Reading Challenges 2021

[Scaly Freak]

On 6/12/2021 at 4:32 PM, Scaly Freak said:

I've been reading a lot of Lindsay Buroker books lately... anyone else here familiar with her? She wrote the Emperor's Edge books, and the Dragonblood series.

 

I started rereading the Emperor's Edge, and discovered to my great pleasure that the series is nine books long. When I read it the first time it was only seven books. Little things like this makes me happy.  

[Artemis Prime]

My reading has taken a huge hit since getting a puppy. Working on Lost Boy now. The problem, as with any re-telling, is that when you take the villain and make him a good guy, I know it's still not going to end well for them, which makes it hard for me to really invest in the story. It's like I hold a piece of myself back so I don't get too attached.

[Jupiter]

Has anyone read Kim Harrison's The Hollows series? Just curious if anyone has read her newer books. 

[Artemis Prime]

Guys, I have the best sister ever. I think she likes reading about books even more than actually reading books, so she has presented me with a three page list of Curated Summer Reading suggestions. So far the only one that's been a bust has been Ursula LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness. I know it's a SF classic, but I just couldn't get into it. Might be one of those just wasn't in the mood for it things, so I'd be willing to try it again later, but I just wasn't resonating with any of the characters, which is the primary reason I read.

 

On 7/17/2021 at 11:38 PM, Jupiter said:

Has anyone read Kim Harrison's The Hollows series? Just curious if anyone has read her newer books. 

Sorry, I'm not familiar with her stuff.

[Jupiter]

On 7/19/2021 at 5:28 AM, Artemis Prime said:

Guys, I have the best sister ever. I think she likes reading about books even more than actually reading books, so she has presented me with a three page list of Curated Summer Reading suggestions. So far the only one that's been a bust has been Ursula LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness. I know it's a SF classic, but I just couldn't get into it. Might be one of those just wasn't in the mood for it things, so I'd be willing to try it again later, but I just wasn't resonating with any of the characters, which is the primary reason I read.

 

Sorry, I'm not familiar with her stuff.

 

Now that is a great sister right there.  

 

No worries, I was just curious. 

[Defining]

Just, uh. Poking my head back in. How is everyone doing with their annual goals?

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, Defining said:

Just, uh. Poking my head back in. How is everyone doing with their annual goals?

 

[Jupiter]

3 hours ago, Defining said:

Just, uh. Poking my head back in. How is everyone doing with their annual goals?

 

I mean, technically I'm on track, but I was still hoping to read more books than I have by this point. 

[Artemis Prime]

My reading tends to go in fits and starts, so even though I had a long period where it felt like I wasn't reading much, I chomped through so many books in the early part of the year that I'm still ahead of schedule over all. Reading Team of Rivals right now, which is about Abraham Lincoln, and reading about the Civil War is really putting my own problems into perspective.

[Artemis Prime]

So it turns out that obsessively refreshing the library website does not make my hold available any faster. 

[Scaly Freak]

7 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

So it turns out that obsessively refreshing the library website does not make my hold available any faster. 

 

It doesn't? Are you sure? Not even if you stare hard at the page while you refresh?

[Artemis Prime]

12 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

It doesn't? Are you sure? Not even if you stare hard at the page while you refresh?

Ah, I bet that's the problem, I wasn't staring hard enough! *off to try again*

 

Also, Team of Rivals made me cry at the end even though it's not like I didn't know what was going to happen to Lincoln. Doris Kearns Goodwin has a real gift for bringing historical figures to life and making you see them as real people.

[Scaly Freak]

A couple of days ago I finished Into the Woods by Tana French (because@Heidi said it's good), and I am officially a fan. Reminded me a lot of Raymond Chandler's kind of writing, but evolved into a modern day police procedural murder mystery. I've requested the next book by the same author, The Likeness, and now I'm waiting for the library page to tell me the book is ready for pickup.

 

I am having the same problem as @Artemis Primethough, no matter how often I refresh, and how hard I stare at the page, the request appears to be stuck in a "pending" status....

[Heidi]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:31 PM, Defining said:

Just, uh. Poking my head back in. How is everyone doing with their annual goals?

So I don't have a number goal, really. Just need to get back into reading after academia and a TBI. 

 

This year so far Ive read: 

*The Bone People, because @Tanktimus the Encourager recommended it. It is amazing. 

* Firebreak which is also really good.

*Searchers the lastest (out last year) from Tana French, a favorite author of police procedurals, though this one was somewhat different from the procedural, it still delivered. 

 

I might turn to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress next, or maybe some Pratchett. I read a lot (!) of philosophy from January-May, but I'm in recovery from that. I am so glad I found this thread even though there are only three-and-a-half months left in the year. 🙂

 

Octavia Butler is calling to me, as is Ursula K Le Guin. Who knows where I'll land? Looking forward to hearing about what you guys are reading!

[Heidi]

Also, I highly recommend:

Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel. A beautiful tale, built around music and community after the collapse. Art. The best use of a Star Trek quote ever. ["Survival is insufficient."]

 

Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson, (1995 or 1996) Science fiction and the future of marketing zones. Future capitalism from a late 20th century imagining. Features Nell, who is amazing.

 

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, (?)

 

To the Nines, Janet Evanovich, easily one of the funniest books I ever read. It's part of the Stephanie Plum series, but it's perfectly fine to read them out of order.

 

Gods of Gotham, Lindsay Faye. Remains in my most recommended year after year. The early days of detective-ing in New York.

 

Gosh. I feel like I need to make a web page I have so many recommendations. Anyway, let me know what you think if you read / have read any of these. 🙂

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, Heidi said:

Gods of Gotham, Lindsay Faye. Remains in my most recommended year after year. The early days of detective-ing in New York.

 

I borrowed this from our library after you mentioned it in your thread. It's the next one in the To-Read pile, and since I have a long-standing deep crush on this entire genre, I have high hopes.  

[Artemis Prime]

11 hours ago, Heidi said:

Station Eleven

I really enjoyed this. It's been a few years, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I remember really liking the sense of hope and rebuilding. Most post-apocalyptic stuff seems to paint the picture that civilization is over and it's going to be bare-bones subsistence living from here on out, but civilizations have been collapsing throughout history and one thing we humans are really good at is dusting ourselves off and pushing forward.

 

11 hours ago, Heidi said:

Gods of Gotham

I have not read this, but it is on my TBR. I really like Lyndsay Faye in general and Jane Steele is one of my all-time favorites.

 

11 hours ago, Heidi said:

Ursula K Le Guin

I recently tried to read The Left Hand of Darkness and I just could not get into it. Not sure why, since it's such a sci-fi classic, but it was doing nothing for me. Might just have been a wrong-book-at-the-wrong-time kind of thing. I'd be willing to give it another go at some point, but I could not see what everyone else likes so much about it.

 

I just finished All Systems Red, the first Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It's a great book, very excited to see there's lots more and she's still writing them. 

[Scaly Freak]

3 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I just finished All Systems Red, the first Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It's a great book, very excited to see there's lots more and she's still writing them. 

 

There's a series.  

[Heidi]

In case anyone wants to jump on the Philosophy and Cultural Inquiry train, I'm 42 pages into Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit, and it's well written and well argued so far. Especially useful for understanding the social gospel at the heart of the 19th century and how it impacted politics in the last 40 years. 

[Jupiter]

 

On 8/11/2021 at 5:12 AM, Artemis Prime said:

Ah, I bet that's the problem, I wasn't staring hard enough! *off to try again*

 

Don't forget to squint. Possibly sideways. 

[juliebarkley]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:31 PM, Defining said:

Just, uh. Poking my head back in. How is everyone doing with their annual goals?

*Looks at LibraryThing reading record*

 

Uh... I was supposed to try to read more classics this year. I gathered lists and everything back in January. But according to my record, I have been reading a lot of children's lit and French books. According to my library holds shelf, I want to read about free speech, weird economic questions, the various ways politics are crappy, habits, and Dracula. Kind of depressing, really. The books I've actually read are much lighter and happier. Maybe I should do like Heidi and try Pratchett or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Those fit my genre classics category. Or Emma.

 

On 8/16/2021 at 9:01 PM, Heidi said:

To the Nines, Janet Evanovich, easily one of the funniest books I ever read. It's part of the Stephanie Plum series, but it's perfectly fine to read them out of order.

Pretty sure I've read this one! It's one of the series I've always meant to restart. I love mysteries and fantasy with a healthy dose of humour.

 

It's Pride month in Canada, and I spent a slow part of the day flipping through the library's resources on the subject. (If I'm researching books, it counts as work, right?) One of the pages had filters for book recommendations related to many different underrepresented categories of people. Some of these were not the usual filters. One was "rural", and I perked up. It is a pet peeve of mine how rural people are often poorly represented in media, and they are one of the few groups left where open stereotyping is acceptable in polite society. I thought I was alone! I guess not. I found this interview and now I'm super excited to read Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America.

[Artemis Prime]

On 8/21/2021 at 8:02 PM, juliebarkley said:

now I'm super excited to read Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America.

Oooh, I was just talking to my friends the other day about how there's a lot of truth to the general perception of our region (not always affectionately referred to as Pennsyltucky) but there's a lot of positive stuff to be found in the area/people as well. Off to add this book to my TBR. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Aquarii]

I completely forgot about this thread. But, I just thought I would pop back in and say, as of today I am finally back on track for my 2021 reading goal (have been chronically behind for months). I have completed 32 out of my 50 book goal!

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, Aquarii said:

I completely forgot about this thread. But, I just thought I would pop back in and say, as of today I am finally back on track for my 2021 reading goal (have been chronically behind for months). I have completed 32 out of my 50 book goal!

 

Fantastic progress, and hopefully all 32 were enjoyable to read. Are you doing a challenge or working towards a personal goal? (Can't find the posts now.)

[Aquarii]

11 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

Fantastic progress, and hopefully all 32 were enjoyable to read. Are you doing a challenge or working towards a personal goal? (Can't find the posts now.)

 

It isn't part of some organized challenge or anything. I set a reading goal on Goodreads every year because they have a thing for yearly challenges where they track your progress for you and all that. But it was just an arbitrary number. I did make a goal of diversifying the books I read as well, so I created categories that I had to fill, because most of the time I just read business books because it makes me feel "productive." So I made a goal where I also had to get in 5 fiction books, 2 biographies, 3 history/mythology, 5 science and tech,  5 philosophy, etc. And tried to include some books that have been on my to-read list for awhile instead of just focusing on stuff I recently came across. Looking at what I have read so far, it feels nice to see something a little more well-rounded.