Ape's 2019 Challenge

Hello everyone and welcome to my thread! My name is Stephen and I don't read nearly as much as I used to. Welcome to my thread, which I will completely neglect for weeks at a time. You should totally add a star and follow, because the lack of activity here means it will take no time at all to keep up with me. I'm very considerate that way.

Currently reading: Rat Island


Books read: 17
Pages read: 6,751

January:
Well, not a good start...

February:
1. The Unending by A. D. Sands
2. The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell

March:
3. The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

April:
4. City of Clowns by Daniel Alarcón
5. How the World Was by Emmanuel Guibert

May:
Didn't read a single book...

June:
Nope...

July:
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
7. Day One by Nate Kenyon

August:
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

September:
11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

October:
13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
14. Horns by Joe Hill
15. Vengeance Child by Simon Clark

November:
16. Only the Dead Know Brooklyn by Chris Vola

December:
17. Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

3 years ago, I spent most of the year reading Great Tales of Horror by H. P. Lovecraft. I normally only read 1 book at a time, and it was the first time I had an ongoing collection of short stories, and I really liked it! So I'm doing it again this year*, except this time I'm reading Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales. I don't yet know how I'm going to post about them, most of the stories are under 5 pages and there is something like 200+ of them, so I might do a weekly roundup or something like that. Anyway, I'll be keeping track of my overall progress on this post!



Pages read: 480 out of 682
Stories read: a few out of a bazillion

*I've been reading this thing for 2 years now. Let's not talk about it.

My increasingly dismal year-by year stats. This is just getting depressing.

Books read:
2009: 81
2010: 87
2011: 81
2012: 75
2013: 53
2014: 54
2015: 54
2016: 57
2017: 27
2018: 13

Pages read:
2009: 24,492
2010: 25,958
2011: 19,935
2012: 19,168
2013: 17,643
2014: 16,073
2015: 16,217
2016: 19,236
2017: 7,834
2018: 3,713

Average book size:
2009: 302 pages
2010: 298 pages
2011: 246 pages
2012: 255 pages
2013: 333 pages
2014: 297 pages
2015: 300 pages
2016: 337 pages
2017: 290 pages
2018: 285 pages

Average pages read per day:
2009: 67 pages
2010: 71 pages
2011: 54 pages
2012: 52 pages
2013: 48 pages
2014: 44 pages
2015: 44 pages
2016: 53 pages
2017: 21 pages
2018: 10 pages

I plan to keep up. LOL. And Grimm sounds like a doable project!

Happy New Year to you!!!!

I like your 2019 goal of reading the Grimm's fairy tales. I'll be sure to visit here to see which ones you are reading.

Happy 2019
A year full of books
A year full of friends
A year full of all your wishes realised

I look forward to keeping up with you, Stephen, this year.

Hiya!

Hiyah, Stephen! Welcome back!

Hi Stephen, Happy New Year! I love Grimm's so hoping you will at least mention if you like or dislike the tales as you read them.

Happy New Year and happy new thread! Hey, maybe this will be the year for Grimm's!

Happy New Year Stephen! And happy new thread!



Wishing you and your family the best for 2019.

Happy reading in 2019, Stephen, I have pulled my Grimm from the shelf.

Don't worry about the reading statistics, I had my worst year in 2013 with exact the same number of books.

Happy New Year, Stephen! We all go through reading slumps, sometimes for years at a time. No feeling bad allowed!

I'm here to keep up with your shenanigans, reading and otherwise.

Welcome Kim, Linda, Paul, Leah, Jim, Lori, Foggi, Nina, Anita, Nora, and Micky!!!

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. Hopefully I'll get a lot more reading done this year. Just ignore the fact that I haven't read a page yet. :P

>15 Ape: It's only January 3, that's not out of the realm of normal. :)

I feel like this is a conversation that's been had in your threads before but, have you tried audiobooks? I honestly haven't read a physical book in.... more than a little while (other than comics) but I clocked in 1.5 hrs short of 57 books last year. They aren't to everyone's taste but they are a godsend to me.

Just dropped in to drop a star and say hello Stephen :)

Hi, Stephen! Happy New Year, and see you later!

Karen O.

Micky: How about now that it's January 6th?? Maybe I'll start a book today... >_>

Leah: I haven't. For me it's just lack of time, if I had time to listen to an audiobook then I'd just as well read during that time. I probably SHOULD try it sometime though.

Adrienne: Hello! :)

Hi Karen! Happy new year to you too!

>20 Ape: Fair point. I listen while doing other things but that mostly means driving. Or in bed. I have almost never just sat down and listened.

Hmmmm...isn't that like drinking and driving? What if there is an unexpected plot twist!?

>22 Ape: ... or the suspect sneaks up behind you?...

Just checking in to see if you have started a book. Yes / No? This could turn into a fun game.... lopsided given that you are in control of when you start your first book, but still, kind of fun to speculate.

Nina: It's dangerous, I tell ya! ;)

Lori: Ummmmmmmm.... ...no. However, I looked at my books today and contemplated which one I'd read if first. I didn't come to a decision though...

Did anything entice you? Curious.

Funny thing, there's a book that I really want to read, but I've been avoiding it because I've been reading so slow and so infrequently that I'd prefer to save it until I'm reading at a quicker pace. It's called Bats of the Republic and the book is WEIRD, it's filled with all kinds of things, like an ACTUAL letter that says "do not open," and I desperately want to open it...because it's telling me not too. I'm so curious to know if it's supposed to entice you to open it before you read te book, and if reading what is inside the letter will effect how I interpret the story...or if I shouldn't open it at all, even when I get to the point where it will probably entice me to open it in the story. It's piqued my curiosity...but I don't want to read it at 3 pages per day, so, I'll wait... >_>

>27 Ape: Reeeead iiiiiit... (Seriously, if it's that intriguing, you might find that it kicks your reading into a higher gear, so to speak -- and even if it doesn't, if you want to read it, you should. Carpe diem!)

I have that book! I started reading it a few years ago but I wasn't in the right head space. It is delightfully weird as a physical object and book.

Foggi: Okay, sure! I'll do that..."soon." Maybe tomorrow. *Nods unconvincingly*

Leah: Haha, I stumbled upon it at a dollar store, and while the books there can be pretty so-so, when I saw Bats of the Republic for only $1, how could I not buy it!?

Well Hello. Have a *. I say read the book it can't hurt.

Bryony: Maybe! I'm going to make a concentrated effort to start a book tomorrow...but I make no promises. :P

Oh, the suspense!

READ it!!!

Haha, I didn't start that one, but I did read 30 pages in The Unending today. It's...alright, so far.

Aaaaaaand I haven't read since. >_>

>35 Ape: Me neither. I did buy myself a Nintendo Switch recently, but I'm sure those things are totally unrelated.

>36 norabelle414:

Nora: Haha, those do seem to be very popular. My local gaming store (where I play Magic at in person) just started hosting Super Smash Brothers tournaments. Fancy!

I am addicted to my switch! Clocked up that many hours on Zelah that it's cut in to my reading time.

Wishing you a great Sunday, Stephen.

Bryony: I know the feeling!

Thanks Paul!

Hope the reading block is easing or will ease soon, Stephen.

Thanks Paul! I still haven't finished a book this year, unfortunately, but maybe soon? ...but probably not. *Shrug*

Just popping in to wave Hi!!

Hi Kim! I finished a book! Look at me! :P

1. The Unending by A. D. Sands



Pages: 341
Rating: 3/5

Fantasy
Owned

-----------------------

Actually really cool fantasy novel with some weird and interesting plot twists, but the concept felt tenuous and poorly explained at times. *Shrug*

Yay! You finished one!

Woo woo!



https://goo.gl/images/AQkh1n

Hmm, no description on LT. I'll look into it - always interested in weird and interesting plot twists.

Foggi/Nina: *Bows* No encores though! At least not for awhile. :P

Jim: It might have been self-published, actually. I believe my sister received it directly from the author, and then she gave it to me. *Shrug*

Yay for a book completion!

>49 Ape: Don't stop now; you're on a roll!

Great job!

Thank you, thank you! It only took me approximately 1 week to start another book...and I've read it exactly twice since starting it. :P

Unfortunately the gaming store that I've been playing Magic at over the last year is closing down. Quite a bummer! I guess it's back to full hermit mode for me. Maybe it'll give me more time to read, though...

>53 Ape: Bummer, indeed. Maybe you and some of the people who were playing there could find a different venue? Does your library have a meeting room you could reserve?

Maybe! The problem is there wasn't a core group of people to organize something like this. The store would get 4-5 people in per week, but it was always a constant stream of different faces. The store seemed to have a hard time establishing regulars - besides myself. Last week the store had a whopping 12 people in, one of the biggest turnouts I've ever seen...and yet there was only 1 person out of the group that I had ever seen before.

Anyway, chances are everyone will just find another store. There is one about 30-40 minutes from my house, but it's a bit of a trek, particularly since I'd be driving home late at night when my brain has turned to mush after several hours of playing a strategy game.

I would LOVE it if the library tried to get a group going. The last time I visited their website they were actually trying to get a Dungeons and Dragons group going, but I don't see any mention of that now so it must not have been successful.

2. The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell



Pages: 164
Rating: 4/5

Fiction
Owned

-------------------------------------------------------

A plodding book about not-a-whole-lot, so I greatly enjoyed it, naturally.

(Actually it's about a dance hall full of people catching fire and exploding in the early 1900's, but the story is told from the perspective of a maid and her insights about all the people involved in the events.)

>56 Ape: This one sounds interesting.

>56 Ape: - Love your mini-review, Stephen. ;-)

Good to see you get some books on the board Stephen!

Have a great weekend.

>56 Ape: Book sighting! Yay!!

>55 Ape: Maybe if you pester the library, they'll know there's some interest out there? *sneaky snigger*

You finished 2 books! !!!!

If you pop on before Sunday please go cast your vote over on my thread.

Adrienne: It was! :)

Lori: Thanks! I'm not super motivated to type out full reviews these days, but happy to jot down a couple of sentences.

Paul: Me to! Unfortunately it's been 10 days since I finished that and I still haven't started anything new...

Nina: Me? Pester someone? I would never! *Pokes Micky for no reason*

Bryony: I made it just in time!

>62 Ape: *rolls eyes* Boys!

Hey! *rubs arm*

I went 21 days without reading a single page! Bizarre! But I started The Accident Season today. I'm REALLY enjoying it so far, but it has a person on the cover so I'll reserve my judgement. ;)

You may be doing better than me, then. :0/

No one can not-read better than us!

What he said (?)

I just want to note that today I bought a copy of A Doubter's Almanac purely because the title was so relatable.

That is all.

>69 Ape: Are you sure that was a good decision?

Of course! As you probably know, everything I say and do is always right, all the time! It's everyone else's opinions and actions that I constantly have to question and correct. It's exhausting, let me tell you. :P

3. The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle



Pages: 291
Rating: 3/5

YA Magical Realism thing
Owned

-----------------------

Once per year, in October, a family must suffer "the accident season" where they a inexplicably prone to getting injured. Sometimes it's just cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but other times it's stitches and broken bones. It seems very predictable at first, as anyone can guess that the accidents aren't accidents and there is some sort of physical abuse happening behind closed doors.

Except not quite. The book is teeming with the supernatural and it quickly makes you doubt the obvious conclusion, which was fairly well done, in my opinion.

Unfortunately the book is also a YA novel, so the plot is bogged down by romance, or whatever the teenage equivalent of it is. Without that the book is an easy 4, but reading page after page about how the characters are "so in love" but also "kinda scared to kiss each other" is just obnoxious. Ugh. Plus I'm getting to the age where reading books about hormonal, sex-crazed teenagers is just getting weird and uncomfortable.

It's pretty good otherwise, though!

Yay! A book review. Way to go!

Plus I'm getting to the age where reading books about hormonal, sex-crazed teenagers is just getting weird and uncomfortable.

Grumpy old man. ;)

Nina: I didn't actually intend to type that much when I made that post! :)

Micky: Haha, I won't dispute that. I've been a grumpy old man since I was a teenager. :P

Hey, you read a thing!

I did! I do that sometimes.

Look at you...3 books!!! And a review. You are on a roll!



Well, maybe not that kind. : )

Speaking of being on a roll!

4. City of Clowns by Daniel Alarcon



Pages: 144
Rating: 4/5

Fiction - Graphic Novel
Owned

-------------------------------------------------------------

Graphic novel thing about a boy growing up in Lima, Peru.

>79 Ape: Woohoo!

The book reads are finally rolling, Stephen.

Have a great weekend.

Foggi: And the crowd goes wild!

Thanks Paul! I haven't actually read at all since I finished my last book, been very busy lately!

Happy birthday!!!!!!!

Thanks, Nora! :)

Oh, happy birthday, Stephen!!

Thanks, Amber! :)

Happy birthday!

Thanks, Nina! :)

And I finished a book on my birthday too, so hurray for that!

5. How the World Was: A California Childhood by Emmanuel Guibert



Pages: 159
Rating: 3/5

Graphic Novel - Nonfiction Biography thing
Owned

---------------------------------

A man recounts his childhood growing up in California during the 1930's - told as a graphic novel. From what I gather, the author interviews the man (Alan Cole) and then publishes them as these graphic novels (Alan's War is another one.) It's interesting, for sure, but a few times I was dubious about the legitimacy of the story being told. Such as when he recounts the time he was walking in the desert, a Rattlesnake was about to strike at him and his dad shot it from a distance - and without aiming, choosing instead to shoot from the hip in the direction of his own child. I mean, who am I to say for sure, I'm just skeptical, is all...

Originally published in French.

Happy slightly belated birthday, Stephen.

Have a great weekend.

Thanks, Paul! :)

Happy even-more-belated birthday!

Thanks, Foggi! :)

Guys, I have great news. My sister (who, by the way, is an avid reader now) loathes and despises romantic plots in books as much as I do. It must be genetic! :P

Yay?

>94 Ape: Uh huh.

I just wanted to make it known that I'm not weird. But I'm sure you all knew that already.

Or it's genetic. Hey - you said it first.

>97 Ape: Self declared but none the less true.

Nina: Being not-weird is genetic, for sure! :P

Paul: I can't wait around all day for people to say nice things about me, so it only makes sense to just go ahead and say it for them. This is just one of the many selfless acts I do for the people around me, as I'm sure you agree.

Just checking in to say I don't know how long it has been since I last read because it's been so long...

>101 Ape: You're so good to us Stephen.

I do what I can. :P

Just posting to say that I DNFed The Burn Palace because when I tried to read it for the first time in 2 months I realized I didn't remember who any of the characters were.

We'll see how long it'll take for me to start a new one. :P

So after being in the biggest slump in my life, I decided to start re-reading Harry Potter earlier today. I only read for a single sitting, but I pretty easily powered through 70 pages and it has definitely re-ignited my interest in reading!

Yay for rereading old favorites!

That'll do it! Congrats!

>106 Ape: Woot!!

>106 Ape: Huzzah!

>106 Ape: Go for it!

Yay for re-reads!

I'm glad to see you all are as enthusiastic as I am! :D

And just like that, I finished a book!

6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 309
Rating: 5/5

Children's Fantasy
Owned

---------------------

Funny thing, the last time I read this was in 2016..and I started it on July 4th! I guess it's just that time of year for me.

Huzzah!

Woohoo!

Edited to add: I have a couple of books like that, that I always manage to reread around the same time of year. Or, in the case of Howl's Moving Castle and The Thief, if I read one I often have a hankering to read the other.

>106 Ape: I'll bear that in mind for breaking my own reading slump, Stephen. An author or a book that I know cannot fail.

Have a great weekend.

>114 Ape: Whoa; well done! And now the next one. Or a review. :0)

>116 bell7: That sounds intriguing (but no touchstone).

>118 humouress: Ugh, yeah, I had trouble with touchstones yesterday. Try this one: The Thief.

Happy weekend, Stephen! Are you starting right up with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

Foggi: Indeed!

Mary: My sister is reading The Thief at the moment, and last I heard she was really enjoying it. I, on the other hand, haven't read either of those :P

Paul: Yeah, it definitely seems to be working for me, at least!

Nina: Yep, onto the next one! I reviewed Harry Potter when I read it 3 years ago, I figure that's good enough. :)

Mary: Same to you! I was absolutely planning on starting Chamber of Secrets...but decided this morning to try to utilize this renewed enthusiasm by reading a different book instead. I think I'm going to try to read a book between each book in the Harry Potter series.

However, I'm not being too adventurous. I started Day One, which seems like a cheesy, action-packed, plot-driven thriller-y type of thing. I doubt it's a literary masterpiece, but it's under 300 pages and the text is big, so I'm hoping that means it won't slow down my momentum. :)

>120 Ape: Sounds like a good plan! I have too many library books on my stack right now to contemplate a Harry Potter series reread, but I was thinking about going through the movies again...

I haven't watched the movies since they were released! And I don't even think I finished them all. I remember REALLY hating the 5th movie and I don't think I watched after the 6th. Maybe I should try them again, though.

My friend Matt is just exploring HP for the first time ever since I bought him the books (at his request) for Christmas. Our little local indy theater is starting to show the movies, maybe 1 per month, so we're going to go see the first few that's he's already read. I'm excited to see the movies afresh in the theater with a newbie!

I love the movies but more in a sentimental way. I just accept them as something apart from the books since the experience really can't compare.

Yeah, I totally get it! My sister read the books for the first time a year or 2 ago. You can never experience the books for the first time again, but it was close living vicariously through her as she read through them for the first time! :)

7. Day One by Nate Kenyon



Pages: 289
Rating: 3/5

Science Fiction - Artificial Intelligence/Singularity/Apocalypse-thing
Owned

----------------------------------------------

A book with lots of really cool concepts regarding artificial intelligence and the Singularity, but it falls apart when characters start interacting with each other because the dialogue is bad and their actions feel unreasonable most of the time.

Cool ideas, but the writing was not for me.

>125 Ape: I hate it when a good premise is wrecked by bad writing.

Definitely! It's kind of an action-y suspense plot and the main character's name is Hawke. It's written exactly how you might think it would be. :P

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 341
Rating: 5/5

Fantasy
Owned

---------------------------------------------------------------

Spoiler alert: It wasn't Hagrid.

>128 Ape: Obvs.

>128 Ape: >129 MickyFine: *snort*

Just making sure we're all on the same page! :P

I decided instead of reading a book between Harry Potter books that I would instead try to read 100 pages of the Grimms Fairy Tale collection that I've been reading for 2 years. After nearly 10 days I've managed to read 50....so...I'm probably just going to start Prisoner of Azkaban tomorrow.

Edit: Actually I'm way behind on editing so what I meant to say is I'll start reading Prisoner of Azkaban "the next time I read," whenever that is!

9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 435
Rating: 5/5

Owned
Fantasy

------------------------------------

Spoiler alert: It wasn't Sirius Black.

Woo hoo! Another book read!

Yeah! And I'm already 250 pages into the next one! Although, "the next one" is 730+ pages, because I decided to go straight into the 4th Harry Potter book instead of reading something in between. I was just too excited! :P

Alright!

10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 734
Rating: 5/5

Owned
Fantasy

------------------------------------

Spoiler alert: IT WASN'T ACTUALLY PROFESSOR MOODY!

>136 Ape: Nice to see you make it into double figures reading wise, Stephen! My reading is hardly on the dynamic side though.

Have a good weekend.

>136 Ape: Somehow I read that too fast and managed to switch characters in my head (Moody/Moony) and was really confused about what that book had to do with Remus Lupin. Don't mind me, carry on.

Paul: At this rate I might actually read more than I read last year - I haven't been able to say that for a few years running!

Mary: I mean, hey, Lupin needed the potions brewed for him all year to stop transforming into a werewolf, and "Moody" needed to brew potions all year to stop transforming into "not-Moody." And then the similar names too...I think we're unraveling a conspiracy! :P

I haven't started a new book since I finished the last one, but the next Magic: the Gathering set has a Grimm Fairy Tale/Camelot theme and that has ignited my interest in the Grimm Fairy Tale collection I've been reading for 2 years now. I'm 480 pages into it, and I'm hoping to finally finish it this year. It's been interesting, but it's also been kind of a slog. I don't think I would encourage anyone to be a completionist and read every story - so many of them are basically identical but with minor differences that it's somewhat redundant. The collection I'm reading groups the similar stories together too, so I basically feel like I'm reading the same story 3-4 times before finally moving on to a new one.

I haven't been using Librarything a whole lot over the past year or so, so I don't know how long it's been there, but that little tooltip thingy that pops up when you hover over a book title is super handy and I like it a lot.

>141 Ape: It's only been here about a month. Very convenient!

Fancy! Now I want to type all my posts like this now.

>143 Ape: Troublemaker!

I'm sure it's Nora's fault somehow. She's such an enabler, y'know! :P

>143 Ape: Huh! Interesting way of doing that.

It is? IT IS! Yup, totally interesting. Did I mention it was my idea the whole time? :P

>147 Ape: Ha, smart move!

>140 Ape: I had the bright idea a number of years ago of buying the Complete Grimm Fairy Tales in order to read them one or two at a time to my youngest. Didn't realise how blood thirsty or grimm most of "em were. We ditched the plan.

Paul: Haha, yeah, I could see why! I head they were much darker than the popularized versions, but I didn't know the descriptions would be so...visceral.

11. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 870
Rating: 5/5

Fantasy
Owned

--------------------------------------------

Okay, I don't really have a clever one-liner this time.

>150 Ape: It wasn't Snape

It's true!

12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 652
Rating: 5/5

Owned
Fantasy

---------------------------------

I suppose it WAS Snape the whole time in this one....

>148 PaulCranswick: I remember being given a Complete Hans Christian Anderson tome for Christmas one year and I was quite thrilled until I started reading it. I had thought that The Little Mermaid was quite sad for a children's story but it's probably one of his more upbeat works. The book was a DNF - very unusual for me at that time.

Well, I read 220+ pages today in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is the most I've read in a single day in YEARS.

I don't know how you are supposed to STOP reading the book, to be honest. Every chapter is a cliffhanger ending. It's not fair, really. I can't be entirely sure it isn't possessed Voldemort, like Tom Riddle's diary in book 2. I certainly don't remember anything that happened today...

>155 Ape: Great to see your reading mojo back, Stephen.

Thanks, Paul!

13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling



Pages: 759
Rating: 5/5

Fantasy
Owned

-------------------------------------------------------

Probably the best book ever or something.

Yay for speed reading familiar favourites!

I couldn't put it down! I'm not the fastest reader, but I found myself reading 4-5 hours at a time. AND I ALREADY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!

>159 Ape: How does Harry Potter do that??? I can't ever read anything else as fast or as often as I read those books. JK Rowling is a witch, clearly.

I know, right? I tried to read a lot today but I haven't even reached page 30 yet. How am I supposed to read regular, NOT-Harry-Potter books now?

>161 Ape: Just start over with the first one again

>162 norabelle414: Seconded

Haha, I almost feel like I could!

OMG! I missed your thread for the entire YEAR! How is that possible. I'm going to cry. Should I squee to see you?

*SQUEEEEEE

No worries, Rachel! I haven't really posted much...so you haven't really missed anything! :P

Since finishing Harry Potter I have averaged 20 pages per day. WHY CAN'T EVERY BOOK BE AS GOOD AS HARRY POTTER!?

You didn't ask for recommendations, but I have one for you anyway...:)

The Nevermoor books by Jessica Townsend. The first one is Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow and the second is Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow. I really liked both of them, and they reminded me a lot of the Harry Potter universe: well, all of the magic, of course, but friendship, good vs. evil, etc.

But I know what you mean about the Harry Potter books--delightful to read and reread!

Karen O.

*sigh* Your reading is much faster than mine.

Have you tried any Narnia books (school children in England, magic, made-into-films)? I've started reading The Magician's Nephew to my kids and my younger one, especially, is quite excited about it. He's just devoured the Harry Potter series; though I started reading The Philosopher's Stone to my kids, he couldn't wait and read the whole series himself.

coughCarry Oncoughchough

And while not for children, A Darker Shade of Magic is fantastic.

Karen: I've seen those about! They do look interesting, I'll keep them in mind. :)

Nina: I've actually never read the Narnia books, but of course I'm familiar with them. I really should read more classic fantasy novels in general...

Nora: but...but it's a YA Romance... *shudders*

Micky: I think my sister has those, actually! But I can't borrow books from her without her thrusting approximately 50 books on me at once. The tables have really turned in that department....

>172 Ape: It's a YA romance between Harry and Draco. You'll survive.

>172 Ape: It's worth braving the books your sister will throw at you. Trust me.

Nora: Ewwww!

Micky: But bravery isn't in my vocabulary!

>175 Ape: Ts’okay; you don’t need to know what it means.

Also, what’s with all this reading and posting? I thought you were like me.

Don't worry, we're more alike than you might think. I haven't read in days! :P

But you did read books and you are posting!!! Progress!! And secretly you do have Bravery in your vocab. : )

Kim: I don't know what you're talking about! *whistles innocently, and definitely not bravely*

14. Horns by Joe Hill



Pages: 370
Rating: 5/5

Owned
Fiction - Horror (kind of)

--------------------------------------

I was a little put-off by this in the beginning, because it felt like the author was just trying to be shocking and edgy for the sake of being shocking and edgy. I'm not deterred by such things exactly, but I thought I was going to be in for a campy horror novel and braced myself for a run-of-the-mill "leisure horror" type of novel.

Turns out my initial impressions were way off, and the book had way more depth than I ever imagined. I really didn't have any idea what I was getting into, I only knew the most basic premise of the book - that it was about a guy that grows horns and finds they have dark powers. I'm glad I went into it so blind, because the story is well-crafted and I greatly enjoyed experiencing it as it unraveled.

It's a very dark book, for sure, I doubt it is for everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it.

15. Vengeance Child by Simon Clark



Pages: 232
Rating: 3/5

Owned
Horror

-----------------------------------------------------------

I've read more Simon Clark books than I care to admit, and I pretty much know what to expect at this point: Horror novels that, while not spectacular, are usually enjoyable enough to dip into during October when I read as many horror books as I can. This was no different. It was okay, in the "I didn't hate it but probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone ever" sort of way.

Seconding Micky's recommendation for A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy.

Mary: She put you up to this, didn't she!? :P

Y'know, sometimes I feel like I've seen everything in life. I mean, sure, not EVERYTHING, but after 31 years of life at the very least I feel like nothing can surprise me.

However, this morning I sneezed while brushing my teeth.

It was catastrophic and totally shocking.

I'm still recovering.

>183 Ape: Who me??? *innocent face*

>184 Ape: *snort* I mean, are you ok? No toothbrush penetrating your soft palate or anything?

>183 Ape: oh I totally read the trilogy myself and LOVED it but umm, well, there might've been some cash involved but I signed a nondisclosure agreement, so you'll just have to wonder.

>184 Ape: *snort* I mean, I'm sorry, you're not hurt are you?

Haha, yes, I'm fine. However...you know how sometimes if you brush too vigorously you get a little toothpaste splatter on the mirror? Yeah well, multiply that by about a hundred.

Well I don’t think I’ve done that yet. Your poor mirror.

What can I say, I'm a revolutionary. Taking the human body to heights never before witnessed by all of humankind.

I know most people would do that through some form of athleticism, not sneezing with a mouthful of toothpaste...BUT THAT'S WHY IT'S SO REVOLUTIONARY!

I dressed up as an axe murderer for Halloween. How'd I do?

Too many books to be an axe murderer. Sorry, better luck next time!

Dammit!

I have an embarrassing secret, and I need to confess.

For years I've seen people responding to each other here on Librarything with a link to the original post (like posts 185/186 above) and I've never been able to figure out how to do it. When it was first launched I took a cursory glance at all the buttons under the More tab, thinking it was there, but when I didn't find it I figured it wasn't that important anyway and moved on.

Nevertheless, over time it has become increasingly confounding, because everyone does it and yet I don't see an easy or obvious way to make that link happen myself. While I don't think it adds or subtracts from a post it nevertheless has continued to eat at my sanity. I also feel that, having let so much time pass, I am in too deep and it would be mortifying to simply ask how to do something that everyone else has been doing with ease for years.

However, I am not a proud man, and I certainly believe there are no stupid questions, so let me ask: how the heck do you do that!?!?

Easy peasy! You put a right-pointing caret (I think that's what it's called) and the number of the post you want to refer back to. So, I would put > and 193 to point to your note above. It's not transparent at all.

Karen O.

>194 klobrien2: ...all this time...I JUST HAD TO TYPE IT OUT!?!?

Haha, well, I'm sure my sanity will be 100% restored now.

Thanks, Karen!

>195 Ape: That looks lovely! Good job!

Karen O.

>190 Ape:. Maybe a well-read axe murderer?

>195 Ape:. Way to go!

A cool trick is that you can technically reference posts that haven't happened yet, and then once they do happen, the link appears. Like this:

>200 foggidawn: Hi!!

>198 norabelle414: You never cease to amaze me, Nora! :P

Life has been super fun for me lately. My furnace AND my water heater are out. I've known my central air unit was going for awhile now, last winter I had to use a kerosene heater because the main heater couldn't keep up with the temperature outside, and over the summer I had to use a small window-mounted air conditioner because the main central air couldn't keep it cool. The first time I tried to turn the heater on a week ago, however, there was no heat at all.

The water heater was a surprise. I took a shower last week and the water started going cold. I was surprised, but decided to not worry about it, but the next day the water was ice cold. I've watched a few maintenance/troubleshooting tutorials online but unfortunately none of the simple solutions are working, so it's either dead or needs to be looked at by a professional.

This winter is going to be a cold one for me!

I'm hoping the water heater is fixable, and if not, it's at least something I can replace myself. It's just a couple water lines and a few wires, right? ...right!? The furnace is beyond my abilities though, so I'm hoping the space heaters I have will be good enough to keep a couple rooms warm when winter actually sets in. It's been dropping below freezing (or close to it) overnight in Ohio and they've kept the rooms very toasty on the LOW setting so I'm thinking it'll be fine.

I know a lot of people think they're dangerous, but I don't really have any other options at the moment so they're going to have to do!

Hi, Nora!

>199 Ape: So sorry to hear about your heating woes, and I hope you can get the water heater taken care of, at least.

>198 norabelle414: It didn't work! D:

>200 foggidawn: Me too!

>201 Ape: Boo! It used to work!

Dude, what’s happening? You’re reading more, posting more and now you’re claiming sanity. You used to be so reliable.

Hope you get your heating woes sorted out before the cold bites. Can you get the furnace sorted out instead of using space heaters? I’m sure it’d be warmer.

>203 humouress: Haha, sorry! If it makes you feel better, I haven't been reading much over the past week, so all is as it should be!

I don't have high hopes for the furnace, but not having to take ice-water showers would be preferable. o.o

>187 Ape: Hahahahaha that's hilarious mostly because it's totally something I would do (I haven't yet, but when I do I assure you I will find it very funny).

I finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January and found it a very satisfying read, which is somewhat belied by the 10 days it took me to read it.

>205 bell7: I'm going to have to read it soon! Or at least sometime in the next decade!

>195 Ape: Hurray for posting tricks!! Although I am not sure it really restored your sanity 100%. I think that may take more work. ; )

>199 Ape: Good luck staying warm!! Yikes.

>206 Ape: Are you due for a new thread? You've broken the 200 mark....!

>207 Berly: Surely there can be no better judge of my sanity than my own self! And we think we're totally fine! :P

MAYBE it's new thread time...but it's so late in the year that I'm tempted to just ride this one out. If we hit 250 posts I'll definitely create a new one.

16. Only the Dead Know Brooklyn by Chris Vola



Pages: 292
Rating: 4/5 (though honestly more of a 3.5/5

Fiction - Vampires
Owned

-----------------------------------------------------

A totally unique take on Vampires in which they live their lives like normal humans, having completely merged with the rest of society.

Oh wait nevermind, that's like every other vampire novel on the planet. Well shit.

(Seriously though, it was fine I guess.)

>208 Ape:

I

could

hurry

that

along...!

: )

Hi

Stephen

How

Are

You

>190 Ape: creepy

>195 Ape: good job!

>199 Ape: sucks

You realize I'm just never going to make a 2nd thread now just to be stubborn, right? :P

If I disappear for the rest of the year it's because I throw my computer through a frickin window.

Just a heads up.

Sounds like everything is hunky dory over there.

Haha, that's basically how I look when I get out of the shower. Y'know, minus the fish-for-a-head.
...and abs... :P

Stopping by to wish you well Stephen and trust that you have put the axe away.

Thanks Paul! I promise I'm currently only armed with a chai latte and a hardcover book...so totally not dangerous at all! Probably.

In other news, since it seems like everything possible must go wrong all at once for me lately, my ceiling is now DRIPPING. I assume from snow melting on the roof. If it wasn't bad enough, it's dripping about 2 feet to the side of my bookshelves, and also about a food away from the electrical box in the other direction.

So, y'know, life is going great.

😰

>199 Ape: If you feel handy or know someone who is you can build a solar water heater for a couple hundred dollars and then it's FREE HOT WATER forever. ;) Plus, it's good for the environment. It's not 100% ideal for Ohio winters but it should work decently especially if there aren't multiple people using it.

>230 The_Hibernator: Indeed!

>231 leahbird: I'll look into it! I'm technically not handy in the sense that I don't actually know how to do anything, but thankfully we live in the age of Youtube so I rarely have to hire professionals to do things around the house.

Of course, considering the fact that my house seems to be falling down around me maybe I shouldn't be bragging...BUT NONE OF THAT STUFF HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE THINGS I'VE FIXED! >_>

Anyway, a solar water heater sounds handy. I think the biggest issue is I live in a valley so I probably get less daylight than most people. Especially in Winter, when the sun runs parallel with the rim of the valley for most of the morning and doesn't pop up over the hill until afternoon.

The FTC can blow me.

Welp, I'm back to NOT reading and I've already fallen behind on everyone's threads so that's great.

I'm pleased to say the space heaters have been working like a charm. They are more than capable of keeping the place warm on a cold night, though we'll see if they hold up in Actual Winter - coming soon!

I'm also in the market for a new laptop. It's an expense I can't really afford at the moment, but at the same time I'm having an incredibly difficult time video editing on what I have now. I'm hoping to use Youtube revenue to replace what I have, but with the recent COPPA business I should probably hold off until I know for sure that I'm going to be able to continue making content for the website. (If you haven't read about it - it's basically an absolute disaster.)

I'm hoping to dedicate some Amazon Affiliate funds to the purchase as well if I deem it safe enough to continue spending money on Youtube stuff. Y'know, it's against the rules to share an Affiliate link with friends but I certainly can't stop them from going to my Youtube channel and using the "support with Amazon" link at the bottom of the About section when they do their Christmas shopping on Amazon. :P

>234 Ape: Have you considered setting up a Patreon or Ko-Fi account?

I have, but if you remember what it was like when people tried to send me books, you know how I am when it comes to accepting free things from people. Ironic coming from a parasitic leech of a human, right?

With Amazon Affiliation, it doesn't actually cost anyone anything. Even though it doesn't amount to much, it's a way for people to support the channel without actually costing anyone anything. It just creates a small revenue stream trickling from Amazon's bank account to my own, and sticking it to "the man" is much more appealing to me than accepting charity.

(Never mind the fact that creating that revenue stream involves encouraging people to use Amazon.)

I do technically have a Patreon page, but that's because there was some rule/policy change and I was highly encouraged by other creators to make a page before those policies went into effect, because people who created pages before the change kept their original benefits...or something. I didn't read too much into it, I just had loud voices telling me to at least create one even if it was going to be inactive, so I did.

>236 Ape: Patreon and Ko-fi are not accepting free things from people. They allow people to voluntarily pay you for all the hard work you are doing. YouTube is a racket, and has convinced people that creators don't deserve to be directly paid for their entertainment/art, which they do!!

I can see how much work you are putting into your videos, and people obviously enjoy them, so let them compensate you for that as the capitalism gods intended.

You are always very persuasive, Nora. And as you know, I'm always very stubborn. I'll compromise, I'll link it on my Youtube page, but I won't do anything to promote or encourage it.

Wow, I got a Patron that fast. They must be a stalker or something. :P

If anyone would like to enable Stephen's addiction to making videos about Magic the Gathering, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/AffinityforMTG

(haha, you can't delete this so your only option is to create a new thread)

You're a monster. XD

Watching your video is like watching a video in Swahili since I know less than nothing about MTG, but you clearly have skills because I wasn't bored even though I HAVE NO CLUE. ;) Get paid, don't devalue yourself and your work. ::mom stare with head tilt::

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and funding!

>242 leahbird: I've been playing the game since 2002, so I like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable about it!

But devaluing myself is one my most prominent personality trait! :P

>243 Berly: Thanks, Kim! I'm hoping my Amazon Affiliate link gets enough traction to fund a new laptop. I'm even doing a totally sell-out "Holiday Gift Guide" video because I have no shame.

I actually had Thanksgiving Dinner at my mom's house yesterday and it was delish!

Hope everyone had a good holiday. I will be returning next year after an extended break.

Oh if you ever watch the movie version of Horns, it is starred by Daniel Radcliff, of Harry Potter fame.

>245 xymon81: Yeah, I remember seeing ads for that when it was released. I'll have to look into it!

I just finished a mountain of a book by Joe Hill myself. I much prefer him to King - he actually knows how to end a novel!

I admit to only skimming through the thread that I've missed, but I'll echo the calls for getting paid for your work, however you can. (Patreon is ... complicated, in my world, so I can't speak either way. But it IS a commercial system that allows people to purchase content, and not any kind of charity.)

Not you too! Nora is bad enough without backup! :P

17. Far Far Away by Tom McNeal



Pages: 369
Rating: 5/5

Fiction
Owned

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This book is a wonderful celebration of the Brothers Grimm. Set in modern times, Jacob Grimm wonders the earth as a ghost, lost, without a cause, when he comes across a boy who can miraculously hear him speak. The boy, Jeremy, is an outsider of sorts, who lives in a bookstore with his mostly-absent father, and who spends most of his time lost in his mothers old books - collections of old fairy tales collected by Jacob Grimm himself 2 hundred years earlier.

Jacob Grimm, who still suffers the loss of his nephew at young age, takes it upon himself to protect the boy. Jeremy considers Jacob his only friend, and is just happy to have someone to talk to. What follows is a tale that I think the Brothers would have been more than happy to add to their collection.

Tom McNeal sets the perfect tone. Technically the story is painfully ordinary - it involves a teenage boy doing relatively ordinary things, like studying for exams or awkwardly conversing with his peers - but there is constantly the feeling of magic on the periphery. I suppose it helps considering Jacob Grimm narrates the entire story in the first person, as a ghost. Nevertheless, there are references everywhere. I found myself forgetting at times the setting, imagining that I was reading a book set in a small hamlet deep in the woods of Germany before Deputy McRaven is described driving by the scene in his police cruiser. It's a mistake I made multiple times, and I'm not at all mad about it.

The book was so good that I even forgave the awkward YA romance-y bits, which fortunately weren't terribly intrusive and were also meaningful to the plot.

Highly, HIGHLY recommended for anyone with any interest in the Brothers Grimm or fairy tales in general.

>249 Ape: Ooh - sounds intriguing.

>250 humouress: I have a pretty low tolerance for Young Adult (I think I'm allergic) but the fairy tale aspects were done so well!

>249 Ape: That one goes on the hitlist, Stephen; anything that so convincingly breaks a reading block deserves attention.

Have a great weekend.

Paul: To be fair, it took me nearly a month to read...but it was really good on the days that I read it! :P

>249 Ape: That was one of my favorites the year it came out! Glad you enjoyed it.

I'm glad YOU enjoyed it. Whenever I recommend books I question whether my quirky tastes is causing me to recommend books that everyone else is going to hate, so I'm glad I'm the only one who liked it! :D

>255 Ape: I'm the absolute worst at figuring out what other people will enjoy. I have a friend who loves historical romance (a la Outlander), and tried to throw a couple suggestions her way. I failed so miserably.

This year we're giving books to all of our friends, and picking her book was the hardest. I went with a cookbook I think she'll like, because she's a BIG foodie, but now I'm in a panic that she has it already.

>256 London_StJ: I feel you! I think it's the time investment involved. Recommending a bad movie to someone doesn't feel bad since they can be watched in a single sitting, but books can be a commitment sometimes...and I can't handle that level of responsibility! :P

Book vouchers. Although I don’t see the point if they have an expiry date.

>258 humouress: I like to think of everyone in the 75 group as a bunch of book vouchers. :P

I haven't read a nonfiction book in SO LONG, but I'm reading Rat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World's Greatest Wildlife Rescue at the moment and it's reminding me why I like books about natural history/biology so much. So why haven't I been picking more of them up over the past couple years!?

To be fair, I haven't been dipping into it very much. In fact, I've literally only picked it up a total of 2 times in the several days that I've been reading it, but I'm enjoying the process of reading it more than most books, even if it is at a much slower pace.

>260 Ape: Yay for enjoying what you read. Always a great feeling.

Thank you for keeping me company in 2019.......onward to 2020.

>261 MickyFine: My thoughts exactly!

>262 PaulCranswick: Thank Paul!

Best wishes this holiday season!! Hope to see more of you in 2020!

Thanks Kim! :D

Welp, I won't be finishing any more books this year, so here are my atrocious year-end stats!

Books read: 17
Pages read: 6,751
Average book size: 397 pages

I averaged:
18 pages per day
129 pages per week
562 pages per month

On average, I finished a book every: 21 days

Fiction books read: 16
Nonfiction books read: 1

Owned books read: 17
Library books read: 0

My increasingly dismal year-by year stats…which, actually, isn’t INCREASINGLY dismal this year. Still dismal, though.

Books read:
2009: 81
2010: 87
2011: 81
2012: 75
2013: 53
2014: 54
2015: 54
2016: 57
2017: 27
2018: 13
2019: 17

Pages read:
2009: 24,492
2010: 25,958
2011: 19,935
2012: 19,168
2013: 17,643
2014: 16,073
2015: 16,217
2016: 19,236
2017: 7,834
2018: 3,713
2019: 6,751

Average book size:
2009: 302 pages
2010: 298 pages
2011: 246 pages
2012: 255 pages
2013: 333 pages
2014: 297 pages
2015: 300 pages
2016: 337 pages
2017: 290 pages
2018: 285 pages
2019: 397 pages

Average pages read per day:
2009: 67 pages
2010: 71 pages
2011: 54 pages
2012: 52 pages
2013: 48 pages
2014: 44 pages
2015: 44 pages
2016: 53 pages
2017: 21 pages
2018: 10 pages
2019: 18 pages

Hey, that's still more than most people read in a year!
...wait, that's also a kind of depressing thought.

Onward to better things in 2020!

You almost doubled your page count from last year! That's fantastic!

>268 foggidawn: I find most things about people to be depressing, so that's okay! I'm hoping to read more in 2020, but I've been saying that for 3 years now...

>269 norabelle414: It's true! The Harry Potter books really helped with that. I should just read those every year. :P

>270 Ape: And this year, you succeeded! (Also, I see no problem with rereading HP every year.)

I'm with Foggi. Rereading HP every year is a great solution. ;)

It was your biggest book size year, so there's that. : )



Wishing you 12 months of success
52 weeks of laughter
366 days of fun (leap year!)
8,784 hours of joy
527,040 minutes of good luck
and 31,622,400 seconds of happiness!!

2020 THREAD IS HERE!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/314922