Cashmere Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Welcome to the Reading Jamboree - the best place to keep track of the books you read in 2015. Set a goal, start a list, and get reading! To get things started, here is my 2015 list!Completed1. Walking on Water by Richard Paul Evans -A- (1/10)2. Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac -K-, -C- (2/7)3. Take this Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles (2/8)4. Gods and Beasts by Denise Mina -A- (2/16)5. Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde -A- (2/24)6. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation Vol I by M.T. Anderson -A- (3/18)7. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch -A- (4/8)8. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch -A- (4/25)9. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline -A- (5/1)10. My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni -K- (5/8)11. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch -A- (6/2)12. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline -A- (6/5)13. Political Suicide by Michael Palmer -A- (6/21)14. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (7/14)15. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver -A- (7/20)16. Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett -A- (8/10)17. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton (8/11)18. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (8/14)19. We are all Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler -A- (8/29)20. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan -A- (9/6)21. Prime: A Genesis Series Event by Andrew Reiner -K- (9/6)22. The Good Neighbor by A.J. Banner -K- (9/6)23. The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout -A- (9/6)24. All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner -A- (10/1)25. All Dogs Go to Kevin: Everything Three Dogs Taught Me by Jessica Vogelsang -A- (10/12)26. DATA JACK: A Detective Jack Stratton Novel (Jack Stratton, #5) by Christopher Greyson -K- (11/12)27. The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury (11/22)28. The time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger -A- (12/10) In progress: Next up:The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1) -A- by Jim Butcher -A- = Audio book-R- = Reread-K- = On my Kindle-C- = Read for the Nightly Reading Challenge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 1. Feed by Mira Grant (1/6)2. Blood Magic by Eileen Wilks (1/8)3. Festive in Death by JD Robb (1/13)4. Embassytown by China Mieville (1/20)5. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (1/27)6. Blood Challenge by Eileen Wilks (2/1)7. Unbinding by Eileen Wilks (2/10)8. Witness by Nora Roberts (2/13) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Currently reading:Forming Intentional DisciplesSober Intoxication of the SpiritTwo Gentlemen of Lebowski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUAJedi2 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Completed1. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk -- Ben Fountain (K)2. Lost Cat -- Caroline Paul (K)3. Confessions of a Bad Teacher -- John Owens (K)4. Swamp Cat -- Jim Kjelgaard ®5. Storm Surge: Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate, and Extreme Weather of the Past and Future -- Adam Sobel (K)7. Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus -- Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy (K) In progress:1. The Plutonium Files -- Eileen Welsome2. Next up/On My "To Read" List1. How We Got to Now2. The Looming Tower3. The World Without Us4. Nothing -- Jeremy Webb5. Death & Sex -A- = Audio book-R- = Reread-K- = On my Kindle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 1. The Lily and the Lion, by Maurice Druon2. Dr Strange: The Oath, by Brian K Vaughan Six of seven Accursed Kings books done. Don't get me wrong, for the most part I'm really enjoying them, but I'm also ready for them to be over. Also, this is the first Dr Strange comic I've ever read, and I really enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Hey I'll do this I suppose. Completed1. A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin -R- (N) (I finished it this year, but didn't start it this year... counting it anyway!)2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling -R-3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K Rowling -R-4. A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin -R- (N) In progress:1. A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin -R- (N)2. A Dance With Dragons - George R.R. Martin -R- (N) Next up/On My "To Read" List1. The Cuckoo's Calling - Not J.K. Rowling (N)2. -R- = Reread-N- = On my Nook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 3. Festive in Death by JD Robb (1/13) Pretty OK. Glad it wasn't a serial killer one, which was definitely the trend there for awhile. Mostly I just read these because it's like sitting down with an old friend and catching up on their life- nothing too unexpected, but enjoyable nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 3. Hawkeye: Little Hits, by Matt Fraction4. Saga: Volume 4, by Brian K Vaughan Both of these series' are SO GOOD GODDAMN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumberSix Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 1. Jay Faerber, Fran Bueno, Patrick Gleason, et al., Noble Causes: Archives vol. 1. Almost like a super-hero soap opera, about a normal woman who marries into a well-known super-family who have to deal with villainy, underworld rulers, treacherous robots, alternate Earths, adultery, and public relations. The more we got to know the characters, the better it got. 2. George R. R. Martin, editor, Wild Cards: Busted Flush. Martin's pretty awesome shared-world super-powers series that began when I was in junior high was relaunched a few years ago with some of the same contributing authors (Victor Milan, Melinda Snodgrass, Walton Simons, John Joseph Miller) and some newer faces. Like Game of Thrones, characters tended to get murdered a lot, so only a few people in this volume have been around for a while. Basically, the winners of the super-hero reality show in the previous volume are conscripted onto the U.N.'s super-team to fight war on two fronts: ripped-from-the-headlines insurgents in Africa, and a dopey teenager in Texas who can explode like a literal nuke. There's a hero who has two identities with different powers and genders, one lady with the power of super-reproduction, super-zombie-control, super-Egyptian-god-hosting, super-seances, super-bubbles, super-drumming, super-turning-into-bee-swarms, super-Marxism, and more more more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Palpatine Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Finished1. The Winter Long (October Daye #8) - Seanan McGuire 2. Authority (Southern Reach trilogy #2)- Jeff VanderMeer (audio)3. The Drunken Botanist - Amy Stewart4. Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel5. Acceptance (Southern Reach trilogy #3) - Jeff VanderMeer6. Imago (Lilith's Brood #3) - Octavia Butler (audio)7-?. Girl Genius - volumes 1-6ish - Kaja Foglio and Phil Foglio; I have no clue how to number these, since I'm re-reading them on the internet rather than in their bound form. ICurrently Reading:Cold Magic - Kate ElliottNatasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia - Orlando FigesThe rest of Girl Genius (Err, I don't think it's possible to put this series down once you start.) Comments:October Daye series - Whyyyyyy aren't there more of these? I started the first one at the beginning of December and I want more. It's urban fantasy with a main character who has other woman friends, a realistic (and surprisingly healthy) relationship progression, and who suffers real consequences of her actions. No one is a Mary Sue. No one is a sterotype and all of the characters grow and change within the series, not just October.Lilith's Brood series - This was my first set of books by Octavia Butler. I'm not sure why I had never picked up anything by her before, but now that I have, I feel like something has altered in my relationship to sci-fi. I've been so bored with sci-fi recently. Everything just seemed more of the same. These books brought me back to my initial love of the genre. They're different, they're experimental. They are based in both a deep knowledge of humanity and (surprisingly) of genetics. I will probably re-visit them in the future. Bloodchild and Parable of the Sower are next on my to-read list. For people who enjoy audiobooks, the narrator for this series was perfect. The Drunken Botanist - This would have been much better if I didn't already have a strong botany and liquor history knowledge. As it was, it was a quick read and a nice refresher, but nothing particularly novel or mind-blowing.Southern Reach trilogy - I... don't know what to think of these yet. I'll have to do more thinking on them. I enjoyed them. I listend to them compulsively. I just don't know how I feel about them as a whole.Station Eleven - I loved this book. Finally, post-apocalyptic fiction that feels oh-so-real and takes women's stories seriously both as text and as meta-text. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 4. Embassytown by China Mieville (1/20)This was a hard book to read. Not in the sense that it wasn't good, but more in the sense that the author was working with some Really Big Ideas and it took a lot of concentration to wrap my head around said ideas. The basic idea is humans spread across the galaxy and settled in quite harmoniously with various different alien races. On one planet, waay out at the very edge of mapped space there's a planet where the alien race (colloquially called Hosts) use two mouths to speak. One mouth is the cut, one is the turn. But that's only part of the twist. They don't understand anyone who tries to speak with them (even when speaking simultaneously, one person cut, the other turn) because these Hosts aren't exactly communicating via sound- instead, they express true meaning when they speak. Because of this, they cannot lie. Eventually humans figure out how to speak with them by raising clones who are psychically linked, only then when the "ambassadors" are of essentially one mind can the Hosts understand humans. Anyways. The main character is a part of language, the Hosts speak her all the time and are quite fond of the simile she represents. And then the **** hits the fan. Totally bizarre, original and fascinating story. Much like his other book I loved, The City and the City. (and I'm really not doing justice to the nuances of Language- read it for the more immersive experience) 5. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (1/27) An equally fascinating, though utterly different, story. Chabon manages to write comparisons, similies and metaphors in perhaps the most beautiful fashion I ever have read. I wanted to keep reading it just so I could hear him describe the way milk mixes into his tea (like a ribbon trapped in a marble) or an old yid's skin (slightly green, like the white of a dollar bill) unto eternity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUAJedi2 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 So behind on posting to this thread because TOO MUCH OTHER STUFF TO DO. grump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Oh man Embassytown is on my list. I love China Mieville. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Oh man Embassytown is on my list. I love China Mieville.READ IT!!! and me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kokeshi_Doll769 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Read : Currently Reading : Will Read Firefight - Brandon SandersonThe Giver - Lois Lowry Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry Messenger - Lois LowrySon - Lois Lowry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cashmere Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Welcome to the reading jamboree, Lady P and KD! I'm excited to see what you gals are reading. The same goes for the rest of you, too! As for me, I'm not sure I'll finish a book in January. I finished the Serial podcast though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I finished Deathly Hallows a bit ago and have moved back to A Song of Ice and Fire. I have two and a half books to go (like... 2,200 pages?) so it'll take me a while to finish but I really wanted to finish my reread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 5. Locke and Key volume 2: Head Games, by Joe Hill6. Locke and Key volume 3: Crown of Shadows, by Joe Hill7. Locke and Key volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom, by Joe Hill I did not expect to be enjoying this series as much as I have been! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 8. Engraved on the Eye, by Saladin Ahmed Finished this a little while ago and keep forgetting to put it on the list. Fun, short little short story collection, and it's a free ebook on Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cashmere Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 1. Walking on Water by Richard Paul EvansI listened to this without realizing that it was the third in a series until I had already started. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I didn't feel like I needed to go back to the previous ones to be fully immersed in the story. It's about a man that decides to walk across the country after his wife dies and his life falls apart. It made me laugh and cry. 2. Cousin Bette by Honore de BalzacGosh, what a slog. I know that the classics focus on social intrigue, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of it. And the women were either evil or spineless. So glad I'm finished with this one. 3. Take this Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara MilesThis is a book about a women who didn't grow up in the church, but who began attending a nontraditional church on a whim and became a leader in her church community by implementing a food pantry. It was a bit repetitive in some spots, but overall a good read. 4. Gods and Beasts by Denise MinaThis was a random grab at the library. It wasn't until I started listening to it that I realized it was another installment of a series I had picked up before. The main character is a female detective in Scotland. It was a decent detective novel, but I probably won't actively seek out others in the series. 5. Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan HydeI loved this book. It tells the story from the perspective of a number of different characters, switching between them by chapter. You learn the story slowly through flashbacks, which I found interesting. The young boy character reminds me a bit of Owen Meany, so of course I fell in love with him right away. So glad I randomly picked this up at the library! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 9. The World of Ice and Fire, by George Martin and others Been reading this one off and on since Christmas. The best world building book ever. Helps fill in a lot of gaps and the void between actual books. SOMEDAY we'll get the Winds of Winter, but I have less hope for A Dream of Spring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas1138 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 We're getting WoW in the next calendar year. Book it. I finished A Storm of Swords. I'm reading A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons concurrently . So this will take a while. I have no clue what I want to read after I finish my ASOIAF re-read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 10. Lyra's Oxford, by Philip Pullman11. Once Upon a Time in the North, by Philip Pullman Two short, one sit reads in the His Dark Materials world. A lot of fun to visit again. I hope he manages to finish the Book of Dust at some point relatively soon. Between waiting for this and Martin, I've lost over a decade of my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 12. Locke and Key volume 5: Clockworks, by Joe Hill13. Locke and Key volume 6: Alpha & Omega, by Joe Hill Man what a great series. Highly recommended for fans of comics, horror, or genre fans in general really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Krawlie Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 14. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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