Book review 2008

Merry Christmas

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It is time to start this years reviews. I will start with the easier one, books, and leave the year's review of my life for another date.

This year in Shelfari I kept a list of how many books I read this year. It are the books marked as owned. It comes down to 225 but those include study books. So it is not that bad.

These I count amongst the highlights of the year. There were many more good books but I had to make some selection.


Catherine Asaro - the ruby dice
Not a new author for me. I love this series and am always looking forward eagerly for a new volume. It is a family saga in space. And it has got everything, romance, action, SF. The author is also a scientist so she knows what she is talking about. And that combination of romance and hard SF make the series so very good in my opinion.



patricia Briggs - moon called
An author that I only started reading this year. I tried some more new vampire/werewolf writers this year and most were okay, but did not grab me very much. This one did from the beginning. It is the characters, they are likeable and there is a nice level of tension between them. I have read two now and am looking forward to hear were she is going to take them next.

Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's mercy
Another old favorite. This is the sixth volume in the Kushiel's series and said to be the last. Part of me hopes it is so the series ends on a high. Part of me hopes it isn't because I like the books and the characters so much. Again a blend of romance, this time with politics. There is a lot of politics and scheming in these books and that is a thing I love to read about if it is done well. I tried another series written by Carey a while back and did not like it. So it is especially these characters I am drawn to.

Laurell Hamilton - Swallowing darkness
Not too happy with the title. The latest entry in the Merry Gentry series, I like the Anita Blake books better, there was an entry in that one as well this year. But that did not make the favorite list, although it was close. This book was a kind of climax in the series, although there will be more books. Some storylines seem finished. The storyline in these books is not the strongest, but I can't help but love the characters. They have their strengths and weaknesses even if they are near to immortal beings.

Charlaine Harris - from dead to worse
I love this series. Although I normally don't buy it in HB, when I saw a signed copy in a bookshop in Wilmington I could not help myself. What I like about this series is the Southern setting and the humor the main character has . This year we got another treat as the first volume of the series was made into a series. Wasn't happy with everything but overall it was pretty well done and didn't stray too far from the book.

Sherrilyn Kenyon - Acheron
A tour the force. Not all Kenyon's books are equally good. I think she writes too much also under another name and sometimes that shows. The books tend to be not very many pages and a large typeface. This one is different it is a heavy volume and totally devoted to the favorite character in her series Acheron. Especially the first part about his past is very well done and I could not put it down. The second part was a little bit less but I still enjoyed it a great deal.

David McCullough - John Adams
I have to mention at least one non-fiction book. This one was certainly the best one for me this year. I did not know much about John Adams apart from the fact that he was the second president of the US, wrote the constitution together with Jefferson and died on the same day also being the 4th of July. History tends to focus more on the Virginians. This book showed Adams of a man of flesh and blood, a family man, lawyer and passionate politician. Someone who helped shape a nation. As I always enjoy reading about strong women in history reading about his wife Abigail was also a pleasant surprise. A strong witty woman who was with him every step of the way and helped him were it came to politics as well. That is what we like to see. :)

I am sure that next year there will be many more good books and nice surprises and of course the occasional dissapointment. But reading is always a journey that gives you knowledge and joy. There are many things in life I would survive without, TV, maybe even my computer, but my books???? I doubt it.

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