Virginiahomeschooler's Doctor Who Challenge

For 2014, I'm going to embrace my inner (and outer) geek and center this challenge around one of my most favorite things, The Doctor.




1. Peter Capaldi (a book having to do with the number 12 - 12th in a series, 12 in the title, 12 year old main character, etc.)
1. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich finished 01/25/14
2. Size 12 Is Not Fat - Meg Cabot finished 02/12/14
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2. K-9 (books about animals or with animals in the title or on the cover)
1. The Viper's Nest - Peter Lerangis finished 01/24/14
2. Dragon Rider - Cornelia Funke finished 02/13/14
3. Going Bovine - Libba Bray finished 02/14/14
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3. Allons-y (set in France)
1. Hotel Pastis - Peter Mayle finished 01/29/14
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4. It's Bigger on the Inside (fat books - minimum 550 pages)
1. World Without End - Ken Follett finished 01/23/14 (1,106 pages)
2. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness finished 02/10/14 (585 pages) (AlphaCat H February read)
3. The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan finished 02/27/14 (553 pages)
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5. Fish Fingers and Custard (books in which foods, or food related things, are mentioned in the title or are on the cover)
1. Home of the Braised - Julie Hyzy finished 01/08/14 (GeoCat January read)
2. Eggs in Purgatory - Laura Childs finished 01/14/14
3. Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey - Emma Rowley finished 01/29/14
4. Visions of Sugar Plums - Janet Evanovich finished 02/10
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6. Rory the Roman (love stories or books set in Italy)
1. Love Finds You in North Pole Alaska - Loree Lough finished 01/31/14
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7. Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS (books with the tenth doctor)
1. The Shining Darkness - Mark Michalowski finished 01/12/14
2. Snowglobe 7 - Mike Tucker finished 01/24/14
3. The Nightmare of Black Island - Mike Tucker finished 02/10/14
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8. River Song (books with a strong female as the lead character)
1. The Search for WondLa - Tony DiTerlizzi finished 01/11/14 (RandomCat and AlphaCat 'D' January read)
2. The 8th Confession - James Patterson finished 01/26/14
3. The 9th Judgment - James Patterson finished 01/30/14
4. Girl Genius: Omnibus Volume 1 - Phil Foglio finished 02/12/14
5. 10th Anniversary - James Patterson finished 02/22/14
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9. Spoilers (read the book before (or after) seeing the movie)
1. The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly finished 12/24/13
2. Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien finished 01/05/14
3. Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick finished 01/30/14
4. World War Z - Max Brooks finished 02/18/14
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10. Exterminate (books in which a murder takes place)
1. In the Bleak Midwinter - Julia Spencer-Fleming finished 01/01/14
2. The Case of the Missing Servant - Tarquin Hall finished 01/06/14 (MysteryCat and AlphaCat 'V' January read)
3. Her Royal Spyness - Rhys Bowen finished 01/10/14
4. Mr. Monk Gets on Board - Hy Condrad finished 02/18/14
5. SHERLOCK Study in Pink - Jay finished 02/19/14
6. Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie finished 02/24/14 (GeoCat February read)
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11. Lots of Planets Have a North (general science fiction)
1. The King's Dragon - Una McCormack finished 12/30/13
2. Shards of Honor - Lois McMaster Bujold finished 01/17/14
3. The Glamour Chase - Gary Russell finished 02/04/14
4. To Terra - Keiko Takemiya finished 02/06/14
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12. Are You My Mummy (mummies, vampires, zombies, and assorted fantasy whatnots)
1. Fool moon - Jim Butcher finished 01/15
2. The Color of Magic - Terry Pratchett finished 02/06/14
3. Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding finished 02/12/14
4. A Game of Thrones Graphic Novel: Vol. 1 - George R. R. Martin finished 02/21/14
5. A Game of Thrones Graphic Novel: Vol. 2 - George R. R. Martin finished 02/21/14
6. Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch Currently Reading
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13. Torchwood (spinoffs and sequels)
1. Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants - Lee Goldberg finished 01/09
2. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich finished 01/13
3. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich finished 01/19
4. Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich finished 02/05/14 (MysteryCat February read)
5. The Emperor's Code - Gordan Korman finished 02/26/14
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14. Donna Noble Has Left the Library (library books)
1. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline finished 02/02 (AlphaCat R February read)
2. Peak - Roland Smith finished 02/17/14
3. The Returned - Jason Mott 02/21/14
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CAT Reads

January
Geography - Home of the Braised (U.S.)
Random - The Search for WondLa (Journey)
Mystery - The Case of the Missing Servant (Detective)
Alpha 1 - The Case of the Missing Servant (V)
Alpha 2 - The Search for WondLa (D)
Gastro - Eggs in Purgatory (Any Food)

February
Geography - Death on the Nile (Egypt)
Random - Dragon Rider (Kid Lit)
Mystery - Lean Mean Thirteen (Series)
Alpha 1 - Ready Player One (R)
Alpha 2 - A Discovery of Witches (H)
Gastro - Visions of Sugar Plums (Candy)

March
Geography - (Central America, Mexico, Caribbean)
Random -
Mystery - (YA or Kid Mystery)
Alpha 1 - (L)
Alpha 2 - (M)
Gastro - (Ethnic, Irish, Green Beer)

April
Geography - (Eastern Europe)
Random -
Mystery - (Nordic)
Alpha 1 - (I)
Alpha 2 - (P)
Gastro - (Seafood or Juice)

Welcome!! The Doctor is always an excellent theme! For anything, really. :)

I will look forward to seeing your selections. I am lucky, and old enough, to have seen every episode of Dr Who including all the lost episodes. I am really looking forward to seeing an older doctor again.

I'm terribly ignorant about Dr. Who, but I like the sound of your categories and look forward to seeing what books you will read to fill them.

Excellent categories! Looking forward to seeing what fills them up. Also, I totally read your "Lots of Planets Have a North" category title in a Christopher Eccleston voice :)

> 2 Thanks, Eva. :)

> 3 I'm looking forward to Capaldi as well. I'd love to be able to go back and see all the older ones in order. I've watched a few here and there, but it's sort of hard to follow when you have to skip around and miss ones in between.

> 4 Thanks.

> 5 Eccleston was my first Doctor, so he holds a special place in my heart.

Welcome! I see some good reading in your future... wonderful categories!

I started just a little bit early with my 2014 challenge, and I've finished two books towards it so far.

First was a selection from my Spoilers Category:
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly ★★★★
Number of Pages: 508
Total Number of Pages Read: 508



I've seen the movie a few times, and it's a pretty good legal thriller sort of film. Ordinarily, I would prefer to read the book first, but I actually think having seen the movie made me enjoy the book that much more. I'd never have pictured Matthew McConaughey in the lead role, but I could really hear his voice as I was reading, and I now think he was a pretty good choice. The film stayed pretty close to the book, which is almost always a good thing. All in all, I thought the book was a good solid read. I've got the second book in the series, and I'm looking forward to it.

Second was from my Lots of Planets Have a North Category:
The King's Dragon by Una McCormack ★★★½
Number of Pages: 244
Total Number of Pages Read: 752



I adore Doctor Who. I started watching from the ninth Doctor. I've gone back and watched some of the older ones, but I really prefer the newer Doctors, ten especially. The King's Dragon had Eleven with Amy and Rory tagging along. The story was just ok. I thought the author got the voices of the characters pretty well, but it wasn't my favorite of the Doctor Who novels. It felt sort of flat. The 'bad guys' just weren't that bad and the bits that I think were supposed to be scary just weren't. That said, I always enjoy hanging out with the Doctor, so as long as the author gets him right, I'm not going to be too disappointed.

Finally, I know this isn't really related to the challenge (though it was challenging), I wanted to share something I have been working on for a while. I made this bag for my 11 y.o. daughter, who is also a big Who fan.



and the back



Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year ! That's really a cool bag, do you think that your daughter would be willing to lend it :)

I love that Dalek Victory poster on the back of the bag! Very nice work putting it all together. :)

Happy New Year! That is such a cool bag! Please do feel free to share non-book related things here.... I tend to share my crafting projects on my own thread and anything else that strikes my fancy. ;-)

#9, 10, & 11
Thank you. I really enjoyed making it, and I'm planning out a Sherlock one for myself.

I finished the first book from my Exterminate category this morning:
In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming ★★★★
Number of Pages: 316
Total Number of Pages Read: 1,068



This is the first in the Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mystery series, and it was quite good. Clare is the new Episcopalian priest for the town of Miller's Kill, and after stumbling on the body of a teenage girl, she sort of insinuates herself in the investigation to find her killer. It was a tad slow at times, but overall a really good story. I particularly enjoyed the interaction between Clare and Russ, the local police chief. I'll definitely be adding the next few from the series to my wish list.

Starting on Fellowship of the Ring for a local library challenge.

I am watching Return of the King now!

Love the Julia Spencer Fleming books! Hope you enjoy the next few.

#13 mamzel, I'm really enjoying it. I've had the box set of books for years, but I kept putting off reading them because I'd read the Hobbit ages ago and found it mind-numbingly boring. I think if I went back and reread it now (after having seen and loved the films and know more about what is going on), I'd have a different perspective. But so far Fellowship is really impressive. I hadn't planned to read the other two just yet, but I may end up pushing something else to get to them.

#14 LittleTaiko, I had never heard of her until I started reading these boards. Someone, I believe in the Mystery Cat forum (maybe you?), mentioned the series, and it sounded so good, I spent some of my Christmas gift card money on the first one. These groups are dangerous.

I stayed up late last night finishing the latest book for my Spoilers category:
Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien ★★★★½
Number of Pages: 458
Total Number of Pages Read: 1,526



This was an immensely enjoyable read. I adore the Hobbits, especially Sam, and I particularly love their fondness for food. 'Growing food and eating it occupied most of their time.' That's a lifestyle I can get behind. I struggled with some bits following all the names of people and places, and I think had I not watched the films (many times), it would have been much more difficult. I feel like I need to go back and watch the movies again. I think it'll be a new experience having now read the book.

Currently Reading: The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

What a fantastic thread! I love Doctor Who and I love this category! Great reviews too :)

Category: Exterminate
Title: The Case of the Missing Servant ★★★½
Author: Tarquin Hall
Number of Pages: 250
Total Number of Pages Read: 1,776



'The portly Vish Puri is India’s most accomplished detective, at least in his own estimation, and is also the hero of an irresistible new mystery series set in hot, dusty Delhi. Puri’s detective skills are old-fashioned in a Sherlock Holmesian way and a little out of sync with the tempo of the modern city, but Puri is clever and his methods work. '

This was an interesting mystery with a fascinating setting. At times I was reminded of the style of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, but the story was unique and it was also quite funny. Puri (affectionately called Chubby) is a bit rough around the edges, but he's kind and likable and very good at his job. The supporting cast of characters are just as endearing, especially Puri's Mummy, who is as talented, in her own way, an investigator as he is. I would definitely read more from this series.

I was going to start a book off my shelves, but I'm sitting here impatiently tapping my feet, waiting for my pre-order of Home of the Braised to be available for download and hoping it'll be at midnight eastern time...

ETA, it's 12:04, and no book. Sigh. I suppose I will have to make do with one of the hundreds waiting on my shelves. Or I could go to sleep like a normal person.

>18 virginiahomeschooler: Nice review, I'm reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and loving it so far, so this one is definetly going on the BB list.

I hope your book arrived sometime today!

Traci, that is too funny, I was kind of pacing around yesterday morning waiting for my preorder of Home of The Braised to become available on my Nook.

Mind you this was about 5 in the morning and I should have been concentrating on other things like maybe getting ready for work (lol), and it later became available about half an hour later.

>21 rabbitprincess:, rabbitprincess, thanks, it did finally arrive, and I've already finished it. :)

>22 lsh63:, Lisa, I don't know if you've started it yet, but it was well worth the wait for me. I think this is my favorite in the series.

Category: Fish Fingers and Custard
Title: Home of the Braised ★★★★★
Author: Julie Hyzy
Number of Pages: 247
Total Number of Pages Read: 2,023
Total Number of Books Read:6



I grew up reading mysteries and thrillers because that's what my mother liked and so they were always lying about the house. As I got older, my tastes evolved and I was drawn more towards other genres, and I sort of got away from mysteries. Julie Hyzy changed all that for me. I don't really remember why I picked up the first book in this series. I think maybe it was when I first got my nook, and it was one of the lesser priced ebooks available. Plus, I've always been rather fascinated by the White House, so that probably influenced my decision. In any case, I remember reading the first one in like a day, and I immediately bought all the others that were available in the series. I've since introduced them to my mother and my son, both of whom love them.

Home of the Braised is the 7th in the White House Chef series, and it was released yesterday. As I mentioned earlier, I was eagerly waiting at midnight for my download - apparently Barnes and Noble is not on Eastern Standard Time, because I waited til about 12:30, and it still hadn't come through, but in any case, it was well worth the wait. The mystery was solid. The characters (old and new) were well fleshed out - and unlike many other series where the lives of the characters remain fairly static, they grow and change with each book. And the ending was just perfect. Love, love, love this series.

Currently Reading: Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants by Lee Goldberg

Category: Exterminate
Title: Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants ★★★★
Author: Lee Goldberg
Number of Pages: 280
Total Number of Pages Read: 2,303
Total Number of Books Read:7



'The husband of Monk's former assistant, Sharona, has been arrested for murder. Now back in San Francisco, she's ready to reclaim her place in Monk's life-much to the chagrin of his current assistant, Natalie. While Monk tries to maintain a delicate balance between the two women, he discovers a few unsettling snags in the case against Sharona's husband, and may be up against a killer who not only understands him, but is one step ahead.'

I have now read all of the Monk books by Lee Goldberg, and this one was definitely one of my favorites. Goldberg, who was a writer for the show, always gets the voices of the characters just right, and the scenes with Sharona and Natalie were written perfectly. I read these books out of order, and while it didn't really diminish the enjoyment of them, there are evolutions in the characters' lives that make me think it'd be better to read them in the order they were written. Still, I love the series, and I hope the new book in the series (by a different author) lives up to the bar Mr. Goldberg has set.

Currently Reading: Her Royal Spyness

Category: Exterminate
Title: Her Royal Spyness ★★★½
Author: Rhys Bowen
Number of Pages: 230
Total Number of Pages Read: 2,533
Total Number of Books Read: 8



Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the throne, is flat broke. She's bolted Scotland, her selfish brother, and her fish-faced betrothed for London. The place where she'll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRH, oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name.

A light, fun mystery. It was a tad slow in spots (possibly due in part to the fact that reading this on my nook I had to 'flip' the page 2-3 times to get to the next numerical page so it felt 3 times longer) but enjoyable at any rate. The mystery reveal wasn't terribly shocking, but it was still a cute fluff read. I borrowed this from the library, but somehow I own book two, so I'll probably read it at some point. Not sure I'd search it out otherwise, though.

Currently Reading: The Search for WondLa

I typically enjoy the Royal Spyness series - they do make for a light, fluffy read.

>27 LittleTaiko: I'll give it another chance. I was looking at the other titles in the series, and there's a Christmas themed one I would really like to read. I don't know if it would matter if I skipped ahead to that one or not, though.

Category: River Song
Title: The Search for WondLa ★★★★½
Author: Tony DiTerlizzi
Number of Pages: 466
Total Number of Pages Read: 2,999
Total Number of Books Read: 9



Eva Nine had never seen the actual sun before, or walked outdoors. In fact, she had never even seen another living person in all twelve years of her life. That changes when a marauding huntsman destroys her underground home and sends her fleeing for her life. She is desperate to find someone else who is like her, and a single clue gives her hope: a crumbling picture of a girl, a robot, an adult, and the word "WondLa".

I'd bought this book a year or so ago for my daughter (who hasn't even looked twice at it since), and something just made me pick it up this morning. It's a lovely, sweet story with beautiful illustrations throughout the book. The artwork sort of reminded me of Ponyo and The Secret World of Arrietty, both of which I love. It's a tale of friendship and the idea of what humanity really is, and I have to admit to a few tears at the end of the book. I'll definitely pick up book two and try to convince my daughter that WondLa is worth a read.

Currently Reading: Shining Darkness

Cool categories.

That was how I reacted to the one Rhys Bowen book I've read. Glad I read it, but wouldn't seek out more. I was kind of surprised because she's so well respected. I was expected a little more depth. The one I read was set in the US and had a bunch of suffragettes in it.

@ 26 -- There are definitely some plots that span multiple installments of the Royal Spyness series, so if you're wary of spoilers, I suggest reading them in order. (I've read the first 4 books thus far.) But if you don't care that much and just want to read the Christmas one, I'm sure you would not be lost or confused if you skipped ahead!

Love the pictures!

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

>31 christina_reads: Thanks for the tips. I will probably go ahead and read book two, since I have it. If I like it more than the first, I won't skip the others. I didn't dislike the first one. It just didn't leave me feeling pulled to continue the series.

Category: Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS
Title: Shining Darkness ★★★
Author: Mark Michalowski
Number of Pages: 249
Total Number of Pages Read: 3,248
Total Number of Books Read: 10



A visit to an art gallery turns into a race across space to uncover the secrets behind a shadowy organization. From the desert world of Karris to the interplanetary scrapyard of Junk, the Doctor and Donna discover that appearances can be deceptive, and that the centuries-long peace between humans and machines may be about to end.

Eh, this one was just ok. I thought the author got the voices of the Doctor and Donna pretty well, though I felt Donna was a bit overdone (calling everyone Sunshine, ugh). But the story just went from pretty good if slightly boring to really confusing at the end. I think I'd have preferred it if the Doctor and Donna would've stayed together in the book (they were split apart in the beginning, and the story flipped back and forth from her parts to his). I love the way they play off each other, so separating them makes for a less enjoyable read, in my opinion. While I liked the concept of this one - what defines humanity and how we react to those who are different from us - and feel Michalowski had a good story to tell, it just fell sort of flat for me. The ending seemed rather forced, and the Doctor did a thing or two that really felt out of character for me. Still, I love spending time with the Doctor (especially ten), so I'm glad to have read it.

Currently Reading: Ten Big Ones

That's a shame about Shining Darkness - I've noticed that Donna seems hard to get right and when it's wrong, her character tends to grate on you. When she's done right, she's fantastic.

Yeah, she was almost right, but just enough not right to be annoying. At one point, she's in kind of a bad spot, and she starts urging this thuggish guy to 'shoot him, shoot him' (speaking about something that appears about to attack them), and it just didn't fit to me with her personality. I mean, she's loud and sometimes a bit crass, but she's sensitive, too. And especially after traveling with the Doctor, I just felt that she'd be more likely to try to talk him down than have someone just shoot him - or at the very least she'd go after him herself, she's anything but a shrieking damsel in distress, which was the vibe I got at that particular point.

It wasn't the worst Doctor Who tie-in I've read, not nearly. I just felt it could've been better.

Category: Torchwood
Title: Ten Big Ones ★★★★
Author: Janet Evanovich
Number of Pages: 312
Total Number of Pages Read: 3,560
Total Number of Books Read: 11



Bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum is the only witness to a robbery by the notorious Red Devil's gang and hides out in fellow bounty hunter Ranger's apartment to escape the gang and other seedy characters while the police try to nab the culprits.

Ok, these books are just good fun. I love Stephanie Plum, love Lula, love Grandma Mazur, love all of her quirky band of misfits. Even though the books are starting to feel a bit redundant, I can't say they aren't still entertaining, often laugh out loud funny. My one complaint is the 'love triangle.' I suppose I understand Evanovich's reasoning in writing it the way she does (gotta keep selling the books, and once she commits it'll get boring, right?), but I don't like it. I feel like if Joe were behaving the way Steph does, there would be lots of anger (and deservedly so) from the readers. They would feel like he's cheating on her. Why, then, does she get a pass on her behavior? It bothers me. Not enough to stop reading the books, but I do wish that Evanovich would just settle Stephanie down a bit already.

Currently Reading: Eggs in Purgatory

->36 virginiahomeschooler:
Oh, that doesn't sound like her at all. She's my favorite companion, so I really want her written right.

>38 -Eva-:
She's mine as well. It's funny because I really disliked her in the Runaway Bride. She was so bossy and annoying. But it didn't take long to change my opinion. Now, I go back and watch that one and I just hurt for her.

I thought she and the Doctor balanced each other out so well. Plus, she was funny, and funny always wins me over. :) Her ending was too sad.

My favourite Donna and Ten episode is The Fires of Pompeii -- I love that she tried speaking Latin to the Pompeiian vendor to see what the TARDIS's interpretation/translation circuit would make of it!

Yeah that was hilarious. We also got to see her softer side in that one. She really felt for the people of Pompeii.

>40 -Eva-:
I had always hoped that in the end she'd find Lee (her stuttering 'husband' in Forest of the Dead). I know she got married and all in the end, and she was happy, but it would've tied things up so neatly if her new husband had turned out to be him.

Category: Fish Fingers and Custard
Title: Eggs in Purgatory ★½
Author: Laura Childs
Number of Pages: 270
Total Number of Pages Read: 3,830
Total Number of Books Read: 12



Suzanne, Toni, and Petra lose their husbands but find independence when they open the Cackleberry Club. Then their cozy cafe becomes the scene of a crime when a lawyer dies with a secret on his lips and egg on his face. What this all has to do with a religious cult and Suzanne's past could put her own life on the line.

I wanted to like this book. I tried really hard to like it, honestly. But it really was just awful. Ok, maybe not awful. But not good. Really not good. First of all, the murder takes place way too soon, in my opinion. We've not been introduced to anyone, maybe a small intro to the main character, and a nod to a couple of the other main characters, and then boom, ooh look a body... After that, I still don't think we really got a good feel for most of the people of this supposedly cozy small town. Childs describes Suzanne brushing her teeth and gargling for 'a full minute', but I don't think she ever got around to describing her appearance or her home, or her cafe really beyond what it offered. And oh boy, what it offered. A cafe / tearoom / book shop / knitting shop / bakery / brothel...ok, I made up the bit about the brothel, but the rest holds true. Honestly, it was just too much. Also too much was the plot itself. We have a murder, a good-for-nothing ex-husband (or soon to be ex-husband, I was never really sure on that) who's in trouble with the law, car chases, another murder, a religious cult, domestic abuse, a financial conspiracy involving the small town prison, arson, all in this sleepy little town. Aren't cozies supposed to make you want to curl up by the fire and read about an idyllic location that you'd just love to visit (without the murder of course)? Because this town made me feel anything but cozy. It felt dreadful. I'm still fairly new to cozy mysteries, and maybe this is what most of them are like. If so, I'm thinking this isn't the genre for me. The only really positive thing I can say is that there's a recipe for Toad in the Hole in the back of the book that sounds pretty good.

Currently Reading: Fool Moon

Oh my! You could've just looked up Toad in the Hole in a cookbook then and skipped the mystery. Eggs in Purgatory does sound perfectly awful, and the title a bit flippantly trite. Evanovich sounds far more fun.

>45 cammykitty:, Yes, definitely should've just read a cookbook.

Category: Are You My Mummy
Title: Fool Moon ★★½
Author: Jim Butcher
Number of Pages: 274
Total Number of Pages Read: 4,104
Total Number of Books Read: 13



When the corpse of a brutally mutilated murder victim turns up at the time of the full moon, accompanied by some most unusual paw prints, professional wizard and supernatural investigator Harry Dresden finds himself searching Chicago for the werewolf stalking the city.

This is the second book in the Dresden Files series, and I was really hoping to like it more than I did. The first book in the series was ok, nothing fabulous, but not horrible either. But I kept hearing that they get better, and once you get into the series, you'll want to devour them. So, I plodded on through this one. There were times when I felt like maybe this would be better if I was in more of a mood for it, so perhaps I wasn't giving it the chance it deserved. I don't know. It was still just ok for me. I'm not sure if I really like Harry or not. He's not really arrogant, so it's not that. And he's not really condescending to women, exactly... I don't know. It's hard to put my finger on it. I think maybe it's more a feeling I get about the author than the character that kind of skeeves me a bit. A review I read seemed to sum it up pretty well with something like when all the werewolves are nude, he mentions the men being naked like an ugh, that ugly, hairy, slobby naked guy sort of thing. But when the women weres are naked they're all long legs and sensuality. It's annoying. Story-wise it was ok. And I will probably try the third (after I've had time for the bad taste of this one to wear off) because, like I said, I've heard they get so much better. But I'm giving up after that if they don't improve a lot. Maybe the author just isn't my cuppa.

Currently Reading: Shards of Honor (I'd never read anything like this and never would've picked it up at all were it not for all the good things everyone in the year-long read was saying. So far I'm really enjoying it.)

Category: Lots of Planets Have a North
Title: Shards of Honor ★★★★
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Number of Pages: 222
Total Number of Pages Read: 4,326
Total Number of Books Read: 14



Cordelia Naismith, Betan Survey Captain, was on a routine mission to study life forms on an uninhabited neutral planet. She was not, however, expecting to find hostile humans on an uninhabited planet. And she wasn't really expecting to fall in love with a 40-plus barbarian known to cosmopolitan galactics as the Butcher of Komarr.

I've never read anything quite like this. Most of my experience with science fiction has been in the form of Doctor Who tie-ins. And I'd never have looked twice at these books were it not for all the positive comments on the year long Vorkosigan thread. Honestly the covers of these books are really quite awful, and I'm terrible about judging books by their covers, so these just wouldn't have earned a second glance. BUT, I'm so glad I did give the series a chance because this book was very enjoyable. I hadn't read the blurb, so I had no idea what to expect. I sort of assumed it would be all 'beam me up' and 'phasers set to stun,' and instead I was pleasantly surprised by a novel that was more character driven than I'd expected. I loved Cordelia, and though I had a little difficulty a couple of times following what was going on, the story was quite good. I've already purchased book two for my nook, and plan to start it as soon as I'm done with the Janet Evanovich book I'm currently reading.

One question about this book, that I'm hoping someone that has read the book can help answer. Maybe I missed something, or maybe it will make sense as the series progresses, but I was completely lost by the few pages of the book. I had no idea who the people were that were out gathering bodies, and I didn't really understand how it related to the plot (or at least why she would end the book with these two strangers - to me at least). I understand these were people killed during the attack on Escobar, but what was the point of that particular scene? Or is it something I'll get later on?

Currently Reading: Eleven on Top

Have you read any David Weber? If you like LMB and strong women characters I bet you would love his Honor Harrington series.

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't heard of him. I'll have to look him up next time I go to the library. :)

Category: Torchwood
Title: Eleven on Top ★★★
Author: Janet Evanovich
Number of Pages: 321
Total Number of Pages Read: 4,647
Total Number of Books Read: 15



Stephanie Plum resigns her job as a bounty hunter, she is looking for something safe and normal. But Stephanie finds out that trouble follows her and a maniac from the past is stalking her, with the sole purpose of putting her into a burial plot of her own. Stephanie is caught between staying alive and staying away from the bounty hunter business, and re-examines her decision to quit the bounty hunter job. There is a possibility that it could be a solution to the immediate problem. Stephanie takes a position in an office, working for a bounty hunter and it gives her the technical access she needs to find her stalker.

With Stephanie no longer working as a bounty hunter, this installment was a tad different from the other books in the series. She still got in all sorts of trouble, and ended up covered in food and garbage on several occasions, so it wasn't that different. It seemed to me that there was a bit more Ranger and Joe in this one and a little less Lula and Grandma Mazur. I can't say I like that. It was still good, and funny, and all the things the other books are, but I didn't find myself laughing as much as in the previous books. I hope it's not a sign of things to come. The plot was ok, though I wasn't particularly surprised by the ending. I'm hoping Steph will have her old job (and more Lula) back for Twelve Sharp.

Currently Reading: World Without End

How have I managed to miss your great Doctor Who themed thread until now? I don't know how but it's inexcusable. I've got you starred now. Love the graphics and your categories.
You've read some good books already this year.

>51 VioletBramble: Thanks!

Category: It's Bigger on the Inside
Title: World Without End ★★★
Author: Ken Follett
Number of Pages: 1,106
Total Number of Pages Read: 5,753
Total Number of Books Read: 16



In the town of Kingsbridge, a Gothic cathedral and the priory are at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge. Proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, as the Black Death captures the city.

A few days ago I was asked if I could live in any literary world, where would I choose. Such a hard decision, there are so many good ones to select from that I had a hard time coming up with just one. However, I can unequivocally say that it would not be Kingsbridge. Set aside for the fact that I am a woman (women didn't really have it easy back then), and the fact that indoor plumbing isn't exactly a thing, oh and there's the whole plague thing going on...yeah forget all that. But holy smokes, the medical treatment! Fall out of a tree and break your arm? A little bloodletting should help. Get stabbed by a peasant after you tried to grope his wife? You probably haven't lost enough blood so let's take some more, shall we? Poisoned? Drowned? Wasting Disease? These can all be cured by blood loss, apparently. And if not, just rub some goat's dung on it, and all shall be well. Ugh.

Ok, so here's the thing about World Without End. It's long. No, really. It's like a freaking long book. I knew this going in, obviously. But somehow I was still surprised by how loooong it felt. Having read and enjoyed Pillars of the Earth, I figured that the 'sequel' would be on the same level. And it sort of was. In fact, early on it really felt like I was reading the same book just with some of the names and dates having changed. It's not a bad book. And Follett is superb with his depictions of life in the middle ages. You really get a sense of being there with the way he describes everything. And the story was pretty good. He definitely gives you guys to root for and ones to root against, so you feel an emotional attachment to what happens to the characters. So, all that is good. My biggest problem with the book, I guess, is that it felt rather like a soap opera. There were good guys (who were always good, or at least had good intentions even when they did not so good things) and bad guys (who were always bad, or if not it was because it was in there interest to do something positive even if they didn't want to). And the bad guys were always winning until you get to the point where you're ready to chuck the book at the wall because the good guys are having such a sucky time of it and justice is definitely not winning out, and oh, something happens and it's all ok. For now. Rinse and repeat. For. Eleven. HUNDRED. Pages. In the end, I was exhausted, and not exactly satisfied with the way things turned out.

Currently Reading: The Viper's Nest

Category: Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS
Title: Snowglobe 7 ★★★½
Author: Mike Tucker
Number of Pages: 255
Total Number of Pages Read: 6,008
Total Number of Books Read: 17



Earth, 2099. Global warming is devastating the climate. In a desperate attempt at preservation, the governments of the world have removed vast sections of the polar ice caps & set them inside huge domes. The Doctor & Martha arrive in Snowglobe 7 & soon discover that it's not only ice & snow that has been preserved.

I thought story-wise this was a pretty good Doctor Who tie-in. At first, I was afraid it was going to be a bit preachy about global warming (not that I'm not about protecting the environment, I just don't want to be bashed on the head with it while reading for fun). But, after a few not so subtle nudges about how we're all destroying the planet, it was back to the plot, which was better than many of the other Who books I've read. I think the author could've done better with the characterizations of the Doctor and Martha, but again, it was better than some of the other books I've read. All in all, not a bad installment. I picked up another of Mike Tucker's books (this one with Rose) from the library when I got this one, and I'm looking forward to it.

Category: K-9
Title: The Viper's Nest ★★★
Author: Peter Lerangis
Number of Pages: 190
Total Number of Pages Read: 6,198
Total Number of Books Read: 18



Book 7 in the 39 Clues Series: It's no longer a game. The body count is rising. Shaken by recent events, Amy and Dan flee to a distant land and trace the footsteps of their most formidable ancestor yet: a military leader of mythic proportions. Yet just as the siblings begin to master the art of ancient warfare, they confront a dangerous enemy that can't be felled with a sword: the truth. With the stakes higher than ever, Amy and Dan uncover something so devastating it changes everything--the secret of their family branch.

It's been a while since I've read any of these books, so I'd forgotten a lot of what was going on in this series, but it didn't really take much to fall back into place. This one is much like what I remember the others to be. It's a cute little book that allows you to escape to various locations around the world and learn a little history while you're at it. It was a very short and easy read, just what I needed after Book Without End.

Currently Reading: Twelve Sharp

Well, my attempt to not purchase any books this year lasted just over 3 weeks. Found these on the sale shelf at the library yesterday (I really need to stop looking over there):

Death Comes to Pemberly
Don't Blink
8th Confession
Divine Justice
Plum Lovin
13 Reasons Why
Full Speed

All for just $8! :)

Category: Peter Capaldi
Title: Twelve Sharp ★★★★
Author: Janet Evanovich
Number of Pages: 310
Total Number of Pages Read: 6,508
Total Number of Books Read: 19



While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her. The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso--street name, Ranger. The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer. Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in. Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve, or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum--forever?

Pretty good installment. Though, again, I get the feeling that Stephanie's (and Janet's) definition of cheating and mine aren't one and the same. Could've used more Lula and Grandma and less Ranger, but the plot was a bit different from the past books, so that was a nice plus. Nice, fun, fluff read.

Currently Reading: The 8th Confession

Suggestions Needed

I'm much further ahead in my reading than I'd anticipated, so I've decided that rather than a step approach, I'm going to attempt to read 14 books in each of my categories. Trouble is some of my categories are going to be hard to fill with 14 books - like my Peter Capaldi cat in which the number 12 should play a significant role in the book (12 in the title, 12th in a series, etc). So, if you've got any suggestions for books that could fill my categories - especially the first few - I'd certainly appreciate them.

:) THANKS!

For twelve:
The Winds Twelve Quarters
Twelve Years a Slave
Twelve Angry Men
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The Twelve Days of Christmas

For Animals:
Animals Make Us Human
The Art of Racing in the Rain

Those sale shelves at the library always catch me, too! So handy - right by the door on your way out. Stop and look at just a few more books, why don't you, and support the FOL! At least those vultures who descend on the first day of the sales and snag all the best books don't visit here!

>58 VioletBramble: Thanks! Some of those look really promising.

>59 mamzel: The only problem I have with the 'sale' section of our library is that there is a very sweet elderly lady that volunteers there. And I love her, really I do. She's adorable and so nice. But she's always trying to get me to go home with books I have absolutely no interest in ('Doesn't this book about the mating habits of guinea fowl in southern Mongolia* look fascinating?'), and I always feel bad saying no.

*I don't actually know if there are guinea fowl in Mongolia, or if they have peculiar mating habits, but you get the idea...

*snort, chortle*

Category: River Song
Title: The 8th Confession ★★★½
Author: James Patterson
Number of Pages: 342
Total Number of Pages Read: 6,850
Total Number of Books Read: 20



The Women's Murder Club faces its toughest challenge as Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder of two San Francisco millionaires and reporter Cindy Thomas digs into the brutal slaying of a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless.

These books are not fabulous. The fifth one I didn't care for at all, but the others are not bad when I'm in the mood for something fast paced and brainless. This one, the 8th in the series, was one of the better ones. The plot, involving murders with no apparent evidence, was pretty entertaining. A little far-fetched, but fun nonetheless. I really could do without the love triangle (well, there are four people involved so I guess it's more a love square?). I feel it brings nothing to the story. I'm starting to see parallels between the Murder Club's Lindsay Boxer and Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. Yes, Boxer is more serious, and competent, than Plum, but they still remind me of each other in many ways. I also felt the side story with the lawyer, Yuki, was rather pointless and unnecessary, and I didn't care for how it played out. Overall though a quick and entertaining read.

Currently Reading: Hotel Pastis and Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey

Category: Fish Fingers and Custard
Title: Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey ★★★★★
Author: Emma Rowley
Number of Pages: 278
Total Number of Pages Read: 7,128
Total Number of Books Read: 21



This is a beautifully done book that explores the creation and success of Downton Abbey. It gives little glimpses of the making of the show, from set design to costuming, to tiny details of etiquette. It's really a lovely book full of gorgeous photographs from all of the seasons, including season four. I received it as a Christmas gift, and I sat down with it this afternoon just thinking I'd read a few pages and I ended up finishing the whole thing. It was a fascinating look not only at how they have created the show - the attention to detail is truly amazing, but also what life in that time period would've been like. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the show.

Currently Reading: Hotel Pastis

We have a rare snow day today (and probably tomorrow and Friday as well, seeing as we got nearly a foot of snow), and I'm having a wonderfully cozy day sitting by the fire and reading.

My pup, who recently got a haircut and is never quite warm enough, is not particularly fond of this snow stuff, though.

For your 12 category, how about books published in 2012 or that won an award in 2012? That would give you a lot more options.

Your poor little guy! Mine seems to like the snow in short bursts. He visited the groomer a couple of weeks ago but fortunately I only had them do his face and his nails. The day I adopted him, the shelter had a groomer cut his hair really short because it was so matted. For weeks he would shiver when I took him outdoors even when it was fairly warm. It's just now grown to a length that looks really good on him.

The 2012 thing is a good idea. Thanks!

I hate having Willie cut so short, but he HATES being brushed. His fur is more like hair, and it gets really matted if we don't brush him every other day at least. And it just got out of control this winter. I'd hoped to wait it out a little longer for it to warm up some, but when his hair gets too long he can't see anything, and when he started running into things we knew we had to get him clipped. That said, I do love it when it's sorta short:



He does ok as long as we can keep a sweater on him, but I swear he must be a nudist because I'll put one on him, and five minutes later he's streaking buck naked through the house.

I'm thankful that Adrian loves to be brushed, and he likes his sweaters. The only problem area is his tail. He doesn't like having it brushed or combed.

Gracie absolutely hates to be brushed or combed. Thankfully she is a Westie-Po and her coat is usually pretty mat free. I think that if we put a sweater on her she would never come back into the house! She runs outside and loves to roll in the snow!

DS
Bruce's evil twin :-))

Snow day. Yay!

Burst pipe. Flooded master bedroom and bathroom. Not so yay.

:(

Major :(
What a mess to deal with.
And I bet the plumbers are busy all over the place.

Oh no, not a burst pipe! Hope someone gets out to fix it for you soon!

Yikes to the burst pipe and the flooding!

Well, my floors are dry. We only lost a power strip and a speaker from my husband's surround sound system. I had a huge box of books (and five large stacks of books) sitting on the floor on the other side of the speaker that were untouched by the water, so I feel like we dodged a bullet on that one. Also, the pipe that burst was to an exterior faucet, which has it's own water supply, so we were able to shut that one off and still have water in the rest of the house. The worst thing was trying to figure out how to turn the water off. I am absolutely the least handy person on the planet, so I found myself running down my street this morning (with a towel on my head and slippers on) to a neighbor's house asking them where the water shut off valve was. It was really embarrassing.

Title: Hotel Pastis ★★½
Author: Peter Mayle
Number of Pages: 389
Total Number of Pages Read: 7,517
Total Number of Books Read: 22



Peter Mayle is exceptionally good at writing armchair travel books about Provence. And I loved A Good Year (the book and the film). Hotel Pastis not so much. It's the story of an ad exec who decides to abandon his life in London to turn an old abandoned police station in a small village in Luberon into a hotel. It sounded quaint. It wasn't. It was just rather boring. It started off extremely slow - nearly 200 pages to get to the part about the hotel, really? I kept thinking it would pick up once he got started working on the hotel, but it didn't. In fact, the parts that I was looking forward to, the renovations and start-up of the hotel, were glossed over. There was also a side story of a group of men planning a bank robbery that was completely unnecessary. The book could've been 150 pages shorter, but it still wouldn't have been a good one. I'd skip this and read A Good Year instead.

Category: River Song
Title: The 9th Judgment ★★★
Author: James Patterson
Number of Pages: 275
Total Number of Pages Read: 7,792
Total Number of Books Read: 23



A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar and in just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria. Before the Women's Murder Club can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Detective Lindsay Boxer to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city?

The 9th book in the Women's Murder Club was not bad but not great. I like that these books are fast paced, and I liked where Lindsay's story was going in this one, but the main plotline was somewhat weak. Also, I didn't get the feeling of camaraderie that are normally part of these books. It was mostly about Lindsay as opposed to the group, and the parts that did have the other women just seemed like they were added after the fact just for filler. I think I'm going to have to take a break from this series for a while and maybe pick it up again in a few months.

Currently Reading: The Silver Linings Playbook

I'm enjoying your thread and the theme. I have to admit that I have developed a rather unhealthy obsession with Peter Capaldi.... I fear I may combust by the time the new show starts in Autumn....

I'm glad your water disaster wasn't as bad as it could have been. These things always happen at the most inconvenient times.

so I found myself running down my street this morning (with a towel on my head and slippers on) to a neighbor's house asking them where the water shut off valve was.

Nice to see I am not the only person on this planet that would do something like that! My entire family has zero trust in my ability to do anything 'handy'.... I don't know if I should be offended or applaud their good sense of judgement. ;-)

Your story prompted me to double check with my husband as to how to turn the water off in case of emergency. I have no interest in home repairs but I sure would be upset if we took water damage that I could have prevented. Glad to hear that your disaster wasn't as bad as it seemed.

I know that I really should learn how to do stuff. If nothing else, so I'll be more equipped to deal with the zombie apocalypse. I'd hate to think my only chance of survival is dependent on the kindness of random uninfected strangers.

The problem is there are so many other things I want to do that don't involve fuse boxes and screwdrivers and motor oil and socket wrenches (whatever they are).

Title: The Silver Linings Playbook ★★★★
Author: Matthew Quick
Number of Pages: 289
Total Number of Pages Read: 7,806
Total Number of Books Read: 24



I started this book last night around 10pm just for something to read a few chapters of before going to sleep. I finally crawled in bed at 3:45am. While I was reading, I was thinking this was a for sure 5 star book. A little time to reflect has made me realize that I had a few issues with it. First of all, it's the story of Pat Peoples, a mentally unbalanced man who is desperate to reconnect with his estranged wife. It's an odd story told in first person by Pat. Obviously, it's a great book. I couldn't put it down. It was funny and sad and sweet, and I really enjoyed it.

I did have a few problems with the book, though. My biggest issue was Pat's voice. He's a sweet guy with emotional problems. It seemed to me that he was a little too simple-minded, though. This guy was supposed to be a teacher, and while he may not have been a genius, I don't think that the emotional issues he was dealing with would've had him thinking in such child-like terms. Maybe I'm wrong. But it bothered me a little. Also, I think I'd have liked the book more had I not known who the actors were that portrayed the characters. I think that unless they drastically changed the story, the cast was all wrong. Pat is supposed to be working out like a madman. He's described on more than one occasion as 'huge,' and at one point a comparison to Arnold Schwartzenegger is made. Now, that could have been in jest somewhat, but still I don't think Bradley Cooper physically fits the role. Also, the character Tiffany is supposed to be 'a few years older' than Pat, who we know to be 35. That role is played by Jennifer Lawrence. I realize they could have changed the story around a bit to make them fit the film (which I haven't seen), but I had a hard time not picturing them when I was reading, and it was very distracting because they just were all wrong in my opinion.

Still, I really loved the book. I'd like to see the movie to see how it compares.

Category: Rory the Roman
Title: Love Finds You in North Pole Alaska ★½
Author: Loree Lough
Number of Pages: 299
Total Number of Pages Read: 8.091
Total Number of Books Read: 25



I'll be honest, I still have my Christmas tree up. Now, this does have a lot to do with the fact that I just haven't really wanted to pull the box out to pack it all away, but still I like having it up. I adore all things Christmas - Christmas movies, the North Pole, Santa, elves, all of it. Usually the hokier the better.

Now, I won't say this is the worst book I've ever read, but it was truly dreadful. The only good thing I can say about it is that the location had promise. Other than that, there was nothing redeeming. The plot was stale, the dialog was absurd, the characters were ridiculous. It was just awful. I so wish I had listed to Nancy Pearl on this one and given up on page 50. What a waste of time. Ugh.

Category Recap
Peter Capaldi: 1
K-9: 1
Allons-y: 1
It's Bigger on the Inside: 1
Fish Fingers and Custard: 3
Rory the Roman: 1
Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS: 2
River Song: 3
Spoilers: 3
Exterminate: 3
Lots of Planets Have a North: 2
Are You My Mummy: 1
Torchwood: 3
Donna Noble Has Left the Library: 0

Total Number of Books Read: 25
Total Number of Pages Read: 8,091

Best Book: Home of the Braised
Honorable Mention: Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey
Worst Book: Love Finds You in North Pole Alaska

Wow, 25 books! Nice work! :)

I know that I really should learn how to do stuff. In California it is really important to also know where your gas and electricity shut offs are. We are urged to purchase the special wrench to turn off the gas.

>80 rabbitprincess: Thanks! It helped that we had about a week of snow days and all the holidays.

>81 mamzel: I do now know where the fuse box is and how to shut off the power because the power strip (which had the plugs to the tv and xbox that were powered on at the time) was sitting in the water that was pouring out of the wall. So, I turned off the power first thing. I think I know where the emergency gas shutoff is - there's a big red switch in my upstairs hall, and I'm pretty sure that's what it does. I think part of it is that we haven't found a house to buy yet and we've been renting since we moved here. So, as much as it's my house it doesn't feel like my house, if that makes sense. So I haven't pushed myself to learn how to do stuff. But I really should.

Sorry to hear about your burst pipe - and, if you were my neighbor, I'd much rather you come running in half-dressed when you need help than not ask at all!

->65 virginiahomeschooler:
That's about the cutest face ever!!!

Category: Donna Noble Has Left the Library
Title: Ready Player One ★★★½
Author: Ernest Cline
Number of Pages: 385
Total Number of Pages Read: 8.476
Total Number of Books Read: 26



Ready Player One is set in the mid 21st century where everything has pretty much turned to crap. There's not enough food or living space, we've run out of fuel, the environment has been neglected. The only refuge seems to be OASIS, a virtual world in which people can escape their own reality. When the creator of OASIS dies, he leaves behind a quest. Complete the quest, and you inherit it all - 240 billion dollars and OASIS itself. It's the kind of prize people would be willing to kill for.

This was a really unique story - at least I'd never read anything like it. It was loaded with 1980's pop culture - movies, games, music, etc. As a child of the 80's it was kind of a nice nostalgic trip for me. It was a pretty enjoyable book. I think it could've been a little shorter - it dragged a bit at times, but overall I'd say it was pretty good book. I think geeks in general would enjoy it, as would people who remember the 80's with fondness. I'm not sure if people who fall outside those categories would like it, though.

Oh, and this was my view while I was reading most of the book:



Currently Reading: The Glamour Chase

I think Willie and Adrian have been comparing notes! :)

I hope Adrian is feeling better.

I'm getting ready to take Adrian to see his vet right now. She's got a great track record with him so far.

I'm pleased that your water problem didn't get to your books. Good on you for seeking help from the neighbours, they were probably more than happy to help you out. I havent read Silver Linings yet but I have the movie sitting there waiting for me to watch it. Maybe this weekend.

What a sweet face! How can you get any reading done with that adorable dog looking at you?

I think geeks in general would enjoy it,

Yup! RPO Its a great book for gamers and geeks.

Love the sweet pic of the pup looking for attention. You know you are supposed to put the book down and give your furry friend ALL of your attention... ;-)

I guess that would be one advantage of an ereader -- one hand is free for petting the dog! :)

Roro, I'd love to hear what you think of it. I actually think I might prefer the film. I was a bit put off by the character that Jennifer Lawrence portrays, and I'm thinking they might make her more likable in the movie.

Lest you all think that my little man is always neglected, this is how I seem to spend most of my time:

N'awwww! Cute :)

Awwww . . . so cute!

One of my cats actually sprayed my Kindle because I was paying too much attention to it instead of him. Didn't work out like he had hoped - his happy orange butt got booted out of the bedroom.

Your puppy is too cute!

I enjoyed the Silver Linings Playbook movie but haven't read the book. Interesting that the character ages were supposed to be so different. Thought Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence did a great job - but I can see how they might not fit with the book descriptions.

Does he advance the pages for you, too?

>Booklizard, Oh no! The worst Willie will do is lick the screen when I'm not paying attention.

>Taiko, I think I'll like the movie. The book was really good, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they adapt it to make the cast fit the roles.

>Mamzel, I do need to train him to do that, huh?

Category: Lots of Planets Have a North
Title: The Glamour Chase ★★★★★
Author: Gary Russell
Number of Pages: 243
Total Number of Pages Read: 8.719
Total Number of Books Read: 27



An archaeological dig in 1936 unearths relics of another time. And - as the Doctor, Amy and Rory realize - another place. Another planet. But if Enola Porter, noted adventuress, has really found evidence of an alien civilisation, how come she isn't famous? Why has Rory never heard of her?

This was one of the best, if not the best, Doctor Who tie-in novels I've read. It was very nearly perfect. The story itself was quite good. Very interesting plot - the villains could've possibly been a bit more fleshed out (my only complaint and a minor one at that), but it was really very enjoyable. The best thing about it, and really the most important aspect of any Doctor Who book in my opinion, was the characterizations of the Doctor and his companions. This one included Matt Smith's Doctor with Amy and Rory, and they were so true to the show that it certainly could've been the script for an episode. It was just an all around fantastic book that I'd highly recommend to anyone who likes the show.

Currently Reading: Lean Mean Thirteen

Category: Torchwood
Title: Lean Mean Thirteen ★★★½
Author: Janet Evanovich
Number of Pages: 330
Total Number of Pages Read: 9,049
Total Number of Books Read: 28



Typical Stephanie Plum fluff read. This one involves the disappearance (murder?) of Steph's ex-husband, Dickie. With no alibi and a recent altercation with Dickie, Stephanie is the prime suspect. As with all the other books, Stephanie ends up covered in icky stuff, has major car (and man) troubles, and seems to land herself in more and more dangerous situations. These books are a great diversion from reality.

Currently Reading: Listening to Dragon Rider while knitting a scarf

Category: Lots of Planets Have a North
Title: To Terra ★★★
Author: Keiko Takemiya
Number of Pages: 341
Total Number of Pages Read: 9,390
Total Number of Books Read: 29



After Earth is nearly destroyed by human activities, human kind becomes strictly regulated by psychic supercomputers that constantly monitor people's emotional state and decide their fates. However, members of an outlaw group keep their emotions, and their telepathic ability, and strive to return to Earth.

This was the first manga that I've ever read. I kept having to ask my kids what I was supposed to be reading first on a page. I found it very confusing at first and moderately distracting throughout. I picked it up at the library because I'm always standing around the manga section waiting while my kids pick out about 100 of them, and the story looked interesting. I don't know if it's just the format that I had issues with or the story - or if manga is just not for me, but I just couldn't get into this. I gave it three stars because I think it's probably much better than I found it to be (as far as personal enjoyment, I'd give it two). The story itself was hard for me to follow. At one point it jumped from one place to another, and it took me a few pages to figure out what was going on. Probably if I was more of a manga reader, I'd have caught on right away. Anyway, I think I'll probably just leave this type of thing to my kids and stick to more traditional books.

Category: Are You My Mummy
Title: The Color of Magic ★★★
Author: Terry Pratchett
Number of Pages: 163
Total Number of Pages Read: 9,553
Total Number of Books Read: 30



Ok, I want to preface this by saying that I read the Wee Free Men books a while back, and I just adored them. They remain some of my favorite books. So, I was really disappointed that I did not care too much for The Color of Magic, the first in the Discworld series. It wasn't bad. It was mildly amusing. But honestly I was expecting fantastically funny. The Discworld books have such a following that I really feel like maybe I'm just not clever enough to get all the jokes. I'll give the next one a go because I've read that CoM isn't the best in the series, but I still wish I'd liked this one more.

Currently Reading: Still listening to Dragon Rider while knitting a scarf

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one to find CoM disappointing. I loved Hogfather and thought that I would start from the beginning so to speak.

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

Love the pics of Willie! He is sooooo cute.

I saw Silver Lining Playbook and thought it was a cute movie but not great, and the characterization was part of what kept it in the "cute" category. Part of it is I've known people dealing with mental illness, and Pat's mental illness seemed inconsistent. In the beginning, he's pretty seriously off. By the end, he acts more like a guy who had a bad break up in the beginning. & yes, Jennifer Lawrence's character does get annoying. I'll bet the book is better. It sounds like they Hollywoodized it.

> 101 Well, that gives me hope, then that they do get better.

> 102 Yeah, I had issues with the way mental illness was portrayed. I'm not sure it ever gives a clear diagnosis for Pat in the book. If it did, I don't remember. It was still a good book, though.

Category: It's Bigger on the Inside
Title: A Discovery of Witches ★½
Author: Deborah Harkness
Number of Pages: 585
Total Number of Pages Read: 10,138
Total Number of Books Read: 31



Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Oh, where do I start with this book?

The Good:
1. The story had potential to maybe be not awful, I think. Maybe. It was so incredibly boring that I'm not really sure. I think I zoned out through bits of it.
2. The author is obviously well-educated. And apparently she really really really likes tea.
3. The last 80 pages weren't the snooze-fest the rest of the book was. But with nearly 600 pages, that's just not good enough.
4. It's over.

The Bad:
1. Just about everything else.
2. The characters - really. Not one likable one. Well, maybe the cat. I liked the cat ok.
3. The romance - holy crow was it lame. First of all, it was just ridiculously paced. Like 200 pages of slow drawn out yoga sessions and 'I'm not sure if I can trust this guy not to kill me.' Then all of a sudden it's all lovey dovey, 'Oh, I love him more than tea...well, as much as tea...maybe.'
4. Tea...seriously? She described the names of the tea, how much she liked the tea, how all the tea tasted, what was in the tea. I'm not a tea drinker, so perhaps that influenced my opinion. But really, enough with the tea already. Come on.
5. The 'mystery.' It was like she thought "I know, I'll write up something akin to Da Vinci Code, but instead of a page turner, I'll make sure it has no action, and a lot of really boring research-y type stuff. Cause there's nothing people who think they are reading a fantasy romance like more than page after page after page of detailed descriptions of DNA. I don't mind a little brainy stuff mixed in with the story. In fact, when it's done well it really can enhance a story (see Michael Crichton). But Ms. Harkness just doesn't do it well. At all.
6. The relationship. Ok, maybe this goes along with the romance, but I prefer to separate it because I don't find it romantic at all. The bossiness of the vampire in this relationship was just abhorrent to me. At one point, he actually says the following: "I will kill you myself before I let anyone hurt you... And I don't want to kill you. So please do what I tell you."
Not kidding.

Would I recommend it? Uh, no. Well, maybe to insomniacs. Then, yeah. It's way more effective than counting sheep.

Category: Fish Fingers and Custard
Title: Visions of Sugar Plums ★★★
Author: Janet Evanovich
Number of Pages: 164
Total Number of Pages Read: 10,302
Total Number of Books Read: 32



This was a Christmas themed installment of the Stephanie Plum series that finds Steph hunting an FTA by the name of Sandy Claws. It was ok, not great. If you really enjoy The Stephanie Plum books and just need a fix while waiting for the next book, then check it out. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, though. At 164 pages, it was a super quick read.

Currently Reading: Still listening to Dragon Rider and reading Retribution Falls on my nook.

Hoo boy, it sounds like I didn't miss much by abandoning A Discovery of Witches.

I haven't bothered with A Discovery of Witches. Even though I know there are some readers here on LT who loved the book, I don't think I am one of those readers. Great review!

I feel like maybe I was too harsh with Discovery. Probably because it was just so long and I felt like I wasted sooo much time on it. If it'd been 300 pages instead of nearly 600, I think I'd have been much more forgiving. Though, I suppose some of the blame must be given to my compulsive need to finish a book once I've started.

Are you still looking for book suggestions?

Animals
Wild Dogs by Helen Humphreys (lit fic, a little bit of mystery)
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (dystopia-apocalyptic)
Started Early Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (mystery, book 4 in series)
Black Dog by Stephen Booth (mystery, book 1 in series)

Twelve
The Twelve by Justin Cronin (dystopia-apocalyptic, vampires, book 2 in series)

France
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (lit fic)
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda (lit fic)
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier (historical fiction)
The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas (mystery)

Vampires
A Taste of Blood Wine by Freda Warrington
You know.....the one you just commented on over on my thread? :)

Sci-Fi
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is very good and is getting a lot of buzz. It's already been nominated for two (or three?) prize awards and I suspect it's going to get a few more noms as the year progresses.

104> I love tea! And I loved the review too, even if you don't like tea. . . .

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

> 108 Yes, absolutely. Thanks so much for the recommendations. I looked, and my library has e-copies of The Twelve, but I'm wondering if I need to read book one first.

Category: Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS
Title: The Nightmare of Black Island ★★★½
Author: Mike Tucker
Number of Pages: 250
Total Number of Pages Read: 10,552
Total Number of Books Read: 33



On a lonely stretch of Welsh coastline, a fisherman is killed by a hideous creature from beneath the waves. When the Doctor and Rose arrive, they discover a village where the children are plagued by nightmares, and the nights are ruled by monsters. The villagers suspect that ancient industrialist Nathanial Morton is to blame, but the Doctor has suspicions of his own. Who are the ancient figures that sleep in the old priory? What are the monsters that prowl the woods after sunset? What is the light that glows in the disused lighthouse on Black Island? As the children's nightmares get worse, the Doctor and Rose discover an alien plot to resurrect an ancient evil...

This was really good up until the end. The pacing was good, the characterizations of the Doctor and Rose were good, the plot was good. About 20 pages from the end, I felt like it sort of went off the rails a bit, but the rest of the book made up for any shortcomings. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who, like me, misses the tenth Doctor.

Currently Reading: Still listening to Dragon Rider and reading Retribution Falls on my nook.

>92 virginiahomeschooler: I am sooooo slack I still haven't watched the movie yet. Well actually, I would like my husband to watch it with me and then the Olympics started so now I may as well forget about watching Silver Linings until the Olympics are over.

Cute pic with your dog.

> Ro, I've not managed to watch much of anything but the Olympics lately too. I figure anything else will be there when the games are over.

Category: Are You My Mummy
Title: Retribution Falls ★★★★½
Author: Chris Wooding
Number of Pages: 399
Total Number of Pages Read: 10,951
Total Number of Books Read: 34



Frey is the captain of the Ketty Jay, and leader of a small, highly dysfunctional band of layabouts. An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft they run contraband, rob airships and generally make a nuisance of themselves.

What a fantastic book! It was so different from anything I've read before. I'd heard that it was very similar to Firefly, and it definitely parallels it in some aspects. But it's got enough going for it that even though it felt familiar, it never seemed like a carbon copy or fan fiction or anything like that. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'll definitely be buying book 2.

Category: Peter Capaldi
Title: Size 12 Is Not Fat ★★★½
Author: Meg Cabot
Number of Pages: 345
Total Number of Pages Read: 11,296
Total Number of Books Read: 35



Heather Wells Rocks! Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two, and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen, not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives, even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.

I had no idea what to expect when I picked this book up. I hadn't even read the blurb on the back - I just knew it had a twelve in the title, so it fit within my Peter Capaldi theme. I assumed that it was just chick lit, and I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a mystery. Now, it wasn't very deep, it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, and I'd figured out the killer way early on. Still, it was a really cute little book that made for a nice afternoon fluff read by the fireplace. I'd certainly consider reading more in the series on days when I just want a brainless escape from reality.

Category: River Song
Title: Girl Genius Omnibus: Volume 1 ★★★
Author: Phil Foglio
Number of Pages: 319
Total Number of Pages Read: 11,615
Total Number of Books Read: 36



I think I'm going to have to accept that graphic novels and manga are just not for me. I've not read many, but the few I have just didn't click. I feel like I should've liked this one. I just had a hard time following the story - which at time seemed all over the place. I thought the artwork was great, and I loved the steampunk feel, but I just couldn't get into the story, and I think it's more to do with the format than anything else.

Currently Reading: Dragon Rider and Going Bovine

I see the Wooding love continues over here! Retribution Falls is such a fun read.

Were you in the path of the snowstorm? We had probably 4 or 5 inches here. The last time it snowed it was too cold to let Adrian play in it. This time it was 20 or 25 degrees warmer so I let him run in it for a few minutes. He loved it!

> Lori, I doubt I'd ever have picked up Retribution Falls were it not for all the positive things I was seeing on LT.

> Carrie, it passed by us thankfully. We got a little snow last night, but it turned to rain and washed away by the morning. My family is all in Georgia, though, and nearly everyone I know down there was out of power for at least a few hours (some for over 24) yesterday and today. I generally prefer winter (I love sweaters), but I'm kinda over it.

I'm another one who's glad you liked Retribution Falls! :) And you're right...despite the similarities to "Firefly," it is definitely a great read in its own right!

Category: K-9
Title: Dragon Rider ★★★½
Author: Cornelia Funke
Number of Pages: 523
Total Number of Pages Read: 12,138
Total Number of Books Read: 37



I've had Dragon Rider on my shelves for quite some time. One of my most favorite books is Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, and I bought this one certain that I'd love it as well. I had attempted to read it several years back, but I just couldn't get through it, so I set it aside and sort of forgot it for a while. Then I found the audiobook and saw that it was narrated by Brendan Frasier. I decided to give it another go in that format. I have to say the audio version was quite well done. I had read a review that complained about Brendan's reading techniques, how he 'overacts' the story - audibly chewing when the narration calls for it and making the characters all have different voices that weren't perhaps written that way in the book. The way I see it, this is a book intended for children. Kids don't want to listen to some guy read the pages as if he were reading the phone book. I found it to be a near perfect audio experience. That said, I did stop the audio around 200 pages in and finish the rest of the book reading it myself. This was strictly a time issue for me. The book is really long - 523 pages, and the audio was just taking forever. Still, I was able to hear in my head the way Brendan would've read it, and I think it enhanced my reading of it.

So, for the audio aspect I would give this one a solid 4 1/2 stars. The book itself I didn't feel warranted that. My biggest problem I think is the length. This book, a story about dragons and brownies, and magic, was most definitely written for children. And while the story is sweet and enjoyable, I just feel like kids are going to lose interest by around page 300. I don't see too many kids plodding through over 500 pages for this one. It was cute, and I couldn't really find anything wrong with it except for the length, but I just think it could easily have been half the length it was.

I still love Cornelia Funke. But Inkheart was far more enjoyable for me.



Currently Reading: Going Bovine

Category: K-9
Title: Going Bovine ★★★
Author: Libba Bray
Number of Pages: 480
Total Number of Pages Read: 12,618
Total Number of Books Read: 38



Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen year-old who, after being diagnosed with a fatal disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.

Well, it started out pretty strong - witty, decent story, interesting characters. But then it just went off the rails. While the writing was quite good, I did not enjoy it. It was incredibly depressing and somewhat disturbing. Unlike other books I regret reading because they were a waste of time, this one I regret because I'm afraid it will stay with me, and I'd rather forget it. For just enjoyment factor, I'd have rated this a 1 1/2 star at most, but I upped the rating for writing quality and originality.

I laughed at myself when I realized this book was a spin on Don Quixote. I think I liked it better because of that. I hope you will consider reading Bray's version of Lord of the Flies, Beauty Queens. It was very funny.

See, and I love Don Quixote. I don't know if it's that I have a teenage son, and the idea just hitting so close to home, or what. Whatever it was, it just wasn't for me. I might consider Beauty Queens, though I really hated Lord of the Flies when I read it in high school. It's funny because I look at something like The Hunger Games, which I loved. Now that didn't bother me at all, but my husband refuses to read it (he has seen the movie) because he doesn't want to read "a book about kids killing kids." But then Lord of the Flies just was so disturbing to me that 20 years later it still haunts me. Of course I was like 15 at the time, so I might feel differently about it if I read it today. Still, it's funny the way some books can really hit a nerve even when others that have similar themes don't affect you at all, you know?

So, the library sale shelf called to me this afternoon. For myself, I got:



For my son (who's 16 and wants to go to culinary school to become a pastry chef), I got:



And for my 11 year old artist, I got:



All for just $13 (less than any one of the books would've cost new), and they all look like they've never been opened. ::Happy Dance::

Nice book sale haul!

I did feel that shock when reading The Hunger Games like your husband. I didn't like Lord of the Flies when I was a teen either. The teacher analyzed it to death. I loved the lighter take and modern characters of Beauty Queen with some surprising twists on stereotypes.

Lord of the Flies is a disturbing read for a teen, IMO and still quite the powerful read upon re-read as an adult reader, so your reaction to it makes a lot of sense to me.

I've never understood why they make kids read LotF. I recently reread it, and I think it makes much more sense as an adult reader. After all, it's about the loss of innocence, a concept that may be difficult for a child to grasp.

I can remember being forced to read quite a few books that I have since questioned. One that comes to mind is A Day No Pigs Would Die, which I had to read in 8th grade. I just can't for the life of me figure out what they thought a group of 13 year olds would get from that book other than nightmares.

That reminded me of the trauma my fourth grade teacher inflicted on me reading to us Where the Red Fern Grows. I never got over that. I have difficulties reading about animal deaths even as an adult.

Funny--I avoided Lord of the Flies for years (until just a few years ago I read it around age 30) after having had such horrid experiences with other early reads, and I'm still avoiding Where the Red Fern Grows--I got my mom to write a note so that I wouldn't have to watch that or The Yearling via film :( I don't think I'll ever read those last two or understand lower grade reading lists. And, honestly, I don't even think that LotF is all that well written. Sigh.

Where the Red Fern Grows was definitely another one of those that really bothered me as a kid. I think there's a line somewhere between sad and disturbing. For something like say Flowers for Algernon - that book was so incredibly sad to me, but my memories of it are fond ones. I don't ever want to read it again, but I remember it being a wonderful, albeit emotionally draining, book. But then others like WtRFG I just remember as being depressing and awful. And maybe they weren't bad books, but it was just too much for me to handle emotionally.

I do think books (and movies) that involve deaths of animals are harder to take than those of people. I don't know why that is, but I remember watching a movie where this guy threatened to shoot this woman's husband or her dog (it was something with Meryl Streep, but I can't remember what). Anyway, all I know is I sat in my seat thinking to myself, if he shoots the dog, I'm leaving. Not sure what that says about me...

Category: Donna Noble Has Left the Library
Title: Peak ★★★½
Author: Roland Smith
Number of Pages: 256
Total Number of Pages Read: 12,874
Total Number of Books Read: 39



After fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he’s left with a choice: wither away in juvenile detention or fly to Kathmandu with his long-lost father. Peak quickly learns that his father’s renewed interest in him has strings attached. As owner of Peak Expeditions, he wants his son to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit.

Plot-wise, this book was just an average kid / YA adventure story. It was pretty action packed and fast paced, with Peak narrating his story as he makes the climb. I don't think it was particularly original or that the characters were all that well-written. What I did like about this book, though, was that it gave a really good glimpse at what it would be like to attempt to climb the tallest mountain in the world. Smith gives nice descriptions of the geography, and doesn't gloss over (too much) the dangers involved. He doesn't get as gritty as you would maybe expect in a book written for an adult audience, but he doesn't hide the fact that people die trying to make it to the summit. At the end, I definitely felt like I'd learned a thing or two about the area and about the sport of climbing. And I also decided that I have no desire whatsoever to climb Mt. Everest. Not that I was ever really considering it.

Currently Reading: World War Z

Hated Lord of the Flies when they made us read it in school, which is why I resisted reading The Hunger Games for so long, but they're really very different books. LOTR is about loss of innocence, but also the breakdown of civilization. Without adults to supervise them, the boys who are stranded on the island form their own societies and become murderous little savages. In the Hunger Games, the dystopian society is forcing the children to kill or be killed. You know from the start that it's wrong and the main characters resist the corrupt government as best they can. So even though both stories have children killing other children, the themes are different.

> 132 That's a good point.

Category: Spoilers
Title: World War Z ★★★★
Author: Max Brooks
Number of Pages: 432
Total Number of Pages Read: 13,306
Total Number of Books Read: 40



I actually liked this much more that I thought I would. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the format, which is more a compilation of related short stories than a more traditional novel. I'm not a fan of short stories, and I figured this would be a chore for me. But it actually worked. I think the way it's written allows the reader to sort of forget that they're reading fiction - which makes it infinitely more terrifying.

I think the first 3/4 of the book was a solid 5 star novel. The writing was excellent, the stories well paced and exciting. I had a very hard time putting it down. Around page 300 or so, it really slowed down, though, and I kind of got bogged down in the military talk. The last chapter wrapped up a few of the stories from earlier in the book, but by then I'd forgotten who some of the 'speakers' were. Still it was a great book, though people looking for a scary 'ZOMBIE' book might be disappointed.

I've not seen the movie, and I'm not sure I want to. I can understand why people say that it's completely different from the book. I don't think anyone would want to sit through a movie version of the book that was true to the stories. It was very introspective and political and not as much action as one would expect in a zombie flick. I think it would be pretty boring actually. It makes sense that they'd want to spice it up. Being that I'm not a fan of scary movies (or Brad Pitt), though, I haven't decided if I'll watch it yet.

Category: Exterminate
Title: Mr. Monk Gets on Board ★★½
Author: Hy Conrad
Number of Pages: 271
Total Number of Pages Read: 13,577
Total Number of Books Read: 41



This is the first book based on the USA show written by Hy Conrad. I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't live up to the standards set by Lee Goldberg with his fantastic Monk books. The plot was ok, though I felt like there were too many 'mysteries' going on simultaneously and none of them particularly mysterious. But my main complaint with the book was the characterizations of Monk and Natalie. They were not good. Really not good. For someone who supposedly wrote for the show, he seemed to forget just who Mr. Monk was. As a longtime fan of the show, I found it very disappointing. I'd give Conrad another chance, but he needs to up his game if he's hoping to maintain his audience.

Currently Reading:

->133 virginiahomeschooler:
I could see it being done as a TV mockumentary - I'd definitely watch that.

>134 virginiahomeschooler: I hate to hear that! It's surprising that he doesn't get the characters right given his deep involvement in the show's writing and production. I've only read the first of the books written by Lee Goldberg so at least I can look forward to the rest of those.

Traci, you and I had pretty much the exact same reaction to World War Z.I don't usually like zombie books, but I enjoyed the format of this one, although it did get too much like military sf toward the end for my taste. The scene in Tokyo where the kid has to escape from the apartment building, terrified me. I was by myself reading late at night and I kept hearing zombies on the stairs!

I saw the movie. It was entertaining, not too scary, but I thought the pat ending they came up with was just not so believable. I like the idea of a mockumentary, Eva. That would probably work better.

(Edited to correct your name--my bad assumption based on your handle!)

Eva, that is a great idea. I'd totally watch that too.

Carrie, Goldberg does an excellent job with the voices of the cast. And there are lots of those to get through before you get to Conrad's. You'll definitely want to read them in order, I think because there's quite a lot of development throughout the series - at least towards the end of the series. I'm hoping that he'll improve with his next attempt at any rate.

Shannon, that scene scared me, too. And I loved how it was connected to another story. I read a review that was complaining about the part in the sub being too drawn out, but I honestly could've read an entire book about that bit. I found it fascinating. But when it got to the stories about the different types of weapons they used and stuff, I sort of zoned out.

Category: Exterminate
Title: Sherlock Study in Pink ★★★★★
Author: Jay
Number of Pages: 196
Total Number of Pages Read: 13,773
Total Number of Books Read: 42



I have decided that I was wrong in thinking that manga and graphic novels aren't for me. Apparently, I just hadn't found my manga, yet. Well, this is it. My kids have been going crazy waiting for these to be translated into English, and this afternoon my son found an app that had the first book (A Study in Pink) and chapter one of The Blind Banker translated.

Much credit obviously goes to Moffat, as this was nearly word for word identical to the episode. So, it had to be brilliant in that respect. But the artwork is amazing as well. I think it really captures the emotions - especially in regards to John.



It's pretty much perfection. Looking at the upload dates for the chapters, it seems as it was 6 months between the last chapter from Study in Pink and the first chapter from Blind Banker. So, who knows how long it'll take for the entire book of Blind Banker to be available in English. But we Sherlock fans are used to waiting...

Currently Reading: Grace Interrupted - Julie Hyzy

Category: K-9 (There's a cat on the cover)
Title: Grace Interrupted ★★★½
Author: Julie Hyzy
Number of Pages: 288
Total Number of Pages Read: 14,061
Total Number of Books Read: 43



This is the second book in the Manor House mysteries. I started reading these because I love Julie Hyzy's White House Chef series. Honestly, they are pretty good but not nearly as good as the WHC books. Mostly, I think that's because I prefer the White House as a setting to some random southern Manor. Also, I'm not as wild about the main character, Grace. She's ok, but I just don't have the same connection to her that I feel for Ollie.

So, in this installment, The Marshfield Manor is playing host to a large Civil War re-enactment, and one of the 'soldiers' ends up dead. Jack, the groundskeeper, is a prime suspect and a previous accusation comes back to haunt him as well. This sort of puts a damper on his relationship with Grace which wasn't really going anywhere to speak of anyway. The story itself started off pretty slow. I ended up liking it more than I thought I was going to, though, because it picked up a bit around the middle, and it ended up being a pretty good read. I found the scenes surrounding the Civil War 'soldiers' to be lots of fun. I'd figured out the killer very early on, but it was still a satisfying ending. While I'm not crazy for Grace's story, I'd give the series another try.

Currently Reading: The Returned - Jason Mott

Nice book haul from the library sale.

You are reading very quickly these days! I have the first in that Hyzy series in a TBR pile. I've been hesitant to start it because I've heard the White House Chef series is better. I may catch up with the White House Chef series before starting the series featuring Grace.

Hi, coming late to the discussion about Lord of the Flies and Hunger Games.

Lord of the flies is one of my all-time favorite. I mean for all the reasons described in the discussion.

Children can be cruel in everyday life and I think that if they are let to their own device without adults supervision, it could go from bad to worse in just a few days. Remove the veneer of civilization before they're grown-up and can make use of reason instead of instinct, urge and mixed-up emotion and you got it, cruelty and disaster or at least it's a real possibility.

So I don't like it for the writing and I find it really disturbing but sadly oh so believable ...

As for Hunger Games, I'm reading it next month for the RandomCAT, can't wait, it seems like a well-liked story.

Lori, If you like cozy mysteries, I'm sure you'll like the Manor House ones.

electrice, I think sometimes my distaste for a subject clouds my opinion of the book and it's hard to take an objective look at it after that. I can certainly agree that (some) children can be monstrous, and if I read it today I might be able to look past the disturbing parts with a more critical eye than I did as a teenager. I hope you enjoy Hunger Games.

Category: Are You My Mummy
Title: A Game of Thrones Graphic Novel: Vol. 1 ★★★★½
Author: George R. R. Martin
Number of Pages: 240
Total Number of Pages Read: 14,301
Total Number of Books Read: 44



Category: Are You My Mummy
Title: A Game of Thrones Graphic Novel: Vol. 2 ★★★★★
Author: George R. R. Martin
Number of Pages: 240
Total Number of Pages Read: 14,541
Total Number of Books Read: 45



These graphic novels are absolutely amazing. The attention to detail is really impressive, and the artwork is stunning. Volumes one and two appear to be half of the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, at least based on the information given at the end of volume one (it states that this is a 24 chapter series, and each volume contains 6 chapters). If you've read the books and/or seen the show, you certainly don't need to read the graphic novels, but I'd still recommend them. I'd say volume two is as near to perfect as you can get. Volume one was still phenomenal, but I didn't like the scenes with Daenerys. However, I'm not a fan of hers in the books either, so I can't fault the artist (or the author who adapted the story) for that. Volume two had far less of her, which is probably why I enjoyed that particular book a tad more.

Each volume ends with a little behind the scenes information about the making of the 'graphic novel' (George mentions in the foreword of volume one that he prefers the term 'comic'). Volume one explains why they chose the artist they did and gives a glimpse at his early drafts of the story. Volume two contains a making of a scene sort of thing where they explain how they created the tournament pages. It was all quite fascinating.

Oh, one thing, like the show (and the books themselves), these are certainly not PG rated. I think volume two may have been a little less graphic (another reason maybe that I preferred it), but not by much.

Currently Reading: The Returned - Jason Mott

>144 virginiahomeschooler: Do you think that it's a good alternative to the books for people who have problems with long books ? I mean does it bring something more than the tv show ? I wonder if the characters are drawn based on the actors of the series ?

Hmm, that's a good question. It's been a while since I've read the books or watched the show (I've only seen season one, which is book one). First, no the characters don't seem to be based on the actors.

For example, this is a scene with John Snow and Tyrion Lannister in the book:



And the actors playing them:



I'd say the rest of the characters are about the same. None of them I really recognized as a particular actor, and some are vastly different from the actor that portrays that character.

As for whether you could read the comics instead of the books, I'd think so. I mean, if it is in fact four books, it's still a lot of pages (there are no page numbers, but according to Amazon, each one has 240 pages, so that's over 900 pages). And I don't remember anything standing out as being missing from the stories. With the visuals you can forgo so much of the description that Martin has in the books. It won't be the same experience, but I don't think you'd read it and feel like something was missing.

Category: Donna Noble Has Left the Library
Title: The Returned ★★★★
Author: Jason Mott
Number of Pages: 352
Total Number of Pages Read: 14,893
Total Number of Books Read: 46



The Returned is a very interesting look at what would happen if suddenly people started coming back from the dead. The main focus of the book is the Hargrave family. Harold and Lucille Hargrave lost their 8 year old son, Jacob, nearly 50 years ago on his 8th birthday. Now, along with many other returnees, he's back, still 8 years old, like nothing has changed. I think some people read this expecting explanations for how or why this is happening. There are no answers given. No talk of DNA testing, no talk of checking coffins, no significant scientific answers of any kind. It's not really a sci-fi book as much as it might seem at first glance to be. More it's a commentary on how society would handle this return. Where will they fit in? Why are some people coming back and others not? Are they even real people? And, if they aren't real people does that mean they don't have any rights?

Mott's writing is very pretty, for lack of a better word. While the story seemed to drag a bit at times, I never felt bogged down. I felt a small connection to the main characters, but I was actually more moved by a secondary character's story. Overall, I'd say it was a really good book with a few minor misses. If you do read it, don't skip the author's note at the end. It explained why Mott wrote the book and left me in tears.

Apparently, there is going to be a television show based on the book (though after watching the trailer, there are many big changes): Trailer

Currently Reading: 10th Anniversary - James Patterson

>146 virginiahomeschooler: Thanks for the detailed response, Traci :) I particularly love the page of the comic, I can't read a comics if the graphic is not to my liking, even when the story is great :( It's definetly on my BB list.

The trailer for The Returned is good, I'm waiting for the pilot ...

So, this has nothing to do with my challenge, but...



Awww.

Love the photo! I still have to watch last night's episode. I didn't want to stay up late enough to watch the whole thing last night.

@ 149 -- Love it! :) I have always thought that there was just a teeny tiny spark of attraction between Carson and Mrs. Hughes. Would love to see that develop in series 5!

I just love them both to pieces. They're so sweet, and I'd love to see them together, too. I'm in no hurry, though.

Category: Riversong
Title: 10th Anniversary ★★★½
Author: James Patterson
Number of Pages: 400
Total Number of Pages Read: 15,293
Total Number of Books Read: 47



Detective Lindsay Boxer's long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals--but that the victim may be keeping secrets as well.

I picked this book up because I knew it would be a quick and easy book after a very emotional read of The Returned. And it was. The series as a whole is good, not great. This particular installment was as good as they ever are, but there were a few issues I had, not the least of which was the complete and utter stupidity of one of the main characters. It's one of those things like in a movie where the character, usually some dimwitted woman, knows that someone is out there killing people, runs into someone that is so obviously the killer that you're screaming at the screen for her to get a brain, and then she goes off with him. I hate that. I find it completely ridiculous. In this case, said character should be pretty bright. There's no way on earth she could've not seen it coming, and yet... Ugh. Anyway, other than that one particular scene, the book was just what I wanted from it.

Category: Exterminate
Title: Death on the Nile ★★★★
Author: Agatha Christie
Number of Pages: 345
Total Number of Pages Read: 15,638
Total Number of Books Read: 48



Linnet Doyle is young, beautiful, and rich. She's the girl who has everything-including the man her best friend loves. Linnet and her new husband take a cruise on the Nile, where they meet the brilliant detective Hercule Poirot. It should be an idyllic trip, yet Poirot has a vague, uneasy feeling that something is dangerously amiss...

This was my second Christie novel (the first being And Then There Were None) and my first Poirot. I'm not sure if they should be read in order, but at any rate I didn't feel like I was really missing anything so I'm going to assume I didn't miss anything by reading it out of turn. It was quite an ingenious mystery. I thought I'd had it all wrapped up a time or two only to find out that no, I had no clue. The writing was wonderful. As with And Then There Were None, I kind of had a hard time following who was who. Even up until the end there were a couple of people that I kept getting confused with each other. Still, it was entirely enjoyable, and I'll definitely pick up another Poirot in the future.

Currently Reading: The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan

I read all the Agatha Christie series out of order. I would someday like to maybe read them in order.

The Poirot and Miss Marple books don't have a lot of character development across the series so they can be read in any order. Death on the Nile was actually a pretty good place to start. It's one of my favorites.

I'm loving your reviews

->149 virginiahomeschooler:
Aw, that was so sweet!

> Lori and Carrie, that makes me feel better about reading them out of order. I would usually have not read that one yet, but it fit with the GeoCat theme for the month, so...

> Ro, Aww thanks :)

Cozy mysteries are "a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community." They often center on a female (not always) protagonist who acts as an amateur sleuth. There are tons of cozy series (serieses?) that cover all sorts of themes, such as:

Food Related



Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
State of the Onion
On What Grounds

Animal Related



The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
Dog on It
Murder She Barked

Book Related



Real Murders
Murder in the Mystery Suite
Guidebook to Murder

and More...



Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye

What will you be reading for November's MysteryCAT?