75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2010 Completed)
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Will's 75 Books
#2: Transmetropolitan Vol. 2: Lust for Life - Warren Ellis - 4 StarsSomething missing as compared to Volumes 1 and 0, but still great stuff.
#3: The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - Simon Winchester - 5 StarsReally good stuff. I never really thought about the source of a dictionary, but that is an enormous amount of work, and makes for a really good story, especially with such eccentric characters.
#4: Me of Little Faith - Lewis Black - 3 StarsI could definitely hear him yelling through the pages. It was good, but some of it was a bit too much on the serious side on his experiences with religion. Interesting, but not really what I was looking for. Still some good comedy in there, but didn't work for me overall.
Will wrote: " #3: The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - Simon Winchester - 5 StarsReally good stuff. I never r..."
I agree. I picked this up off a friends shelf when we were staying at their house for vacation and read it a day and a half. It is a fascinating bit of history.
#5: Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson - 4 StarsIt was fun, and exciting, but throughout his journey he jumped from adventure to adventure and it could have been more fluid. Good, but it was no Treasure Island.
#6: Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett - 4 StarsA fun witches book. Funny, but I feel like it went a little overboard in some places. Good ending, but definitely not of the best in the series.
Will wrote: " #3: The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - Simon Winchester - 5 StarsReally good stuff. I never r..."
I'm adding this to my "To Read" list!
#7: Remake - Connie Willis - 4 StarsA quick read, and definitely different than her other works that I have read, but fun.
#8: Transmetropolitan Vol. 3: Year of the Bastard - Warren Ellis - 5 StarsAlways a tossup as to what's better, the art or the writing. It's a tough, because they're both grotesquely amazing.
#9: Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - 5 StarsThis was my first Kurt Vonnegut book, and I really enjoyed it. It started out fairly normal and got odder and odder. Some pretty bizarre characters, and now I might convert to Bokononism.
Will wrote: " #9: Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - 5 StarsThis was my first Kurt Vonnegut book, and I really enjoyed it. It started out fairly normal and got odder and odder. Some p..."
I have a few of his on my TBR list, I can't wait to get to them! =)
#10: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson - 5 StarsThis was really good. I'm now inspired to hike the Appalachian trail, hopefully from start to finish. Going to aim for when I finish the PhD. Amazingly written.
Hmm, 10 books in 2 months, good, but I'm going to have to pick up the pace a little bit.
Will wrote: " #10: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson - 5 StarsThis was really good. I'm now inspired to hike the Appalachian trail, hopef..."
This one looks really,really good!
Mod
Will,I read A Walk in the Woods 2 years ago. I resisted, as I am no hiker, and I just couldn't see myself liking it. But it was terrific, and very, very funny. I gave it to my brother and son and gifts. I won't hike the Appalchian Trail, but I loved the book!
#11: Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett - 4 StarsA very fun witches book with an exciting introduction to the elves. Lot of action, lot of humor, but a lot of satire was lost on me, having never read a midsummer night's dream. I'll rectify that pronto, and probably reread this soon.
#12: Eric - Terry Pratchett - 3 StarsDisappointing. Rincewind just doesn't work as well without the rest of the wizardry. In fact, I'm not sure if there was any mention of him actually being a wizard in this one, despite all the sorcery.
Something was just missing compared to other Discworlds.
#13: The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction - Leofranc Holford-Strevens - 2 StarsIt was informative, but not very fun, which is a lot different from the other Very Short Introduction that I read (Astronomy).
#14: The Misanthrope - Molière - 2 StarsA quick read, but not a great one. For a comedy, it didn't do too much for me, a line here and there, but it fell short. It took me a while to decide if I liked it or not, which led me to realize that if I had to decide for that long, I probably didn't.
#15: Ella Minnow Pea - Mark Dunn - 5 StarsThis was a really fun read. An absurd concept and an excellent execution. I can't imagine how hard it would be to write a book, but not be able to use certain letters.
#16: The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity - Amir D. Aczel - 4 StarsVery fun story about the mathematical development of infinity. The introduction to Kabbalah in the beginning was super interesting, I'll have to look into that more deeply. Great mini-biographies of mathematicians associated.
#17: Transmetropolitan Vol. 4: The New Scum - Warren Ellis - 5 StarsThe presidential campaign storyline was starting to get old, but this was really good, the best one in a few volumes. Part of me really wants to live in Spider's future.
#18: Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami - 5 StarsThis was really amazing. Great story with extremely interesting characters. Watching all of the different stories converge was really fun, and it worked really well. Highly recommended.
Will wrote: " #15: Ella Minnow Pea - Mark Dunn - 5 StarsThis was a really fun read. An absurd concept and an excellent execution. I can't imagine how hard it would be to write a boo..."
OK, I've added this one to my "To Read" list. I was resisting that, but you talked me into it.
#19: The Time Machine - H.G. Wells - 5 StarsI was skeptical for the first 10 pages or so, then it took off, and wow. I'm still just not sure if he's a really great storyteller or not.
#20: Transmetropolitan Vol. 5: Lonely City - Warren Ellis - 4 StarsThe first couple issues of this volume were very different from the standard, but once it leapt to the storyline of Spider working on his revenge, it really took off for me.
Will wrote: " #19: The Time Machine - H.G. Wells - 5 StarsI was skeptical for the first 10 pages or so, then it took off, and wow. I'm still just not sure if he's a really great..."
I have this in my to be read one day list!!! Glad to hear you liked it!!
Will wrote: " #18: Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami - 5 StarsThis was really amazing. Great story with extremely interesting characters. Watching all of the different stories con..."
This one looks really good!
#21: Island - Aldous Huxley - 4 StarsI've been reading a lot of island utopias recently. Man crash lands on an island utopia and learns their ways. I should read his other work too.
#22: Transmetropolitan Vol. 6: Gouge Away - Warren Ellis - 5 StarsReally great buildup, and it left me very excited to get my hands on the next volume.
#23: Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett - 5 StarsThis has now taken over Feet of Clay as my favorite Discworld book. (But it's still in a close second.) It was really fun throughout, but as soon as the troll went superconducting, I fell in love. You're a brilliant man, Terry Pratchett.
#24: Cyrano de Bergerac - Edmond Rostand - 4 StarsVery interesting, one of the weirder plays I've ever read. Martyrdom at its finest.
#25: Power Up - Doug TenNapel - 4 StarsReally funny story, fun art by the guy who made Earthworm Jim. Quick read, but good stuff.
#26: V for Vendetta - Alan Moore - 4 StarsGreat storytelling. Already knew the story from having seen the movie, but still a very enjoyable read.
Will wrote: " #26: V for Vendetta - Alan Moore - 4 StarsGreat storytelling. Already knew the story from having seen the movie, but still a very enjoyable read."
Woa!! I didn't know this was a book!!! I loved the movie....now I gotta read the book...I always like to do both to compare and contrast...to see how Hollywood butchers certain books...lol
#27: Transmetropolitan Vol. 7: Spider's Thrash - Warren Ellis - 5 StarsThis series just keeps getting better and better.
#28: Transmetropolitan Vol. 8: Dirge - Warren Ellis - 5 StarsI love his change in character. The only sad part is that I'm getting close to the end.
#29: Marabou Stork Nightmares - Irvine Welsh - 5 StarsFantastic, but not for the faint of heart, it's pretty gruesome, and gets more and more intense later in the book. I really like reading the raw Scottish dialect, and now I must go read everything else he's ever written.
#30: The Prince and the Pauper - Mark Twain - 5 StarsI knew the gist of the story, but there's a lot more to it. Great read. Also, my first Mark Twain book.
#31: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley - 5 StarsI had no idea of the differences between the book and the stories that I had heard. I liked it a lot. Pretty slow to start off with, but really gets going.
#32: Interesting Times - Terry Pratchett - 4 StarsNot my favorite of the later series, but a solid Rincewind book nonetheless.
#33: Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami - 4 StarsI didn't like it as much of Kafka on the Shore but it reminded me a lot of it. Great writing, but I couldn't get into the story quite as much.
#34: Dr. Faustus - Christopher Marlowe - 2 StarsStarted off as a good story, and a very interesting idea, but it just felt incomplete.
I didn't know that Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper. I've heard the story, but I've never read it. I'll have to read it now. Thanks for drawing that to my attention.
Julie wrote: "I didn't know that Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper. I've heard the story, but I've never read it. I'll have to read it now. Thanks for drawing that to my attention."Yeah, I was in the same position, I had only heard the story (I think just the Disney version though).
#35: Maskerade - Terry Pratchett - 4 StarsI don't normally like the Witches books as much, but this was better than most. This probably wouldn't be enjoyable at all if you've never seen Phantom of the Opera.
#36: Cujo - Stephen King - 5 StarsI hadn't read a Stephen King book in a long time, probably since middle school. I'm not sure why I stopped; that was really good. Definitely in my top 3, the other two being Needful Things and Pet Sematary. If I ever get a St. Bernard, he will be named Cujo.
#37:
#38: Transmetropolitan Vol. 10: One More Time - Warren Ellis - 5 StarsNooooo, the series is over! Great ending to a fantastic series.
75 Books...More or Less!
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At first it just seemed like a fast forwarded version of Passage, but then it lost its momentum. Good, but not as good as some of her others.