So the day after dinging a professor for not reading enough good stuff, allow me to present the list of books I finished in 2014:
- Modge Podge Rocks by Amy Anderson
- Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard
- You Must Remember This 1978edited by Betsy Dexter
- Poetry for Cats by Henry Beard
- Captive of Gor by John Norman
- Rebel Moon by Bruce Bethke and Vox Day
- Spectrum II edited by Kingsley Amis and Robert Conquest
- The French Powder Mystery by Ellery Queen
- God, Man, and Archie Bunker by Spencer Marsh
- The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsom
- Wonderland by Ace Atkins
- Damned If You Do by Michael Brandman
- Skin Tight by Gary Henderson
- Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
- The Maid’s Version by Daniel Woodrell
- Real Women Don’t Pump Gas by Joyce Jillson
- A Daughter’s Revenge by J.R. Roberts
- Rogue Warrior II: Red Cell by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman
- Churchill: In Memoriam by The Editors of the New York Times
- Forbidden City by Alex Archer
- The Bloody Crown of Conan by Robert E. Howard
- Devil’s Pool by Charlie Farmer
- The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead by Charles Murray
- The Battle Off Midway Island by Theodore Taylor
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Sink the Bismarck by C. S. Forester
- The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard
- Blood Silver: The Story of the Yocum Dollar by Woody P. Snow
- Books are Better In Bed Than Men Because by Deenie Vin
- Women Who Love Cats Too Much by Allia Zobel
- 101 Reasons Why A Cat Is Better Than A Man by Allia Zobel
- Bomun Temple in Seoul Korea
- The Private Hell of Hemingway by Milt Machlin
- The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins
- Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins
- Mary Rose by J.M. Barrie
- Beautiful Korea
- What Makes a Picasso a Picasso?
- Designation Gold by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman
- The Barrabas Hit by Jack Hild
- Poems of Creatures Large and Small by edited by Gail Harvey
- Dirty South by Ace Atkins
- The Fall by Albert Camus
- Longarm and the Border Showdown by Tabor Evans
- As Autumn Approaches by Ronald E. Piggee
- No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre
- Leif and Thorkel by Genevra Snedden
- Limericks
- Murder for Halloween edited by Michele Slung and Roland Hartman
- New Pearl of the Orient Korea by the Korea National Tourist Corporation
- Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor
- Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective
- The Time-Hoppers by Robert Silverberg
- Tiger at the Gates by Jean Giraudoux / Chistopher Fry
- Magic by William Goldman
- Chains of the Sea edited by Robert Silverberg
- The Programmer’s Book of Rules by George Ledin, Jr. and Victor Ledin
- The Three Legions by Gregory Solon
- Washington IOU by Don Pendleton
- Conan the Cimmerian by Roy Thomas
- Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright
- Bad Cat by Jim Edgar
That’s only 62, and it’s a bunch less than I read a few short years ago.
There’s a couple books of lightweight poetry in there, a couple of plays, and only a couple of things one would consider Literature (the Existentialist works). Of all the things I’ve read, I’m proudest of reading the Robert E. Howard’s complete Conan stories. I probably read too much Ace Atkins considering how little satisfaction I get out of reading them.
Still, I did make progress on two thousand+ pages books that I’ve been working on for several years now, and I’m actually almost done with an actual Harvard Classics book (Folklore: Aesop, Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Anderson) that I’ve been reading aloud to my child(ren) off and on for a couple of years.
In 2015, I hope to finish more books, and as always, I hope to read a better quality of literature, but I’ll sneak in the short bits while watching sports and while digesting Literature. But I promise that to myself every year anyway.
Also, if you’re thinking 62 books is a lot to read in a given year, check out the numbers over here. That fellow reads as many books in a year as I buy.
I read 80 books, most of them comics. Some of those required 10 minutes of reading, so I don’t think much of the number. The most novel change was the addition of 5 Shakespeare plays. I hadn’t read the Bard since high school. I also read a few histories which is, again, something that I hadn’t done in years.
I see that you read lots of Conan this year. That’s often good stuff. I have fond memories of those pulp paperbacks.
Starting a reading list a couple of years ago (inspired by you) was one of my better decisions. Now I’m habitually reading. Since I have no active research projects now, the list keeps me motivated to read daily from books.
I didn’t count the comics, which I’ve suddenly found myself buying and reading on occasion again given my current client and its target audience.
I have a complete Shakespeare collection I should roll through some time just to say I’ve read it all. Once you get your mind calibrated to Middle English, you can read it as fast as modern English. When I was taking Shakespeare and Jonson in college, I found myself laughing at the jokes without the footnotes.
So which plays did you read this year?
Too bad you don’t have a blog of your own these days where you can post what you’re reading/what you’ve read. Sometimes, that’s the only thing that keeps this blog going is my blog posts so I can look back at them some day.
Also, thanks for saying I inspired you. I’m glad to have an impact.
I miscounted. It was 6 plays:
King Lear
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Richard III
The Tempest
Henry V
The Merchant of Venice
The last was the most enjoyable, largely because of the character Shylock. I found him very relatable, which perhaps does not speak well of me. But good fiction helps us explore ourselves and reading The Merchant of Venice asked questions about my inner Shylock.
I have only read two of those, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest.
But you’re making me want to find that nice collection of Shakespeare I have. Actually, perhaps I should find all the Shakespeare collections I have and choose which I read based on its readability (print size and whatnot).