Journal: Entry for Rebekah
Target was 100.
1 - The Gunseller ~ Hugh Laurie (Spy thriller/comedy: funny, clever, good read)
2 - Bridge of Birds ~ Barry Hughart (Fantasy: beautiful and lovely)
3 - A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens (January/February challenge book: sweet)
4 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ~ Washington Irving (Also Jan/Feb challenge book: boring/disappointing)
5 - Dracula ~ Bram Stoker (genre challenge book - Horror (reread): love it)
6 - The Post-Birthday World ~ Lionel Shriver (Um. Irritating.)
7 - Grimm's Fairy Tales ~ Die Brueder Grimm (Fun)
8 - Cranford ~ Elizabeth Gaskell (Charming)
9 - Knots & Crosses ~ Ian Rankin (Reread. Clever.)
10 - The Children's Book ~ AS Byatt (Intricate, slightly disappointing.)
11 - Lord of the Changing Winds ~ Rachel Neumeier (Enjoyable, good start to a series.)
12 - The Diamond Throne ~ David Eddings (Lovely nostalgia reread.)
13 - The Anubis Gates ~ Tim Powers (Interesting ideas. Execution could have been better.)
14 - The Ruby Knight ~ David Eddings (reread)
15 - Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen (reread)
16 - The Sapphire Rose ~ David Eddings (reread)
17 - Lifeless ~ Mark Billingham (Crime project. Dark. Tense.)
18 - Grave Peril ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
19 - Room ~ Emma Donoghue (Charming with an underlay of disturbing. Brilliantly done.)
20 - The Blade Itself ~ Joe Abercrombie (Great characterisation, interesting story, excellent start to a series.)
21 - The Shack ~ Wm Paul Young (Ick.)
22 - The Last Temptation ~ Val McDermid (crime project. Very tense and interesting. No let up.)
23 - Persepolis ~ Marjane Satrapi (For the Half-Dozen challenge. Glorious. Really wonderful. Read it.)
24 - Temeraire ~ Naomi Novik (Delightful take on the Napoleonic Wars. With dragons. Love.)
25 - Summer Knight ~ Jim Butcher (Reread)
26 - Rivers of London ~ Ben Aaronovitch (Magical cop. Great story.)
27 - Hide and Seek ~ Ian Rankin (For my Crime project. Better than the first, but still requiring polish.)
28 - Contested Will ~ James Shapiro (Non-fiction. Fascinating and very readable.)
29 - Black Sheep ~ Georgette Heyer (Reread)
30 - The Black Ice ~ Michael Connelly (Crime. Good, but lacking in gore.)
31 - Brooklyn ~ Colm Tóibín (Beautiful, moving, kind of heartbreaking.)
32 - The Great Gatsby ~ F Scott Fitzgerald (reread for tutoring)
33 - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet ~ David Mitchell (Incredible chronicle of life in Edo-era Japan. Fascinating, beautifully written, a gem.)
34 - Kraken ~ China Miéville (For the May/June challenge. Not fully convinced, though there were some good moments.)
35 - Dragonsong ~ Anne McCaffrey (Nostalgia reread)
36 - Dragonsinger ~ Anne McCaffrey (Nostalgia reread)
37 - Tooth & Nail ~ Ian Rankin (reread - crime)
38 - Daughter of the Empire ~ Janny Wurts and Raymond E Feist (Nostalgia reread)
39 - Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (Genre challenge. Really very interesting.)
40 - Side Jobs ~ Jim Butcher (Mostly good. Continuation of Changes didn't change much.)
41 - Throne of Jade ~ Naomi Novik (Second Temeraire novel. Love it.)
42 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (For the May/June challenge. Quite good, but suffers from comparison with other dystopian novels like 1984 and Brave New World.)
43 - Black Powder War ~ Naomi Novik (Third Temeraire novel. Still loving them.)
44 - Servant of the Empire ~ Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist (nostalgia reread)
45 - To Ride Hell's Chasm ~ Janny Wurts (reread)
46 - Misspent Youth ~ Peter F Hamilton (For May/June challenge. Somewhat disappointing. It wasn't sci-fi so much as wishful sexual thinking.)
47 - The History of England: Volume I ~ David Hume (History book for the Genre Challenge. Really very fascinating, and a nice way of finding out the real history I know so well from 1066 And All That.)
48 - Death Masks ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
49 - Blood Rites ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
50 - Heartless ~ Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate book 4. Loved it. So much fun, and a great continuation of the story.)
51 - Dead Beat ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
52 - The Dervish House ~ Ian McDonald (Sci-fi set in near-future Turkey. Well-drawn characters, clever story, nicely interwoven plots. Highly recommended.)
53 - Proven Guilty ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
54 - Empire of Ivory ~ Naomi Novik (Next Temeraire book. Definitely fun, although I didn't like it as much as the previous one.)
55 - Victory of Eagles ~ Naomi Novik (5th Temeraire book. Possibly my favourite so far - it's either this one or the first.)
56 - The Crow ~ J. O'Barr (For the July/August challenge. Didn't like it. Too ... graphic. Hahaha.)
57 - White Night ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
58 - Small Favors ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
59 - Turn Coat ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
60 - Changes ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
61 - Tongues of Serpents ~ Naomi Novik (6th Temeraire book. Still lovely. Thought it would have made a nice end point, but apparently there's another book.)
62 - The Tiger's Wife ~ Téa Obreht (Lovely book, beautifully written.)
63 - The Brigadier Gerard ~ Arthur Conan Doyle (For the genre challenge. Very funny. Should be better known than it is. Highly recommended.)
64 - Ragnarok ~ AS Byatt (A book I need to review. Retelling of the Ragnarok myth. Brilliantly done. A little beauty of a book.)
65 - Ghost Story ~ Jim Butcher (Unlike most people, I really enjoyed this. Thought Butcher pulled it off well.)
66 - The Fahrenheit Twins ~ Michel Faber (A collection of short stories, most of them excellent. Faber is definitely one of my favourite authors.)
67 - Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott (For the genre challenge. A reread.)
68 - The Phantom of the Opera ~ Gaston Leroux (reread)
69 - Ivanhoe ~ Sir Walter Scott (For the genre challenge. A reread)
70 - Blow on a Dead Man's Embers ~ Mairi Strachan (A book sent to me by Canongate. About a family pulling itself together after WWI. Beautifully written and very moving. Loved it.)
71 - Burning Bright ~ Ron Rash (Collection of short stories. Stark, brilliant, great read.)
72 - The Man Who Knew Too Much ~ GK Chesterton (Short stories, for the Crime genre. Perfection, really.)
73 - The Edinburgh Dead ~ Brian Ruckley (Impulse buy because it's set in Edinburgh, but very happy with it. Good story.)
74 - Lords and Ladies ~ Terry Pratchett (Reread. Fun.)
75 - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ~ John LeCarre (For the September/October challenge. Loved it. Looking forward to the film.)
76 - Interesting Times ~ Terry Pratchett (Reread, enjoyed much more than last time.)
77 - Initiate's Trial ~ Janny Wurts (Book 9 of the Wars of Light and Shadow. Started slow, ended wonderfully.)
78 - The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow ~ Jerome K Jerome (Funny and clever. Really enjoyable.)
79 - Who Wrote Shakespeare? ~ John Michel (For the November/December Challenge. Actually very interesting, if populated by nutters.)
80 - Sons and Lovers ~ DH Lawrence (For the "I've been meaning to read this for ages" challenge. I think. Not what I was expecting and I didn't enjoy it very much. They all made me angry.)
81 - Barchester Towers ~ Anthony Trollope (Loved it. So witty and funny and occasionally tender. Great book.)
82 - Snuff ~ Terry Pratchett (Started slow and got better. Enjoyed it overall.)
83 - The Moonstone ~ Wilkie Collins (Reread. I'd forgotten how gorgeous it is.)
84 - God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology ~ Michael Horton (Surprisingly interesting to read. Learned a lot about the history of the covenant in the ancient world.)
85 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~ Lewis Carroll (Reread. Lovely.)
86 - Enduring Love ~ Ian McEwan (Hated it. Gah. Horrible characters.)
87 - Through the Looking Glass ~ Lewis Carroll (Lovely. Not quite as lovely as the first one, though.)
88 - The Crimson Petal and the White ~ Michel Faber (Interesting glimpse into a seedier Victorian world. The narrator annoyed me a bit, and it was a bit too full of sex descriptions for me to be comfortable.)
89 - The Man Who Would Be King ~ Rudyard Kipling (Nice quick read. Felt more like another author whose name currently escapes me than Kipling, though.)
90 - Porterhouse Blue ~ Tom Sharpe (Witty satire of Oxbridge life. Very enjoyable.)
91 - Anna Karenina ~ Leo Tolstoy (Reread. Forgot how long it is. Still love it, though.)
92 - Dragonflight ~ Anne McCaffrey (Nostalgia reread. I must get all the others!)
1 - The Gunseller ~ Hugh Laurie (Spy thriller/comedy: funny, clever, good read)
2 - Bridge of Birds ~ Barry Hughart (Fantasy: beautiful and lovely)
3 - A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens (January/February challenge book: sweet)
4 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ~ Washington Irving (Also Jan/Feb challenge book: boring/disappointing)
5 - Dracula ~ Bram Stoker (genre challenge book - Horror (reread): love it)
6 - The Post-Birthday World ~ Lionel Shriver (Um. Irritating.)
7 - Grimm's Fairy Tales ~ Die Brueder Grimm (Fun)
8 - Cranford ~ Elizabeth Gaskell (Charming)
9 - Knots & Crosses ~ Ian Rankin (Reread. Clever.)
10 - The Children's Book ~ AS Byatt (Intricate, slightly disappointing.)
11 - Lord of the Changing Winds ~ Rachel Neumeier (Enjoyable, good start to a series.)
12 - The Diamond Throne ~ David Eddings (Lovely nostalgia reread.)
13 - The Anubis Gates ~ Tim Powers (Interesting ideas. Execution could have been better.)
14 - The Ruby Knight ~ David Eddings (reread)
15 - Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen (reread)
16 - The Sapphire Rose ~ David Eddings (reread)
17 - Lifeless ~ Mark Billingham (Crime project. Dark. Tense.)
18 - Grave Peril ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
19 - Room ~ Emma Donoghue (Charming with an underlay of disturbing. Brilliantly done.)
20 - The Blade Itself ~ Joe Abercrombie (Great characterisation, interesting story, excellent start to a series.)
21 - The Shack ~ Wm Paul Young (Ick.)
22 - The Last Temptation ~ Val McDermid (crime project. Very tense and interesting. No let up.)
23 - Persepolis ~ Marjane Satrapi (For the Half-Dozen challenge. Glorious. Really wonderful. Read it.)
24 - Temeraire ~ Naomi Novik (Delightful take on the Napoleonic Wars. With dragons. Love.)
25 - Summer Knight ~ Jim Butcher (Reread)
26 - Rivers of London ~ Ben Aaronovitch (Magical cop. Great story.)
27 - Hide and Seek ~ Ian Rankin (For my Crime project. Better than the first, but still requiring polish.)
28 - Contested Will ~ James Shapiro (Non-fiction. Fascinating and very readable.)
29 - Black Sheep ~ Georgette Heyer (Reread)
30 - The Black Ice ~ Michael Connelly (Crime. Good, but lacking in gore.)
31 - Brooklyn ~ Colm Tóibín (Beautiful, moving, kind of heartbreaking.)
32 - The Great Gatsby ~ F Scott Fitzgerald (reread for tutoring)
33 - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet ~ David Mitchell (Incredible chronicle of life in Edo-era Japan. Fascinating, beautifully written, a gem.)
34 - Kraken ~ China Miéville (For the May/June challenge. Not fully convinced, though there were some good moments.)
35 - Dragonsong ~ Anne McCaffrey (Nostalgia reread)
36 - Dragonsinger ~ Anne McCaffrey (Nostalgia reread)
37 - Tooth & Nail ~ Ian Rankin (reread - crime)
38 - Daughter of the Empire ~ Janny Wurts and Raymond E Feist (Nostalgia reread)
39 - Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (Genre challenge. Really very interesting.)
40 - Side Jobs ~ Jim Butcher (Mostly good. Continuation of Changes didn't change much.)
41 - Throne of Jade ~ Naomi Novik (Second Temeraire novel. Love it.)
42 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (For the May/June challenge. Quite good, but suffers from comparison with other dystopian novels like 1984 and Brave New World.)
43 - Black Powder War ~ Naomi Novik (Third Temeraire novel. Still loving them.)
44 - Servant of the Empire ~ Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist (nostalgia reread)
45 - To Ride Hell's Chasm ~ Janny Wurts (reread)
46 - Misspent Youth ~ Peter F Hamilton (For May/June challenge. Somewhat disappointing. It wasn't sci-fi so much as wishful sexual thinking.)
47 - The History of England: Volume I ~ David Hume (History book for the Genre Challenge. Really very fascinating, and a nice way of finding out the real history I know so well from 1066 And All That.)
48 - Death Masks ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
49 - Blood Rites ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
50 - Heartless ~ Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate book 4. Loved it. So much fun, and a great continuation of the story.)
51 - Dead Beat ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
52 - The Dervish House ~ Ian McDonald (Sci-fi set in near-future Turkey. Well-drawn characters, clever story, nicely interwoven plots. Highly recommended.)
53 - Proven Guilty ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
54 - Empire of Ivory ~ Naomi Novik (Next Temeraire book. Definitely fun, although I didn't like it as much as the previous one.)
55 - Victory of Eagles ~ Naomi Novik (5th Temeraire book. Possibly my favourite so far - it's either this one or the first.)
56 - The Crow ~ J. O'Barr (For the July/August challenge. Didn't like it. Too ... graphic. Hahaha.)
57 - White Night ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
58 - Small Favors ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
59 - Turn Coat ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
60 - Changes ~ Jim Butcher (reread)
61 - Tongues of Serpents ~ Naomi Novik (6th Temeraire book. Still lovely. Thought it would have made a nice end point, but apparently there's another book.)
62 - The Tiger's Wife ~ Téa Obreht (Lovely book, beautifully written.)
63 - The Brigadier Gerard ~ Arthur Conan Doyle (For the genre challenge. Very funny. Should be better known than it is. Highly recommended.)
64 - Ragnarok ~ AS Byatt (A book I need to review. Retelling of the Ragnarok myth. Brilliantly done. A little beauty of a book.)
65 - Ghost Story ~ Jim Butcher (Unlike most people, I really enjoyed this. Thought Butcher pulled it off well.)
66 - The Fahrenheit Twins ~ Michel Faber (A collection of short stories, most of them excellent. Faber is definitely one of my favourite authors.)
67 - Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott (For the genre challenge. A reread.)
68 - The Phantom of the Opera ~ Gaston Leroux (reread)
69 - Ivanhoe ~ Sir Walter Scott (For the genre challenge. A reread)
70 - Blow on a Dead Man's Embers ~ Mairi Strachan (A book sent to me by Canongate. About a family pulling itself together after WWI. Beautifully written and very moving. Loved it.)
71 - Burning Bright ~ Ron Rash (Collection of short stories. Stark, brilliant, great read.)
72 - The Man Who Knew Too Much ~ GK Chesterton (Short stories, for the Crime genre. Perfection, really.)
73 - The Edinburgh Dead ~ Brian Ruckley (Impulse buy because it's set in Edinburgh, but very happy with it. Good story.)
74 - Lords and Ladies ~ Terry Pratchett (Reread. Fun.)
75 - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ~ John LeCarre (For the September/October challenge. Loved it. Looking forward to the film.)
76 - Interesting Times ~ Terry Pratchett (Reread, enjoyed much more than last time.)
77 - Initiate's Trial ~ Janny Wurts (Book 9 of the Wars of Light and Shadow. Started slow, ended wonderfully.)
78 - The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow ~ Jerome K Jerome (Funny and clever. Really enjoyable.)
79 - Who Wrote Shakespeare? ~ John Michel (For the November/December Challenge. Actually very interesting, if populated by nutters.)
80 - Sons and Lovers ~ DH Lawrence (For the "I've been meaning to read this for ages" challenge. I think. Not what I was expecting and I didn't enjoy it very much. They all made me angry.)
81 - Barchester Towers ~ Anthony Trollope (Loved it. So witty and funny and occasionally tender. Great book.)
82 - Snuff ~ Terry Pratchett (Started slow and got better. Enjoyed it overall.)
83 - The Moonstone ~ Wilkie Collins (Reread. I'd forgotten how gorgeous it is.)
84 - God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology ~ Michael Horton (Surprisingly interesting to read. Learned a lot about the history of the covenant in the ancient world.)
85 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~ Lewis Carroll (Reread. Lovely.)
86 - Enduring Love ~ Ian McEwan (Hated it. Gah. Horrible characters.)
87 - Through the Looking Glass ~ Lewis Carroll (Lovely. Not quite as lovely as the first one, though.)
88 - The Crimson Petal and the White ~ Michel Faber (Interesting glimpse into a seedier Victorian world. The narrator annoyed me a bit, and it was a bit too full of sex descriptions for me to be comfortable.)
89 - The Man Who Would Be King ~ Rudyard Kipling (Nice quick read. Felt more like another author whose name currently escapes me than Kipling, though.)
90 - Porterhouse Blue ~ Tom Sharpe (Witty satire of Oxbridge life. Very enjoyable.)
91 - Anna Karenina ~ Leo Tolstoy (Reread. Forgot how long it is. Still love it, though.)
92 - Dragonflight ~ Anne McCaffrey (Nostalgia reread. I must get all the others!)
