Mount TBR 2017 discussion

That journal (Poetry) uses great cover art generally. But this one is a favorite!

Aaaaand to be caught up I need to read eight books in ten days. Hmmm...looking at the books I'm in the middle of...nope, going to need to read shorter books! Good thing this is a "long weekend" for me.

Even the Sun Will Die: An Interview with Eckhart Tolle by Eckhart Tolle 2/20/17

I just wanted to check in here...while I will continue to track my progress, I am backing away from the ambition portion of this. I have made a major personal commitment to an outpatient program related to my health (I will spare you the details, and prefer to keep them personal for now anyway), and my free time has become much more limited. I will certainly keep reading (I'm cancelling cable so that won't be in the way anymore..haha) and posting here, but I don't suspect I shall conquer Mars this year. Cheering you all on!

Andrew wrote: "I just wanted to check in here...while I will continue to track my progress, I am backing away from the ambition portion of this. I have made a major personal commitment to an outpatient program re..."

Supporting you from afar. Best wishes to you in sorting out your health concerns.

Thanks y'all. :)

MIND MGMT, Volume Six: The Immortals by Matt Kindt 3/6/17

Finally finished this series. Super intelligent...genius even. I shouldn't have spaced out my reading for so long. Great, five-star stuff.

What the heck was Marvel thinking letting this crap hit the press? Horrible.

Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man by Brian Reed 3/9/17

Black Science, Vol. 1: How to Fall Forever by Rick Remender 3/13/17

That's more like it. Heady, hard sci-fi comic book series with stunning art. I'm really into the lettering for some reason too...it fits. I put this one off too long.

Andrew wrote: "Black Science, Vol. 1: How to Fall Forever by Rick Remender 3/13/17"

My husband is currently obsessed with Black Science. Enjoy the series!

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 3/17/17

Okay, this book took over a month to complete. I read it via audiobook in the car. If it weren't for all the added commute time for medical appointments, I'd probably still have a ways to go. I bought this over a year ago, and when it arrived and I saw that it was 26 discs long I put it aside. It was going to be for a book club that I didn't stick with. The TBR climb was the perfect excuse to finally take the plunge. The book kept my attention, and was interesting, but was also uneven, and often quite tiresome. I was also not convinced by the ending (both the climactic ending and the philosophical conclusions, which felt unearned).

The book did get the Pulitzer for fiction, so there are certainly others who disagree!

Deadlock, Vol. 1 by Saki Aida 3/17/17

I don't know...I keep trying out these manga books and it's an odd result. At least these "yaoi" titles. Really terrible storytelling with really good line art. So I'm tempted to keep this after reading it even though I only gave it two stars. I know that yaoi can be racy, but this sure wasn't. The only reason I'd think twice about letting a kid read it is that there is some violence, which isn't graphic.

Andrew, Regarding the Goldfinch. Thought I'd let you know that I'm at least one other person that agrees with you! Overall I liked parts of the book but felt the ending was contrived!

Kendyle wrote: "Andrew, Regarding the Goldfinch. Thought I'd let you know that I'm at least one other person that agrees with you! Overall I liked parts of the book but felt the ending was contrived!"

Thanks for commenting! I kept thinking, this is cool, and then, this book is a mess! Back and forth...

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering by David Gregory 3/20/17

Here's the review I posted. 1/5

First of all, put aside the notion that this is a true work of fiction. Rather, it's an argument with a loose, unlikely, uninteresting plot wrapped around it. Worse, the plot is distracting, with waiters and bus boys interrupting the conversation between the strawman -- I mean Nick, the narrator -- and a certain interpretation of Jesus, one who uses an age-old wound that our narrator has from his childhood as an excuse to talk him into conversion to a form of Christianity.

I don't have a problem with this form of Christianity necessarily. I don't agree with all parts of it. But I'm okay with it to a certain extent.

What I'm not okay with:
--using simple-minded points which are not truly representative of non-Christian religions to refute those religions.
--imposing materialistic Western worldviews onto Eastern worldviews in an attempt to disprove them.
--using the Bible to prove the Bible.
--having a college educated narrator who stops each line of questioning way too easily.
--abuse of the Socratic method.

I'm unclear on the target audience of this book. Non-Christians who aren't seeking? Maybe, if they aren't very skilled at critical thinking (no offense, but this book does not contain effective logic, and I'm not being unfriendly in saying so) and aren't closed off taking on a spiritual life. Non-Christians who are seeking? Unless they are pre-disposed already to this specific message, I doubt it will work. If they are truly educated in the world religions, they should know to dig deeper than our narrator does over salad and stuffed mushrooms. People who are already Christians? Only if they already buy into this - sorry, but very bad - logic.

So yeah, I found this book unconvincing.

And unrelatable for me: a (not-so-) charming scene of the narrator and Jesus chuckling heartily over remembering narrator's dad losing his patience, slamming on the brakes of the family car, and vigorously spanking the narrator on the side of the road. To me that sounds traumatic, not funny at all.

A lot of people rated this book highly. It's a mystery to me why that is.

Suggested replacement subtitle: An Invitation from A Smug Jesus Impersonator

And with that I have completed Mount Blanc. I'm picking up my speed and may be able to do this after all. We'll see!

Blood + Water by Judd Winick 3/20/17

Super cool vampire miniseries that is way too rushed. Would work better if it was ten or twelve issues, no question about it. 3/5

The Power of Prayer: Guidance, Prayers, and Wisdom for Listening to the Divine by Caroline Myss 3/24/17

Lots of valuable information wrapped up in this rather cranky lecture series. i end up with 3/5 because of the unnecessary grumpiness.

Andrew wrote: "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering by David Gregory 3/20/17

Here's the review I posted. 1/5

First of all, put aside the notion that this is..."

Wow. That sounds pretty f-ed up.

Also, re: proving the Bible with the Bible, that happens a lot where I'm from and it's annoying every single time. It's always refreshing when someone speaks up and says, "no, I can't prove it, but I still believe it."

At first I felt kinda guilty aiming for all these "short books" on my shelf until I realized that really wasn't the case given all the stuff I'm reading concurrently. But this is pretty darn short. At the same time, it's also a poetry book. However, it also comes with an audio CD of the author reading along. Marc Almond, for those who don't know, has a beautiful singing voice and used to be in Soft Cell. He's also an interesting poet. Lots of gay-focused sex stuff and it can get pretty seedy. He has a sense of rhythm that comes from being a song writer but also that of a poet, and it is a nice mix (not all songwriters, even good ones, write good poetry). This also has poetic prose pieces.
(4/5)

The End Of New York by Marc Almond 3/25/17

Jessica wrote: "Also, re: proving the Bible with the Bible, that happens a lot where I'm from and it's annoying every single time. It's always refreshing when someone speaks up and says, "no, I can't prove it, but I still believe it."

To me, that's what faith is all about. In fact, the science & logic-based debates between people regarding religious ideas seem so unnecessary to me. On Facebook, I've given up on people on the "let me shove my religion in your face" platform AND the "religion is B.S. because science" platform.

I'm a spiritual wanderer who struggles with rationalistic perfectionism. I've got that battle going on inside already, where it belongs ;-)

Quirkyreader wrote: "Andrew, you can do it. I had breast surgery back in February and reading has helped me get through. It mostly helped me focus away from the pain. When I had surgery I couldn't take pain meds. So I ..."

Thanks for the encouragement! This particular program, which I think is okay to share now, is related to an eating disorder that I finally have accepted I have and need treatment for. It's four days a week, three hours a day, plus my full-time job. It's the kind of recovery that doesn't give me much free time. I'm grateful that it is available, and that my insurance covers it.

Oh my grrrr...

One thing, going through this process is really a process of asking, sometimes, "what the heck was I thinking when I got this?"

Of course, with these graphic novels, a huge chunk of them were passed on to me. And in a way, even the ones that aren't good, I'm at least staying literate, maybe.

Nah, no excuses. This gets a second star because it was readable and not terribly offensive and it had some interesting art in places. Bah, but it was dumb.

Age of Ultron by Brian Michael Bendis 3/27/17



Happily, I'm in the middle of a couple of books that I'm truly enjoying, and I'm thinking, "there's the Andrew with the good instincts I knew was in there all along," and these were ones I consciously chose.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 01: Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman 3/29/17

Back in the realm of quality. Yay! 4/5

3/30/17 The Walking Dead, Vol. 02: Miles Behind Us by Robert Kirkman

Still interesting, but they sure do talk amongst themselves a lot. It's already starting to drag. I'll keep reading though.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 4/3/17

Fantastic novel for kids. It has that "growing up" bittersweet thing going for it on top of very creative paranormal creepies and suspense and its own mythology. Certainly in the Harry Potter vein but better written. 5/5

I got through the first three stories here. After failing at this (and, last year, failing to get through the A.A. Milne adult mystery, the title of which I've forgotten), I think I'm going to be a bit more careful about these "olde-timey mysteries." Nothing wrong with it really, but I just found it dullsville. Unengaging personally. The twist here is that the heroes of the story are thieves themselves. I'd actually suggest some of you give this a shot to be honest. As for me, I couldn't justify another minute with it.

The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung GAVE UP 4/6/17

Quirkyreader wrote: "Raffles has been on my list for a while. I like many on the late 19th century early 20th century mysteries. But then again I'm a history junkie."

Based on what I've seen of your reading list here so far, I think this is right up your alley. It's clever and very much "of the period."

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan 4/8/17

2/5. It's sweet, I'll give it that.

Yes, I finally finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald yesterday. Gave it a 4/5.