75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2011 Completed)
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Stacie H's 2011 Challenge
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95.
Mile 81 Sadly, this was merely 'OK'. The writing wasn't bad, but it didn't grab me, and the plot was almost farcical, which I don't think was intended. Also, it's really short- the description says 80 pages, but it's only 52 when downloaded to my Nook and 13 of those pages are taken up by the cover, the title page, the copyright page, the table of contents (Seriously? We need a table of contents for a short story?) and the teaser for his next book (which didn't come across as any more gripping than the short story it was tacked on after). It may improve on re-reading but my overall impression was 'meh'.
96.
A Light In The Dark I like the author and the Universe he's made. This novella is a good glimpse into the Solar Clipper 'verse but not the best starting point if you aren't familiar with his Solar Clipper stories.
100.
Crank I am soooo not the target audience for this book :/ On the good side, it was written very well and makes me want to go find more poetry by Ms. Hopkins. On the bad side, the story itself is heavy-handed and uses nearly every cliche there is. If you have ever watched an 'after-school special' or Lifetime Television movie about drug use you've already experienced this book. In a quicker format.
103.
Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages Not as humorous as it sounded. Pretty boring, actually.104.
William Morris This is the worst biography I've ever read... ever.
105.
Sisters Red The story was good, but I didn't really like the way each chapter was told in alternating first person point of view.
106.
10 Extreme Vintage Sci/Fy Tales to Die For This is a good collection of vintage sci-fi (and one Fantasy) tales.
107.
Grimm's Fairy Tales108.
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers I listened to the audio version and was so drawn in by the story and the narrator that I actually missed my bus stop- on more than one occasion! I love it when that happens. Well, not the missing the bus stop part... the being completely engrossed in a great story part, LOL!
109.
Frostbite A good, solid treatment of a classic monster. This isn't some Urban Fantasy peopled with supernatural studs-of-the-month (don't get me wrong, I read and enjoy quite a lot of that genre!)... the werewolves are monsters. Big, strong, fast, implacable monsters! The writing itself is pretty solid and very visual... it would be easy to turn this (or any of Wellington's books for that matter) into a movie.
110.
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse I didn't like all of the stories in this anthology, but the ones I did I really liked.
111.
The First Dragoneer Cliched plot, rushed pacing, awkward descriptions and expositions, clumsy dialog... This thing has an almost 4 star GR rating?! I suspect most, if not all, of the reviewers may have a personal affiliation with the author.112.
A History of Venice: Queen of the Seas Clear, well structured and interesting... and about a subject I knew almost nothing about! My favorite kind of non-fiction :)
113.
Kell's Legend Parts of this were well done (the action sequences, the atmosphere description, the 'monsters') but almost everything else was disappointing. The dialog was flat and forced in most places. The characters were all one dimensional and the pacing was jerky and in places incomprehensible.
114.
Ghost Story I'm done with this series, and hopefully the author is too. In the first 11 books Butcher builds up an interesting world filled with quirky, vibrant, sympathetic people. In the 12th book he destroys everything that made it fun, and in the 13th book he abandons it.
117.
The Wind in the Willows My only previous experiences with this story were the Disney animated short and the ride. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney... but they certainly failed to capture the wonder and beauty of the book- understandable, since this is definitely written to be read or listened to, not watched. Each of the chapters are related but separate vignettes, and the language is beautiful- at times silly, elegant, fanciful, comforting and melancholy. I'm so glad I read this!
118.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Writings I didn't quite finish this in time for Halloween. 119.
Watership Down This is one of my favorites. I listened to the audio version of this, which was very good. Still, I think I prefer the print version. :) 120.
Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion
123.
The Water Babies124.
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements125.
A Little Princess126.
The Secret Garden127.
The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"
128.
The Silver Chair129.
The Horse and His Boy130.
The Jewel of Seven Stars131.
Specimen 313
75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
Emlyn's Moon (other topics)A Christmas Carol (other topics)
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The Jewel of Seven Stars (other topics)
The Silver Chair (other topics)
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I really liked it- couldn't put it down :) I haven't posted anything under the group read thread yet because I'm still sifting through my thoughts about it, if that make sense!