Tag Archives: reading

Books

2019 Readings

I’m hoping this will be my first post back to at least semi-regularly posting again.

Anyway, here are the audiobooks and book I read in 2019. I had gotten out of the habit of reading for a long time. In August, I decided to get back to it.

I mostly listen to audiobooks while running, cooking, cleaning, working, etc. I’ve also switched to mostly fiction from mostly non-fiction in the past. I finished 46 audiobooks, only 4 were non-fiction.

I borrow most audiobooks from my local library through the Overdrive app. I think they have a new version called Libby.

The one ebook I finished was also through the library. I read some of it on my Kindle and some with the Kindle app on my phone. The sync feature across devices is great.

I also started reading several physical books that I plan to finish eventually.

Most of these reviews were written well after reading the books. I’d hardly call some of them reviews, more like short thoughts.

All links are to the books’ respective goodreads.com pages. No affiliate links, but I think goodreads has affiliate links on their pages.

Audio books

1) Bazaar of Bad Dreams, by Stephen King. 8/25/19

I borrowed this audiobook through the local library system. It’s a collection of short stories. I’ve been thinking about writing again. I’ve watched several videos on YouTube of Stephen King talking about writing, his books and conversations with other writers. I don’t remember the last time I wrote any fiction, other than song lyrics. I have many lists of story ideas. Starting right in with a novel is really intimidating. I thought I’d check out some short stories to see if I might want to give a short story a try. I also haven’t read any Stephen King in years, The Shining, back in like 1999 or so. And I think that’s actually the only Stephen King I’ve ever read. I didn’t particularly care for it. This was much better.

My rating: 3.8/5

2) Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. 8/26/19

This was my introduction to Neil Gaiman’s writing. I’d heard a lot about his work. I finally decided to check some out based on how he interacts with people on Twitter. He seems like a genuinely decent and kind person. And I think it shows in his writing and storytelling.

My rating: 4/5

3) Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami. 8/29/19

I haven’t read any Murakami before. This was one of a few available in audiobook format on the Overdrive app through my local library. It started pretty slow. It definitely got better, but I don’t think I’d recommend it to anyone.

My rating: 3/5

4) The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami. 9/4/19

This was kind of slow to start too. I liked it much better than Kafka on the Shore.

My rating: 3.7/5

5) When the Sleeper Wakes, by H.G. Wells. 9/6/19

I don’t think I’d read any Wells before. It’s over 100 years old, so the language is dated. I enjoyed the story for the most part. It’s interesting to see Wells’s imagining of the future.

My rating: 3.2/5

6) Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman. 9/8/19

Some great stories and some not as memorable. I think it’s worth a read, especially if you’re a Neil Gaiman fan.

My rating: 3.2/5

7) I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov. 9/10/19

I listened to this because I had already listened to the rest of Asimov’s Robot series.

As I’m finding with most of the short story collections I’ve read, some stories are better than others.

My rating: 3.1/5

8) Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman. 9/14/19

This was probably my favorite Gaiman I’ve read so far. The characters are believable. I liked the mix of fantasy and elements of mythology. It wasn’t just retelling of myths. It used elements and mythical characters in telling the story, and as far as I know stayed relatively true to the traditional characterizations.

My rating: 4.3/5

9) The Lawnmower Man: and Other Stories from Night Shift, by Stephen King. 9/15/19

I was already familiar with most of these stories from their film adaptations. If you like Stephen King, it’s worth reading, whether you’ve seen the movies or not.

My rating: 3.4/5

10) Pastoralia, by George Saunders. 9/16/19

Saunders’s writing is great. I wasn’t that into some of the stories.

My rating: 3.3/5

11) Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. 9/20/19

A couple of the stories were excellent. The others were ok.

My rating: 3.2/5

12) The Gunslinger, by Stephen King. 9/25/19

I liked this one a lot. And unless the books take a drastic turn for the worse, I’m probably hooked on the series.

My rating: 4.4/5

13) The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard. 9/27/19

I don’t understand all the high ratings of this book on Good Reads. It felt very disjointed and choppy, sort of like a collection of blog posts. It seemed to me like she didn’t even follow some of her own advice in writing this book.

My rating: 2.3/5

14) The Drawing of the Three, The Dark Tower Series, Book 2, by Stephen King. 10/4/19

Another one to keep me hooked on the series.

My rating: 4.3/5

15) Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman. 10/9/19

Gaiman writes well and is engaging, but I realized I’m not that interested in retellings of traditional mythology. If you do like that sort of thing, I’d definitely recommend this book.

My rating: 3.2/5

16) Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell. 10/11/19

There are better George Orwell books. It’s good period fiction, but I found the story is pretty depressing.

My rating: 3.3/5

17) What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami. 10/15/19

I love running. I like Murakami’s writing. So it was probably a good bet that I’d like this book. And I do.

My rating: 4.3/5

18) What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver. 10/17/19

Unlike some short story collections, it was easy to see the common theme in these stories. It would be apparent even without knowing the title of the collection. I like Carver’s storytelling and style. Love stories can easily slip into cliche or common tropes, but these stories feel like they could have come from interviews of people recalling their own lives.

My rating: 4.2/5

19) Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway. 10/19/19

I’m not sure I’d ever read any Hemingway before. I have mixed feelings about this one. War isn’t all patriotism and victories. Some of the brutal realities depicted got to me a bit, based on my own experiences in Iraq.

Popular books and authors don’t always live up to the hype for me, but Hemingway’s writing does.

My rating: 4/5

20) Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein. 10/27/19

This was too long for me, not so much for the number of pages or words. But it felt like it should have been at least two separate books.

My rating: 3/5

21) Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan. 11/1/2019

Some of the violence was a bit graphic for me. But it wasn’t gratuitous. It’s a good scifi detective story, with a semi-bad guy turned semi-hero. I’ll continue this series sometime. There are just so many books to get to.

My rating: 4.1/5

22) 2061, by Arthur C. Clarke. 11/2/2019

If you liked 2001 and 2010, you’ll probably like 2061. It’s not as unique as the first, but I liked it. It’s a good continuation of the story. And I like how a decent amount of time has passed after the first two.

My rating: 4.1/5

23) Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey. 11/6/2019

The Expanse TV series is based on this series of books. I tried watching a couple episodes a while back, and I didn’t really care for it. As is often the case, the book is much better.

It’s a Space Opera, a detective story, a war story, political commentary, and more. Like The Gunslinger hooked me on Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, this has me hooked on The Expanse series.

My rating: 4.2/5

24) On Writing, by Stephen King. 11/8/19

It’s one of the better writer’s memoirs about writing, but I thought it was a little dry. I enjoyed the more narrative parts a lot.

My rating: 3.3/5

25) A Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami. 11/11/19

I’m not sure what to say about this one. It’s good, on the better end of the scale of Murakami books.

My rating: 4/5

26) The Waste Lands: The Dark Tower Series, Book 3, by Stephen King. 11/15/19

King keeps me coming back for more. The continued world building from book to book, character development, and building on the story without making it seem like there are giant holes to be filled in later stories all showcase King’s talent as a writer and storyteller. Things that are introduced in each new book just fit.

My rating: 4.3/5

27) Men Without Women, by Haruki Murakami. 11/17/19

I’ve noticed that I tend to not like short story collections as much as an author’s novels. I think it’s sort of like with albums. Even an otherwise amazing album sometimes has some subpar songs. And sometimes there’s an amazing song on a mediocre album.

I also didn’t really identify very much with many of the characters in the stories.

My rating: 3/5

28) 3001: The Final Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke. 11/18/19

Again, if you like the other books in the Space Odyssey series, you might like this one. And I really like that almost 1000 years has passed from the previous book. It gives Clarke a chance to show us his view of the relatively distant future and some of the things we might be able to accomplish if we work together for them.

My rating: 4/5

29) Pebble in the Sky, by Isaac Asimov. 11/20/19

This is in Asimov’s Galactic Empire series, but it feels different and somewhat set apart from the rest.

Man out of time, distant future, political struggle.

My rating: 3.8/5

30) Exhalation, by Ted Chiang. 11/21/19

This was supposed to be a great short story collection. Some of the stories lived up to the hype. Others didn’t quite make it for me. It’s worth the read or listen, though.

My rating: 3.3/5

31) The Stars Are Legion, by Kameron Hurley. 11/23/19

This felt like the TV show Lexx crossed with a book that I can’t remember at the moment. Early on, I almost stopped it. It got a little better, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. Some of the ideas were interesting, living world ships, all female civilizations, strange births. But the execution didn’t really do it for me.

My rating: 2.5/5

32) Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami. 11/26/19

This is sort of a coming of age story where some of the characters don’t make it. As a kid I always thought there would be some point, or sort of a process where eventually, I’d be an adult, feel grown up, and know what I’m doing. But that doesn’t happen. Adults aren’t really any smarter or more responsible, and they’re just feeling their way through about as much as when they were younger. They have more experience. But experiences don’t always result in learning any big lessons.

In this way, Norwegian Wood is a more realistic coming of age story to me. Life is messy, people don’t always learn from experience, or if they do, it’s not always significant or life changing. And sometimes experiences can leave you more uncertain than before.

My rating: 3.5/5

33) The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin. 11/28/19

My first exposure to Ursula K. Le Guin. It was a good one, and left me wanting more.

The story is pretty good. The political philosophy is great.

Two worlds, political-economic power struggle between the two, scientist trying to spread knowledge, etc.

My rating: 4.1/5

34) Forward the Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. 12/2/19

Good, not great. I’m not sure if I made the right choice to read these in chronological order instead of published order. In any case, I’ll keep going with the series. And if you like Asimov and/or the Foundation series, it’s worth it.

My rating: 3.5/5

35) Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. 12/8/19

KSR’s world building is excellent. Her character development is good. The flow of the book is a little choppy. The audiobook is over 27 hours long, and the print book is 572 pages. I listen to audiobooks at 2x speed. It still felt long.

My rating: 3.6/5

36) Time’s Eye, by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. 12/11/19

I really liked the idea of spacetime being cut up and put back together. The story is a little disjointed. I guess that’s not entirely unexpected. I liked it enough to continue the series.

My rating: 3.4/5

37) Rocannon’s World, by Ursula K. Le Guin. 12/12/19

This is sort of a mix of scifi and fantasy. I thought I’d listen to Le Guin’s whole Hainish Cycle series. Apparently, they’re basically all stand alone novels, just in the same universe. This one was OK.

Stranded guy on an alien world adventures around to different clans on the planet. And strange animals.

My rating: 3.2/5

38) The Integral Trees, by Larry Niven. 12/13/19

I know I at least started this one before, but I don’t think I finished it then. I liked the first book in The State series, so I thought I’d try this one. The first was better. If I didn’t know they were in the same series, I wouldn’t have guessed it after

A strange sort of planetary nebula with “trees” growing in it. People live on the trees in tribes. Other people come to basically enslave them.

I found the first half kind of boring. The enjoyed the second half.

My rating: 3.3/5

39) Words Are My Matter, by Ursula K. Le Guin. 12/15/19

A collection of previous writings, book reviews, and talks by Ursula K. Le Guin about writing. I think it was edited for book form, rather than just slapping them all together. Some of them were a little dry. I enjoyed her personal stories a lot.

My rating: 3.5/5

40) The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin. 12/16/19

Advanced extra-solar intelligent life, seemingly weird physics, political oppression, a secret rebel group, and good character development. The story covers spans a good chunk of a human lifetime, and Cixin ties the story together well.

I really liked this one. And I was happy to learn it’s the first book of a trilogy.

My rating: 4.4/5

41) Caliban’s War, by James S. A. Corey. 12/20/19

I liked this one a little better than the Leviathan Wakes. I thought there was a little less despair in this one. I’m looking forward to where the story goes over the series.

My rating: 4.3/5

42) Sunstorm, by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. 12/22/19

An advanced alien civilization calculated and carried out an attack over millennia. The people of earth largely come together to overcome the situation.

There are some cool, theoretical, maybe possible scifi ideas.

My rating: 3.6/5

43) Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. 12/24/19

I like the Foundation series. I liked this one better than some of the others I’ve read so far.

4.1/5

44) The Ringworld Throne, by Larry Niven. 12/28/19

Apparently, a lot of people didn’t like this book. For some of the same reasons, I think it would have been better if it were about half as long. Mostly, it’s all the interspecies sex. At least it’s not graphic.

My rating: 3.2/5

45) The Stars, Like Dust, by Isaac Asimov. 12/29/19

I was pretty sure I had listened to this before, but I couldn’t remember what happened. As I listened, most of it was vaguely familiar, but I still didn’t remember how it went. The only thing I really remembered was the very end, but not until I got there.

Regardless, I enjoyed it.

My rating: 4/5

46) Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov. 12/31/19

I didn’t like this one as much as the others in the Foundation series I’ve read so far. The time jumps made for a distinct lack of continuity. It was enough that each part might have been worth making separate books.

The jumps in Foundation felt more connected.

Definitely worth reading if your into Asimov and the Foundation series.

My rating: 3.3/5

Book

1) On Writing, by Charles Bukowski. 9/25/19. ebook

Collected letters by Bukowski. Some of his thoughts on writing, publishing, and a peak into his life and view of the world.

My rating: 3.7/5

I’m aiming for 100 books/audiobooks for 2020. Two weeks in and I’m well ahead of pace.

Books, Goals, Learning, Practice

Practice Learning: the Books and Audiobooks I Finished in 2014

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I set a goal to read at least 24 books in 2014 and listen to at least 24 audiobooks. I read 27 and listened to 32 (34 if you count repeats).

Here are all the books I read in 2014 (* = favorites):
1)    The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy
2)    How I Made $2,000,000 in the Stock Market, by Nicolas Darvas
3)    The Power of Awareness, by Neville Goddard
4)    How to get Started in Active Trading & Investing, by David S. Nassar
5)    You’ll See it When you Believe it, by Dr. Wayne Dyer
6)    Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by William J. O’Neil
7)    The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles
8)    The Game of Work, by Charles A. Coonradt
9)    Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds and Confusion de Confusiones
10)    Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, by Gary Vaynerchuk
11)    How to Make Money in Commercial Real Estate for the Small Investor, by Nicholas Masters
*  12)    Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (free ebook downloads)
13)    How to Buy & Sell Apartment buildings by Eugene Vollucci, Stephen Vollucci
14)    The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield
15)    Survival is not Enough, by Seth Godin
16)    You Can if You Think You Can, by Norman Vincent Peale
*  17)    The Idea Factory, by Pepper White
18)    Free Culture, by Lawrence Lessig
19)    Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
*  20)    Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury
*  21)    Wen-Tzu, by Lao-tzu
*  22)    Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
23)    Open Horizons, by Sigurd F. Olson
24)    Utopia, by Thomas More
*  25)    Five Dialogues, by Plato (free pdf of Plato’s Dialogues, not just the 5)
26)    Wake Up & Live!, by Dorothea Brande
27)    The Magic of Believing, by Claude M. Bristol

Earlier in the year I went through my book collection and found that I had well over 100 books that I haven’t yet read. I made myself a new rule that I had to read at least 2 books I already own for every book that I buy. I think I actually have a couple read books in the bank.

These are all the audiobooks I listened to in 2014:
1)    Get Rich Carefully, by Jim Cramer
2)    The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
3)    Coaching for Breakthrough Success, by Peter Chee, Jack Canfield
4)    Screw It, Lets Do It, by Richard Branson
*  5)    Eat and Run by Scott Jurek, Steve Friedman
*  6)    Finding Ultra, by Rich Roll
*  7)    The Long Run, by Mishka Shubaly – audiobook (Kindle $1.99 or free with Kindle unlimited)
8)    Abundance, by Peter Diamandis, Steven Kotler
*  9)    Choose Yourself!, by James Altucher – audiobook (Kindle $0.99 or free with Kindle unlimited)
*  10)    The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday
11)    I Will Teach you to be Rich, by Ramit Sethi
12)    The Plateau Effect by Hugh Thompson, Bob Sullivan
13)    Stein on Writing, Sol Stein
14)    Contagious, by Jonah Berger
15)    Epic Content Marketing, by Joe Pulizzi
16)    10% Happier, by Dan Harris
17)    Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
18)    The Intelligent Entrepreneur, by Bill Murphy
19)    Quiet: The Power of Introverts, by Susan Cain
20)    How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, by Scott Adams
21)    Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure, by Tim Harford
22)    100 Great Buinesses and the Minds Behind them, by Emily Ross and Angus Holland
*  23)    MASH, by Richard Hooker
24)    The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, by Andrew Carnegie
*  25)    Delivering Happiness, by Tony Hsieh
26)    Conscious Capitalism, by John Mackey, Raj Sisodia, Bill George
27)    1,000 Dollars & and Idea, by Sam Wyly
28)    Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior: Great Courses
*  29)    The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield (listened twice)
30)    How to Stay Motivated, by Zig Ziglar (listened twice)
31)    The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
32)    The Entrepreneurs Toolkit: Great Courses

All audio books on this list were purchased through Audible.com (Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks)
, using their Android app. I have a Platinum monthly membership, meaning two credits per month, generally good for 1 audiobook each. I purchased a couple audiobooks when they were on sale as well.

I find that most audiobook narrators read rather slowly. The Audible app allows you to play at up to 2x speed or slowing to 0.5x speed. I usually listen at 2x. Probably 90% of my listening was while in the car.

I also downloaded some public domain audiobooks from Librivox.org and found another Android audio player app that allows changing playback speed without messing up the pitch (no chipmunk voices) called Maple Player.  Librivox narrators are mostly just regular people who volunteer to read public domain works, so they aren’t always great, but it’s free, and I’m grateful for their work. I didn’t make it through any of these free audiobooks. I started listening to A Tale of Two Cities when I was out of Audible credits, but didn’t finish before the new month’s credits were available. Sometime I’ll go back and finish it.

I’m going for 30 books and 30 audiobooks for 2015. I’m hoping to drive less, so I might not make 32 like I did in 2014.
If you have any questions about any books on my lists or want recommendations, leave a comment or click the little envelope button above or below the post to send me an email.