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2014
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pauljames
Posted 2014-01-04 2:54 AM (#5883)
Subject: 2014



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Usually one of my new year resolutions is to read more books. However I often set my goals too high.

I am often guilty of overlooking the book I am reading and look ahead to the future books I have sitting waiting to be read.

This year I have decided to simply enjoy the book I am currently reading and get the most out of it by reading reviews and comments other people have posted about it.

Do any of you have goals for this year?
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-01-04 10:55 AM (#5884 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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I should probably have a resolution to read less books. I read 157 in 2013, tying the 157 I read in 2012. A lot of these were plays since I am involved in theatre, many of the rest were SF. I'm probably going to try and read less SF and more "literary" novels. I'm trying to finish all the Man-Booker prize winners and I'd like to make a bigger dent in them than I did last year.
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Jain
Posted 2014-01-04 11:49 AM (#5885 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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My reading resolution is to read 100 books by women, with at least 20 of those books by women of color, and counting no more than 10 rereads towards my goal. Even if I don't read a single book by a man all year (which is very unlikely to happen), 100 books will be a bit of a stretch when compared to my reading habits of the past few years. I'm perfectly happy to count comic books and manga towards my goal, though, and I figure I can rely on them to catch up if I fall too far behind.
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Thomcat
Posted 2014-01-04 2:29 PM (#5886 - in reply to #5885)
Subject: Re: 2014



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Other than participating in a Worlds Without End reading challenge, I plan to read at least 10 books of 600 pages or more - time to chew through these larger tomes.
Currently reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein and Stephen King's Bag of Bones, both of which qualify. Other fiction prospects on the list include Anathem, The Terror, Outlander, and the final book in the Inheritance series.
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-01-04 3:11 PM (#5887 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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I'm hoping to finish the Locus SF award list (8 to go), make some progress on the BSFA award list (22 to go) and maybe finish my ABC Murders crime challenge (a detective beginning with every letter of the alphabet - I read 11 last year, leaving me 15 this year.)

I'm also hoping not to buy so many books this year. So far I've bought 3, and haven't finished any.
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Dlw28
Posted 2014-01-04 3:30 PM (#5888 - in reply to #5886)
Subject: Re: 2014



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It's interesting to read these posts about resolutions re reading. I'm curious about the idea of buying fewer books. Does that mean making more use of inter library loans?
I only learned of WWE last year and participating in the WoG challenge helped focus me. Not that I hadn't read many women authors but I did read from authors I might never have tried. And that boosted the overall number of books I read. All good fun! But I'm conflicted about what to do this year. I'm awaiting the 2014 challenge for inspiration.
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-01-04 4:52 PM (#5889 - in reply to #5888)
Subject: Re: 2014



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Dlw28 - 2014-01-04 9:30 PM

It's interesting to read these posts about resolutions re reading. I'm curious about the idea of buying fewer books. Does that mean making more use of inter library loans?

No, it means I already own hundreds of books I haven't read, and have been gaining them way faster than I've been reading them for several years. It's mainly due to ebooks, which I can buy at the drop of a hat. They might be cheap, or even free, but it's still unsustainable to acquire them so fast.

Last year I intended to read more than I bought, and failed spectacularly. I read 75 works (about 20 of which were short stories) and bought 191 (out of a total of 254 new acquisitions). This year my goal is to at least read half as many as I buy, and to gain no more than 120 new works.
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Dlw28
Posted 2014-01-04 5:07 PM (#5890 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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Ah! Good goals! I'm afraid I do the same with audio books. I think I may need to get back into the library habit myself.

Be that as it may you read a lot of books. I was at about 50-60 with 10-20 being short stories. Length of book does count though. Working through Ash by Mary Gentle now. An ebook so hard to tell how many pages but review of the original appears over a thousand pages. Course the US publisher made it into several books so I suppose I could count it as two.
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-01-05 6:20 AM (#5891 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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I was very keen to wait for the ebook of Ash. I just didn't want to be manhandling a book of that size. I haven't read it yet, but it's a BSFA winner, so I picked it up when the ebook appeared in September.
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Jain
Posted 2014-01-05 8:40 AM (#5892 - in reply to #5891)
Subject: Re: 2014



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DrNefario - 2014-01-05 7:20 AM

I was very keen to wait for the ebook of Ash. I just didn't want to be manhandling a book of that size.


I hadn't realized an ebook was available! (And cheap, too; only $4 for a 1000+ page tome.) I've been delaying reading it for the same reason. Thanks for the heads up; I'm buying a copy right now.
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-01-05 9:30 AM (#5893 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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Yes, Ash is slightly over 1K pages. I got a one volume paperback edition publish by Gollancz in the UK.
My reading pile is over 600 book which is slightly ridiculous. So I've adopted the policy of reading 5 books for every 1 I buy. So far I've managed to stick to it - most of the time.
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pauljames
Posted 2014-01-05 10:12 AM (#5894 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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One of my favourite things is trying to get a good mixture of books. Long ones then short ones. Challenging books then fairly easy reads. Different genres SF / fantasy / horror and a couple of mainstream novels. I also have a list of favourite authors I want to read everything by, these are in varying stages. Mix all this together and there is always plenty to look forward to. Currently I have 8 books and have them in order of when to read, but I am still planning my next purchases.

There are currently 2 books with the same title of Ash.
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-01-05 9:00 PM (#5895 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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The full title is Ash: The Secret History by Mary Gentle.
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-01-06 7:43 AM (#5899 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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It's A Secret History, which makes me think it might actually be A.S.H., but I guess I won't know until I read it.

I was thinking of reading 3 books called Titan this year. I have the John Varley version lined up for the Locus Award; the Ben Bova version won a Campbell Memorial; and I would like to read Stephen Baxter's since I really enjoyed the semi-related Voyage. I've talked myself out of pursuing the Campbells for now, at least.
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-01-06 10:26 AM (#5900 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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I stand corrected. Ash is the name of the protagonist, however. I hadn't noticed the acronym in the subtitle given how carefully constructed the novel is I doubt it's coincidence.
The Bova Titan is part of a long series called The Grand Tour. Most of the novels can be read out of order but Titan seems to be a direct sequel to Saturn.
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2014-01-07 1:35 AM (#5903 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: RE: 2014



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I guess I should resolve to read more of the books I already own. I have over 100 books sitting on my bookshelves (and on the floor, "Hoarders" here I come) plus the 50 plus novels I have in ebook form, but instead I have resolved to buy another book shelf But seriously, I am planning a move this year and I am going to need to finish some of the books I have sitting on the shelf collecting dust. On the plus side I have read more books that I have bought so far this year (4 to 1).

My only real goal this year is to finally finish "Feed" and "The City & The City" , two books I started last year but never finished for various reasons.
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pauljames
Posted 2014-01-11 9:41 AM (#6011 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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James Herbert's last book is called Ash and is the 3rd book about paranormal investigator David Ash. The other novels are Haunted and The Ghost of Sleath.
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Dlw28
Posted 2014-01-11 10:13 AM (#6012 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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Interesting. I'm far enough into Grntle's Ash to discover it's not a straightforward medieval mercenary tale but also a contemporary archeological dig and parallel universe plot. I'm beginning to see why it's a Masterworks/Mistressworks selection. I really couldn't tell for the first several hundred pages.
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justifiedsinner
Posted 2014-01-11 7:18 PM (#6026 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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Yes, when you get to the stone golems it's a bit of a giveaway that something strange is going on.
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DrNefario
Posted 2014-01-12 5:55 AM (#6032 - in reply to #5883)
Subject: Re: 2014



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I'm only two books into the year, and feeling a bit oppressed by the prescriptiveness of all my challenges. I might have to change them a bit to give me more freedom to choose books I just want to read. I'm not that bothered about finishing the Locus SF award, I might put that onto the back burner and not try to get through it all this year.
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