Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
Seven Storey Mountain has been on my list for a long time!
2023 Reading Challenge
- Thread starter Selaws
- Start date
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
16. New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. @Indymisanthrope I've been planning on the 7 Story Mountain for a while too, but decided on this essay collection. Very compelling! I don't even really consider myself catholic anymore, but I find his way of writing and perspective fascinating.
17. Wayward: Just Another Life to Live by Vashti Bunyan. Lovely, moving memoir from a folk legend (even if she hates the label). Recommend even if you don't know much about her music. She has a great story.
Currently reading through Flannery O'Connor's stories, which are great and very compelling. Looking at Count of Monte Cristo or Brothers Karamazov next as my big/multi-month read for this year.
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Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
It took me a full. year. to read Claire North's The Pursuit of William Abbey. Kind of embarrassing, really. I don't get it; The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was so good, but this one left me so cold that I had to put it down for months on end (and my compulsive side wouldn't let me start anything else in the meantime). I found myself catching up on lots of TV that I skipped in the new parent haze of 2020-2022. Anyway, it's over now.
This month I've read:
The Unreality of Memory, by Elisa Gabbert: this is a book of essays that came out in early 2020, and it's an incredible read in the aftermath of a pandemic. The first portion of the book focuses primarily on large-scale disasters, how we think about them, how we prepare for them, and how we react to them. It's a fascinating read in its own right, but contextualized with the knowledge that it was released right on the brink of a major global catastrophe makes it all the more interesting. This is the kind of book that is so full of interesting nuggets that you'll be referencing it in casual conversation for months after you've finished reading it. Very readable; highly recommend.
Old Man's War, by John Scalzi: Vacation read. Knocked it out in just over a day, and I can't remember the last time I did that. It's fine.
The Ninth Metal, by Benjamin Percy: So, I don't actually remember downloading this to my Kindle, but I had a vague memory that it was supposed to be a light sci-fi read, which it is. But I was not familiar with Benjamin Percy, so I had a lot fun reading this and occasionally thinking to myself, "Is this a comic book? This reads like the origin story for a superhero. Or a supervillain?" And then, it was. Another short and breezy one. I'll read the sequels.
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke: y'all weren't kidding a couple of years ago, this is weird and great.
Upgrade, by Blake Crouch: Crouch delivers solid airport reads.
Not sure what's next, but Piranesi has me in the mood for something a little more literary than the low- to middlebrow sandbox I've been playing in.
This month I've read:
The Unreality of Memory, by Elisa Gabbert: this is a book of essays that came out in early 2020, and it's an incredible read in the aftermath of a pandemic. The first portion of the book focuses primarily on large-scale disasters, how we think about them, how we prepare for them, and how we react to them. It's a fascinating read in its own right, but contextualized with the knowledge that it was released right on the brink of a major global catastrophe makes it all the more interesting. This is the kind of book that is so full of interesting nuggets that you'll be referencing it in casual conversation for months after you've finished reading it. Very readable; highly recommend.
Old Man's War, by John Scalzi: Vacation read. Knocked it out in just over a day, and I can't remember the last time I did that. It's fine.
The Ninth Metal, by Benjamin Percy: So, I don't actually remember downloading this to my Kindle, but I had a vague memory that it was supposed to be a light sci-fi read, which it is. But I was not familiar with Benjamin Percy, so I had a lot fun reading this and occasionally thinking to myself, "Is this a comic book? This reads like the origin story for a superhero. Or a supervillain?" And then, it was. Another short and breezy one. I'll read the sequels.
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke: y'all weren't kidding a couple of years ago, this is weird and great.
Upgrade, by Blake Crouch: Crouch delivers solid airport reads.
Not sure what's next, but Piranesi has me in the mood for something a little more literary than the low- to middlebrow sandbox I've been playing in.
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
Jon Scalzi books are great summer/vacation reads. You can finish off a book in one sitting. Love them for long plane flights
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
Book #26!!! Started yesterday and will probably finish tonight or tomorrow morning.
Ian Bourland - Massive Attack's Blue Lines (33.3 series)
Very excited to hit my goal for the year so early. I really chalk it up to switching over to reading on the Kobo, with distractions eliminated.
This is not an essential from the 33.3 series but so far it is interesting. While I am fan of Massive Attack I am not that familiar with their background. Sadly many involved in the early days of the band were not interested in being interviewed by Bourland and those that did really have spotty memories.
Ian Bourland - Massive Attack's Blue Lines (33.3 series)
Very excited to hit my goal for the year so early. I really chalk it up to switching over to reading on the Kobo, with distractions eliminated.
This is not an essential from the 33.3 series but so far it is interesting. While I am fan of Massive Attack I am not that familiar with their background. Sadly many involved in the early days of the band were not interested in being interviewed by Bourland and those that did really have spotty memories.
avecigrec
Well-Known Member
Book 17
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
So I actually started this one a few months back but then I boneheadedly left it at the most seldomly used satellite building of the company I used to work for. For extra hilarity, said building is not too far from my home, but was the only one of our buildings that only senior management had keys for, so I couldn't just pop in and pick it up. Anyhoo, it finally made its way back to me just before we left for Manitoba. I didn't get the reading time I'd expected on our trip, but I've spent the last few days just absolutely glued to this whenever I could steal a few minutes to read more. It's stunning to think this is Walton's debut novel, as her use of polyphony to tell the tale of the titular proto-afropunk duo is absolutely masterful. An enjoyable read, through and through, with a few good twists along the way - one of which left me absolutely slackjawed! I'd recommend this to damn near anybody, but especially to everybody in this thread being that we're a bunch of nerds who love music and books and this falls right into the sweet spot of both.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
So I actually started this one a few months back but then I boneheadedly left it at the most seldomly used satellite building of the company I used to work for. For extra hilarity, said building is not too far from my home, but was the only one of our buildings that only senior management had keys for, so I couldn't just pop in and pick it up. Anyhoo, it finally made its way back to me just before we left for Manitoba. I didn't get the reading time I'd expected on our trip, but I've spent the last few days just absolutely glued to this whenever I could steal a few minutes to read more. It's stunning to think this is Walton's debut novel, as her use of polyphony to tell the tale of the titular proto-afropunk duo is absolutely masterful. An enjoyable read, through and through, with a few good twists along the way - one of which left me absolutely slackjawed! I'd recommend this to damn near anybody, but especially to everybody in this thread being that we're a bunch of nerds who love music and books and this falls right into the sweet spot of both.
jt4527
Well-Known Member
Book 4 (I think?!):
Phaneronic
Well-Known Member
Since this:
- Re-read Mrs. Dalloway and yeah pls read this. Wish I had more to say but there's nothing besides IT GOOD.
- JOB: A Comedy of Justice - had like three people happen to recommend Heinlein in the span of a couple weeks and this is the one that happened to be knocking around our house. Started strong, could've ended worse, middle was really meandering. But I understand this isn't one of his best. Took me a while to read but I've been busy/hung up on other things too.
- Started rereading Don Quixote, officially putting me in 'two books at once' territory. Still as good as I remember. Reading the Edith Grossman translation this time - I don't quite think it's better than the Ormsby but it's also probably not worse and it reads really, really well.
- Circe by Madeline Miller - This is one I've had on my 'to read list' for a while off the back of a recommendation from one of the writers of Welcome to Night Vale. She seized on a relatively minor figure from The Odyssey and the book is her internal experience of Greek Mythology happening around her. It's really, really good, and reads well.
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
I read a ton of Heinlein as a teen but never felt the desire to go back, though I keep meaning to read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress as I think that is being made into a movie soon.
Doing my ordering for work, there are several new books coming out that are billed as modern retelling of various myths (Orpheus and Eurydice etc) but for the life of me I cannot remember any of the titles.
Thackeraye
Well-Known Member
The Silence of the Girls: From the Booker prize-winning author of Regeneration : Barker, Pat: Amazon.com.au: Books
The Silence of the Girls: From the Booker prize-winning author of Regeneration : Barker, Pat: Amazon.com.au: Books
www.amazon.com.au
Is this one of them?
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
Sadly no. I order about 100 books a month for the library and I really need to keep a list.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Book 18: A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar (Viking, 2019)
Book 19: We Jazz Magazine Issue 08 - "Shadow Shapes" (We Jazz Helsinki, 2023)
Just got back from Italy where I managed to read a couple of books (flights mainly). First one was "A Month In Siena" which held extra weight as we visited Siena on the trip. Truthfully, it was a bit of a disappointment as it mainly focuses on artwork that happened to be in Siena at one time or another. Still, a decent read that gave me a few interesting facts prior to walking around the city. The latest We Jazz Magazine was a fantastic read as always, with lots of cool articles.
Book 19: We Jazz Magazine Issue 08 - "Shadow Shapes" (We Jazz Helsinki, 2023)
Just got back from Italy where I managed to read a couple of books (flights mainly). First one was "A Month In Siena" which held extra weight as we visited Siena on the trip. Truthfully, it was a bit of a disappointment as it mainly focuses on artwork that happened to be in Siena at one time or another. Still, a decent read that gave me a few interesting facts prior to walking around the city. The latest We Jazz Magazine was a fantastic read as always, with lots of cool articles.
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Turbo
Well-Known Member
I love reading Scalzi!
Turbo
Well-Known Member
A little catch-up on what I've read since the last post in February....
This year I've been hopping between The Expanse and the Connelly-verse of Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer. Been thoroughly enjoying the light but engrossing reading. I read a lot of technical and legalese stuff with work so I welcome the escapism of these. The Expanse books have been absolutely brilliant. Going through the short story collection before tackling the last book. After delving deep into noir/detective novels, I've come to realize that Connelly is about as good as it gets when it comes to spinning a good believable detective yarn with writing that flows.
Books #6-19:
This year I've been hopping between The Expanse and the Connelly-verse of Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer. Been thoroughly enjoying the light but engrossing reading. I read a lot of technical and legalese stuff with work so I welcome the escapism of these. The Expanse books have been absolutely brilliant. Going through the short story collection before tackling the last book. After delving deep into noir/detective novels, I've come to realize that Connelly is about as good as it gets when it comes to spinning a good believable detective yarn with writing that flows.
Books #6-19:
avecigrec
Well-Known Member
Book 18
Chrome Valley: Poems by Mahogany L. Browne
A breathtaking portrait of black womanhood, legacy, and inherited trauma.
Chrome Valley: Poems by Mahogany L. Browne
A breathtaking portrait of black womanhood, legacy, and inherited trauma.
Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
7. Hidden Pictures, Jason Rekulak: pretty good thriller. I was 99% sure I knew where it was going but I was wrong. I'm dying to know if I imagined the breadcrumbs that I thought were there, or if an earlier draft included the turn of events that I was expecting. I was dead certain I had picked up on some subtle foreshadowing for something that never happened. The book is catching some flak on Twitter for what some readers are calling [redacted for spoilers], but I don't really feel like that's what the story meant to convey.
8. The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones: effective horror with a Native sensibility. The final pages didn't totally hit for me, but everything up until then was pretty unnerving. Jones has a way of deploying horrific violence in a manner that makes it seem like almost an afterthought. Horror is the genre, but the setting and the characters offer a lot more to chew on than just the scary stuff.
9. The Quiet Boy, Ben Winters: Winters always has a good premise, but I'm never completely sold on the execution in the final product. I'm not quite finished with this one yet, but I expect to wrap it up this weekend.
And with that, I go from 480 pages in a year, to roughly 2600 pages in a month. I feel really, really satisfied with the time I carved out in July to do this.
Mr Moore
Well-Known Member
July 2023
Book 29: The Stand - Stephen King
Wow! What a book. I've been working my way through King's bibliography and this is my fourth so far. While I've enjoyed his previous three outings, none can hold a candle to this. It felt infinitely better penned, more akin to a work of literary fiction than a genre piece. Stunning, memorable characters fight their way through a global tragedy that seems all too believable under recent circumstances. I'd been putting it off slightly due to the sheer volume but I ended up sailing through it in a couple of weeks. I fear I may have reached a pinnacle very early on in a very long reading list!
Book 30: Manhattan Beach - Jennifer Egan
Once I realised (and it happened quite quickly), that I was in for a completely different reading experience to Goon Squad, I allowed myself to be drawn into this smoky, atmospheric wartime drama that captured some really well developed characters and clever plotlines. A woman overcoming an absent father, the loss of a disabled sister and a mother who has returned to her birthplace, struggles on in NYC where she strives to become a navy diver during the war effort and gets involved with a mobster who may be responsible for her father's untimely demise. Excellent crafting of a very readable novel.
Book 31: Shame - Salman Rushdie
I'm no Rushdie expert but I can say that I typically enjoy his books, with the caveat that he can be a real wordy bastard at times! When you're having to check the meaning of certain words more than once a page you're left feeling like you're a bit of a dummy or he's just a bloody show-off. I do always feel at least, like I learn something from his novels, (nearly 50 and just learning that Pakistan is an acronym). The story in this one isn't his best for sure, but the importance of shame as a cultural identifier of Pakistani Muslims, he gets across in spades and it's told with his typically smart humour and just a whiff of magic.
Book 32: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The third book from this huge anthology and the first to be comprised of short stories featuring the titular detective. I think I prefer the short story form over the previous two novel length outings. They're quick, to the point, I have to say, fairly obvious in most instances as to where the solution to the mystery lay. Enjoyable filler really, nothing essential but good fun.
Book 29: The Stand - Stephen King
Wow! What a book. I've been working my way through King's bibliography and this is my fourth so far. While I've enjoyed his previous three outings, none can hold a candle to this. It felt infinitely better penned, more akin to a work of literary fiction than a genre piece. Stunning, memorable characters fight their way through a global tragedy that seems all too believable under recent circumstances. I'd been putting it off slightly due to the sheer volume but I ended up sailing through it in a couple of weeks. I fear I may have reached a pinnacle very early on in a very long reading list!
Book 30: Manhattan Beach - Jennifer Egan
Once I realised (and it happened quite quickly), that I was in for a completely different reading experience to Goon Squad, I allowed myself to be drawn into this smoky, atmospheric wartime drama that captured some really well developed characters and clever plotlines. A woman overcoming an absent father, the loss of a disabled sister and a mother who has returned to her birthplace, struggles on in NYC where she strives to become a navy diver during the war effort and gets involved with a mobster who may be responsible for her father's untimely demise. Excellent crafting of a very readable novel.
Book 31: Shame - Salman Rushdie
I'm no Rushdie expert but I can say that I typically enjoy his books, with the caveat that he can be a real wordy bastard at times! When you're having to check the meaning of certain words more than once a page you're left feeling like you're a bit of a dummy or he's just a bloody show-off. I do always feel at least, like I learn something from his novels, (nearly 50 and just learning that Pakistan is an acronym). The story in this one isn't his best for sure, but the importance of shame as a cultural identifier of Pakistani Muslims, he gets across in spades and it's told with his typically smart humour and just a whiff of magic.
Book 32: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The third book from this huge anthology and the first to be comprised of short stories featuring the titular detective. I think I prefer the short story form over the previous two novel length outings. They're quick, to the point, I have to say, fairly obvious in most instances as to where the solution to the mystery lay. Enjoyable filler really, nothing essential but good fun.
Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
I didn't know that either.
Indymisanthrope
Well-Known Member
I woke up this morning kinda mad about this one. The book heavily suggests a supernatural element is at play, but the plot almost completely adheres to being a legal procedural -- and even that ignores some obvious lines of inquiry. What was on the page was fine, but what was missing from the page made this frustrating to me. I get the sense that Winters wanted to leave the reader with a sense of cosmic ambiguity, but instead it kind of felt like he had all his ingredients but didn't quite know what they were supposed to add up to.
To kick off August I'm finally returning to the Three-Body Problem Trilogy to tackle the second entry after a five year(!) break. My main memory of the first novel is that I had a period of recurring nightmares that stopped as soon as I finished reading it. That's unusual for me, and I remember it being a bit disconcerting, so hopefully this isn't a repeat experience.
avecigrec
Well-Known Member
The Stand is something special for sure. And reads waaaay shorter than its page count would presume. Been a couple of decades since I've read it myself, back during the days where I would read any and all King I could get my hands on and it is definitely his ultimate standout to me. He has a bunch of other great and very good books, but this one is something special. Might prioritize a re-read next year, in fact.