I remember doing a thread like this some years back. Basically, it's a chance to reflect and list all the books you've read (if you remember them!). I think it's good to look back on how much you've read and what your goals are for the new year. It's also interesting to see the sort of books people read and if they have the same taste. My list then: Mystic River Bartimaeus Trilogy Lord of the Rings Trilogy The First Law Trilogy The Hunger Games Trilogy The Hobbit The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Elton John - 'Me' The Devil in the Kitchen The Lies of Locke Lamora To Kill a Mockingbird The Stand Salem's Lot The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage Obama - The Audacity of Hope Obama - Dreams from my Father Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So all in all I've read 25 books this year. I may be forgetting one or two, but that's the crux of it. Lockdown has meant I've had more time to read. What's yours?
I didn't write them down or anything, so I'll be working from memory. That means I'm probably forgetting something, and that I might even include a book or two I read last year. Anyways: The Trouble with Peace - Joe Abercrombie The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams The Traitor God - Cameron Johnston Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad Raising Steam - Terry Pratchett Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett Going Postal - Terry Pratchett Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett (reread) A Brightness Long Ago - Guy Gavriel Kay A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway The Liar's Key - Mark Lawrence Kampen om Narvik 1940 - Frode Lindgjerdet The Time Machine - H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells Who Fears Death - Nnedi Okorafor A measly 16, then... That's not a whole lot. Next year I'll try to read at least two a month
This is an awesome idea! Here's what I finished so far, in order. "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" -- Zevin, Gabrielle (★) "Ghachar Ghochar" -- Shanbhag, Vivek (★★★★ 1/2) "Legion" -- Blatty, William Peter (★★★ 1/2) "Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West" -- McCarthy, Cormac (★★★★★) "The Midnight Library" -- Haig, Matt (★★ 1/2) "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" -- Hijuelos, Oscar (★★★★) "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" -- Kesey, Ken (★★★★★) "The Family Fang" -- Wilson, Kevin (★★★★) "The Big Sleep" -- Chandler, Raymond (★★★★ 1/2) "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" -- Reid, Iain (★★★★) "The Catcher in the Rye" -- Salinger, J.D. (★★★) "Zero Saints" -- Iglesias, Gabino (★★★★) "Gather, Darkness!" -- Leiber, Fritz (★★) "The Overstory" -- Powers, Richard (★) "Nothing to See Here" -- Wilson, Kevin (★★★★★) "Crimson Peak" -- Holder, Nancy (★★) "Hamlet" -- Shakespeare, William (★★★★★) "Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov" -- Chekhov, Anton (★★★★★) "Mapping the Interior" -- Jones, Stephen Graham (★★★★) "You Should Have Left" -- Kehlmann, Daniel (★★★★ 1/2) "Prototype" -- Hodge, Brian (★★) "The Terror" -- Simmons, Dan (★★★★★) "The Last Final Girl" -- Jones, Stephen Graham (★) "Cloud Atlas" -- Mitchell, David (★★★★) "The Nickel Boys" -- Whitehead, Colson (★★★★★) "Exhalation: Stories" -- Chiang, Ted (★★★★ 1/2) "Stories of Your Life and Others" -- Chiang, Ted (★★★★★) "The Ninth Configuration" -- Blatty, William Peter (★★★) "Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)" -- Levin, Ira (★★★★ 1/2) "Catch-22 (Catch-22, #1)" -- Heller, Joseph (★★★ 1/2) "The Confessions of Nat Turner" -- Styron, William (★★★ 1/2) "Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different" -- Palahniuk, Chuck (★★★★★) "Entropy in Bloom" -- Johnson, Jeremy Robert (★★★★★) "Haunted" -- Palahniuk, Chuck (★★★ 1/2) "Swamplandia!" -- Russell, Karen (★★★★ 1/2) "The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)" -- Harrison, Harry (★★) "The Witch of Portobello" -- Coelho, Paulo (★★) "The Underground Railroad" -- Whitehead, Colson (★★) I'm almost done with "Rabbit is Rich" (Updike ★★★★★) and "Waking Nightmares" (Ramsey Campbell ★★★). And I'll probably get another 5 books in after that. "The Overstory" was wretched. It was about as pleasant as a loaded diaper. It was agitprop and it sickens me to know the Pulitzer Committee would vote for this trash. "The Nickel Boys" was genius. I still can't believe it! "Swamplandia!" should have won the Pulitzer back in 2012. No award was given that year. I don't quite understand that. What's the point? "The Last Final Girl" made me very sad. I like Stephen Graham Jones a lot, but it just didn't work on paper. Not at all. (Though the idea of jump scares in prose was very funny.) "The Terror" is how horror should be written. The amount of research that was done really shows. I completely bought the setting. Ted Chiang may be some sort of savant. Very smart sci-fi that's about characters. Wonderful and surprising. "Nothing to See Here" is nearly perfectly realized. Very funny! No one thinks about sex more than the Mambo King, not even Rabbit Angstrom, and that's saying a lot. This was my best year for word count, but I'm not bragging because I know others who are at 150 titles so far. Next year I'll try for 60. That's about the best I can do.
Those who happen upon this list might detect a theme. Should you care, I rank books based on enjoyment, though if it's terribly written I am less likely to enjoy it. A book will earn a near-automatic 5 stars from me if I have to forbid myself from reading it before I finish my work for the day. Well, it's 1:22 a.m. and I have a lot of procrastinating to do, so here goes (I finished at 1:49, dang): Lava Red Feather Blue **** Belvedor and the Four Corners (Belvedor Saga, #1) *** Lycan's Blood Queen (Randolph Duology, #1) ** Reyr the Gold (Dragonwall Series, #2) ***** Talon the Black (Dragonwall Series, #1) ***** Thorne Bay (Alaskan Packs, #1) ***** Sleeping With Shadows (Of Courts and Desires, #1) *** Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, #1) ***** The Tower of Fools (Hussite Trilogy, #1) **** The Mask of Mirrors (Rook & Rose, #1) **** Secrets of the Starcrossed (The Once and Future Queen, #1) *** Darkness Unknown (Beshadowed Book 1) **** The Matriarch (Women of the Dust #1) ** Thrift Store Trolls (Flea Market Magic Book 1) ** Of Wicked Blood (The Quatrefoil Chronicles, #1) ***** Spellcrest Academy: Year One (Box Set, #1) *** The Cup and The Prince (Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #1) **** The Lost King ** The Wise One (The Scottish Scrolls, 1) **** Caught A Mermaid Romance (Sea Temptress Series Book 1) * Her Lord of Death: A Mythic World Romance **** Dragonspawn (The Dragonspawn Trilogy (Dracwyn Part 1) ** The Witchbeast (Book 1: Awakening) ** Magnar (The Wolves of Clan Sutherland, #1) *** For the Crown (Dragonwall Royals, #1) *** Fae Prophecy (The Fae Prophecy, #1) ** Crowned A Traitor (A Hellish Fairytale, #1) *** Everwish ***** Knight's Ransom ***** Sentinel (Shadowborn Rebellion #2) **** Ora and the Old God (Of Ether and Silver, #1) ***** From Fire and Shadows (A Tale of Six Sources, #1) **** Brimstone Bound (Firebrand, #1) ***** Crowning Soul (Heart of Noorenia, #1) ** Crown of Crowns ** The City of Silver Light (The Bridges Trilogy, #1) ** The Vanished Queen ***** Birthspell (Lebrus Stone, #1) ** Orb and Arrow: Book I: Exploration *** The Fifth Kingdom *** The Last Prince (The Coming of Áed, #2) ** Firefrost (Flameskin Chronicles, #0) ** Twin Daggers (Twin Daggers, #1) *** Legendborn (Legendborn, #1) ***** The Key To All Things *** Shadow's Lyric (Crossing Daggers, #1) **** Fates of Ruin (The Ardentia Saga, Book #1) *** Chosen Ones (The Chosen Ones, #1) *** Rhodes (Angelbound Offspring #4) ** Zinnia Special Edition (Angelbound Offspring #3) ** Where There Be Humans *** Portia (Angelbound Offspring #2) ** Calixta, The Vanquishers of Alhambra * The Kingdom of Liars (The Legacy of the Mercenary King, #1) **** The Princess Knight (The Scarred Earth Saga, #2) **** The Blacksmith Queen (The Scarred Earth Saga, #1) ***** The Chalice and the Crown *** Mages Rising ** Of the Blood (Heir of Blood and Fire, #1) **** A Girl From Nowhere (Firewall Trilogy, #1) ***** Nightborn **** This Eternity of Masks and Shadows *** Memory of Dragons **** Ignite the Sun *** Queen of Corvids (Raven Crawford, #3) **** Until All Curses Are Lifted (Heart of Fire, #1) ***** Odriel's Heirs (Odriel's Heirs, #1) *** The Shadow Wand (The Black Witch Chronicles, #3) ***** Ruthless Gods (Something Dark and Holy, #2) **** Flights of Marigold **** Sisters of the Perilous Heart (Mortal Heritance, #1) *** The Obsidian Tower (Rooks and Ruin, #1) *** The Hidden King (The Coming of Áed #1) *** The Phantom's Curse ** The Lost City (The Omte Origins, #1) *** Well of the Damned (Kinshield Saga, #3) *** The Fiery Crown (Forgotten Empires, #2) *** He Walks in Dreams ** Woman in the Woods *** The Rite of Wands (The Rite of Wands, #1) ** The Stone of Sorrow (Runecaster Book 1) *** Amethyst Pledge (The Albatar Chronicles, #1) **** The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves, #2) ***** The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, #1) **** The Morning Flower (The Omte Origins, #2) *** The Glamourist (Vine Witch, #2) **** Ember Queen (Ash Princess Trilogy, #3) **** Lady Smoke (Ash Princess Trilogy, #2) **** Faerie Forged (The Magicsmith, #3) *** Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy, #1) **** Mageborn **** In Restless Dreams (The Phantasmer Cycle, #1) **** Ink & Arrows ** Lord of Druemarwin (Crown of Tolem, #2) **** Blood of the Fae *** Lanterns In The Sky ** The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War, #1) *** The Age of Witches **** Master of Sorrows (The Silent Gods #1) *** Legacy of Ash (Legacy Trilogy, #1) **** Her Majesty's Fury ****
Lots of Shakespeare this year, and a lot of biographies and psychological stuff. The Writing of Science Fiction That Sells Bova, Ben How to thrive in the 21st Century Mela, Harvard Running the Light Tallent, Sam Something Happened Heller, Joseph Murder on the Orient Express Christie, Agatha Sanshiro Soseki, Natsume What Color Is Your Parachute? 2018: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers Bolles, Richard Nelson Normal People Rooney, Sally The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays Yang, Wesley Serotonin Houellebecq, Michel Reinventing Your Life: The Breakthrough Program to End Negative Behavior...and Feel Great Again Young, Jeffrey E. The Topeka School Lerner, Ben The Red Pill: A Novel Nelson, Blake Cool for America: Stories Martin, Andrew James Joyce's Ulysses: A Study Gilbert, Stuart Cheever Bailey, Blake King Henry IV, Part 2 Shakespeare, William Cymbeline Shakespeare, William You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup Doggett, Peter The Easter Parade Yates, Richard Leaving the Atocha Station Lerner, Ben The Common Sense Of drinking Peabody, Richard R. Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence Cron, Lisa A Touch of Nutmeg and More Unlikely Stories Collier, John The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking Burkeman, Oliver Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect Webb, Jonice The Far Side of Paradise: A Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald Mizener, Arthur 10:04 Lerner, Ben Your Brain On Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction Wilson, Gary Alfred Hitchcock Ackroyd, Peter Eileen Moshfegh, Ottessa Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011 Goodman, Lizzy The Ramones' Ramones (33 1/3) Rombes, Nicholas The Bible, King James Version, Book 2 Exodus The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller Truby, John Revolutionary Road Yates, Richard Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk McNeil, Legs The Possibility of an Island Houellebecq, Michel The Road to Wigan Pier Orwell, George Macbeth Shakespeare, William Richard II Shakespeare, William Animal Farm Orwell, George Jesus' Son Johnson, Denis Othello Shakespeare, William Ulysses Joyce, James Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-Up Comedy Borns, Betsy Pericles, Prince of Tyre Shakespeare, William The Kinks Kronikles Mendelssohn, John The Porn Pandemic: A Simple Guide To Ending Pornography And Masturbation Addiction And Getting Back Into The Real World Ferebee, Andrew Conversations with Friends Rooney, Sally Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1) Herbert, Frank Nine Stories Salinger, J.D. King Lear Shakespeare, William Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion Tolentino, Jia Salinger Shields, David The Day of the Locust West, Nathanael The Merry Wives of Windsor Shakespeare, William Apropos of Nothing Allen, Woody Nemesis Roth, Philip The Two Gentlemen of Verona Shakespeare, William Memoirs of a Madman Flaubert, Gustave King Henry IV, Part 1 Shakespeare, William Letting Go Roth, Philip The Elementary Particles Houellebecq, Michel The Bible, King James Version, Book 1: Genesis Anonymous Henry V Shakespeare, William Cherry Walker, Nico
So far, I’ve read the following... Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman) Good Samaritans (Will Carver) Woman On The Edge (Samantha M Bailey) Billy (Whitley Strieber) Asking For It (Louise O’Neill) London Call Out: Confessions of a Doctor in the Capital (Alex Rudd) My Absolute Darling (Gabriel Tallent) American Psycho (Brett Easton Ellis) The Dice Man (Luke Rhinehart) Talking With Psychopaths and Savages: Beyond Evil (Christopher Berry-Dee) The Cows (Dawn O’Porter) The School Friend (Alison James) The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin) The Girl With All The Gifts (M R Carey) The Boy in the Photo (Nicole Trope) The Chain (Adrian McKinty) Forbidden (Tabitha Suzuma) Anne of Green Gables (L M Montgomery) A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come (Jessica Pan) Autism in Heels (Jennifer O’Toole) Wishful Drinking (Carrie Fisher) When the Siren Wailed (Noel Streatfeild) Follow You Home (Mark Edwards) My Dark Vanessa (Kate Elizabeth Russell) Cows (Matthew Stokoe) Flashforward (Rober J Sawyer) The Help (Kathryn Stockett) Vox (Christina Dalcher) When She Returned (Lucinda Berry) That’s Not What Happened (Kody Keplinger) Anxious People (Fredrik Backman) The Girl Next Door (Jack Ketchum) These Gentle Wounds (Helene Dunbar) Most were a 3 or 4/5. Some 2/5 Only one 5 star. Few 1/5 (John Irving, Brett Ellis Easton & Christopher Berry-Dee I’m looking at you!)
I can't remember everything I read, but here's what I can: Dune by Frank Herbert Analects of Confucius (trans. with commentary by Annping Chin) Mengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries (trans. Bryan Van Norden) Humanity and Self-Cultivation (essays about Confucianism by Tu Wei-Ming) About half of Wing-Tsit Chan's A Sourcebook in Chinese Philosophy A bunch of Tang dynasty poems Gaspard de la Nuit, by Aloysius Bertrand (trans. Donald Sidney-Fryer) Complete Short Stories of Leonora Carrington Paris Spleen, by Baudelaire Illuminations, by Rimbaud Journey to the End of Night, by Celine Nadja, by Andre Breton Surrealism Against the Current: Tracts and Declarations A Menagerie in Revolt, a collection of essays, stories, and poetry by the surrealist Benjamin Peret Eagle or Sun? by Octavio Paz A whole bunch of stories and poems by Clark Ashton Smith
Just wanted to say that if you use goodreads, you can get a visual of your year in books: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2020/88249086 Apologies, I don't know how to get to it other than clicking someone else's link and then clicking the banner at the top that says "get your year in books"
