pokarekareana and the abundance of books
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2017
This group has been archived. Find out more.
Join LibraryThing to post.
1pokarekareana
Hello!
Over the past few years, I've tried to read a hundred books each year. I've generally got there-or-thereabouts, but I sometimes find myself in a mad rush during November and December to get there. I've decided to rein it in a little for 2017, and aim for 75.
I've also got about 200 books that I own but haven't read, so I'm hoping I can make a good dent in that pile. I'm a frequent visitor to the local library, which sometimes makes it harder to delve back into my own bookcases.
My reading tastes are pretty eclectic. I naturally gravitate towards dystopian and historical fiction, and I am slowly trying to read my way around the world by seeking out books set in or written by authors from different countries.
Looking forward to yet more books in 2017!
Over the past few years, I've tried to read a hundred books each year. I've generally got there-or-thereabouts, but I sometimes find myself in a mad rush during November and December to get there. I've decided to rein it in a little for 2017, and aim for 75.
I've also got about 200 books that I own but haven't read, so I'm hoping I can make a good dent in that pile. I'm a frequent visitor to the local library, which sometimes makes it harder to delve back into my own bookcases.
My reading tastes are pretty eclectic. I naturally gravitate towards dystopian and historical fiction, and I am slowly trying to read my way around the world by seeking out books set in or written by authors from different countries.
Looking forward to yet more books in 2017!
2drneutron
Welcome! Feel free to jump in to threads and challenges in the group. We're pretty friendly and love to meet new folks!
3FAMeulstee
Welcome Jen.
Happy reading in 2017!
Happy reading in 2017!
5PaulCranswick
Lovely to see you join the group, Jen. Don't be shy to drop by a few of the threads and get acquainted.
6pokarekareana
Thank you for your messages. I finished my 100th book for 2016 today. I've also just noticed that I've read sixteen books this month(!) I've had quite a lot of time off work for one reason or another, which I think has helped.
I'm starting to think more about how to tackle the TBR mountain next year. I have a few long books (500+ pages) that have been lurking for a while; I think I'll aim to get one of those out of the way each month.
There are also some that have been hanging around for several years. They need to get moving!
I'm starting to think more about how to tackle the TBR mountain next year. I have a few long books (500+ pages) that have been lurking for a while; I think I'll aim to get one of those out of the way each month.
There are also some that have been hanging around for several years. They need to get moving!
8PaulCranswick
I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.
Thank you for also being part of the group.
9pokarekareana
>7 The_Hibernator: >8 PaulCranswick: - Thanks Rachel, Paul - happy new year to you both! I hope you've both enjoyed welcoming the new year.
In the end, I read 102 books in 2016. I finished The Snow Garden at dusk yesterday, which was probably the most perfect time in the entire calendar to come to the end of this book. I gave it five stars. I've read a few of Rachel Joyce's books and really enjoyed them.
I'm now taking stock of what's ahead this year...
My main priority is reading a good chunk of my seemingly-infinite pile of unread books. I have four library books to read, 81 Kindle books, and 114 physical books (I think - I need to carry out a proper census of my bookcases, but that won't happen until we move house which will HOPEFULLY be in the next few weeks. We've been in the process of buying a place since September but all the legal stuff is moving reaaaalllyy slowly).
I'd like to read some of the bigger tomes that are lurking this year too, as I mentioned in my previous post. I've started A Suitable Boy as January's contribution to that goal.
I'm also part-way through The Children Act, much to my husband's chagrin - he is befuddled about books that I've started in one year and will finish in another. He thinks I should count it as a 2016 book, but I'll count it as a 2017 one. One of my friends had a Facebook conversation running in a similar vein, and someone suggested counting the number of pages read in a year rather than actual books. Oh, the possibilities!
In the end, I read 102 books in 2016. I finished The Snow Garden at dusk yesterday, which was probably the most perfect time in the entire calendar to come to the end of this book. I gave it five stars. I've read a few of Rachel Joyce's books and really enjoyed them.
I'm now taking stock of what's ahead this year...
My main priority is reading a good chunk of my seemingly-infinite pile of unread books. I have four library books to read, 81 Kindle books, and 114 physical books (I think - I need to carry out a proper census of my bookcases, but that won't happen until we move house which will HOPEFULLY be in the next few weeks. We've been in the process of buying a place since September but all the legal stuff is moving reaaaalllyy slowly).
I'd like to read some of the bigger tomes that are lurking this year too, as I mentioned in my previous post. I've started A Suitable Boy as January's contribution to that goal.
I'm also part-way through The Children Act, much to my husband's chagrin - he is befuddled about books that I've started in one year and will finish in another. He thinks I should count it as a 2016 book, but I'll count it as a 2017 one. One of my friends had a Facebook conversation running in a similar vein, and someone suggested counting the number of pages read in a year rather than actual books. Oh, the possibilities!
11roundballnz
Mt TBR I think we all know it well :)
I found it a tad amusing that there are debates about which year partly read books shd get allocated .... actually i found it hysterical - for me its as simple as when did i finish the book 12:01 its 2017
Heres to a good reading year whatever form it takes
I found it a tad amusing that there are debates about which year partly read books shd get allocated .... actually i found it hysterical - for me its as simple as when did i finish the book 12:01 its 2017
Heres to a good reading year whatever form it takes
12pokarekareana
1. The Children Act by Ian McEwan - 4 stars
I really enjoyed this - there's plenty of legal and ethical aspects which were thought-provoking. I didn't find the characters particularly likable, and the plot got weaker towards the end.
I'm still ploughing (very slowly) through A Suitable Boy and I've now started Middlesex as well. Both are 500+-page tomes so I don't expect to finish anything else any time soon!
I really enjoyed this - there's plenty of legal and ethical aspects which were thought-provoking. I didn't find the characters particularly likable, and the plot got weaker towards the end.
I'm still ploughing (very slowly) through A Suitable Boy and I've now started Middlesex as well. Both are 500+-page tomes so I don't expect to finish anything else any time soon!
13pokarekareana
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - 5 stars
I tried to read this about ten years ago when I was at university, and didn't get very far with it at all. Upon trying again this time - what a difference! I was totally drawn in by the storytelling across these three generations of a Greek family, mirroring historical events as they migrate from Turkey to Detroit in the 1920s, and then live out their lives in and around the Motor City. Against that backdrop, issues of gender and family relations wind around each other in a way that I found really quite clever. I'd really recommend this - it is a tome, but a great one.
In other news, I am still picking away at A Suitable Boy. I'm not loving it, though, and am still struggling through the first hundred pages. It may become my first abandonment of the year. Also on my current-reads pile are Miss Ranskill Comes Home and The Dog Stars.
I tried to read this about ten years ago when I was at university, and didn't get very far with it at all. Upon trying again this time - what a difference! I was totally drawn in by the storytelling across these three generations of a Greek family, mirroring historical events as they migrate from Turkey to Detroit in the 1920s, and then live out their lives in and around the Motor City. Against that backdrop, issues of gender and family relations wind around each other in a way that I found really quite clever. I'd really recommend this - it is a tome, but a great one.
In other news, I am still picking away at A Suitable Boy. I'm not loving it, though, and am still struggling through the first hundred pages. It may become my first abandonment of the year. Also on my current-reads pile are Miss Ranskill Comes Home and The Dog Stars.
