Month: December 2011

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6000 pages reading

11000 Pages, 30 Books!

So that was 2011 and I far exceeded my targets. I read over 11,000 pages and 30 books.

Here’s a comparison based on the one I did last year:

2009 2010 2011
total reading time 98:23:00 107:38:00 262:05:00
Mins per/day 16 17 43
pages/hour 50 51 43
pages 4924 5357 11059
Pages/day 13 15 31
books 18 14 30
average book length 274 352 367
one book every… days 20.25 26 12
reading days 71 85 142
time/reading day 01:23:00 01:15:00 01:50:44
pages/reading day 69 65 79
longest gap 54 45 32
av score 7 7.6 7.2

Based on that how did I score? Well you start with 15 points, add 1 point for each 100pages over 5000 (i.e. 15+61=76) then add a point for every reading day over 85 up to a max of 15 (76+15=91) and then add 2points for the average book length (in the range 326-375) – giving me a grand total of 93. Compared with last year’s adjusted score of 18 and 2009’s 17.

What’s most remarkable about this is that of that 150 extra hours reading, 100+ (and 12 1/2 of those 30 books) was in the last two months. During this period there are only 7 days when I didn’t read and I averaged 1h48m a day.

This was because I was trying something out that may become the basis of 2012’s challenge. See I was thinking about what it is that frustrates me about reading and that’s that I often get stuck with a book I don’t enjoy or that I see a book I think I’d like to read but I know that it’ll be weeks or months before I get to it – by which time I may have several other books on my to-read list ahead of it, or I may have lost my initial enthusiasm.

I realised that these things become less of an issue if you’re getting through books quickly and consistently. If I am finishing a book in a week or 10days then it means I can afford to be more spontaneous about the next book(s) because it won’t delay me for long from whatever it is I would otherwise read. And I can read an average length book in about 6-8hours so at less than an hour a weekday and a bit longer on weekends I can do a book/week or so. (I ended up doing more than that because first I had 11.22.63 a 850+ pager and then saw the possibility of 30 books which was too tempting to pass up)

Anyway the key is to read more regularly, every day if possible. That way I get through books more quickly and I’m never that far from starting whatever’s tempting me next and a bad book doesn’t slow me down too much. It also means I can afford to spend time on books I want to read but aren’t highest in my priorities such as catching up with series etc.

I’m still thinking about this and I’ll post something tomorrow setting out exactly what I’m going to do.

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6000 pages reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, The Waterproof Bible – Andrew Kaufman (pages 10755-11059)

I first heard of Andrew Kaufman in 2007 when I visited Newcastle and saw some old friends there. One of them, Wayne, gave me a copy of a little book, All My Friends are Superheroes by Kaufman. He told me that he liked the book so much that he kept copies of it to give to people. This immediately made me wary but nevertheless I did enjoy the book – plus it was very short. I became a little tired of the overt quirkiness by the end but overall it was fun.

That said when I saw The Waterproof Bible I somehow thought it was a ‘straight’ novel and was intrigued. How I got this impression I don’t know.

The Waterproof Bible follows four or five interconnected characters. We have Rebecca who involuntarily broadcasts her feelings to everyone around her, Lewis her brother-in-law newly bereaved who meets God in a launderette, Stewart her estranged husband who’s building a boat in the middle of the landlocked Canadian Praire. Finally there’s Aberystwyth and Margaret, a daughter and mother pair of amphibious beings. Margaret has been living and passing as human on land and Aby, who according to her religion believes it’s a sin to die ‘unwatered’, is racing to find her and bring her back to the sea before it’s too late. Oh and there’s a father and son pair of rainmakers in there too.

So not a ‘straight’ novel then. Not fantasy either really. I guess this is what you’d call magical realism? It’s surreal and metaphorical and possibly allegorical. However unlike All My Friends are Superheroes it never became too quirky for me, or maybe I just accepted it. I just found it kind of beautiful. It’s certainly very warm about its characters and their non-realistic problems become very affecting and even moving. I know some people will find it too quirky or be bothered by the metaphors but if you’re not one of those people then you might just find this a charming, funny, warm-hearted read.

8/10 – poetic, magical, funny, human.

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6000 pages reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, Cast, in Order of Disappearance – Simon Brett (pages 10579-10755)

Cast, in Order of Disappearance is I suppose what you’d call a mystery. That always feels like an old-fashioned term to me but this is not a crime novel in the way The Straw Men is or a thriller like Killer Move, it’s a whodunnit, a comic one. In fact it’s the first in series of Charles Paris mysteries, Paris being the amateur sleuth , professional actor protagonist.

I first encountered Charles Paris in a radio adaptation of one of the later books where he was voiced by Bill Nighy and it was Nighy’s name that drew me in. However looking for a light read I thought I’d give the original source material a go.

Marcus Steen, a theatre-owner and general show-biz tycoon is found dead in bed, apparently from natural causes, a few days after Bill Sweet a man who was blackmailing him was shot a few miles away. Paris becomes involved when he attempts to help Jacqui, Steen’s girlfriend when she tries to find out exactly what happened and why he broke it off just before he died.

I’m aware though that describing the plot doesn’t really matter because that’s something that you’ll want to discover for yourself. I suppose the questions a mystery lover asks is whether the twists and turns are satisfying, surprising without being implausible and the plot clever enough to engage. I think that’s all true. However I personally was looking for more of the wit and charm I’d seen in the radio version. Paris is a sort of loveable rogue, unreliable, a drunk, a flirt and womaniser, but ultimately a good guy. I think the book scored pretty well on that front though I think it definitely benefited from the fact that I heard Nighy’s voice whenever there was dialogue.

I should probably mention that the novel was written in 1975 and set around Christmas 1973/4. There are references to petrol shortages, power cuts and high taxes. Not that that’s a problem in terms of plot, everything you need to understand is explained.

7/10 – fun, light, quick read.

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6000 pages reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, Solar – Ian McEwan (pages 10275-10578)

With one day of 2011 left it’s perhaps fitting that I finally finished Solar by Ian McEwan which was the book I was reading on Jan 1st of this year. Also if you recall I counted the 118 pages I’d read thus far in last year’s total based on the presumption that I’d finish it this year or face a penalty of -1 point.

For most of the year it’s looked like I would pay that penalty – though recently it’s also looked like it wouldn’t affect my final score by much. However I decided to start reading it again (and began at the beginning) on 22nd Dec. Fortunately I didn’t get stuck or bogged down and it was a fairly easy read.

Solar follows the exploits of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Michael Beard from 2000 to 2009 and his interest in and work toward the use of solar energy. The book is in three sections set in 2000, 2005 and 2009 respectively. In the first we follow his introduction to the science of climate change and his involvement in a government initiative to pursue renewable energy sources – at this stage the big focus is wind power. In the second section he’s parted company with this project and is looking to exploit commercially ideas about artificial photosynthesis. In the final section of the book his company is gearing up for a practical demonstration of the technology on a non-trivial scale (providing power for a whole town).

Alongside this progression of technology we have developments in his somewhat messy personal life. Here, as in the behind the scenes of his business dealing, we see that Beard is not the most ethical man, to put it mildly.

The thing about this novel is that if you aren’t at least fascinated by the main character then you may find it a tough read. Fortunately I quite liked him and wanted to see whether he would succeed. I say I liked him, this was despite a couple of specific incidents of really bad behaviour and a pattern of selfish indulgent living. If anything the later, in which I can easily see myself, softened me a little towards the former.

In the end the consequences of his behaviour do work themselves out – at least some of it. I was left thinking about parallels with the ways in which society in general acts in terms of climate change – denial, well-meaning but counter-productive or ineffectual, an unwillingness to give up self-destructive indulgent behaviour and a failure to take seriously the consequences of actions taken years before. I’m sure some of these parallels were deliberate but maybe not all.

7/10 – not my favourite McEwan but a good read nonetheless.

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6000 pages reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, Zone One – Colson Whitehead (pages 10016-10274)

Here’s a book that really tests my mettle as a reviewer. The reason being that I really didn’t enjoy it and yet when I try to figure out why I find it extremely difficult to say. Maybe I’ll have worked something out by the end of this post.

Zone One is the story of what happens after a zombie apocalypse. Some months (years?) after the outbreak of a plague that turns its victims into the walking undead we follow Mark Spitz, a member of a ‘sweeper’ team of civilian-turned-military whose job is to root out and destroy the remaining infected from ‘Zone One‘ aka Manhattan which has been largely cleared and walled off in preparation for re-inhabitation. By reclaiming the city it will be a symbolic act of civilization re-asserting itself.

Ostensibly the action takes place over one weekend but as with most novels that use this device it seems, we inevitably get a lot more history in flashback. Everything from his initial experiences of the plague his ‘Last Night‘ story (every survivor has one and the sharing of such has become a kind of ritualistic bonding experience) through his various travels and his ultimately joining the sweeper team in Zone One.

So why didn’t I enjoy it? It’s hard to say. Every possible answer I can think of gives rise to counter-examples. The first third has very little dialogue and is description-heavy. There are multiple flashbacks-within-flashbacks and overlapping time frames. These are things I noticed and didn’t enjoy but also which I know I’ve at least not minded in other books. All I can ultimately say is that it felt like a slog and it was with a sense of relief that I finished it.

This is one case where my score really reflects my own personal reaction. I’m very aware that it’s well written and others might really enjoy it. However since I found it so difficult to get through with little, to me, reward, I can’t give it a higher mark.

5/10 – a slow lumbering trudge through the world of the undead, sadly not in a good way.

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6000 pages reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, The Straw Men – Michael Marshall (pages 9520-10015)

(May as well get this out there now too)

After enjoying Killer Move so much I started reading The Straw Men as the next but one book. M. had raved about it to me years ago but I’d always avoided it due to potential gore, violence etc but having read Killer Move I figured I could handle it. Unfortunately it was the book I was reading when I went home to see my dad after his heart attack (he’s still fine btw) and somehow that created bad associations for me so I abandoned it and didn’t start again until a couple of weeks ago.

The Straw Men follows three story lines initially. There’s the latest victim of a serial killer known as The Upright Man, a teenage girl he has abducted and, if true to form, will kill within a few days unless someone can stop him. There’s the story of Ward Hopkins ex-CIA and ex-various other similar careers who returns home to deal with his parents death in a car accident only to find that things are not quite as they had appeared. Finally there’s the shadowy, possibly mythical organisation known as ‘The Straw Men’. Who exactly they are, what their aims are and how they plan to fulfil them ends up connecting the other two story lines.

This is another excellent thriller from Michael Marshall. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Killer Move but it’s still very good. In particular the plot is very clever, the way things join up, the way Hopkins for instance figures out something about his parents by the state they’d left their home in (which to all the world looks normal) was smart and satisfying if you like that kind of thing. Also the plot rattles along as you’d expect but still with enough space for characterisation and relationship. There are some tough moments violence wise, a little worse than Killer Move in my opinion (though still not up to David Peace gruesome). One of the worst was a description of what unedited news footage of a terrorist attack would look like. I think that affected me because I know that such footage exists.

I feel like I have to justify why I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as Killer Move. It’s M.’s favourite Michael Marshall book (her favourite ever book is his Only Forward written as Michael Marshall Smith). Anyway I think the reasons I preferred the later book are as follows:

  • I was slightly spoiled – partly by some indirect remarks of M.’s which I correctly deduced plot points from, but mostly by reading the blurb on the back of the next book in this series. If you plan to read this book stay away from The Lonely Dead (or The Upright Man in the US) as it mentions the big reveal on the back cover.
  • I preferred the hero of Killer Move. Hopkins was fine. He was sympathetic, clever and very competent. But he was also a little bit of a stereotype, the ex-military/cop/security services guy investigating some dangerous mystery. Bill Moore, as I said at the time was an ordinary annoying man thrown into a gradually more complicated and dangerous situation. Also Bill had a wife he loved and Ward was alone (in that sense, he had a friend/colleague).
  • One of the characters disses Buffy in the first few pages – ok mostly kidding about this. (mostly!)

Having said all that if I’d read it first and not known anything about it maybe I’d have preferred it. Either way it’s still a great read.

8/10 – another great crime thriller from MM(S).

One oddity worth mentioning. I read the ebook of this (as I do with most new purchases now) and the story ends, there’s a section of ‘Acknowledgements’ (thanks to …) and then a section which in the table of contents is called “ebook extra”. Thinking this was like a dvd extra, deleted scene if you will, I thought I could see why it wasn’t in the original. This was a kind of coda explaining more clearly what had happened and how various characters ended up – most of which you could infer from what had gone before.

Except that it was in the original. It came immediately after what I had thought of as the final chapter. The acknowledgements came after that. weird.

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6000 pages book reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, Wild Abandon – Joe Dunthorne (pages 9216-9519)

With less than two weeks of 2011 left I’m uncomfortably aware that I’m behind on reviews. Which isn’t a problem in some ways (more time to read) but it will delay when I can set out the conditions for the 2012 challenge etc. Anyhow…

I chose Wild Abandon to read by a slightly circuitous route. I’d enjoyed the film Submarine which was from Joe Dunthorne’s earlier novel. Rather than read it – though I was tempted – I thought it might be more fun to read something where I didn’t know the story.

Wild Abandon is the story of a commune and the family that forms the core of it. Both the commune and the family seem to be falling apart. Don and Freya’s marriage is showing signs of strain whilst their daughter Kate just wants to be normal and pass her exams. Albert, the son is pretty well adjusted – apart from his conviction that the world is going to end.

Wild Abandon was an easy and enjoyable read. It’s funny without being laugh-out-loud hilarious – though there were moments when a joke landed particularly well. It’s more the subtle character humour of well-observed small interactions between characters. Particularly the way Don reacts to those around him. He’s somehow turned from an idealistic purposeful leader to a bit of a pompous prat. His relationship with the older commune member Patrick who he patronises mercilessly was very much in this vein.

If I have a criticism it’s that the plot was a little more complicated than it needed to be. There was perhaps one too many coming or going in the comings and goings of people who’d decided to leave, then stay or vice-versa with the commune.

It does have a very effective and noticeably cinematic final scene which I enjoyed.

7/10 – more a gentle freeing than a wild abandonment.

(Now I’m only one book behind on reviews but hopefully by the time I go to bed tonight I’ll be back up to two!)

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diet L3 lesamy Less is More

L3 Week 40 – Only a Week (or Two, or Three…)

Good news first, I’m still going down. This is good because for sure I’ll bounce up this next week (a week today being Boxing Day). The lower I am before I start that the better. And in the grand scheme of things I’m really not too bothered if I have a week (or two) of gain which I then lose in the following week (or two).

The reality is that this week will have many occasions to indulge but by next there will be less, although if I happen to get food/sweets/alcohol as presents then I’ll probably be consuming during week 42. Which is why the key number I’m aiming for is the one on Jan 2nd.

Having said that I’m not bothered it would have been nice if Christmas had fallen differently. Have a look at this graph:

I’ve mentioned this before (twice) but never actually shown it to you. It takes L3 data and lines it up against Lesamy offset so that ‘week 1’ has roughly the same start weight. As you can see initially it was quite a similar pattern and then L3 flattened out (the whole ‘ten weeks‘ episode). One thing that cheered me though was that I passed the lowest point of Lesamy (lowest since records began) a couple of weeks back. Which means I am still losing weight at a point where previously it was starting an inexorable climb. I was destined to keep going down and intersect that orange line. Hurrah!

Except now that’ll happen a week or two later. But it will happen, I’ll make sure of it.

Lost: 0.8lbs
Lost so far: 59.2lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.48lbs
Weight: 245lbs (17st 7lb)

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6000 pages reading reviews

6000 Pages 2011, Girlfriend in a Coma – Douglas Coupland (pages 8935-9215)

Here’s a book I haven’t read for a long time, not long after it was published in fact (a year or two). That being the case I’m not going to attempt to keep spoilers out of the review of a book that’s nearing 15 years old. Fair warning.

Girlfriend in a Coma is I suppose a ‘millenial’ novel, whatever that is. OK I know what it is, or what I mean by it. It’s a novel that came out as 2000 loomed and it deals with fears about the state of the world and the possible end of it.

It begins with a couple of 17 year-olds, Richard and Karen, who’ve just made love for the first time and are about to go to a party. It’s 1979 and Karen is about to go to sleep for a very very long time. She is the ‘girlfriend’ of the title.

The book is in three sections. The first deals with Karen going into a coma and it then tracks Richard and her other close friends through their lives for the next 17 years. The second section deals with the period from when Karen wakes up to an apocalypse of sorts. It’s a very gentle, serene apocalypse where people simply fall asleep and fail to wake up until Karen and her friends are the only ones left living. The final section of the book follows this group for a few weeks about a year later seeing how they’ve adapted to the end of the world.

I remember liking this book a lot when I read it in 1999/2000ish. I liked seeing how Richard’s life developed, how he aged during the 17 years of Karen’s coma. I also felt like Karen when she awoke had some interesting insights into how people were – how they were so proud of how efficient technology was but she didn’t feel things were better and that everyone had no time for anything but work. I tired a little of the post-apocalyptic stuff because it was  a bit odd and I didn’t know what to make of it. But – this is how I recall it – it wasn’t overly long compared to the book as a whole.

Memory’s a funny thing. It’s been nearly as long since I read it since the gap between Karen going into her coma and awakening. Like Richard I looked back but wasn’t able to quite put myself into the mind of my former self.

Firstly I was surprised how short the first section was. I had remembered it as going on for most of the book but it’s a third if that. The bits of insight about growing older were there but they were literally the couple of clever sentences that I’d remembered anyway.

The second section also finished sooner than I remembered. The best parts of that were the dynamics of Karen awakening and the logistics of her getting to talk, walk and live again; the insights she had on seeing the new world appear as if, to her, overnight; and the setting up, playing out of the end of the world stuff.

Still when we reached the third section I couldn’t recall enough stuff to fill the 70-odd pages that remain, so this section did feel like it dragged more. I also realised that what I had taken as a basically realistic what-if type story that gets a bit weird towards the end, was always something of a parable and so some of the more sureal, fantastical elements fit into that.

I’m glad I re-read it, I didn’t enjoy it as much this time around but it was still worth the time.

7/10 – interesting and entertaining not to put you, or your girlfriend, into a coma.

Categories
diet L3 lesamy Less is More

L3 Week 39 – Christmas Looming

Another healthy loss, another good week. However I am aware that Christmas is fast approaching, which means work ‘dos’ and meeting up with people and of course the day itself. So I have a number in my head, and it’s maybe a higher number than you’d think, but not too high. It’s what I might weigh on Jan 1st. I’m not telling you what it is but I will tell you on the 2nd whether I made it or not. If I tell you then it’ll maybe seem like an excuse to slacken off. My aim in the next couple of weeks is to enjoy the communal events but not to let myself have the whole period ‘off the books’. If I do that then hopefully I’ll hit the number.

Anyway, enough of that for now. I’m enjoying the continued success.

Lost: 2.2lbs
Lost so far: 58.4lbs
Average Weekly Loss: 1.5lbs
Weight: 245.8lbs (17st 8lb)