Books read in 2007 📚 log(book)

Ugh, more Rincewind. I really would exchange all the Rincewind books for just one more Tiffany book.

Wyrd Sisters

by Terry Pratchett · published 1988 · read 2007-12-01

MacBeth, only Discworld. One of the better early Discworld books – King Verence I dies, the child is hidden etc etc.

The Ruins of Gorlan

by John Flanagan · published 2004 · last read 2020-08-08

This book goes beyond just comfort food and makes straight for "guilty pleasure": While it's simple, formulaic (if well-executed!) Fantasy, I can't help but feel good when I read it. Its plot and characters trigger all the right pleasure centres: Sympathetic but imperfect orphan boy becomes the mysterious ranger's apprentice, learns the nearly supernatural arts of tracking, hunting, espionage, and hiding in plain sight. Saves the day, keeps his friends, and one former enemy also turns into a friend. The series goes on (forever, it seems), but the book stands on its own and has a satisfying ending. It's very easy to make me happy, really.

Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher

by Walter Moers · published 2004 · read 2007-11-01

★★★★★

The year I got this book, I must have read it five times in a row. It's one of those books that appeal deliberately to any reader's affinity to books – but where stories about magical librarians or book-hopping narrators are cautious about it, Moers goes all in. This is not an appeal, it's unrepentant, happy, blatant pandering. God, I loved reading this book. The protagonist comes from a dinosaur/lizard race of authors, and goes away from home after finishing his training to find his own way. Careful readers of Moers will, of course, know already that he will go on to become one of the most famous (and pompous) authors of Zamonia. He goes to the city of books, where everything is about literature, and eventually descends into the catacombs under the city, where only the dangerous book hunters dare tread (and those often not for long). There he finds wonders beyond his wildest dreams and nightmares. It's the little things: The book-shaped pastries, how all author names are anagrams of real author names (mad respect to the translator btw), how Moers shows off that he has a thesaurus without being obnoxious …

Die Träume des Jonathan Jabbok

by Ralf Isau · published 1995 · read 2007-10-01

★☆☆☆☆

Too much christian undertones, overtones, and everything in between. Very Narnia style.

Der Talisman der Macht

by Licia Troisi · published 2005 · read 2007-10-01

Decent conclusion to a decent series.

Der Geschichtenverkäufer

by Jostein Gaarder, Anne Born · published 2000 · read 2007-10-01

I remember the story as very obscure (as per usual for Gaarder) without much to say (unusual for Gaarder). Not sure if I missed the point entirely, and what it might have been.

Iphigenie auf Tauris

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · published 1786 · read 2007-09-01

Read because the title sounded so intriguing. The plot requires you to understand some of the most convoluted absurd Greek family soap drama first. Iphigenie starts out as bored and frustrated, which felt very relatable. The rest is more of "people talk about people and hilariously don't know who they are", ad infinitum. Plus a lot of hamletian waffling between duty and inclination – ugh, really.

Johnny and the Dead

by Terry Pratchett · published 1993 · read 2007-09-01

Johnny has all the luck: After his video game adventures, he now starts seeing dead people (and as a consequence will have to save the local cemetary).

Stravaganza: City of Masks

by Mary Hoffman · published 2002 · read 2007-09-01

Intrigue in magical Venice that our protagonist can dream himself into. Not terrible, not great. I liked the premise more than the execution.

The Eyre Affair

by Jasper Fforde · published 2001 · read 2007-08-01

★★★★★

Embarassing, or at least a sign of aging: This book did not stand up to a re-read for me.

Die rote Zora und ihre Bande

by Kurt Held · published 1941 · read 2007-08-01

Zora is wild and cannot be tamed. Together with her friends, they live on the streets (and in their own hidden secret castle) of Croatia. They steal to survive and have all sorts of adventures with friends, against the autorities, helping some people, hindering others. It even has a truly positive ending, even if it's forced.

The Water Mirror

by Kai Meyer · published 2001 · last read 2009-07-01

Magical Venice with mermaids (talking, dangerous, rarely helpful, but the exceptions are amazing)! Magical egypt with sphinxes (talking, dangerous, rarely helpful, but the exceptions are amazing)! Magical hell world with demons (dangerous, no exceptions)! Mirror makers, mirror worlds, young orphans, dangerous travels. Betrayal, loyalty. You know the drill. It's not the best and not the most creative YA, and the worldbuilding is a bit iffy in places, but it's creative enough to make it up to me.

The Glass Word

by Kai Meyer · published 2002 · read 2007-07-01

Finishing off the series, and not necessarily in a good way: Lots of finishing off characters, too. I thought that was good, because it's somewhat couragous and I never liked plot armour. Not great art, but enjoyable, particularly for teenagers.

The Awful German Language

by Mark Twain · published 2010 · read 2007-07-01

Twain about the awfulness of German is honestly peak Twain. He's funny, and more: he's right.

Draußen vor der Tür

by Wolfgang Borchert · published 1947 · read 2007-06-01

Borchert's most famous piece – because he died the year it was published, aged 26, of a fever contracted during WW2. We lost a good one that day. This play has the subtitle "A play that no theatre wants to play and that no audience wants to see". It's about a WW2 soldier who comes home after spending three years as a war prisoner. He finds a changed world that doesn't need him, doesn't want him, and certainly won't take any responsibility for him.

Chess Story

by Stefan Zweig · published 1942 · read 2007-06-01

Mandatory reading in many German schools. Not all that exciting a read, unless you are into chess or the art for of the novella tackling the rise of fascism and the cost of obsession.

The Golem’s Eye

by Jonathan Stroud · published 2004 · read 2007-05-01

Repeating the formula that works, this book is a bit more tiresome but still alright.

Märchen

by Astrid Lindgren · published 1989 · read 2007-05-01

★★★★★

Lindgren is best known for her books for children: They are beautiful, sometimes hauntingly so. They are deep and won't seem cheap after you grow up. They are always grounded in reality, and everybody talks and acts like a real person.

Pyramids

by Terry Pratchett · published 1989 · read 2007-05-01

Pyramids was fun in many ways – not just the pyramids! The look inside the Assassins Guild was very intriguing. Though the thing I remember best is the long chain of ancestors, who can only communicate with the next one or two in line because language has changed too much through the generations.

Dragon Rider

by Cornelia Funke · published 1997 · read 2007-04-01

I have very little memory of this book, apart from it being somewhat generic fantasy.

Maskerade

by Terry Pratchett · published 1995 · read 2007-04-01

Phantom of the Opera, but Discworld and witches. I hated how Agnes is treated in descriptions. At the same time, we finally get to see Nanny shine. Still a book that I disliked as much as the Rincewind books.

Inkdeath

by Cornelia Funke · published 2007 · read 2007-03-01

Concluding the Inkworld series, and concluding it well. Like all the books, it's a bit too long with characters who are just a bit too bland. But this book at least has a good share of action and plotting (possibly too much, looking at its length), and a satisfying ending, and that's more than many authors can manage.

The Magicians of Caprona

by Diana Wynne Jones · published 1980 · last read 2022-11-21

Romeo and Juliet: magic edition! Feuding Italian families, throwing magic at each other and being delightfully temperamental. Add in nosy kids, moody teenagers, snarky cats and almighty matriarchs … yes, I really like this book. It's among my top books by Diana Wynne Jones, and that's saying something.

Epic

by Conor Kostick · published 2004 · last read 2022-09-20

The world's a game, and we're all players – that's how things work in Epic. Digital currency can be spent and gained in the global VR video game. Our protagonist is rather poor, and has to play the odds – then he makes the stupid and desperate move to go all in on CHA. I liked the book a lot, and especially considering it's from 2004, it's held up incredibly well. Nice storytelling, too! Re-reading, I found much just like I remembered it, and other things that I had forgotten – it was ahead of its time with its downtrodden teenagers starting a rebellion, looking from today, you'd have to mention Hunger Games. I didn't remember the game being sentient (cool!) and the ruling class being comically evil (boo! but also expected, I suppose).

Die Physiker

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt · published 1962 · read 2007-02-01

Satirical stage play, in a Swiss asylum for the insane. The three inmates think they are Newton, Einstein and Moebius. Or so the initial story goes – there's much more to it than that. The murder mystery is just window dressing – the real questions are about ethics in science and the self-destructive tendencies of humanity, and are mostly informed by atom bombs and the cold war. It's dusty, dated – but still packs a punch though – never underestimate Dürrenmatt. He plays dirty and does it well.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

by Douglas Adams · published 1987 · read 2007-02-01

Inevitably, the Dirk Gently books get compared to the Hitchhiker's Guide books. Lacking originality, I'll do the same. Yes, this book is much denser and a bit more absurd despite the fact that the Earth remains standing (er, revolving) and there are no aliens. It's also more geeky, or nerdy, or written to a British academic in-group. Or possibly against it.

The Amulet of Samarkand

by Jonathan Stroud · published 2003 · read 2007-01-01

Even though I was aware that Stroud was using repetetive cheap tricks to get me to enjoy the story, I still enjoyed the story, and that's that.

The Time of Our Singing

by Richard Powers · published 2002 · read 2007-01-01

This book made me dream, and made me miss singing. I loved it intensely - half of it. The other half was overly dramatic, overwrought, and more in love with its own understanding of music than with having any plot or tension. Sadly, the two halves are completely woven together, so you have to take one to get the other. I found the read well worth my time, but your mileage will vary.

The Color of Magic

by Terry Pratchett · published 1983 · read 2007-01-01