Challenge: 50 Books discussion
2010
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Carrie's reading list - 2010
I have that on my TBR list as well, I can't wait!... both for the book and Tim Burton's film, it looks amazing!Good luck to you!
Thanks so much, and to you as well. I'm also excited for the film...Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland, and a pretty darn good cast...what's not to be excited about? :-)
2) Jane Bites Back: A Novel (Michael Thomas Ford)More a book for Jane Austen fans than vampire fans (his differences in vampire lore might put fang fans off), and kind of a slow start, but it redeemed itself. Had fun with the premise that some of the world's most famous writers (since deceased) continue to thrive and influence modern literature.
3) The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)YA book that I picked up because of the upcoming film (I notice I do that a lot...), but surprised me, in a good way. Even though I'm outside the author's target audience, I'll likely come back to the series.
Loved the Percy Jackson series... very enjoyable. Try to read the series, they're lots of fun.
4) The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)This is slowly becoming somewhat of a guilty pleasure, I picked up 2 and 3 in one shot at Target, and I think the cashier laughed slightly, but who cares. Loved the correlation with The Odyssey.
I love the Olympians series, too. I'll be starting #3 soon.
5) The Titan's Curse (Rick Riordan)Continuation of the Olympians series...still good, but I really gotta get to something else...
6) They Do It With Mirrors (Agatha Christie)Liked Miss Marple much more than Hercule Poirot...so there's some hope yet.
7) The Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan)More Olympians...it looked so promising that I'd break away from these when I finished Agatha Christie...but apparently not. The one thing I expected as the books went on, is that they'd get a little...darker, like the Potters did. The character is growing up, so too is the audience, it's okay to make it a little more adult. Surprised to find that I liked Daedalus, and ended up thinking less of Hera
8) Incarceron (Catherine Fisher)Something a little denser than Percy Jackson, but still a young adult book. Very interesting premise, and I finished it in a day if you want to use that as an indication of how well I liked it.
9) Seeing Redd (Frank Beddor)Number two in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy. Took me a while to get back in the swing of things and place the names, but still entertaining.
10) The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan)
Think I'm ready for the movie(s) now...bring it on Hollywood. :)
12) Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths (Bernard Evslin)YA book from my past that I rediscovered and indulged in thanks to the Classical Mythology kick I'm on.
13) Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart (Beth Pattillo)Long over due, but finally getting back into reading after a few weeks off. Loved this one more than Beth's other Austen inspired book. For awhile, I really thought one of the main male characters would turn out to be a Darcy...and found that I'm one of the many Darcy lovers that the author pokes a little fun at.
14) Black Lotus (Laura Joh Rowland)Second of the Sano Ichiro mysteries I've read (not in order), but I liked this one better. Mysterious fire, secret cult, character deaths...almost a little too much intrigue, but fun.
15) Eyes Like Stars (Lisa Mantchev)Very entertaining YA book, loved the setting and almost all the characters...not wholly crazy about Nate though...
16) Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser And Curiouser (Edited by Richard Brian Davis)Honestly...finally glad I'm done with this. Now I won't feel guilty about reading something frivolous.
17) Vampire Darcy's Desire: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation (Regina Jeffers)Good parts and bad parts, but left me feeling ambivalent.
18) Brigid of Kildare (Heather Terrell)Quite a pleasant surprise with this one, but for how long it took me to get through 200 pages...I feel so behind...
Goodness, I feel like such a slacker right now...not nearly as far along as I would like to be. But, I've got another one down, and that's what counts (sorry, bad pun).19) Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits (Robin McKinley)
Five tales, some good, some bad...usually around 50 pages each. A nice, easily paced read. It's made me curious about her 'fire' collection.
20) The Red Pyramid (Rick Riordan)I feel like I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things, and with the new Riordan book...I don't care that I'm not his target demographic, it was still entertaining. Loved Muffin, but I couldn't shake the feeling of this being a little too close to his other mythology based series, Percy Jackson. I suppose only time will tell.
21) Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy (Edited by Andrew M. Greeley)A collection of Irish inspired short stories, some better than others. Felt the first half of the book contained material more fitting to the title than the second half. But, still good.
22) Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (Robin McKinley)Easy, frivolous (re)read. So slacking on the 'epic' part of my book reading this year.
23) Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman)First Nook book read. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Each book of his I finish gets better than the one that preceded it.
24) A Matter of Magic (Patricia C. Wrede)
Didn't know it was a combination of two books, but highly enjoyable nonetheless. So pleased with the ending but I don't want to spoil anything.
25) The Serial Killers Club (Jeff Povey)Finally reached half way. This one was...really quirky. I'd been meaning to get it for awhile now, and finally found it as an e-book for my Nook. You might think the title's a joke...but no, and yet, I was hooked from the first paragraph of the prologue.
26) Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged (Carrie Bebris)Oh...I had it so wrong...
27) Pandora (Anne Rice)In finishing this one, I've come to realize that I've never truly had a favorite of Anne Rice's vampires...until now. I only wonder at it's taking so long for me to finish...
29) Soulless (Gail Carriger)Can't wait to read the others in the Parasol Protectorate. Also surprised to find my favorite character thus far is a werewolf...I don't really know how I feel about that.
What's not to like about werewolves? Unlike other paranormals they're primal, warm blooded and, well, furry. Anyway, welcome to the Alexia Tarabotti fan club.
@ Donna: I leave the werewolves to my friend, I'm the vampire fan. But I found so far that the vampires in the series leave a little to be desired. Whether or not I was reading the description right (more likely 'not'), I see Dolores Umbridge in my head whenever I read the Countess, the other four (who seem like persistent characters) we've been introduced to seem a little one dimensional just yet...with the obvious exception of Lord Akeldama, and he is a bit more flamboyant than I am used to with the undead variety.Regardless, thank you for the welcome; I'm sure that when I get to the other books in the series, that I will have just as much fun.
30) The Magicians (Lev Grossman)Equal parts Narnia and Potter, add in alcohol, sex, and a dash of language and you've got some idea of The Magicians. Good but for two things...Quentin started to annoy me by the end of the book...and...the end of the book. Possibility of a follow up...or just a slightly awkward ending that leaves the reader to insert their own theories.
31) By a Lady: Being the Adventures of an Enlightened American in Jane Austen's England (Amanda Elyot)Very entertaining and had a small amount of unexpected intrigue.
Carrie wrote: "30) The Magicians (Lev Grossman)Equal parts Narnia and Potter, add in alcohol, sex, and a dash of language and you've got some idea of The Magicians. Good but for two things...Q..."
I definitely agree with you. I loved the book right up until the last part, and then . . . disappointment.
32) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling)Started my re-readings prior to movie seven part one...also wanted to start a 'death toll' because I was more than marginally curious as to how many characters she'd killed off over the course of the series. In case you're interested, number dead by the end of book one: three.
33) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)Forgot how quickly I was able to read through these. Two of seven down and another possible two character/creature deaths...still not sure I'm counting them though.
34) Spellbound (Nora Roberts)I feel like such a hypocrite right now...my mom's been going through a lot of this author's work lately, and I freely admit to poking a little fun at her genre in general. But, when I have money to spend, and the book "promises" to combine wizardry...magic...whatever, with Ireland...I'm sold. It wasn't a very long book, but now, 83 nook pages later, I'm conflicted...
See what you get for poking fun in general? Don't feel conflicted though, Nora Roberts is a true artist in her field.
35) Suspense and Sensibility (Carrie Bebris)I loved rejoining the Darcy's on another adventure, and it was highly entertaining to me to see them mingle with the likes of Elinor and Edward Ferrars and Marianne and Colonel Brandon. The resolution to the mystery was a trifle outlandish, but still a lot of fun to read.
36) Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)Not as funny as I was anticipating, which was a bit of a let down. I've been woefully neglecting my reading lately, but at least I finally finished this one.
37) The Body in the Library (Agatha Christie)I never do get her whodunit's right...oh well. Hopefully the finishing of this book is the end of my reading slump. I don't foresee myself reaching the 50 this year...
38) How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming (Mike Brown)A surprisingly interesting look at what really happened the year the former planet known as Pluto got demoted.
39) A Darcy Christmas (Amanda Grange, et al.)This year's Christmas reading, and Darcy to boot...it was light (mostly) and frivolous (sort of) and just what I needed to get me back into the swing of things.
Carrie wrote: "38) How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming (Mike Brown)A surprisingly interesting look at what really happened the year the former planet known as Pluto got demoted."
Hi, Carrie. I saw the title of this book and considered buying it, but then I wondered if it's very technical or (just as bad) written in a way that simplifies the subject too much. It's a thin wire to walk -- did the author accomplish it?
Thanks much for the input!
Naomi
Naomi: When I was told that I'd won the book as a "first read," I was a little apprehensive. My experience with the freebies wasn't fabulous, and I was expecting a really dry, technical book. It was interesting in that, with the parts that were scientific, the author didn't really over-simplify...at least...I don't think he did...but it's not just about the science. The author lets you in to his life, it was just as much personal experience as it was astronomy. I enjoyed it well enough. I wasn't in love with it per se (having read books I liked better), but if you have even a slight interest in it, I would say read it. I'm glad I did, and I even feel like I learned a little bit along the way.
Excellent! Thanks for the info -- I will probably pick this up the next time I'm at my local bookstore.Naomi
Glad I could help spread the word. When you get around to it, I'd love to know what you thought.
40) The Dragon King's Palace (Laura Joh Rowland)At least this year I made it to 40...better than I expected especially given the last few months. That being said, I'm glad I read Black Lotus first given that there are a few spoilers for that book contained in this one, as well as the frequent mentions. But of the two, I liked the other better; this one was good, and I enjoy the characters, but this particular plot line wasn't my favorite.
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Stolen One (other topics)Shakespeare Undead (other topics)
Perchance to Dream (other topics)
Aura (other topics)
The Dragon King's Palace (other topics)
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1) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Carroll)
It was nice to finally read the original text of Alice in Wonderland. I'd seen so many different takes on the tale, and decided (much as I had with Peter Pan and Phantom of the Opera), that I had to read the original to see how it compares to the film(s); and now that Tim Burton's releasing yet another version...well, that just sealed the deal.
YA, Fantasy to the Nth absurd degree, and a lot of fun.