, Alan Hollinghurst
8. One Shot, Lee Child
9. The Hard Way, Lee Child
10. The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes

February
11. Bad Luck and Trouble, Lee Child
12. Nothing to Lose, Lee Child
13. Gone Tomorrow, Lee Child
14. Death of a Dude, Rex Stout
15. 61 Hours, Lee Child
16. Worth Dying For, Lee Child
17. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
18. If Death Ever Slept, Rex Stout
19. Twentieth Century Drifter, Diane Diekman (no touchstone-ARC)
Abandoned Without Prejudice™
1Q84, Haruki Murakami (library book; ran out of time)
A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War, Amanda Foreman (library book; ran out of time)

March
20. Started Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson
21. 1Q84, Haruki Murakami
22. The Affair, Lee Child
23. Margarita Nights, Phyllis Smallman
24. The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht
25. The Big Dance: The Story of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Barry Wilner (Early Reviewers)

April
26. The Whipping Club, Deborah Henry
27. Undone, Karin Slaughter
28. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
29. Broken, Karin Slaughter
30. The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King
31. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, Candice Millard
32. The Catch, Rick Jasper
33. The Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka
34. A Single Thread, Marie Bostwick

May
35. A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War, Amanda Foreman
36. Run, Blake Crouch
37. Blindsighted, Karin Slaughter
38. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
39. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
40. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
41. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
42. Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler
43. The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness
44. His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik
45. A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
46. Murder One, Robert Dugoni
47. Kisscut, Karin Slaughter

June
48. Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik
49. The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle
50. The Alchemyst, Michael Scott
51. A Faint Cold Fear, Karin Slaughter
52. Cop Hater, Ed McBain
53. The Gun Seller, Hugh Laurie
54. The Postman, David Brin
55. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
56. Angel, Elizabeth Taylor
57. Indelible, Karin Slaughter
58. Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness
59. Lincoln's Dreams, Connie Willis
60. Face of Betrayal, Lis Wiehl

July
61. The Man in the Woods, Scott Spencer
62. Black Powder War, Naomi Novik
63. The Woman in Black, Susan Hill
64. Faithless, Karin Slaughter
65. The Sins of the Fathers, Lawrence Block
66. Fortunes of War, Gordon Zuckerman
67. Suspicion of Innocence, Barbara Parker
68. Oregon Hill, Howard Owen
69. The Inside Ring, Mike Lawson
70. Time to Murder and Create, Lawrence Block
71. The Mugger, Ed McBain
72. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, Anna Quindlen
73. The Con Man, Ed McBain
74. Empire of Ivory, Naomi Novik
75. Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch
76. In the Midst of Death, Lawrence Block
77. Flood, Andrew Vachss
Abandoned Without Prejudice™
The Surrendered, Chang-Rae Lee

August

78. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch
79. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, John Grisham
80. Defending Jacob, William Landay
81. The Summer Guest, Justin Cronin
82. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline
83. Beyond Reach, Karin Slaughter
84. Victory of Eagles, Naomi Novik
85. Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, Andrew Blum
86. Faithful Place, Tana French
Abandoned Without Prejudice™
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, Madeline Albright

Currently reading:
The Sonnets, William Shakespeare (come visit my tutored read!)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
Grimm's Fairy Tales, Jacob Grimm
On hiatus:
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788, Pauline Maier (Yes, still!)

September
87. Between the Bridge and The River, Craig Ferguson
88. Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik
89. Storm Front, Jim Butcher
90. Crucible of Gold, Naomi Novik
91. Appaloosa, Robert B. Parker
92. Fool Moon, Jim Butcher
93. Triptych, Karin Slaughter
94. Resolution, Robert B. Parker
95. Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
96. The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
97. Summer Knight, Jim Butcher
98. Brimstone, Robert B. Parker
99. Death Masks, Jim Butcher
100. Blue-Eyed Devil, Robert B. Parker
101. The Expendable Man, Dorothy B. Hughes
102. The Last Policeman, Ben Winters

October
103. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
104. A Wanted Man, Lee Child
105. 13 Seconds: A Look Back at the Kent State Shootings, Philip Caputo
106. Where There's a Will, Rex Stout
107. Fractured, Karin Slaughter
108. Children of God, Mary Doria Russell
109. Fraud: Essays, David Rakoff
110. The Age of Miracles, Karen Thompson
111. Whispers Under Ground, Ben Aaronovitch
112. Before Midnight, Rex Stout
113. Three for the Chair, Rex Stout
114. Don't Get Too Comfortable, David Rakoff
Abandoned Without Prejudice™
The Call of Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft

November
115. Killer's Choice, Ed McBain
116. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
117. Over My Dead Body, Rex Stout
118. The Subversive Copy Editor, Carol Fisher Saller
119. The Bone Garden, Tess Gerritsen
120. Too Many Detectives, Rex Stout
121. Half Empty, David Rakoff
122. Not Quite Dead Enough, Rex Stout
123. Fallen, Karin Slaughter
124. One Lucky Cowboy, Carolyn Brown
125. Canada, Richard Ford
Abandoned Without Prejudice™
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Yiddish Policeman's Union, Michael Chabon

December
126. The Last Coincidence, Robert Goldsborough
127. Eight Million Ways to Die, Lawrence Block
128. Criminal, Karin Slaughter
129. The Dog Stars, Peter Heller
130. Bruce, Peter Ames Carlin
131. When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, Lawrence Block
132. Fade to Black, Robert Goldsborough
133. Out on the Cutting Edge, Lawrence Block
134. A Ticket to the Boneyard, Lawrence Block
135. A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, Lawrence Block
136. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
137. A Walk Among the Tombstones, Lawrence Block
138. Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, Robert Goldsborough
139. The Devil Knows You're Dead, Lawrence Block
140. The Next Witness, Rex Stout
141. Fer-De-Lance, Rex Stout
142. A Long Line of Dead Men, Lawrence Block
143. Even the Wicked, Lawrence Block
144. Everybody Dies, Lawrence Block
145. Hope to Die, Lawrence Block
146. All the Flowers Are Dying, Lawrence Block
147. The Night and the Music, Lawrence Block
148. The Missing Chapter, Robert Goldsborough
149. The Mother Hunt, Rex Stout
150. The Roman Hat Mystery, Ellery Queen

There we go, all nicely set up and dusted off. Gosh, this is a thread that's just crying out for some reviews, isn't it? I'll have to get to work on that.

New thread! Excellent!

Congrats on the shiny new thread! And I got a front row seat! WahHOO!!

You did indeed, Mamie! I guess now that there's an audience, I'd better get busy putting on a show, eh?

Bonjour!

When it rains, it pours ...

I had to cancel my plans both Saturday and Sunday because I was feeling under the weather. Too sick to go out, but not too sick to read, I know you all know how that is. Unfortunately, I finished off both books I had in progress, and had to resort to reading some Grimm's Fairy Tales. Which were fine, but not exactly what I was in the mood for. I downloaded a couple of e-books from the library, but then couldn't get them to transfer to my Kobo Touch for some reason. Grrr!

So here I am today, stuck at work, and I've receive emails telling me that two of the books I have on hold are in and waiting for me. Why couldn't they have come in two days ago? And now how am I going to read 4 books in 2 weeks? Oh, never mind. I know the answer to that one: By neglecting all of the reviews I have to write, of course. :D

Hi Julia! Nice new thread! I'm sorry to hear that you were under the weather and that your books on hold had such poor timing. Next time you have a book emergency, feel free to give me a call. I could bring over some of the books on my shelves that I've been neglecting. :)

By the way, what two books did you get from on hold?

Hi, Amy! Thanks for the offer — it's nice to have a fellow LTer in the same town!

I got The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, which is a nonfiction John Grisham that a friend recommended, and Defending Jacob by William Landay, which I have had on hold forever and has been raved about all over LT. Oh, and then I just got another notice that Moon Over Soho is in — that's the sequel to Midnight Riot which I just finished last week.

Is it any wonder I am two months behind on reviews?

I have Midnight Riot in my TBR and am anxious to get to it. Assuming you liked it since you requested the sequel?

Mamie, it was really good! Spooky and funny all wrapped in a clever premise. I definitely recommend it.

Excellent!

I loved Midnight Riot and have the sequel all queued up once mrsdrneutron is done with it.

Congrats on reaching book #75 so fast! :-)

Congrats! I just noticed that Midnight Riot was the magic 75!

Thanks, Porua!

Jim, it was a good book to land on #75 with. I'm about a quarter of the way through Moon Over Soho and finding it to be just as solid.

Belated congrats on reaching 75, Julia! :)

Thanks, Valerie!

Hi Julia, congratulations on reaching your 75. I see you have been reading a lot of series recently, so I hope you will be happy that I am going to again start a thread for September Series and Sequels later on this month. I never seem to be able to catch up on all the series that I am following so hopefully this will help.

Congrats on reaching 75! I feel like such a slacker.

Hope you're feeling better!

Judy, thanks for the heads-up on the September Series and Sequels thread. I will definitely be checking that out. My reading life seems to be overrun with series without my even trying!

Joanne, thanks! I am back to normal (well, as normal as I ever get!) and reading away. We had some lovely, lovely rain last night and the temperatures have dropped back down to humanly tolerable levels so I'm a pretty happy camper these days!

Time to catch up with some reviews, before I forget how to write them!

50. The Alchemyst, Michael Scott.

I got the Kobo ebook version of this young adult novel ages ago as a free download, but only read it this past June, when I was caught away from home without a new library book to read. The story is subtitled "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel," who turns out to be a medieval bookseller who discovers a recipe for eternal life in an old book. The book is stolen in modern-day San Francisco, and Flamel sets off in pursuit accompanied by twin teens who only slowly learn what they are up against.

I loved the otherworldly elements, especially the scenes set in a magical tree called Yggdrasill, but I found the manipulation of two innocent teenagers to suit the ends of people who are supposed to be the good guys distasteful. The book also ends on a cliffhanger, because — of course! — it's a six-book series. Thankfully, this is one series I don't feel compelled to continue.

53. The Gun Seller, Hugh Laurie.

I'm not even going to lie: I sought out this book solely because it was written by one of my favorite actors, the star of the "House" television series in the United States as well as some classic British television comedies such as "Blackadder," "Jeeves and Wooster," and "A Bit of Laurie and Fry."

In some ways this is a conventional spy thriller novel involving international arms dealers, terrorists, and government conspiracies. However, the novel has an unmistakable comic tone as you might expect from Laurie that keeps the suspense from getting too heavy. I enjoyed it, but readers who prefer their thrillers more straightforward may want to steer clear.

54. The Postman, David Brin.

I'm a sucker for a good post-apocalyptic tale, and The Postman did not disappoint on that score. The United States has been destroyed, and isolated communities in the Pacific Northwest are barely surviving in the aftermath of a war that was less damaging than the plagues that followed on its heels and killed most of the population. When a solitary traveler is mistaken as an agent for a reconstituted U.S. government (due to his having stolen the uniform and mailbag of a dead postman along the way), he figures out a way to use the lie to bring communities together to fight the larger threat of anarchic gangs of "hypersurvivalists" who bear an uncomfortable resemblance to modern-day militia groups.

It's touching to see how eagerly the villages want to believe that they are not alone in the world. The postman initially doesn't intend to deceive them, but soon figures out that it's the best way to bring them together against the common enemy. Beyond the basics of the plot, the book also has a powerful message about the real dangers of the post-apocalyptic world. The war itself caused limited damage, the plagues that followed did more, but it was the "hypersurvivalists" with their stockpiles of weapons and food who caused the most damage and prevented the country from rebuilding itself by attacking and disrupting humanitarian relief efforts. As Pogo said so long ago, "We have met the enemy and it is us."

I love post-apocalyptic books as well! I wonder if it's strange that I have such a fascination with end of the world themes...haha!
Thanks for the review of The Postman. I will be adding that one onto my WL. :)

I don't know why I love the post-apocalyptic books so much. Maybe it's comforting to know that things can always get worse. :)

I hope you enjoy The Postman when you get to it, Valerie!

I picked up The Gun Seller for the same reason. Unfortunately, I found it a bit too flip. That has no effect on my eternal love for the acting of Hugh Laurie, however.

Yes, a bit too flip to be considered a really good book. And emphatically yes on eternal love for Laurie's acting!

Congrats on reaching 75 books and beyond!

Hi Julia, glad you are feeling better. No book emergencies for me unless you count the accusing stares of the many unread books I have on my shelves! I didn't realize you and Amy lived in the same city. Have you gotten together to talk books in person yet?

I'm curious about the John Grisham book. I bought it for my husband last year and neither one of us has read it yet.

Adding my congrats on the 75+ books read. I am slowly inching toward the magic number. One page at a time...

Thank you, Donna! Amy and I have not yet met in real life, but I'm thinking a meet-up at the Brick Arch Winery here in town would not go amiss!

I'm still working on my review of the Grisham book, but overall I thought it was quite good. The poor man isn't in any way a lyrical writer but he can sure get across the legal facts in a powerful way. The case was pretty appalling.

One page at a time is the only way to go! I still can't believe I hit 75 so early this year. It certainly wasn't planned that way, but there we are. I look forward to celebrating with you when you hit the magic number, too.

OK, time to dust off the rest of my June reviews, for heaven's sake. Fasten your seatbelts!

56. Angel, Elizabeth Taylor.

I have to be honest. I had never heard of the author Elizabeth Taylor until I joined the 75-Book Challenge group. I started seeing her books popping up on threads here and there, and the reviews intrigued me. So I went looking at the library, and Angel was the first one I grabbed at random.

It's always interesting to read a book in which the main character is not particularly likable. Angel is a novelist, a writer of the worst sort of overwrought, overwritten romance. She is seemingly oblivious to the contempt in which critics and her own publisher hold her, and is convinced that her books are fine literature. To the consternation of the critics (and the cynical pleasure of the publishers), Angel's books are hugely popular, bringing her the kind of wealth and fame she only dreamed about as a poor child.

Angel tramples on the feelings of the people in her life and is generally an unlikable personality. And yet, I couldn't help feeling sad and a touch of pity for her at the end of this novel, which is a compliment to Taylor's writing. I plan to seek out other Taylor novels in the future. I do hope some of them have some more pleasant protagonists, however.

      

38. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness.
43. The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness.
58. Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness.
(not counted) The New World, Patrick Ness.

A young-adult trilogy set on a planet New World, where settlers from Old World (presumably Earth) headed looking for a new start. The initial landing went badly, resulting in a native species of intelligent beings being subdued as slaves, all the men being infected with a virus that makes every inner thought audible to everyone (known as Noise), and all the women dead in one of the original settlements, Prentisstown.

Out of Prentisstown comes Todd, a young teen who is forced to flee when the mayor, who is plotting a war to take over the planet, turns against him. He soon meets up with young Viola, a girl who crash-landed with a scout ship from an incoming group of new settlers. Todd and Viola travel across the planet to try to warn the incoming settlers before Mayor Prentiss can start his war. Along the way, they encounter other settlers from other towns, including a renowned woman healer who sets herself up as the leader of an armed resistance to now-President Prentiss.

I thought this trilogy (plus the very slight short story that showcases Viola's life on the scout ship just before it lands) was really well done. The writing is certainly on a young-adult level (sensible since all three novels are narrated in turns by Todd and Viola), but the themes that it tackles are far from simplistic: What is war? Is it ever OK to kill someone? Do the ends ever justify the means? Is it possible to do the wrong thing for the right reasons? Is redemption ever really possible? Time and again I braced myself for a pat answer, and time and again I was pleasantly surprised. Ness takes pains to present the good and bad sides of both heroes and villains, to the point where readers will find themselves questioning which is which.

Partway through the series, I expressed the opinion that this is a better YA trilogy than The Hunger Games. After finishing the third book, I stand by that opinion. While I enjoyed both series quite a bit, I think Ness does a better job of presenting and exploring the larger themes that lie behind the narrative.

59. Lincoln's Dreams, Connie Willis.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book from Connie Willis. I had previously read a couple of her science fiction time-travel novels (Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog) and enjoyed them even while not being entirely sure what was going on. This book is very different.

Jeff is a young man who works as an assistant to a historical novelist gets tangled up in the life of a young woman who is haunted by the dreams she is having. He slowly realizes that Annie's dreams are actually those of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. As Jeff and Annie travel to various Civil War battlefields in search of a way to end her nightmares, their relationship deepens even as their travels bring up more questions than answers.

I've read a few reviews that were puzzled why the book is called Lincoln's Dreams instead of Lee's Dreams, since it is really the general's dreams that are the main plot point. It's a fair question, and I don't have an answer. There is a minor subplot regarding Jeff's employer's quest to understand Lincoln's Dreams, and some of what he learns helps Jeff solve the mystery of Annie's dreams, but it's still an odd choice of title.

There are some of what I consider classic Willis touches in this novel, including the way the narrative jumps back and forth between plotlines — now following Jeff and Annie, now jumping to Jeff's novelist boss, now jumping to Annie's fiancé and his search for Jeff and Annie. The transitions are not often smooth between the segments and way too many plotlines hang on miscommunication and missed messages, but I forgave Willis for the awkwardness simply because the story was so intriguing. This book isn't for everyone, but Civil War buffs and readers unbothered by Willis' known idiosyncrasies will find it worthwhile.

Wow, Julia! You have been busy!! I have not yet dipped into any of the Elizabeth Taylor books - like you, I had not heard of her until LT. All the rest of your reviews, though, I have in my TBR - after reading your reviews, I want to bump them up.

Mamie, thanks for visiting! I am still SO far behind with reviews: all of July and all of August to catch up on. I need to hire a review writer!

Brace yourselves! Here comes a torrent of reviews of July reads...

61. Man in the Woods, Scott Spencer.

If I only rated books on their premise, this would be a 5-star entry. Paul, an odd mix of hippie and slacker, inadvertently commits a crime and seems to get away with it. He has a lot riding on keeping his freedom, living as he does with an older woman, Kate, who has hit the big time as an inspirational Christian author and radio star. His conscience won't let go, however, and he becomes increasingly haunted by his secret. We slowly come to realize he is as terrified of getting away with it as he is of being caught.

There was a lot to like here. The author tackles some big issues surrounding sin, redemption, forgiveness, absolution and the whole nine yards. It would have been even more powerful if the characters hadn't seemed a bit one-dimensional. Midway through, there was a seemingly extraneous sideplot that served little purpose. However, the parallel narrative of the stereotypical plodding cop who doggedly works to solve the crime turned out to be a welcome and appealing detour from what occasionally seemed to be a too-intense focus on the inner lives of Paul, Kate, and her daughter.

    

62. Black Powder War, Naomi Novik.
74. Empire of Ivory, Naomi Novik.
83. Victory of Eagles, Naomi Novik.

I continue to be enamored of the most intelligent dragon I've ever encountered in a book, Temeraire, and his only too noble captain, Will Lawrence. There were things I did not like about each of these books (in particular the trek from China back to England in Black Powder War seemed endless) but once again I finished only to eagerly look forward to the next adventures with Temeraire and Will.

63. The Woman in Black, Susan Hill.

This 1980s novel reads like a book written decades earlier; it had a real throwback feel to the classic horror of Shirley Jackson for me. Part of that was undoubtedly the setting, which seemed to be the early 20th century. While I found the plot — a lawyer is dispatched to an isolated English village to settle the estate of a mysterious recluse and is beset by hauntings galore — to be somewhat unsettling, the horror never really kicked in for me.

68. Oregon Hill, Howard Owen.

I usually tell people who ask what I do for a living that I am a recovering journalist; I worked at daily newspapers for 18 years before jumping ship and finding a new career path. Nothing that has happened in the media business in general or newspapers in particular has changed my mind about the wisdom of my mid-career change, even as I mourn the ideals with which I entered the business back in the 1980s.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, featuring a nearly washed-up journalist in Richmond, Virginia, who has to battle his past as well as his bosses to find the truth behind a series of murders in his Oregon Hill neighborhood. Willie Black was an extremely appealing narrator and protagonist. I was rooting for him all the way through, and found his ambivalence about facing his less-than-privileged past quite realistic. The newspaper bits also had a ring of truth about them, only a little bit idealized — but then as my colleagues and I always proclaimed, you could never write a true novel about newspapers because nobody outside of the business would ever believe it. This novel was believable as well as enjoyable. I'd like to read more about Willie and his cohorts.

72. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, Anna Quindlen.

I don't know why I dragged my feet so reading this book. I think Anna Quindlen is a terrific writer, both in her novelist persona and as a first-rate essayist. This memoir is Quindlen's look back at her first 50 years (more or less), not in a linear way but rather as a series of themed essays. It's probably not accurate to say that she has lived a charmed life; I suspect she has had her share of heartbreak through the years. Nonetheless, from her warm and comfortable childhood to her long-lived marriage to her now-grown children, Quindlen is a woman who knows how to count her blessings. Along the way, she provides some timely and thoughtful commentary on some of the larger issues that have informed her life, including the various ups and downs of the feminist movement, the way contemporary society treats aging women, and the deep friendships that only women seem to form.

  

75. Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch.
78. Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch.

I think it was Stasia's thread where I first saw a review of this book, and it intrigued me even though I have never (to my knowledge) read anything in the urban fantasy genre. Something in her review made me want to check it out, and I'm glad I did. I thought this story of a rookie constable and his discovery of the supernatural underworld in London was a delightful mix of spooky, creepy, and funny. It's a great mix of modern police procedural and supernatural demon-battling.

In fact, Midnight Riot (readers outside the United States will know it by the much better title Rivers of London) was so good, I went straight to the library and checked out the second book in the series, Moon Over Soho. It was very nearly as good, and I'm now impatiently waiting for the third book in the series to come to me from the library's reserve list.

Have you tried Jim Butcher's Dresden Files? It has quite a bit in common with that series.

Wow! Lots of reviews! Your review of the Patrick Ness series makes me want to get back to it. I read the first one and enjoyed it a lot.

Cyn, I have never read anything by Jim Butcher. Are you saying it's like the Ben Aaronovitch series? I'll have to look for it.

Amy, I really liked the Ness series. I thought it was quite complex for a YA series. I'd be curious to compare notes once you've finished it.

You go, girl! Good job with the reviews. You got me with Oregon Hill. I have Midnight Riot in my bedside stack and think I need to bump it to the top.

I read Butcher first, and it seemed to me that the Aaronovitch series was influenced by it. It's not a carbon copy at all, but there are some parallels. I really like both, though I have to give the edge to Butcher - but that may be because the series has developed so much. The first books weren't better than the Aaronovitches!

OK, onto the wishlist it goes! In fact, I just checked the library's e-book collection, and they have downloads of Books 1-6 and Books 7-12 as two sets, so I've put them both on the hold list.

I think you'll like it. It's a series I press on my friends, and they've consistently turned into addicts (I'm three for three so far, with a fourth friend just starting).

Great reviews here, Julia! I agree with you about The Woman in Black --it felt wonderfully old fashioned. It spooked me quite a bit!

Mamie, let me know what you think of Oregon Hill once you get to it.

Anne, I was so surprised when I looked up The Woman in Black and saw that it had been written in the 1980s. Although, if I stop to think about it, that was (gulp!) 30 years ago. Gee whiz, I'm old. :-)

My daughter Callia was complaining about one of her ancient and decrepit textbooks (for English, fortunately) that was published in 1995! When I wryly told her that I myself date back to the 1970s she told me it's a good thing I age better than textbooks. Sheesh -- 1995 just does not seem that long ago!

I'm pretty sure 1995 was just last week, right?

I date back to the 1960s myself, in case you need a scary bedtime story for Callia. If she has a hard time picturing that, tell her it was back when telephones were still connected to the wall with cords, and you actually had to dial, not just push buttons. Oh! And only 3 television channels — no cable, no satellite. And the only remote control in our house to change channels was me or my brother, whichever of us was sitting closer to the TV.

On second thought, that might be too scary a story for bedtime. :-)

Wow good job on getting the pending reviews out of the way! I've got at least three reviews pending but am too busy (and lazy) to get them done.

I'm pretty sure 1995 was just last week, right?

Yes?

I just missed my *gulp* 35th high school reunion so I've been feeling pretty old....

I really liked The Woman in Black but I think it's the kind of book you really need to be in the mood for. I was surprised when they made a movie of it because there didn't seem to be enough of a story for a feature film. They changed quite a bit. I wasn't crazy about the moive - it was just ok.

Porua, I would celebrate madly if I was only three reviews behind!

Joanne, I have not seen the movie version of The Woman in Black, and I probably never will. I am glad I read the book, though.

I liked A Woman in Black also. Deliciously creepy, I thought. I am also from the 60's, so your assessment made me laugh. Our phone was even a party line!

79. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, John Grisham.

John Grisham is better known for his action-packed legal thrillers than his nonfiction writing. The Innocent Man is far from action-packed; there are no pulse-pounding car chases or dramatic "a-ha!" discoveries late at night in a law library. Instead, it is a book densely packed with detailed information about how the U.S. legal system really works — and in the case (actually cases) this book examines, how it very much does NOT work.

The innocent man of the title was Ron Williamson, a small-town baseball hero in Oklahoma whose career peaks in the minor leagues. Even as a child there were some warning signs of mental illness, but his failure to achieve his major-league dream exacerbates his illness. He becomes a familiar sight on the streets of his hometown, displaying poor personal habits and hygiene, and talking to himself. He makes people uncomfortable and scares little kids. And all of that makes Ron a perfect candidate to be tagged for the murder of a popular young woman.

The initial investigation of the murder scene was sloppy. The man who was the last person to see the victim alive is not questioned by the police for three years, long after Williamson has landed on death row. Forensic evidence is bungled, and "expert" witnesses prove themselves to be anything but. There's plenty of blame to go around: the local police force, the prosecuting attorney, Williamson's own lawyer, the courts who rejected his appeals. And Grisham makes sure they all get their fair share of "credit" for Williamson and his supposed accomplice serving 11 years on death row until DNA evidence exonerated him.

Grisham made a wise decision to lay out the facts of the case methodically, as if he was arguing the case before a jury. He keeps his emotions in check, only occasionally revealing his anger and contempt for the failures of the legal system to provide the checks and balances that are meant to prevent such egregious errors from happening. Although Williamson is eventually exonerated and freed, there is no feel-good happy ending here.

If you, like me, want to believe that the truth will always win out and that our legal system is primarily concerned with seeing justice done, you may have trouble sleeping after reading this book.

80. Defending Jacob, William Landay.

From a true-life legal case to a dramatically fictional one. Defending Jacob is a book with lots of buzz surrounding it, both here on LT and out in the "real" world. After reading it, I understand why. It is far from a formulaic legal thriller, featuring a premise that I don't think I've ever seen before: A prosecuting attorney is thrown into turmoil when his teenage son's classmate is murdered and his son becomes a suspect.

This is a legal thriller. There are plenty of scenes of lawyers sifting through evidence, interviewing witnesses and plenty of courtroom drama. But it's also a drama about families, as Andy and his wife are forced to ask themselves whether they really know their son at all.

I won't say much more about the plot, except that I found the ending to be a truly unexpected twist. There are no easy answers, either in court or in the living room, for the Barbers. And that makes a thrilling book.

Hi Julia, I've been enjoying reading your reviews as you catch up. I really need to bump up the Ben Aaronovitch and the Patrick Ness series, they are all on my wishlist but, well, you know the rest - too many books, not enough time ...

Judy, glad you made it home safely!

I predict that you will enjoy both series when you get to them, but I so completely understand the "too many books, not enough time" dilemma!

Dropping by to say hello!

Hi, I'm just dropping by to say hello, and that I am supposed to be catching up on my own book reviews and instead I have been reading yours! I started with the first page of your thread and read it for the 2nd time and then read your 2nd page for the 1st time, found several books to add to my all ready teetering tower of TBR's (especially the Novik dragon series) then thanked God I had reached the end of your reviews so I can go do mine. How's that for a run-on sentence? It's truly been a pleasure. You write fantastic reviews and your posts offer some helpful asides, as well. I hope you will stop by to see my reviews, if I can stop reading others and get them done! I love LT!!!

Thanks for stopping by, Mary Beth, and thanks for your kind words about my reviews! Visiting everyone's threads is such a great way to procrastinate on writing reviews, isn't it? I am off to your thread now to see what you've been up to!

I don't know if i had done anything when you stopped by but i got 4 or 5 done today and last night. I have the worst luck with computers. My desktop internet went down and i like to work off that for actual reviews and site work on LT or blogs. My tablet is great for browsing or reading posts but i was determined to get my reviews done so I worked on the tablet. My Earthlink Internet is still not up. Grrrr! I have many to go so keep on checking back!

You are inspiring me, Mary Beth! I am not going to read any more threads tonight until I post at least a few of my overdue reviews. Then I'll hop over and read your new reviews to reward myself.

I know what you mean about needing to write reviews on a "real" computer and not a tablet. I love my iPad but I don't love writing long things on it. At least not here at home where I'm trying to balance it on a pillow on my lap. If I would get up and sit at my desk it wouldn't be so bad, but if I was that energetic I wouldn't be 3 months behind on reviews, now would I? :-)

Wishing you luck with your review writing!

OK, I'm back. Fasten your seatbelts, here comes all of August in review form!

81. The Summer Guest, Justin Cronin.

The only other book by Justin Cronin that I've read was The Passage, a post-apocalyptic non-traditional vampire road saga. I liked it pretty well, although I thought the ending was rather weak. Whether you like that kind of novel is irrelevant for this review, because I am here to tell you that this book is about as far from The Passage thematically and stylistically as you can get.

The Summer Guest is set at a remote fishing camp in Maine, during the time span from post World War II to more or less the present. It follows several generations of owners, employees and guests of the resort as they come together and drift apart in a complex waltz of love, friendship, desire, anger, illness, and fear. The viewpoint shifts among several of the main characters and gradually reveals each of their secrets and desires.

There are no car crashes and certainly no vampires lurking — this is not Stephen King's Maine! It is a lovely, gentle story told in a lyrical fashion that honors its characters enough to let them speak for themselves. And it may well make you want to book your next vacation at a New England fishing camp even if, like me, you prefer to encounter fish battered and fried with a squeeze of lemon.

82. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline.

This novel popped up everyone on the 75-Book Challenge group for a while earlier this year, earning rave reviews from most everyone, especially those of us old enough to remember the 1980s the first time around. It's not set in the '80s, though; the action is set a few decades into the future, when the real world has become so miserable that nearly everyone spends all of their waking hours immersed in OASIS, a virtual world where you can be more or less whoever you want to be.

When the founder of OASIS dies, it is revealed that he has left his fortune to whoever is the first to solve an elaborate riddle/scavenger hunt set inside the virtual world. The keys are all based in his immense love of 1980s pop culture, and high schooler Wade is determined to win the prize and escape his dreary real life. He has to contend with fellow gamers both innocent and deadly in the race to solve the puzzle.

I give this book high marks for originality and creativity, as well as an engaging main character who is easy to root for. I have a feeling I would have loved it a lot more if I had ever played a video game in my life or had more than a passing knowledge in geek/nerd culture. If either of those things describe you, you've probably already read Ready Player One. But if you haven't, you probably should.

85. Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, Andrew Blum.

Man, did I want to love this book more than I did! Despite my lack of video gamer cred, I am fascinated by the Internet and how it has developed and evolved over the years. The premise of this book seemed so promising: "a journey to the center of the Internet", where the actual cables and network connections are made? Sign me up!

Alas, either I am not intellectually equipped to understand the science-y stuff (very possible), or Andrew Blum is not literarily equipped to explain the science-y stuff to non-science people. I was lost a great deal of the time as I tried to understand his explanations of how computers connect and send data hither and yon in a vast web of wires and tubes.

The subject continues to interest me, so I'll be on the lookout for another book that does for me what I had hoped this one would.

86. Faithful Place, Tana French.

Tana French has crafted a most unusual series: Each succeeding book focuses on a character who was at most a peripheral player in the previous one. Here, in the third entry in the Dublin Murder Squad series, we are paired with Frank Mackey, who was the boss of Cassie Maddox, the heroine of Book 2, The Likeness, who was herself a secondary character in the first book, In the Woods. It shouldn't work to keep shifting focus with each book, but it does.

Faithful Place is the street where Frank Mackey grew up, in an aggressively working class Dublin family. He planned to elope with a neighbor girl, but their plans went awry when Rosie never showed up at the rendezvous. All these years later, he's still wounded by her apparent abandonment. When it begins to become clear that Rosie may not have dumped him willingly after all, Frank is reluctantly drawn back in to contact with the dysfunctional family he left behind on that long-ago night. As he investigates what happened to Rosie, he has to come to terms with the idea that the answer lies within the Mackey clan.

I love how French never succumbs to genre stereotypes as she crafts these mysteries, and how vividly alive her characters seem. Each seems distinct and yet familiar at the same time, as if these are people we have met or at least heard about from a friend. I was kept guessing and caring deeply about Frank and the rest of the cast right to the end.

Okay, Julia, you sold me on that one even though there are no vampires...sigh...I'll try to get over that. What a lovely review!

Geez, Louise! There was just one review there a moment ago! I was referring to your review of The Summer Guest. Luckily for me, I already have Ready Player One and the first book in the Tana French series. Whew! A narrow escape!

Mamie, I write my reviews in a separate text editor and then copy and paste into LT, so once I get started pasting, I can rack up a few posts double-quick! I'm glad you caught up with me — I am done for now. (And I hope we can agree to never mention that long September list up at the top that has yet to be reviewed, OK?)

I hope you like The Summer Guest. I thought it was gorgeously written, and a welcome respite from my usual madness & mayhem reads. I'm glad for you that you dodged the rest of the potential bullets!

My lips are sealed!

Great review of Faithful Place. I am looking forward to the next one, Broken Harbour.

I am one of the few who hasn't read Ready Player One yet, but it certainly sounds like a book that I would love.

Thanks, Judy! I am looking forward to the new one, too. My library hasn't gotten it in yet, but I keep checking.

I'll look forward to your review of Ready Player One when you get to it.

Hi Julia, I loved The Summer Guest when I read it a few years ago! I also liked The Passage, although I'm not sure how quickly I'll be reading the second book that comes out later this month.

Joanne, I think I'll be holding off on the Passage sequel for a while, myself. Isn't it startling how different those two books from the same author are? It reminds me in a way of Mary Doria Russell, whose Doc and The Sparrow are also radically different but also really wonderful in their own ways.

Julia,
Happy to say I have The Summer Guest so I won't need to buy it. I, too, have read the 3 French books, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I enjoyed The Likeness the best, I think because of the characters in that particular book.
Oh, and I wanted to remind you about that list up there of books that need to be reviewed, the September list? (she scurries away, chuckling)

*shakes fist* MARY BETH!! I thought we had an agreement about the things that shall not be named. I can only assume you yourself are completely caught up on writing reviews? Hmmm?

Hi Julia, I'm glad to see another Tana French fan. I need to reserve Broken Harbor at the library. And now I'm off to write a review of a book I'm ambivalent about. I tend to put off the tough ones!

Have a great week end. We're expecting our first frost.

Our library doesn't have Broken Harbor yet, but I keep checking! It is supposed to get down to 28 degrees here tonight, as well. Of course, tonight is our high school's homecoming football game. It is going to be mighty chilly sitting in the stands for that one!

Good luck with your review. I find it so much easier to write reveiews of books I either loved or hated. The ones that are just 'meh' are really tough!

Great reviews of some really interesting books, Julia!

I have The Passage on my TBR mountain and your alluding to it makes me all the more curious to read it.

Hi Julia! I'm just catching up on threads while putting off digging out hats, gloves, coats, and blankets for the football game tonight. I think I'd rather curl up with a good book! It is cold out there.

I've never read anything by Tana French, but your review up-thread sounds very tempting.

Thanks, jolerie! I'll look forward to your review of The Passage when you get to it. I quite liked it. It was a different take on my usual post-apocalyptic fare. (I don't know what it says about me that I've read so much post-apocalyptic fiction that I can compare and contrast the styles!)

Amy, I did not brave the cold for the football game last night, but it sounds like it was quite a blowout. Go Bears! You really should read Tana French; the first is In the Woods and I really liked it. Our library does not have the first two books in the series in paper, but it does have the first book as an e-book if you're into that sort of thing.

I too get sucked into the whole post-apocalyptic theme. My husband thinks it's a rather morbid fascination. I tell him, I just want to be prepared for all possible scenarios. :)

September review dump, coming right up!

87. Between the Bridge and the River, Craig Ferguson.

Another book by a comedian best known for his acting. Back in June I read The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, best known for his television work in the UK classics Blackadder and A Bit of Laurie and Fry, and his starring role in the US TV show House. This time around it's Craig Ferguson, the host of the American late-night talk show The Late Late Show. I thoroughly enjoyed Ferguson's memoir, American on Purpose, and was looking forward to seeing what his cat-quick humorous mind could do with a purely fictional setting.

If I spent a thousand days writing, I don't think I could possibly do justice to a plot summary in this review, considering the book deals with a sexually perverted Scottish televangelist, illegitimate half brothers from the American South who run rampant through Hollywood, a rather meek Scottish man who throws caution to the wind when he believes he has terminal cancer, and a whole panoply of supporting characters with their own quirks and foibles.

At times I found this book a little over the top and ridiculous, but I can't deny that it made me laugh heartily more than once. In the end, Ferguson uses the farce to put forth a simple message: Love one another.

  

88. Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik.
90. Crucible of Gold, Naomi Novik.

Did you know that September was Series & Sequels month here in the 75-Book Challenge group? Thanks to Judy (@DeltaQueen50), who set up the thread that encouraged me to devote the majority of my reading during the month to reading just that. The next few sets of reviews all fall into this category, but we're starting with Naomi Novik's adorable dragon Temeraire and his often-bemused but always-honorable human captain, Will Laurence.

It would be a mistake to say that I don't still enjoy the Temeraire series, because I do. But the last few books have lost something, and I was racking my brain trying to figure out what. It finally occurred to me: I miss the interaction between Temeraire, as the young idealistic dragon and the seasoned veteran dragon soldiers that he trained and fought with in the first few books. I wanted more with Jane Roland and Catherine Harcourt, the female dragon captains. And I wanted more of Maximus and Lily, and all the rest of Temeraire's original fighting wing.

Instead, what we get in Tongues of Serpents are Temeraire and Will exiled to the Australian colony, where there are apparently no native dragons and no one who wants them around. The little dragon-dragon interaction we get is with the teeth-grindingly annoying Iskierka, who is the brattiest fire-breathing dragon you could ever imagine. Imagine a months-long slog through the Australian bush with her as a companion! Only the sweetness of the Temeraire-Laurence relationship saves it.

Crucible of Gold finds our intrepid pair on a voyage to South America, where they are meant to convince the Twswana African tribe first encountered in Empire of Ivory that they cannot force the Portuguese to give up all of the slaves imported from Africa to Brazil. Along the way, they end up shipwrecked on a desert isle and caught up in palace intrigue of the Incan empire. I enjoyed this one quite a bit more, especially for the return of our old friends Maximus and Lily, but I still long (nearly as much as Laurence himself) for everyone to return home to England.

        

89. Storm Front, Jim Butcher.
92. Fool Moon, Jim Butcher.
95. Grave Peril, Jim Butcher.
97. Summer Knight, Jim Butcher.
99. Death Masks, Jim Butcher.

I tackled this urban fantasy series, about the only professional wizard in Chicago, on the recommendation of Cynara, who read my rave reviews of Midnight Riot and Moon Over Soho. I enjoyed these installments of The Dresden Files, and I'm amazed at the variety of nasty creatures that wizard Harry Dresden has to contend with.

Two things kept me from rating these books higher: I was disconcerted by the coming and going of Dresden's sidekicks and helpers. In the third book, Grave Peril, he is aided by Michael, a knight of God, who is apparently an old friend and companion. So where was he in the first two books? And where did he go that he's not even mentioned in the fourth book? You'd think a professional wizard fighting all the demons of the Nevernever would keep knights of God on speed-dial.

The second thing is a silly and trivial one: The big climactic scene in Death Masks is a duel with a South American vampire duke, which takes place at Wrigley Field, the historic home of baseball's Chicago Cubs. Here the feeling I had in the previous books that Butcher wasn't very familiar with Chicago was borne out: He describes Wrigley Field as if it is a typical American baseball stadium, set in the middle of an enormous concrete parking lot. In fact, Wrigley is snuggled tightly into a residential neighborhood in the heart of Chicago, with no dedicated parking of its own. Obviously, if you don't know anything about Chicago, none of this will matter to you, but it took me right out of the tense mood that Butcher was trying to create.

These reviews sound overly negative, and I don't mean them that way. I did like the books, and I fully expect to continue the series. I probably won't try to read five in a single month, though, and I think it will increase my enjoyment to space them out a little more.

      

91. Appaloosa, Robert B. Parker.
94. Resolution, Robert B. Parker.
98. Brimstone, Robert B. Parker.
100. Blue-Eyed Devil, Robert B. Parker.

Thanks to Judy (@DeltaQueen50) for sparking my interest in this series by one of my favorite authors. I've read all of Parker's Spenser series featuring a private eye in Boston, but I'd never tackled his series of Westerns despite being a fan of the genre. I'm really glad I did! These are some of the best books I've read this year.

The series revolves around Virgil Cole, a legendary gunfighter, and his sidekick Everett Hitch, who narrates the books. In Appaloosa, Cole and Hitch end up in the town of the book's title and become the town marshals. What ensues is classic Western: a fight with a corrupt rancher, a doomed romance with a woman of questionable repute, and a final climactic showdown that sends the pair of lawmen on their separate paths, though with no animosity between them.

Resolution is the town that Hitch washes up in after he and Cole part, where he finds work as a saloon bouncer and ends up being the town's de facto marshal. Things get complicated quickly, and his old buddy Cole shows up just in time to help him get the best of the bad guys.

Brimstone is the next town on the duo's journey. They are back together and searching for Allie, the wayward woman who snared Cole in the first book, only to prove less than stalwart. They find Allie, and Cole sets out to learn whether he can forgive her trespasses. Meanwhile, he and Hitch try to head off trouble between a corrupt saloon owner and a fiery evangelist preacher.

Blue-Eyed Devil is the final book in the series, and finds the Cole/Hitch duo back in Appaloosa, the setting of the first book. Along for the ride are Allie and a young orphaned, traumatized teenager who will only talk to Cole. As if that wasn't enough trouble for one gunman, he and Hitch also have to contend with the new marshal in town and his 12-man posse and renegade Indians.

It's a shame that with Parker's death in 2010 there won't be any more additions to this series. I would happily read a half dozen more adventures of Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.

Hi Julia,
Again, some nice reviews of your books through the 80's and 90's. Did you read the series books one right after the other? I have a hard time doing that. I like to break them up because I usually become bored with the same author and/or story lines quickly. But, that was not the case with Tana French's series. I loved each one of them and couldn't get the next one quickly enough. They were some of the few books I actually purchased at full price from Costco because I couldn't wait to read the next one. Usually I obtain my books from library sales or at my local hospital. They have a book sale cart in front of their gift shop, and because I come so often they have begun allowing me to look at their stash of donated books waiting to go on the cart. We have 4 libraries close by, so I visit their sale shelves frequently. I just wanted to reinforce that anybody considering Tan French's books should definitely add them to their TBR pile. Also, my husband listened to all the Spenser audiobooks so I'm hoping I can find the westerns in that form as I am sure he will like those,also. Thanks for the reviews!

Butcher has been ragged for that parking lot mistake. :-) He's actually been to Chicago now.

I think the main reason we don't have Michael in the first couple of books is that Butcher hadn't thought of him yet. However, Harry doesn't push it with Michael; I have an idea that knights of the cross aren't allowed to throw down unless it's serious heaven-and-hell stuff. I love Michael & his family, and they do play a big part in the series.

Hi, Mary Beth! See what all your nagging has done? I'm almost caught up with my reviews (yes, I consider being 5 reviews behind "almost caught up", so quit giggling!)

As far as the series books, if you look at the numbers you can see that they were spaced out a bit. It was kind of like read 1 from Series A, then 1 from Series B, 1 from Series C, 2 from Series A, 2 from Series C, 2 from Series B, etc. So I don't think I ever read two books from the same series back-to-back, but at the pace I was going they were only a few days apart sometimes. I think I'll enjoy the rest of the Dresden Files books if I space them out a little further. Reading them so close together makes you notice little discrepancies that you wouldn't even remember if you were reading them at a more natural interval.

It looks like the Parker westerns were released on audiobook (I did a quick look on Amazon). I bet your husband will love them!

I recommend the Tana French books to everyone I know who reads even a little bit. So far no one has ever come back and told me I was wrong!

Cynara, I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Wrigley Field gaffe. It was a classic illustration of being careful writing about places you've never been.

I'm definitely going to keep reading the series, just at a more leisurely pace. I'm glad to hear that Michael and his family will be back; I love them, too! I'm a little worried about that eldest daughter, though (is it Molly?). I think they are going to have some wild times with that girl!

Gosh, I was behind here - sorry Julia!

#28 The Postman sounds good - onto the wishlist.

#37 Re Angel and Elizabeth Taylor: "I do hope some of them have some more pleasant protagonists, however." - None of her other books (that I've read so far anyway) have anyone quite as unlikeable as Angel, but there's rarely a wholly likeable character if that makes sense?

#38 I also think the Chaos Walking trilogy is better than the Hunger Games books (although I still need to read Monsters of Men). What was it about the third book that you didn't feel worked as well?

#45 "the horror never really kicked in for me." Whereas I think I enjoyed The Woman in Black because it never got too scary for me :-) I'm very, very easily scared....

#48 Yay, another fan of the Midnight Riot/Rivers of London series :-) I've tried the Dresden series and just can't get on with it although I know a lot of people are big fans.

#78 I keep seeing stunning reviews of Tana French's books Julia, I guess I really need to give them a try!

#97 Like you, I really enjoyed the early Temeraire books but found the later books had lost something. I gave up reading after Victory of Eagles because I'd seen lots of more negative reviews for Tongues of Serpents but it sounds like Crucible of Gold is an improvement. I might wait and see what Novik does with the next book in the series before deciding whether to read them again.

Look at you - almost caught up with reviews! :-)

No worries, Heather! My activity goes in fits and spurts, so it only makes sense that your visits would, too.

I think you will like The Postman and you really should read the final book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I don't think anything was lacking in the third book; I did think the short story was a throwaway and not really essential to the whole saga.

I am impatiently waiting the third book in the Midnight Riot series. I am on the waiting list at the library. And I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that you read the Tana French books. You will thank me, I know!

When I first started the Temeraire series I was so in love with the dragons, with Will, with the whole concept that I refused to pay attention to those who had read the whole series and expressed some reservations about the later books. Now I understand exactly what they were talking about. I really want the series to return to England and for everything to just lighten up a little bit. Between dragon-killing pandemics, kidnappings by a brutal African trible, exile to Australia and all the rest, Novik is going to have her whole readership sunk so deep into depression even an adorable dragon like Temeraire won't be able to rouse us!

Oh, one more think I want from that series — for that dragon-brat Iskierka to fall off the face of the earth. If that's the only thing that happens in Book 8, I'll be happy. :-)

Julia,

I am happy to say I did so much work on my reviews etc! today. I made sure all the reviews were on the book pages and vice versa. I made my list of the first books read, although I haven't quite finished, so you can see at a glance what I've read. And then just cleaned everything up like spellng etc, and touchstones. Would that I were so prodigious with my housework and errands! Just curious, do you ever feel like you want to read books you haven't seen on the threads so you feel like you can introduce others to something new? (Even if its old?)

Mary Beth, are you saying that you are tired of reading my reviews of books everyone else on LT has already read?!

But to answer your question: Yes, I would like to occasionally be the one who introduces other LTers to a really good book. It's tough, though, because I do not buy books anymore and pretty much only read books from the library or off my shelves. The days of idly browsing through a bookstore, even a used bookstore, and picking up books I've never read by authors I've never heard of just because they sound interesting are long gone for me.

I know what you mean, but I find debut authors at the library frequently and I have such a plethora of TBR's that I find some that I feel I haven't seen on the threads. It's a lot to keep in your head, but I at least remember the books that are consistently read by everybody, like Game of Throne series, Hunger Games, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, etc.,
I just feel like who wants to read one more review on the same book. Although it is interesting to see how others feel about the same book, sometimes so...

Do you have a lot of TBR's?

#105 I agree with you about the Chaos Walking short story - I'm happy to have read it but glad that I didn't have to spend money on it.

#107 I know what you mean, but not everyone reads all the threads (in fact, almost no-one does) so even though a book has been mentioned before, your review of it might be the first time one of your visitors has seen that book mentioned. I also like seeing reviews of books I've already been recommended so that I can get more of a feel for the book's appeal as well as getting confirmation that it is a really good book :-)

#108 Oops, cross-posted.

#109-I absolutely agree that I like to see more than one review, but sometimes there are sooo many of the same book, but you are right, for the most part.

I have a lot of books on my shelves that I have never read, and yet I never seem to get to any of them because there is always something more enticing at the library or newly recommended.

Mary Beth, I'll miss having you pop in but if you'd rather skip my thread because all the reviews are for books you've already read reviews of, I'll certainly understand. To be honest, I wonder often why I even write the reviews since as you say almost none of the books are ones that are truly 'new' to 75ers. I think next year I'll skip having my own thread and just lurk for recommendations on other people's threads.

#110 Yes, and if it's a book I know I want to read but still haven't got round to it can start to feel like the universe as a whole is niggling away at me to pick it up! :-)

#111 Julia, if I can say this as someone who has neglected your thread shamefully over the last month, I would miss your thread and your reviews. I don't read people's threads primarily to find out about new books (partly because, goodness knows, I have enough TBR and wishlist books to keep me going for several years already) but to find out what people think about what they've read. Often, someone's review can give me a new perspective on a book I've already read or heard about, or remind me that the book is one of several hundred I own that I haven't read and prompts me to read it. In fact, sometimes I prefer reviews of books I have heard about because then I can comment on them a bit more intelligently than just saying 'added to my wishlist'!

Obviously, you don't have to do anything just because I said so but I value your contribution to the group and don't want you to feel that nobody would miss you if you do decide not to create a thread next year.

Oh no, you're not gettin' off that easy. Verrry slick,Rosalita! Your reviews are awesome and they would be missed, for sure. In fact, I just took a peek over them and these are the authors of the books I have not read any reviews of...Ferguson, Landay, Novik, Butcher, Parker, Ness, Winters, Willis and Hughes. I guess I should have been more precise with my comments. I think it is just my own frustration with making my reviews stand out that makes me conscientious about them. Am i making any sense? At any rate, please do not even consider just lurking next year, you would be missed and what if they blamed it on me? You know, the ubiquitous "they"?

Julia, I'm on the same page as Heather!

I read the reviews, whether it's a book I've heard of or not because, because I WANT to know what the person's reaction is to the book. If it's a book I haven't heard of, then great, it might go on the WL. If it's a book I've already read, then it's even more interesting to see the different/similarities between the reactions. :)

I think this discussion about repeat reviews was brought about by what I said in #108 and just to clarify those remarks were directed at me not anybody else on LT, just the way I feel about writing reviews about books like,say N.Y. Times bestseller books or any books that are popular on LT. Not any books on this particular thread certainly, especially since I haven't read them or read any reviews on them. Most likely will now , though. Never gonna mention repeat reviews again, though, especially since I love reading all the different opinions on the same books.

Sloth alert...

Julia - We need your thread! I love reading your reviews, and I find stuff here all the time that I have not heard of or read before. Please, please, PLEASE don't just lurk next year.

Rosalita, Please look at #69 on here again. I check your thread every day...where are you?...Too busy for us?

Hi, Rosie; I'm also suffering from posting problems, particularly in our Shakespeare thread. I still love it! I've just been going nuts with work stress. I may not be able to post for a couple of days, but I'll get there! I'd love it if our lurkers chimed in.

Hi Julia, ditto on what everyone has already said (and they say it so much better than I could). Just know that I would miss your thread it you didn't have one next year.

HI Julia! I'm incredibly behind on all the threads but I think I may have managed to catch up today!
Hope you enjoyed your weekend and I hope you start a thread again next year with us :)

Julia - Missing you and hoping that all is well.

#122 What Mamie said. Hope you're ok.

So what did you think of the new Bruce bio?

Merry Christmas Julia!! Hope everything is going well with you!

Have a happy holdiay, Julia.

Merry, merry Christmas to you, Julia!

Hi, Julia - some holiday wishes for you! :)

Liz

Stopping by to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Julia!

Hope you are enjoying the holidays, Julia!

A Merrye Yuletide to ye, fair Julia!

Jump a little lighter, Julia, and Merry Christmas!

Hope you had a lovely Christmas, Julia!

Stopping by to wish you a Merry Christmas (slightly late) and a happy New Year (slightly early). Hope you will be joining us again in 2013?

You all are so wonderful to visit my thread even when it's been virtually abandoned by its owner! I have not been in the mood to keep it up for a variety of reasons, although I've maintained the list of books read up at the top, but it warms my heart to see all of you take the time to stop by. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ♥ ♥ ♥

I'm still leaning toward not having a thread in 2013, but I hope I'll still be welcome as I lurk around all of your threads and soak up your recommendations!

Nice to hear from you no matter how often, or not, you visit your thread, Julia.

I noticed you read The Dog Stars earlier this month and was wondering how you liked it. It was one of my year end favorites.

Joanne, I have been meaning to pop by your thread and tell you that I absolutely loved The Dog Stars! I got the recommendation from you, and it definitely lived up to your excellent review. I thought it was really satisfying all the way through, although the final scene with Hig and Jasper just about did me in. Blubber, blubber.

#135 That's an impressive list of books at the top of the thread Julia! I also tried to start The Yiddish Policeman's Union some time ago and didn't get very far with it. I'm hoping I'll be in the right mood one day.

You will definitely still be welcome in 2013 whether you have a thread or not :-)

Hi Julia - Just popping by from my thread to yours to say hello back at you! I rather let my thread go during 2012 but I've been trying to at least catch up with listing the books I remember reading. I don't think reviews are likely to happen, sorry to say. I'll be happy to see you at my thread any time and do let me know if you decided to set one up for 2013 so I can drop by with a star...

All best wishes for the coming year.

PS And when you're ready for that Springsteen road trip be sure to let me know!

Thanks for stopping by, Marilyn! I got to see 3 Springsteen shows in 2012, so it was a good year. Two at Wrigley Field in Chicago, which were fabulous (even though the second took place in a complete downpour) and again in Omaha last month (thankfully, indoors). That brings the total to 28, which is a mere drop in the bucket for many Springsteen fans but puts me firmly in the "she is clearly crazy" segment among my friends. :-)

I'm so glad you liked The Dog Stars!

28 Springsteen shows!? You go girl!! He puts on such great shows. My lifetime total (4) is just one more than your total for just 2012. I first saw Bruce back in the early 80s. I think I still have the program (that was when they still gave out programs - something like a theatre playbill). I should find that...

I first saw the boss in the Spring of 1973 - his first national tour. The opening act of a two day festival and he was all anyone talked about for the rest of the weekend. Other acts that weekend included the Eagles, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Billy Preston. I got to talk with Bruce a bit after his set, too. He was just as nice as could be.

My lifetime total is just 1 - but what a one it was! Early 80s at the sports arena in San Diego, The River Tour. It went on for hours, and he's such a great showman. I'm hoping to take my boys (18 & 20 yrs old) sometime when he's in Boston.

So nice to find some fellow Springsteen fans around here! Well, I knew Stephen was because he picked up a lyric line I laid down in someone else's thread. I am quite jealous of those of you who got to see him at the beginning. I was late to the party and didn't see my first show until 1985 during the "Born in the USA" mania. It was at Soldier Field in Chicago, I was 20 years old on my first-ever solo trip to the big city, and I felt like my life had changed forever.

It's been a long road since then, with lots of twists and turns, but I'm glad Bruce and I are still ramroddin' our way through it.

Marilyn, I hope you get a chance to take your boys to a show soon! I am amazed at that man's energy and life force.

Oh, books! Stephen, you asked upthread a bit what I thought about the new biography, Bruce. I thought it was OK. I learned a bit more about his grandparents and his childhood, which was very interesting. But having read both of Dave Marsh's biographies, Born to Run and Glory Days, I was hungry for more about his recent work and that section of the book seemed very superficial to me. I guess the definitive biography is still out there waiting to be written. Have you read it? What did you think?

Well, what do you know? I've managed to read 150 books this year. I can safely say I had no idea that would happen at the beginning of the year! Looking at the list, clearly December was Mystery Month; that's not surprising when I consider that those are my comfort reads and I've found myself in need of a fair bit of comforting this winter.

Great job reading 150 books this year, Julia. I hate to think you won't have a thread next year but I do understand it can seem like work. I can only say I've enjoyed reading your thoughts about the books you've read and the Shakespeare sonnet "lessons" were wonderful. Happy New Year to you! Please stay in touch no matter what you decide to do about a thread.

Thank you, Donna! Part of me cannot imagine not having a thread, and another part of me cringes at the thought. Which is silly, because the pressure is all self-inflicted. All of the 75ers could not be nicer or more forgiving about how we all choose to participate.

You never know, I may break down next week and end up with a thread of my own after all! But no matter what, I'll certainly be stopping by your thread to say hi and sneak away with some recommendations.

Happy New Year!

Such a slow day here at the trip factory ... I even had time to compile some end-of-year statistics. Behold:

2012 Summary in Books

Total Books Read: 150
  Fiction 86 (91%)
  Nonfiction: 14 (9%)

Medium & Source
Paper books: 11 (7%)
Ebooks: 139 (93%)

Borrowed (paper or ebook): 94 (63%)
Off the shelf: 56 (37%)

Abandoned Without Prejudice™: 5

Author Data
Unique authors: 73

Male: 45 (62%)
Female: 28 (38%)

Dead: 8 (11%)
Alive: 65 (89%)

Top Reads
Fiction:

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Chaos Walking trilogy, Patrick Ness

Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch

Defending Jacob, William Landay

The Expendable Man, Dorothy B. Hughes

About a Boy, Nick Hornby

Nonfiction:

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Half Empty, David Rakoff

Destiny of the Republic, Candice Millard

Happy New Year, Julia! Like everyone else, I will be saddened if you decide not to have a thread next year, but I also totally understand. Perhaps you could keep a thread just to track your reading? Just updating the list as you go so we could follow along? I have enjoyed getting into trouble with you this year, and am ever thankful for your introducing me to Nero Wolfe. I am hoping to get to know him better in the coming year. Wishing only fabulous things for you, what ever you decide.

Thank you, Mamie! I definitely want to continue tracking my reading, because it's fun to look back at the end of the year and see everything all gathered in one place. And a thread is the best way to do it, isn't it? I just need to give myself permission not to expect to review every single book I read.

You're welcome! And I think reviews are totally optional- I did not review every book that I read this year. No pressure, but it would be lovely to follow your reading.

Happy New Year Julia - congratulations on reading 150 books1 I agree with Mamie - no pressure, but we want you to create a thread next year and I completely agree about not needing to review every book you read if you don't want to. Something I probably need to give myself permission to do more often too.

I also loved The Sparrow - It will (or would) make my list of top reads, too.
I need to go say things about the sonnet. I'll keep an eye out to see if you have a thread!

Hi Julia,
The imperious Kitten says, Permission granted! Reviews are now completely optional. Hope to see you back.
And thanks for your summation of the Bruce bio. I've browsed through it but I've been kind of surprised to find that I'm not all that interested in a closer examination. I, too, really liked the Dave Marsh books and wondered if there was really that much new to say. Good to get your reaction.
Happy New Year!

Cynara, have you read the sequel, Children of God? Not quite as good but still exceptional, I thought.

Stephen, thanks for setting me free from the review requirement!
I was glad that I hadn't bought the Bruce bio and got it from the library. In fact, I didn't even check it out myself; a friend of mine was at the library with her daughters for Pajama Storytime and texted me to say it was on the shelf and asking if I wanted her to check it out for me. My friends know me so well. :-)
Happy New Year to you, too, sir.

Yes, I read the sequel, and I agree. The structure isn't as riveting, and I felt like it got a bit all over the place, but it was still a great read.