I don’t always participate in Weekly Geeks — because, to be honest, a lot of them just seem like too much extra work — but I like this week‘s theme! Since I tend to fall exceedingly behind in doing reviews, this digital kick in the pants may be just what I need.
So, here is the giant list of books I have read but not reviewed:
- V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore.
- Great Canadian Short Stories, ed. Alec Lucas.
- Letters to Karen, by Charlie W. Shedd.
- Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett.
- Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett.
- Smilla’s Sense of Snow, by Peter Høeg.
- Absolution by Murder, by Peter Tremayne.
- Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife, by Kate Walker.
- What If . . . ?, by Steve N. Lee.
- Who Do You Think You Are?, by Alice Munro.
- The Roaring Girl, by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker.
- Soul Music, by Terry Pratchett.
- Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy.
- If Only They Could Talk, by James Herriott.
- Whitethorn, by Bryce Courtenay.
- What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, by Daniel Pool.
- Ellis Island and Other Stories, by Mark Helprin.
- Feet of Clay, by Terry Pratchett.
- Jingo, by Terry Pratchett.
- The King’s Daughter, by Suzanne Martel.
- Red Rabbit, by Tom Clancy.
- Sourcery, by Terry Pratchett.
- Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi.
- Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett.
- Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett.
- Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett.
- Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny.
- The Guns of Avalon, by Roger Zelazny.
- Sign of the Unicorn, by Roger Zelazny.
- The Hand of Oberon, by Roger Zelazny.
- The Courts of Chaos, by Roger Zelazny.
- Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
- Four Fires, by Bryce Courtenay.
- Victory Conditions, by Elizabeth Moon.
- Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett.
- Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett.
- I Am America (and So Can You), by Stephen Colbert.
- Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett.
- The Princes of Ireland, by Edward Rutherfurd.
- The Grass is Singing, by Doris Lessing.
- Journey to Cubeville, by Scott Adams.
- The Togakushi Legend Murders, by Yasuo Uchida.
- Jennifer Government, by Max Barry.
- Carpe Jugulum, by Terry Pratchett.
- Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers.
- Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald.
- Asleep, by Banana Yoshimoto.
- The News from Paraguay, by Lily Tuck.
- The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett.
- Girl Meets God, by Lauren F. Winner.
- Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë.
- Storm Glass, by Jane Urqhart.
- Deception on His Mind, by Elizabeth George.
- A Place of Hiding, by Elizabeth George.
- Making Money, by Terry Pratchett.
- Unshelved, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum.
- Library Mascot Cage Match, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum.
- Read Responsibly, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum.
- Thud!, by Terry Pratchett.
- What Would Dewey Do?, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum.
- Lolita, by Vladimir Nabukov.
- Men at Arms, by Terry Pratchett.
- Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett.
- Mort, by Terry Pratchett.
- Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett.
- Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett.
- Playing for the Ashes, by Elizabeth George.
- What Would Wally Do? by Scott Adams.
- Piercing the Darkness, by Frank Peretti.
I know: it’s ridiculous. Seventy-five books languishing, unreviewed? Practically criminal. But here’s where you can help.
In the comments, ask me questions about any books you wish, and/or pick a few books you’d like me to review. I’ll answer those questions and review the books — and drop a link to the appropriate person as I do so.
I’d love to hear from you!
You make me feel so much better about having 56 to be reviewed! Most people only had a few on their list.
What did you think about Asleep? I’ve been thinking about reading Banana Yoshimoto for awhile, mainly because of her name, lol.
Did you like Gaudy Night? That’s one of my favourite Dorothy Sayers!
What about Tess? I hated that book! lol But I had a really old library copy, and the last chapter had fallen out. So for a long time, I thought Tess got away with murder-I had no idea she’d been hanged. Isn’t that crazy?
Wow! That is a lot of books. I don’t think I would be able to review that many all at one time. Kudos when you do it.
I’ve seen the trailers for V for Vendetta and it looks really good. Is the novel better than the movie? Did the produces stick pretty close to the book? How would you describe this novel to someone who hasn’t come across it before?
The graphic novel is better than the movie. The movie is also really good, and sticks fairly closely to the story. It does cut a few minor plotlines (mainly for time reasons), but it’s still quite good.
For the most overall enjoyment, I’d suggest seeing the movie first, and then reading the graphic novel. That way, you won’t be disappointed with the changes the movie makes.
I would love to see a giant post in which you discussed all the Little House books. Which one was your favorite of the series? How would you compare and contrast Laura’s childhood with Almanzo’s in Farmer Boy? Have you read The First Four Years? Stylistically, it’s very different from the other books. Slightly grimmer. When I was a kid, I didn’t like it, but now that I’m older, I like seeing under that sometimes glossy surface that was on the other books.
In THE GRASS IS SINGING was Moses a savior or sinner? (I hope I remembered the names correctly.)
In TESS what did you think of Tess taking things into her own hands at the end? What did you think of Angel? If you could rewrite the ending, what changes, if any, would you make?
What did you think of all the “games” Nabokov plays in LOLITA? Did you read an annotated version, or a plain one?
Wow — what a great list. I see a couple of old favorites of mine. First, Gaudy Night: did you have any sympathy for the perpetrator? And second, the Chronicles of Amber: what, if anything, sets these books apart from the typical swords ‘n sorcery genre? Which is your favorite sibling?
And I thought I was getting bad when my unreviewed stack broke five books. I see that you have a lot of Pratchett on your list. He is definitely one of my favorite authors but I confess I always have a difficult time reviewing him. Yeah, I can summarize the books and giggle a bit with excitement, but I struggle with writing much beyond that. If even in only a sentence or two, what would your critique on some of Pratchett’s novels be?
I saw Persepolis the movie a few months ago and really enjoyed it, but haven’t read the comic yet. Did reading the comic change your perspective on what has happened in Iran or make you want to learn more about it? What incident or problem that Satrapi faced was most surprising or shocking for you?
I’ve never read any of Clancy’s Rabbit books. Have you read the whole series? Do you recommend them? Is it one where you need to start at the very beginning or could I start with one of the more recent ones?
I’d love to see you do a review of Thud!. It’s one of my favourite Discworld books, but most fans I know found it disappointing.
Also, do you think that V for Vendetta would be a good introduction to Alan Moore?
What a fantastic list – you have alot of Discworld novels there so I’m assuming you would recommend it as a good series to read, but is it necessary to read them in order?
Do you think that Fall On Your Knees presents a realistic portrayal of smalltown Nova Scotia?
And is the book What Would Dewey Do? referring to the Dewey Decimal System? Or a person named Dewey?
I have no idea where to even start! I’ll just go down the list and ask about books I’ve already read.
#6 Smilla’s Sense of Snow, by Peter Høeg.
What did you think of this novel? I read this when I was 14, so my memory is a little hazy, but I remember loving Smilla’s character and Høeg’s writing style.
#13 Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy.
Did you read this by choice, and if so, why? (I had to read this book about 5 times for various English classes for my undergrad classes, so its not really one of my favorites)
#23 Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi.
What was the most memorable aspect of this graphic novel?
#62 Unshelved, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum.
I see this book sitting around in the breakroom at my library (I am a Part-time librarian). What did you like about this book, and this author in particular? I see you’ve read multiple titles by the same authors. Are these books aimed more towards librarians, or to the general public?
I think I’m actually going to print out your list, because a lot of these titles sound really interesting. I’ll have to keep checking back for the reviews!
omg.
I see a lot by same authors – do you plan it that way or just get on a roll and can’t stop? I personally have to switch it up and do not like to see trends in style – it makes me analyze the author rather than the story.
Why did you choose the What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew? Was it Austen-love or just interest in the time period? What kind of non-fiction is your preference?
PS Eva’s comment abt Tess cracks me up!
Was this your first time reading the Little House books? Did you find them to be racist? Would you feel comfortable recommending them now?
Holy cow!
I’d love to read a review of Colbert’s book.
Now I don’t feel so bad about my similarly sized one.
I’m interested in the technique and art of storytelling itself so anything along that line would interest me. My questions are for any or all of the fiction titles in your list:
How was Point-of-View handled? Was there a single POV character or did it alternate among two or more. Was it always clear whose eyes and mind were filtering?
How was language used to set tone and mood?
Was the prose dense or spare? Were sentences generally simple or complex?
How was metaphor used? Were associations fresh or did they tend toward cliche? Did they add to your understanding of the theme?
What was the central or organizing theme?
How does the title relate to the story? Was it fitting?
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BTW I’m hosting a book giveaway this week. Four copies of Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Four chances to enter until Saturday 3PM PST.
I’m not participating in Weekly Geeks, and that’s a good thing right now, or I might’ve been forced to disclose the large number of books I have read that haven’t been reviewed. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one!