Hairballsrus Hits the Books: 2013 Edition

Hello, my name is hairballsrus and I'm a bookaholic....

Welcome back!

>2 drneutron: Thank you very much! Always a pleasure!

Goals for the Year....

Absolutely none at the moment. I have a tendency to balk at challenges, so I'm not going to set anything into stone--a guaranteed way of making sure I won't do something-just ask my husband! I did read 92 books last year and I'm sure I can read the same amount (if not more) in 2013. I read purely for pleasure and even though I'm (cough~!) half way through my forties, I tend to read a lot of YA because I love the paranormal genre. I am really getting sick of reading about proms and homecoming dances though. Ugh. Lets take over the world! But first we need to go to this dance and have sex afterwards. Please.

I'm considering the concept of creating TBR Piles for each month to give my reading a bit more structure. I have ADD when it comes to my book choices (Oooh! Look! A new series!) and since I am happy to explore all options, used bookstores, new bookstores, ebooks and libraries, I have way too many options at all times. I love to buy books. I confess! But I really need to eliminate some of my backlog. Seriously. The books are taking over the house. I will keep a running tab in this post of what I've read and I think this year I will include finish dates. I'm also toying with allowing Audio Books to be counted. In the long run, audio books usually take longer than physically reading a book, so it makes sense to include them. So, without further ado, let's get started.

January Reads and Listens:

1. The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore Finished Jan 2nd.
2. Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout ebook Finished Jan. 5th
3. Guy Langman Crime Scene Procrastinator AUDIO BOOK by Josh Berk Finished Jan 4th
4. Touch by Jus Accardo ebook Finished Jan 7th
5. Deadly Dance AUDIO BOOK Library Loan Finished Jan 11th
6. Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan Library Loan Finished Jan. 11th
7. Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan Library Loan Finished Jan. 13th
8. Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan Library Loan Finished Jan. 18th
9. Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey ebook Finished Jan 23rd
10. Blameless by Gail Carriger ebook Finished Jan. 27th
11. Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan AUDIO BOOK Library Loan Finished Jan. 26th
12. The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lillian Jackson Braun AUDIO BOOK Finished Jan 20th ?
13. The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lillian Jackson Braun AUDIO BOOK Finished Jan. 20th?

February Reads and Listens

14. Heartless by Gail Carriger ebook Finished Feb. 2nd

1. The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement Moore

Southern Gothic wannabe. Ghosts. Stonehenge. Cute guy with Welsh accent. Ancestral home. Dashed dreams and hopes. Possible murder. I do like this author, but there was too much build up and not enough follow through with this novel. And having read the book, I still don't know what the title means. :)

First line:

I wanted to hate Alabama, and nothing about my arrival disappointed me.

2. Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout An ebook addiction about teen aliens. After so many zombie reads last year, aliens were a welcome respite.

I read the first two books in this series last year. This installment came out in December and I bought it the week it came out, but I've only just gotten to it. When I use the word "installment", that's just what it feels like. These books are mini soap operas with cliff hanger endings. Honestly, the first two books where the world was being explained the characters were being introduced were much better. This was a bridge book and I hope for more in book four. As I mentioned in the above post, I'm getting sick of reading about teens going to the prom and this novel had one those chapters. Sigh. Whatcha gonna do?

First lines: I wasn't sure what woke me. The howling wind from the first hardcore blizzard of the year had calmed last night and my room was quiet. Peaceful. I rolled onto my side and blinked.

Eyes the color of dew-covered leaves stared into mine. Eyes eerily familiar but lackluster compared to the ones I loved.

Dawson.

3. Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk AUDIO BOOK

To be honest with you, I checked this out from the library last October. Thanks to my local library's lenient lending program and the fact that I was too lazy to get it out of my car, I finally finished listening to it this week. It's stupid. It's crass. It's told from a boy's point of view. And I'm done with it so I'm counting it. Hallelujah.

TBR PILE FOR JANUARY

Here are my options for the month. This doesn't mean I won't go off the reservation. In fact, I'm already three quarters of the way through something else on my Nook, but I would like to read a least four of these books by the end of the month. The plus side to this arrangement is that I own all but one of these and that's a library loan, so it would cut down on my book spending. Feel free to comment on any of my choices:


The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
The Body Finder Kimberly Derting
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller An ARC from Library Thing
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman Modern retelling of Pride and Predjudice
Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan Library loan.
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel Sequel to Dearly Departed read last year. Zombies.
Starters by Lissa Price
Spellcast by Barbara Ashford

Hmmm, not one book I've read...I'll check back to see how it's going!

I've read Gods Behaving Badly, Enthusiasm, and Spellcast. They were all enjoyable light reads but nothing really special imho. The first is YA--think Percy Jackson with a teenage female protagonist, the second more of a kid's book (I think the protagonist is 12) and the third an adult protagonist. Any of them would be a pleasant way to while away an afternoon or evening.

Glad to see you back with us again! I did not realize that you were in Allen. I used to work there, but have now moved up to Sherman.

8>Fuzzi- You're always welcome!

9>Ronincats-Thanks for the input. I picked up the first because it was on clearance, the second because of the Pride and Prejudice link and the third because it reminded me of books by Laura Resnick. I'll probably pick up Spellcast first.

10>Alcottacre-Yes, we're still in Allen. I haven't updated my bio in ages. :) I work in Plano.

4. Touch by Jus Accardo Ebook. Finished January 7th. Yet more teenagers with "super powers"! But no prom, at least not yet. ;P An evil father who runs a secret government lab, an angry teenage daughter who loves to rebel and a mysterious young man whose touch is literally lethal. What's not to love? It was okay. A bit rushed. Didn't live up to its reviews. Bought on cover appeal.

Favorite line from Chapter One: Never mix tequila and peach schnapps with warm Bud Light.

Even though I don't drink, I can only assume this is good advice. :)

Typing this on my Nook, which is a royal pain.

5. Deadly Dance AUDIO BOOK Finished Jan 11th. Totally implausible Agatha Raisin story, but entertaining none the less. Never trust Agatha with your Christmas turkey.
6. Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan Finished Jan 11th. Really enjoyable first book in a trilogy. Main character is 459. Now she's decided to grow up. No vampires in sight. Yay!

7. Darkness Falls also by Cate Tiernan Finished Jan 13th. Second in series. Yes, I know it isn't in my TBR, but you couldn't expect me NOT to pick up the next in the series if it was available, could you?

Currently reading Eternally Yours and listening to The Demon's Lexicon.

I'm interested in learning more about the Cate Tiernan series.

>ronincats-I can definitely recommend this series. The first book is the strongest.
Enjoyable world building. A 459 year old immortal willingly checks herself into an magical rehab center, believing she's headed down the wrong path. There's some good character growth and the commune feels like a real place. I wouldn't mind visiting for a while.

8. Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan Library loan. Finished Jan. 18th Third and last in the Immortal Beloved series. Satisfying enough finish to this story arc with plenty of room for more books. I might have been happier with this last book, had I devoured it like the first two, but work (or rather the lack of work because I finally got some days off and snoozed through the first two) threw me off track and I wasn't as wrapped up in the plot as before. I still willing dragged the book with me as we took the train into the city to go see an exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art and I let the hubby peruse all the goodies at the museum store while I read on a bench outside. Saved money that way I suppose. It was a Poster of Paris exhibit and I wanted to buy everything that was Chat Noir related. :)

Pros: The main character Nastasya is just as snarky as ever and full of self-doubt. I love her voice. She's the perfect protagonist.

Cons: The big bad emerged too late and there wasn't enough done with all the characters. We don't learn nearly enough about Reyn. What is really the deal behind Reyn and Joshua's spat?

From the back cover: ***WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Ancient evil. How odd that it actually exists. But it does. And my most recent brush with it had demonstrated how inadequate my mastery of magick was. If I'd known more that night, I might have been able to save Katy and Boz. Might not have had to witness their nightmarish deaths. I might have been able to save myself sooner...

Okay, you convinced me. Onto the wishlist for the first book!

9. Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey ebook Finished Jan 23th

Wonderfully rude, R-rated (and then some) urban fantasy. Most of my favorite quotes can't be repeated in mixed company.

Premise : Sandman Slim has returned from Hell after eleven years of fighting in the Arena and exacts revenge for the death of his girlfriend.

Now in the second novel, he's settled down with a corpse-less head in an apartment above a DVD shop. He's currently working as a freelancer for both Homeland Security (run by angels with a capital A) and for Lucifer, who's in town and needs a bodyguard. Did I mention this series takes place in L.A.? Where else, right? Add in a porn actress who moonlights as a zombie killer and a plot to kill well, everybody, in Southern California and you get the flavor of this book.

It's repulsive, violent and crass, but also highly entertaining. It also leaves me hungry for all the Mexican food mentioned in the pages. Even though I don't drink and would likely get mugged, I'd love to visit the book's bar, The House of Bamboo Dolls, just for the tamales. :)

I'm looking forward to the next book, Aloha from Hell, but personally I don't think I can take two books by Kadrey in a row. I need some breathing space!

First lines: Imagine shoving a cattle prod up a rhino's ass, shouting "April fool!", and hoping the rhino thinks it's funny. That's about how much fun it is hunting a vampire.

Update on the TBR Pile: I'm over a quarter of the way through Dearly Departed by Lia Habel, but I'm sorry, it's dull. The multi-viewpoint was annoying in the first novel and appears again in this sequel. It makes the plot feel disjointed. I also need a primer for the last novel's characters because I don't remember all these people!

Needless to say, I'm also reading something else and no, it's not on my list, but it is a book I actually possess, so that should count for something!

I actually have the first Sandman Slim book in my tbr pile here. Someday...

Thanks for stopping by my thread--I am feeling much better today!

>18 ronincats: Glad to hear you're on the mend ronincats!

10. Blameless by Gail Carriger ebook Finished Jan. 27th

I originally tossed this series to the wind because of the cliffhanger in Book Two. I paid money for this?! Still, with time comes forgiveness and the realization that everyone else has already read these books and look, there's another series coming out in the same Universe. Sigh. Time to get some reading done. This still felt like a bridge book, not enough plot of its own and no true ending, but I'm going to stop looking for that. They are excerpts in a larger story. Period. I really do like the Universe. The constant vampire attacks got a bit repetitive.

11. Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan AUDIO BOOK Library Loan Finished Jan. 26th. I was a bit on the fence about this one at the beginning, but it had enough of a twist ending to change my mind. Things are not what they seem.

Brothers Allen and Nick, along with their nutty mother, stay one step ahead of the magicians pursuing them around England. They've been chased ever since the death of their father. Add in two teenagers who come to them for magical help, a visit to the Goblin Market and secrets within secrets create this tale. Not bad. Considering what is revealed at the end of this book, I am a bit confused that the next novel is about a minor character. We shall see....

I know I'm listing these two out of order, but I wasn't sure if I was going to count them until now. What the hey! Audio books, even ones I relisten to, are going on the list this year.

12. The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lillian Jackson Braun AUDIO BOOK Finished Jan. 20th?
13. The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lillian Jackson Braun AUDIO BOOK Finished Jan 20?

I found these Audio books on my computer and listened to them while working about the house last weekend. Very much rereads (or relistens) - I love the voice of the actor George Guidall. Honestly, I think I'd listen to any book this man reads. :)

14. Heartless by Gail Carriger ebook Finished Feb. 2nd

I have issues with this one, but it was still entertaining. Loved the last page.

Okay January Summary

4 Physical books (1 mine 3 Library Loans)
4 ebooks (all mine)
5 Audio books (2 mine, 3 Library Loans)

Total: 13

Not bad!

As for reading the books on my TBR pile..... I need some work on that. I read one and started another. Still, with seven of the books still coming from my own shelves, I'm not going to be that hard on myself. Next up, a new TBR Pile to ignore!!

I haven't kept up with finish dates this month. Too much chaos in my life. I have been reading though...

15. Timeless by Gail Carriger (ebook) As the last book in a series, this was a dud.
16. With Friends Like These by Gillian Roberts (book) I started to reread this mystery series last Fall. This is the fourth book. I also read about a third of the 5th book, but abandoned it for the moment.
17. Horns and Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson (ebook) I saw this on a Book Rat video. Middle grade fantasy. Cute.
18. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater ( ebook) Very enjoyable first book in a paranormal
series. A little drawn out in the middle.
19. The Magician King by Lev Grossman (ebook) Sequel to The Magicians Much better than the first book. Sort of Narnia for adults. Very tongue in cheek.
20. Love Splat by Rob Scotton (book) Okay, so its basically a picture book and maybe twenty pages, but it was my Valentine gift from my hubby! :)

Then it definitely counts!

Thanks Roni!

21. The Help by Kathryn Stockett ebook Yet again a year or so behind the trend, but I finally read this excellent novel. Now I can watch the film.

22. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ebook

I confess! I'm reading a lot of ebooks this year because I really need to get reading glasses... Thank God you can change the font size on the Nook. :)

23. Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival Adventure and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff ebook

Reads like a term paper. Bleah.

24. Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown Literary chick lit. Eh. The problems were solved too easily.

25, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Here's a first: I like the film better.

26. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
27. Magic Study by Maria V. Snder

The first two novels in the "Study" series. Prettty good. The books remind me a lot of the "Harper Hall" Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey. The world building is strong, maybe a little more simple than I'd like. Especially in the first story. And the main character's bull-headedness got on my nerves in the second installment. Just a wee bit fond of ourselves, are we? Still very engaging reads. Stayed up way beyond my bedtime to finish them. Which, since I'm current working nights, means 3 in the afternoon. :) What's with the dresses on the covers? She'd never wear those outfits.

28. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Whoa. The story of a family; the story of Detroit... I really enjoyed this and it certainly got me thinking. I would have liked to read more about how Calli became Cal, but that would have made the book even longer. Have you seen this novel? It's a brick. Glad I tackled it.

A hard week. Started several books before something finally kept my attention.

29. Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore Yep, it's a Christopher Moore novel. No doubt about it. Bawdy and clever and funny. Not what I expected going in, but lots of fun none the less. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, which is what I have now about Impressionist artists.

30. Graveminder by Melissa Marr Way too much build up and next to no follow through.

On the nightshift gig again, where I get a lot read, but I don't update librarything very often!

31. The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

32. The Osiris Ritual by George Mann

These are the first two novels in the Newbury & Hobbes Investigations: featuring a third rate Sherlock Holmes wanna be (complete with a drug addiction) and his perky assistant. Penny Dreadfuls heavy on the dreadful. Steampunk with a seriously strange Queen Victoria. Actually, she's one of the better parts of the books. Hokey. Cliched. Clunky. The clues are just so obvious. Apparently, the author has never heard of a red herring.

The second book has one of the slowest chases across London I've ever read. The enemy keeps letting the hero catch up. Seriously. There's sort of a reason for that, but not really.

The relationship between the detective/agent for the queen and his assistant is supposed to grow over the two books, but they spend more time thinking about being in a relationship than actually being in a relationship.

I did like the zombie plague and the phrase "Ottoman Automaton". Kind of rolls off the tongue, eh? Also the psychic sister in the looney bin. The elements were there, but badly handled.

Two of my favorite purple prose passages from the first novel are:

"Damn it! I must have left my cane beside the body back there. Watch out, Newbury, I'll just run back and fetch it."

Uh hello? Character with cane? You're going to RUN back and fetch it?

Also- "The creature lunged once again, aiming its jaws towards his throat, hoping to incapacitate him by tearing his windpipe and jugular out with its teeth."

Well, I should think so.

Okay, okay, I did chose to read the second book, so you could say some of my pain was self inflicted. These books bring to mind one of my favorite X-Files quotes. To paraphrase the episode:"I'm not sure what offended me most: the reincarnated souls SEX orgy, or the fact that the whole thing is written in screenplay format."

Nice covers though.

There's a third book and i have no idea why, but I'm tempted to read it.

33. The Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett One of the lesser Discworld novels. Glad I read it just for the Death By Chocolate passages.

34. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins A booktube community favorite. I liked it but I didn't love it. It was a romance. Did I miss something here? Or do I just have a shriveled up middle aged heart?

35. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa A moving novel about a math professor who has suffered brain damage in a car accident and has only 80 minutes of short term memory and the housekeeper who reintroduces herself to him each morning.

36. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder Third in the "Study" series. Pretty good. Like the world building. Main character can be exasperating at times. Relied a little too heavily on the second novel for the plot.

37. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Enjoyable second novel in the Lunar Chronicles. Especially like the introduction of the "Captain" and his ship. Wolf is broody and Scarlet kicks butt. Although they both need to work on their anger issues. :) Some plot points are way too obvious and it's more like an installment than a complete novel, but I'll still be coming back for more in 2014. Hope the Captain meets his own fairytale girl in one of the next two stories.

One annoyance: I bought this during an ebook sale for my Nook. What's with the 2 inch paragraph width? Fix the formatting. It's annoying.

Crazy times at work. Too tired to read.

38. Shatter Me by tahereh Mafi You know what this series needs? A first book. Yes, this is the first book. But the characters' personalities depend heavily on what happened before the book started. Still, even with that gripe and the slightly annoying oversexed teens, this book didn't head south until the X-Men element was added. I don't like books about superheroes. I just don't. I wouldn't have started it had I known.

39. Wait for You by J. Lynn Okay it's a romance. Don't judge! I've been in a bit of a slump.

I've also read most of Alice in Zombieland, Beautiful Disaster and something else that eludes me....

No judgement here! :)

35>Thanks Alsvidur! I needed that!

Okay, I need to list these books before I forget them. I'm so on the ball, I gotta tell ya....

So I progressed from a straight romance to a paranormal romance, which is sort of a step in the right direction.

40. All That Bleeds by Kimberly Frost A vampire and a muse fall in love. Actually, this was pretty good. But the ending was soft and there wasn't enough heat, if you know what I mean. Not sure if I'd read the sequel. I've read the first in her other series and I own the second. Maybe I'll give that one a go.

41. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman A reread. My favorite part by far is the "Do you know what eternity is?" speech. Makes me snort. But in a good way. Looking forward to the new Gaiman coming out in June.

42. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey I read this one hot off the presses. And it was good! Actually lived up to the hype. I'm only slightly annoyed I overpaided for it and there's no mention of a publishing date for the sequel. Because there's going to be a sequel. Right? Come on now, right? Not everybody's dead yet.

*************

Okay, so to help with some of my backlog, and I have a serious backlog, I created a tupperware container full of titles that I already own and need to read. It isn't my entire TBR pile. There isn't a tupperware big enough to contain that, but the hubby picked my next two books out of that. Drum roll please......

43. Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore Seriously, this was the book he picked. This is a local author and I'd like to meet her some day. I enjoy her female characters; they have spunk and wit. The only problem I see is that her two series, Maggie Quinn vs. Evil and The Goodnights, are actually quite similiar.

44. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner This is more of a middle grade, but a nice adventure. Sort of a Greek feel to a fantasy world. A slow start, lots of descriptions of trees, rocks and mountains. Hang in there, it gets better. There's a nice twist towards the end which explains why there are three more books in this series. I don't regret the time spent on it. Paid 50 cents at Goodwill for it. Not bad.

45. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman Audio Book I love this book!!! I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to it. By far my favorite Gaiman for the humor portrayed. Who can forget Fat Charlie's speech at the wrong funeral? Or the sacred night of Wine, Women and Karaoke? Always cheers me up.

46. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Loved this one. Great world building. Might have wished to know more about their childhood, but that's my only quibble. It made me cry. Twice! I want the second book now! Only thing is , I bought this in paperback and the next novel is coming out in June in hardback. Should I buy an odd set?

47. Matched by Ally Condie
48. Crossed by Ally Condie

I definitely liked the first book better than the first. More of a "big brother watching you" feeling to it. The second was okay; I liked the new characters and some of the reveals, but I don't feel like rushing into the third book. I really should though so I can declare I finished a series.

Didn't have any troubles finishing this next series....

49. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
50. Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
51. Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Loved this steampunk world! Sort of a Jack London Call of the Wild feel to it. Adventure, adventure, adventure. Could have spent some more time inside the characters' heads. Maybe would have liked an older feel to it as well. Borders on middle grade/very young adult. Sequel series please? As much as I dislike Uglies, I loved this. I might consider giving the latter series another go.

Also started but have not finished Etiquette and Espionage. Read the better part of For Darkness Shows the Stars and was not enamored of that either.

Currently reading Across the Universe by Beth Revis. Yes, I know, I'm late again to the party.

The next book from the TBR Tupperware container is Mothership .

Oh, good! I did the same thing a couple of months ago once I started Leviathan.

Ronincats,

So you think Uglies is worth another shot?

No, actually I don't. ;-)

Eh?

I don't think Uglies is worth a shot. That series is completely different in tone and theme, and I don't think I'm interested, despite having thoroughly enjoyed the Leviathan trilogy.

Sorry about the ambiguity.

Roni- Alrighty then.

52. Across the Universe
53. A Million Suns both by Beth Revis

Here's another trilogy that's a BookTube favorite, but not one of mine. I thought the first book was a little too simple and the second book just had characters running around at odds with each other for fairly stupid reasons. No one really grasps the gravity of their situation except Elder. And Amy is a brat. Okay, she's acting like the seventeen year old that she is, but she's still a brat. I get that the books are about being able to make your own choices and sometimes those choices are going to be wrong, but enough already. And another thing.....

************spoiler alert for the 3 people who haven't read this series**************

Are they in orbit around the planet or not? Because every time they dispose of a body, or as they put it "send them to the stars", where exactly are those frozen corpses going? Because if they're in orbit.....well, shouldn't they be surrounded by their past mistakes so to speak?

*************************

In other book news....

I solved my Shadow and Bone mismatch "problem" by buying a cheap copy of the hardback from BookCloseouts and pre-ordering the sequel through Amazon. But now my problem is the copy of the sequel from the library-back when i wasn't planning on buying either book, is now available and my Amazon copy, bought with the new Neil Gaiman, won't arrive until later this month. Read the library copy now or my own copy later?

I'm about half way through Mothership and enjoying it. At first, I thought the humor was trying too hard, but once I let go and embraced the silliness of the concept, the story started to come to life. There's just something about unwed teen mothers in zero grav that appeals to my funny bone. :)

54. Mothership (Ever-Expanding Universe)

---- but what happened to The End of Mr Y? I absolutely loved that book!

I only read the first Revis book--thought it was ok for YA but had plot holes a mile wide. After your review, I will definitely not bother with the sequel.

If you liked Leviathan but not Uglies, why not try some of Westerfeld's other books? The Midnighters series is not bad, and So Yesterday, Peeps, and The Last Days are all pretty good.

LizzieD- I started Mr. Y, but couldn't get into it. It's so slow at the beginning.

roni-Now that I'm two books in, I feel I should read the third. Not sure when though.

bluesalamander-I've read Peeps and really enjoyed it. Is there a sequel?

55. City of Bones
56. City of Ashes
57. City of Glass

These were all rereads. I want to read the next two in the series and I didn't remember enough of the plot to start the newer books cold! These books are like candy. Read 'em fast and you'll enjoy them more. I still think the third book is too long and Clare introduced Sebastian too late. Clary is also a bit of a brat, a trend in YA I don't care for.. Lordy, sometimes I sound so old. :) I also liked Simon a lot better this time around.

58. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly What an utterly depressing book! But so good! Sort of reminds me of My Antonia by Willa Cather. Set in 1906 in the Adirondacks. I've had this on my shelf for years and only finally picked it up due the TBR Tupperware container. I complimented my hubby on his picking ability.

59. City of Lost Angels by Cassandra Clare Finally finished this one. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but I picked up A Northern Light in the middle of it and got engrossed in that book instead. I don't know. More and more, these stories are starting to read like Buffy episodes. "I love you, but I can't have you! I love you, but I want to kill you!" And on, and on, and on.... I'm getting sick of angsty teens. Time to step off the YA trail for a while.

In other bookie news, I am now building the sixth and final (ha) Ikea bookcase for our sci-fi room. This one is slightly deeper and we'll be buying glass doors for it so we can store some of our signed copies and doodads in it. My husband plans to paint all of them silver (to go along with the retro future theme of the room) and then I'll have the fun of alphabetizing the book collection. That actually sounds like fun, which only proves how much of a nerd I am.

People remark "Oh, so you have SIX bookcases. That's quite a lot." To which I reply, "Well, I have six in that room...." Cause, you know, there's more, in the living room, in the bedroom, in the other bedroom, in the hall....

Actually, come to think of it, there are eight bookcases in that room....

Sounds WONDERFUL! Pictures, pictures!!!

Roni- Should we ever finish, I'll be happy to!

60. Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore Eh. Not a bad book, but not a good book either. Totally middle of the road. I do like this author, but there needed to be more....

61. The Ocean at the End of the Lane Enjoyable. Creepy. Too short. :(

62. The Dark Light by Sara Walsh With this book, I was a victim of cover and blurb deception. Could have sworn I'd be reading a science fiction novel, but guess what, it's a fantasy. A bit too long, a bit too amateurish, too many jump cuts, too many inconsistencies and a bad case of insta-love that really didn't make much sense. I struggled with this one. Even dumping a bowl of Chef Boyardee ravioli on it didn't improve the plot. What a waste of a really cool cover. Where was my bad boy? Where were my spaceships? :( I was hoping for some Scully and Mulder action.

There have been strange lights in Crownsville for as long as I've lived here. Lights on the Ridge; lights on the river; lights that seep from the ground and then float to the sky in clouds of colored mist. No one really talked about them. No one really cared. Until now.

63. Wilde Women by Paula Wall This isn't a Point A to Point B kind of book, more like a series of vignettes about some extremely dysfunctional relationships in the small town of Five Points, Tennessee and the changes forced upon those relationships when a high brow brothel, The Five of Clubs, comes to town. The humor is first rate, even though the plot seems to swerve around on a curvy road. I loved every minute of it. Laugh out loud funny. I kept stopping to read passages to my husband.

The career opportunities for a woman in Five Points were somewhat limited. She could be a wife, a widow, or an old maid. The number one choice, by far, was widowhood. The benefits greatly outweighed the other career paths. After cooking, cleaning and waiting on a man for forty years, half the funerals in town were little more than a retirement dinner interrupted by a burying.

In the minds of the women of Five Points, marriage was the oldest trade union in the world. The job description was clearly defined in the contract and, regardless of her performance, a woman was pretty much guaranteed lifelong social security. But once she popped out three or four babies and was vested, she sometimes felt the need to strike. As far as she was concerned, she'd fulfilled her part of the contract. If her husband wanted anything extra, it was going to cost him.

And so, when word got around that Pearle Wilde was opening a nonunion shop, the wives immediately perceived it as a threat to their job security. The last thing they wanted was competition. There would be no scabby whores crossing their picket fences."

Yes, it is two a.m. and I am on Librarything! Insomnia is a cruel thing. Plus I need to go to work in two hours.

64. Reboot by Amy Tintera This was more like it for my sci-fi needs. Although I'm not sure I'm happy with the zombie angle. Sigh. Everything has a zombie angle these days. But still a nice action packed, teenagers kicking butt in the future type story. My only other gripe would be that our main character, Wren 178, has far too many emotions. A teenage girl having too many emotions??? Say it ain't so!!!! Well, honestly, she's not supposed to have emotions so where are they coming from? Yet another lie perpetrated by the government? Maybe. And I thought this was a standalone. It isn't. I will return for the second round. And one more thing, if the Reboots are supposed to be technically dead, why are the girls injected with contraceptives? Can you have a Reboot baby? Just wondering.

65. The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters Yet another fabulous historical novel I have absolutely no desire to ever read again!!! WWI. The flu pandemic. Shell shocked soldiers. Spiritual photography. Near death experiences. Ghostly encounters. Well researched and well written. Not nearly as depressing as I'm making it sound and kudos to the author for accomplishing that. I really did enjoy it. This one deserves awards.

I have The Shadow of Blackbirds up near the top of my TBR pile. It's set in San Diego, I believe. I'm gad to hear you liked it.

:)

66. Reached by Ally Condie Long and dull. The story stalled out about halfway through. As for character development, most of these characters were set in stone in the first novel. And why tell us about the "Otherlands" and not give us a glimpse of them? Disappointing. I appreciate that the novels had a higher calling and were trying to teach us something, but give us a little action and romance while you're at it.

67. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley This book was such a lot of fun.

Myfanwy Thomas awakes in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, her only hope of survival is to trust the instructions left in her pocket by her former self. She quickly learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. But there is a mole inside the organization and this person wants her dead.

As Myfanwy battles to save herself, she encounters a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and an unimaginably vast conspiracy. Suspenseful and hilarious, THE ROOK is an outrageously inventive debut for readers who like their espionage with a dollop of purple slime.

68. Frigid by J. Lynn "New Adult" Which means what? It's a romance. a 200+ page seduction. Entertaining none the less. But let's call a spade a spade.

69. Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer

I was born invisible.

There seems to be a lot of lukewarm feelings about this one in the book community, but I actually liked it. Honestly, I'm not sure what people expected from this story. Maybe a scifi explanation? Or an epic romance? I came into with it no expectant baggage, since I've never read either author.

The romance was only so-so, but the cursecaster/spellseeker world was interesting. I wish there had been more world building. Some small pet peeves with the characters: Stephen needed more character, Elizabeth fell victim of the standard strong willed teenage female and Laurie was way too well adjusted for what he'd just gone through.

70. How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Doktorski Meh. Teenage girl has a temporary restraining order against her after accidentally blowing up her ex-boyfriend's car. Time for a road trip!

DNFs: Five Flavors of Dumb, Chain Reaction okay, so maybe starting Book Three in this series wasn't the brightest idea, but it's the title my hubby picked out of the Tupperware Container of Joy, Shadowcry and The River of No Return. Shut up! I had PMS. How dreadful to stall out 5 books before hitting the yearly goal. :(

Went to a huge library sale with hubby and acquired two boxes and three bags of books. Hey! They were cheap! Really nice hardback of The Name of the Wind. Picked up some replacement hardbacks for my beaten into pulp Anne McCaffrey Pern novels. I should do some rereads of those. Its been forever.

Currently reading The Archived. Just picked up The Universe Versus Alex Woods from the library. It's got kind of a Travels with my Aunt vibe to me, a book that I love, love, love. It's probably the hashish. Yes, that sentence makes sense if you've read Graham Greene.

I also ordered a bind up and a new single issue comic from a local chain (Lonestar Comics) after doing a little research on Amazon. X-Files is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 10th Season available only as comics. Fangirl squeal! Did I mention my car is named Scully? And the car I had before that was named Mulder?

71. The Archived by Victoria Schwab

72. Dragonsong
73. Dragonsinger
74. Dragondrums

Long hours at work=comfort reads. Probably read these for the first time when I was twelve. :)

75. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

A rare meteorite struck Alex Woods when he was ten years old, leaving scars and marking him for an extraordinary future. The son of a fortune teller, bookish, and an easy target for bullies, Alex hasn't had the easiest childhood.

But when he meets curmudgeonly widower Mr. Peterson, he finds an unlikely friend. Someone who teaches him that that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make it count.

So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the front seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing ...

Love the Menolly books! Piemur, not so much, but still good. Great for rereads.

Soooo? Book #75 looks interesting, but what did you think of it?

And CONGRATULATIONS on reaching the 75 book mark!!

Congrats for hitting 75!

I still enjoy the Harper Hall books, too. Actually, those are the only Pern books I still read.

Congrats!

Ronincats-I feel exactly the same way about the Menolly books. Piemur is....bleah. :) I loved The Universe Versus Alex Woods, actually. The cover blurb only mildly hints at the serious subject matter involved. You're better off not knowing what the book is about going in. I couldn't help but compare the story to Terry Pratchett's real life once I realized where the book was headed though. Wow. That's a wordy sentence. Forgive me. On night shift again.

Bluesalamanders-The Harper Hall Trilogy introduced me to Pern when I was a wee bairn. I also love Dragonflight, DragonQuest and The White Dragon. Not so much a lot of the later stuff and nothing by Todd McCaffrey. But I'm a completist. I want all the books. :)

Drneutron-Thank you! In fact, thank you to all of you!

Okay. I have managed to survive Inventory, Back to School and the Halloween set in the last three weeks. Retail sucks. Also, I have a new subscription to Netflix. :) So I haven't been reading much. Hopefully my Fall vacation time will fix that.

76. The Knights of the Cornerstone by James P. Blaylock Honestly, this is the weakest Blaylock I've read. I usually really like his books, but this one did nothing for me.

Currently reading The Sea of Tranquility which I can I can highly recommend and listening to Code Name Verity-also very good.

77. The Sea of Tranquility An emotional and absorbing read. A little too long, but no other complaints.

78. Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones Boring, boring, boring then....info dump! Let's add a complicated plot in the last five pages! Another Tupperware Container of Joy pick.

I'm currently reading the second book in this series because I already own it and I was dumb enough to buy the third book before starting the first....total cover buys will get you every time... This author needs both an editor and a lecture about not talking down to her audience. When reading a story about a relationship between The Angel of Death and a sixteen year old prophetess, I don't expect Shakespeare, but I do expect a coherent plot, less repetition and a better description of a character besides being "broody". Seriously, what does that even mean? Also, why go on and on about how this girl loves her iMac, when she doesn't actually use the bloody thing? Product placement? I thought that only happened in films.

On a plus note, my first week of vacation started today. Woohoo!

79. Death, Doom and Detention by Darynda Jones Okay, there's a plot to this one, but still too much repetition and Jared, the only interesting character, is missing for most of the book. But it's a step in the right direction. I'm honestly not sure why I thought I'd like the author's YA, when I wasn't all that enamoured of her adult fiction. All those had going for them were their sensuality and that's almost completely missing from this series. Nice covers though.

Truth is, I like the "Death"/human girl subgenre. If anyone has any book suggestions let me know.

Currently reading The Last Word by Lisa Lutz, the sixth in the Spellman Files series. These are fun, but just like Stephanie Plum, they're getting a little stale.

80. The Last Word This read like a last book, complete with epilogue. Not really how I would have liked it to end, but realistic.

81. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

A bit dragged out and not enough historical detail, but the concept of Assassin Nuns! had me at page one. Didn't quite follow through though. I did love how bloodthirsty she was.

I have the second book on hand, which, thank God, isn't nearly as long.

Having trouble staying awake this week. And I have the traditional vacation cold. Lounging around listening to bits of audio books mostly. Playing lots of spider solitaire. :)

82. To Say Nothing of the Dog audio book Reread/relisten
83. Code Name Verity audio book New WOW! Great WWII drama.

Both fabulous.

Abandoned Splintered by A.G. Howard after about a hundred pages of so.... Not sure why this one fell so flat, I love Alice in Wonderland, but this felt amateurish and the author was really reaching with some of her connections. Even nonsense needs to make sense.

84. Pushing the Limits

85. The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White Here's one of those novels that has a great concept, but not enough follow through. I just wanted more. Not a bad book, just a slight book.

86. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Oh my God, maybe I should be embarrassed by how much I can relate to this character, but I was too busy reading the book. This was a marathon read, not just that, but a read all night read. Two thumbs way up. YA shouldn't get to a 46 year old woman like this, but it was just so true. I bawled my eyes out, but in a good way. Anyone who's ever belonged to a fandom will get this story. Anyone who's ever felt socially awkward will get this story. Anyone who's ever had family troubles will get this story. Loved it.

87. Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks

Oddly enough, I found myself on vacation for the second time in a month and had no desire to read; I finally finished this book after returning to work. It took me three days to finish the last 28 pages. I like the world building, although the Chosen mate concept is first introduced and then basically ignored and the action ended with a whimper, not a bang. Then I found out it was Book One in a series of Nine. Ahhhhhh! Now I get it. I'm not much of a werewolf fan, but this was okay. I'd like to know more about the side characters.

88. Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen My second foray into Hiaasen land. Funny, bizarre, not a lot of wiggle room between the good guys and the bad guys, ultimately enjoyable. A great first paragraph: "On the hottest day of July, trolling in dead-calm waters near Key West, a tourist named James Mayberry reeled up a human arm. His wife flew to the bow of the boat and tossed her breakfast burritos." That's all you need to know about Hiaasen's style.

I received this next book as a part of the Early Reviewer Program

89. American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett I went into this 700 page brick thinking it was urban fantasy. Not quite. More like science fiction with a bit of a horror twist. Honestly, while the mystery was still a mystery this book was great. I kept turning the pages. But once the big reveal happened I started questioning the logic of it all. I liked the vignettes describing the creepiness of the place, full points for atmosphere. The actual outcome and the final battle felt like it should be in another book. Still, I like the author's style and I'm willing to read another one of his books.

Retail sucks. Long hours, sore feet, falling asleep after supper. Plays havoc with your reading schedule. :) On the plus side, my arm is finally out of its sling, my knee is finally healing (these injuries were incurred while I was on vacation in Oct. I fell off the back of a Uhaul truck) and I have changed departments at my job-I am no longer the queen of fiddly bit sh**t. Hooray!

90. The Burning Sky Disappointing cover buy
91. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Over hyped. Felt amateurish.
92. Throne of Glass Good solid start to a fantasy series.
93. Crown of Midnight Equally solid second book although the main character is at times a contradiction even to herself.
94. Notorious Nineteen audio book Silly.

Currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora. Slow style, but so far very enjoyable.

95. The Lies of Locke Lamora Loved it!

96. The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher This counts! Even though it's only 20 pages or so long. :) This was a favorite childhood favorite finally back in print and my hubby found it for me. What a sweetie.

I'm lurching to the end of 2013 without enough will power to finish off any of the three books I'm currently reading. I find myself more in the mood to go book shopping than book reading. :) Still, 96 books for the year is nothing to sneeze at-I read some really good stuff and discovered some awesome new authors. My TBR pile is way out of control...

Favorites of the year: Fangirl, Code Name Verity, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, A Northern Light, The Rook, The Magician King, The Raven Boys and The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Goals for next year: I definitely want to read more Scott Lynch. I want to read some of the sequels on my shelves such as The Dream Thieves and Siege and Storm. I'm looking forward to Cress and to Dreams of Gods and Monsters. There's a new Robert Charles Wilson I'm anxious for. I will finally break my Cassandra Clare funk and finish at least one of her series. I will get back into audio books now that the stereo in my car is finally fixed. I'd like to try out Benedict Jacka. Hopefully squeeze in some more non-fiction.

Yes, this is cheating, but my husband insisted I count these!

97. Cattitude
98. Catrimony
99. Caternal Instincts
100. Henri, Le Chat Noir

82> I love that title.

And it does what it says on the box!