Topic: 2022 Hot Fresh Reading Challenge Thread (Read 4989 times)

Vector · « **on:** December 31, 2021, 01:58:44 pm »

Purpose:
- Challenge ourselves or just keep track of our reads here on B12.
- Build a community of readers.
- Share books we liked, pick up new reads.

How to:
---> CHALLENGE MODE: Set a goal for yourself here in the thread and update regularly on your progress.
---> CHILLAX MODE: Just hang out and chill, occasionally talk about books, it's all good man.

Vector · « **Reply #1 on:** January 01, 2022, 02:18:46 am »

My goal this year is to read steadily and with sincerity.

Last year, I read a lot of books but I couldn't think of more than seven I had read that were really satisfying. This year, my goal is to read about the same amount.

I think I need to read about five pages of Japanese or a chapter of manga per day to pass the N1 exam. Otherwise I will focus on books that change my assumptions about physical reality, history, and other people.

Also I would still like to finish the Chinese Classics I haven't read. We'll see if that is possible this year.

delphonso · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2022, 09:11:43 pm »

Well I absolutely fumbled last year's challenge. I read a lot of scholarship (and ingested a lot of it through audiobooks) - but mostly in the form or scientific articles. Which are great, but aren't really...literature.

I read almost nothing in Chinese or from China, and I'd like to change that. I have a friend who is very much into Chinese poetry, so maybe I should hang with him more often. I read a lot of very dry documentation on programming languages. I should focus more on some arts this year.

My goals:

Read 3 emotional books (dramas, romances, tragedies)
Read 3 less-dry science-related books (such as something by Mary Roach or Carl Sagan)
Read 3 books about Chinese history/myth
Read 2 books in Chinese (kids books accepted [read them to your daughter, you melon.])
Read a book from 2021 or 2022.

I didn't finish a book a month last year, nor did I do any writing past May. I did begin to read about 25 books in total, having finished...8, I think? I can do better than that.

EuchreJack · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2022, 09:18:42 pm »

I thought Sun Tzu's Art of War was relatively easy to read, although my copy was annotated with history bits.

Er, goals...to be continued when I find my books (semi-recently moved)_{It's gonna be a while...}

coalboat · « **Reply #4 on:** January 04, 2022, 01:31:36 am »

I'll finish the LoTR this month. In the next month I'll try to finish reading a book on north asian prehistoric monuments.

hops · « **Reply #5 on:** January 04, 2022, 08:08:02 am »

Memorize 12 poems. They might all be my girlfriend's because I am gay.
Read the whole forensics medicine textbook I have, because while it likely won't come up in any upcoming examinations ever, I feel like I should know more about my career goal.
Read Higher Topos Theory? I'm not sure if I can actually do this, but eh, I could at least knock down some prerequisite background I need to understand it hopefully.
Read the five philosophy books recommended here, and then I guess I could consider reading the old books later.
Read the 2 Classics of Marxism compilations. It's honestly embarrassing that I haven't gotten around to that.

Rose · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2022, 05:23:42 am »

Gonna start with the books I read last year.

Not... A whole lot. I re-read a few Discworld books, read a book and three novellas in Brandon Sanderson's skyward series, and read a book called Child of the Light, which is from an author that I generally like, but this one was.... Not good.

Let's see what the new year brings.

None · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2022, 05:17:37 pm »

I'm not metering myself to a specific quantity of literature this year, given I wasn't nearly close to hitting any measure last year. That said, I am reading!

Right now I'm reading This is your Mind on Plants by one Michael Pollan (hah), which is a journalistic foray into the historical, cultural, and anecdotal backdrop of the psychoactives opium, caffeine, and mescaline. I'm only through the opium segment so far and am like halfway into caffeine, but the writing is excellent and insightful and critically examines the attitudes we take to the psychoactive substances in our lives, the ramifications of the War on Drugs, etc. Great read so far.

Rose · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2022, 02:55:56 am »

I've started reading Jena Morgan's Glitch, an RPG source book that's extremely thicc and extremely dense and mostly world building.

delphonso · « **Reply #9 on:** January 24, 2022, 06:48:40 am »

May as well update as we approach the end of the month.

My goals:

Read 3 emotional books (dramas, romances, tragedies)
Read 3 less-dry science-related books (such as something by Mary Roach or Carl Sagan)
- Reading Skeptics Guide to the Universe (started and abandoned it last year, but really am enjoying it. About 2/3 through.)
Read 3 books about Chinese history/myth
Read 2 books in Chinese (kids books accepted [read them to your daughter, you melon.])
Read a book from 2021 or 2022.

Along side this, I uncovered a collection of previously bought and forgotten novels/novellas/autobiographies about China in the pre-Revolution days. They're all things I'd certainly enjoy and many would hit both the historical and emotional categories. My wife also passed me a book about someone who "died" and came back - it hit my wife quite hard, so I'm looking forward to the emotional impact of that one.

We unloaded out books (just moved) and I've selected a few candidates for reading to our daughter in Chinese. Hopefully my wife will help me out with that.

coalboat · « **Reply #10 on:** January 24, 2022, 09:49:39 am »

I'm about to finish the second book of LoTR, and also have began reading The Witcher series in its original Polish version... I hope to finish at least one book in the series within 2022.

edit:

Quote from: delphonso on January 24, 2022, 06:48:40 am

novels/novellas/autobiographies about China in the pre-Revolution days.

Stories from the pre-Revolution era sometimes remind me of the genres of western and noir of English literature.

Yoink · « **Reply #11 on:** January 24, 2022, 10:28:29 am »

I'm aiming for 40 books, done two so far. One was started last year.

Frumple · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2022, 06:53:52 pm »

... not even going to try to document this time, but I'll keep reading so long as nothing kills me. I did keep reading after I gave up on documentation last time. How much, I'unno. Bunches. If I averaged 50k words a day (probably a decent, somewhat low baseline... pretty regularly eat through something like that in a few hours, part of an afternoon) it would have came out to around 18 million words, or about 200 average-ish length paperbacks, which... sounds about right for a lowball.

Do know Flym is currently saying the stuff I've RSS'd since I installed the app has produced 5,970 new chapters I haven't caught up to, so. Probably not going to run out! Nevermind I keep adding new ones, and there's stuff not rss-able that's been bookmarked.

... looks like I can actually export the thing's list if anyone's interested? Frumple's list of mostly litrpg royal road fiction of varying quality and sometimes questionable content!

e: actually checked, the list is 141 pieces of fiction and one webcomic, apparently, haha

e2: Actually, screw it, ~~let's see if~~ I can just fit the thing in here:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

DwarfUli · « **Reply #13 on:** January 29, 2022, 12:52:50 pm »

Books I've read so far in 2022 (love my new Kindle);

-Vampire of the Mists (Christie Golden) Surprisingly well written. Will be reading rest of series.
-Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson) Didn't care for it at all, felt very "teenager" and lame.
-Suite Francaise (Irene Nemirovsky) Excellent!
-Ringworld (Larry Niven) Loved it
-Revelation Space (Alastair Reynolds) Loved it
-Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon (Betsy Balcombe) Excellent book

martinuzz · « **Reply #14 on:** March 10, 2022, 01:24:31 pm »

To stay sane in these times of madness, I will start reading 'The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft'.

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Author Topic: 2022 Hot Fresh Reading Challenge Thread (Read 4989 times)

Vector

2022 Hot Fresh Reading Challenge Thread

Vector

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delphonso

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EuchreJack

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coalboat

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hops

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Rose

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None

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Rose

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delphonso

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coalboat

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Yoink

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Frumple

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DwarfUli

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martinuzz

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