Vodkafan's book list 2013

[vodkafan]

Notes:
(k) denotes kindle ebook.
There are no challenges and no targets this year. Instead I just have a big pile of books I have collected that took my fancy. Among them are books from favourite authors still not read; I wish to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of these writers.
Something new for 2013! For the first time I have decided to add a Books Bought In 2013 feature . I promise to update this honestly.

Books Bought In 2013
 
Doris Day Her Own Story   kindly donated by Frankie
Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers £3.99
The Green Brain  amazon £2.81 incl p&p
The Heaven Makers amazon £3.79 incl p&p
Dune  amazon £2.81 incl p&p
The Unlikely Pilgimage Of Harold Fry (k) £2.66 
World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 2 (k) £1.90
World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 3 (k) £1.90
World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 4 (k) free
Miss Peregrine's Home For Unusual Children kindly donated by Sofia
Oryx and Crake kindly donated by Sofia
Small Island £1.50 charity shop
Pure £0.95 charity shop
No Nice Girl Swears £0.20 charity shop
The Sexual Life Of Catherine M £0.99 charity shop
I'm Only Being Honest £1.99 charity shop
Below Stairs £0.99 charity shop
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You £0.99 Charity shop
Balti Britain £1.50 charity shop
Who Dares Wins £0.20
The Age of Revolution 1789-1848 £0.20
The Age Of Capital 1848-1875 £0.20
The Age Of Empire 1875-1914 £0.20
Shirley £0.20
The Colonel £0.20
The Puzzle Of God £0.20
The Clothes On Their Backs £0.20
Perfume £0.20
Alone In Berlin £0.20
Bonk book swop with Sofia
The Terror book swop with Sofia
Daily Life In Victorian London kindle £0.66
Bleak House  free kindle download
The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde free kindle download
The Moonstone free kindle download
The Woman In White free kindle download
Ruth free kindle download
The Importance Of Being Earnest free kindle download
Basil free kindle download
Les Miserables free kindle download
Wuthering Heights free kindle download
Life as A Victorian Lady  kindle £1.85
Workhouse Via Amazon £2.81 inc postage
Life In A Victorian Household kindle £0.66
The Seven Curses Of London kindle £0.99
The Victorian House     Via Amazon £2.81 inc postage
Victorian Worthies  free kindle download
The Blackest Streets  Via Amazon £5.05 inc postage
The Book Club Bible  £0.20
Girl, Interrupted  £0.20
The Northamptonshire Village Book £0.20
Shout At The Devil £0.20
Thieves' Kitchen £0.20
The Lost Continent £0.20
The Crowded Street £0.20
Mrs Oliphant £0.20
Round the Bend £0.20
Sophies' World £0.20  (for daughter for the philosophy)
A Special Relationship £00 (picked up at work)
Up The Line £2.81 amazon incl.postage
Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure In Victorian Britain £6.92 inc postage
Inventing The Victorians £6.68 incl postage
Enquire Within Upon Everything 1890 £5.00 incl postage
The Steampunk megapack (26 stories)
Viridis
Lady Of Devices A Steampunk Adventure
Steampunk Erotica
The Monster In The Mist (Chronological Man) £2.59 total for all 5 books above
To Miss With Love £0.50 Charity shop
Confederates In The Attic £0.49 Charity shop
Love-act    £0.20
It's A Small Medium And Outsize World   £0.20
Good Behaviour   £0.20
The Rituals Of Infinity  £0.20
The Duelling Machine   £0.20
The Siege Of Krishnapur  £0.20
Hayfever   £0.50
The Selfish Gene £0.50
Sharpe's Company  £0.50
Two Eggs On My Plate  £0.50
 A Plague Of Angels  £1.49 Oxfam
Slavery A New Global History £1.49 Oxfam
Tales From The Workhouse  kindle download £0.77
The Martian Emperor (Chronological Man book 2)  kindle download £0.77
The Fall Of The Towers trilogy   kindle download £5.97 total (3 books)
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot  £0.50
The Warrior Queens Antonia Fraser £0.50
Redemption Stanley Tookie Williams £0.50
Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali £0.75
The Caged Virgin Ayaan Hirsi Ali £0.75
Nerd Do Well Simon Pegg £ 0.75
Mrs P's Journey £0.50
Forensic Clues To Murder Brian Marriner £0.50
Confessions Of An English Opium Eater Thomas De Quincey £0.20
Farnham's Legend Helge £0.10
It's Not About The Bike Lance Armstrong £0.10
Toast Nigel Slater £0.50
Bad Blood Lorna Sage £0.50
The Dark Of The Sun Wilbur Smith £0.20
I Know My Own Heart Anne Lister £0.20
The Voyage Out Virginia Woolf £0.20
D-Day Stepehen Ambrose £ 0.20
The Book Of The Dead £0.75
Of All Possible Worlds William Tenn £0.20
The Makeshift Rocket Poul Anderson £0.20
Life The Universe and Everything £0.20
More Than Super-Human AE VAN Vogt £0.20
Behold The Man  Moorcock £0.20
The History Of London  Sir Walter Besant  Free kindle download
Can You Forgive Her Trollope Free Kindle download
The Anome  kindle £2.99
The Asutra   kindle download £2.99
The Brave Free Men  kindle £2.99
Araminta Station kindle £2.99
Ecce And Old Earth kindle £2.99
Throy kindle £2.99
Star King kindle £2.99
The Face kindle £2.99
The Book Of Dreams kindle £2.99
The Palace Of Love kindle £2.99
The Killing Machine kindle £2.99
The Blue World kindle £2.99
City Of A Thousand Suns £4.99
The Towers Of Toron £4.99
Out Of The Dead City £4.99
Life Of Pi free kindle download
Our nig free kindle download
Postal Pleasures : Sex, Scandal £ 5.99 kindle 
Between Women: Friendship Desire and Marriage in Victorian England £8.99 kindle

Testament Of Youth                                        Vera Brittain £0.20

Arise Sir Michael Caine                                   William Hall  £0.20

Journey Through A Small Planet                    Emanuel Litvenoff £0.20

Notes From A Small Island                              Bill Bryson £0.20

The Other Side Of The Dale                            Gervaise Phinn £0.20

Nineteen Seventy Nine                                   Rhona Cameron £0.20

Foundation                                                       Isaac Asimov £0.20

The Naked Sun                                                 Isaac Asimov £0.20

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze                  Edited by Mick O'Hare £0.20

The Road To Samarcand                                 Patrick O'Brian £0.20

 
 
Running total £163.71   140 books
 
January:
The Circuit - Bob Shepherd 3/6
Four To Score- Janet Evanovitch (Stephanie Plum #4) (k) 4/6
The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak 6/6
Another Day In The Frontal Lobe - Katrina S. Firlik 4/6
World War II Blitz Diary (volume 1) - Ruby Alice Side (k) 5/6
High Five - Janet Evanovitch (Stephanie Plum #5) (k) 3/6
The Maid's Tale - Rose Plummer with Tom Quinn 4/6
For The Sins Of My Father - Albert Demeo 4/6
Emma - Jane Austen (k) 5/6
World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 2 - Ruby Alice Side (k) 5/6
Rosie's War: An Englishwoman's Escape From Occupied France - Rosemary Say (k) 5/6

February:
Battle Royale - Koushon Takami (k) 5/6
Below Stairs - Margaret Powell 4/6
Climbing The Stairs - Margaret Powell 4/6
Breakfast At Tiffanys - Truman Capote (k) 5/6
The Primitive - E C Tubb (k) 3/6
Okinawa- The Last Battle Of WWII - Robert Leckie (k) 3/6
Hot Six - Janet Evanovitch (k) 4/6
Murder On The Orient Express - Agatha Christie (k) 5/6
Girl Meets Boy - Ali Smith 6/6 

March:
Mansfield Park  -Jane Austen (k) 5/6
The Victorian House - Judith Flanders 5/6

April:
Life As A Victorian Lady - Pamela Horn (k) 3/6 
Life In A Victorian House - Pamela Horn (k) 3/6
Seven Up - Janet Evanovitch (k) 3/6
Daily Life In Victorian London - Lee Jackson (k) 4/6
Workhouse - Pamela Oldfield 2/6
The Blackest Streets - Sarah Wise 5/6
Bonk - Mary Roach 5/6
No Nice Girl Swears  - Alice Leone Moats 2/6

May:
Pemberley - Anne Tennant 3/6
Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen 6/6
The Lost Continent -Bill Bryson 4/6
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You - Marcus Chown 5/6
Warrior - Geoff Thompson 3/6
This book will save your life - A.M. Holmes 2/6
Millennium - John Varley  3/6
To Miss With Love - Katherine Birbalsingh 5/6
Inventing The Victorians - Matthew Sweet  4/6
The Seven Curses Of London - James Greenwood  2/6 

June:
Survival Of The Fittest - Jonathon Kellerman  2/6
The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry  Rachel Loyd 6/6
Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers Philip Stokes 2/6
The Heaven Makers Frank Herbert 3/6
Love-act  M.E. Austen 4/6
Confederates In The Attic Tony Horwitz 4/6
Doris Day Her Own Story  A E Hotchner 2/6
The Sexual Life Of Catherine M  Catherine Millet 2/6
WW2 Blitz Diary Vol 3   Ruby Alice Side (k) 5/6
Saving Faith David Baldacci 5/6
Moondust Andrew Smith 4/6
Small Island Andrea Levy 6/6 
   
July:
The Duelling Machine Ben Bova 2/6
The Mad God's Amulet Michael Moorcock 2/6 
The Sword Of The Dawn Moorcock 2/6
The Runestaff  Moorcock  4/6  
The Monster In The Mist  Andrew Mayne 4/6  
The Rituals Of Infinity Michael Moorcock 2/6
Flowers For Algernon  Daniel Keyes 6/6
Up The Line Robert Siverberg 5/6
A Plague Of Angels  Sheri S. Tepper  3/6  
Inside The Tardis James Chapman 1/6
Dune Frank Herbert  4/6 

August:
Tales From The Workhouse  Mary Higgs,James Greenwood 1/6 
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks  Rebecca Skloon  3/6
Consuming Passions Judith Flanders  3/6
Between Women: Friendship, Desire and Marriage in Victorian England  Sharon  Marcus 4/6
The Martian Emperor  Andrew Maine 2/6
Behold The Man  Michael Moorcock 5/6 
Toast Nigel Slater  5/6
Araminta Station Jack Vance  4/6
 
September:
Ecce and Old Earth Jack Vance  4/6
Throy Jack Vance 4/6
The Caged Virgin Ayaan Hirsi Ali  5/6
The Anome Jack Vance  3/6
The Brave Free Men Jack Vance 4/6
The Asutra Jack Vance 2/6 
WWII London Blitz Diaries Vol.4 Rubie Alice Side 3/6

Dream Science  Thomas Palmer 3/6

The History Of London Sir Walter Besant  4/6 

Sharpe's Company  Bernard Cornwell 4/6 

The Star King Jack Vance 6/6 

 

October:

The Killing Machine Jack Vance 5/6

The Palace Of Love Jack Vance 4/6

The Face Jack Vance 4/6

The Book Of Dreams  Jack Vance 5/6

Out Of The Dead City Samuel R Delaney 3/6

The Towers Of Toron Samuel R Delaney 5/6 

143   Jade Winters 2/6 

Miss Appleby's Academy Elizabeth Gill  5/6

Nineteen Seventy Nine Rhona Cameron 6/6

The Maid's Tale  Rose Plummer (re-read)

November:

Can You Forgive Her? Anthony Trollope 5/6

London In The Nineteenth Century  Jerry White 6/6

Gaslight Villainy; True Tales of Victorian Murder Grahame Farrell 5/6 

  
December:

Jonathon Strange And Mr Norrell  Suzanna Clarke 6/6 Best Book Of The Year

The Tower Grave   James Moncrieff   2/6

The Secret History Of Our Streets   Joseph Bullman, Neil Hegarty Brian Hill 4/6    98

Edited December 14, 2013 by vodkafan

[vodkafan]

TBR pile (in no particular order)
 
Love-act   M.E. Austen 
It's A Small Medium And Outsize World  John Taylor
Good Behaviour  Molly Keane
The Rituals Of Infinity Michael Moorcock
The Duelling Machine  Ben Bova
The Siege Of Krishnapur J.G. Farrell
Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers
The Green Brain
The Heaven Makers
Dune  
The Unlikely Pilgimage Of Harold Fry  
Up The Line  
Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure In Victorian Britain Judith Flanders
Inventing The Victorians
Enquire Within Upon Everything 1890
The Steampunk megapack (26 stories)
Viridis
Lady Of Devices A Steampunk Adventure
Steampunk Erotica
The Monster In The Mist (Chronological Man)
Miss Peregrine's Home For Unusual Children - Ransom Riggs
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
World War II London Blitz Diary vol 2
World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 3
World War II London Blitz Diary vol 4 - Ruby Alice Side
Small Island - Andrea Levey
The Victorian Time Traveller - James D Quinton Abandoned
Born On The Night Of The Living Dead - David Young
The Circuit - Bob Shepherd
Mansfield Park Jane Austen
Emma -Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
World War II London Blitz Diary - Ruby Alice Side
The Maid's Tale - Rose Plummer and Tom Quinn
Climbing The Stairs - Margaret Powell
Below Stairs - Margaret Powell
Balti Britain - Ziauddin Sardar
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You - Marcus Chown
Stephanie Plum series 4-20 - Janet Evanovitch
The Memory Game Nicci French
Forgotten Voices of the Blitz Joshua Levine
The Book Thief Markus Zusak
One Day David Nichols
Survival Of The Fittest Jonathon Kellerman
For The Sins Of My Father Albert Demeo
Moon Dust Andrew Smith
Just Six Numbers Martin Rees
The Victorians AN Wilson
Victorian London Liza Picard
Geisha Liza Dalby
In The Heart Of The Sea Nathanial Philbrick
Another Day In The Frontal Lobe Katrina S Firlik
Spycatcher Peter Wright
Inside The Tardis James Chapman
Best New SF 25
The Midnight Palace Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Pemberley Emma Tennant
This Book Will Save Your Life am homes
Ways Of Seeing John Berger
Gunners On Tour Maurice Court
The Power Of Now Eckhart Tolle
Girl Meets Boy Ali Smith
Mother Tongue Bill Bryson
The Almost Moon Alice Sebold
The Martians Kim Stanley Robinson Abandoned boring
Rivers Of London Ben Aaronovitch
The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans
The Women Who Lived For Danger Marcus Binney
The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer Michelle Hodkin
The Memory Game Nicci French
The German Invasion Of Norway Geirr H Haarr
Raj Lawrence James
The Mad God's Amulet,
The Sword Of The Dawn,
The Runestaff Michael Moorcock
Flowers For Algernon Daniel Keyes
Accidents In The Home Tessa Hadley
Devoted Ladies Molly Keane
A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Lord Of The Flies William Golding
Murder On The Orient Express Agatha Christie
Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote
Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier
Battle Royale Koushun Takami
Untying The Knot Linda Gillard
The Primitive EC Tubb
The Picture Of Dorian Grey Oscar Wilde
Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irvine
Meeting At Infinity John Brunner
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
One of Our Thursdays Is Missing,
Thursday Next First Among Sequels,
Something Rotten,
The Well Of Lost Plots,
Lost In A Good Book,
The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde
God Collar- Marcus Brigstocke abandoned
Saving Faith - David Baldacci
Stalin's Ghost - Martin Cruz Smith
The Spire - Richard North Patterson
Eye Of The Needle - Ken Follet
The Dark Of The sun - Wilbur Smith
Smokescreen -Dick Francis
Lurulu - Jack Vance
Emphyrio - Jack Vance
Life Of Pi - Yann Martel
Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories - Lizzy Ford
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson
Pure - Andrew Miller
No Nice Girl Swears - Alice Leon Moats
The Sexual Life Of Catherine M - Catherine Millet
I'm Only Being Honest - Jeremy Kyle
Who Dares Wins
The Age of Revolution 1789-1848
The Age Of Capital 1848-1875
The Age Of Empire 1875-1914
Shirley
The Colonel
The Puzzle Of God
The Clothes On Their Backs    abandoned boring
Alone In Berlin
Perfume
Bonk
The Terror
Daily Life In Victorian London
Bleak House 
The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
The Moonstone
The Woman In White
Ruth
The Importance Of Being Earnest
Basil
Les Miserables
Wuthering Heights
Life as A Victorian Lady 
Workhouse
Life In A Victorian Household
The Seven Curses Of London
The Victorian House  -Judith Flanders 
Victorian Worthies 
The Blackest Streets 
Girl Interrupted
Mrs Oliphant
The Book Club Bible 
The Northamptonshire Village Book 
Shout At The Devil 
Thieves' Kitchen
The Lost Continent
The Crowded Street
Round the Bend
A Special Relationship
Hayfever  (Parragon health guide)
The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins
Sharpe's Company Bernard Cornwell
Two Eggs On My Plate Oluf Reed Olsen
 A Plague Of Angels Sheri S. Tepper
Slavery A New Global History Jeremy Black
Tales From The Workhouse  (Mary Higgs, James Greenwood etc)
The Martian Emperor (Chronological Man book 2) Andrew Mayne
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot 
The Warrior Queens Antonia Fraser
Redemption Stanley Tookie Williams 
Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali 
The Caged Virgin Ayaan Hirsi Ali 
Nerd Do Well Simon Pegg
Mrs P's Journey
Forensic Clues To Murder Brian Marriner 
Confessions Of An English Opium Eater Thomas De Quincey 
Farnham's Legend Helge 
It's Not About The Bike Lance Armstrong 
Toast Nigel Slater 
Bad Blood Lorna Sage 
The Dark Of The Sun Wilbur Smith 
I Know My Own Heart Anne Lister 
The Voyage Out Virginia Woolf 
D-Day Stepehen Ambrose 
The Book Of The Dead
Of All Possible Worlds William Tenn 
The Makeshift Rocket Poul Anderson 
Life The Universe and Everything
More Than Super-Human AE VAN Vogt 
Behold The Man  Moorcock 
The History Of London  Sir Walter Besant  
Can You Forgive Her Trollope 
The Anome
The Asutra   
The Brave Free Men  
Araminta Station 
Ecce And Old Earth
Throy 
Star King
The Face
The Book Of Dreams
The Palace Of Love
The Killing Machine
The Blue World
City Of A Thousand Suns
The Towers Of Toron
Out Of The Dead City
Postal Pleasures : Sex, Scandal
Between Women: Friendship Desire and Marriage in Victorian England  Sharon Marcus

Testament Of Youth                                        Vera Brittain

Arise Sir Michael Caine                                   William Hall

Journey Through A Small Planet                    Emanuel Litvenoff

Notes From A Small Island                              Bill Bryson

The Other Side Of The Dale                            Gervaise Phinn

Nineteen Seventy Nine                                   Rhona Cameron

Foundation                                                       Isaac Asimov

The Naked Sun                                                 Isaac Asimov

Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze                  Edited by Mick O'Hare

The Road To Samarcand                                 Patrick O'Brian

Edited October 21, 2013 by vodkafan

[vodkafan]

2013 Wish List
Ones with a line through have been purchased and moved to TBR pile
 

Me Before You

The Story Of Us
Born on the Night of the Living Dead: Growing Up With Talking apes, Killer Sharks, and Flesh Eating Zombies -David Young
Red Leaves
Restless
Vanished Kingdoms
What's Wrong With Eating People
Bonk  donated by Sofia

Wedlock
The Dead Of Winter
God Is Not Great
Oranges are Not The Only Fruit
UR
A Little Girl In My Room
Rosie's War
If Walls Could Talk
The Book Of Human Skin
The Sisters Brothers
Bleak House
Woman In White
Toms All Alone
Girl Meets Boy
A Beautiful Blue Death
Apocalypse Cow
Sister
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Kindly donated by Sofia
The thoughts and happenings of Wilfred Price, purveyor of superior funerals
Dancing in a distant place
Whispers underground
Pure
The Snow Child

Edited April 20, 2013 by vodkafan

[julie]

Hi James

Welcome to the 2013 Club .

Sounds like you have a plan for the year, and it'll be nice if you can branch out into anything that takes your fancy . Good luck on your wish list. (You wrote down Miss Peregrine twice . )

[vodkafan]

Hi James

Welcome to the 2013 Club .

Sounds like you have a plan for the year, and it'll be nice if you can branch out into anything that takes your fancy . Good luck on your wish list. (You wrote down Miss Peregrine twice . )

 

Oh yeah so I did ! Thanks. I will fill in the TBR pile maybe tomorrow. Or a few tonight if I can remember them.

[vodkafan]

I have pinched this from bobblybear's 2013 book list it seems a good simple rating system and I don't use any at the moment..

 

1/6: I didn't like it

2/6: It was okay

3/6: I liked it

4/6: I really liked it

5/6: It was amazing

6/6: Simply outstanding - on my 'best of all time' list

[vodkafan]

Reading me some Stephanie Plum at the moment

[Devi]

You have a few books there I wouldn't mind reading, so I look forward to hearing what you think of them!

[Kidsmum]

Good luck with your reading in 2013 VF i have a few of the same books on my TBR pile so will look forward to reading your reviews

[bree]

Lots of new titles for me, on your list, vodkafan.

 

Will look out for your reviews.

[chesilbeach]

Happy reading in 2013! You've got some great books coming up, particularly would like to recommend A Fine Balance.

[vodkafan]

Thanks chesil, kidsmum, bree and devi. The kids bought me loads of books for Christmas which I must now add on to my TBR pile:

God Collar- Marcus Brigstocke

Saving Faith - David Baldacci

Stalin's Ghost - Martin Cruz Smith

The Spire - Richard North Patterson

Eye Of The Needle - Ken Follet

The Dark Of The sun - Wilbur Smith

Smokescreen -Dick Francis

Lurulu - Jack Vance

Emphyrio - Jack Vance

[chesilbeach]

The kids bought me loads of books for Christmas

 

Ah, you've trained them well.

[Kylie]

Happy reading in 2013, VF. I think about half of your TBR pile is on my TBR pile, but I think you'll get to them much faster than I will, so I'll read your thoughts with interest.

[busy91]

I've only read one book from your list, although there are a few that I had wanted to read for many years now!

Good luck with your reading for 2013.

[vodkafan]

Thanks Kylie and busy91. Still got the kids so am just reading snatches here and there today.

[bree]

Ah, you've trained them well.

 

I agree

[Nollaig]

I see you've got The Book Thief, Flowers For Algernon and Battle Royale all on your TBR - excellent books all three, I've loved each of them. Will be looking forward to your thoughts on those. I will have to sift through the rest of your lists too for some new reading ideas!

 

Happy reading in 2013!

[vodkafan]

Thanks Noll yes I am looking forward to those particular three. Battle Royale I have had sitting on my kindle for over a year and never seemed to get around to it (although my daughter did borrow my kindle for 6 months so that is one excuse)

[Devi]

Thanks Noll yes I am looking forward to those particular three. Battle Royale I have had sitting on my kindle for over a year and never seemed to get around to it (although my daughter did borrow my kindle for 6 months so that is one excuse)

 

That wouldn't happen to be related to the movie of the same name would it? The japanese version. I absolutely loved that movie if it is!

[Lilywhite]

If I could steal anyone's TBR pile, it would be yours! You have some fantastic books on there, I'm exited for you

 

Happy reading 2013

[Brian.]

Good luck with your 2013 reading. I read Flowers for Algernon at school and I remember it really got my brain ticking over.

[willoyd]

I have pinched this from bobblybear's 2013 book list it seems a good simple rating system and I don't use any at the moment..

 

1/6: I didn't like it

2/6: It was okay

3/6: I liked it

4/6: I really liked it

5/6: It was amazing

6/6: Simply outstanding - on my 'best of all time' list

 

Interesting - haven't spotted that on bobblybear's list yet, but that's very similar to the one I've been using for the past few years (seven or so now, I think). I use a slightly different set of definitions at the bottom end, not least because I've found that i've wanted to differentiate between books that mildly didn't like, and those I really didn't!

 

1/6: disliked intensely almost certainly unfinished!

2/6: disappointing: sometimes unfinished.

3/6: solid enjoyable read, but nothing that I was especially excited about.

4/6: a really good, involving read, hard to put down. Recommended.

5/6; excellent, unputdownable, with something special about it

6/6; goes on to my all-time favourites list (which I keep a list of at the front end of my blog.

 

On LibraryThing, I rank them 1, 2, 3, 3.5, 4 and 5 stars.

 

If I think a book is outstanding, I will quite often rate it 5/6 to start with, and find myself rerating to 6/6 later: I've found that favourites are quite often those that grow on me after I've read a book. I've even had the odd 4/6 do that in the past!

 

Later edit: Just been to bobblybear's 2013 blog - I see he's just started with these gradings, having seen them on my blog, so that explains why I haven't spotted them before. Hope they work for you too!

Edited December 28, 2012 by willoyd

[vodkafan]

Yes I find the whole idea of rating is just a bit of extra fun as my opinion of a book , like yours, can change considerably after it has "stewed" a bit in my brain over time. That's one reason I have never really bothered with rating up to now. But I will try it and see how it goes.

Edited December 28, 2012 by vodkafan

[Nollaig]

That wouldn't happen to be related to the movie of the same name would it? The japanese version. I absolutely loved that movie if it is!

 

Yep, it's the novel upon which the film was based. There's also a manga adaptation, if you're a nerd like me

 

The novel is very good. The translation is a little strange in places, but for the most part it reads like a perfect English-language book.