a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by raisin
raisin  ·  2913 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are your goals for 2017?

Honestly, judging by numbers is a little unfair to begin with, since it doesn't account for the length of the books, or for how much of them you actually retain. And knitting sounds awesome!



ButterflyEffect  ·  2913 days ago  ·  link  ·  

What have you read this year? Same question goes for Dala.

---
Dala  ·  2913 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Good point. Some of the things I read this year were longer or more technical than my typical sci-fi reads. Knitting is pretty cool but I think I still much prefer crochet. Anyway, not a full list, but here are some of the books that stood out that I read this year:

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

Some of the Best from Tor.com 2014

Children of God by Mary Doris Russell

I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

Currently I am reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Seen the movie, had a copy of the book on my shelf for awhile, finally decided to actually read it.

Debating with myself on a goal number for next year. Probably going to make it 20, I read that many in 2015 but devoted a lot more time to crafting this year.

---
raisin  ·  2910 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Hmm, let's see. This year I have read, among other things:

The Outsider by Albert Camus. I greatly enjoyed this one, will probably pick a copy in the original French (even though my French is abysmal). Have a copy of The Plague sitting on my bookshelf which I will probably get to reading early next year.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang. This one was... a little weird. It was a good kind of weird, but I don't think I will be in a mood to re-read it any time soon.

How to Travel with a Salmon by Umberto Eco. This one is a small collection of his essays, read most of it while travelling to Britain this summer. A lot of hilarious bits.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty. “It’s illegal to yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater, right?” “It is.” “Well, I’ve whispered ‘Racism’ in a post-racial world.”

And right now, I am listening to an audiobook version of You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney, which seems alright so far.

What about you?

---
rjw  ·  2909 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I really enjoyed The Outsider, The Plague is also sitting on my bookshelf. I've also read The Myth of Sisyphus which is not a work of fiction, but a philosophical essay where he describes Absurdism. The ideas underlie the rest of his writing and as a work of philosophy it is very readable. I recommend it.

---