Simon's 30 books in 2014

[Simon]

I am an avid though slightly slow reader which Is why I'm only aiming for 30 books this year. The past couple of years has been spent studying for an MA so has meant that my book count has been on the low side. Its also meant that I have had some difficulty getting back into the practice of reading for pleasure.
I am currently reading:



It seems a fairly well researched and critical approach to the whole event which was what I was looking for. So far I'm enjoying it.
Next on my to read list is

[Simon]

]Ahh the best laid plans of mice and men.
Was hoping to read Chris Hadfield's book but my wife got there first. So having to find something else to read in the interim I came across this:



Should keep me entertained on the way home from work.

[Simon]

Such is the way with my reading. Books get picked up, started, put down, put on hold and even thrown away. My wife finished An Astronaut's Guide to Life so The Scourging Angel is currently on hold.
So far though I'm not sure quite what to make of it. Hadfield is passionate about communicating the importance and beauty of space exploration. Unfortunately though this passion is somewhat lost on the page.
My wife tells me it improves as it goes along. So as the song states time to break on through to the other side.

[Simon]

Having dyslexia I have always loved Graphic Novels and comics. It was through reading them that I first gained my love of reading. It is therefore a medium I return to regularly and tend to end up splurging out on. This weekend has seen one of these splurge sessions. As a result of which I've added 5 books to my read list for my challenge

[Simon]

Seem to be racing along with my reading at the moment. might even have to revise my target at this rate as I seem to have read 8 already and January's not finished yet.

Have just finished

I've read all of Ablom's books and have loved them. Admittedly they can be a little schmaltzy and sentimental but the story telling itself in this one is fantastic, broken up as it was into small moments in time. It is for me the best thing he has ever written.
Have now started reading which I'm half way through and enjoying. A strange mix of biography and Graphic Novel, very reminiscent of .

[Simon]

BOOKS, BOOKS EVERYWHERE

Books, books everywhere and I do mean everywhere. It’s true to say that I've never seen a book that I didn't think would look good on one of my bookshelves, tables, floor or bag. Its strange though because as a child I was never much of a reader. Point of fact I would do anything to avoid reading. Being dyslexic didn't help because reading meant reading out loud, something I dreaded and still do because I'm so bad at it.
I could read and did as long as I could do it quietly in my own head. But books never meant anything to me. That was until I spent a night at a friend of a friend’s house getting absolutely mullered at a party whilst his parents were away (yes we've all done it).
Matt was the brother of the school genius (Will) and the son of two teachers and they had a lounge that was in essence one huge book case, floor to ceiling, end to end, stacked, packed and rammed with books; books of every shape, size and style. I remember looking at all these books and thinking to myself that I was in some kind of Shangi-la and that when I had my own place I too wanted a room like this. It’s true to say that I also thought that I too could be as clever as the Will if only I read as much as this family seemed to. Like I said I was very drunk. The genius thing never happened but the bookcases did.

[Ahtims]

Nice to know that - that bookcases happened

[Simon]

Definately having one of those can't get into a book phases. So the question for the evening is KBO or chuck it in and try something else?

[Simon]

Decided to KBO with my current book:

Making slow progress but getting there.

[Simon]

What's the difference between a polymath and a Gadfly when it comes to reading?

Focus.

I have none and therefore I will always be a Gadfly. My taste in reading is wide and I tend to jump between genres and styles with alarming ease and no particular plan other than, oh that looks interesting. Thus my strange ability to go from Christian History (lite) and Zombie literature. Though having said that Brookes' novel is more than just the normal schlock gore fest. Its a mix of post war reportage and zombie apocalypse horror.
Loving it so far.

[Simon]

Books I'm looking forward to reading at some point this year:











How many of them (or indeed, if any of them) I will read though is anyone's guess. The joys of Gadfly reading.

[Simon]

Resent reads:

[Simon]

Making steady progress towards my goal. No lets be honest I really underestim,ated the number of books I was going to get through this year. 30 was an estimate based on the fact that I had only read about 25 books or so in the past 2-3 years. I forgot to factor in the fact that now having finished my MA I am able to do so much more reading.
So this year is all about the joy of finding out how many books I can read then setting this as a bench mark from now on. The journey I hope will be interesting.
Books I have resently finished:

[Simon]

Having just finished reading:



I started out reading it thinking that while this is well written the stories lacked something, like a coherent ending I was particularly let down in this way by the ending of A Tree of Night. I felt he was trying to be too clever by half. As I went on though the writing just got better and better and Capote just seemed to his his stride and was writing beautifully crafted stories. His biographical stories in particular are sublime.
I found though that reading these short stories an oddly disjointed experience. Disjointed because I tended to want to start and finish a story in one sitting so had almost to have to plan my reading so that I had enough time to do this. Normally with novels or other reading I would just read until I had run out of time, stick a bookmark in and feel satisfied that I had made progress with my book. With this though satisfaction was never achieved if I couldn't finish a story.
Is this book worth reading? Oh yes, for the biographical stories alone its worth reading.

[Simon]

One last book for the month of April



Very much a Ronseal book; does exactly what it says on the tin and does it very well. Well argued though does at times use similar methods of argument that he criticises others for using.
Not a great introduction to the debate though as it is obviously not a balanced approach to the issue. If however you want to read a defense of same sex marriage though you will have to go a long way to find better than this.

[Simon]

A little light reading for the beginning of April.

[Simon]

This has been my big challenge to myself this month:




With the passing of the author recently and the rave reviews of his work I thought I would read this.
Speaking purely for myself and with the expectation of the odd "oh what are you talking about", big mistake.
Don't get me wrong it was well written and weirdly compelling in places it was a grind from start to finish.

[Simon]

Having waded my way through one hundred years of solitude I decided that i needed something a little brisker for my next read:


I remember being captivated by the film when I saw it as a kid and I was as captivated by the book.

Now reading:


Having read both of Shilts' other two books, both of which are fantastic and, especially in the case of , should be on everyone's reading list, I am really looking forward to reading this.

[Simon]

Randy Shilts' Conduct Unbecoming was another masterful piece of writing. It is however an incomplete book, incomplete because I don't think his illness allowed him to finish the book as he would want (in fact he died from an AIDS related ilness shortly after finishing the book)and incomplete because the strands of the story continued to play out for a further 30 years and have only recently been resolved as Obama finally saw off "don't ask don't tell".
Shilts had planned to write about the issue of homosexuality in the Church following on from this book. His untimely death though robbed us of what I am sure would have been another amazing book.

[Simon]

Currently Reading

[Simon]

now on book 54 for the year which when i had thought 30 would be a challenge has surprised me as has the diversity. Comes of having a gadfly mind.
Books read between my last post and now:

[Kara]

Great job with your goal, Simon! Any favorites so far?

[Simon]

The tree standout books this year have been:
Randy Shilts'
the last book he wrote before his death from an AIDS related illness. This along with his book and his biography of Harvey Milk are 3 of the three best books books I've ever read.
Iain Banks'
a surreal tour of the mind in extremis and how the mind uses what it knows to build a world of its own in an attempt to understand itself.
Gerald Clarke's
A well written biography of a complex writer

The worst read of the year:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's
I have no idea how this makes it to anyone's must read list, it currently tops my avoid at all costs list.

[Kara]

Wow, those all sound great.

And I have to admit, I enjoyed One Hundred Years of Solitude, but not without a little struggle and frustration.

[Ahtims]

Regarding One hundred years of solitude , I too didn't find it appealing .

[Simon]

I don't know what it was with '100 years' that didn't work for me. I just found it a grind from start to finish. I wanted to like it as I had heard so many good things about it. Maybe the weight of expectation was too much. It just seemed to go nowhere and say nothing to me. I suppose, in one sense, that's the point of the novel; nothing happens and history often repeats.
I love magical realism though, indeed I adore Haruki Murakami His three IQ841Q84 books and his The Wind-Up Bird Chronicleare amongst my favorite books.

[Ahtims]

Murakami is my favourite too. Yet to read I Q 84. Kafka on the shre, Norwegian Wood and Windup bird chronicles were delicious .

[Kara]

I also love Murakami! 1Q84 is one of my favorites.

[Simon]

Last night was the first meeting of the Kidlington men's book club a small but very diverse group of readers.
We each came armed with a couple of books (one that we had read before (and would be willing to read again) and one we had not previously read including:
Every Man Dies Alone
The Circle
The Dark Rose
The Catcher in the Rye
Fatherland
Cryptonomicon
and
Mendel's Dwarf

We've however chosen to give the following a bash over the next 12 months (1 book every 2 months):





and


Looking forward to these and others in the future.