Books read in 2017 📚 log(book)

After the first book was so self-contained and the second is so very separate, I did not expect the cliffhanger in the end. I, again, love the female protagnoist a lot, although her companion is overpowered. Looking forward to the next part.

The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood · published 1985 · read 2017-12-21

Oh yes, definitely the dystopic tale I needed without knowing it. Nicely done.

The Hanging Tree

by Ben Aaronovitch · published 2016 · read 2017-12-19

Still more Peter Grant, with character development and BOSS FIGHT and new practitioners and cool characters and snark and ♥

Foxglove Summer

by Ben Aaronovitch · published 2014 · read 2017-12-18

Peter leaves London. We get more Beverley, more country, more unicorns, and a bit of Lesley. Still a fan. Sooo lovely. And still with the non-hetero-white-male characters everywhere.

Broken Homes

by Ben Aaronovitch · published 2013 · read 2017-12-14

Inner-city architecture meets black mages meets WW2 mages. I liked it, and it was entertaining, but also felt very episodic. Yet another London estate market mystery that turns out – shocker! – to have a supernatural component.

Moon Over Soho

by Ben Aaronovitch · published 2011 · read 2017-12-11

More of our favourite supernatural London policeman.

Report to the Men’s Club and Other Stories

by Carol Emshwiller · published 2002 · read 2017-11-29

Eh, I found one or two of them okay, but most didn't do anything for me.

The Emperor’s Soul

by Brandon Sanderson · published 2012 · read 2017-11-29

Wow. It's not only the soulstamp concept that drew me in, it's the mechanics of plausibly altering the past, and the basic assumption that everything has a soul, an understanding of self, and a dream. Love it. At the same time, it's very much a one-gimmick story, so if you can't get into the gimmick, you won't like it – but at under 200 pages, you also won't have lost much time. I'd recommend giving it a shot.

Bit Rot

by Charles Stross · published 2010 · read 2017-11-28

Short story in the Freyaverse.

A Study in Emerald

by Neil Gaiman · published 2003 · read 2017-11-28

Sherlock + Cthulhu is a very Gaimanishly Gothic mix.

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d

by Alan Bradley · published 2016 · read 2017-11-28

Woop! I like the slightly-older Flavia, who is more devious, and still terribly clever. Also, evil cliffhanger.

Legion

by Brandon Sanderson · published 2012 · read 2017-11-28

Woop, amazing stuff! Haven't really read Sanderson apart from Alcatraz (which was annoying af), and this short story was so good!

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse

by Alan Bradley · published 2014 · read 2017-11-26

Copper corpses will never not sound like Dorothy Sayers to me.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

by Alan Bradley · published 2015 · read 2017-11-26

Even more Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm a sucker for training stories, y'know.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

by Alan Bradley · published 2014 · read 2017-11-26

Oh-HO, here we go! Suddenly it's much more A Series of Unfortunate Events and less just Kalle Blomkvist!

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

by Alan Bradley · published 2011 · read 2017-11-25

Still funny, still thoroughly enjoyable, but … not really more than three stars for me. (This one's about a visiting cinema troupe and a dead actress.)

Speaking from Among the Bones

by Alan Bradley · published 2013 · read 2017-11-25

The Flavia de Luce books started blurring together before this one, and even series-changing big reveals didn't change that fact. Too much time spent demonstrating sassy storytelling – completely in line with the rest of the series, but increasingly less amusing.

A Red Herring Without Mustard

by Alan Bradley · published 2011 · read 2017-11-24

Still a lot of fun and enjoyable, while being nothing too special.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

by Alan Bradley · published 2009 · read 2017-11-23

Well, that was fun. I'm not too much of a fan, the rambling style of Flavia's train of thought is annoying, I think. But at the same time it's definitely well-written and just fun to read. I'm looking forward to the next parts.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag

by Alan Bradley · published 2010 · read 2017-11-23

Continues to be lighthearted and utterly enjoyable.

The Shepherd’s Crown

by Terry Pratchett · published 2015 · read 2017-11-22

It's unpolished, and sometimes stumbles or takes some time where other Aching books were quick and smooth, but still – it's magnificent and we're so lucky to have it.

Saturn’s Children

by Charles Stross · published 2008 · read 2017-11-19

Post-human world sexbots vs post-human world butlers, man. It's so much better than it sounds.

Die Revolution Von 1918/19

by Volker Ullrich · published 2009 · read 2017-11-16

So viel au :( aber ein guter Überblick.

Caliban’s War

by James S.A. Corey · published 2012 · read 2017-11-14

by Robert Louis Stevenson · published 1886 · read 2017-07-19

Whee! Good Sci-fi!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Pierce Brown · published 2014 · read 2017-07-13

Red Rising

Wooop! Sci-Fi version of Hunger Games with real characters (Mary Sue-ish, but still fun). Also, touches of Brave New World in terms of castes.

The Dirty Streets of Heaven

by Tad Williams · published 2012 · read 2017-07-11

In the end it was horribly predictable, sometimes fun urban fantasy with angels and demons and stuff.

Raising Steam

by Terry Pratchett · published 2013 · read 2017-07-11

This … is not it. I wasn't into this Discworld arc to begin with, to be entirely fair – but even for that, this book felt off. The rhythm is changed. It's less ready to cut you open and make you like it. At the same time, it's not early Pratchett style, either. I can't say I'm sad that this part of Discworld ended here. I didn't need another book in this direction when there was Tiffany to read about.

Snuff

by Terry Pratchett · published 2011 · read 2017-07-07

Yeah, Commander Vimes and little Sammy and another book (this one about Poo). Also, the countryside. Also, Goblins turn out not to be vermin. Surprise! It's run of the mill, but with Discworld books, that still means high quality fun.

Leviathan Wakes

by James S.A. Corey · published 2011 · read 2017-07-06

Fantastic space opera, even more fun than the TV series. 4.5 stars for me, but I'm rounding up 'cause I'm feeling generous today and it was just so much immersive fun!

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

by Terry Pratchett · published 2001 · read 2017-07-06

Well, that was fun, but less fun than I've had with most other Pratchett books, I think? It's about average for him, at most, which still makes this a very good book. More YA-y in nature, and possibly him testing out narration modes that come in handy during the Tiffany books.

InterWorld

by Neil Gaiman · published 2007 · read 2017-07-03

Now this was just a really enjoyable YA book on the topic of parallel worlds – a bit like a children's version of Long Earth with some magic mixed in. A not-too-heavy, enjoyable book!

The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling · published 2012 · read 2017-07-02

I cannot call this book enjoyable, because it was horribly depressing, but it was spot on writing that really drew me in. It felt like meeting real life people (and I had the same feeling in the Cormoran books), though that may only be in contrast to Harry Potter.

The Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett · published 1989 · read 2017-06-30

I didn't enjoy this book at all – some characters were fun, but the story was terribly flat, easy to predict and boring. Add in the length of the book and the semi-interesting rambling on architecture (seriously, I enjoyed a book on cathedral building a few years ago, but this pseudo mix of literature and facts was just annoying). Most characters were very flat aswell (good vs evil, bah), and overall I could have spent my time much better.

I Am the Messenger

by Markus Zusak · published 2002 · read 2017-06-29

I didn't enjoy this book at all. Too much everyday mysticism for me.

Jumper

by Steven Gould · published 1992 · read 2017-06-28

Ehh, to me, it was a really nice idea (guy can jump everywhere, woo teleportation), but so horribly Mary Sue'd that I nearly didn't finish the book. Eugh.

Before I Fall

by Lauren Oliver · published 2010 · read 2017-06-27

Mean Girl goes Groundhog Day, finding ethics, true love and inevitable death.

The Silkworm

by Robert Galbraith · published 2014 · read 2017-06-27

Nice reading! I really enjoyed this case, even though it was based in the literary world (which most authors cannot really write about well). Cormoran continues to be a really cool lead – neither a hero, nor an anti-hero, nor some Mary Sue.

The Dark Tower

by Stephen King · published 2004 · read 2017-06-24

A really, really good end to the series. Wow.

Song of Susannah

by Stephen King · published 2004 · read 2017-06-22

Dark Tower just doesn't stop wowing me.

Wolves of the Calla

by Stephen King · published 2003 · read 2017-06-20

I can't describe what King's books do to me.

Wizard and Glass

by Stephen King · published 1997 · read 2017-06-16

Oh man, story time! Looking back into Roland's youth made this a tremendous book.

The Waste Lands

by Stephen King · published 1991 · read 2017-06-05

4.5 – This one was a bit slow, I thought, but it stil pushd the story on briliantly. I loved the play between worlds, and man was Charlie the Choo-Choo creepy.

The Drawing of the Three

by Stephen King · published 1987 · read 2017-06-03

Not quite as brilliant as the first volume in my mind, but still extremely good. Expanding the universe, introducing Susannah and Eddie (boy is he annoying though), and pushing ever onwards.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

by Edwin A. Abbott · published 1884 · read 2017-06-01

I had seen the (a?) movie and enjoyed it a lot. But the book is horribly classist and misogynistic and eww. It ready a bit like Brave New World without the social criticism. Yeah, the idea is great and mind blowing, but the execution just sucks.

Dodger

by Terry Pratchett · published 2012 · read 2017-06-01

Uh boy! Pratchett goes to the time and place he is most nerdy about: Early Victorian London.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

by J.K. Rowling · published 2008 · read 2017-05-31

Meh. I expected more (in volume, at least), and the Dumbledore parts reminded me awfully of Kästner in Pünktchen & Anton, where he felt the need to explain lots of stuff, especially the political implications. I think Rowling might have done better to trust her readers to think for themselves.

The Gunslinger

by Stephen King · published 1982 · read 2017-05-30

Wow. I read King's revised version from when he had finished the series, and it's stunning. I need to read the rest. It's what Firefly is to sci-fi: the fantasy edition, and so much fun, and with wonderful characters, and … wow.

Consider Phlebas

by Iain M. Banks · published 1987 · read 2017-05-29

I liked the world building (this was my first Culture novel), but the story pacing was way off. It dragged on, and most of the personal story elementes were predictable.

The Rook

by Daniel O'Malley · published 2012 · read 2017-05-24

Wow! This book has bits of Charles Stross in it (as in: secret modern British agency dealing with the supernatural), but at the same time it's totally different. More action oriented, fast-paced, witty, and it never felt like a Laundry knockoff. I'm really interested in where the sequel is going.

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett · published 2007 · read 2017-05-16

Oh wow, that was a charming book (or probably a novella?)! It was enjoyable and funny throughout and then packed a marvellous punchline.

Red Seas Under Red Skies

by Scott Lynch · published 2007 · read 2017-05-15

3.5 stars for me, a really, really solid follow-up to a wonderful first part. Excited for the last one.

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding · published 1954 · read 2017-05-15

Well, that might have been predictable if I had read it in more than a few hours, but it did its job in being terrifying and depressing.

Axiomatic

by Greg Egan · published 1990 · read 2017-03-10

Hard to rate collections of stories. There was really cool stuff in there, and I like how he works off similar themes (such as the jewel) repeatedly, but some stories felt too close thematically or in the way they were structured. Really enjoyed it though!

Neuromancer

by William Gibson · published 1984 · read 2017-03-10

Not quite sure what to think of this one. It's fast paced, but I think it tries too hard. I liked how it plays with multiple realities, or layers of reality, but both the plot and the pacing felt so … forced.

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1969 · read 2017-03-01

Wow! This is a fantastic, clever, wonderful scifi book. I loved the explicitly humanoid species (that are probably expanded on, especially their origin, in other parts of the series). I loved the mostly-androgynous species, their peculiarities, the mechanics of it all, the implications. I loved the protagonist and the carefully spun story arch - but I loved most that the narrator/protagonist was both clever, relatable, and fallible - there were several instances where, in the middle of narration, you started to think "Hold up, I'm sure that's not quite …" or "Isn't that just your weird bisexual bias …?"

A Wizard of Earthsea

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1968 · read 2017-02-27

It's real fantasy, it's great, and in some ways it reminds me of The Name of the Wind. Loved it a lot - Ged really grows on you, and the story is quite dense, and there as much story in this book as many others would fit in a trilogy (growing up, mastering school, mastering the antagonist, for example?). I clearly need to read more books by Ursula K. Le Guin!

Norse Mythology

by Neil Gaiman · published 2017 · read 2017-02-26

I love Neil Gaiman, and I like reading myths and legends, and this book was … bland? It is a straight retelling of much of the Snorri Edda, adding some detail from the Poetic Edda in places. Gaiman adds fine details, and a tongue-in-cheek view of the gods, but never overdoing things - it would be easy to make fun of Thor, Loki, the giants … all the time, but he does it in places, and in a very low-key (hah!) way.

The Last Unicorn

by Peter S. Beagle · published 1968 · read 2017-02-23

I really enjoyed this one - it's a fairytale, it's very very lyrical, but at the same time it surprises you with bursts of dry humour. The length and pacing is perfect, too - it's a short book, but it carries its length well.

The End

by Lemony Snicket · published 2006 · read 2017-02-21

by Lemony Snicket · published 2005 · read 2017-02-14

Yes. <3

The Penultimate Peril

I loved the whole Denounement Hotel, especially having it organized according to the Dewey Decimal System.

The Grim Grotto

by Lemony Snicket · published 2004 · read 2017-02-08

Slightly less development, but for the first time a truly unexpected twist.

The Slippery Slope

by Lemony Snicket · published 2003 · read 2017-02-08

Great amounts of backstory, action, development, and moral conflict!

The Carnivorous Carnival

by Lemony Snicket · published 2002 · read 2017-02-07

And we finally get some backstory (and a real cliffhanger)

The Vile Village

by Lemony Snicket · published 2001 · read 2017-02-07

There are always some small hints about Mr Snicket, which is the worst thing about the whole thing.

The Hostile Hospital

by Lemony Snicket · published 2001 · read 2017-02-07

Oh, the first shadows of moral conflict!

The Ersatz Elevator

by Lemony Snicket · published 2001 · read 2017-02-06

Ehh. Hating on trendy people is boring, but it wasn't too bad.

The Austere Academy

by Lemony Snicket · published 2000 · read 2017-02-05

School! Evil school, granted, but school with new friends nonetheless!

The Reptile Room

by Lemony Snicket · published 1999 · read 2017-02-03

First time's an ~~accident~~ unfortunate event, second time's establishing a theme: Adults are either criminally incompetent or evil, good adults die, everything is terrible, but you get to expand your vocabulary. Somebody warn readers that things are only going to go downhill from here – oh wait.

A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction

by Terry Pratchett · published 2012 · read 2017-02-02

Some mediocre-okayish stuff, but a few really, really great ones. In the end, Granny overshadowed everything as per usual, but the barbarian hero who went to meet his maker stands out, too.

The Bad Beginning

by Lemony Snicket · published 1999 · read 2017-02-02

I just ate this one up. I don't think there is a thing I dislike about it (and for the record, I think the show is just as good!).

The War of the Worlds

by H.G. Wells · published 1898 · read 2017-02-01

I see why this is a classic - it has aged reasonably well, and seems to have given birth to many tropes and images we perceive as common ans well-known. I liked reading it, even if it was a bit stuffy.

Der Galerie der Lügen, oder, Der unachtsame Schläfer

by Ralf Isau · published 2005 · read 2017-01-28

Horrid amounts of weirdly religious propaganda... Very similar to Narnia, only for adults.

David Copperfield

by Charles Dickens · published 1850 · read 2017-01-27

It's long and slow and often tiresome, but still manages to be fun in places!

The Cuckoo’s Calling

by Robert Galbraith · published 2013 · read 2017-01-15

I did enjoy myself. Well-written (if heavy on the fancy words in the beginning). Looking forward to the next books in the series.

Die Vernichteten

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2014 · read 2017-01-11

Good conclusion to an excellent series.

Die Verschworenen

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2013 · read 2017-01-09

Rias Gruppe wird dezimiert (sogar eher im ursprünglichen Sinn), und nach einigen Nachforschungen in Jordans Chroniken verlassen drei der vier Überlebenden die Wildnis, um mehr in Erfahrung zu bringen. Bringt leider nicht so viel an Fakten, aber bringt Ria auf die richtigen Gedanken und sie beendet das Buch, wo sie es begann.

Die Verratenen

by Ursula Poznanski · published 2012 · read 2017-01-09

by Ken Follett · published 1977 · read 2017-01-08

Mehr, bitte!

Paper Money

This was my first Ken Follett book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Filled with villains, bankers, politicians, and journalists in 70s London, loads of side characters and an evolving story spanning only one day it is so very vivid! Going to try other Follett books now.

Sabriel

by Garth Nix · published 1995 · read 2017-01-01

I really really liked this book. It's very solid fantasy, it has its own plot, its characters are wonderful and not cliche and I very much want to read more of this. Sabriel as the new Abhorsen was a joy. One point less than perfect because … well, it does not feel quite perfect. Minor inconsistencies in language, some lazy plot points … but still. It's a really, really good fantasy book.

Shards of Honour

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · last read 2020-07-04

I re-read "Shards of Honour" somewhat by accident while looking up a quote for a writing exercise. I had remembered it as a decent first entry in brilliant series: Okay sci-fi, but nothing special.

The Wide Window

by Lemony Snicket · published 2000 · read 2017-01-01

There will be a day when I don't accidentally read the book title as "The Wide Widow".

The Miserable Mill

by Lemony Snicket · published 2000 · read 2017-01-01