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My Goodreads Profile - Add me! Count me in again this year, and put me down for the Stravinsky Challenge. Stravinsky posted:1. 52 books I have not read before, including: If a book easily fits multiple categories, I'm counting it for each (as needed, anyway). Now where do I find a non-white woman who wrote a book of poetry on the color red?  If I don't complete this by 11:59pm on December 31st, 2015.
Dienes fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Jan 5, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 20:35
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Blind Sally posted:If you haven't read it before, check out Stanislaw Lem's Solaris Looks fun, thanks!
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Jan 5, 2015 21:03
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Guy A. Person posted:Someone give me a wildcard book! I was going to wait till I was out of other stuff to read but I am anxious to know now. Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler. Trilogy of novellas about humans saved from the brink of extinction by aliens with a compulsion for genetic experiments.
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Jan 8, 2015 18:35
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Mahlertov Cocktail posted:Gotta say, I'm really coming to appreciate your custom challenge, Stravinsky. It's a great way of getting people to vary their reading as opposed to yelling that comic books shouldn't count. You are a benevolent booklord. If I had the time, I would look up a graphic novel that covered each of those categories. Part of me feels bad because I already read a good chunk of those categories, but stuff like poetry is going to be a huge challenge, so I guess it evens out.
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Jan 10, 2015 00:47
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lifg posted:6 - An essay. The TSR chapter from Designers & Dragons, which is freely available. You might like Of Dice and Men. Anyone have a play recommendation that is NOT Shakespeare?
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Jan 20, 2015 06:04
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So far for January: 1. Worm by wildbow - It took 2 months but by God I finished it. I'm so glad I stuck with it. The first few chapters do not pull you in much, but once you get to the superhero fights its incredible. Wildbow does a great job of creating tension, writing action, and developing a huge array of characters. I will say that occasionally the action sequences go on a bit too long, and you can definitely tell it is a first draft. Wildbow doesn't spell out everything for you, which makes the book more challenging and rewarding to read. I am hoping someone added up the death count for this, though. Its like he read the Battle of Hogwarts and the Red Wedding and said, "Meh, I can do better." Just started Red Rising for the Challenge. So far it is precisely Hunger Games...iiinnnnn spppaaaaace. I feel like the author didn't think things through too much with the caste system, its very jarring having Reds, Blues, Yellows, Silvers, Golds.....and obsidian. I guess I should be glad he decided against calling the murder caste the Blacks.
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Feb 3, 2015 15:04
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Guy A. Person posted:I finished Lillith's Brood and The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor, both of which I discussed a little last month. The latter two books in the Lillith's brood trilogy were good, I liked that they switched narrators which allowed Butler to explore different conflicting aspects of human nature in a pretty interesting way. I'm glad you liked it! February Update: Stravinsky posted:1. 7/52 books in a year 2. Red Rising - This book desperately wants to be Hunger Games. I was pretty excited at first to have a married protagonist in a YA novel. Then she kills herself without provocation. Pacing was fast, and was action-packed, but the main character didn't really have much of an arc...or personality, and a lot of the culture just didn't make sense. I don't see myself reading the next books, would not recommend. 3. Free Will - The essay makes a pretty good case for why free will doesn't exist, and why we are so opposed to the idea of determinism. The examination of the scientific evidence was thorough but not dry. I would have like to see the interaction of free will vs. determinism in religion and politics more, though. Brisk, light read, highly recommended. 4. Rain: A Natural and Cultural History - Won an ARC copy of the book late January, perfect fit for the challenge. Covered a lot of information, and didn't stick to one topic long enough to be boring, but felt very unorganized. Interesting enough. 5. The Walking Dead, Vol. 22: A New Beginning - One of the better installments in a long time. A significant time jump has occurred, and the story just seems fresher. Kirkman seemed to write himself into a corner in previous volumes with an over-competent, cartoonishly evil villain. There's some---not a lot, but some---character development for Rick and some pretty good conversations. The ending with the people posing as walkers has potential, but I'm sure it'll end up even more ridiculous to the point where I can't enjoy it. 6. Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout - I expected this to be a straight-up biography, but it was mostly an art book with bits of biography stuck in it. I found the story of the Curies to be both uplifting and heart breaking. There's nothing sweeter than scientists in love. I thought most of the art was gross. I'm not an art person, I guess. 7. The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control - I apparently started this in September of last year and despite being initially incredibly excited for the book, it never seemed to hold my attention. I agreed with a lot of what the author said but I found myself often disagreeing with how he said it. He brings in Freud at one point; I think that was the first time I mentally checked out of the book.
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Mar 2, 2015 00:39
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thehomemaster posted:
Tempted to give you the wildcard The Power of Habit, if you liked this, or Carrots and Sticks. I think you'd like them both.
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Mar 5, 2015 01:47
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March Update:Stravinsky posted:1. 10/52 books in a year 8. Shadowed by Wings by Janine Cross - This is the book that the Prince of Thorns series desperately wants to be. Vicious, brutal things happen in the culture, and happen to the protagonist, and are done by the protagonist, but as shocking and awful as they are, it feels more believable and less like someone trying desperately to be edgy. I particularly enjoy the ghost of the protagonist's mother hounding her to find her younger sister, and the mother's clear favorite child. That being said, the book is full of the most ridiculous sexual imagery and has probably inspired a lot of the products on Bad Dragon. In particular are the protagonist getting stoned off being eaten out by a dragon and dragon rider apprentices having to beat dragons in the nutsack with bamboo rods to get them excited enough to mate in captivity. 9. Perfume: the Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind - I loved this book, and I'm so glad I am doing the challenge as I'd never have picked it up otherwise. Quick read, great descriptions throughout, equal parts horror and almost whimsical fantasy. I did not expect the absolutely gruesome ending, but it worked well. 10: At Home: A short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson - Doubling up on history books for the challenge. A tour of a house with a room-by-room history lesson of why each room is named as it is, contains what it does, etc. Its a lot like the old show Connections, and meanders a lot in ways that are rather off-topic (the legal history of kidnapping is related rather tangentially to bedrooms and attics for example) but its interesting enough you don't mind the disorganization. Currently Reading: The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World by Anthony Biglan - Written more for laypeople than professionals, but so far has been very uplifting to read. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister, John Tierney - I picked this up just to get a different perspective on self-control and impulsivity. Its a challenge if only because I want to argue with the book as I read it.
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Apr 2, 2015 00:38
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Stravinsky posted:I actually read everything everyone posts itt. sorry about the dragon erotica
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Apr 22, 2015 23:34
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April Update:Stravinsky posted:1. 18/52 books in a year 11. The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World by Anthony Biglan - Loved it. Its written for laypersons, so it isn't as detailed or technical as I may have preferred, but the tone was so god drat optimistic. We talk a lot in the field about how we could save the world, and here is a comprehensive outline of how to do it. I like how the scope kept moving ever outward, focusing on family matters and then education and criminal systems and finally, the world. I particularly like the parts about providing parent training and support. 12. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney - Awful. Absolutely awful. The majority of the book outlines C-list celebrities and somehow that is evidence for certain ideas on willpower. Drew Carey hired this guy to organize his desk! Drew paid him thousands of dollars, so it must work and that guy's opinions on willpower must be scientific and correct! David Blaine says this about willpower, and look at all the stunts he's done on Oprah! The book cherry picks studies, often ones with GLARING issues in their design or conclusions. The authors often go off-track and make statements or give advice that is completely opposite the scientific consensus, such as AA being the most effective treatment for alcoholism. 13. Neuromancer by William Gibson - Short, quick, I enjoyed the action and some of the twists. There were a few things that made me wince--the punk samurai cyborg being one---but it was cool to see where so many tropes in the genre originated. I feel like my experience with the book suffered at points because I would get irritated with a cliche....only to remind myself that this is where everyone else stole it from. 14. The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by Matthew Inman - Recommended by a friend. Not funny. We are not friends anymore. 15. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell - I enjoyed this a lot. Bruce is almost as funny and affable in his writing as he is on screen. Its cool hearing his impressions of places in Michigan, places were I grew up. 16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Wow. I nearly counted this as a 'Behaviorism' book because Huxley was apparently terrified of it. Everyone praises this book for its world building but I thought the author was sloppy about it, lumping nearly everything together in one excruciating info dump at the beginning of the novel. There's a few plot contrivances that were just too easy and predictable, such as the controller mentioning off-hand that he lost a woman in the wilderness over a decade ago, and the protagonist just happening to find her paragraphs later. Huxley does a good job of painting both cultures as horrible, but I don't know if that was his intent. 17. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - My first steampunk book ever. A giant drill goes nuts in Seattle and hits a gas vent that turns people into zombies. To contain the gas, a 200 foot wall was built around the city. For something with zombies in it, that was the hardest part for me to accept. The setting was interesting enough, and there were highly enjoyable characters....but neither of the main characters were. Both the single-minded mom and the stubborn teen lacked personality, and both were nearly entirely passive the entire book, being lead like a cow from location to location by far more likable, interesting people. 18. Unbound by Jim Hines - Signed copy! This was the third book in the Magic ex Libris series, easily the strongest of the series so far. Outlandish sets and plot points that are just so crazy you have to love it, like stealing vampire blood from a satellite or pulling a prison globe from a poem. Currently Reading: Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
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May 1, 2015 14:14
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Mahlertov Cocktail posted:Hey y'all. I'm reading If on a Winter's Night a Traveler for the postmodern challenge and I'm loving it. Any recommendations for a good little collection of poetry? I could always pick up a little book of German poetry I have, but I'd probably end up petering out since reading poetry in another language, even a language I'm very good in, is hella difficult. I read a Naruda poetry collection and would recommend you do the same. PhD program is kicking my rear end. I'm doing well on book challenge but I'm going to need to read a lot in this 3 week break to catch up on total number of books.
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Dec 7, 2015 21:28
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quote:
Hit my 52 book goal and most of the Booklord's challenge. Thank God for having nearly a 6 week winter break. Currently reading Finder's Keepers as my mystery, and my wildcard Solaris. I'm planning on Waiting for Godot for my play. Feeling pretty good about finishing everything by the 31st. Best books of the year so far: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Worm, The Girl with All the Gifts Worst books of the year so far: Micro, Blind Owl, The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances Absolutely game for it next year, though I'm going to shoot for a much lower number of books.
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Dec 27, 2015 18:38
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 01:04 |
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Finished Waiting for Godot. I don't know if I am missing context or just don't get it or what, but it just didn't work for me. Honestly, the play is probably the only book challenge category I'd change. Its like saying you need to read movie script - its designed for a different method of consumption and I feel I'm missing something. I'd suggest replacing the category with A Graphic Novel.  Also finished Solaris. This one was right up my alley, thank you SO MUCH for suggesting it! I love sci-fi and aliens that actual feel alien. Wrapping up Finders Keepers this afternoon and the book challenge shall be complete. Edit: Annnnnd done for 2015. Bring on the new year. Dienes fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Jan 1, 2016 |
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Dec 31, 2015 18:05
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