A Year in Review
This year, well, it's been a year. If it wasn't for the fact that I read some good books this year I might very well pretend it didn't exist. But here's to 2016, the year I once again have health insurance and I continue on my way with my exercise routine. And of course, lest we forget; books books and more books! Each year I've read a little more than the previous, so here's to a year full of books, good health, and insurance when our health gets rocky!
1) Sphere by Michael Crichton: Ah Sphere, interesting that no matter how many times I read you, I'm still completely unsure as to what has happened and exactly what it is I have read. Reading you while sick didn't help matters.
2) Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley: How can you be so awesome? Seriously, how? You're even better and more awesome the second (haha) time. Bryan Lee O'Malley is like a modern day fairy tale writer for my generation. I just wish he wrote faster!
3) The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: Um, mud man? Everything sucks and this English Grey Gardens... had potential... but then so do a lot of Kate Morton's books.
4) Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide: I SO wanted to like this book following the house and it's various inhabitants through the years... so wanted to and so so didn't.
5) Cavendon Hall by Barbara Taylor Bradford: A surprisingly fun book considering that it starts with a violent rape and has a creepy stalker undertone, but it's just like a slightly darker Downton Abbey and I can't wait to read the sequel.
6) My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy Book #1) by Gerald Durrell: A very uneven book about the Durrell's living on Corfu. At times it is hilarious how Gerry describes his family and his "pets" but then he sometimes goes off with too much detail about a lizard and you're totally lost.
7) Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough: Horrid. Supposedly about women being empowered nurses, instead it's about Australian women always needing men in the end. I shouldn't say this, but I'm kind of glad she died before she wrote the sequel.
8) The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin: A lot about horses, and a bit of manipulation of the time continuum to make the HEA happen, and not as good as her first book, but still, totally read it.
9) The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter: 1960s Canadian version of The Sixth Sense. Avoid it now. Don't say I didn't warn you!
10) Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles Book #3.5) by Marissa Meyers: While I was pissed Winter was pushed back to, um, winter, I actually really liked this insight into Levana, and also feel that it was necessary to prepare the stage for the final book. Also, the best way to tear down a villain, to pity them.
11) Dead Heat (Alpha and Omega Book #4) Patricia Briggs: Not my favorite outing for Anna and Charles, being an investigation into a fairy that is all manners of creepy child predator. But the fairy wasn't as creepy as the kids dressed up for the horse show. Child pageants. Shudder. Also, the second book of the year with way too much about horses.
12) Beth's Story, 1914 (Secrets of the Manor Book #1) Adele Whitby: The less said about this book the better. SO historically inaccurate and annoying and and and, just don't read it.
13) The Deception of the Emerald Ring (Pink Carnation Book #3) by Lauren Willig: Oddly enough the one book in Lauren's series that I always think isn't my favorite, but then I read it and love it all over again. Especially the parts with Vaughn, and in particular Vaughn in the crypt!
14) Chi's Sweet Home, Volume 11 by Kanata Konami: Chi has found her family! But will her humans go to France? Seriously, I am worried about this. Don't mock me, I love me some kittehs!
15) Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Like, seriously, my favorite book ever. Magic, Regency, awesomeness.
16) The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke: No matter how much I want this to be as awesome as her full length book, it's uneven and makes me sad. Though I do love the story about the Duke of Wellington.
17) Kat, Incorrigible (Kat, Incorrigible Book #1) by Stephanie Burgis: Such a delightfully fun book! Magic, masked bandits, dancing! More please!
18) The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson: Ugh. One or two scenes could have been interesting short stories, but the unlikability of the family and how the parents mind fucked their children, it's horrible. If I ever have kids, this is a how not to raise them manual. Once again suckered by a good cover. Sigh.
19) Renegade Magic (Kat, Incorrigible Book #2) by Stephanie Burgis: Even more Regency magic, this time in Bath, and this time a little more wild!
20) Stolen Magic (Kat, Incorrigible Book #3) by Stephanie Burgis: Epic conclusion with basically a mini magics war all on the grounds of an awesome country estate.
21) A Bride's Story, Volume 6 by Kaoru Mori: Um, can't quite remember what happened in this one, they're all awesome, just go read them all!
22) Courting Magic: A Kat, Incorrigible Novella by Stephanie Burgis: The inevitable HEA for Kat, while predictable, it was so sweet.
23) The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Pink Carnation Book #4) by Lauren Willig: Lord Sebastian Vaughn, the man I love to hate... or is that hate to love?
24) The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation Book #5) by Lauren Willig: What should be the book I relate to most with Charlotte as the heroine always seems to fall flat for me. I am such a contradictory being.
25) The Diamond Conspiracy (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Book #4) by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris: Absurdly large ARC, but damn, the hook-up we've all been waiting for FINALLY happens, and they keep the chemistry going instead of bringing the book series to a thundering halt from giving us readers what we wanted.
26) The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (Pink Carnation Book #6) by Lauren Willig: Seriously, even better than the first time I read it. India, jewels, betrayal, this book, almost more than any other in the series, totally stands on it's own and you should just go read it now.
27) The Mischief of the Mistletoe (Pink Carnation Book #7) by Lauren Willig: Turnip. That is all.
28) The Orchid Affair (Pink Carnation Book #8) by Lauren Willig: Hey! I moderated this book for Pink for All Seasons, go check it out if you haven't already!
29) Sorcery and Cecelia (Cecelia and Kate Book #1) by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede: Far better than I remember, but still, it's odd how I totally like Caroline's writing and character better than Patricia's. There's such a difference.
30) The Grand Tour (Cecelia and Kate Book #2) by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede: Um... yeah... I think I might have actually liked this book less this time around.
31) Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories Book #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal: The beginning of one of my most favorite series EVER. Like there's Harry Potter and this.
32) Dead to the World (iZombie Book #1) by Chris Roberson: Yeah, so, this isn't like the TV show at all. So glad I got these from the library because they kind of suck. Though I did like the Shaun of the Dead reference.
33) uVampire (iZombie Book #2) by Chris Roberson: Still sucking, and hey, vampires suck, get it?
34) Six Feet Under and Rising (iZombie Book #3) by Chris Roberson: Absurd and over the top, oh, and still sucking.
35) Repossession (iZombie Book #4) by Chris Roberson: And then she went to another realm of being while still sucking.
36) Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories Book #2) by Mary Robinette Kowal: And back to awesomeness. So hard to pick my favorite in this series, but I love the scenes working with the glass and their discoveries.
37) Without a Summer (Glamourist Histories Book #3) by Mary Robinette Kowal: My least favorite of the series originally, so much better the second time around. I'm totally liking Melody this time.
38) Valour and Vanity (Glamourist Histories Book #4) by Mary Robinette Kowal: Ocean's Twelve with Regency magic... um, perfection.
39) Sense and Sensibility: A BabyLit Opposites Primer by Jennifer Adams: Adorable little book. Get them while they're young and they will be Jane Austen fans for life!
40) Pride and Prejudice : A BabyLit Counting Primer by Jennifer Adams: Again, convert them early!
41) Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Book #1) by Louise Penny: Rather a lackluster start, but it was diverting, even if all the characters were mere caricatures.
42) How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran: Mixed bag of a book. At times you're like, I totally relate, and at other times, well, not many people hang out with Lady Gaga in weird bars in Germany...
43) Timeline by Michael Crichton: Every time I read this book I think, it's going to be awesome. And it's not. It's so not. Also, I still think the directions are whack in this book.
44) Of Noble Family (Glamourist Histories Book #5) by Mary Robinette Kowal: My name is in a book! OMG! MY NAME IS IN A BOOK! Achievement unlocked!
45) Rising Sun by Michael Crichton: Surprisingly still really relevant and a good mystery. Michael Crichton could totally see the future people! TOTALLY!
46) Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs: What starts out as very "Little House on Mars" quickly goes in a different direction and is a wonderful fantasy mash-up with Ozian allusions that make you need the next volume. Now.
47) The Garden Intrigue (Pink Carnation Book #9) by Lauren Willig: Augustus plus Emma plus bad couplets equals pure gold.
48) Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park Book #1) by Michael Crichton: Twenty years after I first read it I seriously don't get why I liked it.
49) DC: The New Frontier, Volume 1 by Darwyn Cooke: Interesting mash-up of old and new.
50) DC: The New Frontier, Volume 2 by Darwyn Cooke: That quickly got old fast.
51) Runaways, Volume 8: Dead End Kids by Joss Whedon: I have NEVER read any of the Runaways before, but if they're anything like this volume I need to read more STAT.
52) Shaun of the Dead by Chris Ryall: I am impressed that with one of the best most self-referential scripts out there that this comic is a total complete shit-storm. Because obviously, let's change perfection? And where is my slice of fried gold? Not here, that's for sure.
53) Chasing Dogma by Kevin Smith: Um, very raunchy, as you'd expect. But a wonderful bridge between Chasing Amy and Dogma. Also, it kind of makes sense too!
54) Congo by Michael Crichton: Please random studio execs who read my blog, I adore this book and know it would make an amazing movie, I even have the dream cast! Sadly it doesn't include Bruce Campbell.
55) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: Um. Yeah. This book is plotless and almost unreadable with it's bizarre made-up language.
56) The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig: SO AWESOME! Lauren's writing, the 20s, a story with heart... what's not to love?
57) Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton: An even more boring version of Beowulf. If you can believe it!
58) Fables, Volume 21: Happily Ever After by Bill Willingham: So, this whole winding down and ending Fables has been bumpy and not successful. At. All. It's in fact kind of turning me against the whole series. Except for those fabulous covers. Damn I love those covers.
59) Those Left Behind (Serenity Book #1) by Joss Whedon: Here's a hint: Firefly should have ended with the TV Series. No movie. No comics. That is all.
60) Better Days and Other Stories (Serenity Book #2) by Joss Whedon: Why did I even buy this? I mean it. Could someone tell me why I wasted my money?
61) The Passion of the Purple Plumeria (Pink Carnation Book #10) by Lauren Willig: Miss Gwen and her parasol have finally met their match! Romantically at least.
62) The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton: Prior to re-reading this book I would have been all, this is the best Crichton book out there. It really isn't. It's choppy and somehow doesn't work. In other words, no longer on the "favorites" list.
63) The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton: Oddly quite interesting still. Also, I totally have the ideal cast to make a half-way decent movie. OK, yes, I do want to turn my favorite books into movies, but I did want to be a Visual Communications major at one time, so it makes sense, right?
64) Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly by Patricia Briggs: Interesting little story focusing more on Mercy's step-daughter than on herself, which was a nice change of pace. The last few stories in the Mercy-verse have been similar, the evil being about child predators, and a switch-up would be nice.
65) A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary: Beverly Cleary had a really horrible mother. Like crazy. I'm surprised that she got out of that house and became a successful writer at all given her upbringing. Run from the creepy Mormon she wants you to marry. RUN!
66) Bright Young People: The Lost Generation of London's Jazz Age by D.J. Taylor: This author was so self-impressed with his one connection with the Ponsonbys that the entire book is skewed from their POV so it's not a unbiased history of the time, but rather a diatribe from them.
67) Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart: Surprisingly I enjoyed my first foray into Mary Stewart. It was a little unbelievable that a governess would take such a quick and obsessive interest in her charge, and the geographical problems were many, but it was surprisingly modern and fun.
68) Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh: I don't know how Evelyn Waugh wrote another book after this one. It was shallow and annoying, and I wasn't even in it.
69) High Rising (Barsetshire Book #1) by Angela Thirkell: So wonderful and perfect. Snarky while being funny, I think I'd like that to be my epitaph. Also, small town fun and writers! Seriously, I can not wait to read more by Thirkell set in Barsetshire.
70) Marrying The Captain (Channel Fleet Book #1) by Carla Kelly: Weird almost wholesome Regency romance that made the fatal flaw of pissing me off by having a character with my last name that the author went to the effort to say how it was pronounced, and it's not pronounced that way at all. Grumble grumble.
71) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce Book #1) Alan Bradley: Having not gone back to the beginning of Flavia's story for quite awhile, I found her first outing a little disjointed. I know how awesome she becomes, so it was hard to see her as not perfect.
72) The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla (Pink Carnation Book #11) by Lauren Willig: Sally, stoats, and spies that aren't actually spies. A wonderfully lighthearted and fun penultimate book to Lauren's Pink Carnation series. I love me those Fitzhughs!
73) The Lure of the Moonflower (Pink Carnation Book #12) by Lauren Willig: I think I was in denial for a lot of this book. First I wasn't into it, then I really was, then I went into this whole denial that it was the end, then it was over, and then I was reading all the extras, and then I went into denial again... I don't think I'm reaching acceptance anytime soon.
74) Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead by Paula Byrne: Wow, so you think it's totally OK to promote the pederast culture of the time? You go on believing that, and I'll go and sell this book now, k, thanks.
75) Fables, Volume 22: Farewell by Bill Willingham: And it's over. It's over right? It's not going to go on and on some more is it?
76) The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig: Just as good re-reading it, especially after getting the insight into Lauren's process with her research books. Oddly enough, can't wait to read it again.
77) The Stranger by Albert Camus: Hey, let's kill a guy just cause and then be surprised when we get sentenced to death. It will be fun!
78) The Shepherd's Tale (Serenity Book #3) by Joss Whedon: The painfully obvious backstory of Shepherd Book.
79) Leaves on the Wind (Serenity Book #4) by Zack Whedon: And of course Zoe's pregnant. Didn't see that one coming... oh wait, I did.
80) Day Shift (Midnight, Texas, #2) by Charlaine Harris: Such a shocking improvement over the first book. I don't know if it's because I know the characters better now, or if it was just the hook of that terrifying death scene with Manfred and the seance, but seriously loved this entry and wish there was more than just one more book in the series.
81) The Martian by Andy Weir: Loved the biting humor, the science was a little over my head, and the stuff back on earth, it was eh, third person narration doesn't jive with the first person of Mark Watney.
82) The Lure of the Moonflower (Pink Carnation Book #12) by Lauren Willig: Even better the second time? Yes, I think so! I got into the flow better and could see how everything fit together and therefore enjoyed it more. Though totally, just read the whole series people.
83) A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes Book #1) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Much better the second time I read it because I was prepared for the weird Mormon diatribe. Also I loved seeing the correlations between the book and how they adapted it into the TV show Sherlock.
84) Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster: You get such an amazing sense of place with Forster's work, I felt like I was really in that Italian town. But the people were so unlikeable and brutish and embraced that that in the end you don't really care about any of them.
85) Angel and Faith: Live Through This (Angel and Faith Book #1) by Christos Gage: Bringing back the television awesomeness to the comics!
86) Angel and Faith: Daddy Issues (Angel and Faith Book #2) by Christos Gage: I love Dru. Seriously, it was a highlight whenever she appeared on the show, and it's a highlight to have her in the comics. Also fabulous to get Faith's backstory, ie, family, without actually having to watch Eliza Dusku act it!
87) Angel and Faith: Family Reunion (Angel and Faith Book #3) by Christos Gage: Hey it's Connor! Hey he's not annoying! Who would have ever thought I'd write that sentence...
88) Angel and Faith: Death and Consequences (Angel and Faith Book #4) by Christos Gage: Getting ready to bring back Giles, I can't wait!
89) Angel and Faith: What You Want, Not What You Need (Angel and Faith Book #5) by Christos Gage: A decent ending to the story arc. It always falls apart a bit at the end, Magic Town? Really!?!
90) Maurice by E.M. Forster: Too much pointless inner turmoil. Sigh. Thus begins the scales falling from my eyes with regard to E.M. Forster...
91) Fairest, Volume 5: The Clamour for Glamour by Mark Buckingham: Seems to be two steps back after the ending of Fables... also, Fairest is supposed to be the women, and more and more it's not. Just stop.
92) A Room With A View by E.M. Forster: Wonderful Italian settings, first love, the closest I've come to enjoying a Forster book this year.
93) The Sign of the Four Doyle (Sherlock Holmes Book #2) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Rather drawn out story that has the added bonus, or deficit from Holmes's POV, of Watson getting a wife!
94) Howards End by E.M. Forster: WHY DID I EVER LIKE THIS BOOK!?! The characters are annoying, greedy, and just selfish. Why couldn't they all have ambiguously died like Leonard Bast?
95) I Shall Wear Midnight (Discworld Book #38) by Terry Pratchett: Perfection. Dark, wonderful, all the hallmarks of the best of Terry Pratchett. The perfect ending to Tiffany Aching's story...
96) The Shepherd's Crown (Discworld Book #41) by Terry Pratchett: Which leads me to, why write this book? Two answers to that, Pratchett loved Tiffany, she was his favorite character so wanted to end with her. Also, it wasn't so much a Tiffany Aching book as it was a Discworld book centered on the witches. It was a last hurrah for many of our favorite characters, and a more final goodbye to one.
97) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: Seriously, I've read this book twice and I'm still not sure what happened. It's good while you're reading it, it's just not memorable.
98) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home (Season 8 Book #1) by Joss Whedon: Decent start to Buffy after the stupid decision to make all potentials slayers... yeah, still think this was the stupidest idea ever, but even when Joss first killed Buffy you could see him thinking, I wonder what even more than two would be like...
99) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future for You (Season 8 Book #2) by Brian K. Vaughan: FINALLY a good Faith story, again like the Angel and Faith comics this is primarily to do with the lack of Eliza Dusku. Oh, also look for the surprise guest appearance of The Doctor and Rose!
100) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wolves at the Gate (Season 8 Book #3) by Drew Goddard: Japanese mist vampires who stole Dracula's powers fun time! Also mecha Dawn!
101) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Time of Your Life (Season 8 Book #4) by Joss Whedon: Crossover with Fray! Be still my heart! Also why don't you break my heart again while you're at it Joss!
102) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Predators and Prey (Season 8 Book #5) by Jane Espenson: And then season eight really starts to go pear shaped... military, crime, you name it.
103) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat (Season 8 Book #6) by Jane Espenson: Hey, what can we do to alienate readers more? How about a stupid plot of everyone hiding in Tibet with Oz and then having GODS attack! Sound like a good plan. Sigh. And ugh.
104) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Twilight (Season 8 Book #7) by Brad Meltzer: Twilight is ANGEL? OMG! Oh wait, I don't care. And I really don't care about Angel and Buffy having super powered sex to create a new reality. I REALLY DON'T.
105) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Last Gleaming (Season 8 Book #8) by Joss Whedon: How can we make this ending even worse? Let's kill Giles! YEAH! Oh, and destroy all magic and all that shit too.
106) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Freefall (Season 9 Book #1) by Joss Whedon: Better, solid rebuilding of the mess they made of season eight. Liking the narrowing and focusing of the storyline.
107) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: On Your Own (Season 9 Book #2) by Andrew Chambliss: And then they went on an alien bug ship and Buffy was pregnant but a robot and well, yeah. I like realism with my fantasy, not all fantasy.
108) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Guarded (Season 9 Book #3) by Andrew Chambliss: And then bring back my most hated character, or one of them, Kennedy, and make Buffy a bodyguard...um, no.
109) Willow: Wonderland by Jeff Parker: Whereas Willow's journey to get magic back to earth is fabulous and full of call backs to season six, and just magical. See what I did there?
110) Spike: A Dark Place by Victor Gischler: A nice, quick, and sweet way to tie-up the Spike has an alien ship run by bugs. And really, I did like the bugs, it just was... odd.
111) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Welcome to the Team (Season 9 Book #4) by Andrew Chambliss: Eh. Don't really remember what happened. Oh wait, looked it up, yes, I know I cheated. But Dawn is disappearing because of magic, dun dun duh!
112) Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Core (Season 9 Book #5) by Andrew Chambliss: For a season with lots of ups and downs it's nice to end on an up with the epic battle in the deeper well. Also, yeah, magic is back! Though it's raw, untamed, and has all new rules needing to be written, so lots of misadventures to come.
113) Angel and Faith: Where the River Meets the Sea (Season 10 Book #1) by Victor Gischler: Angel wallows in Magic Town and Faith goes to South America to rescue Riley, in the worst ever Angel comic, so far. Can't the Angel writers do both Buffy and Angel? It was mean to take the good Angel writers and gift them Buffy. Yes, Buffy is good, but boo, Angel is now bad.
114) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Rules (Season 10 Book #1) by Christos Gage: Setting up the new rules of magic and getting back to basics in San Francisco... let's go patrol for some vamps!
115) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes Book #3) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Yeah, there's no way in hell I'm going to remember which stories are in this collection. It was good, move on.
116) Angel and Faith: Lost and Found (Season 10 Book #2) by Victor Gischler: And Angel continues it's horrible and catastrophic fall from grace.
117) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I Wish (Season 10 Book #2) by Christos Gage: I seriously love wee little Giles! I also love them all living together.
118) Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes Book #4) by Arthur Conan Doyle: See above note. There's adventures, mostly good. Oh, and Sherlock "dies."
119) The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes Book #5) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes goes all dark and Gothic and very Cornish. Can all Sherlock Holmes be like this? Pretty please!?!
120) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: A classic for my entire life. I can not read it and not enjoy myself.
121) Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll: The weaker of the two Alice books because it involves a lot about chess, but I've never read it in an edition not illustrated by Tenniel, so it was interesting to get another illustrator's POV.
122) Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo: Such hopes! Such dashed and shattered hopes in this lame duck of a heist that was too formulaic, and too weirdly misogynistic. More on the misogynism once I get that review written... it will happen. One day.
123) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Love Dares You (Season 10 Book #3) by Christos Gage: Yeah! Spike and Buffy back together! But in a way that was logical and made sense and wasn't just to make the "Spuffy" fans happy.
124) The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) by Maryrose Wood: Children raised by actual wolves? Governesses and mysterious family secrets? When can I read the rest? Ahrwoooo!
125) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Old Demons, Part 1 (Season 10 Issue #16) by Christos Gage: You know those mysterious dreams Spike and Angel have been having about killing again? Turns out the big demon who way way way back was their sire... he's in town and has some plans!
126) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Old Demons, Part 2 (Season 10 Issue #17) by Christos Gage: Buffy's with Spike now and Angel is in town... this won't end well. At. All.
127) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Old Demons, Conclusion (Season 10 Issue #18) by Christos Gage: And they didn't win, but they didn't lose the battle... so, a draw? Or until the demon shows up in England and then Angel won't tell Buffy because he doesn't want help and wants to be all moody and brooding and alone.
128) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Freaky Giles Day (Season 10 Issue #19) by Christos Gage: Ugh. Giles becomes "big" again for the day and gets his freak on. Yes, this is basically Giles has sex and then fails the team because his magics aren't as strong as they should be because he's a boy in a man's body.
129) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes Book #6) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Hey, Sherlock Holmes didn't die and he's back in lots of stories about blackmail... hmm, Arthur, tell us how you really felt about returning to write Sherlock Holmes?
130) The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes Book #7) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Pinkertons, death, stupid. Oh and apparently here the Pinkertons aren't evil. OK
131) Basil of Baker Street (Basil of Baker Street Book #1) Titus, Eve: A mouse who is Sherlock Holmes's number one fan, but in an adorable homage way not in a creepy Stephen King way.
132) His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes Book #8) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Just saying, you name a book with "last" in the title it should be the last set of stories, not the second to last...
133) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Triggers (Season 10 Issue #20) by Christos Gage: I am really excited to see how this whole ghost Anya, not really Anya, plays out. Though Zander really needs to get the rage under control.
134) The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes Book #9) by Arthur Conan Doyle: The official end of Sherlock Holmes. No more Sherlock Holmes to read. Some may be sad... me, I'm feeling accomplished, like a task well done.
135) Angel and Faith: United (Season 10 Book #3) by Victor Gischler: More Angel and Faith crap. See what a bad author and a bad artist can do to a good series?
136) Angel and Faith: Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part 1 (Season 10 Issue #16) by Victor Gischler: Seriously, Faith as a gym teacher and Fred as the lunch lady. NO!
137) Angel and Faith: Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part 2 (Season 10 Issue #17) by Victor Gischler: Well, I could see Faith as a gym teacher, she has such low career expectations... but still. Just no.
138) Angel and Faith: Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part 3 (Season 10 Issue #18) by Victor Gischle: This whole trying to be Buffy back in high school isn't working. Oh, and the minor big bad is Dru. Surprise surprise. Not.
139) Angel and Faith: A Little More Than Kin, Part 1 (Season 10 Issue #19) by Victor Gischler: Oh look, the big bad from Buffy who escaped just showed up here. So surprising! Not.
140) Alias, Volume 1 by Brian Michael Bendis: So yeah, reading this in prep for Jessica Jones because I totally didn't know these were her comics, I thought they were a tie-in for the TV Show with Jennifer Garner. Though it might have been better if it was about Jennifer Garner.
141) Alias, Volume 2: Come Home by Brian Michael Bendis: Kid with powers goes missing, blah blah blah.
142) Alias, Volume 3: The Underneath by Brian Michael Bendi: Surprisingly the series could get worse. Just like I found with iZombie earlier in the year, sometimes the adaptation is far far superior.
143) Alias, Volume 4: The Secret Origins of Jessica Jones by Brian Michael Bendis: And now we know her backstory, which just seems too desperate to tie-into the whole Marvel Universe instead of making a good story in it's own right.
144) The Case of the Baker Street Irregular by Robert Newman: Makes the whole "Irregular" lifestyle look not as harsh as it was, which I think is sad. The darker this is the better it could have been.
145) Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson: Cluck. Cluck. Motherfucker.
146) The Final Solution by Michael Chabon: I find it so pretentious that Chabon has written this entire story with only allusions to the protagonist being Holmes without ever overtly stating it. Also, the title, if you think on it, well, it gives away the solution.
147) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Um, was I on crack when I read this last year and loved it? My only guess was I loved the history surrounding it or I had read A LOT of crap books around this time, because, yeah, it doesn't stand up to a second reading. The only good part is with the creature, and that is sadly too short and too buried in the text to be worth reading everything else.
148) Winter (The Lunar Chronicles Book #4) by Marissa Meyers: Everyone's story arc ended about where it should, it just had too many threads to juggle and ended up too "Hunger Games" for me to like it as much as some of the other books in the series.
149) Angel and Faith: A Little More Than Kin, Part 2 (Season 10 Issue #20) by Victor Gischler: Hey, battle issue. Snooze.
150) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In Pieces on the Ground, Part 1 (Season 10 Issue #21) by Christos Gage: I want the Zander story! Not Buffy going to Vegas to work out a treaty with unicorn riding Harmony! Oh, and no more fight clubs. THIS IS AN ORDER.
151) The Dark Water: The Strange Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes by David Pirie: Started slowly, but I had hope because I really like the TV series Pirie did about Conan Doyle, and he didn't let me down in the end. Just edit the beginning and it could easily have been a five star book.
152) Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson: Um. Lame. That is all.
153) Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: How can Stevenson write some boring crap like Lumberjanes and then knock it out of the park with Nimona? It's science, it's medieval. It shouldn't work but it does!
154) The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz: Predictable pedo crap.
155) Welcome Home, Bernard Socks by Paul Magrs: More kitteh goodness from Paul. This one follows the adventures of the new cat in Paul and Jeremy's life. Notice I don't say replacement for Fester, because Fester is irreplaceable. Ungow!
156) Arthur and George by Julian Barnes: Do you want to read about how Arthur Conan Doyle had his issues with premature ejaculation? No you don't!?! Why ever not? Well, I guess this book isn't for you. Or for anyone. Just read about the real case on Wikipedia and avoid this oddly lauded book altogether.
157) Sherlock Holmes: The Will of the Dead by George Mann: Sherlock and Steampunk. Yes, they do work together, I just wish that George had melded the two worlds more completely than having two stories running in tandem.
158) The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell Book #1) by Laurie R. King: Do you want to read about Sherlock Holmes being a bit of a romantic pedophile with a spunky side-kick? No? Well, good for you! PS avoid this book.
159) Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max by Noelle Stevenson: Still weird and not fully working, but it got a lot better, as in explaining what was going on, if not a lot better in content... also I want a raccoon hat that is actually a raccoon!
160) Angel and Faith: A Tale of Two Families Part 1 (Season 10 Issue #21) by Victor Gischler: And by some miracle, the final arc of Season Ten starts out good... where was this writing all season I ask?
161) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In Pieces on the Ground, Part 2 (Season 10 Issue #22) by Christos Gage: It went military again. Make it stop!
162) Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #16 by George Mann: Wonderfully fun Christmas story with evil Nutcrackers and toys running amok, and tons of references to past episodes. Love it.
163) Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #1 by George Mann: I like the concept of monsters coming out of paintings, but the reason why the new companion can do this needs to be set up soonish. And cut out the overuse of pastels!
164) Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #2 by George Mann: Crystal shard people... ok...
165) A Winter's Tale by Trisha Ashley: Cute little modern Downtonesque story that doesn't have much depth, but makes up for it just with a general warm glow it creates inside the reader.
166) Jessica Jones - The Pulse: The Complete Collection by Brian Michael Bendis: And that is all he wrote. Right, there's no more bad Jessica Jones comics I have to read and can move onto the show and nothing but the show right? Also, totally not worth my $0.25 late fee at the library to finish it.
167) Fatale, Volume 1: Death Chases My by Ed Brubaker: Better than I thought it would be, part well done Noir part Lovecraftian horror, all it does is make me want to read the rest!
168) Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson Book #4) Patricia Briggs: TOO MUCH FAE POLITICS! I don't like real politics, why would I like Fae?
169) A Bride's Story, Volume 7 by Kaoru Mori: Very lush installment, with lots of boobies. I mean, lots and lots of boobies.
170) Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: Yes, I read it again. It's that awesome. SCIENCE!
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