2023 Reading Challenge

[avecigrec]

If you want to really up your book count, reading books by Sandra Boynton will help. Toddler books are great in general … I read four books a night. Lol

Sometimes four books, sometimes one book four times!

 

[ranbalam]

I have just started book #37 for the year and I have to say I am shocked at how much I have been able to read this year. A lot of it I think is because I have switched to reading on a Kobo. I was reading on my phone or tablet and it was too easy to flip over to instagram or play another game of solitaire.

An approximate sum of my time reading daily - I probably get in about an hour a weekday

• 15min while ride my exercise bike
• 10 min eating breakfast
• 30 min in the afternoon after I get home
• 20-30min before bed

On weekends it more but depends how engrossing the book is. If I am really into it, 3-4hrs each weekend day is not out of line, but more likely about 2hrs a day.

35 minutes on the train to work and 35 minutes on the way home 4-5 days a week. I don't always read during that time to be fair (usually doze on the way in), but I do for a good chunk of it.

Plus at weekends or in the evening I might read with a coffee for a bit, especially if it's a particularly gripping book.

Usually 30-60 minutes after getting the kiddo to daycare, then 30 minutes -3 hours in the evening depending on how tired I am or how engrossed in the book. ADHD is a superpower until exhaustion shuts me down when I'm too still!

I've also been reading a buttload of comic book trade paperbacks (which I haven't been posting here), which have actually kept my numbers a bit lower.

I've also been watching less and less television than the already not much I watched before, because I've been on such a reading kick.

Pretty varied answers, cool to hear these. Public transport would definitely up my reading time.
I don't like reading after I get high, so that means most nights before bed I don't read. It's an ok trade off, as it helps me sleep.

 

[avecigrec]

I don't like reading after I get high

This was the way I was back when I still smoked...UNLESS I was reading while I smoked (a common daytime thing during the covid lockdown while my wife and I shared a 400 sq ft bachelor apartment and she was working from home) then I would be able to keep with it.

 

[ranbalam]

This was the way I was back when I still smoked...UNLESS I was reading while I smoked (a common daytime thing during the covid lockdown while my wife and I shared a 400 sq ft bachelor apartment and she was working from home) then I would be able to keep with it.

True, it does depend on what I'm reading. A 33 1/3 book, sure, but War and Peace, nah.

 

[Mr Moore]

Just curious; to the people that are reading 25 to 30 books a year - How do you fit in so many books? When do you do most of your reading?

I try to read a little bit after work every day and for a couple hours over the weekend. I don't always though, so I generally go through a book a month.

Around an hour a day commute. I'm fortunate and get opportunities whilst at work to have a bit of a read in down-time, probably about an hour a day and if I'm really enjoying a book, I'll find about an hour when I get home. If I'm close to a chapter end or a tense part, I'll read a bit before bed but I tend to opt for a TV show more than reading at bedtime,
Weekends, a bit less - I'll read for about an hour in bed as soon as I wake up but then that's it for the day.
I definitely read faster on my Kindle because I can make the font bigger which I find helps.
Also, and I know it's a crappy reason, but the reading insights they do has kept me reading daily, even if only a few pages so I don't lose my streak! I'm currently at:

 

[avecigrec]

Book 37

An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created by Santi Elijah Holley


Finished this one a couple days ago and forgot to come back and post it. A fascinating look at the tragedies and triumphs of the Shakur family from the Black Panthers through Black Liberation through 2Pac's superstardom. The book doesn't try to be a comprehensive biography of any one figure in the story, since those are readily available, but instead ties a decades-long narrative together that I found pretty revelatory. Going in I feel l had an advanced knowledge of Tupac with a decent knowledge of Afeni and Assata and a passable knowledge of Mutulu but I came out the other side feeling pretty schooled. It's pretty incredible how much impact a single family could have on contemporary American history - and how much shit could be handed right back to them for it.

 

[Bull Shannon]

Just curious; to the people that are reading 25 to 30 books a year - How do you fit in so many books? When do you do most of your reading?

I try to read a little bit after work every day and for a couple hours over the weekend. I don't always though, so I generally go through a book a month.

I work from home, so lunchtime and the wind-down after work are when I do plenty of reading. I rarely read more than 20 minutes a sitting.

Also, and these aren’t necessarily good habits, but I usually make a goal to read ~10% of a book a day, which is doable if you pick shorter books and/or books you want to read. I’m also pretty unsentimental about dropping books if I’m not enjoying them; you can generally tell the difference between “slow going, but a good reading experience” and “just plain not for me.”

I also try to read in a pattern of one “serious” book, then two “fun” books; that’s a super subjective designation, but it ensures I’m reading for pleasure and enrichment in turn.

Sometimes I worry gamifying my reading ruins the in-the-moment joy, but I set my reading goal to 30 this year rather than 40, and I’m already at 32

 

[ranbalam]

I work from home, so lunchtime and the wind-down after work are when I do plenty of reading. I rarely read more than 20 minutes a sitting.

Also, and these aren’t necessarily good habits, but I usually make a goal to read ~10% of a book a day, which is doable if you pick shorter books and/or books you want to read. I’m also pretty unsentimental about dropping books if I’m not enjoying them; you can generally tell the difference between “slow going, but a good reading experience” and “just plain not for me.”

I also try to read in a pattern of one “serious” book, then two “fun” books; that’s a super subjective designation, but it ensures I’m reading for pleasure and enrichment in turn.

Sometimes I worry gamifying my reading ruins the in-the-moment joy, but I set my reading goal to 30 this year rather than 40, and I’m already at 32

I have a pattern too...I usually go fiction then non-fiction. The non-fiction is usually music related and the fiction has been everywhere from long and dense reads, maybe some classic lit, or fun lighter stuff.

As far as putting a book down and not finishing it, I used to do that more often...maybe my choices have been good lately so I've gotten through everything I've started for a couple years. Although this latest John Irving, I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm at page 140 of 900 and I really don't know if I like it.

 

[Bull Shannon]

I have a pattern too...I usually go fiction then non-fiction. The non-fiction is usually music related and the fiction has been everywhere from long and dense reads, maybe some classic lit, or fun lighter stuff.

As far as putting a book down and not finishing it, I used to do that more often...maybe my choices have been good lately so I've gotten through everything I've started for a couple years. Although this latest John Irving, I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm at page 140 of 900 and I really don't know if I like it.

I’ve made some lousy choices this summer/fall, most recently dropping Lessons in Chemistry after forty pages rather than hate-reading to the end (often if I really dislike a book I’ll grit my teeth to the end so I can say I gave it a full chance); it’s been energizing to admit maybe some things are just not for me.

I haven’t picked up any Irving in decades; I had two assigned in high school (Hotel Bew Hampshire, Owen Meany), and read a few for fun in the interim (Garp, Cider House, Widow); I think at the other end of those I got a solid feel for his vibe/schtick. The new stuff has struck me as more of the same, with less focus.

 

[Bull Shannon]

Book 20: Dawn, by Octavia Butler
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My first Butler! Concerns a woman woken from suspended animation by aliens who abducted her on the eve of a world-annihilating nuclear war. The aliens wish to repopulate Earth with humans, in exchange for a sort of genetic partnership (which I think pans out more over the next few books). Much of the book consists of conversations and two-person scenes. This was an excellent read, though it petered out a little bit near the end for me as a lot of the other revived human characters felt a bit thinly drawn and reactively cruel.

Book 21: In Green's Jungles, by Gene Wolfe
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Gene really starts cooking with this one, and throws a lot at us. Much like Blue's Waters before this, more focus is put on the person writing the story you're reading, and their present circumstances; the journeys through Green's Jungles are obfuscated and barely referenced. In classic Gene style we get a storytelling contest in which each teller is giving away more about themselves than actually telling a story.

Book 22: Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk
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I liked this okay; this was a book club selection, and while a lot of people in the group found the narrator funny, I thought she was something of an out-there caricature. Funny enough, I spoiled the end of this book via the "themes" section of its wikipedia entry (the "themes" section doesn't typically contain explicit plot elements; I don't think that's my fault) and knowing how things would pan out actually pushed me to go ahead and complete the story.

Book 23: The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
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This one's a DNF; I kept seeing it on the bookstore shelves and thought "hmm a thick fantasy novel sounds pretty fun," and I don't engage with a lot of contemporary work in the genre. I couldn't hang with it, though; there's just too much telling and not enough showing. With every description of action or piece of dialogue to propel the story forward, the author throws in tons of worldbuilding facts. To use a metaphor, you don't know which facts will be "on the test," so you find yourself getting caught up in "will I need to remember the quantity and names of rulers in this kingdom?" rather than "what will happen next?"

On top of that, the story just. Doesn't. Move. I got about a third of the way through and while I could explain the world to you, I couldn't really tell you what the story was. Lots of goodreads reviews parrot this criticism, but also praise the slow-burn romance. After 1/3 of this book (that's over 200 pages of investment), I can't tell you whom is supposed to fall in love with whom.

Book 24: Return to the Whorl, by Gene Wolfe
View attachment 180265
And with that I finish The Book of the Short Sun and Gene's twelve-book Solar Cycle. Was it an interesting, rewarding read? Yup! Was it surprisingly emotional for a book by an engineer who seems more focused on fucking with the reader than anything? Damn right! Do I fully understand it? Heck no!

The story finishes the saga of Horn, a man sent back to the Whorl (a generation ship) to retrieve his mentor and the government/religious leader Silk. Through the nature of Horn's journey, as well as the feeling of one going back to a home which has changed immensely, the story has this sadness which runs throughout; Wolfe nails his characters and their inner lives so well. After eleven previous books of Gene giving answers that generate questions and conclusions which imply we've only scratched the surface of the story, I'm happy to say Return to the Whorl has an actual, satisfying ending (while still remaining as elliptical as possible).

I'm very happy and satisfied to have reached the end of this cycle after ~16 months of going through what initially started as a New Sun reread. Now it's just a matter of time before I reread the whole cycle (as they say, one doesn't read Wolfe, they only reread).

I've been way lax in updating my list, so here come like eight capsule reviews:

Book 25: Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
Book of the summer by pure kismet, Morrison is an absolute powerhouse.

Book 26: Ice, by Anna Kavan
I have a lot of dreams where I'm urgently struggling to complete a goal or find someone and basically moving backwards from that goal. This book captured that specific type of dream fantastically. Big recommend.

Book 27: Tropic of Orange, by Karen Tei Yamashita
I don't know enough about NAFTA to fully understand what this author is trying to tell me about NAFTA, and they were too busy overnarrating to bring me into the loop.

Book 28: The Mist, by Stephen King
It's just like the movie, with a splash less nihilism and a dribble more adultery.

Book 29: How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix
It's hard to sustain suspense in horror fiction, especially as the nature of the Evil is exposed; Hendrix maintains balance for a good 80%.

Book 30: The Fraud, by Zadie Smith
If I'm not connecting with a Zadie Smith book it feels more like I've been left behind than I've been failed. Smith only left me in the dust a couple times; I'll have to sit on this one more but I don't know if it adds up to the sum of its parts.

Book 31: Misery, by Stephen King
I've only seen half the movie.

Book 32: Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
Not enough triffids! Wyndham juggles three concerns: how rad it would be to see when others can't, how awful it'd be for the blind to expect help from the sighted, and how necessary it is to repopulate the world with sighted children. To wit: very of its time.

Book 33: The Futurlogical Congress, by Stansilaw Lem
Feels like a Philip K Dick parody, in the best way.

 

[Thackeraye]

Initially this wasn’t the book I thought it was - what I thought was going to be a macro look at health issues in the music industry as actually a micro look based on the author’s struggles. If smashing the second half out in 2 days is a sign of success then it passed.

 

[jamieanderson1968]

View attachment 187300

Initially this wasn’t the book I thought it was - what I thought was going to be a macro look at health issues in the music industry as actually a micro look based on the author’s struggles. If smashing the second half out in 2 days is a sign of success then it passed.

I enjoyed it. You realize how much the music (and entertainment as a whole) fetishizes and rewards artists who struggle with mental health and/or addiction issues.

Edit: I should have said - You realize how much the music industry (and entertainment as a whole) profits on the fetishization of artists who struggle with mental health and/or addiction issues.

 

[Thackeraye]

I enjoyed it. You realize how much the music (and entertainment as a whole) fetishizes and rewards artists who struggle with mental health and/or addiction issues.

I agree. I think this is part of my problem with a lot of books about music - I don’t really care about the stories about excess and drug taking.

 

[ranbalam]

I agree. I think this is part of my problem with a lot of books about music - I don’t really care about the stories about excess and drug taking.

Same with me. I tend to like nuts and bolts examinations, or endeavors into creative processes way more than the excess stories.
That being said, I feel Our Band Could Be Your Life did a pretty good job of satisfying most types of music readers.

 

[Thackeraye]

Same with me. I tend to like nuts and bolts examinations, or endeavors into creative processes way more than the excess stories.
That being said, I feel Our Band Could Be Your Life did a pretty good job of satisfying most types of music readers.

I need to get a copy of this. It seems to be harder to get outside of the US.

 

[avecigrec]

Book 38

Star Wars: The High Republic - Tales of Light and Life by Various


This anthology covers the spread of all three phases of The High Republic series, with Pase 3 officially kicking off this month. Familiar characters and most of the top talent involved with the initiative make for a great collection of stories. I picked away at this one slower than usual since I've been plowing through the past few years of Batman comics as well, but interspersing a story from this here and there to switch things up has been nice. Worthwhile if you're exploring The High Republic series, but probably little appeal otherwise.

 

[avecigrec]

Book 39

Solitudes Crowded With Loneliness by Bob Kaufman


A re-read. This is an all-timer book of poetry for me, particularly the complete "ABOMUNIST MANIFESTO" section at the end - the first part of which has been heavily anthologized, but the whole suite is that much sweeter! Kaufman is definitely one of the most underrated poets of the San Francisco scene, but man did he make some beautiful and surreal poems! I picked up a copy of this the first time I visited City Lights Books but it got lost along my many moves many years ago. I saw it on my library's "recently ordered" list and put a hold on it so I'd get to be the first to read the library's copy!

 

[avecigrec]

Book 40

No Town Called We by Nikki Reimer


I've been picking away at this one for a week or so - it's probably been the most challenging poetry book I've read in a few years (trying to get myself back on the horse - I think I've read more poetry books in the past 3 months than during each of the past three years!), but it's been worthwhile. Written between 2018 and 2022 it navigates the concurrent realities of the author's multiply disabled, middle-age arriving female-coded body and the social panic of living in a corporate/oil city during COVID and the unfolding climate crisis. Dense, but great and important work.

 

[ayayrawn]

18. The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor. Fascinating to see her develop as a writer and a person through these. Totally see why she's so revered these days. Mostly pretty great, but the last 7-8 stories when she becomes really self-reflective and dark are incredible.

19. Persepolis Rising (Expanse #7) by James SA Corey. Sucked me back into the series are book 6 left me pretty cold and disinterested. This one was lots of fun and I'll probably zoom through the last two soon.

20. Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) by Steven Erikson. Been looking for ages on a fantasy series to fill the Song of Ice and Fire shaped niche in me. TBD if this is it, but I liked it, for all it's weirdness, and often dense and even impenetrable world and lore. I'll probably read at least the next few. Not sure if I'll make all ten yet.

21. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories by Carson McCullers. Was feeling more southern gothic and McCullers has been a blind spot for me. These were lovely and effective, if maybe not life-changing. Want to check out her novels.

22. Suttree by Cormac McCarthy. Read almost all of his works back in college, but not this one. Forgot how evocative and amazing his prose is. The immesity of this one really got to me. It's tragic, hilarious, alternately gross and horrific and profoundly hopeful. Maybe his best? One of my favorites I've read so far this year.

Have some scary stuff lined up for October, including my yearly Stephen King. looking forward to those vibes.

23. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca - Had this recommended as a shocking, viral horror story, so decided to give this collection a shot. Unfortunately pretty terrible. Bad prose, corny execution.

24. It Came Frim the Closet: Essays by Various - An essay collection on queer readings of horror films by a number of writers. Fun and enlightening!

25. Bag of Bones by Stephen King - My yearly King read for the holiday season and sadly thought this one kinda sucked too. A cool vibe (haunted beach house in western Maine) but EXTREMELY dated and capital P problematic in more ways than one. And too long. Love the King but probably will take a break from him next year.

26. Capitalism Realism by Mark Fisher - A great, short look at the potential for alternatives to our current hellscape.

27. Faithful and Virtuous Night by Louise Glück - Read The Wild Iris earlier this year and enjoyed, so decided to read another since she recently passed away. Lovely, evocative poetry.

28. Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky - This was a fascinating, dence little read. Kind of hilarious, but also runs the gammit in terms of how you feel for this poor little loser. Will be reading more Dostoevsky soon.

Currently reading They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraquib, one of my favorite current writers. Think I will be closing out the year with Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and some Mary Oliver poetry. Also need to pick an audiobook to enjoy on Spotify. TBD!

 

[avecigrec]

Currently reading They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraquib, one of my favorite current writers. Think I will be closing out the year with Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita

Couldn't agree more about Hanif - he's amazing!

And The Master and Margarita is one of my all-time favourite works of fiction.