Comments on: 52 books in 52 weeks

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:19:24 +0000

Try “The Lessons of History” by Will and Ariel Durant. Their summary conclusions of over 40 years of writing history together.

http://snipurl.com/lessonsofhistory

By: Suzanne B. Brock

Suzanne B. Brock — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:53:07 +0000

Exactly when are you going to find time to read for pleasure? I’m pretty sure your life is busier than mine and if I read a book a month I feel like I’m doing well…so, please let us know how you do it!

By: Moira

Moira — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:28:42 +0000

This is so much fun. My first book choice is: The Big Question- How Philosphy Can Change Your Life by Lou Marinoff. I am going to choose mostly non fiction books for this year reading. I live in the UAE and we have no library where I live. This pains me as I will actually have to pay for my books now. What I miss most about home is the library(–quickly followed by baby back ribs and Target!).

Susan, I could not agree more about the cover of your first read. Yuck! Let’s assume the inside seriously better.

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:14:56 +0000

Do Agatha Christie novels count? I’m sure I could get through her entire oevre in a year. The advantage of ‘mummy brain’ is that I always forget whodunnit, so my AC collection is really good value.

By: Julia

Julia — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:14:38 +0000

Have you read “All the Shah’s Men” or “Blood Brothers”? They’re very interesting!

By: Mal

Mal — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:29:37 +0000

I’m forcing some order, variety, randomness, and frugality into my book reading by borrowing a book a week from the library, with the caveat that I am not allowed to renew it! This means I have three books on the go, and *must* return one a week. These are usually titles I would not think to buy, for example, “The Well Educated Mind” This means I get to know some great books that would otherwise be off my radar (like WEM!)

I recommend “The Fabric of the Cosmos” by Brian Greene, it covers the 13.7 billion years before your book begins, though not in as much detail.

P.S. I read Doestoevsky’s The Gambler recently — it was included with the far superior “Notes from the Underground” in Oxford classics. It was readable, but try “Notes” or “Crime and Punishment” rather than this minor work (Susan recommends C & P in “The Well Educated Mind” and provides a great summary).

By: andy

andy — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:09:40 +0000

Susan, how about some updates in the “Coping with the Farm” category? I love them! Must be some winter stories out there somewhere.

By: Trish

Trish — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:50:08 +0000

So glad you had a nice vacation! I love the peanut butter cups for breakfast idea! I actually arm-wrestled a couple of mini peanut butter cups from one of my sisters over Christmas. Yum!

Great first pick for you 52 books project. I loved Woods’ fiction how-to when I read it back a few months ago. I know you don’t need any more books to read, but you would like Laura Miller’s new book (cofounder of Salon.com) The Magician’s Notebook (a literary crit of Narnia Chronicles) that came out in early December. I’m loving it this week. Enjoy! Happy 2009!

By: Erika

Erika — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:27:20 +0000

Feeling as though somebody has thrown down a gauntlet…
I looked at my bookshelf and chose the first book I spotted that I haven’t yet read. (All the while being careful to choose one that seemed short enough to read in a week given my rather harried teaching-while-pregnant-and-raising-two-year-old-and-eight-year-old-life.) It Dostoevsky’s “The Gambler”. Let’s see if I can make something of it. (If not, the fault is surely mine, not Fyodor’s.)
Best wishes for 2009!

By: nancypants

nancypants — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:15:29 +0000

Goodness that is a hideous cover. It reminds me of maybe a Grammar School Reader from the 1940’s or something…

I just started your History of the Ancient World Today… we bought it two days ago and I laugh because my 8 year old (who has been known to read your Story of the World books in two days time) got to it before I did. He started reading it yesterday afternoon. I just caught up to him this afternoon. He and I will probably be in a reading race the whole way through. SWB, what would I have done without your writing? I attribute my reading of TWTM when my son was an infant for his current ability to read at such an advanced level (this year alone he has out-read me by several thousand pages!) that I now have to try to keep up with HIM! LOL So I just had to come and tell you that you have changed our lives. And to say thank you. And Keep Writing!! :^)

Also just ordered TWEM and Writing with Ease today. I think the early years of motherhood robbed me of my ability to read anything with a plot… anything longer than your typical blog post really… In the last year (as my youngest is just over three now) I have reemerged into the reading world and it is a refreshing place to be. I don’t think I’ll get to read 52 books a year… but I am working up to it!