Book Challenge

[annuin]

So, I'm attempting the 50bookchallenge this year. I found out about this mid-way last year, and didn't get as far as I would have liked, even if I had pro-rated the amount of books.

Mostly I'm just wanting to increase the amount of books I read this year. Lord knows the stacks of To Read books are getting to be bigger than I'd like.

And so maybe 50bookchallenge will be to bookreading what embodiment might be to paper journalling. Incentive. Kinda.

Anyway, 2 4 down, 48 46 to go.

Comments

[captainflux.livejournal.com]

You've inspired me to join the challenge (http://community.livejournal.com/50bookchallenge/5899598.html)!

I've not had much work yet this year, as you can probably tell :p

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Hehehehe.

Well, there are worse things to do with your time than read ;)

And you might as well get a headstart while you have time.

[passercul.livejournal.com]

Oh my. That sounds like it would be something good for my book pile. But... I don't think I'd read well if I had a quota to fill, though I actually made a reading list some time ago. Here it is:

Books to read that I have, in rough order (for the first half of the list anyway):
Calenture, by Storm Contantine
The Court of the Midnight King, by Freda Warrington
The Fionavar Tapestry, Guy Gavriel Kay
The Lions of Al-rassan, Guy Gavriel Kay
The Sarantine Mosaic, Guy Gavriel Kay
The Birth Of Tragedy and The Case Of Wagner, Friedrich Nietzsche
The Man Who Fought Alone series, Stephen Donaldson
Mordant's Need, Stephen Donaldson
Reave the Just, Stephen Donaldson
Daughter of Regals, Stephen Donaldson
The Swan's War, Sean Russell
The Mists Of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Firebrand, Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Illuminatus!, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Lost Souls, Poppy Z Brite
Exquisite Corpses, Poppy Z Brite
Winds of the Forelands, David B Coe
The Knight, Gene Wolfe
Eleanor, Pamela Kaufman
The Druid King, Norman Spinrad
Dune series, Frank Herbert
Otherland, Tad Williams
The Doors Of His Face, The Lamps Of His Mouth, Roger Zelazny
Donnerjack, Roger Zelazny
and many Bernard Cornwell and various China Mieville books.

Books to read that I don't have:
Many, many Freda Warrington books.
All the Storm Constantine I don't have.
Anything by Mary Gentle.
Everything but The Knight by Gene Wolfe.
Dancers At The End Of Time by Michael Moorcock

Books to reread in any order:
Thomas Covenant series, Stephen Donaldson
The Gap Quintet, Stephen Donaldson
LonTobyn Chronicle, David B. Coe
Magravandias Chronicle, Storm Constantine
Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
The Warlord Chronicle, Bernard Cornwell

[passercul.livejournal.com]

Oh, and a lot of those books are sets.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

In my case I think the quota might help me to read more (and so far I've read 4, and am about a quarter into the fifth). Last year the amount I read was abysmal, I think maybe 10-12 books or so. Okay, so that's still more than many people, but as a self-proclaimed lover of books and avid reader, it was less than avid. (Granted, with a small child, I have an excuse, but still).

As I keep acquiring books, the To Read pile just keeps growing, and I felt it was time to take steps to reduce that pile, and to make the reading keep up with the incoming books.

Have you read any other Poppy Z. Brite books other than the ones you own but haven't read yet?

[crescentmuse.livejournal.com]

Maybe I should join as well. I think I read a total of 3 books last year. L seems to be mostly against me reading though. She thinks I should be dancing with her in her room.

I just finished a book book though... The Thirteenth Tale (http://www.amazon.com/Thirteenth-Tale-Novel-Diane-Setterfield/dp/0743298020/sr=8-1/qid=1168257592/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3956389-8402530?ie=UTF8&s=books)

I recommend it. *nods*

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Well, even if you don't get to 50 by the end of the year, if it helps you pick up a few more than last year, that'll be a bonus, right? :)

I'm lucky that Dashiell will play by himself for periods of time. He'll check up on me every so often, but generally unless he wants to nurse or is hungry, he's happy to totter around doing his thing.

And crazy sleeping patterns make for plenty of reading time. It's not like I can do noisy clean-up or vacuuming at 2am.

I've not been playing much World of Warcraft lately, so I guess that's where some of my reading time is coming from also.

I think one of my resolutions for the year should be to learn to balance all kinds of things... domestic stuff, baby stuff, and various hobbies and interests, so that everything gets it's just share.

[crescentmuse.livejournal.com]

Some one on my flist asked if reading kids books counted. LOL If so I've read Goodnight Moon as easy 200 times.

You are right it will at least spur me on to read more. I feel like my brain is turning to mush. I just feel so guilty over reading when I have a thousand errands to do.

Balance is what i'm working on as well. It seems almost impossible at times.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Well, I read a Lemony Snicket book and a Harry Potter one, I'm counting those :P

But I don't read those to Dashiell, and HP at least is more young adult than anything.

[crescentmuse.livejournal.com]

How was Lemony Snicket?

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Depressing, lol. As the narrator warns, it's not a happy story as miserable things befall the children, hence obviously the title of the series. It makes an interesting change from the saccharin happy stories, lol. It's not that bad, they do triumph over the evil Count Olaf, they just don't get their live-with-a-nice-person happily-ever-after ending.

Did you see the movie? That was based on (if I'm remembering correctly) the first three books.

The first book basically chronicles them as they go from learning about their parents demise to moving in with Count Olaf and his plot to try and marry Violet for real during a staged play.

The second one is called The Reptile Room, and (I think, haven't read it yet) will cover the segment where they go to live with the Billy Connolly herpetologist. And then the third book covers when they go to live with that aunt with the house teetering on the edge of a cliff. (This will make sense to you if you saw the movie).

It's a short book, 156 pages, and the book's size is fairly small, and it's got the usual kids' book larger print, so the amount of text on the page isn't that much. It's a fast read as a result. I think I read it in about 2 hours or so.

So, it was entertaining, and I'll probably read more of them, but it didn't grab me as much as the Harry Potter books (but then they're way more dense and in depth).

[crescentmuse.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the movie. I would like to see it and read the book at some point. It sounds like my kind of thing. :-)