The 2019 Books List
Dec. 31st, 2019 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lady_phenyxAnyway, I wanted to post the list of books I read this past year here. My two resolutions were to make a dent in the move and the to-be-read pile, and thought it doesn't look like I did, the fact that there's 101 books on this list says I did. I have brief commentary on it about each one, I always forget I'll post it somewhere so they're pretty frank.
Sacred Sins – Nora Roberts
Fiction; Mystery; Romance; A murderer is killing women in Washington, D.C. Psychologist Dr. Teresa Court is brought on to help, and comes up against Detective Ben Paris. Burned before by psychologists, he doesn't want to listen, but can't take his eyes from her. But Tess is in the murderer's sights.
I've noticed some of her books from the eighties have things now and again in them, little details or attitudes, that make me wince. This one just had one little one, otherwise it was good, though I'm not sure there was enough foreshadowing.
Gravity Falls: Lost Legends – Alex Hirsh
Fiction; Graphic Novel; Four new stories from Gravity Falls
YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSsss Okay, fan-girling over, the stories were really good. I'm probably missing a lot, I never was good at picking up the mystery bits or the secrets hidden in the stories, but the surface stories are good too.
The Invisible Ring – Anne Bishop
Fiction; Fantasy; Red-Jeweled Warlord Jared is a slave, purchased by a notorious Queen. But things aren't always what they seem, and freedom may not be as much of a dream as he thinks – and neither might regaining his honor. Prequel to the Black Jewels Trilogy (which I don't have).
Took a bit to get the caste system and Jewels down for me, and for a matriarchal society it still had some misogynistic overtones, and plenty of violence, but it was good still.
Tough Mothers – Jason Porath
Finished 1/10
Non-fiction; History; 50 stories of mothers who changed the world
It's the sequel to 'Rejected Princesses', and just as good. Porath does a lot of research for these books.
Wizard in Chaos – Christopher Stasheff
1/12
Fiction; Sci-fi/Fantasy; Rogue psychic wizard Gar Pike travels the stars fighting injustice and suppression like his father before him. Part of a series.
Bit heavy-handed, more than a bit in places. Pretty good overall I suppose
Jack Frost: The End Becomes The Beginning – William Joyce
1/12
Fiction; YA; The final book of the Guardians of Childhood series
How many times did I say “Thanks, I hate it :D” while reading this? It was good on its own, I just have a strong idea of who Jack is from the movie and this Jack isn't movie!Jack, and I never liked Nightlight turning into Jack, so...yeah.
Murder of a Creped Suzette – Denise Swanson
1/13
Fiction; Mystery; Megamillionaire and faux cowboy Rex Taylor wants to build a country music theater in Scumble River, causing tensions to rise throughout town. Skye has been asked by one of Rex's rising stars Suzette to look into the death of her mother twenty seven years earlier. Then Suzette is found killed under a steamroller, and everything goes downhill.
Meh. Pretty okay, not my favorite.
Impossible Things – Conni Willis
1/14
Fiction; anthology, sci-fi; a collection of short stories
couldn't finish. Read about four of them, was angered by the attitude of each (well, except part of the one, where women were sharing stories of their periods, which was a bit funny). I guess it was a bit fear-mongering and a bit the future is fucked and a bit 'you wanna whine? Fine whine about this' feeling – not the 'get out and do something about it' I look for in that kind of thing
Pegasus Bridge – Stephen E. Ambrose
1/24
Non-Fiction; History; The time leading up to and after the first engagement of D-Day
He tried to present it with interviews and keep it from being dry. I got lost more than once in who's who, but he managed mostly
Jackaroo – Cynthia Voigt
1/25
Fiction; Gwyn the Innkeeper's daughter is not easily led, but when she and a young lordling are stranded during winter and she finds the costume of the legendary masked outlaw Jackaroo, who helps those in need, she can't shake off the feeling that she's meant to do something.
A lot of the Kingdom books have this feeling to them of hopelessness, it seems like to me. Why try, it's going to stay the same. They talk a lot about fortune's wheel, too. Hard to read yet hard to stop.
The Lost Light: Mystery of the Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens – Kevin P. Duffus
2/2/19
Non Fiction; Historical; The story of the Fresnel Lens of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse during the Civil War
Bit too kind to the Confederates (you own slaves=evil) and it was a bit confusing towards the end about where the lens was. Also it's a bit of a downer – people took parts of the lens after all the work to get it back and it's still not whole.
Fairy Tales of Frank Stockton – Frank Stockton, edited by Jack Zipes
2/5/19
Fiction; Anthology; Collection of short stories
It wasn't until I was pretty far along that I found out these were written in 1880, as opposed to 1980, when I thought they'd been, which explained all the (mild but still there) racism, sexism, and casual slaves. The stories are pretty good, mostly, except for that.
Eye of the Needle – Ken Follett
2/10
Fiction; Historical; German spy tries to expose British plot that could win or lose the war
I didn't finish it. I got about a third, maybe half through, and just...didn't care anymore. The writing was clunky (maybe being condensed didn't help? It's in a reader's digest condensed 4-in-1) but I just didn't want to finish it. I read the last few pages and tried a few more times but in the end, nope.
Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris
2/11
Fiction; Sookie Stackhouse series; Sookie's coworker is murdered, then she has to go help the vampires of Dallas find one of their own. Things go...badly.
Pretty good, really. I'm not going to, say, actively seek out the rest, but it was a good book.
The Journey Back – Johanna Reiss
2/12
Fiction, Historical, The war's over, but nothing's going to be the same. This is the story of thirteen year old Annie, who's spent the last three years in hiding from the Germans, the the year after the war as they move on.
It sort of just...finishes. No resolution, it's just over. I guess it's supposed to be like how it all is – life just moves on and doesn't get resolved. But we don't find out what happened to anyone after that first year.
The Everything Pirates Book – Barb Karg & Arjean Spaite
2/13
Non-fiction; Historical; A bit like a Dummies' Guide only historical
Pretty good, they had to condense some and skim over some since technically not an in-depth guide but still good.
How I Survived My Summer Vacation – Bruce Coville
2/14
Fiction; Stuart is off to summer camp at Camp Haunted Hills – a camp run by a famous filmmaker for future filmmakers. But it's not just a name – and there's more than just a ghost at Camp Haunted Hills.
Standard Coville. Good, if a little cringy at time (from character embarrassing self).
Some of My Best Friends Are Monsters – Bruce Coville
2/15
Fiction; The continuing adventures of Stuart and Brenda at Camp Haunted Hills
The bully is an asshole, wow. There's three books in the series, I don't have the third, but knowing Coville, he might end up dulled but won't really get comeuppance. It's one of the few realistic things he does. The book's pretty good, a little frustrating (see:bully).
Ghosts of Gettysburg: Spirits, Apparitions and Haunted Places of the Battlefield – Mark Nesbitt
2/16
Non-fiction; stories of ghosts of Gettysburg
Pretty good, short and doesn't get too into the things that make a ghost story annoying
Dead of Night – Anthology; 4 Paranormal Stories
Fiction; Anthology; 4 short stories
2/20
Eternity in Death – J. D. Robb
Eve Dallas Murder Mystery – a suspected vampire is killing people and Eve is assigned the case
Doesn't fit with the others – they're all romance and this is murder mystery. Best story in the book, though.
Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure – May Blayney
Time travel adventure to return a magic coin to its proper time and place
Pretty good, light on the fish-out-of-water awkwardness I was afraid it would have
Timeless – Ruth Ryan Langan
Laurel is sent back in time and mistaken for the laird's missing wife.
Again, no fish-out-of-water, pretty good story for having to establish everything in around 100 pages
On the Fringe – Mary Kay McComas
A woman is given a chance to see how things might have gone
For some reason had no patience for this one. Barely got ten pages in – where they started a sex scene that was apparently the reason her husband left? I don't know I didn't want to read it – before giving up. Also, skipped to the end and it was super confusing.
The Boggart – Susan Cooper
2/20
Fiction; Children/YA; The Vonik family has inherited a Scottish castle. When they come home after visiting, though, they accidentally bring along a bit extra – the boggart who called that castle home for centuries.
I'll admit, I got really, really mad at the parents a few times. As in, 'way to make sure your children never tell you anything ever again' mad. They came through in the end, but if the one character hadn't been exposed, I don't think they would have. Still mad, I guess. It was really good though.
The Boggart and the Monster – Susan Cooper
2/21
Fiction; Children; The Vonik children are back in Scotland, visiting the owner of their castle. When they go to visit an expedition to find the Loch Ness Monster, they accidentally bring along their boggart, who makes a surprising discovery.
Very good as well, and less of the adults that so upset me last time.
In Quest of Ghosts – Hans Holzer
2/23
Non-Fiction; Short stories of various ghost investigations led by the author
I mean, pretty good, not sure I believe but I believe he believes.
Phantom Army of the Civil War and Other Southern Ghost Stories – Edited by Frank Spaeth from the files of FATE magazine
2/24
Non-Fiction; Ghost encounters
Pretty good, easy read
The Law is a Lady – Nora Roberts
2/27
Ficition; Romance; Director Phillip Kincaid is going to use Tory Ashton's town, Friendly, as the setting for his next movie. Tory is still reeling from the unexpected death of her father and temporarily filling in his office as Sheriff, and they meet when he refuses to accept his ticket for speeding
Too much manhandling. I buy that they like and love each other but he does way too much manhandling in the beginning.
This is part one of a two book all-in-one, but I couldn't do the second. Everyone's furious at the woman for not following the path they had planned for her, too much manhandling, and no it doesn't really matter that it was a miscarriage you don't get a vote since you broke up over what she did.
The River – Gary Paulsen
3/1
Fiction; YA/Children's; Sequel to The Hatchet; Brian is going out into the wilderness again, this time with a companion to learn how he survived with only a hatchet and pass that onto others. But then Derek is struck by lightning, and their radio is dead, and it's up to Brain to get them to help.
Good, just as good as the Hatchet, and a short, easy read.
Water Over The Falls: 101 of the Most Memorable Events at Niagara Falls – Paul Gromosiak
3 / 4
NonFiction; exactly what it says in the title
Idiots: a guide. 90 bad decisions and 11 random things that happened at the falls.
The Evil That Men Do: FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey Into the Minds of Sexual Predators – Stephen G. Michaud with Roy Hazelwood
3/18
Non Fiction; True Crime; The story of developing the methods of identifying and capturing sexual criminals
Disturbing yet fascinating, explained in ways that are easy to understand and all the more chilling for that.
The Turn of the Screw – Henry James
3/25
Fiction; Something's haunting the governess
I couldn't finish it, I tried for a week. The sentences are so convoluted that I couldn't follow them from start to finish, and it wasn't holding me – mostly because I was having so much trouble reading it. Got about 1/3 through.
Annie Oakley – Ellen Wilson
3/25
Historical Fiction; the story of Annie Oakley's childhood
It's meant for a young-ish audience, so I'm sure there's a lot left out, but it's not bad
Kindertransport – Olga Levy Drucker
3/26
Fictionalized nonfiction?; The author's story of being one of the children of the kindertransport, which took Jewish children from Germany to England in the months before WW2
She technically wrote it for children, but that doesn't make it any less of a good read – and a somewhat painful one, as most accounts of the war are.
A Treasury of Great Mysteries Vol. 1
3/30
Fiction; a collection of novels, novelettes, and short stories
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
Have read multiple times before
Case of the Crimson Kiss – Erle Gardner
Had one interesting piece, but totally illogical conclusion. No court would allow that evidence
The Treasure Hunt – Edgar Wallace
Enjoyable if shady
Maigret's Christmas – Georges Simenon
Read before, decent
Puzzle for Poppy – Patrick Quentin
Cute
The Secret – Mary Rinehart
A strange one
The Incautious Burglar – John Carr
Nice and short and interesting
Lamp of God – Ellery Queen
Very strange, felt more like a horror
Case of the White Elephant – Margery Allingham
Feels like loose ends to me
Rear Window – William Irish
At least I know what it's about now beyond pop culture osmosis
Journey Into Fear – Eric Ambler
Skimmed so much of it, if it hadn't been part of this I would've given up
An Acceptable Time – Madeleine L'Engle
4/10
Fiction, Polly has gone through a time gate and is now in a world 3,000 years ago, where they believe her a goddess and a prime candidate for sacrifice
Companion to Wrinkle in Time, Polly is Meg's daughter. Pretty good book, could do with less Christian heavy-handedness
Sindbad the Sailor and other tales from the Arabian Nights – Retold by N. J. Dawood
4/10
Fiction; short stories
Lots of slavery and casual racism, lots of stories where I went “are you serious right now?!”, couldn't read some, but overall good
Mary Reilly – Valerie Martin
4/12
Fiction; The story of Jekyll & Hyde as seen by housemaid Mary.
Surprisingly good. It was a little hard to read, but that was because it's large print.
A Treasury of Great Mysteries Vol 2
4/20
Fiction; a collection of novels, novelettes, and short stories
The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler
Wanted to skip but too confusing. Disliked everyone in it.
Bone of Contention – Dorothy Sayers
Interesting
The Arrow of God – Leslie Charteris
Okay
I Can find My Way Out – Ngaio Marsh
So very confusing
Instead of Evidence – Rex Stout
Decent enough
Rift in the Loot – Stuart Palmer & Craig Rice
Solid mystery
The Man Who Explained Miracles – Carter Dickson
The instant romance was grating and unrealistic. Certain people escaped punishment and that's infuriating
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggghhhhhhh can't believe I slogged my way through that only for the ending to be so vague. Ugh.
Born O'Hurley – Nora Robers
4/30
Fiction; Romance; Contains 2 Novels: The Last Honest Woman and Dance to the Piper
Both good, the men came with issues and it would've been nice if they got over them sooner but eh.
Skin Deep – Nora Robers
5/4
Fiction; Romance; Book 3 of the O'Hurley books
The romantic lead pissed me off for awhile but I accepted his redemption
Without a Trace – Nora Roberts
5/9
Fiction; Romance; Last of the O'Hurley books
Trace has issues, seems odd to me that Gillian fell for him but I went with it. Still satisfying.
Towards Zero – Agatha Christie
5/14
Fiction; Mystery; Everything leads up to a murder. The murder itself is zero hour. A different mystery by Agatha Christie with a twist I didn't see coming but which, looking back, was planted well enough in the narrative to make decent sense (a little more could have been done, I think, but it didn't come completely out of nowhere).
I liked it, even if it took something like 2/3 of the book to get to the murder – that was the whole point.
The Spy With the Silver Lining – Wendy Rosnau
5/14
Fiction; Romance/Thriller; Superspy Casmir put master criminal Yurii behind bars – but now he's out, and no one's sure what he'll do when he gets his hands on Casmir. Now Casmir has been put as bait in a trap by the people who should protect her.
I was pissed at the men in Casmir's life for 99% of this book. Arrogant and deliberately putting her in danger – yeah, she's a spy, but you gotta tell people things, esp. when it's them on the line. Also? Romantic lead made some very bonehead, asshole moves, esp. for a professional.
The Pirate and the Princess: The Timelight Stone – Mio Chizuru
Fiction; Y/A (maybe); Pirate Yuri once lived in the future. Now a thousand years in the past, time has stopped for her until she can undo a wrong. Princess Noelle is from this time, and her kingdom has been conquered by evil, but the pirates of the Eurastia always come when the innocent call for help.
So it's the first of a series as it turns out, so there really isn't a resolution. It feels like the first episode of an anime, really.
Prisoner of my Desire – Johanna Lindsey
5/18
Fiction; Romance; Rape and desire and revenge
The characters were well written but I ended up skimming. I couldn't put it down but it was also infuriating.
The Cases That Haunt Us – John Douglas & Mark Olshaker
5/21
Non-Fiction; True Crime; Profiler and 25 year FBI Veteran John Douglas explores some of history's most famous murders, from Jack the Ripper to JonBenet Ramsey
Pretty thought provoking, he didn't shy away from things but spelled out why he thought what he did.
The Pirates of Colonial North Carolina – Hugh F. Rankin
5/23
Non-Fiction; History; A short history of pirates in the Carolinas
Focused mostly on Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard with mentions of other pirates. Short, not great but not bad either.
A Lick of Frost – Laurell K. Hamilton
5/24
Fiction; Fantasy?; Part of the Merry Gentry series
I know her books have a lot of issues, and when I take a step back they (Re: mostly the Anita Blake books) annoy me, but it was still fun to read anyway.
Strawberry Shortcake Murder – Joanne Fluke
5/26
Fiction; Mystery; When a fellow judge of the first annual Dessert Flour Bake-Off is found murdered, Hannah's back on the case, but this is a more tangled web than it first appears.
I don't know if I wasn't paying attention but I missed foreshadowing of the murderer, so it seemed to come a bit out of nowhere. Decent overall anyway.
River's End – Nora Robers
5/30
Fiction; Romance/Mystery; Olivia's parents were Hollywood royalty – until the night a monster with her father's face murdered her mother. Now Noah, the son of the cop who'd been watching over her since, is writing a book about that night and her father is going to be released from prison – and all the secrets are coming to light.
Well, kind of wish we got to know if everyone found out what really happened, and since I knew how it ended I got to see how she never said it was the dad but didn't really foreshadow who it was as much as I'd liked. Still good.
Tarot Fantastic – Anthology
6/1
Fiction; Anthology; short stories about the Tarot
Not that great, a lot were just plain confusing.
Golden Urchin – Madeleine Brent
6/10
Fiction; Romance (?); Raised by aborigines in the outback, Meg comes across a white man while she is running away joins white society.
Refers to Meg's life with the tribe as 'primitive' and other such language a lot, not bad just feels like it's maybe a touch racist? I mean being raised that way is crucial to the plot and is how they live to the end but...
Welcome to Temptation – Jennifer Crusie
6/11
Fiction; Romance; Sophie and her sister Amy film wedding videos, until a job brings them to Temptation, Ohio, and the chance for better jobs. But things start to go wrong from the moment they cross the town line.
I had trouble buying that the leads were in love, and really didn't like a lot of people in the book. Not bad I suppose, I mean I did finish it.
The Mermaid Summer – Mollie Hunter
Fiction, Y/A; Everyone in the village is frightened of the mermaid that haunts the shore, save Eric Anderson, and that is why he has to leave after she nearly kills him. Three years later, his grandchildren will face off against the mermaid.
It was good except I kept wanting to yell at the kids to stop messing with the shell that called the mermaid after they knew it would.
Recipe for Trouble – Jackie Griffey
Fiction; Mystery; Strange accidents are happening around cookbook author Mattie, and things come to a head when she's nearly poisoned.
Stilted, not as exciting as it sounds.
First Impressions – Nora Roberts
6/18
Fiction; Romance; 2-in-1; First Impressions and Blithe Images
First Impressions: Shane knows at first sight Vance is the one before, but Vance was burned badly enough before, he doesn't trust love.
Okay, but had some problems with the secrets issue and how little they were listening to each other
Blithe Images: Working on a layout for Mode magazine is going to make Hilary's name...if she and magazine owner Bret can calm the sparks
didn't finish. He was listening to signals she wasn't giving and called her a tease when she didn't want to have sex (angrily) and said things way to similar to someone I hate did – and I hate him for treating me the way Bret was treating Hilary
The Chocolate Cat Caper – JoAnna Carl
6/22/
Fiction; Mystery; Retreating to a small resort town in Michigan and her aunt's chocolate business after divorcing her husband, Lee gets mixed up in murder after someone uses their chocolates to murder the lawyer everyone loves to hate.
Not bad, wasn't sure I'd finish it at first but glad I did
Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford – Julia Fox
7/1
Nonfiction; History; The story of Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law to Queen Anne
Interesting, also points out how easy it is for someone to be painted as a scapegoat in history
Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga – Frederik Schodt
Nonfiction; a history of manga and modern artists (copyright 1996, so a bit out of date)
pretty good until we got to the modern section, which as noted is out of date. Interesting to see the Anipike again, I haven't seen that since the 90s.
Song of the Kingdom – Andy Stone
Fiction; Fantasy; Music has been gone from the kingdom for centuries and singers outlawed. Now three singers are on a quest to find the Song of the Kingdom and return music and magic alike.
Well, it's about music magic, so of course I'm a sucker for that. Solid book, not great but not bad either.
You Belong to Me – Mary Higgins Clark
Fiction; Mystery/Suspense; Dr. Susan Chandler has a special episode on her radio show about missing women, leading her down a path that starts with a woman calling in with information being critically injured and more people killed as she starts to track down a serial killer.
It was good, and she kept us guessing about who the killer was, I'm just not sure there was enough to have the satisfactory “YES, it was him!” at the end.
Anime Explosion – The What, Why and Wow of Japanese Animation – Patrick Drazen
Non Fiction; A history of Japanese anime during the boom in North America
Informative and Interesting
Black Hills – Nora Roberts
8/2
Fiction; Romance; Lil and Cooper were childhood friends and young lovers before they had to separate. Now adults, they reconnect, but s killer is targeting Lil's animal refuge.
Villain was infuriating, good book overall
The Jungle Book 2 – Rudyard Kipling
8/13
Fiction; short stories
bit racist, okay I suppose
Of Two Minds – Carol Matas & Perry Nodelman
8/21
Fiction; YA, Princess Leonora and the people of her kingdom can change reality by imagining it. Prince Coren and his can hear each other's thoughts and living in their own realities. Now they're to be married.
Leonora is a bit frustrating, so I guess she's pretty realistic for her age. Well written if frustrating.
The Shadow of the Lion – Mercedes Lackey, Dave Freer, Eric Flint
8/24
Fiction; an evil greater than any have known threatens Venice in this alternate history fantasy
This book is a brick. It's 900 pages long! Thing is, once I got into it? Totally worth it. There's sequels that I might get to wrap up a few storylines, not sure since Lackey's not on a few. But it kept my attention through the whole brick.
The Dark Garden – Margaret Buffie
8/27
Fiction, Y/A; Thea is 16 and has traumatic amnesia. As she tries to find out who she is, memories come to her – but they aren't hers.
The parents in this made me so mad. What they were doing was parentification, and that's abuse. Still, it was a good book.
More Minds – Carol Matas & Perry Nodelman
8/28
Fiction, YA, sequel to Of Two Minds
Leonora is still somewhat annoying, but the books are interesting
Prince of Fire & Ashes – Katya Reimann
8/28
Fiction; What price a kingdom? What sacrifice will the magic users of the princedom be willing to make to break free of an empire and be a kingdom?
I wasn't sure I would finish as it's the 'final book' of a series. But I got drawn in. It doesn't feel like the last book, though.
Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle – Dorothy Gilman
9/2
Fiction; Mystery; Grandmother and CIA agent Mrs. Pollifax is supposed to be on vacation, but since she'll be there anyway, she could pick up a small package. Then things go wrong when her husband is kidnapped.
Pretty good, but Mrs. Pollifax didn't save the day, which was disappointing.
Belle – Melanie Jackson
9/3
Fiction; Romance; Belle has been jilted by her fiance, as has Stephan. After a mishap at a ball, he's determined to make an honest woman of her – and secure happiness for both of them. If only she weren't convinced that marrying her would only cause more scandal!
A little frustrating at times, but fun. And they did finally start properly communicating before the end of the book, and were enjoying each other's company enough for me to believe them as a couple that would work out in the long term
Behind the Lines – Isabelle Holland
9/3
Fiction; Historical YA; 14 year old Irish Immigrant Katie works as a kitchen maid for a wealthy family, daily seeing the difference in how they live and her fellow immigrants live. With the Civil War draft coming up – and the ability of the rich to buy their way out by paying $300 for another to go in their place – tensions rise.
Hard to read at times, as she made if feel very real. A frank look at an Irish girl (with a newly made black friend) serving rich folks during the New York Draft Riots
A Scandalous Marriage – Debbie Raleigh
9/11
Fiction, Romance; A mix up ends with Victoria and Claredon wed to avoid scandal and ruin.
I mean...you two are married you could try and make it work, you don't have many choices. Why did her would be fiance have to be...so pathetic? At least they worked it out, so it worked well
Nectar in a Sieve – Kamala Markandaya
9/12
Fiction; The story of a woman married as a child bride to a tenant farmer
Good grief, “and then it got worse: the book”, apparently she has to endure everything thrown at her placidly and though they had a few times when things were okay it just never seemed to get better
Acorna's World – Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Scarborough
9/12
Fiction, Sci-Fi; A continuation of the “Adventures of the Unicorn Girl” series
Good, solid, entertaining book
Coraline – Neal Gaimen
9/19
Fiction; YA; The door in Coraline's flat should lead to a brick wall, but instead leads to the home of the Other Mother
Creepy and very good. I like some of the changes the movie made, but like the book's ending better.
The Ancient One – T. A. Barron
9/20
Fiction; Kate is caught up in the struggle between loggers and protecting the Lost Crater, whose trees are nearly 2,000 years old, only to find herself transported back 500 years to another battle for the crater.
Pretty easy to tell whose side I'm on. Barron, too, considering they make it clear cutting the redwoods would have gotten the town maybe a year.
The Accidental Duchess – Jessica Benson
9/20
Fiction; Romance; Gwen's known she would be marrying safe, easy Bertie for most of her life. But she's found herself instead married to his twin brother, Harry.
No one would tell Gwen anything and I was very frustrated with them. Her parents are terrible. It got good once she figured out what she wanted and fought back, but they left loose ends.
The House With a Clock in Its Walls – John Bellairs
9/21
Fiction; YA; Lewis moves in with his Uncle Jonathan. He and the neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman are witches, but more powerful witches used to live in the house, and their plans are continuing after death.
Lewis is ten, so he does things that make me want to yell with frustration. It's good, just...AUGH.
The Figure in the Shadows – John Bellairs
9/24
Fiction, YA; Lewis finds a coin that may or not be magic and is haunted by a shadowy figure
Again, tell the adults, yes they keep secrets too but they're fairly reasonable! At least Rose Rita finally does
The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring – John Bellairs
9/26
Fiction, YA, Lewis is off to summer camp, so Mrs. Zimmerman and Rose Rita are off on their own trip, to look at a farm that Mrs. Zimmerman's cousin left her and explore.
Brings up a lot of the oppressive expectations for girls, esp. in the 50s. Not happy how Mrs. Zimmerman is less powerful now. Same weaknesses & strengths of the other books
Voyage on the Great Titanic: Dear America – Ellen Emerson White
9/27
Fiction; Children/YA; The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, who sailed as a paid companion on the Titanic
Most Titanic stories hurt – this one didn't get into details enough to really hurt but it was good
Reflections & Dreams – Nora Roberts
9/30
Fiction; Romance; Two Books combined
Got irritated big time with hero in Reflections (doesn't understand dance; bulldozer; don't get how they're in love) and the boyfriend in Dreams (again, doesn't Get dancing and how being a Ballerina means 100% devotion to it) but decent – most of her 80s books are okay but newer are better
I Thought My Soul Would Rise And Fly – Joyce Hansen
10/1
Fiction; YA; Dear America Series of Historical Journals; Journal of a newly freed slave girl during Emancipation
Another good entry in the Dear America series
Cleopatra VII – Kristiana Gergory
10/5
Fiction; YA; Royal Diaries series; Diary of a young Princess Cleopatra
Interesting
Captive Queen – Alison Weir
10/9
Historical fiction; A novel of Elinor of Aquitaine
A bit frustrating, as so much of the motivations in this novel is sexual and, well...
Charmed and Enchanted – Nora Roberts
10/10
Fiction; Romance; two in one
Pretty good, it's part of a series and I don't have the other books but still easy to pick up
One Good Knight – Mercedes Lackey
10/11
Fiction; Five Hundred Kingdoms novel; a dragon has come to ravage her kingdom, and when Princess Andromeda comes too close to figuring out truths about her kingdom, she's chose by the lottery as a sacrifice.
Very enjoyable
Vampires! – Anthology
10/13
Fiction; Set of short vampire stories
surprisingly good, only skipped through one
Real Vampires Have Curves – Gerry Bartlett
10/18
Fiction; Glory was bloating when she was turned and is spending eternity as a plus sized vampire. But there's a new vampire hunter on the loose, and the man who turned her is trying to protect her at all costs.
I'm not convinced Glory is actually plus sized, esp. the way she goes on about it and how they say she was 'bloating'. And a lot of the parts about how attractive the men are...eh. The one should have gotten worse for practically raping her, did not appreciate that coming out of nowhere.
Glenraven – Marion Zimmer Bradley & Holly Lisle
10/23
Fiction; JayJay and Sophie are drawn into the magical land of Glenraven to either save it or doom it forever
Over-the-top violence. I get they wanted to really solidify how evil the villain was but...whew. Also, no one seemed to want to tell the two anything, then they were upset they weren't fulfilling a destiny? Lots of conclusion jumping. Still, it was good.
Duchess of Aquitaine – Margaret Ball
10/23
Historical Fiction; The story of Eleanor from her father's death until her divorce from Louis
Obviously pieced together as there's not much historical record, fanciful at times, but pretty good
Swallowing Darkness – Laurell K. Hamilton
11/4
Fiction; Merry Gentry Series
What can I say, I can't help myself. I enjoy the series.
Divine Misdemeanors – Laurell K. Hamilton
11/9
Fiction; Merry Gentry Series
I know it's supposed to be 'erotic' but I skip 90% of the sex scenes – they're pretty much the same
In Camelot's Shadow – Sarah Zettel
11/9
Fiction; telling of Risa and Galahad and the Green Knight
Little frustrating at times but good
Homecoming Masquerade – Spencer Baum
11/9
Fiction; first of the Girls In Black series
don't have the others, would be better if I did, sort of just ends with the night successful but a lost of strings to pick up in the other books
The Adventure Zone – Murder on the Rockport Limited
11/14
Graphic Novel
Cackled at the expressions more than once, I could tell what got cut out and was glad some of it was but a little bummed for one or two.
The Frankenstein Papers – Fred Saberhagen
11/17
Fiction; Frankenstein from the Monster's POV
Are you kidding me? Fucking really? OoOoo, it was ALIENS the whole time, he didn't really animate a corpse! BIG TWisT last three pages. Ugh.
Blackbeard: A Reappraisal of his Life and Times – Robert E. Lee
11
Nonfiction
How do you make a book about pirates dull? I don't know but he managed.
Harbinger – Sara Wilson Etienne
Fiction, Y/A, Faye is plagued by visions and almost not surprised when she's abandoned at the prisonlike Holbrook Acadamy. Strange and terrifying things are in store for her and her assigned family.
So angry about the way the kids are treated, and that's not really resolved. Bunch of sadists let loose to torture the kids however they want under a holier-than-though 'headmistress'.
This Rough Magic – Mercedes Lackey, Dave Freer, Eric Flint
12/26
Sequel to Shadow of the Lion, another 900+ page brick.
Again, kept my interest through the entire brick. Good story, did get mad about a character getting killed, felt a bit cheap. Nearly quit but I was close enough to the end to keep going, plus too invested.
Dangerous – Nora Roberts
12/30
Three books in one – Risky Business, Storm Warning, & The Welcoming
Older books of hers, so forceful kisses. Do NOT like those, but otherwise good.
Comet In Moominland – Tove Jansson
12/30
Fiction; first of the Moomin novels
I am incapable of being neutral about this I wanted them too long.
