Author Topic: 50 Books in 2018!  (Read 115535 times)

Cookie78

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #350 on: April 13, 2018, 10:20:47 PM »
1. Oathbringer by Sanderson, Brandon
2. The Case of the Missing Servant by Hall, Tarquin
3. The Secrets of Flight by Leffler, Maggie
4. The Drive: Searching for Lost Memories on the Pan-American Highway by Bruce, Teresa
5. The Cloud Garden: A True Story of Adventure, Survival, and Extreme Horticulture by Dyke, Tom Hart & Winder, Paul
6. The Rithmatist by Sanderson, Brandon (audiobook)
7. Sabriel by Nix, Garth (audiobook)
8. Carry On by Rowell, Rainbow (audiobook)
9. Persepolis Rising by Corey, James S. A.
10. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by Forester, C. S. (audiobook)
11. Barking up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (mostly) Wrong by Barker, Eric (audiobook)
12. A Wizard of Earthsea by Le Guin, Ursula K.
13. Disappointment River: Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage by Castner, Brian



It's been awhile since I updated my list! Not reading nearly as much since I'm not working. May not make it to 50 this time around.

ahptex

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #351 on: April 15, 2018, 09:26:03 AM »
(22) The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

I'm curious to hear other people's opinions on this book. I enjoyed it when I read it (I am very prone to Coziness), but also had some critiques about the style and a few other things about it. What did you like/not like about it?

I enjoyed it.  I listened to it as an audiobook (read by the author)  I wasn’t listening to it too critically — more to inspire my own thinking about making a cozy and happy life/home than as a guide. I do think that some of the specific ways to achieve hygge that he describes can’t just be applied in another place/context to achieve happiness/life satisfaction and occasionally the author sounded a bit prescriptive with it. Overall though, I was able to find some inspiration (and a desire to travel somewhere cold to sit by a cozy fire). What did you think?

Raenia

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #352 on: April 15, 2018, 02:00:59 PM »
1. The Small-Scale Poultry Flock - Harvey Ussery (1/9/2018)
2. Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson (1/19/2018)
3. The 4-hour Work Week - Timothy Ferriss (1/21/2018)
4. Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg (1/23/2018)
5. Home Cheese Making - Ricki Carroll (1/25/2018)
6. A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab (1/26/2018)
7. Dead of Winter - Matt Lake, Susan Fair, Laurie Hull, H.W. Lawson, Brian Goodman (1/27/2018)
8. Coraline - Neil Gaiman (1/30/2018)
9. The Not So Big House - Sarah Susanka (2/5/2018)
10. Le Petit Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2/21/2018)
11. Purity - Jonathan Franzen (2/22/2018)
12.  Democracy in America - Alexis de Tocqueville (2/27/2018)
13. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (3/4/2018)
14. Running & Being: The Total Experience - George Sheehan (3/7/2018)
15. Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey (3/10/2018)
16. Plato's Republic - trans. C. D. C. Reeve (3/17/2018)
17. The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - Nathaniel Branden (3/21/2018)
18. Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey (3/23/2018)
19. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage - Philip Pullman (3/24/2018)
20. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson (3/30/3018) - REREAD
21.  Abaddon's Gate - James S.A. Corey (4/4/2018)
22. A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott (4/9/2018)
23. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy - Peter Temin (4/13/2018) - Disappointing.  I was hoping for more depth, but his analysis basically boils down to 'because racism.'

24. The History of Bees - Maja Lunde (4/15/2018)

tnrunner

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #353 on: April 16, 2018, 02:43:10 PM »
1. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
2. Three to get deadly by Janet Evanovich
3. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
4. Seamless by Angie Smith
5. High Five by Janet Evanovich
6. Hot six by Janet Evanovich
7. Seven up by Janet Evanovich
8. hard eight by janet evanovich
9. Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors
10. To the nines by Janet Evanovich
11. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
12. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
13. The Lazarus Vendetta by Patrick Larkin
14. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
15. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
16. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

17. The Maze by Catherine Coulter

diapasoun

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #354 on: April 16, 2018, 04:33:13 PM »
(22) The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

I'm curious to hear other people's opinions on this book. I enjoyed it when I read it (I am very prone to Coziness), but also had some critiques about the style and a few other things about it. What did you like/not like about it?

I enjoyed it.  I listened to it as an audiobook (read by the author)  I wasn’t listening to it too critically — more to inspire my own thinking about making a cozy and happy life/home than as a guide. I do think that some of the specific ways to achieve hygge that he describes can’t just be applied in another place/context to achieve happiness/life satisfaction and occasionally the author sounded a bit prescriptive with it. Overall though, I was able to find some inspiration (and a desire to travel somewhere cold to sit by a cozy fire). What did you think?

Oh, how was the narration?

I was also mostly approaching it non-critically -- at least, as non-critically as I tend to approach my non-fiction. ;) My absolute favorite parts were the discussions of happiness research. I loved that he was taking happiness seriously, and loved to see the discussion of what really went into happiness. That felt different from hygge to me; hygge just seemed like a particularly Danish version of coziness that encourages the maintenance of close relationships, in which case it then served happiness. I did enjoy the coziness inspiration, for sure, and it made me appreciate gloomy/rainy days a lot more too.

Agreed that it felt a bit prescriptive -- you must have a zillion candles and a very fancy chair! It felt a bit much, if that makes sense. The Danish clearly put a lot of effort into hygge, and some of what he talked about started to feel constructed, as opposed to natural; as if cozy were replacing cool, if that make sense.

ahptex

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #355 on: April 17, 2018, 06:48:53 AM »
(22) The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

I'm curious to hear other people's opinions on this book. I enjoyed it when I read it (I am very prone to Coziness), but also had some critiques about the style and a few other things about it. What did you like/not like about it?

I enjoyed it.  I listened to it as an audiobook (read by the author)  I wasn’t listening to it too critically — more to inspire my own thinking about making a cozy and happy life/home than as a guide. I do think that some of the specific ways to achieve hygge that he describes can’t just be applied in another place/context to achieve happiness/life satisfaction and occasionally the author sounded a bit prescriptive with it. Overall though, I was able to find some inspiration (and a desire to travel somewhere cold to sit by a cozy fire). What did you think?

Oh, how was the narration?

I was also mostly approaching it non-critically -- at least, as non-critically as I tend to approach my non-fiction. ;) My absolute favorite parts were the discussions of happiness research. I loved that he was taking happiness seriously, and loved to see the discussion of what really went into happiness. That felt different from hygge to me; hygge just seemed like a particularly Danish version of coziness that encourages the maintenance of close relationships, in which case it then served happiness. I did enjoy the coziness inspiration, for sure, and it made me appreciate gloomy/rainy days a lot more too.

Agreed that it felt a bit prescriptive -- you must have a zillion candles and a very fancy chair! It felt a bit much, if that makes sense. The Danish clearly put a lot of effort into hygge, and some of what he talked about started to feel constructed, as opposed to natural; as if cozy were replacing cool, if that make sense.

The narration was great -- he seems to really enjoy the subject, and his slight accent added to the charm of the book. I also enjoyed the happiness research.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2018, 06:51:41 AM by ahptex »

Rosy

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #356 on: April 17, 2018, 07:26:00 AM »
23. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy - Peter Temin (4/13/2018) - Disappointing.  I was hoping for more depth, but his analysis basically boils down to 'because racism.'
[/quote]

Thanks for the review @Raenia - I was thinking about reading this one down the line, now I may not.

Rosy

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #357 on: April 17, 2018, 08:09:49 AM »
1. Four Weddings and a Sixpence by Julia Quinn ...
2. Elites of Eden by Joey Graceffa
3. Children of Exile by Margaret Peterson Haddix
4. Children of Refuge
5. Heartless by Mary Balogh
6. Son by Lois Lowry
7. Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas
8. Lady of Sin by Madeline Hunter
9. A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh
10. A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh
11. Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
12. Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh
13. Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh
14. Irresistible by Mary Balogh

15. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch - Part of a Fantasy Series - Curious mixture of brilliant insightfulness, heavy use of base cuss words, easy-flowing adventure dialog with clever stories and an entire archaic play a la Shakespeare alongside the adventure story. Enjoyed it even though it was a tough read at times, but will not read another book by this author - even though I greatly enjoyed the storyline.

16. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - I read this eons ago and it always stayed with me - re-reading was just as good - food for thought.
17. The Inheritance by Charles Finch - Fun read - historic setting, quintessentially British, leisurely developed mystery.

18. A Summer To Remember by Mary Balogh - love historical romances by Mary Balogh.
21. Armada by Ernest Cline - YA - fantasy-sci-fi - OK for YA
22. Sweet Ruin - by Kresley Cole - lots of steamy sex scenes, good Fantasy plot and a little bit of other world development. Fun at first but the soft porn aspect killed it for me.
23. Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole - same as above.
24. MacRieve by Kresley Cole - same as above.
These three are part of the Immortal Series - wish he/she would write more plot, less sex. Not reading anything else by this author.
25. The Wicked Duke by Madeline Hunter - forgot I read this one before, one of her best - I like all Madeline Hunter historical romances.
27. The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh - loved it
28. A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh - loved it
29. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - first book in a series - pretty good
30. Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle - enjoyed it
33. Unforgiven by Mary Balogh - fun read
35. Pony Express Christmas Bride by Rhonda Gibson - Christian references - mostly meh
36. A Highlander Christmas by Janet Chapman - Romance and Druid Magic intertwined. Had the potential to be a really great book, but missed the mark. Needed more fluidity and depth and background, character development. Overall, still a mildly entertaining read. 
37. The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill - I have no idea why I finished this book to the bitter end - misogynist piece of crap.
38. The Handmaiden's Necklace by Kat Martin - part of a trilogy, loved the story development, twists and turns. Love all her books.

39. An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands - great read, fast-paced, well written, it doesn't get any better in romance land than this book  - like a favorite piece of candy slowly releasing a lasting taste of sweetness.
40. An Affair with a notorious Heiress by Lorraine Heath - good plot and rather well presented, but so much repetition as to why she just couldn't and he just wouldn't - over and over again - I finally skipped to the last two chapters, surprise, more good plot twists and development than I expected. Would have been great if you cut out all the repetition, about a good third of the book.
Forbidden to Love the Duke by Jillian Hunter - enjoyable read- part of the Fenwick Sisters Affairs series

41. The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner - loved it - great mystery writing, nothing is as it appears to be. Now I'll have to track down the author's other book The Good Neighbor.
42. A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford - Surprisingly good. No Vampires involved. Mortals/Immortals - Suicide - Teen Love, angels caught between heaven and hell, all woven together in a unique, but rather dark romp of a novel that leaves you guessing where it may lead next.  Young Adult Fiction.
43. The Eternal Kiss - 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire - loved every short story in the book - entertaining read. Young Adult Fiction.

44. Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn - meh, tepid, repetitive even a tad boring in places. Not the author's best effort.
45. Once upon a Tartan by Grace Burrowes - enjoyed it.
46. Must Love Dukes by Elizabeth Michels - entertaining read from page one to the end - loved it:)

47. Anomaly by Krista McGee - Sci-Fi Dystopian - great read, part of a series. Life underground after the Apocalypse is dangerous for the smart young girl who will face annihilation if the scientists find out she is an anomaly - Young Adult - romance, religious overtones.

48. Windfall by Rachel Caine - Urban fantasy at its best. A whirlwind of storytelling. Super fun - contemporary supernatural series "Weather Warden", love and Djinns, saving humanity via a kick-ass heroine.
Always fun to find a new author ... lets hope the library has some of her stuff.



SUBSET - Money and/or Finance/Economics/Politics/Society/Science (goal of 15 books)

19. How to Retire with Enough Money by Theresa Ghilarducci - interesting read. Discusses social security and medicare/medicaid in some detail, but in an abstract economic sense. Discusses the economic disparity in the US a bit and lays out improvements to social security via a link to a proposed bill - good read, good points. 

20. Cheaper, Better, Faster by  Mary Hunt - Excellent Money Saving Tips for household and car buying ... common sense, DIY - worth a read.

26. The Behavior Gap by Carl Richards - Loved it! It is a quasi MMM philosophy seen from a different, kinder angle. The author is engagingly human and utterly relatable - he called it a book about how you can make good money decisions. He is a CFP  ... identify your personal behavior gaps and make a plan to avoid them in the future. No investment advice but a compelling read about our money fears. Insightful - caused me to reflect on several topics. Lighthearted book with a positive vibe - recommended, especially if you struggle with the harsher demands of MMM:)

31. The Unbanking of America by Lisa Servon - fascinating read. I had no idea fintech was so active in this area and had never heard of tandas or ROSCAS.
The subtitle is How the New Middle Class Survives and while I do not agree with all of the conclusions drawn - it revealed just how predatory the banks have become.
I started out on page 121 with - Chapter 7 - Borrowing and Saving under the Radar:) which was one of the best chapters in the book. My only complaint is that since this book is a mix of live research and historic and current data - she should have started out with some of the more interesting live research because I found the first two chapters a tad tedious. 
Overall a rather enlightening book - much better read than I expected!

32. Nasty women - a collection of essays-protest and solidarity in Trump's America. SKIPPING FOR NOW

34. Second Chance - For Your Money, Your Life and Our World by Robert T. Kiyosaki (the rich dad-poor dad author). Did not care for this book, hated the writing style, especially that infernal, condescending question and answer rhetoric - bah, humbug!  I don't know if it was that it felt dumbed down in parts or because the writing style made it confusing at least for me to follow the thought process, it all seemed like a jumbled mess with persistent marketing pitches for his own enterprise. I kept thinking that maybe I'll find that gold nugget of financial wisdom surely contained in this book by such a famous author - nope.
However, I did come away with a (very few) new insights into the world of finance at large and am now inspired to read up on Buckminster Fuller since he kept referencing him, I'd forgotten how much I liked Bucky:).
I always appreciate different perspectives even if I don't find them viable or agree with them. Also, didn't realize he wrote a book co-authored by Trump called Midas Touch, blech.

49. The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards - currently reading
50. Predator Nation by Charles Ferguson - next up

bucketsofrain

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #358 on: April 17, 2018, 08:42:28 AM »
Haven't updated in a while!

1.) Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott
2.) The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
3.) Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabo
4.) The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
5.) You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
6.) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
7.) A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
8.) My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
9.) Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
10.) Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
11.) We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
12.) Red Winter by Anneli Furmark
13.) Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
14.) Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
15.) We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
16.) What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
17.) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
18.) This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
19.) This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
20.) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
21.) The Vegetarian by Han Kang
22.) The Book of Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez
23.) Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
24.) What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
25.) The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky

FireHiker

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #359 on: April 17, 2018, 09:07:28 AM »
1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
3. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read in one night since it's been 20 years and my son was reading it in school)
8. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
9. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
10. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
11. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
12. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
13. All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare (I WILL get through his complete works...eventually)
14. As You Like It by William Shakespeare
15. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Here in Berlin by Cristina Garcia
17. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
18. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
19. Meet the Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames
20. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
22. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
23. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

24. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
25. Shattered Air by Bob Madgic

Zola.

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #360 on: April 17, 2018, 09:11:07 AM »
1. Your Money or Your Life
2. The Richest Man in Babylon


I need to get a move on!

diapasoun

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #361 on: April 17, 2018, 10:56:10 AM »
24.) What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
25.) The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky

Curious to hear your thoughts about these two! Especially The Language of Food.

Tick-Tock

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #362 on: April 17, 2018, 09:19:55 PM »
44.  Kerry Greenwood, Murder on a Midsummer Night
45.  Kerry Greenwood, Dead Man's Chest
46.  Kerry Greenwood, Death Before Wicket
47.  Ryan Lobo, Mr. Iyer Goes to War
48.  The Last Chance Christmas Ball
49.  Kerry Greenwood, Murder and Mendelssohn
50.  Kerry Greenwood, Raisins and Almonds
51.  JD Robb, Festive in Death


Bracken_Joy

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #363 on: April 18, 2018, 08:24:13 AM »
1. A Torch Against The Night- Sabaa Tahir- 1/8/18
--I cannot wait until the next one. Excellent books.
2. Hounded - Kevin Hearne - 1/17/18
3. Hexed - Kevin Hearne- 1/23/18
--fun short reads. Doritos for the brain. Not quite as good as Dresden, but still entertaining.
4. Hammered- Kevin Hearne- 2/9/18
--this one wasn't quite as good at the first two, but it was readable. Hope the next is better again.
5. Lab Girl- Hope Jahren- 2/24/18
--God this took me forever. It just was not compelling for me. Got better at the half way point, but just not my cup of tea. My book club all loved it, though, so maybe I'm alone on this one! I think it would be way more interesting to people who haven't worked in research before, because it'd be 'exploring an unknown life' style.
6. Tricked- Kevin Hearne- 3/2/18
7. World War Z- Max Brooks - 3/5/18
--As always (it was a reread for book club), an excellent book.
8. Trapped- Kevin Hearne - 3/12/18
9. Hunted- Kevin Hearne - 3/23/18
10. Shattered- Kevin Hearne - 4/2/18
11. Staked - Kevin Hearne - 4/11/18
12. Beseiged- Kevin Hearne- 4/17/18

13. Scourged- Kevin Hearne
14. The Maze Runner- James Dashner

ringer707

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #364 on: April 18, 2018, 10:01:52 AM »
1. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
2. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
4. How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
5. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
6. Between the World and Me by Ta Nahisi Coates
7. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
8. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
9. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Illustrated) by J.K. Rowling
11. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
12. Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
13. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
14. Beloved by Toni Morrison
15. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
17. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
18. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
19. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
20. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Serendip

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #365 on: April 18, 2018, 10:13:42 AM »
1. Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment (Robert Wright) *IMO very good!
2. Plastic Free : How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too (Beth Terry)
3. Taking the Leap : Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears (Pema Chodron)
4. Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind (Yuval Noah Hurari)
5. Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement (Katy Bowman)
6. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Margareta Magnusson)
7. The Year of Less  (Cait Flanders)
8. The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection (Scott C. Anderson) *quite liked this, neuroscience and food
9. Why Isn't My Brain Working: Brain decline and effective strategies to recover your brain's health ( Datis Kharrazian)
10. The Back of the Turtle (Thomas King)
11. The War of Art  (Steven Pressfield)
12. Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School (Andrew Hallam)
13. Homo Deus : A Brief History of Tomorrow (Yuval Noah Harari)
14. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression--and the Unexpected Solutions (Johann Hari)
15. Spark : The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain  (John J. Ratey)
16. Tonglen: The Path of Transformation (Pema Chodron)--a more advanced meditation style than I am currently at
17. The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)
18. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (Daniel. H. Pink)
19. What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength (Scott Carney)
20. Every Word Is A Bird We Teach To Sing : Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language (Daniel Tammet)

21. The Transformation Power of Fasting (Stephen Harrod Buhner)
22. Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha (Tara Brach)
23. Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road (Kate Harris) **beautifully written adventure/ish story

--started many other books recently and then didn't finish as they didn't grab my attention but am excited about some new ones coming my way via the library
« Last Edit: April 18, 2018, 10:34:48 AM by Serendip »

Raenia

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #366 on: April 18, 2018, 07:28:02 PM »
1. The Small-Scale Poultry Flock - Harvey Ussery (1/9/2018)
2. Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson (1/19/2018)
3. The 4-hour Work Week - Timothy Ferriss (1/21/2018)
4. Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg (1/23/2018)
5. Home Cheese Making - Ricki Carroll (1/25/2018)
6. A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab (1/26/2018)
7. Dead of Winter - Matt Lake, Susan Fair, Laurie Hull, H.W. Lawson, Brian Goodman (1/27/2018)
8. Coraline - Neil Gaiman (1/30/2018)
9. The Not So Big House - Sarah Susanka (2/5/2018)
10. Le Petit Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2/21/2018)
11. Purity - Jonathan Franzen (2/22/2018)
12.  Democracy in America - Alexis de Tocqueville (2/27/2018)
13. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (3/4/2018)
14. Running & Being: The Total Experience - George Sheehan (3/7/2018)
15. Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey (3/10/2018)
16. Plato's Republic - trans. C. D. C. Reeve (3/17/2018)
17. The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - Nathaniel Branden (3/21/2018)
18. Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey (3/23/2018)
19. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage - Philip Pullman (3/24/2018)
20. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson (3/30/3018) - REREAD
21.  Abaddon's Gate - James S.A. Corey (4/4/2018)
22. A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott (4/9/2018)
23. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy - Peter Temin (4/13/2018)
24. The History of Bees - Maja Lunde (4/15/2018)

25. Cibola Burn - James S.A. Corey (4/18/2018)

eliza

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #367 on: April 18, 2018, 09:44:31 PM »
2018 Focus: Russia - Goal is 50 Books About Russia, Written by Russians, or Novels Set in Russia
1. The Duel - Anton Chekhov
2. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
3. The Unwomanly Face of War - Svetlana Alexievich
4. Lost and Found in Russia: Lives in the Post-Soviet Landscape - Susan Richards
5. Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow - Michael Idov
6. The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden
7. Russia: A Short History - Abraham Ascher
8. Hadji Murad - Leo Tolstoy
9. Russia - The Story of War - Gregory Carleton

« Last Edit: April 19, 2018, 07:18:34 AM by eliza »

bucketsofrain

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #368 on: April 21, 2018, 08:55:07 PM »
24.) What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
25.) The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky

Curious to hear your thoughts about these two! Especially The Language of Food.

I loved What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky. It was an interesting mix of realistic fiction and surreal fiction, and I enjoyed reading stories that took place in countries I don't often read about.

The Language of Food was okay. Having read a lot of academia about foreign languages, I thought it was a bit too superficial and pop-y at times. It was a bit more dumbed down than I would have liked. It was super fast and interesting enough, though!

tnrunner

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #369 on: April 23, 2018, 11:47:13 AM »
1. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
2. Three to get deadly by Janet Evanovich
3. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
4. Seamless by Angie Smith
5. High Five by Janet Evanovich
6. Hot six by Janet Evanovich
7. Seven up by Janet Evanovich
8. hard eight by janet evanovich
9. Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors
10. To the nines by Janet Evanovich
11. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
12. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
13. The Lazarus Vendetta by Patrick Larkin
14. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
15. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
16. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
17. The Maze by Catherine Coulter

18. The Silenced by Heather Graham

diapasoun

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #370 on: April 23, 2018, 01:43:29 PM »
I loved What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky. It was an interesting mix of realistic fiction and surreal fiction, and I enjoyed reading stories that took place in countries I don't often read about.

The Language of Food was okay. Having read a lot of academia about foreign languages, I thought it was a bit too superficial and pop-y at times. It was a bit more dumbed down than I would have liked. It was super fast and interesting enough, though!

I had pretty similar feelings about both books. I loved What It Means -- incredible mix, like you said, and what an incredible way Arimah has of presenting her characters and making you invest in them very, very quickly.

And yes, Language of Food is definitely very pop-sciency-y, while also lacking the extended, non-expert commentary that so often goes along with pop science (I really wanted him to talk more about why it's interesting to know that people compare cheap food to drugs and expensive food to sex...). I think the etymology portions were my fave.

eliza

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #371 on: April 23, 2018, 03:49:49 PM »
2018 Focus: Russia - Goal is 50 Books About Russia, Written by Russians, or Novels Set in Russia
1. The Duel - Anton Chekhov
2. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
3. The Unwomanly Face of War - Svetlana Alexievich
4. Lost and Found in Russia: Lives in the Post-Soviet Landscape - Susan Richards
5. Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow - Michael Idov
6. The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden
7. Russia: A Short History - Abraham Ascher
8. Hadji Murad - Leo Tolstoy
9. Russia - The Story of War - Gregory Carleton
10. The Cossacks - Leo Tolstoy

Rcc

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #372 on: April 23, 2018, 07:03:10 PM »
Reading List 2018

All systems red - done 27JAN
Fire & Fury - Done (Jan)
Sled Driver (SR71) - Done (JAN)
Black Star Renegades - done (Jan)
This Naked Mind - done (feb)
Event Horizon 2018 Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities - Done(feb)
Meditation for fidgety skeptics ( UGH, Stuck on this one. )
The gone world
Gunpowder Moon
Gods Monsters and the lucky peach
Slaughterhouse Five
The Phoenix Project (Considering ditching cause I DGAF about DevOps)
Embers of war
Stars are legion
12 Rules for life

Rosy

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #373 on: April 24, 2018, 02:49:06 PM »
1. Four Weddings and a Sixpence by Julia Quinn ...
2. Elites of Eden by Joey Graceffa
3. Children of Exile by Margaret Peterson Haddix
4. Children of Refuge
5. Heartless by Mary Balogh
6. Son by Lois Lowry
7. Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas
8. Lady of Sin by Madeline Hunter
9. A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh
10. A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh
11. Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
12. Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh
13. Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh
14. Irresistible by Mary Balogh

15. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch - Part of a Fantasy Series - Curious mixture of brilliant insightfulness, heavy use of base cuss words, easy-flowing adventure dialog with clever stories and an entire archaic play a la Shakespeare alongside the adventure story. Enjoyed it even though it was a tough read at times, but will not read another book by this author - even though I greatly enjoyed the storyline.

16. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - I read this eons ago and it always stayed with me - re-reading was just as good - food for thought.
17. The Inheritance by Charles Finch - Fun read - historic setting, quintessentially British, leisurely developed mystery.

18. A Summer To Remember by Mary Balogh - love historical romances by Mary Balogh.
21. Armada by Ernest Cline - YA - fantasy-sci-fi - OK for YA
22. Sweet Ruin - by Kresley Cole - lots of steamy sex scenes, good Fantasy plot and a little bit of other world development. Fun at first but the soft porn aspect killed it for me.
23. Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole - same as above.
24. MacRieve by Kresley Cole - same as above.
These three are part of the Immortal Series - wish he/she would write more plot, less sex. Not reading anything else by this author.
25. The Wicked Duke by Madeline Hunter - forgot I read this one before, one of her best - I like all Madeline Hunter historical romances.
27. The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh - loved it
28. A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh - loved it
29. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - first book in a series - pretty good
30. Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle - enjoyed it
33. Unforgiven by Mary Balogh - fun read
35. Pony Express Christmas Bride by Rhonda Gibson - Christian references - mostly meh
36. A Highlander Christmas by Janet Chapman - Romance and Druid Magic intertwined. Had the potential to be a really great book, but missed the mark. Needed more fluidity and depth and background, character development. Overall, still a mildly entertaining read. 
37. The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill - I have no idea why I finished this book to the bitter end - misogynist piece of crap.
38. The Handmaiden's Necklace by Kat Martin - part of a trilogy, loved the story development, twists and turns. Love all her books.

39. An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands - great read, fast-paced, well written, it doesn't get any better in romance land than this book  - like a favorite piece of candy slowly releasing a lasting taste of sweetness.
40. An Affair with a notorious Heiress by Lorraine Heath - good plot and rather well presented, but so much repetition as to why she just couldn't and he just wouldn't - over and over again - I finally skipped to the last two chapters, surprise, more good plot twists and development than I expected. Would have been great if you cut out all the repetition, about a good third of the book.
Forbidden to Love the Duke by Jillian Hunter - enjoyable read- part of the Fenwick Sisters Affairs series

41. The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner - loved it - great mystery writing, nothing is as it appears to be. Now I'll have to track down the author's other book The Good Neighbor.
42. A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford - Surprisingly good. No Vampires involved. Mortals/Immortals - Suicide - Teen Love, angels caught between heaven and hell, all woven together in a unique, but rather dark romp of a novel that leaves you guessing where it may lead next.  Young Adult Fiction.
43. The Eternal Kiss - 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire - loved every short story in the book - entertaining read. Young Adult Fiction.

44. Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn - meh, tepid, repetitive even a tad boring in places. Not the author's best effort.
45. Once upon a Tartan by Grace Burrowes - enjoyed it.
46. Must Love Dukes by Elizabeth Michels - entertaining read from page one to the end - loved it:)

47. Anomaly by Krista McGee - Sci-Fi Dystopian - great read, part of a series. Life underground after the Apocalypse is dangerous for the smart young girl who will face annihilation if the scientists find out she is an anomaly - Young Adult - romance, religious overtones.

48. Windfall by Rachel Caine - Urban fantasy at its best. A whirlwind of storytelling. Super fun - contemporary supernatural series "Weather Warden", love and Djinns, saving humanity via a kick-ass heroine.
Always fun to find a new author ... lets hope the library has some of her stuff.



SUBSET - Money and/or Finance/Economics/Politics/Society/Science (goal of 15 books)

19. How to Retire with Enough Money by Theresa Ghilarducci - interesting read. Discusses social security and medicare/medicaid in some detail, but in an abstract economic sense. Discusses the economic disparity in the US a bit and lays out improvements to social security via a link to a proposed bill - good read, good points. 

20. Cheaper, Better, Faster by  Mary Hunt - Excellent Money Saving Tips for household and car buying ... common sense, DIY - worth a read.

26. The Behavior Gap by Carl Richards - Loved it! It is a quasi MMM philosophy seen from a different, kinder angle. The author is engagingly human and utterly relatable - he called it a book about how you can make good money decisions. He is a CFP  ... identify your personal behavior gaps and make a plan to avoid them in the future. No investment advice but a compelling read about our money fears. Insightful - caused me to reflect on several topics. Lighthearted book with a positive vibe - recommended, especially if you struggle with the harsher demands of MMM:)

31. The Unbanking of America by Lisa Servon - fascinating read. I had no idea fintech was so active in this area and had never heard of tandas or ROSCAS.
The subtitle is How the New Middle Class Survives and while I do not agree with all of the conclusions drawn - it revealed just how predatory the banks have become.
I started out on page 121 with - Chapter 7 - Borrowing and Saving under the Radar:) which was one of the best chapters in the book. My only complaint is that since this book is a mix of live research and historic and current data - she should have started out with some of the more interesting live research because I found the first two chapters a tad tedious. 
Overall a rather enlightening book - much better read than I expected!

32. Nasty women - a collection of essays-protest and solidarity in Trump's America. SKIPPING FOR NOW

34. Second Chance - For Your Money, Your Life and Our World by Robert T. Kiyosaki (the rich dad-poor dad author). Did not care for this book, hated the writing style, especially that infernal, condescending question and answer rhetoric - bah, humbug!  I don't know if it was that it felt dumbed down in parts or because the writing style made it confusing at least for me to follow the thought process, it all seemed like a jumbled mess with persistent marketing pitches for his own enterprise. I kept thinking that maybe I'll find that gold nugget of financial wisdom surely contained in this book by such a famous author - nope.
However, I did come away with a (very few) new insights into the world of finance at large and am now inspired to read up on Buckminster Fuller since he kept referencing him, I'd forgotten how much I liked Bucky:).
I always appreciate different perspectives even if I don't find them viable or agree with them. Also, didn't realize he wrote a book co-authored by Trump called Midas Touch, blech.

49. The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards - currently reading
50. Predator Nation by Charles Ferguson - next up

Well, well - so I just finished up book #50 and it is as I thought, I do not read enough books of substance.

#49 Bewitching by Jill Barnett - entertaining historical romance with a bit of witchery thrown in.
#50 To Distraction by Stephanie Laurens - I like her style of writing historal romances - this one had a bit of adventure, danger and mystery in it.
FINITO

Someone must have cleared their bookshelves and donated the lot, because I came home with 30 books from the Salvation Army thrift store. Score.

So going forward - I will record only my reading of the educational/informational books.
I'm increasing the goal for this subset from 15 to 25 books total.


SUBSET - Money and/or Finance/Economics/Politics/Society/Science (goal of 15 books)

1. How to Retire with Enough Money by Theresa Ghilarducci - interesting read. Discusses social security and medicare/medicaid in some detail, but in an abstract economic sense. Discusses the economic disparity in the US a bit and lays out improvements to social security via a link to a proposed bill - good read, good points. 

2. Cheaper, Better, Faster by  Mary Hunt - Excellent Money Saving Tips for household and car buying ... common sense, DIY - worth a read.

3. The Behavior Gap by Carl Richards - Loved it! It is a quasi MMM philosophy seen from a different, kinder angle. The author is engagingly human and utterly relatable - he called it a book about how you can make good money decisions. He is a CFP  ... identify your personal behavior gaps and make a plan to avoid them in the future. No investment advice but a compelling read about our money fears. Insightful - caused me to reflect on several topics. Lighthearted book with a positive vibe - recommended, especially if you struggle with the harsher demands of MMM:)

4. The Unbanking of America by Lisa Servon - fascinating read. I had no idea fintech was so active in this area and had never heard of tandas or ROSCAS.
The subtitle is How the New Middle Class Survives and while I do not agree with all of the conclusions drawn - it revealed just how predatory the banks have become.
I started out on page 121 with - Chapter 7 - Borrowing and Saving under the Radar:) which was one of the best chapters in the book. My only complaint is that since this book is a mix of live research and historic and current data - she should have started out with some of the more interesting live research because I found the first two chapters a tad tedious. 
Overall a rather enlightening book - much better read than I expected!

5. Second Chance - For Your Money, Your Life and Our World by Robert T. Kiyosaki (the rich dad-poor dad author). Did not care for this book, hated the writing style, especially that infernal, condescending question and answer rhetoric - bah, humbug!  I don't know if it was that it felt dumbed down in parts or because the writing style made it confusing at least for me to follow the thought process, it all seemed like a jumbled mess with persistent marketing pitches for his own enterprise. I kept thinking that maybe I'll find that gold nugget of financial wisdom surely contained in this book by such a famous author - nope.
However, I did come away with a (very few) new insights into the world of finance at large and am now inspired to read up on Buckminster Fuller since he kept referencing him, I'd forgotten how much I liked Bucky:).
I always appreciate different perspectives even if I don't find them viable or agree with them. Also, didn't realize he wrote a book co-authored by Trump called Midas Touch, blech.

6. The One-Page Financial Plan by Carl Richards - currently reading
7. Predator Nation by Charles Ferguson - next up




ringer707

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #374 on: April 25, 2018, 07:31:07 AM »
1. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
2. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
4. How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
5. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
6. Between the World and Me by Ta Nahisi Coates
7. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
8. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
9. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Illustrated) by J.K. Rowling
11. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
12. Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
13. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
14. Beloved by Toni Morrison
15. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
17. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
18. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
19. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
20. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
21. In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

Bracken_Joy

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #375 on: April 25, 2018, 01:46:12 PM »
1. A Torch Against The Night- Sabaa Tahir- 1/8/18
--I cannot wait until the next one. Excellent books.
2. Hounded - Kevin Hearne - 1/17/18
3. Hexed - Kevin Hearne- 1/23/18
--fun short reads. Doritos for the brain. Not quite as good as Dresden, but still entertaining.
4. Hammered- Kevin Hearne- 2/9/18
--this one wasn't quite as good at the first two, but it was readable. Hope the next is better again.
5. Lab Girl- Hope Jahren- 2/24/18
--God this took me forever. It just was not compelling for me. Got better at the half way point, but just not my cup of tea. My book club all loved it, though, so maybe I'm alone on this one! I think it would be way more interesting to people who haven't worked in research before, because it'd be 'exploring an unknown life' style.
6. Tricked- Kevin Hearne- 3/2/18
7. World War Z- Max Brooks - 3/5/18
--As always (it was a reread for book club), an excellent book.
8. Trapped- Kevin Hearne - 3/12/18
9. Hunted- Kevin Hearne - 3/23/18
10. Shattered- Kevin Hearne - 4/2/18
11. Staked - Kevin Hearne - 4/11/18
12. Beseiged- Kevin Hearne- 4/17/18
13. Scourged- Kevin Hearne- 4/25/18

14. The Maze Runner- James Dashner

haypug16

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #376 on: April 25, 2018, 03:04:32 PM »
1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood - Finished 1/14/18
2. How to Make Your Money Last by Jane Bryant Quinn - Finished 1/16/18
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell - Finished 1/20/18
4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - Finished 2/7/18
5. J is for Judgement by Sue Grafton - Finished 2/9/18
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Finished 2/20/18
7. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton - Finished 3/17/18
8. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Finished 3/21/18
9. L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton - Finished 3/30/18
10. Candide by Voltaire - Finished 4/6/18

11. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Currently Reading
12. Wild by Cheryl Strayed - currently reading (audio book expired with only 2 hours left!!! I had to put in a hold request with the library)
13. M is for Malice by Sue Grafton - Currently Reading (side note I just learned that Sue Grafton passed away before publishing Z is for Zero so the series may never come to a close!!!)


10/50 Read

Carolina on My Mind

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #377 on: April 26, 2018, 08:41:59 AM »
(22) The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

I'm curious to hear other people's opinions on this book. I enjoyed it when I read it (I am very prone to Coziness), but also had some critiques about the style and a few other things about it. What did you like/not like about it?

I read three or four of these little hygge books all in a row last fall, and I liked this one the best of the bunch.  I'm a total sucker for these home-care type books, but oftentimes the tone of them is a little too precious for my taste.  So I liked the brisker, funnier tone of the Wiking book.

Carolina on My Mind

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #378 on: April 26, 2018, 08:59:36 AM »
I'm in again!  Although I gotta say I'm off to a slow start . . . a mere 68 pages into my first book of the year:  Bright Air Black by David Vann, a reimagining of Medea.  I picked it up at random from the new fiction shelves at the library, and while it's really good, it's so vivid and visceral that I seem to be able to read only a few pages at a time.

Yeah, definitely a slow start for me this year.  I post updates every ten books, and it's taken me until mid-April to get through (well, almost through) the first ten!  Anyway, here they are:

1.   Bright Air Black – David Vann
2.   The Dispossessed – Ursula LeGuin
3.   The Lathe of Heaven – Ursula LeGuin
4.   Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri (reread)
5.   Another Brooklyn – Jacqueline Woodson
6.   Deep Work – Cal Newport
7.   Dignity – Ken Layne (reread)
8.   Daily Rituals – Mason Currey
9.   The Wellness Project – Phoebe Lapine
10.   Walden – Henry David Thoreau (in progress)
11.   The Woman in White – Willkie Collins (in progress)

A few comments:

For those of you who like to read the classics, or mysteries, The Woman in White is awesome.  It's generally considered to be the first English mystery novel.  I'm about 200 pages in (it's long), and I can't put it down.  Similar in style to Charles Dickens, it's a very entertaining read.

I also found Daily Rituals to be a really fun and interesting read.  It's a compendium of short descriptions of the daily routines of a whole bunch of creative people (writers, composers, painters, philosophers, etc.).  Highly recommend.

At the other end of the spectrum . . . I have Walden going on my Kindle app, so I read a few pages whenever I have nothing else to do.  I've tried to read it before, and I find it a real slog.  We'll see how far I get this time.

Lastly, where has Ursula LeGuin been all my life??  I'm not generally a big fantasy/sci-fi reader, but I've been meaning for a long time to read something of hers.  After she died, I finally got around to checking out a few of her books, and wow!  I am eager to read more of her stuff this year.


ringer707

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #379 on: April 26, 2018, 11:31:18 AM »
1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood - Finished 1/14/18
2. How to Make Your Money Last by Jane Bryant Quinn - Finished 1/16/18
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell - Finished 1/20/18
4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - Finished 2/7/18
5. J is for Judgement by Sue Grafton - Finished 2/9/18
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Finished 2/20/18
7. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton - Finished 3/17/18
8. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Finished 3/21/18
9. L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton - Finished 3/30/18
10. Candide by Voltaire - Finished 4/6/18

11. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Currently Reading
12. Wild by Cheryl Strayed - currently reading (audio book expired with only 2 hours left!!! I had to put in a hold request with the library)
13. M is for Malice by Sue Grafton - Currently Reading (side note I just learned that Sue Grafton passed away before publishing Z is for Zero so the series may never come to a close!!!)


10/50 Read

Somebody gave me an enormous collection of crime/mystery books last night, which isn't really my style, but I remembered that you were reading Sue Grafton's books this year. Looks like the collection contains up to Q so I'm thinking I'll hold on to those!

diapasoun

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #380 on: April 26, 2018, 01:05:58 PM »
@Carolina on My Mind, LeGuin is great! I love SFF, but she's one of those authors I would recommend to anyone, no matter their genre proclivities. For example, my dad reads a lot of mysteries and thrillers, but I would rec LeGuin to him just because she's wonderful.

I'm putting The Woman in White on my classics book club suggestions list now!

Carolina on My Mind

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #381 on: April 26, 2018, 01:43:48 PM »
@Carolina on My Mind, LeGuin is great! I love SFF, but she's one of those authors I would recommend to anyone, no matter their genre proclivities. For example, my dad reads a lot of mysteries and thrillers, but I would rec LeGuin to him just because she's wonderful.

I'm putting The Woman in White on my classics book club suggestions list now!

Yes!  Now that I've joined the fan club, I have been recommending LeGuin to everybody I know.  :)


woopwoop

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #382 on: April 26, 2018, 05:50:53 PM »
1. Cane River - this was for a book club, which is the only reason I finished it. Five hundred pages of depressing slavery historical fiction, ranging from super depressing slave rape and torture to slightly-less-depressing institutional racism by the end of the saga. Would not recommend.
2. The Road Less Traveled - this is a psychology cult classic from the 70s that's fun to read. In one chapter he mentions in a footnote that "the only healthy marriage is an open marriage." Lol, the seventies were awesome.
3. Down Among the Sticks and Bones - a well-written and darkly funny YA fantasy novella. Think CS Lewis with vampires.
4. The Hating Game - this was just a bubble gum contemporary romcom about a love-hate-love relationship. Super fast and sexy read, recommended as a nice beach read if you like romance.
5. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - How did I end up reading so much YA at the beginning of this year? I don't even particularly like YA, these were all recommended to me. This was a fun romp of pirates and highwaymen and gay interracial relationships in the 1800s, but it was very very YA. I can't even put my finger on what "Very YA" means, but whatever it was, this book was that. My next read is YA, too, then I think I'm done for a while. I think it's the quirkiness that gets me. Everyone is so goddamn quirky in YA books.
6. Jane Unlimited - ugh, another YA, this one with a quirky main character who makes artsy umbrellas. Four mentions of Doctor Who in the first half of the book, how weird and nerdy lolol!!! I'm so done with YA.
7. Dead Wake - okay, this one is historical fiction about the Lusitania. I don't know history so this is always good for me. Plus Erik Larsen is the tits, this was a guaranteed Good Book after my latest string of failures. This book is not quite as good as his epicly awesome Devil in the White City that I love love loved, but it's still good and suspenseful.
8.The Duke and I - Regency romance, definitely more erotic than Jane Austen. Fun and light but not particularly great. Recommended all over the place as one of the best contemporary-written regency romances, which probably means I just don't really like this genre. I love Jane Austen, though, oh well.
9.Paris To the Moon - Another French travelogue about an American moving his family to Paris. Funny, well-written, but not epically hilarious like my favorite of this genre, Toujours Provence.
10. Drop the Ball - nonfiction, about how women need to stop trying to do it all. Kind of a companion book to Lean In, which I also didn't like. This book just feels repetitive. It did get my husband and I to make a spreadsheet for our grocery lists, though.
11. A Man Called Ove - another book club read, I guess it was a movie? Anyway, it made me ugly cry at the end although the opening chapters were hard for me to get into. Old grumpy man inspirational lit, I would classify it.
12. The Artist's Way - I am not in the right spot to get into this kind of book, in that I have a toddler and would love to do "morning pages" but it's clear from the way this author writes that she cannot imagine not having alone time every day. Well, bully for her. I'll pick this back up in a few years.
13. Designs for Living and Learning - really great book about childhood learning environments. Gave me a bunch to think about as I create living spaces for my young toddler.
14. Voyage  -a play by Tom Stoppard that's a witty sendup of every Russian play from the greats. Lots of philosophizing and wordplay, but not nearly as entertaining as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which everyone should read (and watch the movie version!) if they have ever read Hamlet. For you Game of Thrones fans out there, Jorah is Hamlet, and that should seal the deal. He also wrote Shakespeare in Love which was a fun screenplay.
15. Chrysalis - nonfiction, an account of female naturalist Maria Meriam. The book I'm writing is going to have a main character named after her, so I thought I'd do some research. Really interesting so far, she was a gifted artist and scientist back when science was stuck more in naming and classifying rather than experimenting. Makes me excited to write my book!
16. The Kingmaker's Daughter - historical fiction by the same woman who wrote The Other Boleyn Girl which I loved. This was a great book, made even greater by the fact that I don't know any history at all. What will happen to Anne and Richard? I don't know, it's a mystery! Makes reading historical fiction all the better, imo.
16b. The Shadow of the Wind - I... really didn't like this. I didn't even finish it, so that's why it's going on the list as 16b. Just awful, pretentious writing. Maybe it's the translation? I had high hopes and a lot of people recommended it, but I found it utterly lacking.
17. The Refrigerator Monologues - On recommendation by this thread. I didn't really care for this one, maybe because I don't know an awful lot about comics. Most of the characters had the same voice, there weren't any great new perspectives. I dunno, I might have been in the wrong frame of mind for this.
18. The Whole-Brain Child - Some really good suggestions for how to handle parenting decisions, based on brain science of developing children. Some of it was for older kids so not quite as useful, but a lot of excellent practical advice for toddler meltdowns, etc. We have been lucky so far with our kid (not quite 2!) but I'm sure she'll be testing our patience soon enough so I want to be prepared.
19. Transatlantic - Another historical fiction about Ireland, transatlantic flight, Frederick Douglass, and some other things that are not really interesting to me. Also the author uses way too many. Sentence fragments. For dramatic effect. And I'm sick of it.
20. Brain on Fire - Nonfiction account of a NY Post journalist who went crazy due to a rare form of encephalitis. Super interesting, like reading a House episode. Ending kind of dragged on weakly but otherwise very engaging.
21. The Philosophical Baby - An overview of studies on the cognitive and emotional capabilities of developing babies. I liked it, but not a lot of good parenting takeaways other than "don't neglect your baby".
22. The Importance of Being Earnest   -Reread this one for funsies. It was fun, like all Wilde is fun.
23. Lady Windemere's Fan - Oh, so fun!
24. The Thirteenth Tale - Solid meh. Gothic mystery type book, very debut-novel in that there's lots of meta-commentary on books and reading and literature. I did the same thing in my debut novel, and I cringe whenever I read it somewhere else. Too long for not enough payoff and I guessed the ending.
25. The Wizard of Earthsea -Thanks to whoever recommended this one in this thread. Leguin is amazing but I've only read The Left Hand Side of Darkness by her and I need to read more. I didn't realize it was YA but I just ran through it super fast.

Halfway done with my book reading! Next up on the docket is All Our Wrong Todays and Reading Lolita in Tehran (I read this before and didn't like it so I might just skim it, it's for book club). Book club has been disappointing with picks, I'm thinking I need to start my own book club... with blackjack! and hookers! And good books! And my husband wants me to read some more Larry McMurty, The Evening Star, because he wants to talk about it with me.

Raenia

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #383 on: April 28, 2018, 03:30:54 PM »
1. The Small-Scale Poultry Flock - Harvey Ussery (1/9/2018)
2. Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson (1/19/2018)
3. The 4-hour Work Week - Timothy Ferriss (1/21/2018)
4. Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg (1/23/2018)
5. Home Cheese Making - Ricki Carroll (1/25/2018)
6. A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab (1/26/2018)
7. Dead of Winter - Matt Lake, Susan Fair, Laurie Hull, H.W. Lawson, Brian Goodman (1/27/2018)
8. Coraline - Neil Gaiman (1/30/2018)
9. The Not So Big House - Sarah Susanka (2/5/2018)
10. Le Petit Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2/21/2018)
11. Purity - Jonathan Franzen (2/22/2018)
12.  Democracy in America - Alexis de Tocqueville (2/27/2018)
13. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (3/4/2018)
14. Running & Being: The Total Experience - George Sheehan (3/7/2018)
15. Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey (3/10/2018)
16. Plato's Republic - trans. C. D. C. Reeve (3/17/2018)
17. The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - Nathaniel Branden (3/21/2018)
18. Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey (3/23/2018)
19. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage - Philip Pullman (3/24/2018)
20. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson (3/30/3018) - REREAD
21.  Abaddon's Gate - James S.A. Corey (4/4/2018)
22. A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott (4/9/2018)
23. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy - Peter Temin (4/13/2018)
24. The History of Bees - Maja Lunde (4/15/2018)
25. Cibola Burn - James S.A. Corey (4/18/2018)

26. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick
27. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Cory Doctorow
28. Discourses on Livy - Niccolo Machiavelli (trans Bondanella)
29. The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
30. Tomorrow's Eve - Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (trans Robert Martin Adams)
31. Last Speakers - K. David Harrison
32. Of Dogs and Walls - Yuko Tsushima (4/28/2018)

I was able to get some good solid reading done while on vacation this week.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2018, 05:37:50 PM by Raenia »

tnrunner

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #384 on: April 30, 2018, 10:54:15 AM »
1. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
2. Three to get deadly by Janet Evanovich
3. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
4. Seamless by Angie Smith
5. High Five by Janet Evanovich
6. Hot six by Janet Evanovich
7. Seven up by Janet Evanovich
8. hard eight by janet evanovich
9. Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors
10. To the nines by Janet Evanovich
11. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
12. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
13. The Lazarus Vendetta by Patrick Larkin
14. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
15. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
16. Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
17. The Maze by Catherine Coulter
18. The Silenced by Heather Graham

19. Body Double by Tess Gerritsen

bucketsofrain

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #385 on: April 30, 2018, 01:51:04 PM »
1.) Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott
2.) The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
3.) Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabo
4.) The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
5.) You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
6.) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
7.) A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
8.) My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
9.) Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
10.) Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
11.) We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
12.) Red Winter by Anneli Furmark
13.) Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
14.) Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
15.) We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
16.) What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
17.) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
18.) This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
19.) This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
20.) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
21.) The Vegetarian by Han Kang
22.) The Book of Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez
23.) Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
24.) What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
25.) The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky
26.) The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
27.) A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

I feel like I just found my new favorite author in Rebecca Solnit... Excited to read more by her!

FireHiker

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #386 on: April 30, 2018, 02:20:34 PM »
1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
3. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read in one night since it's been 20 years and my son was reading it in school)
8. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
9. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
10. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
11. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
12. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
13. All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare (I WILL get through his complete works...eventually)
14. As You Like It by William Shakespeare
15. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Here in Berlin by Cristina Garcia
17. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
18. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
19. Meet the Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames
20. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
22. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
23. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
24. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
25. Shattered Air by Bob Madgic

26. The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot

QuillScroll

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #387 on: May 02, 2018, 11:48:04 AM »
I would like to join you all. I'm reading two books now -
1. Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
2. When breathe becomes Air - Paul kalanithi


haypug16

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #388 on: May 03, 2018, 03:59:30 PM »
1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood - Finished 1/14/18
2. How to Make Your Money Last by Jane Bryant Quinn - Finished 1/16/18
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell - Finished 1/20/18
4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - Finished 2/7/18
5. J is for Judgement by Sue Grafton - Finished 2/9/18
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Finished 2/20/18
7. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton - Finished 3/17/18
8. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Finished 3/21/18
9. L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton - Finished 3/30/18
10. Candide by Voltaire - Finished 4/6/18
11. M is for Malice by Sue Grafton - Finished 5/2/2018
12. Wild by Cheryl Strayed - Finished 5/3/2018

13. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Currently Reading




12/50 Read

Raenia

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #389 on: May 03, 2018, 05:26:12 PM »
1. The Small-Scale Poultry Flock - Harvey Ussery (1/9/2018)
2. Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson (1/19/2018)
3. The 4-hour Work Week - Timothy Ferriss (1/21/2018)
4. Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg (1/23/2018)
5. Home Cheese Making - Ricki Carroll (1/25/2018)
6. A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab (1/26/2018)
7. Dead of Winter - Matt Lake, Susan Fair, Laurie Hull, H.W. Lawson, Brian Goodman (1/27/2018)
8. Coraline - Neil Gaiman (1/30/2018)
9. The Not So Big House - Sarah Susanka (2/5/2018)
10. Le Petit Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2/21/2018)
11. Purity - Jonathan Franzen (2/22/2018)
12.  Democracy in America - Alexis de Tocqueville (2/27/2018)
13. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote (3/4/2018)
14. Running & Being: The Total Experience - George Sheehan (3/7/2018)
15. Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey (3/10/2018)
16. Plato's Republic - trans. C. D. C. Reeve (3/17/2018)
17. The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - Nathaniel Branden (3/21/2018)
18. Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey (3/23/2018)
19. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage - Philip Pullman (3/24/2018)
20. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson (3/30/3018) - REREAD
21.  Abaddon's Gate - James S.A. Corey (4/4/2018)
22. A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott (4/9/2018)
23. The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy - Peter Temin (4/13/2018)
24. The History of Bees - Maja Lunde (4/15/2018)
25. Cibola Burn - James S.A. Corey (4/18/2018)
26. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick
27. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Cory Doctorow
28. Discourses on Livy - Niccolo Machiavelli (trans Bondanella)
29. The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
30. Tomorrow's Eve - Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (trans Robert Martin Adams)
31. Last Speakers - K. David Harrison
32. Of Dogs and Walls - Yuko Tsushima (4/28/2018)

33. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (5/3/2018)

bucketsofrain

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #390 on: May 03, 2018, 08:48:00 PM »
1.) Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott
2.) The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
3.) Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabo
4.) The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
5.) You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
6.) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
7.) A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
8.) My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
9.) Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
10.) Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
11.) We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
12.) Red Winter by Anneli Furmark
13.) Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
14.) Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
15.) We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
16.) What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
17.) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
18.) This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
19.) This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
20.) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
21.) The Vegetarian by Han Kang
22.) The Book of Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez
23.) Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
24.) What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
25.) The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky
26.) The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
27.) A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit
28.) Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen
29.) Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

Serendip

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #391 on: May 04, 2018, 08:56:20 AM »
@bucketsofrain I have put a Rebecca Solnit book on hold at the library, found out they also have the one by Lesley Nneka Arimah so will check that out as well. Thanks for highlighting ones that you have enjoyed along the way :)

Serendip

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #392 on: May 04, 2018, 09:01:45 AM »
1. Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment (Robert Wright) *IMO very good!
2. Plastic Free : How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too (Beth Terry)
3. Taking the Leap : Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears (Pema Chodron)
4. Sapiens : A Brief History of Humankind (Yuval Noah Hurari)
5. Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement (Katy Bowman)
6. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Margareta Magnusson)
7. The Year of Less  (Cait Flanders)
8. The Psychobiotic Revolution: Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection (Scott C. Anderson) *quite liked this, neuroscience and food
9. Why Isn't My Brain Working: Brain decline and effective strategies to recover your brain's health ( Datis Kharrazian)
10. The Back of the Turtle (Thomas King)
11. The War of Art  (Steven Pressfield)
12. Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School (Andrew Hallam)
13. Homo Deus : A Brief History of Tomorrow (Yuval Noah Harari)
14. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression--and the Unexpected Solutions (Johann Hari)
15. Spark : The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain  (John J. Ratey)
16. Tonglen: The Path of Transformation (Pema Chodron)--a more advanced meditation style than I am currently at
17. The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)
18. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (Daniel. H. Pink)
19. What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength (Scott Carney)
20. Every Word Is A Bird We Teach To Sing : Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language (Daniel Tammet)
21. The Transformation Power of Fasting (Stephen Harrod Buhner)
22. Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha (Tara Brach)
23. Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road (Kate Harris) **beautifully written, intelligent adventure story

24. Fifteen Dogs (Andre Alexis)
25. Microadventures: Local Discoveries, Great Escapes (Alastair Humphries)
26. The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere (Pico Iyer)-lovely book
27. The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North (Beverly Gray)

28. Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress (Steven Pinker)* just started, this one might take me a long while
« Last Edit: May 04, 2018, 09:04:17 AM by Serendip »

ahptex

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #393 on: May 04, 2018, 01:18:37 PM »
(1) Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
(2) A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
(3) The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell
(4) Wildwood by Colin Meloy
(5) Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
(6) Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve by Lenora Chu
(7) Family Matters:Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson
(8) Street of Eternal Happiness:  Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road by Rob Schmitz
(9) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
(10) The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
(11) Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits by Pema Chodron
(12) The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
(13) The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
(14) Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
(15) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
(16) The End of Alzheimer's by Dale Bredesen
(17) Christodora by Tim Murphy
(18) How Democracies Die: What History Reveals about our Future by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
(19) Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
(20) Trumpocracy by David Frum
(21) The More of Less by Joshua Becker
(22) The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
(23) The Knowledge by Martha Grimes

(24) Cheap by Ellen Ruppel Shell

eliza

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #394 on: May 04, 2018, 08:58:58 PM »
2018 Focus: Russia - Goal is 50 Books About Russia, Written by Russians, or Novels Set in Russia
1. The Duel - Anton Chekhov
2. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
3. The Unwomanly Face of War - Svetlana Alexievich
4. Lost and Found in Russia: Lives in the Post-Soviet Landscape - Susan Richards
5. Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow - Michael Idov
6. The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden
7. Russia: A Short History - Abraham Ascher
8. Hadji Murad - Leo Tolstoy
9. Russia - The Story of War - Gregory Carleton
10. The Cossacks - Leo Tolstoy
11. Red Notice - Bill Browder

ringer707

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #395 on: May 07, 2018, 06:47:12 PM »
1. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
2. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
4. How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
5. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
6. Between the World and Me by Ta Nahisi Coates
7. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
8. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
9. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Illustrated) by J.K. Rowling
11. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
12. Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
13. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
14. Beloved by Toni Morrison
15. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
17. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
18. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
19. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
20. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
21. In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park
22. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

Tick-Tock

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #396 on: May 07, 2018, 07:48:36 PM »
52.  Susanna Calkins, From the Charred Remains
53.  Jennifer Egan, Manhattan Beach
54.  C.M. Gleason, Murder in the Lincoln White House
55.  Kathleen Rooney, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Travis

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #397 on: May 08, 2018, 11:09:39 AM »
14. Diplomacy - Henry Kissinger
15-20: various children's books I read to my son at night that I can't remember the names.

FireHiker

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #398 on: May 08, 2018, 11:55:41 AM »
1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
2. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
3. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
4. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read in one night since it's been 20 years and my son was reading it in school)
8. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
9. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
10. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
11. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
12. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
13. All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare (I WILL get through his complete works...eventually)
14. As You Like It by William Shakespeare
15. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Here in Berlin by Cristina Garcia
17. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
18. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
19. Meet the Frugalwoods by Elizabeth Willard Thames
20. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
21. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
22. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
23. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
24. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
25. Shattered Air by Bob Madgic
26. The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot

27. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

eliza

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Re: 50 Books in 2018!
« Reply #399 on: May 08, 2018, 02:11:10 PM »
2018 Focus: Russia - Goal is 50 Books About Russia, Written by Russians, or Novels Set in Russia
1. The Duel - Anton Chekhov
2. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
3. The Unwomanly Face of War - Svetlana Alexievich
4. Lost and Found in Russia: Lives in the Post-Soviet Landscape - Susan Richards
5. Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow - Michael Idov
6. The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden
7. Russia: A Short History - Abraham Ascher
8. Hadji Murad - Leo Tolstoy
9. Russia - The Story of War - Gregory Carleton
10. The Cossacks - Leo Tolstoy
11. Red Notice - Bill Browder
12. The Invention of Russia - Arkady Ostrovsky