Comics

Fables: Fairest In All the Land  (2013) Bill Willingham et al (8/10)

Mystery

Jar City (2000/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder (7/10)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie  (2009) Alan Bradley (8/10)
Treasure Hunt (2010/2013) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (8/10)
Bad Blood (2013) Dana Stabenow (1/10)

Fantasy

Written In Red  (2013) Anne Bishop (8.5/10)
Chimes at Midnight  (2013) Seanan McGuire (6/10)
Fated  (2012) Benedict Jacka (6.5/10)
Deadly Descendant  (2012) Jenna Black (6/10)
Dark Descendant (2011) Jenna Black (7/10)
Libriomancer (2012) Jim C. Hines (6/10)
Blood and Bullets (2012) James R. Tuck (6/10)

Short Story

Scarlet Sails  (2013) TS Rhodes (7/10)

Anthology

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives  (2001) edited by Justin Gustainis (7/10)
The Collected Short Stories  (2013) Dana Stabenow (8/10)

Fifteen books this month, most of which were read at the end of the month.

As far as good books, mysteries beat out fantasies by a long shot, with the exception of the first book I read in November, Anne Bishop’s Written in Red (Thanks Neurondoc!)

Genre-wise, fantasy and mystery were pretty easily matched. That might not hold for December, because I’ve started reading some mysteries series I picked up cheap for the kindle and REALLY like them. They follow the trend of mysteries set in other countries and initially written in a language other than English. So I’ll get to redo that list soon.

Anthology 2
Comic 1
Fantasy 9
Mystery 7
Romance 1

Format? Once again eBooks blew away all other formats. All paper books were new releases of series I have been reading for years and plan to keep getting in paper format.

Paperback 1
Trade Paperback 2
eBook 12

Gender split for the month was pretty even.

Male 6
Female 6
Initials 1
Anthology 2

8 female authors, 6 male authors, and an anthology heavily weighted towards female authors. Pretty good.

There you go. That’s last month’s round-up. Remember, if you click through to Amazon from the links on the reviews, I get some pennies towards MORE BOOKS!

Fantasy
The Thief (1996) Megan Whalen Turner
River of Stars (2013) Guy Gavriel Kay
Engraved on the Eye (2012) Saladin Ahmed
Jack The Giant-Killer (Jack of Kinrowan) (1987) Charles de Lint

Short Stories (fantasy)
Charmed I’m Sure (2013) Elliot James
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls (2013) Elliot James
Dog-Gone (2013) Elliot James

Mystery
Through a Glass Darkly (2006) Donna Leon

Audio
Night Watch (1998/2006/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Narrated by Paul Michael

History
The Doctor Wore Petticoats: Women Physicians of the Old West (2006) Chris Enss
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2011) Helen Castor

The books I really loved were:
The Thief – 10/10
River of Stars – 9/10
Jack The Giant-Killer – 8/10

And, for my usual geeking out…

I read 11 books, three of which were re-reads, and two of which are books I own in multiple formats.

eBook : 8
Paperback : 1
Trade Paperback : 1
Audio : 1

It was mostly fantasy this month.

Fantasy : 8
History : 2
Anthology : 1
Mystery : 1
YA : 1

As for the gender of authors I read…

Male : 5
Female : 2

But I’ll be honest, I really thought Elliot James was a woman working under a male pseudonym.

Here’s what I read in September (yes, I’m still going through Donna Leon’s Brunetti series):

Fantasy

Club Monstrosity (2013) Jesse Petersen

Mystery

Quietly in Their Sleep (1997) Donna Leon
A Noble Radiance (1998) Donna Leon
Fatal Remedies (1999) Donna Leon
Friends in High Places (2000) DonnaLeon
A Sea of Troubles (2001) Donna Leon
Willful Behavior (2002) Donna Leon
Uniform Justice (2003) Donna Leon
Doctored Evidence (2004) Donna Leon
Blood from a Stone (2005) Donna Leon

Romance

Midsummer Moon (1987) Laura Kinsale

Audio

Swordspoint (1987/2011) by Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator) with Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones

Comics

Evil Diva Anthology Volume 1 (2013) Peter Menotti, Joe Cashman, Stephen Hood, Team Diva

I read a total of 13 books, bringing me up to 136 books so far this year. That’s already more than I read in 2010 and 2011, so, pretty good year for reading.

Since I’m still re-reading Donna Leon’s Brunetti series, this month was mostly paperbacks.

Paperback: 9
eBook: 2
Trade Paperback: 1
Audio: 1
Re-read: 10

And the genre is unsurprising–almost all mysteries. I’m coming up on three times as many mysteries as I read last year, which is pretty good. But I’ve read a lot less fantasy, so there is that.

Mystery: 9
Fantasy: 2
Comic: 1
Romance: 1

So what did I read in August? A pretty even split between fantasy and mystery.

As always, the book title will take you to my review of that book, the author name will take you to a list of books by that author, and Amazon links will give me a penny or two if you click through and buy.

Mystery
Death in a Strange Country (1993) Donna Leon
Dressed for Death (1994) Donna Leon
Death and Judgment (1995) Donna Leon
Acqua Alta (1996) Donna Leon
The Fencing Master (1988) Arturo Pérez-Reverte translated by Margaret Jull Costa

I love Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti and Venice and the food–ah the food.

 
Fantasy
Night Watch (1998/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield
Day Watch (1999/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield
Twilight Watch (2003/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew
Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield
Fade to Black (2013) Francis Knight
Evil Dark (2012) Justin Gustainis
Kitty in the Underworld (2013) Carrie Vaughn
Magic Rises (2013) Ilona Andrews

I love Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch series. For me, the second book is the weakest in the series, but it’s still quiet good, and one you have to read.

Carrie Vaughn and Ilona Andrews are both authors that I automatically pre-order, because I’m almost never let down.

 
Anthology
Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations (2013) edited by Paula Guran

I had this for awhile before I read it, mostly because it was a large, heavy book.

 
Comics/Graphic Novel
Fairest Vol. 2: Hidden Kingdom (2013) Lauren Beukes, Bill Willingham, Inaki Miranda

So that’s fifteen books, nine of which were re-reads, three of which were pre-ordered new releases.

I think for the first time this year, I read more paper books than ebooks, due entirely to the re-reads and the pre-ordered new releases.

Paperback: 6
Trade Paperback: 6
eBook: 3
Re-read: 9

As to the genre break down, fantasy won out this month, but just barely.

Fantasy: 10
Mystery: 8
Anthology: 1
Comic: 1

Yeah, I know, we’re halfway through August. Better late than never?

Book titles are linked to my review. Author names are linked to my page for that author. If you go to any review and click through to Amazon and buy a book, I get pennies for that purchase, so, you know, please do.
 
 
Mystery
Death at La Fenice (1992) Donna Leon
 
 
Historical Mystery
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon
The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon
A Plague of Zombies (2012) Diana Gabaldon
A Spell of Vengeance (2012) D.B. Jackson
Legacy of the Dead (2000) Charles Todd
 
 

Supernatural Mystery
Hard Spell (2011) Justin Gustainis
 
 

Historical Romance
Kitty (1979) Marion Chesney and M. C. Beaton
 
 

Anthology
The Mammoth Book of Historical Crime Fiction (2011) edited by Mike Ashley
 
 

Graphic Novel / Comic
Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod (2013) Brian Kesinger
 
 

Audio Books
The Privilege of the Sword (2012) Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator), Barbara Rosenblat, Felicia Day, Joe Hurley, Katherine Kellgren, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman
Small Vices (2002) written Robert B. Parker narrated by Burt Reynolds
 
 
I read 14 books in July, taking me to 108 books so far this year.

Here’s the breakdown of what I read:
eBook: 10
Audio: 2
Paperback: 1
Hardback: 1

Multiple Formats: 3
Re-read: 8

Lots of re-reads this month, some of which are books I have in multiple formats. (I have The Privilege of the Sword in trade paper, audio, and eBook format. So yay for giving Ellen Kushner all my money!)
 
 
As for the genres I was reading:
Mystery:11
Fantasy:4
Anthology:1
Comic:1
Romance:1

Lots of mysteries. Half the fantasy I read were also mysteries, and the one straight-up fantasy didn’t have a lick of fantasy or a single supernatural creature in it.
 
 
And these are the books I rated 8/10 or higher (7/10 is a good and enjoyable book, but nothing special):

10/10
The Privilege of the Sword

9/10
Walking Your Octopus: A Guidebook to the Domesticated Cephalopod

8/10
Hard Spell
Death at La Fenice
A Plague of Zombies
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
Lord John and the Hand of Devils
Lord John and the Private Matter
The Mammoth Book of Historical Crime Fiction

There you have it, July’s reading.

And here’s last month’s reading wrap-up:

Fantasy
Tempest Reborn (2013) Nicole Peeler
Kitty Rocks the House (2013) Carrie Vaughn
Anansi Boys (2005) Neil Gaiman
Thieves’ World Book 12, Stealers’ Sky (1989) edited by Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey

YA Fantasy
The Raven Boys (2012) Maggie Stiefvater
The Privilege of the Sword (2006) Ellen Kushner

Historical Romance
A Proper Companion (2011) Candice Hern
A Change of Heart (2011) Candice Hern
An Affair of Honor (2011) Candice Hern
Desperate Measures (2011) Candice Hern

I read ten books, bringing my total for the year so far up to 94. That’s way above my normal average; we’ll see if this trend continues.

Typically, I read more fantasy than anything else.

Fantasy: 6
Romance: 4
YA: 2
Anthology: 1

Yes, that total is more than ten, because books belong to multiple categories.

As far as format goes, eBooks are continuing to outpace paper books of all sorts. And two of the paperbacks were new-releases I had on pre-order.
Paperback: 3
eBook: 7
Multiple Formats: 2
Re-read: 3

But I’d like to point out that I have two of those books in multiple formats. Actually, I have The Privilege of the Sword in three different formats: paperback, eBook, and audio book.

What I read in April:

Fantasy

The Death of the Necromancer (1998) Martha Wells

YA: Fantasy

Grave Mercy (2012) Robin LaFevers

Shadowfalls
Whispers at Moonrise (2012) C. C. Hunter
Saved at Sunrise (2013) C. C. Hunter
Chosen at Nightfall (2013) C.C. Hunter

YA: Fiction

Send (2012) Patty Blount – This is phenomenal, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Comic / Graphic Novel

Erstwhile: Untold Tales from the Brothers Grimm (2012) Gina Biggs, Louisa Roy, Elle Skinner

Romance

These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer

Non-Fiction

A History of the World in 6 Glasses (2005) Tom Standage

Sometimes I get in the mood for a specific type of book. Recently, it’s been mysteries. But not cozies. Sorry cozy authors. My grandmother may love you, but you’re generally not my thing. I’d much rather have blood and guts and action. Kinda like the opposite of my life.

Anyway.

In my search for something I like, I stumbled upon Dana Stabenow‘s Kate Shugak series.

I’d read anthologies edited by Dana Stabenow, but had no idea she wrote mysteries, so when I stumbled across A Taint in the Blood I decided to pick it up and see if I liked it.

I did.

Kate Shugak lives in “The Park” in Alaska. Earlier in the series apparently she lived in Anchorage working for law enforcement, but at the point I wandered into the series she’d moved back to Niniltna and was working occasional investigations as her services were needed.

She’s a strong and independent woman who decides what she wants and goes after it. My favorite kind of heroine. She’s got flaws, and she recognizes this fact, but doesn’t let that keep her from being herself.

She’s also not afraid to bend the law in her search for justice. That always makes for an interesting moral dilemma when well done.

The secondary characters are also well done–they are distinct personalities, and I can usually tell by the dialog which characters are which. Always a strength in any book.

Now I’ve got a thing about series. I don’t often like to go backwards in a series (unless the series is written in such a way that book order is immaterial) and seeing that there were Bad Things in Kate’s past made me even more reluctant to go back in the series. However, after having read forward as far as I could, I decided to go back to just after the Very Bad Thing and work my way forward. That worked out quite well, except for the fact that I am now, once again, out of Kate Shugak books to read.

Grandmom hasn’t read any of these books yet, and I’m not sure if she will or not. There is boinking–although not a lot, and it’s not an all consuming part of the story. I think she might like them though; we’ll have to see.

The other nice thing about this series is that you can easily pick up any book and start the series. Kate does grow and change through the series, but you are given enough background that you don’t get lost without knowledge of what has gone previously. Again, another sign of good writing.

I have no idea how her portrayal of Alaska is–Dana Stabenow obviously loves where she lives–and I almost don’t want to know, because the mysteries are thoroughly enjoyable, and if they’re not as good as I hope, I don’t think I want to know.

Kate Shugak: Midnight Come Again (2000), The Singing of the Dead (2001), A Fine and Bitter Snow (2002), A Grave Denied (2003), A Taint in the Blood (2004), A Deeper Sleep (2007)