J'aime Lire

I just joined a new community -- 50bookchallenge. I'm hoping that this will prompt me to actually read new things instead of just having my usual rereads (though that is easier most of the time) and get me through a lot more of the books I keep intending to read. So, not counting my general rereads and suchlike, here's a brief overview of what I read this month.

Devices and Desires, by K. J. Parker: I finished this one a couple of days ago. It was a book for people who like to play chess by post, put it that way ... but oddly, not in a bad way. I will be picking up the second book of the trilogy. Slow, but I can get into that.

Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies, by David Hoffman: This is a fantastic book, and one that's going to get a thorough battering as I make good use of it.

Cunninghams's Encyclopaedia of Magical Herbs, by Scott Cunningham: Nice, simple, concise way of getting the information I want. What more can I say?

Changeling: The Dreaming Sourcebook (World of Darkness), by Ian Lemke, Jackie Cassada and Brian Campbell: Moo. Hoo. Ha. Ha. Seriously, I think I got the biggest charge out of the prologue fiction; it made the whole concept fairly approachable for a newbie, and the art is great.

Fading Suns Rulebook, by Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg: Beautifully detailed setting with lots of lovely plot manoeuvring room. Plus, the game is fantastic good fun.

Rising Stars 3: Fire and Ash, by J.Michael Straczynski: There might have been a better way to end that series. I don't know what it was, though. FAN-TASTIC.

Waling Dead 4: Heart's Desire, by Robert Kirkman: I'm of mixed views about the whole series. I do want to know what happens to them all, but not, y'know, desperately.

So apparently, this month's been big for non-fiction and graphic novels. This month, fiction. Fiction that I have not yet read. I promise myself this.

On a totally unrelated note, there was a bottle of jojoba oil on my desk when I woke up this morning. Either I've been sleep-shopping, the cat's learned how to mail order (in which case be afraid) or thank you, dodgyhoodoo. Still need the sandalwood oil, though.

And now I'm going to go change my jumper. The turtleneck thing I'm wearing is probably warm, but it's also itchy and an itchy thessalian is going to be no use at all in the office.

Lit Pimpage

In the spirit of the whole 50bookchallenge thing, here are 40 books I really want to read this year (because we all know I'm going to beat the crap out of 50 in 11 months).

( Books! )

So out of the 50 books I'm challenged to read, I've listed 40, and will be checking them off over the course of the year. You'll notice that I'm 10 short, less if I count the books I listed last entry (and I'm not). I did that to leave some recommendation room from my friends. I know I'll never notice all the books out there, after all. So ... help? Any suggestions to fill those last ten spots? I know I'll fill them with something in the end, but I'd like some suggestions that aren't just my "I was too lazy to read that one" list...