Laurel’s
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(group member since Dec 30, 2013)
Laurel’s
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from the All About Books group.
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Midyear review (and plans for July):This is probably a good time to take stock and see where I'm at. Goodreads says I am 1 book behind schedule on my annual goal. That's amazing considering I could barely read in March and April due to "Covid-brain." (No I didn't have it - just couldn't concentrate on anything due to the shutdown, anxiety, etc. etc.) But here we are. I have several things that should be finished shortly and I should be back on track.
So I have made some revisions to post #1 - my quarterly goals changed to seasonal goals. Namely, I still want to read more of the Russia theme (1st quarter). I've completely stalled on War and Peace. Just drew up a new daily schedule (smaller chunks?) for that and Natasha's Dance and hope to finish both by the end of October. So that takes care of both Winter and Spring. The 2nd quarter theme of Arthurian titles became Summer and I've expanded it to include some medieval titles. 3rd quarter got reassigned to next year: that will be my Odyssey theme which, like Russia, includes a chunky classic (Ulysses) not to mention The Iliad AND The Odyssey, so will probably be all year. 4th quarter is now Macbeth and I've expanded it to include Thorfinn (which Dorothy Dunnett in King Hereafter said was the same person) and other Viking titles.
So started previously this year and still working on:
READ War and Peace
READ Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Outlander (reread)
READ A Bend in the Stars
READ The Winter of the Witch
One for Sorrow
June books I'm finishing up:
READ Manhattan Beach (Daytimers)
Queen By Right (A Good Yarn - queen)
July:
READ The Current (Daytimers)
His Dark Lady (A Good Yarn - race and renaissance)
Russka: The Novel of Russia (reread - hope to start this, because I need an R title for A Good Yarn as well as the themes)
Seasonal (summer - will continue in August, AND the Good Yarn themes are "summer" and "Scandinavia"):
Yseult: A Tale of Love in the Age of King Arthur - would LOVE to finally get this off my TBR...
READ The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty - half-read a long time ago, need to finish
The Summer Queen
READ A Mighty Dawn - part of the fall Macbeth/Viking seasonal theme, but it is due back at the library Aug 1 and has a hold on it...and it fits the Scandinavia theme for A Good Yarn, so I might save His Dark Lady for August and read this one in July....
Well, that's a lot. Wish me luck!
#25
A Quiet Life in the Country3 Pink stars - Interesting characters. Makes me think of an older Phryne Fisher and Dot, but set in England. The mystery was only so-so, but I want to learn more of their backstory!
Pages: 7687
#24
The Guise of Another3.5 Green stars - I found the level of violence distressing given the current level of unrest in our country.
Pages: 7409
June plans:Ha ha ha, since it is already the middle of June. Still need to finish just about everything on my May list...
Listening to
READ The Guise of Another, and finally started
READ The Winter of the Witch
The Daytimers book for June is
READ Manhattan Beach
A Good Yarn is reading Q themes: Queens and Quiet
Queen By Right
READ A Quiet Life In The Country
#23
When Stars Are Scattered5 Gold stars: Graphic novel for kids, but a true story about growing up in a refugee camp. Excellent art work.
pages: 7140
#21
The Stars Are Fire4 Blue stars. Good escapist fiction with a happy ending. Just what I needed.
21 books, 6624 pages
#20
The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria4 Blue stars.
My review: I had some reservations about some of his assumptions. But I appreciate the great lengths he goes to in order to bring this time period to life. This is about much more than just Oswald. It is as much about Lindesfarne, the Synod of Whitby, a study of the available sources (Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Nennius, Bede, etc.), the establishment of both Deira and Bernicia, and other rulers as far afield as Wales, Kent, and even Frankia. Much to ponder and I have copied his detailed timelines for further study. My interest is genealogical as well as historical.
20 books, 6368 pages
#19
The Shell Seekers3.5 Red stars (rounded up)
Slow and drawn out, with mostly unlikeable characters, but lots of period detail.
Thanks, Leslie. It is good so far, though I am still not reading very much these days. Hard to finish books!
May plans:I probably shouldn't be making any plans for May, since I have not made a dent in April at all, and have still not finished all of my March plans.
Still reading War and Peace, though just barely. I have not given up. I just haven't been giving it any priority. I did give up on trying to read two editions, so I have DNF'd the Pevear translation. Along with that, I am still reading Natasha's Dance.
Looking back at March, I did finish my March book club book, and an N title for A Good Yarn. But I am still working on the other two themes:
READ The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria - this is an ILL book, and I've let it stall because ILL is essentially closed, but I still need to get it read. I only have 125 pages to go. So if I put my mind to it, I could finish it this week. The Night theme will have to be put off...
Although my April book club has met, I am still working on that title. It's an audiobook, and I haven't been going anywhere, so hard to make progress. I may get out a puzzle this afternoon and give it priority. I have 10 hours of listening left. This one does not lend itself well to increasing the speed.
READ The Shell Seekers
I started my O book for April, and fortunately it ticks both themes (One and Orange) as well as being a title that starts with O:
One for Sorrow
For my Stars theme, I am still reading
READ A Bend in the Stars
And for my Russia theme, I still need to listen to the 3rd of the Winternight trilogy
READ The Winter of the Witch
There are some other Russia books I had planned to read, and I'm going to have to go into May instead of starting my 2nd "quarter" Arthurian theme. Maybe I'll push those off until June or even July. Would like to read
Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Other Geniuses of the Golden Age
and reread (purchased on Audible)
Russka: the Novel of Russia
I also purchased
The Bronze Horseman and since that is a trilogy, I may put that off for now.
My May book club book is
READ The Stars Are Fire - audiobook and it looks to be short thank goodness....
A Good Yarn is up to P and the themes are Personal and Pioneers. I have found a book that ticks both themes and is a P title, so planning on
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
So not counting War and Peace and Natasha's Dance, that is 9 books. Not impossible, but I won't be holding my breath either!
Welcome back, Tweedledum! I think I have too many themes! And then one of my real-life book clubs is reading two themes a month. The stay-at-home order has decimated my audiobook listening. So I feel like I'm WAY behind. I'm going to have to extend my Russia theme past April. Determined to get through War and Peace finally, but I'm only on "Book Two." Will look forward to seeing what you plan for your challenge.
Tom wrote: "Current immersion reading projects:Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, narrated by Joanne Froggatt
Yes, this absolutely is one of the books I should have read by now.
I had the same reaction to reading this. I also listened to Joanne Froggatt and I thought she was marvelous. Reading, as well as listening, helped a lot with the "opacity." Despite the dark nature of the tale, the writing was a joy to read.
#17
The Starless Sea3 Yellow stars - Started out really interested in it, but it just got more and more convoluted and bogged down. I didn't understand it in the end.
Pages: 5132
War and PeaceI've abandoned my Barnes and Noble Classics edition in favor of this Oxford World's Classics edition. Both translated by the Maudes, but this edition restores the French passages and the Russian forms of names. And I think this editor has made some changes with the dialects too. I'll have to compare some passages. I reset the date started to today - I wasn't so far that I couldn't start over. I also have the Pevear translation and I may or may not keep reading that one alongside. That makes a lot of extra reading! My problem with the Pevear is that on the Kobo version I bought long ago, there are two sets of footnotes and one of them is not highlighted, which means going back and forth in a convoluted manner and it's very annoying. I do like the translation though.
So here it is April already. March was a hell of a month with the novel coronavirus crisis deepening across the U.S. I finished two books early in March and then could not concentrate on reading for several weeks.I think I am finally getting some of my reading mojo back. Now that we've sort of established a new work routine for the library, and I'm using some of my accumulated PTO so I have time to do more reading and relaxing. I'm playing catch-up with a number of things I should have finished in March, mostly my "N" themes for A Good Yarn book club.
So, I'm still reading
READ The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria by Max Adams - NF about the life of Oswald of Northumbria who lived in the 600s in northern England. I love this time period - well, all of British medieval history. Got it through interlibrary loan, and maybe it's a good thing the library is closed, because I wouldn't have finished it before it was due back. We'll probably be closed into May, but I hope to finish this in another week.
Resumed listening to
READ The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Not liking it as much as The Night Circus, but still enjoying it. Purchased via Audible so I don't have to worry about how long it takes. Not driving much for the time being. I COULD listen to it in the house, but I have enough other things to read. So it will take as long as it takes. I have about 8 hours left to go.... We'll see. I might get out a jigsaw puzzle this weekend, and then I can listen to it while I do that.
Still reading
READ Never Buried by Edie Claire. 1st in a cozy mystery series. My N title for March. Fun so far, but not a high priority.
Just started last night -
READ A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum. Top priority right now, as it has a hold waiting for it. Even though I won't accrue fines on it until the library reopens, we are offering curbside pickup of holds at two locations, so I do want to get it back so whoever is waiting can have it. So I'm setting myself 40 pages a day...
THEN, I'm renewing my pledge to get
READ War and Peace read this year finally. I have not kept up on trying to read at least a little every day. But I've just discovered the blog Tolstoy Together which started on March 18 reading ~12 pages a day. I'm about two weeks behind from where I stopped, so I have some catching up to do, but reading with a group is such a good incentive! Wish me luck!!!
I meant to get to some other things in March, too. The "Night" title may have to wait. I do want to finish up the Winternight Trilogy with
READ The Winter of the Witch (hey! maybe that counts as a "night" title...)
and I wanted to reread
Russka: The Novel of Russia on Audible
April is O themes for A Good Yarn. Fortunately, I've already my "orange" title (There, There by Tommy Orange.) The other O theme is One and I'm planning to read
One for Sorrow which has "one" in the title, is #1 of a series, and it's a title that starts with O: three in one. And oh, look, it's also orange:
Perfect!
#16
Take It Away, Tommy!: A Breaking Cat News AdventureAlways 5 (Gold) stars. Just what the doctor ordered!
16 books, 4634 pages
#15
This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl3 Green stars - A lovely tribute to a lovely young woman, just too much and needed editing.
