I have definitely done this!
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Iām reading this forum. But when Iām not doing that, Iāll probably be reading books from journalists.
One of my New Yearās Resolutions is to read more fiction. Finished 2022 strong with these two in December.
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I finished reading my 100th book of the year today, so that is neat.
Although it was not exactly my goal to reach 100 ā I simply wanted to top my previous yearās total of 85 ā I cannot lie and say that I didnāt push for triple digits after I reached the nineties.
I think I am going to set a page number goal for 2023 instead. Anyway, I am currently reading The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes and Das mangelnde Licht by Nino Haratischwili.
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Iāve only read Outliers but I attended a keynote by Gladwell in 2011. It was amusing. He is a big picture kind of thinker. Sometimes he loses his ability to connect his thoughts but interesting nonetheless.
A couple of recent reads worth checking out are Close To Shore by Michael Capuzzo which is about the shark attacks that inspired the movie JAWS and Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker who is the paleontologist who helped find/discover the Utah Raptor upon which the Jurassic Park raptor is based. Raptor Red has a really interesting history.
Started Endurance: Ernest Shackleton story ā¦ about 1/3 of the way through ā¦ pretty interesting so far
Next up is Dantes Divine Comedy translated by Longfellow ā¦ Iām a sucker for punishment
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My most recent reads:
We Knew All Along by Mina Hardy
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
Currently reading:
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks
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How many books a week do you read? How do you absorb so many books?
There are usually 1-2 weeks when I barely read because I go on vacation. According to my reading stats, the average length of those 100 books was ~300 pages, and it took me approximately five days to finish each one. Unusually, 24 of them were audiobooks, which were mostly digested at the end of the year. I had a good enough reason for that.
Per your second question, I am not entirely sure, but I have a solid attention span and am well-educated. That does not mean that I can perfectly recall every book that I read though. I think I have good taste in books, yet I still let myself down sometimes!
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I need to add more recreational books to my list. A lot of the books Iāve read in the last few years were hard thinking of self-improvement books (e.g. atomic habits, the comfort crisis).
I could definitely increase my number of books read if I added some lighter reading as well.
Iron John by Robert Bly.
Currently reading
New of a kidnapping Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Vietnam Stanley Karnow
I tried to read In the Name of the Rose for a book club, will probably drop out of the book club.
Finished
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
Really enjoyed the first half, second half got scattered/moved at a breakneck pace but a fun overall read, think Iāll pick something up about Japanese occupation and the Korean War at some point, peaked my interest.
Currently reading
Jazz by Toni Morrison, which I started over a year ago lol
Really going to try to get more books in this year.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I feel like I should love it, but itās over-written. Same with her previous novel, The Night Circus. Great story but she over-elaborates - I also think this is true of Lionel Shriver @burien_top_team We Need To Talk About Kevin was a great story but could have been easily 150 pages shorter).
Rise by Siya Kolisi, who is the Springbok rugby captain. Inspirational story of coming from poverty under apartheid to being the most popular athlete in the country.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Caitlin Doughty which is about working in crematoriums. Surprisingly funny! And interesting.
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I havenāt read We Need to Talk About Kevin. I thought The Mandibles was a little overwritten, but that seems to happen about 3/4 of the way through her novels. I thought the same about The Motion of the Body Through Space, but less so. Iāve also got a copy of her short stories, which are pretty good, very similar texture to her longer work.
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Iāve mentioned this in this thread before, but if you like Cormac McCarthy do yourself a favor and read Blood Meridian.
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Itās on my list. Got The Border Trilogy for Xmas so those three will come first.
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