Friday 20 December 2013

Alternative advent calendar #20

I lost my reading mojo a little this year and haven't read as much as I normally do.  I stopped writing my Month of Reading posts because I found I was reading less for enjoyment and more for content filler.  As we wind down 2013 I thought I would share with you my year in books, for the purposes of this list I have given each book a rating out of 5.

  1. Pantheon of the Dead by Jon Rosenberg - daft but brilliant! {4.5}
  2. Never the Bride by Paul Magrs - just daft, not really my thing {2}
  3. The Killing Floor by Lee Child - surprisingly good, super gripping! {4.5}
  4. The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - An awesome adventure and a great story - {4.5}
  5. Bedsit Disco: How I Grew Up and Tried to be a Rockstar by Tracey Thorn - a bit lengthy in places but overall a really interesting life story {3.5}
  6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - captivating and just a bit magical {4}
  7. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - a touching story about bridging the gap and reconnecting {4}
  8. Dominion by C.J. Sansom - I always love a bit of C. J. Sansom and this is no exception, very moody but an awesome story {4.5}
  9. Uglies by Scot Westerfield - Utter. Bobbins {1}
  10. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - there is something of the Scandinavian fairy tale to this one, an ok read, not entirely my thing {3}
  11. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - ohh love a World War II spy novel, especially where the lead is a woman, really enjoyable read {4.5}
  12. The Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - this story captures the essence of my friendship with my lovely friend Charlotte and therefore I love it {5}
  13. The Most Beautiful Thing by Fiona Robyn - meh. {2}
  14. Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher - Double plus meh. {1}
  15. Capital by John Lanchester - a mystery weaving in and out of the lives of the residents on one street in London with an awesome undercurrent of mystery {4.5}
  16. Homeward Bound by Emily Matcher - the most thought provoking book I have read so far this year exploring the world of blogging and the implications of the resurgence of women returning to homemaking {5}
  17. Lets Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson - the most hilarious autobiography I have read {5}
  18. I Can Make You Hate by Charlie Brooker - Charlie Brooker can do little wrong in my eyes, more books please Charlie {5}
  19. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch - the Peter Grant series continues with this stonking addition, Aaronovitch cannot write books quickly enough they're just awesome {5}
  20. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch - yeeeah I loved Broken homes so much I went back and read the whole series again from start to finish {5}
  21. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch {5}
  22. Whispers Under ground by Ben Aaronovitch {5}
  23. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch - (don't judge me ok?) {5}
  24. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - I really didn't expect to like this book (I don't know why) but really, really did but I'm not really sure why... {4.5}
  25. Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valents - it's never easy reading about how far the fight for equality has to go but this book is thought provoking and educating {4}
  26. Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier - I used to love Chevaliers' books but either she has lost her mojo or I've moved on from her style, this was a bit meh {3}
  27. The Chronicles of Narmo by Caitlin Moran - you all know how much I love Caitlin Moran so when I saw she had another book out I pre-ordered and couldn't wait for it to download to my Kindle, I didn't realise she wrote this book as a teenager.  It's great, dang this woman has talent! {5}
  28. Grayson Perry: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl by Wendy Jones - I have a fascination with Grayson Perry which grew ever stronger after hearing his Reith Lectures earlier this year.  I read these following them, Perry has such a fascinating story to tell with buckets of humour {4.5}
  29. Mr Penumbra's 24 Bookstore by Robin Sloan - in a similar vein to the Aaronovitch books I loved the interweaving of 'Old Knowledge' with the vast and growing Google empire's pursuit of New Knowledge, a great read {4.5}
  30. 50 Shades of Feminism by various authors - I'm currently reading this one, so far I'm loving every chapter written by a different female writer, artist, CEO etc. So far, so very good.

Well that's my list, not a very full one but from the number of 4.5 and 5 reviews I've dished out I think it has been quality over quantity.  Which books have you enjoyed this year, I'd love to know as I'm always looking for my next book to read!



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