Unfortunately, due to cash restraints and lack of access to a well-stocked library, I don't get to read nearly as much as I'd like, or the books I'm so desperate to get my hands on. But since I like to know the books I've read, I thought I'd start a yearly list of books I do. I'm sure I'll be ashamed of myself by the end of the year when I see how few new books I actually read, but for posterity's sake, I'll give it a shot. Maybe this'll motivate me to start buying more books.
It's not like I'll be giving in-depth reviews of the books or anything, but I'll leave random thoughts and opinions as/if they come to me. Doesn't matter if people disagree with me. They can go jump in a lake. :)
Click here for my 2007 reading list!
Please be aware that some reviews may contain SPOILERS.
Quick-reference links, listed in order of most recently read:
- September 29th, 2008: 'House' by Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker
- September 26th, 2008: 'Breaking Dawn' by Stephenie Meyer
- September 18th, 2008: 'Eclipse' by Stephenie Meyer
- August 24th, 2008: 'New Moon' by Stephenie Meyer
- August 2nd, 2008: 'Twlight' by Stephenie Meyer
- April 17th, 2008: 'Jennifer Government' by Max Barry
- April 8th, 2008: 'Crossroads Of Twilight' by Robert Jordan
- March 15th, 2008: 'Winter's Heart' by Robert Jordan
- March 4th, 2008: 'The Path Of Daggers' by Robert Jordan
Date Finished: September 29th, 2008
This book is an odd duck. But then, I tend to find a lot of Christian fiction books to be that way, so maybe this is just normal for the supernatural religious fiction genre, what would I know? It was a nice enough book to breeze through, but I wouldn't've paid for it myself (my sister did that, ha). Most of the characters drove me nuts, which made the fact that it's told from all of their view points kind of tedious. ... But maybe this is coming across too harshly. It's not a bad book, I'm not saying that (my sister liked it!). I didn't like the ending, but it entertained me enough that I read it in almost one straight sitting, so that says something, doesn't it? Creepy house, that's for sure.
Date Finished: September 26th, 2008
Ahh, this book was a huge sigh of relief for me after the disappointment that book 3 was (previously: parts 1 and 2). Everything came together in perfect harmony. That element that pissed me off in the third book was solved (though the solution itself was frustrating to begin with), we got a whole half a book of seeing Bella as a vampire (which I had long been afraid we would never get to see except in a tiny glimpse at the end of the last book, if at all), and she finally stopped acting like such a complete adolescent. Pure bliss.
From what I understand, many fans of the series hated this book. I don't see why. It's no worse than the first three. I could understand being annoyed by the anti-climax near the end, but as someone who is often crushed in book series finales by epic battles with many deaths of favourite characters, I was just glad all my faves come out alive (sort of).
Clearly this book and the first are the gems of the series, but even the middle two are worth slogging through the get here. A worthy payoff indeed.
Date Finished: September 18th, 2008
I wasn't particularly fond of this installment in the 'Twilight' series (previously: parts 1 and 2), to be perfectly honest (and from what I gather, I'm not alone in that opinion). Probably because it was so focused on an element/relationship/character that just drives me nuts and I have no patience for, so a short time after reading it, I've found it to be very easily forgettable. In fact, I can hardly remember the plot at all most of the time; takes some serious mental effort to remember. That's all I can say, really. Obviously it's a necessary read to keep up with the storyline, but not for much more than that.
Date Finished: August 24th, 2008
Okay, so while I'm still pissed at Edward for being such a dick at the beginning of this sequel (first book here), a few days distance from the raw emotions after finishing it finds me unable to help but feel a bit sorry for him. He's got serious issues, and I just want to squish his pretty head. In a good way. Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm a sucker for a brooding vampire, what can I say? It's not a crime!
In all seriousness, though, I have to admit some surprise that Meyer got away with putting out such a hefty book where the main fangirl fodder only appears substantially for such a small percentage of the page count. Makes me wish I'd been into this fandom when the book came out; I'm sure there was plenty of interesting drama about the whole thing.
The second surprise was that I didn't actually mind. The interim was engaging enough that I didn't feel as if it was dragging on at all, and the chance to really meet Jacob was immensely enjoyable, though I find myself disliking him a fair bit at the moment. I hope that changes in the next book or two, as I love his character. Not enough to cheer him on with Bella, though. I'm still an Edward girl through and through.
Date Finished: August 2nd, 2008
To give you an idea of my opinion on this book, I'll start here: On this day, I went to bed intending to read a little before going to sleep. This was approximately 5am. I ended up reading the entire book straight through to about 1pm. I guess you could say I liked it. ;)
I'd been slightly hesitant to read it for a while, as I've never been a fan of romance based novels, and coupled with the vampire genre, the potential to go wrong was right up there. But having now read it, I don't get what all those bitchers and moaners are going on about. I understand not everyone's into the vampire thing, and I can understand being annoyed by all the teenybopper fangirls squeeing their lungs out about it, but that doesn't make the book itself bad.
If I had to point out a flaw, it would be that I was a little iffy regarding how quickly Bella becomes so dependant on Edward and his attention. But then I just imagine how I'd feel if I was lusting after a spunky teenage vampire, and it makes sense to me. :)
Overall, a refreshingly easy read. The flow is natural, the storyline captivating, and the atmosphere at times heady. Would definitely recommend, and can't wait to read the next two books.
Date Finished: April 17th, 2008
My sister put me onto this one. Every now and then she goes on reading kicks (she likes to read, but isn't as much of a book eater as I am), then nags me until I read the books after her. Not that I mind; new material is always welcome. A very quirky volume, this was. Funny, clever, easy to read and... very peculiar. Future books going on about dictatorial, all-powerful governments (or corporate-ruled, virtually powerless, as the case may be) always give me the creeps, but the characters in this book (of which there were a good handful of main ones) and their orbiting plotlines kept me interested and amused. Plus justice wins out in the end, and I'm a sucker for a happy ending.
Seriously, though? I'm still laughing over the map on the inside of the cover showing Australia as a "United States Federated Economic Bloc" and 'Australia' as a US Government PTY LTD. trademark. Good Aussie humour, that. Go Barry.
Date Finished: April 8th, 2008
I was angsting through this entire book, knowing it was the 10th (previously: 1, 2 & 3, 4 & 5, 6 & 7, 8 & 9) and penultimate, so I dragged it out as long as I could. XD The last few books in this series have really redeemed it in my eyes. I was somewhat ambivalent about the whole thing a handful of books back, but 8 and 9 and then 10 really got everything going for me again. I felt as invested as I had been when I'd first started the series. This makes me happy. :)
Hating Egwene a bit less, though she's still a pretty big dipshit. Thoughts on other characters are pretty much the same as the last two books. I'm very sleepy at the time of writing this, so everything's a bit fuzzy, but suffice it to say: not looking forward to finishing the 11th book. Will be quite sad, especially with the lack of closure I'll be dealing with. Erk.
Date Finished: March 4th, 2008 & March 15th, 2008 respectively
So after an extended hiatus of no book reading whatsoever, I finally picked up 'The Wheel Of Time' series again, and got stuck into books eight (I was actually about half-way through this one when I stopped reading for those months) and nine (previously: 1, 2 & 3, 4 & 5, 6 & 7)! I enjoyed book 9 much more than the previous handful of books for some reason. Possibly because some of the female characters were less obnoxiously hideous than usual. Still loving the pants off Mat. :)
