Signor Finzione

I think maybe it's about connecting with the main character - if you don't really like Kvothe, or the narrative voice, I guess there's no chance of liking the book either. Another thing is that I sat down and read The Name of the Wind solidly over a couple of days, whereas my dad read it in fits and starts. I think it's the kind of book that needs lots of time and attention devoted to it, and I think that's why I didn't enjoy book 2 as much. (That, and the fact that he spends about 200 pages in the Faeland learning sex from a random goddess. )

I can't believe you abandoned the Rothfuss. And the Codex Alera is on my wishlist, so that's not looking too good either.

Nice review of ADWD Tim! I really am glad you enjoyed it. One thing I did like about reading it was trying to imagine what certain bits will look like in the TV show - there's a certain scene with Daenerys and Drogon that I can't wait to see on-screen.

Thanks guys! Wow, Gaia, we share quite a lot of the same books on our TBRs. It's good to know you enjoyed the Karen Miller and Adrian Tchaikovsky - I've never read anything by these authors, but I'm looking forward to doing so.

Honestly, I thought it was BRILLIANT. However, I know Tim was underwhelmed, and my dad thought it was drawn-out and boring, so maybe I'm in the minority. I honestly don't know what you'd make of it - but I think you should try it.

Glad to hear you're enjoying ADWD more than I did.

And it looks like we're open for business. Happy reading in 2014, everyone!

My Entire TBR (including pre-orders) Daniel Abraham – The Dragon’s Path Dante Alighieri – Inferno Dante Alighieri – Purgatorio Dante Alighieri – Paradiso Margaret Atwood – The Year of the Flood Margaret Atwood – MaddAddam Jane Austen – Emma Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice R. Scott Bakker – The Darkness that Comes Before James Barclay – Cry of the Newborn James Barclay – Shout for the Dead James Barclay – Dawnthief James Barclay – Noonshade James Barclay – Nightchild James Barclay – Elfsorrow James Barclay – Shadowheart James Barclay – Demonstorm Peter V Brett – The Desert Spear Peter V Brett – The Daylight War Max Brooks – The Zombie Survival Guide Terry Brooks – First King of Shannara Terry Brooks – The Sword of Shannara Terry Brooks – The Elfstones of Shannara Terry Brooks – The Wishsong of Shannara Terry Brooks – Armageddon’s Children Terry Brooks – A Princess of Landover John Buchan – The Thirty-Nine Steps Miles Cameron – The Red Knight Trudi Canavan – The Magician’s Guild Trudi Canavan – The Magician’s Apprentice Trudi Canavan – Rogue Cassandra Clare – City of Fallen Angels Arthur Conan Doyle – The Hound of the Baskervilles Joseph Conrad – Nostromo Glen Cook – Dreams of Steel Glen Cook – The Silver Spike Elspeth Cooper – Songs of the Earth Bernard Cornwell – The Winter King Stephen Deas – The Adamantine Palace Charles Dickens – A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens – Great Expectations Charles Dickens – Oliver Twist Stephen Donaldson – Lord Foul’s Bane Stephen Donaldson – The Illearth War Stephen Donaldson – The Power that Preserves Stephen Donaldson – The Wounded Land Stephen Donaldson – The One Tree Stephen Donaldson – White Gold Wielder Alexander Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo David Anthony Durham – The Other Lands David Eddings – The Diamond Throne David & Leigh Eddings – The Elder Gods David Eddings – Pawn of Prophecy George Eliot – The Mill on the Floss George Eliot – Middlemarch Steven Erikson – Forge of Darkness Steven Erikson – The Devil Delivered Ian C Esslemont – Return of the Crimson Guard Ian C Esslemont – Stonewielder Ian C Esslemont – Orb Sceptre Throne Ian C Esslemont – Blood and Bone Jennifer Fallon – Lion of Senet Raymond E Feist – The King’s Buccaneer Raymond E Feist – Talon of the Silver Hawk Raymond E Feist – King of Foxes Raymond E Feist – Flight of the Night Hawks Raymond E Feist – Into A Dark Realm Raymond E Feist – Wrath of a Mad God Raymond E Feist – A Kingdom Beseiged Raymond E Feist – Magician’s End Guy Gavriel Kay – The Lions of Al-Rassan David Gemmell – Waylander David Gemmell – Sword in the Storm William Goldman – The Princess Bride John Gwynne - Valour Thomas Hardy – Tess of the d’Urbervilles Deborah Harkness – A Discovery of Witches Deborah Harkness – Shadow of Night Victor Hugo – The Hunchback of Notre Dame Douglas Hulick – Among Thieves Conn Iggulden – Emperor: The Gates of Rome Conn Iggulden – Emperor: The Gods of War Conn Iggulden – Bones of the Hills Ian Irvine – A Shadow on the Glass Paul Kearney – Hawkwood and the Kings Stephen R Lawhead – Tuck Mark Lawrence – Prince of Fools Anne Lyle – The Merchant of Dreams Niccolo Machiavelli – The Prince Gail Z Martin – Ice Forged Fiona McIntosh – Betrayal Fiona McIntosh – Revenge Fiona McIntosh – Destiny Fiona McIntosh – Royal Exile Herman Melville – Moby Dick Karen Miller – Blight of Mages Karen Miller – The Innocent Mage Karen Miller – The Awakened Mage Elizabeth Moon – The Deed of Paksenarrion Mark Charan Newton – Nights of Villjamur Mark Charan Newton - Drakenfeld Christopher Paolini – Brisingr Edgar Allen Poe – Tales of Mystery and Imagination Terry Pratchett – Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett – Lords and Ladies Terry Pratchett – Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett; Neil Gaiman – Good Omens Justin Richards – The Death Collector Anthony Riches – Empire: The Leopard Sword Anthony Riches – Empire: Arrows of Fury George A Romero – Dawn of the Dead Brian Ruckley – Bloodheir Brian Ruckley – Fall of Thanes Anthony Ryan – Blood Song R A Salvatore – Exile R A Salvatore - Sojourn Brandon Sanderson – The Rithmatist Brandon Sanderson – The Final Empire Simon Scarrow – Praetorian Simon Scarrow – The Gladiator Luke Scull – The Grim Company Maria V Snyder – Poison Study Maria V Snyder – Magic Study Maria V Snyder – Fire Study Mary Stewart – The Prince and the Pilgrim Dacre Stoker – Dracula: The Un-Dead Michael J Sullivan – Theft of Swords Michael J Sullivan – Rise of Empire Laini Taylor – Days of Blood and Starlight Adrian Tchaikovsky – Empire in Black and Gold Adrian Tchaikovsky – Dragonfly Falling William Thackeray – Vanity Fair J R R Tolkien – The Silmarillion Jules Verne – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Virgil – The Aeneid Kurt Vonnegut – Slaughterhouse 5 Brent Weeks – The Broken Eye Mazarkis Williams – The Emperor’s Knife Chris Wooding – Retribution Falls Janny Wurts – The Curse of the Mistwraith Janny Wurts – The Ships of Merior David Zindell – Black Jade Total: 142

Targets for 2014: 1. Get the TBR down to 100 2. Try at least 20 new authors 3. Read my pre-orders within a month of receiving them

Welcome to my reading log. Anyone is welcome to comment, even if it's just to chat. The general aim this year is to read for fun – no self-imposed deadlines, no strict mini-plans, and ONLY books I think I’ll enjoy! My entire TBR consists of 142 books, and I’ll post it below. First, though, here are the books I really want to read this year (yes, they’re all fantasy . . . of course ). 2014 Reading Plan (sort-of): Daniel Abraham – The Dragon’s Path Daniel Abraham - The King's Blood James Barclay – Cry of the Newborn James Barclay – Dawnthief Peter V Brett – The Desert Spear Peter V Brett – The Daylight War Terry Brooks – First King of Shannara Miles Cameron – The Red Knight Bernard Cornwell – The Winter King Stephen Deas – The Adamantine Palace Stephen Donaldson – Lord Foul’s Bane David Eddings – Pawn of Prophecy Jennifer Fallon – Lion of Senet Richard Ford - Herald of the Storm Teresa Frohock - Miserere Guy Gavriel Kay – The Lions of Al-Rassan David Gemmell – Sword in the Storm John Gwynne - Valour Douglas Hulick – Among Thieves Ian Irvine – A Shadow on the Glass Paul Kearney – Hawkwood and the Kings Mark Lawrence – Prince of Fools Anne Lyle – The Merchant of Dreams Anne Lyle - The Prince of Lies Elizabeth Moon – The Deed of Paksenarrion Mark Charan Newton – Drakenfeld Terry Pratchett – Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett; Neil Gaiman – Good Omens Anthony Ryan – Blood Song Brandon Sanderson – The Final Empire Michael J Sullivan – Theft of Swords Adrian Tchaikovsky – Empire in Black and Gold Brent Weeks – The Broken Eye Chris Wooding – Retribution Falls It’s organised alphabetically rather than in reading order, as I don’t want to limit or over-prescribe my reading too much. It’s quite a short list: this is because many of the books on there are part of different series, and if I enjoy them then I’ll probably branch out from the plan and read others by those authors. Book on 2014 plan: 34 (Total TBR: 142)

Aw, thanks guys, and the same to you. I'm looking forward to it!

So, it’s the end of the year, which means we’re all duty-bound to create lists that categorise the stuff we’ve read during the last twelve months. I’m only going to be counting those books I’ve read since September: that’s when I set up my blog, joined this forum, and started rating and reviewing books. So: Top authors discovered in 2013: 1. Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicles) 2. Mark Lawrence (The Broken Empire trilogy) 3. Brent Weeks (the Night Angel trilogy/the Lightbringer series) 4. John Gwynne (The Faithful and the Fallen) 5. Brian McClellan (The Powder Mage trilogy) Top 5 new reads of 2013: 1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 2. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks 3. King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence 4. She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky 5. Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence Most enjoyable re-read of 2013: The Lies of Locke Lamora/Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch Top 5 most anticipated releases of 2014: 1. Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence 2. The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks 3. The Thorn of Emberlain by Scott Lynch 4. Valour by John Gwynne 5. The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan Statistic (just the one ) 1. Books read since September: 21 I'll be starting a new reading log soon, and I imagine this one will be sent to live on a farm, but I just want to say thanks to those people who joined in with this thread, which I think are mainly Steve, Tim, Gaia, Devi and VF. Even though I started very late in the year, you've all made me feel very welcome, and I've enjoyed the conversations we've had on here. I look forward to more of the same in 2014. Note: even though I thoroughly enjoyed Waylander by David Gemmell, I didn’t finish it until after I’d thought about these lists – so I’m counting it towards next years’ reading.

Yes they are - the two cheekiest dwarves, of course. (The kitties are girls, but the names suit them anyway.) It's funny, because the original plan was for me to get three guinea pigs, which I was going to call Bifur, Bofur and Bombur (more dwarves!). Then it changed to kittens, and Fili and Kili suited them better.

He should make it up doubly by buying them brand new! Poor babies. I'm actually furious at him on your behalf, Tim. This reminds me of when I lent my sister a whole bunch of my books (she's doing the exact same Literature course at uni that I did), and got them all back with post-it notes stuck in them everywhere, pencil notes in the margins, and loads of pages with bent corners. Her response? A roll of the eyes and a cocky and insincere "Sor-RY." WHY DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND THAT BOOKS ARE PRECIOUS TO US???

Ahh, you have the green rabbits too then! I know what you mean about the ingredients in some recipes - I'm always altering things too. 'Don't need that . . . I'm not putting that in . . . ooh, I might add a bit of this . . .'

I think I'd cry if someone did this to my books.

Thanks Tim. It'll be good to hear what you think of him. Fili is cute, but also evil. Kili is even cuter, and much less evil.

Devi's looks great, doesn't it? What does yours look like? Mine's purple with a green rabbit on the front.

Thanks Gaia, I look forward to hearing what you think when you read him.

Nice haul! They all look so pretty, even the SFs.

Happy reading next year, Alexi! I haven't heard of most on your TBR, but I hope you enjoy the Max Brooks and Stieg Larsson - I found both were brilliant.

Wow, that's one intelligent-looking TBR! Hope you have fun with it - Our Mutual Friend, A Game of Thrones and all the Shakespeares are brilliant.

Wow, brilliant haul Devi. Those books look great! The Jamie ones are really good for quick and easy meals - although some of the recipes sound a bit dodgy, it's fun to go through and mix-and-match the ones you like the sound of.

WOW that's a lot of books. Getting the TBR down to 50? Yeah, right!

Now that I think about it, the whole 'fiery red-headed woman' thing has become a bit of a fantasy cliche, don't you think? Yes, yes it is! You awful man. He would have given her indigestion, or at least have possessed her with an urge to create rules for everything.