Once more with feeling :)

I enjoyed giving this a go so much in 2010 I can't wait to try again in 2011. I didn't get to 75 last year but I don't mind, I read way more books because I had a big goal than I probably would have otherwise, and I still have books to read on my shelves for this year. In fact I have enough unread books on my shelves that I won't HAVE to buy any for 2011, but figure the odds on that happening!

Some of the books I plan on reading this year are:

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Heart of Darkness
The Age of Turbulence
Outliers
Rich Dad Poor Dad
A Handmade Life
The Art of Happiness
Guns, Germs and Steel
First Things First
Spook Country
The Road
Good Poems
Psycho Cybernetics
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Into the Wild
The River of Doubt
Riddley Walker
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Siddhartha
Candide
Howard's End
Little Britches
The Maple Stories
The Sun Also Rises

and who knows what else. I expect it to be another fun ride no matter what happens!

Welcome back!

Thank you!

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

What an interesting way to tell a story! This book surprised me a lot, not one I might have read, but I had it loaned to me by a friend and am very happy that I did read it. I really recommend it!

Hello and welcome back. I'm sorry I missed your thread in 2010, but will follow you in 2011.

I agree with your assessment of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. It was quite an interesting way to tell a story.

Hello there! Nice list of books there, you've got your reading cut out for you this year!

Glad to see you back with us again in 2011, Eddie!

Hi Eddie!. You've got an interesting reading list and library. I wonder in particular what you'll think of The Road, Siddhartha, and Heart of Darkness. Starred. :)

Hi all and thanks!

PersephonesLibrary, I am looking forward to finding out what I will think about them as well, and will let you know when I do.

Into Thin Air This was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it very much. Since I was 15 I have always, in the back of my heart, wanted to climb Everest. I may never get to do it, but this book, sad, frightening, chilling and inspiring, hasn't dissuaded me from that desire. I thought Jon Krakauer did a great job telling the story and from his account I really can't see how Anatoli Bourkreev could take such offense. I had bought his book The Climb to read to get his side of the story and still may, but after reading Krakauer's afterword in this book if I do wind up reading The Climb it will be to gain another perspective of the event rather than from the point of view of figuring out who's "right" or "wrong".

Whether you are much interested in mountaineering or not, if you are interested in people and how they face extreme situations, I would think this book would appeal to you.

Good Poems. This was just awesome! I have always liked Garrison Keillor and trusted him, so that probably helped me give some poems a shot that otherwise I may not have, but I can say that I absolutely loved this book of poems, many of which were just breathtaking, and know that I will revisit it in the future. I highly recommend this!

#10: I have read both Krakauer's book and Bourkreev's. For another viewpoint, you might want to try The Other Side of Everest by Matt Dickinson, Eddie.

Thanks alcottacre, I will look for that.

Just finished Essays - First Series by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I like reading old books and things I should have read when I was younger, but I am glad I didn't try this before now. I don't think I would have stuck with it in my 20's or 30's and I also think the things he talks about wouldn't have resonated with me as they do now. This is a good set of writings, but light reading it ain't! It can be a slog at times and I was glad to be reading it on the Kindle app on my phone because there were lots of times that I needed to look up the definitions to different words and that is nearly seamless in the Kindle app when it would have meant a trip to my desk for the dictionary otherwise.

I can recommend this book and I plan on reading more by him.

How to live on 24 hours a day.

Like the song says, everything old is new again. I enjoyed this little snippet of a book (booklet more accurately). It's interesting to me how in all this time, we really haven't progressed too much; the same things bother us that bothered people a 100 years ago and probably even longer ago. The observations that are made here in how one might "live" more fully are just as viable now as then. I think if you take this book, mix it with A Way of Life by Sir William Osler and then fold in T.R.'s The Strenuous Life you would have a pretty unbeatable life plan that would be just about what any number of self help books you could pick up today would tell you. This won't take long so I can't imagine anyone objecting to reading it :)

The Prophet. I have had this book for a long time but don't know if I ever read it all the way through. There were several of the chapters that I liked, particularly about Marriage and Children. It's one of those which, if you haven't read, you probably ought to at least once.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
There is nothing that I can say about this book that hasn't been said more and better by myriads of people more eloquent than I am. I just need to say that it is one of those things that, after reading the very last page I had to turn back to the beginning and just revisit some of my favorite passages I discovered as I made my way through. Not a quick read, but as always, if you judge by how much you get out of a read rather than how fast you get out of it, I can't imagine anyone being disappointed. If you haven't read it I can't encourage you enough.

So What? How to Communicate What Really Matters to Your Audience

This book was ok, had some good ideas but if you read How to Win Friends and Influence People you will pretty much cover everything this book has to offer and a lot more to boot. That is just my two cents!

Stickeen by John Muir. This hardly qualifies as a "book" but I am counting it anyway, I have a lot of heavy hitters in the pipeline and need all the help I can get :)

Anyway, after having heard about John Muir all my life I finally decided to read some of him. This was my first sortie and I can't say I am disappointed. This little story is fun to read and I expect gives a good representation of Muir's style. He is very observant and descriptive and I enjoyed this very much. I am now the proud owner of My First Summer in the Sierra after a trip to the used book store today and plan on reading that at some point this year as well.

The life of Buddha and its lessons

Very very basic, I am sure a cereal box in several various regions of the Far East will have more meaningful info on the subject than this had.

Do NOT waste your time.

Travels in Alaska by John Muir

I have heard about John Muir all my life but have never read anything by him before this year. What a loss. I can't imagine anyone reading him and not catching some of his enthusiasm for the natural world that drips from every page.
He goes into a great deal of detail about plants and glaciers and waterfalls and ice and rivers and trees and rocks and anything else, but for all that detail I couldn't help but want to read more. He tells his story with such vibrance and exhuberance I was just drawn on and on. I have several more free kindle books of his to read and his first about the Sierra Nevada that is a real book and I can't wait to get to all of them.

I highly recommend reading him.

I need to read Travels in Alaska. Thanks for the reminder, Eddie!

Guns Germs and Steel.

This book was absolutely fascinating. Almost every page opened a new way of thinking about things and how they interrelate that had never ever occurred to me before. The fact that someone can take a topic so vast and so complex and make it so accessible speaks volumes about Jared Diamond's grasp of the material. It is not a quick read, at least it wasn't for me, and some may not have any interest at all in the subject matter. But if you are interested at all in the Yali's question, or any of the constellation of questions surrounding Yali's question, then I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is wonderful.

#23: I need to read that one yet. Thanks for the reminder, Eddie!

W.H. Auden Selected Poems

Today I read the last 6 or 7 poems in the book and each one seemed better than the last. The final poem in the book is titled "Archaeology" and talk about going out with a bang! It’s wonderful.
Auden is more challenging than most I have read lately. Some of that I am sure comes by way of my being more separated in time from him and the rest I am sure just because he was better read than I and was probably just much smarter to boot. Fortunately I don’t need to be a genius to enjoy him or his poetry.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

I have read a lot of wonderful books in my life and I am thankful that I can still find new ones (new to me anyway) that rival the top of the list! This book is just beautiful! It only takes a couple of hours to read and I can't think of any better way to spend that amount of time than taking advantage of the privilege in reading it. Just unbelievable!

The Sun Also Rises

This was great. I love the way Hemingway writes and this book shows his style was defined early on. I have always wondered about why people of that given time between the wars was called "the lost generation" and now, having read this book, I have an idea. Very good stuff here.

#26: I like that one a lot too!

Siddhartha

Wow. I have heard about this book forever, owned it for a couple of years and reading it now was pure serendipity. Over time I have taken some, though not all, the stops in the journey that Siddhartha takes in his life's journey and I am still trekking. This was a wonderful book in my view, because so many of the questions and experiences are so universal. I really really enjoyed this and am sure I will read it again. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend you do.

#29: I have not read Siddharta since I was a teenager. About time for a re-read, I should think!

You sound like you were probably a much more interesting teenager than I was!

Well, I was certainly something as a teenager. I am not sure 'interesting' covers it though :)

Hello Eddie - interested in your comments on Leaves of Grass} which I just received from Book Depository...was thinking of following it with Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham I did that with Mrs Dalloway and The Hours - back-to-backed them, and it seemed to work.....

I haven't checked out Specimen Days and sorry to say I am not familiar with Michael Cunningham but I will check them out. I hope you enjoy Leaves of Grass, it's one that may never make it back up onto the book shelf if you know what I mean.

Hello Eddie - if you liked Siddharta, and looking at others on your list, you might also enjoy Meetings with Remarkable Men and Nine Lives: In search of the sacred in modern India. The Dalrymple is particularly interesting...

Ok Thanks! I will look for those as I am trolling around the used book stores.

Crucial Conversations
I have read at least parts of this book before but I think this is the first time I have gone through this book from one end to the next. It's a good book and has lots of good information which I need to continue to learn and put into practice, both for my job and every day. This is one of many in this vein that I can recommend.

Lean Software Development
It's taken me a while to get through this because of other competing priorities, but this is a great book! It is very easy to read and understand, makes a lot of sense and mixes in a good number of real life case studies as examples to keep it real. I highly recommend this book, so much I am planning on starting over at the front again and having another go at it soon.

#37: I have not read any of Sarton's fiction. I will have to give that one a go.

>17 eddiemerkel:: Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Hi Eddie! Did you read the whole Leaves of Grass in order and in one go? I can't read poems like that , I just leaf through and stick with one poem or the other. (But maybe I should try your way, because there is not a single collection of poetry that I've finished.) One of my favourite texts by Whitman (of the few that I've read) is the one where he talks to his "future" reader. Which parts are your favourite?

>19 eddiemerkel:: Siddharta by Hermann Hesse
Thanks a lot for reminding me - I want to read that book for a long, long time!

PersephonesLibrary

Regarding Leaves of Grass, yes I did read the book in order, I don't know if I can say I read it "in one go". I am usually reading 3 or 4 books at a time and poetry gets read in the morning while I am sitting and drinking coffee with my wife. I do stay with a book from end to end but I may only read poetry an hour or so on any given day.

Regarding Siddharta, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Trout Fishing in America

My son lent me this book and after a page or so into it I knew I was going to be "hooked" if you pardon the pun. A day or two later, I was trying to finish another book before I got started on this one, I was at the used book store and they had a copy so I bought it for my own.

What an amazing ride! This is not like anything else I have read before but I am left wanting more. I am now on a hunt to find some of Brautigan's other books and give them a go! I can't recommend this book enough!

Outliers

I have liked everything I have read from Malcom Gladwell, and this book was no exception. After enjoying this, the third book of his I have read, I know that I would really love to have dinner with this guy. He must have a mind that asks really interesting questions to come up with connections like the ones he finds to support the premise of this book.

Great narrative, interesting examples and situations. An all around major fun read!

Rocks of Ages

Outside of a short essay about Edgar Allen Poe this is the first thing I have read of Gould's and it was a good starting place. Gould's style is very accessible and I really can't think that anyone would have a problem with the premise of the book, but given the subject, the opposing magesteria of science and religion and that though they do overlap from both sides on a pretty regular basis, they should not, that is probably a naive statement on my part. This was a fun read and very thought provoking. I really do recommend it.

Looks like you have had a string of good reads recently, Eddie!

That or I have lost all ability to discern anything! For my own sake I choose to believe it's the former.

I choose to believe it is the former too.

Freakonomics

One summer I remember a movie coming out called "Speed". I went to see it and was completely blown away by it, it was soooo awesome! Then, not too long after that, another movie came out called "True Lies". I was waiting for it to come out and went to see it almost immediately.
After going to see "True Lies" I could only thank my lucky stars that I saw it AFTER seeing "Speed", because if I had seen them in the opposite order, I would have thought that "Speed" was completely lame.

I may be in that same boat now, but in reverse.

Perhaps if I hadn't just read Outliers this would have had a bigger impact on me. It was a good book with some interesting information. It just wasn't to me what Outliers was. I know there is another book called Super Freakonomics that continues the tale Freakonomics starts, and I may read that as well in the future, but for now I will say that if you haven't read Outliers this may be a good place to start, if you have read Outliers then it's your call. Do with it what you will.

Fool's Paradise by John Gierach

I have recently gotten interested in the idea of fly fishing. I don't have any equipment but it has always intrigued me so now I am investigating it more diligently. When I had to add a few dollars to an Amazon order for my wife, I chose a couple of books about fly fishing to the order to get free shipping. (Paying for books makes way more sense to me than paying for shipping)

At any rate, this was my first book of those I bought to read and I have to say it's been a long time since I enjoyed a book more. The stories are wonderful and Gierach's style is delightful and inviting. I know if I were lucky enough to meet this guy I would like him immediately. You don't have to be a fisherman or interested in very much beyond a good tale about being outside, the natural world and good friendships to enjoy this book. I can't wait to read the other one by him that I bought.

#49: (Paying for books makes way more sense to me than paying for shipping)

I totally agree with that!

No Shortage of Good Days by John Gierach

This is the second of two books by Gierach I bought recently, and like the book I mentioned earlier, this one was wonderful. I don't know if this is just something I needed at this particular time when things at work are crazier than normal or what, but as I approached the end of this book I found myself a little sad and wanting more.

Reading this book, like Fool's Paradise has been a real joy and I am not ready for it to end. I have trolled the used book store I frequent on the lookout for more by Gierach, but to no avail as of yet. I may have to break down and buy more from Amazon. Each book, each story of each book is like a little vacation and I have enjoyed them very much.

The Poetry of Robert Frost

This one was kind of a slog. There were several poems that I really liked, for the most part they were the poems of his that everyone likes; but others mixed in that I hadn't read before as well. I am sure the deficiency is in me rather than Mr. Frost's poetry. He just didn't speak to me in quite the same way that Walt Whitman does in Leaves of Grass or Billy Collins does.

All that said, I am glad for the experience of having finally read Robert Frost's poetry, after having heard about him all my life.

Walking by Henry David Thoreau

This was a good little read. I like Thoreau anyway so that may have something to do with it. I have also thought a lot about how we get into little "bubbles" of existence, a.k.a. ruts, and we need to do something different from what we are doing to see what we are missing. There is an element of that in this little book as well.

I have yet to read anything by Thoreau that I haven't enjoyed and that hasn't left me thinking long after the last page. I don't expect this to be any different.

Hello Eddie - really interesting choices (especially Trout Fishing in America which sounds intriguing). BTW if you don't like paying shipping, you might look at bookdepository.co.uk - always free shipping on EVERYTHING and cheap cheap.

PrueGallagher, that is awesome! I immediately thought, "well that won't work for shipping to Oklahoma from the UK, but sure enough it does and the prices on some of John Gierach's books I would like to read are, as you say, "cheap cheap"! Thanks for the great info!

My First Summer in the Sierra

You wouldn't think reading what amounts to a nature worshiper's diary of a summer walking through the Sierra Nevada would be that enthralling. You wouldn't think so, I didn't think so either, but now I know so. This is the third book by John Muir that I have read, and of the three it was easily the most fun. I think you have to let yourself take the trip along with him to enjoy it. I was reading it at a time that I really *needed* a vacation but couldn't take one: this is the next best thing. If you are at all interested in nature, or just need a vacation, I highly recommend this book. It was beautiful.

Glad to be of help - beware, Book Depository can be addictive. You have been warned! Might have to add My First Summer in the Sierra to my Book Depository wishlist!

Sorry, too late. Pretty much anywhere books are assembled for sale I am in trouble!

The Quest of the Simple Life

Through about the first half of this book I thought I had been channeling this guy my whole life! It was crazy how much of what he wrote I have been thinking for a long time. It gets a little long in the middle (probably more due to the span of time between when the book was written and now) but he brings it back towards the end of the book. I don't go for his final argument but I can understand why he makes it.

This is a pretty good book if you think of cutting back and becoming free of your things and those societal shackles that we allow to hold us down. If you like Walden you will probably enjoy this a good bit.

Nine Horses by Billy Collins

Billy Collins is my favorite poet and this is my third book of his. I have heard several of the poems in this book on an audio I have of him doing a reading and as I was reading this book coming across these poems was like meeting an old friend you haven't seen for quite some time in a crowded mall. Just a nice surprise.

I was sad when I came to the end of this book, I love every thing in it.

The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot

My son gave me this book for Christmas a couple of years ago, (along with The Sound and the Fury) and they were both very challenging.

One thing about this collection of poems is that it is loaded with footnotes. Sometimes these are helpful (like when an entire poem is in French or German) but more often than not they are just distracting. I think at some point I will read this through again and ignore most of the notes. I might enjoy it more.

Even Brook Trout Get the Blues

I just can't say enough about John Gierach's writing. I dearly love everything of his I have read so far. I have read three of his books and have three to go and can't wait. I know I will be sad when I am done.

PrueGallagher,

I was just going back through these and noticed your reference to Mrs Dalloway (which I have not read) but realized that it's the book Billy Collins would like to have slip to the floor if he chanced to die in his bedroom in one of his poems in Nine Horses, the poem is titled "Rooms" in case you are interested. I will have to see if I can find Mrs Dalloway now sometime.

The Book of Tea

This was a really interesting book and a very nice surprise! I am interested in Haiku and thereby many things Japanese and relating to that world view and back ground. This was a delightful look at what went into the tea ceremony and the surrounding philosophy. It is a fairly short book and for those interested in eastern philosophy, zen, taoism and consequently teaism, I highly recommend this book.

The Art of Drowning by Billy Collins

I just love Billy Collins' poetry. That is all.

Delights & Shadows

This book is amazing! This is the second time for me reading this and I do believe it's better now than it was the first time and I liked it a lot the first time! Some of these poems stopped me dead in my tracks and I just had to sit there and read them again and again, the images are so vibrant. Then, when I had caught my breath, I would hand the poem to my wife to read.

I cannot recommend this enough.

The Trouble with Poetry

If you don't like poetry, I can't say anything here that would convince you to try some, except to say if you haven't tried Billy Collins you just can't know for sure that you don't like poetry.

If you like poetry then I just need to say that if you haven't read any of Billy Collins, then you must.

That is all; that and Wonderful should just about cover it.

Another Lousy Day in Paradise

Either I am channeling Gierach or he's channeling me. Since he's older I will go with the former.

While I am just starting out with fly fishing and he writes what are, on the surface books on fly fishing, they really are so much more. They are books on philosophy and life and what is important, and with very few exceptions, I find that I could not agree more with him.

As with all his other books that I have read, I can not recommend them more.

Ballistics by Billy Collins

I did like this book of poems, but it seemed to me to be from a darker place than the rest of Collins' poetry that I have read. I can recommend it but I would probably recommend his other books that I have read here more.

Hi, just delurking to reassure you that you aren't unread! Which Collins book would you recommend for a beginner to read first?

The first one I ever read was Sailing Alone Around the Room and I loved it. Picnic Lightning and The Trouble with Poetry are also a lot of fun.

Thanks. I'll look for those first.

Dances With Trout

Yet another wonderful read. These books are great little vacations, collections of stories, none of which take too long to read, that fit well in whatever little spaces in the day you can grab. Gierach writes of places that I would love to go, often places I would rather be than were I am at the moment. If you can't take a vacation right now but need to get away even for just a few minutes, this book, like the rest of his books that I have read is a great choice that I can highly recommend.

Picnic Lightning by Billy Collins

As you may notice if you look back over the books I have read this year, I am a big fan of Billy Collins. I had read this book a while back but decided to go at it again because I have read every poetry book in the house already. What I found that I didn't expect was how fun it was to read some of Collins' poetry from earlier in his career and see the difference between that and later. I seriously enjoyed reading this again, especially in that light.

Start Something that Matters

What a wonderful, inspiring book this is! I have seen TOMS shoes, and heard about them but didn't know the story. Now that I do, now that I know that buying a pair means some kid that doesn't have any shoes gets a pair, I am hoping they make size 14 because I intend to buy some!

As I read the story of TOMS, began to understand Blake's philosophy and read how these ideas were applied at TOMS and other organizations around the world, I found myself becoming more and more excited about the whole concept. As I was reading, I began to search for ideas for things that I could do; ways that I could put something like this into play. The second that I finished the last page I began writing down ideas I have had in the past and new ones that popped into my mind as I was reading that I need to explore. I have a couple that I think are good ones but need to bounce them off some friends first.

From a business perspective this is a refreshing change of pace as well. Here is a business book that touts small, frugal and simple above all else with examples of the various, creative ways TOMS and other companies do simple. A business book that says it's OK if you never get big, it's OK to not even aim at big. That if your goal is to help others then even helping one person equals success. It is also a great source of ideas for resources and places you can go on the web to get help for little to no cost.

I got this book for free from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Giveaway and I am glad I did as I may not have read it otherwise. Knowing what I know now I would not hesitate to run out to the store and buy it, and I highly recommend you do that. Especially since, after the TOMS model, for each book sold, the publisher promises to give a book to a child that needs them. That is worth the price of admission and this book then is just really really good gravy!

Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete

This was a tougher foray than I had originally thought. I found several poems that I liked, but none that moved me as much as other poets I have read. I am sure that the interceding time between the writing and the reading have a lot to do with that, though subject matter and delivery do to, since I count Walt Whitman as probably my favorite poet and Leaves of Grass one of my favorite books.

I read up some on Emily Dickinson herself to try to get a handle on her, she definately led a different life and that may explain some. So many of her close friends and loved ones dying may help explain why so much of her poetry is about death, but still it was kind of strange.

All in all I don't count the time a loss, I am glad I can now say that I have read her, and I may again at some point in the future, but for me I will probably stick to the poetry and poets that is more accessible to me.

All Things Considered by G.K. Chesterton

As the writer of Ecclesiastes 1:9 said, there is nothing new under the sun. This little book of Chesterton's writings just demonstrates how true that sentiment is. As I was reading this it was stunning how much of what he wrote then still applies. I really like the way he writes and even more like the way he thinks. It's good stuff here.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Got this book for Christmas and all I can say is wow. It's a page turner for sure and I am glad I had the week off so I could finish it, though it takes less time than it's 800+ pages would lead you to believe.

This is the first book by Stephen King I have read in quite some time and his story telling ability is as powerful as ever. I thought after the first couple of hundred pages that I knew how it was going to end, but then as time went on I grew more and more doubtful about that. As it turns out I was kind of right and also a lot wrong. I highly recommend this to anyone, it's a great trip!

Birdwatcher's Daily Companion: 365 Days of Advice, Insight, and Information for Enthusiastic Birders

There really wasn't as much information in this book as I was hoping for.