Hearts of Oak? Are we throwing it back to 2015 supporters discussions?
Books. For the literati among us.
- Thread starter FootyLovin
- Start date
Has anyone read the "Culture" scifi series by Ian Banks? I read the first one (which is supposedly unrepresentative) and not sure if I want to continue.
Yes, all of them, sometimes more than once. Loved them. And I've read some of his non-SF books too. Out of curiosity, which one did you read?
the books I read (or listened to) in 2023:
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
The Winners by Fredrik Backman
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Last Ronin (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (graphic novel)
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Not Forever, But For Now by Chuck Palahniuk
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Star Wars: Light of the Jedi (The High Republic) by Charles Soule
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
The Winners by Fredrik Backman
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Last Ronin (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (graphic novel)
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Not Forever, But For Now by Chuck Palahniuk
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Star Wars: Light of the Jedi (The High Republic) by Charles Soule
For those of you who have wanted to read The Power Broker, but have been putting it off, here is a great opportunity.
The podcast 99% Invisible is doing a read along spanning 2024; they are going to do one episode each month devoted to the book covering about 100 pages each.
Here is a link to the episode from December that introduces the project and invites a special guest who loves the book.
The podcast 99% Invisible is doing a read along spanning 2024; they are going to do one episode each month devoted to the book covering about 100 pages each.
Here is a link to the episode from December that introduces the project and invites a special guest who loves the book.
Think I hit 59 books read last year, most I've read in a long time. Among the many reasons the library cuts Adams is forcing are so infuriating.
Hoping to keep it up this year but still deciding if there is a specific goal and what that might be (qualitative vs quantitative, etc).
Hoping to keep it up this year but still deciding if there is a specific goal and what that might be (qualitative vs quantitative, etc).
I was always the type of guy who wanted a physical book in hand, but I've learned to enjoy ebooks since the pandemic forced me to go this route.
Because I can now read off my android I've read between 67 to 71 books a year since 2020.
Because I can now read off my android I've read between 67 to 71 books a year since 2020.
I wish I had a cool hack to sell, but I think it's mostly just committing to doing things other than dicking around on my phone, especially for the last hour before bed. I still spend too much time on my phone, for the record.
I rediscovered the library, which was a huge boon for reading things I don't necessarily want to pay money for. You can request books from any branch and have them delivered to your local branch for free. I keep a running list of books to read as I come across them so it's never a struggle to find a next read.
I wouldn't be surprised if I read fewer books this year, but I've also finished three already so who knows. (One I started a few months ago, the other two were entirely read in 2024)
I read somewhere around 500 books last year.
Partial list:
Pete the Cat ( probably around 20 in the series, some read many times)
Just about every Dr. Seuss book....
You get the idea!
Partial list:
Pete the Cat ( probably around 20 in the series, some read many times)
Just about every Dr. Seuss book....
You get the idea!
Those are impressive totals. I was at 27.
A couple of good library apps. SimplyE is the New York City Public Library app. It's bare bones, but you can borrow lots of titles and get on a waiting list for the popular stuff. Libby is the app for the Westchester Libraries, and it's excellent. Our selection of books isn't as strong, but it will deliver your borrowed title to Kindle. Just got off the waiting list for "Number Go Up" by Zeke Faux.
A couple of good library apps. SimplyE is the New York City Public Library app. It's bare bones, but you can borrow lots of titles and get on a waiting list for the popular stuff. Libby is the app for the Westchester Libraries, and it's excellent. Our selection of books isn't as strong, but it will deliver your borrowed title to Kindle. Just got off the waiting list for "Number Go Up" by Zeke Faux.
FWIW if anyone is into e books you can also get cards from other libraries. I have cards with the NYC, Brooklyn, Queens and Chicago libraries. They all pretty much carry the same books, but sometimes you find something at one the others don't have.
Though it seems like they're slowly phasing it out I prefer Overdrive to Libby.
Though it seems like they're slowly phasing it out I prefer Overdrive to Libby.
I started tracking what I read in mid-1982. The most I ever read in one year was 55 in 1984, the year I graduated college and began law school. That figure actually undercounts the total somewhat because for some reason I did not include books that were part of my course work. My average annual figure over time is 24. I only once exceeded 40 after graduating law school and entering the workforce (46 in 2001). From 2010 to 2019 the average was 9 (thanks iPhone). This decade 2020-2023 I have made a point to read books again and raised the average back to 23 over the last 4 years. Last year's figure was 26. This year I should surpass 1,000 total. That's not 1,000 unique books, because if I read a book 3 times it counts 3 times, not once. But I'm really over 1,000 already because I didn't start tracking until I was 20, and again, I didn't count course books, and I was an English major so that was a fair amount.
I already posted most of my favorites from 2023: including Perfect Pass and the Scholomance series. I also jumped back into the Aubrey/Maturin series last year, and started the Bosch detective series and Slow Horses MI5 series, both now TV shows.
I already posted most of my favorites from 2023: including Perfect Pass and the Scholomance series. I also jumped back into the Aubrey/Maturin series last year, and started the Bosch detective series and Slow Horses MI5 series, both now TV shows.
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Just finished a re-read of the Power Broker, and toward the end there is a section on Robert Moses’ management of the NY World’s fair. Here are a couple of excerpts describing the site in Queens and Moses’ plans.
He's such a great writer. I don't even like LBJ, but I raced through the first four books.
His long, detailed descriptions of the topography and history of Texas Hill Country in the book you're reading are riveting. I don't know how he does it.