Kiwiria's December Reads
Jan. 1st, 2018 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderThe last books of the year, putting me at a total of 130 books for 2017 - making this the year I've read the LEAST amount of books since 2006!!! Had not really seen that coming. But who cares - there were heaps of good books among them :-)
Under bjælken: Et portræt af Kronprins Frederik - Jens Andersen, 4.5/5, 380 pages
(Under the Rafter: A portrait of Crown Prince Frederik)
I'd asked for this for Christmas, expecting it to be a fascinating read, and I was right. The Danish Crown Prince has always come across as an interesting and sympathetic person to me, so I was interested in getting to know more about him, and this book only confirmed my opinion.
Jens Andersen does a brilliant job of describing the life of probably the most famous person in Denmark, who grew up always knowing that he would one day become a king (and sometimes rebelling against this idea), and who had to grow into the role of Crown Prince.
The chapters about his life as a "froggie" (scuba-diver), on the Sirius Expedition and meeting Mary Donaldson were especially interesting, as were the photos that concluded each chapter, but I greatly enjoyed the book as a whole, and had a hard time putting it down. Don't know that it'll be one to reread often, but I'll definitely be glad to have it to refer back to from time to time.
Starry Night - Debbie Macomber, 4/5, 256 pages
I read this in one sitting a lazy Boxing Day morning. Love December 26th with absolutely no plans :-D
Not really my usual fare. I tend to stay away from romance novels that are labelled as such. But this came highly recommended and was cheap! so I thought I'd give it a chance.
I ended up really, really enjoying it! It's fluff to be sure (and not really all that Christmassy, to repeat my usual refrain), but it was sweet and enjoyable. Highly improbable, but engaging and fun. Of course, the only problem is that I now want to read the book constantly mentioned! :-P
Snowed Over - Angie Stanton, 3/5, 162 pages
Fun read. Not very Christmassy, but I enjoyed it all the same. I really liked both Katie and Alex, and enjoyed seeing their growing friendship. Also, apparently I'm a sucker for "snowed in" stories... who knew?!
Until the End of the World - Sarah Lyons Fleming, 5/5, Audiobook ~13hrs
One of the best books I've read this year! It was a random recommendation from Audible support. I read the blurb, thought it sounded interesting, so downloaded it and started listening to it not long after. It took me perhaps around 2 chapters to get thoroughly hooked and I didn't want to put it down again until the very last word was spoken. Almost certainly a book I'll eventually want for my physical library as well.
In some ways, it's definitely very similar to the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant (but it's a book about zombies! It'd be hard for it not to be), but where Newsflesh takes place 15-20 years after the zombie outbreak, "Until the End of the World" IS the zombie outbreak. I found it absolutely fascinating - much the same way I do with most apocalyptic stories.
Peter and Anna infuriated me for much of the book, and I wanted Cassie (or somebody) to smack some sense into them, but at the end I was glad to see them come around, rather than have karma bite them. I really liked Cassie, John and Penny and absolutely loved Beth :-)
While we definitely didn't get all questions answered by the end of the book, I found it nicely contained, and am still making up my mind whether or not I want to continue with the next book in the series. If it's anything like Newsflesh, it'll still be awesome, but not as groundbreaking as the first one.
So Long, Lollipops - Sarah Lyons Fleming, 4/5, Audiobook ~3hrs
A short novella that takes place during the timeframe of the book above and thus impossible to review without spoiling that one. Suffice to say, I liked that one too!
A Destiny of Dragons - T.J. Klune*, 4.5/5, Audiobook
It's seldom that I read a book twice in one year, but when I discovered this had finally been published as an audiobook, I just couldn't help myself! It's one of those unusual books that's even better as an audiobook than as a physical book - all thanks to the awesome narration talents of Michael Lesley.
The Readers of Broken Hill Recommend - Katarina Bivald, 3.5/5, 395 pages
Very, very, VERY slow to start. Setting the stage took forever, and while I never actually got bored with the book, it was just much too slow moving, and after about 140 pages, I set down the book and didn't touch it at all for 3 months.
Finally I got stubborn though. I knew that if I gave up on it completely I'd probably never pick it up again, and it came too highly recommended for me to do that. So I picked it back up and told myself I'd give it another 50 pages. If it still hadn't caught my attention by then, it obviously wasn't for me.
Well, the book must have sensed my threat, because it took no more than a few pages for it to charm me in a way that none of the previous 14o pages had. Sara finally got serious about the bookshop, and a few instances of her matching books to their readers and have those readers fall in love with said books (which I all knew and had read myself) was enough for me to get thoroughly hooked, and I finished the rest of the book in just a few days.
It's a very cozy book, and I've always loved books about books, so parts of it had me grinning from ear to ear. But the slow start combined with the abrupt (and somewhat unrealistic) ending means that it can't make its way to my favourites.
The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty, 3.5/5, 389 pages
The first 100 pages I absolutely loved! I couldn't put it down and raced through the chapters. But unfortunately it took a turn I hadn't anticipated, and became very dark. I still wanted to know what happened to the different characters, but almost didn't want to read more to find out - meaning that I put down the book more often than I would have otherwise, as I had to mentally psyche myself to what would come next. It's very telling that it was Tess' story I minded the least. Fortunately it never went down the road I feared the most (and I rather liked the ending with Lauren and Rachel), but it still detracted a lot from my general enjoyment of the book.
Still a very well-written book though, with Liane Moriarty's signature touch.
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day - Seanan McGuire, 3.5/5, 182 pages
I'm not really into ghosts, so picking this up was a leap of faith... but then, I'm not really into zombies either, and Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire's pseudonym) proved me wrong there, so I figured it'd be worth it.
And fortunately this isn't your usual ghost story - no haunting, no suddenly locked doors, no music randomly turning on at night - it's a paranormal tale that just happens to involve witches and ghosts, rather than witches and werewolves or whatever.
It's well-written, but very slow moving, and thus made for a surprisingly slow read, but the fact that it took me a month to read is in no way indicative of my enjoyment of it.
4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice - Mark Virkler, 4/5, 310 pages
Nina recommended this book to me, and I am so glad she did! It's a fascinating book that took me a LOT longer to read than it should have - and for a really stupid reason to. At chapter 10 I was still only at 24% of my kindle book, and though it was excellent, it seemed rather daunting that it was THAT LONG!!! So imagine my surprise when it turned out that the next chapter was Appendix A!
Turned out, the book itself finished at 27% or so and ALL THE REST was the New Testament, which had been included in the ebook version. I felt slightly stupid not to have realized this in advance, and would probably have finished the book ages ago if I had.
That said, I really enjoyed how Mark Virkler took a practical approach to hearing God's voice - giving concrete examples and suggestions of what to do and how to train yourself to open your ear to the voice of God. Between his suggestions and Nina's advice I finally found a method that worked for me, and for the first time ever was able to consciously talk with God, rather than merely to Him.
I don't entirely agree with everything Mark Virkler wrote, but I thought it awesome to read this account from a person who's as left-brained as I am. Most other books I've read on the subject have been from a more right-brained perspective leaving me with almost more questions than I started out with.
A really excellent book, that I want to read again before too long, in order to make sure the messages "stick".
You Will Be Mine - Natasha Preston, 4/5, 304 pages
This is the second book I've read by Natasha Preston (the first one being "Awake"), and I enjoyed this one every bit as much. It's absolutely chilling, and Natasha Preston's writing is so engaging that I put myself in Layla's shoes far too much, and found it very hard to put the book down - reading it in just a few sittings.
As with almost all suspense novels, the big question is always - does the ending hold up? Far too often it will be too far-fetched or unbelievable and the resolution unsatisfying. I kept wondering how Natasha Preston would wrap this up in a suitable manner, as I could see quite a few options that would indeed fall into those traps.
But fortunately Natasha Preston delivered. Yes, I'd guessed the culprit ahead of time... but only a few pages too soon, which to me is one of the marks of an excellent suspense novel - one where the reader can follow the clues along with the characters in the book and make an educated guess, but not one where the answer is screamed from the pages at a much too early stage.
I greatly enjoyed this, and will definitely be on the look out for more of Natasha Preston's work. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars straight, is that I thought everything was wrapped up (or not) too quickly in the last few pages, and I'm left wondering if a sequel is in the works.
Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4/5, 138 pages
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 3.5/5, 222 pages
Mentioned these books recently as having great depictions of Christmases throughout, and felt like rereading them :-) Still making my way through book 3, but it's been just the kind of comfort reading I've felt like the last few days.
Book of the Month: Until the End of the World
Biggest disappointment: None! I've enjoyed all books read this month in one way or another.
Under bjælken: Et portræt af Kronprins Frederik - Jens Andersen, 4.5/5, 380 pages
(Under the Rafter: A portrait of Crown Prince Frederik)
I'd asked for this for Christmas, expecting it to be a fascinating read, and I was right. The Danish Crown Prince has always come across as an interesting and sympathetic person to me, so I was interested in getting to know more about him, and this book only confirmed my opinion.
Jens Andersen does a brilliant job of describing the life of probably the most famous person in Denmark, who grew up always knowing that he would one day become a king (and sometimes rebelling against this idea), and who had to grow into the role of Crown Prince.
The chapters about his life as a "froggie" (scuba-diver), on the Sirius Expedition and meeting Mary Donaldson were especially interesting, as were the photos that concluded each chapter, but I greatly enjoyed the book as a whole, and had a hard time putting it down. Don't know that it'll be one to reread often, but I'll definitely be glad to have it to refer back to from time to time.
Starry Night - Debbie Macomber, 4/5, 256 pages
I read this in one sitting a lazy Boxing Day morning. Love December 26th with absolutely no plans :-D
Not really my usual fare. I tend to stay away from romance novels that are labelled as such. But this came highly recommended and was cheap! so I thought I'd give it a chance.
I ended up really, really enjoying it! It's fluff to be sure (and not really all that Christmassy, to repeat my usual refrain), but it was sweet and enjoyable. Highly improbable, but engaging and fun. Of course, the only problem is that I now want to read the book constantly mentioned! :-P
Snowed Over - Angie Stanton, 3/5, 162 pages
Fun read. Not very Christmassy, but I enjoyed it all the same. I really liked both Katie and Alex, and enjoyed seeing their growing friendship. Also, apparently I'm a sucker for "snowed in" stories... who knew?!
Until the End of the World - Sarah Lyons Fleming, 5/5, Audiobook ~13hrs
One of the best books I've read this year! It was a random recommendation from Audible support. I read the blurb, thought it sounded interesting, so downloaded it and started listening to it not long after. It took me perhaps around 2 chapters to get thoroughly hooked and I didn't want to put it down again until the very last word was spoken. Almost certainly a book I'll eventually want for my physical library as well.
In some ways, it's definitely very similar to the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant (but it's a book about zombies! It'd be hard for it not to be), but where Newsflesh takes place 15-20 years after the zombie outbreak, "Until the End of the World" IS the zombie outbreak. I found it absolutely fascinating - much the same way I do with most apocalyptic stories.
Peter and Anna infuriated me for much of the book, and I wanted Cassie (or somebody) to smack some sense into them, but at the end I was glad to see them come around, rather than have karma bite them. I really liked Cassie, John and Penny and absolutely loved Beth :-)
While we definitely didn't get all questions answered by the end of the book, I found it nicely contained, and am still making up my mind whether or not I want to continue with the next book in the series. If it's anything like Newsflesh, it'll still be awesome, but not as groundbreaking as the first one.
So Long, Lollipops - Sarah Lyons Fleming, 4/5, Audiobook ~3hrs
A short novella that takes place during the timeframe of the book above and thus impossible to review without spoiling that one. Suffice to say, I liked that one too!
A Destiny of Dragons - T.J. Klune*, 4.5/5, Audiobook
It's seldom that I read a book twice in one year, but when I discovered this had finally been published as an audiobook, I just couldn't help myself! It's one of those unusual books that's even better as an audiobook than as a physical book - all thanks to the awesome narration talents of Michael Lesley.
The Readers of Broken Hill Recommend - Katarina Bivald, 3.5/5, 395 pages
Very, very, VERY slow to start. Setting the stage took forever, and while I never actually got bored with the book, it was just much too slow moving, and after about 140 pages, I set down the book and didn't touch it at all for 3 months.
Finally I got stubborn though. I knew that if I gave up on it completely I'd probably never pick it up again, and it came too highly recommended for me to do that. So I picked it back up and told myself I'd give it another 50 pages. If it still hadn't caught my attention by then, it obviously wasn't for me.
Well, the book must have sensed my threat, because it took no more than a few pages for it to charm me in a way that none of the previous 14o pages had. Sara finally got serious about the bookshop, and a few instances of her matching books to their readers and have those readers fall in love with said books (which I all knew and had read myself) was enough for me to get thoroughly hooked, and I finished the rest of the book in just a few days.
It's a very cozy book, and I've always loved books about books, so parts of it had me grinning from ear to ear. But the slow start combined with the abrupt (and somewhat unrealistic) ending means that it can't make its way to my favourites.
The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty, 3.5/5, 389 pages
The first 100 pages I absolutely loved! I couldn't put it down and raced through the chapters. But unfortunately it took a turn I hadn't anticipated, and became very dark. I still wanted to know what happened to the different characters, but almost didn't want to read more to find out - meaning that I put down the book more often than I would have otherwise, as I had to mentally psyche myself to what would come next. It's very telling that it was Tess' story I minded the least. Fortunately it never went down the road I feared the most (and I rather liked the ending with Lauren and Rachel), but it still detracted a lot from my general enjoyment of the book.
Still a very well-written book though, with Liane Moriarty's signature touch.
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day - Seanan McGuire, 3.5/5, 182 pages
I'm not really into ghosts, so picking this up was a leap of faith... but then, I'm not really into zombies either, and Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire's pseudonym) proved me wrong there, so I figured it'd be worth it.
And fortunately this isn't your usual ghost story - no haunting, no suddenly locked doors, no music randomly turning on at night - it's a paranormal tale that just happens to involve witches and ghosts, rather than witches and werewolves or whatever.
It's well-written, but very slow moving, and thus made for a surprisingly slow read, but the fact that it took me a month to read is in no way indicative of my enjoyment of it.
4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice - Mark Virkler, 4/5, 310 pages
Nina recommended this book to me, and I am so glad she did! It's a fascinating book that took me a LOT longer to read than it should have - and for a really stupid reason to. At chapter 10 I was still only at 24% of my kindle book, and though it was excellent, it seemed rather daunting that it was THAT LONG!!! So imagine my surprise when it turned out that the next chapter was Appendix A!
Turned out, the book itself finished at 27% or so and ALL THE REST was the New Testament, which had been included in the ebook version. I felt slightly stupid not to have realized this in advance, and would probably have finished the book ages ago if I had.
That said, I really enjoyed how Mark Virkler took a practical approach to hearing God's voice - giving concrete examples and suggestions of what to do and how to train yourself to open your ear to the voice of God. Between his suggestions and Nina's advice I finally found a method that worked for me, and for the first time ever was able to consciously talk with God, rather than merely to Him.
I don't entirely agree with everything Mark Virkler wrote, but I thought it awesome to read this account from a person who's as left-brained as I am. Most other books I've read on the subject have been from a more right-brained perspective leaving me with almost more questions than I started out with.
A really excellent book, that I want to read again before too long, in order to make sure the messages "stick".
You Will Be Mine - Natasha Preston, 4/5, 304 pages
This is the second book I've read by Natasha Preston (the first one being "Awake"), and I enjoyed this one every bit as much. It's absolutely chilling, and Natasha Preston's writing is so engaging that I put myself in Layla's shoes far too much, and found it very hard to put the book down - reading it in just a few sittings.
As with almost all suspense novels, the big question is always - does the ending hold up? Far too often it will be too far-fetched or unbelievable and the resolution unsatisfying. I kept wondering how Natasha Preston would wrap this up in a suitable manner, as I could see quite a few options that would indeed fall into those traps.
But fortunately Natasha Preston delivered. Yes, I'd guessed the culprit ahead of time... but only a few pages too soon, which to me is one of the marks of an excellent suspense novel - one where the reader can follow the clues along with the characters in the book and make an educated guess, but not one where the answer is screamed from the pages at a much too early stage.
I greatly enjoyed this, and will definitely be on the look out for more of Natasha Preston's work. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars straight, is that I thought everything was wrapped up (or not) too quickly in the last few pages, and I'm left wondering if a sequel is in the works.
Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4/5, 138 pages
Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 3.5/5, 222 pages
Mentioned these books recently as having great depictions of Christmases throughout, and felt like rereading them :-) Still making my way through book 3, but it's been just the kind of comfort reading I've felt like the last few days.
Book of the Month: Until the End of the World
Biggest disappointment: None! I've enjoyed all books read this month in one way or another.
