wookiebender attempts this again in 2017...

Not sure if I even set up a thread last year, life got away from me rather, I doubt I even got up to 50 books, let alone 100! So, let's give it another go and see how 2017 fares. :)

1. Illuminae, Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
2. Rat Queens Volume 3: Demons! Kurtis J. Wiebe
3. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
4. Cuckoo Song, Frances Hardinge
5. Slade House, David Mitchell

6. The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch
7. The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher
8. The Gustav Sonata, Rose Tremain
9. Children of Earth and Sky, Guy Gavriel Kay
10. This Shattered World, Amie Kaufman

11. The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide
12. The Natural Way of Things, Charlotte Wood
13. Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
14. Capital, John Lanchester
15. The Giver, Lois Lowry

16. Kindred, Octavia E. Butler
17. Thin Air, Michelle Paver
18. War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
19. Slow Horses, Mick Herron
20. A Conjuring of Light, V.E. Schwab

21. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
22. The Impossible Fortress, Jason Rekulak
23. Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman
24. The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry
25. Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty

26. The Return of Captain John Emmett, Elizabeth Speller
27. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers
28. The Silent Invasion, James Bradley
29. Frogkisser!, Garth Nix
30. Lady Helen and The Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman

31. Dead Lions, Mick Herron
32. Finding Audrey, Sophia Kinsella
33. Aqua Alta, Donna Leon
34. Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty
35. Nevernight, Jay Kristoff

36. Real Tigers, Mick Herron
37. Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact, Alison Goodman

1. Illuminae, Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman



A ripsnorter of a YA novel, created from "found documents" following the destruction of a mining colony in some remote part of the universe. Survivors are limping to the nearest wormhole, pursued by the attackers. Lots of plot, fun characters, and the found documents worked well, didn't get old.

****

2. Rat Queens Volume 3: Demons, Kurtis J. Wiebe



More of the same fun with the Rat Queens.

****

3. The Secret History, Donna Tartt



A re-read for bookgroup, and I enjoyed it again. Although we all agreed that we wish we could reach into the book and slap some sense into all those self-centered prats.

****

4. Cuckoo Song, Frances Hardinge



This was a great read - I'd read her Fly By Night before and thought it was wonderful, this was quite different but possibly even better. It centres around Triss, a young girl recovering from some mysterious illness who is having difficulty remembering things. Add in lots of fairy-style beings (think changelings and nasty tricks), and it was a great page turner. Recommended. (Apparently there will be a tv series coming soon.)

****1/2

5. Slade House, David Mitchell



A fabulous page turner, revolving around a mysterious Slade House, that appears and disappears from reality, allowing its owners to steal souls.

(Oddly, the sticker from the library implies this is paranormal romance. Definitely paranormal, but definitely no romance. :)

****1/2

Welcome, Tanya. It has been a while, but it looks like you are getting off to a great start this year. I'm going to have to check out your first book for sure.

Hi Roni! It was a good start, but now I'm back at work, it may all come to a crashing halt (again). I do recommend Illuminae, and the sequel came out a few months ago too. (Although I should add that I have friends that disliked the found documents format and who gave up on it because of that. I also have friends who loved it, of course, because that's what good friends do - be contrary. :)

>9 wookiebender: My library has both of them, so I've added them to my "For Later" shelf on the website.

You might be interested in this article from Book Riot: http://bookriot.com/2017/01/18/3-ya-theme-stand-alone-fantasy-reads?utm_source=S...
The only one I've read is Uprooted although I have Mortal Fire in my tbr file.

I'm so glad to see you back! I've really missed seeing your reading.

>10 ronincats: That is a nice list of books. :) I've requested the Frances Hardinge from the library and will keep an eye out for the others. I've only read Uprooted as well, and thought it was great.

>11 mabith: Thanks! I do hope I can keep it up, but rumors are the project I've been working on is just going to get even more busy this year (Sigh.)

6. The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch



Always fun to hang out in London with Peter Grant, police officer dealing with the decidedly non-mundane. But this one did feel a bit messy plot-wise, not helped by several obvious typos (needed better editing overall, is my impression). The overarching plot does progress further, and I did have fun, but I hope it tightens up, doesn't just become something that gets churned out as an easy earner.

***1/2

>13 wookiebender: That is finally supposed to be out here at the end of the month. I have it on pre-order.

Starring and following - I really liked fly by night by Frances Hardinge, might have to check this one out.

>14 ronincats: I got it for Christmas. :)

>15 captainsflat: Thanks! I think if you liked Fly by Night you'll also enjoy Cuckoo Song.

Currently reading The Princess Diarist.

7. The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher



Carrie Fisher is a charming, waffling, writer. I was charmed by her waffling about being Princess Leia and the unexpected stardom that brought in The Princess Diarist. The world is a lesser place without her.

(Don said about a year ago that when CF died, he'd get a tattoo of her. Plans are underway, issue is: young Princess Leia (A New Hope) in Lego, or General Organa (Force Awakens) in Lego? I like the sort of dilemmas he sets himself. :)

****

Hi Tania.
Looks like you have got off to a marvellous start with some great books so far this year.

Thanks! Bit of a pause at the moment, as I work my way through the fairly large and sprawling - but highly entertaining - Children of Earth and Sky for my genre book group. (And I've just taken a short break from that to read Rose Tremain's The Gustav Sonata as it's due back at the library this weekend, and I can't renew it again.)

8. The Gustav Sonata, Rose Tremain



Swapping between three distinct times (post-WW2, pre-WW2, and 1990s), this is about Gustav (as a young boy, meeting his lifelong friend Anton), Gustav's parents, and finally Gustav and Anton as middle aged friends, still in their small Swiss town.

I was a little underwhelmed by The Gustav Sonata, I just didn't quite sink into it as much as I would have liked. Although Gustav is a lovely, sweet man to hang out with.

***1/2

>17 wookiebender: Putting The Princess Diarist on the list. Carrie Fisher's responded so well to the inane media comments about her. Down to earth and funny and scathing.

I hope you like it!

9. Children of Earth and Sky, Guy Gavriel Kay



I read this for my sci-fi/fantasy bookgroup, and while it's a doorstopper with a cast of gazillions, it was not a difficult read at all. We chose this because most of the attendees are fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's works, and are horrified that I've only ever read the first volume of The Fionavar Tapestry, The Summer Tree. And now I've finished this one, I think I should go back and read some more of his other works. (Not quite sure why I've only read the first one. I liked it well enough, we have the full series on the shelves, I must've just gotten distracted by something shiny.)

I did read a description of his books as "historical fiction with a quarter twist" (I think, going from memory) and I think that's a pretty good summation. This one read just like a historical fiction novel, but was set on an obviously different world (two moons), with a whole lot of similarities to maybe 17th century Europe or so. And no magic. (I was a little surprised by the lack of magic, or dragons, but it didn't need them.) On some levels, it reminded me of George RR Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire", but far less brutal and nasty (although the body count at times was fairly high).

Lots of characters, set on a world like ours, a clash of (many) cultures and two major religions, lots of politics but no real "magic" in the classic fantasy sense, and doesn't go where I thought it would. It's a page turner (although you have to pay attention, because of tangents and all the characters), but also fairly quiet plot wise (there's no End of the World plot device, and while plenty goes on, it's also set in enough of a wider landscape that while it feels big to the characters, you get a sense that it's just a small part of the whole world).

Sadly, it also does have my usual annoyance with fantasy novels: why are all the people in power men? It's a fantasy novel, you don't have to be historically accurate.

****1/2

10. This Shattered World, Amie Kaufman



Boy meets girl. Who is a soldier in the army sent to subdue to local rebels on a distant planet where the terraforming is not going as well as it should, and he happens to be one of the rebels...

I downloaded this to the Kindle app on my phone when I realised I'd managed to forget to pop my paperback (Children of Earth and Sky) into my backpack one morning. A commute without reading! The horror! :)

Good, entertaining fun. A nice continuance of the universe from These Broken Stars in the Starbound Trilogy. I have to say, sci-fi romance is possibly my latest favourite subgenre, and I hope I get to the third volume faster than I did with the second.

****

>23 wookiebender: Just a note that your description is appropriate to all his work EXCEPT The Fionovar Tapestry. That is high fantasy, heavily influenced by his work with Christopher Tolkien on the Silmarillion. And Ysabel is a YA fantasy set in the current world and ties, but with some appearances by Fionovar characters!

>25 ronincats: Oh, it's been far too long since I read the first Fionavar Tapestry book, so I had no idea it was his odd-one-out (I can barely remember it). I do like high fantasy too, and it's still on the shelves, so it'll be picked up in due course.

I really should do that random number generator and make every second book a random (as yet unread) book off the shelf. (But what if I get Ulysses??)

11. The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide



A series of short essays about a writer and his wife and their regular cat visitor, Chibi.

It was a rather sweet and charming, but not a knock-your-socks-off sort of read. I was mostly charmed because the author's Chibi sounded a lot like our old Stumpy - part Japanese bobtail, so mostly white with dark splotches (Stumpy looked a bit like a Friesian cow, only cat-shaped) and a very, very short tail (hence her name). The writing style reminded me of Haruki Murakami, but I'm not sure if that's because there's a "Japanese" style, or if translators are leaning towards a style, influenced by the translations we have of Murakami's work. (Wish I could read books in their original languages.)

Shallowly, the cover was awesome, it's the cat's face and the eyes are done in reflective green, so every now and then they catch the light and glow like a real cat's eyes.

***1/2

I'd never even heard of Guy Gavriel Kay but that book sounds right up my alley (as does the trilogy one). Time to increase the TBR pile.

>26 wookiebender: Easy. Don't put Ulysses in your random pool! ;-D
>28 jfetting: Oh, you would like Kay, Jenn. The Lions of Al-Rassan will chew you up and spit you out a sobbing, passionate mess and loving every minute of it. Strong women too, but not in power because this is based on a historical reality. Spain and the Christians reconquering the Muslim controlled nations.

#26 ..but what if I get Ulysess ??... Read it ! It is daunting but very rewarding !

>28 jfetting: and in true bookgroup form, I was the only one who really loved Children of Earth and Sky, so you may want to take that into account. :) They were hoping for more high fantasy, I think.

>29 ronincats: oh, I never thought of limiting the books in the random pool, what a brilliant idea. :) And I'll have to check out The Lions of Al-Rassan.

>30 bryanoz: I've started Ulysses once. Does that count as reading it?

12. The Natural Way of Things, Charlotte Wood



Really not sure where to start with this one. It's creepy as anything and terrifying reading, but is also immensely readable and compulsive (once I made time to read it, I blitzed through the second half in a few hours, but it was hard to get enthused about returning to it at the start). And it's fascinating as anything, she really draws you into the story of a bunch of young women who find themselves waking up in this weird compound in the Australian bush, with heads shaved and brutal jailers.

I initially described it as The Handmaid's Tale meets Lord of the Flies (two fairly dramatic and tense reads themselves) and then after reading it, found out that was how it was described on the blurb. :) (I never read blurbs, they give away too much plot, especially for this book, so I'm glad I read that at the end.)

Not sure I'd recommend it, I'm feeling traumatised from it all, but it is brilliant. She writes herself into a bit of a corner with the ending (and apparently she's gotten some flak for it), but I thought she did well with it, and I was satisfied by the end. And angry. And terrified. And questioning. It's one of those sorts of books, more an emotional journey than a story.

(This one was chosen for bookgroup, otherwise I may have walked away from it early on. I'm glad I didn't. I think.)

****1/2 (I think, I'm not even sure I should be giving a rating to this one so soon after reading it, I think it might need to settle a bit more first)

13. Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome



A charming short book about three men (and one dog, the fabulous Montmorency) on a boating holiday on the Thames. It's a fun gentle sort of humour as J and his friends manage to bumble their way to Oxford, involving pies, jam and bread, many digressions about boating fashions and previous boating experiences, a failure to wash their laundry in the river, and Montmorency getting into scraps at any available opportunity.

I'm sure I noticed last time I read it (but forgot in the meantime) but there were a couple of moments that jarred with modern sensibilities and threw me out of the story: one use of the n-word; and a "comic song" about domestic violence ("Two black eyes"; although the humour of the second wasn't the song as such, but their inability to cheer up while it persistently rains while on the river.)

****

>33 wookiebender: And now you have to go read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis as soon as possible!

>12 wookiebender: I read this last year and also found it terrifying. When Julia Gillard was PM Australia showed its misogynistic side, so it was too easy accept Wood's premise. I thought the last part of the book fell apart a bit, but the book certainly leaves an impression. It has stayed in my mind.

Three Men in a Boat is one of my favourites, a real contrast to The Natural Way of Things!

>34 ronincats: I've already read that too, I do enjoy her books, Doomsday Book is an absolute favourite. (Am slightly nervous about starting the Blackout / All Clear books though, my editions are *massive*.)

>35 pamelad: Yes, the ending is the least bit, everything was set up so well, and I think she wrote herself into a corner. But I was still happy with it, if "happy" is the word to use. Satisfied? Not throwing the book across the room? Anyhow, it will be a great book group discussion on Monday, I think. And I did choose Three Men in a Boat as a palate cleanser, needed something very different as my next read. :)

Even with the length of Blackout and All Clear, they flew by for me, and are my favorites of her time travel books.

How do you copy and paste the covers? I once knew but can't remember. Thanks.

To copy covers type in

Between the quotations goes the image address. To get this you pull up you book after you've added it to your books. Right click on the cover and click Copy Image Address. This you then paste between the quotation marks. And then write your comment below and post. Hope this helps.

The HTML is:

<img src="https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/c6/4b/c64bb64b609fb7a593943445577434f414f4141.jpg" />

Obviously, using the correct image URL - swimmergirl1 has how you get thbe image url.

I am using an IPad so I can't click. Is it possible to copy covers using the IPad? Thanks.

Ah, I sometimes use my iPad too - those are the reviews without images (I edit them back in later when I'm on a PC). If someone knows how to get images on the iPad, I'd love to know too.

Oh, from a quick Google, this might help: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/4312/how-do-i-copy-image-address-in-ios

"Tap, and hold the image; then choose "copy," open a new browser window, and paste into the address bar."

It is from a few years ago, may not work with the most recent iOS (or my really really old iOS on my first gen iPad). But worth a go.

14. Capital, John Lanchester



I liked it, but I didn't love it. Maybe one needs to be a Londoner to really love it.

***1/2

15. The Giver, Lois Lowry



An excellent little book, I really recommend it for young adults - but the language was too simplistic for my liking (good for kids; but IMO lacking style). Still thinking about the issues raised though, so am pushing it on Miss Boo to read now.

***1/2

16. Kindred, Octavia Butler



While it's a powerful story the writing style seemed flat to me, and I never really felt all that suckered into it. I couldn't get the willing-suspension-of-disbelief really going.

***1/2

17. Thin Air, Michelle Paver



A story about a doomed (DOOOOOOOOMED!) expedition to climb a mountain in the Himalayas. I enjoyed this one, nicely creepy, but maybe a bit too similar to her Dark Matter for me to be really blown away, felt a bit same-y.

****

18. War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells



Not what I was expecting (I was expecting all British stiff-upper-lip, beating those pesky Martians; turns out it's an absolute rout of people panicking and dying), but I really enjoyed this one.

I picked it up because my book group decided to read the sequel to The War of the Worlds, The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter and I was one of the few who hadn't read the original. I am now a fan of the original, but have stalled halfway through the sequel...

****1/2

19. Slow Horses, Mick Herron



Thanks to whoever in this group brought this book to my attention! (Can't remember who now, of course!)

This was a really good read. Was a bit too hard-boiled / tough at times, but very well structured and gripping. Was nice to read a book that I wanted to make time for again.

****1/2

20. A Conjuring of Light, V.E. Schwab



This, the third in the "Darker Shade of Magic" series, continues straight on from book 2, which ended on all sorts of dramatic cliff hangers, and the drama is ramped up to 11 right from the start.

Overall, it was a fun read and a good wrap up of the series, with a few (big) questions left unanswered. But it doesn't feel like we really need answers to them (but if she wants to write some prequels, explaining how our characters came to be where/who they are, I wouldn't say no).

****

>48 wookiebender: Thanks are due to Eyejaybee.

I very much enjoyed Slow Horses and have just started Dead Lions.

>49 wookiebender: I just picked up the second book in the series, but sent it ahead to my sister before reading it, as she enjoyed the first more than I did. Although the third is out here in hardback, I won't pick it up until it is in matching trade paperback edition to match the first two.

>50 pamelad: Thanks! Should have guessed, he always recommends books set in London. :) Dead Lions has been requested at the library.

>51 ronincats: Luckily, it came out in the same format as the previous books here. I agree, I hate buying books in differing sizes, they never fit properly on the shelves!!

21. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****1/2

22. The Impossible Fortress, Jason Rekulak



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****

23. Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****

24. The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****1/2

>53 wookiebender: I haven't read it yet but it just won the Arthur C. Clarke award in Britain. From your star rating, I'm thinking you would agree with that.

>56 wookiebender: Just received this, will get to it soon.

25. Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****

>57 ronincats: Hi there! Those two books are (so far) my top reads for the year. I think The Essex Serpent nudges out The Underground Railroad because it was a happier story*, but they're both quite wonderful and highly recommended.

* Not a spoiler, as any story that doesn't contain slavery is automatically happier than any story that does. :)

26. The Return of Captain John Emmett, Elizabeth Speller



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****

27. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

***1/2

28. The Silent Invasion, James Bradley



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****

29. Frogkisser!, Garth Nix



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

****1/2

30. Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman



Review pending, and don't hold your breath

(Thanks for the recommendation, I did enjoy this one and am planning on starting the sequel today!)

***1/2

31. Dead Lions, Mick Herron



This is a really great series - not as silly as I thought it was going to be from initial descriptions, but very well plotted thrillers, with a great cast of misfits and some dark humour. I can't say too much about the plot of this one without giving it away, but I loved the emergence of another Cold War warrior (killed off in the opening scenes, setting Jackson Lamb on the trail), and I do like how he pulls all the disparate threads together at the end.

****

32. Finding Audrey, Sophie Kinsella



This isn't a book I'd pick up on my own, but my daughter borrowed it from the library and loved it and pushed it on me. It's a good read about a young girl dealing with the aftermath of some pretty serious bullying at school. The incident is never fully described (so you can fill in the blanks with your own worst bullying experience, I guess). I thought she captured the mental trauma and slow recovery well, but it's also quite lighthearted, with Audrey being an amusing narrator, and the romance is sweet without being full of teenage angst or too much drama.

Not what I'd normally read, but I'm happy I did.

***1/2

33. Aqua Alta, Donna Leon



Another good solid read in the Commissario Brunetti series. This one has Venice in the middle of some pretty filthy weather, with the threat of the lagoon flooding hanging over everything. Still makes me want to visit Venice again though! :)

****

34. Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty



(Yes, I agree, it should be Truly Madly Guiltily.)

A good solid read, around a fairly dysfunctional pair of friends, and a barbecue, where something goes horribly wrong (takes until near the end of the book before you find out just what) and one of the characters can't remember the incident and is determined to get her memory back. Good characters, and a great page turner. I did cry a bit when I found out what happened at the barbecue.

I've liked both Moriarty novels I've read so far, but I also think I can probably pause on her books for a good long while without missing too much (YMMV). They're very well constructed and I like her cast of characters, but I'm not necessarily compelled to step into her world.

****

35. Nevernight, Jay Kristoff



I got off to a bit of a slow start with this one - my original copy had teeny tiny print (I borrowed the larger format from the library after struggling with it for a day), there are too many sections in italics (not helpful when the print was so small to start with), it jumped about in time, and it took a while to get into the style of the writing (quite arch, lots of footnotes). But I'm glad I persisted, because it was a great world he built, with interesting characters and lots of plot. And a shadow cat. What's not to love?

****

36. Real Tigers, Mick Herron



Another wild romp with the slightly incompetent spies of Slough House, the slow horses. This time, they get tangled up with conspiracy nuts. And somehow, Herron ties it all together perfectly at the end.

****

Glad to see the high rating of Frogkisser!, though I'd have read it anyway being a massive fan of Nix's work.

Oh, Frogkisser! was just delightful! My daughter and I went to the Sydney Writers Festival YA Day (all day out at Parramatta, we saw heaps of sessions and bought more books than you can poke a stick at). She got to wait in the queue for Garth Nix to sign our copy, while I waited for Amy Kaufman to sign another book. I'm slightly envious that she got to meet Garth Nix, but I'm sure she didn't manage more than an awed squeak at him (she's a little shy around strangers, I think she was pretty brave waiting in a separate queue from me in the first place!).

It's all fairy-tale-esque, but with talking dogs, evil sorcerers, and a very sensible and kind-hearted heroine in Anya. And right now, I want to re-read it again. :)

37. Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact, Alison Goodman



Okay, let's start with what I didn't like. The world building was overly complex and required massive info dumps. Frankly, I gave up on trying to work my way through the muddle of it all (deceivers? receivers? tentacle whips? terrenes? unreclaimable?) and just settled in to enjoy the story. Unfortunately, there wasn't much story in this one, it was one of those books where our heroine is beset by so many complications that it felt that she did nothing but whack-a-mole her problems the entire time. (Which is really too much like work for me to enjoy. Frustration, rather than entertainment, was the end result.) And I'm a little over dark brooding heroes that don't communicate (it's not sexy! it's frustrating!).

Okay, Lady Helen is a likable character, I like spending time with her. And I did like the ending of the book, I am curious to see how she gets out of her current major pickle of a situation (rather than all the little irritants that I felt she never really got on top of for 90% of the book), and I'm curious about the Duke of Selburn (is he just there to get in the way, or is there something more sinister to his constant attentions to Lady Helen...?).

I'll read the third when it comes out, but I'm in no hurry.

***

>73 wookiebender: I can't remember--did you read the first book? I thought it was okay but this one had too much YA angst for me and I never made it to the ending of the book.

I did read Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, and I rather enjoyed it (although I do see I accidentally had my rating above as 4.5 stars, not the 3.5 I should have typed!! Fixed now).

The world building is what really peeved me about that book (both books, really), but there was enough going on that I had fun. This one was just bouncing from annoying hiccup to annoying problem to annoying obstacle. No real progress in the plot until the last chapter or so.

I probably will still read the third, if only because I want to know what's up with the Duke of Selburn. I reckon he's more than just a pretty face, besotted with Lady Helen. :)

>72 wookiebender: I admire his world building so very much and the sort of easy gender equality that is usually worked in. I'm on my fourth re-read of his Keys to the Kingdom books (good YA fantasy isn't hard to fine, good juvenile/intermediate fantasy is another story...).

I didn't finish Keys to the Kingdom, which is odd, because I thought it was getting better as it went along too... I think I'm more of a YA (and adult) reader, rather than juvenile.

My daughter is currently re-reading Frogkisser!. She's even put her iPad down to read a real physical book. :D

Nice on your daughter's rereading! I definitely end up enjoying juvenile/children's novels more than YA, for reasons I'm not 100% sure on. Teenagehood was the last time I was healthy and able-bodied and I enjoy getting back to my childbrain more. Nix I enjoy no matter what though, I don't think any current fantasy writer is better at building unique worlds than he is.