vodkafan Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) Welcome to my 2018 reading experience, Ah, last year was terrible for reading. But, I am still here! So no big changes in format for this year, no reading challenges just a mass of books on my TBR to get through, mostly carried over unchanged from previous couple of years. And I still haven't mastered the link thingy yet , so reviews are found buried in the following pages: sorry if that is confusing to anybody. (k) denotes kindle ebook® denotes book read primarily for research purposes keeping the same simple rating system this year:1/5: I didn't like it2/5: It was okay3/5: I liked it4/5: I really liked it5/5: It was amazing! Books Read in 2018 January Night Lamp Jack Vance (re-read) To Live Forever Jack Vance (re-read) S.T.A.R. Flight EC Tubb 2/5 The American Henry James 5/5 February A Ticket To Oblivion Edward Marston 2/5 Destination Void Frank Herbert ABANDONED March The Serpent Jane Gaskill 3/5 April May The Watchmaker of Filigree Street Natasha Pulley 4/5 The Way We Live Now Anthony Trollope 3/5 Wyst- Alastor 1716 Jack Vance 4/5 (re-read) June Ready Player One Ernest Cline 2/5 At Home Bill Bryson 3/5 July Jamrach's Menagerie Carol Birch 5/5 Under The Eagle Simon Scarrow 1/5 Son Of The Tree Jack Vance 2/5 August The Historian Elizabeth Kostova 3/5 Coster Girls & Mudlarks Belinda Hollyer (edited) 4/5 The Newgate Calender G T Wilkinson 3/5 September The Siege Of Krishnapur JG Farrell 3/5 The Gray Prince Jack Vance (RE-read) 3/5 Night Frost R D Wingfield 1/5 Night Lamp Jack Vance (re-read) The Book Of The Dead John Lloyd, John Michelson 3/5 October The Languages Of Pao Jack Vance (re-read 4/5) Mayhem Sarah Pinborough 4/5 Mortal Engines Philip Reeves 3/5 Little Women Louisa May Alcott ABANDONED November Pure Andrew Miller 4/5 The Rivers Of London Ben Aaronovitch 4/5 Alone In Berlin Hans Fallada 4/5 A Christmas Journey Anne Perry 1/5 December The Jesus Incident Frank Herbert (and someone else) ABANDONED Edited December 22, 2018 by vodkafan addition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) The TBR Pile organised! Victorian authors, obscure works and classics The Poor Gentleman Hendrick Conscience Two On A Tower The Return Of The Native A Laodician A Pair Of Blue Eyes Jude The Obscure The Woodlanders Far From The Madding Crowd all above by The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy Post Haste RM Ballantyne Autobiography Of Anthony Trollope Lady Anna Miss Mackenzie 4 above by The Way We Live Now Anthony Trollope Twelve Years A Slave Solomon Northup Letters Of Two Brides Balzac Birds Of Prey Charlotte's Inheritance Run To Earth A Novel The Doctor's Wife Lady Audley's Secret Mary Elizabeth Braddon Little Dorrit Charles Dickens The Mill On The Floss Madame Bovary Tess of The d'urbervilles Lady Susan Thoughts On The Education Of Daughters The Last Man Maria, Or The Wrongs Of Woman Vindication Of The Rights Of Woman The Perpetual Curate Equality Looking Backward 2000-1887 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Picture Of Dorian Grey Oscar WildeNicholas Nickleby Charles DickensThe Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irvine Shirley 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 Mrs Oliphant Confessions Of An English Opium Eater Thomas De Quincey Testament Of Youth Vera Brittain Books set in Victorian times by modern authors Under A Cloud-Soft Sky The Singing Winds Shelter From The Storm Snow Angels Pure - Andrew Miller The Road To Samarcand Patrick O'Brian Reference works and 18th-19th century history, social history London The Biography Peter Ackroyd The Siege Of Krishnapur J.G. Farrell The Dictionary Of London Raj Lawrence James The Age of Revolution 1789-1848 The Age Of Capital 1848-1875 The Age Of Empire 1875-1914 Slavery A New Global History Jeremy BlackBalti Britain - Ziauddin Sardar Asians In Britain 400 years of History Rozina Visram Random must reads Nice To See It To See It Nice Brian Viner It's A Small Medium And Outsize World John Taylor Connections Rules For Virgins The Life And Loves Of A She Devil The Passion Of New Eve The Haunted Hotel Ten Interesting Things About Human Behaviour Slave Girl Sarah Forsyth (autobiography) The Man Who Loved Only Numbers Paul Hoffman (biography of Paul Erdos) The White Mists Of Power Kristine Kathryn Rusch I Think I'm OK Undercover: The True Story Of Britain's Secret Police King Solomon's Carpet Barbara Vine A Far Cry From Kensington Muriel Spark Good Behaviour Molly Keane Oryx and Crake - Margaret AtwoodOne Day David Nichols Geisha Liza DalbyIn The Heart Of The Sea Nathanial PhilbrickSpycatcher Peter WrightRivers Of London Ben AaronovitchThe Horse Whisperer Nicholas EvansThe German Invasion Of Norway Geirr H Haarr Accidents In The Home Tessa HadleyDevoted Ladies Molly KeaneA Fine Balance Rohinton MistryLord Of The Flies William GoldingRebecca Daphne Du MaurierUntying The Knot Linda Gillard 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 Life Of Pi - Yann MartelThe Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson Alone In Berlin The Terror Round the Bend Two Eggs On My Plate Oluf Reed OlsenInfidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali Nerd Do Well Simon PeggForensic Clues To Murder Brian Marriner The Voyage Out Virginia Woolf The Book Of The Dead The Serpent The Dragon Atlan The City all by Jane Gaskell Renoir My Father Jean Renoir Shopping, Seduction And Mr Selfridge Lindy Woodhead 7 Trips Through Time And Space anthology Night Watch Andrew m Stephenson At Home Bill Bryson Dorian Will Self SF Out Of Time-Five tales of Time Travel Strange Loops The Time Travel Megapack The Martian Way Isaac Asimov The Green Brain Frank Herbert The Steampunk megapack (26 stories) Viridis Lady Of Devices A Steampunk Adventure Steampunk Erotica Best New SF 25 Meeting At Infinity John Brunner Foundation Isaac Asimov The Naked Sun Isaac Asimov Of All Possible Worlds William Tenn The Makeshift Rocket Poul Anderson Life The Universe and Everything More Than Super-Human AE VAN Vogt Edited December 3, 2018 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 Post reserved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 Post reserved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 OK I am open for business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 You have some brilliant books on your list and some I really want to read this year too. Hope you have a great reading year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 46 minutes ago, Hayley said: You have some brilliant books on your list and some I really want to read this year too. Hope you have a great reading year! Thanks Hayley. I will drop in on your blog and have a look what books you have on your list to inspire me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 I read a book last year that you might like actually, Jamrach's Menagerie. It's set in the Victorian period and very well written. I'd be happy to send you my copy if you'd like to try it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 22 hours ago, Hayley said: I read a book last year that you might like actually, Jamrach's Menagerie. It's set in the Victorian period and very well written. I'd be happy to send you my copy if you'd like to try it? Oh yes please. Do you want to do a swap for something on my list(s) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 A fascinating to-read list as ever, Monsieur. I wish you a happy 2018 filled with joyous reading and captivating books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 11 hours ago, Angury said: A fascinating to-read list as ever, Monsieur. I wish you a happy 2018 filled with joyous reading and captivating books. Thanks Angury, you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 I am reading The American by Henry James at the moment. I am really enjoying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Happy Reading in 2018 ! Hurray for Jasper Fforde and Henry James ; I`m up to date and feverishly waiting for the next Fforde, but keep meanng to get round to more Henry James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 22 hours ago, Little Pixie said: Happy Reading in 2018 ! Hurray for Jasper Fforde and Henry James ; I`m up to date and feverishly waiting for the next Fforde, but keep meanng to get round to more Henry James. Thanks Little Pixie you too! The American has been fantastic, I am near the end and at a most critical turn of events! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 The American 5/5 Henry James I loved this book! By Golly that is the way to write a story! Create some characters then make them real so that the reader starts to care what happens to them. Create a simple central scenario that gives them all motivation to move the plot along. Then contrive a set of events that tests all the characters to their very limits and beyond. None of the principal characters remains the same by the end of the story. I really like that in a book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Have you read The Wings of the Dove ? I read the last 30-40 pages like it was a trashy thriller, hunched over and feverishly turning the pages to find out what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 14 hours ago, Little Pixie said: Have you read The Wings of the Dove ? I read the last 30-40 pages like it was a trashy thriller, hunched over and feverishly turning the pages to find out what happens. No I will have to add that one to my list thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 I have had a small purge of books and a few DVDs on my shelves. About 40 books to go. Sadly most of them only recently acquired that never even made it onto my official TBR list, so I don't even have the satisfaction of seeing that go down significantly. Then the same day I promptly walked into Oxfam and bought 4 more books! They are all about Victorian subjects so I could not resist them. One is a history of Regent Street in London published in 1975 , complete with many old photographs and reproductions of original architect's plans etc,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 On 13.1.2018 at 3:23 PM, vodkafan said: Welcome to my 2018 reading experience, Ah, last year was terrible for reading. But, I am still here! Oh but where else would we ever go.... I'm sorry that last year was not a good reading year for you. Here's hoping this one will be a much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, frankie said: Oh but where else would we ever go.... I'm sorry that last year was not a good reading year for you. Here's hoping this one will be a much better! Thanks Frankie hope yours is good too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander the Great Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 4 hours ago, vodkafan said: I have had a small purge of books and a few DVDs on my shelves. About 40 books to go. Sadly most of them only recently acquired that never even made it onto my official TBR list, so I don't even have the satisfaction of seeing that go down significantly. Then the same day I promptly walked into Oxfam and bought 4 more books! They are all about Victorian subjects so I could not resist them. One is a history of Regent Street in London published in 1975 , complete with many old photographs and reproductions of original architect's plans etc,. Books are an addiction, but such a great one. I can understand your inability to resist. But hey, we're all made of flesh and blood, right? Temptation can overwhelm us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 15 hours ago, Alexander the Great said: Books are an addiction, but such a great one. I can understand your inability to resist. But hey, we're all made of flesh and blood, right? Temptation can overwhelm us. It sure can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 10, 2018 Author Share Posted February 10, 2018 A Ticket To Oblivion 2/5 Edward Marston A quick read in the popular "Railway Detective" series. Detective Inspector Colbeck this time has to solve the mystery of a young lady and her maid who have disappeared seemingly into thin air after boarding a train but not getting off at the destination. These books are a formula but they are enjoyable simple stories. I like the setting and it makes one think of how world-changing the advent of the railways was back then. I have read four of them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Happy reading in 2018! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 Thanks bobblybear, you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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