The Year of... Something

I like to set themes for things for a period of time. This is how I keep myself accountable.

[the-history-of-fighting]

[yearsofsomething]

First long hike of the season.

[yearsofsomething]

Ending 2013 with 183 Books

Hooked on Murder The School of Good and Evil The Doll House (Sandman 2) The Ocean at the End of the Lane Blindsight Hercules Poirot's Christmas Unseen Academicals Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian Katya's War Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day Gift of the Crow

  And what does this all mean? Stats to follow!

[allisbeth]

Nanny’s philosophy of life was to do what seemed like a good idea at the time, and do it as hard as possible. It had never let her down.

Terry Pratchett, Maskerade (via allisbeth)

[yearsofsomething]

Book 172

Well, I am up to book 172 right now.

The holiday season is always so busy busy busy.

Maskerade

Bone Dance

Artemis Fowl (1)

Hyperbole and a Half

Artemis Fowl (2)

Artemis Fowl (3)

Slow Getting Up

Factotum*

Nightwatch

Wyrd Sisters

Feet of Clay

The Light Fantastic

The Color of Magic

*I sort of apologize to all the people who read over my shoulder on the train. But if the bookstore I bought this book from was right, Astoria's reading a lot of Bukowski, so what did you expect?

[fer1972]

Illustration by Edward Ardizzone from The Tlittle Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon

[yearsofsomething]

This is pretty much me as a child.

Things I got in trouble for at school included reading during lessons and reading when people were talking to me. They had some thing in the library once, and I think people had been talking about how I read all the time, because eventually I realized they were talking to me or about me reading. I wasn't paying attention because, of course, I was reading a book instead. School was boring, yo. 

[yearsofsomething]

Books 149 - 157

November has been a slow reading month for me, mostly because of Nanowrimo. That's taken more of my time than I expected (though I still read during lunch and commutes, I can't write then so excuse.)

So here are the books I've managed to finish in that time:

The Fear Institute, Jonathan L. Howard

Incandescence, Greg Egan

Eric, Men at Arms, and Maskerade, Terry Prachett

Territory, Emma Bull

Bad Behavior, Mary Gaitskill

A total of 1869 pages for the month, and about 46,000 for the year.

[yearsofsomething]

Book 148: The Creeps

Author: John Connolly

Title: The Creeps

Pages: 336

October Total: 4,889

Overall Total: 44,103

Notes: The last of a trilogy.

*HERE THERE BE SPOILERS*

Frankly, this book was a let down. We spend a great deal of time following ancillary characters (the dwarfs, the scientists) and not enough time following Samuel (you know, the main character!). A couple characters just sort of fade out and are never mentioned again, and then the whole plot is tied up with a nice, but a bit out of place, epilogue that takes place decades in the future. The footnotes are still hilarious, and the imagery is lovely, but I just wish the characters had gotten better treatment.

[yearsofsomething]

Book 147: Witches Abroad

Author: Terry Prachett

Title: Witches Abroad

Pages: 384

Notes: Fun take on fairy godmothers.

October Total: 4,553

Overall Total: 43,787

[yearsofsomething]

Book 146: The Gates

Author: John Connolly

Title: The Gates

Pages: 296

Notes: Realized that the third book in this series was coming out/came out recently, so I said, let's re-read the first two! I read the first one and the third one had arrived, so I must admit I did skip over the second one.

October Total: 4,169

Overall Total: 43,043

[yearsofsomething]

Book 144: Soul Music

Author: Terry Prachett

Title: Soul Music

Pages: 289

Notes: I kept referring to this book as "Music with rocks in it" and then I couldn't remember what it was actually called, and had trouble looking it up. This is why I have to enter books as soon as I start them.

Total October Pages: 3,556

Total Overall Pages: 42,790

[yearsofsomething]

Book 143: The Night Watch

Author: Terry Prachett

Title: The Night Watch

Pages: 289

Notes: I enjoy the character of Samuel Vimes. I think he is my favorite (along with Nanny Ogg).

Some difference in British colloquialisms throw me though.

*HERE THERE BE SPOILERS*

When young Sam mentions "our Mum," I thought my god! He knows his older self has come to visit! Then I realized, no, that's just how people talk sometimes (be it stereotyped or not).

*HERE THE SPOILERS END*

October Total: 3,267

Overall Total: 42,501

[yearsofsomething]

Book 142: The Truth

Author: Terry Prachett

Title: The Truth

Pages: 289

Notes: The NYPL has so many of Prachett's novels. I probably can't, er, won't stop until I've read all of them.

October Total: 2,978

Overall Total: 42,212

[yearsofsomething]

Book 145: Carpe Jugulum

Author: Terry Prachett

Title: Carpe Jugulum

Pages: 317

Notes: Fun, Agnes was a good character.

Total October: 3,873

Overall Total: 43,107

[thoughtithought]

let it open your mind

Space Bound | via Tumblr no We Heart It. http://weheartit.com/entry/75836086/via/spaceebound

[yearsofsomething]

Book 141: On the Steel Breeze

Author: Alastair Reynolds

Title: On the Steel Breeze

Pages: 519

Days in Reading: 2

Notes: The second book in the Poseidon's Children (?) trilogy. (The first being Blue Remembered Earth, which I re-read a couple months ago, expecting to get the book at the end of September and then learning that Amazon lied to me about when the book was available in the US (Not until June WHAT?). How did I get it then? Stop asking questions, what are you, the NSA?)

I am pro this trilogy. Go read it for yourself. It's worth the (exorbitant) shipping costs.

[yearsofsomething]

Page Update

October Pages: 2,170

Year to date pages: 41,404

Average Book: 289.53

Average Book/Month: About 13

Total Books: 140, with 2 and a half months left to go.