HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (next year put out shotguns for Santa instead of cookies and milk!). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...(also available in chicken flavor!)

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, get those fireworks ready, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

I went looking for "New Year's Libraries" and didn't find much that appealed to me. Most of the pics I found were of elementary school library displays. However, for some reason this picture came up in the search results. It's in the Library of Congress archives. Libraries are much more than a repository of books, of course. They contain all sorts of interesting artifacts from days gone by, like the lovely picture above.

LOOKING BACK AT 2023

I'm not going to bore you with my "Top 10 Books of 2023." There are plenty of BookTubers that have videos you can watch about their top 10 lists. All of them are highly subjective, of course. The only top 10 list that matters is YOUR top 10 list of books. However, I thought I'd share with you some of the stats of my own reading journey in 2023, including a few notable reading experiences.

# OF BOOKS READ - 128
# OF PAGES READ - 55,069 (I know word count is a more accurate measure, but page count is easier to track)
AVG PAGES / BOOK - 430.23
AVG PAGES / WEEK - 1,059.02

NOTABLE READING EXPERIENCES

Daybreak Series by John Barnes -- A horrific look at what could happen to the world if the ecoterrorists are able to get their way. One of the better dystopian stories I've ever read, though also quite bleak in the final outlook.
The Cinder Spires Series by Jim Butcher -- He's just a fantastic author who creates interesting worlds. The Cinder Spires series promises to be one of Butcher's best series yet. The Olympian Affair was well worth the wait. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
The Riftwar Empire Series by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts -- This series has always been highly regarded by fans of the Riftwar Saga. I was a bit skeptical as I had not been all that impressed with Daughter of the Empire on my first readthrough. However, once I read the entire series again, as a much older man, I now understand why fans really love this particular series. It's some top grade political action as a young woman navigates a difficult path to save the future for her noble house. It's a textbook on how to properly write a "strong female character" without turning her into a caricature of a male hero.
The Agent Pendergast / Nora Kelly / Gideon Crew Series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child -- Thomas Paine recommended several of these books. I was able to find a few at a library book sale. Then immediately had to buy the rest. I blazed through them all this summer. If you enjoy mysteries with a bit of X-Files or Fringe twist to them, these are great books.
Christmas - The Rest of the Story by Rick Renner -- This was recommended by StewBurner. It goes into quite a bit of details about the life and times in which Jesus Christ was born. For example, Joseph probably wasn't the poor carpenter as he is usually portrayed, but a highly skilled craftsman in much demand. But he was also faithful and obedient to God's will, which is why he was chosen to be Christ's mortal father-figure.
The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari -- This was an excellent book to close out the year. A wonderful tale of magic, mayhem, faith, and chivalry, with a bit of modern flair to it. A great read.

FUTURE READING EXPERIENCES?

Now I must decide what to read for the future. I think I have settled on reading a lot of epic fantasy for 2024, starting with The Malazan Books of the Fallen by Steven Erickson. This series always comes highly recommended as one of the best epic fantasies ever written. I do own them all but have only read the first one, Gardens of the Moon, which I quite enjoyed. Aetius451AD has also recommended this series, so it comes with a Moron stamp of approval as well. My plan is to try and read one of these per month, so I should finish up by October or thereabouts. Unless I *really* get into the series and just plow through them. It's about 10,000 pages long, so it should keep me busy for a while.

What are YOUR reading plans for 2024?

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HOW TO READ MORE

The BookTuber below has some very useful advice to anyone who is interested in reading more. In summary:

Think about why you want to read more -- Motivation is critical when it comes to reading! You must find an intrinsic motivation to read in order to increase the amount of reading that you do. When I was a kid, my parents sometimes use extrinsic motivation (e.g., taking me out for ice cream) if I read a certain number of books per week. Now, I do it because I *like* to read and find it highly enjoyable. Everyone's intrinsic motivation will be different, but it's very important that you find one that works for you!
Pursue variety -- If you are struggling with developing a reading habit, it may be because you have not found a genre or format that works best for you. You will need to experiment. Fortunately, the Moron Horde has provided you with a rather large list of recommendations! Find one that appeals to you and get started. If you don't like it, then try something different. Eventually you will find a genre that you enjoy more than others. Then you can start exploring that genre to find the best books within that genre.
Do the right kind of note taking -- This is perhaps the one point that doesn't quite fit with the others. I'm not much of a notetaker when I read, unless I'm reading for a very specific purpose (e.g., writing a paper for school). However, if you ever intend to write a book yourself, you WILL need to become a better reader and you WILL need to take a lot of notes during the research phase of your writing project. Writing fiction still requires a ton of research if you want to craft a believable world.
Schedule your reading time -- Becoming a stronger reader is all about developing reading habits. Scheduling a deliberate time for reading is an excellent way to develop a habit, so that you are reading more even without adhering to a strict schedule. I'd recommend at least 30 minutes of quiet time with no distractions as a good start. You may have to find ways to eliminate some of those distractions. Then keep track of your progress! I use a spreadsheet to keep track of how much I've read in each book. This keeps me going if I know that I've read 75% and only have 25% left to go.

IDENTIFYING YOUR TBR PILE

The BookTuber below came up with an interesting way of identifying which books he has not read (the "TBR" pile). He goes through his entire library and turns all of the books he's read around so that the spine is facing the interior of the bookshelf. Only the spines of books he's not yet read are visible. I tried this on one of my bookshelves and then decided against it. It's much easier to track them in a spreadsheet, color-coded for my convenience. Green for books I've read, red for books I have yet to read, and yellow for the book I'm currently reading.

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Another Christmas themed book, which has become a holiday tradition, is William Gilmore Simms' The Golden Christmas. It's a novel written in 1852 about Charleston, SC in the holiday season. It's fiction but is historically accurate as to the people and customs of the area. Simms was hugely popular in his day, deservedly. His writing is engaging and can capture poignant moments as well as wonderful humor. This is the kind of book I want to come back to for sheer pleasure and entertainment. Simms' other writings are all worth the time, including the best biography of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, I've read.
Simms' reputation suffered after the War of Northern Aggression, being a Southern writer, but he is being recognized more in recent years by people who read for pleasure, although there is still the usual woke bitching from imbeciles.

Posted by: JTB at December 24, 2023 09:36 AM (7EjX1)

Comment: Since Simms was writing about contemporary life and times, it's no wonder that it is an accurate representation of life in South Carolina. The fact that Simms' reputation was damaged after the Civil War means he's probably going to become a legitimate target for cancellation at some point, no matter how skilled he was as a writer.

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The Holy Angels by Mother Alexandra.
My wife enjoyed it, and frequently corrects me on angelic lore as a result. That's partly why I didn't dig into it yet - if I have a question, I just ask her!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 24, 2023 10:01 AM (llXky)

Comment: We had a very lively and interesting discussion about angels last week. The Bible seems to depict them in a variety of ways. At times they are very human-like, appearing to be indistinguishable from normal humans, but still able to instill a sense of awe and wonder. At other times, they are downright terrifying, with strange, alien appearances. Hence, they tend to show up with surrounded by a divine light and inform the recipient of their message that there is no need to be afraid. Can't say as I've ever met one in real life, but then how would I know? They can work in subtle ways as well, influencing people with a deft touch here or a quiet message there.

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This past week I've been reading African Game Trails by Theodore Roosevelt. I've never hunted, so the long passages about stalking game and TR's opinions on various rifles are a bit of a drag, but the anecdotes of camp life, the people he encounters, and his digressions on various topics are very entertaining. There's a whole appendix devoted to the library he brought along on the expedition -- a sixty-pound chest of books bound in pigskin. Because you can't go out into the African bush shooting animals without a library.
Posted by: Trimegistus at December 24, 2023 11:03 AM (78a2H)

Comment: Say what you like about Teddy Roosevelt, but he clearly knew that traveling with a library was a high priority, even back then. Nowadays we can carry around a massive trove of literature on our iPads and Kindle devices. Roosevelt would no doubt be very jealous. For all we know, he went on hunting expeditions just to collect the skins for more more books.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

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WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

After reviewing some of OregonMuse's old Book Threads, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Instead of just listing WHAT I'm reading, I'll include commentary as well. Unless otherwise specified, you can interpret this as an implied recommendation, though as always your mileage may vary.

The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari

I picked this up in a used bookstore many years ago, but for some reason I never got around to reading it until this past week. It was well worth the read, and a great way to end out 2023. It tells the story of the classic wager between God and Lucifer, where Lucifer bets that he can get a young man to turn away from God. This time, if Lucifer wins he gets to destroy all of creation and remake it as he sees fit. If God wins, then the world will proceed as normal, according to God's plan.

Although that's the basic set up of the story, it gets quite a bit more complicated as things progress. We find out that Joby is just an average young man in many ways, faced with the same temptations that we all face. He is very much unaware of God in the beginning of the story. All he knows is that his life is in a downward spiral because of a tragic series of events (caused by Lucifer's interference in his life). In despair, Joby finds his way to the one place on Earth where he found temporary peace, a small town on the California coastline. For several years, he's able to rebuild his life and find contentment until Lucifer's minions start bringing ruin back into his life. Fortunately, the town is not quite what it seems, as it's a holy sanctuary protected by the archangel Michael and the descendants of Arthurian legend. Yes, King Arthur and the Roundtable play a huge role in this story.

As always God has the upper hand in his wager with Lucifer, working behind the scenes to thwart Lucifer's plans, carefully negotiating Himself around His own promises to avoid direct interference in Joby's life. Just a reminder that however grim or dark things may get, there IS hope and light and life to be found. The Enemy is powerful and subtle, but God is infinitely more powerful and subtle.

Forgotten Realms - The Harpers Book 10 - Masquerades by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb

This is one of those "fluff" novels that I like to read from time to time. It's part of the Harpers series of books, set in the Forgotten Realms campaign world of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. This is one of my favorite campaign worlds. I never got into Greyhawk (sorry, Gary!). As I understand it, the writers of the Forgotten Realms books had one explicit rule they had to follow: Good always wins out in the end. The heroes could be put through the wringer, but in the end good MUST triumph over evil. This is built into the game somewhat, even though players can play an evil character. However, I've never seen evil characters prosper in the long term. They tend to be very annoying to play with because they feel like they have to be evil all the time. Anyway, this story features characters from Azure Bonds, which was based on the SSI Gold Box game, Curse of the Azure Bonds. The main character, Alias, must take on the evil Night Masks, a thieves guild that rules Westgate with an iron fist. She and her companions will have to unravel several mysteries before they face down The Faceless, their ruthless leader.

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 12-24-23 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Disclaimer: No Morons were harmed in the making of this Sunday Morning Book Thread. Nine New Year's resolutions have already been broken.

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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