75 Books...More or Less! discussion

Again I'm on the crossroad in my life, so just to secure myself ;) I wanna have this topic here as well, not only in 100+ group. So...

1. Irena by Małgorzata Kalicińska, Basia Grabowska - a very good women-lit, very good! A way better than the others which I've read during previous months. It has touched my soul, made me think a lot, because I know very well a lot of described situations.

Glad that you are staying with us Aga :)

2. Bogowie muszą być szaleni by Aneta Jadowska - what a lovely and nicely written urban fantasy with action taking place in alternative versions of 2 Polish cities! I'm just sorry that I've started my adventure with this cycle with a book No 2, but well, I need to live with it and read book No 1 asap ;) Great characters, good sense of humour, interesting plot and venues, a bit of zest :)

Andrea - thanks, I'm glad to be here too :)

Hi, Aga! Thanks for joining us again in 2013. I admire you for having read two very interesting books already this year.

3. Tajny wywiad cara Grocha by Andriej Bielanin - a nice entertainment and that's all.

4. Trzy młode pieśni by Elżbieta Cherezińska - another great book! The author has a talent to tell a story that you're inside of it. Very good preparation of characters, enchanting descriptions of daily life, coherent plot, each book complement the story and this one close it in a great style. And the last 30 pages were startling!

Hi, Kay! Thanks :) I'm quite lucky with my reading this year :)

5. Przenośne drzwi by Tom Holt - a nice idea, but average implementation. The author is trying to be funny, wanna be similar to Pratchett, but he is not able to do it.

6. Od Wilii po Uklę by Helena Zawistowska - mainly for the paradise atmosphere of summer holidays spent in different properties on the Eastern Borderlands of past Poland.

7. Katastrofa by Krystyna Kuhn - much better than the first book. Better plot, more interesting action, better atmosphere, at some point I even started to be curious what will happen in other books, but they are not translated :/

8. Bloger - poradnik dla blogerów by Tomek Tomczyk - very well written, very specific book with guidelines, but not boring, very interesting. Has a "spark" in it.

9. Podróżniczki. W gorsecie i krynolinie przez dzikie ostępy by Wolf Kielich - very interesting stories about women, who were travelling in the wildest parts of our globe, often sicrificing whole life, financial means and health. And all this in times when women were seen as a worse kind of human.

10. W odbiciu by Jakub Małecki - I was chucking page after page, I was weary of it but I couldn't stop reading. Increadible book! It rapes the brain, is not leaving you indifferent, you can't forgett it. Brrrr... So much evil in it, but... Just the ending dissapointed me a bit bit.

11. Poradnik Pozytywnego Myślenia by Matthew Quick - a bit of Hollywood style, but interesting, inspiring and very positive, even with all the happenings which are taking part in the plot. And the message that each of us has some kind of problem, with which we need to deal in daily life. And that each of us has a place in the society. right to have friends and the chance for happiness.

12. Intrygantki by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt - 4 good dramas. Full of love, hate, forgiveness, life, faith, freedom and many other issues.

13. Przędza by Gennifer Albin - first part less dynamic, strongly introducing the plot, but in general an interesting combination of dystopia with a bit of light sci-fi and a world after a catastrophe. First book of the series seems to be pretty fine, so I hope that the publishing house will publish the whole series.

14. Rewolucja social media by Michał Sadowski - an interesting book, especially for people rather starting their adventure with social media. A lot of examples, links and codes for specific issues online. I've learned quite some things, just one thing disturbed me - I had a feeling of a product placement, with the company of the author.

15. Bezgrzeszne lata by Kornel Makuszyński - a nice story about childhood and youth, charming story of old times, when theater gave people incredible feelings, school was lifetime adventure and each love was the one until the death ;)

16. Młodszy księgowy. O książkach, czytaniu i pisaniu by Jacek Dehnel - I started my March with a very good book. Jacek Dehnel is one of my favourite authors, and these feuilletons collected in a form of book are mainly a little pearls about different themes. Plus there is a lot of sarcastic sense of humour of the author. Pleasure for a reader.

17. W jednej osobie by John Irving - gosh, what a depressive book! During 99% of time I had a feeling that all the time nothing is going on in a way the characters would like to, no one is happy, everything is not right etc. And also at the beginning there was too much theater and literature which I don't know, so it was harder for me to follow. But later it was more "living".

18. Katarzyna Wielka. Gra o władzę by Ewa Stachniak - another great book of this author! I can't say anything bad about it, so I'll not ;) It's a novel based on a life of Catherine the Great, but the teller is her maid-spy. Well written, cliffhanging, addictive. I liked it a lot!

19. Portret pani Charbuque. Asystentka pisarza fantasy by Jeffrey Ford - very diverse collection of short stories - from very good, through good until some which I've read with a face "WTF??". Some of them are above my perception ;) And the novel is really good, bitter, with an interesting idea for the plot.

20. Życie jak w Tochigi. Na japońskiej prowincji by Anna Ikeda - very nice, personal account of a woman who married a Japanese guy and moved to province in Japan. A lot of interesting information, very non-formal style, pretty much of humour, nice photos.

21. Ja i oni by Jolanta Kwiatkowska - I'm not able to say something about this book.
22. Czytelniczka znakomita by Alan Bennett - lovely story, kind of fairy tale for readers. A bit touted sometimes, but really nice.
23. Pół życia by Jodi Picoult - after reading The Man Who Lives with Wolves now I had a chance to read this novel, so much inspired by the story of Shaun Ellis, but with the addition of fiction + the scheme so typical for this author. The result is really touching, I was reading on one breath, I couldn't put it away!

24. Mężczyzna, którego nie chciała pokochać by Federico Moccia - contemporary romances seems to be not for me. Or this one is not a good example of this genre ;) Quite schematic, with a lot of not realistic dialogues, schematic characters. Small plus for not so schematic ending and for Andrea.

25. W Otchłani by Beth Revis - at the beginning I was reading it mistrustfully, but I've got a positive surprise - it's a good youth fiction! And it's untypical - plot is settled on the spaceship, the characters are ambiguous, it's has a "nerve" in it. I wanna read the second book :)

The Beth Revis series is on my TBR! I really need to get ahold of them. I'm dying to read them!

26. Rubinowe czółenka by Joanne Harris - I can't help it - I love her style! At least the style of this cycle, I don't know - yet! - much more of this author. How lovely she is painting scenes, I feel I would be there, I would see what they see, feel what they feel and eat with them these awesome things. And the story is great!

Elyse - :) And you're lucky enough to be - probably? - happy to get them all easly. We have until now just the first book translated. I hope they'll publish soon the rest or I would need to order them from abroad :/

27. Wojna w blasku dnia. Księga I by Peter V. Brett - what a cool fantasy cycle! Full of intrigues, very interesting world, a lot of fights for power and for life, very well created characters, we can see them evolving from one book to the other. Very good read, again :)

28. Autobiografia na czterech łapach czyli Historia jednej rodziny oraz psów, kotów, koni, jeży, żółwi, węży... i ich krewnych by Dorota Sumińska - with more books of her which I'm reading I more and more thing that they should be given to each person in the world with the milk of the mother. The life would be better!

29. Złomiarz by Paolo Bacigalupi - next very good book by this author! Now I wonder about the things which will happen in next book of this cycle!

30. Kruchość jutra by Ewa Bauer - Better than the first book, but it seems I'm more demanding right now and I can't rate it higher. The progress is visible, but I still have an impression that everything happened too fast, these changes and happenings are because of that not so credible, I lacked depth. But it's good that the progress is visible, it gives hope.

31. Podróż do miasta świateł. Róża z Wolskich by Małgorzata Gutowska-Adamczyk - I like the story, characters - especially Rose, place and time of action. I will read it the continuation with a pleasure!

32. Brzoskwinie dla księdza proboszcza by Joanne Harris - incredible book! Not so charming as the first two, there is no such tastes, but it's... I don't know how to describe it! Story about faith, change, trust, friendship, conflicts, forgivenes etc. Less magic, more sour, but very interesting.

33. Zawsze piękne by Katherine Boo - I don't know why but I thought it's a novel, so I had a big surprise at the end of reading. Very moving book, it made me think how lucky life I have.

34. Zabić ojca by Amélie Nothomb - I don't get the aim of this book, it's not reaching my mind. I rated it higher for the ending, which was done in an interesting way. It's not the best book of her which I've read.

35. Księga Daji by Tamora Pierce - I like the attitude of this author, how she writes fantasy books for youth. They are balanced, focused on values and attitudes, they are showing magic in a different way, not so spectacular as usual, but interesting. The question is if it's not a bit borring for them, for me - not :)

Tamora Pierce is in my TBR.

36. Złodziej Dusz by Aneta Jadowska - I read first book after the second, but well, life ;) Still - it's a really cool cycle, very nice read - light, funny, nice descriptions, very yummy main male characters, interesting world.

Elyse - then I'll look forward to your opinion :)

37. Między prawem a sprawiedliwością by Paweł Pollak - collection of four short stories, related with crime, justice, work of police and lawyers. Interesting but not thrilling. The best was for me the last short story.

38. Z innej bajki by Jodi Picoult - very nice fairytale, rather for youth, but it was also a cool read for me. Interesting idea, well done, light, with nice characters which you wanna support. And nicely printed.

Haven't read that one yet but I'm a big Jodi Picoult fan.

39. Klinika by Sebastian Fitzek - an interesting first meeting with this author. Addictive thriller, pretty emotional, but with some touted moments. But the worst is that I don't remember which moments, even if I've read it just some hours ago!
40. Raki Pustelniki by Anne B. Ragde - first of all - such endings should be forbidden! The reader is left with a great will of just running and finding book No 3. Except for that - very good continuation, I'm not sure if not better than the first book. Everything is there what it should be.

Elyse - me too :) But this one has nothing to do with her previous books. Still - it's charming and I think it will be fun for most of the bookworms, just because of the topic :)

Aga, is that the one that Jody wrote with her daughter?

41. Czarny Pryzmat by Brent Weeks - first book of this author for me and very good first meeting ;) I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the continuation. I like this type of fantasy books.

Andrea - yes, it's the one :)

42. Tajemniczy uśmiech by Nicci French - very good first meeting with this pair of authors. Very good read for travelling + they've managed to confuse even me ;) At some points I've doubted in my own thoughts ;)

43. 7 + 37 cudów świata by Igor Možejko - I have mixed feelings. Pretty some interesting places, quite some interesting descriptions, but also quite a lot of boring information, which did not help me to concentrate on reading while traveling to/from work. And I was all the time wondering how up to date it is.

44. Gdy poluje lew by Wilbur A. Smith - that's how you should write an adventure novel, beginning of saga!

45. Zmyślone życie Siergieja Nabokowa by Paul Russell - during the first half I had better feeling about this book, than during the second part. And I don't know if it's because of the fact that I've read it very long or it's just the book. Well, the vision is interesting, we'll probably never know if it could be a true one.

46. Na pastwiska zielone by Anne B. Ragde - and the trilogy is over. Very well written, convincing, touching. This natural style, full of descriptions, terse, human. And so much sadness in it! It was painful while reading.

47. Wilczy trop. Alfa i Omega by Patricia Briggs - an interesting plot, well in some parts I had a feeling "too long" and there are quite some not clear things, but considering it's a book No 1 I'm accepting it without problem. I just hope they will publish here the whole cycle.

47. Wilczy trop. Alfa i Omega by Patricia Briggs - an interesting plot, well in some parts I had a feeling "too long" and there are quite some not clear things, but considering it's a book No 1 I'm accepting it without problem. I just hope they will publish here the whole cycle.

48. Trafny wybór by J.K. Rowling - first book of this author which I've read. Well written, pretty touching, but a bit too long-winded, it could be shorter withour loosing much. The most interesting were the changes of the characters.

49. Pasja budzi się nocą by Anna Kossak - a lot of colloquiall words, but pretty nice reading. There is a chance for a pretty good chick lits by this author and maybe - if she would give up the chick lit style - even crime story or thriller. Here I did not need much this part of the plot, but it gaves the idea that she has pretty interesting thoughts in her mind.

50. Wojna w blasku dnia. Księga II by Peter V. Brett - good continuation, that's for sure. Well, I would kick the ass of the author for such an ending ;) I need to check out the progress of the next book.