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In for 52 books this year as well. I actually beat my target last year, but got overambitious and raised it to 75 books. No such stupidity this time. I'm aiming for roughly 50% non-fiction, but no strict rules. A quick overview of last year shows a painfully low amount of women authors, so I'm aiming for at least 20 women writers this years. To start things off: 1. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
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Jan 6, 2014 00:14
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Two books down! I read "The Joy of Sex" because it was super cheap on the kindle. I can see why it was a big deal in the 70s, but it isn't anything special these days. I also read "Good Behavior" by Donald Westlake. It is one in a series of comedic heist novels. A lot of fun, but not very substantial. But I needed something like that to balance some of the other thing I'm reading. I find it is easy to read three books at a time if you find things that are very different from each other.
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Jan 6, 2014 00:26
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Roydrowsy posted:Two books down!
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Jan 6, 2014 00:38
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I want to get back into the swing of reading like I did as a child, so Im going to set my goal at a low 24.
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Jan 6, 2014 00:40
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Dienes posted:Can we get a consensus of how many books to count Worm as? Good question. I think I'm going to count it as 4, which would be about 1,100 pages per book. That's on par with Wheel of Time books anyway. Or Infinite Jest. My god what have I begun. (I'm like, 10 updates in. I got a waaaaays to go)
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Jan 6, 2014 01:58
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AreYouStillThere posted:Good question. I think I'm going to count it as 4, which would be about 1,100 pages per book. That's on par with Wheel of Time books anyway. Or Infinite Jest. My god what have I begun. (I'm like, 10 updates in. I got a waaaaays to go) It's roughly as long as GRRM through Dance with Dragons.
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Jan 6, 2014 10:32
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Almost finished with book 1 - A Study in Scarlet - e-reader died  also, goodreads profiles here! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22855121-le-manda
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Jan 6, 2014 18:07
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I'm going to join in and set my goal for 30 this year. Already started getting back into reading in November and December last year, so I want to put an extra four to push myself over the 1book/2weeks standard. here is my goodreads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11389443-alec
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Jan 6, 2014 18:13
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I've been a reading machine ever since I discovered the joy of a good book on the subway to work. I'll up the stakes for this year and pledge to read 45 books and/or graphic novels but I'm also including educational material this time. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16366599-entenzahn
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Jan 6, 2014 18:30
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bowmore posted:People still don't know how to have sex and would probably benefit from reading it. Though the stuff about the armpits was a bit odd to me. Yeah, the armpit stuff was a little 'different' as was the emphasis on scent & odor. I've not spent a lot of time reading sex guides such as this, but I would imagine that this falls on the tame side of the spectrum these days. It probably serves as a pretty decent beginner's course for somebody uncomfortable or shy. Though I'm told that in terms of modern information, "The Guide to Getting It On" is probably a lot more informative and relevant than this '70s reprint. Meanwhile #3: Brilliance by Marcus Sakey - a bit of a twist on the superhero novel. It reads like an action movie. It can be a little predictable, a little cheezy at times, It's pretty entertaining and it's approach on having superpowers is different and refreshing. No flying, no hand blasts, powers are much more subtle than that. Perhaps like that Alphas show, which I've only seen the pilot of. #4: The Best American Essays 2013 A really interesting collection of creative, literary non-fiction. The writing styles and subjects are diverse. I really enjoy the Essays series.
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Jan 6, 2014 21:28
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This is a good idea. I will shoot for 20 books, one of which is to be in Japanese. I just finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, so 5% done.
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Jan 7, 2014 06:07
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Book one down. 1. Supergods - Grant Morrison ***disclaimer*** I'm a huge fan of Grant Morrison's work in comics anyways ***disclaimer*** Brilliant. I had a really hard time putting this one down and read it in two sittings, though I feel the subject matter being something of keen interest to me had something to do with that. It's part anthropological study of how superheroes have supplanted gods, myths, and legends for the modern world, and part autobiography on how Grant Morrison became one of the biggest names in comics. The first part is interesting thanks to the bizarre nature of comics themselves, not to mention their ever-evolving industry. The second part is interesting thanks to Morrison's Comic Book Guy meets gonzo journalist voice. That, and his near-death experiences, world travels, tantric sex fetishes, and life-altering drug trips. He's funny too; I audibly chuckled at a number of points. I enjoy the fact that he comes across as a perfectly rational, scientific minded, concrete-sequential person while simultaneously sounding like he believes everything with an honesty that rivals Superman--that he's genuinely both an atheist and a theist; a believer in Christ, Buddha, Odin, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and nothing at all; that a man at a San Diego comic convention dressed as Superman can be both an overzealous cosplayer and the Man Of Steel himself; that he can slip easily from reality, to non-reality, to hyper-reality within a single sentence or a single thought. I'd recommend this book just for the writer's fascinating voice, but also to anyone with even a passing interest in superheros and their place in human culture.
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Jan 7, 2014 06:45
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Finished book 2. 2. Desolation Road by Ian McDonald. I can't put in words how much I loved this; it's sci-fi Gabriel Garcia Marquez but so much more. Pretentious Goodreads review.
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Jan 8, 2014 00:00
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Thanks AreYouStillThere for this thread. I found last years thread really helpful for finding new authors and really branched out on what I normally read. I beat my goal of 30 books last year, with 34, but think I'll keep this year's goal at 30 as my available reading time often varies depending on how long I'm stuck on public transport. Goodreads profile here
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Jan 8, 2014 04:52
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So I managed to read 4 books this week, which I think is a pretty good start! Hoping to surpass my goal of 52 this year. I mean, I say  "books", but they're mostly comics. Still, this challenge is basically an exercise for me to whittle down my massive to-read shelf, which does contain quite a few comics!    1. Aldebaran by Leo - The worst BD translation in history. Bad story and bad characters. Creepily full of sex and discussions of rape. 2 stars. 2. Betelgeuse by Leo - Oh god why did I read this. Sex Adventures On Alien Planets 2: This Time It’s Sexier. Bad bad bad. "I have to fight to stop my hands from stroking your breasts." Great, thanks Europe. 2 stars. 3. The Sea Rover's Practice by Benerson Little - One of the best books on piracy in the Caribbean, I love history books like this one that are crammed full of excerpts from first-hand sources. The prose is amateurish, though. 4 stars. 4. Mr. A by  . 1 star.
Qwo fucked around with this message at 05:30 on Jan 31, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 06:10
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I want to make it to 65 books this year, after managing the 52 last year rather easily.
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Jan 8, 2014 08:57
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I'll give 52 books a go. Any thoughts on a minimum pages requirement or something?
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Jan 8, 2014 09:16
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Qwo posted:4. Mr. A by Is that a Mr. A collection?
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Jan 8, 2014 11:45
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Two down: 1. Beyond the Rift by Peter Watts. About 80% done at the moment; another pretty sweet collection of short stories. 2. Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold. Something of a comfort reread (have been going through the whole series since some time last year, in between other books). Both of these were not terribly long books so now I just started on this big fat fantasy thing Blood Song by Anthony Ryan because a bunch of goons were singing its praises. Less than 10% in, seems pretty decent so far.
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Jan 8, 2014 13:06
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Put me down for 52 books. I'm slowly working my way through the classics and hopefully a goal will be helpful.
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Jan 8, 2014 13:18
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I made 100 last year, I'll go for 100 again this year. I suspect it will be harder this year than last (instead of a 45 minute commute each way I'll be walking around 10 minutes, so less time for audiobooks), but then I'm pretty surprised I actually made it to 100 last year. If I don't make it, oh well. Also, I'm going to try to write a review (at least a short one) for every book I read on Goodreads. I started doing this last year and it's actually kind of fun. Plus, it makes it more likely that I'll win giveaways. Here's my Goodreads profile, feel free to add me. Florida Betty fucked around with this message at 14:47 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 14:45
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Mr. Squishy posted:Is that a Mr. A collection?
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Jan 8, 2014 18:09
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I managed to reach my goal of 52, so I'll be gunning for 75 books this year. Goodreads profile here. Book no. 1 is already down, a self-serving turd that was on christmas sale: 1. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Perkins J. 2005.
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Jan 8, 2014 21:23
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Well I totally flubbed on my goal of 40 books last year, which surprised me. It turns out I'm not the bookworm I used to be. After completing just 17 books in 2013 ( ), I've decided to set a more modest target of 25 for 2014. Wish me luck. Obligatory Goodreads profile
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Jan 8, 2014 21:51
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Oh, I forgot to add my Goodreads profile as well: Goodreads. Also, don't pay attention to my progress updates. I'm using it to get a sense of how/when/how much I read.
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Jan 8, 2014 22:04
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Busy couple of days: 2: A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C Clarke. I first started this probably 15 years ago, but it was a copy in a library on board a ship, and I couldn't take it away with me, and didn't finish in time. It's a great book given its age, as with all of Clarke's work I've experienced so far, but it similarly suffers a little for its age in relation to gender politics etc. It's also interesting that, in a book written between Sputnik and Apollo 11, Clarke's assumption was that the Russians would be the first to make it... 3: Prador Moon by Neal Asher. Good book, good introduction to the author, but short. Definitely going to follow up with more from this author. 4: Embedded by Dan Abnett. I've not read a lot of Abnett's non-40k fiction, but what i have read of it is good and this is no exception. Good action, interesting concepts, well-rendered characters, and I liked the ling-patched swearing, it was a fun addition. In general the language was done well for relatively near-future SF - different enough to be noticeable, but not different enough to be annoying. 5: Currently in progress on a reread of The Player of Games by Ian M Banks. As good as I remember. (Had to accompany fiancee to a hospital checkup so spent a lot of time on buses and in waiting rooms. All relatively short books and I read fast...)
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Jan 9, 2014 00:08
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I'll aim for 50 and set a few more specific goals once I clear some existing backlog.
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Jan 9, 2014 02:17
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5. Quirk: Brain Science Makes Sense of Your Peculiar Personality by Hannah Holms A really intersting book about how brain biology and brain chemestry influence our personalities. It also looks at the evolutional purpose for personality traits. 6. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson I love Ron's stuff. It's really amusing, but equally entertaining and informative. With Ronson's work, its not just about the subject of psychopathy. It's the story of Ronson's investigation of the subject, and the strange cast of characters he ends up interviewing. I caught onto this from a This American Life episode a couple of years ago.
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Jan 9, 2014 02:41
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Thanks for doing this again AreYouStillThere, I found the 2013 thread accidentally which lead me here. Trying to get back into my teenage reading habit after a shamefully long period with few books. I hope to surpass this but sign me up for 20 books this year. I setup a Goodreads profile last night if anyone would like to add me as to provide some encouragement to complete a small review on each read. As you'll see from my profile I'm starting back with a focus on a few of my previous favorite genres so if you're a fan of any of the same please feel free to send recommendations.
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Jan 9, 2014 16:43
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Still working my way through Arthur Conan Doyle ... I don't feel that a 40 page book really counts as a book, but I figure reading is reading, so it kinda counts. Also, it feels weird reading a book and not writing a paper on it ... or is that just me?
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Jan 10, 2014 03:31
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In for 52 books. Goodreads profile.
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Jan 10, 2014 20:34
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Going to try for 50 books.
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Jan 10, 2014 21:02
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#1 - Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky. Not sure how I feel about this one. I think I still need to ruminate on it for a while to get the full significance. It seems to be more meaningful than what I pulled out of it initially. I'm also not sure how to process the end. #2 - The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith. This was a short story, but I'm counting it because it was one of my gifts from the TBB Santa exchange. It was definitely entertaining, but it feels like it might or should be a part of a larger collection. It felt a lot like the first couple chapters of a much longer novel. It laid just enough ground to create a "universe" for a much larger story, but ended after hinting at a potential narrative. Also, I was a little weirded out by the Underhill/Lady May romantic aspect. It could have worked if it was a full novel and done tastefully (the emotional, not sexual part). But ending where it did left me with a "This dude is writing fan fiction about his cat" feeling. It didn't help that I read most of it in a vet ER waiting for news about my cat with a blocked urethra.
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Jan 10, 2014 21:55
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5: Finished reread of The Player of Games - spent most of it trying to remember where the ending spoiler happened (i.e. Mawhrin-skel is Flere-imsaho) which was a little distracting, but otherwise it was good. Moving on to 6: Hilldiggers by Neal Asher. Having enjoyed Prador Moon I'm continuing that series.
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Jan 11, 2014 01:00
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Blind Sally posted:Book one down. 2. Hawkeye 1: My Life As A Weapon/Hawkeye 2: Little Hits - Matt Fraction et. al. I'm going to count large comics as a single entry and smaller trades as a half books. So these two count as one. I enjoyed them. The art in Hawkeye is wonderful and it has a number of clever story-telling devices that I enjoyed immensely. The character of Hawkeye as a broody, sorry-for-himself kind of hero isn't the most engaging, but he has a great supporting cast, such as the new Hawkeye and Lucky the dog. A lot of fun. 3. The Chronicles of Prydain I: The Book Of Three - Llyod Alexander I love the characters, I love the story. It moves along at a brisk speed, functions as a fully-realized and detailed world, and yet never gets bogged down in unnecessary world-building and details like so much other sci-fi and fantasy. I'd only read The Black Cauldron (and seen the film) before this, so I'm glad to go back and start the series properly. This is the kind of fantasy I'm happy and eager to recommend to youths or children.
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Jan 11, 2014 01:30
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Butch Cassidy posted:I'll aim for 50 and set a few more specific goals once I clear some existing backlog. So far: 1. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett. Death retires, chaos ensues. Weaker writing than Pratchett's later work but one of his best stories. 2. Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Fun pulp noir. 3. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. Nihilistic existentialism ahoy. A great black comedy that I'm looking forward to my kids being old enough to read and discuss. 4. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. An anti-hero parable with a far more ambiguous moral than most readers want to accept and choose to ignore. Very well worth a read, but look at a biography of Chinua Achebe to appreciate that it is an early writing by a native Nigerian. As for more specific goals, I want to read all of the books in my backlog that I have been gifted and loaned, catch up on some classics, get into more mystery and noir, start and finish the books I have started and never finished since high school, and pick up some books that I would usually pass by. And not sacrifice hiking/swimming/music/biking time to do it. So far, so good.
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Jan 12, 2014 00:45
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Quick update: #2: Fighting on the Home Front: The Legacy of Women in World War One - Kate Adie. #3: Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History - Robert Hughes. #4: Wake - Elizabeth Knox. #5: When We Wake - Karen Healey.
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Jan 12, 2014 02:01
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Got a snazzy Kindle handed down to me, complete with awesome books... working on Sign of Four currently ... aw yeah.
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Jan 12, 2014 06:09
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In for 52 book as well. Here's my Goodreads profile. Add me! Already got one down: #1: Promise of Blood - Brian McClellan. Wow, what a great start to a promising fantasy series. Contains mostly everything I want - ambiguous heroes, inventive magic system (gunpowder as a magic source, and "Knacked", who are great at exactly one magical talent), and intriguing political scheming. I'm excited to see where this one goes, especially after spending most of last year going through half of the Wheel of Time.
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Jan 12, 2014 07:50
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Couch Life posted:#1: Promise of Blood - Brian McClellan. Also just finished this and now am very upset about having to wait months for the second one. (PS anyone have any recommendations for other books with crazy gunpowder magic?)
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Jan 12, 2014 13:20
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