Score

Didn't read a one... not my genre, I'm afraid.

Hayes wrote: "Didn't read a one... not my genre, I'm afraid."

There have been some history and travel books that have made me shudder this year, however this is fiction only.

Hope your Big Job is going well, and the ankle is on the mend.

Hmmm. The closest I've come to encountering twisted and sick behavior on the pages of a book so far this year was either in nonfiction (The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher) or in a dangling skeleton off the walls of York Castle and matching Tudor inquisitional methods (Sovereign). I suppose it's going to have to be the latter, then, even if that's probably not quite what you had in mind, either, Bettie ...

Themis-Athena wrote: "Hmmm. The closest I've come to encountering twisted and sick behavior on the pages of a book so far this year was either in nonfiction (The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher) or in a dangling skeleton off..."

That's exactly what I am looking for TA - the one book that made you shudder, even if for the briefest of moments but it keeps coming back to your mind. That scene from Sovereign...

Broken Harbour isn't a horror story at all however certain scenes there are disconcertingly memorable.

Ha! Thought of just the book... The final scene was very over the top of everything!

ETA: ankle much better thanks. Job not so good... I will be suffering all weekend, mostly with the program which is very problematic for me... I just cannot figure out how it works.

Is that the Slender Man hiding behind the pumpkin man?

For me, it's The Monkey's Paw. That darn book gives me chills no matter how many times I read it

Bettie wrote: "Broken Harbour isn't a horror story at all however certain scenes there are disconcertingly memorable."

This also sounds like (yet) another series I might want to look into -- supernatural and twisted elements or not ...

Yes, whoever still harbors the slightest bit of romantic notions about the reign of Henry VIII after having read Sansom's books probably ought to board a time machine for a bit of a reality check -- or make an appointment with a psychotherapist! The first two books were sobering enough, but Sovereign takes the cake so far. And the way things went with Henry's reign, I have a feeling there is worse yet to come in books 4 and 5 ...

I have a feeling there is worse yet to come in books 4 and 5 ...

There is!
:O))

Wanda wrote: "For me, it's The Monkey's Paw. That darn book gives me chills no matter how many times I read it"

Yep, scary one that! And one to remember every time a choice is on offer.

Hayes wrote: "Ha! Thought of just the book... The final scene was very over the top of everything!

ETA: ankle much better thanks. Job not so good... I will be suffering all weekend, mostly with the program whic..."

Read the second one but didn't fancy going backwards for #1

Alright, I'm changing my vote after all. Sovereign was bad, and initially I wouldn't have thought that the utterly dispassionate and calculating application of violence by agents of the state, in and out of torture chambers, could be topped by anything (besides, as far as serial killer novels go, haven't you read them all if you've read one, anyway?) -- but I gotta hand it to Sansom ... as far as sick and twisted behavior goes, Revelation's utterly depraved ingenuity would do even Hannibal Lecter proud. So Shardlake #3 is hereby replaced by Shardlake #4! And I shudder, even more, at the thought of what's awaiting me in Shardlake #5.

Themis-Athena wrote: "Alright, I'm changing my vote after all. Sovereign was bad, and initially I wouldn't have thought that the utterly dispassionate and calculating application of violence by agents of the state, in ..."

astute reasoning. Love the Shardlake stories.

I'm changing mine to Gulag

eta - me and my own rules: GA is non-fiction but it would take #1 spot otherwise

Bettie wrote: "I'm changing mine to Gulag

eta - me and my own rules: GA is non-fiction but it would take #1 spot otherwise"

Your one nonfiction book of the year, then -- or does that stay "as is" regardless?

Fellowship will stand for the best non-fiction of my reading year and I have read some corkers. Maybe it was a better non-fiction year than fiction.

I may take a little look along those lines later - it would be fun so see the breakdown.
:O)

I've taken home a few additions to my TBR list from both of these lists, in any event, so thanks for creating them! A year with many reading highlights, all told ...

I like the look of that Small Change series of Susanna's

Hmmm. Not much a fan of speculative fiction myself, though a recommendation by Susanna always merits a closer look of course!

I've put several books from the Tana French series on my TBR list, as well as about half the entries on the nonfiction list and (though more in the spirit of a "maybe") Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death. All in good time, though, there IS some splendid-looking historical fiction to tackle as well ... looks like 2013 will be another great year, at least book-wise, even in the unlikely case that not a single book I'm interested in should be published that entire year!

My main problem with Mistress of the Art of Death was that it was oversold to me.

Susanna wrote: "My main problem with Mistress of the Art of Death was that it was oversold to me."

Yes, I have a sense this may turn out to be my problem with the book as well -- hence the "maybe" ... and that's why I didn't already rush to get it 5 years ago in the first place. Never a good sign!