Book a Week in 2013 - week fifty two wrap up

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday, dear hearts!  We have come to week 52 in our quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  Welcome back to all our readers and to all who are following our progress.  Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 Books blog to link to your reviews.  The link is below in my signature.

 

52 Books Blog - 2013 Year End Wrap Up:  It's official - Winter has arrived. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Los Posadas or Happy Winter solstice. Which also means it is time for our year end wrap up. This year went by way too fast in my opinion, was a bit more stressful than normal and I'm ready to relax for the next couple weeks, getting cozy on the couch with some good books. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's year end list of reads, which is sure to expand our wish lists and cause our already teetering TBR piles to grow exponentially. 

 

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 
2. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? 
3. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 
4. Most thrilling unputdownable book? 
5. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? 
6. One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 
7. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? 
8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)
9. What book would you recommend everyone read?  
10. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges? 

To round out the rest of the year, we'll be having a winter read-along,  reading all those books with winter in the title or set in the season of winter.  Which works quite well if you are still reading books set in the Antarctic for the Continental Challenge.  Join me in reading Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale.   

Thank you everyone for joining in on our reading journey once again. I'm happy to have shared the experience with all of you and feel richer for it.  :grouphug:   So happy we'll be doing it all again next year.  :cheers2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 51

 

 

[Robin M]

I'm currently reading Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale and loving it.

 

 

 

This article 5 Reasons Why Plato and Aristotle Still Matter today is the reason Mrs. Santa is getting me Cave and the Light by Arthur Herman for Christmas. And this article 15 Books that Will Change the Way You Look at Robots is why she is getting me Excession by Iain Banks.   :coolgleamA:

[Jane in NC]

Cinnamon and Gunpowder is a fun romp (Thanks Stacia!) but the building action toward the end was just too much for me.  Over the top for Hollywood?  It was apparent early on that the novel would translate well to the big screen but the action was just too gratuitous for this staid reader. 

 

Well I have visited an insufficient number of Old Friends this year so I think I will pay a call to Miss Read before the year is out.  Maybe one of her Christmas novels or maybe I shall return to Thrush Green, my favorite of the Miss Read series.

 

Cinnamon does have great food metaphors:  "Once baked, the bread cannot return to flour."

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Kareni]

While I have stacks and stacks of unread books, I've actually been doing some rereading over the past few days. 

 

Lord's Fall (A Novel of the Elder Races) by Thea Harrison

and

The Night Is Mine (The Night Stalkers) by M. L. Buchman

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Heather in Neverland]

How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal?

So far 54 but I will probably finish 3 more before the year is over.

 

What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories? Top 5 least favorites?

Favorites were...

Beautiful Ruins

The Last Camellia

The Geography of Bliss

Nothing to Envy

Unbroken

 

Least favorites...

Big, Dead, Place

That Old Cape Magic

 

One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it?

Unbroken

 

Most thrilling unputdownable book?

Nothing to Envy

 

Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on rereading it again in 2014?

The Geography of Bliss

 

One book you thought you would love, but didn't?

Allegiant

 

Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year?

The Geography of Bliss

Nothing to Envy

 

Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share? (Share a shelfie)

Nothing to Envy

 

What book would you recommend everyone read?

Nothing to Envy

 

What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?

Getting a book a week finished.

 

Mini challenges I completed were the dewey decimal system and the author from each continent.

[mumto2]

Last night I was determined to finish "Red Moon" by Benjamin Percy but fell asleep with 100 pages to go. Not loving it but do want to finish to see how it ends. Hopefully tonight. Needless to say this one won't be listed as a top 5. ;)

 

Due to my early bedtime I was wide awake at 5 am so I finished off a couple of books that I have been reading on the kindle without disturbing my dh. :) "Gone" the latest in the Michael Bennett series by James Patterson was not bad. I like the 10 adopted children being raised by a widowed police detective, his priest grandfather, and the Irish nanny, storyline. An enjoyable read.

 

I also finished a very light vampire book by Lyndsay Sands called "Bite Me if You Can". It is #6 in her Argeneau Vampire series which is good fun if you enjoy vampires done with a bit of comedy.

[LostSurprise]

I'm currently reading Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale and loving it.

 

 

 

I read Winter's Tale a few years ago. I loved it. I did put it down for 6 months or so in the third quarter when it lost some of it's magic, but the last quarter was a good ending. A great Winter selection. I want to ice skate down a timeless river. 

[Onceuponatime]

1. I completed 101 books this year! I don't think I've read this much since before I had kids. It's probably because my life has gotten simpler and I'm only schooling 2 children who don't need a whole lot of coaching at the moment. This doesn't even count the half dozen or so books that I started and didn't finish.

 

2. This is a hard one. Since I had my books divided into five categories, I will pick one from each.

Mystery:The Forgotten Garden- Morton

Juvenile: Wonderstruck- Selznick

General Fiction: Mrs. Queen Takes the Train- Kuhn

Religion/Spirituality: Beyond Religion:Ethics For a Whole World- Dalai Lama

General Non-fiction: a tie between A More Perfect Heaven-Sobel and The Black Swan- Taleb.

If you asked me tomorrow, I might have a different answer.

 

3. I never thought I would read something by the Dalai Lama, and I was surprised how readable his books are.

 

4. The Bookman's Tale- Lovett, The Night Circus- Morgensteren. I'm finding it a challenge to think back and remember how I felt about each book.

 

5. I might go back and read selections out of Labyrinths by Borges

 

6. The Island of the Day Before- Eco, ETA: Water Babies-Kingsley

 

7. The Black Swan- Taleb, The books by the Dalai Lama. I guesss I'm kind of repeating myself here.

 

8. I'm feeling too lazy right now to go look something up.

 

9. See number 7.

 

10. I liked broadening my horizons with the continental challenge. In the past, I've rarely read outside North America and Europe.

 

I'm still reading The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill. The first couple of chapters were surprising because he goes into detail about the pre-Abrahamic religious practices in Sumeria, and it is quite um racy reading. I guess he's setting the stage, so to speak.

 

Since I probably won't be reading Haruki Murakami in January, I've decided to do a winter theme for that month and have some books lined up. I've never really done much planning of what I will read in the future, but I'm already looking to see into which categories I can fit the books I have on my "to read" list.

 

ETA: I've got to say that in 2013 I enjoyed a new (to me) author, Sharyn McCrumb, and am looking forward to trying some more of her books.

[Ali in OR]

I think I'll try to come back later to recap the whole year.

 

I finished Carol Dweck's Mindset and brought up enough ideas from there (like "I think the Oregon Ducks football team has a fixed mindset. When a loss puts them out of the running for the National Championship they kind of fall apart. They schedule easy non-conference teams to get a win instead of playing someone who will challenge them to improve their game") that now my dh is reading it.

 

I have a couple books going now and more on hold at the library. I'm about half-way through John Williams' Stoner for our January book club book and it's getting me down a bit. The bad guys are going to win--they're ruining Stoner's chance at happiness and it's making me not want to read. I've just barely started The Monuments Men. Bad Monkeys, The Nine Tailors, and now A Guide for the Perplexed are now waiting for me at the library. Those titles should all sound familiar; I read this thread and just put stuff on hold and it turns up sooner or later. I don't really want all of them turning up at the same time though! And I really want to read C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters over break to try to determine if I want to do that with my girls or in our Sunday School class that includes them and other people too.

[Just Robyn]

I finished the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. I liked this one better towards the end, so I wouldn't mind reading Jules Verne's sequel. Then I read Much Ado About Nothing, which I thought was just silly and definitely not my favorite Shakespeare so far. 

 

I am currently reading Louis L'Amour's memoir Education of a Wandering Man. It is interesting to read about the 1920s and 30s along with his ideas about education and learning.

 

I'm also reading the second Harry Potter book, and Jim C. Hines' Libriomancer, which is fun but not particularly well-written. It's not terrible, I'll finish it and it's basically entertaining, but - big information dumps ("So, tell me about X." "Okay! [insert paragraph explaining how the character's magic works.]), and the way the romance is written is not good for me - makes me think of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, and makes me think the author is an overly-geeky creeper who thinks too much about bOOks because he never gets to rEAd them. - The mind of a fourteen-year-old boy in a twenty-somethings character. -

[prairiegirl]

I tried to quote the questions from Robin's post but my blasted computer is acting up and won't let me so I will just number the questions. 

 

1) I had a wonderful reading year this year.  My best ever.  I still didn't  read as much as most of you here but I am happy with my number.  So far (I am still reading a few)  I have read 71.  Since we started 52 books in a week I have only made 52 one year so 71 is good for me.

 

2) My top 5 (okay, 6) are: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

 

                          The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

 

                           The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Stedman

 

                            Astray by Emma Donoghue

 

                             Desiring the Kingdom by James K.A. Smith

 

                            A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman

 

3) I was pleasantly surprised by Hosseini's  new book.  I expected it to be upsetting and depressing like his previous 2 books--this one  was but on a much lesser level.

 

4) Thrilling--hmmm.  I don't know if I have one that I couldn't  put down.  Hmmm.  Maybe Divergent by Victoria Roth.  I didn't  put this one on my top 5 because the other 2 books in this series were not as good so I feel duped by the author.  But I couldn't  put the first one down.

 

6)  I thought that I would love the latest Wally Lamb book (I can't remember it's name.)  I am a huge Lamb fan so I was really looking forward to it.  I just could not get into it.  I couldn't  even get to page 20.  That was discouraging.

 

7)  There were 2 books that made an impact on me this year.  'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'  is a book that will stay with me for awhile.  I loved Harold.   Also, 'A Million Little Ways'  struck deep with me.  I am going through a rough time right now and reading about finding my art is what I need to help smooth out the edges.

 

Robin,  I have been doing 52 books since you started this in 2009. My reading habits and choices have changed in the past 5 years--all for the better--and it is because of the accountability that this group has given me.  I have read some great books due to the recommendations of those here in this group.  Thank you for doing this every week.  Your consistency and love of everything books is appreciated.   :grouphug:

[Stacia]

 

• How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal?

   

  80 so far. Might be at 81 or 82 by the end of the year (or maybe not). Didn’t necessarily have a goal other than 52. I think I was more interested in beating my page count from last year (which I really didn’t think I’d be able to do). I did beat it – I read over 22K pages this year.

   

• What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories? Top 5 least favorites?

   

  With some serious culling of my list, my top 8 favorites:

  A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

  A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

  All Men are Liars by Alberto Manguel

  If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino

  Borges and the Eternal Orangutans by Luis Fernando Verissimo

  Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

  The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs

  The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner

   

  Least favorites (of the books I finished):

  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

  Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

  UFOs, JFK, & Elvis by Richard Belzer

  The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

   

• One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it?

   

  A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

   

• Most thrilling unputdownable book?

   

  Either Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway or Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

   

• Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on rereading it again in 2014?

   

  No, but I rarely reread books.

   

• One book you thought you would love, but didn't?

   

  The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I gave it over 200 pages of trying to like it, but I just never could. I finally abandoned it.

   

• Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year?

   

  Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson

   

• Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share? (Share a shelfie)

   

  I think I love covers with faces...

   

  Quotes that I saved this year...

   

  From A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki:

   

  “Sometimes when she told stories about the past her eyes would get teary from all the memories she had, but they weren't tears. She wasn't crying. They were just the memories, leaking out.â€

From Borges and the Eternal Orangutans by Luis Fernando Verissimo:

 

“Imagine the marvels we would experience if we believed in the things in which we don't believe.â€

From Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway:

 

“The trouble with shooting people, Edie Banister now remembers, is that it's so hard to do just one.â€

“You've picked up a rummy habit," James Banister said cordially as they approached one another. "Sort of a crouch. You look a bit... well, I'm sorry, but you look a bit Victor Hugo, if you catch my drift. Would you like to adjourn to a cathedral or something?â€

From The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs:

 

“Would you ever purposefully misappropriate syntax?â€

“I was once a Webelo scout; but then they refused to give me a badge for smoking cigarettes so I quit.â€

“This story was not written for people who do not know what I'm talking about.â€

“I began writing this story by subverting the dominant discourse, but that did not last long. My story decided to assert its independence. I tried to rupture all vestiges of received form, but my story fought back. It wanted to go live with its Aristotelian parents. "I'm sick of being experimented on," it said. "What's so lame about catharsis?" Then it stormed out of the barber shop, mid trim, and fumbled down the sidewalk, weak from surgery, thin in description, gaping with holes, and absolutely riddled with bruised sentences. I watched it with binoculars, but decided not to chase after it. I never liked that story anyway.

What book would you recommend everyone read?

 

Hmmm. That’s a really tough one. I love to recommend books, but otoh, I often feel like the style of book I enjoy is not necessarily a style that many others enjoy. Lol.

 

For non-fiction, I’d recommend:

The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel

Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson

 

For fiction, I’d recommend:

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway or Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff for those who want action/thriller type fun

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute or Sweet Dreams by Michael Frayn if you want something charming

The Complete Works of Marvin K. Mooney by Christopher Higgs or If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino if you want experimental fiction

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki or The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner or The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition by Rikki Ducornet for atmospheric/historical fiction

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif if you like dark satire

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe and Le Sphinx de Glaces by Jules Verne if you need an Odd Couple/Oscar & Felix fix & your tv is on the fritz

The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt if you want fairy tales for adults

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett or The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats by Hesh Kestin if you want hard-boiled men

All Men are Liars by Alberto Manguel or Borges and the Eternal Orangutans by Luis Fernando Verissimo if you are craving a mystery

 

What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?

 

My favorite part is reading everyone’s posts, comments, conversations. I love this thread! Thank you, Robin, and everyone. I look forward to seeing all of you every single time I log on here! The challenges I did meet this year were reading more than 52 books, reading at least one book from every continent, and choosing a book by its cover. I also did the October spooky reading.

[Kim in Appalachia]

 

 

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 

I read 30 books.  I didn't have a number goal, I just love to read and read as much as I am able.

1. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites?    

This is always hard.  I don't know if I can just pick stories.  My favorite was definitely Murakami.  I think Wind-Up Bird edged out Kafka on the Shore, but it's a hard choice.  Both were amazing and I can't stop thinking about them.  Number 2 would be everything I read by Ursala Le Guin.  Maybe I can stick the EarthSea cycle together, and then Left Hand of Darkness.  Her writing is like poetry.  She has the most beautiful prose, and when I read her books they convey a sense of peace.  Then number 3 would be Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane.  Very enjoyable and well written.  

1. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it?   

I listened to it, I didn't read it, but Childhood's End, by Arthur C Clarke.  I thought it would be boring and dry, but it was really good.  I'm so glad we listened to it.

1. Most thrilling unputdownable book?   Snow Crash, by Stephenson
2. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014?   

I may reread one of Murakami's books.  But I don't know.  So many books, so little time...... 

1. One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 

That's a toss up between Cloud Atlas and A Thousand Splendid Suns.  I thought I would enjoy both of them, but I really disliked them both.  Cloud Atlas got on my nerves.  It started well, but then just fell apart.  I was very disappointed in the writing in A Thousand Splendid Suns. I thought it was awful.  I don't say that often about a book.

1. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year?  

Again a toss up between Murakami's books or Le Guin's.  

1. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)  

“Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past. We’re so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about everyday, too many new things we have to learn. But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.†   

 

from Kafka on the Shore

1. What book would you recommend everyone read?   

Everyone should read Murakami. I would say Wind-Up Bird is more accessible.  I will also say everyone should read Le Guin.  Dispossessed is amazing (I started that one in 2012 so I didn't include it in this list)

1. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?   

I don't challenge myself, except to make sure I make time for reading.  

 

To round out the rest of the year, we'll be having a winter read-along,  reading all those books with winter in the title or set in the season of winter.  Which works quite well if you are still reading books set in the Antarctic for the Continental Challenge.  Join me in reading Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale.    

 

I'm going to have to read that book.  I've put it off, thinking I wouldn't really enjoy it.  Hopefully I find it at the used book store. 

 

Thank you everyone for joining in on our reading journey once again. I'm happy to have shared the experience with all of you and feel richer for it.  :grouphug:   So happy we'll be doing it all again next year.  :cheers2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to week 51

 

[Jane in NC]

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 62 with perhaps another one or two before the calendar changes; I have no quantitative personal goals.
2. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? My favorites: Tom Jones (an old friend), The Old Filth Trilogy by Jane Gardam and Nature Wars (my favorite non-fiction read of the year).  The biggest stinkaroo of the year was Aleph by Paulo Coelho. Other duds included some cheesy mysteries (I really should know better) and a general state of discontent with Sustainability books. This was one of my 5/5/5 challenges. I read two decent books in the category, two shoulder shrugs. It was disappointing not to find a fifth that intrigued me.
3. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? Pym.  Not my sort of thing and I never would have read it were it not for the BaWers.  Now I can't say it thrilled me but it was better than I thought.
4. Most thrilling unputdownable book(s)?  The Old Filth Trilogy.
5. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? My Old Friends personal challenge is about rereading favorites, but I usually wait a few years between rereads.
6. One book you thought you would love, but didn't? Not sure about this one...
7. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? Stone Upon Stone--very challenging subject matter though.
8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)  I discovered author Jane Gardam this year.  Reading reviews online, I found this quote from 2011. "What I don't want is to be called an octogenarian. I saw 'Octogenarian Jane Gardam' and I thought 'Blow me!' I mean, I am, but that's not the point."
9. What book would you recommend everyone read?  I don't usually recommend books across the board. I find that reading tastes are just too personal.  Good grief--people might storm my house if I insisted everyone read Tom Jones or Richard the III.  Ooooo...Slumber party!  OK everybody!  You must read Tom Jones and Richard the III!!!!  :biggrinjester:  Red wine and cocoa at Jane's!!
10. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?  I love the chats we have on this thread!  My 5/5/5 challenge covered these categories:  Old Friends, Dusty Books, Sustainability, Dorothy Dunnett and Chunksters.  I joined in some of the mini-challenges along the way, rereading Madame Bovary for example.

 

 

P.S. May I just say that I was thrilled when fellow readers picked up some of my favorite authors, people like Peter Robinson, Barbara Pym and John Fowles? 

[LostSurprise]

How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 80(ish). I don't remember if I had a numerical goal. I did get some of my genre goals done. I did read a book from each of the 10 sections of the Dewey Decimal System. That was fun, and more challenging than I thought. So many times I skipped the Science/Math section. I usually enjoy those books but it was not a great year for concentration. I read a book from (almost) every Fiction genre section offered at my library too. I'm waiting on some Christian fiction and I may or not get to it. ;) I missed a lot of the smaller goals (continental challenge, dusty books) and was surprised at the direction my reading went in (lots of silly-fun fantasy novels, which is usually NMS). 

 

What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  

    

 

Top 5 least favorites? Dough: a Memoir, House of Stairs, Love in a Cold Climate, Like Water for Chocolate (ugh...I like LA magical realism, I like cooking, I don't mind sensuality but this just wasn't good~my only 1 star book).

 

One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 

Not as much single book as a few genre series. I zipped through The Parasol Protectorate (Victorian London sort of steampunk fantasy with werewolves and vampires. I also really enjoyed the first few of the Odd Thomas series (paranormal thrillers). 

 

Most thrilling unputdownable book? Ocean at the End of the Lane

 

One book you thought you would love, but didn't? I've finally got to the point where I like the Harry Potter series (I really disliked the first 2, the 3rd vacillated between annoying and okay, the fourth showed promise, and I liked the 5th). I was promised that I would absolutely adore the series by now if I bothered to read this far. I don't, but that's okay. The last one was enjoyable enough. 

 

Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? I'm not sure yet. Certainly it was a year that made me think about post-modernism as a dominant philosophy for our generation, something I hadn't done until now. The Little Book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis series, The Adderall Diaries, Story of Your Life and Others, The Chronoliths, Let Me In...all had some post-modernist thought and some had major post-modern themes. Sometimes I found it depressing (and I enjoyed follow up with silly fiction or attempts to make the world a better place such as The Kitchen Counter Cooking School), but it was a really enlightening year as a whole. 

 

Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)

 

 

Quotes: 

 

"...this great sense of the meaningfulness of our lives, an enormous meaning we are told, but seldom obvious. Enormous or not, life is made of small things, small happinesses chained like daisies one by one. Let the next year be such a chain for you." ~letter from Vincent Hopp to May Sarton, The House by the Sea.

 

"Freedom isn't an illusion; it's perfectly real in the context of sequential consciousness. Within the context of simultaneous consciousness, freedom is not meaningful, but neither is coercion; it's simply a different context, no more or less valid than the other. It's like that famous optical illusion, the drawing of either an elegant young woman, face turned away from the viewer, or a wart-nosed crone, chin tucked down on her chest. There's no "correct" interpretation; both are equally valid. But you can't see both at the same time. 

 

Similarly, knowledge of the future was incompatible with free will. What made it possible for me to exercise freedom of choice also made it impossible for me to know the future. Conversely, now that I know the future, I would never act contrary to that future, including telling others I know: those who know the future don't talk about it. Those who read the Book of Ages never admit to it."   ~Ted Chiang, "Stories of Your Life" 

 

"How awful we all are when we look at ourselves under a light, finally seeing our reflections. How little we know about ourselves. How much forgiveness it must take to love a person, to choose not to see their flaws, or to see those flaws and love the person anyway. If you never forgive you'll always be alone."  ~Stephen Elliott, The Adderall Diaries

 

"Though truth and falsehood be

 Near twins, yet truth a little elder is: 

 Be busy to seek her; believe me this, 

 He's not of none, nor worst, that seeks the best.

 To adore, or scorn an image, or protest, 

 May all be bad; doubt wisely; in strange way

 To stand inquiring right is not to stray; 

 To sleep, or run wrong, is."   ~John Donne, a fragment of "Satire III."

 

"You don't pass or fail at being a person, dear."   ~Neil Gaimin, The Ocean at the End of Lane.

 

 

What book would you recommend everyone read?  The Ocean at the End of the Lane or The Queen's Gambit

 

What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Taking breaks. Not worrying about if I got them done or not. Tuning in to see what everyone else is reading. Getting inspired by the chatter here.  

[JennW in SoCal]

I'm enjoying all the round ups, but confess I will have to return late to continue reading them in depth -- I have to compare your comments to the running list of titles I've collected this year.  What if one of your top 5 isn't on my list??  And of course I need to write my own.  

 

In the meantime Terry Pratchett's Hogfather was the perfect book to enjoy the last few days.  It certainly gets randomly crazy, but somehow it fits my frame of mind this time of year. 

 

I'm planning on putting my feet up and reading for a few days starting Christmas.  Just one more rehearsal and 4 Christmas Eve services to go before then...

[Lady Florida.]

I missed all of last week's thread. We had quite a busy week, and I'm looking forward to a slow, peaceful Christmas week.

• How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 

I read 78 so far, but will finish at least one more, probably two. I expect to end up with a total of 80-82.

• What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? 

I'm going to stick with fiction for my favorites. This is hard and they're in no particular order. Anna Karenina, In the Time of the Butterflies, Great Expectations, The Cuckoo's Calling and The Shadow of the Wind.

 

Least favorites, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, would be The Haunting of Hill House, Man's Search for Meaning, Live Wire, The War of the Worlds, The Outsiders. I only read that last one because I assigned it to ds but have never read it myself. He liked it. I didn't.

 

• One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 

One Hundred Years of Solitude. I don't care much for magical realism but decided I would "force" myself to read this classic. I ended up loving it.

• Most thrilling unputdownable book? 

Thrilling only in some parts, but definitely unputdownable: The Goldfinch

 

• Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? 

I'm not a re-reader of books.

• One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 

The Haunting of Hill House. I don't know that I thought I'd love it, but I didn't expect to dislike it as much as I did. 

• Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? 

This is always a tough question for me. I can't really say that books have an "impact" on me, at least not in the way of changing my life. Some are more memorable than others, but I don't consider that as having an impact.

• Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)

I'm not big on book covers, even less so now that most of my reading is done on my Kindle.

• What book would you recommend everyone read?

Do You Believe in Magic? The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine

  

• What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?

I started several of the mini-challenges, but didn't finish any. I tend to just read according to my mood and the challenges didn't allow me to do that. My favorite part? See below.

 

Thank you everyone for joining in on our reading journey once again. I'm happy to have shared the experience with all of you and feel richer for it.  :grouphug:   So happy we'll be doing it all again next year.  :cheers2:

 

 

I definitely agree. I love sharing with this group of readers. I'm also glad we had some new people joining us this year as well as some who came back after being gone.
 
 
 
 
ETA: I have no idea why every number on the list is number one. :lol:  
 
 
 
 

[mlbuchina]

Nothing new finished yet, but I am going to try and read The Last Unicorn for my last book of 2014.  We'll see if I make it.  LOL

 

I'm going to come back later and answer the questions.  I'm going to have to think about some of these...

[Rosie_0801]

How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 
 
~I was determined not to read more than 52 this year, so as to make time for other things. I will finish up book 52 before New Years. The other things turned out not to be crafts, which was my original hope, but Coursera courses. I'm an addict.
 
 

 

What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? 
 
~Least favourites were Shakespeare. I swear, there must be one I'll enjoy! Plus 'The Cardboard Crown, Martin Boyd' which I'd forgotten I'd ever read until I was most of the way through. I still don't like it. :p I don't like the 'Blue Fairy Book.' Fairy tales suck. They are full of stupid people.  :glare: 

~Most favourites were the Anne of Green Gables books because who can help but find them so? Plus 'How to Make an American Quilt,' I always love that one, and 'The Art of Fermentation,' by Sandor Ellix Katz. Actually, there were a few others too which I will relate below:
 
 

 

One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 

 

~One of the dusty books around was two stories by Joan Phipson, an Australian writer I'd never heard of. I enjoyed them very much and hope I trip over more of her work in the future. I've no idea where the book came from and am not sure if it is mine or if I've accidentally stolen it off my aunt. Oh well, she'll live without it. :p Also, 'The Best Canadian Animal Stories,' another book I have no memory of having acquired. I don't usually like short stories but many of these were very good. Rudyard Kipling's 'Just So Stories,' downloaded from Librivox turned out to be a ticklingly good experience too. Much credit to the reader for that!

 

 

 

Most thrilling unputdownable book? 

 

~'Angels of Aceh: The Compelling Story of Operation Tsunami Assist,' by Sophie York. Definitely thrilling. I'm happy to experience the thrill third hand.

 

 

Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? 
 

~No, but I'll probably re-read Garth Nix' 'Abhorsen' series. I read them most years.

 

 

One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 

~I thought I'd enjoy Alain de Botton's books more than I did. I guess he has to be a bit dry in writing, being a British philosopher and all. 'The Last Samurai,' by Helen De Witt began gleefully, but the second half made me very cross.

 

Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? 

~Probably the war correspondent style books, 'Angel of Aceh,' 'Our Woman in Kabul,' 'Tamil Tigress,' by Niromi de Soyza, even 'The Girl at the Farmhouse Gate,' by Julia Stoneham though that one was fiction. They provided vivid insights into people's lives, for the most part people I knew next to nothing about, though I knew they existed.

 

Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)

~I jotted down a couple in my quote diary this year:

1. "Her heart was as cold as a bit of pig's liver, left out on a marble slab on a frosty night."
(The Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd. Even though I hate the book, this saves it from having been a complete waste of my time.)

2a. "gossip being only a vernacular version of ethical philosophy..."
2b. "whereas the ground floor conveys a sensible and workmanlike air, with feet dug plainly and uncomplainingly into the round, the first floor takes on the character of an embroidered dress..."
(The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton)

3. "Eric: But my dear Ahmad, what happened to the initial c/k sound?"
    "Ahmad: It has been devoured by the Egyptians."
(Europe Speaks Arabic by Dr V. Abdur Rahim. That quote cracked me up. It doesn't seem quite so funny now, but I guess it tickled my funny bone at the time!)

 

What book would you recommend everyone read?  
 

~The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay, for the sheer ridiculousness of it! Much better enjoyed downloaded from Librivox than read to oneself, I must say. It's harder to get a good rant going when reading silently. :D 

What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?

~I intended to do the continent challenge, but I managed only four of the continents because it morphed into a dusty book challenge as I have a stack to read on my dresser up to the ceiling and a stack in the lounge to read to the kids, up to the ceiling. I've stuck with my challenge to persevere with Shakespeare until I've read the damned lot, years thought it may take me. I read that wretched brick of a book on the Great War and will never, ever, ever do it again! I was also determined to read more Australiana because it is not Australian literature's fault I had boring history teachers. :p 'We of the Never Never' is always good. :)

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

 I read Much Ado About Nothing, which I thought was just silly and definitely not my favorite Shakespeare so far. 

 

The modern BBC version is worth a watch, I think.

[Rosie_0801]

You might try 'Robbery Under Arms,' Eliana. I can't guarantee you'll like it of course. You like Shakespeare and poetry! :svengo: It is an Australian classic, however, and I think you might enjoy contrasting a gentleman bushranger with other, less criminal gentleman of your literary acquaintance.

[Negin]

I'll get back to reading all the replies on this thread later. I always love the wrap-up threads of the year. My wish list keeps growing with all the great suggestions. :)

 

This week I read A Town Like Alice - 3 Stars. The early part of the novel during WWII was gripping and very interesting. I loved it and could barely put it down. But after that, it just got boring. I didn’t care about her wanting to make shoes and all the excessive details – travel and otherwise – the story just went downhill from that point on. That’s also when the dialogue, particularly Jean’s groveling dialogue to Joe, drove me out of my mind. Every sentence and paragraph would have her saying, “Yes, Joe†or “Joe†this or “Joe†that. It was extremely annoying, particularly when the Joe would hardly ever mention her name.

 

 

 

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

Lol, Negin. Maybe you have to be Australian...

[Negin]

How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 

63. Yes, I met my goal. My original goal was in the low 30s, if my memory serves me correctly. 

 

What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories? 

Catching Fire & Mockingjay - cheating a bit and counting them as one. 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Beginner's Goodbye

Exodus

The Invisible Wall

 

Top 5 least favorites?

Death in Holy Orders

The Lighthouse

Blue Shoes and Happiness

The Cat's Table

The Andromeda Strain

 

One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it?

 

Catching Fire & Mockingjay 

 

Most thrilling unputdownable book?

When She Woke

 

 

One book you thought you would love, but didn't?

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace

 

Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year?

The Maxwells of Montreal (a Baha'i book)

 

Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)

 

It's very difficult to pick out my favorite quote. 

"But I love Siamese twins (although I think the politically correct term is conjoined twins). It’s so nice to see siblings bond. I have one sister and I won’t even share my house with her, let alone my spleen." ~ Joan Rivers, I Hate Everyone Starting With Me

 

This is my daughter's shelfie. Love it. 

 

What book would you recommend everyone read?  

Yoga for Women -  fiction is far too subjective. You can't go wrong with yoga and we'd all benefit from it. :)

 

 

What was your most favorite part of the challenge? 

Reading everyone's posts and getting fabulous recommendations. :)

[Negin]

Lol, Negin. Maybe you have to be Australian...

Rosie, I would so love to visit Australia (or even live there). But please don't tell me that the females grovel like that, "Joe" this and "Joe" that. Maybe it was just my cranky mood over the weekend and lack of patience. I go through these slightly feminist phases where everything just gets to me :banghead:. I may have been too sensitive to all that. I did notice that he hardly ever called her by name. That part of it was too one-sided for my liking. 

[Rosie_0801]

I don't remember her grovelling, but I haven't read the book in over a year. But why would he call her by name? 

[LNC]

1. 62, more than last year!

 

2. Sarah Jio, new author liked 1rst 3 books, but latest was weak...

Just One Day, Gayle Foreman

Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D., Nicole Bernier

 

 

3. Where's You Go Bernadette and Wife-22

(On the opposite spectrum) - Revival and Revivalism, Ian Murray

Book of Ages, Jill Lepore

 

4. Reconstructing Amelia

 

5. Homemaking, J.R. Miller

 

6. Outlander series -crude

 

7. Spiritual Depression, Martin Lloyd Jones

Mindset, Carol Dweck

With kids:

Weakness is the Way

Freedom of Self Forgetfulness

Cross Centered Life

Homemaking, J.R. Miller

 

9. Spiritual Depression, Martin Lloyd Jones

 

10. I enjoy having lists of all books read yearly in Evernote. They are fun to look back on.

[LNC]

Nm

[Negin]

I don't remember her grovelling, but I haven't read the book in over a year. But why would he call her by name? 

Maybe it's just my misunderstanding about the grovelling part. But in the dialogue, which to me was not  that well-written to begin with, every sentence or paragraph, pretty much, would have her saying his name. And him, not once that I remember. Why did she have to keep saying his name over and over? My only gripe was that it was distracting. People don't usually speak like that. 

[Kim in Appalachia]

 

• Most thrilling unputdownable book? 

Thrilling only in some parts, but definitely unputdownable: The Goldfinch

 

 

 

 

I'm halfway through Goldfinch, and you are right. I can't put it down.  I'm even dreaming about that book.  I didn't include it in my list because I'm not finished.  But so far it's a 5 star book.

[Lady Florida.]

I love how so many of us listed this group as our favorite part of the challenges.

[Stacia]

Rosie, I would so love to visit Australia (or even live there). But please don't tell me that the females grovel like that, "Joe" this and "Joe" that. Maybe it was just my cranky mood over the weekend and lack of patience. I go through these slightly feminist phases where everything just gets to me :banghead:. I may have been too sensitive to all that. I did notice that he hardly ever called her by name. That part of it was too one-sided for my liking. 

 

Oh my word, Negin. :lol:

 

I was charmed by the book & didn't even notice what you're talking about. (Your comments make me want to go back & look.) The only thing I can think about it now is that the story was told more from her viewpoint than his (even though it was the solicitor writing her story) &, therefore, there would be more emphasis on her thoughts & actions because you're more 'in her mind' (seeing it from an 'I' viewpoint) vs. seeing Joe (there's his name again ;) ) from the outside (a 3rd person view).

 

I'm halfway through Goldfinch, and you are right. I can't put it down.  I'm even dreaming about that book.  I didn't include it in my list because I'm not finished.  But so far it's a 5 star book.

 

I have The Goldfinch too & have started it. (I am *not* getting enough reading time this week, though! :willy_nilly: ) I have an inkling that I may be adding it to my (already too long) list of faves from this year if I manage to finish it before year's end.

[Stacia]

but Coursera courses. I'm an addict.

 

Which courses did you end up doing? I really need to try some of theirs....

 

 

~Least favourites were Shakespeare. I swear, there must be one I'll enjoy! Plus 'The Cardboard Crown, Martin Boyd' which I'd forgotten I'd ever read until I was most of the way through. I still don't like it. :p I don't like the 'Blue Fairy Book.' Fairy tales suck. They are full of stupid people.  :glare:

 

:smilielol5:  (I'm wiping tears away as I read this...)

 

 

One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 

 

~I thought I'd enjoy Alain de Botton's books more than I did. I guess he has to be a bit dry in writing, being a British philosopher and all. 'The Last Samurai,' by Helen De Witt began gleefully, but the second half made me very cross.

 

Hmmm. I had been wondering about The Last Samurai & thought it looked interesting. I'll keep your comments in mind....

[Negin]

(seeing it from an 'I' viewpoint) vs. seeing Joe (there's his name again  ;) )

:smilielol5:  :grouphug: . 

[Stacia]

.

[Stacia]

I'm halfway through Goldfinch, and you are right. I can't put it down.  I'm even dreaming about that book.  I didn't include it in my list because I'm not finished.  But so far it's a 5 star book.

 

Oh, and I have a library copy that looks almost new. I must say that the feel of the pages is just completely luscious & creamy. I might have to buy a hardcover copy for myself just so I can rub the pages. :lol:

 

(So, for those of you who have bought a hardcover copy of this, do the pages feel that way???)

 

Seriously, I'm in love with the way the paper in this book feels.

[mumto2]

Here is my wrap up.

 

Favorite Books of 2013

 

1) Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley

2) Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger

3) 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

4) A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

5) The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

 

Least Favorite 2013 that I completed

 

1) Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich

2) Red Moon by Benjamin Percy

 

3) Grendel by John Gardener

4) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

5) Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

 

Pleasantly surprised by:

 

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italio Calvino

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

 

Most Unputdownable books:

 

The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes

Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

Think of a Number by John Verdon

 

Planning to reread: Generally I only reread with a purpose like the entire series because a new one came out or my Dracula / Historian comparison during October.

 

Thought I would love but didn't :

 

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris -- still sad about how Sookie Stackhouse one of my all time favorites ended

 

Books with Greatest Impact in 2013:

 

WWI series books -- I kept reading novels that were set during and in the aftermath of the war accidentally along with it being part of the dc's history. It ended up being really useful because I "get" much of the history which appears to be going to be a hot topic in my community because of the hundredth aniversary this year.

 

Recommend to everyone irl:

 

A Tale for the Time Being and The Secret Keeper

 

Favorite Challenge:

 

I didn't complete many but enjoyed all that I participated in. I did Continental without Antarctica :lol:, Dusty Books, 1Q84, and If on a Winter's Night a Traveller. I read a book with a color that week just not the one dd picked so disqualified. ;)

 

Just a quick add on to thank everyone for this thread especially Robin. I have loved it and it has meant a great deal to me this year.

[ladydusk]

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal?

 

So far 46. I'm working on The Nine Taylors by Sayers and am re-invested in L'Engle's The Irrational Season, so there's a chance for two more. My goal was 52, but none of my filler re-reads. I did avoid the re-reads (Austen, Eddings, etc.), didn't quite make 52, have fewer than last year - but almost everything is new! (2010 - 40, 2011 - 42, 2012 - 49)

2. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories? Top 5 least favorites?

 

I read four great memoirs this year: The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Converty (Butterfield); The Exact Place (Haack); The Little Way of Ruthie Leming (Dreher); and -my favorite book of the year - Holy is the Day (Weber). To round out the top 5, we'll go with Sally Wright's Ben Reese Mysteries

 

Least favorite: Pemberly Chronicles, two Terri Blackstock books, A Redbird Christmas, and (sadly) The Devil on Lammas Night.

 

3. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it?

 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I don't generally prefer SciFi, this was worth reading.

 

4. Most thrilling unputdownable book?

 

Holy is the Day by Carolyn Weber. She writes beautifully, several wonderful concepts, it drew me in and through the book.

 

5. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on

rereading it again in 2014?

 

When I get it back from my friends ... after lending it around ... I plan to re-read Holy is the Day. Because I can LOL

 

6. One book you thought you would love, but didn't?

 

Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King ... Parts of it were pretty good, the writing was competent (if not totally engrossing), but the organization and arrangement were confusing and unsatisfying.

 

7. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year?

 

The memoirs. Wolf Hall and The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek both took a great amount of time and provided a lot of ideas to contemplate.

 

8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share? (Share a shelfie)

 

I think Brat Farrar's cover stayed with me:

 

 

9. What book would you recommend everyone read?

 

Holy is the Day by Carolyn Weber - at least to Christians. The concepts encouraged my faith and practice.

10. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges?

 

I love that I have continued to enjoy the memoir genre from last year and rekindled my love of murder mysteries in 2013. I love talking about my books and reading about your books with y'all even though I don't tend to read the same books as the rest of you all. I'm encouraged to read and keep reading. I can't believe this is my 4th year participating. I don't usually participate in the mini-challenges because I always have more on my personal list to do, but I like reading about them.

 

I may do the CS Lewis challenge next year, though. And maybe I'll try a 5/5/5 .... and maybe I won't :)

[Rosie_0801]

Maybe it's just my misunderstanding about the grovelling part. But in the dialogue, which to me was not  that well-written to begin with, every sentence or paragraph, pretty much, would have her saying his name. And him, not once that I remember. Why did she have to keep saying his name over and over? My only gripe was that it was distracting. People don't usually speak like that. 

 

I don't know. She's a Pom. :p  Maybe that's what Poms did back then. *shrug*

[Rosie_0801]

Which courses did you end up doing? I really need to try some of theirs....

 

 

Ohhh. Dd and I just finished up Dinosaurs 101 through Alberta Uni, I got behind with a history course through Hebrew University, but they haven't closed access yet and my brother has downloaded them all, so I won't miss out entirely. I'm very much enjoying that. I am behind with "What Plants Know" or something like that through another Israeli uni, because the lecturer was annoying, but I've downloaded them so I can continue working my way through. I've found the content extremely interesting and my mum wants to watch them too. I'm also doing Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World, which is probably the best fun I've had since the Astrobiology course. Life keeps throwing Muslims at me. It's fun.

[Jane in NC]

I'm enjoying all the round ups, but confess I will have to return late to continue reading them in depth -- I have to compare your comments to the running list of titles I've collected this year.  What if one of your top 5 isn't on my list??  And of course I need to write my own.  

 

In the meantime Terry Pratchett's Hogfather was the perfect book to enjoy the last few days.  It certainly gets randomly crazy, but somehow it fits my frame of mind this time of year. 

 

I'm planning on putting my feet up and reading for a few days starting Christmas.  Just one more rehearsal and 4 Christmas Eve services to go before then...

 

I must note that in honor of the Hogfather, we are having Bang Bang Chicken on Christmas Day. :thumbup1:

 

[LostSurprise]

 

I took this one in early December when I was just starting my Christmas baking. It seemed a little like a stack poem. 

 

 

 

It's my birthday today. After taking my son to a medical appointment, we stopped by Goodwill. They had all these great cookbooks for $3.99! Birthday serendipity. :) My husband hid them in the oven and took a shelfie for me when we got home. 

 

 

(Sorry for the sizing. My computer is toast and we struggled to post this on the Ubuntu computer for ages.)

[-M-]

1. How many books did you read in 2013? Did you meet your personal goal?
At this writing, 101. My goal this year was to read more slowly, to avoid popping off and on books, to savor what I read. Goal (mostly) met. I mean, I am still an unapologetically promiscuous reader; that is, one who enters into assorted relationships while already involved in too many others to name and one who leaves books languishing unread or, perhaps sadder still, partially read on shelves and nightstands, in knapsacks, and beside favorite chairs. I did do much better this year, though. No, really. I did.

 

2. What was your favorite book of 2013? Least favorite?
The novels Reconstructing Amelia (Kimberly McCreight) and The Execution of Noa P. Singleton (Elizabeth L. Silver) and the memoirs Run, Brother, Run (David Berg) and With or Without You (Domenica Ruta) were the most “compulsively readable†books I encountered this year. But 2013 was the year of Moby Dick or, The Whale (Herman Melville). The Misses and I happily spent nearly twelve months with this epic tale, and we have the commonplace book entries and the commemorative jewelry to prove it.

 

As for “least favorite,†I’ve reviewed my reading list several times, and none of the books I read deserve to be labeled such. A good year, indeed.

 

3. Name one book you read this year that you thought you’d never read.
Moby Dick or, The Whale (Herman Melville).

 

4. Name the most thrilling and/or unputdownable book you read this year.
See Number 2.

 

5. Did you come across a story you enjoyed so much that you read it again or plan to reread it in 2014?
I’ve selected an audio version of Moby Dick to underscore several of our road trips in 2014.

 

6. Name a book you thought you’d love but didn’t.
Life after Death (Damien Echols).

 

My interest in the West Memphis 3 developed after seeing the documentaries Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. A little backstory: Two decades ago, in West Memphis, Arkansas, three second-grade boys were murdered; their mutilated bodies were found on the bank of a watery ditch. About a month after the gruesome discovery, three local teens were arrested. The murders were determined to be part of a satanic ritual in which they had allegedly participated.

 

Arguably the most recognizable face of the so-called “West Memphis 3,†Damien Echols received a death sentence for his crime. In Life after Death — part memoir, part stream-of-consciousness, part self-indulgence, part horror story, part existential tract — he describes his childhood, the days leading up to his arrest, his imprisonment, his relationship with his wife, his eventual release from prison, and life since that time. Although the narrative is compelling enough, the writing is, at best, uneven.

 

Reviews of Echols’ memoir can be found here and here.

 

7. What book had the greatest impact on you this year?
Moby Dick or, The Whale (Herman Melville).

 

8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you’d like to share? Share a shelfie.
In his lectures for the Teaching Company, Peter Saccio says of Iago that he, like “cold, agressive Duke†of  Thurber’s blend of fairy tale and parable, may be bad for no other reason than that is simply who and how he is. From The 13 Clocks (James Thurber):

 

p. 114

“We all have flaws,†he [the Duke] said, “and mine is being wicked.â€

 

The reference sent the Misses and I in search of the source late in the summer of 2012, but as sometimes happens, the book ended up in a TBR stack. (Hey, I already confessed to being a promiscuous reader!) When I came upon it in January of this year, I remembered precisely why it was there. And then I came across this:

 

p.  93

“I do not trust him,†growled the Duke. “I like a spy that I can see. Let me have men about me that are visible.â€

 

Oh, how I love synchronicity / serendipity / synthesis! From Julius Caesar, Act I, scene ii:

Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

 

As for a “shelfie,†while I was all over that in the fall, I think that my favorite bookshelfie is this one from February 2000:

 

 

9. What book would you recommend that everybody read?
Moby Dick or, The Whale (Herman Melville).

 

10. What was your favorite part of the challenge? Did you complete any of the mini-challenges?
Reading, of course, and no.

[Melinda in VT]

My top five fiction books for 2013:

• We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
• The Light Between Oceans
• Night Circus
• The Orphan Master's Son
• Saving Fish from Drowning

My top five non-fiction books for 2013:

• The Swerve
• A Train in Winter
• Lean In
• My Stroke of Insight
• Losing Mum and Pup

The book I expected to hate and didn't: Moby Dick

 

[Ali in OR]

Okay, ready for the yearly wrap-up!

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? I stopped counting at 29 in August when my hard disk crashed and I temporarily lost my list. I decided I liked not counting, and just reading to read. I probably still came in at 52, plus or minus 5. Though I now notice a yearly wrap-up is easier with a list, so maybe I'll start one again just to remember what I've read!
2. What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? Best Fiction--Code Name Verity and The Light Between Oceans. Enjoyed all of Sayer's Harriet Vane/Lord Peter Wimsey books. Best Non-fiction (i.e. learned something, changed something in my life because of it): Chi Running (never want plantar fasciitis again and this seems to help), Warrior Girls (girls in sports and ACL injuries--hoping to avoid this with my young soccer player), Pandora's Lunchbox and Salt Sugar Fat (dietary/shopping changes to eat healthier), Mindset and The Smartest Kids in the World (tweaking educational approach). Best extended study topic: WWII. Currently reading 10th book on WWII. Coming at it from different books, different authors, different subtopics is really helping me understand this era better. Top 5 WWII books: Suite Francaise, A Train in Winter, No Pretty Pictures, Marrin's Hitler, and The Hare with the Amber Eyes.
3. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 
4. Most thrilling unputdownable book? 
5. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? 
6. One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 
7. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? I'm realizing that I get a lot out of the non-fiction that I read. This was a great non-fiction year. See question 2 for which books (both non-fiction and WWII lists).
8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share?  (Share a shelfie)
9. What book would you recommend everyone read?  
10. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges? Love checking in on Sundays. Love finding out about books to put on my hold list. Did the spooky book challenge in October and enjoyed that.

[Lady Florida.]

It's my birthday today.

Happy Birthday!

 

 

[Guest]

I just finished #47, Beautiful Fools, about the end of F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald's relationship. After enjoying The Paris Wife so much earlier this year, I thought I would enjoy it, but bleh, it was awful. Had I not been so close to the end of the year, I would have abandoned it, but I read through, and am thankful I'm done. This morning I finished the second Flavia de Luce story, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, and I did enjoy that one. I am going to try and squeeze the third one in before the end of the year.

 

My reading this year has been terrible, so I'm just trying to hit 52 books in the next week, even with less than stellar books. I don't want to have a bad year of book choices and not hit the goal. So, I'll at least hit the goal. ;)

 

My top 5 favorites for the year:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Incidentally, I did not care for his Songs of Willow Frost, which I also read.)

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks (never read Sparks, but I love autobiographies, and thought this one interesting.)

You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt (very interesting fictional story based on the young girl, Samantha Smith, who wrote to Yuri Andropov during the Cold War, seeking peace, and then was killed in a plane crash; hated the ending, but enjoyed the story.)

[Jane in NC]

Just finished #63 with a short and sweet Old Friend, No Holly For Miss Quinn, one of Miss Read's Christmas stories.  I thought I was in the mood for sentimentalism but I think I need to laugh.  So onward to another author who is also an Old Friend, E.M Delafield and her Diary of a Provincial Lady.  Downton Abbey this isn't! 

 

 

[Kareni]

It's my birthday today. After taking my son to a medical appointment, we stopped by Goodwill. They had all these great cookbooks for $3.99! Birthday serendipity. :) My husband hid them in the oven and took a shelfie for me when we got home. 

 

 

Happy  birthday, Tam!!!

 

Regards,

Kareni