Landshark5's Books for 2010

ticker removed

Books Read in 2010:

1. Nobody's Safe by Richard Steinberg
2. Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith
3. GURPS Lensman by Sean Barrett
4. Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith
5. Simple Solar Homesteading by LaMar Alexander
6. Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius by Gavin D.J. Harper
7. First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
8. Adventures from the Technology Underground by William Gurstelle
9. Strata by Terry Pratchett
10. Galactic Patrol by E.E. "Doc" Smith
11. Whale Hunt in the Desert by Deke Castleman
12. Comp City by Max Rubin
13. Grey Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
14. Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie
15. The FairTax Book by Neil Boortz and John Linder
16. FairTax: the Truth by Neil Boortz and John Linder
17. The New Space Opera edited by Gradner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan
18. The Traveler's Guide to the Solar System by Giles Sparrow
19. Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
20. Second Stage Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
21. Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
22. Where's My Cow? by Terry Pratchett
23. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
24. Futureshocks edited by Lou Anders
25. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
26. His Robot Girlfriend by Wesley Allison
27. The Coming Technological Singularity by Vernor Vinge
28. Spacehounds of the IPC by E.E. "Doc" Smith
29. Space Platform by Murray Leinster
30. Space Tug by Murray Leinster
31. Children of the Lens by E.E. "Doc" Smith
32. Spying: The Secret History of History by Denis Collins
33. Cathedral The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay
34. City A Story of Roman Planning and Construction by David Macaulay
35. Castle by David Macaulay
36. Mill by David Macaulay
37. The Mysterious Case Of Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys by Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman
38. The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope
39. Tom Swift And His Motorcycle by Victor Appleton
40. 9901256::Through The Air To The North Pole by Roy Rockwood
41. James And The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
42. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
43. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roal Dahl
44. Med Ship by Murray Leinster
45. Sci-Fi Art A Graphic History by Steve Holland
46. Charlie And The Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
47. The Twits by Roald Dahl
48. George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
49. The Introvert Advantage: How To Thrive In An Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D.
50. The BFG by Roald Dahl
51. Matilda by Roald Dahl
52. FAB: The Coming Revolution On Your Desktop - From Personal Computers To Personal Fabrication by Neil Gershenfeld
53. Kull: Exile of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard
54. Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
55. The Galaxy Primes by E.E. "Doc" Smith
56. Subspace Survivors by E.E. "Doc" Smith
57. A Logic Named Joe by Murray Leinster
58. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein narrated by Lloyd James
59. Packing For Mars by Mary Roach
60. The Notebooks Of Lazarus Long by Robert A. Heinlein illuminated by D.F. Vassallo
61. The War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells
62. The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein
63. World War Z by Max Brooks
64. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
65. Unintended Consequences by John Ross
66. What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper? by Andrew Thompson
67. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
68. Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster
69. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
70. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
71. Man Of Many Minds by Edward Everett Evans
72. How To Hide Anything by Michael Connor
73. The Complete Guide To Genius by GeniusIntelligence
74. Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Chelsea Cain
75. The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman narrated by Don Leslie
76. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens narrated by Tim Curry
77. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Hi. I'm Landshark5 and this is my 2010 challenge thread. I'm a data analyst living in Texas. For fun I read mainly science fiction and fantasy with some of everything else thrown in. As a space nut, I also have a pile of space books to read through. This is my second year doing the challenge. We'll see if I can be more current in keeping track of what's going on and maybe even be a little more participatory this year.
Landshark5's Books for 2009

Glad to see you back again, fellow Texan!

Welcome back!

Yes, welcome back.

Life does not want me reading Triplanetary right now. I'm ready to start checking for monitors. He's getting ready to read Triplanetary, Divert, Distract!

Book 1
Nobody's Safe by Richard Steinberg
A suspense novel involving a thief who ends up in the middle of a government conspiracy involving Roswell and Area 51. A good, fast paced, fun story. The writing wasn't the best. There were several cringe inducing passages and phrases. If it had better writing, I'd recommend the book.
Interesting that I managed to read an almost 500 page book quickly without interruption while I can't get through a 170 page book without something calling me away. A friend has been bugging me to read this since I'm the one that actually reads.

#6: Too bad about that one. The premise sounds good - too bad the execution failed. Better luck with the next book (possibly Triplanetary?)

I've managed to get about half way through Triplanetary in the past week. It feels like I've read a few hundred pages to get there with all the interruptions and subsequent rereading to find my place again.

I understand completely how that goes!

Book 2
Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith
The Cosmos paperback edition includes Triplanetary and Masters of Space. Triplanetary was not the Lensman extended version which was a surprise as the back cover blurb was about that version. I'll leave discussion of Triplanetary to the group read. Masters of Space was a good story with a few disconnects that could have been better worked out.

I'm glad January was not a normal reading month or I'd be on track to finish 25 books for the year.

Book 3
GURPS Lensman by Sean Barrett
While I've played D&D and other RPGs in the past and still play computer RPGs, I've never played a GURPS campaign. GURPS is the Generic Universal Role Playing System from Steve Jackson Games and with some setting specific settings and tweaks works with the same basic rules for everything from ice age fantasy to science fiction singularity settings. I'm not planning on starting any new role playing groups, but I was interested in how they saw the Lensman universe. The book (which looks like Kinko's product, not a regular bound book) includes lots of quotes from the books and stats for all the second stage lensmen works by creating a loose framework that simply ignores inconsistencies from the series and drops most of the load on the game master, which is where it ends up anyway no matter how much detail a system includes. Parts of the writing seemed like something created for a home custom campaign rather than a product for publishing. I noticed a couple of details that didn't jump out from the books, but didn't really learn anything new about the universe.

Book 4
Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Yes, I just read Triplanetary. That was the original stand alone version and this was the Lensman rewrite version. I wanted to see what the differences were and not just from memories of the read a year ago. The first third of the story is now the shorts which is all new and of course all references to Eddore or Arisia are new. Other than those, there were only a few small snippets that were changed between editions. The conflict between Eddore and Arisia is recapped multiple time through the series, but this is the story to put some flesh on the back story.

Book 5
Simple Solar Homesteading by LaMar Alexander
Author builds a solar cabin and describes projects related to solar appliances he built for his homestead. The book was printed by a small regional publisher and obviously not edited. The "sturdy solar cabin" is actually a flimsy shack barely bigger than Thoreau built on Walden Pond and couldn't meet building codes for permanent habitation anywhere in the developed world. The prices listed are only obtainable if you leave off expensive components and scavenge others and leave off all safety items like cutouts and voltage controllers. Some of the projects could be used for, say, a hunting lodge used temporarily and located far off the grid. Some interesting information, but not really practical.

Book 6
Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius by Gavin D.J. Harper
A book on solar power and its applications and some home projects you can build to take advantage of solar power. Too much proselytizing about the wonders of solar power and the evil of fossil fuels and not enough detail on some of the projects and practical applications. Some really interesting projects and info but too much of the book was taken up by preaching.

Not exactly what I was looking for in my reading on solar power, but they were extremely quick reads and provided a couple of tidbits of interesting info. We'll see if my current interest will carry me through a longer and denser work on the subject.

Book 7
First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Second book in the Lensman series, a reread from last year for the group read. Still the fun escapist grand space opera story. The fleets are larger and grander as the engagements escalate. The Galactic Patrol and Lens are now added to the story building up for the rest of the series and written as a Lensman story from the first, it is less choppy than Triplanetary.

Book 8
Adventures from the Technology Underground by William Gurstelle
Looks at amateur creations and events celebrating technologies like catapults, robots, electricity, and cannons. Some of the choices seemed to highlight performance art rather than focusing on technology. The reader POV stories showing you participating in technology activities didn't draw me in but annoyed me. I liked the author's Backyard Ballistics probably because it was plans and info on creating stuff instead of a story. Includes some very interesting information but I didn't like the writing style and format of the author.

Book 9
Strata by Terry Pratchett
A science fiction book written before Pratchett started the Discworld series. You can see some elements that in a fantasy version made it into Discworld. A fun read good for a few laughs and smiles. Early Pratchett, so decent, but not to the level of the better Discworld novels or Good Omens. Supposed to be a parody of Ringworld, so I probably missed some of the humor since I haven't read that book in years.

Book 10
Galactic Patrol by E.E. "Doc" Smith

Third book in the Lensman series and the earliest story written as a Lensman book. Triplanetary was written originally as a stand alone and rewritten after the rest of the series as a lead in. First Lensman was written well after the rest of the main series. I'm rereading the whole series for the group read since I originally read the series back to back and my impressions are all mixed up and not attached to any specific story. Of course, a lot of my impressions apply to the whole series: Fun, Escapist, Enjoyable.

#16: Thus far, Galactic Patrol has been my favorite.

Book 11
Whale Hunt in the Desert by Deke castleman
Subtitled The Secret Las Vegas of Superhost Steve Cyr, the book looks at Vegas, hosts, high rollers, and whales (super sized high rollers) focusing on Cyr. You get to look at the fantasy heights of comps available to high rollers as well as the dark side of gambling. Like Vegas, the stories are larger than life. Only negative for me was that the author made no attempt to filter Cyr's exaggerations and self promotion from the true whale tales. Some interesting stories and since I don't have the time or money to go to Las Vegas and wouldn't be treated as a high roller if I did, so this is sort of a reading vacation.

#17 I'll agree, the middle of the series is my favorite.

#18: Since I have no interest in Las Vegas whatsoever, I think I will skip that one.

#20 To each their own. Anyway for me, it is more the fantasy of living it up and betting big in Vegas. Unless I become a lot more financially secure than I am now, I wouldn't be comfortable gambling IRL.

Book 12
Comp City by Max Rubin
A look at the casino comp system. The subtitle A Guide to Free Casino Vacations, is a reference to the book's main focus of getting the most possible out of the comp system. A lot of the book is various scams to trick the casino into thinking you are betting more than you are and inflating the amount of comps you qualify for. The book contains useful information about the comp system and how it is run, but personally it seems like too much work for what is supposed to be a vacation situation.

"It was a shocking thing to say and I knew it was a shocking thing to say. But no one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it, you don't have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it, you don't have to remain silent about it. You can write to me, you can complain about it, you can write to the publisher, you can write to the papers, you can write your own book. You can do all those things, but there your rights stop. No one has the right to stop me writing this book. No one has the right to stop it being published, or bought, or sold or read. That's all I have to say on that subject."

- Philip Pullman

#22: That pretty much sums up freedom of speech, doesn't it?

#23 Yes, it sums up freedom of speech as it should apply to publishing. I don't know which book or topic the quote applies to, but I prefer it to the articles of books (and dictionaries even) being pulled from schools and libraries because of complaints. I have his dark materials that I picked up cheap at some point in my TBR stacks; I'll have to pull those out for reading soon.

Book 13
Grey Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Fourth in the Lensman series. A quick fun diversion from all the technical reading I've been doing lately (I don't include magazines and most online reading so it doesn't show up on my challenge list). I'd go ahead and rate Grey Lensman just as highly, just a smidge below, Galactic Patrol as tops in the series so far.

Book 14
Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie
Take the female leads from Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan and instead of general coming of age stories, have older versions tell explicit sexual coming of age stories. It did nothing for me.

#25: I think I will be skipping that one. I hope you like your next read better!

In (dis)honor of April 15th Tax Day

Secrets Of Oz
Purports to tie symbolism in the Wizard of Oz (the original children's book, not the movie) to discussion about monetary policy. yellow brick road = gold standard, wicked witches = bankers, silver slippers = free silver movement, emerald city = greenbacks, cowardly lion = William Jennings Bryan. Unfortunately, there is only minimal time spent on the symbols and most of the story is spent promoting their pet theory that all we have to do is issue debt and interest free money when necessary and that all recessions and depressions are simply manipulation by evil central bankers. There was no real attempt to prove the symbolism claimed so the Oz story is just a vehicle. Baum may have hidden some symbolism about free silver and Bryan in the Wizard of Oz, but there was no proof or substantiation of the claim offered. The sequence of events that supports their view is created by connecting isolated events without appropriate context and some flat out lies burying any possible good about the idea of debt free money in the evil banker conspiracy theory.

I.O.U.S.A.
A documentary about the ballooning federal deficit and trade deficit. A fair and comprehensive look at the subject. Available through Netflix streaming and recommended.
SNL I.O.U.S.A. skit

Book 15
The FairTax Book by Neil Boortz and John Linder narrated by Neil Boortz
Talks about the idea that we should replace income and corporate taxes with a consumption or sales tax. Rants and over simplification hurt the credibility of some really interesting ideas. An interesting read if you are willing to focus on the underlying idea. Not as simple and magically good as portrayed but still worth thinking about.

Book 16
FairTax: the Truth by Neil Boortz and John Linder narrated by Neil Boortz
Follow up written a couple of years after The FairTax Book. Tries to answer some questions and sell the FairTax plan. Boortz is a conservative radio host so he is good at preaching to the choir and mobilizing the existing base, but not the best choice to sell the plan to newcomers and a wider audience. The rants cost him credibility and he oversells the plan as a panacea to several issues it won't necessarily affect. I spotted a few major gotchas, but a national sales tax to replace corporate, income, and payroll taxes is an interesting idea with some real benefits. An okay (but far from great) presentation of the subject, I may look up another take on the subject sometime.

Book 17
The New Space Opera edited by Gradner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan
An anthology of okay and good science fiction stories. Nothing great, but no bad or terrible stories. I consider it the more general science fiction as opposed to space opera. While some of the stories are part of world settings that are space operatic in scope, most story settings aren't. The stories themselves seem a little too dark and serious to mesh well with my concept of space opera. A nice collection of science fiction stories, but a sharp contrast to the Lensman series I'm currently reading and my ideas of space opera.

Book 18
The Traveler's Guide to the Solar System by Giles Sparrow
Astronomy text on the solar system describing planets, moons, etc. in a travel guide style. Contains the basics as well as a good bit of information I hadn't read before. I liked the format and writing style which was enjoyable and nowhere near as dry as some of my previous astronomy reads.

#29: I will look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation.

Book 19
Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
reread. liked it. more later.

#31: I read Lucifer's Hammer by that tandem and liked it, so I will give Oath of Fealty a try. Thanks for the recommendation!

Well, I haven't gotten around to saying anything about the book yet, but I do think you'll like it.

Book 19
Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Todos Santos is an archology in the middle of Los Angelos. The story basically is about the differences between the people of the archology and the city. While I might disagree that the archology alone is the cause of the differences, it is an interesting subject to read and think about.

Book 20
Second Stage Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Fifth book in the Lensman series. Still the original space opera, space combat is bigger and badder. Quick and enjoyable read.

Book 21
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
A series of origin stories meant to be read aloud to kids. Ok.

Not that I need anything to cut into my reading time, but I have a new toy, an HTC Droid Incredible cell phone. Biggest con so far is no Audible support yet. This was my test of an ereader. Probably won't be doing lots of reading on my phone, but it is another option to read when out and about without a book in hand.

Congrats on the Droid!

Thank you.

I'm only a couple of threads from catching up on the acre. You manage to go through threads almost as quick as you read.

#37: I try not to go through threads so quickly, but unfortunately people gang up on me!

If they didn't gang up on you, you'd have fewer interesting discussions happening in your threads.

Book 22
Where's My Cow? by Terry Pratchett illustrated by Melvyn Grant
Short, children's type picture book involving the Discworld setting and characters. Cute. basically recommended only for those who love Discworld with toddlers and at around $.50 a page retail, maybe not even then.

Book 23
The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
Book one in the 39 Clues series. I grabbed this as a possible gift for a friend's son. Smart as I think he is, this is probably beyond his reading level right now. I can see myself being swept along on a child's enjoyment, but this is not a series I would read for my own sake.

Mary Roach of Stiff and Bonk fame has a new book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void coming out. Looks like an August release date.

#41: I will look for that one. Thanks for the heads up!

Book 24
Futureshocks edited by Lou Anders
Short story anthology of speculative fiction. Overall, decent, a couple of good stories, nothing terrible.

Book 25
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard narrated by John Richmond
The first of Haggard's Allan Quartermaine stories. At some point in my reading, I absorbed who Quartermain was without ever reading or watching anything with him as a character (before seeing League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). So when I saw the first of the Quartermain series at an Audible sale, I grabbed it. Many of the series is available at Project Gutenberg for free. King Solomon's Mines is a classic adventure yarn that was one of the original lost world type stories inspiring Indiana Jones among other well known series. Decently written and well narrated, it was an enjoyable listen. Recommended, except to those PC types who would wonder why a book written 125 years ago doesn't meet today's standards.

#44: I am decidedly not one of those PC types. I enjoy King Solomon's Mines too. Glad to see you did.

My phone still has its new toy shine so I've been reading downloaded ebooks between innings and sets rather than picking up a paper book for a couple of pages.

Book 26
His Robot Girlfriend by Wesley Allison
A widower with grown children chooses to buy a sophisticated robot as his companion. The story had chances to dig into some issues that it barely touched on. A pleasant read, but not one I'd bother recommending.

Book 27
The Coming Technological Singularity by Vernor Vinge
An essay on Vinge's belief in an upcoming technological singularity. Meh.

And a few other reads that are too short to bother counting.

Well, I hope your next 'phone reads' are better than those appear to be!

Book 28
Spacehounds of the IPC by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Another good old fashioned space opera from Doc Smith. Not quite as grand a scale as the Lensman series, but it still possesses all the action and adventure you've come to expect from Smith. While humanity and its enemies are confined to the planets and moons of the solar system for this one, you will recognize some of the names and descriptions from Smith's other stories. All X instead of QX and so on. I feel sorry for poor Nadia. Smith gets around his difficulty in writing dialog between men and women by treating his women like young men (for talk purposes). Being called guy so much must get to her and then there are lines like this. "You little trump - you wonderful, lovely, square little brick." Where does such a line come from? Recommended if you like any of Smith's other works.

Now I just have to finish Children of the Lens somehow when all my reading time is currently converted to World Cup soccer watching.

Book 29
Space Platform by Murray Leinster
The US is trying to build and launch a space station to act as the platform for a variety of space missions. Many others don't want the platform launched for many reasons including that the power controlling the station becomes the de facto supreme power on the planet. Follow the hero and his friends as they work to get the platform launched. A quick, fun adventure. Free download from Project Guttenberg.

Book 30
Space Tug by Murray Leinster
Sequel to Space Platform. The platform is in orbit, but not out of danger. Our hero is now captain of a cargo ship servicing the station. Can the space platform be saved from attacks and made viable? Another quick, fun adventure. Free download from Project Guttenberg.

Book 31
Children of the Lens by E.E. "Doc" Smith
The last of the Lensman series. Plenty of the action that makes the Lensman series so fun and enjoyable. Not my favorite of the series, but worth the time.

I still have to read Children of the Lens! Thanks for the reminder.

#50
I haven't posted anything to the group read thread yet. It ought to take you all of an hour at your reading speed to catch up.:) Take time and celebrate your anniversary first.

Great day to spend at home watching sports!

World Cup Soccer - USA advances, wins group

Wimbledon Tennis - 23 USA Isner vs FRA Mahut
6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 59-59
Yesterday - First 4 sets 45 games just under 3 hrs (174 mins), called for darkness
Today - Fifth set 118 games over 6 3/4 hours (406 mins), called for darkness
most aces, most games, longest set, and longest match on record
match going into third day with no weather delays

Book 32
Spying: The Secret History of History by Denis Collins
A book on spy craft based on the collection of the International Spy Museum of Washington D.C. Plenty of tidbits on the spies, history, gadgets, and methods of spy craft. As with any interesting overview, you want more. Nice, quick read.

#53: I will look for that one. I would probably enjoy it.

Book 33
Cathedral The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay
A fictional story discussing how a real Gothic cathedral would have been built. An architecture book written for children, it is beautifully illustrated. Somewhat simplistic and not going deep into any area, it nevertheless does a good job of touching on several areas involved in the construction of a cathedral. A quick, fun read with great illustrations.

Book 34
City A Story of Roman Planning and Construction by David Macaulay
A fictional story showing how a real Roman city would be laid out and built. Interesting look at some of the areas Roman city planners considered. Meant for kids, another quick, fun read with great illustrations.

#55: A couple of those Macaulay books were made into documentaries on PBS. I remember that the Pyramid book was done that way and am pretty sure the Cathedral book was as well.

ETA: I checked Netflix and Macaulay's Roman City, Mill and Castle were all done as documentaries, if you are interested.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to add those to the queue.

#57: It is nice to be adding to someone else's queue for a change :) It seems as if this group adds not only books to the BlackHole but films to the Netflix queue as well!

>49 Landshark5:: Even though I've always enjoyed the Lensman series, Children of the Lens never really appealed to me. The explicit incest plans just couldn't get past my squirm factor.

#58
If you talked about movies even 1% as much as you talked about books, we'd be DSN(etflix)Bs along with DSBBs.

#59
I thought that was a silly factor that was so easily avoided if Smith wanted. A slightly longer response is in the group read thread.

Book 35
Castle by David Macaulay

Book 36
Mill by David Macaulay

Another two architecture Macaulay books. Still great fun reads with beautiful illustrations. Castle is my favorite of the four because I think castles are cool. Mill is the most in depth of the four showing several examples of different mills.

#60: LOL!

Book 37
The Mysterious Case Of Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys by Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman
A look at the history and setting of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew detective series. My attention span for books has been kind of short lately so this quick read was a nice change of pace. Provides some history of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and a nostalgic look at the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. There was some amateur pop psychology I could have done without, but the look at the times and historical context of the evolution of the series was interesting. Not a general recommendation, but those who like books about books will probably find it a quick interesting read. Not sure why, but this was part of the recent fiction sale at BookCloseOuts.com.

#63: I read a good one on the history of the Nancy Drew syndicate last year that was social history, Girl sleuth: Nancy Drew and the women who created her by Melanie Rehak, if you are interested.

It's amazing how much the Stratemeyer Syndicate was part of my childhood and, yet, I wasn't aware of them until I was an adult. I read:

* the Hardy Boys series voraciously
* the Nancy Drew series
* the Tom Swift series
* the Bomba, The Jungle Boy series
* some of the Bobbsey Twins series
* some of the Happy Hollister series
* some of the Bret King series

I guess the fact that I thought that the names on the covers were the real authors means they did a good job of keeping a consistent style.

The first few books of the Bobbsey Twins series were some of the first I ever actually owned. And I loved the Hardy Boys. Later, I read Nancy Drew, too, but she never measured up to the guys.

#66: I agree with you about the Hardy Boys over Nancy Drew. I read every one of the Hardy Boys books at my school library.

#64
Thanks, I'll have to keep that one in mind for later.

#65
I grew up reading lots of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I read a little Tom Swift but the library didn't have many of them. I know Project Gutenberg has many of the Tom Swift, I'll have to look and see what's available for some of the other series.

I liked the Hardy Boys a little better than Nancy Drew mainly because they were more action oriented and I identified with the guys better than the Nancy.

>68 Landshark5:: Yeah, I've started filling in some of the Tom Swift with free copies from Gutenberg for the Kindle.

Book 38
The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope
I understand later in the series they started solving cases and became another detective series, but this is the original and concerns the adventures of young kids like snowball fights and getting lost. Later on they settled on 12 and 6 year old for the twins, but they are 8 and 6 in this one.

Well, looking up the Stratemeyer Syndicate shows over 100 series. Many of the older books are available on Project Gutenberg. None of the Franklin W. Dixon (Hardy Boys) or Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew) books are on Gutenberg.

If you look in my library, I still have two of the three original Bobbsey Twins books that I owned. They are pretty much sans covers now--these were those shiny covers that they published children's books in in the 50s, and these books got a lot of use--first me and then my brother and sister too.

>72 ronincats:: I retrieved all my old Hardy Boys from a cousin and still have my mother's copies of Nancy Drew. Only one Bobbsey Twin and one Happy Hollisters survived.

My Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew reading was a mixture of owned and library books. Unfortunately I don't have any of those left. They were probably donated or given away before a move.

I must confess that I have never actually read a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book in my life (I'm British) but I read The Hardy Boys Mysteries, 1927-1979: A Cultural and Literary History by Mark Connelly last year in an attempt to gain some insight into these books and their place in American culture as my daughter is American and I wanted to know more about them. This afternoon when my husband was doing his weekly browse round the video game section of Best Buy I was amazed to see a couple of video games which made up part of a series of 21 Nancy Drew video games for the PC. I got hold of a copy of The Secret of the Old Clock (one of the Applewood Books "we've not changed anything from the original series" series) at our library book fair earlier this year though I haven't managed to read it yet. My question is: "what age did you all read Nancy Drew at? (approximately)" I know that Nancy Drew is about 16 - 18 but I'm guessing that the average readership of Nancy Drew mysteries is probably a lot younger than that. I would be interested to know.

Um, fourth, fifth grade, I would think--from about 8 to 10 for me.

Any statement of when I started reading Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew would be a guess, not a memory. I know I was still reading them occasionally in middle school.

Amazon lists them as
Reading level: Ages 9-12

I know I started reading through the Hardy Boys series at age 12. I was younger than that when I read the Nancy Drew books.

Thanks. That's about where I had them in my mind in the past but when I discovered fairly recently that Nancy Drew was 16 - 18 rather than 11 or 12, I wasn't quite so sure any more. I kind of guessed they were not going to appeal to 16 year olds but wasn't sure quite how young the readership was. I don't tend to trust Amazon reading levels but I guess, for once, they're pretty accurate.

I read the Hardy Boys from 8-11...Nancy Drew are for the same age group. I think a 16 year old would be bored stiff.

Book 39
Tom Swift And His Motorcycle by Victor Appleton
A teenage inventor who has his own workshop and new toys to play with every story.

from Wikipedia

Nancy Drew Mystery series (aimed at all ages)
Nancy Drew Files more modern teenage-oriented
Nancy Drew Notebooks younger (sub-third grade)
Nancy Drew on Campus attempted to target the older teenage, romance-reading audience


Not sure that I agree the original series was aimed at all ages, just that the later splinter series were specifically targeted. I only read the original series so I don't know how the more modern remakes turned out.

Book 40
Through The Air To The North Pole by Roy Rockwood
Another Stratemeyer Syndicate book, the first of the Great Marvels series. Adventure after adventure leading two orphans to meet up with a professor and travel with him to the North Pole in an amazing dirigible, the Monarch. Penned by Howard Garis who also wrote many of the Tom Swift series.

#83: I do not think I have ever heard of the Great Marvels series. I may have to investigate . . .

The series is 9 books. It is one of the earlier series from Stratemeyer and the characters actually age (looking at the book descriptions). I'd never heard of the series either. I found it by opening Wikipedia on Stratemeyer authors on one tab and Gutenberg on another just to see what was available.

I will have to check out Gutenberg then.

The pile of longer and non-fictions books I've started and not gotten very far on is growing. Not really a reading funk, but I don't have the focus or attention span to read longer books right now. Still leaves plenty of stories to read and I'm making a little headway in my pile of unread magazines.
A change to my challenge listing rules. I'm counting ebook versions of regularly published books as the recent reads from Project Gutenberg and Baen Free Library show. I'm still not counting web serials and technical articles.

Book 41.
James And The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Book 42.
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

First couple of an 8 book boxed set of Dahl's children's stories. Quick, fun reads that will make a nice gift for a friend's children.

Book 43
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roal Dahl

Book 44
Med Ship by Murray Leinster
Omnibus collection of previously published Med Ship Man, Plague on Kryder II, The Mutant Weapon, Ribbon in the Sky, Tallien Three, Quarantine World, The Grandfather's War, and Pariah Planet. This may be a case where an omnibus edition was a bad idea. There is a certain repetitiveness about the stories so it is probably best to read these one story at a time rather than straight through. After the second story I switched to reading a story than picking up a couple of other stories before going back to his next story and I probably should have let even more time elapse between stories. The individual stories were mostly good with a couple of okays and the collection shaded towards the lower end (okay) of the spectrum because I felt burned out on some of his themes. There were no wholly natural public health issues, every one had some human malfeasance factor and business was a bad thing in these stories. I preferred his Space Platform and Space Tug to Med Ship. Download from Baen Free Library.

Granted your comments on Med Ship, I always thought the stories were fun, and think they would have made a great 70s TV series!

I have more books than usual in progress so I went ahead and finished off Med Ship when it could have sat a little longer. Looking at each story individually, they are nice fun reads. Reading them all in a short period of time was like overdosing on candy after Halloween (a little too much too quickly).

I can see it as a TV show. Intrepid hero goes off in his space ship to new places and new adventures every week. Murgatroyd makes a great sidekick. Have to throw in some more variety and tone down some of his repetitive themes to avoid the burn out (in my case at least).

Oh, definitely stir up the variety, but the framework--ER plus Star Trek--very doable, especially with today's special effects.

ETA James White's Sector General books are the better books, IMO, but wouldn't lend themselves as well to a TV series. Have you ever read Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse, who was a doctor, I believe?

Let's see. I have Alan Nourse Star Surgeon, James White Sector General, and S L Viehl Stardoc listed as medical sci fi to look into.

I don't really keep track of the medical dramas on tv, but I would have thought House before ER since he spends more time figuring problems out than actually treating people.

*grin* Since I don't watch any of the medical dramas on tv, I was just pulling a rabbit out of a hat--the first name that came to mind. But lots of people LOVE House, so that's a great one to be compared to.

I had hopes for Stardoc, and granted have only read the first one of the series, but it was much more about her and her problems than the medical problems, and was pretty "meh" for me as a result.

Book 45
Sci-Fi Art: A Graphic History by Steve Holland
A book of science fiction art that goes for breadth, not depth, and no subject area or artist gets more than a couple of pages. Writing is highly variable with care being taken in some sections, and others being little more than a listing of artists. Several innovative or representative art works were mentioned in the text and weren't in the book annoying me a little. But seriously, who gets a book like this for the text. The art is beautifully reproduced with bright colors (where appropriate), and no noticeable printing errors. Good, but not the highest quality I've seen in an art book. Not quite sure how I want to rate it, so I'll just leave it at interesting.

#95: Too bad that one is not available at the local library yet.

Book 46
Charlie And The Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

Book 47
The Twits by Roald Dahl

Book 48
George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

Book 49
The Introvert Advantage: How To Thrive In An Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D.

"Introverts are outnumbered three to one. As a result, they must develop extra coping skills in life because there will be an inordinate amount of pressure on them to 'shape up,' to act like the rest of the world. The introvert is pressured daily, almost from the moment of awakening, to respond and conform to the outer world." The author pulled this quote from Type Talk by Otto Kroeger and Janet Thuesen and it can be seen as the reason for the book. The book looks at introversion, describing it, and looking at different ways to deal with and cope with a world that is geared towards extroverts.

"When I gave my opinion about something that had happened earlier, teachers and friends would ask, in an irritated tone, why I hadn't spoken up before. They seemed to think I was purposely withholding my thoughts and feelings. I found my thoughts were like lost airline baggage; they arrived some time later.
As I grew up, I began to think of myself as a stealth person, running silent, deep, and invisible. Many times I would say something, and no one would respond. Later, another person might say the same thing and he or she would be acknowledged. I would think there was something wrong with the way I spoke."
This was a very powerful quote from the beginning of the book because I so self identified with it.

There are several descriptors of introverts that I identified with and recognized. There were also several that I didn't. Multiple types of introversion were not really separated and distinguished from each other. There were multiple coping strategies listed, some which seemed very useful, some not so much.

This is not a subject I've studied or read much on, so I have no way to rate the book on it's relative technical or factual merits. Did the book provide useful information on introversion and dealing with it? Yes. Did the book provide plenty of food for thought? Yes.

#98: As an introvert myself (I know it is hard to tell!), I am going to have to look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation.

Book 50
The BFG by Roald Dahl

Book 51
Matilda by Roald Dahl

Congratulations on passing the 50 book mark!

#101 Thanks

#102: You are most welcome! :)

A cool media like print here benefits us introverts (and I bet we have a much more even proportion here on LT) but even so, I often find myself responding to a thread a day or so later than everyone else because it took that long to percolate through my brain.

So is it introverts are more likely to become readers or that readers are more likely to be introverts? Either way, in my experience, a greater percentage of readers are introverts than the general population.

BBS/Forums allow people to take time and think about their responses if they want to making them good for introverts since no one expects you to answer immediately even if they know you are online at the moment. I still find myself being more of a lurker than an active participant both because I suck at chit chat and because responses tend to come to me when I'm offline or otherwise busy. It's not hard to find self described introverts that are very active on LT. Based on her LT activity, I'd never have thought of Stasia as an introvert although the amount of time she spends reading is obvious looking back.

#105: I am very much of an introvert unfortunately. I am not at all comfortable in social situations. The thought of Richard's upcoming party is making me more than a little nervous!

Relax, you have an advantage in that you have a ready made topic with the other LTers. Worse comes to worst, you and any other introverts can raid his library and stake out a quiet corner of your own.

A few basic ideas paraphrased from The Introvert Advantage

Limit your social engagements beforehand so you can charge up.
Get plenty of sleep the night before or take a nap the day of. Being tired makes it worse.
Eat some protein just before so you can keep your energy up.
Have some conversation tidbits prepared beforehand in case you blank out.
Don't be afraid to take a break or two to recharge during the party. Go to the bathroom and splash some water on your face or take a short walk outside.
Remember you are probably more critical of yourself than others are.

#107: Remember you are probably more critical of yourself than others are.

Truer words were never spoken!

Book 52
FAB: The Coming Revolution On Your Desktop - From Personal Computers To Personal Fabrication by Neil Gershenfeld
Book about the idea that personal fabrication will become as big a revolution as personal computing. Personal fabrication is the concept that fabrication tools will continue to become easier to use and cheaper making the ability to design and produce your own products available to all. The idea is neat, interesting, cool, but I have trouble seeing personal fabrication as a revolution, more of a niche evolution. Neil Gershenfeld is the director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms and brings great enthusiasm to the book. The writing is okay, it rambles in places and is slow in places and you want more detail in others. Good enough writing, interesting idea, decent book, but not for everyone.

Book 53
Kull: Exile of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard
Before Conan, Howard wrote about Kull of Atlantis. If you like Conan, you'll like Kull. This collection contains all known writings of Kull. There are several unpublished (and not quite as polished) and several fragments included as only three stories about Kull were published before Howard moved on to Conan. If you are interested in the swords and sorcery genre, here's one of the originals.

#110: I have never read either Conan or Kull, so I will have to give them a shot. Thanks for the mention!

>110 Landshark5:: Wow! That brings back memories. I devoured my way through Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane and the like back in high school days. They were a lot of fun. And, of course, the Frazetta covers! :-)

I'd start with Conan, even though Kull was written first. Only three Kull stories were previously published and most of the stories are missing the touch ups that the final round of editing before publishing would bring. Rather mindless, but thoroughly enjoyable.

#113: Thanks for the tip!

Book 54
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
A story about comic book super heroes and super villains. Overall I liked and enjoyed the story, but I find it hard to put into words why other than I liked the character of Doctor Impossible. I find it easier to say what I didn't like. Parts were slow and muddled, the ending was mildly disappointing, the heroes were just sad, and the author started some lines of inquiry and then just dropped them without following through. I think the author tried to do to much or just lacked focus and that's why you can find reviews listing the same story as satire, parody, loving homage, great super hero book, great villain story, send up of the comic genre ... Reading the problems, I can't say why, but I liked the story more than disliked the negatives.

#115: I already have that one in the BlackHole. I need to see if I can get hold of a copy soon. Thanks for the reminder.

Book 55
The Galaxy Primes by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Mental supermen build an intergalactic spaceship, go exploring, and have adventures. Okay, but rather choppy and not as exciting as the Skylark or Lensman series. Free download from Project Guttenberg.

Book 56
Subspace Survivors by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Short story about people surviving a space accident and working towards getting home. Nice, nothing special. Free download from Project Guttenberg.

#117: I never did finish the Smith books earlier in the year. I guess I really need to do that. I am pretty sure I will not be reading any of his others though.

#118
If you read First Lensman through Second Stage Lensman, you've hit the best of Smith's work.
I didn't bother saying so, but Smith doesn't get any better at relationships. Galaxy Primes is pretty bad in that respect.

#119: Smith doesn't get any better at relationships

OK, I will stay away from the rest of Smith's books then. Thanks for the heads up!

Book 57
A Logic Named Joe by Murray Leinster
Book contains the short stories A Logic Named Joe, Dear Charles, Gateway To Elsewhere, The Duplicators, The Fourth-Dimensional Demonstrator, and The Pirates of Zan. While my feelings varied through the stories, I ended up rating each story good and as a free download, definitely recommended. Leinster writes of some ... interesting ideas on manners. Download from Baen Free Library.

#121: Leinster writes of some ... interesting ideas on manners.

OK, that has my interest piqued!

Book 58
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein narrated by Lloyd James
The moon is a penal colony and it's time for a revolution. So you have politics for the intellectual side, revolution for the action side, a self aware computer, and a lunar colony for setting. Still one of my favorite Heinlein books. Considering the Russian terms and phraseology, I understand why the decision on accent was made, but I was not a fan of the narration for this audio version.

#123: It is has been forever since I read that one. I will have to give it a re-read!

Book 59
Packing For Mars by Mary Roach
When you think about the difficulties of space travel, most think of the engineering of rockets and space ships, not the human angle. Packing For Mars looks at the human angle like I haven't seen before. Zero gravity effects every bodily function in some way or another and space missions have to plan for that. The book was packed full of facts and stories. Roach's humor and style manage to take things that should be gross out topics and make them interesting. A must read for every space nut.

#125: I just finished that one this past week. I very much enjoy Roach's style. Glad to see you liked the book too.

Book 60
The Notebooks Of Lazarus Long by Robert A. Heinlein illuminated by D.F. Vassallo
Not really a story but a collection of saying attributed to Heinlein's character Lazarus Long done in calligraphy. Quotes pulled for Time Enough For Love.

Short, quick read while I decide what to read next. I'm in the mood to read more space books, but it's October so I also want to do some Halloween themed reading. Probably a little of both.

Now to catch up on my own thread.

#120
Not that it changes anything, but to clarify on The Galaxy Primes, the sappy dialog is gone, but the relationship is still badly written.

#122
On A Logic Named Joe, not sure interesting is the right word, but none of the other words I considered worked better. Hint, what kind of manners would someone who is anti business and writing about violent pirates come up with.

#126
Mary Roach has been on my radar for a while. I added her as a favorite author and I consider Packing For Mars as my favorite new read of the year so far. I'll definitely get around to her other books sooner rather than later.

I have only read one other of Roach's books, Stiff, but have seen several good reviews in the group of her other books, Spook and Bonk.

Time to try and catch up on LT.
Best of intentions and all, but November 1st came along and I hadn't finish any of my planned Halloween reading.

Book 61
The War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells
Good alien invasion story though I didn't like the protagonist.

Book 62
The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein
Some of the character actions didn't seem right to me but good alien invasion book. Never going to be my favorite Heinlein.

Book 63
World War Z by Max Brooks
I normally stay away from abridged audio books, but I saw great reviews of this version, there is no unabridged version, and the author is one of the readers so I gave it a try. Overall I liked all the readers and the voices they gave their characters. Good audio version of a great book.

Book 64
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
One of the few cases where I definitely prefer the movie to the book. Originally published in the UK with 21 chapters, the first US version (and the one the Stanley Kubrick film was based on) had the final chapter edited out for whatever reason. That final chapter changes the overall tone and meaning of the book substantially. The shortened and film version end on the idea of karmic justice with the victimizer becoming the victim. The longer version can be seen as a deeper social commentary, but I found it less likable.

Book 65
Unintended Consequences by John Ross
Unabashedly pro guns. A civil war of assassination starts over overreaching government. Seemed appropriate with all the fuss over the TSA (Taxpayer-funded Sexual Assulters, Theater of Security Absurdity).

Glad to see you back! It has been a while.

Glad to be back.
We'll see how much time I have for LT?
I need a new job that doesn't care if I surf the internet and plenty of slack time.

#32: I need a new job that doesn't care if I surf the internet and plenty of slack time.

That sounds like my job.

Book 66
What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper? by Andrew Thompson
Subtitled 200 Curious Questions and Intriguing Answers, the book is just that, questions and answers. An interesting read and most answers seemed plausible, however some answers seemed a bit off and a couple were just obviously plain wrong leading to low confidence in any of the answers.

#134: Too bad about that one. I bet I would have found it interesting. I seem to be a repository for all kinds of useless information.

Information is never useless. Maybe not of much practical use, but never useless. :)

Book 67
The Little Prince by Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint Exupéry
A lovely little story of wonder and exploration.

#136: Maybe not of much practical use

unless you are playing Jeopardy

Since I don't think you can make your living off of trivia games (unless you are a game show host), Jeopardy is entertainment, not practical.

Book 68
Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster
New science leads to amateur exploring space beyond the moon. Okay story, one word description: cynical. Free download from Project Gutenberg.

Found a list of 10 people who have won more than $1 million on game shows. Ken Jennings won more than $3 million total, mainly on Jeopardy. So there are a couple of people that can make a living off of game shows.

I may have to look up Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings.

Okay, on second thought, I can come up with three ways to make a living off of trivia. Game show contestant, author, and game show question writer/researcher.

#139: there are a couple of people that can make a living off of game shows.

Unfortunately I am not one of them!

Very few of us are. Certainly not me.

Book 69
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Children's adventure fairy tale. Can't say I get all of it, but I've enjoyed everything Gaiman's written than I've read from children's stories to adult themed books.

Are things really magical, or do you make them magical by believing in them?

I think most things are pretty magical, and that it's less a matter of belief than it is one of just stopping to notice.

Neil Gaiman - Coraline Q&A

#141: If you have not read The Graveyard Book yet, give it a go. I loved that one - my introduction to Gaiman.

I have an audio version of The Graveyard Book, but I want to read The Jungle Book first.

I'm not sure if Neverwhere or Good Omens was my first Gaiman read. Like I said, I've liked everything of his I've read so far.

I enjoyed Neverwhere a lot. Good Omens, not so much. Not sure why.

The new nationality graph shows me at around 80% US authors.

I am at 60%. No surprise there.

Book 70
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Queen of England discovers the joy of reading late in life. Quick, humorous read on reading that I really enjoyed.

I choose The Uncommon Reader because I wanted something short and different as I have stalled on several longer books recently. I didn't consciously think about it, but it is interesting that my first read after looking at the new nationality graph was a non-US author.

I really enjoy The Uncommon Reader too. I am glad you did as well.

You are awfully close to 75. Do you have one picked out especially for the magic number?

Five books. I'm far too much of a mood reader to look that far ahead.

#150: I am a moody reader as well, so I can relate.

Book 71
Man Of Many Minds by Edward Everett Evans
Edward Everett Evans was a contemporary who co-wrote Masters of Space with E.E. 'Doc' Smith and his following of Smith's formula shows. Interstellar civilization, check. Mental powers, check. Threat to civilization, check. None of Smith's cheesy dialog or relationships. I felt kind of cheated on the story denouement, but it wasn't story or mood destroying. A quick, fun read. Free download from Project Gutenberg.

#152: None of Smith's cheesy dialog or relationships.

OK, I will give that one a shot then!

Book 72
How To Hide Anything by Michael Connor
As someone who wants to someday build a house with secret passages and rooms, not because I have something important to hide, but simply because it would be cool, this looked like an interesting book to borrow. It turned out to be okay, but not that great. Reality did not quite match up to the idea and the book turned out to be a mixture of hmm, hadn't thought of that, to that's just common sense, to that's just silly and impractical.

#154: Too bad about that one! I like your idea about the house with secret passages and rooms though!

Book 73
The Complete Guide To Genius by GeniusIntelligence
So an acquaintance asked me to look at this program for increasing your intelligence. It turned out to be hilarious reading. Hope he didn't pay too much for this (doubt it) and is smart enough not to buy any of the extras advertised within the book. To understand how serious this book is, take a look at the following piece of advice: Stay away from the dark arts to increase your intelligence. Most of the book is written in a more serious pseudo scientific and metaphysical vein, but I think that advice shows exactly how much faith to put in the book. Unintended comedy good for some laughs. (Having spent money on the program, my acquaintance may feel differently.)

#155
My ideas on my dream house constantly morph. Sometimes it's a medieval castle, sometimes a hobbit hole, ... In every incarnation, I want all the modern conveniences, a large library, and secret passages. In reality, it'd be a pain to keep up. Maybe I can trade access to the library for maid and handyman service.

#156: I am so skipping that one! I need helping being more intelligent, not someone insulting what little intelligence I already have.

#157: Maybe I can trade access to the library for maid and handyman service.

I would take you up on that!

Book 74
Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Chelsea Cain
Confessions of a Teen Sleuth is a parody of Nancy Drew with multiple appearances by other Stratemeyer Syndicate characters and other teen sleuths. Aimed at adults who grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, this mature twist on the life of Nancy Drew was a quick humorous read that may have produced even more laughs if I remembered more of the stories as I probably missed a few references.

Now that sounds like fun. I always liked the Hardy Boys better, but I read loads of both. Onto the wishlist it goes!

#159: I agree with Roni! That one does sound fun.

The Hardy Boys are in the Confessions of a Teen Sleuth quite a bit. I never read any Cherry Ames books, but the portrayal of nursing is rather insulting as opposed to funny. A fun read other than the nursing part.

Book 75
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman narrated by Don Leslie
My traveling listen as I drove up to my parents for Christmas. Not a book for learning economic theory, but an interesting look into how more than theory goes into policy decisions. Discusses the events of several economic crisises and somewhat relates them to US issues surrounding the housing bubble and crash. A nice read, not the best or worst economics book I've read.

Book 76
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens narrated by Tim Curry

Book 77
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Haven't actually listened to these two yet, but borrowing computer time when people are stuffed into every room of my parents for Christmas visiting is a challenge. A couple of Christmas listens to finish out the year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy your holidays.

Congratulations on hitting the 75 book mark with 10 days still to go in 2010!

#164 & 165
Thank you.

Probably won't have a chance to fill anything in until after Christmas, but I set up the placeholder for next year's challenge.

Landshark5's Books for 2011

Good! I am glad you will be joining us again.

Congrats!

Thanks DrNeutron.

Hope everybody is enjoying their Christmas holiday.

The Christmas book haul:

Autobiography of Mark Twain Volume 1 edited by Harriet Elinor Smith
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright
Patient Zero by Jonathan Mayberry
The Mad Scientists' Club by Bertrand R. Brinley
Tinker by Wen Spencer

All are LT recommendations, except for Mark Twain's autobiography which I've seen mentioned but not reviewed.

Nice haul!

Hope you all had great holidays.

I should write up a year end summary, but meh and I'm still on borrowed computer time. Maybe later on the 2011 thread. So, I'll see ya in the 2011 group.

Sure thing, see you there!