DUE TO HEAVY THREAD USE, I'VE CLOSED PARTICIPATION TO NEW USERS. IN ORDER TO JOIN THE CHALLENGE YOU NEED TO PAYPAL ME $25. TO SUPPORT THE THREAD. IF YOU SIMPLY START POSTING AND SAYING WHAT BOOKS YOU READ, I WILL BE VERY PUT OUT, PLEASE ASK YOUR MOTHER OR FATHER FOR $25 TO SUPPORT THE THREAD. THANK YOU.
This topic had many older posts which were moved here:
I can keep a tally of users and total books they've read, just drop in here and say what you read and what you thought about it, should be a fun discussion I think. Oh, and I guess let me know how many systems you own or something. Maybe you'll win a prize! Probably not. Read books because it's the Chad thing to do on a website about trading videogames.
I miss posts too. It's not my fault, I'm American so I never learned how to read. Appreciate any efforts made to keep the list correct, the stakes are obviously high.
> I miss posts too. It's not my fault, I'm American so I never learned how to read.
> Appreciate any efforts made to keep the list correct, the stakes are obviously high.
The highest stakes, low/no barrier-to-entry, pseudo book club where everyone just reads whatever they fancy at whatever pace they desire that is hosted on a predominately gaming-centric trading site that I've ever come across, for sure.
(In all seriousness though, I do appreciate this thread. I've already added - likely too many - books/series to my reading backlog from people's comments on here.)
>> I miss posts too. It's not my fault, I'm American so I never learned how to read.
>> Appreciate any efforts made to keep the list correct, the stakes are obviously
> high.
>
> The highest stakes, low/no barrier-to-entry, pseudo book club where everyone just
> reads whatever they fancy at whatever pace they desire that is hosted on a predominately
> gaming-centric trading site that I've ever come across, for sure.
>
> (In all seriousness though, I do appreciate this thread. I've already added - likely
> too many - books/series to my reading backlog from people's comments on here.)
I've read several books I wouldn't have read without the thread, so I appreciate the thread myself. Luckily even though it's REALLY hard to increment numbers by 1-3, somehow the maintenance on the thread is low enough to squeeze it into my (unironically) busy schedule these days
Enjoyed this one, was able to guess the ending about mid way through. This writer might become my favorite as so far it's 3/3 good books I've read by him.
14) Everything Inside Stories By Edwidge Danticat - Stories that involve Haitian immigrants, mostly set in Miami. The situations were all interesting with mysteries revealed along the way. They mostly involve some form of grief or tragedy. I had a little trouble getting into them at first, but ended up really liking them. There's a palpable sense of humanity and compassion in these stories. I gained some perspective on Haitians in the process (not just refugees and victims of disasters).
I read The Duty Free Shop by Jeremy Harshman who I met at a local Dad Group MeetUp. Fun little sci-fi romp. Some decent world building for a 100 page novella. I'd be interested in going back to the Sky City setting and seeing what else the main character would get up to if he ever ends up continuing with the series.
From talking to him though it seems he prefers to write fantasy rather than sci-fi. Either way, I give a ton of credit to anyone who is actually able to get something published. Always happy to help someone out with a couple bucks and any exposure I can give them as well.
Book #8 is done this evening, the one I originally started as book #7 but read a full book for my vacation while waiting at the airport.
#8 "How to Disappear" by Frank M. Ahearn w/ Eileen C. Horan.
I mainly bought this book to read about how to limit information on the internet as well as remove unwanted information (or try to anyways), but it does have some interesting things to talk about regarding private investigators, both legal and illegal (not recommended by author) ways of disappearing and gives some live examples for stories. It also lists a few resources people can use to try to find their information, what's out there, etc.
I finished Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer. As much of a fan I am of Paul there's really not much to this. It's a bummer to hear that he had an abusive upbringing and struggled with ADHD but that's kinda all you get in 240 pages. Otherwise there's a couple somewhat funny stories, many of which you've already been exposed to if you listen to HDTGM or follow his other work. I'm sure it was therapeutic for him to write this but from a reader standpoint I wouldn't tell anyone to waste their time. In terms of comparable "celebrity/comedian memoir" stuff It's slightly better than the Tina Fey book but not as good as Colin Jost's punchable face.
> I've enjoyed reading China Miéville, so maybe this might actually be good breathtaking.
I heard about this a couple of months ago. So far the only Miéville I've read is Perdido Street Station and based on a lot of what happens at the end, I'm still conflicted on whether it's a 1 star or 4 star book.
Gonna do my first DNF of the year, I think. Witch King by Martha Wells. I've read Cloud Atals and Murderbot and didn't like it. Guess I'll just write off this author at this point.
33. Strange Weather in Tokyo (Hiromi Kawakami) - a little odd from a Western perspective, but also not that farfetched. Narrative follows Tsukiko's unexpected encounter with a former high school teacher at her local sake bar and continues as they begin drinking and dining together and their friendship develops. Kinda knew where it was going, but I'm still delighted by finding and reading Kawakami's writing. I've got a couple more of her books lined up.
34. The Luckiest Guy Alive (John Cooper Clarke) - a collection of some of Clarke's poems. Really took my time with this one and didn't want to blast through it, which is easy to do with poetry books. I think JCC is brilliant. Like a scrawny, Brit punk, Tom Waits meets Bob Dylan, distinctly unique, bedraggled best mate. I came by JCC by watching 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and was immediately enamored with his accent and hearing him recite his work in the little interstitial segments between rounds of Countdown. Reading through his memoir I Wanna Be Yours now.
His cadence and emphasis on certain words and phrases gets stuck in my head. There's an episode of Celebrity Antique Road Show where he shows up with the British comedian Phil Jupitus that's delightful too. He gets really enamored with a 'junk yard dog' and his phrasing will never leave me now.
After a long time I finally figured out how to get Hoopla working. Just had to tell it my Library was one town over and it decided to let me use it......
35. No one belongs here more than you. (Miranda July) - collection of short stories. Don't even know how I came across this one. Likely through a cheap kindle pickup. I'll have to read it again soon. There's so much humor laced in July's writing within the first couple of stories, then some of the content got a bit - uncomfortable - for me, which I felt was clearly the intention, to build that tension, but when I go into a book totally blind I always feel that the tension is amplified even further.
36. Pastoralia (George Saunders) - another collection of short stories. First read George Saunders with his collection of ss titled "Tenth of December" and I absolutely loved that book. Read it through three or four times since I first read it back in 2017ish. I love Saunders' humor and approachability (maybe thats' the word I'm looking for?). A couple of really good stories in Pastoralia. Surreal, humorous, a bit dark at times perhaps, but really solid.
I read and liked No one belongs here more than you and other stuff by Miranda July including a couple movies. She's quirky but I like her. She manages to capture truth from an unusual angle.
I've read a little George Saunders (long ago) but it didn't click with me, not bad though.
Saunders’ “Sticks” is what lingers with me and I still think on often. I suppose closer to a poem, really, but when I first came across it, boy howdy did it cling.
Have you listened to The New Yorker fiction podcast? It's one author reading another author's short story. Both George Saunders and Miranda July have been on it (both as readers and having their stories read). I'm not big on podcasts, but I listened to many of these years ago. All were good and really gave some nice nuances since they discussed the story along with reading it. I had thought the podcast ended, but it looks like it has started back up again.
> Have you listened to The New Yorker fiction podcast?
I have not. I’ll have to track it down. Sounds interesting! Used to listen to loads of podcasts when I had a commute, but it’s curtailed off significantly. This one sounds like a great way to scrounge out more book recs too.
