Spoiler Free Summary of Game of Thrones Season 6

- John Snow: not dead, but not super charismatic either****

- not enough Tyrion

- Brienne + Tormund = yes, please

- Hodor

- feed your dogs

- a girl is Arya Stark and she's a fucking badass 

- Bitches get shit done. Seriously. Forget winter: THE WOMEN ARE COMING 

**** and and AND <spoiler redacted>

September/ October Reading

Had a solid couple of months. Several books I really enjoyed, and nothing that made me want to vomit.

The Jezebel Remedy- Martin Fillmore Clark: decent legal thriller, albeit incredibly slow paced. And the ending wasn't quite enough of a payoff to merit the slog through.

Alive- Scott Sigler: Thrilling YA sci-fi. Fast read, keeps you turning pages with a tight grip. I read it in a single afternoon.

In A Dark Dark Wood- Ruth Ware: Fast, gripping 'who done what?' that keeps you turning pages and features a character almost as awful as Amy Dunn

Everybody Rise- Stephanie Clifford: decent pseudo chick-lit about the pitfalls of keeping up with the glitterati. Not quite fizzy enough to be just a fun read, and it really tests the limits of how much rabid social climbing can be tolerated, but it didn't get bogged down in the inevitable crash either.

Make Me- Lee Child: Jack Reacher #20. Enough said.

Dietland- Sarai Walker: almost excellent pseudo satire commentary about the pressure to be thin and the double standards placed on women's appearance- sexuality. Kind of blah ending.

Day Four- Sarah Lotz: this will NOT make you want to take a cruise, but it also won't scare your pants off. Which it is clearly trying to do. And the ending is halfway between meh and total cop-out.

The Luckiest Girl Alive- Jessica Knoll: yet another "the new Gone Girl" that doesn't benefit from the comparison. Good, but not great, and description led me to anticipate some big 11th hour reveal or twist that never materialized. No doubt I would have liked it more without that misleading expectation.

The Hand That Feeds You- S.J. Rich:  this book is actually a collaboration between two authors (under pen name), and it reads like they just alternated paragraphs without reading what came before. Lots of random, non essential (or interesting) information, not very much character development. The premise was good, but the execution was weak.

Missoula- Jon Krakauer: excellent examination of the abhorrent handling of rape in this country, as seen through several cases that occurred in Missoula MT in 2012. Absolutely infuriating and physically sickening at certain points how the "justice" system fails to properly navigate this minefield. I will be giving it to my daughters to read when they are old enough.

Nightfall- Jake Halpern/ Peter Kujawinski: decent young adult horror/ fantasy. On an island where the sun stays up for 14 years, and the inhabitants leave with the sun. 3 teenagers are left behind to survive the secrets in the darkness. Good premise, predictable execution.

An Ember In The Ashes- Sabaa Tahir: excellent first book in a new fantasy series. Perhaps not earth shatteringly original, but exciting, well written, and with chads ter you genuinely like and care about. Can't wait for book 2

You: A Novel- Caroline Kepnes: twisty and creepy and probably the most enjoyable book ever written in 2nd person.

Primates of Park Avenue- Wednesday Martin: the bits about the ridiculous lifestyles of the uber rich women on Upper East Side of Nee York is interesting, and the anthropological spin the author outs on it is somewhat amusing, if tiresome after a point. But the author herself is insufferable in the way she insists she is somehow apart from the rest of this rarified "tribe," even while hunting for the perfect multimillion dollar apartment on just the right block and insisting her husband mine every connection and pull every string to get her a 5 figure handbag.

Reading List: July/August

Pretty much everything I read in July was lame. Fortunately August picked up a bit.
Where They Found Her- Kimberly McCreight: compelling mystery, with enough twists and false leads to keep you guessing. I never felt caught up in a frantic need to keep turning pages, but still, I read it in a single afternoon.
Tell Me Lies- Jennifer Crusie: so insipidly stupid. Could have been a decent romance/mystery if the main character wasn't such a pathetic loser.
The Shining Girls- Lauren Beukes: captivating cat and mouse with a serial killer striking randomly across Chicago, and the escaped victim trying to track him down. Plus time travel, which worked much better than you'd think.
(R)evolution- PJ Manney: starts off like a bioengineering terrorist story and then veers into governmental conspiracies and secret power clubs. All with mind boggling "science" and a hero that gets less and less human. Started strong and ended ridiculous- like the book version of the movie Lucy.
Armada- Ernest Cline: decent, if totally predictable sci-fi, elevated to excellent by virtue of copious pop culture references.
The Blondes- Emily Schultz: A mysterious plague sweeps the Earth, affecting only blonde women and turning them into raging psychopaths. Except instead of being a chilling horror story, or thought provoking satire about beauty and cultural aesthetics, this book is focused on an insipid and morose protagonist. Such a waste of a clever concept.
Crash and Burn- Lisa Gardner: very twisty, hard to guess thriller. Bogged down by a little too much main character amnesia.
Dead Wake- Eric Larsen: fascinating narrative non-fiction about the last sailing of the Lusitania and the U-boat that took her down.
The Rithmatist- Brandon Sanderson: teen genre fantasy about a boy at a school where they train rithmatists- people that battle chalk drawings come to life. Sounds ridiculous when I explain it, but seriously, Sanderson is incapable of writing a stinker. If your kids (or you) like Harry Potter, give it a try.
Memory Man- David Baldacci: I always grab books by Baldacci because I know they will be fast paced and engrossing. This was no different- a brand new character I really like and hope to read more of.
Freedoms Child- Jax Miller: slightly disjointed thriller, with almost too many antagonists and story lines for proper suspense. Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Half a War- Joe Abercrombie: Third book in a series, maybe not the strongest one but still good.
Finders Keepers- Stephen King: sequel to Mr. Mercedes, but you don't have to have read it to enjoy this one. Although you should, because they're both excellent. Great characters and plot, as you'd expect from King.

Reading May/June

Managed a decent number of books the past 2 months- all before we left for vacation. Since getting to steamboat I have only managed 3 books- something about not leaving children unattended in the pool lest they drown. Here's what I read:
Reign of Ash- Gail Z Martin: book 2 of The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga. Not nearly as good as the first book. Not nearly enough plot to justify the length, which makes the author's amateur writing (or should I blame it on bad editing?) much less tolerable.
War of Shadows- Gail Z Martin: completely pointless book 3 of Ascendant Kingdoms. Did absolutely nothing to further the storyline of the first two books, and I just cannot deal with the author's intensely amateurish writing. I'm done with this series.
White Plague- James Abel: military/disaster thriller about the rescue of a submarine crew stranded on the Arctic ice. Exciting and quick read.
I Am Pilgrim- Terry Hayes: fantastic spy novel. Detailed enough to be realistic (and terrifying), fast paced and convoluted enough to be engrossing. A real page turner.
Yes Please- Amy Poehler: this book was not particularly funny (just like most of the biographies I've read by very funny women). It was interesting, and it was surprisingly inspiring and eye opening. A lot of it was 'this happened to me' stuff, but there were some real deep LIFE LESSON type gems in there too. I'm kind of mad I got this at the library because there were passages that needed highlighting. I loved her before, but now she's my guru.
Inherit Midnight- Kate Kae Myers: fast paced and fun read. Finished almost in one evening. Gets a little bogged down in sappy romance at the end, but I think that's par for the course with YA fiction.
Just What Kind Of Mother Are You- Paula Daly: frazzled, overwhelmed mother inadvertently involved in the disappearance of her best friend's daughter. Twisty and interesting, even if the self pity/ guilt of the main character was a little trying.
The Dinner- Herman Koch: partially dark and twisted satire, partially just kind of tedious and whiny. If anything, this really needed to be darker and or more satirical to be really good, but it is translated from the original language (Dutch maybe?) so it's possible that the full extent got lost in translation.
You Should Have Known- Jean Hangf Korelitz: meh. Yet another book mired in the inner monologue of a miserable person, except this time she was also very smug and snobbish too so you hardly felt bad when her life fell apart. Which was sort of the point of the book, but still didn't make for very fun reading. It is clearly a focus of novels to be all about what characters think and feel, but I really prefer what they do. I like books where stuff happens
Bittersweet- Wittemore: mystery and intrigue and the depravity of the filthy rich. What's not to like? A little to heavy handed with the 'everyone has terrible secrets' that were beyond easy to guess, but good nonetheless.
The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty- Amanda Filipacchi: bizarrely magical yet realistic, vaguely humorous and totally engrossing. Although almost disturbingly negative towards every aspect of being physically attractive.
Bellweather Rhapsody- Kate Racculia: I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it and I'm not sure I can out my finger on why. Decent mystery, although despite a missing girl and a terrible snow storm trapping everyone in a fading resort hotel there is never any real sense of urgency or danger. Like death and tragedy and the fallout are all sort of happenstance, but by all means let's deeply explore the way music can make you feel. Huh. Maybe I do know why I didn't love it.
Red Notice- Bill Browder: fascinating, infuriating, intense, and horrifying. And TRUE.
Full Black- Brad Thor: run of the mill spy thriller, and while the main bad guy is a stretch, the intermediary acts of terrorism are all too possible.
The Forgotten Room- Lincoln Child: decent thriller, but pushing the boundaries of acceptable suspension of reality.
Watching You- Michael Robotham: Better than average thriller, and while there was no huge twist, it kept me guessing what was really happening for most of it.
Life or Death- Michael Robotham: Well written thriller about a possibly innocent man who escapes prison one day before being released. Lik able and interesting characters, nicely paced plot keeps you reading.

Reading: March/April

Because I'm clever, I decided to up my game last time by providing a little synopsis with each title. Because I am obsessive, I must continue that plan for all entries this calendar year. Because I am stupid, I didn't do this on a 'just completed' basis, so now I have to see if I can dredge up some memory of these books.
On Immunity- Eula Biss: very quick read exploring vaccines and the current controversy surrounding them. Uses logic and fact without being condescending or dry.
The Joy of Less- Francine Jay: I definitely found the author a little irritating, and there were few specific "get rid of this, keep that" tips than I'd hoped (which, honestly, wouldn't be possible unless she's been to my specific house). But it was still a good inspiration to start winnowing down and purging all the excess.
Shadow of Night- Deborah Harkness: 2nd book of the All Souls trilogy (first book is A Discovery of Witches). I reread this to remind myself what was happening before finishing the series. Didn't find it quite as annoyingly "romantic" as I did the first time. Still not nearly as good as the first book.
The Book of Life- Deborah Harkness: book 3 of the All Souls trilogy. This book could basically have been the last few chapters. A whole bunch of nothing happened, with a stunningly obvious and anticlimactic finale. Also, the characters were annoyingly inconsistent- are you brave or stupid? Are you incapable of even functioning away from your lover (ick), or are you a strong, independent person? Seriously. Pick one.
One Step Too Far- Tina Seskis: Woman decides to completely upend her life after mysterious tragedy, leaving her husband and starting over under a new name. The concept was interesting, even if the main character was a little too naive/ depressed to be very charismatic. But then the final reveal of the tragedy was just too horrible and kind of killed everything.
The Lost Island- Preston and Child: I've liked the other books featuring Gideon Crew as a roguish thief saving the day. This was so terrible, and pushed all limits of plausible suspension of disbelief. Not worth the $1 rental fee
Deadline- John Sandford: the latest entry in the Virgil Flowers series. Fun and easy read, as usual.
Her- Harriet Lane: tried to be mysterious and sinister, but failed miserably. So instead it's basically about 2 women forming a friendship, one out of desire to escape the dull depression she feels about being a stay at home mother, and the other because of some perverse obsession. Has a truly horrific cliffhanger ending.
The Martian- Andy Weir: there's a good chance this will be my favorite book of the year, partly because it has the best backstory. The author self published to his website, then published for $.99 on kindle when his readers demanded it. Raced to the Kindle bestseller list, the then New York times bestseller list, and now they're making a movie. For a book he wrote just for fun! It's about an astronaut stranded alone on Mars, and it manages to be incredible fun and fast paced while also so smart and  realistic. Incredibly fast read.
What Alice Forgot- Liane Moriarty: didn't like this quite as much as Big Little Lies, but WAY more than The Husbands Secret.
Golden Son- Pierce Brown: sequel to Red Rising. Along the same lines as Hunger Games and Ender's Game. Not as strong as the first, but still very enjoyable. Looking forward to the next book.
Steelheart- Brandon Sanderson: this guy is the best sci-fi fantasy writer out there. Every idea is unbelievable original and complete. This is book one of the Reckoners series (YA fiction) and it's in the popular dystopian future vein. Fun, fast read, and I didn't even guess all the twists.
Firefight- Brandon Sanderson: book 2 of the Reckoners. Continues and improves upon the first book. Really bums me out I have to wait a year to read the next (last?) book.
Half a King- Joe Abercrombie: book one of the Shattered Sea series. Not as violent or gory as his usual books, but still fairly brutal. Standard 'betrayed king left for dead seeks to reclaim his throne' fantasy.
Half The World- Joe Abercrombie: book two of the Shattered Sea series. Nothing earth shatteringly original, but well written, and with some appealing new characters I liked even better than the first book.
As Good As Dead- Elizabeth Evans: insipid, dreadful "story" about a self-obsessed, self-pitying woman and her constant internal monologue over being dull, and unloveable, and ugly and a horrible person. I hated this book.
Ice Forged- Gail Z Martin: book one of The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga. Reread this book as a reminder before reading the next two in the series. Good story line and characters, but her writing is very amateurish.

Reading List Jan/Feb

Although I'm not madly reading in search of a quantity goal like last year, I still keep track of everything I read (actually have for years), and I figure what better way to knock out a blog post than by listing the books I've read? On a bimonthly rate this year, which was totally planned and not just because I forgot after January.
Red Country- Joe Abercrombie: roughly in the fantasy genre, Abercrombie writes the most realistic, violent, badass stories. Another enjoyable entry into his world (and a fun allusion to an old favorite character)
The Heroes- Joe Abercrombie: returning characters from the First Kings trilogy engage in an epic, bloody 3 day battle.
The Fever- Megan Abbott: a mysterious illness spreads through a group of young girls in a suburban community. Abbott gets good reviews, but I just can't quite get into her books.
Big Little Lies- Liane Moriarty: liked this SO much more than The Husband's Secret. Probably because as the mother of several elementary age children I related to the gossipy PTA tone more.
California- Edan Lepucki: pretty damn dull for a post apocalyptic survival story.
The Winter People- Jennifer McMahon: Eerie and haunting. I really enjoyed this book
The Young Elites- Marie Lu: YA fantasy pitting a few survivors of a deadly illness (who developed special powers) against a society that treats all survivors as subhuman. The first book in a series, this was a fun and fast read.
Into a Raging Blaze- Andreas Norman: a spy "thriller" set in Sweden, where the spy is actually just an bureaucratic ambassador rather than a Jason Bourne type. Offers interesting insight into the gray areas of espionage and international diplomacy, but unfortunately isn't especially page turning.
The Girl On The Train- Paula Hawkins: touted as the next Gone Girl, the mystery was predictable and the main characters somewhat unlikeable. I enjoyed the book though.
The Broken Eye (Lightbringer #3)- Brent Weeks: third book in a fantasy series, and by far the best. Can't wait for #4!
Astonish Me- Maggie Shipstead: soap opera plot involving professional ballet that somehow manages to be totally boring.
Visitation Street- Ivy Pochoda: just awful and dull. Two girls go out onto a raft at night, and only one returns. What follows is mind numbing endless (although very skillful) description of oppressive hopelessness and heat, as well as 40 million references to the location of Red Hook Brooklyn
The Kind Worth Killing- Peter Swanson: the ACTUAL next Gone Girl. Fun and thrilling, featuring despicable characters you like despite yourself.
Red Rising- Pierce Brown: YA along the lines of Hunger Games and Ender's Game. Brilliant, physically perfect teenagers engaged in brutal, deadly training. I loved it
The Silent Wife- A.S.A Harrison: Interesting examination of a marriage off the rails, culminating in the murder of the husband. That isn't a spoiler- it's in the first chapter. I'm not entirely sure why this was so compelling, but I read it in a single afternoon.

December Reading

I did it!! Over 100 books read in a single year (officially 106)!! According to Goodreads, I read 41,532 pages. I kind of can't believe it, but at the same time I definitely feel like I could have done more- there were months where I was barely above a book a week. Even this month my total was a less than stellar 8 (albeit some were 700 pagers). But I don't think I'm going to be setting any higher yearly goals- my husband would prefer if I didn't stop doing everything altogether in favor of just reading constantly. So moving forward, I'm going to focus on adding in some more non-fiction books into my regular reading. And I will keep up my monthly lists so you know what I've read, although it isn't particularly helpful for you if I never post reviews. Maybe that can be a goal as well?

My final list for 2014:
The First Rule- Robert Crais
The Watchman- Robert Crais
The Forgotton Man- Robert Crais
Chasing Darkness- Robert Crais
The Blade Itself- Joe Abercrombie
Before They Are Hanged- Joe Abercrombie
The Last Argument of Kings- Joe Abercrombie
Best Served Cold- Joe Abercrombie

So that's it. Another whole year on the books. Here's to a great 2015!!



The rest of my year:

November, October, September, July/August, June, May, April, March, February, January