Thursday, September 8, 2011

Return, part 3

This is the rest of the books that I have read so far this year:

Luminous by Greg Egan **1/2
LIE by Caroline Bock ****
The Maze Runner by James Dashner ***
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner ***
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade ****
The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade ****
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling ***** (duh!)
Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley ***
The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan ***
Game of Thrones by G.R.R. Martin ****
Clash of Kings by G.R.R. Martin ****
Room by Emma Donaghue ***1/2
The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean ***
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris ***1/2
The Country of Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett ***
Beasts (Mystic Phyles) by Stephanie Brockway ****1/2
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel ***1/2
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine ****

Return, part 2

This is a list of second quarter titles dominated by three series: the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (lots of teenage fun), Three Pines mysteries by Louise Penny (marvelous characters), and the Temeraire dragon series by Naomi Novik (fabulous fantasy/alternate history).

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith ****
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz ***1/2
Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz ***1/2
Still Life by Louise Penny ***1/2
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny ***1/2
Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz ***
Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz ***1/2
Cruelest Month by Louise Penny ****
Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz ****
Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz ***1/2
Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz ***1/2
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny ****
Dissolution by C.J. Sansom  ***1/2
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli ****
Riot by Walter Dean Myers - DNF
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny *****
The Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Boronik **
Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz ***
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford *****
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny ****1/2
Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Collin Cotterill ****
Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz ***
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik ****
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson ****
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik ****
Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz ***1/2
Black Powder War by Naomi Novik ***
Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik ****
9-11: Artists Respond, various contributors ****
Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie ****
Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik ****
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik ***1/2

The Return to the Buzz

It has been over 6 months since I lasted posted here but I will try to get caught up. The following is a list of books I have read during the first quarter of this year with my rating.
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde ****
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde ****
Dracula by Bram Stoker ****
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel ***1/2
Trash by Andy Mulligan ****1/2
Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff  *****
1st to Die by James Patterson ***
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris ***
Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman ***1/2
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan ***1/2
Dark Life by Kat Falls ***
Fueling the Teen Machine by Ellen Shanley and Colleen Thompson **1/2
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin ****
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather ****1/2
Pig Island by Mo Hayder **
The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin ****
Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin ****
Crusader by Edward Bloor ***
Breathers by S.G. Browne ***
A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin ****
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan **
Scarlet Traces by Ian Edginton ****
The Ring of Solomon by Jonathon Stroud ****
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon ***
A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley ***1/2
Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque by Joyce Carol Oates ****
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride **1/2
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson ****
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne ***
A Samurai Never Fears Death by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler ***1/2
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman ****1/2
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld ***1/2
Spinning Out by David Stahler Jr. ***1/2
They Called Themselves the K.K.K. by Susan Campbell Bartoletti ****1/2
Stones for my Father by Trilby Kent ***1/2
One of our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde ****
City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin *****