75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2019 GR Completed)
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Stacie's 2019 Challenge
Elyse wrote: "Oh this sounds cool! ..."It was :) The author did a good job of making her fascination with and love of the subject relatable. There are some technical terms used when she gets into details, but she's good about not wallowing in them and forgetting that her intended audience doesn't have a degree in microbiology. And I found a new narrator that I liked, so it was a double win. (now I just have to see if Emily Rankin has narrated anything else I'm interested in)
Mod
It was :) The author did a good job of making her fascination with and love of the subject relatable. There are some technical terms used when she gets into..."
Yes, this is definitely on my list now as an audio. Books like this are always audio for me! Narrators can jazz up the text a bit and pronounce words I cannot. lol
22.
The Silmarillion I started to read this on March 25, which is Read Tolkien Day, and only intended to read a couple of tales... and then I fell into the rhythm and finished it. This is one of those books that sometimes just hits the right spot! I must say that young and rebellious Galadriel appeals to me much more than 'settled' Galadriel does.4 Stars
365 pages
23.
The Stand I love this book! I will say that for this one I liked reading the print version better than listening to the audio, though.4 Stars
47 hrs 47 mins
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The Stand I love this book! I will say that for this one I liked reading the print version better than listening to the audio, though.4 Stars
47 hr..."
Almost 48 hours, holy moly. lol. I just hit page 200!
Mod
The Stand I love this book! I will say that for this one I liked reading the print version better than listening to the audio, though...."
Maybe I need to add audio to my reading experience for this one. At least I would make progress!
March Totals5 Titles
905 pages
66 hrs 21 mins
Year to Date totals:
23 Titles
3,003 pages
236 hrs
24.
The Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past Apocalypses A look at current theories (well, theory, since it focuses on one in particular) of what caused the five mass extinctions of the fossil record. Interesting, and pairs pretty well with The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World (which I read earlier). 9 hrs 57 mins
4 Stars
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[book:The Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past..."Sounds cool!
25.
Art Matters It's tiny, and simple enough to read in a few minutes, and the text isn't new material... but it feels good. It feels like a hug from your best friend, or "I'm proud of you," from your favorite uncle. Just because you've heard them before doesn't make the words any less important or meaningful.112 pages
5 Stars
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Andrea wrote: "I have found and fallen in love with Neil Gaimen this year!"He is one of my favorite authors, and one of only a handful I've gone to see speak live!
26.
Pet Sematary Finally! I've been meaning to read this for years :) Not my most favorite of his works, but still really good. Makes me want to dive into more King because I love the way he tells a story.543 pages
4 Stars
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Pet Sematary Finally! I've been meaning to read this for years :) Not my most favorite of his works, but still really good. Makes me want to dive into..."Yay .... come over to the dark side where us King fans reside ;)
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He is one of my favorite authors, and one of only a handful I've gone to see speak live!"
Wow, I would think he would be magical to meet in person.
27.
Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything Probably the best "how to" book (lecture) I've come across on the subject. This is a solid primer on literary critique and analysis- the nuts and bolts "how to"- with lots of positive and negative examples (they would be 'mentor texts' if they'd been written) as well as exercises to practice those skills. I'd say that this is equivalent to Freshman English 101/102, but I've taken those courses and they were nowhere near as clear and concise as this. This would have made my life so much easier if I'd had it in college. 12 hrs 4 mins
5 Stars (it seems odd to give 5 stars to something that is basically a reference book... but I just bought and sent a copy to a co-worker because her son was having problems with analysis in his English class. I guess that makes it kind of a Wookiee book)
Mod
Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything Probably the best "how to" book (..."Ohhhh! I will have to check this one out!
28.
The Hypernaturals Vol. 1 I was grabbed by the Phil Noto cover. Andy Lanning's interior art is nice, for the most part, but the story and writing is only slightly better than mediocre. I kept getting the feeling that I'd met these characters before, in more interesting incarnations. 128 pages
3 Stars
30.
Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls Makes absolutely no sense if you aren't up on your Russian folklore... and not much more if you are. Not one of the stronger Hellboy storylines.198 pages
3 Stars
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Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls Makes absolutely no sense if you aren't up on your Russian folklore... and not much more if you..."I just picked up the first volume.
Elyse wrote: "I just picked up the first volume... "I enjoy them, for the most part. As is usual when dealing with comics, you'll run into a dud or two, but they're fun :)
31.
Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others A fun collection of eerie, ooky and sometimes icky stories. These are such brain candy ;)160 pages
4 Stars
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I enjoy them, for the most part. As is usual when dealing with comics, you'll run into a dud or two, but they're fun :)"
Good to know! The new movie is getting panned. :/ I loved the original one. I even semi-liked The Golden Army but they took too long to make it.
Elyse wrote: "The new movie is getting panned. :/"Yeah... every time I see any of the trailers I'm excited and interested... until he speaks, and then it's just wrong, LOL! I loved both of the earlier movies (yes, even TGA- it made almost no sense but it was beautiful), but seriously- no one can voice Hellboy but Ron Perlman. It'd be like having someone other than Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp (which they tried, and it was abominable *shudder*).
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Yeah... every time I see any of the trailers I'm excited and interested... until he speaks, and then it's just wrong, LOL! I loved both of the ea..."
Absolutely! I love David Harbour as Hopper on Stranger Things. But Ron Perlman IS Hellboy!
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Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls Makes absolutely no sense if you aren't up on your Russian folklore... and not much more if you..."I want to read The Hellboy series once I am done with The Sandman series.
32.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch I love this book. I've read it several times but I'd forgotten the way it makes you laugh- like a surprise you only notice once it's already happened. This was my first time listening to the audio, but it definitely won't be my last. I can't wait for May 31 for the show to start!12 hrs 32 mins
5 Stars
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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch I love this book. I've read..."Woot! I've had this out from the public library for about 4 weeks and I'm really hoping to read it on vacation!
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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch I love this ..."Gah, it's so sarcastic and funny!
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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch I love this book. I've read..."I can't wait for the series!!!!
33.
Classics of American Literature I have no idea how this wound up with so many rave reviews. There is so much stammering and pausing that it's painful to try to follow- I had to speed it up significantly just to make it through. Even with that, half the time I just wanted to yell at him, "Do you have a point?"... and when there was a point, it was always the same. I'll save you some time: it's Freud. It's always Freud. Even when that makes absolutely no sense... Freud. Arrrrrrgh! 43 hrs 55 mins
2 Stars
34.
Harrow County, Vol. 1: Countless Haints I really enjoy Cullen Bunn's creepy series. I prefer waiting until they've been collected into volumes because he usually includes 'behind the scenes' notes and sketches at the end... but it can be hard to wait patiently.148 pages
4 Stars
35.
Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo Naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story This is a great companion piece for In the Footsteps of Eve: The Mystery of Human Origins. There is some overlap in the early parts, but those parts are told from a slightly different angle so it doesn't feel like he copy/pasted from one book to another. 6 hrs 34 mins
4 Stars
Mod
..."Sounds fascinating! I already have In the Footsteps of Eve in my TBR, now I'll have to add this one too!
April's Totals:12 Titles
1,433 pages
85 hrs 2 mins
Year to Date totals:
35 Titles
4,436 pages
321 hrs 2 mins
Mod
12 Titles
1,433 pages
85 hrs 2 mins
Year to Date totals:
35 Titles
4,436 pages
321 hrs 2 mins"
Wow looks like April was a great month for you!
Elyse wrote: "Wow looks like April was a great month for you!"I was surprised because it didn't seem like I was reading/listening more than normal, but after checking and double checking the math it was definitely a better than average month! I had a run of good books, so that helps. I also had a couple started in March that carried over and just ended in April ;)
36.
Stone Star #1 (of 5)24 pages
3 Stars
37.
Stone Star #2 (of 5)26 pages
3 Stars
A couple of 'baby' reads, pleasant but I'm not convinced that I'll keep with it. There's nothing really wrong with it, but nothing really stands out. I keep hoping for another Saga, Vol. 1 or Girl Genius Omnibus Volume 1: Agatha Awakens to sneak up and hook me, but I don't think this will be one to do it.
To everyone with young kids that still manages to get any reading done at all: you guys are amazing, and I stand in awe. Babysitting a toddler this weekend has given me a new appreciation for the luxury of being able to spend more than five minutes in a row reading, LOL!
Mod
Stone Star #1 (of 5)24 pages
3 Stars
37.
Stone Star #2 (of 5)26 pages
3 St..."
I'll have to check out Girl Genius! I picked up Rat Queens Vol 2-6, Y: The Last Man Vol 2-3, Sandman Vol 1-2, Sex Criminals Vol 1, and I Love Trouble (bad reviews though, ack) on Free Comic Book Day on Saturday! And soooo many free one-shots. My first FCBD and we took my 7-year-old nephew, it was super fun.
38.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus This was a good synthesis of the current understanding of the Americas before (and immediately after) contact with Europe. Well written and the narrator was good.16 hrs 17 mins
4 Stars
39.
The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is Rewriting Their Story Not as engaging as I was hoping, but still interesting. 5 hrs 43 mins
3 stars
40.
Alexander of Macedonia: The World Conquered Ok, nothing spectacular or groundbreaking. Also, the Professor is only "meh" to listen to- I'll stick to reading his books in future. 8 hrs 14 mins
3 Stars
41.
Finders Keepers I'm finding that I really enjoy King's detective series (even though at first I wanted him to stick with the tried and true). It does remind me more of a Criminal Minds type story than a classic King horror story, but that's not really a bad thing. 526 pages
4 stars
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Finders Keepers I'm finding that I really enjoy King's detective series (even though at first I wanted him to stick with the tried and true)...."I enjoyed the Bill Hodges trilogy. I picked up Season 1 of Mr. Mercedes on Amazon, I don't have DirecTV anymore and watched the first 2 episodes. Super graphic and they updated some of the technology which I don't care for.
42.
Plato and Aristotle: The Genesis of Western Thought Well, at least I'm done and can move it off of the 'To Do' list.7 hrs 31 mins
2 Stars
43.
The Cornerstone I'm going with print page count because I had to switch to the text version less than halfway in. The Narrator was fine... until he did character voices for the dialog. I can power through mediocre writing or mediocre narration, but both together is just too much.258 Pages
2 Stars
44.
Wolf Moon I love Cullen Bunn's horror comics and this was no exception. A good, solid monster tale. I love werewolf stories :)157 pages
4 Stars
May's Totals:9 Titles
991 pages
37 hrs 45 mins
Year to Date totals:
44 Titles
5,427 pages
358 hrs 47 mins
75 Books...More or Less!
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4 Stars
6 hrs 35 mins"
Oh this sounds cool!