2013 Reading
Wrap-up
Every day I read, along
with scriptures, a variety of books both fiction and non-fiction.This
is my reading wrap-up for 2013. When I am up at night because my
super sensitive skin is driving me crazy with itching and soreness, I
can count on my trusty electronic reading device (a regular kindle)
to help me focus my mind on something else so I don't scratch myself
bloody. I just grab it from my night stand, start reading, and I am
transported to another place and time.
I have had a goal of
reading 50 books for the past three years. The first year I came up a
few short of the goal, the next I made my goal, and this year I
surpassed my goal! My grand total for 2013 was 61 books. This year I
will set my goal at 60 books, with hopes of surpassing it once again.
This will include regular books, kindle books, and books on CD.
2013 breakdown: E-books:
31, Books on CD: 5, Regular Books: 21
Fifteen of the books were
in my TBR (to be read pile) YAY!
A bit of discussion now...
Shattered, and
Graveminder were written by authors I had never read before
but from the descriptions put forth that helped me decide to download
them, I was pleased with the reads. I just recently downloaded part
two of the Shattered series and am looking forward to reading
it. Both books had likeable female main characters and entertaining
stories. Shattered is a fantasy and Graveminder was a unique story of
a family with paranormal abilities leaving a legacy in their town. Do
you like zombie tales? Graveminder is for you, (it has low gore
level, I am not a fan of gore, I don't watch The Walking Dead, but I
did like the movie I am Legend with Will Smith- it was better
than the story as the character was less pathetic in the movie).
Cry of the Peacock
and Mermaid were also from authors I had never read before and
I was pleasantly pleased with both, Peacock was a good standard
Gothic-type tale, and Mermaid was a nice retelling of that fairytale.
The sleeping surprise for the year was Alexie's The Absoultely
True Diary of a Part-time Indian, I
listened to it while commuting and driving here and there, it was
narrated by the author which added to the depth and charm of the
tale. Highly recommended, though sometimes can be a bit shocking. It
is classified as Young-Adult literature, definitely for older youth.
Kids these days are way more sophisticated than I ever was in high
school! It was a let's bare all the warts type of story but very
touching and sure made you think. I also discovered an internet site
with short stories by Ivan Turgenev, a Russian author, what I have
read so far is really good, the tales I've read are mostly
categorized as Gothic. All in all, I have learned, been creeped out a
bit, and been carried on some amazing adventures from my reading this
year!
I read The Strega and
the Dreamer for the Immigrant Book challenge, it was about
Italian immigrants settling in the North-east and the story of their
families trying to fit in. The immigrants worked in the mines in
Pennsylvania and that resonated with me as my Grandpa had relatives
that did just that. The twist was the wife of one of the immigrants-
she was a wise-woman, herbalist, mid-wife, witch, or whatever you
want to call her, (hence the "Strega") using her
skills/knowledge in the communities where she lived.
I like reading about
history so Voices of the Ancients, Women of the Sea, Doomed
Queens, Mad Kings and Queens, The Children of Henry VIII, Francis
Poor Man of Assisi, Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe, True
Stories of Pirates, and a few other books that cross categories
were all interesting to me. Doomed Queens was especially interesting,
Mad Kings and Queens was rather sad and disturbing because most of
the unfortunate royals mentioned within were victims of their own
circumstances because of inbreeding, and the seemingly ever true
mantra that 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely',
and especially if you are King or Queen, someone is always ready to
betray you to steal your riches and power. I was surprised to learn
about the generally violent history of France in the Castles and Cave
Dwellings book because many of the castles discussed were located in
France and the so called noble families were always fighting each
other, having power grab wars, and trying to rid the earth of their
rivals every family member. Families also killed each other in the
power wars, so much of it seems to be such an unfortunate commentary
on the nature of humankind. Pirate stories are usually always full of
action and adventure, and the women pirates seem to be just as
ruthless as the men.
Science topics are a nice
change from the fantasy and sci fi I usually like to read. Spook
was a study on the nature of death and what happens when we die. The
Disappearing Spoon and Napoleon's Buttons were both really
engaging and I learned things about various elements, the periodic
table, Gallium, Silver, and the Tin buttons that may have contributed
to the fall of Napoleon's great army. Good stuff there.
I have a seemingly
insatiable desire for old ghost stories a la 1800's style. I like the
fact that there is a lot of atmosphere created in the stories and
rarely any blood and gore. The Willows, by Algernon Blackwood is the
perfect example. It's incredibly creepy but nothing bad really
happens, the author takes you for a fascinating ride. If there is any
gore, it is not the main point of the story and is glossed over
rather quickly, while the psychological aspect of creepiness still
lingers. It seems anything by Poe, usually gives you a kick in the
gut so I can't take a steady diet of his stuff, but do occasionally
read it so I can keep up on it for my Dark and Stormy Night Blog and
facebook page. Paranormal, Gothics or Ghost stories under this
category from the reading list would be the following:
1.Superstition, Pirates, Ghosts and Folklore of Bocas del Toro,
Panama, 2.Clermont,3. Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, 4.Scottish Ghost
Stories, 5.Ghosts I have Seen, 6.Classic Vampire Stories, 7.Strange
Brew, 8.Mean Streets, 9.12 Black Cats, 10. Mysteries and Legends,
11.Reiko, 12.The Open Door and The Portrait, 13.The Habsburg Curse,
14.Death Masks, 15.Paranormal Casebook, 16.The Book of Werewolves,
17.Blood Rites, 18.Twelve Gothic Tales, 19.Cry of the Peacock, 20.The
Empty House, 21.In Search of the Unknown, and 22. Pure. Hapsburg,
Werewolves, and Pure could also be counted for some history, too.
Hapsburg was
informative and kind of sad, but I don't really believe in curses,
it's more of a case of 'what goes around-comes around' and a family
legacy of power lust, being disagreeable, and inbreeding. Werewolves
was rather shocking and the more for it because it was written in
the 1800's and dealt with a rather gory subject trying to explain the
werewolf phenomenon and giving a bit of a distasteful history lesson
of persons who wanted to eat other persons! That salve the people who
supposedly turned into werewolves used (and claimed was given to them
by the devil or a witch) sent them on the equivalent of a bad
mushroom high or something like that and they would believe they were
a werewolf and attack people. (Sounds a bit familiar to some crazy
drug episodes and face eating in the not so ancient news of our day.)
Pure was a rather
unique tale on the odd subject of the Cemetery of the Innocents in
Paris. A nicely Gothic subject and interesting story, weird, but
interesting and I pretty much raced through it. It gives some French
history leading up to the time of the revolution, too. I happened
upon that one while looking for things to post on my Dark and Stormy
Night facebook page- The Paris Catacombs! Very strange, but not half
as strange as the Capuchin Monks of Palermo. Although I look at those
pictures of bones I don't think I could make myself actually go into
a catacomb at all. Too dang creepy and weird to gaze at other peoples
bones, no thank you! Morbid curiosity I guess.
Ethan Frome was a
pretty stark story of New England, stark is a good word to describe
it, written by an nobel prize winning American author and in a unique
genre, worth reading. My biggest disappointment was Kitchen
Confidential, I started reading it for the Foodie book challenge,
what a waste of time. Why is that guy a famous chef? He brain is
addled from drugs and alcohol and he thinks we all need to know about
sexual escapades more than the world of the chef. Just don't bother.
The next disappointment was The Book of Lost Fragrances, it
left a bad taste in my mouth, it was unsatisfying even though the
description seemed pretty interesting. I think maybe it was because
the main character was (spoiler) - a let down.
I always enjoy Lois Lowry,
and find her books to be thought provoking even though they are
classified for young adults. I think that studying The Giver when
you are too young (like they always seem to do in school) could
almost be a disadvantage because you can't really understand it in
the right way and many teens wind up hating it because of that. I
happen to like dystopias, they get you thinking.
The three things I read
from Atlantis Rising were compilations of articles from the magazine
of the same name, some of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt
but it usually always delivers something entertaining and if you
wanted to write stories there is an abundance of interesting ideas
within those pages!
Listing of books read in
2013:
- Shatter (The Children of Man)- Elizabeth C. Mock (e-book)
- Graveminder-Melissa Marr (e-book)
- The Strega and the Dreamer-Theresa C. Dintino (e-book)
- Voices of the Ancients-Stephen B. Shaffer (e-book)
- Plain Tales from the Hills-Rudyard Kipling (e-book)
- Spook by Mary Roach
- Ethan Frome- Edith Wharton (e-book)
- Superstition, Pirates, Ghosts and Folklore of Bocas del Toro, Panama by Malcolm Henderson (e-book)
- Weekend Homesteader- Anna Hess (e-book)
- Clermont- Regina Maria Roche (e-book)
- Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (book on CD)
- Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (e-book)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (e-book)
- Doomed Queens by Kris Waldherr
- Mad Kings and Queens by Alison Rattle and Allison Vale
- The Children of Henry the VIII by John Guy (e-book)
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
- The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (e-book)
- Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
- Scottish Ghost Stories by Elliott O'Donnell (e-book)
- The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (book on CD)
- Ghosts I have Seen by Violet Tweedale (e-book)
- Classic Vampire Stories Edited by Molly Cooper
- The Long War Against God by Dr. Henry Morris
- The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales.....by Sam Kean
- Strange Brew- Ed. By P.N. Elrod
- Mean Streets- Butcher, Green, Richardson, Sinegoski
- Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (book on CD)
- 12 Great Black Cats and Other Eerie Scottish Tales by Sorche Nic Leodhas
- Women of the Sea: Ten Pirate Stories by Myra Weatherly
- Francis: Poor Man of Assisi by Tommie De Paola
- Mysteries and Legends: Utah True Stories of the Unexplained by Michael O'Reilly
- Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon
- Forensics Science: A Very Short Introduction by Jim Fraser (e-book)
- The Absoultely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie (book on CD)
- Reiko- A Japanese Ghost Story by James Avonleigh (e-book)
- Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe by Sabine Baring-Gould (e-book)
- The Open Door and The Portrait by Margaret Oliphant (e-book)
- Napoleon's Buttons by Penny LeCouteur and Jay Burreson
- Down in the Darkness (The Shadowy History of America's Haunted Mines, Tunnels and Caverns) by Troy Taylor
- The Giving Plague by David Brin (Novella) (e-book)
- Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann (book on CD)
- The Habsburg Curse by Hans Holtzer
- Death Masks (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
- A Paranormal Casebook: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium by Loyd Auerback
- Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson
- The Book of Werewolves: being an account of a terrible superstition by Sabine Baring-Gould
- I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (e-book)
- Blood Rites (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
- Content Area Reading by Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz (text- yes I read the whole thing))
- True Stories of Pirates by Lucy Lethbridge
- Twelve Gothic Tales Edited by Richard Dalby
- The Alloy of Law Prologue by Brandon Sanderson (e-book)
- Cry of the Peacock by V.R. Christensen (e-book)
- The Empty House and other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood (e-book)
- In Search of the Unknown by Robert W. Chambers (e-book)
- Pure by Andrew Miller (e-book)
- (Atlantis Rising compilation) Future Science by J. Douglas Kenyon (e-book)
- (Atlantis Rising compilation) Beyond Science by William Stoeker (e-book)
- (Atlantis Rising compilation) Lost History by Philip Coppens (e-book)
- (Various short stories-internet and e-book form, Turgenev, Poe, Blackwood, Bierce, etc.)
