Ape's 2018 Challenge (1)

Hello everyone and welcome to my thread! My name is Stephen and I don't read nearly as much as I used to. Welcome to my thread, which I will completely neglect for weeks at a time. You should totally add a star and follow, because the lack of activity here means it will take no time at all to keep up with me. I'm very considerate that way.



Currently Reading: Beyond the Pool of Stars
Currently Playing: Apotheon


Books read: 7
Pages read: 2,107

January:
1. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
2. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

February:
3. Stranger by Simon Clark
4. Bacchae by Euripides
5. Something Red by Douglas Nicholas

March
6. Killer Germs by Barry/David Zimmerman

April
...

May
7. Beyond the Pool of Stars by Andrew Howard Jones

-------------------------------

Video Games: 1

January:
1. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

2 years ago, I spent most of the year reading Great Tales of Horror by H. P. Lovecraft. I normally only read 1 book at a time, and it was the first time I had an ongoing collection of short stories, and I really liked it! So I'm doing it again this year, except this time I'm reading Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales. I don't yet know how I'm going to post about them, most of the stories are under 5 pages and there is something like 200+ of them, so I might do a weekly roundup or something like that. Anyway, I'll be keeping track of my overall progress on this post!



Pages read: 241 out of 682
Stories read: a few out of a bazillion

Here are my stats for 2017. Now I'm just depressed.

Books read: 27
Pages read: 7,834
Average book size: 290 pages

I averaged:
21 pages per day
147 pages per week
653 pages per month

On average, I finished a book every: 13.5 days

Fiction books read: 24
Nonfiction books read: 3

Owned books read: 16
Library books read: 7
Borrowed from sister: 4

My increasingly dismal year-by-year stats, now with EXTRA dismal.

Books read:
2009: 81
2010: 87
2011: 81
2012: 75
2013: 53
2014: 54
2015: 54
2016: 57
2017: 27

Pages read:
2009: 24,492
2010: 25,958
2011: 19,935
2012: 19,168
2013: 17,643
2014: 16,073
2015: 16,217
2016: 19,236
2017: 7,834

Average book size:
2009: 302 pages
2010: 298 pages
2011: 246 pages
2012: 255 pages
2013: 333 pages
2014: 297 pages
2015: 300 pages
2016: 337 pages
2017: 290 pages

Average pages read per day:
2009: 67 pages
2010: 71 pages
2011: 54 pages
2012: 52 pages
2013: 48 pages
2014: 44 pages
2015: 44 pages
2016: 53 pages
2017: 21 pages

Hi ya!! Happy New Thread and all that!

Happy reading in 2018, Stephen, although you will be spending more time elsewhere ;-)

Welcome, welcome! I hope you enjoy the lively atmosphere.

*Runs round with party stremers and balloons. Happy New Year!
Here is the normal * but I polished it this year so extra shine ☺

You rear more books then me last year... I still managed to do the meme though.

Ok going to get cake... be back soon.

Happy 2018 reading!

Happy new year! My stats would be similar to yours, except fortunately I don't compile the multi-year comparisons.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Stephen (again)! If it's any consolation, I only read 14 books in 2017 (15 if you count my uncle's, I guess?), almost all of those in March or earlier. It's been very... tumbleweedy... around my bookshelves. And LT thread. And life in general, haha. 2018 will be different though! *She says, optimistically*

And oh my goodness, I found your YouTube page, congrats on the successful channel! I have no idea what you're on about, I don't play the games, but compared to the videos you used to send me waaaaaay back when, you sound so happy and CONFIDENT. You can tell it's something you're really into - love love LOVE it.

*starrrrrrred* Obviously. :D

>13 elliepotten: he has a youtube chanell I need links...

Hello and welcome Bryony, Lori, Zoe, Linda, Marie, and Ellie!

Bryony: I'm sorry, all I heard was "blah blah blah cake blah blah blah" :P

Lori: Back atcha!

Zoe: Hm, interesting. Well in that case, I'm blaming you for my poor reading year. I'm not entirely sure if that's reasonable, but maybe I can blame that on you as well. :P

Thanks Linda and Marie!

Ellie: It's okay that you only read 14 books. As it turns out, it's all Zoe's fault. We're faultless! Success is a strong word, but the goal of the channel was to force myself to get more comfortable speaking and in THAT regard it certainly has helped a lot.

Bryony: I haven't mentioned it too much here on Librarything because it's a Magic: the Gathering channel, so no one would be interested. Nevertheless, if you insist on subjecting yourself to my dull and droning voice, have at it:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AffinityforMTG

Happy New Year and happy new thread! Don’t be depressed about your reading stats; be depressed about the number of people in the world who never crack a book at all if they can help it!

You probably read more of your own books than I did of mine in 2017 if that helps. And if not... *throws more confetti and runs away*

Foggi: Can I instead pretend those aren't people at all, or is that taking things too far? :P

Mary: I certainly read a high percentage of my own books compared to library books, however I will remain pessimistic by pointing out that this can only mean I've become more reclusive in 2017.

>15 Ape: I love Magic: the Gathering... more youtube to get lost in. I was really in to Magic in my early-mid 20's have not played in a while. have several 1000 chards boxed up some where.

I said I would bring cake:



enjoy

Hi, Stephen!

Never mind depressing stats...that's old news and why the new year is so much fun! New beginnings, new potential! So, with that in mind....



Happy 2018!!

Welcome back! And happy new year!

Happy New Year
Happy New Group here
This place is full of friends
I hope it never ends
It brew of erudition and good cheer.

Wow, you have lots of Platinums and much better completion rate than I am ever going to reach :)

Have fun reading and playing!

Don't worry, Stephen. 2017 was a trash fire for just about everyone.

Here's to a 2018 of good reads, even if the total is lower than you want.

I like your idea of doing an ongoing short story read. I struggle with short fiction and essays. But, I recently read Howards End Is on the Landing, and the author writes that short works should be viewed as a separate art and are best in small doses. So, I really am intrigued by the idea of picking up a long collection of fairy tales and reading it slowly throughout the year.

Happy New Year! I wish you to read many good books in 2018.

Yeah, a weekly roundup of the fairy tales is probably best. I read them a while back and had a similar problem. That's how I handled it on my blog.

Hi Stephen!!!!! I'm looking forward catching up with you. And I'm saving your youtube channel as a treat after work today - I get to hear what you sound like! :) Here's hoping this year is very kind to all of us.

Stephen Returns!!! Huzzah!!!

*sets up Canadian corner as always*

Bryony: Well then, welcome! I hope my horrible audio doesn't permanently harm your hearing. :P

Hi Amber!

Thanks, Kim!

Thanks, Jim! Hopefully I can mange to visit for more than once or twice per month this year.

Thanks, Paul!

Aqeeliz: Thanks! I used to be much more active when it came to video games, but I haven't been playing as much lately.

Diana: Yeah, I'm really fussy about how I read books and the idea of my reading history not being in sequential order kind of annoys me. There is just no way I'm going to read something like the Grim Fairy Tales without breaking it up into small bits.

Thanks, Rachel! Hopefully I can actually finish the book this year. Since I technically started it last year and only managed to read 200-ish pages from it...

Laura: "Treat," huh? Well, you are in for an unpleasant surprise. :P

Hi Micky! Returns, indeed! Temporarily, at least...

Hi Stephen! I think I lost track of you last year at some point.

2017 was a terrible year for me too, so I sympathize.

>28 MickyFine: hmmmm...Canadian Corner. I believe I shall follow your example and set up Su'thun Cornah. Would y'all like some sweet tea and cornbread?

Happy New Year, Stephen!

Kriti: That's okay, you didn't miss much. Let's up 2018 is better for both of us! :)

Kimberly: I can drink sweet tea by the gallon, provided it isn't the corn-syrupy stuff that comes by the actual gallon.

Thanks, Nina! :)

1. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan



Pages: 361
Rating: 5/5
Publication: 2008

YA Fantasy - Greek Mythology
Borrowed

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The 4th book in the series and possibly my favorite. Has a "Order of the Phoenix" feel in which things are starting to get real. Looking forward to the conclusion of the series.

That's right, I finished a book already. Everyone ignore the fact that I started it on December 12th.

It’s ok, my first was a carry-over too.

>35 Ape: all the books I'm curently reading and listening to are carry overs. A finished book is a finished book.

Any which way you can, mate. ;0)

Hi Stephen! It only took me 5 days to get around to the new years round ups. So HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I still have unfinished reviews and haven't even started the meme which is my favorite part of the end of the year. Here's to all of us getting back in the groove this year!

>34 Ape: Hooray for finished books! Also, glad you're continuing to enjoy the series.

Huzzah for finished books! And you did it in less than month! Go you!

>15 Ape: - Maaaaybe. I've missed it so much though. Any day now I can start again, wheeeeee!

>16 foggidawn: - *mic drop*

>25 libraryperilous: - That's a good idea. I always find I get a bit 'short work-ed out' if I try to read essays, journalism or short stories one after another. I should have a look through my shelves and pick something to work at slowly! A year or two ago I did that for one of Charlie Brooker's collections, I've got two more around here somewhere... *beetles off to browse*

A book done already!! Celebration dance. : )

Jim/Bryony/Nina: Yeah yeah, I was just pre-empt any supposition that I might actually be reading regularly. :P

Leah: Yeah, the meme, I keep telling myself I'm going to do that but I haven't done it yet. I guess I'm less inclined because I have so few choices. I'll do that...soon....

Foggi: Yep! I'm hoping to get around to the final book soon. I, um, kind of haven't read in 3...

Micky: Haha, well, thanks!

Ellie: Never pass up an opportunity to blame another person for your mistakes. :P

Kim: Celebration dance.

I'm already overwhelmed by the sheer amount of posts here in the group. So, hello to everyone! Now pretend this message is on your thread and intended for you specifically, because I'm such a caring friend.

>46 Ape: Aww, how sweet.

>45 Ape: A bit scary. Is that you? ;0)

>33 Ape: ew. syrup is meant for pancakes and waffles.

One finished book is one more than I have...and of COURSE it's a competition!

Nina: It's definitely me in the far distant future. :P

Kimberly: Indeed!

Rachel: Well then, it's a good thing I'm not very competitive... *Pushes Rachel down the stairs while hiding all her books.*

Hi just swinging by to let you know there is a vote going on over on my thread.

>46 Ape: hi, Stephen!

>46 Ape: Saaaaaaame. I was away for, like, five days finishing that work, and now everyone's on their fourteenth thread. Hopefully I'll keep up now! (And actually read something to go on my own thread, possibly?)

Bryony: I'll pop on over there if I'm not too late. Unless I forget sometime in the next 30 seconds, which is perfectly possible.

Edit: Looks like I missed on the voting, which is really too bad, because my vote would have counted for AT LEAST 3, right?

Hi Mary!

Ellie: Yeah, sure, I'll totally keep up from now on too! (*Goes off to do non-LT things*)

>54 Ape: - *drags Stephen back into the thread and staples him to a chair* Ohhhhh no you don't, buddy...

>42 elliepotten: It's amazing how quickly it made me like shorter works again. I'm going to try it with poetry as well. It's a literary form I've always loved but have lost touch with over the last few years. I bet taking poetry collections more slowly will render them enjoyable again.

>56 libraryperilous: I picked out a collection called A Passion for Books. I don't think all of the essays and pieces will be for me at all, but I'm going to pick maybe one a day, or every couple of days, that I DO want to read, and go from there. See how I get on! Good luck with the poetry experiment... :)

I'm glad I've inspired so many people to try to read short works...which is ironic because I haven't picked up Grimm Fairy Tales in months!

I'm practically a professional.

>58 Ape: Yup, you are just that good. Use your power responsibly. Also >59 Ape: Oooh, you fancy! :P

>59 Ape: Wow! Very schmancy!

>59 Ape: Fancy. Very fancy.

>57 elliepotten: Oh, this one sounds good, and I agree about dipping into the essays that interest you, rather than reading all of them.

>59 Ape: I don't even know what that is.

>59 Ape: Speak, man, speak!!

>45 Ape: Scary.

>59 Ape: Wow. You're getting serious.

Maybe now that I have more free-time I should try short works. Hmmmm

>59 Ape: Cool!!!

Thanks everyone. It's nothing too crazy, just a cheap plug-in microphone, but it's less of a potato than what I'm using now.

Zoe: It's a hand grenade!

2. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan



Pages: 381
Rating: 5/5
Publication: 2008

YA Fantasy - Greek Mythology
Borrowed from sister

---------------------------------------

The final book in the Percy Jackson series and quite a fantastic conclusion. Highly enjoyed this, a very satisfying finale.

>59 Ape: >67 Ape: So are you narrating audio books, or what?

Nope, I have a bad Youtube channel that I'm using to "practice" speaking like a normal human. I've always been bad at it, and this seemed like a good way to go about it. I'm still bad at it, but better than I was last year, so that's good...I guess.

You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqjQcdrhMFyZdS1sT3yv9bQ

>70 Ape: Uh-huh it's so "bad" that your videos have "only" been watched over "ten thousand" times....

Yeah, like passing a car crash on the side of the highway. :P

P.S. I read about YouTube's new monetization rules today. Sorry :-(

It's a bummer, for sure, but for me it doesn't matter much. I'm not planning on making any money from the channel, and honestly, if you have under 1,000 subscribers then you aren't making a whole lot anyway. In fact, you probably haven't earned a cent, because you can't cash out on Ad Sense until you've earned $100 USD, and that requires roughly 100,000+ views anyway. *Shrug*

I think the biggest issue is that it's going to make it harder for smaller channels to "make it," so to speak. The Youtube algorithm is undoubtedly going to promote monetized channels, because it would be more profitable for Youtube to do so. If you are going to push a video into the "recommended videos list" of thousands of people, are you going to do it with a small, un-monetized channel that hasn't been reviewed yet and could be "dangerous" for advertisers...or are you going to push a channel that's already been reviewed by humans and that is going to earn you money with ads? It just doesn't make sense for Youtube to promote smaller channels, especially with this paranoia over terrible, dangerous content that will corrupt the kiddies.

So that's the problem. That 1,000 subs doesn't necessarily amount to any financial gain, but it makes it feel like your swimming against the current, and establishing yourself on the platform s going to be harder than ever. It's like they've created a massive chasm with a sign that says "Well, hey, if you manage to make it across, then come join the party." Also there's lava and sharpshooters. Actually, no, not those things...YET.

Do you plan on reading the follow-up series to the Percy Jackson ones? I was enjoying that one more than the original series, though I never finished it. I get distracted easily.

My sister has all of them, so I will probably borrow them at some point. The Percy Jackson series is her favorite series, apparently, so I have those to get through as well as the Magnus Chase ones. :)

I don't have the follow-up series yet, so I'll keep an eye out around here, see what you think! I'm down for a small buying spree (or a hunt round the library, at least) if they're as good as the Percy Jackson ones!

>70 Ape: Nice music, effects and editing. Did you do all that? I don't know about MTG, but haven't you rather given your hand away?

>76 Ape: Hmm; maybe I'll look into those after investigating Skulduggery Pleasant to see what my kids have been reading. Though I have seen the films, so it's not so urgent.

Ellie I'll let you know when I get around to them! )
(and by that I mean I'll post about it here because I'll likely forget we ever had this conversation)

Nina Yep, everything was created by me! Well, except for the music, which is public domain/free-to-use music, but all the effects and stuff are mine. )

By "giving my hand away" do you mean by showing what's in the deck? Sort of...but not really, for 2 reason.

1. It's not likely anyone I play against will see my videos. Plus, I usually have the game recorded before I start posting the videos. I can record the deck tech and the 5 games I play in 2-3 days, it just takes a long time to edit through them, so I post 1 video per week as I edit them.

2. Though Magic has a lot of depth, with 11,000+ DIFFERENT card to build with, there are established decks that are the "good" ones that everyone knows and plays with. So the concept of knowing what your opponent is playing isn't foreign to the game. Typically when I play, after the first turn or 2, I know every card in my opponent's deck because they've copied one of the established decks. At that point, it becomes more like a chess match. :)

>79 Ape: You see, now my brain's already hurting ...

Haha, okay, imagine this. You are setting up a chess board, except there are no rules about where you put your pieces, and there are 11,000 different pieces to choose from. Also, the pieces are obscure, you can't see what they are when your opponent sets up their board, but when they move the first piece you recognize the move, and get a rough idea of which set of pieces they have chosen to play with because it is an established strategy.

Like that.

Ri...ight, got it. Really.

*oww*

Hi just popping by. I like palying agaist my Brother he is a forrests player and is all about the large beasts. He is almost alway pridictable rarely plays more then 60 cards. Can you from this tell what Mana I mostly play with to distroy him?

Nina:


Bryony: If you are like me, black! Kill all the things! :P

You actually make Magic seem somewhat fun.

My fiancé is currently downstairs pondering a side-job of collecting and selling Magic cards online. He's comparing inventory apps.

>84 Ape: Exactly.

Now I feel worse.

>84 Ape: He he and nope!

Nina: Really? I would think your headache would be gone... :P

Bryony: There is no other color worth playing, it must be black!

Rachel: Oh dear! A scary proposition, for sure. Investing in MTG is difficult because you are basically competing against gaming/comic book stores, and they get their product much cheaper because they pay distributor prices, instead of MSRP. Even with the reduced prices, a lot of gaming stores are having issues making a profit off of the current sets being released. The company that owns Magic (WOTC, or Wizard's of the Coast) have been over-printing the cards, flooding the market and driving the prices way down. This is great for players, because we can build decks for cheaper, but for investors and store owners it's hard to open the product and get your money back, because all the cards are nearly worthless.

In fact, a gaming store in my area (over an hour away) has recently put out a statement saying they are no longer organizing their Rare cards, because it takes too much time and effort to sort thousands of cards when they are all only worth 25 cents each anyway.

If he's going to buy/sell on the secondary market that might be okay, which is basically like investing in the stock market or in collectibles/antiques, I suppose. Just make sure he doesn't plan on buying sealed product and opening it expecting a profit, and don't ever buy standard-legal cards. Those plummet in price the second they rotate out (which is once per year.)

On the flip side of things, Magic is in it's worst state that it's been in many years in terms of player attendance at tournaments. Everything is on the down, and prices are dropping like crazy, so it might not be the worst time to buy-in as it should get better in a few years...hopefully. Provided the whole thing doesn't just crash. Part of the issue is most people are converting to digital card games. People are too scared to go into actual physical stores and play a card game with actual other people. Instead they are playing online card games...y'know, like I do. :P

I'm a white and artifact player.

Ironically, there are very competitive white artifact decks in all 3 formats that I play right now. I've been wanting to play one on my channel for awhile, but I haven't tried it yet. It uses 2 cards that say "draw a card whenever you play an artifact" and a bunch of 0-mana artifacts to basically draw your entire deck, play a million artifacts, and then kill you opponent with a card that deals damage equal to the number of spells you play. Like this:

>88 Ape: Well, he works at Goodwill and gets a employee discount. They sell used Magic cards in bulk. Plus, Aaron doesn't really think he'll make much money. He just likes the process of cataloging.

Magic bulk at Goodwill!? Well, heck, I have to check mine now. Though there aren't many Magic players in the area....

>90 Ape: I often get laughed at because I play white as it has very few hard hitting creature cards... but mix them with artifacts you can drain life as well as earn countless amounts of extra life.

>92 Ape: I don't believe he would be getting them bulk from any of the stores. There's an account online in which you can order stuff without ever going to a store. I'm not sure whether this account is available to non-employees, though.

January Summary:

Books read: 2
Pages read: 742

Fiction: 2
Nonfiction: 0

Owned: 0
Library checkout: 0
Borrowed: 2

-------------------------------------------

Video Game Summary:

Games completed: 1

Playstation Vita: 1

----------------------------------------

3. Stranger by Simon Clark



Pages: 418
Rating: 4/5
Publication: 2002

Fiction - Horror/Apocalypse
Owned

---------------------------------------

Despite being a leisure horror novel, and frequently feeling like one, I found myself capable of enjoying this anyway.

Sooooo lost on the card gaming, but following along.

Three books already! Wasn't that like your total for all of last year? : )

>88 Ape: Good point.



>90 Ape: I can’t see your pictures but it doesn’t really matter because, we’ll, you know ....

Rachel: Ah, I know they have online auctions, but I don't have the funds for that sort of thing. Ah well!

Kim: I'm actually on track to reading 50 books this year! So far...

Nina: Hmmmmmmm, bummer. I'll have to find other ones and then you have to read them all and explain to me how it works. Bwahaha. :P

4. Bacchae by Euripides (Translated by someone or another in 1997)



Pages: 64
Rating: 3/5
Publication: 400-ish BC

Greek Tragedy
Owned

---------------------------------------

Orgies and dismemberment. Sounds like a good time.

>96 Ape: How's it? It's in my backlog but haven't gotten around to it yet. Just finished God of War Ghost of Sparta today, and started 2 games, Escape Plan and Dokuro

>101 Ape: Well the orgies would be fun but a little tiring perhaps - the dismemberment just tiresome.

Have a great weekend.

>191 klobrien2: >103 PaulCranswick: You boys have personal experience?

Dude if your back before Wednesday Please go vote on my thread.

Aqeeliz: I really liked it, actually! It has a lot of cool concepts that still feel unique today, and the story has some interesting and unexpected turns. :)

Paul: I'll take your word for it. :P

Nina: I'll admit it, I once attended a party, there was some alcohol involved and I consumed it liberally. I blacked out, and the next morning I woke up naked, dripping in sweat, and covered in other people's bodily fluids. I've never been in an orgy though.

Bryony: Done!

>97 Ape: "Despite being a leisure horror novel, and frequently feeling like one, I found myself capable of enjoying this anyway."

Sassy Stephen is my favourite. >:)

After 3 weeks, I finished a book!

5. Something Red by Douglas Nicholas



Pages: 315
Rating: 4/5
Publication: 2012

Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Owned

--------------------------------------------------------------

Beautifully written historical fiction/fantasy, though that is a double-edged sword. On one hand the book is vivid and lifelike...but the author can also spend a full paragraph describing a doorknob. It's dense and a little clunky, but ultimately rewarding.

>109 Ape: Glad it was a good one!

Me too! :P

February Summary:

Books read: 3
Pages read: 797

Fiction: 3
Nonfiction: 0

Owned: 3
Library checkout: 0
Borrowed: 0

>112 Ape: I see your book count is going up.

Way to read books off your own shelf! Nicely done.

>108 Ape: You have no idea how close I came to using that GIF - BREAKFASTCLUBFORTHEWIIIIIIN! But then the Bond one actually made me choke on my coffee, so the choice was made for me really.

"the author can also spend a full paragraph describing a doorknob"
Sounds like my thread tbh. >:)

Congrats on another book down!

Nina: Yeah, well, look, it sometimes happens in the mornings and it's a perfectly natural thing, now stop looking at it, you're making me uncomfortable. :P

Kim: I actually haven't been to a library in MONTHS. I'm almost impressed by myself.

Ellie: Breakfast Club is one of the few tolerable movies in existence. It gets my stamp of approval.

I've read 1 day out of the last 7...

That's better than zero! Go Stephen!

1 is greater than 0...hmmm...I dunno, I'm going to have to check the math. :P

And your posting is going well, too.

I'd post more, but I'm an incredibly boring guy.

>121 Ape: I dunno about that, I think you're pretty credible.

I'm incredibly credible.

I was pretty bummed to realize it took me a whole month to listen to one book but then I noticed that it was 36 hours long and I felt a little less bad. And then picked up the 42 hour long sequel. My stats are going to be sooooooo bad after this.

Which book was that!? Sounds horrifying.

The Name of the Wind and now The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Quite good and certainly didn't feel liked it was taking so long.

Yeah, I had to look up the page counts on Amazon, and yikes! I haven't read a book that large in quite some time! Though I've been reading through the 600+ page Grimm Fairy Tale collection for over a year now.

I think the first one is about 250,000 words and this second one is over 400,000. He's working on the third which he says is between the two in length. And THEN, just the other day, he dropped the bombshell that this million word trilogy is actually the PREQUEL to the REAL story he's waiting to tell...... NO ONE WARNED ME I was signing up for 3 million words. This is the danger of audiobooks, it's easy to overlook how long the story is.

Clearly audiobooks are a danger to us all! My spellcheck doesn't even recognize it as a real word!

Um, yeah, so we're halfway through March and I'm less than 100 pages through the first book I've read this month. Ahem.

2018 has been a real sausage fest for me on Youtube.

>131 Ape: I was going to protest but it looks like the last time I watched one of your videos was Dec 31 so ... sure.

Well then, in that case, it's all your fault!

I'm always happy to have someone else to blame for my problems. :P

It's the 24th and I'm barely halfway through the first book I've read this month. Yep, definitely Nora's fault as well.

don't look at me, I told you to count each individual grimm story as a book.

A likely story. *Suspicious look*

No, she did. I heard her.

>128 leahbird: Wait, whhhaaaattt???? And I was already (slightly annoyed but not really because I loved the stories) bracing myself for a 1800 or so page reread when the third book comes out. What am I going to do with the rest of my life after rereading massive fantasy series just to remember what's going on?

Hi Stephen!

>138 bell7: >128 leahbird: I waited so long for Wise Man’s Fear that I’ve forgotten what happened in Name of the Wind so I might as well wait for book 3 before re-reading it. I hope it doesn’t all turn into another Wheel of Time situation.

Hi Stephen! I never choose audio books more than about 14 hours and prefer them too be 8-10. Otherwise they just seem endless to me.

So, are you going to count each Grimm story as a book? : )

Nina: Clearly you two are in cahoots to make me feel better about myself. YOU CAN'T FOOL ME!!

Hi Mary!

Kim: Nope! Most of them are a couple pages long and, and even if I wanted to, it sounds like more trouble than it's worth to bother tracking. (Which is Nora's fault.)

6. Killer Germs: Microbes and Diseases That Threaten Humanity by Barry and David Zimmerman



Pages: 230
Rating: 4/5
Publication: 1996

Nonfiction: Microbiology
Owned

--------------------------------------------------

I haven't read a book on the topic in SO LONG and I still really enjoy it. Ignore the fact that I read on average 8 pages per day while reading it....

>142 Ape: Hmm... but I don't do horror.

You don't have to do it, you just have to read it. :P

So, I had a rather bizarre thing happen to me about a week ago.

If you haven't been playing along, I have a Magic: the Gathering youtube channel. I've actually played the game for about 15 years, but I haven't played in person since 2008. I've been playing online for the last decade. The official MTG website has a store locator, so you can find a place that has official MTG competitions. I check it once or twice per year, but the nearest place is over an hour away, so I've never been able to play.

A week ago, I checked it and there is a store IN MY TOWN that hosts official tournaments. I was pretty excited, but also dubious, because sometimes stores are listed but don't actually host the tournaments they claim to on the store locator. So I look them up and there is a single, solitary post on Twitter (posted by someone who subscribes to my Youtube channel) posting about the store in my town, with a link to a Youtube channel.

So, I click it, and absurdly enough, they are actually live streaming an MTG tournament on Youtube, and it's the first live stream they've ever done.

What an unlikely stream of events! On a whim, I check the store locator and get linked to their Youtube page withing the 2-hour span that they are doing their first ever live stream. Crazy.

So, long story short, I'll be interacting with humans soon. It'll probably suck.

Wooh woow!

Take it easy on them.

>145 Ape: That's so surreal! But in a good way. I think you'll have a mah-velous time!

Karen O.

p.s. I should have said, "I think you'll have a MAGIC-AL time!" (hehe)

Wishing you a splendid Easter weekend, Stephen.

Nina: I make no promises. :P

Karen: I know, right? I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something.

Thanks Paul!

I am not a spiritual guy, but I hope those who are have a very happy Easter!

I attended my first Magic tournament! It went...poorly. Good cards are expensive. But I won against the player who went on to win the whole tournament, so surely that counts for something....

It absolutely does count! Congrats on going and beating that guy. (Wait, that sounds bad...)

Yay for the tournament! Sounds like fun.

Also, brace yourself: I'm moving back to Ohio - Columbus! Soon(ish)!

Laura: I only beat the best guys, if you know what I mean.

Amber: Does barricading myself in a closet count as "bracing myself?" I'm pretty sure it does! Anyway, uh, great, we'll have to, y'know, do one of those meetup...thing. Or you can meetup with Foggi and she can tell you what it's like to meetup with me. Yeah, that's perfect!

>152 scaifea: Oh no.... I'm probably visiting SW Wisconsin around Thanksgiving and was hoping to meet up with you :-(

>150 Ape: of course it counts, it practically means you came in second, right? :P

>153 Ape: What, that meeting up with you is a fun time? I mean, we went to libraries and book sales! What's not to like?

See what happens when I socialize with people!? Libraything went kablooey! Clearly I should do less of it.

Nora: I swear Amber is trying to avoid meeting up with us. :P

Mary: Totally! Like when a team goes 0-15 in the NFL but whens their final game! That's practically a winning season, I think.

Foggi: Exactly! I'm sure Amber looks forward to hearing about it in person and I'm sure your storytelling abilities will make it practically seem like she met up with me. It's perfect. :P

>153 Ape: Aw, c'mon, you *know* you want to meetup with foggi and me together!

>154 norabelle414: Nora: Oh, rats. We'll there's a chance we'll still be here then, although it's a slim one. Are you coming out to Madison, then?

>158 scaifea: Yes, my mom just moved to Columbus (Wisconsin) and my brother and I are probably going out for Thanksgiving and plan to spend a couple days with our aunt in downtown Madison. Plans are still very preliminary but I thought it would be close enough to you to be worth asking if it was feasible.

>159 norabelle414: Dang. Well, maybe. It really depends on, well, several factors, when we'll actually be moving. Within the next year for certain, but most likely the end of the summer.

Amber: Sure, sure, we'll talk later this year. *Gulp*

In other news, Youtube views have been rolling in like crazy the past couple weeks.

wow!!! what'd you do??

Wizards of the Coast released a new product, pre-boxed competitive decks called "Challenger Decks," and I did a brief overview/buyer's guide thing. It has the 2nd most views out of any video I've ever done after just a couple weeks. Ironically, it has a lot of dislikes but Youtube really pushed it. *Shrug* We are all at the whim of the great algorithm god.

Hatewatches count the same as Lovewatches!

Yeah, it seems to work well for political channels. :P

Just checking in to say I've read 60 pages over the last 20 days. *Nods*

I hope one day science gives us a charging port for electronic devices that last for more than 12 months before failing. That would be nice.

My laptop no longer charges. Keeping it plugged in keeps the battery from draining (but cripples the computers speed) but once the battery DOES drain there's no going back. We'll see how long it lasts...

Magic night was much improved over my last outing. Still had a losing record at 1-2 (compared to 1-3 last time) but matches are best-of-3-games, and in games I went 4-4 compared to the 3-6 showing I had last time. Progress! Trying to fight off the urge to spend exorbitant amounts of money on pieces of cardboard to improve my deck. It helps not having exorbitant amounts of money to spend. :P

How fun that you found the live streaming event at JUST THE RIGHT TIME!! And good job already improving your showing. Nice job on the Challenger Deck review, too. Wow, you are a busy man!

Thanks, Kim! I would argue that I really haven't been THAT busy, but "busy" gives me an excuse for not reading ever, so I think I can agree with you on that. :P

Yup. Just go with it. : P

>170 Ape: >171 Berly: Oh, absolutely. And I'm being completely altruistic in encouraging you to do so.

Kim: I would, but I'm too busy! :P

Nina: Completely altruistic? No way, no one is ever comopletely altruistic, something is fishy here!

Welcome to the 30 club!! Happy birthday!

Thanks Nora! It sounds like the kind of club you don't want to me admitted to, but I celebrated by going out with my sister and her boyfriend, we had some pizza and, later, milkshakes (chocolate/banana for me). I'm now in full food-coma-mode.

Belated happy birthday, Stephen!

Thanks, Micky!

Happy birthday!

Thanks! :)

So, it looks like April might be the first time in my "reading life" that I've gone a month without finishing a book. I'm only about 170 pages into the book I started in March. Eek.

On the plus side, I've received more views on Youtube so far this year than I did in the entire year of 2017, and it's only April. If only Youtube hadn't changed their monetization policies I might be getting close to the point where my Magic: the Gathering youtube channel could fund my Magic: the Gathering habit in person.

Same here; I think my count for the month is 1. And that's because I sat down deliberately to finish it this morning.

Bummer re the funding. I'm sorry you missed out.

I didn't finish a book in April, either, I think. It's not a great feeling, but I'm moving on.

How many views do you need to get to earn money, again?

Nina: I almost read something like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them just to say I finished a book this month, but I didn't. :P

Rachel: Well, initially everyone who uploaded a video was automatically monetized, then they changed it to 10,000 views. Ironically, when I hit 10k views my channel was "under review" for monetization for a month, and while I was waiting they upped it further.

Now you need to have accumulated 4,000 watch time hours in the past 12 months and you need 1,000 subscribers. Currently I'm at 285 subscribers and 1,917 watch time hours in the last 365 days. Also 26,000 total views, which is mostly irrelevant under the current system.

If you watch Youtube, you might see those occasional videos like "10 hours of silence" or "10 hours of some 5 second video played over and over again." Those are a way for people to cheat the watch hours, because you can upload it and then play it over and over again while they're logged out of their account.

Confirmed: Did not read a book in April. >_>

You don't have to finish a book in your birthday month if you don't want to. That's the law.

Hurray for laws!

Hi Stephen! I just started reading The Solitude of Prime Numbers, which I recall you reading years ago which, without you knowing it, prompted my delayed enthusiasm for it :)

Hurray! I only have a vague memory about the plot, but I'm sure it's depressing in some way or another, like all the best books. :P

I read pages in a book today for the first time in 3 weeks. Rejoice!

>190 humouress: I love it! And I love hearing that you read actual pages in an actual book, Stephen!

Karen O.

>191 klobrien2: Thanks! I googled ‘rejoice gifs’ and this one was so Stephen, I had to post it.

This GIF gets my approval.

In other news, it's the frickin' 24th of the month and if I don't finish the book I'm reading then it will be 2 months in a row I didn't finish a book. This is unacceptable. I blame Nora.

I've been like 50 FRICKIN PAGES from finishing my book for the last few days. So why haven't I read it? I don't know! Stop asking questions! :P

In Magic: the Gathering news, which I haven't talked about, I went undefeated last week and I went 2-1 this week, placing 2nd overall. So go me, I suppose.

*Continues not reading*

I read! And finished a book yesterday! Exactly 2 months after I finished the last book...

7. Beyond the Pool of Stars by Howard Andrew Jones



Pages: 338
Rating: 4/5
Publication: 2015

Fantasy
Owned

--------------------------------------------------

Just a nice simplistic adventure story. Perfectly good for what it was.

>195 Ape: Congrats!

Yay, book!

We'll see how long I go before starting a new book! :P

This thread is getting a little clunky to load with all the GIFs so let's move to a fresh new thread!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/292123

>195 Ape: Well, I managed two books in May. I think.

Ooh, have you moved? *scurries off to look for new thread*