|
a little better than february, imo 1) Read some books: 10/?? 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. 1. Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon 2. The Fall of the Stone City, Ismail Kadare 3. The Royal Game, Stefan Zweig 4. The Sound and The Fury, William Faulkner 5. The Class, Hermann Ungar 6. The Fox Was Ever the Hunter 7. Human Acts, Han Kang 8. Cain, José Saramago 9. Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead 10. a book consisting of the two essays Télémorphose og La pensée radicale, Jean Baudrillard first off. I read The Vegetarian last year and thought it was okay, so I gave Human Acts a chance when I saw it at a book shop last month. The theme and subject - Gwangju uprising - was a pretty good premise. its sort of an anthology of sorts, where each chapter is a different POV from people who were involved in and arrested by the military during the events. while you got a good look into how people were treated, I felt the prose and flow of the book was a bit ... I wouldn't say purple prose, but it did keep hitting you over the head with the message. I don't know if this is because of the translation or what, but it felt rather underwhelming, tbh. Cain was pretty funny and good also, rewriting the events of the old testament as a new, satirical sort of fiction, he tries to explore where and how Cain travelled the world after he killed his brother Abel. Rosencrantz was gifted to me during the secret santa last year, I had never read it before and it was pretty funny. it reminded me of Waiting for Godot in a way, with the way Ros and Guil interacted with eachother. I loved the way it established a connection with the main story by Shakespeare. currently reading A Regicide by Alain Robbe-Grillet ulvir fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Mar 31, 2017 |
#
?
Mar 31, 2017 12:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 3, 2024 10:54 |
|
|
ulvir posted:Rosencrantz was gifted to me during the secret santa last year, I had never read it before and it was pretty funny. it reminded me of Waiting for Godot in a way, with the way Ros and Guil interacted with eachother. Certainly not an accident; R&G was Stoppard's explicit homage to Beckett. Bit players in a drama they can barely glimpse and have no hope of understanding, fixated on themes like repetition and doom, powerless to affect even their own actions.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2017 15:02
|
|
|
March~ 30. The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah 31. Cold Days (Dresden Files #14) - Jim Butcher 32. The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov 33. Skin Game (Dresden Files #15) - Jim Butcher 34. Finch - Jeff Vandermeer 35. Flashman - George McDonald Fraser 36. Winter's Tale - Mark Helprin 37. Dragon Keeper (Rain Wilds #1) - Robin Hobb 38. Dragon Haven (Rain Wilds #2) - Robin Hobb 39. Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris 40. Room - Emma Donoghue 41. City of Dragons (Rain Wilds #3) - Robin Hobb 42. Blood of Dragons (Rain Wilds #4) - Robin Hobb 43. The Unvanquished - William Faulkner This month had a lot of series reading - I finished up the Dresden Files books (fun!) and read the entirety of the Rain Wilds series (also fun!) There were also a few rereads, such as The Master and Margarita and Winter’s Tale, both of which are very good magic-realist books. (Wildly different styles, though.) The Nightingale was a pretty decent female-led WWII drama, while Flashman was an amusing "cad-who-makes-good" historical narrative. Finch was an interesting weird-sci-fi sort of noir novel (which I've since discovered is the third book in a series - whoops!) Nothing really stands out this month as a truly great book, but there was also nothing terrible. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. (43/52) 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. - Hobb, Hannah, and Donoghue 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. - totally failed here, whitest month yet 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) 8) Read something which was published before you were born. - Master and Margarita 9) Read something in translation. - Master and Margarita 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) 12) 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 17) Read something long (500+ pages). - Winter's Tale 18) Read something which was banned or censored. - Master and Margarita, I'm pretty sure 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. - The Unvanquished - Faulkner's all about that Southern Honor. 21) Read something about fear. 22) 23) Read something that you love. - Winter's Tale, Master and Margarita 24) Read something from a non-human perspective.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2017 06:51
|
|
|
Forgot to do last month so here's two month's worth of update! Not doing too badly on the Booklord challenge, although I need to up my quota of non-white authors. Previously read: 1. Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell 2. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick 3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon February & March update 4. The Mabinogion by Sioned Davies: A recent translation of a series of old Welsh myths and legends. A very interesting read of very early prose style, nothing like contemporary novels or stories with such things as character development and uh plot. But beautiful all the same. 5. The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo: A childhood classic and a very quick read - on a Welsh kick apparently as there were a lot of links between the names and setting in this book and the tales of the Mabinogion. 6. According to Yes - Dawn French: This was kind of awful. I liked the main character and the writing style in a lot of ways but some truly bizarre choices and plot decisions, such as her having sex with all three generations of man in one family, at least one of which being fairly rapey and another being a married man, getting pregnant by one of them (who knows which) and then everyone apparently being ok with that by the end. Shame, as I have a massive ladycrush on Dawn French. 7. Wish You Were Here by Rita May Brown: A mystery novel with the second main amateur 'detective' being a cat. The animal sidekick thing was a cute gimmick and it was fun to see the characterisations of the animals but honestly the mystery bit was just boring, as was the setting of a weird old american town where everyone is awful. 8. Transmetropolitan Vol 1 & 2 by Warren Ellis: I am loving this series! Very apt mix of sci fi graphic novel and political satire for the current political situation but still truly entertaining and weird. 9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: I mean, it's a classic. I've read this probably four or five times before but I always enjoy a re-read, mainly for the sarcasm and mental images of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy... 10. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett: What a strange play, but oddly enjoyable to read about two grumpy old men doing absolutely nothing and arguing about it. 11. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler : Oof this was tough in places but an excellent read - a combination of science fiction and historical fiction. I was drawn in and absorbed enough to get through the horrific experiences. Booklord challenges completed: 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 11/40 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% (8) of them are written by women . 8/8 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% (8) of them are written by someone non-white. 1/8 8) Read something which was published before you were born - Pride and Prejudice 9) Read something in translation - The Mabinogion 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel - A Year of Living Danishly 12) Read something historical - Outlander 13) Read something biographical - Scrappy Little Nobody 15) Read a play - Waiting for Godot 19) Read a satire. - Transmetropolitan 24) Read something from a non-human perspective - Wish You Were Here
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2017 09:00
|
|
|
quote:1 - The Outsider, by Albert Camus I read four books in March, though one of them was 750 pages long, so I think I kept up a good pace. Still need to redress how white my reading list is, though. 17 - How To Talk About Videogames, by Ian Bogost. A collection of essays and articles, some published elsewhere, in which Bogost approaches various game genres and specific works through a variety of different viewpoints. From existential approaches to Proteus, to "what IS a sports videogame?", the ideas are always entertaining, and entertainingly relayed. I've always disagreed with Bogost on a number of his assertions, and at times these essays come off as self-indulgent or masturbatory. But there is some genuinely good and insightful stuff in here, and I'm glad I picked this up. 18 - Lilith's Brood, by Octavia E. Butler. A thick collected trilogy of dense, emotionally fraught science fiction. After humanity destroys itself in one last war, survivors are picked up by an advanced alien race with immense genetic knowledge. They offer to help humans recolonise the Earth, but only by fundamentally changing the nature of humanity itself. Butler writes very, very well, with a talent for the uncomfortable and shocks of action that linger in the aftermath. Her depiction of the Oankali is fascinating, plausible and deeply troubling, and provides both the most exciting and most offputting parts of the trilogy. Over three novels and several decades on the page, Butler weaves a dense and often unsettling story about preservation, colonialism, sex, manipulation, violence and coercion. There were times where the characters - both human and not - reached conclusions or gave in to feelings or thoughts that baffled and upset me. But even in those times, Butler never breaks from the internal logic of the universe she's creating. It does mean that several uncomfortable questions go unanswered in the back of my mind, though. 19 - Everything Belongs To The Future, by Laurie Penny. A dystopian novella that wears its politics on its sleeve. For all her foibles I'm a big fan of Penny's nonfiction work, and was excited to see her first stab at long-form fiction. Sadly I was a bit disappointed. The premise itself is simiple but good: that the key to longevity and "eternal youth" has been unlocked, and is used as another means for the rich to oppress the rest. The plot itself, focusing on young activists in Oxford, is fun and sad in all the right ways, but quite simply this book is too short.Parts of wider world-building are hinted at but never expanded on fully, which I feel is a mistake given how well this concept lends itself to a wider scope and cast of characters. As it happens, the protagonists we do get are pretty one-note, from the turncoat Big Pharma girl to the scrappy young punks to the skin-crawling young Tory. There were some parts that made me wince, and not in a good way. There are some good messages here though, even if they're anything but subtle. 20 - Cheer Up Love: Adventures in Depression with the Crab of Hate, by Susan Calman. Part autobiography, part guide to depression and anxiety disorders, this resonated with me more than a little. There are plenty of genuinely funny jokes about cats or crying over Gillian Anderson to balance out the sincere and earnest discussions of therapy, self-harm and communication. Calman's voice is instantly recognisable, and the stories from her life are vividly drawn. It's a feel-good book in many ways, about feeling bad, and what to do for yourself or those you care about if depression and its ilk feature heavily in your lives. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. Goal: 52 - 20 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are written by women. - 10 - 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are written by someone non-white. - 5 - 3, 9, 11, 12, 18 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) - Black Boy - 8) Read something which was published before you were born. - 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. - 12) Read something historical. - 12a) Read something about the First World War. - 14) Read some poetry. - 15) Read a play. - 16) Read a collection of short stories. - 18) Read something which was banned or censored. - 19) Read a satire. - 20) Read something about honour. - 21) Read something about fear. - 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. - 23) Read something that you love. -
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2017 11:27
|
|
|
Enfys posted:1. Shift - Hugh Howey I only managed to read two books this month, in part due to crazy life things but also in large part due to trying to finish the most depressing, miserable book ever. 11. A Little Life - Hanya Yanigihara I heard people call this "misery porn", and I don't think I really understood that term until I read this book. It took me 4 months to get through it because it's just so unrelentingly miserable, and it really does seem to take a kind of obscene pleasure in repeatedly describing tragedy and abuse. She's a really fantastic writer, and the writing itself is often beautiful, but it also could have easily been cut down 300 pages or so, but that would have removed the endless repetition of how much the main character hates himself, how much the other characters love him, how horrible his life is, etc. It's incredibly repetitive in its misery. At the same time, it's really insightful, and reading such a detailed examination of a life was interesting. I was really, really glad when it finally ended though. 12. Signs Preceding the End of the World - Yuri Herrera A young Mexican woman crosses the US-Mexico border in search of her brother. A really fantastic and well written book superficially about border crossing but with a lot of other levels exploring how we change our identities depending on where we are, physical/emotional/spiritual borders, how immigrants view their new and old cultures, etc. There are also a lot of parallels with Dante. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 12/50 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women . 4/10 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4/10 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) Read something which was published before you were born. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2017 14:42
|
|
|
March: Numero Zero by Umberto Eco - a fun little book about a fake newspaper and conspiracies surrounding the death (or not) of Mussolini. The pacing is pretty good, which is impressive given the subject matter and the amount of exposition, and he does an admirable job of balancing tension with some of the more absurd elements. Prose was a little clunkier than usual for Eco, but if you like his other stuff you'll almost assuredly enjoy this one, too. 8/10 Human Acts by Han Kang - Went in blind, not nearly as strange as I was expecting based on The Vegetarian. Still a very interesting look into a specific moment in history that I had only the most passing familiarity with. The prose is a little odd - I think part of it is probably because the translator is from England and it shows - the book is written from multiple POVs with informal voices, and some of it will probably feel stilted or a little off to an American reader, but I'd say it's more of a quirk than a fault. There are parts that verge on being emotionally overwrought, but overall I enjoyed it quite a bit. 8.5/10 So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson - A pop-sci look at public shaming in the internet age that follows around a few different people who've been on the receiving end, sandwiched between reflections on what makes people do it and what kind of impact it really has. Pretty interesting, but even though it's obviously written for a layman audience, it would have been nice to dig a little deeper in places. It feels like he throws out all these little threads and then doesn't quite follow through with any of them all the way. Still a very breezy, compelling read, and Ronson has a strong voice for this kind of writing. 8/10 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - I thought I would like this more than I did, based on all the rave reviews I've seen for it. I dunno, it wasn't bad. The biggest issue is that the front half of the book is much stronger and more interesting in terms of characterization and actually having something interesting to say about the way we deal with loss, memory, etc. About halfway through it just kinda becomes a paint-by-numbers post-apocalyptic novel that just doesn't really do a good enough job of ratcheting up the tension or making me care about the bloated cast of characters. The end of the world just felt a bit perfunctory here, like it was an overarching symbol more than an actual living, breathing world. A lot of people were selling it as "literary post-apocalyptic fiction" and I just didn't get that from it. There are some pretty bits of prose, but also a lot of clunkiness - barely disguised exposition dumps, multiple "little did they know..." moments, so on. It was a fun page-turner, but in the end I don't think it really any prettier or more poignant than say, The Stand. 7.5/10 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 9/40 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 2/8 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 3/8 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) 9) 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. Grizzled Patriarch fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Apr 2, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2017 01:07
|
|
|
March! 12. El Tiempo Entre Costuras. María Dueñas. Fun, but kind of disjointed. Sometimes I felt like I was reading different books. 13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. J.K. Rowling. A good book, but it's crammed with characters that don't really need to be there and just clutter the story. Nice ending to the series, better that the book before this one. 14. The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God. Carl Sagan. This book is a collection of lectures that Sagan gave, they are a perfect introduction to the mind of a brilliant man. 15. The Exorcist. William Blatty. The descriptions were good and the story was great, even if a little slow. Some characters were kind of lacking and I'm glad the movie streamlined the story a little bit. 16. Rocannon's World. Ursula K. Le Guin. Kind of a mix between sci-fi and fantasy, it starts the fantastic series of the Hainish Cycle. The story is a little slow, but the characters are quite good. 17. Hidden Figures. Margot Lee Shetterly. The story is pretty good and the main characters (?) are quite inspiring, but the flow of the book made it really hard to follow. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 17/75 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 9/15 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 3/15 4) 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) 9) 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) 12) 13) 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 17) 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) 24) Read something from a non-human perspective.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2017 17:53
|
|
|
March - 6: 18. Costa Rica: A Traveller's Literary Companion (Barbara Ras) 19. The Norman Conquest (Marc Morris) 20. It Can't Happen Here (Sinclair Lewis) 21. Coin Locker Babies (Ryu Murakami) 22. Broken April (Ismail Kadare) 23. If this is a man/The Truce (Primo Levi) Costa Rica is a collection of short stories written by various authors from Costa Rica, split by the area they take place in. My wife bought it for me after our honeymoon there. It's a sweet idea and there's some cool stuff in here - like any collection of stories like this it's variable in quality, but overall it's decent and it's a nice way to look at the country. The Norman Conquest is a very comprehensive history of the Conquest, tracing through from the events which led up to it, the Battle of Hastings and then on to the death of William and the fallout which resulted. Morris has a great style - he's very thorough, and uses his sources critically to try and give a balanced picture of a period which doesn't have fantastic amounts of material to work from. He's also surprisingly funny. A very readable account of possibly the pivotal event in English history. It Can't Happen Here gained a new lease of life pro-Trump. It was cool, but I feel like Lewis did a better job of describing the build-up to the capture of power than he did the bit afterwards. Still good and relevant. Coin Locker Babies was loving nuts. Two babies are left in coin-lockers at railway stations by their mothers. They meet in their foster home and end up getting adopted together, which sets them on an absolutely batshit course through Toxitown (a polluted area of Tokyo occupied by prostitutes, druggies and kids with melted faces) and onwards. I loved it, definitely would recommend. Broken April is about the kanun, a customary legal code in northern Albania with a heavy focus on blood feuds between families. At the start of the book Gjorg avenges the murder of his brother, and the rest of the book revolves around his last month of freedom before he himself is eligible to be killed in vengeance. Also featuring a writer who's made his name romanticising the kanun, and his new wife, as they travel through the highlands for the first time. It's a slow book meditating on the nature of violence and revenge and the weight of the kanun on people's lives. If this is a man/The Truce is really two books but the copy I bought included both so I've only counted it once. If this is a man is an account of Primo Levi's time in Auschwitz, specifically in the Buna satellite camp. Levi was an Italian Jew and a partisan who was transported to the camp in 1944. It's a very sober account, in which Levi tries as hard as possible to bear witness in his description of his experiences, of the systematic brutality used for "the demolition of a man," and of the ways he and others found to survive. It's one of the most famous accounts of the camps and deservedly so (possibly better known in the US as Survival in Auschwitz which is such a second-rate title I can't believe it was used). The Truce is the sequel, released much later, which details Levi's journey home after liberation by the Soviets. Starting from Auschwitz, it's an odyssey of hundreds of miles and months of waiting and frustration, through Poland and the Soviet Union to a village near Minsk before finally ending in Turin via Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. What I wasn't prepared for after If this is a man was for how funny The Truce was going to be. It's a genuinely hilarious book, full of larger than life characters, improbable events and Levi's dry humour. He has a brilliant eye for observation and finding the absurd in any situation. Two books which need to be read and read together. Only one booklord this month, for Coin Locker Babies. I'm not exactly dying to go to the Japan it describes, but it's a country my wife and are both dying to visit and I think I've read as much if not more Japanese lit as I have anything else over the last few years. To date - 23: Booklord: 5, 7-12, 16-18, 20, 23- 24 Women: 6/23, 26% Non-white: 9/23, 39% 01. The Ottoman Centuries (Lord Kinross) 12 02. Snow Country (Yasunari Kawabata) 8 03. Signs Preceding the End of the World (Yuri Herrera) 9 04. Socialism: A Very Short Introduction (Michael Newman) 11 05. Human Acts (Han Kang) 7 06. As Meat Loves Salt (Maria McCann) 17 07. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Damien Keown) 08. The Dog Who Dared to Dream (Sun-Mi Hwang) 24 09. Dirty Havana Trilogy (Pedro Juan Gutierrez) 18 10. Excession (Iain M. Banks) 11. They Who Do Not Grieve (Sia Figiel) 12. Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Haruki Murakami) 13. Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain (Barney Norris) 23 14. What is not yours is not yours (Helen Oyeyemi) 16 15. The Plague (Albert Camus) 5 16. The Tale of Aypi (Ak Welsapar) 17. Disgrace (J.M. Coetzee) 20 18. Costa Rica: A Traveller's Literary Companion (Barbara Ras) 19. The Norman Conquest (Marc Morris) 20. It Can't Happen Here (Sinclair Lewis) 21. Coin Locker Babies (Ryu Murakami) 10 22. Broken April (Ismail Kadare) 23. If this is a man/The Truce (Primo Levi)
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2017 18:41
|
|
|
Mr. Squishy posted:1 The Letters of Samuel Beckett 1929-40 edited by Martha Dow Fehsenfeld and Lois More Overbeck. This covers the first decade of his literary life, starting off with an essay on Proust and ending with Murphy. In between he flees from Ireland before feeling compelled, where he stays for as long as he can before escaping again. Mostly Paris and London, though he does spend some time in Nazi Germany, which I didn't know. He even toyed with going to Capetown, where he really would have been out of place! Like all book of letters there are a lot of mean ones to publishers, some crawling ones to the deans of reading rooms, and a lot of just social letters, none of which are ever particularly interesting, but the most every letter has some digression, normally on art rather than literature, which I figure he decided to keep for his work. Also, he was a terrible speller! I skipped Februrary but it's been a very fallow couple of months 13 The Three Perils of Women by James Hogg. Very shaggy story without as clear an idea as Justified Sinner. But Hogg is always entertaining. 14 Single and Single by John le Carré. Badly lacked unity of plot or originality. 15 Don Carmusso by Machado de Assis as translated by x. Re-read this one again so soon because I soon lent it away. 16 The letters of Samual beckett 1941-56 edited by George Craig, Martha Dow Fehsenfeld, Dan Gunn and Lois More Overbeck. AKA the years he wrote the things you've read. Amazing to see how phenomenally successful Godot was. Though a lot of the letters of successful writers are all the same, bullying translators, thanking agents and the occasional stinger asking where the money is. SHould be noted how incredibly profecient the editing is, footnoting every reference they could possibly find. 17 A Dog's Heart by Mikheal Bulgakov as translated by Andrew Bromfield. You could see how a guy like him could lose friends with those in authority. Great translation too. 18 Adam Bede by George Eliot. Well, it's a strangley split narrative, like Eliot was surprised by where the story took her. 19 Opium by . A truly mental airport novel, sort of a blend of drug confessionals, espionage thrillers, and, most jarringly, private detective stuff. He even calls himself a gumshoe at one point. Also, liberal mention of Iranian literature, or at least numerous mentions of One Thousand and One Nights. 20 Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut. When reading Vonnegut it's always fun to think about how famously grumpy he was. Anyway, it's a Vonnegut book, you know how they are. Unless you don't, then read Slaughterhouse V instead of Jailbird. 21 Letters by John Barth. I dunno, maybe I don't find the very concept of fiction as wondrous as I should. 22 Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut. I was fed up by being taunted by these unread Vonneguts on my shelf. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 12/60 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 0/12 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 0/12 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) Read something which was published before you were born. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 14) Read some poetry. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) Read something that you love.
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2017 19:41
|
|
|
1. Jerusalem - Alan Moore7, 17 2. A Billion Wicked Thoughts - Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam3, 22 3. Herman (The Game Warden, The Death of a Craft) - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9 4. The Atrocity Exhibition - J.G. Ballard8, 18 5. The Last Wolf - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9 6. The Kingdom of This World - Alejo Carpentier3, 9, 12 7. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey3, 8 8. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel2, 12, 13, 17 9. Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9, 10 10. Sudden Death - Alvaro Enrigue3, 9, 23 11. Caligula for President - Cintra Wilson2, 19 12. The Dark Highlander - Karen Marie Moning2, 22 ----end of January 13. Universal Harvester - John Darnielle7 14. The Plague - Albert Camus5, 8, 9 15. The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky - Isaac Deutscher8, 11, 13, 17 16. A Temple of Texts: Essays - William H. Gass 17. The Child To Come: Life After the Human Catastrophe - Rebekah Sheldon2, 7 18. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - Dennis E. Taylor7, 24 19. The Poetics of Space - Gaston Bachelard8, 9 -----end of February 20. Fight Club 2 - Chuck Palahniuk, Cameron Stewart7, 19 21. Songs of a Dead Dreamer & Grimscribe - Thomas Ligotti16, 21, 22 22. The Emergence of Social Space - Kristin Ross2, 11, 12 23. The Black Monday Murders, Volume 1 - Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker7 24. Aquarium - David Vann21 25. The Master of Mankind - Aaron Dembski-Bowden7, 20 26. At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien8 27. Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel7 -----end of March 28. Waking Gods - Sylvain Neuvel7 29. Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich - Norman Ohler7, 12, 22 30. The Last Night: Anti-Work, Atheism, Adventure - Federico Campagna11, 22, 23 31. Remainder - Tom McCarthy 32. The Circle Game - Margaret Atwood2, 8, 14 33. Star Wars: Thrawn - Timothy Zahn7, 24 34. Buddha - Karen Armstrong2, 12, 13 -----end of April 35. Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse: Omnibus Edition - Ben Templesmith19, 24 36. The Zen in Modern Cosmology - Chi-sing Lam3, 23 37. The Great and Holy War - Philip Jenkins12, 12a 38. The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks24 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 32/100 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 4/20 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 5/20 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) --> Human Acts - Han Kang2, 3, 9, 12 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) Read something which was published before you were born. 9) Read something in translation. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 17) Read something long (500+ pages). 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. mdemone fucked around with this message at 03:31 on May 29, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2017 03:03
|
|
|
4 Hadrian VII by Baron Corvo/Fr. Rolfe 5 Hamlet by William Shakespeare 6 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 7 Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Samuel R. Delany 8-9 Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Lu Xun Hadrian VII by Baron Corvo/Fr. Rolfe Horrid Edwardian gay Mary Sue racist Catholic Classically educated idiosyncratic wish fulfilment drivel. Hamlet by William Shakespeare It's good. It's Christian. It's funny. The gravedigger is the only guy who's Hamlet's equal in a text lousy with mirrors (Horatio, Laertes, Ophelia, Claudius). Better constructed than Lear but not as extreme. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Gravity's Rainbow for kids. I should have read it when I was a teenager. Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Samuel R. Delany Two linked essays. The essay is about cruising in Times Square, and there's a bit where a woman is nearly thrown out of a porn cinema because “This is a nice place”. It's interesting, but the second one is much deeper and more theoretical – it's a marxian analysis of cross-class, accidental, contact, and intra-class, deliberate, networking. Unfortunately I haven't read enough theory to understand it, so I won't say more. Recommended if you want to consider that public sex might be morally good. Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Lu Xun The complete short stories by a Modernist who brought written Chinese into the Twentieth Century by shifting the register from Literary/Classical Chinese to vernacular. Really good stories – moving, historically important, funny, scathing, satirical. Very involved with contemporary Chinese happenings (written in the 1920s). Sometimes seems to be re-inventing Modernism by himself, without models; one story even has brief stream of consciousness. Few duds. Translation into US English by William A. Lyell is also good. Strongly recommended. (Counted as two books because that's how it was originally published, btw.)
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2017 17:12
|
|
|
Here's what I read in March: 12. Archie, Vol. 1: The New Riverdale - Mark Waid (3/5) 13. Giant Days, Vol. 4 - John Allison (4/5) 14. The Great American Whatever - Tim Federle (3/5) 15. In Real Life - Jen Wang and Cory Doctorow (3/5) 16. The Accusation - Bandi (3/5) 17. Mostly Void, Partially Stars - Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (4/5) On deck for April: I'm currently in the middle of Tales of the City by Armisted Maupin and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers and have a bunch of other library books out to read. I also promised my partner I'd finish The Dispossessed, so probably that. I just picked up Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly from the library yesterday and am excited to read that. But I also just started playing Skyrim (five years late on that one, I know), and that's sucking up a lot of my reading time. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 17/52 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 5/11 (Personal challenge: 5/20) 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 2/11 (Personal challenge: 2/20) 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 9) Read something in translation. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. BookRiot: 8/24 PopSugar: 17/52 BotM: 1.5/6 (I didn't finish The Plague. It just wasn't doing it for me. But I want to go back to it someday, it just wasn't the right time.) In German: 0/5 In translation: 1/10 Nobels: 0/12 Reviewed: 7/26 nerdpony fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Apr 5, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 5, 2017 18:43
|
|
|
Finished reading two books altogether and will finish the third today, so thought I'd post up a little update on my progress for the cheer squad. Books I finished since my last update: The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Ngyuen, was a lot of fun. I decided to read it because it was on both Stephen King's and Joe Hill's must-read lists, and wasn't disappointed. In a nutshell, we follow a North Vietnamese mole who is highly placed on The General's staff and makes it out during the fall of Saigon. He and his fellow communist sympathizer buddy convince their best friend, who is most certainly not a sympathizer, to evacuate with them. These three have a blood brother-esque thing going on that, in their own words, was modeled off of the Three Musketeers. The story follows the titular sympathizer as he a) adapts to life in the US and b) continues to feed information back to the North Vietnamese through "his aunt" in France. For me, the book went from being very interesting, to funny and kind of depressing, to very dark, and then to kind-of-sort-of hopeful. I've heard criticism on Nguyuen's writing style, and while it didn't bother me I could see why it might. He doesn't really make use of quotation marks at all, and, especially considering his penchant for tossing in environmental descriptions and mental asides, it could make reading the many long conversations in the book a little difficult. Honestly, though, I didn't even notice it until it was pointed out to me. Nguyuen's writing style read as extremely natural to me. The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi, was.. honestly pretty disappointing. I saved this for the "read something you love" category because I (still) am a huge fan of Scalzi. Sure his books are insanely light and pulpy, but they are a ton of fun. This one, though, just didn't do it for me. The basic premise was interesting, the story itself was actually pretty good, but the characters were just miserably bad. Yes, I know Scalzi tends to write tons of smarmy super-nerd characters that are just too cool for school, but every character in this book (except, incidentally, the black hat characters) were just too over the top for me. Every other word was gently caress, and every other thought was about sex. And these characters are supposed to be the elite of the universe. It was... a really disappointing book. I'm currently reading The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen and it's pretty fun. It is a pretty short novel, clocking in at only a little over 100 pages, but it was cited as part of the inspiration for Stephen King's Revival, which I loved. I can really see why, as it has a good dose of the scary-and-unknowable thing going on. It was recommended to me by Franchescanado, so thanks to him. Reading challenge status: Books completed: 9 / 30 Books by women: 2 / 6 Books by non-whites: 2 / 6 Finished challenges: 5, 7, 8, 9, and 23 USMC_Karl fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Apr 6, 2017 |
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2017 02:46
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:The Peregrine by J. A. Baker Hey I just read this. It was cool, thanks for the suggestion.
|
|
#
?
Apr 12, 2017 23:51
|
|
|
I haven't posted any updates, and I'm going to continue procrastinating on that, but I'm chugging along. Need a wildcard though. Hit me!
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 03:47
|
|
|
apophenium posted:I haven't posted any updates, and I'm going to continue procrastinating on that, but I'm chugging along. Need a wildcard though. Hit me! I'll scratch your back if your scratch mine! (I need a wildcard, help a brother out.) I'll hit you with The Sympathizer or, if you have read that one, Zorba the Greek.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 03:58
|
|
|
USMC_Karl posted:I'll scratch your back if your scratch mine! (I need a wildcard, help a brother out.) Thanks friend! Here are some books I've read by women of color. I'm nervous about forcing someone to read a specific book, so take your pick! The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang The Color Purple by Alice Walker Kindred by Octavia Butler All of these were really good. Pick the one that seems the most interesting or challenge yourself with something outside your usual wheelhouse!
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2017 16:30
|
|
|
apophenium posted:Thanks friend! Here are some books I've read by women of color. I'm nervous about forcing someone to read a specific book, so take your pick! Thanks right back. I read The Rape of Nanking a long while ago, but all 3 of the other books have piqued my interest. I'll read 'em all!
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2017 09:06
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:THE ROAD SO FAR: Goddamn I haven't updated in a while. 32: Six Bullets - Jeremy Bates Novella about the aftermath of an asteroid strike. Not really that great. 33: Will Save Galaxy For Food - Yahtzee Croshaw Decent read, little slow to start, but it picks up. 34-37 Space Team by Barry J Hutchison Pretty awesome, actually. The first book is a bit too try hard at the beginning, but it picks up, and the other 3 books are fairly great. The last not so much, but still, worth reading if you have KU. 38: No Hero - Tom Andry Superheroish fiction. Private eye ex husband of a major Hero solves cases. Really liked it. 39: Desperate Times - Tom Andry Sequel to No Hero. Pretty good. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. 40: Hostile Territory - Tom Andry Last of the Bob Moore series. Ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I haven't seen any heads up about a new book in the series yet  41: King Slayer - Honor Raconteur Guy kills king, gets caught in neighboring country, has to tell Queen why, leads to adventures. Pretty good read. 42: Critical Failures 4 - Robert Bevan Hilarious, I love this series. This was a re-read so I knew where book 5 kicked off. 43: Critical Failures 5 - Robert Bevan Kicks off right after the end of 4, and is pretty great. A lot of side character adventure. If you like the series, it's all on KU. 44: Bound - Benedict Jacka Newest Alex Verus book. Starts out right where the last one ended, and is actually fairly good. Some easily called plot situations, but overall, great addition to the series. 45-48 Jessica Christ Series If you liked Lamb by Christopher Moore, you'll probably dig this series. 49: Rime - Tim Lebbon Novella on kindle unlimited. Basically, what happens when you make first contact while on a generational sleeper ship, but have no communications with the rest of the ship? It gets weird. Good read though. 50: The Wrong Dead Guy - Richard Kadrey Sequel to The Everything Box. Not as good as the first, but still pretty good. 51: Interesting Gods - Matthew Storm Newest in the Interesting Times series. I really like it. It's got a fairly weird premise that works incredibly well. Author is a nice guy too. 52: Very Important Corpses - Simon Green I don't think he uses the "Easiest thing in the world" macro in this book, which automatically makes it both amazing and good. Decent read, if kinda odd. 53: The Everything Box - Richard Kadrey What happens when an Angel is tasked to destroy the remainder of Humanity after the flood, and then misplaces the doodad to do it? Well, read and find out. Great book. 54: The Spaceship Next Door - Gene Doucette A UFO KANDS IN AMERICA! HOW SHOCKING! WHAT WILL HAPPEN? Well, nothing, for a long time, and people stop worrying about it. Then, huh, it moves. OH poo poo. (read it) 55: Glass Predator - Craig Schafer I was kinda let down by parts of the book, but holy gently caress the setup for the finale of this series is gonna be batshit. If you are a Faust or a Harmony Black fan, grab it. Love this series. 56: Tombyards and Butterflies - Orlando A. Sanchez No, I have no idea what the title means, and yes, it's said in the book, but mainly it's a good book and should be read if you are looking for a decent new urban fantasy to check out. poo poo gets weird, but in a good way. 57: Aye, Robot - Robert Kroese Sequel to Starship Grifters. Pretty good too. I'm liking this series. 58: The Last Coven - Rick Gualtieri Last of the Tome of Bill series, and damned good way to end it. 59: Everything has Teeth - Jeff Strand Short story collection, but most are pretty good. Some kinda meh ones though. 60: Potty Mouth - Robert Bevan Basically a free short story made to irritate Trump voters without specifically mentioning Trump himself. Pretty hilarious though. There were a few more that I didn't bother to remember to write down that I borrowed off KU, so they aren't exactly stellar reads if I can forget em that easily. If I remember any good ones, I'll update the list.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2017 17:33
|
|
|
Underachiever update: Name: Kekekela Number: 10 Booklord: No Extra: At least 8 non-fiction April: Read "Man in the High Castle". Was good but not really as good as I'd hoped/expected. Author seems to have left some GRRM-ish open ends in anticipation of figuring it out in a sequel. Year to Date: total books 2/10 non-fiction 1/8
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2017 20:21
|
|
|
7/24 female authors 4/12 non-fiction I liked Hallowe'en Party, but I can see why some people don't. It does seem to be the case that Christie was getting sick of writing Poirot, but it's got Ariadne Oliver in it, the mystery is pretty clever, and it's much better than some of the other later Poirot stories. Underwater Adventure is amusingly old-fashioned, but other than that it really has nothing going for it at all. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall isn't exactly an enjoyable read, and could be summarised "why feminism exists". The whole thing is just men failing and refusing to understand that women have thoughts and opinions of their own. Even the supposed "hero" is pretty terrible. The writing's really good, of course, but none of the characters are likeable and the beginning and end sections (narrated by Gilbert) are far less interesting than the middle section (narrated by Helen). But by far the biggest disappointment of the month was Self-Made Man. For a start, the author constantly makes absurd generalisations and leaps to ridiculous conclusions on the basis of her unfounded assumptions, but the main thing is that the premise (she disguises herself and interacts with people as a man) is utterly wasted. What I imagined the book would be is her doing familiar things but as a man to see the difference in how people behave and their expectations, but instead she goes out of her way to only experience things she's never done as herself, ensuring that she has no basis for comparison or understanding. The whole thing is a colossal waste of time. Full reviews on Goodreads.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 03:00
|
|
|
April~ 44. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Bernante 45. A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers 46. Mischling - Affinity Koman 47. A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1)- V.E. Schwab 48. In Praise of Mortality - Rainer Maria Rilke 49. Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov - Anton Chekhov 50. Fool’s Assassin (Fitz and the Fool #1) - Robin Hobb 51. A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) - V.E. Schwab 52. Fool’s Quest (Fitz & the Fool #2) - Robin Hobb 53. Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann Overall, a decent month of reading, even if (like March) nothing really stood out. I started on a few fun series (the Fitz and the Fool series and the Shades of Magic series) and got a few of the items on my Booklord Challenge knocked off (poetry, short stories). Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was a pretty decent non-fiction that's... very of its time. Killers of the Flower Moon, on the other hand, came out a week or two ago and is a very good novel-esque history book (think Erik Larsen) about a mysterious spate of deaths among Osage Indians in the 1920s. I definitely liked that. Mischling was an... interesting Holocaust book, about a pair of twins in Joseph Mengele's lab. It was unusual but pretty good! Some of the poetry in Rilke was quite lovely, too, though I don't usually read poetry. Oh, and A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was pretty light and fun, but it will make a lot of people roll their eyes. (I feel like the author was a very big fan of Firefly and Farscape.) The two series I started this month I'll finish up in May, so I'll save my thoughts on them til then. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. (53/52) - Moving this up to 80. 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women: Schwab and Hobb, as well as Becky Chambers 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. (Once again, super-white...) 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). - Mischling, Killers of the Flower Moon 8) Read something which was published before you were born - Technically both the Rilke and the Chekhov were written before I was born, but these compilations of verse and short stories were compiled recently... 9) Read something in translation. - In Praise of Mortality, Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (I've been to Savannah before, will probably go again, and am unlikely to go international for a while given my small child) 11) 12) Read something historical - Killers of the Flower Moon 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. - In Praise of Mortality 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. - Selected Short Stories of Anton Chekhov 17) Read something long (500+ pages). - Fool's Assassin, Fool's Quest 18) 19) Read a satire. 20) 21) Read something about fear. 22) 23) 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. - A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (there are alien and AI pov's in this, so I'm counting it) If anyone has a Wildcard suggestion for me, I'll take it. In pursuit of the other challenges, maybe a LGBT author or a satire?
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 05:02
|
|
|
Chamberk posted:
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 08:38
|
|
|
Enfys posted:1. Shift - Hugh Howey 13. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine - Michael Lewis I knew next to nothing about Wall Street when I watched the movie on a whim. That spurred me on to reading a series of books on the topic (starting with this one) and watching several other documentaries. All I really knew about the housing market crisis and recession prior to this was the often repeated idea that regular Americans were greedy and brought this all on themselves, so this fascinating (and disturbing). 14. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China - Chang Jung This is the biography of 3 women who grew up in China in the 1900s. The author's grandmother is a warlord's concubine for awhile, her mother and father are officials in Mao's Communist China, and for awhile she herself is a Red Guard. A lot of the book deals with their efforts to survive the Cultural Revolution. It's a really depressing, horrifying book in a lot of places, but it offers a pretty unique insight into both life under Mao and the roles of women in China. 15. The Queue - Basma Abdel Aziz This was one of the books on a list Corrode posted awhile back of novels by Arab women, and so far I haven't gone wrong reading his suggestions! This is a surrealist dystopian story about the Arab Spring and the consequences of totalitarianism. A entity known as "The Gate" has risen to power after failed uprisings, and it controls every aspect of daily life. I really enjoyed this book, and despite its overall bleakness, it manages to be quite funny at times and has a lot of great wit and satire. 16. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque If you haven't read this, do it. I'd had it on a bookshelf for ages and read it just for the WWI category, and nothing I could say could capture what an incredible book this is. 17. Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World - Michael Lewis After the Big Short, Michael Lewis travels around Europe exploring the global consequences of the European countries getting involved with Wall Street. He starts in Iceland, which had up to the early 2000s never been involved in global finance and had 3 public banks and solid regulation, making them a stable place with a high quality of life. In what is essentially the best experiment of libertarianism we could find, they privatised the banks and deregulated everything and went wild, completely destroying the country in a few years. Then it takes a look at Greece, Ireland, and Germany before noting similarities between the European countries and some places in America, like California. It was an ok book, pretty light and with stereotypes a bit too broad and cringeworthy, but a short decent read. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 17/50 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women . 6/10 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 6/10 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) Read something which was published before you were born. 11) Read something political. 12) Read something historical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 12:02
|
|
|
1. Jerusalem - Alan Moore7, 17 2. A Billion Wicked Thoughts - Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam3, 22 3. Herman (The Game Warden, The Death of a Craft) - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9 4. The Atrocity Exhibition - J.G. Ballard8, 18 5. The Last Wolf - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9 6. The Kingdom of This World - Alejo Carpentier3, 9, 12 7. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey3, 8 8. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel2, 12, 13, 17 9. Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens - Laszlo Krasznahorkai9, 10 10. Sudden Death - Alvaro Enrigue3, 9, 23 11. Caligula for President - Cintra Wilson2, 19 12. The Dark Highlander - Karen Marie Moning2, 22 ----end of January 13. Universal Harvester - John Darnielle7 14. The Plague - Albert Camus5, 8, 9 15. The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky - Isaac Deutscher8, 11, 13, 17 16. A Temple of Texts: Essays - William H. Gass 17. The Child To Come: Life After the Human Catastrophe - Rebekah Sheldon2, 7 18. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - Dennis E. Taylor7, 24 19. The Poetics of Space - Gaston Bachelard8, 9 -----end of February 20. Fight Club 2 - Chuck Palahniuk, Cameron Stewart7, 19 21. Songs of a Dead Dreamer & Grimscribe - Thomas Ligotti16, 21, 22 22. The Emergence of Social Space - Kristin Ross2, 11, 12 23. The Black Monday Murders, Volume 1 - Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker7 24. Aquarium - David Vann21 25. The Master of Mankind - Aaron Dembski-Bowden7, 20 26. At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien8 27. Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel7 -----end of March 28. Waking Gods - Sylvain Neuvel7 29. Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich - Norman Ohler7, 12, 22 30. The Last Night: Anti-Work, Atheism, Adventure - Federico Campagna11, 22, 23 31. Remainder - Tom McCarthy 32. The Circle Game - Margaret Atwood2, 8, 14 33. Star Wars: Thrawn - Timothy Zahn7, 24 34. Buddha - Karen Armstrong2, 12, 13 35. The Great and Holy War - Philip Jenkins12, 12a -----end of April 36. The Terror of Evidence - Marcus Steinweg9 37. Prisons We Choose To Live Inside - Doris Lessing2, 12, 21 38. Literature Class - Julio Cortazar3, 9 39. The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks24? 40. October - China Miéville11, 12 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 33/100 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 5/20 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4/20 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) --> Human Acts - Han Kang2, 3, 9, 12 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) Read something which was published before you were born. 9) Read something in translation. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 17) Read something long (500+ pages). 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. mdemone fucked around with this message at 17:02 on May 30, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 13:36
|
|
|
April! 18. Tudor Women: Queens & Commoners. Allison Plowden. A very quick read, just the concise history of the women associated to the Tudor dynasty. Not a novel and sometimes it kind of lose the thread of time. 19. The Fires of Heaven. Robert Jordan. The story is finally moving in the Wheel of Time. Even if there are points where it drags and drags. 20. Lavinia. Ursula K. LeGuin. The book is pretty good, even if the author stretches the story in a very noticeable way. Still, the writing is great and the characters are decent, specially the protagonists. 21. Roadside Picnic. Arkady Strugatsky. I liked this a lot, it was fast paced but nicely done. Kind of confusing in some parts, but that much. The characters and the setting were great. 22. Kindred. Octavia E. Butler. Slavery is not always relatable in a story, specially from the perspective of a non-american. I'm glad to see that in this book even if I didn't know much of the history behind it. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 22/75 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 12/15 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 5/15 4) 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). 8) 9) 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) 12) 13) 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 17) 18) 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) 24) Read something from a non-human perspective.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 16:32
|
|
|
Ben Nevis posted:1. A Biographers Tale by AS Byatt Somehow I finished 11 this month. Really, I think it's because I had several that were just my jam along with some short ones. It was, overall, a great month. The highs were very high and though there were some lows, there was nothing that outright bad or uninteresting. I finished a history book, read a book I loved, and got in a poetry book and a WWI book to polish off soon. 28. The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte - An art restorer digs into the mystery held by an old painting. As she solves it, people around her start being killed. I thought this was great up until the ending, which was only OK. I'd really enjoy reading more of this sort of thing, but have no idea what might be out there. 29. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx - After the death of his wife and father, Quoyle and his two daughters move up to Newfoundland with his aunt to their long abandoned familial home. Someone (Mel?) had tossed a rec for this ages ago in the Lit thread, and it turns out it was real good. I'd had something else planned for "read something you love" but I'm knocking this in there. 30. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - A recent fantasy hit, I thought I'd try it out myself. It's a familiar sort of tale, wicked stepmother, wild daughter, and a struggle between folk religion and Christianity. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but the more I reflect the more I felt like there wasn't really much here other than the Russian folklore aspect. Some people will absolutely love this though. 31. Growing up Dead in Texas by Stephen Graham Jones - Stephen Graham Jones goes back to his hometown to investigate a cotton fire from 25 years ago. Part memoir and party mystery, the whole thing is told in a rambling fashion. It's sorta like visiting the old hometown with my dad. He'll tell you about the year they won state he hadn't met mom yet and was going with Betty Smith who lived over there by where the train hit the chicken truck and you wouldn't believe how people came from all over to get those chickens but Betty's dad was the coach and he used to hang out Pouland's Feed Store with your grandfather and once... Not quite as bad as that, but each new memory or link in the chain ties to others, and as we ramble along Jones shows how this town is bound together in blood relations and business that goes back generations and how this fire changed everything. It took me a while to see what all he was doing and by end I was all on board. I thought this was a great book. And I know more about cotton farming and growing up in West Texas than I previously did. 32. Slipping: Stories, Essays and Other Writings by Lauren Beukes - A collection of shorts, on the whole it fairly solid. I felt like a couple may have been adapted into/from scenes in one of her novels. What really kicked this up for me were the essays at the end. Particularly about the murder of a family friend and the letter to her daughter. 33. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire - I'd seen Seanan McGuire's name kicked around so grabbed this one from the library. All the ghosts in New York are being kidnapped. This was decent but largely felt unfinished. McGuire talked a fair bit about how ghosts work, but it never quite was worth it. The main plot is given short shrift for ghost details. A major aspect of ghost stuff is mentioned but not meaningfully impactful, which made me wonder why it was included at all. The ending, which should have been sweet and emotional just felt unearned. 34. The Con Men: Hustling in New York City by Terry Williams - Two sociologists talk to con men and hustlers in their acquaintance. This could have been an interesting book about con men and their hijinks. It could have been an interesting book about why people get into hustling and how living on that edge effects them. It could have delved into the differences and similarities between white collar con men and guys on the street. It did a little bit of all of these and sorta just fell short. It was still an interesting book, just not as good as it might have been. 35. A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky - M, a magician of some renown, returns to New York after a long absence and catches up with friends, saves his pub, deals with socialites, and saves the world, or at least NYC. It's more strung together stories and vignettes about what it's like being a magician in New York rather than one big story. I grabbed this on a whim and really enjoyed it. Some stories are a little spooky. Some are laugh out loud funny. It moves quickly and was fun. 36. The Mercy of the Tide by Keith Robinson - In 1983, the US and Russia are on the brink of nuclear war and the small town of Riptide has a mysterious rash of killings. The Finster family, the sherrif, and his deputy all are drawn together by grief and are trying to figure out what's going on. This was pretty good. There were well developed distinct characters who felt real. It didn't quite live up to the thriller status I'd expected and it didn't quite hit the study in grief that I think it was going for. There was a minor alt-history aspect that felt a little tacked on. Ultimately, it felt unresolved. I felt like this could have been a really good book, but just didn't quite hit it's marks. Amusingly 2 people from the publisher liked my middling review on Goodreads. 37. For all the Tea in China by Sarah Rose - This pop history looks at British efforts to sneak tea out of China. I didn't have much background on the East India Company or the opium/tea trade in SE Asia, so I found this interesting. There's a nice adventure story aspect to it as well. 38. The Long Dry by Cynan Jones - A farmer looks for his lost cow and ponders his hopes, his disappointments, and life in general. This was a short, poignant novel. I liked it and will probably look for more by Jones. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 38/60 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 13/12 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 12/12 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. - Taste of Honey 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. - Mother Night 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). - Umami 8) Read something which was published before you were born. Grendel 9) Read something in translation. - The Story of My Teeth 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political - No Knives in the Kitchens of this City 12) Read something historical. - For All the Tea in China 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. - For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enuf 16) Read a collection of short stories. - Natural History of Hell 17) Read something long (500+ pages). - Stiletto 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. - Blackass 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. - Get Carter 23) Read something that you love. - The Shipping News 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. Ben Nevis fucked around with this message at 18:15 on May 1, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 18:09
|
|
|
April update. A much slower month (in part due to home improvement project eating up time and energy) but nonetheless got through three whole books. Erstwhile: 1: Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. 2: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. +1 woman 3: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. 4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. + 1 woman, +1 nonwhite 5. Death's End by Liu Cixin. +1 nonwhite 6. Empire Games by Charles Stross. 7. Among Others by Jo Walton. +1 woman 8. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor. 9. Bror din på prærien by Edvard Hoem. +1 Norwegian. 10. The Plague by Albert Camus. 11. Haimennesket by Hans Olav Lahlum. +1 Norwegian. 12. Land ingen har sett by Edvard Hoem. +1 Norwegian. 13. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.. +1 woman, +1 nonwhite. 14. The Long Cosmos by Stephen Baxter and (allegedly, although I doubt he contributed much to this one) Terry Pratchett. 15. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. +1 woman. 16. Aquarium by David Vann. 17. The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren +1 woman. 18. 1001 Natt by Vetle Lid Larssen. +1 Norwegian, +1 nonfiction. 19. After Atlas by Emma Newman. +1 woman. 20. Exodus by Andreas Christensen. 21. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor. +1 woman, +1 nonwhite. New: 22. Sandstorm by James Rollins. #1 in a series, 2000s technothriller with semi-mystical aspects. Okay although I could not buy the quasi-science at all. 23. For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2) by Dennis Taylor. Sequel to We Are Legion (We Are Bob) and hit exactly the same good spot. 24. The Conference of the Birds by Farid Attar. BOTM for April, a great mystical poem about medieval sufi Islam, written in 12th century Persia. Great. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 24/40 - seems pretty sure I'll crush this goal badly, but that doesn't exactly hurt anything. 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 8/24 =33% 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4/24 = 17% 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. Extra: At least 10 Norwegian books (translations don't count) - 4/10 so far At least 5 nonfiction books - 2/5 Read every BOTM (except optionally for ones I've read before) - 4/4 as of April No more than 5 rereads (vs. the vanilla goal, I would count them against specific goals) - 2/5 so far
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 22:00
|
|
|
Here's what I read in April: 18. A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers (4/5) 19. Who Fears Death - Nnedi Okorafor (4/5) 20. Queens of Geek - Jen Wilde (3/5) 21. Constellation - Adrien Bosc (4/5) 22. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart (3/5) 23. Amberlough - Lara Elena Donnelly (4/5) 24. Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruits - Jaye Robin Brown (4/5) 25. If You Could Be Mine - Sara Farizan (3/5) 26. Power Up - Kate Leth (4/5) On deck for May: Getting through the library books I have checked out. It's mostly a mix of lit fic, YA, and a bunch of books about art crime. I also want to do this month's Book of the Month and make some progress with my Nobel challenge so I can read a book by a Swedish author I'm excited about (Selma Lagerlöf) in Sweden this summer. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 27/52 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 14/11 (Personal challenge: 14/20) 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4/11 (Personal challenge: 4/20) 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 9) Read something in translation. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) Read a play. 23) Read something that you love. BookRiot: 8/24 PopSugar: 17/52 BotM: 1/6 (But I will be counting books I finish outside of the allotted month as long as I start them in the month in question.) In German: 0/5 In translation: 3/10 Nobels: 0/12 Reviewed: 7/26
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2017 18:03
|
|
|
April - 8 24. The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence (Martin Meredith) 25. The Circle of Karma (Kunzang Choden) 26. By Night the Mountain Burns (Juan Tomas Avila Laurel) 27. The Year of the Hare (Arto Paasilinna) 28. Goodfellas (Nicholas Pileggi) 29. A Cup of Rage (Raduan Nassar) 30. The Housekeeper and the Professor (Yoko Ogawa) 31. Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett) The State of Africa covers the independence movements in Africa through to the present day (up to about 2005). It's great for breadth of understanding across the continent, but by its very nature lacks some depth even at 700+ pages - every country comes up at least once, but some of them are very lightly touched upon indeed especially when they don't fit the basic narrative of African dysfunction e.g. Botswana. If you have a cursory understanding of post-colonial Africa and want to get up to speed quickly it's excellent, but for a deeper understanding of a particular area you'll want to get something more specialist. The Circle of Karma is a Bhutanese book about a woman who travels from her home village, through India and Nepal, seeking out spiritual wisdom through the Buddha. It's a little bit workmanlike, but interesting enough. By Night the Mountain Burns was very cool. It's a semi-autobiographical novel about growing up on Annobon, an island which is part of Equatorial Guinea. It's written like an oral history - it repeats itself, and stories weave in and out of each other as the narrator builds up a picture of life on this Atlantic Ocean island. The Year of the Hare is a fun little picaresque about a Finnish journalist who accidentally runs over a hare. He finds it, nurses it back to health, and decides to run away from his unfulfilling life in Helsinki and travel around Finland. It's a fun series of stories of his encounters with people he meets. It gets a little weak at the end, diverting off through a couple of episodes which don't really fit in, but it recovers to finish strong. Goodfellas is a non-fiction book about Henry Hill, a long-time associate in the 60s-70s New York mob. It's weird to read, because a lot of it is Hill telling funny stories about being a gangster which are hilarious until you remember he's very bad news and a lot of what he's talking about is horrible, horrible poo poo. It's bloody interesting though. A Cup of Rage is a 45-page novella. Two lovers meet, sleep together, then the next day trade vicious insults. Each chapter is a single sentence. I don't really know what to make of it. The Housekeeper and the Professor is very sweet and very different to the other Ogawa I've read. Her stock in trade is weird gothic horror, but apart from the main conceit (the Professor is a brilliant mathematician who only has an 80-minute short term memory due to an accident) it's light on fantastic elements. Instead it's a nerdy, heartwarming story about the relationship between the Housekeeper and her son Root and the Professor, with a side of maths. Ogawa's style is elegant as ever. Moving Pictures is a Discworld which doesn't get a lot of love. It's a pretty bald satire on Hollywood and filmmaking, but whatever, it's fun. Picking up A Cup of Rage for seven sins (wroth and lust), Moving Pictures is a satire, and Goodfellas is biographical. To date - 31: Booklord: 5, 7-13, 16-20, 22-24 Women: 8/31, 26% Non-white: 12/31, 39% 01. The Ottoman Centuries (Lord Kinross) 12 02. Snow Country (Yasunari Kawabata) 8 03. Signs Preceding the End of the World (Yuri Herrera) 9 04. Socialism: A Very Short Introduction (Michael Newman) 11 05. Human Acts (Han Kang) 7 06. As Meat Loves Salt (Maria McCann) 17 07. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Damien Keown) 08. The Dog Who Dared to Dream (Sun-Mi Hwang) 24 09. Dirty Havana Trilogy (Pedro Juan Gutierrez) 18 10. Excession (Iain M. Banks) 11. They Who Do Not Grieve (Sia Figiel) 12. Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Haruki Murakami) 13. Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain (Barney Norris) 23 14. What is not yours is not yours (Helen Oyeyemi) 16 15. The Plague (Albert Camus) 5 16. The Tale of Aypi (Ak Welsapar) 17. Disgrace (J.M. Coetzee) 20 18. Costa Rica: A Traveller's Literary Companion (Barbara Ras) 19. The Norman Conquest (Marc Morris) 20. It Can't Happen Here (Sinclair Lewis) 21. Coin Locker Babies (Ryu Murakami) 10 22. Broken April (Ismail Kadare) 23. If this is a man/The Truce (Primo Levi) 24. The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence (Martin Meredith) 25. The Circle of Karma (Kunzang Choden) 26. By Night the Mountain Burns (Juan Tomas Avila Laurel) 27. The Year of the Hare (Arto Paasilinna) 28. Goodfellas (Nicholas Pileggi) 13 29. A Cup of Rage (Raduan Nassar) 22 30. The Housekeeper and the Professor (Yoko Ogawa) 31. Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett) 19
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2017 13:21
|
|
|
Forgot to update since the end of February. JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (I haven't read these in a long time so I started reading them again last year. This one is pretty good, IDK, whatever it's Harry Potter.) Rupi Kaur - Milk and Honey (I really enjoyed this but it's hard to say it's good poetry, not that I know poo poo about poetry, but it didn't employ any poetic devices and frequently seemed to be just sentences but the author hit enter a few times while typing them out. Again, I liked this, but I can see why some people are underwhelmed.) John Darnielle - Universal Harvester (I wish I liked this more. The first third is excellent - creates a sense of unease and it was hard to put down, I read part 1 in one sitting - but then it gets a little off the rails and never really answers a lot of the questions it sets up.) Zoe Whittall - The Best Kind of People (Interesting look at what happens to a family after the father, a school teacher who is considered a hero for stopping a school shooting years ago, is accused of sexual abuse with some of his students. Some of the characters are a bit cartoony but overall I thought it was an interesting take.) Ruth Ware - In a Dark Dark Wood (This was recommended as a Girl on the Train, Gone Girl type of book but it was definitely worse and way more boring. I have another book by this author but I might not read it because I thought this was so half assed.) Kurt Vonnegut - Slapstick (Less structured than other Vonnegut I have read. Probably my least favorite of the ~4 of his I have read but I will still read more of him this year.) Stacey May Fowles - Baseball Life Advice (A great collection of essays from a local author who writes about baseball but relates it to gender politics, race, mental illness, drug abuse, and other topics. I loved this.) Jeff Guinn - Manson (Incredibly thorough look at Charles Manson's life. I was surprised when it ended because the book still had 150 pages to go but then it was all references, appendices, and photographs. I guess that's what happens when you can't casually flip ahead on an ereader. I look forward to reading Guinn's book on Jim Jones.) 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 17/40 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 10/8 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4/8 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 15) Read a play. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 21) Read something about fear. 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) Read something that you love. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2017 17:50
|
|
|
Here's what I finished for April: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders I'm pretty much the biggest Saunders mark in the world, so of course I loved this. As with most of his work, trying to summarize it just makes you sound like a crazy person. Very funny and touching, and he has a real skill for skirting situations that should feel maudlin or sappy and turning them into a gut punch instead. Not my favorite work of his, but it's still excellent and I look forward to seeing whether or not he tries to tackle a novel again at some point. Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard I have been shamefully unfamiliar with Kierkegaard aside from the broadest, vaguest strokes, so I was pretty surprised by how strong his writing voice is. The central argument and the way it places Abraham in relation to Hegel is compelling, though there are a few places where it gets kind of hard to follow his argument, and I'm not sure if that's because of the translation (it seems like there are a few places where he uses some terms almost interchangeably or without regard to their exact meaning, though that could just be a side effect of language morphing over time), and there are a few spots in the back half where the allusions get very dense and (for me, at least) pretty drat obscure. Still one of the more pleasant philosophical works to just sit down and read. End-game by Samuel Beckett I haven't read much Beckett either, but so far this is my favorite of the 4 or 5 plays I've read. His fingerprints are all over modern lit, but nobody really does it the same way he does. Kind of amazing how funny this manages to be considering just how oppressive the atmosphere and the sense of doom is. I'd love to see this performed on a stage, it seems like it would be open to some really interesting and creative visual interpretations. We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Counting these as one book since it was probably like 140 pages altogether. Adichie has a wonderful voice and clarity in her position on modern feminism, and there is a lot of nuance here. It's hard to find fault with what she is saying, and although it's sad that such qualifiers are even necessary, she manages to be uncompromising and genuine enough that it I think it would be a good primer for people who are on the fence about feminism or feel personally attacked by the concept or something. I didn't realize We Should All Be Feminists was a transcription of a TED talk until afterward, but after seeing it, I think that's probably the ideal way to take it in. I still have to get around to reading some of her fiction, but if this is an indication, I feel like I'll probably enjoy it. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 13/40 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 3/8 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 4/8 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) 8) 9) 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) 12) Read something historical. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) Read some poetry. 15) 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) 22) Read something about one (or more!) of the seven sins. 23) 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. Grizzled Patriarch fucked around with this message at 23:40 on May 7, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 7, 2017 23:34
|
|
|
better late than never 1) Read some books: 16/?? 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 23) Read something that you love. 1. Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon 2. The Fall of the Stone City, Ismail Kadare 3. The Royal Game, Stefan Zweig 4. The Sound and The Fury, William Faulkner 5. The Class, Hermann Ungar 6. The Fox Was Ever the Hunter, Herta Müller 7. Human Acts, Han Kang 8. Cain, José Saramago 9. Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard 10. a book consisting of the two essays Télémorphose og La pensée radicale, Jean Baudrillard 11. A Regicide, Alain Robbe-Grillet 12. Satantango, Laszlo Krasznahorkai 13. Tractatus logico-philosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein 14. Conference of the Birds, Farid ud-Din Attar 15. Complete Works, Arthur Rimbaud 16. Apology, Plato A Regicide was an interesting novel. Not too strong of a nuevau roman-vibe to it, though I've heard it's something he develops further on into his body of works. It's about a bloke who suddenly decided that somebody needs to assassinate the king to attempt to fix the political situation where the Church party has too much power. There's also a parallell story where we follow the protagonist's dream. It's interesting how he changes the narrative perspective, from 3rd person during the "main" story and 1st person for the dream sequences. Tractatus was rather difficult, I'll admit, since I've barely touched formal logic in any way. The sections I could follow clearly was interesting enough. Excited to read Investigations at a later point in time, since I assume that's where the majority of the references to him within linguistics points towards. Conference of the Birds was pretty funny in certain parts, the way the Hoopoe tore apart the other birds' vices and all. As for Rimbaud, I was a bit surprised by how much he wrote about farts, butts and sex. Though considering he was a teenager for most of his active time, that's not too surprising either. A Season in Hell is pretty drat good, however. Reading Tractatus at the start of may reignited my interest in philosophy, so I gave the Apology another read again (been a while since last time). I'd say parts of the themes of Socrates' trial resonated somewhat, since blasphemy was only officially legalised in my country in 2015 (the law had been dormant since the early 1930's, but the life of brian was initially banned when it was first released). I figure I'll read the nicomachean ethics next ulvir fucked around with this message at 23:29 on May 20, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 20, 2017 23:15
|
|
|
I need to update with my reads and thoughts because posting is SO HARD, but in the meantime could someone hit me with a wildcard?
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2017 21:17
|
|
|
thatdarnedbob posted:I need to update with my reads and thoughts because posting is SO HARD, but in the meantime could someone hit me with a wildcard? The Global Pigeon by Colin Jerolmack.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2017 01:27
|
|
|
I just got to work and saw a horrible Japanese patent is on my queue, so I decided to not start it like I should and instead write an update here. It's been a while, so why not, yeah? Since my last update, I've read quite a few books. I'll go book by book, posting a little of what I thought of each one. The Great God Pan was a very quick read. The main reason I picked it up was that I really enjoyed Stephen King's Revival and TGGP was listed as a inspiration for it. I can actually see why. It's sufficiently spooky and has very much the same scary-unknown style. It definitely shows its age, but if you are looking for a quick little read dealing with fear, this might be your ticket. Goodreads rating: 3 The Deep was also pretty fun. Picked it up because it sounded like a modern Sphere kind of story, and wasn't disappointed. The writing style was pretty good, definitely got drawn into the story and found myself to be a little freaked out at some of the scenes. A good old fashioned body horror kind of novel with a dash of supernatural horror. Good fun all around. Goodreads rating: 4 The Troop since I liked The Deep, I thought I'd give some of Cutter's other work a try. The Troop was just as good as The Deep. I'd say it's more body horror than The Deep, dealing with crazy parasites that are deadly and 100% lethal. Kind of like a cross between Lord of the Flies and Alien (not so much monsters running around, but chest burster Alien). Good fun. I'd say that I enjoyed The Deep a little more, but both were equally fun. Goodreads rating: 4 Bird Box was something that was recommended on these forums and seemed like an interesting concept. The book was pretty amazing. Can't really go into it too much, but imagine a book that is written all about not being able to see. The main character has to blindfold herself for a good solid half of the book. Yet, it's engaging and I couldn't put it down. A+ book. Goodreads rating: 5 A Head Full of Ghosts was also recommended on the forums, but I did not enjoy it. Maybe that is down to my lack of research about the book before I bought it and read it, but I was under the impression that there would be some kind of supernatural horror element to it. Instead, I read about (do not read the spoiler if you want to read the book!) a mentally disturbed child being exploited by her parents, and then said child tricking her little sister into killing everyone in the family. Not my cup of tea. Goodreads rating: 1 Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse started out fun. The first third of the book documents Sgt. Reckless, a Mongolian mare that served as an ammo carrier for a marine recoilless rifle unit. How she came to be in the unit, how she was trained, and her exploits. That stuff was all fun. Then the second two thirds of the book are.... filler? Nothing really happens and the author keeps talking about the marines and how Sgt. Reckless walked in a parade or ate someone's hat and it was a bit of a disappointment. I got the book for $1, so it was mildly ok, but anything more and I'd be a little upset. Goodreads rating: 2 The Ninefox Gambit was decent. One of those books that tosses you into a totally new universe and you are left to sink or swim. I'm not sure how I felt about the story as a whole, but it was definitely interesting. I'm considering picking up the next in the series. It was definitely one of those books that left me thinking "Hmmm, that was... interesting." Goodreads rating: 3 Four Past Midnight was fun. I'm a total Stephen King fanboy and when I realized that I hadn't read this collection of novels (he says novellas, but it's 4 novels that, when combined, clock in at over 900+ total pages), I just had to grab it. I'd say that I enjoyed the novels in this order: The Library Policeman > The Sun Dog > Secret Window, Secret Garden > The Langoliers. All of them were fun, though. Goodreads rating: 4 Progress: 17 of 30 read
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2017 01:59
|
|
|
May~ 54. A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3) - V.E. Schwab 55. Summer of Night - Dan Simmons 56. Small Gods - Terry Pratchett 57. Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh 58. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood 59. Assassin's Fate (Fitz and the Fool #3) - Robin Hobb 60. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy 61. The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan 62. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 63. Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff 64. Ill Will - Dan Chaon Another month, more books. I finished both the Shades of Magic and Fitz and the Fool trilogies. Shades of Magic was kind of light and fun, while Fitz and the Fool was the culmination of about 16 books over 20 years' time - so it felt like the more satisfying conclusion. The Prince of Tides was an excellent story of a hosed-up family from South Carolina, and while the prose was kind of over-the-top at times, it was a drat good story. Anna Karenina, one of my old favorites, got trotted out for a reread, as did Handmaid's Tale. The Narrow Road to the Deep North was half a pretty dark, hosed-up look at POWs during WWII and half a cheesy love story - it didn't quite work out well, though I'd still recommend Flanagan's book "Gould's Book of Fish." Lovecraft Country was a supernatural take on Jim Crow, and Ill Will was a psychological thriller with a few holes in it. Still, some good reading this month for sure. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. (64/80) 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women: Schwab, Hobb, and Atwood 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. (Boy, am I falling down on this...) 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 5) Read at least one TBB BoTM and post in the monthly thread about it. 6) Read a book someone else in the thread recommends (a wildcard!) 7) Read something that was recently published (anything from after 1st January 2016). - Lovecraft Country, Ill Will, A Conjuring of Light, Assassin's Fate 8) Read something which was published before you were born - Anna Karenina, Decline and Fall, 9) Read something in translation. - Anna Karenina 10) 11) 12) 12a) Read something about the First World War. 13) Read something biographical. 14) 15) Read a play. 16) 17) Read something long (500+ pages). - Assassin's Fate, Anna Karenina, The Prince of Tides 18) 19) Read a satire. - Decline and Fall 20) 21) Read something about fear. - Lovecraft Country 22) 23) Read something that you love. - Anna Karenina 24) Chamberk fucked around with this message at 22:25 on May 29, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 29, 2017 21:39
|
|
|
May update. Another very slow reading month; on the other hand, the bedroom renovation project is coming along nicely. I'm tearing out old drywall and laminate flooring, putting in modern wall panels and parquet floors, fixing lots of poo poo I never knew how to do before. Erstwhile: 1: Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. 2: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. +1 woman 3: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. 4. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. + 1 woman, +1 nonwhite 5. Death's End by Liu Cixin. +1 nonwhite 6. Empire Games by Charles Stross. 7. Among Others by Jo Walton. +1 woman 8. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor. 9. Bror din på prærien by Edvard Hoem. +1 Norwegian. 10. The Plague by Albert Camus. 11. Haimennesket by Hans Olav Lahlum. +1 Norwegian. 12. Land ingen har sett by Edvard Hoem. +1 Norwegian. 13. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.. +1 woman, +1 nonwhite. 14. The Long Cosmos by Stephen Baxter and (allegedly, although I doubt he contributed much to this one) Terry Pratchett. 15. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. +1 woman. 16. Aquarium by David Vann. 17. The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren +1 woman. 18. 1001 Natt by Vetle Lid Larssen. +1 Norwegian, +1 nonfiction. 19. After Atlas by Emma Newman. +1 woman. 20. Exodus by Andreas Christensen. 21. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor. +1 woman, +1 nonwhite. 22. Sandstorm by James Rollins. 23. For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2) by Dennis Taylor. 24. The Conference of the Birds by Farid Attar. New, two whole books! 25. The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin. Sequel to The Fifth Season and pretty much just as good and horrible. +1 woman, +1 nonwhite. 26. I, Claudius by Robert Graves. BOTM for May. Utterly loved this, I've got a long-standing interest in classical history and Roman matters (to the point where I once took a whole year's worth of Latin classes just for fun) but somehow I hadn't read this before. Worthy of its reputation. Went straight on to the sequel Claudius the God but won't finish before the month is over, so. 1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. 26/40 - seems pretty sure I'll crush this goal badly, but that doesn't exactly hurt anything. 2) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 9/26 =35% 3) Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 5/26 = 19% 4) Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 10) Read something from somewhere you want to travel. 11) Read something political. 12a) Read something about the First World War. 15) Read a play. 16) Read a collection of short stories. 18) Read something which was banned or censored. 19) Read a satire. 20) Read something about honour. 21) Read something about fear. 24) Read something from a non-human perspective. Extra: At least 10 Norwegian books (translations don't count) - 4/10 so far At least 5 nonfiction books - 2/5 Read every BOTM (except optionally for ones I've read before) - 5/5 as of April No more than 5 rereads (vs. the vanilla goal, I would count them against specific goals) - 2/5 so far
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 08:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 3, 2024 10:54 |
|
|
11/24 female authors 5/12 non-fiction I read a lot of poo poo this month, specifically Kiss the Dead, Tender Wings of Desire and The Merchant Prince. I already posted about all three in the terrible book thread so I won't repeat that here. The D&D manual id not sell me on the system, which seems overly complicated and pretty underwhelming. Mrs Pollifax had been recommended to me as funny. It isn't. It was a fairly mediocre cozy mystery style spy story. What Made the Crocodile Cry was also pretty disappointing - not terrible, just not particularly good. Shattered Visage was exactly what I expected it to be, which is to say, if you liked the show you'll probably enjoy it, but I wasn't entirely sold on the show, so...  Mother Night is really good though. If you haven't read it, you should. Full reviews on Goodreads.
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2017 09:51
|
|