A Gamer Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Reading Challenge

2019 Reading Challenge – Redemption!

My 2019 Reading Challenge was 15 books. The past couple of years I struggled to meet a 15 book reading challenge. My theory that I will be reading the Harry Dresden books this year will help. It was an absolute success! In fact I came within 30% of 16 books. I’m still setting my goal to 15 books again this year since I might choose a couple of longer books to read.

While I wasn’t a slacker on reading books this year, I was terrible about writing reviews. In fact of the 15 books I read, I only wrote reviews for a couple of them. I’ll try to be a little more diligent about writing reviews for new books I read. Granted there may be a few books I will re-read this year and I rarely write a review about books I’ve already read.

My 2019 Reading Challenge Book List

Below is my list of books I read for the Reading Challenge. You can click on those that are links to read the review of the book. If I did not write a review and/or you have a question about a book or want to talk about a book on this list, please leave a comment. Also, below the list, is my 2019 pick for the Best Read.

  • The Straggler’s Mask” by Juho Pohjalainen
  • “The Phoenix Project” by Gene Kim
  • “Summer Knight” by Jim Butcher
  • Star Wars: Leia, Princess of Alderaan” by Claudia Gray
  • Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View” by Ben Acker
  • “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo
  • Before the Storm” by Christie Golden
  • “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkein
  • “Crooked Kingdom” by Leigh Bardugo
  • “Death Masks” by Jim Butcher
  • “Star Wars: Last Shot” by Daniel Jose Older
  • “Extinct” by R.R. Haywood
  • “Blood Rites” by Jim Butcher
  • “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” by Jason Fry
  • “Night Train to Rigel” by Timothy Zahn

My Pick for the 2019 Best Read

I didn’t know which book I want to pick for 2019. I really enjoyed nearly all of these books (“The Straggler’s Mask” being the lowest one on the list). The book I re-read this year was “The Hobbit”, which I haven’t read since high school. Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows series is really great and, allegedly, she has confirmed there will be a third book. Anyone that works in the IT field either as a developer, operations, or project management, “The Phoenix Project” is a must-read. The final book of RR Haywood’s Extracted Trilogy was very satisfying and I’m loving Harry Dresden.

So where does that leave us? I really wish I had read “Before the Storm” before the Battle for Azeroth expansion launched. “Night Train to Rigel” is the first book in Timothy Zahn’s Quadrail series so I’m still getting into that. I know it comes off as favoritism to pick a Star Wars book considering how much of a Star Wars fan I am. Despite all that, I think I have to go with “Leia, Princess of Alderaan” as the 2019 Best Read. We already know how much of an amazing character Leia is, and this book fuels that idea.

I also picked this book because it is now 3 years since we lost Carrie Fisher, and The Rise of Skywalker closes a chapter on Leia’s story. Therefore this choice also pays homage to one of the most extraordinary characters of the Star Wars Universe.

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

 

Biggs 2020 New Years Intentions

We are not only starting a new year in 2020, we are starting a new decade. Nobody really makes decade resolutions and I’m certainly not going to make decade intentions. I’ll be turning 40 in this decade, which is hard to imagine and, be that as it may, I’m not intimidated. This isn’t a post about turning 40 (perhaps I will write one when we get closer to March). I am going to make the usual 2020 New Years Intentions; hopefully I will have better luck in a couple of the categories.

Biggs Labs – Smart Home/Professional Development

I didn’t make any progress on the Smart Home front. I did a little bit of research since Samsung kind of hamstrung me with the changes to the app. Hopefully I can still do what I hope to be able to do using Home Kit and Raspberry Pi. However that isn’t going to be my highest priority project.

I was supposed to revamp one of my project web sites in 2019, including the gift list. However I had a really busy summer at work and writing extra curricular code was not appealing. Therefore I have quite a list of updates I want to do to make this site a little more useful to other family members. In fact some of the development research I will do may also be applicable to things I’ll be doing at work.

2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge

I did well for my reading challenge in 2019. In fact I almost read more than I intended. In 2020 I think I’m still going to play it safe and set my reading challenge total to 15 again. I do have several more Dresden books to read which, again, should help my total. Unfortunately I read all my newer Star Wars books this year. I have a few older Star Wars books (now considered “Legends”) which I might dig into and some re-reading of some great books.

I’ll get into more details about my reading ambitions in another post. Keep an eye out because after I finish a book, sometimes I take the time to write up a review.

2020 New Years Health Goals

Year after year, this category continues to be where I am most successful. My goal was to complete a 10K in 2019 and that is exactly what I did. In fact, I ran the whole thing, thus resulting in a new personal best. In 2020 I feel running another 10K is the obvious decision, however I do need to challenge myself. Therefore I am going to try to complete a 10K and 5K back-to-back (at the Flying Pig). Essentially I will run a 15K, which is approximately 9.3 miles.

Mental health is just as important as physical health. I did not reduce my social media interaction as much as I said I would. Only recently did I step away from Twitter but I’m still getting on Facebook a little too obsessively. However I am taking extra steps to reduce the negativity on Facebook by leaving groups and muting or hiding posts that I find offensive and blasphemous. So far it’s working as I’ve felt less angry after scrolling through Facebook.

I might return to Twitter, but I think I am going to wait a few weeks. I don’t want to miss more of Mark Hamill’s brilliance. Regardless, I hope to make 2020 a little more positive especially since I am turning 40. Also, it’s probably time to overcome my subtle sociopathy.

What are your 2020 New Years resolutions?

Happy New Year!

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

2018 Reading Challenge – Fail!

The 2018 Reading Challenge was 12 books. Since I barely missed 15 books from 2017, I actually started the year at 15 again thinking I could easily complete it. Half way through the year I was nearly 4 books behind so I reduced it down to 12 books.

I wish there is some brilliant excuse I could use to explain why I only read 9 books. I hit a huge lull late in the summer, which is right around the time I got a new First Reads book from Goodreads. Little did I know that book is over 600 pages. When it’s past June I rarely try to start a book that long so late in the year.

My 2018 Reading Challenge Book List

At any rate, below you will see the list of books I did read in 2018. I tried to write a review for all of them so feel free to click on the name if you’re curious about my thoughts. Below the list is the book I chose as the 2018 Best Read.

My Pick for the 2018 Best Read

Picking the best read for 2018 is difficult. These are 9 excellent books to choose from so its hard to pick just one! I want to go with Timothy Zahn, the man, the myth the legend. However, picking Timothy Zahn won’t work because 1) I read two of his books and I can’t pick just one; and 2) it’s Timothy frakking Zahn! It also wouldn’t be fair to pick Ready Player One because I re-read that one and I’d prefer to pick something that I hadn’t read before.

So there are the immersive worlds and cultures of the Olympus Union and the Shadowhunters, the suspenseful time travel of Executed or the remaining Star Wars books. It’s hard to pick one but I feel obligated to do so. I really enjoyed reading about Phasma’s origin and Ahsoka is my absolute favorite Jedi Padawan. However I’ve always had a soft spot for Ventress so learning more about her as written by Christie Golden is serendipitous. It is for that reason that I chose Dark Disciple as the 2018 best read.

FWIW, I recommend reading every book on this list!

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

 

Biggs 2019 New Years Intentions

Time to make those conventional New Year intentions. I wasn’t very successful in 2018; while I did make an effort to fulfill my intentions, I fell short on a few. The Reading Challenge and Professional Skills Development is where I was really lacking. The important thing is I never gave up attempting to meet my intentions, many resolutions barely survive the third week. Be that as it may, here are my 2019 New Years intentions.

Biggs Labs – Smart Home

I actually made some strides in my home automation projects and I will go into detail of that in the upcoming “Year in Review” post. Just know that Samsung really handicapped me with the sudden change to the app. I’m not really sure what the goal will be for 2019 for any of my home automation endeavors (other than fixing the bugs and issues from 2018). I know we have a few more things we want to integrate, we just haven’t purchased them yet and I’m not entirely sure I’m done with the Raspberry Pi and home automation integration. Watch for a (long overdue) Biggs Lab post in 2019.

2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge

really dropped the ball with my 2018 Reading Challenge. I set a reasonable goal of 12 books and only (just barely) finished 9. I’m resetting that goal to 12 books again for 2019 and I have a few Dresden books in mind to help me hit that goal. I also have some Star Wars books that are going to carry over from 2018 plus a couple more I’ve added to the list for this year.

As is always my style, when I complete a book I will post a corresponding book review that you will find both on Goodreads and on Amazon.

2019 Fitness and Health Goals

This category is going to be a big focus area for me this year. Of all the areas I’ve been making intentions, this is the one where I’m most successful. I will be kicking things up a notch in 2019. Now that I have two 5k races under my belt, I think it’s time to try for the 10k this year. Granted this isn’t necessarily just my choice; I’ve been encouraging friends to run more and they, in turn, are now challenging me to run a 10k. I will also be putting a heavier emphasis on additional fitness training (i.e. strength and core workouts).

Also, a few years ago I said that when I hit 40 I’m going to stop drinking so much soda. Therefore, since 2019 is the year before I turn 40 I am going to start by reducing the amount of pop I’m drinking on a daily basis. Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will have completely stopped. I’m also going to alter my diet a bit by more than just reducing portions. I’m going to watch what else is in my food before I eat it. No, I am NOT going vegan (I’d rather castrate myself with a broken coke bottle).

Mental health is just as important as physical health and I believe there is something very toxic to my mental health in my life. Social Media. The things I see on Facebook and Twitter sometime infuriate me to the point where I say and think things that are not very nice. I need to cleanse myself of that toxicity. Therefore, I will be greatly reducing my social media footprint in 2019. I’m going to reduce how much time I spend on Facebook and Twitter; hopefully down to maybe once or twice a week. I will find out what is going on the old fashioned way, talk to people. (I know, not very introverted of me).

I’m going to stop here. I don’t want to go into the Professional Skills Development this year as I don’t know what I’m going to do in that area. It’s so volatile that I cannot accurately decide on a skill set to focus on. So with that said …

Happy New Year!!

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

Biggs 2018 New Years Intentions

A new year means new goals (remember, I don’t make “New Years resolutions”). As we look forward to my 2018 New Years intentions, I am also going to review my 2017 intentions. I focused on four areas for 2017; Home Automation projects, Reading Challenge, Fitness and Health and Professional Skills Development. In the spirit of full disclosure and accountability, I was about 50% successful. Therefore, I guess as the first goal for the new year I plan to be more successful accomplishing the goals I set.

Biggs Labs – Smart Home

I completed nothing for my home automation project! I was hoping to have installed the dimmer switches and the Siri integration and none of that happened. If I can get my wife on board to help encourage me to work on it this year I think I should get this done in 2018. A potential roadblock is a broken SD card and lack of access to an SD card reader. I really want to get Siri working with our home automation. As I said last time, I just need to sit down and really focus on this task.

 2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge

I already went into more detail about my reading challenge results from last year; suffice it to say I was 14/15 despite what Goodreads said. The reading challenge goals for this year will be a legitimate 15 books, starting with reading Ready Player One again (in anticipation for the movie). I also have quite the list of Star Wars books to read (which begins with Thrawn), the Extracted trilogy and, of course, more Dresden Files.

As I complete books I will often post a book review. All my book reviews will be posts here but I will also post them on Goodreads and Amazon

 Fitness and Health

I was marginally successful with my wellness goals last year. The biggest accomplishment was actually running in my first 5K; last year I said if I miss all my other goals, completing a 5K would not be one of them. Mission accomplished! I will be running the Flying Pig 5K again this year and my goal this time will be to finish it faster.

As I have done every year since 2013, I completed the Walk to Mordor Nerd Fitness challenge. This year I’m sure to complete it again but I do need to start working my way through the second half of the challenge. If my math is correct I would need to start reaching an average daily step goal of 16,000 step. It is quite a lofty step goal considering I only average about 11-12k now.

Professional Skills Development

If it wasn’t my home automation projects where I dropped the ball in 2017 then it was in this category. I will admit that with all the changes that happened last year, job wise, I didn’t have many opportunities to focus on new skills. Last year I chose Swift and Angular 2 as potential new skills to pursue. This year my focus will more closely match what is needed for my career at my new job. The fact that time for innovation is supposed to be part of our weekly work routine will be wonderful help!

My 2018 goals do not seem as ambitious as they were in 2017 but perhaps its better that way. Maybe I wasn’t successful because I tried to accomplish too much. This year I am going to keep my goals a bit more reasonable. Also, I think I’ve said enough about the New Year, time to return to your regularly scheduled programming.

/MTFBWY

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

My 2017 Reading Challenge – “Almost There”

2017 Reading Challenge - Almost ThereMy 2017 Reading Challenge was, again, 15 books within a calendar year. While Goodreads says I finished all my books, I actually only completed 14. I thought I had completed all 15 books because that is what Goodreads told me. It turns out that a book I started but did not finish still counted as having read it. Granted it was a book I was reading again so perhaps that is why Goodreads counted it. So, without further ado here is …

My 2017 Reading Challenge Book List

If I wrote a review for one of the books I read, you can click on the title of the book to read the review (if it interests you).

My Pick for the 2017 Best Read

I actually read quite a few good books in 2017. I did have a hard time picking a “best read” for the year. This was the year I took my first steps into the world of Harry Dresden, C. Greenwood was really on a roll with a couple new fantasy series but it really came down to two surprising books. I returned to the Star Wars universe again with Shatterpoint and the book was really good, I loved learning more about Mace Windu and Depa Billaba. If you’re a Star Wars fan, and you do not feel jaded by the prequels, I would really recommend this book (check out my review if you’re interested).

I think, in the end, I have to go with Extracted as my 2017 Best Read. This book was a Kindle First and it is extremely captivating. It’s pretty classic Sci Fi with time travel, a future at risk, normal people with latent extraordinary abilities. I will be reading the second book in this series this year and I’m really looking forward to it.

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

 

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