Books Read 2019

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Trance by Adam Southward. This bills itself as the first a series about Dr. Alex Madison, who is some kind of clinical/forensic psychologist who used to help police in London with tough cases. Now he's a celebrity psychiatrist, but he's been itching to get back to something more meaningful. Only he can't because his last case Ended Badly. The author tries to make the doctor some kind of flawed antihero, but all that really comes through are the flaws. When rooting for an antihero, there still has to be something there that makes you want to pull for him, and his vague desire to not be a terrible father to his daughter (who lives with his ex-wife) is not enough. The plot is OK - the police have in custody a man from Romania who doesn't actually kill people, but people either kill others or themselves seemingly shortly after talking to him. Nothing that happens is terribly surprising, as the author lays down the foreshadowing pretty thickly for all the big "twists". There's not much here for me to recommend.

Up next is Mr. Mercedes by some guy named Stephen King. I read the trilogy adjacent The Outsider last year, but this is the first of King's actual Bill Hodges trilogy.

[hitbyambulance]

just finished Arthur C. Clarke's _Rendezvous with Rama_ - after a rough start, i got into this one - too bad i didn't read this in grade school; i would have been super into it. i see the next books in the series are coauthored, which makes me wary. should i leave this one to stand on its own, or get into the next three?

(the next Clarke book on my list was going to be _Against the Fall of Night_)

[Jaymann]

just finished Arthur C. Clarke's _Rendezvous with Rama_ - after a rough start, i got into this one - too bad i didn't read this in grade school; i would have been super into it. i see the next books in the series are coauthored, which makes me wary. should i leave this one to stand on its own, or get into the next three?

I think I was in grade school when I read it, but I seem to recall only the first one was any good.

[MonkeyFinger]

Finished Spearhead a WW2 history about one of the few cases where the M26 Pershing actually dueled with its nemesis, the Panther tank, and the story of the tank crew. For those who know a little history, M26 was supposed to be the allied answer to the German Tiger and Panther. Armed with a 90mm cannon, it outclasses the German tanks, but it arrived almost too late for the war. There were only like 20 of them in Europe, and at first, they didn't dare lose it, so they kept it inside a formation, but enemy kinda ignored it. And the regular Shermans suffered heavy losses, so it ended up being used as the spearhead... to take the hits and hope none penetrates. It was a good tale, as it also includes the German side.

What an awesome book. Just finished the Audible version and I thought everything about it was great, highly recommended.

[Jaymann]

Just pre-ordered A Little Hatred the start of a new series by Joe Abercrombie. Due out September 17. Can't remember the last time I pre-ordered a book, but this is my most anticipated book since Wise Man's Fear.

[hitbyambulance]

i read the "On Writing" portion of Stephen King's _On Writing_. i think that's all i need to read from that book, right? it was amusing and even a bit enlightening.

[msteelers]

i read the "On Writing" portion of Stephen King's _On Writing_. i think that's all i need to read from that book, right? it was amusing and even a bit enlightening.

I remember reading that way back in the day, and enjoying it. I can't remember a single specific thing about the book though.

[Isgrimnur]

WaPo on audiobook narrators.

[Grifman]

Just finished a great sci-fi space opera trilogy, “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown. Think of a feudalistic space faring solar system (only) Roman Empire based upon a “color” class/caste system that is genetically based. At the top are the Golds, the political, economic and military leaders, with other castes such Violets (arts), Blues (techs), Pinks (pleasure), etc with Reds (virtual serfs) at the bottom. Darrow, a Red, is chosen by an underground resistance organization to receive genetic enhancements and education to allow him to pass as a Gold, with the purpose of infiltrating the system and bringing the whole thing down. Some great battle sequences, a lot of political GOT style back stabbing, and hero who tries to be “good” but oftentimes has to face the reality that sometimes there are no good choices for good people. I do have some complaints which I won’t go into here (spoilers), but if you like good space opera, this is a great series. FYI these are NYT best sellers, not some of the self published sci-finon Amazon which can be of uneven quality.

[Scuzz]

I just finished Michael Connolly's The Lincoln Lawyer. This was my first book by Connolly, and I think it is a stand alone, although I am not sure. The book is a legal thriller involving murder. Pretty good read. I bought this used at a library book sale and the next sale is next weekend, so I will probably look for a few more of his books.

[Kasey Chang]

Finished "How Carriers Fought", a layman's analysis of WW2 carrier action.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Carriers-Fou ... B07FPHSWFM

It's actually quite good, as the guy managed to avoid the techno / military jargon in explaining the carrier operations and operational doctrine, even as it changes due to advancing technology. Converted carriers can't go as fast as true carriers, for example, due to hull design, and before the 40mm Bofors AA came along, most AA is for deterrent value, to make the dive bombers flinch and drop bomb early and spoil their aim, rather than killing them outright, and thus, most AA is designed to fire toward the REAR (didn't know that) and the best evasive maneuver for a ship under dive bombing attack is just to turn in a circle at max sustainable speed. I knew US carriers have armored decks and Japanese carriers didn't, but I didn't quite realize the implications of this, as Japanese carrier-based dive bomber (Val) carry lighter bombs (250 kg), while US dive bombers (Devastator / Helldiver) carried usually carry heavier loads, either 4x 500 lb or optionally, 2 x 1000 lb bombs. As a result, US carriers are a bit more survivable to dive bombing... UNLESS damage control can't fight the fire.

There are a ton of little details like that, that makes you go Hmmm, I didn't know that...

But the book also goes into tactics and strategy, how finding the enemy is difficult at best, and you have to send out search planes, but keeping a strike force ready to launch means keeping bomb-laden aircraft on deck, vulnerable to enemy attack. And even keeping Combat Air Patrol up becomes a major struggle, that carriers are often operated in pairs so one can specialize in prepping the strike group while the other does patrol and CAP duty. And how both Japanese and American forces try to tease the other into attacking the bait while reserving a main force.

If you like history and want a bit more insight, this is quite good.

[Jaddison]

"Finished "How Carriers Fought", a layman's analysis of WW2 carrier action. "

if you like that type of analysis you might just like Shattered Sword which looks at Midway in depth and dispels many myths and misconceptions.

[Jaddison]

Finished listening to Pet Sematary by Stephen King.

I absolutely loved this book and the reader. This is a book in the same line as Insomnia.

How King writes about people, relationships and how they handle situations resonate with me.

Unfortunately I then watched the Pet Sematary movie and wondered why they would take such a great book and make such a crappy movie (the most recent one). Haven't watched the old one in a while.

[msduncan]

Has anyone read the Rally Cry series?

It’s about the 35th Maine civil war unit that gets aboard a transport ship to North Carolina and gets swallowed up by a river of light and transported to another world. This world is populated by humans from past civilizations. It’s also populated by a race of hairy orc like aliens who ride around the world in a horde harvesting the humans for food.

[Kasey Chang]

"Finished "How Carriers Fought", a layman's analysis of WW2 carrier action. "

if you like that type of analysis you might just like Shattered Sword which looks at Midway in depth and dispels many myths and misconceptions.

The author of Shattered Sword gave a talk to Naval War College that mentioned some of the misconceptions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9rkKtK1b44

[Jaddison]

Shattered Sword, Gettysburg by Stephen Sears and The Most Dangerous: A History of the Battle of Britain all significantly changed how I perceived something I thought I knew pretty well.

Neptunes Inferno and A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight fall in close to that category as well.

I have read a lot history and especially war and I now realize the victors in war are the side who is least inept as being inept is the most common quality of organized warfare.

[Kasey Chang]

Finished "Accessory to War" by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Subtitled "the unspoken alliance between astrophysics and the military", the first parts of the book the linkage is really... thin. Because astrophysics is a relatively new field, while war (and military) had been around forever. But if you stretch the astrophysics into including astronomy and space in general, then it started to make a lot more sense.

For example, much of space tech is dual use. Hubble Space Telescope is essentially a Keyhole spy sat pointing out into space, and shared a lot more with the KH-birds than you'd think. Telescopes are driven far more for their utility on the battlefield than for their ability to see the stars. And for much of history, maps and such are classified information, and Desert Shield / Desert Storm actually forced the US to open up civilian access to the high-precision GPS, which used to be restricted to only military receivers, since civilians started buying personal GPS receivers for their deployed relatives. Not one of his best, but I did learn some things from the book.

[Jeff V]

Finished "Accessory to War" by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Subtitled "the unspoken alliance between astrophysics and the military", the first parts of the book the linkage is really... thin. Because astrophysics is a relatively new field, while war (and military) had been around forever. But if you stretch the astrophysics into including astronomy and space in general, then it started to make a lot more sense.

For example, much of space tech is dual use. Hubble Space Telescope is essentially a Keyhole spy sat pointing out into space, and shared a lot more with the KH-birds than you'd think. Telescopes are driven far more for their utility on the battlefield than for their ability to see the stars. And for much of history, maps and such are classified information, and Desert Shield / Desert Storm actually forced the US to open up civilian access to the high-precision GPS, which used to be restricted to only military receivers, since civilians started buying personal GPS receivers for their deployed relatives. Not one of his best, but I did learn some things from the book.

Tech was always driven primarily by military need -- rarely is there funding for private sector R&D on projects costing billions. Tyson focuses the thesis into his main wheelhouse - astrophysics, and I think succeeds into creating a measure of empathy for scientists that have to always struggle with their motives (to advance knowledge and help mankind) versus actual outcomes (to simultaneously be a tool for political and military as the means to achieve those goals).

[Kasey Chang]

Finished Go Like Hell by A J Baime

This book is NOT related to the movie "Ford vs Ferrari" but they tell basically the same events. In the 1960's, Young Henry Ford II has taken over the company from grandpa Henry, having watched his father Edsel die at the helm. But with flagging sales, and GM stealing the spotlight with Corvette and Pontiac hiding their racing development in their "marine engine division", Ford needed to take up racing to win the baby-boomer market before GM take it all. // In Europe, Enzo Ferrari only wanted to make race cars, and the passenger cars are made mainly to fund the racing efforts. With death of his son Dino, his heart is all in racing, and Ferrari is beating the pants off all over racers like Benz and Jaguar. Enzo apparently convinced someone at Ford that he may want to sell a portion of Ferrari if he can be left to run the racing team with a large budget. And Ford actually sent over negotiators, and contract was actually drawn up... Until Ford negotiators realized Enzo was playing them, using them to force concessions from the Modena government and FIAT. Incensed, Henry Ford II ordered the creation of Ford Special Vehicles division, and start to create a serious race car that will breat Ferrarri... In a year. And then VP Lee Iacocca brought in a failed race car driver (bad heart) by the name of Carroll Shelby, who proposed something he called Cobra... by marrying one of Ford's big 427 V8's to a British "AC" body... and it will be a Corvette killer. Ford also doubled the effort by having their engineers create the now legendary GT40... while Enzo and Ferrari team debuted the Dino...

Wow, Lemans is crazy. These cars, driven by huge engines, can reach over 200 MPH, possibly 220 MPH on the straights. The result is ANY accident, even a small brush with another car, a blown tire, and so on can be outright fatal. And indeed, many were crippled or died. So many Ferrari drivers died, Enzo was occasionally known as Butcher of Modena. And the "winning" driver Ken Miles (who actually lost by 20 ft, due to orders that they want the 3 fords finish side by side) died not too long later in a crash while testing a car, and not much was left of his racecar to figure out why. Definitely good drama and hard to believe it was all true.

(EDIT: It seems the movie STARTED out as adaptation of the book, but decided to concentrate on Shelby and Miles as main characters)

[Kasey Chang]

Finished Indestructible by John R Bruning

This is the story if Paul Irving "Pappy" Gunn. Pappy grew up poor, but through sheer determination and aptitude for mechanics, he actually built himself an automobile out of junk parts before he was 17 by working in the first mechanics shop in the area. But a run in with the law (to make money, he agreed to run booze for moonshiners and was caught by the cops) and agreed to go into the military. He joined the Navy, married a Southern belle Polly, raised four children, and eventually ended up in the Phillipines, where he retired and started the foundations of what is today Phillippines Airlines where he's the guy on the ground and his partner handles the executive decisions. And thus, he's retired navy when news arrived that Pearl Harbor was bombed and Japanese was invading everywhere. He had made plans to get his family out, but he was lead to believe MacArthur will defend the city (else he would have ferried his family to one of the islands, then later to Australia), in the meanwhile he was drafted into MacArthur's Army Air Corp, with his knowledge of planes, both flying and fixing them. He was sent to evacuate some of the officers during the collapse of the defense, and thus, was in Australia, when MacArthur declared Manila an open city, thus trapping his family behind enemy lines. Angry at the betrayal, "Pappy" started requisitioning supplies that can help him get back to his family (primary), or failing that, kill Japanese so he could accomplish his primary mission faster. And let's just say, sometimes, the requisitioning happens over the barrel of a Colt .45, because panicked people stick to their "training" and the quartermasters are not releasing any supplies without forms filled in triplicate, even when the part was directly behind them. And out of the chaos of Australia and New Zealand, he was everywhere, building runways, fixing planes ('let's just say, back then, army and navy don't even have the same bomb mounting and ejecting systems on their planes, not to mentioned all the delcate parts that was destroyed when parts are dumped willy nilly all over Australian beaches. Rumors were when landing crafts tried to dump supplies where Pappy was building a temporary runway with steel plates, he had to defend his position by aiming the AA guns at the landing craft for them to stop dumping **** on his runways. He's the one who 'stole' the B-25's from the Dutch airmen (wuh?) so they can be modified into commerce raiders... Armed with quad .50 mounts in the nose, they have no problem destroying cargo ships and often, even causing considerable damage to lighter navy ships without any bombs. In fact, when squadrons of these planes were unleashed in Battle of the Bismarck Sea (along with escorting fighters, and land-based bombers), on a Japanese convoy en route to new GUinea, eight Japanese troop transports and 4 destroyers were sunk, and the convoy was forced to turn back. In the meanwhile, the Gunn family was moved to a concentration camp in Manila, and barely survived the war. Eventually, the Gunn family was rescued by MacArthur's landing army upon the reinvasion in 1945 and liberated the camp. Pappy himself was wounded with unexplained pain that the doctors thought him a malingerer. it took a general's screaming to get the doctors to re-examine the wound and found a piece of phosphorus was still in his wound and fused his nerves so it's sympathetic to loud noises (i.e. any sort of loud sound causes him tremendous pain), something he complained for months to no avail. But now the Gunn finally has finally been reunited.

Nate, one of Pappy's sons, was in the concentration camp and there are interviews with him on Youtube.

[Kasey Chang]

Finished Guts N' Gunships by Mark Garrison

Mark Garrison was in college, but he ran out of money... just as Vietnam War draft started. Refusing to be a grunt, and with an interest in aviation, he was urged to join the army's helicopter flight school. After graduation, he was assigned to one of the toughest parts of Vietnam War... 119th Attack Helo Company, Camp Holloway, Pleiku, Vietnam, not far from the infamous Ho Chi Minh trail. He first started in "slicks" (transport Hueys) taking soldiers and supplies in and out of battle. But eventually he made the transition to Crocs, the armed (and often, overloaded) gunships with rockets and miniguns. It was a very personal journey, and many of his friends didn't make it. But it's about doing the best that one can, so more may live.

[Jeff V]

Finished Indestructible by John R Bruning

This was an awesome story.

[Rumpy]

My last one was The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons. A Sherlock Holmes adventure featuring many historical characters, many of them authors, where Holmes visits America to solve a case. It's really fun and well-written, although I didn't care much for the whole existential crisis Simmons gives Holmes, and also the big twist about Moriarty at the end. Still, really glad I read it.

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. This is the first of the Bill Hodges trilogy, and it was a good read. It's really a straight-up crime/detective thriller with the supernatural barely hinted at. The main premise is that a guy drives a huge Mercedes into a crowd lined up for a job fair during the latest recession, and then drives off and gets away, abandoning the stolen car and walking away. Bill Hodges was the police detective assigned to the case, and while he was one of the best, he could not close it out. Now retired, he gets a taunting letter from "Mr. Mercedes" that prompts him to look into the case on his own. The reader knows who the bad guy is from the start, so it's not a whodunnit. It's more about seeing whether Hodges can figure it out and whether he'll be able to prevent more deaths.

Up next is Finders Keepers, the second book in the trilogy.

[Scuzz]

Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler

These are a guilty pleasure. I like the Dirk Pitt character and "some" of Cussler's writing. But his plots make James Bond plots seem logical. As is the case with most of these books this book revolves around some old maritime incident, corporate terrorism and some really greedy bad guys. But in this book we get at least two new things. We meet a character named Clive Cussler and we meet Pitt's children for the first time.

I don't read this in order, but you really don't need to.

[Jeff V]

Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler

These are a guilty pleasure. I like the Dirk Pitt character and "some" of Cussler's writing. But his plots make James Bond plots seem logical. As is the case with most of these books this book revolves around some old maritime incident, corporate terrorism and some really greedy bad guys. But in this book we get at least two new things. We meet a character named Clive Cussler and we meet Pitt's children for the first time.

I don't read this in order, but you really don't need to.

Waiting on the library to get more titles in...Scott Brick narration is always good. Brick does four of his series (Pitt, NUMA, Oregon, and Fargo) but I've listened to all the library has to offer. I like them all (brain check necessary) but because of the cool ship and toys, Oregon Files is my favorite of them.

[Scuzz]

I haven't read an Oregon Files book yet. Mainly because I have been getting them wither at a County Library book sales fundraiser or from a local used book store. I have only read books in the Pitt series or the Kurt Austin series.

Edit: I do have a book in the Fargo Series. I haven't read it yet though.

[Kasey Chang]

Finished Indestructible by John R Bruning

This was an awesome story.

It was indeed. I have a different book, by one of his commanding general, called "The Saga of Pappy Gunn". The general tries to praise Gunn, but actually is complimenting himself (for his genius in recognizing Gunn's talents while trying to control him). And doesn't go nearly into as much detail as Indestructible.

[Kasey Chang]

Trying to Read Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A N Roquelaure aka Anne Rice.

It's... really really weird and I'll try to finish it, but so far, I'm not digging it. It's basically a rewrite of the Sleeping Beauty, except the Prince had awakened her by deflowering her, then it became a D/s tale with him parading her through towns with her naked, and that's just in the first few chapters.

[ImLawBoy]

I remember reading some of that in high school when someone asked the public library I worked at to order it. I had loved Rice's vampire works, so I was interested in these. I knew they were racy, but I didn't realize just how hard core they'd be. I can't say that what I read was good . . . but it was definitely compelling to this teen-aged reader.

[Scuzz]

Trying to Read Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A N Roquelaure aka Anne Rice.

It's... really really weird and I'll try to finish it, but so far, I'm not digging it. It's basically a rewrite of the Sleeping Beauty, except the Prince had awakened her by deflowering her, then it became a D/s tale with him parading her through towns with her naked, and that's just in the first few chapters.

The latest thing in Young Adult books is re-writes of classic stories with some kind of twist. My daughter reads lots of them. Now they aren't exactly Anne Rice type authors but I was never a big fan of hers anyway. The Vampire Diaries I thought was pretty stupid.

[hitbyambulance]

hit the 1/3 mark on Melville's Moby-Dick, or, The Whale - currently on the infamous chapter expounding on 'whiteness'. i can't believe i'm reading this book for 'fun'.

edit: it really picks up around page 185!

making it a goal to finish two of the three languishing unfinished novels in my backlog this year. so that means completing Joyce's _Ulysses_ and Heller's _Catch-22_

[Archinerd]

Every Tool's A Hammer by Adam Savage
A good, light read and the perfect palate cleanser after finishing up a big series (the Black Company).
The book is loosely a "how to" be a maker/creator, part motivational, part memoir, and part documentation of some of his own hobby work. Which is mostly cosplay and movie props like a space suit from 2001 or Deckard's gun.

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Dark comedy about an well-intentioned American who becomes a well known propaganda mouth piece for the Nazis during WWII. Though the story is fictional, it is unfortunately all too true.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

[Scuzz]

Brightness Reef by David Brin.

This is the fourth book in the Uplift Saga, and the first in the second trilogy. However unlike the books in the first trilogy it is not a stand alone book, the three books in the second trilogy are about the same planet. I didn’t know that going in and so was rather surprised when the book suddenly ended. Brin does give you a page where he then explains how he had intended on making them separate stories but got too involved in this one to stop.

This book is also a little different from the others in that it has elements from one of the previous books. First just a hint but later much more. And when this one ends you have really no idea where he is going with it.

I did like the book. It starts slow but in typical Brin fashion picks up steam as you read. I just felt a little disappointed when like the other books the story didn’t wrap up in the one book. I already have the second book in this trilogy but will now need to find the third. I got lucky in that my local used book store had the first two available in pretty good shape.

[Scuzz]

Every Tool's A Hammer by Adam Savage
A good, light read and the perfect palate cleanser after finishing up a big series (the Black Company).
The book is loosely a "how to" be a maker/creator, part motivational, part memoir, and part documentation of some of his own hobby work. Which is mostly cosplay and movie props like a space suit from 2001 or Deckard's gun.

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Dark comedy about an well-intentioned American who becomes a well known propaganda mouth piece for the Nazis during WWII. Though the story is fictional, it is unfortunately all too true.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

I read Mother Night probably 40 years ago during by Vonnegut period.

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Finder's Keepers by Stephen King. This is the middle volume of the Bill Hodges trilogy. As with the first book, this largely leaves the supernatural to the side. This one focuses on the aftermath of a 1970s era murder of a reclusive author. The murderer took his money but more importantly his unpublished manuscripts. He stashes them near his home (far from where the murder occurred), but is thrown in jail for an unrelated rape. Up to near modern times, and a boy uncovers the hidden stash. While he tries to figure out what to do with this, things start getting very dangerous. Bill Hodges gets looped into the mix and has to try to save the day. If you enjoy King's writing, you'll enjoy these books. While it's not his stereotypical horror style, it's still that same King voice. I'm going to read the last book, but I'll take a break first.

Up next is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It was on sale cheap on Amazon, so I grabbed it.

[hitbyambulance]

75% of the way through _Moby-Dick, or, the Whale_ ... i was super hoping to complete it this week. i'm not rushing it, but i do wish it were over several hundred pages ago - i really do not care to read about whale slaughtering any more. just make the ending 'all these mofos die slowly, agonizingly and horribly' and i'll be good.

i am also going to make the rest of this year the time to complete two of my three unfinished novels (Joyce's _Ulysses_ and Heller's _Catch-22_... Pynchon's _Against the Day_ can wait a while longer). annoying because i have other NEW SHINY UNTOUCHED books gestating on the queue, but i need to focus.

[ImLawBoy]

i am also going to make the rest of this year the time to complete two of my three unfinished novels (Joyce's _Ulysses_ and Heller's _Catch-22_... Pynchon's _Against the Day_ can wait a while longer). annoying because i have other NEW SHINY UNTOUCHED books gestating on the queue, but i need to focus.

One of those three is going to be much easier than the other two. Catch-22 is a lot of fun and should probably go first just so you can knock one of the list. Ulysses was a challenge to get through (the last 42 pages are one sentence) and I'm still not sure exactly what I read, but I got through it. I was enjoying Against the Day quite a bit, made it about halfway, but got distracted and it's been ~10 years since I've picked it up. I still want to read it, but I'm afraid I'd need to start from the beginning again and it's a really long book.

[hitbyambulance]

i am also going to make the rest of this year the time to complete two of my three unfinished novels (Joyce's _Ulysses_ and Heller's _Catch-22_... Pynchon's _Against the Day_ can wait a while longer). annoying because i have other NEW SHINY UNTOUCHED books gestating on the queue, but i need to focus.

One of those three is going to be much easier than the other two. Catch-22 is a lot of fun and should probably go first just so you can knock one of the list. Ulysses was a challenge to get through (the last 42 pages are one sentence) and I'm still not sure exactly what I read, but I got through it. I was enjoying Against the Day quite a bit, made it about halfway, but got distracted and it's been ~10 years since I've picked it up. I still want to read it, but I'm afraid I'd need to start from the beginning again and it's a really long book.

yeah, i'm going to have to start the Pynchon one completely over, as it's been 12 years since i left off.

[Scuzz]

75% of the way through _Moby-Dick, or, the Whale_ ... i was super hoping to complete it this week. i'm not rushing it, but i do wish it were over several hundred pages ago - i really do not care to read about whale slaughtering any more. just make the ending 'all these mofos die slowly, agonizingly and horribly' and i'll be good.

i am also going to make the rest of this year the time to complete two of my three unfinished novels (Joyce's _Ulysses_ and Heller's _Catch-22_... Pynchon's _Against the Day_ can wait a while longer). annoying because i have other NEW SHINY UNTOUCHED books gestating on the queue, but i need to focus.

I have started The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It will probably take me forever to read the first 100 pages or so. Hopefully by then I will pick up on the language and the story. Whenever I read an older "classic" it always takes me awhile to catch on to the authors use of the language.