Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50-Book Challenge 2010

OK, everyone, the new year is here, so it's time to start new lists! I'll start.

1. The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons.
Not sure if this counts, because it's 700 pages, and I only read the last 100 in 2010.
Recommended, even for those (like me) who don't know a lot about basketball, because it's just so much darn fun to read! Bill Simmons (columnist on ESPN.com, known as The Sports Guy) has a way of mixing popular culture with sports. Plus, he has the most excellent footnotes. (who else would compare basketball players to characters in the "Godfather" movies?)

2. Off Armageddon Reef
3. By Schism Rent Asunder
4. By Heresies Distressed
All by David Weber, probably best known for the science fiction "Honor Harrington" series. Fun if you like descriptions of naval combat in the days of sailing ships (and even if you don't, it's obvious the author has Done The Research, so he makes it interesting.) Also an interesting science-fictional take on the Reformation. Better than I'm making it sound.

5. The Pigman by Paul Zindel.
Can you believe that this has been out for so many years and I've never read it till now? Marketed as a Young Adult (YA) book but thought-provoking and interesting to just about all ages over thirteen.

6. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce.
Enjoyable YA book set in Pierce's world of Tortall, where Beka Cooper, apprentice Dog (policewoman) takes on a counterfeiting ring.

Yay, a new year and a new thread! Thanks for starting it.

I don't actually have anything to add right now - I've been reading non-stop as usual, but I'm too lazy to go back and work out which books I read at the end of 2009 and which were the start of this year. I was on a bit of a Robert Crais kick, devouring everything I could get by him, including two I got at Christmas which were stand-alones. Hostage and The Two Minute Rule. I enjoyed them although I do miss Joe and Elvis.

At the moment, I've just begun Tana French's The Likeness. I have high hopes for this as I thought her first novel - In The Woods - was one of the most original I'd read in years. I'll be back when I've finished it and a few others. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been reading this year, so far....

LabRat

I finished off with 176 books for 2009. Wow!!
So far this year I have read:

1. The Penguin Who Knew Too Much - Donna Andrews
this author has a series of light mysteries. Every title has a bird in it.

2. 'D' is for Deadbeat - Sue Grafton
I never knew about this author. She has written every letter of the alphabet up to U. I guess I have a lot of her reading ahead of me.

I am almost done with a book by Dick Francis. I like his books. Though I've only read 2 so far!
Sue

I'm in for this year. I started out with a large box of books I was given free. First one on the top of the box... 1) Saving Grace by Sarah Brady, Patrick Crowley & Eric Deters. A quick read, typical true crime story.

2) Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction By David Michaels.

I enjoy this series. It keeps my attention and moves quickly.

I finished off with 66 books for 2009. I would've had 67, but I just could not get myself to sit down at home and finish The Bourne Supremacy after I got laid off from the job where I'd been reading it at lunch time. I'll finish it eventually though, and then go on to other books for this year.

Happy reading all!

3) On Call In Hell by Richard Jadick

Autobiography of a military doctor during the Iraq War. Interesting and a quick read.

4) Evil Twins by John Glatt.

True crime stories. Another from my box of freebies.

7. Exile's Honor
8. Take a Thief
9. Arrows of the Queen all by Mercedes Lackey. Comfort reading, all about the land of Valdemar.

10. The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver. You know, I'd never read any of Deaver's works about quadriplegic forensic specialist Lincoln Rhyme and policewoman Amelia Sachs before. Great book, full of tension and suspense, unexpected plot twists, lots of scary blood and gore. Recommended.

11. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton. An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel, although I think, not one of her best. Worth reading to keep up on the series.

5) Laugh Lines by Wayne Osmond

A collection of jokes. A fun book to read. This one is getting passed on to my brother.

1. Tana French - The Likeness

As I've previously said, I was really looking forward to this one as I found her debut novel was excellent. I have to say that this one wasn't as brilliant as that one. I had some problems believing the huge coincidence that underpinned the core of the novel and it was slow to start with - 150 pages of people sitting around talking about their plan of action. Once the main character actually started the undercover work then it took off and I enjoyed it a lot. I think any second novel would have suffered slightly in comparison to the first - for me at least - and it would have been hard to match or top it. So, all in all, a really good read.

LabRat

6) Dark Of The Moon by John Sandford

A murder mystery. Good story and writing but it drags. It would have benefited by cutting about 20% to tighten it up.

2. P J Tracy - Dead Run
3. P J Tracy - Live Bait

I discovered this author (authors) in a charity shop a few years back and really enjoyed them. These two, which I got at Christmas, have elevated them right to the top of my thriller list though. Great reads, both of them. A terrific cast of characters and a good rollercoaster plot, with plenty of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat.

I enjoyed them so much, I was inspired to go back and read the other two:

4. P J Tracy - SnowBlind
5. P J Tracy - Want To Play?

6 Matt Hilton - Dead Men's Dust

I was inspired to buy this as it looked at though it may be in the same ballpark as Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels. So I was really looking forward to it. Sadly, for me, it didn't work. Firstly, I discovered too late that it was set in Britain, which rarely works for me, barring a few notable exceptions which grace my shelves.

But I soldiered on. I soon found myself skimming large sections though. Dreadfully dull characters, excruciating dialogue - I only really read the bits about the serial killer and even that character was less than engaging. So a bit of a miss all round then. Never mind - Jack Reacher's back soon and on pre-order at Amazon.

LabRat

3. Hot Money Dick Francis

4. Cockatils At Seven Donna Andrews

5. Six Geese A-Slaying Donna Andrews

6. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder Joanne Fluke

7. Fudge Cupcake Murder Joanne Fluke

8. Sugar Cookie Murder Joanne Fluke - her books come with many recipes.

7) Quofum by Alan Dean Foster.

Entertaining, well written story.

8) But I Trusted You by Ann Rule.

True crime stories. Very well written. I don't think I've ever read a bad book by Ann Rule.

12. Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff. I think Huff is an underrated writer - I always enjoy her stories, many of which have a distinctly Canadian setting. In this early novel, Darkness tries to take over the world, starting in Toronto, and our only hope is a Circle of rather odd heroes.

13. The Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff. This was in a double edition with the previous novel. A quest novel, decent and competent.

14. Bridge of the Separator by Harry Turtledove. I enjoyed Turtledove's "Legion" series, where a Roman legion from the time of Julius Caesar was suddenly transported to another world - Videssos, which is a thinly disguised Byzantine Empire. What would have happened if the Byzantines of the 11th century had fought the fatal Battle of Manzikert with a tough Roman legion on their side? You can find out by reading the Legion series.

"Bridge of the Separator" is a prequel, giving the backstory of the major villain in the Legion series. Not as good as the Legion series, but still fun for completists.

15. Between The Rivers by Harry Turtledove. Interesting tale of life "between the rivers" (primitive Mesopotamia) where gods walk the earth and deal directly with the lives of men. And what men do in return. Turtledove has done his homework. Dialogue and situations are very consistent with what's known about Babylonia in the days of cuneiform. (As far as I know.) Worth reading.

16. The Maquisarde by Louise Marley. I get frustrated by Louise Marley because she has some good ideas but I never like the way she develops them. It's probably just me. In this book, Ebriel Serique's life is changed and she joins the Resistance. OK but not compelling. It did hold my interest long enough for me to finish it, for what that's worth.

17. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton. This next installment of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is, to my mind, much superior to "Blood Noir". Anita is back on the job as a Federal marshal, taking down a rogue vampire. Except who is she actually fighting, the vampire or her supposed fellow cops? And is she turning into a monster herself? Extra points for bringing back one of my favorite characters, Edward the bounty hunter.

18. Arrow's Flight by Mercedes Lackey. More comfort reading, about the land of Valdemar.

19. The Curse of Chalion and
20. Paladin of Souls both by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've probably read these books about fifteen times each and come away with something new to think about every time. Superficially about removing a curse from the royal family ("Chalion") or finding a new purpose for one's life ("Paladin"), in actuality the books are thought-provoking meditations about courage, duty, honor, and love. And they're good stories, too. It's obvious why "Paladin" won the 2004 Hugo and "Chalion" came in second for the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Plus, there are funny bits. Strongly recommended. Don't miss these, and be sure to check out the rest of Bujold's oeuvre. You'll be rewarded.

9) Swell Foop by Piers Anthony. Xanth #25 A fast, fun, entertaining fantasy.

10) Cross Country by James Patterson. An Alex Cross mystery. Most of this story takes place in Africa. It's faster paced than most of his novels.

21. Steal Away The Sky by Nancy Kress. The best intro is to give you the blurb from the dust jacket:

"The ad had appeared on the internet: 'We are an alien race you may call the Atoners. Ten thousand years ago we wronged humanity profoundly. We cannot undo what has been done, but we wish humanity to understand it. Therefore we request twenty-one volunteers to visit seven planets to witness for us. We will convey each volunteer there and back in complete safety. Volunteers must speak English. Send requests for electronic applications to witness@atoners.com.'"

And what's it all about? Well, I don't want to give it away, but it was a pretty good read. The author shows not only what the Atoners are atoning for, but the human reaction to the deed that they are atoning for. Four stars (of five.)

22. The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow. Interesting discussion about how randomness, chance, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives. Probably the take home message is that we can't control randomness, but we can control how we react to it. And one method of defeating randomness is to persevere. After all, the more trials you make, the more likely you are to come closer to the mean! (The author actually said this in a much better and much more inspiring way that I did.) Three and a half stars.

23. First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher. The final (presumably) volume in the "Codex Alera" series. Butcher comes to a satisfying climax, ties up all the loose ends, and generally gives a darn good read. Four stars.

24. Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed by Jared Diamond. A well-researched, and chilling, tome about societies both historical and current, and how they "collapse" - that is, suffer a dramatic decrease in population and complexity. Historical examples given include the Norse in Greenland, Easter Island, the Anasazi and their neighbors in the southwestern USA. Current examples include Rwanda and its recent genocide, the difference between Haiti (mostly deforested) and the Dominican Republic (still has a lot of its forests), and the behemoth that is industrializing China - how pollution there affects the entire rest of the world.

The author paints a somber picture of how many societies commit "ecocide" - they destroy their resource base. And he points out the parallels to our situation today. Is there hope? Tough to say. It will depend on our own actions. Well worth reading. Five stars.

(P.S. Gee, can you tell I've been on vacation lately and have had loads of reading time?)

(P.P.S. Star ratings are entirely subjective and are based on how engrossed and intrigued I was when I read the book. Totally arbitrary. Your mileage may vary.)