heathn's reads in 2016

Here will be my reading for 2016!!!

My hope is to read more than I did last year. I read less last year than I had in any previous tracked year.

Some goals for this year:

• Read 10,000 pages - annual goal
  
• Read 2 books per month - annual goal
  
• Read more classics - continued from 2015
  
• Read more than 80% from the TBR stack
  
• Read a lot of Shakespeare
  

I have a love/hate deal with putting out specific numbers for goals. I tend to push myself to hit said numbers, but usually do not enjoy the reading as much when I do. Therefore the page count and monthly goal are more arbitrary than specific.

More specifically, I do have a tentative reading plan set for this year. I am planning on reading at least one Dickens' title, I have the B&N seven book collection to choose from. From Shakespeare, at least Hamlet and Macbeth. A reread of The Odyssey and The Iliad. Le Morte d'Arthur, Moby Dick, and Art of War from my B&N Leatherbound collections, will start either a reread of Lord of the Rings (haven't read since Return came out in theaters) or A Song of Ice and Fire (fully believe Winds of Winter will release late 2016), and begin either The Wheel of Time (I have the first two books) or The Stormlight Archive (also have first two).

That is putting a lot out there, and will probably change a lot by the end of the year. At least I have something written down to go off of.

So to begin the year, good luck with all your goals, and here's to a wonderful year full of reading amazing stories.

"We read not primarily to appraise an author's work, but to seek an enlargement of our being. In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself." - C.S. Lewis in An Experiment in Criticism

Good luck with your reading goals! I look forward to seeing how you get along.

Reading should be fun. Don't make goals that stress you! I'll be lurking along. Happy New Year!

Good luck with enjoying your reading this year and meeting your goals (enjoyment foremost though).

Book 1:

Deadpool Classic Vol 6 by Christopher Priest

My first book of 2016 is one that I actually started on the 31st. I was going to hold off until the end of this month to read this volume, so that it would be closer to the movie's release in February. After the new trailer released on Christmas, I decided I didn't want to wait and got back into the Deadpool universe earlier. This is the last of the Classic Deadpool volumes that I own, I have one of the newer volumes as well, but I am trying to read them in publication order.

In this volume, the writing duties were changed from Joe Kelly, who had written the previous three collected volumes, and given to Christopher Priest. In my opinion Joe Kelly was much better. While I enjoyed the different characters that made cameos throughout this one, including Loki, Thor, The Black Panther, a couple Avengers, and Copycat, the storylines didn't pack as much development to the character as the previous ones did.

After the end of Kelly's run, Deadpool and Death are walking off into the sunset together, we begin here with both of them captured, and encased in stasis tubes inside a laboratory. From here things get weird, Deadpool is cursed by Loki, which is that he now has the face of Tom Cruise (spelled Thom Cruz), and how that is the worst thing for Deadpool, travels to space for a few issues, and then just arrives back at home. I felt that these plotlines, and continuing joke of people thinking he was the actor, went on way to long.

I still enjoyed this volume, but not near as much as the previous ones. The additional cameos made up for the difference in tone during this run, but didn't allow it to hit the highs that the previous run did.

Next I plan on starting one of the novels contained in my Charles Dickens collection. I have to chose from these titles. Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, The Personal History of David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations. I am leaning towards A Tale of Two Cities, but am willing to listen to suggestions if I should choose one of the others.

I just finished reading George R.R. Martin's 'not a blog', and am slightly depressed by it. He posted on Saturday that he doesn't have Winds of Winter done yet, and doesn't have a timeline for when that might be. I was really hoping that the HBO show would help to get him to writing quicker, but it appears that in reality it has slowed him down by putting attainable deadlines on the book. Now that he is past all the deadlines set up with the publishers, I hope that he can finish the book the way he wants it to be.

Guess this also means that I wont be able to catch up on the show. I still haven't watched season five, as I was holding out that he would have Winds done before season six premiered. Not sure how I'll be able to avoid spoilers for the book.

>6 heathn: it's tricky, isn't it? I haven't watched season 5 but heard about 2 major spoilers: one was something I thought had happened in the books (so my memory is poor and my assumptions about Martin's nefarious plans for his characters... aren't out of line with the showrunners) and the other was for a storyline that has diverged from the books in a way that seems unlikely that it will be where those characters end up on paper. So I guess I'm hoping for more of the same in season 6 - i.e. that nothing gets through that I'm not expecting (*looking at Jon Snow's corpse*).

I posted this over in the new book thread, but thought I would add it in here as well. My post Christmas order from bookoutlet.com came in this week, and here is what I got this time:


I'm really excited to read S.. I've had in my wishlist forever, and was really happy to see it available. Also, I'm really looking forward to Green Hills of Africa. I enjoyed reading Hemingway for the first time last year, and as a hunter am interested in this one.

We also finally got some winter weather here in southern Indiana this week. It was the first time that my pup had seen snow. We had an enjoyable afternoon outside, and he did not want to come back inside.

Still looks a lot like my dog, who also loves snow. (Caramel is fatter, though.)

Both your dog and your pile of books are beautiful to behold!

What a lovely and comforting stack of books to be read. Comforting because I know you are in for some good ones there.

Pup is precious!

Thanks for the comments, I'll let my pup know.

I had ht put a hold on reading A Tale of Two Cities, as I'm traveling to Las Vegas for a conference this week, and didn't feel like having to carry a 1000 page compilation book through the airports or adding the weight to my bag. Instead, I brought with me three books for the flights, layovers, and any free time that I may have. All of which are much smaller and lighter. They are Wolf in White Van, Green Hills of Africa and The Book of Three. More than likely I will be able to finish all three this week.

I will be finishing A Tale of Two Cities when I return.

Book 2:

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

I picked this one up on one of my bookoutlet orders just for the cover. I found it fascinating, and after receiving it, the words reflect light differently depending on the angle. So another bonus for the cover.

I jumped into this one on an airplane ride without knowing anything about it, and after the first few chapters, I wasn't sure where it was going. The narrative takes place in reverse order, and we are given small bits of pieces of the past with each new chapter. Our main character, Sean, begins/ends with a severely scarred face, that the reader doesn't know the reasoning for. Along with finding out the history of Sean's story, we learn that Sean runs a mail in game service, that reminded me of the old computer MUD games. A person mails in a move to Sean, and then receives the result from this action back in the mail. With the response moves feeling like Sean's true thoughts on his life.

Without going into a lot of detail, I feel that Wolf makes for an intense short read that really makes you think about how a person's mind thinks, and how those thoughts go into a person's reactions with others. Also, the disconnect between people that may consider to be friends, yet have very little or no actually contact with. Sean begins to consider the players of his game to be his friends, and yet never has any true contact with these people. In a way, it is scarily how people react with social media. Having 'friends' without any true contact with these people. Finally, the players use the game as an escape, yet some don't allow for the difference between the game and real life.

I also really like the name of his game, Trace Italian, and then looking up pictures of these actual star forts. They are amazing works of design.

Next up I will be starting The Book of Three, and maybe Green Hills of Africa depending upon how much I read on the plane flight back.

Just a curious question for everyone. Looking over some of my old responses to the books I read, and lurking on many of your all's journals, what is too much when giving a review of a book? I try myself not to give too much of the plot out, but I am thinking that this then gives a blandness to it. I want people to be intrigued by it, but also not giving everything away.

Just curious as to what everyone else thinks.

>14 heathn: Speaking purely for myself, if the post containing the review occupies much more than about a half a screen, I tend to skim, reading little more than the first half of the first sentence of each paragraph. So I'd guess a good hint would be "stay within 200 words". How you use those words is, of course, a whole nother story.

I think it depends very much on what you have to say about the book. There are some books that I only have a sentence or two to say about, while there are others that I want to develop my thoughts about in greater depth. (That sentence was very awkward.) I generally think of my reviews as being for myself first, and it is just a bonus if others get some benefit from them. I do try to avoid major spoilers, or hide them behind a spoiler tag. As for reading other people's reviews, if the book or the reviewer's comments interest me, I read it, and if they don't, I skip it. Length or amount of detail don't really matter to me.

>14 heathn: I think everyone has their own style.

Like >15 hfglen: , I don't usually read extremely long reviews. I want to read enough to know what the book is about and why the reader liked it. That being said, many of my reviews are bland. :) Some folks here write very interesting reviews, and others are more simple. I think you need to do what you are inspired to do, and there will be some who like to read it and others who don't. For myself, my reviews are to remind me of the book and my reactions to it.

If it is a book which has very few reviews, I put more effort into the description, but if it is a book which already has more than twenty, the review is more for myself.

>14 heathn: totally personal preference. I'm guilty of writing reviews that are much too long, but (like @MrsLee and @SylviaC) I'm writing primarily for myself in the first instance. I do try to keep discussions of the plot short - when I rattle on, it's more about my response to the book than recapping what happens.

>15 hfglen: >16 SylviaC: >17 MrsLee: >18 imyril: Thank you for your responses! I appreciate the reasoning behind your own reviews.

I must apologize for not responding sooner, I've been fighting off a cold since I got back from my conference in Vegas. Boo to coming home to the leftovers of a snowstorm and single digit weather! The conference was fantastic, and we made some good connections with new vendors. Can't say that the gambling went as well, but we had fun anyway.

I was able to get two books finished while out there, mostly due to the plane rides. I've already posted about Wolf in White Van, and will follow up with The Book of Three review next.

Book 3:

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Over the past few years, as I have been keeping a better track of my reading, and also having become more absorbed into bookish websites. I am finding more and more authors that people swear by that I have never read. Beginning last year, I have started to remedy some of these omissions. One of the names/series that I continued to see was The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. When I saw this 50th anniversary copy on bookoutlet, I couldn't pass it up. (It's really pretty, and clothbound!)

The Book of Three, being the first in the series, starts us off with an introduction to the Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran. Taran wishes to be a hero, but is stuck on a farm doing menial labor. Unbeknownst to him, the other people on the farm, and the pig he is responsible for, are not exactly what they seem. When the farm is attacked, and the pig escapes into the forest, Taran follows hoping to rescue the pig. This is the beginning to what becomes a much bigger journey, filled with witches, castles, magical swords, knightly princes, and an encroaching evil army.

I really enjoyed this one, and expect to purchase the rest of the series at some point. (I do have a thingaversary in February??) It made for a quick and fun read on a plane ride, and allowed me to just really enjoy a story set in a fantasy world. I think that Alexander has created a great place to introduce young preteens into the fantasy genre! The only problem that I had was with the names, and was extremely thankful for the included pronunciation guide in the back.

>20 heathn: I loved the Prydain chronicles when I read them as a child. Like Harry Potter, the series starts light and humourous but packs a real emotional punch in the later books.

Oddly, I can't remember whether I read the Prydian books. My mother loved them, and had them in her bookcase. I can definitely remember holding them, and having them open, but I can't remember actually reading them. I know that I started at least the first one several times, but I can't remember finishing.

Book 4:

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities is the first Dickens title that I have read. I managed to go through high school and college without ever reading him. My only interaction with any of his stories is A Christmas Carol, and that is mainly due to the different movie iterations. The collection that I have includes Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, and Great Expectations.

So why did I choose to read AToTC? I think that it is mostly due to the first sentence, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...". I've seen and heard the first part of that sentence so many times throughout my life, that I really just wanted to know what the hype was about. Basically, I was going into it blind, which can be either a very good or a very bad thing. In this case, I think that it was somewhere in the middle.

Without knowing that the main plot takes place in and among the French Revolution, I had a hard time getting started with this one. I wasn't that excited reading about a French noble man leaving France and wooing an English lady. Once The Bastille fell to 'the rising sea', I felt the story became much more exciting and interesting.

As with most classics, in the beginning I had to get used to the writing style, and many times with the language used. I always tend to learn a few new words with each one I read. I wouldn't say that this was a page-turner, but I did enjoy it much more once the story got into the revolution part. I also really enjoyed the way that Dickens described certain events or places, as in comparing the attacking mob to a rising sea, or making the guillotine a character itself. Yet, I think this line will stick with me the most: "the death-carts rumble, hollow and harsh, six tumbrils carry the day's wine to La Guillotine." I just found that line to be a great image.

On a side note, if you are interested in the Barnes and Noble Leatherbound books, the larger ones, such as this one, do have some small print. It made it fell as thoughI was making such slow progress while reading through it.

Next up, I have started to read The Green Hills of Africa by Hemingway, but I also think I will start another to go alongside it.

I'm leaning towards something in the fantasy genre, and I am trying to decide between The Name of the Wind, The Curse of Chalion or a reread of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Based on my spreadsheet, I've had the first two sitting on my shelf waiting since January of 2012.

A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite of Dickens. Although I read it years ago, I still have so many images in my head from his evocative writing, and yes, I think they are mostly from the Revolution end of it. The women knitting, soooo creepy. I don't think any other book has made me weep so much at the end and yet feel so right about the ending.

If you don't want another slow moving book, I suggest you put off The Name of the Wind a bit longer. It is lovely, but very slow.

>25 MrsLee: Slow moving?! Continental drift is fast by comparison, and glaciers are closer to greased lightning than to this one.

>24 heathn: I LOVE Curse of Chalion; for me it had a good balance of action and thoughtfulness, and is one of the best books ever about the consequences of drawing the attention of the gods.

>25 MrsLee: >26 hfglen: Thanks for the info on it being a slower book. I appreciate it.

>27 Sakerfalcon: I started Curse of Chalion last night. I hope to enjoy it as much as you do!

An unexpected trip to the comic book store tonight, and as they didn't have the next in order Deadpool that I am at, I only came home with the first volume of Saga, Vol. 1 (Can't seem to get the touchstone to work, here it is: Saga Vol. 1).

As my 5th Thingaversary falls on the 17th of this month, I was wondering if I could get a ruling as to whether or not this one counts towards my total, or have I purchased it too early?

>29 heathn: I would say it does.

>29 heathn: I believe that as long as the purchases are in the same month, and in the right spirit, we can allow it.

>30 hfglen:, >31 MrsLee: Glad there wont be any early purchase penalties!

So today, the 17th, I am celebrating my 5th Thingaversary her on LT!!! Even though I have may not always been heavily present here, I have always enjoyed reading about the many different books that everyone reads. Not to mention the bullets that have been direct hits, and some near misses.

My main reason for joining LT then, was to have a place to inventory my books. At the same time as joining here, I also started to keep an excel spreadsheet of my reading. Which I absolutely love doing. Looking back on that spreadsheet, I have read 124 books with a total of 43,782 pages. I have also obtained 182 new books, which explains why I am in need of another bookshelf.

Finally, I have almost completed one alphabet challenge with last names. I only have the letters I, J, N, Q, U, X, & Y. (The J and N are surprising to me.) So this has now became a new goal to complete before my next Thingaversary.

My books have been ordered, and I will post what I have gotten once they arrive.

So here's to the next five years of continued amazing reading and discussions!

Happy Thingaversary! Looking forward to hearing about the new additions.

>14 heathn: - I review the plot for the first 1/3-1/2 of the book so I can remember it later on! especially useful for long series that I can then pick up again towards the last books. I usually add another paragraph or two about the world building characters anything I didn't like, and a general impression.

Prydian I loved as a child, but haven't re-read.

>33 heathn: Happy Thingaversary! Now you will have a Fiver badge. :)

Happy Thingaversary!

Book 5:

Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway

When I bought Green Hills of Africa I wasn't entirely sure if it was a memoir of Hemingway's safari hunt, or a novel about a safari hunt. In my opinion, it is mostly memoir of his 1932-33 safari hunt, but with a touch of novelization thrown in. As a hunter myself, I was interested in how Hemingway, the author, would describe his hunting trip. I was happy with how it turned out, and could relate to many things that he spoke of, such as:

• Late night campsite discussions becoming philosphical.
  
• Being happy for someone else's trophy, yet being jealous as well.
  
• The happiness and joy of actually being in nature during a hunt.
  
• The challenge of hunting an animal day after day, and either succeeding or not succeeding. Along with the elation or frustration in either case.
  
• Choosing between two hunting spots, and KNOWING that the spot you didn't choose held all the animals.
  
• Playfully kidding about missed or made shots.
  

I think that my favorite thing he said was that he never felt bad about killing an animal, because they would eat the meat, keep the hides and head/anters/horns, yet when he couldn't find an animal he had wounded it would make him sick to his stomach. And I completely agree with this position.

My edition also included his wife's diary of the trip, his letters he wrote while hospitalized with dysentery, some original drafts of sections, and a few pictures from the hunt.

If you enjoy hunting, I think that you will be able to relate with what Hemingway writes here. If you have never been a hunter, then I think that this will show a little bit of what makes hunting enjoyable to those of us who do.

I do now have another bucket list item added. As in Indiana, we mainly are able to hunt deer and turkey.

Next I will be finishing up The Curse of Chalion, which I put on hold to finish this one, and then onto an Early Reviewer copy of The Never-Open Desert Diner that I received in the mail last week.

My Thingaversary order arrived today, so I just barely made it in before the month ended. Here are the five that I got for my five years, and am considering my purchase of Saga, Vol 1 from earlier this month as my one to grow on.

William Shakespeare's The Clone Army Attacketh by Ian Doescher
The Peripheral by William Gibson
Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen
The House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

The Spines

The Covers


I thought the cover for Small Shadows was too creepy and eerie to pass up.

Book 6:

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

When I first joined LT in 2011, I created a topic asking for recommendations on fulfilling an alphabet challenge I was going to tackle. One of the most recommended authors was Lois McMaster Bujold. So after researching her works, and deciding to go fantasy rather then sci-fi, I bought the first of the Chalion novels, and it has been sitting on my shelf unread ever since.

The Curse of Chalion, is considered a fantasy novel. It begins with our protagonist, Cazaril, traveling back to the castle that he was page at in his youth, hoping to be employed there again in some small way. Instead he is given to the young noblewoman as a tutor, who happens to be of the royal family, and sister to the heir. This becomes a much larger role, as the young lady is sent to the capital, and things are not exactly as they seem. As the story progresses, we learn more about the Cazaril's backstory, and how the god's of Chalion intertwine and work themselves with mortals. Oh, and there's this whole curse besetting the royal family.

While this is considered a fantasy novel, and I would say it is high fantasy, it read more to me like historical fiction. The magical aspects weren't a major focus of the story, but when they show up, they change things dramatically. The animals selecting the dead souls for the gods was interesting as well.

Even though it wasn't a fantasy novel as I expected going in (no dragons, wizards, etc), and leaned more on the political side, I really enjoyed this one a lot. Once I got used to the different names of the hierarchy of the royalty, it went very smoothly. I also liked that Iselle wasn't a damsel in distress, but a person to be reckoned with. I have to agree with Pwaites' assessment that fans of A Song of Ice and Fire would probably like this one. I personally love ASoIaF, and while I wouldn't put this one as high as Game of Thrones, I have no problem keeping in on my shelf, and now wish I had read it sooner.

After reading the blurb for the next one, Paladin of Souls it appears that the Chalion series is more stand alone novels in the same world instead of a continuing story? Is this correct? If so, that is slightly disappointing, because I really liked the characters here.

>40 heathn: Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls are linked; Ista is the protagonist of Paladin and references are made to the events of Curse. The third book, The hallowed hunt is totally separate and it's really only the religion that makes it clear that you're still in the same world. Paladin is a really awesome read, and you hear about what else is going on in Chalion under Iselle's rule, so I definitely recommend reading it even if you then choose not to try Hallowed Hunt.

So I've been in a bit of a reading funk the past month or so. I couldn't really get into the books that I was reading. Hopefully, I will be able to enjoy the next one. Since my last post, I have finished three books, and will be updating on them below.

Also, when you don't check this site for a few weeks, the backlog of reading posts is huge.

Book 7:

If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg

This book was read for my Wednesday night men's class at church. In all, I thought Ortberg had some good points, but it got very repetitive by the end. It was mainly about not being afraid to take risks, which having read these type books over the years, it just seemed more of the same. If you do enjoy these types of books, then I think that you will enjoy this one. Ortberg has a style of writing that makes the reading enjoyable, with many tidbits and experiences taken from his own life.

Book 8:

The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson

I received this as part of the Early Reviewers program.

After reading the blurb, I was excited to receive this from the ER program. The title, black and white cover art, and noirish plot, seemed to be taken from an old movie. (I'm copying my review below)

Ben Jones is a truck driver in the desert of Utah, delivering packages to people, who for the most part, want to be forgotten and left alone by the rest of the world. After one delivery, he finds an abandoned house off the road that has a lady playing the cello inside. Ben can't stop thinking about this lady, and before too long is in over his head with circumstances he never expected.

My only complaint, is that I felt that at times Anderson wasn't exactly sure what type of story he was writing. It felt very leisurely through the first half of the novel, and then things escalated very quickly along the main plot, and then ends very abruptly. I would have liked for there have been more to the ending.

Besides that gripe, I did enjoy the novel, and would read his next one.

It was an interesting story, and not having read many mysteries in awhile, I just thought the pacing was slow. I understand building up of characters, but the build up seemed more important that the payoff. If you enjoy a very character driven story with not a lot of action, except in a couple quick spots, then I believe this would hit the spot.

Book 9:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Dates: 03/29/16-04/17/16

A friend asked me to read a short story that he had written for a school project. His favorite book is Catcher in the Rye, so he wrote it from Holden's point of view ten years past the book's events. Since I had never read the original, I thought it fair that I read it before reading his short story.

The story is told from the point of view of a teenage boy named Holden, who has just been expelled from his boarding school right before Christmas break. This not being the first time that this has happened, he decides to not immediately go home, and spends a couple of days in New York City. We get to follow Holden around, and get his viewpoints on many subjects, as he goes through NYC before his scheduled school break begins.

Reading this now at the age of 33, I feel that I missed a lot about what makes this such a classic. If I had read it as a young teenager, I feel that I would have related much more with Holden and his viewpoints on everyone and everything being a 'phony'. In my opinion, he sounded more like an obnoxious kid, with ADD, who wasn't as smart as he thought he was. Having gone through my own teenage years with medical problems, Holden's perceived problems seemed very petty to me, and this was my main problem with the story, I just didn't really like Holden. It made me not want to get continue reading.

I enjoyed the writing, and can see where many people would be able to relate to what Holden does and says. It just wasn't for me right now.

Book 10:

Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Date: 04/17/16-04/17/16

Over the past year or so, it seems that everyone is singing the praises of this comic. So when I was last at the comic store, and they didn't have the trade I was looking for, I went ahead and got this one.

Saga, written by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Fiona Staples, is a space opera that takes place during a galactic war. A planet and it's moon, are at war with each other, and instead of fighting on each other's surfaces, they fight the war on other planets. During this, a man and women from opposite sides fall in love, and have a baby. The baby is then hunted, and we see the beginnings of the escape and running.

I enjoyed the story so far, but wish there it hadn't stopped where it did, but such is the life reading trades. I thought the art was fantastic, and will be buying the next one, once I have the opportunity. I am looking forward to where the story goes, and what other interesting character to meet. I also really like the lying cat. Being able to know when someone is lying would make for a fantastic ally.

Next I have started reading The Library at Mount Char, which was an Early Reviewer win.

A few more books since last post.

Books 11 & 12

&
The Road to Civil War & Civil War

Since Marvel had announced that the next Captain America movie was going to be Civil War, I had wanted to read the comics of the same name before seeing the movie. With the movie opening earlier this month, I was forced to finally read them. What I didn't realize beforehand, was that there are 11 different trades that tie into the Civil War event. Not knowing this, all I had were the prelude, borrowed from a friend, and the actually Civil War trade. From my understanding it isn't necessary to read all the trades, I would at some point like to do so. Going in, all I knew was the tragedy that starts the Civil War event, that Spiderman was the first to sign up for registration, and that Captain America and Iron Man are the two leaders of the opposing sides.

In Prelude, we have what is the beginnings of unrest for government against superheroes. That they have to much power, and no oversight. Most of this is taken place with Iron Man and Spiderman in DC meeting before a special panel. It does a good job in showing that the need for superheroes exist, but that government is also wary of the power they possess. The trade ends with a Spiderman issue and the news breaking about the tragedy that would move things forward for the whole Civil War event.

In Civil War, we start off with a young group of superheroes trying to become famous for defeating villains. To do so, they have a camera crew follow them around reality TV style to capture their deeds. During this battle, a busload of children are killed in the crossfire. This event is the final straw for the government, and the Superhero Registration Act is passed. The rest of the story comes down to those who believe in the Act, being led by Iron Man and Reed Richards of the Fantastic 4, and those who do not, being led by Captain America. Which leads to a huge fight between the two sides, which was pretty awesome to see on page.

Having never really read much of the Avengers (I've always been more of an X-Men fan), I don't know much of the history to what led to this point. I did feel as though certain characters that were heroes didn't act very heroic, and that the story gets pretty dark in some places. In all I enjoyed the story, and the ideas that it presented, but with it being Marvel's Civil War, I was upset about some characters weren't present. Especially the X-Men, who have a very small scene when Iron Man, as Tony Stark, goes to the Mansion, and talks to Emma Frost to get them to join is side. She tells him that they wont be involved, and the X-Men aren't seen again.

If you plan on seeing the movie, or already have. The movie diverges a lot from the comics. While there are similarities, and the registration is still on the table, it went in different ways. The movie was pretty awesome though, and I would recommend it to anyone. Especially if you already enjoy the MCU movies.

Book 13

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

I received The Library at Mount Char as an Early Reviewer copy here on LT. I had had this one on my wishlist, as I read some good reviews about over the past few months, and was very happy when I found out I had won a copy.

The 'library' in the title is not what we would picture as a library, and the 'librarians' are not what we would picture as librarians, and yet I enjoyed this one quite a bit after I got into it. I'm afraid that this will have to be a little vague, as to not spoil anything for anyone. The Library is manned by 12 Librarians, who are all searching for Father, who is basically god, and the creator of the Library. Over the course of the book, we learn more about who the Librarians are and what their specialty is. Our main protagonist is Carolyn, who is the Librarian of Languages. In doing so, she knows every language that has ever been, and likewise the other 11 have their own specialties. They are all looking for Father, and cannot get back into the Library. Whenever one of them gets close, they are beset with pain and injuries. The story jumps around in time, giving us flashbacks from different times in the Librarians lives, and gets pretty violent in some places. Yet, we still have the search for Father throughout. I feel that the ending does set up easily for a sequel if so desired.

In all, I think that Hawkins does a great job on his debut novel. It is an interesting look into the fantasy genre, that wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but was enjoyable all the same. (When I hear fantasy, my mind automatically jumps to high/medieval fantasy settings)

Book 14:

Saga, Vol. 2 by Brain K. Vaughan

An impromptu comic store visit, allowed me to purchase the second trade volume of the Saga comics. After reading the first one, I was excited to get to the second volume.

We take up where we left off at the end of the first volume, we continue the running, and learn more about how Marko and Alana met in some flashbacks. We learn a little bit about how magic works, and Marko's parents make an entrance. The bounty hunters and Prince Robot seem to be getting closer, and Lying Cat is still awesome. My only complaint was the where it left off, in that I don't have the next one to read yet.

Again, IF you like a space opera, I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

>49 heathn: I love Saga. Some of the images are pretty graphic yet the story itself has real tenderness in it. I really need to get hold of Volume 5.

Book 15:

The Port-Wine Stain by Norman Lock

I received this as an Early Reviewer copy from LT.

I wasn't entirely sure what to write about this one. I finished it a couple of weeks ago, and thought I'd mull it over for a bit. Based upon the blurb, I was looking forward to reading this one. I like Poe's work, and noirish/horror things in general. My understanding is that Lock is writing a series of novels that are heavily influenced by a past author's style. With this one, he has chosen Poe, and while I think he has made a good effort, it never seemed to gel together.

The story jumps between two separate time periods, the present day of 1876, and the past of 1844. The protagonist, Edward Fenzil, is telling another man, Moran, about the few months that he met and spent time with Edgar Allan Poe. The majority is then set during flashbacks of 1844. The present day sections felt very off to me, as there is a conversation happening, yet Moran has no dialogue in the book. All we know are how Fenzil answers the questions posed to Moran. The bulk though is set during the 1844 flashbacks, and Fenzil's time spent with Poe. Fenzil it interested in the bizarre, and is drawn to Poe's character. The title, The Port-Wine Stain, refers to an unpublished short story, that Fenzil reads, and how this story pushes him into slowly losing his mind.

In all, I wasn't a very big fan, and would recommend if you are looking for a Poe type story, then to actually read one of Poe's.

Book 16:


MR. Mercedes by Stephen King

I hadn't read anything by King in over two years, and while I have had some of his stuff in my TBR stack, I kept reading other authors. A couple of months ago I was able to purchase tickets to see A Night with Stephen King on June 12th. Where he will be reading from his newest book, and having a Q&A afterwards. This gave me the perfect excuse to pick this one up, and I finished it just in time. This will be my first author event, and am really looking forward to it, and will post some pictures afterwards.

While I first came to King through the Dark Tower series, and enjoy his horror, Mr. Mercedes is more of a thriller, and feels apt for a movie or tv adaptation.

The story begins with a mass murder at a job fair, where the killer drives into the line of people with a gray Mercedes, and gets away. Next, we are introduced the detective who was in charge of the case, Hodges, now retired, and not knowing what to do with his free time. One day he receives a letter from the man claiming to be the Mercedes Killer, and he finally knows what to do with his time. The rest is Hodges trying to catch the Mercedes Killer before he can commit another crime.

While I felt it was somewhat predictable, the pace never felt bogged down, and the build up of tension towards the climax was good. I liked the supporting characters, and how they were able to help Hodges with his 'case'. The one thing I didn't like so much, was that the Mercedes Killer felt very stereotypical. The smart quite man who no one would believe could do anything so horrible, etc.

It was left open to a sequel, which is now a trilogy, and am looking forward to reading the others.

Next up I am reading A Scout's Report: My 70 Years in Baseball. Another ER book, that as a baseball lover, sounds really interesting.

>51 heathn: Too bad, I love the title and the cover!

>53 MrsLee: My thoughts exactly! I guess the adage is true, 'You can't judge a book by it's cover'.

Book 17:

300 by Frank Miller

Ever since I saw the film 300 in IMAX when in it came out in 2006, I had wanted to read the graphic novel that it was based on. I had really enjoyed the movie, and hoped that the book would meet my expectations. I have seen it in bookstores multiple times in the past few years, but never pulled the trigger to buy it. When I saw in on sale last month, I finally decided to pick it up. With this one, it is one of the few times that I saw the movie before I read the book. Which may have given me some bias towards the print form.

I really enjoyed Miller's work. I was surprised at how accurate some of the scenes from the movie were compared to the panels in the book. It looks like they were pulled right off of the page. While the story was known to me before even the movie, I still enjoyed this telling of it, with the story being overshadowed by the artwork, which had a gritty and violent tone. My main complaint was just how short it is, at 88 pages, I was finished with it in under a hour. This is probably one of rare occasions where I prefer the movie over the book, if only for the fact that the movie is longer than the time needed to read through the book. Plus Gerald Butler and Lena Headey were awesome.

Book 18:

A Scout's Report: My 70 Years in Baseball by George Genovese

I received this as an Early Reviewer copy from LT.

When I was going through the different books being offered for the ER Program in March, this one really stood out to me. Spring training was already started, and with being a baseball fan, I thought this would make for an interesting summer read.

I really enjoyed this biography/memoir of George Genovese, arguably the greatest baseball scout who has ever lived. It starts with a young George and his beginnings playing in local baseball leagues, then moves to his signing a professional contract, playing in the minor leagues, a cup of coffee in the majors, managing in the minor leagues, and finally to becoming a scout. Along with a brief tour in the military.

Throughout the whole time, I got to really learn a lot about the history of baseball, especially the minor leagues, and how scouting has changed over the past 50 years. From hearing about a player from a random stop at a restaurant, to the moneyball era, to now internet abundance and year long travel teams.

If you enjoy baseball and history, then I think that this would make an excellent read.

Next up I have started reading Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl.

Book 19:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

As a change of pace, I started a YA book while I was reading through the Genovese biography. I have heard good things about Rainbow Rowell, and knew that some of the teenagers I knew like her as well. So I jumped into this one, and I really enjoyed it.

Fangirl is the story of a socially awkward Cather, who happens to be an identical twin to a social butterfly, Wren,going off to college. Cather, or Cath, is a very popular fanfiction writer of a set of books that resemble the Harry Potter books. Throughout, we see her navigate her new life as college freshman, basically being on her own for the first time. All while trying to finish her multiyear fanfiction story before the final 'true' book is released to the public.

I think the main reason that I like it so much, was that I could relate a lot to Cath. I was very much the social awkward freshman, who had a roommate that was the opposite, who helped a lot in getting me out of my shell. Although, I still had those weekends where all I wanted to do was stay in the dorm room with my introverted self.

Not exactly sure what I'm going to be reading next. Still trying to decide between a few different options. Either a reread of The Hobbit/LotR, a reread of The Iliad and The Odyssey, the rest of the Chronicles of Prydain, or Le Morte d'Arthur. I last read LotR in 2003 before Return of the King was released, and I've only read The Iliad and Odyssey once in college for a class. Thoughts?

You can't go wrong rereading LotR, IMO. :)

I decided to do the reread of The Hobbit and LotR. It's crazy to think that it's been four years already since I read The Hobbit before the first movie, and over a decade since I read LotR.

>57 heathn: I loved loved loved Eleanor & Park, and I think I just took a book bullet to the heart for Fangirl.

I'd put in a plug for a reread of LotR, but if you've never read the rest of the Prydain books perhaps you should. I haven't read them for decades but I really loved them back in the day.

Woot for the bullet, and I haven't read any other Rainbow Rowell, but do plan on doing so after Fangirl.

I mainly chose for The Hobbit / LotR reread because I have been wanting to watch the extended editions again. So I figured it was the perfect excuse to read the books again.

Book 20:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

After decided for the LotR reread, I started with The Hobbit. I'm not entirely sure how many times I've read it before, but it always is an enjoyable read. Each time, there are bits that I have forgotten, and it's fun to remember these again, and bring back that innocence of when I first read it so long ago.

This is the first time that I've read it since the movies were released. I last read it right before the first movie was released. Now that I have seen all three of the movies, and have read it again. I am more disappointed with Jackson then before. As much as I enjoyed going back to Middle-Earth in the movies, and loved getting to see The White Council!!! The book contains so much, that the need for adding in the whole Azog and the orcs following them the whole time just rubbed me the wrong way.

Anyway, the book is still as awesome as ever.

I have continued on to The Fellowship of the Ring.

Books 21-23

The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, & The Return of the King

When I decided to partake in this reread about six weeks ago, a major part of it was due to the fact that I had an itching to watch the movies again. Since I hadn't read the trilogy since before Return was released in theaters, I was way overdue to read them again. From what I can figure out, this was my fifth or sixth reread through The Hobbit and LotR.

It's no surprise that I still love this story, but having seen the movies multiple times since reading them, both theatrical and the extended editions, my memory was bent more to the movies then the books. While I feel that this was helpful in some ways, mainly the extra feeling of immersion towards the scenery that the movies portrayed, it also was a detriment to remembering some things.

I feel that these are probably one of the best adaptations ever done, the things left out or changed had made me forget many things. I have always wished that Tom Bombadil and the Scouring (always remembered it as 'scourging') of the Shire were in the films, reading them now without the movie's visualization allowed for that 'aweness' that was missing from parts of the books.

Having been so long since I had read them, the things that I had forgotten were like reading for the first time again.

• Frodo selling Bag End before leaving the Shire
  
• Old Man Willow & Goldberry
  
• Gandalf's fight atop Weathertop
  
• Merry and Pippen getting taller
  
• Pretty much the entire section between Aragorn becoming King and the Scouring
  
• The very small role of Arwen throughout the whole story
  
• And many, many, more
  

When I first picked up The Fellowship of the Ring in 8th grade it was almost purely for the large point value for Accelerated Reader, little did I know that it would spark a love of all things fantasy. Even after having read much more fantasy over the years, I love it even more now. The world that Tolkien created, is one that is hard to top.

My biggest complaint, and something that I have never liked, is the complete breaking apart of the storylines. With focusing on one group of the fellowship for each half of the book, it's hard to keep the timelines in sync in my head. Which makes the timeline in the appendices very helpful. Knowing when events from each group lined up.

My biggest problem now is that I kind of want to jump into the rest of my Tolkien collection with The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The Children of Hurin, but i think that I will go a different route and read some of the comic collections that have bought and not read yet.

I do though get to have my extended editions movie marathon now!!!

Enjoy! I find the same issues you do between the movies and the books. I don't regret most of what they did in the movies, but I find it refreshing to read the books now and then so my mind remembers the special bits that are different.

I'm reading The Children of Hurin right now. Well, I'm still on the introduction. I love being back in that world, getting a refresher on some of the earliest history.

I finished my rewatch of The Lord of the Rings extended edition movies. I found that I still really love these movies, and had forgotten how amazing the soundtrack is. I was also surprised at how many of the little things from the books that were added into the movies, mostly in the extended parts. I had also completely forgot how bad they butchered Faramir's part with Frodo. I must have just blanked it out of my memory.

If you enjoy them, and haven't gone back to them in awhile, I would recommend getting them back out and watching them again. The magic that they held for me at the midnight releases in the theaters, is still there.

>61 heathn: I finally got my OverDrive copy of Fangirl and I am about halfway though and thoroughly enjoying it... but now I think I'm going to have to read Carry On when I am done.

>65 heathn: I do occasionally listen to the soundtracks and they (still) never fail to amaze me.

>66 clamairy: Glad that you're enjoying Fangirl! I just got Eleanor and Park last week, so that's been added to the TBR pile.

So obviously I've been very slack on updating this journal over the past couple of months. Once I had missed a couple of books, it seemed more and more daunting, but I will try and get it updated now. As I posted earlier, I was going to attempt to read through some of my trade comic books, which I did do. I also mixed in a couple other genres in between.

Also during the past two months, I have completed a couple of my yearly goals. Those of completing 30 titles, and over 10,000 pages. Although, I feel slightly guilty in the totals, as the comics inflate the numbers just a bit. I plan on pulling the stats at the end of the year with and without those included.

Don't be intimidated. You can always post totals and go back in fill in titles at your leisure.
Congratulations on hitting your goals. :o)
(We don't mind the comics, BTW.)

Book 24

The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon

This is the compiled first five issues of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic, that was in essence the eighth season of the show. Having loved Buffy when it originally aired, and seeing many episodes multiple times with reruns, and a complete rewatch once it streamed on Netflix, I was very excited yet apprehensive about finally reading this. I hoped that it would continue with the same vibes from the tv show, and I feel that it mostly did.

The comic begins a little while after the events of the tv show, with there being multiple groups of slayers protecting the world. We learn what the world has done after the events at Sunnydale, and where each of the main characters are at. We have a now giant sized Dawn, Xander in all is Nick Furyness, and Buffy trying to lead all the many new slayers. I feel the writing and story was good, but the art was a little off in some of the panels. In some panels the art was like a real picture of the actor/actress the played the character in the show, and other times it was just off. This didn't take me out of the story, but I would have liked it to be more consistent. My main problem with this trade is that it only just begins to mention the 'big bad' for the season, which like the tv show would be roughly the same. As there are 40 issues for the season eight comic, the 'big bad' would be held off for a bit. Overall, I enjoyed getting back into the Buffyverse, the characters acted the same and the story felt like Buffy. I just wish that I had the other trades to continue reading.

Book 25:

Saga, Vol. 3 by Brain K Vaughan

Volume three of Saga continues from the second volume, but mostly as a slight flashback to let us know how our characters got to Oswald's lighthouse, and what they did while they were there. I do enjoy this series a lot, and we are introduced to some new characters here that I feel will come into play a larger role later on. I still enjoy the writing, and love the artwork by Fiona Staples. I just don't have the urge to directly jump into the next volume that some others have. I do plan on continuing to get these, but it is not a major priority to do so.

Book 26:

The Walking Dead: Compendium One by Robert Kirkman

I have enjoyed watching The Walking Dead ever since it first aired on tv. I have a really good friend that kept telling me the comics were even better than the show, and for what I believe is a first for me, I didn't want the show spoiled by the comics. As the comics are way ahead of the tv show, I waited for it to get caught up some, and then decided to read this one. This compendium compiles the first 48 issues of the comic, or the first eight trades, and the comic is done in complete black and white with no color. I knew this going it, but it allowed for a completely different reading experience than I had expected or was used to.

What surprised me the most was the major differences from the show to the comic, mainly that Darryl isn't even in the comic, yet is such a major player on the show. Also, I feel that the comic doesn't hold back any punches, where the show can get violent and graphic, the comic just goes even further. Which I admit to liking.

My only complaints had nothing to do with the comic, but more with it being a compendium. At over 1000 pages, it was very awkward to read for long periods of time without have to rearrange my position. Also, there were a few pages during the farm sections that had no coloring to them. I could make out the panels, but it was like it was white on white printing. First time I have come across that. In the future I would prefer to read them as the trades, which are much smaller and easier to hold, but my bookshelf OCD wont allow my have a mixmatch in an ongoing series (having A Dance with Dragons being my only hardback of Game of Thrones bothers me every time I look at my shelf). So I will continue with the compendiums.

Book 27:

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir by Felicia Day

I have been a fan of Felicia Day for awhile now, especially after seeing her in Dr. Horrible, and was glad that I got to read her memoir.

By reading this, one gets to learn much about Felicia's success and failures in Hollywood, and how she reacted to them. Also, that she is a trained violinist. I found much of her story enlightening, and could relate to some of the things that she felt during her time before she created The Guild. I felt that she was able to show a light on her negatives as well as her positives, which was nice to read about.

I feel that if you know who Felicia Day is, then you would enjoy reading about her life. Her style of comedy and wit is placed throughout the memoir, and one leaves feeling inspired to follow their own dreams, no matter what those may look like.

Book 28:

The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

While I have been reading more comics over the past couple of years, I have been wary to dive into actual graphic novels. In that I have only ever read Watchmen in the past. I had seen some positive reviews online, and the cover art looked interesting to me. A blurb by Neil Gaiman sealed the deal.

The Sculptor is about an artist named Dave Smith, who makes a deal with Death that allows him to sculpt anything out of any material that he wishes just by touching the material. Yet, in the trade he only has 200 days to live. I really enjoyed the story, and thought the artwork was really good. Especially with portraying the emotions of the different characters. The whole novel is done in shades of blue, so there is a sense of dread or rainy day vibe to it. Without trying to give much away, the story makes you feel for all the characters, and stays with after you've finished it.

Book 29:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin

Deciding against doing a reread of another fantasy series so shortly after LotR, and still wanting to read Game of Thrones again, I did the next best thing and went with this collected tales of Dunk and Egg. Ever since I had finished reading A Dance with Dragons, and learning of these three stories, I had tried to find the short story collections that they were in, while still being in good condition. I have the first Warriors collection, and that is all so far, so I was very happy when Martin decided to publish the three stories as a stand alone title.

Collected are three stories set in Westeros around 100 years before the start of A Game of Thrones, in them we meet a large knight called Dunk and his squire, Egg. We learn that they are Ser Duncan the Tall (future member of the Kingsguard, and ancestor to Brienne of Tarth), and Aegon Targaryen (future king, and the great grandfather or Daenerys).

I completely enjoyed these short stories, and loved that there was some artwork included as well. While they still ASoIaF stories, they feel more tamed down. The fights are still there, and some plots and politics are introduced. They are nothing compared to what the main books contain. You do get to read about characters only mentioned in the main books, and learn some backstory on the history of Westeros. They would make for a great introduction to Martin's world for someone on the fence about starting.

After reading I did want to continue and read The World of Ice and Fire, but decided to leave it for another day.

Books 30 & 31:
&
Deadpool Classic Volume 7 by Jimmy Palmiotti and Deadpool Classic Volume 8 by Frank Tieri

My continued reading of the old back issues of Deadpool. These two volumes collect issues 46-64, and involve a few different storylines. Volume 7 begins with Deadpool being hired by a cop to take our some mob guys, which becomes much more intwined then he could have imagined. Then we have Copycat come back into Deadpool's life for a few issues, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Then the main reason I wanted to read it, Deadpool is hired to kill the Punisher. While this arc was really short, I thought it was really awesome, and the fight between the two of them was really good.

In Volume 8, Deadpool is recruited back into Weapon X after they tell him they can now cure him. He learns they are not who they said they were and leaves when he is supposed to kill Vanessa. Eventually he has a huge fight against Sabretooth, and back at the Weapon X program, Deadpool goes against them, and his healing factor gets wonky. Finally all that is left is his hand, which is buried with his suit. Once the word is out that Deadpool is dead, there are impostors that come out, and eventually Deadpool's healing factor gets back to work, and revives him from his hand, yet he has no memory. We eventually get another battle with T-Ray, and end the volume with Thanos, mad about Deadpool and Death's weird relationship, cursing Deadpool to never being able to die. Interesting about this volume was the funeral issue, it was done without any dialogue, which was a different way to go, but allowed for the artwork to shine in ways that normally aren't there.

Going forward, I believe that I only have two more Classic Volumes to catch up on, and the onto the Deadpool & Cable series.

Book 32:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I was excited to read this one, as it had been one that I had read lots of very vague reviews on, which had got my curiosity tweaked.

The story takes place over three summers in the lives of three cousins, Johnny, Mirren, Cadence, and Johnny's friend Gat. They call themselves The Liars, and they spend their summers on the family's private island. During summer 15, an accident happens to Cadence, that she has no memory of. She skips the island the next year, but returns for summer 17. Over the course of this summer, she begins to remember what had happened before and during her accident.

Not sure exactly how much of a spoiler this is, but I'll still hide it.
Unfortunately, the first blurb on the first page talked about what a twist ending this one had. So throughout I had an idea about where the story was going, but I had to have missed some stuff, because my guess was incorrect. While I was happy to be surprised, I wish going in that I hadn't been looking for the twist ending.

I'm happy that I've read this one now, and would recommend it as a very good book suited for teenagers.

Book 33:

A Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

This is the second volume in the Lady Trent's Memoirs series.

I've had this on my TBR shelf for awhile now (along with the third one as well), and thought "Yep dragons sounds good next," as I looked over the shelf trying to decide my next read. I had enjoyed the first of the series when I had read it, but just hadn't followed through to continue the series.

The Tropic of Serpents again follows Lady Isabella Trent as she continues her research on dragons. This time she goes into the neighboring county's jungle looking for swamp-wyrms. This time politics plays a much larger role, and yet she becomes much more independent in her travels and research. While I enjoyed reading this, I thought that the pacing was a little off, the beginning took too long to get through, and the end seemed very rushed. Also, there wasn't a lot to do with dragons, but a lot with the local people and customs. While I understand the reasoning for this, as her memoir of the time, I still wish there had been more dragons.

I apologize to all for the mass posting to get caught up. Hopefully this will teach me to not procrastinate so much with posting here.

Since it is now October, my next few reads will be in honor of the Halloween holiday, and be horror themed. I am starting with Clive Barker's The Scarlet Gospels. I think a story about Hellraiser fits perfectly.

>75 heathn: ooh that sounds fun. I came across the Dunk and Egg one in another collection, I've always preferred it to the longer books. I'm glad there are others to find.

>77 heathn: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed We were liars when I read it. It was quite unusual compared to a lot of the YA books I've read. I too failed to guess the twist.

>78 heathn: I have the first 2 books of this series and really need to read them!

>77 heathn: I did see what was coming, and it made me impatient with the story itself. I think I would have loved it when I was a younger reader though.

Don't apologize for your mass posting, we are glad to see you here! :)

Book 34:


The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker

It took me longer to finish this one than expected, mainly being gone out of town for a few days with work, but finally got finished with it this weekend. This was my first foray into Barker's writing, but have been a fan of the Hellraiser movies since I saw the first one in high school. The character of Pinhead, and summoning him through the puzzle box, always fascinated me. I have wanted to read some of his writing before, and am glad to have gotten this one.

In The Scarlet Gospels, we begin with a typical Hellraiser scene. Pinhead shows up, the hooks come flying out, and people end up dead. This time though, it is the last of the world's magicians, and this is all part of Pinhead's larger plan. After this prologue, we meet our protagonist, Harry D'Amour, who has a history of fighting the supernatural, and his old blind friend Norma. She is able to see ghosts, and helps them to find peace.

While Harry is working a case to help one of Norma's ghosts, he travels to New Orleans and finds the puzzle box. He unknowingly begins to open the puzzle box, and we our first glimmer of Hell. Harry manages to escape and makes his way back to New York. After Harry recoups, Pinhead shows up without being summoned by the box and kidnaps Norma. Harry and his friends follow them to Hell, and we get to see the rescue attempt. Pinhead puts his plans into motion, and things get crazy inside Hell.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The writing was done well, and the story hit all the Hellraiser notes, that I was expecting. Having seen all the Hellraiser movies multiple times, I think this would work very nicely as a movie. I hope that it does happen someday, because even having seen all the movies, it is still hard to imagine exactly what Barker is seeing as he puts it down on paper. I would love to see the scenes of Hell as a movie, just to see how grotesque it really his in his mind.

If you enjoy horror novels, or enjoy the Hellraiser movies, I think that you would also enjoy this chapter of the Pinhead story.

I plan to continue with the horror genre for my next book, but haven't decided which one off of the TBR pile yet.

Well I had a pretty good weekend in getting a nice book haul for cheap. My bookoutlet order came in from the Booktoberfest sale, and the show that my company's booth was out was next to a Half Priced Books clearance sale. I was able to spend about an hour there one night after the show was over, but I could have spent many, many hours in there.

My bookoutlet ordered included:
In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan - Continuing the series
Roses and Rot by Kat Howard - Was intrigued by the plot, and have read some good things
The Gigantic Beard that was Evil by Stephen Collins - Just loved the title, and felt right with my own ever growing beard
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix - I really enjoyed Horrorstor by him
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho - Been wanted for awhile, but just hadn't gotten yet.
Heretic by Bernard Cornwell - Continuing the series

At the clearance sale, all books, hardcover or paperback, were only $2 each. If I had had more time, this list would have been much larger. Was very happy to get some more Crichton!!!
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt - Didn't know there was a book, only the movie with John Cusack
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff - Been on my wishlist for a long time
Airframe by Michael Crichton - A hardcover version to one of the few paperbacks of his I own
Timeline by Michael Crichton - My favorite Crichton, with was borrowed/lost/stolen in college
Travels by Michael Crichton - One of the very few of his that I have not read.

So my TBR list just grew by a lot this week, and with Black Friday just a few weeks away, I'm in trouble. (I have very little willpower when it comes to a sale on books.)

My continued horror read is Blood of the Lamb by Sam Cabot, which I'm half way through. It's not the horror I was wanting, but so far is basically The Da Vinci Code with vampires. So I'm still enjoying it.

>84 heathn: I think a book fairy must have been doing the rounds collecting Crichton novels - I've just had to pick up another copy of Jurassic Park because mine had disappeared somewhere over the last decade.

Book 35:

Blood of the Lamb: A Novel of Secrets by Sam Cabot

In continuing the horror theme after reading Clive Barker, I went with this one. The cover, shown above, has a slice cut out of the dustjacket showing the red eyes and blood dripping from the mouth. Once the cover is removed, the full picture is revealed, showing a vampire in renaissance era clothing. Sam Cabot is a penname of two authors, S.J. Rozen and Carlos Dews, of which I hadn't heard of either.

The story was a mixing of the Da Vinci Code and the vampire genre. We have both the Vatican and leaders of the vampires, named Noantri, meaning 'the others', looking of a document that if made public could destroy the church. Both groups have their own reasons for searching for it, and each send people to look for it. The Noantri send a woman name Livia Peitro, who spends most of her 'lives' as an art professor, while the Vatican sends Father Thomas Kelly, a historian who specializes in the era that the document was lost. The two end up working together to find the document, while forces on both sides attempt to stop them. Like Robert Langdon in Brown's books, they are each able to decipher clues from an ancient notebook of poems that lead them through much of the old churches in Rome and the surrounding area.

I enjoyed this one, but took awhile to get into it as I went into expecting a horror read, and got a church mystery thriller with vampires instead. I did have a problem while reading it, in that I kept going back to thinking about The Da Vinci Code. I may have not given it a fair shot while reading it in doing so. On the other side, I do really enjoy reading about the landmarks, sculptors, and artwork in the churches. I had to keep googling them to look them up and admire, and hopefully will get to see for myself one day.

I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a light thriller with a mix of the vampire genre.

Book 36:

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

I was really excited to get this one. I really enjoyed Hendrix's take on the haunted Ikea store in Horrorstor when I read it, which after checking my spreadsheet was also in November, of 2014, and moved it to the top of my TBR list after it came in. It was just a coincidence that it continued a horror theme reading trend.

The story begins in 1982, at Abby's E.T. themed 10 year old birthday party, which is being held at the local skating rink. Unfortunately for Abby, the only one of her classmates to attend is Gretchen. This begins the two's best friend friendship. We quickly shift to their sophomore year of high school and they along with Margaret and Glee, are all best friends and the popular girls of the class. One night they decide to try LSD, and Gretchen gets lost in the woods, but doesn't come back the same. While the girls think that it is all from the drugs. Things continue to go downhill for Gretchen, and Abby thinks something much worse has happened to her best friend.

This book is full of 80's nostalgia, from the beginning with the love of E.T. and the skating rink, to all the chapter headings being pop songs, but it doesn't feel tacked on. It feels fluid, and while not being quite old enough, (born in '82), to be fully catch everything, it still hit on a lot of memories. Especially having your birthday party at the roller rink. Also, who didn't think one of their friends was possessed in high school at some point.

I have to mention that the design of the book is awesome. It is as a school yearbook, with the front and back inside covers being signed by fellow classmates, and then the parent congratulation ads in the back. Having worked on the yearbook staff in high school, I liked it.

If you read and liked Horrorstor, lived through the 80's, or like your horror with comedy mixed in, I think you will enjoy this one.

Not sure what I'll be reading next, looking at the TBR list, a few sound interesting, but nothing is jumping out to be read NOW. Might just draw a random number.

Ooo, that last one sounds fun!

Book 37

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

I remember seeing this in bookstores when it was first published and thinking that it would be interesting to read. I never bought it then, but was able to pick it up a couple of months ago at the large clearance sale from Half Priced Books I went to.

I was very surprised at how long it took me to finish this one, as I started it the last part of November. I just wasn't able to get into it for long sections at a time, I'd read a few pages, and be fine with sitting it aside for a few days. After the first of the year hit, I realized that I either needed to DNF, or knock it out. As I'm not one to DNF a book, I finished it this afternoon.

I think that my main reason for not really enjoying it so much, was that there actually wasn't a lot of information on Cleopatra herself. It felt to me more about stating the things going on in Rome, and then how she would respond to those events. Going in expecting it to be more about the woman herself, it felt like a bait and switch.

I do realize that Roman politics, and her relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, were major parts of her life and Egypt at the time. It read to me more like padding than anything else.

Also, the author states at the beginning that we have very few to none eyewitness accounts of her life remaining. This just seems strange to me, as the time that she lived would have been a very literate period of history.

Now, to watch Elizabeth Taylor's four hour portrayal of the lady on Netflix.

Year End Statistics & My Top Five

After looking over my reading this year, I'm pretty happy with how it went. I hit most of my goals I set at the beginning of the year, and included a Tolkien reread in July and August. Also, due to gift cards, sales, and gifts, I purchased 70 books this year, but still stayed under my budget. So the TBR stack grew ever larger.

Some goals for this year:

• Read 10,000 pages - COMPLETED - 11,493
  
• Read 2 books per month - COMPLETED - 36
  
• Read more classics - PARTIALLY - Dickens / Salinger / Hemingway
  
• Read more than 80% from the TBR stack - FAIL - 47.22%
  
• Read a lot of Shakespeare- FAIL - None
  

So for the year, I completed 36 books/trade comics, for over 11,000 pages read. I didn't read as many 'classics' as I had wanted, but I consider LotR to be a classic so there's that. I did read way to many recently bought books instead of the massive TBR stack, which is mostly due to reading the trade comics when I get them. I failed to even pick up my Shakespeare collection, so am pushing that goal into 2017.

My Top Five (Not in any order)
1. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
2. Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan - First three trades
3. A Scout's Report by George Genovese
4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
5. My Best Friends' Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Here's to 2017 being an even better year of reading.