Kristel's reading 75 in 2018

Happy New Year of Reading.

Happy reading in 2018, Kristel!

Welcome back!

Happy New Year
Happy New Group here
This place is full of friends
I hope it never ends
It brew of erudition and good cheer.

Happy New Year! I wish you to read many good books in 2018.

1. The Monk by Matthew Lewis, Rating 3.83 stars
The book is considered one of the first Gothic novels and one that is "male Gothic" specializing in horror (according to Wikipedia) and was published in 1796 by Matthew Gregory Lewis (English Author). This story of scandalous behavior may have been even shocking at the time but not new. In the end, it reminded me of events found in the Bible and Greek literature. There really is a lot of characters and their intertwining lives was sometimes hard to keep track of but in the end it did all come together and centered on the main character of the Monk known as Ambrosio. He is about 30 years of age and has been raised in the Abbey his entire life and a favorite of all. It is the story of his demise because of the sin of pride. Matilda is known as Rosario, a boy, who gains access to Ambrosio through her disguise as a boy. She is the character of wickedness in the book and of supernatural forces and magical powers. Matilda has too much power and Ambrosio is weak. The book has a great deal of romance element with Matilda's love for Ambrosio, Agnes's love of Don Raymond, Don Lorenzo's love for Antonia. The novel is full of evil characters; the Prioress who misuses her power in ways that do not fit her station, the Monk with his sin of pride, lust and murder and others. The book is set during the inquisition and includes references to the tortures and auto-da-fé. The cripts, mouldering corpses and relics play parts to make the book truly a Gothic work.

Happy new reading year! I read The Monk about two years ago and enjoyed it quite a lot (to my own surprise).

2. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rating 3.33, Gothic novel, Lovecraft called Hawthorne's writing "weird" fiction.

I'm not sure why he'd call it weird in the Lovecraftian sense. Gothic, yeah. Ghost story, yeah. But weird? No. 😁

3. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, 3.33 stars. A space opera, SFF, a story of the difficulties of AI. I liked it.

Sounds good!

4. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence. 1001, January BOTM. ROOT (longest on my shelf so far).

5. Passing - by Nella Larsen, rating 4.17. Great book about Harlem Rennaisance and the childhood friendship and adult experience of two black women that could pass for white.

6. The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker, 5 stars. This book is a must read if you care about food.

7. The Locals by Jonathan Dee

Contemporary Fiction, set right after 9/11, New England town. Rating 3.17

I NEED to read Passing - sounds very intriguing!

8. Astrophysics For People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson Quick, humours essay tales about Astrophysics. 4 stars

9. Homeland by R. A. Salvatore. The first book chronologically in this rather long and confusing series of books. I guess this is Dungeons and Dragons story and I did like it, found it readable. (audio book).

10. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut audio,

11. A Hundred Lifetimes by David C. A. Zink Rating 2.5 stars

12. Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older 3.5 stars

13. The Third Man Graham Greene, 4.16 stars

14. The Power by Naomit Alderman. 3.5*

15.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing Nonfiction, published 1959, 4.17 stars

16. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

17.Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 4.33 stars

18. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, 4 stars, reread. Rating went up

19. Barkskins by Annie Proulx 4.5 stars

20. Jazz by Toni Morrison 4.3 stars

21. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey, YA novel. Pretty good. 3.8 stars

22. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. Quest of Oedipa Maas. Rating 3.83 stars.

23. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
24. City Primeval by Elmore Leonard

I really liked the Elmore Leonard book, So So on the Oates fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe.

25. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
26. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
27. Shadows on the Grass by Karen Blixen
28. Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
29. Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

30. Assignment in Eternity by Robert A. Heinlein

31. Idaho by Emily Ruskovich, 4.17 stars.

32. The End of Eddy by Edouard Louis 3 stars

33. West Cork by Sam Bungey, investigative journalism, unsolved murder, rating 2.83

34.
A Ballad for Georg Henig by Victor 4.5 stars

35.
Giovanni's Room, 1001 book, 1001 traveling book, Really good. Rating 4.3

36.
First Evidence by Ken Goddard, CSI, aliens, Oregon. It was okay, 3 stars, maybe a little less.

37.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Court room drama, racism, strong women. F2F bookclub book. Rating 3.75

38.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Great story about the disconnect between adult memory and childhood memory. Rating 4.33

39.

Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernieres I like this author, but this one is not my favorite. Starts out humorous, romance but ends very dark and gruesome. Rating 3.5

40.

Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha, memoir of surviving financial mismanagement and the IRS. So so . Rating 2.33

41.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares Romance, thriller, young adult, time travel, Rating 3.5

>44 Kristelh: You liked it better than I did.

>46 thornton37814:, I haven't seen anything but poor ratings on this one. What was it that you disliked?

>47 Kristelh: Pretty much everything except the title.

42.
Survival in Auschwitz 5 stars. 1001 book, memoir by holocaust survivor, Italian, Jew, Primo Levi.

43.

Pastoralia by George Saunders, list book, BOTM 2018, short stories by Saunders. They are weird but something about them I liked.

44. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

45.
The Bees by Laline Paull for Horror and SFF kittens.

46. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père 3.8 1001 Book, Quarterly read, ROOT

47. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin 3.5 f2f May book

48. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert. A. Heinlein

49. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson

50. Justine by Lawrence Durrell 4.17 stars

51. Plus One by Elizabeth Fama 3.17 stars

52.
The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell 5 stars

First book of June
53,
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel 3.5 stars

54. The Leavers by Lisa Ko, addressing issues mother and sons, children of illegal immigrants, coming of age, adoption
rating 3.67

55. The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. TBR Takedown.

56.
Fathers and Sons read for Reading 1001, Bingo card.

57. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Read for PBT, AlphaKit, great book 4.33

58. Winnie-the-Poo by A. A. Milne. Free audio on World Book Day. Read for poetry bingo square and unusual narrator RandomCat. Rating 4.

59. The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin 3.83 stars

60. The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt


61. Gulp by Mary Roach


62. Under the Skin by Michel Faber

July Books
63. Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
64. Elmet by Fiona Mozley
65. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
66. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

67. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler 3 stars

68. Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott 3 stars

69. Reamde by Neal Stephenson 4 stars

70. Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby, Jr, 4 stars

71. Unless by Carol Shields, 4.3 stars.

#72, The Peripheral by William Gibson. 3.5 stars.

August 2018
#73. All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

#74 Independent People by Halldor Laxness

#75 Libra by Don DeLillo

I completed 75, now for the rest.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kristel!

Congrats on hitting the goal!

#76 Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

#77. Day of The Dolphin by Robert Merle
#78 Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
#79. Educated by Tara Westover
#80 The Enormous Room by e. e. cummings,
#81. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

#82. Hunger by Knut Hamsum

#83. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

Hello Kristelh!

>32 Kristelh: I've read a few of Leonard's books, but not this one. I'm glad you liked it. I many have to give it a try.

>53 Kristelh: I love, love, loved The Count of Monte Cristo when I listened to the unabridged audio last year. John Lee was brilliant in conveying Dumas' story.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress has long eluded me. I have tried to start it a couple of times with no success. How did you like it?

>74 Kristelh: I loved Scalzi's Redshirts and have Agent to the Stars on my audio wishlist. Will Wheaton was excellent on a couple of Scalzi's books. Was it fun?

>78 brodiew2:
I actually liked The Moon is a Harsh Mistress quite a bit. I disliked Stranger in a Strange Land so much that I was pleasantly surprise to like Moon, Starship Troopers is good to, I think that might be his series he wrote for boys.

Agent to the Stars was Scalzi's first book, he wrote it to see if he actually could be an author and self published. It was fun, I am looking forward to Redshirts someday.

#84. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell

85. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine Gail Honeyman. September F2F bookclub pick. 3.5 stars.

86. King Solomon's Mines by Henry Rider Haggard. 3.5 stars. #TBR takedown. #1001 Books.

#87. The Stand by Stephen King, 3.5 stars, #King and family (horror) and ROOT

#88. Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
#89 Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
90. The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela
91. Sula by Toni Morrison

Finished the short story collection, The Bloody Chamber. Angela Carter. 3.5 stars

#93. Everland by Wendy Spinale. Hoped to finish one more but this is it for September

#94 Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
#95: Spinning Silver

#96, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, 4.33 stars. Very good. One I will reread for sure.

97. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, Good one.

98. The Mars Room, Rachel Kusher, I liked this quite a bit.

#99, Absolute Beginners by Collin MacInnes, 1001 Books, BOTM Reading 1001.

#100, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe read for ghosts, 1001 books,

#101, Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (ghosts, mermaids, sea monsters)
#102 King of the Vagabonds by Neal Stephenson
#103. Iron Heel by Jack London

I also listened to
Lullaby by Jonathan Maberry and
The Coming Storm by Michael Lewis

Finished
#104, We Have Always Lived In the Castle October 30,

Books in November
#105 The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

Holy Moly! What GOOD reading you're doing! I wish that you'd write/have time to write a bit more about your reactions to each book.

>95 LizzieD:, I do write a brief review and I rate a book every time, some times a few days late but I get it done. I just don't post here often. I really liked The Mayor of Casterbridge. It was Thomas Hardy and I've liked everything I've read by him. I rated it 4.33. I will try to do better but sometimes it feels no one stops by and I can see my own ratings by pulling the book up. Thanks for stopping by and the word of encouragement.

I'm glad I checked back, Kristelh. I loved and adored We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Mayor of Casterbridge too, for quite different reasons, of course.
If you really want visitors, you do have to make visits to other threads. It can consume your life because this is an awesome group. You'll find lots of people reading what interests you, no matter what that may be.
I'd love to have you visit me, and my name is Peggy.

ETA: I read only the first of *Baroque Cycle* and liked it but not well enough to continue yet. I promise myself that I will before I die. I do enjoy NS! Cryptonomicon knocked me out and I had a great time in Reamde and Anathem and Seveneves. You get the idea.

# 106 A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, rated 4.33, Such a great book. Really enjoyed reading about the history of Russia from the revolution to Khrushchev (the fifties) through the eyes of the count from the Metropol hotel where he spends the majority of his life on house arrest. This is a book that is not only food for the soul but gourmet feast of foods and beverages as well.

I LOVED A Gentleman in Moscow. It was completely a 5 star book for me. I find it interesting that I "put it in" my book club, and nobody who has received it has read it. My mother and her best friend read it and didn't particularly enjoy it. On the other hand, my cousin loved it as much as I did. Wonder whether it's a generational thing.....

>99 LizzieD: I liked the book but if I were to say why a person would not like it, I don’t think it is generational as so many people do love it. I think people generally like books where the characters are so appealing and this has great characters and things really generally turn out good.

Faults I would suggest. It is a bit choppy and I have to admit to feeling a bit lost. I listened to the audio and have the book and I feel that it was a bit choppy and I either missed something or have questions that are unclear.

107: The Hours by Michael Cunningham. So glad I read this after read Mrs Dalloway last month. I appreciated the book, it was deserving of the Pulitzer. Great story of three generations of women all impacted by the novel Mrs Dalloway. 4. 8 stars

108, Ill Will by Dan Chaon, creepy, dark, psychological thriller of murder and family disintegration. 3.5 stars

>100 Kristelh: I remember looking back in *Gentleman* and trying to find out when and why he started working in the dining room. That's the only thing I recall missing.
I have yet to read The Hours. I could, but I just can't seem to get to it.

>102 LizzieD:, I don't think it really tells why or when he started. The part I wondered was why did he not leave Russia. I know he said he was never leaving Russia but it seems like he will be caught.

#109, The Red Umbrella, by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. A YA story of Cuba in the sixties and the refugees of Cuban children sent to the US by their parents and lived with foster homes. It's a feel good story.
#110, Alien: Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon

111. The Last of the Mohicans read for the second time, appreciated it more the second time
112. The Light of Day by Graham Swift, I found this to be slow and was not compelling at all.

Hmmm. I really enjoyed Waterland, but that's the only G. Swift that I've read. Seems to me that I bought something else, but it wasn't *LoD*, and I certainly haven't read it.

>106 LizzieD: I really enjoyed Waterland, too, so perhaps I had expectations for Light of Day that affected my enjoyment.

Number 113 for the year. The Alienist by Caleb Carr. Great book. I’ve been meaning to get to this book but the size kept me putting it back on the shelf. Glad I finally read it. Solid 4 stars.

#114, The Whites by Richard Price. Police procedural. I picked it up off bargain table at BN and finally read it now. It was okay. I rated it 3.5 stars.

#115, Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters. (not my kind of book) 3.5 stars. 1001 BOTM, audio was fairly well done.

#116. Pierre and Jean by Guy deMaupassant. A good one. 3.67, probably really a 4. Enjoyed this story of jealousy, family set on the coast of Normandy.

#117. Crosstalk by Connie Willis. Fun, lighthearted sci-fi romance.

#118. Zone one by Coleson Whitehead, so so zombie pandemic book.
#119, The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn, so so psychological thriller.

Happy holidays, Kristel

#120 Of Mice and Men - Steinbeck (a reread)
#121 The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (Geek-PBT)
#122 The Concrete Jungle
#123. Ruby: a Novel by Cynthia Bond

At that’s a wrap for 2018.

>114 PaulCranswick: >116 thornton37814:, Thanks for the well wishes!

Wow! You've really, really read well in 2018. Long may you continue!
I see that you liked Crosstalk a bit more than I did. I have, but haven't read Ruby and the Stross. I'd love to know what you thought of them, but I also know how it feels to move on into the new year. Hope it's a fine one for you!

>119 LizzieD:. I liked Stoss, it is Geeky and he does use a lot of swearing in his dialogue which I do not feel is necessary. I liked Crosstalk. I know others have not, I did the audio and found it a lot of fun. Ruby was too much. It was about abuse and powerlessness but the addition of the occult was a bit much. The author can write but I did feel she was trying to be Toni Morrison.
My best of the year
The Mars Room - Kushner
The Siege of Krishnapur - Farrell
Spinning Silver - Novak
Survival in Auschwitz - Levi
Jurassic Park - Crichton
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Hardy
Sula - Morrison
Barkskins - Proulx
The Heart’s Invisible Furies - Boyne
Moll Flanders- Defoe

The worst: Beast by Napoli, oh and less I forget Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia

>119 LizzieD:. I did like Crosstalk. I know others have had negative opinions but I found it fun. I listened to it. Stross is geeky with math and he uses a lot of swearing in his dialogue. My favorites for 2019

The Mars Room - Kushner
The Siege of Krishnapur - Farrell
Spinning Silver - Novak
Survival in Auschwitz - Levi
Jurassic Park - Crichton
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Hardy
Sula - Morrison
Barkskins - Proulx
The Heart’s Invisible Furies - Boone
Moll Flanders- Defoe

The worst: Beast by Napoli, oh and less I forget Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia

>121 Kristelh: Flat Broke with Two Goats was SO BAD.