50 Book Challenge – January wrap-up

Cafe Society
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So, we’re a month into the new year and I thought I’d post here and see how my friends who decided to join me in my 50 Book Challenge are making out! I know that some of you elected not to bother with the Live Journal Community that I set up (see here), but if anyone’s still interested in doing so, you can email me and I’ll give you one of the generously donated codes I have to create a journal for yourself. I must say, the LJ community took off faster than I could possibly have imagined. There are currently 194 members, since I made it public to all, not just to Dopers who were interested.

Anyway…on to the good stuff!

I’ve finished 3 books and I’m simultaneously reading two more. My completions are as follows:

I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith – this was recommended to me by my friend delphica, and I can’t thank her enough. It’s the story of a several month period of a young girl’s life as told through three diaries she kept. It was charming, and I found the relatively modern attitudes amidst the 1930’s or so setting very interesting. I must also laud the author for not tying up the protagonist’s life with a neat little bow, leaving me to wonder about and hope for Cassandra’s future.

A Widow For One Year, John Irving – this was a re-read for me (I know, my goal was to read 50 new books, but I was already into it from the holidays and it was too long not to count!), and I liked it just as well the second time around. I think that JI wrote from the female perspective fairly well, and I’m always entertained by his unusual family units.

The Grass Harp, Truman Capote – I received this book for my birthday at the end of September, but I never got around to reading it. In retrospect, I’m glad, because if I’m not going to re-read anything else this year, this will be the only TC I get all year! I can’t articulate how much I love TC’s work, and TGH was no exception. I can’t stop thinking about the title story as well as Miriam. Fantastic stuff.

The two books I’m reading right now:

Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West, Gregory Maguire – I’m loving this so far (thanks again to delphica for loaning it to me!). The premise is that it tracks the life of the WWotW prior to the events of The Wizard of Oz. Extremely interesting and quirky sort of story, more serious than I expected, but still engaging.

Everything’s Eventual, Stephen King – This is his latest compilation of short stories. I admit it. Even though I’ve been trying to read brainier stuff of late, I still have a weakness for SK. I have no complaints so far, I’m about 6 stories in (out of 14).

So…how’s everyone else doing? :smiley:

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I ended up reading:

Book 1- Left Behind

Thoughts:
It made me pray that I might run myself off the road into a great abyss. Suffice to say it’s as subtle as a sledgehammer to the skull and about as enjoyable. I think I’ll pass on the rest of the series. I wish I’d left this one far, far behind.

Blarg.

**Book 2- **
And Words Can Hurt Forever:
How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence

James Garbarino, Ph. D., and Ellen deLara, Ph. D.
http://www.cayfo.ca/bullying/wordshurt.html

Good book- written for an audience of concerned parents and professionals. The book gives good stratagies on how to deal with violence in schools, what bullying really is, and coping strategies for kids. Lots of first hand quotes right from the kids IN the schools, which I found enlightening.

Book 3-
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
That really is a great book- I’d forgotten how well I enjoyed it when I read it years ago. A great re-read if you’re looking for something quick.

Book 4- The Strange Tale of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson

An excellent story, although it’s hard to get too caught up in the suspense since you know the whole plot already. Enjoyable read, though! If you have a weird sense of humor, rent “Jekyl and Hyde, Together Again”. Just a tip.

Book 5 Carrie, by Stephen King
Classic King horror- if you’ve only seen the movie, do yourself a favor and read the book. It’s a really quick read and just really good and freaky as hell.

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Book 1: Jackdaws by Ken Follett. A quick read, not much else to say.

Book 2: The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber. Excellent, a fabulous story.

Book 3: The Covenant by Beverly Lewis. About the Amish.

Book 4: I Don’t Know How She Does It by some British Author whose name escapes me. Loved it, it was so true to the life of working moms.

Book 5: It’s a race, as I have several going right now. It will probably be One For the Money by Janet Evanovich

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I have only finished one book thus far. :frowning: However, three others are In the Works, and should be finished soon.

The one I finished was The View From Pluto by Terry Pluto. It’s a collection of columns about the Northeast Ohio sports scene. I love Terry Pluto’s work, and this was a great distillation of the last decade of Cleveland sports.

Currently working on The Hobbit, The October Horse, and Six of Swords.

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Books Mephisto, the Doper too dumb to figure out the Live Journal thing, has finished this year:

The Gun-Slinger Stephen King–One day, years and years ago, while stuck at home because of some illness and stoned on various medications, I read and disliked this book. It seemed to me that Stephen King left too much unexplained. Who was this gun-slinger, who was the man in black, why was the gun-slinger chasing this poor man in black, and so forth. It also seemed to me that the characters in this story were trudging along toward a preordained ending. I didn’t know how the story was going to end, but I knew that it could only end in one way, and that preordination detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Am I making sense–today, probably like the day when I first read this book, I’m taking, among other things, codeine. Anyway, early this year, curious about how the evolving milieu of King books fits together and perhaps in some small way a victim of peer pressure, I reread The Gun-Slinger. This time I wasn’t sick, I wasn’t stoned, and I wasn’t a little kid. And this time I enjoyed the book. Yet the problems I originally had with the book still bothered me a little. That said, I enjoyed the book enough that I finished it quickly and then went out and bought its sequel which I will probably read sometime in February. I look forward to discovering how this whole thing is resolved.

News Writing and Reporting For Today’s Media Bruce D. Itule and Douglas A. Anderson–Text book, boring, and probably useless for anybody who isn’t going into the media when they grow up. I read it for school. I can now write obituaries and scripts for the evening news. Hooray, I guess.

Son of Rosemary Ira Levin–Lucifer persuades author Ira Levin to pen a book composed of sentence fragments. And it has the very worst ending ever. I guess this book was good enough to keep me reading until the last page, but it was a painful process at times. I believe I persevered because Son of Rosemary was an easy book and I’m reading some other very heavy stuff right now, because I already had it, because I hate to quit on something, and because I was vaguely interested in how the whole so-called plot would be resolved. Don’t buy this book, people. Really. I found this book very disappointing.

The Norton Anthology version of The Iliad Homer–Wow. You all should get The Iliad. Everybody should get The Iliad. I had no idea how great this story was. I mean, I knew it was great, but . . . wow. It’s heavy reading and long, but no where near as hard to understand as I had feared. And the story is just great. Amazing. My classmates think I’m crazy because I went out and got the long version of The Iliad, which I’m in the process of reading now. I am completely captivated by it all. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually fallen in love with a piece of literature; the fact that I’ve fallen in love with this in school makes it even better–now I’m going to class to study stuff I would read on my own. Really, go buy The Iliad. If it’s hard for you to make heads or tails of this story, buy yourself an Iliad companion or a Cliff’s Notes or something–I think it’s worth it.

Sappho: A New Translation Sappho of Lesbos, translated by Mary Barnard, with an introduction by Dudley Fitts–Fragments of ancient poetry. I thought this collection was somewhat interesting, but I’m on a big ancient Greece kick right now. I’m reading some of the Greek classics, studying books about these classics, and going through a lot of books about ancient Greek culture, religion, and society. Reading Sappho’s poetry is just part of this Greek thing I’m going through. I doubt most people would be interested in reading fragments of ancient poetry.

I am currently reading Violence of Action, by Richard Marcinko. It’s the latest in a series of entertaining (to me) Navy SEAL fantasies. Marcinko’s books are to American special ops what James Bond is to the British Secret Service–fun, but not to be taken too seriously. On the advice of some Dopers, I am reading Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale–interesting book so far–I think I will enjoy it a great deal. I’m in the middle of a couple short story collections, including Everything’s Eventual, by Stephen King. My wrong-handed family got me the surprisingly good Lefties: The Origins & Consequences of Being Left-Handed, by Jack Fincher–I tend to peruse this book while waiting on slow-loading websites. Finally, as a college student I’m reading various text books and I’m frequently in the library reading sections of certain books that pertain to my various classes.

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Awww…it’s not that hard, honest! If you want assistance, you can either email me or hail me on one of the many instant messenger services if you’re so inclined:

ICQ: 196415
AOL Instant Messenger: ysabel431
Yahoo Messenger: ysabel431

I’m inspired to try the Iliad now, btw…if I get ahead of my 4 book per month pace, I might try it. :wink:

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  1. Prince of Fire and Ashes, by Katya Reimann - last book in a fantasy trilogy I quite enjoyed.
  2. The Dragonbone Chair, by Tad Williams - first book in one of the best fantasy series out there, really.
  3. Holy War: The Crusades and their Impact on Today’s World, by Karen Armstrong - VERY interesting. I am on a little Crusades kick right now, but this was really about the mentality of the holy war at various times throughout history.
  4. The Stone of Farewell, by Tad Williams - second book in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.
  5. Abraham Lincoln’s DNA and Other Adventures in Genetics, by Philip R. Reilly - the Ann Arbor Reads book, so I am now totally hip. I’m all set to head to GD and argue about bioethics with y’all now. Really, it was a fascinating book and understable even to little ol’ me.

Am currently working on The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf and To Green Angel Tower by Tad Williams, which is the last book in the trilogy. It’s such a huge book that it’s published in paperback in two parts, and I was originally going to count them seperately, but I decided this was the chicken thing to do. So I won’t count it til I am really done (I’ve finished the first part already).

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So far this year, I’ve read:

Affluenza byJohn DeGraff, et al. It’s based on the PBS series that ran a few years back, and I enjoyed it.

Volumes I and II ofEleanor Roosevelt. It’s well-written, and a ver interesting look at this great woman.

The Twillight of American Culture, which is probably one of the most depressing things I’ve read in a while.

Rereading Sex. A very interesting look at suppression of contraceptive and sexual knowledege over the years.

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HEY! How can I get in on this? Is it too late?

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I read one book!!! :smiley:

I’m a slow reader :frowning:

Here’s the excerpt from my Live Journal entry (handle is banger7) concerning the one book I read, Return of the King:

I joined the 50bookchallenge community, but I can’t figure out how to post on it. Help!

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LifeOnWry, nope, it is certainly not too late for you to join. I’ll be posting periodic threads here on the SDMB, and there’s also the Live Journal community I mentioned in my OP, which is more of a day to day thing. If you don’t have a Live Journal and you’d like to create one, let me know, as I have a bunch of codes handy for people who want to join.

Banger, in order to post to the community, all that you need to do is before you compose an entry like you normally do, make sure you’re on the page with the expanded posting options (there’s a link at the bottom of the standard page that says “You’re looking at the simple page. For more options, click here.”). Once you’re on the expanded page, compose your entry and then before hitting the “Update Journal” button, change your selection in the “Journal to post in” drop-down box to the 50bookchallenge journal.

If anyone needs help with LiveJournal, see my response above to Mephisto where I listed my IM handles. :slight_smile:

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A slightly quicker way to get to the full update page is to click the three-dots link next to the ‘Update Journal’ one.

I’m at 8 new and 1 reread, BTW, with several ahead of me.

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I’m behind most of you, but hopefully I’ll catch up.
Book #1: Sex and Violence in Hollywood by Ray Garton. - Lots of fun to read, reminded me of Richard Laymon. It’s a wild ride from start to finish.
Book #2: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. - A different take on the Cinderella story. This was a very enchanting story. While I liked Wicked by the same author, Confessions was much more enjoyable.
I’m now reading Swan Song by Robert McCammon. This is a re-read for me, but I haven’t read it in probably 15 years, so I’m counting it. :slight_smile:

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So far, I’ve completed five books:

Assassin’s Apprentice and Royal Assassin, Robin Hobb. One of the few fantasy series that lives up to the cover blurbs. Both of these books have more surprises and more suspense than you usually expect to find in fantasy novels that are twice as long. The main character, FitzChivalry Farseer, is a welcome relief from the typical ‘noble young boy who becomes world-saving superhero’ character. On the other hand, some of the other people in the series suffer a bit from the author’s desire for brevity, most notably the archvillain.

The Warrior’s Tale, by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch. A different sort of fantasy novel, with lots of swordfights, magic, and lesbian sex. A fun read, but not one that I’d recommend too highly.

A Storm of Swords, by George R. R. Martin. The best novel in the Song of Fire and Ice series so far. In both of the first two, the plot moved pretty slowly for most of the book and then picked up during the last two-hundred pages. This one takes off from the start. While parts of it did grow a bit ridiculous, at least I can now join the internet-wide discussion about what Martin will do next.

Henry IV, part 1, by Shakespeare. I liked it better this time than when I first read it in high school, mostly because I understood what was going on in the tavern scenes a bit better. The sudden change in behavior by Prince Henry still seems a little bit exaggerated, though.

Currently working on: Speaker for the Dead, Henry IV part 2.

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Book One: Family Pictures by Sue Miller – decent.

Book Two: The Magician’s Assistant by An Patchett – beautiful, haunting; couldn’t put it down.

Book Three The Yokota Officer’s Club by Sarah Bird – good. Reminded me a lot of The Great Santini by Pat Conroy, though without the depth of the latter.

Book Four: Irreperable Damange by Joseph T. Klempner – legal drama – good for what it is.

Book Five: Taft by Ann Patchett – lord I wish this woman had more than four books!

Currently working on The Beauty of Men by Andrew Holleran.

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I tried not to re-read books, but…I am re-reading ** Insomnia** by Stephen King. I may or may not count that when I finally finish it again.

Anyway, I read six books in January: two YA and four novels.

The Ya books were A series of unfortunate events: Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. Of the two I much prefered Gathering Blue. It’s a companion to The Giver, and shows another vision of the future. The Lemony Snicket one was ok, I guess.

The novels were:
Blue Moon by Laurel Hamilton, which I really enjoyed. I discovered the Anita Blake series back in the spring, and have been reading my way through them, though I’ve slowed my pace since there aren’t a lot left. This was the eighth book in the series, and I stand by my assertion that these novels are the paper equivilent of crack- not really good for you, but they make you really happy unless there isn’t more to follow.

Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub. On a whole this one was by far the most disappointing thing I’ve read by either author. (unlike many of the book’sreaders, perhaps, I’ve read most of Straub’s books, too, not just King’s). The only really interesting things about the book had to do with the territories connections to the Dark Tower. I wonder if they actually thought that readers would enjoy the bizarre naration style, since I’ve yet to hear anyone say anything positive about it. And why change it so drastically from the Talisman’s style? I don’t get it.

** The Prayer of The Bone** by Paul Byers. Your basic murder in the middle of nowhere that somehow gets tangled up in similar murders 300 years before and involves a a reservation, bears, a disturbed kid, a distraught woman, and a policeman with issues sort of story.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I liked this one pretty well, and found the differences between it and the movie to be interesting. I think I liked the movie better, though.

Well, here’s to hoping this month’s books will be more to my liking… I’ve started six or seven more books(and ordered one I’m impatiently waiting for), maybe I’ll like some of those :smiley:

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elfkin - when you say Gathering Blue is a companion to The Giver, do you mean it has the same character base, or setting, or is it just along the same lines theme-wise? I loved The Giver, and would like to read more Lowry, but wresting her books away from my daughter takes a lot of energy!

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I mean the interview with Lowry at the back of the book and the book’s cover say it’s a companion :slight_smile: It’s the same “when” in a different settlement, and there is a very vague reference to Jonas, which Lowry says " it can be him if you want it to be" but other than that there are no real connections between the books(however, she plans to use a Gathering Blue character in the third and last book). Thematically they’re somewhat alike as they both feature children who do not fit into their society.

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gathering blue doesn’t carry over any characters/places/anything, it is just another future communit lowry created. very different from each other, and yet in many ways the same. i liked it a lot.

i read the original ‘read 50 books this year’ post and decided that it was a great idea but i dont have the time for it, so i made my own list of about 35 to read in conjuncture with the books i have to read for school. so far i’ve re-read all three of the lord of the rings books and am in the middle of ‘of mice and men’ ‘the communist manifesto’ and ‘alice in wonderland’ but i have to read ‘a tale of two cities’ for school so i had to put the other three on the back-burner

well anyway good luck to everyone on your reading endeavors!

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so please don’t feel disheartened… :smiley:

  1. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling - the books are getting darker & darker… not quite children’s books anymore.

  2. Myth-ion Improbable Robert Asprin. I’d read all the previous Myth books and I do get a kick out of Aahz.

  3. Star Trek: I’m Working on That - William Shatner & Chip Walter. a fun, self-deprecating look at cutting-edge technology foreshadowed by Star Trek.

  4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon. Quite enjoyable - a touch of (for lack of a better term) magical realism and intertwining historical & fictional characters.

5.? Girls Lean Back Everywhere by Edward de Grazia. I got thru Chapter 15 (page 294) by strength of will. It just didn’t work for me - I’m not that interested in law – and it goes into what I considered extruciating detail about the cases. So back to the library it went. This may be cheating, but I’m still counting it (for now).

  1. The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman. Graphic novels count, right? :slight_smile: Intriguing concept & gorgeous artwork. Unfortunately the library only had this volume – may need to add the others to my wish list!

  2. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol II A - editor Ben Bova.
    Contains the following novellas/novelettes:
    [ul]
    “Call Me Joe” - Poul Anderson. An artificial creature on the surface of Jupiter is psychically linked to a cripple in an orbiting spacestation. But who is controlling whom? Quite an enjoyable read.
    “Who Goes There?” John W. Campbell Jr (as Don A. Stuart). A polar expedition discovers an alien - what happens when it is thawed? Meh - interesting concept, I guess - but the writing didn’t really move me.
    “Nerves” - Lester del Rey - A crisis at a nuclear power plant as seen through the eyes of the on-site doctor. I may be struck down for this - but another stoy that didn’t do a lot for me. Perfect example of hard SF where the characters are subordinate to the technology.
    “Universe” - Robert Heinlein. A multi-generational spaceship where the residents have “regressed” to primitive technology - the protagonist is captured by the Muties and learns (some of) the truth. I’m a Heinlein fan, and I think this is a good, representational sample of his work.
    “The Marching Morons” - C.M. Kornbluth – a man from our time is awakens in the far future where the lowest common denominator of society has overwhelmed the MENSA minority. Can the time-traveller help? A frighteningly prescient story , perhaps …
    “Vintage Season” - Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore (as Lawrence O’Donnell) … three strange travellers rent a San Francisco home for the month of May. The owner observes more than he should. Another enjoyable read - also a good sample of their work.
    “. . . And Then There Were None” - Eric Frank Russell. An ambassadorial/military ship from Terra visits an abandoned colony - to find the colonists are doing just fine without them. I remember reading this some years ago & would have SWORN it was Heinlein - the sentiment fits.
    “The Ballad of Lost C’Mell” - Cordwainer Smith. A judge teams up with a catgirl to grant the underpeople freedom. One of several stories set in the same universe and very descriptive.
    “Baby is Three” - Theodore Sturgeon. An almost creepy story - how psi powers could be used to create a new type of human - told through the eyes of a young man at a psychiatrist’s office.
    " The Time Machine" - H.G. Wells - if you saw the most recent movie incarnation of this story (as I must admit I have :rolleyes: – go back & read the book. It’s a bit heavy-handed at times, but required reading for any SF fan.
    “With Folded Hands” - Jack Williamson. An inventor creates robots designed to take care of our every need… and realizes how terribly wrong he was to do so.
    [/ul]

  3. Convergent Series by Larry Niven. It’s a collection of short stories, some of which I’d read in other collections. I’d like to find more of his Draco’s Tavern stories. “The Deadlier Weapon” isn’t even SF at all - but thought-provoking just the same.

  4. The Museum of Hoaxes by Alex Boese. Originally (and still) a website, Boese has collected examples of hoaxes through the ages and placed them in their historical & sociological context. He includes a “Further Reading” bibliography and both a subject and alphabetical index. A good addition to a skeptic’s library.

  5. Night Watch - Terry Pratchett’s latest in the Discword series. Wow. It’s a very different book from his early Discworld novels… hardly a light comedy. There are funny bits - but I think he’s taken the opportunity to be more serious with the Night Watch series. I give this book a pretty strong recommendation.