1JoeB1934
Having spent an enormous amount of time and energy over the last 3 years searching for special books to read I have selected those books which were most memorable to me this year.
I have come to the realization that, while most books I read are very good, certain books ring a bell for me. The bell rings when I say to myself, "I really need to tell somebody about this book."
I do not want to explain why each book is on my list, so I have elected just to display the covers of these books YTD. If You are interested in any book it will be up to your due-diligence to decide what promise there is to you in the book.
I need to make a couple of statements about this list of memorable books. The most important comment is that this display is my final list of books for 2023 added to on 12/24/23.
Finally, I have decided to continuously update this picture as the year goes on. Whatever date I send a post about the picture being updated will place you in time. If you only want to know what my memorable books are YTD you don't need to scroll down.
I have come to the realization that, while most books I read are very good, certain books ring a bell for me. The bell rings when I say to myself, "I really need to tell somebody about this book."
I do not want to explain why each book is on my list, so I have elected just to display the covers of these books YTD. If You are interested in any book it will be up to your due-diligence to decide what promise there is to you in the book.
I need to make a couple of statements about this list of memorable books. The most important comment is that this display is my final list of books for 2023 added to on 12/24/23.
Finally, I have decided to continuously update this picture as the year goes on. Whatever date I send a post about the picture being updated will place you in time. If you only want to know what my memorable books are YTD you don't need to scroll down.
2JoeB1934
If you are interested in more traditional details of these books you can go to my library and Collection: Memorable Books of 2023 YTD to obtain those details. Also, you can use Setting B to display the cover, title and author. Clicking on the title will then take you to book details that will complete the story.
Another interesting sidebar is the fact that I read, or in some cases partially read 170 books in 2023 YTD. There were a lot of 5-Star books but only about 25% made it to this Memorable books list.
Another interesting sidebar is the fact that I read, or in some cases partially read 170 books in 2023 YTD. There were a lot of 5-Star books but only about 25% made it to this Memorable books list.
3labfs39
>2 JoeB1934: Holy cow, Joe! That's a lot of books!
4SassyLassy
>1 JoeB1934: "I really need to tell somebody about this book."
Great way to describe a memorable book.
Great way to describe a memorable book.
5JoeB1934
>3 labfs39: Your reaction caused me to go back to calculate the phrase, 'or in some cases partially read', to see how many books I did read to conclusion. By analyzing my DPL reading history I found that I discarded about 50 books that I checked out but didn't read because the story didn't seem worthwhile to me.
These 50 had passed all of my checkpoints by their genre and avg rating but weren't good enough for me to see them through. I have mentioned before that I am not interested in spending 8-12 hours on a book that is 'good' but not really memorable enough, or a 5-star book.
If I listed those 50 rejects, you would probably be surprised by my passing on some of them. They all survived my analytical testing, but personal moods and emotions always trump analytics on a personal level.
These 50 had passed all of my checkpoints by their genre and avg rating but weren't good enough for me to see them through. I have mentioned before that I am not interested in spending 8-12 hours on a book that is 'good' but not really memorable enough, or a 5-star book.
If I listed those 50 rejects, you would probably be surprised by my passing on some of them. They all survived my analytical testing, but personal moods and emotions always trump analytics on a personal level.
6JoeB1934
>4 SassyLassy: Thank you for that comment.
As I was putting this list together, I often tried to summarize to myself why that specific book warranted inclusion. I am not a true reviewer like some we know, so book-by-book it is hopeless for me to describe deeper meanings to me.
Somehow, as I considered this issue, I could scan the book and in almost every case I could remember something like "I really need to tell someone about this book."
It isn't necessary that the reader I would talk to about the book actually likes that genre. It is as much for me to tell someone about an author that I thought had done an exceptional job.
Almost every book on this list will be recognized as being by quality authors, but there are at least 2 books which struck me personally as new discoveries that warrant interest because of their treatment of complex issues.
These books are Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Go as A River by Shelley Read
My hope is that by those books being on this list a few readers can discover them also.
As I was putting this list together, I often tried to summarize to myself why that specific book warranted inclusion. I am not a true reviewer like some we know, so book-by-book it is hopeless for me to describe deeper meanings to me.
Somehow, as I considered this issue, I could scan the book and in almost every case I could remember something like "I really need to tell someone about this book."
It isn't necessary that the reader I would talk to about the book actually likes that genre. It is as much for me to tell someone about an author that I thought had done an exceptional job.
Almost every book on this list will be recognized as being by quality authors, but there are at least 2 books which struck me personally as new discoveries that warrant interest because of their treatment of complex issues.
These books are Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Go as A River by Shelley Read
My hope is that by those books being on this list a few readers can discover them also.
9JoeB1934
I have just updated my Memorable Books of 2023 YTD today 10-06-2023.
Changed a couple of books by removing them from memorable because they didn't really live up to my criteria, which is:
"I really need to tell somebody about this book."
Changed a couple of books by removing them from memorable because they didn't really live up to my criteria, which is:
"I really need to tell somebody about this book."
11JoeB1934
I realize that my continually talking about statistic's bores most members of LT, but I decided to analyze these memorable books to see how they match up with my strategy of searching for literary mysteries,
It turns out that:
1) 35 of the 48 books on this list actually qualify as literary mysteries.
2) 35 books are labeled as literary fiction, but not all of the literary mysteries are so labelled.
3) Ironically, 36 books are labelled as literature. Again, not all of the literary mysteries.
4) 13 books don't fit into my strategy, but I found them to be memorable, nevertheless.
It turns out that:
1) 35 of the 48 books on this list actually qualify as literary mysteries.
2) 35 books are labeled as literary fiction, but not all of the literary mysteries are so labelled.
3) Ironically, 36 books are labelled as literature. Again, not all of the literary mysteries.
4) 13 books don't fit into my strategy, but I found them to be memorable, nevertheless.
12kjuliff
I’m currently reading The Postcard and see it is on your memorable books list. I can see many people have given a high rating to this book, but for me I’m not getting what is special about it. What was it that you found memorable about it. It might be just my mood as I recently finished Prophet Song which is a hard act to follow.
13JoeB1934
>12 kjuliff: I am always drawn to saga-like stories looking at what events occurred in families over time. In this case it had to do with the Holocaust which I haven't read a lot about. I get involved in the storytelling and start to identify with individuals.
In the final analysis I don't have a ranking of the books in my list. The key for me is my criteria for placing a book on my list. My criteria is sort of odd in that it isn't a star rating, e.g. is it a 4, or a 5? Instead, does the book leave me with the thought:
"I really need to tell somebody about this book."
In the final analysis I don't have a ranking of the books in my list. The key for me is my criteria for placing a book on my list. My criteria is sort of odd in that it isn't a star rating, e.g. is it a 4, or a 5? Instead, does the book leave me with the thought:
"I really need to tell somebody about this book."
14kjuliff
>13 JoeB1934: It’s a good criterion - needing to tell someone. I think some sort of rating or criteria is needed on a personal level. If I haven’t reviewed a book, but know I must have liked it (for example if it’s from a favorite writer) I can’t remember how much I liked it. The problem with giving a number is that we all define our numbers differently. So my 3.t is not necessarily your 3.5.
