Ooshie Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) Hopefully 2013 won't be quite as stressful as 2012 has turned out to be, and I will manage to keep my reading list a bit more up to date!JanuaryThe Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney 5/5 for writing, 2/5 for enjoymentThe Final Reckoning by Sam Bourne 3/5Blaze by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman 3/5The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier 5/5Consder Phlebas by Iain M. Banks 3/5 February The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks 4.5/5 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 3/5 The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt 3/5 The Woman in Black by Susan Hill 4.5/5 Les Liaisons Dangereuse by Choderlos de Laclos 4/5 The State of the Art by Iain M Banks 5/5 March The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory 4/5 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks 3/5 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 5/5 March - August Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 5/5 The Sea Change by Joanna Rossiter 3/5 Gerald's Game by Stephen King 2.5/5 The Zero Game by David Baldacci 2.5/5 Phantom by Jo Nesbo 4/5 Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid 3.5/5 Fault Line by Robert Goddard 3/5 The Winding Road by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 4.5/5 Stonemouth by Iain Banks 3.5/5 Lisey's Story by Stephen King 3/5 Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov 4/5 Beastly Things by Donna Leon 4.5/5 The House by the Sea by Santa Montefiore 2.5/5 Eloise by Judy Finnigan 2.5/5 The Complaints by Ian Rankin 4/5 River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine 3.5/5 King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine 4.5/5 The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke 3/5 Summer by Edith Wharton 4.5/5 The Racketeer by John Grisham 4/5 The Bat by Jo Nesbo 2.5/5 Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell 4/5 Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie 3.5/5 Hotel Vendome by Danielle Stelle 4/5 The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell 3.5/5 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder 3/5 Joyland by Stephen King 4/5 The Red House by Mark Haddon 4/5 The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton 4/5 The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones 4.5/5 The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain 4/5 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 4/5 A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene 3/5 Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O'Brian 5/5 Bitter River by Julia Keller 4/5 September The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan 4/5 The Death of Grass by John Christopher 4/5 Tarnished by Julia Crouch 3/5 The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian 5/5 Did You Miss Me by Karen Rose 2/5 The Drowned World by J G Ballard 3.5/5 The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 3/5 The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith 3.5/5 The Carrier by Sophie Hannah 4/5 Edited September 22, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) Books read in 2011: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton The Other Family by Joanna Trollope Mayday by Nelson DeMille & Thomas Block February Next by Michael Crichton Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer Trail of Blood by S J Rozan March The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham The Shape of Water by Amdrea Camilleri April The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian Solar by Ian McEwan Cuckoo by Julia Crouch Under The Dome by Stephen King Play to Kill by P J Tracy The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri May Brooklyn by Colm Toibin The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco The Group by Mary McCarthy The Fallen Kings by Cynthia Harrod Eagles June The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman First Love by Ivan Turgenev New York Trilogy by Paul Auster The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell July The Reversal by Michael Connelly The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult The Distant Hours by Kate Morton August Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi Candide by Voltaire The Other Hand by Chris Cleave A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers September Rescue by Anita Shreve The Confession by John Grisham The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah October The Ambassadors by Henry James The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier The Golem by Gustav Henrink The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie Frankenstein by Mary Shelley November The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian Julius by Daphne du Maurier Free Fire by C J Box The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian December The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson Skipping Christmas by John Grisham The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories Books Read in 2012: (possibly more still to be added) January Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 5/5 On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev 3/5 Everything and Nothing by Araminta Hall 3/5 The Dancing Years by Cynthia Harrod Eagles 4/5 The Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill 4/5 Treason's Harbour by Patrick O'Brian 4/5 February Mistress Masham's Repose by T H White 3/5 I'll Never Be Young Again by Daphne du Maurier 2.5/5 The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick 3/5 Talleyrand by Duff Cooper 4/5 The Thief of Always by Clive Barker 4/5 The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly 4/5 The Pied Piper by Neville Shute 3/5 The Woman in Black by Susan Hill 5/5 Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov 4/5 March Nemesis by Jo Nesbo 4/5 Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes 4/5 The Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian 4/5 Cell by Stephen King 3.5/5 Cover Her Face by P D James 3.5/5 blueyed boy by Joanne Harris 3/5 Foundation by Isaac Aasimov 3.5/5 The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brian 4/5 The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing 4/5 April/May Transition by Iain Banks 5/5 Live Wire by Harlan Coben 4/5 Ben, in the World by Doris Lessing 4/5 Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind 3/5 June The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo 4/5 The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo 4/5 The Snowman by Jo Nesbo 5/5 The Leopard by Jo Nesbo 5/5 July Before I go to Sleep by S J Watson 5/5 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 4/5 Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell 3.5/5 Brass Ring by Diane Chamberlain 3.5/5 Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon 5/5 The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay 4.5/5 August 11.22.63 by Stephen King 4/5 The Virginian by Owen Wister 5/5 Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov 4/5 A Month in the Country by J L Carr 5/5 V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton 3.5/5 Well, the rest of the year kind of descended into chaos, so I won't be posting any reviews, but will try and list at least most of the books I read: Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell 3/5 The Drop by Michael Connelly 3.5/5 The Real Katie Lavender by Erica James 3/5 The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen 3/5 The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 4.5/5 The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore 4/5 The Sixth Man by David Baldacci 3/5 Edited December 30, 2012 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Blank in case I need it Edited January 1, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Blank in case I need it Edited January 1, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 Well, I have listed 50 books that I read last year, so that's not too bad a haul. There are still a few I know I read but have to hunt down and add to the list, but I'm quite pleased with my reading over the year. What I'm definitely not pleased with is that I gave up on my reviews and genre challenge half way through the year - hopefully I will do better in 2013! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney Synopsis - from Waterstones 1867, Canada: as winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a 17-year old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man's cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township - journalists, Hudson's Bay Company men, trappers, traders - but do they want to solve the crime or exploit it? One-by-one the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for 17 years, a Native American culture, and a fortune in stolen furs before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good. In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly waves adventure, suspense, revelation and humour into a panoramic historical romance, an exhilarating thriller, a keen murder mystery and ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, one of the books of the year. This is the second time I have read this novel - the first time, I threw it away after I read it because I just found it so depressing, and have had to buy it again to take part in this month's Reading Group. I didn't find it any more enjoyable reading this time. The writing is fantastic (I thoroughly enjoy her style and humourous turn of phrase), the characters are complex, and the story is interesting. But ... I just found it unremittingly depressing. I'm sure more robust and cheerful souls who are less easily brought down will thoroughly enjoy it! 5/5 for the writing, 2/5 for enjoyment! Edited January 2, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) The Final Reckoning - Sam Bourne Synopsis - from Amazon From the author of Number One bestseller The Righteous Men. How are hundreds of unexplained deaths, spanning the globe, connected to the last great secret of the Second World War? Tom Byrne has fallen from grace since his days as an idealistic young lawyer in New York. Now he'll work for anyone – as long as the money's right. So when the United Nations call him in to do their dirty work, he accepts the job without hesitation. A suspected suicide bomber shot by UN security staff has turned out to be a harmless old man: Tom must placate the family and limit their claims for compensation. In London, Tom meets the dead man’s alluring daughter, Rebecca, and learns that her father was not quite the innocent he seemed. He unravels details of a unique, hidden brotherhood, united in a mission that has spanned the world and caused hundreds of unexplained deaths. Pursued by those ready to kill to uncover the truth, Tom has to unlock a secret that has lain buried for more than 60 years – the last great secret of the Second World War. I wanted a quick, easy read after The Tenderness of Wolves, and that's exactly what The Final Reckoning gave me; a fast-moving thriller that kept me interested throughout. The fact that the atrocities against the Jewish people and that some of the characters were based on real people made it very thought-provoking. Edited January 5, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I really enjoy Sam Bourne's books, Ooshie, I find they're perfect as holiday reads for me. Glad you enjoyed this one too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I really enjoy Sam Bourne's books, Ooshie, I find they're perfect as holiday reads for me. Glad you enjoyed this one too Thanks chesil, I have another one waiting (The Chosen One, I think) so I'm looking forward to that over the next few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Blaze by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman Synopsis - from Waterstones Clay Blaisdell is one big mother, but his capers are strictly small-time until his mentor introduces him to the one big score that every small-timer dreams of: kidnap. But now the brains of the operation has died - or has he? - and Blaze is alone with a baby as hostage. The Crime of the Century just turned into a race against time in the white hell of the Maine woods. I am a Stephen King fan, but had tried this novel and given up on it at least twice already. This time I made it all the way through! Having said that, I can't say I ever really felt that I couldn't put the book down, or couldn't wait to get back to it, it was more of a duty read. The flashbacks to Blaze's past were interesting and made you feel compassion towards him, and it was interesting how you were made to feel sympathetic towards someone who was committing a serious crime, but I just didn't find the book gripping at all. Included at the end of the book was the short story that was eventually expanded into the novel Duma Key. It was enjoyable, but left me thinking: hey, Mr King, could I just remind you there is a happy medium between a short story and a novel of 700 pages or so? Very long isn't always very best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Hey Ooshie, eventhough you said last year was stressful for you, I see you did manage a lot of reading after all I hope you have a great reading year in 2013, and will find great books to read, and I hope you will reach your goals and can keep up with the review writing. I know how difficult that can be, I still have 6 reviews to write for last year before I can officially start this year Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Hey Ooshie, eventhough you said last year was stressful for you, I see you did manage a lot of reading after all I hope you have a great reading year in 2013, and will find great books to read, and I hope you will reach your goals and can keep up with the review writing. I know how difficult that can be, I still have 6 reviews to write for last year before I can officially start this year Enjoy! Thanks, frankie! I was quite surprised when I saw how many I had managed to read, it felt like a lot less somehow. But as for the reviews, or lack of, well that's a different story... especially shameful when I only do really short reviews anyway! I'm hoping to do better this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Ooshie 50 books is pretty good for the year ,I'd say . I just made 50 myself,but I've never kept track before,so have no clue what my average number of books a year has been before that . I do think I used to read much faster than I do now .The old brain is slowing down,so it takes a little more time to prime it I guess. Kinda like an old Model T car, you have to crank it to get it started,then it sputters and stops once in awhile . You'll do fine this year I bet ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Hello Ooshie Just popping in to wish you a wonderful reading year. (I remember it was your blog last year that encouraged me to start my own) Will be dropping in regularly to read your reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Thanks, frankie! I was quite surprised when I saw how many I had managed to read, it felt like a lot less somehow. But as for the reviews, or lack of, well that's a different story... especially shameful when I only do really short reviews anyway! I'm hoping to do better this year I'm sure you'll do better Just popping in to wish you a wonderful reading year. (I remember it was your blog last year that encouraged me to start my own) Will be dropping in regularly to read your reviews And well done Ooshie for inspiring bree to start her own reading log! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Happy Reading Oosh! Hope you have a great year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Have a good reading year Ooshie. Liked your reviews so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Ooshie 50 books is pretty good for the year ,I'd say . I just made 50 myself,but I've never kept track before,so have no clue what my average number of books a year has been before that . I do think I used to read much faster than I do now .The old brain is slowing down,so it takes a little more time to prime it I guess. Kinda like an old Model T car, you have to crank it to get it started,then it sputters and stops once in awhile . You'll do fine this year I bet ! Thanks julie, I know what you mean, I'm sure I used to whiz through books when I was younger. And I quite often (in fact, usually) had 3 or 4 books on the go at once, whereas now I don't think I am ever reading more than 2 at once. Thank you for adding me as a friend, too! Hello Ooshie Just popping in to wish you a wonderful reading year. (I remember it was your blog last year that encouraged me to start my own) Will be dropping in regularly to read your reviews Thanks very much, bree! And thank you for reminding me that it was my blog that helped you start your own, that has cheered me up no end I hope you have a great reading year too. I'm sure you'll do better And well done Ooshie for inspiring bree to start her own reading log! I'm full of good intentions anyway! Not just to keep up to date with my (astonishingly short) reviews, but to join in more - I really miss it when I don't, but when I was stressed in the second half of the year for some reason I hardly ever posted, although I usually looked in on the forum every day. Happy Reading Oosh! Hope you have a great year. Have a good reading year Ooshie. Liked your reviews so far. Thanks very much poppyshake and vodkafan, I hope you have a really good year too! I have tried to add a hug for you both, but apparently I have used too many emoticons and am banned from using any more! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 (edited) The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier Synopsis - from Amazon Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as a guinea pig for a new drug that Magnus has discovered in his biochemical researches. The effect of this drug is to transport Dick from the house at Kilmarth to the Cornwall of the 14th century. There, in the manor of Tywardreath, the domain of Sir Henry Champernoune, he witnesses intrigue, adultery and murder. As his time travelling increases, Dick resents more and more the days he must spend in the modern world, longing ever more fervently to get back into his world of centuries before . . This was one of my favourite books when I was a teenager and I was a bit nervous about reading it again in case I just didn't enjoy it as much. However, I needn't have worried, as I loved it! It has historical romance and political intrigue mixed in with time travel and 1960s England, and I found it a thoroughly gripping read. It is the first book this year that I have found hard to put down and really looked forward to getting back to. Edited January 13, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier Synopsis - from Amazon Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as a guinea pig for a new drug that Magnus has discovered in his biochemical researches. The effect of this drug is to transport Dick from the house at Kilmarth to the Cornwall of the 14th century. There, in the manor of Tywardreath, the domain of Sir Henry Champernoune, he witnesses intrigue, adultery and murder. As his time travelling increases, Dick resents more and more the days he must spend in the modern world, longing ever more fervently to get back into his world of centuries before . . This was one of my favourite books when I was a teenager and I was a bit nervous about reading it again in case I just didn't enjoy it as much. However, I needn't have worried, as I loved it! It has historical romance and political intrigue mixed in with time travel and 1960s England, and I found it a thoroughly gripping read. It is the first book this year that I have found hard to put down and really looked forward to getting back to. Thanks Ooshie, I've added this to my wish list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Ooshie I haven't read that DuMaurier book,so I'm gonna have to track it down too. I liked her others that I read so much ! Good writer . and thank you for being my friend . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Thanks Ooshie, I've added this to my wish list. Hope you enjoy it when you finally get it, chaliepud Ooshie I haven't read that DuMaurier book,so I'm gonna have to track it down too. I liked her others that I read so much ! Good writer . and thank you for being my friend . You're very welcome, julie, thank you too I hope you like The House on the Strand, it is a bit different to her other books due to the subject matter, but just as well written and enjoyable I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 (edited) Consider Phlebas by Iain M. BanksSynopsis - from AmazonThe war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.Consider Phlebas - a space opera of stunning power and awesome imagination.I do enjoy science fiction, and have often vaguely thought about reading the Culture novels as I enjoy Iain Banks non-SF work a lot, but the reason I started this one was that I wanted to try and read something on a Kindle and this was the one on my son's Kindle that appealed to me most!I enjoyed the premise, and got to like quite a few of the characters, but for me there was a lot too much description in quite a few of the scenes. In a hard copy book it is quite easy to skim over excess description quickly while still following the storyline, but I couldn't seem to manage to do this in the same way on the Kindle and found myself longing for some bits to be over with. I also got a bit confused by something in the middle of the book (it seemed to me that the main character was waking from a dream type state or something and was then sent back) which I kept waiting to be expanded on but wasn't. It's quite possible that I just got this wrong - again, it's something that I would have flicked back to easily in an actual book and skimmed forward to find out where I had gone wrong, but couldn't do it in the same way at all on the Kindle. Oh, and my patient wait to Consider Phlebas as instructed was sadly wasted In all, quite an enjoyable book, but I don't think I really like the Kindle. Although, it was so easy to read in bed that I think I will usually have a book on the go on it! Edited February 3, 2013 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Nice to read your review of the book . I liked the book though I was confused by a few things also. It's been a while since I read it, and I don't really remember much of what you'd put between spoiler tags so I'm afraid I can't help you there. Overall I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars and liked it enough to buy more Iain M. Banks books (glad I did, because I enjoyed ie. The Player Of Games than I did this one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Yeah, definitely not his best - in fact, it's quite ordinary and, as you say, gets bogged down in places - but some of what follows is great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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