Books Read 2019

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Archinerd
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Archinerd »

Currently bull dozing through the Black Company Series. Just finished up Bleak Seasons, which is a weird one. Next up, She is the Darkness.
Some books are better than others, but so far I've liked them all.

Have any of you read the newest book in the series, Port of Shadows? Set roughly during the events of the 2nd Book in the series.
Published in 2018 to mixed reviews. Some say it ruins the story and they wish they hadn't read it, others say it's just different. Any thoughts?
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished Machine City by Scott J. Holliday. This is Book 2 in the Detective Barnes series, and I'll just repeat a little of what I wrote for the last book to set the table:
ImLawBoy wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:05 pm It's set in modern day Detroit, with the twist that there is a technology that allows one to extract memories from a person (living or recently dead), and then those memories get shoved into another person's brain. For entertainment purposes, some celebrities will hook into the machine and record things, and then regular schmucks can pay to essentially be that celebrity for a bit. For crime fighting purposes, it's used to allow detectives to see from the victim's eyes how that person was killed, including possible clues to the identity of a killer. The machine is risky, though, as it has addictive qualities (those addicted are called "munkies", for "machine junkies"), and the trauma received by detectives who live through multiple murders isn't fully understood.
By the time of the second book, the machine has been outlawed for almost all purposes, including for police investigations. Detective Barnes is retired (having taken a bit too much lead in the ending of the first book) and is living as a construction worker with his wife and son. He gets pulled back into things, however, to help find a local celebrity (a young girl who finished fourth in a national talent show) who has been abducted. The detective who was working the case (and illegally using the machine to try to find her) was getting close, but now he's disappeared, too. Barnes and his experience with the machine is brought on to help in an unofficial capacity.

Once again, I really enjoyed this book. Holliday writes compelling characters and the book is intricately plotted with lots of twists and turns - many out of the blue. One thing that stood out to me was a character who appeared in just one chapter. A book like this typically deals with scum of the earth, and the protagonist blazes through them without mercy. When Barnes tracks down this woman, who he knows from childhood, it would have been easy to make her a bitter junkie or whore or something like that. Instead, Holliday gives us a picture of a woman in the last stages of a terminal illness who is still full of warmth and humor. It's an unexpected character to find in such a book, and I found it refreshing. It tells me that the author is not just working from some template.

Anyway, this was another enjoyable book in the series, and I'll likely grab the third one when it comes out. The first book was an Amazon First Read, proving (to me, anyway) that it's worth it to occasionally read through one of these.

Up next is Strange Weather by Joe Hill, which is a collection of four novellas (like father, like son).
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't, by Nate Silver.

Great book. It's centered around forecasting / predictions and how they're done in different areas, and places that have done them well vs. poorly. A central theme is around "Bayesian thinking", which is basically the idea that you should think about what you currently believe to be true based on the information you currently have (your "priors"), and set an odds / confidence level for each belief. Then as more information comes in, you test that information against your 'priors' and update your odds / beliefs. It's basically a concept that encourages accountability (constantly checking your beliefs as more information comes in) and modesty to some degree (accepting that there's always some chance that what we believe to be true is not). Talks about areas where predictions have increased significantly (especially weather forecasting) and areas where they have not (efforts at predicting earthquakes).

Very interesting. I was already a big Nate Silver fan before I read this, but for anyone else who follows 538 I would definitely recommend it.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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MonkeyFinger wrote: Thu Apr 04, 2019 8:58 am I've listened to all four (so far) Hell Divers books and enjoyed them. ps. It isn't until late in the series that they explain how the world got so f'd up. :D
FWIW, Hell Divers books 1-4 are on sale for $1.99 each (5 and 6 are not on sale)
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by xenocide »

Finally updated my list for the first time this year. I've been keeping up on my audible reading but am way behind on kindle. I have been gaming a good amount so it all works out :D

I'll start with my new favorite genre, litRPG. Regicide & Dungeon Desolation by Dakota Krout, Life Reset 1 & 2 by Shemer Kuznits, Emerilia by Michael Chatfield, and Viridian Gate Online 1 & 2 & 3 by James A. Hunter. I have been looking at some lists of favorite litRPGs and picking the ones that look the best. I must be doing ok because I have not read one I disliked yet. Personally I would rate Emerilia a little below the others but still good. The others are all really good. The Land is still my top though, just waiting on the next.

Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch & Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon were both quite good. I was looking for a new space series somewhat in the vain of Honor Harrington and these both fit the bill. So far neither is quite as heavy on the military aspect as the Honorverse. Looking forward to both series but I think I will start with Feintuch as I enjoyed his a bit more.

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert: Ok, I have a small confession to make. Although Dune is easily my favorite book of all time, I have never read any of the sequels. And I have to say, as much as I love Dune, this was decidedly meh. Maybe after Children I'll get into the sequels more but it may be a bit before I get to it with the ambivalence I felt for Messiah.

Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes: Bought on a whim on a daily deal and glad I did. A fun fantasy using some well know fairy tales in new ways. Good audio presentation as well.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: I found this disappointing. I've loved everything I have read by Novik so I was really looking forward to this. It's not bad, but not that great either. Kind of boring. It is nominated for a Hugo and has excellent reviews all over the place so maybe I'm wrong but this one did not work for me.

The Valley of Horses: Earth's Children Book 2 by Jean M. Auel: Good lord are you kidding me!? This was terrible!! How is this reviewed so well and how is it written by the same author as Clan of the Cave Bear that I really enjoyed? Aayla comes off as way too overpowered and makes tons of inventions out of the blue. Then there's Jondular, who has a big penis, is all around awesome, has a big penis, is clearly and obviously going to end up with Aayla, has a big penis, is the best lover of women ever, has a big penis, is the best looking man ever, and has a big penis. The book devolves into caveman porn. Graphic, long, and explicit caveman porn. It's badly written, badly plotted fan fic. Did I mention that Jondular has a big penis? Because I seem to recall it being mentioned in the book once or a thousand times. No way I was finishing this and I am done with the series.

Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike Massimino: Onto the good stuff. This is the book that prompted me to update my part of this thread so I could tell you about it. Awesome book. Lots of 2019 yet to go but I would be surprised if this is not my book of the year. Great memoir and read very well by Massimino himself. Not too technical for those that don't want it , but some cool space and science stuff in there as well for those of us who do want it. He is excellent at telling his story with tension even when you know what the ultimate outcome is going to be. Highly recommended, I've told several people about it and they've all loved it.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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If you like that astronaut book, I'd also recommend Chris Hadfield's 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth'.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Grifman »

Just finished Bad Blood, the story of Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos blood testing scam. Very interesting if you like that kind of stuff. It's really hard to believe she got away with so much before being caught. It was also crazy how Walgreens deployed her testing machines (supposedly - they didn't really work and they shipped the blood to a central lab for testing on conventional machines) without really validating that they worked and without any kind of FDA/government approval.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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xenocide wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:36 am I was looking for a new space series somewhat in the vain of Honor Harrington and these both fit the bill. So far neither is quite as heavy on the military aspect as the Honorverse. Looking forward to both series but I think I will start with Feintuch as I enjoyed his a bit more.
David Weber has a couple other series.

If you want a different author, there's always Hammer's Slammers by David Drake, but he's more groundpounder closer to the action.

If you want space navies slugging it out... Jack Campbell (The Lost Fleet series)
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by xenocide »

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 3:12 am
xenocide wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:36 am I was looking for a new space series somewhat in the vain of Honor Harrington and these both fit the bill. So far neither is quite as heavy on the military aspect as the Honorverse. Looking forward to both series but I think I will start with Feintuch as I enjoyed his a bit more.
David Weber has a couple other series.

If you want a different author, there's always Hammer's Slammers by David Drake, but he's more groundpounder closer to the action.

If you want space navies slugging it out... Jack Campbell (The Lost Fleet series)
I've read Lost Fleet and enjoyed it.

I should give Weber's other series a try one of these days. I'll look into Hammers Slammers as well.

I like the way both these new ones I read started though. I looked at some threads here and there online and Vatta's war and Midshipman's Hope seemed to be the ones people recommended the most.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished "The Dark Heart" by Joakim Palmkvist, about how an amateur sleuth broke open a murder mystery in Sweden. A millionaire landowner went missing. It took weeks for one of the daughters to report that she's sure her sister Sara is involved, but a body was not found. Sara however is in love with a local boy and her father (the landowner) HATED the loafer. It took years, until an ex-model, mother of three, and a "Missing People" investigator (NOT police) by the name of Therese Tang decided to risk herself to break the case open.

Oh, and the book is FREE at the moment on Amazon.

Finished "Winter Cottage" by Mary Ellen Taylor

Lucy left Nashville for Cape Hudson Virginia, where she inherited a house left by a woman she never knew. And there are deep secrets buried in this town. Why did her mother only reveal on her deathbed that she originated in Virginia, not Nashville? What is this "Winter Cottage" (more like a mansion) and what secrets did it keep? And most importantly, what will she find out about her family... and herself?

This book can get a bit confusing, as there's a DOUBLE-BOOKEND narrative, kinda inception, dream within a dream kinda thing. On the first level, you have lucy going back to find her origins. But you also get Beth interviewing Mrs. Buchannon about secrets she kept for almost a hundred years. Eventually the two stories come together...
Spoiler:
Beth is Lucy's mother, and Mrs. Buchanan gave her money to run away from the small town and start over, away from her abusive boyfriend. Who, decades later, is still in town, and will threaten Lucy too...
But both are sad love stories that never quite work out right, good things, bad things, ugly things. And ultimate sacrifices for love and all that. Free to read on Kindle Unlimited w/ Audiobook.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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A History of Civilizations by Fernand Braudel

I picked this up quite a while ago at a used book store. I decided to read it now after reading 1491 by Mann and Guns, Germs and Steel by Diamond. They both reference this book. I will admit to the book not being what I thought it would be. Braudel basically covers the backgounds of modern countries and civilizations while briefly covering the older civilizations that led to the modern day world. My interests are more in the old. The book is also a little dated even in that which it does cover, as it came out in the early 60’s. Braudel also approaches the subject from a French point of view, which makes some of his observations interesting as most of what I have read, on the US especially, was written by Americans.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished Infinite by Jeremy Robinson.

Galahad, an FTL ship, is the vanguard to help humans colonize Kepler 452b with 50 scientists, engineers, and specialists. But the star's 1400 LY away, and even with FTL it'll take a decade (and thousand years in real time). They are humanity's best hope. Then William woke up... only to see his fellow computer engineer / hacker Tom, stab a screwdriver through his chest. // Except he didn't die. // William found the ship mostly abandoned. Tom had killed most of the crew, and the few who escaped are down at 452b. Now Tom had locked Galahad into a trip to nowhere, at FTL speeds. The only other person onboard, Capria, is still in cryosleep. With a struggle, Will managed to kill Tom, but he realized his immortality is a curse... With no one to talk to... and even Capria can't be trusted...

Okay, this book is weird, as there's seemingly no end, and things just keep... happening. But in a way, it is the struggle against everything, life, love, and struggle to stay sane. 4/5
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished Strange Weather by Joe Hill. It's a collection of four novellas. Two of them focus on supernatural stuff, one on gun violence, and one on apocalyptic events. Overall I enjoyed it. The gun violence story was probably my least favorite of the four, but all the others clicked nicely. That all the stories were under 200 pages made everything go at a good pace.

Up next is Imago by Octavia Butler. This is the last book in the Xenogenesis trilogy I started last year. I liked book 2 better than book 1, so hoping that trend continues and we go out with a bang.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by hitbyambulance »

so far, this year:

Patti Smith - M Train: some good moments, but there are stretches where she doesn't seem to know what she really wants to write about and goes on and on at tortured length with random allusions because she can. i feel this was also a book about her small obsessions, to kinda get it out of her system. she clearly needs to write a book on her dead husband of 25 years.

Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer: this is my third reading of Heart of Darkness, since i can never seem to remember what happens in here. i suppose i should go see Apocalypse Now, finally. The Secret Sharer is a surprisingly optimistic story from Conrad, relatively speaking.

Jhumpa Lahiri - The Lowland and Interpreter of Maladies - the first is her newest novel, the latter is a collection of short stories. they tend to focus on 'immigrants to the eastern US from Calcutta'. she is a decent writer and delves into areas thatother authors either won't deal with, or are extremely judgmental about.

Alejandro Jodorowsky - Manual of Psychomagic: yes, that Jodorowsky. theatrical techniques for communicating with the subconscious. this is all completely (and necessarily) unscientific, but it gives me some ideas on the practical power of symbolism and ritual re-enactment.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman - The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories: the title story was a re-read since i don't remember it that well - i picked up mainly for the other stories. surprisingly charming.

Alfred Bester - The Stars, My Destination: people seem to love this one, but it did nothing for me. one probably had to be there or something. i kept hoping the main character would die early so i could move onto something else.

Steven Hyden - Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock: i was hoping he'd write more about the final blessed death of 'classic rock' radio and music sales, but instead he goes on chapter-long musings about the musicians/bands and personal anecdotes. the chapter on Bruce Springsteen was entertaining, tho.

Olaf Stapledon - Star Maker: like reading an encyclopedia. one of the dullest interesting (or most interesting dull) books i've encountered.

Haruki Murakami - Killing Commendatore: no plot to speak of, but i'm ok with that. super enjoyable to read all the way through. hopefully this book is the end of Murakami's usual tropes (tho that seems unlikely).

Ray Bradbury - The Illustrated Man: the framing story was completely superfluous. i'd read The Veldt before in high school and there was a duplicate story here from _The Martian Chronicles_ (or more likely, vice versa).

Philip K. Dick - The Crack in Space: NOT TOO GOOD. try writing a book without a three week deadline, k

also numerous modern graphic novels.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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I'd read The Illustrated Man a few years ago, and it dawned on me and a few other people that there were different versions for different markets with different stories and a different order to them. But yeah, I wasn't all that impressed with it. As far as Bradbury goes, probably my least favourite.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished Livia Lone by Barry Eisler.

Seattle PD Sex-Crimes Detective Livia lived for one reason, to find her sister Nason. They were sold by their Thai parents to traffickers, smuggled to US, abused by their traffickers, and left in a strange place across the world. She thought she was rescued, only to fall into a different nightmare. Only thoughts of her sister kept her alive... Now, she puts predators behind bars. When that fails... She puts them in the ground... personally. When there was finally a lead on the people who smuggled them to the US, Livia will have to relive the nightmare, and discover a conspiracy of evil that reached back at least a generation, into the upper echelons of the US government... and is still there today.

Heck of a thriller, and scenes of depravity that may turn some stomach. But no more shocking than some of the other similar books I've read.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Finished Imago by Octavia Butler. This was the final book of Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy. The first book focused on humans who had been plucked off of Earth following nuclear annihilation by an alien race. The aliens go from world to world "trading" with species they find by merging the DNA of each species together to alter the life forms. The first book focuses on the first human who will start the repopulation of Earth with human/alien hybrid babies. The second book follows one of those hybrids on Earth. The third book follows yet another hybrid who is super extra special in ways that would take me too long to explain.

There is a lot going on in these books philosophically, but not much in the way of action. I'm not normally much of a sci-fi reader, but I was expecting more action and excitement than what I found. It was intriguing that there wasn't really a good species/bad species dynamic here. While the aliens would definitely be altering humanity forever, they were not acting with bad intentions or with a goal of eliminating humanity - they were absorbing humanity into themselves, and thus keeping humanity in existence (which would have been otherwise wiped out due to the nukes). Ultimately I felt a bit a let down at the end, though. Without a strong overriding conflict to the trilogy there wasn't really a strong conclusion. The reader is left to imagine what happens to the characters in the future, as there really is not a conclusion that wraps up the various threads that were ongoing. It feels like there were intended to be more books, but Butler finished this series well before she died, so she would have had the chance to add to them if she wanted to.

I also picked these books because the author was a black woman, and I've been largely a reader of white males most of my life. I figured expanding my horizons a bit would be good for me. It's hard to draw conclusions from a small sample size (one author), but I do think I can see how her background would make this different from how a white male would author it. When it comes to sexuality, for example, I think a male author would likely have been more graphic and violent.

Anyway, on to my next book - Bleak Harbor by Bryan Gruley. This is an Amazon Prime First thriller about a kidnapped 15 year old son with autism of the estranged daughter of the Bleak family, who founded the town of Bleak Harbor, MI.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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The Lost Man by Jane Harper. Never read any of her books, but apparently her previous two were much better than this. Set in the Australian Outback. Three brothers and one of them winds up dead. I thought I'd get a lot more mystery out of this given it's an interesting setting, but it ended up being little more than family melodrama, ie Dallas in the Outback. It was quite an unsatisfying read in the end. Never really used its setting to its full potential.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Just read Exhalation by Ted Chiang. His novella, Stories of Your Life was what was turned into the movie Arrival. He's won multiple Hugos and this book of short stories was wonderful. Not a single dud among them. He's pretty firmly in the hard sci-fi camp, but his stories, while about those sort of topics, always are focused around character. Well worth your time.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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ImLawBoy wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 12:45 pm
I also picked these books because the author was a black woman, and I've been largely a reader of white males most of my life. I figured expanding my horizons a bit would be good for me. It's hard to draw conclusions from a small sample size (one author), but I do think I can see how her background would make this different from how a white male would author it. When it comes to sexuality, for example, I think a male author would likely have been more graphic and violent.
i read a lot of female authors (don't really pay attention to their race or ethnicity) and they all seem to be sexually charged in situations where a male writer would probably focus on the action at hand (or anything but). The more I read of random authors the clearer it becomes. In most cases, it's PG rated sexual tension, like high school level infatuation at the most inappropriate times. Maybe women readers are more attracted to this sort of thing? To me it comes off as distracting and amateurish. Adult-oriented stories do not need teenage puppy love among adult characters. If you can't manage something more explicit, please just leave it out entirely. These aren't romance novels I'm reading; while I'm not opposed to romantic scenes in stories, it just needs to be presented appropriately.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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This isn't really written like teenage romance, IMO. In fact, reproduction is central to the story, but the aliens have removed the physical act of intercourse. It's still pleasurable, but essentially an alien gets all in the middle of everything and replaces the physical pleasure with a simulation of pleasure.
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Re: Books Read 2019

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ImLawBoy wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 12:45 pm I also picked these books because the author was a black woman, and I've been largely a reader of white males most of my life. I figured expanding my horizons a bit would be good for me. It's hard to draw conclusions from a small sample size (one author), but I do think I can see how her background would make this different from how a white male would author it. When it comes to sexuality, for example, I think a male author would likely have been more graphic and violent.
If want to see Butler in a more political/this-world mode, read Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, her very chilling near-future dystopia.

Creepily enough, the fundamentalist demagogue leading the nation uses the slogan "Make America Great Again." (These books were written in the 1990s.)
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by freelunch »

@Jeff V

I think you've got me beat where it counts

You: 36 books with an average page count of 390
Me: 38 Books with an average page count of 269

Bumping my average up by 120 pages would take some doing at this point.

Well played!
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Jeff V »

I have been doing a lot of longer books this year it seems. Only one of Patterson's Bookshots. :D

I'm almost caught up with the Library Thing Early Reviewers assignments -- for some reason, over the past 8 months or so half of the "wins" haven't made it to me. Maybe I'll read one of the Amazon Prime freebies I've accumulated over the past few years.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by freelunch »

I'm pretty much sticking to indie romance, mostly from Kindle Unlimited. Which doesn't help deal with the thousands of unread dead-tree books stacked around my home.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Jeff V »

freelunch wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 6:31 pm I'm pretty much sticking to indie romance, mostly from Kindle Unlimited. Which doesn't help deal with the thousands of unread dead-tree books stacked around my home.
Competing with Kasey, huh? ;)

Most of mine are audiobooks from the library. On a typical day, I'll spend 2 hours driving and about an hour walking. If I ever get back to biking, that'll be several more hours each time I go out. Average audiobooks are 10-12 hours, just finished a 15 hour book though and I have a Sanderson book that I actually bought which will clock in at 25-30 hours.

Sadly, the library group that I can borrow from is made up from 5 small towns and has a small selection, about half that of the town I used to live in (who it seems expired my card a couple of weeks ago). I'll probably have to expand the range of topics if I want to keep reading for free, and it's likely that for some books I'd want, I might have to go the purchase route.

My dead tree inventory has been reduced by about a third since I put the lot of them on sale. Unfortunately, a lot of them have no secondary market value, with vendors selling them for as little as a penny. I'm not sure how that works out for them...the only money they would make would be shipping differential between the rate Amazon charges and actual postal book rate, maybe $1 at most. It's not worth the shipping supplies and my time for that, so all my books are listed for a minimum of $10 (some have higher market value).
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Re: Books Read 2019

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Jeff V wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 3:33 pm Competing with Kasey, huh? ;)
Hardly...
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Kasey Chang »

If you really want to count, my total read 2019 is around 450 or so. ;)
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Rumpy »

And I have trouble getting enough time for 20. :mrgreen:
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Jeff V »

Kasey Chang wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 11:14 am If you really want to count, my total read 2019 is around 450 or so. ;)
But freelunch seems to be reading the same genre as you, which was mostly what I was referring to. And at the moment the book I'm listening to probably fits that genre and I can see why you blow through the so fast...I can't wait for it to be over, either! :mrgreen:
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by freelunch »

Jeff V wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 2:35 pm
Kasey Chang wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 11:14 am If you really want to count, my total read 2019 is around 450 or so. ;)
But freelunch seems to be reading the same genre as you, which was mostly what I was referring to. And at the moment the book I'm listening to probably fits that genre and I can see why you blow through the so fast...I can't wait for it to be over, either! :mrgreen:
I'm only competing with myself. And apparently Jeff, but that was his idea :)
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Kasey Chang »

Well, as I've explained before, my job is about 8-9 hours of driving daily, and that's a LOT of time to listen to audiobooks and text-to-speech of novels. I've been known to hit 4-5 short novels a day, and up to 3 long ones.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by freelunch »

Sounds like a great way to make a living - though I'm sure it has its drawbacks, like anything.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Scuzz »

The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

This is the middle book of the Liveship Traders Trilogy. I thought the first half of the book was pretty slow. Hobb has introduced a lot of characters in this series and not every character is likable or interesting. However about half way thru the book the plot took some turns, characters suddenly seemed to find purpose and the book became much more interesting. Hobb's creates a world much like GRRM, as she likes words and usually does each chapter from a certain characters point of view. She is very descriptive, and in this series at least is much more female oriented with her story. And I have no problem with that. I will admit my least favorite character (to this point, but that could change) is a young woman who I thought was getting way to much attention by the author.

Overall a good book whose payoff will have to come in the third book. Most of the time the second book in a trilogy tends to slow the action down so that the plot and characters can be developed and then brought home in the third book. Hobb's seems to follow that pattern based on what I have read from her.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Jeff V »

Kasey Chang wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 11:37 pm Well, as I've explained before, my job is about 8-9 hours of driving daily, and that's a LOT of time to listen to audiobooks and text-to-speech of novels. I've been known to hit 4-5 short novels a day, and up to 3 long ones.
Don't you also listen to them read at chipmunk speed? I do 120%, if I go any faster I miss any nuances in the reader's voice.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Kasey Chang »

For audiobook I do 2.5x. For text-to-speech I do 4x.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by hitbyambulance »

wondering if i can get the Mueller Report to count for summer reading book bingo (maybe the 'suggested by an elder' square .. that is to say, from an OOer)

https://www.spl.org/programs-and-servic ... book-bingo
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Jeff V »

hitbyambulance wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 1:57 pm wondering if i can get the Mueller Report to count for summer reading book bingo (maybe the 'suggested by an elder' square .. that is to say, from an OOer)

https://www.spl.org/programs-and-servic ... book-bingo
I don't know, I don't read abridged texts.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by xenocide »

Jeff V wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 4:48 pmI do 120%, if I go any faster I miss any nuances in the reader's voice.
I also have found 1.2 to be the perfect speed. Enough of an increase to make a difference, but small enough to not change the experience. Any faster and voices change, pauses are too short, etc and it's doesn't sound right.

2.5 is my "ok, this book kind of sucks and I want it over now" speed.
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Re: Books Read 2019

Post by Jeff V »

xenocide wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 3:12 pm
Jeff V wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 4:48 pmI do 120%, if I go any faster I miss any nuances in the reader's voice.
I also have found 1.2 to be the perfect speed. Enough of an increase to make a difference, but small enough to not change the experience. Any faster and voices change, pauses are too short, etc and it's doesn't sound right.

2.5 is my "ok, this book kind of sucks and I want it over now" speed.
The faster cadence also requires more attention, which I am reluctant to do if driving or biking and I need to divide my attention to my activity and surroundings. In terms of volume, I never would have got to 105 books read last year if I listened at normal speed, that extra 20% added about 18 more books consumed.

Now, since I also read a number of Kindle books every year, another pro tip: when spending time on the throne, try to read at least 1% of the book you're reading. Even if once per day that'll add nearly 4 books per year. :mrgreen:
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