75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2019 GR Completed)
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Stacie's 2019 Challenge
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1.
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World Started last lear, but finished on New Year's Day, and a good start to the New Year it is :) This was an interesting introduction to the idea that the "simple" tree is, perhaps, not so simple at all and that a forest is a whole lot more interesting and complicated than "just a bunch of trees". This isn't "hard science"; it's intended for a lay audience with a passing interest in the subject and does a good job sparking a deeper curiosity without overwhelming the reader. There were some things that made me, even as a layperson, go "hang on, that sounds a little... far-fetched" but the point is that now I'm interested enough to follow up with different sources and find out more. Also, I particularly enjoyed the narrator- he's got this rumble in the lower registers that is almost a purr and it's very soothing. Just don't listen to it when you're tired because you'll knock right out, LOL!4 Stars
7 hrs 33 mins
Stacie wrote: "I'm going to shoot for 100 books this year. I don't know that I can hit it, but it would be very cool if I did and, as my sister said to me, It's not a challenge if you know you can do it.Year En..."
That is a great goal and attitude!! GO STACIE!!!! We will be here to cheer you along!!! Crossing fingers for few stinkers and MANY 4 & 5 Star reads!!
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[book:The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discov..."That book actually sounds pretty interesting!
Elyse wrote: "That book actually sounds pretty interesting! "It was. There were some things I'm not 100% ready to buy into yet, but I'm definitely interested enough to follow up on the subject... which is kind of the point of 'Popscience', right?
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It was. There were some things I'm not 100% ready to buy into yet, but I'm definitely interested enough to follow up on the subject......"
It sure is!
2.
La Belle Sauvage This was a good production, though there were a few times when there was extended dialog that I lost track of who was speaking. Michael Sheen is a good narrator, but the voices he used for Malcolm and Asta were close enough that when there was back-and-forth dialog it was difficult to hear the difference between the two. Overall, not as good as his earlier HDM books, but still a gripping adventure tale and a worthy addition to the corpus. I'm also looking forward to seeing where this story goes from here; the next book in is supposedly set after the HDM trilogy and includes an adult Lyra. 4 stars
13 hrs 8 mins
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La Belle Sauvage This was a good production, though there were a few times when there was extended dialog that I lost track of who was speaki..."Can't wait to read it! I have the hardcover. I'm also excited for the HDM show! HBO, I think. James McAvoy as Lord Astral, yes please!
3.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix One day I'll read this book without raging at Umbridge. Not this time, though. It's pretty good writing when a completely fictional character leaves a bad taste in your mouth.5 stars
870 pages
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix One day I'll read this book without raging at Umbridge. Not this time, tho..."I don't think that day will ever come. Umbridge is the worst of the worst of the WORST. And what happened to her wasn't even bad enough!!!
Stacie wrote: "3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix One day I'll read this book without raging at Umbridge. Not this time, tho..."This was my least favorite book in the series for a long time, solely because of her. It took a couple re-reads to get over my hate and actually enjoy the rest of the book.
Charleen wrote: "This was my least favorite book in the series for a long time, solely because of her. It took a couple re-reads to get over my hate and actually enjoy the rest of the book. ..."And that's exactly why this one is the hardest one for me to read in the entire series. Even my tear-stained Deathly Hallows has been read more times than this one!
5.
In the Footsteps of Eve: The Mystery of Human Origins I love books that show that you never run out of things to learn- new bits of information come up that make you re-evaluate and re-form your conclusions.4 stars
325 pages
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In the Footsteps of Eve: The Mystery of Human Origins I love books that show that you never run out of thi..."This one sounds so interesting!
6.
Turning Points in Medieval History This is a survey course, without feeling like a survey course. It picks a few events and looks at them in detail (not eye-glazingly, though, which is nice), discussing the causes and immediate and longterm effects without trying to be exhaustive. Just right for the average non-specialist. I've enjoyed every lecture series I've heard from this Professor.4 Stars
12 hrs 11 mins
7.
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey This was well written and does a good job of presenting the whole "This is who I am and what I stand for" message, and while I wouldn't pick up a novel she was narrating I think it was effective to have her story told in her voice.4 Stars (rounded up)
9 hrs 26 mins
8.
The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction I might have enjoyed this more if I enjoyed noir and hard boiled detective fiction as much as the professor does (he clearly loves his 'boys', especially Chandler and Hammett which, sadly, I do not), or if the lectures provided better analysis of the genres I do enjoy (I don't know if Professor Schmid fully understands the nature or appeal of the Cozy). I also found it odd that, in a supposedly exhaustive course course on the development mystery fiction genres, the juvenile mystery genre is completely absent. I can see that others might get a lot more enjoyment out of this series of lectures, but for me it was almost 19 hours of mostly 'meh' with spots of 'huh! That's kind of interesting'.3 Stars
18 hrs 56 mins
9.
John Tyler, the Accidental President Ugh. Just Ugh. This is one of those where I want to hit the author with the book. The only positive thing about the time spent on it is that it cleared a physical book off of my TBR shelf.1 Star
332 pages
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The Secrets of Great Mystery and Suspense Fiction I might have enjoyed this more if I enjoyed noir and hard ..."I have a few of those. I wish I could hit the author with it and more! Lol.
10.
American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise Well... maybe I'm just getting my stinkers out of the way early. This was a meandering, florid, uneven mess with weird narration (I can't tell if it's the narrator's fault or if the text is just that bad, or a combination of both). I'm really glad it was free from Audible because I'd be super irritated to have wasted a credit on this.1 Star
8 hrs 36 mins
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Elyse wrote: "Oh that sucks. I have this one too. But yes at least it was free!" Don't do it! Um, I mean... It got several good reviews so your reaction may differ, but honestly I can't recommend this. To anyone. Ever.
January totals:10 Titles
1,527 pages
81 hrs 49 mins
11.
The Fellowship of the Ring One of my favorites and I especially love the narrator's voice... I just wish he wouldn't try to sing the songs because he is terrible at making up tunes. Still, I love the story so much that it's a five star rating even with that!5 Stars
19 hrs 7 mins
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The Fellowship of the Ring One of my favorites and I especially love the narrator's voice... I just wish he wouldn't try to sing the s..."I got the audiobooks last year and am excited to revisit in a new way! I haven't read them since high school and only the one time. Seen the movies a few times.
Stacie wrote: "11. The Fellowship of the Ring One of my favorites and I especially love the narrator's voice... I just wish he wouldn't try to sing the s..."I love the Lord of the Rings books! I am reading the series for the 3rd time. Almost done with Return of the King. Have you read the Silmarillion? I think the audio book is done by the same narrator of the LotR books. A lot of good background information, but boy was it heavy...
Carol wrote: "I love the Lord of the Rings books! I am reading the series for the 3rd time. Almost done with Return of the King. Have you read the Silmarillion?..."I do, although the one I have is narrated by Martin Shaw- I didn't think Rob Inglis narrated a version of the Silmarillion. I like that one, though it does kinda read like the King James' bible, LOL. I've also got the audio of Children of Hurin and oh, man! I wish Sir Christopher Lee would have done more audiobooks- that voice!
Stacie wrote: "I do, although the one I have is narrated by Martin Shaw- I didn't think Rob Inglis narrated a version of the Silmarillion. I like that one, though it does kinda read like the King James' bible, LOL. I've also got the audio of Children of Hurin and oh, man! I wish Sir Christopher Lee would have done more audiobooks- that voice!"
Christopher Lee is great! I stumbled across him narrating some Edgar Allen Poe short stories on Youtube. Great!
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Good to know!
12.
Greek and Roman Warfare: Battles Tactics and Trickery Not really bad, but not terribly engaging either. I spent a lot of time wondering how the author drew his conclusions. I also spent a lot of time being amused that his middle name was Drogo (having just finished a book featuring Frodo, son of Drogo)3 Stars
256 pages
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Elyse wrote: "*ahem* Khal Drogo from A Song of Ice and Fire! :)"Yeah, but my first thought is always gonna be Hobbits ;) (I've read the first two GoT books and tried to watch the show- really didn't care for either of them)
13.
The Shape of Water I think I need to watch the movie, because I think it would work better in that medium. 3 Stars
315 pages
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The Shape of Water I think I need to watch the movie, because I think it would work better in that medium. 3 Stars
315 pages"
The movie was so good and so weird! If you like visual feasts and weird stuff, you're going to love this movie.
Juli wrote: "The movie was so good and so weird! If you like visual feasts and weird stuff, you're going to love this movie..."I really do like Del Toro, so I'm still planning to get around to watching this. Someday. After I get caught up on my backlog of books and games and movies I already own. (so... sometime around it's 10th anniversary rerelease, lol!)
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I really do like Del Toro, so I'm still planning to get around to wa..."
Hahaha, I hear ya!
14.
The History of Ancient Egypt Listening to this Professor was so frustrating- he meandered all over the place. You could tell that he really knew his subject but his delivery made me want to yell "get to the point!"2 Stars
24 hrs 25 mins
15.
The Picture of Dorian Gray You know those books that you pick up because you've heard great things about them from people you trust... and then you read it and you look at your copy, then their review, and then back again to make sure you haven't somehow grabbed the wrong thing? That's The Picture of Dorian Gray for me. Perhaps I should have read it instead of listened to it? I don't know, I may give it another go in print form when one of my rare 'Victorian' moods hits me...2 Stars
9 hrs 4 mins
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The Picture of Dorian Gray You know those books that you pick up because you've heard great things about them from people you trus..."I didn't care for it either. I tried reading. I tried listening. It's still a DNF for me. Something to go back to when I feel like it, maybe. lol
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The Picture of Dorian Gray You know those books that you pick up because you've heard great things about them from people you trus..."This one was a super slow read for me but I ended up enjoying it. It helped to know some stuff about Oscar Wilde and how his struggles with his own sexuality is reflected in this book. Also, there exits a non-censored version with a lot more homoerotic elements.
16.
Odyssey Of The West VI: A Classic Education Through The Great Books: The Twentieth Century Not my favorite in the series. This one combined lectures presented by different professors, and I only liked one of them. Of the other two, one had a pleasant voice but covered material I wasn't super interested in and the other had a horrible voice/diction/presentation and covered material I disliked. (f-ing Kierkegaard... blaaah). 3 Stars (rounded up, because I really enjoy Professor Shutt's lectures, and didn't dislike Professor Elkins'... but I'm never touching anything else by Professor Richeimer)
8 hrs 9 mins
17.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe This is probably the most significant book in my history or reading, so of course when I found it in audio I had to have it. I really wanted to love it- I love the story, I've always liked Michael York... and yet... I don't think I'll be revisiting the audio.3 stars (for this production- the book is one of my eternal 5 stars)
4 hrs 21 mins
18.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Oh my goodness... this book... I just want to stand on the corner thrusting copies at passersby while making Wookie noises. The audiobook is great- Robin Miles does a great job as always- but it's the story and the writing that gets you. It makes you rage, and hope, and fear, and mourn, and smile (over and over again), and it's a good thing I'm ahead of pace because I've got such a book hangover.5 Stars
22 hrs 44 mins
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I snorted my coffee. LMAO
February totals:8 Titles
571 pages
87 hrs 50 mins
Year to Date totals:
18 Titles
2,098 pages
169 hrs 39 mins
19.
Great Minds of the Medieval World This is the last of Armstrong's Medical lectures (to date, one can always hope there will be more). It would be a good companion to her Turning Points lecture series. Not my absolute favorite of hers, but still very good.4 Stars
11 hrs 59 mins
20.
Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement A five star read, and I'm glad I finally got around to it!5 Stars
540 pages
75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
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Year End Totals For 2018: (I want to beat these numbers, too)
87 Titles
10,625 pages
407 hrs 46 mins