sausconys_books

12:08 pm: 21St Century SF Mistressworks Meme
1 Solitaire, Kelley Eskridge (2002)
2 Warchild [Warchild], Karin Lowachee (2002)
3 Natural History, Justina Robson (2003)
4 Maul, Tricia Sullivan (2003)
5 The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
6 Spin State, Chris Moriarty (2003)
7 Dante’s Equation, Jane Jensen (2003)
8 Steel Helix [Typhon], Ann Tonsor Zeddies (2003)
9 Life, Gwyneth Jones (2004)
10 Nylon Angel [Parrish Plessis], Marianne de Pierres (2004) DNF
11 The Courtesan Prince [Oka-Rel Universe], Lynda Williams (2004)
12 Survival [Species Imperative], Julie E Czernada (2004)
13 Banner of Souls, Liz Williams (2004)
14 City of Pearl [Wess'har Wars], Karen Traviss (2004)
15 The Year of Our War, Steph Swainston (2004)
16 Bio Rescue, SL Viehl (2004) I read Stardoc, WILL NOT ever touch any of her books again (rape is not love, rape is not romance)
17 Apocalypse Array [Archangel Protocol], Lyda Morehouse (2004)
18 The Child Goddess, Louise Marley (2004)
19 Alanya to Alanya [Marq'ssan Cycle], L Timmel Duchamp (2005)
20 Carnival, Elizabeth Bear (2006)
21 Mindscape, Andrea Hairston (2006)
22 Farthing [Small Change], Jo Walton (2006)
23 Half Life, Shelley Jackson (2006)
24 The Carhullan Army, Sarah Hall (2007)
25 Bright of the Sky [The Entire and the Rose], Kay Kenyon (2007)
26 Principles of Angels [Hidden Empire], Jainne Fenn (2008)
27 Watermind, MM Buckner (2008)
28 The Rapture, Liz Jensen (2009)
29 Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (2010)
30 Walking the Tree, Kaaron Warren (2010)
31 Birdbrain, Johanna Sinisalo (2010)
32 Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (2010)
33 Song of Scarabaeus, Sara Creasy (2010)

12:07 pm: SF Mistressworks Meme
I can't remember if I posted this here before or not.


( List )

05:55 am: 2012 Books Read
I decided not to put too much pressure on myself, so I'm not signing up for any challenges. My own personal challenges to myself are to try to read 75 books, 50 of which I own. I'm including everything: audiobooks, short juvenile books, manga and other comics...





Tags: 2012 reading challenge, 50 book challenge, 75 book challenge

04:13 pm: long time, no post
I'm back, sort of. I don't know how often I will post, but it will be a heck of a lot more regular now than it has been for the past year+ (although the spouse and I are trying to have a baby, so I'll probably be completely exhausted if I get pregnant and then who know how much time I'll have to myself for the next 18 years :-P). I've been taking care of myself as best I can in the wake of the worst year of my life last year (losing my mom, the spouse losing not one but two jobs, and various other crap). I've also been very distracted by various things that make me happy: Sims 3, listening to lots of synthpop, and my favorite NHL team winning the Stanley Cup last year (I went to the victory parade!) and thus being on TV channels I get a few times per week, every week. I also had serious laptop issues, starting with a weird touch pad that caused my browser to go back a page if I touched it the wrong way (which was actually a hard drive issue because both laptops that had that drive in them did the same thing), which made me loose countless LJ entries. It also had a missing 6 key, space bar issues, and finally, it started randomly rebooting. I just got a netbook for my birthday this week, so I will have much less frustration from now on.

I'm still reading and listening to audiobooks all the time and I've started another massive weed-out project because I have books overflowing out of every bookcase- and no room to put more bookcases. Hmm, let's see, reading highlights from the past year:

• I finally finished the Fullmetal Alchemist manga: Wow! And now that I've collected all of them, I have to read them again!
• I read a bunch more books by Julia Quinn (but still have one series left to read) and the only ones I loved were the Bridgerton books and the first of her new series, Just Like Heaven (and I love that the second book, coming out next month, also has a Cure song title!).
• I'm in the middle of Kristine Smith's Jani Kilian series and it keeps getting better and better
• After a rough start with the first Ariane Kedros book by Laura E. Reeve, I restarted it in January and read it in a couple days. I'll be finishing the series this month.
• I'm reading a Laiden book a month this year, so I'll finally catch up on the series this summer
• My library has free digital audiobooks, so I've been listening to any Tamora Pierce books available and reading those that aren't available as audiobooks. I hope to finish the Immortals, Circle of Magic, and Trickster series this year.
• Because my brain just wasn't up to anything too complex for most of last year, I had a hard time reading Downbelow Station, but I finally finished it near the end of the year and loved it. Her books are so worth the extra effort it takes to read them! I hope to finish the Merchanter segment of the Alliance-Union series this year.
• I read the first nine Babylon 5 novels and the only two that impressed me were The Shadow Within and To Dream in the City of Sorrows. I have the three B5 trilogies to read this year. I'm tempted to watch the show again already too!
• Speaking of rewatching due to reading, I plan to also rewatch Farscape now that I'm almost done reading the comics.
• And I've been mooching and buying the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels and hope to buy the complete series on DVD in the next month or two. DS9 is my favorite Trek show.
• I don't know how I managed to overlook Peter S. Beagle for so long, especially since The Last Unicorn was one of my favorite movies growing up. I read The Last Unicorn a couple years ago and just read Tamsin recently. I have 3 more unread Beagle books, so I hope to read them all this year.

03:16 pm: updated series I need to finish post
Well, I've finished off some, but started others, so I think there's over 50 series I'm currently in the middle of. Oy!

( Here is the very long list of series books I need to read )

Tags: series, unfinished series

03:12 pm: forthcoming books
( large list )

Tags: forthcoming

03:56 pm: 2011 reading challenges
I swore I wasn't going to do many challenges this year because I failed at most of them last year, but I still read a lot of books and discovered some new favorite authors and books. Most of my challenges for this year will be in categories I make up myself on various LibraryThing communities. But I couldn't resist these four:

2011 Fantasy Reading Challenge: I'm going to try for the Obsessed level because I think I can probably read 20 fantasy novels with no problem- and I have plenty on my shelves to choose from.

1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
2. Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
3. Catwings Collection by Ursula K. LeGuin
4. Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light by Tanya Huff
5. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
6. Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
7. Child of the Grove by Tanya Huff
8. Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
9. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
10. The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
11. The Last Wizard by Tanya Huff
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
13. Abarat by Clive Barker
14. The Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff
15. Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of Wars by Clive Barker
16. Cast in Ruin by Michelle Sagara
17. Changes by Mercedes Lackey
18. The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff
19. Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce
20. The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
21. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
22. Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce


2011 Futuristic/Sci-Fi Reading Challenge: I'm doing the Dwellar level here because I know I can read 12 SF books this year.

1. Killbox by Ann Aguirre
2. Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff
3. Heavy Time by C. J. Cherryh
4. The Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley
5. The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley
6. The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff
7. Hellburner by C. J. Cherryh
8. The Heart of Valor by Tanya Huff
9. Resurrection Code by Lyda Morehouse
10. Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff
11. Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy
12. Babylon 5: Voices by John Vornholt
13. The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff
14. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
15. Babylon 5: Accusations by Lois Tilton
16. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
17. Life, The Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
18. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
19. Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith
20. Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
21. Babylon 5: Blood Oath by John Vornholt
22. I Dare by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
23. Babylon 5: Clark's Law by Jim Mortimore
24. Aftermath by Ann Aguirre
25. Babylon 5: The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name by Neil Barrett, Jr.
26. Carnelians by Catherine Asaro
27. Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
28. The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos
29. To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan

Science Fiction Challenge II: I'm going for eight books here, which I'm already close to, but I'll keep track of all of my SF reading from August 2010 to August 2011 and see how many I can read. My science fiction reading has been diminishing more and more every year, even though it's my first love. I think for a while, I just didn't have the spoons/brain power to read SF, but now the fog seems to have cleared and all I'm really in the mood for is science fiction right now.

1. City of Sorcery by Marion Zimmer Bradley
2. Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
3. The Heirs of Hammerfell by Marion Zimmer Bradley
4. Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy
5. Star of Danger by Marion Zimmer Bradley
6. Killbox by Ann Aguirre
7. Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff
8. Heavy Time by C. J. Cherryh
9. The Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley
11. The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff
12. Hellburner by C. J. Cherryh
13. The Heart of Valor by Tanya Huff
14. Resurrection Code by Lyda Morehouse
15. Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff
16. Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy
17. Babylon 5: Voices by John Vornholt
18. The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff
19. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
20. Babylon 5: Accusations by Lois Tilton
21. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
22. Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
23. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
24. Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith
25. Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
26. Babylon 5: Blood Oath by John Vornholt


Series Challenge Season 5: I have to read at least three books for this one that will either finish a series or get me caught up on an ongoing series.

1. Killbox by Ann Aguirre
2. Resurrection Code by Lyda Morehouse
3. Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
4. Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy
5. Aftermath by Ann Aguirre
6. Carnelians by Catherine Asaro
7. Cast in Ruin by Michelle Sagara
8. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder





Tags: 2011 challenges, reading challenges

07:45 pm: I haven't had the time or the spoons to post much lately. I'm reading slowly and I went on a science fiction tear to start the year. I'm enjoying Tanya Huff's Torin Kerr series and C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union series. Sorry to all the Darkover fans, but I gave up on that series because, for the most part, MZB and I just do not get along. I liked the Free Amazons stuff, but other than that, I've pretty much hated every book I've read by her (including The Mists of Avalon). Now I'm reading Resurrection Code by Lyda Morehouse, which in addition to Clive Barker's third Abarat book, is my most anticipated read of 2011 and so far, it's living up to expectations.

Two other books I've read this year I should mention are The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin, which I enjoyed but at the same time thought was over-rated, and Killbox by Ann Aguirre which was the first of her Jax books that left me feeling dissatisfied.

I'm hoping to pick up Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy soon because I liked the first book quite a bit. It was nice to finally pick up a book by a new author and like it.

Books in the TBR pile:
Seer of Sevenwaters and Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
Peacekeeper by Laura Reeve
Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff

I've been rewatching Babylon 5 and I kind of forgot how much I love that show, even though one major storyline breaks my heart every damned time. If it weren't for Farscape, Babylon 5 would be my favorite show ever. I'm also rewatching Star Trek TNG and next time I do this, I'm going to have to remind myself to skip over seasons one and two entirely because I really can't stand 99 percent of these episodes. Thankfully, season three will be starting soon.

02:58 pm: 2010 Challenges
( List of challenges )
( List of challenges )

Tags: 2010 challenges, reading challenges

03:46 pm: 2010 50/75 book challenge
I decided that 50 books isn't enough of a challenge for me now that my health is a bit better, plus I really need to attack my TBR pile. Therefore, I'm doing a 75 books challenge, but at least 50 of those books have to be books I own, at least at the time I'm reading them (if I don't like them enough to keep, they will go on swap sites). So my 50 book challenge and my read your own books challenge are exactly the same this year.

( The List )

Tags: 2010 challenges, 50 book challenge, 75 book challenge