December Ins and Outs

Last Ins and Outs of 2011 and so little books reviews on December. The Shame! (Even more shameful - there are still some November reviews pending)

Surprisingly, there are not that many books acquired - it's not that Santa wasn't nice, he just got a little late and the books are still somewhere between the North Pole and Portugal (I hope. It would be the first time to have a book come via Australia.).
On the reading side things were good - lots of books read, even if not all of them good!

INS
Bought - physical bookCatch-22 by Joseph Heller
It arrived a little later than expected - after all it was bought on the same day as Slaughterhouse 5 (received in November)

Bought - ebook
Entwined by Heather Dixon
My first actually bought ebook! And only because it was at a fantastic price ($0.99) and Jen said it was good!

Swap sites
*Bookmooch*
The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Freebies
*For Review - LibraryThing Member Giveaway*
Bedtime Stories for Cats by Amy Neftzger


*For Review - LibraryThing EarlyReviewers*
Enchantment by Pati Nagle

*Gifts*

The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth by Tim Flannery
Christmas gift from my uncle

Mistwood by Leah Cypess
My Secret Santa's gift, who turned out to be, unsurprisingly, Jen. Thanks!

These were not the only books I received for Christmas. There are 6 more that I received. Kind-of. They are still in the mail - you'll see them in January. I hope.

OUTS

Physical books
The bloody chamber: and other stories Angela Carter
The Bloody Chamber is listed as a must have in dark fairytale retellings, and as such I had high expectations for it. It turned out not to be as good as I hoped – there was a repetition of themes, the writing managed, quite at the same time, entrance me and annoy me and there was just something missing in some of the stories. Also I started this book by reading the introduction which, although quite good as an analysis of the book, completely ruins the experience of someone reading the stories for the first time.

Rating: 3 out of 5


Carta del fin del mundo by José Manuel Fajardo [Letter from the End of the World]
A book that I wanted to read for a long, long time. This book is a letter from a sailor to his brother, from the New World, about his troubles and fears, about being in a strange land with strange people. It was rather nice, and I really like Fajardo's writing.

Rating: 4 out of 5



Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
This was on the shelf for quite some time (almost a year!). A Dystopia where everyone turns pretty at when they turn 16 - they have an operation which evens out their features. Tally can't wait to turn pretty and join her friends, but when she is denied her operation because of a new friend who ran away, she goes in search for her, torn between breaking a promise or being ugly for the rest of her life. It was a nice read, there was plenty of action, and it left me wanting to know more about this world.

Rating: 4 out of 5


The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
A joint reading with Jen, but it wasn't the best of books. Not very Christmas-y, except that it takes place during Christmas. A bit of non-sense humour, but it was rather poorly done. And I just thought that the zombies were unnecessary. And the epilogue as well.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5



Temeraire by Naomi Novik
I had been eyeing this one for ages, and still didn't pick it up. Even if there are dragons. That was strange. But I finally read it! It is a good book, think Eragon meets Master and Commander. The dragons were really fun, but I found the main character a bit too stiff (it does provide some amusing moments, too). I found the language also a bit stiff, but I think that was the translation only. I'll continue this series (but in English).

Rating: 4 out of 5


The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martínez
I have seen the movie based on this book, but I didn't remember who-had-dunnit when I started. Eventually I remembered. But it was an okay read, I liked the parts that had to do with mathematics. Not mindblowing, but still nice for a fast a read.

Rating: 3 out of 5




The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
This feels much like an introduction to the series. The Grace kids move into an old house, and discover it has been inhabited by something else. Very fast read (1 day!), and the illustrations are simply lovely.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5






Ebooks
*For Review*

The Trees by Todd Brabander - Review
Bedtime Stories for Cats by Amy Neftzger - Review
Enchantment by Pati Nagle - Review



TBR Variation: -2 (From 203 to 201) Yey!