Jeff’s 50+ book challenge for 2020

[Jeff]

This is my first serious attempt on a yearly reading challenge. It has somehow progressed faster than I anticipated - At the time I started this thread, I’ve already gone past the halfway point. Reaching the target wouldn’t be a problem. Still, reading something truly great matters most, after all.

Update 14 Jun 2020:

I’ve reached the initial 25-book target earlier than expected. I haven’t decided what my next target will be.

[Jeff]

Currently reading


選票使用說明書 by 蕭傑

[Jeff]

1/25

戰後的日美同盟真相 by 孫崎 享 (Ukeru Magosaki)

Finished: 24 Feb 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

A bestseller when first released in Japan, this book, though a former diplomat’s eyes, offered peculiar, shrewd views and analyses of historical events that led to post-WW2 Japan gradually becoming United States' sock puppet, but narrated superficially, unfortunately. The Taiwanese version’s seemingly hastily-done Chinese translation didn’t help, either. Yet, as Magosaki stated in the preface that he intended to write this book in a way 'even high school students can understand', I can’t complain too much — He indeed has written some better books, although they’re more academic-oriented rather than targeting casual readers.

[Jeff]

2/25


Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt

Finished: 2 Mar 2020
Rating: 5/5

[Jeff]

3/25


The People Vs Tech: How the Internet Is Killing Democracy (and How We Save It) by Jamie Bartlett

Finished: 7 Mar 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

4/25


神國日本荒謬的決戰生活 by 早川忠典

Finished: 10 Mar 2020
Rating: 4/5

[Jeff]

5/25


Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis

Finished: 17 Mar 2020
Rating: 4/5

[Jeff]

6/25


論盡科幻－－突破導寫與導讀的時空奇點 by 李逆熵 (Eddy Lee Wai-Choi)

Finished: 18 Mar 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

7/25


What's Yours Is Mine: Against the Sharing Economy by Tom Slee

Finished: 25 Mar 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

8/25


戰爭時期日本精神史 : 1931-1945 by 鶴見 俊輔 (Shunsuke Tsurumi)

Finished: 29 Mar 2020
Rating: 5/5

[Jeff]

9/25


A Certain Age by Rebbecca Ray

Finished: 4 Apr 2020
Rating: 0.5/5

[Jeff]

10/25


Our House by Louise Candlish

Finished: 7 Apr 2020
Rating: 3.5/5

Smart utilization of plot devices left a long-lasting aftertaste for the otherwise derivative, Hollywood-ish plot.

[Jeff]

11/25


Runner: A short story about a long run by Lizzy Hawker

Finished: 13 Apr 2020
Rating: 2/5

[Jeff]

12/25


砂之器 (Inspector Imanishi Investigates) by 松本清張 (Seichō Matsumoto)

Finished: 16 Apr 2020
Rating: 4/5

[Jeff]

13/25


地下鐵事件 (Underground) by 村上春樹 (Haruki Murakami)

Finished: 17 Apr 2020
Rating: 3.5/5

[Jeff]

14/25


Man in the Dark by Paul Auster

Finished: 18 Apr 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Ilona]

You are doing great! Best of luck with the remainder of your challenge :)

[Jeff]

Ilona wrote: "You are doing great! Best of luck with the remainder of your challenge :)"

Thank you very much! :)

[Jeff]

15/25


The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon

Finished: 25 Apr 2020
Rating: 4.5/5

[Jeff]

16/25


約束的場所：地下鐵事件Ⅱ (Underground 2) by 村上春樹 (Haruki Murakami)

Finished: 25 April 2020
Rating: 4.5/5

[Jeff]

17/25


The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Finished: 30 Apr 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

Abandoned


文字欲 回應時代的特寫新聞 by 譚蕙芸

Abandoned: 2 May 2020

Not only couldn’t I stand the author’s narcissism, but the book also appeared to be more suitable for occasional, random flipping-through at book stores or libraries, without actually buying it.

[Jeff]

18/25


有禮的謊言 (Polite Lies: On Being a Woman Caught Between Culture) by Kyoko Mori

Finished: 7 May 2020
Rating: 4/5

A marvelous display of how one’s trauma, sorrow, grudge, and all sorts of negative thinkings, helped fuel a shrewd, logical study and comparison of different cultures.

Further reading:
https://lithub.com/Kyoko-Mori-on-writing-through-deep-trauma/

[Jeff]

19/25


Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

Finished: 8 May 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

20/25


The Night Manager by John le Carré

Finished: 18 May 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

21/25


樓下的房客 by 九把刀 (Giddens)

Finished: 20 May 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

22/25


The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera

Finished: 26 May 2020
Rating: 4.5/5

[Jeff]

23/25


The Wife and the Widow by Christian White

Finished: 2 Jun 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

24/25


The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance by Adharanand Finn

Finished: 10 Jun 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

25/25


1Q84 (Books 1-3) by 村上春樹 (Haruki Murakami)

Finished: 14 Jun 2020
Rating: 2/5

[Jeff]

#26


1983: The World at the Brink by Taylor Downing

Finished: 30 June 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

#27


The Time Machine and The Man Who Could Work Miracles by H.G. Wells

Finished: 3 July 2020
Rating: 4.5/5

[Jeff]

#28


The Eleventh Commandment by Jeffrey Archer

Finished: 7 Jul 2020
Rating: 2/5

[Jeff]

#29


一個德國人的故事: 哈夫納1914-1933回憶錄 (Defying Hitler: A Memoir) by Sebastian Haffner (Re-read)

Finished: 9 Jul 2020
Rating: 5/5

[Jeff]

#30


旅行的藝術 (The Art of Travel) by Alain de Botton

Finished: 16 Jul 2020
Rating: 3.5/5

[Jeff]

#31


地圖 by 倪匡 (衛斯理)

Finished: 19 Jul 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

#32


A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

Finished: 31 Jul 2020
Rating: 3/5

[Jeff]

#33


Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

Finished: 5 Aug 2020
Rating: 3.5/5

[Jeff]

#34


在咖啡冷掉之前 by 川口俊和 (Toshikazu Kawaguchi)

Finished: 8 Aug 2020
Rating: 2/5

[Jeff]

#35


心變 by 倪匡

Finished: 16 Aug 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

#36


The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

Finished: 19 Aug 2020
Rating: 5/5

Abandoned


The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Abandoned and dropped on a random bookcrossing stand: 22 Aug 2020

#37


The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Finished: 25 Aug 2020
Rating: 4/5

#38


Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Finished: 3 Sep 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

#39


怪物 by 倪匡

Finished: 4 Sep 2020
Rating: 3.5/5

#40


Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

Finished: 14 Sep 2020
Rating: 3.5/5

#41


理想國 (ユートピア) by Kanae Minato (湊かなえ)

Finished: 17 Sep 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

#42


New World, Inc.: The Story of the British Empire’s Most Successful Start-Up by John Butman & Dr Simon Targett

Finished: 30 Sep 2020
Rating: 4/5

#43


少女 by Kanae Minato (湊かなえ)

Finished: 2 Oct 2020
Rating: 3/5

#44


幸災樂禍：情緒史專家從媒體政治和社會文化，解讀人性共同的負面根源與心理機制 (Schadenfreude: The Joy of Another’s Misfortune) by Tiffany Watt Smith

Finished: 5 Oct 2020
Rating: 2/5

#45


The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Finished: 9 Oct 2020
Rating: 4/5

#46


超人間失格 by 月巴氏

Finished: 12 Oct 2020
Rating: 2.5/5

[Jeff]

#47


The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

Finished: 18 Oct 2020
Rating: 2/5

#48


推理要在晚餐後 (謎解きはディナーのあとで) by Tokuya Higashigawa (東川篤哉)

Finished: 21 Oct 2020
Rating: 1.5/5

#49


金融刺客卷一　世界貨幣 by 黃洋達 & 蘇勇鵬

Finished: 23 Oct 2020
Rating: 3/5

#50


金融刺客卷二　糧荒世紀 by 黃洋達

Finished: 23 Oct 2020
Rating: 2/5

[Jeff]

#51


Fishing in Utopia: Sweden and the Future that Disappeared by Andrew Brown

Finished: 28 Oct 2020
Rating: 3/5