ArmyAngel's 2008

I plan on starting with the New Year, but I wanted to get this set up, so I could tweak it however I wanted before January. My challenge for the upcoming year has several parts to it:

1. Read all of my unread Star Wars books.
2. My "Big Five" will be the remaining five books in Winston Churchill's The Second World War series.
3. 12 Newbery books
4. 12 books from the 1001 Books Before You Die list.
5. the Bible

I'm also working on the Read the States and Dewey Decimal challenges, but instead of seeking out books that fit a category, I'm just going to see if a book matches one of the criteria of either of those challenges as I finish it.

I reserve the right to alter or completely ignore this list at any time. :)

How many unread Star Wars books do you have?

I am impressed at people who do this much planning ahead in their reading. I put a number out there, and I have a couple of lists that I look at (Science Fiction classics, Nebula Award nominees, Pulitzer Prize winners), but I have no goals around these lists. They just help me to find things I think I might like. There are too many books that I might decide I want to read at any given point to plan ahead, but that's just me.

36 TBR SW. I like for things to be organized and structured in the beginning, giving me a chance to methodically chip away at the TBR pile. That way after I get started I'll feel comfortable ditching the lists. :)

Good luck with Churchill. You might want to consider counting 300 pgs as one book for your non fiction reads since they tend to be slower reads than fiction. My list will be 98% nf so that's my plan.

Way to go with Churchill. Take the challenge of counting NF books as one book. If you reallly enjoy it, it won't be that bad.

Also well done with the Bible, have fun with a lot of Deut. Levit. and parts of Gen. you may want to skip on through the "begats" sections. :). New Testament is not bad although Paul can be confusing sometimes. Anyways impressive and diverse list. Good luck.

I always count one book as one book, however short or long it may be. Unless it happens to be an omnibus of some kind, like my Gormenghast books: I have a 3-in-1 copy of them, and I'll count that as 3 books.

Madcow-the copy of the Bible I have is driving me crazy. It's an NIV Daily Bible, and in chronological order, so some of the books are mixed up with other books. Poorly written and, I hate to say it, boring. I've been reading it off and on for years, and so far I don't think I've made it past July. How hard can it be to read 3-4 pages a day for a year??

Yeah, see probably the most well-written as far as literature bible is the King James, but no one speaks the king's english anymore, and it's not the most accurate in translation. Also with the bible being written in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek originally, it becomes difficult to get the idioms over into English.

New Living Translation (NLT) might be easier for you. The authoritative version in Seminary is usually NRSV.

Finally, I'll be a pastor in two years God willing, and believe me, there are parts you can skip over. like the lineages, temple laws, etc. But good luck, keep at it! You never know when a small unexpected snippet may speak to you.

1. Gulliver's Travels. Timeless, a must read!

2. Talk to the Hand.

3. The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1200 Jews

4. the Gathering Storm. Finally! I have been working on this book for...I've forgotten how long! Over a year, probably. Now I can move on to Their Finest Hour.

5. Cat Pay the Devil. This came out in paperback not too long ago, so I had it for a reread today. I've managed to finish a book every day so far! Probably won't be able to keep it up for too much longer, lol, but it'll be fun while it lasts.

6. the Book Thief

Awesome idea about the SW books. Mine are piling up as well, and I don't think I've read one since Revenge of the Sith (which I thought was amazing, much better than the movie). At one point I tried to start at the very beginning and start filling in the holes (in chronological order) and reread the old ones, starting with The Phantom Menance, but then they started all these Clone War novels and I couldn't keep up! Plus, I haven't even gotten to the New Jedi Order ones (I'm so behind)!

Which one is your all-time favorite? Mine is The Courtship of Princess Leia...I love the witches of Dathomir (sp?) and the rancors (so cool to see them in their natural environment, not just under Jabba's throne), the prince from Hapes, and the best part is C3PO composing the "King Solo" song!

Though it's been a long time since I've read the older ones, I also remember enjoying the X-Wing series (at least the first four that I read) and the Young Jedi Knights. Actually I think because it's Star Wars, I love them all!!

And speaking of SW and the bible...we were weren't we ;-p Maybe you should listen to the audio version of the Bible read by James Earl Jones. I've heard it is quite good. "Jesus, I am your Father"...hehehe

I have so many SW favorites! I, Jedi, because it's the only first person story, so much more personal than the other ones. Also, I've never really liked how Luke comes off in the books, and Corran Horn really lets him have it in a conversation in this book.

Traitor is probably my favorite of the New Jedi Order, much darker but also a breath of fresh air in some ways. Can't elaborate on that without giving away major NJO plotlines... :)

I'm really enjoying the Republic Commando books. They're about an elite group of storm troopers during the Clone Wars, and it's really interesting to see their side of the war. They're only ever portrayed as meaningless clones, but in these books you get to see that they have a culture, individual personalities, etc. The first book is Hard Contact, and I'm pretty sure they're stand alones, so you could read them even though you're behind on the Clone War books.

Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and really, anything that stars Boba Fett. :D

Whenever people ask me where I recommend starting in the series, I usually say the X-Wing series, because they're so much fun. After the 4th book, Aaron Allston takes over writing, and they are soooo funny!

The Gospel according to Darth Vader, huh? Could be interesting, lol.

7. the Color of Magic. I have to say, if this is what others consider one of the weaker books of the Discworld series, I cannot wait to read the others!

8. the Light Fantastic
9. Equal Rites

10. Mort

11. Sourcery

12. Wyrd Sisters

13. Pyramids. I've been so caught up in Discworld, I haven't even looked at my 888 Challenge books, lol.

ArmyAngel1986!!

My LA buddy!!

How the heck have you been?! I haven't talked to you since summer!!

Hope school is treating you well and talk to you soon!

14. Guards! Guards!
15. Eric

16. Moving Pictures

Well, that wraps up January, I finished Moving Pictures on the 31st. 16 is pretty respectable, considering all the flying around the country and starting a new semester I did. I won't be able to maintain it though, I have too much reading to do for school. I still have a couple of Discworld books to keep me company though. :)

17. Reaper Man

18. Small Gods

19. I Am Legend

How was I Am Legend? I saw the movie over Christmas. It was pretty good. What I liked most was Will Smith's interaction with the dog and the mannequins, and the things he does to pass the time (like golfing off the wings of a Air Force jet parked on the USS Intrepid).

Did you see the movie? Is the book similar? Aside from the time gap, of course.

I enjoyed it (the book), even though it was very different from the movie. Just to clarify, I saw the movie first. I've found that seeing the movie first usually ensures I'll like the book, but it doesn't work the other way around, lol. Well, the book has a very different version of the undead vampire thingies. In the movie they were basically mindless zombies, in the book there were different versions, the most advanced of which were capable of adaptation and reason. It was also much darker, with a darker ending, than the movie. I highly recommend it though.

They follow the same story of a guy trying to find a cure, but because of differences in characters (Will Smith played an actual scientist, Book Guy was just a guy using the science library) they go about it differently.

I did think that it was a little convenient that a scientist would be the one that had an immunity. But I don't think the movie would have worked otherwise. For some reason, I think movie audiences are more willing to buy into that, than just some guy reading books from the library. You know, non-book readers don't understand the whole "reading thing". ;-p

I would like to check it out someday. Isn't it a shorter story and there are other short stories in the book (at least the version we had at the bkstore was)? Did you read them too?

I've never read anything by Matheson. Though I know that, oddly enough, he also wrote the book Somewhere in Time - I love that movie, with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour! I always cry *sigh*.

The copy I have has only the I Am Legend story, but it used to be my dad's from when he was a kid-it's so old the cover is gone and the spine is half-worn away.

I definitely think people wouldn't understand a non-scientist working for a cure! They wouldn't buy into, so many people are convinced the only way to do something properly is to be certified to do it. You can't just pick up a book and learn stuff!

I'm eagerly awaiting the book from the library after seeing the movie. I am glad to hear that the book has developed the zombies. I thought that the movie lacked something in that area. It hinted at some reasoning and intelligence, but never really went any further.

20. Hatchet
21. the River
22. Summer of the Swans

23. More Mystery Cats

24. the Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
25. Remember, Remember the Fifth of November
26. Lords and Ladies
27. Men at Arms

28. Soul Music
29. Interesting Times
30. The Wee Free Men

31. A Hat Full of Sky

How'd you like Maurice (and also how was The Wee Free Men)?

I tried starting The Colour of Magic and can't get past the prologue.. :(

I see you took over the Distubring Books stuff..EEE!! Thanks!!

How's school?

Maurice is great, and the Tiffany Aching books (Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky) are inching towards my favorites. I've heard some people say that starting at the beginning of the series isn't the best, even though it worked for me. Rincewind is my favorite character, and he stars in the first two books. I can't remember what the prologue is about, and I don't have them with me, but definitely try to get passed it. If you're really bored with it, the All Things Discworldian group has a thread that's all about which books you can start with that won't spoil the others for you. The Tiffany Aching books are definitely stand alone, so is Witches Abroad (which is usually voted a favorite by most people), along with Guards! Guards! But definitely don't give up on the series!

*cackle* Taking over Disturbing Books is a fun project! I'll never get over how some people react to certain things. I can't wait until I really have time to tag everything and organize it like I did with my own library!

School is going great, I decided a couple weeks ago to drop my second major, so now I'm graduating a year early (spring '09!). No clue what I'm going to do with myself now, and I'm actually a little worried about it. But I really don't enjoy the college life, it's not doing anything for me health-wise, so there's no reason for me to stay any longer than necessary. How goes it with you? It must be tough, as a nursing major. When do you start applying to nursing schools? Are you staying in Lafeyette for that, or going elsewhere?

32. Maskerade

33. Feet of Clay

34. Hogfather
35. Jingo

36. The Last Hero: a Discworld Fable

37. Cat Deck the Halls

38. The Purrfect Murder

39. Little House in the Big Woods

I'm reading (actually listening to) the NIV Bible and, yes there is boredom, redundancy and a lot of violence. I think that I'm going to take credit for two books when I'm done (Old and New Testaments). Stay with it, ArmyAngel.

40. Conrad's Fate
41. Pinhoe Egg

42. Little House on the Prairie

43. CLEP Sociology

44. the Last Continent

45. Wintersmith

46. Brian's Winter
47. Brian's Return

48. Brian's Hunt

49. Carpe Jugulum

50. the Career of Dona Ines Suarez, First European Woman in Chile, by Ann Keith Nauman
51. Thief of Time

The first won't touchstone, sorry. Term I class over, Term II class starts today. Very tired.

52. the Fifth Elephant
53. Night Watch
54. Thud!
55. Monstrous Regiment

56. Going Postal
I've officially run out of Discworld books to read! I have to wait for Making Money to come out in paperback, so in the mean time, I'm devoting myself to Star Wars. Looking at my TBR pile, I realized that out of 246 TBR books, 46 of them are SW.

57. Boba Fett #2:Crossfire
58. Boba Fett #3 Maze of Deception
59. Boba Fett #4 Hunted

60. Boba Fett #5 A New Threat

61. Boba Fett #6 Pursuit

62. Farmer Boy
63. On the Banks of Plum Creek

64. Making Money

65. By the Shores of Silver Lake 9/15/08