Great Book Giveaway 2011: Mystery (all books may not be pictured)

Please see the main post before requesting a book.

Muller & Pronzini , Beyond The Grave
Murder For Christmas Vol 2
Mary Allingham , The Crime At Black Dudley
Mary Allingham , Mr Campion And Others
Mary Allingham , Sweet Danger
Mary Allingham , Pearls Before Swine
Mary Allingham , More Work For The Undertaker
Mary Allingham , Flowers For The Judge
Mary Allingham , Mystery Mile
Mary Allingham , Police At The Funeral
Mary Allingham , Death Of A Ghost
Mary Allingham , Dancers In Mourning
MC Beaton , Death Of A Cad
Rita Mae Bown , Rest In Pieces
Christianna Brand , Green For Danger
Lillian Jackson Braun , The Cat Who Knew A Cardinal
Tony Brill , Date With A Dead Doctor
Mary Higgins Clark , Where Are You Now
Mary Higgins Clark , The Lottery Winner
Mary Higgins Clark , You Belong To Me
Carolyn Coker , The Other David
Carola Dunn , Fall Of A Philanderer
Carola Dunn , Dead In The Water
Earlene Fowler , Fools Puzzle
Laura Francos , St Oswald’s Niche
Joe Gores , 32 Cadillacs
Joe Gores , Gone No Forwarding
Michael Innes , From London Far
Michael Innes , Death By Water
Michael Innes , A Night Of Errors
Michael Innes , The Paper Thunderbolt
Michael Innes , The Secret Vanguard
Alice Kimberly , The Ghost In The Dead Mans Library
Alice Kimberly , The Ghost And Mrs. McClure
Alice Kimberly , The Ghost And The Dead Deb
J A Konrath , Whiskey Sour
Barbara Lee , Death In Still Waters
Sharyn Mccrumb , Sick Of Shadows
Sharyn Mccrumb , Highland Laddi Gone
Nancy Mehl , In The Dead Of Winter
Pery O’Shaughnessy , Case Of Lies
Robin Paige , Death At Rottingdean
Robin Paige , Death At Devils Bridge
Robin Paige , Death At Gallows Green
Robin Paige , Death At Bishops Keep
Robin Paige , Death At Daisy’s Folly
Anne Perry , Defend And Betray
Anne Perry , Cain His Brother
Anne Perry , A Breach Of Promise
Anne Perry , The Twisted Root
Anne Perry , The Sins Of The Wolf
Anne Perry , Funeral In Blue
Anne Perry , The Shifting Tide
Anne Perry , A Sudden Fearful Death
Anne Perry , Slaves Of Obsession
J D Robb , Vengeance In Death
Dorthy L Sayers , Whose Body
Alexander Mccall Smith , The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Mary Stanton , Defending Angels
Mary Stanton , Angel’s Advocate
Jeri Westerson , Veil Of Lies

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Great Book Giveaway 2011: Fiction (all books may not be pictured)

Please see the main post before requesting a book.

Isabelle Allende , Daughter of Fortune
Amanda Armory , The Best Cat Ever
Maeve Binchy , Nights Of Rain And Stars
Janet Dailey , Greencalder Grass
Janet Dailey , Calder Promise
Lloyd C Douglas , The Big Fisherman
Charles Knickerbocker , Summer Doctor
Rosamunde Pilcher , The End Of Summer
Rosamunde Pilcher , Another View
Robin Pilcher , Starburst
Belva Plain , Looking Back
Belva Plain , Daybreak
Amanda Quick , The Paid Companion
Nicolas Sparks , The Guardian

Jeffrey Archer , As The Crow Flies
Jeffrey Archer , Sons Of Fortune
Jeffrey Archer , Twelve Red Herrings
David Baldacci , Split Second
David Brin , The Postman
Tom Clancy , Patriot Games
Michael Connelly , Angels Flight
Catherine Coulter , Eleventh Hour
Clive Cussler , Cyclops
Clive Cussler , Atlantis Found
John Grisham , The Summons
Thomas Harris , Red Dragon
Herman Wouk , City Boy

Great Book Giveaway 2011: Non-fiction

Please see the main post before requesting a book.

A To Z Guide To Countries Of The World (1993)
Sunset National Garden Book
Our Bodies, Ourselves For The New Centruy
Taylor Branch , Pillar Of Fire
Henry F Bringle , Theodore Roosevelt
Douglas Brinkley , The Unfinished Presidency
Tom Brokaw , The Greatest Generation
John A Cgarraty , 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About American History
Hellena Cronin , The Ant And The Peacock
John Dunn , The Cunning Of Unreason
Al Gore , An Inconvenient Truth
Steven Hawkings , The Theory Of Everything
Nat Hentoff , The War On The Bill Of Rights
R A Herrera , Reasons For Our Rhymes
John R Horner , Dinosaur Lives
Bruce Lansky , 15000+ Baby Names
Edward Lazarus , Closed Chambers
Kenneth R Miller , Finding Darwins God
Kelly Monaghan , The Other Orlando (4th Edition)
James Mosley , Starry Night
James Redfield , The Tenth Insight
James Redfield , The Celetine Prophecy
Charles Rembar , The Law Of The Land
Penelope J Ryan , Practicing Catholic
Ziaudin Sardar , Introducing Chaos
Brian Sykes , The Seven Daugters Of Eve
Trinh Xuan Thuan , Chaos And Harmony

Great Book Giveaway 2011: Fantasy (all books may not be pictured)

Please see the main post before requesting a book.

Lyn Benedict , Sins And Shadows
Jim Butcher , Summer Knight
David B Coe , Seeds Of Betrayal
David B Coe , Shapers Of Darkness
David B Coe , Bonds Of Vengeance
Carole Nelson Douglas , Dancing With Werewolves
Carole Nelson Douglas , Brimstone Kiss
Carole Nelson Douglas , Vampires Sunrise
Jennifer Estep , Spider’s Bite
Brabara Hambly , Dragons Shadow
Laurell K Hamilton , Club Vampyre
Mercedes Lackey , The Shadow Of The Lion
Mercedes Lackey , The Fire Rose
Mercedes Lackey , A Cast Of Corbies
Mercedes Lackey , The Robin & The Kestrel
Mercedes Lackey , Bardic Voices
Mercedes Lackey , Fiddler Fair
Richard A Lupoff , Sword Of The Demon
Anne Mccaffrey , Damia
China Mieville , Perdido Street Station
Vicki Peterson , The Scent Of Shadows
T A Pratt , Dead Reign
Jeanne C Stein , The Becoming
Jeanne C Stein , Blood Drive

Comics:

Fables , Cinderella , Chris Roberson
Jack Of Fables , Jack Of Hearts , Bill Willingham
Jack Of Fables , The (Nearly Great) Escape , Bill Willingham

Great Book Giveaway 2011: Science Fiction (all books may not be pictured)

Please see the main post before requesting a book.

A Treasury Of Great Science Fiction Vol 1
A Treasury Of Great Science Fiction Vol 2
Fifty Years Of The Best Science Fiction From Analog
Terry A Adams , The Master Of Chaos
Terry A Adams , Sentience
Poole Anderson , World Without Starts
Issac Asimov , The End Of Eternity
Marian Zimmer Bradley , Darkover Landfall
Marian Zimmer Bradley , The Heritage Of Hastur
Fredric Brown , What Mad Universe
Fredric Brown , Paradise Lost
F M Busby , Rissa And Tregare
F M Busby , Rebels Seed
F M Busby , The Alien Debt
F M Busby , Star Rebel
F M Busby , The Long View
F M Busby , Young Rissa
A Bertram Chandler , Spartan Planet
C J Cherryh , Chanur’s Venture
John Christopher , The Long Winter
Gerard F Conway , The Midnight Dancers
Stephen R Donaldson , Chaos And Order
Stephen R Donaldson , A Dark And Hungry God Arrises
Stephen R Donaldson , Forbidden Knowledge
Stephen R Donaldson , This Day All Gods Die
Gordan Eklund , Lord Tedric
Philip Jose Farmer , Dare
C S Friedman , The Madness Season
W Michael Gear , The Web Of Spider
W Michael Gear , The Warriors Of Spider
W Michael Gear , The Way Of Spider
Ron Goulard , A Whiff Of Madness
Roland Green , Warriors Ride
J Hunter Holey , Th Dark Planet
Leo P Kelley , Mythmaster
Julian May , The Manycolored Land
Anne Mccaffrey , Dinosaur Planet
Anne Mccaffrey , Dinosaur Planet Survivors
Kenneth Mckenney , The Fire Cloud
Andrey Norton , The Year Of The Unicorn
Andrey Norton , Huon Of The Horn
Andrey Norton , Dark Piper
Andrey Norton , Witch World
Andrey Norton , Stormover Warlock
Andrey Norton , The X Factor
Andrey Norton , Sorceress Of The Witch World
Andrey Norton , Galactic Derelict
H Beam Piper , Little Fuzy
Frederik Pohl , Wolfbane
Kim Stanley Robinson , Th Martians
Charles Sheffield , Sight Of Proteus
Clifford D Simak , Time Is The Simplest Thing
Clifford D Simak , Time And Again
Kristine Smith , Rules Of Conflict
George Sylvester Viereck , My Fist Two Thousand Years
Margaret Weis , Ghost Legion
Margaret Weis , Kings Sacrafice
Margaret Weis , Kings Test
Margaret Weis , The Lost King
Shawn Williams , The Prodigal Sun Evergence
Robert Wilson , Tentacles Of Dawn
Robert Charles Wilson , Spin
Robert Charles Wilson , The Harvest
Timothy Zahn , The Blackcollar
Timothy Zahn , Worlds Of Weird

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Long time readers will recognize what this means…

That’s right, Great Book Giveaway 2011 will be coming up after I figure out what the hell is in all these boxes anyway.

This year I’ve got Grandmom books AND books generously foisted off on my by neruondoc, so there will be quite a variety.

I… err…. No. I don’t think so.

I read 132 books in 2010, an average of 11 books per month.

Unsurprisingly, the peak was June, where I read 23 books when I was working half days after breaking my ankle.

Interestingly, I felt like I was reading less at times, primarily because for the first time in years we traveled quite a bit AND had visitors, which cut into my reading time.

But I am not complaining.

If you read my book blog, you’ll notice that towards the end of the year I got real lax on my reviews, and in many cases simply posted the book information and my rating. This was partially due to travel and partially due to laziness. At some point I could go back and add real reviews–depending upon how much free time I have. (HA!) We’ll see what happens there.

In 2010 I read a mixture of old and new books, and my big discovery was finally reading Georgette Heyer.

I had friends in high school who read bodice rippers, and for years, the bits of those books perused in boredom were what I thought the entire category of romance was. Then I stumbled upon Smart Bitches Who Read Trashy Books (for the bad covers) and slowly came to discover that maybe my notions about Romance were not completely right. And when you consider my love of historical mysteries, this really should not have come as so much of a surprise.

Mind you, I am still not a fan of boinking books, and I can’t see myself ever being interested in bodice rippers, but I discovered there was a whole spectrum of books out there that I might like, just waiting to be discovered. So although I definitely would not classify myself as a huge fan of romance yet, there are some authors I really do like.

Georgette Heyer: Fredericka, Devil’s Cub, Cotillion, Faro’s Daughter, These Old Shades, The Grand Sophy, The Masqueraders

I read some good comics this year, and some that weren’t quite as good.

Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina series seems to have come to and end, and I still can’t decided how I feel about it.

The other big disappointment was Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale, written by Zack Whedon. Entirely too short for what the character deserved, and I don’t buy the explanation of the events in the episode “Safe” as explained by this back story.

There were a couple Fables additions out. Sadly (and surprisingly) I didn’t care for all of them. Volume 13: The Great Fables Crossover was a mashup between the Jack and Fables lines, and I really do not like Jack, so that made this volume disappointing. Cinderella, written by someone other than Bill Willingham, was an even greater disappointment, and I have to admit I pretty much hated it. Luckily, Volume 14, Witches, came out at the end of the year, and restored my love of the Fables storyline and characters.

I also read a good deal of Hellboy, which is always good, if odd.

There were several anthologies this year, some of which had actually been published in 2010 (as opposed to anthologies I picked up that languished upon my shelves waiting for “the right time” to be read. Of the 2010 anthologies, Running with the Pack and Dark and Stormy Knights, despite my dissatisfaction with the final story in Running with the Pack.

Some of my favorite books from this year: Roadkill in the Cal Leandros series, The Grimrose Path in the Trickster seires and Chimera, all by Rob Thurman, Thicker than Water and The Naming of the Beasts, the books that wrap up the Asmodeus story line in Mike Carey’s Felix Castor series. I also read Sandman Slim and Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey, which I thought were fabulous.

In the mysteries line, I discovered Robert Crais‘ Elvis Cole, who is along the lines of Spenser, but quickly develops his own persona (plus, Joe Pike is most definitely NOT Hawk.)

I also got additions to Donna Leon‘s Inspector Brunetti series, Christopher Fowler‘s Bryant and May series, Dana Stabenow‘s Kate Shugak series, and Andrea Camilleri‘s Inspector Montalbano series.

Aside from the urban/supernatural sub-genre, I’ve actually read very little fantasy–just haven’t been in the mood. Plus, so many fantasy series are multi-volume tomes I am unwilling to commit to.

The big surprise at the end of 2010 was that Michael and I both received eReaders for Christmas, so it’ll be interesting to see if and how that affects my reading. Most of what I’ve downloaded so far are “classics” or books I should have read in school, but didn’t for some reason. We’ll see if I actually enjoy them.

But all in all, 2010 was a good year for reading, and there are plenty of books scheduled to come out in 2011 that I am looking forward to.

Happy Reading in 2011!

I’m not going to pretend that anyone reading this hasn’t also spent a significant portion of their childhood reading Greek myths.

Books I just finished, am reading, or was thinking about reading.

Over on Facebook I got tagged by the 100 books meme. Except of course it was like 113 by the time it got to me. And kinda bogus. I mean, who comes up with these things? Who determines what is a “must read”?

So I said to hell with it, and made my own list of 100. Some are single books, some are a series, and I’ve read every last one of ’em.
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I’m currently reading The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough, and it’s very interesting. Of course, it’s my bedtime reading, so at 562 pages I’m figuring I’ll be done by 2015.

In my reading last night I came upon a paragraph I had to reread multiple times before I figured out what was going on.

…Roebling returned to Muhlhausen and began organizing a party of pilgrims to leave for America, something that had to be done with caution just then since the government frowned on the immigration of anyone with technical training.

America didn’t want immigrants with technical training? What? The next paragraph continued:

Talk of immigration was a common thing in Germany.

That one I can accept, but the first sentence? No.

If you’re wondering what the hell I’m going on about, let me refresh your memory:

immigrate: to enter and usually become established; especially : to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

emigrate: to leave one’s place of residence or country to live elsewhere

I thought perhaps it was a mistake missed by the copyeditor, though glaring mistakes are usually caught by the time a book comes out in paperback, so I checked the copyright date. Copyright 1972. This book is 38 years old, and in all that time no one noticed this? Or was this mistake added into newer editions?

Regardless, it’s a fascinating book, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first 65 pages.

Many thanks to everyone who has sent cards and letters to my grandmother, and special thanks to Natalie who recycled a box of books in Grandmom’s direction!

Vince one the last one. Not that I remembered to send him a prize, but he did.

I’ll start:

Furry
Sitting and shedding
Goddamnit! Stay out of my chair!