So has anyone else put together a reading list for 2013?

Just a few of mine:
-The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien (have read, but a while ago, and might as well read it with the others to do it properly)
-The Two Towers – ” “
-Return of the King – ” “
-War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
-The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (reread)
-Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome (was halfway done with it and then someone at the library requested it. Oh, when people want the book you have, too, and snatch it from you early... but then you want to talk to the person because they've been reading the same book as you. )

Ooo...good list! Baskervilles is good - have you read the other SH mysteries, by chance?

I made a list, but I haven't had the time to read lately, let alone sit down and devour heavy literature that's bigger than my Bible. But here it is:
___________________________________________________________
Beowulf
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Christy by Catherine Marshall
Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan
The Pilgrims Regress by C.S. Lewis
some Shakespeare (I have quite a bit)
Persuasion by Jane Austen
This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
Ingrid Bergman: My Story by Ingrid Bergman
Aunt Jane's Hero by Elizabeth Prentiss (reread)
Safely Home by Randy Alcorn (reread)
The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis
Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien
__________________________________________________________
(It's a bit - ambitious, to say the least. Foolish at best )

My reading list for 2013... Well, this may change throughout the year. But so far, this is what I had in mind:

Dune by Frank Herbert

Harry Potter (The entire series) by J.K. Rowling

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip

Attolia/Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

The Cosmic Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

~Riella

@ Bella, regarding the TMWWT spoiler in your latest post:

And wow, I think this is my first post in this thread in over a year. XD

--- flambeau

Ooo...good list! Baskervilles is good - have you read the other SH mysteries, by chance?

Thank-you! Yes, I agree, I really enjoyed The Hound of the Baskervilles. Unfortunately, I haven't read any other Holmes mysteries. I'm thinking maybe A Study in Scarlet next? I'm not sure. Do you have any suggestions?

Good list, too! Reminds me... I need to add some non-fiction Lewis to mine, as well as the Space Triology...so many books to read!
What is A Farewell to Arms about? I've heard about it, and I wondered.

Riella, what is the Hitchhiker's Guide about? Would you know? I've been trying to find out, but have been rather unsuccessful.

Ah, thanks for that, flam!

I discovered that the Tintin books were at the library! Some of them, at least. There was Red Rackham's treasure and another edition which I mistakenly thought was the whole collection of Tintin stories, but was actually the last volume in a collection of 7 volumes of all the books... so I have Volume 7. In it are The Castafiore Emerald, Flight 714 to Sydney, and Tintin and the Picaros. I read The Castafiore Emerald first, because my sister grabbed Red Rackham's Treasure (in which, conveniently, Professor Calculus was introduced, so I had to just finish The Castafiore Emerald and wonder who in the world he was. ) Bianca Castafiore. I didn't know I'd see her again. Captain Haddock's responses to her were hilarious.
Right now, I've read The Castafiore Emerald and Red Rackham's Treasure. I liked them. They're really unique by themselves and distinct from the movie, but it's incredible to see how the characters are really quite the same. (Haddock looks just the same, sweater and hat and all. Bianca Castafiore was excellently done as well.) They're humorous and yet still serious/interesting. So, yeah, really enjoying them at this point... To be honest, the only kind of comic-book-art that I've ever been interested in are Sunday comics, of course, and the very few manga that I've come across and liked; I've never been terribly fond of superhero comics, so finding adventure comics with fantastic artwork is just great. They're really amazing art and are witty.
*is waiting for The Secret of the Unicorn*

Bella, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is about a fellow named Arthur Dent who escapes Earth right before it is bulldozed to make way for an intergalactic construction project because he happens to be friends with Floyd, an alien who is visiting. And then things happen. I do not remember any real plot, but it is hilarious (though I say that with caution because nothing is sacred) and bizarre. Some may find it simply bizarre.

*enjoys Tintin very much*

Beowulf and The Great Gatsby are on my reading list for this year as well.

Bella, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is about a fellow named Arthur Dent who escapes Earth right before it is bulldozed to make way for an intergalactic construction project because he happens to be friends with Floyd

*Ahem* Ford. Ford Prefect.

I do not remember any real plot, but it is hilarious (though I say that with caution because nothing is sacred) and bizarre. Some may find it simply bizarre.

Yes, the author has a very unusual and comedic style. I find it similar to both Terry Pratchett (author of Discworld) and William Goldman (The Princess Bride).

Also, Bella, there's a movie out based on the book -- starring Martin Freeman, Zoe Deschanel, Sam Rockwell, Alan Rickman, and Bill Nighy -- if you would like to get a taste of the story style before reading it.

The original novel is written by the late Douglas Adams, a favorite Doctor Who writer back in the Classic years of the Tom Baker era.

~Riella

Aslanisthebest, good job finding Tintin!

The Adventures of Tintin were written over a great period (1929-1982) and therefore cover much of the world's activities during the 20th Century (so they're both fun and educational). The adventures straddle many genres - some are pure adventure, others mystery, espionage thriller, mild sci-fi and historical satire and commentary. Castafiore Emerald is an unusual album in that it takes place purely on the grounds of Marlinspike and the mystery isn't really a mystery at all. It's very clever but there's no real purpose to the story, except to get a real understanding of the characters and how they interact with each other (ala Seinfield). I'd love to hear what you think of the other Tintin's!

My top Fiction reads of 2012 were:

1) The Bishop – Steven James
2) Bone – Jeff Smith
3) The Sanctuary – Ted Dekker

My top Non-Fiction reads of 2012 were:

1) Lost Thought – edited by Pearson Moore
2) Herge, Son of Tintin – Benoit Peeters
3) Alien Intrusion – Gary Bates

My 2013 Reading List

FICTION:
City Sidewalks – Jeremy McNabb (eBook - reading)
Subterranea – Mike Duran (eBook)
The Telling – Mike Duran
Illusion – Frank Peretti
Joy & Carnage – Jeremy McNabb (eBook)
The Blood Book– Ted Dekker (eBook)
Angel Fall – Coleman Luck
Brother Odd – Dean Koontz
The Queen – Steven James
The Prey – Michael Crichton
House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Snowball’s Chance – Jeremy McNabb (eBook)
The Dark Tower series (Books 1-8) – Stephen King
The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Circle series graphic novels – Ted Dekker
The Lost series graphic novels – Ted Dekker
We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson
The Monstrumologist series – Rick Yancey
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories – C.S. Lewis
A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
Till We Have Faces – C.S. Lewis
The Man Who Was Thursday – G. K. Chesterton (reread)
Mortal – Ted Dekker
Unseen – T.L. Hines
Watcher in the Woods – Robert Liparulo
Various Charles Williams novels
Various eBooks

NON-FICTION:
How My Faith Survived the Church – Philip Yancey (reading)
Delighting in the Trinity – Michael Reeves
The Resurrection of the Son of God – N.T. Wright
Jesus and the Victory of God – N.T. Wright
The New Testament and the People of God – N.T. Wright
Orthodoxy – G.K. Chesterton
The Vision – Rick Joyner
Various eBooks

*Ahem* Ford. Ford Prefect.

Oops. Thanks for pointing that out. In my defense, I did have the right initial letter and vowel.

Has anyone read anything by Margi Preus? She writes fiction based on true stories and won the Newbery Honor in 2011 for Heart of a Samuri, the story of a Japanese boy who was shipwrecked on an island and rescued by an American whaling ship.

My reading list for this year includes a few books I had started or planned to read, as well as some books for my thesis reading and the one course I'm taking in addition to that.

To finish:
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (I'm listening to a Librivox audiobook of this.)
The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Ursula K. LeGuin

To Read (or re-read):
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (last book in the Wheel of Time series)
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (I tried this one a few years back and I'm determined to read it through this year; wish me luck!)
The Harry Potter series, books 2-7* (I reread the first one a few weeks ago)
The Deathly Hallows Lectures by John Granger
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (recommended by DiGs)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter
Boenhoffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
The Sword in the Stone and The Once and Future King by T.H. White *
The Grey King and Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper *
The Cosmic/Space/Ransom trilogy by C.S. Lewis *

Thesis/Class Reading:
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (currently reading)
Drowning in Gruel by George Sanderson (started)
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Reading the Vampire by Gelder
Dracula by Bram Stoker*
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer*
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice*
Carmilla by Le Fanu
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King*
Blood Thirst: 100 Years of Vampire Fiction edited by Wolf
The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849 edited by Andrew Barger

* indicates that I've read the book before

Warrior - The historical context of the Tintin comics and their varied genres are really interesting!

Castafiore Emerald is an unusual album in that it takes place purely on the grounds of Marlinspike and the mystery isn't really a mystery at all. It's very clever but there's no real purpose to the story, except to get a real understanding of the characters and how they interact with each other (ala Seinfield). I'd love to hear what you think of the other Tintin's!

I noticed that, about The Castafiore Emerald - the plot itself wasn't hinged on the climax of solving the mystery, but was largely, as you said, mostly focused on the characters relating to one another. So Bianca Castafiore is a recurring character?

*is reminded, by shastastwin's list, to reread the first Inkheart*

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

My mom and I helped a friend with a college paper that happened to be about this story (more specifically, though, the movie adapted off the book) and ever since then, the title has literally been following me. A very distinct and sobering plot.

A family friend of ours sent me the book Peace Like A River by Lief Enger. I've started it and find it pretty interesting! So another book to add to my reading list.

Yes, Bianca Castafiore, the Milanese Nightingale, is a fairly regular character in Tintin's adventures. She appears in a total of 6 finished albums and one unfinished album.

Book 8: King Ottokar's Sceptre
Book 13: The Seven Crystal Balls
Book 18: The Calculus Affair
Book 19: The Red Sea Sharks
Book 21: The Castafiore Emerald
Book 23: Tintin and the Picaros
Book 24: Tintin and Alph-Art (unfinished)

I have a book care question for everyone. Do any of you know what might eat the cardboard on a hardback book or otherwise cause it to disappear. We had a book on one of our shelves suddenly show signs of this, so we threw it out to make sure it didn't spread. Only now it seems to have spread to some of the DVDs on that shelf. Here's a picture of one of the DVDs:

What doesn't show up in the picture is that the white, affected area is also shiny as though it had crystals or glue on it. I'm worried it might be some sort of mold or fungus.

Edit: What's funny is the book that it happened to was sitting under a DVD and was only affected in the area exposed to light. And these DVDs weren't in that stack and were higher up and they're the only ones affected.

I've had that sort of thing happen before, but thankfully not to book or dvds (just notebooks etc containing my WIP story notes!)
I believe the creature responsible for that mess is known as the 'silverfish' - a gross silvery bug-like creature that eats the glues found in such products.

Thanks, W4J. That seems to be the consensus of everyone I've asked: silverfish or mice. We're going to have the complex's pest man come out soon and hopefully get a handle on it.

I finished one of the books on my thesis reading list a few posts up: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. It's marketed as a novel but it's really a collection of short stories with a group of characters weaving in and out of each other's stories. It was well written and kept my interest overall, but it has strong language throughout so I can't really recommend it to most of you here. Egan's political views also rankled me in a few stories because they were just as negatively biased as the ones she criticized. Still, for those who enjoy contemporary short stories and can handle some heavy PG-13 language and other mature content, it might be worth a read.

So, I finished Flight 714 to Sydney and The Secret of the Unicorn.
Flight 714.... I'm sorry to say this, but that one... I was waiting for it to end. The artwork was, as is already a given, great. There were actually many funny parts in it that redeemed it for me. (like Allan's baby talk. The "maffacred" killed me.) And, to be honest, I didn't totally understand it.
And I discovered something with the Tintin comics - I laugh at slapstick when it's in comic book form. Usually with TV or movies, it goes over my head and I don't find it amusing at all, but I laughed at plenty of slapstick in this one.
The Secret of the Unicorn was much better. Very interesting, overall! I think this one could be my favourite, of the 4 I've read.
I read Red Rackham's Treasure first, so I think I'm going to read The Crab with the Golden Claws and then read the following two in order.