Book List 2013 + Desolation of Smug

= a particular favourite

This year I decided to include graphic novels etc in the count because dammit I spend my time reading them, so why not?

     

Faerie Tales & Nightmares/ Melissa Marr
The Prose Edda/Snorri Sturluson
Maximum Ride: Nevermore/James Patterson
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.../Richard Carlson
Her Fearful Symmetry/Audrey Niffennegger 
Tales of the Otori: Across the Nightingale Floor/Lian Hearn
Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero/Rick Riordan
Angels and Demons/Dan Brown
Wicked: The Grimmerie/David Cote
The Crystal Singer/Anne MacCaffrey
The Thirteenth Tale/Diane Setterfield
The Guernsey Literary & Potatoe Peel Society/Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince/Cassandra Clare
Stravaganza: City of Ships/Mary Hoffman
The Sleeping Beauty/C S Evans & Arthur Rackham
Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet/Emma Vieceli
Wicked/Gregory Maguire
Changeless/Gail Carriger
The Poetic Edda/Anonymus
Maximum Ride Manga: Vol. 5/James Patterson & NaRae Lee
The Story of Ferdinand/Munro Leaf
Fortunately, The Milk/Neil Gaiman
Maximum Ride Manga: Vol. 6/James Patterson &NaRae Lee
Home to Big Stone Gap/Adriana Trigiani
Soulless Manga: Vol. 2/Gail Carriger & Rem
The Language of Flowers: A Miscellany/Mandy Kirkby
The Looking Glass Wars: Seeing Redd/Frank Beddor
Quiet/Susan Cain
The Book Thief/Markus Zusak
Blameless/Gail Carriger
Soulless Manga: Vol. 3/Gail Carriger & Rem
Ironside/Holly Black

Total: 32

And, a small note on The Hobbit:

To be honest, even I; the girl who cannot get enough of Middle-Earth, thought it was a little long-winded in places. Yes, we know that Thorin wants to reclaim his throne. We get it. Next. Did the elves REALLY need to go to Lake-town? (although, always nice to see more of Legolas' hilarious facial expressions) Stephen Fry seemed sadly pointless, IT'S THE MOON, YOU BLOODY FOOLS! and that love-triangle with Tauriel and Kili, WHAT was going on there?! (note to writers; however hard you try, you cannot sexy-up dwarves) And my two favourite scenes from the novel (the spiders, and Bilbo's conversations with Smaug) were spoiled by a somewhat misguided attempt to up to ante. Shouldn't have taken an arachnophobe to see that film.

However, points for Beorn, would have liked to see more of him. Gandalf regal and awe-inspiring as always. Nice little pointers to the 'next' films. Smaug was better than I ever imagined he could be, in voice, personality, and quality of CGI (in fact, I think he looked more real than Orlando Bloom at some points). RED-HAIRED LADY ELF! FINALLY! Sets suitably beautiful, Necromancer suitably Saurony, and Thranduil...

Well. Thranduil. What can I say?