Books Saturnfan Read 2012, Plus The Rest Of Us

[BoringSupreez]

2011 is old hat now, so time for a new thread.

I just read a Dilbert book, a collection of all the Sunday strips from 1995 through 1999. Deep, thoughtful literature there.

[Ziggy]

So many books I want to read, not enough time!

I've been reading the Ian Flemming Bond novels chronologically. Goldfinger is next. It'll probably be the next book I read. Though I've been wanting to give this body language book I have another read.

My friend was telling me about Scar Tissue while we listened to the new Peppers album, made me very interested in reading it. She loaned it to me once, but I just read a few pages. I might pick it up soon and make it high priority.

What sucks is, for every 1 book I read, there will be at least 2 books I hear about that I will really wanna read.

[Michi]

I really hope to read more this year. I really slacked off last year. I only made it through about....maybe 8-10? Not too sure, but still pretty low by my usual standards.

Book reading goal of the year: Make it though some of my many neglected Rex Stout novels. Get it at least one classic and read a couple (of the smaller) Stephen King books. Perhaps Misery or Eyes of the Dragon. I haven't gotten to those yet.

[saturnfan]

I still have to make my final post for 2011. I put away around 42 or 43 books, with probably another dozen partially read. I'm trying for 50 this year, and those partial reads will help me out when I finally finish them.

[Luke]

Inside Pee-Wee's Playhouse

[REPO Man]

Polished off the 2nd Gossip Girl book. Gonna start the third one after the Perps sequel, The Last Days.

[bladerunner]

Almost done with The Twilight of the Bombs by Richard Rhodes. Looks at the scale down of Cold War nuclear arsenals and the rising threat of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and Asia as well as the new threats of nuclear terrorism. Great read. Any of Rhodes' books on nuclear weapons are highly recommended.

[AmishSamurai]

Finished "The Alloy of Law" by Brandon Sanderson. It takes place 300 years after the Mistborn Trilogy, and is just as good as the rest of the books.

[saturnfan]

1. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Mild spoiler alert

I hardly ever read fiction, but figured as one of my reading goals for 2012 I would try and fit in some literature. Anyways, I figured I would see what the hype is about this book. It's critically reviewed, has two movie adaptions and is an international best seller. Must be good, right?

Wrong.

Well, that's harsh, it was ok.

Originally titled "men who hate woman", the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an average read due to its predictable plot line, flat characters, numerous clichés, and a slow pace to boot. It was hard for me to really connect with the characters. All the men, in some fashion, are portrayed as womanizing assholes that deserve to have their dicks cut off. The heroine, Lisabeth, is a misunderstood social outcast who is so obsessed with wanting to be left alone that she inadvertently draws so much attention to herself that the State has labeled her as mentally incompetent. Larsson’s description of her is so emotionless that at times I really felt that she was mentally incompetent, had she represented a real person.

With that being said, there are some positives. While cliché, I did find the overall story interesting enough that I wanted to see it to its conclusion. It was kind of a cool tale about murderers, corrupt businessmen and rapists. I was also interested in knowing more about the relationship between Lisabeth and Blomkvist (the other main character). And I am willing to read the next book to pursue it? Perhaps, time will tell.

Overall I don’t see the hype. I may not be an avid reader of fiction, but I found the book to be average at best.

[saturnfan]

1. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
2. Outliers - Max Gladwell

I was given this book as a gift by a friend and therefor felt obligated to move it to the top of my reading list. Basically the author explains how super successful people (billionaires and such) were helped along by certain intangibles, which for a lack of better word means luck. Bill Gates, for example was born at the place at the right time in order to take advantage of the emerging computer industry. The whole book is filled with similar examples.

While interesting, the information at times seemed either painfully obvious or pseudo-scientific. I would elaborate but that would require me writing a lot more than I'd like. However, I will say that the book did make think differently about the way we think about success in general. Despite its flaws it was an interesting read.