Nollaig

Hmm. I've only read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, and I did enjoy it, but I also thought it was quite silly and a bit fluffy. I haven't read fangirl, but a friend of mine (who also writes fanfiction) loved it, so maybe I'll give that a go, and then this. I do like the sound of this one being a bit more fantasy.

Hahaha I try not to use it for hyperbole.... but when I'm angry I do. I tell my computer I'm literally going to throw it out the window. I'm not even going to figuratively throw it out the window, let alone literally

I just added a link to my post in the Best and Worst thread, if anyone actually cares they can follow the link I'm reading it coz I'm going to meet him in January and I should know my stuff! Been meaning to read it forever, but I'm terrible at reading non-fiction.

Oooh look at those gorgeous covers on those Tessa Harris books! Want want want... even though I don't know if I'd like them! I have The Works here in my home county, must remember to stick my head in over the Christmas break. I've gotten some great stuff in there before, although it can be hit and miss. I once got a lovely hardback collection of all of Shakespeare's work, and I also got two gorgeous Beau Riffenburgh book/sets, which are books containing tons of reprints and facsimiles of things. One is on the history of exploration and one on the Titantic. The Works is good for unusual stuff like that.

I don't really remember much about the potato parts. I read in back in January, I've read (literally) a hundred books since then.

Haha random quote from me with no context This evening I'm going on a Ferris Wheel! Weather permitting, and it's not permitting at the moment but we'll see. And Jimmy Carr is on Saturday, so lots to look forward to!

I'm getting towards the end of The Enemy by Charlie Higson. It's good, some great displays of creativity and it really pulls no punches with killing characters, but it's also not the best writing I've ever read. Also recently bought the Discworld Collector's Library edition of Men At Arms (I think it's called?) for a friend for her birthday/Christmas, haven't decided which yet.

Kylie, how am I supposed to choose one favourite book out of the 111 I've read so far? How?! I need categories! I went with a 'top 15' in the 'best and worst' thread because I couldn't narrow it down any more than that! Your favourite read of the year? To Rise Again At A Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris. It's not my only favourite, but if I have to choose one... Your favourite author of the year? Scott Meyer. I read all of his Magic 2.0 series, loved it, and got to interview him. #winning Your most read author of the year? Helen Fitzgerald. Very reliable go-to for thrillers. Your favourite book cover of the year? Fly By Night The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? Dead Romantic - CJ Skuse The book that most disappointed you? The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Theriault. Not what I expected at all. The funniest book of the year? Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer Your favourite literary character this year? Saracen the Goose (Fly By Night) Your favourite children's book this year? Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Haven't read it yet but it will be An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth - Chris Hadfield Your favourite re-read of the year? Paper Towns by John Green.

I got stuff from Hot Topic and ThinkGeek. Absolutely extortionate shipping - flat rate of $40 from Hot Topic. I just bought a load of stuff I wanted and overspent to get the most out of the flat rate. Back in the good ole days, that would have been about €28, but now it's about €38. Useless exchange rate at the moment.

Haha it's okay Anna, I don't actually expect anyone to reply. The reviews are as much for documentation purposes as anything

My top fifteen so far this year (may change in December, who knows!) There were other 5* and 4.5* books I chose not to include here, because this is favourites, not necessarily the best! To Rise Again At A Decent Hour - Joshua Ferris (5*) The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins (5*) Magic 2.0: Off To Be The Wizard - Scott Meyer (5*) The Last Days Of Rabbit Hayes - Anna McPartlin (5*) The Monstrumologist - Rick Yancey (5*) Fly By Night - Frances Hardinge (5*) Longbourn - Jo Baker (5*) The Rabbit Back Literature Society - Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen (5*) Burial Rites - Hannah Kent (4.5*) Mind Games - Teri Terry (4.5*) Penpal - Dathan Auerbach (4.5*) Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng (4.5*) The Martian - Andy Weir (4.5*) Dark Matter - Michelle Paver (4*) Bird Box - Josh Malerman (4*) Worst: A Day at the Office - Matt Dunn (didn't finish) Hold Me Close, Necromancer - Lish McBride (didn't finish) The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman – Denis Theriault (2*) The Sky Is Everywhere – Jandy Nelson (2.5*) Perfect Ruin – Lauren DeStefano (2.5*)

Adrian Mole and the Cappucino Years. Just how many of those books are there?! I only know the first one, but I feel like there are tons more!

I know I loved it at the time but I don't really remember it so well now. I remember loving Watney's sarcasm and his 'Did the thing. Still alive. Yay!' kind of humour hehe. Loved his character.

Haha no problem. No many people seem to visit these days, but I power on and post reviews anyway The Rabbit Back Lit Society is definitely worth a read. I will say there is at least one extremely disturbing/violent scene. You have been warned.

I'm not sure I have any favourite authors as such, because there are some books which are among my favourite books but are the only books I've read by those authors. However, this year a few names have emerged as go-tos for certain genres: Helen Fitzgerald for thrillers Pasi Iimari Jaaskelainen for psychological/surreal fiction Louise O'Neill for real talk about teens and society Catherine Ryan Hyde for drama/fiction Holly Black for YA fantasy (hit and miss but always happy to give her a go) Linwood Barclay also for thrillers John Green for sheer philosophical awesomeness Frances Hardinge for reliably awesome Children's/YA fantasy Emma Carroll for Middle Grade Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Haha I'm a terrible influence! I hope you like it now. It was the first of hers I read and I was blown away by how dark it got. Loved it!

In Darkling Wood - Emma Carroll Synopsis: When Alice's brother gets a longed-for chance for a heart transplant, Alice is suddenly bundled off to her estranged grandmother's house. There's nothing good about staying with Nell, except for the beautiful Darkling Wood at the end of her garden - but Nell wants to have it cut down. Alice feels at home there, at peace, and even finds a friend, Flo. But Flo doesn't seem to go to the local school and no one in town has heard of a girl with that name. When Flo shows Alice the surprising secrets of Darkling Wood, Alice starts to wonder, what is real? And can she find out in time to save the wood from destruction? *** Review: In Darkling Wood was good, but not as good as Frost Hollow Hall. This could be down to my own personal perferences in story elements - I love Victorian ghost stories, I'm not so mad about fairy stories set in the woods. That said, In Darkling Wood is Emma's newest novel, and everything about her writing ability that I loved in Frost Hollow Hall is also found here - it's a decent length novel with a relatively complex plot which does not pander either in concept or content to the intended Middle Grade audience it is aimed at. I did feel that the three storylines - Darkling Wood past and present, and that of Emma's little brother, did not all gel together very well. The involvement of her brother seemed relatively arbitrary and the threat of the fairies never felt very real. It still kepy me interested, though. As well as that, I felt the characters lacked a bit of depth, although kudos to Emma for how she handled the teensy bit of implied romance between two of the characters - a mild, off-handed afterthought as opposed to any kind of overdone focus. All the same, I did really like the characters and loved learning about them. I suspect my issues with this book are largely based in bias, though, and I do think it's a great book for kids. Rating: 3.5/5

Glad you enjoyed The Cry, I love that author. There's a lot of disbelief suspension with them, but they're always quite gritty (The Cry is probably the least gritty of her books). The Exit is another I'd heartily recommend.

I loved The Humans but I can't stand Matt Haig. Followed him on Twitter after reading the book and he was so whiny and argumentative. Kinda taints the book a little in retrospect.

I'm glad you enjoyed The Martian

Welcome to the forum! You've already got some good discussion going with the non-fluff YA topic.

Both The Wall and A Pleasure and a Calling sound like fantastic reads, great reviews! Both definitely going on mah wishlist Or possibly straight onto my tablet depending on the cost on Amazon

Last day of November! Where have the last few months gone? For once I've got just about all my Christmas shopping done before December. Most of it won't arrive for another week or two, but it's on the way. Just gotta get wrapping paper (I've already bought my Christmas cards!) and then I'm sorted. Sadly my Christmas tree won't arrive until probably next week, so it's gonna be quite late going up, but I'm looking forward to it as I've bought a ton of new decorations this year. We have a Ferris wheel here in Cork every year at Christmas time, so I'm gonna be going on that on Thursday (weather permitting) and on Saturday I'm going to see Jimmy Carr! Wahey, I love this time of year. I love going out and doing things this time of year, really makes it feel like a special occasion.

Yes, I am caught up. I'd say just because it is such a long running series and people are at different stages, use the spoiler tags to talk spoilers. Feel free to talk spoilers to me, I'm freaking out over the potential this season has.