{"id":2398,"date":"2016-01-02T14:36:53","date_gmt":"2016-01-02T14:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/?p=2398"},"modified":"2016-01-04T17:01:26","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T17:01:26","slug":"book-log-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/?p=2398","title":{"rendered":"Book Log 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Books read in 2004: 21<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2005: 28<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2006: 40<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2007: 30<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2008: 41<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2009: 22<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2010: 44<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2011: 28<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2012: 31<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2013: 8<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2014: 13<\/a>
\nBooks read in 2015: 12 (18 with re-reads)<\/p>\n

Diane, the owner of\u00a0Little Shop of Stories<\/a>\u00a0in Decatur, GA, is putting out a 52 book challenge for 2016. \u00a0I’m tempted to try it, even if I have no hope of succeeding. \u00a0Somewhere along the line, my habits changed and I’m just not the reader I once was, and I’m pretty sure I know why.<\/p>\n

We got iPads, and smartphones, and it’s so easy to browse Reddit for an hour or binge-watch a series on Netflix in those moments of “spare” time. \u00a0 It’s less mental effort, but, possibly as a result, it’s also less satisfying. \u00a0I just finished\u00a0The Magicians<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and I got more out of it than a marathon of Friends.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Which is actually saying a lot, because on\u00a0a recent\u00a0second viewing, I appreciate the comedic talents of David Schwimmer more than I did originally.<\/p>\n

At any rate, I’m going to sign up for the challenge. \u00a0This is going to be a busy year, and I’ve never read that many books. \u00a0I also don’t like to view reading as a task to be accomplished. \u00a0But when 2016 comes to a close, I’m hoping I’ll have spent more time with a book and less with an iPad. \u00a0I might upgrade my Kindle, though.<\/p>\n

I should note, so as not to get too down on my reading habits, that I do read out loud for 30-45 minutes every night. \u00a0My kids and I have worked our way through His Dark Materials<\/em> and most of the Harry Potter<\/em> series this year. \u00a0For me, re-reads, but maybe I can tack them onto the bottom of the list below.<\/p>\n

Before diving into the list, I should mention the books I didn’t read. \u00a0Some were good, but I just haven’t gotten through them yet. \u00a0Sitting on the shelf, their siren song failed to drown out the appeal of re-watching an episode of New Girl.<\/em> \u00a0The Year of Living Biblically<\/em> by A.J. Jacobs is entertaining and thoughtful, and I really enjoy it once I’ve settled down on the couch with it.<\/p>\n

The Physics of Superheroes<\/em> by James Kakalios is fascinating but at times really annoying. \u00a0Not through the fault of the author, who clearly states the purpose of the book, It’s just that I wanted the book to dive into the errors in physics, or justify the errors in some way. \u00a0Kakalios does it some, but his objective is to illustrate the principles of physics through comics, not nitpick the accuracy. \u00a0Fair enough, but why doesn’t the Flash leave footprints in concrete when he runs?<\/p>\n

A friend loaned me Headlong<\/em> by Michael Frayn. \u00a0It’s well written, but there is a host of art history that is noise to me. \u00a0As my friend put it, Headlong<\/em> is to art critique what Cryptonomicon<\/em> is to computers, and I lack the background to really, really get Headlong<\/em>. \u00a0The story is good, though, and I’m hanging on by my fingernails, so eventually I’ll knock this one out.<\/p>\n

I’ve spent some quality time with Roberts Rules of Order<\/em> this year, and then the Abridged Roberts Rules of Order<\/em>, but there is no amount of abridgment that’s going to get me through a complete reading.<\/p>\n

1. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories<\/em> by B.J. Novack
\nLike binge reading McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0One Day<\/em> by David Nicholls
\nEnjoyable story of a lifelong relationship.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures<\/em> By Kate DiCamillo
\nRead to my daughter Scout. A great story of a super squirrel.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Spell or High Water (Magic 2.0)<\/em> by Scott Meyer
\n5.\u00a0An Unwelcome Quest (Magic 2.0)<\/em> by Scott Meyer
\nFun continuations of his magic-from-technology series.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Funny Girl: A Novel<\/em> by Nick Hornby
\nA good, though not great, Nick Hornby novel.<\/p>\n

7. Teleport This (Small Universe Book 1) by Christopher M. Daniels
\n8.\u00a0Soul to Soul (Small Universe Book 2)\u00a0<\/em>by Christopher M. Daniels
\nMeh. Amateur science fiction.\u00a0They\u00a0were cheap and available on the Kindle.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Mogworld<\/em> by\u00a0Yahtzee Croshaw
\nA surprisingly good sort-of-fantasy novel. Funny!<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0The Martian<\/em> by Andy Weir
\nOne of the greatest books ever, and a great movie adaptation as well.<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0SEVENEVES<\/em> by Neil Stephenson
\nA sprawling far-reaching disaster\/science fiction novel about the moon breaking apart. Loved it.<\/p>\n

12.\u00a0Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain<\/span><\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
\nEnjoyable, thought-provoking book about different ways to look at problems.<\/p>\n

Re-reads with the kids:<\/p>\n

His Dark Materials Omnibus<\/em> by Philip Pullman
\n13. The Golden Compass<\/em>
\n14. The Subtle Knife
\n15. The Amber Spyglass<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone<\/em> by J.K. Rowling
\n17. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets<\/em> by J.K. Rowling
\n18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban<\/em> by J.K. Rowling<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Books read in 2004: 21 Books read in 2005: 28 Books read in 2006: 40 Books read in 2007: 30 Books read in 2008: 41 Books read in 2009: 22 Books read in 2010: 44 Books read in 2011: 28 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[481,513],"tags":[507,81],"class_list":["post-2398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-log","category-books","tag-book-log-2015","tag-book-log-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2398"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406,"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398\/revisions\/2406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journal.electric-rocket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}