Yearly Targets (2016) - Totals and Specifics

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Redeagl

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« Reply #105 on: October 11, 2016, 06:55:17 pm »
I have finished a trilogy called "Raven's Shadow"  by Anthony Ryan,pretty awesome stuff. I think the first book is a total masterpiece, the second is not as good but still very awesome and the same with the third.I recommend this series.
“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”

- Chronicler of the Chroniclers

MSJ

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« Reply #106 on: October 11, 2016, 11:44:49 pm »
I have finished a trilogy called "Raven's Shadow"  by Anthony Ryan,pretty awesome stuff. I think the first book is a total masterpiece, the second is not as good but still very awesome and the same with the third.I recommend this series.

Can you give me a spoiler free review of those books? Not the first time I've heard of them.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Redeagl

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« Reply #107 on: October 12, 2016, 01:29:05 pm »
I have finished a trilogy called "Raven's Shadow"  by Anthony Ryan,pretty awesome stuff. I think the first book is a total masterpiece, the second is not as good but still very awesome and the same with the third.I recommend this series.

Can you give me a spoiler free review of those books? Not the first time I've heard of them.
The first one is a coming of age book. Imagine Harry Potter but Hogwarts is a military school, the teachers are harsh and students can die during tests. Then when you have completed your training you get send to wars and random battles to defend the main religion of the continent.The first one is pretty neat, many fight scenes and mysteries of the world. Awesome and very adult character development.At times the book can get quite touching. The second was also a very good book but different from the fist in many things. Some people didn't like the second and the third but I did. Just don't expect more of the same.Also the author said that there will be more books in the world with the surviving characters.Overall I can say give it a shot. It is worth it.
“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”

- Chronicler of the Chroniclers

MSJ

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« Reply #108 on: October 13, 2016, 12:59:42 am »
I have finished a trilogy called "Raven's Shadow"  by Anthony Ryan,pretty awesome stuff. I think the first book is a total masterpiece, the second is not as good but still very awesome and the same with the third.I recommend this series.

Can you give me a spoiler free review of those books? Not the first time I've heard of them.
The first one is a coming of age book. Imagine Harry Potter but Hogwarts is a military school, the teachers are harsh and students can die during tests. Then when you have completed your training you get send to wars and random battles to defend the main religion of the continent.The first one is pretty neat, many fight scenes and mysteries of the world. Awesome and very adult character development.At times the book can get quite touching. The second was also a very good book but different from the fist in many things. Some people didn't like the second and the third but I did. Just don't expect more of the same.Also the author said that there will be more books in the world with the surviving characters.Overall I can say give it a shot. It is worth it.

Thank you, Redeagl! I'll have to check them out, sounds very interesting.
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

Wilshire

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« Reply #109 on: October 13, 2016, 01:54:34 pm »
Couldn't find anything in my haste so I ended up listening to Caves of Steel by Asimov. If I knew it was a murder mystery, I wouldn't have read it as I don't tend to like them, but it was interesting enough. That's 11 for the year.

I started Stranger in a Strange Land, which has been really great so far.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2016, 04:49:49 pm by Wilshire »
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« Reply #110 on: October 17, 2016, 04:06:34 pm »
Looking back, I've really been slacking this year, since the first half was all rereads of tSA, I definitely need to pick it up in these last few months.

This year I read:
Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey, by Chuck Palahniuk
The Great Ordeal, by R. Scott Bakker
Abaddon's Gate (Expanse Book 3), by James S. A. Corey
The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin
Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft
Arm of the Sphinx, by Josiah Bancroft

Going to try to get 6 more read in the next couple of months, to at least have 12 read for the year.
I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor. . . ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the No-God in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great Golgotterath, watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury. -Cet'ingira

Wilshire

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« Reply #111 on: October 17, 2016, 04:51:11 pm »
I was only up to 6 before last month. I'm only nearing 12 because of the increase in work travel. Don't beat yourself up too much H :P. 6 seems like a respectable number to me.
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« Reply #112 on: October 17, 2016, 05:50:01 pm »
I was only up to 6 before last month. I'm only nearing 12 because of the increase in work travel. Don't beat yourself up too much H :P. 6 seems like a respectable number to me.

Yeah, considering how the first part of the year was all re-reads, I could consider myself to have read a book a month (or so) but I would rather only count new reads for the purpose of determining how much I am actually reading.

This month still has a decent amount of time left, but I'm unsure what I want to go at next.  I feel like another Expanse book is a real easy target, so I might go that route until I figure what I really want to aim at.
I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor. . . ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the No-God in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great Golgotterath, watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury. -Cet'ingira

Wilshire

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« Reply #113 on: October 20, 2016, 02:52:18 pm »
Finished Stranger in a Strange Land. Good book. Gets a little weird but overall very entertaining. 12

Started The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. So far, a good, quick read. Lots of action, not a lot of philosophical musings.
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Redeagl

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« Reply #114 on: October 20, 2016, 03:29:19 pm »
Finished Stranger in a Strange Land. Good book. Gets a little weird but overall very entertaining. 12

Started The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks. So far, a good, quick read. Lots of action, not a lot of philosophical musings.
I don't think you would find much philosophical musings outside of Bakker or Erikson... Sadly.
“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”

- Chronicler of the Chroniclers

Wilshire

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« Reply #115 on: October 20, 2016, 03:36:13 pm »
There's lots in scifi if you go looking for it. Stranger in a Strange Land is an excellent example.
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Redeagl

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« Reply #116 on: October 20, 2016, 04:13:28 pm »
There's lots in scifi if you go looking for it. Stranger in a Strange Land is an excellent example.
Yup I agree with you but there is not much in fantasy.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2016, 06:33:34 pm by Redeagl »
“The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness. If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own? How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?”

- Chronicler of the Chroniclers

MSJ

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« Reply #117 on: October 22, 2016, 12:56:49 am »
Started Raven's Shadow, really liking it so far. Thanks for the rec @Redeagl!
“No. I am your end. Before your eyes I will put your seed to the knife. I will quarter your carcass and feed it to the dogs. Your bones I will grind to dust and cast to the winds. I will strike down those who speak your name or the name of your fathers, until ‘Yursalka’ becomes as meaningless as infant babble. I will blot you out, hunt down your every trace! The track of your life has come to me,

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« Reply #118 on: October 22, 2016, 12:29:09 pm »
Finished The Way of Shadows. That was pretty good. It had a bit more to it than i expected. Hopefully I get around to the sequals some day.

13

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« Reply #119 on: October 22, 2016, 04:44:25 pm »
Finished Pokój Światów - it got more gripping in the second half but still, I did not feel I could really empathise with the main characters. But great worldbuilding.
Now I'm starting another non-fiction book, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. The original is German, I'm reading it in Polish but it is also availabe in English. I'm kinda botanist-amateur and I like to read something like this from time to time.
BTW, in the meantime I let Pokój Światów rest for a while and read Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart. This is a very small but fascinating book about the world's most dangerous plants. Really fascinating read - although I had to read it with my Google ready because I read it in English and sometimes I did not know the Polish names of plants (although the Latin ones often helped - I'm strange this way).

[EDIT Madness: For italics tag.]
« Last Edit: October 22, 2016, 07:11:36 pm by Madness »
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake