Outread Aubrey! Challenge discussion

Just finished and reviewed Warrior Daughter - I'm making an effort to actually review stuff this year because it forces me to explain why I like things or not. I think I'm going to read/finish some nonfiction next, so that'll slow me down majorly.

Aubrey wrote: "I missed this question from earlier (at least I think I missed replying to it...): Yes, audiobooks count! :) As long as they are recordings of the full book, not dramatized adaptions. (Full cas..."

Ooh, goody! ^_^ My mornings walking will be well spent.

Read a volume of manga and made progress on both my current DeYoung book and Harry Potter (yeah, I'm still sorta-kinda half-reading that). While still doing a good chunk of formatting and some errands/chores/cleaning-cat-hair-off-stuff. Not bad for a day off in -35 degree weather.

I have discovered a way to read at least four books at once. I started rereading The Hobbit, and I've started reading Tell Me: Children, Reading, and Talk, which was a book only read a chapter of for school. I'm also going to try to get through the rest of James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing.

While I read Seraphina at night and whenever, and listen to Clockwork Angel while I walk. I'll rotate the other three, reading a chapter or two of each book in the morning.

I got this. B)

I'm reading "UnRoman Britain" because I've had it from the library for like six weeks already. Non-fiction is hard work though...

I just read a delightful story by Maria Thompson Daviess called "The Treasure Babies". I must admit that I bought it for the cover (dark green with apple blossoms), but I have a new favorite book! Such a sweet story...definitely recommended.
I also have to apologize for adding children's books. I've been doing some storytimes at work and figure I might as well add that to my normal read list, since after all reading in public ought to count, right?? ;)

Apparently you do, Olivia. XD

Tomorrow's the last day for January's sprints! Get your entries in!

I frittered a way a bunch of "free time" yesterday by reading The Father Christmas Confessions and The Father Christmas Profession. They're *so* not my "type" and yet I liked them anyway and hope the author will write more.

I got a new set of books (The Molehill, Vol. I & II) that are a collection of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and recipes yesterday, and I hope to start those today. :D

I'm reading "Boy Meets Girl" by Joshua Harris.

I have that out from the library, Theodora! I'll get to it after I finish these DeYoung books.

Read Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers yesterday—and I guessed right! A good solid mystery with a clever legal tangle mixed up in the motive issue.

I loved "A Wrinkle in Time" when I first read it as a freshman. Meg was such a different heroine, I think, for when it was first published ....

I finished "The Assassin’s Curse" and "Seraphina" whilst in West Virginia. And now I want the sequel to the Assasin's Curse, but I've got Taliesin out from the library and E's book to proofread...

*also has E's book and an upcoming book of Molly Evangeline's to read this month*

Skipped sleeping last night to read "Dear Mr. Knightley"...couldn't put it down. New favorite!

Just finished Steelheart. Wow was that good! Thanks to Katie Daniels for rating it so I saw it.

I think I'll have to take a break from Seraphina to read the prequel I found through Katie Daniels. I didn't know this gem existed. Now I must read the precious!

I'm reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles. I'm studying it, and the reason I haven't read it already is because I read it about five or six years ago and have been kidding myself that I still remember it. But I don't. So here I am. I'm about halfway through, but it's slow.

lol. So glad to be spreading such good reading material around. :)

Started and finished The Audition today. ^_^

Has anyone read The Fault In Our Stars? Is it worth reading/listening to? I've been thinking about listening to it after The Clockwork Angel.

I just finished "Boy Meets Girl" by Joshua Harris. Wow. What an amazing book.

I really want to read "The Fault in Our Stars" as well but, as usual, my library doesn't have any of the popular books...

Jenni's read that book. JENNI. PAY ATTENTION.

I've read TFIOS. I liked it, but not as much as everyone else I know who raves about it. I get frustrated that John Green's protagonists seem to feel they have to have sex for their existence to be validated, and that bothered me particularly about this novel.

I am rather fond of The Fault in Our Stars because it spoke to me personally. That's pretty much why I like it.

I don't think it portrays love as a shout into the void; I think it's more about choosing to live even when you don't know how little time you have left. That's important.

As someone who's dealt with the idea of limited time due to circumstances outside my control since I was ten (regardless of the fact that my chronic illness is typically non-terminal; it's still a thought that badgered me a lot growing up) - it affected me a lot.

I vaguely remember the sex scene and think it didn't need to be in there; if anything though I felt it was the two characters in question trying to assert their adultness in the face of being likely not to survive to adulthood. But I haven't read enough of John Green's fiction to see a pattern.

Oh yeah and I probably won't see the movie because it'll make me cry. Once was enough.

Katie wrote: "lol. So glad to be spreading such good reading material around. :)"

My brother just finished it and he loved it too. I refused to give it to him until he finished school for the day and...sure enough, he was glued as soon as he picked it up. Devoured the whole thing by 8:30.

Over the weekend I read the second Flavia de Luce mystery, and today I finished Thorofare. Marvelous, unique novel—my review.

Jenni wrote: "I vaguely remember the sex scene and think it didn't need to be in there; if anything though I felt it was the two characters in question trying to assert their adultness"

While in this circumstance it's certainly portrayed as a "Well, it's now or never," kind of thing, it's a theme that's come up in at least one other of his books, possibly two though I don't remember well enough, and it frustrates me. Idk, I guess it'd be nice to have acknowledgement that sex isn't the be-all and end-all of life / being an adult / existence.

Two chapters into Taliesin and I'm bored to death, so I switched to Princess of Glass. The writing is simplistic by comparison, but at least it's interesting! (I wasn't even getting any of the historical references in Taliesin...which does not bode well for historical accuracy. Grrr.)

Still on a self-imposed Dresden File ban...

Oddly I've never gotten that vibe from his vlogs. (Which is what I'm more familiar with) Maybe it's something I should submit as a question or somesuch. Definitely a frustrating pattern.

No, I haven't really found it in his vlogs either, so I wish he'd address the issue. (I liked his videos so read his books, and they bothered me.) I was especially surprised given that he's a Christian - it seemed an unusual perspective to write.

I've actually not read any John Green, exactly for that reason. I really liked the idea of Nerd Fighters, so I researched his books a bit and found out they all contained things I'd rather not read about. Pretty disappointing.

I am currently reading two dense non-fiction books (and Les Mis, which may stay on my "currently reading" list for the rest of my life at the rate I'm reading it :P), so my book count for Febuary is probably going to be significantly lower than my January one. The two are:
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnemen

and

Democratic Distributive Justice by Ross Zucker

I'm nearly positive no one will have heard of the latter, but anyone tried the former?

I finished Princess of Glass at work so I went back to Taliesin. 15% in now and it's starting to get more interesting. His characters are still dull though, and I'm still skeptical of the historical accuracy, but we'll see.

For what it's worth, the sex scene was like... one or two pages. As I recall. It wasn't graphic cuz I'd remember that. lol. Easily skippable.

Just mentioning so nobody thinks that the book is full of inappropriate content just because we all have been sitting around and talking about it. XD

Katie - I guess Arthurian stories can't be very accurate when no one knows if, when or where Arthur lived...but yeah, that bugged me about 'Patrick' in particular, among other Lawhead books. He uses historical detail that's historically WRONG and it's tragic because it'd be fairly easy to avoid. (For example, I remember a character stating that there were no female druids. Ireland had several, including female Chief Druids, and wasn't at all the patriarchal system he portrays. Sigh.

Well, yeah. Being historically accurate when interpreting mythology is a bit of an oxymoron. But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. If you're going to pretend it's historical fiction--get your history right. And if you're not going to fit it into history then don't even try. And either way, for heaven's sake, be true to the myth!

Right now it feels like he's trying to be historical while ignoring any actual facts. He's tying into the Atlantis myth--but he's recounting rituals that are painfully obvious as being recorded in Crete. ((I think. The bull dancing was in one of my not-quite-Greek history books and I think it was Crete.)

And then I downloaded Cory Doctorow's "Content" from Noisetrade books (Yay!) and the fact that I find that more interesting is either a tribute to how boring Taliesin is, or just more evidence that I have screwed priorities.

I finished 'Tess', wrote an essay about women in mythology and history (which explains my frustration with Lawhead, lol), and read Death's Hand by SM Reine because I had it on my Kindle and it seemed like a quick read. Everything I've read recently have been slow. I'm going to read The Táin next. We'll see how that goes.

Finished Terrify No More last night. Talk about some heavy reading. But oh so important and oh so worth it. If we're going to push the limits of what we're comfortable reading, that's the kind of book that makes it worth doing.

Half day off and I've spent it reading old fashioned novels. Fluff for fun. Tired out from moving. Will get back to more solid stories later!

Some fluff is good sometimes! That's one of the uses of fiction.

Ahh! I'm still wrapping up that formatting job, but I've got to get back into reading. I'm working on The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness, but paused to do I Kissed Dating Goodbye: A New Attitude Toward Relationships and Romance. Read part 1 tonight and there's some great points already, even for people who've never bought into typical dating. It focuses on the mentalities behind dating--which can plague you even if you don't follow the system.

I'd love to see that, Miriam!
I just keep finding more books and getting them from the library, forcing me to keep reading before they expire! Newly added to my collection is "Snow Crash" and "The Pirate's Wish," the sequel to "The Assassin's Curse."

The Hole in Our Holiness is one I've been keeping an eye out for. What do you think of it Aubrey?

I'm only into the first chapter or so, but it's shaping up to be awesome. :)

It seems like it would fit in with my orphan care/vulnerable people group/missions educations streak. Some of the books are crushingly challenging.

I'll post more thoughts (and/or write a Goodreads review) when I finish it.

I've now read Gakuen Alice, Vol. 13, Gakuen Alice, Vol. 14, and Gakuen Alice, Vol. 15!

How is Gakugan Alice, content wise? We have about ten volumes at the local library ...

*gakuen ... I think I was thinking Bakugan when I wrote that. :P