Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2012/What I've Read in 2012

#15 Home Again by Kristin Hannah . Not a bad story, a predicatable romance. I've just read better by this author.

#12 - Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote

I've got to see the movie now and compare it with the book.

They are very different.

I did a little wiki search and that was also the idea I got. Still haven't watched the movie, though (too much work and other stuff). But thanks for the heads up, Virginia.

Love You More – Lisa Gardner
Bone Harvest - Mary Logue

A couple of thrillers. LG is an old favourite and this was a good one from her. The Bone Harvest was a little weak on plot, but the psyche of the killer was keenly observed, and I enjoyed it, despite its flaws.

Color of Law – Mark Gimenez

I do like the occasional legal thriller and this was a great one. Our hero’s elite, privileged life as a corporate lawyer (I accidentally mistyped corrupt there for a minute, which isn’t far off the mark either!) falls apart spectacularly overnight when he is forced to go up against a powerful Senator and defend the prostitute accused of killing his son. Some have said it’s too pat, particularly in the way that things turn out so well and fall together so happily in the end, but, you know, sometimes that’s not a downside to a novel. I didn’t find it detracted at all and I really enjoyed this one. There was also a very nice note of sharp wit running through it, which was fun. I’ve added the rest of the author’s novels to my Wish List.

The Distant Hours – Kate Morton

At first when I opened this one up I had no clue why I’d added it to my Kindle as it seemed to be a generational/family issues novel – which isn’t my genre at all. But I was hooked from the start with the intriguing notion of a lost letter finally being delivered after fifty years sparking off a mystery from the past. As it turned out, the letter was pretty incidential but it was the starting point to more than one fascinating mystery in the lives of three elderly sisters. I need to read more from this author. Wonderful stuff.


The Strain – Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

I’m a huge fan of many of Del Toro’s movies, so when I saw his name on this vampire invasion novel, I had to give it a try. And it wasn’t half bad. I’d place it at least on a par with Salem’s Lot. And it’s the first part of a trilogy, so even better. It had many of the staples of the genre of course – the genre-savvy kid, the old Eastern European foe of the Master vampire – but there were new and equally fascinating characters to join the gang of the Good and some really nice set pieces.

LabRat

Ravens – George Dawes Green

This started off with a quirky idea – a family wins millions on the super lottery and come to the attention of a couple of passing thugs, who keep them hostage in their home and demand half the winnings. But it was so poorly executed that it became increasingly irritating to read. More and more, none of the characters acted in any logical manner and the further I read into the book, the more the plot made zero sense.

I think that the author may have been trying to imply that the family was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, but if so he has no idea of the psychology of the condition. I was amazed, when reading the Amazon reviews (many of which are as incredulous as I am that this book was so terrible and so overhyped by the publisher to boot) that this apparently took 13 years to write! Truly the most remarkable thing about this one. I want my wasted evening back. :p

The Night Watchman – Mark Mynheir

The first in a series of Chandler-esque thrillers. Not the best I’ve ever read for plot, but the principal characters were likeable and engaging and I wouldn’t mind reading more.

LabRat

# 13 - 35 sonnets - Fernando Pessoa

# 14 - Antinous A Poem - Fernando Pessoa

Straight from the early 20th century, two different works by my favorite poet. Antinous was a pleasant surprise (albeit a very short one)- like nothing else I had ever read from the ortonym, a tragic love story more simple in the wording than it's usual from this author.

35 sonnets is more in the usual introspective style of Fernando Pessoa. The predominant themes include the exploration of the id/ unconscious mind and the fragmentation of the soul, with a touch of angst caused by the loss of childhood and its innocence.

This last work seemed more consistent with the rest of Pessoa's criations than Antinous, but looking at the dates of both works, Antinous was written before the consolidation of his work which may explain its difference.

EDIT: Fernando Pessoa is the ortonym, not one of the heteronyms as I had accidentaly written.

#17 Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
Nice summer read about three women gathering at Cape Cod.

#18 Something Blue by Emily Giffin
This book was a pleasant surprise. I've read so much 'chick lit' where the main character wasn't likeable but got away with her poor behavior etc... In this book, the vain main character reaches a point where her selfish behavior catches up with her and she realizes she needs to change.

Joan

#4 Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

I had my reservations about this one, truth be told. I'm a huge Michael Crichton fan, and having someone else finish his novel didn't sit right with me. Until I read it. Richard Preston did a commendable job of fitting into the same writing style as Michael Crichton. It was a seamless transition between to two writers, to the point where I have no idea where Richard Preston's contributions came in. What I found interesting is how complete this novel felt to me. And I wish that they had pulled in another author to clean up the last book, Pirate Latitudes, which was a complete manuscript found after Crichton's death in 2008.

Micro follows the tale of seven graduate students, all scientists in some area or another. They go to Hawaii to investigate a company that is looking to hire them. But, before they go, one of the student's brother goes missing - supposedly murdered by the CEO of the same company. When Peter confronts the CEO, Vin Drake, about Eric's death, Drake beats him up. All of the students are ushered into the bowels of the company and Drake uses the company's new technology to shrink them all down to half an inch tall. They are then dumped out into the Hawaiian rainforest, in hopes that nature will kill them. Now, they must avoid succumbing to the various horrors of the natural world, the impending danger of the "micro-bends," and attempts by Drake to ensure that they are killed.

What I like about this one is that it isn't a cutesy ride like "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids." There's no cutesy flight on the back of a bee or swimming in a bowl of cereal. This is nature at its most beautiful and its most deadly all at the same time. At half an inch tall, even an ant possessed the power and ability to kill them. It's definitely a page-turner, and I loved every moment of it.

The Owl Killers – Karen Maitland

I loved this intriguing little historical novel. In the medieval village of Ulewic, the villagers labour under the yoke of superstition and fear of the mysterious, vigilante Owl Masters. When a commune of women set up on the village outskirts, the scene is set for a clash of cultures that is doomed to end in tragedy.

I’d always understood that life was physically hard for those living in those times, but this book made me realise just how psychologically tough it must have been. When the world was a mysterious, threatening place all around you, when scant scientific knowledge of how everything worked meant that superstitions and fear of almost everything ruled every minute of your day and your every action - it must have been a terrifying and stressful world.

It also introduced me to something I had no idea existed – the Beguine Communities . Absolutely fascinating and yet another female contribution to history which seems to have been ignored and swept into invisibility.

The Wolf Chronicles 1: Promise of the Wolves – Dorothy Hearst

I am SUCH a sucker for fantasy novels involving wolves and dragons – especially if they have a bond with humans. So this one seemed to be a no-brainer. Sadly, it didn’t live up to its early promise and although I was invested in the characters from early on, I rapidly got restless and then bored as the author seemed to spend too much time on the small details.

I did enjoy it in the end, but as book one came to something of a conclusion and didn’t end on a cliffhanger, I don’t have much interest in reading the rest of the trilogy. Shame as the idea of exploring the bond between wolf and human 14,000 years in the past was a good one. It just could have been better in the execution.

Dark Places – Gillian Flynn

I really enjoyed this unusual thriller, which kept me guessing to the end. Libby Day is damaged – haunted by the night, twenty-one years ago, when her mother and sisters were massacred, apparently by her brother. But did he do it? I loved the way all the little bits and pieces throughout the novel – little passing bits of information, barely noticed – came together and became important and the solution to the mystery.

The Fallen Moon I: The Dark Griffin - K J Taylor

After the disappointment of the wolves, this was more like it. A fantasy world in which griffins and humans bond. Betrayed by his Lord, Aaron finds his life spiralling into misery and worse. And in the Arena, the formerly wild griffin, Darkheart endures slavery and degradation. Two outcasts destined to find one another.

Lots of unanswered questions going into book two - I can't wait to read it.

LabRat

#19 Body Surfing by Anita Shreve


Joan

#20 Matched by Ally Condie

I was concerned when so many of the reviews on this book compared it to the Hunger Games. It sounded like it could be a cheap imitation. While this book took place in a futuristic society and there was a love triangle, it had plenty going on to keep my interest.

Joan

A Hole In The Universe – Mary McGarry Morris

Again, something I wouldn’t have thought I would have liked, but I really enjoyed this quirky little tale of Gordon, who has spent the last 25 years in prison for a crime he really didn’t commit.

Now, Gordon has to feel his way through the modern world, trying to reconnect with his family, struggling to cope with the demands of those around him who seek more from him than he feels ready to give and who are often less of a decent human being than he is, for all that they look down on him as a 'monster' and killer.

Gordon was such a sympathetic character it would have been hard not to empathise with him and it was an engaging and poignant journey. And it had a happy ending – or at least to be getting that way.

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

I absolutely adored this fantasy. A wonderfully quirky but believable world, genuinely creepy villians, a real sense of peril and intriguing characters. Just loved every moment and it left me with a huge smile on my face. Fantastic!

Breathless - Dean Koontz

Koontz has always been one of my favourite horror/suspense authors, but, lately, his books have begun to disappoint and, sadly, this one was a bit of a let-down.

The main plot was entertaining enough to begin with - our hero and heroine were typical Koontz characters and the plotline more than familiar. But towards the middle, the book descended into a mishmash of illogic. The ending was very rushed and a bit of an anti-climax. Then there was the odd insertion of several subplots with characters whose stories ran parallel to the main plot and were entirely unconnected to it for most of the book.

In the end, a couple of these characters interacted with the heroes, but only in the most glancing way and very briefly. And, in one case - Henry - somewhat bizarrely. It was hard not to conclude that the author shoehorned these subplots in to pad out the main plot which wasn't enough for a novel on its own and whose main elements merely rehashed several previously excellent novels such as Watchers.

Very disappointing. But I have a lot of Koontz books to get to, so I'm hoping for something better and more like classic Koontz to come.

LabRat

#21 Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

and #22 The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy
My son loved this book and insisted that I read it. I haven't read horror in a while yet I was very impressed by it.

Joan

15 - Scenas da Aldeia - Antonio Augusto de Miranda

Found this portuguese author at a free ebooks website. The story was written in the early 20th century and deals with prejudice at a small village.

16 - The Art of War - Sun Tzu

Just because I always wanted to know why Lex wanted to seize the high ground. Now I do.

17 - The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx

Another book I've read because I was curious about what exactly was in it that made some people dedicate their lives to create the society there described, whereas others hated it. The most interesting thing about it were the parallelisms with contemporary society and the current economic crisis, even though it was written over two centuries ago.

18 - Violet: A Fairy Story - Caroline Snowden Guild

Supposedly it's a children's book, but deals with some violence that wouldn't be approved today in a product targeted for kids. Didn't like the story much, but the descriptions of the fields and flowers were great.

Since comics were already inaugurated in this thread I decided to add what I've been reading these past months in that section.

19 - The Guild: Clara - Felicia Day

20 - The Guild: Bladezz - Felicia Day, Sean Becker

21 - The Guild: Zaboo - Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh

22 - The Guild: Vork - Felicia Day, Jeff Lewis, Darick Robertson

23 - The Guild: Tink - Felicia Day

24 - The Guild (vols 1, 2 and 3) - Felicia Day

I loved The Guild comics, especially the fact that they dealt with the characters' back stories.

25 - Serenity: Better Days and Other Stories (vol 1 and 2) - Joss Whedon

26 - Serenity: Float Out - Patton Oswalt

27 - Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale - Zack Whedon

28 - Serenity: Those Left Behind - Joss Whedon

I'm a Firefly fan. These books helped shape a destiny for the characters that were left hanging even after Serenity. I enjoyed them a lot, but in particular The Shepherd's Tale (I'd been dying to know Book's backstory since the beginning of the series) and Float Out (because Wash was just awesome).

#23 I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Great sci-fi tale about an alien hiding on Earth from his enemies. I'm already looking for the sequel.

Joan

I never really read the book because I came to it right after watching and thoroughly enjoying the movie and the book was very close in plot, so I felt I hadn't missed anything. But I agree it was a great story.

I haven't managed to track down the sequels, although I seem to recall I was a bit put off by the fact that they didn't continue that story, but went on with other characters and I really wanted to know what happened next after the movie ended. I could be wrong though. So if you do get to read them, I'd be very interested to hear what you thought.

Anyway, just thought I'd add my thumbs up for this one.

LabRat

I forgot there was a movie version. I'll have to check that out. I'm sure I'll enjoy that too.

The author purposely left several critical questions unanswered in the first book. I'm hoping there will answers in the sequels. The second book is at my library - I just have to go get it. The third book will be available at my library this August.

Joan

A Song Of Ice And Fire – George R. R. Martin

A Game Of Thrones
A Clash Of Kings
A Storm Of Swords
A Feast For Crows
A Dance With Dragons

Given that I had FINALLY caught up with S1 of Game of Thrones on DVD (Excellent!), I decided to treat myself at last to ADWD, which I’ve been hoarding on my Kindle. However, just a few chapters in and I found myself hopelessly lost, unable to recall how certain characters had ended up where they were and even who some people were. So I gave up and decided to go back to the start and bring myself back up to speed.

It wasn’t a chore. Second time around was every bit as enthralling as the first and just a few pages in to AGOT, I was swept away into the world of Westeros and beyond. As for ADWD, it didn’t disappoint. I loved every minute – one of those rare books that I kept reluctantly putting aside because I didn’t want to finish it too fast.

LabRat