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Clawing free from the dessicated pulp-wastes and e-ink swamps of last year's thread, let us all quake in awe as we bid welcome to the glorious rise of the squaling, newborn... Book Barn Reading Challenge Noble Goon, do you dare take on the ink-stained mantle worn by proud generations of Book Barners before you? To till the fields of typography and harvest the fruits of your own sweating, paper-cut hands? Good tidings, friend! Look no further than the annual Book Barn Reading Challenge! To participate, you need only announce the number of books you wish to read in the next calendar year, and attempt to reach that number! Or, instead of/in addition to your numeric pledge, you can set a more specific personal challenge if you choose! (Taking your time to enjoy some choice literature? Focusing more on a specific genre? Tackling a sprawling fantasy series? Reading outside your usual haunts? The world is your oyster! Which, if you think about it, are sort of like the books of the sea.) Whatever you decide to do, post your progress about every month (or as often as you're able) to share with your fellow word-farmers what you've read! We want to know your thoughts as well as your planting techniques. (For real though, it's usually a lot more interesting to see how you liked/disliked a book! It's also a great way to keep your impressions around for posterity if you're anything like me and have a terrible memory.) BOOKLORD 2022 Do you aspire to more? A quest that takes you beyond the well-trod pastures of knowledge and entertainment you've become so familiar with? The Booklord Challenge might be your calling! As your duly appointed Booklord for this year (the illustrious Gertrude Perkins having passed the title on to me), I have crafted a list of prompts to stretch your psyche, eradicate excuses, and bestow a bounty of books before you budding bibliophiles. While the goal of this challenge is to push us to read more--and read differently--remember that above all, THIS SHOULD BE FUN! Go at your own pace and interpret the prompts as freely as you'd like to (a tip from me to you is to also remember the value of quality over quantity!). Pluck the prompts that pique your interests and leave some for the rest of us, or go for bragging rights and Bonus Points* by completing the full Booklord challenge! THE 2022 CHALLENGE: 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 8% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. 5. Read something originally published...
7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 10. Read something from a genre you rarely or never read 11. Read something about exploration 12. Read something about transformation 13. Read something about film or television 14. Read something fictional, based (however loosely) on a historical event 15. Read something written by an author living in the opposite hemisphere from you where you currently live/the one you'd call home (North/South and/or East/West - Bonus Points* for both axes!) 16. Read something about mountains 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet 18. Re-read something you love 19. Read something scary 20. Look through some other Book Barn threads (or the Discord) and pick a book suggested or discussed there to read (Bonus Points* if you also post in that thread to discuss the book once you've read it!) 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!) *Bonus Points are entirely made up and can be whatever reward you feel like you deserve and/or makes you feel good for taking the extra effort! I don't enforce the rules, I just suggest them! Feel free to use a book for more than one prompt if it meets multiple qualifiers. (For example, this year I'm planning to finally read Moby Dick, which I would count for prompts 5e, 11, 17, and maybe 19 as well if I had thalassophobia.) And remember that for the purposes of the challenge, 'book' really just means something with words, so don't be afraid to think outside the box of novels! Want to include some comics, zines, cookbooks, scripts, fanfiction, the collected terminal/diary entries of a particularly text-heavy video game, or something even more esoteric in your total? Go for it if it feels right to you! There are no Bookcops here. Sounds cool! Now what? Make a first post to tell us how many books you'd like you read this year, your personal challenge (if any) and whether you'd like to take on the Booklord 2022 Challenge! Then, start reading and posting some updates (monthly is pretty typical, but there's no hard rule about how often you post your progress reports!). Don't be afraid to request or give a wildcard or a more general recommendation. Feel free to share your Goodreads profile, or your Storygraph if you want to (my personal favorite now -- it's like Goodreads but with a good suggestion algorithm and without any Amazon involvement). Here's a template you can use for your first post: Name: Personal Challenge: Booklord 2022? (Yes or No) Go forth and read!
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Jan 1, 2022 23:10
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CHALLENGER MASTERPOST (This is not a final list! There's always time to join the challenge, any time of the year.) Name: Strong Mouse Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022? Yes I Will! Name: Gertrude Perkins Personal Challenge: 60 books Booklord 2022? YES Name: Lord Zedd-Repulsa Personal Challenge: 120 books (I read 125 in 2021) Booklord 2022? I'll certainly try Name: RoastBeef Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022?: Yes Name: RobotMil Personal Challenge: 50 Booklord 2022?: I'll try it Name: LiterallyATomato Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022?: No, but I will be making an effort to branch out in author demographics and dates of publication. Name: Mayor Dave Personal Challenge: Read every day 2022 Booklord: Here I Come Name: Ben Nevis Personal Challenge: 75 Booklord: Yes. Name: taco show Personal Challenge: 40 Booklord 2022: Sure I'll try Name: Sientara Personal Challenge: 40, and at least 25% from my backlog Booklord 2022?: I'll try it. Name: DurianGray Personal Challenge: 52 books + at least 10 nonfiction books + MOBY DICK Booklord 2022? Yes! Name: Jordan7hm Personal Challenge: 52 books + MOBY DICK Booklord 2022? I'll attempt it but am not thinking I'll complete it. Name: MathMathCalculation Personal Challenge: 36 Booklord 2022? Yes Name: Gripweed Personal Challenge: 52, of which 26 must be about ~history~ Booklord 2022?: Yes Name: GaengDangit Personal Challenge: 24 Booklord 2022?: Probably not. Name: Zurtilik Personal Challenge: 30 Booklord 2022?: Yes Name: Several Goblins Personal Challenge: 25 Booklord 2022: Might give it a shot, but I've already got a thick backlog in mind. Name: Lawman0 Personal Challenge: 25 works of fiction (or poetry) + Moby Dick  Booklord 2022: lmao no! Name: Kiost Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022: I hope so! Name: Kyro Personal Challenge: 25 Booklord 2022: I'm down to try Name: Hocus Pocus Personal Challenge: 26 Booklord 2022? No, seems like something I'd need to plan ahead for. Name: Vinny Possum Personal Challenge: 25 Booklord 2022: Probably not, but I'll def try to hit a few goals. I will take a wildcard though. Name: ectoplasm Personal Challenge: 52 Books (I try every year but I've never made it.) Booklord 2022: Yes. Name: Think Less Personal Challenge: 60 books split equally between fiction and non-fiction Booklord 2022? I will attempt to do as many as possible Name: smashmyradio Personal Challenge: 50 books BOOKLORD 2022: yes Name: DanReed74 Personal Challenge: 200 books Booklord 2022: not this year but perhaps next Name: tuyop Personal Challenge: 60 book Booklord 2022? Yes Name: Heavy Metal Personal Challenge: 20 books Booklord 2022: no DurianGray fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jul 30, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 23:10
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I haven't done very well over the last few years, and this year I'm looking to be super busy, but I'm going to go and try to push myself. Name: Strong Mouse Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022? Yes I Will!
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Jan 2, 2022 01:11
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I think it makes sense to be the first to sign up! I'll go for 60 books, with a 25%/25%/25% for challenges 2, 3, 4. I will absolutely do this year's challenge, or attempt to! There are some cool ideas here and I'm sure they'll push me to discover new and excellent (or horrendous) things! Name: Gertrude Perkins Personal Challenge: 60 books Booklord 2022? YES
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Jan 2, 2022 01:12
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Name: Lord Zedd-Repulsa Personal Challenge: 120 books (I read 125 in 2021) Booklord 2022? I'll certainly try Lord Zedd-Repulsa fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Jan 2, 2022 |
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Jan 2, 2022 06:14
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Name: RoastBeef Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022?: Yes
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Jan 2, 2022 21:03
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Been a couple of years since I did one of these and fancy widening my reading a bit this year, so I'm in! Name: RobotMil Personal Challenge: 50 Booklord 2022?: I'll try it
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Jan 3, 2022 00:00
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Alright, this is the year: Name: LiterallyATomato Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022?: No, but I will be making an effort to branch out in author demographics and dates of publication.
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Jan 3, 2022 06:09
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Name:Mayor Dave Personal Challenge:Read every day 2022 Booklord:Here I Come
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Jan 3, 2022 11:26
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Name: Ben Nevis Personal Challenge: 75 Booklord: Yes.
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Jan 3, 2022 17:43
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This post is proof that goon ads really do work Name: taco show Personal Challenge: 40 Booklord 2022: Sure I'll try
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Jan 3, 2022 17:51
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Name: Sientara Personal Challenge: 40, and at least 25% from my backlog Booklord 2022?: I'll try it.
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Jan 3, 2022 19:53
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I'll go ahead and throw my own in: Name: DurianGray Personal Challenge: 52 books + at least 10 nonfiction books + MOBY DICK Booklord 2022? Yes!
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Jan 3, 2022 23:47
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Last year I did read a lot more but fell off the booklord challenge pretty early. Also, I did not read MOBY DICK. So this year Name: Jordan7hm Personal Challenge: 52 books + MOBY DICK Booklord 2022? I'll attempt it but am not thinking I'll complete it.
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Jan 4, 2022 04:22
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2022 is the year I stop lurking the Booklord thread and participate. Name: MathMathCalculation Personal Challenge: 36 Booklord 2022? Yes
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Jan 5, 2022 00:45
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alright. I'm two in already anyway Name: Gripweed Personal Challenge: 52, of which 26 must be about ~history~ Booklord 2022?: Yes Gripweed fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Jan 7, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2022 15:35
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Last year I apparently told goodreads I'd read 12 books, and I did not. This looks like a fun way to be ashamed of myself next January. Name: GaengDangit Personal Challenge: 24 Booklord 2022?: Probably not.
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Jan 12, 2022 05:03
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Name: Zurtilik Personal Challenge: 30 Booklord 2022?: Yes
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Jan 12, 2022 18:52
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Name: Several Goblins Personal Challenge: 25 Booklord 2022: Might give it a shot, but I've already got a thick backlog in mind. Made a new Goodreads account to celebrate me getting off my rear end not and not neglecting reading as much as I have been! This challenge is exactly what I need. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/146133659-nikolus
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Jan 18, 2022 04:31
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I started reading moby dick like uh last year after I got an e-reader for Christmas. So my goal it to read that and 25 other fiction books. Name: Lawman0 Personal Challenge: 25 works of fiction (or poetry) + Moby Dick Booklord 2022: lmao no!
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Jan 21, 2022 22:08
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Name: Kiost: Personal Challenge: 52 Booklord 2022: I hope so!
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Jan 22, 2022 15:43
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Moby Dick wot I think about it so far: About a 1/3rd of the way through and my eyes are glazing over with the long descriptions of whales and whale events.
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Jan 26, 2022 21:34
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Name: Kyro Personal Challenge: 25 Booklord 2022: I'm down to try I only read about 5 books a year normally, so this should be a good challenge for me 
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Jan 30, 2022 04:16
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I always set a target on Goodreads, but haven't joined the TBB challenge in a few years. I remember people's updates being a really good way to get recommendations. Name: Hocus Pocus Personal Challenge: 26 Booklord 2022? No, seems like something I'd need to plan ahead for.
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Jan 30, 2022 07:57
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It's time for my first end-of-month update! And it's a doozy, because I finished fourteen books in January. Sure, half of them were graphic novels or manga, but fuckit, they still count according to my metrics: 1 - Croc and Roll, by Hamish Steele, George Williams & Ayoola Solarin. I helped kickstart this, and I'm really happy with the result! An upbeat, silly, heartfelt queer story about a crocodilian rock band. It's got a lot of comedy, some very emotional moments, and an accompanying soundtrack that goes pretty hard! A great way to start my year. 2 - Novel Without A Name, by Dương Thu Hương. After ten years of constant war, a once-idealistic young soldier now commands a group of exhausted veterans and naive rookies through jungle misery, fending off hunger, disease and boredom as their orders send them from nameless hills to behind enemy lines. The prose is rich with sensory imagery, with sounds and smells creating a vivid and grisly series of vignettes. The actual battles are told through consequence and emotion rather than action - the reader is shown the brutal, demoralising tolls of each skirmish. Ideas of fight ing for a "greater good" - be it ideology, nationalism, a sense of duty - are interrogated ruthlessly in the face of violence and drudgery. I don't read a lot of novels about war, but this was a very good one. 3 - The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. BOTM for January, and my first time reading Hemingway, and I had a lovely time with this. The story is simple - a road trip from Paris to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls - but the characters are written with rich personalities and complex internal lives and the locations and events described with gorgeous detail. This is particularly true of the protagonist, clearly based on the author himself, whose anxieties and comforts are laid out with humour and empathic realism. The characters' emotional arcs play off each other well, as the trip becomes an excuse to try and shake off the lingering malaise and misery of the inter-war generation. This is really good, and I'm surprised I never tried reading Hemingway before. I will have to seek out the rest of his work. 4 - Bellwether, by Connie Willis. Extremely 1996 social satire based around fads, trends, and the study thereof. Willis's main character is a snarky, curmudgeonly sociologist, whose inner monologue is made up of equal parts exasperation, historical trivia, and arch commentary. The targets of ridicule are rather standard for this era of comedy: acronym-obsessed corporate culture; airy-fairy liberalism; shiftless young people in stupid clothes. However, despite the clichés, I was kept entertained throughout. There are a lot of nice character moments, some of the scenes (or skits) are genuinely funny, and even though the finale is predictable it's still satisfying when it happens. I'd like to try more of this writer, as I can see myself really liking something else from her. 5-11 - Chainsaw Man, vol. 5-11, by Tatsuki Fujimoto. The rest of the Chainsaw Man saga, marathonned due to how much fun it is. Gorgeous ultraviolence, a delightfully adolescent sense of humour, a broad and bizarre cast of characters and other horrorterrors. The last few volumes are particularly good, wedding the grotesque gore with a surprisingly upsetting story of betrayal and misguided fixation. It's a story about the violence of everyday life under capitalism and debt, about the difficulty of making true human connections, and also there's a ball-kicking competition. Good manga! 12 - We Need To Talk About Alan, by Alan Partridge, by Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons, Armando Iannucci & Steve Coogan. Comedy autobiography of Steve Coogan's famously uncool radio and TV personality. The audiobook of this, read by Partridge himself, is very entertaining indeed. Perpetually his own worst enemy, both naive and utterly self-centred, the sadness at the heart of the character comes across throughout. This will of course be much less scrutible to those unfamiliar with the character or his legacy, but the narrative voice of the character (and consistently funny work from his writers and performer) come together to make this a laugh-out-loud experience. 13 - Virgin: The Untouched History, by Hanne Blank. A very thorough examination of virginity and virgins throughout history and the modern day. Blank goes into fine detail on every aspect of the topic, dissecting what "virginity" means: to anatomical science, to religion, to politics, and to different cultures throughout history. Focusing mostly on the West and the "First World", Blank demonstrates how ideas of sexuality, chasity and gender roles have evolved since ancient times. A good and interesting read. 14 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid. Short, sad and very well-written novel that puts the reader in the role of an American visiting Lahore. The narrator weaves a pretty and melancholy story of incompatible love, and the awkward idiosyncracies of the "good immigrant" experience in America. The tone is overly polite and humble, with a growing unease behind the conversation that blossoms into a sad but maybe inevitable conclusion. There are some really beautiful passages, and I'm sure when it came out it made a lot of waves. 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. - 14/60 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. - 3 - 2, 4, 13 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. - 9 - 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. - 2 - 1, 13 5. Read something originally published... d. At least 50 years ago - f. At least 250 years ago g. At least 500 years ago 6. Read two works by the same author 7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 11. Read something about exploration 13. Read something about film or television 16. Read something about mountains 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet 18. Re-read something you love 19. Read something scary 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!) Gertrude Perkins fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Jan 30, 2022 |
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Jan 30, 2022 22:59
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Alright, got a lot done in January. Classes have started so the next few months will be a lot thinner than this 1 - Charlatan by Pope Brock The true story of Dr. John Brinkley, the man who became rich and famous implanting goat testicles into men's scrotums to cure impotence, and the nascent ADA that tried to stop him. This was really interesting. Not just the quack medicine stuff, but also the early days of radio. Brinkley built what was at the time the most powerful radio transmitter in the world to broadcast his message of goat balls to the entire nation. Along the way he pioneered some of the basic radio format and brought "hillbilly music" aka Country music to the masses. Strong recommendation 2 - Saturnine by Dan Abnett Oh hell yeah, I'm hooting, I'm hollering. The Siege of Terra grinds on, the Traitor Legions gain slowly, inexorably gain ground, every foot of soil bought with gallons of blood. Both sides know the fortress cannot hold forever, but they also know that somewhere out there in the Warp, Guilliman and the Lion are racing to Terra's aid with their Legions. But then, Purturabo, architect of the siege, discovers a fault in the fortress. The shelling has shifted the bedrock the fortress sits on, revealing a tiny gap, a fissure of weak stone that runs from beyond the shields to deep into the heart of the fortress. Abaddon, ever hungry for glory, proposes a daring plan; the first three companies of the Sons of Horus and all four members of the Mournival will launch a decapitation strike, burrowing through the fault, and then wreak whatever destruction they can, perhaps even taking the Emperor's head themselves. But Rogal Dorn, the architect of the defense, has discovered the fault too, and has left it open as a trap. But with the siege still grinding away, and three Daemon Primarchs on the field, Dorn is hard-pressed to spare men to trap an enemy who may or may not even come. Absolutely kicks rear end, super strong recommendation, but maybe read the rest of the Siege of Terra and the Horus Heresy beforehand so you understand what's going on. 3&4 - Reborn as a Polar Bear volumes 1&2 by Chihiro Mishima Oof. Great premise, terrible execution. The first volume is more eh than anything else, I was willing to give it a chance in volume 2, but then there's this evil guy with a hosed up face that is like a rejected Berserk character who threatens to torture the main werewolf girl, and it's like, what is this. Be a gentle pleasant isekai or be a Berserk, because you clearly can't do both and you've let the one ruin the other. Hard pass. 5 - Oppium by John Halpern and David Blistein A history of drugs derived from the poppy plant. It's alright. Doesn't really have the space to delve too deep on any particular thing. Shallow, that's the word, shallow. But fine meh recommendation. 6&7 - The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm volumes 1&2 by Junichi Fujisaku and Yuki Yoshimoto Pretty good! If you liked the show, this is basically more of the show. Like, the writer of this manga also wrote for the show. There's a new character who is fun, especially if you don't mind some magic in your sci-fi. The only issue is volume 3 doesn't come out for months! Strong recommendation for GitS fans 8 - Kamen Rider by Shotaro Ishinomori The original manga! Here's where it all began. Not gonna lie, it's surprisingly neat. I really like how Ishinomori draws action. There's lots of full page spreads devoted just to movement, how Kamen Rider jumps or the villains strike. It is an older manga so it does have that formulaic quality, and it does just end. medium recommendation 9 - The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans This was really good. It fully explains the political situation of post-WW1 Germany, and follows the rise of the nazi party from one of thousands of tiny little parties dissatisfied with the Weimar Republic to ruling Germany as a one-party state. I think it's especially important nowadays, when Weimar comparisons are so common. But once you've learned what really happened, you'll understand that the comparison isn't really valid at all. Very strong recommendation 10 - Blitzed by Norman Ohler Pretty interesting stuff. I was a little disappointed that it spends a lot more time talking about Hitler specifically rather than German culture generally. The stuff about how the Blitzkrieg was fueled by meth was especially interesting. But it does have a vibe where I'm like, are you playing this up a bit my dude? I believe Pervitin was freely distributed and Hitler was on all sorts of weird vitamin cocktails, but this book gives the impression that that's the key to understanding WW2, and I'm like, ehh. Medium recommendation 11 - Dragon Goes House Hunting volume 7 by Kawo Tanuki and Choco Aya So good. It's so nice to check in with Flame Dragon King and his ongoing quest for a place to live. Although this volume is more like checking in with everyone else. Jomungandr considers finding a new place to live, the former gladiators Letty briefly worked with try to get their circus off the ground, and the tenants of Letty's old place figure out how to keep the piece when you've got so many different sentient species living together. And a new dragon shows up and barges his way into Letty's group. This new dragon wants to prove himself greater than the Flame Dragon King, but also is after some commercial real estate of his own for a mysterious reason... Strong recommendation. 12 - Ordinary Men by Christopher R Browning yeesh, this is a tough read. It goes in depth with a single battalion of German police who were ordered to begin rounding up and executing Jewish people in Poland. It covers their initial hesitancy, how some people begged off the duty and were allowed to do so by their superiors, and the growing acceptance to their role as they killed more and more. The edition I read also had an afterward attacking another book on the topic, Hitler's Willing Executioners, which argued that doing a Holocaust was natural to the German people. Recommendation, but, y'know, it's about the holocaust it's not fun 13 Otherworldy Izakaya Nobu volume 9 - by Natusya Semikawa and Virginia Nitohei I felt the need for something heartwarming, and Otherworldy Izakaya Nobu never disappoints. We get more stories of simple medieval European fantasy world people walking into this modern day Japanese pub, drinking cold beer and simple Japanese bar food, and having their troubles washed away. We also get more worldbuilding, some returning characters, and sadly, a pretty clear roadmap to the endgame. Once Hans has learned these Japanese cooking skills and learned to apply them to local foods, he'll open his own Izakaya, and presumably the magic door connecting Nobu to the fantasy world will become a regular door once again. I can only hope that doesn't happen for many years. Strong recommendation. 14 - The Incal by Aleandro Jodoworsky and Moebius I read this in high school ages ago, and what with a new movie or tv show or whatever coming out, thought I should reacquaint myself with it. It holds up. The art, of course, is amazing. SO much rich detail and emotion and creativity dripping off every page, so many boobs, it's fantastic. The story is the kind of big religious mystical sci-fi we just don't get anymore. A grand journey to the edges of the galaxy and the center of the human soul Strong recommendation. Get in on this before everybody else jumps on when that movie or tv show or whatever comes out 15 - Kaiju no.8 volume 1 by Naoya Matsumoto It's alright. I went in expecting an Attack on Titan ripoff, but instead it's only strongly influenced by Attack on Titan. The characters are simple but clearly defined, the art is good, the actions good. It's too early to really tell how it'sll shake out, but I'll be following along until it gets bad or boring. Cant's really recommend a Shounen manga based off one volume, but it seems alright. 16 - Our Teachers are Dating volume 1 by Pikachi Ohi It's alright. Wins big points by having them already dating at the beginning, kiss in the first chapter, and have sex by the end of the first volume. Yuri manga can really string out the simplest thing as the characters treat each other like delicate flowers that mustn't be approached. Which, in fairness, this one does a bit too, but at least they get on with it. Supporting cast is super thin, especially the students. It's called Our Teachers are Dating, I expected the students to play a bigger role. And if the supporting cast was stronger, there'd be more going on than just our two leads blushing about each other. But you know what you're getting into when you read a yuri manga It's fine 17 Dirty Pair by Haruka Takachiho and Hisao Tamaki Pretty good! This is my first time following the misadventures of the two most collateral damage prone troubleshooters from the Worlds Welfare and Works Association, and I enjoyed it a lot. They really cause a lot of trouble, that Dirty Pair. Like, first adventure, an evil businessman has built a dam to give himself total control of the world's water. The Dirty Pair's solution; blow up the dam. Thousands of homes destroyed. Their joyous carefree destruction and murder in the pursuit of justice is a lot of fun. And there's a canon explanation for why they dress like that despite going on dangerous missions and getting into laser fights all the time. Strong recommendation for Dirty Pair, and I know I'll be digging deeper into the franchise when I have the time. Current Progress 17/52 books 5/26 History books Gripweed fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 22:07
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Feb 1, 2022 17:31
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Update for January: Three books this month, though I am also partway through another three. The three I read were: 1. The Dragon Waiting by John Ford 2. Nation by Terry Pratchett 3. Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz Updates on the challenge portion: quote:2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men.
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Feb 1, 2022 19:04
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Read 6 books in January, so off to a decent start. Managed to grab a couple for Challenges. Nice to pick that up. I'm trying to be more conscientious about reading this year, and I'm enthusiastic about it. Nothing bad this month, but I'm not sure any of these are going to make a "best of the year" list. House of Rust likely gets a shoutout for being the most unique. 1. Noor by Nnedi Okorafor - In a near future Africa, a woman with some bionic modifications gets in a fight in the market and flees, taking shelter with one of a dwindling group of nomadic herdsmen. As the story unfolds, these marginalized individuals face off against a big megacorporation. A good read, as one would expect from Okorafor. 2. The Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky - An anthropologist investigating a branch of humanity long split off during interstellar travel is called upon by the locals to deal with a mysterious threat. It really sort of gets into the role of an observer vs participant as well as emotions and decision making. Thought this was pretty solid. 3. House of Rust by Kadijah Abdallah Bajaber - My hemispherical work, the author is in Mombassa, putting her East and South, to my West and North. Set in a Muslim community in Mombasa, a teenage girl goes on a journey to sea with a talking cat to rescue her father. Along the way the cat mentions the mysterious House of Rust, and our protagonist searches for it, pitting herself against ancient forces, a bunch of crows, and her grandmother. It feels part fairy tale, part coming of age, and part exploration of family among the particular cultural group (which I'm assuming are Hadrami, based on the author's bio). Really interesting overall. 4. The Days of Afrikete by Asali Solomon - Pretty sure I saw this on some "Best of 2021" list. It didn't hit that high for me. Liselle is throwing a dinner party to thank members of his team after an unsuccessful political campaign. She reflects on her life, particularly college and her brief relationship with a girl named Selena. The party is a bit awkward, and it's hard for Liselle who received a warning that the FBI might be investigating her husband. This wasn't bad, but it didn't quite hang together for me. 5. Apex Hides the Hurt by Colston Whitehead - Wasn't familiar with this work by Whitehead, but saw it on a library display. I'm on hold for his newest, so Whitehead has a good chance for challenge 6. In Apex Hides the Hurt a nomenclature consultant is hired to rename a town. He goes through and talks to people and tries to dig up history, looking into the original name given by escaped slaves, it's name as a company town, and the name being pushed by the tech-bro gentrifier. The consultant also wrestles a bit with his recent past, where an injury has derailed his career and personal life. It's good. Not the strongest I've read from the author, but good. 6. Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke - A book written entirely in Slack messages. Gerald is accidentally sucked into Slack and can't get back into his own body. All the while, work is going on around him, with PR emergencies, office romances, and every day humdrum with his team. This was surprisingly funny, I thought, though definitely of it's moment. The author has spoke in interviews about not being able to find a publisher in 2019 and having much more luck after pandemic WFH in 2021. An enjoyable light read. THE 2022 CHALLENGE: 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. - 6/75 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. 4/75 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. 3/75 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 8% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. 1/75 5. Read something originally published...
7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 10. Read something from a genre you rarely or never read 11. Read something about exploration 12. Read something about transformation 13. Read something about film or television 14. Read something fictional, based (however loosely) on a historical event 15. Read something written by an author living in the opposite hemisphere from you where you currently live/the one you'd call home (North/South and/or East/West - Bonus Points* for both axes!) - House of Rust - Both Axes! 16. Read something about mountains 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet 18. Re-read something you love 19. Read something scary 20. Look through some other Book Barn threads (or the Discord) and pick a book suggested or discussed there to read (Bonus Points* if you also post in that thread to discuss the book once you've read it!) 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!)
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Feb 1, 2022 23:15
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Prose novels 1.) Network Effect (Murderbot #5) by Martha Wells Sci-fi romp and a half about an outlaw robot trying to binge watch tv but is annoyed by all the humans it has to shoot. The first four novellas are good, but I always found them a little unsatisfying because they were bite-sized. So maybe that's why I absolutely loved this one. The relationship building and character development in this series are my favorite aspect and Network Effect's full novel length allowed Wells to pack so much in. This was such a fantastic payoff to everything laid out in the previous books. I felt like my wife after I finally figured out where the clitoris is. 2.) Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the Production of Uselessness by Neil Vallelly Non-fiction manifesto trying to explain and solve how people are trapped in the meaninglessness of capitalism. So it turns out utilitarianism is a Scooby Doo villain and surprise it was Old Man Neoliberalism all along. The first half is a really good survey of utilitarianism: its origins, its development and examples of how the west has continually ignored its many, many economic failures. The second half is more a general, somewhat vague, criticism of neoliberalism. I'm a solidly average-brained smartnik, but I felt that the hypothesis of futilitarianism was never entirely fleshed out and the main focus of the book was showing how neoliberalism has ruined the world. Still, a good recommendation if you're looking for a "how and why" history of bullshit jobs. 3.) Eric (Discworld #9) by Terry Pratchett Part of my ongoing first read of Discworld. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, although the Rincewind books are continuing to be my least favorite of the continuing series (the one-off books I'm so far hating). Which is a shame because I like the character a lot, second only to the nightwatch. Coincidentally, Eric turned out to be a good chaser to my previous book, Futilitarianism: I loved the theme (critique?) of how modernity is making the working class miserable through bureaucracy/over-management. 4.) Ballistic (The Palladium Wars #2) by Marko Kloos A milsf that promised heavily character-driven plots, an interesting setting of a post-war occupation-era galaxy, and one of the few non-werewolf bondage erotica offerings that I could find during a Kindle Unlimited trial. Now, the first book gave me all three of those things and I really enjoyed it. This second book, though, only came through on one. The character development was still strong, but the cliche choices of where their stories went was disappointing. I generally avoid milsf because of I'm allergic to jingoism, so maybe I came in with unrealistic expectations, but I approached this series thinking it would give me a nuanced, balanced view on the war/occupation because half of the characters come from the losing side. But Ballistic really went full in on the rebels being evil terrorists while the military and police are 100% good guys, to the point of practically justifying abusing prisoners (thanks a bunch, utilitarianism!). Add the general feeling of this book feeling very padded and I think I'll read the concluding book before giving up on Kloos altogether. 5.) Moonraker (James Bond #3) by Ian Fleming James Bond sexistly fights Elon Musk while everyone talks about a giant rocket. "He charged into the room, pert testicles bouncing gaily. I saw a scar and wondered if he'd had a vasectomy. He opened his plump lips, full of promise but disappointing words came out... something about a football match." I was reminded of this joke several times thanks to Fleming's seemingly random and wholly unnecessary descriptions of the women in Moonraker. The Bond books are frustrating because they are very, very much relics of their time. There are some really interesting seeds throughout the book: Bond's existential dilemma of knowing his job is a death sentence, his isolation as a result, the ongoing "gag" of 008's sabbatical. But the explicit sexism, the casual racism and poor storytelling of this series have put me off. Maybe I'll hate read the next one if I have time. Graphic novels i.) Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol 7: I've Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You by Ryan North, Erica Henderson The only ongoing superhero title I read. Here, Squirrel Girl saves dinosaurs. There always comes a point in comic books where it's clear the author has other stuff to do. This volume feels particularly phoned in. Which is a shame because there's still some great jokes and Squirrel Girl's ongoing quest to solve punch-worthy problems by specifically not-punching solutions is my favorite aspect of this title. The art continues to be lovably awful. ii.) The Flintstones (2016) vol 2 by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh A biting social commentary using the Flintstones universe as a cypher. Hilarious, sad, cringe-worthy, on-the-nose. Russell's Flintstones takes on as many aspects of modern society as it can fit into the pages and just roasts them all. I laughed at one panel, cried in the next, and felt the need to take a long silent walk from the next. I also loved how he organically subverted almost every bit of the Flintstones canon, like making "Yabba dabba doo" a coping mechanism for Fred's war PTSD triggers. The only complaint is that everything is so frantic and rushed that the coherence of the story gets lost. The art is serviceable but disjointed. Seriously, though, read this. iii.) Sweet Tooth vol 3: Animal Armies by Jeff Lemire, Jose Villarrubia Continues to be gratuitous crap. Art is unforgiveable. iv.) Lone Wolf and Cub vol 1: The Assassin's Road by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima A former samurai and his son wander Japan as assassins-for-hire. Re-reading after around two decades. Maybe it's because I know where the series is headed, but this first volume didn't impress me much because it's a collection of disconnected shorts and I'm anxious to get to the meat of the series. Also, becoming a parent has really altered how I see Daigoro (the infant son). Still, as a collection of shorts, it does its job well. And the art is still, just as I remember, breathtaking. I very rarely just stop and admire the art, but here I did it several times. v.) March vol 3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin Concludes John Lewis' story of how he became a civil rights icon. Unflinchingly throws you into what Lewis had to face while fighting for civil rights. There's just something visceral about seeing the evils of American racism in graphic novel form that makes it so much more powerful than a prose novel could do. And the subtlety in Aydin's art when he depicts the white supremacists will make you loathe humanity. I was also really surprised by how Lewis didn't shy away from portraying the rival civil rights groups of the time, including suggesting pretty clearly that MLK was a credit-stealing coward. A masterwork of the graphic novel form. vi.) Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell, Mike Feehan Origin story of Snagglepuss, a broadway playwright whose closeted sexuality gets him targeted by McCarthyism. Probably one of my top graphic novels of all time. I just loved every panel of this book. Russell usually tries to cram bits and pieces together to make a thousand jokes, but this is a clear, coherent story with a vision from start to finish. It's a hilarious commentary and a beautiful, hauntingly hard tale of loss. The tragedy of Huckleberry Hound made me cry like a baby. Just every emotion. All of them. The art is very good, if a bit too static. vii.) Ascender vol 1: The Haunted Galaxy by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen Space pirates trying to stop space witches from destroying all space robots. Sequel to the absolutely amazing Descender, but replacing genocidal robots with vampires now? A great re-introduction to the characters from the first series. The art is space amazing. viii.) Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel A neat premise that is amateurishly bungled in every way. I picked this up randomly at my library without knowing the author created Earthworm Jim and is a racist and homophobe? So triple gently caress this book. vix.) Lumberjanes vol 8: Stone Cold by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh Girls at summer camp use the power of friendship to solve an ancient Greek adventure. Another series that started strong and has gradually decreased in quality. But even mediocre Lumberjanes is enjoyable. I will say, though, that this volume's Greek myth setting, with the warring gods and creatures, was a great way to get across the theme of accepting yourself in spite of a disapproving family. The art is still... not great, not awful. x.) Lone Wolf and Cub vol 2: The Gateless Barrier by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima A ronin and his son chops dudes and serve 'tudes. A better volume than the first, thanks to some running themes and a clearer authorial vision. This volume had a lot of stories about punishing the evils that the aristocracy casually do. Still, I was disappointed that a character from one story seemed to join the cast but then just totally disappeared from the book. The art is stunning and I had three different moments where I stopped reading to show my wife how good it is. The 2022 challenge: 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. - 5/36 prose, 10/52 graphic novels 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. - 1/5, 20% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. - 0/5, uhoh% 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 8% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. - ?/5, ?% 5. Read something originally published... a. In the past year - 2.) Futilitarianism by Neil Vallelly (2021) b. At least 5 years ago c. At least 25 years ago - 3.) Eric by Terry Pratchett (1990) d. At least 50 years ago - 5.) Moonraker by Ian Fleming (1955) e. At least 100 years ago f. At least 250 years ago g. At least 500 years ago 6. Read two works by the same author 7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 10. Read something from a genre you rarely or never read 11. Read something about exploration 12. Read something about transformation 13. Read something about film or television 14. Read something fictional, based (however loosely) on a historical event 15. Read something written by an author living in the opposite hemisphere from you where you currently live/the one you'd call home (North/South and/or East/West - Bonus Points* for both axes!) - 2 (New Zealand) 16. Read something about mountains 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet 18. Re-read something you love 19. Read something scary 20. Look through some other Book Barn threads (or the Discord) and pick a book suggested or discussed there to read (Bonus Points* if you also post in that thread to discuss the book once you've read it!) 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!)
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Feb 2, 2022 01:37
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January 1) The Great Beanie Baby Bubble by Zac Bissonette I read Michael Lewis' Liars Poker last year and it got me interested in bubbles and financial disasters. You don't need to go far into looking into bubbles to come across Ty's Beanie Babies. I was young during the Beanie Baby fad and I recall some of the mania, but Bissonette's book does a great job at showing just how nuts it really was. Feels very prescient with NFTs currently in the zeitgeist to read about people in the 90s who thought that Beanie Babies were a good currency hedge. Besides the fad itself, Ty Warner is a fascinating subject - by the end I was far more interested in Ty than I was the Beanie Baby phenomenon. 2) One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch I think the people who will get the most out of Peter Lynch's books are those new to investing. That said, I think even if you have more experience, there's still plenty to gain from the books' many case studies and anecdotes. Lynch is extremely readable. 3) Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. A gift. I'd seen clips of Walker on YouTube, and had read some critiques of his work before reading the book. The book is a bit of a tour of the various science and theories surrounding sleep. From sleep's variations across species, to the theorized functions of dreams. The book is extremely interesting, on a trivia level alone (the chapter on different animals' sleep immediately comes to mind), but sometimes I think Walker lays it on a bit thick when it comes to just how many health issues he ascribes to sleep. I don't have any issues with sleep, and have always made a point to get adequate sleep. But if that isn't you, if you're someone who likes to burn the candle at both ends and try to make it up on the weekend, then this might be a worthwhile read for you. 4) The Black Company by Glen Cook Over the last few years I read Malazan Book of the Fallen, and Steven Erikson references Glen Cook and The Black Company as an influence. I read the first book in high school and read some of Cook's Garrett PI books more recently so I was keen to revisit the series. I really enjoyed it, my favorite parts of Malazan were the Bridgeburners and The Black Company is pretty much an all Bridgeburners book. 5) The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel It's okay, its a lot of short chapters which are usually covering some sort of cognitive bias around money. It exists somewhere between one of those general personal finance books, and a book on investing. 6) Shadows Linger by Glen Cook The second Black Company novel. I really enjoyed it. Where the first book follows the company on a campaign, travelling between multiple towns and battles, Shadows Linger is set in just the one city and its surrounds. Because of that you get a much stronger sense of place, and the characters outside of the company get a lot more development. Some of the best parts of the book follow a desperate innkeeper, for example. A lot of what made me like Shadows Linger so much are things that are mainstays of Garrett PI, so I might read some more of those this year. I wonder if they come in any omnibuses like the Black Company books. NEXT TIME: I am currently reading The Alchemy of Finance by George Soros. After that I have the following books sitting waiting to be read: The Design of Everyday Things, The White Rose (Black Company 3), Sword and Citadel by Gene Wolfe, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, and Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. So we'll see how many I read this month. I only need to read 2 a month to hit my target but I'm treating it as a minimum.
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Feb 2, 2022 11:14
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January Really glad I basically halved my goal from last year, I just have not had the same sort of bandwidth for reading that I did in January 2021. Just five finished books for January, but nothing that wasn't at least enjoyable! 1. Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee I've given myself a sort of stretch goal to get through my backlogged audiobooks that have been sitting around for years now. Ninefox Gambit was the first one down, and I really dug it! The weird math-based magic and the multiple layers of deception going on are a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing where the next one goes. 2. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson What a classic. I read this for the first time a bit over a year ago along with The Haunting of Hill House and I love both of them so much. Merricat is a fascinating narrator with a unique, fairly unhealthy psychology that is just matter-of-factly presented as it is. This is even better on a reread, there are a lot of details and themes I picked up on the second time around that really just make the book even spookier and the characters even more tragic. 3. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian drat! I'm glad there are 19 more books in this series because dudes being bros on a boat in the Napoleonic era is extremely my jam. It's been said before, but the thick naval jargon really is something you just have to roll with and eventually you do start to get an idea of what exactly reefing sails and marlinspikes are (and looking these things up is a lot easier now than it was in 1970!). 4. Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki A trans girl runs away from home with not much but her violin. A violin teacher who's running out of time to fulfill a Faustian pact is in need of a new violin student. There's a rogue starship captain/space alien who runs a donut shop? This is a really weird mix of things but it kind of all works together in a sort of Becky Chambers-esque way. I appreciate that Aoki doesn't downplay how lovely it can be to exist as a trans kid in an unaccepting family, but the rest of the story is very fantastic and wish-fulfillment-y with a very tidy (too tidy?) happy ending, so know that's what you're getting if you pick it up. 5. The North Water by Ian McGuire A Greenland whaling ship! A serial killer! An insurance scam! What could go wrong? If you've watched the extremely excellent first season of AMC's The Terror and you're looking for more guys on a boat having a very bad time in the arctic, give this a shot. Just a nasty, gross little book and just what I wanted after watching The Terror and reading a bunch of other boat books in the past year-ish. As of this posting, I am halfway through Moby Dick! I am really enjoying it (and yes, I was the weirdo who actually enjoyed most of the assigned reading in high school, but dear god, why did/do they assign this to high schoolers?) and I'm cursing Herman Melville's ghost for giving me a clam chowder craving. After Moby Dick, I'm hoping to start the non-fiction train rolling since I didn't read any in January. 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. Total: 5/52 Nonfiction: 0/10 Moby Dick: .5/1 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. ~2/5 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. ~2/5 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. ~3/5 5. Read something originally published... a. In the past year (Light from Uncommon Stars - 2021) b. At least 5 years ago (Ninefox Gambit - 2016) c. At least 25 years ago d. At least 50 years ago (Master and Commander - 1970) e. At least 100 years ago f. At least 250 years ago g. At least 500 years ago 6. Read two works by the same author 7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 10. Read something from a genre you rarely or never read 11. Read something about exploration 12. Read something about transformation 13. Read something about film or television 14. Read something fictional, based (however loosely) on a historical event (Master and Commander) 15. Read something written by an author living in the opposite hemisphere from you where you currently live/the one you'd call home (North/South and/or East/West - Bonus Points* for both axes!) 16. Read something about mountains 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet 18. Re-read something you love (We Have Always Lived in the Castle 19. Read something scary 20. Look through some other Book Barn threads (or the Discord) and pick a book suggested or discussed there to read (Bonus Points* if you also post in that thread to discuss the book once you've read it!) 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!)
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Feb 4, 2022 03:45
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Doing ok, 5 down as of right now. - The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman - The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune (queer author and a charming, speedy read if anyone's looking for something for challenge #4) I also knocked down a few specific challenges: 10: Read something from a genre you rarely or never read: Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore is a bodice ripper, which is pretty outside of my typical genres. Pretty good ngl- it's a steamy pride and prejudice basically lol 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami. EEhhhh at least it was short? I MUCH prefer his weirder books and I'm getting tired of some of his tropes. I've had the physical book on my shelf for YEARS so thanks booklord for making me finish it?
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Feb 8, 2022 03:51
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January update: 1. Bone Code by Kathy Reichs 2. Sidesplitter by Phil Wang 3. The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley 4. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow 5. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman 6. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese 7. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 8. Obscura by Joe Hart Book Lord Challenge: 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. 8/50 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. 50% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. 25% 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 8% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. 12% 5. Read something originally published... c. At least 25 years ago d. At least 50 years ago e. At least 100 years ago f. At least 250 years ago g. At least 500 years ago 6. Read two works by the same author 7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 10. Read something from a genre you rarely or never read 12. Read something about transformation 13. Read something about film or television 15. Read something written by an author living in the opposite hemisphere from you where you currently live/the one you'd call home (North/South and/or East/West - Bonus Points* for both axes!) 16. Read something about mountains 18. Re-read something you love 20. Look through some other Book Barn threads (or the Discord) and pick a book suggested or discussed there to read (Bonus Points* if you also post in that thread to discuss the book once you've read it!) 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!)
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Feb 9, 2022 18:05
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Is it okay to join late? If so: Name: Vinny Possum Personal Challenge: 25 Booklord 2022: Probably not, but I'll def try to hit a few goals. I will take a wildcard though. Vinny Possum fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Feb 10, 2022 |
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Feb 10, 2022 23:56
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Vinny Possum posted:Is it okay to join late? Absolutely! I think the only time it's probably 'too late' to join is going to be around November or December 2022, just for logistical reasons. But I'm also not gonna stop anyone who wants to try cramming a year-long challenge into a month or two.
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Feb 11, 2022 02:02
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January Update: I'm thinking about upping my goal for the year if I keep along at this pace. 1. Negative Space - B.R. Yeager As someone diving back into the literary world after a prolonged absence, I sure picked a weird one to go with first and I'm not sure I could summarize it effectively. It felt sleazy, psychedelic and off-putting in ways that I appreciated. It reminded me, at times, of my own small-town teenage deviance, except blown out to cartoonish proportions. Dysphoria if it was more psychedelic, bleak and hateful. 2. The Road - Cormac McCarthy I skipped out on this years ago when it made it's first big splash and I've actually missed out on all McCarthy up until now. I'd picked it up physically when it came out and was put-off by the writing style. This time I used it as a long-commute Audible book and it worked out great as a bleak, compelling post-apocalyptic listen. I think my only negative thought on it, and this is on me, is that I didn't read it back then before the post-apocalypse genre became so oversaturated. I think my exposure to it may have numbed some of the heavier moments of the story itself. 3. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien Haven't read it since high-school. Still fun, brilliant and endlessly entertaining. Was a feel-good, warm follow-up to the previous two darker books I read. 4. Post Office - Charles Bukowski Miserable gently caress Charles Bukowski writes the adventures of miserable gently caress Henry Chinaski. Sleazy, funny at times, horrifying at others. 5. The Art of War - Sun Tzu A quick listen that was on my Audible account. Figured I'd give it a go from an iconic literary piece standpoint. Though I have no history or experience with military tactics like this, I still found it fascinating during it's brief run. 6. Xenos - Dan Abnett I know almost nothing about Warhammer 40k, but I was in the mood for some Sci-Fi and I've always heard good things about the Eisenhorn Trilogy. It was a blast and made me interested in not only continuing the series, but looking into a bit more Warhammer stuff. 7. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood A harrowing and heart-breaking piece of dystopian literature that, at times, feels all too real. I didn't mean to read such a mostly soul-crushing set of books, I don't put a lot of thought into what I read in advance. More so just picking stuff up as it strikes me. Maybe February needs to be a tad lighter.
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Feb 13, 2022 00:42
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Hello all. Hopefully my posts don't get buried this year.  Name: ectoplasm Personal Challenge: 52 Books (I try every year but I've never made it.) Booklord 2022: Yes.
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Feb 13, 2022 01:22
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Reading As Of 2/1722 1. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume 2. Star Trek Deep Space Nine #3: Bloodletter by K. W. Jeter 3. Reprieve by James Han Mattson Book Lord Challenge: (I'll note which books fit which parameter with their corresponding number.) 1. Set a goal for number of books and/or another personal challenge. 3/30 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 25% of them are not written by men. 1 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure a least 25% of them are written by writers of colour. 3 4. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 8% of them are written by LGBTQ writers. 3 5. Read something originally published... a. b. At least 5 years ago c. At least 25 years ago d. e. At least 100 years ago f. At least 250 years ago g. At least 500 years ago 6. Read two works by the same author 7. Read something by a disabled author 8. Read an issue of a story-focused/literary magazine (there are many available online entirely for free!) 9. Read an anthology or collection containing the work of more than one author 11. Read something about exploration 12. Read something about transformation 13. Read something about film or television 14. Read something fictional, based (however loosely) on a historical event 15. Read something written by an author living in the opposite hemisphere from you where you currently live/the one you'd call home (North/South and/or East/West - Bonus Points* for both axes!) 16. Read something about mountains 17. Read something you've been meaning to read for a while, but haven't yet 19. Read something scary - 3? 20. Look through some other Book Barn threads (or the Discord) and pick a book suggested or discussed there to read (Bonus Points* if you also post in that thread to discuss the book once you've read it!) 21. Ask someone in this thread for a Wildcard to read OR read something that was explicitly recommended to you either by someone you know, or by someone in another thread in The Book Barn (Bonus Points* if you do both!) 22. Read something that will teach you something new (and briefly tell us what you learned!) Zurtilik fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Feb 17, 2022 |
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Feb 17, 2022 16:12
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Name: Think Less Personal Challenge: 60 books split equally between fiction and non-fiction Booklord 2022? I will attempt to do as many as possible
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Feb 17, 2022 19:26
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