
FRIENDS ONLY
*comment to be added. = )
Because I'm going to start a new Book List for 2008 I thought I'd post the one from 2007 up. My plan is trying to read more than 37 books this year. :D
Books---2007
These are books that I have read so far for the year.
1. The Other Bolyen Girl 4/5 (finished 3 Jan 07)
2.Eyes of Crow 3.5/5 (finished 10 Jan 07)
3. River God 5/5 (finished 17 Jan 07)
4.The Mountain's Call (finished 19 Jan 07) 3.5/5
5. Airs Beneath The Moon 3.5/5 (Finished 29 Jan 07)
6. Beka Cooper Terrier 4.75/5 (finished 10 Feb 07)
7. Hannibal Rising 4/5 (Finished 22 Feb 07) I tried to read Red Dragon a year or so ago and thought it was horrible. Saw the movie Hannibal Rising and someone recommended that i read the book. Glad I did, it was excellent.
8. The Queen's Fool 4/5 (Finished 5 April 2007) Very excellent with engaging characters.
9. The Virgin's Lover
4.5/5 (Finished 8 April 2007) Sucks you into her character's Lives just like all her other books.
10. My Sister's Keeper 4.9/5 (Finished 15 April 2007) Had an ending that was completely out of left field yet it fit perfectly with the aim of the book. I'd also recommend The 10th Circle by Judi Picoult as well.
11. The Constant Princess 3.9/5 (Finished 20 May 2007) Like the rest of Philippa Gregory's books this one was engrossing. I just got the extreme craving to buy & read it since I like her style so much.
12. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers 3.5/5 (Finished 25 May 2007) This book was very interesting following what happens to the bodies of those who donate their remains to science. Full of cool facts.
13. Belladonna 4/5 (Finished 30 May 2007) Nice solid book, found myself hoping that the message in the last few chapters of the book will hint at another in the series even though it is only a duology. I will admit some parts did get a little *trying* but overall a nice solid read.
14. The Serpent Bride 4.9/5 (Finished 13 June 2007) AMAZING!!! Serpent Bride is especially awesome because Sara Douglass tied in two of her stand alone books with two of her series that all take place in the same world. Made things very interesting. Plus it was nice to see StarDrifter back in action since he was my favorite character in the series. I am anxiously awaiting the next book!
15. The Harlequin Rating in comments (Finished 16 June 2008) This book is a tough one to rate. It is book #15 in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. When compared with books 1-9 it can only be rated low maybe a 2.5/5. When it is compared to books 10-14 it is more around 3.95/5. The sex scenes were down to 3 or 4 which (when compared to the last 4 that's nothing) was awesome, not having to skip a 20 page sex scene is a plus. Plot was pretty much there too and the idea of the Harlequin was very interesting. My major problem with the book is that Hamilton has gotten to the point where she repeats herself constantly. "I nodded my head a little too often, a little to fast" and other sentences that were repeated all the time. This is annoying. There was also a LOT of chitchat and the ending was a little bit ugh for me. BUT this book is giving me hope that maybe, just maybe the series can get back to the level that they were in the first 9 (which was AmAzInG). I was very sad Asher really didn't have a role in this book. Thats...at least two books where he is almost non-existant, then again this book covered only 2 or 3 real days so maybe that's why. It is just sad for me cause Asher is the only reason I read the books when they got shitty. I love him too much to give them up. >.<
16. Micah 2.7/5 (Finished 23 June 2007) I read this book tonight in about an hour while I was at the bookstore. It is a side book to the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter books. I was worried it was going to be filled with sex but only two chapters were devoted to the deed. It was a quick read only 250ish pages with funny spaced print. I did enjoy the backstory about how Micah became a were and the fact that Anita raised a zombie. Was aggravated that the action bit with said zombie was cut short by the fact that Anita blacked out. Which is why the low rating, most of the book was talk talk talk and I wanted more zombie/bad guy action.
17. Animals in Translation... 3.9/5 (Finished 1 July 2007) This book was pretty amazing, it's all about how a woman has used her life experience with having autism and relating it to how animals think. Has many intriguing facts about animals and the makeup of their minds along with a good running commentary. VERY COOL read.
18. The Quest 4.5/5 (Finished 15 July 2007) What can I say? Wilbur Smith writes an excellent book. I've been in love with all of the books that have Taita in them and was extremely happy with the ending (specially since it is open for yet another book). Funny cause I had no idea that this book was coming out and was surprised when I saw it on the shelves. Love it when that happens.
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 5/5 (Finished 20 July 2007) This has always been my favorite book so far in the series so I decided since I saw the movie last week that I would go ahead and read it again. I especially enjoy the bits of backstory we get on Sirius and the gang.
20. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 4/5 (Finished 22 July 2007) Thought it was decent. Can't really review cause I don't want to spoil it. but I was extremely aggitated that now 2/3 of my favorite characters are dead. But with a war death is to be expected.
21. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume 1 5/5 ( Finished 20 July 2007) This is the comic book adaptation of the popular book series. This incluedes the first 6 (?) comics of the book guilty pleasures. I must say I LOVE the artwork. I think that was done very well and I also am really happy that most of the dialouge is taken straight from the book as well. I cannot wait until the next installment and I hope that they do this for the rest of the books also. :D
22.
The Golden Compass 4/5 (Finished 1 August 2007) I've read it before but I wanted to read it again. I love Iorek Byrnison, can't wait for the movie I hope it is as good as the book. But in the movie previews Pan's voice sounds like a girl and Pan is a boy so...I dunno we'll see when it comes out.
23. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christoper Colombus 5/5 (Finished 9 August 2007) I read this book the first time a few years ago and ever since I had been looking for it at the bookstore, but I had forgotten that OSC wrote it and I thought the title was Timekeepers so thank goodness I remembered what the cover looked like and i saw it the other day. It was still as good as I remembered. He puts such emotion into each character and the logic that they all have. Plus I always have liked stories about time travel and the main idea is that in the future they have these machines that can record events in the past and the researchers can then watch and study them, which to my nosey self seems like a lot of fun. Ha ha. Anyways go read it cause it rocks like that.
24 & 25. Mr. Hands & the novella Kiss of the Mudman 3.98/5 (Finished 12 August 2007) I was in the mood for a scary book when I was in the bookstore and I saw this cover, it is a creepy doll carved out of wood with huge hands and it is sitting by a little girl's shoe. So I bought it and read it all in one day (I was at work and BORED) This book has some interesting questions, if you kill a child to take away all of it's hurting (it has or will expierience) are you any better than people who harm children because they are assholes? Is it worth it to live a crappy life just so one can live? The book itself is not really scary but well worth the read, the novella (Kiss of the Mudman) is trippy and in fact it made me have a weird dream last night because of the images it put in my head.
26.
Vanishing Acts 4.5/5 (Finished 23 August 2007) This story sucks you in so quick, I spent the whole book wishing for a certain outcome and couldn't wait to finish it to see what happens.
27. The Space Between Us 4/5 (Finished 27 August 2007) This book was very intriguing mainly because it is set in India and I don't really have any background knowledge on India and it's customs. The story is that of two women old Bhima who is a worker in the house of a middle class worker named Serabi. These two come from totally different backgrounds and the way that they interact, and don't is interesting. Take for example Serabi has had Bhima working for her for many many years and the old woman could almost be like her mother/grandmother type figure but Bhima is not allowed to eat with the same utinsils or sit on the chairs in Serabi's house. It is a class distinction. Bhima slaves away in Serabi's home only to go home to her shack in the slums. While they do interact with smoothness born from the many years they have been together plus the trials of each woman that the other has wittnessed it is gut wrenching the outcome after light falls on an already difficult situation. Who would you choose someone who is like family to your or someone only related by blood?
28. Mary Modern 2.6/5 (Finished 31 August 2007) The fact that this book wasn't that good disappointed me, since it has such rich material to go from. the premise is a woman in her late 20s wants to have a child but she cannot so she clones her grandmother from some blood she found on an old apron. But because the blood was taken from Mary when she was 22ish that is the age in which she matures this almost kills Lucy (who was carring her in her womb) so a fake womb is set up. When the cloned Mary gains her thoughts she is able to remember everything up until the time when the blood was released. Anyways the idea of clonging and cloning someone who would remember the "past life" 'they' lived is very cool, but I didn't like the way the book was actually written. The twitchy nature of the timeline and the relative coldness in which the main characters regarded each other and just the fact that Mary adjusted so quickly/easily seemed hard to imagine. Although the twist at the end was pretty good. I wouldn't recommend buying this book but renting would be ok.
29. The Shepherd Kings (Finished 10 September 2007) 4.5/5 Judith Tarr writes amazing books set in ancient egypt. lots of love for her books
30. Lust,Caution (Finished 27 September 2007) 4/5 Very short novel, wonderful writing. She can definitely set the mood and can describe a whole book worth of backgrounds in a few short sentences. the outcome was also a big impact.
31. Lady of Horses" (Finished 28 September 2007) 4/5 Once again it is a compelling book by Judith Tarr, I didn't like it as much as her works set in Egypt but that really doesn't make it any less good.
32. Now and Zen (Finished 29 September 2007) 3/5 Quick read, young adult novel. Story about a girl finding herself. I got it for $2.07 so it was worth the money, but I wouldn't have wanted to pay full price for it.
33. White Mare's Daughter (Finished 22 October 2007) 3.7/5 It was good but in the end it just didn't capture me the way the other books along this vein did.
34. One Child (Finished 29 October 2007) 3/5 interesting and a quick read
35. Threshold (Finished 18 November 2007) 4.5/5 An awesome stand alone book by Sara Douglass. I re-read it because although it is stand alone it has back story information from Sara's newest series that starts with The Serpent's Bride book.
36. Hades' Daughter (Finished 29 November 2007) 5/5 This is book #1 in Sara Douglass' Troy Game Series. I am immensely happy that I have decided to re-read them since it is such a great story. I am currently trying to spend all my extra time reading so that I can read the other three books. : ) Story totally sucks you in with magic/tragedy/romance tons of stuff. Asterion is one of my favorite characters of all time.
37. Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 Volume 1 (Finished 3 December 2007) 4.75/5 A graphic novel that I saw when i was looking through my SFBC cataloge. First the art is what jumpped out at me. The mice are super cool, and cute looking and so I bought it. The story about the mice civilization and the terrors they face and the guard that protects the citizens is cool and different. Can't wait for the next volume to come out!
Books---2007
These are books that I have read so far for the year.
1. The Other Bolyen Girl 4/5 (finished 3 Jan 07)
2.Eyes of Crow 3.5/5 (finished 10 Jan 07)
3. River God 5/5 (finished 17 Jan 07)
4.The Mountain's Call (finished 19 Jan 07) 3.5/5
5. Airs Beneath The Moon 3.5/5 (Finished 29 Jan 07)
6. Beka Cooper Terrier 4.75/5 (finished 10 Feb 07)
7. Hannibal Rising 4/5 (Finished 22 Feb 07) I tried to read Red Dragon a year or so ago and thought it was horrible. Saw the movie Hannibal Rising and someone recommended that i read the book. Glad I did, it was excellent.
8. The Queen's Fool 4/5 (Finished 5 April 2007) Very excellent with engaging characters.
9. The Virgin's Lover
4.5/5 (Finished 8 April 2007) Sucks you into her character's Lives just like all her other books.
10. My Sister's Keeper 4.9/5 (Finished 15 April 2007) Had an ending that was completely out of left field yet it fit perfectly with the aim of the book. I'd also recommend The 10th Circle by Judi Picoult as well.
11. The Constant Princess 3.9/5 (Finished 20 May 2007) Like the rest of Philippa Gregory's books this one was engrossing. I just got the extreme craving to buy & read it since I like her style so much.
12. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers 3.5/5 (Finished 25 May 2007) This book was very interesting following what happens to the bodies of those who donate their remains to science. Full of cool facts.
13. Belladonna 4/5 (Finished 30 May 2007) Nice solid book, found myself hoping that the message in the last few chapters of the book will hint at another in the series even though it is only a duology. I will admit some parts did get a little *trying* but overall a nice solid read.
14. The Serpent Bride 4.9/5 (Finished 13 June 2007) AMAZING!!! Serpent Bride is especially awesome because Sara Douglass tied in two of her stand alone books with two of her series that all take place in the same world. Made things very interesting. Plus it was nice to see StarDrifter back in action since he was my favorite character in the series. I am anxiously awaiting the next book!
15. The Harlequin Rating in comments (Finished 16 June 2008) This book is a tough one to rate. It is book #15 in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. When compared with books 1-9 it can only be rated low maybe a 2.5/5. When it is compared to books 10-14 it is more around 3.95/5. The sex scenes were down to 3 or 4 which (when compared to the last 4 that's nothing) was awesome, not having to skip a 20 page sex scene is a plus. Plot was pretty much there too and the idea of the Harlequin was very interesting. My major problem with the book is that Hamilton has gotten to the point where she repeats herself constantly. "I nodded my head a little too often, a little to fast" and other sentences that were repeated all the time. This is annoying. There was also a LOT of chitchat and the ending was a little bit ugh for me. BUT this book is giving me hope that maybe, just maybe the series can get back to the level that they were in the first 9 (which was AmAzInG). I was very sad Asher really didn't have a role in this book. Thats...at least two books where he is almost non-existant, then again this book covered only 2 or 3 real days so maybe that's why. It is just sad for me cause Asher is the only reason I read the books when they got shitty. I love him too much to give them up. >.<
16. Micah 2.7/5 (Finished 23 June 2007) I read this book tonight in about an hour while I was at the bookstore. It is a side book to the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter books. I was worried it was going to be filled with sex but only two chapters were devoted to the deed. It was a quick read only 250ish pages with funny spaced print. I did enjoy the backstory about how Micah became a were and the fact that Anita raised a zombie. Was aggravated that the action bit with said zombie was cut short by the fact that Anita blacked out. Which is why the low rating, most of the book was talk talk talk and I wanted more zombie/bad guy action.
17. Animals in Translation... 3.9/5 (Finished 1 July 2007) This book was pretty amazing, it's all about how a woman has used her life experience with having autism and relating it to how animals think. Has many intriguing facts about animals and the makeup of their minds along with a good running commentary. VERY COOL read.
18. The Quest 4.5/5 (Finished 15 July 2007) What can I say? Wilbur Smith writes an excellent book. I've been in love with all of the books that have Taita in them and was extremely happy with the ending (specially since it is open for yet another book). Funny cause I had no idea that this book was coming out and was surprised when I saw it on the shelves. Love it when that happens.
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 5/5 (Finished 20 July 2007) This has always been my favorite book so far in the series so I decided since I saw the movie last week that I would go ahead and read it again. I especially enjoy the bits of backstory we get on Sirius and the gang.
20. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 4/5 (Finished 22 July 2007) Thought it was decent. Can't really review cause I don't want to spoil it. but I was extremely aggitated that now 2/3 of my favorite characters are dead. But with a war death is to be expected.
21. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume 1 5/5 ( Finished 20 July 2007) This is the comic book adaptation of the popular book series. This incluedes the first 6 (?) comics of the book guilty pleasures. I must say I LOVE the artwork. I think that was done very well and I also am really happy that most of the dialouge is taken straight from the book as well. I cannot wait until the next installment and I hope that they do this for the rest of the books also. :D
22.
The Golden Compass 4/5 (Finished 1 August 2007) I've read it before but I wanted to read it again. I love Iorek Byrnison, can't wait for the movie I hope it is as good as the book. But in the movie previews Pan's voice sounds like a girl and Pan is a boy so...I dunno we'll see when it comes out.
23. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christoper Colombus 5/5 (Finished 9 August 2007) I read this book the first time a few years ago and ever since I had been looking for it at the bookstore, but I had forgotten that OSC wrote it and I thought the title was Timekeepers so thank goodness I remembered what the cover looked like and i saw it the other day. It was still as good as I remembered. He puts such emotion into each character and the logic that they all have. Plus I always have liked stories about time travel and the main idea is that in the future they have these machines that can record events in the past and the researchers can then watch and study them, which to my nosey self seems like a lot of fun. Ha ha. Anyways go read it cause it rocks like that.
24 & 25. Mr. Hands & the novella Kiss of the Mudman 3.98/5 (Finished 12 August 2007) I was in the mood for a scary book when I was in the bookstore and I saw this cover, it is a creepy doll carved out of wood with huge hands and it is sitting by a little girl's shoe. So I bought it and read it all in one day (I was at work and BORED) This book has some interesting questions, if you kill a child to take away all of it's hurting (it has or will expierience) are you any better than people who harm children because they are assholes? Is it worth it to live a crappy life just so one can live? The book itself is not really scary but well worth the read, the novella (Kiss of the Mudman) is trippy and in fact it made me have a weird dream last night because of the images it put in my head.
26.
Vanishing Acts 4.5/5 (Finished 23 August 2007) This story sucks you in so quick, I spent the whole book wishing for a certain outcome and couldn't wait to finish it to see what happens.
27. The Space Between Us 4/5 (Finished 27 August 2007) This book was very intriguing mainly because it is set in India and I don't really have any background knowledge on India and it's customs. The story is that of two women old Bhima who is a worker in the house of a middle class worker named Serabi. These two come from totally different backgrounds and the way that they interact, and don't is interesting. Take for example Serabi has had Bhima working for her for many many years and the old woman could almost be like her mother/grandmother type figure but Bhima is not allowed to eat with the same utinsils or sit on the chairs in Serabi's house. It is a class distinction. Bhima slaves away in Serabi's home only to go home to her shack in the slums. While they do interact with smoothness born from the many years they have been together plus the trials of each woman that the other has wittnessed it is gut wrenching the outcome after light falls on an already difficult situation. Who would you choose someone who is like family to your or someone only related by blood?
28. Mary Modern 2.6/5 (Finished 31 August 2007) The fact that this book wasn't that good disappointed me, since it has such rich material to go from. the premise is a woman in her late 20s wants to have a child but she cannot so she clones her grandmother from some blood she found on an old apron. But because the blood was taken from Mary when she was 22ish that is the age in which she matures this almost kills Lucy (who was carring her in her womb) so a fake womb is set up. When the cloned Mary gains her thoughts she is able to remember everything up until the time when the blood was released. Anyways the idea of clonging and cloning someone who would remember the "past life" 'they' lived is very cool, but I didn't like the way the book was actually written. The twitchy nature of the timeline and the relative coldness in which the main characters regarded each other and just the fact that Mary adjusted so quickly/easily seemed hard to imagine. Although the twist at the end was pretty good. I wouldn't recommend buying this book but renting would be ok.
29. The Shepherd Kings (Finished 10 September 2007) 4.5/5 Judith Tarr writes amazing books set in ancient egypt. lots of love for her books
30. Lust,Caution (Finished 27 September 2007) 4/5 Very short novel, wonderful writing. She can definitely set the mood and can describe a whole book worth of backgrounds in a few short sentences. the outcome was also a big impact.
31. Lady of Horses" (Finished 28 September 2007) 4/5 Once again it is a compelling book by Judith Tarr, I didn't like it as much as her works set in Egypt but that really doesn't make it any less good.
32. Now and Zen (Finished 29 September 2007) 3/5 Quick read, young adult novel. Story about a girl finding herself. I got it for $2.07 so it was worth the money, but I wouldn't have wanted to pay full price for it.
33. White Mare's Daughter (Finished 22 October 2007) 3.7/5 It was good but in the end it just didn't capture me the way the other books along this vein did.
34. One Child (Finished 29 October 2007) 3/5 interesting and a quick read
35. Threshold (Finished 18 November 2007) 4.5/5 An awesome stand alone book by Sara Douglass. I re-read it because although it is stand alone it has back story information from Sara's newest series that starts with The Serpent's Bride book.
36. Hades' Daughter (Finished 29 November 2007) 5/5 This is book #1 in Sara Douglass' Troy Game Series. I am immensely happy that I have decided to re-read them since it is such a great story. I am currently trying to spend all my extra time reading so that I can read the other three books. : ) Story totally sucks you in with magic/tragedy/romance tons of stuff. Asterion is one of my favorite characters of all time.
37. Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 Volume 1 (Finished 3 December 2007) 4.75/5 A graphic novel that I saw when i was looking through my SFBC cataloge. First the art is what jumpped out at me. The mice are super cool, and cute looking and so I bought it. The story about the mice civilization and the terrors they face and the guard that protects the citizens is cool and different. Can't wait for the next volume to come out!
- Mood:
calm
