renay: Reading Challenges: Confirming My Inability to Finish Crazy Projects Since 2007

Renay (

renay) wrote,
@ 2009-12-30 03:34 pm UTC

Entry tags:

books, let's get literate! 2010, school

Reading Challenges: Confirming My Inability to Finish Crazy Projects Since 2007

So, reading challenges.

They are hugely popular in book fandom! I suck at hosting them and suck at completing them. However.

"Oh no!" you're saying. "That never means anything good when Renay starts using words like "but" and "perhaps" and "however" and "just this once!" I'm getting the fuck out of here before she makes something explode that covers me in goo, or possibly glitter." Internet citizen, I cannot blame you!

I saw

shanaqui do this project last year and it appeals to me (they have a community for it now,

readheightetc). I was always a fan of lego towers when I was a kid, or various-toy towers, such as How High Can I Pile This Mountain Of Toys? This was before my habit of creating Barbie beds out of washcloths and VHS tapes, where Skipper and Courtney were BFF and Ken wanted both of them but they only had eyes for Barbie. It was a lesbian love fest in my room. But first, there was me building toy mountains because then I could have the leftover toys scale them. I was clearly a discerning child when it came to my imaginary pursuits. I had to express my progressive nature somehow!

This, combined with the fact I barely read at all in 2009 yet continued buying and mooching books, leads me to believe that a challenge for reading my height in books would not be a terrible idea (we will not discuss the logic of this statement)! I'm 5'8'' (173 cm), give or take a few ticks, so that's a pretty big pile!

Now all I need is a wall, some paper, and some rules.

1) I have tons of unread books on my shelf! At least half of this project should be dedicated to reading the books I own or have borrowed and have not yet touched!

2) I should allow myself some space for library books. Apparently my library has chosen 2010 to become awesome, except now employees are wearing uniforms, which makes it feel less comfortable and homey. Sigh.

3) I have looked up the syllabus for The British Novel. I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid Austen forever, but it didn't keep me from hoping! Sigh. I think these books should totally count, even though I have to buy them for class. Also, my desire to read Mrs. Dalloway again is somewhere between "dammit!" and "DO NOT WANT"

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The End of the Affair - Graham Greene
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
White Teeth - Zadie Smith
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

This will never end in tears and failure! Guaranteed!

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	chaosraven 2009-12-30 10:05 pm UTC (link)
	;_; You don't like Austen? Granted Northanger Abbey is one of her stupider novels... but I still love her. I feel more sorry for you that you have to read Dickens. I actually chose to read Great Expectations in High School and I've regretted it ever since. V excruciating. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 10:09 pm UTC (link)
	I feel like I don't understand Austen? I tried Pride and Prejudice and couldn't figure out what the fuss was about. :\| I could mourn about Dickens, but I'm going to reward myself for finishing it by watching Oliver and Company! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	chaosraven 2009-12-30 10:11 pm UTC (link)
	Most of the fuss has to do with the time it was written in, I think. I didn't like P&P as much the first time I read it but it got a lot better the second time. That is not a bad plan! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 11:30 pm UTC (link)
	I wonder if I could write a paper about how Dickens story has been reworked and remixed. I could totally get behind some academia, there. ...basically I just want to cite "Street Savoir Faire" in a paper. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

owlmoose
2009-12-30 11:18 pm UTC (link)

I failed to get into P&P the first time I read it. Then I tried it again a few years later, and suddenly realized that it was a satire. I found it much smoother reading after that. I haven't read any other Austen, but perhaps Northenger Abbey is satirical as well?

Height-in-books is a neat idea, although you could cheat by reading hardcovers. Or large print.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 11:20 pm UTC (link)
	But I haven't collected too many hardcovers, luckily. So I will be reading a ton of tiny paperbacks from my shelves. XD Troubling discovery: my copy of Empire of Ivory has gone missing. SUPER TERRIBLE. D: (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	owlmoose 2009-12-30 11:26 pm UTC (link)
	Troubling discovery: my copy of Empire of Ivory has gone missing. SUPER TERRIBLE. D: Noooooooo. :-/ I hope it turns up!!!! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 11:28 pm UTC (link)
	Of course, right when I want to prepare and finally read the latest book! SO SAD. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	thingsmeanalot.com 2009-12-30 10:33 pm UTC (link)
	We are the same height! Also, good luck :P I totally get why Austen isn't for everyone, but I thought that Northanger Abbey was pretty fun :P It makes fun of Gothic drama while still being atmospheric and Gothic in itself. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 10:44 pm UTC (link)
	I might like NA better, since it seems to be satirical? I'm sure I will have to tl;dr about all these books, so that should be either be entertaining, or snooze-worthy. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	nan 2009-12-30 10:41 pm UTC (link)
	What an awesome idea! I didn't read very many books at all in 2009 and was planning on making a New Year's Resolution for it. This should work well! SNAG I am only 5'3" though. XD (Reply to this) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 10:43 pm UTC (link)
	You have less books to read! shakes fist (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	inkstone 2009-12-30 10:46 pm UTC (link)
	I'm even shorter! I'm 5 feet even! XD (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-30 10:48 pm UTC (link)
	I hate all of you! XD XD XD (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	inkstone 2009-12-31 12:02 am UTC (link)
	Don't worry! I can't really participate since I read a lot of my books on my Sony Reader! ^^;; (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-31 12:06 am UTC (link)
	Oh, man! An e-reader. I am a little jealous. :) Do you like it a lot? (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

inkstone
2009-12-31 12:18 am UTC (link)

Oh, I love it! It's one of their older models -- the PRS-505, which I think is their second gen model if the PRS-700 was the third gen and their current triad (Pocket, Touch & Daily Edition) is the fourth gen. But it's Sony so it's a solid piece of tech that is very, very difficult to brick.

I remember when I first got it, I had a very hard time explaining to people how the e-ink screen is revolutionary. Everyone who's never played with an e-reader assumes it's like looking at a computer screen or a calculator screen (myself included). But when people say it's like looking at a printed page in a book, it really IS like looking at a printed page in a book. It's such a small piece of technology but it is really revolutionary if you think about it.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

yati
2009-12-31 01:00 am UTC (link)

You'll hate me even more -- I'm 4'9".

Finally! A reason to rejoice being tiny!

I can read The End of the Affair and White Teeth with you! We have both of those books and I've been meaning to read them. And we have Northanger Abbey as well, actually, but it's, uh, Austen. I only got through Pride and Prejudice because it was a group read.

(I wonder how high the pile will be if I stacked all of this year's books. . . .)

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	nan 2009-12-31 02:30 am UTC (link)
	But wait! Is that a good thing? UHM. I will go with yes! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-31 02:32 am UTC (link)
	Ha ha, I am bitter because technically I am cheating, because I am actually more than 5'8''! I am closer to 5'9 but I am AVOIDING IT. >.> (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	nan 2009-12-31 02:38 am UTC (link)
	Well I just measured myself and I am apparently closer to 5'4 than 5'3! WHY DID I DO THAT OMG But I guess I'll go ahead and take that extra inch. XD (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

temples
2009-12-31 12:00 am UTC (link)

...You had me at lesbian love fest.

>_> Ahem.

My Austen experience begins and ends with the first seventy or so pages of Pride and Prejudice. I was bored to tears and stopped reading it halfway through, making it another Book I Did Not Finish. (There are two others; one of them is Twilight, which I only read at the behest of a friend. Yeah.)

I quite like the height idea! I might have to ~~steal~~ ~~pilfer~~ ~~TOTALLY LEGALLY BORROW OKAY~~ steal it for myself!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	renay 2009-12-31 12:07 am UTC (link)
	THAT'S OKAY; I totally stole it from shanaqui, so I assume she won't mind. XD (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	regann 2009-12-31 02:25 am UTC (link)
	Wow, Renay, you're quite tall! Anyway, I went through an Austen phase in high school but never read NA; when are you reading it? It'd like to read it with you! (Yes, I miss my bookclub!) (Reply to this) (Thread)

renay
2009-12-31 02:34 am UTC (link)

I forget that I am tall! Because my social circle is pretty tall, so I feel normal. Then all my online folks are like "I am short!" and I go "WE CAN NEVER MEET BECAUSE I WILL BE A FREAK."

I am not sure when we'll be reading that particular book, but I will definitely post the syllabus when I get it on the 11th. :D Then I can tempt everyone into reading with me (and no doubt explaining tons).

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread)

	regann 2009-12-31 03:15 am UTC (link)
	Awww! I come from a family of tall women, all your height or more, but my sis and I inherited the short genes from my dad. And there's nothing wrong with tempting us into reading, I think it'll be fun! Can you tell I miss being on school? ;) (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

regularrumination.wordpress.com
2010-01-04 04:29 pm UTC (link)

I'm pretty excited to be following you here because I like all kinds of blog posts, personal and bookish, and I get really angry when people apologize for posting twice or apologize for talking about their life and I know I'm guilty but the truth of the matter is: I'm excited when my favorite bloggers post twice in one day and post about their life and tell me about their roommates or the husbands or their babies because I'm a little bit of a creep. And I think that blogs that are only about books are probably actually run by publishing robots.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

renay
2010-01-04 05:53 pm UTC (link)

Ha ha! Yes, I like blogs about a lot of interesting material. I get confused about people stripping themselves away, for instance: all the awesome blogs I read about topics, like feminism and science and astronomy and progressive issues have a healthy dose of topical material but also personal stuff: why it matters to them.

Some blogs are not cool with sharing personal stuff, and that's a fine way to be, too, but the issue I have is with people who clearly want to include themselves more, but hesitate because of the feeling they get they'll be shunned. It's too widespread to be in all our heads!

I like creeps, though. ;)

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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