The 2011 50 Book Challenge

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The 2011 50 Book Challenge

Post by bigdirtyfoot » 04 Jan 2011 17:17

Another year to read books! Let's get it going again this year, eh readers?

For anyone new to this, we typically post each book's title, author and number of pages, followed by a review or thoughts on the book.

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.

This was a great end to the Cosmic Trigger Trilogy, which I started last year. I have now read three of Wilson's trilogies, and have enjoyed all of them. His writing is fresh, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining. Recommended. You can read my review here.

Alright, let's see if we can read 50 books this year!
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Post by Jeremy » 04 Jan 2011 17:35

Excellent. It's on! Good work starting this. I am super keen to actually get there this year, although naturally chose a 600 page book to begin, which I'll hopefully be finished in the next day or two :P

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 04 Jan 2011 19:06

Haha yeah I'm in the middle of two ~800 page books that I'll probably read the next few months, if I can even finish them this year! And this is the fourth year we've had this thread going, and I *still* haven't been able to finish 50, no matter how strong I start off. Well, good luck to us all and I hope we can have some good book conversation this year.
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Post by sen » 05 Jan 2011 08:48

Does it matter if all the books read are pure fluff? Like say, someone theoretically reads ONLY Star Wars fiction. Would that still count towards this challenge?

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 05 Jan 2011 10:11

I don't see why it wouldn't count... I'd always thought the point of the challenge was to read more and challenge oneself, not compete with everyone else on the thread. If you really enjoy Star Wars pulp fiction, by all means share it with us!
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Post by sen » 05 Jan 2011 10:22

Uh, I wasn't talking about myself... Really...

1. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Allies, Christie Golden, 384 Pages

This is the 5th book in a 9 part series. Luke is like 60 years old. Still super powerful though. A whole planet of Sith are making themselves known. It's been an interesting series thus far. Not as interesting as some of the other Star Wars stuff I've read, but it's moving the saga along nicely, and I enjoy seeing how it all fits together. I've started the next book in the series now.

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 05 Jan 2011 18:54

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.

This is the fourth volume in Thompson's The Gonzo Papers series, and it focuses on the 1992 election of Bill Clinton. It was an extremely quick read, because a) I think Thompson's life might have been *slightly* saner in the 90s than it was in the 50s to 80s and b) It consists of essays and magazine articles with a large portion of scribbled faxes that Thompson sent journalists, politicians and celebrities. The faxes are interesting to read because they are almost all handwritten, usually fairly angry in context, and about the length of a text message. This is one of the more unique books that HST ever put out, and I'd definitely recommend it. You can read my review here.
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Post by Jeremy » 06 Jan 2011 01:29

Excellent. On my list to read.

@Sen - you can include whatever you like. There's no real rules, it's more of a personal challenge we can all participate, rather than a competition with rules. Count whatever you're comfortable counting :D I've included the odd picture book and comic in previous years :P

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 06 Jan 2011 11:46

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.
3. Schooled, Godron Korman, 224 pg.

This was a feel-good children's book that was abandoned in the lost-and-found box at my work. My ex-roommate brought it home for me a few months ago, and I started it but never finished it. Well, I trucked through it last night... it was really good, actually! It's about a hippie kid who lives on a commune, who ends up attending a public school for the first time in his life. He is an outcast from the start, but starts to make a positive impact on everyone in the school. It reminded me a lot of Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower, although it wasn't as gloomy. You can read my review here.
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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 07 Jan 2011 16:43

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.
3. Schooled, Godron Korman, 224 pg.
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, 75 pg.

Okay. This one took me six years and four attempts to finally finish. The problem I have always had with it is that I fall asleep after trudging through 20-30 pages. I finally finished it today and actually really enjoyed it. I will definitely have to reread it because there is a lot of symbolism and hidden meaning within the story. If you don't know, it is about an Englishman's journey into the Congo region of Africa. The movie Apocalypse Now was loosely based on this book. You can check out my review here.
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Post by Jeremy » 08 Jan 2011 12:23

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg

Comprehensive. I think the size was good though, because I found the last Dawkins I read (The Greatest Show on Earth) a little boring because it mainly covered things I knew a lot about. This does as well, but also covers so much that it's still interesting. Dawkins is such a good writer, and he keeps the book both interesting but very content dense, which I much prefer to a lot of the journalist pop-science I've read lately. The book basically goes through the evolutionary path that humans have taken, from where we are now, back to the origin of life. It goes over each point where our lineage splits from extant life.

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Post by Jeremy » 08 Jan 2011 14:49

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg

I've been perusing this for the last week or so, and having finished Ancestor's Tale last night, figured I should finish this too. As the title suggests, it's a collection of photographs by Andy Rouse along with descriptions and advice about wildlife photography. I found the book very informative and inspiring, and really enjoyed a lot of his work.

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 08 Jan 2011 21:56

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.
3. Schooled, Godron Korman, 224 pg.
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, 75 pg.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 216 pg.

Another book I have been meaning to read for years. Quite good. Not much to say about it, because I'm sure most people have read it and I am just a latecomer to this one. You can read my review here.
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Post by Jeremy » 11 Jan 2011 04:58

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg

The authors, who are a married, are a genetic engineer and an organic farmer. They have a blog too: http://scienceblogs.com/tomorrowstable/ which I read before reading this book. The blog is great, and the book does a good job demonstrating how retarded and ignorant the opposition to GE foods is. However the book is also amazingly boring due to hyper detailed anecdotes. Seriously it's like this - "I got on my bike and started riding. I got to where I was going and got off my bike." Anyway, an interesting book but flawed.

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Post by Jeremy » 12 Jan 2011 17:00

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg

An interesting and very detailed account of Leafcutter Ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) and their symbionts. Is perhaps too detailed for people without a keen interest in ants, but it's pretty short and has a lot of great photos, so you should check it out anyway :P

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 14 Jan 2011 21:29

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.
3. Schooled, Godron Korman, 224 pg.
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, 75 pg.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 216 pg.
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling, 734 pg.

I really enjoyed this one. Each book in this series gets better than the last. There's not much to say about it, because this far in the series, I don't want to give anything away. You can read my review here.
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Post by Jeremy » 18 Jan 2011 18:56

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg


An easy read. I think I'm a bit over Ellis these days though. The shallowness and self centred nature of his characters is frustrating, and I don't think this book adds anything useful to what he's said in other books. It's a sequel to Less Than Zero, which I enjoyed, but can't remember that much of any more. I do still like his writing style and the drabness of his books, but I felt completely apathetic towards the characters and plot.

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Post by bigdirtyfoot » 20 Jan 2011 18:11

1. Cosmic Trigger Volume Three: My Life After Death, Robert Anton Wilson, 247 pg.
2. Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie, Hunter S. Thompson, 247 pg.
3. Schooled, Godron Korman, 224 pg.
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, 75 pg.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, 216 pg.
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling, 734 pg.
7. Still Life With Woodpecker, Tom Robbins, 277 pg.

Best Tom Robbins so far. This is his third novel, published in 1980. It is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. Although it gets a little tangential, there is a lot of humor and interesting side-stories that are thrown in. You can read my review here.
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Post by Jeremy » 20 Jan 2011 18:18

1. The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins - 629pg
2. Concepts of Nature: A Wildlife Photographer's Art by Andy Rouse - 159pg
3. Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Roland and Raoul W. Adamchak - 167pg
4. The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson - 127pg
5. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis - 256pg
6. Shark: In Peril In The Sea by David Owen - 294pg

An interesting read documenting sharks, covering their evolution, biology, interactions with humans and place in culture. I don't know a lot about sharks so it was good in that respect, although Owen's understanding of evolution and taxonomy leaves a lot to be desired. It's also interesting to note how big a role alternative medicine (both Chinese and Western) is playing in the extermination of sharks. There's an amusing myth that sharks don't get cancer, that somehow leads to the conclusion that various shark extracts, particularly cartilage prevent or help treat cancer. Like most naturopathic medicine, there is obviously no known mechanism for this to happen and sharks are just as prone to cancer as anything else. Oh, also a friend of mine's dad gets a mention (he discovered a new species of shark in Tasmania a few years ago), so that was cool :)

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Post by dp » 22 Jan 2011 14:16

1. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick 336pg

An account of life in North Korea. Information gathered by talking with people who'd defected from North Korea. Not full of very many surprises, but it's an intimate look at the lives that are affected by the horrible horrible regime in control.
Danny P.

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