Book Challenge (2017)

[KnightShade]

I remember there being a thread like this on Old Guild. You put at the top of the post how many books you intend to read in a year, as well as your start date and how many you've read so far. Then you put a list of books underneath. Underline books as you read them then cross them out when you've finished. See if you can reach or beat your target. You can use my list below as a sample:

Started: 1/1/2017
Target: 30
How many read: 4

Books:
1. Assassination Vacation: Sarah Vowell - 255
2. Down and Out in Paris and London: George Orwell - 230
3. The Bloody Chamber: Angela Carter
4. Hystories: Elaine Showalter
5. The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: Jack Weatherford
6. New York Burning: Jill Lepore
7. Under the Banner of Heaven: Jon Krakauer
8. Snuff: Chuck Palahniuk

[Vilageidiotx]

Started: 1/1/2017
Target: 50 (Reading at this moment involves audiobooks I listen to at work, the backlog of stuff I have sitting around at home, which I will read very slowly, and the light reading I keep around for when I have spare time.)
How many read: Final Count 77

At Home Reading:
1. Capital Volume 1 - Karl Marx
2. What Is To Be Done - Vladimir Lenin
3. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol 4 - Edward Gibbon
4. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol 5 - Edward Gibbon
5. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol 6 - Edward Gibbon
6. My Life and Ethiopia's Progress Volume 1- Emperor Haile Sellassie I
7. My Life and Ethiopia's Progress Volume 2- Emperor Haile Sellassie I
8. The Storm Before The Storm - Mike Duncan
9. Capital Volume 2 - Karl Marx
10. Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School - Ben Franklin
11. Almost President: The Men Who Lost The Race but Changed the Nation - Scott Farris
12. Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study - Sigmund Freud and William C Bullitt
13. The Conquest of Bread - Peter Kropotkin
14. Wastelands - Stories of the Apocalypse: A lot of people
15. Writings from Ancient Egypt - Ancient Egyptians (translation by Toby Wilkinson)
16. Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse - A lot of people
17. Greek and Roman Myths - Jake Jackson
18. Essential Celtic Mythology - Lindsay Clark
19. Native American Myths - Jake Jackson
20. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meaning - Jan Harold Brunvand
21. The Dragon Throne: China's Emperors from the Qin to the Manchu - Jonathan Fenby
22. Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding - Robert Hughes

Audiobooks:
1. Infinite Jest: David Foster Wallace
2. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
3. Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained - John Milton
4. Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell
5. The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 - John Toland
6. The Complete Sherlock Holmes: The Heirloom Collection - Arthur Conan Doyle
7. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome - Susan Wise Bauer
8. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America - Nancy Isenberg
9. The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
10. Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future - Paul Mason
11. Uncle Tom's Cabin: Life Among the Lowly - Harriet Beecher Stowe
12. The Federalist Papers - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
13. Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service - Michael Bar-Zohar, Nissim Mishal
14. The Complete Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu (editor and translator)
15. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
16. 1812: The Navy's War - George C. Daughan
17. The Triumph of Seeds - Thor Hanson
18. Starman Jones - Robert A. Heinlein
19. The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger - Stephen King
20. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik
21. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
22. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King
23. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands - Stephen King
24. The Republic of Pirates - Colin Woodard
25. The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass - Stephen King
26. The Secrets of Story - Matt Bird
27. The Dark Tower IV/2: The Wind Through the Keyhole - Stephen King
28. The Oedipus Plays - Sophocles
29. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla - Stephen King
30. The Normans: From Raiders to Kings - Lars Brownworth
31. The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah - Stephen King
32. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
33. Words on the Move: Why English Won't, and Can't, Sit Still - John McWhorter
34. The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower - Stephen King
35. Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan - Robert Strauss
36. Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek - Manu Saadia
37. Dracula - Bram Stoker
38. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire - Peter H. Wilson
39. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: and Other Clinical Tales - Oliver Sacks
40. Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
41. The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language - Mark Forsyth
42. Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans - Plutarch
43. It - Stephen King
44. Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them - Jennifer Wright
45. The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language - Mark Forsyth
46. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
47. The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England - Dan Jones
48. Will Save the Galaxy for Food - Yahtzee Croshaw
49. The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
50. Bolivar: American Liberator - Marie Arana
51. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard
52. The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
53. The Fortunate Pilgrim - Mario Puzo
54. Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities - Amy Stewart
55. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett

[KnightShade]

Finally got some serious reading done these last two days, time to add a few more history books!

[JaceBeleren]

Started: 1/1/17
Target: 35
Read: 1
(I read The Magician's Nephew right at the end of December, I didn't skip it)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Clive S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy: Clive S. Lewis
Travelling to Infinity: Jane Hawking

[KnightShade]

I read Private Eye magazine cover to cover every two weeks, so had to finish that to get through Down and Out. Decided to start adding a page count for each book. I thought if I can get nearly 50 books read, then that'll be around 10,000 pages, and probably about a million words. Also skipped ahead to an American history book, being as I'm visiting America soon.

[HeySeuss]

Started: 1/19/2017
1. 2312 - Kim Stanley Robinson
2. The Last Battle - Cornelius Ryan
3. Annals - Tacitus
4. Night - Elie Wiesel
5. Audacity - Jonathan Chait
6. Profiles in Courage - John F. Kennedy
7. Indestructable - John H. Bruning
8. Dereliction of Duty - H.R. McMaster
9. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
10. Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator - Ryan Holiday
11. The Devil's Birthday: The Bridges to Arnhem - Geoffrey Powell
12. Lockin - John Scalzi

And I have no idea what after that. Also no idea on target.

[Dinh AaronMk]

tfw apart from her Lafeyette book and Unfamiliar Fishes the local library doesn't have any other Sarah Vowell books.

[Gwynbleidd]

Started: 1/1/17
Target: 25
Read: 10

Books:
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (Sue me, I never actually read the books all the way through until almost now)
2. Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson (LOVED IT.)
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (finished today 1/24/17 -- strange feeling, but good! Feels like i've at last closed out this part of my childhood. And, time to add some more to this list of to-be-read books before returning to Gardens of the Moon!)
4. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
5. Mistborn (#1) - Brandon Sanderson (What a damn ride! Sure, the writing is not of a stylistic flow I prefer but I found the characters to be entertaining [Sazed FTW] alongside the well-laid plot. Also, allomancy is pretty dope.)
6. Abaddon's Gate (#3 of Expanse Series) - James S.A. Corey (Gah, wonderful space fiction fun. Not the highest quality of sci-fi/fantasy literature out there in terms of style, but the characters are fun and the action is hot. Favorite of the first trilogy me thinks.)
7. The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy
8. The Storyteller and Other Tales - K.V. Johansen (Eloquently written, a tragically under-read author.)
9. Tinkers - Paul Harding (A long 190 page read pondering the connection of death and grief to the human condition. Could be a bit wordy at times especially at the beginning, but the second half of this Pulitzer winner is worth the read.)
10. The Red (The Red #1) - Linda Nagata (Fun thrilling military sci-fi ride. Felt like a plausible future with touches of our current world. Characters were up and down with me, could never get the greatest of reads on them but I still rooted for them so there was definitely something done correctly on that end. Action was fun, and once you get started you keep on moving.)
11. The Trials (The Red #2) - Linda Nagata (Improved on some character issues I had from before. These aren't your well-developed cast from Game of Thrones or Malazan Book of the Fallen. Everyone outside of the primary protagonists doesn't quite hold up on an emotional investment level. Still, an improvement from the original and fun as fuck. Almost done with the 3rd.)
12. Going Dark (The Red #3) - Linda Nagata (Quality closer to the trilogy. Stakes were high, and the story is semi-tied up. Has me wondering if this will continue as a series or not but I'd be fine if it ends where it ended. A lot of moral questions and concepts of free will when an AI is involved, and I felt these were explored in free new way. Solid trilogy.)

[KnightShade]

tfw apart from her Lafeyette book and Unfamiliar Fishes the local library doesn't have any other Sarah Vowell books.

@Dinh AaronMk

The Lafayette one has been on my books to buy list for awhile. She's an odd author, if you like lots of digressions, anecdotes, and modern day travelling to historical sites in among your history you might like her. She does a very good job making historical characters feel alive.

[Dinh AaronMk]

<Snipped quote by Dinh AaronMk>

The Lafayette one has been on my books to buy list for awhile. She's an odd author, if you like lots of digressions, anecdotes, and modern day travelling to historical sites in among your history you might like her. She does a very good job making historical characters feel alive.

@KnightShade

I do really enjoy her, and I've been searching for at least an audiobook reading of her other material but, alas, haven't found anything (for free (legally)). I suppose I could try out the other libraries in the area.

But from what I recall in her Lafayette book at least is that she admits to, and calls herself a visual historian of sorts. She doesn't write history solely on letters, diaries, and other records but has and will visit the relevant places to also include what might be learned there to add further depth, or add those little anecdotes that brings history forward.

You probably can't call her an academic historian in the same vein as others. But she at least makes it entertaining for people who are, or are not into history.

What's better is her dry voice adds a layer of casual sarcasm, since she performs her own audiobooks. If your uninitiated to her audio work, she voiced Violet in the Incredibles.

[Byrd Man]

Started 1/1/17

Completed

1. Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generatio by Jeff Chang (Started in '16)
2. The Man with the Getaway Face by Richard Stark (Started in '16)
3. Breakout by Richard Stark
4. The Closers by Michael Connelly
5. Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann (Audiobook)
6. Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Levoy
7. The Overlook by Michael Connelly
8. Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones (Audiobook)
9. The Outfit by Richard Stark
10. The Cut by George Pelecanos
11. Right as Rain by George Pelecanos
12. The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia's Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries by Andrei Soldatov & Irina Borogan
13. Savage Season by Joe R. Lansdale
14. The Last Good Heist: The Inside Story of The Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast by Randall Richard, Tim White, and Wayne Worcester (Audiobook)
15. Mucho Mojo by Joe R. Lansdale
16. Hell to Pay by George Pelecanos
17. Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard
18. Pronto by Elmore Leonard
19. The Guards by Ken Bruen
20. The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
21. The Two Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale
22. Soul Circus by George Pelecanos
23. Bad Chili by Joe R. Lansdale
24. Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard
25. Darkness, Take my Hand by Dennis Lehane
26. Death Without Company by Craig Johnson
27. The Double by George Pelecanos
28. The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald
29. The White by Richard Price
30. The Great Deluge Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley
31. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
32. It by Stephen King
33. Crashed by Timothy Hallinah
34. The Little Elvises by Timothy Hallinah
35. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
36. King Suckerman by George Pelecanos
37. The Sweet Forever by George Pelecanos
38. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
39. The Fame Thief by Timothy Hallinah
40. The Force by Don Winslow
41. The Cartel by Don Winslow
42. The Late Show by Michael Connelly
43. Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? by Paul Cornell
44. Shame the Devil by George Pelecanos
45. The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust by Diana B. Henriques
46. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
47. Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
48. Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan Swafford
49. Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinah
50. King Maybe by Timothy Hallinah
51. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos
52. Hollywood Nocturnes by James Ellroy
53. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Parker
54. Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly
55. Strange Weather by Joe Hill
56. American Assassin by Vince Flynn
57. Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris
58. The Seventh by Richard Stark
59. Flashfire by Richard Stark
60. Quarry's List by Max Allan Collins
61. Killing Floor by Lee Child
62. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
63. Fields Where They Lay by Timothy Hallinah
64. True Detective by Max Allan Collins
65. Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein

[KnightShade]

<Snipped quote by KnightShade>

I do really enjoy her, and I've been searching for at least an audiobook reading of her other material but, alas, haven't found anything (for free (legally)). I suppose I could try out the other libraries in the area.

But from what I recall in her Lafayette book at least is that she admits to, and calls herself a visual historian of sorts. She doesn't write history solely on letters, diaries, and other records but has and will visit the relevant places to also include what might be learned there to add further depth, or add those little anecdotes that brings history forward.

You probably can't call her an academic historian in the same vein as others. But she at least makes it entertaining for people who are, or are not into history.

What's better is her dry voice adds a layer of casual sarcasm, since she performs her own audiobooks. If your uninitiated to her audio work, she voiced Violet in the Incredibles.

@Dinh AaronMk

I think her 'visual' history (I'd say it was more geographic, but that's quibbling), is a real strength. Like when she couldn't find the house of the doctor who fixed Booth's leg, it illustrated the case that he'd been there before quite well. It also means her books can work as loose historical travel guides too.

Personally I would think of her as academic, she shines new light on old things after all. I'm sure a lot of historians would be snobby about that but communicating with the public is too often neglected by academics.

I found out she voiced Violet at the end of Assassination Vacation. I think she works on radio too so I'm sure her voice work is great. She's one of those people that I was surprised I hadn't heard of before, once I got into her.

[Vashonn]

I really should be reading a lot more in general, so thanks fo' this.

Started: 1/22/2017
Target: 40
How many read: 1

Books:
Henry IV (Parts I & II) - William Shakespeare
Henry V - William Shakespeare
The Death of Common Sense - Philip K. Howard
The Black Company: Shadows Linger - Glen Cook
A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin - Started 1/22/17, completed 1/30/17
The Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin - Started 1/31/17

[Dinh AaronMk]

I found out she voiced Violet at the end of Assassination Vacation. I think she works on radio too so I'm sure her voice work is great. She's one of those people that I was surprised I hadn't heard of before, once I got into her.

@KnightShade

Yea, she does radio too. She's done/did things for NPR's This American Life and other things.



Granted, I listen to NPR a lot and I haven't heard her on it, so I don't know if she does it anymore.

[Burning Kitty]

Started: 1/1/2017
Target: 0
How many read: 0

I have accomplished my goal. Now if you count comic books then a lot.

[HeySeuss]

Updated. Working on JFK's book. Eagerly awaiting Paul Ryan's sequel, "Profiles in Bullshit."