mathgirl40's 2018 Category Challenge, Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my challenge! The first part can be found here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/279628

Here are my categories for 2018:

1. Tournament of Books
2. Evergreen Award
3. 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
4. Hugo and Aurora Awards
5. Long SFF Series
6. Other Science Fiction and Fantasy
7. Doorstoppers
8. Short Stories
9. Graphic Novels
10. Arthurian Legends
11. BookCrossing Roundabout
12. Cross-Canada Journey
13. Scottish Mysteries
14. Mysteries Around the World
15. Golden Age Mysteries
16. Other Mysteries
17. Scary books
18. Nonfiction

I will try to read a minimum of 5 books in each category.

Category 1: The Tournament of Books



This category will include books from the 2018 Tournament of Books, held in March.

1. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Jan. 21)
2. Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward (Jan. 24)
3. Dear Cyborgs by Eugune Lim (Feb. 4)
4. White Tears by Hari Kunzru (Feb. 4)
5. So Much Blue by Percival Everett (Feb. 19)
6. Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (Mar. 5)
7. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (Mar. 6)
8. The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker (Mar. 24)
9. Census by Jesse Ball (Dec. 16)

Category 2: The Evergreen Award



This category will include nominees for the 2017 Evergreen Award, given by the Ontario Library Association. The nominees are announced in February.

1. All We Leave Behind by Carol Off (April 19)
2. The Dark and Other Love Stories by Deborah Willis (May 8)
3. The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron (Sept. 10)
4. Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez (Oct. 16)
5. Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson (Nov. 2)

Category 3: 1001 Books

These are books listed in Peter Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.



1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Jan. 12)
2. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (April 22)
3. The 39 Steps by John Buchan (May 23)
4. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (June 22)
5. Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
6. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Dec. 14)

Category 4: The Hugo and Aurora Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards



This category will include nominees for and winners of the Hugo and Aurora SFF Awards. This year, I plan to rejoin as a voting member and read from the Voter Packet for each of these awards.

1. Provenance by Ann Leckie (April 21)
2. City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett (June 7)
3. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (June 18)
4. Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire (June 30)
5. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (July 5)
6. Exo by Fonda Lee (July 16)
7. And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (July 28)
8. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (July 31)
9. Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee (August 15)

Category 5: Long Science Fiction and Fantasy Series



I seem to be attracted to never-ending series, or those that have ended but just seem to be never-ending. This category will encompass my reading from the Liaden, 1632, October Daye, Wheel of time and other long SFF series.

1. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Jan. 17)
2. Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone (Mar. 2)
3. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Mar. 28)
4. Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (Apr. 12)
5. Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey (Apr. 26)
6. Mouse and Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Apr. 27)
7. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (May 4)
8. Mort by Terry Pratchett (May 17)
9. Sourcery by Terry Pratchett (May 31)
10. Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey (Nov. 29)

Category 6: Other Science Fiction and Fantasy



1. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Jan. 4)
2. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (Jan. 29)
3. Satellite by Nick Lake (Feb. 6)
4. All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault by James Alan Gardner (Feb. 7)
5. All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Feb. 16)
6. Shift by Hugh Howey (Feb. 28)
7. Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren (Apr. 7)
8. Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora (Apr. 30)
9. The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall by Chris Dolley (May 13)
10. The Magicians by Lev Grossman (May 28)
11. The Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu (July 12)
12. So Long and Thanks for the Fish by Douglas Adams (Aug. 24)
13. Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (Aug. 28)
14. Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (Aug. 30)
15. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (Sept. 3)
16. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (Dec. 1)
17. The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde (Dec. 30)

Category 7: Doorstoppers



1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Jan. 20)
2. Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (Mar. 22)
3. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (July 10)
4. The Stand by Stephen King (Sept. 20)
5. The Confusion by Neal Stephenson (Nov. 25)

Category 8: Short Stories


Artwork by Tom Gauld for The Guardian

1. The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint (Feb. 18)
2. Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond edited by Bill Campbell (Mar. 8)
3. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (Nov. 4)
4. Murder Under the Christmas Tree edited by Cecily Gayford (Dec. 9)
5. One Good Story, That One by Thomas King (Dec. 14)

Category 9: Graphic Novels


Artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez, from Locke & Key series.

1. Saga, Volume 4 by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Jan. 19)
2. Chew, Volume 4 by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Jan. 21)
3. The Real Story of Agatha Christie by Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau and Alexandra Franc (Feb. 25)
4. Saga, Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (Feb. 26)
5. A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson / Madeleine L'Engle (Mar. 26)
6. Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (Apr. 28)

Category 10: Arthurian Legends



These are books about or inspired by the King Arthur story.

1. Greenwitch by Susan Cooper (Mar. 10)
2. The Grey King by Susan Cooper (Aug. 10)
3. Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper (Sept. 15)
4. The Seeing Stone by Kevin Holland-Crossley (Sept. 26)
5. By the Light of Camelot edited by J. R. Campbell (Nov. 17)
6. Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (Dec. 22)

Category 11: BookCrossing Roundabout



I signed up for a "Favourite Books of 2017" roundabout on BookCrossing, with 11 other BookCrossers. We'll be mailing the books along to one another throughout the year.

1. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Jan. 25)
2. The River at Night by Erica Ferencik (Feb. 12)
3. A Basket Brigade Christmas by Judith Miller, Nancy Moser and Grace Whitson (Mar. 14)
4. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (Apr. 10)
5. Hunger by Roxane Gay (May 20)
6. The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly (June 26)
7. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (July 26)
8. The Byerley Turk by Jeremy James (Nov. 27)

Category 12: Cross-Canada Journey



Inspired by lkernagh, I started a virtual walk across Canada in late 2016, starting in Vancouver and working my way East, using the World Walking app. On January 1, 2018, I reached Manitoba. I expect I'll be spending much of this year working through Manitoba and Ontario, and I'll be reading books related to the places I pass on my journey. I also "missed" Alberta on my way through and plan to go back to that province sometime this year!

1. Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson -- Alberta (Feb. 22)
2. A Bird in the House by Margaret Laurence -- Manitoba (May 11)
3. Thunder Bay by William Krueger (Dec. 11)
4.
5.

Category 13: Scottish Mysteries



1. The Black Book by Ian Rankin (Jan. 6)
2. Where the Bodies are Buried by Christopher Brookmyre (Jan. 28)
3. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin (Aug. 11)
4. Absolution by Caro Ramsay (Nov. 13)
5. When the Devil Drives by Chris Brookmyre (Dec. 19)

Category 14: Mysteries From Around the World



1. The Ice Child by Camilla Läckberg -- Sweden (Jan. 13)
2. Rendezvous in Black by Cornell Woolrich -- US (Jan. 23)
3. Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood -- Australia (Feb. 11)
4. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith -- Botswana (Mar. 25)
5. August Heat by Andrea Camilleri -- Sicily (Mar. 27)
6. The Man Who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall -- India (Mar. 31)
7. Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh -- New Zealand (Dec. 12)

Category 15: Golden Age Mysteries



1. They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie (Feb. 9)
2. Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh (Apr. 9)
3. Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham (Apr. 16)
4. The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White (May 14)
5. Miss Silver Comes to Stay by Patricia Wentworth (Aug. 6)
6. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (Oct. 14)

Category 16: Other Mysteries



1. The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy by Robert Arthur (Jan. 27)
2. Murder on Mulberry Bend by Victoria Thompson (Feb. 3)
3. Bad Move by Linwood Barclay (Apr. 4)
4. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley (Aug. 4)
5. The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri (Aug. 18)
6. The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri (Aug. 21)
7. Chaos by Patricia Cornwell (Sept. 24)
8. Parting Shot by Linwood Barclay (Oct. 4)
9. The Body on Mount Royal by David Montrose (Oct. 17)
10. Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie (Oct. 30)
11. A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow (Nov. 5)
12. Death of a Hollow Man by Caroline Graham (Nov. 29)
13. Frost at Christmas by R. D. Wingfield (Dec. 26)

Category 17: Scary Books

Books for the ScaredyKIT and other horror.



1. Carrie by Stephen King (Mar. 9)
2. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer (Mar. 24)
3. The Inspector and Silence by Hakan Nesser (Aug. 22)
4. Equoid by Charlie Stross (Sept. 11)
5. World War Z by Max Brooks (Oct. 8)
6. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Oct. 20)
7. The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko (Oct. 24)
8. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (Nov. 22)

Category 18: Non-fiction



1. South: The Endurance Expedition by Ernest Shackieton (Feb. 13)
2. A Hot Glue Gun Mess by Mr. Kate (Mar. 3)
3. Lethal Marriage by Nick Pron (June 12)
4. The Interstellar Age by Jim Bell (Dec. 10)
5. Factfulness by Hans Rosling (Dec. 31)

Books that don't fit into any of the previous categories:

1. American War by Omar El Akkad (January 7)
2. The Mystery of the Green Cat by Phyllis A. Whitney (Mar. 11)
3. Murther and Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies (June 23)
4. Tempest Tost by Robertson Davies (June 29)
5. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (Sept. 17)
6. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene (Oct. 11)

Welcome to the second half of my challenge! Here is where things stand right now.

1. I am way behind in my reviews. I still have July's and August's books to add!

2. I am also behind in visiting my favourite threads.

3. I am doing terribly in reading older books from my shelves.

4. I am still having lots of fun with this challenge and getting loads of reading done!! Those are the important things, right? :)

Happy new thread! At this point in the year, isn't everyone a little behind? And why not just relax and enjoy reading the new books while they're still shiny? That's what I do.

Happy new thread! You're making great progress!

Yes, having fun is all that matters! I am glad to see you're reading Black and Blue :)

Happy new thread! I love new threads and going over what's already been read.

Happy new thread!

>10 RidgewayGirl: I am indeed attracted to the new and shiny. :)

>11 Jackie_K: >13 VivienneR: >14 thornton37814: Thanks for dropping by and for the good wishes!

>12 rabbitprincess: I'd finished Black and Blue and liked it very much. Review will be coming soon, I hope.

Happy new thread! Having fun is indeed the most important thing. You're doing well with the mysteries!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, reading lots of books and having fun are definitely the highest priority!

Happy new thread! I'm way behind on reviews, too, so you're definitely not alone!

>16 MissWatson: >17 lkernagh: >18 DeltaQueen50: >19 christina_reads: Thanks for stopping by, and for the encouragement!

81. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (4 stars)
Category: Hugo Awards

This is the first book in Brennan's Lady Trent series, which was nominated for the 2018 Hugo Best Series award. Set in a fictional country with Victorian-type mores, the store tells how Lady Trent first started her career in dragon research. I really liked the main character, the setting, the premise and the pace of the story. It was all very enjoyable and I'll be eager to read more in the series. My only criticism, given that it was nominated for the Hugo award, is that the fantasy element is very light, at least in this installment of the series. There are some brief encounters with dragons, but otherwise, it feels more like a historical fiction novel without a solid connection to a historical time and place.

82. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (4 stars)
Category: Doorstoppers

This is the third book of Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series, nominated for the 2018 Hugo Best Series Award. I loved the first two books and still liked this third one, but it just seemed so incredibly long. At over 1000 pages, it really was long, but this one seemed to drag more than the first two installments in the series. Perhaps it's because a large portion of the book covered backstory, which is no doubt important to the series as a whole, but it felt as if the action did not move along as quickly. Still, there are so many good things in this installment that I couldn't give it any less than 4 stars.

83. Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu (3.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

This is the third book in Chu's Lives of Tao series and continues describing the struggles between the Prophus and Genjix, with Roen's son Cameron playing a big part in the story. This novel doesn't have the charm and humour that I liked so much in the first book but does wrap up the various storylines satisfactorily.

>21 mathgirl40: My cousin read that series and it sounds really good! I'm glad you liked it as well :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

>24 rabbitprincess: Thank you! I had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend with lots of family members visiting. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving too.

84. Exo by Fonda Lee (4 stars)
Category: Hugo/Aurora Awards

I was happy to learn a couple of days ago that this novel had won the Aurora (Canadian SFF) Award for Best YA Novel. It's set in a near-future dystopian world in which Earth's citizens are coping with submission to an alien race. Some are embracing the opportunity to work with them and even acquire an exo-skeleton as they have, while a rebel faction tries to undermine the new administration. I thought this story was better than most of its genre, and I'm looking forward to eventually reading Lee's Jade City, which won the Aurora Award for Best Novel. These two novels were nominees for the Nebula and Andre Norton (Nebula for YA) awards this year, as well, so Lee's future looks bright.

85. Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg (4.5 stars)
Category: 1001 Books

This book had been chosen by our book club at work. Someone had suggested we pick a selection from a 2017 article in Conde Nast Traveler, 22 Ambassadors Recommend the One Book To Read Before Visiting Their Country. It was fun going through the article, though we did wonder about some of the choices.

This was my first book by Peter Høeg. I really liked the dark and suspenseful atmosphere he created and the exploration of the Inuits' situation in Denmark. The issues are quite similar to those that concern our own First Nations population here in Canada.

>27 mathgirl40: I've had that one sitting around for years. Sounds like it might be worth pulling out--perhaps early next year.

>25 mathgirl40: Lots of good food as usual, but I've had a cold since Monday, which extended the weekend in a way I did NOT want!

>27 mathgirl40: That's a great idea for picking books for book club!

>28 thornton37814: It's definitely a good cold-season read!

>29 rabbitprincess: I hope you've recovered completely from your cold by now.

86. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (4 stars)
Category: BookCrossing Roundabout

I enjoyed this book much more than I'd expected to. I'm not generally fond of memoirs of this sort and the author is someone whom I find difficult to admire because of all the terrible decisions she has made. At the same time, I found the narrative interesting and compelling, with a good number of humourous and touching moments. I enjoy hikes myself, of the short, easy, safe, day-trip variety and liked reading about the sort of experience that I will never be brave or fit enough to attempt. Indeed, it was not so much the author's emotional journey that appealed to me but the descriptions of her trail experiences that I found so interesting.

87. And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (4.5 stars)
Category: Hugo Awards

This was my pick for the 2018 Best Novella Novella but it did not win. The actual winner, All Systems Red by Martha Wells, certainly deserved the award as well. In this very clever story, the main character, an insurance investigator named Sarah Pinsker like the author herself, attends a "Sarah Pinsker Convention" with several hundred of her counterparts from parallel universes. Things get really strange when she is asked to help investigate the murder of one of them.

>30 mathgirl40: Getting there! I'm at about 90%. I wrecked my throat, though, so I'm still coughing a lot and sounding raspy if I talk too much :-/

>32 mathgirl40: Well that sounds delightful!

>33 rabbitprincess: I hope/expect you're fully recovered now! Take care of yourself.

>34 christina_reads: "Delightful" is definitely a good way to describe this story, but it was thought provoking too. I'm not sure I'd want to meet variant copies of myself!

88. Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (3.5 stars)
Category: Hugo Awards

In addition to her 2018 Best Novella Hugo nomination (and win) for All Systems Red, Martha Wells had her Books of the Raksura series nominated for the Best Series award. This is the first in the series, telling how an orphan with the ability to shape-shift into a winged creature discovers the truth of his past and meets more of his kind. It's a good adventure story in an interesting world. I didn't find it especially memorable but I wouldn't say no to reading more books in the series.

89. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley (4 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries
Challenges: MysteryCAT (August)

This book was another very enjoyable installment in the Flavia de Luce series, superbly narrated by Jayne Entwistle for the audiobook edition. This one is somewhat different from the rest, as it is set in a boarding school in Canada, where Flavia has been sent. I thought the mystery itself was quite good and suspenseful, but I did miss the regular cast of characters.

90. Miss Silver Comes to Stay by Patricia Wentworth (4 stars)
Category: Golden Age Mysteries
Challenges: MysteryCAT (August)

After making his fortune, James Lessiter returns to his home village to reclaim the family estate, but few of the villagers are happy to see his return. When he is found murdered, a number of suspects with various motives emerge. Luckily, Maud Silver, visiting an old friend in the village, is on hand to solve the mystery. This is my first Miss Silver book and I definitely like the main character enough to seek out more from the series.

>37 mathgirl40: Because of the Canadian connection I looked forward to this one although it was my least favourite of the series. I too missed the usual characters. I was glad of Flavia's return to England.

>38 mathgirl40: My first Miss Silver book was just last month. I'm sure I read Wentworth years ago, and for that reason I overlooked her books in recent times. Glad to have re-discovered her.

>39 VivienneR: I'm looking forward to Flavia's return to England too. I'm surprised I feel this way, since Alan Bradley is a Canadian writer. I learned that Bradley had lived many years in Saskatoon. Now Flavia in Saskatoon would be an interesting story!

91. The Grey King by Susan Cooper (4.5 stars)
Category: Arthurian Books

This 4th book in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence is possibly my favourite of the series. It's an excellent mix of Arthurian myth and Welsh folklore. There is significant development of the main recurring characters in this novel, with some very interesting backstories for several of them.

92. Black and Blue by Ian Rankin (4 stars)
Category: Scottish Mysteries

This is another strong installment in the Inspector Rebus series, with Rebus spending some of his time in Aberdeen and the Shetland islands. His investigation of a murdered oilman overlaps with the search for not just one but two serial killers. As with earlier books, there are a lot of rock music references, including the title taken from a Rolling Stones album.

93. Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee (4 stars)
Category: Hugo Awards

This second book in Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire series was nominated for this year's Hugo Best Novel award, though it did not win in the end. It didn't astound me in the same way the first book did, but I also didn't find the plot as confusing. This series is a great addition to the military space-opera genre. However, I personally tend to like less military and more space opera in my SF reads.

 

94. The Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri (3.5 stars)

95. The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri (3.5 stars)

I put these two installments of the Inspector Montalbano series together in the same post, since my husband and I listened to the audiobook versions back to back on a long car journey. The first starts off with the murder of a young woman and the second with the murder of a race horse. Honestly, the plots of the books in this series are quite forgettable, but the novels are so very entertaining. They make very enjoyable listening on car trips, and the characters, Sicilian setting and food descriptions, unlike the plot, are far from forgettable.

96. The Inspector and Silence by Hakan Nesser (3 stars)
Category: Mysteries Around the World (Sweden)

In this installment of the Chief Inspector Van Veeteren mysteries, the inspector investigates the disappearance of girls from a cult-like summer camp. The story is not bad, but the pace is a somewhat slower in this one than in previous books I've read from this series.

Looks like you've been doing a lot of fun reading lately!

>46 Jackie_K: It appears like I've been doing a lot of reading lately, but actually, I'm still working through the backlog of reviews for books read over the past couple of months. :)

97. So Long and Thanks for the Fish by Douglas Adams (3.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

This fourth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide series seems very different from the earlier ones. It's not as cutting in its satire but I found the romance between Arthur and Fenchurch quite charming. It's probably the least memorable of the books but it was fun reading all the same.

98. Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (4 stars)
Category: Other SFF

I enjoyed this post-apocalyptic novel set in a near-future Toronto, which features a diverse cast of characters both human and supernatural, as well as elements of Caribbean culture and folklore. There are many things that I thought the author did well: the exploration of family relationships, the presentation of magic in a context much different from that of most fantasy literature, and the use of the setting. I love the idea of zombies in the CN Tower!

99. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (4.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

Every few years or so, I reread The Lord of the Rings, and each time, I enjoy it a little bit more. The first time, ages ago, it felt like a slog in places, but now, I think I have a much better appreciation of Tolkien's writing and can get pleasure even from the parts that most readers find tedious.

A friend and I recently resumed our long-standing argument over who is the true hero of LOTR. She maintains it's Frodo while I argue for Samwise. A group read of LOTR was proposed for the 2019 CC group. I hope it goes ahead, just so I can seek out more opinions on this subject.

100. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (4.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

This story, which might fall into the category of "magical realism", is beautifully told by Neil Gaiman and also very competently narrated by him in the audiobook version. It's a nostalgic look back at childhood, with its monsters as well as its joys, and it showcases Gaiman's gift for storytelling.

101. The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron (3.5 stars)
Category: Evergreen Awards

This novel tells two parallel stories, one about a Neanderthal family set in the distant past and another about a archaeologist researching Neanderthals set in the present time. From what I'd read in reviews, the author's portrayal of the Neanderthals was well researched and consistent with recent findings. I did find the descriptions extremely interesting, but the two plots less so.

This book ended up winning the Ontario Library Association's Evergreen award, which was a big surprise to me. This year, I'd read 6 of the books, and I'd had this one tied for the bottom position in my own ranking. That's not to say it was bad, but it's just that the others, including American War by Omar El Akkad, The Dark and Other Love Stories by Deborah Willis and All We Leave Behind by Carol Off, were especially good.

102. Equoid by Charlie Stross (3.5 stars)
Category: Scary Books

This novella, which is freely available to read here at Tor, is my first work by Stross. It's part of his Laundry Files series, about a British government agency that investigates the occult. I don't want to give away too much about this particular story but suffice it to say that I'll never think of unicorns again as cute friendly creatures that look adorable as stuffed toys. Earlier in the year, my husband and I passed by this bit of graffito at a construction site on one of our walks. It's a bit hard to see, but someone did pen in "Unicorns". We didn't stay around to see what was hiding inside that container. :)

>53 mathgirl40: - I have never thought of a danger warning necessary for unicorns, but then, I have also never encountered one. Wouldn't it be funny if they really did exist and they aren't all sunshine and rainbows with well combed tails and manes? ;-)

>54 lkernagh: Indeed. The stuffed-toy industry may have done the world a disservice! :)

103. Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper (4 stars)
Category: Arthurian Books

This is the final book in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence. I really enjoyed this series, which mixes Arthurian legend and Welsh folklore in a modern-day setting. I didn't like this 5th book as much as the 1st and 4th, but it was still a strong and satisfying conclusion to the entire series, bringing together all the main characters introduced in the earlier books. Susan Cooper is one author that I wish I had discovered as a child. Like some well-loved series such as Harry Potter, I feel this is one that can be rewarding in different ways when read at different times of one's life.

104. Warlight by Michael Ondattje (4.5 stars)
Category: Miscellaneous

I found this story of a boy growing up in a very unusual household in postwar London to be totally mesmerizing. Ondattje writes gorgeous prose and is very adept at revealing the characters' secrets bit by bit. This novel is worthy of the praise it has received but it didn't have quite the impact on me that The English Patient did.

105. The Stand by Stephen King (5 stars)
Category: Doorstopper

I love post-apocalyptic science-fiction novels and I also enjoy road-trip stories. This chunkster of a book combines the best elements of both. This version is the 1990 "uncut" edition, which contains about 300 more pages than the first published version. I'm so glad I'd read this one and honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of the scenes, even if it did take me weeks to get through this novel. By the time I finished the book, the characters felt like old friends, and I was very sorry to say goodbye to memorable characters like Mother Abagail and Tom Cullen.

I listened to the audiobook version (at least partway, until my library loan expired and I had to switch to the print version) which was superbly narrated by Grover Gardner, one of my favourite audiobook narrators. I was also inspired to watch the 1994 mini-series, which luckily was available at my library. I liked it very much, but even at 6 hours, it seemed so brief compared to the book.

106. Chaos by Patricia Cornwell (3 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

I'd heard good things about Patricia Cornwell and had always wanted to try a Kay Scarpetta book. So when I saw that the September RandomCAT theme was to find an author with the same birthday, I kept an eye out for her books. Fortuitously, I found this novel in a book-sale box for charity at our local liquor store. Maybe that was a sign that I'd need a few glasses of wine to get through it ....

In hindsight, I should have started with an earlier book in the series. There were many references to past events, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd had more of the backstory. I found the first half very slow but the more intense pace of the second half made up for it somewhat. It also annoyed me that Kay Scarpetta seemed very whiny. It felt like she spent the first 100 pages complaining about her sister, her coworkers, her shoes and the weather. Is she like this in all the books, I wonder?

107. The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland (3.5 stars)
Category: Arthurian Books

I picked this book off my daughter's shelf for my "Arthurian Books" category. It was one that she especially liked when she was much younger.

The Seeing Stone is the first book in a young-adult trilogy that is about a Welsh boy living in 1199. He obtains a "seeing stone" through which he can see King Arthur, and his own life strangely parallels that of the king. The book is made up of 100 very short chapters, with simple and charming illustrations. Despite the brevity of the chapters, the plot moved at a somewhat languid pace but I enjoyed all the details of every-day Medieval life that the author included.

108. Parting Shot by Linwood Barclay (4 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

I'm really happy that Linwood Barclay is giving us more Promise Falls. Barry Duckworth and Cal Weaver are terrific characters, both "ordinary" but likeable, smart and compassionate. This episode has Weaver being hired to protect a teenage boy responsible for a deadly car accident. There were some predictable moments in the story but the last chapters held some real surprises for me.

109. World War Z by Max Brooks (4 stars)
Category: Scary Books

I am rather fond of post-apocalyptic zombie novels. This one is a little different from the rest, as it is in the form of interviews with various characters around the world. The reader doesn't get to know any of the characters especially well but does get an interesting view of the zombie apocalypse from different angles.

110. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene (4.5 stars)
Category: Miscellaneous

This was a reread of a book that I'd first read decades ago, and I enjoyed it just as much this second time around. Set in Cuba, it follows the hilarious but sometimes tragic episodes in the life of a would-be spy who reluctantly accepts the work so that he can support the extravagant lifestyle desired by his teenage daughter. This novel combines a well-paced spy story with cutting satire.

111. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie (3.5 stars)
Category: Golden Age Mysteries
Challenges: RandomCAT

This is a classic Agatha Christie mystery, in which a murder takes place in a closed room among a very small group of people. This group includes both Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver, so it's just a matter of time before the murderer is discovered. This was a perfect choice for the RandomCAT, with its card-playing theme, as the game of bridge had a prominent role in this mystery.

>64 mathgirl40: One of my favorite Christies! I think I just find card games fascinating, though I never learned how to play bridge.

I've added The Twenty-Three to my 2019 pool because for some reason I just haven't finished the Promise Falls trilogy yet! I think I just love Linwood's stand-alones so much that I'm finding the trilogy harder to settle with.

>65 christina_reads: I too never learned to play bridge, which surprises me, as I generally love games of all types. When I was young, I found the idea of learning bridge intimidating, as people seemed to take it so seriously. Christie's story seems to confirm that idea.

>66 rabbitprincess: I love Linwood's stand-alones too. I liked Parting Shot because, though it features the Promise Falls characters, it really is a stand-alone story. There's a satisfying if surprising ending.

112. Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez (3 stars)
Category: Evergreen Books

This novel is from the 2018 Ontario Library Association's Evergreen list. It tells the intertwined stories of a diverse set of characters, all living in Scarborogh, a suburb of Toronto that has earned the nickname "Scarberia" because of its higher poverty and crime rates. Most of the stories are tragic, featuring characters suffering from poverty, racism, bullying, addiction or mental illness, though there are some bright spots and moments of hope.

I personally found the novel over-ambitious, with the author trying to examine too many issues with too many storylines. However, this book was better received by other readers in my book club that reads from each year's Evergreen list.

113. The Body on Mount Royal by David Montrose (3.5 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

This mystery was originally published in 1953 and recently reprinted. The story features a hard-boiled detective, a corpse found on Montreal's famous mountain, and a stereotypical femme fatale. I didn't find the novel especially memorable, but I really enjoyed the Montreal setting which included many places with which I'm familiar, as I grew up in Montreal. I also learned some new things, like the fact that beer such as Molson Export used to be sold in "quart" bottles. I found out with the help of Google that these were actually 750ml bottles, though they were called quarts.

114. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (5 stars)
Category: Scary Books

This is possibly the best haunted-house story I've ever read. It's creepy, atmospheric and scary, with terrific characters. I was intrigued by how my feelings about Eleanor and her narrative evolved over the course of the story.

I'd heard very positive reviews of the new Netflix series. However, I'd also heard that there are substantial changes to the story, so I'm not sure I want to give the series a try. I'd love to hear opinions from any of you who had read the book and watched the series.

115. Night Watch by Sergei Lutyanenko (3.5 stars)
Category: Scary Books

This is the first of an urban fantasy series set in modern-day Russia. I'd read this for our local speculative-fiction book-club and the response among members was mixed. I too liked some aspects, such as the setting and the ambiguity of good versus evil. However, there were lots of dull, dreary and overly introspective passages that dragged. It was rather fun to read about the Night Watch on vacation, though.

116. Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie (3 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

This book is unlike any other Agatha Christie books I've read. It's more in the style of a cold-war thriller rather than one of her typical mysteries. The plot's a mess, but that's not too surprising. It has been noted by others that Christie's writing suffered a decline in her later years, and this was one of her final novels. She still had the ability to write interesting and likeable characters, though, and that helped me get through this book.

Hope you enjoy the holidays. Looking forward to sharing your reading next year.

>73 VivienneR: Thank you!

117. Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson (4.5 stars)
Category: Evergreen

One of the books on the 2018 Ontario Library Association's Evergreen list, this is a coming-of-age novel with Aboriginal Canadian themes and a touch of magical realism. A teenage boy resorts to selling pot-laced baked goods in order to support his deadbeat Dad. In the meantime, he tries to keep his crazily violent mother under control, even if the violence is not directed toward himself. The author looks at tragically sad situations with a lot of humour. This is the first book I've read by Eden Robinson and her voice seems new and fresh to me.

Hope you enjoy the holidays, Paulina. I am making note of author Eden Robinson.

>76 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy! I hope you'll like Eden Robinson as much as I do.

Merry Christmas to all my LT friends! I wish you much happiness during this holiday season and in the new year.

I'm taking a break from the hectic schedule of holiday family events and visits to catch up on LT activities. I still have a big backlog of reviews to add to this thread before I can set up my 2019 thread.

I was very happy to receive for Christmas two books from the Tournament of Books shortlist, The Milkman and The Dictionary of Animal Languages, as well as a large assortment of lovely teas to drink while reading!

>77 mathgirl40: Merry Christmas! Glad to hear you got some good books and tea to go with them! We are hosting Christmas dinner and have had to postpone presents until after everyone leaves -- too much to do beforehand and not enough time to do it in.

>72 mathgirl40: - Oh dear. I remember really disliking this one the first time I read it and have been dreading the reread. Your review doesn’t help my optimism. 😀

Merry Christmas to you too, thank you for visiting my thread! I hope you have a good break amidst all the rushing around! New tea and books sounds very civilised :)

>78 rabbitprincess: Thanks for stopping by. I hope your Christmas dinner was a success!

>79 LittleTaiko: Well, you may find more to like than I did (and in all fairness, there were a few things I did like). At least it's mercifully short and easy to read, like most of Agatha Christie's works. :)

>80 Jackie_K: Thanks for the good wishes. Now that most of the family visits are over, I might have time to enjoy my new books and tea!

118. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (3.5 stars)
Category: Short Stories

This collection of stories was a mixed bag but I'm glad I'd read them as Lovecraft's world has influenced so much of modern-day literature, film, games and more. Indeed, one of my friends and I have been spending a lot of time with the Arkham Horror card game recently; it provides a good challenge and captures the feel of Lovecraft's stories well. In this collection, I liked the Herbert West Re-animator stories best and the dream sequence stories least.

119. A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow (3.5 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

This is the first book in the Kate Shugak series set in Alaska. The mystery itself was just OK, but I really enjoyed the snowy setting and the diverse cast of characters. I will definitely look for more books in this series.

120. Absolution by Caro Ramsay (4 stars)
Category: Scottish Mysteries

This was a really good psychological mystery/thriller set in Glasgow that kept me guessing until the end. My only complaint is that the book is billed as the first of the "Anderson and Costello" series, but I didn't get a good sense of these two detectives' characters. I am willing to read more in this series and I expect I'll get to know the characters better then.

121. By the Light of Camelot edited by J. R. Campbell
Category: Arthurian Legends.

I love stories based on Arthurian legends so I was happy to win this collection from Early Reviewers. The timing was excellent, as I needed a book to fill out my Arthurian Legends category. Usually, anthologies of this sort are a mixed bag and invariably contain a few duds. However, I was pleasantly surprised in that I found all the stories engaging and enjoyable, even if the quality of the writing varied. My favourite stories were "The House of the Knight's Nail" by Rick Overwater, "Ghost Child" by J. R. Campbell, and "The Song of the Star by Renee Bennett.

>81 mathgirl40: Yep, it went well! Lots of leftovers :)

>84 mathgirl40: Good to know about the character development in Absolution, when I get to that one.

>86 rabbitprincess: Despite that one issue, I hope you'll like Absolution as much as I did. I'm grateful to you for pushing me to read more Scottish mysteries!

122. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (4.5 stars)
Category: Scary Books

This story of an FBI trainee's hunt for a serial killer while enlisting the help of another serial killer is suspenseful and scary. The author is very skillful at conveying (and suggesting) quite a lot in a fairly short novel. I might have given this novel 5 stars except for that it was too gruesome to be considered truly enjoyable. I'd like to watch the film adaptation but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to do so!

123. The Confusion by Neal Stephenson (4 stars)
Category: Doorstoppers

This is the second book in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. I didn't like it as much as the first, mainly because he mostly explored economics, trade and finance in the 17th century, which I found not nearly as interesting as the math and science featured in Quicksilver. Also, the book was meant to be two separate volumes, and the interweaving of the two stories did not seem to work all that well. Still, there is so much to love in a Stephenson book -- the characters, the dialogue, the exotic settings, the exploration of ideas -- that I would recommend this one and I look forward to reading the final book in this series.

124. The Byerley Turk
Category: Bookcrossing Roundabout

This is a book that was sent to me by another BookCrosser as part of the year-long roundabout. It is a fictional but based-on-fact story of Byerley Turk, one of the original thoroughbred horses. I disliked the writing style and found the writing generally repetitive and somewhat sloppy. This book could have been excellent if it had received better editing. However, I did like the story and characters (both human and equine) and felt I learned a lot about both horses and the period of history that the novel covered.

125. Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey (4.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

This is another great installment in the excellent Expanse series. The plot feels a little bit recycled, in that again, we have several factions pitted against one another while a greater threat emerges that may destroy all of them if they can't work together. Still, I love the characters and the hard SF elements of this series so much that I am happy to redo the plot as many times as the authors wish! I especially liked the return of Dimitri Havelock to the series.

126. Death of a Hollow Man by Caroline Graham (4 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

I love mysteries with a theatrical setting, and this one, featuring a murder during a performance of Amadeus, did not disappoint. This is only the second book I've read from the Inspector Barnaby series, though I've watched almost all of the Midsomer Murders series. I was struck by how much some of the characters (such as Troy) differ between the novels and TV series.

127. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (4.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

This is the first book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law series. It's a wonderful epic fantasy story with some unpredictable elements. The characters are interesting and complex, and it's not always easy to distinguish between hero and villain. I especially like Sand dan Glokta and would love to know more about his backstory. Needless to say, I will be continuing with the series.

128. Murder Under the Christmas Tree (3.5 stars)
Category: Short Stories

This is a charming collection of mysteries set at Christmas-time. Included are stories from some of my favourite authors including Ian Rankin and Margery Allingham. The one I liked best is the final one in the collection, featuring Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael.

My one complaint is that several of the stories did not seem especially evocative of the Christmas season and could have been set during any time of the year. Coincidentally, my husband and I watched a Father Brown mystery the evening I finished reading the Chesterton story in this collection, and it was based on that very story but set in the summertime!

>94 mathgirl40: I'll have to remember that one next year. I'll see if it is available in an Overdrive collection and add it to the wish list, making sure to reserve it to come in about the time I want to read it.

129. Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission by Jim Bell (4.5 stars)
Category: Non-fiction

Jim Bell is a planetary scientist who worked with the Voyager Mission from its beginning. In this book, he covers his own journey from student to researcher, the technical and scientific aspects of the mission, the politics, and the people involved in this great endeavour. Bell doesn't use too much jargon and keeps the technical explanations simple, so readers without extensive science knowledge should still find this book informative and enjoyable.

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with good health and good reading.

>97 thornton37814: >98 VivienneR: Thank you both for your good wishes!

Happy New Year to all my LT friends! I still have a backlog of 2018 books to review, and then I'll finally be able to move on to the 2019 group. Hope to see you all there soon.

>32 mathgirl40:
I quite enjoyed All Systems Red, so if you're saying And Then There Were (N-One) is excellent as well -- and it's as interesting a setting as it seems -- I'm looking forward to finding a copy of this book as well!

Happy new year -- I hope 2019 is full of splendid opportunities for you!

>100 pammab: Thanks for your good wishes! I hope you enjoy And Then There Were (N-One). It's actually available to read for free at Uncanny Magazine:
https://uncannymagazine.com/article/and-then-there-were-n-one/

130. Thunder Bay by William Krueger (4 stars)
Category: Cross-Canada Journey

I've been continuing my virtual walk across Canada and recently passed Thunder Bay. I decided to try this new-to-me author just because the book had Thunder Bay as a title. I was so glad I did, as I was impressed by the author's use of the settings, as well as the diverse and interesting array of characters. This book has Cork O'Connor, the main character of the series, helping a Native friend find his lost son and unravel a decades-old mystery.

131. Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh (3.5 stars)
Category: Mysteries Around the World (New Zealand)

This was a good installment of the Inspector Alleyn series, set in Ngaio Marsh's native New Zealand, unlike most of the other Alleyn books I'd read. In this story, Alleyn investigates the murder of a well-known woman on a sheep farm. I found the pacing a bit slow, as most of the story is revealed through interviews of the many suspects, but there were some surprising twists that I didn't expect.

As an avid knitter, I was hoping, based on the title, that there would be a knitting connection, but unfortunately, the wool stays, more or less, in the bales (can't say more, for fear of spoiling the plot)!

132. One Good Story, That One by Thomas King (4 stars)
Category: Short Stories

Thomas King is one of Canada's most well-known First Nations writers, though I'm not sure he is known much outside of our country. This is a collection of short stories, with most of them being fun, quirky and fast to read but still offering many insights into Aboriginal culture and folklore.

This book was a reread for me. Canada has many prominent and very good First Nations writers these days, but Thomas King was the first to give me, many decades ago, a glimpse at Aboriginal life through his fiction.

133. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (5 stars)
Category: 1001 Books

This was my third reading of one of my favourite novels, for an upcoming book-club meeting. There is not much I can say about the plot without revealing spoilers. Indeed, what gripped me the first time I read this book was the slow reveal, and I recall how disturbed I was as I discovered the secrets of Hailsham. What surprised me even more was how engrossing I found the story the second and third times around, even when I knew how the plot would play out.

134. Census by Jesse Ball (4 stars)
Category: Tournament of Books

My 2019 Tournament of Books reading has officially started with this book, though I did finish Warlight by Michael Ondaatje earlier in the year, before the shortlist came out.

Census is a road-trip story, following the path of a census-taker and his son who has Down Syndrome, as they travel through towns named A to Z. I found the author's foreword, explaining how his own brother inspired the novel, to be very moving.

Census is a great example of the type of ToB book I enjoy, one that is different enough to encourage lively discussion during the ToB event. I am looking forward to hearing what the judges say about this one.

135. When the Devil Drives by Chris Brookmyre (4 stars)
Category: Scottish Mysteries

I really enjoyed this second installment in the Jasmine Sharp series. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I love mysteries with the theatre as a theme. In this story, Jasmine Sharp is hired to find a missing person while Detective Catherine McLeod, another character from the first novel, investigates a murder at an outdoor theatrical performance. The two stories intertwine, though one aspect that disappointed me is that the two main characters have almost no interaction with each other. Glen Fallon also returns as a character and I'll be interested in seeing if that relationship is clarified in the third book.

136. Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan (3 stars)
Category: Arthurian Legends

This 1000+ page tome should probably go in my Doorstoppers category, but it draws greatly from the Arthurian legends. Honestly, I don't know why I torture myself by continuing this series. I suppose I feel I've invested enough time into it that I should see it through to the end and also, there's the promise of eventually reading the volumes co-written by Brandon Sanderson, whose writing I like much better. The characters' repetitive and stereotypical complaints about the opposite sex drove me crazy. How can the main characters absorb the experiences of past lives and the wisdom of their training but still act like immature teenagers? Fortunately, the awesome storylines for Nynaeve and Egwene in this book made up for the long slogs.

137. Frost at Christmas by R. D. Wingfield (4.5 stars)
Category: Other Mysteries

This was the perfect book to read over the Christmas holidays, as it is set in that season, though I am happy to say that my Christmas was much more joyful and less lonely than Inspector Frost's.

I've watched all the Touch of Frost episodes and was hesitant about reading this novel, as I wondered whether it would match well the character portrayed by the TV series. I needn't have worried, as it seems the TV adaptation is quite faithful in that respect. I enjoyed many aspects of this mystery very much, including the twisty subplots and the great supporting characters such as Mullett and Barnard.

>109 mathgirl40: I'm taking a book bullet on that one. I'm not familiar with the series in print or TV. However, a British Isles police procedural sounds right up my alley!

138. The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde (3.5 stars)
Category: Other SFF

I took this book off my shelves for the December MysteryCAT on futuristic and fantastical mysteries. It's from a series featuring Jack Spratt from the Nursery Crimes Division, and in this installment, he investigates the disappearance of Goldilocks while also chasing down the serial killer Gingerbread Man. I tired of the nursery-rhyme setting after a while, but there were some wonderful moments of wit and satire.

>107 mathgirl40: Yay, Jasmine Sharp! Now I want to read that trilogy again :)

>112 rabbitprincess: Well, I have you to thank for encouraging me to read Christopher Brookmyre. :)

139. Factfulness by Hans Rosling (4 stars)
Category: Non-fiction

This was my final book of 2018 and it was a good one, with its message of hopefulness, to end the year and to begin the new one. The subtitle of the book is "Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think". Rosling's message is that the media promotes negative news stories disproportionately, so that we often miss seeing slow and gradual progress on the world's problems. He encourages us to seek the facts rather than make assumptions based on incomplete or skewed information presented by the media.

Finally, I have finished all my 2018 reviews! I finished 139 books but only 50 off my shelves, so I will have to work harder at that in 2019. Fortunately, I was pretty good about limiting my acquisitions, so I think I ended up with a net book loss over the year.

Not counting rereads of old favourites, these were, for me, the best of the year in no particular order:

White Tears by Hari Kunzru
The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker
The Dark and Other Love Stories by Deborah Willis
American War by Omar El Akkad
Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
The Stand by Stephen King
Rendezvous in Black by Cornell Woolrich
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

I hope to catch up on a few more 2018 threads and then I will finally get my 2019 challenge going!

>105 mathgirl40:
I've seen Ishiguro's name come up a lot over the past few years. I'll have to find something to read by him. is Never Let Me Go a good place to start?