Books You've Read in 2007 (merged) (1 Viewer)

I wonder if there are any bookworms out there. I enjoy reading, more so than watching movies, but not as much as watching TV shows. I know it is blasphemy to bring this up here, since they're considered opposite hobbies (reading vs. watching TV & movies). I used to hear "Why can't you read instead of watching TV" a lot, from my parents and some teachers.

Getting the idea from TV on DVD challenge and Track the Films You Watch, I'll try it with the books that we've read in 2007, and if you want, your review of the book. And it can include those that we started reading in 2006, but finished in 2007.

I'll start off...

1. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown - finished 1/11

2. Blowback by Brad Thor - finished 1/19

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - finished 2/01

4. The Digital Fortress by Dan Brown - finished 2/28

5. The Street Lawyer by John Grisham - finished 7/16

6. Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Just finished reading 'Equations of Eternity' - By David Darling!
I was fascinated by the book (even if the last few chapters are more the author having fun with his imagination). Old book and dirt cheap. Really enjoyed.

I am now reading U2 By U2 (since I am a HUGE U2 fan).

Great thread.

Interesting topic.

I read the net, mags, & newspaper regularly, but I haven't read a book since I was forced to back in college(13 yrs ago). I just really don't enjoy reading. Am I alone?

Oh boy... I am a big bookworm too... although i do a lot of reading for pleasure, I do a lot of reading for knowledge...

Knowledge:

1)Northern Forest Tree Identification

-For hiking and being a woodsman and wood stove owner, like to familiarize more with the trees I'm burning, more so than just categorizing them as Maples, Oaks, or Beechs.

2)Wiring Simplified

-For updating my house's electrical wiring, learn more about AC and circuits

not for knowledge

David Roberts (author of the following three books)

-Iceland: Land of Sagas

All about the history of Iceland and their folklore, aka Sagas

-Four Against the Arctic

About 4 Russian (Pomola) hunters that get stranded on an island in the arctic far off the coast of Norway/Greenland for 6-7 years surviving on Reindeer meat, driftwood, and shear guts alone.

-Escape from Lucania

About Brad Washburn (who JUST passed away RIP) and Bob Bates amazing trip to climb Lucania in the Yukon Territory. It was the highest unclimbed mtn in N.A. at the time and they had to hike out of practically middle of nowhere when their bushplane could not land to pick them up.

Jon Waterman

-A Most Hostile Mtn

About a harrowing sail from Bellingham up the Inner Passage and an attemp at climbing Mt St. Elias, the hardest mtn in North America to climb

-Arctic Crossing

About trying to find a northwest passage about Canada and Alaska via a kayak (w/ Sail).

Chip Brown

-Good Morning Midnight

About Guy Waterman and his bio and his suicide on Mt Lafayette

Laura Waterman

- Losing the Garden : A story of Marriage

Widow of Guy Waterman who writes this about their life together and history



I read a lot of adventure travel, I've read others and magazines but those are some of the interesting ones this year...

Jay

Heard of Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra, on the radio this morning, sounds interesting, but according to one of the editorial reviews above, the intimidating length might not be entirely justifed. Waiting to hear more I guess...

--
H

Hey, it's only the 11th of January.

So far in 2007 I've read:

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe (never got around to it before).

Condi vs. Hillary by Dick Morris (Dick's "preview" of the 2008 elections).

Canadian History for Dummies by Will Ferguson (see my thread on books on Canadian history).

I'm finishing up Confronting Iran by Ali Ansari today, so I can get it back to the library. It's due tomorrow.

That's one I'd very much like to read at some point. Love the movie.

I'm working on a few books right now, so it's been slow going lately, but I have finished a couple.

Judgment Night, by CL Moore (1943). One of the great space operas. It's largely distinguished by taking what up til then had been a lively and adventurous genre and giving it a much more downbeat spin. From a tonal standpoint, it's very much the story the Star Wars prequels were trying to be. Also has a real firecracker of a female protagonist (not surprising from Moore).

Doc Savage: Fortress of Solitude. Well, it's basically the story that revealed the secrets of the Man of Bronze's Arctic Fortress of Solitude Great fun from the glory days of hero pulps.

I'm reading:
Voices In The Fire - Alan Moore. The comic scribes first novel. Good stuff so far.

Also reading:
Lost Girls - Alan Moore w/ Melinda Gibbe. This is a porno comic by the above author, and is very, very good. Not just for the porn either, it;s very smart and surprisingly literate.

I just finished reading 'Culture Warrior' by Bill O'Reilly. Nothing else yet, but it's still early in the year.

Just read "A Kings Trade" by Dewey Lambdin

re-read "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Heinlein

Hornblower during The Time Of Crisis
Hornblower and the Atropos
Beat to quarters
Ship of the Line, all by C.S. Forester

can't find my copies of the last 4 right now or I would have read them also

Crystal line by Anne McCaffrey

I read a lot of books since most of what is on TV is terrible

i read this year
Good to great by jim collins - must read for anyone in business management or if you run a small business....excellent book

Little black of connections - jeffery gitomer - good book about making connections

Little red book of sales answers- jeffery gitomer- good book on sales

How to swim with the sharks without being eaten alive - harvey mackay - probably my favorite book......

Currently reading How to win friends and influence people - dale carnegie - sold over 15 million so it must be good right

I've been reading through all the Hugo and Nebula award winners over the past 2 years. I've also been re-reading George R.R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" series (4th book "A Feast for Crows" came out this year) which is _excellent_... the best fantasy series I've read (yes, that includes LOTR).

I just finished Descent into Darkness which is a memoir about the Navy divers who salvaged the Pac Fleet after Pearl Harbor. Pretty interesting stories but not the best writing...

Not quite as High Brow as some of the others are reading, but I just started on Maddox's 'Alphabet of Manliness'.

Not too bad so far. A few gems but generally funny stuff.

After this I will re-visit 'The Fionavar Tapestry'.

I just finished reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Quite the harrowing tale and much closer to what an actual post-apocalyptic landscape would probably be like than the usual gung-ho end of civilization fare.

I also read "Parachute Infantry" by David Kenyon Webster. It offers a grunt-level view of the WWII actions of the famed "Band of Brothers."

That's been it for the first 11 days of the year but I have plenty more waiting on my bookshelf. As much as I like movies, DVDs, and home theater, reading remains my primary form of entertainment.

1-19-07 Update
After swearing never to read another Robert Jordan book I find myself delving into a copy of "Knife of Dreams." It was a Christmas present and I'm laid up with a sprained knee so a hefty, none-too-challenging tome was in order.

I finished up the DaVinci Code Jan 1st.

Then I read a Sherlock Holmes novel entitled Night Watch. Was an OK Sherlock mystery.

I am Currently reading The Swarm. Just started this, but I think I'll like it.

OK, books I've read for the first time this year:

(1) Microsoft Production Guide to Windows Vista Business. Ok, it's a tad dry...

(2) Orson Scott Card's "Empire" Nowhere near as solid as his earlier works. His writing style is still very good, the subject matter is just too goofy, I suppose.

(3) A Faithful Spy - one of the best spycraft novels I've read in a while.

(4) How to Survive a Zombie Attack - by the same man who brought us "How to Survive a Robot Uprising" It's a hilarious tongue in cheek guide.

(5) Vince Flynn's "Act of Treason" and "Consent to Kill" Went through both in a weekend. It's pulp, but it's damn enjoyable pulp.

Books I'm re-reading

(1) Speaker of the Dead. Maybe my all-time favorite science fiction novel. It's pacing, structure and social relationships are so well done with such an interesting look at the universe that I find this is the one book that really 'speaks' to me out of anything I've ever read.

(2) Small Gods. Hilarious

(3) I'm currently going through "Grapes of Wrath" which I read years ago, and am re-reading to prove a point; once I'm sure I can make my point, I will probably stop. I remember this too well.

Lisey's Story by Stephen King - Great stuff, not the female version of Bag of Bones that it may sound like.

Next by Michael Crichton - Great brain candy.

"Books You're Read in 2007" -- ah! a book thread with a typo'ed title!

edited, thread now merged.

2007 BOOKS READ:

THE FINDS (THE BEST NEW BOOKS READ)
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
Heat - Bill Buford
Kafka on the Shore - Hiroyuki Murakami

January:
The Warrior Prophet - Scott R Bakker
Wild Seed - Octavia Butler
1776 - David McCullough (Audio)
Against All Enemies - Richard A Clarke (Audio)
Mayflower - Nathaniel Philbrick (Audio)
Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card (reread)
The Course of Human Events - David McCullough (audio)

February:
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson (audio)
Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley (reread)
Brian's Hunt - Gary Paulson
Brian's Winter - Gary Paulson (reread)
John Adams - David McCullough (audio)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling (reread)
Winning - Jack Welch (audio)

March:
Mind of My Mind - Octavia Butler currently reading (did not finish)
Blue Sword - Robin McKinley (reread)
Long Way From Chicago - Richard Peck
Thousandfold Thought - Scott R Bakkar
1491: new revelations of the Americas before Columbus - Charles C Mann (audio)
Manhunt: The Twelve day chase to catch Lincoln's Killer - James L Swanson (audio)
Tale of Despereaux: Being the story... - Kate DiCamillo
Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki (abridged audio)
Heat - Bill Buford
Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas - Elaine Pagels (abridged audio)
Empire - Orson Scott Card - audio and regular book

April:
Blindsight - Peter Watts
A Year Down Yonder - Richard Peck (audio)
Kafka on the Shore - Hiroyuki Murakami
Children of Turin - JRR Tolkien
The Teacher's Funeral - Richard Peck (audio)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling (reread)


May:
Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessl
Gnostic Gospels - Elaine Pagels (currently listening)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - (currently listening)


June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December: