April wrap up

I read 13 books in April. This is a relatively large number for me. A couple of them were the food equivalent of potato chips: easy, delicious, and slightly embarrassing. Two were volumes of short stories. One was expected to be chick lit--Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale--but was surprisingly serious and one--How (Not) to have a Perfect Wedding--was chick lit, as expected. I managed three non-fiction books, one of which also was on my Gaps list.

Margin was the most useful book I read. In the Garden of Beasts was the most interesting. A Little Folly was the most disappointing/biggest waste of time. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't that good. And when you invoke Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer in your description, you should be GOOD.  I realized about halfway through that I had read Up From Slavery in high school. (So much for gaps!) 

I knew that Body in the Library was a re-read because I've read the entire Christie corpus, (ba-dum-bum!) but I really can't do a Vintage Mystery Challenge and not throw in Dame Agatha.

Is it horrible that I may have enjoyed the two J. D. Robb books the most out of the books I read this month? I'll blame it on post-Lent-and-Easter-church-secretary-brain-exhaustion.

33. Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson (4/2/2013) (Library) 
34. How (Not) to Have a Perfect Wedding by Arliss Ryan (4/3/2013) (Library) (Genre Variety)(Name)
35. The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume 2 by Ursula K. LeGuin (4/3/2013) (Library)
36. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (4/4/2013) (Library) (Vintage Mystery) 
37. Margin by Richard A. Swenson, M.D. (4/5/2013) (Genre Variety) (Nerdy) 
38. Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale by Lynda Rutledge (4/6/2013) (Library)
39. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington (4/8/2013) (Classics) (Gaps) (Nerdy)
40. In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larson (4/12/2013) (Genre Variety) (Nerdy) (Nonfiction) (Name)
41. Witness in Death by J.D. Robb (4/14/2013) (Library)
42. Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler (4/16/2013) (Genre Variety) (Library) 
43. A Little Folly by Jude Morgan (4/19/2013) (Library) (Historical Fiction) 
44. Judgment in Death by J.D. Robb (4/22/2013) (Library)
45. Two of the Deadliest ed. by Elizabeth George (4/26/2013) (Library)

March update

Only seven books in March. Kristin Lavransdatter is the best book that I have read this year and the longest, but it took me longer to read The Maltese Falcon, because I just wasn't loving it.

I knocked five books off of the library challenge this month. I read two for the Vintage Mystery Challenge and one each for the Genre Variety, What's in a Name, Classics, Historical Fiction, and Tea and Books Challenges. I also read two more of the books for my five-year Filling in the Gaps Challenge.

 25. The Forgotten by David Baldacci (3/1/2013) (Library) 
26. Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman (3/3/2013) (Library) (Name) 
27. The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton (3/4/2013) (Vintage Mystery) (Ebook)
28. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (3/5/2013) (Reread) (Classic) (Genre Variety) 
29. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (3/17/2013) (Gaps) (Friends) (TBR) (Tea and Books) (Historical Fiction)
30. Requiem by Lauren Oliver (3/22/2013) (Library)
31. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (3/24/2013) (Library) (Vintage Mystery) (Gaps)
32. Shadow Creek by Joy Fielding (3/30/2013) (Library)

February progress

I didn't get as much reading done in February and didn't read a very wide variety. Four of the nine books that I read were current crime fiction of one sort or another--lawyer, cop, Army CID--by authors whose books I put on hold as soon as I know that they are coming out. One of these was an audio book that the hubby and I listened to on the way back from Florida. I read one historical fiction book. The other four books that I read were all some variety of sci-fi or fantasy: one post-apocalyptic, one time-travel, one young adult steampunk space adventure,  one classic fantasy, and one Russian fantasy classic.

I enjoyed all of them except The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. It had been recommended to me by several people, so I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't. The Kronos Interference was so forgettable that from a distance of a week I can't remember it. Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny was very good and I got a book with the whole series in it, so I will be reading those from time to time. The Postman was a good post-apocalyptic story with a unique story idea. It was also very good.

As far as challenges go, I  have read 24/100 for Read a Latte; 12/18 for Genre Variety; 3/10 for A Little Help From My Friends; 1/6 for What's in a Name, which may prove to be the most challenging this year; 11/50 for the Library challenge; 2/12 for the TBR Pile; 3/7-10 for Nerdy Non-fiction; 3/6 required and 3/5 optional for the Classics challenge; still at 2/8 for Vintage Mystery; 3/15 for historical fiction; and 1/4 for Tea and Books. I need to try to do a bit better on books for my challenges in March. February was a low brain activity month and my ability to read anything very complex just was not there. (Thus all the crime fiction.)

I have also managed to read five books so far this year--one this month--for my five year Filling in the Gaps challenge. This puts me at 41/100 with two years and nine months left to go.

January round-up

I read a lot this month. That's one benefit to taking a trip to a place with no TV or internet, followed by a bout of the flu and a sluggish recovery.

As a result, I'm off to a good start on some of my challenges. I have read 15 of the 100 books that I need to read for the Read-a-Latte Challenge. I have read books from 10 different genres out of the 18 I am attempting for the Genre Variety Challenge. I may decide to go up a level on that one.

I have read one of the ten books for my A Little Help from My Friends Challenge and one of six for the What's in a Name Challenge (which promises to be very challenging.) I have read five of 50 for the library challenge, but I blame being sick for that. I did my reading either from my shelves or from my Kindle for a couple of weeks.

I managed two of the twelve titles from the TBR challenge that I am doing, but the longest and most difficult books on that list remain. I am also adding to my TBR Pile, because, of course, I have added new books to it in the last year! I have read two of ten books for the Nerdy Non-fiction challenge, three of the six required and one of the five optional for the Back to the Classics challenge, two of eight for Vintage Mystery, and two of 15 from Historical Fiction.

My favorites so far this year are My Antonia and Fall of Giants. The least enjoyable was The Case of the Stuttering Bishop. That was a disappointment, because I loved the old Perry Mason TV show.

SciFi and Fantasy Top Picks

This is the list of 100 top science fiction and fantasy books as voted on by 60,000 NPR listeners. I enjoy both genres and am always looking for good suggestions. I'm going to color those that I've read. I've still got a lot to read! Any thoughts on specific titles? Things you think should be here that aren't or that shouldn't have made the list?

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert (I've read Dune)
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov (I've read Foundation)

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss (I've read the first and half of the second)
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny (I've read the first and will read them all.)
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldon
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

Conservative must reads

Another list to incorporate into my to-reads. Must. Read. Faster.

As I was choosing what to read next last night I kept vacillating between a book that I should read or  something fluffy or a book from one of my lists or that library book that looked appealing when I grabbed it, but now. . . . The competitive side won out and I picked something that can be crossed off a list. Although if I had had some true fluff at hand--a good, mindless chick-lit or something--it probably would have won, because this flu bug has me worn out.

Does anyone else struggle with just not wanting to read the books that should be read? I couldn't stand a constant diet of fluff, but sometimes my brain just wants to relax. Last night the last thing I wanted to deal with was man's inhumanity to man, in any form.

That said, the books on this list look good. Perhaps not fun, but good.

Reviews

Why Shoot a Butler?  by Georgette Heyer
3/5 stars
I'm a big fan of Georgette Heyer's regency romances, so I've been wanting to read one of her mysteries. It was decent, but not great. The story seemed draggy to me, and I found myself reading faster and concentrating less just to get through the story. In many ways it was a classic country house mystery, which has always been a favorite genre of mine, but I was slightly annoyed by the fact that most of the clues to the crime were withheld until the end. I will probably try one more of her mysteries to see if I like it better.

Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb
3.5/5

J.D. Robb's "in Death" series is what I consider literary junk food. One once in a while won't hurt you, but you wouldn't want a steady diet of them. This installment in the series about Eve Dallas, a cop in the New York of the future, after the Urban Wars, was slightly better than the last couple. A bomber is threatening the landmarks, and people, of the city and is personally challenging Eve by sending her taunting letters. It's a race against time that she doesn't completely win.