Books 2012 : Fiction

As I said in a previous post, I read too much to fit all of my reviews for a year into a single post, so here is my 2012 reading list which I will endeavour to follow with more detailed commentary.

I was given a Kindle for Christmas 2011.  For a long time I was unsure about giving up paperbacks for their digital equivalent.  Having made the move I am very glad I did. For me the Kindle was the perfect choice.  I now also have an ipad, but for my everyday reading I use the Kindle.

There are always those occasions where a book isn't available electronically, or it is just cheaper to buy it from the Book Depository UK in hard form than to buy it electronically, but for convenience I buy it as an ebook wherever I can.

One of the things I love is that Amazon keeps a handy list of my books, so I only have to remember the hard copy ones, and those I borrowed. I was surprised to find when compiling this list that Amazon does not allow you to export that list.  Instead I have chosen to use Calibre, which also syncs up with GoodReads.

My other happy find of 2012 was a great list of free books from Amazon, updated daily http://www.squidoo.com/the-best-of-amazon-daily-free-ebooks-kindle-ipad.
You get a good sized serving of chaff with the wheat, but if you're on a budget and willing to sort through reviews to see what is going to suit you it's a good thing to know.

Classics

 

With the arrival of so many Massive Open Online Courses line edX and Coursera I had to check some out.  For some reason I thought a class on Fantasy and Sci-fi  fiction would be interesting.  As part of the course work I read a few things I might not have otherwise read, but overall I find the forum focus of the classes to be a bit too full of ego for my taste.  The arts is not about being right but about being interested and interesting. Not that I bothered to say that and let them lay waste to my view of course.

More on trolls (Internet and fictional) some other time perhaps.

Grimm, Jacob    Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm
Stoker, Bram    Dracula

Speculative fiction, Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Larson, B.V.    Technomancer (Unspeakable Things: Book One)
Jemisin, Jemisin    The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance Trilogy 1)
Brockway, Robert    Rx - Episode 1: The Blackouts (Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity)
Hunter, Elizabeth    A Hidden Fire: Elemental Mysteries Book 1
Grant, Mira    Feed
Grant, Mira    Deadline: The Newsflesh Trilogy: Book 2
Grant, Mira    Blackout: The Newsflesh Trilogy: Book 3
Scott, Paul    The Jewel In The Crown (The Raj quartet)
Cooley, Trevor H.    Eye of the Moonrat (The Bowl of Souls: Book One)
Lee, Jack J.    Hero's Curse (The Paladin Files)
Donaldson, Stephen R.    Lord Foul's Bane (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Donaldson, Stephen R.    The Illearth War (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Donaldson, Stephen    The Real Story & Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap Sequence: 1: v. 1 (Gap Into 1 & 2)
Donaldson, Stephen    This Day All Gods Die: The Gap Sequence: 4: v. 4 (Gap Into 5)
Donaldson, Stephen    A Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap Sequence: 2: v. 2 (Gap Into 3)
Donaldson, Stephen    Chaos and Order: The Gap Sequence: 3: v. 3 (Gap Into 4)
Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series
Engdahl, Sylvia    Stewards of the Flame
Reid, Ruthanne    The Sundered

 

Mainstream & Young Adult

 

On reflection I think the YA genre has always been my genre of choice even though it is relatively newly (un)defined.  Maybe my ppsyche is stuck back there for some reason, but I love it because it is brave enough to take some risks that I think fiction aimed at a more mass market backs away from. Teenagers are fearless after all and much more open minded and unbreakable than people think.  I wish I had been kinder to my teenage self.

 

Green, John    The Fault in Our Stars
Stockett, Kathryn    The Help
Barnes, Julian    The Sense of an Ending
Kidd, Sue Monk    The Secret Life of Bees
Jacobson, Howard    The Finkler Question
Hemmings, Kaui Hart    The Descendants
Nicolai, Adam J    Alex
Brown, Pat    Only the Truth
Christopher, Thomas    Never Too Far
Lin, Sheng-Shih    Daughter of the Bamboo Forest
Irving, John    In One Person
I actually bothered to review this at the time so I won't repeat it here.
Johnston, G. S.    Consumption: A Novel
Sawyer, S.D.    Prelude to Reveille: A Vietnam Awakening
Cronin, Keith    Me Again
Alster, Pam    Robin's Blue
Nevola, John E.    The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II
Bekendam, P. D.    Prime of Life
Prosapio, Stephen    Dream War
Kraus, Jim    The Dog That Talked to God
I seemed to read a number of books with religious themes this year.  This was more by accident than design. as I am the least spiritual person you are ever likely to meet.

Books I started but didn't finish

Roman, Mark    The Ultimate Inferior Beings

Books 2012: Audiobooks and podcasts

If I have learnt a lesson recently it is that I need to write reviews as I finish the book, movie, meal, whatever.  Having left everything to the end of the year I find I need to split things up into manageable chunks.

Audio Books and Podcasts

In 2012 I listened to as many stories as I read, maybe more.  This was due to a continued enjoyment of my favourite podcasts, an attempt to increase the number of times I ride to work and a better set of earphones.
My podcasts of choice for 2012 were Pod Castle, Escape Pod, Star Ship Sofa, Selected Shorts - PRI and The History of Rome.

My audio faves of 2012 were;

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I seem to have come to Science Fiction a little later in life than you might expect. My journey to it has passed through fantasy to speculative fiction and back to some of those books I probably should have read in my teens.

Ender's Game is one of those I am grateful to have discovered.
I actually listened to Ender's Game rather than reading it. I was painting the spare room in 40 degree C heat at the time and multi-tasked by having this playing on my i-phone through Audible.

Experiencing this book nearly 30 years after it was published makes me all the more appreciative of some of its concepts, and the way that science fiction becomes science fact.

The way in which social media, portrayed in Ender's Game on "the nets" where Peter and Valentine mould public opinion to suit their own aims, is simply remarkable. It reminds me that Science Fiction is far less about science than it is about the human condition and psychology laid bare by stripping away what we think we know about ourselves.

In the 80's Orson Scott Card would have been seeing Usenet groups and Bulletin Boards. In Ender's Game he talks about the nets as being regional, and I suppose to some extent we see some of that today despite the global nature of communications.

The theme of the uniting common enemy is one which flows through so much Science Fiction and its is not missing here. The Nuremburg defence comes through in this novel as strongly as it does in Stephen Donaldson's Gap series. For the protagonist, Ender, it goes further. He isn't just following orders, he has been deliberately manipulated into ignorance of the consequences of his own actions.

Is this book violent and disturbing? Yes, of course it is. Does that pose a problem for YA readers? No, I don't believe it does. I don't believe this story does anything to glorify those elements. As in Lord of the Flies it demonstrates that without boundaries children behave as poorly to each other as many adults do. Survival, greed for power and most importantly fear are strong motivators.

Anyone who thinks that children cannot be cruel and unkind and viscous with each other under certain circumstances, or simply when it suits their own ends, has forgotten those moments in the playground when it happened to them. True, most of these instances will not include physical violence, thankfully, but words can often do much more than blows. I don't think many would advocate Ender's approach to dealing with bullying however.

I'm surprised this book is not included in the Australian School curriculum. While Lord of the Flies was probably a great book for those coming out of the post war era in the last century surely this novel was one more appropriate for the Gen Y's, where perhaps the Hunger Games will be for Generation Next.

Certainly there is a lot of the cold war elements here which are dated in light of the modern day conflicts that we see, many of which are civil wars albeit supported by outside states in various ways, but there are themes of religious freedoms which could be unearthed from this novel which may be very relevant.

The character of Alai is intriguing and I understand he features in future books in the series which I look forward to exploring.

Ender’s Game would make a great text from which to start exploring the topic of ethics. You don't have to agree with any of the decisions made in this book to find something worth discussing about it. I think that is the most important role of fiction, to make us challenge what we believe, either to help us change it, or to enable us to explain why we hold the values we do.

I also wonder if there is something of The Outliers in this story. Ender may have been specially selected for his genetic heritage (though it is unclear how as neither of his parents appeared to show any of his characteristics), but it could be argued that the time at which he was born, and the sheer number of hours he trained, (surely at least the required 10,000 hours to become expert at something) might have made nearly any child into the military 'genius' the society needed him to be.

This was one of the richest stories I've encountered in a while and I feel really lucky that I don't have to wait for the next book in the series to come out. There is a lot to be said for being a late adopter in this case.

 

The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

No one could read Stephen Fry other than Stephen Fry. There is just something quintessential - the use of so many exact, erudite, and sometimes obscure words would seem inappropriate coming from someone else’s lips, but from Stephen, exquisite.

Listening to this volume of his autobiography makes me fall in love with the English language all over again. For all its twists and turns, designed seemingly to irritate the uninitiated, it is like poetry when it spills out in Fry's ever so english accent.

We listened to this volume while driving to my Mother's for Christmas in late 2011, so it a bit of cheat to include this review in my 2012 list but there you have it. It was odd also to be listening to tales of Footlights while driving through the karri forests of south west Western Australia.

It took nothing away from my enjoyment of this story. Nor did the fact that I have next to nothing in common with Stephen Fry. His desire to join in could not be further from my own introverted notion of choosing not to be noticed most of the time. And yet here is something there, something in the vulnerability that he shares so freely that is intoxicating.

Stephen Fry would have to be one of those people you'd have at a dream dinner party, if only you thought for a moment you wouldn't bore him silly the whole time he was there.

There is a theme in my reading for 2012 (ok 2011 and 2012) in how the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours rule applied. I have no doubt at all that despite his near genius IQ, Stephen Fry's true success comes from the sheer number of hours he has spent doing what he does best, entertaining others, with what appears to be a desperate desire to please others. And he succeeds tremendously.

That he is a flawed protagonist in his own stories is without doubt. But therein lies the magic of any good story.

I loved this book.

 

Waifs and Strays - the rewards of dog fostering

Fostering dogs from the Dogs’ Refuge Home Shenton Park is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

In November 2011 we lost our beloved Tilly in tragic circumstances. She was my partner’s pride and joy, the canine love of his life, and we found the house to be a hollow shell without the clitter clack of her little feet on the floor boards.

"TILLY"

We were sensible enough to realise that we needed to grieve before we thought about getting another dog, but it soon became clear to us that a house without a dog in it was all wrong.

We’d heard about the fostering program at Shenton Park through a colleague, so we made an appointment to go down to the refuge to talk to someone about whether we would be suitable and generally about what was involved. After a brief conversation we were told that there were two dogs that had just come in who were quite anxious in the refuge and would we like to take them today!

"SNOWY"

Snowy and Rascal were our first fostering experience. They showed us how quickly dogs can move from being anxious little bundles of nerves to cuddly, affectionate, fun loving hounds when put in a safe, caring environment. 

It is profoundly moving to see how quickly dogs go from seeing you as a threatening stranger to regarding you as an integral member of their pack, someone they'll happily follow anywhere and who's lap they will choose to curl up in given half a chance.

We went on to foster four other dogs over the next few months, each for between 2 - 4 weeks. We had the handsome older gentleman, Jangles, the highly strung but now happy and relaxed Portia and Presley, the awesome Ted and the sadly departed Graham.

Each had a special set of challenges from a case of kennel cough, anxiety, recovery from castration and lastly some health issues. Every one of them made our lives richer from having known them, if only for a short time.

"TED" - auditioning for the part of Doug from the movie "UP"

Fostering dogs gives you an opportunity to take a dog out of a stressful situation and show them that life can be better. This sets them up for better adoption chances, and provides the refuge with information about their personality and behaviour that helps to match them with the right family. 

"JANGLES"

Many of these dogs come into the refuge with little or no back story. The name you're given may be completely new to the dog so don't be surprised if they don't respond to it straight away. Some of them come fully toilet trained, some less so.  There are likely to be some unwanted behaviours so you need to be patient and remember that many of these guys have just come in off the street, or out of a pound which can be a very scary place.

When we talk to people about fostering they commonly ask if it is hard to give them back and the answer is a definite yes. But there is nothing as thrilling as checking the Shenton Park web site to see your little foster dog with the big “ADOPTED” sign next to their picture. Seeing a success story from their new family is pretty good too - it’s great to hear that your little buddy is all settled in.

"TED"

There are times in life when committing to a dog of your own just won’t work. Fostering is a really good option. If you travel a lot for work or pleasure, if you’re fly in fly out but home for a few weeks at a time, then think about fostering. Let the refuge home know when you’re available and when you’re not. They are very good at selecting the right dogs for your circumstances.

"SNOWY & RASCAL"

We have since adopted a recycled puppy of our own so we aren’t fostering at the moment. We hope that once we get the toilet training sorted we might be able to start fostering again if he looks like the kind of dog who’ll make a good foster brother.

"SMUDGE" - foster brother in training

If you’re able to get involved in fostering, start out by emailing fosterdrh@gmail.com. I think you’ll find you get as much out of it as the dogs you help, maybe more.

Dear John,

I have read every novel John Irving has published and have enormous respect for many of them. I am totally over the wrestling however.

That has not stopped me from buying his latest novel, 'In One Person', in the hope that there might be all of those wonderfully rich characters with some new imagining and re-imagining of the world.

'In one person' is another good book.  It introduces us to characters who are, in the Irving tradition, flawed yet lovable. Deeply human, they invite you into their intimate circles, to revel in their frailty.

Yet when part way through I find myself shuffled mindlessly into yet another high school wrestling room I feel betrayed and have to put the Kindle away and read something else for a while.

I believe Irving to be a fantastic writer.  He has written some of my all time favourites works. But the over use of the same subject for so many, if not all, of his characters to literally and symbolically 'wrestle' with leaves me feeling a bit cheated. Not everyone in the known world wrestles.  Not everyone in New Hampshire wrestles. There is a sense that there is a lack of imagination here which is in such stark contrast to the dialogue and relationships that unfold throughout his work.   

I'm at the point that although in this novel the wrestling is actually used as part of the plot I find it detracts from everything else. I can accept that if this had been my first Irving I might feel differently, I might find it fits the mood and the story and the character perfectly.  But as readers we don't take in anything in isolation; as people we know that everything is connected. The constant repetition makes me feel as though I have been robbed of the full weight of the story.

The sore spot the wrestling has rubbed raw on me makes it hard to concentrate on the gentle way in which the experience of the explosion of AIDS onto the 1980s GLBT scene is unfolded. The exploration of Bill's cross dressing grandfather is handled beautifully.

This was not his greatest work, not by a long shot, but there are solid characters and lovely vignettes all the same.

I can't promise I'll be reading the next novel.  I can't promise that I won't.

Bonsai and The Mez

Our meals in Northbridge lately have been much more hit than miss and we're delighted.

Since the State Theatre opened in the Cultural Centre precinct we are eating in Northbridge at least six times a year. With our recent great experiences it may end up being more frequent than that.
The latest two success stories have their roots in very different parts of the globe, Greece and Japan.

The Mez

The Mez is a Greek restaurant looking over Russell Square. It's been there a while and all of the reviews I've read were good.  It also helps that you can book online, and for me every phone call I don't have to make is a bonus.

The service was prompt and attentive which is important if you're having a bite before an event. It is also in this year's Entertainment Book, so for those keeping an eye on the budget that has to be a good thing.

We had a couple of weight watchers on the table who went for Greek and Caesar salads+. B made an odd choice for a Greek restaurant, the Fillet Mignon, but I went traditional and selected the house specialty, Lamb Kleftiko.

Mine was the dish of the night, melt in the mouth, tender, tasty meat, delicious tzatziki, steamed vegetables.  Perfect.

Word of Mouth Rating : Sweet

Recommended to;

• Friends
• Family
• Kids
• Colleagues
• The World

The Mez

+ For the record I'm yet to be convinced that either a Greek or Caesar salad is a health food but I guess it outranks anything that comes with fries.

Bonsai

We went to Bonsai as a group of six and quickly decided on a selection of ‘shares’ for the table. The instigator of the event brought pen and paper and made short work of producing a list of our order to provide to the wait staff. It’s a technique that I would recommend.
The instructions on the front of the menu to go for 2-3 dishes per person worked out perfectly for our group, with everyone full without being uncomfortably so.

The food came out quickly and efficiently, with the exception of two dishes that were tempura-rily MIA. Luckily they were worth waiting for.

The mushroom miso soup was served in cute dishes with wooden lids, in fact all of the serving wear was worthy of remark.

The soft shell crab was delicious, and I would argue that the wasabi mayonnaise that came with it would have stood well on its own with just about any dish. The creamy prawn spring rolls with hot english mustard were creamy and crispy all at the same time.

The Red wine pork belly was divine, but I have to admit bias - I don’t recall the last pork belly I tried that I didn’t like.We also sampled the Cajun squid, Fried chicken tasazu, Wagyu beef tataki, the Beef asparagus, Sweet potato and eggplant tempura, Pan fried scallops and Butter soy clams. The clams were underwhelming, but that’s the worst thing I can say about the food.

The pickled ginger and duck slices, last to arrive, were a lovely way to round out the meal.

The wine list included a Forest Hill offering which is always going to be a hit with us. There were also the expected Japanese Beer, plum wine and Saki options.

At about $50 a head including drinks I will happily be returning.

Word of Mouth Rating : Sweet

Recommended to;

• Friends
• Family
• Colleagues
• The World

Bonsai

The War Horse

Gone with the Wind must be writing to ask for it’s closing scene back. The sunset return of the prodigal son and schmaltzy, sentimental, silent reconciliation summed up the film quite well for me. If I had seen that scene first I would likely not have bothered with all that preceded it.

It’s a story of a forgettable farm boy and his horse, separated by the advent of World War I, poverty and poor parental judgement. It had a very Black Beauty feel to the plot as the noble horse meets an alternating string of dastardly and noble characters as he works his way through Europe and back to his boy. As you would expect the majority of the evil deeds performed in the film are carried out by the German soldiers, with an attempt to keep the balance by allowing some of the lesser Germans to be kind and gentle souls as well.

Not a film I would recommend to anyone, and the number of award nominations it received diminishes any respect I had for those institutions.

 The War Horse 

Sour and Sickly Sweet

Books I remember reading - 2011.

2011 was a year of changes in many ways, but one thing that stayed the same was that I read a few books. There have been some absolutely terrific reads among them, some middle of the road and some that I wasn’t even able to finish, which is unlike me in the extreme. I am confident there are more that I have forgotten, but here are those that I remember reading. Let’s start with the ones I liked.

The Ape House by Sara Gruen

I seem to be one of the few people alive who didn’t love Water for Elephants. I don’t know if I read it in the wrong state of mind, but when my father presented me with this gift and told me excitedly that it was by the same author I had to fake a little enthusiasm. Now that I’ve read The Ape House I may go back and give the pachyderms another try.

I loved this book. It immediately drew you in to the characters, human and animal alike, and really made you care what happened to them. It didn’t fall victim to the easy cliches on the relationship front either. I frequently send books I love to a friend of mine, but I couldn’t bear to part with this one.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey


We were holidaying in Thailand for a friend’s 40th birthday (the things you do for your mates, right?) and I was coming to the end of the book I had brought with me when a fellow reveller offered me the one he had just finished reading. We barely knew each other before the trip, but we’d had a few interesting conversations while trying to avoid the company of some pretty high maintenance others, so based on his recommendation I was pretty confident I was going to like this book.

Spot on!

Jasper Jones captured what it was like to be a smart kid growing up in Western Australia. I’ve read reviews that say that the dialogue is unrealistic for kids of that age, but you know what, I think my friends and I had some very much like it. As adults we think of 13 year olds as kids, but when we were 13 we were flirting with the edge of adulthood far more that we would have wanted our parents to know.

A Song of Ice and Fire - Books 1-5 - George RR Martin

These books made 2011 a joyous reading year. Apart from a brief interlude with Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood, it has been a long time since I read something so dense and engaging. These are books that make you think, and imagine, and feel, while spinning a wildly entertaining set of tales.
These books and the TV series have had enough rave reviews that I don’t feel the need to go on. If you’ve read them, you know what I’m talking about, if you haven’t, well there’s no saving you.

The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset - Suzanne Collins

Marketed in the YA genre I wondered what these would be like. I have a deep affection for everything I read when I was growing up and thoroughly enjoyed the style and subject matter. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie. As with Game of Thrones I’m probably preaching to the converted.

Veracity- Laura Bynum

Set in a world where the people are controlled through language and censorship, in retrospect this book reminds me a bit of reverse Blind Faith by Ben Elton. I love a bit of speculative fiction and this was a nice read.


Blink- Malcolm Gladwell

I haven’t listed all the no-fiction I read this year. Next year I will try to do so. This one is a bit of a cheat as I actually re-read it in 2011 while participating in NANOWRIMO. 2012 will include a reading of The Outliers now that I have heard of the 10,000 hour rule.

The Slap - Christos Tsiolkas

I bought this book on the way back from Thailand. (As an aside I love airport bookshops, somehow they seem to have a better selection that anywhere else). I had heard something about it on Radio National at some point so decided to give it a go on the flight back.

I have to say I found it disturbing. There wasn’t a character in the book I actually liked. No one seemed to be able to see anything from anyone else’s point of view, and while I accept that many people are like that, not everyone is. In most groups there are a number of peacemakers, people able to bridge the gaps. It may be that I didn’t fully relate to some of the cultural groups, and I know it was written to be controversial, but I don’t know that my life would have been less rich had I never read this…

The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises- Adam Campbell

I have to be honest; I am WELL into my thirties these days and the low maintenance routine I practiced throughout my twenties just wasn’t cutting it. At the start of 2011 I ordered a home gym on-line from a company called Fitquip. Two days later it was delivered to my home ready to be assembled. To make sure I’d be doing things right I sent off to the Book Depository for a copy of this and I LOVE it.

For me the greatest dangers in exercise are breaks in routine and boredom. No book can help me with the first, but this book has the second one covered.

11.22.63- Stephen King

It has been years since I last read a Stephen King book. I have to say that although the book itself was entertaining, I found some of the catch phrases a little over done. “Life turns on a dime” - ok, I got that the first 10 times already. I shoudl say that I read quite fast. Which means that maybe I don’t need to be reminded of what happened two chapters before quite as often as some other readers might.

But I enjoyed the book more than I expected to. I was going through a hard time and needed distraction and so picked this up as a digestible read, and it fitted the bill nicely.

The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

One of those classics off the BBC top 100 I hadn’t read before.





Amber Dawn - Rebbecca Campbell

This book was a reminder to be discerning in all things. I am well aware that not everything you read on the Internet is true. That isn’t fair. I’m sure the rave reviews I read on the Book Depository UK were true for the people who wrote them. People who like this kind of thing. It was not to my taste, but had I researched the author before my purchase I would have figured out this was a romance.

The danger for me is that once I have started a book it is rare for meant to finish it. Although the ebook cost me about $3, the investment in time I will never recoup. I should also note that this was the first book I read on my new Kindle, which meant that I may have judged it more harshly for the appalling editing. ‘Snake’ instead of ‘Snack’ ‘Their’ instead of ‘they’re’ and so on. I have since to been advised that is not uncommon for ebooks - something that had I known in advance might have made me think twice about making the digital transition.

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

I have forgotten the names of many of the fine books I have read by Indian authors. I wish now I had taken down their names more carefully.



What the Body Remembers: A Novel. Baldwin, Shauna Singh

Almost every time I read a book by an Indian author I wonder why I don’t read more of it. It is rich, dense, complex, sensual. These are never easy to read, but impossible to put down. There is something that gets to heart of what we are as people, the ways in which we are fallible, yet lovable all at the same time. No one is perfect or predictable. The politics and culture that swirl around the characters is delectable.

In the Name of Honour- Richard North Patterson

It’s here because I read it, but there is nothing exceptional to report. War and violence against women both bad. The scenario a bit predictable. Easy reading for when you’re feeling like leaving the brain by the side of the bed next to the water glass.



The Wee Free Men Pratchett, Terry,
Standard Pratchett fare, what you would expect, nothing more and nothing less.





Blind Faith. Elton, Ben
Set in future where nothing is private Elton has turned his gaze on social media and the growing trend of the over-share. Of course he takes all of this to the extreme in his usual way. Nothing especially new here for me, and it lacked something beyond the normal social commentary.


The also rans;

Four Fires Courtenay, Bryce
The Very Thought of You. Alison, Rosie.
A Pale Horse Todd, Charles
Drood Simmons, Dan

I seem to have read a lot of fantasy this year. I think perhaps it is because it’s a big part of our local library and you are more likely to come away with something satisfying without having to think about it too hard. Looking back I seem to have covere Juliet Marillier's back catalogue.  It's nice to be reading someone local.

The Serpent Bride. Douglass, Sara
The Well of Shades. Marillier, Juliet
The Dark Mirror Marillier, Juliet
Blade of Fortriu. Marillier, Juliet
Son of the Shadows. Marillier, Juliet
Child of the Prophecy [Sevenwaters trilogy ; 3]. Marillier, Juliet
Heir to Sevenwaters Marillier, Juliet
Heart's Blood Marillier, Juliet