Caroline's 2024 Reading Log
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1craso
Hello Friends! Here we go again! I read 26 books last year and that it my goal for this year.
1. The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland (Finished 1/14/2024)
2. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard (Finished 1/29/2024)
3. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett (Finished 2/06/2024)
4. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Finished 3/12/2024)
5. The Venus Hunters by J G Ballard (Finished 3/20/2024)
6. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab (Finished 4/15/2024)
7. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Finished 5/2/2024)
8. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (Finished 5/19/2024)
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1. The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland (Finished 1/14/2024)
2. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard (Finished 1/29/2024)
3. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett (Finished 2/06/2024)
4. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Finished 3/12/2024)
5. The Venus Hunters by J G Ballard (Finished 3/20/2024)
6. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab (Finished 4/15/2024)
7. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Finished 5/2/2024)
8. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (Finished 5/19/2024)
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2threadnsong
And much success in achieving it, Caroline!
3Sergeirocks
Good Luck with your goal, Caroline, and Happy Reading in 2024! ☺️
4craso
>2 threadnsong:,>3 Sergeirocks: Thank you!
5craso
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland 4 Stars
The author uses vampires and immortality to tell the story of the cycle of endings and new beginnings that life brings. Colette/Anna/Anya has lived her long life taking care of the weak and the innocent. Her grandfather gives her the "gift" of immortality, which she considers to be a curse. She only sees the horrors of the world. She looses her family and friends as the years go by. Then Colette meets Leo, a 5 year old artistic genius, and she realizes the love she has always deserved will be found after the life she is living ends.
This is a vampire novel, but that is not the real theme of the novel, it's just used to explain the main character's long life. If you enjoy books about immortals, vampires, or the many changes that come with life, you will enjoy this novel.
The author uses vampires and immortality to tell the story of the cycle of endings and new beginnings that life brings. Colette/Anna/Anya has lived her long life taking care of the weak and the innocent. Her grandfather gives her the "gift" of immortality, which she considers to be a curse. She only sees the horrors of the world. She looses her family and friends as the years go by. Then Colette meets Leo, a 5 year old artistic genius, and she realizes the love she has always deserved will be found after the life she is living ends.
This is a vampire novel, but that is not the real theme of the novel, it's just used to explain the main character's long life. If you enjoy books about immortals, vampires, or the many changes that come with life, you will enjoy this novel.
6craso
River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard 4 1/2 Stars
Theodore Roosevelt's ill-fated journey down an Amazonian river is told by Candice Millard in a easy to read, yet detailed book. The author covers everything from Roosevelt's personal life to the ecology of the rainforest. We learn about the people on the exploration team, who they were and what motivated them to survey a rain soaked, insect infested, unknown river with dangerous natives living on it's banks. If you enjoy reading easily accessible history books or adventurous stories of exploration, you will enjoy reading this book.
Theodore Roosevelt's ill-fated journey down an Amazonian river is told by Candice Millard in a easy to read, yet detailed book. The author covers everything from Roosevelt's personal life to the ecology of the rainforest. We learn about the people on the exploration team, who they were and what motivated them to survey a rain soaked, insect infested, unknown river with dangerous natives living on it's banks. If you enjoy reading easily accessible history books or adventurous stories of exploration, you will enjoy reading this book.
8craso
>7 JulieLill: This is my first Candice Millard book. My husband reads a lot of history books and recommended it to me.
9craso
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett 4 Stars
This was an unusual book for me to read. I read The Glass Key as an audiobook and enjoyed it very much. This novel was much more violent. The reason I decided to read it is because it was the inspiration for the Coen brother's movie Blood Simple, Kurosawa's Yojimbo, and Leone's A Fist full of Dollars. It's considered a classic detective novel.
An unnamed detective from the Continental Ops Agency goes to meet Donald Willsson about a job. Willisson is found dead before they can meet, so the detective decides it's his job to find his killer. What he finds is a town full of rival mobs, a corrupt police force, and an sick elderly patriarch who hires him to clean up the town.
This was an unusual book for me to read. I read The Glass Key as an audiobook and enjoyed it very much. This novel was much more violent. The reason I decided to read it is because it was the inspiration for the Coen brother's movie Blood Simple, Kurosawa's Yojimbo, and Leone's A Fist full of Dollars. It's considered a classic detective novel.
An unnamed detective from the Continental Ops Agency goes to meet Donald Willsson about a job. Willisson is found dead before they can meet, so the detective decides it's his job to find his killer. What he finds is a town full of rival mobs, a corrupt police force, and an sick elderly patriarch who hires him to clean up the town.
10craso
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 4 Stars
David Mitchell is an impressive author. He has the ability to write six separate stories in completely different styles that link together through themes and plot devices. The main theme is how humans pray on one another through tribes. These tribes can be literal tribes or may take the form of, races, or corporations, or unions. They pray on people who are different because of age or economics or skin color. Another theme is reincarnation. Each of the main characters are reincarnations of the other and they all have the same birth mark.
Starting this novel was not easy. I had to get used to the style of writing in each section. Each story is set in a different time period and written in the style of that time. The stories set in the future are written in unique styles and the last story has a unique dialect. After the middle story it becomes easier.
I wasn't sure about this novel until I read the middle story, then it all came together and I understood where it was going. If you enjoy novels with separate intertwining stories and social themes, then you will like this novel.
David Mitchell is an impressive author. He has the ability to write six separate stories in completely different styles that link together through themes and plot devices. The main theme is how humans pray on one another through tribes. These tribes can be literal tribes or may take the form of, races, or corporations, or unions. They pray on people who are different because of age or economics or skin color. Another theme is reincarnation. Each of the main characters are reincarnations of the other and they all have the same birth mark.
Starting this novel was not easy. I had to get used to the style of writing in each section. Each story is set in a different time period and written in the style of that time. The stories set in the future are written in unique styles and the last story has a unique dialect. After the middle story it becomes easier.
I wasn't sure about this novel until I read the middle story, then it all came together and I understood where it was going. If you enjoy novels with separate intertwining stories and social themes, then you will like this novel.
11craso
The Venus Hunters by J G Ballard 4 Stars
I'm so glad I found this short story collection at my local used bookstore. I want to read more Ballard, but I have only found this author's works as e-books and I prefer to read paper books. I have read two of his novels as e-books, High-rise and Drowned World.
The stories in this book are a bit dated, but I thought they were very clever and entertaining. Some reviews characterize them as bizarre. They are all either set on another planet or in the future or in a reality slightly different from ours. The stories explore themes of time, reality, lust, jealousy, envy, and insanity. If you like unusual short stories you will like this book.
I'm so glad I found this short story collection at my local used bookstore. I want to read more Ballard, but I have only found this author's works as e-books and I prefer to read paper books. I have read two of his novels as e-books, High-rise and Drowned World.
The stories in this book are a bit dated, but I thought they were very clever and entertaining. Some reviews characterize them as bizarre. They are all either set on another planet or in the future or in a reality slightly different from ours. The stories explore themes of time, reality, lust, jealousy, envy, and insanity. If you like unusual short stories you will like this book.
12craso
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab 3.5 Stars
This is a Faustian tale. Addie Larue sells her soul for total freedom and immortality. As everyone knows, when you bargain with your soul, there are usually caveats. Addie's limitation is that no one ever remembers her once she is out of sight. This makes her seem invisible.
I wanted to like this novel more than I did. The concept is great. A woman who lives her life without ever being remembered. It was interesting to see how she acquired her basics needs; food, shelter, clothing, etc. I also liked how she found her way around the curse and was able to leave her mark on the world.
What turned me off about the book was it sometimes reads like a young adult novel. When Addie is finally able to be in a long term romantic relationship without it starting over new every morning, her love interest Henry and his friends read like a teen romance novel.
I read a novel earlier this year The God of Endings which was also about an immortal woman and I enjoyed it more than this novel.
This is a Faustian tale. Addie Larue sells her soul for total freedom and immortality. As everyone knows, when you bargain with your soul, there are usually caveats. Addie's limitation is that no one ever remembers her once she is out of sight. This makes her seem invisible.
I wanted to like this novel more than I did. The concept is great. A woman who lives her life without ever being remembered. It was interesting to see how she acquired her basics needs; food, shelter, clothing, etc. I also liked how she found her way around the curse and was able to leave her mark on the world.
What turned me off about the book was it sometimes reads like a young adult novel. When Addie is finally able to be in a long term romantic relationship without it starting over new every morning, her love interest Henry and his friends read like a teen romance novel.
I read a novel earlier this year The God of Endings which was also about an immortal woman and I enjoyed it more than this novel.
13craso
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett 4.5 Stars
The novel opens with Dinios Kol investigating a dead body at the mansion of one of the most powerful families in the Empire of Khanum. The servant girls are hysterical over the state of the dead man. When Din gets to the room where the body lies, he is stunned by the sight. It looks as though a tree has burst out of the man. Such contagion has only been seen one of other time in the empire. Din is the assistant to Ana Dolabra, a reclusive investigator for Iudex, a branch of the military that investigates crimes. Din is an engraver, someone who can imprint a scene or conversation and remember it down to the most minute detail. Ana relies on him to be her eyes and ears while she lives as far away from stimulus as possible, including wearing a blindfold at most times. This is just the first of many murders that relate to a conspiracy that will rock the foundations of the empire.
Robert Jackson Bennett has done an excellent job of world building. The new world is easy to follow with a map at the front of the book along and a list of military ranks. In the acknowledgements, Bennett mentions Nero Wolfe novels. This book is compared to Holmes and Watson style mysteries, but it is more like a Nero Wolfe novel. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. I have read and enjoyed many of Bennett's books before, but I couldn't get into his last fantasy/science fiction series. This novel was great and I look forward to reading more in the series.
The novel opens with Dinios Kol investigating a dead body at the mansion of one of the most powerful families in the Empire of Khanum. The servant girls are hysterical over the state of the dead man. When Din gets to the room where the body lies, he is stunned by the sight. It looks as though a tree has burst out of the man. Such contagion has only been seen one of other time in the empire. Din is the assistant to Ana Dolabra, a reclusive investigator for Iudex, a branch of the military that investigates crimes. Din is an engraver, someone who can imprint a scene or conversation and remember it down to the most minute detail. Ana relies on him to be her eyes and ears while she lives as far away from stimulus as possible, including wearing a blindfold at most times. This is just the first of many murders that relate to a conspiracy that will rock the foundations of the empire.
Robert Jackson Bennett has done an excellent job of world building. The new world is easy to follow with a map at the front of the book along and a list of military ranks. In the acknowledgements, Bennett mentions Nero Wolfe novels. This book is compared to Holmes and Watson style mysteries, but it is more like a Nero Wolfe novel. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. I have read and enjoyed many of Bennett's books before, but I couldn't get into his last fantasy/science fiction series. This novel was great and I look forward to reading more in the series.
14craso
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse 4.5 Stars
This is a classic retelling of Buddha's life. The introduction mentions how Hesse took from different traditional India sources as well as his time of psychoanalysis with C G Jung to write this novel. It is a simple story of a spiritual seeker looking for oneness and God within himself. Siddhartha comes from a wealthy family and gives everything up to become an ascetic. He then seeks a sensual life with a lover and becomes a wealthy businessman. He finds his sensual life meaningless and in despair and loss learns enlightenment from a river and gathers meaning from a ferryman guru and those he ferries across it.
This is a classic retelling of Buddha's life. The introduction mentions how Hesse took from different traditional India sources as well as his time of psychoanalysis with C G Jung to write this novel. It is a simple story of a spiritual seeker looking for oneness and God within himself. Siddhartha comes from a wealthy family and gives everything up to become an ascetic. He then seeks a sensual life with a lover and becomes a wealthy businessman. He finds his sensual life meaningless and in despair and loss learns enlightenment from a river and gathers meaning from a ferryman guru and those he ferries across it.
