The Sword and Laser discussion

Three books per week. Wow. I should really cut down on my redditing and general goofing around on the internet.

Manga reads fast. Really fast.

I read so very little this year. Only 30 books and most of those were comics and novellas. Part of it is due to a crappy work situation and resulting stress for the first 2/3 of the year (which left me in a funk, unsure what to do with my life and not in the mood for much of anything), part of it is because of buying and moving into my own house (the job situation didn't help with that) and part of it is that I filled the free time I had more with watching series and playing games. I didn't really buy any less books though, so my physical TBR pile has risen to 60+ books by now ...

My son is getting ready to go to college and decided to read some classics. I put together a list of some "classics" I thought were on the short side, interesting and important cultural points as well as being at least decent writing. Here's what I came up with:

Short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amadantio, the Pit and the Pendulum. The Murders in the Rue Mourge is one of the 1st detective stories.

Speaking of Detective stories, Sherlock Holmes. Does not deal with big ideas or lots of symbolism, Just good stories well told. Part of the culture, a string of movies, TV shows, books by other people, references in ads. A Study in Scarlet is great. My favorite is The Adventure of the Speckled Band. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the only novel.

Don't neglect kids’ books. They are part of the culture, can be well written and enjoyable. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is classic. The Hobbit, don't go by the movies, it is quite different. The Wind in the Willows achieves a transcendent level in the story about the island where they meet Pan.

Poetry can deal with big issues but is generally pretty short. Wordsworth's Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Kubla Khan, Shakespeare's sonnets, especially the ones that start: Let me not admit impediments to the marriage of true minds and That time of year you may in me... If you want something modern The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is maybe one of the most famous or infamous poems. Mary Kate Wiles has a nice reading and YouTube video.

Also poetry, but telling a story is Beowulf. A translation by Seamus Heaney has been well received. It is Old English so needs translation. Tolkien did a very readable essay on the poem. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a well known story from the Middle English era.

The story of King Arthur is huge. Le Morte D' Arthur is a classic retelling, but uses a style we no longer are used to. Tennyson wrote Idylls of the King. A series of poems. A more modern retelling is the book The Once and Future King. There are many other retellings but these are maybe the top three.

Alice in Wonderland.

The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck is a great writer. This is a sad book, but important. Made into a great movie, Woody Guthrie made it into a song. You can pick up some history of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression along the way.

Slaughterhouse-Five. Again another sad book this one about the Allied bombing of Dresden in WWII.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Fun. Weird. Has become part of the culture. 42 shows up at the start of the video game I'm playing for instance. Had a TV mini-series, a movie. 1st in a series.

The Big Sleep. Writing is good. Introduces a hard detective in the seedy side of LA. Maybe influenced the creation of James Bond. "Dead men are heavier than broken hearts."

Charlotte's Web. Children’s book. Sweet but sad.

On the Road. After WWII the counter-culture bible. In the same vein the poem Howl.

Dickens is a bit long-winded for my taste. but A Tale of Two Cities is the exception. Shortish with a great story. His short story A Christmas Carol is also a rather quick read.

My goal for 2015 was 100 books, about two a week. That seemed attainable, but then life got busy, we ended up taking several long trips, stuff happened. By August I found I was just reading to make my goals. Which is not why you should be reading. Then, yesterday, reviewing the list of books read this year, I realize that I had completely forgotten reading 2 or 3 of the books. I could not remember anything about them. Clearly I have not been paying attention. I want to make sure I get the best out of each book, which I cannot do if I'm just speed-reading.

So for 2016, I think I'll scale back a bit to maybe 70 books. As of now, I've read 93 for 2015. I could still make 100, if I read non-stop all week. But again life is calling and I have people to see and other things to do.

David,

I either had a really good public education ( and I think I did) or I'm getting old ( and I know I am), because I read/ was taught just about all of those in school. No "Slaughterhouse 5" ( although I had classmates that read it, and I've since really enjoyed it) and I've never read "The Big Sleep", or "On the Road". But I did read Catch-22, and might be something interesting to add to that list as well, also gives reference to the phrase, and a perspective on the American military. Possibly a couple of the "Cantaberry Tales" would be short and fit in along with Shakespeare. I'm going to make the assumption they still teach Animal Farm and To Kill a Mockingbird in school, otherwise I'd call those must read classics as well. But otherwise a very appropriate list, and nice to see.

Ariel wrote: "Sry. I really hate when my phone double-posts."

This would have made no sense to people 20 years ago.

I read 31 books this year (by my own count not GR's which says 34). That's a good year for me. I have previously done 34 - but I usually average 20-25.

Total read was 81.

I managed to make all of my personal goals except one. The one to read 25 books from my pile of unread physical books. I wanted to get through 25 but only managed 19. At this rate it's going to take me about 20 years to finish the stack/shelf/closet :)

My best over achievement was reading new authors. My target was 10 but I actually managed 30 different authors new to me.

John (Nevets) wrote: "David,

I'm going to make the assumption they still teach Animal Farm and To Kill a Mockingbird in school..."

Yes, those are still taught in school. Otherwise both would be on the list, short, well-written and cultural relevant. Catch-22 is a good idea. I read it back during the anti-war era. I wonder how different the experience would be today? Canterbury Tales, the language is difficult, but not impossible. I'll add it to the list. These are just suggestions for my son, not a required reading list. He can pick and chose any or none.

Maclurker wrote: "My goal for 2015 was 100 books, about two a week. That seemed attainable, but then life got busy, we ended up taking several long trips, stuff happened. By August I found I was just reading to make..."
Which is why I've never done a numeric goal. It's the wrong motivation for me since it equates to more is better (where more is 'up to or over this number') and I read in streaks.

David - http://www.openculture.com has several good lists in the sidebar (scroll down) which might have things of interest. In particular, the Harvard Classics are online IIRC for free.