Kell's 2013 Reading Log

[Kell]

Please don't post spoilers of the books

I'm currently reading or have yet to read!

Go directly to my list of books read this year HERE

Go directly to my wish list HERE

2006 reading (124 books + 21 short stories)
2007 reading (127 books)
2008 reading (58 books)
2009 reading (52 books)
2010 reading (58 books)
2011 reading (90 Books)
2012 reading (62 Books)

AIMS:
1. To read 52 books (one for each week of the year).
2. Not to buy any books for myself this year (only read books I already have, am given, borrow from people or the library, or download as free Kindle books)
3. To read six pre-WWII classics.
4. Read the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin

KEY:
K = Kindle e-book
® = Reviewed for author / publisher
G = Graphic novel
© = Pre-WWII classic
L = Borrowed from library
A = Interview with author


TO BE READ (from my own shelf - not including Kindle books):

• Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility ©
• Margaret Cezaire-Thompson - The Pirate's Daughter
• Raymond Chandler - The Big Sleep ©
• Aleandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo ©
• Victor Hugo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame ©
• Noël Janis-Norton - Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting ®
• Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall
• Simon Scarrow - Young Bloods (Revolution #1)
• Simon Scarrow - The Generals (Revolution #2)
• Simon Scarrow - Fire and Sword (Revolution #3)
• Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina ©
• Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited

[Kell]

Go directly to Mount TBR HERE

WISH LIST (Books I'd like to own):

Christopher Brookmyre - Bedlam
Christopher Brookmyre - Flesh Wounds (Jasmin Sharp 3)
Christopher Brookmyre - Jaggy Splinters (Kindle only at present)

Richard Castle - Deadly Heat (Nikki Heat #5)
Stuart MacBride - Close to the Bone (Logan McRae #8)

Stuart MacBride - Partners in Crime (Logan McRae - 2 short stories)

Stuart MacBride - A Song for the Dying (Ash Henderson #2)

Simon Scarrow - The Blood Crows (Romans #12)

Terry Pratchett - Raising Steam (Discworld #40)

WISH LIST (Books I'd like to borrow):

Kelley Armstrong - Omens (Omens and Shadows #1)
Kelley Armstrong - Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford #3)
Tracey Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl Earring

Arielle Eckstut & Elfreda Drummond - Pride and Promiscuity: The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen
A G Howard - Splintered

William Joyce - Nicholas St North and the Battle of the Nightmare King (Guardians of Childhood #1)
William Joyce - The Man in the Moon (Guardians of Childhood #2)
William Joyce - E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earths' Core (Guardians of Childhood #3)
William Joyce - Toothania: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies (Guardians of Childhood #4)
William Joyce - The Sandman and the War of Dreams (Guardians of Childhood #5)

Terry Pratchett (and Stephen Baxter) - The Long Earth

Terry Pratchett (and Stephen Baxter) - The Long War

[Kell]

Please don't post spoilers of the books

I'm currently reading or have yet to read!

Go directly to Mount TBR HERE

KEY & STATS:
K = Kindle e-book
® = Reviewed for author / publisher
G = Graphic novel
© = Pre-WWII classic
L = Borrowed from library
A = Interview with author

RC = Reading Circle

2 = Re-read

N = Non-fiction

RATINGS (out of 5):
1 = Dire - don't waste your time
2 = OK, but nothing to write home about
3 = Good - worth a read
4 = Excellent
5 = Superb - read it immediately!

FINISHED IN JANUARY: (10)
1. Suzanne Collins - Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) - 4/5
2. Terry Pratchett - Miss Felicity Beadle's The World of Poo - 3/5
3. Suzanne Collins - Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) - 4/5
4. Richard Castle - Storm Season (Derrick Storm Graphic Novel #2) - 4/5
5. Noble Smith - The Wisdom of the Shire ® - 4/5
6. Anne Perry - Tudor Rose (L) - 3/5
7. Richard Castle - Frozen Heat (Nikki Heat #4) - 3/5
8. Dr Pierre Dukan - The Complete Dukan Cookbok ® (N) - 4/5
9. Catherine Crawford - Why French Children Don't Talk Back ® (N) - 5/5
10. Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell - Barnaby Grimes: Phantom of Blood Alley (L) - 3/5

FINISHED IN FEBRUARY: (7)
11. Angie Sage - My Haunted House (Araminta Spook #1) (L) - 3/5

12. Angie Sage - The Sword in the Grotto (Araminta Spook #2) (L) - 3/5

13. Carole Matthews - A Cottage by the Sea ® - 4/5

Kim Fay - The Map of Lost Memories ® - ABANDONED UNFINISHED

14. Guy Bass - Stitch Head (L) - 2/5

15. Philippa Gregory - The Kingmaker's Daughter (Cousins' War #4) - 3/5

16. Kelley Armstrong - Thirteen (Women of the Otherworld #13) - 3/5

17. P G Wodehouse - Thank You, Jeeves © - 3/5

FINISHED IN MARCH: (4)

18. Kate Forsyth - Bitter Greens ® (A) - 4/5

19. George RR Martin – A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) - 4/5

20. George RR Martin - A Storm of Swords Pt 1: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire #3a) - 4/5

21. George RR Martin - A Storm of Swords Pt 2: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire #3b) - 5/5

FINISHED IN APRIL: (11)

22. George RR Martin – A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) - 3/5

23. Claire Ridgway - The Anne Boleyn Collection (K/N) - 4/5

24. Kelley Armstrong - Amityville Horrible (K) - 4/5

25. Eve Paludan, Stuart Sharp and J R Rain - Witchy Business (Witch Detectives #1) (K) - 3/5

26. Claire Rigway - The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown (K/N) - 4/5

27. George RR Martin – A Dance with Dragons Pt 1: Dreams and Dust (A Song of Ice and Fire #5a) - 3/5

28. John Wagner - The Dark Judges (G) - 4/5 *WORLD BOOK NIGHT BOOK*

29. Jude Ryan - The Afterlife Club (K) - 2/5

30. M Leon Smith – Induction (Blue Jackets #1) (K) - 2/5

31. Laura Ingalls Wilder - The Little House in the Big Woods (Little House #1) © (L/RC/2/N) - 5/5

32. Laura Ingalls Wilder - The Little House on the Prairie (Little House #2) © (L/2/N) - 5/5

FINISHED IN MAY: (5)

33. Elizabeth Lord - The Gift (K) - 2/5

34. Amanda Grange - The Earl Next Door (K) - 3/5

35. George RR Martin – A Dance with Dragons Pt 2: After the Feast (A Song of Ice and Fire #5b) - 2/5

36. Terry Pratchett - Dodger - 3/5

37. Brom - Krampus: The Yule Lord - 3/5

FINISHED IN JUNE: (5)
38. Jane Austen - Persuasion © (K/2) - 3/5

39. Laura Ingalls Wilder - On the Banks of Plum Creek (Little House #3) © (L/2/N) - 5/5

40. Amanda Grange - Captain Wentworth's Diary (K) - 4/5

41. Alison Hardwick - Henry VIII - About the throne the thunder rolls (Just the Facts) (K/N) - 3/5

42. Bernard Schaffer - Whitechapel: The Final Stand of Sherlock Holmes (Jack the Ripper) (K) - 3/5

FINISHED IN JULY: (4)

43. Marie Mongan - HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method: A Natural Approach to Safe, Easier, More Comfortable Birthing (2/N) - 4/5

44. Jeffrey Eugenides - The Virgin Suicides (L) - 2/5

45. Isaac Marion - Warm Bodies (L) - 4/5

46. Kate Forsyth - The Wild Girl ® (A) - 4/5

FINISHED IN AUGUST: (6)

47. Alexandre Dumas - The Man in the Iron Mask © (K) - 3/5

48. David Peace - The Damned United *WORLD BOOK NIGHT BOOK* - 2/5

49. Christopher Brookmyre - Where the Bodies Are Buried (Jasmin Sharp 1) - 4/5

50. Christopher Brookmyre - When the Devil Drives (Jasmin Sharp 2) - 4/5

51. Simon Scarrow - Praetorian (Romans 11) - 4/5

52. Georgette Heyer - Cotillion - 2/5

FINISHED IN SEPTEMBER: (2)
53. Bernard Schaffer - The Girl from Tenerife ® (K) - 2/5

54. Michel Faber - The Crimson Petal and the White - 2/5

FINISHED IN OCTOBER: (2)

55. Philippa Gregory - The White Princess (The Cousins' War #5) - 3/5

56. Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol - 3/5

FINISHED IN NOVEMBER: (2)
57. Shirley Conran - Savages (2) - 4/5

58. Anna Belfrage - A Newfound Land (Graham Saga #4) ® (A) - 4/5

FINISHED IN DECEMBER:

Christopher Gortner - The Tudor Conspiracy ® (A)

[Kell]

I'm starting quite fresh this year - I've just got shot of about half the books that were sitting on Mount TBR and donated them to a local library with no new acquisitions budget, as I realised I'd lost interest in reading them. As I got over a dozen new books for Xmas, they've taken up some of the space they left. It's the first time in years that Mount TBR has consisted of fewer than 100 books! (Although, to be fair, there are over 200 more on my Kindle!)

 

To be honest, I'll probably get shot of a few more very shortly, but I didn't want to go too mental and get rid of some I was still swithering about and then regret it, especially as I've set myself a challenge of not buying any books for myself in 2013! The rule is I can read the books I have, I can download free Kindle books, I can receive books as gifts, or I can borrow books from the library or from friends, but I am not allowed to spend one single penny on book acquisitions for myself. Hopefully this will help reduce Mount TBR a little more in 2013, leaving me with more space for new books next year! The only exception to the rule will be if I am given book vouchers, as that is tantamount to being given books and I am not spending any of my own money on them.

 

So here's to a year filled with great reads. I can't guarantee I'll review every single one, but I'll certainly keep a note of what I read and will rate each book according to my enjoyment of it.

 

If you fancy discussing any of the books I read, please feel free to leave comments (just be sure to mention which book it is - LOL!), but please don't post spoilers of the books I'm currently reading or have yet to read! And, of course, if you have any recommendations for me, please feel free to let me know, especially if it's something similar in style/content to something I've already enjoyed (you can check back over my reading choices in previous years by clicking on the links in my first post).

 

I look forward to your comments and recommendations!

[Kell]

My thread is now OPEN FOR COMMENTS!

 

I know it's a tiny touch early, it still technically being 2012, but there's no way I'll finish my current book before midnight tonight, so it's safe to say it will be one of the first ones of 2013.

 

So, my first read of the year is the second book in The Hunger Games series - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. After loving the first book a few months ago, and resolving to get hold of the other two books as soon as finances permitted, I was chuffed to ribbons to find my Mam had bought me the box set for Xmas, so I will not have to break my vow of not buying myself any books in 2013 - hurrah!

 

As it is, I actually got 18 books for Xmas (it would be 20, but I had already read the first in The Hunger Games and the A Song of Ice and Fire box sets) - I snaffled a few of those books from Amazon on Boxing Day with some of my Xmas money, so I got in before the Book Buying Embargo starts - sneaky, I know, but it had to be done!. So, those should keep me busy for quite some time as some of them are real chunkers!

 

I also took down all the books from Mount TBR and re-examined my desire to read them all. I then removed quite a few of them as no longer appealing to me and will be donating them to a local library that has had no new acquisitions budget at all for several years now (it's my old school library which is also the public library - I spent a LOT of time in there as a teenager and love it a lot! I'm also still friendly with the librarian.).

 

So, for the first time since very shortly after I joined this forum back in 2005, Mount TBR numbers fewer than 100 books! I am amazed! At the time I am writing this, I have a mere 50 books waiting (not including my current read, as I am already reading it!), which is miniscule in comparison to the several hundred it used to be! Yup, I've been slowly whittling it down over the years. It's taken a lot of time, but it's starting to look a bit more manageable, and as there are about 20 books on there that I am absolutely DESPERATE to read, and I am buying NO BOOKS AT ALL for myself during 2013, that number will be reduced further!

 

One can only hope that come my birthday at the end of September, my family will get hold of a few of the books on my wish list for me, and then get the rest for me for Xmas!

 

Here's to a booktastic year filled with excellent reads!

[Kylie]

I admire you so much for getting your TBR pile down so far! I guess it is now more of a mound (or a molehill) than a mountain!

 

There are many books on your pile that I look forward to hearing your thoughts on (especially Pratchett, Steinbeck and Brom). Happy reading in 2013, Kell!

[willoyd]

If you fancy discussing any of the books I read, please feel free to leave comments (just be sure to mention which book it is - LOL!), but please don't post spoilers of the books I'm currently reading or have yet to read! And, of course, if you have any recommendations for me, please feel free to let me know, especially if it's something similar in style/content to something I've already enjoyed (you can check back over my reading choices in previous years by clicking on the links in my first post).

I look forward to your comments and recommendations!

Well you did ask! (But first of all, congratulations on slimming the pile down; I always find that very hard to do, but you've encouraged me to give it a go before the year starts)

Just to say that your TBR list includes some of my all-time favourites - a much higher proportion than I usually see on such a list. So, just to encourage you on a few of them:

 

Sense and Sensibility is my favourite of the Jane Austens, in my top five books of all time. It tends not to feature as highly with most as much as, say, Pride and Prejudice, but for me it had all that P&P had and a little bit more. (I have to say that I have no desire to read the sea monsters variant at all!!). If you haven't seen it, the Emma Thompson film is really good (but only once you've read it yourself of course!).

 

Bleak House is comfortably my favourite Dickens - another one in my top five. It has an enormous cast, and a phenomenally complex plot with lots of mysteries and twists and turns, which Dickens handles superbly. Once you've read it, Lynn Shepherd's Tom-All-Alone's is well worth reading, bringing in many of the characters and some of the plot, whilst making it very much her own novel (it also includes elements of Woman in White too). I also really enjoyed the BBC's serial of the book - again ideally to be watched having read the book first.

 

The Count of Monte Cristo is another huge read, but it never slackened for me, but then Dumas is always a rattling read.

 

I know Wolf Hall is a wee bit controversial - it seems people either love it or hate it, mainly I think depending on whether you can get to grips with the way Mantel keeps referring to Thomas Cromwell as 'he', leaving some uncertain as to who she is talking about at any one time. After some early readjustments, it never bothered me, and it's another that threatens my top five, and is certainly in my top ten reads of all time. I'm really looking forward to reading Bring Up The Bodies this year.

 

Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle is often seen as a bit of a girlie book - very much a coming of age tale - but I adored it when I read it a couple of years ago. Genuinely funny in places (and I don't say that very often!), very sunny, but also very sad - one of the most emotionally contrasting stories I've read, one of the most likeable heroines in Cassandra, and certainly amongst the best ever 'young adult' books for me to date. I've got Smith's very promising looking childhood memoir, Look Back with Love, high on my reading list.

 

I've got Anna Karenina and Crimson Petal and White on my list for this year too, so will be interested to see what you make of them if you get to them before I do. Hope you have some great reading in 2013!

[Nollaig]

I loooooooooove The Count Of Monte Cristo, it's a wonderful story. Incredibly long, but epic. Good luck with your reading in 2013, Kell!

[chesilbeach]

Good luck with your aims for next year, Kell, and happy reading in 2013!

[Devi]

I have The Count Of Monte Cristo on my TBR pile as well! I look forward to your thoughts on it and other books.

 

 

Happy reading in 2013!

[Kell]

One book finished already - Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins. Excellent read - every bit as good as the first one. Going to immediately move onto the final installment, because I cannot wait to find out what is going to happen next! Really looking forward to the Catching Fire film later this year too!

[Kell]

Finished another - Miss Felicity Beadle's The World of Poo by Terry Pratchett - a must-have addition to any fan's Discworld collection.

 

I'm taking part in a blog tour today for The Queen's Vow by C W Gortner - historical fiction at its best! You can also see my interview with the author HERE.

 

Currently reading Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins and absolutely loving it! I'm going to be so sad when I've finished reading this trilogy. Ah well, there's always the second film to look forward to later this year!

[Kell]

Only a few more pages of Mockingjay left (I'm going to be sad when it's all finished - I've loved The Hunger Games trilogy!). Next up is Storm Season (Derrick Storm Graphic Novel #2) by Richard Castle - I loved the first one so I've been looking forward to this.

 

Also got notification from Amazon today that Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom (which I ordered before New Year) is now winging its way to me - squee!

[anisia]

Have a good 2013!

 

I also loved The Count of Monte Cristo, one of my favourite books - but then, I just love Dumas.

[Kell]

I adored The Three Musketeers - it's practically perfect! Chock-full of swashbuckling, adventure, romance, excitement - it's awesome! I've been meaning to read TCoMC for ages, but haven't got round to it yet. This is the year!

[Kidsmum]

One book finished already - Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins. Excellent read - every bit as good as the first one. Going to immediately move onto the final installment, because I cannot wait to find out what is going to happen next! Really looking forward to the Catching Fire film later this year too!

 

I enjoyed The Hunger Games trilogy but for me the first book was the best but it's very much a series that you want to keep reading till you get to the end.

 

Good luck with your reading in 2013

[anisia]

I adored The Three Musketeers - it's practically perfect! Chock-full of swashbuckling, adventure, romance, excitement - it's awesome! I've been meaning to read TCoMC for ages, but haven't got round to it yet. This is the year!

I think if I were to choose a favorite book...ever...The Three Musketeers would probably have a chance to win. I read it and reread it over the years, and I just never get bored with it.

[Kell]

Finished reading the second Derick Storm graphic novel - Storm Season by Richard Castle. Now part way through the fourth Nikki Heat novel - Frozen Heat by Richard Castle. I love all the little in-jokes in these books as I'm a huge fan of the TV show (Castle, in case anyone doesn't know!).

 

One of the books I ordered just before new year arrived today - The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory. I think I may read that one next... we'll see what mood Im' in when the time comes!

[Kell]

Got sent a whole bunch of books to review - yippee!

 

You can see which ones I got HERE.

[Kell]

Finished my first review book of the year - The Wisdom of the Shire by Noble Smith. Well worth picking up. You can see my review HERE. (goes live 20/01/13).

[Kell]

I'm so surprised - I have just finished reading a parenting book and actually enjoyed it!!! Not only did I agree with almost everything in it (we were already doing a lot of the things mentioned in it), but the elements we've introduced this week are already working too -how's that for a result!?!

 

Highly recommend Why French Children Don't Talk Back by Catherine Crawford (review will be up tomorrow morning).

[bree]

 

Highly recommend Why French Children Don't Talk Back by Catherine Crawford (review will be up tomorrow morning).

 

I just read your review Kell - and the book sounds interesting.

 

I recently read Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother - your comment "an anti-Tiger Mother approach to parenting", made me wonder if you'd read it too?

If so, could you please link me to your review? I'd like to read your thoughts on that.

[Kell]

Went to the library with Xan today and came home with three books for me to read too:

• Guy Bass - Stitch Head
• Angie Sage - My Haunted House (Araminta Spook #1)
• Angie Sage - The Sword and the Grotto (Araminta Spook #2)

[Kell]

I just read your review Kell - and the book sounds interesting.

 

I recently read Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother - your comment "an anti-Tiger Mother approach to parenting", made me wonder if you'd read it too?

If so, could you please link me to your review? I'd like to read your thoughts on that.

That was actually a quote from the blurb on Amazon - not my own (that's why I always put in that rider in my reviews). I've not read that book, but I shall look out for it - it sounds interesting!

[Kell]

I suddenly have a hankering to re-read the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton. I used to love those books when I was very young and I don't think I've read them since I hit my teens. Of course, as a result, I no longer have my set of books, so I will have to try the library. I have no idea why I should suddenly want to read them again - it's totally out of the blue!

 

I shall put them on my list of books to get hold of...