Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2011

#41 Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

An interesting story about how genetic engineering leads to the destruction of the world as we know it. I must admit that I preferred "The Handmaiden's Tale", also by this author.

#42 Baby Proof by Emily Giffin


Joan

Storm Prey – John Sandford
Buried Prey – John Sandford

October Skies – Alex Scarrow

I wasn’t sure about this one but it grew on me in the end. A historical mystery – loosely inspired by the Donner Party – with a faint touch of the supernatural.

Last Light – Alex Scarrow
Afterlight – Alex Scarrow

I’ve always been fascinated by post-apocalyptic stories and these were among some of the best I’ve read. And made much more frightening for the fact that the cause of the end of the world as we know it – a sudden, abrupt loss of the world’s oil supply – seems all too real these days and easy to imagine. Especially when coupled with early scenes of an ordinary family going about their business - mum going for job interview, daughter at uni - which were all too easy to relate to and identify with.

Definitely one to make you think as you read with the TV news warbling in the background about world economic collapse via the Eurozone.

LabRat

The Dust of 100 Dogs – A S King

I was intrigued the moment I read the synopsis for this one:

Sadly, the actual book didn’t really live up to its promise. I thought it could and should have been much sharper and wittier, with a lot more swashbuckling derring-do, drama, excitement, pirate adventure and romance than we actually got. I realise that this was a young adult book and so I’m not really the target audience, but, still, I expected more. An interesting idea not realised all that well, unfortunately.

Timeriders 2: Day of the Predator – Alex Scarrow

Now, this was more like it. Another YA book, but full of adventure and characters you were really rooting for. I’d like to read the rest of this series.

A Simples Life: The Life and Times of Aleksandr Orlov

Aleksandr Orlov is the star of a series of UK ads , in which he bemoans the idiot humans who keep mixing up his website CompareTheMeerkat.com with a car insurance site, CompareTheMarket.com. He and his catchphrase, “Simples!” have become something of a cultural icon and following on from this runaway TV success, he’s decided to give us his autobiography. A tale of meerkat courageousness and derring-do stretching through the ages. As a huge fan of Aleksandr, I giggled quite a bit through this.

LabRat

#43 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

A touching futuristic tale, told from the first person, regarding the impact of technological advancements.

Live Wire – Harlen Coban

It’s taken a while for me to get to this latest instalment in the Myron Bolitar series – one of my favourites and one of those series where it feels more like revisiting old friends than reading a novel. As usual, Coben didn’t disappoint.

The Heretic’s Daughter – Kathleen Kent

The story of the Salem Witch Trials, told from the perspective of one family caught up in those terrible events, and in particular from 7YO Sarah Carrier. The novel vividly brings to life the terror and insanity of that short period of time when spite and malice brought death and misery to so many innocent lives. It poignantly invokes just how little evidence condemned so many to a brutal death and the absolute lunacy of the logic used against them.

But it’s much more than just the story of the trials. It’s also interwoven with the story of a mother and daughter and the effects the trials have on their relationship.

I didn’t learn until I’d finished this one that the author is a direct descendent of the Carrier family. In fact, I’d assumed throughout reading that Sarah, Martha and the Carrier family were fictional inventions thrust into the real history of the times. This was Kent’s first novel and I see that she’s written a prequel to this. I’d be very interested to read that and revisit such compelling characters.

LabRat

Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story – Adam Rex

Another YA novel that I had to read after reading the blurb. And it turned out to be a strange mixture. If I’d written a review having read just the first half of it, it might have read like this:

You really have to feel sorry for Doug – an overweight, socially awkward nerd whose social status hasn’t really improved now that he’s become a vampire. He can’t persuade any hot girls to go out in the dark with him, the rest of the school just thinks he has a bad skin problem and even the vampire mentoring program leaves him trailing as the last to be selected, just like on school sports days. And as if that wasn’t bad enough – after an unfortunate incident when he tried to bleed a panda at the zoo – he’s got sleazy tabloid producer Alan and the cast of his tacky reality show Vampire Hunters on his tail. LOL funny.

But then, around the halfway mark, the book took a very different turn. The laughs were fewer, there was a distinctly dark undertone and Doug’s character changed into something meaner and less sympathetic. And then there was the ending. Which seemed to smack of the author either losing interest or not quite knowing what to do with his characters any more. Several were left without a resolution and the ending itself was abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying.

So, all in all, a terrific start, but it just didn’t pan out. Disappointing.

Protect and Defend - Richard North Patterson

Courtroom dramas have never been my favourite genre, but there have been exceptions over the years and RNP's novels have always been amongst them. I had the distinct niggling thought that I'd read this before, but if I have it's been so long ago that I remembered nothing of the plot, so it hardly mattered. RNP showed his usual deft hand in presenting all the difficult legal, ethical and personal issues surrounding the abortion debate, treating all sides with respect, but promoting the ultimate theme that when politics, religion and vested interests get involved in such matters, it's often the most vulnerable who get forgotten as they become pawns to be tugged back and forth amongst the point-scoring.

LabRat

#46 On Hummingbird Wings by Lauraine Snelling

Maybe I can actually make 50 before the end of the year

Joan

The Bone House – Brian Freeman

An entertaining little thriller. It suffered quite a bit from Too Stupid To Live syndrome; I spent quite a bit of time muttering, “For pity’s sake, what are you doing that for? Are you thick?” as most every character did something with the totally predictable results of digging themselves deeper into the hole or putting themselves in mortal danger. And I sussed out two of the ‘twist’ characters right from the get go. Note to author: if you don’t want to tip your hand don’t make one of those characters a teen reporter who is puzzlingly uninterested in the fact that her roommate might have witnessed a murder, rather than being gung ho to investigate her first major scoop! :rolleyes:

But for all of these flaws, I found myself on the edge of my seat throughout and thoroughly enjoyed this one.

The Tudor Secret (Elizabeth’s Spymaster I) – Christopher Gortner

A thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery. The author takes a ‘what if’ and weaves real historical characters with that of his protagonist, Brendan Prescott, a foundling thrust into the intrigue and danger of the Tudor court. Gortner breathes new life into the characters we know so well and mingles them with engaging ones of his own.

While checking the author’s name on Amazon for this entry, I discovered to my delight that it’s apparently book one in a series. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the others when they appear.

Blood Harvest – S J Bolton

Part murder mystery, part supernatural thriller, this was a terrifically atmospheric, creepy little story, populated with thoroughly likeable characters and with the chills offset by a warmly human romance and a deft touch of humour throughout.

LabRat

#43 - The prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

Mandatory for one of my classes. Not as machiavellian as I thought.

#44 - Relato de un naufrago - Gabriel García Márquez

Originally it was published in a colombian newspaper as a first hand account of a sailor who was adrift for several days. Years later, after García Márquez was already in exile in Paris, and it was known that he was the ghost writer behind the story it was published as a book. It's great.

#45 - Sourcery - Terry Pratchett

I liked it but it's not the same as the first two novels.

# 46 - Cien años de soledad - Gabriel García Márquez

I couldn't help it after "Relato de un naufrago". I had to read this one too. And it didn't disappoint.

#47 Escape by Barbara Delinsky

This wasn't a bad book but I've enjoyed some of her other works much more than this one.

Carrion Comfort – Dan Simmons

A dark short from this horror author. Willie, Melanie and Nina are ‘emotional vampires’, who have spent several lifetimes playing The Game – using The Ability to push humans into acts of atrocity/murder for which they get points, each vying to top the other’s acts of violence. Then Melanie tires of The Game and wants out…leading to all out war between her and Nina as they each use the humans around them as weapons to bump each other off. Darkly amusing, it reads better than it sounds.

The Infection – Craig DiLouie

Post- apocalyptic zombie horror. I'm such a sucker for these. First there was the Falling Down – as millions around the world collapsed screaming. The world was in a state of shock. Then three days later, The Screamers woke up…and they were hungry.

The first two thirds of this one spent more time on the characterisations and relationships between a small band of survivors rather than zombie massacres, which made it more interesting. I lost a bit of interest in the last third, which dealt with an epic battle between the two.

Bone House – Betsy Tobin

Elizabethan England and the death of a village woman brings long-buried, dark secrets to light. An intriguing historical murder-mystery. Very enjoyable.

Darkness – Belinda Bauer

A superb psychological thriller – focusing less on the gruesome aspects of the murders themselves, than how they and the investigation affects the police and villagers caught up in them and is subverted by the personal agendas of everyone involved. Excellent stuff. Can’t wait to read her other two novels.

Arcadia Falls - Carol Goodman

Left penniless after the sudden death of her husband, Meg Rosenthal is forced to give up her comfortable life and take up a job at private college, Arcadia Falls, where old secrets of betrayal and murder wait.

An intriguing little romantic thriller in the style of Mary Higgins Clark (although I think Goodman's writing style is more surefooted and polished than MHC's). At times melodramatic, often contrived, yet the central characters were engaging enough to keep me up to the small hours reading and to have a lump in my throat at the ending. Hugely enjoyable.

LabRat

#49 Summer Island by Kristin Hannah

This writer does a great job with relationships between women in her books and she doesn't disappoint with this book.

#50 Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

Great mystery about a woman who isn't who she thinks she is.

I didn't think I was going to make fifty books.

Yeah!

Yay!! Well done, Joan!

LabRat

# 47 - O Livro de Cesário Verde (Cesario Verde's book) - Cesário Verde

After the poet died, at age 32, his closest friend had this book published following Cesário's instructions. He left out the poems that embarrassed the poet and included the one's he wanted - including the last poem he ever tried to write (trying to delay death) and whose form is incomplete, but included in the book, nevertheless. Cesário Verde was one of those who never got to see his talent recognized in life, but is currently acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in portuguese realism.

I studied some of his works in school but recently found this little book that compilated most of his writings and couldn't resist it.

# 48 - Heat Wave - Richard Castle

# 49 - Naked Heat - Richard Castle

Just for fun reads. I've been watching the show and wanted to know what the books were all about. Entertaining.

And still one book to go to reach 50. (But I'll make it this year)

# 50 - Heat Rises - Richard Castle