Kell's 2010 Reading Log

[Kell]

2006 reading (124 books + 21 short stories)

2007 reading (127 books)

2008 reading (58 books)

2009 reading (52 books)

 

I'm aiming to read one book for every week of the year in 2010. If you look back at previous years of my reading, you'll see I averaged around 125 books per year till I got pregnant in 2008 and then suffered a severe drop-off due to being completely unable to concentrate and then, once Xander was born, not having the time or inclination for much reading. I still have less reading time than I used to, but I get a tiny tad more now that Xander is getting a little older.

 

There are also a couple of book series that I want to read this year, so I'll be checking them off my list as I get to them.

JANUARY TO JUNE READING

JULY TO DECEMBER READING

 

Reading Challenges:

Simon Scarrow's Revolution Series

Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series

Bill Amberg Classics Challenge

 

Wish List

 

MOUNT TBR

Dan Abnet - Triumff: Her Majesty's Hero

Alma Alexander – The Embers of Heaven

Kelley Armstrong (and others) – Dates From Hell

Jane Austen – Persuasion

Jane Austen- Sense and Sensibility

Mikkel Birkegaard – The Library of Shadows

Anne Bronte – Agnes Grey

Margaret Cezair-Thomon - The Pirate's Daughter

Elizabeth Chadwick – Shadows and Strongholds

Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep (Bill Amberg Classics Challenge)

Bernard Cornwell - Stonehenge

Daniel Defoe – Moll Flanders

Daniel Defoe – Robinson Crusoe

Charles Dickens – Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens – Bleak House

Charles Dickens – Oliver Twist

Alexandre Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo

Michel Faber – The Crimson Petal and the White

Anne Frank – Anne Fran’s Diary

Philippa Gregory – The Favoured Child

Thomas Hardy – Jude the Obscure

Thomas Hardy – The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy – Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Robert Harris - Pompeii

Katherine Howe – The Lost Book of Salem

Victor Hugo – The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Victor Hugo – Les Miserables Vol.1

Victor Hugo – Les Miserables Vol 2

Kazuo Ishiguro – When We Were Orphans

Jeanne Kalogridis – The Borgia Bride

Raymond Khoury – The Last Templar

Barbara Kingslover – The Poisonwood Bible

D H Lawrence – Women in Love

Doris Lessing - The Golden Notebook

Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall

Valerio Massimo Manfredi – The Last Legion

Colum McCann - Zoli

Herman Melville – Moby Dick

Audrey Niffenegger - Her Fearful Symmetry

Jean Plaidy – The King’s Secret Matter

Caro Ramsay - Absolution

Michelle Richmond – No-One You Know

M J Rose – The Reincarnationist

Simon Scarrow – Young Bloods (Revolution 1)

Simon Scarrow – The Generals (Revolution 2)

Simon Scarrow – Fire and Sword (Revolution 3)

Robert Silverberg - Roma Eterna

Nicholas Sparks – The Notebook

John Steinbeck – East of Eden

Charles Stross - The Atrocity Archives

Colm Toibin - Brooklyn

William Thackeray – Vanity Fair

Leo Tolstoy – Anna Karenina

Lew Wallace – Ben Hur

Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited (Bill Amberg Classics Challenge)

Alison Weir – Innocent Traitor

P G Wodehouse – Thank You, Jeeves

Thomas Wolfe – The Bonfire of the Vanities

[Kell]

SIMON SCARROW'S REVOLUTION SERIES CHALLENGE

I've had the first three books in this series for a while now and, although I love Scarrow's Romans series, I've never got round to reading these ones, so this year I'm really going to go for it!

 

RATINGS:

1/5 Dire – don’t waste your time

2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about

3/5 Very good – well worth a read

4/5 Excellent

5/5 Superb – read it immediately!

 

Green = Finished

Blue = Acquired, but not read

Red = Not yet acquired

 

1. Young Bloods (2006)

Europe in the late eighteenth century was a tumultuous place, with war and rebellions breaking out on many fronts. Young Arthur Wesley (later Wellington) and Napoleon Bonaparte grow up worlds apart yet immersed from youth in a culture where a military career is a natural choice for men of ambition. While Wellington is blooded in Ireland and Flanders, Napoleon is caught up in the dramas of the French Revolution and war with Prussia, Britain and Holland. None of this is enough to distract Wellington from his pursuit of Kitty Pakenham or Napoleon from his future bride, Josephine, for these men throw themselves into all aspects of life as enthusiastically as they rush to battle. A wonderful, multi-layered introduction to an epic series.

 

2. The Generals (2007)

The second in this epic quartet of novels focusing on two giants of European history, Wellington and Napoleon It's 1796 as THE GENERALS opens, and both Arthur Wellesly (later Wellington) and Napoleon Bonaparte are making their mark as men of military genius. Wellesley, as commander of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, is sent to India, where his skill and bravery make a remarkable impression on his superiors. Napoleon's role as commander of the Army of Italy leads to success in battle and rapid political progress. By 1804, Napoleon has established himself as Emperor, and has his sights set on conquering all of Europe. The time has come for Wellesly to stand against Napoleon in the confrontation that lies ahead.

 

3. Fire and Sword (2009)

The third in this epic quartet of novels focusing on two giants of European history, Wellington and Napoleon.

 

In the early years of the nineteenth century, Arthur Wellesley (elevated to Viscount Wellington in the course of the novel) and Napoleon Bonaparte are well-established as men of military genius. Wellesley has returned from India, where his skill and bravery made a remarkable impression on his superiors. He faces trials and tribulations on the political scene before becoming embroiled militarily in Copenhagen, then Portugal and finally Spain. Napoleon, established as Emperor, is cementing his control on Europe, intending finally to crush his hated foe across the Channel: Britain. The time is fast approaching when Wellington and Napoleon will come face to face in confrontation and only one man can emerge victorious...

 

4. The Fields of Death (2010)

It's 1810, and both Viscount Wellington and Emperor Napoleon have made great names for themselves as outstanding military commanders. Wellington expands his achievements and enjoys further fame during his years in Spain but knows his most challenging test will be to face Napoleon's mighty army. But when Wellington invades France in 1814 he gains a swift and certain victory. He indulges in a spell of self-congratulation at Vienna -- until news comes of Napoleon's triumphant return. Napoleon, ambitious as ever, embarks on a Russian campaign which ends in disaster and is then defeated at Leipzig in the biggest battle ever fought in Europe. With Napoleon's power waning at long last, Wellington must seize the opportunity to crush the tyrant once and for all -- and so the two giants face each other for the final time, at Waterloo...

 

BILL AMBERG CLASSICS CHALLENGE

Penguin Books brought out a beautiful set of six classic novels bound in leather that retailed at £50 a pop (you can get them from Penguin for £20 now though). I aim to read all six of them (although not necessarily the Bill Amberg versions as they're pricey!)

 

I actually now own three of the six novels from the Bill Amberg Collection (yes, the leather-bound ones - they're gorgeous!) as I picked them up very cheaply from The Works. I'm hoping the other three will become available there so I can get those too!

 

I have already read a couple of them, so I'm a few steps ahead of the game as I start this challenge...

 

RATINGS:

1/5 Dire – don’t waste your time

2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about

3/5 Very good – well worth a read

4/5 Excellent

5/5 Superb – read it immediately!

 

Green = Finished

Blue = Acquired, but not read

Red = Not yet acquired

 

Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's

Holly Golightly, glittering socialite traveller, generally upwards, sometimes sideways and once in a while down. She's up all night drinking cocktails and breaking hearts. She's a shoplifter, a delight, a drifter, a tease. She hasn't got a past.She doesn't want to belong to anything or anyone. Not to 'Rusty' Trawler, the blue-chinned, cuff-shooting millionaire man about women about town. Not to Salvatore 'Sally' Tomato, the Mafia sugar-daddy doing life in Sing Sing. Not to a starving writer. Not even to her one-eyed rag-bag pirate of a cat. One day Holly might find somewhere she belongs. Until then she's travelling.

 

Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep

Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is working for the Sternwood family. Old man Sternwood, crippled and wheelchair-bound, is being given the squeeze by a blackmailer and he wants Marlowe to make the problem go away. But with Sternwood’s two wild, devil-may-care daughters prowling LA’s seedy backstreets, Marlowe’s got his work cut out – and that’s before he stumbles over the first corpse …

 

F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby (read at school) - 4/5

Jay Gatsby is the man who has everything. But one thing will always be out of his reach ... Everybody who is anybody is seen at his glittering parties. Day and night his Long Island mansion buzzes with bright young things drinking, dancing and debating his mysterious character. For Gatsby - young, handsome, fabulously rich - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and waiting, though no one knows what for. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life he is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.

 

E M Forster - A Room With a View (read 2007) - 4/5

A brilliant social comedy about the English middle classes abroad and at home, A ROOM WITH A VIEW is one of E.M. Forster's most popular novels. The medieval beauty of Florence is the setting for the emotional awakening of Lucy Honeychurch, a young woman travelling abroad for the first time with her cousin Charlotte. On her return to England, in her relationships with her cousin, the unconventional Emersons and her supercilious fiance Cecil, Lucy is torn between lingering Victorian proprieties and the spontaneous promptings of her heart.

 

Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited

Charles Ryder, a lonely student at Oxford, is captivated by the outrageous and decadent Sebastian Flyte. Invited to Brideshead, Sebastian's magnificent family home, Charles welcomes the attentions of its eccentric, artistic inhabitants the Marchmains, becoming infatuated with them and the life of privilege they inhabit; in particular, with Sebastian's remote sister, Julia. But, as duty and desire, faith and happiness come into conflict, and the Marchmains struggle to find their place in a changing world, Charles eventually comes to recognize his spiritual and social distance from them.

 

Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray (read in 2007) 4/5

Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life; indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman inthe eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence. The novel was a succès de scandale and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895. It has lost none of its power to fascinate and disturb.

Edited November 14, 2010 by Kell

[Kell]

1. Dead Until Dark (re-read) (2001) 3/5

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty - she's a very cute bubbly blonde - or not interested in a social life. She really is... but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for. But Bill's a vampire. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim...

2. Living Dead in Dallas (re-read) (2002) 3/5

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no one seems to care. Then she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature which gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn't enjoy it). The point is: they saved her life. So when one of the bloodsuckers asks for a favour, she obliges - and soon Sookie's in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She's supposed to interview certain humans involved, but she makes one condition: the vampires must promise to behave, and let the humans go unharmed. But that's easier said than done, and all it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly.

3. Club Dead (re-read) (2003) - 4/5

There's only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse is involved with - at least voluntarily - and that's Bill. But recently he's been a little distant - in another state distant. His sinister and sexy boss Eric has an idea where to find him, and next thing Sookie knows she's off to Jackson, Mississippi, to mingle with the underworld at Club Dead. It's a dangerous little haunt where the elusive vampire society can go to chill out and suck down some Type O - but when Sookie finally finds Bill caught in an act of serious betrayal she's not sure whether to save him, or to sharpen some stakes.

 

4. Dead to the World (re-read) (2004) - 4/5

Sookie comes to the rescue of a naked, amnesiac vampire - and ends up in the middle of a war between witches, werewolves and vampires! Sookie Stackhouse is a small-town cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's pretty. She does her job well. She keeps to herself - she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie's gift: she can read minds. That's not exactly every man's idea of date bait - unless they're undead - vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that's just the kind of guy Sookie's been looking for. Maybe that's why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn't just drive on by. He hasn't got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy - and dead - as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he's sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie's help - because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into what's going on leads her straight into a dangerous battle between witches, vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger - to Sookie's heart, because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist.

 

5. Dead as a Doornail (2005) - 3/5

Sookie's got just a month, before the next full moon, to find out who wants her brother dead - and to stop the fiend! Sookie Stackhouse enjoys her life, mostly. She's a great cocktail waitress in a fun bar; she has a love life, albeit a bit complicated, and most people have come to terms with her telepathy. The problem is, Sookie wants a quiet life - but things just seem to happen to her and her friends. Now her brother Jason's eyes are starting to change: he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. She can deal with that, but her normal sisterly concern turns to cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population. She afraid not just because Jason's at risk, but because his new were-brethren suspect Jason may be the shooter. Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks - unless the killer decides to find her first.

 

6. Definitely Dead (2006) - 3/5

Sookie doesn't have that many relations, so she hated to lose one - but of all the people to go, she didn't expect it to be her cousin Hadley, a consort of New Orleans' vampire queen - after all, Hadley was technically already dead. But she is gone, beyond recall, and she's left Sookie an inheritance - one that comes with a bit of a risk - not least because someone doesn't want Sookie digging too deep into Hadley's past - or her possessions. Sookie's life is once again on the line, and this time the suspects range from the rogue werewolves who have rejected Sookie as a friend of the pack to her first love, the vampire Bill. Sookie's got a lot to do if she's going to keep herself alive.

7. All Together Dead (2007) - 4/5

Sookie's beginning to get used to being surrounded by all varieties of undead, changeling, shapeshifting and other supernatural beings - but even she has her limits. She'd really like to take a while to get over being betrayed by Bill, her long-time vampire lover, and get used to her new relationship with the sexy shapeshifter Quinn - but instead, she finds herself attending the long-planned vampire summit, the destination of choice for every undead power player around, as a sort-of human 'Geiger counter' for Sophie-Anne Leclerq, vampire queen of Louisiana. But the job is fraught with difficulties. Sophie-Anne's power base has been severely weakened by Hurricane Katrina, and she's about to be put on trial during the event for murdering her king. Sookie knows the queen is innocent, but she's hardly prepared for other shocking murders: it looks like there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. With secret alliances and backroom deals the order of the day - and night - Sookie must decide which side she'll stand with, and quickly, for her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

8. From Dead to Worse (2008) - 4/5

The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana is reeling from two hard blows: the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, and the manmade horror of the explosion at the vampire summit in the up-north city of Rhodes. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, and she's yearning for things to get back to normal. But that's just not happening. Too many vampires - some friends, some not - were killed or injured, and her were-tiger boyfriend Quinn is among the missing. It's clear that things are changing, whether the weres and vamps like it or not. And Sookie, Friend to the Pack, blood-bonded to the leader of the local vampire community, is caught up in those changes. She's about to find herself facing danger and death and, not for the first time, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood has stopped flowing, Sookie's world will be forever altered.

 

9. Dead and Gone (2009) - 3/5

Now it's the turn of the weres and shifters to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world. Sookie Stackhouse already knows about them, of course - her brother turns into a panther at the full moon, she's friend to the local Were pack and Sam, her boss at Merlotte's bar, is a shifter. At first the great Were revelation seems to go well - then the horribly mutilated body of a were-panther is found outside Merlotte's. Though Sookie never cared that much for the victim, no one deserves such a horrible death, so she agrees to use her telepathic talent to track down the murderer. But what Sookie doesn't realise is that there is a far greater danger than this killer threatening Bon Temps: a race of unhuman beings, older, more powerful and far more secretive than the vampires or the werewolves is preparing for war.

 

10. Dead in the Family(2010) - 3/5

If you think your family relationships are complicated, think again: you haven't seen anything like the ones in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie Stackhouse is dealing with a whole host of family problems, ranging from her own kin (a non-human fairy and a telepathic second cousin) demanding a place in her life, to her lover Eric's vampire sire, an ancient being who arrives with Eric's 'brother' in tow at a most inopportune moment. And Sookie's tracking down a distant relation of her ailing neighbour (and ex), Vampire Bill Compton. In addition to the multitude of family issues complicating her life, the werewolf pack of Shreveport has asked Sookie for a special favour, and since Sookie is an obliging young woman, she agrees. But this favour for the wolves has dire results for Sookie, who is still recovering from the trauma of her abduction during the Fairy War.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Kell

[Kell]

Penguin Books brought out a beautiful set of six classic novels bound in leather that retailed at

Edited January 15, 2010 by Kell

[Kell]

RATINGS:

1/5 Dire – don’t waste your time

2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about

3/5 Very good – well worth a read

4/5 Excellent

5/5 Superb – read it immediately!

 

CHALLENGES:

SS - Simon Scarrow Revolutions Series

CH - Charlaine Harris Southern Vampires Series

BA - Bill Amberg Classics Challenge

RC - Reading Circle

Blue - Currently Reading

Red - Abandoned Unfinished

 

FINISHED IN JANUARY:

1. Charlaine Harris - Dead Until Dark (CH1/re-read) - 3/5

2. Charlaine Harris - Living Dead in Dallas (CH2/re-read) - 3/5

3. Charlaine Harris - Club Dead (CH3/re-read) - 4/5

4. Charlaine Harris - Dead to the World (CH4/re-read) - 4/5

5. Charlaine Harris - Dead as a Doornail (CH5) - 3/5

6. Charlaine Harris - Definitely Dead (CH6) - 3/5

7. Charlaine Harris - All Together Dead (CH7) - 4/5

8. Charlaine Harris - From Dead to Worse (CH8) - 4/5

9. Brom - The Child Thief - 5/5

FINISHED IN FEBRUARY:

Steig Larsson – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - ABANDONED

FINISHED IN MARCH:

10. Christopher Brookmyre - Pandaemonium - 3/5

11. Rolf Harris - Buster Fleabags - 3/5

12. Alison Weir - Traitors of the Tower - 2/5

13. Peter James - The Perfect Murder - 3/5

14. Various - Life's Too Short - 3/5

15. Peter Mottley - The Harlot's Progress: Pt 1: Yorkshire Molly - 3/5

16. Eric L Haney - Inside Delta Force - 4/5

 

FINISHED IN APRIL:

17. Lynn Shepherd - Murder at Mansfield Park - 3/5

18. J M DeMatteis - Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable - 3/5

19. J M DeMatteis - Abadazad: The Dream Thief - 3/5

20. G P Taylor - Mariah Mundy: The Midas Box - 2/5

FINISHED IN MAY:

21. Henry Farrell - Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? - 4/5

22. Philippa Gregory - The Other Queen - 3/5

FINISHED IN JUNE:

23. Charlaine Harris - Dead and Gone (CH9) - 3/5

Sharyn McCrumb - Zombies of the Gene Pool - ABANDONED

24. Simon Scarrow - Gladiator (Romans #9) - 4/5

25. Stuart Macbride - Dark Blood (Logan McRae #6) - 3/5

26. Vicki Iovine - The Best Friends' Guide to Motherhood - 3/5

27. Philippa Gregory - The White Queen - 3/5

28. A E Moorat - Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter - 3/5

Edited November 30, 2010 by Kell

[Kell]

Aim: 52 books in 2010

Finished so far: 58 / 52

Abandoned: 8

RATINGS:

1/5 Dire - don't waste your time

2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about

3/5 Very good - well worth a read

4/5 Excellent

5/5 Superb - read it immediately!

 

CHALLENGES:

SS - Simon Scarrow Revolutions Series

CH - Charlaine Harris Southern Vampires Series

BA - Bill Amberg Classics Challenge

Blue - Currently Reading

 

FINISHED IN JULY:

29. Lewis Carroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - 3/5

30. Terry Pratchett - Unseen Academicals - 2/5

31. Lewis Carroll - Alice Through The Looking Glass - 3/5

32. Kenneth Graham - The Wind In The Willows - 5/5

Kazuo Ishiguro - A Pale View Of Hills - ABANDONED

 

FINISHED IN AUGUST:

33. Donna Jo Napoli - Daughter Of Venice - 3/5

34. Charlaine Harris - Dead in the Family (CH 10) (Book Ring)- 3/5

35. Margaret Mitchell - Gone With The Wind - 5/5

36. Stephen T Hancock - The Synchronicity Factor - 3/5

37. Kelley Armstrong – Men of the Otherworld - 4/5

38. Kelley Armstrong - Angelic - 3/5

39. J M Barrie - Peter Pan - 3/5

 

FINISHED IN SEPTEMBER:

40. Geraldine McCaughrean and David Wyatt - Peter Pan in Scarlet - 4/5

41. Judah Lee Davis - She Tells All - 3/5

42. Lauren Henderson - Jane Austen's Guide To Dating - 5/5

43. Alison Weir – The Lady Elizabeth - 4/5

44. Kelley Armstrong - Waking The Witch - 4/5

45. Allen Carr - Allen Carr's Easy Weigh To Lose Weight - 3/5

 

 

FINISHED IN OCTOBER:

46. Elizabeth Ferretti - Chocolate - 3/5

 

FINISHED IN NOVEMBER:

47. Pat Brien - Denied - 2/5

48. Edgar Allan Poe - The Pit and the Pendulum - 2/5

49. Edgar Allan Poe - Ligeia - 2/5

50. Lexi Revellian - Remix - 4/5

Jane Austen - Persuasion - ABANDONED

Thomas Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair - ABANDONED

Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep - ABANDONED

51. Ben Elton - The First Casualty - 4/5

52. Edgar Allan Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher - 1/5

53. Edgar Allan Poe - Three Short Stories - 2/5

54. Michelle Gorman - Single in the City - 3/5

55. Jake T Forbes & Chris Lie - Return to Labyrinth vol 1 (graphic novel) - 4/5

 

FINISHED IN DECEMBER:

56. Jake T Forbes & Chris Lie - Return to Labyrinth vol 2 (graphic novel) - 4/5

57. Jake T Forbes & Chris Lie - Return to Labyrinth vol 3 (graphic novel) - 4/5

Anonymous - The Arabian Nights - ABANDONED

John Lawrence - The Secret Five and the Stunt Nun Legacy - ABANDONED - 1/5

58. Alison Weir - Innocent Traitor - 4/5

Richard Laymon - No Sanctuary

Caro Ramsay - Absolution

[Kell]

This year I think I'll keep a note of my Wish List seperately and also keep a note of where I find the recommendations that persuade me I want to get hold of certain books. If there's no name next to them, it's because I already wanted them, mostly because they're by authors I already read, love and collect.

THE ONES I WANTED ANYWAY:

Kelley Armstrong - The Reckoning (DP 3)

Kelley Armstrong - Waking the Witch (WotOW 11)

Kelley Armtrong - Angelic (novella)

Kelley Armstrong - Tales of the Otherworld (collection)

Truman Capote - Breakfast at Tiffany's (Bill Amberg Classics Collection)

Seth Graham-Smith - Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Steve Hockensmith - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

Frank Miller - 300 (illustrated novel)

Alan Moore - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (illustrated novel)

Terry Pratchett - Once More* With Footnotes

Simon Scarrow - The Fields of Death (Revolution 4)

 

THE ONES BASED ON REVIEWS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND MEDIA:

Richard Castle - Heat Wave (Vladd)

Richard Castle - Naked Heat (just because!)

Cornelia Funke - Inkheart (watched film)

Joanne Harris - Sleep Pale Sister (Wyrdskein)

Joanne Harris - Blueeyedboy (found via research on Sleep Pale Sister)

Susan Hill - Howards End is on the Landing (chesilbeach)

Seth Grahame-Smith - Abraham Lincolm: Vampire Hunter (random search)

Peter Van Greenaway - The Medusa Touch (found via random search)

Haydn Middleton - The King's Evil (Mordred Cycle 1)

Haydn Middleton - The Queen's Captive (Mordred Cycle 2) (re-read)

Haydn Middleton - The Knight's Revenge (Mordred Cycle 3)

Marie Phillips - Gods Behaving Badly (iamnotreal)

Alex Scarrow - Time Riders (email from Scarrow site)

John Steinbeck - The Acts of King Arthur and His Knights (Vinay)

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell - Wyrmeweald (BCF Blog)

Matt Thorne - Cherry (BCF Reviews Blog)

T H White - The Once and Future King (Vinay)

Edited August 11, 2010 by Kell

[Kell]

I mean to start the year with a bang! I'll be kicking off with 3 books for the New Year:

 

The Plucker (illustrated novel) by Brom

This is actually a re-read for me as I first came across this little beauty a couple of years ago in our local library. However, my lovely hubby got me it for Xmas and I intend to enjoy it all over again. I rated it 10/10 when I read and reviewed it, and I doubt it has lost any of its magic for me in the intervening time.

 

The Child Thief (illustrated novel) by Brom

This is Brom's latest publication and I've been dying to get into this dark rendition of the Peter Pan legend. Brom's imagination is a sinister and beautiful place to hang out and both his art and his words are enchanting, so this promises to be a sirefire hit with me.

 

Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampires #1) by Charlaine Harris

Another re-read as I plan to read the entire series from start to finish over the course of the year. I read the first four books inthe series a few years back, but I want to refresh my memory before heading into the uncharted territotires of books 5-9! Ienjoyed it first time round, and I'm sure I'll have fun revisiting the residents of Bon Temps.

[lexiepiper]

I really like the sound of the Brom books, I'm going to have to pick one up!

[Kell]

Oh, DO! And while you're at it, The Devil's Rose is the other one (I got that last Xmas)

[lexiepiper]

Ohh okay, which would you say is the best to start with?

[Kell]

You can start with any as they're all stand alone. I read The Plucker first (it's his first illustrated novel) - I spotted it cover-out on a library shelf and was enchanted by the artwork, so I borrowed it and fell in love with it immediately. It's a great one to start with as it has a large amount of whimsy as well as having a darker side.

 

I then got The Devil's Rose for Xmas last year (his 2nd illustrated novel) and it's even darker than The Plucker. Again, the artwork is astounding, but doesn't have the whimsical element of THe Plucker.

 

Both were 10/10 for me.

 

I've not yet read The Child Thief, but I'm already looking forward to it. Brom is not only a talented artist, but he has a way with words that is so totally unexpected - he's almost lyrical with his prose.

 

I plan on starting to collect his art-only books too at some point - you should check out his website and see some of the stuff he comes out with - scary, strange, beautiful - he's a warped mind but it works for me.

 

I actually joined his Facebook fanclub and added him as a friend (and he accepted!). He's very active on both pages and seems very down-to-earth and rather lovely.

[BookJumper]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Triumff - I meant to buy this when it came out but chickened out upon discovering Abnett's Warhammer background maybe your review will sway me back?

[Kell]

I've not read it yet - I did start it, but I got sidetracked. The few pages I read, though, seemed ver interesting and I shall most certainly be picking it up again (probably from the start - I only read a few pages).

 

I also confess that I have just been on Green Metropolis and bought Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Scarlet. As I got them in before the bells, I'm including them on my TBR list pre-R3B1 challenge. Cheeky, I know, but there you go.

[Kell]

Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 1)

Rating: 3/5 - Very good, well worth a read

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much – not because she’s not pretty – she’s a very cute bubbly blonde – or not interested in a social life. She really is . . . but Sookie’s got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he’s tall, he’s dark and he’s handsome – and Sookie can’t ‘hear’ a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s fussy about his food, he doesn’t like suntans and he’s never around during the day . . . Yep, Bill’s a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble – of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie’s colleagues at the bar is killed, and it’s beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim . . .

 

Review:

Well, that's my first book of the year finished. As this was a re-read it went a lot more quickly than I think it would ordinarily have done, but it was great fun revisiting "old friends" and refamiliarising myself with the residents of Bon Temps. I think I'm going to enjoy re-reading the first four books, but I can hadly wait to progress to the subsequent sequels!

 

It's not as full-on sexy as the TV series (True Blood) but there's still a fair old bit of steamy romping, although Harris doesn't go into minute detail (she doesn't need to!) and it plays an integral role in the plot, so it's not gratuitous.

 

Sookie could have been a "too-good-to-be-true" type of goody-goody, but she's not and I love that she's so flawed (she has something of a temper on her at times; she's stubborn, wilful and headstrong) and although the mind-reading is important to the plot, it's not dwelled on too much - it's just accepted that this is part of who Sookie is and that she often finds it something of a chore to deal with. Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will instantly identify with her.

 

As with my first reading, I found Bill a little tedious (I also do with the show, to be honest) and find the mysterious Eric a lot more interesting and fun, but he's still quite likeable, despite his coldness and stand-offish nature.

 

And I had almost completely forgotten about Bubba - it was such fun to be reminded!

 

If you're a fan of supernatural fiction you could do a lot worse than to pick up at least this first book in the series. Harris has a touch that is light enough for the funnier moments but strong enough for the darker ones too - it's a fine balance, but she hits the mark and keeps you hooked into the action from start to finish.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Kell

[catwoman]

I read this book a few months ago and found it to be a good read. I have however stop reading them, as I found them boring. I am hoping that the more you read of them, you may make me get back into reading them again. I stopped after *Thinks* Thats right Dead to the world. Which I know a lot of people liked because if I am right, Eric is in it alot.

 

I hope you enjoy the rest of the series.

 

CW.

[Kell]

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 2)

Rating: 3/5 - Very good, well worth a read

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no one seems to care. Then she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature which gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn

[Kylie]

I'm enjoying your reviews, Kell. I'm almost halfway through the first one and you're a faster reader than me so I expect the gap between us will widen, but I'm sure your reviews will provide inspiration for me to keep going with the series until I'm done!

 

It's good to see you reading so much again.

[Kell]

Thanks, Kylie. I'll most likely be spacing them out a tiny bit more after SV3 (which I've just started), as I have other things I want to read (for reading circles etc), as well as all the new books I got for Xmas and those that have been languishing on Mount TBR for far too long...

[Weave]

Great reviews Kell

[lexiepiper]

Great reviews Kell, and I'm glad you're enjoying the Sookie books

[Kell]

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 3)

Rating: 4/5 -Excellent

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

There

Edited January 9, 2010 by Kell

[Charm]

Love your reviews on Sookie Kell, they're making me want to re-read the series! I'm trying to wait untill the new one comes out though then I'll start them from the beginning

 

Glad you're enjoying them again!

[Peacefield]

Excellent review, Kell! This one's next up for me in the series and I can't wait to start reading it .

[Mac]

I've been really trying hard to fully enjoy Harris' works but, I'm ever so sorry guys, I just can't seem to get these books and my mojo in alignment. Maybe I should try again? But I have sooooooo many books on my TBR mountain that it seems like hard work when there're others that I'll probably devour.

 

What to do? Oh! What to do???