Books read in 2014

[rolanni]

39.  Spellcast, Barbara Ashford
38.  The Third Circle, Amanda Quick
37. Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City, Phil and Kaja Foglio
36.  Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
35.   Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman (as told to Ralph Leighton)
34.   A Brother's Price, Wen Spencer (e)
33.   Spiral Path, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
32.   Earthly Delights, Kerry Greenwood (e)
31.   Night Broken, Patricia Briggs (e)
30.  Just My Type, Simon Garfield
29.  Bones of Faerie, Janni Lee Simner
28.  Dancer of the Sixth, Michelle Shirey Crean
27.  Tryst, Elswyth Thane (re-re-re-re-re-&c-read)
26.  The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
25.  The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
24.  The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
23.  The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner
22.  Cuckoo's Egg, C.J. Cherryh (re-re-re-&c-read)
21.  The Windflower, Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis) (re-read)
20.  Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire (e)
19.  Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan
18.  Refining Felicity, Marion Chesney
17.  Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (re-read aloud w/Steve)
16. The Vanished Priestess, Meredith Blevins
15.  Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14.  Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
13.  Ghost Point, James A. Hetley, manuscript (read aloud w/Steve)
12.  Peacemaker, C.J. Cherryh (read aloud w/Steve)
11.  The Red Hot Empress, Meredith Blevins
10.  Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
9.  Black Widow: The Name of the Rose, Marjorie Liu, Daniel Acuna
8.  Agent of Change, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (e)
7.  The Emperor's Agent, Jo Graham (e)
6.  Eternity and a Day, Aline Hunter (e)
5.  Kindred Rites, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (e)
4.  Billy the Kid, the Endless Ride, Michael Wallis
3.  The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (e)
2.  Uncovered, Jordan Matter
1.  Dancers Among Us, Jordan Matter

Comments

[reedrover]

What did you think of Spellcast? Did you decide to read it due to the discussion on your "What tastes like Carousel books" conversation?

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

What did you think of Spellcast?

I thought she made some Very Odd Storytelling Choices. I'll need to get in/read the second one in to see how she dealt with the fallout from them.

Did you decide to read it due to the discussion on your "What tastes like Carousel books" conversation?

More or less. Djonn had pointed to the discussion on someone else's journal about the Spell... books in particular hitting the cozy buttons. Which I don't, BTW, agree with. It's true that the story is couched very strongly in Everyday Affairs, but the core is quite horrifying.

[reedrover]

If you didn't enjoy this first one, I recommend you stop now. I read the second one and found I liked the characters less afterwards.

Once the ending started being telegraphed, I discovered it was easier to accept the beguilement and odd choices being made by supposedly down-to-earth characters. Watching the plot unfold due to the Mysterious External Forces (tm) applied to the characters made it a lot less real. YMMV, of course.

(Full disclosure: I really enjoyed the first book.)