my favorite 2011 readings
malcolm gladwell - the tipping point [march]
steven rinella - the scavenger's guide to haute cuisine [may]
peter hessler - river town [december]
peter nichols - a voyage for madmen [december]
and movies of note
the fighter, doubt, gold rush, kate!, red balloon, harakiri, bridesmaids, tangled, the debt, inception, the wettest country (screener),
12.30.2011
12.09.2011
december 2011
one weird side effect of getting a smart phone is that i read books less. not because i'm on my phone playing games or whatever, but because i'm constantly reading new articles and stuff. i'm also following a bunch of science feeds on twitter so that doesn't help!
...and of course, as soon as i say i'm not reading much, i go and read a shit ton. lol. i think the science stuff was just too heavy, so i've switched off onto some lighter reading.
richard dawkins - the selfish gene [9/27-]
the adventures of theodore roosevelt [10/31-]
the best american science writing of 2004 [19-9]
sloane crosley - i was told there'd be cake [12-14]
peter hessler - river town [15-20]
ruth reichl - tender at the bone [20-22]
peter nichols - a voyage for madmen [22-25]
anne fadiman - the spirit catches you and you fall down [26-]
mission impossible [25], sherlock holmes 2 [27], girl with the dragon tattoo [27]
...and of course, as soon as i say i'm not reading much, i go and read a shit ton. lol. i think the science stuff was just too heavy, so i've switched off onto some lighter reading.
richard dawkins - the selfish gene [9/27-]
the adventures of theodore roosevelt [10/31-]
the best american science writing of 2004 [19-9]
sloane crosley - i was told there'd be cake [12-14]
peter hessler - river town [15-20]
ruth reichl - tender at the bone [20-22]
peter nichols - a voyage for madmen [22-25]
anne fadiman - the spirit catches you and you fall down [26-]
mission impossible [25], sherlock holmes 2 [27], girl with the dragon tattoo [27]
11.08.2011
11.05.2011
november 2011
richard dawkins - the selfish gene [9/27-]
the adventures of theodore roosevelt [31-]
the best american science writing of 2004 [19-]
lincoln lawyer [4], rear window [19], twilight [24]
the adventures of theodore roosevelt [31-]
the best american science writing of 2004 [19-]
lincoln lawyer [4], rear window [19], twilight [24]
10.25.2011
long time
holy shit, i can't believe i've been posting here for five years. that's a lot of books!!!
looking thru my posts tho, i noticed that my taste in reading has really changed. before college i read almost exclusively fiction. i want to say i only read fiction, but i don't know everything i read so... then i started reading memoirs, and i still love a good travel memoir. in 2007, science and history stuff creep in. then starting in mid 2010, i started reading almost exclusively non-fiction.
today i rarely read fiction. i think fiction gets tiring after a while. there are only so many stories, you know? (i think 7, tho sometimes i think only 3) and also, there are so many good books out there, so why would i want to read the same thing over and over? i have limited time (and budget!), so i should learn something, no? which is why i love reading science stuff now.
i do sometimes feel like i'm missing out tho. i haven't read any of the harry potters, twilights, or steig larsson books (girl with the dragon tattoo...)... the last fictional series i read was dan brown's da vinci code stuff (which isn't really a series, cause it's only two books). harry potter is interesting tho. those were pretty big even when i was in high school yet i've always resisted reading them. someone once accused me of being an elitist when i said i didn't want to read it cause it was written for children and kids' books tend not to have much character development. but i stand by that. and while harry potter might be different (each one is like 500 pages long after all), i'm not interested in fantasy. i stopped reading that genre in junior high. ...and no, i'm not saying that fantasy is only for kids and i'm too mature for it now. but for me, fantasy was a phase, and i have since moved on. but i also don't read horror anymore. in high school i pretty much completed stephen king's line of books and since then i've no interest in him or the genre.
anyway, i wonder what genre i'll move onto next? this year, thanks to a friend, i started reading straight history (robert k. massie books about the russian rulers) but i don't think that's for me. too many names and places and times to get mixed up. i also read a couple food memoirs this year which i am still really interested in. i've been wanting to read michael pollan but i haven't been able to find any of his books used and for really cheap. ...but that's a post for a different time.
looking thru my posts tho, i noticed that my taste in reading has really changed. before college i read almost exclusively fiction. i want to say i only read fiction, but i don't know everything i read so... then i started reading memoirs, and i still love a good travel memoir. in 2007, science and history stuff creep in. then starting in mid 2010, i started reading almost exclusively non-fiction.
today i rarely read fiction. i think fiction gets tiring after a while. there are only so many stories, you know? (i think 7, tho sometimes i think only 3) and also, there are so many good books out there, so why would i want to read the same thing over and over? i have limited time (and budget!), so i should learn something, no? which is why i love reading science stuff now.
i do sometimes feel like i'm missing out tho. i haven't read any of the harry potters, twilights, or steig larsson books (girl with the dragon tattoo...)... the last fictional series i read was dan brown's da vinci code stuff (which isn't really a series, cause it's only two books). harry potter is interesting tho. those were pretty big even when i was in high school yet i've always resisted reading them. someone once accused me of being an elitist when i said i didn't want to read it cause it was written for children and kids' books tend not to have much character development. but i stand by that. and while harry potter might be different (each one is like 500 pages long after all), i'm not interested in fantasy. i stopped reading that genre in junior high. ...and no, i'm not saying that fantasy is only for kids and i'm too mature for it now. but for me, fantasy was a phase, and i have since moved on. but i also don't read horror anymore. in high school i pretty much completed stephen king's line of books and since then i've no interest in him or the genre.
anyway, i wonder what genre i'll move onto next? this year, thanks to a friend, i started reading straight history (robert k. massie books about the russian rulers) but i don't think that's for me. too many names and places and times to get mixed up. i also read a couple food memoirs this year which i am still really interested in. i've been wanting to read michael pollan but i haven't been able to find any of his books used and for really cheap. ...but that's a post for a different time.
10.09.2011
october 2011
richard dawkins - the selfish gene [27-]
short shorts: an anthology of the shortest stories [28-6]
christopher cokinos - hope is the thing with feathers [7-18]
the best american science writing 2003 [19-29]
the adventures of theodore roosevelt [31-]
adjustment bureau [12-13], the thing [15], igmar bergman - wild strawberries (1957) [22], woody allen - whatever works (2009) [22], last chance harvey (2008) [23], incendies [28]
short shorts: an anthology of the shortest stories [28-6]
christopher cokinos - hope is the thing with feathers [7-18]
the best american science writing 2003 [19-29]
the adventures of theodore roosevelt [31-]
adjustment bureau [12-13], the thing [15], igmar bergman - wild strawberries (1957) [22], woody allen - whatever works (2009) [22], last chance harvey (2008) [23], incendies [28]
9.04.2011
september 2011
jared diamond - guns, germs and steel [8/17-21]
the best american nonrequired reading 2005 [29-15]
jillian straus - unhooked generation [15-21]
julie powell - julie & julia [22-26]
richard dawkins - the selfish gene [27-]
strangers on a train (1951) [2], the debt [3], commando (1985) [6], inception (again), ip man (2008), ip man 2 (2010), source code (2011), killer elite [25], wettest county (screener) [27]
the best american nonrequired reading 2005 [29-15]
jillian straus - unhooked generation [15-21]
julie powell - julie & julia [22-26]
richard dawkins - the selfish gene [27-]
strangers on a train (1951) [2], the debt [3], commando (1985) [6], inception (again), ip man (2008), ip man 2 (2010), source code (2011), killer elite [25], wettest county (screener) [27]
8.15.2011
finishing
i normally finish every book i start. sometimes tho, it' just doesn't work out. i always feel really guilty about it though. :(
stuff i've started but eventually gave up on:
anna karenina - boring and confusing after so many attempted starts
the jungle - not bad, just not too interesting. will definitely eventually finish
peter the great - way boring. i'm SO not into reading that much war strategery
stuff i've started but eventually gave up on:
anna karenina - boring and confusing after so many attempted starts
the jungle - not bad, just not too interesting. will definitely eventually finish
peter the great - way boring. i'm SO not into reading that much war strategery
8.05.2011
august 2001
tom shachtman - absolute zero [27-10]
the best american non-required reading 2008 [4-6]
paco underhill - why we buy: the science of shopping [10-17]
jared diamond - guns, germs and steel [17-]
best american science and nature writing of 2004 [19-26]
rise of the planet of the apes [6], cowboys and aliens [6], let me in [8], wall street: money never sleeps (2010) [22]
the best american non-required reading 2008 [4-6]
paco underhill - why we buy: the science of shopping [10-17]
jared diamond - guns, germs and steel [17-]
best american science and nature writing of 2004 [19-26]
rise of the planet of the apes [6], cowboys and aliens [6], let me in [8], wall street: money never sleeps (2010) [22]
7.13.2011
no books = no sex
John Waters - "If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em!"
7.07.2011
july 2011
robert k massie - peter the great [30-]
howard dully - my lobotomy [7-8]
lynne truss - eats, shoots and leaves [8-13]
oliver sacks - awakenings [11-18]
kathleen flinn - the sharper the knife, the less you cry [18-21]
natalie angier - beauty of the beastly [22-25]
irene nemirosvsky - fire in the blood [25-26]
tom shachtman - absolute zero [27-]
gave up on robert k massie - peter the great [30-]
black swan, green hornet [11], tangled [14], harry potter 7b [20], captain america [22], i am number 4
howard dully - my lobotomy [7-8]
lynne truss - eats, shoots and leaves [8-13]
oliver sacks - awakenings [11-18]
kathleen flinn - the sharper the knife, the less you cry [18-21]
natalie angier - beauty of the beastly [22-25]
irene nemirosvsky - fire in the blood [25-26]
tom shachtman - absolute zero [27-]
gave up on robert k massie - peter the great [30-]
black swan, green hornet [11], tangled [14], harry potter 7b [20], captain america [22], i am number 4
6.19.2011
book $
e-book prices fuel outrage -- and innovation
i've had an ongoing "argument" with rip about e-books vs traditional books. and every time we can't agree because i feel like he isn't qualified to. in the last 10 years he, on average, has read less than two books a year. i more than double his annual reading rate in a month.
i hope paperback books keep coming out for a long long long time. i don't like hardcovers since they're less convenient: they're heavy, don't fit in my purse, are hard to hold with one hand, and because they're generally much more expensive, i'm more careful with them. which is annoying. but i also feel like books in general are too expensive.
most of my friends who are big readers have some sort of e-book reader. but none of us use it as our primary reader because traditional books are just a million times better! add price on top of all that, and not one of us is willing to permanently make the switch. but i do know that if e-books were significantly cheaper than print books, we could definitely be swayed.
i remember in high school cds were like $17 each. then napster and itunes became popular, now most cds are less than $13. book publishers really need to learn from the music industry! cds were priced to match mp3 prices, and books should be priced to be comparable to e-book prices, not the other way around as it is currently. i recently read somewhere else that used bookstores are doing really good business, and it's because people won't (maybe can't?) afford to spend $16 on a paperback or $26 on a hardback when they can get it for half off.
i've had an ongoing "argument" with rip about e-books vs traditional books. and every time we can't agree because i feel like he isn't qualified to. in the last 10 years he, on average, has read less than two books a year. i more than double his annual reading rate in a month.
i hope paperback books keep coming out for a long long long time. i don't like hardcovers since they're less convenient: they're heavy, don't fit in my purse, are hard to hold with one hand, and because they're generally much more expensive, i'm more careful with them. which is annoying. but i also feel like books in general are too expensive.
most of my friends who are big readers have some sort of e-book reader. but none of us use it as our primary reader because traditional books are just a million times better! add price on top of all that, and not one of us is willing to permanently make the switch. but i do know that if e-books were significantly cheaper than print books, we could definitely be swayed.
i remember in high school cds were like $17 each. then napster and itunes became popular, now most cds are less than $13. book publishers really need to learn from the music industry! cds were priced to match mp3 prices, and books should be priced to be comparable to e-book prices, not the other way around as it is currently. i recently read somewhere else that used bookstores are doing really good business, and it's because people won't (maybe can't?) afford to spend $16 on a paperback or $26 on a hardback when they can get it for half off.
6.01.2011
june 2011
best american travel writing of 2008 [22-4]
marie winn - red-tails in love: a wildlife drama in central park [3-5]
robert k massie - nicholas and alexandra [6-13]
charles panati - extraordinary origins of everything things [13-23]
stefan fatsis - word freak: heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble [23-29]
robert k massie - peter the great [30-]
scott pilgrim vs. the world (2010), x-men: first class, super 8 (2011) [10], transformers 3 (2011) [29]
marie winn - red-tails in love: a wildlife drama in central park [3-5]
robert k massie - nicholas and alexandra [6-13]
charles panati - extraordinary origins of everything things [13-23]
stefan fatsis - word freak: heartbreak, triumph, genius, and obsession in the world of competitive scrabble [23-29]
robert k massie - peter the great [30-]
scott pilgrim vs. the world (2010), x-men: first class, super 8 (2011) [10], transformers 3 (2011) [29]
5.09.2011
may 2011
henry petroski - the evolution of useful things [10-6]
simon winchester - the man who loved china [4/8-9]
shirley jackson - the lottery and other stories [10-13]
greg mortenson & david oliver relin - three cups of tea [11-14]
ellen meloy - the anthropology of turquoise [15-gave up on 30]
steven rinella - the scavenger's guide to haute cuisine [16-20]
best american travel writing of 2008 [22-]
the bicycle thieves (1948) [2], thor (2011) [6], the darjeeling limited (2007) [7], rashomon (1950) [9], terminator (1984) [16], bridesmaids (2011) [20], pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides (2011) [20]
simon winchester - the man who loved china [4/8-9]
shirley jackson - the lottery and other stories [10-13]
greg mortenson & david oliver relin - three cups of tea [11-14]
ellen meloy - the anthropology of turquoise [15-gave up on 30]
steven rinella - the scavenger's guide to haute cuisine [16-20]
best american travel writing of 2008 [22-]
the bicycle thieves (1948) [2], thor (2011) [6], the darjeeling limited (2007) [7], rashomon (1950) [9], terminator (1984) [16], bridesmaids (2011) [20], pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides (2011) [20]
4.01.2011
april 2011
diane ackerman - zookeeper's wife [1-7]
josh kilmer-purcell - i am not myself these days [7]
simon winchester - the man who loved china [8-]
henry petroski - the evolution of useful things [10-]
dr. strangelove (1964) [5], a perfect getaway (2009) [12], niagra (1953) [20], bottle rocket (1996), fast five (2011) [29]
bad month for reading, did lots of crafting instead.
josh kilmer-purcell - i am not myself these days [7]
simon winchester - the man who loved china [8-]
henry petroski - the evolution of useful things [10-]
dr. strangelove (1964) [5], a perfect getaway (2009) [12], niagra (1953) [20], bottle rocket (1996), fast five (2011) [29]
bad month for reading, did lots of crafting instead.
3.08.2011
march 2011
david kamp - the united states of arugula [28-11]
michael paterniti - driving mr albert (again) [2-10]
ken mcalpine - off season [11-31]
malcolm gladwell - the tipping point [22-31]
harakiri (1962) [18], adam (2009) [19], raging bull (1980) [19], date night (2010) [23], grand illusion (1937) [28], blade runner (1982) [31]
michael paterniti - driving mr albert (again) [2-10]
ken mcalpine - off season [11-31]
malcolm gladwell - the tipping point [22-31]
harakiri (1962) [18], adam (2009) [19], raging bull (1980) [19], date night (2010) [23], grand illusion (1937) [28], blade runner (1982) [31]
2.02.2011
february 2011
meg wolitzer - the wife [30-1] (again)
sean wilsey - oh the glory of it all [1-7] (again)
aj jabocs - my life as an experiment [7-9]
martin page - the discreet pleasures of rejection [10-13]
oliver sacks - anthropologist on mars [13-27]
david kamp - the united states of arugula [28-]
lots of movies this month! chaplin - gold rush [8], dw griffith - broken blossoms [14], kate! - the making of an icon [16], martin scorsese- shutter island [17], the king's speech [19], the social network [24], the red shoes [25], the red balloon [25], the most dangerous game [26]
sean wilsey - oh the glory of it all [1-7] (again)
aj jabocs - my life as an experiment [7-9]
martin page - the discreet pleasures of rejection [10-13]
oliver sacks - anthropologist on mars [13-27]
david kamp - the united states of arugula [28-]
lots of movies this month! chaplin - gold rush [8], dw griffith - broken blossoms [14], kate! - the making of an icon [16], martin scorsese- shutter island [17], the king's speech [19], the social network [24], the red shoes [25], the red balloon [25], the most dangerous game [26]
1.18.2011
january 2011
oh my god it's been a long time since i updated this so the dates will be alllllllll wrong and i've been playing this game on my kindle lately so i haven't read much.
robert l. wolke - what einstein told his cook: kitchen science explained [22-16]
james frey - million little pieces [21-24] (again)
upton sinclair - the jungle [25-]
margaret atwood - alias grace [26-29] (again)
meg wolitzer - the wife [30-] (again)
the fighter [8], despicable me [21], easy a [21], no strings attached [22], brick [28], salt [29], doubt [30]
robert l. wolke - what einstein told his cook: kitchen science explained [22-16]
james frey - million little pieces [21-24] (again)
upton sinclair - the jungle [25-]
margaret atwood - alias grace [26-29] (again)
meg wolitzer - the wife [30-] (again)
the fighter [8], despicable me [21], easy a [21], no strings attached [22], brick [28], salt [29], doubt [30]
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