May 2012 Wrap-Up: Books and Reviews

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started May with 260 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …257! Holy cow, y’all, I managed to squeeze a lot of reading in this month, even though it feels like I spent most of my time crazy-busy with other things. And even though a lot of it wasn’t books from the TBR pile, I think a -3 is still perfectly respectable.

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks – The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin – Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore – The Calling by Kelley Armstrong (reviews coming soon)
Read but not owned – Timeless by Gail Carriger – Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris – A Million Suns by Beth Revis (reviews coming soon)
E-Books – Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison*
Re-Reads – Shards of Honor and Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold – The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!) - The Alienist by Caleb Carr – Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder – The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker – Fire Watch by Connie Willis – The Unseen by Katherine Webb (reviews coming soon)

Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
- The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin	- Fannie’s Last Supper: Re-creating One Amazing Meal from Fannie Farmer’s 1896 Cookbook by Christopher Kimball
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
- The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe	* Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
Non-TBR acquisitions (storage-space-related shame!)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins	- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

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Gail Carriger – Timeless

54. Timeless by Gail Carriger (2012)
The Parasol Protectorate, Book 5

Read my review of book:
1. Soulless
2. Changeless
3. Blameless
4. Heartless

Length: 386 pages
Genre: Historical Steampunk Fantasy

Started: 13 May 2012
Finished: 14 May 2012

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? I devoured this series last fall, so I was eagerly waiting for the new one to come out.

Alexia must
deal with vampires, werewolves,
mummies… and toddlers.

N. K. Jemisin – The Broken Kingdoms

53. The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (2010)
The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2

Read my review of book:
1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Read By: Casaundra Freeman
Length: 11h 31min (411 pages)

Genre: Fantasy

Started: 04 May 2012
Finished: 14 May 2012

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? I liked The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms well enough, and had heard that this book was even better.

Oree may be blind,
but she can still see when she’s
in over her head.

Maria V. Snyder – Poison Study

52. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (2005)
Study, Book 1

Length: 416 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Started: 04 May 2012
Finished: 07 May 2012

Where did it come from? Bought at Borders.
Why do I have it? Don’t remember, but since I bought it new, I must have heard very good things.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 05 January 2009.

Life is tenuous
when you’re a poison taster…
but at least it’s life.

Peter Allison – Whatever You Do, Don’t Run

51. Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison (2007)

Length: 246 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir

Started: 03 May 2012
Finished: 04 May 2012

Where did it come from? Downloaded from Amazon.
Why do I have it? Amazon recommended it to me; I don’t remember what was the source.
How long has it been on my eTBR pile? Since 19 April 2012.

A safari guide’s
life is equal parts humor
and almost dying.

Caleb Carr – The Alienist

50. The Alienist by Caleb Carr (1994)
Laszlo Kreizler, Book 1

Length: 498 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Started: 29 April 2012
Finished: 03 May 2012

Where did it come from? Bookmooch.
Why do I have it? Memory’s fault.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 29 May 2010.

Finding serial
killers is harder when there’s
no word for them yet.

Review Revisited: Lois McMaster Bujold – Shards of Honor

Re-read. Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (1986)
Vorkosigan Saga, Book 2 (or 1, or somewhere in the middle…)

Read my review of book:
1. Falling Free* 2. Shards of Honor* 3. Barrayar 4. The Warrior’s Apprentice* 5. The Vor Game 6. Cetaganda 7. Ethan of Athos* 8. Brothers in Arms	9. Borders of Infinity 10. Mirror Dance 11. Memory 12. Komarr 13. A Civil Campaign 13.5 Winterfair Gifts 14. Diplomatic Immunity 15. Cryoburn
(stars indicate stand-alones/starting points)

Read By: Grover Gardner
Length: 8h 41min (239 pages)

Genre: Space Opera (Romance / Sci-Fi)

Originally Read: 07 August 2009
Re-Read Started: 01 May 2012
Re-Read Finished: 02 May 2012

Who says that grown-ups
can’t fall in love, even on
a big ol’ spaceship?