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A Book Club For The Obsessive Reader
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 7th, 2013|09:34 am]
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I'm always looking for new books to read, what are your all time favorite books? |
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| Recs needed: stories where women go mad as a result of work |
[Feb. 28th, 2013|12:49 pm]
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Bear with me, this will make sense (I hope).
At a book club discussion for The Bell Jar, it was realized that as far as any of us can think, that's the only book where a female protagonist goes mad from work pressures. But I'm wondering if that's really true. So if you know of any other books, would you mind reccing them in the comments?
Thanks in advance! |
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| Books read in 2012 |
[Jan. 1st, 2013|01:17 am]
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In order of date read, not counting comic books/graphic novels/manga.
Full pictorial list, with ratings, here.
1) Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
2) The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
3) Nothing Happened and Then It Did: A Chronicle in Fact and Fiction by Jake Silverstein
4) Between Two Seas by Carmine Abate
5) Democracy: An American Novel by Henry Adams
6) Queen's Play by Dorothy Dunnett
7) A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
8) The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips
9) Cartas a un joven novelista por Mario Vargas Llosa
10) The Face of Another by Kobo Abe
11) Waiting for the Wind: Thirty-six Poets of Japan's Late Medieval Age
12) The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
13) Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiadis
14) Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome edited by David Franklin and Sebastian Schutze
15) El ruido de las cosas al caer by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
16) Vulcan's Hammer by Philip K. Dick
17) MetaMaus by Art Spiegelman
18) Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
19) Invasion of the Road Weenies, and Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar
20) Venus, Inc. by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth
21) 420 Characters by Lou Beach
22) The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric
23) Modern Antiquity: Picasso, De Chirico, Leger, Picabia
24) A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
25) Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga
26) The Tragedy of King Richard II by William Shakespeare
27) The Homecoming Party by Carmine Abate
28) Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages by Guy Deutscher
29) Ragnarok: The End of the Gods by A.S. Byatt
30) Henry IV: Parts I and II by William Shakespeare
31) Monstress by Lysley A. Tenorio
32) Henry V by William Shakespeare
33) Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist
34) Three A.M. by Steven John
35) The March by E.L. Doctorow
36) I Do Not Come To You By Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
37) The Book of Lost Books: An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You Will Never Read by Stuart Kelly
38) Death Sentences by Kawamata Chiaki
39) The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
40) The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
41) Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon
42) The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
43) Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
44) Railsea by China Mieville
45) The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
46) The Lives of Things by Jose Saramago
47) My Poets by Maureen L. Mclane
48) The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
49) What Light Can Do: Essays on Art, Imagination, and the Natural World by Robert Hass
50) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
51) Everybody's Right by Paolo Sorrentino
52) The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
53) Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
54) The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
55) HHhH by Laurent Binet
56) The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski
whoops I forgot 57) Secret Rendezvous by Kobo Abe |
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| “An Experimental Guide To Eternal Life” |
[Apr. 30th, 2012|09:29 pm]
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The KGB And Psychiatric Abuse – An Eyewitness Account I’d greatly appreciate your review and comments, I was among the 24 locked and tortured in the Soviet psychiatric hospitals and prisons, all because of our faith. I survived, but some didn’t. Fit and healthy before, all under the age of twenty-five, they died from large doses of psychotropic drugs, from force feeding, from tuberculosis and malnutrition. The Human Rights News Brief (Munich) referred to this group as “truly prisoners of conscience”. Resistance International (France) described them as “completely peaceful non-violent group with no political goals”. But instead of fighting real crime in a country riddled with corruption, the Soviet authorities made no excuses for fabricated court cases, detention in psychiatric hospitals and violent suppression of these innocent lives. This account has never been published before, it is a tribute to these forever young people, but there is much more in it about the USSR, about the choice between good and evil and about the ultimate fight – the fight with oneself. I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you. Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/EXPERIMENTAL-GUIDE-ETERNAL-LIFE-ebook/dp/B006UMHWYY/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1 Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/EXPERIMENTAL-GUIDE-ETERNAL-LIFE-ebook/dp/B006UMHWYY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326871315&sr=8-1 |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 2nd, 2012|07:46 pm]
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Hi everyone, my name is River and I just joined. I've decided to join some reading communities because I love to read and I love to hear about books that others have read. Book recommendations are one way in which I've found some good books to read. Another way is through my random trips on the internet and through wandering bookstores and libraries. Even though I'm 21 years old, I still love reading YA books. At the moment, I'm working on Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri. My favorite genre is historical fiction. In my bedroom, I have a whole stack of historical fiction books about Henry VII's wives and books about Marie Antoinette. My favorite author would have to be Neil Gaiman. I first fell in love with his writing through the StarDust movie. Seeing StarDust made me want to read the book. After reading the book, I moved onto Coraline, The Graveyard Book, M is for Magic and InterWorld. |
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| Newish to the Community |
[Jan. 4th, 2012|04:28 pm]
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Hi there! My name is Amanda. I've had a livejournal account for some time, but I decided to start a new journal about what I read and thought I should join a couple reading communities as well. I will read nearly anything, but i tend to veer toward classics. Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott are two of my favorites. Right now I'm working on my second reading of Les Miserables. It's been about 12 years since the last time I read it, so I think I will be looking at it through "new" eyes. I'll share my thoughts here and in my journal as I make progress in the book. |
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| Books Read in 2011in order of reading |
[Jan. 1st, 2012|09:02 pm]
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1 First Lord's Fury - Jim Butcher
2 Zombies vs. Unicorns - Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
3 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame Smith [I hear they're making a movie of this...:D]
4 Small Gods - Terry Pratchett
5 Tales of the Otherworld - Kelly Armstrong
6 I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Prachett
7 All Fall Down - Zachary Alan Fox
8 Curse the Dark - Laura Anne Gailman
9 Prom Nights from Hell - anthology
10 The Ferryman - Christopher Golden
11 Waking the Witch - Kelly Armstrong
12 Arthas: Rise of the Lich King - Christie Golden
13 The Serpent's Shadow - Mercedes Lackey
14 The Demonata: Blood Beast - Darren Shaw
15 Side Jobs - Jim Butcher
16 Real Vampires Don't Diet - Gerry Bartlet
17 Jailbait Zombie - Mario Acevedo
18 Making the Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat - David Dosa M.D.
19 Alex Cross's Trial - James Patterson & Richard & Richard Dilallo
20 Vampyres of Hollywood - Adrienne Barbeau & Michael Scott
21 The Beautiful Miscellaneous - Dominic Smith
22 Chapter House Dune - Frank Herbert
23 Hunted - Amelia Elias
24 We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
25 Blood Groove Alex Bledsoe
26 The Snow Queen Mercedes Lackey
27 Three Fates - Nora Roberts
28 The Sleeping Beauty - Mercedes Lackey
29 The Island - Elin Hilderbrand
30 Reserved for the Cat - Mercedes Lackey
31 Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
32 Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex - Mary Roach
33 Dealing With Dragons - Patricia C Wrede
34 Searching For Dragons Patricia C Wrede
35 A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'engle
36 [primeval] Extinction Event - Dan Abney
37 The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
38 Kiss - Todd Dekker & Erin Healy
39 Deep Dish - Mary Kay Andrews
40 Meph, the Pet Skunk - John & Jean George
41 Fifty Famous Fairy Tales - adapted by Rosemary Kingston
42 Early to Death Early to Rise - Kim Harrison
43 Cause of Death - Patricia Cornwell
44 Barry Trotter & the Unauthorized Parody - Eric Healy
45 So You Want to Be a Wizard - Diane Duane
46 Bloodlist - P.N. Elrod
47 A Wind in the Door - Madeleine L'engle
48 Further Chronicles of Avonlea - L.M. Montgomery
49 Changing Planes - Ursula K LeGuin
50 An Ice Cold Grave - Charlaine Harris
51 Grave Secret - Charlaine Harris
52 The Little Lady Agency & the Prince - Hester Brown
53 Indulgence in Death - JD Robb
54 The Other Side - anthology
55 Alien Omnibus vol 1[I forgot to write the names of the authors for this...if anyone knows please leave in comments. Thanks]
56 The Chocolate Mouse Trap - Joanna Carl
57 Who Do I Lean On - Neta Jackson
58 A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'engle
59 The Shack - William Paul Young
60 The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm [WoW] - Christie Golden
61 Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris
62 Last Scene Alive - Charlaine Harris
63 Hot Rocks - Nora Roberts
64 Dark Road Rising - PN Elrod
65 Dragon's Fire - Anne MacCaffrey & Todd MacCaffrey
66 Monkey - Jeff Stone
67 Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge - Bill Wallace
68 13 Treasures - Michelle Harrison
69 Crane - Jeff Stone
70 Eagle - Jeff Stone
71 Mouse - Jeff Stone
72 Mary Poppins Comes Back - PL Travers
73 Getting to Happy - Terry McMillan
74 Broadway Jeeves:A Diary in a Theatrical Adventure - Martin Jarvis
75 Aerie - Mercedes Lackey
76 Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
77 Shakespear's Christmas - Charlaine Harris
78 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
79 Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris
80 Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
81 Revenge of the Spellman's - Lisa Lutz
82 Firebird - Mercedes Lackey
83 The Wizard of London - Mercedes Lackey
84 His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik
85 Empire of Ivory - Naomi Novik
86 Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris
87 Who Is My Shelter - Neta Jackson
88 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
89 Kitty Goes to Washington - Carrie Vaughn
90 Kitty Goes on Holiday - Carrie Vaughn
91 Tribute Nora Roberts
92 Unnatural Issue - Mercedes Lackey
93 Grave Sight Charlaine Harris
94 A Plea of Insanity - Priscilla Masters
95 Genevieve - Eric Jerome Dickey
96 The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz
97 Angels in the Gloom - Anne Perry
98 Magic Burns - Ilona Andrews
99 Hotter Than Hell - edited by Kim Harrison
100 U is for Undertow - Sue Grafton
101 Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris
102 Must Love Hell Hounds - anthology
103 Kitty and the Silver Bullet - Carrie Vaughn
104 Club Dead - Charlain Harris
105 Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris
106 Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris
107 Definately Dead - Charlaine Harris
108 Death's Excellent Vacation - anthology
109 Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik
110 Fantasy in Death - JD Robb
111 Black Powder War - Naomi Novik
112 From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris
113 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
114 All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris
115 Animal Farm - George Orwel
116 Bayou Moon - Ilona Andrews
117 Roses Are Red - James Patterson
118 [james bond] Colonel Sun - Kinsley Amis aka Robert Markham
119 Kitties Big Trouble - Carrie Vaughn
120 The Last Juror - John Grisham
121 A Fool and His Honey - Charlaine Harris
122 Duma Key - Stephen King
123 Saving Fish From Drowning - Amy Tan
124 How to Talk to A Widower - Jonathan Trapper
125 Hit List - Laurel K Hamilton
126 Bed of Rose - Nora Robert
127 Angel Time - Anne Rice
127 The Art of Discworld - Terry Prachett & Paul Kirby
128 Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A Heinlein
129 I An Not A Serial Killer - Dan Wells
130 Nation - Terry Prachett
131 Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris
132 You Know When the Men Are Gone - Siobhan Fallon
133 Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
134 Salt & Blood - Peter Corris
135 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Nieffenegger
136 New York to Dallas - JD Robb
137 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
138 Damsels in Distress - Jean Hess
139 Faefever - Karren Marie Moning
140 The Walking Dead Vol 2 - Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard
141 The Spellman's Strike Again - Lisa Lutz
142 The Hollow - Nora Roberts
143 Shadowfever - Karen Marie Moning
144 The Pagan Stone - Nora Roberts
145 Hellstrom's Hive - Frank Herbert
146 Crossroads - Belva Plain
147 The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet
148 NNNNN - Carl Reiner
149 Him Her Him Again The End of Him - Patricia Marx
150 A Little Magic - Nora Roberts
151 Kitty's Biggest Hits - Carrie Vaughn
152 Dragon's Eye - Anne MacCaffrey
153 The Red Hat Club - Haywood Smith
154 Out of the Silent Planet - CS Lewis
While typing this out I discovered a few things about myself...
1 my handwriting sucks! sevral times I had to google author names because I couldn't read them. I should keep an online book journal from now on
2 I have NO life. Reading is my one and only real hobby. I only watch one hour of tv a week and the rest I spend with a book or browsing the internet and since a book goes everywhere guess which I do more.
3 I read a LOT of junk lol but I saw a few classics in there...but I'm definately ready for the zombie apocalypse.
4 I tend to 'Gulp' down authors...when I find one I like I go to the library and get everything by them I can especially if they've put out lots of books
5 I usually don't read this many in a year [usually around 100 give or take some] but our public library was having a contest to promote reading, the winner with the most books under their belts would win a new IPad.
Best New Authors [to me] of 2011:
Lisa Lutz & Naomi Novik
Lisa Lutz writes about a dysfunctional family of private investigators. what she lacks in description she makes up with wit! Please write lots more
Naomi Novik writes about the napoleonic wars where both sides fight with dragons!! I found this series highly inventive and totally believeable. I loved them all!
Good News: Looks like they'll be making Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter into a movie. I think I want to see it
Bad News: We lost Anne MacCaffrey this year. I love her work, especially the Dragonriders of Pern.
Thanks for reading. |
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| Books read in 2011 |
[Jan. 1st, 2012|02:42 am]
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In order of date read, not counting comic books/graphic novels/manga.
I've put a * next to books I especially enjoyed or appreciated reading.
*1) Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Vol. 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
3) Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld by David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro
4) Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
5) Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
*6) Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
*7) The Exploits of Juve Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
8) Kraken by China Miéville
9) The Boat by Nam Le
10) Puttering About in a Small Land by Philip K. Dick
*11) The Messengers of Evil by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
12) Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
13) Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff
14) Human Resources: A Corporate Nightmare by Floyd Kemske
*15) 54 by Wu Ming
16) Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell
*17) Nest of Spies by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
18) A Royal Prisoner by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
19) West With the Night by Beryl Markham
20) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
21) The Hustler by Walter Tevis
22) The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
23) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré
24) The Other Side by Alfred Lubin
*25) The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder
26) Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
27) Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery
28) The Killer Thing by Kate Wilhelm
29) Fixer Chao by Han Ong
*30) Embassytown by China Miéville
31) The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
32) Microscripts by Robert Walser
33) Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
34) The Road Through the Wall by Shirley Jackson
35) Kangaroo Notebook by Kobo Abe
36) Finders Keepers by Craig Childs
*37) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
38) An Army of Phantoms: American Movies and the Making of the Cold War by J. Hoberman
39) Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
40) Dream of the Red Chamber by Tsao Hsueh-Chin
41) The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
42) Television by Jean-Philippe Toussaint
43) Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
44) Epitaph of a Small Winner by Joaquin Marie Machado de Assis
45) Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe
46) American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings by Zitkala-Ša
*47) What You See in the Dark by Manuel Muñoz
48) The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe
49) The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa
50) The Third Bear by Jeff VanderMeer
*51) Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road by Bijian Omrani
52) The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
*53) The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road and the Rise of Modern China by Eric Enno Tamm
*54) El silenciero por Antonio di Benedetto |
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| Book End Review 2011 |
[Dec. 31st, 2011|04:29 pm]
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Last year I gave myself seven months to complete a reading goal of 100 books by 12/31/10. I got close (74) but didn’t quite hit the mark. Well, this year I gave myself the same goal except that I started in January.
Start date: 1/1/11
Date of completion: 12/31/11
# of Books read: 100
I must admit that I feel extremely accomplished to have read this many books. Looking back to how busy I was at the end of my semester… I’m not sure how I made it. Oh, that’s right… if I had to read 75% or more of a book for a class (and it was listed on Goodreads) I counted it toward my reading goal. The books that were assigned for class have a * by the title.
Now… because I’m a bookie and I cannot keep myself from adding new books to read to my “to-read” list I currently have 193 books that I want to read. Probably only 5 of those haven’t been published yet. I have some serious reading to do… and a new Kindle Fire to help me do it! :D
Below is the list of books I read this year and below that is a cut. The cut will take you to my rating and review of each book. Enjoy!
1. Dead Het Boys - Mark A. Roeder
2. Graymoor Mansion B&B - Mark A. Roeder
3. Shadows of Darkness - Mark A. Roeder
4. The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright
5. Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer
6. The Godmother - Carrie Adams
7. The Last Child - John Hart
8. Love is the Higher Law - David Leviathan
9. The Ghost Downstairs - Molly Ringle
10. Winter's Passage - Julie Kagawa
11. The Iron Queen - Julie Kagawa
12. Mysterious Skin - Scott Heim
13. Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson
14. The Long Way Home - Z.A. Maxfield
15. Chasing Brooklyn - Lisa Schroeder
16. Just Making Out - Mark A. Roeder
17. Still Missing - Chevy Stevens
18. A Separate Country - Richard Hicks
19. Shadow Hills - Anastasia Hopcus
20. Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
21. Ghost Girl - Tonya Hurley
22. *Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
23. The Dark Sleep - P.N. Elrod
24. This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen
25. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
26. Love, Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
27. Titanic's Last Secrets: The Further Adventures of Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler - Bradford Matsen
28. Cowboy Poet - Claire Thompson
29. *The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft - Claire Tomalin
30. City of Fallen Angels - Cassandra Clare
31. Ireland's Pirate Queen: The True Story of Grace O'malley, 1530-1603 - Anne Chambers
32. Night Road - Kristin Hannah
33. Love Letters of Great Men - Ursula Doyle
34. Highland Vampire - Hannah Howell
35. Christmas at Graymoor - Mark A. Roeder
36. Homo for the Holidays - Mark A. Roeder
37. Carved in Bone - Jefferson Bass
38. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater - Marc Acito
39. Shine - Lauren Myracle
40. Lucifer's Flood - Linda Rios-Brook
41. Never Knowing - Chevy Stevens
42. The Soulkeepers - GP Ching
43. The Midwife's Confession - Diane Chamberlain
44. The Deliverer - Linda Rios-brook
45. Summer's Crossing - Julie Kagawa
46. Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen
47. Flesh and Bone - Jefferson Bass
48. Vanishing Smile: The Theft of the Mona Lisa - R.A. Scotti
49. What They Always Tell Us - Martin Wilson
50. Ayashi No Ceres Vol. 5 - Yuu Watase
51. American Love Songs - Ashlyn Kane
52. Diving in Deep - K.A. Mitchell
53. My Sister's Keeper - Jody Picoult
54. Cleopatra’s Daughter – Michelle Morgan
55. The Legend of Lady MacLoach – Becky Banks
56. The God Box – Alex Sanchez
57. The Deadly Sister – Eliot Schrefer
58. The Wild Things – Dave Eggers
59. Forever – Maggie Stiefvater
60. What Scotland Taught Me – Molly Ringle
61. The Jewel of St. Petersburg – Kate Furnivall
62. Highland Bride – Hannah Howell
63. Inheritance – Devin Grayson
64. Highland Promise – Hannah Howell
65. Highland Protector – Hannah Howell
66. The Bone Yard – Jefferson Bass
67. *Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction - Catherine Belsey
68. The Tin Star – J.L. Langley
69. If Angels Burn – Lynn Viehl
70. Rules of Attraction - Bret Easton Ellis
71. *The English Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-To-Use Techniques & Materials for Grades 7-12 - Mary Lou Brandvik, Katherine S. McKnight
72. *The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
73. Betty White: If You Ask Me (And of Course you Won’t) – Betty White
74. Secrets of the Wolves – Dorothy Hearst
75. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
76. X-Men: Dark Mirror - Marjorie M. Liu
77. Batman: No Man’s Land – Greg Rucka
78. Annie on my Mind – Nancy Garden
79. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
80. The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill – Heather Brewer
81. *The Tempest – Shakespeare
82. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
83. East – Edith Pattou
84. Chasing Seth – J.R. Loveless
85. The King – Lisa Rios-Brook
86. Saving Max - Antoinette van Heugten
87. These Things Hidden - Heather Gudenkauf
88. The Iron Knight – Julie Kagawa
89. *Grammar to Go: How It Works and How To Use It - Barbara Goldstein, Jack Waugh, Karen Linsky
90. *The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
91. *Teaching in the Secondary School - Tom V. Savage
92. Extraordinary – Nancy Werlin
93. *One World of Literature - Shirley Lim, Norman Spencer
94. *Understanding English Grammar - Martha J. Kolln, Robert W. Funk
95. Clockwork Prince – Cassandra Clare
96. *The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man – James Weldon Johnson
97. *Passing – Nella Larsen
98. *Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
99. Ayashi No Ceres Vol. 9 – Yuu Watase
100. The Redeemer – Lisa Rios-Brook
And now for the reviews! Just follow the cut.
( Ratings and ReviewsCollapse ) |
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| Passage, Connie Willis |
[Sep. 19th, 2011|05:45 pm]
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Passage, Connie Willis My Rating: 5/5
Summary (Goodreads.com): Dr. Joanna Lander is a psychologist specializing in near-death experiences. She is about to get help from a new doctor with the power to give her the chance to get as close to death as anyone can. A brilliant young neurologist, Dr. Richard Wright has come up with a way to manufacture the near-death experience using a psychoactive drug. Joanna’s first NDE is as fascinating as she imagined — so astounding that she knows she must go back, if only to find out why that place is so hauntingly familiar.
But each time Joanna goes under, her sense of dread begins to grow, because part of her already knows why the experience is so familiar, and why she has every reason to be afraid. Yet just when Joanna thinks she understands, she’s in for the biggest surprise of all — ashattering scenario that will keep you feverishly reading until the final climactic page.
My Review: And the familiar depression has consumed me yet again because I’ve finished another great novel and filling the empty void that accompanies completion seems impossible.
Passage is the first Connie Willis novel I’ve read that wasn’t in her Oxford University time travel world. I was scared it wouldn’t have the charm, the terror and whimsy those novels held, but, gladly, I was so wrong.
Trademark Willis is stamped throughout the pages; the entire novel was a frenzied marathon of people trying to get a hold of each other. It was non stop hysteria intensified by the unnavigable maze that was Mercy General Hospital and managed to be terrifying and hysterical at the same time.
Willis is wonderful at characterization, especially the secondary ones. Maisie, Mandrake, and Briarley were exceptionally written and insisted on jumping out of the pages.
It was a heavy and exhausting book – in a good way, of course – but I would caution the light hearted to stay away. Death, in some form, appears on pretty much every page, whether it’s through research and experimentation or in the literal sense.
I was thoroughly impressed with everything: the writing, the historical detail, the scientific explanations without being too sciencey.
Everything. |
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