1JoeB1934
I spent much of 2025 searching for the 'best' books for me to consider reading. This search was based on finding books that matched my preferences in Genres and Sub-Genres.
I decided that this year I would take advantage of the work I did in 2025 by reading more books and reporting only on the books I will be reading in 2026.
My next slide will show covers of the books I read in 2025.
I decided that this year I would take advantage of the work I did in 2025 by reading more books and reporting only on the books I will be reading in 2026.
My next slide will show covers of the books I read in 2025.
3DeltaQueen50
Hi Joe, I have followed you here. I am leaving the link to my 2026 thread at the 2026 Category Challenge. Hope to see you visit. đ
Oops, I forgot he link!!
Here it is: https://www.librarything.com/topic/375466#
Oops, I forgot he link!!
Here it is: https://www.librarything.com/topic/375466#
4JoeB1934
>3 DeltaQueen50: It will be my first link into 2026
6JesseMC
>2 JoeB1934: That looks like such a nice range of genre and style even still! Did you have any favorites?
7dchaikin
>2 JoeB1934: love this post, Jim. I hope your 2026 system rewards again.
8JoeB1934
>6 JesseMC: They are all 'favorites' by the definition that I enjoyed reading each one. I started to read many other books but at my age I DNF any book as soon as I conclude that it isn't holding my interest.
You can go to my 2025 thread located at:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/370229#n9051525
to understand more of my approach.
You can go to my 2025 thread located at:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/370229#n9051525
to understand more of my approach.
9JoeB1934
I have acquired the four books that I will be reading next
I will produce the details on each book as I finish reading them.
I will produce the details on each book as I finish reading them.
10countrylife
So glad you posted on your 75 thread the link to follow you here for 2026. I much enjoy reading about your reading journey.
Of your 2025 titles, I've read 11 of them. Intrigued about your first book of 2026; looks like my library has it.
Of your 2025 titles, I've read 11 of them. Intrigued about your first book of 2026; looks like my library has it.
13JoeB1934
Additional comments on The Last Days of Night
This book has clarified for me many questions I have had about General Electric. My first job upon graduation was to work for GE for 4 years. Three of those years were spent in a very rigorous mix of working and internal education designed to develop us into the best engineers we could be in service to General Electric.
That training shaped who I am in so many ways today. (For all 'newbies' that period was 1956-1960, most likely before most of you were even born.) The training covered all possible aspects of engineering, but the history of GE was never discussed. Nicola Tesla came up enough that I read a book about him and was amazed at his ingenuity.
My interest in historical mysteries led me to this book. When I read the abstract, I jumped in and I can testify that it is very engrossing even if you never had a thought about GE/Westinghouse/ or the dominance of electricity in our lives.
The book is advertised as fiction about real historical events. You know, like True Crime TV shows where the story is basically true, but changes are made for dramatization purposes.
â The Authorâs Own Statement (summarized)
Graham Moore has said in interviews that:
- the broad strokes are true,
- the spirit of the events is accurate,
- but the details, dialogue, and many scenes are invented to make the story work as a novel.
He calls it âa novel based on actual eventsâ, not a documentary.
â Whatâs True in the Novel
âď¸ The Edison vs. Westinghouse patent war really happened
The central conflict â Edison suing Westinghouse over lightâbulb patents â is historically accurate. There were hundreds of lawsuits, and the stakes were enormous.
âď¸ Paul Cravath really was Westinghouseâs lawyer
Cravath did represent Westinghouse and helped pioneer what became the modern âCravath Systemâ of lawâfirm structure.
âď¸ Tesla was involved in the AC/DC battle
Teslaâs alternatingâcurrent system was a genuine threat to Edisonâs directâcurrent empire, and Westinghouse did hire him.
âď¸ The War of Currents was ruthless
Edisonâs smear campaign against AC â including public electrocutions â is historically documented.
âď¸ Niagara Falls was the ultimate prize
The race to electrify Niagara Falls was real and symbolically marked the victory of AC power.
The only person in the book that is significantly fictionalized was the woman who became Paul Cravath's wife and there isn't any historical facts to show she played a role in the larger story.
In a broader perspective this story profiles differences between creators of ideas/science and 'businessmen' that convert those details into functional applications for the general public.
Tesla was the ultimate creative mind, and he had no interest in converting those ideas into real products. Believe it, or not, he could in his mind create a product, test it in his mind until the final solution was accomplished. He didn't have any interest in commercialization of his products.
This story also confirms that we, the general public, were then and now controlled by a few ultra wealthy businesspeople whose only purpose is to maximize their wealth.
This book has clarified for me many questions I have had about General Electric. My first job upon graduation was to work for GE for 4 years. Three of those years were spent in a very rigorous mix of working and internal education designed to develop us into the best engineers we could be in service to General Electric.
That training shaped who I am in so many ways today. (For all 'newbies' that period was 1956-1960, most likely before most of you were even born.) The training covered all possible aspects of engineering, but the history of GE was never discussed. Nicola Tesla came up enough that I read a book about him and was amazed at his ingenuity.
My interest in historical mysteries led me to this book. When I read the abstract, I jumped in and I can testify that it is very engrossing even if you never had a thought about GE/Westinghouse/ or the dominance of electricity in our lives.
The book is advertised as fiction about real historical events. You know, like True Crime TV shows where the story is basically true, but changes are made for dramatization purposes.
â The Authorâs Own Statement (summarized)
Graham Moore has said in interviews that:
- the broad strokes are true,
- the spirit of the events is accurate,
- but the details, dialogue, and many scenes are invented to make the story work as a novel.
He calls it âa novel based on actual eventsâ, not a documentary.
â Whatâs True in the Novel
âď¸ The Edison vs. Westinghouse patent war really happened
The central conflict â Edison suing Westinghouse over lightâbulb patents â is historically accurate. There were hundreds of lawsuits, and the stakes were enormous.
âď¸ Paul Cravath really was Westinghouseâs lawyer
Cravath did represent Westinghouse and helped pioneer what became the modern âCravath Systemâ of lawâfirm structure.
âď¸ Tesla was involved in the AC/DC battle
Teslaâs alternatingâcurrent system was a genuine threat to Edisonâs directâcurrent empire, and Westinghouse did hire him.
âď¸ The War of Currents was ruthless
Edisonâs smear campaign against AC â including public electrocutions â is historically documented.
âď¸ Niagara Falls was the ultimate prize
The race to electrify Niagara Falls was real and symbolically marked the victory of AC power.
The only person in the book that is significantly fictionalized was the woman who became Paul Cravath's wife and there isn't any historical facts to show she played a role in the larger story.
In a broader perspective this story profiles differences between creators of ideas/science and 'businessmen' that convert those details into functional applications for the general public.
Tesla was the ultimate creative mind, and he had no interest in converting those ideas into real products. Believe it, or not, he could in his mind create a product, test it in his mind until the final solution was accomplished. He didn't have any interest in commercialization of his products.
This story also confirms that we, the general public, were then and now controlled by a few ultra wealthy businesspeople whose only purpose is to maximize their wealth.
14dchaikin
>13 JoeB1934: love your post on The Last Days of Night. A lot of loose historical pieces floating in my head without proper context are in there. So your post gives me a little context for them.
16JoeB1934
Who is the Author Richard Bausch
Within a few pages of this book, I was impressed with his words within even small sentences. I myself, don't have the skills to describe these very well. So, I went in search of my questions about this author that I hadn't heard about.
I quickly came up with the description of his short stories, which I rarely read. I realize that an excellent short story requires an economy of words to convey important emotions.
I used Copilot to obtain what Bausch accomplishes so effectively.
đ A Short Richard Bausch Reading Guide
A curated path through his strongest, most representative work â especially the stories where his emotional precision and moral clarity really shine.
â 1. Start With: âThe Firemanâs Wifeâ
Collection: The Firemanâs Wife and Other Stories
Why it matters:
- One of his most anthologized stories
- A perfect example of his gift for quiet domestic tension
- Shows how he builds emotional stakes without melodrama
What to look for:
- His use of small gestures to reveal character
- The way he handles marital distance and longing
â 2. Then Read: âWhat Feels Like the Worldâ
Collection: The Stories of Richard Bausch
Why it matters:
- A masterclass in empathy
- A story about a young gymnast and her grandfather that hits with surprising emotional force
What to look for:
- How he writes vulnerability without sentimentality
- His pacing â slow, steady, devastating
â 3. Move to: âLetter to the Lady of the Houseâ
Collection: Spirits, and Other Stories
Why it matters:
- A brilliant epistolary story
- Shows his range and his ability to inhabit a voice fully
What to look for:
- How the letter format creates intimacy
- The subtle shifts in tone as the narrator reveals himself
â 4. A Later Gem: âSixtyâFive Million Yearsâ
Collection: Living in the Weather of the World
Why it matters:
- Mature Bausch: controlled, humane, deeply observant
- A story about grief, connection, and the strange ways people reach for meaning
What to look for:
- His handling of interiority
- The way he uses setting to mirror emotional states
â 5. A Novel to Anchor It: Peace
Why it matters:
- His most acclaimed novel
- Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
- A WWII story that avoids clichĂŠs and focuses on moral ambiguity
What to look for:
- How he builds tension through ethical dilemmas
- His strippedâdown, exacting prose
đŻ If You Want the Quickest Possible Snapshot
Read these three and youâll understand Bausch completely:
- âThe Firemanâs Wifeâ
- âWhat Feels Like the Worldâ
- Peace (novel)
That trio gives you domestic realism, emotional depth, and moral complexity â the full Bausch palette.
In contrast to most books I read there isn't a central figure that carries me through the story.
Instead, this is completely about a small group of individuals, each one having a role to play in this interesting piece of drama.
Within this story I could see each of the skills just listed in A Short Richard Bausch Reading Guide
- A perfect example of his gift for quiet domestic tension
- Shows how he builds emotional stakes without melodrama
- His use of small gestures to reveal character
- The way he handles marital distance and longing
- How he builds tension through ethical dilemmas
- His strippedâdown, exacting prose- His handling of interiority
- The way he uses setting to mirror emotional states
- How the letter format creates intimacy
- The subtle shifts in tone as the narrator reveals himself
- How he writes vulnerability without sentimentality
- His pacing â slow, steady, devastating
- His use of small gestures to reveal character
- The way he handles marital distance and longing
- A perfect example of his gift for quiet domestic tension
- Shows how he builds emotional stakes without melodrama
Within a few pages of this book, I was impressed with his words within even small sentences. I myself, don't have the skills to describe these very well. So, I went in search of my questions about this author that I hadn't heard about.
I quickly came up with the description of his short stories, which I rarely read. I realize that an excellent short story requires an economy of words to convey important emotions.
I used Copilot to obtain what Bausch accomplishes so effectively.
đ A Short Richard Bausch Reading Guide
A curated path through his strongest, most representative work â especially the stories where his emotional precision and moral clarity really shine.
â 1. Start With: âThe Firemanâs Wifeâ
Collection: The Firemanâs Wife and Other Stories
Why it matters:
- One of his most anthologized stories
- A perfect example of his gift for quiet domestic tension
- Shows how he builds emotional stakes without melodrama
What to look for:
- His use of small gestures to reveal character
- The way he handles marital distance and longing
â 2. Then Read: âWhat Feels Like the Worldâ
Collection: The Stories of Richard Bausch
Why it matters:
- A masterclass in empathy
- A story about a young gymnast and her grandfather that hits with surprising emotional force
What to look for:
- How he writes vulnerability without sentimentality
- His pacing â slow, steady, devastating
â 3. Move to: âLetter to the Lady of the Houseâ
Collection: Spirits, and Other Stories
Why it matters:
- A brilliant epistolary story
- Shows his range and his ability to inhabit a voice fully
What to look for:
- How the letter format creates intimacy
- The subtle shifts in tone as the narrator reveals himself
â 4. A Later Gem: âSixtyâFive Million Yearsâ
Collection: Living in the Weather of the World
Why it matters:
- Mature Bausch: controlled, humane, deeply observant
- A story about grief, connection, and the strange ways people reach for meaning
What to look for:
- His handling of interiority
- The way he uses setting to mirror emotional states
â 5. A Novel to Anchor It: Peace
Why it matters:
- His most acclaimed novel
- Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
- A WWII story that avoids clichĂŠs and focuses on moral ambiguity
What to look for:
- How he builds tension through ethical dilemmas
- His strippedâdown, exacting prose
đŻ If You Want the Quickest Possible Snapshot
Read these three and youâll understand Bausch completely:
- âThe Firemanâs Wifeâ
- âWhat Feels Like the Worldâ
- Peace (novel)
That trio gives you domestic realism, emotional depth, and moral complexity â the full Bausch palette.
In contrast to most books I read there isn't a central figure that carries me through the story.
Instead, this is completely about a small group of individuals, each one having a role to play in this interesting piece of drama.
Within this story I could see each of the skills just listed in A Short Richard Bausch Reading Guide
- A perfect example of his gift for quiet domestic tension
- Shows how he builds emotional stakes without melodrama
- His use of small gestures to reveal character
- The way he handles marital distance and longing
- How he builds tension through ethical dilemmas
- His strippedâdown, exacting prose- His handling of interiority
- The way he uses setting to mirror emotional states
- How the letter format creates intimacy
- The subtle shifts in tone as the narrator reveals himself
- How he writes vulnerability without sentimentality
- His pacing â slow, steady, devastating
- His use of small gestures to reveal character
- The way he handles marital distance and longing
- A perfect example of his gift for quiet domestic tension
- Shows how he builds emotional stakes without melodrama
17dchaikin
>16 JoeB1934: Peace is a terrific short novel. I should read one of these others.
18kjuliff
>16 JoeB1934: what a lovely introduction to an author unknown to me. I have checked and found a number of Richard Bauschâs books are available in audio at Audible and in my local library. Now I just have to decide which one to read first. I prefer a short novel to short stories, but am very interested in this writer and loved your anthology.
20JoeB1934
One of my most favorite sub-genres is Women's Fiction and this is such a book written by a favorite author of mine, Jodi Picoult. As is mentioned in the description she wrote Mad Honey which was a big favorite of mine in 2024.
The storyline focuses on the difficulty women have had over the centuries in trying to get recognition for their artistic talents. In this case the focus is on a hypothetical, but historically plausible woman that could have written the Shakespear plays.
This book isn't meant to convince you of that being true. Instead, it is simply an excellent exploration of the circumstances a woman would encounter during Shakespear's time as well as, to some degree currently.
I found the book to be extremely well written and entirely plausible as to the circumstances women continue to encounter over the centuries.
My only criticism is that it was 15 hours of audio, and I believe it could have been edited down effectively.
The storyline focuses on the difficulty women have had over the centuries in trying to get recognition for their artistic talents. In this case the focus is on a hypothetical, but historically plausible woman that could have written the Shakespear plays.
This book isn't meant to convince you of that being true. Instead, it is simply an excellent exploration of the circumstances a woman would encounter during Shakespear's time as well as, to some degree currently.
I found the book to be extremely well written and entirely plausible as to the circumstances women continue to encounter over the centuries.
My only criticism is that it was 15 hours of audio, and I believe it could have been edited down effectively.
21dchaikin
>20 JoeB1934: Picoult gets a bit of a bad wrap as a chit lit. My understanding is thatâs a miss-characterization . I havenât read her. Glad you enjoyed this one.
22JoeB1934
>21 dchaikin: That is truly an erroneous characterization from my perspective. Yes, she does emphasize issues from a woman's perspective, but I have read several of her books and each one has been very issue oriented and very balanced in her treatment.
As I have said before Women's Fiction is important to me but if you look at her books, they are quite diverse in details and very well written. I wonder if this characterization comes from the masculine direction.
As I have said before Women's Fiction is important to me but if you look at her books, they are quite diverse in details and very well written. I wonder if this characterization comes from the masculine direction.
24JoeB1934
A Copilot Summary of the Issues in the book
Nell Stevensâs The Original centers on identity, imposture, queer selfâdiscovery, and the tension between authenticity and forgery, all framed through a gothic mystery about whether a returning âcousinâ is who he claims to be.
The novel also explores class dependence, inherited madness, and the vulnerability of a young woman whose survival hinges on her ability to copy art perfectly.
đż Key Issues in The Original
𧊠1. Identity vs. Imposture
The central conflict is whether the man claiming to be Graceâs longâlost cousin is genuine or an opportunistic fraud. Graceâs life as an art copyist â someone who can replicate originals flawlessly â mirrors the novelâs obsession with what is real and what is counterfeit.
đ§ 2. Face Blindness and Perception
Grace suffers from face blindness, which makes it difficult for her to recognize even people she knows. This condition deepens the theme of uncertainty and makes her uniquely vulnerable to deception.
đď¸ 3. Class, Dependency, and Power
Grace lives as a tolerated outsider in her relativesâ decaying Oxfordshire estate, dependent on their goodwill and treated as an inconvenience. Her lack of money and status shapes every choice she makes.
đ¨ 4. Art Forgery and the Nature of âOriginalsâ
Grace secretly produces perfect forgeries of famous paintings. Her skill at distinguishing originals from copies becomes crucial when evaluating the supposed cousinâs identity.
đ 5. Queer Desire and SelfâConcealment
Grace knows her romantic feelings toward women must be hidden in 1899 England. Her internal conflict adds emotional depth and parallels the novelâs broader themes of secrecy and disguise.
𧏠6. Family Secrets and Inherited Madness
Graceâs parents were institutionalized, and her relatives assume she will âgo madâ as well. This stigma shapes how she is treated and how she sees herself.
I was initially drawn to this book because of exploration of art forgery. As I got into the book I was immediately intrigued with the breadth of the issues involved. The writing is excellent and the issues slowly revealed as the book progresses.
A 5-star book for me.
Nell Stevensâs The Original centers on identity, imposture, queer selfâdiscovery, and the tension between authenticity and forgery, all framed through a gothic mystery about whether a returning âcousinâ is who he claims to be.
The novel also explores class dependence, inherited madness, and the vulnerability of a young woman whose survival hinges on her ability to copy art perfectly.
đż Key Issues in The Original
𧊠1. Identity vs. Imposture
The central conflict is whether the man claiming to be Graceâs longâlost cousin is genuine or an opportunistic fraud. Graceâs life as an art copyist â someone who can replicate originals flawlessly â mirrors the novelâs obsession with what is real and what is counterfeit.
đ§ 2. Face Blindness and Perception
Grace suffers from face blindness, which makes it difficult for her to recognize even people she knows. This condition deepens the theme of uncertainty and makes her uniquely vulnerable to deception.
đď¸ 3. Class, Dependency, and Power
Grace lives as a tolerated outsider in her relativesâ decaying Oxfordshire estate, dependent on their goodwill and treated as an inconvenience. Her lack of money and status shapes every choice she makes.
đ¨ 4. Art Forgery and the Nature of âOriginalsâ
Grace secretly produces perfect forgeries of famous paintings. Her skill at distinguishing originals from copies becomes crucial when evaluating the supposed cousinâs identity.
đ 5. Queer Desire and SelfâConcealment
Grace knows her romantic feelings toward women must be hidden in 1899 England. Her internal conflict adds emotional depth and parallels the novelâs broader themes of secrecy and disguise.
𧏠6. Family Secrets and Inherited Madness
Graceâs parents were institutionalized, and her relatives assume she will âgo madâ as well. This stigma shapes how she is treated and how she sees herself.
I was initially drawn to this book because of exploration of art forgery. As I got into the book I was immediately intrigued with the breadth of the issues involved. The writing is excellent and the issues slowly revealed as the book progresses.
A 5-star book for me.
25labfs39
I'm enjoying following your reading, Joe. You introduce me to new books and authors that might not come across my radar otherwise.
26kjuliff
>24 JoeB1934: Interesring about face blindness, because Iâve always had it even when I had full sight. Iâd never remember anyone that I got introduced to,and had to think of the whole person in order to remember them. Now that I canât physically see faces unless the person is every close, it doesnât bother me as much as it should.
27JoeB1934
....................... Focusing my reading for 2026 on SAGAS
This year I created an enormous TBR where the books selected contained many tags as defined by FICTIONDB and extensive searching of sources that would provide tags not provided by book readers.
For my total library there are around 700 tags, many of which are in counts of 1 to 5.
The next post will show a sample of the tags which are present in higher numbers.
This year I created an enormous TBR where the books selected contained many tags as defined by FICTIONDB and extensive searching of sources that would provide tags not provided by book readers.
For my total library there are around 700 tags, many of which are in counts of 1 to 5.
The next post will show a sample of the tags which are present in higher numbers.
28JoeB1934
Higher Tag Counts in my TBR
Fiction (3159) General (2043) 2025 (1928) Mystery & Detective (1408) Historical (1295)
Suspense (1268) Literary (1227) Thrillers (1159) FVA (919) Crime (822) Women (670)
Police Procedural (553) Romance (553) Family Life (498) Psychological (444)
Women Sleuths (376) General Fiction (358) 2023 (352) Places (318) Mystery (302)
20th Century (281) Traditional (265) Fantasy (261) Amateur Sleuth (233) 2022 (231)
2015 (230) Action & Adventure (230) Coming of Age (220) International Crime & Mystery (218)
Europe (215) Small Town & Rural (207) Contemporary (202) 2021 (192) 2020 (191)
World Literature (189) Thriller (183) Science Fiction (170) Friendship (159) Cozy (129)
Juvenile Fiction (129) Humorous (124) Private Investigators (124) Sagas (124)
World War II & Holocaust (124) Law Enforcement (114) Women's Fiction (114) Siblings (112)
War & Military (108) Saga (104) Horror (101) African American & Black (98) City Life (90)
Hard-Boiled (89) Speculative Fiction (89) United States (89) Political (88) Historical Mystery (87)
Domestic (86) Classics (85) Cultural Heritage (84) Marriage & Divorce (84) Magical Realism (83)
Action Adventure (79) Lgbtq+ (77) Cozy Mystery (74) Military (74)
Quite obviously there are many of these tags which would lead to interesting reading for me.
Since I strongly prefer multi-tagged books I would need to pursue this idea by choosing a primary tag, like Women's Fiction and delve more deeply along that path.
I have elected to probe two of the tags on this list, Sagas and Saga because by their nature they are multi-tag.
Fiction (3159) General (2043) 2025 (1928) Mystery & Detective (1408) Historical (1295)
Suspense (1268) Literary (1227) Thrillers (1159) FVA (919) Crime (822) Women (670)
Police Procedural (553) Romance (553) Family Life (498) Psychological (444)
Women Sleuths (376) General Fiction (358) 2023 (352) Places (318) Mystery (302)
20th Century (281) Traditional (265) Fantasy (261) Amateur Sleuth (233) 2022 (231)
2015 (230) Action & Adventure (230) Coming of Age (220) International Crime & Mystery (218)
Europe (215) Small Town & Rural (207) Contemporary (202) 2021 (192) 2020 (191)
World Literature (189) Thriller (183) Science Fiction (170) Friendship (159) Cozy (129)
Juvenile Fiction (129) Humorous (124) Private Investigators (124) Sagas (124)
World War II & Holocaust (124) Law Enforcement (114) Women's Fiction (114) Siblings (112)
War & Military (108) Saga (104) Horror (101) African American & Black (98) City Life (90)
Hard-Boiled (89) Speculative Fiction (89) United States (89) Political (88) Historical Mystery (87)
Domestic (86) Classics (85) Cultural Heritage (84) Marriage & Divorce (84) Magical Realism (83)
Action Adventure (79) Lgbtq+ (77) Cozy Mystery (74) Military (74)
Quite obviously there are many of these tags which would lead to interesting reading for me.
Since I strongly prefer multi-tagged books I would need to pursue this idea by choosing a primary tag, like Women's Fiction and delve more deeply along that path.
I have elected to probe two of the tags on this list, Sagas and Saga because by their nature they are multi-tag.
30kjuliff
>29 JoeB1934: Joe you certainly do your homework. A true researcher. I donât like sagas anymore, as they donât adapt well to audio. I look forward to your thoughts on the books that you have picked out.
31labfs39
>28 JoeB1934: Is there a difference between the two tags, or is it simply the way the person typed the tag? In my mind they could easily be combined, meaning the same things. But perhaps I'm missing something?
32JoeB1934
>31 labfs39: Good question. The answer is that Saga is what FICTIONDB uses in their standardized genre/sub-genre system.
Meanwhile across non-FDB sources for some reason their nomenclature uses Sagas.
My tag system comes from all available sources and it is produced by a terrific library catalog system named Calibre. These non-FDB sources also produces book tag listings for books that have saga-like tags.
The beauty of Calibre is that they will do tag searching for any number of books with a Title and Author csv file. I couldn't have done what I wanted without Calibre.
Meanwhile across non-FDB sources for some reason their nomenclature uses Sagas.
My tag system comes from all available sources and it is produced by a terrific library catalog system named Calibre. These non-FDB sources also produces book tag listings for books that have saga-like tags.
The beauty of Calibre is that they will do tag searching for any number of books with a Title and Author csv file. I couldn't have done what I wanted without Calibre.
33almin
>13 JoeB1934: I read this book in 2017 and enjoyed it (I gave it 4 stars), it prompted me to purchase another book Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse and The Race to Electrify the World, I have yet to read it but I like books that inspire me to continue reading on the same subject. Tesla was a fascinating person and with a brilliant mind. Your last sentence resonates with me; I'm beginning to 'see' the world as it currently exists.
Anyway...Happy New Year, my wish is that 2026 is happy and healthy.
Anyway...Happy New Year, my wish is that 2026 is happy and healthy.
34JoeB1934
>25 labfs39: I now have located about 350 Saga books and another 350 books which are 'like' sagas in many ways but not qualified as Saga by their strict definition. I call them Saga-Adjacent as many of my favorite books are in that category.
It turns out that the vast majority of Sagas aren't being read by members of this Group as far as I can tell.
Ironically, one book that just yesterday I decide to read you also have read. it is How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee.
I am only 4% into the audio version and I am totally captivated by the story and the writing of the story at this time. I will continue just to see how my viewpoint differs from yours, as it is a 5-star book for me at this time.
It turns out that the vast majority of Sagas aren't being read by members of this Group as far as I can tell.
Ironically, one book that just yesterday I decide to read you also have read. it is How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee.
I am only 4% into the audio version and I am totally captivated by the story and the writing of the story at this time. I will continue just to see how my viewpoint differs from yours, as it is a 5-star book for me at this time.
35labfs39
>34 JoeB1934: I tried searching "sagas" in LibraryThing, but there were so many hits, that it wasn't helpful. I had 75 hits for "saga" in my own library, often identifying series, but also Pachinko, which I think would fit your definition. I liked Wang Di's storyline in How We Disappeared, but not so much Kevin's.
36JoeB1934
>35 labfs39: Your comment resulted in my discovery of a very slick feature of LT where I can copy the books we share into my library and view the tags I placed on all of the books we share.
For example, if my goal is to read top-quality Sagas, I can find which ones in your library that I haven't read and decide to read it, or not.
For example, if my goal is to read top-quality Sagas, I can find which ones in your library that I haven't read and decide to read it, or not.
37JoeB1934
I have been working very hard using Copilot to uncover valuable tags describing 2000 booksI have read and 1900 books in my TBR. This work has enabled me to find books which are considered a Saga by sources outside of LT.
This has also allowed me to label books which are Saga-Like in many dimensions but can't be labelled a true saga.
Ironically a majority of books I remember with fondness fall into this category, If you are at all interested in the details of tags placed on my books you might find it useful to look at my Tag Cloud.
I am close to overwhelmed with excellent book choices, but I have placed holds on the following 8 books. I will report on these as I read them.
A couple of them will be published later in the year.
If you are interested in knowing what the attributes are for your books, I can easily produce those details for any books we share.
This has also allowed me to label books which are Saga-Like in many dimensions but can't be labelled a true saga.
Ironically a majority of books I remember with fondness fall into this category, If you are at all interested in the details of tags placed on my books you might find it useful to look at my Tag Cloud.
I am close to overwhelmed with excellent book choices, but I have placed holds on the following 8 books. I will report on these as I read them.
A couple of them will be published later in the year.
If you are interested in knowing what the attributes are for your books, I can easily produce those details for any books we share.
39JoeB1934
Just to give you an idea of the diversity of tags in my library here are they for the books above.
40labfs39
I admire your process and patience in tweaking it.
The only one of the five listed above that I've read is How We Disappeared. I'm confused as to why it is tagged Western (it's set in Singapore) and Private Investigator (there isn't one that I remember, unless you count a 12 year old boy that is trying to figure something out). I worry about the accuracy of the tag results. I was surprised that "comfort women" wasn't a tag, however. It seems a prominent (and important, in my mind) one in LT.
Similarly I wonder at how The Shadow Key could simultaneously be a thriller, mystery, fantasy, romance, action adventure, horror, gothic, and cozy. Quite the book, if so!
The only one of the five listed above that I've read is How We Disappeared. I'm confused as to why it is tagged Western (it's set in Singapore) and Private Investigator (there isn't one that I remember, unless you count a 12 year old boy that is trying to figure something out). I worry about the accuracy of the tag results. I was surprised that "comfort women" wasn't a tag, however. It seems a prominent (and important, in my mind) one in LT.
Similarly I wonder at how The Shadow Key could simultaneously be a thriller, mystery, fantasy, romance, action adventure, horror, gothic, and cozy. Quite the book, if so!
41rasdhar
Glad to see your thread up and running. Everytime I come to your threads, I add several more books to my to-read list. You do such interesting reading. Hope you are having a great 2026.
42JoeB1934
>40 labfs39: Take a look at those books as I ran a clean-up Calibre run yesterday and last night I posted them here on LT. I am reading Room for vanishing right now and it is a terrific book that you might like.
43JoeB1934
After the @labfs39 comment I realized that I need to re-iterate the purpose of my analysis that led me here so everyone can understand how these book choices resonate with me, but not necessarily with anyone else.
I am off to get a haircut, but when I come back, I will explain fully My Reading History
At the same time @labfs39 comment sends me back to make sure that the tags I am using are as precise as I can be.
I am off to get a haircut, but when I come back, I will explain fully My Reading History
At the same time @labfs39 comment sends me back to make sure that the tags I am using are as precise as I can be.
44JoeB1934
..................... My Reading History ......................
I don't want to go through all the details in my reading history, which started about 60 years ago, but I feel the need to provide some explanation for where I am today.
Up until 2020 I mostly read mysteries and, especially anything related to my ancestry. A key milestone was the book Possession by A. S. Byatt which revealed to me that there were dimensions to my reading above and beyond mysteries.
This culminated in my discovery that there existed a category of books called Literary Mysteries, as typified by The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
In 2021 I joined LT and became familiar with the features it offered me in pursuit of books that intrigued me. Like literary mysteries. This feature is Tagmash which will offer lists of books that meet any tag combination you might desire.
I don't know when I joined Club Read, which I have enjoyed very much and follow any number of other members to see what they think about certain books.
My internal name for this group of members is 'the literary crowd'. While they do read mysteries to some degree The books read by some of my longest friends aren't commonly shared with me:
@dcahukin 6401 books 249 shared
@labfs39 3670 books 298 shared
@kjuliff 736 books 205 shared
@almin 2211 books 456 shared
I want to emphasize that most of my books came from a wide variety of sources. This distribution of shared books simply is a reflection that our reading styles are different than mine.
When I turned 91, I determined that there aren't any guarantees as to how many more books I will read, and I decided to use all my analytical skills to discover for myself books that had the highest likelihood of being personal 5-star books.
In looking for a forum where I could discuss all the in, and outs of my searching process I determined that the Category Challenge Group had typical readers that were somewhat oriented to read books that had specific tags.
I didn't want to leave Group Read where most of my LT friends reside so I created somewhere that I simply could post this diary of my reading, without regard to how I got to those selections.
All of my discussion of the analytics that I now use can be seen in 2026 Category Challenge.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/377469#n9110639
You could surmise that the post I made which led to my current post was a deviation from my plans.
However, @labs39 and I have often communicated personally about my process, and I might not have received her comments otherwise. I need her observations to make sure I am accomplishing my objectives and value them highly.
I don't want to go through all the details in my reading history, which started about 60 years ago, but I feel the need to provide some explanation for where I am today.
Up until 2020 I mostly read mysteries and, especially anything related to my ancestry. A key milestone was the book Possession by A. S. Byatt which revealed to me that there were dimensions to my reading above and beyond mysteries.
This culminated in my discovery that there existed a category of books called Literary Mysteries, as typified by The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
In 2021 I joined LT and became familiar with the features it offered me in pursuit of books that intrigued me. Like literary mysteries. This feature is Tagmash which will offer lists of books that meet any tag combination you might desire.
I don't know when I joined Club Read, which I have enjoyed very much and follow any number of other members to see what they think about certain books.
My internal name for this group of members is 'the literary crowd'. While they do read mysteries to some degree The books read by some of my longest friends aren't commonly shared with me:
@dcahukin 6401 books 249 shared
@labfs39 3670 books 298 shared
@kjuliff 736 books 205 shared
@almin 2211 books 456 shared
I want to emphasize that most of my books came from a wide variety of sources. This distribution of shared books simply is a reflection that our reading styles are different than mine.
When I turned 91, I determined that there aren't any guarantees as to how many more books I will read, and I decided to use all my analytical skills to discover for myself books that had the highest likelihood of being personal 5-star books.
In looking for a forum where I could discuss all the in, and outs of my searching process I determined that the Category Challenge Group had typical readers that were somewhat oriented to read books that had specific tags.
I didn't want to leave Group Read where most of my LT friends reside so I created somewhere that I simply could post this diary of my reading, without regard to how I got to those selections.
All of my discussion of the analytics that I now use can be seen in 2026 Category Challenge.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/377469#n9110639
You could surmise that the post I made which led to my current post was a deviation from my plans.
However, @labs39 and I have often communicated personally about my process, and I might not have received her comments otherwise. I need her observations to make sure I am accomplishing my objectives and value them highly.
45labfs39
I'm glad you don't mind my comments. I'm a data nerd, so tend to see the needles instead of the haystack. :-)
46JoeB1934
>45 labfs39: From the comments or questions about my use of tag Mirror, or this more recent project it would appear that we are the only data nerds on LT.
47labfs39
>46 JoeB1934: LOL. I'm in good company then.
48JoeB1934
>47 labfs39: Working with Calibre, FDB and Copilot to scrub down my tags. Should have a totally clean and 'audited' tags tomorrow.
49JoeB1934
@labs39 questioned the tags I was getting for a specific book and here are the accurate details
How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee ISBN 1335013946
2025, Saga, Saga-Adjacent, Tier 4, LIT-HIST, General Fiction, Literary, Coming of Age, Family Life, Historical, Sagas, World War II & Holocaust, Post-World War II, Romance, Women's Fiction, Fiction, Women, 20th Century, General, War & Military
How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee ISBN 1335013946
2025, Saga, Saga-Adjacent, Tier 4, LIT-HIST, General Fiction, Literary, Coming of Age, Family Life, Historical, Sagas, World War II & Holocaust, Post-World War II, Romance, Women's Fiction, Fiction, Women, 20th Century, General, War & Military
50JoeB1934
Details on my book reading objective for 2026
My very long-lasting goal has been to more fully understand why I like certain books in terms of the genres they are attached to.
When I say genres, I mean the normal Librarything Genres, but expanded to sub-genres, themes and increased descriptors of the characters in a book.
The key to attaining my objective was to have a rigorous system for searching deeply into every book in my library. Think of this as like Mirror in LT, but where the tags come from authoritative non-reader sources. Like a library might use to describe a book.
My chosen source for this search starts with FICTIONDB. They classify every book in their inventory through a disciplined use of Genres/Sub-Genres/Themes/People.
After creating my library in FDB I could then bring Calibre into my process. Calibre is also a library oriented system which can conduct an intensive search for library-like tags for a personal library like mine.
My very long-lasting goal has been to more fully understand why I like certain books in terms of the genres they are attached to.
When I say genres, I mean the normal Librarything Genres, but expanded to sub-genres, themes and increased descriptors of the characters in a book.
The key to attaining my objective was to have a rigorous system for searching deeply into every book in my library. Think of this as like Mirror in LT, but where the tags come from authoritative non-reader sources. Like a library might use to describe a book.
My chosen source for this search starts with FICTIONDB. They classify every book in their inventory through a disciplined use of Genres/Sub-Genres/Themes/People.
After creating my library in FDB I could then bring Calibre into my process. Calibre is also a library oriented system which can conduct an intensive search for library-like tags for a personal library like mine.
51JoeB1934
Executive Summary of TIP (Tag Integrated Pipeline)
TIP is a streamlined, Excel based intelligence layer I built on top of my Calibre library. Instead of maintaining multiple metadata sources, TIP now uses Calibre as the single authoritative foundation for all book information.
This ensures clean, consistent, edition accurate data across my entire collection.
On top of Calibreâs metadata, TIP adds a small number of custom analytical columns that reflect my long standing reading interests and help me understand my library in new ways. These include:
⢠Saga and Saga Adjacent indicators
⢠A SuspenseâLiteraryâHistorical classifier (including 2 out of 3 and 3 out of 3 combinations)
⢠My own personal fields such as rating, date read, and other curated notes
The result is a unified system where Calibre provides the structure and TIP provides the intelligence.
This combination produces a clean, accurate, and fully aligned LibraryThing export, with no mismatched editions, no tag drift, and no duplicated metadata work.
If you go to my library in LT and click on the Tags display you will see what tags have been placed on my books.
This system is so automated that I can display any books you share with me with my tags in place of your tags. Only if you are curious that is.
TIP is a streamlined, Excel based intelligence layer I built on top of my Calibre library. Instead of maintaining multiple metadata sources, TIP now uses Calibre as the single authoritative foundation for all book information.
This ensures clean, consistent, edition accurate data across my entire collection.
On top of Calibreâs metadata, TIP adds a small number of custom analytical columns that reflect my long standing reading interests and help me understand my library in new ways. These include:
⢠Saga and Saga Adjacent indicators
⢠A SuspenseâLiteraryâHistorical classifier (including 2 out of 3 and 3 out of 3 combinations)
⢠My own personal fields such as rating, date read, and other curated notes
The result is a unified system where Calibre provides the structure and TIP provides the intelligence.
This combination produces a clean, accurate, and fully aligned LibraryThing export, with no mismatched editions, no tag drift, and no duplicated metadata work.
If you go to my library in LT and click on the Tags display you will see what tags have been placed on my books.
This system is so automated that I can display any books you share with me with my tags in place of your tags. Only if you are curious that is.
52labfs39
Nicely done, Joe. An integrated system that takes the best from your years of learning about your reading interests and results in an clean, useful dataset. I admire your perseverance as you have been through multiple iterations trying to find the right system.
53JoeB1934
>52 labfs39: What I didn't realize until today is that the structure of TIP is philosophically the same as what I used earlier in my professional life when I developed the Arsenal Exchange Model which was used by the Pentagon in the 70's and 80's to analyze the Strategic Duel between the US and the USSR.
Then in the 90's I built a program named Allegro to be used by architectural and engineering firms to manage their people and engineering Projects.
Then in the 90's I built a program named Allegro to be used by architectural and engineering firms to manage their people and engineering Projects.
54JoeB1934
Some Explanations
If your curiosity leads you to go to the Tags display in my library there are a couple of items that I need to explain:
(1) Personal ratings, e.g. 4 Stars, are actually the ratings given by FICTIONDB.
(2) Award means FICTIONDB lists comments of some merits that have appeared on that book.
(3) Don't be surprised if a book you have read doesn't contain tags you personally would place on the book. These tags are broad and not personally descriptive like LT tags are.
Item 1 is very important as we all know how variable personal ratings are. My 5-star books can often be rated anywhere for 1 to 4 stars by others. This is the reason i place more value in the average ratings.
Item 2 is important to me in selection of a book to read as what others say about a book at times leads me to choose to read it.
Item 3 was actually the purpose of this whole exercise as many of the tags are not common from the vast majority of readers. The fraction of LT readers that actually have the time to create bookshelves
for their books is very low.
These tags, in a sense are more like what a librarian might be able to create.
Defining a book as a Saga is one of the major difficulties for most of us. In this case a book is noted as a saga by precise tags which define a saga. I used Copilot to provide the accepted tag list for a book to be a saga.
A major tag you will find in my library is the ones called Saga-Adjacent. This doesn't come from FICTIONDB, or any other source. It is calculated by rules built into TIP for those books which contains saga-like tags but don't quite get there.
If you expand that tag in my library, you will find very many of my favorite books. Not all of my favorite books are there but that specific tag is what I was looking for when I started this whole exercise.
My favorite tag combination for years has been 'suspense, literary, historical' books. Books that qualify as having all 3 of those tags are an additional special tag in my tag library. You will see it as 'SUSP-LIT-HIST'.
If your curiosity leads you to go to the Tags display in my library there are a couple of items that I need to explain:
(1) Personal ratings, e.g. 4 Stars, are actually the ratings given by FICTIONDB.
(2) Award means FICTIONDB lists comments of some merits that have appeared on that book.
(3) Don't be surprised if a book you have read doesn't contain tags you personally would place on the book. These tags are broad and not personally descriptive like LT tags are.
Item 1 is very important as we all know how variable personal ratings are. My 5-star books can often be rated anywhere for 1 to 4 stars by others. This is the reason i place more value in the average ratings.
Item 2 is important to me in selection of a book to read as what others say about a book at times leads me to choose to read it.
Item 3 was actually the purpose of this whole exercise as many of the tags are not common from the vast majority of readers. The fraction of LT readers that actually have the time to create bookshelves
for their books is very low.
These tags, in a sense are more like what a librarian might be able to create.
Defining a book as a Saga is one of the major difficulties for most of us. In this case a book is noted as a saga by precise tags which define a saga. I used Copilot to provide the accepted tag list for a book to be a saga.
A major tag you will find in my library is the ones called Saga-Adjacent. This doesn't come from FICTIONDB, or any other source. It is calculated by rules built into TIP for those books which contains saga-like tags but don't quite get there.
If you expand that tag in my library, you will find very many of my favorite books. Not all of my favorite books are there but that specific tag is what I was looking for when I started this whole exercise.
My favorite tag combination for years has been 'suspense, literary, historical' books. Books that qualify as having all 3 of those tags are an additional special tag in my tag library. You will see it as 'SUSP-LIT-HIST'.
55JoeB1934
My Musings
A couple of months ago I was contemplating my participation in this forum, or any other group on LT. Lisa told me that my involvement was important to my LT friends and encouraged me to continue here, if for nothing else but " my musings ".
Over many years on FB reading groups, Goodreads and here on LT I have learned that absolutely everyone is mostly interested in book reading lists.
I had numerous FB readers when I posted a list of my favorite authors, but NO interest when I brought up my analytical approach to reading. I dropped FB when I discovered LT where analysis is encouraged.
While somewhat interested in the 'analytical' factors, LT members revere the top-notch reviews that members like Dan can write, as well as reviews like mere mortals can produce.
I can't write a really excellent review even close to other 'mere mortals' so I have resorted to focusing on my personal reactions to a book. Such aren't really a review but of interest to some of my friends.
The time and energy I consumed trying to construct informative statements like these can take more effort than I feel is warranted. In previous years I have written quite personal comments about certain books and never received any feedback on them.
I find the 'lurkers' a real issue over the years. I went so far as to ask admin if there is a way to find out who such members were on my posts. They said no-way.
My fallback approach has become to retrieve cogent statements from Copilot and to add a few personal comments about those. Earlier books in this chat are like that.
Given all these issues I have decided to confine my participation in LT primarily to comment on other members posts when appropriate and to minimize my becoming a lurker.
Beyond that I will spend some serious effort to producing my own list of books that are truly a TBR in my remaining time here. Not a personal '1001 Books to Read Before I Die', but simply a set of books that my recent tag analysis has led me to.
A couple of months ago I was contemplating my participation in this forum, or any other group on LT. Lisa told me that my involvement was important to my LT friends and encouraged me to continue here, if for nothing else but " my musings ".
Over many years on FB reading groups, Goodreads and here on LT I have learned that absolutely everyone is mostly interested in book reading lists.
I had numerous FB readers when I posted a list of my favorite authors, but NO interest when I brought up my analytical approach to reading. I dropped FB when I discovered LT where analysis is encouraged.
While somewhat interested in the 'analytical' factors, LT members revere the top-notch reviews that members like Dan can write, as well as reviews like mere mortals can produce.
I can't write a really excellent review even close to other 'mere mortals' so I have resorted to focusing on my personal reactions to a book. Such aren't really a review but of interest to some of my friends.
The time and energy I consumed trying to construct informative statements like these can take more effort than I feel is warranted. In previous years I have written quite personal comments about certain books and never received any feedback on them.
I find the 'lurkers' a real issue over the years. I went so far as to ask admin if there is a way to find out who such members were on my posts. They said no-way.
My fallback approach has become to retrieve cogent statements from Copilot and to add a few personal comments about those. Earlier books in this chat are like that.
Given all these issues I have decided to confine my participation in LT primarily to comment on other members posts when appropriate and to minimize my becoming a lurker.
Beyond that I will spend some serious effort to producing my own list of books that are truly a TBR in my remaining time here. Not a personal '1001 Books to Read Before I Die', but simply a set of books that my recent tag analysis has led me to.
56JoeB1934
More Musings
After my last post I wandered a bit through planning for the day and some thinking about my statement about finding a list of 'books to read before I die' and I came up with a better framework for a list.
This is a historical approach which would be titled Books I Could Have Read in XXXX where
XXXX is a year of choice.
For example, using my TIP data to find the books published in 2021 that I could have read but didn't.
I can do this in somewhat a restricted way but doable by using FICTIONDB as a source of such books.
At any rate I am going to give it a try. I do know that I can look back at the books I did read in 2021 and list those books. Why not a look at books I could have considered reading, but didn't.
After my last post I wandered a bit through planning for the day and some thinking about my statement about finding a list of 'books to read before I die' and I came up with a better framework for a list.
This is a historical approach which would be titled Books I Could Have Read in XXXX where
XXXX is a year of choice.
For example, using my TIP data to find the books published in 2021 that I could have read but didn't.
I can do this in somewhat a restricted way but doable by using FICTIONDB as a source of such books.
At any rate I am going to give it a try. I do know that I can look back at the books I did read in 2021 and list those books. Why not a look at books I could have considered reading, but didn't.
57labfs39
>56 JoeB1934: I find "Books I could have read in xxxx and didn't" an interesting and novel way to think about organizing one's TBR pile. People use publication date in such interesting ways. Some people, like Baswood, pick a year and read lots of books from that year, others try to read one book from each year, Dilara uses the year to pick a French region to focus on each year. Dan is trying to read the classics from the beginning of time. :-) I, on the other hand, am oblivious to dates.
Is 2021 the year you have settled on with which to begin? If so, why that year?
Is 2021 the year you have settled on with which to begin? If so, why that year?
58JoeB1934
>57 labfs39: That was just a sample. My thinking has evolved and the concept I am about to start now that I have published date in my platform I am going to do the following:
Go to a starting year which for me is 2000. Then for my favorite saga-adjacent books locate all of them in my overall library that were published in 2000. I am just in the process of updating my LT library and it will tell me which books with the saga+ designation there are. I will add those to a new collection I will name "NEW BOOKS?", or something like that. Then go on to 2001 and repeat for every year up to 2025.
The final list of books in that special collection will list all saga+ books I would have read for the last 25
years. This is the concept and I will report back in the next couple of days how it went
Go to a starting year which for me is 2000. Then for my favorite saga-adjacent books locate all of them in my overall library that were published in 2000. I am just in the process of updating my LT library and it will tell me which books with the saga+ designation there are. I will add those to a new collection I will name "NEW BOOKS?", or something like that. Then go on to 2001 and repeat for every year up to 2025.
The final list of books in that special collection will list all saga+ books I would have read for the last 25
years. This is the concept and I will report back in the next couple of days how it went
59mabith
I'm enjoying seeing your musings and systematic approach to finding books you'll enjoy the most!
I've thought about that a lot more in recent years myself, for fiction particularly (an author's skill with dialogue seems to be a key factor for modern fiction I love, no matter the genre).
I've thought about that a lot more in recent years myself, for fiction particularly (an author's skill with dialogue seems to be a key factor for modern fiction I love, no matter the genre).
60JoeB1934
>59 mabith: I am very sympathetic with your comment about an author's skill with dialogue and I have tried to find a method for attributing that feature to a book. The only one I have found is the word 'literary', and of course 'literature'.
My advice is to use the Mirror capability in LT that tells you what other readers think about your books.
Especially look at the collection of 'to read.
If you have books that are your most favorite books you can add them to a new collection you could title 'Favorites'. Once you did that you could go into Mirror where you can search for tags on the Favorites collection.
If you have any need for help you can message me.
My advice is to use the Mirror capability in LT that tells you what other readers think about your books.
Especially look at the collection of 'to read.
If you have books that are your most favorite books you can add them to a new collection you could title 'Favorites'. Once you did that you could go into Mirror where you can search for tags on the Favorites collection.
If you have any need for help you can message me.
61JoeB1934
My Could've Should've Reading Library
As a person who is 91 years old, I have the inevitable thinking back over my life and regretting many things I have done and thankful for things I had enough sense to do.
Some of this thinking now has been a focus for me because sometime this week I will become a great grandfather to a great grandson for the first time in my life.
I have two daughters and two grandchildren, but no great grandchildren up to now.
Of course, I will be thrilled and personally dedicated to being the 'best' great grandfather I can be because this event in life is a new start.
Today is also the first day in a new job for my fantastic granddaughter Madeleine. She is so talented in many ways, especially with words and thoughts. Poetry, writing of all variety and a partner with me in all things reading.
She knows instinctively when a new book would be one I would like. Yesterday she came by and I exposed her to my latest endeavor in book tag analysis which we've talked about for decades.
I told her about my current thinking about how to use the system to choose books to read next. This has now intersected with the first sentence of this post.
What would I have read in 1960 if I had known then what I know about myself and reading today?
All I knew back then was mysteries, especially Scottish/British ones really appealed to me. I would go into a library, or bookstore and immediately head for the Mystery shelf.
I didn't wake up to the fact that there were broader definitions of what I preferred until I read Possession and My Life as A Fake. Madeleine loves both of these books also.
I was such a novice about reading that it wasn't until 2020 that I discovered there was a book category called "Literary Mysteries". I went to Goodreads and discovered there was a list of such books.
I was amazed to see that I had already read about 50 of the top 100 such books.
My understanding of what books I really enjoyed became so much broader when I discovered the Tag Mirror in LT.
What does this history lesson have anything to do with book reading? It all goes back to the first sentence in this post. I can't correct back events in real life, but I can do so in reading.
Starting in 1960 I will use this tag system to choose one NEW book that was first published in that year.
Read it and move on year-by-year until 2026. This will be a specific list of 66 books that will be available for my ancestors to see what my reading life was like.
This is much better than providing a 1900 book list of books I actually have read up to now.
Hence the title of My Could've Should've Reading Library
At least this is my current thinking, but I reserve the right at 91 years old to change direction at any time.
As a person who is 91 years old, I have the inevitable thinking back over my life and regretting many things I have done and thankful for things I had enough sense to do.
Some of this thinking now has been a focus for me because sometime this week I will become a great grandfather to a great grandson for the first time in my life.
I have two daughters and two grandchildren, but no great grandchildren up to now.
Of course, I will be thrilled and personally dedicated to being the 'best' great grandfather I can be because this event in life is a new start.
Today is also the first day in a new job for my fantastic granddaughter Madeleine. She is so talented in many ways, especially with words and thoughts. Poetry, writing of all variety and a partner with me in all things reading.
She knows instinctively when a new book would be one I would like. Yesterday she came by and I exposed her to my latest endeavor in book tag analysis which we've talked about for decades.
I told her about my current thinking about how to use the system to choose books to read next. This has now intersected with the first sentence of this post.
What would I have read in 1960 if I had known then what I know about myself and reading today?
All I knew back then was mysteries, especially Scottish/British ones really appealed to me. I would go into a library, or bookstore and immediately head for the Mystery shelf.
I didn't wake up to the fact that there were broader definitions of what I preferred until I read Possession and My Life as A Fake. Madeleine loves both of these books also.
I was such a novice about reading that it wasn't until 2020 that I discovered there was a book category called "Literary Mysteries". I went to Goodreads and discovered there was a list of such books.
I was amazed to see that I had already read about 50 of the top 100 such books.
My understanding of what books I really enjoyed became so much broader when I discovered the Tag Mirror in LT.
What does this history lesson have anything to do with book reading? It all goes back to the first sentence in this post. I can't correct back events in real life, but I can do so in reading.
Starting in 1960 I will use this tag system to choose one NEW book that was first published in that year.
Read it and move on year-by-year until 2026. This will be a specific list of 66 books that will be available for my ancestors to see what my reading life was like.
This is much better than providing a 1900 book list of books I actually have read up to now.
Hence the title of My Could've Should've Reading Library
At least this is my current thinking, but I reserve the right at 91 years old to change direction at any time.
62labfs39
but I reserve the right at 91 years old to change direction at any time
Lol. Absolutely right. I have a hard time giving myself permission to change directions, drop a book I'm not enjoying, etc. But I'm trying to do better.
Lol. Absolutely right. I have a hard time giving myself permission to change directions, drop a book I'm not enjoying, etc. But I'm trying to do better.
63JoeB1934
My Date Prioritized Reading List for 2026
Recently I proposed 'My Could've Should've Reading Library' which was to go back in time and discover what books I could've read earlier in my career.
This list is defined by a similar logic, where I analyze my 2000 book TBR and select those books from that list which were originally published year by year for my reading life.
The way I accomplished was to process all 2000 books in the order of their publication date as listed by LT. Foe some books the list for a given year was quite small but in other years, for example 2023 the list was very long.
I used my preferred strategy for selecting books to read based on the book tags for each book. That resulted in a single book for the year even if there were several hundred books for that year.
I have in my TBR 62 different years of production so this resulted in 62 books to read in 2026.
The next display presents the covers of every book. The following post provides a simple list of Title, Author, and Year of production.
Recently I proposed 'My Could've Should've Reading Library' which was to go back in time and discover what books I could've read earlier in my career.
This list is defined by a similar logic, where I analyze my 2000 book TBR and select those books from that list which were originally published year by year for my reading life.
The way I accomplished was to process all 2000 books in the order of their publication date as listed by LT. Foe some books the list for a given year was quite small but in other years, for example 2023 the list was very long.
I used my preferred strategy for selecting books to read based on the book tags for each book. That resulted in a single book for the year even if there were several hundred books for that year.
I have in my TBR 62 different years of production so this resulted in 62 books to read in 2026.
The next display presents the covers of every book. The following post provides a simple list of Title, Author, and Year of production.
66JoeB1934
I need to emphasize that these books are only one example of a 62 book selection that I would be pleased with. In fact, there could actually be a hundred, or more such selections.
How can I say this? When I looked at books published in 2023, for example there were a number of books that met my personal criteria for selection that were of equal desirability.
In 2023 I had 176 books with production. Using my personal criteria there were 23 books, anyone of which I would enjoy reading. There was a barely distinguishable difference in my ranking of them.
One confirmation of this to me was the presence of a few books in several years that I actually had read in previous years. My error was in not designating that these books didn't belong in this list of book candidates for 2026.
But there they were and still highly ranked as they were when I did read them.
Another point to make has to do with my recently defined Saga-Adjacent tag which came about because I went on this strenuous tag hunt. Up until this year, of course I knew about Sagas, and I read some of them over the years.
A book that is considered saga-adjacent is a book that has some of the attributes of a saga but not all of them. When I discovered this book category, I recognized that many of my most favorite books were in this grouping.
In the 176 books listed in my library 100 of them are saga-adjacent books and I love them all.
How can I say this? When I looked at books published in 2023, for example there were a number of books that met my personal criteria for selection that were of equal desirability.
In 2023 I had 176 books with production. Using my personal criteria there were 23 books, anyone of which I would enjoy reading. There was a barely distinguishable difference in my ranking of them.
One confirmation of this to me was the presence of a few books in several years that I actually had read in previous years. My error was in not designating that these books didn't belong in this list of book candidates for 2026.
But there they were and still highly ranked as they were when I did read them.
Another point to make has to do with my recently defined Saga-Adjacent tag which came about because I went on this strenuous tag hunt. Up until this year, of course I knew about Sagas, and I read some of them over the years.
A book that is considered saga-adjacent is a book that has some of the attributes of a saga but not all of them. When I discovered this book category, I recognized that many of my most favorite books were in this grouping.
In the 176 books listed in my library 100 of them are saga-adjacent books and I love them all.
67labfs39
>65 JoeB1934: I hate to be a stickler, Joe, but unfortunately LT often defaults to the publication date of a particular edition, not the original publication date. So, for instance, To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, not 1988, and Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and Oliver Twist in 1838.
68JoeB1934
>67 labfs39: I do realize that and actually I believe the Date field from FDB is different, but I can't import those into LT.
More importantly is that I was hoping that someone would comment on the 62 books in my list. Like they sound like reasonable ones, or I hate that list, or I have personally read X of them.
As far as I can tell you are the lone reader of any of my posts so could you make some/any comments about the books for me.
By the way this year of production is sort of a side issue as a 'what-if'. This week I will produce a list of 62 books out of my TBR that I would at this time of life actually choose to read.
More importantly is that I was hoping that someone would comment on the 62 books in my list. Like they sound like reasonable ones, or I hate that list, or I have personally read X of them.
As far as I can tell you are the lone reader of any of my posts so could you make some/any comments about the books for me.
By the way this year of production is sort of a side issue as a 'what-if'. This week I will produce a list of 62 books out of my TBR that I would at this time of life actually choose to read.
69kjuliff
>68 JoeB1934: I think more people read your post than you think, Joe. I am up to date on your thread, and I looked at your latest list. It had a few books that Iâve read and some that I would never read, so I really didnât have much to say about that list. Most of the books on it, I have not read.
I have a completely different way of choosing books, and Iâm an eclectic reader. I am currently reading a Japanese novel, The Gate which has completely sucked me in, although there is no obvious storyline or plot so far. I actually chose this book because an LT friend @GypsyBoy rated it highly. Before that I read the final book by one of my favourite writers, Julian Barnes, which is a memoir of sorts.
Now Iâm not a great fan of Japanese books or of memoirs. But I chose to read Barnesâ final novel as a personal tribute to him.
Before that I read Highway 13 which is about how a crime can be stored in the collective consciousness of a community. The people in the stories in Highway 13 are mostly several degrees distanced from the serial killer who is not directly named in the book.
Iâm not a completist, like @dchaikan and I donât have specific genres. Occasionally, Iâll come across a book which will lead me to add a book by the same writer or community. In this category I put Convenience Store Woman which led me to be interested in Japanese literature, and Elena Knows which led me to discover other Argentinian writers, such as Pedro Mairal who wrote.the excellent novel The Woman from Uruguay.
So you can see Iâm all over the place and I donât put much time into choosing books ahead of time. They go onto my TBR for all sorts of reasons.
If itâs of any consolation, I donât think many people read my thread either.
I have a completely different way of choosing books, and Iâm an eclectic reader. I am currently reading a Japanese novel, The Gate which has completely sucked me in, although there is no obvious storyline or plot so far. I actually chose this book because an LT friend @GypsyBoy rated it highly. Before that I read the final book by one of my favourite writers, Julian Barnes, which is a memoir of sorts.
Now Iâm not a great fan of Japanese books or of memoirs. But I chose to read Barnesâ final novel as a personal tribute to him.
Before that I read Highway 13 which is about how a crime can be stored in the collective consciousness of a community. The people in the stories in Highway 13 are mostly several degrees distanced from the serial killer who is not directly named in the book.
Iâm not a completist, like @dchaikan and I donât have specific genres. Occasionally, Iâll come across a book which will lead me to add a book by the same writer or community. In this category I put Convenience Store Woman which led me to be interested in Japanese literature, and Elena Knows which led me to discover other Argentinian writers, such as Pedro Mairal who wrote.the excellent novel The Woman from Uruguay.
So you can see Iâm all over the place and I donât put much time into choosing books ahead of time. They go onto my TBR for all sorts of reasons.
If itâs of any consolation, I donât think many people read my thread either.
70JoeB1934
>69 kjuliff: I read your posts more than you might because like most people My mind is elsewhere and what you need to do is what's right for you.
I need to place Highway 13 book on my TBR as it sounds very interesting to me. The most important thing I have learned from my exercise is the books that I call Saga-Adjacent. It turns out that no-one in the book reading world ever thinks of a book as with that tag.
I could discuss this more fully, but I have discovered I really like these books and have been favoring it without knowing about it.
Thanks for your post.
I need to place Highway 13 book on my TBR as it sounds very interesting to me. The most important thing I have learned from my exercise is the books that I call Saga-Adjacent. It turns out that no-one in the book reading world ever thinks of a book as with that tag.
I could discuss this more fully, but I have discovered I really like these books and have been favoring it without knowing about it.
Thanks for your post.
71mabith
There are some great books in that list. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a favorite of mine, and for me one of the most profound books I've read that focus on different types of love. I haven't read Killer Dolphin, but having read a number of other Ngaio Marsh books, I wouldn't go with such a late one for her. At least in my experience her 1930s and 1940s books are better.
72labfs39
>68 JoeB1934: Sorry, Joe. I thought you were trying to pick books published in those years. As for your list, I have read 15 of them. My favorites were To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, and Blindness. The Master and Margarita, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Jane Eyre, and Oliver Twist are classics well worth the time. My least favorite was The Kite Runner, although it was extremely popular. Note that I would strongly recommend reading The Poppy War before The Dragon Republic (or maybe you have?) as the latter is very much part 2 of a trilogy. The ones on your list that I am most eager to read are Rebecca and Mrs. Dalloway. I intend to read Esperanza Rising with my nieces.
73las18
>65 JoeB1934: My favorite books on your list that I would recommend based on a combination of interesting characters, absorbing writing style and/or genre are: Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Fahrenheit 451, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner and Homecoming.
I have also read A Wrinkle in Time but found it disappointing, for a fantasy novel anyway.
The Shipping News is on your list. Thanks for reminding me I want to read that one!
As an aside, I just lurk in Club Reads, as I have for years. The total number of books I read annually has substantially decreased so I don't create a personal topic to track my reading. However, I do read many of the posts here and occasionally comment, if I have something meaningful to add to the conversation.
I have also read A Wrinkle in Time but found it disappointing, for a fantasy novel anyway.
The Shipping News is on your list. Thanks for reminding me I want to read that one!
As an aside, I just lurk in Club Reads, as I have for years. The total number of books I read annually has substantially decreased so I don't create a personal topic to track my reading. However, I do read many of the posts here and occasionally comment, if I have something meaningful to add to the conversation.
74JoeB1934
>73 las18: I appreciate very much you're posting here as it encourages me to record my thoughts about reading.
I find it very interesting how many of my LT friends mention that same set of books as their favorites. That fact alone tells me that this tremendous focus on Tag diversity has merit.
When I chose the books on this list my method was a simple usage of my Tag method and at no time was I influenced by the popularity of any book. In all years the selection was made totally in terms of their tags.
Later today I will post some of my musings about how important tag diversity is.
I find it very interesting how many of my LT friends mention that same set of books as their favorites. That fact alone tells me that this tremendous focus on Tag diversity has merit.
When I chose the books on this list my method was a simple usage of my Tag method and at no time was I influenced by the popularity of any book. In all years the selection was made totally in terms of their tags.
Later today I will post some of my musings about how important tag diversity is.
75JoeB1934
Before I get into my musings for the day I want to mention something funny about LT. There has long been a discussion on LT about how to create a draft post where you work out language and construction of the post without worrying about someone getting a 'less than perfect' post.
My technique is to take a chat from several years ago as my 'practice' area. When I am happy with it I can do a copy and paste it in the chat where I want it to be.
I went there to construct my musings and found that my oldest friend on LT had made a comment there, I assume without know it was my practice area. The fact that there wasn't a strictly coherent string of posts didn't seem to upset her, but over time there are posts that were relevant to my thinking.
Sort of a 'diary' that I need to go back to and see what in the world I have been up to!
The chat has 281 posts, and it started on Oct 19, 2022.
My technique is to take a chat from several years ago as my 'practice' area. When I am happy with it I can do a copy and paste it in the chat where I want it to be.
I went there to construct my musings and found that my oldest friend on LT had made a comment there, I assume without know it was my practice area. The fact that there wasn't a strictly coherent string of posts didn't seem to upset her, but over time there are posts that were relevant to my thinking.
Sort of a 'diary' that I need to go back to and see what in the world I have been up to!
The chat has 281 posts, and it started on Oct 19, 2022.
76JoeB1934
I just came back from a perusal of my 'diary' and boy did it tug at my heartstrings!
I admit that it brought me to tears with the photos and details of my thinking.
And the memories of my family, including my wife Cynthia, various family gatherings and photos of Percy and Mr Darcy our pets.
The post by my friend said this:
Yesterday, 3:43 pm
>280 JoeB1934: You have such great ideas, I'm going to 'borrow' your idea in a general way. I'll let you know how it goes...thanks!
I admit that it brought me to tears with the photos and details of my thinking.
And the memories of my family, including my wife Cynthia, various family gatherings and photos of Percy and Mr Darcy our pets.
The post by my friend said this:
Yesterday, 3:43 pm
>280 JoeB1934: You have such great ideas, I'm going to 'borrow' your idea in a general way. I'll let you know how it goes...thanks!
78JoeB1934
I have been watching this on Apple TV and it strikes me as a visual method of reading a book. It has all the attributes of a book but there isn't anything that indicates a book exists.
I plan to discuss my personal reflections on this TV show in a later posting but first I want to describe the storyline for you.
I would prefer to use my own words to present this story, but I have worked with Copilot to say better what I think properly sets the stage for my later post on my personal reaction to this show.
I plan to discuss my personal reflections on this TV show in a later posting but first I want to describe the storyline for you.
I would prefer to use my own words to present this story, but I have worked with Copilot to say better what I think properly sets the stage for my later post on my personal reaction to this show.
79JoeB1934
DROPS OF GOD
Apple TV+ (2023â )
Drama ⢠Family ⢠Heritage ⢠Wine
(Based on the manga by Tadashi Agi & Shu Okimoto)
Essence of the Story (as if it were a novel):
Drops of God is a sweeping, emotionally charged saga about inheritance, identity, and the hidden languages we use to understand the world. When Alexandre LĂŠger â the worldâs most influential wine critic â dies, he leaves behind a will that ignites a global rivalry between two people who barely know each other: Camille, his estranged daughter who has not tasted wine in years, and Issei, his brilliant Japanese protĂŠgĂŠ.
What begins as a competition becomes something far deeper: a journey into memory, family wounds, cultural heritage, and the way sensory experience can carry the weight of a lifetime.
The series treats wine the way great novels treat emotion â as something layered, resonant, and full of history.
Each challenge reveals not just the ânotesâ of a rare vintage, but the emotional lineage behind it: the people who made it, the lives shaped by it, and the stories buried inside every bottle.
Itâs a sagaâadjacent tale told through taste instead of text, where wine becomes a language, a memory, and ultimately a form of truth.
I learned that:
Drops of God is based on a Japanese manga â essentially a longâform graphic novel series â that blends wine, family history, rivalry, and emotional inheritance into a multiâvolume saga.
So, it isn't a real surprise that I saw it as saga-adjacent.
Apple TV+ (2023â )
Drama ⢠Family ⢠Heritage ⢠Wine
(Based on the manga by Tadashi Agi & Shu Okimoto)
Essence of the Story (as if it were a novel):
Drops of God is a sweeping, emotionally charged saga about inheritance, identity, and the hidden languages we use to understand the world. When Alexandre LĂŠger â the worldâs most influential wine critic â dies, he leaves behind a will that ignites a global rivalry between two people who barely know each other: Camille, his estranged daughter who has not tasted wine in years, and Issei, his brilliant Japanese protĂŠgĂŠ.
What begins as a competition becomes something far deeper: a journey into memory, family wounds, cultural heritage, and the way sensory experience can carry the weight of a lifetime.
The series treats wine the way great novels treat emotion â as something layered, resonant, and full of history.
Each challenge reveals not just the ânotesâ of a rare vintage, but the emotional lineage behind it: the people who made it, the lives shaped by it, and the stories buried inside every bottle.
Itâs a sagaâadjacent tale told through taste instead of text, where wine becomes a language, a memory, and ultimately a form of truth.
I learned that:
Drops of God is based on a Japanese manga â essentially a longâform graphic novel series â that blends wine, family history, rivalry, and emotional inheritance into a multiâvolume saga.
So, it isn't a real surprise that I saw it as saga-adjacent.
80JoeB1934
Where Did I Come from and What Will I Leave Behind?
I intentioned to discuss how Drops of God belongs in my tag hunting exercise but real-life intervened on 02/21/2026 when my first great grandson, Elliot Michael Boyson, was born.
Inevitably I continued to remember my parents, Mother from Scotland, and Father from Slovenia. Neither were educated beyond 6th grade, but both were very self-confident and capable in noteworthy ways. I possess genetic traces from both parents, and I see how some of those can be seen in my children and grandchildren.
In terms of leaving behind, my main contributions will be measured by what I somehow instilled in my children and grandchildren through all the years of their lives with me. Plus, of course the genetics from my ancestors. With being 91 it is easy to say that Elliot will mostly get my genes, mixed with his parents genes.
In the circumstance of my spending an enormous amount of time and energy on finding the 'best' books to read that match my reading fingerprint there is a direct link to my father.
His level of education didn't stop him from doing many notable things but the strongest connection to me is his spending thousands of hours scouring the desert in Southwestern Wyoming in search of anything indicating occupation by early Native Americans.
This effort culminated in his discovery of 500+ occupation sites and 5000+ artifacts from those sites. All surface remains. He had been doing such 'hunting' since he was 6 years old and continued until his late 80s.
The important key is that he catalogued every site and every artifact on individual cards. These cards contain 'tags' describing the artifact. Material, shape, size and most importantly an idea of the archaeological style based on accepted types. Most artifacts could be placed on a time scale. Ranging from 13,000 years B.P. down to contemporary age in the few hundred years.
Each site had it's own card with descriptions of the site as defined by detailed USGS maps and the surrounding topography.
He displayed this collection in a pair of walnut cabinets he made with drawers designed to hold everything so they could be studied.
Do You think I might have inherited that gene?
I intentioned to discuss how Drops of God belongs in my tag hunting exercise but real-life intervened on 02/21/2026 when my first great grandson, Elliot Michael Boyson, was born.
Inevitably I continued to remember my parents, Mother from Scotland, and Father from Slovenia. Neither were educated beyond 6th grade, but both were very self-confident and capable in noteworthy ways. I possess genetic traces from both parents, and I see how some of those can be seen in my children and grandchildren.
In terms of leaving behind, my main contributions will be measured by what I somehow instilled in my children and grandchildren through all the years of their lives with me. Plus, of course the genetics from my ancestors. With being 91 it is easy to say that Elliot will mostly get my genes, mixed with his parents genes.
In the circumstance of my spending an enormous amount of time and energy on finding the 'best' books to read that match my reading fingerprint there is a direct link to my father.
His level of education didn't stop him from doing many notable things but the strongest connection to me is his spending thousands of hours scouring the desert in Southwestern Wyoming in search of anything indicating occupation by early Native Americans.
This effort culminated in his discovery of 500+ occupation sites and 5000+ artifacts from those sites. All surface remains. He had been doing such 'hunting' since he was 6 years old and continued until his late 80s.
The important key is that he catalogued every site and every artifact on individual cards. These cards contain 'tags' describing the artifact. Material, shape, size and most importantly an idea of the archaeological style based on accepted types. Most artifacts could be placed on a time scale. Ranging from 13,000 years B.P. down to contemporary age in the few hundred years.
Each site had it's own card with descriptions of the site as defined by detailed USGS maps and the surrounding topography.
He displayed this collection in a pair of walnut cabinets he made with drawers designed to hold everything so they could be studied.
Do You think I might have inherited that gene?
81JoeB1934
More Musings
From the beginning of my reading life, I have always considered myself to be a 'Mystery' reader.
Along the way I became more aware of the fact that I didn't want to be considered only as a 'Crime' reader. I also discovered about myself that the quality of the writing was essential.
When I read Possession i was impressed with the mix of qualities in the book. A mix of subject matter from religion, science, history and personal relationships. A continuous uncertainty about where this story was going. Suspense was more appropriate than mystery.
Over the many years of reading my biggest conclusion has been that I am not accurately described as a 'mystery' reader and that the books I really prefer are described by a collection of characteristics which include literary, suspense, and a varying set of tags involving 'relationships' among the characters in the story.
This year I have learned a lot about myself through this deep hunting for the tags describing a book, not from a reader perspective, but more like a librarian.
In my 4000-book library, 'Mystery' is only used on 184 books, while Mystery & Detective is given to 1498 books. Literary has 1434 books and Suspense has 1167.
None are given 'Literary Mystery' tags because that isn't a term used by these sources. Saga is of course, 177 in my library.
The term Saga-Adjacent isn't a term anywhere that I have seen so it is a concept which can be derived from the multiplicity of other terms that exist in my inventory.
The 'rubber meets the road' today as I need to stop this analysis I love so well and get down to serious reading.
My posts from now on will be about THE book I am reading NOW.
From the beginning of my reading life, I have always considered myself to be a 'Mystery' reader.
Along the way I became more aware of the fact that I didn't want to be considered only as a 'Crime' reader. I also discovered about myself that the quality of the writing was essential.
When I read Possession i was impressed with the mix of qualities in the book. A mix of subject matter from religion, science, history and personal relationships. A continuous uncertainty about where this story was going. Suspense was more appropriate than mystery.
Over the many years of reading my biggest conclusion has been that I am not accurately described as a 'mystery' reader and that the books I really prefer are described by a collection of characteristics which include literary, suspense, and a varying set of tags involving 'relationships' among the characters in the story.
This year I have learned a lot about myself through this deep hunting for the tags describing a book, not from a reader perspective, but more like a librarian.
In my 4000-book library, 'Mystery' is only used on 184 books, while Mystery & Detective is given to 1498 books. Literary has 1434 books and Suspense has 1167.
None are given 'Literary Mystery' tags because that isn't a term used by these sources. Saga is of course, 177 in my library.
The term Saga-Adjacent isn't a term anywhere that I have seen so it is a concept which can be derived from the multiplicity of other terms that exist in my inventory.
The 'rubber meets the road' today as I need to stop this analysis I love so well and get down to serious reading.
My posts from now on will be about THE book I am reading NOW.
82JoeB1934
Before I report on the book I am currently reading, I thought it would appropriate to share with you the specific books I have read part of so far in 2026.
I have reported on several of these books in some detail but my main purpose in many of these books was to confirm that each book measured up as excellent choices for me. I checked the books out and read enough to know that if I had time available, I would complete them,
Most of my time was spent in obtaining Tag details for every one of my 4000+ library books.
The following display shows the books that did pass my test.
I have reported on several of these books in some detail but my main purpose in many of these books was to confirm that each book measured up as excellent choices for me. I checked the books out and read enough to know that if I had time available, I would complete them,
Most of my time was spent in obtaining Tag details for every one of my 4000+ library books.
The following display shows the books that did pass my test.
85JoeB1934
A Personal Note on Why Drops of God Moved Me
Iâm not a literary critic. I donât write the kind of reviews that delve into symbolism or what the author 'really meant to say'.
What I can talk about is how a story affects me.
Drops of God felt like a saga to me because, for the first time I understood what the subtleties in wine tasting was all about.
You need to know that, as a non-alcoholic drinker I didn't really know about how much the flavors in wine actually convey so much about history.
Every bottle carries a history: a year of weather, a familyâs choices, a landscapeâs memory. When the characters taste a wine, theyâre tasting someoneâs past, and thatâs what sagas do â they let the past speak through the present.
The show blends aroma, memory, rivalry, and inheritance the way a winemaker blends grapes. Itâs about understanding where you come from, and what you carry forward.
Maybe thatâs why it stayed with me. Not because of the competition, but because it reminded me that every life â like every wine â has a story shaped by place, people, and time.
Thatâs what makes it saga adjacent for me.
Not the plot, The feeling.
Iâm not a literary critic. I donât write the kind of reviews that delve into symbolism or what the author 'really meant to say'.
What I can talk about is how a story affects me.
Drops of God felt like a saga to me because, for the first time I understood what the subtleties in wine tasting was all about.
You need to know that, as a non-alcoholic drinker I didn't really know about how much the flavors in wine actually convey so much about history.
Every bottle carries a history: a year of weather, a familyâs choices, a landscapeâs memory. When the characters taste a wine, theyâre tasting someoneâs past, and thatâs what sagas do â they let the past speak through the present.
The show blends aroma, memory, rivalry, and inheritance the way a winemaker blends grapes. Itâs about understanding where you come from, and what you carry forward.
Maybe thatâs why it stayed with me. Not because of the competition, but because it reminded me that every life â like every wine â has a story shaped by place, people, and time.
Thatâs what makes it saga adjacent for me.
Not the plot, The feeling.
87JoeB1934
>86 ADTANYA: What kind of help do you need?
88JoeB1934
>86 ADTANYA: What sort of help do you need? It seems like you are a new member of LT. In that case there are many sources to help a new member.
After several years on LT I still go to 'Frequently Asked Questions' link and they will guide you through the process of using LibraryThing the best ways.
After several years on LT I still go to 'Frequently Asked Questions' link and they will guide you through the process of using LibraryThing the best ways.
90JoeB1934
>89 ADTANYA: Definitely contact LT support and explain it all to them.
92JoeB1934
You might know that my daughter Carey, who I live with is also a piano and cello teacher. One of her teaching locations is a small private school where she goes one day a week, Friday.
Yesterday her student, who is in 7th grade, said she wanted to show Carey her school project. Carey said O.K. let's look at it.
Up popped a display titled 'Book Genres' with some attached graphics. A pie chart like you can see in LT and another display showing the timeline of genre across the last 50 years, or so.
An explanation how readers focus has grown and dropped over the years.!
The 13-year-old girl had tracked the NYTimes best books of the year all the way back to 1970 and entered them into some system, probably Goodreads to obtain the results.
Carey knew she was a big reader but not enough to anticipate that.
We don't know who influenced her, but I find that to be fantastic for her at any age!
Yesterday her student, who is in 7th grade, said she wanted to show Carey her school project. Carey said O.K. let's look at it.
Up popped a display titled 'Book Genres' with some attached graphics. A pie chart like you can see in LT and another display showing the timeline of genre across the last 50 years, or so.
An explanation how readers focus has grown and dropped over the years.!
The 13-year-old girl had tracked the NYTimes best books of the year all the way back to 1970 and entered them into some system, probably Goodreads to obtain the results.
Carey knew she was a big reader but not enough to anticipate that.
We don't know who influenced her, but I find that to be fantastic for her at any age!
93las18
>92 JoeB1934: That's a fun story. Thanks for sharing.
Also, per message 84 and beyond, my favorite book on your list is unequivocally Bring Up the Bodies. I own The Secret Keeper but haven't felt compelled to read it yet, although I did enjoy The Forgotten Garden by the same author.
Also, per message 84 and beyond, my favorite book on your list is unequivocally Bring Up the Bodies. I own The Secret Keeper but haven't felt compelled to read it yet, although I did enjoy The Forgotten Garden by the same author.
94WelshBookworm
>68 JoeB1934: I read every post on Club Read (eventually). So here I am catching up on your thread. I have read around 20 of your list, at least books by those authors but not necessarily the one on your list. A lot of these I would call contemporary classics. There are another 10 maybe that I would like to read. I do better with responding to a specific title or author rather than a whole list. Your process isn't my process, but I find it interesting that you HAVE a process. I am 71 compared to your 91, and you have definitely made me think about how my priorities will certainly change in the next 20 years - I still read books that I'm not actually liking very much (see my post today in the What Are You Reading thread).
We have quite a lot of similarity in the books that we most love, though I don't keep my lists here on LT. With that being said, I definitely recommend: Rebecca. I adore Madeleine L'Engle (both her fiction and non-fiction) - I have read all of the "Wrinkle in Time" series. I think my favorite is Many Waters. I didn't care that much for Jane Eyre, but I'm glad I read it. I loved Wuthering Heights, on the other hand, but it isn't for everyone. Dickens, of course, and Oliver Twist is one that I think is accessible to younger readers along with A Tale of Two Cities. Great Expectations is intriguing but it drags horribly in the middle... I'm hoping to reread David Copperfield this year and then read Demon Copperhead. If you haven't read Barbara Kingsolver yet, I definitely think she should be on your list. Maybe Prodigal Summer, The Poisonwood Bible, and The Lacuna. Louis L'Amour is actually not a bad writer, though I don't particularly care for Westerns. Zane Grey was also a surprise to me. I loved Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and I would like to give Cormac McCarthy a try. I think I would also like the Hillerman books - I have them on my TBR. To Kill a Mockingbird is a must read. I need to read more Stevenson. Have not read Kidnapped or Treasure Island but they are on my list. I have read The Godfather. I've read some Agatha Christie. Not really a fan. Adored The Name of the Rose. I need to read more Umberto Eco. I've read The Shipping News. Don't remember it especially. Would like to read Ivan Doig - in fact I have English Creek on hold on Libby. Esperanza Rising was my nephew's favorite book at age 10 or 11, so I read it. It was good. Another children's book you might like is The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. The sequel is good too. I'm not a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, but they make great book club discussion books. Kate Morton I like, but don't love. Ditto Kristin Hannah. The Nightingale was kind of her break into historical fiction, although you could tell she was a romance writer. I think her later books have gotten stronger. I liked The Four Winds. And would like to read The Women. That make me think of another author I think you might like - T.C. Boyle. His book The Women was about the wives (or lovers) of Frank Lloyd Wright. Fascinating. I need to read more of his. Louise Erdrich - she can be hit or miss but I keep reading her. Going to be reading The Mighty Red for a book club this month. I've also read P.D. James and H.G. Wells. Would like to read Bulgakov, Lively, McEwan, Lahiri, Hosseini, Kuang, Patrick Taylor, and SJ Bennett but haven't managed it yet.
We have quite a lot of similarity in the books that we most love, though I don't keep my lists here on LT. With that being said, I definitely recommend: Rebecca. I adore Madeleine L'Engle (both her fiction and non-fiction) - I have read all of the "Wrinkle in Time" series. I think my favorite is Many Waters. I didn't care that much for Jane Eyre, but I'm glad I read it. I loved Wuthering Heights, on the other hand, but it isn't for everyone. Dickens, of course, and Oliver Twist is one that I think is accessible to younger readers along with A Tale of Two Cities. Great Expectations is intriguing but it drags horribly in the middle... I'm hoping to reread David Copperfield this year and then read Demon Copperhead. If you haven't read Barbara Kingsolver yet, I definitely think she should be on your list. Maybe Prodigal Summer, The Poisonwood Bible, and The Lacuna. Louis L'Amour is actually not a bad writer, though I don't particularly care for Westerns. Zane Grey was also a surprise to me. I loved Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and I would like to give Cormac McCarthy a try. I think I would also like the Hillerman books - I have them on my TBR. To Kill a Mockingbird is a must read. I need to read more Stevenson. Have not read Kidnapped or Treasure Island but they are on my list. I have read The Godfather. I've read some Agatha Christie. Not really a fan. Adored The Name of the Rose. I need to read more Umberto Eco. I've read The Shipping News. Don't remember it especially. Would like to read Ivan Doig - in fact I have English Creek on hold on Libby. Esperanza Rising was my nephew's favorite book at age 10 or 11, so I read it. It was good. Another children's book you might like is The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. The sequel is good too. I'm not a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, but they make great book club discussion books. Kate Morton I like, but don't love. Ditto Kristin Hannah. The Nightingale was kind of her break into historical fiction, although you could tell she was a romance writer. I think her later books have gotten stronger. I liked The Four Winds. And would like to read The Women. That make me think of another author I think you might like - T.C. Boyle. His book The Women was about the wives (or lovers) of Frank Lloyd Wright. Fascinating. I need to read more of his. Louise Erdrich - she can be hit or miss but I keep reading her. Going to be reading The Mighty Red for a book club this month. I've also read P.D. James and H.G. Wells. Would like to read Bulgakov, Lively, McEwan, Lahiri, Hosseini, Kuang, Patrick Taylor, and SJ Bennett but haven't managed it yet.
95WelshBookworm
>91 JoeB1934: On my TBR. I need to bump this up!
96JoeB1934
It just happened today that I achieved a terrific insight into the attributes of books I love the most.
This is a concept by Nancy Pearl, which is called Four Doors to Reading.
Pearl suggests that different books emphasize these elements to varying degrees and understanding which "door" you enjoy most can help you find books you'll love.
These Doors Are: Story, Character, Setting, and Language.
These attributes seem quite reasonable, and they have received considerable discussion in literary circles. But how does one go about labelling a book as being in any of these 'doors'.
A byproduct of my deep dive into genres, sub-genres, themes and other forms of descriptors placed on books arrived today where I could make a stab at defining 4000+ books by these doors.
By far the books I love are defined by Story and Language. The stats are these:
- Story (Door 1): 2402
- Character (Door 2): 289
- Setting (Door 3): 229
- Language (Door 4): 1334
I have always known that what I loved the most was a well written story. I have minimal interest in the setting. I enjoy a story without much care about where in the world the setting is.
The comment by Copilot was this:
This creates a very specific reading profile:
- You want momentum (Story).
- You want beautiful or resonant writing (Language).
- You want emotional truth, but not necessarily deep psychological excavation (Character).
- You donât need place to anchor you (Setting)
This is a concept by Nancy Pearl, which is called Four Doors to Reading.
Pearl suggests that different books emphasize these elements to varying degrees and understanding which "door" you enjoy most can help you find books you'll love.
These Doors Are: Story, Character, Setting, and Language.
- Story: The sequence of events that keeps readers turning pages to find out what happens next.
- Character: The people in the story who feel real and memorable.
- Setting: The world or environment where the story takes place, making readers feel like they're there.
- Language: The style and quality of the writing that makes readers savor every word.
These attributes seem quite reasonable, and they have received considerable discussion in literary circles. But how does one go about labelling a book as being in any of these 'doors'.
A byproduct of my deep dive into genres, sub-genres, themes and other forms of descriptors placed on books arrived today where I could make a stab at defining 4000+ books by these doors.
By far the books I love are defined by Story and Language. The stats are these:
- Story (Door 1): 2402
- Character (Door 2): 289
- Setting (Door 3): 229
- Language (Door 4): 1334
I have always known that what I loved the most was a well written story. I have minimal interest in the setting. I enjoy a story without much care about where in the world the setting is.
The comment by Copilot was this:
This creates a very specific reading profile:
- You want momentum (Story).
- You want beautiful or resonant writing (Language).
- You want emotional truth, but not necessarily deep psychological excavation (Character).
- You donât need place to anchor you (Setting)
97JoeB1934
>94 WelshBookworm: Thank you so much for your detailed comments. Your sharing is what every member of LT is really looking for. Some of your 'less' favored authors are some of my 'most' favored authors. This simply confirms that every reader is coming to a book with a whole history of reading and objectives.
98JoeB1934
A Cluster of Books I have Found to Read
âIâve been looking back over the books that have meant the most to me â not to categorize them, but to understand the patterns that keep drawing me in. What surprised me is how often Iâm pulled toward novels that blend strong storytelling with literary craft, and especially those that circle around books, writing, or the act of meaningâmaking itself.
When I filtered my library through that lens, a tiny cluster of four novels emerged â books that sit at the intersection of StoryâLanguage, metafiction, and booksâaboutâbooks.
Three of them Iâve read and loved:
The 4th book in this cluster that I haven't read and plan to read next is:
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
âIâve been looking back over the books that have meant the most to me â not to categorize them, but to understand the patterns that keep drawing me in. What surprised me is how often Iâm pulled toward novels that blend strong storytelling with literary craft, and especially those that circle around books, writing, or the act of meaningâmaking itself.
When I filtered my library through that lens, a tiny cluster of four novels emerged â books that sit at the intersection of StoryâLanguage, metafiction, and booksâaboutâbooks.
Three of them Iâve read and loved:
- - The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
- - Lessons by Ian McEwan
- - The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
The 4th book in this cluster that I haven't read and plan to read next is:
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
99JoeB1934
âWhat I love about this little cluster is how clearly it reflects the kind of reader Iâve become over the years. Iâm always drawn to novels that balance strong storytelling with thoughtful craft, and especially those that circle around books, writing, or the ways stories shape our lives. These four sit right at that intersection â the place where momentum, meaning, and a touch of selfâawareness meet. It feels like a small map of my reading identity.â
âFor me, metafiction isnât a genre so much as a way a novel thinks about itself. Iâm drawn to books that carry a second layer â stories that reflect on storytelling, or that let the act of reading become part of the experience. It adds a kind of resonance I donât get anywhere else.â
âFor me, metafiction isnât a genre so much as a way a novel thinks about itself. Iâm drawn to books that carry a second layer â stories that reflect on storytelling, or that let the act of reading become part of the experience. It adds a kind of resonance I donât get anywhere else.â
100JoeB1934
I have found 117 books in my Library which LT Members Consider Metafiction
This is the ONLY technique I have found to display a special group of books that I greatly prefer.
I have long sought any criteria which would identify Possession my most favorite book of all time. It doesn't stand out using normal genres/sub-genres.
This list also includes the earliest book that caused me to broaden my search from mysteries to more diverse literary styles. It is the book My Life as a Fake. The only member I know that has reviewed this book is Dan.
I really wanted to show larger cover sizes because so many of these books are truly favorites of mine.
One thing of note to me is the presence of so many books by Anthony Horowitz. His writing style apparently is metafiction by nature.
This is the ONLY technique I have found to display a special group of books that I greatly prefer.
I have long sought any criteria which would identify Possession my most favorite book of all time. It doesn't stand out using normal genres/sub-genres.
This list also includes the earliest book that caused me to broaden my search from mysteries to more diverse literary styles. It is the book My Life as a Fake. The only member I know that has reviewed this book is Dan.
I really wanted to show larger cover sizes because so many of these books are truly favorites of mine.
One thing of note to me is the presence of so many books by Anthony Horowitz. His writing style apparently is metafiction by nature.
101JoeB1934
You are now asking for a definition of Metafiction. Here one is from Copilot
META â A simple, precise definition
âMetafiction is when a novel is aware of itself as a story. It might comment on writing, include texts inside the text, or show characters creating or interpreting stories. Itâs not a genre â itâs a layer that lets the book think about storytelling while still telling a story.â
META â A simple, precise definition
âMetafiction is when a novel is aware of itself as a story. It might comment on writing, include texts inside the text, or show characters creating or interpreting stories. Itâs not a genre â itâs a layer that lets the book think about storytelling while still telling a story.â
102labfs39
Hi Joe, I haven't been spending much time on LT this past week and got behind on the threads. When I do, I tend to read those with the fewest new posts first, so yours is one of the last I'm catching up on. Sorry!
Metafiction is interesting, although I haven't read a lot of books that I would classify that way. My favorite is HHhH about the assassination of Heydrich during WWII and about the process of researching and writing the book.
Metafiction is interesting, although I haven't read a lot of books that I would classify that way. My favorite is HHhH about the assassination of Heydrich during WWII and about the process of researching and writing the book.
103JoeB1934
>102 labfs39: I didn't even know such things existed. Then I discovered that Possession, which is my longtime favorite book is one. The key is who says a book qualifies as metafiction?
One answer is, which books in LT do readers say are metafiction? It turns out around 500 books. You might see how many you have read and see if there is any correlation with your favorite books.
Possibly not many, but some.
One answer is, which books in LT do readers say are metafiction? It turns out around 500 books. You might see how many you have read and see if there is any correlation with your favorite books.
Possibly not many, but some.
104JoeB1934
After In-Depth Analysis of My 2200 TBR Library here are my choices for 2026
These books are all deeply involved as metafiction choices.
These books are all deeply involved as metafiction choices.
105labfs39
>103 JoeB1934: So out of my library of 3682 books, I have six books that come up when I search "metafiction". One of these, HHhH, I thought exceptionally well done. Others include Dora Bruder, Redshirts, and Time Shelter. Many other books which I own or have read, such as Jasper Fforde's books, didn't come up. I think metafiction is interesting when done well, but I think it's very hard to do. I'll look forward to your thoughts on metafiction going forward in your 2026 reading.
106JoeB1934
>105 labfs39: Boy have I learned a lot since I brought up that subject. I am getting close to a presentation on my complete reading journey. This involves Four Door assignments for every book and a very deep drive into all dimensions of that phrase metafiction. One thing very clear to me is that the books I chose to read over the decades can be measured by metafiction.
It isn't a genre, it is the structural design of the book selected by the author. In other words, book architexture.
I will send a PDF after this is finished.
My test of this whole system was Why did I like Possession and My Life as a Fake so much? It can't be measured by their genres, but they can by their metafiction nature.
It turns out that my long search for the genre tag combination that would identify my best books wasn't ever going to do the job.
It turns out that I didn't realize how important it was to me all these years could be described by the structure of the book combined with the genre mix.
It isn't a genre, it is the structural design of the book selected by the author. In other words, book architexture.
I will send a PDF after this is finished.
My test of this whole system was Why did I like Possession and My Life as a Fake so much? It can't be measured by their genres, but they can by their metafiction nature.
It turns out that my long search for the genre tag combination that would identify my best books wasn't ever going to do the job.
It turns out that I didn't realize how important it was to me all these years could be described by the structure of the book combined with the genre mix.
107labfs39
>106 JoeB1934: I'm curious. How are you defining metafiction, Joe?
I have found your journey interesting. From tag analysis and genres to the Four Doors and now structure. You've covered a lot of ground.
I have found your journey interesting. From tag analysis and genres to the Four Doors and now structure. You've covered a lot of ground.
108JoeB1934
>107 labfs39: I think I have actually cracked the code for measuring books by their match to my reading style. It will actually work for any readers library, or TBR. It reveals to me why I like certain books.
The secret is in the answer to what is metafiction. The answer is way more complex than it being a tag in LT. You will have to wait for my PDF, I'm afraid.
I should add that in my 2000 book library I was able to partition books by metafiction structure. At least 50% of the library haven't any metafiction connection, it is only my very prized books that have it.
I can also mention that I can tell you for the books we share which ones are described as being metafiction.
The secret is in the answer to what is metafiction. The answer is way more complex than it being a tag in LT. You will have to wait for my PDF, I'm afraid.
I should add that in my 2000 book library I was able to partition books by metafiction structure. At least 50% of the library haven't any metafiction connection, it is only my very prized books that have it.
I can also mention that I can tell you for the books we share which ones are described as being metafiction.
109JoeB1934
Where Have I Been and What Have I been Doing?
I decided to write about my Reading Journey in a form that my relatives and friends could understand why I have been spending so much time thinking about books but not reading very many.
Those of you who have ventured into any of my chats know that I have been forever analyzing the tags (sub-genres) of the books I read, or plan to read.
Trying to understand what draws me to certain books in search of indications for a book being promising for me to read. Certain tags, literary, suspense, historical, women's fiction and others are certainly essential to me, but not always to be sufficient.
A factor in this searching was the realization that I have read many 'Good' books that were enjoyable, but not 'Memorable'. The most classic example of such books were these two: Possession by A.S. Byatt and My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey.
Possession of course is a favorite of many readers, while My Life as a Fake is rarely mentioned anymore.
A few months ago, I decided that it was time for me to understand for myself what the differences are between 'Memorable' books and other books. I've been at this reading game for 60+ years, and I tackled in my professional life issues much more consequential to answer than this one.
After a very deep dive into the subject of book analysis, I truly can answer this question for my personal reading interests. I now know very precisely what much of the difference between Memorable and Good books is for me. It is important to note that this isn't likely to be the answer for other readers, but I am comfortable for myself.
When I finish documenting this research, I will make it available to anyone else that is curious about this issue.
What I can say is that the answer was partly explained by the sub-genres for a book, but that the key was the description of the story and the details describing what the book was about.
I decided to write about my Reading Journey in a form that my relatives and friends could understand why I have been spending so much time thinking about books but not reading very many.
Those of you who have ventured into any of my chats know that I have been forever analyzing the tags (sub-genres) of the books I read, or plan to read.
Trying to understand what draws me to certain books in search of indications for a book being promising for me to read. Certain tags, literary, suspense, historical, women's fiction and others are certainly essential to me, but not always to be sufficient.
A factor in this searching was the realization that I have read many 'Good' books that were enjoyable, but not 'Memorable'. The most classic example of such books were these two: Possession by A.S. Byatt and My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey.
Possession of course is a favorite of many readers, while My Life as a Fake is rarely mentioned anymore.
A few months ago, I decided that it was time for me to understand for myself what the differences are between 'Memorable' books and other books. I've been at this reading game for 60+ years, and I tackled in my professional life issues much more consequential to answer than this one.
After a very deep dive into the subject of book analysis, I truly can answer this question for my personal reading interests. I now know very precisely what much of the difference between Memorable and Good books is for me. It is important to note that this isn't likely to be the answer for other readers, but I am comfortable for myself.
When I finish documenting this research, I will make it available to anyone else that is curious about this issue.
What I can say is that the answer was partly explained by the sub-genres for a book, but that the key was the description of the story and the details describing what the book was about.
110JoeB1934
Three Layers in Complete Book Descriptions
- Four Doors to Reading: Story-Character-Setting-Language (Defined by Nancey Pearl)
- Sub-Genres: Historical, Romance, Suspense, Literary and .......
- Structural Metafiction: What techniques/sources did the author use to write the story
I have spent decades searching for the 'special' mix of genres that I would enjoy the most. Meanwhile all I could really say was that I want a Suspenseful Well Written Story. In today's parlance this would be a Story-Character-Language reader. Of course there are many, many such books written every year.
When I learned Possession was interesting to me because it had a special structure to it, I went in a new direction to find out what that meant for the books I read.
I learned very rapidly that there isn't available a source where you can determine which library books are described by any of the Four Doors.
Smilarly the only way to determine if a book contains structural metafiction is to ask AI specifically about that book.
Reading Advisors can do this but that is usually a library service, if at all. ChatGPT provided me with the tools to make the Doors and Structure assignments about every book in my library. This technique scans detailed descriptions of a book in order to search for selective key words that will assign a book to appropriate Doors and Structures.
I was directed to Calibre, which is an open-source application that will scan sources on the internet for Tags and Comments about any book when the ISBN, or Title/Author pair is provided to it.
This process takes about 1 hour for 4000 books, and it produces a CSV file with all of the requested data. This data feeds an Excel process which produces the final Tags, Doors and Structures for the complete library.
111JoeB1934
A book I just finished and enjoyed a lot is by a favorite author Tana French
Tags: Light Structure, CS-2, C_Structure, Story|Character|Setting|Language, Literary, Suspense, Mystery & Detective
Comments from Calibre:
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Best Book of the Year (So Far) ¡ A People Best Book of March From the iconic crime writer who âinspires cultic devotion in readersâ (The New Yorker) and has been called âincandescentâ by Stephen King, comes the third and final book in the million-copy-bestselling Cal Hooper trilogy. On a cold night in the remote Irish village of Ardnakelty, a girl goes missing. Sweet, loving Rachel Holohan was about to be engaged to the son of the local big shot. Instead, sheâs dead in the river. In a close-knit small town, a death like this isnât simple. It comes wrapped in generations-old grudges and power struggles, and it splits the townland in two. Retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper has friends here now, and he owes them loyalty, but his fiancĂŠe Lena wants nothing to do with Ardnakeltyâs tangles. As the feud becomes more vicious, their settled peace starts to crack apart. And when they uncover a scheme that casts a new light on Rachelâs death and threatens the whole village, they find themselves in the firing line. âOne of the greatest crime novelists writing todayâ (Vox) crafts a masterwork of atmospheric suspense that brings the story of one of her most beloved characters to a spellbinding conclusion.
Tags: Light Structure, CS-2, C_Structure, Story|Character|Setting|Language, Literary, Suspense, Mystery & Detective
Comments from Calibre:
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Best Book of the Year (So Far) ¡ A People Best Book of March From the iconic crime writer who âinspires cultic devotion in readersâ (The New Yorker) and has been called âincandescentâ by Stephen King, comes the third and final book in the million-copy-bestselling Cal Hooper trilogy. On a cold night in the remote Irish village of Ardnakelty, a girl goes missing. Sweet, loving Rachel Holohan was about to be engaged to the son of the local big shot. Instead, sheâs dead in the river. In a close-knit small town, a death like this isnât simple. It comes wrapped in generations-old grudges and power struggles, and it splits the townland in two. Retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper has friends here now, and he owes them loyalty, but his fiancĂŠe Lena wants nothing to do with Ardnakeltyâs tangles. As the feud becomes more vicious, their settled peace starts to crack apart. And when they uncover a scheme that casts a new light on Rachelâs death and threatens the whole village, they find themselves in the firing line. âOne of the greatest crime novelists writing todayâ (Vox) crafts a masterwork of atmospheric suspense that brings the story of one of her most beloved characters to a spellbinding conclusion.
112JoeB1934
I created a new TBR of 440 books that I have heard about in the last several months on BookBrowse and FictionDB. It took about 1 hour to run through the Calibre and Excel process to identify 73 books with interesting properties. The List below are the first 10 of those books.
113labfs39
>112 JoeB1934: I very much enjoyed The Remembered Soldier, although it's a long one. My book club will read The Correspondent later this year.
114AlisonY
That's a lot of dedication to the cause, Joe. How will you know when your analysis is complete?
115JoeB1934
>114 AlisonY: I've been thinking about writing something related to your question. Thank you for that.
My Musings about Book Reading and life's Journey
I did my first 'analysis' on becoming a complete trout fly fisherman as a teenager. Read books, learned how to tie my own trout fly, researched the best fishing equipment. The enjoyment came when I caught the fish but the journey getting there was really what I wanted.
I spent 40 years as a professional analyst working on several important questions in US national security and in management of professional service firms. In all of those years it was the 'process' of answering the questions rather than the actual answers I provided others that kept me at a problem for long times.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy reading good books, but I have as much enjoyment in discovering good books even if I don't read all that I find. My current effort has uncovered so many books suited to me that I am reduced to finding the top ones as my reading years won't let me read more than that.
Recently I took a fall out walking with my daughter Carey and her dog Mr. Darcy. As the doctor said "you dodged a bullet" as nothing was broken and some PT will get me back close to my previous condition. Just a reminder that I am getting pretty old.
I am really thankful that my physical and mental condition are quite exceptional for being this old.
As to completing this analysis I am very close to the end by choosing what series of books I will read in the near term.
Many of the books I am finding to be really interesting seem to be outside the normal purview of my friends on Club Read. The book reading universe is so large that when I began this effort of finding more books that matched my curiosity it opened up many newer possibilities.
Each member of Club Read has their own well developed searching for and enjoying books strategy. I am not proposing anyone else adapt mine. I will report on ones I read however, just on the chance they might intrigue others here.
My Musings about Book Reading and life's Journey
I did my first 'analysis' on becoming a complete trout fly fisherman as a teenager. Read books, learned how to tie my own trout fly, researched the best fishing equipment. The enjoyment came when I caught the fish but the journey getting there was really what I wanted.
I spent 40 years as a professional analyst working on several important questions in US national security and in management of professional service firms. In all of those years it was the 'process' of answering the questions rather than the actual answers I provided others that kept me at a problem for long times.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy reading good books, but I have as much enjoyment in discovering good books even if I don't read all that I find. My current effort has uncovered so many books suited to me that I am reduced to finding the top ones as my reading years won't let me read more than that.
Recently I took a fall out walking with my daughter Carey and her dog Mr. Darcy. As the doctor said "you dodged a bullet" as nothing was broken and some PT will get me back close to my previous condition. Just a reminder that I am getting pretty old.
I am really thankful that my physical and mental condition are quite exceptional for being this old.
As to completing this analysis I am very close to the end by choosing what series of books I will read in the near term.
Many of the books I am finding to be really interesting seem to be outside the normal purview of my friends on Club Read. The book reading universe is so large that when I began this effort of finding more books that matched my curiosity it opened up many newer possibilities.
Each member of Club Read has their own well developed searching for and enjoying books strategy. I am not proposing anyone else adapt mine. I will report on ones I read however, just on the chance they might intrigue others here.
116JoeB1934
Ford, Jamie Love and Other Consolation Prizes......*** Tags: Fiction; Historical; General; Literary; Sagas
You might find the following a bit long but it is in these details that my analysis existed
Description
From the bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet comes a powerful novel, inspired by a true story, about a boy whose life is transformed at Seattleâs epic 1909 Worldâs Fair. âAn evocative, heartfelt, beautifully crafted story that shines a light on a fascinating, tragic bit of forgotten history.ââKristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale For twelve-year-old Ernest Young, a charity student at a boarding school, the chance to go to the Worldâs Fair feels like a gift. But only once heâs there, amid the exotic exhibits, fireworks, and Ferris wheels, does he discover that he is the one who is actually the prize. The half-Chinese orphan is astounded to learn he will be raffled offâa healthy boy âto a good home.â The winning ticket belongs to the flamboyant madam of a high-class brothel, famous for educating her girls. There, Ernest becomes the new houseboy and befriends Maisie, the madamâs precocious daughter, and a bold scullery maid named Fahn. Their friendship and affection form the first real family Ernest has ever knownâand against all odds, this new sporting life gives him the sense of home heâs always desired. But as the grande dame succumbs to an occupational hazard and their world of finery begins to crumble, all three must grapple with hope, ambition, and first love. Fifty years later, in the shadow of Seattleâs second Worldâs Fair, Ernest struggles to help his ailing wife reconcile who she once was with who she wanted to be, while trying to keep family secrets hidden from their grown-up daughters. Against a rich backdrop of post-Victorian vice, suffrage, and celebration, Love and Other Consolations is an enchanting tale about innocence and devotionâin a world where everything, and everyone, is for sale. Praise for Love and Other Consolation PrizesâExciting . . . Jamie Ford captures the thrill of first kisses and the shock of revealing long-hidden affairs.ââKirkus Reviews âStrong . . . A laudable effort that shines light on little known histories.ââLibrary Journal âPoignant . . . Vibrantly rendered.ââBooklist âCombining rich narrative and literary qualities, the book achieves a multi-faceted emotional resonance. It is by turns heart-rending, tragic, disturbing, sanguine, warm, and life-affirming. Perceptive themes that run throughout culminate at the end. A true story from the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition inspired this very absorbing and moving novel. Highly recommended.ââHistorical Novel Society (Editorsâ choice)âFord is a master at shining light into dark, forgotten corners of history and revealing the most unexpected and relatable human threads. . . . A beautiful and enthralling story of resilience and the many permutations of love.ââJessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the CastleâAll the charm and heartbreak of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet . . . Based on a true story, Love and Other Consolation Prizes will warm your soul.ââMartha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls
My analysis
F-None, Textual, F_Structure, FS-2, Story, Character, Setting, Language, Story|Character|Setting|Language, G_General, G_Literary, G_Historical, G_Sagas, FVA
Notice that if one looked only at the classical tags there wouldn't be any way to assign Doors to the book. They and the other Structure tags come from the details of the description.
Those critical details have resulted from the process I just completed on my library
You might find the following a bit long but it is in these details that my analysis existed
Description
From the bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet comes a powerful novel, inspired by a true story, about a boy whose life is transformed at Seattleâs epic 1909 Worldâs Fair. âAn evocative, heartfelt, beautifully crafted story that shines a light on a fascinating, tragic bit of forgotten history.ââKristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale For twelve-year-old Ernest Young, a charity student at a boarding school, the chance to go to the Worldâs Fair feels like a gift. But only once heâs there, amid the exotic exhibits, fireworks, and Ferris wheels, does he discover that he is the one who is actually the prize. The half-Chinese orphan is astounded to learn he will be raffled offâa healthy boy âto a good home.â The winning ticket belongs to the flamboyant madam of a high-class brothel, famous for educating her girls. There, Ernest becomes the new houseboy and befriends Maisie, the madamâs precocious daughter, and a bold scullery maid named Fahn. Their friendship and affection form the first real family Ernest has ever knownâand against all odds, this new sporting life gives him the sense of home heâs always desired. But as the grande dame succumbs to an occupational hazard and their world of finery begins to crumble, all three must grapple with hope, ambition, and first love. Fifty years later, in the shadow of Seattleâs second Worldâs Fair, Ernest struggles to help his ailing wife reconcile who she once was with who she wanted to be, while trying to keep family secrets hidden from their grown-up daughters. Against a rich backdrop of post-Victorian vice, suffrage, and celebration, Love and Other Consolations is an enchanting tale about innocence and devotionâin a world where everything, and everyone, is for sale. Praise for Love and Other Consolation PrizesâExciting . . . Jamie Ford captures the thrill of first kisses and the shock of revealing long-hidden affairs.ââKirkus Reviews âStrong . . . A laudable effort that shines light on little known histories.ââLibrary Journal âPoignant . . . Vibrantly rendered.ââBooklist âCombining rich narrative and literary qualities, the book achieves a multi-faceted emotional resonance. It is by turns heart-rending, tragic, disturbing, sanguine, warm, and life-affirming. Perceptive themes that run throughout culminate at the end. A true story from the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition inspired this very absorbing and moving novel. Highly recommended.ââHistorical Novel Society (Editorsâ choice)âFord is a master at shining light into dark, forgotten corners of history and revealing the most unexpected and relatable human threads. . . . A beautiful and enthralling story of resilience and the many permutations of love.ââJessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the CastleâAll the charm and heartbreak of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet . . . Based on a true story, Love and Other Consolation Prizes will warm your soul.ââMartha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls
My analysis
F-None, Textual, F_Structure, FS-2, Story, Character, Setting, Language, Story|Character|Setting|Language, G_General, G_Literary, G_Historical, G_Sagas, FVA
Notice that if one looked only at the classical tags there wouldn't be any way to assign Doors to the book. They and the other Structure tags come from the details of the description.
Those critical details have resulted from the process I just completed on my library
117labfs39
I'm sorry to hear about your fall, Joe, but am very glad nothing was broken. You are indeed in top form, and I fear that even at my age, I lack your mental acuity. I'm glad you keep LT in your routine, as you encourage me to hope that I have many years of good reading ahead of me yet.
118AlisonY
>115 JoeB1934: I love this, Joe. I think continuing to stay curious is the secret of staying young at heart, and your natural propensity towards analysis is obviously still going strong.
Sounds like a very scientific way to try to avoid dud books in the future. Don't forget to keep reading in the middle of your quest!
Sounds like a very scientific way to try to avoid dud books in the future. Don't forget to keep reading in the middle of your quest!
119JoeB1934
Here is something I learned today: What "humming does for you"
1. It shifts your nervous system into âcalm modeâ
When you hum, the vibrations in your throat stimulate the vagus nerveâa key nerve that controls your ârest and digestâ state.
This nudges your body out of fightâorâflight (stress mode)
And into relaxation and recovery psychologytoday.com, scienceinsights.org
Effects that can follow:
Slower heart rate
Reduced stress
More emotional regulation
đ Thatâs why people often instinctively hum when theyâre nervous or trying to calm themselves.
I don't hum, but when I am first getting up in the morning and headed you know where I usually am mumbling some phrase to myself.
I was told that this is you saying "I am under control and doing what I want to do" it's not a dream.
1. It shifts your nervous system into âcalm modeâ
When you hum, the vibrations in your throat stimulate the vagus nerveâa key nerve that controls your ârest and digestâ state.
This nudges your body out of fightâorâflight (stress mode)
And into relaxation and recovery psychologytoday.com, scienceinsights.org
Effects that can follow:
Slower heart rate
Reduced stress
More emotional regulation
đ Thatâs why people often instinctively hum when theyâre nervous or trying to calm themselves.
I don't hum, but when I am first getting up in the morning and headed you know where I usually am mumbling some phrase to myself.
I was told that this is you saying "I am under control and doing what I want to do" it's not a dream.
120JoeB1934
I just had the experience many readers have when they go to a book sale. Such stories repeatedly show up in this group with recounting of the books they just couldn't pass up and brought home to add to their library.
In my case this 'shopping' is done digitally when I read the Sunday Denver Post section on 'Living'. Lists of the most popular books regionally and nationally, but more importantly about 5-10 specific book reviews by individuals who aren't staff other than to do specialized reviews. Normally I pick up 1 or 2 books to add to my TBR.
Today I went wild and six books later I had an even longer TBR of 'really' interesting books I realistically will never live long enough to read.
So, you book buyers who eagerly search for books you likely won't ever read in your TBR, you're not alone.
In my case this 'shopping' is done digitally when I read the Sunday Denver Post section on 'Living'. Lists of the most popular books regionally and nationally, but more importantly about 5-10 specific book reviews by individuals who aren't staff other than to do specialized reviews. Normally I pick up 1 or 2 books to add to my TBR.
Today I went wild and six books later I had an even longer TBR of 'really' interesting books I realistically will never live long enough to read.
So, you book buyers who eagerly search for books you likely won't ever read in your TBR, you're not alone.
121labfs39
>120 JoeB1934: So, you book buyers who eagerly search for books you likely won't ever read in your TBR, you're not alone.
I think of it as supporting authors and the publishing industry. :-)
I think of it as supporting authors and the publishing industry. :-)
122JoeB1934
>121 labfs39: That is very admirable and satisfying, I'm sure. Unfortunately, my building a TBR is selfish as I only buy an occasional book.
By the way, my excursion into metafiction and a personal search for memorable books to read is nearing a conclusion which I will report on this week.
By the way, my excursion into metafiction and a personal search for memorable books to read is nearing a conclusion which I will report on this week.
123JoeB1934
After what seems like an eternity, mostly because I have spent decades wondering what characteristics in a book makes them Memorable to me, I have progress to report. My leading example of this is the book Possession by A.S, Byatt. It has a nice blend of genres but nothing exceptional.
I finally have a disciplined analytical method to inspect any list of books which has an ISBN, Title and Author per book to audit what details describe the book. The traditional genre analysis is included but it is secondary to Metafiction attributes of each book and the 'Four Doors to Reading' defined by Nancy Pearl.
The final output of such an analysis summarizes the important factors in such an evaluation. For example, I have read about 2000 books and have an extremely large TBR of another 2000+ books.
Below is the summary of the resultant analysis.
There are several important points to make. First, out of 4541 books, without any input from me, Possession is book number 4 in the very small Architectural Metafiction 30 books.
Next, 3744 books have no metafictional content and that is 82% of my reading. Finally, my reading profile is the Story|Character|Setting|language variety.
Tomorrow I will display the books I currently plan to read in the remainder of 2026. This will be based on the TBR which is part of these 4541 books.
I finally have a disciplined analytical method to inspect any list of books which has an ISBN, Title and Author per book to audit what details describe the book. The traditional genre analysis is included but it is secondary to Metafiction attributes of each book and the 'Four Doors to Reading' defined by Nancy Pearl.
The final output of such an analysis summarizes the important factors in such an evaluation. For example, I have read about 2000 books and have an extremely large TBR of another 2000+ books.
Below is the summary of the resultant analysis.
There are several important points to make. First, out of 4541 books, without any input from me, Possession is book number 4 in the very small Architectural Metafiction 30 books.
Next, 3744 books have no metafictional content and that is 82% of my reading. Finally, my reading profile is the Story|Character|Setting|language variety.
Tomorrow I will display the books I currently plan to read in the remainder of 2026. This will be based on the TBR which is part of these 4541 books.
124JoeB1934
If I inspect just the books listed as Architectural Metafiction there is a very interesting set of books. Other than these books being written in a very defined style which I prefer, these books were not designed by my guidance.
There isn't any requirement that I love any of these books. It is interesting to me that I have read, and enjoyed 21 of these books, so I plan to evaluate the ones I haven't read to select my new books.
Note the wide variety of authors and subject matter for the books on this list.
There isn't any requirement that I love any of these books. It is interesting to me that I have read, and enjoyed 21 of these books, so I plan to evaluate the ones I haven't read to select my new books.
Note the wide variety of authors and subject matter for the books on this list.
125labfs39
You may have mentioned this earlier and I've forgotten, but what do you mean by architectural metafiction?
Of the books in >124 JoeB1934:, I've read five, and my star rating ranged from 5 (Age of Innocence) to 2.5 (Da Vinci Code).
Of the books in >124 JoeB1934:, I've read five, and my star rating ranged from 5 (Age of Innocence) to 2.5 (Da Vinci Code).
126JoeB1934
I want to answer @labfs39 but first I want to display my statistics that narrow down to what drives my reading. These are my Favorite Authors that I will read every one of their books without hesitation, or analysis.
These are books I have read, 904, or ones I plan to read from my TBR. This data reveals the same 80% of my reading are for non-metafiction books. There are 220 books that I really love that are metafiction of some amount, but I have also favorited others in the non-meta world.
I will post in a bit the 'best' answer I can come up with about this metafiction 'jaunt' I have been on.
This jaunt has had a profound impact on me just because I kept wondering why I like Possession so much.
These are books I have read, 904, or ones I plan to read from my TBR. This data reveals the same 80% of my reading are for non-metafiction books. There are 220 books that I really love that are metafiction of some amount, but I have also favorited others in the non-meta world.
I will post in a bit the 'best' answer I can come up with about this metafiction 'jaunt' I have been on.
This jaunt has had a profound impact on me just because I kept wondering why I like Possession so much.
127JoeB1934
Now to Lisa's question, which is a very important one. First it needs to be understood that these categories are NOT value rankings. The proper statement is this:
âLight, Structural, and Architectural are not value tiers but narrative modes: Light uses gentle selfâawareness, Structural uses intentional design, and Architectural uses design as part of the novelâs meaning.â
A more expansive definition of these come from Copilot:
âArchitectural Metafiction is a StructuralâLight approach to storytelling where the bookâs design quietly shapes the reading experience. The narrative stays immersive, but youâre aware of the architecture â the framing, the mirrored plots, the curated documents â not as tricks, but as part of the emotional and thematic texture. Itâs metafiction without the elbowâjabbing: the structure speaks, the story breathes, and the two reinforce each other.â
A more elaborate definition also comes from Copilot.
âArchitectural Metafiction refers to a StructuralâLight narrative mode in which the novelâs formal design becomes an explicit component of its meaningâmaking. Rather than foregrounding selfâreflexivity in a disruptive or postmodern register, it employs calibrated structural devices â framing narratives, embedded documents, mirrored plotlines, paratextual materials â to produce a controlled awareness of the text as an artifact. The metafictional element is present, but it is mediated through architecture rather than commentary: the reader perceives the design, not the authorâs wink. This mode preserves narrative immersion while inviting attention to the novelâs constructedness as part of its interpretive field.â
âLight, Structural, and Architectural are not value tiers but narrative modes: Light uses gentle selfâawareness, Structural uses intentional design, and Architectural uses design as part of the novelâs meaning.â
A more expansive definition of these come from Copilot:
âArchitectural Metafiction is a StructuralâLight approach to storytelling where the bookâs design quietly shapes the reading experience. The narrative stays immersive, but youâre aware of the architecture â the framing, the mirrored plots, the curated documents â not as tricks, but as part of the emotional and thematic texture. Itâs metafiction without the elbowâjabbing: the structure speaks, the story breathes, and the two reinforce each other.â
A more elaborate definition also comes from Copilot.
âArchitectural Metafiction refers to a StructuralâLight narrative mode in which the novelâs formal design becomes an explicit component of its meaningâmaking. Rather than foregrounding selfâreflexivity in a disruptive or postmodern register, it employs calibrated structural devices â framing narratives, embedded documents, mirrored plotlines, paratextual materials â to produce a controlled awareness of the text as an artifact. The metafictional element is present, but it is mediated through architecture rather than commentary: the reader perceives the design, not the authorâs wink. This mode preserves narrative immersion while inviting attention to the novelâs constructedness as part of its interpretive field.â
128JoeB1934
Just to emphasize that these metafiction groups aren't truly value oriented I need to refer to both of the books that have stuck with me for decades.
The first one I read was My Life as a Fake. It has an average star rating of 3.3 for all readers but it had a larger impact on me. A few years later I read Possession which won prizes and is one of the favorites for those who have read it.
In my first attempt at understanding metafiction both of these books were side-by-side in the special scoring system as part of such analyses. That felt good to me.
However, in this expanded analysis of these books there is more of a separation interior to the metafiction.
I asked Copilot for clarification on this issue. Here is the answer:
Architectural Metafiction â StructuralâLight â Ontological Core
This is the same quadrant where:
Possession
The Weight of Ink
Beautiful World, Where Are You
The Book of Form and Emptiness
all sit.
The difference is:
Possession uses dual timelines + archival excavation
My Life as a Fake uses testimony + hoaxâasâartifact
Both are architectural, My Life as a Fake architecture is sleeker, less baroque, less visibly engineered.
So is it âreallyâ Light?
Methodologically: yes.
Categorically: yes.
In your personal canon: absolutely not.
The correct interpretation is: It is StructuralâLight in technique, but AâCore in identity.
This is not a contradiction.
Itâs the same way Possession is structurally elegant rather than heavy, yet still one of the most architecturally meaningful novels youâve ever read.
This means that amongst my 211 meta books the amount I 'like' can depend upon me. When I look at these books the average rating by other readers is quite diverse. Many of them are 4+ star books, but plenty are 3 stars.
A final thought on this issue. When I scan the list of books in the Structural Metafiction category, I see very many that are widely praised by readers on LT and nationally. This isn't why any readers knew about metafiction, but that the structural dimension is somehow appealing as part of excellent writing.
Mason, Daniel...........North Woods
Picoult, Jodi.............. By Any Other Name
Quinn, Kate.............. The Astral Library
Stuart, Douglas......... Shuggie Bain
Krueger, William Kent Lightning Strike
Setterfield, Diane....... Once Upon a River
Barry, Sebastian........ A Long Long Way
The need to properly provide for a space in html is one of life's sore points for me.
The important issue for me is how to treat the Conventional Narrative books which are a lot.
The first one I read was My Life as a Fake. It has an average star rating of 3.3 for all readers but it had a larger impact on me. A few years later I read Possession which won prizes and is one of the favorites for those who have read it.
In my first attempt at understanding metafiction both of these books were side-by-side in the special scoring system as part of such analyses. That felt good to me.
However, in this expanded analysis of these books there is more of a separation interior to the metafiction.
I asked Copilot for clarification on this issue. Here is the answer:
Architectural Metafiction â StructuralâLight â Ontological Core
This is the same quadrant where:
Possession
The Weight of Ink
Beautiful World, Where Are You
The Book of Form and Emptiness
all sit.
The difference is:
Possession uses dual timelines + archival excavation
My Life as a Fake uses testimony + hoaxâasâartifact
Both are architectural, My Life as a Fake architecture is sleeker, less baroque, less visibly engineered.
So is it âreallyâ Light?
Methodologically: yes.
Categorically: yes.
In your personal canon: absolutely not.
The correct interpretation is: It is StructuralâLight in technique, but AâCore in identity.
This is not a contradiction.
Itâs the same way Possession is structurally elegant rather than heavy, yet still one of the most architecturally meaningful novels youâve ever read.
This means that amongst my 211 meta books the amount I 'like' can depend upon me. When I look at these books the average rating by other readers is quite diverse. Many of them are 4+ star books, but plenty are 3 stars.
A final thought on this issue. When I scan the list of books in the Structural Metafiction category, I see very many that are widely praised by readers on LT and nationally. This isn't why any readers knew about metafiction, but that the structural dimension is somehow appealing as part of excellent writing.
Mason, Daniel...........North Woods
Picoult, Jodi.............. By Any Other Name
Quinn, Kate.............. The Astral Library
Stuart, Douglas......... Shuggie Bain
Krueger, William Kent Lightning Strike
Setterfield, Diane....... Once Upon a River
Barry, Sebastian........ A Long Long Way
The need to properly provide for a space in html is one of life's sore points for me.
The important issue for me is how to treat the Conventional Narrative books which are a lot.
129JoeB1934
The next book I will be reading has extremely strong ties to my Scottish Mother's side of my heritage. It is the third book written by Dougla Stuart about growing up in Scotland. His first book Shuggie Bain had such an impact on me that I had to read it in small pieces.
My connection to that book came from the very dark portrayal of life in recent times in the Glasgow tenement world. My relatives all lived in a small village some distance outside of Glasgow and current relatives are still in that region.
As Ann Patchett says, "So immersive, so all encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it". I can't think of a better way to describe the impact the writing has on me.
My Tags:
Structural Metafiction, Story, Character, Setting, Language, Story|Character|Setting|Language, S_Author, Textual Sculpture, Conceptual Structure, C_Sculpture, G_Literary, G_Family Life, G_Coming of Age, G_World Literature, G_Lgbtq+, RHIST, FVA
The description of the book:
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES, TIME, OPRAH DAILY, AND VOGUE So immersive, so all-encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it. --Ann Patchett From the Booker Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo comes a vivid, moving novel following a young man returning to his Hebridean island home, a portrait of a father's expectations and a son's desires Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to find that little has changed except for him. He returns to the windswept croft and the two pillars of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and lay preacher in the local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian whose steady warmth helped Cal weather the sudden departure of his mother. Cal privately wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son's long hair, strange clothes, and seeming unwillingness to be Saved. But Cal isn't the only one in the croft house who is keeping secrets. As lambing season turns to shearing season, the threads holding together the community together become increasingly frayed, and nothing will remain as it was before. John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that cements Douglas Stuart's reputation as one of our greatest novelists working today.
My connection to that book came from the very dark portrayal of life in recent times in the Glasgow tenement world. My relatives all lived in a small village some distance outside of Glasgow and current relatives are still in that region.
As Ann Patchett says, "So immersive, so all encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it". I can't think of a better way to describe the impact the writing has on me.
My Tags:
Structural Metafiction, Story, Character, Setting, Language, Story|Character|Setting|Language, S_Author, Textual Sculpture, Conceptual Structure, C_Sculpture, G_Literary, G_Family Life, G_Coming of Age, G_World Literature, G_Lgbtq+, RHIST, FVA
The description of the book:
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES, TIME, OPRAH DAILY, AND VOGUE So immersive, so all-encompassing, that I felt like I was living in it. --Ann Patchett From the Booker Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo comes a vivid, moving novel following a young man returning to his Hebridean island home, a portrait of a father's expectations and a son's desires Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to find that little has changed except for him. He returns to the windswept croft and the two pillars of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and lay preacher in the local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian whose steady warmth helped Cal weather the sudden departure of his mother. Cal privately wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son's long hair, strange clothes, and seeming unwillingness to be Saved. But Cal isn't the only one in the croft house who is keeping secrets. As lambing season turns to shearing season, the threads holding together the community together become increasingly frayed, and nothing will remain as it was before. John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that cements Douglas Stuart's reputation as one of our greatest novelists working today.
130AlisonY
Going back to your point on humming, I learnt this week that running your tongue backwards and forwards along the back of your teeth also stimulates your vagus nerve to reduce stress. Every day's a school day.
131JoeB1934
Musings about my Scottish Ancestry
I don't actually know why it has re-ignited, but today I am thinking about the Scottish ancestry I inherited from my mother.
Starting to read John of John has a lot to do with it because it is a very intensive look into the subject.
For my adult life I have always wanted to understand better what my ancestor's lives were like long before 1910 when my mother emigrated to Wyoming. Like most males, I suppose, I listened to her stories, which she told frequently, but they didn't really become part of my memory bank. It was so part of my life that I was stunned when college classmates exclaimed over how much they enjoyed her speaking lilt.
Early in my reading life I concentrated on mystery authors like Ian Rankin who in audio form translated words for me and exposed a lot of details about Scottish life. A few years ago, I read 2 books which really increased my interest Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, which some say is the greatest Scottish literature, and Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet.
Case Study joins the crowd in metafiction books that I love so much. In many ways it was devastating in the portrayal of life and judicial practices back then.
I am back from a very useful walk. Carey bought flowers she needs, Mr. Darcy enthralled walkers as per usual and we even met the Greenwood Village worker who helped Carey get me back and standing after my last fall.
Speaking of the fall, it has been 3 weeks and physically I am about 85% recovered. Mentally recovering is really my focus now as I would only have myself to blame if I have another fall. Without any major medical issues, I am responsible for how/when the end of life happens. One of the most common end stages involves a fall, a broken something and pneumonia.
With this research into metafiction, I have checked off one of the things I need to do. A second thing is understanding more completely what my ancestor's lives were like. John of John is helping fulfill details on that goal far more completely than I imagined.
For example, the reticence and personal relationships that often hold grudges forever. Two brothers in this story have lived in the same house for 16 years and they NEVER talk to each other!
The upside is learning that weaving in Scotland is an incredibly artistic activity. Individual weaves are so carefully created based on subtle colors and patterned to describe a day and events in the day to create the memory of that day. Just like a painting can do.
This community exists on a small island off the coast and is dominated by very strict religion that places all activities as belonging to God or given by God. Huge tensions between this base of beliefs and an individual who wants to break free and live the life they desire.
I also need to give maximum credit to Douglas Stuart. The intricate, subtle and precise writing is certainly worthy of all the acclaim he has earned. I am at a loss as how to describe this book.
The statement by Ann Patchet which is " I felt like I was living in it. --Ann Patchett" is the strongest words I can say.
I don't actually know why it has re-ignited, but today I am thinking about the Scottish ancestry I inherited from my mother.
Starting to read John of John has a lot to do with it because it is a very intensive look into the subject.
For my adult life I have always wanted to understand better what my ancestor's lives were like long before 1910 when my mother emigrated to Wyoming. Like most males, I suppose, I listened to her stories, which she told frequently, but they didn't really become part of my memory bank. It was so part of my life that I was stunned when college classmates exclaimed over how much they enjoyed her speaking lilt.
Early in my reading life I concentrated on mystery authors like Ian Rankin who in audio form translated words for me and exposed a lot of details about Scottish life. A few years ago, I read 2 books which really increased my interest Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, which some say is the greatest Scottish literature, and Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet.
Case Study joins the crowd in metafiction books that I love so much. In many ways it was devastating in the portrayal of life and judicial practices back then.
I am back from a very useful walk. Carey bought flowers she needs, Mr. Darcy enthralled walkers as per usual and we even met the Greenwood Village worker who helped Carey get me back and standing after my last fall.
Speaking of the fall, it has been 3 weeks and physically I am about 85% recovered. Mentally recovering is really my focus now as I would only have myself to blame if I have another fall. Without any major medical issues, I am responsible for how/when the end of life happens. One of the most common end stages involves a fall, a broken something and pneumonia.
With this research into metafiction, I have checked off one of the things I need to do. A second thing is understanding more completely what my ancestor's lives were like. John of John is helping fulfill details on that goal far more completely than I imagined.
For example, the reticence and personal relationships that often hold grudges forever. Two brothers in this story have lived in the same house for 16 years and they NEVER talk to each other!
The upside is learning that weaving in Scotland is an incredibly artistic activity. Individual weaves are so carefully created based on subtle colors and patterned to describe a day and events in the day to create the memory of that day. Just like a painting can do.
This community exists on a small island off the coast and is dominated by very strict religion that places all activities as belonging to God or given by God. Huge tensions between this base of beliefs and an individual who wants to break free and live the life they desire.
I also need to give maximum credit to Douglas Stuart. The intricate, subtle and precise writing is certainly worthy of all the acclaim he has earned. I am at a loss as how to describe this book.
The statement by Ann Patchet which is " I felt like I was living in it. --Ann Patchett" is the strongest words I can say.
132labfs39
Thank you for taking the time to teach me about architectural metafiction. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the broader definition of metafiction than the one I have been using. I'm learning!
Case Study has been on my radar for a while, your comments reinforce my desire to read it.
Case Study has been on my radar for a while, your comments reinforce my desire to read it.
133JoeB1934
>132 labfs39: If you read one of his books, I would advise that you read My Bloody Project. That was a book preceding Case Study and my comments actually were about his first book.
134JoeB1934
More Musings
I continue to be in a reflective mood as I read John of John. Not because his life echoes my own, but because it is so believable a representation of what lives each of us live. Not as dramatic as his but surely similar personal traumas.
I have just spent hundreds of hours creating what ChatGPT says is a unique tool for understanding how books are written and how to identify the 'best' books for me to read.
My recent fall was really a 'wake-up call' that none of us have unlimited time to do things that are of value to others.
This means I will be doing a lot more reading and no additional discussions of book finding methodology.
I already have identified way more outstanding books to read than I can read in the years left for me. Let alone the new books which are so tempting!
I continue to be in a reflective mood as I read John of John. Not because his life echoes my own, but because it is so believable a representation of what lives each of us live. Not as dramatic as his but surely similar personal traumas.
I have just spent hundreds of hours creating what ChatGPT says is a unique tool for understanding how books are written and how to identify the 'best' books for me to read.
My recent fall was really a 'wake-up call' that none of us have unlimited time to do things that are of value to others.
This means I will be doing a lot more reading and no additional discussions of book finding methodology.
I already have identified way more outstanding books to read than I can read in the years left for me. Let alone the new books which are so tempting!
135labfs39
>134 JoeB1934: I already have identified way more outstanding books to read than I can read in the years left for me. Let alone the new books which are so tempting!
I hear you! My TBR and wishlist alone could comfortably get me through more than one lifetime, lol.
I hear you! My TBR and wishlist alone could comfortably get me through more than one lifetime, lol.
136JoeB1934
The End of Winter & The Beginning of a New Year
During my childhood Memorial Day was a major day in our family lives. School ended until restarting at Labor Day. I was free to do whatever I wanted, at least until college summers when I had a job every summer. Camping trips, an occasional family vacation but mostly Joey was being himself.
Here I am almost 92 and, in many ways, my life fits the same pattern. I just finished an intense period analyzing my book reading journey and it is time to decide what 'Joey' wants to do now.
It occurred to me yesterday that I need to show in some way the fruits of my 'winter of our discontent'. In my case the only discontent was the pain involved in recovering from falls I took. I was excited every day doing what I love the most, analyzing some question in a rigorous manner to arrive at an acceptable answer.
I am totally satisfied with the answer to the question 'why do certain books become memorable to me?'. It is very important to recognize that this answer applies only to myself and in no way must these books be important to any other reader.
I have read about 2000 books, written by 650 authors. I have always been very focused on the authors who over the years became members of a favorite list which amounts to 250 authors who wrote 900 of the 2000 books in my library.
I asked myself a question recently. What if I had only read one book from each of these 250 authors. What would that reveal about my preferences in reading?
I have never been a person who kept a diary, or notes on individual books. I am reluctant, in fact even to assign stars to books. Often a book appeal is more emotional in characters or the story. A book must be written well, but I am not at all inclined to judge why/how an author wrote the book.
My analysis of these 252 books isolated 109 of them that, as a group summarized my reading profile. There are other books in the remaining 141 books which could take the place of one of the 109 but such replacements wouldn't modify the conclusions.
It has long been obvious to me that the vast numbers of LT readers are mostly interested in lists of books that someone else likes. Especially if the book comes with a review from a member they consider to be of similar reading preferences.
It is clear to me that all readers have a personal list of preferences, some of which overlap with mine. I am not suggesting that you should rush out and read any of these books. They are simply a list that might reveal some books of interest to yourself.
I do not find book lists without details about each book to be very useful to me. Presenting the covers of the books I have read conveys emotions and memories not available in any list.
I have decided to show the covers of the 109 books in 20 books each day for the next 5 days. There is an order of my choosing in revealing each book set, but the order IS NOT a value judgement. The book at the end of this list had a similar impact on me as the first book.
During my childhood Memorial Day was a major day in our family lives. School ended until restarting at Labor Day. I was free to do whatever I wanted, at least until college summers when I had a job every summer. Camping trips, an occasional family vacation but mostly Joey was being himself.
Here I am almost 92 and, in many ways, my life fits the same pattern. I just finished an intense period analyzing my book reading journey and it is time to decide what 'Joey' wants to do now.
It occurred to me yesterday that I need to show in some way the fruits of my 'winter of our discontent'. In my case the only discontent was the pain involved in recovering from falls I took. I was excited every day doing what I love the most, analyzing some question in a rigorous manner to arrive at an acceptable answer.
I am totally satisfied with the answer to the question 'why do certain books become memorable to me?'. It is very important to recognize that this answer applies only to myself and in no way must these books be important to any other reader.
I have read about 2000 books, written by 650 authors. I have always been very focused on the authors who over the years became members of a favorite list which amounts to 250 authors who wrote 900 of the 2000 books in my library.
I asked myself a question recently. What if I had only read one book from each of these 250 authors. What would that reveal about my preferences in reading?
I have never been a person who kept a diary, or notes on individual books. I am reluctant, in fact even to assign stars to books. Often a book appeal is more emotional in characters or the story. A book must be written well, but I am not at all inclined to judge why/how an author wrote the book.
My analysis of these 252 books isolated 109 of them that, as a group summarized my reading profile. There are other books in the remaining 141 books which could take the place of one of the 109 but such replacements wouldn't modify the conclusions.
It has long been obvious to me that the vast numbers of LT readers are mostly interested in lists of books that someone else likes. Especially if the book comes with a review from a member they consider to be of similar reading preferences.
It is clear to me that all readers have a personal list of preferences, some of which overlap with mine. I am not suggesting that you should rush out and read any of these books. They are simply a list that might reveal some books of interest to yourself.
I do not find book lists without details about each book to be very useful to me. Presenting the covers of the books I have read conveys emotions and memories not available in any list.
I have decided to show the covers of the 109 books in 20 books each day for the next 5 days. There is an order of my choosing in revealing each book set, but the order IS NOT a value judgement. The book at the end of this list had a similar impact on me as the first book.
138labfs39
Interesting, Joe. I have read 4.5 of these 20 and my rankings are all over the place. I loved Demon Copperhead, thought it brilliant, but gave The Shadow of the Wind and A God in Ruins average reviews. I'm currently reading North Woods. If you liked The Name of the Rose, you might like My Name is Red.
141labfs39
I have only read three from these last two batches: Handmaid's Tale, The Eyre Affair, and The Book Thief. I have a few more on my shelves awaiting attention: Hamnet, The Measure, and Care and Management of Lies. You make me aware of just how many books there are that might be of interest to me, but that I will never get to.
142JoeB1934
>141 labfs39: I also keep finding more interesting books to read. Every day new releases and I just can't control myself even though I already have several hundred books I am sure would-be great fun. The benefit now is that I can place them all in a reasonable degree of interest quite easily.
144labfs39
Two books I loved in this batch: Heaven and Earth Grocery Store and Clear.
145JoeB1934
>144 labfs39: They are all excellent books for me, but Once Upon a River is really memorable. Just seeing the cover brings a flood of memoriess.
148JoeB1934
The Culmination of my 40-Year Reading Journey
My next post will explain why these 109 books have been displayed for you. After reading about 2000 books I now know enough about myself to identify how a book attains 'Memorable' status in my mind.
My next post will explain why these 109 books have been displayed for you. After reading about 2000 books I now know enough about myself to identify how a book attains 'Memorable' status in my mind.
149labfs39
Bel Canto and Isola are favorites of mine as well. I was happy to see Norwegian by Night on the list, as I think I recommended that one to you. :-)
150JoeB1934
>149 labfs39: You realize, of course that you 'might' really like some of the others on this list, but you already have a ballooning TBR!
151labfs39
>150 JoeB1934: I'm sure there are! Several are on my shelves waiting their turn to be read, notably Hamnet, The Measure, Possession, and Piranesi.
152JoeB1934
My OLD Reading Profile
......."Story-Character-Setting-Language books which are Suspenseful Well-Written Stories".
My interpretation of Well-Written was the genre Literary
My NEW Reading Profile
This statement replaces the use of "Literary" as meaning well-written with a more precise statement of the attribute .
This means that I am a Story-Character-Setting reader.
......."Story-Character-Setting-Language books which are Suspenseful Well-Written Stories".
My interpretation of Well-Written was the genre Literary
My NEW Reading Profile
This statement replaces the use of "Literary" as meaning well-written with a more precise statement of the attribute .
This means that I am a Story-Character-Setting reader.
154JoeB1934
I was unhappy with the vagueness of the statement in >152 JoeB1934: that I decided to offer something more precise.
This collection is dominated by stories that reveal themselves gradually through hidden texts, documents, clues, and layered meanings. Many of the books invite the reader to uncover deeper truths, question appearances, and discover connections that are not immediately obvious. Rather than relying solely on genre conventions, these stories reward curiosity and interpretation, often exploring questions of identity, reality, and the different paths a life might take. At their heart, they are compelling stories populated by memorable people and vividly realized worlds, but they offer an additional layer of discovery that continues long after the final page.
This statement summarizes the detection of books which contain at least fragments of metafiction. Across the 2000 books in the library about 60% are strictly genre books. It just happens that the metafiction books include a majority of my favorite books.
This collection is dominated by stories that reveal themselves gradually through hidden texts, documents, clues, and layered meanings. Many of the books invite the reader to uncover deeper truths, question appearances, and discover connections that are not immediately obvious. Rather than relying solely on genre conventions, these stories reward curiosity and interpretation, often exploring questions of identity, reality, and the different paths a life might take. At their heart, they are compelling stories populated by memorable people and vividly realized worlds, but they offer an additional layer of discovery that continues long after the final page.
This statement summarizes the detection of books which contain at least fragments of metafiction. Across the 2000 books in the library about 60% are strictly genre books. It just happens that the metafiction books include a majority of my favorite books.
155JoeB1934
TIP the Tag Intelligence Platform created for analyzing my reading
Being more interested in analyzing books than reading them ended up in the creation of a complex process for detailing each book in my library. This includes conventional genre tags as well as metafiction contents.
The critical details of the analysis are contained in a set of Excel columns and rows in a Dashboard. The next display shows such a product.
Being more interested in analyzing books than reading them ended up in the creation of a complex process for detailing each book in my library. This includes conventional genre tags as well as metafiction contents.
The critical details of the analysis are contained in a set of Excel columns and rows in a Dashboard. The next display shows such a product.
156labfs39
Reading >154 JoeB1934: made me think of a book you might like. Daniel Stein, Interpreter: A Novel in Documents by Ludmila Ulitskaya is an historical novel that incorporates metafiction, great characters and story, and good writing.
157JoeB1934
>156 labfs39: Thanks for that suggestion. I put it on my very reduced TBR for reading soon. It is precisely what I love in a book.
I have made significant improvements to my dashboard, which I will post later today. These changes bring the process to a more understandable form.
I have made significant improvements to my dashboard, which I will post later today. These changes bring the process to a more understandable form.
