Guys I DID IT! I finished War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy! I read along for 4 months with r/bookclub and we're finally done. I did enjoy it, seeing the characters develop over a number of years was great. Unfortunately I don't think dragging books out is for me, I definitely got frustrated reading the same novel for so long.

I also finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I really liked this, but it was quite different than I expected. I did find Ifemelu really underdeveloped compared to Obinze. I was reading from her perspective and still felt I didn't understand her motivations.

Currently reading King Leopold's Ghost:A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild. Only 50 pages in but it's already very interesting.

This week I finished Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan and All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doer. Both good.

This week on the Drunk Guys Book Club Podcast we read War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. For the month of May we are reading 31 short stories in 31 days. So far we've read:

A Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe

The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

Bartleby the Scrivener, Herman Melville

To Build a Fire, by Jack London

The Monkey's Paw, by WW Jacobs

Many more to come!

Hi guys! This week I read Strange Weather by Joe Hill. It's a collection of four short stories. I really liked the ideas behind them, though I felt the first and last stories had odd, rushed endings. My favourite of the four by far was Loaded.

I'm currently reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I'm about 1/3 of the way through. At first I didn't understand the hype, but it quickly became one of those books I hate having to put down! I can't stop thinking about it.

Also War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy will be finished by next weeks thread! 70 pages left in that brick :)

Started

Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgeson Burnett

Phantastes, by George MacDonald

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

The Republic, by Plato

Finished

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

What Katy Did, by Susan Coolidge

The Nibelungenlied, by Anonymous (an old Germanic epic)

It has been a crazy week for me as far as book tranisitions. I don't normally read this much. :) I've been getting more and more into the classics and I've been loving it. War and Peace especially was an achievement.

I finally finished War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy this week!

This week on the Drunk Guys Book Club Podcast we discuss All the President's Men, by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Next week, Pet Sematary, by Stephen King.

I finished The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. It wasn't very good unfortunately, you could tell it had been expanded from a screen play.

Currently reading The Stand by Stephen King. About 400 pages into this brick and absolutely loving it! I'm hooked.

And still chugging along with War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. 2/3 of the way through now. I'm still enjoying it but I'm glad the end is in sight. 3 months is a long time to be reading the same book.

I finished War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy (P&V translation) on Saturday after 4 months of reading .

I started reading along with /r/ayearofwarandpeace at the beginning of the year but I realised that I had more free time than most and so the pace of 1 chapter per day felt too slow to me.

I know everything that can be said about this book has already been said so I'll try not to write too much, but I really enjoyed this journey and was pleasantly surprised by how readable it was, albeit very long.

I think Tolstoy really understands people; how we think, why we act, how we justify acts to ourselves, and this was my favourite aspect of the book. Some characters were naturally more relatable than others, but you almost always understand and empathise with the character's motivations, which, I think, is the most important factor in creating believable characters.

Like most readers, I found Pierre to be the most compelling character, and his arc was brilliant and meaningful. That said, all of the 'main' characters are fascinating in their own right, and after you finish, you feel like you've lived with them rather than just read about them.

The War sections were more historically accurate than I expected (they sometimes read like historical accounts) which was sometimes interesting, but I think these would have been more interesting to a contemporary Russian readership who were naturally more invested in Napoleon's Russian campaign.

I'm 22 and I think around my age is the perfect time to be reading this since it is largely about growing up and deciding what kind of person you want to be. This was my first experience with Russian Literature and I'm thinking of reading Crime and Punishment next.

This week, I read a significant amount of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy but didn't finish it. Hopefully next week!

This week on the Drunk Guys Book Club Podcast we discussed our second St. Patrick's Day book, Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCort. Next week, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen!

Finished The Princess Bride, William Goldman

Reading War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy Making slow but steady progress. This one will take a while

Finished:

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden. It is the last book in the Winternight Trilogy. It's a YA book but accessible to everyone- my mother and aunt both loved it. It was an amazing trilogy- so emotionally satisfying and beautiful. One of my all time favorites. 5/5 stars

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. This was another beautiful YA book that has a really enchanting world. 4.5/5 stars. I loved the main character.

Finishing:

Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin I'm about 90% through and will probably finish today or tomorrow. I'm a big fan of the TV show (was- after that abysmal ending) and I'm really impressed by the world of ASOIAF. The Targaryens are pretty intriguing so I was excited to read it. I've only read half of AGOT and couldn't really get into it since I knew what happened- so I was excited to give this a go and experience GRRM's writing. The stories are quite amazing and it's honestly crazy how many characters are mentioned. It makes the world seem so real. Still it reads as if you're reading a historical account, not a story. It is a very interesting historical account though. I enjoyed it, but it is missing the dialogue. I guess the thing I'm taking away from it is: some people are great, and others... not so much, which by the end isn't wholly satisfying. Still, the book is nicely written and the stories in them are amazing. I would recommend if you're interested in GOT lore or are really into the Targaryens, but I wouldn't just read it if you don't know anything about ASOIAF. 4/5 stars

Trekking Through:

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy I'm about 42% in and started 1.5 years ago (yikes). I am liking the book, it's just hard for me to stick with it- I haven't really read anything of its scale before. I'll go through phases of reading it and then won't touch it for a few months. I think I just need to get myself to read at least one chapter per day, because the chapters are quite manageable. Although it would seem that I'm not enjoying it- I am. I think it's just a lot for me to handle- but I'll finish it darn it!

Started:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Just started this today! I'm pretty excited

Last week I finished:

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

This was fun, BUT. The audiobook is read by Wil Wheaton, whose overenunciation coupled with Scalzi’s “I’m witty and I know it” dialog sets my teeth on edge. Or it did, until I realized that this is the literary equivalent of McDonald’s, and I don’t need the mayonnaise evenly distributed around my McChicken to enjoy it. It’s okay if a couple of fries are cold; there’s a reason I eat there, and that’s because it tastes good. Same with Scalzi. His plots are enjoyable, his characters are diverse, and I can usually trust him not to hit me with anything racist or sexist. I’ll probably read the sequel when it comes out in October.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

This book is deservedly famous for being long, and undeservedly not famous for being incredible. Seriously, it’s the best book I’ve ever read. I am not sure how to believably convey how good it is, how readable, how interesting the characters are. I did not expect to love it. It follows a bunch of Russian nobility, Middlemarch-style, and how they change and mature through the years of the French invasion of Russia. Tolstoy is fabulous spotlighting all those little things that make us human, so while most of us are countries and centuries away from his characters, they’re real and believable, and dangit, you have to do yourself a favor and read this book immediately.

Short things:

• “Ancient Rome” by Kyle McCarthy (Best American Short Stories 2017)
• “Remember the Allosaurus” by Jo Walton (Starlings)
• “Today I’m Yours” by Mary Gaitskill (Best American Short Stories 2006)
• "Noun of Nouns: A Mini-Epic” by Alex Shvartsman (Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling)
• “How We Avenged the Blums” by Nathan Englander (Best American Short Stories 2006)
• “My Mother’s Garden” by Katherine Shonk (Best American Short Stories 2001)
• “The City Born Great” by N. K. Jemisin (Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017)
• “Relentlessly Mundane” by Jo Walton (Starlings)
• “My Flamboyant Grandson” by George Saunders (In Persuasion Nation)

Working on:

• Metamorphoses by Ovid (Charles Martin translation)
• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
• Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (for /r/bookclub)
• Wolves in the Land of Salmon, David Moskowitz
• Space Opera, Catherynne M. Valente
• Wild Seed, Octavia Butler

Finished: Girl Last Seen, by Nina Laurin

Not a complex read. It’s gritty, dark, with a few surprises but fairly predictable. It was an ok way to spend a bit of time.

Started: War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

I saw it on the shelf at a book store in Toronto. A collectors cloth bound edition from penguin books. This was my mother’s main read so I never thought I’d start it myself. But here I am.

I finished Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi.

• Judicious, written with clarity and ridiculously researched, the book chronicles how anti-black thinking has anchored itself in American society. An important read for not only Americans but for everyone.

I started War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I read Anna Karenina in February and really enjoyed it. I'm taking it slow, reading 50 pages a day, so I should finish in mid/end of October. 300 pages in. First impressions are it is 100% better written than Anna but I'm still trying to make sense of the War scenes.

I'm also about half way through Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell I read both Wives and Daughters and North and South this summer and was blown away. With Cranford, as a reader, you can tell it was written before either of her powerhouses as Gaskell is still coming into her own and trying to find her footing as an author but I'm still liking it. Will probably be a 3/5 on goodreads.

Finished:

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

The North Water, by Ian McGuire

Summer Knight, by Jim Butcher

The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, by Chris Whipple

Circe, by Madeline Miller

Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures, by Nick Pyenson

The Secret History, by Donna Tartt

Started:

The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Thunder Sunshine, by Alastair Humphreys

John Dies at the End, by David Wong

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

Alone on the Wall, by Alex Honnold

Barchester Towers, by Anthony Trollope

This week I finished The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch and Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Last week on the Drunk Guys Book Club Podcast was The Mueller Report! This week will be War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.

Finished: Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neill Gaimon

• I don't read much comedic literature, but I really enjoyed this. I found some parts to drag her and there, but overall very creative and comedic.

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

• This is my fifth (or is it sixth) attempt to get through this trilogy. I have read The Hobbit, and forced my way through The Silmarillion, but I just need to accept at this point the books are not for me even though I love the films.

Started:

War and Peace, by Tolstoy

• I want to read this before watching the Criterion released version of the film and the series by the BBC. I am taking it very slowly, and while it is a bit intimidating, I am enjoying it so far. [r/ayearofwarandpeace] (https://old.reddit.com/r/ayearofwarandpeace/) has enhanced the experience greatly.

The Last Days of Night, by Graham Moore

• really quick read that I am enjoying so far.

Sooooo close to finishing The Stand by Stephen King! Got 90 pages left and I can taste the end....

I definitely need something short after this. I picked up a few Agatha Christies at work this week, I think the ABC Murders by Agatha Christie will be next on the list :)

P.s. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is still in the works. Slowed down a bit this week as I plowed through The Stand though.

This week I finished Fluency, by Jennifer Foehner Wells and a re-read of Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. I also read a bit more of War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.

This week on the Drunk Guys Book Club Podcast we read Milkman, by Anna Burns. Next week will be Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCort, to complete our St. Patrick's Day double-header.

I'm getting back into reading after roughly half my life of not reading, so here goes. Let's hope this remains to be an avid hobby of mine this time.

Started:

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

Remarks: I have yet to read much, but, from the bit I have read, am extremely pleased to start this book and glad that I bought this translation. I do not speak, nor understand, any French so the footnotes come in very handy.

The Iliad, by Homer

Remarks: Also not very far in the book, but I plan on conquering this and The Odyssey before the end of the school year. It is a very slow start, but one I can easily deal with.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Remarks: Assigned to me for my AP Literature class, this book has been a simple reread for me so far. Equally as gripping and thrilling as I recall, but the cases of foreshadowing are glaringly obvious. I'm enjoying it much more this time around as I know what comes next.

A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne

Remarks: Rereading this for fun and as a little refresher on the world of literature. Refreshing, short, and gripping. Highly recommend for a short read.

Just finished War and Peace, by Tolstoy

I'm normally a two-books-a-week person but I've been reading this for about a month. I enjoyed it, and loved the deep issues it touches on (it makes you think a lot). Also enjoyed the Napoleonic history. The Second Epilogue was a bit turgid though.

Slow week for me! I read Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson. It was pretty good, an interesting peek behind the curtain into the world of archaeology. I actually would have liked to read more.

Just started Strange Weather by Joe Hill today. I hope it's good, I've liked all the rest of his books I've read.

Also still going with War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. 164 pages to go!! The end draws near.

I finished Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. I really disliked the first fifth of the book, which was an introduction to the science of this society. I also thought the rest of the book was mediocre, until I reached the last 3 chapters. I really enjoyed the philosophical dialogues, and the ending, which helped shine a new light on the rest of the novel. I am glad I kept with it, since after finishing the book, I really enjoyed the ideas presented in the novel.

I also started The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. It is a very short novel, but my edition has a lengthy introduction and plenty of notes. I am about half way through, and I really enjoy it. I have been wanting to read about eastern philosophy, and what better place to start than the sword saint himself. I will probably finish it by tomorrow, then I plan on beginning War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy to occupy the rest of my summer.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and The Troop by Nick Cutter

I was intimidated by War & Peace for the longest time so I never attempted to read it, but I'm actually really enjoying it.

I have continued to read War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. I just haven't been able to really get invested in it, since it is so hard to carry around when I am traveling. The 200 pages or so i have read are fantastic. I was impressed with the language, and overall elegance of writing despite being translated from russian.

Another translated book, this time from Polish, I read was The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski. I absolutely hated it. I wasn't super into the Witcher video games, so i thought I would give the books a try. I enjoyed the ideas, but the actual writing was incredibly lousy. It wasn't even a translation issue, the sentences just weren't there. I was very disappointed by a series I thought I would really enjoy.

However, a series I am incredibly excited about continuing is The Dark Tower. I just finished The Gunslinger, by Stephen King today, and it was very enjoyable. I like King a lot for casual reading, and this is definitely an intriguing story so far.

I'm thinking of camping out on War and Peace for the rest of this week, but by next week I'll have decided on which of a few books I want to read.

Started reading War and Peace, by Tolstoy Maybe I'll actually finish it this time. I'm taking notes so I can keep the characters straight, which was always an issue for me before.

Finally finished War and Peace, by Tolstoy Took several months, mostly only reading on lunch break but it was worth it. Some of the history chapters were dry, but I learned a lot I didn't know, so I didn't let myself skip over them.

Finished The Divorce Planner, by Angela Lam A quick, fun read. Written by a friend of mine, so I was eager to finish it up.

Currently reading The Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie My first foray into Agatha Christie's works. I was fortunate to pick up a couple of beautiful leather bound volumes with several of her books for $10 each, so I was motivated to finally check her out. So far, I'm really enjoying it, I can see why she's one of the greats of the genre.

I've made a commitment to spend at least one evening a week reading, instead of watching netflix, playing video games, etc. I'm not happy with how little reading I've been doing in the last few years.

Shoutout to /r/ayearofwarandpeace, I finished, as you might have guessed, War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

I finished: (I'm kind of on a YA/NA fantasy/romance kick right now)

• Cruel Beauty, by Rosamund Hodge. It was a really great retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I loved the idea of the main character being stuck in a crazy house. The setting I felt was very cool. It was a pretty easy read, and perfect if you wanted kind of a fantasy romance with an actual story to it. 5/5 for what it is
• Angelfall, by Susan Ee. This was a fun one. There's a fallen angel and our heroine and the angel have to team up. I loved the main character and the ending was kind of shocking and it changed from an urban fantasy to more of a sci-fi feel. It was okay- entertaining but not amazing. I don't think I'll continue with the series, but I'm glad I read this one. 3.5/5
• Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare. This surprised me. I haven't read a Clare book and I wasn't really interested in her hallmark books, The Mortal Instruments series. I saw the show Shadowhunters and was kind of "meh" by it. I did really like this prequel though. I like how it has a steampunk vibe and takes place in Victorian London. It's got some YA tropes but it was thoroughly entertaining. 4/5
• Soul in Darkness, by Wendy Higgins. I don't know how I stumbled upon this but I actually really liked it! It's a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. I really didn't know anything about it but the story was pretty good for a mythological romance complete with hero's journey. The first half was very reminiscent of Cruel Beauty where the heroine is forced to marry a "monster" and live in a palace. Then the second half is where the heroine goes on a complete hero's journey. All in all it's a love story but as a fan of Greek/Roman mythology it was pretty satisfying. 4/5

Currently reading:

• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. I'm actually making headway and I'm just about 10% behind the r/ayearofwarandpeace sub. Loving it, and I'm glad I'm finally reading it consistently.
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari. It's pretty interesting so far- I'm towards the end of the first major section. I like it, but I find myself turning to other books before reading this one.
• When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi. This has been on my to-read list for a while now. It's a short memoir that I started yesterday. I'm about 40% through and so far it's pretty good. He talks about the philosophy of life and death as a neurosurgeon, and then how he had to face being diagnosed himself as a Stage 4 cancer patient. I can tell it's going to be quite the tearjerker, but his writing is really nice and his thoughts on morality, physicians, ethics, and language are poignant.

Finished:

Paper Princess, by Erin Watt. This was like trashy reality TV. A 17 y/o girl struggling to support herself finds herself having a billionaire rescue her from her life and taking her in as a daughter. He has 5 crazy sons. Everyone is batshit. Chaos ensues. It's actually really entertaining for what it is. Books like this can get boring and repetitive, but this wasn't at all. If you want some chick-lit with crazy alpha male(s) check this out. 4/5 guilty pleasure read for what it is

When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi. This was a quick read. Basically a neurosurgeon is diagnosed with an extremely rare stage IV lung cancer at the age of 36. This story is broken up into 3 main parts: the first is before his diagnoses and why he chose to become a doctor and the moral implications dealing with a lot of death, the second is what he decides to do after he realizes he only has a finite amount of time to live, and the third is an epilogue written by his wife. If it was longer I would have liked it less, but because of it's size it's quite an engaging story mainly from his unique perspective as a neurosurgeon. Still, this is not a book that sheds some light on death, and there's no main takeaway. It was just the story of his experience and figuring out what to do with the time he has left. 4/5

A Curse So Dark and Lonely, by Brigid Kemmerer. Man, what a disappointment. I read a lot of YA and I feel in general I'm pretty lenient with it because I know what to expect. Give me a fun plot and a spicy romance and I'm set. This was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast- a girl is taken from modern day Washington DC and flung to fantasy land where she has to fall in love with a prince by the end of autumn. I was breezing through the first half, but by the second half, it got... not great. The love interest was not interesting, and the world building was horrible. Some parts were cringey? The story was just not good. Which is weird because I was liking it in the first half. I didn't even want to finish it, so I DNFd at 65%. 2/5, the extra star for the first half of the book and the writing is pretty good and keeps you flipping pages

Started Reading:

The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger. Everyone has read this book and I haven't. None of my Goodreads friends have given it 5 stars, but it's the book that most everyone has read, so I'm going to try it.

Continuing:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy