Kell's 2010 Reading Log

[Ben]

Did I mention that I have added the first one to my wishlist? Great reviews.

[Kell]

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 4)

Rating: 4/5 -Excellent

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

Sookie comes to the rescue of a naked, amnesiac vampire - and ends up in the middle of a war between witches, werewolves and vampires! Sookie Stackhouse is a small-town cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's pretty. She does her job well. She keeps to herself - she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie's gift: she can read minds. That's not exactly every man's idea of date bait - unless they're undead - vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that's just the kind of guy Sookie's been looking for. Maybe that's why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn't just drive on by. He hasn't got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy - and dead - as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he's sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie's help - because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into what's going on leads her straight into a dangerous battle between witches, vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger - to Sookie's heart, because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist.

 

Review:

This is actually my favourite of the first four books in the series. Seeing a vulnerable, sweet Eric is wonderful - it's a whole new side of him that we haven't seen before (of course, is it really him when he has no memory of who he is? Or is this actually the real Eric?), and who could blame any hot-blooded female for softening towards him? I know I certainly would!

 

But amnesiac Eric isn't the only draw - there's such a lot going on in this installment that it's real seat-of-the-pants stuff: We have Witches, Weres and Vamps all battling it out and poor Sookie is caught right in the middle of it; Jason going missing is another major event that will change the course of his and Sookie's lives (as well as the course of the series) completely; and Sookie has to really step up and do things she never thought she'd have to do - she really shows she's made of steely stuff!

 

It really is jam-packed full of a plot so good I didn't want it to end and it's left me gasping for more, so I'll be going right ahead and continuing with the rest of the series instead of taking a little break as I had planned!

Edited January 11, 2010 by Kell

[chesilbeach]

Great review, Kell! I've read all the books in the series, and this one is still my favourite, and the one I re-read most often

[Charm]

So pleased DTTW is your favourite Kell, I loved loved loved it!! Like chesil, it's still my favourite of the series so far and I don't blame you for wanting to get straight on to the next

[lexiepiper]

I loved this one too So glad you're enjoying them so much Kell

[Kell]

Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampires 5)

Rating: 3/5 - Very good, well worth a read

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

Sookie

Edited January 14, 2010 by Kell

[catwoman]

You made me want to buy this one, I got it out from my library but I was really bored of the Sookie series, and decided to give them a break but in a few weeks I might try and read them again. Thanks Kell.

Edited January 14, 2010 by Kell
Removed quote - unneccessary as entire previous post.

[Kell]

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 6)

Rating: 3/5 - Very good, well worth a read

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

Sookie doesn

[Kimmy619]

Reading your review really makes me want to re-read them all!!!

[Mac]

Look at the bone structure of the girl on the cover of Dead to the World! Man, she is smokin'!

[Kell]

Reading your review really makes me want to re-read them all!!!

Do! They're a lot of fun. Don't expect high-brow literature or anything like that, but do expect an exciting, sexy, fun read.

Look at the bone structure of the girl on the cover of Dead to the World! Man, she is smokin'!

I don't know if it's the same model for all the covers, but she does look particularly hot on that cover, doesn't she?!

[Kell]

All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 7)

Rating: 4/5 - Excellent

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

Sookie

[Michelle]

Kell, it looks like you're finding more reading time now.

[Kell]

I've been stealing reading time during Xander's naps (now that he actually goes down for them!) as he has taken to having 2 hour-long naps again (one in the morning, and one in the afternoon) most days. I'm also reading for half an hour in the bath each night and then in bed for about 30-45 minutes before sleeping. It helps that the Southern Vampire bokos are incredibly easy to read, which makes them pass much more quickly than a more challenging book might. That's not to say they aren't good (you only have to look at my ratings to see how much I'm enjoying them!); they are good, they're just not high literature and are far more easily "digested" than some of hte "heavier" books on my list. As a result, I thought I'd kick off my year with some quick-and-easy reads to get a head start - LOL!

[Louiseog]

I love mine to bits and would begrudge them nothing but losing my reading time!

[Kell]

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (Southern Vampires 7)

Rating: 4/5 - Excellent

You might like this if you like: Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series; vampires; paranormal/supernatural

 

Synopsis:

The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana is reeling from two hard blows: the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, and the manmade horror of the explosion at the vampire summit in the up-north city of Rhodes. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, and she

[Kell]

The Child Thief by Brom

Rating: 5/5 - Superb

Edited January 23, 2010 by Kell

[Kell]

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Millennium 1)

Rating: abandoned unfinished

You might like this if you: like media-hyped novels; aren't easily disappointed by media-hyped novels

 

Synopsis:

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family. There was no corpse, no witnesses, no evidence. But her uncle, Henrik, is convinced that she was murdered by someone in her own family - the deeply dysfunctional Vanger clan. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired to investigate, but when he links Harriet's disappearance to a string of gruesome murders from forty years ago, he needs a competent assistant - and he gets one: computer hacker Lisbeth Salander - a tattoed, truculent, angry girl who rides a motorbike like a Hell's Angel and handles makeshift weapons with the skill born of remorseless rage. This unlikely pair form a fragile bond as they delve into the sinister past of this island-bound, tightly-knit family. But the Vangers are a secretive lot, and Mikael and Lisbeth are about to find out just how far they're prepared to go to protect themselves - and each other.

 

Review:

First off I want to say I did not finish this book, but I think I gave it a very good chance - I read over 200 of its 530-ish pages. After hearing so many people sing its praises, I wanted to enjoy it, but it completely failed to impress me on every level.

 

One would expect something to happen within 200 pages of plot, but on this occasion one might be forgiven for believing nothing had happened at all. Small, seemingly inconsequential things happen, but there was little, if anything, of excitement. I wanted at least one or two small thrills to keep me hooked into what was happening, but I was sorely disappointed.

 

None of the characters seemed to me to be particularly "real" and they all felt like caricatures - the rebel computer genius; the journo with integrity; the evil big business man; the old guy with a kooky family - and I found I didn't identify or sympathise with any of them. I didn't find any of what I read to be all that original. The characters have all been done before and I had my suspicions about the missing girl from the beginning. I strongly suspect

that she's alive and well and living somewhere else and that it's she who sends the flowers to her uncle on his birthday. I found I didn't much care why she left.

 

 

The amount of charicter back history given in the middle of what's happening "now" was far too irritating. It jarred and annoyed me. Part of the problem is that I didn't actually like any of the characters. Actually, I found them very annoying - especially Lisbeth (who I suspect I'm supposed to like) and Blomkvist (who I'm pretty certain I'm not supposed to find plodding and pedestrian). As they're the two main characters it ruined any enjoyment I might have got from the story.

 

I really do wonder what all the hype is about (I came to the book knowing nothing about it except that a lot of people are banging on about it and the sequels - honestly, nothing more than the title!). To be perfectly honest, the only reason I continued as long as I did was because I'd already invested a fair bit of time in getting that far with it and could see myself getting very angry for having wasted the time if I didn't finish it. It didn’t pick up and I wasted even more time on it.

 

I didn't even care enough about Harriet to find out if my previous prediction was correct.

 

Apologies to all those who enjoyed it, but I found it pretty dire. I'll be getting shot of the book pretty quick-smart and I won't be bothering with the sequels.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Kell

[missybct]

Interesting review, Kell, mainly as so many people rate this book. I think I'll give it a try as I've seen it at the library.

[BookJumper]

The Child Thief by Brom

Rating: 5/5 - Superb � read it immediately!

You'll be happy to know I should be getting this in the post anytime now I decided to take the plunge.

[Kell]

Interesting review, Kell, mainly as so many people rate this book. I think I'll give it a try as I've seen it at the library.

I hope you enjoy it more than I did. I know I'm in the minority in diliking this novel, but I just couldn't get on with it at all. Best of luck with it.

 

You'll be happy to know I should be getting this in the post anytime now I decided to take the plunge.

Oh, I'm so pleased! I really do think you'll enjoy it and appreciate its beauty. *crosses everything and hopes I'm right*. At the very least, I think you'll fall in love with the artwork in the book. There are only a few pictures in this novel and they are all black and white sketches, but they are stunning.

[vinay87]

Alexandre Dumas � The Count of Monte Cristo

I'm reading this now!!! Wordsworth translation of this book is excellent!

 

Victor Hugo � The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

 

I sadly have the TOR edition... bought when I was a wee 19 year old and judged the quality of an edition by the price I'll read it after Cristo.

 

Victor Hugo � Les Miserables Vol.1

Victor Hugo � Les Miserables Vol 2

 

I double dog dare you to hate this book. The wordsworth edition is mindblowing!! Which is what you have right? Seeing as it's in two volumes?

 

Leo Tolstoy � Anna Karenina

Tell me when you're done so due respect can be conveyed. I deem any person capable of ploughing through Tolstoy's work with ease as reader magnefique.

 

P G Wodehouse � Thank You, Jeeves

 

I wonder where my copy has run off to. One of my first Jeeves book. Heck, might be my first Wodehouse. Excellent read. I have to buy the Jeeves' Omnibi one day.

[Kell]

Glad to hear so many of the classics on my shelf are so good - I'll look forward to them all the more now. And yes, it's the Wordsworth edition of Les Mis in 2 vols.

[vinay87]

Good... Even the covers are good, no?

 

But I so do wish it was in one part though. I hate that they can bind War and Peace in one volume and not choose to bind Les Mis.

 

If you ever get the Penguin edition at a library or even at a cheap rate, I suggest gifting that to people who want to read the book without going through the depth that Wordsworth Editions gives us. (Though that's sheer blasphemy.)

 

Still the Penguin classics version is admirably short.

[Kell]

I never understand why anyone would want to read an abridged version of any book. After all, the author wrote the book and it was edited to the level (presumably) that meant all elements of the story unfold as they should and make a complete tale. Why, then, would anyone want to read a version that cuts out parts of it? Aren't they afraid they're going to miss the very best bits? I know I would!

 

I read a couple of abridged classics when I was a kid (Dracula and Frankenstein) and was bitterly disappointed to discover I hadn't read the full text (I must have been about 10 or 11 at the time!). So much so that I went back and read the full versions and enjoyed them much more. Anyway, the upshot of this was that I vowed never to read an abridged version of any book ever again and to my knowledge I never have.