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

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

Lea wrote: "What a great list. I'm also hoping to read Parable of the Sower this year. In fact, Alissa, Patricia and I are buddy reading it in March, if you want to join.

You're the only person I know who ha..."

Thank you Lea! I would love to join the buddy read in March! I will put it on my group read calendar, which is filling up fast. I also have the book I am a Cat and plan to read it, too. I will probably read the manga edition first. I was really excited to find it this past week!

That’s a very cool challenge! Enjoy your selections!

I have so many books that I own and plan to read next year that I decided to set up a 2nd challenge to encourage myself to read them! Most of them I have bought recently (5 of them in December).
(A) - 6 are by authors I've previously read and enjoyed.
(N) - 11 are new to me authors.
(C) - 7 are classics

* - Currently reading
Completed: 5/16

1. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (A)
2. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (N, C)
✔️3. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (N, C)
4. Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul (A)
✔️5. Soseki Natsume's I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition (N, C) Read: Jan 4 (4 stars)
6. The Innocents by Michael Crummey (N)
7. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (N,C)
8. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman(A)
✔️9. Less by Andrew Sean Greer (N)
10. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (N)
11. The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepúlveda (A)
✔️12. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (A)

Plus 4:
13. The Paradise by Émile Zola (N, C)
✔️14. The Secret History by Donna Tartt (N)
15. Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick (A,C)
16. The Violent Land by Jorge Amado (N, C)

Denise wrote: "I only have Violeta on my TBR list. Good luck with your challenge."

Thanks Denise!

Jackie wrote: "I'm afraid to look at the Are You Well Read list. Good luck with your varied books."

Thanks Jackie! Yes, it's a dangerous list for your TBR, if you like world lit. I have a list of over 100 books that I want to read from the list of 1,000!

Demon Copperhead is terrific! I’ve only read 2 Thomas Hardy books and Far from the Madding Crowd is one of them. I definitely recommend it!

I’m planning to read Parable of the Sower this year also. I like your choice of 3 classics. I have plans to read all of them at some time in my life! Hope you enjoy your selections and good luck with the challenge!

I usually start off with shorter books in January. I just purchased several used books including “The Crying of Lot 49” by Thomas Pynchon so that may be my first book. If I go with something longer, then I’m looking at “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison.

Lindsey wrote: "I love your list, but more so I love your explanation on each one as to why you added it. I need to check out some of these book lists - booker prize and are you well read. I have a feeling I'll be..."

Thanks Lindsey! The "Are You Well Read" list has 1,000 books! Some are very well known and others are quite obscure and difficult to find. I had to order 3 since I couldn't find them anywhere.

The Invisible Life sounds really interesting and I added it to my TBR! Hope you have a great year of reading!

Keeping it simple is a great idea! It’s easy to get overwhelmed with too many challenges and lists and tracking and planning. Enjoy your 2024 reading! 📚

I noticed you don’t have Cuba on your list. Have you read A Planet for Rent by Cuban author Yoss? It is a very interesting and unique collection of stories all set in the same universe. It’s some pretty wild sci-fi which also reflects political issues in Cuba.

Thanks Lea! I just realized that I’ve only read 2 of these authors so lots of new-to-me authors! I’m excited to start reading the library books! 😂😂😂

Thank you Alissa, Alondra, and Iona! I hope I got the right mix this year! 😂 I don’t know why this challenge is so hard for me to complete.

I've read and enjoyed a few of her books and keep thinking I will read some more. I'll be curious what you think of them!

For 2024, I've selected 9 books I own (recent purchases) plus 7 books that I will need to check out from the library. These books are mostly related to book club and group reads & personal challenges.
✔️- Read
*- Currently reading

Finished: 6/12
Just for fun and to remind myself why I selected these books, I've included the rationale behind my choices.

Books I own:
1.In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
- On the Are You Well Read in World Literature? list plus it's based on a real story. Alvarez is an author I've been interested in reading.
2.Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- Library group read
3. The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carrol
- I discovered this author in 2023 and enjoyed 2 of his books.
4. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
- Other than Agatha Christie, Stephen King is my most read author, but this is one book I've wanted to read for a long time!
5. The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
- I've read the first 3 books in the Neapolitan series and am anxious to see how the saga ends!
6. Laurus by Eugene Volodzkin
- The setting and story sound very interesting and I love the cover!
7. My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
- On the Are You Well Read in World Literature? list. Also, books with talking cats seem to be a theme for me this past year so what's one more?
8. Violeta by Isabel Allende
- I read a lot of Latin American classics in 2023 but Allende falls out of that period. I want to add some current LA authors also!
DNF 9. Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
- Library book club read

Library Books:

✔️10. The Tunnel by Ernesto Sábato read: Jan 16 (3.25 stars)
- group read and has an intriguing storyline
✔️11. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
- 2023 longlist for the Booker Prize; an author I keep meaning to read every year; Somerset Maugham (author of one of my favorite books Of Human Bondage) is a character; plus a beautiful cover. I have really high expectations for this one! Read: Jan 20 (5 stars!)
✔️12. Heartbreak Tango by Manuel Puig
- group read Read: Feb (3.5 stars)

Plus 4 (Library books, cont'd)
✔️ 13. The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis
- Looks really funny! Read : Feb 27 (1.75 stars. Not very funny and just plain silly. I'm very disappointed.)
✔️14. The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa
-Follow up to The Travelling Cat Chronicles
Read: March 2 - 4.25 stars Not as good as the first book but enjoyable! I prefer a novel over a collection of short stories.
✔️15. The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
- I LOVED her book The Friend and hope this one is just as good! Also, it has a parrot head on the cover so I'm using it for a reading prompt (relating to Jimmy Buffet...) in another group. Read: Jan (3.5 stars)
*16. The President by Miguel Ángel Asturias
- group read

Nice list Joy! I’m also planning to read Three Day Road in 2024. I’ve been meaning to read Foucault’s Pendulum and Jonathan Strange for many years! Epitaph is really good. Hope you enjoy your selections!

Pam’s 2024 books
I plan to read at least 52 books in 2024.
* - Best of the Month

Jan:
1. Soseki Natsume's I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition - 4.25 stars
2. The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez 3.5 stars
3. Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond by Henry Winkler (audiobook) 4 stars
4. The Tunnel by Ernesto Sábato 3.25 stars
5. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 4.25 stars
*6. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (5 stars)
7. Less by Andrew Sean Greer
8. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (3.75 stars)

Feb:
9. All Systems Red by Martha Wells (4 stars)
10. Heartbreak Tango A Serial by Manuel Puig (3 stars)
11. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (3.5 stars)
12. Real Life Organizing: Clean and Clutter-Free in 15 Minutes a Day by Cassandra Aarssen (3 stars)
13. Diva by Daisy Goodwin (4.25 stars)
*14 Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney (5 stars!)
15. Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels (3 stars)
16. Great Expectations: Classics Illustrated by William B. Jones Jr. (original by Charles Dickens) (3 stars)
17. The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis (1.75 stars)

March:
18. The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa (4.5 stars)
19. The White Darkness by David Grann (5 stars)
*20. Barbara Isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky (5 stars)
21. The Truth about Caffeine by Marina Kushner (3 stars)
22. There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds (picture book) (5 stars)
23. Frank Herbert's Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 2: Muad’Dib by Brian Herbert (3 stars)

April:
*24. Table for Two by Amor Towles (4.75 stars)
25. Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux (4.25 stars)
26. Just Call Me Superhero by Alina Bronsky (2.5 stars)

May:
27. Big by Vashti Harrison (picture book) (5 stars)
28. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars by Ellen MacGregor (2.5 stars)
29. Miss Pickerell and the Geiger Counter by Ellen MacGregor (3 stars)
30. The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin (4.5 stars)
*31. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (5 stars)
32. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson (5 stars)
33. Stories from Mexico/Historias de Mexico by Genevieve Barlow (4 stars)
34. Stranger Things: The Other Side by Jody Houser (3 stars)

June:
35. The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh (3 stars)
36. The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James Patterson ( 4 stars)

July:
Aug:
Sept:
Oct:
Nov:
Dec:

I read this book years ago and flew through it! I kept it, thinking I will re-read it some day. I hope some people in the group will read it for the first time and find it equally enjoyable!

First time finishing this challenge!

Congrats! 📚 📚📚📚

Finished 22nd book- book about revenge: Moonraker. The storyline is very different than the movie but the book was ok (2.75 stars), not my favorite genre. The same problems I have with the movies, I have with the book! Why does the villain always leave Bond with a way to escape instead of just offing him?!