Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2013/What I've Read In 2013

23-27. The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Under Sea, Under Stone
The Dark Is Rising
Greenwitch
The Grey King
Silver on the Tree

I've read this series so much that I've got the first parts of the poem memorized. The series follows several children as they get involved in the battle between the Light and the Dark. Will Stanton finds out on his 11th birthday that he is the last of the Old Ones of the Light, and that he is the Sign-Seeker, the one to find the six signs that will become one of the objects of the Light to fight the Dark. There was a movie a few years ago, but they changed so much of the source that I never watched it.

When the Dark is rising,
Six will turn it back.
Three from the circle,
Three from the track...

Right there with you!

And me. Wonderfully magical. If you enjoy these and haven't already, check out Alan Garner's children's books. Especially Elidor, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, The Moon of Gomrath and The Owl Service. All imbued with same sense of mystery, magic and sheer spookiness.

LabRat :-)

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

Morton deftly weaves her tale of dark, buried family secrets finally being dragged into the light, flitting back and forth through the various generations/eras to reveal the truth of a decades-old mystery with aplomb.

Morton's novels are like interlocking puzzles, where you get the various pieces, bit by bit, often out of order, by way of a myriad of twists and turns, until they slot together to make a satisfying whole.

Always a complete joy to read and this one made me cry at the end.

LabRat

Sorry for the gigantic post! I have been away for too long and have read a lot during that time...

#17 - Old Sailors - Jorge Amado

#18 - Brandwashed - Martin Lindstrom

An interesting book about consummer manipulation and pervasive marketing techniques.

#19 - Moving Pictures - Terry Pratchett
#20 - Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett

So far Reaper Man has been my favorite Discworld book. Bill Door has many great moments while enjoying/tolerating his mortality. I highly recommend this one.
Moving Pictures was fun, especially because of Gaspode, the wonder dog. I have a terrible memory and, having read this book in May, remembering a character's name for over two weeks is proof that it was something special.

#21 - A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
#22 - A Clash of Kings - George RR Martin
#23 - A Storm of Swords - George RR Martin

While on vacation I accidentaly watched parts of the first episode of Game of Thrones S1. Didn't think much about it, but my curiosity was piqued. Later I found my local library had copies of the A Song of Ice and Fire books and started reading them. Ended up as a fan of both the books and the tv show [which I started watching religiously].

#24 - Nine Stories - JD Salinger

One of the finest books I've ever had the pleasure of reading/devouring.

#25 - Fernando Pessoa - Richard Zenith

A biography of my favorite author. For the groupie in me.

#26 - Frozen Heat - "Richard Castle"

Not bad, but I am losing some interest in the story. The best part was the mystery dissipating around Heat's mother's death. I'm much happier watching the show right now than reading the Heat books.

#27 - Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion

Zombies in love. Weird but well orchestrated. The characters were great - different from the movie in some aspects, though. The book is harder and somewhat philosophical in its approach of human relationships and emotions.

#28 - Caim - José Saramago

Once again Saramago took the Bible and made something completely new (and, to some ,subversive) out of one its main stories. Cain is a tragic character, a puppet of a higher power (good or bad is uncertain at the beginning), that travels through time and place as a punishment for murdering his sibling.

#29 - Anne of Avonlea - LM Montgomery

Read it because of my curiosity to know what happened to Anne. It was a little disappointing, but I'm still reading the whole Anne series.

#30 - Size 14 is not fat either - Meg Cabot
#31 - Size 12 and ready to rock - Meg Cabot
#32 - She went all the way - Meg Cabot

My light reading period started with these three. Size 12 and ready to rock is the best in the Heather Wells series. There's character growth, a change in tone and it is better than the previous three books.
She went all the way is not part of the same series. It seemed to be a stand-alone story. It has one or two moments and has scenes that would work well visually. But it wasn't one I appreciated all that much.

#33 - Some we Love, Some we Hate, Some we Eat - Hal Herzog

I had no idea that anthrozoology even existed before I read this book. It's great and well researched, apart from having wonderful stories of people the author has met through the years. It is all about animals: why humans adore, protect and adopt some species as pets, while other animals are considered pests; how the perspective on animals as experiment subjects has evolved through time; is there an ethical processing of meat for human consumption... The range of topics is endless and it makes for a great read.

#34 - Falling for her fiancé - Cindi Madsen

An okay light read. Entertains.

#35 - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Joanne Fluke
#36 - Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Joanne Fluke

A little lukewarm, despite the brutal murders. Nice characters, though (who will probably end up dead later in the series because there are about as many Lake Eden residents as books in this series).

#37 - The Casual Vacancy - JK Rowling

It took a while to finally get to the part of the story when the plot moves forward, but it was a rollercoaster ride after that. I loved this book and its twists. It's great food for thought.

#38 - Forward the Foundation- Isaac Asimov

Not Asimov's finest work. I'm currently reading Foundation and it is many times better than this prequel.


#39 - Heat Wave - MJ Friedman
#40 - Exile - MJ Friedman
#41 - Deadly Games - MJ Friedman

I had to judge the L&C novels for myself. These weren't terrible but I confirmed what everyone else has told me and wrote about so far: the characters are acting out of character (from the show, not the comics). They're almost always apart, and there is practically no team work involved. The author is good with action scenes and super stuff, but there's a lack of chemistry between Lois and Clark, that I missed. Most fanfics are way better.


#42 - The woman in black - Susan Hill

I can't stomach horror movies but horror stories don't have quite the same impact. This one was okay. It was creepy enough.

#43 - Pastoralia - George Saunders

The best surprise I've had this year. It is a collection of tragicomic short stories set in the same satirical dystopia. It starts with two people pretending to be a caveman and cavewoman in a modern scenario. The goat in the slot is something I'm still wondering about.

#44 - Dead Sea - Jorge Amado

Another story of men of the sea. Not one of my favorites but there is no doubt that Amado was a master. Old Sailors was moving. Dead Sea is heartbreaking.

#45 - The Princess Bride - William Goldman

As fun as the movie. Buttercup appears to be smarter on the screen and Humperdinck seems a better person at the beginning. I liked it very much.

#43 The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult


Interesting story about a woman who befriends a old man to discover he was an SS officer. An engaging story but not as good as some of this writer's other works.

Joan

Dead Scared - S J Bolton

DI Lacey Flint's second adventure turned out to be just as entertaining as the first with an intriguing, suspenseful plot and some nice peripheral characters and character development. I really hope we see more of Harry and Evie in the next book.

LabRat :-)

The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths

I picked this one up as part of a charity lot and wasn't expecting more from it than a bog-standard thriller. Which is exactly what I got. But it filled a couple of hours out in the garden on a sunny afternoon, so I can't complain.

Cast Into Doubt - Patricia MacDonald

I was looking for something to keep me occupied while waiting for a delivery, so dl this from my local library. Was glad I did, as it turned out to be a cracking little mystery thriller in the manner of Harlan Coban or Phillip Margolis.

I see the library has a small pile of others by the same author, so expect I'll be raiding them shortly.

Until It's Over - 'Nicci French'

French is a bit of a hit and miss author for me. But I did enjoy this one, especially the central conceit of essentially covering the same events twice, from two different points of view.

Missing Child - Patricia MacDonald

The plot of this one was a little looser and less logical than the last, but still a good, easy read to while away an afternoon.


LabRat :-)

Ender's game series - Orson Scott Card



Earth Unaware
Earth Afire
Earth Awakens
First Meetings
Ender's Game
Ender's Shadow
Shadow of the Hegemon
Shadow Puppets
Shadow of the Giant
Ender in Exile
Shadows in Flight
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind

The series is set in a future where mankind is facing annihilation by an aggressive alien society, an insect-like race known colloquially as "Buggers" but more formally as "Formics". The central character, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, is one of the child soldiers trained at Battle School (and eventually Command School) to be the future leaders of the protection of Earth.

Dying Scream - Mary Burton

A reasonably entertaining thriller. Wasn't too taxing on the brain but sometimes that's just what you want.

Blind Spot
Blind Rage
Both by Terri Persons

I just loved this series - a sort of cross between an FBI thriller and Medium. The thriller elements were well done and I just loved the relationships. Lots of fun banter, too and some serious UST.

With strong, fun characters, light-hearted spookiness and good plotting, I'd just love to see this as a TV show.

LabRat :-)

#44 Prodigy by Marie Lu

Next book in the Legend series. Lots of neat revelations about the Republic and their enemy the Colonies.

Joan

The Bone Box - Gregg Olsen

I don't even know where to begin on what was wrong with this. So many things irked me. The constant POV shifts, the clunky insertion of character backstory and plot facts that often made it read more like a newspaper article than a novel. The fact that our heroine solved the 20YO mystery in a couple of hours, by spotting a couple of glaringly obvious discrepencies and after chatting with just two people and how everything was abruptly wrapped up in a gallop.

Certainly won't be checking out any more from this author.

The Falcons Of Ice and Fire - Karen Maitland

I love Maitland's quirky blends of supernautral elements and historical drama. This was an entertaining read but probably my least favourite. Not least because it left things open-ended. Half hoping that might be because there's a sequel in the works.

Chaos Theory
Innocent Blood

Both by Graham Masterton

Still happily browsing through my local online library. I enjoyed both of these - both very different in plot and tone. The others in the library seem to be short story collections, sadly. I'd have been interested in checking out more.


LabRat :-)

#45 The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

This is the third book in the "I am Number Four" series. My kids enjoy this series. It's entertaining but not as good as other similar series.

The Affair - Lee Child

Just finished this one at 3 am. Started it this afternoon and couldn't put it down until I was done. As usual, Jack Reacher took no prisoners as this one filled in a blank in his past. Loved it. And thankfully I've the next book in line ready and waiting on my Nexus.

LabRat :-)

A few years ago I read a book by Nancy Pearl, Seattle Librarian, called "Book Lust" - just a list of books that she liked and recommended.

Lee Child's Jack Reacher books were in the section titled, "Too Good To Miss". I agree.

Definitely. As I've said before, these really shouldn't work for me. But I can't get enough of Reacher. . I read A Wanted Man yesterday. As before didn't put it down till I finished in the small hours.

I'm impressed with the way Child manages to give us the same formula book after book, hitting all the reassuring notes we've come to expect and love, yet managing too to make it fresh. Unlike many other authors, it's yet to go stale.

AWM was no exception. The biggest mistake the bad guys made was picking up a hitch-hiking Reacher to use as camouflage. Typical Reacher mayhem ensues, with the bad guys being reassuringly and thoroughly stomped on in a highly satisfactory manner.

LabRat :-)

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton


Another tour de force from Morton. Think this one is my favourite so far.

I'm up to date now with this author, sadly. Hope she writes something new soon.

LabRat :-)

#46 Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Third book in the series about the Caster world and the Lena/Ethan romance. Lena's decision in the last book has serious consequences.

BTW, Lab Rat, I just picked up "The Secret Keeper". So far, I like it.

Joan

Glad you're enjoying it!

The Boat House - Pamela Oldfield

I was hoping for something like Kate Morton with this one - but sadly not. The characters and plot were okay, but what made it a hard slog was the out of sync setting. It was supposed to be 1912 but everything about it seemed decades later. This kept jolting me out of the story just as I was being drawn into it.

The 9th Judgement - James Patterson

A charity shop pickup. I've never been a big fan of Patterson's sole-authored novels - or, indeed the Women's Murder Club series - and this did nothing to change my mind. Used up an hour of so easily enough though.

#47 The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Definitely a great read! The author did a great job of slowly revealing the mystery of what happened on that summer afternoon, with great character development too.

Joan