Jackie ROOTs again, part 2
Esto es una continuación del tema Jackie ROOTs again.
Charlas2016 ROOT Challenge - (Read Our Own Tomes)
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1Jackie_K
(Edit: I've already surpassed this goal, primarily thanks to the Jar of Fate giving me a succession of nice short books!)
I'm in for another year! A more modest target this year, as I am using a Jar of Fate system and there is always the possibility that I pull out a succession of chunksters! I am aiming for at least 12 books this year - one per month. Any more over that total will be donated to the group total.
I am combining my ROOTing this year with the 2016 category challenge. I have 11+1 categories, ie 11 categories that all my TBRs fall into (ranging from old and new fiction, academic stuff, travel writing, biography, all sorts of stuff really) plus one blank one where I will read something that I just fancy at the time and can't wait till Fate draws it out of the Jar. Once I've got through all 12 I'll go back to the first category again. I have colour-coded all my bits of paper with book titles so I know I will pull out books in the right category. All of them are new TBRs, with the exception of a few series where I may have read the first in a series years and years ago but would want to reread before going onto the next one in the series.
I am counting all unread books on my shelves as ROOTs, including any I acquire in 2016. The chances are they won't get pulled out of the Jar this year in any case, so I may as well include them. I'm doing this as I was fed up feeling guilty for wanting to read a birthday present acquired this year in this year - I can't be doing with extra guilt, I feel bad enough as it is thinking about my c.300 book TBR pile! There might be the occasional reread (if I pull out one of the aforementioned series) which I will also count, as they will be books that I read so long ago I've forgotten them and they might as well be unread. I am again counting both paper and ebooks in my ROOT challenge.
I also intend to keep a track of books acquired again. I did this for the first time in 2015 and it was very eye-opening. My 2015 goal was to match ROOTs read with new books acquired, but that soon fell by the wayside and I ended up acquiring nearly 3 times as many new books as ROOTs read. So I've decided to not be too draconian, as that is unrealistic, but also not to be too profligate and try to be more careful about how many I acquire. So, instead of the 60 (maybe more, if Santa is good to me tomorrow!) I acquired in 2015 I'm going to aim for no more than 25 new acquisitions in 2016. Which is still more than twice my ROOT target, but is considerably less than this year!
(Edited to add: as you can see I've gone well over the 25 new acquisitions target. At this rate I'm going to exceed the number of books I acquired in 2015! However, I have decided to look at it in ratio terms rather than numbers - in 2015 I acquired 3 times as many books as I read. So far in 2016 I've acquired around 2 times as many, so I'm going to aim for no more than a 1:2 ratio of ROOTs/acquisitions by the end of the year).
Ticker 1: 2016 ROOTS
Ticker 2: 2016 new acquisitions
Ticker 3: Book Bullets from LT (no target, just interested!)
I'm in for another year! A more modest target this year, as I am using a Jar of Fate system and there is always the possibility that I pull out a succession of chunksters! I am aiming for at least 12 books this year - one per month. Any more over that total will be donated to the group total.
I am combining my ROOTing this year with the 2016 category challenge. I have 11+1 categories, ie 11 categories that all my TBRs fall into (ranging from old and new fiction, academic stuff, travel writing, biography, all sorts of stuff really) plus one blank one where I will read something that I just fancy at the time and can't wait till Fate draws it out of the Jar. Once I've got through all 12 I'll go back to the first category again. I have colour-coded all my bits of paper with book titles so I know I will pull out books in the right category. All of them are new TBRs, with the exception of a few series where I may have read the first in a series years and years ago but would want to reread before going onto the next one in the series.
I am counting all unread books on my shelves as ROOTs, including any I acquire in 2016. The chances are they won't get pulled out of the Jar this year in any case, so I may as well include them. I'm doing this as I was fed up feeling guilty for wanting to read a birthday present acquired this year in this year - I can't be doing with extra guilt, I feel bad enough as it is thinking about my c.300 book TBR pile! There might be the occasional reread (if I pull out one of the aforementioned series) which I will also count, as they will be books that I read so long ago I've forgotten them and they might as well be unread. I am again counting both paper and ebooks in my ROOT challenge.
I also intend to keep a track of books acquired again. I did this for the first time in 2015 and it was very eye-opening. My 2015 goal was to match ROOTs read with new books acquired, but that soon fell by the wayside and I ended up acquiring nearly 3 times as many new books as ROOTs read. So I've decided to not be too draconian, as that is unrealistic, but also not to be too profligate and try to be more careful about how many I acquire. So, instead of the 60 (maybe more, if Santa is good to me tomorrow!) I acquired in 2015 I'm going to aim for no more than 25 new acquisitions in 2016. Which is still more than twice my ROOT target, but is considerably less than this year!
(Edited to add: as you can see I've gone well over the 25 new acquisitions target. At this rate I'm going to exceed the number of books I acquired in 2015! However, I have decided to look at it in ratio terms rather than numbers - in 2015 I acquired 3 times as many books as I read. So far in 2016 I've acquired around 2 times as many, so I'm going to aim for no more than a 1:2 ratio of ROOTs/acquisitions by the end of the year).
Ticker 1: 2016 ROOTS
Ticker 2: 2016 new acquisitions
Ticker 3: Book Bullets from LT (no target, just interested!)
2Jackie_K
ROOTS read in 2016 (the first 21 are reviewed on my earlier thread):
1. Seamus Heaney - North. Finished 3.1.16. 4/5.
2. Ruth Hay - Auld Acquaintance. Abandoned 3.1.16. 0.5/5.
3. ed Ellen E Berry - Post-communism and the Body Politic. Finished 30.1.16. 3/5.
4. Joanna Cannon - The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Finished 13.2.16. 4/5.
5. Katherine Verdery - Secrets and Truths: Ethnography in the Archive of Romania's Secret Police. Finished 29.2.16. 4.5/5.
6. Edith Wharton - Madame de Treymes. Finished 5.3.16. 2.5/5.
7. John K.V. Eunson - Sheep for Beginners: a Dip into the World of Wool. Finished 5.3.16. 2.5/5.
8. Michael Palin - Himalaya. Finished 19.3.16. 4/5.
9. Jim Crumley - Among Islands. Finished 24.3.16. 4.5/5.
10. Maggi Dawn - Giving it up. Finished 27.3.16. 4/5.
11. Jane Austen - Persuasion. Finished 28.3.16. 4/5.
12. Mike Ormsby - Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania. Finished 16.4.16. 4.5/5.
13. Mike Ormsby - Grand Bazar Romania. Finished 16.4.16. 4.5/5.
14. Haya Leah Molnar - Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania. Finished 25.4.16. 4/5.
15. Valeriu Nicolae - We are the Roma! One Thousand Years of Discrimination. Finished 28.4.16. 4/5.
16. Bill Lawson - Harris in History and Legend. Finished 12.5.16. 4/5.
17. Rebecca Schiller - All That Matters. Finished 3.6.16. 4/5.
18. ed. Krassimira Daskalova, Caroline Hornstein Tomic, Karl Kaser & Filip Radunovic - Gendering Post-Socialist Transition: Studies of Changing Gender Perspectives. Finished 20.6.16. 3/5.
19. William Goldman - The Princess Bride. Finished 24.6.16. 3/5.
20. Melissa Harrison - Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. Finished 28.6.16. 4/5.
21. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix and the Golden Sickle. Finished 30.6.16. 3/5.
22. Mark Monmonier - Coast lines: how mapmakers frame the world and chart environmental change. Finished 5.7.16. 3.5/5.
23. Jules Verne - Around the World in Eighty Days. Finished 9.7.16. 3.5/5.
24. Various - The Brexit Crisis: A Verso Report (no touchstone). Finished 19.7.16. 4/5.
25. Valerie Curtis - Don't Look, Don't Touch, Don't Eat: The Science Behind Revulsion. Finished 30.7.16. 4/5.
26. Vasyl Baziv - Armageddon at Maidan. Finished 11.8.16. 0.5/5.
27. Segilola Salami - Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London. Finished 15.8.16. 3/5.
28. Chris Dolley - International Kittens of Mystery. Finished 1.9.16. 2.5/5.
29. ed. R.W. Chapman - Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson (Oxford Paperbacks). Finished 3.9.16. 3/5.
30. Tony Hawks - One Hit Wonderland. Finished 10.9.16. 3.5/5.
31. Karen Gilden - Camping with the Communists. Finished 17.9.16. 3/5.
32. Simon Jenkins - The Bible from Scratch. Finished 18.9.16. 4/5.
33. Robert Alan Jamieson - Nort Atlantik Drift. Finished 19.9.16. 4.5/5.
34. Sophie & Audrey Boss - Beyond Chocolate. Finished 26.9.16. 4/5.
35. Ileana Alexandra Orlich - Articulating Gender, Narrating the Nation: Allegorical Femininity in Romanian Fiction. Finished 29.9.16. 3/5.
36. Ghada Alatrash - Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Woman. Finished 11.10.16. 3/5.
37. Mikhail Bulgakov - A Country Doctor's Notebook. Finished 2.11.16. 4.5/5.
38. Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Finished 4.11.16. 4/5.
39. Noel Kingsbury - Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding. Finished 21.11.16. 4/5.
40. Alan Parks - Seriously Mum, What's an Alpaca?. Finished 24.11.16. 3/5.
41. ed. Sudhir Anand, Fabienne Peter, & Amartya Sen - Public Health, Ethics, and Equity. Finished 26.11.16. 4/5.
42. Marjorie Ann Watts - Making a Mark: Letter to a Grandson on the Story of European Painting. Finished 10.12.16. 4/5.
43. Michael Brantley - Memory Cards. Finished 19.12.16. 4/5.
44. M. Basil Pennington - An Invitation to Centering Prayer: Including an Introduction to Lectio Divina. Finished 21.12.16. 3/5.
45. Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre. Finished 27.12.16. 3.5/5.
46. Tim Peake - Hello, is this Planet Earth?. Finished 30.12.16. 4.5/5.
1. Seamus Heaney - North. Finished 3.1.16. 4/5.
2. Ruth Hay - Auld Acquaintance. Abandoned 3.1.16. 0.5/5.
3. ed Ellen E Berry - Post-communism and the Body Politic. Finished 30.1.16. 3/5.
4. Joanna Cannon - The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Finished 13.2.16. 4/5.
5. Katherine Verdery - Secrets and Truths: Ethnography in the Archive of Romania's Secret Police. Finished 29.2.16. 4.5/5.
6. Edith Wharton - Madame de Treymes. Finished 5.3.16. 2.5/5.
7. John K.V. Eunson - Sheep for Beginners: a Dip into the World of Wool. Finished 5.3.16. 2.5/5.
8. Michael Palin - Himalaya. Finished 19.3.16. 4/5.
9. Jim Crumley - Among Islands. Finished 24.3.16. 4.5/5.
10. Maggi Dawn - Giving it up. Finished 27.3.16. 4/5.
11. Jane Austen - Persuasion. Finished 28.3.16. 4/5.
12. Mike Ormsby - Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania. Finished 16.4.16. 4.5/5.
13. Mike Ormsby - Grand Bazar Romania. Finished 16.4.16. 4.5/5.
14. Haya Leah Molnar - Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania. Finished 25.4.16. 4/5.
15. Valeriu Nicolae - We are the Roma! One Thousand Years of Discrimination. Finished 28.4.16. 4/5.
16. Bill Lawson - Harris in History and Legend. Finished 12.5.16. 4/5.
17. Rebecca Schiller - All That Matters. Finished 3.6.16. 4/5.
18. ed. Krassimira Daskalova, Caroline Hornstein Tomic, Karl Kaser & Filip Radunovic - Gendering Post-Socialist Transition: Studies of Changing Gender Perspectives. Finished 20.6.16. 3/5.
19. William Goldman - The Princess Bride. Finished 24.6.16. 3/5.
20. Melissa Harrison - Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. Finished 28.6.16. 4/5.
21. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix and the Golden Sickle. Finished 30.6.16. 3/5.
22. Mark Monmonier - Coast lines: how mapmakers frame the world and chart environmental change. Finished 5.7.16. 3.5/5.
23. Jules Verne - Around the World in Eighty Days. Finished 9.7.16. 3.5/5.
24. Various - The Brexit Crisis: A Verso Report (no touchstone). Finished 19.7.16. 4/5.
25. Valerie Curtis - Don't Look, Don't Touch, Don't Eat: The Science Behind Revulsion. Finished 30.7.16. 4/5.
26. Vasyl Baziv - Armageddon at Maidan. Finished 11.8.16. 0.5/5.
27. Segilola Salami - Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London. Finished 15.8.16. 3/5.
28. Chris Dolley - International Kittens of Mystery. Finished 1.9.16. 2.5/5.
29. ed. R.W. Chapman - Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson (Oxford Paperbacks). Finished 3.9.16. 3/5.
30. Tony Hawks - One Hit Wonderland. Finished 10.9.16. 3.5/5.
31. Karen Gilden - Camping with the Communists. Finished 17.9.16. 3/5.
32. Simon Jenkins - The Bible from Scratch. Finished 18.9.16. 4/5.
33. Robert Alan Jamieson - Nort Atlantik Drift. Finished 19.9.16. 4.5/5.
34. Sophie & Audrey Boss - Beyond Chocolate. Finished 26.9.16. 4/5.
35. Ileana Alexandra Orlich - Articulating Gender, Narrating the Nation: Allegorical Femininity in Romanian Fiction. Finished 29.9.16. 3/5.
36. Ghada Alatrash - Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Woman. Finished 11.10.16. 3/5.
37. Mikhail Bulgakov - A Country Doctor's Notebook. Finished 2.11.16. 4.5/5.
38. Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Finished 4.11.16. 4/5.
39. Noel Kingsbury - Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding. Finished 21.11.16. 4/5.
40. Alan Parks - Seriously Mum, What's an Alpaca?. Finished 24.11.16. 3/5.
41. ed. Sudhir Anand, Fabienne Peter, & Amartya Sen - Public Health, Ethics, and Equity. Finished 26.11.16. 4/5.
42. Marjorie Ann Watts - Making a Mark: Letter to a Grandson on the Story of European Painting. Finished 10.12.16. 4/5.
43. Michael Brantley - Memory Cards. Finished 19.12.16. 4/5.
44. M. Basil Pennington - An Invitation to Centering Prayer: Including an Introduction to Lectio Divina. Finished 21.12.16. 3/5.
45. Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre. Finished 27.12.16. 3.5/5.
46. Tim Peake - Hello, is this Planet Earth?. Finished 30.12.16. 4.5/5.
3Jackie_K
Books acquired in 2016.
1. David Welky - The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 4.1.16.
2. Rafael Jerusalmy - Saving Mozart. Used copy (£1.03), bought from amazon 9.1.16. (BB)
3. Joanna Cannon - The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Pre-ordered from kobo bookstore (£5.99), 21.1.16 (available from 28.1.16).
4. The Unmumsy Mum - The Unmumsy Mums. Free ebook from kobo bookstore, obtained 24.1.16.
5. Samuel Hall Young - Alaska Days with John Muir. Free ebook from Project Gutenberg, obtained 30.1.16.
6. Peter B. Hales - Outside the Gates of Eden: the dream of America from Hiroshima to Now. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.2.16.
7. Veronica Roth - Divergent. Free Kindle promotion, obtained 5.2.16.
8. Rachael Chadwick - 60 Postcards. Cheap ebook (99p!) from kobo. Obtained 6.2.16.
9. Margaret Truman - White House Pets. Cheap ebook (£1.99) from kobo, via bookbub. Obtained 26.2.16.
10. Ted Anton - The Longevity Seekers: Science, Business, and the Fountain of Youth. Free UoC Press ebook. Obtained 1.3.16.
11. Jennifer Eremeeva - Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia: An Iconoclastic History by a Recovering Russophile. Free ebook from kobo, obtained 6.3.16. (BB)
12. Margaretta Eagar - Six Years at the Russian Court. Free ebook from kobo, obtained 6.3.16. (BB)
13. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix chez Rahazade. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
14. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix Gladiateur. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
15. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix le Gaulois. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
16. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix chez les Belges. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
17. Jennifer Worth - Shadows of the Workhouse. From Barter Books (£2.20), obtained 21.3.16.
18. Linda Herrera - Revolution in the Age of Social Media. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
19. Gabriella Coleman - Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
20. Nick Srnicek & Alex Williams - Inventing the Future. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
21. Aaron Swartz - The Boy Who Could Change the World. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
22. Helen Morales - Pilgrimage to Dollywood. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.4.16.
23. Nicholas Shaxson - Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World. From kobo (via BookBub) (£1.99), obtained 10.4.1.6.
24. Neil Gaiman - Stardust. From kobo (£0.99), obtained 29.4.16.
25. Kate Evans - Red Rosa. 50% off from Verso (£5), obtained 1.5.16.
26. Lisa Lynch - The C-Word. From kobo (£1.99), via Bookbub. Obtained 11.5.16.
27. Ben Goldacre - Bad Pharma. From kobo (£1.99). Obtained 26.5.16.
28. Mark Monmonier - Coast Lines: How Mapmakers Frame the World and Chart Environmental Change. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.6.16.
29. Jasper Fforde - The Eyre Affair. From kobo (£0.99). Obtained 2.6.16.
30. Jane Smith - Wild Island (no touchstone for either author or book as far as I can tell). Birthday present. Obtained 3.6.16.
31. Amy Liptrot - The Outrun. From kobo (£8.63). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16.
32. Thomas Harding - The House by the Lake. From kobo (£5.49). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16. (BB)
33. Yevgeny Zamyatin - We. From kobo (£0.99). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16. (BB)
34. Mikhail Bulgakov - A Country Doctor's Notebook. From kobo (£3.99). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16.
35. ed. Luke M. Herrington, Alasdair McKay, & Jeffrey Haines - Nations Under God: The Geopolitics of Faith in the Twenty-First Century (no touchstone). Free ebook from E-International Relations. Obtained 10.6.16.
36. Marta Dyczok - Ukraine's Euromaidan: Broadcasting Through Information Wars with Hromadske Radio (no touchstone). Free ebook from E-International Relations. Obtained 10.6.16.
37. ed. Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska & Richard Sakwa - Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives (no touchstone). Free ebook from E-International Relations. Obtained 10.6.16.
38. Melissa Harrison - Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. Book group purchase from Amazon (£8.60).
39. Dominic Selwood - Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers. From kobo (£0.99), via Bookbub. Obtained 23.6.16 (BB).
40. Joshua Blu Buhs - Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.7.16.
41. Dawn French - Dear Fatty. From kobo, via bookbub (£1.99). Obtained 15.7.16.
42. Various - The Brexit Crisis: A Verso Report (no touchstone). Free ebook from Verso. Obtained 16.7.16.
43. Vasyl Baziv - Armageddon at Maidan. Free ebook from LT (Early Reviewer). Obtained 26.7.16.
44. Marcia Kester Doyle - Who Stole my Spandex? Life in the Hot Flash Lane. From kobo (£0.76) via Bookbub. Obtained 29.7.16.
45. Nicole Faires - Food Confidential (no touchstone). From kobo (£1.99) via Bookbub. Obtained 31.7.16.
46. Derek Cooper - The Road to Mingulay. From Barter Books (£2.80). Obtained 6.8.16. (Thingaversary)
47. Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed. From Barter Books (£4.60). Obtained 6.8.16. (Thingaversary).
48. Peter Gill - Famine & Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid. From Barter Books (£6.60). Obtained 8.8.16. (Thingaversary).
49. Tony Hawks - A Piano in the Pyrenees. From Barter Books (£2.20). Obtained 8.8.16. (Thingaversary).
50. John McCarthy & Sandi Toksvig - Island Race: An Improbable Voyage Round the Coast of Britain. From Barter Books (£8.60). Obtained 8.8.16. (Thingaversary).
51. James Rebanks - The Shepherd's Life. From kobo (£1.99) via Bookbub. Obtained 8.8.16.
52. Segilola Salami - Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London. Free ebook from LT (Member Giveaway). Obtained 14.8.16.
53. Dorothy Al Khafaji - Between Two Rivers. From kobo (£0.99) via Bookbub. Obtained 24.8.16.
54. Tom Michell - The Penguin Lessons. From Waterstones (free with Waterstones stamps, yay!). Obtained 27.8.16.
55. Chris Dolley - International Kittens of Mystery. Free ebook from LT (Early Reviewer). Obtained 31.8.16.
56. Benedict Anderson - A Life Beyond Boundaries. From Verso (£1.50). Obtained 1.9.16.
57. Benedict Anderson - Imagined Communities. From Verso (£1.30). Obtained 1.9.16.
58. Lindsey German & John Rees - A People's History of London. From Verso (£1.30). Obtained 1.9.16.
59. Owen Hatherley - A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain. From Verso (£1.10). Obtained 1.9.16.
60. Matthew Beaumont - Night Walking. From Verso (£1.00). Obtained 1.9.16.
61. Juliet Jacques - Trans: A Memoir. From Verso (£1.70). Obtained 1.9.16.
62. George Monbiot - How Did We Get Into This Mess?. From Verso (£1.70). Obtained 1.9.16.
63. Paul R Ehrlich & Michael Charles Tobias - Hope on Earth. Free ebook from UoC Press. Obtained 1.9.16.
64. Marie Colvin - On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin. From Kobo store (£1.99). Obtained 14.9.16.
65. Sophie Boss & Audrey Boss - Beyond Chocolate. From Amazon marketplace (£2.42). Obtained 15.9.16.
66. Ghada Alatrash - Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Women. Free from LT (Early Reviewers). Obtained 1.10.16.
67. Craig A Monson - Nuns Behaving Badly: Tales of Music, Magic, Art, and Arson in the Convents of Italy. Free UoC Press ebook. Obtained 3.10.16.
68. Cliff Jones - Water Runs Slow Through Flat Land. Free kindle book from amazon, delivered to kindle app. Obtained 13.10.16.
69. Katie Kirby - Hurrah for Gin (no touchstone yet). From Waterstones (£9.99). Obtained 15.10.16.
70. Michael Brantley - Memory Cards. Free ebook from kobo (via Bookbub). Obtained 19.10.16.
71. Amy Brown - Breastfeeding Uncovered. From the publisher (Pinter & Martin) (£9.99). Obtained 20.10.16.
72. Rebecca West - Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. From kobo (via Bookbub) (£1.99). Obtained 20.10.16.
73. Sheila Hancock - The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw. From kobo (daily offers) (£1.99). Obtained 20.10.16.
74. Carl H. Nightingale - Segregation: A Global History of Divided Cities. Free UoC Press ebook. Obtained 6.11.16.
75. Frank Kusy - Kevin and I in India. From kobo (via Bookbub) (£0.99). Obtained 10.11.16.
76. Emma Jane Kirby - The Optician of Lampedusa. From Waterstones (£9.99). Ordered 10.11.16.
77. Reece Jones - Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move. Free ebook from Verso Books. Obtained 19.11.16.
78. Various - Secrets and Confessions (no touchstone). Free ebook from Scottish Book Trust for Scottish Book Week 2016. Obtained 21.11.16.
79. Pauline Nevins - Fudge: The Downs and Ups of a Biracial, Half-Irish, British War Baby (no touchstone). Kindle ebook (£3.89). Obtained 24.11.16.
80. Monica Connell - Gathering Carrageen. From kobo bookshop sale (£0.99). Obtained 28.11.16.
81. Marjorie Ann Watts - Making a Mark (why is Pride & Prejudice the first touchstone for this?!!). From LT (Early Reader), free ebook. Obtained 3.12.16.
82. Stephen Graham - Vertical: The City from Satellites to Bunkers. From Verso books sale (£10.00). Obtained 8.12.16.
83. Karl Pilkington - Happyslapped by a Jellyfish. From kobo bookshop (via Bookbub) (£1.49). Obtained 12.12.16.
84. Julian Barnes - The Noise of Time. Christmas present. Obtained 25.12.16.
85. Philomena de Lima - International Migration: The Wellbeing of Migrants (no touchstone). Christmas present. Obtained 25.12.16.
86. Tim Peake - Hello, is this Planet Earth?. Duplicate Christmas present! (£10.00). Obtained 28.12.16.
87. Heather Rogers - Green Gone Wrong. From Verso sale (£1.00). Obtained 30.12.16.
88. Jeremy Harding - Border Vigils. From Verso sale (£1.00). Obtained 30.12.16.
89. Noam Chayut - The Girl Who Stole My Holocaust. From Verso sale £1.50). Obtained 30.12.16.
Edited to add: I've decided to also monitor how much I spend on books this year. So far (mid-Feb) I have acquired 8 books, 5 of which were free. The other three were £1.03, £5.99 and £0.99 respectively so current total is £8.01. I don't think that's bad so far!
Tally 26.2.16 - 9 books (5 free, 4 paid-for), total spent £10.00. 1 BB bought.
Tally 6.3.16 - 12 books (8 free, 4 paid-for), total spent £10.00. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 25.3.16 - 17 books (8 free, 9 paid-for), total spent £36.60. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 10.4.16 - 23 books (13 free, 10 paid-for), total spent £38.59. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 29.4.16 - 24 books (13 free, 11 paid-for), total spent £39.58. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 1.5.16 - 25 books (13 free, 12 paid-for), total spent £44.58. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 11.5.16 - 26 books (13 free, 13 paid-for), total spent £46.57. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 26.5.16 - 27 books (13 free, 14 paid-for), total spent £48.56. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 1.6.16 - 28 books (14 free, 14 paid-for), total spent £48.56. 3 BBs bought. 21 ebooks, 7 paper books.
Tally 3.6.16. - 30 books (15 free, 15 paid-for), total spent £49.55. 3 BBs bought. 22 ebooks, 8 paper books.
Tally 10.6.16 - 37 books (18 free, 19 paid-for), total spent £68.65. 5 BBs bought. 29 ebooks, 8 paper books.
Tally 25.6.16 - 39 books (18 free, 21 paid-for), total spent £78.24. 6 BBs bought. 30 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 1.7.16 - 40 books (19 free, 21 paid-for), total spent £78.24. 6 BBs bought. 31 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 16.7.16 - 42 books (20 free, 22 paid-for), total spent £80.23. 6 BBs bought. 33 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 29.7.16 - 44 books (21 free, 23 paid-for), total spent £80.99. 6 BBs bought. 35 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 31.7.16 - 45 books (21 free, 24 paid-for), total spent £82.98. 6 BBs bought. 36 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 10.8.16 - 51 books (21 free, 30 paid-for), total spent £109.67. 6 BBs bought. 37 ebooks, 14 paper books.
Tally 14.8.16 - 52 books (22 free, 30 paid-for), total spent £109.67. 6 BBs bought. 38 ebooks, 14 paper books.
Tally 24.8.16 - 53 books (22 free, 31 paid-for), total spent £110.66. 6 BBs bought. 39 ebooks, 14 paper books.
Tally 27.8.16 - 54 books (23 free, 31 paid-for), total spent £110.66. 6 BBs bought. 39 ebooks, 15 paper books.
Tally 31.8.16 - 55 books (24 free, 31 paid-for), total spent £110.66. 6 BBs bought. 40 ebooks, 15 paper books.
Tally 1.9.16 - 63 books (25 free, 38 paid-for), total spent £120.26. 6 BBS bought. 48 ebooks, 15 paper books.
Tally 15.9.16 - 65 books (25 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 49 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 1.10.16 - 66 books (26 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 50 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 3.10.16 - 67 books (27 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 51 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 13.10.16 - 68 books (28 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 52 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 15.10.16 - 69 books (28 free, 41 paid-for), total spent £134.66. 6 BBs bought. 52 ebooks, 17 paper books.
Tally 19.10.16 - 70 books (29 free, 41 paid-for), total spent £134.66. 6 BBs bought. 53 ebooks, 17 paper books.
Tally 20.10.16 - 73 books (29 free, 44 paid-for), total spent £148.63. 6 BBs bought. 55 ebooks, 18 paper books.
Tally 6.11.16 - 74 books (30 free, 44 paid-for), total spent £148.63. 6 BBs bought. 56 ebooks, 18 paper books.
Tally 10.11.16 - 76 books (30 free, 46 paid-for), total spent £159.61. 6 BBs bought. 57 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 19.11.16 - 77 books (31 free, 46 paid-for), total spent £159.61. 6 BBs bought. 58 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 21.11.16 - 78 books (32 free, 46 paid-for), total spent £159.61. 6 BBs bought. 59 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 24.11.16 - 79 books (32 free, 47 paid-for), total spent £163.50. 6 BBs bought. 60 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 28.11.16 - 80 books (32 free, 48 paid-for), total spent £164.49. 6 BBs bought. 61 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 3.12.16 - 81 books (33 free, 48 paid-for), total spent £164.49. 6 BBs bought. 62 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 8.12.16 - 82 books (33 free, 49 paid-for), total spent £174.49. 6 BBs bought. 63 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 12.12.16 - 83 books (33 free, 50 paid-for), total spent £176.98. 6 BBs bought. 64 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 25.12.16 - 85 books (35 free, 50 paid-for), total spent £176.98. 7 BBs obtained. 64 ebooks, 21 paper books.
Tally 28.12.16 - 86 books (35 free, 51 paid-for), total spent £186.98. 7 BBs obtained. 64 ebooks, 22 paper books.
Tally 30.12.16 - 89 books (35 free, 54 paid-for), total spent £190.48. 7 BBs obtained. 67 ebooks, 22 paper books.
1. David Welky - The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 4.1.16.
2. Rafael Jerusalmy - Saving Mozart. Used copy (£1.03), bought from amazon 9.1.16. (BB)
3. Joanna Cannon - The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Pre-ordered from kobo bookstore (£5.99), 21.1.16 (available from 28.1.16).
4. The Unmumsy Mum - The Unmumsy Mums. Free ebook from kobo bookstore, obtained 24.1.16.
5. Samuel Hall Young - Alaska Days with John Muir. Free ebook from Project Gutenberg, obtained 30.1.16.
6. Peter B. Hales - Outside the Gates of Eden: the dream of America from Hiroshima to Now. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.2.16.
7. Veronica Roth - Divergent. Free Kindle promotion, obtained 5.2.16.
8. Rachael Chadwick - 60 Postcards. Cheap ebook (99p!) from kobo. Obtained 6.2.16.
9. Margaret Truman - White House Pets. Cheap ebook (£1.99) from kobo, via bookbub. Obtained 26.2.16.
10. Ted Anton - The Longevity Seekers: Science, Business, and the Fountain of Youth. Free UoC Press ebook. Obtained 1.3.16.
11. Jennifer Eremeeva - Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia: An Iconoclastic History by a Recovering Russophile. Free ebook from kobo, obtained 6.3.16. (BB)
12. Margaretta Eagar - Six Years at the Russian Court. Free ebook from kobo, obtained 6.3.16. (BB)
13. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix chez Rahazade. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
14. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix Gladiateur. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
15. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix le Gaulois. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
16. Goscinny & Uderzo - Asterix chez les Belges. From Barter Books (£5.60), obtained 21.3.16.
17. Jennifer Worth - Shadows of the Workhouse. From Barter Books (£2.20), obtained 21.3.16.
18. Linda Herrera - Revolution in the Age of Social Media. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
19. Gabriella Coleman - Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
20. Nick Srnicek & Alex Williams - Inventing the Future. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
21. Aaron Swartz - The Boy Who Could Change the World. Free ebook from Verso, obtained 31.3.16.
22. Helen Morales - Pilgrimage to Dollywood. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.4.16.
23. Nicholas Shaxson - Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World. From kobo (via BookBub) (£1.99), obtained 10.4.1.6.
24. Neil Gaiman - Stardust. From kobo (£0.99), obtained 29.4.16.
25. Kate Evans - Red Rosa. 50% off from Verso (£5), obtained 1.5.16.
26. Lisa Lynch - The C-Word. From kobo (£1.99), via Bookbub. Obtained 11.5.16.
27. Ben Goldacre - Bad Pharma. From kobo (£1.99). Obtained 26.5.16.
28. Mark Monmonier - Coast Lines: How Mapmakers Frame the World and Chart Environmental Change. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.6.16.
29. Jasper Fforde - The Eyre Affair. From kobo (£0.99). Obtained 2.6.16.
30. Jane Smith - Wild Island (no touchstone for either author or book as far as I can tell). Birthday present. Obtained 3.6.16.
31. Amy Liptrot - The Outrun. From kobo (£8.63). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16.
32. Thomas Harding - The House by the Lake. From kobo (£5.49). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16. (BB)
33. Yevgeny Zamyatin - We. From kobo (£0.99). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16. (BB)
34. Mikhail Bulgakov - A Country Doctor's Notebook. From kobo (£3.99). Birthday treat. Obtained 4.6.16.
35. ed. Luke M. Herrington, Alasdair McKay, & Jeffrey Haines - Nations Under God: The Geopolitics of Faith in the Twenty-First Century (no touchstone). Free ebook from E-International Relations. Obtained 10.6.16.
36. Marta Dyczok - Ukraine's Euromaidan: Broadcasting Through Information Wars with Hromadske Radio (no touchstone). Free ebook from E-International Relations. Obtained 10.6.16.
37. ed. Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska & Richard Sakwa - Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives (no touchstone). Free ebook from E-International Relations. Obtained 10.6.16.
38. Melissa Harrison - Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. Book group purchase from Amazon (£8.60).
39. Dominic Selwood - Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers. From kobo (£0.99), via Bookbub. Obtained 23.6.16 (BB).
40. Joshua Blu Buhs - Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend. Free UoC Press ebook, obtained 1.7.16.
41. Dawn French - Dear Fatty. From kobo, via bookbub (£1.99). Obtained 15.7.16.
42. Various - The Brexit Crisis: A Verso Report (no touchstone). Free ebook from Verso. Obtained 16.7.16.
43. Vasyl Baziv - Armageddon at Maidan. Free ebook from LT (Early Reviewer). Obtained 26.7.16.
44. Marcia Kester Doyle - Who Stole my Spandex? Life in the Hot Flash Lane. From kobo (£0.76) via Bookbub. Obtained 29.7.16.
45. Nicole Faires - Food Confidential (no touchstone). From kobo (£1.99) via Bookbub. Obtained 31.7.16.
46. Derek Cooper - The Road to Mingulay. From Barter Books (£2.80). Obtained 6.8.16. (Thingaversary)
47. Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed. From Barter Books (£4.60). Obtained 6.8.16. (Thingaversary).
48. Peter Gill - Famine & Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid. From Barter Books (£6.60). Obtained 8.8.16. (Thingaversary).
49. Tony Hawks - A Piano in the Pyrenees. From Barter Books (£2.20). Obtained 8.8.16. (Thingaversary).
50. John McCarthy & Sandi Toksvig - Island Race: An Improbable Voyage Round the Coast of Britain. From Barter Books (£8.60). Obtained 8.8.16. (Thingaversary).
51. James Rebanks - The Shepherd's Life. From kobo (£1.99) via Bookbub. Obtained 8.8.16.
52. Segilola Salami - Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London. Free ebook from LT (Member Giveaway). Obtained 14.8.16.
53. Dorothy Al Khafaji - Between Two Rivers. From kobo (£0.99) via Bookbub. Obtained 24.8.16.
54. Tom Michell - The Penguin Lessons. From Waterstones (free with Waterstones stamps, yay!). Obtained 27.8.16.
55. Chris Dolley - International Kittens of Mystery. Free ebook from LT (Early Reviewer). Obtained 31.8.16.
56. Benedict Anderson - A Life Beyond Boundaries. From Verso (£1.50). Obtained 1.9.16.
57. Benedict Anderson - Imagined Communities. From Verso (£1.30). Obtained 1.9.16.
58. Lindsey German & John Rees - A People's History of London. From Verso (£1.30). Obtained 1.9.16.
59. Owen Hatherley - A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain. From Verso (£1.10). Obtained 1.9.16.
60. Matthew Beaumont - Night Walking. From Verso (£1.00). Obtained 1.9.16.
61. Juliet Jacques - Trans: A Memoir. From Verso (£1.70). Obtained 1.9.16.
62. George Monbiot - How Did We Get Into This Mess?. From Verso (£1.70). Obtained 1.9.16.
63. Paul R Ehrlich & Michael Charles Tobias - Hope on Earth. Free ebook from UoC Press. Obtained 1.9.16.
64. Marie Colvin - On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin. From Kobo store (£1.99). Obtained 14.9.16.
65. Sophie Boss & Audrey Boss - Beyond Chocolate. From Amazon marketplace (£2.42). Obtained 15.9.16.
66. Ghada Alatrash - Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Women. Free from LT (Early Reviewers). Obtained 1.10.16.
67. Craig A Monson - Nuns Behaving Badly: Tales of Music, Magic, Art, and Arson in the Convents of Italy. Free UoC Press ebook. Obtained 3.10.16.
68. Cliff Jones - Water Runs Slow Through Flat Land. Free kindle book from amazon, delivered to kindle app. Obtained 13.10.16.
69. Katie Kirby - Hurrah for Gin (no touchstone yet). From Waterstones (£9.99). Obtained 15.10.16.
70. Michael Brantley - Memory Cards. Free ebook from kobo (via Bookbub). Obtained 19.10.16.
71. Amy Brown - Breastfeeding Uncovered. From the publisher (Pinter & Martin) (£9.99). Obtained 20.10.16.
72. Rebecca West - Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. From kobo (via Bookbub) (£1.99). Obtained 20.10.16.
73. Sheila Hancock - The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw. From kobo (daily offers) (£1.99). Obtained 20.10.16.
74. Carl H. Nightingale - Segregation: A Global History of Divided Cities. Free UoC Press ebook. Obtained 6.11.16.
75. Frank Kusy - Kevin and I in India. From kobo (via Bookbub) (£0.99). Obtained 10.11.16.
76. Emma Jane Kirby - The Optician of Lampedusa. From Waterstones (£9.99). Ordered 10.11.16.
77. Reece Jones - Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move. Free ebook from Verso Books. Obtained 19.11.16.
78. Various - Secrets and Confessions (no touchstone). Free ebook from Scottish Book Trust for Scottish Book Week 2016. Obtained 21.11.16.
79. Pauline Nevins - Fudge: The Downs and Ups of a Biracial, Half-Irish, British War Baby (no touchstone). Kindle ebook (£3.89). Obtained 24.11.16.
80. Monica Connell - Gathering Carrageen. From kobo bookshop sale (£0.99). Obtained 28.11.16.
81. Marjorie Ann Watts - Making a Mark (why is Pride & Prejudice the first touchstone for this?!!). From LT (Early Reader), free ebook. Obtained 3.12.16.
82. Stephen Graham - Vertical: The City from Satellites to Bunkers. From Verso books sale (£10.00). Obtained 8.12.16.
83. Karl Pilkington - Happyslapped by a Jellyfish. From kobo bookshop (via Bookbub) (£1.49). Obtained 12.12.16.
84. Julian Barnes - The Noise of Time. Christmas present. Obtained 25.12.16.
85. Philomena de Lima - International Migration: The Wellbeing of Migrants (no touchstone). Christmas present. Obtained 25.12.16.
86. Tim Peake - Hello, is this Planet Earth?. Duplicate Christmas present! (£10.00). Obtained 28.12.16.
87. Heather Rogers - Green Gone Wrong. From Verso sale (£1.00). Obtained 30.12.16.
88. Jeremy Harding - Border Vigils. From Verso sale (£1.00). Obtained 30.12.16.
89. Noam Chayut - The Girl Who Stole My Holocaust. From Verso sale £1.50). Obtained 30.12.16.
Edited to add: I've decided to also monitor how much I spend on books this year. So far (mid-Feb) I have acquired 8 books, 5 of which were free. The other three were £1.03, £5.99 and £0.99 respectively so current total is £8.01. I don't think that's bad so far!
Tally 26.2.16 - 9 books (5 free, 4 paid-for), total spent £10.00. 1 BB bought.
Tally 6.3.16 - 12 books (8 free, 4 paid-for), total spent £10.00. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 25.3.16 - 17 books (8 free, 9 paid-for), total spent £36.60. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 10.4.16 - 23 books (13 free, 10 paid-for), total spent £38.59. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 29.4.16 - 24 books (13 free, 11 paid-for), total spent £39.58. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 1.5.16 - 25 books (13 free, 12 paid-for), total spent £44.58. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 11.5.16 - 26 books (13 free, 13 paid-for), total spent £46.57. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 26.5.16 - 27 books (13 free, 14 paid-for), total spent £48.56. 3 BBs bought.
Tally 1.6.16 - 28 books (14 free, 14 paid-for), total spent £48.56. 3 BBs bought. 21 ebooks, 7 paper books.
Tally 3.6.16. - 30 books (15 free, 15 paid-for), total spent £49.55. 3 BBs bought. 22 ebooks, 8 paper books.
Tally 10.6.16 - 37 books (18 free, 19 paid-for), total spent £68.65. 5 BBs bought. 29 ebooks, 8 paper books.
Tally 25.6.16 - 39 books (18 free, 21 paid-for), total spent £78.24. 6 BBs bought. 30 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 1.7.16 - 40 books (19 free, 21 paid-for), total spent £78.24. 6 BBs bought. 31 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 16.7.16 - 42 books (20 free, 22 paid-for), total spent £80.23. 6 BBs bought. 33 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 29.7.16 - 44 books (21 free, 23 paid-for), total spent £80.99. 6 BBs bought. 35 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 31.7.16 - 45 books (21 free, 24 paid-for), total spent £82.98. 6 BBs bought. 36 ebooks, 9 paper books.
Tally 10.8.16 - 51 books (21 free, 30 paid-for), total spent £109.67. 6 BBs bought. 37 ebooks, 14 paper books.
Tally 14.8.16 - 52 books (22 free, 30 paid-for), total spent £109.67. 6 BBs bought. 38 ebooks, 14 paper books.
Tally 24.8.16 - 53 books (22 free, 31 paid-for), total spent £110.66. 6 BBs bought. 39 ebooks, 14 paper books.
Tally 27.8.16 - 54 books (23 free, 31 paid-for), total spent £110.66. 6 BBs bought. 39 ebooks, 15 paper books.
Tally 31.8.16 - 55 books (24 free, 31 paid-for), total spent £110.66. 6 BBs bought. 40 ebooks, 15 paper books.
Tally 1.9.16 - 63 books (25 free, 38 paid-for), total spent £120.26. 6 BBS bought. 48 ebooks, 15 paper books.
Tally 15.9.16 - 65 books (25 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 49 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 1.10.16 - 66 books (26 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 50 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 3.10.16 - 67 books (27 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 51 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 13.10.16 - 68 books (28 free, 40 paid-for), total spent £124.67. 6 BBs bought. 52 ebooks, 16 paper books.
Tally 15.10.16 - 69 books (28 free, 41 paid-for), total spent £134.66. 6 BBs bought. 52 ebooks, 17 paper books.
Tally 19.10.16 - 70 books (29 free, 41 paid-for), total spent £134.66. 6 BBs bought. 53 ebooks, 17 paper books.
Tally 20.10.16 - 73 books (29 free, 44 paid-for), total spent £148.63. 6 BBs bought. 55 ebooks, 18 paper books.
Tally 6.11.16 - 74 books (30 free, 44 paid-for), total spent £148.63. 6 BBs bought. 56 ebooks, 18 paper books.
Tally 10.11.16 - 76 books (30 free, 46 paid-for), total spent £159.61. 6 BBs bought. 57 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 19.11.16 - 77 books (31 free, 46 paid-for), total spent £159.61. 6 BBs bought. 58 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 21.11.16 - 78 books (32 free, 46 paid-for), total spent £159.61. 6 BBs bought. 59 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 24.11.16 - 79 books (32 free, 47 paid-for), total spent £163.50. 6 BBs bought. 60 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 28.11.16 - 80 books (32 free, 48 paid-for), total spent £164.49. 6 BBs bought. 61 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 3.12.16 - 81 books (33 free, 48 paid-for), total spent £164.49. 6 BBs bought. 62 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 8.12.16 - 82 books (33 free, 49 paid-for), total spent £174.49. 6 BBs bought. 63 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 12.12.16 - 83 books (33 free, 50 paid-for), total spent £176.98. 6 BBs bought. 64 ebooks, 19 paper books.
Tally 25.12.16 - 85 books (35 free, 50 paid-for), total spent £176.98. 7 BBs obtained. 64 ebooks, 21 paper books.
Tally 28.12.16 - 86 books (35 free, 51 paid-for), total spent £186.98. 7 BBs obtained. 64 ebooks, 22 paper books.
Tally 30.12.16 - 89 books (35 free, 54 paid-for), total spent £190.48. 7 BBs obtained. 67 ebooks, 22 paper books.
4rabbitprincess
You're doing great with ROOT reading and it looks like they've been pretty high quality, too! Hurray!
5MissWatson
Happy new thread! The book-buying tally looks scary. I don't think I'd have the courage to face my spendthrift ways...
6Jackie_K
>4 rabbitprincess: Thank you, yes so far there's only really been one dud (I abandoned it) so I really can't complain!
>5 MissWatson: Last year was scarier (the first year I did it), I really shocked myself. I think this year if I can stick to 1:2 ratio, then I'll look at reducing it further next year. I've only had a couple of big book-buying blow-outs so far, and one was my birthday, so it could have been worse!
>5 MissWatson: Last year was scarier (the first year I did it), I really shocked myself. I think this year if I can stick to 1:2 ratio, then I'll look at reducing it further next year. I've only had a couple of big book-buying blow-outs so far, and one was my birthday, so it could have been worse!
7karenmarie
Hi Jackie! Interesting statistics. I wouldn't dare look at how much I've spent this year.....
8Familyhistorian
Happy new thread, Jackie! You are doing really well at the ROOTs reading and at curbing the acquisition habit. If you are moving those finished ROOTs along to new owners then you have room on the shelves.
9Jackie_K
>7 karenmarie: This is the first year I've tracked my spending. I'm wondering if I can be better in the 2nd half of the year, and not go over £100 for the year? (that's quite drastic as I've spent £78 so far!). I'm not going to beat myself up about that though - I think I'll just see what I spend this year and then try hard to spend less next year.
>8 Familyhistorian: Now hang on a minute, don't let's get too drastic here! Moving books on is not one of my more obvious gifts!
However, on the positive side, of the now 40 books I have acquired this year so far, only 9 of them are physical books, so at least I'm not overly cluttering up the house (well, not really much more than usual!).
>8 Familyhistorian: Now hang on a minute, don't let's get too drastic here! Moving books on is not one of my more obvious gifts!
However, on the positive side, of the now 40 books I have acquired this year so far, only 9 of them are physical books, so at least I'm not overly cluttering up the house (well, not really much more than usual!).
11Familyhistorian
>9 Jackie_K: See, you are doing even better than you thought because you don't have to move books along to fit in your new acquisitions.
12karenmarie
>9 Jackie_K: There are quite a few folks on LT who either buy e-books which don't clutter, or catch and release books. I, on the other hand, must have books surrounding me, and have been so since I was about 10. Every room in my parents house, every apartment, and every house, has to have bookcases. I do admit that since marrying my husband 25 years ago I've steadily expanded my library, in face doubling it in the last 18 years or so. I blame my husband for building me new bookcases whenever the opportunity has offered itself, bless his heart.
Even though I've culled 85 from my library this year, I've added 162. (80 of them during the Friends of the Library Sale, but even then, 82 one-by-one. Sigh.)
Even though I've culled 85 from my library this year, I've added 162. (80 of them during the Friends of the Library Sale, but even then, 82 one-by-one. Sigh.)
13Jackie_K
>10 Tess_W: I think it's just a reflection of my slight nerdiness, rather than any sense of excessive organisation!
>12 karenmarie: I still have plenty of paper books, in pretty much every room (other than the bathroom - I've never been one for toilet/bath reading!), so I still get to enjoy the look of plenty of books on their shelves. I only succumbed to the lure of the ereader relatively recently (about 3 years ago). I am appreciating it though, as having a small child means that our (not small, but also not enormous) house is full of her stuff and never tidy. I can cope with the level of clutter we have at the moment, but think I'm pretty close to my limit.
>12 karenmarie: I still have plenty of paper books, in pretty much every room (other than the bathroom - I've never been one for toilet/bath reading!), so I still get to enjoy the look of plenty of books on their shelves. I only succumbed to the lure of the ereader relatively recently (about 3 years ago). I am appreciating it though, as having a small child means that our (not small, but also not enormous) house is full of her stuff and never tidy. I can cope with the level of clutter we have at the moment, but think I'm pretty close to my limit.
14Jackie_K
My first ROOT for July (#22 for the year) was last month's free ebook from the University of Chicago Press - Mark Monmonier's Coast lines: how mapmakers frame the world and chart environmental change. I was mainly attracted by the bit after the colon in the title, so although this is quite a technical, academic book, in an area where I know next to nothing, it was definitely worth persevering with. The first 4 or 5 chapters were probably a bit too technical for me, and there was a bit of skim-reading going on I must confess, but thereafter I found it very readable and interesting, and accessible to a novice. I found the history of cartography, and his applications to the American coast in particular, very interesting. 3.5/5.
Next up, some ancient (pre-1900) fiction.
Next up, some ancient (pre-1900) fiction.
15Tess_W
>14 Jackie_K: I'm glad you enjoyed the mapmakers book. I debated on whether to d/l one or not, and declined. LOL to ancient (pre-1900) fiction!
16Jackie_K
>15 Tess_W: For my category challenge, I divided fiction into 3 eras - contemporary (1969-present, ie contemporary with me), vintage (1900-1968), and ancient (pre-1900). It works well for me, and means that I get a nice variety without things getting too complicated (if I tried theming my fiction by topic it would have just grown arms and legs).
I've also chosen (well, the Jar of Fate chose for me, to be precise!) a travel book which is quite hefty (for me - c450 pages of very small print), so I think that reading the two at the same time will help me manage both. I must admit that the more substantial books can make my heart sink a little at the start, till I get into them, so knowing I have an alternative will help with motivation! And as the fiction book is also on the theme of travel, hopefully they will complement each other well.
I've also chosen (well, the Jar of Fate chose for me, to be precise!) a travel book which is quite hefty (for me - c450 pages of very small print), so I think that reading the two at the same time will help me manage both. I must admit that the more substantial books can make my heart sink a little at the start, till I get into them, so knowing I have an alternative will help with motivation! And as the fiction book is also on the theme of travel, hopefully they will complement each other well.
17Tess_W
Sounds like a great plan...the "ancient" just struck a funny chord with me....my high school history students think ancient history is pre 1980's!
18Jackie_K
>17 Tess_W: oh I know - being an older mum, even some of my 'mum friends' (who have children the same age as my daughter) see pre-1980s as ancient! A few years ago when I was tutoring at university to fund my PhD, I felt super-old when I realised that the students who were starting out on my course (on eastern European history, up to 1989) were born in 1990. For me, I was teaching about things that I remembered, but for them it was already history and not in their lifetime!
Looking at my 'contemporary fiction' category, I have plenty of friends for whom my books from the 70s would be ancient history! Creak.
Looking at my 'contemporary fiction' category, I have plenty of friends for whom my books from the 70s would be ancient history! Creak.
19Jackie_K
ROOT #2 for July, #23 for the year, is now finished. Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. It's not the kind of book that ever particularly appealed, but when I got my first eReader it was already loaded onto it, and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. I don't think the characters are particularly rounded or anything, but this was a quick and enjoyable romp round the world with lots of derring-do and general silliness. 3.5/5.
For the stats nerds, I have just gone back to my previous years' ROOT threads, and find that in 2014 I read 21 books and in 2015 I read 23. I just can't believe I have reached my best ever total this early in the year! The Jar of Fate has definitely done wonders for my reading!
For the stats nerds, I have just gone back to my previous years' ROOT threads, and find that in 2014 I read 21 books and in 2015 I read 23. I just can't believe I have reached my best ever total this early in the year! The Jar of Fate has definitely done wonders for my reading!
20karenmarie
>16 Jackie_K: Hmmm. I'm 'vintage', having been born in 1953, and my paternal grandmother and grandfather are classified as ancient, having been born in 1882 and 1879! (They died 'vintage', in 1964 and 1925).
I was 40 when I had my daughter and so most of the parents I met at daughter's school seemed very young and immature to me. Sigh. Daughter, having been brought up by old fogies, loves old rock and roll, old musicals, and black and white movies. She understands a lot of references her contemporaries don't understand; but, she also knows her generational stuff too, which her dad and I don't know.
>19 Jackie_K: Congratulations on reaching your best ever total in July!
I was 40 when I had my daughter and so most of the parents I met at daughter's school seemed very young and immature to me. Sigh. Daughter, having been brought up by old fogies, loves old rock and roll, old musicals, and black and white movies. She understands a lot of references her contemporaries don't understand; but, she also knows her generational stuff too, which her dad and I don't know.
>19 Jackie_K: Congratulations on reaching your best ever total in July!
21Jackie_K
>20 karenmarie: That is actually really encouraging to me - I do worry that my daughter will be embarrassed by her old fogey parents (I was 44 when I had her), she thinks we're the best thing ever at the moment but I know that won't last!
22Tess_W
I was just the opposite, had my first son at age 22 and my 2nd at age 23; so I was one of the younger parents. However, being brought up in the 50's, my children still know and love old rock and roll, original country singers such as Tex Ritter, and anything my mother and I could play on the piano. We watched black and white movies on Saturday afternoons on an old movie channel. We went camping; and surely not modern by today's standards: pitched our own tent, dug a hole for a latrine, set up a tripod to cook on, etc. We traveled all over the U.S. with our tent and our cooler: Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, The Badlands, etc. I started reading to them in the womb and did not quit until they were of an age they could read by themselves. Even then, I read to aloud in the car when we went on long car trips. I hope I was not one of those "immature" parents, even though I was young! Now that I'm older and wiser, I can appreciate waiting to have children; it's the "wisdom" that makes me think that. The upside to my scenario is that I was a grandmother at 43 so I am one of the youngest "grannies" around and I love taking my grandchildren to some of the same places we took their parents, it's a real blast.
23Familyhistorian
The history/generational info is very interesting. I tend to think of history as before I was born so basically from WWII back. But now I have lived through a lot of what people alive today think of as history. I was also an older mum as I had my one and only child just before I turned 35. But generations in my family tend to be very looong. My paternal grandmother was born in 1878 but was married twice and had lots of children - so my father and uncles fought in WWII but I also had an uncle who fought in WWI.
24connie53
>16 Jackie_K: I'm vintage too, born in 1953.
Jeroen was born when I just turned 30 and Eveline when I was 32. Peet was a bit hesitant about having kids, he wanted to wait longer. I told him I wanted to be either pregnant or have a baby when reaching 30. You never know if you can have kids or how long it takes to get pregnant. But I got pregnant right away.
The story goes that one of my great great grandfathers was married 3 times and had 33 children!
Jeroen was born when I just turned 30 and Eveline when I was 32. Peet was a bit hesitant about having kids, he wanted to wait longer. I told him I wanted to be either pregnant or have a baby when reaching 30. You never know if you can have kids or how long it takes to get pregnant. But I got pregnant right away.
The story goes that one of my great great grandfathers was married 3 times and had 33 children!
25Tess_W
>24 connie53: Wow, 33 children! I was fortunate to have longevity genes on my mother's side of the family. My grandmother lived to be 99 and she was in good health and mind like a tack until the very end. I loved talking to her about the roaring 20's, the great depression, and WWII. My mother is 84 and is the same way. I hope I inherit those genes!
26Jackie_K
>22 Tess_W: My mum had me in her early 20s - by the time she was the age I was when I had my daughter, I had been to university and graduated and was living and working independently. My sister was in the middle of our two extremes - she married mid-20s and had her daughter in her early 30s.
>23 Familyhistorian: Generation length is another interesting issue, isn't it? I work with families with babies and young children, and many here have their children very young as their parents did before them. So I quite often end up meeting grandparents who are my age or younger! Luckily I've only been asked once if I was my daughter's granny! I was talking about this with my boss the other day, she was saying about how where she lives (more rural area, and more affluent) older mums are much more the norm.
>24 connie53: 33 children is very impressive indeed!
A few years ago, when my dad treated himself to Photoshop, he showed me a photo that he had managed to restore. It showed my great-grandparents and their children (I can't remember how many of them there were, but I have 12 in my head - there were certainly quite a few of them!). My grandmother was one of the two younger ones, I think she would have been about 3 at the time so I guess we're talking early 1920s. The older ones were in their mid-late teens, and there were lots in between! What I had never been told until dad showed me the photo was that a couple of years later my great-grandfather left my great-grandmother, leaving her with all those children, and ran off with another woman and had several more children with her too. Apparently it was a thing of great shame, so nobody in the family really talked about it at all, even years and years later. When I was growing up, we had a neighbour a couple of houses away whom I was vaguely aware was loosely related to us on my dad's side of the family, he had the same surname as my grandmother's maiden name. It was only recently after learning of my great-grandfather leaving my great-grandmother and starting a new family that I realised that our neighbour was one of the children from the second wife.
>25 Tess_W: Tess I can absolutely imagine you regaling your grandchildren (and hopefully great-grandchildren!) with fantastic tales of the 50s and 60s!).
>23 Familyhistorian: Generation length is another interesting issue, isn't it? I work with families with babies and young children, and many here have their children very young as their parents did before them. So I quite often end up meeting grandparents who are my age or younger! Luckily I've only been asked once if I was my daughter's granny! I was talking about this with my boss the other day, she was saying about how where she lives (more rural area, and more affluent) older mums are much more the norm.
>24 connie53: 33 children is very impressive indeed!
A few years ago, when my dad treated himself to Photoshop, he showed me a photo that he had managed to restore. It showed my great-grandparents and their children (I can't remember how many of them there were, but I have 12 in my head - there were certainly quite a few of them!). My grandmother was one of the two younger ones, I think she would have been about 3 at the time so I guess we're talking early 1920s. The older ones were in their mid-late teens, and there were lots in between! What I had never been told until dad showed me the photo was that a couple of years later my great-grandfather left my great-grandmother, leaving her with all those children, and ran off with another woman and had several more children with her too. Apparently it was a thing of great shame, so nobody in the family really talked about it at all, even years and years later. When I was growing up, we had a neighbour a couple of houses away whom I was vaguely aware was loosely related to us on my dad's side of the family, he had the same surname as my grandmother's maiden name. It was only recently after learning of my great-grandfather leaving my great-grandmother and starting a new family that I realised that our neighbour was one of the children from the second wife.
>25 Tess_W: Tess I can absolutely imagine you regaling your grandchildren (and hopefully great-grandchildren!) with fantastic tales of the 50s and 60s!).
27karenmarie
All this is fun to read! I remember being shocked when I started the job I recently retired from - one of the women there was 36 and already a grandmother!
28Familyhistorian
>24 connie53: 33 children- Wow! The mind boggles.
Different generation lengths do have strange results. But then multiple marriages do too. I can think of a few instances when women with children in their teens get married and start a new family. Even in my family there was a long pause between me and my younger sibling - 10.5 years. We always told my younger brother that we soften up the parents for him. It was almost like he was brought up in a different family because the parents had changed a lot in that time.
Different generation lengths do have strange results. But then multiple marriages do too. I can think of a few instances when women with children in their teens get married and start a new family. Even in my family there was a long pause between me and my younger sibling - 10.5 years. We always told my younger brother that we soften up the parents for him. It was almost like he was brought up in a different family because the parents had changed a lot in that time.
29Tess_W
>24 connie53:
>28 Familyhistorian:
Yes, there are some strange results with different generational patterns. My great grandmother had 3 children very close together, no children for 10 years, and then 3 more bam bam bam! Actually she became a mother and a grandmother in the same month. My dad was an uncle at about 2 months of age.
>28 Familyhistorian:
Yes, there are some strange results with different generational patterns. My great grandmother had 3 children very close together, no children for 10 years, and then 3 more bam bam bam! Actually she became a mother and a grandmother in the same month. My dad was an uncle at about 2 months of age.
30Jackie_K
>29 Tess_W: My mum's family is the same - she was the second of 3 sisters very close in age, then when she was 16 my grandmother had another girl, and then another. My two youngest aunts are only 5 and 6 years older than me, and I was in my 20s before they had children, so my three youngest cousins feel more like nieces and nephew.
31Jackie_K
I sneaked in a quick ROOT whilst reading a much longer and slower one. This is actually one of this month's new acquisitions, but because of the subject matter I wanted to read it now rather than leave it for the Jar of Fate and then not reading it for years! There isn't a touchstone, as it is a hastily produced volume of writing about Brexit. It was a freebie from Verso Books - for anyone who's interested in a short, left-leaning collections of writings (some from the Verso blog, and other left-leaning sites) on the immediate aftermath of the UK's (IMO) disastrous vote to leave the European Union, it's free for the rest of July at this link: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2352-the-brexit-crisis
I had actually read the first chapter before (it will have been linked on facebook), but the others were new to me and gave me a lot of food for thought. Some of the chapters on racism and class have really challenged me, and I suspect I'll come back to them. 4/5.
This might be my last ROOT for July - I am off for a week on Saturday and don't know how much reading I will realistically get done. We are seeing family so it is likely to be quite busy with all the kids. I'm pretty sure I will be coming home (and back to work) for a rest!
I had actually read the first chapter before (it will have been linked on facebook), but the others were new to me and gave me a lot of food for thought. Some of the chapters on racism and class have really challenged me, and I suspect I'll come back to them. 4/5.
This might be my last ROOT for July - I am off for a week on Saturday and don't know how much reading I will realistically get done. We are seeing family so it is likely to be quite busy with all the kids. I'm pretty sure I will be coming home (and back to work) for a rest!
32MissWatson
Enjoy your family time!
33karenmarie
>31 Jackie_K: Jackie - thank you! I went to the verso link and "bought" the free Brexit book. Went to Amazon, made verso a valid e-mail address, and now have it on my Kindle. Of course I haven't read it yet, but at least I have it.
Have a good time visiting family. I hopeyou can get some reading in!
Have a good time visiting family. I hopeyou can get some reading in!
34Jackie_K
>32 MissWatson: >33 karenmarie: Thank you both! I am so glad I'm not moving house, I'm finding packing for a holiday traumatic enough!
>33 karenmarie: I'm really interested in how folk in the US see the Brexit vote (I realise you have your own political shenanigans taking up a lot of attention at the moment - all I can say is please don't repeat our mistake!!!!).
>33 karenmarie: I'm really interested in how folk in the US see the Brexit vote (I realise you have your own political shenanigans taking up a lot of attention at the moment - all I can say is please don't repeat our mistake!!!!).
35Tess_W
Jackie, I have 2 friends across the pond and they are both of different minds about Brexit. One says it was the right thing to do, to "take back" the country for the British and the 2nd one said bad move because they will lose a lot of jobs. What is your take?
BTW, Jackie, have you read Outlander? I just loved it--all about Scottish goings one--the deposed James II and his son and their supporters-The Jacobites and the English William and Mary and Anne and everybody in between. The thing I find strange about it is that Scotland supported James Francis Edward Stuart , Prince of Wales (James' II's son), who was Catholic. And the Scots were notoriously not Catholic--do you know why they supported "The Pretender" to the throne?
BTW, Jackie, have you read Outlander? I just loved it--all about Scottish goings one--the deposed James II and his son and their supporters-The Jacobites and the English William and Mary and Anne and everybody in between. The thing I find strange about it is that Scotland supported James Francis Edward Stuart , Prince of Wales (James' II's son), who was Catholic. And the Scots were notoriously not Catholic--do you know why they supported "The Pretender" to the throne?
36karenmarie
>34 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie! Without having read anything in great detail, but with having some reputable news sources AND read some of the interesting comments on Paul Cranswick's threads, I think it was a dangerous thing to bring to a vote and the outcome reprehensible and short-sighted. It jeopardizes stability in the region and also threatens to break apart Britain. But I definitely need to read more and see if my initial impressions/opinion stand up with more knowledge.
Our political shenanigans are equally reprehensible, although I'm a proud Yellow Dog Democrat, meaning that I vote straight party ticket Democrat in all cases. This was not always so - I used to try to figure out the person to vote for race by race but have come to abhor the Republican Party over the last 30 years or so. Fascist Donald Trump and the Republican Party are ridiculous, dangerous, and embarrassing to the US. The GOP (Grand Old Party = Republican Party) has been an embarrassment ever since Bush Junior stole the White House in 2000, and with the Tea Party and Sarah Palin and all the religious demagoguery.
I personally like Hillary Clinton and voted for her over Bernie Sanders in the North Carolina Primary. She's strong, intelligent, dedicated to public service, and has been hounded and harassed by the Republican Party at least since Bill Clinton was in the White House. I don't particularly admire her for sticking with Bill the adulterer, but admire Team Clinton in their dedication to implementing things that the Democratic Party holds dear. I additionally think that Hillary has always played a long game for herself regardless of Bill and hope there are no shenanigans in this election cycle perpetrated against her by a desperate Republican Party.
Well. *blinks* That felt good.
>35 Tess_W: Hi Tess! I'm so glad you're getting into Outlander. I'll be interested in Jackie's response to your Catholic question.
Our political shenanigans are equally reprehensible, although I'm a proud Yellow Dog Democrat, meaning that I vote straight party ticket Democrat in all cases. This was not always so - I used to try to figure out the person to vote for race by race but have come to abhor the Republican Party over the last 30 years or so. Fascist Donald Trump and the Republican Party are ridiculous, dangerous, and embarrassing to the US. The GOP (Grand Old Party = Republican Party) has been an embarrassment ever since Bush Junior stole the White House in 2000, and with the Tea Party and Sarah Palin and all the religious demagoguery.
I personally like Hillary Clinton and voted for her over Bernie Sanders in the North Carolina Primary. She's strong, intelligent, dedicated to public service, and has been hounded and harassed by the Republican Party at least since Bill Clinton was in the White House. I don't particularly admire her for sticking with Bill the adulterer, but admire Team Clinton in their dedication to implementing things that the Democratic Party holds dear. I additionally think that Hillary has always played a long game for herself regardless of Bill and hope there are no shenanigans in this election cycle perpetrated against her by a desperate Republican Party.
Well. *blinks* That felt good.
>35 Tess_W: Hi Tess! I'm so glad you're getting into Outlander. I'll be interested in Jackie's response to your Catholic question.
37Tess_W
>36 karenmarie: LOL Karen, my vote probably cancels yours and I would substitute Democrats for Republicans in just about everything you posted...and don't get me started on Obama/Clintons! But that's what makes a Republic (although most call the U.S. a democracy). Although I don't vote straight party ticket, especially this year. I consider myself an independent. This year I will be voting for a write in candidate--no choice between and lunatic and a criminal, imho. Just FYI, this link might or might not be of interest to you---a recount by the NY Times......http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/12/politics/12VOTE.html?pagewanted=all
38karenmarie
>37 Tess_W: Vive la difference, Tess. We must just agree to disagree, in the friendliest way possible. I just read the admittedly potentially loosey-goosey definitions of republic and democracy on Wikipedia..... and am not sure which really defines the US. More research.....
Thanks for the link, I've added it my favorites, will try to watch it soon.
Thanks for the link, I've added it my favorites, will try to watch it soon.
39Tess_W
>38 karenmarie: Yes, Karen, agree to disagree, that is what a republic and friendly debate is all about! Actually, our founding fathers founded the U.S. as a republic. A republic defined is that people elect representatives to look after their best interests. A democracy is when people rule directly, as in ancient Greece, which has been the only true democracy in history---and of course, it was a failure. Our founding fathers, in the Federalist papers debated these types of government intensely, actually calling democracy "rule of the mob." When Ben Franklin exited the Constitutional Convention, he was asked what type of government had been decided upon. His reply, "A republic, madame, if you can keep it."
40Jackie_K
>35 Tess_W: Tess, I have to confess I don't know the answer to your question - Scottish history is not something we learn in English schools, and I have only picked up bits and pieces on the occasional castle guided tour, so don't have a good overview of the history in my head at all! I am looking forward to learning a bit more Scottish history once my daughter starts school here! Off the top of my head, I wonder if it's anything to do with the traditional (anti-English) alliance between Scotland and France? When I am back from holiday I will ask my Scottish friends if they know!
I haven't read any Outlander - I'm not a big fan of romance or of historical fiction, although I know many people are huge fans of Outlander. Diana Gabaldon was in Stirling recently for our book festival, her sessions were sold out pretty much as soon as they were advertised, as I'm sure you can imagine! If I'm not mistaken, I think I heard an interview with her once where she said that she actually hadn't been to Scotland prior to writing the first book in the series (although I know she has rectified that since!).
Also, thank you >35 Tess_W: and >36 karenmarie: for your response to my Brexit question! It's interesting to get a non-insider view! My personal view is that whilst the EU has plenty of faults, I think leaving it will be a disaster. For jobs, for security, for environmental regulation, for research funding and collaboration, amongst many other reasons. Another thing I hate is that since the vote, we have seen a huge increase in race-related hate crime - I don't think that the vote has caused that, but I think that it has meant that people who already held those views feel much more confident in expressing them in public and feel like the result has legitimised their views. Also, the whole campaign (very reminiscent of Trump's campaign in America, to this outsider at any rate) has been based on lowest common denominator fear mongering and scapegoating. I really don't like my country right now, I'll be honest! I am very glad I am living in Scotland, where we were a majority voting to Remain, and also where our politicians, for all their faults, are actually trying to figure out where we are going and what the best course is, unlike the UK politicians who are in-fighting and jostling for position.
And on top of all that, none of the prominent politicians on either side of the campaign had any plan for what we should do if we actually did vote to leave the EU. Excuse my French, but the whole thing has been a giant cluster****, which only happened at all because David Cameron was trying to appease his more Eurosceptic party members. I am honestly so cross about the whole thing. I have benefited so much from being an EU citizen, and it really upsets me that my daughter won't have the same opportunities that EU membership gave me.
I haven't read any Outlander - I'm not a big fan of romance or of historical fiction, although I know many people are huge fans of Outlander. Diana Gabaldon was in Stirling recently for our book festival, her sessions were sold out pretty much as soon as they were advertised, as I'm sure you can imagine! If I'm not mistaken, I think I heard an interview with her once where she said that she actually hadn't been to Scotland prior to writing the first book in the series (although I know she has rectified that since!).
Also, thank you >35 Tess_W: and >36 karenmarie: for your response to my Brexit question! It's interesting to get a non-insider view! My personal view is that whilst the EU has plenty of faults, I think leaving it will be a disaster. For jobs, for security, for environmental regulation, for research funding and collaboration, amongst many other reasons. Another thing I hate is that since the vote, we have seen a huge increase in race-related hate crime - I don't think that the vote has caused that, but I think that it has meant that people who already held those views feel much more confident in expressing them in public and feel like the result has legitimised their views. Also, the whole campaign (very reminiscent of Trump's campaign in America, to this outsider at any rate) has been based on lowest common denominator fear mongering and scapegoating. I really don't like my country right now, I'll be honest! I am very glad I am living in Scotland, where we were a majority voting to Remain, and also where our politicians, for all their faults, are actually trying to figure out where we are going and what the best course is, unlike the UK politicians who are in-fighting and jostling for position.
And on top of all that, none of the prominent politicians on either side of the campaign had any plan for what we should do if we actually did vote to leave the EU. Excuse my French, but the whole thing has been a giant cluster****, which only happened at all because David Cameron was trying to appease his more Eurosceptic party members. I am honestly so cross about the whole thing. I have benefited so much from being an EU citizen, and it really upsets me that my daughter won't have the same opportunities that EU membership gave me.
41Jackie_K
>36 karenmarie: >37 Tess_W: Thank you as well for your takes on the US election shenanigans, which has us all open-mouthed and in disbelief every 4 years! Especially this year, I'll be honest! As an outsider I have to say that I would veer much more towards the Democrats than Republicans - from a UK perspective, I'd say that the Democratic Party covers such a wide range of policies and positions that pretty much all of our mainstream political parties would fit comfortably within it, so the Republical Party feels much more 'unknown' (if that makes sense - we really don't have much of an equivalent here). There also seems to be a much more overt religious angle in American politics that we really don't see here.
42Tess_W
>41 Jackie_K: The Republican Party would be more like the Conservatives...according to a person I chat with who lives in northern England...that's just his take! The only thing I know about British politics is the Tory's and the Labour Party, because I have read all of Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer who used to be a minister before he was sent to prison. He may not be an honest politician but boy can he write some good books! I would say the religious angle is most important in the U.S.; but you have to remember this country was founded on religious freedom only a little more than 200 years ago. Not heard of the Republicans? !!!! Well they are the party that freed the slaves, the party that gave women the right to vote, they elected the first woman to Congress, The de-segregation of schools came under Republican President Dwight Eisenhower-who waged a fierce battle against the Democratic Congress, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960 after the Democrats waged an 18 hour filibuster against it, and in 2006 George W. Bush appointed Condi Rice to be his Secretary of State, the first black or woman to ever hold such a position. Sandra Day O'Conner was the first woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court--she was appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan. Just to name a few.......The Republican Party is the party of founding father Thomas Jefferson.
From a personal standpoint, I'm a Republican because I believe in the sanctity of life and the Puritan work ethic: if you don't work--you don't eat!
From a personal standpoint, I'm a Republican because I believe in the sanctity of life and the Puritan work ethic: if you don't work--you don't eat!
43Jackie_K
>42 Tess_W: I didn't mean I hadn't heard of the Republicans - just that (especially at the moment) it is so very different from anything else we have politically over here that it feels kind of alien - we just couldn't imagine something similar here (I do appreciate that it is at a particularly extreme moment right now though! The Republican party of the mid-20th century and earlier is much more 'familiar' to a UK observer, I would argue). That's why I put 'unknown' in inverted commas, it's just so very different from any other political party or movement here. I know the Conservatives (Tories) are closer to the Republicans than our other parties would be, but I think looking at a lot of Obama's policies (for example) many (probably most) Conservatives would be very comfortable with them - I'm thinking about things like trade, and economic policy more generally, as well as defence. In that sense I have found him very disappointing, as I am much further to the left than either Obama or the Clintons (although I still prefer both Obama and the Clintons to pretty much any of our Tory politicians!) - there is absolutely no way I could see myself ever voting Conservative, it is a pretty visceral thing I think! I think that UKIP (UK Independence Party, rightwing party who campaigned for Brexit on an unashamedly anti-immigration ticket) would be closer to today's Republican Party, except they really don't have the religious angle.
I am really enjoying this conversation! Most of my American friends are Democratic Party supporters/voters, so I really appreciate a nuanced and thoughtful take on Republican politics.
Getting back to ROOTing, I am reading an 18th century travelogue at the moment which I am enjoying but it is quite slow going, so I think I am going to have a break and read another book which I am confident will be a quicker read! We'll see if I manage to get it done by the end of the month - I'm only doing a bit of evening reading right now as our days are pretty full! Today we explored some rock pools and went for a walk, so I'm looking forward to a leisurely evening!
I am really enjoying this conversation! Most of my American friends are Democratic Party supporters/voters, so I really appreciate a nuanced and thoughtful take on Republican politics.
Getting back to ROOTing, I am reading an 18th century travelogue at the moment which I am enjoying but it is quite slow going, so I think I am going to have a break and read another book which I am confident will be a quicker read! We'll see if I manage to get it done by the end of the month - I'm only doing a bit of evening reading right now as our days are pretty full! Today we explored some rock pools and went for a walk, so I'm looking forward to a leisurely evening!
44Jackie_K
I've one more ROOT to add for July, just sneaked in. I had to abandon the Jar of Fate temporarily - being away from home we have found toddler bedtime much more challenging this week, and the only way we could get her to go to sleep in her bed (which was in our room) was to go to bed at the same time and lie in the dark with her. So although I had chosen the next two Jar of Fate books (both paper books), I needed to quickly choose a book on my kobo so that I could read it under the covers! I chose a relatively short book of popular science writing (one of last year's free University of Chicago Press ebooks), which I thought was pretty good: Valerie Curtis Don't Look, Don't Touch, Don't Eat: The Science Behind Revulsion, which was about her work on disgust. It was actually really readable, and only one thing made me really go "Ewwwww!". 4/5.
45Tess_W
>44 Jackie_K: LOL we are blessed in an age where we can read without the lights on!
47Jackie_K
My July totals:
ROOTs read: 4
Acquisitions: 6
My acquisitions are:
Joshua Blu Buhs - Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend.
Dawn French - Dear Fatty.
Various - The Brexit Crisis: A Verso Report (no touchstone).
Vasyl Baziv - Armageddon at Maidan. Free ebook from LT (Early Reviewer).
Marcia Kester Doyle - Who Stole my Spandex? Life in the Hot Flash Lane.
Nicole Faires - Food Confidential (no touchstone).
Three were freebies (including my first LTER book, which I will get to next), and the other three were cheapies via bookbub.com. Not too bad. Also, all of them were ebooks, so at least I've not added to the physical clutter in the house! Next weekend though, a possible Barter Books visit looms ...
ROOTs read: 4
Acquisitions: 6
My acquisitions are:
Joshua Blu Buhs - Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend.
Dawn French - Dear Fatty.
Various - The Brexit Crisis: A Verso Report (no touchstone).
Vasyl Baziv - Armageddon at Maidan. Free ebook from LT (Early Reviewer).
Marcia Kester Doyle - Who Stole my Spandex? Life in the Hot Flash Lane.
Nicole Faires - Food Confidential (no touchstone).
Three were freebies (including my first LTER book, which I will get to next), and the other three were cheapies via bookbub.com. Not too bad. Also, all of them were ebooks, so at least I've not added to the physical clutter in the house! Next weekend though, a possible Barter Books visit looms ...
48rabbitprincess
>47 Jackie_K: I will live vicariously through you if you get a chance to go to Barter Books :)
Looks like you had a good July! And it is wonderful that you've doubled your goal for the year!
Looks like you had a good July! And it is wonderful that you've doubled your goal for the year!
49Jackie_K
>48 rabbitprincess: it is a dangerous place, but the perfect half-way spot between us and our friends in York (whom we are visiting next weekend). We'll probably go twice (there and back), although usually only buy books once. It's just that if we time it right to get there for lunchtime they actually have a pretty good cafe in there (in the old station waiting rooms).
It's a hard life, but someone has to do it ;)
It's a hard life, but someone has to do it ;)
50Familyhistorian
>47 Jackie_K: Dear Fatty is a good one, Jackie. It was interesting to find out the story behind the public persona.
51Jackie_K
>48 rabbitprincess: I just realised that next week is my Thingaversary. I have never celebrated it before (I only learnt that it was a thing recently), and thought that given that I am trying to curb my book-buying tendencies I would just incorporate books that I have acquired already, rather than buy more. But then if I go to Barter Books the weekend before anyway, maybe I should just count those purchases as my Thingaversary books. I wonder if I can find 5 I want? :D
>50 Familyhistorian: I have always liked Dawn French, and I think the format of the book will work well for me when I get round to it. I am a fan of the epistolary approach!
>50 Familyhistorian: I have always liked Dawn French, and I think the format of the book will work well for me when I get round to it. I am a fan of the epistolary approach!
52rabbitprincess
>51 Jackie_K: There you go! A perfect opportunity to sample the wares of Barter Books ;)
53karenmarie
Congrats on your Thingaversary, Jackie! You'll find 5 books, for sure.
Mine's in October, when I can get 9 books..... :)
Mine's in October, when I can get 9 books..... :)
54connie53
>51 Jackie_K: I'm sure you will find the books you need! Happy thingaversary!
55Tess_W
Congrats on Thingaversary. I think buying books on your Thingaversary is like a dieter going out to eat pizza and baked potato and a chocolate sundae because they lost 5 pounds--but hey---I know from experience!
56karenmarie
>55 Tess_W: Good analogy, Tess!
57MissWatson
Happy Thingaversary! So, did you follow the tradition and treat yourself to new books?
60Jackie_K
>57 MissWatson: Thank you, yes I did! I was at Barter Books a couple of times last weekend, I didn't think I was going to manage all 5 as I only found two books the first time I went in, but on the second visit I looked very carefully and found three more!
My haul was:
Derek Cooper - The Road to Mingulay.
Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed.
Peter Gill - Famine & Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid.
Tony Hawks - A Piano in the Pyrenees.
John McCarthy & Sandi Toksvig - Island Race: An Improbable Voyage Round the Coast of Britain.
My haul was:
Derek Cooper - The Road to Mingulay.
Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed.
Peter Gill - Famine & Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid.
Tony Hawks - A Piano in the Pyrenees.
John McCarthy & Sandi Toksvig - Island Race: An Improbable Voyage Round the Coast of Britain.
61MissWatson
>60 Jackie_K: Congratulations, the titles sound very promising!
62Jackie_K
My first ROOT for August (#26 for the year) is also my first ever LT Early Reviewers book. Unfortunately it was an utter turkey. My review is here: https://www.librarything.com/work/18026977/reviews/132779302 (the TL;DR version: clunky, poorly translated, corny, don't bother). The book was Armageddon at Maidan by Vasyl Baziv. I think it's fair to say I won't be seeking out any more of his work. 0.5/5.
63karenmarie
>62 Jackie_K: I've gotten quite a few ER books over the years, and 8 of the 24 have been real stinkers. On the other hand, 8 of the 24 have been 4 stars. I'm sorry your first one was so bad. Excellent review, though!
64Tess_W
>62 Jackie_K: It's a crap shoot on the ER Books, I've had 4: 2 good and 2 stinkers
65Jackie_K
A very quick ROOT added, a short ebook which I received yesterday as part of the LT Member Giveaway. Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London is a sweet book which I read in one go. Baby Yetunde narrates some of the things that happen in her daily life in London, including some of the folk tales that her mum (who is Nigerian) tells her. Mostly in English, but with generous smatterings of Yoruba, which are translated at the end of the book (I thought that worked well, as translations at the time would have interrupted the flow, but I did appreciate having the translation there somewhere). Some of the day to day stuff wasn't so interesting (eg her description of her mum's living room), but the baby's eye-view of other things like a swimming lesson and baby massage class was quite cute. I think the author captured well how parents imagine their child sees the world (let's face it, none of us truly knows what is going on in their head, but I'm pretty sure there's some plotting going on in there somewhere!). The folk tales involved animals (most often a tortoise, although frogs and scorpions also featured) and were pretty Aesop's Fables-like. I might read some of them to my daughter sometime.
This is the first in what is presumably to be a series of self-published books. I think they will be a lovely keepsake for the author's daughter.
I received a free pdf copy of this book, via the LibraryThing Member Giveaway scheme, in return for honest feedback.
3/5.
This is the first in what is presumably to be a series of self-published books. I think they will be a lovely keepsake for the author's daughter.
I received a free pdf copy of this book, via the LibraryThing Member Giveaway scheme, in return for honest feedback.
3/5.
66This-n-That
I have been reading through individual threads in this group and love some of the creative methods to pick books. The Jar of Fate definitely sounds like a fun one!! Congratulations on surpassing your original goal, too.
67connie53
>65 Jackie_K: That sounds like a real sweet book, Jackie.
68avanders
Hi! I couldn't possibly catch up on the threads after my crazy-long absence, but I just wanted to say hi :)
69avanders
>62 Jackie_K: boooo I hate it when that happens! .5! Wow. that IS low! I will be sure to pass that one by ;)
I actually got pretty selective with the ERs I signed up for.... after several "misses".. and now I've actually stopped altogether. I have the last 2 ERs (one from LT and one from BookReporter) that I have to read & review.. and then I'm done. As my husband pointed out recently, the benefit I get from reading a book a couple months early doesn't exceed the pressure I put on myself to read them all, especially when I have nearly a thousand unread books already at home that I know I want to read. Touche. ;p
But on the other hand. It's so exciting getting ERs!! .... ;)
Also, I notice that you're exactly at a 2:1 books acquired to ROOTs read...
Impressive! I have been trying to be much better about not acquiring so much faster than I can read.... not yet succeeding. at all. but trying. ;P
I actually got pretty selective with the ERs I signed up for.... after several "misses".. and now I've actually stopped altogether. I have the last 2 ERs (one from LT and one from BookReporter) that I have to read & review.. and then I'm done. As my husband pointed out recently, the benefit I get from reading a book a couple months early doesn't exceed the pressure I put on myself to read them all, especially when I have nearly a thousand unread books already at home that I know I want to read. Touche. ;p
But on the other hand. It's so exciting getting ERs!! .... ;)
Also, I notice that you're exactly at a 2:1 books acquired to ROOTs read...
Impressive! I have been trying to be much better about not acquiring so much faster than I can read.... not yet succeeding. at all. but trying. ;P
70Jackie_K
>69 avanders: I'm lucky that as I'm not in the US, the ERs I can choose from are already much more limited, as lots of them are only offered to US/Canada reviewers, so that helps me not go too mad! This is only the second month I've participated, and I just heard that I won one this month too - luckily it's a nice short one, so as soon as I get it I'll probably try and read it in one! I've already tried to be more selective - I haven't downloaded 2 or 3 of this year's free UoC Press ebooks, for example, as I've had to be realistic about whether I was really interested, whereas last year I think I downloaded 11 out of the 12 for the year. I'm the same with Bookbub - although it's a terrible enabler, because I've signed up for non-fiction primarily it's actually pretty easy to turn most of them down, as I mainly seem to be offered biographies of former US presidents, which mostly don't interest me! I'm aware of my 2:1 ratio, and really want to keep to that - I'm thinking maybe next year go for 1.5:1 (and also set myself a limit of no more than £100 spent in the year - I've just gone over that recently for this year) and see if that happens!
I saw this meme today on facebook, and I liked it a lot (hope this link works): http://generator-meme.com/new-memes/forgetful-fish-dory_559b363bd577b4951/
I saw this meme today on facebook, and I liked it a lot (hope this link works): http://generator-meme.com/new-memes/forgetful-fish-dory_559b363bd577b4951/
71karenmarie
>69 avanders: I have 3 ERs that I haven't read or reviewed, from several years ago..... sigh. Too much pressure to read something I may not be in the mood for.
Hi Jackie!
Hi Jackie!
72readingtangent
>69 avanders: As my husband pointed out recently, the benefit I get from reading a book a couple months early doesn't exceed the pressure I put on myself to read them all, especially when I have nearly a thousand unread books already at home that I know I want to read.
Such a good point!
>70 Jackie_K: Once again, nice work on improving the ratio! Also, that meme is about me, I think ;).
Such a good point!
>70 Jackie_K: Once again, nice work on improving the ratio! Also, that meme is about me, I think ;).
73Jackie_K
>71 karenmarie: Hi karenmarie!
>72 readingtangent: I didn't recognise myself in the meme at all. No, really. (*cough* There's just no hope, is there?!).
>72 readingtangent: I didn't recognise myself in the meme at all. No, really. (*cough* There's just no hope, is there?!).
74Jackie_K
So here we are at the end of another month - I really can't believe it's September tomorrow! Where is the year going?!
Here's my tally of acquisitions for the month - as you can see it was something of an acquisitive month (acquisitive is a word, isn't it?!) with 10 new books (as opposed to a paltry 2 read!).
The first 5 were my Thingaversary acquisitions:
Derek Cooper - The Road to Mingulay
Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed
Peter Gill - Famine & Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid
Tony Hawks - A Piano in the Pyrenees
John McCarthy & Sandi Toksvig - Island Race: An Improbable Voyage Round the Coast of Britain
The remaining 5 at least met my price criteria (£2 or less) - in fact 3 of them were freebies:
James Rebanks - The Shepherd's Life
Segilola Salami - Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London (LT Member Giveaway)
Dorothy Al Khafaji - Between Two Rivers
Tom Michell - The Penguin Lessons
Chris Dolley - International Kittens of Mystery (LT Early Reviewer)
Here's my tally of acquisitions for the month - as you can see it was something of an acquisitive month (acquisitive is a word, isn't it?!) with 10 new books (as opposed to a paltry 2 read!).
The first 5 were my Thingaversary acquisitions:
Derek Cooper - The Road to Mingulay
Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed
Peter Gill - Famine & Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid
Tony Hawks - A Piano in the Pyrenees
John McCarthy & Sandi Toksvig - Island Race: An Improbable Voyage Round the Coast of Britain
The remaining 5 at least met my price criteria (£2 or less) - in fact 3 of them were freebies:
James Rebanks - The Shepherd's Life
Segilola Salami - Yetunde: The Life and Times of a Yoruba Girl in London (LT Member Giveaway)
Dorothy Al Khafaji - Between Two Rivers
Tom Michell - The Penguin Lessons
Chris Dolley - International Kittens of Mystery (LT Early Reviewer)
76Jackie_K
First up, look away if you don't want any non-fiction enabling!
Verso Books have all their ebooks on 90% off until tomorrow night. Details here: http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2824-flash-sale-90-off-all-our-ebooks?discount_c...
I've found 7 books that I'm really really tempted by, ranging from £1 to £1.70, and all in all coming to less than £10 for the lot. I am SO tempted, and would (eventually) read - devour - them all. But it will take me quite spectacularly over my 2:1 ratio. Argh.
Verso Books have all their ebooks on 90% off until tomorrow night. Details here: http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2824-flash-sale-90-off-all-our-ebooks?discount_c...
I've found 7 books that I'm really really tempted by, ranging from £1 to £1.70, and all in all coming to less than £10 for the lot. I am SO tempted, and would (eventually) read - devour - them all. But it will take me quite spectacularly over my 2:1 ratio. Argh.
77karenmarie
>70 Jackie_K: Hi Jackie! I saw the Verso sale and so far have resisted.
And, the meme is now my desktop.
And, the meme is now my desktop.
78Jackie_K
>77 karenmarie: Oh that is so cool! I love Dory :)
The other meme I saw the other day which I also thoroughly approved of, basically said "It's not hoarding if it's books". That sounds about right to me!
The other meme I saw the other day which I also thoroughly approved of, basically said "It's not hoarding if it's books". That sounds about right to me!
79Jackie_K
I bought all 7 of them. I'm kind of impressed that it took me over an hour from finding them to actually clicking on 'buy'.
Oh who am I trying to kid?!
Assuming I don't get this month's free UoC Press ebook (the email hasn't arrived yet so I don't know yet if I want it or not!), then I will need to read another 4 books to get back to my 2:1 ratio. I should read my new LTER book today (it's less than 50 pages, luckily, and I am counting the new and shiny as well!) and finish my current chunkster in the next few days hopefully, so theoretically it's achievable...
Oh who am I trying to kid?!
Assuming I don't get this month's free UoC Press ebook (the email hasn't arrived yet so I don't know yet if I want it or not!), then I will need to read another 4 books to get back to my 2:1 ratio. I should read my new LTER book today (it's less than 50 pages, luckily, and I am counting the new and shiny as well!) and finish my current chunkster in the next few days hopefully, so theoretically it's achievable...
80rabbitprincess
>79 Jackie_K: You can do it! :D
81avanders
>70 Jackie_K: ooooh that would be beneficial! Though it would also make me sad.. I'm already sad when there are books I can't pick from ;p FOMO is real...
lol yes, Bookbub is a terrible enabler! But good call on limiting your selections.. :)
whoa ... 1.5:1 ... that would be even more impressive!
But I'm there with you... I'm going to see what I can do to actually convince myself to STICK to one of those acquiring goals... I did actually do it 1 year, but I think the goal was a little too lenient ;p (it wasn't about # of books, but about where/how I could acquire them). Something to think about in the next few months ... :)
lol that meme is perfect!
>72 readingtangent: ;) I bet it applies to many of us book people :)
>74 Jackie_K: fun! And completely within acceptable bounds ;)
>79 Jackie_K: lol! it happens ;)
You can do it (ratio)!
lol yes, Bookbub is a terrible enabler! But good call on limiting your selections.. :)
whoa ... 1.5:1 ... that would be even more impressive!
But I'm there with you... I'm going to see what I can do to actually convince myself to STICK to one of those acquiring goals... I did actually do it 1 year, but I think the goal was a little too lenient ;p (it wasn't about # of books, but about where/how I could acquire them). Something to think about in the next few months ... :)
lol that meme is perfect!
>72 readingtangent: ;) I bet it applies to many of us book people :)
>74 Jackie_K: fun! And completely within acceptable bounds ;)
>79 Jackie_K: lol! it happens ;)
You can do it (ratio)!
82Familyhistorian
>70 Jackie_K: I'm lucky that as I'm not in the US, the ERs I can choose from are already much more limited, as lots of them are only offered to US/Canada reviewers Make that US reviewers, Jackie. There are very limited offerings to Canadian reviewers as well.
83Jackie_K
>82 Familyhistorian: Oh that's interesting - I knew that US reviewers get the biggest choice, but I had thought it was pretty good for the Canadians too. I stand corrected! :)
84karenmarie
Dare I admit that I still have three ER books I have received but not read/reviewed? The pressure of having to read a book paralyzes me sometimes.
85Jackie_K
I have two ROOTs to add for September so far - #1 and #2 for September, #28 and #29 for the year to date.
Number one is Chris Dolley's International Kittens of Mystery which I received for the August LTER. This was a very short ebook which seemed better-suited (to me at any rate) as a series of blog posts. The author seems to have lots of cute photos of his various kittens, which at some point he decided to use to illustrate a story - cute idea, but I think that even as a short book the idea was quite stretched, whereas as blogs it would probably have worked better. Having said that, the kittens were definitely very cute, so it was a pleasant-enough 20 minutes spent reading. Just not a particularly earth-shattering 20 minutes. I hadn't realised when I requested it that it was from 2011 - that would explain the use of the 'I can haz cheezburger' language that you see less of now. 2.5/5 stars.
My one gripe is that even though it was a short book (47 pages when it was loaded), only 31 of those pages were the actual story. The rest of it was an excerpt from another book, and then lots of reviews and descriptions of even more books by the same author. Which would have been fine at the end of a full-length book, but this felt like it was over-egging the pudding somewhat!
ROOT number two is Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson (Oxford Paperbacks) edited by RW Chapman (sorry for the long drawn-out title, it was the only way I could get the correct touchstone!). I started this back in July, but it's taken me quite a while to plough through, it's a bit of a chunkster (not hundreds of pages - around 450 - but very small print so it felt like much more!). This was one of my Barter Books purchases from last year. The two diarists Dr Johnson (he of Dictionary fame) and James Boswell recount their voyage (taken in the late 18th century) from Edinburgh to around the Hebrides and back; this volume puts both books together (I suppose if I was pushing my luck I could count this as two ROOTs, but as it's all in the same volume I'll just count it as one!). So firstly it's Dr Johnson's "A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland", which in some ways was an easier read for me, in that it was an account of the places they went to and selected people they met (see later on for Boswell's focus, which was less what I was hoping for). There was one passage near the beginning where they are travelling north of Aberdeen where he talks of being told of a previous weather event where the sand dunes were deposited inland and the landowner ended up giving up his land rather than pay to sort it out. That was interesting to me as I am pretty sure that is the same place where Donald Trump has built his highly-contested and locally unpopular golf course, where he thinks that he can control the sand dunes. Other than that, my main impression of Dr Johnson was that he could be quite bitchy, and there was a fair bit of English superiority coming across, even in the many passages where he was obviously appreciative of the hospitality he was being shown. There was also a lot of approval of the feudal system and aristocracy/royalty which I really don't like. I think what didn't help was that the image in my head of Dr Johnson is entirely based on his appearance in an episode of "Blackadder the Third", so it was sometimes hard to take it seriously! After that I read Boswell's "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides", which I found much harder to read. Unlike Johnson's account, which was based on places, Boswell's was just a daily account, and he mainly seemed to write about the contents of conversations, regardless of whether they were relevant to the places they were visiting that day. So I did a lot of skim-reading of this one. He also seemed, like Johnson, pretty approving of status/aristocracy, but the really overwhelming impression was of his utter reverence of Dr Johnson, so I found that quite difficult, that he was praising this man for saying stuff to his hosts which I often considered quite rude! This focus just cemented the "Blackadder the Third" character as the Dr Johnson in my head! Even though I was skim-reading, it didn't make this particular account go any quicker! It was just quite hard work, I found - I had to skim, but still look frequently to see if the conversation had stopped and he had actually put in a few sentences about the place they were visiting (which was what I wanted to read!). Overall, I'm really pleased I've read both of these, but I'm not sure I'll be rushing to read them again. 3/5 stars.
Number one is Chris Dolley's International Kittens of Mystery which I received for the August LTER. This was a very short ebook which seemed better-suited (to me at any rate) as a series of blog posts. The author seems to have lots of cute photos of his various kittens, which at some point he decided to use to illustrate a story - cute idea, but I think that even as a short book the idea was quite stretched, whereas as blogs it would probably have worked better. Having said that, the kittens were definitely very cute, so it was a pleasant-enough 20 minutes spent reading. Just not a particularly earth-shattering 20 minutes. I hadn't realised when I requested it that it was from 2011 - that would explain the use of the 'I can haz cheezburger' language that you see less of now. 2.5/5 stars.
My one gripe is that even though it was a short book (47 pages when it was loaded), only 31 of those pages were the actual story. The rest of it was an excerpt from another book, and then lots of reviews and descriptions of even more books by the same author. Which would have been fine at the end of a full-length book, but this felt like it was over-egging the pudding somewhat!
ROOT number two is Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson (Oxford Paperbacks) edited by RW Chapman (sorry for the long drawn-out title, it was the only way I could get the correct touchstone!). I started this back in July, but it's taken me quite a while to plough through, it's a bit of a chunkster (not hundreds of pages - around 450 - but very small print so it felt like much more!). This was one of my Barter Books purchases from last year. The two diarists Dr Johnson (he of Dictionary fame) and James Boswell recount their voyage (taken in the late 18th century) from Edinburgh to around the Hebrides and back; this volume puts both books together (I suppose if I was pushing my luck I could count this as two ROOTs, but as it's all in the same volume I'll just count it as one!). So firstly it's Dr Johnson's "A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland", which in some ways was an easier read for me, in that it was an account of the places they went to and selected people they met (see later on for Boswell's focus, which was less what I was hoping for). There was one passage near the beginning where they are travelling north of Aberdeen where he talks of being told of a previous weather event where the sand dunes were deposited inland and the landowner ended up giving up his land rather than pay to sort it out. That was interesting to me as I am pretty sure that is the same place where Donald Trump has built his highly-contested and locally unpopular golf course, where he thinks that he can control the sand dunes. Other than that, my main impression of Dr Johnson was that he could be quite bitchy, and there was a fair bit of English superiority coming across, even in the many passages where he was obviously appreciative of the hospitality he was being shown. There was also a lot of approval of the feudal system and aristocracy/royalty which I really don't like. I think what didn't help was that the image in my head of Dr Johnson is entirely based on his appearance in an episode of "Blackadder the Third", so it was sometimes hard to take it seriously! After that I read Boswell's "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides", which I found much harder to read. Unlike Johnson's account, which was based on places, Boswell's was just a daily account, and he mainly seemed to write about the contents of conversations, regardless of whether they were relevant to the places they were visiting that day. So I did a lot of skim-reading of this one. He also seemed, like Johnson, pretty approving of status/aristocracy, but the really overwhelming impression was of his utter reverence of Dr Johnson, so I found that quite difficult, that he was praising this man for saying stuff to his hosts which I often considered quite rude! This focus just cemented the "Blackadder the Third" character as the Dr Johnson in my head! Even though I was skim-reading, it didn't make this particular account go any quicker! It was just quite hard work, I found - I had to skim, but still look frequently to see if the conversation had stopped and he had actually put in a few sentences about the place they were visiting (which was what I wanted to read!). Overall, I'm really pleased I've read both of these, but I'm not sure I'll be rushing to read them again. 3/5 stars.
86Sace
>85 Jackie_K: I am disappointed to hear that International Kittens of Mystery is not as entertaining as the title is. I am not a fan of books with previews of other books and I would find it even more annoying in a short book.
87Jackie_K
>84 karenmarie: I've only very recently signed up to Early Reviewers, so the novelty hasn't worn off and I'm still keen! I've read and reviewed the two I've won straight away, as I want to build up my reviews to make winning further books more likely. But the other thing is that I'm not going to go mad requesting tons of things - helped by my location, as noted upthread. We'll see how long that resolve lasts!
>86 Sace: I don't mind previews, but this was 1/3 of the total book!
>86 Sace: I don't mind previews, but this was 1/3 of the total book!
88Tess_W
>87 Jackie_K: I went whole-hog on the early reviews for 3-4 months and got about 6 books of which I couldn't read by 3. In a year I still have 1 to go, so I'm opting out of that until I have my roots more controlled!
89ipsoivan
>85 Jackie_K: Good review. I have Boswell's London Journal looming in my soon-future as part of my reading my TBR alphabetically. I vaguely remember from my 20s that this one has a lot of illicit sex, but also lots of Johnson veneration. Hope it goes ok.
90karenmarie
>87 Jackie_K: I'm sure they keep tweeking the algorithm, but be careful of what you ask for. I requested what seemed to be mysteries twice but turned out to be Christian mysteries, as evidenced by the publisher. I'm not Christian, yet have many Bibles, New Testaments, and other books of a religious nature in addition to mysteries, so that's what I got. Twice. Shame on me for not perfoming due diligence. Check out the publisher, check out what your library says about you, and go from there. Make sure you really want a book you request, because the one that's marginal or really not what you want will be the one you get. :)
91Jackie_K
>89 ipsoivan: Hmm, good luck with that! No illicit sex in the diary I just finished (in fact he was pretty gushing about his wife at the beginning, and occasionally mentioned missing home). What is it with these diarists, Pepys was all illicit sex too! I don't think I'm a prude, but I must admit whenever I've heard adaptations of Pepys on the radio (I haven't read any of the books, but every now and then Radio 4 do a week or two of dramatisations of his diaries) I do find myself thinking "just keep it in your trousers you silly man!"
>90 karenmarie: I'll bear that in mind, thank you! So far I've only requested one in each month - I hadn't thought about the possibility of an algorithm deciding for me!
>90 karenmarie: I'll bear that in mind, thank you! So far I've only requested one in each month - I hadn't thought about the possibility of an algorithm deciding for me!
92ipsoivan
>91 Jackie_K: but then he wouldn't be our Sam. He certainly had a problem that way.
93Familyhistorian
>90 karenmarie: >91 Jackie_K: Thanks for the explanation, Karen. I knew there had to be a reason why my ER books are always something that is fairly close to my personal library. It is like when they show you libraries close to your own. The only thing is they have no way of knowing if you have ever read the books in your personal library so they don't know if it really fits your reading preferences.
94Jackie_K
ROOT #3 for September (#30 for the year so far - if you'd ever told me in the last twenty years that I'd have a year where I read 30 books in less than a year I'd never have believed you!) is now read. It was One Hit Wonderland by Tony Hawks - another of his doing-daft-things-after-a-drunken-bet books, following on from Round Ireland with a Fridge and Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, both of which I loved. The premise for this one was that Tony had had a minor hit in the UK charts in the late 80s with a novelty record, and he was bet that he couldn't have another hit record anywhere in the world within the next 2 years. Cue trips to Nashville, Amsterdam, southern Sudan, Romania and Albania and various daft adventures along the way in search of the elusive hit song. Initially I thought I wasn't going to enjoy it so much - the opening few chapters (Nashville) was amusing but felt a bit forced (which to be fair was pretty much his experience of the place) - however I laughed out loud several times during his trip to Amsterdam (especially the bit at the airport which had me crying with laughter, I was very glad I wasn't reading it in public!). So by the end of the book I was cheering our hero on and really enjoyed the read. For me overall I'd say this was the weakest of the three silly bet books, but still a fun read. 3.5/5.
95Jackie_K
ROOT #4 for September (#31 overall) is Camping with the Communists by Karen Gilden. It's subtitled 'The Adventures of an American Family in the Soviet Union', which pretty much tells you all the background you need. It was interesting from the perspective of taking place in the midst of the Cold War (a 6 week camper van trip in 1977), so lots of fairly predictable culture clashes, although I did like the family involved (Karen, her husband and 11 year old daughter) and think that their desire and openness to travel was quite unusual for the time. I think the book was let down by being written down so long after the actual trip - although some memories would have remained pretty vivid, 36 years is a long time, so I think it was probably a bit superficial in places. 3/5.
96Tess_W
>95 Jackie_K: I have that in my TBR pile!
97Jackie_K
>96 Tess_W: I'm glad I read it, Tess - some of her experiences really resonated with me, although I didn't travel to eastern Europe till the 90s. I also liked that she didn't seem to have a particular Cold War agenda (ie prove how much better the West was). So I think it was a shame she didn't write this up sooner after they got back home.
98connie53
Hi Jackie! Glad to see you have read so many books! Even more then you thought you would read. Excellent job!
99Jackie_K
I've not one but TWO more ROOTs to add today! (finished last night and this morning - I'm finding bed is my most productive reading nook at the moment!). That's #5 and #6 for September so far! (33 overall this year). Both very good too!
#5 was The Bible from Scratch by Simon Jenkins. In the interests of disclosure, I have to say that I do know the author, so obviously am already favourably disposed towards his book, but I did genuinely enjoy it in any case! I actually bought it several years ago, when I first knew him, and started reading it but got distracted so never finished it at the time, and since then another edition of the book has been forthcoming. But hey, better late than never. This was the 2nd edition of the book, which is basically a brief background to the Bible - main personalities, who wrote the books, what was going on at the time, the main themes in each book - liberally sprinkled with Simon's cartoons. It's not exactly deep theology, but would make a really good introduction to the Bible for someone that wanted to know the basics, as it cuts out a lot of fluff that you get in many commentaries. 4/5.
#6 was a wonderful book of poetry, Nort Atlantik Drift by Robert Alan Jamieson. Jamieson is from Shetland, and all the poems are written in Shetland dialect, but with commentary and translations in English, and also a number of photos illustrating each one. I visited Shetland a few years ago and loved it - I would go back in a heartbeat - and I was pleased with how much of the dialect I was able to understand (although I was grateful for the translations too!). The poems are all short (1 small page) but I thought were very profound and beautiful. I can see this making a great gift for friends I know who also love Shetland (it will also make a good change from the chocolate I usually buy them!). The only reason I gave this 4.5 rather than 5 stars (unheard of for me and poetry, which I often find quite daunting!) is that the photos were a bit grainy. I'd have loved to see some of them in colour, and many of them a bit sharper. But that's a very minor point, this was a beautiful book. 4.5/5.
#5 was The Bible from Scratch by Simon Jenkins. In the interests of disclosure, I have to say that I do know the author, so obviously am already favourably disposed towards his book, but I did genuinely enjoy it in any case! I actually bought it several years ago, when I first knew him, and started reading it but got distracted so never finished it at the time, and since then another edition of the book has been forthcoming. But hey, better late than never. This was the 2nd edition of the book, which is basically a brief background to the Bible - main personalities, who wrote the books, what was going on at the time, the main themes in each book - liberally sprinkled with Simon's cartoons. It's not exactly deep theology, but would make a really good introduction to the Bible for someone that wanted to know the basics, as it cuts out a lot of fluff that you get in many commentaries. 4/5.
#6 was a wonderful book of poetry, Nort Atlantik Drift by Robert Alan Jamieson. Jamieson is from Shetland, and all the poems are written in Shetland dialect, but with commentary and translations in English, and also a number of photos illustrating each one. I visited Shetland a few years ago and loved it - I would go back in a heartbeat - and I was pleased with how much of the dialect I was able to understand (although I was grateful for the translations too!). The poems are all short (1 small page) but I thought were very profound and beautiful. I can see this making a great gift for friends I know who also love Shetland (it will also make a good change from the chocolate I usually buy them!). The only reason I gave this 4.5 rather than 5 stars (unheard of for me and poetry, which I often find quite daunting!) is that the photos were a bit grainy. I'd have loved to see some of them in colour, and many of them a bit sharper. But that's a very minor point, this was a beautiful book. 4.5/5.
100karenmarie
Hi Jackie! Two more ROOTs, congratulations.
I used to read in bed all the time until I had cataract surgery, and now, for some reason, reading in bed just doesn't work. But, I have a nice couch in my Retreat, or I hang out here where my computer is and read at the desk.
I used to read in bed all the time until I had cataract surgery, and now, for some reason, reading in bed just doesn't work. But, I have a nice couch in my Retreat, or I hang out here where my computer is and read at the desk.
102avanders
>84 karenmarie: I know, me too!! Fortunately I'm finally down to my last one... (ever?) :)
>85 Jackie_K: cute -- International Kittens of Mystery ;) Too bad it wasn't a very good book!
>87 Jackie_K: good! The keen reviewers are the best, imho. :)
>94 Jackie_K: I know the feeling -- a few years ago, I wouldn't believe I would read this many books... of course, these days, it never feels like enough... ;p
>99 Jackie_K: sounds like an interesting book - the one by your friend :)
& Congrats on your progress!!
>85 Jackie_K: cute -- International Kittens of Mystery ;) Too bad it wasn't a very good book!
>87 Jackie_K: good! The keen reviewers are the best, imho. :)
>94 Jackie_K: I know the feeling -- a few years ago, I wouldn't believe I would read this many books... of course, these days, it never feels like enough... ;p
>99 Jackie_K: sounds like an interesting book - the one by your friend :)
& Congrats on your progress!!
103Jackie_K
Thanks everyone. I have another couple of books on the go and am hopeful I'll get at least one of them read by the end of the month.
104Jackie_K
So ROOT #34 for the year (#7 for September - I think that this is my best month ever!) is now finished. It's actually a new acquisition, and I did umm and ahh as to whether to include it as a ROOT at all or as an acquisition, as I don't usually with this sort of thing. But it's something I wanted to read from cover to cover and take in, and I think it's worth the time for the reading and the review. The book is called Beyond Chocolate by Sophie & Audrey Boss, and is subtitled "How to stop Yo-yo dieting and lose weight for good" (and, since it was just pirate day the other day, can I just note that I just typed 'yo-ho dieting' to start with, which made me laugh). Beyond Chocolate is a group/organisation which has been going for a while which I discovered quite recently and I've been following them on facebook. Mainly there they post articles they find which are more about body-positivity and the pointlessness of diets, and I found myself basically agreeing with their premise. I'm certainly someone who has been on a number of diets over the years, with varying degrees of success, but like (according to them) 98% of people who diet, it's never been a long-term change and I've ended up heavier than before at the end of it all. This book outlined the principles of their approach, which I can sum up as savouring food, nothing is out of bounds, apart from the all-or-nothing approach of most diets, and rethinking your relationship to food and your body and exercise. I found quite a lot of things which I can put into practice straight away - particularly about slowing down when I eat, thinking about why I'm eating (particularly when I'm grazing between meals, which is a particular weakness of mine), and also rethinking my approach to waste. I can see how following these principles will, in the long term, lead to a much healthier relationship with food and with myself, and maybe I'll lose a bit of weight too, although that's not my aim (I think that not having weight-loss as my aim as I started the book is a big plus, it doesn't feel like such a huge change in my outlook).
My main criticisms would be that it did feel ever so middle class aspirational, and also that it would be a lot easier to put it fully into practice if you are on your own and can do whatever you like when you like. Because I don't do the bulk of the cooking in our household I may well need to adapt a bit. But that's not insurmountable.
Overall, I would recommend this book, particularly if you're stuck in the all-or-nothing points-counting trap of many diets.
4/5
My main criticisms would be that it did feel ever so middle class aspirational, and also that it would be a lot easier to put it fully into practice if you are on your own and can do whatever you like when you like. Because I don't do the bulk of the cooking in our household I may well need to adapt a bit. But that's not insurmountable.
Overall, I would recommend this book, particularly if you're stuck in the all-or-nothing points-counting trap of many diets.
4/5
105Tess_W
>104 Jackie_K:, Jackie, I think agree with your analysis and your premise--for me, at least, I tried many many diets, but they were unsatisfactory and I never stuck with them. I finally just decided to do my own thing, with mashed potatoes and dessert, if I wanted them. Now, it was not a quick thing, but I did lost 39 pounds in one year. I would like to lose another 39 during the next year and I will be happy. It has been difficult for me though, not being able to really walk for so many months. I don't exercise, but I will walk as exercise. I try for 10,000 steps for day--that's what I was walking when I lost weight. However, I'm only up to about 5500 right now, but my goal is 500 more each week.
106Jackie_K
>105 Tess_W: Yes, I've tried many different diets, most recently being most of last year (I joined a local class because I decided I finally had to tackle baby weight) but with the exception of one diet many years ago I never really lost very much because (again with that one exception) I was really not very enthusiastic about trying. And even with the one I enjoyed and lost the weight with, I soon put it all back on again (and more). I just like food too much! However, I am terrible for eating junk between meals (mainly chocolate, but also cheese and crisps), and being greedy about portion size, and those are my main downfalls. I think being mindful will be good in that I know that I comfort eat and graze out of habit rather than always because I'm hungry - if I can think more about why I'm reaching for the chocolate then I can think about whether I really want it or not. Certainly there are plenty of times afterwards when I wish I hadn't eaten it, but it's too late by then! If I think that I'm hungry or I really want it then I'll still have it and not feel guilty, but if I'm just bored then there are plenty of other things I could do instead! One thing I've already decided to do for my main meals - even when they are made by my husband who is a fantastic cook! - is to put less on my plate, eat slower and savour more, and only decide at the end if I'm satisfied or if I want more. If there's more on the plate to start with, I hate leaving food so will eat it all even if I'm satisfied two-thirds of the way in! Hopefully these small changes will, over time, make a bit of a difference. I'm not especially fussed about losing weight, but I do want to feel more healthy, and have a better relationship with food.
107karenmarie
>104 Jackie_K: and >105 Tess_W: Food and dieting. Yipes. I've been trying recently to simply eat less - 1 piece of bread/peanut butter for breakfast instead of two, a small salad at a restaurant instead of a large one, and, the hardest one, no sweets. Having said no sweets, I usually 'allow' myself one sweet a week to prevent bingeing. I need to drink more water, too..... Wow, Tess! 39 pounds in a year. Fantastic.
109Jackie_K
>107 karenmarie: I find that simply eating less doesn't work for me - I'm still hungry and end up eating loads more by grazing than if I'd just had the bigger portion in the first place!
>108 Sace: thank you! I suspect the key to my success this year has been an unusual amount of pretty short books! (including my current read, it's only just over 100 pages so hopefully I'll get it finished before the end of the month. Although it is written in a fair bit of academese which is slowing me down a bit!)
>108 Sace: thank you! I suspect the key to my success this year has been an unusual amount of pretty short books! (including my current read, it's only just over 100 pages so hopefully I'll get it finished before the end of the month. Although it is written in a fair bit of academese which is slowing me down a bit!)
110Familyhistorian
You are doing good Jackie with 7 ROOTs for the month. I read 7 in September as well - loosing a star was very motivating!
Dieting is hard because of the yo-ho thing (yo-yo) but I was able to loose weight using a Weight Watchers type diet where you don't have to cut out the food you love, you just have to count it in your total for the day. Once I had done that for a while I changed my eating habits and have been able, for the most part, to keep the weight off for the last ten years or so.
Dieting is hard because of the yo-ho thing (yo-yo) but I was able to loose weight using a Weight Watchers type diet where you don't have to cut out the food you love, you just have to count it in your total for the day. Once I had done that for a while I changed my eating habits and have been able, for the most part, to keep the weight off for the last ten years or so.
111Sace
>109 Jackie_K: I hear ya. Much of my success is due to graphic novels and Manga.
112Tess_W
>109 Jackie_K: I'm with ya Jackie on the grazing, I'm usually so starved by the time I get home and start fixing dinner, I usually eat what should be dinner by "tasting" as I cook!
113Jackie_K
I've squeaked in one more ROOT for September - #8 for the month, #35 for the year. This was a short book (c100 pages) but quite heavy-going, it was an academic book in a field not my own so I could only read it in short bursts! The book in question is Articulating Gender, Narrating the Nation: Allegorical Femininity in Romanian Fiction by Ileana Alexandra Orlich. She takes five Romanian fiction classics from the late 19th/early 20th centuries and discusses the portrayal of women and the significance of this. It was interesting in parts, although I would have appreciated a bit more of the national context at the time that the stories had been written. It has made me want to get hold of one of the books she discusses, although I am not sure I will be able to find it in English translation and I'm pretty sure if I read it in Romanian it would take me years! 3/5.
My other current read is a bit lighter, which is what I need for a bit after reading this one!
My other current read is a bit lighter, which is what I need for a bit after reading this one!
114karenmarie
Hi Jackie! Whew! Short but dense. Good for you.
115Jackie_K
>114 karenmarie: thank you!
I can't believe it's October already. Where has the year gone?
Here are my September acquisitions. I was feeling so proud of reading 8 ROOTs in September (unheard of!) until I just remembered I acquired 10 new books (thank you Verso Books ebooks sale, the source of temptation for the first 7 of them!):
* Benedict Anderson - A Life Beyond Boundaries
* Benedict Anderson - Imagined Communities
* Lindsey German & John Rees - A People's History of London (quite why the touchstone originally goes to Ivanhoe I really don't know!)
* Owen Hatherley - A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain
* Matthew Beaumont - Night Walking (touchstone suggesting Peter Pan initially!)
* Juliet Jacques - Trans: A Memoir (Don Quixote? Really, touchstones?!)
* George Monbiot - How Did We Get Into This Mess?
* Paul R Ehrlich & Michael Charles Tobias - Hope on Earth
* Marie Colvin - On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin
* Sophie Boss & Audrey Boss - Beyond Chocolate (which was also one of my 8 read this month).
All but one were e-books, so not too much adding to the general clutter in the house. Less inspiringly, only one was a freebie this month, although all except one were below my £2 limit, and the only one which wasn't was only £2.42, so financially it could have been much worse!
I can't believe it's October already. Where has the year gone?
Here are my September acquisitions. I was feeling so proud of reading 8 ROOTs in September (unheard of!) until I just remembered I acquired 10 new books (thank you Verso Books ebooks sale, the source of temptation for the first 7 of them!):
* Benedict Anderson - A Life Beyond Boundaries
* Benedict Anderson - Imagined Communities
* Lindsey German & John Rees - A People's History of London (quite why the touchstone originally goes to Ivanhoe I really don't know!)
* Owen Hatherley - A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain
* Matthew Beaumont - Night Walking (touchstone suggesting Peter Pan initially!)
* Juliet Jacques - Trans: A Memoir (Don Quixote? Really, touchstones?!)
* George Monbiot - How Did We Get Into This Mess?
* Paul R Ehrlich & Michael Charles Tobias - Hope on Earth
* Marie Colvin - On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin
* Sophie Boss & Audrey Boss - Beyond Chocolate (which was also one of my 8 read this month).
All but one were e-books, so not too much adding to the general clutter in the house. Less inspiringly, only one was a freebie this month, although all except one were below my £2 limit, and the only one which wasn't was only £2.42, so financially it could have been much worse!
116Jackie_K
Here's one for the stats nerds :)
I'm pleased that I've managed to get below the 1:2 ROOTs read:acquisitions ratio - hopefully that will carry on! (35:65 at the moment).
Here's my monthly figures so far, along with excuses for any month with double figure acquisitions:
January - 3 ROOTS / 5 acquired.
February - 2 ROOTS / 4 acquired.
March - 6 ROOTS / 12 acquired (Barter Books/Verso).
April - 4 ROOTS / 3 acquired.
May - 1 ROOT / 3 acquired.
June - 5 ROOTS / 12 acquired (birthday).
July - 4 ROOTS / 6 acquired.
August - 2 ROOTS / 10 acquired (Barter Books-Thingaversary).
September - 8 ROOTS / 10 acquired (Verso).
Although I haven't always managed to stick to my £2 maximum for acquisitions, I've had enough freebies and low cost ones that the average cost per book is below my limit - £1.92.
And of the 65 acquisitions, only 16 have been paper books, so that's pretty good I think on the general clutter front!
I'm pleased that I've managed to get below the 1:2 ROOTs read:acquisitions ratio - hopefully that will carry on! (35:65 at the moment).
Here's my monthly figures so far, along with excuses for any month with double figure acquisitions:
January - 3 ROOTS / 5 acquired.
February - 2 ROOTS / 4 acquired.
March - 6 ROOTS / 12 acquired (Barter Books/Verso).
April - 4 ROOTS / 3 acquired.
May - 1 ROOT / 3 acquired.
June - 5 ROOTS / 12 acquired (birthday).
July - 4 ROOTS / 6 acquired.
August - 2 ROOTS / 10 acquired (Barter Books-Thingaversary).
September - 8 ROOTS / 10 acquired (Verso).
Although I haven't always managed to stick to my £2 maximum for acquisitions, I've had enough freebies and low cost ones that the average cost per book is below my limit - £1.92.
And of the 65 acquisitions, only 16 have been paper books, so that's pretty good I think on the general clutter front!
118rabbitprincess
>117 Jackie_K: I entered that competition! Although I disagree with the statement that the first-prize winner would never need to buy books again. I ALWAYS need to buy books.
119Jackie_K
>118 rabbitprincess: Yeah, I thought that too! I'm still thinking about which book I want to nominate. Which one was yours?
120rabbitprincess
>119 Jackie_K: The Watch that Ends the Night, by Hugh MacLennan. :)
121Jackie_K
>119 Jackie_K: In the end I decided to plump for Sea Room by Adam Nicolson. An utterly wonderful book.
123karenmarie
I entered too! My favorite book of all time is The Source by James Michener. I read it about every 4-5 years.
Thanks, Jackie!
Thanks, Jackie!
124detailmuse
Jackie -- (#30 for the year so far - if you'd ever told me in the last twenty years that I'd have a year where I read 30 books in less than a year I'd never have believed you!)
September - #8 for the month
Congratulations! Kudos also for the ROOTs:acquisisions ratio, I think I'll look at my stats.
My husband traveled weekly for a year -- I ate what/when I was in the mood, slept more, and lost 30 pounds. I've tried to keep that awareness of my body's needs. I also sometimes like Geneen Roth, whose books on emotional eating feel like supportive conversations.
September - #8 for the month
Congratulations! Kudos also for the ROOTs:acquisisions ratio, I think I'll look at my stats.
My husband traveled weekly for a year -- I ate what/when I was in the mood, slept more, and lost 30 pounds. I've tried to keep that awareness of my body's needs. I also sometimes like Geneen Roth, whose books on emotional eating feel like supportive conversations.
125detailmuse
>123 karenmarie: The Source! Another I really want to get to.
126Jackie_K
>124 detailmuse: Thank you for the recommendation, I have just looked up Geneen Roth and I love all the titles of all her books! Are there any books of hers in particular you'd recommend (before I end up just ordering them all! ;) ).
127Jackie_K
I think October is going to be less prolific than September for ROOTs read - I have a couple of books on the go, but both for different reasons are a bit slower going than I am used to of late! (one is fiction, one is academic). I've got a minimum number of pages or chapters to read for both of them to make sure that I've finished both by the end of the month, which makes them both less daunting.
I'm already itching to find out my next reads from the Jar of Fate...
I'm already itching to find out my next reads from the Jar of Fate...
128detailmuse
>126 Jackie_K: I've read two by Geneen Roth and have two others in my TBRs. I've rated them 3 and 3.5 stars, which aren't raves yet there's a comfort and balance that comes to mind when I think of her books. She's very 1990s, reminds me of Anne Lamott. I'd probably begin with When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair because it's fast and light, or Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating, which looks like her benchmark book (not sure if Breaking Free from Emotional Eating is a revision of it?).
129Jackie_K
ROOT #36 for the year (#1 for October) is finished, it was an Early Reviewer book I won recently, Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Women by Ghada Alatrash. 3/5 stars.
I loved the idea of this book - seven short stories giving snapshots of the lives of seven Syrian women - both in Syria and in exile - introduced by a piece of poetry. I did enjoy reading it, and found many of the stories moving. However, it didn't quite work for me, and I think that's because I found I had so many questions of each story, each woman, each situation, that weren't answered because the stories were so short. In fact I think that this book would have worked much better if it was a big novel, so that all of the stories could have been fleshed out more. There was so much potential here and I think that the short story format just didn't allow that potential fully to come through.
Another issue I had relates to the formatting. The book frequently used comments in square brackets to explain the meaning of a name, or the history/significance of places or terms, immediately after the name/place/term appeared in the text. I found this really quite intrusive (especially as some of them were really long, and just plonked in the middle of a sentence in the story), and would have much preferred them as endnotes or footnotes.
I think this is likely to be my only ROOT for October, as I have a writing deadline upcoming and still have to do a ton of work for it. So I'm likely to be minimally reading for pleasure, and minimally on Library Thing, for the next few weeks till I get that done. I'm looking forward to being out the other side in a few weeks!
I loved the idea of this book - seven short stories giving snapshots of the lives of seven Syrian women - both in Syria and in exile - introduced by a piece of poetry. I did enjoy reading it, and found many of the stories moving. However, it didn't quite work for me, and I think that's because I found I had so many questions of each story, each woman, each situation, that weren't answered because the stories were so short. In fact I think that this book would have worked much better if it was a big novel, so that all of the stories could have been fleshed out more. There was so much potential here and I think that the short story format just didn't allow that potential fully to come through.
Another issue I had relates to the formatting. The book frequently used comments in square brackets to explain the meaning of a name, or the history/significance of places or terms, immediately after the name/place/term appeared in the text. I found this really quite intrusive (especially as some of them were really long, and just plonked in the middle of a sentence in the story), and would have much preferred them as endnotes or footnotes.
I think this is likely to be my only ROOT for October, as I have a writing deadline upcoming and still have to do a ton of work for it. So I'm likely to be minimally reading for pleasure, and minimally on Library Thing, for the next few weeks till I get that done. I'm looking forward to being out the other side in a few weeks!
130Jackie_K
I'm going to be away on holiday for a week from Saturday, and won't be finishing any other books before then (although I have a few on the go), so I'm going to post my October acquisitions today in the hope that that means I won't have any more before November!!
It was another acquisition-heavy month (particularly in relation to the solitary ROOT read). This month's haul of 8:
* Ghada Alatrash - Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Women. (Early Reviewers). (this was the only ROOT this month - read quickly as ER)
* Craig A Monson - Nuns Behaving Badly: Tales of Music, Magic, Art, and Arson in the Convents of Italy. Free UoC Press ebook.
* Cliff Jones - Water Runs Slow Through Flat Land. Free kindle book from amazon, delivered to kindle app (which hopefully I will be able to find when the Jar selects this book!).
* Katie Kirby - Hurrah for Gin (no touchstone yet). Not cheap, but a treat just because!
* Michael Brantley - Memory Cards. Free ebook from kobo (via Bookbub).
* Amy Brown - Breastfeeding Uncovered (no touchstone yet). Not cheap, but work-related and I'm excited to read it!
* Rebecca West - Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. From kobo (via Bookbub).
* Sheila Hancock - The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw. From kobo (daily deal).
Of the 8, 4 were free and 2 were (just) below my £2 limit. So not *too* bad! Also, 6 of them were ebooks and just the 2 were paper.
It was another acquisition-heavy month (particularly in relation to the solitary ROOT read). This month's haul of 8:
* Ghada Alatrash - Stripped to the Bone: Portraits of Syrian Women. (Early Reviewers). (this was the only ROOT this month - read quickly as ER)
* Craig A Monson - Nuns Behaving Badly: Tales of Music, Magic, Art, and Arson in the Convents of Italy. Free UoC Press ebook.
* Cliff Jones - Water Runs Slow Through Flat Land. Free kindle book from amazon, delivered to kindle app (which hopefully I will be able to find when the Jar selects this book!).
* Katie Kirby - Hurrah for Gin (no touchstone yet). Not cheap, but a treat just because!
* Michael Brantley - Memory Cards. Free ebook from kobo (via Bookbub).
* Amy Brown - Breastfeeding Uncovered (no touchstone yet). Not cheap, but work-related and I'm excited to read it!
* Rebecca West - Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. From kobo (via Bookbub).
* Sheila Hancock - The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw. From kobo (daily deal).
Of the 8, 4 were free and 2 were (just) below my £2 limit. So not *too* bad! Also, 6 of them were ebooks and just the 2 were paper.
131karenmarie
Hi Jackie! I hope you have a lovely holiday.
132rabbitprincess
Have a great holiday! Also, I continue to enjoy the title of Hurrah for Gin! :)
133MissWatson
Enjoy your holiday!
134Jackie_K
>131 karenmarie: Thank you - I am SO ready for this break!
>132 rabbitprincess: Yes, me too! And in all honesty, I think it would be a good read for people without kids too. I love her humour, it is about as far as you can possibly get from the fluffy sugar-coated being-a-mum-is-my-dream-and-my-kids-are-perfect brigade!
>133 MissWatson: Thank you! We are going to Munich to stay with my sister and her family, so I will give you a wave when we reach German airspace!
>132 rabbitprincess: Yes, me too! And in all honesty, I think it would be a good read for people without kids too. I love her humour, it is about as far as you can possibly get from the fluffy sugar-coated being-a-mum-is-my-dream-and-my-kids-are-perfect brigade!
>133 MissWatson: Thank you! We are going to Munich to stay with my sister and her family, so I will give you a wave when we reach German airspace!
135MissWatson
>134 Jackie_K: Oh, Munich! So many wonderful things to do! Enjoy!
136karenmarie
I was in Munich in 1979 for Oktoberfest and loved it. My friend Haika lived in "West" Germany at the time in a town nearby, and we spent 3 lovely days drinking way too much beer and touring the city. After that we headed to Portugal for two weeks, where we drank way too much wine. Sigh.
137MissWatson
>136 karenmarie: Ah, those halcyon days of misspent youth!
138Jackie_K
>136 karenmarie: I've never actually been for Oktoberfest (being locals, my sister and her husband tend to avoid it and leave it to the tourists!), but I must admit I do have quite the soft spot for the local beer gardens! They have lived there for many years so I've visited a number of times, so we'll probably do less touristy stuff this time round and more little-person-friendly stuff. If I recall correctly there are a lot of green spaces, and the one touristy thing we will definitely do is visit the zoo. It's a lovely city, she's so lucky to live there.
140Sace
>130 Jackie_K: Safe travels! Have fun!
141avanders
>116 Jackie_K: woo hoo! Congrats on your ratio success! :)
>117 Jackie_K: whoa.. I'm almost glad I didn't see this before the competition ended ;p
>130 Jackie_K: yes, enjoy your holiday! Oh I've heard Munich is beautiful -- had you been before?
>117 Jackie_K: whoa.. I'm almost glad I didn't see this before the competition ended ;p
>130 Jackie_K: yes, enjoy your holiday! Oh I've heard Munich is beautiful -- had you been before?
142Jackie_K
>139 Tess_W: >140 Sace: >141 avanders: Thank you all so much! I'm now back, and have taken a long time to read all the threads I've missed in the last week! >141 avanders: yes, I've been to Munich several times (my sister has lived there for the last 20 years), so other than a trip to the zoo earlier in the week we didn't actually go into the city at all apart from passing through on the way to and from the airport! It is also very close to the German Alps, so we had a day in the mountains too which was lovely.
As well as having a great time seeing family and eating my own body weight in lovely lovely German bread, I also managed to finish two ROOTs!
#1 for November (#37 for the year) was A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov (translated by Michael Glenny). This was a wonderful read - Bulgakov (probably best known for the fantastical The Master and Margarita) originally trained as a doctor, and spent a few years around the time of the Russian Revolution in a small rural clinic in the middle of nowhere. These 9 stories are semi-fictionalised and semi-autobiographical (it would appear) - accounts mainly of the rural clinic, with a couple from a hospital in a nearby town. I found all the stories so very moving - particularly the longest one, Morphine, about a colleague's descent into addiction. I honestly think this book should be on every medical student's compulsory reading list. An extraordinary book. 4.5/5.
#2 for November (#38 for the year) was Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. This is really embarrassing to admit, but I have never ever read anything before by Adams (although I've intended reading HHGTTG for years!). I picked this up as my real life former book group (with whom I am still in touch via facebook group, even though I can't attend meetups any more) chose this for this month's read, and as it was on my TBR pile I was happy that for once I could join in from a distance. I thoroughly enjoyed this one - the writing was just brilliant. Funny, clever, and not a word out of place - even if I wasn't particularly sure what was going on (especially at the beginning) I still really enjoyed the mere experience of reading it and savouring the words! There were aspects of the story that didn't quite work for me (particularly the Electric Monk), but overall I really enjoyed my belated introduction to Adams. 4/5.
I've a few other books on the go, and am confident I'll manage at least 2 more this month - which would take me to 40 for the year, which is unheard of!
As well as having a great time seeing family and eating my own body weight in lovely lovely German bread, I also managed to finish two ROOTs!
#1 for November (#37 for the year) was A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov (translated by Michael Glenny). This was a wonderful read - Bulgakov (probably best known for the fantastical The Master and Margarita) originally trained as a doctor, and spent a few years around the time of the Russian Revolution in a small rural clinic in the middle of nowhere. These 9 stories are semi-fictionalised and semi-autobiographical (it would appear) - accounts mainly of the rural clinic, with a couple from a hospital in a nearby town. I found all the stories so very moving - particularly the longest one, Morphine, about a colleague's descent into addiction. I honestly think this book should be on every medical student's compulsory reading list. An extraordinary book. 4.5/5.
#2 for November (#38 for the year) was Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. This is really embarrassing to admit, but I have never ever read anything before by Adams (although I've intended reading HHGTTG for years!). I picked this up as my real life former book group (with whom I am still in touch via facebook group, even though I can't attend meetups any more) chose this for this month's read, and as it was on my TBR pile I was happy that for once I could join in from a distance. I thoroughly enjoyed this one - the writing was just brilliant. Funny, clever, and not a word out of place - even if I wasn't particularly sure what was going on (especially at the beginning) I still really enjoyed the mere experience of reading it and savouring the words! There were aspects of the story that didn't quite work for me (particularly the Electric Monk), but overall I really enjoyed my belated introduction to Adams. 4/5.
I've a few other books on the go, and am confident I'll manage at least 2 more this month - which would take me to 40 for the year, which is unheard of!
143karenmarie
Hi Jackie - eating my own body weight in lovely lovely German bread My goodness, I remember that lovely German bread! And the wonderful preserves to put on it. And the desserts! Cake and coffee Sundays! I miss German food. I took a strange conversational German class two summers ago, and at the end the 4 pupils and instructor ate at an authentic German restaurant in Cary, NC, USA. It was pretty close, but of course not exact, and I would love to go to Germany and eat my way across the country again.
Early congratulations on your unheard-of 40+ reads for the year.....
Early congratulations on your unheard-of 40+ reads for the year.....
144Tess_W
>142 Jackie_K: Sounds absolutely wonderful, Jackie! I'm from German ancestors and have inherited several German cookbooks--which my grandmother/mother paid a translator back in the 1960's to translate about 2 dozen recipes. I cherish them and cook German 3-4 times a year, including home-made spaetzle. My next European trip needs to be Germany/Austria/Switzerland. (never been)
145Sace
>142 Jackie_K: It sounds like you had a lovely trip. I went to Germany on a school exchange program and even all these decades later I remember the wonderfully delicious bread. yummmm.
I have read HHGTTG but it's been a long time. It lead to my reading of Dirk Gentley's, but I can't remember either of them! I may have to go back and do some rereading.
I have read HHGTTG but it's been a long time. It lead to my reading of Dirk Gentley's, but I can't remember either of them! I may have to go back and do some rereading.
146rabbitprincess
>142 Jackie_K: Hurray, glad you liked Dirk Gently! And yes, do read H2G2 if you liked that one. So fun! I still quote passages from it regularly.
147avanders
>142 Jackie_K: Welcome back!
very cool - it's so nice to have people living in such interesting places so we can visit! :)
A day in the mountains sounds perfect :)
& congrats on reading 2 ROOTs too! A Country Doctor's Notebook is on my wishlist! You're the first person I know who's read it! Glad to hear how good it is... now I can't wait to read it!
very cool - it's so nice to have people living in such interesting places so we can visit! :)
A day in the mountains sounds perfect :)
& congrats on reading 2 ROOTs too! A Country Doctor's Notebook is on my wishlist! You're the first person I know who's read it! Glad to hear how good it is... now I can't wait to read it!
148Jackie_K
>147 avanders: A Country Doctor's Notebook is wonderful. Harrowing, in places, but ultimately I found it pretty uplifting.
It has taken me the best part of this month, but I've finally got another ROOT to report (#3 for November, #39 overall). This was another former UoC Press free ebook, from a year or two ago, Noel Kingsbury's Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding. It was every bit as nerdy as it sounds, but not at all dry or boring - in fact, I found it a really readable and accessible book which was surprisingly fascinating. I know absolutely nothing about plant breeding, and I suspect if it had just been about the science of it all I would have skimmed it, but the history side of it was really interesting, particularly as he covered developments throughout the world, including the developing world and former Soviet Union. I found the discussion on ownership of genes, and of issues around sharing knowledge between developed and developing world particularly interesting, but there were also fascinating insights into empire, history of genetics, farmers vs academics vs private enterprise, etc etc. It was also primarily focused on food crops rather than ornamental plants (which just got one chapter). The fact that I knew nothing about the subject (science especially, or the history) wasn't a barrier to understanding what was going on, and in fact I feel like I've learnt quite a lot! It concluded with a brief overview of GM technology and the debates around that.
There were a few places where I thought the proof-reader had had a bad day (especially chapter 14 - lots of silly errors!), but other than that minor irritation I'd actually really recommend this as accessible and interesting, it would be a good present for the nerd in your life! 4/5.
It has taken me the best part of this month, but I've finally got another ROOT to report (#3 for November, #39 overall). This was another former UoC Press free ebook, from a year or two ago, Noel Kingsbury's Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding. It was every bit as nerdy as it sounds, but not at all dry or boring - in fact, I found it a really readable and accessible book which was surprisingly fascinating. I know absolutely nothing about plant breeding, and I suspect if it had just been about the science of it all I would have skimmed it, but the history side of it was really interesting, particularly as he covered developments throughout the world, including the developing world and former Soviet Union. I found the discussion on ownership of genes, and of issues around sharing knowledge between developed and developing world particularly interesting, but there were also fascinating insights into empire, history of genetics, farmers vs academics vs private enterprise, etc etc. It was also primarily focused on food crops rather than ornamental plants (which just got one chapter). The fact that I knew nothing about the subject (science especially, or the history) wasn't a barrier to understanding what was going on, and in fact I feel like I've learnt quite a lot! It concluded with a brief overview of GM technology and the debates around that.
There were a few places where I thought the proof-reader had had a bad day (especially chapter 14 - lots of silly errors!), but other than that minor irritation I'd actually really recommend this as accessible and interesting, it would be a good present for the nerd in your life! 4/5.
149avanders
>148 Jackie_K: so nice to hear! I've moved it up the wishlist.... :)
That book sounds like something my father in law would have liked... nice review!
That book sounds like something my father in law would have liked... nice review!
150karenmarie
>148 Jackie_K: Enticing review, Jackie! I just added it to my wishlist.
I love your phrase "....the proof-reader had had a bad day...." because I feel I could have been a successful proof reader. Misspelled words and incorrectly used words scream at me from the pages.
I love your phrase "....the proof-reader had had a bad day...." because I feel I could have been a successful proof reader. Misspelled words and incorrectly used words scream at me from the pages.
151Jackie_K
>150 karenmarie: I have a proofreading distance learning module which I need to finish, as I am planning on becoming a freelancer next year and would like to include proofreading in my portfolio of "stuff I'll do for money". I always seem to spot other people's errors - the mortifying thing is though that TWO YEARS after passing my PhD, I found a couple of horrific typos in my thesis, I can't believe I missed them (they were from a section added as corrections after my viva, so weren't proofread by my friends as most of the rest of the thesis was - I only have myself to blame).
152karenmarie
>151 Jackie_K: Yipes. It's almost easier to miss your own stuff, though, because you're filling in mentally what may not be on the page. Even looking back at old posts here on LT I see errors I've made.
153Jackie_K
>152 karenmarie: I know exactly what you mean. I just went to look at your comment, and spotted a mistake of mine in post >151 Jackie_K:. Which has at least amused me - talk about pride coming before a fall! :D
155Jackie_K
>154 karenmarie: That's the one! I'm not sure what happened - I initially spotted a typo in 'learning', went back and corrected it, and I guess I must have hit 'delete' once too often!
156Jackie_K
ROOT #40 for the year (#4 for November) is Seriously Mum, What's an Alpaca? by Alan Parks. This is the first in a series of 3 memoirs, detailing Alan and his wife Lorna's moving from the UK to start a new life in Andalucia, living in the middle of nowhere and breeding alpacas. It was a quick and easy read, and mostly I enjoyed it, although I did sometimes find myself getting a bit frustrated with their naivety (eg assuming that just because someone was a fellow Brit that they wouldn't rip them off). He also came across as a bit, well if not judgmental, at least willing to make some not very flattering personal comments which I didn't think were entirely necessary. I also wasn't mad on the sections that were in the 'voice' of their various animals (dogs, alpacas, feral cat/kittens, and chickens), but I realise that that is personal taste - I've seen reviews saying this was one of the best things about the book! Despite that though, I did like their keenness to stay away from expat enclaves and get immersed in the local way of life, and wanted things to work out for them. They also were pretty open about things that went wrong and they wish they'd done differently.
This would be a good book to read for anyone thinking of a radically new lifestyle somewhere else - it's a good reminder to not be naive, but also that it's good to just go for things rather than spend your life thinking 'what if?' I have the other two books in the series, and will be interested to see how things end up for them. 3/5.
This would be a good book to read for anyone thinking of a radically new lifestyle somewhere else - it's a good reminder to not be naive, but also that it's good to just go for things rather than spend your life thinking 'what if?' I have the other two books in the series, and will be interested to see how things end up for them. 3/5.
157Familyhistorian
>151 Jackie_K: I took a few editing courses when I was in the writing program I finished last year. Since then I reread everything. If it is an essay or something I write it one day and go back to it the next. There are always corrections and changes to be made.
Besides proofreading, what are the other things you'll do for money as a freelancer?
Besides proofreading, what are the other things you'll do for money as a freelancer?
158Jackie_K
>157 Familyhistorian: Primarily transcription (my previous job was a qualitative researcher and we were always desperate for good transcribers, so I'm fairly confident I can get work from my former colleagues!).
I did semi-seriously consider adding ironing to the list too, as I really love ironing and find it really relaxing. But I suspect that I wouldn't be able to afford to do it for the hourly rates that most people would pay for it (looking at the rates at the local launderette).
I'm also possibly going to do some tutoring at a local college for international students. It would only be a couple of hours a week, but I think that having a diversity of different jobs will keep life interesting. Hopefully next year will be the year I make them all happen!
I did semi-seriously consider adding ironing to the list too, as I really love ironing and find it really relaxing. But I suspect that I wouldn't be able to afford to do it for the hourly rates that most people would pay for it (looking at the rates at the local launderette).
I'm also possibly going to do some tutoring at a local college for international students. It would only be a couple of hours a week, but I think that having a diversity of different jobs will keep life interesting. Hopefully next year will be the year I make them all happen!
159Familyhistorian
>158 Jackie_K: Good luck with your plans, Jackie. It sounds like an interesting variety of jobs. How much are the rates for ironing?
I am looking at doing freelancing next year, well actually expanding what I am doing on the side and actually making money at some of it (like my blog that takes up a lot of my time).
I am looking at doing freelancing next year, well actually expanding what I am doing on the side and actually making money at some of it (like my blog that takes up a lot of my time).
160Jackie_K
I've another ROOT to add to the mix, just finished this evening - #41 for the year, #5 for November. It's a bit of a hefty academic tome which has taken me quite a while - Public Health, Ethics, and Equity, edited by Sudhir Anand, Fabienne Peter, & Amartya Sen. I cited one of the authors in this book in my PhD, and got a copy of the book after I'd finished the PhD (I'd originally accessed a library copy) as I'd thought then I wanted to get into it when I had a bit more time. Midway through this reading of the book I was a bit disheartened, as I felt like I was really struggling with it, and I'll be honest, although I read the first 3 chapters and final 3 chapters all the way through, the other 9 chapters in the middle I pretty much skimmed them all. I was feeling really thick, like my brain has atrophied since I was studying at that level, but getting into the final 3 chapters in particular did encourage me that I haven't completely lost it! I think the problem for me was that a lot of the book is very theoretical and even philosophical, which is not really the way my brain works. The final 3 chapters were looking at the issue of health equity from an anthropological/ethnographic perspective which is much more where I'm coming from, and basically making a point which was the crux of my PhD, which was that it's all very well having overarching universal theories and rights/wrongs, but if you don't take on board and interact with local understandings and local mores, then you are only going to get so far with your health equity and health promotion efforts.
I'm giving this 4 stars - even though I struggled with a big chunk of it I could still recognise the quality of the scholarship. This is in my view a really important book in the field, even though it is a bit old now (published in 2004). 4/5.
I've just got a couple of fiction books on the go now - a 'contemporary fiction' (according to my own categorisation for the Category Challenge - published after 1969) book which is OK but I'm making somewhat heavy work of it, and an 'ancient fiction' (again my own categorisation - published pre-1900) which is technically a reread, but I reckon I last read it more than 30 years ago, so definitely counts as a ROOT as I can hardly remember anything about it. I'm also waiting to hear if I've won one of the November ERs. If I have then I reckon they'll probably take me up till Christmas.
I'm giving this 4 stars - even though I struggled with a big chunk of it I could still recognise the quality of the scholarship. This is in my view a really important book in the field, even though it is a bit old now (published in 2004). 4/5.
I've just got a couple of fiction books on the go now - a 'contemporary fiction' (according to my own categorisation for the Category Challenge - published after 1969) book which is OK but I'm making somewhat heavy work of it, and an 'ancient fiction' (again my own categorisation - published pre-1900) which is technically a reread, but I reckon I last read it more than 30 years ago, so definitely counts as a ROOT as I can hardly remember anything about it. I'm also waiting to hear if I've won one of the November ERs. If I have then I reckon they'll probably take me up till Christmas.
161karenmarie
>158 Jackie_K: Good luck with your plans - they sound interesting and varied. I, too, love ironing, although at this point I only iron something just before I need it so it's usually more stressful than relaxing. It seems sad to say in this world we live in now, but at the age of 8 I was ecstatic that my mother finally let me learn to iron. I remember the dampened clothes on the chair waiting to be ironed, the happiness of making the wrinkles and moisture go away. Still like making the wrinkles go away, but the steam iron has replaced the bottle with the sprinkler head and the waiting for the clothes to be properly dampened.
>159 Familyhistorian: Hey Tess - how do bloggers make money?
>160 Jackie_K: Wow, major accomplishment, reading the "academic tome". I admire you for it.
>159 Familyhistorian: Hey Tess - how do bloggers make money?
>160 Jackie_K: Wow, major accomplishment, reading the "academic tome". I admire you for it.
162Jackie_K
>161 karenmarie: thank you!
I can't believe it's December tomorrow - how on earth did that happen? This year has gone by in a flash, yet the world is suddenly so different. *existential sigh*
I've not had a bad ROOTing month - I've read 5 ROOTs, and acquired 7 new books. My ROOTs:acquisitions ratio is just about the right side of 1:2 (my goal for the year), so hopefully if I (or Santa) don't go too mad at Christmas I can finish the year with a 1:2.
This month's acquisitions:
* Carl H. Nightingale - Segregation: A Global History of Divided Cities
* Frank Kusy - Kevin and I in India
* Emma Jane Kirby - The Optician of Lampedusa
* Reece Jones - Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move
* Various - Secrets and Confessions (no touchstone).
* Pauline Nevins - Fudge: The Downs and Ups of a Biracial, Half-Irish, British War Baby (no touchstone).
* Monica Connell - Gathering Carrageen
Of these seven, 3 were freebies (Nightingale from UoC Press free ebook of the month; Jones free from Verso Books; and Various which is the free ebook produced this year for Scottish Book Week by the Scottish Book Trust). Two of the others were just 99p, so overall I've not broken the bank this month! Only one of the books is a paper book (The Optician of Lampedusa), so not too much added to the overall clutter in the house either :)
I can't believe it's December tomorrow - how on earth did that happen? This year has gone by in a flash, yet the world is suddenly so different. *existential sigh*
I've not had a bad ROOTing month - I've read 5 ROOTs, and acquired 7 new books. My ROOTs:acquisitions ratio is just about the right side of 1:2 (my goal for the year), so hopefully if I (or Santa) don't go too mad at Christmas I can finish the year with a 1:2.
This month's acquisitions:
* Carl H. Nightingale - Segregation: A Global History of Divided Cities
* Frank Kusy - Kevin and I in India
* Emma Jane Kirby - The Optician of Lampedusa
* Reece Jones - Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move
* Various - Secrets and Confessions (no touchstone).
* Pauline Nevins - Fudge: The Downs and Ups of a Biracial, Half-Irish, British War Baby (no touchstone).
* Monica Connell - Gathering Carrageen
Of these seven, 3 were freebies (Nightingale from UoC Press free ebook of the month; Jones free from Verso Books; and Various which is the free ebook produced this year for Scottish Book Week by the Scottish Book Trust). Two of the others were just 99p, so overall I've not broken the bank this month! Only one of the books is a paper book (The Optician of Lampedusa), so not too much added to the overall clutter in the house either :)
163avanders
>159 Familyhistorian: echoing the sentiments here -- good luck w/ your plans/jobs! Having a diversity of different jobs does sound like it will keep life interesting :)
>161 karenmarie: I love reading how some people love ironing. :) I literally do not own an iron -- I just don't buy clothes where that is an issue (and when I was wearing suits regularly, I dry cleaned them...). It seems to be a lost art, really... I wonder if my kids will iron!
>162 Jackie_K: I know, I can't believe it's already December and ... all that has happened!
Congrats on your successes w/ ROOTs this month!
>161 karenmarie: I love reading how some people love ironing. :) I literally do not own an iron -- I just don't buy clothes where that is an issue (and when I was wearing suits regularly, I dry cleaned them...). It seems to be a lost art, really... I wonder if my kids will iron!
>162 Jackie_K: I know, I can't believe it's already December and ... all that has happened!
Congrats on your successes w/ ROOTs this month!
164Sace
>162 Jackie_K: Yes! Hasn't this year flown by?
165Jackie_K
ROOT #1 for December (#42 for the year) was a book I won in last month's Early Reviewer giveaway - Marjorie Ann Watts' Making a Mark: Letter to a Grandson on the Story of European Painting. This is a factual book aimed at the author's 14 year old grandson (who I believe may be autistic) who asked her loads and loads of questions about art to the point where she thought writing a book would be easiest!
I appreciated how from the beginning the publisher and author made it clear that they had wanted to include all-singing, all-dancing colour versions of the paintings under discussion but that this was not possible for ereaders, where most devices still only render pictures in black and white. The lists at the end of each chapter featuring suggested pictures to look up online were helpful, although it is a bit of a cumbersome solution. I did though appreciate the further correspondence from the publisher, who said that in response to reader feedback they were going to include links to sites (eg art galleries) where there are examples of the various styles of art under discussion. That was a good touch, and I think shows that the publisher and author are very much open to reader suggestions about improving the book where possible.
I really liked the idea of the book - a whistlestop tour of European painting (with the odd American thrown in for good measure, particularly in the 20th century) aimed as I mentioned at the author's grandson who asked so many questions about art that writing a book seemed like the logical thing to do. I did wonder if it would be a bit simplistic, but I found it a very readable and well-written introduction to art which managed to be accessible without being patronising (for example, whilst she is thorough at explaining the various schools and -isms in European art, she doesn't micro-explain every single term but assumes that the reader isn't completely without knowledge and that they can always look up terms if necessary). There are useful endnotes at the end of the book where some terms may have needed greater explanation.
I would certainly recommend this as a good introduction to European painting for those (like me) who are aware of art but don't really know much about the history and background to each movement, or how the various schools of European art relate (or not) to each other.
4/5. My best ER book so far.
I appreciated how from the beginning the publisher and author made it clear that they had wanted to include all-singing, all-dancing colour versions of the paintings under discussion but that this was not possible for ereaders, where most devices still only render pictures in black and white. The lists at the end of each chapter featuring suggested pictures to look up online were helpful, although it is a bit of a cumbersome solution. I did though appreciate the further correspondence from the publisher, who said that in response to reader feedback they were going to include links to sites (eg art galleries) where there are examples of the various styles of art under discussion. That was a good touch, and I think shows that the publisher and author are very much open to reader suggestions about improving the book where possible.
I really liked the idea of the book - a whistlestop tour of European painting (with the odd American thrown in for good measure, particularly in the 20th century) aimed as I mentioned at the author's grandson who asked so many questions about art that writing a book seemed like the logical thing to do. I did wonder if it would be a bit simplistic, but I found it a very readable and well-written introduction to art which managed to be accessible without being patronising (for example, whilst she is thorough at explaining the various schools and -isms in European art, she doesn't micro-explain every single term but assumes that the reader isn't completely without knowledge and that they can always look up terms if necessary). There are useful endnotes at the end of the book where some terms may have needed greater explanation.
I would certainly recommend this as a good introduction to European painting for those (like me) who are aware of art but don't really know much about the history and background to each movement, or how the various schools of European art relate (or not) to each other.
4/5. My best ER book so far.
166Jackie_K
Checking out my stats, I'm currently on 42 read and 82 acquired. I'm hopeful I'll get one more book read before Christmas, and (maybe) another before New Year. Going on the 1:2 ROOTs:acquired ratio, that would mean that if I finish one more this year then I can get away with 4 more acquisitions which should cover me for Christmas gifts. I'll just have to hope that all of December's Bookbub suggestions are duds!
167avanders
>165 Jackie_K: wow that's awesome that you enjoyed your ER so much! Love it when that happens :)
>166 Jackie_K: awesome! Way to go!!
>166 Jackie_K: awesome! Way to go!!
168Jackie_K
>167 avanders: I've been looking at the other reviews as they appear, and they seem equally favourable. I think for what she was aiming to do with this book she's pretty much achieved it, although everybody seems in agreement that including pictures would have been best if only it had been possible.
I've added one more book via Bookbub since posting >166 Jackie_K:, but I've let a few go as well that earlier in the year I might have bought. So I'm still feeling OK that I'll not exceed the 1:2 ratio.
We do have a Barter Books trip lined up, but as it will be on either 1st or 2nd of January it won't count for my 2016 totals! We definitely timed that well!
I've added one more book via Bookbub since posting >166 Jackie_K:, but I've let a few go as well that earlier in the year I might have bought. So I'm still feeling OK that I'll not exceed the 1:2 ratio.
We do have a Barter Books trip lined up, but as it will be on either 1st or 2nd of January it won't count for my 2016 totals! We definitely timed that well!
170Jackie_K
ROOT #2 for December (#43 for the year) is finished, it was one of my freebie acquisitions from earlier this year, and it was quite a treat! Michael Brantley's Memory Cards is a memoir of rural life in North Carolina from the 1970s to now, and is a lovely gentle read. It's not a linear memoir, his chapters usually relate to a particular topic or character in his life, and then within the chapter there are lots of little vignettes which leap about in time, so it flits from one time back to another, then back to the original vignette to continue the story. Having looked at some Goodreads reviews I could see that some people didn't like that, but it worked really well for me, helped by the fact that he is a really good writer (he teaches English and creative writing). It's not a part of the world or a culture that I particularly know at all, but he evoked a time and place beautifully. 4/5.
171Jackie_K
ROOT #3 for December (#44 for the year) is finished, another nice short one so ideal for the end of the year and pushing up my totals! This was M. Basil Pennington's An Invitation to Centering Prayer: Including an Introduction to Lectio Divina, a book which I bought shortly after I moved to Scotland when I went on a weekend retreat at a monastery near Perth. This was a simple, short introduction to the practice of centering prayer and Lectio Divina, and whilst it was good as far as it went, I can't help thinking I'd get more out of it if it was used in a retreat or group setting (so that I could have someone reminding me what to do!). 3/5.
It's reminded me that I have some books by Margaret Silf, in the Ignatian tradition, which I really like and which work much better for me in an individual setting. I must dig those out sometime.
In other reading, I am currently about 3/5 of the way through Jane Eyre, I had hoped to finish it by Christmas but don't think that's going to happen. I am going to take it away with me though, so I will be very disappointed if I've not finished it by New Year and added it to my 2016 total! If I can do that, then it means that I will be able to get away with 7 new acquisitions (I'm not expecting that many from Santa, but it does reduce the pressure a bit if he's very generous!) before the end of the year and still maintain my 1:2 ROOTs:acquisitions ratio.
It's reminded me that I have some books by Margaret Silf, in the Ignatian tradition, which I really like and which work much better for me in an individual setting. I must dig those out sometime.
In other reading, I am currently about 3/5 of the way through Jane Eyre, I had hoped to finish it by Christmas but don't think that's going to happen. I am going to take it away with me though, so I will be very disappointed if I've not finished it by New Year and added it to my 2016 total! If I can do that, then it means that I will be able to get away with 7 new acquisitions (I'm not expecting that many from Santa, but it does reduce the pressure a bit if he's very generous!) before the end of the year and still maintain my 1:2 ROOTs:acquisitions ratio.
172rabbitprincess
Sending you good book-finishing vibes to help you maintain that ratio! :)
173Jackie_K
>172 rabbitprincess: Thank you! (I wouldn't say no to 7 new books either, in all honesty!).
Tomorrow is my last work day before Christmas, and then we are off to see various family members and friends on Saturday onwards so I will be minimally online after tonight (and really, I should spend tonight packing so that tomorrow is less fraught!). So I want to wish all my LT friends a very merry Christmas, I hope that Santa is generous to you all and enables you to have a very literary holiday! Wishing you (and me) travelling mercies, rest, relaxation, fun, good people to share the time with, and some great books!
I will try and pop in here to wrap things up next week, and will be properly back online in 2017 - see you then!
Tomorrow is my last work day before Christmas, and then we are off to see various family members and friends on Saturday onwards so I will be minimally online after tonight (and really, I should spend tonight packing so that tomorrow is less fraught!). So I want to wish all my LT friends a very merry Christmas, I hope that Santa is generous to you all and enables you to have a very literary holiday! Wishing you (and me) travelling mercies, rest, relaxation, fun, good people to share the time with, and some great books!
I will try and pop in here to wrap things up next week, and will be properly back online in 2017 - see you then!
174MissWatson
>173 Jackie_K: Happy holidays to you, too, Jackie!
179enemyanniemae
Stopping by to say Happy Holidays!
181Jackie_K
>179 enemyanniemae: >180 connie53: thank you!
Santa brought me 2 books from my wishlist, and I've just had an email from Verso to say they've got 90% off all ebooks till Jan 1st. I haven't dared look yet.
Santa brought me 2 books from my wishlist, and I've just had an email from Verso to say they've got 90% off all ebooks till Jan 1st. I haven't dared look yet.
182karenmarie
Hi Jackie! A Belated Merry Christmas to you. I'm venturing out into the LT world again today, baby steps at first, and am going to draw another line in the sand and go forward on all the threads and friends I haven't had the heart to engage in and with lately. Appropriate oohs and aahs, and congratulations and so sorrys,..... but here's an Early Happy New Year to you and best wishes for all good things in 2017.
183avanders
>181 Jackie_K: oh no... the temptation!
184Jackie_K
ROOT #4 for December, and a stonking #45 for the year, is finished. Technically it's a reread, but as I last read it 30+ years ago it definitely counts as a ROOT (I remembered hardly anything at all about it, so I might as well have been reading it for the first time). It was Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. I liked it, up to a point - I think I'm more of an Austen type than a Bronte, if that makes sense, I'm really not so fussed about dark and brooding. It's beautifully written and so very evocative. I know that reading a 19th century book with 21st century sensibilities is not going to get the most out of it, but it's difficult not to, and so I found the portrayal and treatment of Bertha Mason really difficult to take, even though I appreciated the beauty of the writing and the masterful portrayal of Jane's growing love for Rochester. Therefore I'm giving it a slightly mean 3.5/5 stars, and I think I might have to get hold of Wide Sargasso Sea which I understand is the story from Bertha's perspective.
I really need to remind myself that these things aren't real, they're only stories!!
I really need to remind myself that these things aren't real, they're only stories!!
185detailmuse
Catching up and noting the "ironing love" ... I do it minimally now and for me too it's usually in a rush ... but still it's so satisfying and I do remember how relaxing I used to find it.
Happy new year and looking forward to the 2017 Jar of Fate!
Happy new year and looking forward to the 2017 Jar of Fate!
186Jackie_K
>185 detailmuse: I try to let the ironing build up a bit then do it in front of something soothing on the telly - a nature documentary, or something. A fine way to spend an hour or two!
I succumbed to the Verso sale, although luckily I think I've got nearly every book they've produced that I want, so hopefully I won't get so suckered next time (remind me I said this next time they have a sale!). I'm not going to finish any more ROOTs this month, or buy any more books before 1st January, so thought I'd sum up my stats.
First up, here's December's acquisitions (9 obtained, against 4 read. Oops. But Christmas. The last 3 are today's purchases from the Verso sale):
Marjorie Ann Watts - Making a Mark (LT ER)
Stephen Graham - Vertical: The City from Satellites to Bunkers
Karl Pilkington - Happyslapped by a Jellyfish
Julian Barnes - The Noise of Time (Christmas present)
Philomena de Lima - International Migration: The Wellbeing of Migrants (no touchstone) (Christmas present)
Tim Peake - Hello, is this Planet Earth? (Duplicate Christmas present - I bought it for my dad, but so did my aunt, so I took it back and ordered him something else!)
Heather Rogers - Green Gone Wrong
Jeremy Harding - Border Vigils
Noam Chayut - The Girl Who Stole My Holocaust
Over the year, I'm *just* the right side of my 1:2 ratio for ROOTs:acquisitions, with 45 ROOTs and 89 acquisitions. That is more books than I acquired last year, but I read so many more this year that it doesn't feel so bad (last year's ratio was 1:3. So I'm thinking of aiming for 1:1.5 in 2017). So I'm really pleased with that.
Although I didn't always manage to stick to my £2 limit for books, I had enough free books in the mix (35) that things have just about, almost, nearly, worked out. In total I spent £190.48 on books, which averaged out at £2.14 per book. For next year, I think I will try to keep the £2 limit, but aim to spend no more than £150 over the year (that's still quite a lot, isn't it? Eek).
I'm pleased that the majority of my books bought were ebooks, so there hasn't been that much added to the overall clutter in the house! Of the 89, 67 were ebooks and only 22 paper books. So that's not bad.
As far as this year's reading goes, although I didn't have any 5 star reads I did award quite a lot of 4 and 4.5 stars. I think my favourite reads of the year were Mike Ormsby's Never Mind The Balkans, Here's Romania, Robert Alan Jamieson's Nort Atlantik Drift, and Jim Crumley's Among Islands. I did read a couple of turkeys, but think the award for worst of the year has to go to Ruth Hay's Auld Acquaintance, which is the only book I simply couldn't finish, it was so badly written.
I've already started my first book for my 2017 challenge and am really enjoying it, so will hopefully be able to add that to the ticker in the first week of January!
Here's to another great literary year for all of us in 2017!
I succumbed to the Verso sale, although luckily I think I've got nearly every book they've produced that I want, so hopefully I won't get so suckered next time (remind me I said this next time they have a sale!). I'm not going to finish any more ROOTs this month, or buy any more books before 1st January, so thought I'd sum up my stats.
First up, here's December's acquisitions (9 obtained, against 4 read. Oops. But Christmas. The last 3 are today's purchases from the Verso sale):
Marjorie Ann Watts - Making a Mark (LT ER)
Stephen Graham - Vertical: The City from Satellites to Bunkers
Karl Pilkington - Happyslapped by a Jellyfish
Julian Barnes - The Noise of Time (Christmas present)
Philomena de Lima - International Migration: The Wellbeing of Migrants (no touchstone) (Christmas present)
Tim Peake - Hello, is this Planet Earth? (Duplicate Christmas present - I bought it for my dad, but so did my aunt, so I took it back and ordered him something else!)
Heather Rogers - Green Gone Wrong
Jeremy Harding - Border Vigils
Noam Chayut - The Girl Who Stole My Holocaust
Over the year, I'm *just* the right side of my 1:2 ratio for ROOTs:acquisitions, with 45 ROOTs and 89 acquisitions. That is more books than I acquired last year, but I read so many more this year that it doesn't feel so bad (last year's ratio was 1:3. So I'm thinking of aiming for 1:1.5 in 2017). So I'm really pleased with that.
Although I didn't always manage to stick to my £2 limit for books, I had enough free books in the mix (35) that things have just about, almost, nearly, worked out. In total I spent £190.48 on books, which averaged out at £2.14 per book. For next year, I think I will try to keep the £2 limit, but aim to spend no more than £150 over the year (that's still quite a lot, isn't it? Eek).
I'm pleased that the majority of my books bought were ebooks, so there hasn't been that much added to the overall clutter in the house! Of the 89, 67 were ebooks and only 22 paper books. So that's not bad.
As far as this year's reading goes, although I didn't have any 5 star reads I did award quite a lot of 4 and 4.5 stars. I think my favourite reads of the year were Mike Ormsby's Never Mind The Balkans, Here's Romania, Robert Alan Jamieson's Nort Atlantik Drift, and Jim Crumley's Among Islands. I did read a couple of turkeys, but think the award for worst of the year has to go to Ruth Hay's Auld Acquaintance, which is the only book I simply couldn't finish, it was so badly written.
I've already started my first book for my 2017 challenge and am really enjoying it, so will hopefully be able to add that to the ticker in the first week of January!
Here's to another great literary year for all of us in 2017!
187Jackie_K
Well, having said I wasn't going to read any more ROOTs this year, today our planned trip out for a walk round a local lake/nature reserve was scuppered by fog meaning we would both freeze and wouldn't see a thing, so instead after lunch I sat down with the book I bought my dad for Christmas but then reclaimed as he'd been given it by someone else as well, Tim Peake's Hello, is this Planet Earth?: My View from the International Space Station, and I ended up reading it from cover to cover. What a lovely way to end the year, it is a gorgeous coffee table book, with photos and very brief captions taken by British astronaut Tim Peake during his mission on the International Space Station (December 2015-June 2016). I followed his mission on social media, he was an absolutely brilliant advocate for science and really enthused children and adults alike for both the various science experiments he was doing and also his photos of Earth from space. Earth really is so very beautiful, and precious, and fragile. So that's 46 ROOTs for the year, I'm super-impressed with myself!
Happy new year, when it comes, everyone!
Happy new year, when it comes, everyone!
188karenmarie
Hi Jackie! Nothing beats sneaking in another book before the year-end buzzer. Your 2017 plans sound great and I look forward to watching them unfold.
Happy New Year to you too!
Happy New Year to you too!
189Tess_W
>187 Jackie_K: Sounds like a great read and sounds like you have had a fantastic year reading. BTW...I don't think the number you spent on books was astronomical.....I spent much more than that last year, although my big ticket items were the Outlander books with narration. I'm back on the self imposed non book buying wagon until I clear out again! And by clear out, I mean my Kindle, I still haven't brought but 1-2 paper books into the house this last year.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
190Sace
>187 Jackie_K: Sounds like you made some lovely lemonade from the lemons that the weather gave you. Congrats on sneaking in one last ROOT.
191jen.e.moore
I'm so impressed at your ROOTs:acquisitions ratio! I try so hard to keep it roughly to 1:1, but it's hard. (Books are so good! And it's nice to have them around!)
I'm thinking about stealing your Jar of Fate system for my next year's reading; there are far too many books I don't want to get rid of but never seem to be in the mood to start reading. Would you mind?
I'm thinking about stealing your Jar of Fate system for my next year's reading; there are far too many books I don't want to get rid of but never seem to be in the mood to start reading. Would you mind?
192readingtangent
>186 Jackie_K: Happy New Year, Jackie, and good work on your various reading goals! I think you did well on sticking close to your budget per book. I spent $144.19 on books this year, with an average of $2.15 per book. Last year I spent $199.71 so I'm pretty happy. Although it's all Amazon credit from Christmas and birthday gifts anyway (I hoard it for this purpose :)).
193Jackie_K
>191 jen.e.moore: please go ahead! (I stole the idea from someone else too, although the categories side of things was my own twist) I have loved the difference it has made to my reading and am looking forward to more of the same in 2017!
>192 readingtangent: thank you!
>192 readingtangent: thank you!
