76. Fusion by Nicole Williams
77. Music of the Heart by Katie Ashley
78. Light in the Shadows by A. Meredith Walters
79. Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas (really good!)
80. Flat Out Love by Jessica Park (Can't recommend this enough, fantastic book)
81. Flat Out Matt by Jessica Park
82. Troubles and Treats by Tara Sivec (filler book while waiting for Walking Disaster)
83. Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
25. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (3rd -5th April) – another book by the same author as #3 on my list, Looking for Alaska. This is a bestseller and has been raved about, so I wanted to see what it was about. It reminded me a lot of a book I read when I was about 13 or 14 called Goodbye Best Friend by Cherie Bennett, all about kids with terminal illnesses and love and death. Surprisingly, it (Green’s novel) was pretty romantic, funny and uplifting. I enjoyed it enough.
16. The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis. It was published late on in the Narnia series, but is the prequel to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and is intended by the author to be read first. I bought it because the Narnia books were the Kindle daily deal on Easter Sunday and I hadn't previously read this one. Allegorical, it tells of the creation of Narnia by Aslan and the introduction of the witch (evil) into the land. It also explains a few things from later books, e.g. where the wardrobe came from and the lampost. A pleasant, quick read and has made me want to reread some of Lewis's adult stuff e.g. The Screwtape Letters.
<snip> 102. Pure - Andrew Miller 6/10
Sceptre Books (Hachette UK), 342 pages <Historical Fiction> 2011 Costa Book of the Year. Miller's critically acclaimed tale set in a pre-revolutionary France where an engineer is tasked with removing a cemetery and its church in the middle of a heavily populated part of Paris… the book tells the story of how this massive project is undertaken and how it affects the neighbourhood, the workers and the engineer himself.
103. The Incredible Hulk 1980-1981 - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema etc. 5/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 509 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #245 - 266, Annual #10. Classic Hulk from the Gamma Base, Colonel and Betty Ross, Rick Jones era. 104. The Incredible Hulk 1982-1983 - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema etc. 4/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 606 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #267-290, Annuals #11-12. Classic Hulk with Banner in charge throughout 1982. as well as Marvel debuts for Rocket Raccoon and Dr Kate Waynesboro… although a lot of weak issues amongst these. 105. The Incredible Hulk 1984-1985 - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, John Byrne etc. 5/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 653 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #291-314, Annuals #13-14. Including the regression to Savage Hulk and his rampage in Manhattan and the 'Crossroads' arc.. 106. The Incredible Hulk 1986-1987 - Al Milgrom, Peter David, Todd McFarlane, John Byrne etc. 5/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 595 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #315-338, Annuals #15. Including the separation and the repercussions of it… and the start of Peter David's amazing run.
107. Jerry Prosser's Animal Man - Jerry Prosser 6/10
Vertigo (D C Comics), 243 pages
<Graphic Novel> Animal Man #80-89… see's the final issues of Animal Man with Prosser trying to give it a transcendental and all-encompassing overview and resolution.
108. The Dark Knight Rises - Greg Cox 6/10
Titan Books, 415 pages
<Novelisation> Novelisation of the last of the Dark Knight films from the trilogy by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan. Frank Miller's dark Gotham and aged Batman are very well rendered by Cox and co. telling the story of Bane's invasion of Gotham and what appears to be the last stand of the Bat.
109. This Book Is Full Of Spiders - David Wong 6/10
Titan Books, 494 pages
<Mash-up> Mash-up is a terrible term to use as a genre, but how else could I describe this dark-comedy sci-fi horror conspiracy thriller adventure of two twenty-something male slackers, a women with one hand and a dog, Molly, getting caught up in a Zombie-like viral outbreak in a small town, possible started by aliens or the government! Surprisingly compelling and actually a pretty good read!
110. The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender 8/10
Windmill Books (Random House), 325 pages
<Mystery> Critically acclaimed in the mass media, but often judge overhyped by the internet public, I love this book, but can see why it has a love it or loathe it effect. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is essentially about the pain, loving family or people that you know so much about... profound, funny, wise and sad, with a slice of surrealism, but in my opinion beautifully written... a seemingly average family holds some normal and some not so normal secrets, as identified and narrated by the primary character, the young daughter Rose.
64. Insight Guide London by Insight Guides 4/5
65. All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #7) by Charlaine Harris 5/5
66. Broken Bodies (Daisy Lane, #2) by June Hampson 4/5
67. Gone (Gone, #1) by Michael Grant (READ IT!!) 5/5
68. Dead Men's Dust (Joe Hunter, #1) by Matt Hilton 4/5
12) PS... I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. I finally finished this book about 5 years after I started it. To be honest I finished it but I didn't really like it. The story between Holly and Gerry was fine but the rest of the characters just seemed really unrealistic and completely one dimensional.
Well I haven't been on for ages... At the end of Feb I split up with my boyfriend and have been busy finding somewhere to live etc so reading hasn't been top priority. I have 2 books to add in since my last lot but I'm miles behind of my 150 target now!!!
13) Letters to My Wife - Terry Dean. I loved this book, it was freebie on Amazon but it was funny, emotional and I couldn't put it down. Was really sad it ended which is always the sign of a good book!!! This was my favourite read of 2013 so far!!!
14) The Midwife's Confession - Diane Chamberlain. i enjoyed this book but you could see things coming. It was a good read though and I will be giving her other books a go.
26. A Perfectly Good Man by Patrick Gale (5th-8th April) – a really thoroughly enjoyable book, in my mind. The narrative style is unusual in that it jumps from character to character and across time – on chapter you might be reading about Barnaby (arguably the main character) at 30, the next you might be reading about his daughter aged 37. It starts with the key event which kicks everything else off, and then sort of loses a coherent driving plot until towards the end, which means it can seem a little pointless, but I really enjoyed just getting to know the characters.
Be interested to know what you make of that. I ADORED The Poison Tree, "Burning Air" immediately went into my top ten books of all time, but The Sick Rose I really didnt like.
17. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The unabridged audiobook version. This had been sitting on my mp3 player for ages. It was a free download from Audible, probably around the time that the film was released. I downloaded it because it was free, but the subject matter didn't particularly appeal. I finally got around to listening and it took me a couple of chapters to get into the swing of it. After that I was hooked and thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was made even better by the excellent narrators and their beautiful southern American accents.
The film version is now on it's way from Lovefilm to watch with the rest of the family.
37. Last Light by Alex Scarrow. Apocalyptic story about how quickly the planet would go to pot if the oil supply was cut off. Very good read.
38. The Magpies by Mark Edwards. Really loved this. It's about a young couple who move into their first flat together and everything is going great until they start to realise that their downstairs neighbours are the neighbours from hell and just a tad barking as well.
39. State of Emergency by Summer Lane. Really enjoyable YA post apocalyptic story about a girl called Cassie who lives in L.A. and is suddenly left to fight for survival when an EMP wipes out all the power and society breaks down within hours. Her father was a 'prepper' so she is better prepared than most, but she finds extra help in the form of Chris, a navy seal. They develop an interesting relationship and the struggle for survival keeps the story flowing nicely. Can't wait for the next instalment as this book ends on a cliff hanger.
40. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Absolute misery porn trying to be something it's not. Really depressing and left me wanting a good scrub in the bath.
41. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman. I'm finding it hard to make my mind up about this book. The story itself was interesting, seemingly happy husband commits suicide and his wife goes on a mission to find out why.
But even though I was curious enough to carry on reading to find out what happened, it wasn't one of those books that I couldn't put down. At times it felt like a bit of a chore to read but still, it drew me in enough to want to finish it.
42. All Fall Down by Louise Voss and Mark Edwards. All fall down is the sequel to Catch your death, which I read almost 2 years ago now. I've got quite the thing for killer viruses that have the potential to wipe out humanity so this book is right up my street! It follows virologist Dr Kate Maddox as she heads to America to help with finding a cure for a deadly virus which has been released into the general population by person/persons unknown. Her partner Paul and her son Jack tag along, but are separated and the chapters switch between the 3 characters.
It's fast paced, and is written in an easy to read style. I really like Kate's character but Paul tends to be quite impulsive, despite the best intentions. The 'baddies' are also really fascinating.
43. Think of a Number by John Verdon. Another one that I can't quite make up my mind about. A retired NY detective is contacted by an old college friend who has been receiving strange poems in the post and also the writer of the poems somehow managed to guess a random number that the recipient was asked to think of. Soon after, the college friend is murdered so the ex-detective gets involved in trying to solve the mystery. It was an interesting story with lots of puzzles to be solved but it was also overly descriptive and there was a heck of a lot of exposition and going over the same ground time after time. But I did want to see how it all turned out and the ending wasn't a disappointment.
44. The Flu by Jacqueline Druga. Having been pretty much laid up with a nasty cold for the last few days, reading this book was quite the authentic experience! It tells the story of an outbreak of deadly flu, starting from a research station in Alaska and spreading world wide in a frighteningly short space of time. I really liked this book, alot of it was based around the town of Lodi, Idaho, and the people that live there, giving it a real personal feel, along with seeing how such an epidemic (pandemic?) affects the world in general.
Be interested to know what you make of that. I ADORED The Poison Tree, "Burning Air" immediately went into my top ten books of all time, but The Sick Rose I really didnt like.
It was the first of hers that I have read and I have to say that I thought it was quite a slow read. It did keep me reading as I wanted to know what happened so it can't have been too bad.
I also thought that it ended quite abruptly.
It was just ok.
It was the first of hers that I have read and I have to say that I thought it was quite a slow read. It did keep me reading as I wanted to know what happened so it can't have been too bad.
I also thought that it ended quite abruptly.
It was just ok.
Don't let it put you off her others. The Poison Tree is amazing and when I read "the Burning Air!" I finally understood what "jaw dropping" meant. She stuck a twist in the middle and my jaw actually dropped
Those two are must reads whereas I thought "meh!" about the sick rose.
19. Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss. What can I say, flipping awesome. I either seem to love or hate fantasy novels, but this one drew me in right from the start. The best book I've read in ages, I really couldn't put it down.
27. How the Trouble Started by Robert Williams (8th April) – Like Luke and Jon (#23 on my list), this was a novel which should have been disturbing and yet wasn’t. It’s fairly evident from early on that Donald has committed the ultimate crime at the age of 8 and is then haunted by it ever since – yet somehow you end up feeling sorry for Donald. Dark but not as dark as it could have been. And it ends really abruptly!
Comments
77. Music of the Heart by Katie Ashley
78. Light in the Shadows by A. Meredith Walters
79. Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas (really good!)
80. Flat Out Love by Jessica Park (Can't recommend this enough, fantastic book)
81. Flat Out Matt by Jessica Park
82. Troubles and Treats by Tara Sivec (filler book while waiting for Walking Disaster)
83. Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
116) H is for Homicide - Sue Grafton
103. The Incredible Hulk 1980-1981 - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema etc. 5/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 509 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #245 - 266, Annual #10. Classic Hulk from the Gamma Base, Colonel and Betty Ross, Rick Jones era.
104. The Incredible Hulk 1982-1983 - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema etc. 4/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 606 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #267-290, Annuals #11-12. Classic Hulk with Banner in charge throughout 1982. as well as Marvel debuts for Rocket Raccoon and Dr Kate Waynesboro… although a lot of weak issues amongst these.
105. The Incredible Hulk 1984-1985 - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, John Byrne etc. 5/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 653 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #291-314, Annuals #13-14. Including the regression to Savage Hulk and his rampage in Manhattan and the 'Crossroads' arc..
106. The Incredible Hulk 1986-1987 - Al Milgrom, Peter David, Todd McFarlane, John Byrne etc. 5/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 595 pages <Graphic Novel> Incredible Hulk #315-338, Annuals #15. Including the separation and the repercussions of it… and the start of Peter David's amazing run.
107. Jerry Prosser's Animal Man - Jerry Prosser 6/10
Vertigo (D C Comics), 243 pages
<Graphic Novel> Animal Man #80-89… see's the final issues of Animal Man with Prosser trying to give it a transcendental and all-encompassing overview and resolution.
108. The Dark Knight Rises - Greg Cox 6/10
Titan Books, 415 pages
<Novelisation> Novelisation of the last of the Dark Knight films from the trilogy by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan. Frank Miller's dark Gotham and aged Batman are very well rendered by Cox and co. telling the story of Bane's invasion of Gotham and what appears to be the last stand of the Bat.
109. This Book Is Full Of Spiders - David Wong 6/10
Titan Books, 494 pages
<Mash-up> Mash-up is a terrible term to use as a genre, but how else could I describe this dark-comedy sci-fi horror conspiracy thriller adventure of two twenty-something male slackers, a women with one hand and a dog, Molly, getting caught up in a Zombie-like viral outbreak in a small town, possible started by aliens or the government! Surprisingly compelling and actually a pretty good read!
110. The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender 8/10
Windmill Books (Random House), 325 pages
<Mystery> Critically acclaimed in the mass media, but often judge overhyped by the internet public, I love this book, but can see why it has a love it or loathe it effect. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is essentially about the pain, loving family or people that you know so much about... profound, funny, wise and sad, with a slice of surrealism, but in my opinion beautifully written... a seemingly average family holds some normal and some not so normal secrets, as identified and narrated by the primary character, the young daughter Rose.
15. The Killings At Badgers Drift - Caroline Graham
16. The Waste Land and other Poems - T. S Elliott
65. All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #7) by Charlaine Harris 5/5
66. Broken Bodies (Daisy Lane, #2) by June Hampson 4/5
67. Gone (Gone, #1) by Michael Grant (READ IT!!) 5/5
68. Dead Men's Dust (Joe Hunter, #1) by Matt Hilton 4/5
Well I haven't been on for ages... At the end of Feb I split up with my boyfriend and have been busy finding somewhere to live etc so reading hasn't been top priority. I have 2 books to add in since my last lot but I'm miles behind of my 150 target now!!!
13) Letters to My Wife - Terry Dean. I loved this book, it was freebie on Amazon but it was funny, emotional and I couldn't put it down. Was really sad it ended which is always the sign of a good book!!! This was my favourite read of 2013 so far!!!
14) The Midwife's Confession - Diane Chamberlain. i enjoyed this book but you could see things coming. It was a good read though and I will be giving her other books a go.
Be interested to know what you make of that. I ADORED The Poison Tree, "Burning Air" immediately went into my top ten books of all time, but The Sick Rose I really didnt like.
The film version is now on it's way from Lovefilm to watch with the rest of the family.
38. The Magpies by Mark Edwards. Really loved this. It's about a young couple who move into their first flat together and everything is going great until they start to realise that their downstairs neighbours are the neighbours from hell and just a tad barking as well.
39. State of Emergency by Summer Lane. Really enjoyable YA post apocalyptic story about a girl called Cassie who lives in L.A. and is suddenly left to fight for survival when an EMP wipes out all the power and society breaks down within hours. Her father was a 'prepper' so she is better prepared than most, but she finds extra help in the form of Chris, a navy seal. They develop an interesting relationship and the struggle for survival keeps the story flowing nicely. Can't wait for the next instalment as this book ends on a cliff hanger.
40. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Absolute misery porn trying to be something it's not. Really depressing and left me wanting a good scrub in the bath.
41. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman. I'm finding it hard to make my mind up about this book. The story itself was interesting, seemingly happy husband commits suicide and his wife goes on a mission to find out why.
But even though I was curious enough to carry on reading to find out what happened, it wasn't one of those books that I couldn't put down. At times it felt like a bit of a chore to read but still, it drew me in enough to want to finish it.
42. All Fall Down by Louise Voss and Mark Edwards. All fall down is the sequel to Catch your death, which I read almost 2 years ago now. I've got quite the thing for killer viruses that have the potential to wipe out humanity so this book is right up my street! It follows virologist Dr Kate Maddox as she heads to America to help with finding a cure for a deadly virus which has been released into the general population by person/persons unknown. Her partner Paul and her son Jack tag along, but are separated and the chapters switch between the 3 characters.
It's fast paced, and is written in an easy to read style. I really like Kate's character but Paul tends to be quite impulsive, despite the best intentions. The 'baddies' are also really fascinating.
43. Think of a Number by John Verdon. Another one that I can't quite make up my mind about. A retired NY detective is contacted by an old college friend who has been receiving strange poems in the post and also the writer of the poems somehow managed to guess a random number that the recipient was asked to think of. Soon after, the college friend is murdered so the ex-detective gets involved in trying to solve the mystery. It was an interesting story with lots of puzzles to be solved but it was also overly descriptive and there was a heck of a lot of exposition and going over the same ground time after time. But I did want to see how it all turned out and the ending wasn't a disappointment.
44. The Flu by Jacqueline Druga. Having been pretty much laid up with a nasty cold for the last few days, reading this book was quite the authentic experience! It tells the story of an outbreak of deadly flu, starting from a research station in Alaska and spreading world wide in a frighteningly short space of time. I really liked this book, alot of it was based around the town of Lodi, Idaho, and the people that live there, giving it a real personal feel, along with seeing how such an epidemic (pandemic?) affects the world in general.
It was the first of hers that I have read and I have to say that I thought it was quite a slow read. It did keep me reading as I wanted to know what happened so it can't have been too bad.
I also thought that it ended quite abruptly.
It was just ok.
Don't let it put you off her others. The Poison Tree is amazing and when I read "the Burning Air!" I finally understood what "jaw dropping" meant. She stuck a twist in the middle and my jaw actually dropped
Those two are must reads whereas I thought "meh!" about the sick rose.