BookLizard's 2015 Challenge, Part 2

Això és la continuació del tema BookLizard's 2015 Magic Square Challenge.

Converses2015 Category Challenge

Afegeix-te a LibraryThing per participar.

BookLizard's 2015 Challenge, Part 2

Aquest tema està marcat com "inactiu": L'últim missatge és de fa més de 90 dies. Podeu revifar-lo enviant una resposta.

1BookLizard
maig 15, 2015, 8:21 pm

Calling the Magic Square Challenge finished.

No idea what I'm doing next.

2BookLizard
maig 15, 2015, 8:22 pm

Placeholder for list of books

3BookLizard
maig 17, 2015, 10:32 pm

The Immortal Who Loved Me by Lynsay Sands ***1/2



Series has been formulaic for a while now. It's not a terrible formula, but so predictable. Justifies the instalove. The heroine is really Too Stupid to Live which had me rolling my eyes and getting fed up with the book, but later in the book, another character actually calls her on it! While that was nice, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Why would the author make her character TSTL and then try to justify it later? Would have been better if she REWROTE it to make the character less stupid.

4-Eva-
maig 31, 2015, 11:30 pm

Congrats on finishing one square already!

5BookLizard
juny 7, 2015, 1:19 pm

4> Thanks, Eva.

I seem to have just slipped off the face of the Earth. Can't even blame RL entirely - I've just been in a serious reading funk.

Instead of starting up another magic square, or even tracking my books in this thread, I think I'm just going to use it to record my thoughts for books I read for/because of this group - group reads, book bullets, CATs, Dogs, etc.

6rabbitprincess
juny 7, 2015, 5:06 pm

There you are!!! I was wondering where you'd gone. This reading funk thing seems to have been contagious. I hope your reading mojo returns soon and that there are many more posts to come :)

7-Eva-
Editat: juny 7, 2015, 7:08 pm

I was in a funk for a while too! The good thing is that the funk goes away. The bad thing is you don't know when it'll go away. Keeping my fingers Xed your goes away soon!

8lkernagh
juny 14, 2015, 11:56 am

Happy new thread! Sorry to see you have been suffering through a reading funk. Here is hoping that it passes soon!

9BookLizard
juny 28, 2015, 11:02 am

Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian by E. L. James ****



Pretty much what you'd expect. Only for fans of the trilogy, or the insatiably curious like me.

10BookLizard
juny 28, 2015, 11:16 am

Until the Beginning by Amy Plum



Second book in the After the End duology. Satisfying conclusion - and it does conclude - to the story. In the first book, Juneau discovered that her entire life was based on a deception. She grew up in a remote part of Alaska, believing that her clan was among the few survivors of World War III. In the second book, she's on the run with Miles, trying to rescue her kidnapped clan and escape from the various groups out for her blood - literally.

11BookLizard
juny 28, 2015, 11:26 am

Fairest: The Lunar Chronicles: Levana's Story by Marissa Meyer.



It's funny when a book that's almost 300 pages long is a "novella" in a series. This story tells of how the evil Queen Levana of Luna became, well, evil and the queen. It's reminiscent of the movie Maleficent, except Levana lacks any redeeming qualities. We see a different side of Cinder's mother and discover what motivated Levana to become so ruthless.

12BookLizard
juny 28, 2015, 11:35 am

Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones ****



This installment of the series is necessarily darker than the previous ones. There are still some humorous bits, namely the epigraphs at the start of each chapter. There's one big reveal at the very end that just doesn't ring true. At all. But otherwise, it's enjoyable.

13BookLizard
juny 28, 2015, 11:38 am

Funny that it took Grey to "hopefully" make me snap out of my reading funk. Currently reading Day Shift by Charlaine Harris. On deck is To Kill a Mockingbird, before the July release of Go Set a Watchman.

14BookLizard
jul. 2, 2015, 10:44 pm

Day Shift by Charlaine Harris ****



Second book in the Midnight, Texas series. Takes place in the same world as the Sookie Stackhouse books. Several of those secondary characters appear in this series. The biggest difference is that this series is told from the third person point of view.

15BookLizard
jul. 2, 2015, 10:48 pm

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee *****



Reread ahead of the release of Go Set a Watchman. As great as ever.

16BookLizard
jul. 17, 2015, 12:07 am

Dead Ice by Laurell K. Hamilton was good for her writing. A lot of people hate the later books in her series because they're all about sex. This one had a plot line and the sex was talked about more than enjoyed.



Walking Dead by C.E. Murphy was good. The characters are as wonderful as ever. The weird magic stuff is explained a little better in this one.



I kind of wish I was reading the next in that series because I switched to Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk and I'm getting confused by the different worlds with different rules.

17BookLizard
jul. 26, 2015, 6:35 pm

The good news:

I'm already on hold for the ebook of Staked by Kevin Hearne!

The bad news:

It doesn't come out until December. So it's taking up a space on my holds list, which wouldn't mean a thing if I didn't have another one on hold for December, and two for November, one for October, one for September, and even for the one coming out in August, I've got 6 people ahead of me.

I guess there really is too much of a good thing!

18mamzel
jul. 28, 2015, 2:44 pm

My library doesn't have it listed yet so I'll have to remember to go back and check later. Gotta have more of that Druid action!

19BookLizard
jul. 30, 2015, 6:35 pm

Unquiet Dreams by Mark Del Franco



I think I like this series because it's set in Boston. I got confused as all hell by the different names and titles and what not. If you ever read it, pay close attention to the names of the council and druids.

20-Eva-
ag. 2, 2015, 2:19 pm

>17 BookLizard:
Is there a limit on holds at your library? That's not cool.

21BookLizard
ag. 2, 2015, 7:16 pm

20> It's in Overdrive, so they limit you to 10. They used to have a limit on print books, too. Not sure if they still do. It was a problem for the kids wanting to read graphic novels, particularly manga.

22-Eva-
ag. 2, 2015, 7:25 pm

Huh. My library limits the number of Overdrive books you can have checked out, but I don't think there's a limit on holds.

23BookLizard
ag. 2, 2015, 7:26 pm

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.



Wow. Read it in one sitting. I can see how this novel was a rough draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. Parts are really rough, particularly the ending. Makes me wish I was back in college so I'd be forced to read it again and really think things through. I read it comparing it to To Kill a Mockingbird, but it would be interesting to go back and read it as a novel in its own right. I'm sure I'll reread it - just not sure how soon.

There was some interest in doing a group read of To Kill a Mockingbird in June, then Go Set a Watchman in July. Only a couple of people showed up for TKAM, so I don't know if there's still any interest in a thread for GSAW.

24BookLizard
ag. 3, 2015, 11:23 pm

Fated by Benedict Jacka



Not sure how to describe it. It's one of the series compared to the Dresden Files, Iron Druid, and Rivers of London. The humor is subtle. I really liked it, but wouldn't say I loved it. But lucky for me, I borrowed a bundle on Overdrive, so I have three more in the series to read to see if I like it any better.

25luvamystery65
ag. 4, 2015, 10:42 am

I have no interest in reading Go Set a Watchman at this time. Might change my mind someday but I don't want to mess with the original in my mind.

I still need to read Walking Dead. I'll try to catch up with book 4 & 5 in September.

Take care.

26BookLizard
ag. 4, 2015, 9:42 pm

25> I've found it's much easier to read a few books in a series back to back instead of switching back and forth between series. I would get so confused about the rules in different worlds. It would be like waiting for someone to pull out a lightsaber and then realizing you're watching Star Trek.

27AHS-Wolfy
ag. 5, 2015, 6:30 am

>24 BookLizard: I hope the series improves for you. I have that first book sat on my tbr shelves.

28BookLizard
ag. 5, 2015, 8:20 am

27> Pretty well into the second book and enjoying it. Wish I could give examples of the humor, but I seem to "highlight" only the "true" lines that resonant with me. One of the "amusing" bits happens when Alex is casing an abandoned factory with rusting razor wire: "the owners had decided that they couldn't keep the burglars out but might at least be able to give them tetanus on the way in."

Alex is a diviner which means he can see into the future, but of course there are limits. He does have a built-in warning system for imminent danger, which is a source of entertainment. You would think this would get old, but it actually makes more sense than some of the amazing escapes made by characters in other series. Alex can look at what will happen if he makes certain decisions, so he knows what will lead to his demise and can choose the fate that will keep him alive . . . for the moment.

29thornton37814
ag. 6, 2015, 1:20 pm

Chiming in on Overdrive limits. We have a limit of 15 Overdrive things that can be checked out at once. I think it is the state that set the limit rather than the local library since we only have what is offered through Tennessee Reads.

30dudes22
ag. 6, 2015, 6:52 pm

>29 thornton37814: - I think you must be right. We only have Ocean State Libraries here in RI and we can only check out 8 books on Overdrive at a time. I'm not sure if there's a limit on holds, since I don't put one on until I'm almost ready to read the book (unless there's a big wait list. But we can have something like 40 on a wishlist.

31BookLizard
ag. 6, 2015, 10:19 pm

29 & 30> We have different rules for different systems - for one, the checkout limit is 10 and the hold limit is 10; for the other it's 10 checkouts but only 7 holds. In that system, the towns that are part of the consortium can buy their own copies that can be borrowed by members of that town, so those people can cut in line.

There's no limit on the wishlist. In one system, 315 items on my wishlist are available - another 100 or so are checked out. LOL. I wish I had time to read them all.

32BookLizard
ag. 6, 2015, 10:28 pm

Cursed by Benedict Jacka



I had a hard time putting down this book - as in I was almost late for work and appointments because I didn't want to stop reading. And even when I stopped reading, I had a hard time getting back into the real world. Driving to an appointment this morning, I got stuck in traffic and was wondering if a different route would be faster. I wondered if precognition would help to tell which road I should take . . . then I realized I was thinking of the book instead of reality. LOL. It would be nice though . . .

33BookLizard
ag. 9, 2015, 1:46 am

Taken by Benedict Jacka



Good, but felt a bit like a filler in the series, which in a way it was since it nicely set up . . .

Chosen



Whoa. A real game-changer. Not much humor in this book. Alex's past comes back to haunt him. Secrets are revealed. Friendships are tested. And although it does have a cliffhanger ending, it's one that you can easily see coming (so it whets your appetite for more instead of just pissing you off).

I'm glad Book 5 was available in Overdrive. Book 6 just came out this past week. My library hasn't bought it yet, and I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to hold out until they do.

34lkernagh
ag. 9, 2015, 11:02 am

Sounds like you have been drawn into quite a page-turner series!

35AHS-Wolfy
ag. 9, 2015, 4:58 pm

So glad you're enjoying the series so much to just plow straight through it.

36-Eva-
ag. 13, 2015, 11:08 pm

>32 BookLizard: & >33 BookLizard: I've run out of Butchers, so I'll happily check out something new in that vein!

37BookLizard
ag. 14, 2015, 6:45 am

36> I hope you enjoy it! I like how Alex actually suffers some setbacks instead of just getting more and more powerful.

38BookLizard
ag. 17, 2015, 11:01 am

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine ****1/2



Sucked me in from the start. A great read for any book-lovers (duh). It's an alternate history where the Library of Alexandria never fell. Sounds great, right? Except the Great Library has become so powerful that it controls all knowledge and it's illegal for people to own books.

Jess is a runner for his family's black market book trading enterprise. When he reaches age, his father sends him to Alexandria to train to work for the Library so the family will have a spy on the inside. As Jess competes against his classmates for one of 6 coveted positions, he learns that he's not the only one with secrets, and discovers just how ruthless the library can be.

It just came out in July. It's the start of a series, so who knows when the next book will be out. The ending is satisfying - no unexpected cliffhangers, but enough suspense to make you want to read the next episode in Jess' adventures.

39BookLizard
ag. 19, 2015, 9:58 pm

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Staked was supposed to be coming out 12/29, but now it's not coming out until 1/26.

OK, so maybe I'm being a little over dramatic, but I'm still pushing the limit on my Overdrive holds. I have 9 books on hold and we're only allowed 10. I'm first in line for The Girl in the Spider's Web which comes out 9/1, so that will free up one more spot. I have a hold on Spider's Revenge, but it's not listing any copies. It usually says something like "2 copies, 1 available" - well this doesn't say that at all. If it was a real book, I'd think someone had stolen it! LOL. I'm guessing maybe there's a limit on how many times it can be borrowed, so the library will have to renew their subscription or something. . . . And even with that, there's one person in line ahead of me!

I'm trying to get some continuity by reading 3 books in a series in a row. Right now I'm working on the Walker Papers series. I read Demon Hunts, I'm reading Spirit Dances, and I have Raven Calls loaded on the Kindle and ready to go. I also have 3 books in the Allie Beckstrom series downloaded, and I just borrowed the Millennium series bundle to possibly reread before the new one comes out.

It's nice to be on vacation. I didn't go anywhere, so I'm staying home and reverting to my natural state - up reading until 3 or 4 in the morning, then sleeping until 11.

40rabbitprincess
ag. 19, 2015, 10:06 pm

That sounds like an excellent vacation!

41-Eva-
ag. 20, 2015, 10:44 pm

"up reading until 3 or 4 in the morning, then sleeping until 11"
Not a bad "staycation!" :)

42BookLizard
ag. 21, 2015, 2:13 pm

40 & 41> I've enjoyed it while it lasted. Technically I have a couple of days left, but I have "plans" for those days which will cut into my reading time. I'm so lucky I don't have to be at work until noon on Monday - it's going to be hard enough getting back into the swing of things at work without having to worry about getting up early.

43BookLizard
ag. 21, 2015, 2:19 pm

Spirit Dances by C. E. Murphy.



I enjoyed this while I was reading it. I got so involved reading it when I was waiting to give my brother a ride home from his doctor's appointment that I made him wait until I reached a good stopping point. (I wonder what the other patients in the waiting room were thinking when they saw him standing there and me ignoring him. LOL) The ending was really good in some ways, but also had a few too many coincidences and a bit of a cliffhanger ending. Started the next book right away.

44Chrischi_HH
ag. 24, 2015, 3:33 pm

>38 BookLizard: BB taken, this sounds intriguing!

45BookLizard
ag. 24, 2015, 8:57 pm

44> I hope you like it!

46BookLizard
ag. 24, 2015, 9:00 pm

Raven Calls by C. E. Murphy



OK, I'm ready for a break from this series. This one was too much mumbo-jumbo for me. I like it when the magic makes sense - this was too confusing.

47luvamystery65
ag. 29, 2015, 2:47 pm

I'm passing over your Walker Paper series comment because I haven't got there yet. I am enjoying my Dresen though. I am in the middle of Turn Coat.

48BookLizard
set. 7, 2015, 12:39 pm

SAVE YOURSELVES!!!!!

I wasn't expecting The Girl in the Spider's Web to be as good as Larsson's original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but it is worse than just bad. The book flies in the face of everything the original series was. The subtlety, the atmosphere, the mystery of the trilogy are gone. Instead, the reader is given what is supposed to be a fast-paced thriller, but it's far from thrilling. The author, Legercrantz, seems to think that using info-dumps in conversations makes them better somehow, when in fact it's just an info-dump that also ruins the conversation and characterization.

I found myself talking back to the book repeatedly.

Book: Lisbeth's former guardian and probably closest friend Holger Palmgren tells Blomkvist, "I'm reluctant to try to play the shrink with Lisbeth . . . "

Me: Then don't!!!

I could go on and on, but I won't. Suffice to say, the author acts like he has to tell the whole backstory in info-dumps, but he doesn't since the only people who will read his book are those who have read the original trilogy . . . and they should spare themselves the torment.

49luvamystery65
set. 7, 2015, 12:45 pm

>48 BookLizard: Not interested in the least. I wish you could have your time back.

I am winding up Changes. OMG!!!

50BookLizard
set. 7, 2015, 12:57 pm

49> LOL. I told you that you'd want Ghost Story on hand. Even if you don't read all of Ghost Story now, you'll want to read at least the beginning to see what happens.

51luvamystery65
set. 7, 2015, 1:48 pm

I am on chapter 41. It started out with a bang and has gotten crazier every chapter! Butcher really named it appropriately.

I am SO glad you and Joe talked me into continuing with this series. It just gets better.

52BookLizard
set. 7, 2015, 2:13 pm

51> I resisted reading Butcher for a VERY long time myself.

Male author - meh.
Wizard - oh, please!
Evil vampires - No, vampires are supposed to be sexy.

So glad I got over my hangups.

53luvamystery65
set. 7, 2015, 2:52 pm

>52 BookLizard: Harry used to annoy me in the first few books because he wouldn't tell people what was going on. Now that he tells his friends everything they need to know, his adventures are more exciting.

54lkernagh
set. 7, 2015, 3:21 pm

>48 BookLizard: - OMG... it's that bad? I am saddened. I was so hopeful that they could have continues Larsson's Girl Who... stories. ;-(

55BookLizard
set. 7, 2015, 4:58 pm

54> I was sad too. I looked at the official webpage, and it seems like the notes that Larsson had left for the 4th book were NOT used for this one. I guess the family is still holding on to them so maybe the publisher just went ahead with this new writer and new story. Maybe if you haven't read the other books in a long time, you might not mind this one so much, but I reread the first book and watched the movies for the second and third, and this book was just SO disappointing.

56AHS-Wolfy
set. 8, 2015, 5:48 am

>48 BookLizard: A shame but not wholly unexpected.

>55 BookLizard: It's actually the family that's pushing on with the series. The notes left by Larsson for the next book are still in possession of his long-time partner Eva Gabrielsson. Looks like the differences between these two parties still remain as the latter was not involved in this new book. A very sad state of affairs.

57mamzel
set. 8, 2015, 11:05 am

>55 BookLizard: What a disappointment!

58BookLizard
set. 8, 2015, 9:09 pm

56> At the end he thanked the family, so I figured I had something wrong. Thanks for clarifying.

The ending was . . . gag worthy. I don't usually read Swedish crime fiction, but I was under the impression that they don't have happy endings - resolution maybe, but not happiness. I won't be spoiling it to tell you that 2 of the secondary characters fall in "insta-love" near the end of the novel. It's like out of the blue, and what's the point??? If this were a romance novel, you'd know that the next book in the series would be about that couple - but this isn't a romance!

Ugh!

59dudes22
set. 9, 2015, 6:43 am

>48 BookLizard: - I thank you for taking one for the team. I knew that it wasn't the family who had the notes for the next novel, but didn't realize that the person writing this one was affiliated with the family. The third one was so obviously leading to a fourth, that I was hoping it would at least be acceptable if not totally in Larsson's style.

60mamzel
set. 9, 2015, 10:57 am

I just removed the book from my holds list. I think I can safely say I have something better to read.

61BookLizard
set. 9, 2015, 7:05 pm

59 & 60> Happy that something good could come from my experience.

There aren't many books that really annoy me, but this was one of them. I judge a book on what it is - not what it isn't. So I might give a 5 star rating to a romance novel and To Kill a Mockingbird, but that doesn't make them equal - it just means that the romance was a really great romance. And Go Set a Watchman is nowhere near as good as To Kill a Mockingbird, but taken for what it is (a rough draft of a novel) it's good. But The Girl in the Spider's Web is just all around bad.

62-Eva-
set. 18, 2015, 4:58 pm

>48 BookLizard:
I really wish they hadn't bothered. Thanks from me too for confirming that I don't need to read it. :)

63BookLizard
set. 22, 2015, 7:54 pm

62> Happy to help.

So, I've been complaining about the library only allowing 10 holds in Overdrive. So today a book I really want was added, and I was going to delete the hold on a book I didn't want as much so I could put a hold on this one. Well, when I went to my holds list, I had 11 books on hold! They had bought a book I had suggested and they went over the 10 limit to add it!

Which means I would have to delete TWO holds to request the one I want. If I just deleted one, I would still end up with 10 holds. *sigh* First world problems.

But on the bright side, I'm next in line for TWO books that aren't pre-pub, so hopefully I'll be able to place a hold some time in the next TWO weeks.

64BookLizard
set. 23, 2015, 10:59 pm

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders



You wouldn't expect a book about your digestive system to be funny, but this one is. And informative. The first part is the best - the later part about bacteria isn't so funny.

65-Eva-
set. 24, 2015, 12:16 am

>64 BookLizard: BB taken!

66Chrischi_HH
set. 24, 2015, 7:44 am

>64 BookLizard: I also read it this year, and was surprised how informative, funny and easy to read it was! :)

67BookLizard
set. 24, 2015, 5:01 pm

65> Love it.

66> Glad I'm not the only one who liked it!

I have a sinus infection and I'm taking an antibiotic, so I stopped on the way home and bought some probiotics.

68BookLizard
set. 24, 2015, 10:41 pm

Armada by Ernest Cline *****



Did you love Ready Player One? Do you love (or even just like) classic science fiction flicks, shows, or books? Star Wars or Star Trek? Firefly? Ender's Game? Armada is filled with tons of pop culture references from the 70s and 80s. Makes me want to go watch The Last Starfighter.

And coincidentally, or maybe subconsciously, I just borrow E.T. from the library.

69BookLizard
nov. 5, 2015, 11:07 pm

Finished Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Really enjoyed it. The ending tied everything up ever-so-neatly, but I was rooting for Simon anyway, so I wallowed in the warm fuzzies.

 
 

70luvamystery65
nov. 6, 2015, 7:53 am

BL I can't remember if I shared the link with you for NF November. I know you have Furiously Happy so feel free to share your thoughts with us. I loved her first book and I do hope I get to this one. I've only heard good things.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/198771

71BookLizard
nov. 12, 2015, 11:35 am

70> I posted over in the 75 NF November thread, but I didn't go into detail. Here's why:

"I've been reading Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. For the most part, loving it. Since it's basically a bunch of vignettes, it makes it easy to read just a little bit at a time."

Then my thoughts started going off tangent, just like Jenny's would -- "read just a little bit at a time" - in bed at night, in bed in the morning . . . (why is it at night, but in the morning?)

So I had to research it on the internet, and the best answer I found was that we use in if it's followed by "the" and at when it's not - which explains the grammar, but not the usage. Someone suggested that it has to do with whether or not it's a specific time, but that's not right: 10 in the morning, 10 in the night? 10 at morning, 10 at night? Of course we also have, in the afternoon, in the evening, at dawn, at dusk. In those cases, at is used for a specific time/moment.

Someone pointed out the example of "things that go bump in the night," but I think that applies more to the night as darkness and not time. The things probably go bump during the day, too. In the day? At day? We use during the night just like during the day: The toddler wet the bed during the night, but was able to hold it during the day.

So Lawson is starting to get to me.

72lkernagh
nov. 12, 2015, 3:34 pm

Oh dear, sorry to see that Lawson is starting to get to you but I really enjoyed reading your post. The whole "in" and "at" thing isn't something I have every really thought about before. Now I can see it as a perfect topic of conversation on the bus with a group of total strangers. ;-)

73luvamystery65
des. 24, 2015, 4:29 pm



Merry Christmas

74lkernagh
des. 24, 2015, 4:47 pm

Stopping by to wish you the very best this holiday season!

75rabbitprincess
des. 24, 2015, 5:33 pm

Happy holidays and all the best in 2016!

76paruline
des. 31, 2015, 8:03 am

Stopping by to wish you a happy holiday season!