qebo's 2019 books (1)

Thread topper TBD? We'll see... I never got around to it in 2018.

January
#01: This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz -- (Jan 5) - new (e-book) *book group 1*
#02: The Shetland Bus by David Howarth -- (Jan 15) - new *book group 2*
#03: The Humane Gardener by Nancy Lawson -- (Jan 19) - new *garden group*
#04: The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan -- (Jan 22) - new

February
#05: Washington Black by Esi Edugyan -- (Feb 11) - new (e-book) *book group 1*
#06: Becoming by Michelle Obama -- (Feb 17) - new *book group 2*
#07: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn -- (Feb 21) - ROOT (e-book)

March
#08: Educated by Tara Westover -- (Mar 8) - new *book group 1*
#09: Mind Hunter by John Douglas -- (Mar 16) - new *book group 2*

April
#10: The Power by Naomi Alderman -- (Apr ??) - new (e-book) *book group 1*
#11: Our Towns by James Fallows & Deborah Fallows -- (Apr ??) - ROOT *book group 2*
#12: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte -- (Apr 21) - new *book seminar*
#13: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver -- (Apr 28) - new (e-book) *book group 1*

May
#14: The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton -- (May ??) - new *book group 2*

June
#15: The Other Americans by Laila Lalami -- (Jun ??) - new (e-book) *book group 1*
#16: Heavy by Kiese Laymon -- (Jun ??) - new *book group 2*

July
#17: The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman -- (Jul ??) - new (e-book) *book group 1*
#18: The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson -- (Jul ??) - new *book group 2*
#19: Lethal White by Robert Galbraith -- (Jul ??) - new (e-book)

August
#20: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee -- (Aug 3) - ROOT
#21: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn -- (Aug 7) new
#22: Wasted Pretty by Jamie Beth Cohen -- (Aug 9) - new (e-book) *book group 1 (local author)*
#23: Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society by Nicholas Christakis -- (Aug 18) - new *book group 2*

September
#24: Daily Rituals by Mason Currey -- (Sep ??) - new *book group 2*
#25: Tombland by C. J. Sansom -- (Sep ??) - new (e-book)

October
#26: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou -- (Oct ??) - new
#27: The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans -- (Oct ??) - new *book group 2*

November
#28: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry -- (Nov 10) - new *book group 1*
#29: Furious Hours by Casey Cep -- (Nov 17) - new *book group 2*

December
#30: A Crack in Creation by Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg -- (Dec 9) - new *seminar*
#31: The Overstory by Richard Powers -- (Dec 9) - new *book group1*
#32: American Eden by Victorian Johnson -- (Dec 15) - new *book group 2*

Introduction
I'm Katherine, a computer programmer (primarily medical imaging) residing in Lancaster PA. I joined LibraryThing in 2007, and participated in the 75 Books Challenge from 2011-2016. In 2016 I fell significantly short of 75, and realized it was nice not to feel the pressure. Alas, it seems that lack of pressure results in lack of reading. I kept threads here in 2017 and 2018, sporadically updated and ultimately neglected altogether. I participate in two local book groups that overlap only partially with my interests though also expand my horizons a bit. I dutifully do the homework because it's the price of admission to a compatible social network, but I rarely have much to say about the books. I'm involved in several garden/habitat-oriented organizations where I've taken on clerical and administrative scutwork to earn my keep on the planet, which occupies a fair chunk of spare time, and in recent years I've been accumulating associated books that are intended more for browsing and reference than for reading cover to cover. So... I already have a bundle of doubts about starting a thread this year, but I may as well...

2019 Goals
I spent much of the holiday break decluttering, which consisted in part of discarding (donating to the public library book sale) three boxes of books, reorganizing bookcases to reflect current interests, and shelving stacks of books that were gathering dust on the office floor. This effort included LibraryThing data entry, but I have yet to add tags. In the process I discovered many interesting books that had been obscured from view. Perhaps a goal for this year could be to read some of them.

I wonder about what’s in all those books on my shelves too. Then tend to find others to read. Wish you a great year.

I'm glad you decided to create a 2019 thread. I have been wavering too and decided I will create one this morning--to have a place to list my year's reading, if nothing else.

Good for you for sticking to your book clubs. I wish I could find some, for the same reasons as you. I love your gardening thread, I'll have to go see if you have created one for this year.

I'm slowly adapting to life in Florida. I have my bird feeders, but only attract morning doves in droves to them. I'm also trying to learn which plants do well in pots here. It's difficult because the temps vary so. It's been in the 70s all week, but dropped to the 30s last night. My poor cactus doesn't know what to do, so I brought it indoors this morning, although I should have last night. It's looking a little droopy.

>9 labfs39: I didn't start a garden thread in 2018, and kinda regretted it because I still take lots of photos and a thread motivates me to select a small set as a record of progress. For 2019, I dunno... it's useful to have, but time consuming to do.
Book clubs seem to start mostly by word of mouth, so essentially you have to be in a social network to get in a social network, one of those classic life perplexities. One that I'm in started with a post on a neighborhood forum, so you might try that route.

>10 qebo: I wasn't on LT much last year, but I do remember all the wonderful butterfly pictures at your old place.

I tried to start a book club here in my apartment complex, but only one person responded. In a town without a bookstore, I guess it shouldn't be surprising.

>11 labfs39: Do you have a local library? Is it worth asking them about starting a bookclub?

Even if you keep only a record for yourself, a thread here can be rewarding!

I've thought about joining a reading group. There's one or two around here, but I'm at the point where I want to read what I want to read, not what anyone else thinks I should (the nieces and nephews being an exception - if they recommend something I usually like it - and often love it - and I'll read it just to keep a reading dialog open with them.) Groups on LT can sort of serve a book club's function, although not as social a function, I suppose.

I don't wont to hijack your thread, qebo, but here are a couple of quick responses:

>12 rhian_of_oz: Yes, we have a small local library, but post-Hurricane Michael, the library system is under strain and many programs are being put on hold.

>13 auntmarge64: Funny you should mention the social aspect of LibraryThing, I just posted on my thread the story of how I discovered LT 11 years ago and the interview on NPR with Tim Spaulding that tapped my inner social bibliophile. I have a link to the NPR story on my thread.

>14 labfs39: Thanks for the link - I'll take a look.

I'm looking forward to following your reads this year.

Unexpected LibraryThing meetup last weekend! _Zoe_ (https://www.librarything.com/topic/300951#6719695) messaged out of the blue that she was about to arrive in Lancaster, stopping briefly on the way home from a conference with a colleague who was detouring to visit a friend. Fortunately I was sitting at the computer with nothing scheduled, and she was about a mile and a half from my house. There is photographic evidence though the background is generic college cafeteria and doesn't prove anything.

>17 qebo: How lovely!

What a lovely story of the LT meetup! It's great when some folks on here get to meet beyond the computer screen.