Tuesday 16 April 2013

Reading List, 2013

I really enjoy reading, and I have kind of always wanted to keep a tally of how many books I have read. Well since I plan to actually keep on top of this blog for once, here might be my best chance! So I will update this with all of the books I read in a year and if I enjoyed it, that way I can keep a better track of what I've read recently and what I enjoyed so I know I can come back to it.

Here we go!

Books for 2013

The Wheel of Time - All excellent books. If you like detailed fantasy books. I have never loved or felt so challenged by a series before. Challenged in a good way, the world is just so complex, so detailed. It is just wonderful.

  1. The Eye of the world - Robert Jordan
  2. The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan
  3. The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan
  4. The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan
  5. The Fires of Heaven - Robert Jordan
  6. The Lord Of Chaos - Robert Jordan
  7. A Crown of Swords - Robert Jordan
  8. The Path of Daggers - Robert Jordan
  9. Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan, Finished April 29, 2013
  10. Crossroads of Twilight- Robert Jordan, Finished May 28, 2013
  11. Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan, Finished June 14, 2013
  12. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Finished June 22, 2013
  13. Towers of Midnight - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Finished June 26, 2013
  14. A Memory of Light - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Finished July 7, 2013
Now that it is all over, I loved every page of this book. The ending was great. I will definitely be coming back to this series. 

15. Life of Pi - Yann Martel, Finished June 29 (Been reading this one slowly on the side of The Wheel of Time). A good book to read unless you have already seen the movie Life of Pi by Ang Lee. Both versions were beautiful and well done, so choose your own medium of choice and enjoy this lovely story.

16. The Wind Through the Keyhole - Steven King, Finished July 14 
I Read the Dark Tower series last year, very much enjoyed it, though Steven King is not quite the master writer that Robert Jordan was. The Wind Through the Keyhole is a late addition to the Dark Tower series but it fits in nicely.

17. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams - Wayne Johnston, Finished July 22
A good work of fiction, was easy to get into and laced in accurate historical details about the life and times of Joey Smallwood (He would be the political leader who helped Newfoundland join Canada in confederation). Not bad but not my favorite. Worth a read once I suppose.

18. Spin -  Robert Charles Wilson, Finished July 23
Since it took me the massively long time of an entire day to read this one, I am sure you can assume that I must have loved it. You would be right. Science fiction has to be pretty darn awesome before I am drawn to it and this was such a novel. The world and characters are all bright a vibrant and you feel as though you could be there with them. There are two sequel novels to Spin, so I will be reading them next and swiftly. Really can not wait to read more about this exciting future world.

19. Axis - Robert Charles Wilson, Finished July 28


20. Vortex - Robert Charles Wilson, Finished July 28

Since I read Vortex in a single day along with finishing Axis, I will just lump them together since that is about how I will remember them. While Spin was near expert in its delivery, the two sequels do pale slightly in comparison. I still really enjoyed the series and what it had to say, but I am still sadly left wanting just a little more from this series.

21. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card, Finished July 30

I wont lie, I had read this one before. But it is an excellent novel, and since I have already admitted to re-reading it at least once, I'm sure you can infer that I enjoy this one. I also hear a movie is coming out soon, I rarely get excited for a movie anymore so if I am excited to see something it must be a pretty big deal. Honestly, I don't even hear about most movies anymore.

22. Another Trilogy has been started!

The Braided Path Trilogy
The Weavers of Saramyr - Chris Wooding, Finished August 4
Pretty interesting story, I have no idea how this is going to go but the first novel at least was an excellent read. It opens with a mystery and murder and you can't wait to solve it.

23. The Skein of Lament - Chris Wooding, Finished August 14
Still enjoying this trilogy, but it's not as strong as some other stories I have been reading this year. Good but not top marks for writing and complexity.

24. The Ascendancy Veil - Chris Wooding, Finished August 17
Good ending to the trilogy, left me feeling satisfied.

25. Hence forth 2013 shall be remembered as the year of the trilogies! Yay.
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss, Finished August 21
Book one of the Kingkiller Chronicles. Simply fantastic. I've already read into book two and as a novel it is beautiful. The story is intense, complicated and layered and building so well. Once again another page turner that I just do not want to put down until I finish it.

26. The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss, Finished August 29
Book two in the Kingkiller Chronicles.  Excellent second novel but I have no idea how I will ever manage to wait for the third installment of the series now.

27. A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin, Finished September 5
Already read these once, this is just another round on the horse for fun. A Song of Ice and Fire is an excellent series and everyone should read it.

28. A Feast For Crows - George R.R. Martin, Finished September 14

29. A Dance with Dragons - George R.R. Martin, Finished September 19


30. The Reason I Jump -  

Autistic Spectrum disorder at university and have a bit of experience with children of different needs. So It wasn't a life changing book for me, but worthwhile the short time it takes to read.


*****

October 18th, Loaded up the Kobo with about 50 more novels so more reading will be happening very soon, I was just on vacation and busy with a friend's wedding and Halloween season and oh my god did you know that as an adult you still need to find time to clean your house when you are busy? It is quite an unfair arrangement.


Oh plus its Halloween season, which means I need to keep an eye on my lovely set of kitchen shears, that boyfriend is aware are only for food and kitchen prep work. He tends to forget this kitchen commandment in October and tries to steal them to cut wires or some other terrible construction related material. Then gets sad when I get mad about it. Ugh I love Halloween but thank god it is only once a year. . .


*****

31. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak, Finished October 22
A story of The Holocaust, as told by death as he follows the life of one girl, from her abandonment by her mother to foster parents, until the end of her life. It was an intriguing read and held me captivated the entire time I was reading it. The character of death is an interesting choice for a narrator, especially as he re-counts the numbers of all those he had to carry away during the Second World War, and how he felt about it.  The beauty is in the story and in the details shared about this one girl's life so I wont be spoiling anything but I do think it should be put on the good book to read list.

32. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood, Finished October 23
Dystopian novel where society has changed drastically and women's rights are removed. It was good, but I think it may have lost some of it's power over the years, as it was first published in 1985 and things in society have come a long way even since then. I just found I had difficulty relating to the main character and felt her to be just slightly too passive for my tastes. I prefer my women to be symbols of strength. But still a well written story and it was interesting.

33. The Stand - Steven King, Finished November 7
Excellent start, not so good towards the middle-end. Oh Steven King, always so close to an excellent novel but never quite getting there. A super flu which kills most people infected has started to spread, how will people in a Steven King universe deal with this? 


34. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain, Finished November 18
Time for a classic novel. It was a classic novel, enjoyable but not really my thing. Glad I did read it at least the once, but maybe once was enough on this one. 

35. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle: Book of the Thieving Magpie -  Haruki Murakami, Finished November 23
Oddly enough this is another book which has been translated from Japanese to English for the reading pleasure of the world. The first installment of this trilogy was quite a good read, a little bit of personal narrative with a bit of mystery thrown in. I quite enjoyed reading this novel and moved very quickly onto the second.

36. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle: Book of the Prophesying Bird Haruki Murakami, Finished November 23
Second book in the series, I don't think I am getting all of the cultural references, or the ones which pertain to Japan's role during any of the wars in the past century. Also the technology talked about is now terribly out of date and it is jarring how out of place some of the technology related scenes feel now. Also enjoying this one less than the first.

37. The Wind Up Bird Chronicle:Book of the Bird-Catcher Man - Haruki Murakami, Finished December 5
This was a drag to finish reading. I dislike the ending, dislike where the story went and was disappointed with the resolution. Possibly my least favorite book I've read this year.

Well that was a good start and a bad end to the year. Hopefully next year is filled with even more excellent books!

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