Introduce Yourself and See Who Your Fellow Club Readers Are

Welcome to Club Read 2015! Please introduce yourself to the rest of us.

My name is Amy Sisson, and I'm a former librarian, a writer, a book lover, a cat lover, and who knows what else. I look forward to finalizing and posting my 2015 reading goals. I know they'll include reading a bit in German, reading some classics, and reading lots of books already on my shelves so I can continue to weed the ones I don't need to keep.

Since I left my job in July to concentrate on writing full-time, the more flexible schedule has allowed me time to organize a bit more -- I just surprised my husband with an early Christmas present of completely re-organizing his computer/game room, putting in new shelves to hold all the games. My computer room will be next. And I want to weed enough books so that those still stuck in boxes can come out and be evaluated. I'm pleased that all our science fiction and fantasy is nicely alphabetized, but all other categories are in a jumble.

Of course, I should introduce myself. I'm Rebecca and -- surprise! -- I live in New York City (and I was born here too). Club Read is my LT home and so I was happy to take over as administrator when our founder, Lois/avaland, had too much happening in her life to continue.

I am an eclectic reader, often veering towards the grim, but leavening that with mysteries and other lighter reading. I try to read more globally and to read more books by women, but since I just pick up whichever book appeals to me at the moment I haven't been doing too well with that lately.

Club Read has been disastrous for my TBR and wishlist and I'm looking forward to seeing that continue in 2015.

Hi, my name is Edwin. If you have a look at my profile page, you can click through to my author's page. My main job is teaching, but on the side I work as a copy editor and writer, mainly of text books for English.

I have a very busy life and job(s) which means I am often behind posting my reviews. I read a lot in six languages, but altogether very randomly following different group reads and challenges, but my main interest is with literature from the period 1880 - 1930.

I usually catch up reading everyone's posts, but do not always comment on everything.

I'm Bas and first of all a big thank you to Rebecca for administering us.

I am retired (but not too damaged) and so have more time for reading than many people and for that I can only apologise. I am reading all those books that I never had time to read when I was working.

This year I will continue with my reading through the centuries - this has been going slowly as I am still wallowing in the 16th century. I will also continue with my own author theme reads which are H G Wells and Doris Lessing.

I will continue with my centennial book reads and not doubt some more awful books chosen by my book club (The fault in our Stars ranks with some of the worst books I have ever read).

And there will be time hopefully to read some more science fiction.

I'm Diana, and I'm currently stuck in the Midwest. I miss East Coast living. My profile is pretty accurate: "books, travel, baseball, cats, Diet Coke."

I also do outdoorsy, sporty things: hiking, cycling, swimming, and surfing. I'd like to take weekend trips centered on those activities in 2015.

For 2015, my main nonfiction reading will focus on zoology and a chronological trip through history. Fiction-wise, I'll focus on classics and SFF.

Perpetual reading interests include MENA lit in translation, postcolonial theory, and political science. I didn't read much in these areas in 2014, so I'll make more of an effort to do so in 2015.

Edited to eliminate widows.

My name is Florence. I live in (well, near) Paris, France. My mother tongue is French but I also read in English. I'm not as avid a reader as I used to be, and in recent years my reading seems to include more and more non fiction. I look forward to another year of adding more books than I can ever read to my wishlist.

Hi everyone, I'm Jennifer and I live just outside Washington, D.C. I am a professional classical musician (french horn is my instrument) and I have two little boys who are just about 5 and 2 years old. That all keeps me pretty busy, but I manage to get quite a bit of reading in. I also started listening to audiobooks towards the end of 2014 and I'm kind of enjoying it.

I read a mix of classics, modern "literary fiction" (whatever that means!), mysteries, and books off of the 1001 books to read before you die list. That list tends to push me out of my comfort zone a bit, which I like. I also gravitate to women authors and the majority of my reading is of works by women every year.

I've been in Club Read since 2012 and I love all of the interesting and varied reading that goes on here. Looking forward to 2015!

Hi, I'm Stephanie, aka DieFledermaus, DF, DieF, Fledermaus, Maus etc. I was active in previous years of Club Read but didn’t participate last year due to finishing graduate school, health problems and some life stuff. I'm hoping to get into a more regular reading schedule this year.

I usually like to read foreign/translated literature, literary fiction, postmodern/metafictional books, and fat 19th c. classics. I'm hoping to participate in some of the related theme reads (e.g., Reading Globally). Like many people here, I have a huge TBR pile. Unfortunately, I got into library ebooks in the past year, and the pile sat neglected, so reducing the TBR will be a goal.

I live in Seattle and my other passion besides reading is the opera – I generally watch a lot per year and will probably post some reviews (although ironically I have never seen the Strauss operetta of the same name). In past years, Club Read has definitely added to the wishlist and caused some changes in my reading, and I’m sure it will do so again this year!

Great to see you back, Stephanie (although I'll continue to think of you as DieF). I for one missed your reviews and comments last year. Congratulations on finishing graduate school and sorry about the health problems and life stuff.

>9 DieFledermaus:

Hi Stephanie! I've been enjoying reading about everyone's interests outside of reading here in this thread. Opera is a fairly new interest for me (5 years or so). My husband has gotten me into it and we've been enjoying season tix to the Houston Grand Opera and becoming active in their organization. I've been reviewing some opera on a blog but am the first to admit I'm reviewing from a fairly uneducated standpoint on the topic.

>4 edwinbcn:

Six languages! That is truly impressive!

Hello everyone.

I'm Lilisin and I've been participating in Club Read since 2009. I read primarily Japanese and French fiction but also enjoy taking a break with literature from other countries. Lately a few nonfiction titles have popped up but those tend to still be related to Japan.

I'm anxious to see what Club Read 2015 will become for me as I am finally following my dream and moving to Japan this January. I will have a lot of new vocabulary to learn the first few months of my job so I'm foretelling a slow start to my reading year. Also, my TBR will start more or less at zero (I'm only bringing a few books with me) and I will hopefully be switching over to more books in Japanese.

In any case, I look forward to another wonderful year with all the other Club Read-ers.

Hi, I'm Kay. I usually live in Greenville, South Carolina, but I'm halfway through a three year stay in Munich, Germany. I'm indulging my love of art museums; Munich is infested with them and I've been writing reviews of at least some of the exhibits I visit. I hope to be a little more conscientious with that next year, mainly for my own benefit, but there have been times when comments about a work or artist have sent me off in a new direction.

I've been a member of Club Read since 2009 and it's had a big influence on my reading. I enjoy "literary fiction," that odd, uncertain animal, as well as crime novels and I've been interested in reading more by women, authors writing outside of the usual countries, classics and books written in German as I am here and they are plentiful. I expect that I will get excited/enraged by the long and shortlists for various awards and that anything substantial I read will be instantly offset by the frothiest of drivel.

Looking forward to another year filled with excellent reviews by all the various Club Read-ers.

I'm Maggie, and new to the group, although I have lurked here for a while as many of you have the same reading interests as me.

In the past I binge-bought books, but now find myself content to read off my own shelves with a lot of re-reading (I have a terrible memory), with occasional library books thrown in. What do I read? Almost all literary fiction, largely British, Asian, and European. I've maybe bitten off too many challenges for 2015--the BAC (not much of a challenge for me, as this is my usual reading), the SSFF category challenge, and the Australian/New Zealand challenge.

I adore lists and planning but I'm not very good at actually following through unless I make my reading public to keep me focused on my goals--hence LT and Club Read.

Hi everyone! My name is Suzanne and I retired and moved to Las Vegas about ten years ago, but I have a lingering San Francisco state of mind having spent most of my life there (where opera and classical music were plentiful). In my former life I was a technical/business writer, but I'm scribbling away off and on at some attempts at fiction. This is kind of crazy when I stop to think about it because my favorite reading is nonfiction.

The past has dominated my reading interests for several years, and that will probably continue in 2015. Most of the books I'll be reading in the next year are already on my bookshelves. The only thing to decide is what order to read them in. Many on the TBR were inspired by reviews posted by you, my fellow readers, here in Club Read. There is enough variety that I can continue to follow my nose as I have in recent years.

Club Read has been my home since I started participating in LT, and I look forward to another year among you all. I love reading all your reviews and comments and am always thrilled when my reading interests coincide with some of yours.

Hello
My name is Cyrel and I am a retired Art teacher from Toronto. I have always loved to read- fiction, history, biography, memoirs-I find that in the past number of years I have been able to spend more time reading. I don't follow challenges as I like to read what I want and when I want- I follow my moods and select my choices accordingly.
I find that retiring doesn't not mean that I don't do anything- in fact I am busier than ever with volunteer work giving historical tours in Toronto, sitting on committees (i.e. Kensington Market Historical Society) and attending film festivals. I have travelled widely since I stopped teaching and spend more time at the pottery co-op that I belong to.

I'm Betty, and I'm a radio telescope operator for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico, which sounds much more glamorous than it actually is. I like to describe my reading as "eclectic," and I think it's getting more so all the time, thanks in large part to LibraryThing and my tendency to go, "Oooh, that sounds interesting! I should read that!" entirely too often when other people are talking about books. As a result of which, my TBR pile has long passed the point of being out of control and may now be threatening to eat my house.

Otherwise, I'm probably not too interesting. I obsess a lot over TV shows, and I have cats.

Hi! I'm Lois, recently moved (back) to New Hampshire and I've had many incarnations over the decades (emergency communications artist, journalistic wonder, bookseller extraordinaire, splendorous managing editor...) but am now...perhaps...at the moment...though it might just be this crazy year....unglamorously semi-retired (jury is still out on this). After many years being super active on LT, I seem to have retreated socially this year and seem to be uninspired to write the reviews I have done in the past (no explanation for this as of yet). And my reading has dropped to an all time low of less than 40 books.

So, the hubby (dukedom_enough) and I have hatched a plan to have a JOINT thread this year. We're not sure how or if this will work, but it will be fun trying.

I don't ascribe to any reading goals, numerical or theme-related, but I do loosely steer my reading in certain directions sometimes. In the past few years I've been reading more translations (mostly, but not limited to, novels written by women), a few Joyce Carol Oates novels a year as sort of an informal study (my record is 9) and more short fiction (though that's been faltering this year), but I will read anything that I'm drawn to in any genre. I'm less of a nonfiction reader than fiction, but I like poetry, lit crit/literary topics, social history, women studies...etc.

I've come to the point in my life where I'll give a book 50 pages and if it's doing nothing for me, I'll abandon it with no guilt whatsoever (as recently done to the forthcoming Ishiguro novel). Although I may not get around to all the individual threads as I used to, at the very least I will be following the "What Are you Reading?" thread and a few others.

>10 rebeccanyc: – Thanks Rebecca! Life stuff wasn’t all bad (my sister got married), but I’m looking forward to having more time to read. I wasn’t able to keep up with all the threads last year, and had some pretty extended reading slumps, but I did manage to read a couple based on your reviews – Where there’s love, there’s hate and Forty-One False Starts. Also picked up The Blackbirder and am reading that now.

>11 amysisson: – Hi Amy! I always like chatting with fellow opera fans. Will have to keep an eye on your blog – I don’t know any that cover Houston. Btw, the cast for Die Walkure looks fantastic, that should be a really good one.

Good to see a lot of familiar faces...er...names.

>19 DieFledermaus:

The first part of the Ring Cycle was amazing, very high tech and modern. We're looking forward to the rest of the cycle (one part per year for four years). I believe they're keeping the casting as consistent as possible for the whole thing.

Hi everyone.

I am Annie, still in Phoenix (for now anyway). I kinda dropped off the radar in the last 6 months or so due to work and personal stuff but should be back and hopefully a bit less disappearing next year.

Software architect, traveling a lot both for work and for pleasure and reading a lot. I tend to go through phases with what I am reading - either every book is in its own genre or I end up reading a lot of books on the same topic in a row.

G'morning!

My name is Liz and I am brand new to Club Read (I've been waiting for the new year to start, rather than jumping in more than half-way through). I've been on LT less than two years and am looking for a second "home". I very much enjoy the 1001-Books-to-read-before-you-die Group, but want a place to document non-1001 books. I mostly read books from the 1001-list (a little bit obsessively), but also the random books chosen by my book club, NYRB titles that catch my fancy, and other non-1001 list classics. I have also started listening to audiobooks, but seem to need "lighter" books in that medium. So, I have been alternating between popular contemporary fiction (Tenth of December, Night Film), genre fiction (MaddAddam, Nemesis) and occasionally failing to pay enough attention to non-fiction works (Emperor of All Maladies, The Age of Wonder).

I grew up in Minnesota, but have been in NYC (Brooklyn) for more than 13 years. I work in the performing arts in a management/logistical capacity. I may eavesdrop on the opera discussions and throw in random comments about the scenery. Life got really busy in November and I am more than a dozen reviews behind in my various threads (I love reading, am not that fond of writing), but I hope to do better next year.

I am looking forward to stalking your book collections and seeing what y'all are reading!

>20 amysisson: I have tickets for next year! We are sitting one section closer this time. As my friend said, maybe by the end of the cycle we will be in the orchestra. LOL

>23 lesmel:

Hooray!

Hi, I'm Jean, new to this group, but I've been around LT for quite some time. I'm a retired USAF officer, all 20 years in the computer field. I volunteer with several organizations. I'm a reader, an RVer, and a Connecticut Yankee living in the panhandle of Florida.

I read mostly genre: sci fi, fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction. I'm old enough that I want to indulge my interests.

>25 majkia: Looking forward to following your SFF readings.

It's funny, I don't really think of historical fiction as genre fiction, per se, but just today I stumbled upon 25 Genre Novels That Should Be Classics. Historical fiction is carved out on their list, too.

Hi, I'm Lesli. I am a librarian (working with computers more than people). I live in the Houston area. I think my reading is more eclectic than it really is. My reading habits are fairly voracious, to the detriment of everything around me. My TBR is 500+ titles while my wishlist is 800+ titles. I only recently discovered just how big my TBR was while cataloging all my ebooks. Free ebooks every week for two years adds up!

If I am not reading, I am usually crafting. I sew quilts, pillows, purses...anything except clothes. I have been known to dabble in crochet, cross sctitch, embroidery, handmade paper, painting, and scrapbooking.

C'mon you men, only me and Edwin so far.

I'm Margaret. I've been doing this challenge for a few years along with various nieces and nephews, the make-up of the group changing from year to year. Everyone keeps their log on my thread so we can keep track (a little sibling rivalry there among the kids). I live in NJ, a retired librarian, and I'm lucky enough to have some of the kids nearby. It's lovely to have kids around who want to read! The younger ones simply use my Amazon account to order paper or Kindle books when they find something they want, and as they get older they go on to their own accounts (and Amazon credit cards.)

I read fairly dark suspense, history, science, history of religion and atheism, science fiction, and literary fiction (when it hits the spot). My SF passions are post-apocalyptic and Martian. As I get older (late 60s now), I struggle less to keep working on books that don't immediately interest me. No more reading because I "should", except Early Reviewer books.

Hi, I'm Joyce and I've been at ClubRead since the beginning in 2009. I'm a part-time corporate writer and copy editor who needs to find a full time job in 2015, so I'm not sure how much reading I'll be able to do.

I live in Vancouver, BC with my husband and two teenage daughters (well, the elder is away at university, but she seems to be home a lot). When not reading I enjoy walking in forests, yoga, and travelling.

In 2015 I plan to continue my mini-study of fairy tales, and continue to read female British writers. And as with every year, I plan to chip away at the 1001 books you must read before you die list. For the most part, I want to read more books from my TBR pile than I add to it.

I'm Helen. I've been looking for somewhere to call home on LT for a while. Tried the 75 books challenge - but the size of the group overwhelmed me. Tried 100 books challenge - and failed dismally (81 with just over a week to go). I'm not sure a number challenge is helpful, as I start looking askance at a large book thinking "I'll not get through that in time" and that's the wrong idea.

I'm hoping this might be the place to record my reading without a number pressure, find some good ideas to read and generally hang out. I've certainly followed a number of your reading in this and other groups over the 18 months or so I've been on LT, so I'm hoping you'll not mind me leaping in. As for my reading, I feel that I can retreat back into my reading comfort zone unless I consciously drag myself out of it.

I run a book club in real life, so that will contribute one book per month to the tally. I also aim to read at least 1 non-fiction per month. I'm a geek at heart and I like learning new stuff, or rediscovering some more detail on things I already know. I also have my eye on the British authors challenge in the 75 books group, as there are a fair number of well known names in the list that I haven't read before.

In a non-reading sense, I used to be a scientist, but the pay's better in the real world. I am trying to loose weight by taking up exercise again. I ran a marathon a few years ago for my 40th birthday, then stopped running (never wanted to run again by the time I'd finished that!) and the pounds have piled on. So I'm back out running again, although at the moment that's still runing with walking intervals. I also record the running on my blog (but don't feel obliged to read the thing - it's random musings of a somewhat wayward mind). I'm also a church bellringer (although not at all religious) and that's how I met my husband. That causes a certain amount of brain ache from time to time.

I seem to do stuff beginning with r - read, ring & run. None of them very well, but the aim is to enjoy all of them a bit.

Welcome Helen! You're going to fit in nicely here. ;-)

Hi, I've been around in LT since May 2007 and in Club Read for the last two years. I grew up in the U.K. (Northern Ireland), and currently live in British Columbia, Canada. I'm a retired librarian, and a library trustee in recent years. My friends tell me I read in a wide range of topics and genres but I'm not sure if they are right. I like contemporary fiction, classic fiction such as Jane Austen, early 20th century fiction such as E. F. Benson, books by women such as those published by Virago, a good mystery, usually by British writers although I have been branching out, journalism, politics, history, travel, especially in Arctic regions, and children's literature.

I joined Club Read to record my reading for the year and to hear about what everyone else is reading. i've been hit with so many book bullets that my tbr collection is taking over the house. I'm looking forward to another year of sharing what you are all reading.

Hi, I'm Amy aka twogerbils from Cleveland, Ohio. I'm a librarian at a law school and last year was my first year with Club Read, although I've been a LTer for a while now. I'm a genre fan - cozy mysteries, traditional ghost stories, and gothic, and I like the classics, nonfiction, history and historical fiction, and fantasy. When I'm not reading, I like swimming and oly weightlifting, watching baseball and hockey and doing cross stitch. I don't have any real definite reading goals for 2015, except for some general ones like reading more women authors, more 19th century, and more classic genre.

Hello all! I'm Ursula (unsurprisingly). I joined Club Read a couple of years ago and then only watched the group last year. I am an artist and photographer (a link to the online spot where my art is for sale is on my profile if you're curious). I currently live in California, which is also where I'm from originally, but I'm kind of a nomad. I lived in Denver for four years, then Gent, Belgium for 6 months, then here for the past year. We have another move coming up in March, but I can't talk about it too much for a little bit longer, details still to be worked out. (Ooh, mysterious!)

In my reading life, I'm a member of the 1001 Books group and am working my way through the list. I aim for about half my reading to be list books because that keeps me moving at a decent pace through the list but also maintains my sanity. Left to my own devices I tend to read 20th- and 21st-century fiction, not too much in the way of genres, and non-fiction that falls into the categories of history, biography, exploration, or mountaineering. In 2014 I somehow managed to get through 110 books (I might add another one before the end of the year; I'm not sure yet), but that is a crazy amount for me.

My other hobbies include knitting, crocheting, mail art, sending postcards through postcrossing.com, and running.

I hope to get to know you all and look forward to sharing a new year of reading.

What's up fellas! This is Basu from India. I'm an undergrad. Apart from reading books, I play in the local football club. I'm new to LT......hope to have a lot of fun..
Cheers!

Hello, I'm Helen and after a year in which I read very little and wrote on LT even less, I am planning a fresh start in 2015. I live in Reading, UK and work in London. Work keeps me very busy but in my spare time I like walking, a bit of gardening and spending time in France.

My reading is mostly contemporary. Last year I finished a three year project of reading American literature but other than that I chanced upon a number of books that I found really disappointing so I am hoping for better things this year and will be eagerly reading people's reviews.

Hi, I'm Colleen. I joined LT and Club Read in 2013, and I'm very glad that I did. I am not going to try to plan my reading for the year, because as much as I want to follow a plan, I tend to be distracted easily. A book I'm reading or a review will push me toward other books. I don't think that's a bad thing. I do have a couple of plans involving Trollope and continued WWI related reading.

I retired three years ago, and live with my hubby in a town in Northwest New Jersey called Sparta, where the deer and the bears are plentiful. My three children and their spouses have given me seven wonderful grandchildren, and I try very hard not to spoil them. (Ha) I enjoy historical fiction, non-fiction, and mysteries. But, I am usually open to suggestions for anything other than horror.

In addition to reading, I love spending time with those 7 grandchildren, knitting and maybe watching a little too much TV.

Hi, I'm Darryl, and 2015 will be the seventh year that I've been a member of Club Read. I'm also very active in the 75 Books Club, and I'm the administrator of the Booker Prize group. I took a bit of a hiatus from the Reading Globally group in 2014, but I'll be very active in that group in 2015, and I've volunteered to host the second quarter theme on writers from the Iberian peninsula. I made my first visit to Spain last June, as I spent a week and a half in Barcelona, and I'll almost certainly return there and visit Madrid this coming year; with any luck I'll be there during the second quarter!

I have several hundred books in my TBR collection that I'd like to read, and hopefully 2015 will be the year that I finally make a serious dent in the pile, especially since many of them are books that I've been eager to get to.

My book interests include literary fiction, literature from outside North America, literature from the African diaspora, literature in translation, non-fiction books about medicine and public health, and modern poetry.

I am employed by a large children's hospital in Atlanta as a pediatric hospitalist, a relatively new medical specialty in which I and my partners treat children who require hospitalization (very few primary care pediatricians and family practitioners admit their patients to hospital, so that's where we take over). I'll have worked at Children's for 15 years this coming August, and it's a very rewarding although often stressful and at times challenging profession.

Hi, I'm Cait, and I've been a Club Read member intermittently since 2010. I'm a high school English teacher in Burlington, Ontario, so books are a major part of both my professional and personal life. I read contemporary fiction, particularly by women, and love Canadian literature. I occasionally dip into a classic, a mystery, or a YA novel, and on the off-chance that I feel like some non-fiction, I gravitate toward books on travel or music and film.

In 2014 I gave up on LT, and my reading hit an all-time low of 22 books. I am hoping that diving back into Club Read will bring that number back up into the 75-100 range, which is a bit ambitious but not insane.

Besides reading, I love the theatre, music, traveling, cooking, and movies. I own way too many purses, have a recent obsession with sushi, and I am pretty sure my body is like 80% coffee.

Hello everyone! I'm Kayla, and this is my 2nd year in the Club Read group. I'm finishing up my last semester in grad school (Masters of Education in Student Affairs), which means I'll be pretty busy until I graduate in May. I'm hoping I'll still be able to get a lot of reading done. My TBR pile is huge, so I'll be working to chip away at that this year. I am also a proud library card carrier :)

Besides reading, I enjoy binge-watching shows on Netflix (current obsessions: Gilmore Girls and Grey's Anatomy), baking, scouring thrift and antique shops for cool finds, and playing with my cats.

Hello. My name is Penny. I am a retired librarian who worked in all types of libraries from St. John's Newfoundland to Regina , Saskatchewan, Canada with four stops in-between. I now live in Fredericton, New Brunswick (where I grew up) on the banks of the St. John River. In my last job I also ran a small publishing company. Before my eyes started to fail I was an avid stitcher and hooker, now that time goes to reading on my Kindle.

I read a variety of subjects but mysteries, medieval as well as current, dominate my reading. Literary travel, children's books, biographies are some of my other interests.

Since 2010 I have been a member of the 250 Book Challenge and in 2014 I finally achieved it. I will continue with that group but my I don't think I will make the 250. I don't plan my reading one title leads to another, or I follow up a suggestion and I like to reread 'old friends' for comfort.

In 2015 I would like to write more reviews. I do write short notes for most titles to help me remember them and to interest others in the books.

I look forward to reading with you.

Hello all! I'm Meredith, living in Charleston, West Virginia, with a big fat cat and a lot of bookcases. I've been disabled for the last nine years and can no longer work, so I have a lot of time for reading. I used to manage the local independent bookstore with my sister.

In 2015 I'm giving myself no numerical goals on how much I read, and I'll be recording re-reads on my thread as well, which I haven't done in the past. I've gotten a bit too neurotic about my reading and I don't feel that's a good thing. My looser goal is just to read more non-western authors. I mostly use audiobooks. I love non-fiction on pretty much any topic, and have found my perfect ratio of non-fiction to fiction reading is 60/40 in favor of non-fiction.

Otherwise I do a lot of crafting, mostly embroidery but also some knitting. Two of my nieces and nephews live here, and it's been very exciting watching my nephew start to read on his own.

Hi!

I'm PawsforThought, or Paws if you like. I'm fairly new to Club Read - only joined a few months ago so 2015 will be my first full year.

I'm not too hung up on genres but I try to read a lot of classics and I often gravitate towards fantasy/sci-fi.
I'm hoping 2015 will bring an end to the very long and frustrating reading slump I've been experiencing.

My CR thread can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185288 and you can also find me over in the 75ers group and the Category Challenge.

Hi all -

Good to see some longtime LT friends here and to meet some new ones. I'm Nancy. I have been on LT since 2007 and an on-and-off Club Read member. I've decided this will be the home for my reading thread this year. I tried the 75 group in 2014 but only read - gulp - 46 books.

I was the marketing director for a group of independent bookshops in Milwaukee for 20 years until 2009. I met my husband here and we have a 13 year old daughter who reads paper books as much as we do. At the bookshops I also had the opportunity to meet many great authors and booklovers. And I accumulated a lot of books I have yeat to read. But for some reason I can't stop acuqiring new ones!

My work home now is a nature center on Lake Michigan, which I love. It also means a 30 minute commute each way. So in 2015 I am going to give audio books a try.

> 43
Meredith, why wouldn't you count rereads, they take the same time and effort as reading something new. I have been sick this fall and winter and I am enjoying rereading Dick Francis, its comforting. Also when a new book in a series comes out I ofter reread the previous one so I am up-to-date and ready for the new book. Don't feel guilty, count what you read and get a true reflection of your time.
Penny

>43 mabith: When I started keeping track of what I read it was in part to prevent me checking out the same PG Wodehouse books over and over, and to keep track of what I'd read by Christie and other prolific authors. So I just never did put re-reads on there and then I got really neurotic about my reading. I still spent a lot of time in re-reads, I just didn't write it down. It will be interesting to see if writing them down and not keeping a numerical count as I go effects how much I re-read.

Hi,

this is my second year in Club Read and I am happy to be here again. I probably do not read as much as most of you here, usually clocking in at around 25 books a year. I am a teacher (English and Mathematics, nerdy right?) and I'm pretty busy at the moment. I love reading (obviously), sports (doing as well as watching) and traveling.

Usually I follow posts as much as time permits. I will be following some threads regularly but won't always be commenting.

I'm not sure about my reading goals for next year, you will just have to wait for my thread (I guess I'll make it till January 3).

A happy new reading year to all of you!

>28 baswood: One more guy here. But we really seem to be a minority.

Hi all, I’m MJ in Chicago. My reading tends toward contemporary literary fiction, memoir, social history and science nonfiction. I especially like debut novels, workplace settings, lush illustrated works and originality of any kind.

Many thanks to Rebecca for setting up the group again this year!

As my user name tells you, my name is Steven and I am from Texas--a small suburb of Dallas. I retired 8 years ago after 30 years with the US government working most recently as a regional information technology manager.

I read mostly literary fiction, leaning more towards classics than new stuff. The "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" list and similar resources have been a strong influence on my reading. Recently I've been reading some science fiction as well, again mostly older works. I also do a lot of background reading whenever I travel somewhere. In 2015 my wife and I will be taking a cruise of the Aegean, so I'll be reading books about the region, including histories of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

2015 will be my fifth year in Club Read. The group has definitely influenced my reading, though I'm trying to cut back on my book buying and read more of what I already have on hand.

I'm Nancy. I've been keeping track of my reading on LT since 2007. I was on the 75ers for several years where it was very busy. Last year I switched to 50, but found it to be too quiet. I'm hoping Club Read will be just right. I've watched this group for the past few years, and now I've joined.

I mostly read contemporary fiction. I tend not to respond well to assigments even if they are my own, but this year I'm hoping to shape my reading by doing the category challenge. I'd especially like to read more non-US authored books.

Like everyone, I'm hoping to read books I already own. I've tried and tried to do this unsuccessfully but this will be the year. (or not)

I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my partner and our 9 year old son. I'm a knitter as well as a reader and vow to reduce my yarn stash every year with about as much success.

I'm Tim, I'm a writer and editor (among other pursuits), I live in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, with my wife and son, and I have been in Club Read since 2009.

My Club Read activity each year follows an all-too-predictable pattern - I start with a burst of enthusiasm during my summer holidays (the main holiday period here in NZ), which tapers off and eventually ceases as my other commitments claim my time and attention - then I return to LT life in late December, which I use to complete the current year's thread, hoping to do so before the year ends!

Last year, in addition to the 53 books I listed in my 2014 thread, I spent a great deal of time reading:

* proofs of The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry, the anthology I co-edited with P. S. Cottier that was published in mid-2014.

* statements of evidence for a four-month-long resource consent hearing - the NZ Transport Agency wanted to build a motorway flyover near where I live, in central Wellington, and I and many other people thought that was a really bad idea. We flyover opponents won in the resource consent hearing, but now the transport agency, having spent $11 million on their case already, is spending another $1 million on appealing the decision to decline consent for their precious flyover. I think I might have to spend some more time this year reading court documents...

But I won't bore you further with that in Club Read - I'll tell you about what I've read instead.

Writing-wise, with no major editing projects on the table, I am hoping by the end of the year to have written the poems I'm aiming to include in my fourth poetry collection (subject to finding a publisher, of course!) and also to write a few more novellas: a form that is making a comeback thanks to e-publishing, and which is currently much more realistic a length for me to work at than novels given my other commitments. I had a stand-along novella accepted for publication just before Christmas and have another couple in mind.

When I'm not writing, working in my part-time day job, or annoying various Government agencies, I like to read (obviously!), listen to an alarmingly eclectic range of music, walk the hilly streets and urban forests of Wellington, and watch cricket. (I used to play cricket, but my love for the game is inverse proportion to my ability.)

I can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/timjonesbooks and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timjonesbooks

Hi all. I'm in Sweden, though have moved around a bit over the years. Lately I've been heading to the library instead of buying books - partly to save money, partly to support libraries, and partly to avoid feelings of guilt if I abandon a book that just isn't working out for me (aaaaand, we're back to point 1). This is good, but can restrict choice.

I read mostly fiction, though like to throw in a few non-fiction books each year. Within fiction, as much as I'd like to think I vary it a lot, I realize I keep coming back to science fiction, alternate histories, modern lit, somewhat gothic/supernatural/psychological. I also enjoy graphic novels.

I've gotten some great book tips here over the years and enjoy reading through threads, even if I don't comment as much as I'd like. I like the discussions about and reactions to one another's comments. I'm looking forward to 2015!

I'm a CR regular since 2009 - which seems like a really long time. I'm the third Houstonian on this thread, and apparently a minority male. This year I have a reading plan, but who knows how that will work out. I lead the feable but still living Bible Read group read (threads start with "BR"), which started as an attempt at a literary focused read of the OT. I think now we are just trying to finish. : )

Love this thread...again.

Happy 2015 all!

Hi everyone. I’m Linda. I live in the Capital Region of NYS and have been retired for four years from a career in public human service delivery and administration. This will be my fourth year on Club Read, whose inspiring readers and talented reviewers have continued to expand my literary horizons. Although my posting dropped off last summer, I did continue to quietly visit and I hope to be more active this year. I will read just about anything that appeals to me, but I generally prefer literary and translated fiction, classics, travel narratives, memoirs, short stories and poetry. My one specific long-term goal is to read at least one work by each Nobel Literature Laureate.

Looking forward to 2015!

Hullo -- I'm Jane. I've been on Club Read since 2009 (invited by danchaikin above). I'm a professor at a community college turned state college in FL -- about to retire after the spring semester. I don't read books as much as I'd like, distracted by student papers, grandson, Facebook and LT, and various other life intrusions. I love the eclecticism of the members here and am forever buying books based on recommendations. I read medievally, feministly, contemporaneously, magically realistically, and Floridian -- among other things. I lurk, I comment, I come and go, but I appreciate you all.

My name is Dennis and I have been on CR for several years, but my attendance last year was very poor. I will try harder to keep going this year.

I live in England, but come from Australia/New Zealand.

My aim is to read more esoteric books and perhaps to indulge my interest in personality theory further on my CR thread.

What an interesting group. How do you keep up with everyone?

I just read the previous fifty-eight posts, what a group. Sadly I don't manage to keep up with everyone's threads as much as I'd like, which I can see is my loss.

I should say I'm Tony, I live in Northumberland. Posting here and in my previous LT groups on my reading has been a very helpful thing for me to develop my thoughts on my reading and my thoughts/feelings generally and with the added benefit of sharing that and hearing from others that connect to it. I'm a person centred counsellor, working in another, slightly different, area but hoping to get more into that first way of being again. In other areas I have lots of interests, not all stereotypically gender defined, without wishing to offend or impinge, may have to change my handle so this sits more easily. I like a good walk on a beach (some great ones roundabout here) or in the country (also spoiled for choice). I also write in my spare time and my first collection of poetry is due to be published this year (cannot quite believe that, maybe when/if it happens), you can follow links to some of my poems free on my profile. I'll say more about reading goals on my thread, but I like these to be loose. I'm looking forward to the group again this year.

>58 pmarshall: It isn't easy to keep up with everyone, so I star the threads of people I want to regularly keep up with, and then once a week or so visit the others. Also, the beginning of the year sets off a flurry -- well, more than a flurry -- of activity and then it settles down some to a more manageable level. Welcome to Club Read, Penny!

Hello all. I'm Peg, a college librarian from New York City. I was a member of the 75 group for a few years, but have been away from LT for some time because of RL issues (happy, sad and otherwise). Two of the highlights of the 75ers were Rebecca's and Darryl's wonderful book reviews, which always managed to add to my already unwieldy TBR pile! I've always lurked over here and now think it makes a more suitable home for me. My reading (which I hope to get back to in earnest) is all over the map, but tends to focus mostly on fiction. In addition to books and reading, I am an avid opera lover (though those real life issues had an impact on my attendance there too) and love to cook.

Happy New Year to you all - I'm looking forward to reading about your reading!

Hello all. I'm Hélène, a guidance counselor in France and this is my second year in Club Read.
Nowadays, most of my reading is SFF, generally in English, interspersed with books on History or Sociology, generally in French.
I can't say I have specific reading goals for 2015, just trying to start on Mount TBR (the sad fact is it rivals Mount Olympus) and read more in Spanish (sure, there's a Spanish geological stratum to be found on Mount O)
A happy new year to you all!

Hi everyone. I'm Helen-- and I see that there are several other Helens in the group-- refreshing-- is the name similarity a reflection of the ages of the readers?? In any case- I'm a High School ELA Teacher soon to be hanging up the red pen-- I will 'graduate' in June 2015-- and am interested to see if my reading will increase or decrease when that happens.
I have tried to read a voracious variety of books over the years to support my book pushing habbits at school. Again- changes coming in that regard- so looking forward to checking out what books other like minded folks are reading. I'm starting the year with Lili Marlene by by Liel Leibovitz and Matthew Miller- a non fiction look into the origins and story of the popular WW II song of the same name. So far, so good. (only in a few pages).

Hello all. I'm Clémence, I'm French and I live in Paris. I read mainly novels, both in French and English. I have a strong taste for science-fiction and fantasy so that constitutes a significant part of my reading (though in the last year I've had a difficult time finding fantasy books I actually like).
I have no strongly set reading goals, but I'd like to read more nonfiction books (maybe 10 in 2015).
I cannot comming to writing full reviews of the books I read as 1: I've completely failed to do this in the past, and 2: I like to write my reviews in French and translating them in English would be too much work, but I'll really try and give quickly my impressions in my thread!

Can't wait to see what everybody here is reading! :)

And also it's nice to see that there already somebody I know in the group: Hi FlorenceArt, nice to see you here! :)

Hello! I'm Gale (Narilka), a Project Manager that runs software/hardware upgrades for hospitals. It keeps me pretty busy! Last year that meant my reading took a drastic hit due to my work schedule so this year I set a personal goal to read 30+ books. This is my first year with the Club Read. I tried the 50 Book challenge in years past and have yet to reach that goal so I thought I'd try something different this year.

I tend to read a lot of fantasy. While I do read and enjoy other genres, fantasy is my favorite. I have tried to give myself reading lists in the past and it almost never works out as I tend to read whatever my mood/whim dictates. I have a tentative list in mind for this year so we'll see how it goes. A couple years back I challenged myself to write a review of every book I read and it's something I've kept up with. Those reviews will be posted in my thread. I attempt to make them spoiler free though it can be hard when reading a series.

Happy reading everyone!

Welcome over Helen, Clémence & Gale.

Hi all. I'm Rebecca and this is my fifth year in Club Read, although I wasn't very good at posting regularly or keeping up with everyone's threads last year (and pretty much failed completely at this in 2013). I'm hoping to do a bit better this year, although given how active the group's been already, it's going to be an uphill struggle!

I live in London with my husband, three-year-old son and two cats. I mostly read literary fiction and classic literature, but I also manage to read some non-fiction from time to time and have a particular interest in Central and Eastern Europe. Very occasionally I read in French or German, but I really need to do better on that front. However, my main aim this year is to reduce my TBR pile. Yes, yes, I know that's what we always say at the start of each year, but this time I really mean it!

Hello, I'm Turner and have been a member of Club Read for a number of years. Not a very good member, mind you, one that as the term goes on slopes further and further in the classroom. I live in Edinburgh and am Scottish, and I did vote Yes (and no I can't forgive my fellow country people who threw away the chance to make a better future, but that doesn't stop me joining them in the pub as they pay as a form of penance).

My reading seems to be in a downward spiral at present, although I actually enjoyed most of what I did read. Part of this was no doubt due to my life and death struggle with my partner's cat. For the record she is winning - it is unnerving the way she sits across from me staring, flicking through a recipe book. I don't have any reading plans although do belong to two reading groups - one 'mainstream', one SF - so some of my reading will be dictated by them.

Evening all! I'm Paul and I've just read the above 68 posts - the first thread I've managed to read on LT in ages...it feels like my LT participation has dropped off a cliff since the summer -and I feel like I'm in a warm and friendly place here - with really interesting people reading great stuff!

This is my third year in Club Read. Suddenly the Brits are taking over the thread! I live in south Wales, used to live in Israel, grew up in London. I like fiction from all around the world but am a particular sucker for Israeli literature and other fiction in translation sometimes. I've always been into history and lots of non-fiction generally, as well as historical fiction, and stuff like sports writing, biographies, cinema, music......

I used to grow fruit for a living and am now an arboriculturist and work in local government in the Welsh wind and rain... sometimes it's exhilarating. This week we've had storms from the Atlantic so, it keeps me busy!

I have no goals at all with my reading this year, and will read whatever takes my fancy. I do hope though to read some of the ever-present TBR's off the shelves...

Nice to see you here again Paul

Thanks Barry! I'll be on the lookout for your thread soon enough.

Hello - I'm fannyprice, aka Kris. I've become quite adept at falling off with Club Read in the past few years - I always start strong and mean to keep up, but things get in the way. I read and write about the Middle East for a living, so sometimes writing thoughtful reviews of books I read for leisure just seems like more work, but I'm going to try to at least track general thoughts and impressions this year, even if the prose isn't glorious.

I read a wide variety of things, but particularly enjoy reading history (especially Middle East, World War One, social histories), science/medicine, and language and linguistics; in the last few years I've started reading more domestic suspense and detective stories - I'm particularly enamored with Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad books and historical detective series set during and after World War One -- Maesie Dobbs and Bess Crawford. As a new homeowner who finally has a nest to feather and a scrap of land on which to garden, I also find myself spending a lot of time reading design and gardening stuff (or just looking at pretty pictures). My current favorite item is a seed catalog - it just thrills me to think about all the kinds of beets I could potentially be eating!

In 2015, my one goal is to be more ruthless about giving up on books that are "just ok". In 2014, I read a decent amount, but so much of it was "meh" and I just kept with it because I kept thinking "what if it gets really good in the next 10 pages and I never know?" I'm getting over this bizarre FOMO (fear of missing out) in 2015.

Like others, I am overwhelmed by the amount of activity here. I try to keep up with everyone's threads, but I might not say much.

My name is Marcus Bastos. I'm a judge and law professor in Brasilia, Brazil. I love books and I'm looking forward to post my readings in the forum. Most of them will be about history and philosophy.

Hello all. A bit late to the party but I'll get started anyway.

I have lived in northern California forever and in Napa the last 40+ years. Semi-retired from programing-consulting and still working a bit part time. My wife retires in 6 months and we are looking forward to a lot more traveling, both by car in the US (a trip to San Antonio this fall is in the works) and by cruise ship (we have been on 3 and have the 4th booked for June).

My reading has certainly changed over the years and I'll give just about anything a try but for the last several years I have been reading mysteries and especially mystery series. I like watching the lives of the central characters evolve as much as the solving of the mysteries.

I'm a bit apprehensive about joining this group as I am not much of a joiner but I am hoping to keep up a journal of my reading and thoughts for my own benefit if no one elses.

LibraryThing had been a big help in keeping track of my reading and in finding new books.

Welcome Marcus and Tom. I think you will enjoy this group.

I'm very late to the party, but also new to LibraryThing. I found this thread through the State of The Thing newsletter.

I'm Reva, I'm from New Delhi in India, and I'm fortunate to be working in a research institute - my job involves a lot of reading, and I'm lucky to have a lot of time to read for my own pleasure, too. In short, I read a lot.

My goal this year was to read more writing by Indian women, particularly works in translation. I read primarily in English and Hindi (and very rarely, in a few other Indian languages). I'm hoping to try one or two in those as well, though. This, of course, is in addition to the non-fiction I read for work (politics, law and governance in India, in urban environments) and the non-Indian fiction I read for joy.

I usually keep a private record of everything I read: this is the first time I've attempted reading as a social project. It seems interesting, particularly the wide variety of writing that all of you read. I hope some of you will find the Indian writing that I'll be reading (and reviewing) interesting too.

Welcome Reva. I joined LibrayThing and Club Read about this time two years ago. I think it has changed the way I read (for the better), and the people in the group have many different tastes in reading. I think you will find some fans of Indian authors in the group as well.

> 74 Tom, there are lots of mystery readers in Club Book. I quite agree with you regarding the evolution of characters. Some authors who I think do this well are Archer Mayor who has a policeman in Vermont, and Quintine Jardine with Bob Skinner (police) in Scotland. I will watch for your posts.
Welcome.

Thanks Penny. I put a watch on both of those. I've read most of the Rebus series and Skinner is compared to him.

I'm Nancy. I'm exploring before committing to the group. I'm curious. What is the BAC? also what are the SSFF category challenge and the Australian/New Zealand challenge? There is so much to choose from. Thank you for your help.

I'm Nancy. I've just recently gotten hooked on Japan. Fascinating country and culture. I've been looking for fiction about Japan written in English. Maybe you have some hints?

I'm Nancy or nc. I have enjoyed exploring LibraryThing and am thinking of joining a group for the first time. This one looks pretty interesting.

I work the reference desk at the local public library. Many kinds of books pass through my hands and I have a hard time leaving them on the shelves at the library. I organize a book group that reads the books we remember from our childhood. It is fun to see what holds up over time. We also try to bring snacks that relate to the book or are mentioned in the book we are reading.

I appreciate you letting me participate.

#80 by njcur> BAC is a challenge within the 75 Book Challenge. It is the British Author Challenge. See: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185351 for info on the January Challenge.

The Anzac Read is also part of the 75 Books Challenge group. The group can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/groups/75booksin2015

A warning, the 75 book challenge is VERY active and can overwhelm everyone easily.

The SFFF challenge is part of the 2015 Category Challenge and info on the SFF for January can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/184620

Just as an aside, you don't have to sign up for the group to participate in a challenge within a group. Just follow the threads you're interested in.

And welcome, wherever you end up!

New to this group. I'm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Retired electrical engineer. My reading is driven by what's coming up. I'm putting together a course for this fall on the Populist Party in the late 19th c. (Last year I lead a course on Seamus Heaney.) My ongoing interests are climate change, fur trade in the early 19th c. and how to get rid of superstition. If that sounds focused I read a lot of whatever falls to hand (currently guiltily reading a Tom Clancy book on break) but try to keep my eye on the ball.

>76 reva8: Curious what is in that newletter.

Nice to see all these new faces and reading styles here. Welcome Marcus, Tom, Reva, Nancy and Richj.

>85 dchaikin: "Club Read 2015. If you'd rather play a little more fast and loose with your reading selections, without limitations of author or genre, Club Read might be the place for you. Each member begins a new thread to track and record their thoughts on the books they've read for the whole year, and other members pop by with comments on their selections, recommendations, etc. The group admin also frequently posts interesting readerly questions for members to weigh in on. It's not to late to join in for 2015!"

I had forgotten about that immediately after reading it, and then was surprised at how fast the intro thread was moving suddenly. But now I get it. :)

I think, for the most part, it was the "it's not too late to join" that did it!

>81 njcur:

Hi Nancy.
One of my passions is Japan (in fact, I'm finally moving to Tokyo tomorrow!) and so I read a lot of Japanese books. Feel free to look at my Club Read thread here to follow my reading or you can see ALL of the Japanese fiction I've read at this thread which will take you away from Club Read.

Welcome to the group!

Hi *waving at you from W. TX!* I love to read, write and cook. I'm still settling into LibraryThing and decided to try Club Read this year. Looking forward to all kinds of bookish discussions :)

Welcome, Mina. I joined LT two years ago, and joined Club Read right away. I've really enjoyed this group, and hope you will too.

Hello - my name is Hazel. I enjoy many types of books and often chose what to read next based on lists like these. Mysteries and thrillers are probably my least favorite genre but even with those I often try them and end up enjoying them. I'm thinking about retiring so I have more time to read but then I think I would have less money for books. Although in order for me to read all the books I have I would have to live to be about 300 . . . and after that there is the public library.

> Public libraries are great places! It is pre-paid through your taxes so you should take advantage of what you have already paid for

Hi everyone! My name is Nicole & I've been on LibraryThing since 2009. The last highly active group I belonged to was The 75 Books Challenge in 2011. Club Read seems just as lively & fun, but without the pressure of a specific (high) target, so I hope you don't mind one more latecomer! :)

Not at all, welcome Nicole.

>93 MsNick: It is still January -- latecomers show up in the fourth quarter of the year :) Or something like that.

Welcome Nicole :)

>91 hazel1123:

Welcome Hazel :) Most of the people here read across a lot of genres.

I am BrendaKlaassen. I have been around this site for a few years, but have not been active. This year I decided to join a few groups. I enjoy reading, am a Public Library librarian, a mom of two sons, a wife of 20 years. I am looking forward to getting to know a few of you! Happy 2015 everyone.

So many new people. Welcome! This will be an interesting year getting to know everyone.

I love this thread where we get to meet everyone! Welcome to all the newcomers, you will enjoy this group.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes, all! :) I love this group already!!!

I'm Pat, and I was so busy last year that I stopped posting here and was slow reviewing books. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.

Hi, I'm Alison, and I'm from Northern Ireland. I have 2 young kids, and work part-time as a business consultant.

I just discovered LT in January of this year, and started a thread in this group to track my first personal reading challenge. I'm absolutely loving the site and wish I'd found it years ago. I've already read more books in a month than I did in the whole of last year, and my wish list is growing at a ridiculous rate. It's brilliant to read your honest reviews of so many titles and authors I'd not heard of before.

I tend to stick to literary fiction - modern, 20th century American, English classics, but I enjoy occasionally straying to a good biography or thriller. I feel I need to read more work by Irish authors, but maybe that's for the 2016 list.

Good to have you here Alison - and welcome to LibraryThing!

Welcome back, Pat :)

And welcome Alison (although I think I already said that in your thread) :) Now - about that wishlist... it will just grow bigger and bigger I am afraid...

I'm new to this group. I love reading, and will read just about anything with the exception of romance, and gory horror. I read on a tablet, so that I can enlarge the print, and because some books that I read, are just too big to hold.

I'm always looking for interesting books that are available in e-book format, and would love some suggestions. I'm looking forward to reading your reviews and recommendations!

Welcome, Kate. As you read through the threads in this group, you will wind up with more suggestions than you can imagine. That's a good thing, right?! We look forward to your thread too.

Well, drat! I just discovered that I never officially joined the group this year. I have been posting a Club Read 2015 thread, however, so I guess I haven't missed anything.

I'm Deborah, an English Professor (area of expertise: English Renaissance) in PA. I am planning to retire this year, which will give me a lot more reading time, as well as time to start writing the historical novel I've been researching for the past few years. I read books in all formats--print, audio, and Kindle.

Welcome to all the newcomers to Club Read! I hope you find it as compelling a group as we members of long standing do. And I look forward to following your reading. (And welcome back, Deborah!)

My name is Julien Ayotte, a 73-year old author of two mystery/thrillers, Flower of Heaven and its sequel, Dangerous Bloodlines, both award-winning novels. As a self-published author, I know too well the difficulty in getting recognized as a good writer and I work at it every day. If you want to read these two novels, I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Both carry a minimum 4.6 rating or better on Amazon, and carry similar ratings on Barnes and Noble and Goodreads.

Flower of Heaven has won four national book awards in the last year and Dangerous Bloodlines has already won one since its release in August, 2014. You can find out much more about these books at www.julienayotte.com.

I hope that I can be a contributor to this site.

Greetings to all as I introduce myself, Karen Kish. I am a retired teacher and glad to be. As an avid interior design person, I love to dabble in all things creative when it comes to country, cottage, shabby chic and farmhouse decor. Of course, that happens to include my collection of American Country books by Time Life as well as many other decor books. Presently, I am trying to add to my American Country collection with books that were first editions, published between 1988 - 1991. My list is posted for the volumes that I want.

Gardening, cats, genealogy, ancient history, paleontology, as well as well-being and mind body medicine are also a few of my other interests.

If you know where I can obtain these volumes for a reasonable price, please let me know through my email. Many thanks for your assistance.

Karen......:)

>109 JulienAyotte: You might want to check out this page about Library Thing for Authors, http://www.librarything.com/about_authors.php. Note especially where it says, "Do not post messages in Talk advertising your book. You can promote your book in Hobnob with Authors, but posting a blurb about your book and never coming back to discuss it is still seen as overt advertising." Hobnob with Authors is at http://www.librarything.com/groups/hobnobwithauthors.

This group is for discussing books we are reading, not advertising.

>110 chloecat66: Likewise, this group is for discussing books we are reading, so I encourage you to start a reading thread if that's what you would like to do.

Hello, I'm Dianne Kozdrey Bunnell. I love reading, am an author (my book was chosen for the banned books week at the local library), I'm a high school teacher at times, and provide executive support at times in a college president's office...this means I retired early and am available to sub in my former professions.

I'm still trying to navigate my way around LT, but am finding it very worthwhile and getting to know lots of nice people. I am running at mach ten with my hair on fire at the moment, in the final two weeks of promoting my e-book before it's launched. What a learning curve promoting has turned out to be!

Anyway, I'm glad to be among friendly fellow readers, and I'll keep you posted about my reading adventures and look forward to reading about yours.

Welcome, Dianne. When life slows down, open a thread and tell us what you're reading. You might want to check out the places on LT that are for authors, like Hobnob with Authors, where you can talk about your book and your adventures in publishing.

Thanks for the welcome, Ridgeway Girl. Thanks also for pointing me toward Hobnob with Authors; I'll check it out.

I just finished reading Me Before You with my book group. Also, just finished Anne LaMott's Small Victories just because I love Anne LaMott's writing and perspective. She has a strange and lovely brand of wisdom and makes me laugh.

That's it for now.

Found out about LT late 2014. The site has rapidly become one of my favorite places. Being idiosyncratic with my book selection and having unpredictable hours at work (although that has improved) made book clubs unrealistic. Being able to virtually check in here is great. In particular, I want to know more about WWI and that is a theme read topic here. All Quiet On The Western Front back in high school and Nothing but the Clouds Unchanged recently are the only two books I've read on the subject.

I am Elizabeth a retired business teacher.
I started a blog a few years before I retired and now review books for publishers and authors.
I enjoy historical fiction, mystery, and women's fiction.
My blog is:
http://silversolara.blogspot.com

Hi Marcia and Elizabeth, and welcome. If you start reading threads here, we can all follow your reading.

Hi! I'm Skylles. I just stumbled onto LT and, I must admit, I am in love! A world of fellow bibliophiles, Oh my!

I SHOULD be spending this time on Chapter 4 of my new book, but... I don't know what to do with it yet, so, I'm using this as a fantastic distraction.

I'm a single mom, artist, writer, and I home school my son.

I mainly read Sci/Fi & Fantasy, but I'm a sucker for anything well written or compelling. I love different books, smart books. I like books where I need to look up word definitions. I love books that make me THINK and QUESTion. My aunt (who I have insisted join LT) and I already frequently sit around critiquing and discussing books, so I think we may become very happy here.

I also currently have an opening for a a new book to read, so it you have a suggestion, hit me up!

Isn't it wonderful when you discover LT? Welcome Skylles

Hello there I am Eman Awad I study English literature, at the university of Jordan(it is located in the middle east) At the moment I adore Elizabethan Drama and would love to read more about it. now I am trapped with the Spanish tragedy though it is dramatically illuminating ,but I find it difficult to understand without the footnotes....!! I am a huge Shakespearean fan. My list of reading is so long I hope to finish them after I finish this summer semester.
My favorite English text ever is Hamlet... I read it once and rereading it again....(Never say never) !! I hope we could benefit from each other...

Welcome, Emam! Start a reading thread and visit ours.

I've set up a reading thread: HERE .
Otherwise, let's see, I live in Vermont "off the grid" but not too far from a good croissant. I am a very eclectic and intense reader and that is maybe why I am here! In my thread I explain what is presently grabbing my attention and other dizzying revelations.

Welcome, Lucy!

Welcome, Eman. I just retired as an English professor with a Shakespeare/Early Modern Drama specialization. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to help! My advice is to read a brief summary of the play before you start, and then to read the play straight through the first time, ignoring the footnotes. You may not understand every word, but you will get a better sense of what is going on. When I was first reading these as a student, I found that by the time I read the third footnote, I had forgotten what was going on. It's more important to have a sense of the characters and the plot rather than knowing what "Zounds" means or what a halberd is.

>124 Cariola: I've never had that problem. I don't like to wait to read notes because then I have no idea what they were meant to be about. They have to be read at the time of the text the apply to, for me.