Book a Week 2019 - BW1: Welcome to our Rambling Roads Reading Adventure

[Bookwoman]

I would like to join in this year. My goal is to read 52 books, although really the goal is to spend more time reading and less time online. We'll see how that goes. 

I'm off to a good start as I have finished two already:

1. Find Me Gone by Sarah Meuleman
2. Banner In The Sky by James Ramsey Ullman

Find Me Gone was given to me on Christmas Eve so I had a head start on that one. I finished it on New Year's Day as we all just lazed around and read. I thought it was interesting - better than the reviews on GoodReads led me to believe it would be anyway.  

Banner In The Sky was a book our piano teacher gave my son. He read it and enjoyed it and suggested that I read it too. I enjoyed it too - it was a good adventure story. I'm glad he read it and liked it as I thought the main character was a good male character - he struggles to do what is right while also following his passion and while he stumbles a bit, he is ultimately rewarded for making good choices.   I try to find books with strong female protagonists for my daughter and I thought this was an equivalent find for my son.  I see that Disney made a movie based on the book some years ago - Third Man on the Mountain - so I'll try to track that down as it would be fun to watch together. 

I'm in the middle of Michelle Obama's book Becoming right now so that will probably be #3 shortly. 

[Ravin]

I like the idea of the 10x10 challenge.

Here will be my categories:

1. humor

2. science (nonfiction)

3. fantasy & science fiction by new-to-me authors

4. LGBT

5. classic fiction

6. folklore

7. religion (nonfiction)

8. law (nonfiction)

9. modern fiction in translation (i.e., originally published in a language other than English)

10. books by women of color 

The books must of course all be separate selections, though they may fit into more than one category, they cannot be used for more than one, so that I read 10 books for it.

[RootAnn]

59 minutes ago, Critterfixer said:

Some of them now have agents! And so do I, so revising is going to be a top priority for the first half of this year.

This is so exciting! Congrats on having an agent! (I have a writer-daughter so I cheer on all the Hive writers because I know how crazy it is to live with one.)

[Robin M]

32 minutes ago, Alice said:

No specific reading goals here, other than to read more. 

I’m currently reading Lonesome Dove for my book group. And starting The Iliad to read with oldest. I’m also reading The Fellowship of the Ring and The Girl Who Drank the Moon out-loud to my kids. And we’re listening to The Incorrigible Children and the Unmapped Sea in the car. 

I have many other things on my nightstand but I’m not letting myself look at them until I finish Lonesome Dove or the book club meets (whichever comes first).

Welcome. Reading more is a great goal to have and you are starting with a lovely assortment of books.  I read Lonesome Dove ages ago. I totally enjoyed it, but haven't read any more by McMurtry since then although I really liked his writing.  Adding Streets of Laredo to my want list.  Now I want to read The Girl Who Drank the Moon.  🙂

7 minutes ago, Bookwoman said:

I would like to join in this year. My goal is to read 52 books, although really the goal is to spend more time reading and less time online. We'll see how that goes. 

I'm off to a good start as I have finished two already:

1. Find Me Gone by Sarah Meuleman
2. Banner In The Sky by James Ramsey Ullman

Find Me Gone was given to me on Christmas Eve so I had a head start on that one. I finished it on New Year's Day as we all just lazed around and read. I thought it was interesting - better than the reviews on GoodReads led me to believe it would be anyway.  

Banner In The Sky was a book our piano teacher gave my son. He read it and enjoyed it and suggested that I read it too. I enjoyed it too - it was a good adventure story. I'm glad he read it and liked it as I thought the main character was a good male character - he struggles to do what is right while also following his passion and while he stumbles a bit, he is ultimately rewarded for making good choices.   I try to find books with strong female protagonists for my daughter and I thought this was an equivalent find for my son.  I see that Disney made a movie based on the book some years ago - Third Man on the Mountain - so I'll try to track that down as it would be fun to watch together. 

I'm in the middle of Michelle Obama's book Becoming right now so that will probably be #3 shortly. 

Welcome! Yes, spending less time online is one of my goals as well.  I'm always on the lookout for good books for my son, but he's more into science fiction.  Banner in the Sky looks great.  Happy Reading! 

4 minutes ago, Ravin said:

I like the idea of the 10x10 challenge.

Here will be my categories:

1. humor

2. science (nonfiction)

3. fantasy & science fiction by new-to-me authors

4. LGBT

5. classic fiction

6. folklore

7. religion (nonfiction)

8. law (nonfiction)

9. modern fiction in translation (i.e., originally published in a language other than English)

10. books by women of color 

The books must of course all be separate selections, though they may fit into more than one category, they cannot be used for more than one, so that I read 10 books for it.

Great assortment and look forward to hearing about your reads. 

[Violet Crown]

23 minutes ago, Ravin said:

The books must of course all be separate selections, though they may fit into more than one category, they cannot be used for more than one, so that I read 10 books for it.

Ambitious! I like it.

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, Robin M said:

Glad you are joining in.  I know how time consuming and stressful renovations can be. Are you all done or have a bit more to do.  Yeah for finishing writing your book. Is it the first draft or are you all the way done? 

 

We are done the renovation of our old house that we sold in Aug!  We have renovations to do on my parents house before they put it on the market, maybe this year.  Dh and I are doing the majority of the work at their house in exchange for cheap rental of part of their house. Eventually, we'll find a house for my family and my parents to live together comfortably in.

I'm done my major drafts.  It is currently in the hands of my editor and once her and I finish up the last few bits it will be done.  From there, I hope to send it out in hope of publication.

[lulalu]

Joining in this year! I am still working on my plans for the year. My goal is to finish my plans of what to read by the end of this week. I want to have at least half picked out. 

Currently reading-

Emma

Dynamic Aging

Uncovering the Logic of English

[Teaching3bears]

I have a very very long list of books that I would like to read that I keep in a notebook.  It includes books from lists of 100 Books You Should Read Before You Die, classics, prize winners, bestsellers, and recommended books as well as books people mention in these posts.  So, I will continue to read books from this list, trying to alternate somewhat between classics and bestsellers.  I will start with the 15 or so books I have sitting on my shelf right now that I have not read.  I would also like to read more graphic novels this year, ones that educate me in some way, and more books that were not originally written in English.

This week I read 2 shorter books:  The Road  by Cormac McCarthy and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  I started both books feeling skeptical that I would like them but they both surprised me.  They both moved me and brought me to tears.  I think they will both stick with me and I think The Fault in Our Stars will make me a somewhat better person.

I just started Never Let Me Go  by Kazuo Ishiguro.

[Ali in OR]

My only goal this year is the Dory Goal--just keep reading! I'm working now, currently teaching in a long-term sub position, and my evenings are mostly going to prep work. I would love to teach next year if a position opens up, so reading time may be much more limited. But I do have 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning when I can read books that aren't too fat (have to fit on the lipped tray) and aren't too small-print. I don't always check into this thread, but will try to at least monthly.

Currently reading: Silver on the Tree, Susan Cooper's last in The Dark is Rising series.

[mumto2]

I just wanted to say Welcome! to all the new faces joining us this year.

@Mothersweets great job on the Brit Tripping!  Until I started highlighting on my Kindle I was having a really hard time keeping track....I had sticky notes on all my devices but frequently nothing to write with!  Highlighting is easier! 😂

 My kids have no classes for the next couple of weeks and are keeping me really busy.  I want my Murakami to be the first finish of the year and it’s an audiobook.  I listen to audiobooks while I quilt and quilting is happening much.  Not a whole lot of listening time so I may switch over to the kindle book which I already have checked out.  I keep starting new books so it can be first and am actually reading:

The Other Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn which is the latest book in a favorite historical romance series.

The  Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie.  Part of my goal to read all the Christie’s in order and also one of my 10’s.  Really enjoying it but no Poirot for this month’s detective in the spelling challenge.  Oh well.......maybe I can fit the Peril at End House in before the end of January.

Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh is the first in the Guild Hunter series which both @melmichiganand Robin really like.  So far it is really quite good.  I am not normally a fan of angels as characters in my Urban Fantasy but these might just change my mind.  This book will also be the first book in a possible 10 book chain.  The next book in my stack is Cassandra Clark’s The Law of Angels.........

 

[Robin M]

Woot! Woot!  Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge has been mentioned in the Times of India and quite a few people are joining on the blog.  Amazing! 

We watched Ready Player One last night. Although there were many differences in the challenges between the movie and the book, it is just as good as the book. 

I'm on Chapter 4 of The Benedict Option and totally enjoying it. Sipping from Neil Gaiman's the View from the Cheap Seats. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by Robin M

[Robin M]

18 hours ago, hjffkj said:

We are done the renovation of our old house that we sold in Aug!  We have renovations to do on my parents house before they put it on the market, maybe this year.  Dh and I are doing the majority of the work at their house in exchange for cheap rental of part of their house. Eventually, we'll find a house for my family and my parents to live together comfortably in.

I'm done my major drafts.  It is currently in the hands of my editor and once her and I finish up the last few bits it will be done.  From there, I hope to send it out in hope of publication.

My aunt and cousin did this and they have two houses side by side with a community kitchen connecting the two. 

Congratulations, sounds promising.  Are you going the traditional publishing route or going to self publish?

17 hours ago, lulalu said:

Joining in this year! I am still working on my plans for the year. My goal is to finish my plans of what to read by the end of this week. I want to have at least half picked out. 

Currently reading-

Emma

Dynamic Aging

Uncovering the Logic of English

Welcome Lulalu. Glad you decided to join in.  Cheers to a wonderful reading year! 

17 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

I have a very very long list of books that I would like to read that I keep in a notebook.  It includes books from lists of 100 Books You Should Read Before You Die, classics, prize winners, bestsellers, and recommended books as well as books people mention in these posts.  So, I will continue to read books from this list, trying to alternate somewhat between classics and bestsellers.  I will start with the 15 or so books I have sitting on my shelf right now that I have not read.  I would also like to read more graphic novels this year, ones that educate me in some way, and more books that were not originally written in English.

This week I read 2 shorter books:  The Road  by Cormac McCarthy and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  I started both books feeling skeptical that I would like them but they both surprised me.  They both moved me and brought me to tears.  I think they will both stick with me and I think The Fault in Our Stars will make me a somewhat better person.

I just started Never Let Me Go  by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I found keeping a running list on my blog works really well for keeping a list of books I want to read and it's easy to update whenever I have changes. I get frustrated with too many notebooks and I was a complete failure with bullet journals.  🙂  So glad to hear you liked The Road.   I have it in my virtual stacks and will have to move it up to read sooner.   Love your ideas about alternating between classics and best sellers.  

17 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

My only goal this year is the Dory Goal--just keep reading! I'm working now, currently teaching in a long-term sub position, and my evenings are mostly going to prep work. I would love to teach next year if a position opens up, so reading time may be much more limited. But I do have 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning when I can read books that aren't too fat (have to fit on the lipped tray) and aren't too small-print. I don't always check into this thread, but will try to at least monthly.

Currently reading: Silver on the Tree, Susan Cooper's last in The Dark is Rising series.

Congrats on the long term subbing job. Keeping fingers crossed for the teaching position.  Just keep swimming. You're doing great. 

[Robin M]

3 hours ago, mumto2 said:

Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh is the first in the Guild Hunter series which both @melmichiganand Robin really like.  So far it is really quite good.  I am not normally a fan of angels as characters in my Urban Fantasy but these might just change my mind.  This book will also be the first book in a possible 10 book chain.  The next book in my stack is Cassandra Clark’s The Law of Angels.........

Yeah, glad you are liking it.  I fell in love with the Guild Hunter characters and their world. Will be part of my reread for this year.  The Law of Angels sounds good. Good thing I have the first book in my stacks.  Enjoy!

[readinmom]

Stupid question, but how do you link up if you don't have a blog...

[Robin M]

 

1 hour ago, readinmom said:

Stupid question, but how do you link up if you don't have a blog...

 

Not a stupid question at all. We have people outside of the WTM 52 Books who are involved in the 52 Books challenge and don't have access to WTM.  Some have blogs and websites and are sharing their reviews on the site.   Since you are a part of WTM, you don't need to link up unless you want to.   If you decide to start a blog and write reviews, they can be shared here and there or just here. Reviews aren't mandatory at all.  It's just a added feature to our whole reading adventure.  😘 

Edited January 4, 2019 by Robin M

[LaughingCat]

I really fell down on reading books last year -- as I realized in Dec, as I raced to read a bunch of books to meet my goodreads goal (and fell 7 books short), it was not from any good reason but far too much time wasted.  So I set myself a much more aggressive goal of 3 books a week for 2019 (pre-kids this would have been a laughably easy goal, so I think it is do-able).

Reading now: Chanur's Venture  (Cherryh -- (reread from many years ago, so far not as good as Pride of Chanur which I also recently reread ), although I may be switching over very soon to  Lies Sleeping (Aaronovitch) which just showed up from the library.

[mumto2]

5 hours ago, Robin M said:

Woot! Woot!  Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge has been mentioned in the Times of India and quite a few people are joining on the blog.  Amazing! 

We watched Ready Player One last night. Although there were many differences in the challenges between the movie and the book, it is just as good as the book. 

I'm on Chapter 4 of The Benedict Option and totally enjoying it. Sipping from Neil Gaiman's the View from the Cheap Seats. 

Woot!  The Times of India mentioning 52 books is so cool!  Even my kids thought it was neat as I peeked at BaW when we were at a McD’s and shared.  😉

  Glad you are enjoying The Benedict Option.  Also glad to hear you liked the Ready Player One movie as we haven’t watched it yet but the kids and I loved the book.  Hubby will probably enjoy the movie!  

5 minutes ago, LaughingCat said:

I really fell down on reading books last year -- as I realized in Dec, as I raced to read a bunch of books to meet my goodreads goal (and fell 7 books short), it was not from any good reason but far too much time wasted.  So I set myself a much more aggressive goal of 3 books a week for 2019 (pre-kids this would have been a laughably easy goal, so I think it is do-able).

Reading now: Chanur's Venture  (Cherryh -- (reread from many years ago, so far not as good as Pride of Chanur which I also recently reread ), although I may be switching over very soon to  Lies Sleeping (Aaronovitch) which just showed up from the library.

I have been rereading Aaronovitch while waiting for Lies Sleeping.  I think I am two people away on that hold.  😋. Looking forward to hearing if you enjoyed it.  My initial read of the series was spread out by each book’s release and I have really enjoyed reading/listening to them close together as I seem to be learning things I missed or forgot.

[Kareni]

I'm poking my head in to wish you all a happy new year as I try to get caught up after the death of my computer plus having had company for several days. (I'm now learning to operate a Kindle Fire.) It's nice to see familiar names as well as some newcomers. 

I'll be back at some point to list books read while I was radio silent.

Regards,

Kareni (do we have any Kindle Fire experts who can tell me how to get rid of that extra space above my name?)

[mumto2]

15 minutes ago, Kareni said:

I'm poking my head in to wish you all a happy new year as I try to get caught up after the death of my computer plus having had company for several days. (I'm now learning to operate a Kindle Fire.) It's nice to see familiar names as well as some newcomers. 

I'll be back at some point to list books read while I was radio silent.

Regards,

Kareni (do we have any Kindle Fire experts who can tell me how to get rid of that extra space above my name?)

Glad to have you back!  I think the space came with a recent update and I believe is happening on my iPad too.  It is happening to me If that makes you feel better! 😉

I just finished my Murakami in book form.  Really glad I switched as seeing the names was easier than hearing them.  After Dark was my first book of the year.  It was enjoyable with many odd things to ponder regarding the magical realism elements.  I doubt I will ever figure out what was happening actually.😂  yes, I still really like Murakami....

[Kareni]

3 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

Glad to have you back!  

Thank you kindly!

4 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

I think the space came with a recent update and I believe is happening on my iPad too.  It is happening to me If that makes you feel better! 😉

We can suffer together. The frustrating thing is that I'd recently learned how to bypass it on my computer by simultaneously touching shift and return, but that doesn't seem to be an option on the Fire.  Hmmph.

Regards,

Kareni

[readinmom]

11 hours ago, Robin M said:

 

 

Not a stupid question at all. We have people outside of the WTM 52 Books who are involved in the 52 Books challenge and don't have access to WTM.  Some have blogs and websites and are sharing their reviews on the site.   Since you are a part of WTM, you don't need to link up unless you want to.   If you decide to start a blog and write reviews, they can be shared here and there or just here. Reviews aren't mandatory at all.  It's just a added feature to our whole reading adventure.  😘 

Thank you!

[Junie]

A lot of the reading I do is pre-reading books for my kids for appropriateness.  My kids are all two years apart, but their maturity levels are kind of skewed in relationship to their reading abilities.  I think I'm going to adjust my goal to 52 books (for me), 52 books (for them), and 52 short stories.

I am mostly trying to read classic literature that I somehow have missed or re-reading books that I haven't read in a very long time.

I am trying to have a heavy reading week this week since we haven't started back to school yet.  So far this week I've pre-read 5 books for the kids.

I'm hoping to read Wuthering Heights this weekend.

[Robin M]

53 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I finished The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan on Audible today. It was FANTASTIC. I loved everything about it, and the narrator made a book set in Ireland come even more to life than it would have for me reading hard copy. I can't wait for her follow up in the series. If you like a well done, gritty detective novel, I'd highly recommend. Here's the blurb. 

I'm still working on The Historian. I'm enjoying it, but I'll admit it's been a bit of a longer read than expected!! I hit page 380 and realized I still have almost another 300 pages to go! 😞

Also, just a reminder that our Theologica Reads group discussing The Benedict Option "officially" begins Sunday. I have had a horrendous time getting logged on here at all today- I keep getting kicked off or the log on freezes. I hope to be back on tomorrow and post some discussion points, etc. over there, but if you see nothing, or if you try to join and don't get accepted right away, just know it's because I can't get on the forums! Hopefully this was just an off day. I noticed that many other people are mentioning having the same issue, but in case you're one of the lucky ones who aren't- that's why things might be slow on that end! 

I liked The Historian and its well worth the read. Keep plugging away.   Looking forward to Benedict discussion. I was telling my hubby this morning, he has to read the book.  The site is having issues and they are working on it.  Hopefully they'll get it fixed by tomorrow.  I think it was Kathy (LadyFlorida) who posted on facebook and WTM press responded this morning.  Now I can't find it of course. 

 

[Violet Crown]

Already one of my categories fails me: The Shame List. Dh was listing books that Everyone Has Read But Me -- Harry Potter, Romeo and Juliet, Lonesome Dove, The Color Purple, The Catcher in the Rye -- and I realized that I don't want to read any of them.

So I'm replacing it with two new categories, on the assumption that there'll be another category failure at some point:
Crime and Punishment: Crime fiction, noir, and possibly the Dostoevsky.
Reading with Middle Girl: the books MG is reading for her teenage book club and upcoming English class.

 

[mumto2]

@Robin MI have been having problems logging on also so glad to have an update!  I ended up logging in with my email as opposed to mumto2 and was able to get in.  No idea if it helped or was totally coincidental!

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I finished The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan on Audible today. It was FANTASTIC. I loved everything about it, and the narrator made a book set in Ireland come even more to life than it would have for me reading hard copy. I can't wait for her follow up in the series. If you like a well done, gritty detective novel, I'd highly recommend. Here's the blurb. 

I'm still working on The Historian. I'm enjoying it, but I'll admit it's been a bit of a longer read than expected!! I hit page 380 and realized I still have almost another 300 pages to go! 😞

Also, just a reminder that our Theologica Reads group discussing The Benedict Option "officially" begins Sunday. I have had a horrendous time getting logged on here at all today- I keep getting kicked off or the log on freezes. I hope to be back on tomorrow and post some discussion points, etc. over there, but if you see nothing, or if you try to join and don't get accepted right away, just know it's because I can't get on the forums! Hopefully this was just an off day. I noticed that many other people are mentioning having the same issue, but in case you're one of the lucky ones who aren't- that's why things might be slow on that end! 

I need to hunt for The Ruin,  it sounds great.  Did it take place in the North or in the Republic?  Yes, I am working on my 10 EU list.

I think you will get really hooked on The Historian soon.  I think I have read it three times......

5 minutes ago, Violet Crown said:

Already one of my categories fails me: The Shame List. Dh was listing books that Everyone Has Read But Me -- Harry Potter, Romeo and Juliet, Lonesome Dove, The Color Purple, The Catcher in the Rye -- and I realized that I don't want to read any of them.

So I'm replacing it with two new categories, on the assumption that there'll be another category failure at some point:
Crime and Punishment: Crime fiction, noir, and possibly the Dostoevsky.
Reading with Middle Girl: the books MG is reading for her teenage book club and upcoming English class.

 

I ended adding some extra categories to my Goodreads Shelves just in case!  😉. I am worrying about category failure too!

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

It’s set mostly in Galway, so yep, Republic. 

I am putting away Xmas decorations today and am sort of bummed I already finished it and now don’t know what to listen to!! I want an Audible read exactly.like.it, LOL and I don’t know any. I keep googling and everything says Tana French.  (For some reason I thought her books were in the US but I was wrong so this might work well!) 

Under some delusion I bought A Tale of Two Cities on Audible last night- you’re not the only one with a Shame list @Violet Crown and I’m realizing maybe my dislike of Charles Dickens has nothing to do with having to read it in high school before I could appreciate it. It may just be that it’s not my thing! I guess I’ll go buy a Tana French and give it a go. 

I have The Ruin on hold......it’s pretty popular.    I really like Tana French and think you will like them.  The first three in the series were great and I keep meaning to read the others.  

I finished the Guild Hunter book this morning and have already started the second one!  I read enough to satisfy my burning curiosity and hopefully can leave it alone long enough to get some of Whodunitolgy Spelling done!  I have Hecule Poirot all lined up....I just need to read the books!

[Violet Crown]

3 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Under some delusion I bought A Tale of Two Cities on Audible last night- you’re not the only one with a Shame list @Violet Crown and I’m realizing maybe my dislike of Charles Dickens has nothing to do with having to read it in high school before I could appreciate it. It may just be that it’s not my thing! I guess I’ll go buy a Tana French and give it a go. 

 

Many years ago I read Tale of Two Cities aloud to Middle Girl. I only survived by fantasizing an ending where Lucie Manette goes to the guillotine.

[marbel]

4 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

<snip>

Under some delusion I bought A Tale of Two Cities on Audible last night- you’re not the only one with a Shame list @Violet Crown and I’m realizing maybe my dislike of Charles Dickens has nothing to do with having to read it in high school before I could appreciate it. It may just be that it’s not my thing! I guess I’ll go buy a Tana French and give it a go. 

I love Dickens but I could never get into A Tale of Two Cities. I think it is very different from his other novels, or at least the ones I've read. 

But... Tana French!  Yes, go read all her Dublin Murder Squad books!  She has a new book out that is not of that series; I am a bit nervous that it won't be as good and I'll become disillusioned with her. It's got a long queue at the library so I won't be reading it for a while. 

@JennW in SoCal yes, it is the Simon Winchester book.  So fun and interesting. I love it.

I gave up on The Moonspinners. Just seemed like more of what I read last year and I couldn't go on. I have been poking around the bookshelves for some fiction to pick up. I've also started The Benedict Option!

 

[melmichigan]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

I finished the Guild Hunter book this morning and have already started the second one!  I read enough to satisfy my burning curiosity and hopefully can leave it alone long enough to get some of Whodunitolgy Spelling done!  I have Hecule Poirot all lined up....I just need to read the books!

I'm so glad to hear you like it! 

Believe it or not, it's now five days into the year and I haven't even started a book.  

[Lady Florida.]

I'm so far behind on this thread and forgot most of the posts I wanted to respond to (too lazy to go back through the thread and look). I'll just respond to the most recent as well as what I do remember, then post my 2019 goals and current books in a separate post. 

I enjoyed The Ruin as a free Audible member listen.  I think A Gentleman in Moscow was mentioned. That was not only one of my favorite books I read in 2018 but I also added it to my Goodreads shelf I call My Top 100. I really loved that book. 

I don't think I have too many books I could put on a Shame list. I've read a lot of the ones people are "supposed" to read and enjoyed most of them, including many Dickens novels, War and Peace, The Grapes of Wrath and Les Miserables. The only two I can say I forced myself to finish and then wondered why I bothered were Moby Dick and Don Quixote. I tried numerous times to read MD and finally succeeded only by listening to the audio book. @Violet Crown wasn't it you who originally came up with the phrase cultural virtue points? 🙂 I guess I got points for those last two but the others I continued reading because I actually liked them.

I couldn't finish The Historian. It started out good for me but I got bored with it and finally decided to just give it up.

@Melissa M and others who were discussing Goodreads - I thought I had a link in my signature but apparently that was a temporary link that expired long ago. This link should take you to my GR profile. I also updated it in my sig.  I have several people who started following my reviews after I reviewed a particular book but it's only fair to warn you that I actually only rarely review books. Sometimes I rate them with stars but often I don't even do that. I still like seeing what others are reading, even people who like me don't review the books they read. I've found a fair number of books I wanted to read simply by scrolling through the feed of what my GR friends are reading or have read. 

ETA: On Goodreads I changed my avatar to the same one I have here, so WTMers will know it's me. 🙂 

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[Violet Crown]

I want to say a quick Hi and Thanks to anyone who found me on Goodreads and followed me or sent a friend request. I took myself off Goodreads, Instagram, and just about everything else Internet, so it’s not that I’m ignoring you. I’d go around and delete accounts but I’m too lazy/ tech-incompetent/ pick one.

[Lady Florida.]

I do much better reading the books I had hoped to read when I have goals. I always read, but without set goals I don't usually get to the books on my to-read lists. I just keep adding more books I want to read and then I keep not reading them. My goals are light, flexible, and I always allow myself room to read books that I hear about and decide I just have to read right now. I also never feel guilty dropping a book or revising goals. 

My Goodreads goal for 2019 is 75. Some years I read 100+, some years I can barely make it through 50 or 60. I don't want to feel rushed so I set it lower than 2018's number of 100 books.

I don't plan to do BaW bingo but I have a few other online challenges I'll probably do, including some from the 52 books blog. 

-- Continue Shakespeare in a Year. I suppose I should change the name to Shakespeare in a Year or Two or Whenever I Manage to Finish. 😄 I looked at the 2018 schedule and went through the plays and poems I didn't get to last year, then wrote dates next to them. I used the schedule as a guide for how much to read each day and what order to follow. Btw, my link goes to the 2019 schedule if anyone is interested. (I'm pretty sure it was @Melissa M who first posted about this a few years ago). The blog author breaks it up into doable amounts to read every day. The only reason i got off track was because I really, really disliked Titus Andronicus and it took me forever to get through it. Then I started only reading here and there and before I knew it I was no longer following the schedule. Still, I feel like my having read any Shakespeare plays, even one or two a year, was better than reading none.
-- Agatha Christie Perpetual Challenge (52 books blog). I've read quite a bit of Christie, including a number of the short stories. I don't care for the Tommy and Tuppence stories so I'll stick with Poirot, Miss Marple, and some of the stand-alone novels. I also have a Poirot short story collection, though I'm not sure how I'll count those. 
--Book Club - we read a book each month so I always leave room in my reading plans to read the current book club book. This adds 11 or 12 books for me. Some years  (many really) we skip December because everyone starts getting busy, then we pick up again in January. The few years we chose a Dec. book only few people read it and even fewer came to the meeting so while we keep our meeting date on the calendar we usually just skip Dec. by mutual unspoken agreement.
--Dusty challenge (52 books blog) - I don't have any physical books on my shelf to get 'dusty' so my plan is to read 4 books (Sail on Sweet Sister) that have been on my Kindle or in the cloud at Amazon for a year or longer. I rarely buy books, borrowing most of my books from the library, so I won't need to do the "don't buy any books" part of the challenge. I regularly read chunky books so that part of the challenge also isn't a challenge for me. Dusty books are definitely something I need to tackle.
--Finish 2-3 long term reads - I have a GR shelf for books that I read slowly over time (sip books as @Robin M called them) but I really want to finish some of them and move on.
--Rereads - 1 Jane Austen (tbd but not Emma since I reread that one in 2018), also either The Grapes of Wrath or Anna Karenina.
--Finish - Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire series (I only have 2 left)

The above might look like a lot but it really isn't considering that I read every day. Every. Day. I also listen to audio books as I work around the house.

Oddly, none of the books I'm currently reading will help me towards any of the above goals.  😕 

Carrying over books I was already reading in 2018-

-To Marry an English Lord
-The Poisoner's Handbook
-The Husband's Secret

Started this year -

-Lords of the North - Saxon Stories #3
-Richard III - part of my 'reading he Bard' plan
-The Rape of Lucrece - same as above
-Becoming - Michelle Obama's memoir, audio book edition. Oh wait, this is the current book club book so this one will count towards one of my goals. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[Negin]

On 1/1/2019 at 2:15 PM, Melissa M said:

And for folks who like this sort of thing, here’s a recent image of part of my library:

Melissa, your library is an absolute dream. Seriously. I'm downloading this image to share with the rest of my family. You say that it's part of your library. Do you mind if I ask how big is it? I see that it goes to another room. Do share details, if you wish. I would love to hear more about it, and/or see more pictures. Sorry to be so nosy, but this is just heaven. I've been thinking and dreaming about this for days. 

[LaughingCat]

Yeah, I also love the 'library' pic -- I had dreams of that type room at one point (actually I wanted shelves with the ladders attached 😍) but it's pretty clear to me that as long as we stay in this house I'll have to be satisfied with my wall of shelves.    My brother gave me a 'real' library stool one year for Christmas so at least I still get a little  'library' feel 

[Negin]

Kindle books on sale today. 

Dreamland: The True Story of America's Opiate Epidemic 

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

   

 

[Lady Florida.]

6 hours ago, Negin said:

Kindle books on sale today. 

 

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

   

 

This might get lost since the new thread will be up soon but...

I read that a year or two ago (just checked Goodreads - late 2017) and found it really interesting. I've never read any of the Little House books, am not a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan because of not reading the books, and never even watched the tv series (though I've heard that some fans of the books found the tv show hard to take). I tried to read some of the books to ds in his younger homeschooling days and neither of us liked them, so I dropped the idea of making him listen to books we both disliked. I don't live under a rock, so I knew enough about her and the books to not be completely in the dark when I read Prairie Fires, but there was a lot that was news to me.

All that is to say that LIW and/or Little House series fans might find it disappointing to learn some things about her, her family, and how the books were heavily edited, with events and timelines changed to make them more marketable. The author is not at all flattering to Rose Wilder Lane, but does sometimes give Laura the benefit of the doubt (though she's pretty hard on LIW's parenting). I found it to be a really interesting biography. I hope you think so too when you finish.

[-M-]

20 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

-- Continue Shakespeare in a Year. I suppose I should change the name to Shakespeare in a Year or Two or Whenever I Manage to Finish. 😄 I looked at the 2018 schedule and went through the plays and poems I didn't get to last year, then wrote dates next to them. I used the schedule as a guide for how much to read each day and what order to follow. Btw, my link goes to the 2019 schedule if anyone is interested. (I'm pretty sure it was @Melissa M who first posted about this a few years ago). The blog author breaks it up into doable amounts to read every day. The only reason i got off track was because I really, really disliked Titus Andronicus and it took me forever to get through it. Then I started only reading here and there and before I knew it I was no longer following the schedule. Still, I feel like my having read any Shakespeare plays, even one or two a year, was better than reading none.

 

I did Shakespeare in a Year in 2017 and loved it! Your feelings about TA were shared by several in the FB group that hosted the 2017 challenge, by the way. I appreciated TA much more than I had thought I would, but that doesn’t mean it was an easy read. Even if one accepts the idea that the plot is willfully over-the-top, it’s still horrifying, and given the graphic sound effects in the Arkangel recording, I had unhappily anticipated close-ups of violence and bloodletting once I saw play. The film featuring Anthony Hopkins in the title role was, however, rather restrained, for which I was most grateful. Not all of the production choices appealed to me (frankly, I just didn’t understand a few), but overall, it earned a thumbs-up for both acting and restraint.

Postscript: It’s neat to chat about TA right now because the Shakespeare Project is giving a reading next weekend.

[Robin M]

Book Week 2 is live - please continue conversation in new thread 

[-M-]

21 hours ago, Negin said:

Melissa, your library is an absolute dream. Seriously. I'm downloading this image to share with the rest of my family. You say that it's part of your library. Do you mind if I ask how big is it? I see that it goes to another room. Do share details, if you wish. I would love to hear more about it, and/or see more pictures. Sorry to be so nosy, but this is just heaven. I've been thinking and dreaming about this for days. 

 

Thank you, Negin. We have always lived in a library, but in the “forever home” it really became all that I had ever envisioned. During our homeschooling years, the collection swelled to nearly 11,000, but a cull before the move eight years ago and another three years later when we finished homeschooling brought it to what I think is a workable number. We lined the living room, the former piano room (where my desk now is), the hall, and the family room in floor to ceiling bookcases. These plus the shelves in the bedrooms can hold up to 10,000 volumes; the collection is currently about 7,200. 

With this many books, the rest of the house must be visually simple, so I had it painted the same color throughout. 

Anyway, here’s a pic of the view into the living room.

 

 

[Negin]

16 minutes ago, Melissa M said:

 

Thank you, Negin. We have always lived in a library, but in the “forever home” it really became all that I had ever envisioned. During our homeschooling years, the collection swelled to nearly 11,000, but a cull before the move eight years ago and another three years later when we finished homeschooling brought it to what I think is a workable number. We lined the living room, the former piano room (where my desk now is), the hall, and the family room in floor to ceiling bookcases. These plus the shelves in the bedrooms can hold up to 10,000 volumes; the collection is currently about 7,200. 

With this many books, the rest of the house must be visually simple, so I had it painted the same color throughout. 

Anyway, here’s a pic of the view into the living room.

 

 

This is way beyond beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing!

[JustEm]

I finished The Outsider a few days ago and enjoyed it very much.  Sometimes I really hate Stephen King because he often fails to end a story well, this was a satisfying ending.  I specifically like reading King because he does a good job at getting me emotionally involved in the story, which not many authors can do.  It is the way he handles bad things happening to children that gets me emotionally invested.

I started reading a classic that I've never read before, Great Expectations.  I have avoided Dickens like the plaque since reading A Tale of Two Cities, which I hated.  I'm enjoying Great Expectations a lot.