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ltr posted:1. The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time, #5) by Robert Jordan 21. Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files (The Dresden Files, #12.5) by Jim Butcher 22. From Russia With Love (James Bond, #5) by Ian Fleming 23. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick 24. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach 25. The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington, #2) by David Weber 26. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky Progress: 26/52 Officially at the half-way point of my goal. I love the Dresden Files books and Side Jobs was nice to read some shorter cases while also catching up on the last book I needed to finish before Skin Game. From Russia With Love and The Honor of the Queen are purely filler to clear out my kindle backlog. They were both okay for what they were, but that's about it. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, having never seen Bladerunner, I came in with little knowledge of anything related to the book and enjoyed reading the book. Packing For Mars was much more about the psychological and physiological challenges of spending time in space than actually going to Mars. It was great in explaining all the issues the human body has with operating when taken out of it's natural environment and the technology we've developed to deal with these problems.
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May 31, 2014 04:29
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30. Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari by Tim Clutton-Brock- Fascinating. I love meerkats and this book is full of information about their lives along with many adorable pictures. 31. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe- I honestly found this extremely boring. It wasn't the language, just that I felt that absolutely nothing interesting happened except for the very beginning and the end. 32. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths- my first murder mystery other than Sherlock Holmes. Pretty enjoyable, but had some annoying cliches. 33. The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner City Neighborhood: by David Simon and Ed Burns- The book that The Wire was based on. Everyone should have to read this book, especially anyone who has ever felt judgmental of drug addicts. It's incredible. 34. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: The characters in this book are so quirky that they are obnoxious. The ending was obvious and I always feel manipulated by stories like this. 35. Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald- About healthy ways to lose weight for endurance sports. Very helpful. 36. Fic by Anne Jamison- About fan fiction. I wanted a book about the social implications or history, but what I got was a bunch of essays that are barely connected by different authors. Most of the authors try really hard to establish their “fan cred” and that's really not what I'm interested in reading at all. 37. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris- This is the first Sookie Stackhouse book (the series that True Blood is based on). It was actually way better than I expected.
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May 31, 2014 13:47
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thespaceinvader posted:35: Skin Game. Nuff said. 7 or 8 chapters in thus far, and enjoying it. 35: Skin Game. gently caress me, I knew Jim Butcher is widely held to be a massive goon, but what a MASSIVE GOON is Jim Butcher. And holy hell, he's come a long way since Storm Front. I had an absolute blast with Skin Game, and now I'm seriously considering reading the whole thing a second time round immediately, just so that I can notice where Grey was passing messages to Harry, because I didn't for the life of me peg that twist until it happened. It was extremely well-hidden by the fact that so much poo poo constantly happens to poor old Harry that everything being entirely against him felt entirely natural. I laughed out loud at Spot. I cheered at the goony-as-gently caress loving lightsaber of the cross and generally had an absolute wail of a time. Fantastic fun. Not sure what's next. I'm tempted to do a full reread of the Dresden Files at this point.
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May 31, 2014 15:58
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39. Blood of Ambrose, James Enge 40. This Crooked Way, James Enge 41. The Wolf Age, James Enge The three Morlock the Maker novels. They all have a very different feel, and reading the afterword for This Crooked Way leads me to believe that was deliberate; each book was deliberately evoking a different type of classic fantasy literature. Overall, I think The Wolf Age is my favourite, although I enjoyed them all a great deal. Blood of Ambrose focuses more on the people around Morlock than on Morlock himself, but it's Morlock I came for. This Crooked Way is a collection of short stories woven together into a novel, and while the stories stand on their own just fine, it works less well as a coherent book; there is an overarching conflict of sorts in Morlock's attempt to restore Nimue, and Merlin's opposition, but most of the stories don't touch on this at all, so it ends up feeling like it was just kind of tossed in there for the sake of having it after most of the stories were already written. (I had also already read most of them elsewhere.) The Wolf Age suffers from neither of these flaws, although I think it would have been better had the Strange Gods been completely uninvolved; they don't really add much to the story. And arguably Morlock should have killed all of them at the end rather than just Death, since they clearly can't be trusted not to meddle disastrously in mortal affairs. In any case, I enjoyed the poo poo out of all three of them, and they also go down smooth; I started reading Blood of Ambrose on the bus into work three days ago. 42. Berserkers: The Beginning, Fred Saberhagen I finally have what I think is a complete set of Berserker short stories, and this is the first collection in that set. I had, I think, already read all of the stories in this collection. What I had not done was read them all together, or in order; in particular, there are four stories here -- The Stone Place, Masque of the Red Shift, In the Temple of Mars, and The Face of the Deep -- that are all part of the same continuing plot and should probably be read together. Previously I had reach one in a separate collection, years apart, and hadn't made the connections. ToxicFrog fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Jun 30, 2014 |
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May 31, 2014 16:07
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Ghetto Wizard posted:Goal is 30. I primarily use audiobooks, and my consumption of those has really slowed down this year and I'm behind where I want to be. Did I just misunderstand you here, or is your reading challenge gonna mainly consist of you listening to a few audiobooks instead of actually reading the books?
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May 31, 2014 18:55
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Ghetto Wizard posted:
I felt this way too - hell, I felt like the book was some kind of poorly-written YA Neuromancer. I know Stephenson is supposed to be an amazing writer, but I read half of that and the first 15 pages of Cryptonomicon and gave up on him entirely.
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Jun 1, 2014 00:48
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My original goal was 20 books this year. I've upped it to 35 but might go higher yet. Here's a YTD update 1. DMZ, Vol. 12: The Five Nations of New York Wood, Brian Totally unexpected ending but a great series overall, might revisit again one day when I can read all 12 volumes in one go. 2. The Hidden Icon (Book of Icons) (Volume 1) Kuhlmann, Jillian This book was written by a local friend, she's working on a sequel and I am looking forward to it. It took me a number of chapters to get into this but once I did it was hard to put down. 3. Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) Hawkins, Rachel A quick YA read. not the best YA book I've read but a nice filler and I'll likely read the rest of the series when I can. 4. The Chaperone Moriarty, Laura I really enjoyed this book. What a crazy life Cora wound up living. I can't imagine living with the kind of secrets that they all did. 5. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened Brosh, Allie It was a funny and quick read but some of the stories were a little too out there for me. the first half was better than the second 6. The Astronaut Wives Club Koppel, Lily ugh. What a mess. I had to force myself to finish it. would not recommend. In hindsight I should have just dumped it after the first half. 7. Déjà Dead (Temperance Brennan, #1) Reichs, Kathy typical story like the tv show. might read some more but not dying to. ha. well written and suspenseful. 8. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls Sedaris, David Most of this book was funny but I find as a (new) mom that humor at the expense of a kid isn't funny at all. 9. Pushing Up Daisies (Dirty Business, #1) Harris, Rosemary Somewhat obvious bad guy but still an enjoyable read. 10. Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan, #2) Reichs, Kathy Same basic mystery plot as the first with a little more romance and a lot more death. 11. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (audio book) read by Frasier, Shelly written by M. Roach I listened to this book so I'm sure I missed some things but was overall quite enjoyable, a little funny and I learned new things. I think I'm going to donate my body to science now. 12. The Fault in Our Stars Green, John One of only two books so far this year with a 5 star rating. I'm not sure still what I feel about the abrupt ending (although not as abrupt as An Imperial Affliction) but otherwise a lovely book that I'm glad I read. 13. Deadly Decisions (Temperance Brennan, #3) Reichs, Kathy Same as the rest of the series 14. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) (audio book) Collins, Suzanne I still don't like the deaths, especially the last one but the story is good and I find myself excited to see what will become of them 15. Catching Fire (Hunger Games, #2) (audio book) Collins, Suzanne I listened to all three of these back to back that I have a hard time placing what happens here vs. three. Enjoyable though. 16. Fatal Voyage (Temperance Brennan, #4) Reichs, Kathy Same old same 17. Collins, Suzanne's Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) (audio book) Besides the loss of Primrose I felt that the end was tied up too neatly. 18. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (audio book) Sedaris, David what an odd book. can't say I'd recommend it unless you're looking for something quick and weird. 19. Water for Elephants Gruen, Sara I really enjoyed this book. It's funny and charming but also has sad and lonely moments. This was the other 5 stars so far, I would recommend to most anyone that enjoys fiction. 20. The River of No Return Ridgway, Bee I have heard there is going to be a sequel and I hope so because there is so much left unresolved. I did like the very last scene though. 21. The Swallow J. Hucke I beta read this debut(?) novel of a friend of a friend. If it ever gets published I would recommend it. It's a YA novel about a dark love story that tackles PTSD, addiction recovery, coming of age, and sibling/family relationships. It was a quick read but even with the darkness it was enjoyable. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10104702-kristina I think now I'm going to catch up on some comic singles and then I'm listening to the second to last Wheel of Time and reading something I haven't decided on yet.
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Jun 1, 2014 01:38
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Ursus Veritas posted:January So I read a grand total of gently caress all in April thanks to The Steel Remains and The Palace Job which were so simultaneously boring that they killed all my enthusiasm to read... May 9. Silence Once Begun by Jesse Ball 10. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North 11. Talus and the Frozen King by Graham Edwards 12. The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher 13. Authority (Southern Reach Trilogy #2) by Jeff VanderMeer 14. Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh 15. Bonk by Mary Roach 16. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 17. Masters of Doom by David Kushner Came back from a long break to read Silence Once Begun, an interesting little mystery that's related almost entirely through interview, it was gripping while I was reading it but it's kind of faded from my mind since then. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is by Claire North who is Kate Griffin who is Catherine Webb; anyways Fifteen Lives follows Harry August who relives his life from the beginning after every death and chronicles, as the name suggests his first fifteen lives. I really liked this book, my only real problem with it is that it still falls into a rote good guy vs bad guy scenario but it's not a huge issue in the end because I actually kind of like how Webb ends up framing the conflict. Talus and the Frozen King is okay at best, it's very clearly just medieval Sherlock Holmes and the mystery is just kind blah, it really suffers from the Sherlock Holmes-ian issue of an insufferably smug protagonist. The Burning Dark is pretty great for the vast majority but the pacing suffers in the end as it just kind of concludes suddenly; still a pretty good sci-fi ghost story that I'd recommend checking out. Authority is if anything an even slower burn than Annihilation and mostly serves to add some background and shading to the world, I still really enjoyed it but it's not going to sway detractors of the first book. Shovel Ready is pulpy and short, kind of a tonal mix between Gibson and Morgan but ultimately pretty disappointing. With Bonk I've officially read every Mary Roach book so I guess I'll have to find real non-fiction books to read now. I re-read Slaughterhouse-Five and it's still really good, not my favourite Vonnegut novel at the moment but I'm sure it could be. Finished out the month by squeezing in Masters of Doom or the Rise and Fall of John Romero, I'm always interested in video game related topics so this was a good read. Well I feel like I made up for missing out on April but now I have nothing that I'm really psyched to start reading so this month should be fun. I'm finished with school until September so maybe if I'm feeling brave I'll try starting Worm, who knows.
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Jun 1, 2014 01:56
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10. Bill Willingham - Fables Vol. 4 - Probably the best of the series to date. 11. Chris Wooding - Retribution Falls - A middling-fun airships-and-piracy story, as written by a four year old with a box of crayons. Slogging through Haldeman's The Forever War right now, not hating it quite enough to quit but not liking it enough to read it regularly  11/30
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Jun 1, 2014 04:29
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ulvir posted:Did I just misunderstand you here, or is your reading challenge gonna mainly consist of you listening to a few audiobooks instead of actually reading the books?
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Jun 1, 2014 06:41
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Tiggum posted:Are you serious? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noDXwDmT0IA
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Jun 1, 2014 09:31
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I think all the long passages of landscape descriptions would lull me to sleep.
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Jun 1, 2014 12:31
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01.Influx by Daniel Suarez Influx was weird at times but I guess that was the intention. Enjoyed reading it, I'd still like for Daniel Suarez to return to the world of Daemon and Freedom at some point. 02.Daemon by Daniel Suarez 03.Freedom by Daniel Suarez After finishing Influx I've decided to read Daemon and Freedom again. Still great books, immensely enjoyed both of them. 04.Inexperienced Mage by D.W. Jackson 05.Branded Mage by D.W. Jackson 06.Broken Mage by D.W. Jackson 07.Warded Mage by D.W. Jackson 08.Stranded Mage by D.W. Jackson 09.Master Mage by D.W. Jackson I've finished reading the whole series and D.W. Jackson needs to seriously work on his writing and storytelling. It's a fantasy setting, randomly throwing things like "I got you bro" and "OK [...]" into conversations was annoying.Overall the story is similar to that of Raymond Feist's Magician, simply transplanted into a somewhat more typical fantasy setting with Dwarves, Elves and various other races. 10.Parasite by Mira Grant Great book with unfortunately a bit of blatant foreshadowing and - at least for me - highly obnoxious characters. I can't wait for the second book of the series to be published. Done: 10 of 30 dorijan fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Jun 1, 2014 |
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Jun 1, 2014 14:16
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Might wanna give a review or something so you don't get probated. Just listing stuff is sort of frowned upon.
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Jun 1, 2014 14:41
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ulvir posted:Did I just misunderstand you here, or is your reading challenge gonna mainly consist of you listening to a few audiobooks instead of actually reading the books? Yes. I prefer listening to audiobooks over reading because I can do it while I'm doing something else, for example exercising. Did I misunderstand you here, or are you trying to get less people participating in this challenge because someone might not be consuming their books 'correctly'? Don't be weird.
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Jun 1, 2014 14:43
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I thought the whole point of a reading challenge was to, you know, challenge yourself. There's nothing wrong with audiobooks in itself, but it seems odd in this context since it's hardly any challenging. At least its a few steps up from reading nothing but donald duck and X-men to pad the numbers.
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Jun 1, 2014 15:31
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Reading challenge 2014: Not really all that challenging after all
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Jun 1, 2014 15:53
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ulvir posted:I thought the whole point of a reading challenge was to, you know, challenge yourself. There's nothing wrong with audiobooks in itself, but it seems odd in this context since it's hardly any challenging. Perhaps the challenge is in consuming audiobooks rather than whatever is on the radio or the TV? I think its valid.
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Jun 1, 2014 16:01
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I have trouble concentrating on audiobooks instead of a book in front of me, it would absolutely be more of a challenge for me to listen to audiobooks instead of reading!
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Jun 1, 2014 16:08
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quote:01. The Stranger - Albert Camus 25. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner As disorienting as the first two chapters are, it lets you enter the mind of the characters. I love the way you learn about Caddy indirectly, and from how she affects the rest of the family. 26. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller One of the few books I've read that has made me laugh out loud. I was really put off by the style for the first half, but I warmed up to it by the second half. 27. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson Not much to say for this one. There are some really funny moments in here. I should probably watch the movie. DannyTanner fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Jul 25, 2014 |
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Jun 1, 2014 17:16
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May. 29. Leviathan Wakes. James S. A. Corey. Great book, good dynamic story in space, even if it felt simple some times. 30. Nail your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books. Roz Morris. Research. 31. The Hunger. Whitley Strieber. Quick and to the point; and the point is full of sex and blood. 32. Against a Dark Background. Iain M. Banks. Good book, too long in some parts. The intersection of flashbacks in the middle of the chapters was a little disorienting. 33. The Royal Succession. Maurice Druon. The intrigue goes trough the roof. It actually felt shorter than the others in the series of the "Accursed Kings".
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Jun 1, 2014 17:19
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April: 24. Anna Karenina- Lev Tolstoy Excellent, but I didn't like it as much as War and Peace. I guess I didn't sympathize as much with the characters in this one. 25. The Golem and the Jinni- Helene Wecker 26. Kindred- Octava E. Butler May: 27. House of Many Ways- Diana Wynne Jones I found it rather lacking the sense of an established world that the first two books had. 28. Champion Textbook on Embalming- Eliab Myers A textbook from like 1900 that I read because I am trying to go back to school for mortuary science. Holy gently caress am I glad not to be a student from back then, though. Wearing gloves while handling the body was only "suggested" for cases of deadly contagious disease. Fun! 29. Thicker Than Water- Mike Carey 30. Let Me In- John Lindqvist Someone on Goodreads asked me what I thought right after I finished this, so I'm just gonna copy that: It was well-written and tense, with a lot of really visceral horror. Objectively I think it's a very successful horror story with an interesting romantic premise that it manages to balance well with all the brutality and horror. Personally, though, I wasn't a huge fan just because I found pretty much all of the characters completely unlikeable. A lot of them are obviously intended to be hated (the pedophile/murderer, for one), but I disliked both Oskar and Eli as well, which I'm sure is the main reason I ended up not really enjoying the book. I also thought the ending was abrupt and a little stupid, as well, but I won't go into details since I don't know if you've read it already or not. Plus I was extremely not a fan of the graphic cat massacre (I almost stopped reading there because the scene just kept going and going) but that's more a personal thing because I just hate reading about animals dying. 31. The Scarlet Pimpernel- Emmuska Orczy 32. The Turn of the Screw-Henry James 33. The Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame
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Jun 1, 2014 22:47
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Might wanna give a review or something so you don't get probated. Just listing stuff is sort of frowned upon. Thanks for reminding me, I'll update my post momentarily.
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Jun 1, 2014 23:14
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Mr. Squishy posted:1 The Devils by Fyodor Dostoyevsky as translated by David Magarshack. 39 The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard. This was a play that I've been feeling guilty about not reading ever since school, it was alright. Clever. I mean, not mind-blowing. 40 Rembradnt's Hat and Other Stories (The Silver Crown; Man in the Drawer; The Letter; In Retirement; Notes from a Lady at a Dinner Party; My Son the Murderer; Talking Horse) by Bernard Malamud. A slender volume with a lot of short-short stories. Seems to be a transitional point in Malamud's style (I'd guess, not having read any of him). Talking Horse is miles away from, say, In Retirement. Of the bunch I'd pick the titular story and My Son, but overall, I wasn't that thrilled. 41 Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov as translated by David Magarshack. Not sure if I read the Magarshack translation, I've already lent my copy out so I can't check. Anyway whoever it was did a fine job, what a likable book. Manages to wring out some real despair and a sense of importance out of really quite a boring life. 42 Illness as a Metaphor and Aids and its Metaphors by Susan Sontag. I wasn't massively impressed with this to be honest. The first story is some fairly obvious remarks on the idea of cancer versus tuberculosis, the second a criticism of militarism as filtered down to pharmaceutical copy and news reports. 43 The Wrong Set and Other Stories (Fresh Air Fiend; Union Reuinion; Saturnalia; Realpolitk; A Story of Historical Interest; Crazy Crowd; A Visit in Bad Taste; Raspberry Jam; A Significant Experience; Mother's Sense of Fun; Et Donna Ferentes) by Angus Wilson. A series of character portraits, few longer than 10 pages. Young Wilson at his satiric best. Strawberry Jam is perhaps my pick, an unexpected burst of horror like a plunge through thin ice. 44 Billy Bud, Sailor and Other Stories (Bartleby; Cock-A-Doodle Doo!; The Encantedas; The Bell-Tower; Benito Cereno; John Marr; Daniel Orme by Herman Mellville. 3 of these aren't really stories but sketches to be developed. Mellville wrote some good poo poo, is my humble opinion. I didn't like The Bell-Tower, felt to me like an overwritten Poe story, but Bartleby, Cock-A-Doodle and Benito are all fantastic. 45 The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad. The first bad Conrad I've read, I think, and well-forgotton by the academics. His prose was stiff and lifeless, occasionally crippled with laboured, obvious metaphors in the place of dialogue. Near the end there's a great bit where a frustrated suitor attempts to force his way in to his beloved's bedroom, a lively blend of humour and horro, but I'd probably just advise you to skip to that. 46 Daisy Miller and Other Stories (Pandora; The Patagonia; Four Meetings by Henry James Early stuff about youthful spritely America coming against the rocks of cultured, cynical old Europe. The contrast between Daisy Miller and its strange sequel was interesting. Four Meetings is probably my favourite, in its efficiency. 47 Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol as translated by David Magarshack Another Russian, another Magarshack, who I think is really good. The first book is masterful, what remains of the second is less so. 48 The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. The first Hardy I've read, shamefully. From a brief look at The Return of the Native, Casterbridge seems to have kept the poetry relatively constrained. I think the plot, a tangled mess of shifting relations and affections, was really well carried off in all its complexity. Also less depressing than I've been lead to expect. 49 Mulligan Stew by Gilbert Sorrentino. Less of a book more of a setting for various dazzling literary parodies and, for some reason, lists. Who cares if it's good, which this is. 50 Indian Summer by William Dean Howell. Not really my bag at all. I read it mostly for historical interest. ♀ 4/20 Σ 50/60 Hahaha I'm really not meeting that subgoal.
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Jun 2, 2014 00:12
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I picked up since the middle of May: 43. The Uncollected Wodehouse by P.G. Wodehouse: This book's title kind of is self-defeating. This is a collection of short stories and miscellany by Wodehouse, who I knew of vaguely. Based on this, I like his brand of light comedy okay, but I can't say I would seek him out. 44. The Sleep of Stone by Louise Cooper: Short, YA-ish fantasy novel about a faerie in love with a mortal prince. Fun reading. I have had a lot of these books on my shelf for five years, and am finally getting around to reading them. I don't know where they came from, really. 45. Stephen Crane: The Open Boat and Other Stories: Thank goodness for Dover Thrift Editions! Four public domain stories of Crane's put together in a small volume. Crane is a good writer, and was somewhat of a ground-breaker in "social realism". He wrote in the 19th century, but seemed to be writing about fifty years ahead of his time. 46. Euthyphro, Crito, Apology and Symposium by Plato: Four Socratic dialogs put together in one volume. There are so many different assortments of the dialogs put together in different orders, with different translations. This is one I happened to have. It allowed me to catch up on my Plato. 47. Poetry and Mysticism by Colin Wilson: A weird mixture of sociology and literary criticism by a writer who is full of ideas but not always full of organization. Some of the choices are kind of odd: trying to explain the entire mystical experience through a biography of a minor Edwardian poet is not what I would do. 48. Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice: One of Anne Rice's books after she decided she didn't need an editor, but before she converted. How do you feel about Anne Rice? That is how you will feel about this book. 49. Nora Volume 7 by Shonen Jump: A manga that I had on my shelf. I read it because it was there. It actually had lines like "We have fought before! But this time his power level is too high!" and the like. Another thing that just kind of...drifted on to my shelf.
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Jun 2, 2014 02:48
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I recently received prescription glasses (Nov. 2013).  Before then, I went 6 months without reading anything, because reading had become physically painful for me. I cannot remember the last time I went that long without cracking open a book. Now, I am looking to hit the big 65 books/comics/graphic novels before the end of 2014.Add me on Goodreads here. My list so far: 1. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh (Great compilation of some of her best material, and some that was never published online - the story of moving with her dogs is my favorite of this collection.) 2. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (My head was reeling after reading the ending. I just have to say that, despite not being surprised, I was completely unprepared to face that ending.) 3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home by Georges Jeanty (This medium of storytelling for Buffy lends itself to more interesting story arcs, but the first in the series was a bit of a bumpy ride.) 4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future for You by Brian K. Vaughan (Distinct from the first, the storytelling seems to relax into its new style here. Also, hello useful, badass, one-eyed Xander!) 5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wolves at the Gate by Drew Goddard (I love a good cliffhanger.) 6. Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1) by Neal Stephenson (Typically, I enjoy a Neal Stephenson novel once in awhile. This novel was almost unbearable for me to finish. I couldn't believe that I made it to the end - the end of forever is an awfully long journey. I bought this series from a thrift shop ages ago. The question I have in front of myself is - do I bear down and take in the next two or count my losses and move on with my life? At this point, only time will tell.) 7. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (Unlike Stephenson, Gaiman has yet to disappoint me. The Ocean at the End of the Lane was no exception. Moving, sweet and menacing - I will read this again.) 8. The Doll by J.C. Martin (Martin offers nothing special to the horror genre here - I would have been better off reading a King novel. At least his characters are more interesting.) 9. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (Although it was well-written, the story itself was not effective at grabbing my attention. However, there are so many Oliver Twist references in modern popular culture to warrant a read-through. I would call this an educational adventure....) 10. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (This was my second read-through (does that count?), and still, I love the imagining of human civilization splitting into two radically opposing societies. Wells' subtext is not sophisticated, but I found that delightful for a short story.) 11. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon (This is a nice throwback to some earlier episodes of Buffy. I find it interesting that Whedon brings a character in from his first graphic novel, Fray. Well played, Joss.) 12. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Predators and Prey by Jane Epsenson (This is one of the funniest in the series so far - fans of the show would appreciate Harmony's influence on society as a "vampire star". Every time a Buffy fan asks me about the comics, this is the spoiler I almost die to keep to myself, because it is so well done. Hilarious.) 13. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat by Jane Epsenson (By far, this one had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Again, nice throwbacks to earlier episodes of the TV series.) I am significantly behind according to Goodreads for hitting my goals by the end of the year. Yeesh.
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Jun 2, 2014 03:07
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ulvir posted:I thought the whole point of a reading challenge was to, you know, challenge yourself. There's nothing wrong with audiobooks in itself, but it seems odd in this context since it's hardly any challenging. And aside from that, a book is a container for words. An audiobook is an alternative container for those same words. What difference does it make if you read it as text or listen to it as audio?
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Jun 2, 2014 04:38
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Tiggum posted:What's challenging about reading a book? You keep that question in mind, while you ask yourself why schools has to spend several years explicitly teaching children how to read with good comprehension, why the thread "Books you couldn't get through" exists, or why that second google autocomplete for "Ulysses is" exists. But enough of this. I said what I had to in my last post. If the point of this thread is simply "Get through X amount" in a year, then I'm not gonna stop y'all from meeting that goal by any means.
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Jun 2, 2014 08:25
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Tiggum posted:What's challenging about reading a book? The whole point is to set a goal to keep yourself reading, because you want to. There's no contest, there's no rules, If someone wants to set their goal at 20 comic books for the year, who the gently caress cares? It's a personal goal, it's what each individual wants to do. There's no objective standard for what counts or what an appropriate goal is. I'm reading as many graphic novels as I can get my hand on and that includes lovely X-Men books but also trying to get at least a proper novel in every two weeks. I should probably do an update in here eventually.
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Jun 2, 2014 08:51
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Tiggum posted:And aside from that, a book is a container for words. An audiobook is an alternative container for those same words. What difference does it make if you read it as text or listen to it as audio? Well, this is the reading challenge thread. Listening to audio isn't reading, they are completely different mediums. If the Game of Thrones TV show was 100% faithful to the books, would that count? Red Shirts: I'm quite fond of John Scalzi. I've already read all the novels in the Old Man's War series so this was the next logical step. It's basically a parody of Star Trek and for the most part was enjoyable. The "main" novel itself was cut sort and continued in the form of three short codex instead. A pretty weird format but it worked out in the end. I probably looked like a loving idiot smiling to myself while I was reading on the train. Consider Phlebas, Ian Banks: I love the Culture universe Banks developed (I'm reading the next in the series now). It's pretty safe to say it's one of my favourite science fiction settings. That being said, I did not give a single gently caress about any of the characters in this novel. Socialism, Utopian and Scientific, Engels: It's difficult to judge since it didn't really introduce any concepts I haven't already read about before. Apart from a few words that have droped from common use, Engels prose is still easily readable today. The Infernal City and Lord of Souls, Greg Keyes: Two novels, but probably should have just been combined into one. They were honestly pretty passable fantasy, they just kept me entertained since I'm into Elder Scrolls lore. If you have never played any of the games and don't care about the surrounding lore, don't bother. Wage-Labour and Capital, Marx: This is actually really quite good. It did a great job of explaining wage-labour in a nice, simple way. I'm reading Player of Games by Banks at the moment and I'm quite tempted to completely ignore my to-read list and just keep reading Culture novels.
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Jun 2, 2014 09:33
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glowing-fish posted:43. The Uncollected Wodehouse by P.G. Wodehouse: This book's title kind of is self-defeating. This is a collection of short stories and miscellany by Wodehouse, who I knew of vaguely. Based on this, I like his brand of light comedy okay, but I can't say I would seek him out. Why would you make your first entry to an author a collection of scraps intended for completists rather that one of their good books?
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Jun 2, 2014 09:43
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Xik posted:Well, this is the reading challenge thread. Listening to audio isn't reading, they are completely different mediums. If the Game of Thrones TV show was 100% faithful to the books, would that count? If this is the reading challenge thread, then I can count newspapers and magazines as well, right? The silly thing about all these people fussing over what should and shouldn't be counted towards a reading challenge is that they're all wildly inconsistent. There are a few people, like you, who emphasize the reading part of the challenge, who say that audiobooks therefore do not count. Then there are people who emphasize the books part, and who think that even graphic novels can't be counted. I suggest that everyone who comes in here to complain about the forms in which others are reading go pick up a loving book. Every month it's the same loving derail in this thread, it really takes the enjoyment out of this.
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Jun 2, 2014 09:59
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Xik posted:Well, this is the reading challenge thread. Listening to audio isn't reading, they are completely different mediums. If the Game of Thrones TV show was 100% faithful to the books, would that count?
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Jun 2, 2014 10:02
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Xik posted:Well, this is the reading challenge thread. Listening to audio isn't reading, they are completely different mediums. If the Game of Thrones TV show was 100% faithful to the books, would that count? Yep. A recording of someone reading every word in a book is the same thing as an adaptation in a different medium. And blind people need not apply to this thread either. Braille means the words get transmitted to their brain via touch, not light. Completely different medium. 8. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. I enjoyed it. I'm sure there were a lot of Shakespeare references that went over my head, but I liked the ones I did get. I felt like what it had to say about theater wasn't nearly as profound/interesting as what Witches Abroad had to say about stories or Small Gods had to say about religion and faith, but that might just be because I am not a theater person. It was funny enough that it doesn't really matter. 9. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I don't know if I've ever read anything a self help book before. I'm kind of suspicious of the genre, but I enjoyed this one. It was surprisingly cynical and pragmatic while remaining upbeat. I enjoyed the folksy style. Nothing in it was particularly ground-shaking, but it was organized well, thought provoking, and generally seemed to contain decently insightful advice that matched up with things I've experienced. It was worth reading. 10. Skin Game by Jim Butcher. Quite fun. It felt more like the early books in that it juggled a bunch of things in a flashy enough way that I could let myself get distracted and only figure out twists just before they happened. Very satisfying. Wittgen fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Dec 29, 2014 |
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Jun 2, 2014 10:06
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Xik posted:I'm reading Player of Games by Banks at the moment and I'm quite tempted to completely ignore my to-read list and just keep reading Culture novels. I thought that too last year until I got to Excession.
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Jun 2, 2014 11:46
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Trek Junkie posted:I recently received prescription glasses (Nov. 2013). Now that would have been a reading challenge! Tiggum posted:The thing you don't seem to understand is that it doesn't matter. If someone wants to count watching Game of Thrones season 1 as reading a book, the only person who should care about that is them. It has no effect on the rest of us at all. None. 7)Serial Experiment Lain Ryūtarō Nakamura What an amazing story! The experience of communication, loneliness, transcendence, all things that are dealt with in this piece of work. While for some people this may be a difficult thing to get into because the first couple of episodes do not explain what is going on exactly, it is a masterpiece. 8)Welcome To The Quiet Room Suzuki Matsuo Hideaki Anno acts for a total of like three minutes! This is about a psych ward in Japan, where the main character goes after taking sleeping pills and drinking a lot of beer. She meets several different characters there who either want to prey on her, help her, or just do not care that she is a human being. I thought this was much better than the one psych ward movie with Zach Galifanakas in it. It is a funny and depressing film. I also learned that there are coconut cigarettes. 9)Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion Yukihiro Miyamoto This is amazingly good. I really do not know how much I can put down to not spoil the whole thing, but the rebellion tag line is really important. This takes place after the main series (you can watch either the original broadcasts or the recap movies) and deals with Madoka Kaname's decision to become a god and destroy the eggs of magic girls before they are turned into witches due to despair. Which is still pretty dark because they still end up dying since the egg is their soul. Homura Akemi still remembers all of the events prior and it troubles her greatly. She is determined to change it even if that means changing the universe. 10)NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (6/1/14) NBC I think that this one was a little bit weaker than the one that came before it. There was a lot of recap of on the soldier who the U.S. government exchanged soldiers for without any real advancement of the plot. The writing was pretty weak overall to be honest, however you should know that if you are a true fan you go in knowing that there are going to be high points and low points. Oh and how the lady who played Alice on the Brady Bunch died really surprised me and came out of nowhere. Looks like we have another GRRM on our hands here guys! 11)Gummo Harmony Korine Guy who posted about not liking animal violence should shy away from this one because it happens all throughout. Poisoning, drowning, butchering them for meat to sell to a restaurant. Some people are absolutely repulsed by this thing. Well that is true of most of Korine's movies. You either really like them or think that they are horrible pieces of trash. Personally I love them. One of the highlights of this was that there was strips of bacon nailed to the wall in one scene. All in all I can say that my reading challenge is going amazingly well now that I am not weighed down by such dumb qualifiers as "books" "things with words in them" "literature" because that is a really stupid thing to do in the reading challenge thread in the book barn forum. I may even end up upping my challenge to 50 books read at this point! Total: 10.25/30 (Last time I forgot that I meant to put Three drops of blood down as a quarter of a book so I corrected it this time.)
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Jun 2, 2014 17:56
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Big month. 21) The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King Exactly as much of a bummer as it should have been; if more non fiction books were this personal and interesting, I'd probably read more. Not growing up in America, it left me amazed at how many really interesting things have happened in modern Native American history that nobody ever told me about, and I'm surprised a bunch of this isn't in movies. longer goodreads review 22) Fledgling by Octavia Butler Octavia is a goddamn genius, and I was surprised when I realized I'd never read this. She is the loving ruler of making you feel super uncomfortable for really important reasons, and everyone should read this if they have any interest at all in the concept of the vampire. longer goodreads review 23) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin This book is so much better if you don't actually read it. There's cool concepts and poo poo but absolutely no characterization and a really terrible clunky prose that made me mad to try and read. longer goodreads review 24) Gray Matters by William Hjortsberg This is a fuckin' terrible book. It's scifi by someone who thinks scifi is a joke, who jumped into the field just to "show them how it's done" I guess. I don't know; my goodreads says it all. It's a hundred and sixty pages, it took four days to read while I was unemployed. longer goodreads review And then I realized there was a new Dresden in a couple weeks and panicked and really ramped up my re-read; this is my first re-read of the series; I'm definitely not going to reread them every year. 25) Blood Rites by Jim Butcher Not as good on a second read; what seemed like cool hints at first was super blunt foreshadowing the second time around. Still, it made me do fantasy casting for two characters and I normally hate doing that, so I guess there's that. longer goodreads review 26) Dead Beat by Jim Butcher This is the best fuckin' Dresden Files book. It just succeeds in every goddamn way. longer goodreads review 27) Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher It explores how hard it is to be a Warden some, but overall this just kind of felt like I was going through the motions. No goodreads, because I had a horrible migraine the day I finished. 27/60 I can't wait until I finish Dresden; I'm going to finally say "gently caress it" and tackle either Gravity's Rainbow or Infinite Jest. Or I'll just work through a bunch of my goodreads list some more, who knows.
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Jun 2, 2014 18:19
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thespaceinvader posted:35: Skin Game. gently caress me, I knew Jim Butcher is widely held to be a massive goon, but what a MASSIVE GOON is Jim Butcher. 36: Think Like a Freak by Stephens Levitt and Dubner. Enjoyable and thought-provoking, but a little light compared to their normal fare - around the size in hardback of their normal softcovers and in a really big font... and the last fifth was references and index. Good, but too short. Then picked up Side Jobs by Jim Butcher, but only read a couple of stories from it so I'm not counting it. Next is a collection of short stories by Peter F Hamilton, but I can't remember the title. I think it's Manhattan in Reverse but I'll confirm shortly.
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Jun 2, 2014 20:24
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Argali posted:I thought that too last year until I got to Excession. Can you explain? Is it completely different to the other novels in the series? If it's going to ruin Culture for me maybe I'll skip that one  .
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Jun 3, 2014 07:32
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Xik posted:Can you explain? Is it completely different to the other novels in the series? If it's going to ruin Culture for me maybe I'll skip that one It's my favourite. I don't think it's particularly different than the others, but it does have a lot more focus on the Minds than some of the other books.
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Jun 3, 2014 13:41
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