As is my wont these days, I tend to analyze the question a bit before answering. One of the things living in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, has taught me is how America-centric things are. Now granted, I do spend a fair bit of my time looking at and reading things in English, but still, there’s this huge bias about things which would be incredibly easy to do/see/acquire/accomplish were I in the States, but that become incredibly difficult on this side of the Atlantic. Continue reading “What are some of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?”
Tag: reading
Birthdays – 2020 edition
Well, this week, Monki and I turned a collective 57 (or, on average, 28 1/2 each). Personally, I think get the better side of that since in reality I’ve just turned 53 (Holy shit that’s a big number) and she’s just turned 4 (which, in its own way, is also a really big number). Continue reading “Birthdays – 2020 edition”
Jaq’s Year in Books – 2019 edition
Well, another year is over and I’ve gotten through quite a few books to mark that passage of time.
I read a lot. Overall, this year, I read 90+ books. This translates into more than 20,000 pages and a good deal of time spent. Continue reading “Jaq’s Year in Books – 2019 edition”
Audiobooks – a good listen
So it’s no secret I love to read. Over the last decade or so, I’ve also picked up the audiobook habit. If I’m walking around the streets, or on the bus on the way to work, odds are I’ve got my headphones in and I’m listening to a book. Over at Goodreads, you can see my audiobook list (as of right now, at almost 400 books long), which has a number of classics I’ve always wanted to read but never got around to or wasn’t able to get into in text form. I’ll also pick up dramatized productions and old radio shows. Continue reading “Audiobooks – a good listen”
Jaq’s Year in Books
Check out My 2018 Year in Books on Goodreads.
I didn’t do too bad this year. Originally, I had set my goal at 80 books, then upped it to 100. Eventually, I topped out at over 120.
Now here’s some interesting stats: Continue reading “Jaq’s Year in Books”
I’m good…
The Most Iconic Book Set in Every Country [Infographic]
This is a great infographic! Global English Editing services (I am not endorsing them – I know nothing about them) have put together this fun list of the most iconic books set in every country of the world. With this gorgeous map, you can tour the entire literary world—without ever leaving home.
If you scroll past the map/graphics you’ll find all of the books listed alphabetically by country so you can get a little sense of the plot. Unfortunately, there’s no hot links so if you want to grab any of them, click here.
And yeah, I specifically chose the Lithuanian entry as the graphic for this post.
The death of reading is threatening the soul – The Washington Post
So there was this article a few weeks back in The Washington Post: The death of reading is threatening the soul. Pretty heady stuff. Their subhead is Commitment to reading is an ongoing battle.
And I read it at a most opportune time. Continue reading “The death of reading is threatening the soul – The Washington Post”
2016 Reading challenge(s)
As we roll over into 2016, a number of reading challenges have made themselves known. I think for next year, I’ll actually make one of my own but for this year, I’m just going to link to a couple of them.
Honestly, I love this. We’ve become a nation, a world, where gameplay is everything. Where if there’s no “challenge” then there’s no reason to do anything. This is why we “tag” people on Facebook, to push them into doing some silly task or even something worthwhile (the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge… but see, there’s that word again.) Continue reading “2016 Reading challenge(s)”
What nobody talks about, when they talk about Marilyn Monroe
What nobody talks about, when they talk about Marilyn Monroe.
“She always wanted to be photographed while reading, because that’s what she loved doing most. She had a library of over 400 books.”
Let’s just take a moment to respect the ultimate combination that is both beauty and brains. Rest in peace, Ms. Monroe.
Cultural Icons’ Favorite Books – Flavorwire
Cultural Icons’ Favorite Books – Flavorwire.
This is a fascinating list. At a cursory glance, Catcher in the Rye seems to be the book mentioned most often. There are a number of Science Fiction fans (And I’ve fallen madly for Olivia Munn merely because of her choice, which is in my top ten). I think some of these are rather pretentious, feeling like what they shouldbe reading as opposed to what they actually enjoy.
For me, Lamb, by Christopher Moore, would be on the list, as would Tim Powers’ On Stranger Tides. The Sun Also Rises is amazing but really shouldn’t be read before you’ve had your first real break-up. So many great books out there…
But what about you? What’s your favorite book?
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 