Remco's 75 books challenge 2011

I guestimate that I've read about 100 books last year...I think...more or less...probably...
Figured I'd be sure this year.

Below the books I'm sure I've read this year:

My Ishmael
Beyond Civilization
Rhapsody trilogy (Rhapsody, Prophecy, Destiny)
Sequel to Rhapsody --> Requiem for the sun
Animal farm
Sabriel (in Dutch, what a shame)
Lirael (in Dutch)
The library van Umberto Eco
Abhorsen (in Dutch)
Hunger games (in Dutch)
Equal Rites Terry Pratchett
Zen and the Art of Morcycle Maintenance
the House of Scorpions
a brief history of time
The Gunslinger

To a running tally of; 17/75.

Space reserved for cutesy counter

Welcome! I don't have one of the fancy tickers, but I think they use TickerFactory.com. I believe that there are directions on that site.

BTW - we have a wiki page for the group where we keep track of interesting threads at http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:75booksin2011

Welcome RemcoH! Sounds like you are a reader speeder...this is the right place!

dmeutron is correct, the "fancy ticker" is from TickerFactory.com. Its a bit confusing at first... you have to look down at what appears to be advertising...and look for the Crafts/Hobbies section...the Objects/Actions counter is what most of us are using. From there just follow the prompts...and it'll walk you right through the process. If I can figure it out, anyone can...:0)

Looking forward to watching your progress and "judging" from afar!

Welcome to the group, Remco!

We have at least one other Dutch member, FAMeulstee. You might want to check out her thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/104704

drneutron I'll check out the wiki page, thanks for the suggestion. :)
whiteknight tickerfactory it is, I'll look it up when I've got a bit more time. Right now I need to get on with reading either Abhorsen or Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenaince. :D
alcottacre I'll check out her thread, thanks. :)

*great sigh of joy* aaaah, I love friendly people.

Finished the library van Umberto Eco last night. Cute little book with a few nice images but no real new idea's.

#5: *great sigh of joy* aaaah, I love friendly people.

You came to the right place!

Welcome. What language do you prefer reading in?

alcottacre Good, then my impression was spot on. :)

elkiedee
English, I find it a far more beautiful and gratifying language then Dutch.
I even find myself subvocalizing in English on many occasions.

An interesting effect I've noticed is that when I read primarily in English I subvocalize in English as well and I notice that I need time readjusting to speaking in Dutch. I find myself struggling for Dutch words, yet if I mainly read in Dutch there is none of the aforementioned struggle.

There's actually a lot of (research) literature on this phenomenon! Switching back to your first language (L1) is more difficult than switching back to your second language (L2). This is shown by response times on picture naming and word reading tasks.

A possible explanation for this goes as follows: when your mind is 'set' in your L2, it takes a lot of (sub-conscious) effort to suppress your L1. When you switch back to L1, you need to overcome this suppression - that's the trouble you experience when switching from English to Dutch. When you're 'set' in L1, there's no need to suppress anything, so it's easy to switch to L2 or L3 after that.

Funny, isn't it?

Hmmm interesting.
So this means that switching from L3 to L2 is easier than switching from L3 to L1?

#5 - Sounds like you have your priorities right!..Reading, making pretty pictures online....yeah...reading much more valuable..:0)

#10: it's been a few years since I wrote my thesis on a related topic, so I'm not too sure... But I do remember that there isn't as much research for L3 as for L1 and L2... and I think some people did find that, yes, L3 to L2 is easier than L3 to L1, but I'm not sure anymore!

whiteknight Jup :D
tarendz Hmmm interesting, I'll add this to my repertoire of 'interesting tidbits' to be used at party's. :p

Edit:
Also finished reading the third book of the Abhorsen series aptly titled 'Abhorsen'. This is one cool series. I've been on the look out for a necromantic type of fantasy for quite some time but didn't find anything that I really liked. That is until Abhorsen. Very interesting world and I love the whole summoning dead and sturggling with dead and decaying monsters. :D
Apparantly I've got a bit of a dark streak as well, who would've thought. :)

Welcome! How did you like the Rhapsody trilogy? Those are some of my favorite books. I also enjoyed the Abhorsen trilogy. Sounds like we may like the same sort of books. I've starred your page!

Thanks. :)
I really liked Rhapsody, I love the absolute epicness of these characters. Its like the author imagined the most bad ass people and tossed them in a story line. Personally I liked Grunthor and Achmed A LOT (can't help but chuckle at Grunthor's eating habits :D), the chemistry between those two and Rhapsody was brilliant. I also liked the whole elemental magic a lot.
At some point I did get a little tired of the endless romance but my tendency to keep reading until the story gets better helped me out in those parts. :)

Have you read the Mistborn series? Those and the series (I read the well of ego's and the song of the tears) from Ian Irvine are some of my favorite books. Although the Abhorsen trilogy is already in my top 3 and I haven't even read it in English yet. (probably going to buy the books in English in a week or 2 and reread them)

Edit: Keep forgetting to report books I've finished.
Just finished hunger games in Dutch, another book I HAVE TO read in English. Damn this was good. I read this with a lack of sleep and I didn't feel tired once. It drew me in and kept me going to the very last words on the page. Amazing, another contender for my top 3...its getting crowded up there :D

It's been years since I read Elizabeth Haydon's books. But I do remember that Achmed was my favorite character. I don't think I've read anything quite like it since. Which says a lot about Haydon's writing skills. I should go back and reread those sometime this year. Yeah, I think I will. :)

I started Mistborn a few weeks ago, but I own the book and had to set it aside while I finished the library books I had. Although even from the twenty or so pages I did read, it sounds great. Can't wait to get into it. I haven't heard of Ian Irvine, but thanks for the mention; I'll be sure to look him up.

Yeah, at times I wanted to slap the author so she'd tell me more about whats happening with Achmed and Grunthor. :D
Thats good though, nothing worse then a book where you don't care about the characters.

Ian Irvine's strength is his worlds, the cultures in those worlds and the character developments. The things he puts his characters through is at times truly excruciating. He keeps putting them into impossible situations leaving them with increasingly fewer options left. This also reveals his one weakness, at times the escapes are a bit unbelievable. However this didn't distract me at all, I only realized how unlikely the escapes are on my second reading. In the first reading I was just happy that my favorite characters survived for a few more pages. Because this isn't a writer who's affraid to let a character die which adds a reality and suspense to the story.
My favorite character by far was Xervish Flydd, a scrurator. Scurators are amongst the most powerful and ruthless people in a already ruthless world. Flydd, a grizzled, scarred, battleworn and emanciated figure with a indomitable will to see the human race survive captured my love and admiration. Hell I reread these books just so I get to meet grumpy old Flydd again. :D

Argh. I just checked my libraries' catalog and they don't have anything by Ian Irvine. :( I'll have to see if I can get an inter-library loan on them or something. I've looked a little on amazon and from your recommendation they sound great. Well they are on the list. Thanks! Have you read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series? They're as good as Haydon's trilogy in my opinion. Also George R. R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series.

Good luck finding Ian Irvine. ;)

I've read the Sword of Truth a long time ago (like 6+ years) and I don't remember much from it, might have to reread it. :)

I've got book 4 in hardcover (picked it up for a few bucks, couldn't resist) from the A song of Fire and Ice series but haven't actually read the series yet. Mostly because I've only got book 4 lol. I'll check if my library has the other books. :D

Kassilem, another book I really enjoyed and its similar in feel to hunger games is ender's game and ender's shadow.
In this story earth suffered a attack from an alien species some years ago, launched from the other side of the galaxy. Now humanity is preparing for a invasion, in order to win we need the most brilliant commanders the human race can provide. To find these prodigy's of war a program is set up where young children are taken into outer space and trained in the art of war and fight simulated battles. Ender is a natural leader with a very sharp intellect, Bean (ender's shadow) is a small kid with a astonishing intellect (far beyond anybody else). I especially love bean. :)
These books are so brilliant of the unique viewpoint and situation the characters find themselves in. The logical, tactical and intellectual battles between these kids is just great fun to read.

After the first book Ender's game dives into a different type of book that I didn't like as much (still good, but different then ender's game).
The sequels after Ender's shadow deal with the aftermath of the war and what happens with these prodigy's of the war. Essentially looking at the global conflict afterwords and how the different kids wield there newfound power.

Just finished reading Equal rites, I've long avoided Pratchett for no real discernable reason. Mostly because I was slightly intimidated with the massive stack of books and my compulsion with finishing a series. Well I'm glad these are stand alone books rather then series in the traditional sense of the word. Really enjoyed equal rites, the humor is very funny and witty. What a great book to read on a dreary day.

>>20 RemcoH:. Ender's Game, as in Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card? Haven't read anything by him as of yet, although my father bought me his Wyrms book a few years back. I'm not sure why I've waited so long to pick him up. I'll make it a goal to read something of his this year and see how I like his books. Its science fiction and I like the genre so no problem there. Thanks for the recommendation. I think my favorite science fiction book is probably The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. It's a young adult book and I don't really remember much, just that I absolutely loved it. Another Sci-Fi series I really liked was Tad Williams's Otherland series. I loved his fantasy series The Dragonbone Chair trilogy better but his science fiction is just as good. Have you heard of either of those?

13 books! I've avoided Pratchett for a long time as well. Still avoiding actually. And I don't kow why either. Glad you liked Equal Rites.

Kassilem Jup those are the ones. I haven't read Wyrms yet, which reminds me, I ought to look up some Card. So far all the books I read from this guy have been good. With Ender's game and Ender's shadow standing above the rest.

I'll have to check out The House of the Scorpion; just checked my local library and they've got it. I'll see if I can pick it up sometime next week. Good sci fi is always a joy.

I've read Tad Williams Green Angel Tower series a loooooong time ago, try'd rereading it some time ago in Dutch. Stopped reading halfway through book 3, it never really managed to grab me. Might be a symptom of reading it in Dutch, I like my fantasy in English. ;)
After that experience I've avoided Tad Williams, I might check out the Otherland series sometime although I've got quite a stack of reading to get through first. :D

Pratchett's books are the kind I can devour rapidly, with the slight disadvantage I forget everything around me. Sometimes with a few adverse effects to the general state of my life. ;) :p

I've been trying to get more into non-fiction books, mainly to develop some idea's I've got brewing inside my brain. The idea's keep begging me to scratch them right behind the ears so they can purr and snuggle in my lap. Anyways, so far I end up smashing through fantasy books (as usual) and reading several non-fiction books at the speed of a fat man chasing a olympic sprinter.

If I go past the 75 books mark this year (which seems likely) I'll have to set a more ambitious goal, perhaps 150 books? Or even 200, that would be a big challenge.

Even if you pass the 75 books mark this year, Remco, I hope you will stick with the group :)

I will, I feel comfy here. ;)

Good! That is one of the reasons I stick around too, although I routinely pass the 75 book mark.

Just finished reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Finishing this one took a while. Thats ok though, because the book itself was very good. The story is about a man trying to find his way back to himself. The philosophy is about bridging the gap between classic and romanticism. The philosophy is a emerging property of the story, its a part of it which makes you far more involved compared to pure cut and dry philosophy. He´s also very honest about any personal stuff. His feelings and faults are very clear.
In short, very good book I can recommend it. :)

#27: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a book I have always meant to read but never gotten around to actually doing so. I really need to just do it!

Yes go for it. It wasn't what I expected from the book at all, I expected a sort of zen thesis or something. What I got was a engaging story mixed with fascinating philosophy. Very cool.

I checked and my local library has a copy. Maybe on my next trip there, I can pick it up.

Just finished reading The House of the Scorpion (recommendation from Kassilem) and I enjoyed it. It took some time for me to get into the story but once I could identify with Matt the book just flew through my hands. I liked the perspective on a post apocalyptic world although I would've enjoyed a more in depth look at the societal structure. I could understand how Opium worked with the slave people and international relations. Yet Aztlan seemed unfinished. Its as though Nancy took a few communist idea's, mixed in child labor and ended up with Aztlan. Still it was a great book and I enjoyed it very much. :)

I'm reading a brief history of time right now and started in Dan Brown's The lost Symbol. Right now there's one page that's ruining the book for me. Namely a page titled 'Fact' with the various organizations/locations/rituals listed. To me this is misleading the reader by representing a clearly fictional story as fact. During the story I find myself constantly wondering if a certain myth or explanation is fantasy or fact. Which blocks me from being absorbed in the story. I prefer my story's to be all non-fiction or all fiction not some strange blend in between. /end rant
Now I'll just finish reading it so I can give a educated rant on this book. :D

Edit:
To a running tally of; 15/75.
Yes, 20% of my goal achieved in ~12,5% van de tijd. Ik loop voor op schema. :D

Glad you liked The House of the Scorpion. :) It's been years since I've read it so I was worried it wouldn't be as good as I remembered. 15 down!

15 down, 60 to go. :D

#22> I also loved The House of the Scorpion, though a long time since I read it as well. I was given a copy of The Dragonbone Chair recently so good to see you mention it.

I have not gotten to The House of Scorpion yet. I will have to bump it up some!

Just finished reading a brief history of time. Its a nice book explaining the latest physics theories. Most of the more basic physics I already understood on a conversational level. Still its good to read the thought process of a great scientist and peek into his mind. That alone was more than worth my time reading this book. I can recommend this book. ;)

Done with the gunslinger by Stephen King. I still need to get used to this style. Frankly I'm only reading this because I've got book 5 (wolves of calla) on the shelve. It had to be saved at a book auction; cheap and thick equals a irresistable air. Now I'm reading towards this book, sadly my library only has the gunslinger...
Luckily I've got a friend who's a Stephen King fan and might have the other books in this series.

I think I've looked at that book and decided it might be good, but haven't read it yet. Hope you can find the rest of the series.

I agree about A Brief History of Time... I'm almost finished reading it now. Very readable explanations. His little asides are pretty funny sometimes too :)

Kassilem There's no rush though, I've read the series before but its been a lonnggggg time. Thats handy because then I don't feel that urge that I HAVE to read the next book NOW. :p

antqueen Indeed, excellent explanations and funny exclamation marks :D His asides make me giddy with nerdcitement. :P
By the way, great name, ants are by FAR the greatest species on this planet (far beyond humans offcourse). Reading Organization of Insect Societies which reads like a series of scientific reviews on eusociality with the latest research on the subject.
Not something I can recommend to somebody outside biology since its filled with jargon and difficult terms. A great book on ants for the general public (nice, I sound so important this way :D) is Adventures among ants .
Oops, now I'm rambling on about ants...sorry ;)

You know, with my screenname I really should be reading some buggy books (as opposed to buggy code, which I read all day long). Being a part of the general public (and because the other one costs $82(!!) on Amazon), I'll have to check out the second one you mentioned ;)