Tag: books

Books I Read in October 2022

Yes, I’m aware it’s mid-November as I post this. It’s been a busy month 😉

Here are the books I read, re-read, listened to, or re-read in October 2022:

The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales (Signet Classics)
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales (Signet Classics)
  • Edgar Allan Poe (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 24 Pages – 09/23/2023 (Publication Date) – Signet (Publisher)
$5.53 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
Boarding Party: Green Zone War, Book 0
Boarding Party: Green Zone War, Book 0
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Jake Elwood (Author) – Johnathan McClain (Narrator)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 01/19/2021 (Publication Date) – Podium Audio (Publisher)
$1.25
Buy on Amazon
Sale
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (Penguin Classics)
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (Penguin Classics)
  • Shelley, Mary (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 288 Pages – 01/16/2018 (Publication Date) – Penguin Classics (Publisher)
$7.19 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
Sale
THE CALL OF CTHULHU
THE CALL OF CTHULHU
  • Hardcover Book
  • Lovecraft, H.P. (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 64 Pages – 11/05/2019 (Publication Date) – Design Studio Press (Publisher)
$25.96 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
  • Stevenson, Robert Louis (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 113 Pages – 07/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Independently published (Publisher)
$6.95 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
Sale
Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II
Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II
  • Hardcover Book
  • Kurson, Robert (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 375 Pages – 06/29/2004 (Publication Date) – Random House (Publisher)
$24.18
Buy on Amazon
Sale
Dracula: Collector's Special Edition (Deluxe Illustrated Classics)
Dracula: Collector’s Special Edition (Deluxe Illustrated Classics)
  • Hardcover Book
  • Stoker, Bram (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 464 Pages – 11/23/2021 (Publication Date) – Union Square & Co. (Publisher)
$25.96 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
  • Irving, Washington (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 02/21/2016 (Publication Date) – CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Publisher)
$3.95 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
The Wise Mans Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Book 2
The Wise Mans Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Book 2
  • English (Publication Language)
  • Penguin (Publisher)
$33.13
Buy on Amazon
Sale
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
  • Hardcover Book
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 256 Pages – 02/15/2000 (Publication Date) – Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Publisher)
$14.89 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
Sale
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
  • Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking [Hardcover]
  • Susan Cain
  • Hardcover Book
  • Cain, Susan (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
$10.86 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon
Robots and Roommates: Star Kingdom, Book 0
Robots and Roommates: Star Kingdom, Book 0
  • Audible Audiobook
  • Lindsay Buroker (Author) – Fred Berman (Narrator)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 01/19/2021 (Publication Date) – Podium Audio (Publisher)
$1.25
Buy on Amazon

Overall, it was a very spooky month as I revisited some of my horror favorites. Hopefully, you had the chance to knock a few items from your TBR.

Books I Read in August 2022

My reading over the summer took a bit of a dip over the first part of this year. My goal this year is to read 75 books, down from 100 last year.

I set that goal knowing that I would begin my doctoral work this fall and would likely have less time to read non-school-related books.

But I seem to be ramping back up heading into September. As I write this, I’m 13 books behind for the year, so the pressure is on!

Books I finished reading in August 2022:

How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Ahrens, Sönke (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 190 Pages – 03/08/2022 (Publication Date)
$9.99
Buy on Amazon
Sale
[Leviathan Wakes] [By: Corey, James S. a.] [May, 2012]
[Leviathan Wakes] [By: Corey, James S. a.] [May, 2012]
  • James S.A. Corey (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 05/01/2012 (Publication Date) – Orbit (Publisher)
$22.15 Amazon Prime
Buy on Amazon

Assorted Links for Friday, 20 May 2022

Photo by Colton Sturgeon on Unsplash
  1. R.I.P. Vangelis: The Composer Who Created the Future Noir Soundtrack for Blade Runner Dies at 79
  2. David Letterman hosted the Late Show for the last time seven years ago today
  3. Panic Over SEL Is Unfounded. Here’s Why.
  4. Reducing Stress Through Tech – Podcast
  5. The Summer Reads Edition from Why is this Interesting?
  6. 13 Strategies That Will Make You A Better Reader (And Person)
  7. 13 Websites That Provide Lots of Digital Books for Summer Reading

And now, your weekly wind down…

Pike Mall Tech: 12 May 2022

Today’s Links

No Butts About It

Source

In case you haven’t heard, an assistant principal was recently fired because he chose to read the children’s book “I Need a New Butt” to a group of students.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/11/toby-price-principal-fired-childrens-book/

Toby Price found out that, even though this is the dumbest reason for firing anyone in the history of ever, he still isn’t getting his job back.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/05/11/toby-price-butt-book-school/

Toby has shared his thoughts on this announcement in a thread of Tweets, posted here for your enjoyment.

I’ll just say this right now: with the content of most children’s books out there, to fire someone over a book about butts requires a special kind of an asshole.

There is a spot reserved in hell for administrators, parents, and members of the general public who think it’s ok to fire a teacher over reading a wildly popular children’s book that is available everywhere books are sold.

I would rant more on this but I can’t. It’s just dumb.

We’ll Ban All the Books, Even the Digital Ones

source: Wikimedia Commons

Public education is facing an unprecedented level of hatred from conservative Americans right now. New laws are being crafted to punish teachers for teaching content that is not “approved” by parent groups or might be offensive and entire curricula and books are being banned.

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/heres-the-long-list-of-topics-republicans-want-banned-from-the-classroom/2022/02

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-anti-critical-race-theory-bills-are-taking-aim-at-teachers/

https://www.npr.org/2022/04/18/1093277449/florida-mathematics-textbooks

Now, some schools are banning access to digital books from repositories like Overdrive and Epic, removing thousands of resources from the hands of students and families.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/library-apps-book-ban-schools-conservative-parents-rcna26103

Thousands of schools and public libraries use these services to provide a much wider array of books than they could within the limits of the physical space in their buildings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, families easily accessed books from home comfort to keep their kids engaged and learning while sheltering.

Enter the fear mongers.

With new laws in place requiring that any book used in a school be reviewed and chosen by a faculty member, the number of books available will drastically decrease.

With over two million titles, trying to get someone to review every book in Overdrive is not only an impossible request, it’s downright foolish.

No one could review all that content and approve it for student usage.

How much longer will we abide by such unsubstantiated fear and hatred?

“That was but a prelude; where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people also”

Heinrich Heine

Colophon

colophon example
Latine non loquor

Currently writing:

  • Volume 1: The Heretic Chronicles – a fantasy story about a girl, her sword, and extreme fundamentalist religion (WC: 15,457)
  • Untitled Sci-Fi novel – a group of students race across the stars, avoiding an evil empire (WC: 275)
  • Sci-fi short story – earth as a farm for aliens (WC: 492)

Currently reading:

Upcoming Events:

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I Have a Book Problem and I’m Not Afraid to Admit It

Photo by Ugur Akdemir on Unsplash

OK, this is a total brain dump post as I just need to get some thoughts down. My mind is racing with ideas and I just need to write. But I’m going to share this with you because… reasons…

I love reading. However, I’ve not always been the most dedicated reader. Far too often I have relied on moving pictures in one form or another to keep me entertained and/or intellectually engaged. I love movies and tv shows. I love documentaries.

But I really love the worlds I can transport to within the pages of a book. Fiction, non-fiction, I don’t care.

As I said, I haven’t always been the best reader. It was far easier to just sit on my computer, watch the TV, or stare at my smartphone.

Then, about two years ago, I committed to reading more. I felt that I had missed so many opportunities to read great books that I couldn’t waste any more time. After all, I’m 45 as I’m writing this and, statistically, I’m about halfway done with my time on this pale blue dot.

So I started reading more. Consequently, I started buying more books.

Like, a ton of books. Seriously. I just had six show up at my house today.

And not just little books. Big books. BIG f’n books.

Here’s the list that showed up today (all Amazon links):

Last month, I ordered ten physical books (most in the fantasy genre) and 10-12 ebooks (I have a Kindle Unlimited account, too).

Yes, I have a problem. I’m trying to play catch up for years of not really reading books. And I’ll never reach my goal.

My Goodreads “to be read” list is almost 1,500 books long. And growing.

Why do I have a problem? Because I have become insatiably curious and full of fanciful dreams. I didn’t explore my passions for too long because I was concerned about what other people thought about me.

I’ll write that off as having spent my time in a fundamentalist, controlling, right-wing, bible-thumping church from the ages of 11 to 25. Oh, well.

Now, I’m running after learning about the things that excite me. And enjoying the things I love.

So I have a book problem. Do you?