the grand 2015 reading challenge thread

[Yuwipi Woman]

1/27 The Universe in a Single Atom -- The Dalai Lama
2/27 The Last President -- John Barnes
3/27 Walden -- Henry David Thoreau
4/27 Walden on Wheels -- Ken Ilgunas
5/27 Walk to the End of the Word -- Suzy Charnas
6/27 Leading the Way: Asian American Artists of the Older Generation -- Paul Karstrom, et al.

 

[chainsawjob]

2. The Eye of the Leopard - Henning Mankell

This was brilliant. Man leaves Sweden in the seventies after a melancholy lonely childhood, to visit Zambia and ends up staying. Very good descriptions of life in both countries, and a convincing account of the political situation and race issues in Zambia, including the politics of aid. Gripping plot too, especially the African part, the beginning was slower. This writer wrote Wallender, which I haven't seen/read, but wouldn't think was particularly up my street, so I was surprised how much I enjoyed this.

3. Crow Lake - Mary Lawson

 

[rich!]

21. Inside the House of Money, Steven Drobny.
22. Sea of Ghosts, Alan Campbell.
23. Lafayette O'Leary The Time Bender, Keith Laumer
24. Art of Hunting, Alan Campbell.

25. Descent, Ken Macleod.

 

[yield]

1. The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan. Lightweight fantasy novel could do better.
2. Our Final Century by Martin Rees. Depressing look at how not much has changed in the last decade.

 

[billy_bob]

9/20: Chuck Thompson - Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession

I highly recommend this one. Journalist Thompson spent two years touring the American South to decide whether politics and social relations in the US are now so bad that both the North and the South might be better off if Dixie were allowed to secede after all. It's funny and polemical but the central idea is only partly tongue-in-cheek, in light of the almost complete dysfunction in US politics these days, and it's well-researched and -referenced enough to be taken seriously.

 

[ringo]

1/45 Head On - Julian Cope
2/45 Bad Monkeys - Matt Ruff
3/45 The Ladies Of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
4/45 Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
5/45 The Blacker The Berry - Wallace Thurman

 

[belboid]

1/31 - 23 Shades of Black - Ken Wishnia
2/31 - Richard Ayoade - Ayoade On Ayoade: a cinematic odyssey
3/31 - Iain Banks - The Quarry

4/31 - Raymond Chandler - The High Window

 

[Fozzie Bear]

1/30 Roger Hewitt - White Talk Black Talk: Inter-racial friendship and communication amongst adolescents
2/30 Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist

 

[el-ahrairah]

1. Kyme & Priestley, ed. - Tales Of Heresy
2. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - Out Of The Pit
3. Mike Lee - Fallen Angels
4. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain
5. Stella Gibbons - Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm
6. Anne Lecki - Ancillary Justice
7. Rick Pristley - Slaves To Darkness
8. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron
9. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In its Downfall
10. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.2
11. Marc Gascoigne - The Trolltooth Wars
12. Ian Watson - Chaos Child
13. John French - Ahriman Sorcerer
14. Chiang Yee - The Silent Traveller In London
15. Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons

 

[May Kasahara]

1/50 Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations - Jules Evans
2/50 Sponge, X and Y - Harry Barton
3/50 The Watcher in the Shadows - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 

[ringo]

1/45 Head On - Julian Cope
2/45 Bad Monkeys - Matt Ruff
3/45 The Ladies Of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
4/45 Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
5/45 The Blacker The Berry - Wallace Thurman
6/45 Once You Break A Knuckle - D W Wilson

 

[idumea]

1. Mist over Pendle, Robert Neil
2. Hild, Nicola Griffiths

3. The Magicians, Lev Grossman
4. The Iron King, Maurice Dunon
5. Among Others, Jo Walton

 

[tufty79]

1. The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey
2. Mark Z. Danielewski's House Of Leaves
3. The Millionaire's Death Club - Mike Hockney
4. The Child Thief - Dan Smith
5. Midwinter Sacrifice - Mons Kallentoft
6. Lean On Pete - Willy Vlautin

7. Motel Life - Willy Vlautin

 

[rich!]

21. Inside the House of Money, Steven Drobny.
22. Sea of Ghosts, Alan Campbell.
23. Lafayette O'Leary The Time Bender, Keith Laumer
24. Art of Hunting, Alan Campbell
25. Descent, Ken Macleod.

26. Lafayette O'Leary The World Shuffler, Keith Laumer

 

[Arran1982]

Im aiming for 52....still on book one after a month. Just finishing book 5 from Game of Thrones, then ill hit some quick reads to catchup with 1 book per week.

 

[Callie]

1/12: John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath

2/12 John Green - The Fault in Our Stars. As recommended by a friend. Teen with terminal cancer meet boy, stuff ensues. It was OK, some funny bits, some sad bits but nothing particularly gripping or making me want to read it again, again, again!

 

[Callie]

Im aiming for 52....still on book one after a month. Just finishing book 5 from Game of Thrones, then ill hit some quick reads to catchup with 1 book per week.

 

[Manter]

]1. Leaving Berlin, Joseph Kanon.
2. The child thief, Dan Smith.
3. Foxglove summer, Ben Aaronovich.
4. The beating of his wings, Paul Hoffman.
5. The cheapside corpse, Susanna Gregory. One of the chaloner series- atmospheric, historical romp, that includes an outlandish but entertaining explanation for the cheapside hoard.

 

[colbhoy]

1/20 - Strange Loyalties by William McIlvanney
2/20 - Calico Joe by John Grisham
3/20 - Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane

 

[el-ahrairah]

1. Kyme & Priestley, ed. - Tales Of Heresy
2. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - Out Of The Pit
3. Mike Lee - Fallen Angels
4. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain
5. Stella Gibbons - Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm
6. Anne Lecki - Ancillary Justice
7. Rick Pristley - Slaves To Darkness
8. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron
9. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In its Downfall
10. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.2
11. Marc Gascoigne - The Trolltooth Wars
12. Ian Watson - Chaos Child
13. John French - Ahriman Sorcerer
14. Chiang Yee - The Silent Traveller In London
15. Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons
16. Richard Saunders - If A Pirate I Must Be - The Story Of Bartholomew Roberts, King Of The Caribbean
17. Steve jackson - Citadel Of Chaos
18. Ian Livingstone - Forest Of Doom

fucking insomnia.

 

[LeMoose]

I have just started reading the Great Gatsby. It is boring so far.

 

[toggle]

1. Mike Cronin - The failure of British fascism
2. Raymond E Feist - Rides a Dread legion
3. Robin Hobb - Dragon keeper
4. Terry Pratchet - Unseen Academicals
5. Campagna and Campiglio - What are we fighting for?
6. Dunleavy et al. - Voices of the people
7. Conan Doyle - A study in Scarlet
8. Stuart Bell - The conservative party and british politics
9. Robin Hobb - Dragon haven
10. William Morris - News from Nowehere
11. Philippa Gregory - The white Queen
12. Raymond E Feist - Exile's return
13. Catherine Hall - White, male and middle class
14. D. H. lawrence - lady Chatterley's lover
15. Raymond E Feist - Flight of the nighthawks
16. jack London - call of the wild
17. jack london - white fang
18. H Rider haggard - King Solomon's mines
19. Neil gaimin - American gods
20. Rodney Bolt - the impossible life of Mary Benson
21. Gorden marsden - Victorian values
22. Phillipa Gregory - The other Boleyn girl
23. mark Guy pearse - the pretty ways o providence
24. Raymond E Feist - into a dark realm
25. bernard Cornwell - harlquin
26. Bernard Cornwell - vagabond
27. Phillipa Gregory - the boleyn inheritance
28. Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's honour
29. bernard Cornwell - sharpe's fury
30. sue townsend - adrian mole, minor to major
31. sue townsend - weapons of mass destruction
32. Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's escape
33. Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's triumph
34. Phillipa Gregory - lady of the rivers

35. Phillipa Gregory - The kingmaker's daughter
36. naomi Novik - temeraire

 

[Patteran]

1) Language in the News, Discourse & Ideology in the Press - Roger Fowler.
2) Hold Everything Dear, Despatches on Survival & Resistance - John Berger.

3) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information - Edward Tufte

 

[rich!]

21. Inside the House of Money, Steven Drobny.
22. Sea of Ghosts, Alan Campbell.
23. Lafayette O'Leary The Time Bender, Keith Laumer
24. Art of Hunting, Alan Campbell
25. Descent, Ken Macleod.
26. Lafayette O'Leary The World Shuffler, Keith Laumer

27. Lafayette O'Leary The Shape Changer, Keith Laumer
28. Kings Blades 1 The Gilded Chain, Dave Duncan

 

[el-ahrairah]

1. Kyme & Priestley, ed. - Tales Of Heresy
2. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - Out Of The Pit
3. Mike Lee - Fallen Angels
4. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain
5. Stella Gibbons - Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm
6. Anne Lecki - Ancillary Justice
7. Rick Pristley - Slaves To Darkness
8. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron
9. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In its Downfall
10. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.2
11. Marc Gascoigne - The Trolltooth Wars
12. Ian Watson - Chaos Child
13. John French - Ahriman Sorcerer
14. Chiang Yee - The Silent Traveller In London
15. Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons
16. Richard Saunders - If A Pirate I Must Be - The Story Of Bartholomew Roberts, King Of The Caribbean
17. Steve jackson - Citadel Of Chaos
18. Ian Livingstone - Forest Of Doom
19. Alan Grant & John Wagner - Doomlord: The Deathlords Of Nox [as recommended by DaveCinzano ]

 

[rich!]

1. Kyme & Priestley, ed. - Tales Of Heresy
2. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - Out Of The Pit
3. Mike Lee - Fallen Angels
4. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain
5. Stella Gibbons - Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm
6. Anne Lecki - Ancillary Justice
7. Rick Pristley - Slaves To Darkness
8. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron
9. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In its Downfall
10. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.2
11. Marc Gascoigne - The Trolltooth Wars
12. Ian Watson - Chaos Child
13. John French - Ahriman Sorcerer
14. Chiang Yee - The Silent Traveller In London
15. Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons
16. Richard Saunders - If A Pirate I Must Be - The Story Of Bartholomew Roberts, King Of The Caribbean
17. Steve jackson - Citadel Of Chaos
18. Ian Livingstone - Forest Of Doom
19. Alan Grant & John Wagner - Doomlord: The Deathlords Of Nox [as recommended by DaveCinzano ]

Given the things on your list I have read, I'm probably going to have to track down the others.

Did you read the D&D "Greyhawk" novels, btw?

 

[el-ahrairah]

no, for some reason i never liked the d&d universe. i read some of the novels when i was first in my teenage swords and sorcery phase but it didn't take. any good?

 

[Manter]

1. Leaving Berlin, Joseph Kanon.
2. The child thief, Dan Smith.
3. Foxglove summer, Ben Aaronovich.
4. The beating of his wings, Paul Hoffman.
5. The cheapside corpse, Susanna Gregory.
6. Midnight in Europe, Alan Furst. Another slow building, atmospheric thriller with an almost impossibly dashing European caught up in the early days of ww11. This one is Catalan, but is a similar type to the more usual Central European in Furst's books. Enjoyable, with some fascinating historical detail, even if the protagonist's adventures are occasionally a little unlikely

 

[rich!]

no, for some reason i never liked the d&d universe. i read some of the novels when i was first in my teenage swords and sorcery phase but it didn't take. any good?

there's a set they did when they rebooted Greyhawk, and basically did classic modules, "Against The Giants", "White Plume Mountain", ... The Paul Kidd ones I really enjoyed, and the others weren't bad.

 

[Manter]

1. Leaving Berlin, Joseph Kanon.
2. The child thief, Dan Smith.
3. Foxglove summer, Ben Aaronovich.
4. The beating of his wings, Paul Hoffman.
5. The cheapside corpse, Susanna Gregory.
6. Midnight in Europe, Alan Furst.
7. The Jewish candidate David crossland. Complete and utter shit.