As usual, at the end of the year it seems as though I'm rushing around trying to get everything I wanted to get done finished. Also, forgoing fancy formatting tonight. Next post I'll get back to that.
Like reading 75 books. Where did November go?! The trip to London kind of threw me out of my reading groove for a good while. Under the suggestion of a friend I lowered my goal to a more reasonable 50. Maybe 2013 will be the year for getting past 50 books? I'm just really bad at binge reading I think. I read and read and read and then just stop for months at a time and then pick it back up again. Not that 50 is a small number of books to read in a year by a long shot. I know that's more than some people have read in their entire lifetime. Sad that isn't it? Maybe it's just because I love books so much.
So, with my new goal of 50 books for the year my progress is now at 58% of the way there! ...Yeah I know that's only a tiny bit over halfway there. Hence why the title of this post is "Sprinting to the end of 2012". -whistles innocently- It's nothing new really though. =) Last year I reached my goal of 50 with about 2 or so hours left in the year.
What can I say? I like a good challenge? I'm masochistic when it comes to books? Who knows! =D
The last two books I read were Boneshaker by Cherie Priest and Adaptation Malinda Lo.
The brief summaries of what I thought:
Boneshaker: Not what I expected and while it wasn't a "can't put it down" title, it wasn't so bad it was like pulling teeth to get through. It seemed a bit rushed in places. Lots of characters that could've been developed more. I daresay I almost wanted MORE back story on some of them. Going from books that are nothing but to ones that don't give enough. I'm just not easily pleased am I? =P
Adaptation: Part of me wants to say I like some of the realistic moments in this book... but when it comes to a fantasy/sci-fi book can you really use a word like "realistic" honestly? Perhaps in regards to character reactions. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two girls. Fingers crossed for them in the upcoming (who knows when) sequel. I couldn't even properly dislike the guy, though I want to! -sigh- I'm just a huge romantic sucker, I know!
More recently I finished reading: Tortall and Other Legends by the incomparable Tamora Pierce. If you haven't read any of her books I strongly urge you to do so now. They may be young adult books but they're still some of my favorite fantasy novels ever.
This book was a FANTASTIC collection of short stories by the author that take place in the various worlds she's created, as the title would suggest. I loved that I got to know what happened in the future with some of the characters. That things were going, if not perfectly well with them, happily in some form or other. It also enabled me to see the Tortall universe as a real, breathing place for the first time. You get to see that while this event may be happening in Tortall itself, in other parts of the world events just as important are taking place. People are living their lives, striving and succeeding to live. A big part of me was sad at the end of each short story, some of them I wished dearly were full length novels. I would buy them and devour them in a heartbeat.
I'm not sure that I could pick a definite favorite among them... Okay, that's a lie. ^_^ The short story A Dragon's Tale takes place many years after my #1 favorite series by Ms. Pierce: The Immortals Quartet. I love Daine and Numair to pieces. Getting to see things from Kitten's POV was fantastic. Plus, it's nice to see Numair, no matter what will always be my favorite lanky Stork Man mage who's curiosity knows no end.
Every single story in this collection is fantastic. I would really enjoy seeing longer versions of Plain Magic and Lost. Lost because I love Tortall and would enjoy returning there again. Plain Magic because the dynamic between the two women has great potential to become an amazing book. I doubt that will happen, but one can keep their fingers crossed can't they?
If you've never read anything my Ms. Pierce this is a fantastic place to start to give you a taste of her writing, though if you do plan on reading her others works, beware of spoilers in some of the stories in this collection! Seriously!
At this moment in time I am reading His Majesty's Dragon, Temeraire #1. I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I am! When first reading what this book was about I was definetely on the fence as to if it was something worth trying. Now I am heartily glad I've decided to read it. The series is currently 7 books long and I've no idea when it's ending. Sadly, series with that many books seem to loose their ...spark as the characters get put through one adventure after another. I've not got my hopes up that this one will be like the Dresden Files, which at any point and time I can pick up the next book in the series and be just as entertained as when I read the first book. Fingers crossed that the Temeraire series holds up and that I enjoy the ending as much as I have the beginning!
Books To Read Next:
These top two I'm reading next for sure.
The tale of Genji / Murasaki Shikibu, b. 978?
The name of the star / Johnson, Maureen, 1973-
These ones are: Possibly to be read very soon.
Covet: a novel of the fallen angels / Ward, J. R.
Death most definite / Jamieson, Trent.
Fox and Phoenix / Bernobich, Beth.
Incarnate / Meadows, Jodi.
Magic bites / Andrews, Ilona.
The Floating Island / Haydon, Elizabeth.
The Floating Islands / Neumeier, Rachel.
Under heaven / Kay, Guy Gavriel.
Urban shaman / Murphy, C. E.
