First, this post is coming way later than normal because once again the weather decided to pound Houston with rain. The city in which I live got something like 11 inches of rain just yesterday! And the power went out around 10:00 last night and still isn’t back on yet. And I have no phone. So, I’m writing this at Fedex.
A long time ago I asked y’all to pick my next read by voting in a poll. I chose five random books from the Amazon 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime List and asked that y’all vote to pick which one I read next. With the power outage of the last 24 hours, I’m finally getting around to finishing that first book y’all picked and decided that I might as well ask the same quetion once again.
So, I’m going to just pick five books from the Amazon list and ask that y’all vote to decide what I read next.
I don’t really know anything about these books, once again. But I decided to include the two choices from my first poll that recieved the most votes but did not win. But I won’t tell y’all which books those are.
So, tell me what I should read next. And feel free to vote and comment to make your case.
I have a lot of comments that I’ll be responding to once I have power back.
Johnny Reads 
You Houston weather made the news here in Alberta.
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I think it made the news everywhere. It’s ridiculous. My neighbor drives a Civic and left it parked on the streets last night. Stupid. It didn’t start today.
We were without power for almost 20 hours.
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It looks pretty scary. Be safe!
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It’s worse on the news than on the ground. There’s only a couple places with any water left. The drainage system isn’t bad here. But this morning until maybe…9:00, it was just standing water. But it’s okay now. There are still some cars abandoned from yesterday, but I haven’t heard of any deaths related to the storm here. In other parts of the state the flooding was washing away homes. Thankfully that didn’t happen here.
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But…but… I thought you didn’t take book recommendations from people. I’m confused.
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I don’t. But these aren’t just random ones. They’re books from a list I’m working through that I’ve picked.
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What was the last book on this list you read?
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Well I’m currently reading what was voted a couple months ago. But the last one that I finished was The Fault in Our Stars.
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I don’t remember the last vote.
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1984 was the top vote getter.
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Oh!!! Such a good book!
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Shhhh. Not done yet.
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My lips are sealed.
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I’ll hopefully have a post up about it within the week.
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I’m glad things are getting better down that way. Good luck!!
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I’m glad things are getting better down there. Good luck!!!
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Thanks! I’m just glad I don’t have to take a boat to work. 😂
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Blimey – Houston has SERIOUS weather. No mucking about with a rain shower here or there, but full-on watery apocalypse. Best of luck with the recovery.
1984 is amazing – what good taste your followers have.
I’ve only read two of the books from your list – Fahrenheit 451 and Life after Life. Very different books. I think Kate Atkinson is a very good writer and constructed the book well, though you have to stick with it at the beginning. But Ray Bradbury was a genius – the whole idea of the ‘firemen’… Hmm. Probably Fahrenheit 451, but make sure you read Life after Life later 🙂
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The best part is that it rained for a good hour or two just this morning. It never ends. Well I haven’t finished 1984, so I’ll have to reserve judgment. I’ve never read either author. And I honestly know absolutely nothing about either book. I just picked them at random from the list.
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Lor, let’s hope it dries up soon.
That’s a good technique for choosing books. Makes you read something outside your own usual choices – a literary lucky dip.
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It won’t. It rains here all the time. But I’m not floating down the street or anything. I actually never choose books this way, except for this list. A literate lucky dip. That’s an interesting little phrase.
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Maybe you need a sun lamp or two, just to give you the impression of a nice day?
I’m tempted to employ your technique myself to force me to read outside of my usual genres and authors.
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Haha we have some nice days. Hm. I don’t want to influence your book reading habits. So…you should do whatever you want to. And read whatever you want to. Haha but I really don’t even remember why I started reading from the list. I mean, there are plenty of similar lists out there that have been out longer. I think I just wanted to read more classics? I have no clue anymore.
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I like it, though. Has it been successful as far as reading ‘outside your box’ goes?
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Define successful.
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Well, have you enjoyed anything you’ve read or at least gained anything from reading? Are you enjoying 1984?
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I liked The Fault in Our Stars. Loved Moneyball. I thought the first Harry Potter was pretty good. Hated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. So not much different from typical reading.
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Ha! A real mixed bag, then. Gonna read any more Potter or is that your lot? And The Twits is a better Dahl – in my opnion.
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Of course. I love the series. I’m holding off on rushing through it because how many fans of the series still get to read it through for the first time? I do. I’ve read Chamber of Secrets. And I’ll never read another Dahl book. You have no idea how much I disliked the one I read. I wrote a posy about it last year.
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Ha! Ha! I love how passionate you are – both loving and hating books with such conviction. Dahl is such a revered figure here in the UK, though I admit I enjoy the idea of him rather than the experience of reading him. The Great Glass Elevator was REALLY tedious ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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I know he is. But oh well. I don’t even know what book you’re referring to.
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The only novel I’ve read here is Gone Girl, and I almost voted for it….but I honestly think that book resonates with women more than it resonates with men. I don’t like to generalize, but that book has a VERY strong message to women and you almost have to have had personally experienced the contents of that message to even recognize it. I could elaborate, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Maybe give it a try eventually, but don’t go in expecting anything more than a regular crime book.
So I voted for Ray Bradbury, because he’s universally appealing and a literary standard. I haven’t read that particular book, but I’ve read a lot of his short stories and enjoyed them. I’m of the mind that everyone should read at least a bit of Bradbury before they die. 😉
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Well I already know a little about Gone Girl. It’s probably the only one I’m familiar with of the five. And I’ve actually never read any Ray Bradbury that I can remember. Not even in high school or college.
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[…] ← Want to Pick my Next Read? #2 […]
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I actually bought Life After Life because it sounded like a great premise. I read maybe the first 20 pages and put it down. I think the concept is great, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, this is one of two books I have ever abandoned at the beginning in my entire reading life (that I can recall anyway).
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Hmmm. You’ve only started and not finished two books in your life? That’s nothing.
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[…] PPPS: Today is the last day for you to vote on which book I read next from the Amazon list. It’s a close vote, so get to it! You can vote here. […]
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