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Hayley's 2016 Reading


Hayley

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I'm really excited to start on my reading for this year. I have some great books I've been saving and I'm starting with one I've been looking forward to for a while, ​Trigger Warning ​by Neil Gaiman (which my sister got for me for Christmas :smile:).

I thought I'd try something different from the normal rating system this year so instead of giving a certain number of stars or smiley faces after the book title I'm going to choose a short statement that summarises how I felt about the book. It might just be an 'I loved it' or 'I hated it' (although hopefully not the latter!) but could also be something more specific to that individual book. If it doesn't work then it will be back to smiley faces but I think it's worth a try :smile:

 

I'm not going to type out a whole 'to-read' list because I know it's going to end up changing dramatically practically every month so I'll probably do short versions as I go. This month for example I would really like to read...

 

Trigger Warning ​- Neil Gaiman (ok I will admit I already read the first two short stories in 2015, I tried to wait but I just couldn't help it! :giggle2:

​The Miniaturist ​- Jessie Burton

and I really want to try something by Jasper Fforde, I think I'm going to look for ​The Eyre Affair​.

 

 

And I think that's everything - time to start! :readingtwo:

 

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Happy Reading in 2016 Hayley :) Hope you enjoy The Eyre Affair .. I love the Thursday Next books! I want to read The Miniaturist too soon .. it's been too long on the shelf  :blush2: If you read it and like it, it'll be an incentive (no pressure though :D

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Thank you everyone! :smile: It's good to see such positive things about The Eyre Affair! I'm going to Astley book farm soon so I want to check if they have it first, if not I'm going to order it. Either way I'll hopefully get to read it soon!

 

 

Happy reading! A short statement is a really interesting way to evaluate my reads. It can be so difficult, I've changed my rating system like three times since the start of the year :P

 

It is really difficult! I'm not too bad with the first few books, but then I find it hard to categorise books as the same rating the more I read, because I might feel completely different about two books even though I've given them both a '4' etc. Book nerd problems! :giggle2:

 

First review time!

 

​Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman - ​Fantastically Magical

 

​I finished this book last night (well... actually this morning... I think it was about 1am when I actually finished... oops :blush2: ) and I loved it. I feel like Neil Gaiman has the ability to create a very unique fantastical atmosphere. It was what I loved about Stardust and it's very present in this short story collection. The variety in it is also amazing, every story and poem takes you somewhere new. It's a bit like stepping through the looking glass and into a series of somebody else's dreams (somebody with a very active imagination). The background of fairy tale and mythology Gaiman uses is another feature I really love in his writing that comes through very strongly in these stories. ​For any fan of fantasy, fairy tale, mythology, even horror and sci-fi, I would absolutely recommend this book!

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It is really difficult! I'm not too bad with the first few books, but then I find it hard to categorise books as the same rating the more I read, because I might feel completely different about two books even though I've given them both a '4' etc. Book nerd problems! :giggle2:

I fully agree with this!

 

Great review, I shall put it on my list (books recommended by BCF).

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Great review of Trigger Warning, Hayley! I have quite a few of Neil Gaiman's books on my TBR pile, but not this one (yet!) I like your idea of a short statement for each book. :) 

 

Happy reading! :D

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Thank you Athena and Kylie :smile:  I'm glad it's going on more reading lists, it really is worth reading!

 

I decided to read ​The Miniaturist ​next and finished it this morning so...

 

​The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - ​Page Turner

 

The best thing about this book is that it constantly maintains a sense of mystery. I literally couldn't put it down sometimes because I ​had ​to find out what the explanation was. For that reason it was brilliant. I love the idea of the cabinet (containing a miniature version of the character's house) which the book is based on. It might be because I used to really love tiny dollhouse things as a child, my seven year old self really wanted the cabinet :D . There's also a slightly magical edge that runs throughout the book which I liked. Although the book is set in the late 1600's it deals with some serious issues that are still very relevant to modern times, mainly gender equality but also racism and homophobia.

There were two reasons I didn't completely love it. The main reason is that I wanted more to be explained and revealed. There were elements of the plot that I was expecting to return later but they just never did. To be fair I never like it when things are left unanswered in a book, and this is definitely not the only book to leave you guessing on a few points, but it almost felt as though parts had been cut out in some cases. The second, which is partly related to the first, is that although I really liked the characters in the book generally and thought they were well done, very occasionally they did things that I just didn't get. I felt like the action, or reaction, needed more explanation as to why it fit the character. These negatives by no means ruined the book, they're just small personal things. I suppose basically I just wanted it to be longer  :giggle2:  I still really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to other people to read.

 

I'm thinking of reading some Jules Verne next, probably ​The Mysterious Island  :smile: 

 

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Glad you enjoyed The Miniaturist, it's one I've considered getting before now. I too would probably take issue with things not being explained, but sometimes I feel books can get away with it. Your review is making me think more favourably of it, though :)

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Thank you everyone! :smile: It's good to see such positive things about The Eyre Affair! I'm going to Astley book farm soon so I want to check if they have it first, if not I'm going to order it.

I love that place! It's quite near me too & somewhere we'd always take visiting friends to, in the past.

 

I'd forgotten about it until recently though, then my sister said she visited & they now had a cafe. I'd like to go again, though me thinks it wouldn't be as relaxing as it used to be meandering through the aisles with a 3 year old charging about!

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I bought The Miniaturist during the Christmas Kindle Deals for only £0.99. I don't actually know anything about it...no idea it was set in the 1600s. I think it's on my list to read this year. It sounds pretty interesting, though I'm not a fan of books that don't explain things fully either.  :blink: 

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I decided to read ​The Miniaturist ​next and finished it this morning so...

 

Great review! :smile2: I know of the book and I've been wondering about it... I can't remember if it's already on my wishlist or not, but your review has prompted me to check the sitch and add it there if it's not there already :smile2: 

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I'm glad you're all thinking of looking at ​The Miniaturist​, it definitely wasn't perfect (to me, anyway) for the reasons above but it's not quite like anything I've ever read before either and it made me stay up until about half past two in the morning to find out what happens at the end so that has to be a positive :giggle2:

 

 

I love that place! It's quite near me too & somewhere we'd always take visiting friends to, in the past.

I'd forgotten about it until recently though, then my sister said she visited & they now had a cafe. I'd like to go again, though me thinks it wouldn't be as relaxing as it used to be meandering through the aisles with a 3 year old charging about!

 

I only found out about it a couple of years ago when someone at my university mentioned it, I couldn't believe I'd never been before! The café looks really nice, although I've never eaten there because I'm usually feeling too guilty about all the books I just bought to also stuff my face with cake :D. Did they have the upstairs part for children the last time you went? Could be a good distraction for a 3 year old :smile:

 

 

Quick book update: I am reading ​The Mysterious Island ​but I expect it's going to take me a while to finish it. It's really interesting so far, but also what I would describe as 'dense'. It has a ​lot ​of information (often scientific / technological / mathematical information) packed into each chapter, so I feel as though I have to read it slowly to take everything in (and sometimes have to read the same section three times before I actually understand it :blush2: ). I suspect the pace might pick up later in the story but I'll see :smile:​  ​

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  • 3 weeks later...

Still reading ​The Mysterious Island ​but I think I'm going to have to pause reading it for a little while because (and I am VERY excited about this) I just received ​Fever of the Blood ​by Oscar de Muriel! I got it from a goodreads giveaway, it isn't actually out until the 11th and it came with a signed cover, a poster and the first book ​The Strings of Murder ​(which I did already have but my copy was from a charity shop so nice to have a shiny new one). 

 

I can't resist reading it early so change of reading plan :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok I've now finished both Fever of the Blood and The Mysterious Island so...

 

Fever of the Blood by Oscar de Muriel - All the themes I love!

 

For anyone who read my review of The Strings of Murder last year, I loved all the same things about this book. I love the time period and the way de Muriel writes about it in a way that is accurate, honest and never clichéd. I also love the theme of the supernatural versus the rational which fits within the Victorian time period so well. Like the last book it kept me gripped the whole way through, I felt like I needed to know what would happen at the end, it's a great mystery. 

Aside from all the positives maintained from the previous book though this also had some positive new surprises. The characters from the previous book are developed very nicely and some, who had no particularly important part before, start to reveal interesting histories of their own. The sense of unravelling these individual stories to see the bigger picture is part of what keeps this book so tense and interesting. It felt as though this book progressed into darker and more dangerous territory than the last as well, leaving an impression of a building danger that makes me really, really want the next book!

 

 

 

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne - A very factual adventure!

 

One of the main features of this book, one which I think could make a reader love it or hate it, is the incredible amount of detail. It is not (like Robinson Crusoe) that Verne goes into minute detail about one aspect of the stranded men's lives, but that he details everything. The types of animals and plants, their uses, the geographical information and exact coordinates of the island (and, of course, the processes required to find all this information). The survivors become woodworkers, metalworkers, doctors, chemists, builders and everything they do to improve their lives on the island is fully explained. Most of the time I thought this was actually quite interesting and clever but, as you can imagine, it sometimes made it feel as though the actual story was progressing very slowly. In a way, I found it to be a very relaxing read. Because of the amount of detail you really feel like you are fully exploring the island, which is mostly wonderful (although, perhaps, not always possible.) The mystery of the island was enough to keep me intrigued though and I genuinely had no idea what it would turn out to be.

Two points which annoyed me slightly, although it wasn't the fault of the story - I had an edition with notes in the back (wordsworth classics) which I usually like and I though would be particularly useful for this book - there are barely notes for the length of the book and most of them are just to say 'this can't really happen', 'this is wrong' etc. So I wouldn't recommend that edition if you want explanatory notes. The other thing was that I had heard this book is related slightly to 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' (which I also have on my to-read list) but this book actually tells you something about a character which gives away the ending of 'Twenty Thousand Leagues.' So if you want the ending to be a surprise, don't read this book first!

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Now on to the other thing I wanted to do! I had this idea while trying to think of which book I should read next. I've still not finished my 'book bundle challenge' but I also have a lot of books (taking up a lot of space!) that have been sitting around for while which I just haven't got round to reading yet. SO I thought I'd try to get organised by making a list of the books I have on my shelves but haven't read yet and also moving my 'book bundle challenge' reviews here.

 

Books I have read are in red  :D

 

 Book Bundle Challenge:

 

Best Selling Fiction:

 

 

 

Hilary Mantel - Fludd

 

M.L. Stedman - The Light Between Oceans

 

Ian Banks - The Bridge

 

Paul Murray - Skippy Dies

 

Jess Walter - Beautiful Ruins

 

John Green - Paper Towns

 

Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London

 

Joanne Harris - Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé 

 

Stephen King - The Shining

 

Corban Addison - A Walk Across the Sun

 

 

 

Sci-Fi and Fantasy:

 

 

 

Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy of Four

 

Stephen Jones - Zombie Apocalypse (TRIED BUT DID NOT FINISH)

 

Joe Abercrombie - The Blade Itself

 

Jim Butcher - Storm Front

 

James Herbert - The Fog

 

Ian M. Banks - Look to Windward

 

Stephen King - Cell

 

 

 

Classics:

 

 

 

Kurt Vonnegut- Cat's Cradle

 

John Le Carre - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

 

Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird

 

Robert Lewis Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Horror 

 

 

 

Owned Books To Read

 

Abercrombie, Joe – The Heroes

 

Alcott, Louisa May – Little Women

 

Butcher, Jim – Turn coat

 

Byatt, A.S. – The Children’s Book

 

Caldwell, Ian and Dustin Thomason – The Rule of Four

 

Carrell, J.L. – The Shakespeare Secret

 

Collins, Wilkie – The Woman in White

 

Dickens, Charles – A Tale of Two Cities

 

Dickens, Charles – Bleak House

 

Dickens, Charles – The Old Curiosity Shop

 

Dickens, Charles – The Pickwick Papers

 

Eco, Umberto – The Name of the Rose

 

Fasman, Jon – The Geographer’s Library

 

Faulks, Sebastian – Birdsong

 

Fredericks, L.R. – Farundell (did not finish)

 

Gaiman, Neil - Neverwhere

 

Gaiman, Neil – The Ocean at the End of the Lane

 

Galbraith, Robert – The Silkworm

 

Gaylin, Alison – Into the Dark

 

Gibbins, David – The Tiger Warrior

 

Graham, Kenneth - The Wind in the Willows

 

Hardie, Titania – The Rose Labyrinth

 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel – Tanglewood Tales

 

King, Stephen – Duma Key

 

Le Carré, John – A Most Wanted Man

 

Marston, Edward – The Frost Fair

 

Morton, Kate – The Distant Hours

 

Mosse, Kate – Citadel

 

Mosse, Kate - Sepulchre

 

Patterson, James – Witch & Wizard

 

Perry, Karen – Only We Know

 

Riordan, Kate – The Girl in the Photograph

 

Roy, Arundhati – The God of Small Things

 

Verne, Jules – Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

 

Wells, H.G. – The First Men in the Moon

 

Wells, H.G. – The Invisible Man

 

Wells, H.G. – The Island of Doctor Moreau

 

Wells, H.G. – The Time Machine

 

Wells, H.G. – The War of the Worlds

 

 

 

 

The list looks a lot less intimidating than the actual stack of books so hopefully I can start crossing some off now  :smile: 

Edited by Hayley
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Happy Reading in 2016.  :D

 

Hurray ! Someone else trying Jasper Fforde.  :smile:

 

Thank you  :smile:  I had to order The Eyre Affair but it should be here in the next couple of days and I'm looking forward to it! I didn't notice you were trying Fforde too in your thread, are you starting with The Eyre Affair too?

 

And I'm happy to say I can cross a book off my list already! I started reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane last night and finished it this afternoon...

 

 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - Childhood Magic

 

This was one of those books that I didn't want to end but I still couldn't help reading so fast. I think when I reviewed Trigger Warning I mentioned how much I love Gaiman's ability to create a very immersive, dreamlike, fantasy world and this book was the same. The fantastical is merged into reality with such seamlessness. It's also a really beautiful portrayal of childhood with all it's fears and hopes and of the aspects of childhood we keep inside us as adults.

I don't want to say much more, although there were so many things I loved, because I think it's best to read this book without knowing too much about it beforehand. I would definitely recommend anyone (well, unless they really hate fantasy!) to read this beautifully written book!

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I really liked The Ocean at the End of the Lane too. Great review, you've said it beautifully. I agree it's best to go in not knowing much about it, all I knew was what was on the back of my edition and I think the book is more enjoyable if you don't know lots about it already.

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