103 Books in 2008 – A Retrospective
2008 was a very strange year. Aside from the birth of my second child, I was somehow struck with an unquenchable desire to read. I have always been a heavy reader, but never like this. 103 books? It seems excessive but somehow I managed to pull it off. In addition to the books listed below, I should mention that I also read the same 7 Dr. Seuss books to my first boy a combined 643 times, but I didn’t think it was worth adding them to my list. What did reading 103 books teach me? The short answer is, I will probably never do that again. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy doing so, but in order to read 103 books in a year one has to spend an inordinate amount of time reading dreck, and after doing so for so many hours in the past year I am determined to never repeat it… if I can help it. I resolve to do better at choosing my reading in the future (and in all likelihood, I will be writing more code in my free time). Therefore, 2009 will likely pale in comparison in sheer numbers; although I hope to read more life-changing material. That being said, let me list a few high (and low) points of my reading last year:
Best book
Grendel Truly a fantastic book. It was the kind of beautifully written book that shames me that I ever had the gall to try and put pen to paper.
Worst book
Monster Nation I think I have worn out the novelty of the Zombie fiction book. In reality, it was probably not as bad as I remember, but it just happen to be the last zombie book that I may ever read.
Hidden gem
The Survivors I picked up a really old copy of this book at a local used book shop for two-bits and really didn’t expect much from it. However, it was a very pleasant find and is a gritty story way ahead of its time.
Biggest disappointment
Anathem
I was really psyched about Stephenson’s latest book and for the first 150 pages I enjoyed it thoroughly; unfortunately the book is 937 pages. I think that XKCD summed up my qualms with the book:
Best tech book
Programming Collective Intelligence A really good technical book that talks about how to apply “machine learning” 1 to “Web 2.0”. It contains just enough detail without inundating the reader with material more appropriate for a PhD dissertation.
3 Comments, Comment or Ping
F_D
Nice write-up. Two things:
(1) Totally agree with you about Grendel. It really stands the test of time and consistently remains in my Top 10 of All Time lists as I make them up in my head throughout the years.
(2) I’m still going to read Anathem.
Jan 5th, 2009
F_D
ALSO: 103 books is a ridiculous quantity. You truly shame my pathetic showing of 50.
Jan 5th, 2009
fogus
Nah, I have learned my lesson on trying to read 103 books. That is, while I may have read 2x the quantity, I think that my overall rating is probably much lower. I am better served by emulating your approach. -m
Jan 7th, 2009
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