Foul Deeds Will Rise by Greg Cox
What are you reading?
- Thread starter Snowlilly
- Start date
The Autobiography of Mark Twain.
I thought I might do a summary of the books I read in 2014 (my top reads, authors new to me etc). Should I place it in this thread or should I start a new thread "Book Read in 2014"?
Should probably do it here, I think.
OK my summary for 2014
2014 BOOK SUMMARY
In 2014 I finished reading/listening (or both) to 162 books of which 137 were fiction and only 25 were non-fiction. Because there are so many I won't list all of them.
My top 5 fiction reads were
The Martian by Andy Weir which I learnt about in this thread. Excellent book and I hope the movie that is due for release in 2015 will do it justice.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. My favourite Gaiman book so far.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. One of the oddest books I have ever read. I will never again be able to look at a bicycle without thinking of this book.
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. Set in the 1980s, 14 year old June's much loved uncle has died of AIDS and her mother blames his partner, Toby, for his death. In their grief June and Toby form a friendship which they keep secret from her family.
My top non-fiction reads
Ned Kelly: A Short Life by Ian Jones. A well researched biography on the famous Australian bushranger.
The Dig Tree by Sarah Murgatoyd. Another well researched book on the tragic and ill-prepared expedition of the explorers Burke and Wills.
Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses[/i] by Helen Rappaport. I think that Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia were 'bought to life' by the author.
The authors I read most were -
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I read the first two books of the Pendergast series in 2013. I also read several other books by them including some of their solo works. All up I read 23 their books in 2014.
Josh Lanyon. A new author for me.Enjoyable cozy mysteries by a gay writer. Books are a little slashy but most are quite funny. A couple of them were ghost stories. Most were short enough to finish in a day.
Other authors that I read for the first time -
Chinle Miller. Miller is a geologist who writes the Bud Shumway murder mysteries.
Michael Ridpath. Murder mysteries set in Iceland. His protagonist is a policeman who was born in Iceland but who moved to America as a child following the death of his mother. Many years later he is seconded to the Icelandic police force to teach them about American police procedures.
Peter May. I read his trilogy that is set on the Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides)
Iain Banks. I read The Wasp Factory and The Crow Road. I will read more of his Scottish books - I am not sure about his science fiction.
James Bowen. True stories of a drug addict who is helped on the road to recovery by an injured stray cat he takes in. I read three Streetcat Bob books this year.
I had a few rereads such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Black Cloud, Blight (by Mark Sonders), Miracle in the Andes.
I, and a handful of other Trekbbs members had a group read of the novel Virus by Graham Watkins.
2014 BOOK SUMMARY
In 2014 I finished reading/listening (or both) to 162 books of which 137 were fiction and only 25 were non-fiction. Because there are so many I won't list all of them.
My top 5 fiction reads were
The Martian by Andy Weir which I learnt about in this thread. Excellent book and I hope the movie that is due for release in 2015 will do it justice.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. My favourite Gaiman book so far.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. One of the oddest books I have ever read. I will never again be able to look at a bicycle without thinking of this book.
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. Set in the 1980s, 14 year old June's much loved uncle has died of AIDS and her mother blames his partner, Toby, for his death. In their grief June and Toby form a friendship which they keep secret from her family.
My top non-fiction reads
Ned Kelly: A Short Life by Ian Jones. A well researched biography on the famous Australian bushranger.
The Dig Tree by Sarah Murgatoyd. Another well researched book on the tragic and ill-prepared expedition of the explorers Burke and Wills.
Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses[/i] by Helen Rappaport. I think that Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia were 'bought to life' by the author.
The authors I read most were -
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I read the first two books of the Pendergast series in 2013. I also read several other books by them including some of their solo works. All up I read 23 their books in 2014.
Josh Lanyon. A new author for me.Enjoyable cozy mysteries by a gay writer. Books are a little slashy but most are quite funny. A couple of them were ghost stories. Most were short enough to finish in a day.
Other authors that I read for the first time -
Chinle Miller. Miller is a geologist who writes the Bud Shumway murder mysteries.
Michael Ridpath. Murder mysteries set in Iceland. His protagonist is a policeman who was born in Iceland but who moved to America as a child following the death of his mother. Many years later he is seconded to the Icelandic police force to teach them about American police procedures.
Peter May. I read his trilogy that is set on the Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides)
Iain Banks. I read The Wasp Factory and The Crow Road. I will read more of his Scottish books - I am not sure about his science fiction.
James Bowen. True stories of a drug addict who is helped on the road to recovery by an injured stray cat he takes in. I read three Streetcat Bob books this year.
I had a few rereads such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Black Cloud, Blight (by Mark Sonders), Miracle in the Andes.
I, and a handful of other Trekbbs members had a group read of the novel Virus by Graham Watkins.
Finished the first book in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and just started the second one. I don't think they're as good as Harry Potter, but they're fun to listen to in the car. Read (very well) by Jesse Berns.
Maybe. Maybe not. Hehehe.
Heh. I'll put it in spoiler code, in case anyone else plans on reading (it's a good book so far):
No Golem, eh? We'll talk after you finish the book. Unless you'd like to share your little theory now...
He made a point of mentioning strange little figurines that his mother made, very different from her usual arts and crafts. Then his one-night stand complained about being bitten on the ankle by a cockroach. I was thinking that maybe the figurines were little tiny Golems. But now he's encountered and photographed a strange bug at the cemetery, so I guess not. And you have me thinking that I've seen a Golem already and don't know it.
Maybe. Maybe not. Hehehe.
Heh. Yeah.Finished the first book in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and just started the second one. I don't think they're as good as Harry Potter, but they're fun to listen to in the car. Read (very well) by Jesse Berns.
Heh. I'll put it in spoiler code, in case anyone else plans on reading (it's a good book so far):No Golem, eh? We'll talk after you finish the book. Unless you'd like to share your little theory now...
He made a point of mentioning strange little figurines that his mother made, very different from her usual arts and crafts. Then his one-night stand complained about being bitten on the ankle by a cockroach. I was thinking that maybe the figurines were little tiny Golems. But now he's encountered and photographed a strange bug at the cemetery, so I guess not. And you have me thinking that I've seen a Golem already and don't know it.
Maybe. Maybe not. Hehehe.
You missed my later post:Okay, I did see the Golem. Several times. That was sure a different kind of Golem.The book was very good, though different from what I expected-- I was expecting more Golem and more Hollywood and wasn't anticipating a police procedure with deleted scenes from the Old Testament. Very enjoyable, though; I could hardly put it down.
The original one?
or the new one? I started re-watching Cosmos myself to whet my appetite for a particularly difficult science book I had to read.Top ten books I read in 2014...
The Gift of Good Land, Wendell Berry
Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front Porch Anarchists, Bill Kauffman
The Martian, Andy Weir
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, Brant Pitre
ST Eugenics Wars: To Reign in Hell, Greg Cox
Race with the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love, Joseph Pearce
Human Scale, Kirkpatrick Sale
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, William Bernstein
The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919, Mark Thompson
Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Neil DeGrasse Tyler's Cosmos. I watched the Carl Sagan one many years ago.
I didn't forget Sagan - I had a Sagan finger puppet as a decoration on my
tree and one of my all-time favourite reads is his Demon Haunted World.
I didn't forget Sagan - I had a Sagan finger puppet as a decoration on my
tree and one of my all-time favourite reads is his Demon Haunted World.
One of his most popular! How does the new Cosmos compare? I'm waiting until I can find a cheap used copy online.
Edit: A Sagan Christmas ornament? That is awesome.
Edit: A Sagan Christmas ornament?
That is awesome.
I know I really like Sagan's Cosmos at the time. I imagine it would seem out of date now. I think the new Cosmos is probably as good, or nearly as good.
Of course, neither have had the same impact on me as watching the first man step unto the moon back in 69 when I was 11 years old.
Of course, neither have had the same impact on me as watching the first man step unto the moon back in 69 when I was 11 years old.
Heh. Yeah.Finished the first book in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and just started the second one. I don't think they're as good as Harry Potter, but they're fun to listen to in the car. Read (very well) by Jesse Berns.
Heh. I'll put it in spoiler code, in case anyone else plans on reading (it's a good book so far):
He made a point of mentioning strange little figurines that his mother made, very different from her usual arts and crafts. Then his one-night stand complained about being bitten on the ankle by a cockroach. I was thinking that maybe the figurines were little tiny Golems. But now he's encountered and photographed a strange bug at the cemetery, so I guess not. And you have me thinking that I've seen a Golem already and don't know it.
Maybe. Maybe not. Hehehe.
Okay, I did see the Golem. Several times. That was sure a different kind of Golem.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, too! I gather from the online reviews that people either love it or hate it -- nothing in between. I saw somewhere that it's supposed to be the start of a series. One book was fascinating, but I really didn't find the cop interesting or appealing enough to want to follow him.
True. While I enjoyed it, it never occurred to me that it could be a series (which is something I often think when I like something). I'm not sure where they could go with a series, since all the elements were tied so tightly together. But if another volume comes out, I'll certainly give it a look.
The collection of Astounding stories I'm reading now is pretty lame, unfortunately. The first story was weak and the second story was so badly written that it was hard to follow (though it predicted Independence Day pretty strongly). The third story was by Hugh B Cave, so at least it was entertaining. That's as far as I've gotten. The editor also really fell down on the job. The stories must have been OCR'd from the original magazines, because the caption to the page one illustration is incorporated into each story as a random paragraph-- pay attention, dude!
The collection of Astounding stories I'm reading now is pretty lame, unfortunately. The first story was weak and the second story was so badly written that it was hard to follow (though it predicted Independence Day pretty strongly). The third story was by Hugh B Cave, so at least it was entertaining. That's as far as I've gotten. The editor also really fell down on the job. The stories must have been OCR'd from the original magazines, because the caption to the page one illustration is incorporated into each story as a random paragraph-- pay attention, dude!
I am alternating between the Audible and Kindle version of The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters. The Audible version is narrated by Peter Berkrot.
An asteroid is on a collision cause with the Earth and the world is panicking. Many people have abandoned their jobs, crops have been left to rot, and fuel has become scarce. Some people have decided to try and complete their bucketlists while others are committing suicide. Detective Henry Palace is sticking with his job and is called into what seems to be just another suicide but Palace thinks it is a murder.
First book in a trilogy.
An asteroid is on a collision cause with the Earth and the world is panicking. Many people have abandoned their jobs, crops have been left to rot, and fuel has become scarce. Some people have decided to try and complete their bucketlists while others are committing suicide. Detective Henry Palace is sticking with his job and is called into what seems to be just another suicide but Palace thinks it is a murder.
First book in a trilogy.
I'd agree that the Percy Jackson series isn't quite as good as the Harry Potter series, but it is very enjoyable. Percy and crew are very popular with my kids. Both kids have read all 10 books dealing with the Greek and Roman demi-god children. Novels that have kids begging for more are worth their weight in gold-pressed latinum to me.
I'm reading Jodi Picoult's The Pact right now. I just started it last night.
Presently: Winter World, Bernd Heinrich
Next: The Empty Throne, Bernard Cornwell
Just arrived in the mail: The Cult of the Presidency, A Renegade History of the United States.
Next: The Empty Throne, Bernard Cornwell
Just arrived in the mail: The Cult of the Presidency, A Renegade History of the United States.
I am now listening to Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla by Marc J. Seifer, narrated by Simon Prebble.
Finished Reading The Explorer by James Smythe.
Review crossposted from my Goodreads account:
Wow, I actually quite liked this. The start was rather bleak and slow to get going. It's not until the first part of the book is over that it really starts to get going, when the interactions take place. The description made it feel like maybe this would be a survival tale along the lines of Andy Weir's The Martian, but it took a decidedly different turn. It's not so much about survival, but the story of a man caught in a time loop. Best way to describe it would be Groundhog Day meets Interstellar. Fun story, but I'm glad it ended when it did as any longer would have been too long.
Review crossposted from my Goodreads account:
Wow, I actually quite liked this. The start was rather bleak and slow to get going. It's not until the first part of the book is over that it really starts to get going, when the interactions take place. The description made it feel like maybe this would be a survival tale along the lines of Andy Weir's The Martian, but it took a decidedly different turn. It's not so much about survival, but the story of a man caught in a time loop. Best way to describe it would be Groundhog Day meets Interstellar. Fun story, but I'm glad it ended when it did as any longer would have been too long.
