johnridley: (Default)
What I read in 2019, in roughly chronological order.
Some of these are quite short but some are long, In the end I had 112 books and 35922 pages, both an all-time high for me.
These are all on my goodreads "read" list in more detail with ratings and an occasional note.

  • Lies Sleeping (Ben Aaronovich, Peter Grant, #7)
  • How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems (Randall Monroe)
  • The Book of the Year 2017 (QI elves)
  • Randomize (Andy Weir)
  • A Plague of Giants (Kevin Hearne Seven Kennings, #1)
  • All Systems Red (Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
  • Wyrd Sisters (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #6; Witches #2)
  • Artificial Condition (Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries, #2)
  • Rogue Protocol (Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries, #3)
  • Guards! Guards! (Terry Pratchett)
  • Early Riser (Jasper Fforde)
  • Exit Strategy (Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries, #4)
  • Valence (Jennifer Foehner Wells, Confluence, #4)
  • Eric (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #9)
  • Pyramids (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #7)
  • Witches Abroad (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #12)
  • Equal Rites (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #3)
  • Reaper Man (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #11)
  • Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #10)
  • Men at Arms (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #15; City Watch #2)
  • Lords And Ladies (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #14)
  • Small Gods (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #13)
  • Soul Music (Terry Pratchett, Discworld #16)
  • Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
  • Feet of Clay (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #19)
  • Interesting Times (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #17)
  • Maskerade (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #18)
  • Record of a Spaceborn Few (Becky Chambers, Wayfarers, #3)
  • Hogfather (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #20)
  • The Consuming Fire (John Scalzi, The Interdependency, #2)
  • Jingo (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #21)
  • The Labyrinth Index (Charles Stross, Laundry Files, #9)
  • Carpe Jugulum (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #23)
  • The Last Continent (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #22)
  • Pinpoint: How GPS Is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds (Greg Milner)
  • The Truth (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #25)
  • The Fifth Elephant (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #24)
  • The Last Hero (Terry Pratchett)
  • Thief of Time (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #26)
  • The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #28)
  • Night Watch (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #29)
  • The Wee Free Men (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #30)
  • Monstrous Regiment (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #31)
  • Home (Nnedi Okorafor, Binti, #2)
  • The Night Masquerade (Nnedi Okorafor, Binti #3)
  • Going Postal (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #33)
  • A Hat Full of Sky (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #32)
  • Thud! (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #34)
  • Wintersmith (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #35)
  • Making Money (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #36)
  • Tiamat's Wrath (James Corey, The Expanse, #8)
  • Ancestral Night (Elizabeth Bear, White Space, #1)
  • Right Ho, Jeeves (PG Wodehouse, Jeeves, #6)
  • Unseen Academicals (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #37)
  • A Rare Book of Cunning Device (Ben Aaronovich, Peter Grant, #6.5)
  • Terminal Uprising (Jim C. Hines, Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse #2)
  • Vanguard (Jack Campbell, The Genesis Fleet, #1)
  • I Shall Wear Midnight (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #38)
  • The Last Dragonslayer (Jasper Fforde, The Last Dragonslayer, #1)
  • Snuff (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #39)
  • Backpacker The Complete Guide to Backpacking: Field-Tested Gear, Advice, and Know-How for the Trail
  • Raising Steam (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #40)
  • The Shepherd's Crown (Terry Pratchett, Discworld, #41; Tiffany Aching, #5)
  • The Science of Discworld (Terry Pratchett, The Science of Discworld, #1)
  • Darwin's Watch (Terry Pratchett, The Science of Discworld, #3)
  • The Globe (Terry Pratchett, The Science of Discworld, #2)
  • Ascendant (Jack Campbell, The Genesis Fleet, #2)
  • Atmosphæra Incognita (Neal Stephenson)
  • Triumphant (Jack Campbell, The Genesis Fleet, #3)
  • Judgement Day (Terry Pratchett, The Science of Discworld, #4)
  • Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It (Adam Savage)
  • Where the Hell is Tesla? (Rob Dircks)
  • Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery (Scott Kelly)
  • The Calculating Stars (Mary Robinette Kowal, Lady Astronaut, #1)
  • The Book of the Year 2018: Your Definitive Guide to the World’s Weirdest News (QI elves)
  • The Fated Sky (Mary Robinette Kowal, Lady Astronaut, #2)
  • Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik)
  • The Management Style of the Supreme Beings (Tom Holt)
  • Leave it to Jeeves (PG Wodehouse)
  • Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #2)
  • Trail of Lightning (Rebecca Roanhorse, The Sixth World, #1)
  • Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest (PG Wodehouse)
  • Just One Damned Thing After Another (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #1)
  • A Symphony of Echoes (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St. Mary's, #2)
  • Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms (Hannah Fry)
  • The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America (Bill Bryson)
  • Aftershocks (Marko Kloos, The Palladium Wars, #1)
  • A Second Chance (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St. Mary's, #3)
  • Notes from a Small Island (Bill Bryson)
  • No Country for Old Gnomes (Delilah S Dawson, The Tales of Pell, #2)
  • To Be Taught, If Fortunate (Becky Chambers)
  • A Trail Through Time (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St. Mary's, #4)
  • No Time Like the Past (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St. Mary's, #5)
  • What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #6)
  • Lies, Damned Lies, and History (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #7)
  • And the Rest is History (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary’s, #8)
  • Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (David W. Blight)
  • Roman Holiday (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's #3.5)
  • Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St. Mary's, #6.5)
  • The Very First Damned Thing (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #0.5)
  • When a Child is Born (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's #2.5)
  • My Name is Markham (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #7.6)
  • Christmas Present (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's #4.5)
  • The Great St Mary's Day Out (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #7.5)
  • A Perfect Storm (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #8.5)
  • Christmas Past (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St. Mary's, #8.6)
  • The Callahan Touch (Spider Robinson, Mary's Place #1, Callahan's #6)
  • The Gateway Trip (Frederik Pohl, Heechee Saga, #5)
  • An Argumentation of Historians (Jodi Taylor, The Chronicles of St Mary's, #9)
  • Brief Cases (Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files, #15.1)
johnridley: (me2)
I intended to keep a single post of all books I've ever read, but the LiveJournal editor became extremely slow on my machine with that long of a post, so I'm starting another for 2013.

The first one is here
Cut because this is going to get really big )
johnridley: (me2)
Total for July-December 2012
Paper: 0
eBook: 13
Audio: 4
Total: 17

Total for 2012:
Paper: 1
eBook: 24
Audio: 27
Total: 52

That's half of what I'd hoped to push for, but it's mainly because I really did hardly any audiobooks in the second half of the year. Normally I do a significant number, but I got that tablet and found some really interesting podcasts to listen to during my commute instead.
johnridley: (Default)
Not a record year but not bad. I've been pretty busy the last 3 months or so with 3D printing and a few other things so I dropped back a bit, or I think I might have come close to 100. I may set myself that as a goal this year. I'll have to get back into audio books to do it, I simply don't have time to read 2 books a week in print. In fact with my reading speed that might not actually be possible unless I read 8 hours a day, or read a bunch of < 300 page books.

2007 was the year that I realized that I had not read a book for pleasure in probably 5 years, and decided I didn't want to be that kind of person. This happened rather late in the year.

2007: 11
2008: 76
2009: 66
2010: 40
2011: 68

tedious detail behind cut )
johnridley: (Bookworm)
eBooks

Audiobooks

Audio lectures:


eBooks: 22
Audiobooks: 19
Audio lectures: 2

I think this is the first time since I've started using audiobooks that I've read more books in print than in audio, and I'm pretty sure this is the most books I've ever read in 6 months. It's been fun and my reading speed is getting better. I've never been happy with my reading speed but if I push it, my retention drops to zero. If I read a paragraph much faster than my normal speed, I couldn't tell you what it was about at all. So I have to push the speed up slowly.

All books

Mar. 28th, 2011 09:13 pm
johnridley: (Bookworm)
This is a single location for all books I've read (and that I can remember). I'm finding myself having to go back through years of book roundups to see if I've read something when I'm looking for the next month's reading.
So hopefully I can just put it all here and have one post to search, editing it as I complete new stuff.
There's nothing new in here, it's just a cut/paste and cleanup from previous roundups.
big long post )

Continued here
johnridley: (Bookworm)
Oops, forgot to do this on the 1st. For those not aware, I do this (tracking) as a personal benchmark as a result of a resolution I made a number of years back to NOT fall into the habit of not reading. I made this resolution after realizing that I'd been so busy/distracted in my life that I had gone 3 years without reading a single book, and I didn't want to be that kind of person.

I don't do this as any kind of a competition, I read only for pleasure, but doing the numbers keeps me honest with myself.

Books:


Audiobooks:


Stats for 2nd half of 2010:
Ebooks: 8
Audiobooks: 8 - though the Hamilton books were QUITE long, 1200 pages when on paper.
Paper: 0

And for all of 2010:
Ebooks: 11
Audiobooks: 29
Audio lecture series: 2
Paper: none
johnridley: (Bookworm)
Summary of books read Jan-June 2010 )
Stats for first half of 2010:
ebooks: 3 (Count of Monte Cristo took forever and killed this number)
paper: 0
Audio: 21
Lectures: 2
johnridley: (Bookworm)
Details of books read July-Dec 2009 )
Stats for 2nd half of 2009:
ebooks: 8
paper: 1
audio: 22
lecture: 1

For all of 2009:
ebooks: 18
paper: 2
audio: 46 + a bunch of short stories
Total: 66 books, all new (nothing re-read)

plus lectures: 5
johnridley: (Bookworm)
Forgot to do this last month.

detail behind cut )

Totals Jan-June:
Audiobooks: 24 and a few dozen short stories
Audio lecture series: 4
Ebooks: 10
Dead trees: 1

Total: 35 books, 4 lectures, random short stories
johnridley: (Bookworm)
Back on July 2nd, I listed the books I read in the first half of the year. Here are the books I've finished since then.

Audiobooks:
  • Lords & Ladies (Pratchett)
  • The Sea & Little Fishes (Pratchett)
  • Asteroid War series: The Precipice / The Rock Rats / The Silent War / Aftermath (Bova)
  • Honor Harrington series: On Basilisk Station / The Honor of the Queen / The Short Victorious War / Field of Dishonor / Flag in Exile / Once A Hero / Honor Among Enemies / In Enemy Hands / Rules of Engagement / Echoes of Honor / Ashes of Victory / War of Honor / At All Costs / Crown of Slaves
  • (OMW #2,3) The Ghost Brigades / The Last Colony (Scalzi)
  • Barsoom: A Princess of Mars / The Gods of Mars / Warlord of Mars / Thuvia, Maid of Mars (Burroughs)
  • Orion (Bova)

Audio lectures:
  • Science in the 20th Century - A Social-Intellectual Survey
  • A History of St Patrick
  • Science Fiction - The Literature of the Technological Imagination
  • Search for Intelligent Life in Space

Print (ebook)
  • Winning Colors / Change of Command / Against the Odds (Moon)
  • His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass / The Subtle Knife / The Amber Spyglass
  • Rainbow's End (Vinge)
  • 1984 (Orwell)
  • The Lost Colony / The Time Paradox (Colfer)
  • Seventh Son / Red Prophet (Card)
  • The Graveyard Book (Gaiman)


No dead trees this time around.

Totals Jan-Jun:
Audiobooks: 26
Print: 10 (2 on paper)
All: 36

Totals Jul-Dec:
Audiobooks: 27
Lectures: 4
Print: 13
all: 44

Total for 2008: 80

That's probably pretty skimpy for a lot of you, but it's frankly astounding for me. I've gone entire years without reading a single book, in the last 10 years. I decided this was shameful, and resolved to turn that around. While I have gotten really into a few series in the last 18 months and racked up a lot of books in those series, I've done some work on expanding the field a bit, and I'm generally pretty happy that I've read a few books in genres that I've not historically been much into.

One of the Weber books was co-written by Eric Flint - I may check out some of his alternate history books. I'm honestly completely ghastly at history - I am interested to read about it but I seem to be completely incapable of retaining any of it, dates, names, or sequences of events.

I've generally been pretty put off by most fantasy, but I think I might give a few of the major series a try next year.
johnridley: (Bookworm)
I'm trying to read, or at least listen to audiobooks, more. In the last 10 years I'm guessing there have been 3 or 4 entire years where I didn't read a book at all. That's obscene.

Anyway, between using audiobooks on my commute and while working around the house, and using the Sony reader, it's picking up quite a bit. I admit that when going to bed I'm still almost as likely to pick up a Schlock Mercenary volume that I've read 10 times already, but only when I just need to settle for 10 minutes before trying to sleep (if I pick up a book I'm actually reading, 90 minutes later I'll still be reading). And the ebook is helping me greatly increase my reading speed over paper.

This is what I've covered Jan 1 through June 30.

Audiobooks - I pretty much got on a roll with Discworld, and since I was enjoying myself and had the L-Space discworld reading order guide, I just kept going. I'm almost done.
Lucifer's Hammer
The Forever War
"5 short stories by H. Beam Piper" (from Librivox)
Eric
Reaper Man
Guards, Guards!
Feet of Clay
Interesting Times
Men At Arms
Soul Music
Hogfather
Equal Rites
Jingo
The Fifth Elephant
Night Watch
Thud
Moving Pictures
The Last Continent
The Truth
Wyrd Sisters
Thief of Time
Monstrous Regiment
Going Postal
Pyramids
Small Gods
Witches Abroad

e-Books
Steal This Book (skimmed mostly)
Old Man's War
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Very Bad Deaths (Spider Robinson)
Recovering Apollo 08 (Rusch, novella)
Anansi Boys (Gaiman)
Hunting Party (Elizabeth Moon)
Sporting Chance (Elizabeth Moon)

Dead trees
We Seven (Time-life book pub'd in '61 about the Mercury Seven)
Man-Kzin Wars VII
johnridley: (Default)
With the book list going around recently, I realized that I have no idea what books I've read, even recently. I just read what seems like a good idea at the time. With that in mind, I'm going to try to put them into LJ when I think of them. While completion of this list is obviously a futile objective, hopefully by thinking on this for a while I'll be able to at least get a good skeleton of the total body.

It's not as ridiculous for me to try to do this as it is for most of my friends. I don't read that much, but I'm hoping that when I get it all jotted down it will be more than I think. In that respect this is a bit of a confidence-boosting exercise.

I've been making an attempt to read more this year, since sometime around the end of last year I realized that I had read something something like one book in the last 12 months and got pretty disgusted with myself. I've actually discontinued my magazine subscriptions, partly to help get a little more time to read other stuff.

I haven't looked at the bookshelf yet, just going from memory/Wikipedia free association here. It's interesting to realize the extent to which I pretty much have no plan for reading; I just pick up something either out of convenience or recommendation, and if I like it I tend to read more by that author. It's also interesting how many titles I can look at and not really be sure if I've read it or not.
list inside, which is probably of interest to no-one )

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