BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 09:14 AM

Sounded critical to me... I have been enjoying this thread and along you come and piss in my Cheerios. There are other threads going in which to "discuss" the books you are reading; this one was simply asking for a running list for this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 08:06 AM

Wasn't criticising - just asking for a clarification as to why we should count the number of books we read rather than what they read and why they enjoyed them - or not - wouldn't like to see books go the same way as Irish tourism.
Is that not allowed or is curiosity what really did kill the cat?
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 09:14 AM

With the exception of a couple of smart remarks, no one has submitted a list of numbers; we have at minimum given the title and author. I don't feel the need to "discuss" every book I read. If someone wants my opinion, I'll tell them. Meantime, if you don't want to participate - don't. I don't understand the need to be critical.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 08:53 AM

"Lets count the books we read in 2011"
Why - talk about them by all means, but why count them?
Some years ago we visited Blarney Castle in Cork, in the south of Ireland. In front of us at the entrance was an American couple who paid their entrance fee, walked a couple of yards into the grounds, took out a notebood and ticked off Blarney from their 'where to visit' list - then said, "that's Blarney Castle done", turned around and walked back to their car.
Counting books seems not too unsimilar.
Surely it's what you read, not how many that gives the pleasure?
"Too busy reading to count."
Couldn't have put it better.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Gurney
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 01:34 AM

I read a book or two every week, mostly novels or sci-fi.
But I have re-read the 17 Dick Francis hardbacks that I own

I used to get a new one every Christmas. Miss it.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: J-boy
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 12:04 AM

I've read the Aubrey/Maturin novels several times now. They take you to a place so far away and yet so immediate. O'Brian was a genius.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: artbrooks
Date: 11 Apr 11 - 10:39 AM

Too busy reading to count...probably somewhere between 30 and 50 since the first of the year - retirement is a wonderful thing. Right now rereading David Weber's "A Mighty Fortress (I read the previous 3 in the series in the past few weeks) and have read the first ten of Dewey Lambdin's Alan Lewrie series in the past couple of months - "Havoc's Sword" is next.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 11 Apr 11 - 10:27 AM

The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve

Damage - John Lescroart

Lady Killer - Lisa Scottoline

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 21 Mar 11 - 10:22 AM

I can't be sure what all I've read in these first two and a half months of 2011, but it includes these.

POST CAPTAIN      
             Patrick O'Brian

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF JOAN OF ARC   
             Mark Twain

OUR MAGNIFICENT BASTARD TONGUE: The untold history of English
             John H. McWhorter

And right now I'm reading
HMS Surprise      Patrick O'Brian
    and
The Stone of Farewell   Tad Williams

Actually I should have said "re-read" Post Captain and "re-reading" HMS Surprise and The Stone of Farewell. I've arranged the O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin novels in chronological order (both of publication and of "historical" action), and am working through the series again. That man wrote SO well!

And I can say much the same thing for Tad Williams. The Stone of Farewell is the second of an excellent fantasy trilogy, the first and third books being The Dragonbone Chair and The Green Bell Tower.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,WYS
Date: 20 Mar 11 - 03:39 PM

Not the only one this week (away), but the best:

The Garden Behind the Moon: A Real Story of the Moon Angel, by Howard Pyle (1853-1911)

Description cannot do it justice-- just a MUST read, especially if you were ever a child, or have one in your life.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Mar 11 - 05:54 PM

Interesting, Crow Hugger -- Native Son is working its way to the top of my paperback pile. It's gone too long unread.

Best book I've read lately was "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks, a fictional history of the Serajevo Haggadah. Absolutely fascinating, combining two of my favorite subjects -- history and book restoration/conservation.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Donuel
Date: 17 Mar 11 - 04:28 PM

Blasphemy
free Lunch
Better homes and Forclosures

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Crowhugger
Date: 17 Mar 11 - 04:22 PM

Well if I'm supposed to count I won't do well because I'm sure I'll lose track. It's fascinating to see the variety through all the posts so far.

First I read this year was "Herding Dogs: Progressive Training" by Vergil S. Holland. I found plentiful insights into not just herders but all dogs with a "strong eye."

Next I read "Dog Problems by Carol Lea Benjamin"--found a nice bit of clarification there for my pre-existing dog awareness & knowledge; I'd recommend it highly for anyone thinking of getting a dog. A better title would be 'Understand Dogs.'

There's definitely a pattern here: I'm about 3/4 through "Aggression in Dogs" by Brenda Aloff. BEST book describing how dogs communicate by body language! Yes she talks about aggression, but in the context of human-dog or dog-dog communication gone wrong. Her approach and telling is easy to understand. BEST description of how to break down training into manageable bits, and then break it down even more for dogs who need to do things in small or tiny steps.

Other non-fiction: Last month I read "Angel Mo' and her Son" by Roland Hayes, an autobiography of the singer who some say paved the way for Paul Robeson; I have no opinion on that tidbit but enjoyed the story and the early 20th century American social history it contains.

Fiction I have on the go right now is from a boxful I kept from my mother's library--"Native Son" by Richard Wright (1940). This is highly enjoyable so far, a largely well written (though not always pleasant) character-driven story that gives a lot of insight into the cultural roots of violence.

This has been a busier than normal reading year for me so far.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Mar 11 - 02:14 PM

I'm reading a delightful novel called Middlesex, by Jeffrey Stephanides. The main character, a Greek-American born in Detroit and working for the U.S. Department of State in Berlin, has a life that is complicated by the fact that he is a hermaphrodite.
The book tells the story of how the main character's grandparents (whose lives are complicate by the fact that they are siblings) left Greek Turkey in 1922 when the Turks took over, and of their life in Detroit. I was born in Detroit and lived in Berlin and visited Greek Turkey, so I fit right into the context.
The book has vivid descriptions of Greek Turkey and Detroit, and there's a lot of humor in the story and a fascinating insight into sexuality and humanity. I'm just over half done. So far, it has been delightful.
"Middlesex" is the name of a street in Grosse Pointe, where the family moves when they reach economic prosperity. I suppose the street name also has other implications...
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 17 Mar 11 - 09:07 AM

I have read about 20 since Jan 1..The best of which was The End of The Land by David Grossman..also re-read some Virginia Woolf, Read a grand book by Frances Itani called Remembering The Bones. Non Fiction included Atlantic by Simon Winchester, Autobiographies by Yeats and Paris 1918 by Margaret Mac Millan. I read about ten books a month I guess. I have been keeping a list since I was twelve, always interesting to go back and recall some favourites.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 16 Mar 11 - 07:09 PM

I've been keeping a book list since November 1, 1972, so my reading year is from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31.

My big push this year is to read books that have been hanging around unread for far too long. Right now I'm reading "Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean Auel (other books keep piling on top of the stack...for about 30 years!) and "Only Yesterday" by Frederick Lewis Allen written in 1931 about the just over 1920s (and finding the description of the super patriots just after the First World War to be very similar to political trends today).

A month or so ago I read "Alive!" about the Andes crash survivors.

I also did something I've almost never done -- gave up on a book after about 60 pages. Iris Murdoch's "The Book and the Brotherhood". I just could not get into it.

Linn

I read, on average, two or three books a week.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: kendall
Date: 16 Mar 11 - 05:08 PM

Seize the fire. about Lord Nelson and the battle of Trafalgar
The Last Kingdom...the invasion of Britain by the Danes
The Silent Sea
Death Camp of the North.

Smugness? You mean like, "One who doesn't read has no advantage over one who can't"?

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Mar 11 - 10:00 AM

Since January began(in no particular order):

The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz

Bizarre Superstitions - the world's wackiest proverbs, rituals and beliefs by Christopher Cooper

The Cat who dropped a bombshell - Lilian Jackson Braun

Hundred Dollar Baby - Robert B. Parker

Spare Change - Robert B. Parker

Atomic Lobster - Tim Dorsey

A Feast in Exile - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

The Curious Eat Themselves - John Straley

A Book of Curious Advice - Ruth Pepper Summers

and I'm half way through The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 15 Mar 11 - 05:05 PM

I am on book number 6 or 7 since January, not counting the books the TheSilentOne reads to me at night to help me fall asleep.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 15 Mar 11 - 02:21 PM

None

The internet is enough for me.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Mar 11 - 01:13 PM

Ruth Erskine's Son, by Pansy aka Isabella Alden (1841-1930)

Seventh (penultimate) book in the Chautauqua Girls series. Written by Isabella Alden under the pseudonym "Pansy." Erskine, Ruth's son (a 5-year-old at the end of Judge Burnham's Daughters) is now a grown man, and Ruth is 50-something. He brings home an American wife from Paris, a woman who seems to want to tear apart mother and son. But Irene has some big secrets to hide.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 07 Mar 11 - 12:31 PM

Hey, I read two over the weekend...ok, so they were Robert B. Parker and he's a very easy read.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,999
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 11:05 PM

Bill, only you . . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 10:21 PM

999 .... it's 2011 ... that means you have read about 48 books so far this year and you are a little over 1/8 through the current book you are reading.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,999
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 07:44 PM

I musta meant 2010.

Uh, exactly what year IS it now?

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 07:29 PM

Forgot to post and now I have lost count. Oh well.
Currently reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Jeri
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 07:21 PM

Seeing as this is only March 6th, that comes out to a little over 4 books a day. Not bad.

I used to read about a book a day, but now I read before I go to sleep, and since that lasts for about one sentence, I'm a lot slower.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,999
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 07:13 PM

About 263.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Mar 11 - 05:15 PM

The Honor of the Big Snows by James Oliver Curwood (1879-1927).

What unseen force may have brought young Jan Thoreau [pron. Yahn TurROW] and his [violin] music from out of the barren lands into the remote camp of Lac Bain, forever changing the lives of those few who lived there? What brought him to the home of John and Melisse Cummins as the latter lay on her death bed? Moreover, what was the great sorrow and overpowering sadness which permeated the life of the young man in the months and years following his arrival, and by what means was he to struggle with The Honor of the Big Snows?

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 07:21 PM

1, 2, working on third.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 04:44 PM

The Magic Garden, by Gene (Eugenia) Stratton-Porter.

It is a book full of love, devotion and old fashioned values. It is indeed a fairy tale! It makes you laugh, cry and wish Amaryllis and John Guido all the happiness in the world. It offers a knight in shining armour and a true princess.... {there is an] almost lyrical quality of the story of the poor little rich girl who meets the beautiful young musician for a magic day in a magic garden, when she runs away.... It is also an accurate look at how cold and cruel it can be to grow up raised by owning-class people who, themselves, have not been raised in a loving way intimately connected to the real world.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Garden-Gene-Stratton-Porter/dp/0891909427/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_10

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Jan 11 - 09:59 PM

The Harvester, by Gene (Eugenia) Stratton-Porter (1863-1924)

The Harvester is one of Gene Stratton-Porter's romantic novels which combine a love of nature, high moral ideals and a good plot. This is the story of a young man who lives in the country side with his dog and other animals and grows herbs to sell to medical drug supply houses. One evening, he has a vision of his Dream Girl and this is the story of his search for her and what happens when he finds her.

http://librivox.org/the-harvester-by-gene-stratton-porter/

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Little Hawk
Date: 29 Jan 11 - 06:52 PM

Neither do I! But then...I'm never on the local bus....

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 29 Jan 11 - 05:12 PM

I've just re-read Colin(Angry Young Man)Wilson's autobiography. It's very entertaining.
Btw, It occurred to me today that I never see anybody reading a book on the local bus these days.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: scouse
Date: 29 Jan 11 - 04:57 PM

Oh Dear, I must confess to being a Sci-Fi addict just read the latest from Ian M. Banks... Super. but just started readin' the Millennium trilogy.. a complete change and I love it..

As Aye,

Phil.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 28 Jan 11 - 10:49 PM

Recently read Anne Tyler's Digging to America, Faye Kellerman's Hangman, Marcia Muller's Coming Back, and have almost finished Sara Paretsky's Body Work.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: SINSULL
Date: 28 Jan 11 - 03:25 PM

Just finished Winter Ghosts.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,lefthanded guitar
Date: 28 Jan 11 - 03:20 PM

I read a beautiful story called Blue Roses by a writer new to me; Frances Hwang. But I read an entire collection of short stories by her and EVERY ONE was a disappointment. Sigh.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Jan 11 - 01:56 PM

Vocab from the above:

Chasse-galere.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Jan 11 - 11:23 AM

The Golden Snare by James Oliver Curwood

With but two years of service in the RNMP, Philip Raine finds himself somewhat unwillingly on the trail of Bram Johnson, wanted for murder and a wild, untamed and savage man who commands a pack of wolves as his brethren.

But most peculiar of all is the snare which Bram had had in his possession and had somehow lost. It was a golden snare intricately woven out of the finest, most delicate flaxen hair of a woman. But what could possibly be the relationship between this half-human murderer and a woman who could have borne a crown of such beauty and elegance? The mystery of Bram Johnson and his wolves, and the golden snare, becomes one which Raine feels compelled to unravel even as he pursues the wild man and his pack among his own territory of the Canadian barren lands.

http://librivox.org/the-golden-snare-by-james-oliver-curwood/

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: J-boy
Date: 27 Jan 11 - 12:32 AM

The Killer Angels yet again. I demand that Ye Mudcatters read it! I also just finished the third in a graphic novel (comic book) series called "Scalped" that takes place in an all too believable Indian reservation. Very violent and not for the squeamish.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,Blind DRunk in Blind River
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 06:10 PM

Jeez! Yer kids are lucky, SINSULL. I wisht the flippin' skools in Blind River had yer kind of common sense.

Becca, I know all there is to know about what turns on and turns off hot babes. Trust me. I can tell you the the color of a girl's   underware just by lookin' at her eyes, eh?

What I am really waitin' to read is Don Cherry's next book when he gets arownd to writin' one. The man is a flippin' geenyus. He makes Obamma look like a skinny Black guy! Too bad for youse that he is not an American or you could, like, elect him Prezident for life! He would END terrerism once and fer all. Trust me.

- Shane

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 12:48 PM

I think a more accurate statement would be that you "Looked at" those picture magazines on the top shelf. :-) Unless, of course, you "read" what Miss January's turn offs and turn ons were...

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: SINSULL
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 12:29 PM

Shane,
As long as you are reading, how you spell it doesn't matter. Comic books count. I am convinced that if high started getting kids to read what they want instead of what some out of date curriculum requires, they would want to read.
I supplemented my son's school reading list with a heal;thy dose of comic books, fan magazine and Michael Jackson biographies.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,Blind DRunk in Blind River
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 12:20 PM

Sorry! I shoulda said "red", right?

Or "readed"?

Whatever.

- Shane

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 12:15 PM

Shane,
You sure "read" is the word you want here, bud?

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,Blind DRunk in Blind River
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 12:13 PM

Ummm...

Do them pickture magazines count? The ones on the top shelf at the variety store? I have read several of them, eh?

- Shane

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 11:44 AM

The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz (very good)

Bizarre Superstitions - the world's wackiest proverbs, rituals and beliefs by Christopher Cooper (interesting read)

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Jan 11 - 11:23 AM

The Country Beyond, by James Oliver Curwood

The Country Beyond, subtitled A Romance In the Wilderness, is a story of "Jolly" Roger McKay, an outcast on the run from the law; Nada, the girl he falls in love with; and Peter, the devoted mixed-breed dog who links the two together as no human could, as action, adventure, and romance take them through the Northwest Canadian wilderness in search of The Country Beyond.

http://librivox.org/the-country-beyond-by-james-oliver-curwood/

===

The next Curwood I just started ("The Golden Snare) is about an adventure featuring intermixed-race people in Canada-- which is very interesting because it relates to the Anti-Racism work I am doing and the interest Hardi and I have in hockey.

====

Will finish tomorrow so listing it now:

Quicksand, by Nella Larsen (1891-1964)

Quicksand ... focuses on Helga Crane, a mixed-race woman who is a schoolteacher in the American south. As the novel opens, she suddenly decides to give up her teaching position and go north, back to her roots in Chicago. Helga's restless search for identity is semi-autobiographical, inspired by Larsen's own struggles to reconcile her mixed heritage with the racism of 1920s America. Although this novel was published after 1923, the copyright was never renewed and is therefore in the public domain.

http://librivox.org/quicksand-by-nella-larsen/

===

The BIG one:

EfM (Education for Ministry), Year One - Old Testament

# Overview of the History of Israel - Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures
# The Book of Genesis - The Themes of Creation, Sin, Judgment and Redemption - Beginning the Study of Theology, Ethics and Liturgics
# The Exodus-Sinai Event and the Establishment of the Tribal Confederacy in Canaan - The Covenant of God with His People - The Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, and 1 Samuel
# The Rise of the Monarchy - The Books of 2 Samuel, 2 Kings, Deuteronomy, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, Jeremiah and Ezekiel
# Exilic and Post-Exilic Judaism - Judaism at the Beginning of Christianity
# Second Isaiah - Ezra - Nehemiah - The Chronicler - The Psalter
# The Wisdom Literature
# The Maccabean Revolt
# Judaism and the World of Jesus

http://www.eastcarolinaefm.com/id14.html and http://www.sewanee.edu/EFM/index.htm

Later I will list the OT books/commentaries also read-- have to think back and look ahead so will post them in a bunch.

===

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 10:32 AM

Not the first finished, but the first since the thread began:

ANSWERING GOD: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer
Author: Eugene Peterson
Paperback

===

This review is from: Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (Paperback)
I have to agree with the reviewer of August 7, 2001's enthusiasm for this book. I first read "Answering God: The Psalms As Tools for Prayer" when I checked it out of a local library. The book so moved and changed me that I had to stop midway, turn the book back in at the library, and order a copy.

"Answering God" is the kind of book that helps the reader open doors that have always be locked to them. In my case, it has revolutionized the way I pray while giving the Psalms greater meaning to me.

It is a small book of great depth. It looks at the Psalms--warts and all. It digs deep into the topics it discusses. It looks at the basic questions of what a Psalm consists of. It then teaches what prayer is and how it affects those who pray. It follows this by teaching the reader how to pray the Psalms.

This book is full of practical advice and direction. Eugene Peterson is the perfect person to write this book. He is an expert in the field of prayer...not because of any degree he holds but because he is a deep person of prayer (this will be crystal clear to anyone who reads the book). Peterson is a trusted guide for the sometimes unforgiving terrain of the Psalms.

I give "Answering God" my most heartfelt recommendation. I urge you to get a copy today.

===

I agree. Marvelous little book. Got it because, in another assigned text, the author mentions this one. Thought it would help, and it did.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 10:02 AM

I have just read the "Diary for 2012". Most exciting. I am looking forward to the follow up.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: 3refs
Date: 13 Jan 11 - 07:48 PM

Shake Hands with The Devil(second time, Johnny Bower's "China Wall" and about to start Bob Probert's "Tough Guy! My life on the edge.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 13 Jan 11 - 06:55 AM

I confess not one, I promised myself I would start reading through all my Harry Potter books during the Christmas break ....or shall I wait until the last of the films?

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Rapparee
Date: 12 Jan 11 - 10:56 PM

I'm currently reading "Melting Pot Soldiers" (about "ethnic" units in the American Civil War) and several others. Been multi-reading for years and years.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 12 Jan 11 - 07:00 PM

I've been keeping a books read list since November 1, 1972. So my yearly tally goes from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31. For the past 5 or so years, I've been averaging 125-140 books a year. Plus magazines, trade pubs, newspapers and newsletters (dead tree and electronic), etcet etcet. I'm compulsive. I read to get into the day (I schedule a minimum of a half hour of reading before I get "up", dressed and off to work or whatever) and I read to get out of the day -- requiring at least a half hour's reading time before turning out the light and falling asleep. I keep a book in the car, and (at various times) have kept a book in my lunch bag. (Lately I've been reading the local paper on my lunch break.) I used to read a "bathtub book" while sipping a margarita in a bubble bath, but since I broke my arm three years ago, I'm more or less limited to showers and a shower is NOT conducive to reading a book (or sipping a margarita). But that gives me more post-wake-up and pre-getting dressed time to read.

This morning I finished Angela Thirkell's "Northbridge Rectory" and started Thomas Flanagan's "The Year of the French". Got a book of poetry going in the car. Oh, and Aldous Huxley's book of essays on religion, "Themes and Variations". But I'm frightfully behind on reading Vanity Fair magazine.

I've been making a concerted effort to read some of the books that have been on the "to read" pile (or cleverly shelved) for twenty or thirty years while other books hijack my attention.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: EBarnacle
Date: 12 Jan 11 - 03:01 PM

I happened to come across volume 23 of the Richard Bolitho series by Alexander Kent [Douglas Reeman]. "Sword of Honor" is a summing up and a new beginning. Bolitho dies during an engagement related to Napoleon's excape from Elba and his Nephew and heir, Adam is given the family sword. As there are several volumes after this one, I presume they about Captain Adam Bolitho's adventures at sea from this point. I look forward to finding and reading them.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: EBarnacle
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 09:13 PM

By the way, I am too busy reading too many books at a time to count them.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 09:04 PM

OK, I'm in, but no religion bashing PLEASE, because my intensive studies this year will include not only several books of the Bible themselves but extensive commentary/study material for each, and I AM gonna count 'em all!

In addition, as I have posted elsewhere, I am back on reading in paper form-- real BOOKS-- with specs that work for the first time in YEARS, instead of all-audiobooks. So there is a parallel burst of intensive fiction-reading going on here as well as a number of nonfiction books I am reviewing (more than skimming) for various other ministry efforts I'm involved in.

So look out!

Then there will be the audiobooks that are bedtime/long trip fare.

Oy! :~)

~Senora la Avida

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: EBarnacle
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 07:45 PM

Don, I hope you enjoy the Ramage series. It is an interesting and somewhat strange collection of books. The one annoyance I have had with it is that many of the books are not readily available here in the US. I makes for a rather ragged, out of sequence, read but it is always worth it.

A few minutes ago, I just finished "21." It is the first 3 chapters of what would have been O'Brian's next chapter in the Aubrey-Maturin saga. As it is clearly an early draft of the book it is not fair to really criticize it for literary quality. There are repetitions and confusing points which I am sure would have been smoothed out in later edits prior to publication. In it, Aubrey gets to hoist his blue pendant as admiral of a squadron which will head for South Africa. Maturin fights another duel with a neighbor who is the nephew of Aubrey's fleet admiral. Aubrey reunites with his son Sam, who is a papal nuncio to Buenos Aires.

There are indications of a summing up of the overall story, almost as though O'Brian knew he was going to die but was not quite prepared when it did happen. For the first 3/4 of the book the printed text is shown opposite O'Brian's raw manuscript. This is followed by several pages of raw manuscript which I chose not too read as his handwriting is pretty difficult. The book would probably have been a good, likely final, chapter in the saga. In its current form, it acts as a prologue to the real story of what this novel would have been.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: SINSULL
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 02:34 PM

Big Norman - look at the titles. Hardly reason for smug. I never keep track of what I have read. This exercise will be helpful.
Especially given the abuse we Yanks have received in the Stupid Thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: theleveller
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 11:17 AM

I've read volumes.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Becca72
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 10:26 AM

I belong to goodreads.com and keep track of everything I've read, am currently reading and would like to read there. It even sends updates and reviews to my "friends" from the site.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 08:39 AM

Does a music manuscript count as a book?

What about a CDRom with a year's worth of magazines?
Does it count as a book because it is not interuppted by adverts etc. or does it not count because it is a collection of articles, or not count because it is not a physical book?

Apart from that I'm not getting much reading done at the moment by my standards, only five so far this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 04:24 AM

well, I have 6 novels (mainly murders - police procedurals) waiting to go back to the library, along with 2 novels (fantasies) I read before the New Year.

I'm also currently reading a number of non-fiction books.

sandra

back in the Depression when my father was still at school he got a job with the local Library to chase down overdue books. Probably less threatening to have a school boy on a bicycle asking for overdue books.

He received a few pennies per book & was allowed to borrow one book for every book he returned. He read 2000 books one year.

Dunno whether I'll beat his record - I belong to 2 local council libraries who allow borrowers to take home 20 books at a time, so I usually have up to 40 library books at once! For 3 weeks & often renewed!

One of my libraries allows me to check my borrowing history & I've borrowed 751 books since 2004 - it's amazing that so many have been discarded! They must be those ephemeral paperback murders & fantasies I like!

No, I don't think I'll beat his record.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Janie
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 01:05 AM

Ha! Painful memories from grade school of never getting a "book worm" pin because I simply was not capable logging everything I read.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: quokka
Date: 11 Jan 11 - 12:01 AM

I have just finished the trilogy by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest. Absolutely brilliant!

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Ron Davies
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 11:35 PM

Why don't we actually talk about the books we read, perhaps with an eye to convincing others to read them?    Yes, another thread also tends in this direction, but often becomes just a listing--as this one seems to actually intend.   If not just a Mudcat version of Facebook "Friend"-counting.

I'm reading an excellent biography (not brand new) of Bing Crosby--early years--1903 to 1940. Title:      Pocketful of Dreams.   Author has a wonderful style.-- including all sorts of stories and pithy observations (e.g. "Prohibition was the government's gift to jazz.")   And when Bing was married the first time, it was "Dixie Lee Marries".   He was cited (in the New York Times) as Murray Crosey for the occasion.

Lots and lots of information on early jazz and early movies--and I'm only up to about 1931.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Wesley S
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 06:25 PM

And I count 13 books finished so far.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Wesley S
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 06:22 PM

Sorry Norman. "Books with Mudcat in the title" is a different thread alltogether. Thanks anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 06:21 PM

"Hands up who's coming to England"

I don't think smug. Knowing how to read is a badge of education. Knowing what to read is just good sense. Thinking what you have read is better than someone else s is pompous perhaps. Sorry Norm, I find nothing smug in this opportunity to share what we have read. I'll enjoy knowing who in England has read what. And is it available over here in the states.

D

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,Big Norman Voice
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 04:58 PM

Another Mudcat smugness opportunity.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 04:55 PM

Wesley,

Lanier is rumored to have left parts to a third book as well. I read Hiero's Journey in the early 70's and was blow'd by it. What and exciting read. In many ways like literate Edgar Rice Borroughs.

Don

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 04:45 PM

On my fifth already, with another one part finished.

LTS who can't be arsed to log out.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 04:23 PM

I read most of them.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 03:44 PM

One, two, three. (You said to "count" 'em, not to name 'em.)

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: SINSULL
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 03:38 PM

Just Finished Caleb Carr's Angel of Darkness and started Treason, a rewrite of A Planet Called Treason - a gift from my Secret Santa.
Unusual for me to have two fiction in a row.
SINS

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 03:01 PM

If you want to keep searchable track, too, take a look at Library Thing. I've been using it for a year or so, when I remember. It's very easy.

Just finished David Lavender's "One Man's West." Really excellent esp. as it is about the 1920s and 30s area just down the road from us, Telluride and Ouray, Colorado and other close by areas where my folks took us for picnic, etc. The author was born and raised on a ranch, tried his hand at hard-rock mining, did more ranching and in between got a couple of degrees, but this book is about a favourite little patch of Western CO and so, more meaningful.

I've just started on Diana Gabaldon's latest of her Outlander series "An Echo in the Bones."

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Wesley S
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 01:43 PM

You learn something new every day. I didn't know there was a sequel to "Heiro's Journey". Thanks Don. I'll look for it.

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 01:29 PM

Pulp History

Subject: RE: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: DonMeixner
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 01:21 PM

Unforsaken Hiero by Sterling Lanier

Captain Blood by Ragael Sabatini pub 1902 The Errol Fynn film is quite a good job of the book.

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien.

just staring "Ramage" and I know nothing about it yet.

Don

Subject: BS: Lets count the books we read in 2011
From: Wesley S
Date: 10 Jan 11 - 01:01 PM

I doubt that we'll get everyone to take part but I'd be interested if we could keep a running tally of the number of books we read in 2011. With the number of avid readers we have here at the Mudcat I'm sure the number will be staggering.

I just finished True Grit by Charles Portis. It was better than I remembered it. It's been about 30 years since the last time I picked it up.

So that's one. Who's next?