Reading Challenge 2020

[bigm141414]

On 3/3/2020 at 10:52 PM, Mad Hatter said:

I can confirm both that Murderbot is adorable and that the series exists in paperback.

 

 

I need to finish this series. Read the first one last year and then didn't get around to the others. 

20 hours ago, Jupiter said:

How is everyone doing on their reading challenges so far? I'm at 16/40 right now, though I'm thinking of bumping it up to 50. 

 

Sitting at 8 books and 2 graphic novels. I've got another 2 books I'm currently reading and I'm hoping to get those done by next week. Slowed down a bit in March so far. February I read like 5 and a half books and needed a brain rest.

[Mad Hatter]

On 3/10/2020 at 2:21 AM, Jupiter said:

How is everyone doing on their reading challenges so far? I'm at 16/40 right now, though I'm thinking of bumping it up to 50. 

Pretty well, I'm at 12/25. Might have set the bar a bit low haha. Then again, last year I went through a very uncharacteristic reading drought during which I didn't pick up a book for six months. Maybe it's good to keep the bar low, and be happy if go over. 😄

 

23 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

I need to finish this series. Read the first one last year and then didn't get around to the others. 

I have to admit I haven't finished it either, I'm only on book two. But so far so good.

 

So I did the classic thing where I rushed to finish a book before the library due date, and then promptly forgetting to actually, you know, return it. Oops. It was a really fun read though, it was the first book in the Nevernight chronicle. Like Hogwarts, but for assassins. And with a lot more blood. A LOT more blood. Good times, I'll definitely pick up the rest of the trilogy.

[Jupiter]

23 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

 

I need to finish this series. Read the first one last year and then didn't get around to the others. 

 

Sitting at 8 books and 2 graphic novels. I've got another 2 books I'm currently reading and I'm hoping to get those done by next week. Slowed down a bit in March so far. February I read like 5 and a half books and needed a brain rest.

 

Nice job!  

 

24 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Pretty well, I'm at 12/25. Might have set the bar a bit low haha. Then again, last year I went through a very uncharacteristic reading drought during which I didn't pick up a book for six months. Maybe it's good to keep the bar low, and be happy if go over. 😄

 

Nice job! Whatever you feel comfortable doing. You can always adjust the number later.  I went through something similar last year and then started reading All The Things because my brain felt starved LOL. 

 

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

It was a really fun read though, it was the first book in the Nevernight chronicle. Like Hogwarts, but for assassins.

 

Ohhhh that's a really awesome description LOL. I'll have to try this.  

[bigm141414]

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

Like Hogwarts, but for assassins. And with a lot more blood

 

I need to limit my visits to book related threads. My Kindle can only hold so many! 

[fitnessgurl]

I finished Stolen Time. @Jupiter I think you would like it.

For anyone who likes time travel books, this is a good one.

[Jupiter]

2 hours ago, fitnessgurl said:

I finished Stolen Time. @Jupiter I think you would like it.

For anyone who likes time travel books, this is a good one.

 

Cool, I'll check it out. Thanks!  

[Scaly Freak]

Has anyone else's libraries closed to the public yet? I was waiting for this weekend to go pick up a book I had on hold, and now I can't. Annoying! 😛 

[Jupiter]

6 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

Has anyone else's libraries closed to the public yet? I was waiting for this weekend to go pick up a book I had on hold, and now I can't. Annoying! 😛 

 

I don't think mine have closed yet but they've canceled all classes, programs etc. That sucks that yours have closed.  

[Scaly Freak]

9 minutes ago, Jupiter said:

 

I don't think mine have closed yet but they've canceled all classes, programs etc. That sucks that yours have closed.  

 

They sent an email to everyone who has an active hold/reservation explaining that because it's impossible to enforce proper social distancing in a public library, and since it is a know fact that most infected individuals are asymptomatic, the risk is too great to the many children and elderly frequent libraries.

 

To be clear, I fully support what they're doing. I'm focusing on being annoyed I can't get my reserved book, because it's a small and manageable irritation, and it distracts me from being overwhelmed by other and bigger fears.

[Mad Hatter]

Not yet. But I'm kinda hoping they will. My pile of books is too big and I have at least two more incoming that I'll have to pick up unless they close.  

[Jupiter]

4 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

They sent an email to everyone who has an active hold/reservation explaining that because it's impossible to enforce proper social distancing in a public library, and since it is a know fact that most infected individuals are asymptomatic, the risk is too great to the many children and elderly frequent libraries.

 

To be clear, I fully support what they're doing. I'm focusing on being annoyed I can't get my reserved book, because it's a small and manageable irritation, and it distracts me from being overwhelmed by other and bigger fears.

 

Oh no I totally get what you're saying and I agree with you.  

[fitnessgurl]

1 hour ago, Jupiter said:

 

Cool, I'll check it out. Thanks!  

You're welcome.

[fitnessgurl]

49 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

Has anyone else's libraries closed to the public yet? I was waiting for this weekend to go pick up a book I had on hold, and now I can't. Annoying! 😛 

Not yet & I hope they don't. I have work to do.

[fitnessgurl]

They closed our libraries today. My bookstore is still open though & they have Wi-Fi! Yay!

[Jupiter]

3 minutes ago, fitnessgurl said:

My bookstore is still open though & they have Wi-Fi! Yay!

 

Nice!

[Jupiter]

On 3/15/2020 at 6:52 AM, fitnessgurl said:

I finished Stolen Time. @Jupiter I think you would like it.

For anyone who likes time travel books, this is a good one.

 

Just finished this book and I loved it! Thanks again for the rec @fitnessgurl!

[Scaly Freak]

This one made me laugh so hard I had to share...

 

 

[miss_marissa]

On 2/12/2020 at 1:49 PM, bigm141414 said:

 

I have the same feelings about Michael Kramer (he narrates most of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere books and he is amazing). 

 

 

On a slightly different topic, anyone notice that 2020 is shaping up to be a fantasic year for sci-fi/fantasy releases? A non-complete list that I pulled from my amazon wishlist: 

 

Stormlight Archive Book 4 - Brandon Sanderson

Peace Talks - Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #16) 

Agency - William Gibson

The Final 'The Expanse' novel 

Harrow The Ninth - Tamsyn Muir(book 2 of the locked tomb) 

The City We Becamse - N.K Jemisin (start of a new trilogy) 

Ten Arrows of Iron - Sam Sykes (Grave of Empires Book 2) 

The Last Emperox - John Scalzi (hooray sapce operas!) 

A Hunger Games Prequel

 

I mean, it's a pretty solid year of new releases. 

 

 

There goes my to-read list!

 

The conversation about a month ago reminded me of a semi recent conversation I had about translating manga. Apparently it used to be more common to have a translator, and an adapter. The translator was more of the actual translation, where the adapter "made it work" in the new language. Apparently the latter is becoming less common, with more translators taking on both translating and adapting, with varying levels of success.

 

I'm 21/24 on the year (13 graphic novels, 2 novellas, 6 books). I enjoyed Becoming by Michelle Obama quite a bit. I also read The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchet, and TBH I don't get it? It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, and it definitely was not for me. Pretty disappointed as I've had the Discworld series recommended quite a bit.

[Scaly Freak]

3 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

The conversation about a month ago reminded me of a semi recent conversation I had about translating manga. Apparently it used to be more common to have a translator, and an adapter. The translator was more of the actual translation, where the adapter "made it work" in the new language. Apparently the latter is becoming less common, with more translators taking on both translating and adapting, with varying levels of success.

 

In the gaming industry this is known as "localization" and the reason to do it is to make an immersive and story-heavy game remain immersive to an audience that grew up in a culture that is very different from the one the game was developed in. The larger the cultural differences, the most localization is needed, so if you ask gamers about it most of us will immediately think of a Japanese-made game that was either very poorly localized, or one that was exceedingly well localized. Poor localization can completely destroy the immersion that the game relies on to have that emotional impact that keeps gamers engaged in the game (and keeps us spending money on it).

[Jupiter]

4 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

I'm 21/24 on the year (13 graphic novels, 2 novellas, 6 books).

 

Nice!  

[bigm141414]

Finished Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which makes number 13 for the year and first to be finished during lockdown. The book was a great read, think Victorian era Ocean's 11 heist thriller with magic. I finished it in like 2 days. 

[Jupiter]

5 minutes ago, bigm141414 said:

Finished Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which makes number 13 for the year and first to be finished during lockdown. The book was a great read, think Victorian era Ocean's 11 heist thriller with magic. I finished it in like 2 days. 

 

Nice job! The book sounds awesome, I'll have to add it to my list.  

[Mad Hatter]

You'd think that being on lockdown would make me read more, but I have to admit I haven't picked up a book in a month... Go figure. 😄

[bigm141414]

11 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

You'd think that being on lockdown would make me read more, but I have to admit I haven't picked up a book in a month... Go figure. 😄

 

Same. Being home, surrounded by my library, one would think that this is the exact moment to relish in some escapism, but the anxiety and restlessness of being trapped inside hasn't been conducive to reading. My mind has become a lot more scattered than usual. Focusing on any one topic is way more difficult than I expected.

[fitnessgurl]

Just got the book Mastermind:How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova. I had checked out of the library & then decided I wanted to be able to highlight the important points so I went ahead & bought it. 🔎