Author Topic: 50 books  (Read 137832 times)

misschedda

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #100 on: February 19, 2015, 11:32:18 AM »
6. Dataclysm by Christian Rudder

I absolutely loved Dataclysm! I'm a bit of a data visualization geek and I loved the graphs and charts--so neat and clear! Plus reading about dating trends was fascinating to me. How did you like it?

Also I have an addition to my list:
9. Windhaven, by George R.R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle (liked this way better than Game of Thrones and highly recommend it)

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #101 on: February 19, 2015, 11:38:49 AM »
I also love data,statistics, graphs,charts! So of course it was VERY interesting. I have been a member on and off of OK cupid so was interesting also to read about that. Recommended Reading for everyone. Especially anyone who uses the internet ;)

One Noisy Cat

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #102 on: February 20, 2015, 11:25:23 AM »
10) Foundation: History of England from beginnings to Tudors- Peter Ackroyd
11) The Wives of Henry VIII-Antonia Fraser
12) A Man Most Driven: Captain John Smith, Pocahontas and the Founding of America- Peter Firstbrook
13) A Jew Among Romans Flavius Josephus-Frederic Raphael

NICE!

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #103 on: February 20, 2015, 11:39:13 AM »
- Frankenstein (Shelley)

This book is so much better and deeper than most people realize. The song by Audioslave is also great.

I second Portrait of an Artist.

I don't know where to start with recommendations, so I will give the first two in my head. You may have already enjoyed:
- Heart of Darkness
- Native Son

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #104 on: February 20, 2015, 11:53:47 AM »
9. Art of sleeping alone
Very quick read. But I wouldn't recommend it. Couldn't get into it . is random pieces , mundane. Reminded me a bit of "the lover" in composition, but less descriptive .

KD

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #105 on: February 21, 2015, 08:24:28 AM »
UPDATE:

FINISHED: 
17)Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
18)Tales of Adam by Daniel Quinn (twas a quick re-read)

19)Debt Cures by Kevin Trudeau (nope, we're not in debt & haven't been for some years now)
20)How To Retire The Cheapskate Way by Jeff Yeager (also FIRE'd many years ago, just like to read about finances in any format)
21)The Money Book for Frelancers, Part-Timers and the Self Employed by Joseph D'Agnese  (If you're doing any of these things IT'S A BUSINESS treat it like one!)
22)To Sell is Human - The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink

STALLED OUT: 
Stop Living In This Land Go To The Everlasting World of Happiness Live There Forever by Woo Myung (Looked more interesting than it was - I let it go in order to get the books back to the library on time - impending winter storm, didn't bother to check it out again.  Rare that I don't finish a book that I start.)

IN PROCESS:
23)Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
24)Brain Droppings by George Carlin

NEXT my intentions are:
25)Lord John and The Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
26)The Story of B by Daniel Quinn (another re-read)
27)Mao - The Unknown Story by Jung Chang (perhaps I'll read it here or wait to take on vacation as my one & only book)
27)Lord John and The Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
28)Civilization by Daniel Quinn (another re-read)
29)The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
30)The Holy by Daniel Quinn (new to me)



sheepstache

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #106 on: February 22, 2015, 11:07:36 AM »
- Frankenstein (Shelley)
This book is so much better and deeper than most people realize.

Agreed! Definitely one of my favourites.

I always love the quote from the preface:

"[The story,] however impossible as a physical fact, affords a point of view to the imagination for the delineating of human passions more comprehensive and commanding than any which the ordinary relations of existing events can yield."

It's like, yes! Yes, that is the point of science and speculative fiction!

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #107 on: February 22, 2015, 05:49:30 PM »
10. Hollywood Husbands by Jackie Collins

willow

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #108 on: February 22, 2015, 06:19:20 PM »
I'm thinking no-freakin-way on 50, but I've set a goal for 2015 at 35 books I have not read before (10% of something/day, rounded down). Some short paperbacks I can cruise through 20%-30% in a typical day, but others, like the books in the ASOIAF series, are closer to 5% in a day (and I'm rereading that series right now, won't count towards the total). Good to have company in this reading quest.

The journey so far:
  • Think Like a Freak - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen K. Dubner
  • Why Bother With Bonds: A Guide to Build All-Weather Portfolio - Rick Van Ness
  • The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
  • Consider the Lobster and Other Essays - David Foster Wallace
  • The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less - Barry Schwartz
  • (Currently Reading) Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World - Jane McGonigal

Rereads:
  • (Currently Rereading) A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin

Hitchiker's guide is such a great read. I remember when I first read it I had wondered where this type of humor had been hiding my whole life.

Also, just to throw down my list. I'm a bit of a hopper when it comes to books. I finish them but I'm known to get halfway, put it down and start another, could be weeks, months or years before I finish. As of this year:

1. How Google Works - Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
2. J.R.R Tolkien, A biography - Humphrey Carpenter
3. The Hidden Tools of Comedy - Steve Kaplan
4. The Charisma Myth - Olivia Fox Cabane

Rereading(sort of, via audiobook)
1.The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

Exhale

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #109 on: February 22, 2015, 07:27:09 PM »
Finished:

Nonfiction
1) In-laws, Outlaws, and Granny Flats: Your Guide to Turning One House Into Two Homes - Michael Litchfield
2) My House Our House: Living Far Better for Far Less in A Cooperative Household - Karen Bush
3) Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-scale Community in A Large-scale World - Ross Chapin
4) Racism without Racists - Eduard Bonilla-Silva
5) Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain

Bio/Memoir
1) When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put - Vivian Swift
2) The Feast Nearby: How I Lost My Job, Buried A Marriage, and Found My Way by Keeping Chickens, Foraging, Preserving, Bartering, and Eating Locally (all on Forty Dollars A Week) - Robin Mather
3) Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged A President and Fueled His Greatness - Joshua Shenk
4) The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks - Jeanne Theoharis

Fiction
1) Amy Falls Down - Jincy Willett
2) House of Purple Cedar - Tim Tingle

Now reading:
1) Iran: A People Interrupted - Hamid Dabashi
2) A Naturalist Buys An Old Farm - Edwin Way Teale
3) Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness - Alexandra Fuller

Next:
1) The Garden Letters - Elspeth Bradbury
2) Across the Great Barrier - Patricia Wrede
3) The True Meaning of Smekday - Adam Rex
4) Pearl Buck in China: Journey to the Good Earth - Hilary Spurling

happypup

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #110 on: February 23, 2015, 07:06:36 AM »
Finished:

9. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

Such a lovely book!

Continuing to slog along with Catherine the Great, and I just got The Lady in the Tower (which is about Anne Boleyn) off my hold list, so it's all long books about historical ladies for me for a little while.

misschedda

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #111 on: February 23, 2015, 01:44:18 PM »
Finished:

9. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

Such a lovely book!

I just put this on hold--I'm excited to read it since so many people like it so much. I liked Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go but also thought it was a bit weird and couldn't get super involved in the story.

And update:
10. The Armchair Millionaire, by Schiff and Gerlach (meh)

deborah

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #112 on: February 23, 2015, 05:50:31 PM »
Should be interesting to see how long this takes:

1. Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry - fantastic (but I always like her books)
2. A Splendid Exchange - How Trade Shaped the World - William Bernstein - Really made me think about history in a different way.
3. The Grey Nomad's Guidebook - Cindy and Jeremy Gough - how to travel Australia - good
4. Depletion and Abundance Sharon Astyk - very annoying book of not thought through goodie-goodie environmental stuff (using wood to combat climate change, local is best... which are both patently untrue)
5. Fabric Memory Books - Lesley Riley - basic
6. When Every Day is Saturday - Richard E Grace - Survey of retired people - pros and cons - good
I am only going to include books read cover to cover, and since the challenge started.
7. Hungry Campers Cookbook - Katy Holder - only really for barbeques or fires.
8. Gossamer - Lois Lowry - I always like her books
9. Retirement for Two - Maryanne Vandervelde - Good book on the dynamics of retirement

misschedda

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #113 on: February 25, 2015, 01:07:08 PM »
Yesterday and today I finished some more of Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles series. Still loving them.

11. The Wise Man's Fear, by Rothfuss
12. The Slow Regard of Silent Things, by Rothfuss

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #114 on: February 25, 2015, 01:22:28 PM »
Allsummerlong - love "the beach", so much so that I have reread it a few times. Also loved " little women" . worth finishing I think.

happypup

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #115 on: February 26, 2015, 06:00:29 AM »
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (still currently reading - finding it hard to get into... so much so, that i finished 2 whole other books in the interim)

I love Little Women! Though I wonder if it's one of those books that's a different experience when you first read it as a kid vs. as an adult. Ender's Game was like that for me. I read it a couple years ago for the first time and really liked it, but it didn't captivate me the way it did my husband (and a bunch of his friends) who read it as a pre-teen.

MLKnits

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #116 on: February 26, 2015, 06:22:05 AM »
I read about 165 new-to-me books last year (I don't count rereads), so my goal for this year is actually to trim it to 100ish and try to read some longer books and more nonfiction.

I'm currently reading:
  • Persuasion (don't know why I never had before, it's fabulous!)
  • Masters of Sex (yes, the TV show is based on this--it's about Masters and Johnson)

I try not to keep too many on the go at once, but I'm looking forward to a whoooole bunch of others once I finish these. These'll be 26 and 27 for the year, so I'm not doing so well at keeping my numbers down /o\

rocksinmyhead

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #117 on: February 26, 2015, 06:38:35 AM »
OMG you people are unbelievably prolific! I FINALLY finished #3 (Stardust by Neil Gaiman). Next up,

4) Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Marukami
5) Your Money or Your Life, finally

probably both kinda at the same time although I don't usually do that.

misschedda

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #118 on: February 26, 2015, 08:55:54 AM »
I read about 165 new-to-me books last year (I don't count rereads), so my goal for this year is actually to trim it to 100ish and try to read some longer books and more nonfiction.

Why are you trying to lower the number of books? Just so you know you've been reading longer books?

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #119 on: February 26, 2015, 10:36:00 AM »
11. The world is full of married men by Jackie Collins

RetiredAt63

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #120 on: February 26, 2015, 04:29:51 PM »
I decided to eliminate rereads, and number books.  The number didn't go up much because I was away on holiday and then had a killer cold for two weeks (no brain, anoxic, not much reading).

1. Free Range kids (good read for parents, I was a free range kid, my DD was one, I was appalled at the restrictions described here)
2. Wheat belly total health                                    3. Odd bits (how to cook the rest of the animal)
4. More money than brains ( my title = how to raise your blood pressure in one funny read)
5. The butcher's guide to well-raised meat             6. Hemp (rather boring, actually)
7. Recipes from the root cellar                              8. The outdoor shower
9. Barn Heart                                                      10. One woman farm
11. Knitting loves crochet                             
12. Honeybee democracy (really good if you find honey bees interesting)
13. Gene everlasting (Gene Logsden's autobiography)
14. Attracting Native pollinators (excellent)           15. The vegetable gardener's book of building projects
16. Lace One-Skein Wonders
17. How to save the world in your spare time (Elizabeth May, very good)
18. Sex on six legs                                              19. The Science of happily ever after
20. Pioneer naturalists                                         21. Oil and honey
22. How to add value to your home                      23. Cubed
24. Buzz                                                            25. The 7 most important equations for your retirement
26. Zero waste home                                          27. Beeline to trouble
28. Shaman rises                                                29. Death blows
30. Dog on it                                                      31. Riddled with life   M. Zuk
32. Fallscaping; Extending your Garden Season Into Autumn     Nancy Ondra
33. Dead but not forgotten      Charlaine Harris      34. Bad Feminist          Roxane Gay


Since my last post:
35. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying up   Marie Kondo
36. Irresponsible Government, The Decline of Parliamentary Democracy in Canada   Brent Rathgeber (wow, killer book)
37.  Born to Bark, My Adventures With An Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog    Stanley Coren
38. Just in case: how to be self-sufficient when the unexpected happens   Kathy Harrison 

   

« Last Edit: February 26, 2015, 04:32:24 PM by RetiredAt63 »

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #121 on: February 26, 2015, 05:04:57 PM »
Retiredat63: wow!! That's a lot of books.
I am not rereading anything this year . only new. I love this challenge!

RetiredAt63

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #122 on: February 26, 2015, 05:58:07 PM »
Retiredat63: wow!! That's a lot of books.
I am not rereading anything this year . only new. I love this challenge!

The joys of being retired - plus I am a fast reader and it is super cold out, so it is nice to stay cosy inside with a book.  When the garden gets going the reading will fall behind.

Latwell

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #123 on: February 26, 2015, 06:16:12 PM »
@RetiredAt63 - holy moly. That's a lot of books. Only 57 days into the year and you're already at 38. Literally 1.5 books per day.



Do my CPA study books count? :-p
I don't think I'll hit 50 books this year while in the process of studying. But now I'm curious how many I'll happen to read. In the prior year I read approximately 25 books. I often have to stop myself from reading because I should be studying but it's so hard to put my book down! For the last year, I've been on this kick of reading books that have been turned in to movies.

1. The Giver
2. Gone Girl
3. If I stay
4. The DUFF
5. Eleanor & Park
6. Cinder

Currently reading: City of Heavenly Fire

My current book is going to take forever. I'm trying my best to stay away from reading so that I focus on studying!!



Additional thought: I like that companies like Goodreads are challenging people to read. But I almost want to force people to put total pages read instead of total books. The one book I have on my bookshelf to be read is a behemoth.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2015, 11:30:01 AM by Latwell »

jennifers

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #124 on: February 26, 2015, 07:45:17 PM »
I'll join. I have trouble finding books to read, hopefully this thread gives me some inspiration.

Currently reading:
Lunatics - Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel (I don't like this book at all yet, but my dad got me it for Christmas so I'm reading it.)

Next:
Lean in - Sheryl Sandberg
The Martian - Andy Weir

Update:
Finished
1.  Kitten Clone - Douglas Coupland
2. Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg
3. Full Frontal Feminism - Jessica Valenti
4. The Martian - Andy Weir
5. El Futuro para la Gente Curiosa - Gregory Sherl

About to start:
Perdida - Gillian Flynn
Still working on:
Lunatics - Dave Barry

HappierAtHome

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #125 on: February 26, 2015, 08:57:50 PM »
Not in order, but here's my list so far:
1. The Chimp Paradox - Steve Peters (meh)
2. The Family Law - Benjamin Law (very funny)
3. Stuff Your Face or Face Your Stuff - Dorothy Breininger (dreadful)
4. Yes Please - Amy Poehler (meh)
5. Divergent - Veronica Roth (fun)
6. Brain Rules - John Medina (well worth reading)
7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless and Timeless - Gail Carriger (silly, fun)
12. The Wife Drought - Annabel Crabb (very good)
13. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - Scott Adams (great)
14, 15, 16. Stormy Petrel, Rose Cottage and Thornyhold - Mary Stewart (I lurve her books)
17. In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan
18. More Fool Me - Stephen Fry (meh)

19. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet
20. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
21. House of Lies - Martin Kihn (don't bother)
22. English: Stuff You Forgot From School - Patrick Scrivenor

Now reading:
23. The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
24. Radical Homemakers - Shannon Hayes
25. World War Z- Max Brooks
26. So What's Your Proposal? - William A. Eddy
27. I am a Bacha Posh - Ukmina Manoori

RetiredAt63

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #126 on: February 27, 2015, 05:33:49 AM »
Yes, but look at the titles.  The project books are more a case of turn the page, look at the picture, decide if I am interested, turn the page, look at the picture, etc. etc.  I did read them, there is always good information in the first few chapters where they do a general discussion, but after that it is pretty fast.  So think of them as mini-books.

Plus when it is super cold out, activities tend to be indoor ones.


@RetiredAt63 - holy moly. That's a lot of books. Only 57 days into the year and you're already at 38. Literally 1.5 books per day.

misschedda

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #127 on: February 27, 2015, 07:38:50 AM »
Update: 13. Taking Sudoku Seriously, by Rosenhouse and Taalman

MLKnits

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #128 on: February 28, 2015, 05:17:38 AM »
I read about 165 new-to-me books last year (I don't count rereads), so my goal for this year is actually to trim it to 100ish and try to read some longer books and more nonfiction.

Why are you trying to lower the number of books? Just so you know you've been reading longer books?

Not exactly. I'm pretty competitive by nature, and each year I've been trying to beat the previous year's number (75, 100, 125--last year was supposed to be 150 but I overdid it). This has created a real focus on quantity over quality for me, at least for some percentage of them, so I want to tell myself I'm competing to read EXACTLY 100 instead of competing to read THE MOST, so that I'll be more likely to pause and smell the roses, book-wise.

Apples

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #129 on: February 28, 2015, 06:21:18 AM »
I forgot a few books.

1.  The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
2.  Four (Divergent series) - Veronica Roth
3.  Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander Series) - Diana Gabaldon
4.  Beagle Basics - Training Your Hunting Beagle (the things I do for my husband :p)
5.  Voyager (Outlander series) - Diana Gabaldon

6.  Drums of Autumn (Outlander series) - Diana Gabaldon
7.  Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan

Things should pick up speed once I get done reading all these 800-900 page Outlander books.  I love reading them, but they're certainly not helpful for this challenge.

sheepstache

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #130 on: February 28, 2015, 07:50:36 AM »
10) American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric Rutkow
11) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
12) The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers
13) Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
14) The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon


Additional thought: I like that companies like Goodreads are challenging people to read. But I almost want to force people to put total pages read instead of total books. The one book I have on my bookshelf to be read is a behemoth.

In goodreads, if you go to your stats on the left hand side, you can see the number of books you read last year but at the top you can also choose to list it by pages! It's not something your friends see, so doesn't answer your concern maybe, but helpful for ones self to know if the number of books this year is higher just because they were on average shorter and stuff like that.

RetiredAt63

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #131 on: February 28, 2015, 02:10:55 PM »
Now I'm curious, I just put a hold on it and her more recent book at the library

Mellow varies - in some way I am more radical/politicized than when I was younger.  I am getting closer to the Raging Grannies than the Red Hat Society.

I'd be curious to know what you think of this one. I read it a few years ago, and, at the time, I thought it was brilliant.... But I'm not sure what I would think of it now. I think I've mellowed out a bit! haha.

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #132 on: March 01, 2015, 09:29:49 PM »
12. Bar Flower : My decadently destructive days and nights as a Tokyo nightclub Hostess by Lea Jacobson

sheepstache

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #133 on: March 02, 2015, 09:53:11 AM »

11) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

13) Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell


I also just read P&P early this year... I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised to find out that it was actually a little funny!

Would you recommend Homage to Catalonia? I read Burmese Days and The Clergyman's Daughter by Orwell last year, but haven't yet read this one....

I would also VERY highly recommend reading Animal Farm again as an adult - I had read it in high school and loved it, but when I re-read it recently, it blew me away. Such a seemingly simple story and yet, it is an excellent social critique. Even though it's specifically about the Russian Revolution, I think its message is universal. :)

Ha ha, I know, I loved the dry humor. I feel like that doesn't come across in the modern wanna-be Austen-esque romances or the movie adaptations.

Well the interesting thing is that Homage to Catalonia is non-fiction. Orwell did actually join the Spanish military in the course of their civil war. It does touch on how propaganda and misinformation worked in the war. But there's also a bunch of first-hand descriptions of how things felt on the front and in the cities. A very different war experience than we have now. And different from the dramatized impressions of war during that period too, of course, which I think is really valuable.

It reminded me more of Rory Stewart's writing, like The Prince of the Marshes, than Orwell's novels. A foreigner gets involved in a complicated war and tries to understand what's really happening, meanwhile it's obvious even locals find war to be confusing and a strange mixture of terror and boredom.

Latwell

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #134 on: March 03, 2015, 05:42:28 AM »
Currently reading: Eleanor & Park

I really enjoyed that book! Read it in 2 days last year!
 

It was definitely a quick read for me also. I really liked the ending but at the same time I really disliked the ending. There were a few things at the end that were kind of left up to the reader's imagination/opinion so we could decide what happened, but I kind of wish she would've just told us what happened lol.

happypup

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #135 on: March 03, 2015, 06:48:04 AM »
Finished:

10. Catherine the Great, Robert K. Massie

Really enjoyed that one. I know pretty much nothing about Russian history so it was neat to learn a bit.

Working on:

The Lady in the Tower
Fall of Giants

Moonwaves

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #136 on: March 04, 2015, 11:03:56 AM »
I also just read P&P early this year... I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised to find out that it was actually a little funny!
A little funny? I think Pride and Prejudice is hilarious. Has the romance and anguish, too, but it's the humour that keeps it moving along, I feel.

I also just read P&P early this year... I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised to find out that it was actually a little funny!
Ha ha, I know, I loved the dry humor. I feel like that doesn't come across in the modern wanna-be Austen-esque romances or the movie adaptations.
Have you read any of the Georgette Heyer Regency romances? I really enjoy them - actually I re-read at least a few most years. But they've spoiled me for other wannabe-Austenesque (what a great way to put it) books.


sheepstache

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #137 on: March 04, 2015, 11:14:56 AM »
I also just read P&P early this year... I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised to find out that it was actually a little funny!
Ha ha, I know, I loved the dry humor. I feel like that doesn't come across in the modern wanna-be Austen-esque romances or the movie adaptations.
Have you read any of the Georgette Heyer Regency romances? I really enjoy them - actually I re-read at least a few most years. But they've spoiled me for other wannabe-Austenesque (what a great way to put it) books.
[/quote]

Hand to god, I wrote in my review that Georgette Heyer might have ruined me for Jane Austen because Heyer really does do a great job.

Sometimes I caught myself being like, huh, this has a lot of social commentary for a romance novel.

libertarian4321

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #138 on: March 04, 2015, 02:50:36 PM »
We used to practically live at Barnes and Noble.

Then we discovered the joy of rummage sales and the like.  Preferably the charity kind.  Buy a pile of cheap books, read them, donate them back to next year's rummage sale.

We also recently discovered something cool called a Library.  Holy Cow, a ton of books, everything you could want, and it's FREE.

Kind of weird.  The more money we have, the less we spend on books.

Also, while I'll occasionally read an e-book, I still prefer the old school paper kind.  Probably because I'm old (over 50).

Currently reading "Bunker Hill" (I read mostly non fiction) and a Lee Child "Jack Reacher" novel (can't read serious stuff all the time :).

misschedda

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #139 on: March 05, 2015, 05:53:57 AM »
Update:

14. Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert

Moonwaves

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #140 on: March 05, 2015, 06:36:12 AM »
Hand to god, I wrote in my review that Georgette Heyer might have ruined me for Jane Austen because Heyer really does do a great job.

Sometimes I caught myself being like, huh, this has a lot of social commentary for a romance novel.
I love it as well when various Heyer heroines discover this amusing new writer called Jane Austen. Always makes me smile. I know Heyer was far more of a churn another book out every month kind of writer but the humour cracks me up every time. Cotillion is one of those few books that really can make me laugh out loud - even within the first few pages.

Adventine

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #141 on: March 05, 2015, 07:09:42 AM »
Update!
1.   Saga Volume 4
2.   The Blind Assassin
3.   Pinocchio Vampire Slayer
4.   New Avengers Issues 27-29 (ongoing)
5.   Avengers Issues 39-40 (ongoing)
6.   American Vampire Volume 1
7.   Shutter Volume 1: Wanderlost
8.   Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
9.   Sophie's World (15%)
10.   The Art of Fielding
11.   Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
12.   You Have Too Much Shit
13.   Your Money or Your Life (11%)
14.   Happiness
15.   Relationships
16.   The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick) (10%)
17.   The King in Yellow
18.   Hunger
19.   Japanese Fairy Tales
20.   The Great Gatsby
21.   Underworld (ongoing)
22.   The First Law Book One: The Blade Itself (ongoing)
23.   Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #142 on: March 06, 2015, 12:40:52 AM »
13. Butterflies of the night: Mama-sans, Geisha, strippers, and the Japanese men they serve by Lisa Louis

deborah

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #143 on: March 06, 2015, 02:45:03 AM »
Should be interesting to see how long this takes:

1. Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry - fantastic (but I always like her books)
2. A Splendid Exchange - How Trade Shaped the World - William Bernstein - Really made me think about history in a different way.
3. The Grey Nomad's Guidebook - Cindy and Jeremy Gough - how to travel Australia - good
4. Depletion and Abundance Sharon Astyk - very annoying book of not thought through goodie-goodie environmental stuff (using wood to combat climate change, local is best... which are both patently untrue)
5. Fabric Memory Books - Lesley Riley - basic
6. When Every Day is Saturday - Richard E Grace - Survey of retired people - pros and cons - good
7. Hungry Campers Cookbook - Katy Holder - only really for barbeques or fires.
8. Gossamer - Lois Lowry - I always like her books
9. Retirement for Two - Maryanne Vandervelde - Good book on the dynamics of retirement

I am only going to include books read cover to cover, and since the challenge started.
10. Work Less, Play More - Ron Bennetts and Andrew Foster - Well, If I wanted a book on the financial aspects of retirement in Australia, it would have been good - it goes into nitty-gritty that I had never seen before and it is current. But I didn't. It didn't have ANYTHING about playing more!

Georgette Heyer - yes Venetia, Frederica and The Grand Sophy are my favourites - especially where Sophy gives a ball at her Aunt's house and invites 500 guests, and where Frederica takes their dog for a walk.

KD

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #144 on: March 06, 2015, 01:30:52 PM »
UPDATE: 

I have a horrid cold and we've been snowed in so I've been hitting the books...

FINISHED: 
23)Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
24)Lord John and The Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
25)Lord John and The Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

IN PROCESS:

26) Brain Droppings by George Carlin

NEXT my intentions are:
27)The Story of B by Daniel Quinn (another re-read)
28)Mao - The Unknown Story by Jung Chang (perhaps I'll read it here or wait to take on vacation as my one & only book)
29)Civilization by Daniel Quinn (another re-read)
30)The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
31)The Holy by Daniel Quinn (new to me)

riverffashion

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #145 on: March 09, 2015, 11:34:42 PM »
14. Maps of ecstasy: teachings of an urban shaman by Gabrielle Roth

happypup

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #146 on: March 10, 2015, 06:09:30 AM »
11. Fall of Giants, Ken Follett

randommadness

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #147 on: March 10, 2015, 07:33:02 AM »
11. Fall of Giants, Ken Follett

^ This was recommended to me by a nice lady on a plane recently, haha.

9. Support and Defend, Clancy/Greaney
10. Synchronicity War - Part 1
11. Synchronicity War - Part 2
12. Synchronicity War - Part 3
13. Synchronicity War - Part 4

Now working on:
14. Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction

sheepstache

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #148 on: March 10, 2015, 08:16:52 PM »

17.   The King in Yellow


Okay, this is a weird book, right?  And how did you happen to end up reading it? I heard about it from some article about references to it in True Detective, although I never got around to watching True Detective.

mrshudson

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Re: 50 books
« Reply #149 on: March 10, 2015, 08:35:21 PM »
Robert Galbraith

Him I like. Her, I mean.