100+ Books in 2025 discussion

99. Dobranoc, słonko by Heidi Hassenmüller - what a book! In such a short story there is so many blowing down emotions! Skocking testimony, balanced and through that even more scary. People can be the worse being which appeared on Earth, how you can do such things??

100. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón - I liked this book much more than The Prince of Mist - plot is more interesting, characters as well. For me it's more convincing, a few times I even did "Ah!" while reading ;) Now I will wait until October for the next book (after the huge success of the The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game one publisher decided to publish his book from the first one and I'm reading it in such order :)

101. Życie zaczyna się po sześćdziesiątce by Bernard Ollivier - - Life is starting after being 60 - a very inspiring book, which helps you to again stand on your legs, gives motivation to be active in all ages. Story about a man, who after retirement started to march for long distances (like few thousands km!), write books, starts a foundation which helps young people punished by law. When I will have no power for being active, then I'll read it again :)

102. Daughter of the River: An Autobiography by Hong Ying - I really don't understand why this book was created. For me it looks like clearance with life, city, family and herself, but if she felt such a need of creating clearance then she could write it in a dairy or in a letter to a friend, not necessarily published it as a book. It's not badly written, but totally did not reach me.

103. The Julian Game by Adele Griffin - the book is ok, but it gained in my eyes because of underlining the role of internet (especially Facebook) in lives of nowadays youngsters. It's a simple story: high school intrigues, outsider + "the coolest girl in the school + guy + Facebook = recipe for a catastrophe! It's decently written book with a strong impact of internet on life of someone.

104. The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin - author used a lot of schemes of fantasy, but still - it's a great read! Patricide, brother against brother, beautiful and lion-heart women, brave warriors, magic and strange creatures. Very compelling, you don't feel it's such a thick book. But it's a bit funny when you hear a knight saying "frustration" or when warriors have while travelling with caravan a clean cloths for the wounds.

105. Czarny Horyzont by Tomasz Kołodziejczak - "Black Horizon" - I liked this book very much, it was standing on my shelf for a long time, so I did not remember what I should expect from it, I was reading with an empty mind and I felt good with it ;) Post-apocalyptic vision of Poland and whole Europe, mix of technologies and magic, fight between good and bad, a lonely hero, and this all in quite unique sauce ;) And what a weird world! Catholics mixed with Elfs, different dimensions and meetings in coffees in Warsaw, fight related with time of tolls, timetables of trains, set-ups of buildings etc.

106. The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue - and interesting concept of observing a group of changelings when they're changing one of them in the place of a real kid and this kid is forced to join the group of changelings. We can see the story from two perspectives: changeling, who went to the place of Henry and Henry who took a place of the changeling. An interesting, unique read.

107. Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman - a great continuation and closing! Really inspiring fantasy based on the ancient Chinese and Japanese culture, but extended with a lot of new inputs. Well written, addictive so much that in some moments I almost stop my breathing, very diverse. Alison Goodman have got a loyal fan in me :)

108. Želary by Květa Legátová - the title is a name of the village - I appreciate that it's a very good book, I have such general feeling. But at this moment it's not reaching me in such a way that it could in a different time. Maybe it's because of my travelling and heavy Tonsillitis which I'm having since a few days? I don't know, I just now it's worth to know this book.

109. Misjonarze z Dywanowa. Polski Szwejk na misji w Iraku: Część I. PINKY czyli Nowicjusz by Władysław Zdanowicz - this very long title is related with Polish crops sent to the mission in Iraq. Actually with a newby-soldier, pretty stupid and full of problems which is all the time causing troubles. Something like modern Polish version of [The Good Soldier Svejk] - very similar style and main characters.

110. Wyrok by Mariusz Zielke - "Sentence" - I'm starting July with a stron accent - it's a really good economical thriller focused on Stock Exchange in Warsaw. It's well written, using easier language that this usual economical one, with a bent (it's visible that author is an economical journalist), very interesting. The content is scary - if even one fifith of it is true, then it's bringing down. Actually it's probably even worse in reality than he was describing in this book, who knows ;) The worse was the matter of media, I had very little illusions about them, but even them disappeared.

111. Fałszywa miłość by Heidi Hassenmüller - "False love" - I don't know, maybe I'm simply to old for such type of moral stories for youth. The first book I've read (it is somewhere in this thread) was really amazing, but this one is a bust. Despite of horrible behaviors of guys, everything looked funny for me and that's all. Such a stupid-naive teenagers and bad guys. Now I don't know what to think about the author and her works, maybe I need to read a third book to decide: I like or I don't like ;)

112. The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard - a very good idea for the plot, many interesting scenes and descriptions, but very straightforward book (if you can say that about the book, not a person ;)). It's wasn't difficult to guess what will happen next.

113. Świadek by Ilja Mitrofanow - "The Witness" - immensely bitter story about people living in Bessarabia during the II WW. Written - at least at the beginning - in a light style, gradually changes into a bitter and tragic story. Very good novel.

114. Wyznania księży alkoholików by Stanisław Zasada - Confessions of priests-alcoholics - I was reading with an attitude "it'll be good and positive, nothing negative", but I had a nice surprise. Confessions seems to be honest, priests are telling stories about their life, reasons of alcoholism, reactions of families, parishioners, authorities. It seems also that author does not avoid different topics. For example he clearly write about lack of support between bishops and priests, bishops' attitude "I'll send you to quarry, then you'll have no time and will to think about alcohol!", about hiding alcoholism between bishops, lack of support between priests, their loneliness etc.

115. The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver - Deaver - like usual - gave me a lot of emotions. This time even bigger emotions, because this book is focused on collecting data about each of us, question of privacy, using data to manipulate and destroy humans. Very well written, keeping in suspense, well prepared.

116. Murderers in Mausoleums: Riding the Back Roads of Empire Between Moscow and Beijing by Jeffrey Tayler - it's actually an interesting read, but I was missing something. I did not feel bond with author, even sometimes he was irritating me, he was "flying" from place to place, in each venue was 1-3 days and from this the whole journey was build. A lot of interesting meetings and impressions, but nothing deeper, I don't really get till the end why he was doing this jounrey.

117. All Things at Once bz Mika Brzezinski - quite interesting memoirs of a woman coming from untypical family, whom managed to have untypical career. I couldn't like the character-author, but in general it was not bad read, but I was getting mad when she was writting that when she was over 30, an adult woman, wife and mother of two, she couldn't make well her bad or a good laundry, c'mon!

118. Misjonarze z Dywanowa. Część 2: Jonasz by Władysław Zdanowicz - second part of 109 book in this thread. It's a satire on Polish army, politics, mission in Iraq. It's based on the [The Good Soldier Svejk] style, but totally adapted to nowadays and Polish reality. A lot of absurd, funny moments etc.

119. Zamordowana królowa (Królowie przeklęci #2) by Maurice Druon - another great book of this author in this series. Written with a sparkle, rich with events, but also with explanation of a historical background and extension of characters known from the first book. Now, I'll start reading the third book.

120. Biała gorączka by Jacek Hugo-Bader - "White fever" - it's a very colorful reportage, which is showing a dark side of life in ex-Soviet republics. Poverty, AIDS, alcoholism, selling organs, women, kids, exploitation, being in a rut. And even though I was reading with bated breath! But still - slough is coming while reading, very "visible".

121. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett - a cool book of this author in version for kids. Wise and brave rodents, clever and funny-charming Maurice, people as background characters. It's a really good read, pretty some humor, and a new translation it's really good. I recommend this book for a light read!

122. Trucizna królewska byMaurice Druon - next book of this great cycle! Appetizing intrigues, fights for power, influences in the royal court. Really great image of France during a short reign of Louis X. Druon is writing about history in such way, that you almost will forget about breathing :D

123. Saga Sigrun by Elżbieta Cherezińska - Saga of Sigrun (or Sigruns' Saga?) - I loved this book! It's such a pity it's not translated into English! Yes, I was going mad at the beginning because of sooo many description of the sex of main characters ;) But later there were less and less of such scenes and more stories about daily life of a proud northern gentile. Great descriptions of daily life of Vikings, their political fights and expeditions for to rob different places to bring goods home together with the good reputation for themselves. And all this is given to us by a woman, mother, wife, through her point of view. I already ordered other 2 books of this cycle.

124. Wedle reguły kreacji by Artur Boratczuk - - "In the rule of creation" - what a weird book, I really don't know what to write about it. It's not bad, but so strange, I can even sum up my thoughts.

125. Prawo mężczyzn by Maurice Druon - another great book of this cycle. It's #4 and still the quality is the same! Amazing :) Druon is really getting into my top favorite historical authors :) His masterpieces of building intrigues and human characters is really big. I have one more book of this cycle and then I need to wait for the next 2 books I don't even know how long :/

126. Burza od wschodu. Wspomnienia z Kijowszczyzny by Maria Dunin-Kozicka - "Storm from the East. Memoirs from the Kiev region" - moving and interesting account from the fate of Polish landed gentry in Ukraine (they were living there for looong time) during the end of the I WW and years after it. In some moments touching, much more horrifying, sometimes a bit boring (while author was coming to her idealistic talks), sometimes a bit annoying (when according to her everything was done because of Jews). In general - worth reading, but no English version as far as I know.

127. Podróż zimowa by Amélie Nothomb - forth book of this writer which I had a chance to read. It's ok, but it's far after other books which I had a chance to read, just ok. It's a next example of an obsession and its' influence on humans.

128. Wilczyca z Francji (Królowie przeklęci# 5) by Maurice Druon - still a great quality book, this cycle really keeps a cool quality, it's book No 5 (of 7) and each of them is great :) This one made on me an impression of more dark - more direct and cruel fights for power, murders, and the last scene of murdering of the king, brrr...

129. Dance With The Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon - you can't even know how much I like this series! It's full of sex, delights of sex and partners, talking about love, but I still love this series :D Maybe because of the combination of nowadays and myths? Maybe because of great characters? Maybe because of Ash and Dark Hunters, relations with gods from Olympus and all these "flavors"? It's a great read and I'll tap into next books with pleasure.

130. Rio Bar by Ivana Sajko - I have no clue how to write about this book. It's in this modern style, which I generally don't like, but an amount of emotions, impressions, feelings related with Serbo-Croatian cleansing is huge and choking.
131. Blacklands by Belinda Bauer - not badly written, a bit crazy story. Nothing particular in comparison to other similar books, just because of the idea itself I gave it a higher note.

131. French Lessons by Ellen Sussman - an interesting romance with a bitter note. It was a long time when I read such book, which would combine a story about love, looking for love, loss, loneliness, rejection, and that's all going throughout 4 stories, interwine and influencing the last of these stories.

133. Dziennik Serafiny by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski - re-read after about 15 years. And I've changed my note for a better one. Now I can get more from this book, I see more, understand more. And I'm sorry for the main character, who was in between the "good behaving girls" time and time of accepting love in marriages and work for living etc.

134. W nadziei na lepsze jutro by Ewa Bauer - it's a debut of this author. It's clear she is keen on psychology. It's worth reading for an interesting thread of relationships and very open ending. I'm curious how she will develop the story in next part, because I'm sure there must be a next part.

135. Making an Exit by Sarah Murray - very interesting book related with death, dead, funeral, mourning. Visiting different countries and cultures, to check out how it's there. A loooot of very interesting descriptions, habits, adventures, information etc. An interesting read.

136. The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta - it's hard to decide what do I really think about this book. Amazing idea for the plot, it was "wow" for me, a good development of the plot and characters, but still I couldn't attache to the characters in any way, no emotional bond with them, no addiction to the action. It's a bit pity, because the amazing idea!

137. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles - New York, end of 30'. A group of friends, their life, relations, happiness and sadness. An interesting read, very credibly settled in this city and timing, what a zests there were... And in addition pretty some bitterness of life.

138. Gears of War: Pola Aspho by Karen Traviss - book based on the computer game. An interesting world, something like post-apocalyptic with wars around, but I had a strange feeling, that I miss a beginning, an end and stronger settling down in this world. But I assume that fans of this game have no such problem ;)

139. Imperium wampirów by Clay Griffith - very interesting world - after a Great Butchery vampires are ruling Europe, humans moved to the hot places, because just there they can survive - Egypt, hot parts of America, Africa etc. Vampires here are not shiny weeds, but cutthroat, cruel, treating humans like food raiders. And there is a love story - lovely human princess and heir of powerful vampire clan, she is kidnapped and he is appearing on her path. Very good read and I definitively count that we'll get rest of this series here :)

140. Babskie gadanie by Izabela Pietrzyk - "Ladies gabble" - it's a really good women-lit ;) They are not really chicks anymore ;) Well, at least people would say so for being 44-45 years old ;) Crazy ladies, a lot of wild conversations, many smiles and laughing, problems with men and life. Sometimes I was angry on the main 2 characters - he was behaving like an asshole and she like a teenager - but in general - I liked this book a lot.

141. The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy - confession of the stranger to the stranger while travelling by train. Very "stuffy", dark story of feelings - love, envy, hate, madness, embedded in the world of conventions and rules.

142. Sekretna córka by Shilpi Somaya Gowda - family in India can't afford to have a daughter, family in the USA can't have their own child, the fates are connected, interlinked. Really good book in relation with family, adoption, identity, emigration, sense of belonging, different cultures etc. I read it basically in one day, so it should be a recommendation :)

143. Umierający dandys by Mari Jungstedt - I gave this book lower mark just because of the crude of the style, which I don't know who is responsible for - the author or the translator. Sometimes I gnash because of that :/ In general - quite interesting story, thanks to which I had a chance to get to know Swedish painters, decent crime story but nothing more than that.

144. Mice by Gordon Reece - an interesting study of the transformation from victim to executioner, even more interesting because of the fact that it concerns mother and daughter, and because of what is going on is changing their life totally. And this all is "emblazoned" with thoughts from Macbeth

145. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff - time is passing, now we're following the adventures of the descendants of the characters from the first book. Again there are Roman legions, betrayal, fights for the legitimate emperor, friendship of two young adolescents and in some part also a very important symbol - eagle without wings. A good book for youth written in a classical way, where people are important, not special effects.

146. "Ostatnie dzieci bolera" by Raul Perez Torres - "Last kids of Bolero" - lovely stories about different faces of love. Written with a beautiful language, very poetic, interesting short stories, full of emotions, but this style, style, which I truly hate - one sentence is taking the whole page, a lot of symbols and abstraction. And because of that it was really hard for me to read it, tiring.

147. Hanulka Jozy by Květa Legátová - in comparison with the first book this one I liked much more. It's thrilling, moving, convincing, stunning. Maybe the first one was read in a wrong time? The enging of the book - very moving, the whole book - very good.

148. Państwo Tamickie by Joanna Łukowska - very nice entertainment - stories related with one young family during the end of socialism and start of capitalism in Poland, funny and interesting.

149. Po śniadaniu by Eustachy Rylski - an interesting life-literature summary, going through life, believes, literature, a bit tiring.

150. Dziewczyny wojenne by Łukasz Modelski - "War girls" - touching stories of girls and young women whose faith was connected with the II World War and years after it. No pathos and buttering someone up, very reliable stories, no myths just specifics. Bravo for the author that the storytelling was mostly up to the heroines, he was just adding seldom something from his side.