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Stacie's 144 in 2010
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Stacie
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Jun 13, 2010 11:01PM
47. Bag of Bones- Stephen King
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48. In the Valley of the Kings: Howard Carter and the Mystery of King Tutankhamun's Tomb- Daniel Meyerson (A well written, easy to read look at a few of the most colorful personalities of early Egyptology. It focuses on Carter, obviously, but there's also a lot about Petrie, Maspero and of course Carnarvon.)Only 96 more books to go! (which comes out to something like 16 books a month, LOL)
49. A History of Greece, Vol. 1- Cyrus Robinson (Clearly written, informative history with a heavy pro-Athenian, pro-English, pro-Christian bias. As it was written in the late 1920's that wasn't unexpected- a bit distracting at times, but not unexpected. I listened to the audio version narrated by Charlton Griffin, who has a beautiful deep, soothing voice... that kept lulling me to sleep! I think I might go for the text version of Volume 2 ;p)
50. Blockade Billy- Stephen King (Nothing particularly spectacular. The 'voice' seemed a little off to me... it was supposed to be a narrator speaking to King but it didn't ring true... the tone was more of a written reminiscence than a spoken one, and the end was completely predictable.)*edit- This is so short that I haven't quite decided if I'm going to let it keep a number of not. It was published on it's own, so it's not part of a collection. It's also not a children's book ;p It's just really short!
51. The Spartans- Paul Cartledge (I listened to the audiobook narrated by John Lee, who has a terrific voice- resonant, deep and clear. Unfortunately, there were times I found myself thinking about how much I liked his voice instead of concentrating on the material being read and like most histories you actually have to pay attention or you wind up having to back up and listen/read sections over. I liked the way this book wasn't set up entirely linearly. There were several sections and each section was told in a linear fashion, but the sections themselves overlapped in the timeline. The overall effect, once I realized that I weren't reading a standard historical format (beginning-middle-end-recap), was an overview of the subject from several slightly different perspectives which allowed me to walk away with a much richer understanding of a subject that I knew mostly from movies and literature.)
June Summary
5 books total
3 books, 1,065 pp
2 Audiobooks 18 hrs, 2 min
52. The Passage- Justin Cronin (This was recommended to me as a horror story, but it isn't. I mean, yes there are vampire/monsters, but it's more a sci-fi, post apocalyptic, magical realism adventure tale and it would make a great t.v. show :) This thing is definitely a chunkster, but it grabbed hold of me right from the beginning and just wouldn't let go... it just flew past. I'll warn you, you get to the end and yell "Whaaa-?!" and frantically search the internet to see if there is a sequel. Rest assured, there are two more books due in the series, the first in 2012 and the next in 2014. It's a long time to wait but I'm looking forward to them.)
53. A History of Ancient Sparta- Timothy Shutt (After I read The Spartans by Paul Cartledge I was looking forward to learning more about the subject and I picked up this Modern Scholar lecture. I was pretty disappointed to find out that not only did it not cover different material than Cartledge, several of the segments actually quoted from or referenced the book I had just read! I would definitely recommend that anyone interested in the subject pick up The Spartans instead of this one. It costs far less and covers far more.)
54. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- J.K. Rowling (I watched the trailer for the next movie and then had to read the book again. I wonder if I'll ever get to the point that I don't bawl like a baby on page 476.)
55. Changes- Jim Butcher (Slightly disappointing. There are some fun parts but overall this one reads as though the author is tired of the world and people he's created. I hate it when that happens to a series I really like :( I suppose I should have expected it... this is the twelfth book in the series afterall, and the previous one floundered badly too.)
56. Cycle of the Werewolf- Stephen King (Another of King's 'experiments in writing'. It feels like sacrilege coming from me... but this just wasn't very good. It was so far from King's usual writing style that I wonder if he actually wrote it! I would recommend this only to a die-hard Stephen King fan with a burning need to read everything he's written. For everyone else... go with something else. Anything else.)
57. Sundiver- David Brin (Proof, in case anyone doubted, that men can write Mary Sue's. This was just bad.)
July Summary
6 Books total
5 Books 1,712 pp
1 Audiobook 7hrs, 42 mins
58. The Postman- David Brin (On the advice of friends I gave this a try, even though the last thing I read by the author was so bad. This one was a lot better; the writing was tighter, thankfully the dialog improved and nobody had laserbeams shoot out of their eyes. The pacing was still a little loose but overall it was an 'ok' read.)
59. Leviathan- Scott Westerfeld (An enjoyable read, not as weighty as some of his other themes. This is the first book in a proposed series and as such it's mostly set-up. There was a disproportionate time spent on the Darwinist's 'fabrications', probably because they were the element that was most alien to the reader, so it didn't have the classic steampunk feel.)
60. Boneshaker- Cherie Priest (Mysteries, zombies, airships, lovable rogues... all dressed out in wonderful Steampunk finery. What more can a girl ask for? Well, other than "More, please.")
61. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- J.K. Rowling (This is a great 'to-and-from-work' listen. At the end of a stressful day it's a treat to have this waiting for me.)
62. Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy- John R. Hale (Highly recommended to anyone with even a vestigial inner nerd. No dry, dispassionate listing of times and facts here! This history lives and breathes and leaves the reader feeling in turns triumphant, and melancholy. Despite being a history about events that took place over 2,000 years ago, with an outcome I already knew, I was riveted by Hale's storytelling. I begrudged every interruption from work, food, sleep... )
63. Earth Abides- George R. Stewart (At first the writing style, which is a little stilted, threw me off but by the end of the book it made sense. In the vein of most thoughtful sci-fi Stewart manages to make the reader think about human nature as much as Science and wrap it all up in a neat little story. I wish half stars were an option as this is better than the basic 3, but not quite a 4.)
64. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling (This was playing in my sister's car one day while we were driving around... so of course I had to finish it ;p I mean, you can't just leave Harry and crew hanging, right? LOL)
65. The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe- Wayne Barlowe (This should actually be somewhere around the upper 40's... but I forgot to log it. I really enjoyed the art showcased, but the text came across as pompous a lot of the time. I might have gotten more from it if I had more of a technical background in art.)
66. Pirate Spirit: The Adventures of Anne Bonney- Jeffery S. Williams (I hated this! It's not written particularly well- character development? What character development?- and it had a very definite, heavy-handed agenda which, sadly, was not to accurately depict the historical person it was based on.)
67. Jurassic Park- Michael Crichton (A reread that was just as much fun the second time around!)68. The Book of Lost Things- John Connelly (I loved this one. The story really stuck a chord with me.)
69. Soulless- Gail Carriger (I was a bit disappointed with this one. I'm not sure why I thought it would be more 'Steampunky' but it definitely is not (ok, so there's one or two elements but they seem to be obligatory and not intrinsic to the story). It's a Victorian romance- complete with copious details on fashion and obscure social maneuvering- with urban fantasy elements and an extremely weak mystery thrown in. It would probably be better appreciated by those who like Regency and Victorian romances. I didn't hate it, but I won't be buying (or reading, most likely) any of the others in the series.)
70. A short historical sketch on tapestry and embroidery- J. Getz (Interesting, but too brief. I did particularly like the pictures included, though. There were not very many, but they were things I hadn't seen before and it's inspired me to go hunt down more books on fabric arts. Unfortunately I expect that 'hunt down' is going to be an accurate description...)
71. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon- David Grann (This was terrific! I was glued to the page the whole way through... though I've decided to NEVER go to the Amazon after reading this ;p )
72. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human- Richard Wrangham (This was really interesting. There was a lot of science, but it was aimed for the layman and so not jargon heavy. The points that Wrangham made were clearly stated and logical. Granted, I am not terribly familiar with some of the theories he was refuting, but I think he did a good job.)
73. Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual- Philip Matyszak (This is a very good synthesis of available information about Roman Legions and Legionaries around 100 A.D. The best part, though, is that it's funny. Yes, it's factually accurate, but it's also irreverent and witty.)
74. It- Stephen King (In honor of the Halloween season I picked up one of my favorites and rediscovered something about King's writing. When he hit his mark you can read a book fifty times and find something new to be scared of every time!)
75. The Gunslinger- Stephen King (This was a book club selection, and a re-read for me. If possible, I liked it even less the second time around. There were some small scenes here and there- the scene on the hand cart comes to mind- but overall there was nothing that reached out and grabbed me. I didn't like or identify with the main character and I didn't like the world it was set in. I've been assured that the other books in the series are different so I'll at least give the second one a go, but I expect this was the last time I'll pick Gunslinger up.)
76. The Puppet Masters- Robert A. Heinlein (I really enjoy Heinlein. His works are often (erm... okalways) loaded with dated (read 'currently unpopular') philosophies and viewpoints but they are also fun and exciting adventure stories (Well, for the most part... I've never thought much of 'Stranger in a Strange Land'). Even when he starts expounding on an idea you don't agree with, you actually think about why you don't agree... that alone is worth the time spent reading. Then when you add in alien menaces, spaceships and flying cars... well, that's like finding out you can get all your recommended vitamins and minerals in a cookie!)
77. The War for the Oaks- Emma Bull (MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.....This was a book club read. I expected to enjoy it since it was Urban Fantasy- arguably one of the first in the Genre- but sadly I just couldn't get into it. The writing, especially the dialog, was very clumsy... and I just couldn't get past the fact that the last half of the book was a quest to 'Free Willy'. ::shudders:: The plot itself is standard UF fare- mortals being caught up in the machinations of the Faerie Courts- but the construction is poor.)
78. Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian- Rick Riordan (An enjoyable, though not perfect, ending to a fun series.)
79. American Folktales, Myths, Legends- ed. Leslie Conron (Not the best collection I've ever read. Just because a tale was written down a long time ago does not automatically make it the best version available! Grrrr....)
80. The Drawing of the Three- Stephen King (My reward for slogging through 'The Gunslinger' is that this, the second book in the series, is completely different! I'm very surprised at how much better this book was (and grateful!). The writing was back to what I expect and enjoy from King- not horror, although I do love King's horror- but the tight character interaction and rich internal landscape that was completely missing from 'Gunslinger'. I'm not positive I'll finish the series, but at least I'll pick up the next book and see how it goes.)
81. Thermopylae- Paul Cartledge (Interesting, but not very tightly constructed (the epilogue especially is a meandering mess)... and the title is a bit misleading- 'Thermopylae' takes up very little of the book. Much of this is a repeat of what he covered in his earlier book 'The Spartans', which was actually much better overall. Still, a decent coverage of Spartan history... I'd give it 3 stars.)
82. Armageddon's Children- Terry Brooks (This was the audio version, narrated by Dick Hill. Normally I like Hill as a narrator, because usually he just reads and doesn't try to do 'voices'. OMG, his 'voices' are horrible. Horrible! The story itself was good... well "fun" anyway :) Brooks writes fantasy, but this one is mostly post-apocalyptic sci-fi (one of my true loves) which was a pleasant treat.)
83. Packing For Mars- Mary Roach (I laughed so hard I'm sure people must have thought I was crazy. We're not talking 'chuckles' or 'titters' or 'giggles'... we're talking full on 'belly laughs'... 'gales' of barking laughter... 'put the book down for several minutes because I'm laughing too hard to read' laughter. Roach deftly shows that the line between brilliance and absurdity is very fine indeed- if it exists at all- and she manages to do it in an affectionate and entertaining way.)
84. Full Dark, No Stars- Stephen King (Good, but not my favorite collection by him. The 'monsters' in these four stories are of the human variety, and so more viscerally horrifying than vampires or evil aliens... but since the 'human monsters' are also for the most part the main characters it was kind of hard to invest myself in them. I finished the collection feeling slightly... dissatisfied.)
85. Monster Island- David Wellington (I'm having a hard time coming up with a review for this one. On the one hand, it really isn't that good... it contradicts itself all over the place, there are plot holes large enough to drive a shambling zombie army through, and the characters are either two dimensional or unbelievable. On the other hand, I still liked it. It was fast paced and fun... or at least most of it. When his zombies stopped acting like zombies they lost what made them so horrifying and became kind of 'ho-hum'.)
86. Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas- Ace Collins (Heavy on the evangelism and light- very light- on historical sources to back up the author's claims.)
87. A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens (This was a much better way to start off the holiday season. Jim Dale's narration is terrific and the story never gets old!)
88. Embroidery: Or, the Craft of the Needle- W.G. Paulson Townsend (The plates and descriptions of embroidery pieces make this book were well worth the time... provided that you are interested in embroidery and can look past the fact that since it was written in 1907 the author has some pretty condescending opinions of the 'fairer sex'. I found it interesting but I think it wouldn't appeal to anyone not really interested in historical embroidery.)
89. Pandora's Seed- Spencer Wells (This started out well but fell apart about 2/3 of the way in. The last third of the book is disjointed- and the soapbox is very pronounced- and nothing actually ties together. By the time I got to the end I was just grateful that it was over.)
...and the last book of the year is...90. The History of the Medieval World- Susan Wise Bauer (I really liked that this book covered more than the European medieval world... Bauer covers China, India, Arabia, Korea... even a little bit on Mayan and Aztec Mexico. I also liked that, since I listened to the audiobook, I didn't have to try to figure out how all the names should be pronounced!)
Just letting you know that I've moved this thread to the 2010 Archive folder. Thanks! Hope the 2011 reading is going great!
Cover to Cover Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Boneshaker (other topics)The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe (other topics)
The Postman (other topics)
Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy & the Birth of Democracy (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)
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