365 Books a Year Challenge: 46 Books in December

I have finished by quest to read a book a day and did a bit better (though more accounting the amount of graphic novels than anything else). I read 412 books this year. Not too shabby! With the end of the semester and some down time, I was hoping to read more traditional books but being hit with the flu and then the cold, made reading a bit harder. However, I still had a good mixture of reads that I enjoyed. So here are some of the best reads this month.

Newtown: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak

Lysiak offers an investigative look at the Sandy Hook mass shooting in December 2012. It's a powerful and intriguing book that balances the facts with the emotion. He introduces the reader to all of the major people involved, sharing their history and they potential. He does nto sugarcoat things but at the same time, he proves respectful in his descriptions. It is a fascinating look at what unfolded and more importantly, a good look at the complexity of the challenges around mass shootings.

Book cover: Reducing Gun Violence. Source: http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1357930583l/17220135.jpg

Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis by Daniel Webster

Hand in hand with the above book is this book which was also born out of the Sandy Hook massacre. While Lysiak's book puts a face to the events and challenges around mass shootings, Webster's collection of essays by different authors approach the mass shootings from any analytical vantage point, using research and existing evidence around gun violence to determine ways and opportunities of reducing it. It offers many different approaches, none of which are monumental or unachievable and many of which do not necessarily challenge most people's thoughts around legality and appropriate level of response.

Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger

Mayer-Schönberger offers an interesting look at what the world can look like with the increasing use of big-data t reveal correlations and connections of access. There is certainly much to be concerned about as he points out in using big data to identify correlations over causations, but there is much to gained and it will be a tightly-walked line (if done right). The book helps to better explain what is meant by "big data" and the myriad ways it can be used (or has been used) to improve the world.

Scared Straight: Why It's So Hard to Accept Gay People and Why It's So Hard to Be Human by Robert Minor

Minor's book is rather complex for the lay reader but extremely profound and useful for everyone as it identifies the elements of "straight culture" that reinforce a variety of expectations, demands, and problems in our culture. He teases out a variety of perceptions about how our culture pushes people towards being "straight." He's careful to distinguish between being heterosexual and being straight, seeing them as quite different. That is, heterosexuality is understood as the desire and attraction to members of the (perceived) opposite sex whereas "straight" is the ways that attraction is expected to be displayed. It's a powerful book that many could glean much from as it comes to how we understand our own and others sexuality.

The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth

Ruth's The Lost Boy threw me for a loop. I anticipated it to be just another graphic novel to enjoy but he craftily assembles a story that fits into the tradition of The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, or the Bridge to Terabithia. It is a typical fantasy coming-of-age story of a boy who moves into a house where he discovers that another boy has gone missing and gets entangled in finding out what happened to the "lost boy." I found the art and the story just well developed and engaging. I may have to go back and read some of his other stuff.

Reading Tallies for Each Month

So for a recap of the previous months and what I've read, you can check out the link listing below or check out my Goodreads profile for a listing of all books read this year (and previously).

So that my reading challenge for 2013. I've honed in on my challenge for 2014 and will be updated everyone on that shortly. For those that have actually read and kept up to date with my ramblings on my monthly readings-thanks!

BOOKS

Social Media for Educators: Strategies and Best Practices by Tanya Joosten
Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe by Tim Leong

AUDIOBOOKS

Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold
Increasing Our Longing to Help Others by Pema Chödrön
The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World by Howard Gardner
The Motherfucker With the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Wayne of Gotham by Tracy Hickman
Newtown: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak
Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger
Scared Straight: Why It's So Hard to Accept Gay People and Why It's So Hard to Be Human by Robert Minor
Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis by Daniel Webster
Pretty Fire by Charlayne Woodward
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: A Drama In Two Acts by Herman Wouk

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Wolverine: Season One by Ben Acker
All-New X-Men, Vol. 3: Out of Their Depth by Brian Michael Bendis
Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown
Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown
Sex: Book One: The Summer of Hard by Joe Casey
Iron Man: Season One by Howard Chaykin
Avengers Assemble: Science Bros by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Monkey King, Volume 1: Birth of the Stone Monkey by Wei Dong Chen
Harbinger Volume 2: Renegades TP by Joshua Dysart
Harbinger Vol. 3: Harbinger Wars by Joshua Dysart
Fantastic Four Volume 2: Road Trip by Matt Fraction
Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: New Departure, New Arrivals by Matt Fraction
Goliath by Tom Gauld
Invincible Universe Volume 1 by Phil Hester
The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 3: Building! by Jonathan Hickman
Cable and X-Force, Vol. 2: Dead or Alive by Dennis Hopeless
Uncanny X-Force, Vol. 2: Torn and Frayed by Sam Humphries
Uncanny X-Force, Vol. 1: Let It Bleed by Sam Humphries
Green Lantern, Vol. 3: The End by Geoff Johns
Daredevil: Season One by Antony Johnston
The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War by Robert Kirkman
Hawk and Dove, Vol. 1: First Strikes by Rob Liefeld
The Savage Hawkman, Vol. 2: Wanted by Rob Liefeld
Batman Incorporated, Vol. 1: Demon Star by Grant Morrison
Lazarus, Vol. 1: Family by Greg Rucka
The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth
The Superior Spider-Man, Vol. 3: No Escape by Dan Slott
The Joker: Death of the Family by Scott Snyder
Thor: Season One by Matthew Sturges
Batman and Robin, Vol. 3: Death of the Family by Peter Tomasi
X-O Manowar Volume 3: Planet Death by Robert Venditti
X-Men, Vol. 1: Primer by Brian Wood
The Massive, Vol. 2: Subcontinental by Brian Wood

So what did you read in the last year that you found enjoyable, useful, or inspiring?

Did you enjoy this read? Let me know your thoughts down below or feel free to browse around and check out some of my other posts!. You might also want to keep up to date with my blog by signing up for them via email.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Search This Blog

By Any Other Nerd