The Book I Read 2024
***** = Must read.
**** = Really good.
*** = Worth reading.
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments.
* = Not worth your time.
-0 = Less Than Zero: a book so bad that you actually lose several IQ points from the reading experience.
1. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov *** Still nibbling away at the vast Asimov oeuvre. No hope or intention of swallowing it whole, but still...it's fun. And hey, with one more book and one more short story, I'll have completed the R. Daneel Olivaw subset. And I've made a bit of a dent in the larger Science Fiction Novels of Isaac Asimov subset.
11/9/23 to 1/1/24.
2. Uncle's Dream by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 12/31/23 to 1/3/24 *** Hard to believe, I know, but this book was actually lighthearted...and FUNny. Did not see that coming.
3. Ivanhoe (Great Illustrated Classics) by Sir Walter Scott, adapted by Margins G. Vogel. The 46th book Joe read to me. 11/30/23 to 1/4/24
4. Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus by Isaac Asimov 12/9/23 to 1/4/24 The third Lucky Starr book I've read to Joe, and we're starting on number 4 tomorrow, so I guess that's Joe's stamp of approval.
5. The Insulted and the Injured by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1/4/23 to 1/17/24 ** Sorry to say that this book was not worth two weeks of my reading life.
6. The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1/18/24 to 1/25/24 Almost Real Dostoyevsky.
7. Golden Multitudes: The Story Of Best Sellers In The United States by Frank Luther Mott **** A superb book. Interesting subject matter, but more than that, Mr. Mott was a smart ass of the first order, and I thoroughly enjoyed his style. Finished 1/28/24
8. The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov *** I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and even though I didn't spend much time per day on it, it was a relatively quick read (1/2/24 to 1/31/24). One thing puzzles me: this is the second pairing of Bailey and Olivaw, and I would hardly call them "friends." In fact, Bailey seems to barely tolerate his robot partner. Yet in the next book (The Robots of Dawn), they are slobbering all over each other. Seems like there ought to be another story between these two. Anyway...on to another Asimov tomorrow.
P.S. I just checked, and the shirt story "Mirror Image" actually DID appear between The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn, so I guess ill read that short story next and see if there's an explanation to be found there.
9. Ultimate Comics Ultimate by Jonathan Hickman Volume 1 by Jonathan Hickman and Brandon Petersen *** Good enough for me to want to read the next six issues, anyway. 2/4/24
10. The King's Daughter by Vonda N. McIntyre 3/27/23 to 2/5/24 Wow, did it really take us almost a year to read this book? I suppose it did. It was very good, actually...and had almost nothing to do with the movie, which trivialized the whole plot. (And removed the Scarlattis completely!)
11. Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury by Isaac Asimov 1/5/24 to 2/6/24 *** I'm already starting to mourn the fact that my Lucky Starr readings will soon be over (4 books down, 2 to go.) It's A fun read, and Joe seems to be enjoying it.
12. Saints by Gene Luen Yang **** 1/6/24 to 1/7/24 Finally got around to picking this up when I saw it in the library, and now I wish I'd gotten to it sooner. A most excellent book about China, Christianity, and St. Joan. The ending left me a bit confused, but otherwise... brilliant stuff.
13. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky ***** 1/30/24 to 2/11/24
14. King Solomon's Mines (Great Illustrated Classics) by H. Rider Haggard, adapted by Jack Kelly. The 47th book Joe read to me. 1/5/24 to 2/15/24
15. Ultimate Comics Ultimate by Jonathan Hickman Volume 2 by Jonathan Hickman and Brandon Petersen ***
16. Waller Vs. Wildstorm by Evan Narcisse, Spencer Ackerman, and Jesús Merino. The writing was quite good. So much so that I went in search of more Spencer Ackerman. The art was very bad. For some reason, Amended Waller was consistently drawn with a giant head. I mean, like baby head to body ratios. And the coloring was garish and sickening. Some great cover art, though.
17. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 2/12/24 to 2/21/24
18. Antarctica Volume 1 Out In The Cold by Simon Birks & Wili Roberts ** Well, hoopla just saved me $20, 'cause I was interested in this book, but it really sucked. In an "I want my time back" way.
19. Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter by Isaac Asimov 2/8/24 to 3/4/24
20. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 2/22/24 to 3/13/24
This was not a good book. Avoid it at all costs.
21. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang. Took a bit to get into this after the magnificence of Saints , but once I settled down it was captivating. Excellent **** 3/13/24
22. Good News For Modern Man (1966) 7/3/21 to 3/18/24 This was used at Emmanuel Luther Church way back when I went there as a child. I always liked this little Bible...from the "newsprint" cover to the stick figure drawings to the "modern English." Many years later I thought of it and looked to see if one was available online, found it, and it was pretty expensive. So I thought that was that. Then I found one at Goodwill for like a buck. And then I found another one, probably at Half-Price Books, for the same. So now I have one...and I either gave the other one to Pat or meant to do so. I'll have to ask her. Anyway, I thought it was worth a try to read this to Joe. And we did it...in a mere 2 1/2 years!
23. The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg 2/1/24 to 3/27/24 This was a good read...which surprised me. I wondered how a perfectly good short story could be expanded into a novel without attenuation and breakage. But here it is. So good, in fact, that I'm actually anxious to read another Asimov / Silverberg collaboration. And I just happen to have two if them on hand.
24. A Poetics of Handel's Operas by Nathan Link 3/14/24 to 3/25/24 https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2024/03/ddr-poetics-of-handels-operas-by-nathan.html
25. Blue Lard by Vladimir Sorokin -0 An awful, reprehensible book. Here's why: https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2024/03/ddr-blue-lard-by-vladimir-sorokin.html
3/26/24 to 4/2/24
26. Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono 2/6/24 to 4/4/24
Good...say ***...but not as good as the movie.
27. Opera as Hypermedium: Meaning-Making, Immediacy, and the Politics of Perception by Tereza Havelková 3/28/24 to 4/10/24 **Well...that was a waste of time and effort. Details available @ https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2024/03/down-low-ddr-hypermedium-meaning-making.html
28. Wellness by Nathan Hill **** Loved this book. https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2024/04/ddr-wellness-by-nathan-hill.html
29. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón **** A most excellent book. https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2024/04/ddr-la-sombra-del-viento-shadow-of-wind.html
4/14/24 to 4/23/24
30. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón **** Another MEB. 4/24/24 to 4/29/24
https://songsofinnocenceampexperience.blogspot.com/2024/04/ddr-angels-game-by-carlos-ruiz-zafon.html
31. The Labyrinth of Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón 4/30/24 to 5/1/24 ****
32.
In Progress:
The by Carlos Ruiz Zafón 5/2/24 to
The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg 3/27/24 to
The Tyrannosaurus Prescription and 100 Other Essays by Isaac Asimov 3/14/24 to
126 of 327...then 272
The Philosopher's Handbook: Essential Readings from Plato to Kant by Stanley Rosen 1/8/22 to
Now reading with Jacqueline:
Orthodox Study Bible--published by Thomas Nelson, New King James Version (Not sure when we started this--maybe in 2015--but we resumed reading 11/19/20) Started The New Testament 4/17/23.
Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales 3/2/23 to
Are You Thete, God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume 4/5/24 to
Now reading with Joe:
Grimm's Fairy Tales (Great Illustrated Classics) adapted by Roy Nemerson. The 47th book Joe read to me. 2/16/24 to
The Action Bible: God's Redemptive Story Illustrated by Sergio Cariello 3/21/24 to
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