75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2019 GR Completed)
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Stacie's 2019 Challenge
81.
Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry This is so powerful. Not everything resonates with me, but what does does. I need to own this in paper form, not just electronic. 4 Stars
336 pages
82.
Dragon Pearl It wasn't bad- and I enjoyed the world building- but I never really connected with the main character. I really like the author's adult science fiction, though, so perhaps it's more of a 'not the target audience' thing. 3 Stars
320 pages
83.
Extracurricular Activities4 Stars
55 pages
85.
Cycle of the Werewolf I'd read this before and wasn't terribly impressed, but I was talking with a friend and this is the book that got her started on Stephen King and she loves it. After listening to her talk about it I decided to give it another try. Once I looked at it as more of a bunch of related snapshots and less of a novel (or novella- it's really short) I developed slightly more appreciation (at least from a technical standpoint) for it than I'd had after my first reading. It's still not on my list of favorite King books, though. (Side note: my first copy had black and white illustrations and this one had color plates- It made more of a positive difference than I expected!)3 Stars
128 pages
86.
The Modern Scholar: Epochs of European Civilization: Reformation to the Twenty-First Century I picked this up when I noticed that I reading a lot (ok... exclusively, lol) of ancient and medieval history but there were serious gaps in my knowledge of more modern history. Then I let it languish in my Audible account for a couple of years... oops! Better late than never, I guess. It was produced well, the Professor was easy to listen to and the material was presented clearly. I wish this had been my instruction on the subject in High School instead of the mindless procession of dated events ('when' with no 'why' or 'how' or 'what the human effect was') that was the approved curriculum. Let me tell you, History is a lot more interesting when it is allowed to be messy and complicated and imperfect (you know... human).4 Stars
7 hrs 56 mins
September's Totals:12 Titles
2,158 pages
24 hrs 30 mins
Year to Date totals:
84 Titles
12,147 pages
548 hrs 30 mins
Mod
I completely agree!
Mod
Cycle of the Werewolf I'd read this before and wasn't terribly impressed, but I was talking with a friend and this is the book that got her..."Gotta find this somewhere!
Mod
Cycle of the Werewolf I'd read this before and wasn't terribly impressed, but I was talking with a friend and this is the bo..."Elyse, I am in the same boat! I want this!
Elyse, Juli, is inter-library loan an option? My main library doesn't have it, but I got lucky that the county library did.
87.
'Salem's Lot. This is one of my favorite King stories, and one that I've read several times. It never fails to ramp up my heart rate, lol!4 Stars
464 pages
Mod
Oh good idea! I haven't looked into that option! Thanks Charleen!
88.
Years That Changed History: 1215 Enjoyable, and it was interesting that she expanded outside of her core expertise of medieval Europe. There wasn't a lot in this that was new to me, but I enjoy her presentation style and how well she shares her love of History.4 Stars
12 hrs 29 mins
89.
Harrow County, Vol. 2: Twice Told4 Stars
120 Pages
90.
Harrow County, Vol. 3: Snake Doctor3 Stars
136 Pages
91.
The Sixth Gun, Vol. 4: A Town Called Penance4 Stars
168 Pages
93.
Aliens: Life and Death These are crack. They rot the brain and I crave them, LOL! Not the best in the series, kind of feels like a bridging arc rather than an actual stand alone. I still enjoyed it, though.3.5 Stars
96 pages
94. The Quiet Boy I liked this story. Really liked it. I wasn't going to count it, though, because it's a short story in a digital magazine and doesn't even have a page count... but then I starred it on Goodreads and it wound up in my GR Challenge count and then my numbers didn't match... Oh well, it was really good and I've already beaten my total page goal for the year, so I'm just going to match up my lists and not worry about it anymore.Edit: This title got NABed by Goodreads, which annoys me no end. I want someplace to log and keep track of my reading, not some Gatekeeping busybody to tell me what is and what is not acceptable enough to count >:(
4 Stars
Mod
The Quiet Boy I liked this story. Really liked it. I wasn't going to count it, though, because it's a short story in a digital magazine and doe..."Loved it too! Definitely interested in Nick Antosca's books!
95.
Dracula How can this possible be this bad? The voice talent is exceptional. Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Marc Vietor, Simon Vance and Simon Prebble, Katherine Kellgren, with some John Lee thrown in for good measure? I practically swooned when I read the cast. And then I listened and the only parts that I didn't hate were Simon Vance's and Katy Kellgren's. Do you know how hard it is for me to admit that I disliked Alan Cumming or Tim Curry in something? Because at least one of those men (if not both) can practically walk on water as far as I'm concerned. This production has broken my heart and I have Victorianly dramatic feelings about that! 1 Star
15 hrs 28 mins
October's Totals:11 Titles
1,112 pages
43 hrs 43 mins
Year to Date totals:
95 Titles
13,259 pages
592 hrs 13 mins
Mod
11 Titles
1,112 pages
43 hrs 43 mins
Year to Date totals:
95 Titles
13,259 pages
592 hrs 13 mins"
Wow, Stacie, you're totally going to hit 100!
Elyse wrote: "Wow, Stacie, you're totally going to hit 100!"Not to jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to :D. It's been a good year so far, and I've still got two months to go.
Mod
Not to jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to :D. It's been a good year so far, and I've still got two months to go."
Right on!
96.
The Institute Not exactly King's most original work (reminded me a little of Firestarter with hints of just about every YA dystopia 'evil school' story thrown in) but I enjoyed it enough to finish it in two days. 4 Stars
576 pages
97.
Coldbrook Lots of people seem to like this one, but it never connected with me. None of the people were believable and it was like the story couldn't decide what it wanted to be. I'm really glad that this was borrowed and not purchased.2 Stars
658 pages
98.
Fifteen Poems I love Leonard Cohen, so I was excited to find this. Unfortunately, this collection didn't really connect with me. I don't feel comfortable trying to assign stars to this one because I can see the skill used, and I can get hints of the resonances with other people... just not with me. And maybe just not with me right now, if that makes sense. So, no rating for this one but I'm definitely going to keep ant eye out for his other volumes.58 pages
99.
The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One Poetry is so hard for me to rate... I'll just say that I liked it and know that it would resonate more strongly at a different time... so I went out and ordered a copy to have in my personal library, because I know those times cycle through my life on a semi-regular basis, lol. My local library also has The Princess Saves Herself in This One and The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One and I'm looking forward to checking those out as well.208 pages
100.
The Foundations of Eastern CivilizationThis was very interesting, well organized and presented and would I have given five stars if it weren't for a few things: It could better be titled "The Foundations of Chinese and Some Other Eastern Civilizations" as it is heavily weighted towards Chinese history- which isn't bad, per se, but I was expecting something more balanced. The professor has an unusual habit of 'barking' out every proper name, regardless of the language and it's really distracting. The final chapter was mostly recap- it sounded like he was checking off the syllabus to make sure he'd hit everything. With those caveats, I would still recommend this to anyone with an interest in the subject and I'm interested in picking up other things by him.4 Stars
23 hrs 22 mins
Mod
101.
Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees. The book was good, the narrator was ok, and the sound editing and production were bad. I recommend picking up a text copy, instead of the audio. This would probably have been a 4 star read, but it was barely a 3 star listen.3 Stars
7 hrs. 5 min
Elyse wrote: "100! Woohoo Stacie great job!!"Thanks! I'm pretty pleased- this has been one of my best years in a while :)
102.
A Fire Upon the Deep I love sci-fi and Vernor Vinge is one of those 'important' writers that make significant contributions to the genre... and I just don't like his writing. Oh well, I can say I've given him an honest go. It's possible that I might like his short fiction or his essays better, but I'm not likely to pick up more of his novels.2 Stars
534 pages
103.
Great Short Poems from Around the World Some that are really good, some that are 'meh', and more than a few that made me wonder if there was a quota that was trying to be met. I'm seeing a pattern- I seem to enjoy single author volumes of poetry more than compilations... but it's still worth sifting through anthologies for the occasional gem.3 Stars
208 pages
104.
1776 This was so much better than I expected. I expected interesting, I didn't really expect compelling- I will definitely be checking out the author's other works. I've had this book sitting around for years and had decided to cull it from the shelves. I'm so glad I decided to read a few pages before moving it to the donate pile, because otherwise I would have missed out on something great.4 Stars
386 pages
105.
An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives. It was interesting, but there were some stylistic choices that made the narrative hard to follow in places, there were several production issues with the audio towards the second half. And on a personal note, I do not care what the goal was or what the time period was, vivisection is not admirable or acceptable.3 Stars
12 hrs 33 mins
Mod
The Princess Saves Herself in This One4 Stars
208 pages"
Her poetry is so unique!
108.
Lyra's Oxford It was ok for what it was: a tiny snippet of a favorite character. There isn't any depth to it and it won't appeal to anyone but the most devoted of fans (it's kind of on the same level as reading the supplemental Harry Potter content on Pottermore/WizardingWorld). I do want to read Pullman's other shorts (Once Upon a Time in the North and The Collectors) but not enough to buy them.3 Stars
80 pages
109.
The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One. Man, these are intense... especially when you read them back-to-back. 4 Stars
208 pages
November's Totals:14 Titles
3,251 pages
43 hrs 0 mins
Year to Date totals:
109 Titles
16,510 pages
635 hrs 13 mins
110.
The Grand Contraption: The World as Myth, Number, and Chance The best that I can say about this is that it was an ambitious idea and I'm glad to be done with it. I don't think I'll go looking for anything else by Professor Park2 Stars
331 pages
111.
Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World. Not terrible, but not great. I did appreciate that the photos included were of different artifacts than what get published in (seemingly) every book of Greek history.3 Stars
313 pages
112.
Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans Having read another work by this author that went over all of this material in greater detail, I was a bit disappointed. 3 Stars
320 pages
113.
The Iron Wyrm Affair. It was ok, but I probably won't be continuing the series. I like the world building and the concept, but the actual execution didn't grab me. I do think these would make really fun movies or TV, though.3 Stars
305 pages
114.
A Christmas Carol My yearly revisit :). This year (like most, to be honest- it's my favorite version) it was the audiobook narrated by Jim Dale. I had to go buy it again, because it disappeared from my Audible account and it's no longer available through them :/ Worth it!5 Stars
3 Hr
Mod
A Christmas Carol My yearly revisit :). This year (like most, to be honest- it's my favorite version) it was the audiobook narrated by Jim Dal..."I loved Tim Curry's narration! Jim Dale is not my favorite...*gasp* He's certainly not the worst! But he's not my favorite.
Elyse wrote: "Stacie wrote: "114. A Christmas Carol My yearly revisit :). This year (like most, to be honest- it's my favorite version) it was the audiobook narr..."I have the Tim Curry version as well, and love it too :) The difference, to me, is that the Jim Dale version feels like you are being told a story by your slightly odd but much beloved uncle and the Tim Curry version is like being read a story by a friendly Storytime librarian. There's a difference in formality between the two versions. Full disclosure my weirdness: I own five audio versions of this story (narrated by Jim Dale, Tim Curry, and Simon Prebble as well as the performances by Patrick Stewart and the Audible full cast version...)
Mod
A Christmas Carol My yearly revisit :). This year (like most, to be honest- it's my favorite version) it was the ..."Oh my five versions!!! Wow! Simon Prebble is one of my least-liked narrators.
75 Books...More or Less!
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hahaha I love your review and will stay away from this book!