Books I Finished in August and September

Well, my reading is picking up a little but it still isn’t up to where is usually is.  Maybe this is the month.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

I’d heard so much about this trilogy that I was expecting to like them more than I did.  It was interesting but I was underwhelmed.

Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials by Wayne Douglas Barlowe

A little introduction to various aliens from science fiction.  Fun.

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

Second in the trilogy.  Much more blatant with the religious allegory than the first one.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

Third in the trilogy.  More of the same.

Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich

An interesting story of true crime.  You kind of know what is going to happen from the beginning but there is still some suspense.  I must admit that I was glad he got caught.  (I’m not giving anything away there.  You know he does from the very beginning.)

Before Versailles by Karleen Koen

It will take you back in time.  But pay attention.  There is a lot going on here.  Plots and subplots and lots of people.  I really liked it though.

The Time Keeper by Barbara Bartholomew

First in a trilogy.  A fast read that has some, by now, worn thin plot devices like the angst ridden teenager who doesn’t like her stepmother and it is a little dated.  But it is still a nice little science fiction adventure.

Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster by Ursula Vernon

As I’ve said before I like these books.  The stories are quirky and witty and fun and the illustrations are cute.

Child of Tomorrow by Barbara Bartholomew

Second in the Time Keeper trilogy.  Much like the first. 

When Dreamers Cease to Dream by Barbara Bartholomew

Third in the Time Keeper trilogy.  Much like the first two.  You do have to read them in order but they are short so it won’t take you long.

The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Stone Tevis

So much better than the movie.  It is a rather sad story but I liked it enough to look for more of Tevis’ books.

Books I Finished in June and July

Okay, so I’ve been gone for a while. I took an unexpected and unplanned break from things this summer. Not from work. I still had to go to work. But from reading, blogging, writing reviews and just about everything but vegging out on the sofa watching TV and playing with Facebook apps. I’ve starting reading again so I think I am over my funk or whatever it was. I’m going to start my blog back up with a list of books that I finished in June and July. I’m afraid it will be a short list.


The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy
I should have known better. I should have known from the title and the cover that this was not my kind of book. It became a sure thing the first time the word yummy was used to describe a guy. It wasn’t a bad book. Just not my thing.

What on Earth Have I Done? By Robert Fulghum
Anecdotal stories. Short little things best read one or two at a time.

The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano
I’m not sure what it was about this book that I liked. The main character was a self-pitying type that I usually hate to read about but for some reason she didn’t bother me. A girl hiding from the killers she was a witness against is not a new idea but Cristofano but an interesting turn on it.

Let’s Bring Back by Lesley M.M. Blume
A list of things (words, places, foods, etc.) that have disappeared or gone out of style that the author thinks should be brought back. Some interesting stuff here. Some things I’ve never even heard of before. It’s another book best read a little at a time.

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
It’s fun. I like that it makes it all sounds so serious but manages to have a lot of humor too. Besides, it never hurts to be prepared.

Blazin’ Barrels Vol. 2 by Min-Seo Park
It’s a fun silly manga. I think I’ll try to find the rest.

O Pioneers! By Willa Cather
I like the main character which is always a big part of liking the book for me. It spans a lot of time and so skips over chunks of years but you never feel as if you’ve missed anything. You get a nice feel for her struggles, hardships and triumphs.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Read my review here.

Tarzan and the Lion Man by Edgar Rice Burroughs
This is not one of my favorite Tarzan books. I don’t know if I wasn’t in the right mood for it or if the plot really wasn’t as good as some of the others. But whatever the reason I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I expected to.

Books I Finished in May

Okay, so May did not turn out to be the month I got my blogging back on track. Maybe it will be June. Or July. Possibly August. Soon anyway, I’m sure. Anyhow, I may not have done much blogging but I did manage to read some stuff.


Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
Moran can make her characters and settings come to life. This made me interested in the French Revolution even though I never really was before.

Immortality Inc. by Robert Sheckley
Basis for the movie Freejack. The stories are the same only in a very broad way. I think they are both worth a look.

Draconian New York by Robert Sheckley
Second in the series that I now want to find the first one of.

We Kill Monsters by Christopher Leone
Graphic novel about, you guessed it, killing monsters. But it isn’t all just monster killing action the characters are well written too.

How to Build a Robot Army by Daniel H. Wilson
Wilson’s books are fun and don’t require much thinking. I think I liked How to Survive a Robot Uprising better than this one but that might be because I read it first. Reading the two around the same time tended to make the second one sound somewhat redundant.

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
There is a lot of information about snails here. And that is interesting. But it is also very interesting to see how Bailey becomes attached to and almost dependant upon the snail.

Hammer of the Gods: Mortal Enemies by Michael Avon Oeming
Graphic novel about Thor and Loki and Odin and them.

Werewolf Versus Dragon by David Sinden
Nice little story with dragons and werewolves and monsters of all kinds.

Killing Girl: A Sister’s Love by Glen Brunswick
Graphic novel about an assassin. It is a dark story and I really didn’t like the art so this one was not for me.

An Arsonist’s Guide to Writer’s Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
I like the voice that this book is told in and the quirky characters. I think I’ll read more by Clarke.

Then is the Power by Gerald Mills
I like the story here but Mills sometimes walks a very thin line with some of the characters. They almost go over the top into the unbelievable.

Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman
Graphic novel where all your favorite Marvel heroes are now zombies. It’s a bit gory and gruesome but all the best zombie stories are, aren’t they?

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Dean Hale
Another graphic novel. This one has a little lighter feel than most of the others I’ve been reading. It is fun and even silly at times.

Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslokovic
I have to admit that most of the reason that I read this was that I liked the title. But it turned out to be a good book too.

Books I Finished in April

It’s May 2nd. I meant to do this yesterday. Of course I also meant to do The Friday 56, the Theme Thursday, and the WWW Wednesday. And none of that happened either. Hopefully I’ll get back on track this month. Although it’s a bad sign that I’m already a day late.

Outlaw by Angus Donald
See my review here.

ExHeroes by Peter Clines
I wanted this to be better. I just didn’t find any of the characters all that interesting.

Rare Beasts by Charles Ogden
Nothing special. I can see why kids might like them but I don’t think I’ll be reading anymore.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
This is so sad. I loved it though.

How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson
Something everyone should know. A surprising amount of real information.

Blazin’ Barrels Vol. 1 by Min-seo Park
Part of my new Manga obsession.

Zeus: King of the Gods by George O’Connor
A graphic novel about Zeus. That’s good stuff.

Plastic Man on the Lam by Kyle Baker
Another graphic novel but this one was not my cup of tea.

The Tain by Thomas Kinsella
An Irish epic. And a lot of names I can’t pronounce.

Books I Finished in March

Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess by George O’Connor
A graphic novel about Athena and since I like both graphic novels and Greek mythology I liked it. If you aren’t a fan of both though I wouldn’t bother.

The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
Rather dark and violent but I liked this.

The Spider: Robot Titans of Gotham by Norvell Page
Pulp fiction complete with a robot army. How much more fun can a story get?

The Arrival by Shaun Tan
This has absolutely no words but it has no trouble telling a wonderful story.

God of Beer by Garret Keizer About underage drinking and its effects and consequences, civil disobedience, peer pressure, and friendship. And somehow manages not to be overbearing and also gives you interesting characters you can care about.

Skellig by David Almond
Even though it is fantasy it is more about love and family.

Get Real by Donald E. Westlake
I love Dortmunder.

Chicken a la King and the Buffalo Wing by Steven Gilbar
I think my expectations were too high. I wanted unique and original stories about how food or dishes got their name. And I did get some of that but so many things are named after the location where they were first made or grown that it started to get dull after a while.

All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
Not one of my favorite Shakespeare plays.

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
A vampire fighting on the side of good without actually being a good guy. I’ll be reading the second one for sure.

Bleach Chapters 1 - 443 by Tite Kubo
Manga I was reading online. A friend got me hooked on it even though I had never been a fan of manga before. I thought I would never catch up to the current ones but now that I have I’m upset because I have to wait for the next part of the story.

Books I Finished in February

A lot of kids books (again) this month. There was a while there where I felt like I was picking up the books every day and reading but getting nowhere. I hope I’m over that now.

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
I like the Zorro feeling this book had but for some reason I expected it to be more Zorro-like than it was. Ended very openly with lots of room for a sequel.

Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Wiener by Ursula Vernon
I really like these books. They are funny and the pictures are cute.

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
It was okay but I wasn’t bowled over by it.

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
I like werewolves. But… I wanted more werewolf stuff and less listening to her trying to get her boyfriend into bed.

The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine
Caine is an interesting man and knew a bunch of interesting people. And I think that he has a good perspective on his life and career.

Outrun the Dark by Cecilia Bartholomew
I liked this book but it is not really the mystery I expected. You kind of know what happened early on so it becomes more about the physiological aspects of how everyone deals with it.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo
A noir mystery in a middle school. Sometimes it went a little too far and the characters don’t sound like kids any more but most of it works well and is fun.

Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
A story about Alice trying to live in social circles that she doesn’t have the money to support. You do feel sorry for her at times but other times you are not sure you like her. I like how he ended it though.

Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
A lot of history here. Which leads to a lot of names. Pay attention or you might lose track of who is doing what.

Colony by Scott Reeves
People are sent out from Earth to start a colony on another planet. It starts out not sounding too original but it does pick up.

Collected Alison Dare Vols. 1& 2 by J. Torres
Simple little stories that are fun and fast.

Books I Finished in January

The list looks rather impressive at first glance but then you realize how short they all are and then not so much.

The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
Fun to read but forgettable.

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon
Cute, fun, funny.

Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky
This is called a novel in 16 parts but it reads like short stories. Short stories are not my favorite genre but I like how these are tied together by characters showing up in more than one story.

What Do You Care What Other People Think? By Richard Feyman
Feyman is very interesting to me. This book is mostly about his time on the committee investigating the Challenger crash.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Spooky.

Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Lots of good themes and things I think it is good for kids to hear but it gets awfully preachy.

Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut
I don’t know why I thought I wouldn’t like this book. It turns out that I did.

Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
A graphic novel with a dark noir feel. I like the art and the complicated plot and even the oversize book format.

Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos
A lot of research went into this book. And I mean that literally. It is interesting stuff but it gets rather long and slow in parts. And I found a lot of the characters annoying.

A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
It was an okay mystery but I have to admit that I don’t get what all the fuss is about.

Nurk by Ursula Vernon
About a shrew on a quest. It’s a cute adventure story.

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
I like superheroes. And I like that this book divides its time equally between the good guys and the bad guy.

Books I Finished in December

Happy New Year!! My first post of the new year is to wrap up the old year. 11 books sounds more impressive than it is when you realize that most of these books were not written for adults.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark
An exciting adventure told by those who were actually there. What could be better?

Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge
I like stories about superheroes. This one is pretty good, with a blurring of the line between good and evil.

The History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat
This is a long book that took me all year to read. There is a lot of interesting information that could lead to an overload if you try to read too much at a time. Or at least I found it that way.

Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor by Chuck Black
See my review here.

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee
A graphic novel about Robin Hood. I like both so I liked this.

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
A cute, funny story with lots of illustrations that give it a graphic novel feel. A lot of fun to read.

Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos
This was interesting but I think the next one might be better because this has mostly back story and set up with just a hint of what is coming.

Tarzan and the City of Gold by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I like Tarzan books so I liked this but they all have a similar feel so if you don’t like one you won’t like the others and vice versa. I don’t think they are for everyone.

Rebecca the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fairy by Daisy Meadows
My niece gave me this for Christmas. It isn’t something I would pick for myself. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had read the others. But I don’t think so.

Boots and Pieces by Emily Ecton
Okay but not great. If you have a kid who likes stories about monsters they might like this.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I heard so many good things about this book that I had to read it. I kind of went in blind, not really knowing what it was about. For once I think the book lived up to the hype.

Books I Finished in November

Wow. What happened to November? Time has been getting away from me lately. I have no idea where the last two weeks went. And now I find that it is already December. I’ll have to start thinking about Christmas gifts. But not until after I do my list of books I finished in November.


2% of 2% of All the World’s Stories
Collection of stories written by children who go to an after school program call 826 Boston. It’s interesting to try to follow the train of thought in some of these stories.

Sky Burial by Xinran
For such a powerful story I expected to be moved more than I was.

Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 by David Peterson
I liked this one as much as I liked the first one. Which was quite a bit.

The Front Porch Prophet by Raymond Atkins
I loved all the characters in this book, which is good because it is character driven.

Dead Pan by Gayle Trent
A cozy mystery that didn’t hold many surprises. It wasn’t bad but I think there are better out there.

The Bait and the Trap by George Challis
Who doesn’t love swashbuckling? Dashing heroes, flashing swords and beautiful maidens.

The Pets by Bragi Olafsson
Huh? So it had a slow start but then I got interested only to be left with an ending I didn’t get.

Prostho Plus by Piers Anthony
A poor Earth dentist thrown into deep space to take care of the galaxies teeth. It’s fun but be prepared to be convicted about poor oral hygiene.

Resolution by Robert Parker
Second in the series. I love these books so far. Parker has made these two guys men I would like to meet.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Coming of age tale with just a touch of science thrown in. I like how you get to experience Calpunia’s sense of wonder.

Discoveries: Writing by Georges Jean
Not as interesting as I had hoped it would be. It’s a history of writing, script and printing which I thought I was interested in until I read this book.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
An interesting look at a man who is losing his ability to think and realizes it as it is happening. Which sounds depressing but it isn’t.

Books I Read in October

10 this month. Not bad but 3 were young adult, 1 was just a little over 100 pages and 1 was a kid’s graphic novel.


Jennifer Government by Max Barry
Interesting concept of a future where everything has been privatized and everything is about profit.

Princess Bride by William Golden
Good, but I liked the movie better.

Donegal: Irish Justice by James Lower
See my review here.

Weight by Jeanette Winterson
This didn’t do much for me but at least it was short.

Blue Girl by Charles de Lint
I liked this one. I have come to expect to run into characters that I find too annoying to care about in stories about outsiders but I didn’t have that problem here.

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Managed to be fun without being cute and too nice about everything.

Arizona Free by Doug Martin
Not really a fan of this one. Clunky dialogue and all kind of goofy and weird, but not in a good way.

Vampire Zero by David Wellington
Evil vampires which is good but an unlikable and unrelatable heroine which is not. I'll probably eventually read the next one though to find out what happens.

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Peterson
I love the art in this graphic novel and the fact that there are panels without any words so the graphics get to tell a lot of the story.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Bond. You really can’t go wrong.

Books I Finished in September

9 this month. Not all that good, not all that bad. But I’ve had a lot going on so I’ve decided to be very happy with it.


Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Can you believe I’ve never read this before? As everyone probably knows it is an entertaining tale of pirates, high seas adventure and treasure. I like how Stevenson was able to keep you wondering if Silver was all bad or if he was going to be able to redeem himself somewhat.

Roma by Steven Saylor
See my review here.

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
I like the protagonist and the way she sees the world. There was a piece in the middle with the family in the woods that seemed strange to me in a ‘what is that doing in there’ sort of way but it wasn’t enough to derail the story for me. Came up with some surprises too.

Silver: My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder by Edward Chupack
It was interesting to see Silver’s life before Treasure Island but I was kind of disappointed that the parts with Jim Hawkins didn’t match up with the Treasure Island story.

Monster Planet by David Wellington
I couldn’t really get into this one. With zombies and mummies and magic it seemed like it would be right up my alley but it just seemed all over the place to me. It didn’t help that I didn’t care about anyone in the entire story.

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
I liked it but I wanted to like it more. I liked that it was about all the people and not just the vampire and that it was a nice mix between the vampires being good and evil. But I wasn’t blown away like I had hoped to be.

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie
Can’t go wrong with Agatha Christie.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The last in the trilogy. I think Collins does a good job of staying true to the feel of the first two but I’m rather ambivalent about the ending. I felt like we missed some things when Katniss was not looking or was unconscious.

Fragment by Warren Fahy
I’m ambivalent about this entire book. It felt like it couldn’t make up its mind whether it was a ‘run for your life’ action story, serious commentary on human impact or a lesson in science so it took turns being all three.

Books I Finished in August

12. Although I think I might be cheating by counting some of them.

99 Coffins by David Wellington
An army of evil vampires. You can’t beat that. I like the historical aspects that Wellington added to this one. It gives the vampire story a new twist.

Vampyre: The Terrifying Lost Journal of Dr. Cornelius Van Helsing by Dr. Cornelius Van Helsing (Mary-Jane Knight)
More vampires. I don’t know if I should even count this one as it is basically a picture book with flaps to lift and tabs to pull and all of that. But it does have a lot of words too. Fun in a goofy sort of way. I wouldn’t say it is scary exactly but probably not for young children either.

Walking Through Walls by Philip Smith
Philip Smith had an unusual childhood. It was interesting but I’m not sure how much I buy into this physic healer stuff.

Murder Mirage by Kenneth Robeson
Doc Savage. Classic pulp. I was surprised because I thought they would all be basically the same but I didn’t like this one as much as some of the others.

Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart
Lots of interesting tidbits in here. I’m not quite afraid to eat fruits and vegetables or take a walk in the woods. But it’s a near thing.

Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
Dashing pirates and true love.

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
There are flaws but still very entertaining. Although the Mistress can get a little self-important sometimes.

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Talking, intelligent zombies. It’s a YA book so there is a little coming of age too.

Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker
I have read some of Parker’s Spencer novels but this is the first western of his that I’ve read. I really liked it. I love these characters and I was happy to find out that there are more books in this series.

The Passing of the Third Floor Back by Jerome Jerome
It’s a play so it isn’t something I read a lot of and the stage directions got no my nerves a little. The only other thing I’ve read by Jerome Jerome is Three Men in a Boat which I thought was hilarious and I was kind of expecting this to be the same. It isn’t, but it is still interesting.

Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell
Another memoir. This one is graphic novel format. I’m not a fan of the drawing style here so that didn’t help. Is it possible to be completely honest in a memoir and still not go very deep into a story? I don’t know exactly what it was but it left me oddly unsatisfied.

Poison by Chris Wooding
Girl goes on a quest into the dark land of faerie. I was not overjoyed with it but I didn’t hate it either.

Books I Finished in July

Got to 11 in July. A couple of short books and the fact that I really don’t do anything else helps keeps my numbers up.


The Woman Who Wouldn't by Gene Wilder
It was cute and kind of sweet. I liked it but not as much as I liked My French Whore by Wilder.

Dog Days by John Levitt
Good urban fantasy. Maybe not my favorite but I definitely enjoyed it. I think I might need a break from the genre though because some of the characters are starting to feel familiar from other books.

The White Mary by Kira Salak
Read my review here.

Another Faust by Daniel Nayeri
Disappointing. I wanted to like this and I think it had potential but there was a huge lull in the middle that I had trouble paying attention through.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
More of a zombie book than I had anticipated. I like zombie books so I didn’t mind but unfortunately the main character did not really grab my attention and I had trouble caring what happened to her.

The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
This was disappointing too. I had read another Cotton Malone book and really liked it so bought this one but didn’t care for it. I didn’t like the characters as much and was a little put off by the anti Christian/Catholic/religion angle.

Skin Deep by Mark Del Franco
It takes place in the same world as his Connor Grey series so the setting was familiar to me but I like the Grey series better. And I got a little tired of hearing how Laura was wearing clothes that were tight in all the right places and how that distracted the men around her.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
I wanted answers to the questions the first book left me with and I got some of those so I’m happy about that. But somewhere along the line this book started to read like the first one, same plot different cast. Choosing between two guys, out beyond the safety of the fence and all that. I’m ambivalent.

One Of Us Is Wrong by Donald Westlake
Filled with Westlake’s quirky characters and his humor.

Epic: The Story God is Telling and the Role That is Yours to Play by John Eldredge
Eldredge has some good ideas but I was surprised and a little annoyed by the end at how often he quoted someone else or compared something to a movie or book. At about 100 pages it seemed like a lot of the words were not his own.

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
Fast, fun, exciting without being predictable or storybook happy all the time. I think it was a nice conclusion to the Darkest Powers Trilogy.

Books I Finished in June

I felt like I was slacking off in June and I was blaming it on the heat. I have trouble concentrating when I’m hot so sometimes, even if I’m holding a book, I’m not actually reading it and I often found myself staring mindlessly at the TV wishing I wasn’t so freaking hot. But I still managed to finish 8 which is much better than I expected.

The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner
Interesting look at the different approaches to restaurants and food around the world.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
This is dark and sad. I liked it though.

Under the Western Acacia by Christian Jacq
It's the fifth and final book in the Ramses series. I liked the series, I think the characters are well written but it isn't what I would call historically accurate. It has a lot of fantasy to it. And some people might not like the fact that Moses does not come off well. It bothered me a bit at first but it is a story, not history, so I was able to put that aside and just enjoy it.

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Being a vampire fan I couldn’t believe I had never read this before. It is suspenseful in parts and tedious in parts. The characters are long winded and addicted to unnecessary detail. I liked it but I like a lot of classics. If you are not a fan of classics, if, say, Jane Austen leaves you in tears because you find her dreadfully dull I think you will have the same reaction to this book. Vampires or no.

My French Whore by Gene Wilder
Short and quick to read. A bitter sweet story. I liked it enough that I went and got Wilder’s other book out of the library without even knowing what it was about just because I wanted to read something else he wrote.

Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
A mystery set in a sad, rather depressing future. Sort of a noir feel, but with talking kangaroos. The tough guy detective with a good heart type of thing but it manages not to be cliché. If you like dark detective stories then you should take a look. And don’t let the talking kangaroos scare you. It is obviously the future but I wouldn’t call the book science fiction.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Cute and fun but I’m not in love with them.

Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell
An okay crime thriller that got better as it went along. I’ll probably read more Cornwell but I’m not in any rush.

Books I Finished in May

Eleven. Memorial Day weekend helped me out. I was able to slip another one in there instead of working that day.


The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy
#3 in the Skulduggery Pleasant series. I think the first two were better but this one is still fun and I don’t plan to stop reading them.

What’s So Funny? by Donald Westlake
Dortmunder. I like the Dortmunder books. This one is not my favorite but it’s hard to go wrong with Westlake.

Hold the Enlightenment by Tim Cahill
Travel stories. Some of them funny some not but I always like Cahill’s style.

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks
Interesting idea. And you do get to like the main character even though he is a thief and, quite frankly, a bit of a loser.

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey
Not as good as I had hoped. Although I don’t really know what I was hoping for here.

Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer
See my review here.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Holmes isn’t like Doyle’s Holmes so if that is going to upset you, don’t read this. I liked it but I can’t articulate why. Sorry, I know that is no help at all.

Unperfect Souls by Mark Del Franco
Connor Grey series. Once again not my favorite of the bunch but if there are more coming I will certainly still read them.

Nobody’s Prize by Esther Friesner
Sequel to Nobody’s Princess. I don’t think you have to read the first one first but it is probably a good idea. I like the way Friesner incorporates the myths but does not make the book fantasy at all. Helen got on my nerves sometimes though.

The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers
Charlie Chan. I liked it. It’s a good mystery and I think Chan is funny.

The Return of Captain Conquer by Mel Gilden
A silly, fun, short, simple little story. Good for kids but I think that anyone that is a fan of the old serials or old TV superheroes will like it.

Books I finished in April

I managed twelve in April but only because most of them were short.


A Corpse at St Andrew's Chapel by Melvin Starr
See my review here.

Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green
I read the first one in this series but it was so long ago I couldn’t remember if I liked it. So I gave the second one a shot. Not bad.

Hawk by Brian Neary
See my review here.

The Time of Terror by Seth Hunter
A good historical fiction with lots of adventure, intrigue and romance.

The Pencil by Henry Petroski
Some of this is rather dry reading but there are some very interesting things about pencils that I did not know.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire by Derek Landy
Still good but I don't think I liked it quite as much as the first one. Maybe some of the novelty has worn off.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman
Feynman is a very interesting guy. Sometimes he talked about things that were over my head but they were not really the focus of the story so it didn’t matter that I didn’t know what they were.

The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Classic Edgar Rice Burroughs. Heroes, beautiful women, dinosaurs, adventure and all that good stuff.

The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Sequel to the one above. This one was good too.

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
What is there to say? Shakespeare is always good.

Out of Time's Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Comes after The People That Time Forgot. I had to find out how it all turned out.

Shylock's Daughter by Mirjam Pressler
It seemed appropriate after Merchant of Venice since the Shylock in the title is the Shylock from the play. Things don’t happen exactly the same in the book as they do in the play but all the major points are there. You get a more complete and human look at Shylock and learn a little Jewish history too.

Books I Finished in March

Only 7 this month, and one of them was only 90 pages long. I have been informed by a handy new gadget on Shelfari that I am behind my pace. So nice of them to point it out.


Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
More YA fantasy. Fairies and selkies and Shakespeare and all that. Good if you like this sort of thing but I have not put the sequel at the top of my list.

The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari
Retelling of the story of Job. Sort of. I was just reading a story and not looking for it to be strictly biblical so I could enjoy it on that level but it started to lose me when King Arthur and Lancelot got involved.

Dead and Buried by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Creepy and dark without being too gory and gross.

Dino Vicelli by Lori Weiner
This was the 90 pages one. Cute, quirky, but with some flaws I think.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson
Hmmm… I don’t know. I expected better. I know that it was written for kids (a younger audience than I had supposed when I picked it up) but still I expected some menace from the bad guys and what I got was corny. It might appeal to young children (probably more boys) but it isn’t one of those books you can say is for all ages.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
As you can imagine from the title this future doesn’t have much color. It is a society where everyone conforms and things are the way they are and no one can remember why and such. It isn’t as bleak as it sounds. It has some wit and humor. I liked it and will read the next two but I’m getting tired of trilogies and kind of wish it was just one book.

The Firm by John Grisham
Suspenseful. A good thriller.

Books I Finished in February

Eleven again this month. And more than half of them are adult books.


Omega by Patrick Lynch
A medical thriller. It was pretty fast paced and full of tension.

Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
A dark twist on the Cinderella story.

Tarzan Triumphant by Edgar Rice Burroughs
What can you say about Tarzan?

Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
Pirates and curses and other good stuff. Unfortunately the protagonist really started to annoy me.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
The sequel to Inkheart. And another protagonist that annoyed me, but just at first. I got over it once I was into the story.

Off the Mangrove Coast by Louis L’Amour
I don’t know why I keep reading short stories. I think I like the concept of them but not so much in practice. Nothing wrong with this collection, some of them I liked but I just don’t think short stories is my genre.

House of Wolves by Matt Bronleewe
Second in a series. I think I’ll go back and read the first. It’s mystery and action and adventure. Very entertaining.

The Voyage of the Argo by Apollonius of Rhodes
It has monsters and curses and other good stuff. I liked it but it was somehow less dramatic then I expected.

Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
I like superheroes. I can’t help it.

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Killer unicorns. How can you not want to read this?

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
First in the October Daye series. It’s rather a dark story but I think that’s one of the things I like about it. I’ll definitely be reading the next one.

Books I Finished in January

I read some short books this month so I managed to get up to eleven.


The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Good. I liked it but I think that the first half of the book was better than the last half.

The Firebrand by George Challis
Swashbuckling adventure. A lot of fun if you like this sort of thing.

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
I think this is the first Tommy and Tuppence book I’ve read. They weren’t together much in the book and I think I would have liked it better if they were.

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
Interesting. Slightly strange. Definitely grim.

Transition by Vonda McIntyre
Second book in the series. I should have read the first one I guess. I thought I was going to be able to catch up but I don’t think I ever really did. I missed too much.

Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman
Man, this is long. I felt like I had been reading it forever. Full of strange metaphors. Nothing could just happen, it had to happen like something else. Usually something I couldn’t even envision. I liked a lot of the characters but I’m not sure they were enough to make the book worth reading for me.

Romeo's Ex by Lisa Fiedler
I liked the different vantage point on the play but I’m not sure I liked the way Fiedler changed things up at the end.

Unfallen Dead by Mark del Franco
Third in the Connor Grey series. I like these books. They make me laugh and always build to a very impressive climax.

Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow
Funny in a dark sad sort of way. I liked that I felt the story was like nothing I had read before.

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
Vampires and zombies and werewolves, oh my. I like this sort of stuff but I felt like this book was a big set up to the series. I kept waiting for the story and never really got there. Not that stuff didn’t happen, I just think that with all this stuff out of the way the next one will be better.

Huckleberry Finished by Livia J. Washburn
A fun fast read.

Books Finished in December

Any slowness this month I'm blaming on all the time I put into The Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman. You'll notice it does not appear on this list. It may not even make it to the January list. But I'm determined now that it will make the list someday. But now for the books I did manage to finish...

Immortals: The Crossing by Joy Nash
If I were a fan of romances I think I would have liked this a lot more. But being that I'm not it was just okay. I did think the plot had potential.

Salem's Lot by Stephen King
For some reason I never really gave Stephen King a chance but I like vampire books so I thought this one would be a good start. I was surprised by how much I liked it.

Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips
A story that takes place in the past and the present. I think it was heavy on the past which was fine with me because that was a more interesting story in my opinion. I liked reading about the medicine of the time. Good historical fiction with a lot of mystery thrown in.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Second in the Hunger Games series. These were recommended to me by a friend and I'm glad they were. They are full of interesting characters and situations. I think there is just one left to go and I can't wait to read it.

The Questory of Root Karbunkulus by Kamilla Reid
This was actually a reread. I gave it to the above mentioned friend for Christmas and got the urge to read it again myself. I love the way Reid uses language, great descriptions and vivid characters. And who can resist a good story about magic and adventure.

The Awakening by Kelley Armstong
This is also the second in a series. The first one ended a bit abruptly so I wanted to find out what happened. It's a fun fast read about kids with supernatural powers. I will probably read the next one because I do want to see how it all ends but it's something I can wait for.

Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
I saw the movie and wanted to give the book a try. It was funny. Funnier than I expected. But it is also tragic in many ways. I really enjoyed it.

The Music of Reason by Theoni Pappas
Basically a book of quotes about math. Some are interesting, some are not. I think you really have to be interested in mathematics to fully appreciate it.