-Eva-'s 2+0+1+4 Challenge - Part 2

This year I'll be going for (2+0+1+4=) 7 basic categories with at least 12 books in each.

1. Original Language Fiction (languages in which I read - it's really only Swedish and English that's completely effortless) - COMPLETED
2. Translated Fiction (languages in which I do not read, at least not easily)
3. Comic Books - COMPLETED - COMPLETED
4. Audiobooks and Ebooks - COMPLETED
5. Group Reads and CATs - COMPLETED
6. Read and Give Away - COMPLETED
7. Overflow (for the extra books in whichever category becomes my 2014 favorite) - COMPLETED

Original Language Fiction - COMPLETED

1. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö Finished January 30th
2. The Ice House by Minette Walters Finished February 18th ♫
3. Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin Finished March 30th
4. Mannen som gick upp i rök/The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö Finished April 14th (MysteryCAT)
5. Hounded by Kevin Hearne Finished June 6th
6. Hexed by Kevin Hearne Finished June 9th
7. Hammered by Kevin Hearne Finished June 12th
8. Tricked by Kevin Hearne Finished June 15th
9. Trapped by Kevin Hearne Finished June 20th
10. Hunted by Kevin Hearne Finished July 7th
11. Y: The Last Man, Book 1, Deluxe Edition by Brian K. Vaughan Finished July 14th
12. Relish : My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley Finished July 27th

Translated Fiction - COMPLETED

1. Blindness (Portuguese original: Ensaio sobre a cegueira) by José Saramago Finished February 27th
2. The Maias (Portuguese original: Os Maias) by José Maria de Eça de Queirós Finished March 11th
3. The Property (Hebrew original: הנכס) by Rutu Modan Finished April 6th (GeoCAT)
4. Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City (French original: Chroniques de Jérusalem) by Guy Delisle Finished April 8th
5. Frälsaren (Norwegian original: Frelseren) by Jo Nesbø Finished April 27th (MysteryCAT)
6. Evas öga (Norwegian original: Evas øye by Karin Fossum Finished May 23rd
7. Marina (Spanish original: Marina) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Finished July 25th
8. Vindens skugga (Spanish original: La Sombra del Viento) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Finished September 11th (MysteryCAT)
9. Harens år (Finnish original: Jäniksen vuosi) by Arto Paasilinna Finished September 29th
10. The Mystery of the Sintra Road (Portuguese original: O Mistério da Estrada de Sintra) by José Maria de Eça de Queirós and Ramalho Ortigão Finished October 5th (MysteryCAT)
11. Utsuddade spår (Hebrew original: ‏תיק נעדר‎) by Dror Mishani Finished November 20th
12. Pixu by Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, and Vasilis Lolos Finished November 5th

Comic Books - COMPLETED

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Book 1 by Stieg Larsson, adapted by Denise Mina Finished April 9th (MysteryCAT)
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Book 2 by Stieg Larsson, adapted by Denise Mina Finished April 9th (MysteryCAT)
3. Habibi by Craig Thompson Finished April 10th
4. Hetero i Hägersten by Sofia Olsson Finished May 14th
5. Nattbarn by Hanna Gustavsson Finished May 15th
6. Kiki från Montparnasse by Catel Muller Finished May 16th
7. Nemi 7 by Lise Myhre Finished May 24th
8. Nemi 8 by Lise Myhre Finished May 24th
9. Grandville by Bryan Talbot Finished June 20th
10. Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham Finished June 23rd
11. Jerusalem: A Family Portrait by Yakin Boaz Finished July 6th
12. Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 by George R.R. Martin Finished July 17th

Audiobooks and Ebooks - COMPLETED

1. Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard Finished January 28th (N)
2. Dial H Vol. 2: Exchange by China Miéville Finished February 11th (K)
3. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher Finished March 22nd ♫
4. Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby Finished April 3rd ♫
5. Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá Finished April 14th (K)
6. White Night by Jim Butcher Finished April 25th ♫
7. Lucifer Book One by Mike Carey Finished May 9th (K)
8. Small Favor by Jim Butcher Finished June 10th ♫
9. Vredens tid by Stefan Tegenfalk Finished July 11th ♫
10. The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting Finished August 3rd ♫
11. Doctor Who: The Forever Trap by Dan Abnett Finished August 8th ♫
12. Nirvanaprojektet by Stefan Tegenfalk Finished August 16th ♫

Group Reads and CATs - COMPLETED

1. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith Finished January 21st (MysteryCAT)
2. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher Finished January 22nd ♫ (MysteryCAT)
3. Final Account by Peter Robinson Finished February 5th ♫ (MysteryCAT)
4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Finished February 17th (RandomCAT)
5. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley Finished March 23rd (MysteryCAT)
6. Marcoeffekten by Jussi Adler-Olsen Finished April 5th (MysteryCAT)
7. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy And Other Stories by Tim Burton Finished April 14th (RandomCAT)
8. Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales Finished July 1st (MysteryCAT)
9. Blacksad: A Silent Hell by Juan Diaz Canales Finished July 2nd (MysteryCAT)
10. The Crime of Father Amaro (Portuguese original: O Crime Do Padre Amaro) by José Maria de Eça de Queirós Finished August 14th (GeoCAT)
11. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang Finished September 11th (GeoCAT)
12. Saints by Gene Luen Yang Finished September 12th (GeoCAT)

Read and Give Away - COMPLETED

1. Speed of Life by Mikael Jansson Finished January 23rd
2. The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Beynon Rees Finished February 22nd (MysteryCAT and GeoCAT)
3. The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea Finished March 21st (RandomCAT and GeoCAT)
4. Cal by Bernard MacLaverty Finished May 17th
5. Half a King by Joe Abercrombie Finished June 2nd
6. Sun Storm by Åsa Larsson Finished July 9th (GeoCAT)
7. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Finished July 31st (MysteryCAT)
8. Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction Finished July 31st
9. The Stand by Stephen King Finished August 29th (Aug-Oct Group Read)
10. Booked to Die by Jon Dunning Finished September 18th (MysteryCAT)
11. The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom Finished September 21st (MysteryCAT)
12. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Finished September 25th (MysteryCAT)

Overflow - COMPLETED

1. Saga of the Swamp Thing Book 1 by Alan Moore Finished April 26th
2. The Invincible Iron Man Masterworks Vol. 1 by Stan Lee Finished April 26th
3. Thor Masterworks Vol.1 by Stan Lee Finished April 26th
4. Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan Finished July 27th
5. Mördarens apa (The Killer's Ape) by Jakob Wegelius Finished September 2nd
6. Den felande länken by Stefan Tegenfalk Finished September 16th ♫
7. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith Finished October 11th
8. Turn Coat by Jim Butcher Finished October 12th
9. A Falkland Islander Till I Die by Terence Severine Betts Finished October 19th (GeoCAT)
10. Tel Aviv Noir edited by Etgar Keret and Affas Gavron Finished October 30th
11. Blameless by Gail Carriger Finished October 31st
12. Locke and Key: Vol. 1 Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez Finished November 1st

Alrighty, time for thread two! I'm currently reading Hounded and hope to mow through the rest of the series since I'm getting book 7 from LTER. :)

Eva, I love the Sci-fi bookstore! It's one of my favourite places in Stockholm and I always try to go there when I go down there. Last year I bought two Calvin & Hobbes albums but I was really torn between that and a few of the Sandman ones, but I hadn't read that much of Sandman at the time so I was unsure about it. Next time I go I'll definitely buy them! I could very easily ruin myself in that place!

I've never read any of Åsa Larsson's books but I know people who have and several have commented on the "realness" of them.

>10 PawsforThought: If you go to Göteborg, you need to check out their new store too - it's two-story and their elevator is a Tardis. Very nice!

>11 -Eva-: Ah! A Tardis! Sounds heavenly. But I'm never in Göteborg. Sigh.

Happy new thread! :D

Happy new thread! I am looking forward to your Iron Druid reviews!

Happy new thread, and welcome back! :)

Eva, good to see you back and with a shiny new thread to boot! I hope you will enjoy the Iron Druid. I'm jealous you got the ER of the last book.

Hooray for Science Fiction-bokhandeln love! Going to Stockholm next week, and am definitely planning on stacking up for the summer :)

Yeah a new thread!

>17 GingerbreadMan: Lucky little shit.

Well, everyone who said this was a quick and fun read... you were absolutely right!



#41



Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Druid Atticus O’Sullivan lives a relaxed life in Arizona with his goofball sidekick, Irish wolfhound Oberon, but ever since he took a magical sword off the Celtic god Aenghus Óg, he's been in hiding, but time is running out and Aenghus Óg is calling upon demons to get the powerful sword back and to put an end to Atticus very long life. This is a very light-hearted urban fantasy with lots of goofy jokes and characters, but occasionally a left hook comes in and something completely gruesome and violent happens and you are thrown for a loop, which keeps the story feeling unexpected. It's easy to compare to Butcher's Dresden Files, but where that one has a lot of gravitas, this one is more of a fun ride. And where Harry's dog Mouse has his back at all times, Atticus' Oberon is a dorky sidekick who can't get over an obsession with sausages and French Poodles. Very entertaining read and I've already started book two in the series.

The Iron Druid books are already on my list of to get to books so it's good to get another confirmation of worthiness here.

YAY! I am soooo looking forward to starting the Iron Druid series, even if it would be for a couple of months yet, so I am happy to see book one in the series worked for you, Eva!

Happy New Thread!

BB with Lucifer Book One by Mike Carey. I've always loved the character in The Sandman series, too, so that was an easy hit with me. :)

I am also thinking about starting the Iron Druid series later this year so was pleased to see the key words of "quick and fun"! I suspect I will eventually get to Joe Abercrombie's YA books, but for now I am happily working my way through his First Law series.

Happy New Thread! The sci-fi bookstore sounds great!

#42, #44, and #45



Hexed by Kevin Hearne
Druid Atticus O’Sullivan makes nice with a coven of witches and signs a treaty with them just as another, much less friendly, coven shows up to make trouble for all.

Hammered by Kevin Hearne
Druid Atticus O’Sullivan is reluctantly convinced by his friend, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson, to help him and a few other immortals get to Asgard so that they can kill the Norse god of thunder, Thor.

Tricked by Kevin Hearne
Navajo trickster god Coyote comes to the aid of Druid Atticus O’Sullivan when he's trying to avoid a death-squad, but true to his nature, Coyote has a barrage of cards up his sleeve and some quite dangerous tasks in store for Atticus.

These books are all very similar in style and voice, but are a lot of fun. I wouldn't go to them for gravitas and emotional investment, but for a whirlwind trip through the world's mythologies, it's a great ride. And Oberon is always worth his share of the sausages and bacon!

I know I'm liking the Iron Druid Chronicles, but when it comes to urban fantasy, Dresden is still my favorite.



#43



Small Favor by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden owes Queen Mab a couple of favors, and she surprises him when she wants to cash one in by having him rescue from his mysterious, and, as it turns out, extremely dangerous kidnappers. This installment is full-on action, which makes for a fun read, and it's so full of baddies your head will be spinning. The downside of it is that there isn't as much room for character development or the funny commentary that usually fills the Dresdens. It's still a great installment in the series and it'll be very interesting to see what happens with all the characters in the future.

Glad you're enjoying The Iron Druid Chronicles, but I also like Dresden better.

Just wait until you get to Changes - it really lives up to its title - mindblowing from the first sentence to the last.

Aw, don't say that - I've just decided to take a break from Harry & company so I can get caught up on Atticus & his company! :) Well, there's no doubt about me continuing with Dresden as soon as possible, though.

AWK! I stop by looking to see how your Iron Druids reading is going and I am now teetering on the precipice of adding the Dresden series to my future reading list. *sighs*

>30 lkernagh:
Sorry. But, if Dresden isn't already on your list, it needs to be. So there. Haha!

I concur with Eva!

>31 -Eva-: and >32 AHS-Wolfy: - Okay... Dresden is now added to my future reading list. ;-)

#46



Trapped by Kevin Hearne

After twelve years of training, it's time for Druid Atticus O’Sullivan to bind his apprentice, Granuaile, to the earth, but someone has closed all the portals to Europe, except the one to Olympus, much too close to the Greek pantheon than is comfortable for Atticus. Another good installment in this series, full of gods from all over the world, magical creatures from all mythologies, and a lot of sword-fights and other bloody and painful hi-jinks. I like that Granuaile gets a lot of room in this book and her animal forms are a lot of fun. And then there's Oberon, of course, who is a constant source of entertainment. Looking forward to continuing the series.

#47



Grandville by Bryan Talbot

Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard comes across an apparent suicide, which turns out to be the work of a ruthless murder squad. This is a steampunk mystery with a twist; the main characters are all anthropomorphized animals. The story is complex and the alternative history setting is interesting, but it would have been great if the story had been much longer so that I had time to get really invested in the world properly. I also had a little bit of a problem with the anthropomorphized animals, not because they're animals, but rather the opposite: they're too human. Basically, they look like regular humans with animal heads. I'm not completely enamored with the result, but absolutely intrigued enough that I'll be looking into the other installments in this series.

>33 lkernagh:
Hehe, mission accomplished! :)

>36 -Eva-: - Oh, steampunk always gets me. Even better, my local library has copies of all three books in the Talbot series. You are really hitting my future reading list, Eva. ;-)

>38 lkernagh:
Mwhahaha! :) Payback!

I have Bryan Talbot on my need to get to at some point list so while Grandville didn't quite hit the mark for you I'm glad you're willing to continue the series at least.

Hi Eva! I'm super-impressed with how great you're doing this year - seriously, brava!!!!

I'll just be over here in the corner, trying to ignore the Kevin Hearne series you've been bingeing on lately. ;)

>41 LauraBrook: Yield to the Druid. You'll be glad you did!

>42 mamzel:
Hear, hear! :)

also ignoring the Kevin Hearne series, purely on grounds of keeping my tbr pile assailable within the next 30 yrs.

>44 avatiakh:
I've figured out I'll need to live to about 212 in order to get everything read. Not sure how I'm going to manage that...

They are making all sorts of advancements in science - 212 might be feasible!

I hope they hurry!

#48



Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham

A collection of Willingham comics, both earlier and later, that he has done outside of his work on Fables. I love the "Proposition Player" series and am a little disappointed that it got canceled so soon since the ending wraps up a little too fast. "The Thessaliad" is also excellent, but that's not too surprising considering what a great character Thessaly is - she's also good for a little craziness. The shorts are also good, especially the ones involving Sandman characters, but I do prefer Willingham when he gets in his epic mood. It's a nice, 500-page "deluxe" hardback and well worth the price, but if you're not a die-hard Willingham fan, try to get a library copy first, just in case.

Holy bananas - June is pretty much done!!! I'll not finish any more of my current reads before tomorrow, so I'll go ahead with a summary.

June Summary:

Number of books: 9
CATs: 0

Category Progress:
1. Original Language Fiction 9/12
2. Translated Fiction 6/12
3. Comic Books 11/12
4. Audiobooks and Ebooks 7/12
5. Group Reads and CATs 7/12
6. Read and Give Away 5/12
7. Overflow 0/12

Best read of the month: Half a King by Joe Abercrombie because I was so happy to see that the author was as good as I had heard
Least good read of the month: Grandville by Bryan Talbot for being a little short and for everything else I read this month being just that little bit better

I seem to remember the 2nd Grandville being better than the first (but don't quote me on that!) but not got round to reading the third yet

Hey Eva! You're really knocking our your categories - although the read and giveaway one seem the most difficult for you, lol.

I've been hearing great things about the Kevin Hearne books - with your reviews added in, I guess I'll have to give them a try, but it won't be in July! I've already got far too many books planned.....

It's funny - in theory I should love the Dresden books, but I've tries them twice and have given up on the series a few books in. That said, I love Jim Butcher's Alera books. Go figure.

>42 mamzel: & >43 -Eva-: The first book in the series is making its way to me as I type this. I'd never heard of the series before, but when I got to work that same afternoon that I read about it here, 3 books in the series were on top of the paperback cart. And those and others popped up at work the next 2 days, so I figured that was a sign I should give in and start reading them. :)

#49



Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido

PI John Blacksad deals with murders, abductions, racism, scary Communists, and nuclear secrets in 1950s America. This is absolutely one of the best noir series I've ever read, with fantastic characters, who, especially in their animal form, as completely true to the genre as well as themselves. This is anthropomorphism done right. And then there's the art, which is nothing less than amazing. Juanjo Guarnido has a perfect eye for the watercolor form and gives noir film a run for its money. The omnibus edition contains the stories "Somewhere Within the Shadows," "Arctic Nation," and "Red Soul."

#50



Blacksad: A Silent Hell by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido

PI John Blacksad takes to the streets of 1950s New Orleans for a case involving murder, drugs, voodoo, and the madness that is Mardi Gras. Brilliant noir with great characters and extremely high stakes. The art is, if possible, even better than in the previous installment. Whereas the previous book contained three different stories, this one only contains "A Silent Hell" along with two short stories and the rest of the book is an illustrated article by Juanjo Guarnido explaining his approach to the art. At first this seemed a little disappointing, but Guarnido is a brilliant teacher and it turned out to be very interesting to see how he worked out the different challenges. These characters and stories are some of the best noir I've read and I can't wait for the next installment, "Amarillo," to be released.

>50 psutto:
That's great to know - I'm putting both of them on my list.

>51 Dejah_Thoris:
The Iron Druid series is much lighter in tone than Dresden, so give it a try when you're in the mood for some entertainment.

>52 LauraBrook:
Definitely the Universe speaking. :)

I've read the 2nd and 3rd Grandville books and liked them very much. I found I liked the 3rd better because I was familiar with the characters and the setting at that point, so I understand your comment about feeling like you needed more time to get invested in the world. My library didn't have the 1st book for some reason, but I bought the e-book recently, so now I can finally complete the series (in reverse).

>53 -Eva-: Blacksad is another of those GN's that I keep meaning to get to at some point. Think it was either the Claire/Pete combination punch or maybe Anders that added it to my wishlist but I guess another recommendation with the added plus (?) of there being a follow up to go along with it now as well.

I'm so happy you are enjoying the Iron Druid Chronicles Eva! They are definitely a load of fun. All this Harry Dresden talk makes me want to revisit him. I have 3 audios in the queue this month so Harry will have to wait until August.

#51



Jerusalem: A Family Portrait by Boaz Yakin and Nick Bertozzi

The story of the Halaby family and their experiences in Jerusalem 1940-1948 as British Palestine is on the verge of becoming the State of Israel. The story is very engaging and heartfelt, but the times were thus so that's not too surprising. The scenes that deal with human interaction (rather than battles) are well worth the read, but unfortunately the art is such that I had an extremely hard time telling the characters apart and it became a struggle to follow the different storylines. I'd recommend it for someone who already has a grasp of the historical events, but I think the politics would be hard to follow unless you know, for example, the difference between the Irgun and the Haganah.

>56 mathgirl40:
That's excellent to know.

>57 AHS-Wolfy:
I blame the Claire-bookbulletor!

>58 luvamystery65:
They are indeed a lot of fun. Especially Oberon is great for comic relief, but I do enjoy the mix of all of the different mythologies.

I'm finally caught up on this series for when/if my copy of Shattered shows up from LTER.



#52



Hunted by Kevin Hearne

Atticus, Granuaile, and Oberon are running across Europe to escape the Olympians and Loki so that they can seek help from the Tuatha Dé Danann. This started off a little slow for me because the first part was just a description of running, but once the groups get to interact with their followers, it's almost back to being a page-turner like the others in the series. Granuaile also gets her own voice in this book, but I'm less than enchanted with it - Atticus and Oberon are much more fun and Granuaile tends to be a little dry. Hope the next installment goes back to the "regular" voices or that Granuaile's picks up.

#53



Solstorm/Sun Storm by Åsa Larsson

Attorney Rebecka Martinsson returns home to Kiruna to support an old friend when her brother is found murdered and mutilated in his own church. This is clearly a debut novel and has quite a few clunky plotlines and some of the characters seem to be caricatures more than anything else. I picked it up because a friend who is from this area of northern Sweden told me the voices are pitch-perfect and I'd agree with that, but the story is a little forced and it reads like the author needed to exorcise a few personal demons. Also, if you are of the evangelical church ilk, beware that there's not much good said about those in this one. I'm putting the next one in the series on my wishlist, though, because the main characters have a lot of potential to become really interesting.

>62 -Eva-: I may wait until I see what you think of the next one before I jump into yet another series. I do like character driven crime fiction, so if the series has that kind of potential it could end up on mu wishlist.

>61 -Eva-: There are three distinct POV in Shattered. The book still manages to be fun & answer a huge question.

>63 cbl_tn:
Yeah, I'll hold off actually recommending this one until I read at least one more in the series.

>64 luvamystery65:
The cliffhanger in this one really makes me wish the mailman comes through soon! Or I'll just grab a copy from the library - I need to know what'll happen!

Cliffhangers are one of the main reasons I always come late to a series. It would drive me batty if I had to wait for the next book to get published. Here is hoping your ER copy comes soon!

Good to see you enjoyed Blacksad :-)

Cliffhangers drive me mad, I'm try not to start too many series because of that!

Sorry you haven't enjoyed your two most recent books more! I hope your weekend reading is more enjoyable!

#54



Vredens tid/Anger Mode by Stefan Tegenfalk

Detective Walter Gröhn and his assistant, Jonna de Brugge, end up with a very perplexing case when several gruesome (well, it is a Swedish mystery after all...) murders are committed by different people, all without any memory of having killed and all with traces of a mysterious drug in their blood. Although the plot is somewhat unlikely, the characters are excellent, both baddies and goodies. There is a lot of talk about the different departments of the Swedish police force and procedure, so if you like that, this may be your thing. Beware though, that this is the first of a trilogy and the second book picks up immediately after the first one ends. I'm serious, book one ends with "we know who the baddie is, but he's gone missing" and book two starts with "this is where the baddie went." The Swedish audio-version is read by Reine Brynolfsson who, in addition to being an excellent actor, turns out the be an excellent narrator.

Blacksad sounds good, I might have had this home from the library before.

I think I might have had the same problem with the Jeruslem GN, getting a couple of the characters mixed up. It happens to me from time to time with movies when I'm not paying enough attention.

Just watched a cute Israeli film, Cupcakes, sort of based on a Eurovision-like contest.

I agree about Reine Brynolfsson doing audio. He did a great job with the Milennium books, for instance.

>70 avatiakh:
Cupcakes looks fun! I've only seen Eytan Fox's more serious films before - it'll be interesting to see how well he does cute.

>71 GingerbreadMan:
Making a note of that for when I need a Millennium reread. When I started hearing his voice, I got a craving and had a little trip down memory lane by watching Black Jack and Änglagård. :)

>69 -Eva-: Sounds like a good one for fans of Scandinavian noir (of which I am becoming)!

I may wait and see how the 2nd one in the series goes before adding another one to my tbr list. It's not like I don't have a few to be going on with in the meantime.

I finished the rest of the series as well, but I'm only counting the first one for the challenge.



#55



Y: The Last Man, Book 1, Deluxe Edition by Brian K. Vaughan

A mysterious plague kills every being with a Y chromosome, except for a boy named Yorick Brown and his male pet monkey Ampersand. Once it's known that one man has survived, secret agent 355 is assigned to protect Yorick as he finds his way to cloning expert Dr. Mann in Boston, while other groups try to grab Yorick for their own purposes. I was a bit wary of this since I have read something else by the author that I didn't care for at all, but with recommendations coming at me from all directions, I thought I should at least give one a try and I wasn't disappointed at all. There is, of course, a multitude of things to be said about an all-women society depicted by a male author, but I'm going to leave that to those more interested in gender issues than me. The dystopian angle is what I really liked, particularly the issues of day-to-day living. There are a couple of things that irked me slightly (e.g. that the Amazons hack off the "wrong" breast and that Yorick goes nuts in Marrisville without a reason considering the whole world is in mayhem), but it's absolutely a series I plan to continue. The "Deluxe" versions of these books include two of the collected volumes as well as the script for one of the issues.

I read the next two in the series as well, but I'm only counting this first one for the challenge.



#56



Game of Thrones : The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 by George R.R. Martin

First volume (of four) of a graphic adaptation of George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. This is a fairly straight-forward adaptation of the original work and I appreciated that the artists have gone out of their way not to copy the imagery of the TV-series but rather depend on the descriptions from the original novel. The art is proficient rather than exciting and the coloring is very enjoyable. I wouldn't replace reading the novel with these books, but they do provide a slightly different twist on the story. They would have been infinitely more interesting had the TV-series not existed, and I have to say if you're picking one over the other, go with the live-action version. The extra material consists of excellent "behind-the-scenes" materials about the creation of the graphic novels (mechanical as well as creative) from the writers, artists, and editors.

Interesting that you're only counting the first book for the challenge. Because they're such quick reads?

I rather liked the first book of Y: The Last Man, but I didn't feel overly compelled to keep reading.

Hey Eva

just popped in to see that you've been reading some interesting books. I was especially intrigued by Anger Mode. I don't really care about getting the great Swedish audio version ;-), but my library doesn't even have it in English print. In fact, it seems they've never even heard of Stefan Tegenfalk. Of course, neither had I until today. I'm going to go look again in case I made an error in typing. I was also interested in Blacksad for Chris, but the library doesn't have that one either. (You'd think a grown man would be able to pick out his own books, but he expects me to do the job for him, and flatters me by saying I pick better books than he does.)

I've been curious about the Game of Thrones graphic novel series. I'm still working through the books (partway through #4 at the moment) and may try the graphic novels once I'm done, just to see the different perspective.

#57



Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

On one of his "excursions" in Barcelona, 15-year-old Oscar Drai meets Marina, who shows him a mysterious ceremony at a hidden cemetery, and when they decide to investigate, the macabre life story of Mijail Kolvenik unfolds in ways nobody could have anticipated. This is an intriguing, and quite creepy, Gothic tale that brings the underworld of Barcelona alive, quite literally, whilst providing more than a few surprisingly gory moments. The storyline feels slightly messy until you wrap your head around the many curious characters that Oscar and Marina encounter and I would even recommend trying to read this in one sitting - it's a YA novel, so it's quite possible - so that the mood stays the same and twist at the end feels close to the hints from the beginning. I liked the characters very much and the mood is spectacular, but it did bother me a little that there were a few threads that weren't tied together at the end - although the ambiguity contributed to the mood, so I can't list that as a complete minus either. In essence, it made me want to rush off and read everything else the author has produced.

>77 andreablythe:
Yeah, they were same-day reads, so it would have felt like cheating to count them as 8. :) I wasn't blown away by Y: The Last Man, but I did want to see where it all was going to end. Not sure if it would be worth your while if you weren't intrigued after the first volume (it's not a riveting end by any measures).

>78 sjmccreary:
I know the first two in the trilogy are available in Britain (since a UK friend brought the trilogy to my attention), but I've seen no trace of them here in the US. If this Scandicrime wave sticks around, they may show up soon, though. :)

Well, none of us are about to accuse Chris of being stupid - so much better to have someone you trust to weed out the duds for you and save precious reading-time. :)

>79 mathgirl40:
I'd say by the first one you'll know if they're for you - they have the same team produce the whole series.

>80 -Eva-: Skimming over that one since I'll be reading it soon. Were you another one of the lucky bonus batch winners?

>82 cbl_tn:
Yes, it was from the Hachette batch - and thank you very much to them for it! :)

>75 -Eva-: I definitely want to try at least one of Brian K. Vaughan's series but not sure if it's going to be Y: The Last Man or Saga that I get to first.

Great review. Marina looks awesome. That definitely goes on the TBR list.

Glad you loved Blacksad! I think I've read all the ones I can get my hands on without buying them, which means interlibrary loan here! And not reading the review on Marina yet. I've got about 200 pages left.

I love Gothic so Marina goes on the future reading list!

#58



Relish by Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley, the daughter of a chef and a gourmet, traces her love of food to key episodes in her life. Although the art isn't too exciting, Knisey's memoir is funny and thoughtful and covers, along with her own life, a little bit of "foodie" history in New York and Chicago and has some travelogue parts as well. I've read Knisey's previous book, French Milk, and I like this one a lot more since in French Milk she acted like an obstinate kid (at age 22) and in this one she acts more her age(s). This book also explains all the foie gras-eating that went on in French Milk. I do enjoy her little observations and I especially liked when she compared the comfort she gets from chocolate chip cookies with the comfort she gets from watching Sound of Music, as long as you shut if off before the Nazis enter. :) Each chapter also has an illustrated recipe of either one of Knisey's own dishes or one her family traditionally makes.

#59



Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

The story of two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war who fall in love, told from the point of view of their newborn daughter. I've heard this described as "Romeo and Juliet" in space and it's not far off - although I am surprised at how much I liked it seeing as the "in space" part isn't something I usually am too fond of. It took me a few pages to get into the story, but once I cared about the characters, I cared a lot - the family (and the "bonus-child") are so endearing that I feel I need to find out what happens to them. And this one ends on a quirky cliff-hanger, so I'll be picking up the next volume as soon as I possibly can. I recently finished the author's Y: The Last Man and found that series to have more to say, but this one to be a lot more fun (I like fun!).

>84 AHS-Wolfy:
Now that I've tried both, I'd say either would be a good choice - one if you're more in the mood for dystopian and the other if you're more in the mood for sci-fi. I found Saga to be funnier if that helps :)

>85 andreablythe:
Thanks! It's quite evocative and an imaginary read.

>86 cammykitty:
Yes, I loved Blacksad! Hope Marina works for you too.

>87 lkernagh:
Do you have any affection for Frankenstein? If so, put it high on the wishlist!

@90 Thanks for your input. Hopefully I'll get around to both at some point as they each seem to be well received. Need to finish off the current series I'm reading, Before Watchmen, and catch up a little more on Walking Dead before starting on my next comics project though.

>88 -Eva-: - Another great nudge for me to get around to reading Relish, I see.

>90 -Eva-: - Not quite an affection for Frankenstein, except for the movie version staring Gene Wilder, but Marina is still going on the future reading list. ;-)

>80 -Eva-: Ooo, I didn't realize that Zafon had a new book. I'm a fan of his adult books, so I'll have to keep an eye out for Marina.

>80 -Eva-: this sounds like something I want for my library. I will have to try harder. To help the kids find this very different author!

>59 -Eva-: Glad to hear you liked Saga, Volume 1. I just finished Volume 2 and enjoyed it as much as the first. I'll have to check out Y: The Last Man.

>95 mathgirl40:
Excellent! I just picked up volumes #2 and #3 from the library.

#60



The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Hardboiled San Francisco detective Sam Spade is approached by a mysterious female who asks him to find her sister, which instead turns into the hunt for a valuable statue. I saw the 1941 movie in college as an illustration of noir film and an example of MacGuffin usage and while I am a fan of the film (let's be honest, Bogart could do magic), the book falls a short for me, mainly because I don't like Spade and I think that's a prerequisite if you want to "get" the humor. Perhaps I've read too much modern noir to go along with the silly dames and the macho males. As a sample of its genre it's spot on and I can appreciate it for that, but as an enjoyable read it's not a major hit, unfortunately.

#61



Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction

A collection of stories about Avenger "normal" man, Clint Barton. Clint is a lot of fun since he has no supernatural strengths, but relies wholly on his marksmanship and wit and a strong sense of right and wrong. I didn't really read very many American comics as a kid (relying more on the French, Belgians, and Dutch), but I'm having a good time catching up and Hawkeye is one of my new favorites. David Aja's art gave me some pause to start with, but once I'd gotten used to it, I was somewhat disappointed when Javier Pulido's more conventional style took over after issue 3. This volume also contains an issue of Young Avengers with Kate Bishop as Hawkeye and Clint Barton in his role as mentor, which is interesting and the art is good, but I personally prefer the "regular" issues.

July Summary:

Number of books: 13
CATs: 4

Category Progress:
1. Original Language Fiction 12/12
2. Translated Fiction 7/12
3. Comic Books 12/12
4. Audiobooks and Ebooks 9/12
5. Group Reads and CATs 9/12
6. Read and Give Away 8/12
7. Overflow 1/12

Best read of the month: Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido for its engaging stories and fantabulous art.
Least good read of the month: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett because I couldn't get over how dated it is.

>97 -Eva-::

I really love Film Noir as well as the original Noir novels, however, I really think that Dashiell Hammett has somehow not aged very well. Over the last two or three years I have read most of his (relatively slim) oeuvre and at best I thought it was Meh! Classic examples to prove that contrary to popular belief films *can* indeed be better than the original books. Same goes for his THIN MAN.

Surprisingly enough some of the better Noir authors are not that well known and often not even in print anymore whereas Hammett has never really been out of print. Personally I'll take a Cornell Woolrich or Fredric Brown over Hammett any day. Need to re-visit Chandler again some time to see what I still think of him.

Sorry you didn't love The Maltese Falcon. But I can second IrishHolger's rec for Cornell Woolrich and Raymond Chandler. I haven't read Brown so that's a rec for me too.
And I'd add Double Indemnity by James M. Cain. That is, if you're willing to give classic noir another try.

>100 IrishHolger: & >101 mstrust:
I am absolutely not done with classic noir and am very happy to take recommendations for something other than Hammett. And, I just realized, I have The Lady in the Lake on Mt. TBR already, so Chandler will be up first, but the others are going on the list for sure. Thanks!!

I second the recommendation for Double Indemnity. It's my favourite James M. Cain.

Will be interested to hear what you think of The Lady in the Lake -- I own it as part of an omnibus and am pretty sure I read it, but can't remember much about it. Have to go back and reread it.

I read Marina earlier this year though I can't race off to read all his other books as I've read them all except for one YA. He wrote all his YA books before the adult ones but they are only nw being translated into English.
Lucia Graves, daughter of Robert Graves translates all his books.

I have all those classic noir crime books in my tbr pile, just never get round to them.

#62



The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

The first book in a series of children's novels about a man who learns to talk to animals and travels the world to help them out. I recently re-watched the 1967 movie since it was a childhood favorite of mine and it's still quite good (although why they cast Rex Harrison - who can't sing to save his life - in a musical is beyond me), but I realized I had never actually read any of the books so I picked this one up to give it a try. It's quite entertaining and especially the animals have some nice lines, but beware than it's quite racist by today's standards, e.g. featuring an African prince who asks Dolittle to turn him white since Sleeping Beauty won't marry him because he's black. It's not a series I mean to continue, but it was fun to have tried one installment. David Case is not a great reader, so I'd suggest not going for his audio-version.

>103 rabbitprincess:
I'll take any and all recommendations of good noir! The Chandler is at my mum's house, so I'll put it down for next year's vacation. :)

>104 avatiakh:
I started reading The Shadow of the Wind on vacation a few years ago (but never finished) and I think I remember it being a little more sophisticated in its style, so I wasn't surprised when I realized Marina was published before it. I didn't know of the relation between Lucia and Robert Graves - very interesting. I wonder what her relationship with Spanish is? I saw that two of her brothers have, like her, very Spanish-sounding names, but I can't find any particular reason for it (I didn't do any deeper research, though).

I read the first two volumes of Y a few years back but wasn't too impressed. Saga sounds more fun, and I'll give it a go when I find it.

>107 GingerbreadMan:
I've now read Saga, Vol. 2 as well and the series is just getting better and better - highly recommended!

Wow - I remembered there was an African Prince in Dr. Doolittle but I didn't remember his request. Definitely dated attitudes! Had to laugh at your comment about Rex Harrison. I think of him as the professor in My Fair Lady and I think he had that role precisely because he can't sing. He's sort of a "character singer." I'm sure he did a ton of musicals on Broadway.

Hi, Eva! I was wondering -- since you are the administrator of the challenge group, would you mind posting this thread in the group info? http://www.librarything.com/topic/178741

It's the discussion of next year's challenge and CATs, which has already become quite lively! I'm just concerned that some group members haven't seen it yet, so they might miss out on the discussion. But if it's prominently displayed in the group info, hopefully more people will see it!

>110 christina_reads:
Wait, wait, wait... ALREADY??

Oh, my!

>111 andreablythe: You might want to start reading through the thread now! At the rate that comments are being posted, it's gonna take awhile!

>109 cammykitty:
"character singer" is a very nice way to describe that. :)

>110 christina_reads:
Linked!

>111 andreablythe:
I know!!

>112 Tanya-dogearedcopy:
I saw that too - full speed ahead!

Somebody else was talking about Saga recently, I may have to check it out ...

>114 psutto: That might have been me. I've been raving about them. Can't wait for the next one to come out.

>115 PawsforThought: - could well be

I'm so far behind on everyone's threads. Glad you're enjoying The Iron Druid Chronicles. I still like Harry Dresden better, too. I'm up to Summer Knight on my audiobook reread. James Marsters is actually in town this weekend for Boston Comic Con, but I'm not going. I'm working and it's too expensive.

Let's see - Marina - book bullet. Y: The Last Man - book bullet. Saga - book bullet. ( I definitely need to include a graphic novel category next year).

Sorry you didn't enjoy The Maltese Falcon more, I actually preferred it to the Raymond Chandler I read last month. But I also second the nomination of Cornel Woolrich as a superior noir author!

Thanks for posting the 2015 thread info, Eva! It's actually not THAT early...the 2013 challenge had a 2014 discussion thread going up around this time. :) It's definitely a very lively discussion already, so I hope people will be able to find the thread and voice their opinions!

Saga is turning out to be quite fantastic, so if it's not already on your wishlists, just go ahead and add it!

>117 BookLizard:
I've not been to San Diego Comic Con in forever, but that's mainly because it's become so huge. It is a lot of fun, though.

>118 DeltaQueen50:
A graphic novel category has become one of my standing categories - couldn't go without it. Putting Cornel Woolrich higher on the list. I've not heard of him before, so I'm looking forward to seeing if it's for me.

>119 christina_reads:
I know, it's just my "sticker-shock" that it's already that time of year already! :) I've not been to the thread yet, but will be heading over now. My plan is to get the 2015 group set up by the end of this month, so that people can go nuts (in a good way!) over their categories for next year. :)

120> Thanks, Eva. I'm discovering that a lot of my usual series have books coming out in January or February (or late December) and I'd like a place to put the reminders.

>106 -Eva-: In 1946 Robert Graves took his family to live in Majorca. Lucia was just 3 yrs old so she grew up bilingual. I have her memoir A Woman Unknown: Voices from a Spanish Life on my tbr pile.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-lucia-graves--goodbye-to-all-t...

>122 avatiakh:
Oh, that makes so much sense! Thanks for that link.

#63



Doctor Who: The Forever Trap by Dan Abnett

The Doctor and Donna are kidnapped by what seems like an overly eager condo-seller, but ends up being something completely different and the pair need to find their way around the block of flats from hell. This is quite an eerie little tale and all the characters are very much like those who appear in the TV-series. The narrator is Catherine Tate and she is as perfect a reader of this as she is at playing Donna.

Yay! I love Donna. Will have to keep an eye out for that one.

>120 -Eva-: I second DeltaQueen50's recommendation of Cornell Woolrich!

I love Donna too! I might have to get The Forever Trap for the drive to work. . . after I get tired of Tarkan's new song of course :-)

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

>127 bruce_krafft:
That'll never happen - I still listen to Yine Sensiz. :) But, yes, do try out The Forever Trap - it's really good.

I love Yine Sensiz! While I really enjoy his music his voice is great for ballads.

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

#64



The Crime of Father Amaro by José Maria De Eça de Queirós

A story of life the small town of Leiria, Portugal, where the priests run religion, politics, and people's life in general and where newly ordained Father Amaro arrives to takes a lurid, and eventually tragic, interest in young Amelia. This is first and foremost a great and highly enjoyable story to read, but its overall purpose (for lack of a better word) is to provide a very sharp satire of corrupt priests' intrigues and their power over their parishioners. For me, as a modern reader, the most interesting parts were the ones that were about Amaro and Amelia's love-story, which is almost impossible not to compare to Emma Bovary and her various love-interests, but where Emma makes stupid decisions based on disillusion and boredom (and annoys me to bits), Amaro and Amelia have true passion on their side, which makes me care for them, regardless how ridiculously they sometimes behave. And, the novel comes with a proper 19th-century Realism ending, but still manages to use its last chapter to take a final stab at the "baddies." I've only recently discovered Eça de Queirós, but I'm fast becoming a huge fan. If you plan to read this in English, make sure you get the 2003 version translated by Margaret Jull Costa, because the 1962 translation is quite simply unreadable.

>130 -Eva-: not a book bullet, as I already own it, but it's now much more likely to be read this year.

Popping in to say hello.

>130 -Eva-: I also have this on my Mt tbr. I saw the movie a few years ago and mainly remember that they switched the location to Mexico.

The Crime of Father Amaro looks interesting and good to know about the earlier translation!

>130 -Eva-: This looks like a good book - and a good review that got thumbs up from me. But, >133 avatiakh:, there's a movie? What is the title? Was it any good?

#65



Nirvanaprojektet by Stefan Tegenfalk

Detective Walter Gröhn and his assistant, Jonna de Brugge, continue the search for the baddie from the last book, Leo Brageler, and discover that a secret society is keeping him prisoner to get hold of a drug Brageler developed. Unfortunately, this second part of the trilogy, although it has an interesting premise and probable characters, moves at a glacial speed and scenes that should be over in a few pages drag on for what feels like forever. In addition, we find out that Brageler's group were working on a project to make soul transplants possible. Yes, I said soul transplants. In a contemporary police procedural. Huh? The book then ends with the beginning of the next book, with the person who was the guinea pig in the soul transplant experiment, so now I have to read that one too, just to see if perhaps Tegenfalk can tie the whole thing together somehow. The audioversion is extremely well read by Swedish actor Reine Brynolfsson, so I was at least enjoying his portrayal of the characters.

>131 ELiz_M:
Looking forward to finding out what you think. If you end up liking the style, the author's The Maias is one of my top reads this year.

>132 luvamystery65:
Hellu!!

>133 avatiakh:
Yes, they moved it to Mexico and made it contemporary as well, I believe (the book doesn't mention a year, as far as I can recall, but it's definitely late 19th century). I haven't seen the movie myself, but it was a huge success in Mexico, possibly aided by a number of Roman Catholic groups trying to have it banned. You can't buy that kind of publicity! :)

Do you remember what you thought of it? I've heard it's quite different from the novel, so it'll be interesting to see it.

>134 lkernagh:
I tried the earlier translation since that's what they had at my library, but after spending half an hour getting through the first two chapters and still not being clear about what was going on, I checked out a preview of the new translation online and realized just how atrocious the older translation was - it's like it was done in Google Translate!

>135 sjmccreary:
Thanks for thumb!! The movie has the same name as the book and stars Gael Garcia Bernal as Father Amaro. I've not seen it yet, but absolutely plan to!

I don't remember being totally taken by the movie but was going through a phase of watching Spanish movies and then anything including Gael Garcia Bernal. It did make me hunt down a copy of the book, though now I'll have to check which translation I have.

>138 avatiakh:
Keeping my fingers Xed it's not Nan Flanagan's translation!! The movie came out in 2002 and the new book-translation was in 2003, so you have a chance it's Margaret Jull Costa! :)

I've been remiss in keeping up with everybody's reading. The Crime of Father Amaro sounds interesting but I just finished a book by Saramago and I think I'll wait a while before diving into another Portuguese writer.

I'm planning a Doctor Who dinner for my family Saturday to enjoy before the start of the new season. Since no one in my house is a big fan of fish fingers I plan on creating a shish-ka-bob with salmon and risotto instead of custard.

>140 mamzel: EEEEEE! So excited!!! Great idea for a dinner. :)

>140 mamzel: I've never watched Dr. who but might have to start if I could get an invite to your dinner. Sound delicious!

Also excited about upcoming Dr Who. Daughter and I discussed favourite companions today.

>140 mamzel:
Stoked asi am on the new Who, too (*grin*), I'm ridiculously terribly behind on the series, having stopped watching at the Eleventh Doctor — I just wasn't drawn in by the first few episodes of Twelve. And I always feel like I need to catch up before watching new episodes.

>140 mamzel:
Eça de Queirós is for when you get a hankering for some solid 19th century literature - the good news is that you can skip Flaubert forever and have a much better replacement (I can't stand Flaubert in case you were wondering). :)

>140 mamzel:, >141 rabbitprincess:, >142 LittleTaiko:, >143 avatiakh:, & >144 andreablythe:
Ooh, me too! Very excited! I'm already a huge fan of Capaldi's and it looks from the previews like he'll be close to Eccleston in gravitas, which suits me very much (fingers Xed!). I'll be watching Sunday morning, so plans are for a serious breakfast spread to enjoy with the show. I'm having a series 7 re-watch marathon to get in the right mood.

Great idea! :D I re-watched The Day of the Doctor yesterday to get back into Who Mood (although if you ask the BF, I've been in the Doctor Who headspace since Peter was first announced as the new Doctor).

That's a BB for Hawkeye. I love heroes who don't have superpowers and stay in the game. It could be also that I've mostly read French and Belgian comics so far. I want to learn more about US and UK comics.

I've read Saga this month and I'm also rather fond of this little family :)

#66



The Stand by Stephen King

A chemical warfare weapon called super flu escapes confinement and most of the world's population dies, except for a precious few who have to decide which of their dreams to hearken - the one from comforting Mother Abigail or the one from menacing Walking Dude - to figure out how to reshape society. I read the original version of this and at 800+ pages, it's plenty long (but I also don't know how much vital information I'm missing compared to the "restored" version). It's a great piece of post-Apocalyptic writing, but I would have enjoyed it more had I read it before reading or seeing any of the more recent post-Apocalyptic stories - it's a genre that has seen a lot of great examples in the last few years and King's novel would have felt more innovative had I not already encountered the works it has clearly inspired. That said, it's a novel I've been wanting to read for a long time and it's one I'm very happy to have read, mainly for its characters, both bad and good, and because I've never read any King that wasn't horror, so it was interesting to see how he handles something else. Hands-down favorite character was Kojak, of course, but how could it not be?

>148 -Eva-: I love kojak and I have wanted to name a dog after him since I read The Stand.

>148 -Eva-: I breathlessly read The stand in my early teens. Would be interesting to see how it holds up. In fact, I don't think I've read any King since I was about fifteen. I had a few years in my later teens when I was all about reading Literary Books (with a big L and a big B) and wouldn't be found dead next to a King novel - which was what the lads playing ice hockey was reading. I never found my way back to his work.

>150 GingerbreadMan:
I would absolutely have been more in awe had I read it as a teenager. It's still good, but I'm not sure I'd recommend a re-read - better to have the memory of its being amazing. :) I had a school-friend who was very intimidated by the library, thinking that they only had the above-mentioned "Literary Books," but once she found out they carried Stephen King-books she became a regular patron - and expanding her reading quite a bit, which I don't think would have happened otherwise, so Mr. King has great connotations for me although I haven't read one of his books, other that The Stand, in what feels like eons.

>148 -Eva-: yes, Kojak was the best! Interesting reaction to the book. I read it two years ago having read almost no other books by Stephen King and LOVED it! It's one of of the most memorable books I've read in the last few years. I was surprised since I mainly read Literary Books now. ;-)

I read almost no post-Apocalyptic writing so it was fresh to me. What are some of your recent favorites in the genre? Maybe I should broaden my horizons since I like The Stand so much.

I read The Stand as a teenager when I was going through my obsessed-with-reading-Stephen-King phase. I loved it then, but I agree that there have been a lot of innovations in the genre since. Still a good read, though.

>152 japaul22:
The ones I have enjoyed the most that cover similar ground to The Stand are The Road, World War Z, Y: The Last Man, and The Walking Dead.

>153 andreablythe:
I do wish I had read it in my teenage King-phase, but it's still a good enough read now.

August Summary:

Number of books: 5
CATs: 1

Category Progress:
1. Original Language Fiction 12/12
2. Translated Fiction 7/12
3. Comic Books 12/12
4. Audiobooks and Ebooks 12/12
5. Group Reads and CATs 11/12
6. Read and Give Away 8/12
7. Overflow 1/12

Best read of the month: The Crime of Father Amaro by José Maria de Eça de Queirós.
Least good read of the month: The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Currently reading Mördarens apa (The Murderer's Ape) which is very good, but completely different from what was written on the back - don't we just love that?

Eva, I just started reading Another time, another life by Leif Persson. Have you read his work?

>154 -Eva-: Thanks Eva! I didn't like The Road, but I'm interested in some of the others you mentioned. They would be a pretty big departure for me, but sometimes that's fun!

>156 avatiakh:
I have not read any of his books yet, but I did pick up his first novel, Grisfesten, when I was back in Sweden this summer, so I'm hoping to try it out soon. He is a very common sight on Swedish TV, commenting on notable cases in the news (he's a criminologist as well as a mystery writer). I'll be interested to find out what you think. We do call him by his full name (Leif GW Persson) - does the English translation has his name as Leif Persson only?

>158 -Eva-: I'd say we mostly refer to his as just GW. Or Leif GW. :)

>158 -Eva-: >159 PawsforThought: Yes, his full name is Leif GW Persson, I just shortened it on my ownself. I picked it up because I'd watched the film about the Baader Meinhof group and Another time, another life is based on their attack on the German Embassy back in 1975. So far it's building into a complex and interesting read.

OK, I was just wondering since, as >159 PawsforThought: pointed out, he's known mainly by those middle "GW" letters in Sweden.
Very interesting topic - hope it stays good!

I'd never read any Stephen King as a teenager but have enjoyed several of his novels in the past few years. The Stand is one that I'd like to read one day, along with his other classics. These days, I'm also enjoying the work of his son, Joe Hill.

I don't do very well with horror nowadays, but I do have Joe Hill on the wishlist. My favorite King, way back when, was Firestarter and I do want to re-read that one, but that'll be it for me, I think, King-wise.

>161 -Eva-: Ok, I didn't realise that the initials would carry so much weight!

My first Stephen King was The stand which I read back in 2008, haven't read anything else by him as yet. I had similar reaction as you. I've thought about reading Under the Dome and I just got a short story collection, Different Seasons, 4 stories, 3 have been made into films Stand by me, Apt Pupil and The Shawshank Redemption.

>164 avatiakh:
It's the same with Hans Christian Andersen - he's known as "H.C. Andersen" for us and it wasn't until I got to the US that I actually learned his first names. :)

>163 -Eva-:
Most King can be fairly intense, but some of his work strays away from horror. I would recommend Different Seasons, which >164 avatiakh: is reading. The Green Mile is along the same lines and Dolores Claiborne is also more thriller than horror, and many of his newer works I've heard are not as horror focused. For example, he's written a time travel novel that I can't remember the name of.

Yes, I'd actually say that many of his works veer from horror, most of the stuff from the past couple decades. Bag of Bones, Lisey's Story, and The Talisman have been some of my most favorite of his.

>166 andreablythe: The time travel novel is called 11/22/63 and it's about someone who goes back in time to try to prevent the JFK assassination. It's much more historical thriller, not horror at all.

>168 sturlington:
Yes, that's the one! It's on my list to read, since I haven't read any of his new work (nothing from the last ten years at least).

>168 sturlington: I actually considered "time" to be the monster in this book since it fought back against change. While "time" didn't sport fangs or fur, it still felt creepy to me.

I don't do very well with horror nowadays Ha! And I grew into horror. When I was a kid, I was too easily scared and too snooty to read it. Since then, I've had several friends who are into it enough to have grown to understand the genre. Now I find myself seeking it out, but not King. Not Joe Hill. I'm slightly more off the beaten path. Slightly.

>170 mamzel: What a great interpretation. King has a way of creating monsters out of the innocuous and unexpected.

I don't do very well with horror nowadays

I have never done well with horror but I am slowly dipping into the genre and like you, I have the Joe Hill novel waiting for my October reading. ;-)

I could deal with horror just fine as a kid, but now I'm a big old scaredy-pants. I have Joe Hill's Locke & Key series waiting on my Kindle - hopefully I won't have to read it while it's daylight outside. :)

Sorry about this one - it's not available in any other language than Swedish.



#67



Mördarens apa (The Killer's Ape) by Jakob Wegelius

Sally Jones, steamboat mechanic and gorilla, and her friend and boss, Captain Henry Koskela, become pawns in a political game and when Koskela is falsely convicted for murder, Sally Jones spends all her time and effort traveling the world to prove him innocent. I picked this up after reading an article about how well Wegelius described early 20th century Lisbon, and because the cover seemed mysterious, and because the back blurb and the title made the story sound very intriguing. All the descriptions of Lisbon (and the rest of the places Sally Jones travels to) are indeed wonderful and it's easy to imagine what the Portuguese capital was like some 100 years ago with its narrow streets and alleys, the trams climbing the steep streets, and the Fado bars full of people enjoying a song and crying into their drinks. The back blurb and the title, however, has very little to do with the contents of the book, unfortunately, and if you were hoping for a thriller-type mystery you'll be disappointed. This is very much reminiscent of Jan Lööf's comics and unfortunately it makes me want to reread Lööf rather than read more of Wegelius. It is a nice story, though, and the good characters are as likable as the bad characters are despicable. Note that this is not currently translated into English.

170> Good observation! It was the first King book I ever read - OK, at this point still the only one since I haven't finished The Stand. I read it thinking it was about time-traveling to prevent the Kennedy assassination, and when he had to stay back in time for those 2-3 years, I felt like time was dragging because I wanted to find out if he succeeded or not. I was waiting for 11/22/63 to find out "what happens" in the story, only to realize that the real story was what had been happening all along. I hate time. But not as much as clowns. Clowns are evil. I am never reading It.

175> Maybe you should have written the review in Swedish instead of teasing us? J/K!

>176 BookLizard:
I've done that in the past and apparently that was even more of a tease! :) Plus, that one ended up being translated, so my English review was eventually at least somewhat useful on the book page.

Besides, a book that you can't add to your wishlist is a good thing, right?! :D

a book that you can't add to your wishlist is a good thing True!

I read The Stand back when it was originally published (or close to ..that shows how old I really am:)), and remember that I read about half of it and quit the first try because I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then sometime later I decided to try it again and made it through. Can't say now I remember a lot about it, just that at the time I found it different from what King had written before.

>175 -Eva-: - Given my current backlog of reading, I am kind of glad that the Wegelius is currently only available in Swedish. It baffles me how book blurb can be so different from the story itself. Kind of misleading.

>175 -Eva-: The fado bars has me sold as I'd like to hang out at one myself. I don't know whether or not to be relieved or sad that it isn't available in English.

Urk, I just watched the mini series of The Stand....my son's verdict: just watch part 1 and not bother with the followng 3 parts.

I finished Another time, another life and now have another crime series to read. I especially like the titles of Persson's books, next up is Between summer's longing and winter's end.

>180 lkernagh:
It's quite possibly the worst blurb I've read - it describes how a vicious killer hunts down and murders a man and when the killer is apprehended by the police, his homicidal pet ape runs amok in the city. The actual story is narrated by the very sweet and civilized ape, Sally Jones, and she tells the story of how the aforementioned man trips and falls into water and the ape's friend is mistakenly put in prison for murder. Very nice story, but not exactly matching its description...

>181 cammykitty:
I'll head over to the fado bar too for a glass of Ginja!

>182 avatiakh:
Oh. I was hoping the mini series was worth a watch. I'll stay away then, so that I'll keep my images of the book characters in my head. Thanks for that heads-up!

Very happy to hear that - like I mentioned, I've not yet read any GW, but am looking forward to doing so.

>183 -Eva-: - Well, that is definitely an unhelpful book blurb to base one's purchase/reading on! A possible example of the staff at the publishing house not paying attention.... or didn't read the book. ;-)

>184 -Eva-: There seems to be a rather strong love/hate divide on the miniseries. I think it was excellent and is one of the most true-to-book adaptations I've seen, and several others in the initial thread about it expressed likewise.

>186 .Monkey.:
Really? That's interesting - I'll have to check it out after all. It's still in my Netflix queue, so it's accessible. I love how different people can have completely different views on the same book/movie.

#68



Vindens skugga (The Shadow of the Wind) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Daniel Sempere, an antiquarian book dealer’s son, is gifted a mysterious book authored by a Julián Carax, but when Daniel tries to find other books by Carax, it seems someone has made an effort to search out and destroy Carax's entire œuvre, and Daniel's search for the author will bring him to some of the darkest places in Barcelona where he meets some of the city's shiftiest characters. I wonder if Zafón was dared to make a book that was part mystery, part ghost story, part gothic fantasy, part political thriller, part historical novel, part romance, part travelogue, and topped off with a smear of magic realism, because this is has all those aspects between its covers. More likely, this is just Zafón's style of writing, and, if that is so, he is an author I will read a lot more of. The story itself is meandering, sometimes annoyingly so, but the end result is well worth it - I come away with not only a story, but a mood. Also, Zafón's descriptions of Barcelona are very evocative and I very much feel like I could step into the book and find myself standing on a foggy street full of shady characters skulking about. I've only read Marina from this author before, but already have The Angel's Game (and indeed The Prisoner of Heaven) waiting on Mt. TBR.

#69



Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

Little Bao decides to join forces with the Boxers and takes on a mythological persona to fight the foreign missionaries and soldiers who oppress Chinese peasants. This is a short but remarkably thorough account of the Boxer Rebellion. The art is very simplistic, but the topic is quite serious and it's nice that the art is easy to read. I very much enjoyed how the author used mythology to explain the mentality of the fighters and that he didn't shy away from showing the horrific side of war (and how it changes people), no matter who is "right" and who is "wrong," if either indeed exists in a conflict of this sort. Looking forward to continuing with the companion book, Saints.

#70



Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Fourth daughter to a family who doesn't want her, Vibiana believes that she is truly evil and joins the group that everyone calls "devils," the Christians. This is a companion book to the author's book Boxers and describes the Boxer Rebellion from another angle, although it's still from a Chinese perspective. Although I was initially a bit confused by Vibiana's visions of Jeanne d'Arc (since Boxers allowed for a metaphoric interpretation of the supernatural aspects and this one didn't), it made sense for that character, considering what happens to her in the end (we find this out in Boxers, although I wish we didn't). Good companion to Boxers, but I wouldn't recommend it on its own.

>188 -Eva-: glad to se you enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind. I still haven't got around to reading anything else by the author yet although The Angel's Game is also on my tbr shelves and remains a possibility for this year.

Eva - I posted over in the ROOTs thread a note about the prequel to Shadow of the Wind in case you didn't know about it. It took me twice to get through Shadow of the Wind. The first time I got partway through and had no clue what was going on, but then when I tried it again, I quite enjoyed it. Just goes to show - right place, right time.

I've seen Boxers at the local comic book/graphic novels store and have been curious. I think I'll try it out. Like you, I wasn't overly impressed by the art when I paged through it but I had just read Blacksad which is the fine art side of graphic novels so I was a bit spoiled.

>191 AHS-Wolfy:
I'm enjoying his style quite a lot - looking forward to reading more of his strange mix of genres. :)

>192 dudes22:
Yes, The Rose of Fire - it's waiting on my Kindle! (And, it's still free on Amazon, I see.) I thought it was published last, though, so I was going to read it once I was done with The Prisoner of Heaven but I'll make a note to get to it after The Angel's Game - thanks!

>193 cammykitty:
You should definitely check it out - the storyline includes mythological and opera characters and the style actually works, even if it isn't very refined.

I've been on the lookout for new graphic novels lately and Boxers sounds like one I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation!

>195 mathgirl40:
Very much recommended. I knew very little about the Boxers and at least feel I have some sort of idea of what went on now.

I put a hold on Boxers at the library!

Like Dave, the only Zafon I have read so far is The Shadow of the Wind, although I do have a couple of his books lurking on my TBR bookcases. ;-)

Glad to see you enjoyed it!

>186 .Monkey.:
Well, since it was a billion degrees in Southern California today (OK, not quite a billion, but about 100°F/38°C - so incredibly happy I live by the ocean, since we at least get a slight breeze, inland must have been a killer today!), I stayed indoors all day on the couch and watched The Stand mini-series, and I have to say it wasn't all bad. I'm not sure I would recommend it to someone who hasn't read the book, though. Its main problem is that Flagg is an absolute vision in denim and looks like the Beast decided to become a 1990s Michael Bolton look-alike. I.e. not scary. At all. And the monster-makeup they give him is quite ludicrous. Also not scary. The other actors are pretty good and the adaptation fairly true to the original.

>197 cammykitty:
Looking forward to hearing what you think of it!

>198 lkernagh:
I hope the next ones are as good as this one.

missed quite a lot here! I read the stand whilst travelling the USA for 3 months at age 19 & loved it (and re-read it as it was pretty much the only book I had at the time, as a student on a very limited budget), I did re-read many years later and hated the whole clumsy Good versus Evil aspect, although the beginning is still one of the best pandemic openings ...

#71



Den felande länken by Stefan Tegenfalk

Oh, this is just terrible. I wrote a review/warning in Swedish, but I'll not torture the rest of you with it.



I'm currently reading Booked to Die for the MysteryCAT and it's considerably more gruesome than I had expected. For some reason, I thought it was a cozy, but it very much isn't.

>200 psutto:
That would, I think, be the perfect way to read The Stand - did you get to Boulder and Vegas?? :)

Regarding the Tegenfalk book; I was surprised the first time I read a lousy Swedish crime novel. It took a while for the publishers to translate all the excellent ones, but they eventually did!

Eva - I don't know how far you are, so I don't want to give much away, but a lot of the violence at the beginning is a set-up for how he ends up being a book dealer instead of a cop. I don't remember the rest of the books in the series as being very violent. Not really a cozy series, maybe one step up from that.

I just read Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew's The Shadow Hero which is their take on the origins of a Chinese superhero, based on an actual comic that lasted only 5 issues back in the 1940s and created by a Chinese cartoonist. I also loved Boxers and Saints, you can't read one without the other.

>202 -Eva-: - Never been to Boulder but have done Vegas

I'm glad you liked Boxers & Saints. Like you, I think Saints works best in association with Boxers. They work really well together.

LOL! Sometimes it's easy to think something like "Wow, everyone in Sweden is just born writing great crime novels" but Kay is right! Only good books get translated. As long as I don't learn Swedish, I think I'm safe from Den felande länken.

#72



Booked to Die by John Dunning

When detective Cliff Janeway decides to have a fistfight with a suspect, he loses his badge but gets to indulge in his lifelong passion for books by opening a bookstore, while still not giving up the detecting completely. The first part of the book is a pretty standard police story and the second part a story about second-hand books and then there's a mystery that arcs over both parts. The mystery part is somewhat interesting although I had wished for less details when it comes to the second-hand book trade (how many times must I be told how much a first edition Stephen King costs?) and perhaps a less messy plot. My main problem is the cast who are more types than real people, and the main character whom I couldn't get myself to care about at all since he's a bit of a bully and a macho jerk, frankly. I know a main character doesn't have to be likable, but there has to be some reason for me to root for them, and I can't find anything about Janeway to care about.

A fistfight with a suspect and it all - literally - goes down hill from there? ;-)

I will pass on the Dunning book, because, as you mention, one needs a reason to root for the main character or else the whole point of reading the story seems kind of pointless. Are we supposed to not root for the main character? Just curious. Some books these days make it a tad difficult to differentiate.

It might just be me (there are quite a few positive reviews), but he was very similar to that suspect he fights with in the beginning (who abuses women), except that he psychologically puts down women instead (rather than physically). Perhaps this was the author's attempt at writing a literary mystery to make the baddie and the good kind of similar? Not sure, but it didn't work for me. One more book off my shelves and to the charity-bin - that's the good part! :)

I tried Booked to Die years ago and I didn't like it either. I've never been tempted to pick up another book in the series.

Okay, another author I don't have to try. John Dunning Police officers that can be goaded into fighting easily tend to set my "Oh really? Is this just convenient for the plot?" alarm to go off. That's one loud alarm.

>209 -Eva-: Well, I'll happily give that book a pass! Sounds like a lot of good stuff has been happening in Eva Land! Here's hoping it stays that way. (Also, I hope it's cooled down from that 100 degree heat - phew!)

Sorry, I came a cross another dud - not as bad as the previous one, but not good.



#73



The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom

Israel Armstrong has finally been offered a proper job as a librarian and leaves London for Northern Ireland for it, but when he arrives the library has been closed, his job is now driving a broken-down mobile library bus, and, to top it off, someone has made off with all 15,000 library-books. This is marketed as a humorous mystery and it is both, but in rather small measures - Israel starts off funny and I did giggle a few times, but the same type of humor is repeated throughout, and it gets increasingly unfunny (having a character say "bless you" when Hanukkah is mentioned wasn't funny the first time and isn't funny subsequent times either). Israel is also too whiny and incompetent to be likable, so all the miseries that happen to him don’t make me feel sympathy, but rather irritation. And the mystery is solved not by Israel at all, even though some of his time is spent searching, but by deus ex machina when a villager decides to return the lot. The main crime though, is that the characters are all two-dimensional and it seems that Israel has ended up in the one village in the world where every inhabitant is disgruntled, quite mean, and performs actions that make no sense whatsoever. I had a few others in the series in my bookcase, but they'll be donated away together with this one.

>215 -Eva-: I was afraid of that. I read that one several years ago and wasn't impressed - largely for the reasons you mention in your review. I've been avoiding the series ever since.

>216 cbl_tn:
I was hoping it would be charming, but, alas, no. The good thing is that it's three books off my Mt. TBR - that's the silver lining. :)

2 dud's in a row! Hope you break the streak with your next choice.

Here is hoping your next read is not a dud!

>218 AHS-Wolfy: & >219 lkernagh:
Thanks - I've gone for The Thirteenth Tale, which cbl_tn just finished and liked, so there's hope. I'm about 80 pages in and it's already better than both my last ones put together. :)

>220 -Eva-: I really enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale, so I hope you like it too. It's a great book for book lovers!

>221 sturlington:
Good to know! It's got a 4-star rating on LT too, so I'm staying hopeful. :)

Yuk! Sorry you've been stuck with so many duds lately. Hope the next one's a winner.

Yes, I would return 15,000 books unread if they were all like that one. Here's wishing a good book comes your way.

I also enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale, hope it's working for you.

Ah..... The Thirteenth Tale. Enough said. Enjoy!

Not my favorite read of the year, but a ginormous leap up from the last two! :)



#74



The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

A Gothic tale about a famous author engaging an unexpected autobiographer to tell the mysterious, and possibly true, story about her life and about death, loneliness, loss, and twins. An interesting premise of mysterious people in a mysterious house is a great start for a Gothic novel and Setterfield makes a lot, if not the most, of her idea. The style is just a little too meandering for my taste and I can't get myself to believe in the link between Vida and Margaret, or rather that Vida would have understood Margaret's whole history from her brochure (or perhaps that's the actual ghost part?). Still, the story kept me turning the pages and I did absolutely want to find out how all these people were actually connected in the end. The "thirteenth tale" part was a nice little twist as well. For a debut novel, it's a nice achievement and although it reminded me more of Flowers in the Attic than classic fiction, it did make me want to read Jane Eyre very soon.

Meandering is very gothic, but comparing The Thriteenth Tale to Flowers in the Attic will never work to sell it to me! He's wishing you a 5 star read.

>228 cammykitty:
Thanks!! They're out there - I can feel it! :)

>227 -Eva-: I'm glad it was an improvement over your last couple of books!

>230 cbl_tn:
Huge step up!

Glad to see The Thirteenth Tale was an improvement over your more recent reads. The gothic fan that I am is still not about to read Flowers in the Attic. ;-)

Ah, I've been looking at The Thirteenth Tale for a while now. Glad to hear it was a decent read.

I listened to The Thirteenth Tale in audio (narrated by Bianca Amato & Jill Tanner) and was overwhelmed in a good way by its execution of the Gothic Romance style, its inherent tension, and the denouement. It is one of my favorite audiobooks of all time. I liked it more than Eva did; and for days after I listened to it, I can only describe my feeling as a "literary afterglow!" :-)

234> Wow. I read it years ago, but now I might have to "reread" it on audiobook.

#75



The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

When the car in which he's traveling injures a baby hare, Kaarlo Vatanen abandons his former life as a journalist and goes to live in nature with his new boon companion. This is a fairly short, but strangely intense picaresque which involves pretty much every stereotypical issue you can think of when it comes to Finnish people (the drink, the melancholy, the violence, the contemplation) and also describes the Finnish landscape in hard but loving terms and in great detail (Vatanen and the hare's trip can easily be traced on a map). Vatanen's return-to-nature odyssey lands him in a series of sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes absurd situations that aren't quite possible, but not entirely impossible either. I'd suggest arming yourself with an extremely dry sense of humor (Finnish-style) before picking this up or you'll be wondering what on earth is going on.

September Summary:

Number of books: 9
CATs: 6

Category Progress:
1. Original Language Fiction 12/12
2. Translated Fiction 9/12
3. Comic Books 12/12
4. Audiobooks and Ebooks 12/12
5. Group Reads and CATs 12/12
6. Read and Give Away 12/12
7. Overflow 3/12

Best read of the month: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Least good read of the month: Booked to Die by John Dunning


I'm currently reading A Falkland Islander Till I Die for October's GeoCAT, The Mystery of the Sintra Road for October's MysteryCAT, and listening to Turn Coat for fun. :)

>236 -Eva-: " I'd suggest arming yourself with an extremely dry sense of humor (Finnish-style) before picking this up or you'll be wondering what on earth is going on."

Wait, it was supposed to be funny? Hunh, missed that.

>238 ELiz_M:
Haha - yes. Yes, it was. The Finns are a funny lot (that's funny in the peculiar sense, not the haha sense). :)

>236 -Eva-: I read a copy of The Year of the Hare (by Arto Paasilinna) when it first became available in English a few years ago. I remember thinking it was a little odd; but had put it down to the translation. I think I was expecting something a bit quirkier, or more absurd; but it was okay. I ended up giving it three stars myself.

Ok, now my interest is really piqued. Year of the Hare goes on the wishlist. I think I have a kind of dry sense of humor - not sure if it's Finnish style, though.

>240 Tanya-dogearedcopy:
It is indeed a bit odd, but so are the Finns. :) I've heard not great things about the English translation, though, but I read it in Swedish, so I don't really know.

>241 sjmccreary:
I'd be interested in hearing what you think. I've had it recommended to me by more than one Finnish person (and I just talked about it to my mum and she too was recommended it from one of their library patrons who was from Finland) as capturing Finnish people quite well - with lots of reluctant love and a huge grain of salt. It is very much a picaresque after all!

#76



The Mystery of the Sintra Road by Eça de Queirós and Ramalho Ortigão

"Dr ***" and his friend "F" are abducted from the Sintra Road by four masked men, brought to a mysterious house to ascertain that an opium overdose is actually dead. While at said house, another man - "A.M.C." - bursts in on the group, and as a result, the mystery of the dead body is slowly unraveled, revealing a tale of love, passion, deceit, and murder. This is considered the first detective story published in Portugal and was written in 1870 by friends José Maria Eça de Queiroz and Ramalho Ortigão to shake up Lisbon and show that literary styles were changing. Published in installments in a Lisbon newspaper as a series of letters to the editor, many Lisboetas thought the story of the murder was true and it caused some commotion in the capital city. The last installment, however, included a note announcing that the story was fiction, signed by its two authors, who both went on to become huge influences on Portuguese literature's progression from Romanticism to Realism. The remarkable thing is, though, that not only was this a progressive experiment, it is a genuinely exciting story that holds up surprisingly well, even by today's standards. It does include some passages of excessive Romanticism that sound bloated to contemporary ears, but that's easily made up by the authors' genuine talent for telling a captivating story with characters that are allowed to be flawed and pathetic without being pitiable. I'll gladly admit to being a huge fan of Eça de Queiroz's already and this, his first novel, only added to my admiration of his skill.

>243 -Eva-: Sounds really good. I've now got The City and the Mountains on my kindle waiting to be read.

The year of the hare also sounds like an interesting read, one I'll take note of.

>244 avatiakh:
I've not read The City and the Mountains yet, but it'll be coming up soon. Hope you like it - every book I've read of his so far have been so very enjoyable.

If you're one of the 1001-books-to-read-people, The Year of the Hare will check one of them off your list. :)

>243 -Eva-: That sounds truly intriguing. I shall have a look if he's available in German...

ETA: not currently in print, but there are quite a lot of copies floating around on our bookswapping website.

>243 -Eva-: This book sounds really interesting. Did you read the English translation?

>246 MissWatson:
Have a look for The Maias instead - that's his "master piece" so it would be the best representation if you wanted to see if he's your cup of tea.

>247 mathgirl40:
Yes! Most of his books have been translated by the, frankly, genius Margaret Jull Costa. She's also done some of the Saramago ones. I can't sing her praise enough.

I need to make a category for Portuguese authors one of these years. You are certainly making me aware of many interesting books.

>249 luvamystery65:
I'm so happy I found them - I've encountered some true gems (and a new favorite writer) this year!

#77



Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

A wounded Warden Morgan shows up at Dresden's apartment, asking for protection since he's been framed for a murder and it's up to Dresden and his friends to figure out who tells the truth. Another great installment in the series with lots of great action scenes and a proper mystery to solve. And it features the most powerful and scary skinwalker I've ever encountered in fiction - and we'll probably see more of it since it gets away. Mouse is, as always, a great character, and Molly Carpenter gets to be properly useful in her own right, which is excellent - the grasshopper is catching up! James Marsters is a great reader for this series and the audiobooks are, thus, highly recommended.

#78



The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Notorious novelist Owen Quine goes missing and Cormoran Strike is hired to find him, but Quine is found to have been the victim of a bizarre murder and it's up to Cormoran and trusty assistant Robin to figure out which of the many people he slighted is the culprit. Well, if anyone thought that the first part of this series was a fluke, this installment will do away with any such suspicions; this is a(nother) very solid mystery with truly interesting main characters (although the secondary characters can sometime verge on caricature), and, although the identity of the killer isn't a huge shock, the denouement and the realization that there was some cleverly inserted foreshadowing in the beginning is very nice indeed. The only complaint, if I have one at all, is that some scenes are drawn out, making it just a little bit longer than necessary, but not enough to be a huge bother. Although I enjoyed her YA-novels immensely, I am very happy that the author has turned to mystery - she does very well in the genre, and I really hope she's hard at work at the next installment in this series.

Both The Silkworm and The Mystery of Sintra Road sounds interesting. In a few years, my category challenge will get around to Brazil and Portugal and Sintra Road will be perfect for that.

I see more Galbraith love...... Good thing I have a category for next year's challenge where I can slot that one.

>253 cammykitty:
Hit me up when you get there - I'll have added a few more of the Portuguese to the read pile by then.

>254 lkernagh:
Very good stuff, indeed.

>251 -Eva-: You're catching up with the series quite well. Pretty soon you'll be up to date and waiting eagerly for the next Dresden fix.

>256 AHS-Wolfy:
I know! I was going to pace myself, but I'm liking it too much (which is a good problem to have, of course).

I will! Probably will be three years from now, but we'll both still be here.

>258 cammykitty:
I certainly hope so! :)

#79



A Falkland Islander Till I Die by Terence Severine Betts

Terry Betts, a native Falkland Islander, tells of growing up on the islands and what is was like to live through the 74 days that Argentina invaded to establish the sovereignty it has long claimed over the islands. This is a really interesting story for me, because my sum total knowledge of the area before I read it was what happened there between April 2nd and June 14, 1982. The book starts off with a history lesson, then goes into regular life on the islands - work and leisure, and finishes with first-person accounts of the war and its aftermath - mainly Betts' own but also of those who he has interviewed. Betts was sick for several years as a child and missed quite a lot of school, which is evident in his writing skills (or rather, lack thereof) and, unfortunately, the text contains quite a lot of spelling and grammar errors. Betts is, however, a natural story teller and he does relay a very captivating story of life on these (for most of us) remote islands. Be aware that Betts is a staunch patriot, verging dangerously close to jingoism at times, so if your allegiance lies with Argentina (which is, interestingly enough, true for one of Betts' own brothers) perhaps this is not for you, but if you're willing to accept some political canvassing, it truly is worth the read, especially if you, like me, are looking for a Falkland Island read that isn't a pure war story.

>248 -Eva-:: Good to know that the books are available in English! I will definitely seek them out.

>252 -Eva-:: I've not read any of Rowling's new series yet, but I'm happy to hear that she does the mystery genre well.

>260 -Eva-:

Even the title sounds patriotic.

>262 hailelib:
Very much so - he's not shy about his allegiance! :)

lots to catch up on here! I'm travelling to Finland next month so I may get round to reading another Paasilinna, I enjoyed the howling miller

>264 psutto:
Oh, I forgot you hang out with Finns occasionally! :) In light of that, I would really like to hear what you think of it. I've read a few others of his, but not The Howling Miller so it's been wishlisted.

I'll be sure to review it :-) (if I get to it!)

#80



Tel Aviv Noir by Etgar Keret and Assaf Gavron

This is another installment in Akashic's long series of short story collections, this one centered around the city of Tel Aviv. Like the other installments, this one contain many stories that aren't strictly "noir" (in truth, in this one, they're not even all mysteries), but there isn't one story in this group that isn't a solidly good read. What you do get in this collection is a view into the darker side of life in "Ha-Buah" (Hebrew for "The Bubble") which, as Keret points out in his intro, is a nickname for Tel Aviv because it is so much more like a small European city than it is like an Israeli city - a little bubble of Europe in the Middle East. The collection is so even and balanced that I can't even pick a favorite story - they all have captivating characters, unexpected twists, and something to say that you will want to hear. If you're looking for mysteries, it's perhaps not a collection for you, but if you're after some imaginative stories about life, you won't regret picking up a copy of this book.

#81



Blameless by Gail Carriger

Having been spurned by her mercurial husband for becoming pregnant, since it is generally accepted that a werewolf can't breed, Lady Maccon heads to Italy to prove that her "infant-inconvenience" is in no way the result of infidelity on her part. This is such a fun series to relax with - it's not serious literature by any stretch, but it's wonderfully entertaining fluff. This installment is a step up from the last one, which suffered slightly from sophomoric syndrome, and with all the action and traveling, it has a lot less pawing than the previous ones, which I do appreciate. This is a delightful series to relax with after a heavier read and I'm looking forward to see what Lord and Lady Maccon get up to next.

Although I find it a little startling that it's already November, I am looking forward to the cooler season coming on.

October Summary:

Number of books: 5
CATs: 2

Category Progress:
1. Original Language Fiction 12/12
2. Translated Fiction 10/12
3. Comic Books 12/12
4. Audiobooks and Ebooks 12/12
5. Group Reads and CATs 12/12
6. Read and Give Away 12/12
7. Overflow 6/12

Best read of the month: The Mystery of the Sintra Road by José Maria de Eça de Queirós and Ramalho Ortigão
Least good read of the month: A Falkland Islander Till I Die by Terence Severine Betts - only because the writing wasn't great, there was nothing wrong with the story!

>267 -Eva-: Darn you Judy Jr.!

>268 -Eva-: With this one you are officially a mini menace. Giving me some more brain candy to add to the list. ;-)

You!

"Darn you Judy Jr.! "
Now, that's a compliment! :) I can only aspire....

Carriger has created such a fun series. Thanks for the reminder that I have only read the first three books in the series and need to get back to it!

>267 -Eva-: I have this one out from the library at present, only got through the intro so far but looking forword to reading it. I'll be in Tel Aviv next week for a few days and again in January for a couple of weeks.

268> it has a lot less pawing than the previous ones   Pun intended? :-)

I'm reading the next five in the series now as well, but I'll only count the first one for the challenge since they are quite fast reads.



#82



Locke and Key: Vol. 1 Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

After their father is murdered, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke and their mother move to the family estate called Keyhouse, where they soon find out that the estate's name is more apt than anticipated and doors that should probably have been kept shut forever are opened to let in, and out, beings that cause havoc for everyone in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. I have to first admit that the art, while pretty, is not quite my favorite, mainly because I prefer hand-colored art and the computer work is a little too perfect for my taste. However, the story is nothing short of spectacular and it takes only a few pages to get completely engrossed in the life and fate of the Lockes. So many times I would sit and say to the characters on the page, "no, don't go in there!" or, "he's right behind you!" and that doesn't happen very often when I read a book. And, yes, I have already acquired the rest of the series so that I can find out as soon as possible what comes next.

>272 lkernagh:
Such a fun series to use as a little break from anything heavier.

>273 avatiakh:
You've been to Tel Aviv before so I think you'll appreciate it for that, but it does contain a large number of really great stories. Have a great time on your trip and have some Shawarma for me! :)

>274 BookLizard:
Why, yes. Yes, it was - thank you for noticing! :)

>275 -Eva-: Glad you enjoyed your first visit to Locke and Key as it's still one I need to get to. It's vying for the next read slot when I next pause on The Walking Dead so positive reviews like this help push it to the front.

Thanks for the inadvertent reminder to get back to the Locke and Key series. I think I just have the last one to go! And I agree with you about the artwork - it is too perfect with computers. I mean, I get that it's sooooo much easier to do it that way, but I still prefer hand-coloring.

Great review, too!

I also need to get back to Locke and key lost track of that one

>275 -Eva-: I read that one a few weeks ago, so I too need to follow it up with the next installment. Great writing.

I think I am behind with Gail Carriger's series. Too many books, so little time.

I'm glad to see you liked the first Locke & Key. I'll be interested to know what you think of the others!

I've got the first book of Gail Carriger's series lined up for January. I'm happy that you wrote it is a "delightful series to relax with after a heavier read," as I have do have some heavy reads scheduled for January as well.

Locke & Key sounds like a fun graphic novel. Does the first book have enough of an end to stand alone?

Yay! Glad you liked the start to Locke & Key. I love that series. Hope the rest works for you, too.

>281 mysterymax: - I wonder if there is anyone on LT who has not voiced that lament at least once?

>285 dudes22: I know! But before LT I didn't really realize how many books, that I didn't know about, I wanted to read! LT is an evil thingie!

I totally agree.

It's supposed to be SO many books - no such thing as TOO many books! ;-)

I also like:

Books. Cats. Life is good.

>288 BookLizard: mea culpa, you are right. of course.

#83



Pixu by Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, and Vasilis Lolos

A dark mark scribbled on the walls of an apartment building infects its inhabitants and turn their lives into a living (and dying) nightmare. I've read other works by the artists and those are some of the best comics I've read, but this one doesn't quite work for me. The drawings are creepy enough, but the story doesn't really get concluded very well, or at all in fact. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this one for anyone other than people who are already fans of the writers and/or artists.

I finished all of Locke and Key (there's only six of them, so it wasn't hard) and have to say that they play out beautifully - all the way to the end. Highly recommended!

>283 cammykitty:
No, they're not stand-alones at all - it's all one long story.

I think I want to read the Locke and Key stories. They look wonderful!

eta - Promptly went to public library and placed hold on first three!

#84



The Missing File by Dror Mishani

A missing person case lands on Detective Avraham Avraham's desk, but surely nothing really bad could have happened - life in Tel Aviv is not dangerous like it is in mystery novels, is it? There are (as the main character points out) very few mystery novels written in Hebrew and I had to pick this up to see where the genre has gone since Batya Gur wrote her books about Detective Michael Ohayon. It's an interesting novel, but the mystery leaves quite a bit to be desired and the fact that it takes place in Israel isn't really important - there is very little about the locale in the text. There is a huge red herring that should have lead somewhere, but that thread didn't quite pay off. There is also the problem with the ending, or rather, the not-quite-ending; there is one solution given (which "our" detective isn't actually part of - someone else solves the mystery!) but hints are given at another one and the book literally ends with "to be continued." There are a few characters that had potential, but we don't really find out what makes them tick, so I wasn't able to bond with them as much as I would have liked. I haven't decided if I will pick up the next book in the trilogy, but if I do, it'll be from the library rather than a bookstore.

>292 mamzel:
Looking forward to hearing what you think of them!

And there we have this year's challenge sorted! As has become tradition, I'm bringing on the dancing girls:



Top 3 reads of the year (by rating):
Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá
The Maias by José Maria de Eça de Queirós
Blindness by José Saramago

Bottom 3 reads of the year (by rating):
Den felande länken by Stefan Tegenfalk
Sex Criminals, Vol. 1 by Matt Fraction
Booked to Die by John Dunning

I'll be free-reading the rest of the year - follow the link below to my bonus thread.

Congratulations on finishing. I look forward to your dancing girls each year.

Congratulations on finishing your challenge! I wish I had as much energy as your dancing girls. I've turned into a real couch potato with this cold.

Great job finishing the challenge!

Congrats on completing your challenge!

Whoop whoop for the dancing girls!

Congratulations, Eva and YAY for dancing girls!

Congratulations!

Congrats!!!! Love the dancing girls. For a minute, I thought they were doing the time warp.

Congratulations! I love seeing those dancing girls!

Congrats! And nice that you have plenty of time to enjoy a bonus challenge.

very belated Congrats!