Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50-Book Challenge 2009

The thread's been started a bit late, but oh well.

I was looking at my LibraryThing account just a minute ago, and to my utter surprise, I've only actually read ONE book this year!

I thought I'd read more, but it turns out I read all of my Christmas present books before New Year's. Anyway, here's the "list."

-Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game (Dungeons & Dragons) by Brendan Vaughan

Just out of curiosity, do audio books count as being "read?" Because if they do, then I can add three more right now, and thirty-three within the next month or two--I'm going through Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and so far, I've listened to:

-The Colour of Magic
-The Light Fantastic
-Equal Rites

I also borrowed paper-back versions of The Colour of Magic (spelled without the "U" in this case) and The Light Fantastic from my local library, but I haven't finished reading them yet. I'd have gotten Equal Rites too, but I didn't feel like going to a whole different branch of the library to get it.

Thanks, Darcy. I'd intended to do this back in January and forgot and was just thinking about it this week, in fact!

Don't see why audio books can't count.

My favourite Pratchett books are the ones featuring the City Watch and the Witches.

With plenty of free time on my hands, I've been reading up a storm this year, as always. So I won't start listing what I've read now.

But a couple of highlights were catching up with John Connolly's last two novels - The Unquiet and The Reapers. Connolly hasn't failed me yet - I've loved every book of his I've read. Each new adventure for Charlie, Angel and Louis is a treat and I'm really looking forward to The Lovers later in the year.

I also recently discovered that the author of one of my favourite books read as a teen, Phyllis Eisenstein's lovely little SFantasy fairytale Sorcerer's Son, had actually written other books. I'd been unable to find anything else by her back in the day, to my disappointment, but recently came across her listed in Amazon and discovered she had three or four more, including a sequel to SS. Snapped it up right away and am looking forward to reading that when it arrives.

I'll be back soon with updates on what I've been reading.

LabRat

I don't think there are "official" rules regarding audio books - but my personal opinion is that audio books do count. Because I know that my dad listens to tons of books in the car (as the only time he has to be able to "read") and those books certainly count in his life/mind/education/etc.

I've been keeping track of my books on LJ. In addition to the 50 books goal, I've set the goal that at least 12 of them (ie, one a month ish) be non-fiction.

1. True Devotion -- Dee Henderson
2. True Valor -- Dee Henderson
3. True Honor -- Dee Henderson
4. Winter of Fire -- Sherryl Jordan
5. Unprotected -- Miriam Grossman (NON-fiction)
6. Ask Me Anything -- J. Busziszewski (NON-fiction)

(this is where I started adding commentary about the books {g})

7. Locked Inside -- Nancy Werlin. (YA character driven, but also suspense. Pretty interesting. Would recommend it, but not with a "drop everything and read it now!" tone. One of her others, though, "Double Helix," I *DO* highly recommend.)

8. A Novel Idea -- Aimee Friedman (YA...romance. Pure and utter cheese, seriously, of no literary value whatsoever, but a fun, mindless romp for spring break.) (I wasn't going to count this kind of book, but you know, hey, it *IS* a book. And as long as the entire list isn't filled with cheese, a *little* bit of cheese never hurt anyone...right?)

9. Wildwood Dancing -- Juliet Marillier (YA fantasy, based on the 12 dancing princesses fairy tale - you know, the one where they disappear at night and come back with worn out shoes? So that's just the barest basis - there's SOO much more in this book. Very well written, very interesting, the kind that you just *have* to keep reading to find out what happens. A couple character things I didn't quite buy - that felt too much like "It's a fairy tale, I can have them do this with no real justification" cop-outs - but overall, VERY worth reading. Highly recommend.)

10. Impossible - Nancy Werlin. (Based on the song "Scarborough Fair." Kind of a dark fantasy, but set in modern times. Very interesting and makes me want to go listen to as many versions of the song as I can, now.)

11. Singer in the Snow - Louise Marley. (Fourth in a "trilogy" - or at least, I thought it was a trilogy, but the author apparently has more ideas to visit the universe. YAY! It's fantasy, set on a planet with winter lasting 5 years. Singers create a bubble of light and warmth to keep the Houses warm (houses as in the style of a Keep, not the modern houses we have). But there's political intrigue and drama and love and FUN and it's marvelous. This one continues the world, but follows the next generation of Singers after the main character from the first trilogy. Whole series = Very much recommended.)

12. Asterix le gaulois - Rene de Goscinny. (It's a comic...it's only about 45 pages...but it's in French. That counts, right?)

YAY BOOKS! (And my wallet says - Yay libraries {g})

Bethy

I've been reading a lot and wanted to join this thread this year. I don't read anything educational or of any value, but...
I broke my ankle in 3 places last week, I thought while I was laying around I'd read but I really don't feel like doing anything. I'm sure I'll reach my 50 for the year though. I've been keeping a list since the first of the year.

Northern Lights - Nora Roberts
Choke - Stuart Woods
Cross Country - James Patterson
Homeport - Nora Roberts
New York Dead - Stuart Woods
Dirt - Stuart Woods
Light of the Moon - Luanne Rice
Cold Paradise - Stuart Woods
Tail Spin - Catherine Coulter
Heart Breaker - Karen Robards
Hold Tight - Harlan Coben
Public Secrets - Nora Roberts
Dead in the Water - Stuart Woods
Blue Smoke - Nora Roberts
The Short Forever - Stuart Woods
Bait - Karen Robarts
The Woods - Harlan Coben
Reckless Abandon - Stuart Woods
Hot Mahogany - " "
Mounting Fears - " "
Swimming To Catalina " "
Worst Fears Realized " "
LA Dead " "
Fresh Disasters " "
Three Fates - Nora Roberts
Midnight Bayou - Nora Roberts
The Run - Stuart Woods
Capital Crimes - Stuart Woods
The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks
Run For Your Life - James Patterson
The Partner - John Grisham
Fireside - Susan Wiggs
The Brethren - John Grisham
No Second Chance - Harlan Coben
Match Me If You Can - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Knit Two - Kate Jacobs
McNally's Secret - Lawrence Sanders
Grass Roots - Stuart Woods
Tribute - Nora Roberts

There's 39 of them. I'm having a hard time getting into my current book. Plus reading laying down in bed I fall asleep! I love these lists. I get great ideas from them.
Sue

I've never heard of Louise Marley, but that sounds intriguing. Off to Amazon to check them out. Thanks for the tip, Bethy.

Hope you get back on your feet soon, Suez. <<<hugs>>>

ETA: Asterix! Oh my, I loved that little guy when I was a teen. Occasionally, I toy with the notion of collecting the books again, but am put off by the fact that they were reprinted in a changed version in recent years. I'd have to make sure I had the originals.

Suez, who would you say Stuart Woods' writing resembles? James Patterson? Coben? Someone else you've read? Amazon keep popping him up as a recommendation and I've been tempted a few times to try him out, so I'd be interested in what you think.


LabRat

I've been keeping my list up. I figured if it didn't start here, it'd be nice to at least see what I'm reading. I'm hoping to actually hit 100 this year.

1. Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris
2. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris
3. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris
4. Bleach Souls - Tite Kubo
5. To Sir Phillip, With Love - Julia Quinn
6. When He Was Wicked - Julia Quinn
7. It's In His Kiss - Julia Quinn
8. On The Way To The Wedding - Julia Quinn
9. Twin of Fire - Jude Deveraux
10. Twin of Ice - Jude Deveraux
11. The Duchess - Jude Deveraux
12. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
13. The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes - Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, & Anne Stuart
-- This one has started me on a Jennifer Crusie jag
14. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
15. A Stocking Full of Joy - Mary Jo Putney, Jill Barnett, Justine Dare, and Susan King
16. Foundation - Isaac Asimov
17. The Stepsister Scheme - Jim C. Hines
18. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K Dick
19. Trial By Fire - Sabine C. Bauer
20. Sacrifice Moon - Julie Fortune
---- Woo, finally got my hands on some Stargate Fandemonium novels! Now I need more.
21. The Ancient - R.A. Salvatore
22. Many Bloody Returns - e. by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner
23. Bet Me - Jennifer Crusie
24. Once Upon a Tangled Tale - Bronwyn Wolfe
25. Valentine Delights - Meryl Sawyer, Kate Hoffman, & Gina Wilkins
26. Home Improvement - Barbara Daly
27. Dogs and Goddesses - Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich
28. Faking It - Jennifer Crusie
29. The Boy Next Door - Meg Cabot
30. Shakespeare's Landlord - Charlaine Harris
31. Too Sexy for Marriage - Cathie Linz
32. From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris
31. Too Stubborn for Marriage - Cathie Linz
32. Too Smart for Marriage - Cathie Linz
33. Bite - Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight, and Vickie Taylor
34. Without You: A memoir of love, loss, and the musical RENT - Anthony Rapp
-- One of my rare forays into non-fiction. Anthony Rapp is the original actor who played Mark in RENT. The book starts as he's running late to the RENT workshop audition due to a friend's wake (reminding me of his character in the show), and follows through Jonathon Larson's death, RENT's success, and the death of Anthony's mother, to the end of his run with the show. I loved this book, even though it kept making me cry.

35. Fast Women - Jennifer Crusie

Labby, I love Stuart Woods. There are a few a haven't liked but that's true of all authors. I'm getting tired of Patterson's short choppy chapters. Coben is good but there have been a few I haven't been able to get into at all. Stuart Woods has characters that have their own books and cross books with other characters. Stone Barrington is every woman's dream man!!!
And like my 82 year old mother says, 'He is banging everyone'. LOL I am trying to find another series of books with someone like Barrington but I haven't yet.
Sue

Karen, run don't walk to the bookstore and make sure you get Sally Malcolm's A Matter of Honour and The Cost of Honour. Best danged SG1 books I've ever read. Sally wrote SG1 fanfic under the name Sally Reeves.

Other favourites are Karen Miller's Alliances (which picks up immediately after the Euronda mission) and Sabine C. Bauer's Survival of the Fittest.

Enjoy!

LabRat

Oh, oh, oh! I love Sally Reeves' fanfic! I had no idea that she also had published SG1 novels!

Those are definitely going on my to-get list! Thanks, Labby!

Bethy

Yeah, Sally's definitely my favourite ever SG1 fanfic author, too. Still go back and read them over and over again when I need a quick SG1 fix.

She's also part-founder of Fandemonium.

LabRat

Okie dokie. I guess I should only include audio books once, even if I read the hard-copy of it too then--just to be fair.

I'm hoping that, with the audio books, this year I'll actually get to 50. I haven't got much patience for reading actual books these days, especially since I've gotten back to reading a bunch of fanfic, plus I have lots of projects--both personal and otherwise--to get done.

Thanks, Labby. Those are several that I've been meaning to get, but I haven't seen them in my local bookstore. I got those two with an Amazon gift card. I loved Sally Reeves' and Doc's (Sabine Bauer) fics, so those are two authors I really really want.

I've read quite a few and have reviews of all of them on my livejournal. Not sure if you guys would be interested or not.

Here's what I've been reading while laying around. Hopefully in a week or two I'll be starting PT and actually have something to do.

Dream a Little Dream Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Small Vices Robert B Parker (Just found this author. I like him so far)
Santa Fe Rules Stuart Woods
Short Straw Stuart Woods
Plum Spooky Janet Evanovich
Santa Fe Dead Stuart Woods
Loitering With Intent Stuart Woods
Double Play Robert B Parker
The 8th Confession James Paterson (I was happy that this was not one of his short, quick stories. This actually had about 3 different crimes going at once and was written well)


that's 48 so far. I've got a few Parker books to read now.

I'm actually keeping a count of the books I am reading this year too for the first time ever.. so I thought I might start adding my list here. I am trying to branch out this year and read a diverse group of books outside my 'norm'.. although I started the year in the safety of my fanged friends.

I'm a lot slower than the rest of you it seems... but we'll see how I go.

1. Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Book 3) - Laurell K Hamilton
2. Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris
3. The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Book 4) - Laurell K Hamilton
4. Prey - Michael Crichton
5. The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett
6. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
7. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
8. Magician (Apprentice) - Raymond E Feist
9. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
10. Fish out of Water - Mary Janice Davidson

So far, Pillars of the Earth has blown me away... I'm one of the most non-religious people you'll meet.. and wow.. amazingly written.
Similarly, I'm not a huge fan of fantasy, but Magician was another great book which had me so captivated with the story of 2 simple keep boys..
I've gone out and found the sequels to both which I can't wait to read.
I didn't enjoy Terry Pratchett. His humour was good. But there was something about his writing style that put me off.
And Twilight. I've been resisting reading this... but peer pressure made me finally pick it up to read on the plane. I'm not sure what all the hype is about with this book. I'm not even sure how it got published. I'm confused as to what has drawn so many people so deep into this series of books. I understand it is a book for adolescents, and the last 1/4 of the book is great. The first 3/4 though looks like something someone took from one of the fanfics in this fandom and placed new names to. *shrugs* I'm a sucker for punishment. I'll read the next book since a friend literally shoved it in my face this afternoon... but I keep wondering what am I missing?
I've also been given 'Guards! Guards!' by Terry Pratchett to read... apparently I shouldn't have started my journey into the discworld with the book I chose according to friends... so I guess I'll be giving Terry a chance to show me something different too.

Updating:

I'll consider the two John Connolly books I mentioned in an earlier post as numbers 1 and 2 and go on from there:

#3 Every Dead Thing - John Connolly
#4 Dark Hollow - John Connolly
#5 The White Road - John Connolly
#6 The Killing Kind - John Connolly
#7 The Black Angel - John Connolly

As you can see, I so enjoyed JC's two latest novels that I went back and re-read the previous ones in the series and had a great time doing so.

#8 Dearly Devoted Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
#9 Dexter In The Dark - Jeff Lindsay

I enjoyed these two further forays into the mind of our favourite serial killer. But I have to say that the more that the plots and characterisations diverge between the books and the TV series, the more I find that I enjoy the TV series more. Especially when it comes to Debs, who I find a much more sympathetic and engaging character on TV than in the books. For all that, I'll be reading the next in the series.

#10 The Black Swan - Phillippa Carr
#11 The Black Opal - Victoria Holt
#12 The Mask of the Enchantress - Victoria Holt

Pure romance isn't the first genre I run to for a good read, although I've not been averse to the odd one here or there and I do have a (very) small collection of favourite that I've kept over the years. And certainly the historical period these three cover is my least favourite of the genre.

But when I saw these three in my local charity shop I picked them up due to a series of connections I'd made a few days previously: watching The Tudors on DVD had reminded me of the wonderful historical novels of Jean Plaidy I read as a teen. So with her on my mind I succumbed to the temptation to get these from her alter egos - although I suspected I wouldn't enjoy them much.

Well, I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed all three. So much so that if I see any more in my charity shop in the future I will snap them up. Marvellous entertainment for a rainy day.

#13 Battleaxe - Sara Douglass

I bought this - the first in a trilogy - purely on the basis that I'd enjoyed the first two books in this author's Crucibles trilogy. Which proved to be a mistake. It wasn't a bad SFantasy novel, but I found it fairly mediocre and lacking in anything original to say in the genre and it definitely wasn't good enough to make me want to read the rest of the series.

#14 Shadowplay - Tad Williams

This has to be one of the most frustrating SFantasy series I've ever read. I trudge my way through the majority of the book with much the same feeling as above for Battleaxe and then in the last couple of chapters TW throws me a crumb about the only character that really interests me and I have to buy the next book to find out what happens next. Hate that.

#15 InkHeart - Corneila Funke
#16 InkSpell - Corneila Funke
#17 Dragon Rider - Corneila Funke

Stuart bought me the first for Christmas, saying he wasn't sure if I'd like it or not. I did. I found this an endearing, charming children's tale and I'm eagerly awaiting the final in the trilogy. Dragon Rider I found harder to get into a first, but became engrossed about a third of the way through and by the end heaved the sigh of the satisfied reader as I closed the cover.

#18 Sleepyhead
#19 Scaredy Cat
#20 The Burning Girl
#21 Lifeless
#22 Death Message

With these, I'm now up to date with Mark Billingham's series of thrillers about his cantankerous detective, Tom Thorne. I'm now bereft and hoping a new one will appear soon. Loved every minute.

LabRat

Forgot about this one last night:

#23 The Bone Garden - Tess Gerritson

This was a bit of a departure from the other novels I've read by TG, with a large chunk of the book taking place in the past. But I think I enjoyed it all the more, for that. Some romance, a mystery, engaging characters...and some very disturbing details about the state of maternity medicine in 1830's Boston and the horrors of childbed fever. Certainly made me think about all those young lives ruined and lost because doctors didn't know enough not to go straight from an autopsy to examining their pregnant patients without washing their hands first.

Oh and Asterix and Cleopatra! Yes, I succumbed to temptation and treated myself to this one in a fit of nostalgia. Perhaps inevitably, so many years down the line, I found it had slightly less depth than I recalled, but still chockful of LOL moments and quiet chuckles.


LabRat

I've just finished all but one of the 37 Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. (I didn't know about Making Money until just this afternoon.) That brings my current "reading" total up to 37. Any book without a "by ______" on it is a Discworld novel, and therefore by Terry Pratchett:

1. Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
2. The Colour of Magic
3. The Light Fantastic
4. Equal Rites
5. Mort
6. Sourcery
7. Wyrd Sisters
8. Pyramids
9. Guards! Guards!
10. Eric
11. Moving Pictures
12. Reaper Man
13. Witches Abroad
14. Small Gods
15. Lords and Ladies
16. Men at Arms
17. Soul Music
18. Interesting Times
19. Maskerade
20. Feet of Clay
21. Hogfather
22. Jingo
23. The Last Continent
24. Carpe Jugulum
25. The Fifth Elephant
26. The Truth
27. Thief of Time
28. The Last Hero
29. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
30. Night Watch
31. The Wee Free Men
32. Monstrous Regiment
33. A Hat Full of Sky
34. Going Postal
35. Thud!
36. Wintersmith
37. Strata
38. Making Money (I'm including it because I will be reading it.)

It's looking like I'll actually make (and probably surpass) the 50-book goal this year--yay!

ETA: I just found out this morning that Strata was actually written BEFORE the rest of the Discworld series, and isn't technically part of the series, but does describe a trip to a world shaped like a disc where the people believe in magic--and Death (the anthropomorphic personification, not the state of being, that is) is there too. Given that, I can give it a little leeway in the sci-fi vs. fantasy department, I guess.

Updating with:

#24 The Eyes of God – John Marco

I'd picked up the third book in this SFantasy series and figured I'd take a leap of faith and buy book one. As it turned out it was a reasonably entertaining novel, but not enough to make me want to buy book two or read book three. Although the characters were interesting, the plot was very derivative in parts and it suffered from the most appalling dialogue I've read in a long time, which struck me as neither believable or logical and so continually pulled me out of the story.

#25 Definitely Dead – Charlaine Harris

There's such a glut of vampire authors on the market these days, that I almost passed this one by. So glad I didn't. A thoroughly enjoyable romp with a wonderful heroine in Sookie Stackhouse and a host of interesting and intriguing characters. This book is quite a way into the series, so I'm quite looking forward to catching up with the rest.

#26 Double Cross – James Patterson

If you've read my other book posts, you'll already know that I have a like-hate relationship with Patterson. This was one of his less irksome works. I still get irritated by the short chapters and 'Janet and John' writing style, but it passed a couple of hours fairly painlessly.

#27 The Queen of the Night – Paul Doherty

This was an interesting murder mystery set in Ancient Rome, with some interesting characters. I found myself a little lost here and there as historical detail of the everyday lives of the denizens of Rome was tossed in without explanation, but other than that, I enjoyed this one.

#28] The Crippled Angel – Sara Douglass

After the disappointment of Battleaxe, I put off reading this third and final novel in the author's Crucible series. But I really liked it and found it a very satisfying read. The originality of the plot, in marrying and reworking historical fact with a tale of cruel, malicious angels and loving demons locked in an apocalyptic war made for an intriguing setting and the characters were easy to have empathy with. (Well, except for the angels of course. Boo! Hiss! ) I still find it hard to believe that the same author wrote this series and Battleaxe.

#29 The Crystal Palace – Phyllis Eisenstein

As I mentioned in a previous post, this author's Sorcerer's Son has always been one of my favourite SFantasy novels and it was only recently that I discovered there was a sequel to it. I wasn't disappointed – the same blend of magic, romance and fairytale were here and I'm looking forward to reading the other books still available. My only disappointment is that the author's website has an excerpt from a novel which was clearly intended as a third book in this series, but it has obviously never been published.

#30 Dolores Claiborne – Stephen King

Having caught the movie on late-night TV recently, I gave in to the urge to read the novel again. I was quite ambivalent about it first time I read it – which would have to be a good decade or so ago – but enjoyed it much more second-time around. A fascinating character study.

Updating with:

#31 Gone, Baby, Gone - Dennis Lehane

I picked this one up in the charity shop mainly out of curiosity, having recently seen the movie (which was quite good). As a thriller, there's not much that makes this stand out of the pack - which isn't to say that it isn't an enjoyable read, because it was. A keeper, in fact. But what lifts it is Lehane's ability to pose a difficult question and get you thinking. I have to say that I was in disagreement with the protagonist's final decision, but it's a dilemma that's had me thinking since.

#32 The Last Innocent Man - Philip M. Margolin

I've only read one novel previously from this author, which was firmly in the Harlen Coben territory. This one was much more in the territory of Richard North Patterson or John Grisham. I don't think this author is quite in the same league, but it was a good read anyway and, actually, really picked up for me in the last third when the author strayed away from the courtroom battle aspects of the plot and into what I think is more familiar territory for him - the mystery thriller.

#33 House of Echoes - Barbara Erskine

I haven't read every novel by this author, but I've read a few. Generally I've enjoyed them, despite having issues with some of the unfathomable choices made by her characters. In this, she's often the literary equivalent of those horror movies that have you yelling at the TV "No, no, don't wait till dark to go up to that spooky house and stake the vampire! What are you, morons?!"

This was her most enjoyable yet, though, where that irritation was kept to the minimum and everyone behaved - for the most part - logically. I did think that the ending was somewhat rushed, but that was a minor quibble.

#34 The World According To Clarkson Vol. 2: And Another Thing... - Jeremy Clarkson

Not the kind of book I'd normally choose to read - I usually find them fairly superficial. But - despite having zero interest in cars - I am a huge fan of Top Gear and the antics of The Hamster, Captain Slow, The Stig and Jeremy (don't call him Jezza). So I thought I'd give this collection of Jeremy's thoughts from his weekly newspaper column a go.

First of all, I found it to be thicker than most of its ilk. I couldn't say that it was thigh-slapping amusing as the cover blurb promised, but I did LOL more than once and although I don't always agree with Jeremy's POV, he's always witty and thought-provoking when presenting it. He even changed my mind on a couple of occasions. Highly entertaining and I'd read more.

LabRat