Vestafan's TBR bedroom pile must go (down at least)

CharlasROOT - 2014 Read Our Own Tomes

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Vestafan's TBR bedroom pile must go (down at least)

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1vestafan
Editado: Feb 4, 2014, 3:25 pm




I'm going to try and read mainly from my TBR pile this year. I had to bring piles of my books into my bedroom so I didn't worry that guests would be concussed by piles of falling books while sleeping. It is therefore impossible to deny that serious inroads need to be made into my accumulated book collection. I must stop putting off reading books until the "ideal time". My aim this year is 50 books bought before the end of 2012. The first (just completed) is The Wedding Group by Elizabeth Taylor.

2connie53
Ene 3, 2014, 3:48 pm

Welcome to the ROOT group, Vestafan.

3rabbitprincess
Ene 3, 2014, 9:07 pm

Welcome and good luck whittling down the pile!

4rainpebble
Ene 4, 2014, 1:08 am

Happy New Year Sue and good luck with your challenge.

5MissWatson
Ene 6, 2014, 6:09 am

One ROOT finished already? Good for you!

6Caramellunacy
Ene 8, 2014, 1:56 pm

Good luck with your challenge! Looking forward to seeing what you think of your ROOTS!

7vestafan
Ene 14, 2014, 7:07 pm

Thanks to all - I must confess that I've already added to my collection this year! But I've finished The Wedding Group and have now moved on to Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick - a book I've been meaning to read for some time.

8connie53
Ene 15, 2014, 4:55 am

Congrats on finishing ROOT number 1, Vestafan

9vestafan
Ene 15, 2014, 5:55 pm

Thanks, and I've just finished the Barbara Demick book about North Korea. I think my next ROOT will be The Priory by Dorothy Whipple.

10connie53
Ene 15, 2014, 5:57 pm

Good luck! and ROOT number 2 out of the way. Excellent job.

11vestafan
Ene 23, 2014, 11:26 am

ROOT number 3, The Priory is now finished and I've begun my 4th, Gone Girl - a race against time to avoid accidentally finding out the plot and reading the book before the film comes out later this year.

12connie53
Editado: Ene 23, 2014, 2:21 pm

It's a rather fast Read, Sue!!

Good job!

13vestafan
Ene 29, 2014, 10:21 am

I finished it today, and was gripped. I disliked both the main characters and found myself feeling quite depressed by the mindset of both of them. Sympathy was quite cleverly switched between both of them, but I was, at the end, pleased to leave their company.

14Caramellunacy
Ene 29, 2014, 10:33 am

vestafan - I haven't read Gone Girl because a) someone has spoiled at least some of it and b) it seemed a bit like it was about nasty people behaving nastily. I do have Flynn's Dark Places on my TBR pile to see how I like her writing style, though...

15vestafan
Feb 4, 2014, 3:22 pm

Another Elizabeth Taylor novel from my TBR pile completed today - it's The Sleeping Beauty. Hopefully I'll read the other three novels that I have by this author in the months to come.

16connie53
Feb 4, 2014, 4:54 pm

You might want to check out my ratings, Caramellunacy. I've read all three of her translated books.

Donker Hart, Duisternis en Teerbemind

17vestafan
Feb 13, 2014, 4:36 pm

My 6th ROOT book this year - The Locked Room by Sjowall & Wahloo - 8th in a series of 10 books written in the 60s and 70s - one of the earliest Scandicrime series.

18MissWatson
Feb 14, 2014, 6:54 am

>17 vestafan: I remember reading those, years back. How do they stand up?

19vestafan
Feb 17, 2014, 4:56 am

My next ROOT book has been completed - High Wages by Dorothy Whipple. Possibly my least favourite of hers so far, although as other posters have commented, the social detail about retail in the early 20th century is fascinating.

20connie53
Feb 17, 2014, 5:13 pm

You are moving along just fine, Sue! Keep it up.

21Tess_W
Mar 3, 2014, 1:58 am

LOL to visitors being concussed! Great job on rooting!

22vestafan
Mar 5, 2014, 3:17 pm

Thanks to everyone for their encouragement. I've just finished another from the TBR pile - The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor.

23vestafan
Mar 19, 2014, 5:28 pm

Two more from my TBR pile read:

The Red House by Mark Haddon - rather a disappointment after his previous two books
and
Cop Killer by Sjowall & Wahloo - the penultimate in an excellent series of police procedurals (plus so much more)

24connie53
Mar 20, 2014, 4:15 pm

>23 vestafan: I can see where you are coming from concerning Het rode huis but I liked it good enough to give a 7.

25vestafan
Abr 1, 2014, 5:39 am

My last ROOT book for this month - Mariana by Monica Dickens.

26vestafan
Abr 9, 2014, 10:32 am

Another Elizabeth Taylor ROOT-ed: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

27connie53
Abr 13, 2014, 4:28 pm

Good job, Sue!

28vestafan
Abr 17, 2014, 12:03 pm

She's an excellent author and I'm trying to read one of her books every month.

29ipsoivan
Abr 17, 2014, 12:36 pm

>28 vestafan: I've known about her for a while but only just finished my first by her, Angel. It was wonderful. I need to find more.

30vestafan
mayo 3, 2014, 8:10 am

Angel is the only novel of hers I haven't read and I hope to read it this month. I've enjoyed all of hers, but Blaming, her last novel I think, is particularly good. Then I shall move on to the short stories, and hopefully finish with Nicola Beauman's biography. Plenty of good reading to look forward to.

31vestafan
mayo 3, 2014, 8:13 am

I've been on holiday and improved my ROOT score while away. My reads include:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
A Question of Identity by Susan Hill
and
The Terrorists by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo

32MissWatson
mayo 3, 2014, 5:07 pm

Nice progress!

33vestafan
mayo 22, 2014, 6:19 am

Two more books from my ROOT pile read:

Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton
and
Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

The Crompton is an examination of family relationships between the wars. We see the five children of two widowed mothers and follow their adult lives. How have their mothers' approaches to parenting affected their lives? Some of the characters are rather stereotypical but it was an enjoyable read.

34connie53
mayo 25, 2014, 4:44 am

You are doing just fine, Sue! Happy reading!

35Tess_W
mayo 25, 2014, 5:09 pm

Making excellent progress!

36vestafan
mayo 28, 2014, 9:16 am

Thanks for your encouragement! If I could stop buying more books...

37Tess_W
mayo 28, 2014, 12:16 pm

#36...it's a disease, learn to live with it! LOL!

38vestafan
mayo 29, 2014, 7:28 am

One more from the ROOT pile read - Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. The subject matter is quite different from her other novels and I'd been putting it off, thinking I might not enjoy it, but the elegant and perceptive writing was still in evidence.

39ipsoivan
mayo 29, 2014, 7:43 am

I red Angel recently too. What a wonderful book!

40vestafan
Jun 4, 2014, 9:26 am

I've just finished A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks. It covers a week in the life of seven people living in London at the end of 2007. It examines the state of the nation with the two biggest preoccupations being terrorism and banking. It suffers from the same problem as many novels dealing with the banking crisis - how to include in the novel some of the details of the complex activities that led to the crisis in 2008 without letting them unbalance a work of fiction. I don't think this is altogether successfully done. The more engaging characters are the young Muslim drawn into fundamentalism and his parents; a literary critic is also drawn with some relish I think.

41vestafan
Jun 4, 2014, 9:27 am

I love all her novels and am now moving on to her short stories.

42vestafan
Jun 13, 2014, 9:37 am

Two more of my collection read:

The Blush by Elizabeth Taylor
and
The Siren by Alison Bruce

43connie53
Jun 20, 2014, 3:49 pm

You are doing great, VF!

44vestafan
Jun 29, 2014, 7:00 am

Two more read this month:

The Man Who Forgot His Wife by John O'Farrell
and
Minnie's Room by Mollie Panter-Downes

45vestafan
Jul 4, 2014, 12:03 pm

I've just finished Blow Your House Down by Pat Barker. It's set in a Northern town where a serial killer is targeting prostitutes. I'm guessing this was inspired by the Yorkshire Ripper case, but it comes from the angle of womens' experiences. The subject matter ensures this is not an enjoyable read, but I found it involving.

46cyderry
Jul 7, 2014, 8:36 pm

Halfway - way to go!

47vestafan
Jul 10, 2014, 8:10 am

Yes - the Barker was an impulse read really, I picked it up at random. I've just finished The Devastating Boys, a collection of short stories by Elizabeth Taylor. This is a continuation of a project I've set myself this year to read everything by her. One more VMC of her short stories to go, plus the stories in the collected short story volume that I've not read elsewhere.

48vestafan
Jul 20, 2014, 11:23 am

I've just finished reading Midsummer Night in the Workhouse by Diana Athill. Having previously avoided short stories, I'm reading more than usual this year, partly because I've read all Elizabeth Taylor's novels and have moved on to her short story collections. The Taylor stories are my favourites so far, but I enjoyed some of the Athill stories, particularly the title story of this collection

49vestafan
Jul 31, 2014, 3:29 pm

One more book ROOT-ed out - The Calling by Alison Bruce

50vestafan
Editado: Ago 18, 2014, 5:56 am

Since my last post I've read two more ROOT books:

My Lady Ludlow and other tales by Mrs Gaskell
and
For Richer for Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker by Victoria Coren

51vestafan
Ago 29, 2014, 7:26 am

Two more from the ROOT pile to add:

Hester Lilly by Elizabeth Taylor

and

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

52Tess_W
Ago 30, 2014, 4:27 pm

You are going to town! How did you like Birdsong?

53vestafan
Oct 1, 2014, 12:01 pm

Sorry for the delay in replying - it's been a hectic month! I found it a compelling read, although I was less gripped by the part of the story set in the 1970s. I couldn't read too much of the trench and tunnel scenes at once as the tension of waiting for military action was very well conveyed and the horror of the warfare itself difficult to take.

54vestafan
Oct 1, 2014, 12:05 pm

I got 3 more from my ROOT pile read in September:

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
William - an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton
and
Austerity Britain by David Kynaston

55Jackie_K
Oct 4, 2014, 2:52 pm

Captain Corelli's Mandolin is one of my all-time favourite books. I know some people think it's a bit naff, but I thought it was wonderful. I refused to see the film as soon as I heard that they had cast Nicolas Cage, as he was so unlike the Captain Corelli in my head (from what I hear about the film I gather I didn't miss much!).

56vestafan
Oct 10, 2014, 9:56 am

I never saw the film either, but was slightly haunted by the image of Nic Cage as Corelli while I was reading the book - I could imagine the over the top performance that he would probably give!

57vestafan
Oct 10, 2014, 10:00 am

One from my ROOT pile so far in October - Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes. This had been on my bookshelves for ages, but I was prompted to read it by Andy Miller naming it as his favourite book in The Year of Reading Dangerously. I would say that it is one of my five favourite reads of the year so far. The style is quite individual and might not be to everyone's taste, but I thought the energy and immediacy of the novel was fantastic.

58connie53
Oct 13, 2014, 3:43 pm

One down! Only 16 more to go! Happy reading.

59vestafan
Nov 1, 2014, 1:36 pm

By the end of October I'd read three more ROOTs:

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
and
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

60Tess_W
Nov 2, 2014, 7:24 am

Wow, Vesta....I have all 3 you mentioned in post #59 on my TBR pile! I've started theAge of Innocence about 3 times but can't seem to make it past the first two chapters, I might pitch it.

61vestafan
Dic 5, 2014, 9:28 am

Yes, all these books had been lingering at home for a while. I had to make myself persist with the Wharton - the social niceties she describes were infuriating to me - but I got more involved as the book went on. I don't think I could read any more of her books for a while though. Both the others are worth a try as well.

62vestafan
Dic 5, 2014, 9:29 am

Only a couple of ROOTs in November:

Heartstone and Revelation by C J Sansom. Now I'm up to date and ready for his latest Shardlake book.

63connie53
Dic 12, 2014, 1:14 pm

Just keep on reading!

Ahh, C. J. Sansom! I have read one of his books Winter in Madrid and loved it.

64vestafan
Dic 21, 2014, 4:39 am

One more ROOT read - Brideshead Abbreviated by John Crace - a collection of summaries of classic novels of the 20th century written as parodies. It's certainly put me off reading some of the books he describes.

65connie53
Dic 23, 2014, 1:59 pm

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Sue!

66vestafan
Ene 2, 2015, 8:54 am

Thank you very much for your greetings, and a very happy new year to you.

67vestafan
Ene 2, 2015, 9:21 am

Reporting my final ROOT read of the year - yes, I have toiled through The Mandarins at last. It was noticeable that the chapter length grew shorter towards the end of the novel as if the author herself was tiring of the in-depth discussions of French left wing politics after WWII.

I haven't quite reached my target of 50 ROOT books this year (I read 41), but I shall press on and try for the same number in 2015.