2016 Rooting Around My Bookshelves -- A Dirty Dozen

Oh, boy! I am timid to actually join and have taken weeks to screw up my courage. I sort of practiced last year. I'm not at all good with self-discipline.

Thus, my goal for the year is small, and my confidence in making it is also. But I know, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Here goes. . .




I hope to surprise myself and update to a more ambitious ticker. Fingers crossed!

Let's see. . .I've read:

Border Town, a sweet rural romance set in China around the time of the Communist Revolution. I really enjoy Chinese literature from any period and look for books by Chinese authors, set in China, or about Chinese emigration stories.

Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe, my best book of 2016, so far. In a word, "dazzling"!

A dirty dozen is a very good goal! Good luck!

>3 rabbitprincess:

Thanks. Now, I'll go visit your personal thread and see that your goal is at least 3x mine, while my Mt. TBR is probably 3x yours!

Welcome to the group. Good luck with your challenge.

>5 cyderry:

Very kind. Why do I feel like placing a HUGE bet that you, too, have a more ambitious goal that you'll likely meet?

Gee, I used to think I was a voracious reader. Now I realize I'm a slug.

Welcome to the group, Limelite! Hey, I started with a modest goal too a few years ago, leaving room for non-ROOTs. Happy ROOTing!

Welcome to the group! I have started out with modest goals myself and found that noting and counting my progress is a great motivator to keep going. Enjoy the reading!

My goal is 12 this year too. If I exceed it I will just donate the extras to the group total to help out people who haven't quite reached theirs. The last couple of years of being in this group I have managed just over 20 in the year, but I am finding that the lower goal = less stress to reach it, but enough pressure to aim for it. If that makes sense.

I've also set myself a goal (of no more than 25) for new acquisitions - I bought nearly 70 last year, so thought that not buying any at all wouldn't be realistic. I'm already quite a chunk into the 25, which is a bit alarming. That's a much harder goal than reading 12!

Any goal is a good goal! As for self-discipline ... well ... *stares at pile of new acquisitions* ... I always think that's a bit overrated ;-)

Happy 2016 ROOTing!
You can do it! And 12 is a fine goal for the year - You can always go for a bigger goal next year!
And if you blow your goal out of the water this year - all those extra ROOTs read just go toward the group goal :)

Congrats on your first 2 ROOTs pulled!

Woo! I starred your thread. :)

Starting with a reachable goal is fine. If you read more than your goal, great!

Do NOT think of yourself as a slug: not everyone can and will read at the astronomical rate of some people here. Here on LT there's a 50 book challenge, a 75 book challenge, a 100 book challenge, AND A 180 book challenge (books read in a year)!

Find what you enjoy, and do it.

In honor of the members of ROOT who are Dutch, I've selected for my next read a book by Kader Abdolah, the nom de plume of Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani. Abdolah is a native of Teheran who, because he was a student activist, had to flee the Khomeni regime. He arrived, finally, in the Netherlands where he now resides and writes his novels in Dutch. He has written several novels and collections of short stories, both of which have been recognized with literary awards. I am reading his latest novel, My Father's Notebook because I bought it a year ago this month and because I love the way it begins with a scene of Persian fantasy.

First line:

And so it went until the men of Khahaf finally sought refuge in the cave. "Grant us thy mercy," they said.

>13 Limelite: Well, thank you, Limelite! I think I'm the only Dutch member so I'm really honoured!

I must confess I never read a book by Kader Abdolah. I don't even think I own one.

>13 Limelite: That is an amazing career!

In My Father's Notebook, deaf-mute Aga Akbar's uncle takes his nephew to the top of Saffron Mountain to a famous cave. Deep inside it, a wall is covered in cuneiform writing carved there on the instructions of an ancient shah.

Kazem Khan tells his nephew to copy the inscrutable message in the notebook they had earlier removed from a derelict palace. It doesn't matter that he cannot understand them.

All this takes place in Iran in the time of Reza Shah, the last shah's father.

My question for literary mavens, experts, and PhDs is how should one interpret the symbolism here -- an elder relative who is illiterate gives the gift of a dead "language" nobody can decipher to his illiterate nephew so that he can write down his thoughts one day and decompress his bottled up emotions.

It's still not the gift of communication because no one can read what Aga Akbar eventually writes, not even his future son, Ishmael.

With no other context than this, I am puzzling over it all. Your theories and suggestions are appreciated.

Saturday -- a crisp, bright day in this part of GA, the kind of day that invites back road exploration that leads to discovery of an excellent bar-b-que joint. Yum! However, this Sat was not without its dangers, too. There are more hazards to life than over-doing the sides with your piggie sandwich.

Beyond the bar-b-que shack lies a library, one I hadn't visited since it's 20+ miles from the house. Imagine my surprise when the car pulled to a stop at its front door! Alright, no surprise.

Straight to the point, this is a confession of wrong-doing. aI drove directly there with singleness of purpose that any biblioaddict can empathize with. I was here to pick up a hold. We all love browsing in libraries; a new one my be just a happy accidental discovery. But the true lover of books knows that to interfere with the progress of a devoted reader toward an item especially set aside for your exclusive use. . .well, that is tantamount to stepping into the path of a charging rhino.

Breathless seconds of bliss pass and I have secured my quarry. It is Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse by Faith Sullivan. And I do not own it. But I'm going to read it now!

I am like Toad of Toad Hall in the presence of motor-cars. In the presence of libraries, I go, "Beep-beep.," and home in.

What a glorious description, like Toad of Toad Hall in the presence of motor-cars. I understand *exactly* what you mean!

>17 Limelite: I can relate!

I admire your restraint in just picking up your hold! I find it very difficult to pick up holds without poking around the rest of the collection (and leaving with several more items). Enjoy your book!

Ah Ha! Lime Sprig, in a moment of filial piety, gifted me the CD book, Our Kind of Traitor the latest John le Carre espionage novel. Popped the first CD in the car's player on the way to the GA State Age Group Swim Championship to watch #1 Grandson have a sensational meet and pick up two more qualifying times for Sectionals..

Since it's a three-day meet, Lime Spouse and I alternated "Traitor" with Kingsolver's Flight Behavior for the drive into Atlanta to the Ga. Tech. Olympic pool each day. "Behavior" is an engrossing novel but not an OT. Nothing gets a grandparent in the mood for the tension of watching her descendant compete against the best 12 year-old swimmers in the state than the mounting tension and burgeoning suspense of a le Carre book. My BP must have been up and down more than an elevator in a NY skyscraper last weekend.

But all's well that ends well. Grandson set personal bests in each of his events, dropping great chunks of time even between qualifying heats and finals; he earned 5 Sectional qualifying times; and finished in the top 20 in all of them. He's been racing since he was 6, which is half his life. Competitive swimming takes intense dedication, discipline, and drive, incredibly demanding training, and offers little reward. But last weekend he reaped swimming treasure.

And I get to reap ongoing rewards from several great reads going on at once. Heaven!

Congrats to your grandson!
And sounds like a couple of great reads to mark the occasion ;)

Fell of the wagon there, but hung onto the side and was able to scramble back into my seat. It was the marvelous first of three books in the Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris, Imperium that distracted me.

But while I was avidly listening to all 12 CDs, I was finishing an OT I'd laid aside, the wonderful Circling the Sun. So much better than The Paris Wife. If you'd like an inkling of what's in store for you if you are intrigued, I've posted this review.

And now, I'm proud to say that I am reading another of my own and feel like I'm moving forward in achieving my ROOT goal. The new dusty tome is Kingsley Amis' mid-century satire of English snobbishness and social stultification after WWII, Lucky Jim.
What I like about this e-dition is the forward by Keith Gessen in which he describes the lifelong relationship Amis had with the poet Philip Larkin, his only real friend at Oxford where they both attended during the early war years. Lucky Jim is dedicated to him and the hero is modeled on a melding of the two friends. From the little I've read so far of this seminal humorous novel my impression is that Amis reminds me of a disgruntled P. G. Wodehouse.

Now, to update my ticker!

>23 Limelite: You have read one ROOT/month, you are right on track!

>24 connie53: yep - you're doing great!

The truth is, I have the self-discipline of a gerbil on coke.

I quit reading totally during the primary and general election campaigns. With Trump prevailing, I remain in the reading doldrums. So did I get to ANY of MOTs?

Y-e-e-e-s. At least one, The Mortifications by Derek Palacio. Superb! Reviewed here:
https://www.librarything.com/work/17721939

Anything else read from My Private Hell? Let's see. . .since March when I last reported in, exactly one forgettable book that has been on my Kindle since God wore diapers and that I won't bother to mention, except to give the title/author. Time Heals No Wounds by Hendrik Falkenberg. Don't bother.

But I'm showing signs of bookishness. Nearly finished an excellent CD recording of Our Kind of Traitor (my own) by master espionage novelist, John le Carré. About 1/4 through Red Sparrow (borrowed), another espionage novel by an American former career CIA man, Jason Matthews. Not the quality of le Carré, but a book you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen reading at the beach or in a waiting room. Others opened, but not enthusiastically pursued because while mildly interesting, nothing about them is compelling.

>26 Limelite: I don't blame you for being in the doldrums. With Brexit on this side of the Pond and then Trump on yours, I've sometimes needed to focus on self-care, which involves switching off the news (it only makes me yell) and reading something unrelated. (actually, that's not strictly true, one of my reads was a collection of essays on Brexit. But it was lefty and intelligent, so I could cope with that)

But hey, you've read *something*, so hopefully you'll find a way out of the doldrums soon.

Glad to hear Our Kind of Traitor was good! I have the movie out from the library and will read the book eventually. I hope that watching the movie first will mean that I'm not complaining about things being left out or changed from the book.

Sorry that the doldrums have been upon you, and I hope that something compelling comes your way soon!

>27 Jackie_K: and >28 rabbitprincess:

Thanks for your encouraging words. The world has gone mad -- well GB and USA have -- and the only sane place may be in the world(s) of books. Yes, I think refuge may be there.

"OKoT" is so good, I've taken to wishing J.l.C. eternal life! His own reading of his latest book (autobio.) is a suggestion I made to Secret Santa!

Think the doldrums may be receding. Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's Summarize My ROOTs

Border Town; Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe; Our Kind of Traitor; My Father's Notebook; Lucky Jim; Circling the Sun; Time Heals No Wounds; The Mortifications.

Only 60+% of my goal. Ah, well. Best Book: It's a tie between "Traitor" and "Morts." Worst Book: "No Wounds." Books I Rec to You: both biographical novels -- "Georgia" and "Circling."

Some time ago I bought a 1960 edition of Farrar, Straus, & Cudahy's printing of A Distant Trumpet by Paul Horgan. I'd heard of the title, like a faint echo at the end of a box canyon, but never felt moved to read it. I don't know how moved I am now, but I opened it. On the first pages, I encountered this quote:

If my father's child can get to be the president, your father's child can make his heart's desire." -- A Lincoln

Something to consider, in light of the horrible irony of who the Party of Lincoln chose as their nominee and Americans apparently elected to be our next president.

The book tells the story of the Apache Indian War period of settling the Southwest Territories -- after the Civil War and well before WWI -- through the life of Matthew Carlton Hazard, who becomes a soldier in the US Cavalry under General Quait. I've seen a description of this book, which is not encouraging. "Overlong" was the word used. I can tell it's an epic just from noting the page count. 629 pp in this edition. But here goes my attempt to read another of my own tomes! (Why don't I buy novellas?)

Just learned I am receiving The Patriots: A Novel by Sana Krasikov as an LTER participant. Then I learned it's another door-stop at well over 500 pp. But then I learned that many well known authors' early reviews of this debut novel are all raves and now I'm excited.

I may not finish this novel in 2016. Would it be cheating to include it in my "Dirty Dozen" since the book is the November Early Reader award? One hopes!

People can and do include LTER wins in their ROOT totals. You own the book, so I think it counts :)

Yeah - I do depending...
I.e., depending on how quickly I get to it ;)
If i get to the ER right away, I don't count it as a ROOT... but if it has started to grow those little roots.. then I do :)

I include them. I also include all the new and shiny. I very rarely get to them immediately, but with the ERs I try to do them quickly. But I just figured, they're still tomes, they're still my own, and they're still to be read. Which sounds like a ROOT to me :)

In fact I'm reading one at the moment, which will hopefully be my first ROOT for December. I've just seen the December ER list which came out today - luckily for me there is much less available for the UK than in previous months, and nothing which appealed to me. So it will be one less acquisition this month!

>34 avanders: and >35 Jackie_K:

Thanks for your comments. I enjoy a good piece of fudge, too! Think I'll fudge whatever I can to approach my goal.

2016 has been a lost year in terms of reading much of anything, let alone stuff in Mt. TBR. I hope that 2017 returns me to a desire to read. Gawd knows, the reality of living under a Trump Tyranny may require all good people to hide their eyes in books when not manning the barricades.

It arrived and the first 40 pp are terrific! Only 500 more to go! I'm talking about The Patriots by Sana Krasikov, my Nov. LT Early Reviewer selection.

The question is, do I put aside A Distant Trumpet, or do I read them simultaneously? Not sure I can handle two epic sagas at the same time. "Patriots" is like Dr. Zhivago in scope; "Trumpet" is like Lonesome Dove in same. Probably a diet too rich to be attempted as a two-course meal.

>36 Limelite: lol fudge ;)

>37 Limelite: awesome re your new ER!
That's a rough call -- good luck w/ your two epic sagas!

Have been so busy with RL that I've failed to keep pace with my reading diary devoted to ROOTing. But I did finish a hardcover by a new-to me-author that pleasantly surprised me. I didn't expect much from this novel in the first place because a) it's a murder mystery and b) it's the first in a series.

Now those of you who are familiar with my LT life know that I'm not enthused by either murder fiction or fictional series, with few exceptions. Well, Blind Justice: a Sir John Fielding Mystery by Bruce Alexander in an exception. Favorably, the book leans more toward historical fiction than murder and mayhem and is filled with interesting detail about quotidian occupation in 18th C London that is so well presented that I felt like I was living there and then!

If what you've read so far intrigues you about this book, here's my full review that may just convince you to begin your fan life enthusiasm for Sir John Fielding, blind magistrate and Jeremy Proctor, young protege as they, with the help of the fledgling Bow Street Runners battle the seedy and evil underbelly of bustling London.

Bonus Ticker