happy new year (2013) style
i thought i would share my first books read list - in this case from 2012. normally, there would be more books on the list but i took a hiatus from reading for about 4 months during a transition period in my life when i had to focus all my extra energies and time on what was happening around me.
without further ado, and with little preposition, i will add my list and will state that i thought long and hard about what i express for each book and while some may disagree with my assessments, my views will not be swayed with even the most persuasive arguments. feel free to comment though, i love an opinion, even those different from my own.
Title – Author – Overall impression (not a review) – Grade (1-10)
The System of the World – Neal Stephenson – Moments of absolute brilliance and a compelling, intricate plot; heavy reading – 9
A Visit From the Goon Squad – Jennifer Egan – Threadlike connected character stories with a commentary on the perversion of (and in) the music “business” – 8
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins – Gritty survivalist story with an intensely paced plot written for a teenaged audience but exploring possibly inappropriate adult themes – 6
Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins – Well manipulated plot twists and a continuation of the intensely paced plot from the first book in the series – 6
Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins – Interesting psychological evaluation of war with a disconnected ending and epilogue – 4
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (translated to English) – Stieg Larsson (Reg Keeland) – Subtle, heartfelt character development with unique texture to the prose and plot – 8
The Girl Who Played with Fire (translated to English) – Stieg Larsson (Reg Keeland) – More secrets revealed and more of the same magic that imbued the first novel – 8
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (translated to English) – Stieg Larsson (Reg Keeland)– A disappointing continuation of the second novel with an interesting, if less believable plot, and mixed character interactions – 6
Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin – Multi-perspective story with some very memorable characters and a very steady plot – 7
A Clash of Kings – George R. R. Martin – Addition of new characters and new perspectives with an ever expanding but still very steady plot – 7
A Storm of Swords – George R. R. Martin – Addition of even more characters and more perspectives with an ever expanding and still very steady plot – 7
A Feast for Crows – George R. R. Martin – Multi-perspective continuation of incidental characters from the previous three books – 7
A Dance with Dragons – George R. R. Martin – A return to the primary character perspectives from the first three books; a simultaneous and then continuation of the story of the fourth book – 7
The Mark of Athena – Rick Riordan – A worthy next volume in a series intended for a middle-school aged audience to build interest in Greek and Roman mythology – 6
Animal Farm – George Orwell – A perfect deliberately written satire on the natural progression of political systems as they decay and mutate over time – 8
Agnes Grey – Anne Bronte – A much less sensational Victorian heroine than either of her sisters wrote, yet with eloquent imagery, understated complex character relationships, and thoughtful symbolism – 6
The Scarlet Pimpernel – Emuska Orczy – An elegantly written adventure novel with an agonizing romance and a semi-obvious ending (by today's standards) – 7
my choice of books is a bit disoriented and i tend to choose them randomly or on the advice of others. feel free to offer me suggestions for next year's list.
with that i leave you with peace, happiness and a story that transports you to wonderful far away places.
