So I’m done with The Book of Lost Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien, as all of the book related to the creation of the mythology and history of Middle-Earth, is a glimpse to a really complex creative process that gave birth to one of the most famous worlds in literature. This is a more straightforward short story collection with a extensive commentary by Christopher Tolkien (the professor’s son).

The other two books I finish are part of a pretty cool collection that compiles most of H.P. Lovecraft’s work.

Both are really good books, but I liked better Horror en el museo , I’m just a sucker for any story that has to do with the Ancient Gods or the big bad boss Cthulhu.

So after finishing this three books the final count for the last 60 days of this my eight year is of 17 books. My reading has gone up and I feel confident that the goal shall be reach.

As the year comes to a close my final page count for the next two years becomes clearer. A while back I put a goal that in the next three years I will attempt to read 135,000 pages. Being the first year (Y-8) dedicated to reading 52 books and the next two years dedicated to reaching that monumental goal.

As of today I’m looking on 54,885 pages per year. So my main concern is to have enough material to read, but, as any respectable book addict, this does not bother me, it only gives me the opportunity ( or the excuse) to add to my ever-growing library.

To get the wheels turning I found some really cool Abe Sapien comics I haven’t read. So the madness thus begin.

Let’s see what the weekend brings my way.

In reading and new loot for my library

So here are the number for this period:

• Total pages for  the eight year : 13,880 pages
• Days left for the eight year: 60 days
• Books left for the eight year: 17 books
• Pages left to read in my goal for the eight year: 6,850 pages
• Total pages of Lost in a million pages: 181,021 pages

Happy Readings!!!

azr

Again what great and relaxing weekend, but not so much for my reading.

This was mainly because I needed to put some order in my bookshelves and had some extracurricular activities, mostly of the drinking kind.

In the reading front I keep working on three books. Dracula, Wyrd Sisters and The Book of Lost Tales Part One. 

And little progress, about 70 pages between all three. 

The main thing is that Tolkien’s book is a really slow read because of the deepness and intricate story lines that form the mythology of Middle-Earth.

I think that when I’m done with it everthing will be downhill.

So I have a little over two months to finish 20 books. A gargantuan task but I’m up for it.

The goal for this week is to finish Dracula and Book of Lost Tales and take it from there.

The day reeks of a lot of waiting time so I’ll take advantage of that.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

Well I couldn’t be happier with my progress for this week. I had 4 books roaming around with a very few pages to go and no apparent date to finish.

So I just said let’s take them one at a time.

The first to go down was American Gods/Anansi Boys ( B&N Leatherbound Edition), I must say that this is second time reading Anansi Boys and it’s even better than I remember.

The second one was the hilarious fifth book of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, Sourcery, where once again Rincewind, a really inept wizzard, puts in danger the whole existence of his world. Fortunately  he has the help on a sentient piece of luggage, a boy aspiring to be a barbarian hero and the daughter of legendary barbarian hero Cohhen. As always you can’t go wrong with any book of the late great Sir Pratchett .

The third book was La Historia del Cerco de Lisboa by Nobel prize laureate José Saramago, it show us how one word can change the course of history.

The fourth and final book was a collection of short stories by the genius Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes,Cuentos Sobrenaturales, it explores a darker and far more sinister side of this prolific author. The collection closes with one of his masterpieces Aura. Highly recommended especially the first story Chac-Mool, a very mexican spin of something than will remind you to the curse of the mummy.

Right now I have started reading two really interesting book.

First a true classic, Dracula, if my memory serves me well I haven’t read it in over 20 years. When I pick up this book something really cool happen, between the pages there were a couple of leafs. One from an red oak and one from an common oak. There are keep-sakes from my first mayor Landscape Design.

Like talking with an old friend

They have been between this pages for 6 years

The other book is The Book of Lost Tales Part One, this is a posthumous publication of tales from Middle-Earth developed by professor Tolkien as part of the ever-growing mythology of his grand saga. So far this book combines history and narrative in a pretty little package.

So here are the number for this period:

• Total pages for  the eight year : 13,397 pages
• Days left for the eight year: 74 days
• Books left for the eight year: 20 books
• Pages left to read in my goal for the eight year: 7,333 pages
• Total pages of Lost in a million pages: 180,542 pages

Happy Readings!!! I’ll get back to my good streak

azr

A fairly hot day with little time to read and surrounded  by some beautiful desert trees. So all in all a really good day.

Also is the 83th birthday of one of my favorite author , Cormac McCarthy, if you haven’t read any of his work you are really missing out. I recommend starting with the Pulitzer Prize Winner  “The Road” and take it from there.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

So my progress has been snail-like. So in order to achieve my now fleeting goal the 2 books in the currently reading list must be finished by this weekend.

The other thing I’m doing is using a short stories collection by Mexican master storyteller Carlos Fuentes as  a palate cleanser, a book to read while I wait for my coffee to brew.

So far I have read 3 stories and all of them have a special eerie feel to them.

Happy Readings and I’ll post with my progress.

azr

So I finished with the part of American Gods of the B & N Leatherbound edition and I’m on the Anansi Boys part. 

This is the 3rd time I have read American Gods and let me tell you it holds a very special place in my heart. As always it remains my favorite book. 

So let’s take this part down and on to the next challenge.

Happy Readings!!!

azr

Well it has been a slow progress, now I’m 94 days out of the final day of this year of reading and a lot of books still stand in my path.

Right now I’m working on three books and hope to finish at least two of them before or during the weekend.

On the other hand I’m impressed with how a little water can revive my precious desert, the cenizos that lead-up to my front door are blooming like crazy with the scarce rain that has fallen in the last week.

So there isn’t any progress to report, at least the number haven’t move from the last post.

Happy Readings!!!

azr