Hayley Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 (edited) I always feel excited starting a new book blog I have a good feeling about my reading this year, with some great looking books on my shelf to start me off (but more on that in the next post...) I've set a Goodreads goal of 50 books this year (again) because eventually I will actually reach it On My Shelf: Abercrombie, Joe. Best Served Cold Abercrombie, Joe. Half a King Abercrombie, Joe. Half the World Abercrombie, Joe. Red Country Adams, Douglas. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Adams, Douglas. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Adams, Douglas. Life, The Universe and Everything Adams, Douglas. So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish Ballantyne, R.M. The Coral Island Banks, Iain. The Bridge Banks, Iain M. The Algebraist Banks, Iain M. Consider Phlebas Banks Iain M. Excession Banks Iain M. Feersum Endjinn Banks Iain M. Inversions Banks, Iain M. Look to Windward Banks Iain M. Matter Banks Iain M. The Player of Games Banks Iain M. Use of Weapons Beckett, Simon. Written in the Bone Breverton, Terry. Breverton's Phantasmagoria: A Compendium of Monsters, Myths and Legends British Myths and Legends vol. 1: Marvels and Magic. ed. Richard Barber British Myths and Legends vol. 2: Heroes and Saints. " British Myths and Legends vol 3. History and Romance. " Butcher, Jim. Summer Knight Byatt, A.S. The Children's Book Carrell, J.L. The Shakespeare Curse Christie, Agatha. Murder on the Orient Express Dickens, Charles. Bleak House Dickens, Charles. Nicholas Nickleby Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop Dickens, Charles. The Pickwick Papers Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of Four Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Return of Sherlock Holmes Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Valley of Fear Doyle, Arthur Conan. His Last Bow Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose Fasman, Jon. The Geographer's Library Faulks, Sebastian. Birdsong Galbraith, Robert. The Silkworm Gaylin, Alison. Into the Dark Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows Grossmith, George and Weedon. The Diary of a Nobody Hardie, Titania. The Rose Labyrinth Hardy, Thomas. Under the Greenwood Tree Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches Irish Ghost Stories ed. David Stuart Davies le Carre, John. A Most Wanted Man Marston, Edward. The Excursion Train Marston, Edward. The Frost Fair Marston, Edward. The Iron Horse Marston, Edward. Murder on the Brighton Express Marston, Edward. The Railway Detective Marston, Edward. The Railway Viaduct More, Thomas. Utopia Morton, Kate. The Distant Hours Mosse, Kate. Citadel Owen, Lauren. The Quick Peake, Mervyn. Titus Groan Peake, Mervyn. Gormenghast Peake, Mervyn. Titus Alone Paterson, James. Witch and Wizard The Penguin Book of English Short Stories Ed. Christopher Dolley Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov ed. Robert Chandler Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men Tolkien, J.R.R. Tree and Leaf, Smith of Wooton Major, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Verne, Jules. Five Weeks in a Balloon Verne, Jules. From the Earth to the Moon Verne, Jules. Round the Moon Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Wells, H.G. The Time Machine Wells, H.G. The Island of Dr. Moreau Wells, H.G. The War of the Worlds Wells, H.G. The First Men in the Moon Wells, H.G. The Invisible Man Acquired 2017: Aaronovitch, Ben. The Furthest Station Aaronovitch, Ben. The Hanging Tree Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace Birch, Carol. Jamrach's Menagerie Brontë, Anne. Agnes Grey Brontë, Anne. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Brontë, Charlotte. The Professor Brontë, Charlotte. Shirley Brontë, Charlotte. Villette Butcher, Jim. Blood Rites Butcher, Jim. Dead Beat Butcher, Jim. Death Masks Butcher, Jim. Proven Guilty Caine, Rachel, Ink and Bone Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell De Muriel, Oscar. Mask of Shadows Fforde, Jasper. The Big Over Easy Fforde, Jasper. Lost in a Good Book Fforde, Jasper. The Well of Lost Plots Gaiman, Neil. Fragile Things Gaiman, Neil. Smoke and Mirrors Hardinge, Francis. The Lie Tree Hodgson, Antonia. The Devil in the Marshalsea Ishiguro, Kazuo, The Buried Giant Macrae Burnet, Graeme. His Bloody Project Miéville, China. Kraken Miéville, China. The Scar Perry, Anne. Bedford Square Pulley, Natasha. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street Pratchett, Terry. I Shall Wear Midnight Pullman, Phillip. Lyra's Oxford Ruickbie, Leo. The Impossible Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Fabulous Beasts and Mythical Monsters Taylor, Jodi. A Trail Through Time Taylor, Jodie. A Second Chance Taylor, Jodie. A Symphony of Echoes Edited December 30, 2017 by Hayley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Ok, first update of 2017 The reason I'm particularly excited about the books on my shelf (actually quite a few of them are stacked on the floor while I try to make room...) is this... (I have no idea why it's sideways... it was the right way up when I started ) These are my new books for 2017! My sister bought The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch for me and the others I ordered with some money I was given for Christmas. They're mostly sequels to books I've already read, apart from the two Neil Gaiman ones which are short story collections (which I've wanted to read for ages!) and The Big Over Easy which is the first book in Fforde's Nursery Crime series. I just had to try it after The Eyre Affair which was so crazy and fun, hopefully it will be as good So lots to be excited about starting this year's reading! I'm not far from finishing Irish Ghost Stories now and I'll still be reading the books borrowed from my friend before I start on the new stack but I'm really looking forward to getting started on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Hope it's okay to post Hayley. Anyway, wishing you a very Happy Reading Year in 2017 I've got the Nursery Crimes to read too .. I'm looking forward to it I set a too high target at Goodreads last year (which meant they nagged me to death .. ALL year! ) so I've tried to be more realistic this year .. hopefully Good luck to you anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Hope you have a great reading year in 2017, Hayley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I always set a target of 52. I usually exceed it but I'm not brave enough to increase it! Happy reading in 2017, Hayley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I wish you a great reading year in 2017, Hayley ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Happy reading in 2017 Hayley, hope it's a GREAT one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Have a fab time reading in 2017, Hayley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Ooh, what great books in the pictures! Well I've not actually read any of them, I've only read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde but like you, I fully intend to read more by him! And the Jim Butcher books look great, I have a few books by him waiting to be read I hope you have a fabulous reading year in 2017! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Happy Reading in 2017. I`ll echo Frankie and vote for Jasper Fforde ( I`m up to date with his books ) and Jim Butcher ( maybe 12 books into the Dresden Files.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Thanks everyone! I am really looking forward to the Jasper Fforde books, The Eyre Affair was so brilliantly crazy I need to see what he's going to write next I haven't had access to my laptop for the last few days (which is why it's taken me so long to reply!) because I ended up going on a spontaneous camping trip to Snowdonia. I did bring a book with me but I was so tired at the end of each day I just fell asleep without reading any so, although it was a lovely trip, I'm looking forward to getting back to my books now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Wishing you a wonderful year of reading, Hayley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Oooh, camping trip! Glad you had a good time! Happy reading in 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Thank you Chrissy and Noll Time for the first review of the thread! I thought I'd try using pictures this year and make everything nice and neat so hopefully it will work out ok... Irish Ghost Stories - Edited by David Stuart Davies Comment: A Good Mix - Suitably Spooky I was mostly drawn to this book by all the famous Victorian names on the front cover, particularly Bram Stoker because although I really liked 'Dracula', I've never read anything else by him. I wasn't disappointed by the Bram Stoker stories included in the collection, ('The Judge's House' and 'The Secret of Growing Old') in fact, I think they are probably the most scary (or creepy, at least) of the stories included. My two favourite stories though were probably 'What was it?' by Fitz James O'Brien and 'The Ghost at the Rath' by Rosa Mulholland and I don't think I've heard of either author before. Looking up the authors I didn't know was actually a really interesting part of reading this book (Mulholland, I found out, was encouraged by Charles Dickens to publish her work) and I do wish that more authors who are a little less well-known were included. There are ten in total and four I would say are well known (Sheridan le Fanu, Bram Stoker, W.B.Yeats and Oscar Wilde). More than half the book is taken up by Sheridan le Fanu, for example, which is understandable in a way because he's famous for his ghost stories but by the time I got to the last couple of his stories I did feel like I wanted to hurry on to something different. Overall though it gave a good mix of styles and it was particularly interesting to me because of the era so I enjoyed it and would recommend it I've started Russian Magic Tales: from Pushkin to Platonov now and so far it seems really good! I also had to add two new books to my 'Acquired 2017' list because I spotted The Devil in the Marshalsea in a charity shop and it's one of those books I've picked up a few times but never bought and then I went into The Works (not for myself, someone asked me if I could see if they had any diaries) and I saw The Impossible Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Fabulous Beasts and Mythical Monsters reduced from £14.99 to £3! I'm justifying buying more books with how good a deal that was so I don't feel guilty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Glad you enjoyed your first read of the year . I hope you'll enjoy your two new books! The Impossible Zoo sounds interesting . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I've started Russian Magic Tales: from Pushkin to Platonov now and so far it seems really good! I also had to add two new books to my 'Acquired 2017' list because I spotted The Devil in the Marshalsea in a charity shop and it's one of those books I've picked up a few times but never bought and then I went into The Works (not for myself, someone asked me if I could see if they had any diaries) and I saw The Impossible Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Fabulous Beasts and Mythical Monsters reduced from £14.99 to £3! I'm justifying buying more books with how good a deal that was so I don't feel guilty Oooh, Russian Magic Tales sounds very good - will be interested to know what you think. As for The Devil in the Marshalsea - great pick! I read this a couple of years ago and thought it was fantastic. Still need to get around to the sequel at some stage... *sighs* Also, no need to justify (unless it's to yourself) on here, Hayley! We're all just as bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Thanks Athena! Oooh, Russian Magic Tales sounds very good - will be interested to know what you think. As for The Devil in the Marshalsea - great pick! I read this a couple of years ago and thought it was fantastic. Still need to get around to the sequel at some stage... *sighs* Oooh there's a sequel!? Glad to hear you liked it so much, I'm happy I finally picked it up now! Second review of the year time Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov - Edited by Robert Chandler Comment: Brilliantly Assembled I know my comment for this might seem a strange one but the thing that really stood out to me while reading this book is the way it's put together. I knew from the blurb that the magic tales included are a mixture of original oral tales collected by folklorists and reworkings of other oral tales by prominent Russian authors. Until I started reading though I didn't realise that the tales are organised by date, taking you from the earliest collected oral tales through to the early twentieth-century and on to the soviet period. This really makes you feel like you can understand the way in which the tales progressed and changed through time. As well as this the stories are divided into sections by author and each author has a concise and interesting little biography, letting you know the context in which the tales were written and the potential influences behind them. There's a great range of authors too, about 15 in total, all with such incredible life stories and different styles. The tales themselves were very good too with some really interesting imagery and moral messages. My favourites were probably the ones related to the 'Mistress of the Copper Mountain' with her underground world where even the grass and trees are carved from coloured stone. This book would be brilliant for anybody interested in the history of folklore and fairy tale, anyone interested in Russian literature or even anyone who wants some interesting short stories. I would definitely recommend I started reading A Discovery of Witches a couple of days ago. Part of me is a little bit worried it might turn into a cheesy romance. So far it's mostly about books though so it's not going too badly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 I loved the Devil in the Marshalsea, the sequel's good too and there's a third book as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 I loved the Devil in the Marshalsea, the sequel's good too and there's a third book as well. Ooooh both good to know! I'm looking forward to this book a lot more since I mentioned it on here A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Comment: Great idea but many flaws I'm a little on the fence about this book. There is a lot going on and while I got really wrapped up in some threads of the story there were others I was really unimpressed with. There are two main plots to follow. One is about a mysterious magic book (the one I liked) and the other is a romance which, in my opinion, was far too unbelievable (yes, more so than the magic book ) and took away from characters I would otherwise have liked. There are also very clear themes of sexism and racism in the book. The way it dealt with the racism issue wasn't too bad but some of the sexism comments made me cringe. It felt like the author was trying far too hard to point out that she agreed with gender equality at times when the story was getting a bit sketchy on the subject. On the other hand I really liked the settings, the magic was interesting, there's lots of books involved which is always a good thing and the mystery did keep me hooked. I am considering buying the next book, because I do want to find out how this mystery turns out. Ultimately this was a very easy read with interesting aspects and a good mystery but it had a lot holding me back from loving it too. I have one more borrowed book left to read, Written in Bone by Simon Beckett. It looks like it should be quite good but I also can't wait to finish it because I've been waiting to read Ben Aaronovitch's The Hanging Tree for ages and it is definitely next on the list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Great review! I have A Discovery of Witches on my TBR. I will read it, some day . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I enjoyed Discovery of Witches but was bored by the second book, and didn't bother with the 3rd one, definitely diminishing returns I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I did enjoy A Discovery of Witches, but for some reason, I have no inclination to read the other two books in the trilogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I loved ADofW but really didn't enjoy the second one very much, it went on and on...... Third one was better but got the feeling she was losing direction by that point as the characters personalities changed so much and I felt it totally lost its way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Exactly what I thought about the second book as well, Chaliepud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I didn't enjoy A Discovery of Witches, and I don't think I even finished it. It was the romance that ruined it for me...it was just over the top and like you say, unbelievable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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