Laurel’s Comments (group member since Dec 30, 2013)

Laurel’s comments from the All About Books group.

Leslie wrote: "Nice mixture of books! I see that your real-world book club picks the books in advance - do you mind if I ask how they are selected?"

No, I don't mind. I'm the local librarian, and I manage a couple of bookclubs. This one I actually participate in, as well, because I enjoy the ladies and it gets me to read some things outside of my usual fare. There are eight of us, so I have to pick titles that our library system has at least eight copies of. We have a different category every month - a children's book, romance, prize winner, classic, foreign fiction, Minnesota author, etc. so I look for things that fit those categories that we have enough copies of.

My overall goal is to read 48 books. I managed 47 last year, so I was only short by one! I thought about increasing it to 52, but I think 4 books a month is a nice goal.

Daytimer's:12
This is my local face-to-face bookclub, so we read one book a month.
Jan: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Feb: The Shoemaker's Wife
Mar: Olive Kitteridge
Apr: Room
May: Hamlet
Jun: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Jul: Safe from the Sea
Aug: Cutting for Stone
Sep: Year of Wonders
Oct: Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Nov: The Night Circus
Dec: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Leftovers:12
Lots of books from my 2013 challenges that I still want to read. This category is to add to the books on my Moby Dick list, my Tudor 2013 list, and my Pride and Prejudice list. Also books that I've started at one time and never finished.
Including, but not limited to:
Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer - This also fits my "wife" challenge (below)
The Art of Fielding
Railsea
Venus in Winter
The Tudor Secret
The Boleyn Deceit

The "_____" Wife Challenge:12
Including, but not limited to:
The Aviator's Wife
The Pilot's Wife
The Tiger's Wife
The Kitchen God's Wife
The Crane Wife
The Twentieth Wife

Everything else:12
Anything that strikes my fancy. I especially like historical fiction, Arthurian fiction, and anything set in Wales. I also want to reread some of my childhood favorites this year.
Including, but not limited to:
Resistance
Eve Green
The Welsh Girl
The Kingmaking
The Killing Way
Juliet
Primrose Day
A Wrinkle in Time

1.Which were your favourite books of the year?
Random Reads:
Mr. Timothy
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pieand sequels
The Knights' Tales Collection: Book 1: Sir Lancelot the Great; Book 2: Sir Givret the Short; Book 3: Sir Gawain the True; Book 4: Sir Balin the Ill-Fated
Wild Ride
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train
Cathedral of the Sea

In my "Moby Dick" challenge:
Dive Deeper: Journeys with Moby-Dick
Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them

In my Tudor challenge:
The Queen's Secret
Queen's Gambit
Her Highness' First Murder
The Boleyn King

Daytimers bookclub:
Loving Frank
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Life of Pi
Little Bee

Pride and Prejudice:
Austenland
Death Comes to Pemberley

2.Which were your least favourite books of the year?
Moby Clique
Bridget Jones's Diary - loved the movies though!
Tigers in Red Weather
The Reincarnationist

3. What was your most pleasant literary discovery of the year?/biggest literary surprise of the year?
I had a lot of fun reading Moby Dick related books. Also, the Tudor challenge. I was surprised how many of the titles were actually very good. Most pleasant surprises:
Mr. Timothy
Wild Ride - goofy, silly, but I loved it
Cathedral of the Sea