[JLV]

The year of 100 books. It may not seem like anything special to some of you, but I'm not a particularly fast reader, and if I can do it I'll get a nice personal achievement (100 gamerscore). Here's the plan:

I have a ton of new books from Christmas and before that I have never read. I picked up a lot of recommendations that I haven't gotten around to yet. I'm going to make a list here containing the books I currently have and the order I intend to read them. If anyone has recommendations for my order of reading, please tell me.

I'll be doing mini-reviews or at least comments on the books as I read them. Discussions in this thread on my no-doubt inferior opinions are approved!

Overall Notes:

My current list has just under 50 books that I haven't read. I still need more suggestions. I have a $150 budget for more books, so if you have any ideas do share.

Books with an * next to them are rereads. I'll be doing quite a few of these.

I'll be reading 2 books a week, which leaves 2 weeks free if I get stuck on a harder read.

Also, this is a temporary list just being made post-christmas. Some will get moved around, and I'll be making room for releases next year once I bother to look up the dates.

Another note as my brain thinks of them. I need help with the David Gemmel books. I have quite a few, but I have no idea what order to read them in.

List:

January, the month of no rereads.

1 - 7, I intend to start with something I've heard much good about. JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL (Clarke), followed by FOOL MOON (Butcher).

8 - 14, I intend to continue the dresden trend with GRAVE PERIL and SUMMER KNIGHT

15 - 21, I'll switch it up and go for THE NAME OF THE WIND, and THE WISE MAN'S FEAR (Rothfuss).

22 - 28, I'm going to read THE GOBLIN CORPS and THE CONQUEROR'S SHADOW (Ari Marmell).


February, catching up and something new.

29 - 4, I will begin my reread of Joe Abercrombie's work, beginning with THE BLADE ITSELF*, and BEFORE THEY ARE HANGED*.

5 - 11, I will read LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS* and BEST SERVED COLD*

12 - 18, I will finish off Abercrombie with THE HEROES, then begin the Gormenghast trilogy with TITUS GROAN (Mervyn Peake).

19 - 25 I will finish the trilogy with (as of yet unpurchased) GORMENGHAST, ending with TITUS ALONE


March, a Butcher sammich

26 - 3, I'll treat myself to some Butcher, with DEATH MASKS and BLOOD RITES.

4 - 10, I'll read THE JUDGING EYE (Bakker) - [I'm thinking about doing a reread before this one, not sure] followed by HEROES DIE (Stover).

11 - 17, I'll read BLADES OF TYSHALLE (can't find this anywhere, btw, still don't have a copy) and CAINE BLACK KNIFE.

18 - 24, King's FULL DARK, NO STARS, and Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD

25 - 31, I'll read Butcher's DEAD BEAT and PROVEN GUILTY


April, the month of Martin

1 - 7, I'll begin my aSoIaF reread with GAME OF THRONES* followed by A CLASH OF KINGS*.

8 - 14, I'll finish my catch up with A STORM OF SWORDS* and A FEAST FOR CROWS*

15 - 21, I'll read A DANCE WITH DRAGONS for the first time, followed by the last three dresden books I have, WHITE NIGHT

22 - 28, SMALL FAVOR and TURN COAT


May, here comes Gemmel

I currently own: THE LEGEND OF DEATHWALKER, QUEST FOR LOST HEROES, WAYLANDER, LEGEND, THE KING BEYOND THE GATE, WHITE WOLF, THE SWORDS OF NIGHT AND DAY, WINTER WARRIORS, IN THE REALM OF THE WOLF, THE FIRST CHRONICLES OF DRUSS THE LEGEND, and HERO IN THE SHADOWS. If I'm missing any that I need for this set, let me know.

29 - 5, Gemmel 1 and 2

6 - 12, Gemmel 3 and 4

13 - 19, Gemmel 5 and 6

20 - 26, Gemmel 7 and 8

(As I mentioned early, I need help with the order to read these in.


June, summertime is here.

27 - 2, I'll finish Gemmel 9 and 10

3 - 9, I'll finished Gemmel 11 and read THE ONE TREE (Donaldson)

10 - 16, I'll finish off the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant with WHITE GOLD WIELDER, then begin the Last Chronicles with THE RUNES OF THE EARTH

17 - 23, I'll read the last two of the Last Chronicles (there aren't 4, are there?) FATAL REVENANT and AGAINST ALL THINGS ENDING

24 - 30, I'll preface my month of Hobb with the Farseer Trilogy's ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE, and ROYAL ASSASSIN



July, month of Hobb

1 - 7, I'll complete the trilogy with ASSASSIN'S QUEST, then I will begin the Liveship Traders Trilogy with SHIP OF MAGIC.

8 - 14, I'll finish the Liveship Traders Trilogy with MAD SHIP and SHIP OF DESTINY.

15 - 21, I'll begin The Tawny Man Trilogy with FOOL'S ERRAND, and GOLDEN FOOL

22 - 28, I will finish my Hobb collection off with FOOL'S FATE, then begin Sanderson's Mistborn series with (as of yet, don't own the first book for some reason) THE FINAL EMPIRE


August, where I will begin to fail (college starts)

29 - 4, I will continue my journey into the Mistborn series with THE WELL OF ASCENSION and THE HERO OF AGES

5 - 11, I will compete the Mistborn series with THE ALLOY OF LAW, then finish of my Sanderson collection with THE WAY OF KINGS

12 - 18, I will begin my Malazan reread with GARDENS OF THE MOON*, and DEADHOUSE GATES*

19 - 25, Malazan reread MEMORIES OF ICE* and HOUSE OF CHAINS*


September, Malazan reread

26 - 1, Malazan reread MIDNIGHT TIDES* and THE BONEHUNTERS*

2 - 8, Malazan reread NIGHT OF KNIVES* and REAPER'S GALE*

9 - 15, Malazan reread THE RETURN OF THE CRIMSON GUARD*, and DUST OF DREAMS*

16 - 22, Malazan reread STONEWIELDER*, and THE CRIPPLED GOD*,

23 - 29, Malazan ORB SCEPTER THRONE, and Possibly the first of the Kharkansas trilogy? Idk when it comes out.


October,

30 - 6, leaving my empty weeks here, may need extra time during the Malazan reread.

7 - 13, see above

14 - 20, I'll follow the Malazan reread with Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet A SHADOW IN SUMMER, and A BETRAYAL IN WINTER

21 - 27, finish up the Quartet with (don't have these yet) AN AUTUMN WAR and THE PRICE OF SPRING


November, coming into exams season.

28 - 3, I'll begin The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone with THE BRIAR KING and THE CHARNEL PRINCE (Greg Keyes)

4 - 10, I'll finish with THE BLOOD KNIGHT and THE BORN QUEEN

11 - 17, I'll begin a reread of a fantastic series that I love. Easy reading, coming into exam and holiday season. WAY OF THE WOLF, and CHOICE OF THE CAT (E.E. Knight).

18 - 24, TALE OF THE THUNDERBOLT, and VALENTINE'S RISING


December, home stretch

25 - 1, Continuing the Vampire Earth series with VALENTINE'S EXILE, and VALENTINE'S RESOLVE

2 - 8, continued with FALL WITH HONOR, and WINTER DUTY

9 - 15

16 - 22

23 - 31


I got to the end only to find I'm short 6 books. I'll probably squeeze something in there farther up the list, I definitely want to have the Valentine series during exam time because they're easy and short reads.

Any thoughts/ comments? Is this at all interesting or am I just rambling at this point?

This post has been edited by JLV: 26 December 2011 - 03:31 AM

[HoosierDaddy]

I made it to the third week of January where you stop reading Dresden at Summer Knight to read Rothfuss.

And, that's loving Rothfuss.

Do yourself a favor and tear through the Dresden books. You'll read them faster as that seems to be your goal.

Also, add the Codex Alera by Butcher, take out Full Dark, No Stars by King. Probably his weakest collection of short stories ever. I'd recommend adding Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard books (Lies of Locke Lamora is the first) if you haven't read them, and Psalms of Isaak by Ken Scholes over Hobb's stuff, which frankly I'm not a fan of as I don't like reading depressed depressing of depression.

[JLV]

I was hoping to spread the Dresden books throughout to give me a break for the harder reads. I suppose I'd like a second opinion, then, I'm willing to switch around if someone else agrees.

I've read Codex Alera, and The Gentleman Bastard books too recently to want to reread them.

I'll look up Ken Scholes, but I intend to read Hobb, as I own all the books listed. Maybe Scholes can help fill in a few gaps.

As to the King short story collection, it's been sitting on my shelf for a long time, and I needed a filler (same with Brave New World)

---

By the way, for dresden lovers out there:

I was looking for reviews online for my pet series Vampire Earth (E.E. Knight) to see if I was crazy for liking them so much. The series isn't particularly strong in sales, but I didn't read any negative reviews, AND I found this comment from someone

Quote

Wow, I'm actually thinking of picking this one up. I've been looking for a new series to tide me over between Dresden novels and this looks like it fits the bill.

Boom. Seriously, someone try them out. Short, easy reads, pure badassery, awesome concepts!

---

This post has been edited by JLV: 26 December 2011 - 03:47 AM

[worry]

Sounds mostly doable, with the ones I'm familiar with. Luckily the Malazan books, while pretty long, are just so so hooky -- and since you're a fantasy fan that's probably true of just about everything you have on that list (Dresdencrack isn't a misnomer by any means).

You are starting off with quite a doozy though. Strange & Norrell, while a thoroughly enjoyable book, is also quite large and isn't necessarily riveting for large portions of it. That's not a knock, I have nothing negative to say about it, it's just a tough way to kick start your project.

Sounds like a great way to knock your to read list down a few piles though. Dunno what you've already read, but filling up blank spots with missing Stephen King is usually a safe bet. His Dark Materials if you haven't gotten to that yet. Black Company books (which I'm in the midst of) are quite breezy and fun. It's probably a good project to get to non-fantasy authors you've wanted to read more of though: Steinbeck and Dickens come to mind. Looking at annual prize lists is a decent way to discover contemporary fiction.

This post has been edited by worrywort: 26 December 2011 - 03:50 AM

[HoosierDaddy]

Just don't read her Soldier Son trilogy.

Seconded on the Black Company if you haven't, at least the first 3 as a definite. Short and easy (imo) and fantastic.

[JLV]

Hmm... A Black Company reread is certainly possible. It;s been a few years.

Edit: Also, I have 2 weeks off in January, so I'm going to burn some books in that time, most likely.

This post has been edited by JLV: 26 December 2011 - 03:56 AM

[HoosierDaddy]

Seeing as how I have no idea what books you have and haven't read I'm just going to stop trying to recommend. I'd always recommend something new over something you've already read unless you can't find something else, and that's kind of the purpose here isn't it?

[JLV]

No need to stop recommending, unless you're annoyed

I can never list everything off the top of my head. I've read all the major players (Jordan, etc), but it was the less so that I'm trying to conquer in this coming year. I bought/got for Christmas my entire to-read list.

edit: Going to bed now though. I'll check in if I have the chance tomorrow morning.

This post has been edited by JLV: 26 December 2011 - 04:10 AM

[HoosierDaddy]

With the above philosophy it gets pointless recommending books you've already read. I'm sure you've probably hit most of the books I'd recommend anyways from the sound of it.

I do recommend Scholes though. He's a different read than anything else.

[HoosierDaddy]

I bet I could read 100 books.


Obligatory.

[End of Disc One]

Personally I needed a break every 2 or 3 Dresden books so I think you're doing the right thing.

[heretics fork]

Since you like Dresden and Glen Cook, why not mix in some of the Garrett P. I. Books, short and sweet.

[alt146]

That's a fairly... ambitious list you have going there. I'm a fairly fast readerand I don't think I could get it right, but I also have zero free time now days, so best of luck. I would maybe say make it 'see how many books I can read in a year' thing. The last thing you want to do is not enjoy a good book because you're behind schedule and start to rush.

See how it goes for you with the Dresden, but I'm also one of the 'read them all at once' school, you'll read them faster once you're really engrossed in the series. If you want to pad your numbers fairly easily you could have a look at Pratchett. Easy, fun reads and you can read the entire discworld series in about a month if you a good amount of time on your hands. Skip the first three or four books though, they aren't that great and the series only really finds its feet around Sourcery/Witches Abroad

Hobb is very much a personal preference I've found - the first trilogy is the strongest, so if you don't like those you definitely won't like the rest. Definitely avoid Soldier Son and the new Dragon Forest or whatever it's called.

[Silencer]

I'll third the "read Dresden in one go" idea - it is very much a series which will pull you in, hook you hard and fast, and not let you go until you're done. Or it was for me, anyway - and the wait for the next book in the series is a killer. Seriously. Dresdencrack.

Though I do see your logic for spreading them out. It makes perfect sense, it just...Dresden might not let you.

[JLV]

Very well! Dresden first it is. I'll rearrange the list later.

I didn't even think about the Garret P.I., I never got around to reading those. That seems perfect to add to the list.

I'm not a big fan of the Pratchett I've read. Was a few years ago though, maybe I could give it another chance.

No worries on not enjoying the books. I tend to read books I really like in 1 day anyway, so this shouldn't be any different. The Dresden books and Valentine books are half-a-day reads at the most, and they tend to make me want to fly through, so it may only be a week or two for the entire series there. With that, combined with my love of reading and free-time until August, I feel pretty confident about this.

[stone monkey]

It's certainly ambitious... And I say that as someone who probably gets through at least 100 books a year. You might consider breaking up the fantasy with a bit of sf (or even some other genres or non-fiction, if that floats your boat) I've a feeling some of those may trip you up unless you're willing to power through books that don't interest you all that much (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for one is a bit of a grind, if you ask me)

Good luck though.

[James Hutton]

Wow, that's a great idea! I'm curious to how you'll like it, and to your comments on the books!

stone monkey, on 26 December 2011 - 03:28 PM, said:

You might consider breaking up the fantasy with a bit of sf.

If you like that, I can recommend Dune by Frank Herbert. The recommendation is for the first book only though, as I haven't read the next ones yet. Also, reviewers score the second and later books lower than the first.

[D'iversify]

JLV, on 26 December 2011 - 03:24 AM, said:

May, here comes Gemmel

I currently own: THE LEGEND OF DEATHWALKER, QUEST FOR LOST HEROES, WAYLANDER, LEGEND, THE KING BEYOND THE GATE, WHITE WOLF, THE SWORDS OF NIGHT AND DAY, WINTER WARRIORS, IN THE REALM OF THE WOLF, THE FIRST CHRONICLES OF DRUSS THE LEGEND, and HERO IN THE SHADOWS. If I'm missing any that I need for this set, let me know.

29 - 5, Gemmel 1 and 2

6 - 12, Gemmel 3 and 4

13 - 19, Gemmel 5 and 6

20 - 26, Gemmel 7 and 8

(As I mentioned early, I need help with the order to read these in.

Chronologically in terms of Drenai history: WAYLANDER, IN THE REALM OF THE WOLF, HERO IN THE SHADOWS, THE FIRST CHRONICLES OF DRUSS THE LEGEND, THE LEGEND OF DEATHWALKER, LEGEND, THE KING BEYOND THE GATE, QUEST FOR LOST HEROES, WINTER WARRIORS, WHITE WOLF, THE SWORDS OF NIGHT AND DAY. Personally, I read them in publication order, but I think either order would be fine. Though to be honest, each book is fairly self-contained.

[RolandDeschain]

If you can do this, it would be pretty cool. I read allot, everyday actually and I cant read 2 books a week, at best a book takes me two weeks, Dresden I can usually finish in a week. Malazan or big books like Way of Kings can take me 3-4 weeks. Also, maybe its just me, but I don't like to plan out what I'm reading next. I usually finish a book and then look at my bookshelf and start reading what ever I feel like. I always have a few new books in my bookshelf. For example this weekend I just finished Dresden Summer Knight and then I started doing a re-read of Fellowship of the Rings. I would have never guessed i'd be reading that today. I'll finish that and see what I feel like next, maybe something new, maybe more Dresden of Lord of the rings...

[JLV]

Just realized I have Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy to fit in there as well. Hmm.