Pam’s Comments (group member since Dec 07, 2021)

Pam’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Lea wrote: "I like your list - very ambitious. I've read One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Count of Monte Cristo, Don Quixote, Les Miserables, War and Peace, The Poisonwood Bible, The Pillars of the Earth, We..."

Thanks Lea! I feel so behind on reading long classics.

Ioana wrote: "Ambitious goals, good luck! The Count of Monte Cristo, The Poisonwood Bible and The Pillars of the Earth are all excellent, 5 stars for me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, happy reading!"

Thanks Iona! Those 3 seem to be very popular ones. I need to get on them.

Just for clarification, I don't plan to read ALL of the long books I've listed. These are just ones I own to choose from. I'll be happy to read 2-4 of them!

Patricia wrote: "Love this list and this idea! I don't think I've read any of them, so I'll look forward to hearing your reviews.
Happy Reading!"

Thank you Patricia! I actually made some more changes. I hope this is my final list but I won't know until Dec 31 for sure!

My long book list is getting out of control! And, I don't have our SF book club list yet so that's potentially another 12 books to add to my schedule. I'm always super ambitious in December and then I realize it's not feasibly possible for me to read everything in my plan and challenges. Oh well, I will try my best! Maybe I should add to my priorities to spend less time watching TV and on social media.

Alondra wrote: "Great ideas, Pam
I really loved Les Misérables and hope you do, as well. ..."

Thanks Alondra! I'm going to the Les Misérables musical in February so I have grandiose ideas of reading it first. I don't think it's going to happen, though! But, maybe later in the year.

Bill wrote: "I like your strategy. I love lists too, whether writing them down in books or online, so many duplicates but I still enjoy them. I've only read The Mammoth Hunters (at least I think I did; not sure..."

Thanks Bill! Mammoth Hunters is the 3rd book in the series. I read the first 2 books and half of this book before 2012, the year I joined GR, so it's been awhile. I may have to start from the beginning! I really enjoyed the series and I don't know why I put the book down but I have the books and want to finish the series.

Reserved for 2025 EOY Summary
- Best of Lists? # of Books in translation? Ideas for 2026?

Countries I travelled to in 2025 (No goals. Just for curiosity)

North America

South America

Europe

Asia

Australia

Africa

Antarctica

Q4 (Oct-Dec) progress and thoughts

Q3 (July-Sept) progress and thoughts

Q2 (April-June) progress and thoughts

Q1 (Jan-March) progress and thoughts

Schedule of reading for book clubs and GR groups

* - Currently reading

Jan:
1. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (maybe later in the year) (NTLTRC group read Jan-April)
2. My Ántonia (probably not) by Willa Cather (NTLTRC group read Jan-March)
3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (NTLTRC horror group read)
4. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (group read)
5. Annihilation (reread for Library SF group)
6 & 7. Survival in Auschwitz & The Reawakening (NTLTRC non-fiction group read)
8. The Iron Heel (NTLTRC SF group read)

Feb:
*1. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (NTLTRC group read)
2. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (Library 3rd Tuesday group Feb 18)
3. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Library SF group) Maybe??

March:
1. The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington (NTLTRC SF group read)
2. The Memory Police (Library SF group)
3. The Count of Monte Cristo (Books on the Bosque read)

April:
1. Ancillary Justice (Library SF group)
2. City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin (NTLTRC SF group read)

May:
1. The Paradise by Émile Zola (NTLTRC group read May-Aug)
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (Library 3rd Tuesday group May 20)
3. Pines (Library SF group)

June:
1. The Daughters Of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War by Catherine Grace Katz (Library 3rd Tuesday group June 17)
2. Old Man's War (Library SF group)

July:
1. Shōgun by James Clavell (NTLTRC group read July-Dec)
2. Any of the original Star Trek series novelizations (NTLTRC group read)
3. All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Library First Friday group July 11)
4. Mickey7 (Library SF group)

Aug:
1. Same Bed Different Dreams (Library SF group)

Sept:
1. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (Library Mystery group Sept 2)
2. Under the Skin (Library SF group)

Oct:
1. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Library First Friday group Oct 3)
2. Stranger in a Strange Land (Library SF group)

Nov:
1. So Big by Edna Ferber (Library 3rd Tuesday group Nov 18)
2. Orbital (Library SF group)

Dec:
1. The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (Library Mystery group Dec 2)
2. The Wandering Earth (Library SF group)

Finish one or more of these long books that I have started in previous years:
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Don Quixote
- Pessoa: A Biography
- The Book of Disquiet
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
- The Magic Mountain
- Conversation in the Cathedral
- The Wandering Earth
- Name of the Rose

Read some of these long books that I have been planning to read:
- Les Miserables
- China
- The Princes of Ireland
- The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
- The Books of Jacob
- War and Peace
- The Name of the Rose
- The Poisonwood Bible
- Underworld
- The Betrothed
- The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig
- The Evening and the Morning
- The Pillars of the Earth
- Oblomov
- The Prague Cemetery
- Foucault's Pendulum
- The Luminaries
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
- To Paradise

I participate in challenges in 4 different GR groups plus the StoryGraph app. Every year, I say I will reduce my number of challenges, but I never really do. I stop some but add others. I like lists and am a bit of a data nerd so I like to set goals and track what I'm reading. Also, I enjoy the interaction in the GR groups and am always adding books to my TBR after seeing what others are reading. One downside of challenges is that I tend to put off reading long books, especially classics, so this year I'm going to address this issue!

My goals/priorities for 2025 are:
1. Read books I own!
2. Finish long books that I have started in previous years
3. Read long books that I have been planning to read
4. Complete On the Same Page challenges (two 12+4, non-fiction, tomes, mini Motley, on-going series)
5. Complete Around the Year in 52 Books challenge (with my revised goal of 30 books) This challenge includes some personal goals I have set, which I may (or may not) include in my quarterly progress here.
6. Complete my Buffet Challenge in another GR group
7. Participate in book club reads at my library and GR groups (I will have to pick and choose only ones I am really interested in!)
8. Update my StoryGraph challenges (lower priority) - Buzzword Title, Buzzword Cover, Colorful 2025, 25 Translated Books, and Hello 2025
9. Make a better effort of journaling and reviewing books
10. Significantly reduce time watching TV and on social media (this is a tough one)

I will commit to reading 5 tomes (500+ pages). Some may be books that I started in previous years but that I still have at least 500 pages remaining to read.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Ioana wrote: "PS. Will you have a separate non-fiction list?..."

Iona - No, I'm not doing a separate list but I am doing the Non-fiction Challenge and am going for 10 books. It's too hard for me to select non-fiction ahead of time, even though I own quite a few. I tend to read random books I see on the new books shelf or a display at the library. Or, I get interested in a topic because of something else I've read or seen.

I decided to add Desolation Mountain by William Kent Krueger. That was my first thought so I'm sticking with it.

I'm not going to plan this challenge at all! If I read something and it fits, then great, I'll count it! I do plan to read I Capture the Castle but, oddly enough, there is no castle on the cover. But, there are flowers on the cover which works for #9.

✔️- Finished
* - Currently reading

Completed: 4/10

1. I Capture the Castle. Find a book with a castle on the cover.

✔️2. The Heart of Darkness. Find a heart or depiction of darkness on the cover.
The Iron Heel by Jack London

3. The Master and Margarita. Find alcoholic drinks on the cover.

✔️4. The Woman in White. Find a white cover or a woman on the cover.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

5. The Grapes of Wrath. Find grapes or fruit on the cover.
*White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link

6. The Call of the Wild. Find an animal from Alaska on the cover.

✔️7. The Lord of the Rings. Find a Lord, rings, or jewelry on the cover.
Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson (ankle bracelet)

✔️8. Moby Dick. Find ocean animals or an ocean on the cover.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (octopus)

9. The Secret Garden. Find a garden or flowers on the cover.

10. Frankenstein. Find a monster on the cover.


2 Alternatives:

1. The Time Machine. Find a clock or any machine on the cover.

✔️2. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Find a photo, a picture, or a gray
cover. Pines by Blake Crouch (gray background)

I think I’m going to switch out The Wooden Sea with something else since it’s #3 in a series that I haven’t read! I’m considering these American authors: William Kent Krueger, Thomas Pynchon, Anthony Doerr, Shirley Jackson, Don Delillo, Michael Chabon, or Ernest Hemingway. Decisions, decisions…. I’m leaning towards Krueger since I’ve heard good things about his books and I’ve been wanting to read one.

Thank you Bill, Alondra, and Mary!

Bill - I really like Philip K. Dick’s books, with one exception which was too weird even for me. I haven’t read one in a few years and the one I chose is the one I meant to read in 2024. Where did the year go??

Great list! I’ve got several on my TBR and added The Daughters of Shandong. I just listened to a podcast (Simon Mayo’s Books of the Year) episode with an interview with Ben Macintyre about his book The Siege. It sounds really interesting! Enjoy your selections!

I FINALLY read Parable of the Sower! I needed a title starting with a P for an A-Z challenge so that pushed me to read it. I thought it was really good and am interested in reading the sequel. It reminded me of The Road but with much more hope and community. The voice of the main character was really amazing and is what made it a 4 star read for me.

I still have 2 novellas on my challenge which maybe I will get to this year! And, I just realized that 4-5 of the remaining books are on my 2025 12+4 challenge. I didn't even remember they were on my 2024 challenge but it's a good sign that I still want to read them. I just ran out of time!