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ToxicFrog
Apr 26, 2008


I've been consistently hitting about 100 books/year since I started keeping track, so I'm going to ramp things up a bit more than I did last year and aim for a nice round 96.

Subgoals:
- No more than 25% rereads. Last year a third of my books were rereads, and I'd like to read more new stuff and discover more authors I like.
- At least 10% nonfiction. Last year it was 5%. The problem I have with nonfiction is that while I enjoy good nonfiction, I seem to have a harder time picking good nonfiction than fiction. If anyone has recommendations, especially for books on space exploration technology and missions (except Ignition) or espionage (except GCHQ, Blind Man's Bluff, or Most Secret War), I'm all ears.

I'm probably not going to bother with the Booklord Challenge -- if for no other reason than that I've tried The Blind Owl before and found it completely unreadable, and I'm not going to force myself through a book I hate just so that I can say that I did -- but I might use it as a tiebreaker when I'm deciding what to read next. And it's already generated some interesting recommendations, so thanks for posting it.

First up, I think, is flushing my queue from last year: finish Brust's Khaavren Romances, read Dumas's d'Artagnan Romances, and then reread Carol Berg's Lighthouse Duet.

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Bobby The Rookie
Jun 2, 2005

I silently participated in the book challenge last year. My initial goal was 30 and I hit that about halfway through the year, so I bumped it up to 50. Wound up at 54 books last year, so I think I'll set my sights on 50 again and hopefully see another little boost in my goal if I hit it early.

I'll do Stravinsky's challenge as well, since I already have most of those categories covered on my list of stuff to read and I like to keep things moderately diverse- and because The Blind Owl was already on my shortlist. My general goal is to read more history books and classic literature that I've missed out on up to now, but there was a great, heaping list of different recommendations I've been pulling out of the QBaFCaRSRL thread that I'm eager to read as well.

Right now I'm reading King Leopold's Ghost, The Day of the Triffids, and the Fitzgerald translation of The Odyssey.

belt
May 12, 2001

by Nyc_Tattoo
One of my goals is to read more this year, and actually read some stuff to better myself, so I'm going to do Stravinsky's challenge along with doing 52 books this year. I'm going to try and make every other book a non-fiction book but I know I'll cheat on that.

My goodreads profile is here. I think I already have a few people on there from when I joined a few couple years ago and promptly forgot about it.

Wungus
Mar 5, 2004

I'm gunna read 52 books; this is going to be a busier year than last year for me. Probably. Hopefully.

Here's my Goodreads profile, because everything I finish is going on there. I'm going to mostly try and read stuff from the last five years. Mostly. I did kick off the year with To Reign In Hell though.

Wungus fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Jan 5, 2015

Popular Human
Jul 17, 2005

and if it's a lie, terrorists made me say it
This is actually the year I don't assign myself an arbitrary number of books to read. Last year I fell behind by a bit, so I ended up prioritizing a bunch of light, short SFF novels over heavier fare. The result is that a bunch of longer, meatier works have been sitting in my to-read pile for months because I don't have "time" to read them - and I didn't have time to read them solely because of an arbitrary constraint I'd placed on myself. That's dumb as hell. This is the year I say gently caress it to that and read however many big-rear end books I can. On deck (as soon as I finish the new William Gibson novel I got for Christmas) are Gass' The Tunnel, Gaddis' A Frolic of His Own and Anna Karenina.

I might give the Stravinsky Challenge a shot as well, although I typically hit about 2/3rds of his list in a given year anyway (I've tried to prioritize books by women and POCs as much as possible in the last couple years).

edit: I feel like I should know this already, but Stravinsky: what's so great about The Blind Owl?

Popular Human fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jan 5, 2015

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob
Put me down for 30 please. It was my goal last year, and I missed it, but I got hung up on one book for like four months. I'm not doing the Stravinsky Bonus Round but I am looking to read more serious lit this year than last year.

EDIT: Goodreads here https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5605419-rob

EDIT: gently caress it, I am doing the Stravinsky challenge. It's supposed to be a challenge, after all

guppy fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Jan 5, 2015

Guy A. Person
May 23, 2003

Stravinsky posted:

However since its 2015, the year of the sheep, instead of being free spirits you should follow me and take on my challenge designed to get people out of their comfort zones and read a bunch of different things by doing each of the following:

I was thinking about skipping this year, but this sounds fun and is more or less the type of thing I was going for last year; i.e. diversifying my reading habits rather than brute forcing a set number. Last year I did a few of these categories (female author, non-white author, nonfiction) but several from each category, so this actually seems like a more fun challenge.

I will also do the following:

12 books by female authors
12 nonfiction
12 non-American/European books
Gravity's Rainbow (whiffed on this last year)

true.spoon posted:

Also, I only found a childrens book by Stephan J. Myers named The Colour Red, you mean something else right?

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

Dienes
Nov 4, 2009

dee
doot doot dee
doot doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot


College Slice
My Goodreads Profile - Add me!

Count me in again this year, and put me down for the Stravinsky Challenge.

Stravinsky posted:

1. 52 books I have not read before, including:
2. Read a female author
3. The non-white author
4. Philosophy
5. History
6. An essay
7. A collection of poetry
8. Something post-modern
9. Something absurdist
10. The Blind Owl
11. Something on either hate or love
12. Something dealing with space
13. Something dealing with the unreal
14. Wildcard: Stanislaw Lem's Solaris
15. Something published this year or the past three months
16. That one book that has been sitting on your desk waiting for a long time
17. A play
18. Biography
19. The color red
20. Something banned or censored
21. Short story(s)
22. A mystery
23. Behaviorism

If a book easily fits multiple categories, I'm counting it for each (as needed, anyway). Now where do I find a non-white woman who wrote a book of poetry on the color red?

:toxx: If I don't complete this by 11:59pm on December 31st, 2015.

Dienes fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Jan 5, 2015

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!

Dienes posted:

Someone throw a book (less than 500 pages, please) at me for this!

If you haven't read it before, check out Stanislaw Lem's Solaris

The George Clooney cover is the lamest, but probably the easiest to find (which is too bad because some of the covers for this book are gorgeous): http://www.amazon.com/Solaris-Stanislaw-Lem/dp/0156027607

Dienes
Nov 4, 2009

dee
doot doot dee
doot doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot
doot doot dee
dee doot doot


College Slice

Blind Sally posted:

If you haven't read it before, check out Stanislaw Lem's Solaris

The George Clooney cover is the lamest, but probably the easiest to find (which is too bad because some of the covers for this book are gorgeous): http://www.amazon.com/Solaris-Stanislaw-Lem/dp/0156027607

Looks fun, thanks!

thehomemaster
Jul 16, 2014

by Ralp
Going for 52 this year, going to be a solid mix I feel.

What are people's thoughts on not finishing books, say getting through 4/5 and then quitting (because it's bad/you get the gist)?

I had a number of books from last year (Dune, The 7 Habits if Highly Effective People) where I just stopped and said 'that's enough of that shite'

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/13421112-thomas

Stravinsky
May 31, 2011

knees of putty posted:

I'm just going to do the challenge; numbers are irrelevant (to me). Looking for books that will challenge me - my choices for the first (#2, female author) are

Atwood - Blind Assassin
Butler - Gender Trouble
Woolf - The Waves
Lessing - Golden Notebook

Oh Booklord, I beseech thee to speak to me and command which to read ...

(all happen to be on the shelves at home!)

All of them

saphron posted:

Do people typically count audiobooks in this, or is that more of a 'at your own discretion' kinda thing?

Follow your heart

Siminu posted:

(Does Machiavelli's The Prince count as philosophy? That's been on my pile for a while now)

It's political philosophy so go ahead. Really its ok to stretch any of the requirements and in fact I encourage others to do so.

elbow posted:

Sorry, somehow I forgot to include that I've never read any poetry I've liked. I enjoy Carver's short stories but haven't tried his poetry. I'm probably looking for something fairly easy; I dislike overly ornamental language and experimental poetry.

Maybe make your challenge (or incorporate it into your current one) to find poetry that clicks with you? Just a cool suggestion from me to you.

Hocus Pocus posted:

I am determined to accomplish last year's stretch of 72. I read a mix of things last year, but this year I'd like to read more nonfiction and poetry - do you have a babby's first poetry list somewhere in SA, Stravinsky? Last year I read some Baudelaire and some Keats and that was it.

Go to a used bookstore and look for one of those english 111 or whatever textbooks with poetry (or if you can find one thats all poetry go for that). That is what I ended up doing last year to really start looking at poetry. There is also a poetry thread somewhere that has some real good suggestions in the op. (oh cestmoi is already on it and knows whats up in general so listen to him)

Stravinsky
May 31, 2011

ToxicFrog posted:

I'm probably not going to bother with the Booklord Challenge -- if for no other reason than that I've tried The Blind Owl before and found it completely unreadable, and I'm not going to force myself through a book I hate just so that I can say that I did -- but I might use it as a tiebreaker when I'm deciding what to read next. And it's already generated some interesting recommendations, so thanks for posting it.

You can still do the challenge if you want to but skip the blind owl if you found it disagreeable. The idea is to just try and get people to try different things and have a little bit of fun beyond posting lists of books to fill an arbitrary number requirement. This way your also arbitrarily fulfilling my requirements as well. Part of the reason for the book being on the list is because it is a middle eastern arabic writer (not many people read any of those and I am not going to count the kite runner in that category) who most people would never read any of his works so its there. Mostly its just self indulgence on my part. Also what makes you think it is unreadable?

Popular Human posted:

edit: I feel like I should know this already, but Stravinsky: what's so great about The Blind Owl?

The recursive nature of the book that is partly about death, partly about making art, and partly a opium dream that does not overstay it's welcome. I think it is wonderfully written. For people who can not get a physical copy I will put a link to a free translation in the op when I remember where I put it.

Stravinsky
May 31, 2011

There was someone asking about something about the color red category but I can not find you but its an intentionally vague and broad category kinda like the love/hate one. Anything that you can think or someone can think of that can go into that category. Like you can read a book on communism or that one grr martin book with the wedding. Or maybe something a bit more literal. It is meant to generate some book talk and suggestions. I will be kind of disappointed if everyone picks like where the red fern grows, the red badge of courage, or the scarlet letter though :o:


I will start putting up peoples challenges and stuff in the op tomorrow/sometime this week

Guy A. Person
May 23, 2003

Stravinsky posted:

There was someone asking about something about the color red category but I can not find you but its an intentionally vague and broad category kinda like the love/hate one. Anything that you can think or someone can think of that can go into that category. Like you can read a book on communism or that one grr martin book with the wedding. Or maybe something a bit more literal. It is meant to generate some book talk and suggestions. I will be kind of disappointed if everyone picks like where the red fern grows, the red badge of courage, or the scarlet letter though :o:

Just want to point out that my suggestion of My Name is Red wasn't just about the title; the book has multiple non-traditional narrators including inanimate objects like a coin, a drawing, and the color red.

But it is also an excellent book and I am seriously suggesting that someone read it for that number in the challenge, or just in general.

Alternate suggestion would be a book about the War of the Roses since you have the theme of red vs white roses and also blood because of the war.

The Berzerker
Feb 24, 2006

treat me like a dog


Stravinsky posted:

There was someone asking about something about the color red category but I can not find you but its an intentionally vague and broad category kinda like the love/hate one. Anything that you can think or someone can think of that can go into that category. Like you can read a book on communism or that one grr martin book with the wedding. Or maybe something a bit more literal. It is meant to generate some book talk and suggestions. I will be kind of disappointed if everyone picks like where the red fern grows, the red badge of courage, or the scarlet letter though :o:

I liked the vagueness of this category. I am probably going to read a book on color theory for it.

thehomemaster posted:

What are people's thoughts on not finishing books, say getting through 4/5 and then quitting (because it's bad/you get the gist)?

I had a number of books from last year (Dune, The 7 Habits if Highly Effective People) where I just stopped and said 'that's enough of that shite'

I rarely get 4/5 through a book and stop. If I'm going to quit on a book it's usually before the halfway point. That said, there are only a few books I've ever given up on. One was a crappy Stephen King book (The Dark Half), another was my re-read of Catcher in the Rye (which I read in my late teens originally).

The Berzerker fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Jan 6, 2015

Roydrowsy
May 6, 2007

Roydrowsy posted:

I am in for 100 books again.

I think my personal goals are as follows:
10 Percent of my reads this year will be re-reads. I buy and hold on to so many books and I tell myself I am going to re-read things, but seldom do. Now is my chance to change that.
10 Percent of my reads will be "old". I'm aiming for books over 100 years old, but I will probably count something 80 or 90 years old. (I'll be tapping into a lot of public domain stuff for this I figure)

In the meantime, I plan on being mindful of reading books by women, and non-fiction, but I'm not building a goal off of it at this time.

Thinking about it, I'm probably gonna shoot for the booklord challenge, since most of my reading will fit it already.

I would be willing to swap "wildcards" with somebody, which can happen now, or we can do it later.

CestMoi
Sep 16, 2011

The Berzerker posted:

I wouldn't mind some recommendations for philosophy or poetry as I haven't gone down either of those paths too much. For poetry, I'd prefer recommendations of a collection rather than just one specific poem. I'd also appreciate some suggestions for something banned or censored. A quick google shows me that Lolita was banned in Canada at one point and I've never read it so maybe I'll read that, it's on my shelf.

Philosophy is really broad so if you can think of something in particular ythat interests you, then recommendations will be easier. That said here are some really good philosophy books that you should read:

Fear + Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard - Soren Kierkegaard tries to reconcile belief in a loving God with the fact that he demanded ABraham kill his son. Abraham must have been prepared to do it, because if he knew God would tell him to stop then there was no risk involved + no faith. Is Abraham a monster + blindly carrying out the orders of a higher power no matter what they say actually evil? Follow Johannes de SIlentio as he delves into the deepest darkest reaches of Christianity. The book can be a bit difficult sometimes but is worth it IMO it's very well written + the topic is interesting to me at least.

Tractatus Logico Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein - Wittgenstein focuses on the use of language in philosophy + how we don't define the terms of our use of language well enough and end up making all kinds of errors in thinking by not being precise. Essentially concludes that philosophy is mostly rubbish, because you can never say what you want to say, and even if you could no one would understand you. Short but dense and gets into Logic in the middle which isn't very easy to follow but it's written in such a way that it is so easy to skip bits + come back to them later and you can spend a couple of minutes digesting each sentence if you're really struggling. His arguments are better (and there's more of them) in Philosophical Investigations, but that is a much bigger book

Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche - V important book in modern history, there are a lot of ways to interpret what Nietzsche says and that is a bad thing sometimes. Written as a pseudo-religious text telling a story about a philosopher and his ideas of the Ubermensch and just about everything else in the world etc. Kind of a slog in a way the other two aren't, but still quite good, if yuo can say you've read it and have your own interpretation you look cool and smart to people. Bonus points if you correct them re: the Nazis.


If you really feel like delving in to the philosophy thing then pick up Bertrand Russel's History of Western Philosophy, it's very well written, analyses philosophy from 500BC to 1946 in terms of cultural movements + stuff well worth reading if you want to know more.

The Berzerker
Feb 24, 2006

treat me like a dog


I've never read any philosophy really, at all, so I don't have a clue where to start or what to say I'd be interested in. Thanks for the recommendations!

8one6
May 20, 2012

When in doubt, err on the side of Awesome!

Stravinsky posted:

...
The recursive nature of the book that is partly about death, partly about making art, and partly a opium dream that does not overstay it's welcome. I think it is wonderfully written. For people who can not get a physical copy I will put a link to a free translation in the op when I remember where I put it.

There appear to be a few translations available for the book. Is there one you prefer/would recommend?

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!
I'm definitely in again this year. I made my goal of 42 books last year (I did 52 for two years in a row and then failed that goal two years ago when I got really busy so I reduced it last year). Let's try to get that number back up a little bit, hopefully with minimal padding: this year it's 45.

And what the hell, I'll idly try to go for Stravinsky's challenge too. Somebody give me my wild card for after I finish my current book.

So far:

1. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch - this was a reread but I loved it just as much if not more than the first time through. Lynch creates great characters, writes snappy dialogue that doesn't seem like it's trying to hard to be quippy, and the world and story are fantastic. I also liked Red Seas Under Red Skies, but I don't think I'll reread it this year. Looking forward to getting to The Republic of Thieves, though!
2. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces, Radley Balko - in progress.

Here's my goodreads account! Feel free to add me. :)

mrchinchin25
Apr 14, 2012

Dat BDSSE
Last year I managed a whopping 10 books (although admittedly 4 of them were 1000 pg monsters, 2 x Rothfuss' and 2 x Sandersons)

This year I want to read more, so am aiming for 20, I'm already cheating and have read 1.5 small Lovecraft Novellas.

More specific goals - this year I want to read all of Neal Asher's Polity/AgentCormac/3rd thing books.
I wouldn't mind cracking through the remaining Malazans but the wordcount scares me

Goodreads link here somewhere https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/25554375-mt

ToxicFrog
Apr 26, 2008


Stravinsky posted:

Also what makes you think it is unreadable?

"Unreadable" is a bit of hyperbole. :) But I really didn't enjoy it -- I'm not a fan of meandering stream-of-consciousness stuff in general, and if there's such a thing as an uncanny valley for prose, TBO falls squarely within it. The latter can probably be blamed on the translation I had, but it results in the whole thing feeling off-kilter and kind of unpleasant to read.

It's been years -- a decade at this point, holy poo poo -- so I'll give it another look once you've posted your recommended translation. And once I've emptied my current queue, which a friend just dumped a bunch of Leiber on.

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!

Stravinsky posted:

There was someone asking about something about the color red category but I can not find you but its an intentionally vague and broad category kinda like the love/hate one. Anything that you can think or someone can think of that can go into that category. Like you can read a book on communism or that one grr martin book with the wedding. Or maybe something a bit more literal. It is meant to generate some book talk and suggestions. I will be kind of disappointed if everyone picks like where the red fern grows, the red badge of courage, or the scarlet letter though :o:

Communist Manifesto for philosophy and the color red in one book :smug:

e: gently caress I missed that you mentioned communism in your post. I promise I can actually read and haven't been faking my challenges.

tookie
Nov 12, 2008
I missed last year's challenge due to full-time working/grad school, but I think I have a handle on things now! I'll be reading at least 60 , and I'll look to Stravinsky's challenge for inspiration.

Please feel free to friend my on Goodreads.

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!

Mahlertov Cocktail posted:

And what the hell, I'll idly try to go for Stravinsky's challenge too. Somebody give me my wild card for after I finish my current book.

Robert Nye's Falstaff: http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12990473007&searchurl=tn%3Dfalstaff%26sortby%3D3%26an%3Drobert+nye

http://www.amazon.ca/Falstaff-Novel-Robert-Nye-ebook/dp/B00CKXEEQQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420585586&sr=8-1&keywords=robert+nye+falstaff

It's a fictional autobiography of Shakespeare's Falstaff (of 1 Henry IV and 2 Henry IV infamy), an old gluttonous braggart of a knight who likes to spend his time eating, getting drunk, and having sex. Being a known liar, it's a lot of fun trying to parcel out when Falstaff is telling the truth, embellishing certain facts, or creating myths about himself wholesale, which is all sorts of meta, seeing as the novel is itself a fictional work. It won a bunch of awards, and is fairly easy to find. There are lots of digital copies around, and physical copies can be bought for pennies. Even if you've never read any of Shakespeare's Henry IV plays, it's an enjoyable read--though some background knowledge will allow you to catch the occasional reference.

Mahlertov Cocktail
Mar 1, 2010

I ate your Mahler avatar! Hahahaha!
That sounds awesome.

e: just got it on Kindle for $1. It's up after Rise of the Warrior Cop!

Mahlertov Cocktail fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Jan 7, 2015

fritzov
Oct 24, 2010
Last year i missed my goal by 1 book so I'm aiming for the same number this year, 35 books.


Here's my goodreads profile:https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3602618-fritzov


I am yet to decide to take the challenge or not.

Quidthulhu
Dec 17, 2003

Stand down, men! It's only smooching!

I finished my first book of the new year today! Going to keep my announcements and my thoughts until the end of the month, but I'm glad to have started the year off strong. :)

I also think I added everyone who has posted their Goodreads here. My link: http://goodreads.com/nickisalright Feel free to be my friend!

Radio!
Mar 15, 2008

Look at that post.

Guy A. Person posted:

Just want to point out that my suggestion of My Name is Red wasn't just about the title; the book has multiple non-traditional narrators including inanimate objects like a coin, a drawing, and the color red.

But it is also an excellent book and I am seriously suggesting that someone read it for that number in the challenge, or just in general.

Alternate suggestion would be a book about the War of the Roses since you have the theme of red vs white roses and also blood because of the war.

I've been meaning to read this and haven't gotten around to it, so you've convinced me to finally actually do it.

Sodacan
Dec 6, 2014

it's a nose, right? right?
This is a challenge I can get behind. Even got my history out of the way by cheating and finishing Radvinsky's Stalin biography yesterday, which is one monster out of the way.

26 books sounds like a good number, though it will probably prove monumentally egotistical as the months go by. I think my challenges (in addition to those listed) will be:

- read some other DFW collection/novel
- read one of the big Dostoevsky novels
- read some ______ Sun series by Wolfe that is NOT the Book of the New Sun quadrology, which if left to my own devices I will just end up re-reading every year or two.
- Camus' "The Plague"

Also, more African continental novels. I found a great list of those by a phD candidate in African Lit, but probably lost it since orz

1. Edvard Radzinsky - "Stalin: The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives." [Complete]
2. Francis Fukuyama - "The Origins of Political Order" [In Progress (for the third drat time)]
3. William Gibson - "Pattern Recognition" [In Progress]

Living Image
Apr 24, 2010

HORSE'S ASS

I'm in for 40 and the booklord's challenge.

Spadoink
Oct 10, 2005

Tea, earl grey, hot.

College Slice
Yikes, I was reading some suggestions that others have made, and realized that I absolutely have to throw this out there (feel free to pick it up as a wildcard) .. the most amazing piece of writing that most of you (and pretty much all non-Canadians) have never heard of: George Elliott Clarke's Whylah Falls. Oddly, wikipedia does an okay job of summing up a difficult-to-sum-up piece of work:

Whylah Falls is a long narrative poem (or "verse novel") by George Elliott Clarke, published in book form in 1990.

As with much of Clarke's work, the poem is inspired by the history and culture of the Black Canadian community in Nova Scotia, which he refers to as the "Africadian" community (a combination of the words "African" and "Acadian"). Clarke himself describes the work as a "blues spiritual about love and the pain of love".

Whylah Falls tells the story of several pairs of black lovers in southwestern Nova Scotia in the 1930s, through dramatic monologues, songs, sermons, sonnets, newspaper snippets, recipes, haiku and free verse. It has also been released in audio book form, with an original jazz score performed by Joe Sealy, Jamie Gattie and Steve Macdonald to accompany the reading. Clarke also adapted the poem into a stage play, which premiered in 1999.

Whylah Falls was a winner of the Archibald Lampman Award for poetry. The book was also chosen for the CBC's inaugural Canada Reads competition in 2002, where it was championed by author Nalo Hopkinson.


Clarke is amazing, and alive, and still writing, and still lecturing and speaking and available at Word on the Street most years here in Toronto.

Hantama
Dec 6, 2008
Could someone give me a book for my wildcard please?
IŽd rather know sooner than later so I can order it.

Burning Rain
Jul 17, 2006

What's happening?!?!

Hantama posted:

Could someone give me a book for my wildcard please?
I d rather know sooner than later so I can order it.

Apuleius' Golden rear end. It has a guy having lots of sex and then turning into a donkey with a big dick.

Hantama
Dec 6, 2008

Burning Rain posted:

Apuleius' Golden rear end. It has a guy having lots of sex and then turning into a donkey with a big dick.

Just my kind of book. Awesome, thanks.

SwimGood
Jan 2, 2015
Count me in. I think a reasonable goal for me is about 25, considering I'm going to try and a re-read of 2666, Infinite Jest, and Vollmann's Seven Dreams series (Dying Grass is due out this year sometime). Females include: Jane Smiley's Greenlanders, Jydia Davis's Can't and Won't, and a Simone Weil reader I got for Christmas.

How interpretative is the OP list? Like, can I read Stoner and tick off Something dealing with space? Considering the book, to me, is all about social and inter-personal barriers we all force others into/try to break out of in order to connect with our fellow people.

Sally
Jan 9, 2007


Don't post Small Dash!

SwimGood posted:

How interpretative is the OP list? Like, can I read Stoner and tick off Something dealing with space? Considering the book, to me, is all about social and inter-personal barriers we all force others into/try to break out of in order to connect with our fellow people.

The idea is to challenge yourself, rather than just reading, say, Animorph books all year. If you feel this interpretation keeps the challenge intact, then go for it. If it's not, then you're only going to be letting yourself down.

And our Booklord.

Don't let the Booklord down.

CestMoi
Sep 16, 2011

The list isn't actually anything that's going to be rigidly administered if you read something and say "yeah this book was about red" but actually that book wasn't about red nothing is going to happen. It's a guideline to get you maybe reading broadly and outside your comfort zone, rather than reading 200 spiderman comics and calling it a year.

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Stravinsky
May 31, 2011

SwimGood posted:

How interpretative is the OP list? Like, can I read Stoner and tick off Something dealing with space? Considering the book, to me, is all about social and inter-personal barriers we all force others into/try to break out of in order to connect with our fellow people.


CestMoi posted:

The list isn't actually anything that's going to be rigidly administered if you read something and say "yeah this book was about red" but actually that book wasn't about red nothing is going to happen. It's a guideline to get you maybe reading broadly and outside your comfort zone, rather than reading 200 spiderman comics and calling it a year.

Blind Sally posted:

The idea is to challenge yourself, rather than just reading, say, Animorph books all year. If you feel this interpretation keeps the challenge intact, then go for it. If it's not, then you're only going to be letting yourself down.

And our Booklord.

Don't let the Booklord down.

You got it.

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