# 50 Book Challenge – January wrap-up **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954 "2003-01-31T20:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/21 "2003-02-03T00:21:57Z")
1. Dean Koontz, **By the Light of the Moon** As someone once said about something, “For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like.” 2. Marcia Muller, **Dead Midnight** 3. Danny Bonaduce, **Random Acts of Badness** About what you’d expect – but entertaining, as you’d expect. 4. Robert Provine, **Laughter: A Scientific Investigation** I’m currently working on 5 & 6 concurrently: 1. (the current bathroom book) **The Tenacity of a Cockroach: Conversations with Entertainment’s Most Enduring Outsiders** (from the Onion’s AV Club) I’m skipping the people I don’t know, mostly punk rockers and others of their ilk. 2. Lee Dugatkin, **Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees: The Nature of Cooperation in Animals and Humans** Good intro to the subject – I’ve been reading a lot on the evolution of language and human society, etc., over the last couple years, so a lot of this is material I’m familiar with. He’s a little self-conscious over his desire to make the material “relevant,” and his editor should have been a lot firmer with him over the use of exclamation marks. I want to finish this before I start **Handmaid’s Tale** for the SDMB Book Club – but I’ve been so freakin’ busy at work lately (just completed my second consecutive 48-hour week) that I’m lucky to get 10 pages read before I fall asleep at night. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/22 "2003-02-03T00:51:44Z")
1. _Land’s End_, by Michael Cunningham. Non-fiction. An endearing look at Provincetown. 2. _All the Pretty Horses_, by Cormac McCarthy. Apparently the movie sucks but the book is worth the hype. Read it. 3. _Atonement_, by Ian McEwan. I read this for my book club and enjoyed it. If you don’t like novels that employ devices, skip this one. 4. _The Orchid Thief_, by Susan Orlean. Interesting mix of true story, history, botany and sociology. 5. _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_, by Michael Chabon. Don’t let the 600+ pages of this novel deter you. It’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/23 "2003-02-03T01:20:47Z")
I’m glad I found this thread. I’m an avid reader and always looking for something new. I have no idea how many books I’ve read since Jan. 1, but I’m currently working on A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. I’ve also read American Gods and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I must say, the man is twisted. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a fantastic portrayal of the King Arthur legend through the eyes of the women, primarily, the priestesses of Avalon. Treat yourself to this book! Dune by Frank Herbert - Thinking that I might finally read the many sequels, I refreshed my memory with the original. It’s been so long since I read it that it seemed new. Lilith’s Brood by Octavia E. Butler is actually a trilogy - Dawn, Adulthood Rights and Imago. It takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth and features an alien race that has come to rescue the remnants of mankind and “trade” genetic information. The next sequence of books I will tackle are by the master of Alternate History - Harry Turtledove. It starts with a prequel - How Few Remain - which is about the second war between the states, assuming the south won the first. It is followed by 2 trilogies: The Great War and American Empire. These should keep me busy for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/24 "2003-02-03T02:42:46Z")
So far I’ve read 8, unless you count the six indivual books that comprise _The Green Mile_ as one book each, in which case I’ve read 13. The other seven were: 1. _The Grapes of Wrath_, John Steinbeck 2. _The Pearl_, John Steinbeck 3. _Something Wicked This Way Comes_, Ray Bradbury 4. _Franny and Zooey_, J. D. Salinger 5. _The Cat Who Could Read Backwards_, Lillian Jackson Browne 6. _Gerald’s Game_, Stephen King 7. _The Dark Half_, Stephen King I’m also halfway through _The House of the Seven Gables_. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/25 "2003-02-03T14:22:38Z")
1. The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut 2. The Pearl, John Steinbeck 3. Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury 4. Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger 5. Salem’s Lot, Stephen King 6. The Dark Half, Stephen King ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/26 "2003-04-02T15:17:37Z")
BUMP! Somebody help me, please! I just finished book 12, and I’ve been keeping track in my own livejournal, since I _totally_ missed this thread. Anyways, every time I go to LJ, I try to find the 50 book challenge community with no luck. Can somebody send me a URL to this community so I can find out what everybody’s writing? I feel all alone in this! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/27 "2003-04-02T18:14:18Z")
[Here](http://www.livejournal.com/community/50bookchallenge) you go! ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/28 "2003-04-02T18:38:50Z")
1. Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens 2. The Mystery of Bar Kokhba by Leibel Reznick 3. Noah’s Flood by William Ryan & Walter Pitman 4. Moonraker by Ian Fleming 5. Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming 6. From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming 7. Doctor No by Ian Fleming 8. Goldfinger by Ian Fleming 9. Thunderball by Ian Fleming 10. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming 11. The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming 12. The James Bond Dossier by Kingsley Amis 13. Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliot Friedman 14. A for Andromeda by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot 15. The Andromeda Breakthrough by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot 16. The Quest for El Cid by Richard Fletcher 17. The Kingdom of León-Castilla Under King Alfonso VI, 1065-1109 by Bernard F. Riley ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/29 "2003-04-02T19:49:25Z")
Thanks, **Winnowill**! ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/30 "2003-04-02T23:26:22Z")
Hey can I get in too? Do books read for a class count too? I hope so, because that will be the main source of quite a few of my readings. Here goes: 1)Plutarch: **Fall of the Roman Republic** A study of the events leading up to the detruction of the Roman Republic through a biography/character study of six men. Fascinating for Roman history buffs like me. You can start to see a lot of parallels between actions taken by these men and actions taken by modern leaders. 1. Scott B. Cook: **Colonial Encounters in the Age of High Imperialsm** Three case studies of the experiences of native peoples in areas colonized by Americans and Europeans between 1870 and 1914. Focuses on Congo, India, and Hawaii. Kind of dry, but enough tidbits to keep you reading. I’m currently writing a paper based on this book. 3)Niccolo Machiavelli **The Prince** Much better to read than I thought it would be. While not directed toward the running of a Republic, there are still some good lessons to be learned. 4)Sallust **The Conspiracy of Catiline** Another from my Roman History class. This is about one of the civil awars that rocked the history of Rome. Interesting, in part, for its portrayal of Caesar in the role of Senator which you can then comapare to his later career as Dictator. 5)John Stuart Mill: **On Liberty** Discourse on Mill’s views of the proper role of government. Pretty good, but he weakens his position, IMHO, toward the end. Well worth reading though, especially for the libertarian-leaning out there. 6)David R. Ringrose: **Expansion and Global Interaction, 1200-1700** Interesting, non-Eurocentric view of this period of history. Refutes the claims that Europe was a dominant power in this era. Very good to balance out the standard Western interpretation of History. 7)[Muckraking: Three Landmark Articles\*\* (Ellen Fitzpatrick, ed.) Ugh!!! The only good point is that it was short. 8)Sophocles **Antigone** Very good tale on the contrast between obeying the law of man vs. the law of God. Entertaining and fast reading. 9) **Beowulf** (Seamus Heaney, tr.) Classic. Technically this is a re-read, but that was back in jr. high school, so it doesn’t really count. 1. John Grisham **King of Torts** Sad to say, but he’s gotten very predictable. The books aren’t bad, but I finished this one in one evening becuase nothing surprised me or even came close to slowing me down. The plot twists were in exactly the spots I expected them to e, and they took the same turns they always do. I think he’s got two stories in him and made those work for how many books now… I’m currently reading four more that I will finish soon. I know I’ve read a couple more earlier this year, but don’t remember the titles right now. I’ll have to look through my shelves next time I’m home. Summer break is coming, then I’ll really get crankin’. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/31 "2003-04-03T04:54:09Z")
I’m at 21 books right now. Of those, five are Shakespeare. I’m in a production of _Richard III_ (I play the Archbishop, only twelve lines), so I had to read that one, and I also read four of the earlier histories. Most of my other choices have been fantasy novels. I’ve discovered one major new author that I really like, Lynn Flewelling, so I’ve read all four of her novels. My most recent book was _Left Behind_ , you can see my reaction in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=173857) . I’m currently working on Robin Hobb’s _Assassin’s Quest_ and Paul Boyer’s _When Time Shall be no More_. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/32 "2003-04-03T05:22:06Z")
Since my last post, I’ve read: [A History of Terror: Fear & Dread Through the Ages](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0750931868/103-0484519-9407066) [Stronger Than Dirt: A Cultural History of Advertising Personal Hygiene in America, 1875-1940](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573929522/103-0484519-9407066) [Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067450335X/103-0484519-9407066) [Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0865476063/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) [A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679733760/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) [Slammerkin](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156007479/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) [Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805055517/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) [Phoenix: Lucrezia Borgia](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/184212059X/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) [Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945-1970](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0922233217/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) A very fun book! [No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312421435/ref=pd_ir_imp/103-0484519-9407066) [You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966410076/qid%3D1049347331/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-0484519-9407066) [Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0971394202/ref=pd_sim_books_1/103-0484519-9407066?v=glance&s=books) [Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1567510604/ref=pd_sim_books_4/103-0484519-9407066?v=glance&s=books) There have been many others, but this post is too long already! ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/33 "2003-04-03T05:25:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ITR champion \* > \*\*I’m at 21 books right now. Of those, five are Shakespeare. I’m in a production of _Richard III_ (I play the Archbishop, only twelve lines), so I had to read that one, and I also read four of the earlier histories. \*\* I’m not in on the challenge, but I’m totally obsessed with Shakespeare’s histories, so I had to commend you for your choices! Which ones did you read? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/34 "2003-04-03T06:05:43Z")
Both _Henry IV’s_, _Henry V_, and _3rd Henry VI_. I’d seen Branagh’s movie version of _Henry V_ before, but had never read it. It’s certainly a very impressive play. I’d put it third out of the ones I’ve read, behind _Hamlet_ and _MacBeth_. Nice interchange of the comic and dramatic scenes. I especially like how Shakespeare managed to write a play that appears to be a gung-ho, pro-war adventure, but is actually strongly opposed to the war when you look deeper. I wonder if anyone could pull that off today. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/35 "2003-04-03T06:25:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ITR champion \* > **I especially like how Shakespeare managed to write a play that appears to be a gung-ho, pro-war adventure, but is actually strongly opposed to the war when you look deeper.** What I’d say is that Shakespeare’s very clear-sighted about the whole thing – the play gives you both the glory and the hell of it (and acknowledges that the glory is fleeting: “Small time, yet in that small most greatly lived / This star of England…”). The whole thing is one giant ball of ambiguity – well, really, this is the case for the entire cycle. Which might be one of the reasons I love it so much. BTW, why just _3 Henry VI_? And this is an awful thread hijack. I was going to email you but there’s no address. If you want to carry this on drop me a line, or I could start a Shakespeare’s histories appreciation thread or something… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/36 "2003-04-03T12:53:36Z")
Here’s my list of stuff that I’ve read. I’m in the middle of LotR and also reading a book called Ancient Mysteries. I still haven’t figured out how to count LotR, the version I have is in one volume so do I count it as one or three books? Ignorance Milan Kundera Harry Potter 1 The Princess Bride William Goldman Flow My Tears, the Policeman said, Philip K Dick The English Assassin Daniel Silva December 6 Martin Cruz Smith Eye in the Sky Philip K Dick Life is Elsewhere Milan Kundera Circles James Burke Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Philip K Dick Lord of the Rings Tolkien Solaris Stanislaw Lew Slaughter House-Five Kurt Vonnegut The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Milan Kundera Harry Potter 2 A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess The Parallel Universe of Liars Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson Slowness Milan Kundera Minority Report Philip K Dick Abarat Clive Barker The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster Bad astronomy: misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing ‘hoax’ Plait, Philip C. Presumed Innocent ??? ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/37 "2003-05-04T05:12:23Z")
As I haven’t seen any comment on the topic for the last month, I thought I’d revive this thread and let those among us who are taking the challenge but not posting on LiveJournal a chance to tell how they’re doing. I’ve finished twenty-eight books so far. The latest one was _Green Mars_, by Kim Stanley Robinson. I thought it was a pretty impressive sequel, though I was a bit surprised to learn that it won a Hugo Award. The science aspects of the book are still very strong, but on the other hand the plot drags a bit in the second half, which seems to be a lot of characters driving around and telling various groups of people to not get discouraged about the chances of rebellion. The ending is very nicely done though, a nice job of pulling together all the different groups that are active on Mars at this point. For the record, the year is about one third done right now, so anyone who’s finished seventeen or more books is in good shape. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/38 "2003-05-05T14:26:41Z")
Can’t remember who said it, but this quote is absolutely true- “Wanna make God laugh? Make a plan.” Generally I would’ve had at _least_ 25 books under my brain belt bt now. But since this is the first time I planned to keep track of how many I read, of course things went berserk. So first there was the Mother of All Toothaches, followed by the Root Canal of Death, both of which rendered my brain incapable of anything as cerebral as reading. Hell, for a while there, napping was the only challenge I could master. Then there was the Urgent Overtime Push at work, which cut leisure time to a bare minimum. Now I can manage about 5 pages before falling asleep. And then the owner of the house we rent decides to sell, which threw me into the frenzy of trying to find a new place, organizing the movers and packing, packing, packing-which will of course be followed by cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and unpacking, unpacking, unpacking. As a result, I’ve only gone through 15 books, and it ain’t looking good for the next month or so! ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954/39 "2003-05-05T18:49:04Z")
I have been posting on LiveJournal, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt giving an update here too 😉 I just finished book number 18 and posted a review for it [last night](http://www.livejournal.com/users/banger7/2003/05/04/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/50-book-challenge-january-wrap-up/151954.md?page=1)