Storeetllr - Going for 100

I'm moving the books I've read from an earlier thread onto this one by quarter (or, when I can, by month). This first post goes through about April 7:

1. How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire - Kerrilyn Sparks (Don't bother to read this one; it's a bore.)
2. Angels Falls by Nora Roberts (3 stars) (contemporary romantic thriller)
3. Night Pleasures by Kenyon (OK story but cliched; didn't care for the writing.)
4. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas (4-1/2 stars) (historical romance)
5. After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros (2 stars) (historical vampire romance, sort of)
6. One Night with a Prince by Sabrina Jeffries (4 stars) (historical romance)
7. In the Prince's Bed by Jeffries (3-1/2 stars) (ditto)
8. Charmed by Nora Roberts 3 stars (contemporary paranormal romance)
9. Magnolia Creek - Jill Marie Landis (2-1/2 stars) historical romance
10. It Happened One Autumn by Kleypas (4-1/2 stars) Second in the Wallflower series of historical romances; excellent read!
11. The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman (4 stars) - A short novel about Rain, the daughter of the last Queen of the Amazons. Gorgeous, spare prose, good characterizations, almost no dialogue but highly readable.
12. The Book Thief by Zusak (4-1/2 stars) Brilliant novel depicting life in Nazi Germany. Narrator is Death. Only missed a 5-star review by a hairsbreadth.
13. Caesar by Allan Massie (3-1/2 stars) Narrated by Decimus Brutus, one of Caesar's most trusted generals and one of his assassins. Interesting description of the descent of a great man into megalomania as seen through the eyes of an ally turned traitor.
14. A Vote for Murder by David Wishart (3-1/2 stars) - A Marcus Valerius Corvinus mystery.
15. Really Unusual Bad Boys - 3 short novelettes, one by Mary Janice Davidson (2 stars) The first was okay, the other two ho-hum.
16. Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris (3-1/2 stars) - Predictable but fun.
17. Born in Death by J.D. Robb - (3 stars) There's a mystery here, but I pretty much figured it out before I was halfway through. Thus the 3 star rating. BUT, for the romance, the humor, the relationship factor, and the birth scene, I give it a 5 star rating.
18. Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace by Mary Janice Davidson (4 stars) YA Horror and a really good read. Fast-paced and wel-written, it has a nice little twist at the end.
19. Food for the Fishes by Wishart (3-1/2 stars) Another M. Valerius Corvinus mystery, this time set in Baie near Neopolis (Naples). Pretty good mystery.
20. I'm the Vampire, That's Why (forgot the author's name) (3-1/2 stars) Cute and funny. I skipped over a couple of love scenes as all of them were more or less the same.
21. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (4-1/2 stars) Excellent read; couldn't put it down. As good as but completely different from The Curious Incident, with wonderful characters. Haddon somehow managed to make me care about all four of the main characters: the dad, who is slowly going mad; the mom, who is having an affair; the daughter, who is marrying a man she doesn't think she loves; and the son, who is gay & in the middle of a break up with the first & only man he ever actually loved. Brilliant!
22. Let the Emperor Speak: a novel of Caesar Augustus by Massie (4 stars) Better than the novel about Julius Caesar, I thought.
23. Artemis Fowl by Colfer (4 stars) YA fantasy, it started out slow but quickly got so good I didn't want it to end.
24. The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr (4 stars) I had to stop reading this about halfway through as it was just too intense for me. Picked it back up about 3 weeks later & finished it; glad I did. A very satisfying read.
25. Parthian Shot by Wishart (4 stars) Another Corvinus mystery. A good read.
26. Twilight by Stephanie Meyers (3 stars) YA horror. A high school junior goes to live with her father in a small town in Washington State while her mother travels with her stepfather. There she meets Edward Cullen, a 17-year old vampire who was made about 90 years earlier and is attending high school with his "siblings" as a cover.
27. Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb (4-1/2 stars) Eve finds herself agonizing over Roarke's apparent attraction to an old flame as she tries to figure out who murdered two private school teachers.
28. By Slanderous Tongues by Mercedes Lackey & Roberta Gellis (3-1/2 stars) Elizabeth, beloved of the elves, is 14 when King Henry dies and she goes to live with Queen Catherine and Thomas Seymour and is caught up in a plot by the Unseleagh to disgrace and/or murder her. Not quite as good as the two earlier books in the series.

(Edited to add star rating which was inadvertently omitted and correct a misspelling of an author's name.)

These are books I finished from April 7-30:

29. Team of Rivals by Goodwin (5 stars) Unbelievably good history of the cabinet put together by Abraham Lincoln and does truly show why he is considered a political genius and the reason we are the United States today and not part of the Confederacy.
30. The Watchman by Robert Crais (4-1/2 stars) Joe Pike is forced by an old promise to become bodyguard of a rich and beautiful but troubled young woman someone is trying to kill. A really good read, from start to finish.
31. The Chariots of Calyx by Rosemary Rowe (3-1/2 stars) Mystery set in Roman London during the reign of Commodus, featuring Libertus, a freedman pavement maker citizen. It's okay but not as good as others of the genre.
32. White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz (4 stars) - An Arcane Society paranormal romantic mystery set in contemporary times. Jake Jones is a psychic hunter and Claire, the illegitimate daughter of Archer, is a human lie detector. They are 10+ exotics, which would drive most people insane, but they're pretty together. Really good read.
33. The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney (3 stars) Parnormal romance. Abigail is a wizard who heals Lord Frayne after what should have been a fatal accident on the condition he marry her after he is healed. He agrees, though he hates magic and despises wizards, and then insists of going through with the marriage even when Abby releases him from the promise. OK but not the most exciting in the series.

Edited to change the date from April 1 to April 7.

I read these in May:

34. Caesar: the Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldworthy (5 stars) - From the first chapter, it grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. It is well-researched, well-written and, most important of all, even-handed in its evaluation of Caesar's and his contemporaries' actions so that, even though it's kind of obvious that the author thinks highly of Caesar, he bases his conclusions on facts and, when there doesn't appear to be any solid evidence to back up the conclusions he draws, gives alternative possibilities that are not always complimentary to Caesar so that the reader can draw their own conclusion. Also, unlike many biographers and historians, he doesn't judge the ancient Romans by modern standards but attempts to show how the thinking and ethics of the times shaped them and makes their actions understandable, if not palatable to modern sensibilities.

35. You Suck, a love story by Christopher Moore. I think I should have read Bloodsucking Fiends, a love story first, although it isn't necessary to follow the story in You Suck. Just that I might have understood the characters and their relationships a little better, which might have made the ending less disappointing. Don't get me wrong ~ it was a really good read: darkly, laugh-out-loud-in-some-places funny, great writing, good story. Even the ending was good, it's just that I wanted it to end differently, but I figure the author ended it that way as a setup for a third in the series. I hope. All in all, I give it 4 stars.

36. Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas (3-1/2 stars) I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. As with her historical romances, it's well-written with good characters and an interesting story, but it wasn't quite what I expected from a contemporary romance written by Kleypas. It was more like a coming of age/woman's struggle to survive story with very little romance of the type she usually writes in her novels and that was just toward the end.

37. Fangs But No Fangs by Kathy Love (3-1/2 stars) I enjoyed it but was expecting it to be more of a paranormal than it was. The vamp ~ Christian Young ~ has eschewed his evil nature and stopped feeding on people. In order to expiate his guilt for his many sins, one of which includes killing his brother's true love, he's living in a trashy trailer park in West Virginia, writing a nightly confessional blog, and trying to follow a 12-step program for becoming more human ~ he's got the list hanging on his refrigerator door with a magnet. He meets his neighbor, Jolee, who is running away from her own sordid past (well, the sordid past that is her family, anyway, because Jolee herself is as pure as the driven snow, a paragon of goodness and virtue, who sings like an angel, to use a number of cliches) and is the proud owner of a tacky karaoke bar. She also turns out to be his own true love, whom he decides he can never have because of his past. With a setup like that, it should have been better.

Having said that, it contains some really good bits, like this one which happens toward the beginning of the story. They're on a country road beside a field of sheep that were resting for the night and Christian again gets turned on by Jolee:

"Behind him, he heard the fretful bleating of the sheep, and felt the minute vibration of the ground as the flock fled. They sensed him now, his need making him a distinguishable predator.

"Jolee stopped at the road and waited for him.

"At one time, he wouldn't have let her walk away. When he'd wanted to feed, he'd done so, no hesitation, no remorse. He would have fed from her, satisfying himself. And he could have satisfied her, too, with his bite. Now, he couldn't do either. He was neither man nor vampire.

"Now, he was just standing in a field in West Virginia, making the sheep nervous."

Everytime I read that, I just have to smile.

38. Roma by Steven Saylor. 3-1/2 stars. As Edward Rutherfurd and James Michener have done with other places, Saylor has written a century-spanning story of Rome from before its founding in the mists of prehistory to the last days of Augustus using a couple of families in vingettes highlighting various events. I started it, got as far as Remus and Romulus, found it neither as interesting nor as well-written as his Gordianus the Finder series, put it down for a week or so before forcing myself to pick it up again and finish it, which I did late last night. My first feeling on completion was relief, my next feeling a sense of disappointment. Not to say that it was dreadful or unreadable ~ Saylor's a good writer and the subject matter is one that I usually love, and there were some really good bits in the book ~ but it just wasn't as good overall as I was expecting. Next novel of this type I'm going to read is probably Rutherfurd's Sarum.

39. Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell ~ 3-3/4 stars. Just missed being a 4 by the tiniest margin. Started out great but it got a bit weird toward the end. I understood the mystery but the subtext was beyond me. I am going to read the next couple of books in the series, though, as the writing is good and, strangely enough, I care about the main characters and want to know what happens next. One thing, I found myself comparing Charles, one of the characters, to Lord Peter Wimsey. Not quite sure why and am interested to see if that comparison holds true in the next book.

40. Mona Lisa Awakening by Sunny. 4 stars. This book has been compared to the writing of Laurell K. Hamilton, but, since I've never gotten into her stuff (tho I tried), I can't say. All I CAN say is, "Oh, my!" and "More."

Loved it! Loved the main character, who is the narrator. (Unusual for me, as I usually detest first person narratives.) Best sex scenes I've read in a long long time. (Another unusual thing for me; lately anyway, I've been skimming/skipping over most of the sex in the novels I've read because it's been either boringly predictable or gratuitious or both.) Good characterization. Great plot and action. If you enjoy paranormal romance, you might want to give this one a try. I think you'll like it!

June's reading list:

41. Singer in the Snow by Louise Marley 4-1/2 stars. Marley hasn't disappointed yet, and this YA paranormal / sci-fi novel is another winner! Mreen and Emle are two young women trained as psi singers on a freezing planet where the human settlers would not be able to survive without the heat and light brought forth by the Gifted when the sing. Each stuggles to overcome her own unique problem: Emle is a talented musician with a voice that is unbearably beautiful, but she's unable to control her psi talent, while Mreen is Gifted with incredible psi power though she's unable to sing because she was born mute. Wonderful story and characters. I think this is the 4th in a series, and I'm definitely going to be looking for the first 3 now.

42. The Man Who Cast Two Shadows by Carol O'Connell - 5 stars. This is the second in the series of noir mystery/thrillers in which the main protagonist ~ Kathleen Mallory ~ is a sociopathic cop without a heart but with a strict code of right-and-wrong, ala Dexter. Loved it! A few of the cleverist bits of humor I've read in a long time, many of them having to do with a cat who may be the only witness to a murder, as well as two excellent mysteries and a memorable cast of characters. Unlike Dexter, though, whom we get to know quite well through his inner dialogue, Mallory remains an enigma who is only seen through the eyes of those who know her best, in other words, which means not very well at all. Can't wait to begin the next in the series, which is lying in wait on my bedside table.

43. Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell - 4 stars. Mallory goes back to discovery her roots and discovers a hotbed of murder and mayhem in a small town in the South. Another excellent read. I'm hooked.

44. The River Knows by Amanda Quick. 4 stars. Loved the mf and mm characters, loved the plot, loved the villains (there were a lot of them, actually), and loved the romance. Like most of Quick's novels, this one had some juicy sex but not an overwhelming amount of it; some romance, but not the mindnumbing mushy stuff; some humor, but no slapstick comedy; and some mystery, but never taking the place of the burgeoning relationship between the quirky but strong hero and equally quirky but also strong heroine.

45. Murphy's Law by Lori Foster. 4 stars. I really enjoyed this sequel to Jude's Law, though Ashley was a bit over-the-top with her prickly independent streak and Quinton just a tad too nice. But it was a good finish to the story that began with May and Jude.

46. No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong. 4 stars. This was the first Kelley Armstrong I've read and probably won't be the last, though this wasn't my favorite paranormal/supernatural novel. I think it's because I didn't really like the mfc, Jaime Vegas, who seemed a bit too smug and unfeeling. Maybe I just had to have read the prior novels in the series to appreciate her.

47. Crime School by Carol O'Connell. 4 stars. Another good read. Mallory and crew ends up teaching the ropes to a young and very inexperienced detective while pursuing a cold case crime that ties in with a recent serial killing spree. Good ending ~ I never saw it coming, and, best of all, no cats get shot.

48. Greywalker by Kat Richardson. 4 stars. Urban fantasy about a woman P.I. who is revived after being dead for 2 minutes and becomes able to "walk" in both the world of the living and the world of the ~ I was going to say "dead," but it was more like the world of the paranormal, including ghosts, vampires, witches, and necromancers. It took a few chapters to get good, but then I couldn't put it down.

49. Saturnalia by Lindsey Davis. 4-1/2 stars. A Marcus Didius Falco mystery set in ancient Rome. One of the better stories in the series and the best Davis has written in awhile, maybe because it's set almost exclusively in Rome (with the exception of one hysterical scene in an area just outside Rome along the Appian Way where the burial monuments stand and involving ghosts, witches, and a homeless encampment and a couple of scenes at a villa also just outside of Rome). Among the characters are most of Falco's and Helena's family members and many old friends (and enemies) from earlier novels. I hope Davis never stops writing Falco mysteries, because I am sure I'll never get tired of reading about Falco and Helena et al.

I really like your reviews. Thanks! :D

Hey, Morph ~ glad you got something out of them.

This is the first time I've ever faithfully kept so detailed a reading journal, but at my age I need to give myself as many clues as possible about what I've read or I'll forget. ;D

Finished two so far in July:

50. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishigura 4 stars Not sure why I liked this one so much, as I kept getting confused about what was happening. But the writing is pure Ishigura ~ understated and elegant with a depth that reverberates in memory long after the last word is read. (Edited to change the rating from 3-1/2 to 4 because I'm still thinking about it over a month after finishing it.)

51. Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey 4 stars I really really liked this third book in the 500 Kingdom series from the first word to last. It's about one of the Sea King's daughters and a prince of a "Dryland" kingdom who happens to be the 7th son and a Songweaver and a Fortunate Fool who band together with other heroes and heroines and champions and other magical beings to battle an evil jinn. In this one, Tradition is even more palpably a character.

#4. I just finished Sing the Light, the first book in the original trilogy that came before Singer in the Snow. I really liked the idea of it! I've always been a singer, and it never fails to lighten my world (so to speak). Unfortunely I realized that my library doesn't have the next two in the trilogy and they seem to be out of print. :-Singer in the Snow confusing if you don't?

Hi, Illithyia ~ no I have only read Singer in the Snow so far. It was not at all confusing, though it was clear to me that other stories in that world must have come before. Still, it didn't seem to matter for this one to be good. I'm sorry to hear they are out of print already. When I get home (I'm on vacation now in North Carolina and having a lovely time; already finished 4 books in 3 days) I'm going to look into getting the rest of the series ~ maybe a used bookstore or online.

52. Shell Game by Carol O'Connell. 3-1/2 stars. Another good Mallory mystery/thriller, this one about the clever murder of a magician committed during a magic act in front of thousands of people in Central Park. I really really like this series.

53. Storm Front by Jim Butcher. 5 stars. Yes, my first Harry Dresden book, and I absolutely LOVED it! For those who haven't gotten into this series yet, Harry Dresden is the only working wizard in Chicago. Actually, he's the only one in the country. Already in trouble with the White Council for killing a wizard who was trying to kill him, two months behind on the rent, one step ahead of a lineup of mobsters, mages, and monsters, Harry is brought by the police as a psychic consultant into a double murder by magic and suddenly finds himself the target of a wizard of unspeakable power. Can't wait to read the next in the series!!!

54. Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur. 3 stars. The second in the series about Riley, half werewolf and half vampire. Good enough to look forward to reading the next in the series but not quite as good as the first.

55. Seduced by the Night by Robin Popp. 3 stars. Wasn't thrilled until halfway through the book; then the mfc and mmc stopped being really stupid and the action got good. I'll probably read the others in the series but, unless they are better, won't be a big fan.

56. Tempting Evil by Keri Arthur. 3-1/2 stars. Third in the series about Riley Jenson, half-werewolf, half-vampire. In this one, she goes up against madman scientist Deshon Starr, the evil genius behind the genetic research that is responsible for creating an army of supernatural horrors and that has brought about unexpected changes in Riley's own genetic makeup. Pretty good. Looking forward to the next in the series.

(edited to correct misspelling)

57. Simon Says by Lori Foster. 3-1/2 stars. I really liked the emotionally fragile but feisty mfc Dakota Dream, though I had a hard time getting past the mmc Sublime's (Simon of the title) shaven head, shallow hussy that I am.

58. Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer. 3-1/2 stars. Great light humorous fantasy. Love the characters. Like the way the narrator (don't remember his name) has different voices for all the characters. Looking forward to next in series.

59. Dead Famous by Carol O'Connell. 4 stars. Another good Mallory mystery, but I hated the ending. Not because it wasn't good, but because I didn't want it to end that way. My eyes welled up with tears when I read the last line.

60. The Stranger by Albert Camus. I don't know how to rate this one. I didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it. The ending came so abruptly I actually made a sound of protest. I just finished it last night and need time to consider it, so I may come back later and edit this post.

61. The Margarets by Sheri Tepper. 3-1/2 stars. Interesting premise and great characters, but I felt she did a bit too much preaching and not enough clear storytelling in this one. Also, the main plot device she used (can't say what or might commit a spoiler) was a bit clumsy and led to the plot being a bit muddled. I thought. Still, I'm glad I read it.

62. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris. 4 stars. This one was a lot darker than any of the earlier ones, and not nearly as funny. I thought it was good, though, and am looking forward to the next in the series.

63. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson. 4 stars. This one was really good, though Sinclair wasn't in most of it.

64. The Thirteenth Tale: a novel by Diane Setterfield. 4-1/2 stars. On audiobook. This was an excellent mystery in the style of Daphne Du Maurier. The writing was elegant, and the narrators did an excellent job of creating compelling characters and dark atmosphere.

65. Angelica by Arthur Phillips. 4 stars. Okay, I am not sure about this one. I was prepared to love it, because I loved The Egyptologist, but, as I was reading it, first I liked it, then I didn't like it, then I liked it, etc. The writing was superb, of course, and the premise was fascinating ~ I am always interested in how the exact same thing can be seen so differently by different people and how the truth is seldom the same from one person to another ~ but I just wasn't quite as charmed by it as I'd expected to be. The ending was startling and, though I think it was supposed to be humorous, I guess I was too tired to understand (having finished it at 1 in the morning after a full day of activity).

66. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. 4-1/2 stars. Another winner about Harry Dresden, with whom I am now madly in love! :) Even without his wizardly powers, he'd be lovable; with them, he's irresistable! As to the story, it wasn't quite as compelling as Storm Front, though it was good, but the ending was really satisfying. In this one, Harry goes up against a loup-garou, a creature that has been cursed into becoming a savage, bloodthirsty wolf during the full moon. At the same time, he's being hunted by Murphy and a pack of feds who believe he's involved in the loup-garou murders and is being harrassed by Gentleman John Marcone, the gangster boss, who wants to make Harry his minion. There are also various other shapeshifting creatures involved ~ werewolves, hexenwulfen, etc. ~ and Harry is stretched to his limits to get it all under control. Can't wait till this evening when I can start the next in the series which I just happen to have on hand. Whee!

67. The Overlook by Michael Connelly. 4-1/2 stars. Harry Bosch goes up against Homeland Security when a man steals enough of a radioactive substance to take out a large portion of Los Angeles and is then murdered on a Mulholland Drive overlook by what appears to be al-Quaida terrorists. Bosch is concerned with finding the murderer, while the feds, who are chasing the cesium, try to cut him and the LAPD out of the investigation. But Bosch is his usual stubborn self and won't allow it. Good fast read, smaller than most Bosch novels but packed with action and Bosch's own unique way of looking at things. I liked it a lot.

68. Killing Critics by Carol O'Connell. 5 stars. OMG, this was so unbelievably good! In this one, the third (apparently) of the series, Mallory is drawn into New York City's art world, which is peopled by some seriously tweaked individuals, while investigating the murder of a second-rate artist/critic by someone wielding an ice pick at the opening of an art exhibit at a posh gallery. The murderer posed the victim as one of the works of art titled "Death." This murder, in turn, connects to another murder, that one much more brutal but with the same posing of the bodies as works of art, that took place about 20 years earlier and which was never solved, though Markowitz had been lead detective on that case.

69. Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer. 4 stars. I think this was one of the best so far (#3 in the series, I think). Why a middle-class woman coming up fast on 60 would feel a thrill every time an evil boy genius thief does something nefarious and succeeds is beyond me, but I do, every time. *sigh* Must be the anarchist in me. My favorite character (after Artemis, of course) is Mulch Diggums (or is it Diggins?) the dwarf. Love the voice the narrator has given him. What a character! I thought the ending was really good, very poignant, and looking forward to the next ~ Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception.

70. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling. 4 stars. (No spoilers) Well! Finally I can join the rest of mankind (or at least those who read fantasy and/or YA and/or popular novels) and join in discussions about the final chapter in the HP series if I want to; at least I won't have to avoid certain threads anymore on the chance I'll read a spoiler.

About the novel ~ I went into it a bit reluctantly; after the way it was hyped, and after hearing (inadvertently) the strong feelings of pro and con it has engendered, I was afraid of being disappointed. I was also a bit resentful of the pressure I felt to read it NOW in order to be "in," so it was with some surprise that I found I mostly liked it. The beginning was a bit slow, the middle was too long and drawn out, but the last 1/3 was worth the wait, and the ending was really well done. Not thrilled with the epilogue ~ thought it was anticlimactic, to say the least, but admit that it was of slight interest.

The problem with reading these threads is that I find so many good recommendations, and I already have too many books to read. I am resisting thinking about those Carol O'Connell books, which look really interesting. I am enjoying your reviews, though, they are very helpful!

Oh, I do know what you mean! I should be reading twice as many books as I am now just to keep up with the TBRs I already have on my list!!!! :) (But the Mallory mysteries by Carol O'Connell really are wonderful!)

Glad to hear it! I have Mallory's Oracle out of the library right now. It's next on the list.

Don't you just love those Dresden books?! I'm so upset that they cancelled the tv show. Paul Blackthorne and Terrance Mann made such a spectacular Harry and Bob. *sniff*

Hi there Ilithyia ~ I do hope you enjoy Mallory's Oracle. It wasn't my favorite ~ I did get a bit confused in places ~ but it's the first and sets the stage for all the rest to come. And it's not bad reading, really. I think I'll reread the series again and probably will pick up on a lot that I missed the first time 'round. Let me know what you think of it.

As far as Dresden goes, I am in serious love (lust?) with Harry, and I just adore Bob. I hope they put the first (and only, I guess) season on DVD so I can watch it. I don't have cable, so I missed it. :( I am ready to start the third of the series, as soon as I finish the next Mallory mystery (Winter House) and maybe one more library book that has to go back soon (Janet Evanovich's latest, Lean Mean Thirteen).

So many books; never enough time.

Boy, do I know that one! And Lean Mean Thirteen was great, as always, and you get to see more into the character of Dickie Orr (the ex) - though I wonder if she'll ever choose between Ranger and Joe. Though I think in the end she'll have to choose Joe....anywho.

I just wanted to say that the Dresden Files came out on DVD a couple of weeks ago. I haven't gotten it yet (though I will), but I did see them all on scifi.

P.S. If you have to have an iPod and use iTunes, they had the first episode to download for free (at least they did several months ago). It wasn't my favorite episode, but it was good.

Have a great weekend, Storeetllr!

FYI - just thought I'd mention that The Dresden Files on DVD is on sale on amazon.com for about $23.00. I'm going to hit my mom and dad up tonight for that and season one of Supernatural (on sale as well) for my b-day :-)

Christy and Jenine ~ Oh, thank you for that great news! I went to Amazon.com and ordered The Dresden Files DVD AND the first season of Dexter ~ two of my favorite mysteries!!! I also couldn't resist putting the 4th Dresden novel on the order. Yay! I'm almost hyperventilating, am so excited about it.

71. The Maquisarde by Louise Marley. 3-1/2 stars. Sci-fi novel about a woman living in a dystopian society who loses her husband and child in a senseless terrorist attack and joins the resistance, bent on revenge. It started out really good and carried through that way until the very end, when it kind of petered out. That's one thing about Marley, I've found; her endings are sometimes disappointing. But her writing and topics are always so top-notch otherwise, I don't allow the unevenness of her endings to put me off.

72. Winter House by Carol O'Connell. 4-1/2 stars. Another really excellent Mallory mystery has Mallory pitted against an old woman who, when she a child of 12, was one of the few survivors of the mass murder of most of her family and who then disappeared for 53 years.

73. The Road by Cormac McCarthy(http://www.librarything.com/author/mccarthycormac) 5 stars. Audiobook. One of the best books I've read this year. Maybe the best. Amazing. I need to read it again.

I have to agree about The Road. I've been advising everyone I meet to read it. I think a reread in a couple of months is called for too. Such simple prose but such a complex story.

Oh, yes, judylou, I agree wholeheartedly! I didn't really expect to like it ~ it's not my usual kind of book ~ but I had heard so many good things about it. In fact, I had a hard time stopping to sleep and work and continued to think about it between listening sessions. In fact, been thinking about it all day today. Definitely one to reread. Next time, though the narrator of the audiobook was simply wonderful, I'm going to read it in book form.

The last two I read ~ one on audio and one in printed form ~ were so very good that I can't seem to find anything I want to read now. I just want to read those two again.

I know that feeling! I try to read something competely different after a book like that!

74. The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley. 3-1/2 stars. Sci-fi/fantasy set both in the time of Benjamin Franklin and in the year 2018 (alternate chapters). About music, as many of her novels are. A virtuoso on the glass "armonica" invented by Franklin thinks she's going insane when she begins to see what seems to be a ghost of a young girl, while at the same time her twin brother, who is a master composer, is physically degenerating due to a genetic disease.

I read this one after reading judylou's advice to read something completely different from The Road. I figured this would qualify, and it did! I'm now reading the third Dresden Files novel and the latest Darkover novel.

ETA: Couldn't get into the Darkover novel, no matter how hard I tried. I used to eat thm up like candy, but this one was just not grabbing me. :(

75. Lean, Mean Thirteen, Janet Evanovich. 3-1/2 stars. This one has Stephanie up against Ranger (yum) and Joe (yum also), trying to figure out what happened to her slimy ex after he disappears and his business partners start turning up burned to a crisp. A light, fun read.

ETA to add: Read in August before The Glass Harmonica.

76. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher. 3-1/2 stars. 3d book of the Dresden Files. Pretty gory, all in all, with Harry working overtime to protect his friends, not to mention himself, against vicious vampires, ravaging demons, an evil sidhe sorceress, and rampaging ghosts.

77. The Queene's Christmas by Karen Harper. 3-1/2 stars. Excellent mystery set in Elizabethan England pits the queen and her privy plot council against a murderer with a food fetish that is bent on destroying her trust in her friends, one by one.

78. The Hooded Hawke by Karen Harper. 4 stars. Another excellent mystery pits Elizabeth I and her allies on the Privy Plot Council (including Francis Drake) against an expert bowman called The Hooded Hawk, who's killing people around the queen as she and her court go on progress south into the Catholic county of Hampshire.

79. Dark Assassin by Anne Perry. 4 stars. Audiobook. A Monk and Hester mystery. The murder and/or suicide of a couple falling from a bridge just as Monk is passing by in a River Police boat gets Monk, together with old friends and enemies, involved in the investigation of two earlier alleged suicides connected to the building of the new sewer system beneath London. Really good, with an ending that was not quite as satisfying as I'd expected.

80. Game of Patience by Susanne Alleyn. 4 stars. I enjoyed it from the beginning, especially the historical details, but from the middle on it really grabbed me. The ending was difficult ~ emotionally ~ for me. I wanted it to end a different way, but I have to admit it was the right ending. Anyway, it was a mystery set in Paris about 3 years after the end of the Reign of Terror. It's a historical period I have not studied, so it's very interesting. I'm going to look up the other novels in the series. BTW, Ms. Alleyn is an LT author.

81. Stiff, the curius lives of human cadavers by Mary Roach. 4-1/2 stars. Who would imagine that what happens to our bodies after death could be so hysterically funny? I swear I chortled and snorted and laughed out loud all through the book. Not to mention it was fascinating. And educational. I really liked this book and will look for her next, which I think is called Spook. Yep, that's it.

82. Find Me by Carol O'Connell. 5 stars. Audiobook. I seldom cry while reading novels anymore. I've read things that others have admitted to sobbing through with dry eyes. Not that I'm uneffected by them, just that it seems to take a lot to make me shed a tear these days. But. At the end of this one, I was crying, and not just a sniff and a tear sort of crying either, but the two-tissue, reddened nose and unable to see through the tears kind. I thought the whole novel was a masterpiece, but the ending ~ well! The ending makes the possibility that it is the last Mallory mystery ALMOST worth it. I want to read it again right away.

83. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. 4-1/2 5 stars. First novel I've finished by Kay ~ I'm in the middle of Tigana which I hope to get back to soon ~ and I must say it was one hell of a read! Fell in love with Ammar and Rodrigo, and wanted to be Jenane and Miranda (until the end, which was too utterly sad). I almost gave it a 5 and may yet do so. I have to think about it a bit.

I just bought Tigana, probably won't get to it for awhile though. I'm curious to hear what you think. Kay is very highly praised in some circles, but I've yet to read him.

ttfn

I have heard good things about Kay as well, but my TBR list is too long to add fantasy to it. I have read some excellent fantasies, but it is not my favorite genre, and it seems too risky to bump something else. Still, I might change my mind if I hear enough good things. I will have to at least pick up a book and page through it, I think.

I am still pondering The Lions of Al-Rassan. It is an epic fantasy, though it contains minimal magic. It is set in the early medieval Spain of a slightly altered universe & tells of the struggle between the Jaddites (Christians) of the north, and Asharites (Muslims) of Al-Rassan, with the Kindath (Jews), who call themselves the wanderers, caught in the middle. The Asharite kingdoms are greater in wealth and culture than the Jaddites, but they have become weak. Only the petty squabbling among the small Jaddite kingdoms prevents them from overcoming the Lions (as they call their kings) of Al-Rassan and regaining their lost kingdom. I really loved the fully-developed characters and the wonderfully lyrical writing that at times was absolutely poetic. In fact, included were the poems of Ammar ibn Khairan, the poet-warrior. I am still thinking of changing my rating to 5 stars.

84. A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney. 2-1/2 stars. Weakest of her Guardian series of paranormal historicals, I only finished it because I've enjoyed her earlier ones and kept hoping this one would get better. The premise was good, but the writing was plodding and the dialogue stilted. It was sort of like the character were orating rather than talking to each other. Also, I just didn't feel any real connection between the two main characters, though words like sparks and electric and the like were thrown in occasionally, almost as if they were afterthoughts on rewrite.

85. The Woods by Harlen Coben. 4 stars. Audiobook. My first Coben, and I really enjoyed it. The Woods is a gripping mystery about a prosecutor Paul Copeland ("Cope") (a lawyer I actually liked), whose sister went missing and was presumed murdered 20 years earlier along with 3 other kids from a summer camp where Cope was a camp counselor on a night he was supposed to be on chaperone duty.

86. The Sharing Knife Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold. 3-1/2 stars. My first Bujold, but definitely not my last. It didn't get more stars only because there were a couple of brief spots in the middle when I thought it was a bit boring, but overall it was well done. Also, most of the exciting action was in the first half, while the second half was mostly about the main characters' developing relationship and how those around them reacted to it, which I thought strange, since I've found that books usually build up slowly and end up with a lot of exciting action. Loved the characters, though, and the storyline. Can't wait for the second in the series.

87. A Moveable Feast by Hemingway. Audio. 5 stars. Wonderful! My first Hemingway, and I was enchanted. It was both different from and exactly as I expected ~ lots about food and lots of things that were "good" and women who were "beautiful." Fortunately, that didn't put me off at all. The first time I laughed out loud, though, I was shocked! I never expected it to be lol funny. And so many quotable bits ~ like the one about being able to get over the dreaded blank page by writing "one true sentence." And what he wrote about Gertrude Stein and Scott Fitzgerald. And the way he talked about his wife. And the foreshadowing, so cunning, leading right into the ending, which was unspeakably sad. Now I want to read his biography. And one of his novels. I happen to have one ~ I think it's The Sun Also Rises, but I'm not sure ~ I'm going to read it as soon as I find it. Amazing to think I've avoided Hemingway all my reading life because I thought I'd hate his writing. Makes me feel a right fool.

88. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Audio. 5+ stars. I'm not usually a true crime story kind of reader, but this one is just amazing. It tells of the creation and building of the White City in Chicago for the World's Fair of 1892 and of the creepy sociopathic serial killer Dr. Holmes who used the Fair to lure his victims to his lair. I started it in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and read straight through until Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m.; then started in again at 9 a.m. until I finished it in the afternoon. It was sooooo good!

89. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Audio. 4 stars. At times I was mesmerized by the prose, but the story seemed to be pretty much about nothing. I mean, a lot of things happened, people went here and there and ate and drank and fought, but to what purpose I'm not sure. Still, I'm glad I read it. Now I don't have to wonder anymore what a Hemingway novel is like. :)

Stor,

I had a similiar experience with The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. The book had a very interesting concept about a society of people who were both male and female (or more unisexual until reproduction and then they could become either one - could be both a mother and a father at different points).

However, the book didn't really have anything in the way of a plot. Some outsider had landed on the planet (can't remember why). Eventually he was taken prisoner and then escaped. That was pretty much the plot.

Great concept, bad plot....Hugo award winner too, I think.

Hi, Ilithyia ~ I read Left Hand of Darkness too, a long time ago, but I don't remember much about it except that I enjoyed it. :)

I've been thinking about The Sun Also Rises, and it occurs to me that it's all about the "lost generation" between the wars ~ in the last Hemingway I read, A Moveable Feast, Hemingway wrote that Gertrude Stein called him that: one of the "lost generation." In The Sun Also Rises, these people do a lot of things but they never seem to lead to anything purposeful. It's all aimless wanderings, like they are lost and just going through the motions of living. Jake, the narrator and main character, is the only one who seems to have any purpose. Coincidently, he's the only one who seems to have any kind of a job. But even with him, his purpose is all very vague. Not sure if my interpretation is anywhere near on target, but there it is. For now.

90. High Noon by Nora Roberts. 4.5 stars. May be one of her best. I almost gave it a 5, but there was one little part that wasn't quite right and niggled at me, so I couldn't. Still, it was really well written, entertaining, lovely different kind of hero, and exciting story. I liked it a lot. Much better than Angels Falls, I thought.

Two more weeks until November 1, and I am feeling incredibly pressured to read really fast and constantly in order to get as many books in as possible before I am forced to stop for NaNoWriMo.

91. The Sergeant's Cat by Janwillem Van De Wetering. 4 stars. Short stories, some about his Amsterdam detectives Grjpstra and De Geir, and some not really mysteries at all. One was a horror story about a vampire and a Jewish youth just before the Nazis invaded The Netherlands that was not scary in the traditional sense but was horrifying and well-written. The last was set in Japan in the past and was very, I don't know if "zen" is the right word, but it was definitely leaning toward "mystical." Anyway, for a collection of short stories (which I don't usually like to read), it was really good.

Enjoyed reading your reviews. Thanks, Storeetllr. You are nearly at your target!

Thanks, Tiffin ~ Glad you enjoyed them. I am nearly at my target, but I have only two more weeks until I stop reading for the month of November, so I am feeling a bit pressured just now to read fast, which is putting me off reading to an extent. I can't quite settle into another book even. Hate it when that happens. Has it ever happened to you?

92. Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer.* Audio. 4 stars. Anyway, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one in the series. In this one, an evil pixie and a disgraced LEP officer conspire to recruit goblins to overthrow the government, and Artemis lands right in the middle of the chaos. Mulch Diggins is a featured character in this one, too.

*I could have sworn I logged this one in when I finished it about a month or so ago sometime after Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, but I can't find it on my list.

93. Justinian's Flea by William Rosen. 3.5 stars. It was an interesting history but seemed a bit disjointed. Parts were so dense, and some sentences so convoluted, that I had to reread them a few times. Still, it was a fascinating look at some of the events that led to the final fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the countries of Christendom and Islam.

Yes it has happened - particularly back in university days with chronic deadlines. Never mind your target - just read because you love to. You'll likely get there just because of that fact!

Oh, I do read because I love to! It's pretty much the best part of my everyday life right now. And it's a pretty sure bet that I'll make my 100 book target by December 31. So I'm not really worried. It's just one of my neuroses that's making me obsess over getting as many books read as fast as possible just now.

I do try to keep them (those pesky little neuroses) under control, but occasionally, esp. when a deadline is coming up or I'm under stress in other ways, one will escape and run amok, wreaking havoc on my psyche. I just like to whine.

I'll get over it. ;D

94. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. 4.5 stars. The story of the cholera outbreak in London in the late 1800s and the two men who figured out its cause (a well that had been contaminated with human waste). I enjoyed this much more than Justinian's Flea. Something about the accessibility of the writing without ever being unscholarly that made the book somehow more readable. And I learned a few other things from his discourse at the end of the book about modern city life and why people (like me) prefer to live in cities and how cities are "greener" than isolated homes in the country.

95. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay. 3.5 stars. A really good ending, but the first 2/3 was just a tad bit boring (it seems as if Dexter without the DP is just another whiney, neurotic guy, though he mostly whines with that dark, dry humor I love so much), and the book veered from the mystery-thriller into the realm of fantasy (the movie could be titled "It Meets Dexter"). But the kids were great, as was Dexter's relationship with them. And Lindsay perfectly portrayed the place Rita had in Dexter's world ~ she is just a necessary prop, and marriage just another layer of camoflage. The only things fully three-dimensional are the DP, knives, the kids and Debs, pretty much in that order; everything and everyone else is almost cardboard or at least 2-dimensional and often nebulous ~ just the way a sociopath like Dexter would view them. That part was brilliantly done. All in all, I liked the first best, then the second, and now the third, but that's not to say the third is bad, just not as good as the first was. Can't wait to see what's next!

96. Dark Guardian by Christine Feehan on audio. 3.5 stars. I really liked the main characters of this Carpathian romance, and the plot was pretty good too, but the sex scenes were mostly all the same. They "went up in flames" so many times throughout the book, it's a wonder there was anything more of them left than charred bits of charcoal. lolol

97. Many Bloody Returns, Tales of Birthdays with Bite, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner. 4.5 stars. I picked it up because of the Sookie Stackhouse and Harry Dresden stories, but every one of the vampire stories in the collection is just wonderful (and this is the opinion of someone who normally dislikes reading short story collections). I started out reading the two I wanted to read, and they were so good that I went on to the P.N. Elrod story about the Sam Spade-1940s-style vamp detective Jack Fleming and really enjoyed it too. So then I read the Kelley Armstrong and Rachel Caine stories, because I've read stuff by them before, and before I knew it, I was gobbling them all up and then wishing there had been more (there are 13 stories in all). The other authors in the group are Bill Crider, Chris Golden, Carolyn Haines, Tate Hallaway, Tanya Huff, Toni L.P. Kelner, Jeanne C. Stein, and Elaine Viets. One of the stories actually made me cry. I'd give the book a 5 but I usually reserve fives for must-reread-and-keep-close-to-my-bed-always-so-I-can-have-it-with-me-when-I-have-to-flee-my-burning-house, and I'm not sure yet if this one qualifies. I may change my mind about that, though, since I'm actually already thinking of rereading it.

98. Judas Child by Carol O'Connell. 4.5 stars. It would have been a 5, but the end just blew me away, and not in a good way. I mean, it was a good ending, but I didn't like it. It made me upset. That's not bad, of course, but...

Okay, this is really disjointed, but I don't want to give anything away in case someone reads this who is going to read Judas Child, so I was trying to say things in a roundabout way that ended up being a no-where way.

So, I'll just say this is vintage O'Connell noir, with the sweetest story of friendship between Sadie and Gwen that I've ever read tucked in amongst all the horror. The writing was perfect, the characterizations were perfect, the denoument was (I hate to admit it, because I still didn't like how it ended) perfect. Okay, maybe I'll change that rating to a 5.

ETA number.

99. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris. 4 stars. One of the better of the Harper Connelly mysteries, I thought. I read it in one sitting ~ didn't want to put it down.

100. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey. 4 stars. Really good story about Felix Castor ("Fix"), who reminded me a tad bit of Harry Dresden, but he's got a whole different shtick, and his stomping grounds are the environs of London, which was a perfect mileu for this story about an exorcist in a world where ghosts and zombies and loup garou and demons are nothing unusual. And the ending was a real kick! I really really really hope this is the start of series!

101. The Civil Wars by Julius Caesar. The Loeb Classical Library version (1921) translated by A. G. Peskett. Okay, how can I rate a book like this? In one way, it was painful to read, but since my Latin is not up to translating it for myself, I have no room to talk. In another way, it was riveting. Considering it was written over 2,000 years ago about an episode of history that I've read a lot about in biographies, histories, and novels written by modern authors, and also considering that it was written by one of the most famous men in western history who was also one of if not the principal characters, is mind-boggling to me. I may try to find my own copy so I can reread it.

102. Creation in Death (no touchstone?) by J. D. Robb aka Nora Roberts. 4 stars. Really good but somehow different from the earlier ones, though I'm not exactly sure why. It's probably the creepiest, most brutal of all the "in Death" mysteries she's written, at least to my mind. The first thing I thought last night when I finished it was "Wow, that was rough!" Also, the signature dream she always has of her as a little girl was not there, which is okay, since it's good to show character development, but that was another difference. I hope it's not the last of the series, but it could be, as it seemed to resolve a lot of issues, except the biggest one (for me) ~ are she and Roarke ever going to be brave enough to have a baby? Man, how would she handle that with the way she does her job?

103. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 4-1/2 stars. This one started out really slow and stayed that way until about 2/3 of the way in, then ~ pow! It was un-put-downable! It took me awhile to finish ~ about 3 weeks in all ~ but that was partly because of NaNoWriMo and partly because I read other books in between. Because I could take only so much of Collins's writing style. Not that it was terrible writing ~ no, in some ways, it was brilliant ~ but because it went on and on about such insignificant details at times that I wanted to shriek. But it was written in the mid 1800s, and it is said to be the first of the modern detective stories, so one must expect a different style from that which one has come to expect from the genre. Anyway, I absolutely loved the characters, which is why I kept on with it through page after page of minutiae (sp?). Next on my list of Collins to read is The Woman in White which, I am told, has been made into a musical, of all things!

The Woman in White is wonderful--the characters are just as compelling. I thought it read faster than The Moonstone, but that may have been because I knew what style to expect from him by the time I read The Woman in White.

I've heard about the musical, but, after reading the book, it's hard to imagine a musical version. Let me know what you think after reading it.

Just last night I was talking about books with a friend who is a playwright. It turns out that he's reading The Woman in White, and we thought it a great coincidence that we were both reading Collins. Anyway, he told me about the musical and said the music from it is just wonderful! (He listened to the music on CD but hasn't seen the show yet.) Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading it and will let you know when I finish how I did with it.

I think you're right, though ~ now that I know what to expect, it will be am easier read than The Moonstone was.

Edited to make the first sentence grammatically correct.

I am Impressed! Now I have to back in time and try to add up mine for '07... I sorta kept track of them here ( http://quitmyjob-nowwhat.blogspot.com/search/label/reading%20list ) but it was nothing too efficient... guess that would be my first 2008 Resolution...

Hey, Teach! (I always wanted to say that but never had the nerve when I was a kid in school. lol) Anyway, I'll let you in on a secret that may end your being impressed: It's really easy to rack up the number of books you read when you DON'T HAVE A LIFE! lolol I don't watch TV, my daughter's grown and living across the country, and I live alone and don't date. Other than writing, knitting, doing online stuff, and photography, there's not much else to do THAN read.

This was the first year I kept faithful track of the books I read, and I am feeling so accomplished for having done it. I like to know what I read over the year, and I enjoyed doing my little reviews because it made me think more about what I just read than I sometimes used to. Also, I think it's nice that others have found the reviews helpful.

BTW, I like your blog.

now that I know your secret, I'm not only impressed but jealous!
...not really, just at the end of those hectic, boys' noise-filled days when it's finally quiet enough to sit down and read, and I get comfortable on the couch, open my book... and wake up hours later and have to get in bed.

104. Nefertiti, Book of the Dead by Nick Drake. 3.5 stars. Enjoyable but not as memorable as some mysteries set in ancient Egypt that I've read. I hope it's the beginning of a series, though, as it does show promise. I'll sure read more from this author, but I don't think I'll be rereading this one.

105. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida. 4 stars. Not my usual kind of reading, but I really enjoyed it a lot. Compelling story and protagonist. Great writing ~ very spare and yet almost elegant in places! I didn't even mind the first person narrative, which I normally detest. It's the story of a 28 year old woman (from NY?) named Clarissa whose mother disappeared when Clarissa was 14 and who, upon his death, discovers that the man she thought of as her father was not, and that everyone who ever meant anything to her had always known about it but had kept it a secret from her. She goes on a kind of odessey to find her true identity.

Congratulations on reaching your goal! And I'm both impressed and jealous. I'd love to be able to read that much in a year, and just because you say you have no life, don't use that as an excuse. I know plenty of people who dwindle their days away instead of doing something productive. Like TeacherDad, there are days that I get home from work, and having anxiously waited all day to curl up with a good book end up falling asleep more often than not!

This is the first year that I have kept track of what I've read, and I've enjoyed it as well. It's helped me to see how scattered my reading has been/can be, and I think I will be going into 2008 with a better focus on what I want to read in the course of the year.

106. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. 5 stars. Audiobook. I was paying bills and doing other housework today and so bored I got out my trusty iPod and was going to continue listening to Mountains of the Pharoahs by Zawi Hawass but just could not find it in me to continue listening to it. So I just flipped the dial around until it rested on The Importance of Being Earnest and I thought, why not? I've been wanting to read it for awhile now, and it's short, so...

OMG ~ it was so so good! I found myself laughing out loud as I wrote large checks to pay high bills, and chuckling through the dishwashing and sweeping. It was short too ~ too short! I recognized a lot of lines that I've heard and seen over the years and felt quite pleased to hear them in context. Now I want to see the play.

107. The Prestige by Christopher Priest. 3.5 stars. It would have been 4 or maybe 4.5, but the ending was just so disappointing to me.

Congrats on making you goal of 100! =) Now that I am commuting on the train again I think that I'll set a goal of 100 for myself in 2008.

Earnest is such a wonderful play. I read it in high school and loved it. Its great to see it all acted out too. Hopefully someone in your area will put it on soon! =)

Thanks, Irish! I may listen to it again soon ~ I haven't really stopped thinking about it and giggling at some of the wittier bits. I'll be keeping my eyes open for a production of it ~ it will surely be put on somewhere in Los Angeles sometime in 2008.

Next Wilde up, though, is his most famous ~ The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm expecting as good but different.

108. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay. 3.5 stars. I guess I was expecting another Lions of al-Rassan or Tigana, so tho Ysabel was good, and the ending very satisfying, I didn't like it as much as I had hoped I would. It seemed to me to be more of a YA coming-of-age fantasy than the others.

109. This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley. 4.5 stars. Well-written book about writing. Brief, succinct, and cogent. Included really comprehensible examples of techniques. I got it from the library to read for NaNo (and finished it at the beginning of December but forgot to list it here), and am going to buy it to keep as a reference and inspiration when I'm not doing so well with my writing.

110. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. 4 stars. Enjoyable and helpful book about writing in general and NaNoWriMo in particular. Read it through November and finished in December but forgot to list it here. (NaNo was exhausting this year! By the end of it, I was braindead(er-than-usual).)

111. Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley. 4.5 stars. This one was different ~ still very well-written with a good mystery and great characters (tho not once did Mouse say "Kill the muhfuh" and there was more than usual about the state of race relations back in '67) but the ending ~ it was a killer and I hated it.

112. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. 5 stars. Oh, my, what a wonderful novel! It's such a shame that I waited so long to enjoy it, although perhaps it's better that I did as I seem so much better able to appreciate it than I think I would have as a younger person. On the other hand, with a role model like Jane, I might have avoided some of the pitfalls I stumbled into when I was young. Whatever the truth, I did enjoy this novel very much! I thought I would not like the ending, which I sort of knew about ahead of time through some of the posts I've read on LT over the past year or so, but to the contrary. It was very satisfying.

This has been a special year for reading for me, and it has ended with a special book. I am blessed.

Great job! 112, wow, that's a lot of good reading. And what a book to end the year on, Jany Eyre.

Thanks for the congrats on my 50! And congratulations right back at you!

Happy New Year of Reading and fun on LibraryThing!

Just for the record, here's a breakdown of the type of books I read:

83 general (genre & popular) fiction
6 literary fiction
6 classics
9 nonfiction
8 young adult

20 of these were audiobooks (unabridged).

Not too shabby, though I'm hoping to up the number of classics and nonfiction in 2008.

Wow, congratulations!

So, did you write a novel in November? What was it about? How could you do that and keep up this pace in reading?

Thanks! You didn't do too shabby either, I see, especially considering that a lot of what you read were either long or heavy-going (imho) books.

I did do NaNoWriMo in November and wrote approx. 50k words, though I didn't quite finish the novel. I'm still working on it, albeit a heck of a lot slower! It's a historical mystery romance & is set in ca. 1811 in England. When it begins, a young man (the only son of an earl) is killed in a fall from a cliff in Cornwall, and the older sister of his best friend is implicated in his death. The rest of the story is about the sister, Claire, and the man sent by the earl to find out exactly what happened. It needs about 20 rewrites before it'll be ready to be seen by another human eye, but I think it shows promise.

Last year (2006), I read exactly two books during November, and one was "research" for my NaNo novel. In 2007, I read a few books, and thus was pressed to finish the 50k words on time. I ended up taking November 30 off from work and wrote 11,000 words that day (much of it garbled and desperately in need of an editor, but still)! It was brutal, but exhilarating, and I am looking forward to 2008. (I know, I need to get a life. lol)

Sounds interesting, good luck with the re-writes. I don't have enough time for that kind of writing.