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Stadi's Reading List


Stadi

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Ill try to remember to update this list regularly because else I'll only forget what I've read anyway.

My memory is very poor, I could actually re-read crime/mystery books and be surprised at the outcome (again!). But I reckon that's only with books that didn't impress me much to begin with, so nothing lost there.

Okay now to the books!

 

Reading atm:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (Audiobook by Stephen Fry)

Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion

2007

January - Got off to a slow start and as you can see, but not to worry!

A Walk in the Woods: rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (4/5)

Bill Bryson

350 pages

First book I read of Bill Bryson, I thought it was a fun read with some facts thrown in. I like books that can teach me something without actually being written like a dull textbook.

A Short History of Nearly Everything (Special Illustrated Edition) (5/5)

Bill Bryson

624 pages

My favourite book of his so far, I find both history and science very interesting and that's the main reason for enjoying this book so much. I really enjoyed the funny anecdotes and I find his writing style very accessible. Definitely worth a re-read.

 

February - Finally got a library pass and it shows :D

Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, christ's childhood pal (4/5)

Christopher Moore

416 pages

I had heard quite a lot of praise for this book, and that's what made me pick it up in the first place. Though I'm sure I would've enjoyed it a whole lot more if I had known more about the bible and religion to begin with, it was a fun read nevertheless .

The Lost Continent: travels in small-town America (2/5)

Bill Bryson

352 pages

Hmm, I found this so-so. To be honest I don't remember much of it, and I don't think America is that interesting to begin with.

Neither here nor there: Travels in Europe (5/5)

Bill Bryson

304 pages

I like travelogues, I love European culture, I love this book :D

A brief history of Time (4/5)

Stephen Hawking

224 pages

Very interesting, but perhaps it would've been better if I had read this in stages and not in one long haul. I'm seriously considering getting my own copy.

Notes from a Big Country (4/5)

Bill Bryson

320 pages

I believe this was a collection of columns he wrote for some newspaper or something. Since it made fun of American society I'll give it 4/5, I think it might've worked better as seperate columns though.

 

March - Yep.. quite a good month, I might even get an average of one book a week if I continue like this ;) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (4/5)

J.K. Rowling (re-read)

336 pages

As great as ever, how can I not reread all the books when I know the last one will be released this year!

Carrie(3/5)

Stephen King

256 pages

My very first King book. It wasn't what I had expected but that only means that next time I'll just have to be careful with what I pick.

Geisha(4/5)

Liza Dalby

384 pages

I didn't know anything about geisha when I started this book and I'm very glad I picked this up. It's very enlightening, not only did it form a great picture of what life as a geisha must be like it also helps you understand some aspects of the Japanese culture a lot better.

Art and illusion; a study in the psychology of pictorial representation(3/5)

E.H. Gombrich

412 pages

It's a bit dry but if you're interested in art it's a good read. The only thing that bothered me was that most pictures were in black and white, which I think is a big no no in artbooks.

Death on the Nile (4/5)

Agatha Christie

288 pages

My first Christie Myst'ry... ...right. It was quite a fun read and kept me guessing till the end. I'll be sure to try some of her other books.

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April - I see I've been rather lucky with my choices this year, still haven't come across a book I absolutely hate xd

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (4/5)

J.K. Rowling (Audiobook - Stephen Fry) (re-read)

(368 pages)

Eventhough of all the books in the series I find this the weakest, it's still great fun and gets a lot better towards the end.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (4/5)

J.K. Rowling (Audiobook - Stephen Fry) (re-read)

(468 pages)

Sirius was never my favourite character but it's still a great book, and Stephen Fry is an absolute genius.

Pyramids(4/5)

Terry Pratchett

384 pages

After hearing a lot about the discworld books I thought I'd just give it a try. And I'm glad I did, I'll be reading some more when I can actually get my hands on them. They only have a few books at my library and they're always taken, damn you people! ;b

The Velocity of Honey(3/5)

Jay Ingram

224 pages

Another non-fiction book about science. What I really liked about this book is all the different cases from a lot of different sciences. But it's very specific, perhaps a bit too specific. I don't think I'll read it again and I don't think I'll buy my own copy.

The Magicians' Guild(3/5)

Trudi Canavan

480 pages

Hm.. I'm not sure what to think of this, it started out rather boring. Well maybe boring isn't the right word.

I thought it was fantasy but it might aswell have been YA fantasy, I'm still not quite sure about that. It can't escape some of the genres clich

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I finished both The Novice and Frankenstein yesterday.

 

Since I already wrote a short piece on Frankenstein in the Classics challenge I'll just copy that here;

 

Frankenstein (2/5)

Mary Shelley

352 pages

It was an okay book, but it wasn't nearly as scary as I was led to believe ;b. In fact, for me this wasn't horror at all.

To begin with I didn't really know much about the storyline so I'm glad I read it if only to know what it is exactly that's written in the book. As I understand it many of the movies get it quite wrong.

I was also quite surprised to find myself liking the monster a lot more than his creator, and I'm not sure that was intended. :D

Let's just say I really liked the idea of the book, but I was fairly disappointed at the way it was executed. The language is flowery; the characters weren't very believable; the women were weak, flat characters, the 'hero' was chauvinistic, annoying and stupid, and I actually wanted to slap some sense into him at the end.

 

The Novice (3/5)

Trudi Canavan

592 pages

It was a lot better than the first book, but it was so very very predictable at times... No make that every time ;b

It was still a fun read, and a real pageturner for me, read it in a day. I can't say I was surprised at any of the twists and turns the story took though. If you would've asked me what I thought was about to happen when I had finished book 1 I could've just told you the plot for book 2. However there was something strangely satisfying in actually seeing everything unfold as you're reading.

This will be just another average fantasy trilogy it seems. Let's see if the third book can change my mind about that.

 

 

btw, is it possible to edit my first post? I can't seem to find it anywhere ;b

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May

The High Lord (4/5)

Trudi Canavan

656 pages

I've only just finished it a few minutes ago and I must say it was well worth the read. This book just made the series improve lots and I'd say now that it's a series worth reading for a fantasy fan. At least as long as you don't mind that it's rather 'light reading' compared to some of the more popular series.

It started out great but I feel that the most interesting part of the book is somewhere around page 200 or so. Not to say that the rest wasn't good, it was, but the ending was a tad bitter.

Though I can't claim it was unexpected..

 

SPOILER; no really, if you want to read this book don't read the spoiler or it's going to ruin all the fun.

I would've given it 5/5 if the most interesting character wasn't killed off in the end. I saw it coming but that doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed.

 

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