Author: Bill Willingham
Published: 2010
This volume brings together Bill Willingham's comic series, Fables, Jack of Fables and The Literals. Our heroes come together to fight a villain that threatens to end all reality. I continue to like the way that Willingham plays on words and ideas and makes them literal people. I don't think this "crossover event" is quite as compelling as the individual series are on their own. I did love the Genres though.
I've been a very bad blogger. I don't even know for sure that I qualify as a blogger right now. I've been extremely busy and reading a lot but I failed to transfer all that reading into blog posts. I've decided to do a quick catch up post and then, I promise, I'm going to try lots harder to do individual posts on books as a I read them. So, what have I read so far this year?
Incarceron
Author: Catherine Fisher
I enjoyed this book a lot. It wasn't the best book ever but it was entertaining. I also have to give the author a lot of credit for creativity. Although the book had most all of the usual fantasy tropes, this book was creative - probably one of the most unique settings I've come across in a long time.
Witch & Wizard
Author: James Patterson
Narrators: Elijah Wood and Spencer Locke
This book was just okay. It was an average fantasy and quite predictable at times. I got extremely upset with one aspect of the book (which I won't mention here so that I don't spoil anybody who plans to read it). But, I have to say, I was highly impressed with Elijah Wood's narration. He was a shining bright spot in this audiobook.
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, Volume 1
Author: Bryan Lee O'Malley
I enjoyed this graphic novel and found the drawings very interesting but I don't know that I found Scott Pilgrim interesting. I actually found it difficult to like the character. Maybe he'll become more likeable as the story goes along.
Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days)
Fables: The Good Prince
Fables: The Dark Ages
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall
Author: Bill Willingham
I'm still enjoying this series.
Any Human Heart
Author: William Boyd
This book entranced me. I didn't find the main character sympathetic and actually had a hard time feeling for him. At the same time, though, I couldn't put the book down. I couldn't wait to find out where he was going to go next, who he was going to meet or what part of history was going to come into play next in the book. I had never been more conflicted in my life about a book and it's main character. At times, I forgot that it was a work of fiction.
The Scorch Trials
Author: James Dashner
This was an excellent follow up to The Maze Runner. There were aspects of this story that I enjoyed better than the first book in this series.
Sandman: The Doll's House
Sandman: Dream Country
Author: Neil Gaiman
I'm still enjoying this series a lot. Gaiman is a master storyteller no matter what the medium.
The Invention of Huge Cabret
Author: Brian Selznicck
This is at the top of my list for my favorite book so far this year. It's a beautiful, heart-warming story. Extremely imaginative. I love the way that the author expertly tells the story with both words and pictures. Many of the pictures told the story better than any words could. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
Jack of Fables: The (Nearly) Great Escape
Jack of Fables: Jack of Hearts
Author: Bill Willingham
This is a spin-off from the Fables series. This series seems to be more fluff and entertainment than the mother series. It's just okay to me.
My Soul To Steal
Author: Rachel Vincent
This series just keeps getting better as it goes along. I found Sabine an excellent addition to the storyline. I also love that Tod is getting more story time. He may be becoming my favorite character in the series. I can't wait to see where the author takes these characters from here.
Mr. Peanut
Author: Adam Ross
This book had an excellent beginning and an inventive ending but it lost me in the middle. I had heard so many good reviews that I was disappointed in the book. Maybe I should just stay away from reviews.
Blankets
Author: Craig Thompson
I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot. It told a good story and was moving. It was well drawn and heart touching.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Narrator: Edward Herrmann
This is the book at the top of my favorite books for 2011. I found it impossible to quit listening to this book. Everybody I talked to got lectured on what an amazing story this is and how much I was loving the book and how they absolutely, positively had to read it. Louie's story was inspiring. I grew up ignorant of the Japanese part of World War II (except for Pearl Harbor) and never realized just how horrible the Japanese POW camps were. I just hope that if I am ever in a position similar to Louie's that I am able to stand up and be as strong as he was under pressure. In addition, Edward Herrmann's narration was perfect. Read this book!
Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books
Author: William Kuhn
Another terrific biography. I have to admit this is another part of history that I'm pretty ignorant about. I know who the Kennedys are (you couldn't be American and not know that) but I just didn't know much about their background. I still don't know a lot about the Kennedys but I did learn a lot about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. I had no clue that she had ever worked as an editor. I felt like I got to know who she was by reading about her choices in books to publish and her feelings about the subject matters and the authors. I also liked her sense of humor.
I Am Number Four
Author Pittacus Lore
I enjoyed this book. It was a fun fast read with lots of action (especially at the end).
The Immortal Life of Heinrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot
This was another great biography on the year. I don't even think that it was so much Henrietta Lacks' story that made this such a great book. I was intrigued by how much all of science could be changed by one person's cells. On top of that, I was appalled by the different scientific experiments that have been conducted over the years. It was like reading synopses of horror stories. I think, though, that the driving force in this book was the stories of Henrietta's children. I felt for them and felt their pain in the loss of their mother and not understanding the things they were reading about cells and the injustice of their situation.
So, now you're caught up with what I've been reading this year. I promise to do my best to stay caught up and not get behind again.
As I mentioned before, I managed to make it to 100 books in 2010. I also met the graphic novels challenge, short story challenge, and 101 fantasy challenge. Actually, I made it through all of my challenges except for my Lost related books challenge. I'll keep that one on the table for 2011. What about other challenges for 2011? Well, I definitely won't be trying to read more than 100 books. I'll just try to reach 100 again. But, my biggest challenge for 2011 is going to be reading through my To Be Read stack. I've got books piled up all around me and I'd like to get those read this year. So, that's my official 2011 challenge and the only one that I really care about meeting. Wish me luck!
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Year: 1995
Wonderful. That's the only word needed to describe this graphic novel. I must have this entire collection for my library.
Author: Laura Lippman
Year: 2010
Publisher: William Morrow
Eliza Benedict was kidnapped as a teenager and held hostage. She's also the only victim that her kidnapper let live. Now, over 20 years later, she receives a letter from the man who kidnapped her. He's down to his final days on death row and he wants to talk to her.
I'm not sure how I felt about this book. It was a good read and entertaining when I was reading it but it wasn't memorable - a book that I can recall in vivid details two weeks later.
Author: Michael Connelly
Year: 2010
Narrator: Peter Giles
In this book, Michael Connelly combines Harry Bosch with Mickey Haller and I've got to say, the combination worked very well. Harry Bosch is probably my favorite series character and definitely my favorite detective/mystery character. In The Reversal, Mickey Haller joins the prosecution team to retry a man convicted of murder 20 years earlier but DNA evidence has now freed him. Mickey asks Harry to help him find the evidence to put the killer back in prison.
I liked the way this story contrasted the differences between Bosch and Haller but also brought out their similarities. Peter Giles is the perfect narrator for these books.
I must say, I am continually impressed with Michael Connelly. Over the years, I have tired of almost every long term detective/thriller/mystery character except for Harry Bosch. Somehow, Connelly has managed to keep Harry the same but changing and growing. I forget just how much I love these books until I start reading them. In this case, I again found myself letting a Michael Connelly sit on my ipod for a long period of time and then kicking myself for not listening to it as soon as I got it.
