Reading Q1 2023

I was on schedule to read 36 books for the year for the first two months, but did not finish the next three during March. Here are the six books I have read so far in 2023, starting with the last, and ending with the first.

A Fraction of the Whole

A Fraction of the Whole is a 2008 novel by Steve Toltz. It follows three generations of the eccentric Dean family in Australia and the people who surround them. This book was on my shelf from a previous buy and I finally decided to read it. I am so glad I did, as it is a really funny book and describes pretty well how screwed up the world is. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent). He has written two more books since so I may check them out.

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary is a 2021 science fiction novel by American novelist Andy Weir. Set in the near future, it centers on junior high (middle) school-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace, who wakes up from a coma afflicted with amnesia.  I had read Weir's first novel, The Martian, which was made into a movie starring Matt Damon.

I bought this novel in February because it was on sale at B&N, and because I liked the first novel. This one is pretty damn good too. I won't say much about it because I do not like spoilers, so I will have amnesia like the Ryland Grace, who may be played by Ryan Gosling in an upcoming film adaptation. I give this book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent).

The Greatest Beer Run Ever

I bought this book because of the title. I did not know it was made into a movie by Peter Farrelly starring Zac Efron as "Chick" Donohue, the author and star of the book. It is non-fiction. I actually found a short documentary on YouTube about the 50th reunion of the characters in the story. The film also stars  Russell Crowe, and follows the true story of Donohue, who as a young veteran sneaks into the Vietnam War to deliver some beer to his friends, who are serving their duty. I give the book a 2.5 (Good to Great). The story is great but the writing is only good. It is a quick read.

Little Women

This was the only book I read from my bucket list to read the greatest books. It was the 54th book I have read from my list. Little Women is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869 at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details their passage from childhood to womanhood. Loosely based on the lives of the author and her three sisters,  it is classified as an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical novel.

I give it a 3.5 (Great to Excellent). I am amazed how a book written almost 150 years ago, covers a lot of the same problems people go through in life now. She is a great writer and I may have to try some of her other books, but probably after I finish my list.

The Dark Tower - Gunslinger

The Gunslinger is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in the Dark Tower series. It was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981. King substantially revised the novel in 2003; this version has remained in print ever since, with the subtitle RESUMPTION.

The story centers around Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who has been chasing his adversary, "the man in black," for many years. The novel fuses Western fiction with fantasy, science fiction, and horror, following Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake , who travels with him part of the way.

This book I have owned forever and never had read. I usually love King but I struggled reading this story. I would probably have liked it more if I read it when I was younger. It is book #1 of the series he wrote and I do own a few more that I will read, but it won't be all at once. I give the book a 2.0 (Good).

Robots and Empire

Robots and Empire is a science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov, published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, which consists of many short stories (collected in I, Robot, The Rest of the Robots, The Complete Robot, Robot Dreams, Robot Visions, and Gold) and five novels (including The Positronic Man, The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and The Robots of Dawn).

Robots and Empire is part of Asimov's consolidation of his three major series of science fiction stories and novels into a single future history: his Robot series, his Galactic Empire series and his Foundation series. (Asimov also carried out this unification in Foundation's Edge and its sequel.)

Are you confused yet? It is the first book I read in 2023 and I give the book a 2.5 (Good to Great). It was that kind of read.

So what happened in March. I am finding that a lot of the books I want to read are long (greater than 1000 pages) or complex to read. I started Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace but stopped due to complexity. War and Peace I bought, but it is huge and filled with lots of Russian names. I went to the library yesterday to pick up Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. It's bigger than my refrigerator.

To catch up to my Goodreads goal, I need to read 12 books in Quarter 2. Wish me good luck!! 

Can  you suggest any short novels?