IftyZaidi aims for 100 in 2013

So here we are again. Last year a combination of moving house, family and job commitments meant I essentially gave up on maintaining my thread in the 100 Books in 2012 group. Hopefully I'll manage to do a better job this year.

Here's to a happy and productive 2013 to us all...

Found you! How are things in Pakistan these days?

Glad to see you here for 2013! Good luck with the reading, you do choose some interesting titles!

Thanks all. Hope i can be better about keeping this thread up to date this year!

Looking forward to a whole new year of reading. I'm going to try and stress too much about setting targets and challenges and whatnot - I want to just try and enjoy my reading without feeling too much guilt about growing tbr piles or not meeting targets.

So whats on the radar? Well I'm in a mood for graphic novels so I suspect the next couple of months will see a fair few of those. I have a bunch of the series Fables to tuck in to and I think I may also go for some re-reads.

I'm also thinking of finally getting an e-reader (a kindle). It remains to be seen how that is going to impact my reading patterns.

ronin - as for PK, well I think this poem is apt:

The Guest House by Jalaluddin Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Interesting poem.

Lovely thoughtful poem

I always wish I could read poems in their original languages--I think in poetry even more than in prose so much must be lost in the translation. The translator must be at least as gifted a poet as the original author to do it justice. That said, this is a brave, fatalistic, mindful, faithful poem--thank you for sharing.

Yes, it's a great little thought-provoking poem, and I wish I could read it in the original language too!

Reading Jan-March

January (100 TBR, 15 read)
1. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey 3.5 stars
2. Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham 3 stars
3. Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham 3 stars
4. Saga of the Swamp Thing Vol. 2 by Alan Moore 3.5 stars
5. Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham 4 stars
6. Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham 3.5 stars
7. Fables Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham 3.5 stars
8. Fables Vol. 6: Homelands by Bill Willingham 3.5 stars
9. Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days) by Bill Willingham 2.5 stars
10. Batman: Year One by Frank Miller 4 stars
11. Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale 4 stars
12. The Mirage by Matt Ruff 4 stars
13. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi 3 stars
14. Ghost Story by Jim Butcher 3 stars
15. Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale 3.5 stars
16. The Black Banners by Ali Soufan 4.5 stars
17. Suck It, Wonder Woman by Olivia Munn 2 stars

February
18 The Price of Politics by Bob Woodward 3 stars
19 The Tanker War: America's First Clash With Iran by Lee Allen Zatarain 4 stars
20 How It Happened by Shazaf Fatima Haider 3.5 stars
21 Therefore Repent! by Jim Munroe & Salgood Sam 3.5 stars
22 Fables Vol. 8: Wolves by Bill Willingham 2.5 stars
23 Fables Vol. 9: Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham 2.5 stars
24 The Operators by Michael Hastings 3 stars
25 The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan 3.5 stars
26 The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan 4 stars

March
27 Civil War by Mark Millar 4 stars
28 The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan 3.5 stars
29 The Road to Civil War by Brian Michael Bendis & J. Michael Straczynski 3 stars
30 Cold Days by Jim Butcher 3.5 stars
31 The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan 3.5 stars

Reading April-Jun

April
32 The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan 4 stars
33 Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan 4 stars
34 Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan 3.5 stars
35 The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan 3.5 stars

May

June

Reading Jul-Sep

Reading Oct-Dec

Oh, what did you think of The Android's Dream? After the first chapter, I think it's my favorite Scalzi.

Hm. I did think that it improved after the first chapter and I enjoyed it overall, but I wouldn't classify it as a great read. I've only read the two Scalzi novels and actually I wouldn't rate this as highly as Old Man's War. Too much of the plot seemed to be driven by the need to shoehorn in some extended joke or satire - and it was certainly funny and I admire the artifice of getting everything to hang together. Its just that the characters weren't that memorable (Robin Baker, the only female character of note is a non-entity) and credulity is not just stretched but hung, drawn and quartered in expecting that an aggresive, xenophobic race would outsource the creation of a super-heirarchical computer system that controls all aspects of their society to a bunch of aliens.

So, overall, a fun read, but it didn't strike me as particularly great. Honestly I think the best stuff I've read by Scalzi is on his blog. I'd been following it for almost 5 years before I finally read my first Scalzi novel last year!

Well I managed to fall off the wagon big time this year in terms of keeping this thread alive. Too much happening. New job(s). The kids. Heath issues. No time. Sorry.

As for the reading? Well on the face of it 113 tomes read this year. But 73 of them are actually graphic novels so its really been a graphic novel kind of year. A lot of time reading and writing for work and the aforementioned health issues meant that I really did not have the kind of concentration for a great deal of reading this year (especially in the second half).

But a new year beckons and I hope I can turn things around. I'm updating the list of stuff I've read above and then I'll be looking forward to next year's reading challenge. I don't think anyone has made the new group yet but I'll be there when its up. Looking forward to a more productive and happy 2014! :)

It's good to see you pop up!

Sorry to hear about the health issues, but nice to see you back! I'll see you in 2014. :)