12-21-2014, 06:18 PM
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#46 |
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languorous autodidact ✦
  
Posts: 4,235
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: smiling with the rising sun
Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage
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To read 50 books in 2015
Challenge Details, January-June July-December
Main Challenge ✔︎
January 1) Under Fire by Henri Barbusse, 333 pages translated from the French by Robin Buss ✭✭✭ Overly horrific for me but important February 2) Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot, 54 pages ✭✭✭✭ "I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you" 3) Buzz by Marian Salzman, Ira Matathia & Ann O'Reilly, 256 pages ✭✭ Padded, sometimes shameless, already dated, but a few good morsels 4) Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima, 392 pages translated from the Japanese by Michael Gallagher and narrated by Brian Nishii, 14 hours ✭✭✭✭✭ A subtle, passionate, restrained, descriptive, beautiful masterpiece 5) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, 303 pages ✭✭✭✭✭ Wonderfully observed love triangle and also a barbed critique 6) The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, 20 pages ✭✭✭ Good though predictable and not at all shocking March 7) Marketing for Dummies by Alexander Hiam, 384 pages 2nd edition, 2004 ✭✭ The title says it all 8) Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, 306 pages narrated by Peter Marinker, 9 hours ✭ Tries too hard and is obsessive, a beautiful muddled morass 9) King and King by Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland, 32 pages ✭✭✭✭ Marvelously progressive 10) The Master by Colm Tóibín, 349 pages ✭✭✭✭ Portrait of a gentleman 11) West with the Night by Beryl Markham, 293 pages narrated by Anna Fields, 9 hours ✭✭✭ At times lively and captivating 12) Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, 190 pages ✭✭✭✭ "Whores, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches" aka "saints and angels and martyrs and holy men" April 13) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, 224 pages narrated by Garrick Hagon, 8 hours ✭✭✭ Enjoyably folksy and witty 14) Silk by Allesandro Baricco, 114 pages translated from the Italian by Guido Waldman ✭✭✭✭ Dreamy, poetic and like silk itself May 15) Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard, 655 pages narrated by Lloyd Sherr, 17 hours ✭ I came, I saw, I survived this book 16) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, 982 pages translated from the Spanish by John Rutherford ✭✭✭✭✭ Divertido, triste, maravilloso 17) Lost Horizon by James Hilton, 201 pages ✭✭✭✭✭ Supremely transfixing philosophical adventure tale 18) Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene, 224 pages narrated by Jeremy Northam, 7 hours ✭✭✭ Humorous and with a terrific pre-revolutionary Cuba setting, but fizzles out a bit in the last quarter 19) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, 512, pages ✭✭✭✭ “love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go” 20) Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi, 175 pages translated from the Italian by Patrick Creagh ✭✭✭✭ sun surfer maintains that this is a great book 21) Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said, 256 pages translated from the German by Jenia Graman ✭✭✭✭ Immersive and exotic Caucasus-region historical fiction with a mysterious author 22) Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle, 281 pages ✭✭✭✭ Realistic, at times sad and cruel but also often funny and heart-warming, a slice of life of a young Irish lad in an increasingly dysfunctional family in the '60s living in a growing working-class town 23) Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 223 pages ✭✭✭✭ Reminiscent of a happy German fairy tale June 24) The Broken Road by Patrick Leigh Fermor, 365 pages narrated by Crispin Redman, 12 hours ✭✭✭✭✭ Posthumously salvaged from drafts and notes, this final section of Fermor's trek may lack the indefatigable perfectionist finesse of the other two but still often contains the sparkle of literary genius 25) The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, 189 pages ✭✭✭ Sparse style, a few melodramatic developments but overall affecting 26) Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, 363 pages original version ✭✭✭✭✭ Exquisite melancholy 27) The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith, 488 pages narrated by Robert Glenister, 17 hours ✭✭✭✭ The second Strike mystery is another fun old-fashioned detective story set in modern London July 28) Night by Elie Wiesel, 123 pages translated from the Yiddish by Marion Wiesel and narrated by George Guidall, 4 hours ✭✭✭✭✭ A brutal and haunting memoir made all the more poignant by its stark grey truths and sparse matter-of-fact simplicity 29) Pines by Blake Crouch, 309 pages ✭✭✭ An intriguingly mysterious and strange town, and tale, this quick and fluffy sci-fi read is a little undone by the ending but still leaves me tempted to read the next 30) The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith, 196 pages narrated by Lisette Lecat, 7 hours ✭✭✭✭ The fourth book in the Botswana-set detective series is another charming and satisfying entry 31) The Plague by Albert Camus, 283 pages translated by Robin Buss ✭✭✭ Interesting philosophically and allegorically, yet falls flat at times August 32) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, 317 pages translated from the French by Eleanor Marx Aveling and narrated by Elaine Wise, 11 hours ✭✭✭ A lacklustre plot and title character, but the detailed glimpses of a wide cast of supporting characters and small-town 19th century French life are interesting 33) Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell, 352 pages ✭✭✭ Repetitive and slightly opinionated but nonetheless well-researched and enlightening while the eye-witness excerpts scattered throughout are especially interesting September 34) Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson, 161 pages ✭✭✭✭✭ A delicate masterpiece about escaping from expected societal confines and unrealised potential 35) Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delaney, 853 pages ✭✭✭✭ Science Fiction Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy Literary Mystery 1960's/70's U.S. Counter-Cultural Semi-Pornographic Prosaic Poetic Schizophrenic Structured Joycean Epic Brilliant Mess 36) Candide by Voltaire, 136 pages translated from the French by Anonymous ✭✭✭ Oftentimes subversively funny but cartoonish philosophical adventure pitting optimism against pessimism 37) The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, 565 pages narrated by John Coveney, 21 hours ✭✭✭ Many interesting stories and ideas interwoven into an overlong and overindulgent text October 38) H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, 303 pages ✭✭✭ An interesting glimpse into falconry by way of unique personal memoir 39) The Road to Wealth by Suze Orman, 608 pages ✭✭✭✭ A comprehensive and well-explained general overview of U.S. personal financial topics that includes good simple advice November 40) Remembering Babylon by David Malouf, 194 pages ✭✭✭ Out of the darkness of the wild comes a boy… December 41) Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, 239 pages ✭✭✭✭ A lively, fun classic Scottish adventure story 42) Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, 1,246 pages translated from the French by Isabel Hapgood and narrated by Bill Homewood, 67 hours ✭✭✭✭✭ One of the best books I've ever read 43) Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, 316 pages translated from the French by Grace Frick with the author ✭✭✭✭✭ A wonderful and exceedingly realistic and philosophical historical Roman novel 44) The Untouchable by John Banville, 381 pages narrated by Bill Wallis, 15 hours ✭✭✭✭ Beautifully written portrayal of a rather emotionally barren and somewhat unlikeable Irish-English man who became an unremarkable Russian spy along with some acquaintances, and was betrayed decades later 45) A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr., 326 pages narrated by Jonathan Marosz, 11 hours ✭✭✭ Raises some interesting ideas and questions but the writing is a bit lacking 46) Love, Freedom, Aloneness by Osho, 258 pages ✭✭✭✭ Deals with how to love others and how to be happy with being alone; rambling and perhaps a bit emotionally immature at times, but nevertheless some wonderful philosophy within 47) If I Stay by Gayle Forman, 234 pages narrated by Kirsten Potter, 5 hours ✭✭✭ Young Adult tearjerker that's more a collection of scenes with cookie cutter characters, but it did keep my interest and I especially liked the eclectic and mature musical references 48) Holes by Louis Sachar, 217 pages narrated by Kerry Beyer, 4 hours ✭✭✭ Fun and imaginative book for children that weaves together backstories of a European folk and Wild West feel with a modern-day desert children's detention camp adventure tale 49) Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, 259 pages ✭✭✭✭ Take a pinch of Emma, a dash of Wuthering Heights, a sprinkle of 1930's futurism, a teaspoon of Hardy, a liberal helping of Lawrence and throw it all into a Mary Webb pot and voilà! This satire of rural English novels of the time is very funny at points despite somewhat uneven quality throughout; it holds up well even though some of its major targets are now obscure; the Austen and Brontë references were my favourite, perhaps because I was most familiar with them and thus able to pick up on the humour better 50) The Maze Runner by James Dashner, 378 pages narrated by Mark Deakins, 10 hours ✭✭✭✭ Exciting and interesting dystopian adventure YA mystery about a group of teenage boys who, memories erased, land in the middle of a giant and deadly maze ✭ - Disliked ✭✭ - So-so ✭✭✭ - Good ✭✭✭✭ - Excellent ✭✭✭✭✭ - Favourite Prior years 2014 2013 2012 2011 Last edited by sun surfer; 01-02-2016 at 01:28 PM. |
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12-24-2014, 07:28 AM
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#47 | ||||||||||
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eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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To record the books that I read in 2015.
Books read in 2015:
"When the Lion Feeds" by Wilbur Smith. Completed 2/1/15. The first book in the "Courtney" series. Quote:
"The Hub: Dangerous Territory" by James H. Schmitz. Completed 7/1/15. I originally bought this from Baen in May 2001. This is the fourth and final volume of the collected "Hub Federation" stories of Schmitz and, to my mid, far and away the best volume in the series. A truly excellent collection of short (and not-so-short) stories which I'd highly recommend. It can be read in isolation, although characters do appear in it who showed up in earlier books in the series. "Wool" by Hugh Howey. Completed 10/1/15. Excellent "distopian" SF about people living in a "silo" - an underground city - in the US, centuries after what appears to have been a nuclear or chemical warfare attack. Speculating about the outside world or expressing a desire to leave is strictly forbidden, the punishment being expulsion from the silo into the toxic outside world where life expectancy is only minutes. Very, very good indeed. Extremely highly recommended! "Stars Over Stars" by K.D. Wentworth. Completed 11/1/15. I bought this from Baen in 2001. A sequel to the earlier "Black on Black". Baen description: Quote:
"The Sound of Thunder" by Wilbur Smith. Completed 14/1/15 The second book in the "Courtney" saga, set in early 20th century South Africa. Very enjoyable. "March Upcountry" by David Weber and John Ringo. Completed 18/1/15. First book in the "Empire of Man" series. Prince Roger, a spoilt brat, is marooned with the company of Imperial Marines whose duty it is to protect him, on a hostile planet, and they start the long march to get him safely home. Great military SF. "The League of Frightened Men" by Rex Stout. Completed 24/1/15. The second Nero Wolfe book. Good detective story. "The Philosophical Strangler" by Eric Flint. Completed 28/1/15. Excellent fantasy. Bought from Baen in May 2001. Recommended. "March to the Sea" by David Weber and John Ringo. Completed 31/1/15. The second book in the "Empire of Man" series . Extremely good military SF which I originally bought from Baen in 2001. "March to the Stars" by David Weber and John Ringo, Completed 4/2/14. The third book in the "Empire of Man" military SF series . Excellent, just as the first two books in the series were. Now on to the final book, "We Few", which unlike the first three, I haven't previously read. Looking forward very much to the conclusion of this excellent story. "We Few" by David Weber and John Ringo. Completed 7/2/14. The fourth book in the "Empire of Man" military SF series. A very good ending to the series as it stands so far, although I was left feeling slightly "short changed" because I had thought it was the end of the series entirely, which it plainly is not. Given that it's 10 years since it was published, I wonder if the series will be be completed? Even so, highly recommended. "A Sparrow Falls", by Wilbur Smith. Completed 10/2/15. This is the final book in what was originally intended to be a trilogy of African adventure stories, but went on to become a considerably longer series (currently standing at 13 books). The earlier two books in the series concentrated on Sean Courtney, a South African man who fought in the Zulu and Boer wars, before going on to gain and then lose a fortune in a gold mine, become a big game hunter, and ultimately a politician involved in South Africa's struggle to gain independence from Britain. This current book opens in the middle of the First World War, with General Sean Courtney, now a respected "elder statesman", coming across a young sniper called Mark Anders. At the end of the war Anders returns to his home in South Africa only to discover that his grandfather, with whom he lived, has died in mysterious circumstances closely connected to the business interests of Sean Courtney's estranged son, Dirk. The book goes on to describe Mark Anders' quest to uncover the truth of what happened to his grandfather, and prove that Dirk Courtney was responsible for his death, and also the background to the creation of the first National Park in South Africa. A wonderful trilogy of books (the first two are "When the Lion Feeds" and "The Sound of Thunder"), which I'd thoroughly recommend. Wilbur Smith is a worthy successor to the Victorian writers of African adventure stories such as Sir Henry Rider Haggard. "Quincey Morris, Vampire" by P.N. Elrod. Completed 18/2/15. I bought this from Baen in May 2001. This is a direct sequel to Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in which, at the end of the book, Texan adventurer Quincey Morris kills, and is in turn killed by, Dracula. In this book he reawakens to find that he himself has become a vampire (but a nice vampire, not a nasty one like Dracula  ) and the book tells the story of how he gets back to England and tries to tell his friends (who all believe him to be dead) what happened to him.A very good book indeed, but I'd recommend reading "Dracula" first, if you haven'r already done so. "Tutankhamen" by Joyce Tyldesley. Completed 22/2/15. A very good account of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen, with information about the king himself, and what the objects found in his tomb have taught us. "The Burning Shore" by Wilbur Smith. Completed 1/7/15. The 4th book in the "Courtney" saga. Enjoyable African adventure. "The Misenchanted Sword", by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Completed 7/3/15. I bought this a very, very long time ago - I forget where and when, but it was probably from Fictionwise around 2000 or so. An extremely enjoyable fantasy novel. Valder, a young scout in the army of Ethshar, comes across an old wizard while trying to evade capture by soldiers of the Northern Empire. The wizard puts a spell on Valder's sword, to aid him in finding his way back to his base, but the spells are cast in difficult circumstances, and Valder finds himself the owner of a sword he can't get rid of, which has extremely inconvenient magical properties (saying more would be a spoiler). Very good indeed. I look forward to reading more from this author. "Soldiers" by John Dalmas. An excellent military SF novel about how a pacifist human civilisation in the 30th century reacts to an alien invasion whose sole aim is the complete extinction of the human race. Really, really good. I thoroughly recommend this; it's the best book I've read in a long time. "The Rubber Band" by Rex Stout. The 3rd Nero Wolfe novel. Wolfe takes on the case of a group of people trying to retrieve money promised to them many years ago from a man whose life they saved. Very enjoyable, as are all the Nero Wolfe books. "Sidhe-Devil" by Aaron Alston. Very good fantasy. A down-and-out kick-boxer is accidentally transported to the "fair world" where he helps defeat a master criminal who is intent of wreaking destruction both in that world and ours. Very good. "Crocodile on the Sandbank" by Elizabeth Peters. The first book in the "Amelia Peabody" series and a re-read of an old favourite. A book I had to read when I was in Egypt, since that is where it's set. Very good. "Doc Sidhe" by Aaron Allston. A direct sequel to "Sidhe Devil" and a very enjoyable fantasy. "Power of the Sword" by Wilbur Smith. Completed 2/4/15. The 5th book (or, to be more strictly correct, the 2nd book in the 2nd trilogy) in the "Courtney" saga. The 5th book ended with Centaine Courtney discovering an area of rich diamond deposits in South Africa shortly after the end of the First World War, and this next book moves forward into the 1930s, with the growing threat of Nazi Germany. As always, an excellent African adventure with strong characters and interesting characters. Recommended. "Ranks of Bronze" by David Drake. Completed 3/4/15. Bought a very long time ago from Baen. A defeated Roman legion in the 1st century BCE is sold as mercenaries to a trading house in a galactic federation whose laws prohibit the use of advanced technology on primitive planets, and fight a series of battles against various opponents, all the while planning how they might be able to get back home again. Excellent military SF. Recommended. "Curse of the Pharaohs" by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 8/4/15. A re-read of the second book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological whodunnits by Elizabeth Peters (the pen-name of the American Egyptologist Barbara Mertz). Radliffe Emerson is asked by Lady Baskerville to take over the work of excavating a tomb in the Valley of the Kings following the mysterious death of her husband, Lord Baskerville, but a series of deaths ensue. Is the curse put on the tomb by its ancient owner to blame? Very, very good. "Foreign Legions" by David Drake. Completed 10/4/15. A volume of short (and some not-so-short) stories by various authors set in the same universe as his original short story (and subsequent novel), "Ranks of Bronze", which is about a Roman Legion sold by their Parthian captors as mercenaries to an alien trading guild whose laws require them to fight battles using only the level of technology appropriate to the planet they are operating on. Excellent. I particularly enjoyed the novella "Carthago Delenda Est" by Eric Flint, which is the longest story in the book, and a direct sequel to "Ranks of Bronze". I'm also pleased that Flint assumes his readers have some knowledge of Roman history, and so doesn't waste time explaining what the title of the story actually means! "The Mummy Case" by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 11/4/15. The third book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. A re-read, and good as ever. "Balshazzar's Serpent" by Jack L. Chalker. Completed 14/4/15. Bought from Baen many years ago. This is the first book in the "Three Kings" trilogy. Earth has expanded out into the galaxy via artificial wormholes, which has led to an explosion of religious sects, each occupying its own planet. In an event known as the "Great Silence", however, all the wormholes leading back to Earth stopped working, for unknown reasons, cutting off the colony worlds, which has gradually led to technological civilisations failing, due to Earth's policy of keeping the colonies dependent on Earth for high technology, ship-building, etc. Several centuries after the Great Silence, a scout ship from the Roman Catholic world of "Vaticanus" discovers a fabulous solar system called the "Three Kings", where three habitable planets are in orbit around an immense gas giant, and strange alien artefacts litter their surface, but the scout fails to report their location. The quest for the "Three Kings" has become a kind of interstellar search for "El Dorado". The leader of the missionary ship "The Mountain" learns the location of the "Three Kings", and the book tells the story of how he attempts to get there. This is the first of Chalker's books I've read, although I have many of them in my library, and I'm very impressed. He's an excellent story-teller, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Highly recommended! "Lion in the Valley" by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 17/4/15. The 4th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series. Very enjoyable, as always. "Melchior's Fire" by Jack L. Chalker, Completed 19/4/15. The 2nd book in the "Three Kings" trilogy. Eighty years after the disappearance of Dr Karl Woodward's mission to find the legendary "Three Kings" - three habitable planets in orbit around a gas giant - a wealthy entertainment producer hires a group of salvage experts who are down on their luck after a failed mission to try to follow Woodward and bring back some of the legendary treasures of the Three Kings. A very enjoyable SF adventure story. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy. "The Deeds of the Disturber" by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 21/4/15. The 5th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series. Great fun. "Kasper's Box" by Jack L. Chalker. Completed 23/4/15. The final book in the "Three Kings" trilogy. A slightly disappointing end to a previously good series. "The Last Camel Died at Noon", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 27/4/15. The 6th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series. As Peters says in the introduction, this book is an unabashed homage to the "Lost Civilisation" fantasies of Sir Henry Rider Haggard, one of Peters' (and my!) favourite authors. A mysterious message suggests that an explorer who vanished 14 years previously in Sudan and was assumed dead, may still be alive. Emerson and Amelia, accompanied by their 10-year-old son Ramses, set off into the unexplored desert on his trail. Completely improbable and enormous fun. One of my favourite books in this excellent series. "The Veil of Years" by L. Warren Douglas. Completed 4/5/15. The second book in a trilogy (also called "The Veil of Years") and the sequel to "The Sacred Pool", although it's not essential to have read this first - each book in the trilogy is a self-contained story. I bought this in 2001 from Baen. Baen description: Quote:
"The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog", by Elizabeth Peter. Completed 8/5/15. The 7th book is the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. An attack of Amelia's husband, Professor Emerson, leaves him with amnesia, and no memory of his marriage to her. Amelia takes him back to Amarma, the place where they originally met, to try restore his memory, but a series of mysterious events ensure. Excellent and great fun, as always in this series. Very highly recommended! "Star Guard" by Andre Norton. Completed 12/5/15. This is the first half of the "Star Soldiers" omnibus. Originally bought from Baen a very long time ago. Norton's books tend to be rather formulaic, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one, which tells the story of a group of human mercenaries on an alien world. Recommended. "The Crime at Black Dudley" by Margery Allingham. Completed 15/5/15. I've been waiting for the ebook release of this first book in the "Campion" series for years, because I always like to read a series in order, and it was worth the wait. A thoroughly-enjoyable classic "English Country House" murder mystery. Campion only appears as a fairly minor character in this book, whose "detective" is a pathologist, Dr George Abbershaw, who is a guest at the house party. Highly recommended. "Star Ranger" by Andre Norton. Completed 17/5/15. This is the second half of a Baen Omnibus edition called "Star Soldiers", which I bought in 2001 or so. In the dying days of the Galactic Empire, one of the last ships of the Stellar Patrol, which has been the force of law and order for a thousand years, makes a crash landing on an obscure planet so far from the centre of the Empire that it's not on any star chart. The survivors of the crew explore the planet and make some surprising discoveries. Pretty good SF. Moderately recommended. "The Hippopotamus Pool" by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 19/5/15. The 8th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series. Great fun as always. Amelia and Emerson discover the almost undisturbed tomb of Queen Tetisheri at Luxor, but the lure of the treasure in the tomb soon attracts those who want it for themselves... Very highly recommended! "Thrice Bound", by Roberta Gellis. Completed 22/5/15. I bought this from Baen sometime around 2001. A truly excellent fantasy novel, set in the same universe as her previous book, "Bull God", in which the gods of ancient Olympus are people with magical gifts and powers. I enjoyed "Bull God", but "Thrice Bound" is even better. Baen description: Quote:
"Seeing a Large Cat", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 24/5/15. The 9th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. Amelia and Emerson get involved in (yet another) murder investigation when they find a (recent) body in an ancient Egyptian tomb. Tremendous fun, as always with this series. Highly recommended! "The Lark and the Wren", by Mercedes Lackey. Completed 26/5/15. Bought from Baen in August 2001. A lightweight but enjoyable fantasy about a peasant girl's attempts to fulfil her dream of becoming a bard. Like all (that I've read, at least) of Lackey's work, it involves no great mental effort to read, but it's a pleasant enough way to fill a few hours. Recommended. "The Ape Who Guards the Balance", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 28/5/15. The 10th book in the Amelia Peabody series, and one of the best so far. Extremely enjoyable. "The Honor of the Regiment", by Keith Laumer. Completed 28/5/15. The first volume in his collected "Bolo" stories, published by Baen. I bought this in 2001. In case anyone isn't familiar with the series, Bolos are the successors to today's tanks: gigantic war machines with sentient, self-aware AIs. They have a detailed knowledge of the totality of human military history, and often solve problems in surprising ways. Very good military SF. "The Falcon at the Portal", by Elizabeth Peter. Completed 30/5/15. The 11th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. The series skips forward several years from the previous book in the series. From Wikipedia: Quote:
"The Triumphant", by Keith Laumer. Completed 31/5/15. The third anthology in Baen's collected "Bolo" stories originally created by Keith Laumer. The book contains stories by several authors, most of "novella" length, and is excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys military SF. I did ignore the length "fake history" info-dump which comprises the last 20% of the book, though. I'm sure there must be people who are interested in the precise difference between a Mark XXIII and XXIV Bolo and what their respective weapons capabilities are, but I'm not one of them ."He Shall Thunder in the Sky", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 3/6/15. The 12th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. The First World War has broken out, and Cairo is a chaos, with rumours of a Turkish invasion and an uprising by agitators for Egyptian independence. Largely against their wishes, the Emerson family get caught up in the intrigue. Extremely good and highly recommended. "Callahan's Lady", by Spider Robinson. Completed 4/6/15. Baen SF bought in 2001, although the SF elements in this particular book are fairly minor. The narrator of the book is a Brooklyn prostitute who unexpectedly finds herself working in "Lady Sally's" brothel, which attracts an unlikely range of customers. Good, but don't read it if fairly explicit sexual references would cause you offence. "Lord of the Silent", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 6/6/15. The 13th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series. The First World War continues, and Egypt (annexed by Britain at the outbreak of war) is a hotbed of intrigue, with nobody knowing who may be an agent for what country. The chaos of war, with government inspectors otherwise engaged, is a golden opportunity for tomb robbers to carry out their work almost unchallenged. Soon rumours start spreading that "Sethos", the shadowy figure previously at the head of the criminal underworld, may have returned and once again be controlling the illegal trade in antiquities. The Emerson family investigate. Absolutely excellent. Highly recommended! "Bolo Strike", by William H. Keith Jr. Completed 7/6/15. Bought from Baen in September 2001. Baen description: Quote:
"The Golden One", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 9/6/15. The 14th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series. This is a book of two halves (or rather, of two quarters, and a half ); the first and last quarter of the book are the type of "Egyptological mystery" that were the mainstay of most of the earlier books in the series, while the central half of the book is a spy story, with Ramses Emerson travelling to Gaza in Palestine on behalf of British Intelligence to find out whether or not the stories about his uncle Sethos having become a Turkish agent have any truth to them. Very good indeed, but this really is a series you need to read in order - don't jump in at this book!"Pyramid Scheme", by Dave Freer and Eric Flint. Completed 10/6/15. Originally bought from Baen in 2001. Excellent SF of what I guess I'd call the "humorous military" variety. An alien probe lands in the middle of Chicago and people in its immediate vicinity start vanishing. Any attempt to attack the probe simply makes it larger. A group of the people abducted by the probe find themselves in a world in which the Greek myths are true, and have to try to survive and attempt to get back home. Very, very good indeed. Highly recommended. "Children of the Storm", by Elizabeth Peter. Completed 11/6/15. This is the 15th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. The Great War is over, and the Emerson family are gathered in Luxor for what they hope will be an uninterrupted season of excavation. A series of attacks on their extended family and friends, though, makes them suspect that perhaps one of the many criminals they have brought to justice in the past is out for revenge upon them. Extremely good, as always. "Martian Knightlife", by James P. Hogan. Completed 13/6/15. Bought from Baen in 2001. Pretty good SF. The book consists of two intertwined short stories featuring private eye Kieran Thane. In the first of them, the theme of matter transmission has a twist: a scientist has invented a matter transmitter and tested it on himself. The process involves "scanning" a person and then sending their genetic code and memory patterns to a receiver which "rebuilds" the person. The idea is then that the original person (put into suspended animation during the transmission process) is destroyed, but what if he gets scared prior to the experiment and decides that he doesn't want to die even if his existence does continue in another person? A very good story indeed. In the second story, Thane gets involved with a group who has discovered remnants of an ancient civilisation on Mars, but the site is owned by an industrial conglomerate who wants to build a spaceport on the site. Not as good as the first half of the book, but still worth reading. Recommended. "Guardian of the Horizon", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 16/6/15. The 16th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. This story jumps back to the year 1907 (the previous book in the series was set in 1919) and tells the story of the Emersons' return to the "Lost Oasis", which they visited in the book "The Last Camel Died at Noon". Excellent. "The Puppet Master", by John Dalmas. Completed 18/6/15. Bought from Baen in 2001. Excellent near-future SF set in a slightly alternate world in which a "gravitic drive" was invented in the 1990s which transformed society, followed by a plague in 2000 which killed a billion people world-wide. This is an omnibus containing the main novel (called "The Puppet Master") with a novella before it, and a short story after it. All are detective stories, featuring a private investigator in LA working on a variety of interlinked cases. Very good indeed. Highly recommended. "The Serpent on the Crown", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 23/6/15. The 17th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. It's now 1922, and the Emerson family are approached by a lady novelist of cheap sensationalist books who claims that a golden statue her collector husband had bought was cursed, and the cause of his death. This novel is basically setting the scene for the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb the following year by Howard Carter, the events of which are described in the next book in the series. Very good indeed. "Fiddler Fair", by Mercedes Lackey. Completed 24/6/15. A quick read, originally bought from Baen in October 2001. A lightweight but enjoyable collection of SF and fantasy tales originally published in various magazines and anthologies. Recommended. "Tomb of the Golden Bird", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 25/6/15. The 18th and penultimate book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. This book tells the story of the events surrounding the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, with the (unreported!) aid of the Emerson family. Great fun, and I'll be sad to finish this series - it's an old friend. "Wizardry Compiled", by Rick Cook. Completed 26/6/15. Originally bought from Baen in 2001. When Cupertino programmer William Irving Zumwalt, "Wiz" to his friends, was brought to another world and used his programming skills to become a great wizard (as told in "Wizard's Bane") he thought his troubles were over, but he's made some powerful enemies who are out to kill him. Excellent fantasy, particularly if one understands the computer programming jokes! Recommended. "A River in the Sky", by Elizabeth Peters. Completed 28/6/15. The 19th and final book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. This book goes back in time to 1910 to describe the events when the Emersons spent the excavating season in Palestine, rather than their beloved Egypt. Extremely enjoyable. I'm really sad to have reached the end of this series, although slightly consoled by the thought that a final posthumous book, "The Painted Queen", is being released in July next year. I don't know if Elizabeth Peters finished it before her death, or if it's been completed by someone else. "The Wizardry Cursed", by Rick Cook. Completed 29/6/15. The third book in the "Wiz Biz" series, and the first half of Baen's "Cursed and Consulted" omnibus. Very good indeed. "Mystery Mile", by Margery Allingham. Completed 1/7/15. The 2nd book in the "Campion" series (actually the first book proper: Campion was a minor character in the first book, "The Crime at Black Dudley"). Crossing the Atlantic on the luxurious liner Elephantine are an American judge, Crowdy Lobbett, and his children. A number of people around Judge Lobbett have been murdered, and he is said to be fleeing to England for safety. Apparent buffoon Albert Campion offers the family sanctuary with his friends in remote Suffolk, but a local commits suicide, the Judge vanishes, and another disappearance follows soon after. What is the Judge's mysterious secret? How was he kidnapped from a remote maze? Can Campion and his friends get to the bottom of things before it's too late? More of an adventure story than a detective novel in the "classical" tradition. Very enjoyable. "The Wizardry Consulted", by Rick Cook. Completed 3/7/15. Originally bought from Baen in 2001. This is the fourth book in the "Wiz Biz" series, and forms the second half of the "Cursed and Consulted" Baen omnibus. Tremendous fun, as is the rest of the series. Highly recommended. "Artifact", by Gregory Benford. Completed 3/7/15. Excellent hard SF. An American archaeological expedition uncovers a mysterious black cube in a Mycenaean tomb in Greece. The book describes the scientific examinations which uncover the mysterious properties of the cube, and the process of deduction which leads to an understanding what it is, and does, set against a background of international intrigue. Very good indeed. "Agent of Vega and Other Stories", by James H. Schmitz. Completed 6/7/15. Originally bought from Baen in 2001. A collection of all the SF stories of Schmitz that aren't set in his "Hub Federation" universe. An excellent collection: my particular favourite was a story called "Gone Fishing". Highly recommended! "Cosm", by Gregory Benford. Completed 7/7/15. A particle physicist running an experiment in a particle accelerator unexpectedly creates a strange artefact which turns out to be a wormhole leading to a newly created universe. Excellent hard SF - I've not read a book of Benford's that I've not thoroughly enjoyed. Thoroughly recommended. "Down in the Bottomlands", by Harry Turtledove. Completed 9/7/15. I bought this from Baen in 2001. A trio of "alternate history" novellas, the genre that Mr Turtledove excels at. The first part of the book, and the one which gives the book its title, is a murder mystery set in a world where the Mediterranean sea, blocked off from the Atlantic Ocean by a range of mountains (as has indeed happened at various times in geological history), is a wildlife preserve, rather like the Grand Canyon, but much larger and much deeper. The second two stories are set in a world where a man from our world finds himself in a version of North America ruled by the descendants of Vikings, where southern Europe is an Arab state. An excellent collection. Highly recommended. "Look to the Lady", by Margery Allingham. Completed 10/7/15. This is the third book in the "Campion" series of detective stories. Campion is hired by a Suffolk family who have a hereditary duty to protect a state treasure - an ancient chalice - on behalf of the crown. They fear that the chalice will be stolen, a view which is reinforced when a female member of the family is found dead in mysterious circumstances. A wildly improbable story, but an excellent read. I'm coming to the conclusion that the "Campion" series is more a series of adventure stories than detective stories in the traditional sense, but they're nonetheless extremely enjoyable. Recommended. "The Excalibur Alternative", by David Weber. Completed 11/7/15. Bought from Baen in Jan 2002. A 14th century English army is captured by a galactic trading consortium for use as mercenaries on low-technology planets where high-tech weapons are outlawed. Set in the same universe as David Drake's "Ranks of Bronze". Very good military SF. Recommended. "Timescape", by Gregory Benford. Completed 14/7/15. A scientist in the world of 1998, which is on the verge of ecological catastrophe, tries to stave off disaster by sending a warning back in time to 1963. Meanwhile, in 1963, another scientist tries to make sense of the extremely puzzling results he's getting in his experiments. This is one of Benford's early novels, originally published in 1980, and it is a little rough around the edges, but still very good hard SF. Recommended. "Man-Kzin Wars IX", by various authors. Completed 16/7/15. An anthology of stories by various authors, set in Larry Niven's "Known Space" universe. Originally bought from Baen in 2002, and all very enjoyable. Recommended. "Police at the Funeral", by Margery Allingham. Completed 19/7/15. The 4th book in the "Campion" series, and very enjoyable. Campion is asked for help by a family in Cambridge whose members are being systematically killed. An good story with some interesting characters and unexpected plot twists. Very good. "Retief!", by Keith Laumer. Completed 22/7/15. Originally bought from Baen in 2002, this is a collection of all of Laumer's "Retief" stories, about a diplomat in a future galactic federation who solves problems by unorthodox methods. Excellent. "The Time Machine", by H.G. Wells. Completed 26/7/15. A quick re-read of this in preparation for... "The Time Ships" by Stephen Baxter. Completed 28/7/15. An authorised sequel to "The Time Machine" and follows on directly from it. An excellent hard-SF time-travel extravaganza with enough twists and paradoxes to satisfy the most devoted lover of time-travel stories. Absolutely excellent, but do make sure that you read "The Time Machine" before it to set the scene. "Emperor of Dawn", by Steve White. Completed 31/7/15. Originally purchased from Baen in 2002. Baen description: "The Empire is in danger, with a weak sybarite on the throne and rebellion rising in outlying regions of the Galaxy and on Earth itself. Then the Emperor is assassinated, and General Ivar Brady-Schiovana is forced to declare himself Emperor. But hope appears in the persons of two men and a woman who are rumored to be legendary heroes." Excellent space opera / military SF. Highly recommended. "Armada", by Ernest Cline. Completed 1/8/15. Gamers help to fend off an alien invasion. After reading his excellent previous book, "Ready, Player One" I had high hopes for this, but it was a big disappointment. The storyline was, I felt, weak, and the plot (which is basically the idea that the government has secretly been using video games for the last 40 years to train people for combat against a coming alien invasion) a cliched idea that's been done a lot better elsewhere (eg in Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game"). The novel ends with a "deus ex machina" plot device which is very disappointing. Not recommended. "Storm Over Warlock", by Andre Norton. Completed 2/8/15. The first third of the "Warlock" omnibus, which I bought from Baen in 2002. Two humans have to try to survive on an alien planet after their exploration base is destroyed by the beetle-like "Throgs". Typical Andre Norton - OK but nothing exceptional. Moderately recommended. "Sweet Danger", by Margery Allingham. Completed 4/8/15. The 5th book in the "Campion" series. Campion is employed by the British government to try to find the ancient heirlooms which will prove the British Sovereignty of the tiny (and fictitious) Balkan state of "Averna", which has suddenly become important in world affairs due to a fortuitous earthquake suddenly providing the previously land-locked state with a coastline and a natural harbour (improbable plot-lines, anyone? ). Tremendous fun, and highly recommended."Ordeal in Otherwhere", by Andre Norton. Completed 6/8/15. This is the middle third of the "Warlock" omnibus, published by Baen, which I believe I bought in 2002. Baen description: "Charis Nordholm was sold into slavery by the outlaw colony on the planet Demeter. The trader, Jogon, who holds her contract, was on his way to Warlock to trade with the Wyvern. But the alien witches had ominous plans of their own, and both Charis and Shann Lantee found themselves fighting for their lives . . . " Typical Norton. OK, but not outstanding. Moderately recommended. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", by Stieg Larsson. Completed 9/8/15. I've had this for years, but only just got around to reading it. I can honestly say that this is the best book that I've read in a very, very long time. It starts off fairly slowly, but once the story gets going, then wow - it's a roller-coaster ride. Extremely highly recommended. "Forerunner Foray", by Andre Norton. Completed 9/8/15. This is the final third of the "Warlock" omnibus, which I bought from Baen in 2002. Baen description: "Ziantho's mental powers had made her a valuable asset to the interstellar criminals she worked for. Then she encountered a gem of ancient power, an artefact made by the vanished prehistoric race known as the Forerunners, and stole it. Pursued both by the stone's owners and the agents of the Patrol, she fled across the galaxy and encountered Ris Lantee, a man from the planet Warlock, who alone could solve the powerful gem's mystery .... " The above synopsis is, however, inaccurate. The main theme of the book is actually about Ziantho being taken back (mentally, rather than physically) to occupy the bodies of previous owners of the gem, and Ris Lantee makes only the most fleeting appearance in the final few pages of the book, and does not solve any mysteries at all .I did not enjoy this book, and struggled to get through it. I didn't find the story to be at all engaging, and I can't recommend it. "The Girl Who Played with Fire", by Stieg Larsson. Completed 10/8/15. The second book in the Millennium Trilogy. Excellent, as was the first. In this book we learn a lot more about the background of the enigmatic Lisbeth Salander. Really looking forward to reading the final book. Two books recently completed: "Pandora's Legions", by Christopher Anvil. Completed 14/08/15. Bought from Baen in 2002. A mixture of military and comedic SF. After Earth is annexed by the benevolent Centran Empire, humans spread out throughout the Empire, with disastrous results for the Empire! Also contains interludes about the battles fought by a human "special forces" unit recruited by the Centrans to taggle situations they are unable to handle. Pretty good. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest", by Stieg Larsson. Completed 19/8/15. The third and final book in the "Millennium" trilogy. An excellent end to the trilogy which nicely tied up most of the loose ends. Very highly recommended! One thing one immediately notices when reading the Millennium trilogy is that the word "coffee" is used amazingly often - characters in the books are unable to take any action without making, buying, or drinking it, it appears. For interests sake I used the Kindle's search facility to find out how many times the word was used in the book I've just read: it appears 104 times ."Waking in Dreamland", by Jody Lynn Nye. Completed 22/8/15. The first book in her "Dreamland" fantasy series, bough from Baen in 2001. The Dreamland is a world which is created by the dreams of people in the "Waking World" (ie our world), and everything in it is in a constant state of flux as a result. Baen description: Quote:
"Lifeboat", by Harry Harrison and Gordon R. Dickson. Completed 24/8/15. Moderately decent SF about a group of people on board a poorly-equipped lifeboat following a disaster on a starship. I wouldn't particularly recommend it. "School of Light", by Jody Lynn Nye. Completed 29/8/15. The second book in the "Dreamland" series. Baen description: Quote:
"The Hammer of Eden", by Ken Follett. Completed 30/8/15. Thriller about a group of environmentalists who hold the state of California to ransom by threatening to trigger earthquakes. Enjoyable nonsense. "The Grand Tour", by Jody Lynn Nye. Completed 1/9/15. This is the third (and so far the final) book in the "Dreamland" series, which I bought from Baen around 2001 or 2002. Baen description: Quote:
"Death of a Ghost", by Margery Allingham. Completed 6/9/15. The 6th book in the "Campion" series, originally published in 1934. At the former home of John Lafcadio, the great painter dead some 18 years, the annual ceremony to unveil a painting he left behind to keep his memory alive is interrupted by a murder. Suspicion falls on a family member, but with no proof the police are baffled. When murder once again visits "Little Venice", Albert Campion must exercise all his powers to bring the killer to justice... An excellent book; for me, by far the best of the series thus far. Highly recommended. "The Shadow of the Lion" by Mercedes Lackey et al. Completed 14/9/15. First book in the "Heirs of Alexendria" fantasy / alternate history series published by Baen. Excellent fantasy set in 16th century Venice, where various supernatural forces are vying for control of the city due to its control over the trading routines between Europe and the Far East. Highly recommended. "Split Second" by David Baldacci. Completed 17/9/15. This is the first book I've read by Baldacci and I enjoyed in very much. A thriller in which a former secret-service agent whose assigned protectee was killed when he took his eyes off him for a second (hence the title) teams up with another agent whose protectee has been kidnapped. Very good. I shall definitely read more books by this author. "Forward the Mage" by Richard Roach and Eric Flint. Completed 25/9/15. A loose sequel to "The Philosophical Strangler", both of which are published by Baen. Very good and amusing fantasy. Again recommended. "Flowers for the Judge" by Margery Allingham. Completed 2/10/15. The 7th book in the "Campion" series. Campion steps in when a partner in a publishing firm is accused of murdering one of the other partners with whose wife he was having an affair. Very enjoyable detective story. "Odyssey" by Keith Laumer. Completed 7/10/15. Very good collection of SF stories by an author who deserves to be much better known than his is. I particularly enjoyed the time-travel novel which forms the last portion of this large omnibus. "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. Completed 10/10/15. I've been intending to read this SF masterpiece for years, but somehow never got around to it. Big mistake to have delayed so long - this is a simply outstanding novel. Not an easy read, but it more than repays the effort it takes. I can do no better than to quote this excellent Amazon review of the book: Quote:
"When the Devil Dances", by John Ringo. Completed 12/10/15. The third book in the "Posleen War" series. I bought this from Baen in 2002. This was the time at which Ringo was still writing enjoyable military SF rather than political diatribes, and I really enjoyed re-reading this. "Finding Davey" by Jonathan Gash. Completed 13/10/15. A very unusual and worthwhile thriller. When a young British boy is abducted while on holiday with his parents in the US, and the police get nowhere in tracking down his abductors, his grandfather decides to try to find him using a very unusual method. Davey used to invent stories about a fantasy world with his grandfather, and so his grandfather sets out to publish these stories as children's books, and then set a competition in which only Davey will know the correct answers. Excellent, but I should warn that one of the characters in the books is an astoundingly foul-mouthed teenage girl, so don't read this if bad language is likely to cause offence. Very highly recommended. "Midnight at the Well of Souls", by Jack L. Chalker. Completed 14/10/15. Bought from Baen in 2002. This regularly makes lists of "the best SF novels" and it's easy to see why. Excellent SF. "Eye of the Storm", by Jack Higgins. Completed 16/10/15. This is the first of his lengthy series of thrillers whose protagonist is the hit man Sean Dillon. In this book Dillon is hired by Saddam Hussein to assassinate the Prime Minister of Britain. Good book, but obviously somewhat dated politically, being originally published in 1992. Recommended. "Chicks 'Chained Males", edited by Esther Friesner. Completed 29/10/15. Compilation of fantasy stories involving women. Very enjoyable. Bought from Baen in 2002. "Death at the President's Lodging", by Michael Innes. Completed 21/10/15. A new author for me. Excellent detective story set in a college in an English university town modelled after (but not) Oxford or Cambridge. An interesting cast of characters and very well-written. A long series of books to look forward to! "The Warmasters", by David Weber, Eric Flint, and David Drake. Completed 22/10/15. Again bought from Baen in 2002. Three short novellas by good authors. David Weber's contribution is the best, I though: a story about Honor Harrington on her initial Midshipman's assignment to a starship. Then a "Belisarius" story by Eric Flint, but, unlike the others, this was simply an extract from the published novels, hence I'd read it before. Finally a story from the "Hammer's Slammers" universe of David Drake, which was extremely enjoyable. All in all, extremely good. "Cocaine Blues", by Kerry Greenwood. Completed 23/10/15. The first book in the "Phryne Fisher" detective series. I found this to be mediocre at best, with (for me) far too much time devoted to minute and pointless descriptions of what people were wearing. I also found the behaviour of the protagonist to be unrealistic - casual sex is more the attitude of a 21st century young woman than one of the 1920s. Perhaps the book would appeal more to a female reader, but it's not my cup of tea at all. Disappointing. "The Warslayer", by Rosemary Edghill. Completed 25/10/15. I bought this from Baen in 2002. The star of a TV show called "The Incredibly True Adventures of Vixen the Slayer", a sort of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" set in Elizabethan times, is brought by magic to another world to help defeat their enemies, in the belief that she really is the character portrayed in the TV show. Hardly an original idea ("Galaxy Quest", anyone?) but well executed nonetheless, and well aware of its derivative nature, with a lot of self-referential jokes about TV. A light but amusing read. Recommended. "Hell's Foundations Quiver", by David Weber. Completed 28/10/15. The newly-released 8th book in the "Safehold" series. I know this series isn't to everyone's taste, but it's one of my favourites, and the release of a new book is a highlight. Yes, it's a slow-paced, in-depth story, but I like that a lot; I like being a "fly on the wall" at decision-making meetings and understanding why people make the decisions that they do. Excellent. "The Lighter Side", by Keith Laumer. Completed 1/11/15. Bought from Baen in 2002. Enjoyable, but not great; I'm not a big fan of humorous fiction, and I far prefer Laumer's more serious work. "The Case of the Late Pig", by Margery Allingham. Completed 2/11/15. The 8th book in the "Campion" series. Campion is called in by a police officer who is his friend to help investigate the curious affair of a man who is found murdered, despite having supposedly died and been buried six months earlier. An excellent story. Allingham changes her writing style in this book to be a first person narration by Campion, rather than the third person of the previous books in the series, and it works very well. Highly recommended. "The Complete Hammer's Slammers, Volume 1", by David Drake. Completed 12/11/15. The first of three Baen volumes which collect together all the "Hammer's Slammers" stories, novellas, and novels written by Drake. I bought this when it first came out in 2009, and I'm reading it in place of one of its constituent parts that I originally bought in 2002. I'm sure that most people will be aware of what this series is, and either love it or not; it's a grimly realistic portrayal of future armoured warfare, based on Drake's experience of tank warfare in Viet Nam. Recommended if you like good military SF. "Mission of Gravity", by Hal Clement. Completed 13/11/15. In an omnibus called "Heavy Planet", containing Clement's collected "Mesklin" books and stories. This is an SF classic. Mesklin is a planet with a hydrogen atmosphere and methane oceans on which the surface gravity at the poles is 700 times that of Earth, and is, therefore, inaccessible to humans. When a scientific spacecraft sent to the planet to conduct gravity research that can't be done elsewhere fails to take off again, the scientists seek the aid of one of the local inhabitants, a centipede-like being who is a sea-captain in a civilisation with a mediaeval level of technology. Excellent "hard SF". I think I've read this before, but it was many years (more likely decades) ago. Highly recommended. "Cold Steel", by Keith Laumer. Completed 15/11/15. The 6th book in Baen's collection of Laumer's "Bolo" stories and novels. This book consists of a novella and a full-length novel, both set on a valuable mining colony on which the human colonists are being attacked by stone-age natives who are being armed with modern weapons by an unknown outside source which has persuaded the natives that it is a god, and the humans devils who must be exterminated. Excellent military SF, but a lot more than military SF, too. Engaging characters and an excellent plot. Highly recommended, and there's no requirement to have read any of the other "Bolo" books first. "Dancers in Mourning", by Margery Allingham. Completed 19/11/15. The 9th book in the Campion series, and enjoyable as always. Campion is called in by a friend whose book has been produced as a stage play, when the star of the show starts experiencing a campaign of petty but annoying, attacks. The inevitable murder soon occurs, though, and Campion has to solve it. Very enjoyable. "Howard Carter and the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun", by H.V.F. Winstone. Completed 28/11/15. An excellent biography of Howard Carter by a historian renowned for his biographies of archaeologists. Very readable and highly recommended if anyone has an interest in the subject matter. This was a paper book. "The Keys of Egypt", by Lesley and Roy Adkins. Completed 14/12/15. A paper book which doesn't seem to be available as an eBook. An excellent biography of Jean-François Champollion and the story of the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. A fascinating read for anyone interested in the subject. "For King and Country", by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans. Completed 16/12/15. Bought from Baen in 2002. An historical novel loosely disguised as time-travel SF. An SAS officer goes back to 6th century Britain in pursuit of an Irish terrorist who is determined to change history, and finds himself aiding the historical figure whom later history would call "King Arthur", a British chieftain trying to hold together the remains of his people's Roman civilisation and stave off the inevitable decline into barbarism about a century after Rome's withdrawal from the British Isles. A slow start, but really picked up about halfway through and became a pretty good book. "The Fashion in Shrouds", by Margery Allingham. Completed 20/12/15. This is the 10th book in the "Campion" series, and was originally published in 1938. Campion gets involved in the world of fashion to try to solve the mystery of the mysterious disappearance of the husband of a famous actress. An extremely enjoyable book, as is all this series, but I was somewhat startled by some of the dialogue. "1633", by Eric Flint and David Webber. Completed 22/12/15. Sequel to "1632". Very good "Alternate History" SF. "Deja Dead", by Kathy Reichs. Completed 24/12/15. The first book in the "Temprance Brennan" series of forensic mysteries. My first experience of this author, and I enjoyed it a lot. I'll definitely read more books in the series. "Med Ship", by Murray Leinster. Completed 25/12/15. Baen anthology bought in 2002. Good, although rather dated, SF. "Stone Spring", by Stephen Baxter. Completed 29/12/15. The first book in his "Northland" alternate history series. Enjoyable. Total: 121 Books Created or edited for the MR library in 2015 "Room 13" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 6/1/5. "The Mind of Mr J. G. Reeder" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 28/1/15. "Terror Keep" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 6/2/15. "Red Aces" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 15/2/15. "Mr J. G. Reeder Returns" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 21/2/15. "The Gov'nor" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 24/2/15. "The Man Who Passed" by Edgar Wallace. Completed 27/2/15. Total: 7 Grand total of books read and created: 128 Last edited by HarryT; 01-10-2016 at 10:39 AM. |
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12-24-2014, 08:33 AM
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#48 |
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Guru
Posts: 917
Karma: 9155462
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Tampa, FL
Device: See signature
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Stats
Books Read: 015 Pages Read: 3,628 Books Bought: 006 01.Darknet - Matthew Mather (4/5) 02.The Empty Quarter - David L. Robbins (3/5) 03.Forsworn: A Powder Mage Novella - Brian McClellan (4/5) 04.Servant of the Crown: A Powder Mage Novella - Brian McClellan (5/5) 05.Murder at the Kinnen Hotel: A Powder Mage Novella - Brian McClellan (4/5) 06.Hope's End: A Powder Mage Short Story - Brian McClellan (4/5) 07.The Girl of Hrusch Avenue: A Powder Mage Short Story - Brian McClellan (4/5) 08.Face in the Window: A Powder Mage Short Story - Brian McClellan (4/5) 09.Return to Honor: A Powder Mage Short Story - Brian McClellan (4/5) 10.The Autumn Republic - Brian McClellan (5/5) 11.Tide of Shadows and Other Stories - Aidan Moher (3/5) 12.The Martian - Andy Weir (4/5) 13.Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King (4/5) 14.Dawn of Swords - David Dalglish (5/5) 15.Contract to Kill - Andrew Peterson (4/5) Last edited by Quake1028; 01-12-2017 at 05:24 PM. |
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12-24-2014, 08:42 AM
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#49 |
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Connoisseur
Posts: 93
Karma: 886
Join Date: Apr 2005
Device: Moon+ Reader Pro on Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge International version
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No goal.
Running Total: 105 books 1. Ultima by Stephen Baxter 2-10. Legion of the Damned series books 1 through 9 by William C. Dietz, prior to 2/8/2015 11-13. Andromeda Trilogy books 1-3 by William C. Dietz, prior to 2/8/2015 14. Draw One in the Dark by Sarah A. Hoyt 2-20-2015 15. Gentleman Takes a Chance by Sarah A. Hoyt 2-23-2015 16-35. Robert Asprin & Jody Lynn Nye Myth Adventures series books 1 through 20 4-17-15 36. Tracker by C. J. Cherryh (Foreigner # 16) 4-19-15 37-42. Phule's Company series 1-6 by Robert Asprin 6-2-2015 43-44. Awake in Hell and Remembering Hell by Helen Downing 45. Mysterious Origins of Hybrid Man by Susan B. Martinez 6-21-2015 46. The Long Utopia by Stephen Baxter & Terry Pratchett 7-1-2015 47. Hybrid: Discovery by Emma Jaye 7-3-2015 48. Hybrid: Experiment by Emma Jaye 7-4-2015 49. Bicentennial Man (novella) by Isaac Asimov 7-4-2015 50. The Annihilation Score by Charles Stross 8/10/2015 51. Trail of Evil by Travis Taylor 8/12/2015 52. Venus of Dreams by Pamela Sargent 8/19/2015 53. Venus of Shadows by Pamela Sargent 9/1/2015 54. Child of Venus by Pamela Sargent 9/5/2015 55. Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson 9/6/2015 56. Dead Girls Don't Dance (novella) by MaryJanice Davidson 9/6/2015 57. Undead and Unemployed by MaryJanice Davidson 9/7/2015 58. Biting in Plain Sight (novella) by MaryJanice Davidson 9/7/2015 59. Undead and Unappreciated by MaryJAnice Davidson 9/8/2015 60. Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJAnice Davidson 9/9/2015 61. Fiend in Need (novella) by MaryJanice Davidson 9/10/2015 62. Undead and Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson 9/11/2015 63. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson 9/13/2015 64. Undead and Unworthy by MaryJanice Davidson 9/14/2015 65. Undead and Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson 9/15/2015 66. Undead and Unfinished by MaryJanice Davidson 9/16/2015 67. Undead and Undermined by MaryJanice Davidson 9/18/2015 68. Undead and Unstable by MaryJanice Davidson 9/19/2015 69. Wolf at the Door by MaryJanice Davidson 9/22/2015 70. Undead and Underwater by MaryJanice Davidson 9/24/2015 71. Undead and Unsure by MaryJanice Davidson 9/26/2015 72. Undead and Unwary by MaryJanice Davidson 9/30/2015 73. Dead over Heels (novella) by MaryJanice Davidson 9/13/2015 74. Wolf at the Door by MaryJanice Davidson 9/17/2015 75. Six Diving Universe Novellas by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/6/2015 76. Undead and Unforgiven by MaryJanice Davidson 10/8/2015 77. Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/9/2015 78. City of Ruins by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/12/2015 79. Boneyard by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/14/2015 80. Skirmishes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/16/2015 81. Liaden Universe Constellation Volume Three by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 10/20/2015 82. Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 10/23/2015 83. Crystal Soldier by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 10/25/2015 84. Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 10/27/2015 85. Cantra the First on Vantrega (novella) by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 10/27/2015 86. Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 10/30/2015 87. Local Custom by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/3/2015 88. Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/9/2015 89. Mouse and Dragon by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/12/2015 90. Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/15/2015 91. Agent of Change by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/17/2015 92. Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/19/2015 93. Plan B by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/20/2015 94. I Dare by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/22/2015 95. Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/24/2015 96. re-read Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/26/2015 97. Dragon in Exile by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller 11/28/2015 98. Xeelee: Endurance by Stephen Baxter 12-3-2015 99. The Paradox Conspiracy by Stephen Baxter 12-5-2015 100. Antares Dawn by Michael McCollum 12-8-2015 101. Antares Passage by Michael McCollum 12-13-2015 102. Antares Victory by Michael McCollum 12-16-2015 103. Gatefather by Orson Scott Card 12-19-2015 104. Hell's Foundations Quiver by David Weber 12-28-2015 105. For Love of Mother-Not by Alan Dean Foster 12-29-2015 Final Count: 105. I was 2/3 through another book when the year ended! Last edited by gsparks2; 01-01-2016 at 12:00 PM. |
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12-27-2014, 06:21 PM
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#50 |
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Almost legible
Posts: 1,457
Karma: 4611110
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: In a high desert, CA
Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78
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Well, I did something like 64 books in 2014, so maybe something similar in the next year; though I do have a class in the Spring semester, which will interfere.
I really should get back to doing my own writing... again, I have a class, which will take up some of my writing time. **EDIT: I met my goal in early August, so I am amending it and shooting for 100 for the year. 1. 41 by George W. Bush. 1/3 2. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (book 1 of a trilogy) 1/5 3. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (book 2 of a trilogy) 1/10 4. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (book 3 of a trilogy) 1/12 5. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern 1/13 6. Candide by Voltaire 1/21 7. The Leopard's Daughter by Lee Killough 1/25 8. Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft 1/30 9. Digital Divide by K. B. Spangler 1/31 10. The True History of the Elephant Man 3rd edition, by Michael Howell & Peter Ford 2/3 11. The Dead Key by D. M. Pulley 2/6 12. Maker Space by K. B. Spangler 2/11 13. Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts 2/16 14. Heart Collector by Jacques Vandroux 2/19 15. The Making of a Stand Up Guy by Charlie Murphy 2/20 16. Tank Lords by David Drake 2/24 17. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, first American edition by Frederick Douglass 2/25 18. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 2/27 19. J. R. R. Tolkien: the Making of a Legend by Colin Duriez 2/28 20. Persopolis (Graphic Novel) by Marjane Satrapi 3/1 21. The Memoirs of Detective Vidocq by Eugène François Vidocq 3/12 22. Persopolis 2 (Graphic Novel) by Marjane Satrapi 3/13 23. Jacaranda by Cherie Priest 3/13 24. The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien 3/15 25. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy 3/16 26. Bones Burnt Black by Stephen Euin Cobb 3/18 27. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 3/21 28. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien 3/24 29. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien 3/27 30. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien 3/29 31. The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin 5/3 32. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 5/6 33. The Mallet of Loving Correction by John Scalzi 5/11 34. State Machine by K. B. Spangler 5/14 35. Created and Produced by Total Television Productions: The Story of Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo and the Rest by Mark Arnold, 5/21 36. A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark by Harry Connolly, 5/24 37. Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England's Most Notorious Royal Family by Leanda de Lisle. 5/28 38. Defiantly, She Advanced: Legends of Future Resistance, edited by George Donnelly. 5/31 39. Old Man's War by John Scalzi, 6/5 40. The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr, 6/8 41. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. 6/13 42. Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything by Daniel Goldberg. 6/14 43. The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble. 6/17 44. Bloody Mary: The Life and Legacy of England's Most Notorious Queen by Charles River Editors. 6/17 45. Astrid, the Dragonslayer's Blacksmith (mini-novel) by Resa Nelson 6/19 46. The Dragonslayer's Sword by Resa Nelson. 6/21 47. The Iron Maiden by Resa Nelson. 6/23 48. Punk Rock: An Oral History by John Robb. 7/1 49. Triumph: Collected Stories by Lizzie Harwood. 7/4 50. Next Stop Execution: The Autobiography of Oleg Gordievsky by Oleg Gordievsky. 7/4 51. 1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry by Andrew Bridgeford. 7/5 52. Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life & Career of Warwick Davis by Warwick Davis. 7/9 53. The Stone of Darkness by Resa Nelson. 7/16 54. The Dragon's Egg by Resa Nelson. 7/17 55. How to Overthrow the Government by Arianna Huffington. 7/25 56. The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson. 7/30 57. After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn. 7/31 58. Dreaming of the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn. 8/3 59. Forager (book one of a trilogy) by Peter R. Stone. 8/5 60. Infiltrator (book two of a trilogy) by Peter R. Stone. 8/6 61. Expatriot (book three of a trilogy) by Peter R. Stone. 8/7 62. Terry Jones' Medieval Lives by Terry Jones. 8/8 63. Flee by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson. 8/8 64. The Naval Warfare of World War II: The History of the Ships, Tactics and Battles that Shaped the Fighting in the Atlantic and Pacific by Charles River Editors. 8/9 65. On Basilisk Station by David Weber. 8/11 66. The Honor of the Queen by David Weber. 8/12 67. The Short Victorious War by David Weber. 8/14 68. Field of Dishonor by David Weber. 8/15 69. Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall by Eve LaPlante. 8/19 70. Flag in Exile by David Weber. 8/20 71. The Illustrated Dictionary of Snark: A Snide, Sarcastic Guide to Verbal Sparring, Comebacks, Irony, Insults, and Much More by Lawrence Dorfman. 8/24 72. Academic Exercises by K. J. Parker. 8/25 73. Spree by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson. 8/26 74. Dragonholder by Todd McCaffrey. 8/29 75. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Second Edition by Charles C. Mann. 8/30 76. Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterrling. 9/2 77. Honor Among Enemies by David Weber. 9/5 78. In Enemy Hands by David Weber. 9/7 79. Echoes of Honor by David Weber. 9/8 80. New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear. 9/10 81. Three by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson. 9/15 82. Why We Eat What We Eat: How the Encounter Between the New World and the Old Changed the Way Everyone on the Planet Eats by Raymond Sokolov. 9/17 83. Ashes of Victory by David Weber. 9/21 84. War of Honor by David Weber. 9/25 85. Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb. 9/28 86. Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb. 9/30 87. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb. 10/4 88. Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb. 10/6 89. Superheroes Anonymous by Lexie Dunne. 10/7 90. Supervillians Anonymous by Lexie Dunne. 10/8 91. Skinbrain (Cerebrodermis Fantastica) by Stephen Euin Cobb. 10/11 92. Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. 10/13 93. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. 10/14 94. Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrines's Peculiar Children by Riggs Ransom. 10/17 95. Plague at Redhook: Life Extension Without End, by Stephen Euin Cobb. 10/18 96. indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky. 10/19 97. Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrines's Peculiar Children by Riggs Ransom. 10/27 98. Deadlock by Sara Paretsky. 10/30 99. The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey. 11/02 100. The Devious Dr. Jekyll by Viola Carr. 11/14 101. The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart. 11/16 102. Seraphina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. 11/17 103. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. 11/19 104. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. 11/29 105. Killing Orders by Sara Paretsky. 11/30 106. From the Cradle by Louise Voss & Mark Edwards. 12/4 107. Hunting Party by Elizabeth Moon. 12/7 108. Solder Smoke: Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics by Bill Meara. 12/8 109. Sporting Chance by Elizabeth Moon. 12/10 110. Winning Colors by Elizabeth Moon. 12/13 111. Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell. 12/15 112. Tales from Bow Street by Joan Lock. 12/16 113. Once a Hero by Elizabeth Moon. 12/17 114. Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham. 12/19 115. Rules of Engagement by Elizabeth Moon. 12/20 116. Change of Command by Elizabeth Moon. 12/23 117. Against All Odds by Elizabeth Moon. 12/25 118. The Antikythera Mechanism: The History and Mystery of the Ancient World's Most Famous Astronomical Device by Charles River Editors. 12/26 119. Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks. 12/27 120. The Disfavored Hero by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. 12/29 Last edited by Dngrsone; 01-24-2016 at 07:43 AM. |
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12-31-2014, 11:10 AM
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#51 |
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Hiding with an ereader
Posts: 391
Karma: 3987376
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Kitchener Ontario
Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350
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To read 70 books, at least of them 10 non-fiction
2015 will be more challenging in terms of time to read. However, I'm going to set a primary goal of 70 books for the year and a secondary goal to make at least 10 of the books, non fiction and related to my work.
The Iron King by Maurice Druon Completed Jan 8 Trauma and Recovery by Judith Lewis Herman Completed Jan 14 Changing Lenses by Howard Zehr Completed Jan 16 (Non Fiction, Work) The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander Completed Jan 19 (Non Fiction, Work) The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer Completed Feb 8 (Non Fiction, Work) The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld Completed Feb 12 The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Completed Feb 17 Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels Completed Feb 19 The Bear by Marion Engel Completed Feb 21 The Chimney Sweepers Came to Dust by Alan Bradley Completed Feb 24 Abolition Democracy by Angela Y Davis Completed Feb 27 (Non Fiction, Work) A Crowbar in the Buddhist Garden by Stephen Reid Completed March 1 (Non Fiction, Work) Ru by Kim Thuy Completed March 4 West With The Night by Beryl Markham Completed March 10 The Case Against Punishment by Deirdre Golash Completed March 14 (Non Fiction, Work) The Master by Colm Toibin Completed March 20 When Everything Feels like the Movies by Raziel Reid Completed March 22 Lost Horizon by James Hilton Completed March 28 And The Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier Completed March 30 Cannery Row by John Steinbeck Completed April 5 Silk by Alessandro Barrico Completed April 9 Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons Completed April 16 Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso Completed April 26 The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth Completed May 3 Our Man in Havana by Graham Green Completed May 25 Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow Completed May 28 American Gods by Neil Gaiman Completed June 2 A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgart Completed June 5 In the Shadow of Death by Beck, Britto & Andrews Completed June 7 (Non fiction, work) Conversations with a Rattlesnake by Theo Fleury Completed June 10 (Non fiction, work) Last edited by ccowie; 06-13-2015 at 10:35 PM. |
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01-01-2015, 05:07 AM
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#52 |
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Addict
Posts: 209
Karma: 148186
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: London
Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Voyage
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Well, I failed miserably in 2014 (for a variety of reasons). However, there's something in the air which tells me that 2015 will be different
. Target of 49 books for the year (After falling well short of 60 in 2014). Mix of everything as usual, although I'm starting out re-reading some old classics I haven't read in a while to get back in the groove.  Books read so far: The Foundation Trilogy 1. Foundation; Isaac Asimov; SF; P-book 2. Foundation & Empire; Isaac Asimov; SF; P-book 3. Second Foundation; Isaac Asimov; SF; P-book The Dune Saga 4. Dune; Frank Herbert; SFF; E-book 5. Dune Messiah; Frank Herbert; SFF; E-book Imperial Radch 6. Ancillary Justice; Ann Leckie; SFF; E-book 7. Ancillary Sword; Ann Leckie; SFF; P-book 8. MW; Osamu Tezuka; Manga / Graphic novel; P-book 9. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell; Susanna Clarke; Fantasy; E-book 10. Stress Test; Timothy Geithner; Non-fiction; P-book Last edited by adityadubey; 05-16-2015 at 03:04 AM. Reason: Updating list |
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01-01-2015, 11:36 AM
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#53 |
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Wizard
Posts: 1,432
Karma: 25151986
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Seattle, US
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kobo Libra 2
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Goal: To buy no more than one ebook a week.
I wasn't going to participate in this thread since reading lots of books is no challenge for me. But what is hard, since I have become an ebook hoarder, will be to limit my purchases to a book each week and to buy only books I plan to read immediately. So this is where I'll track those purchases.
Spoiler:
Charles Van Doren's Joy of Reading includes a 10-year reading plan. My reading (mostly re-reading) challenge is to complete these books on the Year #1 list: 1. The Iliad by Homer (Fagles translation) 2. The Odyssey by Homer (Mandelbaum translation from Penguin Classics) 3. The Orestia by Aeschylus 4. Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone by Sophocles 5. Hamlet by Shakespeare 6. Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neil 7. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett Beyond those two goals, the plan is to just carry on reading and enjoying books. Last edited by BelleZora; 08-31-2015 at 11:03 PM. |
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01-01-2015, 02:33 PM
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#54 |
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Groupie
Posts: 164
Karma: 1238046
Join Date: Jun 2012
Device: PocketBook, Kobo, Kindle, iPad
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Read smarter; 104 books in 2015
My reading goals for 2015:
I'd like to read a couple of books a week, maybe 25K pages? This will be a drop from the last couple of years and will probably happen on its own. Spoiler:
My bucket book for the year is The Three Musketeers. I've read The Count of Monte Cristo at least a dozen times, while a paper copy of TTM is my most traveled book ever (many airplane flights) and yet I've never made significant progress. A couple of the books I read last year referenced TTM and I'd like to finally read it. Procured and started the Pevear translation at the end of November. About 20% in. Not sure if I prefer the translation that much or if I just got traction, but here's hoping. Finished just before year-end! d'Artagnan is not much of a hero in my book, but Athos and Milady were both great. Milady rather escaped authorial control, methinks. I want to reduce the immobility of my physical TBR shelf. I keep picking up the next thing that looks interesting on the ereader. I want to read or evaluate 12 of the books on the physical shelf. Spoiler:
I want to either catch up on Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January mysteries or finally read the last three books in her dragon quartet. They've been on that TBR shelf far too long. October: re-read Dragonsbane and made a cautious beginning on Dragonshadow. November: read the remaining volumes. I want to read more books that ask more of me. I was disappointed by how little of my last year's reading took sustained effort. Spoiler:
I'd like to read several of the anthologies that accumulate even more rapidly in proportion than novels. Spoiler:
I want to go through more of my accumulated freebies in an organized fashion, and either read or evaluate them. If I find worthwhile books, I want to let people know about them. Spoiler:
Additional notes: Went to the effort of coming up with Hugo nominees in March. Not that it matters. Thanks, Sad Puppies. Coming up with more Hugo nominees for next year. Not that it will matter. Memo to self: copy to buffer before posting in case the "not logged in" quirk bites me. Last edited by elaysee; 12-31-2015 at 05:32 PM. Reason: year-end status update |
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01-01-2015, 05:07 PM
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#55 |
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Wizard
Posts: 1,264
Karma: 10203040
Join Date: Dec 2011
Device: a variety (mostly kindles and kobos)
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To read 25 books
Even though I failed miserably last year, I'm trying again, and with a similar format.
Main goal:
Current Status: Spoiler:
List of Read Books: Spoiler:
List of Short Stories: Spoiler:
Last edited by latepaul; 06-08-2015 at 10:07 AM. Reason: update |
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01-02-2015, 05:07 AM
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#56 |
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Wizard
Posts: 1,368
Karma: 26886344
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
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To read 45 books
I will make another attempt to read 45 books in 2015.
1. 101 Forgotten Films by Beian Mills 2. Under Fire by Barbusse 3. Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot 4. A Big Hand For the Doctor by Eoin Colfer 5. The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt 6. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester 7. The Personal Heresy: A Controversy by C.S. Lewis, E.M.W. Tilyard 8. The Evolution of English Lexocography by Sir James Murray 9. Trouble Is My Business by Raymond Chandler 10. Preface To a Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson 11. The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler 12. He From Procyon by Nat Schachner 13. Three Go Back by James Leslie Mitchell 14. Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels 15. War In Heaven by Charles S. W. Williams 16. The Master by Colm 17 John Carter and the Giant of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 18. Silk by Alessandro Baricco 19. Armageddon 2419 A.D./The Airlords Of Han by Philip Nowlan 20. Many Dimensions by Charles Williams 21. The Nameless City by Michael Scott 22. The Uses and Abuses of History by Professor Margaret Macmillan 23. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow 24. American Gods by Neil Gaiman 25. The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams 26. Plague by Albert Camus 27. Torrance Lirra By the River by Jessica Anderson 28. Our Elizabeth by Florence Kilpatrick 29 [I]The Greater Trumps[/I] by Charles S.W.Williams 30. Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss 31. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs 32. Candide by Voltaire 33. Soothsayer by Mike Resnick 34. The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith 35. Shadows of Ecstasy by Charles Williams 36. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson 37. H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald 38. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo 39. INCI by Tina Gower and Mjke Resnick 40. The Best of L. Sprague de Camp by L. Sprague de Camp 41. Letters To Lalage by Lois Lang-Sims 42. The Wreck of the Titan or Futility by Morgan Robertson 43. The 20th Golden Age of Science Fiction by Evelyn E. Smith 44. Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock 45. Descent Into Hell by Charles Williams Last edited by fantasyfan; 12-30-2015 at 02:53 PM. |
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01-02-2015, 10:10 AM
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#57 |
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Addict
Posts: 208
Karma: 1503568
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Device: Mobile Phone, Kindle (rarely), but mostly still read paper
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Read as many books as I can and keep track of what I read
My goal is to read as many books as I can and remember to keep track of what I read here.
Currently reading: Last edited by Indio777; 01-02-2016 at 08:22 AM. Reason: update list |
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01-02-2015, 01:13 PM
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#58 |
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Groupie
Posts: 165
Karma: 491236
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glasgow
Device: Libra 2, Clara 2e, Oasis 3
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To read 84 books/30,000 pages
I'm keeping track of my challenges on my blog (here, if anyone is interested) but I'll try to keep up with them here as well. Here are my aims:
Number of books read: 36 List: Spoiler:
Number of pages read: 13391 Number of "New to Me" DTB read: 19 2/3 Back to the Classics Challenge: Spoiler:
The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge Spoiler:
Amount spent on e-books: 16.98/30 pounds Number of DTB bought:3/3 Last edited by missimpossible; 04-27-2015 at 03:05 PM. |
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01-02-2015, 02:06 PM
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#59 |
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Addict
Posts: 296
Karma: 955301
Join Date: Oct 2008
Device: Sony PRS-300, Sony PRS-T2, Kindle (7th Gen)
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Goal: To keep a record of all the books I finish in 2015 (not including rereads)
1. Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) by Steven Erikson (paper book)
2. The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (ebook) 3. The Last Man by Mary Shelley (ebook) 4. The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events #5) by Lemony Snicket (paper book) 5. The Year's Best S.F. 1972 ed. Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss (paper book) 6. Best Science Fiction of the Year 1 ed. Terry Carr (paper book) 7. Transtories ed. Colin Harvey (paper book) 8. Dark Warning by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick (paper book) 9. Angel Kiss (Jacki King #1) by Laura Jane Cassidy (paper book) 10. Eighteen Kisses (Jacki King #2) by Laura Jane Cassidy (paper book) 11. Women Destroy Science Fiction! ed. Christie Yant (ebook) 12. Airship Shape & Bristol Fashion ed. Roz Clarke & Joanne Hall (ebook) 13. The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott (paper book) 14. Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne (paper book) 15. Dreams Of Shadow And Smoke ed. Jim Rockhill & Brian J. Showers (paper book) 16. Be My Enemy (Everness #2) by Ian McDonald (paper book) 17. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (ebook) 18. Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson (paper book) 19. The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne (paper book) 20. The Bishop of Hell and Other Stories by Marjorie Bowen (paper book) 21. A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea #1) by Ursula K. Le Guin (paper book) 22. The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea #2) by Ursula K. Le Guin (paper book) 23. The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard (paper book) 24. Engraved on the Eye by Saladin Ahmed (ebook) 25. Spectrum IV ed. Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest (paper book) 26. The Farthest Shore (Earthsea #3) by Ursula K. Le Guin (paper book) 27. Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch, #2) by Ann Leckie (paper book) 28. Sky Coyote (The Company #2) by Kage Baker (ebook) 29. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (paper book) 30. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, trans. Ken Liu (ebook) 31. Judgment Night: A Selection of Science Fiction by C.L. Moore (paper book) 32. Northwest of Earth by C.L. Moore (paper book) 33. Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore (paper book) 34. Solaris by Stanisław Lem (trans. Kilmartin–Cox) (paper book) 35. Resonance by Celine Kiernan (paper book) 36. The Ginger Star (The Book of Skaith #1) by Leigh Brackett (paper book) 37. The Perfect Planet by Evelyn E. Smith (paper book) 38. Mandrake by Susan Cooper (paper book) 39. The Door In the Lake by Nancy Butts (paper book) 40. The Kingdom and the Cave by Joan Aiken (paper book) 41. The Galactic Whirlpool (Star Trek: TOS) by David Gerrold (paper book) 42. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (paper book) 43. Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch, #3) by Ann Leckie (paper book) 44. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N. K. Jemisin (ebook) 45. The Lifted Veil by George Eliot (ebook) 46. The Unfortunate Fursey (Fursey #1) by Mervyn Wall (paper book) 47. Ailfí agus an Vaimpír (Ailfí agus an Vaimpír #1) by Orna Ní Choileáin (ebook) Last edited by Hatgirl; 01-01-2016 at 06:27 AM. |
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01-03-2015, 01:43 PM
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#60 |
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Comic book artist
Posts: 553
Karma: 1760679
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Detroit
Device: Nook Glowlight, iPad, iPhone
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Goal: to read 26 books in 2015
Last edited by tecweston; 08-25-2015 at 10:55 AM. |
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| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| The 2015 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread | Nyssa | Reading Recommendations | 517 | 01-02-2016 01:46 PM |
| The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge List Thread! | Nyssa | Reading Recommendations | 62 | 12-07-2014 02:12 PM |
| The 2013 Annual Reading Challenge – List Thread! | Nyssa | Reading Recommendations | 75 | 11-17-2013 01:22 PM |
| The 2012 Annual Reading Challenge - Discussion Thread! | Nyssa | Reading Recommendations | 779 | 01-03-2013 08:40 PM |
| The 2012 Annual Reading Challenge – List Thread! | Nyssa | Reading Recommendations | 79 | 09-25-2012 09:52 PM |
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