Reading Challenge: Third Quarter Update
Everything seems to be moving so rapidly now! Since my last update, when I was one book behind the schedule, I experienced a rapid completion of a few categories, and have now completed 20 out of the original 26 categories, and a total of 39 out of the complete list of 52. That is 75%! Although now I have less than 2 months to go and quite a few categories to complete!
One of the books I read left me in the odd position of not liking the main character very much.
I was only invested in his success (and survival) to the extent that it affected other characters, like his three children, his sister, and one of his colleagues. Yes, I found I had very little in common with a 40 year old white male working in computer programming, and swathes of his first person narrative dwelt on techno jargon, the recent history of programming, and even animal behaviour patterns, which upon reflection remind me of reading Moby Dick. I was much more interested in the quiet Asian woman he worked with, and she didn't enter the narrative until about halfway through! And yes, this also meant I turned to other books every now and then, which I finished much more rapidly. In the end, though, it was satisfying to complete the science category!
I also managed to find a book on my bookshelf written by someone younger than me! A tidy narrative with quite impressive amounts of creativity in terms of creatures and foods, let alone names of characters - an exceptional completed piece of fiction, especially considering the author was 11 when she finished it!
There is one book I was reading for this challenge which I think I've given up on and don't expect to finish now, Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I got about three quarters of the way through before putting the book aside to start something else - possibly the scary book I found in the library - and every now and then I look at it and think, 'Meh, can't be bothered, don't think I care enough about the plot to find out how they get out of this.' Reminds me a lot of Moby Dick, although I found that book fascinating even with the weird side notes about whaling. But there is only so much time I'm willing to invest in skimming through lists of fish I've never heard of before, can't imagine, which are then organised into scientific categories.
So I borrowed Villette by Charlotte Brontë for the same category, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Much better use of my time!
Other posts about the reading challenge: The challenge; end of February update; first quarter update; and halfway.
One of the books I read left me in the odd position of not liking the main character very much.
I was only invested in his success (and survival) to the extent that it affected other characters, like his three children, his sister, and one of his colleagues. Yes, I found I had very little in common with a 40 year old white male working in computer programming, and swathes of his first person narrative dwelt on techno jargon, the recent history of programming, and even animal behaviour patterns, which upon reflection remind me of reading Moby Dick. I was much more interested in the quiet Asian woman he worked with, and she didn't enter the narrative until about halfway through! And yes, this also meant I turned to other books every now and then, which I finished much more rapidly. In the end, though, it was satisfying to complete the science category!
I also managed to find a book on my bookshelf written by someone younger than me! A tidy narrative with quite impressive amounts of creativity in terms of creatures and foods, let alone names of characters - an exceptional completed piece of fiction, especially considering the author was 11 when she finished it!
There is one book I was reading for this challenge which I think I've given up on and don't expect to finish now, Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I got about three quarters of the way through before putting the book aside to start something else - possibly the scary book I found in the library - and every now and then I look at it and think, 'Meh, can't be bothered, don't think I care enough about the plot to find out how they get out of this.' Reminds me a lot of Moby Dick, although I found that book fascinating even with the weird side notes about whaling. But there is only so much time I'm willing to invest in skimming through lists of fish I've never heard of before, can't imagine, which are then organised into scientific categories.
So I borrowed Villette by Charlotte Brontë for the same category, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Much better use of my time!
Other posts about the reading challenge: The challenge; end of February update; first quarter update; and halfway.
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