Introduce Yourself to Your Fellow Club Readers!

Someone suggested we do this, so I'll start it off. I've been in Club Read since Lois/avaland began it in 2009 and it is probably my favorite group on LT. I've met so many interesting readers here, and added dozens and dozens and dozens of books to my TBR thanks to their reviews. I live in New York City where there are still some independent bookstores, and my reading is undisciplined, as I read whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

Hullo all. I'm Monkey, otherwise known as PolymathicMonkey, or Poly, or PM, or.... I tend to acquire nicknames the same way other people acquire pocket change, do with it as you will. ;P

Last year was my first here and I wound up flaking out in the middle of the year (not just here, but reading in general suffered then!), but I'm aiming to do far better this year, because this group is lots of fun! I'm an American indefinitely relocated to Belgium with my Dutch husband. I love almost all sorts of books (please, no clicklit/romance, please I beg of you!) and try to make sure I spread my reading around a bit to all my loves. :P

Hello! I'm bragan (aka Betty), and I've been a member of Club Read for... Actually, I'm not sure I even remember how long! Several years, anyway. My reading is often described as "eclectic," featuring a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, although I do have a particular liking for-- Well, I was going to say "science fiction," but, really, the broader term "speculative fiction" probably works better.

I live in New Mexico, where there are few bookstores per square mile, probably because there are few people per square mile.

Hi, I'm Kay, normally living in South Carolina, but temporarily in Munich, Germany. I've been happily involved with Club Read for a few years now, and love the conversations and the fantastic reviews here of an amazing variety of books.

I enjoy a wide variety of books, mostly, but not entirely, fiction. This year, I'd like to focus on Europe, specifically, central and eastern Europe of the twentieth century. We'll see how that goes. I don't tend to be a focused reader, instead flitting here and there whenever anything shiny catches the light. I also like anything to do with art, and hope to remember to mention any museums and exhibits I see.

Hi, I'm Ann also known as ALWINN.... I have been a LT since 2010 and I love this site and I have been with this group but not very active and have been trolling the threads and love it and will make a point of being more active. I was born and raised in NW Arkansas but now live in Kansas City for the last 20 years.

My main focus has been on the 1001 Book list but I do throw others in there. Book stores are not a problem here and I also have a kindle and the library and I tend to buy alot of books from garage sales believe it or not.

Hi, I'm Jennifer. I've been a member of LT since 2009 and this is my 3rd year in Club Read. I love this group for the informative reviews and interesting discussions that spring up. I've also learned from this group that I have a "shockingly low" number of books on my TBR shelves (currently 69), a problem that I will work on remedying with help from all of you. ;-)

I tend to read classics and current literary fiction and I gravitate towards women authors. I enjoy nonfiction, especially biographies or american/european history, but don't read as much of it as I would like.

I am the mother of two boys, ages almost 4 and 10 months, and I also work full time as a musician in the Marine Band. I live in Northern VA, just outside Washington, DC. While my busy life never allows for quite as much reading as I'd like, I get pretty much reading in and wouldn't want my life any other way!

Hi, I'm Colleen. I joined LT and Club Read last January, and I'm very glad that I did. I am going to try to plan my reading for the year, but I know that as much as I want to follow a plan, I tend to be distracted easily. A book I am reading or a review will push me toward other books. I don't think that's a bad thing.

I retired two years ago, and live with my hubby in Northwest New Jersey where the deer and the bears are plentiful. My three children and their spouses have given me seven wonderful grandchildren, and I try very hard not to spoil them. I enjoy historical fiction, non-fiction, and mysteries. But, I am usually open to suggestions for anything other than horror.

I thought I might check out a couple of the Challenges this year. I'm not sure how they work, but I'm sure I will find out. :)

Hello everyone, I'm Gerard. I joined Club Read last year and had a lot of fun. As for my reading, I'm a nonfiction junkie, so you'll see a lot of that from me. I'm also a member of the Dewey Decimal Challenge, so I'm in for a strange year reading all sorts of subjects that you wouldn't there a book about. I'm also a bit of a lurker--many times, I don't have time to flesh out a well-thought comment. Rest assured, though, I'm always up for a fun conversation.

Hello, I'm Pat. I've been participating in Club Read for a few years now. I'm not sure how to describe my reading tastes. Some of my favorite authors include Hemingway, Vonnegut, and McCarthy. I also enjoy reading historical nonfiction, and my degree is in history and political science. One of my reading goals this year is to read more women authors. Two in particular that I have in mind are Margaret Atwood and Flannery O'Connor.

Hello, my name is Cyrel and I am a retired art teacher from Toronto, Canada. I like to list my reading and some films- I have become a dedicated film festival goer since I left teaching.I go to the Toronto International Film Festival and Hot Docs as well as other festivals during the year.
My taste in book choice is eclectic- I like some mystery, some dystopian and lots of historical fiction. I read history books as well. I like to keep up with Canadian novelists and writers.

Hi Everyone. I'm twogerbils (aka Amy). I'm a law librarian and a Library Thinger since 2006, but I'm new to Club Read. I like reading mostly fantasy, ghost stories, cozies, the classics, history, nonfiction, and books about other countries and cultures. I have a least two reading goals this year -- read more classic Victorian ghost stories (like J.S. LeFanu) and read more Scandinavian literature (like Halldor Laxness).

Forgive me, I'm new to this -- just realized I should probably include where I live. That would be Cleveland, OH, USA.

I'm Lois and I've been in Club Read since its beginning in '09 and in LT since the fall of '06.

I've had an interesting mix of careers, most recently as the managing editor of Belletrista.com, an online magazine that celebrates literature written by women (but is now sadly in hiatus).

An interesting tidbit for some: I'm married to LTer, dukedom_enough, a sometime (and somewhat quiet) member of Club Read. Honestly, how can one resist a scientist who reads poetry? Honestly, I couldn't. We reside at the moment in the wonderful, progressive-but-not-perfect state of Massachusetts here in the northeastern USA.

I like all kinds and forms of fiction, also poetry (mostly contemporary these days) and whatever piques my interest in nonfiction. My comfort reads tend to be very good police procedurals. I tend to avoid structured goals in my reading and group reads (and I'm sure there is a perfectly good psychological reason for this:-) preferring a gentle self-shepherding into various interesting literary pastures instead. I do have some obsessions, the most notable of which is Joyce Carol Oates (my record is 9 of her works read in one year, but this year—alas!—I may only finish one!)

Dukedom & I are currently in process of packing up, putting the house on the market, moving...etc, so the next six months are going to be busy. Perhaps there will be time for reading and for LT.

I'm Steven and this will be, I think, my third year in Club Read. I live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas, where I was born (but don't worry, I've never owned a gun, ridden a horse, worn a pair of cowboy boots, joined a church, voted for a Republican, or said "y'all"). I've been retired for seven years, which lets me spend a lot of time reading.

At one point my reading was mostly in history, but since about 1999 I've focused on the classics and modern literary fiction with occasional forays into science fiction. I have a weakness for reading lists, and have resolved that in 2014 I will concentrate on the "1001 Books You Must Read before You Die" list, if for no other reason than those are the books overfilling my bookshelves at the moment. I will still read the occasional bizarre work of decadent, surreal or transgressive fiction, to which the typical comment here is: "not my cup of tea."

Hello everyone, my name's Paul. I've been on LT almost three years and 2013 was my first year in Club Read. I've loved it, so I'm back for more!

I grew up in (south) London, lived for most of my 20s in Israel, returned to live in (west) London for a decade or so, and for the last few years have lived in Wales where my partner hails from. I'm the Tree Officer (AKA 'Urban Forester') for a neighbouring County Council, and have worked with trees in one way or another - growing them, pruning them, felling them, inspecting them, planting them, managing them, hating them, loving them - for the best part of twenty years now.

My reading tastes are varied, but simultaneously quite particular - if that makes any sense at all! I enjoy fiction and non-fiction equally. I've always been obsessed with American literature and the country in general (still never been!) - from beats to the deep south, urbane metropolitan scenes to the boonies of back and beyond - I love it all. Fiction in translation, travelogues, derring-do and adventure, natural history, sports writing, espionage and war correspondence are the sort of thing I enjoy. The occasional classic. Short stories have always been a form I like to explore, and often discover new writing that way. History and historical fiction, and books on Israel as well as Jewish themes - fiction & non-fiction - will always hold my interest. I don't usually plan my reading too much but will always keep an eye on some of the theme reads and various centenaries being read at groups like Reading Globally and Author Theme Reads.

I look forward to following as many great Club Reads as I can manage to keep up with!

>13 StevenTX: Too funny, Steven.

Hi all - I'm Kris, aka fannyprice.

I first joined Club Read in 2009 and was a fairly active member for a couple years until the demands of my job - middle east policy and political analysis - became overwhelming in late 2011. I'm now pursuing a year of full-time Arabic language study, which gives me slightly more time to read and reflect on what I read, so I'm tentatively dipping my toe back into Club Read. I love the readers who gather here, but I confess that I am easily overwhelmed by the volume of discussion and the erudition of the discussants!

Like many here, my reading tastes are varied. I have admitted in the last two years to myself that I'm a structured procrastinator (see http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/) and will read anything other than what I commit to reading next, so I've given up on setting goals or plans, other than reading what comes next from my library hold list (even that is often a challenge).

Things I particularly enjoy reading about are science and history - if I could do it all over again, I'd be a science journalist (or the person who reads and chooses books for Terry Gross to discuss on "Fresh Air"). I have a persistent and inexplicable fascination with World War One, so I hope to participate in a lot of reads related to that this year. In the last year, I also realized that I rather enjoy mysteries and detective novels. I am particularly enamored of two WW1-related mystery series by Charles Todd - one about a nurse during WW1 and the second about a PTSD-suffering Scotland Yard detective.

The best books I read in 2013 have included:

Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
Stay Awake - Dan Chaon
The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements - Sam Kean
The Uninvited Guests - Sadie Jones
If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Hey, there...my name is Jude....my former LT name was "jdthloue", and I believe i joined this group last year. Sadly, my desire to read died a slow death,and other matters intervened...long story short, i left LT for a while. I have returned, hopefully without "old baggage".

That being said, I read all of 9 books in 2013...3 of those were Pop-Up books...none of them were "duds". This year i might branch out, and discuss movies/films/DVDs; music that knocks me out; always Food and Cooking.....and, yes, Books

I live on a farm in SE Ohio with my ginger tom Kitteh, who keeps me busy, if not always sane.

I look forward to this coming year.....and hope to actually participate, here, this time around

I guess I forgot to mention....I read everything except Self-Help books, Romance novels, and Christian Fiction...prefer mystery/thrillers with an edge, Literary Fiction with "teeth"....and any book that makes me think outside my comfort zone.

I'm Tim, I'm a writer and editor (among other pursuits), I live in Wellington, New Zealand, and I have been in Club Read since 2009. My Club Read activity each year follows a sadly predictable pattern - I start with a burst of enthusiasm during my summer holidays (the main holiday period here in NZ), which tapers off and eventually ceases as my other commitments claim my time and attention - then I return to LT life around this time of the year, which I use to complete the current year's thread, hoping to do so before the year ends!

One of the other commitments which has taken up the most time this year is co-editing (with P.S. Cottier) an anthology called "The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry" - the m/s went to the publisher in early December, and the book should appear in the first half of 2014. I have therefore read a huge amount of poetry this year, but as it's been individual poems rather than collections, it's not reflected in my 2013 reading list.

Fiction-wise, the latter half of 2014 was dominated by reading the five extant volumes of George R R Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire". My thoughts are here:

http://timjonesbooks.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/maybe-modern-life-isnt-rubbish-after...

Right - back to updating my 2013 thread with books from the second half of the year!

Hello everyone!

I'm Kayla (also known as kaylaraeintheway) from Sacramento, CA , and this is my first venture into Club Read! I joined LT almost a year ago and started the 50 Books Challenge. Since I'm in grad school for Student Affairs, I haven't had as much free time to read as I would like, so unfortunately I only reached 33 books for 2013 (a travesty that causes my English-major heart to break!).

However, I am very much looking forward to participating in this group, as I will be reading a lot of articles and non-fiction books for school, mostly dealing with issues in higher education, student development, and research/assessment in the student affairs field, so if anyone is interested or has experience, I would love to strike up some conversations!

I love books. LOVE. I even have a tattoo to prove it (an outline of an open book on my wrist). My tastes vary from historical non-fiction to epic fantasy to science fiction to The Classics. Basically, give me anything that isn't Stephanie Meyer, and I'm all over it. Also, in case you couldn't tell, I love talking about books :)

I don't have any particular goals for 2014, but I would like to finally read a lot of the books that have been sitting on my bookshelf for years (I am a compulsive book-buyer, and no matter how many books I already own, I will always buy more. How can I resist when I'm a few blocks away from a great used bookstore?!). I would also like to finish A Song of Ice and Fire sometime in 2014 (I started Feast for Crows, so I'm not too far behind).

OK, I think that's it for now. Can't wait to start reading, talking, and getting to know all of you!

I am Annie - had been around for the last few years, usually disappearing at some point (later and later in the year every year so who knows, 2014 may be the charm in keeping me around till December). These days I live in Phoenix, AZ - and I travel a lot both for work and for personal reasons.

I tend to read a lot - all genres, all types of books. Some days I jump between genres, some days I stick to a topic and just get stuck there for a while (my pre-historical reading last year for example; the Tudors a few years earlier). I like series (SF and mysteries mainly) but I also have the tendency to start way too many of them. I really like comics and graphic novels.

I listen to plays - and lately started looking into the audio format for stories that are not available in print... so I suspect I will be doing more of that in 2014.

Well... I guess the rest you will learn about me when you follow my reading. :) Happy holidays and a successful 2014th for everyone.

I'm Turner from Edinburgh from Scotland. (That's part of the UK for those who are poor at geography although by the end of the year it may have voted to leave the UK).

I have been a member of Club Read for a number of years but have always failed to last the distance. I start the new year and new thread with a sense of optimism which usually lasts until 0030 on the first. (Perhaps I should stop toasting the new year with whisky).

Hello! I'm Cait, a twenty-something English teacher from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. This is my fifth year in Club Read, though I think I only made it to March last year!

Besides books, I love traveling, theatre, and cooking. When it comes to reading, I am most likely to pick up contemporary literary fiction, with the occasional Classic, mystery, and YA novel thrown in for good measure.

I’m MJ (Mary Jo), living in Chicago and reading mainstream and literary fiction, memoir, science nonfiction, some history (including social history), and a bit of poetry. I’m especially interested in workplace settings and creative narrative structures.

I'm Darryl, and I work as a pediatrician who cares for hospitalized children at a large children's hospital in Atlanta. This is my fifth year in Club Read, and I generally read 20th & 21st century literary fiction, particularly international and British literature, non-fiction, especially books on medicine and public health, and occasional collections of modern poetry. I'm also active in the 75 Books group (you can find my first thread of 2014 here), and I'm the primary moderator of the Booker Prize group on LT.

I also like to participate in LT meet ups, which are generally posted in the LibraryThing Gatherings and Meetups group. I also love to travel; I'm planning a month long trip to London, Paris and Barcelona in June, and I'll probably make at least two or three other trips to London next year.

#7 - Colleen - I had no idea you had bears in New Jersey. Learn something new every day . . . .

>26 Nickelini: Joyce, The bears have become a bit of a problem. Although, I guess development has really invaded their space. The bear population has increased so much that they actually have had bear hunting season (very short season, and well monitored) for the past couple of years. Most people think of New Jersey as the stretch of highway near Newark airport, but in addition to beautiful sandy beaches, we have hills, and trees, and horse country too.

Hi, I'm Joyce, and I've been at ClubRead since the doors opened. My favourite hobby is buying books, and my postal carrier is my best friend because the metro-Vancouver area has an embarrassingly low number of bookstores for an area with 2.5 million people! I tend to buy a lot of books when I travel, too. Which I like to do whenever I get the chance.

Otherwise, I'm a freelance corporate writer, wife, and mother of two teenage daughters.

I've decided to keep my reading goals very flexible for 2014--after years of assigned reading, I just really need to read where my (book) spirit leads. That said, I have a whole mountain of contemporary Brit-lit ready to attack, along with a sizable pile of CanLit, and also a fairly hefty pile of fairytale-related books. So that's what you can expect to see on my thread this year, unless the book spirits take me elsewhere.

#27 - Colleen - I think bears are part of that group of animals that are rebounding and learning to live with humans (I include skunks, racoons, and coyotes in that group).

Thanks for the explanation of NJ. For years I was confused because I'd read books where people there were hoighty-toighty and went fox hunting and attended debutant balls, but then I'd hear these derogatory jokes . . . it was confusing at the time.

Hey, I'm Lee (32) and live in Rhondda, South Wales, UK.

Been on Librarything for a few years and have always joined the 75 or 50 book challenge. This usually means that towards the end of the year I am looking for thin books to make up the number :) This means that my bookshelves are now groaning with all the thick left over novels. So this year I decided to join Club Read.

Read a wide variety of books but my favourite authors are: Jack Higgins, Nevil Shute, Ian Fleming, Peter Benchley & Stephen King. Although recently been introduced to Hammond Innes & David Gemmell so I am starting to collect their works. My all time favourite book has to be Papillon, and I'm sure I will revisit it again this year.

>21 by @avaland, While I'm American, that "currently" makes it feel like my location is temporary. The USA hasn't been my location for 4.5yrs and it likely will not ever be again, Belgium is it for me. :)

I'm Bas. I am English (London Born) but now I am resident in rural South West France, which I love: ah the peace the tranquillity and the Jazz. France is more civilized than England; there are fewer people and as a bonus they now have a socialist government... oh and the weather is better.

I spend far too much time on Club Read reading everybody's threads, but I am retired and so have more time than most. Other interests are music (all types, but I am heavily into Jazz). I am learning to play the tenor saxophone, I watch as many films as I can and one day I will get to saying a few words about them on my thread. I have a large garden to look after and grow most of my own vegetables and there always seems to be something to do in the house (it's an old farm house)

I have reading projects that keep me going throughout the year, but tend to avoid contemporary fiction (although I have to read some as my bookclub keeps choosing them for me to read).

Since I discovered LT back in 2010 my social life online has expanded wonderfully and I am a little concerned that real life is suffering a little. Hope to keep in touch with you all next year.

>21 avaland: got it!

My name is Valerie, aka Erratic Charmer. I was raised in Florida but left the States some years ago and went to graduate school in the UK (degrees in Old Norse and Medieval Studies). I worked as an English teacher in China and Taiwan (for those of you wondering what to do with an MA in Medieval Studies, that's your answer!) for close to six years. I'm married now and live in Leeds with my husband and a cat.

I knit, journal, work out, and learn to play the fiddle and bodhran when I'm not at work.

In 2013 I tried to read 100 books and came up just under twenty books short. I have several packed TBR shelves that I'd like to work on this year, but instead of trying to finish a set number I'd rather read through them in a more leisurely and thoughtful way. I also want to spend more time writing this year (about an hour daily), so discussing the books that we're all reading seems like a good approach to both goals.

My main reading interests are religious (Druidry, Goddess spirituality, and Celtic Christianity for the most part) and also a wide range of fiction. I'm a little bit of a literary snob (if I'm honest, just a bit of a snob full stop! =/) but have a weak spot for fantasy literature. I lose patience with things quickly if I think they're badly written though.

My top ten books from 2013, in no particular order...

The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy
Unapologetic by Francis Spufford
Damage by Josephine Hart
The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
Compassion: Living in the Spirit of St Francis by Ilia Delio
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
Jesus Through Pagan Eyes by Mark Townsend
A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland
It Ends with Revelations and The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith (It's two! I'm cheating! I can't help it. I love Dodie Smith.)

I'm Dennis. I've been a Club Read'er for several years.

In 2013 My thread was woefully neglected as I spent a period of time digesting my current favourite subject, the Enneagram.

Hope to be back to 'normality' this year, with a more active thread.

I live near Oxford in the UK.

Welcome to the newcomers to Club Read: Amy/twogerbils, Jude/Jaydit666, Kayla/kaylaraeintheway, Lee/Bridgey, Valerie/Erratic Charmer.

And welcome back to all!

Looking forward to another great reading year.

I'm Tony. I live in Northumberland, UK. I've taken part in Club Read for several years, though often silently on many a thread. I seem to get through fewer books than many and would like to increase that but am a bear of little brain. I especially enjoy poetry but have no very fixed reading goals - I did start reading John Burnside and Seamus Heaney in chronological order and would like to continue with that, I would also like to read more criticism and appreciation of poetry. I am also a keen film watcher with a local group that has opened my eyes in recent years and may try to track that on my thread this year. I try to write poetry and am working on my first pamphlet, progress occurring, slowly.

Hello all, I'm Jane -- I think I've been on Club Read since almost the beginning. I teach literature and humanity courses at what is now considered a state college, but is still really a community college. I have 3 semesters of teaching left before I retire. I was born in western NYS, have lived in Baltimore, Cleveland, and NYC, but moved to Florida's west coast over 30 years ago. I'm married to a repertory actor, so the theatre has played a huge part in my life.

I have large TBR piles all over my house waiting, I guess, for retirement. I LOVE to read, but this year has been challenging with a demanding teaching load, lots of family events, some turmoil and much joy. This fall I read a fair amount of English history to complement my English Lit I course -- I may continue with some that -- jumping into the early 19th century and forward.

I gravitate toward contemporary international fiction, especially by women writers, and I've developed a quirk for narrative poetry.

I look forward to continuing our old reading friendships and making some new friends.

My name's Edwin, and my handle on LT -- edwinbcn -- signals both my nostalgia for Barcelona, where I lived (BCN) and China, where I currently live (B is the initial of my family name + CN for China).

I love buying second-hand books, and because that market is positively restricted and odd in Beijing, you will find me reading odd-ball and rare books.

Being Dutch, you will find reviews of Dutch book on my thread. Having studied English Literature and Linguistics, I love English Lit and like linguistics. Before China, I lived in Germany (Stuttgart area), Czech Republic (Prague) and Spain (Barcelona).

For my work, I am based in Beijing (this is my 14th year), but my home in China is in South-China's Nanning, just 320 km north of Hanoi, or 340 km south of Guilin, and 670 km to the west of Hong Kong.

My main job is to teach Academic Writing at the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Besides that, I teach various other EFL courses, write EFL textbooks and do a fair amount of editing and proofreading.

My aim is to read 150 - 180 books per year, at 16 books a month.

Just bringing this thread up to the top. Keeping a running list who's who in post #21. At some point I'll suggest to rebecca that she paste it into post #1.

My name's Kevin, and I'm geologist currently residing in Indiana. I think my taste in books is rather erratic and I'll read anything from geology to science fiction. My only goal this year is to continue to read more women authors so if ya'll have any suggestions, I'll gladly take them over on my thread.

Hi all! I'm ljbwell. I've been at LT since 2008 (in fact, my Thingaversary is coming up quickly) and, I think, this is my 3rd year at Club Read. There are a fair few places I have called home, and 2013 saw me settle back down in one of them: Gothenburg, Sweden.

Even though I get easily sidetracked and don't do it as often as I'd like, I love to read and love having books around me. I think a lot of my moves would have been significantly cheaper if I'd been willing or able to part with the accumulation. :-)

I like to think I have eclectic tastes in books, but I suspect that is narrowing. Literary fiction (modern and 'classic'), sci fi, alternate history (esp. WWII), and more recently YA and graphic novels. I like to throw in a bit of non-fiction, just to shake things up, and to read in French and Swedish periodically to keep those skills alive (something I should do with Spanish, too!).

Even if I don't always jump in with something to say, I really enjoy reading the discussions on the threads here at Club Read - this is what brought me to the group in the first place. I look forward to another year with everyone!

Hi, I’m Linda. I am a retired social work administrator from the Capital Region of New York State.

This will be my third year on Club Read, which has expanded my literary horizons and introduced me to many inspiring readers and talented reviewers. My reading is varied and rarely planned, with a preference for literary fiction, classics, travel narratives, memoirs, essays, short stories and poetry. My only specific goal is to eventually read at least one work by each Nobel Literature Laureate.

I also love attending author talks and seminars on various topics. When I am caught up with life (which didn't happen too much last year), I try to share some of these on my thread.

I'm Christelle. I'm new here. I like to read alot specially philosophical books. Looking forward to share with you what I've read.

Hi all, I'm Rebecca and I live in London with my husband, two-year-old son and two cats. This is my seventh year on Library Thing and my fourth in Club Read, though last year's thread never really got going, as I simply didn't have the time to keep up with LT. My circumstances are slightly different this year, so I'm hopeful 2014 will be a better year for tracking my reading and for catching up with (or lurking on the threads of!) all the inspiring readers in Club Read. There's no doubt that the quality of my reading has improved since joining LT in general and Club Read in particular.

I enjoy contemporary and 20th-century literary fiction and the classics, try to read in French and German from time to time and am particularly drawn to all things Russian, German and Central and Eastern European. My top three new reads last year were (in no particular order) New Grub Street, Life and Fate and Doctor Zhivago.

Hi, I'm Milda. I currently live near San Antonio TX, but I'm hoping that maybe in 2014 I'll be moving. My daughters are graduating (one from college, the other from high school), so it's time for an adventure - hopefully off to someplace less often so brutally hot.

I enjoy literary fiction and sometimes nonfiction, too. My older daughter is about to become a student teacher of 5th-graders, so I like to read books I can share with her. Many to-be-read books stacked in my house, thanks to LTer recommendations... but I am often distracted by new stuff at the library.

It's 1 January and I've already finished a good book! So Happy is my New Year!
My log: http://www.librarything.com/topic/163232

Have a great 2014, everybody!

Welcome, Christelle. I see you just joined LT today and haven't had a chance to enter any books into your library yet. We'll all be interested to see your books once you have a chance to enter them.

And welcome back, all!

Rebecca (from another Rebecca!), I love Life and Fate and Doctor Zhivago too, so that bodes well for New Grub Street which I've had on my TBR shelves for a year or two now.

Hello, my name is Bill, aka wildbill. I'm an attorney in the Atlanta area. I live with my wife, who is an artist, and our two pugs. Our children are grown which makes for a quiet household, very conducive to reading.
This is my second year on Club Read.

I have enjoyed reading history as long as I can remember. I read mysteries for relaxation and in recent years I have developed an interest in poetry. My favorite book from last year was Two Years Before the Mast

#47 Rebecca, based on my frequent visits to your threads over the years (though usually without actually saying anything!), I think you'd enjoy New Grub Street. I was surprised by how gripping I found it and had the urge to recommend it to people I knew, even though the mixed fortunes of writers and journalists in 19th-century London doesn't sound like the most widely appealing of topics!

#49 I bought it because someone in my favorite bookstore recommended it to me based on other books I'd bought. So now I have two reasons to get to it sooner rather than later.

Hi, I'm Chris, and I live in Connecticut in the U.S., less than an hour outside New York City. I've been a member of LT since 2006, and a sporadic member of Club Read since 2009. I have yet to make it through an entire year of posting, but I've tried to convince myself that this year will be different. (You may not want to believe me, which is probably good judgment on your part.) My wish list tends to grow in leaps and bounds when I do visit the Club. My mother, who is much more active on CR than I am, is NanaCC/Colleen.

Some of my favorite books from last year were Life after Life, Anna Karenina and Team of Rivals. I enjoy both fiction and nonfiction, and my particular interests include science history (particularly the early years of the Royal Society), seafaring and botany (combining those is a home run for me), European history, British fiction, Indian fiction . . . I could probably keep going here for a while.

HI Everyone,

I'm Yolana and I teach and play music (Violin and viola) here in Carrboro, NC. Also known as the Paris of the Piedmont. I read a lot of literary fiction and non-fiction, and due to the influence of oldest son, quite a bit of YA just to see what it is he's hooping and hollering about. This is my second year, I had a bit of a fizzle mid-year last year, but I'm hoping to post more regularly this year. I do spend a lot of lurking time on other people's threads even when I haven't been reading a lot.

>47 rebeccanyc:, 49 Chiming in for New Grub Street, on my all time favourites list.

Hello,

I'm Steve. This is my first time so please be gentle. Mostly I'll sit in the corner and read.

Hi all, I'm Dan from Houston where I interpret salt on seismic data for oil exploration. I'm originally from Florida. My wife and kids put up with me.

My reading interests have a nasty habit of changing, often without informing other parts of my brain. I haven't figured out what I will be reading this year. I love Club Read and hope to be able to keep up with everyone this year.

Welcome to Club Read, Yolana and Steve!

Hi there,
it's been a while that I made it to this thread. So many interesting things to read in this group. But here goes:
I'm a teacher and this is my first year in Club Read. Something about my reading history: I always loved reading when I was a kid but somehow dropped it at some point in my childhood and only started to pick it up again when I was around 18. I only became a serious reader at university. There was this one teacher who made me fall in love with books and yes, hardly believable, literary theory. From then on I started thinking about what I read. I will always remember how my teacher started her first lecture on literary theory: "After this semester you will be a different person. Reading does that to people." Back then I thought she was probably just trying to get us to learn something about literary theory but in the end I felt that I really had changed and that literature did the trick. So, I guess she was right.
Well, enough for this stroll down memory lane. What do I read? I take in as much as I can. When people ask me what they could give me for my birthday I often answer that a book would be nice. The usual reaction to that is asking me what (kind of) book I'd like. I always tell them to surprise me and just take something that they think I'd like. So, what I'm saying is that I probably would read anything. I usually like a mix of what people call Literature (with a capital L) and popular fiction.
And one more thing: I always struggle with writing proper reviews. I basically don't have the time to write a proper review because my reviews tend to be pretty long. That's why my 'reviews' on LT are usually just short commentaries and don't really deserve to be called review.

Hi All, I'm Florence, and dchaikin invited me here. I live in Montreuil, near Paris, France, and I read in French and English.

I will probably be more of a lurker than an active participant, since I'm not very good at keeping track of or commenting my readings. I used to be an avid reader but lately I am often sidetracked by other things. I usually read on the commute train, and since I got an iPad there are many other things that I can do too, and that has put a strain on my reading.

My tastes in books vary wildly. I seem to be on a trend to read big and intimidating books lately, and also I am reading more non fiction than I did in the past. I still haven't started a new book since I finished A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleur some time in December. I just found out that Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism is available as an ebook. I've had it for a while in paper, but maybe now that it's on my iPad I will actually get around to reading it. But to be honest I feel like reading something lighter first. For comfort reading I usually turn to romance and fantasy.

Great to see all the new people.

I'm SassyLassy and this will be my third year in Club Read. Like everyone else here, one of my great delights in life is wandering through bookstores. However, I live in one of the small communities on Georgian Bay, the unofficial sixth Great Lake. While it is a beautiful area, good bookstores start a two hour drive away. Club Read has become my bookstore over the past two years. Not only do I stumble across great books I would never have found otherwise, I have recommendations from people I can trust and with whom I can "talk" about reading. All this and I don't even have to leave home. Here's to another great year.

Club Read has become my bookstore
What a perfect (and true) metaphor!

Hi to everyone. My name is Miriam and I live in St. Petersburg, Fl. I grew up in Chicago, and worked in IT in New York. I retired in '96.

I am here to finally log my reading, since I have never gotten around to it, and would like to watch the swells and troughs of my interests.

at the moment I am on a wwII/ Nazi Germany/ holocaust kick, since many important (IMO) books have only recently been translated. An example is Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada.
I like Alan Furst's pre WWII mysteries to lighten things up.

I read a great deal of poetry, mostly from European and South American countries besides English stuff -US and UK and I struggle along with dual language help in French, German, Spanish and Yiddish. I can't read the Italian, Hebrew and Russian without a dictionary for practically every word.

My favorite poet at the moment is Wislawa Szymborska and I would never have known about her without guidance from Czeslaw Milosz and the Nobel Prize. My favorite French poet is Appolinaire, and my favorite German poet is Hans Magnus Enzenberger. (Apologies to Rilke).
Another of my favorite poets is Zbigniew Herbert, also Polish. I love the Italians Quasimodo, and Montale, and the Latin Americans Neruda and Nicanor Parra.

I collect anthologies because they continue to introduce me to writers I would not have otherwise found. There are some really fat ones, full of masterpieces, that the publishers put out for high school or college students, and they have wonderful prefaces and introductions. I keep finding them in thrift shops all the time.

I collect international cookbooks, too but they are mostly French, Italian, and Chinese because that is what I like to cook when I am entertaining. Now it is mostly a hamburger for myself.

I started out in adolescence trying to read all the classic novels and went to a great books oriented college so I just kept on going. I have tried to read all the major writers in English, and now I am trying to make a stab at Russian, French, Spanish and German.

>61 almigwin: Hi Miriam, wow, it sounds like you do a lot of excellent reading!

Hello from Oandthegang, invited by SassyLassy. I am new to this, although I've belonged to LibraryThing for a while. There probably is some sort of thread to my reading, if not to my purchases (bookshops bring out my inner magpie). Overall the bias is towards fiction and history, British, European, and North American. I'm hoping this year to read more books than I buy, and to work through those cartons of books in storage.

Welcome to Club Read, Florence, Miriam, and Oandthegang! I hope you all enjoy it as much as the long-timers do!

REFERENCE LIST OF MEMBERS HAS BEEN MOVED TO ITS OWN THREAD.

Hi! I'm Rise or Ryan, from the Philippines. I live and work in Palawan Island. Been a Club Read member since 2010, in hiatus during 2nd half of last year (I have a reading backlog of many starred threads). My shelf is dominated by translations (mostly of Spanish and Japanese writers) and works by Filipino writers. I'm also interested in the subject of environment and sustainability.

I'm Meredith, but Mabith is fine (purposefully kept a username that worked well as a general name, after seeing someone get labelled as Caligula forever...). I'm 28, in Charleston WV, unable to work due to a chronic pain related disability, so I have lots of time for reading. I used to manage an independent bookstore with my sister and very much miss it, even the "Do you have that new book? It's blue," nonsense.

I usually read more non-fiction than fiction (about 60/40) but that will change this year as I'm adding a ton of children's novels in order to attempt to reach a specific goal. I say children's because mostly I just don't want to read about teenagers and typical teenager problems. Living it was enough.

History is my favorite thing to read, if we're not counting Carl Barks' Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics...

Hi Miriam - That's pretty exciting that you like Polish authors like Szymborska, Milosz and Herbert. I was fortunate enough to work in Poland for a couple years in the mid-90s as an English teacher, and I got to know those authors a bit while I was there (I even have a picture of Czeslaw Milosz who is signing a book for me). Enjoy your reads!

68-Besides Milosz's poetry, which I love, I found a lot of authors to read in his History of Polish Literature. I think the students in California were very lucky to have him for a teacher.

Before the collected Poems of Zbigniew Herbert was published, the Mr. Cogito poems were out of print, and I found a copy for sale on Amazon. I paid more for it than any other book I ever bought; I wasn't sorry because they are marvelous. But right after I broke open my piggy bank, the collected poems were published.

There may be a lesson here, but I don't know what it is. I had a similar experience with Maria Edgeworth's novels other than Castle Rackrent and with the John Cross 4 volume biography of George Eliot.

I'm Lesli. I'm from Texas...currently the Houston area. I mostly lurk on the talk threads. Thought I'd try Club Read for the year.

I read more fiction than non-fiction. More mass market than literary. It's an even split between DTbook and Ebook. I have a smallish collection of children's fiction from my time as a Borders employee; and my* English Lit degree got me into grad school for Library Science. I work with computers and software more than I work with books or people.

* edit just a little.

Welcome Leslie - from another Houstonian. There are a handful of other Texans here. I have pondered a library science degree. I once entered and took a course through U. Of North Texas, but life got in the way.

Hello all. I'm Char, been a member of Club Read since the beginning but have struggled to keep threads going over the past couple of years. 2014 WILL be different.

I live in London, UK. I work for an addictions charity, managing a research project looking at the impact of parental drug and alcohol misuse on families. This probably sounds more exciting than it actually is - I spend a lot of time transferring data between spreadsheets! Outside of work and reading, I do some birdwatching and knitting.

I have an interest in women's writing, science fiction and translated fiction. I haven't been reading much non-fiction lately, perhaps this is something to focus on this year.

Welcome to Club Read, Lesli, and welcome back to the returnees!

I'm Vivienne from British Columbia, Canada, originally from Northern Ireland.

I've been on LT since May 2007 but only joined Club Read for the first time in 2013. Although I'll try anything in print, I seem to read mostly fiction nowadays, especially British or Canadian. I also enjoy history and books set in or about other countries.

Glad to meet you all and looking forward to another great year of sharing reading experiences.

I'm Helen from Reading, UK and this is my fourth year on LT and 2nd on Club Read. I work longer hours than I would like in London so use my commuting time to escape in a book.

For the past 18 months I have been working my way through American literature, chronologically, guided by a list I found on BookRiot. I had read virtually none before I started and it has been a great project. I am now up to the 1960s so will finish this year. In between, I generally read contemporary literature, often inspired by others on Club Read, occasional books in French to keep up my language skills and others as the fancy takes me.

I love LT - it has introduced me to countless great books I would never have discovered otherwise. However I don't have enough time to be a very frequent poster, as well as keep up with my reading, so tend mostly to lurk but I am going to try to contribute more this year.

Helen, you live in a very appropriate place for an LTer ;)

(btw, I know it's pronounced differently)

Yes I do, don't I! I'm not sure how many residents live up to its name though!

Helen - I didn't realize you live in Reading! My daughter and I were just talking about Reading today (she has a new internet friend there) and our brief visit there in 2009. We were absolutely starving and the only thing we could find was a MacDonalds--which was under renovations and we had to eat in the car--extremely unsatisfying. And then it took us half an hour of bad traffic to get back on the M4 on our way to Bath. Not our best memory of England, but everytime we hear Reading mentioned, we always say "Been there! . . . Went to MacDonalds." Good times.

There has been a radio programme in Canada for over forty years, each weekday evening, As it Happens, which has an odd link with Reading. This is what Wikipedia says about it:

The Distance from Reading
A frequently cited example of the show's sometimes whimsical sense of humour relates to its frequent references to the UK town of Reading, Berkshire. After almost any lighter news story or interview that emanates from any location in the UK, the As It Happens host will conclude the piece by straight-facedly noting how far the UK location is from Reading, frequently giving the distance in both miles and some other form of strange, non-standard measurement (e.g., 733,000 garden gnomes, lined up hat to hat).

This long-standing tradition on the show dates from the mid-1970s, when English-born segment producer George Somerwill once concluded a program script with a note that a small village mentioned in the preceding segment was located 'nine miles from Reading'. This note, intended as a serious clarification, was totally baffling to most Canadian listeners -- and even to the rest of the show's staff. It quickly became a running joke on the show to identify all places in the UK (even major centres like London) in relation to their proximity to the comparatively obscure borough of Reading.

In her book The As It Happens Files, former show host Mary Lou Finlay notes that As It Happens has given a boost not just to Reading's profile, but also to its economy, as in recent years a number of Canadian fans of the show have made a point of visiting Reading when they are visiting the UK.

I suspect many listeners are now socialized to listen for the "That's nnn Kilometres from Reading". I know I am.

Now that I've written that, I'm totally confused, as Wikipedia says miles, Canada's official measurement is kilometres, the UK's is miles and I now don't know whether they say miles or kilometres. I will have to listen really carefully next time.

I used to live outside of Wantage, which is about 35 miles from Reading.

#79 - I'll have to listen to that the next time I hear As It Happens. Along a similar note, last night they were talking about the phrase "the whole nine yards," which it turns out is not a linear but instead a cubic measurement. I wonder if they tied Reading into that conversation and I just didn't notice it.

Good to see lots of old friends here, and plenty of new ones as well.

I'm Rachel, British, but living in Belgium (over 10 years now and not likely to leave any time soon...if ever). I must have been in CR for 5 years (judging by others who are saying they've been here for 5 years), and on LT for a couple of years longer than that, but the last couple of years I've not done a great job of keeping my thread alive. Am hoping to do better this year!

I have absolutely no reading plans for 2014...to such an extent that I've even given myself permission not to try to reduce my TBR pile! I'm feeling a pull towards Africa at the moment so I'm going to follow that and see where it takes me.

Welcome back, Rachel. If you feel that pull towards Africa, the first quarter theme read in Reading Globally is on Sub-Saharan Africa. The thread for that read is here.

>79 SassyLassy:, SassyLassy: According to the online distance calculator I used, I live 18842 km or 11708 miles from Reading, England. I'm wondering whether this makes me the furthest away...?

>78 Nickelini: Joyce - commiserations about your experience of Reading! It is often said locally that it is a good place to get away from - good road, rail and air connections - but clearly not in your experience! Although Reading will never win any prizes for beauty, it hasn't been a bad place to raise our family in and we do enjoy both getting out to the local countryside and up to London. I wasn't aware of the Canadian interest in my home town though - I will have to look it up!

The company I used to work for had their HQ in Reading so I used to a regular visitor and if I learned one thing from my visits it is that you can never be far enough away from Reading.

>84 timjones: You definitely win the far away prize. Thanks to you, I have now discovered a new fun time waster! Excellent for trivia though and I really like the nautical miles feature.

>87 SassyLassy:, SassyLassy: Finding new ways to waste time is what I'm all about :-)

I'm Caroline, a 39 year old Brit, married with a 3 year old daughter, living in Austria for the past 2 years but before that a solid 8 years in The Netherlands. I started in Club Read back in 2010.

I used to read about 1/3 each of romance/ drek; epic high fantasy; popular science but since getting a kindle it's swinging heavily towards the romance/ drek.

Hopefully this year I can catch up some of my backlog of the paper-books I didn't get around to reading. Over January I'm going to read S. which looks a very "3D" reading experience.

dukedom_enough here. After being off the map hereabouts for 2013, I'm aiming to do at least a bit of reviewing this year. As usual, it'll mostly be science fiction and fantasy.

For the newer members, I'm probably best known as avaland's hubby.

>90 dukedom_enough: Any friend of Lois' is a friend of mine...

My name is Susie and I live in Southern California. I have two (almost) totally grown sons who I still refer to as "kids." This is my third year in Club Read and I am totally addicted. This year I've decided to read as many autobios/bios. on musicians and I'm aiming to squeeze in some classic lit. in there as well. At the moment, that's my plan for the year. Truth be told, though, I never know where my books are going to take me.

>83 rebeccanyc: Thanks for the link to the Sub-Saharan Africa read thread, Rebecca. I don't think I'll take part, but I'll certainly be keeping an eye on it.

My name is Scott and this is my first year at Club Read. I spent the first 27 years of my life in Australia and then had two scary winters in Ottawa before landing on Vancouver Island in Canada and have been here for almost 7 years. After moving house 8 times in less than 3 years when our daughter was less than 3 I have declared that I am never moving again so here I will stay. I mix occasional phylogenetic research analysis with child rearing (9 year old daughter and 6 year old son) and lately home renovation.

My reading goal this year is to read less. Not in terms of time reading but to read fewer books more slowly. I am slowly working my way through classics I have never read mixed in with all sort of other things that catch my eye. I love used book shopping and the amazing books you can find when you do it.

Welcome to Club Read Scott! I love the unpredictability of used book shopping. Just having the time to properly peruse.... and get that crooked neck sensation from scanning the spines sideways...

Yes, welcome Scott! I love Vancouver Island - you are lucky to live there - my so's mom used to live in Comox and we visited out there a few times.

Welcome, Scott!

Welcome, Scott! A good percentage of my books were bought used. It's a real adventure finding a good book at a terrific price.

Welcome Scott :) Reading less is not a goal we see every day - so good luck with that. Although I suspect that you will end up reading more than usual - most of the people around here tend to convince you to read things you never thought you can care for at all :)

Thanks for the welcome

Polaris: My neck is usually okay as I tend to haunt those used stores that have so many books they stack them sideways in front of the upright ones.

fannyprice: Comox is an hour north or where I live and I do feel very lucky to end up living here.

AnnieMod: Yes ever since I joined LibraryThing my TBR list and pile has grown larger and larger. I like the idea of slowing down my reading to appreciate more of the language. I doubt my overall book count will change all that much but I hope to enjoy the experience even more.

There are so many things I like about used books. The hunt, the individual book history (who owned it, what is written in it), the price, the various editions of the same book and the fact that you can find all sorts of books that have been out of print for years but still exist in the used market.

MmeRose here, aka Cheryl. I just joined. Books and roses are my addictions; I average 200 books/year and have over 90 rose bushes on my property. I combine the two addictions - while I tend the roses I always have an audiobook going.

I am an avid public library user. It was hard to get used to giving back books I loved but I ran out of space for bookcases, just gritted my teeth and started borrowing (this was pre-ebooks).

Looking forward to exploring the posts and will add my own thread soon!

while I tend the roses I always have an audiobook going.

I love gardening to audiobooks too! Perfect combination. Although my roses are just sort of sad. My grandfather was a rose aficionado, and would be ashamed of me. But I'm good at lavender, watering, and pulling weeds. Welcome to Clubread, Cheryl.

Hey all, williecostello (a.k.a. Willie Costello) here. I'm a bit of a latecomer to this year's group I guess, but better late than never! I have been posting my reads in the 75 Books Challenge group for a while, but after looking this group over, I think here may be a better fit for me! (And I never had much interest in hitting 75 books per year anyway.) So I'm gonna try posting here for a bit see how it goes!

A short bio: I am a 27-year-old graduate student in philosophy (of the Ancient Greek variety, as it were), studying in the wonderful city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My taste in books is fairly diverse: I like literature old and new, heavy and light, highbrow and lowbrow, foreign and domestic, classic and obscure. I can read books in just about any genre, as long as they're quality for what that genre is, and I think I generally am drawn by books that are especially well written (that is, in contrast to books that have merely good plots or interesting ideas). Aside from books, my other love in life is food, and when I'm not reading or writing I am usually either cooking, baking, eating, recipe-planning, or shopping at a farmers' market.

Welcome Willie, I think you will fit well here

Hello! I am Karen Richardson (aka witchyrichy). I live on a small farm in Waverly, Virginia, where we grow vegetables and keep chickens and pigs. I work from home where I do work related to educational technology including teaching for several universities online. I also volunteer for a local tutoring program in my town and am hoping to do more with them in 2014. The kids are so wonderful despite the challenges they face. I'm thinking about a reading club.

I have been part of LibraryThing since 2005 as a way to keep track of my reading. This year, I want to do more with my reading in terms of reflecting and writing and this group seems a great place to encourage that. I am a prolific reader. I love historical fiction and British mysteries but also read a fair amount of non-fiction. I have also been spending lots of time with Wendell Berry and Ivan Doig, the latter rapidly becoming a favorite.

I was thinking about creating some kind of reading plan for the coming year. But then as many others have said, I get distracted by a book recommendation. I just finished Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time and am tempted to dive into Winston Churchill's history of WW II next. But I discovered a stash of books I had forgotten about that include some unusual classics like Charlotte Bronte's Villette. So, as with every year, we shall see...and whatever happens, this group will be the first to know!

I blog, mostly about books, at http://simplykaren.org/wordpress/

Welcome Cheryl/MmeRose, Willie, and Karen/witchyrichy! Hope you all enjoy it here in Club Read.

Hallo I´m Cristina,
italian living in Berlin. I miss sooo much my book club back in Rome so I'd like to join you.
I know it can be late, but I read very fast...

>104 williecostello:, Welcome Willie! Are you at McGill by chance? (I have a friend doing a Middle Eastern Studies PhD there.)

>106 db3859:, What, no one else is interested in cheap, high-quality meds? ;)

>107 witchyrichy:, Welcome Karen, I love your username! ClubRead is a great place to reflect on your reading without any pressure to achieve a specific number or goal.

>109 Gonza.Basta:, Welcome Cristina! We're not a book club in the traditional sense of all reading a single book together at the same time, but we do love to talk about our reading, so no catch up needed!

I just discovered I'm not on the Who We Are list, since I have not yet introduced myself.

I'm Deborah, born and raised in Aruba, now living near Seattle via 18 years in New Orleans. My five children are now scattered (the three boys are in NYC, one daughter in Houston, and one daughter in Palo Alto). I'm a retired tax attorney, having decided 3 years ago to devote my time to being a grandma and to my fiber art.

Need I say I love to read? I've been in Club Read for several years, and for several years I've failed miserably to keep up my thread. I'm hoping this year will be different. In the past I've read almost exclusively fiction, but more recently I've been reading a fair amount of nonfiction as well. I like to read translated fiction, and I am one who likes tomes much more than short fiction. My comfort reads are crime novels and scifi. The only genres I don't like are fantasy, horror, and romance. Lately, I've been finding myself frequently disappointed in some of the highly praised contemporary literary fiction, and I'm trying to decide whether to read only books that have been around at least 10 or 20 years, or at least books whose authors have died.

I read everyone's thread, even if I don't comment, and even if I'm not very timely. My wishlist has swollen beyond all bounds, despite having more that 1000 TBR books on my shelf (or my Kindle).

I'd like to join this group...I found it by accident and am interested in the ww1 theme. I recently read "To end All Wars" and found it very interesting!!!! The other WWI book I have read is "A Century of November. A very haunting story of s man's search for the place of his don's death. I look forward to reading dome of the books listed by this groups members.

Welcome, Cristina and edickens!

Hello, I'm Harriet and have just recently signed up for LT. I read mostly history and biography, some fiction, stuff that helps me understand the Bible better including commentaries and some theology. For this year I'm choosing to focus primarily on fiction and biography plus 15-20 TBR. For the last 3 years I've been doing most of my reading on Kindle and am enjoying that very much. It is so easy to just pick it up and take it with me wherever I go which is exactly what I do.
I retired in June 2013 and am hoping to read more titles this year. I am a Canadian and a child of post-WW2 Dutch immigrants. My reading also includes books on the war. I am also intending to read and learn more about Dutch history.

Hi, Harriet. I retired two years ago, and although I thought I would be reading hundreds of books a year, that hasn't quite happened. This group is great at writing reviews and commentary that add to my wishlist. I'm sure you will enjoy it too.

Welcome, Harriet!

Welcome!

Hi Harriet! Welcome to CR and Congrats on your retirement!

Hi everybody. I have been a Library Thing member for around five years but have been absent for most of that time. However, the recent password change affair has led me back here.

So - I am an artist and physical therapist. I cannot remember a time when I did not read and, like the universe, my reading preferences appear to be expanding. I'm currently reading 'The Teleportation Accident' by Ned Beauman (fabulous) and have a whole slew of titles tempting me like sirens from my Kindle.

Looking forward to trying this Club Read idea. It has been some time since I was a member of a book reading club and I miss the discipline of it.

>119 gardenque: Welcome gardenque:)

We are not a reading club in the strict sense of the word (everyone reads whatever they want) but now and then we collide at the same titles. Plus the discussions are a lot more fun this way :)

That sounds like the recipe for the perfect reading club! Especially the collisions - or should that be collusions?

Both I guess - especially on books which people hate or love. But even for those, it is always discussion and not a fight :)

Oh - and just so you know, your TBR list will expand a lot while sticking around... :)

I can remember introducing my previous book reading club to 'The Third Policeman' by Flann O'Brien. When it came to discuss it and I asked what everybody had thought, 'looks' were exchanged.

It turned out that the rest of the group (about four or five) hated it and everything about it. 'Did you not think it was funny?' I asked. There was a stony silence until one person just looked up and said in a strained and incredulous voice, 'Funny?'

Moral: beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case, reader . . .

My sister - who shares my appalling lack of sense of direction - once got a job in Reading. On her very first day there she went out for lunch and returned, shamefaced after three hours, having got lost in the interim. I wish I could say that I wouldn't make the same mistake but I'm sure that somebody or something periodically moves all the buildings around to confuse the residents.

Hello, I'm K. R. Raye, reader and author. My interests are quite varied, I love thrillers, horror, contemporary, YA, NA, mysteries, Chick Lit, SciFi, and romance.

Hi KR and welcome! Hello also to gardenque - I recently read The Teleportation Accident as well and really enjoyed it. Certainly an original read!

Welcome gardenque and KR Raye!

Hello, everyone:

I'm Diana, and I'm a newbie. I decided to keep a reading journal because--selfishly--I would like recommendations from real, live readers. (Don't we all?) LT's algorithm is interesting and works well, but nothing beats one reader saying to another, "This book reminds me of" or "The writing style of this author is similar to."

I read mostly literary classics and nonfiction (particularly in science, travel, and politics), but I also like science fiction and fantasy, as well as medieval literature and mysteries set in the Middle Ages.

Currently, I'm stuck in the Midwest, but I'm planning to leave on another long term trip within a few months. I previously lived in New York, and all but one of my sports teams is there. I've also lived in London, UK, and Luxor, Egypt, so some of my reading tastes are informed by those locales.

>20 AnnieMod: @AnnieMod, I like your idea re: listening to plays. Have you any favorites?

Diana, if you hang around here too much you will have more than a few lifetimes of recommendations. Welcome to the club.

Hey everybody! My Name is Mary and I checked and did not see any readers from Kentucky so I thought I better join in and represent the Bluegrass State. I am from Central Ky (horse & bourbon country) and now live in the Louisville area. I read just about anything. I am not too fond of fantasy and science fiction but given the right book I will read it too. I enjoy fiction vrs non-fiction but I especially love travel memoirs. I read Civil War fiction, lots of Southern women writers (love Ellen Gilchrist, novels set in NYC. My all time favorites are To Kill A Mockingbird, The world of Henry Orient, The Shadow of the Wind, West with the Night, and most recently The Rosie Project. My mother is a librarian and raised us kids among the shelves!

Welcome to CR, Mary. There are a few Civil War readers in this group. It looks like you joined LT last year right around the time I did. I really like this group, and hope you will too.

Welcome, Mary! Did you know that you can provide links to the books and authors you're discussing by "touchstones"? The information just to the right of the message box explains how but basically you use single brackets for book titles and double brackets for authors.

Thanks Rebecca, I will add the links when I return home. ,

Please pardon my late entrance! I am Suzanne aka Poquette, and I live in Las Vegas. I was active in Club Read in 2011 and 2012, but dropped out because of a daunting move. I am now on my way to being resettled and hope to be back in the saddle. It is good to see so many familiar names. It is going to take me a while to catch up with all your threads, but I plan to do so over the next few weeks.

My reading right now is sporadic — i.e., I am following my nose wherever it leads. Trying to concentrate on books already in my library, but inevitably I continue to be tempted by new additions. Club Read has always been a great source of reading ideas if one should happen to run dry. Looking forward to connecting and reconnecting with all of you here in CR.

Welcome back, Poquette! Take your time catching up -- we'll all be here for the duration.

Welcome back, Suzanne! It's nice to see you here again.

>135 Poquette: So Happy to hear from you, Suzanne! You were missed.

Welcome back Suzanne! It will be great to see you on the threads again!

Thanks all for your welcome! Great to "see" you all again! ;-)

Hi! I M Sunidhi I love reading books especially wen books make me laugh or cry hard. I've joined this group just now and hope i enjoy a lot in this group.I've not read a lot of books til date but i hope i get to know a lot of new n fascinating books in this group...

I m from India. :)

Hello everyone.

I'm Paws(forThought) and I was lured over here by PolymathicMonkey.
I'm still familiarizing myself with the group so haven't set up a thread yet, but I will in due time.

I'm on a never-ending quest to read all the books "I must read" according to myself, my friends and family, and the people in-the-know. Maybe not ALL the books, but very many.
I have been in quite a big reading slump in the past couple of years so have only got an abysmally small amount of reading done but I'm trying to push myself through it and get back in the game.

I mostly read classics but do occasionally meander away from that area and pick up books less than 35 years old. I like list, and I especially like crossing things off lists so the amount of "books you must read" lists accumulating at my place is nearing reaching unhealthy levels.

Yay Paws! :D Bahaha, I think I have some sort of obsessive compulsion when it comes to lists, LOL, I just can't resist them, must do ALL THE LISTS! ;D

Welcome Paws looking forward to following your reading when you start your thread.

Welcome Sunidhi and Paws!

Welcome Sundihi and Paws. You will gets lots of inspiration from the folks in this group.

Adding my belated welcome to Sunidhi and Paws! This group is super bad for your wishlist and TBR!

One more voice added to the chorus! Welcome, Sundihi and Paws! Seconding what Rebecca says regarding your wish list. This group is very dangerous for your book budget. But it is all pretty wonderful.

Yes, it's "bad" for the endless tbr list and budget, but GREAT for your reading enjoyment.