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comment by Trombone
Trombone  ·  2686 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What are your goals for 2017?

- Get back in shape and run a seven minute mile like I used to do

- Read more

- Play the trombone

- Be a kinder person than I was this year

- Be happier with who I am



raisin  ·  2686 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Regarding your second point, this, so much this. I set a reading goal of forty books on my Goodreads account January this year, and I'm only at 22 so far...

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Dala  ·  2685 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm at 13 of 25 for the year, but I did learn how to knit in my defense.

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raisin  ·  2685 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Honestly, judging by numbers is a little unfair to begin with, since it doesn't account for the length of the books, or for how much of them you actually retain. And knitting sounds awesome!

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ButterflyEffect  ·  2685 days ago  ·  link  ·  

What have you read this year? Same question goes for Dala.

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Dala  ·  2684 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Good point. Some of the things I read this year were longer or more technical than my typical sci-fi reads. Knitting is pretty cool but I think I still much prefer crochet. Anyway, not a full list, but here are some of the books that stood out that I read this year:

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

Some of the Best from Tor.com 2014

Children of God by Mary Doris Russell

I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

Currently I am reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Seen the movie, had a copy of the book on my shelf for awhile, finally decided to actually read it.

Debating with myself on a goal number for next year. Probably going to make it 20, I read that many in 2015 but devoted a lot more time to crafting this year.

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raisin  ·  2682 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Hmm, let's see. This year I have read, among other things:

The Outsider by Albert Camus. I greatly enjoyed this one, will probably pick a copy in the original French (even though my French is abysmal). Have a copy of The Plague sitting on my bookshelf which I will probably get to reading early next year.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang. This one was... a little weird. It was a good kind of weird, but I don't think I will be in a mood to re-read it any time soon.

How to Travel with a Salmon by Umberto Eco. This one is a small collection of his essays, read most of it while travelling to Britain this summer. A lot of hilarious bits.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty. “It’s illegal to yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater, right?” “It is.” “Well, I’ve whispered ‘Racism’ in a post-racial world.”

And right now, I am listening to an audiobook version of You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney, which seems alright so far.

What about you?

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rjw  ·  2681 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I really enjoyed The Outsider, The Plague is also sitting on my bookshelf. I've also read The Myth of Sisyphus which is not a work of fiction, but a philosophical essay where he describes Absurdism. The ideas underlie the rest of his writing and as a work of philosophy it is very readable. I recommend it.

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Trombone  ·  2686 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yup, I've been trying to finish Red Mars for six months now. Time has not been kind to either of us it seems!

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kleinbl00  ·  2686 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm finishing it out of spite at this point. It has become quite shit.

Greg Bear's Moving Mars, which came out nine months before, and which won the Nebula the year Red Mars didn't, kicks the ever-loving shit out of it. However, Greg Bear made his point and moved on to other things while Kim Stanley Robinson beat a dead horse for another three books.

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Trombone  ·  2685 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks for the recommendation. Once I finish RM I'll check that one out. Also picked up a copy of the Foundation trilogy the other day at a library sale so I'll be sinking my teeth into that.

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raisin  ·  2685 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Oh, I have got to re-read Foundation, it was one of my favourite sci-fi series (granted, I haven't read that many).

Hope you enjoy it :)

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kleinbl00  ·  2685 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Foundation is a good read. Stick to the three core books.

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raisin  ·  2686 days ago  ·  link  ·  
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