MobileRead Book Challenges discussion
2012 Individual Challenges
>
HomeInMyShoes’ 2012 Reading Challenge - The Lazy Dog
message 101:
by
HomeInMyShoes
(new)
Jun 12, 2012 11:58AM
As long as you don't mention the glasses, sweater or argyle socks I sha'nt become too distracted from my studies.
reply
|
flag
Under the....D...Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. It's been twenty years almost since I read The Barrytown Trilogy. Too long for such a good author. It took me a while to really get into the book, but it is a brilliant work.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "Under the T.Luke Tredinnick's Why Intranets Faile and How to Fix Them."
I could have used this several years ago!
Many people could have and still could. :)
In my best Mater voice, "He's done!"Under the W, Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1920s).
I have to say I didn't enjoy Ms. Woolf very much. I'm not much for late 19th and early 20th Century authors in general. I just don't think I relate to the subject matter at all.
I'm now done my two challenges for the year and I'm just on to a few bookkeeping items to clear off the original list. Although I think Bradbury, Egan, Galloway, and Robbins will be easier to digest than that last offering.
Wow! Congrats on finishing!!!!*jealous*
Woohoo! Well done!I'm a long way off and sliding a bit now. :(
Thanks everyone. I couldn't have done it without you. Well maybe I could have, but it wouldn't have been as much fun.In other news, I need books published in 2013, 2012, 2002, 2000, 1994, 1979 and 1975. If anyone's got something I should read, please suggest.
Have I mentioned that Steven Galloway is a great author.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "Thanks everyone. I couldn't have done it without you. Well maybe I could have, but it wouldn't have been as much fun.":-D
B, 1960sR Is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury. Unbelievably great fun. So many great little stories. Worth the price of admission for The Exiles, but there were so many good stories here. I found the first story to almost be the weakest, but then I might have been adjusting to the writing style.
Back in time, back to 1906 for H.G. Wells' In the Days of the Comet.Not the best title, but I wanted to read this and another H.G. Wells book Kipps to get a better overall view of Wells writing.
Book number 43 has been completed.The Crazed by Ha Jin. Very enjoyable. There will definitely be space in my future time for another Ha Jin book or two.
Book number 44 in the books so to speak.Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. One of my favourites from Discworld so far. But then, I always like the witches.
I need to get started on the wee free men. But my TBR is soooo big plus group reads. *sigh* Overwhelmed.
Just give up on the groups. :)There's been so few group selections that have enamoured me to read them on the spot. Wool or Blood Meridian might do that this month if either of them wins. Looks like my nominations won't make the voting round.
Book Number 45. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. Good fun. Lots of great religion and commerce humour.My nominations made it to the voting round, but it doesn't look like they'll make the second round of voting. Trying to decide what to read next...Robbins, Egan, McCarthy, Selecky, Stross, Cline...
I'm just picking up books randomly right now...
That's sort of where I am now. I'm torn on Zafon winning the book club vote since that is my 2001 selection for next year. I've still got two books from my original required reading list left, but I won't feel bad if I don't get around to Robbins or Egan. After plowing through 90% of the required reading list, it's nice to not feel the pressure of a book I have to read. Even if they have been on the want to read list for a while.
I could always read another Pratchett. :)
Well, after a couple of slower months, I picked up the reading pace a bit last month. Reading averages for the year so far (pages per day):January - 107
February - 68
March - 81
April - 51
May - 43
June - 46
July - 55
Only 2 books left from the original list of 26 and I'm reading one of those now. I can't believe I left Another Roadside Attraction until now. It is sooooooo good.
Dang. Too many requests came in from the library. Four books on the currently reading pile is too many.
One of them cleared off. Another Roadside Attraction is done. What a fine, fine, fine book.47 books complete now. Only five behind last year's total and only 800 pages behind last year as well now.
Forty-nine!The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Who would have thought I'd hit two Z authors. :)
The world doesn't need another review of this book, but I'll tell those that read my challenge that it left me flat. I really enjoyed the writing overall and it was interesting, but it left me flat in the end. Not a bad read, but not a really liked selection so 3* it is. Probably 3.472516*.
lol @Probably 3.472516*.
^Hey, it's totally accurate.Fifty! That completes my pledged books for this year.
Neil Gaiman's Stardust. A nice light read to finish off the first fifty books. 3.862374*.
I loved Stardust. My favourite Gaiman book simply because of its charm. Such a wonderful fairy tale.In some ways he has better books, but this was delightful. I have a copy of this and Coraline (my next favourite) signed by him when he came to Australia.
It was a delightful book. I think my favourite so far is The Graveyard Book. I also really liked a few ot the shorts in the M Is for Magic short story collection.I'm looking for more books in this kind of genre. I've read Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making which was also fabulous.
Is Inkheart a good choice?
I've not read any Gaiman but I have American Gods somewhere. I also have Fairyland but I haven't read it yet.
Yeah - The Graveyard Book was also really good. I have M Is for Magic but haven't read it yet. Must get to that.
MrsJoseph wrote: "I've not read any Gaiman but I have American Gods somewhere. I also have Fairyland but I haven't read it yet."
I just finished American Gods. It's an interesting concept and I enjoyed the book...but then I like Gaiman's literature. I've read a couple more of his books, The Anansi Boys and the NEVERWHERE novel but have not seen the tv series it was based on.
I liked the TV series. I thought it was quite faithful to the book and quite enjoyable.
I might have to look for the TV series, of course I'll have to wait until my kid is older to actually have time to watch TV. :)The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is book number 51. Entertaining.
I've been meaning to read that for ages. I've had it in my Kindle for months.Ah - reading schedules. Sometimes they actually keep you away from reading. :)
Book number 52. So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane. Quite a fun little story. Some Harry Potter fans didn't like the setting in New York as it was hard to picture I have to say, I've never been to New York, but it was fun looking at the maps on the Internet to find locations in the story. I shall probably be reading more of the series.
Wow - Diane Duane has written a lot of books.
I think she writes erotica, tooETA: I was wrong.
Yes, a lot of books. I'll definitely give another read to the Young Wizards series at some point, but it's off to someone else with a lot of books now. Robert Lynn Asprin. Book number 9 of the Myth series (12), of course then there's the newer Myth Adventures series (8) and Phule's (6?).I promised myself not to get stuck in the series black hole again. :shakes head:
Book number 53. M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action by Robert Lynn Asprin.I read a lot of these when I was in high school and early university. I decided to try to finish off at least the Myth series and was surprised at how much it entertained me. I thought it might have lost its appeal, but it looks like I'll at least get to book number ten in the series.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "Book number 53. M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action by Robert Lynn Asprin.I read a lot of these when I was in high school and early university. I decided to try to finish off at least the Myth series and was..."
I loved those.
It held up well. Still very enjoyable.I finished book #54: On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock by Dave Bidini. Enjoyable, but not as much as Tropic of Hockey: My Search for the Game in Unlikely Places.
Book #55: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Good. Pulitzer Prize? Maybe not. Makes me wonder how crappy the books were last year to have one awarded, but that's jury selection for you. I enjoyed the PowerPoint portion immensely. While it could ahve come across as trite, cutesy, and manipulative of current trends it came off well for me. Maybe my deep loathing of PowerPoint made me read it more tongue-in-cheek. I did find reading things in multiple ways entertaining and it was a fun way to show relationships. Overall, I found the book a little disjointed. While multiple narrators should lead to a bit of that I found the story did not quite overlap enough to make things really stick for me. Maybe I was just dense. From that standpoint, a re-read would probably be quite enjoyable, but if you are like me and re-read almost nothing than you may be left a little offput by it and miss a lot of really good stuff.This marks an important point in my reading this year. I have now finished the original list of 26 books I set out to read to complete the original letter and decade challenges. And now I shall dance.
Woohoo! I shall join in your dance. :D
I'm not a re-reader either, with a few exceptions. Goon Squad is in my TBR pile.
I'm not a re-reader either, with a few exceptions. Goon Squad is in my TBR pile.
Congratulations Homey. I'm a long way off over here - but it's good to see others meeting their targets.
Thanks everyone. I'm officially into padding my most read author stats now. :)
Number 56. The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland. Not my favourite Coupland and probably not even in the top five of Coupland books, but an entertaining read. I gave it 3 stars, but it's just above 3.5.
Wow! I leave for a short bit and you finish your challenge! *dances*
My challenge was really only 26 books long. I feel bad since it was probably an easier challenge than most. Next year shall be harder!
MobileRead Book Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Miss Wyoming (other topics)We (other topics)
Stolen (other topics)
Brilliance of the Moon (other topics)
High Wizardry (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Janny Wurts (other topics)Philippa Ballantine (other topics)
Steven Galloway (other topics)
Jennifer Crusie (other topics)
