The 50 book challenge

[Jeremy]

On another forum I post on (a science forum ) they have a regular 50 book challenge. The challenge is just to read 50 books in a year (which means that a number of people on this forum read 50 books every year, which is impressive). Anyway I thought it would be great to have the same thing here. Of course you don't have to read 50, you can set whatever target you like. My goal is 50. As you finish each book, you should add it to your list (repost the whole list), and post the title, author and number of pages. Number of pages is included to encourage people not to read short books. Embarrassingly both the last book I read, and the one I'm basically starting and finishing tonight (I read the introduction a while ago) are very short.

Here is my list so far.

1. Breaking The Spell Daniel Dennett 339pg

2. On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan 166pg

You can have whatever literal discussion of books, including reviews, recommendations etc. in this topic as well. Speaking of which - Breaking the spell is excellent, thoroughly enjoyed it, Daniel Dennett is a fantastic writer, and backs up his claims with a great deal of research and knowledge. The post modernists on the forum will probably hate the book as much as he hates you, but I'm sure everybody rational will enjoy it (please note that this sentence is a facetious exaggeration) . On Chesil Beach has been nominated for the Man Booker Prize, and Ian McEwan is one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary writers. On Chesil Beach is a typically excellent work of literature. However the subject matter is horrible, and although I appreciated McEwan's skill as a writer, I disliked the book immensely (possibly my recent obsession with Miyazaki films is to blame for this). This is a book for emos and pessimists.

[Jeremy]

1. Breaking The Spell Daniel Dennett 339pg

2. On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan 166pg

3. Church And State; Australia's Imaginary Wall Tom Frame 95pg


I'd rate the last book in two distinct sections. Mr Frame's objective look at the history of the relationship between religion and politics his compelling and informative, and I thoroughly enjoyed this section. His personal opinions about the current relationship between politics and religion demonstrates a very noticeable change in the way he addresses the reader, the language he uses and the logic put forward. It is obvious that his opinions are reflections of his irrational religious beliefs, and not objective decisions. His understanding of the opposing arguments; of "humanist" and "secularist" organisations is frustratingly bad. His inability to see the difference between religion and other sources of moral and political discourse is massive oversight, and leaves his entire argument unconvincing and tedious. While Mr Frame has openly attacked secularist organisations both in this book, and in national media, the secularist position he attacks is not one that I hold, as a very active member of the Australian Secular Party. His belief that our party wishes to see religion banned is risible. He fails to address the concerns of our party at all. I am concerned that a woman who is raped and goes to a public hospital may not be offered any kind of rape counselling, if that hospital is one of the 70 public hospitals that is run by the Catholic church. I am concerned that my tax money goes to private religious schools that teach factually false claims about science. I fully support people's freedom to worship whatever religion they want, but if they want those beliefs reflected in public policy, they need to convince me that those beliefs are correct. Equally if I want my beliefs reflected in public policy, I would be happy to see them questioned and attempt to convince people that they are correct. When a Christian organisation claims that abortion should be banned because it offends God, they need to show us what evidence they have that their premise; the existence of God, is actually true. Otherwise their opinion should be dismissed as not rationally convincing.

A well written book, but frustrating and ignorant.

[Colin]

Meh, I'll bite. I'm never able to list the past n books I've read, so maybe a list is in order.

1. Finishing School - Helen Fogwill Porter
2. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - George Luis Stevenson

I'm not embarrassed to say that these are all very short books.

[dp]

I might hit 25 by the end of the year, but so far:

1.Animal Farm George Orwell 97 pg

2.Cannery Row John Steinbeck 181 pg

and since I've got like 30 pages left i couldn't stay awake for last night...

3.The Winter of Our Discontent John Steinbeck 276 pg[/i]

[Zac Miley]

Steinbeck rules.

1. Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)

2. The Moon is Down (Steinbeck)

[HG]

1. The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
2. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (more of a short story, but about 60 pages)


Both good, enjoyed Maugham's writing style much more, however.

[bdams19]

haha I remember reading metamorphesis and everyone in our high school (jr high?) class ripped it apart because a guy turning into a giant bug and then hanging out in his room? Word?

Edit: might as well add mine instead of being a debbie downer...

1. Barbarians at the Gate - Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
2. Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy
3. When Genius Failed - Roger Lowenstein

[sniikeri]

1. Turms, kuolematon (=Turms, the Immortal) Mika Waltari

[SlashC]

1) Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

I'm currently reading Paradise Lost by John Milton and I'll be happy if I finish it by the end of next year. Other books that are taking me a bajillion years to read are Don Quixote and Tom Jones.

[Jeremy]

Nice Rory. I really enjoyed Paradise Lost.

I've just started reading The Kiwi's egg; Charles Darwin and Natural Selection which is all about the evolution of Phil Morrison. Fairly interesting so far. I'm going to try and read all my books on biology before uni starts

[Muffinman]

Paradise Lost has been on my list for quite some time too! I tried to read it as bathroom reading material to my folly. How silly. I'm a couple chapters short of finishing "Merlin" by Stephen R. Lawhead (kind of a subtle Christian take on the Pendragon cycle), and about to start the third book, "Arthur". Actually, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is also on my list, especially since it is so short.

Next, though (after Arthur), I am very eager to read, "The Name of the Rose", by Eco Umberto. And also other fantasy trilogies by Lawhead.



Not that I read slowly, but I don't read in massive chunks like a typical avid reader, so I don't expect to set any goals of which I mean to achieve. But this sounds like a fun thread anyway!

[full nelson]

Song of Susannah 560p and The Dark Tower 864p Stephen King
The Catcher in the Rye Salinger 214p (Overrated? Yes.)
Autobiography John Stuart Mill 244p

[Colin]

1. Finishing School - Helen Fogwill Porter
2. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - George Luis Stevenson
4. Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut

[Jeremy]

Song of Susannah 560p and The Dark Tower 864p Stephen King
The Catcher in the Rye Salinger 214p (Overrated? Yes.)
Autobiography John Stuart Mill 244p

You've read all those since Jan 1? That's super impressive; props.

Also I love The Catcher in the Rye.

edit; I read those Stephen Lawhead books in high school. Actually the first 3; Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur and then got bored of them. I think I own the 4th book (Pendragon?) but it's at my parents house and I never started it.

Read Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde last year and really enjoyed it. My copy of it belonged to my grandmother and has Weir Of Hermiston as well, which I haven't read, but will eventually. I guess if I read it this year it counts as half a book.

[full nelson]

Thanks. I basically had nothing to do the first two weeks while on break. My reading will slow now that I'm back in school.

I may have liked The Catcher in the Rye more if I had read it when I was younger. I've already personally dealt with the themes.

I read half of Darwin's Dangerous Idea last spring, but I couldn't get through it. I liked it, but I kept having to put it down for some reason or another and gave up. I may check out Breaking the Spell - That Santa deserves another chance.

[Robert wojci]

I got some books for x-mas, here's my list for the year so far

three lives-Gertrude Stein
Shakespeare, the world as a stage- Bill Bryson

I'm working on a compilation of short(er) stories by tolstoy right now (family happiness, The kreutzer sonata, the death of ivan illych)

[james_dean]

Jamie Oliver - At Home with Jamie



Actually I haven't finished it yet...

I will be following this thread though, will probably take up a few mentioned.

[max]

L'homme à l'envers - Fred Vargas
Debout les morts - San Antonio

Unfortunately I read a lot less than I used to. Mainly due to my declining use of public transport.

[daLai]

So far:

Shadowmarch by Tad Williams 848p.
Craig Clevenger - Dermaphoria 214p.
Shadowplay by Tad Williams 643p.
Elizabeth Rigbey - Total Eclipse 552p.
E.A. Poe - Die Maske des Roten Todes (collection of short stories) 268p.
Michail Bulgakow - Der Meister und Margarita 525p.
Judith Dean - Aladdin and the enchanted lamp (read it in Chinese)
Original Title: 阿拉ä¸

[Jeremy]

1. Breaking The Spell Daniel Dennett 339pg

2. On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan 166pg

3. Church And State; Australia's Imaginary Wall Tom Frame 95pg

4. The Kiwi's Egg; Charles Darwin & Natural Selection David Quammen 253pg



Wow! By far the best book of the ones I've read so far this year, and probably last year as well. Tells the story, with a lot of history attached, of Darwin's life post his trip on the Beagle. I think this book appealed to me a lot because of my current eccentric obsession with insects, my growing love and interest in biology and evolution and also my optimism towards the world, which has grown from my dismissal of philosophy and my move towards science.

It's an incredible and joyous story, full of such great characters and intrigue. Darwin figured out the basis of evolution some 20 years before publishing anything, and spent years doing more and more research, and then started writing what he planned would be an enormous series of volumes of evolution. However Alfred Wallace sent Darwin a paper putting forward the same idea, and Darwin realised he needed to publish now (as his close friends were telling him for years).

After figuring out the theory of natural selection, Darwin spent 8 years studying barnacles, initially to give himself credibility when he put forward his revolutionary theory. Of course studying barnacles taught him a great deal that helped refine his theory.

I loved the story of Alfred Wallace; a middle/working class boy who left school at 14, but then after years of working as a surveyor, travelled to South America to collect and sell rare animals to rich Europeans, and to study biology. After 4 years he returned to England, but while travelling back his ship caught fire and all his work was destroyed. After a week in a lifeboat, he was rescued and taken to England (only just surviving), where he, already with the glimmerings of evolution, travelled to South East Asia, to continue his study. It was here that he began correspondence with Darwin, whom he had no idea had done so much research into evolution. Darwin had been dropping hints about evolution for years, presumably bursting to tell people, but wanting to write the most comprehensive book possible. When Wallace sent his paper to Darwin, after much panic, Darwin wrote up a short paper of his own ideas, and they were both presented in London. The part I love most about this story is that Darwin felt incredibly guilty about all this, but Wallace, when he received mail in Borneo informing him of what had happened, was ecstatic, writing to tell his Mum that not only had he received two letters from two of the most important scientists in England (Darwin and Charles Lyell), but that they'd read his work at a prestigious science society. Wallace was also one of the world's first environmentalists, and remained a strong acquaintance of Darwin's, even being one of his pallbearers.

Darwin's wife, Emma was also an incredible person. Anyway, I won't attempt to rewrite the entire book here, but I highly recommend it,

I was hoping to read Voyage of the Beagle next, but have been unable to find a copy, so may go on with Naked Lunch, which I picked up yesterday (looking for Voyage). Awesomely, I got a second hand edition (having failed in all the new bookshops), which is one of the Corgi editions incorrectly titled The Naked Lunch.