But what these unobservant birds

Poodlerat’s book blog

List of Reviews

All my book reviews, organized by genre and author (the books I enjoyed most are in bold):

Fiction and Literature

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• 9 - Purple Hibiscus

Isabel Allende

• 4 - Portrait in Sepia

Judy Fong Bates

• 8 - China Dog and Other Stories

Charlotte Brontë

• 10 - Jane Eyre

Pearl S. Buck

• 10 - The Good Earth
• 7 - The New Year

Frances Hodgson Burnett

• 4 - Emily Fox-Seton

Bryce Courtenay

• 10 - The Power of One

Dai Sijie

• 7 - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Laura Esquivel

• 2 - Like Water for Chocolate

Shree Ghatage

• 9 - Brahma’s Dream

Arthur Golden

• 8 - Memoirs of a Geisha

Andrew Greeley

• 6 - The Priestly Sins

Joanne Harris

• 7 - Chocolat

Khaled Hosseini

• 8 - The Kite Runner

Kazuo Ishiguro

• 8 - The Remains of the Day
• 7 - Never Let Me Go

M.M. Kaye

• 9 - The Far Pavilions
• 8 - Trade Wind

Sophie Kinsella

• 6 - The Undomestic Goddess
• Confessions of a Shopaholic (DNF)

Laila Lalami

• 8 - Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits

Naguib Mahfouz

• 9 - Palace Walk

Rohinton Mistry

• 8 - Tales from Firozsha Baag (short story collection)

L.M. Montgomery

• 7 - Across the Miles: Tales of Correspondence (short story collection)

Audrey Niffenegger

• 9 - The Time Traveler’s Wife

Julian R. Pierce

• 8 - Speak Rwanda

Edeet Ravel

• 7 - Ten Thousand Lovers

Van Reid

• The Moosepath League
  • 9 - Cordelia Underwood

Mary Renault

• 8 - The Charioteer
• 5 - The Friendly Young Ladies

Shyam Selvadurai

• 8 - Cinnamon Gardens

Ahdaf Soueif

• 8 - I Think of You

Gail Tsukiyama

• 7 - The Samurai’s Garden
• 8 - Women of the Silk
• 8 - The Language of Threads
• 7 - Night of Many Dreams

Jules Verne

• 7 - Around the World in Eighty Days

P.G. Wodehouse

• 7 - Mike at Wrykyn
• 9 - Mike and Psmith

Markus Zusak

• 9 - I Am the Messenger

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Douglas Adams

• 6 - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Isaac Asimov

• Foundation
  • 9 - Foundation
  • 8 - Foundation and Empire

Elizabeth Bear

• 9 - A Companion to Wolves with Sarah Monette
• Jenny Casey
  • 9 - Hammered

Alfred Bester

• 8 - The Demolished Man

Lois McMaster Bujold

• Vorkosigan saga
  • Falling Free
  • Shards of Honor
  • Barrayar
  • The Warrior’s Apprentice
  • The Vor Game
  • Cetaganda
  • Brothers in Arms
  • Ethan of Athos
  • The Borders of Infinity (”The Mountains of Mourning” / “Labyrinth” / “Borders of Infinity”)
  • Mirror Dance
  • Memory
  • Komarr
  • A Civil Campaign
  • “Winterfair Gifts”
  • Diplomatic Immunity
• Chalion
  • 9 - Curse of Chalion
  • 7 - Paladin of Souls
  • 9 - The Hallowed Hunt
• The Sharing Knife
  • 5 - Beguilement
  • 3 - Legacy

Emma Bull

• 10 - War for the Oaks

Orson Scott Card

• Enderverse
  • 10 - Ender’s Game
  • 10 - Speaker for the Dead
  • 9 - Xenocide
  • 10 - Children of the Mind
  • 10 - Ender’s Shadow
  • 10 - Shadow of the Hegemon
  • 9 - Shadow Puppets
  • 10 - Shadow of the Giant
  • 9 - First Meetings
• Homecoming
  • 8 - The Memory of Earth
  • 8 - The Call of Earth
  • 7 - The Ships of Earth
• Tales of Alvin Maker
  • 8 - Seventh Son
  • 9 - Red Prophet
  • Prentice Alvin
  • Alvin Journeyman
  • Heartfire
  • The Crystal City
  • Master Alvin
• Mayflower Trilogy
  • Lovelock

Charles de Lint

• 9 - Widdershins

Philip K. Dick

• 7 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Neil Gaiman

• 7 - Neverwhere

Mary Gentle

• Golden Witchbreed (DNF)

Colleen Gleason

• 3 - The Rest Falls Away

Laurell K. Hamilton

• Anita Blake
  • 4 - The Harlequin
• Meredith Gentry
  • 3 - Mistral’s Kiss
  • 4 - A Lick of Frost
• 4 - Strange Candy

Charlaine Harris

• Sookie Stackhouse
  • 7 - All Together Dead

Frank Herbert

• Dune
  • 8 - Dune

Tanya Huff

• Vicki Nelson series
  • 6 - Blood Price
  • 6 - Blood Trail
  • 7 - Blood Lines
  • 6 - Blood Pact
• Tony Foster series
  • 7 - Smoke and Shadows
  • 8 - Smoke and Mirrors
  • 8 - Smoke and Ashes

Guy Gavriel Kay

• 8 - The Fionavar Tapestry
  • 6 - The Summer Tree
  • 8 - The Wandering Fire
  • 8 - The Darkest Road
• Tigana
• A Song for Arbonne
• The Lions of Al-Rassan
• The Sarantine Mosaic
  • 8 - Sailing to Sarantium
  • 9 - Lord of Emperors
• The Last Light of the Sun
• 7 - Ysabel

Ellen Kushner

• 8 - Swordspoint

Mercedes Lackey

• 2 - The Fairy Godmother

Ursula K. Le Guin

• 8 - The Left Hand of Darkness

Scott Lynch

• The Gentleman Bastard Sequence
  • 8 - The Lies of Locke Lamora

George R.R. Martin

• A Game of Thrones (DNF)

Sarah Monette

• Doctrine of Labyrinths
  • 9 - Mélusine
  • 9 - The Virtu
  • 9 - The Mirador
  • Corambis
• 9 - The Bone Key
• 9 - A Companion to Wolves with Elizabeth Bear

Andre Norton

• 2 - Three Against the Witch World

Terry Pratchett

• Discworld (City Watch)
  • 9 - Night Watch
  • 9 - Going Postal
• Discworld (Tiffany Aching)
  • 7 - The Wee Free Men
  • 7 - A Hat Full of Sky
  • 7 - Wintersmith
• Discworld (Death)
  • 6 - Mort

Nick Sagan

• 4 - Idlewild

Mary Shelley

• 7 - Frankenstein

H.G. Wells

• 6 - The Time Machine

Liz Williams

• 7 - Snake Agent

Mystery and Suspense

Nancy Atherton

• 5 - Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin
• 5 - Aunt Dimity: Detective
• 5 - Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea

Donald Bain

• 3 - A Vote for Murder

Dan Brown

• 5 - The Da Vinci Code

Agatha Christie

• 9 - The Mystery of the Blue Train
• 9 - Partners in Crime
• 8 - The Complete Quin & Satterthwaite: Love Detectives
• 8 - Parker Pyne Investigates
• 8 - Murder in Mesopotamia
• 9 - Sparkling Cyanide
• 9 - Crooked House
• 9 - Ordeal by Innocence
• 10 - Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories
• 9 - The Pale Horse
• 7 - Elephants Can Remember

Jill Churchill

• Jane Jeffry
  • 6 - The Accidental Florist
• Grace and Favor
  • 7 - Anything Goes

Carola Dunn

• 7 - Gunpowder Plot
• 7 - The Bloody Tower

J.F. Englert

• Bull Moose Dog Run Mysteries
  • 7 - A Dog About Town
  • 8 - A Dog Among Diplomats

Janet Evanovich

• Stephanie Plum
  • 6 - One for the Money

Margaret Frazer

• 5 - The Clerk’s Tale

Diana Gabaldon

• 6 - Lord John and the Private Matter

Elizabeth George

• 8 - A Great Deliverance
• 8 - Well-Schooled in Murder

Dorothy Gilman

• 5 - Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist
• 5 - The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
• 5 - Mrs. Pollifax on Safari
• 5 - Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish
• 5 - Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled

Robert van Gulik

• 6 - The Chinese Bell Murders
• 8 - The Chinese Lake Murders

Charlaine Harris

• Harper Connelly
  • 6 - Grave Sight
  • 7 - Grave Surprise
  • 7 - An Ice Cold Grave

M.M. Kaye

• 7 - Death in the Andamans

Laurie R. King

• Mary Russell
  • 10 - The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
  • 9 - A Monstrous Regiment of Women
  • 9 - A Letter of Mary
  • 8 - The Moor
  • 10 - O Jerusalem
  • 8 - Justice Hall
  • 8 - The Game
  • 7 - Locked Rooms
• Kate Martinelli
  • 8 - The Art of Detection
• 8 - Touchstone

Jeff Lindsay

• Dexter Books
  • 8 - Darkly Dreaming Dexter
  • 8 - Dearly Devoted Dexter

Michael Pearce

• 7 - The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet
• 7 - The Camel of Destruction

Anne Perry

• Thomas and Charlotte Pitt
  • 6 - The Cater Street Hangman
  • 9 - Callander Square
  • 7 - Cardington Crescent
  • 10 - Traitors Gate
  • 7 - Pentecost Alley
  • 7 - Ashworth Hall
  • 9 - Brunswick Gardens
  • 9 - Bedford Square
  • 10 - Half Moon Street
  • 7 - Southampton Row
  • 10 - Seven Dials
• William Monk
  • 5 - Death of a Stranger
  • 8 - Dark Assassin

Jo-Ann Power

• 5 - Missing Member

Rex Stout

• 7 - The Red Box
• 7 - And Be a Villain
• 7 - The Second Confession

Jill Paton Walsh

• 3 - Debts of Dishonour

Patricia Wentworth

• 6 - Grey Mask (1928)
• 6 - The Chinese Shawl (1943)
• 6 - Miss Silver Intervenes (1943; AKA Miss Silver Deals in Death)
• 6 - The Clock Strikes Twelve (1944)
• 6 - Latter End (1947)
• 6 - The Case of William Smith (1948)
• 6 - Miss Silver Comes to Stay (1949)
• 6 - The Brading Collection (1950; AKA Mr. Brading’s Collection)
• 6 - Anna, Where Are You? (1951; AKA Death at Deep End)
• 6 - The Watersplash (1951)
• 6 - Vanishing Point (1953)
• 6 - The Silent Pool (1954)
• 6 - The Benevent Treasure (1954)

Children’s and Young Adult

John Bellairs

• Johnny Dixon
  • 8 - The Curse of the Blue Figurine
  • 8 - The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt
  • 8 - The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull
  • 3 - The Trolley to Yesterday
  • 6 - The Chessmen of Doom
• Lewis Barnavelt
  • 9 - The House with a Clock in Its Walls
  • The Figure in the Shadows
  • 7 - The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring
  • 7 - The Doom of the Haunted Opera (written by Brad Strickland)
• Anthony Monday
  • 7 - The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn
  • The Dark Secret of Weatherend
  • 7 - The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb
  • 7 - The Mansion in the Mist

Holly Black

• Modern Faerie Tale
  • 9 - Tithe
  • 8 - Valiant
  • 9 - Ironside

Francesca Lia Block

• 9 - I Was a Teenage Fairy

Libba Bray

• Gemma Doyle
  • 9 - A Great and Terrible Beauty
  • 9 - Rebel Angels

Eoin Colfer

• Artemis Fowl
  • 9 - Artemis Fowl
  • 10 - Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident
  • 9 - Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code
  • 9 - Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
  • 10 - Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony
  • The Time Paradox

Susan Cooper

• The Dark Is Rising
  • Over Sea, Under Stone
  • 8 - The Dark Is Rising
  • 8 - Greenwitch
  • 9 - The Grey King
  • 8 - Silver on the Tree

Shannon Hale

• 8 - Princess Academy
• Bayern
  • 9 - The Goose Girl
  • 8 - Enna Burning
  • River Secrets

Diana Wynne Jones

• Chrestomanci
  • 9 - Conrad’s Fate
  • 9 - The Pinhoe Egg
• Howl
  • 8 - Howl’s Moving Castle
  • 7 - Castle in the Air

Norton Juster

• The Phantom Tollbooth (DNF)

Annette Curtis Klause

• 9 - Freaks: Alive, on the Inside!

Gordon Korman

• 7 - The Zucchini Warriors
• 8 - No Coins, Please
• 9 - I Want to Go Home

Ursula K. Le Guin

• 6 - A Wizard of Earthsea
• 7 - The Tombs of Atuan

C.S. Lewis

• 6 - The Chronicles of Narnia

Michelle Magorian

• 10 - Goodnight Mister Tom

Robin McKinley

• 8 - Beauty

Robert Newman

• 7 - The Case of the Frightened King
• 7 - The Case of the Frightened Friend
• 7 - The Case of the Etruscan Treasure
• 7 - The Case of the Murdered Players
• 7 - The Case of the Indian Curse
• 7 - The Case of the Watching Boy

Kenneth Oppel

• Matt Cruse
  • 10 - Airborn
  • 9 - Skybreaker

Philip Pullman

• His Dark Materials
  • 7 - The Amber Spyglass
• The Sally Lockhart Quartet
  • 7 - The Ruby in the Smoke
  • 7 - The Shadow in the North
  • 8 - The Tin Princess

Shyam Selvadurai

• 8 - Swimming in the Monsoon Sea

Caroline Stevermer

• Kate and Cecelia
  • 9 - Sorcery & Cecelia with Patricia C. Wrede
  • 8 - The Grand Tour with Patricia C. Wrede

Megan Whalen Turner

• The Thief Trilogy
  • 8 - The Thief
  • 9 - The Queen of Attolia
  • 10 - The King of Attolia

Jean Webster

• 8 - Daddy-Long-Legs

Patricia C. Wrede

• Kate and Cecelia
  • 9 - Sorcery & Cecelia with Caroline Stevermer
  • 8 - The Grand Tour with Caroline Stevermer
• Magic and Malice
  • 8 - Mairelon the Magician
  • The Magician’s Ward

Jane Yolen

• Pit Dragon Chronicles
  • 7 - Dragon’s Blood
  • 7 - Heart’s Blood
  • A Sending of Dragons

Memoir and Travel Diary

Peter Carey

• 7 - Wrong About Japan

Azar Nafisi

• 6 - Reading Lolita in Tehran

Jan Wong

• Red China Blues (DNF)

Xinran

• 9 - The Good Women of China
• 8 - Sky Burial

Romance

Lauren Willig

• 4 - The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Non-Fiction

Natalie Zemon Davis

• 5 - The Return of Martin Guerre

Laura M. Mac Donald

• 7 - Curse of the Narrows

My Rating System

10 - So good it gave me the shivers.
9 - Not perfect, but so good that I didn’t care about its faults until after.
8 - Highly recommended.
7 - Doesn’t get everything right, but worth reading anyway.
6 - Entertaining enough but I wouldn’t particularly recommend it.
5 - Mediocre. Read it if it’s all you can get your hands on.
4 - Has it’s moments, but they don’t make up for the less-than-stellar bits.
3 - Too tedious to bother with.
2 - Made me want to chuck it across the room.
1 - Made me want to chuck it on the bonfire.