CaitrinAriel's 2010 Reading Journal

Hi guys! I know I'm new but I'm jumping in! This year I challenged myself to read 144 books. I don't think I'm going to make that goal but I'm proud I made it over 100 books! Last year my goal was 100 and I only made it to 80-something. So it is still a victory for me!

In 2011, I plan on participating in 3 online book clubs. One is Women in Fantasy, one is Women in Science Fiction and one is a sort of alphabetical choose the books. I have no idea how to add links or I would link them because they are fabulous. And run by 3 amazing women :D I also choose different genres for each month and have chosen 4 books a month to read in addition. That will give me a goal of 85 plus any I decide to randomly read. Part of the reason I made it much less than the goal for this year is because I'd like to write reviews for each of the books and I wouldn't have time to do that if the goal was higher. I may even change it to 3 a month...

I'm also working at becoming a reviewer on Ranting Dragon, a new fantasy review site a friend of mine runs. I'm working on my first review and I'm a bit nervous!

Anyways it's great to meet you all :D I'll add a second post commenting on my list as is and what I'm currently reading.

Caitrin

2010: 77% (111/144) to my goal.

January:

1. Specials by Scott Westerfeld.
2. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris.
3. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris.
4. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris.
5. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris.
6. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris.
7. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris.
8. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris.
9. Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor.
10. Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris.
11. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris.
12. In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant.
13. Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris.
14. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris.
15. Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris.
16. Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
17. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
18. Push by Sapphire.
19. Extras by Scott Westerfeld.
20. The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

February:

21. The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus #1) by Jonathan Stroud.
22. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.
23. Step on a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. (audiobook)
24. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson.
25. Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey.
26. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.
27. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan.
28. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan.
29. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan.

March:

30. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson.
31. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan.
32. The Singing (Book 4 of the Pellinor Series) by Alison Croggon.
33. Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher.
34. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan.
35. Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher.
36. Grave Peril (Dresden Files #3) by Jim Butcher.
37. Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer.
38. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan.
39. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
40. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin.

April:

41. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.
42. Jack and Jill by James Patterson.
43. The Farthest Shore (Earthsea Cycle #3) by Ursula K. Le Guin.
44. Mine till Midnight (Hathaways #1) by Lisa Kleypas.
45. The Paradise War (Song of Albion #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead.
46. Nebula Awards Showcase 2002: The Year's Best SF and Fantasy by Kim Stanley Robinson.
47. Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander #1) by Karen Marie Moning.

May:

48. To Tame a Highland Warrior (Highlander #2) by Karen Marie Moning.
49. The Highlander's Touch (Highlander #3) by Karen Marie Moning.
50. In the Hall of the Dragon King (Dragon King #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead.
51. Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas.
52. Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron (Shades of Grey #1) by Jasper Fforde.
53. Seduce Me at Sunrise (Hathaways #2) by Lisa Kleypas.
54. Fablehaven (Fablehaven #1) by Brandon Mull.
55. Kiss of the Highlander (Highlander #4) by Karen Marie Moning.
56. Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven #2) by Brandon Mull.
57. The Immortal Highlander (Highlander #6) by Karen Marie Moning.
58. Darkfever (Fever #1) by Karen Marie Moning.

June:

59. Spell of the Highlander (Highlander #7) by Karen Marie Moning.
60. The Purple Emperor (The Faerie War Chronicles #2) by Herbie Brennan.
61. Ruler of the Realm (The Faerie War Chronicles #3) by Herbie Brennan.
62. Bloodfever (Fever #2) by Karen Marie Moning.
63. Faefever (Fever #3) by Karen Marie Moning.
64. Dreamfever (Fever #4) by Karen Marie Moning.
65. Tempt Me at Twilight (Hathaways #3) by Lisa Kleypas.
66. The Golem's Eye (Bartimaeus #2) by Jonathan Stroud.

July:

67. A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle #1) by Libba Bray.
68. Kiss of Midnight (Midnight Breed Series #1) by Lara Adrian.
69. The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott.
70. Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse #10) by Charlaine Harris.
71. Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson #1) by Patricia Briggs.
72. Blood Bound (Mercedes Thompson #2) by Patricia Briggs.
73. Iron Kissed (Mercedes Thompson #3) by Patricia Briggs.
74. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephanie Meyer.
75. The Warlords of Nin (The Dragon King Book 2) by Stephen R. Lawhead (unfinished)
76. Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed Series #2) by Lara Adrian.
77. Faerie Lord (The Faerie War Chronicles #4) by Herbie Brennan.
78. The Hunger Games (Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins.
79. The Surgeon (Rizzoli and Isles #1) by Tess Gerritsen.
80. The Apprentice (Rizzoli and Isles #2) by Tess Gerritsen.
81. Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1) by Carrie Vaughn.
82. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
83. Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2) by Libba Bray.

August:

84. JRR Tolkien Author of the Century by T.A. Shippey.
85. The Sweet Far Thing (Gemma Doyle #3) by Libba Bray.
86. Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by David Gerrold.
87. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.
88. Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms #1) by Kristin Cashore.
89. Ptolemy's Gate (Bartimaeus #3) by Jonathan Stroud.
90. Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega #1) by Patricia Briggs.
91. Rosemary and Rue (October Daye #1) by Seanan McGuire.
92. Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1) by Melissa Marr.
93. Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins.
94. Bone Crossed (Mercedes Thompson #4) by Patricia Briggs.

September:

95. Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J.R. Ward.
96. The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2) by Michael Scott.
97. The Demon's Lexicon (The Demon's Lexicon Trilogy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan.
98. Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn.
99. Fire by Kristin Cashore.

October:

100. Silver Borne (Mercedes Thompson #5) by Patricia Briggs.
101. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.
102. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.
103. For The Win by Cory Doctorow.

November:

104. The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1) by Jasper Fforde.
105. Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge.

December:

106. The Ambassador's Mission by Trudi Canavan.
107. Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud.
108. The Sorceress by Michael Scott.
109. The Necromancer by Michael Scott.
110. The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld.
111. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.
112. 9th Judgment by James Patterson.

January 2011:

1. Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain
2. God's War by Kameron Hurley
3. Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts
4. Just A Geek by Wil Wheaton

I've read a lot of urban fantasy/paranormal romance this year. I've also read actual romance books for the first time. I have about 20 books from the library at the moment plus another 10 or so purchases that I haven't read yet. I can't seem to help picking up new books whenever I step into the library too.

I couldn't finish a book by Stephen Lawhead. It was a sequel to a book I'd already read but the characters were so cardboard and the women so unbelievable I just couldn't go on. The "romance" made me want to gag.

I'm currently reading Night Life and The Ambassador's Mission

Up to read are Kraken, The Passage, Way of Kings and Towers of Midnight.

Don't feel dumb. Something weird happened. Explain a little more what occurred, and someone brilliant will fix it. (We have lots of brilliants around here)

It did it again! It seems to randomly cut off my posts. All I've done afaik is write my post and click submit. Thank you for posting though MerryMary :(

Welcome to the GD, Caitrin!

You have placed a left pointy bracket and/or a right pointy bracket in your post (the ones on the comma and period keys.) Click on the pencil next to your posts. You should see all the books. Find and remove the brackets. LT sees those brackets as HTML.

Welcome, CaitrinAriel!!! Morphy is right, just edit out those brackets and the books will reappear. :o)

Welcome!

Welcome CaitrinAriel, looking forward to seeing your list.

Nice to have you here! I look forward to seeing the whole post, but Morphy makes me a little nervous when she does her psychic thing.

Thank you guys! That worked like a charm!

I included one book that I just couldn't finish. But I'd read enough of it I'd be damned if it I wasn't going to count it for myself.

Hmm, we have lots of read books in common. Discord's Apple is on my current TBR pile. How was it?

And looks like I need to check out Karen Marie Moning.

It took me a bit to get into Discord's Apple. I was thrown by the alternate universe, so I was confused for awhile by the allusions to what was going on world-wide. However, once I realized that and got into it I really liked the book. I'm hoping for a sequel! I certainly liked it better than the other book I read by Carrie Vaughn Kitty and the Midnight Hour

I love Karen Marie Moning. :D The Fever series is fantastic though she loves cliffhangers at the very end of the book -_- Also, she ties in her Scots-romance series to the Urban Fantasy. It's all the same universe. And I loved being able to spot people or places that were related because I'd read the romance novels.

Wow, the holidays make it really difficult for me to keep up with anything!

I'm not going to make my goal for this year but I've (so far) read 11 more books than was my goal last year and at least 30+ more than I actually read in 2009 so I'm proud! :D

This next year my reading is much more structured. First of all, I'm participating in 3 online clubs. Then I decided I wanted to focus-read in different genres each month. For instance, January is going to be books from the Masterpiece Science Fiction collection. I've also decided to read one non-fiction book a month. So as it counts about...7 books a month, 84 books for the year. And of course I'll want to read new releases and all that jazz.

Last night, I started reading The Last Hero by Rick Riordan. I couldn't put the book down! I stayed up till 2 am (started around 9:30) to finish the book. Now I'm on pins and needles for the next book in the series. I also really love the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott, though I have to remind myself not to get confused between the two universes.

What I didn't love so much recently? I was unimpressed by The Ambassador's Mission by Trudi Canavan. I'm actually writing a review of it for a friend's Fantasy review website, that I'll post here in my LibraryThing as well. I also wasn't a fan of Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge and I'm not sure I want to continue at all with her books :/

I've got my first three books up! But I'm having a problem adding one to my list with the link, I added it fine to my library but it didn't show up in the list you can choose from. I tried both numbers on it's page and neither worked >.

I have quite a few that the system has apparently never heard of. I added them all manually, which takes maybe a minute each if you're thorough. Though you will then have to scan the cover and upload it if you want covers.

Ooh, I didn't know you could do that! Thank you for the information. I actually did find a page here: http://www.librarything.com/work/10813026/book/68995182 but I'm not sure how to transfer that so it shows up as a link in my list.

Edit: nvm, it suddenly works today! yay :D

My review of God's War is found here: http://www.rantingdragon.com/gods-war-by-kameron-hurley/

I'll also add a link to my library in the review section.

I highly recommend the book, it's so good!

"Why should you read this book?
While this isn’t your standard fantasy novel, if you don’t mind a sci-fi twist to your reading, then there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t pick up this book. If you’re looking for an interesting, fresh story that marries fantasy and science-fiction in an original way, then this is the book for you. This beautifully crafted novel is truly a work of art—bloody, brutal, bug-filled art."