|
I've never actually participated in this, but I love to read and tend to stay only within the genres I like so.... why not? I spend way too much time at work, but I'll go in for 30 books. I'll definitely take up the booklord's challenge, as it seems like the perfect vehicle to expand my reading horizons a bit. so, I guess my application form is this: Name: USMC_Karl Number: 30 Booklord's challenge: Yes
|
#
¿
Dec 27, 2016 04:51
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 09:12 |
|
|
I already stated that I'm in, but I'd actually like to clarify something. challenge 9 (Read something in translation) basically means that I'm supposed to read a translated book, right? As in, the book is not originally English but has been translated to English? I spend all frigging day editing Korean patents and I'll be damned if I have to try to fumble my way through a Korean book. I'd also like to request a wildcard. Anything (reasonable) at all. please! screenwritersblues posted:Indiespensable is a program by Powell's out of Portland where every six weeks or so they send you a new book. There's always goodies included and sometimes it's a ARC book, which is just awesome. So wait, this is a subscription service that costs $40 (+$10 for international folks) per shipment and sends you a book once every month and a half or so? That actually sounds pretty fun. I'm guessing you are a current subscriber, would you recommend it for a person living outside of the US? I normally don't balk at spending money, but is a little beyond my impulse purchase range. USMC_Karl fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Dec 28, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Dec 28, 2016 03:39
|
|
|
I was thinking of tackling Catch 22 to be honest because, while I've always wanted to read it, it's always managed to fall just behind something else that I wanted to read. Either that or The Catcher in the Rye because I honestly can't remember anything about it even though I know that I had to read it in High School.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 2, 2017 02:46
|
|
|
Sandwolf posted:Read Catch 22 if you have the patience and focus, it was one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Funny, insightful, powerful, creative - gently caress, it's such a good book. Started reading Catch 22 and have got to say that it is a lot of fun so far. It reads as a collection of vignettes, but it definitely gets the "everyone is crazy, war is crazy" vibe across. I'm only about 7 chapters in right now, but if it keeps this up I might follow up with God Knows for more of Heller. Thanks for the push! I'll add you to my Goodreads friend list, if you don't mind. Having some people on my Goodreads to make me feel guilty would be most welcome. I have pretty trashy taste in my reading but swear that I'm trying to smarten up! USMC_Karl fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Jan 4, 2017 |
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2017 02:38
|
|
|
So just to keep the thread rolling and maybe spark a bit of conversation, just finished my first book (Catch 22) and am already glad I took part in this challenge. The first 100 pages or so where funny and interesting, I definitely caught myself chuckling at some of the funnier sections and just generally having a good time. After that first 100 or so, the book became a little tedious for me. I honestly think I would have abandoned it if it hadn't been for the overriding urge to not be an Internet loser, so I stuck with it. The penultimate chapter was definitely a departure from the ridiculous slapstick of the preceding chapters, and it's sudden dive into darkness and depression definitely "made" the book for me. The last chapter was, in all honestly, kind of lame. I don't know how else it could have ended, but having that ending was kind of a let down after the walk through Rome. All in all, glad I read Catch 22. The funny parts were funny, the sad parts, while few and far between, were all the more striking because of their sudden occurrence. For example, the disappearance of Orr struck me as particularly sad. That spoiler might be the reason why I find the ending to be a bit of a let down. Also, maybe this is partly due to my job (editing English translations of Korean and Japanese patents), but the writing style was a huge turn off. Having page long sentences with 30 adjectives crammed into them just seemed to much like trying to edit horribly written patents (basically all patents), so I wasn't really able to enjoy some of the sections that I'm sure others found to be entertaining.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2017 04:28
|
|
|
Tiggum posted:Wait, did you not get that Orr had faked his death to get out of the war? I thought that was incredibly obvious, to the point that I was really annoyed at Yossarian for not immediately realising that's what happened. Sandwolf posted:Same, same, completely same. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most observant reader in the world. However, I didn't really get that from the reading. Orr is never explicitly marked as dead, but disappearing after a water landing seems pretty deadly to me. Granted, we are talking about the world of Catch-22 where all kinds of goofy poo poo happens, but I just kind of accepted the situation without questioning it too much. That being said all of the practicing made sense to me when Yossarian realized it, and then the whole "why don't you fly with me" spiel clicked. I guess I read that section just how the reader was intended to, because I was just as surprised as Yossarian. Also, I didn't really find McWatt's death too sad. Nately buying the bullet was probably second for me.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2017 04:56
|
|
|
Just finished my second book, The Golden Gate by Robert Buettner. I decided after finishing Catch 22 that I could take have a little guilty pleasure, and decided to try it out. I'd read Buettner's Orphanage and Orphan's Legacy series and enjoyed them both, and this was his first foray into something else. It was... good. Not great, but not bad. A fun read that had a totally unanticipated twist at the end. It is very forgettable though, probably not something I'll ever read again. It also had the problem that a lot of this style of pulpy sci-fi runs into, some of the conversations between the characters were pretty cringe-worthy. That being said, I am in no way a literature snob and enjoyed it. I'd give it a solid 3 stars out of 5, as long as you are just looking to have a think-free run through a somewhat light detective story, it's worth a look. The whole concept that Buettner took (a super rich tycoon gets murdered, he was known for buying up all patents centered around life extension, why was he murdered and who is going to inherit his company/the patents?!) was interesting. Where he went with it was... less so, but not hugely disappointing. Next book, The Black Company by Glen Cook. Yeah, I know, another non-series book. I've been meaning to take a look at it since I first heard about it way back when, and this will finally get me to take a look into Fantasy, which is a genre that I never got into. The books I've finished so far: 1) Catch 22 by Joseph Heller 2) The Golden Gate by Robert Buettner
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2017 03:21
|
|
|
While I've been remiss in updating the thread and, to a lesser extent, reading, I have been doing some reading. Work has been an absolute terror for the past month, so I've got that to blame. I am getting ready to wrap up Floating Dragon by Peter Straub and... it's ok. Nothing super great, but not terrible either. I'm hoping to move on to some of the books recently recommended by Stephen King, but maybe will hop on the book of the month train. Books I've read: 1) Catch 22 2) The Black Company 3) Floating Dragon (almost done)
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2017 06:46
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:I've been reading Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry by Kenneth Koch for my poetry book for The Book Lord challenge. Just wanted to pop in and say it's only $6.29 in brand new paperback right now on Amazon (possibly today only). I paid double that for a used copy. Thanks for this. I've never really gotten poetry, although there are a couple of times where I read a poem and thought it was very good. Maybe this will turn me onto them? Bought it!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 8, 2017 02:55
|
|
|
I'm definitely on the light-weight side of the bibliophiles taking part in this challenge, but I thought I'd toss out a quick recommendation. I'm doing the unthinkable right now (at least for me), and reading two books at the same time. The Dispossessed, which is the current BoTM and promises to be pretty interesting, and Zorba the Greek. If you are looking for a translated book, I'd seriously recommend Zorba the Greek. The plot can basically be boiled down to "read about two dudes sitting on the beach and drinking," but it's quite interesting. Zorba is kind of a happy-go-lucky dude who spouts a bunch of sorta philosophy/sorta life-lessony stuff (Run after women! Drink and have fun! Don't get lost in minutia!) while the narrator, who is only referred to as Boss, listens, contemplates his navel, and tries to figure out his life. It was recommended to me as a book about how to live and cope in the 20th century, and I guess it does that job. I''m not much of a literary dude, instead preferring to read for joy and not think to much, but Zorba has been an absolute blast.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2017 07:22
|
|
|
Finished up two books that I can add to my list, The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin and Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. The Dispossessed was this month's book of the month and was actually an interesting read. It's sort of a political scifi in the sense that we watch the main character, a scientist born on a purely anarchistic planet, as he tries to make his way on a more typical capitalistic planet. It's interesting due in part to the structure (we start with the scientist landing on the capitalist planet, and then each even numbered chapter after that is his early life leading up to departure on the anarchistic planet while each odd chapter is a continuation of chapter 1) and in part to the way it was written. Le Guin does an excellent job putting us in the main character's shoes while he is trying to understand a totally new culture. Binti was a very fast read at under 100 pages, but was quite interesting. It's one of those scifi stories that drop you into a totally new universe with no explanation and you need to figure it out through the main character. The main character is a young girl that has recently received a full ride scholarship to the best university in the galaxy, and we watch her travel to said university. Needless to say, some stuff happens, but the most interesting part of the story is the cultural parts. I, a 30-something year old white dude, was pretty interested to read about Binti and her family/people's way of living. Binti is a Himba girl, and seeing the world (even a made up scifi world) through her eyes was definitely interesting. Both books were good! Now I'm on to The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Only on chapter 3, but it is turning out to be equally good and, as an added benefit, is not scifi. Books finished.: 7/30
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2017 02:32
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
It's been a while, between work and a vacation to Thailand I've been a little remiss in my reading. Still, I'm way ahead of schedule and will easily be able to finish my goal. First off, thanks to apophenium for the wildcard, all of the recommended books were good and are all on my list but I finished The Color Purple, which was an amazingly quick (and bleak) read, I did like how poor 'ol Celie got at least a small dose of sugar in her life at the end. So, books I've finished since my last update and a brief word about them. The Vegetarian by Kang Han was... not my cup of tea. I know it's being touted as a really awesome book and oh so deep, but to me it was just a really weird book about some lady who thinks she's turning into a plant and then starves herself almost to death. Oh, she also gets flowers painted all over her body and films an amateur porn with her sister's husband, class! At least it was short. Goodreads rating: 1 We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor was fun, a totally guilty pleasure read to try to cleanse my palette after an overload of artsy-fartsy. If you like silly sci-fi where the nerd totally wins in the end, this is a good book for you. Goodreads rating: 3 A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge was a fun and very interesting book. About a third of the way through I realized that I had read it before, but it must have been so far back that it basically doesn't count. Still sci-fi, but at least slightly heavier than We Are Legion. Definitely interested in getting the next book in the series, but I have soooo much to read already. Goodreads rating: 4 Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky was a decent little history book. It suffers from the same problem that all such history-of-the-world-through-xxxx books do, being a little too focused on making history fit the theme, but all in all it was a fun and interesting read. Goodreads rating: 4 The Color Purple was mentioned above, so I won't repeat. Goodreads rating: 4 One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey really needs no introduction. If you haven't read it, go out and get it now. Truly on of the best books I've ever read (or in this case, reread. Take that banned book challenge!) Goodreads rating: 5 Deathform by Benjamin Allocco is an interesting take on Aliens. I guess it's also this dudes first full novel, which is pretty promising. Not the best story, but it was fun and easy to read. Goodreads rating: 3 That's all for now, folks!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2017 09:49
|
|
|
Safety Biscuits posted:Wildcard me droogs I'll offer you one, but feel free to turn me down. Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis was a very good book. Go along with Zorba while he drinks, works, dances, womanizes, jams out some tunes, philosophizes, and drinks some more!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2017 02:07
|
|
|
Safety Biscuits posted:I've already bought The Fishermen, but I'll keep an eye open for this one, too. Yikes, I guess I didn't realize that a week had passed between your request and my answer. My bad.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 18, 2017 01:53
|
|
|
I... I... I did it. My total number of books isn't as impressive as some in the thread, but I'm actually pretty proud of myself for getting through this. I pretty much love to read fiction, mostly sci-fi and the like, but going through this challenge has forced me out of my comfort zone and really expanded my tastes. So, hey, Corrode, thanks a lot! I won't talk about every single book that I've read (although if anyone wants my impressions they are free to ask), but I will hit some highlights. Zorba the Greek was an absolutely amazing book, I loved it. Definitely something I would have never read if it weren't for this challenge, and it was a great read. The Sympathizer is pretty much the same, a book that would have been forever on the "hmmm, maybe I should read that" list. It was a funny ride through a dark story. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was one of those books that I always felt guilty about not reading but could never bring myself to read as I knew it would depress the hell out of me. It did, but the ride was worth it. My Life and Hard Times was an amazingly fun little collection of short stories that were easy to read and entertaining. Blackwater is a book that I definitely would have never read if it weren't for this (and BoTM, which I started doing because of this). It was long, nothing ever really happened in it, but somehow it was still riveting. Aquarium is pretty much the same deal. It was depressing and hopeful and a perfect coming-of-age story. A Raisin in the Sun was my first play, and man it was a good one. All in all, I have to say that I liked moving out of my comfort zone and having an excuse to force myself to peek into areas that I would never have tried to read, otherwise. Poetry and plays, in particular, were a lot more fun to read than I thought they would be. Anyways, here's my list. I'll still be reading this year, I just won't be having to keep track of everything quite so enthusiastically. Book Lord Challenge[/b posted:1) Read some books. Set a number and go hog wild. (30)
|
|
#
¿
Nov 15, 2017 03:17
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 09:12 |
|
|
Guy A. Person posted:I was gonna ask if anyone has volunteered yet. I would be interested. You're up, I'll totally take part but am not confident in my ability to make a fun challenge.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2017 04:15
|
|