Like all of you, I'm a fairly voracious reader. Probably unlike most of you, I have a tendency to read a couple of chapters in a book and then, even if I like it, I get distracted by a new book and read a couple of chapters in the new one, and so on and so on.
Thus, the list of books I'm currently reading, ranked by how likely I am to ever actually finish them:
(14) Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman. I'm a huge, huge fan of Klosterman,* but he's made his name as a pop culture essayist. This is his first and, hopefully, only venture into straight fiction. For me, his style just didn't translate. I made it about 25% of the way in just based on built up goodwill from prior books, and it's still in the pile on my bedside table, but this is going to hit the shelves soon I think.
* Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is an incredible and highly recommended book.
(13) The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. Like any respectable sports and pop culture fan, I'm an admirer of Simmons's work and the parts of this that I've read have been good, but I'm actually not a huge basketball fan* and the thing is like 80,000 pages long. The odds that I'll ever finish it are astronomically long.
* It would help if the Rockets were any good. I'm a terrible front-runner in non-baseball sports.
(12) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Yeah, ok, all of y'all have probably read it already, and it's a modern fantasy classic, yadda yadda yadda. Just didn't grab me through 100 pages, and that leaves about 20,000 to go. Seems more like homework than fun reading. I only moved it up to this spot due to the possibility that you lot excoriate me for not reading it and I succumb to peer pressure.
(11) 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective by Gary Trudeau. Picked it up on a 60% discount at Barnes and Noble. I had lost track of Doonesbury after college and figured, hey, I'll grab this and catch up kinda. Odds are strong that it will stick on the table for a long time with intermittent flip-throughs, but hard to imagine that I'll dedicate the time to actually go through the whole thing.
(10) Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr and the Struggle for the Soul of Science by David Lindley. This is the sort of book that's right up my alley and I'm inclined to put it higher up on the list, but the reality is that I've had it in the pile for 8 months now and I've made very little progress.
(9) My Man Jeeves by PG Wodehouse. I've read and enjoyed a number of Wodehouse books over the years, but hadn't caught this one before, and it was oddly free for a Kindle download,* so I figured what the heck. Only barely started, and haven't been motivated to read much of it to date, but Wodehouse is the sort of writer where you could easily end up powering through a book in an evening.
* Using the Kindle app on my iPad, of course.
(8) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Very interesting first couple of chapters, this strikes me as the kind of fantasy epic that Game of Thrones is supposed to be but wasn't (at least for me). Also helps that the Penny Arcade guys and Scalzi are big fans, so I'm reminded of the book's existence periodically. This is the point on the list at which the odds of actually finishing reach around 50%.*
* I know that all none of you who have read this far were desperately wondering about that.
(7) The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. Ripped through the first book in this series and enjoyed it quite a bit. This one didn't crawl into my head quite as quickly, but it wasn't bad and I'm quite certain that I'll get back around to it and finish it up fairly soon.
(6) Eating the Dinosaur by Klosterman. Not his best work as an essayist, but that's the opposite of damning with faint praise.* Still good stuff, just not up to his first four collections.
* Praising with faint criticism?
(5) Barbarians at the Gate by Burrough and Helyar. Somewhat out of date now, but still a seminal work and a fascinating read. A bit on the heavy side in terms of topic and actual book weight, but nevertheless fascinating. And something that a deal lawyer should've read long before now on general principle, too.
(4) Inventory by The Onion AV Club. Just a bunch of somewhat random and silly pop culture lists* (eg "10 Great Songs Nearly Ruined by Saxophone"), but it's both entertaining and very very easy to read while waiting in lines or if you're waiting to pick up a kid from an activity because you arrived early. They also generally did a good job of not playing out the joke too far by making the lists too long.**
* Lists are awesome. Who doesn't love lists?
** For example, who could possibly be bothered to read a list of 14 books that some other dude is in the middle of reading?
(3) Bloom County: The Complete Collection, Volume 2 by Berkeley Breathed. Unlike the Doonesbury, Breathed is literally sending out a coffee table collection of all of Bloom County. Probably the second-best strip ever IMHO.* I'm already 75% or so through this, and it's every bit as excellent as I remember. NOTE: I will not re-read the regrettable Opus strip and Outland never happened.
* First being Calvin & Hobbes, obviously. Apologies to Fox Trot.
(2) Scorecasting by Moskowitz and Wetheim. Supposed to be a Freaknomics approach to sports, reports are that it has much the same advantages* and disadvantages** of that work. Regardless, something worth reading just for the questions it raises even if the answers are not always satisfactory.
* A novel way of looking at issues and thinking outside of the box; good, easy-to-read writing style.
** Reliance on single studies and anecdotal evidence, unfamiliarity with some prior important research on many of the same issues.
(1) The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie.* Delightfully fun mystery/crime thriller with a rapscallion thuggish hero. Extremely highly recommended for a fun read. This is the book I'm going through currently causing everything else to be on pause until I finish.
* Yes, that Hugh Laurie. Some people are just too damn talented.
I've been bringing home Scalzi books for Dan lately (he just says to me, "get me something to read today..." and leaves me to my own devices) - but I can't remember which one he's reading now.
ReplyDeleteOld Man's War was my favorite thus far, unless you include Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded (which is essays, not fiction).
ReplyDeleteI also highly recommend this short story: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/02/when-the-yogurt-took-over-a-short-story/
Oops; I appear to have hijacked your comment thread…
ReplyDelete(14) Worth finishing, as the various plot threads come together in some nice ways at the end. It’s not going to approach your level of appreciation for the essay collections, but don’t shelve it just yet.
(13) It takes either absolute obsessiveness about the sport, or uncompromising bloody mindedness to finish a book like this. I got through it thanks to the latter. Also, I borrowed it from the library and forced myself to power through by the due date. It’s entertaining, and as a fan of footnotes you would certainly appreciate it. If you own it, though, I see no reason to not just keep it on the pile and sip occasionally from the chalice of Simmons’ psychosis.
(12) Consider yourself excoriated. On the other hand, the prize for finishing the first book is following up with the others, getting to the end of A Feast For Crows, and joining the rest of the readers in release date limbo waiting for the next book in the series, at which point you will have forgotten about 75% of what happened in the previous books. So yeah, it’s great, and you should totally get with it, if only because why should the rest of us suffer alone?
(11) I’ve fallen out of the regular habit of reading Doonesbury, although I did catch up with the collection of BD-centric stuff that came out a few years ago. Can’t argue with the flip through strategy though.
(10) Not heard of this one, so I don’t have much to offer.
(9) Wodehouse is great, but you have to be in the right mood. Reading this entry, I parsed the word “powering” as “power ring” and then tried to imagine Jeeves as secretly a badass Green Lantern. How cool would that be?
(8) Another one I’m not familiar with, but the pedigree of the recommendations makes me want to check it out.
(7) Enjoyed this when I read it, but agree that OMW made a greater long-term impact.
(6) Really, it’s probably worth swapping this with Downtown Owl. Good, but not up to the level of S,D&CP.
(5) Haven’t read, no comment.
(4) Ditto.
(3) So I’m sitting around having burritos with various miscreants of our mutual acquaintance this past weekend, and somehow our end of the table starts quoting, and laughing like loons, over various punch lines of BC strips. “T’ain’t corn, it’s dope.” Indeed, Bloom County remains dope to this day, although as you correctly note, Calvin and Hobbes is still the top of the charts.
(2) May have to check out this one.
(1) Read this a while back. Very good.
Also, re: the comments to date, Scalzi’s Agent to the Stars is also quite good.
Personally, I’m not finding a lot of reading that excites me lately. 2011 is off to an uncharacteristically slow start for me. Part of that is that a lot of my free reading time is taken up with reading for class, but otherwise I’m just in one of those reading lulls I get into periodically where just nothing appeals.
I think B_Mod is going to become a Featured Commentator. :)
ReplyDelete(14) Really? It just did not grab me whatsoever. If not for the built up Klosterman goodwill I would've shelved it about 25 pages in. I'll keep it on the pile for now, but don't have high expectations that I'll get back into it.
(13) I like to think that I'm as bloody-minded as the next (OCD) guy, but I don't see it happening here. IIRC, you powered through this whilst working out, but my routine involves catching up on the never-ending baseball stuff during that time, so I have a hard time seeing this being more than whenever I need a quick shot of Simmons.
(12) Yeah, you're really selling it there laughing boy...
(10) It really looks like a neat book, it's just suffering from the weight of the pile.
(9) Oh duuuuude. That would be so great. I could totally see Jeeves stepping out quietly after his duties are properly attended to to fight intergalactic crime.
(8) Apparently this was the dude's first book but it made a huge splash. Scalzi is a fan also.
(3) So many great, great lines. Like The Simpsons and Police Squad, many of the lines that have just become part of my everyday conversation actually came from Bloom County and are now so ingrained that I couldn't even say for sure where they originated until I stumbled upon them again.
(2) I'll either have finished it by 'Zona or will bring it with me and finish it then, so if it's any good I'll hand it over.
Agent to the Stars - Would be very high on the list, but I think I want to experience the @wilw audiobook version.
While I always have a good grouping of books that I'm in the middle of, I'm actually having the opposite problem from you in that this is wayyyy more quality reads than I'm used to. In a normal year, Uncertainty and Name of the Wind would be 2-3 on a list like this.
(14)[i] Fair enough. I think I'm marginally less of a Klostermaniac than you are, so I might have been more forgiving.
ReplyDelete(13)[i] Yeah, I read a lot of the Book of Basketball on the exercise bike, and there are plenty of other ways to pass workout time. Even as an occasional shot you can get through it. I suspect when you get to the second half, and especially when you get to the top couple levels of the pyramid you will find the pace really carries you along.
(12)[i] Misery loves company...
[Tangent: Was talking with The Kid tonight, and she couldn't quite understand what I meant when I said "The primary thing my friends and I have in common is mutual hatred." Ah, to be so young, and to have so much to learn...]
(9)[i] In brightest day, for Master callow/The fields of evil I must make fallow/Let men both doltish and uncouth/Beware! I buttle for justice and truth!
(3)[i] "You, sir, are an ambisexual walnut."
(2)[i] Cool. Given the 'Zona crowd, I could imagine this starting a bidding war, or a knife fight.
Oh, yeah, most times I'm spoiled for choice as well. But every 15 months or so, I just get stuck in a reading doldrums. That's usually when I reread a few favorites to kickstart my enthusiasms.
Okay, I'll add some comments also. What the heck. First of all, congratulations on the rather staggering number of "books in progress" you have. I just imagine them strewn about while you struggle to decide which one to pick up. I rarely have more than 2 at the same time and that's usually because 1 is just too damn big to carry around.
ReplyDeleteThe only 2 of these 14 that I've actually read are #14 and #13, although I've certainly read many of those Inventory lists on line due to my AV Club addiction. Downtown Owl did improve somewhat after a slow start, but still wasn't really very interesting. Sheer bloodymindedness carried me through the insanely long Book of Basketball, which I kept by the TV for a while to read during commercials and slow periods of sporting events.
I was sufficiently convinced by the commentary to order "Old Man's War" as I've recently regained my interest in reading SciFi after a long dry spell.
Finally, I am 100% in favor of a knife fight in AZ. Everyone against Toby, right?
B_Mod: Cherish these years, as her hate will be directed at you soon enough. It will flourish and grow from there.
ReplyDeleteThe Jeeves Lantern Oath is one of the most bestest things evar.
"Pear pimples for hairy fishnuts!"
EEB: I have my ADD and general lack of focus to thank for all the incomplete books.
ReplyDeleteOld Man's War is definitely recommended. Although, as good as Scalzi's fiction is, I honestly prefer some of his better Whatever posts:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/01/what-i-think-about-atlas-shrugged/
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2004/12/01/the-10-least-successful-holiday-specials-of-all-time/
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2002/03/22/i-hate-your-politics/
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/11/12/your-creation-museum-report/
I am absolutely in favor of knife-fighting Toby, but only after Jen has returned to California. I do not wish to encounter her rage.
Re; Old Man's War
ReplyDeleteEh; think I'll just wait for the movie...
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/02/23/hey-ever-wondered-if-there-would-ever-be-an-old-mans-war-movie/
http://www.deadline.com/2011/02/paramount-buys-old-mans-war-for-wolfgang-petersen-and-scott-stuber/
I dd think that was pretty darn cool that they announced that today.
ReplyDeleteOf course, you must read the book first, so that you can gripe about the changes in the film.