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Chamberk posted:Whoa crazy! It's interesting that you liked Troubles more than Krishnapur while I was the other way around. Singapore Grip is an interesting one as well, but Krishnapur remains my favorite of the three. I think I like it more if I look at it independently, rather than thinking of it as the second part of a "trilogy" (which for all I know is a moniker applied after Farrell's death). Troubles feels like a straight satire with occasional moments of levity, while Krishnapur is the other way around. And judging from the afterword he seems to have a sincere interest in the mutiny and the Siege of Lucknow (which is a genuinely compelling historical event), and a justifiable sympathy for the British ruling caste who suddenly found the shoe on the other foot; there's a much more intense and personal examination of individual hardship, regardless of the broader frame of colonialism and privilege. I dunno. I think despite the 'Empire trilogy' tag, Farrell was trying to do quite different things with the two novels, and the problem lay with my preconception. I have Singapore Grip on my shelf too but it might have to wait till next year, since I want to hit 60 books and that thing looks like it's 700 loving pages long.
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Jul 3, 2020 01:14
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I've been extremely lax about posting updates but on the flip side my reading pace has been extremely good. There's a handful of challenges I've incidentally finished, some purposely, and a bunch I need to focus in more on, but I'm proud of my progress so far: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/19883011 Going to post my goodreads for general progress instead of listing out all books 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 56/100 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 53% so far 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 47% so far 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 18% so far 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900s - Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 1940s - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! We by Yevgeny Zamyatin 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 8. Read something by an indigenous author. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz 9. Read an author's first book. Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials by Reza Negarestani 10. Read something historical. 11. Read something about art/music. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. 15. Read some poetry. Danez Smith, Ocean Vuong, Arthur Sze, Jesse Ball 16. Read a play. Happy Birthday Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut, The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies by Sarah Ruhl, Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker 17. Read a short story collection. Best American Short Stories 2019, The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, among others 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. Read a love story. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. 23. Read a book from a country you've never visited. Human Acts by Han Kang
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Jul 3, 2020 18:56
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33. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. An airport thriller about alien artifacts which aside from being poorly written in general, is for some reason presented as a series of interview transcripts between an insufferably smug g-man and the various “characters.” This format is used even for ostensible action scenes, with one of the parties on the phone and the other one saying stuff "Hang on, wait - whoa! Go, go, go!" About the kindest thing I could say about it is that it’s quick, readable and disposable. 34. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. As I slowly work through my stock of books which I own but haven’t read during pandemic lockdown, I’m also working through the public domain books on my ereader. This is a classic of American literature and so forth, but I found it mostly dull. 35. Explorers’ Sketchbooks: The Art of Discovery & Adventure by Huw Lewis-Jones and Kari Herbert. A big thick coffee table book I’ve been slowly working through since January, with short biographies of explorers and extracts from their sketchbooks. A nice little production, but probably something which is better considered a coffee table book and not something I should have read from cover to cover, no matter how slowly I did it. 36. The ’60s: The Story of a Decade by The New Yorker. Also something I’ve been reading on and off for a few months, after reading the ‘40s last year and the ‘50s earlier this year, this is a huge collection of journalism, criticism, and a little bit of poetry and short fiction that the New Yorker published in the 1960s. As with any collection of this or any edition of a magazine, it’s a mixed bag, but highlights for me included a piece alerting about the dangers of DDT and other pesticides killing off American birdlife, Calvin Trillin’s piece about the march on Washington (which perfectly, electrifyingly ends at the moment we know King is about to speak even though he’s never mentioned by name), Trillin's other piece about the tensions on a university campus in the South as its first black students began to attend (including the surreal scene, in mid-2020, of Georgian cops firing tear gas at a crowd of angry white rioters to protect a black student) a visit to a nuclear missile silo, coverage of the Six Day War, coverage of how the Vietnam War intersected with television, and John Cheever’s short story The Swimmer, which twelve years after my university writing course is still my favourite short story (and I’d forgotten how truly short it is). 37. The January Dancer by Michael Flynn. In theory I should have liked this; Flynn’s Eifelheim was one of the best books I read in the last few years, and this is a very creative interstellar space opera modelled on some kind of notion of Gaelic storytelling, revolving around various factions attempting to gain control of an ancient and possibly alien McGuffin. But it’s also very weird and difficult to follow and for the second half I’d given up trying to figure out what was going on. Swing and a miss for me, though I admire the talent on display. 38. The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin. As I said, working my way through everything sitting on my shelves that I haven’t got to yet. This is a children’s fairytale from the 19th century which I found rather pleasant and nice, although it turns out the author was probably a pedo? 39. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. An African-American woman in the 1970s begins experiencing uncontrollable, inexplicable back-and-forth time travel to 1820s Maryland. I was prepared to dislike this early on because of its extremely SF author matter-of-fact way of approaching the mechanics and logistics of what’s happening to her (she vanishes before her husband’s eyes, and after reappearing, they coolly and calmly run through the logic and potential ramifications of the situation – this is page 11) but once you accept that, it’s actually quite an engaging and page-turning story. There are certainly more highbrow literary novels about slavery in America, but this is a compelling genre narrative that manages to touch on a lot of the more subtle elements about it (Stockholm syndrome, the grey area between “product of his time” and “genuine monster,” the fact that even in the North and out West it was woven into a deeper and more insidious fabric of white supremacy etc). I didn’t love it, but I quite liked it and it was easily my book of the month since the others were mostly flops. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 39/60 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 11/12 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 4/12 (Chinua Achebe, Ted Chiang, Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia E. Butler) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 2/3 (Alison Bechdel and Tillie Walden) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 7/10 (Still need the '10s, '20s and '40s.)
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Jul 31, 2020 10:28
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Through the power of audiobooks while binge-playing strategy games, I got through seven books this month: 36 - Priestdaddy: A Memoir, by Patricia Lockwood. A moving and beautifully-written memoir about growing up in - and then moving back in with - a deeply conservative, deeply Catholic home. Lockwood's writing is poetic and evocative, with surprising similes and a vivid sense of place. A deep melancholy pervades the book, as Lockwood recounts current awkwardnesses and past horrors, mostly centred around her father's eccentric born-again machismo. As a glimpse of a culture very different to the one I grew up in, it was educational; as a work of memoir, it's raw and uncompromising. Definitely worth checking out. 37 - East of Hounslow, by Khurrum Rahman. A solid thriller that falls apart a little in the last quarter of the story. The protagonist is pretty likeable, especially as he grows into himself over the course of the book. A British-Pakistani who's recruited by MI5 after getting tangled up in violent crime, Jay is tasked with infiltrating his local mosque and following the path to radicalisation in order to uncover the evil mastermind at the top of the chain. The story is packed with clichés and daddy issues, but it's written with a brisk and fun style, and Rahman packs in little details about the characters and their world that make things pop. The climax is a bit of a jumbled mess, unfortunately, but there are some really good scenes along the way. 38 - Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth, by Rachel Maddow. In her inimitable outraged-but-snarky style, Maddow draws together disparate stories of the Russian and US gas and oil industries. She links them with the recent history of Russian espionage and political meddling, bot farms and billionaires and a seismologist in Oklahoma. The audiobook version of this reminds me of when I'd get the Rachel Maddow Show as a podcast and listen to it while commuting - one enormous "very special episode" that spends hours setting up casts of characters and slowly tying them all together into a big unpleasant tangle of desperation, corruption and thuggery. While the journey is enjoyable and interesting, I'm mostly left thinking about Maddow's conclusions and omissions. 39 - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John le Carré. Slow-burn, moody espionage mystery full of richly drawn characters and engrossing prose. I can see why this has such a reputation: I was hooked from early on, and really satisfied by the experience. Being almost fifty years old, of course, it shows its age in a lot of ways, from the posh schoolboy vocabulary to the total primacy of masculine ambition. Had I encountered this at a younger age I think I would have absolutely loved it, but reading it now, I'm okay with just liking it a lot. 40 - The Corpse Exhibition and Other Stories of Iraq, by Hassan Blasim. A short story collection shot through with interpersonal violence and magical realism. An immigrant living in the Netherlands constructs a whole new identity for himself and eschews his Iraqi heritage. A group of young people discover they can make knives disappear. Lives are kicked off-balance by the consequences of senseless, desperate acts. It's good stuff, and some of the imagery really stuck with me. Definitely worth checking out. 41 - Zodiac, by Neal Stephenson. A late-80s "eco-thriller", Stephenson's second novel is about a schlubby nerd who happens to be a genius with organic chemistry and a tenacious crusader for environmental justice. What starts as a procedural drama with comedic elements, following a ragtag organisation of eco-warriors, ends up as a desperate fight for survival and the future of Boston Harbour's ecosystem. Really fun, though polluted with some weird everyman observations and ethnic archetypes that haven't aged particularly well. Strange reading this book 32 years later and seeing how much of the struggle for environmental justice has changed, and how much has stayed the same. 42 - My Loose Thread, by Dennis Cooper. A novella about sexual repression, angst, violence and bitterness. The teenage protagonist sleepwalks through a life already half-destroyed by trauma and isolation. His narrative voice is vague and uncertain about everything except violence and regret, the two things he feels permitted to experience. Terrified of being gay, terrified of being rejected, his only outlet is committing horrific acts. Incest and sexual assault feature heavily, and the shadow of the Columbine massacre hangs heavy over the book and its protagonists. This was really upsetting! But good! 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. - 42/52 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are not written by men. - 21 - 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 1/3 of them are written by writers of colour. - 17 - 1, 2, 6, 8, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/4 of them are written by LGBT writers. - 13 - 1, 2, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24, 26, 33, 38, 42 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900 - 5 (1907) 1910 - 22 (1914) 1920 - 4 (1920) 1930 - 17 (1939) 1940 - 1950 - 1960 - 7 (1967) 1970 - 39 (1974) 1980 - 41 (1988) 1990 - 26 (1995) 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 8. Read something by an indigenous author. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. 16. Read a play. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles.
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Aug 1, 2020 16:07
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July! 58. The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) - Stephen King 59. The Empire of Gold (Daevabad #3) - S.A. Chakraborty 60. So Big - Edna Ferber 61. The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie 62. The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower #2) - Stephen King 63. The Makioka Sisters - Junichiro Tanizaki 64. Utopia Avenue - David Mitchell 65. The Waste Lands (Dark Tower #3) - Stephen King Part of the month was spent on rereading an old favorite series - Dark Tower - and the other was getting through some of the books that'd been sitting in my library for a while. So Big was pretty good, a rags-to-riches story from the 20s. Empire of Gold was a solid conclusion to the Daevabad trilogy, a Middle Eastern epic fantasy. The Makioka Sisters was a great story about a family down on their luck in Japan in the 30s and 40s; it had quite possibly the most bizarre and hilarious ending line. Finally, David Mitchell's new book Utopia Avenue was a fun read, a pleasant collection of rock-band cliches, but was interrupted by THE DAVID MITCHELL MYTHOS near the end, hijacking the whole story with two characters from another book who then recapped the events of a third book. Not a great look. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (65/100) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 50% female (Christie, Ferber) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 25% POC (Tanizaki) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 5% 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). (1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s covered) 1920s - So Big 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. 14. 15. Read some poetry. 16. Read a play. 17. 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. 23.
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Aug 1, 2020 17:26
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So my reading plans have gone by the wayside for totally nebulous and unidentifiable reasons.  Got a feeling I won't meet my 2020 goal. Oh well.April 18. La politique étrangère de la France depuis 1945 by Frédéric Bozo (4/24/2020). Another one for the French-language quota. It's a short and easy read, notwithstanding the inevitable politics/IR jargon. The book mostly centers around France as it relates to the rest of Europe and the US, with discussion of Africa (apart from Algeria) being depressingly scant. Which was disappointing. Not recommended. May 19. Visions by Leonid Andreyev (5/6/2020). Solid short story/novella collection steeped in psychological horror and occasionally apocalyptic imagery. Honorable mentions go to "Seven Hanged" (in which a group of failed revolutionary assassins reckon with their impending executions) and "The Red Laugh" (in which a distant imperialist war comes home to consume everyone and everything in a final reckoning). 20. The Twelve Chairs by Ilya Ilf & Yevgeny Petrov (5/12/2020). This is a classic Soviet-era (NEP, to be precise) book. So classic there's dialogue that's worked its way into the Russian language. So classic you've got statues of the characters in Russia and Ukraine. And it deserves it, because it's a loving riot. Ex-nobleman Ippolit Vorobyaninov learns that his dying mother-in-law's family jewelry was sewn into twelve very nice, very expropriated dining room chairs. He teams up with the magnificent con man Ostap Bender to track them down. Scams and road trips ensue. Read it. 21. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll (5/19/2020). This was sitting on my shelf for god knows how long. It's long, but once you get into it, you can cut through a hundred pages like a knife through butter. A clear, meticulously researched account of the poo poo the CIA (and ISI) got down to in Afghanistan from 1979 to 2001. Strongly recommended. 22. Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956 by David Holloway (5/30/2020). If you're into Soviet history, nuclear history, or history of science, this is considered the book on the Soviet nuclear program. Holloway draws heavily on the freshly-opened Soviet archives, plus interviews with a few surviving nuclear scientists. It's not the easiest read, but I think that's inevitable with most "making of [INSERT COUNTRY HERE]'s nuclear program" books, especially for laypeople (e.g. me) who aren't well-versed in nuclear physics. 23. The Use of Man by Aleksandar Tišma (5/30/2020). Visceral, bleak novel about Novi Sad in WWII. I had more words in my head for this, but they're not there. June 24. Woe from Wit by Alexander Griboedov (6/8/2020). Comedy-of-manners play from post-Napoleonic Wars Russia about insufferable aristocrats being insufferable. Imagine Molière's Misanthrope, but in Russia. 25. The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate Over Race in America by Nicholas Buccola (6/12/2020). As the title suggests, this is a sort of dual-biography of James Baldwin and William F. Buckley, Jr. dovetailing with a history of the civil rights movement and culminating with their debate at Cambridge. Conceptually, that's pretty neat. And it works nicely. I heard about this on the New Books Network podcast and am glad I actually bought and read it instead of saying "oh, that sounds nice," putting it on my to-read list, and forgetting about it forever. 26. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (6/13/2020). Yeah, this seemed like a reasonable follow-up. Passionate and powerful stuff. I'm running out of ways to say "this is good and you should read it." July 27. Directorate S: The CIA and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Steve Coll (7/5/2020). This is Coll's follow-up to Ghost Wars. Also good, though I'd say less engaging and readable than Ghost Wars. Read it anyway. 28. The Golden Calf by Ilya Ilf & Yevgeny Petrov (7/10/2020). Follow-up to Twelve Chairs. Also good, though I don't think it's quite at the same level. 29. Shooting Up: A History of Drugs and War by Łukasz Kamieński (7/25/2020). A history of people doing war while on drugs. Greeks on opium. Siberian tribes and Vikings on magic mushrooms. Both sides on Dutch-supplied cocaine in World War I. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan on meth in World War II. And so on. It's a worthwhile read, though it doesn't really hit its stride until the 20th century kicks in. Progress 1. # of books: 29/75 (2 in French) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 2/29 (Duong Thu Huong & Mary Harper). 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 6/29 (Abdelrahman Munif, Duong Thu Huong, Ishmael Reed, Dinshaw Mistry, Bahru Zewde, & James Baldwin). 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 1/29 (James Baldwin) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc).: 1910s: 1940s: 1950s: 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. Please. 8. Read something by an indigenous author. TBD 11. Read something about art/music. TBD 12. Read something about food that isn’t a cookbook. TBD 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. TBD 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. TBD 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. TBD 21. Read a love story. TBD?
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Aug 1, 2020 18:25
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Gertrude Perkins posted:36 - Priestdaddy: A Memoir, by Patricia Lockwood. A moving and beautifully-written memoir about growing up in - and then moving back in with - a deeply conservative, deeply Catholic home. Lockwood's writing is poetic and evocative, with surprising similes and a vivid sense of place. A deep melancholy pervades the book, as Lockwood recounts current awkwardnesses and past horrors, mostly centred around her father's eccentric born-again machismo. As a glimpse of a culture very different to the one I grew up in, it was educational; as a work of memoir, it's raw and uncompromising. Definitely worth checking out. You may enjoy Lockwood's recent account of contracting COVID, which includes an update on the titular Priestdaddy: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n14/patricia-lockwood/diary
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Aug 2, 2020 04:27
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July is done and I made it through 6 books last month. Some of them quite good. I knocked off a book from the 20s, and only have 1910 remaining on the decade challenge. I'm up to 50% on challenge 2, 40ish on challenge 3. 4 is lower, but still comfortable above the 5% cut off. It's mostly incidental, and I sorta suspect the number may be higher (not counting the debate on Willa Cather) as I'm mostly just counting off ones where it clear in the authors bio or something. I'm on the hold list for a book from an indigenous author and currently reading a prize-winning novel. I need to figure out the last handful, including a wild car. 41. Why Fish Don't Exist: A story of loss, love, and the hidden order of life by Lulu Miller - Lulu Miller had a bad breakup and entered a spiral of alcoholism, depression and suicidal ideation. She starts to get together a biography of David Starr Jordan, famous ichthyologist, he'd famously had his fish collection destroyed, twice, and continued on. How did he cope with the destruction of his life's work? What drove him to continue in the face of such tremendous setbacks and personal loss? Miller intersperses personal chapters with those about Jordan. She contrasts her search for meaning with Jordan's search for order. I found this to be a surprisingly good book. It is not primarily about the non-existence of fish, but it certainly does dwell on it for a bit at the end. 42. The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Claire North - Harry August lives his life over and over again. Each time he dies, he's reborn again in the same circumstances in London. He manages to learn of an existential threat to the world and tries to learn how to stop it all while living his circular life. I enjoyed it. 43. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather - The Apostolic Vicar for New Mexico tries to spread his faith. Sorta. It's a pioneer story, in a way. A vast untamed southwest, full of Indians, Mexicans, and Americans. Some are good, some are bad. Most are just people. It's sort of episodic. Major events, humorous stories, and all to sketch out the life of Father Latour and his companion Joseph Vaillant. This was excellent. Loved it. 44. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata - Saul's grandfather died and left behind a box, intending to send it to Maxwell Moreau. When it comes back Saul tries to hunt down Moreau to return the missing manuscript of Adana Moreau's second book, believed to have been destroyed. It tells the story of Adana and Maxwell Moreau, and their immigration to the US from the Caribbean and also Saul's immigration from Israel. Through the mystery of the book (which to be honest isn't really dwelt on) you explore these stories of immigrants, in different times and places, seeing Chicago, New Orleans and lot in between. It concludes in a devastated post-Katrina New Orleans.This was good and I'd generally recommend it, though not primarily as a lost book mystery. 45. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi - What a ride this was. It starts as the story of dramatic high school students in an 80s arts school. Then it becomes about that story. And again. Really a story about how stories are told and who they belong to, and what that changes the story. I liked it, it's probably not for everyone, judging by the very low good reads, but that's probably because of the unexpected changes to things. 46. Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee- The final book in the Machineries of Empire series. A good end to the series. Ben Nevis posted:1. Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess
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Aug 4, 2020 16:10
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Time for another update: Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edogawa Ranpo Kind of an odd title for a single-author collection, but a lot of his stuff is really hard to track down in English. The translation was solid, with a few errors here and there, but it seemed to have maintained his prose style pretty well from what I've seen of other translated bits of his work. Has all of his best horror stories - The Human Chair, The Caterpillar (another goon in the lit thread said this was like a more disturbing "Johnny Got His Gun" and I'd say that's pretty spot-on), and The Hell of Mirrors were especially good, and imo offer a great introduction into post-war Japanese horror. I will say his detective stories didn't do much for me - they're not bad, but the genre has been so saturated and so thoroughly mined that the "mysteries" here seem pretty quaint. Airships by Barry Hannah Had this recommended to me a long time ago. Hannah has a really readable style, but I found this collection a bit uneven. He's really good at painting characters in little details and making incisive observations about them, but some of the more mundane stories were just hard to get into and the loose "theme" the collection is aiming at doesn't fully work in my opinion. Also could have done without his seeming compulsion to drop at least one racial slur in literally every single story. Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler Butler's prose is neat - it definitely steps over the line into overwrought once in a while, but he has that McCarthy-esque gift for using words in completely bizarre / "incorrect" ways that nevertheless seem perfect for the task at hand, and he really knows how to craft some vivid imagery. There's a lot of stuff that gets tossed around as "literary" post-apoc fiction but this is one of the few that I think really gestures towards something besides just taking the usual tropes and prettying up the prose. I liked the patchwork nature of it, though I'd have to say that towards the end a few of the fragments started to feel a little same-y. The Book of Collateral Damage by Sinan Antoon My wildcard book, and I really enjoyed this. The central conceit - trying to catalog all of the things lost in the first minute of the invasion of Iraq - is handled in a really beautiful and sad way, and offers a much fuller and more human accounting of the conflict than pretty much anything you get exposed to in Western media, even from supposedly sympathetic circles. The parallel narrative is more mundane, but the perspective and insight it offered made it an essential part of the story for me. Highly recommend this one. THE CHALLENGE: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 10/30 1a. (Personal Challenge) Read one book from at least 20 different non-US countries. 5/20 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 20% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 60% 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 20% 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 2000s, 2010s 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! 10. Read something historical. 11. Read something about art/music. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. 15. Read some poetry. 16. Read a play. 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. Read a love story. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. Grizzled Patriarch fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Aug 11, 2020 |
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Aug 11, 2020 02:51
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I know we're almost through August but I didn't update June or July, probably because it took two months to read what should have taken one  24. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - Good mystery, as expected, though much like The Mysterious Affair at Styles, there is this out of place (to me) romance subplot. I'll chalk it up to the time and audience. 25. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo - A lot to think about but honestly it's one of those books where the people who need it most will never read it. I still feel like it was worth it though. 26. The African Queen by C.S. Forester - Read for the Book Barn BotM thread/challenge. It was better than I was expecting. 27. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - This book is why I've gone from ahead of schedule to behind but it was worth it. I got the newer English translation so I'm counting this for the banned/challenged/censored challenge because this translation restores a few things cut out of the older ones. I'm very very glad I took the time to read this. Challenges: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 27/55 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 6/~11 needed 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 4/~11 needed 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by LGBT writers. 3/~11 needed 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). So far I've got 20s, 30s, 50s, 60s, 80s, and 90s Fulfilled by The African Queen. 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. Fulfilled by Trail of Lightning. Fulfilled by The Hobbit. 10. Read something historical. Fulfilled by Me. Fulfilled by Milk! Fulfilled by The Man in the High Castle 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. 15. Read some poetry. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a short story collection. 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. Read a love story. Fulfilled by The Count of Monte Cristo. (Censored in English until recently) Fulfilled by The Fishermen
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Aug 23, 2020 19:51
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August. On track to hit my number for sure, might even be able to hit 65 or 70. 40. The Bone People by Keri Hulme. A New Zealand novel and winner of the '84 Booker Prize. It has a lyrical and poetic tone to it which I normally bounce off from but sort of liked in this; halfway through it had worn out its welcome; then by the third act the book dropped into morally repugnant territory with what's basically a full-throated defence of child abuse. Not, like, in a Tumblresque way of "ummm this is problematic because the characters think smacking their kids is OK," but "this guy is actually a good dad really even though he beat his son so badly he put him in a coma for weeks, deafened him, possibly blinded him and left him brain damaged." gently caress off. 41. Victory Point by Owen D. Pomeroy. Pre-ordered this ages ago - back in the normal times, in fact - beause I just love this guy's art. No story to speak of but that's fine, that's not why I bought it. 42. Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson. A really good sci-fi potboiler about a government research facility in Minnesota remotely studying life on an alien planet, which suddenly goes into quarantine/lockdown at the same time as one of the aliens they're studying breaks his monotonous routine and departs the city where he lives to walk out into the desert. The dual mystery of why the alien has changed his behaviour and why the facility has been forced into quarantine without explanation from the outside world makes for really engaging, page-turning stuff. I'll definitely be checking out more of his books. 43. The Sympathizer by Viet Tanh Nguyen. Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer. A solid book about the Vietnamese perspective of what Americans forget was a civil war, married into the story of the refugee experience - Nguyen goes to great lengths to remind the Western reader that for the Vietnamese diaspora, the war story and the immigrant story are one and the same. Really liked it despite the familiar American MFA tic of making every other sentence some elaborate metaphor or simile. 44. South by Ernest Shackleton. A memoir of Shackleton's 1914-1917 Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which started off as a catastrophic failure but then turned into an inspiring story of success because he managed to get all his men home alive. (The open boat voyage across 800 miles to South Georgia is terrifying and amazing.) He's a surprisingly talented writer and a story of repetitive drudgery and misery becomes really quite engaging, though the second half of the book suffers from his turning the clock back and telling, second-hand, the ordeal of what happened to the expedition members on the other side of the continent. Would have been better just as his own personal story. 45. Agency by William Gibson. I thought The Peripheral was one of the best books Gibson had written in years, and while this sequel zips along, it dawns on you in the final quarter that (ironically) none of the characters have any agency and nothing is actually really happening. I still enjoyed the glimpses we get of his underpopulated 22nd century London which is both utopia and dystopia, where the haves are doing great in their post-scarcity machine-swaddled luxury, and the have-nots have mostly died off. I didn't think much of this one but will probably still read the third book in this trilogy if he ever writes it. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 45/60 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 6/12 (Chinua Achebe, Ted Chiang, Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia E. Butler, Keri Hulme, Viet Tanh Nguyen) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 2/3 (Alison Bechdel and Tillie Walden) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 8/10 (Shackleton scratches the 1910s, still need the '20s and '40s.)
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Sep 1, 2020 03:27
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August! 66. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood 67. The Glass Hotel - Emily St. John Mandel 68. Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia - Christina Thompson 69. Wolf Hall (Wolf Hall #1) - Hilary Mantel 70. Money - Martin Amis 71. Wizard & Glass (Dark Tower #4) - Stephen King A month that was a little light on reading, and nothing in particular stood out other than rereads; Wolf Hall was magnificent and Wizard and Glass remains one of my favorite of the whole Dark Tower series. Sea People was interesting reading, anthropological studies of how Polynesians traveled so far and the science used to discover it; it was a solid non-fiction. However, I can't recommend Robber Bride (one of Atwood's weakest), The Glass Hotel (I can't even remember much of what happened in it), or Money (full of just a lot of drinking, drugs, and hookers, and not much else). 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (71/100) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 51% female (Mantel, Thompson, Mandel, Atwood) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 23% POC 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 5% 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). (1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s covered) 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. - The Robber Bride 14. 15. Read some poetry. 16. Read a play. 17. 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. 23. Also, that Dorothy Parker that was my wildcard finally came in from the library, so I'll have that to tackle soon - now just to find something that's only available online... maybe that David Mitchell tweet story... Chamberk fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Sep 2, 2020 |
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Sep 2, 2020 21:17
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Chamberk posted:Also, that Dorothy Parker that was my wildcard finally came in from the library, so I'll have that to tackle soon - now just to find something that's only available online... maybe that David Mitchell tweet story... IIRC those tweets were then published as the first part of Slade House. Also hats off to you for reading both Wolf Hall and Wizard and Glass in a year where you're aiming for 100 books!
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Sep 3, 2020 01:08
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August was a slow month: 28. Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed - Part 2 of the Star Wars Alphabet Squadron trilogy. I’m really enjoying these books, the story and characters are great, better than the new movies imo (low bar I know). 29. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - Part 2 of the Locked Tomb trilogy. This was very different from the first book but just as good. 30. The Call of the Wild by Jack London - I read this mostly because it was published in 1903 for the decades challenge, but I actually really liked it. Challenges: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 30/55 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 7/~11 needed 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 4/~11 needed 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by LGBT writers. 4/~11 needed 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). So far I've got 00s, 20s, 30s, 50s, 60s, 80s, and 90s Fulfilled by The African Queen. 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. Fulfilled by Trail of Lightning. Fulfilled by The Hobbit. 10. Read something historical. Fulfilled by Me. Fulfilled by Milk! Fulfilled by The Man in the High Castle 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. 15. Read some poetry. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a short story collection. 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. Read a love story. Fulfilled by The Count of Monte Cristo. (Censored in English until recently) Fulfilled by The Fishermen I may not be able to finish the 50 books but I still have confidence in finishing the challenge. I think the biggest hurdle is the "something only online" one.
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Sep 3, 2020 12:10
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More stats 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 78/100 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 47% so far 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 38% so far 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 18% so far 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900s - Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov 1910s - 1920s - The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner 1930s - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 1940s - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers 1950s - 1960s - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 1970s - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig 1980s - 1990s - Angels in America by Tony Kushner 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! We by Yevgeny Zamyatin 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 8. Read something by an indigenous author. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz 9. Read an author's first book. Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials by Reza Negarestani 10. Read something historical. Ghost on the Throne by James S. Romm 11. Read something about art/music. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook.Sweetness and Power by Sindey W. Mintz 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls 15. Read some poetry. Danez Smith, Ocean Vuong, Arthur Sze, Jesse Ball 16. Read a play. Happy Birthday Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut, The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies by Sarah Ruhl, Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker 17. Read a short story collection. Best American Short Stories 2019, The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, among others 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. The Overstory by Richard Powers 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. Read a love story. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. 23. Read a book from a country you've never visited. Human Acts by Han Kang --- Closing in on my challenges at a really good clip (I'm also halfway done with the "read a book with the same title" challenge). Really enjoying the "book from each decade" the best because even though I often do dip into older books this was definitely an excuse to hit some classics that I had missed.
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Sep 3, 2020 23:33
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I'm swamped so no writeup till maybe Tuesday, but I do need a wild card, if anyone is game,
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Sep 4, 2020 20:18
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Ben Nevis posted:I'm swamped so no writeup till maybe Tuesday, but I do need a wild card, if anyone is game, Looks like you still need some poetry so: Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith (not to worry if you don't like to cross categories, it's pretty short)
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Sep 4, 2020 20:41
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Guy A. Person posted:Looks like you still need some poetry so: Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith I do need some poetry, so that'll work. And as an extra bonus, my library has it in. Thank you!
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Sep 4, 2020 23:32
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My reading has gotten pretty spotty and my posting even more so. I may or may not complete my challenge this year, but here’s what I’ve done up through August... April Reading I finished zero books! May Reading 15. Night by Bilge Karasu - Dreamlike writing and a surreal story world. But it all comes together in the end in a really cool way. It's one of those books that I'd probably really enjoy as a reread but don't currently have any desire to actually reread it. 16. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate - Second reading of this one. Just as heartbreaking and heartwarming as the first time I read it. Looking forward to reading its sequel soon. 17. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite - A quick, light read. I guess you could look at themes about appearances vs reality and the wrong reasons that people fall in love with each other, but the story doesn’t push you to dig deeper if you don’t want to. June Reading 18 The Bees by Laline Paull - Dystopian novel meets bees. It was an enjoyable enough book. 19. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss - Great nature descriptions, and I loved the narrator’s voice. Interesting juxtaposition with the less pleasant themes of domestic violence and control through the book. 20. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery - I loved it and will plan to reread it. July Reading 21. The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron - 1950s children’s sci-fi. Odd. 22. The Seas by Samantha Hunt - A melancholy story about misfits feeling trapped by their lives. I enjoyed it though. 23. The New England Clamshack Cookbook by Brooke Dojny - The recipes are solid, but actually reading a cookbook cover to cover is not something I care to do again. August/early September Reading 24. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander - I can see why teens would like it. The visual impact of the poems is great, but I wish the emotional content of the story were more deeply explored. 25. The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale - I was aware of the content in most of these essays, how policing negatively impacts different populations and how these communities would be better served if that police money were going to support networks instead. It was impactful to have this book lay out each example of this trend one after another. 26. The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander - Setting aside the bizarre alternate timeline story about signing, sentient elephants, there’s some great writing here. I really liked it, but I’m not sure why. 27. The Beauty by Aliya Whitely - Body horror and gender role reversals. Also mushroom women. Maybe not my cup of tea. 28. The Moth Presents Occasional Magic: True Stories about Defying the Impossible - I love the Moth storytelling, and this collection is about what you’d expect from an anthology of Moth transcriptions. The positivity of the stories and the human connections were uplifting. 29. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - I couldn’t put the book down. The writing is great, and the story is powerful stuff. It’s a fantastic example of what a middle school/young adult book can look like. 30. Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America - My library has a set of ebooks about race that are always available, and this was one of them. I think it’s a timely read, even if some stories in the anthology were better than others. Challenge Progress 1. Set a goal for a number of books or another personal challenge -30/50. 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are not written by men - currently 57%. 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are written by writers of colour - currently 38%. 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers - currently 17%. Personal. Of the books read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are nonfiction - currently 27%. 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century - 6/10 6. Participate in TBB Book of the Month threads - 3/5 7. Ask for wildcards, then read them - 4/5. 8. Read something by an indigenous author. 9. Read an author's first book. 10. Read something historical. 11. Read something about art/music. 18. Read something that's only available online. 20. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 23. Read a book from a country you've never visited.
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Sep 8, 2020 22:38
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Pardon my dust. Life, y'know? Hang in there, everyone.quote:
Somehow, I managed to read five books in August and September. They were good ones, too! 43 - Dead White Writer On The Floor, by Drew Hayden Taylor. Experimental/postmodern play in which a group of Native American archetypes - Injun Joe, Pocahontas, Tonto and others - find themselves in a white writer's study. Having to reckon with their fictions, their lack of agency and the lives they could have had, the characters set about changing their stories...only to find themselves thrust into new archetypal roles. It's funny and thoughtful, and I really liked the way the humour of the first act morphs into the existential dread of the second. Good stuff. 44 - The Queer Art Of Failure, by Jack Halberstam. At times beautiful, at times silly, at other times forcing the reader to consider deep unsavoury notions. I'm annoyed that it took me so long to get round to reading this whole book though, because it's really drat good. Interesting too that base assumptions and discourse around gender and sexuality have evolved so much in the less-than-a-decade since this was published. Rejecting heteronormative capitalist notions of "success" and aspiration, while raising difficult questions about what grounds these aspirations, and what else we might build in their place. 45 - You Don't Have To gently caress People Over To Survive, by Seth Tobocman. A collection of street art, comics and political essays, mostly from the 1980s. Tobocman's style is powerful and confrontational, and his messages resonate just as strongly decades later, for better or worse. I would have liked some more longform writing, but the pieces that are here help to contextualise the artwork, and it is really striking artwork. 46 - The Lady Killer, by Masako Togawa. A seedy and engrossing murder mystery set in the back streets and clubs of 60s Tokyo. While I spent most of the book knowing more than the protagonists, and with a pretty good idea of where things were leading, I was still really satisfied with the pace and flow and the eventual climax was still impactful. 47 - On The Come Up. by Angie Thomas. YA novel about Bri, a black teenage girl living on the poverty line while trying to kickstart her career as a rapper. She's under immense pressure from all sides, and her struggles and anxieties come through in her voice. A lot of the tension centres around characters being forced to grow up too fast, as the ugly parts of American society (racism, classism, poverty, greed) impact so heavily on their lives. The special edition I read contains a bonus chapter, which leaves things on a bittersweet note, but it's good stuff. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. - 47/52 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are not written by men. - 24 - 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 44, 46, 47 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 1/3 of them are written by writers of colour. - 20 - 1, 2, 6, 8, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, 43, 46, 47 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/4 of them are written by LGBT writers. - 15 - 1, 2, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24, 26, 33, 38, 42, 44, 46 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900 - 5 (1907) 1910 - 22 (1914) 1920 - 4 (1920) 1930 - 17 (1939) 1940 - 1950 - 1960 - 7 (1967) 1970 - 39 (1974) 1980 - 41 (1988) 1990 - 26 (1995) 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles.
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Sep 30, 2020 11:14
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Whoops - only three books in September. I guess I've had a lot of uni assignments due and one of these was on the longer side. 46. Zone One by Colson Whitehead. A zombie apocalypse novel by a Pulitzer Prize winner. A very disconnected, non-linear plot about a survivor enlisted in a clean-up crew that's slowly removing "stragglers" from a deserted Manhattan before it can be re-settled by the regathered US government. The pleasure of this book is seeing all the tropes of zombie fiction - the disparate group of survivors, the scavenging for supplies, the personal stories about your past - written by somebody who's a genius of prose. 47. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. 2006 Booker Prize winner, part of my challenge to read every Booker or Pulitzer winner of a single decade. (At this stage I've settled on Bookers of the 2000s and only have one more to go). It's about a little village in Himalayan India with a fairly broad cast of characters. Some beautiful prose, but too meandering for my liking. 48. Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I loved Children of Time, Tchaikovsky's sci-fi thriller about a sleeper ship encountering a long-forgotten human terraforming project which went awry and created a race of intelligent, industrial-age spiders - it's about 800 pages long and I tore through it in a couple of days. This one's a dying earth sci-fi/fantasy about a guy sent to a mysterious prison in the jungle, and it's... fine. It never bored me but never really grabbed me either. A bit like Mieville's Perdido Street Station (though Mieville is the better writer) in the sense that it felt like he was letting his imagination loose and throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck, when maybe a tighter focus would have been better. It was fine. But I would have liked a bit more substance for a 500-page book and I know that by next year I'll have forgotten nearly all of it. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 48/60 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 8/12 (Chinua Achebe, Ted Chiang, Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia E. Butler, Keri Hulme, Viet Tanh Nguyen, Colson Whitehead, Kiran Desai) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 2/3 (Alison Bechdel and Tillie Walden) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 8/10
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Oct 1, 2020 00:45
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N. K. Jemisin - The Fifth Season. It was good, not amazing, but after I finished it grew on me and I think I'll read more. In that way I guess it had an impact on me. Seth Dickenson - The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Fantastic, really impressed by it. Goon author, great read. Fantasy novel about a girl attempting to bring down an empire from inside. Robert Caro - The Years of Lyndon Johnson. This book is highly rated for a reason, one of the best books I've read about anything, but mostly just a fasinating insight into a man who shaped so much of 20th century America. He was a total prick. It's great. Highly recommend, weighty, but worth it. David Steinberg - This has all been wonderful. A travel diary about following the rock band "Phish" around. A diary before they became massive (in their own way) and back in a time when one could pull a sour face and get called into the band's trailer after and chastised for ruining the vibe. Basically a travelog of America on very little money following a band around the country. David Cook - Shadows Linger. I can't help it, the black company books are like comfort food In a way I didn't understand how. algebra testes posted:1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. ~10/10 algebra testes fucked around with this message at 11:23 on Oct 1, 2020 |
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Oct 1, 2020 11:20
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September! 72. North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud 73. A Little Hatred (Age of Madness #1) - Joe Abercrombie 74. Enough Rope - Dorothy Parker 75. The Alchemaster’s Apprentice - Walter Moers 76. Bring Up the Bodies (Wolf Hall #2) - Hilary Mantel 77. Napoleon - Andrew Roberts 78. The Trouble with Peace (Age of Madness #2) - Joe Abercrombie 79. A Darker Domain - Val McDermid 80. Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi 81. The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver A decent amount of shorter books and one gigantic tome. The Napoleon biography took me about 2.5 months to finish, and was not exactly a thrill ride. (Lots of "there were 65,000 troops in Alcase-Lorraine, but Napoleon brought along another 25,353.") It was not my favorite. Standouts this time around included North American Lake Monsters, a collection of short stories that dealt in the darker side of human nature along with a few monsters; The Trouble with Peace, the second book in Joe Abercrombie's new trilogy; Bring Up the Bodies, the second of Hilary Mantel's books about Thomas Cromwell (really, really good); Transcendent Kingdom, a novel about the conflict between science and religion; and The Alchemaster's Apprentice, another really fun romp from Walter Moers about the land of Zamonia. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (81/100) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 53% female (Parker, Mantel, McDarmid, Gyasi, Kingsolver) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 21% POC (Gyasi) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 4% 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). (1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s covered) 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. - Enough Rope 8. 9. Read an author's first book. - The Bean Trees 10. Read something historical. - Napoleon 11. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook. - The Alchemaster's Apprentice 13. 14. 15. Read some poetry. - Enough Rope 16. Read a play. 17. Read a short story collection. - North American Lake Monsters 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. 21. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. 23.
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Oct 1, 2020 18:13
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Delayed August and timely September reviews. Reading is going slowly. Works been nuts and I just can't find the time I'm used to to finish everything. I'm almost certainly missing my total book number. I'm pretty close on the Booklord Challenge, so I'm going to buckle down and make sure I do that. I'm reading my poetry and wildcard now along side a book I remember from childhood. I'm not sure how an elementary school me read this big chonkin book, but I'm on the downhill side of it myself. I've got a book from the 1910s checked out. So I've just got to find a non-cooking food book, something only online, and then 20a&b. Oh, and the book on my shelf the longest. It's doable. 30 books in 3 months, eh, in fighting shape I could but as things stand? I'm not so sure. 47. The Getaway by Jim Thompson - Bit of an odd duck this one. The focus is on a man and his wife escaping from a bank robbery. As you might expect there's trains, car rides, lots of hiding, etc, and then it all gets very metaphysical in the last chapter. 48. White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - A Booker winner, this is the story of a man escaping the lower class of rising to become a top entrepreneur in India. Just a little cheating, a little theft, and a little murder. All the while it explores class inequality and the rampant exploitation of the poor. This was good! 49. Innkeeper's Song by Peter S Beagle - Beagle sets out to tell the story behind "The Innkeepers Song" about 3 women, a stable boy, and an inn. Really, this is sort of an oral history of a wizard battle, focusing on one "side" that were largely hanging out in and around an inn at a crossroads. This was pretty solid book. Definitely fantasy, but not an LOTR knockoff, not gross, and neither grimdark or Pollyanna. 50. Outline by Rachel Cusk - This is about a woman who is teaching a summer writing class in Greece. It all takes the form of conversations, or really, our protagonist is the target of various monologs, and her reactions and thoughts about what the speaker says is how we learn about her. There's a lot here about relationships, art, and stuff. Interesting and I thought good. 51. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu - Not gonna lie, I like Charles Yu. This is a book about a boy growing up in an immigrant family and his efforts to move up from a bit player to Kung Fu Guy, the highest role to which the young men growing up in Chinatown can aspire. Naturally, most of the book takes the form of a screenplay. And a lot of that screenplay is to a police procedural called Black and White. Yu looks at Asian stereotypes and assimilation with humor and a particular eye towards pop culture. Really good here. 52. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones - The big Stephen Graham Jones release of the summer. Three boys who grew up on a reservation find themselves stalked by their past, both metaphorically, and literally. Definitely spooky in parts. I really enjoyed it. 53. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - This has all the bones of something I'd like. Secret societies. Secret books. Hidden magic. Bees. And it's all somewhat insufferable. Someone uses "poetry" as an adjective for weather. Repeated Harry Potter references. This could have been so much better. 54. The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickenson - The third in the Baru series. Not the end, but a good wrap up to where we are. 55. We Ride Upon Stick by Quan Barry - A 1980s high school field hockey team uses black magic to try and make it to the state finals. Some good humor and some serious coming of age stuff. It works through each team member, the adopted kid, the Asian kid, the first generation American, the Black girl, the only boy on the team, the rich girl, the farmer's daughter, etc. It really does seem to hit a lot of different kids, all with 80s hair. It tracks their senior year as they advance from the league bottom towards the finals, all through the dark powers of Emilio Estevez. 56. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede - Saw a rec for this as light reading for people who like Douglas Adams, Pratchett, or Fforde. While it was in that vein and took a lot of stabs at genre tropes, it's more at the YA than any of them. I'll probably go back and read or recommend to my kid when she's like 10. Maybe tween. quote:1. Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess Ben Nevis fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Oct 4, 2020 |
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Oct 1, 2020 20:57
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Can't believe it's October already, who let this happen: 31. The Bloody Crown of Conan by Robert E. Howard I had set this aside to read for the short story challenge but it turns out, unlike the first collection (The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, which I read last year), this is actually a novel and two novellas. If I get desperate I guess I can count it as a short story collection but we'll see. Anyway I thought it was pretty good and definitely some of the better Conan stories. 32. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Read for the love story challenge, and it was pretty good! I thought the ending could have been stronger but I think that's more of an issue I have with the genre than the book, if that makes sense. Also I am extremely bothered by the lack of an oxford comma in the title. 33. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis Read for the childhood book challenge. I definitely read all the Narnia books when I was a kid but holy poo poo I retain about zero knowledge of them. I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe late last year with the intention of working through all the books this year. We'll see about that but I definitely think these hold up. 34. Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero Getting into the spooky season early! This book was a ton of fun. It's basically Scooby meets Cthulu in the PNW. I really enjoyed it, it was creepy and exciting and definitely a great read for the season. Challenges: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 34/55 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. Currently 23.5% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. Currently 11.8% 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by LGBT writers. Currently 14.7% 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). So far I've got 00s, 20s, 30s, 50s, 60s, 80s, and 90s Fulfilled by The African Queen. 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. Fulfilled by Trail of Lightning. Fulfilled by The Hobbit. 10. Read something historical. Fulfilled by Me. Fulfilled by Milk! Fulfilled by The Man in the High Castle Fulfilled by Prince Caspian. 15. Read some poetry. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a short story collection. 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. Fulfilled by Red, White and Royal Blue. Fulfilled by The Count of Monte Cristo. (Censored in English until recently) Fulfilled by The Fishermen
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Oct 2, 2020 22:08
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49. Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson. An absolutely fascinating, 5-star book in its opening, about the continent of Europe vanishing and being replaced with primeval forest in the year 1912; but it very quickly loses steam and then turns into a completely different kind of sci-fi story which I just found tedious and irritating. 50. A Science Fiction Omnibus edited by Brian Aldiss. Library ebook and sort of a re-read, since I remembered flicking through this a lot in my school library years and years ago; probably some of the first short stories I ever read. A lot of '50s and '60s golden age gee-whiz-rocket-ship sci-fi that hasn't aged well, but enough gems in there to make it worth reading. 51. Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe. Non-fiction pop science book asserting that Aboriginal Australians were actually more technologically advanced (particularly with regards to agriculture) than the hunter-gatherer society that we've cast them as, using original explorers' journals and letters as evidence, and that this deliberate forgetting is at the heart of the ongoing colonial project. It overeggs the pudding occasionally but I think has a lot of truth at its heart; it is in any case more fascinating as an artefact of the Australian culture wars than an actual book. Wrote a longer review here on my blog. 52. Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. He was once upon a time my favourite author, though I think I've moved on. I didn't dislike this book at all, but I do wish that he'd draw a line on his Multiverse and write something completely fresh and new. (Either that or actually give Marinus and co another dedicated book instead of making him an eye-rollingly regular deus ex machina cameo appearance.) 53. Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirlees. Widely regarded as a forgotten classic of pre-Tolkien fantasy but I just didn't gel with it. I can absolutely see why some people adore it, though. 54. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. My Halloween read, about an elk spirit hunting down and killing the Native American boys-turned-men who wronged it in the past. Really bounced off this one; some good scenery and moments but far too weighed down by a very particular kind of inner-monologue writing that irked me. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 54/60 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 10/12 (Chinua Achebe, Ted Chiang, Zora Neale Hurston, Octavia E. Butler, Keri Hulme, Viet Tanh Nguyen, Colson Whitehead, Kiran Desai, Bruce Pascoe, Stephen Graham Jones) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 2/3 (Alison Bechdel and Tillie Walden) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 9/10 (Lud-in-the-Mist scratches the '20s; only the '40s left)
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Oct 31, 2020 11:29
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Late September & October Reading 31. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett - It was enjoyable enough, but I was expecting more detective works and less boozy socialite scenes. I’ll have to watch the movie sometime. 32. From the Deep Woods to Civilization by Charles Alexander Eastman - My book by an indigenous author. It was fine, and I’m curious to read his other memoirs where he describes his childhood and life before leaving his family. 33. Cane by Jean Toomer - Mesmerizing poetry and poetic prose. Why wasn’t any of this included in college English classes? 34. The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice - An economics/philosophy essay arguing for finding a balance between socialism and a laissez faire free market. For a 100 year old essay, its ideas of implementing a social welfare safety net are surprisingly relevant. 35. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman - I loved it. Uplifting set of short stories telling how a community accidentally made a community garden. I can see why it’s used in schools. 36. Booked by Kwame Alexander - Read this with a group of 7th graders for a book club at work. It was enjoyable enough, but I doubt I'd have read it otherwise. 37. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn - October BotM. I enjoyed the collection quite a bit. Very good October reading. 38. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus - More October horror. I really enjoyed the story as a whole, but parts of the creature’s story (like when he happened to find philosophy and Paradise Lost in the woods so he could conveniently bring up theology and Frankenstein’s obligations to his creation later) strained belief. 39. Can Such Things Be? by Ambrose Bierce - Classic gothic horror, with a dash of supernatural and maybe a little proto-weird fiction for good measure. 40. Altmann’s Tongue: Stories and a Novella by Brian Evenson - Evenson’s first published book. I really wanted to enjoy this collection, but it left me flat. Very violent stories without the eerie, unsettling mood that I love in his later collections. Interesting to compare and contrast these to his newer stories, though. There's also a chance that I just burned myself out on reading horror this month. 41. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors - A memoir by one of the founders of the BLM movement. Timely. Great insight into her motivations and experiences with racism. What a world to live in. Challenge Progress 1. Set a goal for a number of books or another personal challenge -41/50. 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are not written by men - currently 47%. 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are written by writers of color - currently 39%. 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers - currently 14%. Personal. Of the books read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are nonfiction - currently 27%. 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century - 9/10 6. Read TBB Book of the Months - 4/5 7. Read wildcards - 4/5. 10. Read something historical. 11. Read something about art/music. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles.
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Nov 4, 2020 05:48
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I only managed to finish one book this month, so I won't bother typing up the full update. It was a good book though! Being back on furlough means I can redouble my efforts, as I'm really close to completing the full set of challenges - which, as your Booklord™ for the year, I feel obliged to do. We've had a turbulent year, both globally and here on these forums. The home stretch is ahead of us, and it's really cool to see people sticking to their goals and challenges! For those of you who haven't participated in a Book Barn BOTM thread yet, this month's offering looks like a lot of fun! If you still need a wildcard, comment below and get one assigned! Have fun, be kind to yourselves, and most importantly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGRhd_iWuE
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Nov 4, 2020 13:56
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Phew. In a mad dash to finish up the challenge, I think I've decided to mostly try short books. Not exactly revolutionary, but whatever. I'm desperate. October was good. Some focus on horror, but not all my holds cam through at the library, so I didn't quite hit all what I wanted. I did get my book from the 1910s wrapped up, as well as a book that'd been lingering on my shelf. And my wild card. Little by little, I'm getting there. I've got a book about food that's not cooking, and the first of 2 for 20a and 20b. I ought to make the booklord even if I don't quite hit my numbers. But... numbers isn't exactly out of reach. Fingers crossed. Less than 20 to go on that front and I'm already off to a good start in November. 57. Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea - A book from my childhood. Man. I'd have been in maybe 4th or 5th grade when I read this and it's a chonky book. No idea how I managed, or quite what I thought of it at the time. There's definitely a good bit of humor. It's a pretty classic sort of hero's quest, with a young boy and his sister taking a tour through Irish mythology. They're trying to recover a stone for The Dagda, are hounded by the titular hounds, and meet all manner of Irish heroes on the way. Also monsters. A good read. 58. Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones - Another SGJ book and this one for Halloween. After a prank that didn't have the desired results, a group of teenagers finds themselves being killed off one by one. This was decent. It was not as good as Only Good Indians or Mongrels but not a bad pre-Halloween read. 59. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - The much hyped debut novel by tall quiz guy Richard Osman. A murder mystery set in a retirement community. The detectives are the titular club, which passes the time by going over old police cold cases. They're excited for a more local killing. It's a pretty good read, often humorous, and at times touching too. For people concerned with these things, I don't think it counts as a fair mystery. 60. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey - The last of my decade challenges, this is a classic western novel about wanting to kill Mormons. 61. Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings - A short novel, this is about a group of teenagers trying to get to the bottom of some strange and supernatural goings on in their small Australian community. That sounds scooby doo-ish, but it is not. It intersperses chapters of teens with bits of local folklore, each building on the other as they investigate a car accident, missing teenagers, and why someone might call our protagonist a monster. I enjoyed it, though it wasn't quite as spooky as I'd hoped. 62. Dark Blood Comes from the Feet by Emma Gibbon - A collection of short stories, nominally horror. Some were eerie. Some were good. I didn't find any really scary. On the other, I didn't think any were really duds. Not bad overall, but I don't think it wound up being terribly impactful. 63. Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra - A (love?) story set in Kabul under Taliban rule. Two disaffected married couples, death, humiliation at the hands of armed guards. Not s much a love story as I'd have thought based on the blurb. At any rate, an interesting little thing about life under the Taliban. 64. Don't Call Us Dead Yet by Danez Smith - My wild card. A book of poetry about being Black, being gay, being HIV positive. This was good. Often quite moving. I think I'd read Dinosaurs in the Hood before, probably in the poetry thread here. 65. The Sketch Book by Washington Irving - With Halloween near I picked up this book from my shelf to read Legend of Sleepy Hollow, only to find I'd not actually finished it. It'd been sitting on my shelf for years with a bookmark at the halfway point. So I finished this and marked it as my longest sitting on shelf book. I'm not positive it is, but its' certainly a contender. And it's not like you all can stop me. Mostly these are essays and mostly about living in England. There's English Christmas, a tour of Stratford upon Avon, and the particular English character as embodied by John Bull. Also Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman. The good was good, a lot of the essays were a bit dull, likely accounting for it's long stint on my shelf unfinished. 66. A Libertarian Walks into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling - Well, I got it in before the BOTM. A story of libertarians taking over a small town on the edge of the wilderness in New Hampshire. As the title alludes, there are bears. It's humorous, informative, and interesting. A lot of history of bears in New Hampshire, libertarians in the US, and some tax avoidance as well. An underappreciated part may be the chapter headings, all of which open with a historical quote about bears. quote:1. Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess Ben Nevis fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Nov 4, 2020 |
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Nov 4, 2020 18:16
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Happy November: 35. Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard This was my wildcard. A fairly depressing and bleak book but given it’s about being a child in a concentration camp it succeeds brilliantly. Beautifully written too. 36. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie Christie rarely disappoints and this was no exception. 37. Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey I’m still not sure how I feel about this one. It’s billed as murder mystery at magical boarding school but it felt like the murder took a backseat to family drama and I didn’t like the ending much. 38. Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith Poetry collection, I don’t really read poetry so this was very different for me. A lot of things to digest with this collection. 39. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix This is my third book by this author and I would say they’re all pretty consistently good. Horror but not too grotesque, definitely supernatural but still grounded in a way. I’m a big fan. Extra: (I’m not counting it towards my book total because it was a short story) The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex by Tamsyn Muir, a story about one of the characters in her Locked Tomb series. This is only available online (though it feels like something that would be included in an omnibus down the line). It was cool to get a little more background on some other characters from the series. Challenges: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 39/55 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. Currently 28.2% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. Currently 12.8% 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by LGBT writers. Currently 17.9% 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). I’m down to just needing the 10s and 70s Fulfilled by The African Queen. Fulfilled by Empire of the Sun. Fulfilled by Trail of Lightning. Fulfilled by The Hobbit. 10. Read something historical. Fulfilled by Me. Fulfilled by Milk! Fulfilled by The Man in the High Castle Fulfilled by Prince Caspian. Fulfilled by Don’t Call Us Dead. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a short story collection. Fulfilled by The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex. 19. Read a prize-winning book. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. Fulfilled by Red, White and Royal Blue. Fulfilled by The Count of Monte Cristo. (Censored in English until recently) Fulfilled by The Fishermen
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Nov 6, 2020 15:46
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Humerus posted:35. Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard Hell yeah, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
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Nov 6, 2020 20:35
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Goodreads has my full list for the year, on the verge of hitting 100, possibly today! https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/19883011 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 99/100 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 48% so far 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 36% so far 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 15% so far 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900s - Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov 1910s - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 1920s - The Sound and the Fury 1930s - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 1940s - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers 1950s - On the Road 1960s - 100 Years of Solitude 1970s - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 1980s - 1990s - Angels in America 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! We by Yevgeny Zamyatin 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. The Setting Sun by Osamu Dasai 8. Read something by an indigenous author. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz 9. Read an author's first book. Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials by Reza Negarestani 10. Read something historical. Ghost on the Throne by James S. Romm 11. Read something about art/music. 12. Read something about food that isn't a cookbook. Sweetness and Power by Sidney Mintz 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls 15. Read some poetry. Danez Smith, Ocean Vuong, Arthur Sze, Jesse Ball 16. Read a play. Happy Birthday Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut, The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies by Sarah Ruhl, Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker 17. Read a short story collection. Best American Short Stories 2019, The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, among others 18. Read something that's only available online. 19. Read a prize-winning book. The Overstory by Richard Powers 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. Oblivion by David Foster Wallace & Oblivion by Sergei Lebdev 21. Read a love story. The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin 23. Read a book from a country you've never visited. Human Acts by Han Kang I also only have three challenges left and the books/works are all picked out so should sail to that too. As far as discussion, the stuff that is hitting me hardest this year seems to be poetry and plays: Danez Smith, Eve Ewing, Carmen Giminez Smith, Ocean Vuong, Fatimah Asghar have all been amazing poets I've read, and I keep going back to Sarah Ruhl, Annie Baker and Lynn Nottage plays. Maybe it is that they are so short and digestible and therefore can distill their themes so much better, but although I am traditionally a long form Lit Fic guy these have been affecting more powerfully this year.
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Nov 6, 2020 21:48
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October! 82. Wolves of the Calla (Dark Tower #5) - Stephen King 83. Reaganland - Rick Perlstein 84. The Waste Land (and Other Poems) - T.S. Eliot 85. The Paper Menagerie - Ken Liu 86. Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia 87. A Dead Djinn in Cairo - P. Djeli Clark 88. O Pioneers! - Willa Cather 89. Piranesi - Susanna Clarke 90. A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams 91. The Poppy War (Poppy War #1) - R.F. Kuang 92. The Color Purple - Alice Walker 93. Song of Susannah (Dark Tower #6) - Stephen King Got through a decent amount of books and found some real winners. Paper Menagerie was a brilliant collection of sci-fi stories, Mexican Gothic was a very fun Rebecca-esque supernatural thriller, and Piranesi was an interesting (and worthy) followup to "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" - and by that I mean it was 100% different and still brilliant. Rereads included the Dark Tower books 5 and 6 and R.F. Kuang's first Poppy War book - getting ready to read the second to prepare for book 3 coming out midway through November. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (93/100) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 56% female (Clarke, Cather, Kuang, Walker, Moreno-Garcia) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 26% POC (Liu, Kuang, Walker, Clark, Moreno-Garcia) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 5% (Kuang, Williams) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). (1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s covered) - 1910s - Cather 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! 7. 8. 9. 10. Read something historical. - Reaganland 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Read a play. - Streetcar 17. Read a short story collection. - Paper Menagerie 18. Read something that's only available online. - A Dead Djinn in Cairo 19. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. - Stephen King "The Waste Lands", T.S. Eliot "The Waste Land" 21. 22. Read something banned/censored/challenged. - The Color Purple 23. All that remains is a SA Book of the Month book, and I just got the Libertarian Walks into a Bear book, so I'm excited about that. Sounds great.
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Nov 6, 2020 22:32
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Humerus posted:35. Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard I think I've only read this in parts back in high school, but the film - starring a young Christian Bale - is an overlooked Spielberg gem.
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Nov 7, 2020 03:53
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Long time no see thread. I pretty much completely stopped reading for a few months there, but I think I'm back at it! However, I have a giant update to post. I'm not going to post any notes about the books, just the books themselves. June 15. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi July 16. A Brief History of Vice by Robert Evans August 17. The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale 18. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot 19. In the Trunk by Jeong Yi-hyeon September 20. Why Translation Matters by Edith Grossman 21. Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin 22. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo October 23. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite 24. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu 25. Our Twisted Hero by Yi Mun-Yol 26. Brown Sugar Candy by Baik Sou Linne November 27. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 28. Night by Elie Wiesel 29. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin 30. Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy B. Tyson 31. The Vegetarian by Han Kang 32. From the Deep Woods to Civilization by Charles Alexander Eastman What once looked impossible is now back on track. I will do this! 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 32/36 Personal challenge: 20% Korean authors. 7/32 Personal challenge: 20% nonfiction. 11/32 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men.13/32 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour.20/32 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers.3/32 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900s 1920s 1930s 1990s 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a short story collection. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles.
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Nov 27, 2020 09:35
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I ended up including other unsolicited, non-SA book suggestions from social media and book club reading lists to fill out 3 books of my (overly ambitious) personal goal of 5 wildcards. I still read 5 things I wouldn't have chosen otherwise, so I'm okay with saying I did the thing. It's been a weird, challenging year, and I think we should acknowledge that. Otherwise, I'm in really good shape for reading 2 more books and then being an illiterate lump for the rest of the year. November Reading 42. Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski - I love that the title sounds like clickbait ad. The book was quite interesting, too. 43. On the Clock: What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane by Emily Guendelsberger - It was fine. A handful of interviews and a dash of history, but it seemed like a lot of it was based on the writer’s own experiences. So it was engaging and light, but the casual tone and lack of other voices kind of put me off. 44. A Libertarian Walks into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling - Other than reinforcing my belief that many libertarians are contentious and insufferable, the book failed to make much of an impression on me. I do appreciate that the tongue in cheek writing stops short of being overtly critical of the people in the book and lets them mostly speak for themselves. 45. Night by Elie Wiesel - Second time reading this. Still the stuff of nightmares, but maybe not as horrific as it was the first time I read it. 46. Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves anthology edited by Glory Edim - Awesome collection of essays by black women writers. It was rewarding to read about how these writers found themselves reflected in literature (or didn’t) and were inspired to write more things to represent the black experience in America. 47. Slouching Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow - When I read the plot summary about the navy creating giant fire breathing iguanas as WWII weapons, I was expecting more of a comedy romp. I got more real and imaginary 1940s Hollywood gossip than I expected, but it was still an enjoyable sci-fi, alternate history story. 48. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor - Story wise, I think it's pretty standard light sci-fi nonsense. Where the book stands out is that it's by a black woman writer and has a black woman hero. And the sci-fi genre needs more of both of those things. Challenge Progress 1. Set a goal for a number of books or another personal challenge -48/50. 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are not written by men - currently 49% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are written by writers of color - currently 37% 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers - currently 14% Personal. Of the books read this year, make sure at least 33% of them are nonfiction - currently 33% clamcake fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Nov 30, 2020 |
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Nov 30, 2020 06:13
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I've hit my goal! Now to see if I can make it to 70 by New Year's, which would equal the record I set in 2014 (when I was willfully unemployed for the first six months and had a cumulative two-hour Tube commute for the next six.) 55. Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee. A childhood classic, a New Zealand story about evil aliens secretly awakening beneath Auckland. Didn't remotely hold up on re-reading. 56. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday. 1969 Pulitzer winner, but one of those modernist stream-of-consciousness in which I basically never had a clue what was going on. 57. Them Bones by Howard Waldrop. Part of my effort to read more of the Philip K. Dick shortlist books through the years, since I think the PKDA tends to highlight more interesting fringe novels than the more mainstream Hugo and Nebula. This was a time travel lark about a guy sent back from a nuclear-ravaged future to try to change the past, but who ends up in an alternate past he can't recognise. Quite fun and readable throughout, but didn't really add up to much in the end. 58. The Known World by Edward P. Jones. 2003 Pulitzer winner, a novel revolving around the slaves on a black-owned plantation in Virginia. It's a little too long-winded and meandering for me, but contains some genuinely excellent scenes and moments, like when a freed black slave realises his free black son has purchased a slave and intends to keep him, or the abduction of a free black man to be sold into slavery further south and the white sheriff's gradual realisation that even though it was illegal there's nothing he can practically do about it. Not a five-star book for me personally, but definitely a worthy Pulitzer winner and an excellent novel about the lived complexities of American slavery. 59. Piranesi by Susannah Clarke. A short and brilliant fantasy novel about an unreliable narrator living in a strange labyrinth. Proves that Clarke is an absolute master and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was no fluke. One of my top books of the year. 60. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. Look, this is a perfectly good book, if a mordant bildungsroman about homosexuality, politics and awkward English class relations in the 1980s is your cup of tea. But the notion that it deserved to win the Booker over Cloud Atlas is just risible. 61. Patience by Daniel Clowes. Graphic novel time travel romp. A quick, fun read, though I'm not really a fan of his art style. 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 9/10 (Just need the 1940s) So that strikes through a bunch of other challenges. Fairly pleased with my spread of POC writers: 4 African-Americans, 2 Asian-Americans, 2 Native Americans, a Nigerian, an Indian, a Maori and an Australian Aboriginal. I've also now accomplished one of my other niche challenges, which was to read every Booker or Pulitzer winner in a given decade, since I've now read every Booker winner from the 2000s. So here's what I thought of them and whether they deserved to win or not! 2000 - The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. This is fine. It's no Oryx and Crake or the Handmaid's Tale, but it's fine. Haven't read anything else on the shortlist so quite possibly something was more deserving. 2001 - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey. An absolutely excellent novel, a historical fiction piece written in the garrulous Irish voice of Ned Kelly, Australian bushranger and folk hero. One of my favourite touches of Carey's magical realism in this is how he transports hints of Irish mythology to Australia, so that it seem banshees and changelings can be found in the darkness beyond the campfire in wild and eerie colonial Victoria. 2002 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This feels like a bit of an Oprah's Book Club selection or something, but I don't care, Life of Pi always was, and remains, a genuinely great and fun novel. 2003 - Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. The first real stinker. This book is absolute garbage, written by the kind of irritating guy you can tell fancies himself the next Hunter S. Thompson, and it's a disgrace that it beat out Oryx & Crake (IMO Atwood's best novel) for the Booker in this year. 2004 - The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. Like I said above, this book is fine, but it taking the Booker over Cloud Atlas is like when Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. 2005 - The Sea by John Banville. About the only book on this list that I remember virtually nothing of, because it's about some sad gently caress writer sitting in a house by the sea and remembering his dull childhood. A crime, an absolute crime, that this took the prize over Kazuo Ishiguro's far superior Never Let Me Go. 2006 - The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai. It's fine, I guess - a novel about Indian characters both in Darjeeling and abroad - but the superior contender in my opinion was Kate Grenville with The Secret River, about an English convict transported to Australia in the 19th century who realises that despite exile being intended as punishment, in this new land he can actually become more prosperous than he ever was at home - but at the cost of dispossessing the original inhabitants. One of the only good novels I've ever read on Australian colonialism and how it's part of a deeper, older, global system of human oppression and degradation. 2007 - The Gathering by Anne Enright. Like The Sea in 2005, this is another largely forgettable Anglo/Irish story about sad and boring people remembering their sad and boring past. Haven't read any of the other contenders on this year's shortlist, but I find it hard to believe not one of them was better than this dreary trudge of a novel. 2008 - The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Maybe it's just because I read this book right after travelling across Asia and witnessing poverty in real life for the first time, but I think it's a simple yet truly excellent novel laying bare the fundamental injustice of capitalism, poverty and inequality. 2009 - Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. I read this the year it came out, when I was 19, and I think I was a bit too young to grasp it. I probably should give it another whirl, especially since its sequel also won the Booker and so I'll have to read that if I eventually want to polish off the whole list.
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Nov 30, 2020 23:14
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November! 94. The Dark Tower (Dark Tower #7) - Stephen King 95. Carpe Jugulum (Discworld) - Terry Pratchett 96. The Mirror and the Light (Wolf Hall #3) - Hilary Mantel 97. Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad 98. The Dragon Republic (Poppy War #2) - R.F. Kuang 99. A Libertarian Walks into a Bear - Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling 100. The Burned God (Poppy War #3) - R.F. Kuang 101. Interior Chinatown - Charles Yu 102. The City of Dreaming Books - Walter Moers Well, there we have it - I have both beaten my personal book count goal and achieved the Booklord, all with a month to go! (I probably will still need to read some more LGBT authors to make sure I'm above the threshold there, but it does seem kind of awkward to google "is _____ gay/bi?" for every author I read...) I finished quite a few series -- my reread of Dark Tower wrapped up, and I finally finished the last volumes of the Poppy War and the Thomas Cromwell trilogies. Beyond that, the book of the month was a really entertaining read (and a reminder that I need to get into more nonfiction), while Interior Chinatown - which just won the National Book Award - was a wonderful half-real half-imagined production investigating the lives and perceptions of Asian men in modern society. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (102/100) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are not written by men. 54% female (Kuang, Mantel) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 20% of them are written by writers of colour. 27% POC (Yu, Kuang) 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 5% of them are written by LGBT writers. 5% (Kuang) 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). (1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s covered) - 1900s - Conrad 6. Participate at least once in the TBB Book of the Month thread - read the book and post in the thread about that book! - A Libertarian Walks into a Bear 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20a&b. 21. 22. 23.
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Nov 30, 2020 23:51
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It's really cool to see so many of us doing so well! I've had a slow last couple of months, but hopefully I can use my furlough-enforced extra free time in December to polish off my remaining challenges.quote:
I read four books in October-November. I enjoyed all of them though, which is good: 48 - At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson. An enjoyable mix of history, science and cultural exploration, in Bryson's usual warm and witty style. He uses the framing device of a tour through his house, a former Victorian parsonage, to chart the various histories of human domesticity. Topics span everything from eating to sleeping to bathing to death, and vaguely from ancient to modern times (though with a focus on British and American home life). It's full of interesting stories, figures both amusing and tragic, and really made me appreciate how normalised things like basic hygeine and food safety have become. 49 - A Libertarian Walks Into A Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears), by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling. An engrossing, meandering exploration of a small town's history and present, with a wide cast of interesting and idosyncratic figures. Even the strangest and most abrasive figures are treated with an empathetic eye, though it's clear whom Hongoltz-Hetling got along with best. He does have a flair for purple prose, which occasionally slows things down, but rarely in an annoying way. All in all this was a very good book but also a sad one, as lives and livelihoods buckle under the unnecessary pressure of "freedom". Civilisation is rejected, neighbourly trust and empathy are shunned, and the wilds of nature creep ever closer to clash with the "small primates" who have encroached upon it. 50 - Who Am I, Again?, by Lenny Henry. Autobiography of the early life and fame of one of Britain's biggest comedians. The audiobook I listend to is narrated by Henry himself, and his voice is infectious - or voiceS, given his impressionist skills. The title of the book is the central theme: Henry's identity crises and culture clash between his upbringing in a large black household and his life outside it. Not being familiar with his early career, I learned a lot, not just about his sitcom work or his touring with the Minstrels, but about the showbiz landscape of mid-20th-century England, from working men's clubs to light entertainment. The most engrossing passages, though, are when Henry talks about his family: he highlights each one individually, and I could hear the emotion in his voice as he talks about his sister's record collection or his mum's cooking. Which makes it all the more powerful when he cuts to decades later, talking with his loved one in hospital, or after a long period of separation. The sadness and regrets are balanced with the excitement and uncertainty of young fame, and despite knowing a lot of the latter half of his career, I really look forward to when he writes a followup. 51 - Naked Lunch: The Restored Text, by William S. Burroughs. A short but dense book exploring the strange, horrible and occasionally hilarious extremes of human experience. Drug addiction, sexuality (especially gay male sexuality), violence, racism, illness, all under a blanket of oppression and authoritarian control. I've heard before that this isn't a book to be read start-to-finish, but dipped in and out of. I can see why: the scenes vary wildly in scale and perspective, from earnest discussions of heroin withdrawl to psychedelic, cartoonish body-horror. The expanded edition I read includes extensive notes, including discussions of the book's long journey to publication and Burroughs's own detailed experiences with drugs and alcohol. A hell of a book, definitely not for everyone, but kind of amazing. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. - 51/52 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are not written by men. - 24 - 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 44, 46, 47 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 1/3 of them are written by writers of colour. - 20 - 1, 2, 6, 8, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, 43, 46, 47, 50 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/4 of them are written by LGBT writers. - 16 - 1, 2, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24, 26, 33, 38, 42, 44, 46, 51 5. Read a book from each decade of the 20th Century (1900s, 1910s etc). 1900 - 5 (1907) 1910 - 22 (1914) 1920 - 4 (1920) 1930 - 17 (1939) 1940 - 1950 - 51 (1958) 1960 - 7 (1967) 1970 - 39 (1974) 1980 - 41 (1988) 1990 - 26 (1995) 7. Ask someone in this thread for a wildcard, then read it. 13. Find the book you have kept on your shelf unread for longest. Read it. 14. Read a book you remember from your childhood. 20a&b. Read two books with the same (or very similar) titles. Remaining challenges: 5 (1940s), 7 (wildcard), 13 (longest unread), 14 (childhood), 12 (same titles)
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Dec 2, 2020 01:19
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It's the last month of the year, and it's been a _journey_, to put it mildly. Thank you to everyone who's participated so far, even if you joined late or dropped out early. I haven't been as dutiful as I had hoped, but the thread has been chill and nice and has encouraged a good number of people (including me!) to explore stuff they otherwise wouldn't have. So I count that as a victory, honestly. Entering the home stretch, I hope that whatever you read to close out the year is fulfilling, interesting and/or fun! When you come to post your retrospectives later this month, do let people know which titles you recommend the most. Lastly, looking ahead to 2021, if anyone thinks they'd like to take up the Booklord mantle, then do let me know in PMs! Always good to have new people involved. If nobody else steps up I'm happy to run things again next year.
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Dec 2, 2020 18:01
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