HelenNZ makes a come back.

After not quite making my target in 2014 I decided not to join in 2015 and of course I read 75 books. I also missed not sharing my progress and achievement with others and yet was still recording the books read. So I am back...

My new thread is ready to go

Hi Helen!
Welcome back :)
I was on last year, but not prolific, in either reading or LTing. I managed 66 books and that felt a stretch. But my TBR piles keep building, and my feverish collecting of books for it continues. We wouldn't have it any other way, right!!?

Welcome back! I'm glad you missed us... :)

Welcome back!

Welcome back ......

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, nice to see you back Helen.

Welcome back to the group Helen.

January.
1. Chappy by Patricia Grace
2. Three Cheers for the Paraclete by Thomas Keneally
3. A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
4. The Quality of Mercy by Barry Unsworth
5. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
6. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker

I need to read at least another book before the end of the month so as not to lag behind. I will do my best despite going to stay in a hotel for the weekend with my husband, for some time out, before he heads away on a job for three months.

>9 HelenBaker: Hope you had good luck with the hotel Helen and got more reading done.........in the lap of luxury.

Thanks >10 PaulCranswick:. I just managed to finish one more book...and it was a very nice hotel too.

February.

7. Portrait of the Artist's Wife by Barbara Anderson
8. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
9. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
10. The Scarecrow by Ronald Hugh Morrieson
11. Dreams of Speaking by Gail Jones

March.

12. The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam
13. The Golden Age by Joan London
14. Swimming in the Dark by Paddy Richardson
15. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
16. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Have a wonderful Easter.

Helen I was pleased to see that you enjoyed The Mayor of Casterbridge - it isn't my favourite of his but still an excellent book.

Have a lovely weekend.

Hi Paul. Thanks for stopping by. I was checking out your photos and thought the landscapes looked like New Zealand and then I spotted the Geraldine theatre...So indeed some of them are

April.

17. The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
18. A thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
19. Year of wonders by Geraldine Brooks
20. The Fall of Light by Sarah Laing
21. The Pale North by Hamish Clayton

May.

22. This House is Haunted by John Boyne
23. Gifted by Patrick Evans
24. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
25. Journey to the Stone Country by Alex Miller
26. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

June.

27. The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari
28. A Fringe of Leaves by Patrick White
29. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
30. July's People by Nadine Gordimer
31. Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx
32. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
33. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

I decided I needed to read some novels shorter in duration to pick up the pace, as I am lagging behind in this challenge.

The best reading month this year. If I can maintain this pace I might just meet this challenge.

Still do-able! :)

July.
34. The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop
35. Ransom by David Malouf
36. Watch of Gryphons by Owen Marshall
37. The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
38. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
39. Tenderness: stories by Sarah Quigley

August.
40. Coming Rain by Stephen Daisley
41. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
42. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
43. The Party Line by Sue Orr
44. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

September.
45. How It All Began by Penelope Lively
46. The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
47. The Skinny Louie Book by Fiona Farrell
48. The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
49. The Misunderstanding by Irene Nemirovsky

October.
50. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

51. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
52. The Best New Zealand Fiction Volume 3 by Fiona Kidman

If we measure quality over quantity Helen your reading would be at the top of the scale. xx

Why thank you Paul. My library is largely made up of recommendations and prize winners as well as the visiting authors to the Auckland Writers Festival.
I am aware I am lagging behind but supporting my family takes priority and some years the toll on my book tally is greater. I am endeavouring to read a couple of shorter titles to try and pick up the pace. I started a new book just before midnight as I was struggling to sleep, not the one I had planned but I was trying not to disturb my husband...

November.
53. God's Own country by Ross Raisin
54. Black Rock White City by A.S. Patric
55. The Bone Tiki by David Hair
56. What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute
57. Plumb by Maurice Gee
58. Meg by Maurice Gee
59. Sole Survivor by Maurice Gee
60. The River by Rumer Godden

December.
61. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
62. The Landing by Susan Johnson
63. Eventide by Kent Haruf
64. Benediction by Kent Haruf
65. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
66. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
67. The Children Act by Ian McEwan
68. Spiderweb by Penelope Lively
69. The Translation of the Bones by Francesca Kay
70. What was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
71. Dance the Rain by Frances Harrison

Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

Indeed Paul. Thank you.

Helen - I've put up the 2017 ANZAC reading challenge - http://www.librarything.com/topic/244630

Thanks, Kerry.

Well I almost made after reading 11 this month. I must try to maintain a steady pace next year.

Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Helen