So I got caught up in New Year's yesterday, and didn't get this post done as I'd planned. I was also busy reading my final book for 2012, Think of a Number by John Verdon.
Think of Number - John Verdon- A good mystery, the puzzle was great. The characters were interesting and well-defined. The only problem was the writing, which improved as the book went on. I liked the main character, Dave Gurney, but thought some of his psychological awareness at first was slightly manipulated. By the end of the book this was worked out and I ended up really enjoying this first mystery. His wife Madeleine was fascinating and very well-drawn. Dave is a retired detective, a cerebral intelligent detective whose greatest strengths are his logic and ability to put facts together quickly. It was fun watching him guess how the letters were done. I guessed the reveal before it happened, though this only added to the enjoyment (it was only a little before it was revealed, though I had my suspicions for a while). I will be seeking out the second one, after April 1 when the Double Dog Dare is over.
2012 in Review
So I ended up reading 71 books in total. Not a great year, though given my personal life last year, I am satisfied to get that many read. I had set the goal of 100 books to be read, which now looks like a perpetual goal, one I want to achieve every year. Last year was closest, at 97 books read.
Mysteries: 28
Science Fiction: 9
Fantasy: 8
horror: 4
YA: 5
Graphic Novels:2
Childrens: 7
Poetry:2
Non-fiction: 2
Fiction: 3
classics: 1
Male 31 *
Female 41*
Looking at those numbers, I can see I continue my trend of reading 3:1 mysteries to anything else, which is why my goal is to read 50 mysteries a year. Science fiction took a lovely jump thanks to Carl's wonderful Sci-Fi experience, which I am joining again this year. Horror dropped as well, as most of the sf I read was dystopian fiction which satisfied my craving for end of the world disaster novels (mirroring my psychological state last year). I am still interested in dystopian fiction very much, I enjoyed all the books I read in this genre so much.
I am sad that classics dropped even lower. I only finished one of the three I started - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I am reading Les Miserables slowly, and have started Moby Dick as well. So one of my goals will be to increase my classics this year.
I read slightly more female than male writers. *Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall counted for one each, as a husband and wife writing team.
For fun I have broken this down for the first time into authors nationalities, where in the world was I reading this past year?
Canada: 5
US: 34
UK: 26
Norway: 2
Sweden: 2
Iceland: 1
Ireland: 1
Australia: 1
Normally I have books from France, South Africa, and more from Iceland and Sweden on my list. For simplicity's sake I took all the Great Britain Isles together, but on the whole it would be slightly more in favour of England to Scotland. Again, Sweden got two votes, for Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. I need to radically increase my books read from other countries! And my own nation.
So overall, I didn't read as widely as I wanted to, nor in as much as I aimed for. I failed at almost every challenge I joined, though that hasn't stopped me from enlisting in a few already this year! Most of all, I enjoyed so many of the books I read this year. It was very difficult to get my books of the year in order, but finally, here they are, my
Books of the Year - 2012 -
Dark Matter - Michelle Paver
A Room Full of Bones - Elly Griffiths
Among Others - Jo Walton
Moving Mars - Greg Bear
White Pine - Mary Oliver
Seraphina - Rachel Hartmann
Sovereign - C.J Sansom
Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny
The Black House - Peter May
Roseanna - Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeiffer
Divergent - Veronica Roth
Honourable mentions to: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Reviews will follow of the four I didn't manage to review, which I certainly want to. They were each marvelous reads, thrilling, and I could have sworn I did review two of them.......
Happy New Year, Gentle Readers. I hope many pleasurable hours of reading are ahead of you, and many delightful new books to discover, for 2013.
Showing posts with label Dark Matter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dark Matter. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Dark Matter: A Ghost Story - a review, a little late
I read Dark Matter by Michelle Paver way back last January. I sadly did not review it then, and please believe me, it's not because it wasn't a good book! On the contrary, it is a very good ghost story. Now it's time for Carl's RIP ghost story reading challenge, RIP 7, and so I thought I would review Dark Matter now, because really, this is a an excellent chilling ghost story, and in case anyone is looking for something really good to read for the challenge.
Dark Matter: A Ghost Story is set in the far Arctic north of Norway, in 1937. It's written in journal form, a highly respectable way to write a ghost story. Why is that some of the best are written in journal form, or in first person? I think it has to do with the first-person narrative and how it always leaves an impression that it's only one view, and so it could be unreliable. There is certainly the sense in Dark Matter that the narrator, Jack Miller, is sensitive - the sight of a suicide being fished out of the Thames is what convinces him that he has to go on the expedition, even though he is the poorest, the grammar school boy to the 4 others university-educated men putting the expedition together. He is hired as the wireless man, who will relay the three meteorological readings a day to the government, as well as maintain radio contact for the group - the communications man. The site they have chosen, Gruhuken, is two days away from the nearest settlement, Longyearbyen. And of course, shortly after they arrive and get settled, the camp leader Gus falls ill with appendicitis and has to be rushed to Longyearben, leaving Jack behind to monitor the weather so the survey expedition isn't a failure. To quote so many horror movies, 'all alone, in the dark." The expedition is from July through the winter, only Jack only makes it as far as November.
Read what happens to him. There is a terrible history at Gruhuken camp, a dark presence, a nameless dread that creeps into the camp after they get settled. Watching Jack fall apart as the light leaves the sky and darkness settles in, and the increasing storms that cut him off from the world, is like watching a mind break apart - what would happen to most of us if we were thrust into this story. It's chilling and makes for a story that simply can't be put down.
What haunts Gruhuken? What makes everyone there feel ill at ease? No matter the light, the science, the routines, how can you cope with a creeping sense of dread?
It's similar to The Terror by Dan Simmons in that it is set in the north. I read The Terror several years ago in 2008, and it was on my list for favourite books of the year that year. Here is my post for The Terror. It was so good that I didn't think anything could be as good set in the arctic, and then I discover this book, and yes indeed, Dark Matter is just as good as The Terror. It's shorter, and the effect of the terror is the same. Awesome in both books. I think that there is something about being in the far north, where the light disappears for months at a time, that makes it a perfect setting for ghost stories. Humans need the light to banish the dark. Because in the dark, we never know for sure if it is real, or our minds playing tricks on us, which Jack struggles with and tries to reason with. Read Dark Matter, and see what you think: did Jack Miller break down, or was there something in the camp with him? I think there was something with him. I think once the light goes away, our natural tendency to believe in the unseen comes forth, and that's why we still need ghost stories, and enjoy them so much: because in our secret space within us, we know that the dark is still out there, and it is filled with what we won't let exist in the daylight. I did enjoy the contrast of the science nature of the group, and how each tried to cope with that unscientific, unmeasurable feeling of dread.
Dark Matter is a wonderful scary ghost story, that gets at our deepest fears - fear of the dark, and what might be out there. It is one of the best ghost stories I have read. 5/5
So if you are looking for something for Carl's challenge.........
I will be doing my post tomorrow - I'm busy putting my list together of books I have piled up over the year to read, and I am a little stunned to realize I have 18 novels so far! and a ton of ghost/horror short story collections!
****Added a short time later:
Other reviews:
Bride of the Book God
I first read a review of this over at Bride of the Book God, and I've finally found her review to link to, here. It was Bride's review, along with reviews in Entertainment Weekly, that brought this book to my attention. Bride's review is excellent, too!
If you've read this, let me know, and I'll link to your review also. The more the merrier!
added Sept 3/12***Geranium Cat left a comment that she read this for RIP V, so I went looking, and sure enough, she left a lovely review, here.
Somehow I missed it then, for which I feel very sorry, as Geranium Cat and I have very similar taste in books.
Dark Matter: A Ghost Story is set in the far Arctic north of Norway, in 1937. It's written in journal form, a highly respectable way to write a ghost story. Why is that some of the best are written in journal form, or in first person? I think it has to do with the first-person narrative and how it always leaves an impression that it's only one view, and so it could be unreliable. There is certainly the sense in Dark Matter that the narrator, Jack Miller, is sensitive - the sight of a suicide being fished out of the Thames is what convinces him that he has to go on the expedition, even though he is the poorest, the grammar school boy to the 4 others university-educated men putting the expedition together. He is hired as the wireless man, who will relay the three meteorological readings a day to the government, as well as maintain radio contact for the group - the communications man. The site they have chosen, Gruhuken, is two days away from the nearest settlement, Longyearbyen. And of course, shortly after they arrive and get settled, the camp leader Gus falls ill with appendicitis and has to be rushed to Longyearben, leaving Jack behind to monitor the weather so the survey expedition isn't a failure. To quote so many horror movies, 'all alone, in the dark." The expedition is from July through the winter, only Jack only makes it as far as November.
Read what happens to him. There is a terrible history at Gruhuken camp, a dark presence, a nameless dread that creeps into the camp after they get settled. Watching Jack fall apart as the light leaves the sky and darkness settles in, and the increasing storms that cut him off from the world, is like watching a mind break apart - what would happen to most of us if we were thrust into this story. It's chilling and makes for a story that simply can't be put down.
What haunts Gruhuken? What makes everyone there feel ill at ease? No matter the light, the science, the routines, how can you cope with a creeping sense of dread?
It's similar to The Terror by Dan Simmons in that it is set in the north. I read The Terror several years ago in 2008, and it was on my list for favourite books of the year that year. Here is my post for The Terror. It was so good that I didn't think anything could be as good set in the arctic, and then I discover this book, and yes indeed, Dark Matter is just as good as The Terror. It's shorter, and the effect of the terror is the same. Awesome in both books. I think that there is something about being in the far north, where the light disappears for months at a time, that makes it a perfect setting for ghost stories. Humans need the light to banish the dark. Because in the dark, we never know for sure if it is real, or our minds playing tricks on us, which Jack struggles with and tries to reason with. Read Dark Matter, and see what you think: did Jack Miller break down, or was there something in the camp with him? I think there was something with him. I think once the light goes away, our natural tendency to believe in the unseen comes forth, and that's why we still need ghost stories, and enjoy them so much: because in our secret space within us, we know that the dark is still out there, and it is filled with what we won't let exist in the daylight. I did enjoy the contrast of the science nature of the group, and how each tried to cope with that unscientific, unmeasurable feeling of dread.
Dark Matter is a wonderful scary ghost story, that gets at our deepest fears - fear of the dark, and what might be out there. It is one of the best ghost stories I have read. 5/5
So if you are looking for something for Carl's challenge.........
I will be doing my post tomorrow - I'm busy putting my list together of books I have piled up over the year to read, and I am a little stunned to realize I have 18 novels so far! and a ton of ghost/horror short story collections!
****Added a short time later:
Other reviews:
Bride of the Book God
I first read a review of this over at Bride of the Book God, and I've finally found her review to link to, here. It was Bride's review, along with reviews in Entertainment Weekly, that brought this book to my attention. Bride's review is excellent, too!
If you've read this, let me know, and I'll link to your review also. The more the merrier!
added Sept 3/12***Geranium Cat left a comment that she read this for RIP V, so I went looking, and sure enough, she left a lovely review, here.
Somehow I missed it then, for which I feel very sorry, as Geranium Cat and I have very similar taste in books.
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