Deesire's 75-book reading thread for 2011

For the past few years, I have been reading more in the 50 book range, but I will give the dream of 75 another go this year (after an unsuccessful attempt last year).

And I think I will just leave it at that. No specific goals for books off the shelf for an 11 11 challenge or anything of the sort. Just 75 books, any which ones.

I do tend to enjoy partaking in the take it or leave it challenges, so that will probably guide me in my reading choices, especially when I am being indecisive about what I want to read.

I'm also thinking about doing more e-reading and perhaps investing in an e-reader. We'll see.

Welcome back!

Glad to see you are giving it another shot! Best of luck to you this year!

Thanks for the welcome dreutron and alcottacre.

My first completed read in 2011 is Melissa Bank's The Wonder Spot, which I really enjoyed. I was trying to pick books for the holidays that I could read through quickly and finish in 2010 (to meet my Books off the Shelf goals). Even though this wasn't among the shortest books on my shelves, it was among those I'd had the longest, it had been recommended by a friend with great reading taste and I just thought I might get absorbed in it. And I did, to a degree.

It was a funny style, somewhat like a collection of short stories about the same character, arranged chronologically. I really liked Sophie, the main character. There were some very insightful and amusing moments.

On another point, this year I've decided I'm going to try being more varied in my stars. Up until now, I have only used the 2.5-4 ratings commonly, with 3 being what I consider a good read, 3.5 a better than average read, 4 a very good read. I've thrown the occasional 4.5 around, but I've reserved 5 for a very select few reads that seem almost sacrosanct to me. With only 10 starring options, I think I should start using more of them, more of the time. I could think of my few special books as off the charts and go ahead and give a 5 star rating to all the excellent books I read from now on. Additionally, if I really didn't think something was well-done for what it was and/or didn't enjoy it, I think I should be more at ease to be stingy with my stars and go ahead and use the 0.5 star rating on occasion, as well as 1 and 1.5. I just think it would make more sense to use the whole range of stars; it would help to distinguish books better than having so many of them rate 3, 3.5 and 4.

So on that basis, I am not going to rate The Wonder Spot more generously than I would have last year and give it..... hmmm.... I'm torn between 4 and 4.5 (because I can't decide if it would have rated a 3.5 or a 4 under previous circumstances). I'm going to go with a 4.

Currently reading: I've got a number of books started and I don't know where I'll be focusing my attention next but I hope to spend the brunt of the day reading. That makes me happy.

#4: My local library has The Wonder Spot. I will have to give it a try! Thanks for the recommendation, Diane.

Pretty much the only disappointing aspect of this weekend was not getting nearly enough reading time. I did get some book time though, going to 3 used-bookstores and picking up a few, select finds which I added to my library.

I also updated my "currently reading" collection so that the following three books appear on my profile:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Those are indeed my three main reads right now, though I've got at least two others started but I don't think I will get through them any time soon because I also picked up some library books, most notably the third Millennium book by Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (in French). It's likely to have a hold on it so that it can't be renewed -- so I need to get cracking on it fairly soon.

I quite liked The Wonder Spot when I read it a few years ago. I read another by her, but don't remember it quite as well.

Hello from a fellow lover of memoirs....last year I really started reading quite a few of them and want to continue looking for more. I'm going to be lurking here heavily to see what you've managed to uncover. I particularly like different formats. Right now I'm reading As Always, Julia which is a compendium of letters from Julia Child to her friend Avis DeVoto covering the 1950's during the McCarthy era and the time Julia was writing her cookbook.

I have Joyce Carol Oates memoir A Widow's Story: A Memoir on tap for a February read.

tututhefirst: I often add memoirs to my wishlist as I come across them on site. One of the only downsides of memoirs for me is that they aren't all kept together at the library, the way novels are, as they tend to fall into various categories depending on their topic. They are fun and easy to browse in the same section at Chapters, though. The Julia Child and Joyce Carol Oates you describe sound interesting...

I finished two memoirs and a novel of late and reinforcing my theory that memoirs are my favourite genre of late, I loved both those I read and didn't enjoy the novel as much.

I loved The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, including it's imagery. It was conveniently written for a western audience who is likely to be completely uninformed about the Iranian situation which was certainly true in my case. I learned a lot. It's also a difficult coming of age story. Very touching.

I also loved How Starbucks Saved my Life. I read some of the reviews on here from readers who hated it... Clearly, I saw it differently. Yes, the author was from a privileged background, as he indicates, but I found the contrasts between the privileged aspects of his life and the challenges and limitations he also faced obvious (for example, he wasn't able to read until he was 10 and he finds basic arithmetic difficult). I just found him very human and my heart went out to him. I can't relate to how much he enjoys hi Starbucks job. It is a bit of a personal nightmare/fear that I fall from my professional career and have to take a low-paying job, especially in the service industry. I worked at McDonald's at a teenager and hated it. I can't say for sure why Micheal gripped me, but he did. It really helped that he "confessed" to having an affair and a new child from that affair early in the book. He really didn't seem to be blaming anyone for his downfall, not even himself, though I did feel he was taking responsibility for himself, his life, his life, his happiness. I really liked him and was rooting for him. The only part of the book I didn't like was the wonky use of contractions. I've noticed this in a few other books and it irks me. Here's an example (one of many) from this book (which is supposed to be his manager talking): "...When the shift opens in the morning and you know what that is like, there's no time to restock the coffee." Why use 'there's' but not 'that's'? It would be one thing if just one person's dialogue was like this, indicating a speech particularity of the individual, but it's all over the place. I find it stilted. Other than that, this puppy read quick and easy.

And I finally finished Late Nights on Air which I didn't really enjoy. The narrating voice seemed so far removed from the characters. I didn't feel like I understood the characters at all. At one point, one character tells another that she's hot and cold, switching quickly between moods. It didn't seem to be true from what had been told about the character it was said about. But was it a way to show that that character actually was hot and cold? I couldn't be sure... I really had to get myself to refocus frequently as I read; sometimes when I read, I keep reading the words but my mind has drifted off elsewhere and I am no longer absorbing the words -- that happened a lot with this book!

Persepolis was the first graphic novel I read, years ago before I think they were even called 'graphic novels', and I loved it. I am glad to see you enjoyed it as well.

I really enjoyed Persepolis and look forward to the sequel. I also have Late Nights on Air on my TBR pile so appreciate your forewarning about the drift factor. That one may wait until a little later.

I've now decided to read the finalists for Canada Reads (http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/), which will air on February 7, 8 and 9.

The books are:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Birth House by Ami McKay
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Unless by Carol Shields

I have started with The Birth House, which I already owned. I will get Unless from the library. I ordered the other 3 from Chapters yesterday and already received them! Unbelievable turnaround time!

I am also still currently reading Pride and Prejudice. Slowly.

I have heard good things about Essex County. I will look forward to your review when you get to it.

>>12 Deesirings: Are you going to listen to the debates? I think it's great that they let us (the public) chose the books this year.

Deedledee -- yes, I intend to listen to the debates, esp. if I've actually succeeded in reading all the books.

I finished The Birth House today. I really liked it, but I didn't totally love it. Though it flowed well, I still didn't get completely engrossed in it. I liked the main character but... somehow she didn't seem fully formed, or I didn't feel as though I really got to know her. Maybe it seemed like she wasn't challenged enough, in the sense that her midwifery apprenticeship seemed rather short and she just fell into it -- it didn't seem like any of it was hard-earned. Everything seemed to come her way (not that it went her way -- mostly, she was thrown trials and tribulations), and she adapted to circumstances, but it didn't seem like she ever worried much about things.

I started the three Canada Reads books I got from Chapters -- Essex County, Bone Cage, and Best Laid Plans -- alternating reading a chapter from each one. So far, all three seem really promising. I'm only one or two chapters in, granted, but I am already as engrossed as I ever get that early on in a book. It bodes well.

Also, today I went to the Stittsville flea market and brought some books to trade at Brian and Jenny's. I got five excellent books in exchange, including a hardcopy of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake in perfect condition. I added the books to my library on the site.

Just saw the film of Persepolis. Really well done!

A bit ironic. I actually have time to read this evening (though it's nearly 10:00 already so perhaps not much time) but I don't even feel like it. I read from The Bone Cage on the bus and it was good, but I feel I've had my fill for today. Perhaps I will pick up The Best Laid Plans in bed and see what happens. I suspect I will nod off within 3 pages now that I've actually taken a moment to write this.

I finished The Bone Cage, which I read on the bus during the course of the week. I found it really quite absorbing, that it really captured the lifestyle of elite amateur athletes (not that I would really know whether it was truly captured since I have no knowledge of it, but it really rang true). I think it would make an excellent novel to read in high school English classes. It's quite "slice of life" rather than very plot-driven, but is more gripping than I normally find for something with that level of plot. I rated it 4 stars, just like The Birth House because I found them about of equal quality though if I had to rank them, I would likely find The Birth House coming out on top, primarily for being set in a different historical era that was so well-researched.

2 down and 3 to go for Canada Reads!

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

And, done! I finished reading the last of the 5 Canada Reads novels just as the first par of the debates was airing for the first time. I'll listen to the debates later today instead. I've picked the graphic novel, The Complete Essex County as my choice for the winner, but I'm pretty happy with all the finalists so it's not like I'm dead-set on my winner. It should make the debates interesting for me. I've never listened to them before.

I would love to read The Complete Essex County, but I doubt my local library will be getting a copy in any time soon.

Hello! Concerning The Bone Cage: Do I have to be interested in sports to like it, or does it describe more the "psychological" level?

Just last but one weekend I read Persepolis and I totally agree with you! It's a great comic/graphic novel - I loved the volumes about her childhood in particular!

I found The Bone Cage engaging and I am among those least interested in sport. It is quite a lot about the routine of the athletes, how training is, basically, their lives, but it is definitely about the psychological level. One of the big themes of the novels is about identity, with the athletes being called upon to reflect upon who they are (if they are no longer an athlete). It's also about various relationships. On today's debates, Debby Travis said she found it relate-able for non-athletes, about the feelings we all have when we work toward any goal.

Today, I borrowed from the library:
Insecure at Last. Losing it in our Security Obsessed World by Eve Ensler;
This Is Not The Story You Think It Is... A Season of Unlikely Happiness by Laura Munson; and
My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster.

So those will likely become my "currently reading"s soon... They will help indulge my memoir kick.

> 24: Thanks a lot!! I'm not a sports fanatic, but that sounds interesting.

Borrowing from the library - you are exemplary! Sooner or later, I'll need to revive this former habit. I like the title of "This is not the story..." and I'll come back to see what you think about it.

>26 PersephonesLibrary:: I love browsing through books and it is just so amazing to be able to borrow whatever strikes my fancy. I'm a big fan of the library, that's for sure! It's also good to have the built-in reading deadlines. The problem with he books I own is that although I do want to read them, there is no inherent incentive guiding me toward reading any particular ones at any particular time.

Today, I finished Are You My Guru? How Medicine, Meditation & Madonna Saved my Life? by Wendy Shanker. I'm not sure what to think of it. It was about the author's experience with a weird auto-immune disease and how she sought treatment from all sorts of sources, both Western medicine and various alternatives to it. I'm not sure exactly why I picked this book. I don't have a personal connection to the disease (or to living with chronic disease -- thank goodness) and I'm not particularly interested in learning more about disease. I suppose it was just because I'd read the author's previous book. This memoir did keep me reading and I especially liked how it spanned many years, and, obviously doesn't actually end at the end of the book (since a chronic disease just goes on and on). The book does end at a point where the author feels she has experienced a rebirth. If nothing else, it certainly did help cultivate my own gratitude for my health. It also encouraged me to keep an open mind toward different practices, should I ever need them. I certainly wish all the best to Ms. Shanker.

I'm sorry that your favourite to win was voted off. I think it's going to be The Birth House. I was actually quite unhappy with the way that the panel related to Essex County. There is so much more to a graphic novel than words on a page.
I'm hoping I'll be able to catch the final debate tomorrow.

>28 Deedledee: Don't know about you, but I'm quite surprised by the outcome! I'm glad it was one of the underdogs, rather than Shields or even The Birth House but I really didn't see The Best Laid Plans coming. What was interesting about the graphic novel, to me, is that the panelists were concerned it wouldn't promote a love of reading among non-readers, but, for me, it was about the stretch it takes for an avid reader to pay attention to the work as a whole and not focus exclusively on the text. I really had to remind myself to slow down, to savour, and to take in the art as well as the text as I was reading it.

I have to admit that I probably would not have picked up The Best Laid Plans prior to Canada Reads, I think Ali Velshi did a really good job defending it. It's now on my TBR list.

I just finished Eve Ensler's Insecure at Last: Losing it in our Security Obsessed World and I don't quite know what to make of it. I read the title and thought of financial/material security. Upon reading, I realized it was more national security that was at play. I expected more of an essay piece, I think. This was pretty much all over the map and I think it went over my head. Except for all the stories of terrible suffering made me feel very sad and, actually, hopeless and helpless (while I think the point was to make me feel hopeful and empowered).

I started reading Jen Lancaster's My Fair Lazy in bed last night and, so far, it isn't doing it for me. I think it's supposed to be humourous or at least amusing, but I am not finding it funny. It's more irritating so far. And yet, quite readable. So I will give it a bit more of a chance before deciding that I don't like it.

Sounds like you have hit a lull in the books. I hope you find one that really excites you soon!

So let's see... Since my last posts, I've finished:
This is not the Story you Think it is and The Hunger Games. I didn't find This is not the Story you Think it is as engrossing as I would have expected, given the topic and description, but it was still a decent read. As for The Hunger Games, I found the premise utterly repulsive and might have been reluctant to go through with reading the book, but for the fact that it was highly recommended by a friend of mine and my book club picked it on that basis. It was an excellent book club pick, though. Very thought-provoking and ripe for discussion. Unfortunately, my book club is basically dead -- this discussion was an attempt at a revival that was mostly unsuccessful, I'm afraid. One couple hosted and I was the only additional attendee. I think a new book club will have to be struck if there is to be a book club in my future.

I've marked all my library books as current reads on my profile. I'm about to finish My Fair Lazy (it's due back at the library today and can't be renewed because there's a hold on it). I will pick up Pride and Prejudice again for March's TIOLI.

I have the week off and although I haven't done much reading yet, I think that is about to change.

I bought a Kobo e-reader. I haven't decided if I like it yet. I have all sorts of criticisms but I may still come out liking it. Little things like margin space -- why so much of it? The screen's not that big and its contoured by plenty of plastic that in my mind should replace the margin. I want text right across the screen, with little to no extra screen space. And I want an audio function to read the words I look up in the dictionary. In fact, it may be that what I really want is an Ipad rather than en e-reader because I also want the same device to be my Ipod and perhaps my cellphone too. Oh, I'd also like for it to play games, like a Nitendo DS. I got the e-reader because it would be smaller to carry than a book. But I don't want to have to supplement it by carrying other electronic devices too. I want it all, in one compact, light device. Also, holding the e-reader while I read it taking some getting used to. I think it should come with a structure in the back that can be tucked in or taken out, like a picture frame, to act as a kind of easel to put it down on a table or some such surface while reading. And why is there no backlight? I'd like to be able to read in bed with it (with the lights out of course) without needing an additional reading light. Perhaps I am asking for a lot but I am quite convinced all these features I want will become standard in the next 5 years (or the e-reader as a separate device will become obsolete and all that will be available will be multi-functional electronic devices that include e-readers).

Anyway, it came pre-loaded with 100 classic books so I have picked up reading Pride and Prejudice on it where I'd left off in the paper copy. So that seems a good comparison test between paper-book and e-book. I really like the option of changing the text size on the e-book. Despite all my complaints in the previous paragraph, I am enjoying the e-reading.

I also borrowed an e-book from the library to make sure that I could and that everything on that front worked, since I expect most of my e-books will come from the library. (I'm not a big spender on books, borrowing from the library or buying primarily used books in good condition for a buck or two at various book sales.) So I got Rage Against the Meshugenah and I am enjoying that.

Meanwhile, in paper book land, I picked up Through Thick and Thin from my shelves. I think I wanted something light and portable for the bus last week. I am really enjoying it. It is the kind of book that comes to mind periodically during my day and that I look forward to being able to pick up again when I have the opportunity to read.

So that's what I'm actively reading right now. I've picked up some weight-loss memoirs from the library that should be next for paper books. I've picked out lots of e-books from the library that I'll choose from whenever I need something new for the e-reader. Hopefully, the library will be able to meet my e-reading needs and having the e-reader doesn't turn out to be an ongoing expense.

Lots of good reading going on right now.

I hope you do have a chance to get to love your e-reader. I have a NOOK and love it. I think each user has a list of wants/needs/likes/dislikes about individual devices. I will point out tho that the reason there is no back lite on most of them is that most users find the back lit screens (a la laptop or computer screens) very hard on the eyes for long periods at a time. The e=reader screen is specifically designed to eliminate that problem.

Thanks tututhefirst. It is quite possible that I will grow to love the e-reader as well. What you say about the backlight makes sense, except that it doesn't make great sense to me to not offer the option of turning one on as needed (or including some sort of little LED light that attaches to the reader as an inclusion rather than an accessory). I addressed that complaint by buying a better bedside lamp, which will make reading before bed easier whether it's e-books or paper books I want to read.

But as long as I am listing my complaints, another one I have is that even though the Kobo is wifi enabled, the only thing it's enabled to is the kobo store, while I want to get books from my local library.

I read from the e-reader in bed last night. It did not start from the right page. I don't know if it simply didn't save my page or if I accidentally changed the page myself (I had a friend take a look at my kobo, so maybe my page was accidentally moved during that time). Whatever the cause, the solution was not easy. I just had to keep reading from where it took me and skim on through until I was in the right place. This was not as easy to do as in a paper book. As far as I can tell, there is no way to skip ahead, say, 3 pages or whatever. I can go to the table of contents and pick a chapter. In the case of the book I was reading, the chapters are only identified by number (and not title) so.... unless I noticed the page number or the chapter number where I left off, it's very difficult to use the table of contents to get help to find my place.

I think I will start seeing the good points of the e-reader more as I use it on the bus. I realize it will mean that I can read whatever I want on the bus, without regard to books size or weight. So I am not totally blind to the advantages and I did buy the e-reader because of such features. It is totally light weight. So I'm far from not liking it at all.