Analysis will come later...
Reading list for 2015...
January
White Princess
Waistcoats and Weaponry
The King's Curse
Changeling
February
Clockwork Angel
Clockwork Prince
Clockwork Princess
March
Dandy Gilver and the Reek of Red Herrings
Dandy Gilver and a Deadly Measure of Brimstone
Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder
Bury Her Deep
April
Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Blood Stains
Poison Study
Magic Study
May
Fire Study
Storm Glass
Sea Glass
Spy Glass
Fair Deception
Fortunate Wager
The Kydd Inheritance
Death at Wentwater Court
June
Requiem for a Mezzo
The Winter Garden Mystery
Murder on the Flying Scotsman
Damsel in Distress
Dead in the Water
July
Rattle His Bones
August
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
September
City of Lost Souls
City of Heavenly Fire
Clockwork Angel
October
Blood Runs in the Family
Clockwork Prince
Clockwork Princess
Prudence
Waistcoats and Weaponry
Curtsies and Conspiracies
November
Etiquette and Espionage
Manners and Mutiny
Soulless
Changeless
Blameless
Heartless
Timeless
December
Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship
The Future Falls
Friday, 8 January 2016
2014 Round Up Pt I
Wow... well, any readers of my site, I can only apologise and congratulate you for your patience! I have one essential post to make a year... and it looks like I'm a whole year late with this one :p
Luckily, I'm getting a lot better at statistics lately, so if I do get round to an analysis (and I believe I still have 2013's to do too) it may be better than previous years'.
So, books I have read in 2014:
Re-reads (as per) in italics.
January
Oblivion Storm
Storm Glass
Sea Glass
Spy Glass
Battle Magic
Poison Study
Magic Study
Fire Study
February
Bill's New Frock
Curtsies and Conspiracies
Etiquette and Espionage
Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Blood Stains
Mother Tongue
March
Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses
Delusions of Gender
Dandy Gilver and a Deadly Measure of Brimstone
Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder
After the Funeral
After the Armistice Ball
April
The Burry Man's Day
Bury Her Deep
The Winter Ground
Buffy Season 8 v1-8
Buffy Season 9 v1-3
Buffy Season 9 v4
Dragon Age Origins: Until We Sleep
Speedy Death
Buffy Season 8 v5
Death at Wentwater Court
Death at the Opera
May
Watson's Choice
Come Away Death
The Winter Garden Mystery
Requiem for a Mezzo
Murder on the Flying Scotsman
June
Damsel in Distress
Dead in the Water
Styx and Stones
Rattle His Bones
To Davy Jones Below
The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
Mistletoe and Murder
July
Die Laughing
A Mourning Wedding
Fall of a Philanderer
Gunpowder Plot
August
The Bloody Tower
September
The Black Ship
The New Watch
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
October
Mansfield Park
Sense and Sensibility
Soulless
Changeless
Blameless
Heartless
Timeless
November
Etiquette and Espionage
Curtseys and Conspiracies
Sheer Folly
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Gone West
Heirs of the Body
December
Primal Storm
City of Heavenly Fire
Luckily, I'm getting a lot better at statistics lately, so if I do get round to an analysis (and I believe I still have 2013's to do too) it may be better than previous years'.
So, books I have read in 2014:
Re-reads (as per) in italics.
January
Oblivion Storm
Storm Glass
Sea Glass
Spy Glass
Battle Magic
Poison Study
Magic Study
Fire Study
February
Bill's New Frock
Curtsies and Conspiracies
Etiquette and Espionage
Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Blood Stains
Mother Tongue
March
Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses
Delusions of Gender
Dandy Gilver and a Deadly Measure of Brimstone
Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder
After the Funeral
After the Armistice Ball
April
The Burry Man's Day
Bury Her Deep
The Winter Ground
Buffy Season 8 v1-8
Buffy Season 9 v1-3
Buffy Season 9 v4
Dragon Age Origins: Until We Sleep
Speedy Death
Buffy Season 8 v5
Death at Wentwater Court
Death at the Opera
May
Watson's Choice
Come Away Death
The Winter Garden Mystery
Requiem for a Mezzo
Murder on the Flying Scotsman
June
Damsel in Distress
Dead in the Water
Styx and Stones
Rattle His Bones
To Davy Jones Below
The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
Mistletoe and Murder
July
Die Laughing
A Mourning Wedding
Fall of a Philanderer
Gunpowder Plot
August
The Bloody Tower
September
The Black Ship
The New Watch
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
October
Mansfield Park
Sense and Sensibility
Soulless
Changeless
Blameless
Heartless
Timeless
November
Etiquette and Espionage
Curtseys and Conspiracies
Sheer Folly
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Gone West
Heirs of the Body
December
Primal Storm
City of Heavenly Fire
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
2013 Roundup - Part I
Well, it looks to be that time of year again, when I continue my project, and ignore the fact that it appears to be of interest only to myself, and future historians in the disused leg of the trousers of time where I actually become semi-famous...
Well, I'm still interested, and I'm still reading, and here are the fruits of my endeavours over 2013...
(re-reads in italics, as is getting to be usual.)
January
Serenity; Those Left Behind
Enemy of God
Blood Price
Blood Trail
February
Grave Memory
Blood Lines
Blood Pact
Five Little Pigs
March
Blood Debt
Holes
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Colour Purple
Actors on Shakespeare: Macbeth
Chanur's Venture
Etiquette and Espionage
April
Unseen Academicals
Monstrous Regiment
May
Snuff
Thud
The Fifth Elephant
June
Carpe Jugulum
A Hatful of Sky
Wee Free Men
I Shall Wear Midnight
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
Excalibur
July
Pride and Prejudice
Fair Deception
Dragon Age; The Silent Grove
Dragon Age; Those Who Speak
August
Dragon Age; Asunder
Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost
; Paradise Found
; Down to Earth
; Bitter Rivals
; Eyes of the Gorgon
; Land of the Dead
; Mission's End
; The Circle
; Ends of the Earth
; Rise of the Olympian
; Warkiller
; Contagion
The Magic in the Weaving
The Power in the Storm
August
The Fire in the Forging
The Healing in the Vine
Magic Steps
Stone Magic
Cold Fire
Shatterglass
Melting Stones
The Will of the Empress
Buffy 9:1
Buffy 9:2
Buffy 9:3
October
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
November
City of Lost Souls
December
Hyperbole and a Half
Raising Steam
Stats to follow soon...
Well, I'm still interested, and I'm still reading, and here are the fruits of my endeavours over 2013...
(re-reads in italics, as is getting to be usual.)
January
Serenity; Those Left Behind
Enemy of God
Blood Price
Blood Trail
February
Grave Memory
Blood Lines
Blood Pact
Five Little Pigs
March
Blood Debt
Holes
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Colour Purple
Actors on Shakespeare: Macbeth
Chanur's Venture
Etiquette and Espionage
April
Unseen Academicals
Monstrous Regiment
May
Snuff
Thud
The Fifth Elephant
June
Carpe Jugulum
A Hatful of Sky
Wee Free Men
I Shall Wear Midnight
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
Excalibur
July
Pride and Prejudice
Fair Deception
Dragon Age; The Silent Grove
Dragon Age; Those Who Speak
August
Dragon Age; Asunder
Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost
; Paradise Found
; Down to Earth
; Bitter Rivals
; Eyes of the Gorgon
; Land of the Dead
; Mission's End
; The Circle
; Ends of the Earth
; Rise of the Olympian
; Warkiller
; Contagion
The Magic in the Weaving
The Power in the Storm
August
The Fire in the Forging
The Healing in the Vine
Magic Steps
Stone Magic
Cold Fire
Shatterglass
Melting Stones
The Will of the Empress
Buffy 9:1
Buffy 9:2
Buffy 9:3
October
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
November
City of Lost Souls
December
Hyperbole and a Half
Raising Steam
Stats to follow soon...
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
2012 Round up Part II
And here come the stats...!
(all % are to the nearest %)
Total Books Read: 86
Number of New Reads: 46
Number of Re-Reads: 40
(% RR: 46.5)
Breakdown by Month
Most books read in a month : January (17)
(% RR : 94% - 16/17)
Least Books read in a month: April (1)
(% RR: 0%)
Months in order of books read:
January = 17
February = 14
September = 12
June/ July = 8
October/ November = 6
August = 5
March = 4
May = 3
December = 2
April = 1
Months in order of New Books read:
February = 14
November = 6
July/ September = 5
March / June / October = 3
August / December = 2
January / April / May = 1
Highest % of New Books read: February, April, November, December (100%)
Lowest % of New Books read: January (6%)
Months in order of % new books read:
February, April, November, December = 100%
March = 75%
July = 62.5 %
October = 50%
September = 42%
August = 40%
June = 37.5%
May = 33%
Jaunary = 6%
Average (mean) books per month: 7
Average (mean) New books per month: 4
Breakdown By Genre
Number of Novels: 56 (35 N, 21 RR)
(% Total : 65%) (% Total New : 76%)
Number of Graphic novels/comics : 9 (2 N, 7 RR)
(% Total : 10%) (% Total New : 4%)
Number of Non-Fiction: 17 (6 N, 11 RR)
(% Total : 20%) (% Total New : 13%)
Number of Short Story Collections: 4 (3 N, 1 RR)
(% Total : 5%) (% Total New : 7%)
Breakdown by Author
Number of books read by author (of which are re-reads)
Multi authored books
Birds of Prey 1
Wonder Woman 1
(A Starfarer's Dozen)
Single Authored Books
Tamora Pierce - 27 (16)
Gerald Durrell - 7 (5)
Rich Berlew - 7 (7)
Maureen Lipman - 6 (6)
Tanya Huff - 5
Agatha Christie - 5 (3)
Phillipa Gregory - 4
Suzanne Collins - 3
Kalayna Price - 2
Terry Pratchett - 2
Bernard Cornwell - 2
George RR Martin - 2
And all with one book each:
Douglas Adams, (Amanda Brown), (Frances Brown), Jen Campbell, Gail Carriger, Jasper Fforde, Frances Hardinge, Anthony Horowitz, George Mann, Ben Miller and Ros Wiseman.
Ok, so the interesting thing is how those stats compare to last year.
Overall, I read one less book (87 vs 86), but my percentage of new reads was higher (52% vs 53.5%) Though the stats are very, very similar. My averages, both in books per month and new books per month are exactly the same.
So bets!
Will 2013 break the pattern? How will it if it does? What month will see me reading more? less? Which author(s) will I binge on? (Tanya Huff is looking to be a favourite...) Will I ever get round to updating the reviews here?
Who knows!
Watch this space...
(all % are to the nearest %)
Total Books Read: 86
Number of New Reads: 46
Number of Re-Reads: 40
(% RR: 46.5)
Breakdown by Month
Most books read in a month : January (17)
(% RR : 94% - 16/17)
Least Books read in a month: April (1)
(% RR: 0%)
Months in order of books read:
January = 17
February = 14
September = 12
June/ July = 8
October/ November = 6
August = 5
March = 4
May = 3
December = 2
April = 1
Months in order of New Books read:
February = 14
November = 6
July/ September = 5
March / June / October = 3
August / December = 2
January / April / May = 1
Highest % of New Books read: February, April, November, December (100%)
Lowest % of New Books read: January (6%)
Months in order of % new books read:
February, April, November, December = 100%
March = 75%
July = 62.5 %
October = 50%
September = 42%
August = 40%
June = 37.5%
May = 33%
Jaunary = 6%
Average (mean) books per month: 7
Average (mean) New books per month: 4
Breakdown By Genre
Number of Novels: 56 (35 N, 21 RR)
(% Total : 65%) (% Total New : 76%)
Number of Graphic novels/comics : 9 (2 N, 7 RR)
(% Total : 10%) (% Total New : 4%)
Number of Non-Fiction: 17 (6 N, 11 RR)
(% Total : 20%) (% Total New : 13%)
Number of Short Story Collections: 4 (3 N, 1 RR)
(% Total : 5%) (% Total New : 7%)
Breakdown by Author
Number of books read by author (of which are re-reads)
Multi authored books
Birds of Prey 1
Wonder Woman 1
(A Starfarer's Dozen)
Single Authored Books
Tamora Pierce - 27 (16)
Gerald Durrell - 7 (5)
Rich Berlew - 7 (7)
Maureen Lipman - 6 (6)
Tanya Huff - 5
Agatha Christie - 5 (3)
Phillipa Gregory - 4
Suzanne Collins - 3
Kalayna Price - 2
Terry Pratchett - 2
Bernard Cornwell - 2
George RR Martin - 2
And all with one book each:
Douglas Adams, (Amanda Brown), (Frances Brown), Jen Campbell, Gail Carriger, Jasper Fforde, Frances Hardinge, Anthony Horowitz, George Mann, Ben Miller and Ros Wiseman.
Ok, so the interesting thing is how those stats compare to last year.
Overall, I read one less book (87 vs 86), but my percentage of new reads was higher (52% vs 53.5%) Though the stats are very, very similar. My averages, both in books per month and new books per month are exactly the same.
So bets!
Will 2013 break the pattern? How will it if it does? What month will see me reading more? less? Which author(s) will I binge on? (Tanya Huff is looking to be a favourite...) Will I ever get round to updating the reviews here?
Who knows!
Watch this space...
2012 round up part I
So it's now February 2013... and instead of pointing out how abysmally I've done with the reviews, I'm going to go with the 2012 round up, and catch up when things are a bit more sensible.
So, without further ado...
(re-reads in italics)
January
Terrier
Bloodhound
Mastiff
Song of the Lioness Quartet
Immortals Quartet
Protector of the Small Quartet
Trickster's Choice
Trickster's Queen
February
The Magic in the Weaving
The Power in the Strom
The Fire in the Forging
The Healing in the Vine
Magic Steps
Street Magic
Cold Fire
Shatterglass
The Affinity Bridge
The Enchantment Emporium
Grave Witch
The Lady of the Rivers
Melting Stones
The Will of the Empress
March
Grave Dance
The Wild Ways
Summon the Keeper
Snips Snails and Dragon Tails
April
Second Summoning
May
Long Hot Summoning
Three Singles to Adventure
The Bafut Beagles
June
A Zoo in my Luggage
Menagerie Mannor
Legally Blonde
How Was it for You?
Wierd things Customers Say in Bookshops
Something to Fall Back On
Alice Hartley's Happiness
Queen Bees and Wannabes
July
Thank You for Having Me
Bread and Chocolate
Catch me a Colobus
Last Chance to See
Two in the Bush
The Drunken Forest
The Death of Oracle
When's it Coming Out
August
You Can Read Me Like A Book
Lipreading
The Kingmaker's Daughter
The Woman Who Died A Lot
On the Origin of PCs
September
Wonder Woman: Blood, volume 1
Dungeon Crawling Fools
No Cure for the Paladin Blues
War and XPs
Don't Split the Party
Start of Darkness
Miss Marple's Final Cases
A Crowning Mercy
It's Not Rocket Science
At Bertram's Hotel
The Hollow
Halloween Party
October
Elephants Can Remember
Dodger
Dancing on the Rainbow
A Starfarer's Dozen
A Blink of the Screen
A Dance With Dragons I
November
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
A Dance With Dragons II
The House of Silk
Timeless
December
Twilight Robbery
The Winter King
So, without further ado...
(re-reads in italics)
January
Terrier
Bloodhound
Mastiff
Song of the Lioness Quartet
Immortals Quartet
Protector of the Small Quartet
Trickster's Choice
Trickster's Queen
February
The Magic in the Weaving
The Power in the Strom
The Fire in the Forging
The Healing in the Vine
Magic Steps
Street Magic
Cold Fire
Shatterglass
The Affinity Bridge
The Enchantment Emporium
Grave Witch
The Lady of the Rivers
Melting Stones
The Will of the Empress
March
Grave Dance
The Wild Ways
Summon the Keeper
Snips Snails and Dragon Tails
April
Second Summoning
May
Long Hot Summoning
Three Singles to Adventure
The Bafut Beagles
June
A Zoo in my Luggage
Menagerie Mannor
Legally Blonde
How Was it for You?
Wierd things Customers Say in Bookshops
Something to Fall Back On
Alice Hartley's Happiness
Queen Bees and Wannabes
July
Thank You for Having Me
Bread and Chocolate
Catch me a Colobus
Last Chance to See
Two in the Bush
The Drunken Forest
The Death of Oracle
When's it Coming Out
August
You Can Read Me Like A Book
Lipreading
The Kingmaker's Daughter
The Woman Who Died A Lot
On the Origin of PCs
September
Wonder Woman: Blood, volume 1
Dungeon Crawling Fools
No Cure for the Paladin Blues
War and XPs
Don't Split the Party
Start of Darkness
Miss Marple's Final Cases
A Crowning Mercy
It's Not Rocket Science
At Bertram's Hotel
The Hollow
Halloween Party
October
Elephants Can Remember
Dodger
Dancing on the Rainbow
A Starfarer's Dozen
A Blink of the Screen
A Dance With Dragons I
November
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
A Dance With Dragons II
The House of Silk
Timeless
December
Twilight Robbery
The Winter King
Friday, 20 July 2012
February
Continuing with my Tamora Pierce Binge, I discovered a whole new series that I hadn't previously read, and I ended up loving it. Again, it's aimed at Young Adults, but displays the same quality of writing that I have come to expect from Pierce, and I would heartily recommend them to anyone - YA or not.
The Magic in the Weaving / The Power in the Storm / The Fire in the Forging / The Healing in the Vine - Tamora Pierce
*****
Magic Steps / Street Magic / Cold Fire / Shatterglass - Tamora Pierce
*****
The Affinity Bridge - George Mann
*
I bought this one because of the steam-punk premise, hoping it was going to be similar to the wonderful Parasol Protectorate series, and boy was I disappointed. Cliche, predictable and with completely two-dimensional characters. The protagonist is annoying and the female lead useless. Don't bother.
The Enchantment Emporium - Tanya Huff
*****
A wonderful find - a proper grown-up fantasy with engaging characters... Just about everything I said about Tamora Pierce also holds true for Huff, but pitched at the adult market, not YA.
Grave Witch - Kalayna Price
**
This is a fun little book that makes good holiday reading. It's a trashy paperback that I devoured on an aeroplane, but would be unlikely to re-read much. A silly and fun book about modern day magic and a witch doing unofficial work for the police. It's in the same vein as Jim Butcher's Dresden files, but with a female protagonist, and a lot less misogyny. If you want a quick paperback fix, I'd recommend this over Butcher any day.
The Lady Of the Rivers - Phillipa Gregory
***
Another Phillipa Gregory that I'd spent a long time putting off reading, for no apparent reason. A good, solid read from a great author.
Melting Stones - Tamora Pierce
****
The Will of the Empress - Tamora Pierce
*****
The Magic in the Weaving / The Power in the Storm / The Fire in the Forging / The Healing in the Vine - Tamora Pierce
*****
Magic Steps / Street Magic / Cold Fire / Shatterglass - Tamora Pierce
*****
The Affinity Bridge - George Mann
*
I bought this one because of the steam-punk premise, hoping it was going to be similar to the wonderful Parasol Protectorate series, and boy was I disappointed. Cliche, predictable and with completely two-dimensional characters. The protagonist is annoying and the female lead useless. Don't bother.
The Enchantment Emporium - Tanya Huff
*****
A wonderful find - a proper grown-up fantasy with engaging characters... Just about everything I said about Tamora Pierce also holds true for Huff, but pitched at the adult market, not YA.
Grave Witch - Kalayna Price
**
This is a fun little book that makes good holiday reading. It's a trashy paperback that I devoured on an aeroplane, but would be unlikely to re-read much. A silly and fun book about modern day magic and a witch doing unofficial work for the police. It's in the same vein as Jim Butcher's Dresden files, but with a female protagonist, and a lot less misogyny. If you want a quick paperback fix, I'd recommend this over Butcher any day.
The Lady Of the Rivers - Phillipa Gregory
***
Another Phillipa Gregory that I'd spent a long time putting off reading, for no apparent reason. A good, solid read from a great author.
Melting Stones - Tamora Pierce
****
The Will of the Empress - Tamora Pierce
*****
January
January saw me diving into a Tamora Pierce spin. Though mostly based at the young adult market, I grew up with these books and I still like to dip into them. And by "dip into them" I mean re-read the whole lot in one go and obsessively read every new one I can find.
I love to watch the development of Pierce's prose style over the books, as well as the development of the worlds she creates, but it's her heroines that make her stand out from... just about every other author I know of who writes for YA. Each one is different - it's not just the same woman recycled over again; they are "strong" women, by which I mean they are well developed characters who can stand on their own two feet and provide wonderful role models for growing girls, but they aren't without their flaws. They are real people, who don't fit into little cliched boxes that a lot of fantasy writers seem to post women into. Her men are also real characters too, and she writes a wonderfully convincing and enthralling world that I want to go back to time and time again.
Terrier / Bloodhound / Mastiff - Tamora Pierce
Re-read / Re-read / ****
Song of the Lioness Quartet
Re-read
Immortals Quartet
Re-read
Protector of the Small Quartet
Re- read
Trickster's Choice / Trickster's Queen
Re-read
I love to watch the development of Pierce's prose style over the books, as well as the development of the worlds she creates, but it's her heroines that make her stand out from... just about every other author I know of who writes for YA. Each one is different - it's not just the same woman recycled over again; they are "strong" women, by which I mean they are well developed characters who can stand on their own two feet and provide wonderful role models for growing girls, but they aren't without their flaws. They are real people, who don't fit into little cliched boxes that a lot of fantasy writers seem to post women into. Her men are also real characters too, and she writes a wonderfully convincing and enthralling world that I want to go back to time and time again.
Terrier / Bloodhound / Mastiff - Tamora Pierce
Re-read / Re-read / ****
Song of the Lioness Quartet
Re-read
Immortals Quartet
Re-read
Protector of the Small Quartet
Re- read
Trickster's Choice / Trickster's Queen
Re-read
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