On Shopping Which Gladdens the Heart by India Knight

The Blurb On The Back:

Penguin first published woman-about-town India Knight in 2000, introducing with My Life on a Plate a voice as fresh as a skinny latte. In On Shopping Knight celebtrates the joys of retail therapy and shares with us the many and varied pleasures to be found online and on the high street, as well as her conviction that if you don't enjoy shopping, you're simply not doing it properly.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

I suspect that you'd get more out of this if you were already a shopaholic, particularly with the store/web recommendations that Knight makes. However, for someone who doesn't live to shop, it didn't really do it for me.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

The Blurb On The Back:

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren't for the magic ...

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it rose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.

Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles.

The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings - and the death of Kate's guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she's way out of her league - but she wouldn't have it any other way ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Flawed but enjoyable and it cracks along at an incredible pace. I definitely want to see what happens to Kate Daniels in future books.

The Kiss by Anton Chekhov

The Blurb On The Back:

One of the greatest Russian writers, Chekov was both a brilliant dramatist and accomplished author of short fiction. Penguin publishes the widest range of his plays, letters and stories, including three new volumes of short fiction from which these two tales are taken. Offering a compelling insight into human nature, they describe the joy and sorrow found when two people come together with different expectations and desires.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

An interesting read and as good an introduction to Chekov's short stories as anything else.

Master List of Books 2007

1. New Magics: An Anthology of Today’s Fantasy Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden.

2. The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin.

3. Paddington Abroad by Michael Bond.

4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

5. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey.

6. London’s Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime by Fergus Linnane.

7. Lifeless by Mark Billingham.

8. Diaries 1969 - 1979: The Python Years by Michael Palin.

9. A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones.

10. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.

11. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.

12. Hangman’s Holiday by Dorothy L. Sayers.

13. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (STARTED IN 2006).

14. Tithe: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black.

15. Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black.

16. Something From The Nightside by Simon R. Green.

17. Daughters of Britannia: The Lives & Times of Diplomatic Wives by Katie Hickman.

18. The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov.

19. The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid.

20. The Torment of Others by Val McDermid.

21. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (STARTED IN 2006).

22. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell.

23. Shadowmancer by G. P. Taylor.

24. The Wire In The Blood by Val McDermid.

25. Stormfront by Jim Butcher.

26. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman.

27. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher.

28. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher.

29. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher.

30. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

31. Death Masks by Jim Butcher.

32. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher.

33. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher.

34. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher.

35. Junk by Melvin Burgess.

36. Buried by Mark Billingham.

37. Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

38. Agent’s of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green.

39. Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman.

40. Nightingale’s Lament by Simon R. Green.

41. Hex and the City by Simon R. Green.

42. Paths Not Taken by Simon R. Green.

43. Sharper Than A Serpent’s Tooth by Simon R. Green.

44. Hell To Pay by Simon R. Green.

45. Tales of the Decongested (Volume 1) Edited by Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone and Paul Blaney (STARTED IN 2006).

46. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling.

47. Under The Dam And Other Stories by David Constantine. (STARTED IN 2006).

48. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

49. Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton.

50. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

51. Slow Man by J. M. Coetzee.

52. The Boys’ Club by Amanda Swift.

53. Brick Lane by Monica Ali.

54. Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold.

55. The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven.

56. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

57. The Long Firm by Jake Arnott.

58. Case Closed Vol. 12 by Gosho Aoyama.

59. Montmorency by Eleanor Updale.

60. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

61. Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky.

62. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

63. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka.

64. Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier.

65. Magic Lessons by Justine Larbalestier.

66. Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost.

67. Ironside: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black.

68. Omega Place by Graham Marks.

69. Inside the Cage by Matt Whyman.

70. On Shopping Which Gladdens the Heart by India Knight.

71. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews.

72. The Kiss by Anton Chekhov.