Mamzel's 2015 Challenge, Part 3

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Mamzel's 2015 Challenge, Part 3

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1mamzel
Editat: des. 15, 2015, 6:21 pm



Welcome to Part 3 of my Doctor Who challenge!
Part 1 was here.
Part 2 was here.

I came relatively late to the series (David Tennant) but I thoroughly enjoy them now. Saturday night is the night both of my kids come home for dinner and we enjoy watching the program together. I find the time between seasons rather hollow.

Each category is dedicated to one of the doctors. Thanks to Wikipedia I had a list of episode titles and pictures from the episodes to decorate each one.

Allons-y - the TARDIS is underway. Who knows when or where we'll end up!

Running tally:

1. YA and children lit - 31
2. Fantasy - 13
3. empty
4. Technolit - 3
5. Nonfiction - 7
6. ROOTs - 6
7. Tomes - 3
8. Mystery - 11
9. Non-American authors - 12
10. 1001 Books - 3
11. Cross-genre - 2
12. Audiobooks - 4
13. Miscellaneous - 7
Group reads and CATs - 29

Total books read to date: 102

Outstanding books (4.5-5 stars)




Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
The Martian by Andy Weir
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman
The Creative Collection of American Short Stories by various authors
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016)
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (2015)
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (2015)

2mamzel
Editat: des. 15, 2015, 6:20 pm



The Unearthly Child
This was the very first episode starring William Hartnell and is dedicated to YA and other children literature.

1. The Green Man by Michael Bedard (2012)
2. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (2014)
3. Death Cloud by Andrew Lane (2010)
4. Brain Jack by Brian Falkner (2009)
5. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (2014)
6. Zel by Donna Jo Napoli (1996)
7. Disconnect by Lois Peterson (2012)
8. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (2014)
9. Dragonseye by Anne McCaffrey (1997)
10. Shipwrecked! by Rhoda Blumberg (2001)
11. Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George (2015)
12. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016)
13. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (2015)
14. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (2015)
15. Ashfall by Mike Mullin (2010)
16. The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (1995)
17. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (2015)



1. The Terrorist's Son by Zak Ebrahim (2014)
2. The Martian by Andy Weir (2014)
3. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (2014)
4. Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2014)
5. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014)
6. The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely (2014)
7. Noggin by John Cory Whaley (2014)
8. In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang (2014)
9. Shakespeare's Star Wars Collection written by Ian Doescher, read by Danny Davis, et al (2014)
10. Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson (2014)
11. This or That?: The Wacky Book of Choices to Reveal the Hidden You (National Geographic Kids) by Crispin Boyer (2014)
12. Girls Like Us by Gail Giles (2014)
13. Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale byRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla (2014)
14. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (2014)

3mamzel
Editat: des. 13, 2015, 12:51 pm



The Abominable Snowman

Patrick Troughton was the second doctor and I chose this episode to represent the fantasy genre.

1. Locke & Key 6-volume series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (2012-2014)
2. Lost Horizon by James Hilton (1933)
3. Libriomancer: (Magic ex Libris Book 1) by Jim C. Hines (2012)
4. Codex Born: (Magic ex Libris Book 2) by Jim C. Hines (2013)
5. The Liar's Key by Mark Lawrence (2015)
6. Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (2011)
7. King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (2013)
8. A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan (2014)
9. Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2015)
10. Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (2009)
11. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (2014)
12. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)
13. Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski (2014)

4mamzel
Editat: des. 3, 2015, 5:33 pm



Frontier in Space

John Pertwee is the third doctor and I thought the title of this episode was perfect for a science fiction category.

I'm closing this category but leaving the post open since I don't want to delete a Doctor. There are too many other categories these books could fall into.



Robots of Death

Tom Baker was the Doctor when I became aware of the series. I was in college at the time. I've been reading a lot of what I like to call technolit which involves computers and other high tech stuff - as it exists today.

1. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
2. The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)
3. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner (2013)

5mamzel
Editat: nov. 30, 2015, 5:25 pm



Terminus

I better remember Peter Davisson from his role in All Creatures, Great and Small but he was also the fifth doctor and came back for the great reunion shows. This will be my category for nonfiction.

1. More Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data, edited by Nicole C. Engard (2015)
2. The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo, translated by Henry Yule, revised by Henri Cordier (2012)
3. The Writing on the Walls: Discovering Medieval and Ancient Graffiti for Middle School Social Studies by Toni Rhodes (2015)
4. The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man's Fight for Justice and Freedom in China by Chen Guangcheng (2015)
5. Oh Myyy! by George Takei (2013)
6. More Awesome Than Money: Four Boys and Their Heroic Quest to Save Your Privacy from Facebook by Jim Dwyer (2014)
7. Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner (orig. 1986, revised in 1993) DNF
8. Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (2015)

6mamzel
set. 29, 2015, 4:57 pm



The Ultimate Foe

The sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, sure had the 80s hair! I thought this title was very apropos for my ROOTs category.

1. The Sherlockian by Graham Moore (2010)
2. Roman Dusk: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (2008)
3. The King's Sword by C.J. Brightley (2012)
4. Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden (2003)
5. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
6. A Plague of Sinners by Paul Lawrence (2010)

7mamzel
set. 29, 2015, 4:58 pm



The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Sylvester McCoy, the seventh Doctor, starred in this episode which I chose to represent the doorstops (books with >500 pages) I will read in 2015.

1. Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell (1959)
2. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanha Clarke (2004)
3. Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg (1998)

8mamzel
Editat: nov. 22, 2015, 1:39 pm



Doctor Who

Paul McGann, the eighth Doctor, only appeared in one movie. At least the title is good for my mystery category.

1. A Rare Benedictine by Ellis Peters (1990)
2. Sandman by R. Robert Janes (2012)
3. Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters (orig. 1980, audio 2010), narrated by Johanne Ward
4. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley (2015)
5. Second Street Station by Lawrence H. Levy (2015)
6. St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters (1981)
7. State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy (2008)
8. The Leper of Saint Giles by Ellis Peters (1981)
9. The Blue Dragon by Ronald Tierney (2015)
10. The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (2012)
11. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (2015)

9mamzel
Editat: nov. 22, 2015, 2:02 pm



Aliens of London

This episode title from Christopher Eggleston's Doctor will represent my non-American reading.

1. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith (2014)
2. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (orig. 1884)
3. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1972)
4. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (orig. 1892)
5. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (2013)
6. River of Darkness by Rennie Airth (1999)
7. Little Red Lies by Julie Johnston (2013)
8. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope (orig. 1894)
9. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (1999)
10. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (orig. 1912)
11. The Apex Book of World SF 4, edited by Mahvesh Murad (2015)
12. Into That Forest by Louis Nowra (2013)

10mamzel
Editat: oct. 2, 2015, 6:46 pm



The Shakespeare Code

David Tennant, the 10th Doctor and my favorite to date, stars in one of my all time favorite episodes. The Bard's name refers to any books from the 1001 Books-to-Read-Before-I-Die list. I try to get to two or three per year.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (orig. 1795)
2. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (orig. 1898)
3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson (orig. 1886)

11mamzel
Editat: nov. 11, 2015, 12:42 pm



Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

The eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, had one of his giddiest moments in this episode. I'll list my books which can be classified in two or more genres. Of course.

1. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (2012)
2. Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor (2015)

12mamzel
Editat: nov. 10, 2015, 3:41 pm



Listen

Peter Capaldi is our twelfth and most recent Doctor. As I write, this was the episode viewed last weekend and it blew me away! It also will represent audiobooks, either on CD or via Overdrive on my phone.

1. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris, narrated by David Sedaris, Dylan Baker, Elaine Stritch, Sian Phillips (2010)
2. 2006 Bones by Kathy Reichs and narrated by Linda Emond (2009)
3. Storm Cycle by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (2009), narrated by Tanya Eby
4. Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Simon Vance (2012)

13mamzel
Editat: nov. 17, 2015, 3:17 pm



The Day of the Doctors

This was the epic episode where John Hurt was the War Doctor and starred with both David Tennant and Matt Smith with a special appearance by Tom Baker. I'm not sure what books will end up here but will make it available for any titles that don't fit in the other categories, i.e. miscellaneous.

1. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (orig. pub. 1940)
2. The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin and Samatha Norman (2015)
3. The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich (2005)
4. The Creative Collection of American Short Stories, illustrated by Yan Nascimbene, introduction by Ray Bradbury (2010)
5. The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner (1976)
6. The Coffee Trader by David Liss (2004)
7. American Meteor by Norman Lock (2015)
8. Fray, written by Joss Whedon, illustrated by Karl Moline and Andy Owens (2003)

14mamzel
Editat: des. 13, 2015, 12:56 pm



Group reads

I want to try and participate in more of the group reads, CATs, KITs, etc. this year and will record my success here. All of these books will be counted in one of the other categories making this a glorified place holder.

American Authors Challenge
January - Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (orig. pub. 1940)
February - Henry James - The Turn of the Screw (orig. 1898)
March - Richard Ford
April - Louise Erdrich - The Painted Drum (2005)
May - Sinclair Lewis
June - Wallace Stegner - The Spectator Bird (1976)
July - Ursula K. Le Guin
August - Larry McMurtry
September - Flannery O' Connor
October - Ray Bradbury
November - Barbara Kingsolver
December - E.L. Doctorow

Science Fiction/Fantasy CAT
January -- Other Pasts -- Steampunk, Gas Lamp and other historical SFFF - Death Cloud by Andrew Lane (2010)
February -- The Classics -- SFFF Written before 1980 -- Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (orig. 1884)
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1972)

March -- It's the End of the World As We Know It -- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
April -- Fair Tales and Mighty Myths -- Zel by Donna Jo Napoli (1996)
May -- Girl Power -- SFFF Written By Women or featuring a strong female main character -- Dragon Eye by Anne McCaffery (1997)
June -- Does Anybody Know What Time It Is? -- Time Travel & Alternative History -- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2004)
July -- Critters and Creatures -- Non-Humans from Aliens to Dragons -- A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan (2014)
August -- Other Worlds
September -- Slightly Out of Wack -- Slipstream and Interstitial (This includes Magic Realism and Genre Benders) - Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (orig. 1912)
October -- What Was That? -- Supernatural, Paranormal and the Just Plain Inexplicable (Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy and Gothic) - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson (orig. 1886) Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George (2015)
November -- Off on a Quest -- Heros, Superheroes, Puzzles and Epic Journeys Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (2015) Ashfall by Mike Mullin (2010)
December -- Under the Influence Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)

History CAT
January: BC to 1 -- Myths & Legends - Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden (2003)
February: 1 to 500 -- Religion Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell (1959)
March: 500 to 1000 -- Exploration & Conquest The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo, translated by Henry Yule, revised by Henri Cordier (2012)
April: 1000 to 1300 -- Crime & Mysteries - The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin and Samatha Norman (2015)
May: 1300 to 1500 -- Plagues & Disasters
June: 1500 to 1600-- Culture & the Arts
July: 1600 to 1700 -- Immigration & Migration - The Coffee Trader by David Liss (2004)
August: 1700 to 1800 -- Medicine & Disease - The Leper of Saint Giles by Ellis Peters (1981)
September: 1800 to 1850 -- Lifestyles of Ordinary People - The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (2012)
October: 1850 to 1900 -- Science & Technology - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson (orig. 1886)
American Meteor by Norman Lock (2015)
November: 1900 to 1945 -- War & Peace Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016)
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (2015)

December: 1945 to 1990 -- Civil Rights & Equality The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (1995)

Biographies
First Quarter - Call the Midwife
Second Quarter - Thomas Becket
Third Quarter - The Black Count
Fourth Quarter - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

15mamzel
set. 29, 2015, 5:13 pm

One last thread for 2015. I prefer to just sort my reads rather than trying to read a certain number each month. I am way too frivolous to be that organized. I am happy if I place at least one or two in each category but the YA category will always be very top heavy and I'll always have a small number of major books (both in number of pages and in subject matter). I like the flexibility of this group that allows the members to police their own challenges and not feel shame if the results don't meet their challenge.

Thanks for indulging me.

16luvamystery65
set. 29, 2015, 5:15 pm

Howdy mamzel! I also like how we self police around here. It's what makes this place so great.

17rabbitprincess
set. 29, 2015, 5:22 pm

Great new thread! Love the reminder of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. Possibly my fave Matt Smith episode!

18mamzel
set. 29, 2015, 6:27 pm

>16 luvamystery65: At least one of the things that makes it great, I agree!

>17 rabbitprincess: I loved the stegosaurus chasing the ball like a puppy!

19lkernagh
set. 29, 2015, 9:30 pm

YAY for new thread!

20DeltaQueen50
oct. 1, 2015, 11:22 pm

This year is speeding by at an incredible speed, can't believe we are in the process of winding 2015 up!

21-Eva-
oct. 2, 2015, 2:12 pm

Happy new thread! I like how your sorting your reads - looks very nice to a list-maker such as myself. :)

22mamzel
oct. 2, 2015, 6:45 pm

>19 lkernagh: Thanks!

>20 DeltaQueen50: I think the older I get the faster things go, darn it!

>21 -Eva-: I like lists. ☺



The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson (orig. 1886)

Mr. Utterson, the lawyer, was a man of a rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable.

I don't think I have ever actually read this story until now. To my loss. It is relatively short (89 pages in my version) and moves along swiftly. The confession at the end seemed to go on for a bit too long but I can sure understand why the character kept going, trying to stay in contact with his human side for as long as he is able.

I wondered as I read it how a person unfamiliar with the story would find the outcome. Would they be surprised? shocked? As it was I enjoyed seeing how the story unfolded.

CATEGORY: 1001-BOOKS-T-READ-BEFORE-I-DIE
SFFCAT: PARANORMAL
HISTCAT: PERIOD AND TOPIC

23mathgirl40
oct. 2, 2015, 8:38 pm

Happy new thread!

>15 mamzel: I too decided to have a less ambitious challenge this year, setting more modest goals and using the categories mainly to sort and keep track of books read.

24mamzel
Editat: oct. 4, 2015, 5:40 pm

>23 mathgirl40: Less stressful, right? It appears a number of us go this route.



American Meteor by Norman Lock (2015)

I got so I could disentangle from the general stink the various odors that combined in an evil and rancid atmosphere, oppressing the sound, the maimed, and the dying alike.

I received this book from the Early Reviewers program months ago but it got buried under stuff and I just recently resurrected it.

We meet Stephen Moran when he is thirteen years old, is in an army hospital recovering from the loss of an eye. He has told people he lost it from rebel shrapnel but we learn much later that this was a gross exaggeration and he probably did not deserve the Medal of Honor he wore. He was a bugler because of his age.

He reminded me a little of Forrest Gump in the way that he kept encountering people who were already famous or would become so in time. It started with encountering Walt Whitman on a beach in Sheepshead Bay where Stephen was collecting oysters. Whitman meets him again in the hospital and recommends him to be the bugler for the train bringing Lincoln's body to Springfield. After that he continues to meet more people with names familiar to us now culminating in Custer and Crazy Horse.

Stephen is relating his story to an off camera Jay who is never fully introduced but joins in conversation at the end of the story. Even if Stephen exaggerated his acquaintances, I still enjoyed the story which crisscrossed the country at such an interesting, if violent, time.

CATEGORY: MISCELLANEOUS (even though I sometimes thought of it as fantasy)
HISTCAT: ERA AND TOPIC

25mamzel
oct. 7, 2015, 10:33 am

William Gibson (Neuromancer) is going to be at a nearby book store this Friday. I tried to read his book but couldn't get into it at the time. However, I know he is big with my son and Monsieur so I asked if they wanted to go. Unfortunately my son can't get off work early enough to make it but Monsieur is rarin' to go. He has never been to a book talk and is the kind of person who needs to know the exact layout and procedure before he will venture to an event. Every day he has new questions. He wanted to get his book ahead of time and I assured him the store would have them available. "How many will he sign?" Every author is different so I couldn't answer that. Etc., etc., etc.

26mamzel
Editat: oct. 9, 2015, 5:17 pm

Boy, it's been months since I've read a YA book! I decided to read this one which fits the season, and as luck would have it, the HistoryCAT.



Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George (2015)

26 April 1897
Dearest Lou,
Whoever said that travel was exotic and full of adventure clearly has not sailed on the White Lady.


Louisa (Lou) and Dacia are cousins. Their mothers are Romanian sisters and their fathers American. When they are seventeen they are brought to Romania to visit relatives and learn that they have been bred and raised to fulfill a plot to overcome the king. They discover that there is more than high society life for them and that they harbor powers of which they had not been aware. Will they willingly go along with the plans put in motion by their grandmother and the Awful Man? Or will they use their powers to upset the plans and go their own way?

The one thing that bothered me was how it seemed we had girls blushing on almost every page. I got rather bored with that. It was, however, an interesting twist on the Dracula story.

Note:Remain calm. Take mental stock of new Parisian gowns to prevent hysteria. Stay away from any plots to overthrow the current, beloved monarchy.
(p. 116)

CATEGORY: YA
HISTORY CAT: LATE 1800S

27mamzel
oct. 17, 2015, 3:16 pm



The Apex Book of World SF 4, edited by Mahvesh Murad (2015)

I have always found that in a collection of short stories, there are some which knock my socks off and some I skip through and this collection is no exception. This series features authors from all over the world, many translated to English. It was fun to sample the writers from such a diverse array of cultures with their mythologies and viewpoints.

One story that really touched me was from the Netherlands was called The Boy Who Cast No Shadow. It featured a young man named Look who cast no shadow or reflection. He suffered his uniqueness alone until another boy showed up. He name was Splinter and he was made of glass. He was tired of being treated as if he were, well, made of glass and Look abetted him in having some adventures. Eventually they decided to run away from home and Look took Splinter to a place in Portugal where he had vacationed with his family. They went so Splinter could witness the sun setting on the ocean. What they also discovered was their sexuality, to Splinter's demise.

Another story that I liked was written by an author from the Virgin Islands called Single Entry. It was about a person who designed a fantastic costume and showed it off to all the people enjoying the annual Carnival parade. The language used was the Calypso tongue which brought me back to all the parades I witnessed as a kid.

Science fiction is popular since it can take ordinary experiences and plop them down in extraordinary settings. This collection takes the pleasure up a few more notches as it starts with an author from an unfamiliar culture with new experiences.

CATEGORY: NON-AMERICAN AUTHORS

28mamzel
Editat: oct. 17, 2015, 5:00 pm

Splurged big time on some books the other night. I'll just say it's an early Thingversary! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Armada by Ernest Cline
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson
and...drum roll, please...
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi - signed by the author - SQUEEEE!
(No, alas, he was not there for the signing. The funny thing was that I watched his speech at the Berkeley Book Fest held this past June and he was brilliant. Missed opportunity...

ARC - Cambodia Noir by Nick Seeley
ARC - Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - 100 pages in and it's amazing!
(It's cool to have friends who work in book stores!)

29-Eva-
oct. 18, 2015, 3:54 pm

Nice loot - and congrats on the signed Bacigalupi!

30rabbitprincess
oct. 18, 2015, 8:21 pm

Could it be your half-Thingaversary, like a half-birthday? ;)

31mamzel
oct. 18, 2015, 10:18 pm

>29 -Eva-: Thanks. It was fun to treat myself.

>30 rabbitprincess: Thingversary is only 3 weeks away so it's. Lose enough in my book!

32mamzel
oct. 21, 2015, 1:04 pm



Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016)

I read an ARC of this title so no opening line will be offered.

The good news - this book is fantastic! The bad news - it's not available until February! That is unless you are as lucky as I was to obtain an ARC.

The end of WWII and hoards of people are heading to the ports to try and escape Germany ahead of the Russian Army. Operation Hannibal was organized to ferry wounded soldiers and citizens out of danger. Unfortunately, the Russians had no mercy and these ships were targets of their submarines. Three ships were sunk and an estimated 25,000 victims lost their lives in the Baltic.

We follow a group of people as they come together and make their way to the coast. Joana is 21-years old, a nurse and a natural leader. Emilia is a pregnant 15-year old who is saved from rape by Florian, a young Prussian who evaded service because of his talent as art restorer. Other members of the group include a poet cobbler who can size up a person by his shoes and a wandering boy the cobbler has taken under his wing. There is also Alfred, a young German who had evaded service to this point because of terrible rashes on his hands. Now, however, he can serve his Fuhrer and crow about his duty to a girl named Hannelore in letters he never mails. This group comes together on a ship called the Wilhelm Gustloff designed to take regular people on pleasure cruises and is now loaded with an estimated 10,000 people.

The story is told from their different POVs in alternating chapters. This moves the story along and keeps the reader riveted. The cold, the hunger, the pain and discomfort, the danger, the desperation are all felt. I should not have been reading this in the library because I needed tissues at the end.

Sepetys also wrote Between Shades of Gray which took place in a Siberian work camp and Out of the Easy which is about a girl whose mother works in a brothel in New Orleans. Sepetys is wonderful at putting the reader in the place of her stories and allowing the reader to experience a different time and place. I recommend all of these books.

CATEGORY: YA

33mamzel
oct. 23, 2015, 2:44 pm

It was on my desk so I just reread The Arrival and was blown away at the beauty and story told with just pictures.

34Chrischi_HH
oct. 24, 2015, 7:20 am

>32 mamzel: I will keep my eyes open when it is published. My grandmother also had to flee and this is something I would like to read more about. Thanks for your review!

35mamzel
oct. 25, 2015, 1:30 pm

>34 Chrischi_HH: I bet you'll really appreciate it. A book like that could really hit home when it reflects one's own family history!



The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)

There were stories in sweat.

Bacigalupi has once again seen into our foreseeable future and described a very likely scenario of what it will be like if matters are not handled immediately. In The Windup Girl it was GMOs and calories at stake and in this book the resource in question is even more basic. The Southwest is in the grips of a drought that has lasted for years and the Colorado River has so many straws sucking life out of it that a new career has emerged; that of a water knife, one who digs up water right documents. Arizona, Nevada, and California are all battling and building walls to keep back Texans who have no water at all in their hurricane-ravaged state. Disreputable coyotes are taking money from hopeful emigrants and burying their bodies in the desert. Crude housing springs up around well heads where water is doled out in ounces while once lush suburban houses are becoming homes for the furry kind of coyote. Chinese companies are building arcologies which are self-sustained communities recycling 90% of their water and using solar panels to power the AC to filter out the dust.

Few people can see the whole picture as well as these water knives and the despicable people who hire them. We meet a water knife named Angel, an investigative reporter named Lucy, a young Texas immigrant named Maria and her friend, Toomie. They come together having dodged bullets, escaped sadistic hitmen, and decide on the destination of a 150-year old piece of paper which would mean life or death for California, Arizona, or Nevada.

The book starts slow to allow the reader to appreciate fully the situation these people live in and how they eventually come together to form their own little army. Once you get past the halfway point the action takes off and it becomes a real page turner. This is an example of the writing that almost sums up all the factions.

Lucy laughed. "You know Arizona's fucked when California owns the companies that are supposedly helping them find water." She laughed again. "So yeah, this Ibis exec made me an offer. I could write about anything I wanted, but maybe I should stop worrying about what California was doing here or there and spend more time worrying about other things. Maybe I could focus more on Colorado River Compact revisions, or changes in staffing in the Interior Department. Or Nevada." She gestured toward Angel. "Write about shadowy Law Vegas water knives. Or maybe write about how America doesn't have enough FEMA staff to handle hurricanes on the Gulf, and tornadoes in the Midwest, and floods on the Mississippi, and seawalls collapsing in Manhattan. Human interest stories are wonderful. Write about exhausted FEMA personnel, and how the federal government doesn't have enough energy to take care of a bunch of Texans who towns have just dried up. There were so many stories I could write about. So many interesting things happening in the world." Lucy laughed bitterly. "He wasn't telling me what to write. He was just saying that maybe I should think a little bit about all the other really interesting stories that needed covering."


CATEGORY: TECHNOLIT

36mamzel
Editat: nov. 13, 2015, 10:39 am



Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (2015)



Nimona is a shape shifter. She can change into any living organism, large or small, real or imagined. She wants to be the sidekick of the bad guy, Lord Blackheart. Together they are going to bring down the evil Institute whose director is dedicated to amassing terrible weapons even though they are not at war with anyone. Protecting the Institute is Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin (don't you just love that name?) who was raised with Blackheart in an orphanage.

There is a sense of humor through the book and Nimona is not your run-of-the-mill sidekick.

CATEGORY: YOUNG ADULT

37-Eva-
oct. 26, 2015, 11:55 am

>36 mamzel:
I read part of that one online and it looks really good.

38christina_reads
oct. 26, 2015, 1:27 pm

>36 mamzel: Nimona is already on my TBR list, but now I'm even more eager to read about the epic battle between Blackheart and Goldenloin!

39RidgewayGirl
oct. 26, 2015, 3:09 pm

I just gave a copy of Nimona to my daughter. I'm waiting to see what she thinks about it.

40mamzel
oct. 26, 2015, 4:00 pm

I hope everyone enjoys Nimona. She is quite a character.

41mamzel
oct. 27, 2015, 2:00 pm



The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (2015)

On the day we're the last people to see indie kid Finn alive, we're all sprawled together in the Field, talking about love and stomachs.

There are two stories going on here. One is the big picture which we follow through the chapter headings and has kids being killed and resurrected and blue lights and stuff. The other is about a group of seniors waxing poetic about the little time left together and what the future held for them. Mike tells the story and we get insight into his OCD which gets worse when he frets about stuff. Jared, who helps him get out of his loops of never ending counting or washing, is part God. Mike's older sister, Mel, nearly died from anorexia and took a year off from school so is graduating with him. Henna has a black mother and Finnish father and is worried about the trip they have planned for the summer which is ministering in the Central Africa Republic where war has just broken out. Around them there are weird happenings, but hey, they've already survived zombies and flesh-eating ghosts so what could be worse?

What I love about this book is the nonchalance of the characters as all heck is breaking out around them. They're hardly even phased when they have to evacuate their graduation ceremony because the gym is about to blow up. They stay focused on each other and that is really cool. Just get some hamburgers and enjoy the show. Same old, same old.

Recommended for teens and any adults who like to dip into YA for fun.

CATEGORY: YOUNG ADULT

42mamzel
oct. 28, 2015, 5:34 pm



Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (2009)
The Witcher #3

The town was in flames.

The second book (according to LT) is actually a collection of short stories and I chose to skip them. This continues the story of Geralt of Rivia and his ward, Ciri, who is hiding with the witch, Yennefer and receiving training from her. Not much action in this book. I think it serves to bridge to more action in the next book, already loaded on my Kindle.

CATEGORY: FANTASY

43mamzel
oct. 28, 2015, 5:41 pm

While watching the finale of Face Off last night on Syfy I saw the trailer for Childhood's End due to air in December. Wow!

44mamzel
nov. 2, 2015, 11:14 am

Rain!



45mamzel
Editat: des. 1, 2015, 11:08 am

OCTOBER SUMMARY

Running tally:

1. YA and children lit - 27
2. Fantasy - 10
3. empty
4. Technolit - 1
5. Nonfiction - 6
6. ROOTs - 6
7. Tomes - 3
8. Mystery - 10
9. Non-American authors - 11
10. 1001 Books - 3
11. Cross-genre - 1
12. Audiobooks - 3
13. Miscellaneous - 6
Group reads and CATs - 15

Total books read to date: 87

9 books read this month and two of them were added to my "Outstanding Reads" list. One of the books I read covered both of the CATs, a first for me.

My reading is going to slow down a bit now since I'm reading Cadillac Desert which requires good attention, trying to write for NaNoWriMo (again!) and I'm deep in my video game at home. If feels like I've already spent more time with Witcher 3 than with Witcher 1 and 2 combined which is a good thing since it feels like I'm really getting my money's worth out of the game. Playing actually cuts into my TV time more than reading time since I like to read in the morning in bed with my first cup of coffee.

46VioletBramble
nov. 2, 2015, 1:36 pm

>44 mamzel: What? Is it actually raining in California?

47mamzel
nov. 2, 2015, 3:44 pm

Yes! That's what the reporters are calling that wet stuff that's falling from the sky!

48mamzel
Editat: nov. 2, 2015, 4:32 pm

Came across this sentence in Cadillac Desert:

Sesquipedalian tergiversation was the strong suit of Harrison Gray Otis, along with slander, meanness, biliousness, and the implacable pursuit of a good old-fashioned grudge.(71)

Say, WHAT?

49LittleTaiko
nov. 2, 2015, 6:16 pm

>48 mamzel: - Wow - what a convoluted sentence!

50lkernagh
nov. 2, 2015, 7:45 pm

>44 mamzel:, >46 VioletBramble: and >47 mamzel: - LOL! Do let us know if "it" turns into fluffy white stuff.... ;-)

51-Eva-
nov. 2, 2015, 11:06 pm

Raining in my part of Cali as well right now! It won't last long, but I'll take whatever I can get. :)

52mamzel
nov. 3, 2015, 11:34 am

>50 lkernagh: >51 -Eva-: "It" turned into hard white stuff. Right when school let out the skies let loose with pea-sized hail and lightning and thunder. It was quite a show. If I was savvy enough to post pictures here I would but they keep coming out upside down for some reason.

>49 LittleTaiko: This book is turning out to be quite the vocabulary blockbuster. This rant was on the very next page. In case you can't tell, I am really enjoying this book.

Hiram Johnson was addressing a crowd in a Los Angeles auditorium when someone in the audience, who knew that Johnson's talent for invective surpassed even the General's, yelled out, "What about Otis?" Johnson, all prognathous scowl and murderous intent, took two steps forward and began extemporaneously. "In the city of San Francisco we have drunk to the very dregs of infamy," he said in a low rumble. "We have had vile officials, we have had rotten newspapers. But we have had nothing so vile, nothing so low, nothing so debased, nothing so infamous in San Francisco as Harrison Gray Otis. He sits there in senile dementia with gangrene heart and rotting brain, grimacing at every reform, chattering impotently at all the things that are decent, frothing, fuming, violently gibbering, going down to his grave in snarling infamy. This man Otis is the one blot on the banner of southern California; he is the bar sinister on your escutcheon. My friends, he is the one thing that all Californians look at when, in looking at southern California, they see anything that is disgraceful, depraved, corrupt, crooked, and putrescent -- that," concluded Johnson in a majestic bawl, "that is Harrison Gray Otis!" (72)

53-Eva-
nov. 3, 2015, 12:35 pm

>52 mamzel:
Ours just stopped a few minutes after I posted. No hard white stuff down here.

54lkernagh
nov. 3, 2015, 9:24 pm

>52 mamzel:- Oh dear.... hail is never fun, and is always a huge surprise when it happens. Was there much damage, says someone who has lived through Canadian Prairie hail storms where the hail is the size of large marbles. Damage central when those things fall!

55mamzel
nov. 4, 2015, 10:31 am

>54 lkernagh: No damage. However, I know that my Meyer lemons will develop little pits in their skins. It doesn't really affect the fruit except cosmetically.

56lkernagh
nov. 4, 2015, 8:59 pm

That is a relief. Poor lemons!

57mathgirl40
nov. 4, 2015, 9:55 pm

>35 mamzel: Great review of The Water Knife! I'm on my library's waiting list for this book.

58mamzel
nov. 5, 2015, 10:30 am

>56 lkernagh: My lemon tree is amazing. It has survived neglect, amateur trimming, slugs, and all sorts of abuse but rewards what little attention I do give it in the way of occasional watering during the summer, once a year weeding, and a little fertilizer. Meyer lemons are so delicious and juicy and give super flavor to whatever I add them to. If you have never tasted one, they are a little less tart than regular lemons but still have a wonderful citrus tang.

>57 mathgirl40: I hope you enjoy it. I was inspired to work my way through Cadillac Desert because of it.

59thornton37814
nov. 5, 2015, 8:37 pm

I was going to comment about your lemon tree, but then Mr. B decided to close the window, and I had to find the post again. I don't think lemon trees would do well in our climate here.

60mamzel
nov. 6, 2015, 10:35 am

>59 thornton37814: Do you ever get Meyer lemons in your produce section? I always wondered if they reached outside of citrus producing climes.

61thornton37814
nov. 6, 2015, 9:50 pm

>60 mamzel: I have seen them in Knoxville, but not here in Morristown.

62mamzel
nov. 10, 2015, 11:24 am



Happy Birthday, Neil!

63mamzel
nov. 10, 2015, 2:32 pm



Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner (orig. 1986, revised in 1993) DNF

I give up. I made it to page 336 of 495 and I can't go further. This book is dense with foot-acres, feet in height and altitude, kilowatts, greed, deceit, egoism, and how people can have the impression that they can change the landscape to such extremes at the expense of flora, fauna, and people. There is no argument that it is well researched and documented and that it has its place among the greatest of researched nonfiction but it's too much for my poor brain to handle.

CATEGORY: DNF

64mamzel
nov. 10, 2015, 3:40 pm



Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Simon Vance (2012)

His children are falling from the sky

This sequel to Wolf Hall continues the story of Henry VIII and how he became less enamored of Anne Boleyn when she failed to give him a male heir. Feeling his time was running out Henry is desperate to give birth to a son. Thomas Cromwell trumps up charges of treason against Anne by coercing, threatening and torturing men, even her own brother, to make them admit to indiscretions with the queen. This would open the path for the king to marry Jane Seymour, a bland and tepid alternative to the sonless Anne.

Simon Vance narrated the version I listened to and was brilliant at nuancing the voices. I listened to this in the car and gasped in astonishment and moaned in sympathy.

CATEGORY: AUDIOBOOK

65-Eva-
nov. 10, 2015, 5:50 pm

Simon Vance is one of my favorite audiobook narrators.

66mamzel
nov. 11, 2015, 12:41 pm

>65 -Eva-: When I looked up this version on Amazon, it gave a woman as the narrator. I find it hard to believe anyone could be a better voice than Vance. He is fantastic. I will keep this set and re-listen to it again. I think I understood it better than when I read Wolf Hall. If I can find a version where he narrated WH, I'll get that one too.



Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor (2015)

...not even allowed me to keep my own name!

We return to our young Gordianus hiding in the Alexandria home of two eunuchs with his beautiful slave, Bethesda. He had split with his tutor, the famous poet, Antipater, after they had toured the Seven Wonders of the World. The old man left to spy for the king of Ephesus (in modern day Turkey), Mithradates. These words are the beginning of a page apparently removed from the journal of his old tutor but it is not clear who sent it and why. Was it a plea for help or a warning to stay away? Gordianus can't make any other choice but to leave and find his old teacher and companion. He set sail with Bethesda and on the way learned that Romans were not appreciated any more. They meet a large Jew named Samson who helps him come up with a plan to pose as a mute, thereby hiding his Roman accent. They enter the city and become embroiled in plans for a ritual sacrifice to the Furies which will actually signal the plot to set fire to the seething hatred for Romans and allow a full blown riot which will eliminate all the Romans in the city. Simultaneous to this, secret plans to slaughter Romans in many other cities will occur.

Saylor has again placed us in the middle of history. His research is thorough and the reader is immersed in this ancient world. This book is the third prequel to the series that features a mature Gordianus working as a "finder" in Rome. I have totally enjoyed the entire series and recommend it to anyone looking for such a story.

CATEGORY: CROSS GENRE (MYSTERY AND HISTORICAL FICTION)

67-Eva-
nov. 11, 2015, 4:15 pm

>66 mamzel:
I usually just click his name when I'm on Audible, just to see if they've added something new that he reads. :)

68mamzel
nov. 13, 2015, 10:32 am

>67 -Eva-: I searched his name in Amazon to see if Wolf Hall would show and was amazed at how many books he's read!



Ashfall by Mike Mullin (2010)
Ashfall Trilogy #1

I was home alone on that Friday evening.

Alex is fifteen and refused to accompany his family on a road trip to his uncle's house. So his parents and sister set off without him. After all, how much trouble could happen? Well, they didn't consider the Yellowstone super volcano erupting and spewing ash over much of the United States and breaking down all communication and power and creating darkness during the day. After surviving the earth shaking and an ear-splitting roar, Alex has to leave his house after a boulder smashes down and sets the house on fire. He stays with neighbors for a while but can't fight the overwhelming need to set out for his family.

As can be expected, he meets the worst kind of people and the best kind of people. He suffers hunger, injuries, and other hardships but never loses the drive to reconnect with his family. He is aided on his journey by an 18-year old girl who is extremely adept at working with her hands and surviving. After her mother is murdered the two set off together to achieve his goal.

This is a wonderful mix of hero's journey and science fiction. I don't know if I'll continue the series since I have way too many other books to read but I will be heartedly recommending it to my students.

CATEGORY: YA

69-Eva-
nov. 14, 2015, 11:53 pm

>68 mamzel:
He's popular for a reason! :)

70mamzel
nov. 17, 2015, 11:09 am



The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (2014)

Her name is Melanie.

I don't remember the description of this book when it was offered for the ER program but I know if I had read the word 'zombie' I would not have requested it. Then there was the problem of trying to download the book to my phone. It went into the music section instead of the book section and would start over from the beginning each time I accessed it. Crap! Based on the positive comments I had seen around, I got it for my library and finally got around to reading it. That's when I discovered it was basically a zombie story. Darn!

The highlight of the story (if you are into such scientific stuff) is the description of the insidious fungus, Ophiocordyceps, which infects an insect's brain and transforms it into a virtual zombie to make it climb to the very top of a tree from which the parasite can then transmit its spores to infect more victims.


In our story, this fungus has now been able to infect humans, taking over their brains and turning them into mindless feeding machines searching for uninfected humans for their blood. There are, however, children who don't seem to be totally zombified and can be taught, can communicate, and can even seem to form attachments to humans. After a generation of this infection raging, scientists have been studying these children to try and develop an antidote or immunization. Miss Justineau is a teacher at a facility which studies these children and has noticed Melanie, one of her students with particularly astute faculties. Some junkers (humans surviving by scavenging) round up a huge number of hungries to overrun the facility so Miss Justineau, Melanie, one of the doctors, and two guards manage to escape in a Humvee. And so begins the typical zombie run-and-hide sequence of the story. (snore)

What kept me reading to the end was the intriguing Melanie who was totally aware of the danger she imposed on her human companions and how she was able to earn their trust. I wanted to see her survive with Miss Justineau. The relationship between the two of them kind of reminded me of Matilda and Miss Honey.

Read if you are a fan of zombie lit otherwise you can give this book a wide berth.

CATEGORY: FANTASY

71mamzel
nov. 17, 2015, 3:17 pm



Fray, written by Joss Whedon, illustrated by Karl Moline and Andy Owens (2003)

"She is discovered."

This was just turned in by a student and Whedon's name jumped out at me. I was delighted to read this graphic novel which is about Fray, a slayer of the future. Lots of action and gore accompany this story.

CATEGORY:

72mamzel
nov. 22, 2015, 1:38 pm



The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (2015)
A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, No. 11

Running, running, stumbling, running.

I can't believe we are on the 11th (not including one novella) episode of the Three Pines series. And there's not one bad one in the bunch. It seems like Penny keeps creating outstanding stories with variety and surprise in every one. This episode is no exception.

Fans of the series will be thrilled with this one.

CATEGORY: MYSTERY

73mamzel
nov. 22, 2015, 2:01 pm



Into That Forest by Louis Nowra (2013)

Me name be Hannah O'Brien and I be seventy-six years old.

I almost wish I had kept this aside for next year's GeoCAT, but I have never been one for having the patience for that. When I want to read something, I read it, future plans be damned. In this case, it was on my Kindle, and I wanted something not very demanding to dip into when I wake up at night and need a page or two to go back to sleep.

Taking place in Tasmania, the island off the southeast corner of Australia, two girls are lost in the wilds and adopted by a pair of Tasmanian tigers.



They had taken a day boat trip with the parents of the narrator when a sudden storm causes the river to become violent and upset the boat. Both parents were killed and the girls were taken in by a mating pair of tigers (actually marsupials). They hypothesized later that their cubs had been recently lost, perhaps to hunters, and that they allowed the girls to take their place. The girls slowly but surely became feral, adopting the language of the animals and even walking on all fours. They learned to hunt as a team and survive on raw meat.

It was an interesting study on how children could lose their civilized ways and turn into wild animals and if it was possible to return to civilization. The Australian accent was heard in the language of the story. It wasn't a very long book but was just the right length.

CATEGORY: NON-AMERICA AUTHORS

74DeltaQueen50
nov. 22, 2015, 4:19 pm

>73 mamzel: Survival stories are some of my favorite stories and this one sounds really interesting. Onto the wishlist it goes!

75rabbitprincess
nov. 22, 2015, 9:16 pm

>72 mamzel: Ack! I'm two books behind! But I did LOVE How the Light Gets In. Will have to finish catching up with the series next year.

76mamzel
Editat: nov. 28, 2015, 4:12 pm

>74 DeltaQueen50: I certainly did enjoy this book, especially when it introduced me to a creature I vaguely knew about but now know much more.

>75 rabbitprincess: Doesn't it feel positively luxurious to know you have such delicious reading ahead of you? Enjoy them when you get to them!

The TV network known as Nat Geo has a fascinating LIVE show featuring days in the bush with safari tour guides (young, handsome, accents). As it is live I waited with bated breath this morning to see if the lion would give us a roar or two before the end of the show (he did). They are holding Big Cat Week this week and when it comes back on air this evening they will be taking us out looking for leopards. Apparently they had this last year as well. It's not all just big cats, however. They have one guide who introduces us to the trees and insects in the park (he gets positively giddy giving us the Latin names) and another who points out birds. They have aerial shots from a drone and a guy back in camp who looks at stuff with a scanning microscope. Well worth a look if this channel is available to you.



The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski (2013)
The Witcher No. 3

When talking to youngsters entering the service, Aplegatt usually tells them that in order to make their living as mounted messengers two things would be necessary: a head of gold and an arse of iron.

Geralt of Rivia is back and has to rescue Ciri, his protégé, yet again. The chase scenes and battles involving sorcery are great as usual but way too many pages were filled with political mucky muck which I found hard to follow, especially since I didn't pay that much attention to them. The book ended with Ciri, who had teleported to the middle of a desert and had to use all her skills and training to survive and find her way out. This is why I am enjoying the series.

CATEGORY: FANTASY

77mamzel
nov. 30, 2015, 5:29 pm



Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (2015)

The fate of Dmitri Shostakovich was bound up with the fate of Leningrad from the time he was a child.

This biography of Shostakovich was written for teens but can be enjoyed by adults. It follows the composer and focuses on the terrible days when Leningrad was under siege by the German army. For nearly 900 days the population suffered starvation, no heat, terrible disease, and all of this is transformed into a symphony that celebrated the tremendous strength and resolve of the Russian people to survive and beat back the Nazis. All through this was the internal threat of Lenin and his maniacal paranoia.

The Siege of Leningrad alone cost approximately one and a half million Russian lives - more that the combined World War II casualties of both the Americans and the British - a higher death toll, in fact, than the number of all Americans killed in battle in all wars fought since the United States' first founding.


The climax of the story was when the starving, near death orchestra in Leningrad performed the symphony.

The Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony too place on august 9, 1942. The day was chosen as a deliberate gesture of defiance: it was the date Hitler had boasted that he would be celebrating with a feast in the Hotel Astoria's ballroom.


I listened to the symphony while I was reading. I can't say it's my cup of tea but it brought tears to my eyes knowing the backstory. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in classical music, history, or both.

CATEGORY: NONFICTION
HISTORY CAT

78mamzel
des. 1, 2015, 11:25 am

NOVEMBER SUMMARY

1. YA and children lit - 27
2. Fantasy - 11
3. empty
4. Technolit - 1
5. Nonfiction - 7
6. ROOTs - 6
7. Tomes - 3
8. Mystery - 11
9. Non-American authors - 12
10. 1001 Books - 3
11. Cross-genre - 2
12. Audiobooks - 4
13. Miscellaneous - 7
Group reads and CATs - 28

Total books read to date: 94

I didn't think I would get much read this month but NaNoWriMo didn't go anywhere so I managed to finish 9 books, one of which was a graphic novel and one an audiobook. There was one DNF mainly because it became too much for me, not at all because it lacked quality.

December will be a short month for me since I like to start my new challenge on the first day of my winter break (December 19).

I am presently reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Annihilation and listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora.

79mamzel
des. 2, 2015, 11:07 am



The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (1995)

It was one of those super-duper-cold Saturdays

And with an opening line like that there is no doubt this is written for younger children in elementary/middle school but it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The first half of the book is anecdotes of a family's life told from the view point of the 10-year old son, Kenny. It shows the love and humor they share. The older son, Byron, is getting into too much trouble so it is decided he will spend the summer with his maternal grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama. The whole family drives down to deliver him.

The youngest, a daughter, narrowly escapes a church bombing.

A quick read and well worth a little time.

CATEGORY: YA
History CAT

80mamzel
des. 3, 2015, 2:11 pm

I can always tell when we get a new newspaper delivery person because it arrives too late for me to read with breakfast. But, at least I was able to finish this book.



Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)

The tower, which was not supposed to be there, plunges into the earth in a place just before the black pine forest begins to give way to the swamp and then the reeds and wind-gnarled trees of the marsh flats.

I have to admit that I may have stopped reading halfway through except that it was for the SFFCAT and at some point I just had to know what the heck was going on. That was the refrain that was going through my head, "What the heck is going on here?" with other words sometimes substituted for "heck".

This was one weird book. Four women, identified only by their occupation, go into Area X. Many other explorers had gone in but few had returned and even fewer returned intact. The story was told from the viewpoint of the biologist whose husband had not returned from the previous expedition.

As I try to put down more description of this book words fail me. It is so dark and oppressive that many have tagged it as Horror as well as Scifi. My curiosity dragged me through the story and I will probably have to continue with the next book as things were not completely explained by the end.

CATEGORY: FANTASY
SFFCAT

81mamzel
des. 3, 2015, 5:32 pm



The Eye of Minds by James Dashner (2013)

Michael spoke against the wind, to a girl named Tanya.

I had my qualms about The Maze Runner series. I did not enjoy this huge test perpetrated on teens by adults with some dubious plan. I soon got the same bad taste in my mouth from this book.

Michael is a teen who loves VirtNet and all of the endless entertainment it offers. As soon as he gets home from school he lies down in his Coffin and is hooked up for a total sensory experience. He has two online friends, Tanya and Bryson, and all of them are proficient hackers. One his way to school one day Michael is kidnapped by Agent Weber who asks him to help hunt down a cyber terrorist known only as Kaine. Sounds like fun so far, right?

Michael gets his friends to join him following The Path to the Hallowed Ravine where, it is hoped, Kaine is and then Weber and her gang will jump in and take over. What the reader gets is a ridiculously long slog through all kinds of hazardous terrain with perils galore. Their hacking skills enable them to get past the dangers but one after the other of his friends fall out of the virtual world.

Sorry to sound grumpy but what could have been an excellent story was made into a ridiculously long chase scene and I finally realized it was TMR all over again. Bummer.

Fans of TMR will no doubt eat this series up. I've been there and done that and really didn't want to do it again.

CATEGORY: TECHNOLIT

82mathgirl40
des. 3, 2015, 9:43 pm

>77 mamzel: This looks like an interesting book. Maybe I will get it for my teenage daughter, the amateur violinist. A year ago, she started developing a liking for Shostakovitch and has been learning some pieces. I agree that it's not everyone's cup of tea. :)

83mamzel
des. 7, 2015, 11:19 am

>65 -Eva-: My daughter asked if there was an audio book I wanted for Christmas. I gave her Vance's name and told her to search on Amazon for used ones. I also gave her my LT password so she could check to see if I've already read it or if it's sitting on the shelf for me. She's been reading GoT and knows I'm on a fantasy kick so hopefully she'll get me something in that genre.

Goody, goody, goody.

84mamzel
des. 13, 2015, 12:50 pm

We are finally experiencing typical winter weather here. Pouring rain and wind, temperatures in the 50s. Chickens are not happy. We lost a chicken to a fox earlier this week. We have been lazy/complacent about closing their coop up at night and I was awakened at 4:00 in the morning by their panicky squawking. I saw him in the street out front, a pretty gray fox. I feel so guilty about the chicken but feel no ill will to the fox who was only doing what foxes do.



Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski (2014)

Birds were chirping loudly in the undergrowth

Geralt is back and still searching for his adopted daughter/protégé, Ciri who vanished during a violent battle between different factions of sorceresses. It was rumored that she had been captured by King Emrys to be his bride and when Geralt had been healed by the dryads sufficiently enough to travel he headed off. By the end of the book he is in a group that includes his old friend and bard, Dandelion, a young woman named Maria (called Milva by the elves) who is a lethally talented archer, a vampire/healer named Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy (Regis for short), and a Nilfgardian who swears he isn't a Nilfgardian named Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach (Cahir).

The group has to be careful as was is all around them and they don't want to be caught in the middle.

It has been interesting reading the books while playing the computer games based on them. While the games do not follow the story there are lots of elements found in both and lots that are only in one or the other. It is similar but quite different to watching a movie based on a book since they both cover a much longer span of time and the writers of both can introduce much more to the world and storyline.

CATEGORY: FANTASY

85mamzel
des. 15, 2015, 6:19 pm



Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (2015)

There are two things you know. One: You were there. Two: You couldn't have been there.

This was an outstanding book written by the father of a young man suffering from mental illness. This book was based on Brendan's experiences and features his art from that time.

Caden is a very bright teen with a great sense of humor. He tells his story honestly and without any apologies.

We read about his delusions of life aboard a pirate ship with characters that mirror real life acquaintances. We see that his behavior takes a turn for the worse making his teachers and family concerned.

What's going on? I'm in the back car of a roller coaster at the top of the climb, with the front rows already giving themselves over to gravity. I can hear those front riders screaming and know my own scream is only seconds away. I'm at the moment you hear the landing hear of a plane grind loudly into place, in that instant before your rational mind tells you it's just the landing hear. I'm leaping off a cliff only to discover I can fly . . . and then realizing there's nowhere to land. Ever. That's what's going on.


How concerned they are we can't tell until he is bundled up in a car and taken to an institution. We get almost to the middle of the book before Caden utters the words, "mentally ill".

This was an outstanding book - winner of a National Book Award.

CATEGORY: YA BOOK

86mamzel
des. 18, 2015, 2:40 pm

This is the last day of the semester for my school and where I call an end to another great year of reading. I will be moving to the 2016 Challenge and my new thread found here.

I believe I had a pretty good year. These were my favorites:



I believe I had a pretty good year. These are my final stats:

Total books read: 106
Total pages read: 34,049

Total adult: 70
Total YA: 34
Total Juvenile: 2

Graphic novels: 7 (I counted the Locke & Key series as one)
Short Story Collections: 3
Audiobooks: 6

Early Reviewers: 8
Kindle: 36
My HS library: 35
County library: 12
ROOTs: 11
Borrowed: 1

Nonfiction: 10
Speculative Fiction: 48
Historical Fiction: 22
Mystery: 10
General Fiction: 16

87RidgewayGirl
des. 18, 2015, 4:36 pm

See you over in next year's category challenge! I'll be over in a week or so. Happy holidays in the meantime.

88DeltaQueen50
des. 18, 2015, 5:01 pm

I think I took a Book Bullet on a few of your top reads! See you over on the 2016 Challenge.

89mamzel
des. 24, 2015, 1:56 pm

To all of my LibraryThing friends:


90rabbitprincess
des. 24, 2015, 3:42 pm

Merry Christmas, mamzel!

91luvamystery65
des. 24, 2015, 4:16 pm



Merry Christmas

92lkernagh
des. 24, 2015, 4:49 pm

93-Eva-
des. 27, 2015, 6:04 pm

Congrats on finishing up this year's challenge! And happy holidays!

94mamzel
des. 28, 2015, 1:50 pm

Thanks everyone. I'll be around to finish reading everyone's threads in a while.

95mathgirl40
gen. 1, 2016, 8:10 pm

>86 mamzel: A good reading year! See you over at the 2016 thread.