The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread! - Page 20

orlok · 01-31-2014, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I have tried a Tom Holt book long, long ago, and I don't think I liked it. However, I'm willing to give him another shot (eventually). Which of his books should I put on my wish list? That is, which do you think would work best for someone new to his books?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I really liked the first couple, and just sort of slowly drifted off when it started to seem repetitive. Who's Afraid of Beowulf? was probably my favourite. I felt that Expecting Someone Taller would have benefitted from a bit more knowledge of the Ring Cycle than I possessed.

Snow White and the Seven Samurai seems to be the last one I have.

It's probably been long enough that I should try some of his newer stuff.

I agree that either of the first two would be a good starting point, though it is about 25 years since I read them - not sure how I would view them now.

CRussel · 01-31-2014, 12:23 PM

Well, I'm on schedule for my total book count, with 10 books read (or abandoned), and two short stories. Given how little time I had to read this month, that's good. And mostly I've been able to dig into my TBR, at least a little. Just finished Rivers of London, published in the US as Midnght Riot, by Ben Aaronovitch. That was fun, but upped my wishlist by 4 books.

Yapyap · 01-31-2014, 02:39 PM

Whew. I'm on track with all my challenges and sub-challenges.

January totals: fifteen books read (year's goal is 120), ten books bought (year's goal is no more than 120).

The fifteen books include two DTBs (goal is to read at least one DTB a month as I have lots of unread ones at home), two Doctor Who books/stories (goal is one a month) and four books outside my "regular" genres of YA, urban fantasy, cosy mystery and Doctor Who.

Xanthe · 01-31-2014, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Just finished Rivers of London, published in the US as Midnght Riot, by Ben Aaronovitch. That was fun, but upped my wishlist by 4 books.

I like that series.

CRussel · 01-31-2014, 04:26 PM

Yup, me too Xanthe. Not my usual genre, but I enjoyed it.

jersysman · 01-31-2014, 07:14 PM

I'm chugging right along. January is one of my worst months for reading (I don't know, I always feel like bleh!) Maybe I'm coming down from Christmas. I've got 5 down this month and am well into 4 more. Things should pick up in February for me.

Rev. Bob · 01-31-2014, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I have tried a Tom Holt book long, long ago, and I don't think I liked it. However, I'm willing to give him another shot (eventually). Which of his books should I put on my wish list? That is, which do you think would work best for someone new to his books?

I typically recommend Flying Dutch for newcomers. Pretty much everybody knows the core legend, so there's no special work needed to get into it.

VictoriaP · 01-31-2014, 09:36 PM

For January: Read (or re-read) 27 books, plus a few short stories & finished one audiobook. Also discovered several new-to-me authors that are definitely going to stay in my must buy list, which puts me well on my way to the goal of adding 12 new authors this year to those whose new releases I look forward to purchasing regularly. I'm reasonably pleased with my overall progress; I've knocked a few books off my TBR list, read more than I bought, and while I didn't stay under budget for the month, I didn't do too badly either. I even remembered to take advantage of the Kindle lending library, for once!

pdurrant · 02-01-2014, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VictoriaP

I've knocked a few books off my TBR list, read more than I bought, and while I didn't stay under budget for the month, I didn't do too badly either.

Congratulations! I didn't manage any of those! Read 25, bought 50. Whoops.

But the ones I've bought I'm going to really enjoy.

sun surfer · 02-01-2014, 12:03 PM

I did pretty well for January and am ahead of schedule. I've already finished the one specific book I made a goal of reading the first half of the year (Foucault's Pendulum), and including the book I'm currently reading I'm already over 1,000 pages read out of my goal of 4,000 for the half-year.

VictoriaP · 02-01-2014, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Congratulations! I didn't manage any of those! Read 25, bought 50. Whoops.

But the ones I've bought I'm going to really enjoy.

I can see where that might be a problem!

However, knowing what you bought, I suspect you won't have any trouble getting through those new books. Those are some good series.

Back to Travels With Charley last night & this morning, and about 3/4 done with Sarah Woodbury's The Fallen Princess. I'm not enjoying the latter as much as the first several in the series, and I'm not sure if the problem lies in the book or in me. Next up could be in just about anything, from paranormal to steampunk to epic fantasy. Not sure what I'm in the mood for at the moment, but it might be time to switch away from historical mysteries for a bit.

Bookpossum · 02-01-2014, 03:57 PM

At the moment I am one book ahead of schedule, and the one I am reading is a biggie - nearly 1500 pages according to my Kobo - of which I have read a bit over half so far. The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories by Connie Willis, which I got because it included Fire Watch.

PS Thanks for the comments on Tom Holt - I'll seek him out at my library. I like the wacky sound of them.

Geralt · 02-02-2014, 01:43 AM

Wow didnt know Kobo adds so much pages compared to the paper book. O_O

The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories by Connie Willis average around 500 pages on different editions.

I think kindle adds far less in my experience.

Bookpossum · 02-02-2014, 02:25 AM

Yes, in terms of how long it takes me to read a 100 page story, I think you are right and it's about three times the length of a real page. Actually, to be accurate, Kobo only shows me a page count for each story, but the copy on Calibre (ahem) says 1472 pages or so.

Rev. Bob · 02-02-2014, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Yes, in terms of how long it takes me to read a 100 page story, I think you are right and it's about three times the length of a real page. Actually, to be accurate, Kobo only shows me a page count for each story, but the copy on Calibre (ahem) says 1472 pages or so.

It could just be poorly coded. I cleaned up the code on one "238" page book, and it instantly dropped to about 199.

01-31-2014, 04:26 PM	#290
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,157 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Yup, me too Xanthe. Not my usual genre, but I enjoyed it. Last edited by CRussel; 02-01-2014 at 12:55 PM.

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01-31-2014, 12:23 PM	#287
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,157 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Well, I'm on schedule for my total book count, with 10 books read (or abandoned), and two short stories. Given how little time I had to read this month, that's good. And mostly I've been able to dig into my TBR, at least a little. Just finished Rivers of London, published in the US as Midnght Riot, by Ben Aaronovitch. That was fun, but upped my wishlist by 4 books.

01-31-2014, 02:39 PM	#288
Yapyap Guru Posts: 861 Karma: 3543721 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Estonia Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	Whew. I'm on track with all my challenges and sub-challenges. January totals: fifteen books read (year's goal is 120), ten books bought (year's goal is no more than 120). The fifteen books include two DTBs (goal is to read at least one DTB a month as I have lots of unread ones at home), two Doctor Who books/stories (goal is one a month) and four books outside my "regular" genres of YA, urban fantasy, cosy mystery and Doctor Who.

01-31-2014, 07:14 PM	#291
jersysman Wizard Posts: 1,747 Karma: 3761220 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Device: T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW, PW2, Nook HD+, Kobo Mini, Aura HD	I'm chugging right along. January is one of my worst months for reading (I don't know, I always feel like bleh!) Maybe I'm coming down from Christmas. I've got 5 down this month and am well into 4 more. Things should pick up in February for me.

01-31-2014, 09:36 PM	#293
VictoriaP Addict Posts: 298 Karma: 491576 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle PW2; Kindle Touch; Kindle 2; iPad Mini; iPad1	For January: Read (or re-read) 27 books, plus a few short stories & finished one audiobook. Also discovered several new-to-me authors that are definitely going to stay in my must buy list, which puts me well on my way to the goal of adding 12 new authors this year to those whose new releases I look forward to purchasing regularly. I'm reasonably pleased with my overall progress; I've knocked a few books off my TBR list, read more than I bought, and while I didn't stay under budget for the month, I didn't do too badly either. I even remembered to take advantage of the Kindle lending library, for once!

02-01-2014, 12:03 PM	#295
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I did pretty well for January and am ahead of schedule. I've already finished the one specific book I made a goal of reading the first half of the year (Foucault's Pendulum), and including the book I'm currently reading I'm already over 1,000 pages read out of my goal of 4,000 for the half-year.

02-01-2014, 03:57 PM	#297
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	At the moment I am one book ahead of schedule, and the one I am reading is a biggie - nearly 1500 pages according to my Kobo - of which I have read a bit over half so far. The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories by Connie Willis, which I got because it included Fire Watch. PS Thanks for the comments on Tom Holt - I'll seek him out at my library. I like the wacky sound of them.

02-02-2014, 01:43 AM	#298
Geralt Witcher Posts: 933 Karma: 7321117 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Swamp. Slaying Drowners. Device: Kindle PW2	Wow didnt know Kobo adds so much pages compared to the paper book. O_O The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories by Connie Willis average around 500 pages on different editions. I think kindle adds far less in my experience.

02-02-2014, 02:25 AM	#299
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,137 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Yes, in terms of how long it takes me to read a 100 page story, I think you are right and it's about three times the length of a real page. Actually, to be accurate, Kobo only shows me a page count for each story, but the copy on Calibre (ahem) says 1472 pages or so.