amanda4242's thread

Books read

January
1. Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles--BAC ★★★1/2
2. Mothering Sunday--BAC ★★★1/2
3. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead--BAC ★★★1/2
4. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories ★★★★
5. Tokyo Ueno Station ★★★1/2
6. La Bastarda ★★★1/2
7. Women Without Men ★★1/2
8. Along the Tapajós ★★★
9. Come Tumbling Down ★★★1/2
10. Unfit to Print ★★★1/2
11. The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday ★★★★
12. Blood of Elves ★★★1/2
13. The Heart of Thomas ★★★1/2
14. Fifteen Poems ★★★★
15. Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor - Old Friends ★★★1/2
16. Claudine ★★★
17. Lighthousekeeping--BAC ★★★1/2
18. Imajica--BAC ★★★★1/2
19. Bowie: An Illustrated Life ★★1/2
20. Liebestrasse ★★★★
21. The Drops of God Vol. 1 ★★★
22. The Drops of God Vol. 2 ★★★
23. We Should All Be Feminists ★★1/2
24. The Cost of Sugar ★★★1/2
25. High Fidelity--BAC ★★1/2
26. The Three Musketeers--1001 ★★1/2
27. Notes of a Crocodile ★★★
28. Only You Can Save Mankind--BAC ★★★1/2
29. Heart of the Night ★★★1/2

February
30. Johnny and the Dead--BAC ★★★1/2
31. The Drops of God Vol. 3 ★★★
32. The Drops of God Vol. 4 ★★★
33. Johnny and the Bomb--BAC ★★★1/2
34. The Drops of God Vol. 5 ★★★
35. Upright Women Wanted ★★1/2
36. Stranger Things: Zombie Boys ★★1/2
37. Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles ★★★1/2
38. The Drops of God Vol. 6 ★★★
39. The King's Swift Rider--BAC ★★1/2
40. The Revenge of the Foxes ★★1/2
41. Hellblazer Vol. 18: The Gift ★★★★
42. The House on Mango Street ★★★
43. The Drops of God Vol. 7 ★★★
44. Hellblazer Vol. 20: Systems of Control ★★★★
45. The Drops of God Vol. 8 ★★★
46. The Drops of God Vol. 9 ★★★
47. Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath ★★★1/2
48. Alpha and Omega ★★★1/2
49. The Shining Company--BAC ★★★★
50. The Drops of God Vol. 10 ★★★
51. The Drops of God Vol. 11 ★★★
52. Anna Karenina--1001 ★★★1/2
53. Vampire Science ★★★1/2
54. Hellblazer Vol. 21: The Laughing Magician ★★★★
55. Hellblazer Vol. 22: Regeneration ★★★★
56. Brother Cadfael's Penance--BAC ★★1/2
57. The Black God's Drums ★★★1/2
58. Farm Boy--BAC ★★★1/2
59. Falling in Love with Hominids ★★★
60. Dominion--BAC ★★1/2

March
61. Doctor Who: The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor ★★★
62. Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon--BAC ★★★★
63. Heathen Volume 1 ★★★1/2
64. The Witch in the Wood ★★★★
65. Rosie: Stronger than Steel ★★
66. The Barefoot Woman ★★★1/2
67. Unexpected Stories ★★★1/2
68. A Wizard of Earthsea ★★★1/2
69. The Tombs of Atuan ★★★1/2
70. The Ill-Made Knight ★★★★1/2
71. The G Ring: How the IUD Escaped the Nazis ★★★1/2
72. The Farthest Shore ★★★★
73. A Thousand Ships--BAC ★★★1/2
74. Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures--BAC ★★★★
75. Just One Damned Thing After Another--BAC ★★★★
76. Ivanhoe--BAC & 1001 ★★★1/2
77. A Symphony of Echoes ★★★★
78. Rough Crossings--BAC ★★1/2
79. A Second Chance--BAC ★★★★
80. Wolf Hall ★★★
81. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 ★★★
82. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 2 ★★1/2
83. A Trail Through Time ★★★★
84. No Time Like the Past--BAC ★★★★
85. Angel Vol. 1: Being Human ★★★
86. Angel Vol. 2: City of Demons ★★★
87. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Hellmouth ★★★
88. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 3 ★★1/2
89. The Last Dragonslayer--BAC ★★★★
90. Asterix the Gaul ★★★1/2
91. Shubh Diwali! ★★★★
92. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? ★★★★

April
93. Lies, Damned Lies, and History--BAC ★★★★
94. Bear and Fred ★★★
95. The Sword in the Stone ★★★★★
96. Deadpool, Vol. 1: Secret Invasion ★★★1/2
97. Tales of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal: Selected Writings--BAC ★★★
98. And the Rest is History--BAC ★★★★
99. Bring Up the Bodies--BAC ★★★
100. Witchblade Origins Volume 1 ★★★
101. The Hellbound Heart ★★★★
102. The Emperor's Babe--BAC ★★★1/2
103. An Argumentation of Historians ★★★★1/2
104. Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen--BAC ★★★1/2
105. The Moon Opera ★★★
106. The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel ★★1/2
107. World War II Tales: The Barrel Burglary--BAC ★★★1/2
108. World War II Tales: The Phantom Farm--BAC ★★★
109. Call Me by Your Name ★★★★1/2
110. Witchblade Origins Volume 2 ★★★
111. The Song of the Quarkbeast--BAC ★★★★
112. Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës ★★★
113. Deadpool & Cable: Split Second ★★★
114. Fool Moon ★★★★1/2
115. Midnighter Vol. 1: Out ★★★
116. iZombie, Vol. 1: Dead to the World ★★★
117. The Witcher: Reasons of State ★★★
118. Jazz and Palm Wine ★★★
119. Penric's Demon ★★★★1/2
120. Penric and the Shaman ★★★★1/2
121. iZombie, Vol. 2: uVampire ★★★
122. Renée Stone 1: Murder in Abyssinia ★★1/2

May
123. Cassio 1. The First Assassin ★★★1/2
124. All Systems Red ★★★1/2
125. Cassio 2. Second to Strike ★★★1/2
126. Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef ★★★1/2
127. Artificial Condition ★★★1/2
128. Rogue Protocol ★★★
129. Exit Strategy ★★★
130. The Drops of God Vol. 12 ★★★
131. The Drops of God Vol. 13 ★★★
132. An Island Called Moreau--BAC ★1/2
133. The Drops of God Vol. 14 ★★★
134. Network Effect ★★★
135. The Drops of God Vol. 15 ★★★
136. The Crystal World--BAC ★★★
137. The Drops of God Vol. 16 ★★★
138. Gideon the Ninth ★★★1/2
139. Spike vs. Dracula ★★★
140. The Long and Short of It ★★★★
141. Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom ★★★
142. Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom ★★★
143. Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness ★★★
144. The House of Shattered Wings ★★★★
145. Docile ★★★1/2
146. Shakespeare for Squirrels ★★★★
147. Penric's Fox ★★★★1/2
148. Cassio 3. The Third Wound ★★★1/2
149. Vei Vol. 1 ★★★1/2
150. Jack ★★★1/2
151. Deadpool Vol. 1: Dead Presidents ★★★
152. Find Me ★★★★
153. The House of Binding Thorns ★★★★
154. The Drops of God Vol. 17 ★★★

Books read

June
155. Dominion of the Fallen stories ★★★1/2
156. The Drops of God Vol. 18 ★★★
157. Hope for the Best ★★★★
158. The Drops of God Vol. 19 ★★★
159. Deadpool Vol. 2: Soul Hunter ★★★
160. Deadpool Vol. 3: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ★★★★
161. The Drops of God Vol. 20 ★★★
162. The House of Sundering Flames ★★★★
163. Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders ★★★★
164. Deadpool Vol. 4: Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. ★★★1/2
165. Deadpool Vol. 5: The Wedding of Deadpool ★★★1/2
166. Any Old Diamonds ★★★★
167. Deadpool Vol. 6: Original Sin ★★★1/2
168. Deadpool Vol. 7: Axis ★★★1/2
169. Deadpool Vol.8: All Good Things ★★★★
170. Think of England ★★★★
171. Ease--BAC ★★
172. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor, Vol. 1 - Weapons of Past Destruction ★★★
173. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Volume 2 - Doctormania ★★★
174. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Volume 3 - Official Secrets ★★★
175. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor, Vol. 4 - Sin Eaters ★★★
176. The Mark of Aeacus ★★★1/2
177. The Drops of God Vol. 21 ★★★
178. Long Story Short ★★★★
179. The Drops of God Vol. 22 ★★★
180. Harleen ★★★★
181. The Priory of the Orange Tree ★★★
182. The Blue Flower--BAC ★1/2

July
183. Luthor ★★★★
184. Spike: Asylum ★★★1/2
185. Cassio 4. Final Blood ★★★1/2
186. A Discovery of Witches ★★★1/2
187. Shadow of Night ★★★1/2
188. The Book of Life ★★★
189. Death Trick ★★★
190. Witchblade: Shades of Gray ★★1/2
191. Sebastian O/The Mystery Play ★★★1/2
192. Poe & Phillips ★1/2
193. The Silence of the Wilting Skin ★★
194. Spike: Shadow Puppets ★★★
195. Behind These Doors ★★★1/2
196. Spellbound ★★★
197. Cassio 5. The Road to Rome ★★★1/2
198. Starcrossed ★★★
199. Second Coming ★★★1/2
200. Swimming in the Dark ★★★★
201. Loki: Agent of Asgard Volume 1: Trust Me ★★★
202. The Zig Zag Girl--BAC ★★★
203. The Rose of Versailles Volume 1 ★★★
204. Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad ★★★1/2
205. The Wanderings of Odysseus ★★★
206. An Unseen Attraction ★★★1/2
207. Asterix and the Golden Sickle ★★★
208. Asterix and the Goths ★★★
209. Farquhar ★★★1/2
210. Spike: Old Wounds ★★1/2
211. Spike: Lost & Found ★★★
212. The Guild ★★★1/2
213. Smoke and Mirrors--BAC ★★★1/2
214. The Ancient Guide to Modern Life ★★★1/2
215. Midnighter Vol. 2: Hard ★★★
216. The Red Years: Forbidden Poems From Inside North Korea ★★★
217. Phoresis ★★★
218. Like Water for Chocolate ★★★
219. Asterix the Gladiator ★★★
220. Asterix and the Banquet ★★★
221. Asterix and Cleopatra ★★★
222. Ross Poldark ★★★★
223. Rampokan Java ★★★
224. Song of the Trees ★★★1/2
225. Asterix and the Big Fight ★★★
226. A Drunken Dream and Other Stories ★★★

August
227. Tales from the Folly ★★★★
228. Slippery Creatures ★★★★
229. Redemption in Indigo ★★★★1/2
230. Loki: Agent of Asgard Volume 2: I Cannot Tell a Lie ★★★
231. Loki: Agent of Asgard Volume 3: Last Days ★★★
232. Penric's Mission ★★★★★
233. Mira's Last Dance ★★★★1/2
234. Beyond the Rice Fields ★★★★
235. The Prisoner of Limnos ★★★★1/2
236. Running with Mother ★★★★
237. The Meursault Investigation ★★1/2
238. The Orphans of Raspay ★★★★1/2
239. Woeful Second World War--BAC ★★★
240. The Physicians of Vilnoc ★★★★1/2
241. The Death of Stalin ★★★1/2
242. Teaching English in Swaziland: essays on the life of Gordon James Thomas ★★
243. The Bike Escape--BAC★★★
244. The Apple Spy--BAC ★★★
245. The Blood Card--BAC ★★★1/2
246. The Daughters of Ys ★★★
247. Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Civilizations ★★★1/2
248. Asterix in Britain ★★★1/2
249. Asterix and the Normans ★★★
250. To Terra...Volume 1 ★★★
251. Harrow the Ninth ★★★1/2
252. Silver in the Wood ★★★★
253. Sisters of the Vast Black ★★★1/2
254. Plan for the Worst ★★★★
255. Tales Told in Oz ★★★1/2
256. Rebecca--1001 ★★★★1/2
257. Cassio 6. The Call to Suffering ★★★1/2
258. Drowned Country ★★★1/2
259. The Vanishing Box-BAC ★★★1/2
260. Yoga at the Zoo ★1/2

September
261. Now You See Them--BAC ★★★★
262. Empire of the Sun--BAC & 1001 ★★★★★
263. Dawn of Fear--BAC ★★1/2
264. Put Out More Flags--BAC ★★★★
265. Thornhill ★★★1/2
266. To Terra..., Volume 2 ★★★
267. Tehanu ★★★
268. Doing Time ★★★1/2
269. Seven of Infinities ★★★1/2
270. Wonderstruck ★★1/2
271. Tales from the End of Time--BAC ★★★1/2
272. Tales of Nevèrÿon ★★★★
273. Good Morning Comrades ★★★
274. Tintin in the Congo ★
275. The Adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets ★1/2
276. Tintin in America ★1/2
277. Cigars of the Pharaoh ★★
278. Asterix the Legionary ★★★1/2
279. Cassio 7. The Goddess Awakens ★★★1/2
280. Cassio 8. Painter of the Dead ★★★1/2
281. Cassio 9. The Empire of Memories ★★★1/2
282. Heathen Vol. 2 ★★★1/2
283. Shuri Vol. 1: The Search for Black Panther ★★★1/2
284. Shuri Vol. 2: 24/7 Vibranium ★★★1/2
285. A Long Distance ★★
286. Wakanda Forever ★★★1/2
287. What Are You Thinking About? ★★★
288. Black Panther vs. Deadpool ★★★1/2
289. LaGuardia ★★★
290. Food Baby ★★★
291. Your Mother's Fox ★★
292. Beneath the Dead Oak Tree ★★★1/2
293. Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide ★★1/2
294. To Terra...Volume 3 ★★1/2
295. Stoke ★1/2
296. How to Train Your Dragon ★★★★
297. Eaters of the Dead ★★★★
298. Black Panther: World of Wakanda ★★★1/2
299. Piranesi ★★★★
300. Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda ★★★
301. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood ★★★★
302. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return ★★★1/2
303. Andromeda Stories, Volume 1 ★★★1/2
304. Andromeda Stories, Volume 2 ★★★1/2
305. Andromeda Stories, Volume 3 ★★★1/2

British Authors Challenge

January: Jeanette Winterson & Graham Swift
Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson ★★★1/2
Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson ★★★1/2

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift ★★★1/2

February: The 1990s
1990: The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff ★★★★
1991: Imajica by Clive Barker ★★★★1/2
1992: Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett ★★★1/2
1993: Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett ★★★1/2
1994: Brother Cadfael's Penance by Ellis Peters ★★1/2
1995: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby ★★1/2
1996: Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett ★★★1/2
1997: Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo ★★★1/2
1998: The King's Swift Rider by Mollie Hunter ★★1/2
1999: Dominion by Nick Walters ★★1/2

March: Jane Austen & Walter Scott
Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen ★★★★

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott ★★★1/2

April: Bernardine Evaristo & Caryl Phillips
Rough Crossings by Caryl Phillips ★★1/2

The Emperor's Babe by Bernardine Evaristo ★★★1/2

May: Michael Moorcock, J. G. Ballard, & Brian Aldiss
Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen by Michael Moorcock ★★★1/2
Tales from the End of Time by Michael Moorcock ★★★1/2

An Island Called Moreau by Brian Aldiss ★1/2

The Crystal World by J. G. Ballard ★★★

June: Penelope Fitzgerald & Patrick Gale
Ease by Patrick Gale ★★

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald ★1/2

July: Elly Griffiths & Winston Graham
The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths ★★★
Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths ★★★1/2
The Blood Card by Elly Griffiths ★★★1/2
The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths ★★★1/2
Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths ★★★★

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham ★★★★

August: The Brontë Sisters

Tales of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal: Selected Writings by Charlotte Brontë, Branwell Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Anne Brontë ★★★

September: World War II
World War II Tales: The Barrel Burglary by Terry Deary ★★★1/2
World War II Tales: The Phantom Farm by Terry Deary ★★★
Woeful Second World War by Terry Deary ★★★
The Bike Escape by Terry Deary ★★★
The Apple Spy by Terry Deary ★★★
Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard ★★★★★
Dawn of Fear by Susan Cooper ★★1/2
Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh ★★★★

October: Joanne Harris & George Orwell

November: Fay Weldon & John le Carré

December: The 2010s
2010: The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde ★★★★
2011: The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde ★★★★
2012: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel ★★★
2013: Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm ★★★★
2014: A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm ★★★★
2015: No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm ★★★★
2016: Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm ★★★★
2017: And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm ★★★★
2018: Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures by Stephen Fry, read by the author ★★★★
2019: A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes ★★★1/2

Wildcard: Playwrights
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard ★★★1/2

reserved 2

Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

I thought it would be cool to have a map to show the nationality of authors I've read; perhaps it will inspire me to read a bit more outside the UK!

I'm only listing the first book I read for a country because I don't want the list to get out of hand.

1. United Kingdom--Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson
2. South Korea--Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
3. Equatorial Guinea--La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono
4. Iran--Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur
5. Brazil--Along the Tapajós by Fernando Vilela
6. United States--Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
7. Bangladesh--The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
8. Poland--Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
9. Japan--The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio
10. Canada--Fifteen Poems by Leonard Cohen
11. Spain--Bowie: An Illustrated Life by María Hesse
12. Nigeria--We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
13. Suriname--The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod
14. France--The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
15. Taiwan--Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin
16. Egypt--Heart of the Night by Naguib Mahfouz
17. Turkmenistan--The Revenge of the Foxes by Ak Welsapar
18. Russia--Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
19. Jamaica--Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson
20. Rwanda--The Barefoot Woman by Scholastique Mukasonga
21. India--Shubh Diwali! by Chitra Soundar
22. Israel--Bear and Fred: A World War II Story by Iris Argaman
23. China--The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu
24. Republic of the Congo--Jazz and Palm Wine by Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala
25. Belgium--Cassio 1. The First Assassin by Stephen Desberg
26. Malaysia--Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef by Cassandra Khaw
27. New Zealand--Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
28. Sweden--Vei Vol. 1 by Sara Bergmark Elfgren
29. Croatia--Harleen by Stjepan Šejić
30. Botswana--The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase
31. Singapore--Farquhar by Joshua Ip
32. North Korea--The Red Years: Forbidden Poems From Inside North Korea by Bandi
33. Australia--Phoresis by Greg Egan
34. Mexico--Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
35. Netherlands--Rampokan Java by Peter van Dongen
36. Barbados--Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
37. Madagascar--Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo
38. Zimbabwe--Running with Mother by Christopher Mlalazi
39. Algeria--The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
40. Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)--Teaching English in Swaziland: essays on the life of Gordon James Thomas by Sarah Mkhonza
41. Angola--Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!

Best wishes for 2020!

Welcome back!

Happy reading in 2020, Amanda!

>7 PaulCranswick: Strike off the tea, walks, hugs, and road trips (I get carsick, especially if I try to read in the car) and that sounds like a recipe for a great year!

>8 DianaNL: And to you!

>9 drneutron: Thanks for setting up my favorite online hangout again!

>10 FAMeulstee: Happy reading to you, too!

>11 amanda4242: I don't want to outdo John Simpson, Amanda but I have had three cups of tea already in 2020. I am a bit of a hugger which Belle abhors as she doesn't like such forms of contact - Kyran and Yasmyne on the other hand are just as effusive as I am.

Belle is so curt and socially awkward it is actually hilarious. We have a family group chat on Whatsapp - Kyran is in UK and Yasmyne in Norway whilst we are here. Everyone put quite long messages last night full of emotion, hope and feeling. Belle's message was "Happy New Year".

I have a calf strain at the moment but I do need to walk more and get more healthy.

Road trips are something I do enjoy as long as SWMBO is not at the wheel.

>12 PaulCranswick: You've had more tea in one day than I had in all of 2019!

Happy New Year Amanda.

>14 BLBera: And a happy New Year to you!

1. Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson

In this entry in Canongate's Myth series, Winterson tackles Atlas and uses the myth to look at the burdens people carry through their lives. It's not terribly subtle in its metaphor, but it's well worth reading.

2. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift

A stream of consciousness novella about a maid's eventful day off. It's pretty repetitive at times, but there's a creeping sense of unease that starts to build that made it difficult to put down.

3. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

I can't say I really understood it, but I did enjoy it. It reminded me quite a bit of Waiting for Godot, another play I liked but don't entirely understand.

4. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke, illustrated by Charles Vess

I picked this one up because I adored Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and was very happy to find much of what I loved about Clarke's novel in her short stories (and at a more reasonable length).

5. Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles

A haunting novella of a homeless man living in Tokyo's Ueno park looking back on his life. It's a little tough at first to keep up with the time shifts, but careful reading will be rewarded.

>17 PaulCranswick: Golly, I thought that I had started the year half decently!

Have a lovely weekend, Amanda

>17 PaulCranswick: Novellas are the way to go if you want to look like a speed reader!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend and have a wonderful week.

>18 amanda4242: That's an idea but I do have quite a few books in the house that I need to read through!

>19 PaulCranswick: Surely you have a few sitting around that are of a modest length? *checks picture of book tree* Yep, I think I see a few short ones in there!

>20 amanda4242: Of approximately 4,000 books unread the average book length is close on 300 pages per book.

>21 PaulCranswick: Pffft, average. An equal number of 500 and 100 page books have an average length of 300 pages.

>22 amanda4242: Well yes but I don't want to get left with all the long ones!

Hope 2020 is full of excellent reads!

>24 thornton37814: Thanks! It's already off to a good start!

12 books already is a little more than a good start!

Have a wonderful weekend, Amanda.

>26 PaulCranswick: Novellas are the secret to looking good!

Hope your weekend goes well.

6. La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel

Very good coming-of-age novella out of Equatorial Guinea.

7. Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur, translated by Faridoun Farrokh

It's not awful, but it's yet another example of why I generally find magical realism neither magical nor realistic.

8. Along the Tapajós by Fernando Vilela, translated by Daniel Hahn

A children's picture book about people living along the Amazon river. I wasn't impressed by the art and thought the notes at the end were more interesting than the story, but the _target audience may disagree.

9. Come Tumbling Down by Seanan Mcguire

Another enjoyable Wayward Children novella, this one focusing again on Jack and Jill in the Hammer Horror-inspired Moors.

10. Unfit to Print by KJ Charles, read by Vikas Adam

An entertaining historical detective story, although I prefer Charles' Charm of Magpies series.

11. The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain

A djinn wakes up after a few thousand years of imprisonment and decides to conquer a post-scarcity semi-utopia; hijinks ensue. An altogether delight that I unreservedly recommend.

12. Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated by Danusia Stok

There's a lot more talking and politics than action in this one, but I still liked it.

13. The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio, translated by Rachel Thorn

A Japanese comic translated to English about German schoolboys who are all (unrequitedly) in love with each other. It's all very Romantic (capital letter very much intended) but manages to avoid going over the line into absurdity.

14. Fifteen Poems by Leonard Cohen

When you call me close
to tell me
your body is not beautiful
I want to summon
the eyes and hidden mouths
of stone and light and water
to testify against you.

I want them
to surrender before you
the trembling rhyme of your face
from their deep caskets.

When you call me close
to tell me
your body is not beautiful
I want my body and my hands
to be pools
for your looking and laughing.
from "Beneath my hands"

A very short collection of some minor poems. The couple of prose poems are dreadful (surprise, surprise), but mostly it's full of beautiful little gems.

15. Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor - Old Friends by Jody Houser

A graphic novel in which we meet the Corsair, a Time Lord mentioned briefly in the Neil Gaiman-penned episode "The Doctor's Wife." Doctor Who graphic novels tend to be kind of hit or miss, not unlike the tv series, but the dashing Corsair makes this one a treat and I hope we get to see more of her.

16. Claudine by Riyoko Ikeda

Good, but too flowery for my taste.

17. Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson

I don't know how to describe this one except as a story about stories. It looses steam at the end when it becomes a bit more realistic, but it's still good.

18. Imajica by Clive Barker

A big, sprawling beauty of a book. Sure, the focus could be tighter, but Barker created a rich, wondrous world I will happily revisit.

19. Bowie: An Illustrated Life by María Hesse and Fran Ruiz

This one left me wondering why anyone thought it was a good idea. The art is atrocious, and the text is a really weird first person narration of dubious accuracy. Truthfully, it comes across as a G-rated re-imagining of Velvet Goldmine.

20. Liebestrasse by Greg Lockard

Superb graphic novel of two men in 1930s Berlin who fall in love with each other. The ending is unsurprisingly sad, but it is a truly wonderful book. It's currently available to read on Prime or Kindle Unlimited, so do check it out if you have either service.

21. The Drops of God Vol. 1 by Tadashi Agi
22. The Drops of God Vol. 2 by Tadashi Agi

When an internationally renowned wine critic dies, his estate is left to the one who can identify thirteen of what he considers the best wines in his collection. His son knows nothing about wine and is in a mad rush to learn enough to win the competition and keep his father's precious collection out of the hands of his unscrupulous competitor.

I'm not really a big fan of manga, but the series is on Kindle Unlimited and the story sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a try. It's turning out to be a pretty fun read, although I sometimes feel as if I'm attending a lecture on French wines.

23. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

It's interesting to see a perspective from a culture other than my own, but she's not saying anything that hasn't been said since the dawn of fucking time. Also, I kept getting the feeling she was telling women how they should think, which really undercuts the entire point.

24. The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod

Pretty good historical novel set in 18th century Suriname. It can get a little soap opera-ish at times, but it's really interesting when it's looking at the human cost of the coffee and sugar that we take for granted.

25. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

The narrator is an asshole. All I wanted to do was tell him to grow up and stop whining.

26. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

I hate to say this, but I didn't really care for it. The story's good, but D'Artagnan and the three inseparables are all kind of jerks. I think I'll stick to the Richard Lester films instead.

>29 amanda4242: Wowzer, you really are flying, Amanda

>30 PaulCranswick: I have been on a bit of a roll lately :)

And then some

27. Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin

I spent the entire book wanting to sit all the characters down and tell them to get lots and lots of therapy.

28. Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett

Young Johnny Maxwell is happily shooting alien hoards in his new video game when suddenly the screen flashes a message saying the aliens surrender and are begging him to stop slaughtering them.

I was a little confused as to what Pratchett was getting at here when it dawned on me that Only You Can Save Mankind was written around the time of the Gulf War, when the nightly news was full of images of missile lighting up the night sky like a video game. Having a game become a horrifying war actually works pretty well as a way of exploring desensitization to violence.

Fans of Good Omens will pick up more than a whiff of The Them in Johnny and his friends, which is no bad thing. I especially liked Kirsty, who is smart and talented and has the emotional intelligence of a box of rocks; it's surprisingly refreshing to read a female character who *isn't* the empathetic one.

29. Heart of the Night by Naguib Mahfouz, translated by Aida A. Bamia

Beautifully written novella. I'll have to read more Mahfouz one of these days.

30. Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett

Johnny Maxwell is back and this time he can see ghost, who are pissed off that their cemetery is slated for demolition after being sold to developers in a dodgy real estate deal.

There's a lot about the importance of tradition in this one; not tradition in the "this how we've always done things and why should we change them now" sense, but as a way to respect and remember those who came before. Of course since this is Pratchett, he turns it all topsy-turvy so the living become keepers of the past while the dead get a new lease on, er, life.

31. The Drops of God Vol. 3 by Tadashi Agi
32. The Drops of God Vol. 4 by Tadashi Agi
34. The Drops of God Vol. 5 by Tadashi Agi
38. The Drops of God Vol. 6 by Tadashi Agi

Kind of a fun series that's as undemanding as your average sitcom.

33. Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett

Johnny and his friends accidentally time travel back to the Blitz and have to figure out away to escape the grandfather paradox.

The final Johnny Maxwell book is more polished than it's predecessors, but I didn't find it quite as memorable.

35. Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

In a dystopian near-future with trappings of the Old West, Esther Augustus escapes an arranged marriage by stowing away with traveling librarians. As she makes the rounds with them, she slowly realizes that they're part of a resistance against the tyrannical government.

I was well-primed to love this book as I have a deep love of bad-ass librarians: Rupert Giles, the Librarian of Discworld, even the eldritch horrors of the Night Vale Public Library all have a place in my heart. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that it didn't really matter much that these bad-ass subversives are librarians; granted, Esther's entire concept of her sexuality comes from reading the government-approved books they bring (spoiler: the government's big on burying their gays), but she could have run off with a bunch of women selling Mary Kay and the story wouldn't have been much different.

Despite my disappointment, it's not a bad read and the ending is open enough for a sequel. I just hope if Gailey continues to write in this world they focus a little more on books and those who wrangle them.

36. Stranger Things: Zombie Boys by Greg Pak

Not as bad as the previous Stranger Things graphic novel I read, but it still reeks of a cash grab.

37. Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell

I picked this one up because of the bizarreness of having a Hanna-Barbera character as a closeted playwright during the McCarthy era. Once you look past the classic cartoon characters you'll realize that the story isn't exactly revolutionary, but it is surprisingly well told.

39. The King's Swift Rider by Molly Hunter

A not very enthralling YA historical novel about Robert the Bruce. Hunter really didn't do much to bring the period to life, and her protagonist mostly just wanders around Scotland watching battles from a distance. Her portrayal of the warring factions is very black and white, with everyone on the Bruce's side as good and virtuous, while the English and those who side with them are all cruel villains.

40. The Revenge of the Foxes by Ak Welsapar, translated by Richard Govett

When reading a translated work it's sometimes difficult to tell if the reason I dislike it is because its a bad translation, I'm missing specific cultural references, or because I don't like the work. After reflecting on The Revenge of the Foxes I've decided that while I'm probably missing things, I simply don't like it.

41. Hellblazer Vol. 18: The Gift by Mike Carey
44. Hellblazer Vol. 20: Systems of Control by Andy Diggle & Mike Carey

Still love Constantine.

42. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Eh. It's the kind of writing I always associate with MFA programs.

43. The Drops of God Vol. 7 by Tadashi Agi
45. The Drops of God Vol. 8 by Tadashi Agi
46. The Drops of God Vol. 9 by Tadashi Agi

Continues to be entertaining. Vol. 8 got dinged half a star for having the old "we must get naked to share body heat" thing I've come to loathe.

47. Naughty Ninja Takes a Bath by Todd Tarpley, illustrated by Vin Vogel

An imaginative kid and his bath time adventures. I wouldn't recommend it as a way to teach your kid the importance of bathing, but it's fun in a Dennis the Menace kind of way.

48. Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs

A reread of the novella which kicks off Briggs' Alpha and Omega series. Nothing deep and a little rough around the edges, but a good time waster.

49. The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff

I read Y Gododdin a few years ago and mostly just took away that its elegies for a band of warriors who feasted for a long time and then promptly got themselves slaughtered. Sutcliff's retelling of the story really fleshes out character and the logic behind the forming of the company, as well showing off her masterful ability to evoke historical periods.

50. The Drops of God Vol. 10 by Tadashi Agi
51. The Drops of God Vol. 11 by Tadashi Agi

I hope the remaining 30-odd volumes get translated; I'm not desperate to read them, but I have enjoyed the series and would like to know how it continues.

52. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

Good, but I could have lived with less Levin--who the hell needs that many chapters of a guy mowing?!

53. Vampire Science by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman

A very enjoyable Doctor Who novel, featuring the Eighth Doctor fighting vampires in San Francisco. Blum and Orman did a good job showing the differences and similarities between the immortal vampires and nearly immortal Doctor; the Doctor's compassion and empathy count for a lot, but the authors do point out that his behavior can have catastrophic consequences for those around him.

Fun fact: I had planned on this being one of my BAC reads, but after reading it I discovered neither of the authors are British. What are the odds of finding a multi-author Doctor Who novel where none of the authors are British?

54. Hellblazer Vol. 21: The Laughing Magician by Andy Diggle and Jason Aaron
55. Hellblazer Vol. 22: Regeneration by Peter Milligan et al.

Now I'm regularly checking to see if there's a release date for volume 23 yet.

56. Brother Cadfael's Penance by Ellis Peters

I've enjoyed the few Cadfael books I've read, but this one didn't do much for me. I went in expecting a mystery, but the murder and the search for Cadfael's missing son take a backseat to the politics behind the war that was devastating the country at the time.

Reading as varied and voluminous as always, Amanda.
Hope your week is going well.

>37 PaulCranswick: :)

Happy weekend!

>38 amanda4242: Thank you, Amanda and the very same to you. x

Sorry to be so late checking in here, Amanda! Looks like your 2020 reading is off to a terrific start!

13 BAC books to date is impressive stuff as always.

>40 alcottacre: Hi! I've certainly been having a good reading year!

>41 PaulCranswick: And I've managed a couple more since last posting!

>42 amanda4242: Can't wait to see!

57. The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

58. Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo

A sequel to War Horse, although it has little in common with its predecessor other than sharing a few characters. Albert bets that he and his horse Joey can out plow a tractor.

It's not a deep tale, but it's well told and kids will probably like it. It reminded me of the story of John Henry, but with a thankfully happier ending.

59. Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson

Outside of "Blushing," a pretty good Bluebeard variation, and the deeply strange "Emily Breakfast," I didn't find this collection particularly memorable. If you're looking to try Hopkinson, try the superior Skin Folk.

60. Doctor Who: Dominion by Nick Walters

A Doctor Who novel featuring the Eighth Doctor, Sam Jones, and Fitz Kreiner. Sam disappears and the TARDIS is severely damaged after an encounter with a dimensional anomaly; the Doctor and Fitz get stuck in Sweden where there's been a rash of mysterious disappearances.

I didn't much care for this one as it's mostly just running from monsters and people shouting at each other. That sort of thing can work okay on screen, but reading nearly 300 pages of it gets old.

61. Doctor Who: The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor by James Peaty and Jody Houser

62. Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen

Lady Susan is a treat, with a deliciously wicked title character; it's slightly trashy and catty as hell and I really can't recommend it enough.

The Watsons is an abandoned novel of an impoverished woman of respectable family trying to find a suitable match; it's little more than a sketch and most of what's there looks like it would become parts of Austen's major novels. The unfinished Sanditon is a satirical look at a seaside resort and is much more polished than the other two works; it has the seeds of what could have been a masterpiece.

63. Heathen Volume 1 by Natasha Alterici

64. The Witch in the Wood by T. H. White

65. Rosie: Stronger than Steel by Lindsay Ward

A picture book about an anthropomorphic tractor made by and used by women during WWII. I guess it was trying to show the roles women took on during the war, but I'm not sure that many preschoolers are even *aware* of WWII.

66. The Barefoot Woman by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Jordan Stump

67. Unexpected Stories by Octavia Butler

An excellent pair of stories. The first story, "A Necessary Being," is a companion piece to the tragically out of print Survivor and explores complex power dynamics in the thought-provoking way I've come to expect from Butler's work. "Childfinder" is much darker and less hopeful, but creates a lasting impression. Highly recommended.

Received via NetGalley.

68. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
69. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
72. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin

70. The Ill-Made Knight by T. H. White

71. The G Ring: How the IUD Escaped the Nazis by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow

73. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

A very enjoyable look at the Trojan War and surrounding events as seen through the eyes of the female characters. Some parts don't work as well as others, but Haynes' stroppy muse and her increasingly frustrated Penelope are highlights, and there's an incredibly touching scene between Cassandra and Clytemnestra near the end.

74. Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures by Stephen Fry, read by the author

I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as I did the previous volume; Mythos jumped around a bit more so it seemed very fast-paced, but Heroes stuck with one hero for large chunks, making a bit plodding at times. Still, looking forward to his volume on the Trojan War.

75. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

Ramm does a great job reading one of my favorite series.

Some stats

Books

new reads: 68
re-reads: 7
translations: 26
1001 books (all editions): 2
British Author Challenge: 18

from

shelves: 24
library: 20
Kindle Unlimited: 15
new: 8
Scribd: 7
NetGalley: 1

pages read: 14,797
audiobook hours: 29 hours 4 minutes
average rating: 3.3 stars

Authors

female: 31 books by 28 different authors
male: 27 books by 24 different authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 17 books

nationalities

British: 23 books
American: 17 books
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 16 books
Japanese: 2 books
Bangladeshi: 1 book
Brazilian: 1 book
Canadian: 1 book
Egyptian: 1 book
Equatorial Guinean: 1 book
French: 1 book
Iranian: 1 book
Jamaican: 1 book
Nigerian: 1 book
Polish: 1 book
Russian: 1 book
Rwandan: 1 book
South Korean: 1 book
Spanish: 1 book
Surinamese: 1 book
Taiwanese: 1 book
Turkmen: 1 book

Congrats on hitting 75!

>47 drneutron: Thanks!

Congratulations on reaching 75, Amanda!

>49 FAMeulstee: Thank you!

Congratulations on waltzing beyong 75, Amanda.

>46 amanda4242: Great stats. You are at about double my page count!

>51 PaulCranswick: Thanks! All of those short books really add up!

>52 amanda4242: Still a heck of a lot of reading. xx

You dropped by my thread, Amanda so I am aware that you are reasonably ok.

Any of your pithy reviews imminent?

Have a lovely weekend.

>54 PaulCranswick: Alive and well, just lazy about updating my thread. Happy weekend!

76. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Once you get through (or skip) Scott's terminally dull introduction and dedicatory epistle you're treated to a fine Romantic (capital letter intended) adventure. I'm tempted to pick up another of Scott's novels later in the year.

77. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm
79. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

I'm really enjoying revisiting Max and the St. Mary's crew.

78. Rough Crossings by Caryl Phillips

A play based on Simon Schama's nonfiction Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution. It's a fascinating story of former slaves promised freedom if they fought for the British and how they were lied to and generally screwed over. Unfortunately, Phillip's play is really boring, with terrible dialogue and horribly wooden characters.

80. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The rise of the world's most competent bureaucrat. Mantel's narrative style is stultifying, her characterizations, with the exceptions of Wolsey and Mary Boleyn, are seriously lacking, and the whole thing is hampered by the fact I know how the story ends. It was interesting to see Thomas Cromwell portrayed as a sympathetic character, but I don't think that's enough to warrant all the gushing praise.

81. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 by Jordie Bellaire
82. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 2 by Jordie Bellaire
87. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Hellmouth by Jordie Bellaire and Jeremy Lambert
88. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 3 by Jordie Bellaire

Volume one is a fair reboot of the TV series (see my review), very little happens in volume two and the new artist made all the humans look like goggle-eyed fish people, Hellmouth is pretty good, and volume three is another stinker that is saved only by Anya and a sassy Cordelia.

83. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm
84. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

Still having fun with the Chronicles of St. Mary's.

85. Angel Vol. 1: Being Human by Bryan Edward Hill
86. Angel Vol. 2: City of Demons by Bryan Edward Hill

The Angel reboot is proving to be more even in quality than Buffy. Volume two is elevated by having Spike as a major character.

89. The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

90. Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny, illustrated by Albert Uderzo, translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge

91. Shubh Diwali! by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Charlene Chua

92. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm
93. Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

94. Bear and Fred: A World War II Story by Iris Argaman, illustrated by Avi Ofer, translated by Annette Appel

95. The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White

Congratulations on passing 100 books already!

I wanted my message this year to be fairly universal in a time we all should be pulling together, whatever our beliefs. Happy Celebration, Happy Sunday, Amanda.

>59 PaulCranswick: & >60 PaulCranswick: Thanks and seasonally appropriate well wishes to you too! My contrariness does force me to point out that it is Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, so you've slightly missed universality. ;)

96. Deadpool, Vol. 1: Secret Invasion by Daniel Way

97. Tales of Glass Town, Angria, and Gondal: Selected Writings by Charlotte Brontë, Branwell Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Anne Brontë

I had vaguely known that Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne had created and written about a fantasy world, but didn't really know anything about the tales going in. The collection is separated into one section for each of the siblings and begins with Charlotte, who wrote most of the stories of Glass Town and Angria. They start out fantastical, with miles-high giants and guiding spirits, but quickly become straight-forward melodrama with an odd obsession with the Duke of Wellington and his fictional descendants. Although the stories are decidedly strange, it's not difficult to see the seeds of Charlotte's later work there.

I chose this collection partly because it also contained selections from Branwell Brontë and I was curious to see how his writing compared to that of his sisters. I found his style to be much the same as Charlotte's, if slightly more bellicose. A pity he didn't live longer as he might have turned into an interesting writer.

Emily's poems of the imaginary realm of Gondal were even more emo than I had expected them to be. I really should have made a count of how many times the word "drear" appeared--I'm certain it was in the double digits!

And lastly were Anne's writings. I wouldn't call her writing cheerful, but she didn't wallow in the misery of her characters. Although her poetry didn't bowl me over, I found it to be the work of an intelligent, sensible mind.

98. And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

99. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Much the same as the preceding volume except Mantel replaced her ambiguous use of pronouns with the clear, if cringe-worthy, "he, Cromwell." Earned an extra fraction of a point for using "defenestrate," which is one of my favorite words.

100. Witchblade Origins Volume 1 by David Wohl and Christina Z.

Enjoyable enough, although the women have improbable...proportions.

101. The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, read by the author

I liked Barker's reading except for how he voiced the Cenobites: he made them like lifeless automatons.

102. The Emperor's Babe by Bernardine Evaristo

Billed as a novel in verse, which here mostly means the paragraphs are split into couplets, it's the story of an African girl making her way in Roman Britain. It's sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and often raunchy as hell. I'm not sure I'll ever read it again, but I did enjoy it immensely.

103. An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

104. Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen by Michael Moorcock

A glorious allegoric fantasy, which owes more than a little to Mervyn Peake. Definitely something I will reread.

105. The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu, translated by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin

106. The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon

Not great. It's an abridged version of the first third of Outlander with the addition of a pointless and senseless subplot. As for the art, the backgrounds are superb, but the people aren't always up to snuff, with the female characters tending to look more like tavern wenches at a Renaissance fair than respectable 18th century Scottish women.

107. World War II Tales: The Barrel Burglary by Terry Deary
108. World War II Tales: The Phantom Farm by Terry Deary

109. Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

>60 PaulCranswick: Maybe so, but as Meatloaf crooned two out of three ain't bad.

Have a great weekend.

>64 PaulCranswick: :) Hope you enjoy what's left of your weekend!

110. Witchblade Origins Volume 2 by David Wohl and Christina Z.

I think I'd like this series a little more if the main character didn't spend so much time having her ultra-tight clothing strategically torn.

111. The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde

Still delightful.

112. Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës by Isabel Greenberg

A graphic novel inspired by the Brontës' lives and their juvenilia. The art isn't really to my taste, but it's an interesting read.

113. Deadpool & Cable: Split Second by Fabian Nicieza

Not bad, but it kind of falls apart at the end.

114. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

Rereading The Dresden Files in anticipation of the two (!!!!) new books coming out this year.

115. Midnighter Vol. 1: Out by Steve Orlando

Enjoyable enough that I'll pick up the next volume when/if the library reopens.

117. The Witcher: Reasons of State by Michał Gałek

Eh. Decent way to kill a half hour, but I think the novels are better than any of the comics.

118. Jazz and Palm Wine by Emmanuel Dongala, translated by Dominic Thomas

An extremely good short story collection. The best stories dealt with the clash between tradition and communist regimes, and have the kind of horrifying absurdity I tend to associate with Russian literature.

119. Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
120. Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold

Beloved series I'm rereading in anticipation of book seven.

116. iZombie, Vol. 1: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson
121. iZombie, Vol. 2: uVampire by Chris Roberson

Kind of fun, but I'm probably not going to go to the bother of hunting down the other two volumes.

Wowzer!

>68 PaulCranswick: Yeah, that's what happens when I have even fewer demands on my time.

Wishing you a peaceful and relaxing weekend, Amanda.

>70 PaulCranswick: Thanks you, my friend. Hope your weekend was the same and your week goes well.

122. Renée Stone 1: Murder in Abyssinia by Julie Birmant, translated by Matt Madden

The summary on this one sounded exciting: a female mystery novelist in 1930s Ethiopia finds herself caught up in a real murder and archaeological mysteries? Sign me up! Unfortunately, the description was far more exciting than the actual book and I was left confused as to why the series is named for Renée Stone as she's such a minor character. At least the art was good.

Received via NetGalley.

123. Cassio 1. The First Assassin by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin
125. Cassio 2. Second to Strike by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin

Wow! I was totally sucked into the story within the first couple of pages. I loved the parallel stories of Roman nobleman Lucius Aurelius Cassio and the modern day archaeologist investigating Cassio's mysterious death.

Volume 1 received via NetGalley.

124. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
127. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
128. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
129. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
134. Network Effect by Martha Wells

This series is like reading an action movie: big on explosions, but kind of light on plot. Still, enjoyable in a summer blockbuster kind of way.

126. Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef by Cassandra Khaw

130. The Drops of God Vol. 12 by Tadashi Agi
131. The Drops of God Vol. 13 by Tadashi Agi
133. The Drops of God Vol. 14 by Tadashi Agi
135. The Drops of God Vol. 15 by Tadashi Agi
137. The Drops of God Vol. 16 by Tadashi Agi

132. An Island Called Moreau by Brian Aldiss

Really bad. Like Island of Dr. Moreau with Marlon Brando bad.

136. The Crystal World by J. G. Ballard

Strange and hallucinatory. It's good, but it came across as a bit of a rehash of The Drowned World.

138. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

See your reading is still at a crawl!

Have a lovely weekend, Amanda.

>74 PaulCranswick: Yes, I've been going at quite the sluggish pace. ;)

Hope your week is going well.

Dear Amanda,

It is - for Malaysian muslims anyway - our biggest religious festival this weekend to celebrate the end of Ramadan. A time of thanks and forgiveness.

I want to say a quick thank you for being such a steadfast pal in the group. I am always happy when I get one of your posts. xx

Have a lovely long weekend.

>76 PaulCranswick: Thank you, my friend. I'm not a particularly chatty person, but I do enjoy following your adventures via your thread and your post here are always appreciated.

139. Spike vs. Dracula by Peter David

140. The Long and Short of It by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

141. Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom by Bruce Brown
142. Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom by Bruce Brown
143. Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness by Bruce Brown

144. The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

145. Docile by K. M. Szpara

146. Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore, read by Euan Morton

147. Penric's Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold

148. Cassio 3. The Third Wound by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin

149. Vei Vol. 1 by Sara Bergmark Elfgren

150. Jack by Connie Willis

A slim book which packs a hell of a punch! The many allusions to Dracula make it clear early on what the mystery man's secret is, but Willis goes far beyond the standard vampire tale; her characters are vivid and the depictions of the Blitz are harrowing.

Received via NetGalley.

Some stats

Books

new reads: 120
re-reads: 30
translations: 41
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 34

from

shelves: 41
library: 30
new: 28
Kindle Unlimited: 24
Scribd: 19
NetGalley: 4
Prime: 2
Open Library: 2

pages read: 26,645
audiobook hours: 141 hours 2 minutes
average rating: 3.36 stars

Authors

female: 64 books by 43 different authors
male: 59 books by 46 different authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 27 books

nationalities

British: 47 books
American: 41 books
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 29 books
French: 4 books
Belgian: 3 books
Japanese: 2 books
Polish: 2 books
Bangladeshi: 1 book
Brazilian: 1 book
Canadian: 1 book
Chinese: 1 book
Congolese: 1 book
Egyptian: 1 book
Equatorial Guinean: 1 book
Indian: 1 book
Iranian: 1 book
Israeli: 1 book
Jamaican: 1 book
Malaysian: 1 book
New Zealander: 1 book
Nigerian: 1 book
Russian: 1 book
Rwandan: 1 book
South Korean: 1 book
Spanish: 1 book
Surinamese: 1 book
Swedish: 1 book
Taiwanese: 1 book
Turkmen: 1 book

Congratulations on 2x75 already, Amanda!

Thank you!

>79 amanda4242: Congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Amanda!

>83 FAMeulstee: Thanks!

A quiet June thus far, Amanda?

Wishing you a splendid weekend.

>85 PaulCranswick: I've been reading at my usual pace, but my LT time has been spent playing with the new series feature. :)

Happy weekend!

34 BACs so far is impressive, Amanda, although I suspect that the last couple of month's selections were not entirely to your taste.

Have a lovely weekend.

>88 amanda4242: It's not so much that I didn't like the authors as much as it was my book choices were severely limited due to the lockdown.

Hope your week is going well.

In this difficult year with an unprecedented pandemic and where the ills of the past intrude sadly upon the present there must still be room for positivity. Be rightly proud of your country. To all my American friends, enjoy your 4th of July weekend.

151. Deadpool Vol. 1: Dead Presidents by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
159. Deadpool Vol. 2: Soul Hunter by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
160. Deadpool Vol. 3: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
164. Deadpool Vol. 4: Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
165. Deadpool Vol. 5: The Wedding of Deadpool by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
167. Deadpool Vol. 6: Original Sin by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
168. Deadpool Vol. 7: Axis by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan
169. Deadpool Vol.8: All Good Things by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan

152. Find Me by Andre Aciman

157. Hope for the Best by Jodi Taylor
178. Long Story Short by Jodi Taylor

153. The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard
155. Dominion of the Fallen stories by Aliette de Bodard
162. The House of Sundering Flames by Aliette de Bodard
163. Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard

A series about a post-apocalyptic Paris ruled by fallen angels, with a generous helping of Vietnamese folklore/mythology for added awesomeness. I really hope there will be more in books in the series.

154. The Drops of God Vol. 17 by Tadashi Agi
156. The Drops of God Vol. 18 by Tadashi Agi
158. The Drops of God Vol. 19 by Tadashi Agi
161. The Drops of God Vol. 20 by Tadashi Agi
177. The Drops of God Vol. 21 by Tadashi Agi
179. The Drops of God Vol. 22 by Tadashi Agi

Now I have to wait for the next eleven volumes to be released.

166. Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles
170. Think of England by KJ Charles

171. Ease by Patrick Gale

A successful playwright decides to slum it because she's bored, I guess? Almost all the characters were assholes or idiots.

172. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor, Vol. 1 - Weapons of Past Destruction by Cavan Scott
173. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Volume 2 - Doctormania by Cavan Scott
174. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Volume 3 - Official Secrets by Cavan Scott
175. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor, Vol. 4 - Sin Eaters by Cavan Scott

176. The Mark of Aeacus by Charles "Zan" Christensen

180. Harleen by Stjepan Šejić

181. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

182. The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

A buffoon becomes obsessed with an empty headed twelve year old, who, in grand Romantic fashion, dies of consumption. I don't understand why there are so many glowing reviews of this one: the plot is crap and the writing has the stilted quality of a very poor translation.

183. Luthor by Brian Azzerello

184. Spike: Asylum by Brian Lynch

185. Cassio 4. Final Blood by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin

>89 PaulCranswick: Thank you, my friend. I'm just about to step outside and enjoy the fireworks.

>91 amanda4242: Your pithy summaries always make me smile. Enjoy the fireworks and stay safe.

186. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
187. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
188. The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

An enjoyable series while reading, but don't think too hard about it or large chunks of the plot will be in danger of falling apart.

189. Death Trick by Richard Stevenson

Entertaining, but I kept getting distracted by the terrible formatting in the MLR Press ebook.

190. Witchblade: Shades of Gray by Leah Moore

Eh. Dorian Gray shows up and all the female characters wear improbably tight clothes which keep getting strategically ripped.

191. Sebastian O/The Mystery Play by Grant Morrison

Four stars for Sebastian O's delightfully decadent romp, three stars for the beautifully illustrated but slightly elusive Mystery Play.

192. Poe & Phillips by Jaime Collado

Awful. The description made it sound like it was going to be Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft investigating the supernatural (despite the fact Poe died decades before Lovecraft was born), but the title characters are barely in it and the story is harebrained. The art is serviceable.

193. The Silence of the Wilting Skin by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Really strange speculative fiction about, I think, loss of identity and culture; of course, I could be wrong about that as it's so maddeningly opaque it could be a meditation on water fluoridation for all I know.

194. Spike: Shadow Puppets by Brian Lynch

Goofy fun.

195. Behind These Doors by Jude Lucens

A little repetitive at times, but I really liked the characters. I hope there's a sequel in the works.

196. Spellbound by Allie Therin
198. Starcrossed by Allie Therin

Magic in 1920s New York. Glaringly anachronistic at times and the characterizations are a bit weak, but they're fun books with which to kill an afternoon.

197. Cassio 5. The Road to Rome by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin

199. Second Coming by Mark Russell

A graphic novel in which God sends Jesus to live with Earth's greatest superhero in order to toughen him up. I can see why it stirred up controversy as it shows Jesus being thoroughly disgusted with those who claim to follow him, but it's overall message is one of compassion and mercy. It's not great literature, but it's well worth reading.

Received via NetGalley.

200. Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

201. Loki: Agent of Asgard Volume 1: Trust Me by Al Ewing

Fun, but full enjoyment requires more knowledge of previous iterations of Marvel's Loki than I posses.

202. The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

A very enjoyable mystery set around the theatrical word in 1950s Brighton. I've already downloaded the sequel and will be starting it in the next few days.

203. The Rose of Versailles Volume 1 by Ryoko Ikeda, translated by Mari Morimoto

A sprawling soap opera of a manga centering around Marie Antoinette. It moves *very* slowly--there are entire chapters dedicated to the question of if/when the Dauphine will first speak to the King's mistress--and the art is a bit flowery for my tastes, but it's engaging.

Yay for waltzing beyond 200!

Thanks! Most things around here are still closed, so there's little to do except read and make the most of my Netflix subscription.

204. Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff
205. The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff

206. An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

207. Asterix and the Golden Sickle by René Goscinny
208. Asterix and the Goths by René Goscinny

209. Farquhar by Joshua Ip

210. Spike: Old Wounds by Scott Tipton
211. Spike: Lost & Found by Scott Tipton

212. The Guild by Felicia Day

213. Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths

214. The Ancient Guide to Modern Life by Natalie Haynes

215. Midnighter Vol. 2: Hard by Steve Orlando

216. The Red Years: Forbidden Poems From Inside North Korea by Bandi, translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl

See that you are still reading a bit!

Hope you have had a good weekend, Amanda. xx

>101 PaulCranswick: My weekend was full of books so I'd say it went pretty well. :)

217. Phoresis by Greg Egan

218. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, translated by Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen

It's not bad, but it did have me rolling my eyes more than a little. I kept thinking that most of the conflict could have been avoided if any of the characters had taken two seconds to use their brains for more than taking up the space between their ears.

222. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

Enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did the first.

223. Rampokan Java by Peter van Dongen, translated by Brian Doyle

224. Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor

Short but powerful.

219. Asterix the Gladiator
220. Asterix and the Banquet
221. Asterix and Cleopatra
225. Asterix and the Big Fight
by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge

I just recently discovered the joys of Asterix. The plots are dumb, but the art is charming and I love the word play.

Some stats

Books

new reads: 183
re-reads: 42
1001 books (all editions): 3
British Author Challenge: 39

translations: 59
Arabic: 1
Chinese: 2
Dutch: 2
French: 16
Hebrew: 1
Japanese: 26
Korean: 1
Persian: 1
Portuguese (Brazilian): 1
Polish: 2
Russian: 2
Spanish: 3
Swedish: 1

From
shelves: 56
library: 51
new: 43
Kindle Unlimited: 37
Scribd: 28
NetGalley: 6
Prime: 2
Open Library: 2

pages read: 41,668
audiobook hours: 155 hours 26 minutes
average rating: 3.32 stars

Authors

female: 91 books by 53 different authors
male: 91 books by 63 different authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 43 books

nationalities

American: 57 books
Australian: 1 book
Bangladeshi: 1 book
Batswana: 1 book
Belgian: 5 books
Brazilian: 1 book
British: 68 books
Canadian: 1 book
Chinese: 1 book
Congolese: 1 book
Croatian: 1 book
Dutch: 1 book
Egyptian: 1 book
Equatorial Guinean: 1 book
French: 14 books
Indian: 1 book
Iranian: 1 book
Israeli: 1 book
Jamaican: 1 book
Japanese: 3 books
Malaysian: 1 book
Mexican: 1 book
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 45 books
New Zealander: 1 book
Nigerian: 1 book
North Korean: 1 book
Polish: 3 books
Russian: 1 book
Rwandan: 1 book
Singaporean: 1 book
South Korean: 1 book
Spanish: 2 books
Surinamese: 1 book
Swedish: 1 book
Taiwanese: 1 book
Turkmen: 1 book

Congratulation on 3x75 already, Amanda.

>104 amanda4242: It is interesting that you have read more British authors than American which must be unusual certainly in the context of this group.

>105 PaulCranswick: Thanks! The higher number of British authors is mostly because of the BAC.

>106 amanda4242: Yes I figured as much!

Have a lovely weekend. x

>103 amanda4242: Congratulations on reaching 3 x 75, Amanda!

>108 FAMeulstee: Thank you!

226. A Drunken Dream and Other Stories by Moto Hagio, translated by Rachel Thorn

I managed to sneak in one more graphic novel before July ended. It's occasionally beautiful, often hallucinatory, and sometimes downright odd. My favorite story is "The Willow Tree": told almost entirely without words, it depicts an unchanging woman standing beneath a tree as seasons and eventually years pass.

Stopping by at your start of 4x75, Amanda.

I hope your weekend was a good one.

>111 PaulCranswick: 300 books is starting to look pretty inevitable. :)

227. Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch

A few weeks ago I was privately lamenting that most of the short stories in the Rivers of London series weren't available in the US. Imagine my joy when literally the next day I received an e-mail announcing the imminent release of the collected RoL short stories! They're mostly just little interludes which can fit pretty much anywhere in the series chronology, but they are delightful reads.

228. Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles

Still enjoying Charles' novels.

229. Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

A brilliant folklore-infused fantasy. I'll definitely be re-reading it someday.

230. Loki: Agent of Asgard Volume 2: I Cannot Tell a Lie by Al Ewing
231. Loki: Agent of Asgard Volume 3: Last Days by Al Ewing

I wanted to like this series more than I do, but I didn't like that I'd have to be familiar with several other titles to fully understand the events in this one and the frequent author's notes got old fast.

232. Penric's Mission by Lois McMaster Bujold
233. Mira's Last Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
235. The Prisoner of Limnos by Lois McMaster Bujold
238. The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold
240. The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold

I love this series. I love this series so much that every time a new title is released I re-read the entire series.

234. Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo, translated by Allison Charette

An excellent historical novel set in early 19th Century Madagascar. The novel follows two characters from childhood to adulthood: Fara, who narrates events as they happen; and Tsito, a slave Fara's father bought to be a companion to her, who is looking back on events from some point in the future. Much of the beginning of the book shows traditional life in a Malagasy village, but the increasing presence of Europeans missionaries is a catalyst for massive social upheaval, which the two narrators get caught up in. Highly recommended.

236. Running with Mother by Christopher Mlalazi

A harrowing story of a family trying to escape death squads during the genocide in Zimbabwe. Not an easy read, but very well-written.

237. The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, translated by John Cullen

Honestly, this response to Camus' The Stranger generally reads like one long whinge. This could have been a brilliant short story about alienation and the damages caused by colonialism, but to get to the few choice bits you have to wade through page after page of rants about Meursault.

239. Woeful Second World War by Terry Deary

Non-fiction that focuses more on individuals than on battles, which is a good choice as there's no way such a short book could ever succeed in adequately covering even one of the minor battles.

243. The Bike Escape by Terry Deary
244. The Apple Spy by Terry Deary

Part of the World War II Tales series, each entry of which focuses on some aspect of life in Britain during WWII. I think they'd make excellent supplemental reading for children studying the war.

241. The Death of Stalin by Fabien Nury

Is there a word that means both horrifying and absurd? If there is, then that is word I'd use to describe this very good graphic novel.

The movie is also well worth a watch.

242. Teaching English in Swaziland: essays on the life of Gordon James Thomas by Sarah Mkhonza

From the title, I kind of expected this to be Mkhonza reminiscence of being taught by Gordon James Thomas. It's actually a combination of a brief history of teaching in Swaziland (now Eswatini), the author's memories of her education, and instruction manual for teaching with examples from Thomas' teaching methods. If this was an assignment I was grading, I would mark it down for lack of focus, poor organization, and poorly integrated examples.

245. The Blood Card by Elly Griffiths

Continuing to enjoy the series. Stephens' culture shock when arriving in New York was great fun to read.

246. The Daughters of Ys by M. T. Anderson, illustrated by Jo Rioux

I enjoyed this retelling of a Breton legend about a magical kingdom reclaimed by the sea, but I didn't care for the art; I found the giant eyes and weird noses kind of creepy.

Received via Goodreads.

247. Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Civilizations by Paul Strathern

A very brief and generalized look at the similarities in the rise and fall of ten empires. Strathern looks at empires from across the globe and many different periods of time, but there isn't a strong unifying theme to make this book much more than mildly interesting.

248. Asterix in Britain by René Goscinny, translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
249. Asterix and the Normans by René Goscinny, translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge

I read a lot of British literature so I've grown used to seeing the British poking fun at the French, but I think Asterix in Britain is the first time I've seen it the other way around. It is hysterically funny, with Asterix and Obelix commenting on the weather, the food, and the strange habit of their British comrades to drop everything at the same time every day to have a hot drink.

Asterix and the Normans was also enjoyable, but it suffers a bit in comparison to the previous volume.

>112 amanda4242: Wowzer! 300 books. I haven't achieved 200 since I left university - had high hopes for this year but I am treading water a little this month.

>115 PaulCranswick: Well, you do have the excuse that your lady wife has finally returned home!

Truthfully, I wasn't planning on reading anywhere near the number of books I have, but between COVID keeping most things closed and wildfires making the air quality worse than usual, I've had plenty of time to whittle away at my tbr mountain.

250. To Terra...Volume 1 by Keiko Takemiya, translated by Dawn T. Laabs

Kind of slow moving space opera about the clash between people with psychic abilities and their baseline counterparts. It was good enough that I'll pick up the other two volumes from the library, but I won't be adding them to my personal collection.

251. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

A little difficult to follow because:

a good chunk is in second-person

the events of the previous book are retold with massive changes

and Harrow is off her rocker.

Still, very enjoyable and I adored the Necrolord Prime and his relationships with his lyctors. I'm very much looking forward to book three.

253. Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

Space nuns! Nuns in space! How much more than that do you need to make you pick this one up?

In seriousness, this is a really good novella about nuns in the far future doing what nuns have been doing for centuries: caring for the sick, offering comfort, worshiping their god, and dealing with a remote Church bureaucracy which has very little idea of what the nuns face on a daily basis.

Received via tor.com

254. Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

And now I have to wait until next for a new St. Mary's book. :(

255. Tales Told in Oz by Gregory Maguire

This tiny volume contains a few folktales and legends tying in to The Wicked Years. It probably won't be of much interest to anyone who hasn't read at least Wicked, but they're very well told tales.

It's available for a minimum of a $1 shipping fee through Gumroad.

256. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

A reread of an old favorite. An engrossing tale with terrific atmosphere.

257. Cassio 6. The Call to Suffering by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin

252. Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
258. Drowned Country by Emily Tesh

Very good pair of novellas inspired by the Green Man of British folklore. It's billed as a duology, but the ending leaves open the possibility of more adventures.

260. Yoga at the Zoo by Teresa Anne Power, illustrated by Emma Allen

I entered a giveaway a couple of months ago and this is one of the books I won, although I don't quite know *how* as I'm pretty sure this wasn't one of my selections.

Anyway, it's a picture book about a yoga-loving mouse and his cat friend tagging along on a girl's field trip to the zoo; there the mouse sees a variety of animals and assumes poses that mimic them. It almost goes without saying that this isn't about yoga the ancient spiritual discipline, but yoga the means of getting affluent suburbanites to spend money on silly clothes.

Emma Allen's illustrations are cute, but I think the only thing the _target audience will get out of this is that they should be allowed to take their pets on field trips, too.

259. The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths
261. Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths

I really hope there will be more books in this series.

Wishing you a lovely weekend, Amanda. 400 books this year?

>118 PaulCranswick: I don't think I'll make 400. 300 is almost certain and 350 probable, but I'd have start cutting back on sleep to hit 400 by the end of the year.

Hope your weekend went well.

262. Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard

Many of Ballard's science fiction novels are apocalyptic or feature the breakdown of society, but none of them really come close to the harrowing nature of this novel, which was inspired by Ballard's own experiences at a prison camp in Shanghai during WWII.

263. Dawn of Fear by Susan Cooper

Three English schoolboys living in a London suburb during the start of the Blitz find more excitement than fear in the nightly bombings. My enjoyment of this one suffered a bit because I read it immediately after Empire of the Sun; although the horrors of war eventually hit home for the boys in Dawn of Fear, their obsession with building a secret hideout just seems frivolous when my last read featured a boy whose main concern was trying to get himself sent to a POW camp so he'd have a *slightly* reduced chance of starving to death.

264. Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh

The Bright Young Things of Waugh's previous novels have grown older but not any wiser. Set during the "Phoney War," the first months at the start of WWII when there were few battles on the Western front, the affluent characters spend there days lamenting the shortage of servants, trying to get into fashionable regiments where they think they will see no action, arguing in cafes, and dealing with the "horror" of having to house evacuees. Waugh's satire is as vitriolic as ever, so expect no happy endings here.

265. Thornhill by Pam Smy

266. To Terra..., Volume 2 by Keiko Takemiya, Dawn T. Laabs

267. Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

I just don't like this one as much as I do the previous Earthsea novels. Tenar has learned a great many important lessons since escaping the Tombs of Atuan, but we're *told* about them rather than shown, so the entire book reads like a summary of another, more interesting book.

>119 amanda4242: Going at the same speed you'll reach 337 345 books. Hope you can make 366 books at least!

268. Doing Time by Jodi Taylor, read by Zara Ramm

The first in a spin-off series from the excellent Chronicles of St Mary's. It starts slow, but it improves greatly once the time travel starts.

269. Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard

Another great novella set in the Xuya Universe, this one featuring a tutor and a mindship, both with secrets to hide, investigating a mysterious death. This slim volume is packed with enough mystery, thrills, and romance to fill a lengthy novel, but Bodard manages it all so well that it's a perfect little jewel of a read.

Received via NetGalley.

270. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I found it too gimmicky.

271. Tales from the End of Time by Michael Moorcock

I love Moorcock's stories of the near-immortal, staggeringly powerful people living in the dying days of the universe. The characters are this strange mixture of sybaritic and innocent that makes them utterly charming.

272. Tales of Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany

A deeply philosophical novel hidden behind the tropes of a sword and sorcery tale. I don't really get much of what Delany is talking about, but I love that he makes me think.

273. Good Morning Comrades by Ondjaki, translated by Stephen Henighan

Interesting novella about an Angolan schoolboy set during the turbulent times following the country's independence. Ondjaki doesn't shy away from showing the hardships his protagonist faces, but he also does a good job showing how outsiders are largely ignorant of the country and its culture.

>121 PaulCranswick: With the smoke keeping me indoors I may come close to 400 after all.

>123 amanda4242: Haha, I do hope so.

274. Tintin in the Congo by Hergé, translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner

From the forward in my edition:

In his portrayl of the Belgian Congo, the young Hergé reflects the colonial attitudes of the time. He himself admitted that he depicted the African people according to the bourgeois, paternalistic stereotypes of the period--an interpretation that some of today's readers may find offensive. The same could be said of his treatment of big-game hunting.

All I have to say is that you've got some serious problems when your animal characters are given a greater level of sophistication than your African characters.

275. The Adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets by Hergé, translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner
276. Tintin in America by Hergé, translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner

Are they all this crappy?

277. Cigars of the Pharaoh by Hergé, translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner

Marginally less awful than the preceding volumes, but not nearly good enough to get me to read another volume.

278. Asterix the Legionary by René Goscinny, translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge

Just what I needed to remove the lingering traces of Tintin.

279. Cassio 7. The Goddess Awakens by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin
280. Cassio 8. Painter of the Dead by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin
281. Cassio 9. The Empire of Memories by Stephen Desberg, translated by Edward Gauvin

Very exciting and satisfying conclusion to the series.

282. Heathen Vol. 2 by Natasha Alterici

283. Shuri Vol. 1: The Search for Black Panther by Nnedi Okorafor
284. Shuri Vol. 2: 24/7 Vibranium by Nnedi Okorafor and Vita Ayala

A very good spin-off from Black Panther focusing on T'Challa's sister, Shuri. The two issues written by Ayala are forgettable, but Okorafor's main arc is very well written--and didn't require any prior knowledge of the Black Panther series to understand what was going on.

285. A Long Distance by Jean Wei

Sometimes when you get a free indie comic you get a treasure and sometimes you get something that looks like an emo's Tumblr. This book is not one of the treasures.

286. Wakanda Forever by Nnedi Okorafor

Okorafor is showing herself to be a very good writer of Black Panther/Wakanda stories.

287. What Are You Thinking About? by Anatola Howard

Strange little collection of unrelated comics. Not all of it was to my taste, but there are several wonderful strips.

288. Black Panther vs. Deadpool by Daniel Kibblesmith

I do love Deadpool, but he certainly can bring out the self-righteousness in superheroes!

289. LaGuardia by Nnedi Okorafor

Didn't hate it and didn't love it. The art is beautiful, but the story was really heavy-handed in its message.

290. Food Baby by Lucie Bryon

Quirky and fun little book full of food related comics.

291. Your Mother's Fox by Niv Sekar

Ditto my comments in >131 amanda4242:

292. Beneath the Dead Oak Tree by Emily Carroll

A dark, gruesome little fairy tale. Very well done.

293. Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide by John Cleese

Nothing original, just some nice tips and friendly encouragement.

294. To Terra...Volume 3 by Keiko Takemiya, translated by Dawn T. Laabs

A case of a series ending with a whimper instead of a bang.

295. Stoke by Sam Wade

Apparently Wade is more interested in drawing panels of people getting punched than in telling an interesting story.

296. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, read by David Tennant

Revisiting a favorite. Tennant's narration is perfection.

297. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

I read this when I was about thirteen and remember enjoying. I'm glad to report it held up on rereading; in fact, I think I enjoyed it a little more since I now understand it's a riff on Beowulf.

298. Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Yona Harvey, Rembert Browne

Very good story of the Dora Milaje and their evolution towards becoming protectors of all of Wakanda. I liked the story and the art is good, but Gay's dialogue tends to be a bit stilted.

Wowzer... closing in on 300.

Have a great weekend

>145 PaulCranswick: Thanks! You too!

>143 amanda4242: My favorite Crichton!

>147 drneutron: It's my favorite, too. I also think the movie is something of an overlooked gem.

299. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I bought this one because of my deep affection for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Piranesi is a wildly different book than Clarke's first novel, but it is a wonderfully immersive experience; my only (very small) complaint is that it is a slow starter, but perseverance certainly paid off.

300. Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda by Jim Zub

Nothing special, but entertaining in a Saturday morning cartoon kind of way.

Some stats

Books

new reads: 250
re-reads: 50
1001 books (all editions): 5
British Author Challenge: 49

translations: 78
Arabic: 1
Chinese: 2
Dutch: 2
French: 29
Hebrew: 1
Japanese: 31
Korean: 1
Persian: 1
Portuguese: 1
Portuguese (Brazilian): 1
Polish: 2
Russian: 2
Spanish: 3
Swedish: 1

From
shelves: 75
library: 63
new: 73
Kindle Unlimited: 37
Scribd: 41
NetGalley: 7
Prime: 2
Open Library: 2

pages read: 54,709
audiobook hours: 185 hours 29 minutes
average rating: 3.32 stars

Authors

female: 129 books by 70 different authors
male: 125 books by 80 different authors
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 46 books

nationalities

Algerian: 1 Book
American: 80 books
Angolan: 1 book
Australian: 1 book
Bangladeshi: 1 book
Barbadian: 1 book
Batswana: 1 book
Belgian: 13 books
Brazilian: 1 book
British: 90 books
Canadian: 3 books
Chinese: 1 book
Congolese: 1 book
Croatian: 1 book
Dutch: 1 book
Egyptian: 1 book
Equatorial Guinean: 1 book
French: 19 books
Indian: 1 book
Iranian: 1 book
Israeli: 1 book
Jamaican: 1 book
Japanese: 7 books
Malagasy: 1 book
Malaysian: 1 book
Mexican: 1 book
N/A (multiple authors, unknown, etc.): 49 books
New Zealander: 2 books
Nigerian: 1 book
North Korean: 1 book
Polish: 3 books
Russian: 1 book
Rwandan: 1 book
Singaporean: 1 book
South Korean: 1 book
Spanish: 2 books
Surinamese: 1 book
Swazi: 1 book
Swedish: 1 book
Taiwanese: 1 book
Turkmen: 1 book
Zimbabwean: 1 book

301. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Mattias Ripa

A chilling story, but told with warmth and love.

302. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Didn't have the same impact as the first, but it's still worth reading.

303. Andromeda Stories, Volume 1 by Keiko Takemiya & Ryū Mitsuse, translated by Magnolia Steele

Space opera manga about a peaceful planet being surreptitiously taken over by malevolent machine invaders. The first volume has me very intrigued about where the story's going, so I'm glad I already have volumes two and three out from the library.

304. Andromeda Stories, Volume 2 by Keiko Takemiya & Ryū Mitsuse, translated by Magnolia Steele
305. Andromeda Stories, Volume 3 by Keiko Takemiya & Ryū Mitsuse, translated by Magnolia Steele

Machines have conquered the planet and heroes must rise to save mankind from extinction. Full of intrigue, action, and, ultimately, hope. This series is very reminiscent of Dune, although it's several orders of magnitude less complicated.

Time for a new thread.

>150 amanda4242: Congratulations on reaching 4 x 75, Amanda!

>156 FAMeulstee: Thanks!