Reading 2013

1. Mistral's Kiss (1/1/13) -336-
 I'm rather entranced by these books.  I had read all the others up to this point, so this was the first time I read this. After reading all the Anita Blake books, these are refreshing for different things.  It's nice not to read quite as much about clothes.  The obsession with eyes is still apparent.  Hamilton really is obsessed with people's eyes. And sex. She's obsessed with sex.  The sex is not quite as racy most of the time, and more often than not is still just between two people.  There have been scenes with four or five people.  As I said, Hamilton books are not for people who do not like sex. You probably shouldn't read them all back to back either, because then you start screaming at the book that you don't care about what everyone is bloody wearing, and that she has already mentioned five times what his eyes look like.... Yeah.  See, it gets a bit annoying.

2. A Lick of Frost (1/1/13) -384-
So, yeah. I read two of these in the same day. They are quite short.  As I said, I enjoy the novels.  The sex doesn't bother me. Nor the language.  This book finally gives the big moment you have been waiting for. One thing I like about these books are the fact that you have back to back action and it is believable. Another thing I like is that no matter, she finds moments for connections between the characters as well.  Not only does Meredith connect with her men, but her men share moments of that guy to guy understanding as well.  I was extremely happy with most of the events of this book. I think Hamilton is working towards a more happy ending for Meredith. It's nice. There were a few moments when I wanted to scream at people.


3. Swallowing Darkness (1/4/13) - 416
This was a twist. I suspected that something like this may happen, because Meredith had been having doubts, but I never thought it actually would.  I couldn't see Meredith giving up her people. The fact that they gave both crowns up to save Frost was amazing.  It spoke of their love and their honor to each other.  I enjoyed the battle scenes, the help the humans gave, and everything that occurred with this book.  It was well written, well executed, and the plot was rich with new ideas and old ones brought back to life.  The characters are as wonderful as ever, and they each bring their own part of faery and their world to the book. Their pasts are incredibly interesting and one day I would like to see what exactly happened to each and every one of them.

4. Divine Misdemeanors (1/16/13) - 384
This book ends with Meredith being happy.  It's a nice chance for the character to get everything she's wanting.  It's also nice to have a family dynamic, which is never really in the Anita Blake books and especially not in the same way.  I really enjoyed this book, and the new look it gives us into faery.  For instance, they can go crazy too, and we get to see that.  I like the complications it prevents, and the realizations that Meredith has to make.  Her being a princess and everything that entails does not simply vanish because of previous choices she has made. I cannot wait for the next one.  The descriptions are all still there, and that will probably eventually drive me insane, but to each their own!

I haven't updated this in a very long time.

5. Tobacco Road (2/4/13) - 192
This was actually a very interesting book.  It is about a southern family that is old fashioned, uneducated, and have lost all their belongings.  It is well... read the summary on a website.  I wasn't fond of the people in the book and most of the time I wanted to throw it against a wall. The family is aggravating, but it brought up many issues in class.  Read my post about it!

6. Their Eyes Were Watching God (2/11/13) - 256
This was a beautiful book. Read my post!

7. To Kill A Mockingbird (2/25/13) - 336
Officially one of my all time favorite books.  Rereading it brought a whole new appreciation for the novel, for what it deals and all the issues it deals with.  Lee manages to bring so many issues into the novel, without shoving it in your face. She handles them with detail and precision.  Telling this story through a child's point of view makes all the difference, and there were moments were I cried, especially at the end. It is a great book. Please read it - and read my post over it if you need more convincing to READ IT!

8. Child of God (3/4/13) - 208
This was certainly an interesting book.  We had a debate on whether or not the guy was a sociopath.  Honestly, it was a good book.  Worth the read.

9. Mama Day (3/18/13) - 312
I loved this novel.  It was a great book, and it dealt with magic, which of course I loved.  It deals with issues of slavery, love, death and life.  Naylor weaves myth and legend into a modern day land, a story of love, hope, grief and everything wonderful.

10. Wolf Whistle (3/25/13) - 312
This book deals with Emmett Till.  Honestly, I did not like it. I think that while the author was trying to deal with the other side of the Till murder, and he told something in his own way - I did not like the way he did it. Often, the way he dealt with things bothered me, and I felt like in some ways it cheapened the real tragedy and the real story. That's my own opinion though. Many people in the class loved the book.  To each their own.

11. Celestial Jukebox (4/1/13) - 431
 I did not get to finish this book but I plan to later.  It is interesting, deals with modern events, and a level of society that isn't often discussed - immigrants.

12. Winter's Bone (4/5/13) - 197
I really want to see this movie. The book had a pretty good plot but I didn't like the way it was written. I understand that the author was trying to convey the actual way the world is thought and written by, well, maybe this "type" of people, I guess... but it bothered me.  There is quite a bit of language, if that kind of thing bothers you.  I dunno, I think sometimes the way the novel went just bothered me... I'll write more on this one later.

Summer 2013

13. Into the Woods by Kim Harrison (5/21/13) - 455

This was a collection of short stories.  Many of them related in one form or another to the Rachel Morgan series.  I really enjoyed them and the pieces of the lives we got to see that weren't in the books.  We got back story on Rachel herself and other characters.  My favorite was the story with Jenks and Trent. I always liked Trent and it was really great to see the world from his point of view, and see his own doubts about his abilities, his future, and his relationship with others.  The short story about Jenks and his family was also fun and the look into Dryads was interesting - I would like to see more about it. We also got to see different stores and lines that have nothing to do with Rachel Morgan.  Harrison is a truly wonderful author.


14. Ever After by Kim Harrison (5/30/13) - 435 -
Ever After was a pretty great book.  Before you read this one, you really need to read the short story with Jenks and Trent because it answers a lot of questions and preps you for some of the things which happen.  I really enjoyed the characters, as always, and I greatly enjoyed the interaction between Rachel and Trent.  Sadly, one of my favorite characters dies in this book and I was woefully under prepared for it.  I was NOT expecting it to happen and I was so depressed. Still, more questions about Rachel are answered, more are left there in the open, and you learn more and more about the world of the demons, the past between the Elves and the Demons, and what the future may hold between them all.


15. The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)
(6/6/13) -233-
Being able to read something else that Tolkien wrote is quite awesome. I wonder however if he is upset that the world is seeing his very rough draft of something. The poem itself is very well done, and the wording is beautiful.  There were some moments where three of four lines were just breathtaking. I love his writing.  After the poem (which is unfinished), Christopher gives background on the previous writers of Arthur, those who wrote in the Middle Ages.  Three of my classes came in very, very useful for this book!!!!  He then compares Tolkien's writings to theirs.  It was very interesting. The last part of the book is almost painful, in that it is notes on lines that were changed, and he mentions several times that his father's handwriting is very hard to read and sometimes impossible.

 16. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (6/16/13) -180-
I saw the movie first, and I'm rather surprised at how close the movie was to the book. I love the language and the writing in this book.  I read a bit of the introduction, and I agree that this was a commentary on the society of the 1920s.  I really enjoyed the details, the dialogue and everything with it.  The best thing was that "old sport" was used quite a bit less in the book than in the movie. Movie vs Book - it's a tie.  Though the movie delves more into the relationship between Gatsby and the main character, with a more positive light on what he thinks of Gatsby.  It's certainly worth a read and takes no time whatsoever to read.


17. The Orchard Keeper (6/18/13) -246-

Well, I must say this book greatly depressed me.  It took me ages to get into it and there never seemed to really be a plot. And the description on the back basically covers pretty much nothing that really matters in the book. It comes up... like twice.  So yeah.  Just really frustrating.  And the one character I really liked does not get a good ending, which always angers me because I can't help it, and REALLY THE ANIMAL? YOU HAVE TO DO THAT?  Ahem, so yeah.  I feel sorry for the dog, I hate what happens at the end. I liked some of his books, but this one is not one of them and I would not recommend it all.  It really is more about the lifestyle than about something in particular.


18. The King's Deception (6/20/13) -406-
 I really loved this book. I devoured it in two days.  It is a mix between historical fiction, a spy novel, and a detective novel.  I met Steve Berry when he came to the local library and he credits the genre to Dan Brown, because the spy novel had died out before.  I can agree with this, having read The Da Vinci Code. The history in it is amazing.  It is full of wonderful details, that many probably do not know, and it is actually centered around an actual legend in England surrounding Elizabeth I.  As a Tudor fanatic, I LOVED IT ALL. In the end he actually gives a reference to where he changed historical facts to go with the story, which I think is awesome.  Really, you should read it.  The characters work very well, the plot moves along at a nice pace, and it generally flows perfectly. He weaves history lessons in very well, and the pieces fall together wonderfully. Plus, SPOILERS, the bad guys get what they deserve!!!!


 19. Face of Betrayal (6/24/13) -284-
 This was a pretty great book.  The characters are all very interesting, and the three of them together make for interesting angles to view the story from.  Each character also has personal development and their own inner story line throughout the novel.  There is something hinted at with Nic, and you never find out exactly what it is in the first novel.  Which means now I have to read the next one to try to figure it out.  After hearing the author speak (and I have this signed!)  I can see within her characters and her storylines.  It is an interesting and heartbreaking case, dealing with a teenager who has gone missing.  The plot moves along well, and the clues are laid out for you throughout. I had an inkling about who the true culprit was and I turned out to be right, which is always awesome. Read it!

Spring Pages: 3,764
Summer Pages: 2,233
Total Pages: 5, 997