Shin's Reading Diary 2012

[Shin]

Previous Reading Lists:

2009 : (39 BOOKS)

2010 : (38 BOOKS)

2011 : (12 BOOKS) Oops!

2012 AIM : 52 BOOKS - one per week (hopefully!)

 

RATINGS

5/5: Excellent - could not put the book down. Highly recommended.

4/5: Very Good - really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

3/5: Good - readable and would recommend.

2/5: OK - nothing to write home about but read it when you have nothing else to read.

1/5: Awful - finished the book for the sake of finishing a book but don't waste your time reading it.

0/5: Abandoned - that bad I couldn't even finish it. Don't even bother with it.

 

CURRENTLY READING: Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

 

August 2012 (0)

 

July 2012 (0)

 

June 2012 (0)

 

May 2012 (0)

 

April 2012 (0)

 

March 2012 (0)

 

February 2012 (1)

5. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 4/5

 

January 2012 (4)

4. Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan 2/5

3. Animal Farm by George Orwell 5/5

2. Report for Murder by V.L. McDermid 3/5

1. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella 3/5

Edited July 19, 2012 by Shin

[Shin]

BOOKS BOUGHT THIS YEAR

 

My aim is not to buy any books during 2012! I have plenty on my TBR pile which I hope to get through this year. If I do acquire any books throughout the year it will be via hand me downs or library books!

 

 

 

BOOKS I ACQUIRED IN 2012

 

HMD: HAND-ME-DOWNS

LB: LIBRARY BOOKS

• February Flowers by Fan Wu LB
  

BOOK SERIES

 

COMPLETED

UP~TO~DATE (WAITING ON NEXT BOOK)

 

 

This will be were I will keep track of book series that I am currently reading, up-to-date with or have finished. This list may get a bit longer by the end of the year.

• The Vampire Chronicles ~by~ Anne Rice
  
• Alex Cross Series ~by~ James Patterson
  
• Plum Series ~by~ Janet Evanovich
  
• Rachel Morgan Series ~by~ Kim Harrison
  
• Morganville Vampire Series ~by~ Rachel Caine
  
• House of the Night Series ~by~ PC Cast with Kristin Cast
  
• Grave Sight Series ~by~ Charlaine Harris
  
• Sookie Stackhouse Series ~by~ Charlaine Harris
  
• Undead Series ~by~ MaryJanice Davidson
  
• Thursday Next Series ~by~ Jasper Fforde
  
• Nursery Crime Series ~by~ Jasper Fforde
  
• Women of the Otherworld Series ~by~ Kelley Armstrong
  
• Georgia Series ~by~ Karin Slaughter
  
• Harry Potter Books ~by~ J K Rowlings
  
• Vicky Bliss Series ~by~ Elizabeth Peters
  

Edited January 6, 2012 by Shin

[Shin]

READING CHALLENGES

 

Month Title Challenge - To read a book with a month in the title and book choices are:

January - Alder, Curtis: January Colours

February - Wu, Fan: February Flowers

March

April

May

June

July - Patterson, James: 4th of July

August

September

October

November

December

 

 

 

 

BOOKRINGS

I am not sure if I am still in these bookrings yet!

DENOTES MOVED TO TBR LIST

DENOTES MOVED TO CURRENT READ

DENOTES READ & REVIEWED

 

Grave Sight Series by Charlaine Harris ~ Bookring by Weave

• Grave Sight
  
• Grave Surprise
  
• An Ice Cold Grave
  
• Grave Secret
  

Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris ~ Bookring by Weave

• Dead Reckoning
  

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ~ Bookring by Lucybird

Edited January 4, 2012 by Shin

[Shin]

TO BE READ LIST

 

LB DENOTES LIBRARY BOOK | BR DENOTES BOOKRING

DENOTES MOVED TO CURRENT READ

DENOTES READ BUT STILL NEEDS TO BE REVIEWD

DENOTES READ & REVIEWED

• Archer, Jeffrey: The Collected Short Stories
  
• Austen, Jane: Persuasion
  
• Austen, Jane: Pride and Prejudice
  
• Barnes, Zoe: Split Ends
  
• Beaumont, Maria: Marsha Mellow and Me
  
• Brokaw, Charles: The Lucifer Code
  
• Brunker, Amanda: Champagne Kisses
  
• Bryson, Bill: Notes from a Small Island
  
• Burnett, Frances Hodgson: The Secret Garden
  
• Caine, Rachel: Carpe Corpus
  
• Caine, Rachel: Fade Out
  
• Caine, Rachel: Feast of Fools
  
• Caine, Rachel: Kiss of Death
  
• Caine, Rachel: Lord of Misrule
  
• Cast, P.C and Kirstin: Burned
  
• Cast, P.C and Kirstin: Hunted
  
• Cast, P.C and Kirstin: Tempted
  
• Chattam, Maxim: The Cairo Diary
  
• Clark, Mary Higgins: While My Pretty One Sleeps
  
• Cole, Martina:
  
• Colgan, Jenny: Amanda's Wedding
  
• Cordy, Michael: The Crime Code
  
• Cussler, Clive: Lost City
  
• Cussler, Clive: Polar Shift
  
• Denver, Jeffrey: The Bone Collector
  
• Dickens, Charles: A Tale of Two Cities
  
• Dickens, Charles: Great Expectations
  
• Dickens, Charles: Hard Times
  
• Dickens, Charles: Little Dorrit
  
• Dickens, Charles: Oliver Twist
  
• Dickens, Charles: The Christmas Books (A Christmas Carol|The Chimes|The Cricket on the Hearth)
  
• Dobyns, Stephen: The Church of Dead Girls
  
• Eliot, George: Silas Marner
  
• Evanovich, Janet: Full House
  
• Evanovich, Janet: Metro Girl
  
• Frank, Anne: Diary of Anne Frank
  
• Golden, Arthur: Memoirs of a Geisha
  
• Green, Jane: The Beach House
  
• Grisham, John: A Time to Kill
  
• Grisham, John: Brethen
  
• Grisham, John: The Partner
  
• Grisham, John: The Runaway Jury
  
• Hardy, Thomas: Far from the Madding Crowd
  
• Harris, Thomas: Hannibal
  
• Herbert, James: Once
  
• Holden, Wendy: Bad Heir Day
  
• Holden, Wendy: The Wives of Bath
  
• Hope, Anthony: The Prisoner of Zenda
  
• Hosseini, Khaled: The Kite Runner
  
• Hutson, Shaun: Heathen
  
• Hutson, Shaun: Lucy’s Child
  
• Jones, Brenda: I Love Capri
  
• Kellerman, Jonathan: When the Bough Breaks
  
• Kelly, Cathy: Always & Forever
  
• Kelly, Cathy: Best of Friends
  
• Kelly, Cathy: Lessons in Heartbreak
  
• Kelly, Cathy: Someone like You
  
• Keyes, Marian: Angels
  
• Keyes, Marian: Further Under the Duvet
  
• Keyes, Marian: Last Chance Saloon
  
• Keyes, Marian: Sushi for Beginners
  
• Keyes, Marian: The Charming Man
  
• Keyes, Marian: The Other Side of the Story
  
• King, Stephen: Carrie
  
• King, Stephen: Cell
  
• King, Stephen: The Shining
  
• Kinsella, Sophie: Twenties Girl
  
• Lamb, Charles & Mary: Tales from Shakespeare
  
• Larkin, Mary A: A Matter of Trust
  
• Lee, Harper: To Kill a Mockingbird
  
• Manby, Chris: Girl Meets Ape
  
• Manby, Chris: Ready or Not
  
• Mansel, Jill: Open House
  
• Marryat, Captain: The Children of the New Forest
  
• McDermid, V.L.: Report for Murder
  
• McDermid, Val: Beneath the Bleeding
  
• McDermid, Val: Killing the Shadows
  
• McDermid, Val: The Distant Echo
  
• Moriarty, Sinéad: In My Sisters Shoes
  
• Mortenson, Greg and Relin, David Oliver: Three Cups of Tea
  
• Mosse, Kate: Labyrinth
  
• Neale, Kitty: Family Betrayal
  
• Nesbit, E: The Railway Children
  
• O’Flanagan, Sheila: Bad Behaviour
  
• O'Connor, Gemma: Falls the Shadow
  
• Orwell, George: Animal Farm
  
• Patterson, James and Ledwidge, Michael: Step on a Crack
  
• Patterson, James: 4th of July
  
• Patterson, James: Cat and Mouse
  
• Patterson, James: Hide & Seek
  
• Patterson, James: I, Alex Cross
  
• Patterson, James: Violets are Blue
  
• Pearse, Lesley: Faith
  
• Perrett, Bryan: Against All Odds!
  
• Picoult, Jodi: Keeping Faith
  
• Pilcher, Rosamunde: The Carousel
  
• Quindlen, Anna: Black and Blue
  
• Rankin, Ian: Knots & Crosses
  
• Rankin, Robert: The Witches of Chiswick
  
• Rice, Anne: Blood and Gold
  
• Robertson, James: The Testament of Gideon Mack
  
• Rubenfeld, Jed: The Interpretation of Murder
  
• Scanlan, Patricia: Foreign Affairs
  
• Scanlan, Patricia: Mirror, Mirror
  
• Smith, Alexander McCall: The Best of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
  
• Stevenson, Robert Louis: Treasure Island
  
• Stoker, Bram: Dracula
  
• Townsend, Sue: Adrian Mole: The Cuppuccino Years
  
• Vincent, Rachel: Stray
  
• Wiggin, Kate Douglas: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
  
• Wu, Fan: February Flowers LB
  

Edited January 9, 2012 by Shin

[Shin]

WISHLIST

 

DENOTES MOVED TO TBR LIST

DENOTES MOVED TO CURRENT READ

DENOTES READ & REVIEWED

NEWLY ADDED

• Adams, Douglas: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Stolen
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Dime Store Magic
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Undustrial Magic
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Haunted
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Broken
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: No Humans Involved
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Personal Demon
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Living with the Dead
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Frost Bitten
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Waking the Witch
  
• Armstrong, Kelley: Spellbound
  
• Brom: The Child Thief
  
• Brom: The Devil's Rose
  
• Brom: The Plucker
  
• Caine, Rachel: Ghost Town
  
• Caine, Rachel: Bite Club
  
• Cremer, Andrea: Nightshade
  
• Cremer, Andrea: Wolfsbane
  
• Davidson, MaryJanice: Undead and Undermined
  
• Davidson, MaryJanice: Undead and Unstable
  
• Evanovich, Janet: Smoking Seventeen
  
• Fforde, Jasper: Lost in a Good Book
  
• Fforde, Jasper: The Well of Lost Plots
  
• Fforde, Jasper: Something Rotten
  
• Fforde, Jasper: First Among Sequels
  
• Fforde, Jasper: The Fourth Bear
  
• Fforde, Jasper: Shades of Grey
  
• Fitzpatrick, Becca: Hush, Hush
  
• Fitzpatrick, Becca: Crescendo
  
• Fitzpatrick, Becca: Tempest
  
• Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants
  
• Harris, Charlaine: Dead Reckoning
  
• Harris, Charliane: Deadlocked
  
• Harrison, Kim: A Fistful of Charms
  
• Harrison, Kim: For A Few Demons More
  
• Harrison, Kim: Where Demons Dare
  
• Harrison, Kim: White Witch, Black Curse
  
• Harrison, Kim: Black Magic Sanction
  
• Hosseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns
  
• Howe, Katherine: The Lost Book of Salem
  
• Kate, Lauren: Fallen
  
• Kate, Lauren: Torment
  
• Kate, Lauren: Passion
  
• Kesey, Ken: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
  
• Kessler, Jackie Morse: Hunger
  
• Kessler, Jackie Morse: Rage
  
• Keyes, Daniel: Flowers for Algernon
  
• Lampoon, The Harvard: Nightlight: A Parody
  
• Larsson, Stieg: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  
• Larsson, Stieg: The Girl who Played with Fire
  
• Larsson, Stieg: The Girl who kicked the Hornets Nest
  
• Mayo, Stephfordy: New Moan (Twishite Saga Book 1)
  
• Meyer, Stephanie: The Host
  
• Mitchell, Margaret: Gone with the Wind
  
• Monsour, Theresa: Clean Cut
  
• Monsour, Theresa: Dark House
  
• Moyes, Jojo: Me Before You (2012)
  
• Murakami, Haruki: Kafka on the Shore
  
• Niffenegger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
  
• Patterson, James: Pop! Goes the Weasel
  
• Patterson, James: Roses are Red
  
• Patterson, James: Four Blind Mice
  
• Patterson, James: The Big Bad Wolf
  
• Patterson, James: London Bridges
  
• Patterson, James: Mary Mary
  
• Patterson, James: Cross
  
• Patterson, James: Double Cross
  
• Patterson, James: Cross County
  
• Patterson, James: Alex Cross's Trial
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: Once Bitten, Twice Shy (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: Another One Bites the Dust (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: Biting the Bullet (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: Bitten to Death (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: One More Bite (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: Bite Marks (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: Bitten in Two (2012)
  
• Rardin, Jennifer: The Deadliest Bite (2012)
  
• Rice, Anne: The Queen of the Damn
  
• Rice, Anne: The Tale of the Body Thief
  
• Rice, Anne: Memnoch the Devil
  
• Rice, Anne: The Vampire Armand
  
• Rice, Anne: Merrick
  
• Rice, Anne: Blackwood Farm
  
• Rice, Anne: Blood Canticle
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  
• Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  
• Slaughter, Karin: Fallen
  
• Silverstein, Shel: The Giving Tree
  
• Suskind, Patrick: Perfume: The Story of a Murder
  
• Walker, Alice: The Color Purple
  
• Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief
  

Edited January 9, 2012 by Shin

[Charm]

Happy reading Shin, hope you have a great book year in 2012!

[Shin]

Thanks Charmed. I had a very bad reading year last year. Quite busy with crafty projects instead but I am determined to put a big hole in my TBR list this year. Hope all is well with you.

[chesilbeach]

Some fantastic books on your TBR list and your wishlist there, Shin - hope you achieve your goal of reducing your TBR pile, although this year, my aim is to balance my reading with my crafts a bit more and probably read less!

[Inver]

Looks like you are going to be busy...happy reading for 2012

[Shin]

Some fantastic books on your TBR list and your wishlist there, Shin - hope you achieve your goal of reducing your TBR pile, although this year, my aim is to balance my reading with my crafts a bit more and probably read less!

 

Thanks chesilbeach. I really do hope to make a dent in my TBR pile but if previous years are to go by...I think I may be lying. I find reading more relaxing than doing my crafts now. I think that is because I spent most of last year selling my jewellery, doing orders and craft fairs so it felt as if it was a must.

 

Looks like you are going to be busy...happy reading for 2012

 

Thanks Inver....xxx

Edited January 4, 2012 by Shin

[Ben]

Happy reading in 2012 Shin, looks like you've got some cracking books on TBR to get through.

[Shin]

Thanks Ben

 

Well, I just picked up my first temporarily acquired book of the year....from the library! It is February Flowers by Fan Wu. This is my attempt to keep up with one of my challenges this year by reading a book with the month in the title. I have never read any books from this author before and these style of books are out of my comfort zone. Now I just need to acquire my January read. I have ordered January Colours by Curtis Alder. Again, this will be the first I have read anything from this author but I feel this one will not be so out of my confort zone. I have also ordered 1st to Die by James Patterson. I have 4th of July by James Patterson down as my July read but I have not read the first three books in the series so I really need to catch up.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Shin

[Shin]

Twenties Girl ~by~ Sophie Kinsella

 

Started: some time in 2011

Finished: 03/01/12

Pages: 480

Rating: 3/5

 

Synopsis: Lara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don't get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara's great aunt Sadie - in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl - has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can't rest without. Lara's got enough problems of her own. Her start-up company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she's just been dumped by the love of her life. But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie's ghost be the answer to Lara's problems and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other?

 

Review: I didn't think I would enjoy this book to begin with. It's far-fetched and somewhat cheesy and even predictable but it turned out to be a good read with a few good laughs. I would not say it was the best book I have ever read but I did rate it 3 stars which means readable and recommendable to chick lit lovers.

[Shin]

Just added to my wishlist for the first time this year and it is a chicklit. I haven't been reading much chicklits in the last few years but I have a lot in my TBR list that I need to get through and they are nice reads between thrillers. Anyway, I have added Me Before You by Jojo Moyes which I believe is a new release. I read a review of the book which was giving it top marks so I thought it be worth putting onto my list.

 

Synopsis: Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that. What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Shin

[chaliepud]

Just added to my wishlist for the first time this year and it is a chicklit. I haven't been reading much chicklits in the last few years but I have a lot in my TBR list that I need to get through and they are nice reads between thrillers. Anyway, I have added Me Before You by Jojo Moyes which I believe is a new release. I read a review of the book which was giving it top marks so I thought it be worth putting onto my list.

 

Synopsis: Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that. What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

 

I bought this book yesterday to add to my TBR pile, it caught my eye in WHSmith, I did check the Amazon reviews before I bought it so hope they are right!

[Shin]

I bought this book yesterday to add to my TBR pile, it caught my eye in WHSmith, I did check the Amazon reviews before I bought it so hope they are right!

 

I seen it in Tescos and was tempted but as I said I will not (while try anyway) buy any new books this year. Let me know what you think when you get around to reading it chaliepud.

[Shin]

I managed to finish Report for Murder by V.L McDermid and also read and finished Animal Farm by George Orwell. Well, it was a short read anyway. I started another chicklit, well I actually started it in 2011 but didn't read much of it. So I am going to finish that before reading anything else on my TBR list. It's Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan. Definitely going for a good thriller next. I think that 1st to Die by James Patterson is in transit from the library so hopefully it will be here by the time I finish Amanda's Wedding.

[Shin]

Oh, reviews will come later.

[lopeanha]

Great lists Happy reading in 2012

[Ben]

Waiting on your Animal Farm review - it's a book I've always meant to read, after enjoying 1984 but for some reason I never have.

[chaliepud]

I seen it in Tescos and was tempted but as I said I will not (while try anyway) buy any new books this year. Let me know what you think when you get around to reading it chaliepud.

 

I started it today, on page 127 and looking good!!! Will report back when I'm done!

[chaliepud]

I finished Me Before You and it was a great read, I'd highly recommend you get around to reading it soon, very moving yet funny too.

[Shin]

Oh dear! I have completely abandoned this journal. I have not been reading too much either. My mojo had seriously packed it's bags and left me for good. But I ended up giving in and buying the first book in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Still, it hasn't captured me but still plodding through it.

 

Hope everyone is well. x

Edited July 19, 2012 by Shin

[frankie]

Sorry to hear your mojo's gone awol for such a long time! I hope it soon returns with vengeance