AUGUST ROOT - Progress Thread

The Eighth Labour of Hercules The eighth labour was to bring back the Mares of Diomedes, which had been trained to eat human flesh by their owner, King Diomedes of Thrace.

Hercules was not aware that the horses were kept tethered to a bronze manger because they were wild; their madness being attributed to an unnatural diet of human flesh. Some versions say that they expelled fire when they breathed. They were man-eating and uncontrollable, and Hercules left his favoured companion, Abderus, in charge of them while he fought Diomedes, and found out that the boy was eaten. In revenge, Hercules fed Diomedes to his own horses, then founded the city of Abdera next to the boy's tomb.
In another version, Hercules stayed awake so that he didn't have his throat cut by Diomedes in the night, and cut the chains binding the horses. Having scared the horses onto the high ground of a peninsula, Hercules quickly dug a trench through the peninsula, filling it with water, thus making it an island. When Diomedes arrived, Hercules killed him with the axe he had used to dig the trench, and fed the body to the horses to calm them.
Both versions have eating making the horses calmer, and Hercules took the opportunity to bind their mouths shut, and easily took them back to Eurystheus, who dedicated the horses to Hera. In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely around Argos, having become permanently calm. In others, Eurystheus ordered the horses taken to Olympus to be sacrificed to Zeus, but Zeus refused them, and sent wolves, lions, and bears to kill them. Roger Lancelyn Green states in his Tales of the Greek Heroes that their descendants were used in the Trojan War.

Great news - we are still on track to reach our goal! The summer heat hasn't stopped us, and we will keep reading and reading!

Here are the totals for the end of July:

abinitio 21 / 50 42.0%
Amberfly 26 / 35 ★★ 74.3%
Ameise1★ 12 / 10 120.0%
avanders★ 18 / 18 100.0%
avidmom 9 / 15 ★ 60.0%
benitastrnad 39 / 47 ★★★ 83.0%
billiejean★ 36 / 25 144.0%
bragan 62 / 100 ★ 62.0%
brewergirl 11 / 30 36.7%
Britt84 42 / 75 56.0%
Caramellunacy 1 / 20 5.0%
clue 28 / 40 ★★ 70.0%
Coach_of_Alva 14 / 25 56.0%
Conachair 2 / 10 20.0%
connie53 22 / 36 ★ 61.1%
crazy4reading 22 / 30 ★★ 73.3%
CurrerBell 47 / 75 ★ 62.7%
cyderry 60 / 72 ★★★★ 83.3%
detailmuse 23 / 40 57.5%
DisassemblyOfReason 44 / 100 44.0%
enemyanniemae 21 / 52 40.4%
Erratic_Charmer 51 / 75 ★★ 68.0%
Familyhistorian 29 / 50 58.0%
floremolla 45 / 60 ★★★ 75.0%
fuzzi 53 / 100 53.0%
getrus 7 / 52 13.5%
HelenBaker 39 / 48 ★★★ 81.3%
Henrik_Madsen 31 / 40 ★★★ 77.5%
HenriMoreaux 6 / 55 10.9%
InfoQuest 75 / 100 ★★★ 75.0%
Jackie_K 33 / 48 ★★ 68.8%
jen.e.moore 24 / 50 48.0%
johanna414 14 / 25 56.0%
JPGilpatric 4 / 100 4.0%
kac522 12 / 35 34.3%
kale.dyer 22 / 40 55.0%
karenmarie 24 / 40 ★ 60.0%
kkunker 20 / 40 50.0%
klarusu 13 / 50 26.0%
knotbox 5 / 10 50.0%
LadyBookworth 29 / 48 ★ 60.4%
LauraBrook 69 / 75 ★★★★★ 92.0%
leslie.98 66 / 100 ★ 66.0%
liberian 2 / 50 4.0%
lilisin 12 / 50 24.0%
Limelite 8 / 12 ★★ 66.7%
lindapanzo 46 / 60 ★★★ 76.7%
lkernagh 39 / 40 ★★★★★ 97.5%
Lisa805 3 / 14 21.4%
LoraShouse 12 / 20 ★ 60.0%
luvamystery65 29 / 50 58.0%
madhatter22 27 / 40 ★★ 67.5%
majkia 48 / 50 ★★★★★ 96.0%
martencat 20 / 25 ★★★ 80.0%
MissWatson 39 / 40 ★★★★★ 97.5%
Montarville 10 / 15 ★★ 66.7%
moonshineandrosefire 15 / 59 25.4%
nancynova 31 / 75 41.3%
nebula21 20 / 30 ★★ 66.7%
nerwende 3 / 15 20.0%
Nickelini 17 / 20 ★★★★ 85.0%
Pigletto 21 / 80 26.3%
Queezle 2 / 20 10.0%
rabbitprincess 34 / 50 ★★ 68.0%
rainpebble★ 65 / 12 541.7%
randomarbitrary 6 / 75 8.0%
RavenHill 13 / 20 ★ 65.0%
readingtangent 31 / 46 ★★ 67.4%
Rebeki 12 / 16 ★★★ 75.0%
Robertgreaves 57 / 72 ★★★ 79.2%
rubyandthetwins★ 26 / 23 113.0%
sace 16 / 36 44.4%
sallylou61 19 / 25 ★★★ 76.0%
si 15 / 20 ★★★ 75.0%
streamsong 17 / 50 34.0%
Tallulah_Rose 7 / 12 ★ 58.3%
tames 2 / 13 15.4%
tess_schoolmarm★ 83 / 65 127.7%
torontoc 19 / 30 ★ 63.3%



Rainpebble and Ameise1 were joined in the winner's circle this month by avanders, billiejean,rubyandthetwins and tess_schoolmarm! Who will get there next month?

Those trying to join the success are lead by:

lkernagh 97.5%
MissWatson 97.5%
majkia 96.0%
LauraBrook 92.0%


The goal for August is 2,317 So as the summer comes to an end, keep working on those ROOTs and help bring our total higher and higher!

Thanks, Chèli! And congratulations to all the winners! I need to get down to business this month to catch up. ;)

Thank you for all your hard work in trying circumstances, Chèli.

>1 cyderry: thanks for all you do...

I'll try to get back on track.

Ah, I lost my star. But this should be a better month (I think I've said that a few times this year) but it really should. I have vacation this month and have 4 ROOTs currently active so all I have to do is finish them and a couple more. Have a good month everyone and thanks for keeping us on track, Cheli.

Thanks for everything, Chèli. Take good care of yourself.

I was really bad last month and read 4 non-ROOTs. Hope to do better this month!

My 27/40 ROOTs for the year is on track for this challenge, but I just counted up about 70 new books I've brought into the house this year (not counting borrowed books), so I'm pretty well off track on that cleaning-off-the-shelves goal. Ah well. There's always next year.

I have one ROOT to report. I finished reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer last night. I was never wild about reading this title, but it was for my real life book discussion group. I am still not wild about it, but it is done and off my shelves.

>9 benitastrnad: off the shelves is good!

>8 madhatter22: just keep plugging away. :)

Finished my first for August, trying to get my star back but the library is just so appealing.

>8 madhatter22: Don't feel bad. So far 67 new books have come into my possession this year of which 51 are ROOTS because they have to be read for review this year. Of the other 16 I've only read 2.

My 61 ROOT reads so far this year are comprised of 23 of those arriving in 2017 and 38 prior to 2017. So I already have 38 new ROOTS created. My goal is to have 80% of my reads this year being ROOTS and the rest library loans and new books. So far I doing pretty well at a rate of 91% of my 2017 reads are ROOTS. But that's only because I count ARCs as ROOTS. Otherwise, I'd be sitting at a miserable 57%.

It's really what you count as ROOTS.

#20 ROOT- review on my thread and no tickers updated

Added my first ROOT of August to all tickers: Arctic Assignment: The Story of the St. Roch, by Sgt. F.S. Farrar.

>12 cyderry: Why wouldn't ARCs count as ROOTs? Once you bring them home, they're yours! :)
91% is amazing.

My first ROOT for August is Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley.

I have reached my goal with The three-body problem which I enjoyed very much.

Reporting ROOT # 23 for the year, #1 for August.
Pluk een roos by M.J. Arlidge

Updating all tickers.

>17 MissWatson: yippee!

Well done winners! And thank you, cyderry for the Herculean task of informing us of his labors. I didn't know them, but am learning. But flesh eating horses is a myth too far, IMO!

I remain on track, which is 100% improvement over my feeble efforts of a year ago. Hope to complete at least two ROOTs in August. I'm at the half way point in current read and enjoying the memoir of Li Cunxin as he guides us through the Cultural Revolution and his years of ballet training in Mdme Mao's Dance Academy outside Beijing. At this point, Mao is dead and the communist stranglehold is loosening. The first Western visitor to the ballet school is about to make an appearance, which will change Li's life forever.

Still undecided what to tackle next.

>15 madhatter22: I do count them as ROOTs because to me, since they have to be read in a timely manner, they rank with the books that have been sitting - waiting their turn so patiently.

>17 MissWatson: Congrats, Birgit!

Reporting ROOT # 24 for the year, #2 for August.

Eiland van geheimen by Karen Miller

Updating all tickers.

Added my second ROOT of August to all tickers: an audiobook version of The Stone Rose, by Jacqueline Rayner.

Finished Mao's Last Dancer. Started Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. On schedule to meet my goal.

Finished my first ROOT of the month - my thread and all tickers updated.

Congrats to all those who already have reached their goal!

Finished off 3 ROOTs so far for August. All tickers updated.

My first ROOT of August is completed, and I'm reading my second, woo!

I gotta get my star back...

I'm glad to see that the stars are a motivator for getting our ROOTs read. I personally was upset in June when I lost mine and read much more to make certain I got it back. There was some worry when I started the star system as I recall.

Christina Stead, The Little Hotel, for the August "Christina Stead read" in the Virago group (and also for All Virago-All August). I've done a good bit of reading so far this month, but this is only my first ROOT.

1st for August, 48/75

I'm trying to squeeze in lots of ROOTing before my summer vacation and have clocked up four so far.

Reporting ROOT # 25 for the year, # 3 for August.

De hamer Gods by Karen Miller

Updating all tickers.

>29 cyderry: The stars certainly motivate me! I have one but wish I had more (which I did last year at this time).

I have finished my second ROOT of the month; my thread and all tickers have been updated.

I have finished my first two ROOTs for August, and updated all tickers (mine and group).

I didn't manage to get my star back yet, but am really going to try getting it back this month!

I personally like the stars because for me it's an easy way of checking whether I'm still on schedule or not - and it definitely works to motivate me...

Reached my 50th ROOT!! WooHoo! Now I can read those newer books with a little less guilt, lol. But will keep reading ROOTs to add to the group total.

Good for you, Jean. congrats.

>36 majkia: Congrats!

Just added my third ROOT of August to all tickers: The Case of the Dangerous Dowager, by Erle Stanley Gardner.

I just finished my second ROOT of August, The Satan Bug by Alistair MacLean. Personal ticker is updated.

Reporting ROOT # 26 for the year, # 4 for August.

De vloek van de magiër by Karen Miller

Updating all tickers.

#32 and #33 for the year are done. Arv og miljø by Vigdís Hjorth and The Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Three by Alan Moore - both really good reads but very different.

#21 - review is on my thread- this is my second ROOT for August- no tickers updated

Year 2017, ROOT #10, second for August, completed; tickers updated; discussed in my thread.

My 2nd for August is The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss. I shouldn't have any trouble reading 2 more to reach my ROOT goal of 4 a month.

I'm at two manga for August. Still going at a slow and steady pace but at least I'm getting things off the TBR pile. Everything in Japanese bookstores is so tempting that I really can't imagine not reading it all but I'll never get there if I don't keep pushing myself. (Not to say I'm pushing but more not letting myself hit zero read.) Plus I just moved from a furnished apartment to a non-furnished one and have been drooling over some shelves during my furniture shopping sessions.

I have finished a couple more short audiobook ROOTs. My thread and all tickers have been updated.

I am on vacation and have finished two ROOTS. One was a print book and one was a sound recording I finished while driving.

The book was Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman. This one is for the group read of the Hillerman books.

I also finished listening to another "western epic" Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. I don't know why I put this one off for so long. It was a great story.

I started listening to Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. This is another series I have had on my ROOT shelf for a long time. It is also a very good YA series. I am impressed.

>56 fuzzi:

At the end of the series so the pace has quickened and I've read a third manga for this month. A good feeling.

Another root for the month takes me to 41/48

Reporting ROOT # 27 for the year, # 5 for August.

De onsterfelijke troon - by Stella Gemmell

Updating all tickers.

I've just added #4 for August (#37 for the year) to all tickers.

I'm offline now till the end of the month, but am hoping I can get another couple of books finished before September.

Just finished ROOT #3 for August, and it's a doozy: The Rawhide Knot by Conrad Richter. I think I have enjoyed every book I've read by this author.

Personal ticker updated. :)

Two more for All Virago-All August, both ROOTs: The Beauties and Furies (also satisfying the August Christina Stead read) and Anne of Green Gables (Norton Critical Edition), a reread of the novel and first-read of the Norton Supplementary materials.

2nd and 3rd for August, 50/75 ... two-third of the way to my goal and I'll be keeping my star. In fact, since I'm doing an L.L. Montgomery marathon for All Virago-All August, I may even get a second star since almost all of them will be ROOTs and they're quick reads.

Finished a book over the weekend: First they killed my father, a personal witness account about the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Genocide.

Finished my fourth ROOT, Brighty of the Grand Canyon. That was one of only a couple by that author that I somehow did not read during my horse-crazy reading days.

Personal ticker updated.

I have read 5 ROOTs in August and am now reading a string of shiny new ones, so I probably won't have anything else to report before I leave on holiday. My own ticker is up-to-date, didn't touch the group ones.

>67 CurrerBell:
MissWatson, my dear lady, we are twins! I just completed my 5th ROOT for the month as well.

Will update my ticker at the month's end as per usual.

super

After reading several library books, I have managed to get in another ROOT. My thread and all tickers updated.

>67 CurrerBell: >68 benitastrnad: I was going to be satisfied with 4 ROOTs for August, and just settle back with The Stranger From the Sea (reread, 440+ pgs) but now you've done it, made me ponder upon what other ROOT I could read before the end of the month.

Reporting ROOT # 28 for the year, # 6 for August.

Al wat schittert by Eleanor Catton

Updating all tickers.

>68 benitastrnad: >71 leslie.98: Sometimes it just flows...

>73 benitastrnad: agreed. It's just that so many of my ROOT books are chunksters, 400+ pages, and I've been so busy in RL, it makes it hard to read much.

Hi all,
so I have just added 12 books to my personal ticker= group one left untouched. These cover both July - was away at the end of the month - and August.

Happy reading to all!
ps it looks like we are on target! Go us!!

Finished the last volume of the series I was reading so not only do I have another ROOT to post but I have another series that I can cross off as being complete!

James Anderson Winn, Queen Anne: Patroness of Arts

4th for August, 51/75. I may rack up quite a few ROOTs in the remainder of this month since for All Virago/All August I'm doing a Lucy Maud Montgomery marathon, almost all of which are ROOTs and which should be fairly quick reads.

I finished listening to Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and started Glass Sword. This one is book 2 in the Red Queen series. This is shaping up to be one of the better YA dystopian series I have read. It is certainly helping the miles go by faster.

Moving on with my Anne with an E! marathon....
Anne of Avonlea

5th for August, 52/75

Reporting ROOT # 29 for the year, # 7 for August.

De cirkel by Mats Strandberg & Sara B. Elfgren

Updating all tickers.

A few more audiobook ROOTs finished - my thread and all tickers updated.

>45 clue:, >47 leslie.98:, >49 lilisin:, >50 HelenBaker: Thank you! Fingers crossed I can keep up the momentum!

I finished listening to the Glass Sword and I am so happy to report that this series does not suffer from the second-book-letdown-syndrome. It was a great way to pass the miles. I immediately started King's Cage and am about half done with it. This is a great series and I suspect that my driveway moments are not over.

A couple more ROOTs done with my thread & all tickers updated. I am hoping to finish at least one more before the month ends; maybe I will earn that extra star against my name in next month's list!

>83 lindapanzo: you know you are hopelessly addicted to books when you read "driveway moments" and know what it means...

I finished reading a book last night. Mr. Jefferson's University by Garry Wills is part of the National Geographic Directions series. I love reading this series and have read 7 of them so far. This title in the series is one of the early titles so I had to get it through Inter-Libary Loan.

This was primarily a book about Thomas Jefferson as architect, designer, and would be academic. This book has inspired me to visit the Charlottesville area so that I can see the work of this polymath first hand.

Added another manga over the weekend.

Reporting ROOT # 30 and 31 for the year, # 8 and 9 for August.

De cirkel by Mats Strandberg & Sara B. Elfgren

Updating all tickers.

#22 ROOT and third for the month- review is on my thread and no tickers updated

I might squeeze in one more rootless book this month but no more ROOTS, so here is my report for August 2017:

UpROOTED books: 6
ROOTless books: 6
Added to the TBR shelves: 0

The ROOTs were:

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
The Classics Magpie by Jane Hood
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Imperium by Robert Harris
Lustrum by Robert Harris

ROOTs in YTD: 63

Personal and group tickers have been adjusted, but hopefully not harmed.

Added my latest ROOT to the tickers: Queens' Play, by Dorothy Dunnett. This is my fourth for August and 37th for the year. I'd like to sneak in one more but am not sure whether I'll have time. September will be great though!

I wanted to give you all an update on what's been happening with me and my Mom.

First, my 92 yr old mother was having trouble with her hip so my sisters and I worked to get her the medical attention required as well as finally convincing her that she should not be living alone. Tests and doctor appointments kept us busy but on June 8 we finally got her settled into assisted living and two weeks later she had her right hip replaced. She finished her in-house rehab and returned to Assisted living earlier this month. I think she is finally adjusting (maybe it's the 3 gentlemen with which she shares a dinner table) and now she wants to get her room decorated with family pictures and a pretty afghan for her winter warmth.

In the meantime, yours truly took a nasty fall out of bed and damaged my neck and shoulder. I have been playing "how can we make Chèli better?" with the doctor for the last 13 weeks. At first, the doctor thought it was an inflamed rotator cuff, but determined later that I also had a pinched nerve in my neck. The shoulder isn't getting any better so I am scheduled for surgery on September 18th.
So while I have been trying to recover from the fall, I have been on heavy duty painkillers and sleeping a great deal. However, I did manage to keep up on my reading - thank goodness for e-books and audio books because it is painful to hold a real book. Hopefully after surgery, I will be sufficiently recovered to handle the October thread. (I'm getting it ready at the same time as I do September so that I'll only have to drop in the numbers and who's finished and who's in the lead. Thanks for all that offered to help.

Now here's what you can do for me, in September if you all would be very chatty so that we have the 150 messages that will get the continuation feature activated on the thread.

I've almost reached my goal and should either this month or before my surgery.

Keep reading everybody! Thanks for your good wishes.

>92 moonshineandrosefire: Oh no!! Sorry to hear that, Cheli.

A few years ago, I took a spill and hurt my shoulder. That was just about the most painful thing I've ever felt. Ever time I turned over in bed, I'd wake myself up.

Hoping for all the best with your surgery and that reading continues to be a comfort as you recover. Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help.

Thanks for the update, Chèli, it's nice that your mum is settling in and recovering from her op. Hope your own surgery goes well and you get relief from the pain. I'll do my best to generate messages!

Best of luck, Chèli. I'll do ROOT by ROOT messages in September rather than a monthly round up.

Sorry to hear of your fall- take care and I am sure that we can create many messages

>92 moonshineandrosefire: I know from personal experience you are much relieved that your mom is settling in. I haven't had an injury like yours but any injury that is so painful it keeps you from holding a book is pretty darn serious. Best wishes for a Sept. recovery.

Best of luck to you cyderry!

I promise to keep it chatty by announcing another manga read for the month.

Hope that your surgery and recovery goes well Chèli! And I am glad to hear that your Mom is adjusting to life in her new surroundings as well as recuperating well from her hip replacement. I will try to post a bit more next month...

I have finished a couple of Kindle ROOTs. My thread and all tickers updated. I am hoping to finish one more paperback ROOT before September...

I'm so sorry to hear that you're in such pain, Cheli! I'm sure that we will keep the thread hopping in your absence, though! Happy to hear that your mom is settling in so well and I wish you a speedy recovery after your own surgery.

As for my reading pace for this month, I am very, very pleased with myself. I actually wasn't expecting to do as well as I have so far: 5 ROOTs read in August and hopefully I will be able to squeeze in a couple more - maybe!

Adding my best wishes for your surgery, Cheli, and hoping that you are on the mend very soon!

I've been on holiday, but been keeping busy by finishing 3 more ROOTs (which has taken my total to 40 for the year, my best reading year ever!). I've added them to my own and the group tickers.

My last ROOT of the month is done. My thread and all tickers updated.

I have had a great month of ROOTing - 19 done! Of course, I did also manage to acquire 15 new books but at least that is less than I finished ;)

I have finished 4 ROOTS for August and all tickers are updated:

Parnassus on Wheels - Christopher Morley 3.5
Miss Zukas and the Stroke of Death - Jo Dereske 3.5
The Hearts of Horses - Molly Gloss - 4.0
I Always Loved You - Robin Oliveira 3.0

>92 moonshineandrosefire: Best wishes for your recovery - and good to hear that you mom has settled into her new home.

And in a separate message to get the thread going: Last night I finished another ROOT (Die Entdeckung der Currywurst) by Uwe Timm. A fine little book on the end of the war in Hamburg and - as the title indicates - about the invention of the beloved currywurst.

I have just started One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez, which will pretty much guarantee that I will not finish more in August.

I'd been hoarding my August ROOTs till the end of the month - which still has almost 11 hours to go here! - so in the interests of getting the number of messages on this thread above 150 I'll summarise my progress so far, then update and add to tickers later.

A Farewell to Arms and The Luminaries are completed, Treasure Island and Barkskins should be finished this afternoon, and I might squeeze in another short one before the day is over to bring the total to five.

>108 benitastrnad: That's a nice haul. I'm looking forward to your reviews.

Finished an actual book today (only 150 pages but it counts) bringing my August reads to a nice solid number.

>92 moonshineandrosefire:
I am so sorry for all that you have & continue to go through. I will be thinking of & praying for you & I continue to pray for your mother.
Don't concern yourself with your 'Rooters', my dear. We can do this & will be here when you are able as well.

My August ROOTs were:
66. The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama; (5*); acquired 8/06/2016
67. The Quest for Christa T by Christa Wolf; (2*); acquired 1/20/2014; purged
68. Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays by Christa Wolf; (3*); acquired 2/27/2012; purged
69. No Place on Earth by Christa Wolf; (1*); acquired 3/18/2014
70. The Little Hotel by Christina Stead; (2 1/2*); acquired 9/22/2011; purged
71. Year Before Last by Kay Boyle; (3 1/2*); acquired 9/18/2009; purged
My personal thread doesn't yet reflect it, but I have updated it. I did not touch the group thread.

All in all I purged 55 books from my shelves this August of 2017. WOOT WOOT!~! As I age (70 this year) it becomes more & more important for me to accomplish a clearing of my bookcases of all I read or have read excepting for those volumes that are dear to my heart. I do not wish my children & grands to have that burden. So with each book in the 'bye-bye' box my heart lightens.

Thank God for this group & for you, Chèli. God bless you.

>111 Robertgreaves: When it comes to purging you and I are on the same path, although I'm only 69. LOL! At this moment I have books all over the floor waiting to know where I'm going to send them. Congratulations on moving 55!

Even though I haven't read anything by Gail Tsukiyama in a long time I still regard her as one of my favorite authors. Have you read Women of the Silk? If not, take a look and see what you think. It's the beginning of a trilogy and my favorite of those I've read. I have a few of hers on my TBR and I really must get to them.

All 10 of my reads in August were ROOTS!

I have added another 3 books ! Puts me at 44 /48. Only personal ticker done.

Fingers crossed we have made goal this month :+}

Cyderry- Firstly -congratulations on reading 10 roots!!Way to go.

And secondly - prayers have been sent for both you and your mum. You, for healing and a speedy recovery . And for your Mum that she will find comfort where she is now.

I finished 6 ROOTS this month. No tickers updated.

Since I was on vacation I managed to do lots of reading. Or rather, listening.

I listened to three of the books in the Victoria Aveyard series and they helped me cover many miles.

Red Queen by Victoria AVeyard
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

I also listened to Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.

I read two books from my shelf list.

Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman
Mr. Jefferson's University by Garry Wills

>112 Familyhistorian:
I have read Women of the Silk and it was worth 5 stars to me. :-)

Hello everyone! Actually, I have been having a little trouble updating my reading ticker lately, although I seem to have gotten it worked out now. But I do feel like I'm still playing catchup a bit.

Due to everything that has happened with me just in the first few months of the year, I can already tell that my reading total will be significantly lower than it was last year. Although, I'm not too worried about that just yet!

August's reading total was much, much better than I was expecting. I actually read one more ROOT this month than last August, so I think I'm getting back on track. Hopefully the reading streak continues! Anyway, in keeping with the group theme, here are my totals for this month:

Ancient Oaks Pruned: stands for older books read from my TBR pile: 3
Young Saplings Pruned: stands for newer books read from my TBR pile: 3
Trees Replanted: stands for rereads from my TBR pile: 1
New Seeds Planted: stands for additions to my TBR pile: 3
Trees Transplanted: stands for books that were donated: 2

I have only dealt with my own personal tickers, never touched the group ones.

Starting my first book for September, Dictator by Robert Harris, the third in his Cicero trilogy. Not a ROOT

So sorry to hear about your injuries, Cheli. I hope the surgery is scheduled soon and your recovery is fast.

>29 cyderry: I know what you mean about losing your star. I lost mine last month and I am not sure if I still had it the month before. I hope to get it back this month because I upped my game and read 7 ROOTs to make it 36/50. I hope to do well in September too.

Read one more manga last night to finish off an excellent August.

I read your post where you want us to be chatty, Cheli. Looks like we are a little short. Here is the list of books that I read for August.

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
A Cotswold Ordeal by Rebecca Tope
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle
The King's Grave: The Discovery of Richard III's Lost Burial Place and the Clues It Holds by Philippa Langley & Michael Jones
The Celtic World: An Illustrated History 700 B.C. to the Present by Patrick Lavin
Scandal in Skibbereen by Sheila Connolly
Tom Thomson: Trees by Joan Murray

Wow, som great progress being reported this month.

>121 connie53: I never got past the first one in that series, but I don't really know why. I enjoyed it quite a bit so maybe it's time to pick up the next volumes.

Yes, great progress being made this month!

Finished Treasure Island, Barkskins,and The Third Man to bring my August ROOTs total to five for the month and 50/60 for 2017.

All tickers adjusted.

>126 leslie.98: I re-read the first two in August. I enjoyed them more this time around than I did the first time I read them, but there is much better fiction set in this period. I find them rather dull. If it wasn't a book club choice I probably wouldn't have bothered.

>125 torontoc: I like your list! but that means acquiring books that I can't use for this "read what has been on your book pile for over six months". ( my definition)

>129 connie53: My own definition is all books, even the shiny new ones. I figured I have enough already to get worked up about, without feeling book reading guilt as well! I think I do strike a good balance between reading the occasional new book with the older ROOTs.

Argh, will 20 more of us post before the September thread needs to go up?

Adding my best wishes a bit late, Chèli. I hope you have a rapid recovery.

>130 connie53: LOL! I will post just to add to the thread even though I don't have any more ROOTs done.

Yes - good idea!

Here's what Cheli's post says:

"Now here's what you can do for me, in September if you all would be very chatty so that we have the 150 messages that will get the continuation feature activated on the thread."

Unless there is another thread I don't remember...quite possible.

I think that we have to keep posting until we reach 150 on this thread

We can but try!

We can do that.

Happy to add my support to this endeavour even though I have been a poor ROOTer this month.

And I have a September ROOT to report, so it's really a good thing we post another 12 posts here after this one.

10 posts after this one!

9 to go :)

Amazing progress folks! Let's talk rubbish for Cheli, only 8 posts to go! :D

Waiting patiently for the September thread and being chatty to bring up the continuation option.

Alas, I'm awfully tempted toward NON ROOTs lately.

I know- but any book not read is tempting! Only five more posts needed!

I'm reading my second book for September.

Finished first book in September.

>144 enemyanniemae: I have been hearing the siren call of the library myself!

I haven't been very active on LT the past few months, but I have been keeping my personal ticker updated, at least.
I finished just the one ROOT in August, but it was a large one (The Luminaries), so I'm pretty pleased with myself!

Forgot to mention I'm also halfway through another ROOT :)

I'm about to finish a ROOT I started in August but I'll count it for September.

Ta-Dal, I think we're there!

I managed to catch up on ny roots this month,so I'm looking forward to seeing a pretty little star by my name again :)
Hope I can keep it up in September - I am going away on vacation for two weeks, so that will interfere with my reading, but will try to read lots afterwards...

Cheli, I Hope your surgery goes well and that your shoulder problems will soon be over.
We installed my great aunt in a care facility earlier this year; she also didn't want to go at first, but by now she is completely at home and really loves it. She lived on a farm before and it was a pretty lonely place, and becoming less mobile meant she hardly saw anybody anymore. Now she has plenty of company, people her own age, and it's so much better for her. I hope your mom will come to love her new residence as well.

Got 6 done in August. Not bad but I still need to ramp it up. I will update my personal ticker. Here's to good reading in September!

whoops

>129 connie53: >130 connie53: My definition of a ROOT is anything acquired in the previous year or before. So lots of the new shiny ones languish on the shelf before they are read. I am not sure this is a good thing.

>155 connie53: I wonder that too. And am beginning to resent my rules for myself a bit.

>155 connie53:, 156 I made a change this year to anything acquired in the last six months and I like that better. I'm going to stick with it next year but I've already decided if I get my ROOTS below a certain level I'll cut it to three months.

>157 I decided for 6 months too. And will stick with it next year. And buy fewer books! That helps too.

>155 connie53: >156 I had that rule the first couple of years as well. It didn't stop me from buying books, but it ensured that I read new books with a bit of a bad consciousness - or postponed reading books that I really wanted to read now, because they were not ROOTs.

Then I changed my rules: If I own it, it's a ROOT. It doesn't matter if I bought it this year, this month or even this morning, and it works much better for me.

>159 I haven't changed my rules about ROOTs being bought the previous year, just my attitude. I was feeling a bit guilty about reading my shiny new instead of my ROOTs but picked up on someone else's idea that it's 'ROOT-prevention' - forward-planning to ensure I'm not overwhelmed with ROOTs in 2018 ;)

That's the way I look at it too >160. I like the term 'ROOT-prevention'! I am doing well if about half of what I read are ROOTs.

I have tried in the last few years to buy fewer books as >158 suggests but even with a strong effort, I am still acquiring ebooks & digital audiobooks & although my purchase of print books is down, my trips to the library are up.

I really like the ROOT-prevention project! I'm going to go with that next year. If I own it, it's a ROOT!

>160 ROOT-prevention - that's the word I was looking for!

Interesting conversation about how you decide what are ROOTs. Mine is anything that I've had in my possession since 12/31/16 or ARCs and ER books that have to be read immediately.

You all did great on moving the thread - I'm almost ready to post the September thread!

>160. I set my reading challenge for 2017 at 75 books total, of which 36 have to be ROOTs, leaving room to read new and shiny ones with no feeling of guilt at all.
So now I've read 57 books total, of which 34 are ROOTs and I bought 'only' 26 new ones I think I'm doing just fine!