2018 Reading Challenge

So I missed my reading goal for 2018. I set a goal of 125 books and only read 101. That comes out to 81% of my goal. A low B. Not something I am particularly happy about. I was slightly worse in 2017 when I also set a goal of 125 and only read 97 for a 78%. A high C. So I did improve a few percentage points from last year... I am setting the same goal for 2019 of 125 books. I briefly thought of lowering my goal for this year but figured I would take one more shot at 125. Besides it is not really important if I hit my goal anyway. I purposely set it high to give me something to shoot for without worrying too much if I fall short. As always I am including comics and graphic novels. For comics I can either read the collected trade or for ones I read in individual issues I will wait until I have read what is in the trade before including it. I do hope to hit at least 72 books which comes out to 6 a month in addition to the comics and graphic novels. The plan is to update here throughout the year how my progress is going. We will see how that goal works out too...

Catch up--Bitch Planet

I finished this on January 2. I have heard so much about it I had to give it a try. Wow it gets right up in your face to make its points. But it has a right to and I have no problem with that. I liked the art work, I liked the attitude, and I will check out the next volume when it gets collected. 4 out of 5 stars.

2016 Reading Goals

As usual I am late sitting down and writing this. January is almost half over already. At least I have been been reading this month. I thought about trying one of the many reading challenges I have seen on the internet. Or just coming up with my own challenge. In the end I decided to just do it like I always do and read what I like or sounds interesting. I will keep an eye on what I read and try to mix things up, but not worry too much about if I am hitting all the genres, etc.. I am putting a number on my Goodreads page for a goal. I am shooting for 100 books this year. I usually split my goal and do so many for books and so many for graphic novels. This time I figured I would combine them into one total. I don't really care how it ends up. I figure it will be at least 50 books and then the rest as graphic novels. The plan is to then blog about how things are going. I know I am not good about blogging so we will see how well that works out. I have read 6 things so far which I will try to write up in a different post or posts. Happy Reading!

Death Masks by Jim Butcher

Over the weekend I was able to finish Death Masks by Jim Butcher. This is book 5 in the Dresden Files which is a series I started awhile ago, but for various reasons have not kept up with. I am so glad I came back.

Picking up after Summer Knight, Harry once again finds himself in trouble when he is hired to find the Shroud of Turin. As if that was not bad enough he also is challenged to a duel by a member of the Red Court. Life is never easy for the only licensed wizard in Chicago.

The series is really hitting its stride now with this book. We are getting to know Harry more and see why he acts the way he does. We also learn more about the Knights and what Harry's flame Susan has been up to. A word of warning though--it is not advisable to start this series here. If you like this you may also enjoy the Felix Castor series from Mike Carey.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

I finished this book today. Normally I am not a fan of Western books although I love Western movies. Not sure why I enjoy one style and not the other. This book though might change my mind.

Told from the viewpoint of Eli we follow him and his brother Charlie as they embark on another mission from the Commodore. The famous Sisters Brothers are cold blooded killers who do not let anything stop them from completely the job. This job though just might change everything as Eli starts to question his commitment to the Commodore and the lifestyle he leads.

For fans of Westerns and Literary Fiction.

postscript:I forgot to add that this book has also been recently long listed for the 2011 Man Booker Prize

Perks of the job...

Recently I joined a new committee at my job. It is the Reconnect With Reading Action Group. What we do is try to come up with new ways to get people reading. A nice perk is that we also get access to arcs. These are advanced reader's editions put out by the publisher for new books before actually going on sale. Part of our committee work is to read these and then give our feedback/reviews, which then are used to help decide how many copies our library system should purchase. Very cool bonus!

Today I got two new arcs to read. Eoin Colfer's Plugged and Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus. I started the latter book this afternoon. I love the opening line--"The circus arrives without warning." The whole opening section just pulls you into their world. I can't wait to see where else the story leads me...

How real do we want our fiction?

I like to read fiction. I also like to read non-fiction. There is something appealing about both formats to me. My question though is how much reality should fiction reflect? Should fiction be an accurate portrayal of its time period? Because it is fiction it has the liberty of playing fast and loose with facts. Should it?

I was thinking particularly about fiction set in the present time. As a reader do we want accuracy or fantasy? Do we want how life currently is or what it can be based on other circumstances? That is the beauty of fiction over non-fiction. Fiction has the ability to illuminate the human condition. It can show us not just where we are but where we are headed. Especially if we don't change the way we conduct our lives.

2009 Reading History

Not what I expected. Definitely not what I had set as reading goals for the year. Final numbers for 2009 were 28 books and 69 graphic novels/comic trade paperbacks. Not horrible numbers at least. Life issues did take up some time, but doesn't that always happen? I am sorry I did not track the number of books I started but did not finish because they just were not that good. I just know it was a lot. I will track that for 2010 since I am curious about the actual number. Let's hope 2010 brings more reading!

13 1/2 by Nevada Barr

Fans of Nevada Barr will be surprised when they pick up her latest book. This is no Anna Pigeon novel. Instead we meet the “Butcher Boy”, an 11 year old boy who brutally murders his parents and little sister and then does not remember a thing. Mystery fans will figure out the twist well before the end. At least when that happens with the Anna Pigeon books, we keep reading because we like the character. Here, I never really connected with the characters which at times made it more of a chore to finish. The only reason I did read to the end is because I am a fan of Nevada Barr and wanted to see if she could finish off the story with a better ending than I expected. Unfortunately she didn’t…

60th National Award Book winners and why they don't matter...

Wednesday evening the National Book Award winners were announced. As usual I did not read any of the winning books. I also had never heard of most of the books even nominated. Does that make me a bad reader? I used to think that when I was younger. I do try to read as many books as I can during the year. I admit that I probably start at least twice the number of books that I finish. That used to bother me too. But with age comes wisdom and there are really too many good books out there with more being published all the time. There is no reason to force yourself to finish a book that does not appeal to you. Not counting school assignments or book discussion group choices of course.

Awards are nice. It can be fun to look at Best of Lists too. That is one way to try to fill in gaps in your reading or expose yourself to some titles you may have missed. But how much value do they really have? Especially the National Book Award winners. People who read this kind of literature probably already have read these titles or at least have heard of them. Will people who read popular fiction care? Every year when the list comes out I do not see a rush of people coming into the library to request these books. I know I rarely will bother to even try to read any of them.

Reading is subjective. It appeals to each of us in a different way. We read what we enjoy. Which ultimately is how it should be. Congratulations to the award winners and all the nominees. But sorry, I think I will pass on trying any of them. And I am ok with that. I still have way too many books in my to read pile that I have been trying to start.

Is it wrong to read for fun?

There is a great article in the current Newsweek about reading for fun. The article "Why is it a Sin to Read for Fun" talks about author Jodi Picoult and whether it is ok to read for pleasure. My answer is yes. Literary fiction does have its place and I like to pick one up from time to time. There is a certain sense of accomplishment when finishing a difficult book. But reading should not be work. For that reason there will always be a place for popular fiction too.

I equate fiction with storytelling. Does anyone really think that our ancestors sat around the campfire telling literary stories? They told stories that engaged us. Stories that made us laugh, cry, shock, amaze, and illuminate the human condition. Stories that brought us together and showed us who and what we are. That is what good fiction does. I know there are plenty of people who look down their bespectacled noses and scoff at the works of James Patterson, Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts and their kind. But they have their rightful place in the pantheon of authors.

There is an old adage that says one should never apologize for what they read. I fully believe this and pass this along to everyone who questions a book or author. Reading should be fun. There is a time and place for more challenging literature. For me though on a late night curled up on the couch with a nice single malt scotch, I will prefer something a little lighter. But then again that is just me and I am not going to apologize for it...

2009 Reading progress...

I never did post my 2009 reading goals. I guess it was because I am always unsure if goals are a good idea for reading. I don't want what I read to just be another check mark on my list. I want each book to be enjoyed on its own without any other benefits. That said I did make some reading goals for the year. I figured that way I can have an idea of how much I am reading and as a way to help motivate me to keep reading. I tend to go through periods where I read a lot and then won't pick anything up for awhile. I thought by having goals I would help to minimize my down times.

I decided to break up my goals into books and graphic novels/comic trade collections. I can get through most graphic novels or trade collections a lot faster than a regular fiction or non-fiction book. That is why I broke them out into their own goal. So, for 2009 I set a goal of 100 graphic novels/comic trades and 40 fiction/non-fiction books. That comes out to 25 and 10 from each group every 3 months. I think both are reasonable goals.

Where do I stand so far? 28 graphic novels/comic trades and 7 fiction/non-fiction books. Not bad for only March 8th as I get towards the end of the first quarter. I will revisit where I am at in June as I hit the halfway point of the year.

edit: As of May 17th I am at 44 graphic novels/comic trades and 12 fiction/non-fiction books. I am doing fine on the first goal but falling behind for the second.

edit: As of June 17th I am at 46 graphic novels/comics trades and 17 fiction/non-fiction books. I am still a little behind in my pace but improving.

Current Reading Habits

I enjoy reading if you did not know that about me. I am willing to give almost anything a try. That does not mean I will finish it though. In fact, I start far more books than I ever finish. There is a lot of crap out there being published. I firmly believe that life is too short to waste time reading something that just doesn't grab you in some way.

I also tend to read one style or genre for awhile and then switch to something else. It might be non-fiction, mysteries, scifi, etc. Lately I have been on a graphic novel/manga kick. I am trying to catch up on some old stuff I never got around to plus try some new things. There is a lot more stuff out there than I remembered.

I started with all four volumes of Lady Snowblood by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura. The premise was good as was the artwork. I thought the english translations at times were just awful though. At least I hope the original japanese was not that bad. And the nudity and sex got to be a bit over the top too. These are definitely for more mature readers.

I missed the run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 in comics (although I did get the first issue). Volume 1: The Long Way Home (collects issues 1-5) and Volume 2: No Future For You (collects issues 6-10) are out already. I finished both of them this past week. I thought the second volume that focuses more on Faith was a little better than Volume 1. They are both well worth your time to read especially if you were a fan of the show. Volume 3: Wolves at the Gate comes out next month.

Supernatural is one of my favorite shows on tv at the moment. The last season was particularly good. So I was happy to find Supernatural: Origins in graphic novel form. This book is a prequel to the hit show and picks up right after Dean and Sam's mother is killed. Here we see how John Winchester became a hunter. Good stuff!

On a recommendation from a friend I am giving World War Hulk a try. I just finished Frontlines in this series. Again good stuff. I had not read any Hulk in awhile. There was some interesting social commentary in there without being over the top which I hate. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series now.

Addendum:
I forgot to mention I also just read Elric: the making of a sorcerer. It is a prequel to Michael Moorcock's Elric books. I am a big fan of the books and was a bit disappointed in the graphic novel. It did give some background on Elric but really did not add anything essential to the mythos.

Books on your shelf

Browsing the web the other day I came across a discussion about books shelved in your home. I can't find the site I was looking at right now, but the point was whether books on your shelf should be titles you have read or not. One person was of the opinion that any books you have shelved out where visitors can see should only be books that you have read from cover to cover. The other person felt that the books should be a reflection of who you are and who you would like to be seen as. I know on the surface the whole things is silly. Still, it made me stop and think about it. What should the books be? What kind of a statement are we making to anyone we invite into our home by what we leave out for them to see? I think we can include coffee table books here too. When you go into someones home and look at the books they have out do you think that they have read them already? Does your opinion of that person change at all by the books you see? Everything in our home is a reflection of us. We take time to choose what colors we paint the walls, what knick knacks to put out, what art to put on the wall, why not think about what books we have too? Damn, now I have to go around and see what I have out...

Kafka on the Shore

I finished this book by Haruki Murakami a few days ago. It was my first by this Japanese author. How do I describe it--surreal does not seem to come close. I waited to write this post because I wanted more time to ponder just what I read. The book is structured with two parallel story lines that eventually meet. The trip though is not what you would expect. We meet some very interesting characters including Johnnie Walker and Colonel Sanders. Leeches rain down from the sky and two World War II soldiers make an appearance. At its heart is seems to be a coming of age story. Also one of finding your soul mate. Throw in Sophocles's story of Oedipus and you can see this is not your average fiction novel. I do have one question though. Murakami is Japanese. So this book was translated into English. I can't help but wonder if the translation was able to fully capture the narrative flow and precision of Murakami's choice of language. This is always a concern with any translation. I felt some of the parts of the book were rather jarring. Was this a translation issue? He also threw in some explicit sex and one particularly gruesome scene. Many readers may be turned off by these things. I would recommend keep reading and look at the bigger picture. This is one though provoking book. I still am trying to come to grips with what I just read. And I think that is a good thing...

Books and SAT scores...

Here is a fun chart that takes the ten most popular books according to Facebook at every college and comparing them to the average SAT scores at every college. So do the books you read correspond to a high or low SAT score?

Sci-Fi as the last great literature of ideas

I am a sci-fi fan. There I said it. It has not always been cool to admit that. Sure it is ok for a child or teen to say they enjoy sci-fi, but for an adult? For some reason we are supposed to grow out of this genre and move on to more weighty literature. What people do not realize is that sci-fi is literature and it explores the human condition at least as well as other genres. I would say it does it better even. Some may even say that sci-fi is the last great literature of ideas. So put down that tired old romance, mystery or western and head down to your local library to pick up a sci-fi book. It is time to be proud of our genre again.

Is there such a thing as the Great American Novel...

I came across this recently. I am still trying to decide how I feel about it. Is there such a thing as the Great American Novel? Can we pick just one? Or is it dependent on the time period? National attitudes change so can there just be one novel? I have to lean towards saying there is not such a thing. We are a large nation with a very diverse population. I don't see how one novel can captivate and enlighten us to the great American experience. There are novels that have come close though. And these novels must be read. By everyone. For no other reason than to experience what it can be like to live in this country. We do have a worthy body of literature to represent us. I just don't see how one novel can represent all of us which is what, in my opinion at least, the Great American Novel should do...

World Fantasy Awards...

In case you missed it the 2007 World Fantasy Awards were held earlier this month. Here are the nominees and winners. A considerable chunk of my teen years were spent reading fantasy. I have some very fond memories and still rate some of those books as my all-time favorites. Like a lot of people I moved on to other genres as I grew older. I am not exactly sure why. One reason though was that the majority of the books I liked were part of a series. So anytime I read a book it seemed like I was locked into reading several others to finish the story. It was fine when I was a teen and had the time to spend, but as I got older I found I had less and less time to devote to personal reading. Plus there are just too many good books out there to read!

As a side note I was very happy to see that the 2010 convention will be held in Columbus, Ohio! No dates listed as yet. Typically the convention is held around the first week of November. So mark your calendars and start working on your costumes...

Sad Sad Sad Sad...

This is very depressing to me. Coming from a family of readers the idea of not even trying to read a book for a whole year is unthinkable. 1 in 4 did not read at all? Of those that did the typical number of books was 4? For a year? Working in a library I can say reading habits are changing. Older adults are still our best readers. Unfortunately teens seem to be the worse. I am not sure what we can do to change things...