Category Archives: Books 2013

23. Children of Hamlin (ST:TNG 3)
This one was better than the previous two in the series, the characters felt more like themselves. The story was somewhat irritating in its vagueness throughout; it’s atypical to hold the audience in such darkness. Looking forward to the next one, which focuses more on Tasha.

24. Damaged: A Violated Trust
A badly written YA novel; if you want to click the title, you can read my review at GoodReads. It was free on Amazon so at least I’m not regretting money spent, just time.

25. The Walking Dead Vol 15
Life sucks in the zombie apocalypse.

my read shelf:

Full disclosure: I LOVED this book. Below is my GoodReads review of this book.

22. Joan of Arc
It’s going to be difficult for me to express exactly how much I loved every moment I spent reading this book, but I’ll try anyway. I had read that this was Twain’s favorite writing, and it shows. Every word, every phrase, every chapter is lovingly crafted. I have never read something that was so obviously adored by its creator as this. So rich is his description, I felt as if I were actually there, swept away by the tides of French history. The details were so well researched that Twain leaves no doubt that every breath is true.

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte is a long and detailed telling of Joan’s life as remembered by her childhood friend (and eventual page). De Conte takes us through their shared childhood in Domremy, through her triumph across France to Rheims where the Dauphin is crowned, and to her eventual execution (and subsequent Retrial and Rehabilitation postmortem). It is a sad and uneasy tale, but through it all Joan shines purely and perfectly.

The appendix of this edition (by Ignatius Press) contains an essay written by Twain which basically summarizes the story of his novel, except that it is a recounting of his research of the events.

While his telling of this period of history is fictional, one could only hope to be remembered and loved so well as Joan is here.

my read shelf:

Oops, I skipped a couple earlier. Fixing that:

18. The Walking Dead Vol 10
19. The Walking Dead Vol 11

And now the books I finished this weekend:

20. F in Exams
Very funny. I enjoyed it a lot. First saw it at work and we’d had a few laughs out of it there. I bought it on Kindle when it was a deal, and was totally worth it.

21. The Walking Dead Vol 14
All I can say about this volume is that I knew this was coming, but HOLY CRAP, I wasn’t expecting that!

my read shelf:

I am trying to figure out my next post that will be of substance. However, I’ve been reading (as you do) and this is the result.

16. The Peacekeepers
Sadly, what struck me the most was the fact that Troi, Worf, and Picard were on the cover, but it was a Data and LaForge story. Not a bad tale, a little different from what you’d expect from a traditional Prime Directive violation story. A little speculative on the Trek science (I don’t care much for Chief Argyle, btw) but I do acknowledge that it was written very early in the series.

17. The Physics of the Buffyverse
A solid 3 out of 5 for a pop science book. Very light. If I wasn’t already above this level of pop science, I would have enjoyed this a lot more. Towards the end, I wished that the author had included the comic series, but I also realized the book was published in 2006. Had the first half of the book been was well written as the latter half, I might have rated a little higher.

my read shelf:

I’ve been slacking when it comes to posting, but not when it comes to reading. Here’s a quick rundown.

11. The Walking Dead, Vol 12
I am in love with this series. I wasn’t initially going to include my trade paperback comic books in this year’s reading, but they are too pricey not to, I mean, if I’m going to spend $15 on a bound mass of paper that tells a story, it’s going to count!

12. The Walking Dead, Vol 13
See above comment…

13. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
Several of us at work read this together, since, you know, we work in a bookstore. I thought we’d heard it all, but I was wrong. We should write the Community College version! Can’t wait until the next one.

14. The Secret Wedding Dress
Sometimes, I am weak and I need to read something for brain candy. This Harlequin Kiss novel was just that.

15. Encounter at Farpoint (ST:TNG Novelization)
Ostensibly, the novelization of the pilot episode of ST:TNG. Really, could have been a script with notes. There was a little extra, things from certain perspectives. There were a few inaccuracies, and the ever irritation contractions used by Data. I mostly just want to watch the episode again. Very easy read, felt like comfort food.

my read shelf:

5. Hyperion

6. Fall of Hyperion

I finished the first of these a while back, but I wanted to wait until I finished the second to post. If you check out my GoodReads page, you can see that I gave both 5 stars. I mean every pixel of those two stars too. Amazing and highly recommended.

my read shelf:

I’m going to try to catch up on my reading this year, since I definitely slacked off last year. Before, in past attempts, I made 42 books in one year. This year, I’ll try for 50 again.

1. Cassandra Rising – a collection of science fiction by fantastic women writers; some I enjoyed more than others, but over all, a solid collection.

2. When Parents Die: A Guide for Adults – sad that I needed to read this, but it did help.

3. The Ethics of Sex – promised more than it delivered, disappointing for a Zondervan book, a vague traipse through the Bible with an eye toward sexual morality, but with no real solid answers.

4. Jenny Plague-Bringer – good conclusion to the series, though there was so much more that could have been told I was sorry to see it end.

my read shelf: