Sugar's Reads

[Sugar]

As I have this list in another forum, I thought I would copy it straight over here.

 

I will try this "blog" thing, I've never had one before and this seems like a nice way to start!

 

SUGAR'S READS 2006

 

December

 

117. Motor Mouth - Janet Evanovich ***

116. Hogfather - Terry Pratchett ***

115. Eldest - Christopher Paolini ****

114. Visions of Sugar Plums - Janet Evanovich ***

113. Double Fault - Lionel Shriver ****

112. Darkside - Tom Becker ***

111. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich ****

INSERT FINISHED BELL JAR HERE! (see July!)

110. Eleven On Top - Janet Evanovich ****

109. The Great American Mousical - Julie Andrews Edwards & Emma Walton Hamilton ***

108. Dirty Bertie: Worms - Alan MacDonald (ill. David Roberts) **

107. Eragon - Christopher Paolini *****

 

November

 

106. Young Bond 3 - Charlie Higson ***

105. Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult ****

104. The Devil in Amber - Mark Gatiss ***

103. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich ****

102. To The Nines - Janet Evanovich ****

101. Small Island - Andrea Levy ****

100. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich ****

099. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich ****

098. Star-Crossed - Rachel Wing ****

097. The Black Book of Secrets - F E Higgins *****

096. Hot Six - Janet Evanovich ****

095. Rainbow Bridge - Aubrey Flegg ***

094. Angel Isle - Peter Dickinson ***

093. High Five - Janet Evanovich ****

 

 

October

 

92. Forged in the Fire - Ann Turnbull *****

91. Cat Among the Pigeons - Julia Golding ***

90. Killing Orders - Sara Paretsky ***

89. Four to Score - Janet Evanovich ****

88. The Road of Bones - Anne Fine ***

87. Welcome to the Real World - Carole Matthews ****

86. Small Steps - Louis Sachar *****

85. Kiss Me Quick - Julie Highmore ****

84. Damian Drooth Supersleuth: Spycatcher - Barbara Mitchelhill **

83. Out of My Depth - Emily Barr **

82. Oranges in No Man's Land - Elizabeth Laird ****

81. The Navigator - Eoin McNamee ***

80. Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller ***

 

September

 

79. The Penalty - Mal Peet ****

78. I'm the King of the Castle - Susan Hill ****

77. Three to Get Deadly - Janet Evanovich ****

76. The Vesuvius Club - Mark Gatiss ****

75. Roar, Bull, Roar - Andrew Fusek Peters and Polly Peters ****

74. Deja Dead - Kathy Reichs **

73. Stuart: A life Backwards - Alexander Masters ****

72. Mr Dixon Disappears - Ian Sansom ****

 

August

 

71. The Ecstasy Club - Douglas Rushkoff ***

70. Vampire Kisses - Ellen Schreiber **

69. Just In Case - Meg Rosoff ****

68. Tilly and the Badgers - Joan Lingard ***

67. Tamar - Mal Peet ****

66. Empress Orchid - Anchee Min ***

65. Harvest - Tess Gerritsen ***

64. Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes ****

63. Children of the Lamp: The Cobra of Kathmandu - P B Kerr ***

62. We Need to Talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver *****

61. Stray - David Belbin *

 

July

 

60. Keeping Secrets - Andrew Rosenheim *****

59. Cents and Sensibility - Maggie Alderson ****

58. Little Lady, Big Apple - Hester Browne ***

57. Kissing Toads - Jemma Harvey ****

56. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath ® ***** (See Dec for true finish point!)

55. Damage - Sue Mayfield ****

54. Endymion Springs - Matthew Skelton ***

53. Snowbone - Cat Weatherill ***** (and more!)

52. The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen ****

51. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde ****

50. Two for the Dough - Janet Evanovich ****

49. Deadlock - Sara Paretsky ****

48. Frogs and French-kisses - Sarah Mlynowski ****

47. Dying Light - Stuart MacBride ****

 

June

46. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ***

45. Buddies - Michaela Morgan **

44. Cold Granite - Stuart MacBride ****

43. The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilmore ***** ®

42. Danny Boy - Jo-Ann Goodwin ***

41. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant ****

40. Sugar Rush - Julie Burchill ***

39. Angels and Men - Catherine Fox ****

38. Holes - Louis Sachar *****

37. Call After Midnight - Tess Gerritsen ***

36. Necessary Evil - Alex Kava ****

 

May

35. Split Second - Alex Kava ****

34. The Accidental - Ali Smith ***

33. Fast Women: The Drivers Who Changed the Face of Motor Racing - John Bullock ****

32. A Perfect Evil - Alex Kava ****

31. Three Bags Full - Leonie Swann ***

30. Life Support - Tess Gerritsen ****

29. Mercy - Jodi Picoult ****

28. Girls - Nic Kelman ***

 

April

27. The Diamond of Drury Lane - Julia Golding ****

26. The Siege - Helen Dunmore ***

25. Sweet Gum - Jo-Ann Goodwin *****

24. The Bugatti Queen - Miranda Seymour *****

23. Indemnity Only - Sara Paretsky ****

22. The Great Stink - Clare Clark ****

21. Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman ***

20. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne *****

 

March

19. In the Country of Men - Hisham Matar ****

18. Ringroad - Ian Sansom ***

17. Parrot in the Pepper Tree - Chris Stewart ****

16. Killing Floor - Lee Child ***

15. Hotel Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anon. *****

 

February

14. Beatniks - Toby Litt *****

13. Oscar and the Lady in Pink - Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt *****

12. I, Coriander - Sally Gardner ****

11. Scuba Dancing - Nicola Slade ***

10. Siberia - Anne Halam ***** ®

09. White Darkness - Grealdine McCaughrean **

08. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood *** ®

07. Two-Way Split - Allan Guthrie ***

06. Secrets of the Fearless - Elizabeth Laird ****

 

January

05. My Friend Leonard - James Frey ***

04. Timebomb - Nigel Hinton ****

03. The Mobile Library: Case of the Missing Books - Ian Sansome ****

02. Possession - AS Byatt ****

01. Inkspell - Cornelia Funke ****

 

Five Star Books!

® = Re-read

 

Shorter Books that didn't warrant counting!

 

Another Night Before Christmas - Carol Ann Duffy

 

Picture Books

Pablo the Artist - Satoshi Kitamura (Reviewed for WriteAway)

Look at You: A Baby Body Book - Kathy Henderson (Reviewed for WriteAway)

Captain Abdul's Little Treasure - Colin McNaughton (Reviewed for WriteAway)

The Most Precious Thing - Gill Lewis (Reviewed for CBUK)

The Library - Sarah Stewart ((Reviewed for CBUK)

Wolves - Emily Gravett (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Night Pirates - Peter Harris (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Death in a Nut - Eric Maddern (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Russell the Sheep - Rob Scotton (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Slam - Adam Stower (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Princess and the Pea - Lauren Child (CKG 2005 award meeting)

Tiger - Nick Butterworth (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear - Emily Gravett (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Meerkat Mail - Emily Gravett (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Fly, Pigeon, Fly - John Henderson (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Augustus and His Smile - Catherine Rayner (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Good Boy, Fergus - David Shannon (CKG 2006 Meeting)

Mr and Mrs God in the Creation Kitchen - Nancy Wood (CKG 2006 Meeting)

 

Pocket Penguins

Cogs in the Great Machine - Eric Schlosser

Otherwise Pandemonium - Nick Hornby

[Michelle]

I will try this "blog" thing, I've never had one before and this seems like a nice way to start!

 

I'm really glad I started mine. You won't find any in-depth comments over there, but it's good to look back over the year to see what I read and enjoyed.

[muggle not]

Wow sugar, you make feel quilty with my small list of books read in 2006.

 

Over a lifetime though there are probably few here that have read more than me, because I am older than y'all.

[Sugar]

Thanks for your comments!

 

Muggle Not - I read 96 books last yar - missing out on my challenge to read 100. I was hoping to manage that this year, but I have read more adult books this time, and am about 20 behind target! I could read a load of childrens books, but I think that would be cheating just to reach a meaningless figure!

[Sugar]

I have put down the Kite Runner for a bit as not much seemed to be happening very quickly. I decided to go back to the trusty crime genre, and a few people had recommended Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride to me, so I'm now half way through that.

[Kell]

ooh, yes, i've heard Cold Granite is good.

[Sugar]

You might get more out of the setting than me as well - as it's set in Aberdeen!

 

Although I wonder how much it is just reinforcing stereotypes - does it really NEVER stop raining?!

[Guest jake]

You might get more out of the setting than me as well - as it's set in Aberdeen!

 

Although I wonder how much it is just reinforcing stereotypes - does it really NEVER stop raining?!

 

Hardly ever it seems. Glad you liked Cold Granite, it thought it was a great book, I also have Dying Light, but not read it.

[Sugar]

I've finished Cold Granite - actually enjoyed it. I mostly like my crime drama's with a strong female lead, and although this didn't have that it was well written, fast paced and very enjoyable.

[Sugar]

Also read today a book for work called Buddies by Michaela Morgan. It is published by a company called Barrington Stoke who specialise in books for less confident readers and people with dyslexia. Although I know a lot about BS, I've never read one of their books. It was ok, and does what it needs to, but I found the plot quite contrived and there was no real character development, it was all rather 2D.

[Sugar]

I finished Kite Runner last night. Felt quite relieved. The ending was better than I thought it was going to be, but I'm still not sure I can see why it got all the hype. I actually feel that In the Country of Men was better, even though the plot was almost identical and ITCOM was written after Kite Runner!

[Sugar]

Since I last posted here I have read the sequel to Cold Granite, called Dying Light. I thought it was much more developed and MacBride's confidence has got better. The torture scenes did have me cringing a bit, but MacBride balances these well with the laugh-out-loud moments.

[Sugar]

While reading Dying Light, I also read a book for work, Frogs and French Kisses by Sarah Mlynowski. I interrupted the MacBride as I needed a paperback to take out with me over the weekend.

 

It is a teenage novel, and a sequel to Bra's and Broomsticks, although I haven't read that. Set in New York it did seem rather Americanised for my taste - there were many words that I have only encountered in movies before. Some of the characters get Glandular Fever, but it took me a long time to work out that was what they were talking about as they kept calling it "mono".

 

Frogs and French-kisses was a bit princess diary-ish with a bit of harry potter thrown in for good measure! It was good fun though, and I'm sure it will be loved by lots of teen girls!

[Sugar]

Now reading Dead Lock by Sara Paretsky. I read the first V I Warshawski novel - Indemnity Only - earlier this year, and wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but I fancied a read with a strong female lead and a bit of crime and thriller thrown in so this made a logical choice. Read over half since yesterday evening, and so far so good. I'm also learning a lot about grain shipping!

[Sugar]

Well, finished Dead Lock. I thought it was moew satisfying than Indemnity Only. The climax could have been slightly more exciting, but I did say outloud "oh noooo!" at one point.

 

Started the 2nd Stephanie Plum book by Janet Evanovich - Two for the Dough - now. I read One for the Money last year and thought it reasonable, but I have been assured that they get better as the series goes on.

 

I think maybe the heat is putting me off a couple of my high up the TBR pile books (Mark of the Angel and At-Swim-Two-Birds), as I suspect they will be heavy going.

 

Crime thrillers seem the way forward at the mo.

[Sugar]

Finished Two for the Dough. About to start the new Jasper Fforde - the Fourth Bear. I've heard him mention it in his talks, so am really looking forward to getting my teeth into it later!

[Sugar]

I have tidied up my opening post - I liked what Kell and Michelle had done, but as I only joined in June, it didn't seem worth opening a whole new thread for the 2nd half of the year!

 

OP now indicates which books read in which month.

[Sugar]

Thought I would post a list of the books currently sat on the TBR Mountain. They are roughly in order of most recently added to the ones there longest...

 

1) Velocity - Dean Koontz (my other half has read it now, does that count?!)

2) Endymion Spring - Matthew Skelton

3) The Ecstasy Club - Douglas Rushkoff

4) The Vesuvius Club - Mark Gatiss

5) Deja Dead - Kathy Reichs

6) I'm the King of the Castle - Susan Hill

7) At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien

8) The Mark of the Angel - Nancy Huston

9) Sweet Thursday - John Steinbeck - returned to Lib without reading

10) Damage - Sue Mayfield

11) Keeping Faith - Jodi Picoult

12) Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult

13) Human Traces - Sebastien Faulkes

14) We Need to Talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver

15) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

16) A Little Piece of Ground - Elizabeth Laird

17) Popular Music - Mikael Niemi

18) The Princess and other stories - Anthon Chekhov

19) Long Way Round - Ewan MacGregor and Charlie Boorman

20) Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Suzanna Clarke

21) Geisha of Gion - Mineko Iwasaki

22) McCarthys Bar - Pete McCarthy ®

23) The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe

24) Camelia - Lesley Pearse

25) Daughter of Fortune - Isabel Allende

26) The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (also read by OH!)

27) Two Women - Martina Cole

 

I don't think I'm going to root out the ones hidden in the bottom of my bedside table. They were supposed to be the priority ones about 2 years ago, but now have about 2 inches of dust on them instead!

 

 

* Green means read since list posted. Aim to self - read all of these by Christmas!!!

[Janet]

You obviously have a very different taste from me - I've only read two books on your to read pile.

 

I've really broadened my reading style in the last few months - I only ever read chick lit, but recently I've read some really good stuff from recommendations on the internet, that I'd have never looked at twice before!

[Michelle]

I think that's what I love about here.. alot of people are starting to explore, and find new things to read.

[Kell]

Ooh, I count four that I have on my own TBR list, one I’ve read already and another one I’ve requested from RISI. There are also one or two others that I think look interesting, so I’ll be anxiously awaiting your comments to see if they look like something I’d fancy picking up myself…

[Sugar]

Kell, I'd love to know which 4 we overlap with...

 

I finally finished The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde the day before yesterday. Certainaly his weakest novel, IMO, and I am a self-confessed Fforde ffreak!

 

I was lent a proof of the new Tess Gerritsen at the weekend (due out September in the States and next year in the UK). Called

The Mephisto Club it was the perfect antidote to my readers block that the Fforde had induced. Gerritsen seems to get stronger with each book, and Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles are becoming like personal friends!

[Sugar]

Worthy of a post in it's own right, I have today devoured Snowbone by Cat Weatherill.

 

The sequel to Barkbelly, Snowbone is set on Ashenpeake Island, the home of the wooden beings. It features a group of Ashenpeakers who manage to escape the slavery into which they should have been born. Barkbelly also makes a brief cameo appearance near the start.

 

Snowbone does not disappoint in any way, and Weatherill's style is even more lyrical and readable in this than Barkbelly - something I would not have thought possible.

 

A wonderful, wonderful children's novel, with everything that a children's novel should have - innocence, adventure, humour and more!

[Sugar]

Already over halfway into Endymion Spring (one to cross off the TBR shelf soon! - WOOHOO!!!).

 

Not sure what to make of it yet, but it looks beautiful!

[Kell]

I know what you mean, Sugar - it's certainly a book-lovers' book to look at & to hold. I rather enjoyed this one (I got sent it by CBUK for review a few months back). Hope you enjoy it too.