What I have been reading in 2015

[scripsi]

A little early, but here is the summary of all the books I have read this year. more than I thought! I have read 57 full length books. 37 of those was new, 20 were re-reads. I have also read 24 novellas or short stories; 5 new and 19 re-reads.

New books

Bujold, Lois McMaster:
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

Carriger, Gail:

Manners and Mutiny
Prudence

Clogham, Genevieve:
The Invisible Library

Coates, Darcy:
The Haunting of Gillespie House

Cottham, F. G.:
The Colony
The House of Lost Souls
The Lazarus Prophesy

Farris, Sandra:
Vernon House

Gaiman, Neil:
Trigger Warning

Griffiths, Elly:
The Ghost Fields

Hardinge, Frances:
A Face Like Glass
Fly By Night
Gullstruck Island
Twilight Robbery

Hart, Erin:
A Haunted Ground

Hollis, Karen Louise
The Man Behind the Master, The Biography Over Anthony Ainley

James, E. L.:
50 Shades of Grey

Kellerman, Jonathan:
Motive
The Murderer's Daughter

King, Stephen:
Revival

Kingfisher, T.:
The Seventh Bride

Kondo, Marie:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

Lafferty, Linda:
The House of Bathory

Lindqvist, John Ajvide:
Rörelsen

Penny, Louise:
The Brutal Telling
Bury Your Dead
The Cruelest Month
A Fatal Grace
A Rule Against Murder
Still Life

Prouty, Royce:
Stoker’s Manuscript

Rayne, Sarah:
Deadlight Hall
The Whispering

Struthers, Shani:
Rise To Me

White, Mark:
Shepherd’s Cross

Wilder, Laura Ingalls:
Pioneer Girl

New novellas and short stories

Bujold, Lois McMaster:
Penric’s Demon

Kipling, Rudyard:
In the Rukh

Lovecraft, H. P and Hazel Heald:
The Horror In the Museum
Out of the Aeons

Rickman, Phil:
The House of Susan Lulham

Re-read books

Bujold, Lois McMaster:
Barrayar
Brothers In Arms
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance
Cetaganda
A Civil Campaign
Cryoburn
Diplomatic Immunity
Ethan of Athos
Komarr
Memory
Mirror Dance

Clarke, Susanna:
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Courtney; Gwendoline:
Elizabeth of the Garrett Theatre

Jones, Diana Wynne:
The Islands of Chaldea

Sandemo, Margit:
A couple of books from The Tale of the Ice People series.

Sayers, Dorothy L.:
Clouds of Witness
Whose Body?

Weldon, Fay: The Cloning of Joanna May

Re-read novellas and short stories

Bujold, Lois McMaster:
Borders of Infinity
Labyrinth
The Mountains of Mourning
the Vor Game
The Warrior’s Apprentice
Winterfair Gifts

Lovecraft, H. P.:
The Dreams in the Witch House
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
The Haunter of the Dark
He
The Horror at Red Hook
Ice Cold
Pickman’s Model
The Pictures In the House
The Rats In the Wall
The Shunned House
The Strange High House In the Mist
The Tomb
Under the Pyramids

Comments

[jainas.livejournal.com]

Hello, new follower there, I'm here from the friending meme.

You have read the e-ARC of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen! Is it worth buying? (Please, say yes, I really want it to be good. ^^)
I have let my lack of free time detracting me from getting it, but with the holidays coming I will have to decide if I wait for the proper release or not!

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Hello! :)

Yes, I think it worth Reading. It doesn't have much action, it's a very character driven book, but I don't mind that. I loved getting inside Cordelia's head again and Jole is just charming. There are no glaring mistakes apart from a city which switch between two different names. I have a longer review here:

http://scripsi.livejournal.com/114509.html

[liadt]

Blimey, loads! Well done and give your eyeballs a rest!

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I read very fast. Sadly that means my book don't last long.

[lolmac]

I sympathise -- although at least there are plenty more books out there!

Great list! Did you actually read 50 Shades all the way through and survive? I imploded after two pages.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Yes, I did read the whole of it. It was awful, one of the worst books I have ever read! And I read the Swedish translation, because people who has read bot versions told me the language was actually better! Brrr!

[lolmac]

I take comfort in your response! Honestly, I can see that translation would only improve it. The more sloppy the translation, the greater the improvement . . .

Admittedly, translation would have a good chance of improving the writing "style" (if you can call it that), but this still leaves the reader with the same terrible plot and alleged characters.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Actually, the translation wasn't sloppy, but rather straightened up a lot of the bad language. But it's a horrible book on so manly levels and I just can't understand why it 's so popular.

[liadt]

But think of the re-reads;)

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

True. Re-reading is always fun. :)

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Excellent reading material!


Gabrielle

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[evelyn-b.livejournal.com]

That's a lot of books! I'll have no idea what I've read this year until I can check my book lists, which won't happen until after Christmas. Plus, I'm planning to have some time to read over the break.

Out of all these books, which was your favorite? And which one would you recommend I read first? I have read none of them, except the Sayers.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I have never kept track of what I have been reading Before, so I was a bit surprised it was this many. But I do read very fast. :)

Hmm, that would be A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold. It's one of my all time favaourites and I probably read it once every year. Of the new books this year I think I liked The Invisible Library the best.

[lolmac]

I would definitely not start on Bujold with A Civil Campaign -- it's the equivalent of starting Sayers with Gaudy Night, only worse, because it has three plot levels, each with its own cast of recurring characters with long backstories established in earlier books. Like Pratchett, Bujold is a master at writing books in long series that can be read out of order or on their own, but even so, this is a poor place to start.

It's also very different in tone from the earlier books: it has way more farce, which is good if you like farce. If you don't, it helps if you're able to enjoy the rest of the book more fully. (I dislike farce, and this is probably my least favourite Bujold.)

My own first point of entry in the Vorkosigan saga was Komarr, the book that precedes this one -- cf. Strong Poison. Although a late book in the saga, it's the beginning of a new arc, and it's a terrific book -- it inspired me to go back and read the series from the beginning. The A plot is essentially a murder mystery, which should appeal as well. ;)

If you want to start at the very beginning, the first book is Shards of Honor, and it's very good -- it was an early writing effort that Bujold then re-wrote after she had some published works under her belt and improved writing chops.

I think you will love Bujold -- she adores Sayers and Heyer, and her later books show more and more salutes to Heyer in particular.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't start with ACC either, though I know people who begun with it and didn't feel it was a bad decision. (I actually did start with Gaudy Night and I don't feel it was so bad. I loved it and it got me curious of the rest.) My first Bujold was Cordelia's Honor so it took me some time to realise it was Shards of Honor and Barrayar in one volume. I loved it, but I almost didn't continue as I wanted more Cordelia, not Miles. :)

[lolmac]

I was also sad not to have more Cordelia! I hadn't heard about the Red Queen book -- something to look forward to!

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I really liked it. It's very character driven, there is not much action, but I loved getting to know more about Cordelia and Aral's marriage and how Cordelia copes with his Death.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Whew!! Good list!

*HUGS*

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *hugs*

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

Have you read anything by Neil Gaiman before? I have been thinking about picking up a book or two by him, but have yet to do so. But another year is soon upon us :D

Do you prefer reading in English to Swedish?

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I love Neil Gaiman and read everything by him! Deoending on what you like; Stardust is his most classic fantasy. Neverwhere more urban fantasy, but with his own spin. Coraline is a children's book, but very creepy. Most happy book is probably Anansi Boys, about a very ordinary young man who happens to be the son of a trickster god. I love American Gods, but think it isn't the best first book to read. Tecnically Anansi Boys takes place in the same universe, though and Anansi is a minor character in American Gods, but they are definitly standalone books, not a series.

I have no real preference apart from the fact that I think books almost always loose something when translated. So I read everything originally written in English and the rest in Swedish.

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

What about The ocean at the end of the lane? Have you read that one?That is really the book that has drawn to towards him he most (perhaps because I love the title). I'm going to the libary tomorrow - I'll look at some of his books.

I prefer to read in English to if that is the original langauge :)

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I like that one too. It's rather bleak for a YA book- most of his books have a lot of humor mixed with the serious stuff, but this one doesn't have much of that. Not a tragedy, mind, just rather serious. :)

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

I tried to pick some books from him at the libary today, but they did not have a lot of books of his in English and a lot of them were already loaned out. Also the libarian was inpolite and not helpful and in the end I decided to just find a book of his later on. I do have three other books I want to finsish!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Well now I'm feeling like a bit of a slacker lol, I didn't even manage to finish my reading goal of 20 books this year :/