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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Dec 10, 2015 21:17:04 GMT -5
Wanted to set (and exceed) a goal of upping my reading next year (I'm going to count the rest of December in this). So tried to think of twenty-someodd books below that I've either been meaning to read and/or have lying around the house. I may add or subtract from the list as needed. This will also help me keep up with the What Are You Reading? thread (I'm probably umpteen books behind on adding to that from this year). In no particular order:
Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon (tried to start Gravity's Rainbow last year, just couldn't, but people say this is the one to start with)
[Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov] SUBSTITUTION - The Decline & Fall Of The Soviet Empire - Fred Coleman
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
Suttree - Cormac McCarthy
Natasha's Dance (Cultural History of Russia) - Orlando Figes
The Birth Of The West (Europe in the 10th Century) - Paul Collins
The Winds Of Winter - George RR Martin (this assumes it doesn't get bumped to 2017 due to several urgent hot takes on what the Jets should do in the off-season)
Fevre Dream - George RR Martin
Prague Fatale - Philip Kerr
A Man Without Breath - Philip Kerr
Sword Song - Bernard Cornwell
The Burning Land - Bernard Cornwell
Bringing Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
Escape Velocity, a Charles Portis Miscellany
The Return Of Little Big Man - Thomas Berger
The Artificial River (about the Erie Canal) - Carol Sheriff
69 A.D. (The Year of Four Emperors) - Gwyn Morgan
The Power Broker (about Robert Moses) - Robert Caro
The Lions Of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Plot Against America - Philip Roth
Three Kingdoms (Chinese epic) - Luo Guanzhong
In One Person - John Irving
A Murky Business - Honre Balzac
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carre
We - Yevgeny Zamyatin
Gringos - Charles Portis
The Passage Of Power - Robert Caro
Danubia - Simon Winder
The Radetzky March - Joseph Roth
The Humorless Ladies Of Border Control: Touring The Punk Underground From Belgrade To Ulaan Bator - Franz Nicolay
Travels With Charley - John Steinbeck
A Fool's Errand - Albion Tourgee
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Dec 10, 2015 21:22:57 GMT -5
I really want to at least double my number of books read in 2016. I'm only at 100 now.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Dec 10, 2015 21:35:31 GMT -5
Wanted to set (and exceed) a goal of upping my reading next year (I'm going to count the rest of December in this). So tried to think of twenty-someodd books below that I've either been meaning to read and/or have lying around the house. I may add or subtract from the list as needed. This will also help me keep up with the What Are You Reading? thread (I'm probably umpteen books behind on adding to that from this year). In no particular order: V - Thomas Pynchon ( tried to start Gravity's Rainbow last year, just couldn't, but people say this is the one to start with) His most accessible are probably The Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice, at least in my experience. I've heard the recent one ( Bleeding Edge) is fairly accessible as well, but I haven't read it. |
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Dec 10, 2015 21:42:28 GMT -5
Wanted to set (and exceed) a goal of upping my reading next year (I'm going to count the rest of December in this). So tried to think of twenty-someodd books below that I've either been meaning to read and/or have lying around the house. I may add or subtract from the list as needed. This will also help me keep up with the What Are You Reading? thread (I'm probably umpteen books behind on adding to that from this year). In no particular order: V - Thomas Pynchon ( tried to start Gravity's Rainbow last year, just couldn't, but people say this is the one to start with) His most accessible are probably The Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice, at least in my experience. I've heard the recent one ( Bleeding Edge) is fairly accessible as well, but I haven't read it. Duly noted/revised. I saw somewhere that the main character in Inherent Vice was loosely inspired by Freewheelin' Franklin from the Freak Brothers, so that gave it the edge. |
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Dec 11, 2015 13:39:52 GMT -5
His most accessible are probably The Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice, at least in my experience. I've heard the recent one ( Bleeding Edge) is fairly accessible as well, but I haven't read it. Duly noted/revised. I saw somewhere that the main character in Inherent Vice was loosely inspired by Freewheelin' Franklin from the Freak Brothers, so that gave it the edge. I haven't read Gravity's Rainbow yet either, but I would agree with Inherent Vice being a good starting place re: Pynchon. V. is absolutely fantastic though, so if you like Inherent Vice, that's definitely worth the read. And I actually thought Bleeding Edge was kinda mediocre Ben Grimm , though I know a lot of people over at the AVC liked it. Also, Suttree and Pale Fire are both super great. |
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Dec 11, 2015 13:43:18 GMT -5
I was hoping to read 50 books this year. So far, not counting comics, I've only read 27, although I think I'll get into the low 30s by the end of the month, what with having a bunch of books that I've half-finished reading. So I guess I'm going to go ahead and aim for 50 again next year, with another goal of actually reading most of stuff I buy in used book shops in a relatively timely fashion.
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Dellarigg
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Post by Dellarigg on Dec 11, 2015 13:50:01 GMT -5
I'm on book 54, and I'll definitely get one more in, maybe two, before 2015 exits.
This is the first time I've kept count, but I suspect I've read more this year than the last few purely because I was keeping count and wanted a healthy tally. So, despite one or two 1000 pagers, a lot of them have been short. I'll try to be less calculating next year.
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Post by Judkins Moaner on Dec 11, 2015 17:40:36 GMT -5
Birth of the West was pretty good. I kind of want to read Natasha's Dance, too; A People's Tragedy was one of the best history books I've ever read (up there with Battle Cry of Freedom in terms of period covered and how it was done), but Figes' tedious, embarrassing online shenanigans have turned me off him.
For 2016, I want to do a lot more targeted reading. I managed to hit 100 this year (lucky winner was Sarah Vowell's Lafayette in the Somewhat United States) before my breakup knocked a dent in both my reading and writing. Hit 223 in '14, so I'm not trying to break my record. Going for depth instead of breadth this year.
I do want to finally read Proust, The Arabian Nights, and The Three Kingdoms next year. Other than that, I'll just be happy if the backlog doesn't get out of control.
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Post by nowimnothing on Dec 15, 2015 16:25:44 GMT -5
I'm on book 54, and I'll definitely get one more in, maybe two, before 2015 exits. This is the first time I've kept count, but I suspect I've read more this year than the last few purely because I was keeping count and wanted a healthy tally. So, despite one or two 1000 pagers, a lot of them have been short. I'll try to be less calculating next year. Goodreads has a nice stats counter so you don't have to worry about it. I saw that I varied from 30-50 books a year but my page count has been very consistent at around 16,000. |
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Post by Desert Dweller on Dec 15, 2015 21:39:56 GMT -5
I just don't have time until I am out of grad school. I didn't even get close to my low Goodreads goal I set for this year. Alas. Trying to read a bunch in December and January to make up for it.
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clytie
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Post by clytie on Dec 16, 2015 0:22:45 GMT -5
I highly recommend going to jail. You can really catch up on your reading in there.
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Post by Murray the Demonic Skull on Dec 16, 2015 4:46:26 GMT -5
I highly recommend going to jail. You can really catch up on your reading in there. Not to mention getting super ripped. Come to think of it a year in jail might be just what I need. |
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Post by Dr. Dastardly on Dec 16, 2015 9:33:56 GMT -5
Bleeding Edge sucks. Holy shit MrsLangdonAlger , you're going for 200?! That's crazy talk! Judkins Moaner I'm planning to read Proust next year too!!! Yay, Proust! I've read 120 books so far this year, which is a record for me but whatever. Next year I have a bunch of very large books in mind - Suitable Boy, Tale of Genji, maybe one of those ancient Chinese novels - so the number will probably go down. Also I have a kid due in April, that probably won't help.
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Post by lordpuddleglum on Dec 25, 2015 3:53:52 GMT -5
2 a month was my goal this year and I succeed! So I wish you good luck this year  |
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Post by Nudeviking on Dec 25, 2015 21:38:38 GMT -5
I really want to at least double my number of books read in 2016. I'm only at 100 now. at 100. For real how do you read so many? I think I read pretty quickly and I average half that annually. |
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Dec 26, 2015 17:25:08 GMT -5
I really want to at least double my number of books read in 2016. I'm only at 100 now. at 100. For real how do you read so many? I think I read pretty quickly and I average half that annually. Lots and lots of commuting! |
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Post by Jean Luc de Lemur on Dec 26, 2015 18:10:36 GMT -5
I managed to get through 110 last year but 76 this year (might go up by one to three by the end of the year, but not that likely)—that 110 was thanks in part to being a lot less busy and having to adjust to a new social situation (i.e. not that much time out) and also in part to a decent number of those being art catalogues, i.e. glorified picture books.
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Post by disqusf3dme on Jan 6, 2016 18:29:36 GMT -5
It blows my mind that some of you can hit 100+! Even 75 is crazy! I only made it to 44 books in 2015. My reading challenge on Goodreads was set to 50. I was pretty bummed that I didn't make it. I need to read more outside of my commute, which tends to be the only time I'll read unless I'm REALLY into it. I was on track or even ahead of it at the beginning of the year, but Anna Karenina kicked my ass and set me back by quite a bit. (Totally worth it though)
I'm aiming for 50 again, it'll be manageable. I've only got one class this semester, so I don't have to worry about getting bogged down in readings for class.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Jan 7, 2016 1:11:02 GMT -5
I thought I was being conservative with my Goodreads goal last year. But, grad school derailed me even more than I expected. I even counted a few of the books I read for class, but that didn't help me.
I'm going to set my 2016 goal for 20. That way I can't really miss it.
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Jan 2, 2017 9:38:47 GMT -5
Wanted to set (and exceed) a goal of upping my reading next year (I'm going to count the rest of December in this). So tried to think of twenty-someodd books below that I've either been meaning to read and/or have lying around the house. I may add or subtract from the list as needed. This will also help me keep up with the What Are You Reading? thread (I'm probably umpteen books behind on adding to that from this year). In no particular order: Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon ( tried to start Gravity's Rainbow last year, just couldn't, but people say this is the one to start with) [Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov] SUBSTITUTION - The Decline & Fall Of The Soviet Empire - Fred ColemanBel Canto - Ann Patchett Suttree - Cormac McCarthyNatasha's Dance (Cultural History of Russia) - Orlando FigesThe Birth Of The West (Europe in the 10th Century) - Paul CollinsThe Winds Of Winter - George RR Martin ( this assumes it doesn't get bumped to 2017 due to several urgent hot takes on what the Jets should do in the off-season) Fevre Dream - George RR MartinPrague Fatale - Philip KerrA Man Without Breath - Philip KerrSword Song - Bernard CornwellThe Burning Land - Bernard CornwellBringing Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel Escape Velocity, a Charles Portis MiscellanyThe Return Of Little Big Man - Thomas BergerThe Artificial River (about the Erie Canal) - Carol Sheriff69 A.D. (The Year of Four Emperors) - Gwyn Morgan The Power Broker (about Robert Moses) - Robert Caro The Lions Of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel KayThe Plot Against America - Philip Roth Three Kingdoms (Chinese epic) - Luo Guanzhong In One Person - John Irving A Murky Business - Honre Balzac Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le CarreWe - Yevgeny ZamyatinGringos - Charles Portis The Passage Of Power - Robert Caro Danubia - Simon Winder The Radetzky March - Joseph RothThe Humorless Ladies Of Border Control: Touring The Punk Underground From Belgrade To Ulaan Bator - Franz Nicolay Travels With Charley - John SteinbeckA Fool's Errand - Albion TourgeeWell, I fell short, way short. I'd say in the aggregate I read 17.5 books (not counting a ton of travel books and one book that I got related to my old job but bailed on). There were 16 of the books above I finished in full (crossed out). There are another two I'm in progress on (in blue), of which the Nicolay one I'm 90% done with, and the Tourgee one I'm about 60% through. Of the latter book, well it's interesting but depressingly/eerily timely in a way that's making it not something I feel like reading before bed if I want to wind my mind down. Of the 14 books above I didn't get to (one of which, no prize for guessing which, literally wasn't available to anyone in 2016), they'll immediately be on my 2017 to read list to which I'll add at least six or seven more to set 20 as my goal. So far the new books will include: Dune - Frank HerbertBlue Highways - William Least Heat-Moon Agincourt - Bernard Cornwell Grant - Jean Edward Smith |
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Dellarigg
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Post by Dellarigg on Jan 2, 2017 10:05:37 GMT -5
I read 60; in 2015 I read 59.
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