39. When We Were Orphans

By Kazuo Ishiguro  (335 pp)

Poop. Did not enjoy this book much. It starts off slowly and when it finally gets going it is so loopy I didn't know what to think. It's about a British detective who spends part of his childhood in Shanghai and then his parents disappear.  The book is both his childhood and him, as an adult, trying to solve the mystery of what happened to his parents. Read Remains of the Day, instead.

Almost the End of the Year Wrap Up

For whatever reason, I still make reading goals and keep lists of the books I read. Why? Who is keeping track? I am.

This year I decided to go for pages read rather than books finished since I read books of all different sizes. I wasn't sure a good goal but guestimated 15,000 and I am *almost* on track. I would have to read 170 pages a day including today to make it. That's not impossible but not where I want to focus my energy right now.

I probably am actually a little closer but I read some really trashy books that I don't add to the list. Yes, you read that correctly. I keep a list of books I read for no reason and then don't list books I'm too embarrassed to mention.

I have another book sitting here that Hannah gave me and I would probably devour that, too. I can't decide if I should just read it or make myself read one of the books that's been sitting here awhile first.

38. The Martian

By Andy Weir (369 pp.)

If you give me a birthday present on June 1st and tell me not to open it until my birthday in December, I absolutely will set it aside and save it for my birthday. I start with that so you will believe me when I tell you that I never peek at the end of a book. Never. You have no idea how badly I wanted to peek at the last page of this book. But I didn't. Keep in mind that I'm a simpleton and if I'm enjoying my entertainment I don't try to figure it out. But this reminds me that I read a 1 star review of a romance novel and the person said: it was totally predictable. HA! That is the definition of a romance novel. That's why we like to read them.

Back to The Martian, this is the first time I devoured a book I for xmas this quickly since Pet Semetary in 1983. That book was so scary. The Martian is about a guy who is accidentally left behind on a mission to Mars. The book is pretty science-y. I got a little weary of it in spots. But mostly it's really fun to read. The protagonist is hilarious. A snooty hard science fiction fan would probably hate it but I recommend to everyone else.

37. The Runaway King

By Jennifer Nielsen (247 pp ebook)

This is the sequel to a book I read last year: The False Prince. I was a little disappointed. I still like the protagonist but the story had some implausible moments and dragged a wee bit in the middle. Not a bad book and I intend to finish the series.

36. Sunshine

By Robin McKinley (405 pp)

I liked this book a lot and it was something I was reluctant to put down but I wanted to love it and never quite got there. It's set in a Buffy type universe - a world that looks like ours but has demons and magic. The protagonist is wonderfully flawed and works as a baker in a busy cafe. She is kidnapped by vampires which sets off the events of the story. She develops an interesting relationship with one of the vampires - and these are dark, scary vampires. The problems I had were spots that got bogged down in the narrator's internal ramblings and there were some serious info dumps to plow through. But overall: recommend.