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I'm in like Flynn. I barely made my goal last year, so I'm keep it at 52 books and try to finish it sooner. I think I might like to refine what I read this year to make it more challenging, but I'm going to have to think on how I want to play that out.
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Jan 2, 2014 07:23
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All Nines posted:It also got me noticing that I shouldn't fill my reading challenge full of short books, so I'm going to try to have at least 30 of the books I read this year be over 300 pages long. I had the opposite problem last year, when I realized I shouldn't fill my reading challenge full of long books. I read Infinite Jest and the drat thing took most of January and all of February to read. 1 book of my goal of 52. (I should have counted it as five books, or something, aw well).
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Jan 5, 2014 06:19
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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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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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Dr. Garbanzo posted:So far all I've finished is The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. It was a good read that I mostly enjoyed but it's also pretty depressing at times really. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends when I get around to Cities of the Plain but in the mean time I'm going to grind out some more Proust because I need to finish it sooner rather than later for my own sanity if nothing else. I personally found The Crossing to be the high point of the Border Trilogy. I found Cities of the Plain less engaging, less enjoyable, and more depressing. Let me know how it goes, though, I'm interested in what you think.
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Jan 17, 2014 07:04
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Blind Sally posted:2. Hawkeye 1: My Life As A Weapon/Hawkeye 2: Little Hits - Matt Fraction et. al. 4-7. The Chronicles of Prydain II-V: The Black Cauldron, The Castle Of Lyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King - Lloyd Alexander. It was good. I liked them save for some issues with the last two. I chalk them up to be being based on Welsh myth and being written in the sixties, though. I'm sure I would have loved them more as a kid, but as an adult I find them a bit lacking in the end.
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Jan 22, 2014 00:00
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Blind Sally posted:4-7. The Chronicles of Prydain II-V: The Black Cauldron, The Castle Of Lyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King - Lloyd Alexander. 7 1/2. Coraline: The Graphic Novel - Neil Gaiman et al. Better than the film. I didn't much care for the film. Felt too much like VIDEO GAME: THE MOVIE. I liked this better. Still had the hunt of collectibles, but thankfully it didn't have the silly spider final boss fight. Still dull. Coraline is such a dull character. I get that she's supposed to be as a sort of counter to the more imaginative opposite world, but man, the artwork is also all kinds of dull. Not really inspiring or imaginative. 8 1/2. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline Horrible. I mean, innocuous enough to read straight through, but man. This is the worst self-indulging nostalgia crap. Woo, the 80s are great. So great that video games and 80s movies are going to save our world from global warming and big brother and evil corporations! Best of all, our hero will be some guy with autism and he'll save the world by playing Second Life! gently caress me. Skip this book. Especially if you have friends who recommend it to you as the most awesome thing ever because it references Star Trek and D&D.
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Feb 7, 2014 06:30
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Stravinsky posted:So what's the point of counting comics as part of your reading challenge log? Like would you honestly tell people you read fifty two books in a year when a number of those were like Hawkeye trades or One Piece volume one or something like that. Would you really if asked to expand on what you read mention that you counted those in your total? My reasons for including graphic novels in my reading list are pretty much the same as what other posters have already said, so I'll try not to belabour the point. It seems you have a different view on the medium than other people have. Which is fine. I feel my view is probably different from yours though. You also seem to have a particular idea of what constitutes "high art" and "low art," or more specifically, books that you feel enrich people's lives and those you feel don't. Feel free to correct me, I'm just inferring from your posts in this thread. I, too, discern between what I consider worthwhile and useless media, but it's a pretty darn subjective thing. For my own reading challenge, I have arbitrary definitions of what I consider to be a "book." I'm a busy person and sometimes have trouble sitting down and reading things that aren't text messages, forum posts, or e-mails between life and work. With my challenge, I am aiming to try and read 52 books between 100-200 pages in length. That's an approximation, though, as a book can have more or less pages. I read Infinite Jest last year and that took me two months, which "set me back" on my challenge despite having such a huge page count. I also read a number of Shakespeare's works. However, they were part of a single collection that was over 2000 pages. I counted the individual plays as a book each. For me, it's not the completion of a single book that is the goal, but an arbitrary volume of read material. I don't see much difference in reading a well-written novel or a well-written comic, but trade paper backs often have much smaller page counts. For me, a 100 page novel is equivalent to reading two 50ish page graphic novels. This is a lot of words about something that's basically just a personal challenge, but you seem bothered by it, so I hope this helps illuminate at least my position.
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Feb 9, 2014 06:17
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Stravinsky posted:There is a weird mentality that has proliferated that just reading a bunch=good regardless of what you read or if you even understood it. Going back once again to gym/exercise metaphors, what good is it going to do you if you just do a hundred sit ups regardless of form or even checking if you did proper technique and then kinda half sat up sometimes. You will just be able to say you did a hundred "sit ups" that really didn't do you poo poo in the long run and if anyone saw you doing them would call you out or at least snicker and shake their heads. I don't know if I agree with or even understand what you're talking about, as I don't know many people with this sort of mentality, but it's more about focus for me. With the proliferation of new technologies and social media, I've found myself multi-tasking more and more. I can work on an essay, check e-mails, check phone and social media messages, listen to music, and watch YouTube videos pretty much all at once. Research I've found basically shows that multi-tasking is bullshit, though, and all you're really doing is hurting your ability to concentrate. I do know that years ago I could sit through a 3-hour movie comfortably, while now I have trouble sitting through 40 minute television episodes. I can't speak for other people, but I challenge myself to read so that I can sit down and focus on a single thing without distraction. Stravinsky posted:B) How exactly did Hawkeye volume 5 lead you to appreciate writing? I've only read the first two volumes, but I had an appreciation for writing before I read them anyways. The first two volumes were fairly well-written, even though I am fairly tired of the down-on-himself-lone-wolf antihero trope. It's clever, punchy, and the art is truly brilliant. It's an entertaining bit of fiction--but you don't strike me as someone who likes comics much anyways, so does my opinion matter? (I know that this question wasn't explicitly directed at me, I'm just trying to make a point).
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Feb 9, 2014 06:33
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Stravinsky posted:This is mostly what my problem is to be honest. Its just seeing how much poo poo you can get through and really doesn't do much to make you a better reader and leads to putting dumb poo poo on your list because its a bunch of words you read so you can feel good about yourself at the end of the day. I must have missed "How To Become A Better Reader 101." Care to enlighten us? Also, we clearly have a difference of opinion on what we consider "dumb poo poo" and "good poo poo", so, wanna let us know what we should be reading?
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Feb 9, 2014 07:11
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Stravinsky posted:Then shouldn't you challenge yourself then with something other than a comic book? I mean read what you really want but wouldn't a novel or a short story or something along those lines go a lot further in the way of helping you focus on one thing than Hawkeye can? How would a comic book help me focus any better than a novel or a short story? I read novels, short stories, and comics, among other things. You're making a distinction between comics and novels/short stories where I don't. Poutling posted:I mean it's great that you love to read heavy stuff to 'enrich' yourself but if someone else just wants to read a comic book about ninjas why not just let them enjoy it? We don't even know that, since Stravinsky hasn't deigned to tell us what we should be reading. Maybe they think we should all be reading Terry Goodkind's body of work. quote:I bet you're an English Literature/Philosophy double major. Haha, that's pretty much what I have. 
Sally fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Feb 9, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 07:23
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Stravinsky posted:Here is my challenge: Dr. Seuss?
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Feb 9, 2014 07:33
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Stravinsky posted:loving lol I found a TBB thread that might be more your speed. You should just go there and post. Here it is: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3607624 (on a serious note: would you recommend The Blind Owl as a good starting point to his work? I'm unfamiliar with any of Hedayat's writing, but know that an author's "most enduring" work isn't necessarily the best place to start). Sally fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Feb 9, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 22:53
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Poutling posted:No, you gotta be an english/philosophy major because you like making fun of people who like to read comic books and novelizations of Saturday Morning Cartoons. Hey, can we not trash on people who study English and Philosophy just cause there are a couple of people in the thread who are being rude? I get tired of reading Shakespeare, McCarthy, and Kierkegaard all the time, so I like breaking them up with DC comics and Star Wars. There's nothing wrong with including a comic on your  PERSONAL READING CHALLENGE list.
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Feb 11, 2014 19:57
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Stravinsky posted:Some one said a thing was purely hypothetical and there was no way that anyone would do that. I posted evidence of it from this thread. Its a funny thing that I felt would be overlooked by people. And I would totally try and recommend books. But in the same analogy I said someone was doing pull ups all hosed up then they freaked out and said don't tell me how to do pullups, its my pull ups why should you care how I do my pull up exercise. Maybe it's a terrible analogy? If you're looking to read more poetry, might I recommend Robert Hass if you haven't read him already? He's a Californian, so his works definitely have a west coast sort of attitude to them (which might be why I like him so much). He has a decent collection that was released a few years ago entitled The Apple Trees At Olema, but if you can dig up some of his original published material (Field Guide, Praise, Human Wishes, or Sun Under Wood), I found they were far more powerful read in their original book.
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Feb 11, 2014 20:44
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Stravinsky posted:Thanks for the insightful commentary on the books you read guys and not just listing them in some sort of list like this is pyf. If you want commentary, then post commentary. What are you reading? I'm currently slogging through Al Santoli's To Bear Any Burden. I say it's a slog, not because it's a bad book (quite the contrary), but it's depressing as hell. It's a collection of personal narratives told by 47 different people who lived through the Vietnam War. It's reminiscent of Mark Baker's Nam and Michael Herr's Dispaches, but where those books had an almost unreal, nightmarish dreamscape quality about them, the people in Santoli's books are very real. It makes their stories all that harder to read. (Though the fact that the people in Santoli's book are named, while those in Baker's and Herr's book go unnamed, could be part of that). I also appreciate that unlike Nam and Dispatches, which were entirely from the point-of-view of the American military, To Bear Any Burden includes people from North and South Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries involved in the conflict. That, and many of them are civilians, such as teachers, activists, and politicians. Powerful stuff. Russ L posted:Hesitant though I am to interrupt all of this sincerely-intended encouragement that will no doubt massively benefit mankind and get people reading like Billy-O at his most literate, I do feel the urge to ask: what is "pyf"? http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=167
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Feb 19, 2014 09:15
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Haha, I haven't read Frost in a while but I don't remember hating his stuff. A bit overwrought, but clever enough. What turned you off?
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Feb 19, 2014 20:53
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One Tall Fellow posted:2. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy - I'd read a bunch of McCarthy previously, and remembered hearing that this was his best work, and although it lags occasionally, particularly toward the middle of the novel, it doesn't disappoint. For a book about violence and savagery, there sure are so goddamn many beautiful scenes and sentences. I love this book. I had the opportunity to study it further in a university course, so I used that as an excuse to spend time reading up on various interpretations on themes of the novel. There's a lot of really good literature out there on the book, if you're interested. There's one article entitled "A Bloody Dark Pastryman" which offers a pretty great analysis of the story where the Glanton gang first meets the Judge, spending a lot of time on the veracity on whether or not the Judge would have been able to make gunpowder under those circumstances. According to the research, the ingredients used by the Judge could have worked--an excellent example of McCarthy's attention to detail.
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Mar 6, 2014 03:07
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Tulalip Tulips posted:8. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie. Brilliant collection, and one of my favourite works by Alexie. If you've never seen it, some of the stories (particularly Victor and Thomas going to get Victor's dead dad's belongings) were adapted into a film, "Smoke Signals", which is worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bctCV38FfU
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Mar 23, 2014 19:46
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screenwritersblues posted:Also, is everyone just doing a random pick for what they're reading or do some of you plan it out. I just planned my reading for the rest of the year because I had so much to read and feel like this method might be the best for me. Am I the only one or are there others like me? Like Stravinsky, I just bought books and let them fill whatever nook and cranny was available in my home. I have since stopped buying books and am basically reading whatever is currently unread on my shelves. My aim is to not buy any more books until I've read all that I own, but that is proving to be a difficult task.
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Mar 31, 2014 03:16
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Hooooooooooooly shiit. Forgot about this. Went a while without reading because of stuff, but found time to do some now that it's middle of summer.Blind Sally posted:7 1/2. Coraline: The Graphic Novel - Neil Gaiman et al. 9. Saga - Brian K. Vaughan I actually read a bunch of these trades earlier in the year. I remember enjoying them and digging the artwork, but I honestly can't remember much of what happened in them, so, uh, I guess that's ultimately a knock against them. 10. (Rat Book?) -??? I lost my list of books I read and feel silly now. This was an informative, if not scholarly, book about rats. Some Canadian journalist (from Ontario?) discovered a fascination with rats and started studying them and interviewing people knowledgeable of them. Interesting stuff in them, and an easy read. Damned if I can remember the proper title. It was "Rat" and had a subtitle. I tried searching it but, well, searching for "rat" didn't get me anywhere. 11. To Bear Any Burden - Al Santoli Holy crap, what a crushing read. This took forever to get through. Not because it was poorly written, but because it was so soul-crushing. Santoli basically gathers the stories of people involved in the Vietnam War and prints them. However, it's not just soldiers, and it's not just Americans. There are stories from the South Vietnamese, the North Vietnamese, Cambodians, Americans, teachers, soldiers, politicians, generals, Viet Cong guerrillas, foreign aid workers--the scope is incredible. It's also pretty drat brilliant at giving an idea at just how much of a cluster gently caress the whole situation was. Not as powerful as Baker's Nam or Herr's Dispatches, but a stronger book for its depth and scope. 12. They Called Me Number One - Bev Sellars This is a memoir written by Xat’sull Chief Bev Sellars about her time in residential school. If you're unfamiliar with them, residential schools were basically Canada's attempt at genocide of the First Nations living there. Children were forcefully taken from their families, denied their language and culture, and indoctrinated with Christians teachings. Children were beaten, starved, and abused. It runs deeper than that, but it was an absolutely foul historical event that really doesn't get as much attention as it should considering the last residential school didn't shut down until 1996. Anyways, yeah, Sellars' memoirs are tragic and touching, highlighting the devastation these schools inflicted while giving hope for the future and her own healing. Highly recommend this. 13. The World's Strongest Indian - Sherman Alexie I love Alexie. Straight up. I was waiting in the library for my friend and picked this up off the shelf. Only a few pages into the first short story and I was hooked. I finished half the book while sitting there. I always keep telling myself to read more Alexie, and this collection reminds me why. His stories are at once surreal nightmares and heartwarming dramas. His ability to evoke laughter, anger, and sadness within the breadth of a few paragraphs is incredible, and he does it all without it feeling unnatural or cheap. Basically, this book is just a collection of short stories involving Spokane First Nations living their life in modern America, but really, they're some of the most powerful stories I've read in a long time. 14. Memoirs Found In A Bathtub - Stanislaw Lem Not my favourite work by Lem. It's basically a long indictment of Cold War paranoia. It's funny in a lot of places, and reminded me of Terry Gilliam's Brazil throughout much of it (though Memoirs came first, I saw Brazil first). It does drag on in places and become a bit tedious with the descriptions of mindless bureaucracy, but ultimately, that's the point, so I can't really fault it. The best parts, as always, are the characters who philosophically muse on their existence. Worth the read, but honestly, I thought the opening framing device was the most entertaining bit. 15. & 16. The Chrysalids & The Day Of The Triffids - John Wyndam I've never read any of Wyndam's stuff, so this was me just catching up on some old books. I enjoyed them both, and they weren't at all what I expected. I honestly thought Chrysalids was going to be about old people trying to live forever, though I guess I was just thinking about Cocoon starring Wilfred Brimley. And I guess I expected more of an Invasion Of The Body Snatchers kind of deal with Triffids. Ah well, they were fun.
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Jul 23, 2014 06:15
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Oh yeah, and-- 17. The Name Of The Wind - Patrick Rothfuss This book stunk. It had some high points, but it was mostly padding and self-congratulating courtesy of the most obnoxious protagonists I've read about in a long time. Holy crap is Kvothe or Quothe or whatever the gently caress his name insufferable. I'm so upset at my friends for recommending this to me. I was so upset to find out that this book was basically an extended prologue and that most of the stuff mentioned in the book's jacket don't actually occur.
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Jul 23, 2014 06:40
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Trek Junkie posted:I have been recommended this book as well. However, I have been warned that the main character is insufferable and the entire novel is actually junk. The motivation to read this is to see how absurd acquaintance of mine is for identifying with the main character (his name is Quothe? Really? Ugh.) and boasts about it. The arrogance is palpable. With that in mind, I feel compelled to read it. Within the first page of the Patrick Rothfuss thread, unsatisfied goons had adequately summed up my problems with book. Ultimately, yeah, Rothfuss isn't a terrible writer, but he's not a great one either, so I'm not really stoked on reading extended passages of his prose. I truly feel the book would have been better served if it was more heavily edited and I resolved/introduced more of its advertised plot elements.
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Jul 23, 2014 19:07
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Mr. Squishy posted:78 Dispatches by Michael Herr. Interesting. Basically just a soup of vietnam for 200 pages. Obviously a cornerstone in forming our impressions of the war. Michael Herr also wrote the screenplays for Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket. It's crazy reading his memoirs and seeing which events he experienced were written into the films. The other interesting thing about it, is that when it was published (in 1977), it was one of the few books that actually dealt with and explained the American experience in Vietnam. Due to various political and societal reasons of the time, most people kept quiet about their experience. Obviously, we have a much better understand of what happened during the war, but it was pretty groundbreaking for its time.
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Sep 29, 2014 08:20
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DannyTanner posted:41. Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace Idon't own an e-reader, so I had to tough it out like a trooper. Got a lot of strange looks on the bus whenever I pulled out this goddanmed tome of a book to read through. Worth it though.
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Sep 29, 2014 08:24
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I don't know if I completed my list. I kept reading sporadically, but to be honest, I got busy and forgot to keep track of what I read. Ah well. Got caught up on some classics that most people read during high school, so there's that.
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Jan 2, 2015 19:09
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