-Eva-'s 2+0+1+6 Challenge - Part 1

This year I'll be going for (2+0+1+6=) 9 categories with a minimum of 7 books in each but I'll have an overall goal of 80, so each category will have a built-in overflow option (meaning no separate overflow category this year). Last year I was bad at keeping up with the CATs and I also want to get a bit further in my lifelong(?) Orbis Terrarum challenge, so I have categories for those. Of course, any of these categories may change depending on the reading-mood, but hopefully I'll get through a lot of planned reads - I do want to put a proper dent in Mt. TBR.

1. New Acquisitions
2. Mt. TBR
3. BingoDOG
4. Orbis Terrarum
5. CATs and/or Group Reads
6. Graphic Novels
7. Non-Fiction
8. Vacation Reads
9. Audio/Ebook

New Acquisitions

1. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Finished February 2nd
2. Stockholm Noir edited by Nathan Larson and Carl-Michael Edenborg Finished February 25th (LTER)
3. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins LTER Finished March 17th
4. Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin Finished April 4th
5. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Finished June 18th
6. A Tiding Of Magpies by Peter Sutton (@psutto) Finished June 29th
7. This Census-Taker by China Miéville

Mt. TBR

1. A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman Finished March 13th
2. The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zimler Finished March 26th (March DeweyCAT)
3. Aftermath by Peter Robinson Finished March 29th ♫
4. Shaman Pass by Stan Jones Finished April 11th (April GeoCAT)
5.
6.
7.

BingoDOG

1. Esio Trot by Roald Dahl Finished January 21st
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Finished February 4th
3. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman Finished June 5th
4.
5.
6.
7.

Orbis Terrarum

1. Chile: The House of the Spirits (original Spanish: La Casa de los Espíritus) by Isabel Allende Finished January 29th (January GeoCAT)
2. Russia: War and Peace (original Russian: Война и мир) by Leo Tolstoy Finished March 12th (March GeoCAT)
3. Canada: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies Finished April 22nd (Robertson Davies Quarterly Group Read May-July)
4. New Zealand: The Bone Tiki by David Hair Finished June 14th (June GeoCAT)
5. Portugal: The Elephant's Journey (original Portuguese: A Viagem do Elefante) by José Saramago
6.
7.

CATs and/or Group Reads

1. Sodoms kniv by Hans Capelen Finished January 4th (January RandomCAT)
2. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt Finished February 13th (February RandomCAT)
3. The Manticore by Robertson Davies Finished April 27th (Robertson Davies Quarterly Group Read May-July)
4. World of Wonders by Robertson Davies Finished June 3rd (Robertson Davies Quarterly Group Read May-July)
5.
6.
7.

Graphic Novels

1. Vinland Saga, Omnibus 1: For Honor And Vengeance by Makoto Yukimura Finished February 17th
2. Civil War by Mark Millar Finished March 13th
3. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson Finished March 24th
4. The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden Finished March 25th
5. Mandrake the Magician: The Hidden Kingdom of Murderers by Lee Falk Finished April 21st
6.
7.

Non-Fiction

1. The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen Finished March 12th (March RandomCAT)
2. Last Chance to See by Mark Carwardine Finished April 15th (April RandomCAT)
3. Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton Finished June 14th
4. Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton Finished June 20th
5.
6.
7.

Vacation Reads

1. Små minnen by José Saramago Finished May 21st
2. Han som älskade livet by Irving Stone Finished May 24th
3. Gatukatten Bob by James Bowen Finished May 24th
4. Mitt liv med Bob by James Bowen Finished May 25th
5. Troubled Souls by Garth Ennis Finished May 26th
6. En undrens värld by Robertson Davies Finished June 3rd
7. Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey Finished June 4th

Audio/Ebook

1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Finished January 5th ♫
2. Cold Is the Grave by Peter Robinson Finished January 29th ♫
3. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams Finished March 2nd ♫
4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer Finished March 19th ♫
5. The Aeronaut's Windlass: The Cinder Spires, Book 1 by Jim Butcher Finished April 17th ♫
6. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Finished May 2nd ♫
7.

I planned to create my thread a little closer to the new year, but looky-looky here it is...

Looking forward to being amazed when 2016 rolls around since I'm sure I'll be shocked at how fast the rest of 2015 went.

Have a happy challenge, everyone!!



1: Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
2:
3: The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden
4:
5:
6: Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams by Mark Carwardine
7: Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
8: Small Memories by José Saramago
9: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
10: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
11: Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
12: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
13: Sodoms kniv by Hans Capelen
14:
15: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
16:
17: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
18: World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
19: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
20: Vinland Saga, Omnibus 1: For Honor And Vengeance by Makoto Yukimura (Japanese original: ヴィンランド・サガ)
21: Lust for Life by Irving Stone
22:
23: Civil War by Mark Millar
24:
25: Mandrake the Magician: The Hidden Kingdom of Murderers by Lee Falk

Very nice!

Looks like your categories will allow you to read a great assortment of books next year! I'm also contemplating at least one category for CATs, dogs, and group reads.

Love the pictures!

Like how you determined your number of categories - maybe I'll borrow that idea. Lots of flexibility to read whatever you want!

I like your title for the World category.
Thanks for setting us up again!

I love your picture for the non-fiction category! Looks like a very good setup. Looking forward to seeing how it all fills up!

Sensible sounding challenge, one with realistic goals.

Love the setup and I am not ashamed to admit that I had to look up what "Orbis Terrarum" was. ;-)

Great set up. Lots of flexibility in those categories and lovely colourful images.

Nice combinations. Good luck with the challenge!

Orbis terrarum - great idea! Thanks for setting up the new group and good luck with your challenge!

Great categories, Eva. Looking forward to 2016 and the Book Bullets I know I'll be taking here!

Nice categories! I agree the rest of 2015 will probably go by really quickly.

Nice! My favorite image is the one for graphic novels. So appropriate!

Sounds like a solid plan. I'm probably going to copy your idea for 2+0+1+6 - it had crossed my mind.

Happy Reading!

Found and starred! I'll be getting some BBs from you for sure!

Thank you for commenting on my thread! Good luck with your challenge, particularly Mt. TBR (I think we all have those!). Good luck if you go for War & Peace (I read it last year, it took me 10 months but I had such a sense of achievement when I'd finished!) - it's worth persevering with, but I did struggle in the early chapters to care for any of the characters!

That's a fine mix of categories. And I love that picture for your "Vacation Reads" -- I'd love to be there right now! Good luck with your challenge.

I agree with Jackie @29! War & Peace in three months is pretty ambitious, but I've never tried it. I've been tainted because my father took a college course on it. That was the only book the course covered. He read all of it and said he failed the class. The smart people, according to him, quit reading it early and resorted to second hand sources. It's the kind of cynical, irreverent story my father used to tell. I'll be looking forward to the group read's reaction.

Looks like an interesting year planned!

Love the Bingo- Can't wait to see what books you come up with. May have to think about adding this category in the future.

>29 Jackie_K: & >31 cammykitty:
Oops, getting a bit nervous now - I'd better start reading right after the stroke of midnight... Happy New Year!

*Wave*
Having a look around and getting ideas. Love Orbis Terrarum.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2016, Eva!

Happy new year, Eva! I like the structure of your challenge! Very nice thread.

LOL! Did you get at least 100 pages read today? With 1/2 a notebook filled up on characters? --- Remember, you can take longer than three months to finish it. I'm sure the group read thread will still be active in June.

Happy New Year.

As for War and Peace, I'll almost certainly take way more than three months to finish it.

>37 cammykitty:
Haha, not even close. I finished the book I was already reading and then I ended up with my ass on the couch watching old Top Chef episodes - not a full speed ahead kinda start of the reading year... :)

A good bunch of categories that should give you plenty of elbow room for whatever you read this year. Don't envy anyone joining in with the group read for W&P, I think I'd rather just watch the new TV adaptation but have no plans to do that either. Good luck!

Dropping in to drop a star - I like that you've added Mieville's new book already - I'll be catching up with the short story one this year...

Happy New Year!

First one down - I can only say that things could only go up from here! :)



#1



Sodoms kniv by Hans Capelen

A series of brutal murders in 1918 Detroit are being copied in today's Stockholm while art historian Johan Linné is engaged to authenticate an ancient artifact, the title's "Knife of Sodom." This is a really intense thriller that casts a wide net, geographically as well as historically and the pace and stakes are as high as can be. And then, in the last few chapters it all falls apart. Completely and utterly. The artifact is 100% McGuffin, the similarities between the two murder sprees are complete coincidence, and, to top the whole mess off, the murderer is thwarted through the world's biggest deus ex machina. Not recommended for anyone, unless you want to stop reading before the end and make up your own denouement. Hans Capelen is a pen name (the author’s identity is unknown) and I can only guess that this is an established author (the style is very accomplished) who threw a bunch of idea-sketches into a pile and sent it off to their publisher (probably had a deadline and needed to pay rent) even though they didn’t have an ending. I’m not surprised that I am one of only two people on LT who owns this book.

Oooohhh... wow.... that sounds like one heck of a klunker! Your next read has to be better than that one!

Oh dear!

Ouch! Maybe it *should* have been done as a choose-your-own-dénouement!

*waves* just stopping by :)

>43 -Eva-: I'm sorry your first book of the year was such a clunker. The description sounds like a book I would love, so thanks for taking the hit for me!

Not recommended for anyone...

That's sums it up pretty well! Hope your next is much, much better.

>43 -Eva-: - Yikes! Hopefully you got the one bad book for the year out of the way early and that the rest of your books are more enjoyable.

Well, I picked a reread to ensure that I wouldn't have another disappointment. The "new" part is that this time I listened to the audio version, which was great!



#2



The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Arthur Dent is rescued from earth minutes before its destruction by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and the pair goes on an intergalactic adventure with Zaphod Beeblebrox, the president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend; and Marvin, a chronically depressed robot. This is such a cult novel that reviewing it, beyond commenting on its longevity, brilliance, and beautifully absurd humor is pretty useless. If you haven't already read it, read it now. If you have read it, read it again. And again. Stephen Fry, who was a close friend of Adams's, is the audiobook reader and he does an absolutely fantastic job (as he always does - I could listen to Fry reading the phonebook).

I loved Stephen Fry's narration in the movie version. Listening to him read the entire book would be delightful!

Hi Eva! Nice categories! I particularly like that vacation reads get their own category. Will be checking to see what graphic novels you'll read this year.
Whenever I plan to read a very large book I like to divide it into monthly chunks. This year I'm planning to read Kristin Lavransdatter. I'm hoping to read 125 pages a month and finish by September. Just in case I actually get my act together and apply to and get accepted to graduate school for the fall semester. Good luck with War and Peace.

>51 -Eva-: Always good to have an old favourite on tap (even if it is in a new format) to get over a disappointment. I tried an audiobook once and even though Stephen Fry was the narrator I just couldn't concentrate enough on what was happening. Think I'll stick to the written word versions.

I can see how The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would make a great audioread. Good choice!

>51 -Eva-: Ooh. THGTTG has always been one of those books "I'll definitely read eventually", but I'd rather have Stephen Fry read it to me. Keeping this in mind for my next road trip ...

It's about time to reread The Hitchiker's Guide. I think people really like it or else don't get it. No middle ground ...

Stephen Fry does the audio? I'll have to re"read" them then. There are still so many things that I encountered in Hitchhikers Guide that still explain my world. The Sombody-else's problem field, the theory of the presidency that Zaphod is such an excellent example of. It's all true. I just left a copy of Dirk Gently at the goodwill and now you are making me regret it.

Stephen Fry does the audio for the first one and Martin Freeman (who plays Arthur Dent in the movie) does the audio for the other four. I listened to a sample on Audible and liked him so much as a reader that I immediately got the other four audio versions as well. Freeman has a great "dry" voice that seems to work really well with Douglas' style.

I'm looking forward to following your 2016 reading, especially the graphic novels category. I added that category back into my challenge this year, because I have a backlog I want to get through. (I blame the Humble Bundles for that.)

I'd reread the first Hitchhiker's Guide book recently and I've been meaning to reread the others. Nice to know that Martin Freeman does a good job with the audiobooks. I'll definitely look for those.

I know I've heard you talking about Saga - I'm glad I finally decided to try it. I'm pretty sure it's the Star Wars influence that made me ready to read it. Fun, sexy, and violent read.

The Sisters Brothers should take away the bad taste of Sodoms Kniv. I'm eagerly awaiting Career of Evil, which should be delivered any day now.

Sorry your first book was such a disappointment. Agreed, that's a good time to turn to something you know you lke!

>61 BookLizard:
It's a great series - the characters are so engaging. Hope you continue!



#3



Esio Trot by Roald Dahl

Mr. Hoppy is secretly in love with his neighbor Mrs. Silver, but being too shy to approach her about it, he instead comes up with a genius plan to help her pet tortoise grow bigger and he will gain Mrs. Silver's appreciation and love in return. This is a Roald Dahl-book I never read as a child, but my mother recently mentioned that the film is very sweet (doesn't look like it has made it to the US, though) and I picked the book up to check out the story. It is indeed very sweet and both Mr. Hoppy and Mrs. Silver are really cute characters. The tortoise(s) is lovely as well and Quentin Blake's illustrations make them even more so. I wish I had read it as a child, but I still found it very charming now.

Esio Trot sounds lovely. It reminds me that I've been meaning to go back and read some Dahl again. It's been too long.

Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake are the perfect pairing. Wish I had my Dahls here instead of at my parents' place.

Esio Trot is my favorite Dahl. When we got a kitten, I frequently exhorted him to "worg reggib" and it worked!

I've been enjoying re-reading my Roald Dahls this month, but I've never read Esio Trot (or, for some reason, really ever thought much about reading those I didn't first read as a kid.) Added to The List.

>66 rabbitprincess: Aren't they?? My copy of James and the Giant Peach has a different illustrator and it just doesn't feel right.

>68 madhatter22: My copy of Danny the Champion of the World also has a different illustrator, and I'm considering getting rid of it to get a "proper" copy.

Eva, I am listening to one of Simon Vance's narrations (Christmas gift from my daughter) and I'm enjoying it already. I told my coworker (who has an Audible account) about him so she can keep an eye out for his books, too. I'm glad you commented on him on my thread. Thanks.

>67 RidgewayGirl:
That's so cute!

>70 mamzel:
When you find an audio reader you like, it's like striking gold. There are a few readers that have brought me to books I would never have picked up otherwise and that's just fantastic.

Well, I'm trying to finished a couple of CAT-books before Sunday as well as trying to make some progress on War and Peace, but I'm dog-sitting for some friends this weekend and it's a lot more fun to play with the dogs than read. :)

#4



Cold Is the Grave by Peter Robinson

When Inspector Banks' boss asks for Banks to locate his runaway daughter, the girl's story ends up tying into a very sinister series of events, ending ultimately in murder. This is another good installment in a very solid series. This one had a reasonably complex storyline and, although I figured out the culprit a little early, the motivation was only revealed at the end. I especially like how Banks' personal life continues to be developed as the series goes by, and in a very believable way, which is highly satisfying. The new audiobook reader (whom I detested in the previous book) did a little bit better job in this one - perhaps someone told him that Banks is not from Yorkshire; I'm very happy he toned down the dialect in this installment.

#5



The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

This is an epic tale of the trials and tribulations of the Trueba family in 20th century Chile, from the presidential era through to the Pinochet regime. This is my first Allende-book and I find her style very luscious, partly because of the descriptions and partly because of the huge scope the story. The characters are all interesting, whether you like them or not, and, although most of them are larger-than-life, I still find them believable. A lot of people have tagged this "magic realism," but those parts are really tiny, should you not be a fan; I happen to like magic realism and found myself wishing for more. The author's father was Salvador Allende's first cousin, so I was really interested in seeing how she took on his presidency and the military coup that followed, but even without the family connection, the story Allende tells is one that is inherently interesting from a historical perspective. Considering that this accomplished piece was Allende's debut novel, I can't wait to dig into more of her œuvre.

>73 -Eva-: I haven't tried Isabel Allende yet, but you've nudged her up a bit in the TBRs.

I really like the Inspector Banks series, but I never tried them on audio.

>72 -Eva-: You are so right about the Inspector Banks series being consistently solid. I too, have been reading the series for years so I doubt if I would be able to enjoy an audio version as I have a very clear idea of how all the characters would sound firmly implanted in my head.

I've given up on my DeweyCAT for January - it was seriously tedious on top of being completely different from what was advertised - so I guess I'm "done" for January. I will mention that I've also finished Book 1 of War and Peace, just to boost the total number in my own mind. :)

January Summary:

Number of books: 5

Category Progress:
1. New Acquisitions 0/7
2. Mt. TBR 0/7
3. BingoDOG 1/7
4. Orbis Terrarum 1/7
5. CATs and/or Group Reads 1/7
6. Graphic Novels 0/7
7. Non-Fiction 0/7
8. Vacation Reads 0/7
9. Audio/Ebook 2/7

Best read of the month: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, partly because it's already a favorite, but mainly because Stephen Fry's narration is so spot-on.
Least good read of the month: Sodoms kniv because it was set up as a huge story and ended with a pitiful whimper.

>73 -Eva-: I own that one but haven't read it. I must get to it soon. Her most recent book sounds really interesting to me too. It's called The Japanese Lover. It's got the "separated by the WWII internment camps" theme going with it.

This is such a great series! I've been in line for it at the library forever, so very happy that it was my turn now. And now I go back to War and Peace... :)



#6



Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (i.e. J.K. Rowling)

When a woman's severed leg is delivered to the office and the news of it plays havoc with the business, Cormoran has to rack his brain to figure out which of the unsavory people in his past would be capable of not only perpetrating the crime but to come up with the clever plan. This is the third installment in the Cormoran Strike series and thing just keep getting better and better. Not for the characters, of course, but for the reader; the main characters are engaging and likable and their relationship has a lot of great tension, the mystery itself has a great arc and the suspects are all equally suspicious until the dénouement, and the locale descriptions are good enough that the reader feels as if they're walking the streets with the characters. And the ending is SO good! I am so happy that Rowling keeps writing this series - she is a solid plotter and writer of mysteries and, if she plans on continuing the series in this manner, we're all better off for it.

It was a great ending wasn't it....I would have loved more resolution but love that she didn't give it to us.

Rowling has promised that the next book will pick up exactly where Career of Evil left off. I am waiting for that book.

>73 -Eva-: I just read Daughter of Fortune and really enjoyed it. House of Spirits sounds like a good Allende to read next.

>79 -Eva-: - I've got the second one on the list for this year's reading. Good to know the series keeps getting better.

>80 avatiakh: & >81 RidgewayGirl:
I was terrified that she would have Robin and Cormoran become a romantic couple! So happy that didn't happen - I like the tension between them, but I think if they were to actually get together, the relationship may become humdrum. Too many writers force a romantic relationship where one isn't needed; just because a woman and man work together does not mean they have to fall in love! It's one of the things I appreciate about the Ian Rankin's books, that the characters can be colleagues like normal people. Can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

#7



The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

This is Alexie's first YA novel, a semi-autobiographical story of Junior who grows up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, but who is encouraged to leave and go to an all-white high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. I am already a fan of Alexie's novels and his poetry, so it's not surprising that his foray into YA would be a good experience for me. The themes are very much in the vein of his other writings, but the narrator is much sweeter and more hopeful that "normal." Alexie has done very well for someone from the Rez, but he will never forget or be romantic about his past experiences and will forever tell the truth about the tragedy that is most American Indian life. What I really love about Alexie's writing is his humor, though - even in the darkest of times, his humor will shine through and it's a bonding tool; I'm as far from being American Indian as I possibly can, but I can identify with urge to laugh at human misery in general and my own misery in particular. This is a great novel, for young and old, and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone.

I'm hoping Rowling keeps writing those mysteries for a long time.

>85 -Eva-: A BB for me! I haven't read any of his books.

>85 -Eva-: It broke my heart when he found his mother's name in the front of his textbook. This will always be one of my favorites.

>88 mamzel:
I'll admit to shedding quite a few tears during the read.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the most challenged book in the US, with people wanting it taken out of libraries and schools more than any other book. Sherman Alexie has called Banned Book Week "royalty cheque week." I'm glad he has a sense of humor about it. It really is a good book and one which should be read by all teenagers.

>73 -Eva-:
It's been years since I've read House of Spirits but I remember it being very good.

>85 -Eva-:
I've been meaning to read some of his work for a while. Is this a good place to start, or is there something else you'd recommend?

>90 RidgewayGirl:
I am amazed at that - not in a good way. It's not a lewd book in any way - I'm thinking these parents have no idea of how much their children know about the ways of the world. "royalty cheque week" - that is funny!

>91 andreablythe:
It's a good book, but it is a little different from his other books since it's YA, so I don't feel it's 100% representative. I would recommend starting with The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven or Ten Little Indians, which are both short story collections.

>79 -Eva-: - Oh no... more Galbraith love. One of these days I may just buckle down and read one of Rowlings books.

>93 lkernagh:
You might as well give in to the pressure now - eventually you'll have to anyways. :) Regardless when you get to it, know that you have a (or three actually, so far) good read in front of you.

I was hoping to like this one more, so I may be a little resentful that I didn't like it better (I gave it an extra 1/2 star to make sure I wasn't being unfair.)



#8



The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Brothers Charlie and Eli Sisters, hired killers, are sent to California to track down a prospector named Herman Kermit Warm, but as the trip goes on, Eli's conscience gets louder and Charlie may just have to play second fiddle for the first time in the brothers' life. I enjoyed the characters - even if I didn't like any of them - and found them intriguing to follow. deWitt provides a slightly different spin on "Wild West" literature and it's an entertaining read, if not completely satisfactory. The voice of the main character clashes (intentionally) with the style of story, but I'm not really buying it as it is used as an indication that Eli is more emotionally sophisticated than his brother and I'm not sure that it is true. He's says he's more reluctant to kill, but when it comes down to it, he kills just as fast as his brother, so I'm not sure it's true - saying it does not make it so. Still, it's a story that is interesting to read - as long as you don't have anything against a bit of gore - and comes to a reasonably acceptable conclusion.

I struggled a bit with Sisters Brothers. I found it a bit too dark for me and parts of it didn't make a lot of sense, but if I thought about it as being something like a Cohen Brothers movie, then it kind of made sense to me. ;-)

Trying to catch up . . .

64> I just finished Saga, Volume 2. Book Bullet for Esio Trot (Bingo square) - and you made someone at the library very happy because when I borrowed the ebook, I saw that I still had The Aeronaut's Windlass checked out and returned it 9 days early!

85> I listened to the audiobook which he narrated himself. So good.

I'm taking The Sisters Brothers of the reading list. I got it out of the library when it was up for a Booker award but for some reason felt resistant to it. I've seen a few meh reviews for it, but yours kind of proves to me why I've been avoiding it. If I want to read a western, looks like I'm better off with Lonesome Dove.

Glad you loved The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. I love that book too. It's the kind of book you leave copies of all over the middle school and then say "What? I don't know how that got there. You shouldn't read that," knowing that there is something irresistible about a banned book.

>64 -Eva-: I love Roald Dahl - and Quentin Blake's illustrations.

Just de-lurking to wave hello.

I disliked the sisters brothers and never saw what people were finding good about it. lonesome dove is awesome though :-)

>98 cammykitty:
Honestly, I've never done well with the Booker ones, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Hope springs eternal, though! :) Lonesome Dove is definitely worth the time.

#9



Vinland Saga, Omnibus 1: For Honor And Vengeance by Makoto Yukimura

In the first part of the volume, Viking commander Askeladd, along with his band of warriors and with a young but extraordinarily gifted fighter, Thorfinn, attack a Frankish fortress and make off with the treasure. In the battle's wake, however, Thorfinn challenges Askeladd to a duel for a past ill deed. The second part of the volume tells the story of Thorfinn's upbringing and reveals his father's mysterious background. Being Swedish, an interest in Viking stories is almost inherent to me, but there's always some trepidation when non-Nordic authors take on the subject since they tend to concentrate on mighty battles rather than real Viking life. And this version is no different, but with a crucial difference: it immediately sets the Vikings up as supernatural fighters and so make no claims to being "accurate" at all - these "Vikings" are more martial artists with magic powers than anything else. (My question then is, if you are going to ignore that your characters are supposed to be Vikings, then why make them Vikings at all?)

I'll try and forget these are meant to be Vikings and see if the story has qualities aside from that - and it does. Aplenty. From the very first moment we see Thorfinn, he is an engaging character and the drawing style (which is extremely high-quality) effortlessly conveys his turmoiled inner life, something that is quite accomplished in any comic drawing style, but in manga in particular since it tends toward the cartoonish. Also, the overall art is some of the best I've ever seen in any manga book - the landscapes and buildings are realistic and many characters get to have individual looks and expressions (although some are still drawn in the standard cartoon/caricature style). I found myself quickly getting over my Viking-qualms, though, and (other than getting annoyed at some misspellings of place names) becoming highly invested in Thorfinn and his life and fate – I do hope he gets, if not the vengeance he seeks, at least some satisfactory resolution to his current situation. I will absolutely continue this series both to find out what happens to Thorfinn and to see if Makoto Yukimura has any more intriguing characters up his sleeve.

#10



Stockholm Noir edited by Nathan Larson and Carl-Michael Edenborg

A collection of mystery and suspense stories that explore the darkest of dark underbellies in the otherwise so picturesque City of Stockholm. I've read a few Akashic books before and, like the other ones, this one has a few great stories, a few good ones, and a few I didn't care for. A couple of these authors have been favorites of mine for a long time, Edelfeldt and Theorin, so unsurprisingly I liked their stories the best, but I was happy to find a couple of new potential favorites as well: Persson's story is quite solid, Edenborg's story was very creepy and had a surprising protagonist, and Frimansson's story just broke my heart (after having creeped me out, of course). I have to say that this one is edited a little bit better than the other ones I've read and the stories in this collection are all noir, whether they are mysteries or not.

>103 -Eva-: I will have to keep this one in mind. I haven't tried any of these anthologies yet, but I do like noir and I have fond memories of my (too brief) trip to Stockholm many years ago.

>104 mathgirl40:
Overall they are really good - some good, some not so good stories obviously. :)

I know there was an extra day in February, but W&P ate most of my reading time. Still, had a few really good reads.

February Summary:

Number of books: 5

Category Progress:
1. New Acquisitions 2/7
2. Mt. TBR 0/7
3. BingoDOG 2/7
4. Orbis Terrarum 1/7
5. CATs and/or Group Reads 2/7
6. Graphic Novels 1/7
7. Non-Fiction 0/7
8. Vacation Reads 0/7
9. Audio/Ebook 2/7

Best read of the month: Career of Evil because of the great characters, solid plotting, and great ending.
Least good read of the month: The Sisters Brothers because the story was entertaining but didn't stay with me at all.

#11



So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

Arthur Dent returns to earth after 8 years of travel and meets soulmate Fenchurch, travels to Wonko the Sane to find out why the dolphins disappeared, and goes to the planet where God's Final Message to His Creation is written. This one is a little different from the others in the series in that much of it is a romance, rather than a space travel adventure. It still has some of Adams' regular humor, but I missed the laughs and the really loony stuff that has become the norm for Arthur Dent's adventures. I am extremely fond of the characters in this series, though, so would "follow" them anywhere. The audio version is read by Martin Freeman, who played Arthur Dent in the 2005 movie, and he does an amazing job, not only with Dent's voice but with all the other characters - his Marvin is especially wonderful.

>106 -Eva-: I'm sure Mr. Freeman was outstanding but Marvin will always have Alan Rickman's voice for me.

>107 mamzel:
Totally agree, which is perhaps why I liked Freeman: I was expecting to miss Rickman. :)

I really need to get around to the Cormoran mysteries. I am almost towards the end in W&P! Thank goodness for audio/kindle combo.

Have you read The Fade Out series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips? It's 1948 Hollywood noir. So good.

The voice of Marvin will always be Stephen Moore to me - but then I came across Hitchhikers via the TV program first, then the radio program, then the books and never ever the film. The film doesn't exist.

Just catching up on your thread. Hello!

>95 -Eva-: I rather liked The Sisters Brothers, but agree with your assessment of Eli's voice and supposed emotional superiority. It was strange to reconcile Eli the narrator with his actions because the story seemed to say he was the less sophisticated, 'dumb', brother. Ultimately, I enjoyed the tone of narration and the story so that disbelief was thoroughly suspended.

>96 lkernagh: Your reference to the Cohen Brothers is spot on. There is something vaguely supernatural and off kilter to the entire story.

>109 luvamystery65:
Darn, that one was on sale a couple of weeks ago and I didn't pick it up. Oh well, on the wishlist it goes.

>110 psutto:
I never saw the TV series, only read the books before. I like the movie a lot, mainly because I love all the cast.

>111 VictoriaPL:
Hello back!

>112 brodiew2:
I would probably have liked it more had it been a Cohen film! :)

And... drumroll! I finished War and Peace! Easier to read than I thought it would be and less interesting than I had hoped. :)



#12



War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy's "novel" is a loooong story about the Russian portion of the Napoleonic Wars, along with various discussions about history, religion, power, politics, and war strategy. When I first started this I only knew that there would be a plethora of characters and lots of battle scenes. That was correct, but that turned out not to be the "hard" part about reading W&P. The characters are indeed plentiful, but they get sorted out automatically after a while and the battle scenes are plentiful as well, but they too were less intimidating than expected as Tolstoy does a really great job at following the characters around and make them real people, rather than a random fighting force. What does slow down the reading significantly, however, are the parts that Tolstoy put in the book to make it not-a-novel, i.e. the numerous essays on various topics that are inherently interesting, but unfortunately very not interesting to me - I read this for character and plot, not to learn how to run a battle field. If you're about to read this, I'd recommend starting with the second epilogue as it is a really coherent explanation of Tolstoy's purpose in writing the book. I read the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation because I understand that, although perhaps a little less poetic than others, it is the translation that comes closest to Tolstoy's original.

#13



The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen

A collection of essays by 71 writers on which book has changed their life the most. Interesting collection to read a few entries at a time (not a one-sitting kind of book). Nothing too unexpected, except Harold Bloom's pick (Little, Big) which I had expected to be more along the Shakespeare lines. Most interesting is when you call tell the writer's overall style from a short essay - I recognize the voices of the authors I'm familiar with, but I'm assuming they're all the same. Nice read which gave me a few more books for the old wishlist.

>114 -Eva-: Congratulations! It's a great feeling to cross that one off the list.

>116 luvamystery65:
Thanks! I'm feeling very accomplished. :)

>114 -Eva-: Congrats on completing it!

>114 -Eva-: Woo hoo!!! Big check mark for that one! :)

Congratulations on having finished W&P, especially since it was less than you'd hoped for. There's something about having read one of the more intimidating classics.

>114 -Eva-: Congrats!!

Congratulations on finishing W&P!

Easier to read than I thought it would be and less interesting than I had hoped.

That made me chuckle. ;-)

I'll add my congratulations too, as I'm one of those who finds the thought of War and Peace intimidating. I couldn't even hang with the miniseries.

Thank you all!

>123 mstrust:
Haha! The miniseries is next for me - should be a breeze after the book! :)

>123 mstrust: >124 -Eva-: I have just finished the miniseries, and really enjoyed it. The actor who plays Pierre looked exactly how I imagined him in my head, and the actor who played Andrei Bolkonski was, well let's say, very easy on the eye. I thought every single actor was excellent, there wasn't a single dud. Davies did an amazing job of condensing it into 6 episodes - it would have been better if it had been 10 or 12 episodes rather than 6, but for the time they had they did an amazing job.

Congrats on finishing W&P! I'm not sure I have the fortitude to tackle it. The size is intimidating.

>125 Jackie_K:
Great to know - casting is so very important! The US version is in 8 parts, so a step in the right direction. :)

>126 cbl_tn:
Thanks! I wouldn't have made it without the group read, for sure!

#14



Civil War by Mark Millar

The U.S. government passes a Superhero Registration Act and Iron Man and Captain America end up on opposite sides of the law. I picked this up because I watched a couple of the trailers for the upcoming film and was thoroughly confused about the portrayed allegiances. This one cleared it up for me and I am looking forward to seeing how it all plays out in the movie. Some of the characters are a little "off" for me, but that might be because I am not following the comics in any sort of orderly fashion. Quite entertaining storyline, some very interesting twists, and a couple of kick-ass battles.

#15



A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman

An anthropologist who is studying Anasazi pottery goes missing and Leaphorn and Chee end up working the case for different reasons (as is common in this series). This is a great installment in this very solid series and I think it was the first one I ever read; I'm very happy that it is as good as I remember it. In this installment, the insight into how archaeologists and physical anthropologists work and how the black market works adds great texture to the story. The landscape descriptions and the characterizations are great as usual and Hillerman always weaves in a lot of cultural aspects into the story that brings an extra layer to the mystery. This is an excellent series and I am thoroughly enjoying this round of rereads.

>129 -Eva-: Just picked this up from the library on Friday. I'll get to it soon.

Congratulations on finishing W&P!

>129 -Eva-: - I read one book in this series a few years ago for one of the CATs and have wanted to go back and start the series from the beginning. Maybe once I reduce my TBR pile a little more and catch up with some other series I'm reading.

>130 luvamystery65:
Thanks for the nudge last (and this) year to do a reread of the series.

>131 dudes22:
I waited long enough to have forgotten the whodunnit part of most of them! :)

Congratulations on finishing W&P!! I'm hoping to get back to it and join the club this year.

Congratulations on finishing War and Peace. I read this as a teen and have no desire to do a reread.

>114 -Eva-: Congratulations! Based on your excellent review, I'll give it a miss.

#16



The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Carolyn and her fellow librarians were once regular Americans, but then their parents died and Father started their training, but now he is missing and someone has placed a reissak ayrial at the library which locks them all out. This story starts out in quite a gruesome manner. And then it gets more gruesome. And more. So, it's a grim story this. Or rather, the accouterments are grim. The story in itself is mysterious and odd and told backwards, just to make things even more interesting; for the first 50 pages or so, I had no idea what was meant to be going on and then, slowly but surely, the puzzle background was revealed. Architecturally, it's a well-crafted story and I am very impressed that this is the author's debut novel (he's written technical texts before). I did have a few problems with the story, unfortunately. Mainly, there are no crescendos or diminuendos in the plot - it's all very interesting, but it's equally interesting the whole story through. Doesn't sound like a problem, but there is a reason for cliffhangers - they make your heart skip a little. Also, the characters are a little hard to care about since it doesn't matter if/when they get killed - they are just resurrected again. I did like the lions very much and cared very much about what happened to them. Despite any qualms I may have (because I find characters the most important part of any story), this is an interestingly woven tale that could appeal to fantasy lovers who are not put off by descriptions of cruel violence.

#17



Cinder by Marissa Meyer

In New Beijing, a young cyborg called Cinder gets her life turned upside down when she is befriended by the handsome Prince Kai, her stepsister dies, and her stepmother blames her for all of the world's ills. I'm torn on this one. I like the main character very much and all of her qualms and insecurities are understandable and makes her very sympathetic. The Evil Queen is a little two-dimensional, but deliciously cruel and one I enjoyed hating. The love-story is about as realistic as the one in the fairy-tale it is based on and the plot is not too hard to guess for the same reason, but the twist at the end is good, although I would have wished the whole thing didn't end on a cliffhanger. I'm also not quite sure why the author set the book in Beijing since there's nothing Chinese about the story, but it's probably just another pointless attempt at exoticism (unfortunately not a rare one). In short, interesting debut novel with lots of potential - part 2 in the series has a 50/50 chance of making it onto my to-read list. The audiobook reader started off a little squeaky, but wasn't too hard to get used to.

Congratulations on finishing War and Peace.
The Library at Mount Char is on my reading list for the year. It sounds so interesting but all the reviews make it seem so scary I keep pushing it down in the TBR pile.

>137 -Eva-: The second book in the series is terrible (it's a werewolf love story with lots of growling and doggy behavior) but I have heard the third is better. I was all set to read the original trilogy, but then it grew and I don't have time for bloated stories. Also, in the second book, the evil queen's powers have grown to be pretty much infinite and I find that uninteresting. I did like Cinder, though.

>137 -Eva-: The author set the story in Bejing because the original Cinderella story, Yeh Hsien, is Chinese.

>137 -Eva-: & >139 RidgewayGirl: I did like the character of Scarlet in the second book. She is feisty and take charge. If you read the short story with the wolf army back story it gives you more information as to why the soldiers really act like that. The stories used to be free on the author's website but now they are selling them in a book.

She started out the series as a quartet but then added the short story collection and Fairest. Fairest really I could have lived without. At most, it should have been a novella. It reads like one but it is longer than it needs to be.

Cress has been the least fleshed out of the ones I've read. Her book had a lot of action of the main story so you didn't get much with her. At least I didn't feel like we did. Rapunzel is one of my favorite fairy tales so me, personally, was very disappointed.

I haven't read Winter yet.

>136 -Eva-: Just finished The Library at Mount Char and pretty much agree with your assessment. An author to watch, though.

>136 -Eva-: A creepy good review. You made want to read it even though I'm pretty sure it's not my cup of tea (don't do gruesome much).

>114 -Eva-: Congrats on completing W & P.

>138 VioletBramble:
Thank you! It's not scary per se, but has descriptions of some really nasty stuff.

>139 RidgewayGirl:
Not sure I need her to be even more two-dimensional. :)

>140 luvamystery65:
OK, but what does she hope to achieve with placing it in that locale without any of that culture's accouterments? Unless she's wanting to point out that she knows that that version of the story is considered the first? I'm still on the fence with the rest of the series - the audio books of the next two are sitting on my iPod, so they may get playtime at some point in time. :)

>141 sturlington:
Definitely!

>142 brodiew2:
It's not very graphic, but the mind creates gruesome enough pictures to make it creepy. :)

>143 thornton37814:
Thank you!

#18



Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona is a shapeshifter who shows up one day at the lair of supervillain Lord Ballister Blackheart to help him in his fight against superhero Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. This started as a webcomic and its overwhelming popularity brought a publisher to the author/artist's door and I am not surprised; Stevenson's story is innovative, creatively plotted, very funny, and is populated with emotionally complex characters. The style of art is not one I find hugely appealing and the lettering is close to painful to read at times - it should have been printed in a much larger format. The characters win the battle for me though and I'll happily try the author's other publications.

#19



The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden

Jennifer Hayden tells the story of her tits, her mother's tits, and her mother-in-law's lungs. It's not easy to decide to pick up a story that you already know is about cancer, but with a title like this one, how could you not want to try. And it's worth it - Hayden does a really good job at making a difficult tale not only heartfelt and sincere, but really quite funny. Sure, you're bound to shed a few tears during this read, but the overall take-away is optimism and peace. The drawings are simple, but not simplistic and, when it counts, conveys some very difficult feelings in an honest and punch-in-the-gut manner. Highly recommended for anyone who has had a loved one be diagnosed with cancer. And to anyone who hasn't.

#20



The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zimler

During the Lisbon massacre of April 1506, illuminator Berekiah Zarco finds his uncle, a renowned kabbalist, murdered in the cellar and Berekiah must scour the streets of Lisbon for suspects among the very few New Christians who knew Abraham Zarco's secrets. This is part locked-room mystery, part history of New Christians in 1500s Portugal, with a lot of religious mysticism weaved into the plot to add an extra layer of meaning to the story (and to allow for the main character to have "visions" that carry the story forward). I enjoyed Zimler's descriptions of time and place, especially the living conditions for Jews in Portugal during this period. Occasionally, the mystery portions were also satisfactory, but most of the time there were too many characters and much too much running back and forth across Lisbon and surrounding areas without any real result or progress. I appreciate Zimler's role in researching Jewish history and wish he had told a more straight-forward story of his characters' fates. As a plotter of mysteries he has a ways to go. Trivia: Zimler originally failed to find a publisher for his book, so he translated it into Portuguese and it became a bestseller in Portugal before the English edition found its way into print.

>114 -Eva-: Congratulations on finishing W&P. I just finished it myself and now have to catch up with the discussion threads. I find your suggestion of reading the second epilogue first an interesting one. That idea would never have occurred to me, but it does sound like a good suggestion to new readers.

>146 -Eva-: I've added that to my wishlist! It sounds great.

Belated congratulations on finishing W&P.

I've just started reading Stars Above, the collection of short stories from the Lunar Chronicles. You're right about the whole Beijing/New Beijing thing being pretty inconsequential, but I gave it a pass. Maybe it's just because I'm used to reading YA dystopias where there's a casual reference thrown in here or there to let you know that - OMG! - this horrible, horrible place used to be the United States! Well, this horrible place used to be Beijing, but now it's the capital of the Eastern Commonwealth - what used to be all of Asia. There is a nod to tradition by having people's surname first, but the focus of the series is really on the characters and the impending doom instead of on "ancient" history and culture.

Scarlet was apparently my favorite book in the series. Each book introduces another character with her own love interest, but overall, the series is Cinder's story.

>148 mathgirl40:
Congratulations right back at ya! :)

>149 Jackie_K:
It is indeed. Lots of feels in it, though, so arm yourself with some tissues. :)

>150 BookLizard:
Hmm, I'm still on the fence, but I'll probably give it a chance at some point. Thanks!

#21



Aftermath by Peter Robinson

The elusive serial killer "Chameleon" is caught, but for DCI Banks, it's not the end of the mystery because he needs to figure out if the killer had accomplices or if there may be a copycat on the loose. This is another great installment in a really solid mystery series; the plot is good, the crime gruesome, and the characters are probable, likable, and annoying all in one package. I do enjoy following along in the continuing saga that is Banks' personal life - this installment has a huge twist for him and it was funny to see how he handled it. The audio reader for this one is not my favorite, but he is annoying me less and less, so I guess I'm getting used to him making Banks sound like some gruff Yorkshire farmer.

I'm currently reading the latest Rebus/Fox-installment, Even Dogs in the Wild, but I won't finish it before March is over (can you believe March is almost over!?), so here are my totals:

March Summary:

Number of books: 11

Category Progress:
1. New Acquisitions 3/7
2. Mt. TBR 3/7
3. BingoDOG 2/7
4. Orbis Terrarum 2/7
5. CATs and/or Group Reads 2/7
6. Graphic Novels 4/7
7. Non-Fiction 1/7
8. Vacation Reads 0/7
9. Audio/Ebook 4/7

Best read of the month: The Story of My Tits because it was so full of feels.
Least good read of the month: War and Peace not because it was bad (it wasn't), but because the time investment was too large for the payoff.

>152 -Eva-: I really need to get moving with the Peter Robinson books. I hate skipping any in the series and yet I've still a few to read before I get to this one. Thanks for the reminder.

>136 -Eva-: I also was not as impressed by 'The Library at Mount Char' as others have been: There is a lot to distract and fascinate; but there were scenes (e.g. the suppository bit) and an entire sub-plot (i.e. the lions) that didn't serve or advance the plot. OTOH, I listened to the audiobook, and I thought Hillary Huber, the narrator, did a fantastic job. While she sounded a bit "knowing" for the role of Carolyn, she pulled off an exceptional array of characterizations and moods.

>137 -Eva-: Oddly, while I read 'Cinder' in the past year, I hadn't remembered that it was set in Beijing! There's that little of the reference to the city and the its cultural factors to prove your point! And too, while the book has a cliff-hanger of an ending, I still haven't felt compelled to pick up the next book in the series. I think I really wanted more of a HEA ending that invoking a Classic fairy tale implies.

>155 Tanya-dogearedcopy:
Is it bad that the lions were almost my favorite characters... :)

#22



Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin

Siobhan Clarke is investigating a murder that seems to have no motive; Malcolm Fox is assigned to a surveillance team, one that doesn't care for him because of his past in Complaints; and newly made civilian John Rebus is feeling restless, but when a call comes in from Big Ger Cafferty with some new clues, it all turns into a game of connect-the-dots. I have always enjoyed Rankin's style, especially his dialogue, and this installment is very much in the right vein. I also like how Rankin places his Rebus-novels in contemporary time, so this installment deals with post-referendum Scotland and involves molestation of children in care, which has very much been in the news lately. Unfortunately, this installment doesn't quite live up to my hopes since there isn't enough Rebus in it for me. The Rebus/Cafferty combo is always good for a laugh, but having Clarke and Fox be at the forefront doesn't make for the same dynamics. Still, a very enjoyable read for me since I enjoy following the characters and love the descriptions of the locales, but I wouldn't recommend this installment for a newbie.

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Eva, and ....



DILL!

;-)

Did a quick catchup. :) The main book to catch my eye is Nimona, which is definitely going on my TBR list.

Also, the dill looks lovely.

>158 lkernagh:
Beautiful!!! And such "good eats!" I'll be off on my holidays to Sweden soon and I'll get to overdose on dill. :)

>159 andreablythe:
I do hope you get to Nimona - it's a lot of fun!

#23



Shaman Pass by Stan Jones

A tribal leader is murdered with an antique harpoon that was recently returned under the Indian Graves Act, and State Trooper Nathan Active must delve deep into Iñupiat myth and legend to find the culprit. The description of the northwest Alaskan landscape is what really stands out in this installment, along with its people and language. The mystery itself is interesting as its solution veers into Iñupiat legend, making the story reminiscent of Hillerman's Navajo series, and the last third is really fast-paced and engaging. I felt that I got a better grip on the main character in this book than in the first, but it's still the secondary characters, like Cowboy and Lucy, who I prefer; I wish I was more fond of Nathan, but it's not a requirement before I pick up another installment in this interesting series.

#24



Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams by Mark Carwardine

Some 20 years after Carwardine's trip with Douglas Adams, he is joined by Stephen Fry in a repeat trip to see some of the same and some new endangered animals. This isn't quite a companion book to the TV series as I had hoped, but rather a book-version of the TV series; most of the narrative in the TV series is in this book (and vice versa) and, since I've seen the TV series on more than one occasion (and recommend it highly), this turns out to be more a reminder of the show than any new information. It's still funny and interesting and, unfortunately, just as scary as Adams' original book; two (i.e. 25%) of the animals that Carwardine saw with Adams in 1985 are now de facto extinct, and many more will follow unless us humans get a real grip on ourselves. Fast. I wish the book had more photos, but that's a small complaint and there are plenty available from other sources.

Great review of Last Chance to See! I have the DVD of the series waiting for me so I will wait a while before following up with the book.

>163 rabbitprincess:
It's such a great show!

If you haven't encountered Carwardine before, here (youtube link) is an absolutely hilarious clip from BBC One's Big Blue Live. I love how the members of the crew are laughing in the background.

#25



The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Steampunk story about a group of communities that live on "Spires," about their respective politics, economies, and arguments, and about a band of people who come together to fight for their space in the universe. The first book in (what I understand will be) a nine-book series is bound to be a little loose to set up a properly believable world, but Butcher does a really good job with his world building, especially with setting up a world I immediately feel I want to know more about. The characters are a little fuzzy around the edges, though, but it's not strange with such a large gallery and such a relatively small space to set them all up in. My favorite character is Rowl who is wonderfully sarcastic and filled with disdain for the humans around him. I guess future installments will be the proverbial proof of the pudding, but it's a pudding in which I will happily partake. The audio version is read by Euan Morton who does a really good rather than outstanding job.

>165 -Eva-: It's good to see more positivity for his new series. I will get around to picking it up sometime.

>164 -Eva-: Hee hee! That was a great clip. I've also seen the clip from Last Chance to See where the kakapo displays mating interest in Mark's head, and Stephen Fry is falling over laughing. Can't wait to see it in context :)

165> I can't believe that my hubby hasn't gotten The Aeronaut's Windlass yet. I really loved the Codex Alera novels and the hubby seems to be re-reading the The Dresden Files constantly.

Ds
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

#26



Mandrake the Magician: The Hidden Kingdom of Murderers by Lee Falk and Phil Davis

A collection of (6 story arcs of) Lee Falk's Mandrake Sunday strips from the 1930s. Mandrake was my favorite comic book character when I was a kid: he was handsome and debonair, always on the side of the underdog, and used his superfast hypnotic technique to trick the baddies. In Sweden, he was published as a feature in The Phantom comic books, so I never read his stories in their published order. It is great to see them resurrected in color and I hope that Titan Comics continues this series of reproductions. Probably not to be recommended for someone who hasn't read Mandrake before (they are somewhat dated), but if you have a particular affinity for Golden Age comics, they are quite entertaining.

#27



Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

Dunstan Ramsay writes a letter to the headmaster on his retirement, outlining the highlights of his life and friendships and how they affected him and the world around him. This is such an involved tale with twists that, albeit sometimes improbable, work because the narrative is so imaginative and have a near-mythological quality. It reminds me a little of John Irving's writing - it too has a lore-like tone to it. Although I struggled a little with the language in the beginning (plus I read a translation), I soon understood the impact the voice makes on the story and our view of Dunstan. I am very excited to continue reading the trilogy as I have been promised further insight and different views of these characters.

#28



The Manticore by Robertson Davies

After Boy Staunton's mysterious death, his son has a psychotic episode and decides to retire to Zurich to seek out the services of Johanna Von Haller, a prominent Jungian psychoanalyst. What an unexpectedly engaging story; if you had tried to sell me a story of one year of Jungian analysis via the patient's journal, I would have turned you down, but this is surprisingly readable. So, the format is a little bit heavy-handed and I would have preferred that the theories were presented in a more subtle way, but it's not too bad. Although David Staunton isn't as intriguing a character as Dunstan Ramsay, he presents a new angle to Ramsay's story in the Fifth Business, which adds a lot to the trilogy's overall arc. I am very excited to continue on with World of Wonders to get (from what I understand) yet another angle on this peculiar story.

No real duds this month, so even "least good" was quite good.

April Summary:

Number of books: 7

Category Progress:
1. New Acquisitions 4/7
2. Mt. TBR 4/7
3. BingoDOG 2/7
4. Orbis Terrarum 3/7
5. CATs and/or Group Reads 3/7
6. Graphic Novels 5/7
7. Non-Fiction 2/7
8. Vacation Reads 0/7
9. Audio/Ebook 5/7

Best read of the month: Last Chance to See because it was informative and funny and it's close to my heart.
Least good read of the month: Shaman Pass not because it was bad, but because I cared more for the secondary characters than the main one.

#29



Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

The supernatural powers of the world are gearing up for Armageddon and everything seems to be going according to the Ineffable Plan, whatever that is, until it turns out that someone has misplaced the Antichrist. This is such an entertaining book with a plethora of colorful characters: Aziraphale - angel and bookseller, Crowley - demon and disruptor of cellular networks, Agnes Nutter - witch and seer, and Adam Young - dog-owning tear-about and Antichrist, to name but a few. The mix of Gaiman's quirky details with Pratchett's outstanding sense of humor makes for a hugely entertaining read. This was a reread caused by the news that Gaiman is writing a TV adaptation. It was my first time listening to the audio version, though, and the reader is great; he understands the characters perfectly (i.e. the same way I want them understood...) and never veers into the ridiculous (which would have been a possibility, given the odd characters). Highly recommended to all.

I'm currently reading World of Wonders, the last part in Robertson Davies' Deptford Trilogy and am enjoying it.

And, even better, the time for vacation has arrived! I'll be going to Sweden to see my family and friends for a whole month and am very excited. Most likely I won't be checking in here until I come back, so hope you guys have a great reading month and I'll "see" you in June.

Have a great time! See you when you get back!

Woo hoo! Have a wonderful time!!

Enjoy your time with your family, Eva.

Have fun!

>173 -Eva-: It's been far too long since I read that. I know I enjoyed it at the time but can't remember much about the story. Maybe I should dig out my old copy and revisit sometime.

>174 -Eva-: Enjoy the vacation.

Have a great time in Sweden! :)

Enjoy your vacation Eva!

Happy Holidays.

Have a great month in Sweden. Enjoy the long, sunshiny days.

Bon voyage! See you when you get back.

have a great time - you probably won't see this until you get back - so - welcome home. hope you had a good time.

Safe travels -- have a great time!

>173 -Eva-: - Love that book! Hope you had a wonderful trip!

>165 -Eva-: - Excellent! I have a copy of the audiobook waiting in the wings. I am saving it for when I need a good bit of escapism reading!

Good comments regarding Fifth Business and good for you in diving right into the next book!

Have a wonderful vacation!

Thank you all!! I had a fantastic time in Sweden and wish I was still on vacation. Surprise, surprise... :) I got a few good books read and have, since I woke up jetlagged at 3am this morning, gotten a few reviews written. Still have unpacking left to do, so I clearly have my priorities straight! :) I'm looking forward to getting round to your threads, but at a glance I can see some of you have in excess of 60 new posts, so it'll take me a while to get there!

#30



Small Memories by José Saramago

A series of stories and vignettes about José Saramago's childhood in Portugal. When reading this, it's easy to imagine the author sitting down and conjuring distinctive memories from his youth. There are no hugely dramatic events, but Saramago has a wonderfully humoristic view of his own nostalgia and, in addition, the view into 1920s and 1930s Lisbon and rural Portugal is fascinating. Style-wise, this is the "easiest" Saramago I've read - there are many parts of his normal style left, but the childhood stories are told in an apt, thus easier style. Very evocative memoir, recommended for all.

#31



Lust for Life by Irvine Stone

A biographical novel about the life of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh and the struggles and joys brought on by his passionate personality. Van Gogh is possibly the world's most loved artist and his semi-tragic life adds a little extra to the affection people feel for his art. Stone's story is based on the numerous letters Van Gogh exchanged with his beloved brother Theo and feels as if it was written by someone who was close to the artist and his family. Van Gogh was obviously a person who burned for all of his passions, so it's easy to be taken in by his engaging personality and, naturally, very hard to follow the story into his mental decline. It is also very interesting to follow along in 1800s Paris and see how the artists of the time spent their time and see their oddities and personalities in their "natural environment." I read this the first time sometime in the mid-1980s and I found it as engaging now as I did then; it is a little bit of a masterpiece.

#32



A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

James Bowen is a recovering heroin-addict when he takes in a homeless cat that will turn out to be his best friend and ally. Admittedly, Bowen is not a professional writer (this book is written with a ghost writer), but since he has an extremely optimistic and heartwarming story to tell, the simple style is not a problem. Bob the cat is a natural wonder and it is near impossible not to feel a lot of affection for him and his new owner. It's not high literature, but a short and very feel-good read. Bowen doesn't shy away from some of life's unpleasantnesses, so it's not cloying or all sunshine and daisies, but the overall lasting impression is one of hope.

#33



The World According to Bob by James Bowen

The continuing saga of Street Cat Bob and his owner, James Bowen. This sequel picks up where the first book left off, through Bowen's work with the writer of the first book, and ending with the pair's first book signing. The tone and style of this is very similar to the first book: part difficulty, part happiness. It's another feel-good book about, quite possibly, the world's most loveable and smart cat and his owner.

#34



Troubled Souls by Garth Ennis and John McCrea

Protestant Tom gets coerced into planting a bomb for the IRA in 1980s Belfast. Ennis' story is told from a different angle than more literature about "The Troubles." This main character is a young man who knows very little about his country's history and he is a self-professed coward - there are no heroes in this tale. It's an interesting twist, but unfortunately very few of the characters are engaging enough to care hugely about. The topic is interesting, but execution fails for me. Perhaps with an artist I liked better it would rate higher, but as it is, the art is doing the story few favors. One for the donation-box for me, I'm afraid.

May Summary:

Number of books: 5

Category Progress:
1. New Acquisitions 4/7
2. Mt. TBR 4/7
3. BingoDOG 2/7
4. Orbis Terrarum 3/7
5. CATs and/or Group Reads 3/7
6. Graphic Novels 5/7
7. Non-Fiction 2/7
8. Vacation Reads 5/7
9. Audio/Ebook 5/7

Best read of the month: Lust for Life because it's such a evocative story about a larger than life person.
Least good read of the month: Troubled Souls because although the story is interesting, the execution is less than great.

#35



World of Wonders by Robertson Davies

Magnus Eisengrim (Paul Dempster), together with Dunstan Ramsay and Liesl, tells the story of his life to a group of filmmakers. This is quite a compelling story, partly because Eisengrim's history is interesting in itself, but mainly because so many of the incidents described immediately get another spin from another narrator; it's fascinating to see how an issue can look one way from one character's viewpoint and completely different from another character's viewpoint and both angles are true. The ending is very interesting as well, as it reveals what actually happened with Boy Staunton in Fifth Business. This trilogy was my first attempt at reading Davies, and I will continue reading him for sure.

#36



Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey and Glenn Fabry

This is a graphic novel version of the TV-series and book by Neil Gaiman. I was wary since I already have pictures of the characters in my head, but it was a very good version, although Croup and Vandemar weren't as hilarious as they "normally" are. This isn't one of my favorite of Gaiman's works, but since the original is a TV script, the graphic novel works almost better than the novel. The art is amazing as well - I already like Glenn Fabry (who also does Preacher) and he does not disappoint here; it takes a little to change my idea of the characters' looks, but these versions work very well so I'm converted. Highly recommended, especially if you've not read Neverwhere before.

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great time and glad to see you had a good reading month! :)

>191 -Eva-: I picked up a copy of Lust for Life at a library sale earlier this year and have it on my TBR shelf. Thanks for the review! Glad you had a great time on vacay!!

Welcome home! Wow, you got a lot of reading done!

>190 -Eva-: - Welcome back! Also - very interested in Small Memories now based on your review. I generally like his books so this would be right up my alley.

Welcome back!

The books about Bob the cat sound pleasant. Good reviews.

Hi Eva, welcome back! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the graphic version of Neverwhere. That was the first Gaiman that I ever read so it has a special place in my heart. :)

>200 mstrust:
I thought I was way behind until I came back and looked at the total. Quite pleased, actually. :)

>202 tymfos:
Thanks! Very sweet story - check him out on youtube for a taste.



#37



Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Odd is a young Norseman who leaves his village and encounters a fox, an eagle, and a bear in the forest, three animals who are more than they seem and who needs Odd's help in Asgard. This is a really sweet tale that is quite similar to the fairy-tales I read as a kid - talking animals, Norse gods, mean step-parents, and a happy ending. It's not an amazing story, but a nice way to spend a couple of hours. The illustrations are quite nice as well.

Currently reading The Bone Tiki, but have been in a movie-mood lately, so reading is slow.

Hi Eva! I read Odd and the Frost Giants last year and enjoyed it. I downloaded it from OverDrive one night when I was having trouble sleeping. It was a soothing read for me.

>196 -Eva-: I'm halfway through World of Wonders so far and enjoying it very much. I agree with your comment about the presentation from different points of view.

>204 -Eva-: I heard Neil read from Odd a few years ago at a signing but I still have not managed to read it. He was so entertaining, did the voices and everything. I think subconsciously I hold a grudge against the book because I did not get to stay and have my Neverwhere signed by Neil. It was nearly 4 in the morning and I had to drive back and then go into work. I wish now that I had just called in Sick!

Glad to see you had a wonderful trip home. Sorry to see that Troubled Souls was a dud. It sounded promising.

Welcome back! Glad you had a good time in Sweden. I was away too for a while and had guests staying for 3 weeks so reading book as well as threads came to a standstill. Now I'm looking forward to a bookish summer. A Street Cat Named Bob looks like a good read for an afternoon in the park.

>207 VictoriaPL:
Oh, I didn't think of that - I should have gotten the audioversion! It'd be like Uncle Neil reading me a bedtime story! :)

#38



The Bone Tiki by David Hair

Half-Maori teenager Matiu Douglas is inspired to steal a tiki to save it from the clutches of a powerful but evil sorcerer. This is a wonderfully complex YA novel about a fairly normal subject (supernatural battle of good vs. evil), but (for most of us) it has a very different spin as it is all based on Maori myth and legend. The characters (human and supernatural) are all engaging if not entirely easy to identify with. I have to admit that I had a hard time following along in places because I know very little (nothing, really) about Maori myth, but I can't fault the book for that. So, I will be reading up on my mythology before continuing the series.

#39



Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton

A collection of the photos Brandon Stanton took when he first started photographic people on the streets of New York. These are some great photos and some wonderful characters. My favorite part of HONY, though, are the stories and as this is a record of the beginning of the site, there aren't many of them, but mostly photos. Great pictures, great project, great work, great guy. I've picked up the other book ("Stories") as well and am looking forward to getting to it.

#40



Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

This follows a group of people before and after a super-flu devastates most the world. This has some good characters, some interesting plot twists, nice descriptions of the post-flu world, and is an entertaining read. I may have read a few too many in this genre lately, which I can't really fault this novel for, but this didn't really sing for me. At various points I found myself thinking of distinct scenes in other books that are similar or same to the point of being identical and it was disappointing to me. Perhaps I should just take a complete break from post-apocalyptic literature for a while. It is still an entertaining read and had I not heard some hype beforehand, I may have liked it more.

>211 -Eva-: I've read the next one in the series and thought it was really good. You should probably read up on taniwha, know what tohunga & tapu are and also look up the legend of Pania of the Reef. Reminds me that I should continue this series.
A good resource is for all thing NZ: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en
David Hair has also written a well received fantasy series, The Moontide Quartet, for adults that I'm planning to start in December.

>214 avatiakh:
Thanks! That's a great resource. I did some Googling while I was reading (I got a bit too lost occasionally), but I really want to read more. The Moontide Quartet is more readily available in the US - the Aotearoa one is harder to find - so maybe I'll try that.

>211 -Eva-: Is it just a coincidence that I took a break from carving my tiki, came on LT, and saw this review? It has to go on the WL.

>216 mstrust:
Nice timing! :)

#41



Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton

A collection of photos of New Yorkers and their stories as told to Brandon Stanton. This is a fantastic collection of the pictures and stories from the HONY website. I have seen some of these before, but most were new to me. The idea of the website combined with its creator's huge heart just makes for some fantastic stories - it just goes to prove that truth is indeed stranger than fiction and to remind all of us that we are more similar to each other than we think. Great pictures, great project, great work, great guy. Not to be missed!

I didn't even know there was a graphic novel of Neverwhere - and by Mike Carey too! I'll have to check that out

>218 -Eva-: - Just discovered this on Facebook and love it. There's a book too? Something else for the wishlist.

Thanks so much for the tiki books!
The drinks are on me tonight-

>221 mstrust:
Don't mind if I do! :)

First, I have to say that reviewing a book by someone you (at least kind of) know is normally very difficult! However, this one wasn't hard to do - no white lies going on here, this is great!



#42



A Tiding Of Magpies by Peter Sutton

A collection of fantastical stories themed by the nursery rhyme "One for sorrow..." I'm not a huge lover of short stories, so when I get to read a collection where not only each separate story excites me, but the overall progression is intriguing, it's a rare treat. I really enjoyed these stories, especially the ones that were on the creepier side of comfortable. But, importantly, along with the fantastic and the disturbing, there are some very thoughtful ponderings on the state of a human spirit in isolation, in this case mostly placed in potentially dystopian environments, but the ideas as certainly universal. The publisher has included a few extra stories, which was odd for me at first since they didn't match the theme, but the quality of those stories very much make up for it. Highly recommended to anyone who likes fantasy and short stories!

June Summary:

Number of books: 9

Category Progress:
1. New Acquisitions 6/7
2. Mt. TBR 4/7
3. BingoDOG 3/7
4. Orbis Terrarum 4/7
5. CATs and/or Group Reads 4/7
6. Graphic Novels 5/7
7. Non-Fiction 4/7
8. Vacation Reads 7/7
9. Audio/Ebook 6/7

Best read of the month: A Tiding of Magpies because our friend @psutto made even me like a short story collection!
Least good read of the month: Station Eleven because it didn't feel very original.

And, since half the year has gone, it's time for a new thread!!