Pixie

It has been over a year since I last visited this board, so I thought I would start a new book list/reviews thread. Don't let the fancy thread title fool you. My reviews are nothing special, but if they help you decide if you want to read a novel, I guess they are good enough. I'm only going to list my books a few at a time, as I'm never quite sure what I am going to read next. Blue - To be Read Red- Have Read Pink- Reading now Grave Peril by Jim Butcher The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks Virconium by M. John Harrison Ghost Story by Peter Straub (re-read) Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese Breeder by Douglas Clegg The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny My ratings will be between 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the highest. A 10 star rating system is too complicated for my wee brain.

Seriously, don't feel jealous. It's overwhelming. I sometimes look at all my books and feel like crying, wondering when I will get to them all.

Books ordered today with a gift card: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey The Art of Hearing Heart Beats by Jan-Philipp Senker They are early Christmas gifts to myself.

Evidently, I'm in the mood for a simple, fun read right now. After many false starts with other books, I finally settled in on Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, the third in the Dresden series, and I'm enjoying myself.

The scariest book I've ever read was The Girl in a Swing by Richard Adams. The book was outright creepy and haunted me for days after reading it. Unfortunately, it's not available on Kindle, and it's not even in print at this time. Used paperback copies at a cheap price are easy to come by, though. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is the next very creepy book that comes to mind. You may have a different idea of what is scary than I do, though. I prefer psychological horror that sends chills up my spine. Gory stuff I don't find frightening, just gory. Another good one is Ghost Story by Peter Straub. In fact, that one may be just as haunting as The Girl in a Swing, although in a different way. Again, that one is not available for Kindle, but it is readily available in mass market paperback. Good luck. I hope you find one that works for you.

Thank you, bobblybear. I've read The Forgotten Garden and loved it! Great recommendation. I have The Thirteenth Tale, but have not read it yet. I will read your review of Me Before You.

Thank you, Andrea.

It's probably difficult to see, but if you look at the background of my profile picture, you can see the bookshelf, which is full of neatly alphabetized books. That is one of five bookshelves that I have. All of them have double rows of books. I would say I probably own close to 1000 books, and not all of them fit on my bookshelves.

Hi, there Sofia! Thank you. Thank you, Kylie. Nice to meet you, Andie.

Thank you, Ian. I've read Life of Pi. It was just okay for me. I already have A Thousand Splendid Suns, I just haven't read it yet. Birdsong sounds interesting. Can you tell me more about it? Or maybe you have a review somewhere? I'll look for it. Yeah, with Stephen King I've either already read it or don't want to read it.

If you listen to the 40th Anniversary release, it will take you forward. It's a Steven Wilson remix, and he always makes albums sound better than you ever thought they could. Crystal clear sound, every element of the music easy to hear so you don't miss a thing.

I don't really have a genre preference, as long as it's fiction. The most important elements for me are relevant themes and thoughtful character development. I'm also a bit of a sucker for poetic prose. Example of books I love are Little, Big by John Crowley, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip, and The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.

The Way of Kings is not catching my interest at the moment, so I'm going to try something different. Don Quixote is my next choice. I hope I can slog through this thick tome, or perhaps I am just tilting at windmills.

I have a $40 gift card to B&N coming in the mail and I would like suggestion from fellow readers. What book have you read recently that just blew you away, it was so good? It probably wouldn't be a good idea to recommend me any classics, because I have most of those, but anything else is fair game. All I need is an explanation as to why you loved the book so much. Thanks so much, everyone! Looking forward to hearing about your favorites.

I've read all of them up to The Tommyknockers. After that, I've only read some of them. You are not the first person to disagree with me about his character development. Sure, he does put you inside their thoughts, but in my opinion, he doesn't explain in a way that makes sense WHY they act as they do. For example, in The Shining, he had a great opportunity to develop the character of Jack Torrance, who was particularly susceptible to the evil influence of the hotel. The only reason was that he was an alcoholic. Alcoholism doesn't come from nowhere. WHY was Jack an alcoholic? What demons inside of him led him to drink and to then succumb to the power of the hotel? There was no exploration of the reasons for the darkness within Jack Torrance. I could cite so many other examples, but I think that gives a pretty good idea of why I don't think much of King's character development. Koontz isn't good at it, either, but the difference for me is that Koontz doesn't pretend to be that kind of writer.

Iron Man - Black Sabbath

So far, so good, but I've only read through two chapters. This is my first book by Brandon Sanderson.

Easy Money from Larks' Tongues in Aspic, 40th Anniversary version.

Thank you, Inver. As long as it doesn't become a form of escapism, I can. Thank you, poppy. Everyone!

Well, here is blasphemy for you. I don't care for either one, but if I had to choose, I'd pick Koontz. While neither one can develop characters with realistic motivations, at least Koontz does not get long-winded and some of his books are suspenseful with interesting twists. King rambles on and on about nothing, and has always disappointed with his climaxes. If you are going to write a 1000 plus page book, you need to have something of substance within it. In my opinion, King fails miserably.

I think I'm well. I'm never quite sure. The voices in my head tell me I am. You are evil, vodkafan. Thank you, Chrissy. This has always been a great forum with great people.

I haven't read a lot this year, but what I remember being excellent are the following: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides The Book on Fire by Keith Miller The Magicians by Lev Grossman After Silence by Jonathan Carroll

Yeah, I am busy as well, getting my life and head in order. We must make some time to read, though. It's been a quiet year, but eventful in the sense that I no longer use my addictions as escapism. I was addicted to books, music, and certain foods and eating patterns. Not anymore. I haven't had a complete rest from reading, but I don't read nearly as much as I used to. I still enjoy reading, I just don't use it as a form of escaping from my own life and worries anymore. I hope you are well, vodkafan. Thanks, kidsmum. I'm doing pretty well, thank you. I hope you are doing well as well.

Meh. I don't let these things worry me anymore. There is truly only one person who has power over my life...ME. Wait. Maybe now I should be worried. In answer to the OP, I mostly read fiction, and my favorites are any novels that have relevant themes and true character development. Genre really doesn't matter that much.