amanda4242's thread

Currently reading

January
1. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, illustrated by Victoria Sawdon--BAC ★★★1/2
2. Letters from Laura and Eveline: An Appendix to The Sins of the Cities of the Plain by Anonymous, edited by Justin O'Hearn--GET ★★
3. Thrump-O-Moto by James Clavell, illustrated by George Sharp ★★★
4. The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk--GET ★★1/2
5. Something Is Killing the Children Vol. 8 by James Tynion, IV ★★★★★
6. The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey, illustrated by the author ★★★★★
7. The Expedition by Tuvalisa Rangström, illustrated by Klara Bartilsson, translated by Saskia Vogel-GET ★★★1/2
8. A Tunnel of Spring Rain by Kei Ginkawa ★★★
9. The Confessional by Paige Hender ★★★★
10. My Lucky Star by Katsura Natsume ★★
11. Emma by Jane Austen--GET & 1001 ★★★
12. Don't Mess With Me by Chika Sangenya ★1/2
13. My Book of Flowers by Princess Grace of Monaco and Gwen Robyns ★★★
14. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey ★★★1/2
15. Afterglow by Wagimoko Wagase ★★★
16. Love Beyond Time Vol. 1 by Soya Himawari ★★★
17. Wolf Stalker by Gloria Skurzynski & Alane Ferguson ★
18. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Maya Rosewood ★★★
19. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 2 by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Maya Rosewood ★★★
20. Where Night's Blackbird in His Sad Infamy Sings by Unohana ★★1/2
21. Ginza Neon Paradise by Unohana ★★★1/2
22. The 10 O'clock Rule by Sachi Murakami ★★1/2
23. The Rat-Catcher's Daughter by KJ Charles ★★★1/2
24. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth ★★★★
25. Waa In Storms by Teweiariki Teaero ★★★
26. The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox ★★★★★
27. Misery by Stephen King ★★★1/2
28. Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi ★★★1/2
29. Castle Waiting Volume II by Linda Medley ★★★★★
30. Upstart Crow: The Scripts by Ben Elton--BAC ★★★1/2
31. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows ★★★
32. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky--BAC ★★★★1/2
33. Don't Offer Papaya: 101 Tips for Your First Time Around the World by Kia Abdullah & Peter Watson--BAC ★★★

February
34. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue ★★★★
35. Meschugge, the Madman's Maze by Benni Bødker--GET ★★★
36. Voices of the Fallen Heroes And Other Stories by Yukio Mishima, multiple translators ★★★1/2
37. Nuclear Winter Vol. 1 by Cab ★★★1/2
38. Nuclear Winter Vol. 2 by Cab ★★★1/2
39. Nuclear Winter Vol. 3 by Cab ★★★1/2
40. The Nursery by Lewis Mallory ★★
41. Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel ★★1/2
42. The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery by Eva Frantz, illustrated by Elin Sandström, translated by A. A. Prime--GET ★★★1/2
43. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros ★★
44. D'Aulaires' Trolls by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire--GET ★★★★
45. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske ★★★1/2
46. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law Vol. 1 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Leo McDonagh ★★★
47. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law Vol. 2 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Leo McDonagh ★★★
48. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law Vol. 3 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Leo McDonagh ★★★
49. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law Vol. 4 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★
50. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ★★★1/2
51. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson--1001 ★★★★★
52. Glimmer of Hope, Glimmer of Flame by Ag Apolloni, translated by Robert Wilton--GET ★★1/2
53. Year in Arcadia: A Shepherd's Calendar by Duke August von Sachsen-Gotha, translated by Carl Skoggard, illustrated by Margitta Zachert--GET ★★★
54. Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare, translated by David Bellos--GET ★★
55. The Troll Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Huginn Þór Grétarsson, illustrated by Vladimiro Rikowski--GET ★★★
56. Bald by Tereza Čechová, translated by Martha Kuhlman & the author--GET ★★★
57. A Furnace Sealed by Keith R. A. DeCandido ★★★1/2
58. Shakespeare's Greatest Love by David Medina ★★
59. Wings by Mikhail Kuzmin, translated by Hugh Aplin--GET ★★★1/2
60. When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll ★★1/2
61. Love Beyond Time Vol. 2 by Soya Himawari ★★★
62. Servant & Lord by Lo and Lorinell Yu ★★1/2
63. The Horses of Atgazene Station by Inga Ābele, translated by Inara Cedrins--GET ★

March
64. The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli, translated by Lyn Coffin--GET ★★★
65. Keeper by Gerald Durrell, illustrated by Keith West--BAC ★★★
66. Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 18 by Ryosuke Takeuchi, translated by Adrienne Beck ★★★
67. Fleeting Snow by Pavel Vilikovský, translated by Julia & Peter Sherwood--GET ★★1/2
68. Marko the Obstinate Donkey by Ivan Gantschev, illustrated by the author--GET ★★★1/2
69. Liechtenstein National Museum: The Permanent Exhibition edited by Hansjörg Frommelt & Norbert W. Hasler—GET ★★★
70. A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames ★★★
71. John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, translated by Adam Cullen--GET ★★★1/2
72. The Mirror of Love by Alan Moore & José Villarrubia--BAC ★★★★
73. The Enchanted Book: A Tale from Krakow by Janina Porazińska, translated by Bożena Smith, illustrated by Jan Brett--GET ★★★1/2
74. Tevye the Milkman by Sholom Aleichem, read by Neville Jason--GET ★★★1/2
75. The Other Ones by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Toma Feizo Gas ★★★1/2
76. Set in Stone by Stela Brinzeanu--GET ★★★
77. Leif the Lucky by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire--GET ★★★1/2
78. Adventureman, Volume 1: The End and Everything After by Matt Fraction ★★★★
79. Who Will Make the Snow? by Taras Prokhasko & Marjana Prokhasko, translated by Boris Dralyuk & Jennifer Croft--GET ★★1/2
80. The Good-Hearted Youngest Brother: An Hungarian Folktale translated by Emőke de Papp Severo, illustrated by Diane Goode--GET ★★★1/2
81. The Witcher Volume 9: Corvo Bianco by Bartosz Sztybor--GET ★★
82. Sunny by Ennun Ana Iurov--GET ★★1/2
83. King Stakh’s Wild Hunt by Uladzimir Karatkevich, translated by Mary Mintz--GET ★★★1/2
84. My Dear Sea by André Carrilho, illustrated by the author--GET ★★★1/2
85. Blood Stain Volume 1 by Linda Šejić--GET ★★★1/2

April
86. Blood Stain Volume 2 by Linda Šejić--GET ★★★1/2
87. Blood Stain Volume 3 by Linda Šejić--GET ★★★1/2
88. The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, illustrated by Miho Satake ★★★1/2
89. The Lute Player by Norah Lofts--BAC ★★★1/2
90. The Children of Men by PD James--BAC ★★★1/2
91. Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather by Benjamin Taylor ★★★
92. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo ★★★1/2
93. Aristotle: A Graphic Biography by Tassos Apostolidis, translated by Tom Imber--GET ★★★
94. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 22 by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Jocelyne Allen ★★★1/2
95. Snow by Manya Stojic--GET ★★★
96. Death in the Museum of Modern Art by Alma Lazarevska, translated by Celia Hawkesworth--GET ★★
97. Hansen's Children by Ognjen Spahić, translated by Will Firth--GET ★★
98. The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė--GET ★★★
99. Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! 1 by Nmura, translated by Melissa Chiam ★★1/2
100. Peter Smart's Confessions by Paul Bailey--BAC ★★★

May
101. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo ★★★★
102. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo ★★★1/2
103. Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo ★★★★
104. The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo ★★★1/2
105. A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki, translated by Jacqueline Fung ★★★★
106. Drops of God: Mariage Vol. 11 by Tadashi Agi, translated by Robert Harkins ★★★
107. Drops of God: Mariage Vol. 12 by Tadashi Agi, translated by Robert Harkins ★★★
108. Love on the Horizon 1 by Machi Yamashita, translated by Leo McDonagh ★★1/2
109. Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Witi Ihimaera ★★★1/2
110. Moriarty the Patriot Vol. 19 by Ryosuke Takeuchi, translated by Adrienne Beck ★★★
111. Two Tales: Jamali Kamali and ZundelState by Karen Chase ★1/2
112. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott--BAC ★★★★
113. My Noisy Roommate: The Roof Over My Head Comes With Monsters and a Hottie 1 by Kaho Ozaki, translated by Leo McDonagh ★★★1/2
114. My Noisy Roommate: The Roof Over My Head Comes With Monsters and a Hottie 2 by Kaho Ozaki, translated by Jacqueline Fung ★★★1/2
115. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 5 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★
116. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 6 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★
117. The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei ★★
118. The Ordinary Princess by MM Kaye ★★★★
119. Jump Tribe by Clive Barker ★★★1/2
120. Feat of Clay by Keith R. A. DeCandido ★★★1/2
121. Census by Panos Ioannides, translated by Despina Pirketti--GET ★1/2
122. Homunculus: Fairy Tales from the Left Pocket by Aleksandar Prokopiev, translated by Will Firth--GET ★★1/2
123. Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny, translated by Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge--GET ★★★1/2
124. Merlin's Tour of the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson ★★★

June
125. Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford--BAC ★★★1/2
126. Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt ★★★1/2
127. The Eagles of Rome Book I by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
128. The Eagles of Rome Book II by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
129. The Eagles of Rome Book III by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
130. The Snake King of the Kalinago by Grade 6 of Atkinson School, Dominica ★★★1/2
131. The Eagles of Rome Book IV by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
132. Fonchito y la Luna by Mario Vargas Llosa, illustrated by Marta Chicote Juiz ★★★1/2
133. The Eagles of Rome Book V by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
134. Cruising Through the Reverie by John Selwyn Saunana ★★
135. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett--BAC ★★★1/2
136. Valerian: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 by Pierre Christin, translated by Jerome Saincantin--GET ★★★1/2
137. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare--BAC ★★★1/2
138. Hedgehog and the Art Show by Özge Bahar Sunar, illustrated by Ceyhun Şen, translated by Oğuzhan Aydın--GET ★★★
139. The Moon Lake by Ivan Gantschev, illustrated by the author--GET ★★★★
140. Buff Soul by Moa Romanova, translated by Melissa Bowers--GET 1/2
141. We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin--GET ★★★
142. Like a Prisoner: Stories of Endurance by Fatos Lubonja--GET ★★★★
143. The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov--GET ★★★★1/2
144. Weights and Measures by Joseph Roth, translated by David Le Vay--GET ★★
145. A Novel to Read on the Train by Dumitru Tsepeneag, translated by Alistair Ian Blyth--GET ★★1/2
146. Wonder Woman: Heartless by Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Natalie C. Parker ★★★
147. The Road by Cormac McCarthy ★★
148. Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, Vol. 01 by Tsutomu Nihei ★★★
149. In Search of the Unicorn 1. The Land of the Moors by Emilio Ruiz, translated by Jessie Aufiery--GET ★★★
150. Smith of Wootton Major by JRR Tolkien ★★★★
151. My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen--GET ★★★★
152. The Gnome Book by Loes Riphagen, translated by Michele Hutchinson--GET ★★★1/2
153. Blue Lock: Episode Nagi Vol. 1 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, translated by Nate Derr ★★
154. White Rat by Gayl Jones ★★1/2
155. Beyond the Planet of the Vampires by Ulrich Baer 1/2
156. Suremada: Faces from a Solomon Island Village by Rexford Orotaloa ★★★
157. Session 9: The Official Novelization by Christian Francis ★★1/2
158. A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett--BAC ★★★1/2
159. Ghost Station by SA Barnes ★★★
160. Snow Day #1 by Pierre Wazem, translated by Mark Bence ★★★
161. Snow Day #2 by Pierre Wazem, translated by Mark Bence ★★★
162. King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire by David M. Bergeron--BAC ★★★
163. Three Thieves Vol. 1: Tower of Treasure by Scott Chantler ★★★1/2
164. Antioch by Patrick Kindlon ★★
165. Dogmatix and the Indomitables Vol. 1: No Mercy For The Romans! by Yves Coulon, Matthieu Choquet, & Jerôme Erbin, translated by Nanette McGuinness--GET ★★1/2
166. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner ★★★★
167. Issak Vol. 1 by Shinji Makari, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★★

July
168. Three Thieves Book 2: The Sign of the Black Rock by Scott Chantler ★★★1/2
169. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir ★★★
170. Three Thieves Book 3: The Captive Prince by Scott Chantler ★★★1/2
171. The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson ★★★
172. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith--BAC ★★★★
173. Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards ★★1/2
174. Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura, translated by Yuki Tejima ★★★1/2
175. Knave of Diamonds by Laurie R. King ★★★
176. The Scary Book of Valentine's Day Lore: 50 Terrifying Tales of Romance from Around the World by Tim Rayborn ★★
177. The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste ★
178. The Day of the Scorpion by Paul Scott--BAC ★★★★1/2
179. The Towers of Silence by Paul Scott--BAC ★★★1/2
180. Books of Slaughter Vol. 1 by James Tynion, IV ★★★
181. Books of Slaughter Vol. 2 by James Tynion, IV ★★★
182. Books of Slaughter Vol. 3 by James Tynion, IV ★★★
183. Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler ★★★★
184. Squire & Knight: Wayward Travelers by Scott Chantler ★★★★
185. A Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott--BAC ★★★★1/2
186. Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake--BAC ★★★★
187. Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake--BAC ★★★★
188. The Dagger in Vichy by Alastair Reynolds ★★1/2
189. Marbles and Mangoes/Mapu Moe Mango by Sione Tapani Mangisi ★★1/2
190. Shi 1: In the Beginning There Was Fury… by Zidrou, translated by Matt Madden--GET ★★
191. Siblings by Brigitte Reimann, translated by Lucy Jones--GET ★★
192. Allmen and the Dragonflies by Martin Suter, translated by Steph Morris--GET ★★★1/2
193. Kemosha of the Caribbean by Alex Wheatle--BAC ★★

August
194. The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon, translated by Linda Asher--GET ★★★
195. Fallen City by Adrienne Young ★★★1/2
196. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar ★★★1/2
197. Witchlore by Emma Hinds ★★
198. There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm ★★★★1/2
199. The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song ★★1/2
200. It's Jeff!: Jeff-Verse by Kelly Thompson ★★★1/2
201. Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky--BAC ★★★★
202. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel ★★1/2
203. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh--BAC ★★★★
204. Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices edited by Swapna Krishna & Jenn Northington ★★★
205. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman ★★★★
206. Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman ★★★★
207. The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis ★
208. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman ★★★★
209. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill 1/2
210. Some Recollections of St. Ives by David Mamet ★★★
211. The Stalker by Julia Teweles ★★★
212. Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson ★★★★1/2
213. Frontier Comrades: From the Fur Trade to the Ford Car by Jim Wilke ★★★
214. Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: A Question of Price by Andrzej Sapkowski--GET ★★
215. You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White ★

September
216. Come Let Us Sing Anyway by Leone Ross--BAC ★★★
217. Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo ★★★
218. Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford ★★★1/2
219. The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpson ★★★1/2
220. The Pale Knight by Peter Milligan ★★
221. Audition For The Fox by Martin Cahill ★★★
222. Light of My Life by Fuuko Minami ★★
223. The Return of Moriarty by Jack Anderson—BAC ★★1/2
224. Tower Dungeon 1 by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Sam Malissa ★1/2
225. The King's Dragon by Scott Chantler ★★★1/2
226. Hauntings by Vernon Lee—GET ★★★
227. The Great When by Alan Moore—BAC & GET ★★★★
228. Kiss of the Spider Woman: adapted for the stage by Manuel Puig, adapted by the author, translated by Allan Baker ★★★1/2
229. Peacemaker Tries Hard! by Kyle Starks ★★★1/2
230. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor ★★★1/2
231. The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman ★★★★
232. The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman ★★★★
233. Confession by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, translated by Emily Balistrieri ★★★★
234. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Motion Picture Special Edition: 35th Anniversary by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird ★★★1/2
235. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman ★★★★

October
236. This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman ★★★★
237. Do Admit!: The Mitford Sisters and Me by Mimi Pond ★★★1/2
238. Farscape Omnibus Vol. 1 by various authors ★★★1/2
239. I Can't Get Through the Night Alone by Yoh Matsumoto, translated by Molly Karinen ★★★1/2
240. Sunrise to the Coup: A Collection of Short Stories by Joseph Veramu ★★★
241. Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova ★★1/2
242. Ali and Nino by Kurban Said, translated by Jenia Graman—GET ★★1/2
243. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss—BAC ★★★1/2
244. The Sword in the Stone: Arthur's Magical Kingdom by Gabriel Valentin & Michael J. Snow ★★★
245. Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood—BAC ★★★★1/2
246. The Six Loves of James I by Gareth Russell ★★★★
247. Copper Script by KJ Charles—BAC ★★1/2
248. The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó, translated by Marc Brian Duckett—GET ★★1/2
249. Mermaid Prince by Kaori Ozaki, translated by Emily Balistrieri ★★★
250. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 7 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★
251. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 8 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★
252. The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui ★★★1/2
253. Doctor Who: Rose by Russell T. Davies—BAC ★★★★
254. To Go On Living: Stories by Narine Abgaryan, translated by Margarit Tadevosyan Ordukhanyan & Zara M. Torlone—GET ★★

November
255. Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast: James Bond and the Body by Brian A. Dixon ★★★
256. Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World—GET ★★★★
257. The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller ★★
258. Finding a Way by Jackson Marsh ★★★
259. Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses by Nick Summerton ★★★
260. A Fall from Grace by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
261. Follow the Van by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
262. Star Trek: Shaxs' Best (and Worst) Day by Ryan North ★★★1/2
263. The Bitterweed Path by Thomas Hal Phillips ★★★★
264. Where There's a Will by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
265. For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor ★★★
266. Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline Bicks ★★★1/2
267. A Case of Make Believe by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
268. Excession by Iain M. Banks ★★★★1/2
269. The Crossing: A Story of East Timor by Luís Cardoso, translated by Margaret Jull Costa ★★1/2
270. Mirka Andolfo's Sweet Paprika: Open For Business by Steve Orlando
271. Grave Developments by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
272. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett, read by Indira Varma—BAC ★★★★1/2

December
273. Acts of Faith by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
274. It's Only Forever: Labyrinth by Jes Battis ★★★★
275. The War by Garth Ennis ★★1/2
276. H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator: A Novel by Jeff Rovin ★★
277. Holywell Street by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
278. You're All Mine Tonight by Takiba, translated by Kevin Steinbach ★★★1/2
279. Little Moons by Jen Storm ★★★1/2
280. Confidential Reports by Immanuel Mifsud, translated by Maurice Riordan—GET ★★★
281. Snake Hill by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
282. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs—BAC ★★★★1/2
283. A Depraved Indifference by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
284. 1892 by Jackson Marsh—BAC ★★★
285. Strange Ways to Die in the Dark Ages by Emily Bush & Carrie Ingram-Gettins ★★1/2
286. Banyak & Fecks by Jackson Marsh ★★★
287. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw—GET ★★
288. Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen—GET ★★★1/2
289. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams ★★
290. The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold ★★★★
291. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman ★★★★★
292. The Neverending Book by Naoki Matayoshi & Shinsuke Yoshitake, translated by Kendall Heitzman ★★★1/2
293. Three Loves, One Death by Evald Flisar, translated by David Limon—GET ★1/2
294. The Republic of San Marino by Charles de Bruc, translated by William Warren Tucker—GET ★★1/2
295. Death in the Spires by KJ Charles—BAC ★★★★
296. The Supersonic Phallus by Steven Key Meyers ★★★
297. Torchwood: Almost Perfect by James Goss—BAC ★★1/2
298. Finding You by Aisha Malik ★★
299. Pirates of the Silver Coast by Scott Chantler ★★★1/2
300. 1893 by Jackson Marsh ★★★1/2

British Author Challenge

Wildcard: Susanna Clarke & Terry Pratchett
1. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, illustrated by Victoria Sawdon ★★★1/2

1. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett ★★★1/2
2. A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett ★★★1/2
3. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett, read by Indira Varma ★★★★1/2
4. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs ★★★★1/2

January: Show Biz
1. The Rat-Catcher's Daughter by KJ Charles ★★★1/2
2. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth ★★★★
3. Upstart Crow: The Scripts by Ben Elton ★★★1/2

February: Kia Abdullah & Adrian Tchaikovsky
1. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky ★★★★1/2
2. Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky ★★★★

1. Don't Offer Papaya: 101 Tips for Your First Time Around the World by Kia Abdullah & Peter Watson ★★★

March: Norah Lofts & Gerald Durrell
1. Keeper by Gerald Durrell, illustrated by Keith West ★★★

1. The Lute Player by Norah Lofts ★★★1/2

April: PD James & Paul Bailey
1. The Children of Men by PD James ★★★1/2

1. Peter Smart's Confessions by Paul Bailey ★★★

May: Nancy Mitford & Paul Scott
1. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott ★★★★
2. The Day of the Scorpion by Paul Scott ★★★★1/2
3. The Towers of Silence by Paul Scott ★★★1/2
4. A Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott ★★★★1/2

1. Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford ★★★1/2

June: Tudor & Jacobean Eras (1485-1625)
1. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare ★★★1/2
2. King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire by David M. Bergeron ★★★

British Author Challenge

July: Dodie Smith & Mervyn Peake
1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith ★★★★

1. Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake ★★★★
2. Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake ★★★★

August: Emily Tesh & Alex Wheatle
1. Kemosha of the Caribbean by Alex Wheatle ★★

1. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh ★★★★

September: Leone Ross & Alan Moore
1. The Mirror of Love by Alan Moore & José Villarrubia ★★★★
2. The Great When by Alan Moore ★★★★

1. Come Let Us Sing Anyway by Leone Ross ★★★

October: Sarah Moss & Christopher Isherwood
1. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss ★★★1/2

1. Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood ★★★★1/2

November: Doctor Who and related series
1. Doctor Who: Rose by Russell T. Davies ★★★★
2. Torchwood: Almost Perfect by James Goss ★★1/2

December: Historical Mysteries
1. The Return of Moriarty by Jack Anderson ★★1/2
2. Copper Script by KJ Charles ★★1/2
3. A Fall from Grace by Jackson Marsh ★★★
4. Follow the Van by Jackson Marsh ★★★
5. Where There's a Will by Jackson Marsh ★★★
6. A Case of Make Believe by Jackson Marsh ★★★
7. Grave Developments by Jackson Marsh ★★★
8. Acts of Faith by Jackson Marsh ★★★
9. Holywell Street by Jackson Marsh ★★★
10. Snake Hill by Jackson Marsh ★★★
11. A Depraved Indifference by Jackson Marsh ★★★
12. 1892 by Jackson Marsh ★★★
13. Death in the Spires by KJ Charles ★★★★

Grand European Tour



January: Europe in the 19th Century
UK: Letters from Laura and Eveline: An Appendix to The Sins of the Cities of the Plain by Anonymous, edited by Justin O'Hearn ★★
Emma by Jane Austen ★★★
Hauntings by Vernon Lee ★★★
Ireland: Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw ★★
San Marino: The Republic of San Marino by Charles de Bruc, translated by William Warren Tucker ★★1/2

February: Nordic Countries
Denmark: Meschugge, the Madman's Maze by Benni Bødker ★★★
Finland: The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery by Eva Frantz, illustrated by Elin Sandström, translated by A. A. Prime ★★★1/2
Iceland: The Troll Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Huginn Þór Grétarsson, illustrated by Vladimiro Rikowski ★★★
Norway: D'Aulaires' Trolls by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire ★★★★
Leif the Lucky by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire ★★★1/2
Sweden: The Expedition by Tuvalisa Rangström, illustrated by Klara Bartilsson, translated by Saskia Vogel ★★★1/2
Buff Soul by Moa Romanova, translated by Melissa Bowers 1/2

March: The Warsaw Pact
Albania: Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare, translated by David Bellos ★★
Armenia: To Go On Living: Stories by Narine Abgaryan, translated by Margarit Tadevosyan Ordukhanyan & Zara M. Torlone ★★
Azerbaijan: Ali and Nino by Kurban Said, translated by Jenia Graman ★★1/2
Belarus: King Stakh’s Wild Hunt by Uladzimir Karatkevich, translated by Mary Mintz ★★★1/2
Bulgaria: Marko the Obstinate Donkey by Ivan Gantschev, illustrated by the author ★★★1/2
Czechia: Bald by Tereza Čechová, translated by Martha Kuhlman & the author ★★★
E. Germany: Siblings by Brigitte Reimann, translated by Lucy Jones ★★
Estonia: John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, translated by Adam Cullen ★★★1/2
Gerogia: The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli, translated by Lyn Coffin ★★★
Hungary: The Good-Hearted Youngest Brother: An Hungarian Folktale translated by Emőke de Papp Severo, illustrated by Diane Goode ★★★1/2
Latvia: The Horses of Atgazene Station by Inga Ābele, translated by Inara Cedrins ★
Lithuania: The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė ★★★
Moldova: Set in Stone by Stela Brinzeanu ★★★
Poland: The Enchanted Book: A Tale from Krakow by Janina Porazińska, translated by Bożena Smith, illustrated by Jan Brett ★★★1/2
The Witcher Volume 9: Corvo Bianco by Bartosz Sztybor ★★
Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: A Question of Price by Andrzej Sapkowski ★★
Romania: Sunny by Ennun Ana Iurov ★★1/2
Russia: Wings by Mikhail Kuzmin, translated by Hugh Aplin ★★★1/2
Slovakia: Fleeting Snow by Pavel Vilikovský, translated by Julia Sherwood & Peter Sherwood ★★1/2
Ukraine: Who Will Make the Snow? by Taras Prokhasko & Marjana Prokhasko, translated by Boris Dralyuk & Jennifer Croft ★★1/2

April: Scimitar and Cross
Albania: Like a Prisoner: Stories of Endurance by Fatos Lubonja ★★★★
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Death in the Museum of Modern Art by Alma Lazarevska, translated by Celia Hawkesworth ★★
Bulgaria: The Moon Lake by Ivan Gantschev, illustrated by the author ★★★★
Croatia: Blood Stain Volume 1 by Linda Šejić ★★★1/2
Cyprus: Census by Panos Ioannides, translated by Despina Pirketti ★1/2
Greece: Aristotle: A Graphic Biography by Tassos Apostolidis, translated by Tom Imber ★★★
Hungary: We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin ★★★
Kosovo: Glimmer of Hope, Glimmer of Flame by Ag Apolloni, translated by Robert Wilton ★★1/2
Moldova: The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov ★★★★1/2
Montenegro: Hansen's Children by Ognjen Spahić, Will Firth ★★
N. Macedonia: Homunculus: Fairy Tales from the Left Pocket by Aleksandar Prokopiev, translated by Will Firth ★★1/2
Romania: A Novel to Read on the Train by Dumitru Tsepeneag, translated by Alistair Ian Blyth ★★1/2
Serbia: Snow by Manya Stojic ★★★
Turkey: Hedgehog and the Art Show by Özge Bahar Sunar, illustrated by Ceyhun Şen, translated by Oğuzhan Aydın ★★★

May: Non-Native or Regional European Languages
1. Tevye the Milkman by Sholom Aleichem, read by Neville Jason ★★★1/2

June: Italian and Latin
1. The Eagles of Rome Book I by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
2. The Eagles of Rome Book II by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
3. The Eagles of Rome Book III by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
4. The Eagles of Rome Book IV by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2
5. The Eagles of Rome Book V by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt--GET ★★★1/2

Grand European Tour

July: The Germanic World
Austria: Weights and Measures by Joseph Roth, translated by David Le Vay ★★
Germany: Year in Arcadia: A Shepherd's Calendar by Duke August von Sachsen-Gotha, translated by Carl Skoggard, illustrated by Margitta Zachert ★★★
Switzerland: Allmen and the Dragonflies by Martin Suter, translated by Steph Morris ★★★

August: Anita Meulstee Memorial - Benelux Countries
Belgium: Shi 1: In the Beginning There Was Fury… by Zidrou, translated by Matt Madden ★★
The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon, translated by Linda Asher ★★★
Luxembourg: The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk ★★1/2
Netherlands: My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen ★★★★
The Gnome Book by Loes Riphagen, translated by Michele Hutchinson ★★★1/2
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen ★★★1/2

September: Books about European places
London, England, UK: The Great When by Alan Moore ★★★★
Monaco: My Book of Flowers by Princess Grace of Monaco and Gwen Robyns ★★★

October: French Literature
1. Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny, translated by Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge ★★★1/2
2. Valerian: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 by Pierre Christin, translated by Jerome Saincantin ★★★1/2
3. Dogmatix and the Indomitables Vol. 1: No Mercy For The Romans! by Yves Coulon, Matthieu Choquet, & Jerôme Erbin, translated by Nanette McGuinness ★★1/2

November: The Iberian Peninsula
Andorra: The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó, translated by Marc Brian Duckett ★★1/2
Portugal: My Dear Sea by André Carrilho, illustrated by the author ★★★1/2
Spain: In Search of the Unicorn 1. The Land of the Moors by Emilio Ruiz, translated by Jessie Aufiery ★★★

December: European Literature in the 21st Century
Liechtenstein: Liechtenstein National Museum: The Permanent Exhibition edited by Hansjörg Frommelt & Norbert W. Hasler ★★★
Vatican City: Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World ★★★★
Malta: Confidential Reports by Immanuel Mifsud, translated by Maurice Riordan ★★★
Slovenia: Three Loves, One Death by Evald Flisar, translated by David Limon ★1/2
Switzerland: Snow Day #1 by Pierre Wazem, translated by Mark Bence ★★★
Snow Day #2 by Pierre Wazem, translated by Mark Bence ★★★

I'm only listing the first book I read for a country because I don't want the list to get out of hand.

2020
1. United Kingdom--Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson
2. South Korea--Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
3. Equatorial Guinea--La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono
4. Iran--Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur
5. Brazil--Along the Tapajós by Fernando Vilela
6. United States--Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
7. Bangladesh--The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
8. Poland--Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
9. Japan--The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio
10. Canada--Fifteen Poems by Leonard Cohen
11. Spain--Bowie: An Illustrated Life by María Hesse
12. Nigeria--We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
13. Suriname--The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod
14. France--The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
15. Taiwan--Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin
16. Egypt--Heart of the Night by Naguib Mahfouz
17. Turkmenistan--The Revenge of the Foxes by Ak Welsapar
18. Russia--Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
19. Jamaica--Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson
20. Rwanda--The Barefoot Woman by Scholastique Mukasonga
21. India--Shubh Diwali! by Chitra Soundar
22. Israel--Bear and Fred: A World War II Story by Iris Argaman
23. China--The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu
24. Republic of the Congo--Jazz and Palm Wine by Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala
25. Belgium--Cassio 1. The First Assassin by Stephen Desberg
26. Malaysia--Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef by Cassandra Khaw
27. New Zealand--Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
28. Sweden--Vei Vol. 1 by Sara Bergmark Elfgren
29. Croatia--Harleen by Stjepan Šejić
30. Botswana--The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase
31. Singapore--Farquhar by Joshua Ip
32. North Korea--The Red Years: Forbidden Poems From Inside North Korea by Bandi
33. Australia--Phoresis by Greg Egan
34. Mexico--Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
35. Netherlands--Rampokan Java by Peter van Dongen
36. Barbados--Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
37. Madagascar--Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo
38. Zimbabwe--Running with Mother by Christopher Mlalazi
39. Algeria--The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
40. Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)--Teaching English in Swaziland: essays on the life of Gordon James Thomas by Sarah Mkhonza
41. Angola--Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki
42. Italy--Mirka Andolfo's Mercy Vol. 1: The Fair Lady, the Frost and the Fiend by Mirka Andolfo
43. Kenya--The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi by Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʾo
44. Turkey--Soulscape by Bahadir Baruter
45. Switzerland--Lyric Novella by Annemarie Schwarzenbach
46. Germany--Lucky Luke Saddles Up by Mawil
47. Austria--Little Death by Thomas Kriebaum
48. Norway--Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen
49. Columbia--The Bitch by Pilar Quintana
50. Argentina--Petite Fleur by Iosi Havilio
51. Ireland--Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan by Declan Shalvey

2021
52. Finland--The Brothers by Asko Sahlberg
53. Burundi--Weep Not, Refugee by Marie-Thérèse Toyi
54. Zambia--The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
55. Thailand--Arid Dreams: Stories by Duanwad Pimwana
56. Indonesia--The Original Dream by Nukila Amal
57. Cameroon--Black Caps and Red Feathers by John Nkemngong Nkengasong
58. Armenia--Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan
59. Côte d'Ivoire--Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice by Véronique Tadjo
60. Mauritania--The Desert and the Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk
61. Venezuela--The Caiman by María Eugenia Manrique
62. South Africa--Cape Town Curios by Colin Cloud Dance
63. Mozambique--Rain and Other Stories by Mia Couto
64. Iceland--The Blue Fox by Sjón
65. Chad--Told by Starlight in Chad by Joseph Brahim Seid
66. Djibouti--Naming the Dawn by Abdourahman A. Waberi
67. Uruguay--The Naked Woman by Armonía Somers
68. Sri Lanka--Dressing up with Archchi by Nadishka Aloysius
69. Afghanistan--Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi
70. Libya--Under the Tripoli Sky by Kamal Ben Hameda
71. Albania--Three Elegies for Kosovo by Ismail Kadare
72. Uzbekistan--The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov
73. Czech Republic--Animal Adaptations: Unique Body Parts by Radka Píro
74. Ecuador--Crude: A Memoir by Pablo Fajardo and Sophie Tardy-Joubert
75. Kyrgyzstan--Jamila by Chingiz Aĭtmatov

2022
76. Palestine--Describing the Past by Ghassan Zaqtan
77. Yemen--From the Land of Sheba: Tales of the Jews of Yemen collected & edited by S. D. Goitein
78. Syria--The Luzumiyat of Abu'l-Ala by Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī
79. Qatar--The Firefly by Ameera H. Al-Naemi
80. Oman--Mah and Me by Ibtihaj Al Harthi
81. Kuwait--The White Nights of Ramadan by Maha Addasi
82. Jordan--The Sandwich Swap by Rania Al Abdullah & Kelly DiPucchio
83. Bahrain--Blood & Moon by M. G. Darwish
84. Iraq--Ibn Fadlan and the land of darkness: Arab travellers in the far north
85. Lebanon--I, the Divine: A Novel in First Chapters by Rabih Alameddine
86. Saudi Arabia--Wolves of the Crescent Moon by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
87. UAE--The Sand Fish by Maha Gargash
88. Pakistan--A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie
89. Uganda--Waiting: A Novel of Uganda at War by Goretti Kyomuhendo
90. Tunisia--Goat Mountain by Habib Selmi
91. Portugal--The Tale of the Unknown Island by José Saramago
92. Tajikistan--The Sandalwood Box: Folk Tales from Tadzhikistan translated by Katya Sheppard
93. Greece--The Archipelago on Fire - Part 1 by Giorgos Vlachos
94. Kazakhstan--Behind the Silk Curtain by Gulistan Khamzayeva
95. Serbia--Cross to Bear by Marko Stojanović
96. Haiti--Blue by Emmelie Prophète
97. Vietnam--The Secret of Hoa Sen by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
98. Azerbaijan--Ballad of the Stars by G. Altov and Valentina Zhuravlyova
99. Philippines--Juan and the Asuangs: A tale of Philippine ghosts and spirits by José Aruego
100. Guatemala--Barrilete: A Kite for the Day of the Dead by Elisa Amado
101. El Salvador--Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes by Manlio Argueta
102. Benin--The Barefoot book of tropical tales by Raouf Mama
103. Cambodia--Dara's Cambodian New Year by Sothea Chiemruom
104. Laos--Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey of Freedom by Dia Cha
105. Nepal--Dog Named Haku: A Holiday Story from Nepal by Margarita Engle, Amish Karanjit, and Nicole Karanjit
106. Mongolia--My Little Round House by Bolormaa Baasansuren
107. Myanmar--Smile As They Bow by Nu Nu Yi
108. Bhutan--Aunty Mouse: a traditional folktale from Bhutan by Kunzang Choden
109. Panama--Christmas Surprise For Chabelita by Argentina Palacios
110. Cuba--Child of the sun: a Cuban legend by Sandra Martín Arnold
111. Mali--A Gift from Childhood: Memories of an African Boyhood by Baba Wagué Diakité
112. Liberia--Why Leopard has spots : Dan stories from Liberia by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert
113. Ghana--Sosu's Call by Meshack Asare
114. Chile--The Composition by Antonio Skármeta
115. Bolivia--Waira's First Journey by Eusebio Topooco
116. Tanzania--Shadow Dance by Tololwa M. Mollel

2023
117. Morocco--The Elusive Fox by Muḥammad Zafzāf
118. São Tomé and Príncipe--Island Moors & Native Dance by Gervásio Kaiser
119. Seychelles--Beyond the Horizon by Robert Grandcourt
120. Niger--The Epic of Askia Mohammed performed by Nouhou Malio
121. Samoa--Tales of Polynesia: Folktales from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa
122. Cabo Verde--WHO AM I? by Bela Monteiro
123. Guinea-Bissau--The Ultimate Tragedy by Abdulai Silá
124. Eritrea--The Conscript: A Novel of Libya’s Anticolonial War by Gebreyesus Hailu
125. CAR--African Tales: Folklore of the Central African Republic collected and translated by Polly Strong
126. DRC--The River in the Belly by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
127. Senegal--The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall
128. Sudan--The Wedding of Zein and Other Stories by Tayeb Salih
129. Bulgaria--Natural Novel by Georgi Gospodinov
130. Gabon--Mema by Daniel Mengara
131. Malawi--Smouldering Charcoal by Tiyambe Zeleza
132. Ethiopia--The Afersata by Sahle Sellassie
133. Namibia--Desert December by Dorian Haarhoff
134. South Sudan--There Is a Country: New Fiction from the New Nation of South Sudan edited by Nyuol Lueth Tong
135. Burkina Faso--The Parachute Drop by Norbert Zongo
136. Somalia--The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert by Shugri Said Salh
137. The Gambia--Folk Tales and Fables from the Gambia: Volume 1 by Dembo Fanta Bojang and Sukai Mbye Bojang
138. Togo--The Shadow of Things to Come by Kossi Efoui
139. Comoros--The Kaffir of Karthala by Mohamed A. Toihiri
140. Mauritius--Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi
141. Romania--Whisper of the Woods by Ennun Ana Iurov
142. Western Sahara--Settled Wanderers: The Poetry of Western Sahara by Sam Berkson and Muhammad Sulaiman
143. Guinea--The Dark Child by Camara Laye
144. Ukraine--Who Will Make the Snow? by Taras Prokhasko & Marjana Prokhasko
145. Lesotho--Chaka by Thomas Mofolo
146. Sierra Leone--Hand on the Navel by Lemuel Johnson

2024
147. Hungary--Story of the Everything, the Nothing, and Other Strange Stories by Gyula Gábor Tóth
148. Denmark--What Kingdom by Fine Gråbøl
149. Estonia--Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt's Journey to His Musical Language by Joonas Sildre
150. Slovakia--We're Off to the Forest by Katarína Macurová
151. Montenegro--The Son by Andrej Nikolaidis

2025
152. Luxembourg--The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk
153. Monaco--My Book of Flowers by Princess Grace of Monaco and Gwen Robyns
154. Kiribati--Waa In Storms by Teweiariki Teaero
155. Kosovo--Glimmer of Hope, Glimmer of Flame by Ag Apolloni
156. Latvia--The Horses of Atgazene Station by Inga Ābele
157. Georgia--The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli
158. Liechtenstein--Liechtenstein National Museum: The Permanent Exhibition edited by Hansjörg Frommelt & Norbert W. Hasler
159. Moldova--Set in Stone by Stela Brinzeanu
160. Belarus--King Stakh’s Wild Hunt by Uladzimir Karatkevich
161. Bosnia and Herzegovina--Death in the Museum of Modern Art by Alma Lazarevska
162. Lithuanian--The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė
163. Cyprus--Census by Panos Ioannides
164. N Macedonia--Homunculus: Fairy Tales from the Left Pocket by Aleksandar Prokopiev
165. Dominica--The Snake King of the Kalinago by Grade 6 of Atkinson School, Dominica
166. Peru--Fonchito y la Luna by Mario Vargas Llosa
167. Solomon Islands--Cruising through the Reverie by John Selwyn Saunana
168. Tonga--Marbles and Mangoes/Mapu Moe Mango by Sione Tapani Mangisi
169. Fiji—Sunrise to the Coup: A Collection of Short Stories by Joseph Veramu
170. Andorra—The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó
171. Vatican City—Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World
172. East Timor—The Crossing: A Story of East Timor by Luís Cardoso
173. Malta—Confidential Reports by Immanuel Mifsud
174. Slovenia—Three Loves, One Death by Evald Flisar
175. San Marino—The Republic of San Marino by Charles de Bruc
176. Brunei—Finding You by Aisha Malik

reserved 1

reserved 2

Welcome back, Amanda!

>13 drneutron: Thanks! And thank you for setting this up for us!

Happy new thread my dear pal. I will be a regular here as always.

>16 PaulCranswick: Thanks! If the trend continues, you'll probably stop by more frequently than I do!

>17 amanda4242: That depends more on you than me, Amanda! I will be here often that is for sure.

Happy new year, Amanda.

>10 amanda4242: Wow, what a list. A good resource.

Happy 2025, Amanda

>19 EllaTim: Thank you, and happy new year to you!

>20 PaulCranswick: Happy new year! And how many books have you read so far?

1. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, illustrated by Victoria Sawdon

A dreamy kind of fairy tale that's more about mood than story. I liked it very much, although I wish it was a bit longer.

2. Letters from Laura and Eveline: An Appendix to The Sins of the Cities of the Plain by Anonymous, edited by Justin O'Hearn

While everyone else is deciding on which great classics they are going to read for the Grand European Tour, what do I pick up? Victorian porn!

Even by the standards of pornography this isn't a good book, but it does have historical value as an example of a Victorian idea of gender expression.

Enjoy your 2025 reads!

>23 thornton37814: Thanks! Enjoy yours too!

Wow 21 books done already, Amanda.

Hope all is good and that you have had a great weekend.

>25 PaulCranswick: All is well here, and I have a long weekend to boot!

Glad to hear you're recovering from your bout of food poisoning.

>26 amanda4242: It was pretty horrid, Amanda, but one of the advantages of throwing up so liberally is that it does help get it out of your system.

3. Thrump-O-Moto by James Clavell, illustrated by George Sharp

A so-so children's fantasy. It has a decent premise, but Clavell didn't really do anything with it.

4. The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk

A collection of fairytale retellings. Not awful, but Angela Carter did it much better.

5. Something Is Killing the Children Vol. 8 by James Tynion, IV

Another flashback volume, this time bringing us up to the events immediately before volume one. I still love the series and am looking forward to the next volume.

6. The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey, illustrated by the author

I wish I had this book when I was learning the alphabet.

7. The Expedition by Tuvalisa Rangström, illustrated by Klara Bartilsson, translated by Saskia Vogel

A picture book about an expedition through the human body. I liked it, although I prefer the Magic School Bus take on the topic.

8. A Tunnel of Spring Rain by Kei Ginkawa

9. The Confessional: A Graphic Novel by Paige Hender

10. My Lucky Star by Katsura Natsume

11. Emma by Jane Austen

An exquisite portrait of a kind of person I really don't like.

12. Don't Mess With Me by Chika Sangenya

13. My Book of Flowers by Princess Grace of Monaco & Gwen Robyns

14. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey

15. Afterglow by Wagimoko Wagase

16. Love Beyond Time Vol. 1 by Soya Himawari

17. Wolf Stalker by Gloria Skurzynski & Alane Ferguson

There are bad books, and then there are books that are insulting. Implausible characters, implausible situations, implausible motivations, and implausible actions. Just fucking awful!

18. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Maya Rosewood
19. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 2 by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Maya Rosewood

20. Where Night's Blackbird in His Sad Infamy Sings by Unohana

21. Ginza Neon Paradise by Unohana

22. The 10 O'clock Rule by Sachi Murakami

23. The Rat-Catcher's Daughter by KJ Charles

A short novella about a music hall singer, her love interest, and some rival gangs. It's nothing exceptional, but I liked the characters.

24. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth

Medieval actors create a new play about a recent murder and stumble upon some shocking secrets. Very good.

25. Waa In Storms by Teweiariki Teaero

26. The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox

27. Misery by Stephen King

28. Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi

29. Castle Waiting Volume II by Linda Medley

30. Upstart Crow: The Scripts by Ben Elton

The scripts for the first two seasons of the TV series. Nothing here that wasn't on the screen, apart from some amusing footnotes. Enjoyable, but really only recommended if you can't watch the series.

31. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

32. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

33. Don't Offer Papaya: 101 Tips for Your First Time Around the World by Kia Abdullah & Peter Watson

>30 amanda4242: I agree with you, Amanda. Morality Play is very good. I think it is the best thing that Unsworth every wrote even though Sacred Hunger and its follow up are pretty fine books too.

>31 PaulCranswick: I can't argue with that since I've only read Morality Play and Sacred Hunger and think highly of both.

Stats

Books
new reads: 24
re-reads: 9
1001 books (all editions): 1
British Author Challenge: 6
Grand European Tour: 4

Original language
English: 21
Japanese: 10
Multiple: 1
Swedish: 1

Translations: 11

From
Edelweiss: 1
Everand: 3
Kindle Unlimited: 1
Library: 5
New: 1
Open Library: 2
Shelves: 20

pages read: 6,678 pages
average rating: 3.24 stars

Authors
female: 14 books by 13 authors
male: 10 books by 10 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 9 books

Nationalities
American: 8
British: 6
I-Kiribati: 1
Japanese: 8
Luxembourgish: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 7
New Zealander: 1
Swedish: 1

34. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

35. Meschugge, the Madman's Maze by Benni Bødker, translated by Fabrice Sapolsky

36. Voices of the Fallen Heroes And Other Stories by Yukio Mishima, multiple translators

37-39. Nuclear Winter Vols. 1-3 by Cab

40. The Nursery by Lewis Mallory

41. Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel

There are things I like about Listen to Your Sister, but I think it has some significant flaws. Its biggest problem is the pace: the first third of the book drags on forever, and then it turns frenetic, with events coming so fast that it is a challenge to keep up.

I also think there were a lot of underdeveloped, and sometimes completely dropped, plot threads. I was left feeling like I could have skipped the beginning of the book and missed very little for all that it mattered to the latter half.

I did like the horror aspects of the novel and I think the characters were well written; the siblings' relationships with each other rang true to me.

I think Neena Viel is a writer with a great deal of potential who is in need of a better editor.

Received via NetGalley.

42. The Secret of Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery by Eva Frantz, illustrated by Elin Sandström, translated by A. A. Prime

43. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Not the worst book I've ever read--heck, it's not even the worst I've read this year--but it is quite possibly the most unoriginal.

44. D'Aulaires' Trolls by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

45. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

46-49. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law Vols. 1-4 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Leo McDonagh & Kevin Steinbach

50. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

51. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

52. Glimmer of Hope, Glimmer of Flame by Ag Apolloni, translated by Robert Wilton

53. Year in Arcadia: A Shepherd's Calendar by Duke August von Sachsen-Gotha, translated by Carl Skoggard, illustrated by Margitta Zachert

54. Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare, translated by David Bellos

55. The Troll Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Huginn Þór Grétarsson, illustrated by Vladimiro Rikowski

56. Bald by Tereza Čechová, translated by Martha Kuhlman & the author

57. A Furnace Sealed by Keith R. A. DeCandido

A Furnace Sealed was a highly satisfying read. I liked the characters and thought the fantasy was fitted well to the urban setting. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

Received via Early Reviewers.

58. Shakespeare's Greatest Love by David Medina

59. Wings by Mikhail Kuzmin, translated by Hugh Aplin

A queer Russian novel from 1906 that doesn't end in tragedy?! I feel as if I've stumbled across a unicorn!

The writing style is a bit...oblique, but overall I liked it. It will probably improve with a re-read.

60. When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll

61. Love Beyond Time Vol. 2 by Soya Himawari

62. Servant & Lord by Lo and Lorinell Yu

63. The Horses of Atgazene Station by Inga Ābele, translated by Inara Cedrins

Reads like the teenage journal of someone destined for an MFA program.

I'm willing to believe that much was lost in translation, but all the two star Latvian reviews on Goodreads make me think that it's not very good in the original either.

Stats

Books
new reads: 45
re-reads: 18
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 6
Grand European Tour: 14

Original language
Albanian: 2
Czech: 1
English: 32
French: 4
German: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 17
Latvian: 1
Multiple: 1
Russian: 1
Swedish: 2

Translations: 30

From
Edelweiss: 5
Everand: 7
Kindle Unlimited: 6
Library: 12
NetGalley: 1
New: 3
Open Library: 4
Shelves: 25

pages read: 12,233 pages
average rating: 3.13 stars

Authors
female: 31 books by 24 authors
male: 20 books by 20 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 12 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 1
American: 13
Australian: 1
British: 7
Canadian: 4
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Finnish: 1
German: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 1
Japanese: 14
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 10
New Zealander: 1
Russian: 1
Swedish: 1

Not heard of Wings, Amanda. I will though keep an eye out for it.

Have a great weekend, my friend.

>40 PaulCranswick: I had never heard of it either, and stumbled upon it by accident when I tried to click on something else!

Hope your weekend is going well, and that Hani doesn't give you too much grief over the number of books you've added in her absence. (Although if she does, you can tell her she just can't leave you unsupervised for so long.)

Wishing you a great weekend, Amanda.

So far Hani remains in a good mood but she did pick up on the latest 5 books I sneaked into the house somewhat unsuccessfully yesterday!

>42 PaulCranswick: You might want to switch to ebooks if you're trying to be stealthy. ;)

Enjoy your weekend!

>43 amanda4242: Nowhere near as much fun!

I have been asleep at the wheel, Amanda.

Hope all is well, dear lady.

>45 PaulCranswick: You've been as attentive to my thread as I have been!

Things are well here, although summer is nearly here which means miserable heat until about October.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

>46 amanda4242: I haven't been at my best lately, Amanda, but making a determined effort to snap out of my malaise.

>47 PaulCranswick: I prescribe curling up with a good book and a cup of leaf water tea.

>48 amanda4242: Thanks Doc.

*looks around* I think I might have visited here before? *sweeps aside some dust* Yes, it seems a bit familiar.

>50 amanda4242: Hahaha, welcome to your old thread. xx

64. The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli, translated by Lyn Coffin

Apparently this is the national epic of Georgia. It's a highly readable adventure, although it occasionally left me giggling because the hero faints so much he could be a heroine in an Anne Radcliff novel.

Lyn Coffin's translation preserves the rhyme scheme of the original, but she *really* has to stretch sometimes and, sadly, the effect in English has an almost Dr. Seuss feel at times.

65. Keeper by Gerald Durrell, illustrated by Keith West

Durrell's dog makes the rounds of the zoo and chats with a few different animals. It's cute, but I like his travel books better.

66. Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 18 by Ryosuke Takeuchi, translated by Adrienne Beck

Nearly the end of the series. Very much a tying up loose threads book.

67. Fleeting Snow by Pavel Vilikovský, translated by Julia Sherwood & Peter Sherwood

It's not awful, but it felt like Vilikovský wasn't writing a story so much as writing around one.

68. Marko the Obstinate Donkey by Ivan Gantschev

A cute picture book about a little girl trying to make money and her donkey being uncooperative.

69. Liechtenstein National Museum: The Permanent Exhibition edited by Hansjörg Frommelt & Norbert W. Hasler

When you're trying to read a work from every country in the world you often have to take what you can get; sometimes you get a legendary epic and sometimes you get a museum catalog.

70. A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames

If you remove all of the charm and originality from Howl's Moving Castle, you will get something very much like A Harvest of Hearts.

It's not really that bad, but boy is it unoriginal.
71. John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, translated by Adam Cullen

Despite its light weight, John the Skeleton explores some heavy topics! Retirement, aging, death, and funerals are all covered in a way that shows them to be a natural part of life that aren't to be feared, even if they do bring sadness.

To sum it up, John the Skeleton is sometimes funny and sometimes melancholy, but always loving.

72. The Mirror of Love by Alan Moore & José Villarrubia

Beautiful.

73. The Enchanted Book: A Tale from Krakow by Janina Porazińska, translated by Bożena Smith, illustrated by Jan Brett

Another fairy tale with a heroic youngest sibling. This one gets a bonus for having the heroine be able to defeat the evil wizard because she could read.

74. Tevye the Milkman by Sholom Aleichem, read by Neville Jason

It's never going to be a favorite, but I did enjoy it.

75. The Other Ones by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Toma Feizo Gas

76. Set in Stone by Stela Brinzeanu

A historical novel set in medieval Moldova. It's kind of paint by numbers, but I don't regret reading it.

77. Leif the Lucky by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

78. Adventureman, Volume 1: The End and Everything After by Matt Fraction

79. Who Will Make the Snow? by Taras Prokhasko & Marjana Prokhasko, translated by Boris Dralyuk & Jennifer Croft

A tale of a family of moles and their sylvan adventures. Animal loving kids will no doubt enjoy it, but adults will probably find it a little saccharine.

80. The Good-Hearted Youngest Brother: An Hungarian Folktale translated by Emőke de Papp Severo, illustrated by Diane Goode

Typical fairy tale of the youngest sibling being the real hero. Nothing fancy, but it's entertaining.

81. The Witcher Volume 9: Corvo Bianco by Bartosz Sztybor

The Witcher comics keep getting worse. The story in this one makes almost no sense and Yennefer, the incredibly powerful sorceress, is only in it to get hit on the head while wearing very little.

82. Sunny by Ennun Ana Iurov

A mildly entertaining webcomic. Really needs more characterization and a stronger story.

83. King Stakh’s Wild Hunt by Uladzimir Karatkevich, translated by Mary Mintz

An ethnographer collecting folktales in Belarus stumbles across a mysterious castle and Gothic novel ensues. It's wonderfully entertaining with great atmosphere.

84. My Dear Sea by André Carrilho, illustrated by the author

85. Blood Stain Volume 1 by Linda Šejić

>51 PaulCranswick: Thank you for remembering it!

No problem and congratulations on passing 75 books already.

>54 PaulCranswick: Thanks!

86. Blood Stain Volume 2 by Linda Šejić
87. Blood Stain Volume 3 by Linda Šejić

88. The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, illustrated by Miho Satake

This is a lovely children's fantasy novel that will charm readers of all ages. It's not about an epic quest or grand adventures, but it is full of warmth and kindness.

89. The Lute Player by Norah Lofts

90. The Children of Men by PD James

It's a very sedate dystopia, where everything is awful and most people are just carrying on hopelessly.

91. Chasing Bright Medusas: A Life of Willa Cather by Benjamin Taylor

92. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

93. Aristotle: A Graphic Biography by Tassos Apostolidis, translated by Tom Imber

Although Aristotle will never make my list of great comics, it is entertaining and informative.

I like the art and think the book is very informative, but there were a lot of sections that just felt like info dumps; it sort of worked because a number scenes were of academic lectures, but it was a lot for the reader to take in.

Received via NetGalley.

94. What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 22 by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Jocelyne Allen

95. Snow by Manya Stojic

96. Death in the Museum of Modern Art by Alma Lazarevska, translated by Celia Hawkesworth

97. Hansen's Children by Ognjen Spahić, translated by Will Firth

98. The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė

99. Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! 1 by Nmura, translated by Melissa Chiam

A rom-com of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and obliviousness. This is a good book for those who enjoy the genre, but I don't think I'll be reading the next volume: the awkwardness and naivete of the characters had me wincing in embarrassment for them.

Received via NetGalley.

100. Peter Smart's Confessions by Paul Bailey

It's not great literature, but it is entertaining.

>56 amanda4242: Well you only have 34 reviews to catch-up on.

>57 PaulCranswick: I love reading books, but dislike writing about them.

>58 amanda4242: I know. It took me two weeks to write reviews of my last books in May.

Congratulations on 2x75 already, Amanda.

>60 PaulCranswick: Thanks!

101. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
102. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
103. Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
104. The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo

105. A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki, translated by Jacqueline Fung

Yes, I read this one because I think the cover is freaking adorable. I was very happy to discover that the story is equally delightful and the art is beautiful. I do wish it was an ongoing series because the ending isn't particularly satisfying, but I'm still very happy to have read it.

Received via NetGalley.

106. Drops of God: Mariage Vol. 11 by Tadashi Agi, translated by Robert Harkins
107. Drops of God: Mariage Vol. 12 by Tadashi Agi, translated by Robert Harkins

108. Love on the Horizon 1 by Machi Yamashita, translated by Leo McDonagh

A flimsy romance between two emotionally immature college students. It's not horrible, but it's not nearly good enough to make me want to pick up the next volume.

Received via NetGalley.

109. Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Witi Ihimaera

This is the first book I've read by Ihimaera, but it won't be the last.

110. Moriarty the Patriot Vol. 19 by Ryosuke Takeuchi, translated by Adrienne Beck

The final volume in the series is kind of a letdown, but at least it brings things to a proper finish.

111. Two Tales: Jamali Kamali and ZundelState by Karen Chase

This is poetry destined for obscurity.

The first of the two long poems, "Jamali Kamali," isn't awful, but it has all the passion of a Hallmark greeting card. There are a few memorable lines in it, but that's because they are laughable:

Your muskpod —
I need
to smell
your chest.

"ZundelState" reads like it was written by someone who has heard about speculative fiction and dystopias, but didn't bother to read beyond Wikipedia. It contains gems like:

I'm playing harmonica in a zone called Rome, singing "I dreamt I
was walking into World War Three."
I say to Marianna "Our love's gonna grow ooh-wah, ooh-wah.
Let's go play Adam and Eve."

The whole thing is, to put it bluntly, risible.

Received via NetGalley.

112. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott

One down, three to go...

113. My Noisy Roommate: The Roof Over My Head Comes With Monsters and a Hottie 1 by Kaho Ozaki, translated by Leo McDonagh
114. My Noisy Roommate: The Roof Over My Head Comes With Monsters and a Hottie 2 by Kaho Ozaki, translated by Jacqueline Fung

115. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 5 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach
116. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 6 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach

117. The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

The blurber who called this an "Indiana Jones--style outer space heist adventure" cannot have seen an Indy movie...or, possibly, read this book.

It's probably a better book than I giving it credit for, but I was low key annoyed through the entire thing because the main character is a self-righteous hypocrite who isn't nearly as clever as she thinks she is.

118. The Ordinary Princess by MM Kaye

119. Jump Tribe by Clive Barker

A cute tale from Clive Barker?! Impossible! And yet, it is very cute and it is very Clive Barker.

Jump Tribe is a collection of stories and poems that were written to accompany a line of plush toys so it's a little choppy as a book, but the stories within are so wonderfully imaginative that it's hard to care about its limitations. I can well see anyone of any age who is lucky enough to own the toys using the stories as a jumping off point to imagine their own adventures for the tribe.

Received via NetGalley.

120. Feat of Clay by Keith R. A. DeCandido

121. Census by Panos Ioannides, translated by Despina Pirketti

Eye roll. Eye roll so hard I think I sprained something.

122. Homunculus: Fairy Tales from the Left Pocket by Aleksandar Prokopiev, translated by Will Firth

123. Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny, translated by Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge

124. Merlin's Tour of the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Informative, but Tyson came off as kind of pompous to me.

125. Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford

126. Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt

Open, Heaven is an exception to my rule about avoiding novels written by poets; Hewitt's prose is so splendiferous that I want to write rapturous odes about it. He is so able to convey the headiness of first infatuation that I was left feeling intoxicated.

Very highly recommended.

Received via NetGalley.

127-129, 131, 133. The Eagles of Rome Books I-V by Enrico Marini, translated by D. Eberhardt

130. The Snake King of the Kalinago by Grade 6 of Atkinson School, Dominica

132. Fonchito y la Luna by Mario Vargas Llosa, illustrated by Marta Chicote Juiz

134. Cruising Through the Reverie by John Selwyn Saunana

135. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

136. Valerian: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 by Pierre Christin, translated by Jerome Saincantin

137. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Has a lot more sex jokes than I remembered. I followed it up by watching the delightful 1996 adaptation.

138. Hedgehog and the Art Show by Özge Bahar Sunar, illustrated by Ceyhun Şen, translated by Oğuzhan Aydın

139. The Moon Lake by Ivan Gantschev, illustrated by the author

140. Buff Soul by Moa Romanova, translated by Melissa Bowers

If you're looking for a story about vacuous pseudo-punks who are drawn like microcephalic giants, then Buff Soul is the book for you.

Received via the publisher.

141. We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin

142. Like a Prisoner: Stories of Endurance by Fatos Lubonja

143. The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov

144. Weights and Measures by Joseph Roth, translated by David Le Vay

Tedious and insubstantial.

If the multiple repetitions per paragraph had been cut, then this novella would have just about made a decent short story.

Received via NetGalley.

145. A Novel to Read on the Train by Dumitru Tsepeneag, translated by Alistair Ian Blyth

146. Wonder Woman: Heartless by Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Natalie C. Parker

It's entertaining enough, but it always felt like the authors worked in isolation rather than collaborating so the story was never as strong as it needed to be.

Received via NetGalley.

147. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

WARNING: The apocalypse has caused a punctuation shortage. All punctuation marks except periods will be strictly rationed.

148. Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, Vol. 01 by Tsutomu Nihei

The story shows potential...and a huge debt to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I'm engaged enough that I will get volume two from the library.

I'm not a fan of the art: it's a washed out gray and white that looks very one-dimensional. I hope future volumes have a bit more black to give depth and clarity.

Received via NetGalley.

149. In Search of the Unicorn 1. The Land of the Moors by Emilio Ruiz, translated by Jessie Aufiery

150. Smith of Wootton Major by JRR Tolkien

151. My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

A truly satisfying Gothic horror novel. The story is engaging, the characters are well developed, and the atmosphere is wonderfully disturbing. I would have rated this five stars except I felt the end became a little overstuffed Gothic tropes; however, it's a great read and Johanna van Veen is a writer I will be reading again.

Received via NetGalley.

152. The Gnome Book by Loes Riphagen, translated by Michele Hutchinson

153. Blue Lock: Episode Nagi Vol. 1 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, translated by Nate Derr

The entire premise of this book strains credulity. Two guys who have never played soccer before form a club and then obliterate a winning team in their very first game? Yeah, right. And then they're both recruited to a secret training program to create the world's greatest, most egotistical striker? BS, and it seems counterintuitive to put all your focus on one position of a team sport. I won't be reading further volumes.

Received via NetGalley.

154. White Rat by Gayl Jones

The longer stories were okay, but this one can safely go in the donation pile.

155. Beyond the Planet of the Vampires by Ulrich Baer

This is not the book the cover art suggests it is.

The description says "Beyond the Planet of the Vampires redefines avant-garde in a relentless, generation-defining voice." I would say it's affected and sophomoric. I'm sure there's an audience for this book (perhaps those who worship A24 films?), but I am not it.

Received via NetGalley.

156. Suremada: Faces from a Solomon Island Village by Rexford Orotaloa

157. Session 9: The Official Novelization by Christian Francis

Increasingly disturbing events happen to a crew cleaning up asbestos from an abandoned asylum.

I wouldn't have thought there was much of a market for a novelization of an obscure, low budget horror movie from a quarter of a century ago, but apparently Christian Francis thinks otherwise. The book fleshes out the characters a touch more, but doesn't quite manage the same chills as the movie; although, to be fair, the movie mostly relied on shooting in an actual derelict asylum for the creep factor. The characters' motivations are still fuzzy and the plot holes are still present, but I've read worse books.

Received via NetGalley.

158. A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories by Terry Pratchett

159. Ghost Station by S A Barnes

Dr. Ophelia Bray volunteers to be an on-site therapist to an exoplanet survey crew as self-imposed penance for a tragedy that is not her fault. She then proceeds to prove that she is unqualified and generally unfit for the mission.

Horror stories tend to rely heavily on people making poor decisions to drive the plot, so Ophelia really does fit in well with legions of genre characters; the problem here is that she is surrounded by a crew that is qualified, experienced, and all around more stable than she is, which just makes her look that much worse. The book would have been so much better if Ophelia had dropped her self-martyrdom earlier and actually put her brain to use.

On the whole I don't regret reading Ghost Station, but I can't help but think my time would have been better spent rewatching Alien or Event Horizon.

Received via NetGalley.

160. Snow Day #1 by Pierre Wazem, translated by Mark Bence
161. Snow Day #2 by Pierre Wazem, translated by Mark Bence

162. King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire by David M. Bergeron

163. Three Thieves Vol. 1: Tower of Treasure by Scott Chantler

164. Antioch by Patrick Kindlon

Boring and preachy.

165. Dogmatix and the Indomitables Vol. 1: No Mercy For The Romans! by Yves Coulon, Matthieu Choquet, & Jerôme Erbin, translated by Nanette McGuinness

An Asterix spin-off following the adventures of the dog Dogmatix and his animal companions.

It has none of the wit or charm of its parent series. Small children may like it, but if they're old enough to read this then they're old enough for Asterix.

166. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

167. Issak Vol. 1 by Shinji Makari, translated by Kevin Steinbach

A Japanese man travels to Europe to avenge his master's murder and becomes involved in the Thirty Years' War.

Shinji Makari uses a little known bit of history—that there were Japanese people in Europe during the 17th century and some of them were soldiers—and uses it to craft an intriguing tale. Double-S's art is sharp, and shows the brutality of battle without making it stomach churning.

Received via NetGalley.

Stats

Books
new reads: 138
re-reads: 29
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 17
Grand European Tour: 59

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 82
Estonian: 1
French: 17
Georgian: 1
German: 5
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 33
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Russian: 2
Slovak: 1
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukranian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 83

From
Edelweiss: 9
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 8
Kobo Plus: 11
Library: 39
NetGalley: 16
New: 16
Open Library: 10
Shelves: 50

pages read: 28,849 pages
audiobook hours: 5 hours 55 minutes
average rating: 3.13 stars

Authors
female: 68 books by 50 authors
male: 76 books by 67 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 23 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 32
Australian: 1
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
British: 21
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 6
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 2
Estonian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 1
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 2
Italian: 5
Japanese: 28
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 18
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 2
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

168. Three Thieves Book 2: The Sign of the Black Rock by Scott Chantler
170. Three Thieves Book 3: The Captive Prince by Scott Chantler

I'm really enjoying this series.

169. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

If I had to sum up Project Hail Mary in one word, it would be "contrived." The protagonist has access to the full Library of Congress, but no one thought to put in a checklist of what needs to be done? There's a ship capable of interstellar travel, but you give it a computer that's less helpful than a customer service chatbot? Weir is so focused on coming up with clever solutions to problems that he seemingly never stopped to think of why they shouldn't have been problems to begin with.

The book did pick up significantly in the second half when it started focusing on things that were problems that couldn't have been prevented with proper planning, like building a common language with an alien species or dealing with unexpected fuel loss.

In the end, I found Project Hail Mary mildly enjoyable, but frustrating because it could have been so much better than it was.

Received via NetGalley.

171. The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

Knock-off Hemingway. It's a good quality knock-off, but it went straight into the donation pile once I was done.

172. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Utterly delightful! The characters are neither saccharinely sweet, nor unbearably odious: everyone is flawed, but still endearing in their own ways.

173. Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards

"She has a calling...It doesn't mean she has charisma."

Rarely does a work sum itself up so accurately: there is no charisma in this book.

The word that kept running through my mind while reading Canticle was "generic." There was no sense of reading about a different time or a different place or even a different point of view. Everything just felt bland...well, except for the bishop, who is such an over the top, mustache-twirling villain that I kept picturing him as Snidely Whiplash.

Received via NetGalley.

>71 amanda4242: That is a good observation on the power of Dodie Smith!

>72 PaulCranswick: I was very pleasantly surprised by I Capture the Castle; I will have to pick up some more of Smith's books from the library.

174. Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura, translated by Yuki Tejima

When a life was lost, who did it belong to? What were those left behind meant to do with the incomprehensible, inescapable loss?

A contemplative novel about—among other things—death, duty, family, loss, and love. For all that it is about such weighty topics, there is a gentleness that keeps the book from feeling oppressive in its themes.

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon will never be a favorite of mine, but I believe it will stay with me for a long time.

Received via NetGalley.

175. Knave of Diamonds by Laurie R. King

This is the first time I've ever been disappointed by a Mary Russell story. I've always liked the series for the relationship between Russell and Holmes and for their investigations of intriguing mysteries; sadly, neither of those things shine in Knave of Diamonds: Russell and Holmes rarely interact with each other and their "investigation" is just them following after yet another long-lost relative and being give the answers by other characters.

The bright spot of the book is Uncle Jake: he's an entertaining scapegrace, and I enjoyed his (too few) conversations with Holmes.

Despite my disappointment, I do think Knave of Diamonds is worth reading, but I know Laurie R. King is capable of writing a much better book.

Received via NetGalley.

176. The Scary Book of Valentine's Day Lore: 50 Terrifying Tales of Romance from Around the World by Tim Rayborn

First, the name is misleading: most of the tales have absolutely nothing to do with Valentine's Day, and they were overwhelming from Europe and the US.

Each entry is very brief—just a few pages—and very bare-bones. Rayborn does mention alternate versions of some of the tales, but the way he presents them make for a confusing rather than informative read. There is no bibliography or even a suggested reading list, so those looking to delve deeper into the stories are out of luck.

This might have worked as a fun coffee table book if there had been more and better art, but sadly it's just a forgettable waste of time.

Received via NetGalley.

177. The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste

Wow! What an insult to my intelligence!

This book has almost no character development, descriptions of people and places are nearly non-existent, the researchers are literally nameless and have no discernible research goal, the supernatural elements are poorly integrated, and everything is just hand waved away at the end. Oh, and it's not even the slightest bit creepy.

Received via NetGalley.

178. The Day of the Scorpion by Paul Scott
179. The Towers of Silence by Paul Scott
185. A Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott

I've finished The Raj Quartet! They're definitely not books I can breeze through, but I found them so engrossing that I would sit down to read for just a few minutes and end up reading for several hours.

180. Books of Slaughter Vol. 1 by James Tynion, IV
181. Books of Slaughter Vol. 2 by James Tynion, IV
182. Books of Slaughter Vol. 3 by James Tynion, IV

I liked Maxine Slaughter's story, and the history of the Order is kind of interesting, but a lot of the stuff just read like Wikipedia articles.

183. Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler
184. Squire & Knight: Wayward Travelers by Scott Chantler

A delightful series! I hope Chantler writes more.

186. Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake, illustrated by the author

A very weird picture book about a pirate who befriends a yellow creature. I like it, but it is *very* weird.

187. Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake, illustrated by the author

A fully illustrated epistolary novel about the fantastical adventures of a Polar explorer. Thoroughly entertaining.

188. The Dagger in Vichy by Alastair Reynolds

I requested this one because the premise of a far future that had regressed to a medieval society with bits of hyper-advanced technology sounded amazing; sadly, I found it highly unsatisfying.

First, the world building is seriously lacking: Reynolds just gave a vague sketch of medieval Europe and dropped a couple of handwave-y science fiction elements in. He could have set it in the actual middle ages and replaced the tech with some sort of spirit and it would have made zero difference to the story.

The characters were underdeveloped, and it was very clear by the fifty percent point how the story was going to end. All in all, it's a great premise that was very poorly executed.

Received via NetGalley.

189. Marbles and Mangoes/Mapu Moe Mango by Sione Tapani Mangisi

190. Shi 1: In the Beginning There Was Fury… by Zidrou, translated by Matt Madden

Crap.

191. Siblings by Brigitte Reimann, translated by Lucy Jones

A young East German woman tries to convince her brother not to leave for West Germany.

Interesting, but it reminded me unpleasantly of those mawkish Victorian tales about women who save their wayward relatives by being models of Christian charity, just with communism substituted for religion.

192. Allmen and the Dragonflies by Martin Suter, translated by Steph Morris

193. Kemosha of the Caribbean by Alex Wheatle

My most generous thought about this book is that Wheatle must have really skimped on the research. His 17th century Jamaica is very poorly rendered and, at times, downright anachronistic. The characters are not well-written and their actions frequently put them in the too stupid to live category. All in all, it's a cool idea that was very badly executed.

Stats

Books
new reads: 162
re-reads: 31
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 24
Grand European Tour: 62

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 103
Estonian: 1
French: 18
Georgian: 1
German: 7
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 34
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 2
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Russian: 2
Slovak: 1
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukranian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 87

From
Edelweiss: 10
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 8
Kobo Plus: 13
Library: 46
NetGalley: 23
New: 19
Open Library: 10
Shelves: 56

pages read: 34,446 pages
audiobook hours: 5 hours 55 minutes
average rating: 3.13 stars

Authors
female: 74 books by 56 authors
male: 93 books by 76 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 26 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 38
Australian: 1
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Belgian: 1
Bosnian: 1
British: 29
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 10
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 2
Estonian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 2
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 2
Italian: 5
Japanese: 29
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 21
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 3
Tongan: 1
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

194. The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon, translated by Linda Asher

A short, but satisfying mystery.

There's nothing flashy about Maigret: he's a solid detective who gathers evidence, comes up with a plausible scenario based on it, and tempers justice with compassion.

Received via NetGalley.

195. Fallen City by Adrienne Young

In a Greco-Roman flavored city-state, two lovers torn apart by civil war fight to save their city and be reunited with each other.

Fallen City begins in medias res, and switches between two POVs and two timelines. It's heavy on political maneuvering, with the romance and fantasy elements coming in second and third.

I really enjoyed the politics, and was intrigued by the magic system that is irrevocably intertwined with the whole society.

The pace in the middle third was a little slow for my taste, and I don't think there was quite enough time spent exploring the magic on which the city operates; it's mentioned regularly, but it isn't really developed enough to make the reader understand why it is so vital.

Although it has it's flaws, I was pleasantly surprised by Fallen City and look forward to seeing what happens to the characters in the concluding volume.

Received via NetGalley.

196. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

197. Witchlore by Emma Hinds

I looked up the author after I finished Witchlore and was completely unsurprised to discover Emma Hinds has written a massive amount of Harry Potter fanfiction. This book is not a rip-off, but the influence is glaringly obvious—the school bully even has Draco Malfoy's coloring.

I found the characters one-dimensional and annoying, and the world building half-assed. I think anyone interested in reading Witchlore would do best to get it from the library as it's certainly not worth the cover price.

Received via NetGalley.

198. There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

A secret organization combats entities that cannot be remembered.

I read the self-published version of this last year and was very impressed by the concept, even though I thought the execution was a little rough. The revised edition smooths things out and expands parts to add depth to characters and clarity to the story, which is helpful when you're trying to wrap your head around things like asynchronous research and physical manifestations of ideas!

I'd recommend There Is No Antimemetics Division to sci-fi and horror fans who like having their concept of reality messed with.

Received via NetGalley.

199. The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

Meilin is beautiful, skilled in martial arts, and has the mindset of a twenty-first century American woman. *eyeroll* The Night Ends With Fire reads like Song rewrote the legend of Mulan with as many irritating YA fantasy tropes as she could fit in.

Received via NetGalley.

200. It's Jeff!: Jeff-Verse by Kelly Thompson

201. Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The first two books of the Tyrant Philosophers series are epic in scope: the first giving a panoramic view of a city under occupation, and the second following a group of magic-wielding medics in the chaos of war. With this novella Tchaikovsky narrows the focus to one person, Angilly, a diplomat of the ever-conquering Palleseens.

We are given vignettes of Angilly from her childhood through different postings of her career, with each step showing more of how the Pals operate and the larger world. Although I think starting with the first book is best, Lives of Bitter Rain would probably be an okay entry place for those new to the series.

Received via NetGalley.

202. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel

Well, it had to happen eventually: I've found a work by Murakami that I kind of liked.

The City and Its Uncertain Walls has many beautiful descriptive passages and the odd friendship between the narrator and Mr. Koyasu was the best part of the book for me. On the negative side, I think the books is twice (probably thrice) as long as it should be and that Murakami cannot write convincing female characters.

Received via NetGalley.

203. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

204. Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices edited by Swapna Krishna & Jenn Northington

Despite featuring the "New Voices" promised by the title, there are few stories in this collection which do anything new, or even really interesting, with the old legends.

"The Once and Future Qadi" by Ausma Zehanat Khan—A Muslim jurist is called to Camelot to judge the queen's fidelity.

Bloody boring with stupidly convoluted reasoning. 2 stars

"Passing Fair and Young" by Roshani Chokshi—Elaine of Corbenic is given a choice to be a legend or a footnote in someone else's legend.

The author has Elaine and Lancelot playing happy families even though she flat-out intended to rape him. 1 star

"How, After Long Fighting, Galehaut was Overcome by Lancelot yet was Not Slain and Made Great Speed to Yield to Friendship; Or, Galehaut, the Knight of the Forfeit" by Daniel M. Lavery—Galehaut finds his ideal in Lancelot.

Excellent set-up for a story, but it's over before it starts. 2 stars

"I Being Young and Foolish" by Nisi Shawl—Merlin teaches Nia, a Nimue variant, his craft.

Pretty writing, but entirely forgettable. 2 stars.

"The Bladeship Queen" by Sarah MacLean—The Lady of the Lake as a blacksmith who forges swords for warlords in exchange for them sparing her village.

Would have been better if it had been developed as an original fantasy story instead of trying to shoehorn in Arthurian legend. 2 stars

"Do, By All Due Means" by Sivye Doyle—Britomart, the lady knight from The Faerie Queene, rescues a damsel who is 1000 percent done with being distressed.

A delight! I would love it if this was expanded into a novel. 4 stars

"Mayday" by Maria Dahvana Headley—Camelot transposed to the Midwest in the 19th century.

Worst story in the collection. 1/2 star

"Heartbeat" by Waubgeshig Rice—Arthur as a First Nation's schoolboy in the 1980s.

Rice brilliantly weaves together the old legend of Arthur's youth with this new setting. Tied for best story in the collection. 4.5 stars

"Jack and Brad and The Magicians" by Anthony Rapp—Merlin is playing the part of a stage magician during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

Heartbreaking, but so very beautiful. Tied for best story in the collection. 4.5 stars

"The Quay Stone" by S. Zainab Williams—A teen visiting family in Singapore attracts the attention of a girl in a lake.

Honestly, this one read more like it was inspired by Carmilla than Arthurian legend. 2 stars

"Black Diamond" by Alex Segura—Arthur as a minor league baseball player.

The writing is good, but not quite good enough to make me care about baseball. 3 stars (probably 4 stars for people who don't hate baseball.)

"Flat White" by Jessica Plummer—A modern day Elaine and Lancelot coffees hop AU.

Eh. I give credit to the author for having Elaine realize she's caught up in someone else's love triangle. 2.5 stars

"Once (Them) & Future (Us)" by Preeti Chhibber—Merlin awakens in the 21st century and finds the reincarnation of Arthur.

Good writing and a great premise, but it doesn't really go anywhere. It might work better expanded to a novella. 3 stars

"A Shadow in Amber" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia—The Lady of Shalott sits at the top of a futuristic high-rise and watches Lancelot's memories.

This one reads like a mashup of legend and the movie Strange Days. Really good, but the ending could have been stronger. 3.5 stars

"White Hempen Sleeves" by Ken Liu—Merlin, Nimue, and eternal life via body swapping.

It's a crap story set in a rip-off of Altered Carbon. 1.5 stars

"Little Green Men" by Alexander Chee—Sir Gawain and the Green Knight on Mars.

Congratulations to Chee on entirely missing the point of that legend, and somehow managing to make his story read as less queer than the medieval poem. 1.5 stars

Received via NetGalley.

205. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

What a blast! It's a crazy mix of video game, action movie, thriller, and comedy that also manages to not forget about ethics and basic humanity. I already have the next two books on my e-reader and can't wait to get to them.

Received via NetGalley.

206. Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite series!

Carl's Doomsday Scenario builds on what was established in the first book: characters gain experience, learn, grow, and develop bonds; the roles of NPCs are further developed; and we start to see how much off-screen politics affect how the Dungeon runs.

On to book three!

Received via NetGalley.

207. The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis

And where did you get your MFA, Ms. Purvis?

208. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

Well, I finished this one in two days and am now crawling up the walls waiting to get my hands on book four!

In The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook we have our main characters improving their skills and resources, as well as building alliances with other teams. I really like how Dinniman can focus on the main characters, but still develop supporting characters in a way that is neither overwhelmingly detailed nor slap-dash.

My one complaint about this entry is that the level's layout is crazy hard to visualize; my ARC didn't include a map, but I have a feeling that I still would have struggled if I'd seen it.

Received via NetGalley.

209. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

I actually felt my IQ dropping while I was reading this.

210. Some Recollections of St. Ives by David Mamet

Reading Some Recollections of St. Ives was like catching bits and pieces of a documentary series: what I saw is interesting, but I felt like I missed so much that I never really learned anything.

I do kind of like the book, but it would better suit a reader with more patience for its literary experiments.

Received via NetGalley.

211. The Stalker by Julia Teweles

The Stalker is Julia Teweles's first book, and it definitely has first book flaws: the pace is uneven, the characters aren't particularly well developed, and the climax doesn't make much sense. It's also weirdly simultaneously obsessed with and repulsed by male sexuality.

That being said, it is so very much a typical example of 80s' mass market horror that it's almost impossible not to have some measure of affection for it. People looking for a deep, truly scary read won't find it here, but those with a fondness for the type of books featured in Paperbacks from Hell will enjoy it as a bit of pulpy nostalgia.

I received a free copy from Crossroad Press.

212. Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

A good old-fashioned vampire horror novel! With vampires that are dangerous monsters and not emotionally stunted pretty boys!

My enthusiasm for the monstrous monsters aside, Coffin Moon is an exceptional horror novel. Keith Rosson gives great care to developing his characters, which makes their pain all the more visceral.

This is the first book I've read by this author, but it will not be the last.

Received via NetGalley.

213. Frontier Comrades: From the Fur Trade to the Ford Car by Jim Wilke

In the introduction, James Wilke writes that Frontier Comrades is "a portrait of the American West and the frontier experience through the lens of six lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lives, examining how their self-perception was shaped and defined by their occupations and relationship to the lands that surrounded them." Sadly, that lens was often blurred to the point that the people who are supposed to focus the book become addenda to their own stories.

Wilke goes overboard giving context to his subjects' lives, so that I felt like I spent more time reading about stagecoach routes and troop movements than I did about people. His writing is also repetitive and down right redundant when he's explaining perfectly clear quotations.

Frontier Comrades does contain some good information about the American West in the 19th century and it does highlight a facet of the era that isn't widely discussed, but I really wish the writing had been better.

Received via NetGalley.

Impressive reading as always, Amanda. Have a great weekend.

>84 PaulCranswick: Thanks! Hope your weekend is going well!

I am happy at least that it will be a long one!

>86 PaulCranswick: I'm also pleased to be having a long weekend!

214. Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: A Question of Price by Andrzej Sapkowski, adapted by Marta Krajewska

I really need to stop reading Witcher comics: the quality has taken a nosedive and it's clear they're being churned out as a cash grab.

215. You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White

Stats

Books
new reads: 183
re-reads: 32
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 26
Grand European Tour: 64

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 122
Estonian: 1
French: 19
Georgian: 1
German: 7
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 35
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 2
Polish: 3
Portuguese: 1
Russian: 2
Slovak: 1
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukranian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 90

From
Edelweiss: 10
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 8
Kobo Plus: 13
Library: 52
NetGalley: 38
New: 20
Open Library: 10
Shelves: 56

pages read: 41,242 pages
audiobook hours: 5 hours 55 minutes
average rating: 3.11 stars

Authors
female: 83 books by 65 authors
male: 104 books by 84 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 28 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 49
Australian: 2
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Belgian: 2
Bosnian: 1
British: 34
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 11
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 2
Estonian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 2
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 2
Italian: 5
Japanese: 30
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 23
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 3
Tongan: 1
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

>8 amanda4242: OOOooooo a pretty map to color in. I LIKE that idea. A lot.

>90 DebiCates: Hi! I find maps helpful for keeping track of geography based challenges.

>91 amanda4242: I like maps, too, just in general. But I also like challenges where you can satisfy each aspect with just one book. That ever-so satisfying checkmark, but in this case, a whole country in almost a jigsaw puzzle.

>92 DebiCates: I know exactly what you mean!

216. Come Let Us Sing Anyway by Leone Ross

I didn't love it, there were a few stories I thought were very good, and I really liked the rhythm of Ross's writing.

217. Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

Rosália Rodrigo writes beautiful, lavish descriptions and her characters are thoughtfully written. Unfortunately, Beasts of Carnaval doesn't have quite enough story to justify the page count.

I was enraptured by the first half of the book, but by the sixty percent mark I was becoming impatient with the pace and was just waiting for it to be over. I would in no way, shape, or form call it a bad book...just one that is about 100-150 pages longer than it needs to be.

I did like Beasts of Carnaval despite its flaws, and would be willing to try another book by Rodrigo.

Received via NetGalley.

218. Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford

I like horror and I like books about books, so reading a collection of essays on why the contributors love horror was a no-brainer.

The focus of the book does lead to a bit of repetitiveness, but each author manages to give a unique perspective on the topic. Some authors had me nodding along in agreement (Tananarive Due & Stephen Graham Jones), some had me itching to get my hands on their books (Alma Katsu, Nuzo Onoh, & Victor LaValle), and some had me vowing not to read their works because their inability to get to the point in an essay left me in doubt of their ability to do so in a novel (I'll be nice and not name this group).

The real star of the collection is editor Becky Siegal Spratford. Not only is her introduction to the book interesting and informative, her introductions of the authors are top notch. And the best part? She gives reading recommendations.

Received via NetGalley.

219. The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpson

A terrific blend of horror and Irish folklore. The story is clear and all the puzzle pieces are presented, yet Sharpson still manages to pull off realistic surprises. I was also impressed by the characters, who are shown as intelligent people with plausible motives—something sadly lacking in many horror stories!

My only complaint is that the story slows a bit in the middle, and a bit of the tension that was built up at the start is lost by the climax.

Received via NetGalley.

220. The Pale Knight by Peter Milligan

Peter Milligan wrote this? The same Peter Milligan who gave us the mad extravaganza that is Enigma wrote this monotonous book that goes absolutely nowhere?

Skip this one unless you have a burning desire to see how someone can make the Black Death tedious.

Received via NetGalley.

221. Audition For The Fox by Martin Cahill

A desperate acolyte auditioning for the patronage of T'sidaan, a fox trickster god, is sent three hundred years into the past with instructions to start a revolution.

As I was reading Audition for the Fox I kept thinking that it should be a short story instead of a novella. The world is interesting and I'm always happy to read about vulpine tricksters, but what could have been a taut story just drags on until it reaches its predictable outcome. I was unsurprised when reading the afterword that this actually started as a short story and was expanded because Cahill's editor asked if he had a novella on hand.

Despite my dissatisfaction with the length, I would like to read more about these characters and their world.

Received via NetGalley.

222. Light of My Life by Fuuko Minami

The narrative is choppy, the leads are emotionally immature and have implausible motivations, and there's a ludicrous lack of prep in the sex scenes.

Received via NetGalley.

223. The Return of Moriarty by Jack Anderson

Calling this book The Return of Moriarty isn't particularly accurate as he is largely a supporting character. The inclusion of a famous character, the needlessly convoluted structure, and the contrived plot twists all read as attempts to distract from the fact this is actually a middling novel.

Received via NetGalley.

224. Tower Dungeon 1 by Tsutomu Nihei, translated by Sam Malissa

This was not good. The world is barely an outline of an idea, there is zero character development, huge chunks of the story are flat-out skipped, and there are a couple of pages of completely out of nowhere 100% gratuitous nudity. I will not be reading the second volume.

Received via NetGalley.

225. The King's Dragon by Scott Chantler

226. Hauntings by Vernon Lee

Hauntings very much matches my experience of most late 19th century literary horror: wordy and uncanny. Read it if you like beautiful descriptions, long history lectures, and men obsessed with phantasms fatales.

Received via NetGalley.

227. The Great When by Alan Moore

Moore seems intent on not just telling the story, but inundating the reader with the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the world. It's exhausting, but also exhilarating.

228. Kiss of the Spider Woman: adapted for the stage by Manuel Puig, adapted by the author, translated by Allan Baker

Reading a play is not always a rewarding experience, but Puig's adaptation of his novel has a vibrancy that makes it a pleasure to read: the developing connection of the two disparate characters shines through from the dialog alone.

A wonderful reading experience.

Received via NetGalley.

229. Peacemaker Tries Hard! by Kyle Starks

230. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

When Bob Johansson decided to have his head frozen after death he wasn't expecting to be resurrected into a machine by a totalitarian theocracy engaged in a new space race. But he rolls with it—and proceeds to replicate himself.

There's quite a bit I like in We Are Legion (We Are Bob): interstellar travel, problem solving with limited resources, first contact with sapient aliens, interplanetary colonization, terraforming...the list goes on. What I'm not so fond of is the massive amount of technobabble and all the hand-waving that still happens.

Despite the annoyances, the positives outweighed the negatives for me so I'll be reading the next book.

Received via NetGalley.

233. Confession by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, translated by Emily Balistrieri

Two mountain climbers are caught in a blizzard; one of them, badly injured and believing he is about to die, confesses to murder. The two men make it to shelter and call for help, but is the one who heard the confession truly safe?

This is a great psychological thriller, with increasing paranoia driving the story. The art is crisp, and drives home the sense of isolation and danger. Fans of Patricia Highsmith should check this one out.

Received via NetGalley.

234. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Motion Picture Special Edition: 35th Anniversary by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a huge part of my childhood: the Saturday morning cartoon, the merchandise, and, of course, the 1990s' movies. Reading this comic adaptation of the first movie hit me with a massive wave of childhood nostalgia, but there is much in it that adult me appreciates—not least of which is the fluidly presented fight scenes.

Old fans of the TMNT will appreciate this blast from the past, and I'm sure it will make fans out of newcomers, too.

Received via NetGalley.

231. The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman
232. The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman
235. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman

I have to wait until May for book eight?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE THAT LONG?!

Stats

Books
new reads: 203
re-reads: 32
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 29
Grand European Tour: 66

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 138
Estonian: 1
French: 19
Georgian: 1
German: 7
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 38
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 2
Polish: 3
Portuguese: 1
Russian: 2
Slovak: 1
Spanish: 2
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukranian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 95

From
Edelweiss: 10
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 8
Kobo Plus: 14
Library: 58
NetGalley: 51
New: 20
Open Library: 10
Shelves: 56

pages read: 47,312 pages
audiobook hours: 5 hours 55 minutes
average rating: 3.12 stars

Authors
female: 87 books by 69 authors
male: 118 books by 92 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 30 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 55
Argentinian: 1
Australian: 2
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Belgian: 2
Bosnian: 1
British: 39
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 13
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 2
Estonian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 2
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 3
Italian: 5
Japanese: 33
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 25
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 3
Tongan: 1
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

>96 amanda4242: That will probably be my first read of Moore, Amanda.

>97 amanda4242: 235 books; way to go!

>99 PaulCranswick: Thank you!

The Great When takes patience, but I think it's rewarded.

>100 amanda4242: I have loads of patience, Amanda!

>101 PaulCranswick: You'll need it for the first few chapters!

>102 amanda4242: I am currently in my office but I will look at those first few chapters when I get home!

Hi Amanda,

Its Christmas Book Swap season. This year, I'm trying a different tact to make sure the word gets out. I'm just going to spam the threads of those who have participated in the past, and since you've done so, I'm going to use this opportunity to remind you about it, in case you haven't seen my thread recently, or the General Announcements thread. If you're in, come on by and join, if not that's fair and then thanks for letting me use your thread to make sure all that might be interested see it.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/375139#n8992303

>104 mahsdad: Thanks for the reminder!

And here is a reminder to have a great weekend, Amanda. xx

>106 PaulCranswick: Thanks, and the same to you!

236. This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman

237. Do Admit!: The Mitford Sisters and Me by Mimi Pond

Those looking for a scholarly history of the Mitford sisters should look elsewhere. Mimi Pond doesn't play fast and loose with history, but this comic is meant to be an entertaining, gossipy look at the six infamous sisters who were at the center of some of the most important events of the twentieth century.

While very fun to read, Do Admit! has it's flaws: it is biased (Pond is clearly a fan of Jessica), Pamela and Deborah are underrepresented, and Pond's inclusion of her childhood memories is a distraction.

The Prussian blue ink art is striking, and gives the feel of a cyanotype. My only complaint about the art is that the color scheme makes the text a little hard to read at times.

Received via NetGalley.

238. Farscape Omnibus Vol. 1 by various authors

239. I Can't Get Through the Night Alone by Yoh Matsumoto, translated by Molly Karinen

240. Sunrise to the Coup: A Collection of Short Stories by Joseph Veramu

241. Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

A woman grows a replacement child from a chunk of her dead son's lung.

Where there should be grief and horror, this book has an unappealing emotional detachment. I find it hard to credit the characters with any sort of inner life; they have impulses, not feelings.

While I do like the premise, I cannot praise the execution.

Received via NetGalley.

242. Ali and Nino by Kurban Said, translated by Jenia Graman

244. The Sword in the Stone: Arthur's Magical Kingdom by Gabriel Valentin & Michael J. Snow

The Sword in the Stone was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid; as an adult who has since read T. H. White's The Once and Future King, I still hold a fondness for it and was very excited to see a comic book that picks up shortly after where the movie ends.

The art, especially the backgrounds, put me in mind of the storybook opening of the movie. It has a lovely, old-fashioned feel to it.

The story wasn't as strong as the art, with more emphasis on spell slinging than on the lessons Merlin was trying to impart to the newly crowned king. Still, young readers will probably be charmed by this book and adult readers will get to revisit some old friends.

Received via NetGalley.

245. Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood

246. The Six Loves of James I by Gareth Russell

This is a very interesting and well written biography of King James VI and I of Scotland and England. Russell's writing is informative and detailed without being dry or overwhelming. He is conscientious about explaining differences between 17th century and 21st century views, and is very clear about which of James's behaviors were considered normal for the time and which drew comment from his contemporaries.

My one complaint about the book is the title: Russell does write about the men James loved and their importance in his life, but this is very much a biography that looks at all aspects of the king's life, so to call it The Six Loves of James I makes prospective readers think it's going to focus more on his lovers. I think the original title, Queen James, is far superior.

Received via NetGalley.

247. Copper Script by KJ Charles

248. The Teacher of Cheops by Albert Salvadó, translated by Marc Brian Duckett

249. Mermaid Prince by Kaori Ozaki, translated by Emily Balistrieri

This is a collection of three unrelated short stories, two of which are magical realism and the other slice of life.

My favorite story was the second, "One Snowy Day," in which a librarian encounters a father and son who aren't quite what they appear to be. It's melancholy, but the end has a ray of hope.

The title story concerns a boy and girl becoming friends, and risking their lives to seek the help of a mermaid when tragedy strikes. This one is occasionally a little too emo for me, but I do like it.

"Ametsukigahara," the first story in the book, I did not like at all. It's about a girl who grows apart from her friend when they go on to different schools, but it has this really skeevy sexualization of school girls thing going on.

Received via NetGalley.

250. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 7 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach
251. Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 8 by Yoshie Kaoruhara, translated by Kevin Steinbach

252. The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui

253. Doctor Who: Rose by Russell T. Davies

"Rose" was the very first Doctor Who episode I saw, so I thought it appropriate that the novelization should be the first book I read for the November BAC.

This is the introduction of the Ninth Doctor and his new companion, nineteen-year-old shop girl Rose Tyler. Obviously the plot of the novelization is the same as that of the episode, but, being unconstrained by time limits and budgets, Davies took the opportunity to give characters proper backstories, expand a bit on the Auton invasion, and add little touches both from past episodes and from those which aired in the dozen or so years between "Rose" airing and the book being written.

Doctor Who: Rose is a great example of how to write a novelization and an all around joy to read.

254. To Go On Living: Stories by Narine Abgaryan, translated by Margarit Tadevosyan Ordukhanyan & Zara M. Torlone

Stats

Books
new reads: 221
re-reads: 33
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 33
Grand European Tour: 70

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Catalan: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 150
Estonian: 1
French: 19
Georgian: 1
German: 8
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 42
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 2
Polish: 3
Portuguese: 1
Russian: 3
Slovak: 1
Spanish: 2
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukranian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 102

From
Edelweiss: 10
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 10
Kobo Plus: 18
Library: 65
NetGalley: 56
New: 20
Open Library: 10
Shelves: 57

pages read: 52,650 pages
audiobook hours: 5 hours 55 minutes
average rating: 3.13 stars

Authors
female: 96 books by 76 authors
male: 125 books by 98 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 33 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 58
Andorran: 1
Argentinian: 1
Armenian: 1
Australian: 2
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Belgian: 2
Bosnian: 1
British: 44
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 13
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 2
Estonian: 1
Fijian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 2
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 3
Italian: 5
Japanese: 37
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Mexican: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 28
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 3
Tongan: 1
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

255. Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast: James Bond and the Body by Brian A. Dixon

This is a scholarly exploration of James Bond's body, not just as it's used for violence and sex, but how depictions of his physicality are reflections of society.

Dixon makes many thought-provoking points and supports them well, but I feel there was quite a bit of padding going on. I think the salient points of the book could have been well covered in a lengthy essay.

Oh, and the author lost just the tiniest touch of credibility for calling Die Another Day, the nadir of the Brosnan Bond films, "underrated."

Received via NetGalley.

256. Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World

257. The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller

It's winter 1962/1963, the decade hasn't quite started swinging yet, and two couples newly moved to rural England are afflicted with mid-twentieth century malaise.

At about the thirty percent mark I started mentally cataloging the chores I could be doing. It's never a good sign when the thought of scrubbing my stove top has caught more of my attention than the book I'm reading. The Land in Winter isn't awful, but it's verbose and none of the characters seem to be capable of introspection; I can see them all being married and divorced multiple times without ever quite grasping what the common denominator in all those failed relationships is.

Received via NetGalley.

258. Finding a Way by Jackson Marsh

259. Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses by Nick Summerton

In Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses medical doctor Nick Summerton takes a multidisciplinary approach to creating plausible diagnosis for emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus.

Summerton gives a detailed description of his methodology, and discusses such things as the importance of context, shifts in language, and biases of contemporary sources and modern historians. He stresses the importance of collaborating with classicists, linguists, historians, philosophers, and archaeologists to gain a fuller understanding of the lives and times of his subjects.

While it is fascinating to read about the process of diagnosing people who have been dead for the better part of two millennia, large portions of the book are painfully dull. Summerton often quotes ancient sources regarding the emperors' health for multiple pages when he could have given short quotations, paraphrased the rest, and then gotten on with his original work.

I do not regret the time I spent reading this book and I think it's highly informative about the emperors and a field of study I knew little about, but I really wish it was written in a slightly more reader friendly way.

Received via NetGalley.

260. A Fall from Grace by Jackson Marsh

261. Follow the Van by Jackson Marsh

262. Star Trek: Shaxs' Best (and Worst) Day by Ryan North

Star Trek: Lower Decks is my second favorite Trek show; it has an irreverent, but still affectionate, humor that just clicks with me, and author Ryan North nailed that humor in Shaxs' Best (and Worst) Day.

In this short collection we see Shaxs kicking fascist butt in two wonderfully outlandish adventures. Do the stories make a lot of sense? Nope. Are they great fun for Lower Decks fans who want a laugh? Absolutely.

Received via NetGalley.

263. The Bitterweed Path by Thomas Hal Phillips

It's hard to define exactly what genre The Bitterweed Path is: it has the shape of a tragic family saga, but it's not a truly tragic tale; and it has elements of Southern Gothic, but that label doesn't really fit it either. Whatever genre it is, it is a beautiful, profoundly moving story told with subtlety and grace.

My thanks to the University of North Carolina Press for republishing this masterpiece.

Received via NetGalley.

264. Where There's a Will by Jackson Marsh

265. For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

I really like the constituent parts of For We Are Many, but they aren't put together in a way that allows the reader to connect deeply with the story and characters.

The Bobs are all dealing with fascinating things: interstellar exploration, threats of mass extinction, planetary colonization, contact with hostile alien species, functionally immortal beings becoming attached to those with finite life spans, and more. The problem is that much of this happens off-screen and the reader doesn't get to experience the trials with the characters, so there's not a lot of emotional investment.

Differentiating between the POV characters is a challenge because they are literally all clones of the same person. There is a little variation in personality and interests, but they are really easy to get mixed up.

I'm still interested enough to want to read the third book, but I wish Taylor would spend a little more time on character development and less on thinking up ways to show how clever the Bobs are.

Received via NetGalley.

266. Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline Bicks

I'm not a big fan of Stephen King's novels, but I do admire his knowledge and his work ethic so I was very interested to read a book that explores his process from first draft to finished work.

Caroline Bicks spent a year going through archived material for five of King's books—Pet Sematary, The Shining, Night Shift, 'Salem's Lot, and Carrie—and discusses the difference between drafts, with special attention paid to word choices, includes numerous margin notes and editorial discussions about revisions, and shares some of her discussions with King regarding his works.

Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King is a well written book that gives great insight into King's writing process. I recommend it not only to King's fans, but to anyone who wants a look at how a professional writer works.

Received via NetGalley.

267. A Case of Make Believe by Jackson Marsh

268. Excession by Iain M. Banks

Iain M. Banks has been on my to be read list for a long time, and I'd heard the Culture series didn't need to be read in order, so I leapt at the chance to read Excession.

Boy, is it a humdinger of a book! To label it a space opera seems insufficient and, perhaps, not entirely accurate. It is a dazzling work of imagination, and challenging in all the right ways. It also has a dry humor that had me chuckling more than a few times.

After finishing Excession I found out that it's generally considered *not* the place to start with the Culture. Oops! Well, having survived a plunge into the deep end, I'm anxious to explore the rest of the series.

Received via NetGalley.

269. The Crossing: A Story of East Timor by Luís Cardoso, translated by Margaret Jull Costa

Honestly, I'd pretty much forgotten this book the day after I finished it.

270. Mirka Andolfo's Sweet Paprika: Open For Business by Steve Orlando

A young editor tries to balance his demanding job while navigating an open relationship with his boyfriend.

First, the good: the art is delightful! Emilio Pilliu's work is adorable and sexy, with sex scenes that are both hot and playfully rendered.

I'm less enthusiastic about Steve Orlando's writing. The scenarios are realistic, but I have a low tolerance for characters—and real people—who do not adequately communicate and then create drama when the people around them turn out not to be mind readers.

Received via NetGalley.

271. Grave Developments by Jackson Marsh

272. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett, read by Indira Varma

Stats

Books
new reads: 238
re-reads: 34
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 39
Grand European Tour: 71

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Catalan: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 166
Estonian: 1
French: 19
Georgian: 1
German: 8
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 42
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 3
Polish: 3
Portuguese: 2
Russian: 3
Slovak: 1
Spanish: 2
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 104

From
Edelweiss: 10
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 16
Kobo Plus: 18
Library: 67
NetGalley: 65
New: 20
Open Library: 10
Shelves: 58

pages read: 57,270 pages
audiobook hours: 15 hours 49 minutes
average rating: 3.14 stars

Authors
female: 97 books by 77 authors
male: 141 books by 107 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 34 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 62
Andorran: 1
Argentinian: 1
Armenian: 1
Australian: 2
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Belgian: 2
Bosnian: 1
British: 54
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 15
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 2
Estonian: 1
Fijian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 2
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 3
Italian: 5
Japanese: 37
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Mexican: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 29
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 3
Timorese: 1
Tongan: 1
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

>115 amanda4242: Extraordinary that you are very close to 75 books in the European Grand Tour Challenge.

Loved your review of The Land in Winter above and, whilst I liked it quite a bit more than you did, I understand exactly where you are coming from

>116 PaulCranswick: You know, I hadn't actually noticed I was that close to 75 in that challenge!

>117 amanda4242: Now you have noticed, I am sure that you'll reach a fairly unique milestone.

>118 PaulCranswick: I do have a couple of European countries left to do...

>120 craigspeakman: Welcome to LibraryThing. LT is very strict about where and how it allows advertisements. Promotional posts outside of a few select groups will be flagged as spam. Please check out the TOS and tips for authors for the rules.

Here are pages that explain how authors and publishers can use LibraryThing:
http://www.librarything.com/about/authors
http://www.librarything.com/about/publishers

And here are the terms of service, which prohibit advertising and promotion:
http://www.librarything.com/privacy

my bad

Have a lovely festive season, dear Amanda.

>123 PaulCranswick: Thank you, my friend! I'm currently recovering from cooking and eating Christmas dinner.

>124 amanda4242: Elasticated pants are the order of the day!

>125 PaulCranswick: Already in my fuzzy pajamas!

273. Acts of Faith by Jackson Marsh

274. It's Only Forever: Labyrinth by Jes Battis

In It’s Only Forever: Labyrinth, Jes Battis takes a very Queer and very personal look at the 1986 Jim Henson directed cult classic.

Battis does an excellent job of interpreting the movie through a Queer lens, and gives much food for thought. Still, it is a testament to the multifaceted genius of Labyrinth that their extensive analysis still does not come close to unpacking everything that is hidden in the Labyrinth.

My one complaint is that Battis is sometimes too personal, and I sometimes felt like I was getting more insight into the author than I was the movie.

Received via NetGalley.

275. The War by Garth Ennis

The book opens with a group of hipsters sitting around in a New York apartment explaining to each other how nuclear will never happen. London is wiped from the map later that night.

I found this book almost painful to read not because of the depictions of life after, but because the book follows the same group of unbearable hipsters as they're still in complete denial as the world is literally ending around them.

The only positive things I have to say about this are about the art and lettering. Becky Cloonan's illustrations, Tamra Bonvillain's colors, and Pat Brosseau's letters are stellar and worthy of a far better book.

Received via NetGalley.

276. H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator: A Novel by Jeff Rovin

Just watch the movie.

277. Holywell Street by Jackson Marsh

278. You're All Mine Tonight by Takiba, translated by Kevin Steinbach

A businessman returning from an overseas posting discovers the lover he ghosted is now his coworker.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I had half expected the characters to be emotionally immature and completely oblivious, but they were neither and I wound up actually being emotionally invested. I do wish there had been a little more backstory, and that we had gotten a few more panels of them talking and a few less of angst, but overall I enjoyed the book.

Received via NetGalley.

279. Little Moons by Jen Storm

280. Confidential Reports by Immanuel Mifsud, translated by Maurice Riordan

Decent collection of poetry, but not terribly memorable.

281. Snake Hill by Jackson Marsh

282. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs

283. A Depraved Indifference by Jackson Marsh

284. 1892 by Jackson Marsh

285. Strange Ways to Die in the Dark Ages by Emily Bush & Carrie Ingram-Gettins

A breezy, speedy account of death, medicine, and funerary practices in the "Dark Ages."

First, the title of the book is a misnomer: disease, famine, and armed conflict are all common ways to die both then and now. The authors do give some examples of uncommon deaths, like Henry I dying after eating a surfeit of lampreys, but mostly it's recounting the same stuff that was covered in history class.

The authors are not always rigorous in presenting information in a way that distinguishes between verifiable facts and apocryphal tales, presenting the legend of Alfred and the cakes in the same way they do instances of the plague.

There is a lighthearted tone to the writing that makes the book an entertaining read despite the gruesome subject, but I do recommend it for anyone looking to educate themselves about the time period.

Received via NetGalley.

286. Banyak & Fecks by Jackson Marsh

287. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw

I see what Shaw was trying to do, but I don't think he did it very well.

288. Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

289. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

A young girl comes of age in the shadow of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Some words I'd use to describe The Dictionary of Lost Words: bland, facile, stultifying, verbose.

There is just enough plot in this book to make a neat little novella, but Williams padded it to the point that it felt longer than the OED itself. It also didn't help that the main character is such a little milquetoast that she barely counts as a supporting character in her own story.

All in all, I feel like my time would have been more productively—and pleasurably—spent just browsing through the OED.

Received via NetGalley.

290. The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold

Reading a new Penric and Desdemona book is like catching up with a cherished friend. It's a delight to see how Pen and Des have grown together, and established an expanding family around themselves. I hope they continue to have adventures for many years to come.

Received via NetGalley.

291. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

292. The Neverending Book by Naoki Matayoshi & Shinsuke Yoshitake, translated by Kendall Heitzman

A king with failing eyesight sends two men out into the world to collect stories of the books he can no longer read; upon their return, the two men spend thirteen nights recounting the tales to the king.

The Neverending Book is a strange little book, made up of short vignettes about imaginary books. The fanciful tales alternate between whimsical, creepy, thought-provoking, and poignant. It reminds me a bit of Calvino.

Received via NetGalley.

293. Three Loves, One Death by Evald Flisar, translated by David Limon

294. The Republic of San Marino by Charles de Bruc, translated by William Warren Tucker

A 19th century history of the tiny country. I'm amazed the author managed to fill ~200 pages.

295. Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

This one's quite the page-turner! Unlike Charles's other works it's very light on romantic relationships, but it still has the same wonderfully written characters and attention to historical detail I've come to expect of her writing.

296. The Supersonic Phallus by Steven Key Meyers

Two reporters in Colorado in 1947 investigate UFO sightings.

This novella has the feel of a 1950s' pulp novel written with a 2020s' sensibility. I wish there was more character development and that some of the events were given more ink, but I think its limitations kind of fit with its idiom. Not a deep read, but entertaining.

Received via NetGalley.

297. Torchwood: Almost Perfect by James Goss

298. Finding You by Aisha Malik

Not my genre, but I had limited choices of Bruneian authors. It might work better for people who enjoy Hallmark Channel movies.

299. Pirates of the Silver Coast by Scott Chantler

300. 1893 by Jackson Marsh

Stats

Books
new reads: 263
re-reads: 37
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 47
Grand European Tour: 77

Original language
Albanian: 3
Belarusian: 1
Bosnian: 1
Catalan: 1
Czech: 1
Dutch: 1
English: 189
Estonian: 1
French: 20
Georgian: 1
German: 8
Greek: 1
Hungarian: 1
Icelandic: 1
Japanese: 44
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Macedonian: 1
Maltese: 1
Montenegrin: 1
Multiple: 3
Polish: 3
Portuguese: 2
Russian: 3
Slovak: 1
Slovene: 1
Spanish: 2
Swedish: 3
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 1
Yiddish: 1

Translations: 109

From
Edelweiss: 10
Everand: 7
Globalcomix: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 24
Kobo Plus: 22
Library: 69
NetGalley: 73
New: 21
Open Library: 11
Shelves: 62

pages read: 62,718 pages
audiobook hours: 22 hours 59 minutes
average rating: 3.13 stars

Authors
female: 105 books by 83 authors
male: 158 books by 115 authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 37 books

Nationalities
Albanian: 2
American: 66
Andorran: 1
Argentinian: 1
Armenian: 1
Australian: 3
Austrian: 1
Belarusian: 1
Belgian: 2
Bosnian: 1
British: 65
Bruneian: 1
Bulgarian: 2
Canadian: 18
Croatian: 3
Cypriot: 1
Czech: 1
Danish: 1
Dutch: 3
Estonian: 1
Fijian: 1
Finnish: 1
French: 2
Georgian: 1
German: 2
Greek: 1
I-Kiribati: 1
Icelandic: 1
Irish: 4
Italian: 5
Japanese: 38
Kosovar: 1
Latvian: 1
Lithuanian: 1
Luxembourgish: 1
Macedonian: 1
Maltese: 1
Mexican: 1
Moldovan: 2
Montenegrin: 1
N/A (multiple authors, unknown): 31
New Zealander: 3
Peruvian: 1
Polish: 2
Portuguese: 1
Romanian: 2
Russian: 1
Sammarinese: 1
Serbian: 1
Slovak: 1
Slovenian: 1
Solomon Islander: 2
Spanish: 1
Swedish: 2
Swiss: 3
Timorese: 1
Tongan: 1
Turkish: 1
Ukrainian: 2

>131 amanda4242: This summary is quite impressive!! Was it a good reading year?

>132 DebiCates: Thanks! I'd say it was a good year overall; I had quite a few four or above reads, and managed to read something from every country in Europe.

>133 amanda4242: I'm glad to hear that, that you are pleased. I saw the average 3.13 and thought it might have been a middling year.

I checked my own average (on GR); it was 4.2. I don't think that means I read a bunch of books I'd highly recommend blindly, but I do see it as a clear sign I've gotten better at selecting what I want to read. Also, I DNF more quickly now. It's this aging thing; I feel the pressure of limited time remaining much more keenly.

>134 DebiCates: A three star read for me is something that's enjoyable and I wouldn't mind reading more by the author. Kind of like weekday food, rather than a Sunday feast.

>135 amanda4242: That's the "problem" with ratings, especially 3 & 4, everyone has their own system. For me, 3 is a little less than it is for you I think: it means yeah it was decent while I was reading it, but honestly I'll not remember much about it in a few months.

Actually, LOL, that is like your rating: a weekday food that, in a week, I won't recall much at all about. But might have it again in a few more weeks.

>136 DebiCates: It's always a pleasure to come across something unforgettable, but I'm not unhappy to just be entertained for a few hours.