2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Let's Chat! - 2014 to 2017
Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "I just spent some time browsing the selections in Kindle Unlimited. A search for authors I want to read in the near future came up empty. My public library is fabulous. I can request a book th..."
My local library is wonderful as well. I think Kindle Unlimited would be worth it if their selection was stronger and my public library was poor. I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee if it really was unlimited (selection-wise).
Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Kelsi wrote: "It was just released. I think it's similar, for ten bucks a month you get unlimited ebooks and audiobooks from a certain collection. But they have taken some features away that you ge..."
Sorry I must have said that wrong...what I meant was some of the features available in Prime are not available in Kindle Unlimited.
Sorry I must have said that wrong...what I meant was some of the features available in Prime are not available in Kindle Unlimited.
I'm struggling with the issue of physical bookstores vs Amazon... I went online this morning to check the price of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage which comes out on Tuesday. I found that it is a full $10 more Barnes & Noble than it is on Amazon.com. Needless to say Barnes & Noble is the only physical bookstore in my area and my county library is unaware that books exist until at least 8-10 months after they come out.
This is the first time since Harry Potter that I've been excited about a new release which means I want to get a physical copy from somewhere other than my mailbox. However I also know that I'm absolutely perpetuating the decline of physical bookstores by being so frugal.
Courtney wrote: "I'm struggling with the issue of physical bookstores vs Amazon... I went online this morning to check the price of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage which comes..."
I am sympathetic with your struggle. I think of myself as a political vegetarian, but I'm weak when I smell bacon :D
I know my local independent bookstores cannot compete with Amazon's prices, but I do try to use them when I need to own a new book. I usually only buy used or very obscure books since my local library is so good. I know you are grateful for the physical presence of Barnes & Noble, but they are a big corporation (same as Amazon) trying to run the local independents out of business. Given a choice between the two, I would rather reward Amazon for their lower prices than B&N for allowing me to browse.
Just saw The Hundred-Foot Journey movie. Really good film! I've never read the book so am interested to know how close the adaptation is to the book. I highly recommend the film!
Came across this article, 12 Words that have a Totally Different Meaning to Book Lovers, and thought of all of you, my fellow 2014 Reading Challengers!
Haha that is great! I love it :)
Thanks for the article, Kara! Shared it with my other bookworm friends:)
Hey guys! I actually just posted this same post in the "Introduce Yourself!" thread but thought I would post it here as well in case some of my former reading buddies missed it (hope that's okay).I am finally back to participate with the group after a *really* long hiatus. The past six months have been so stressful and busy for me that I've had almost no time or energy to read (not to mention I've been without a reliable computer since I left and just checking my email was all I'd have time for so I took a break from the site).
Peak at work and family/friends/summer stuff are both finally dying down, so I can't wait to have time to get my hands on some books and my ears (or, err, it's a keyboard and screen so maybe fingers and eyes?) in on some discussions!
I have missed you all quite a bit and was thinking of the group often! See everybody around on the forums. Looking forward to it. Hope everyone is well and would love to hear about anything new and exciting :]
Xoxo Brian
Great article, Kara! I can totally relate, especially on sleep!Brian, it's great to have you back and posting! I think I would go completely insane if I couldn't check in here daily, just to see what's going on.
Brian wrote: "Hey guys! I actually just posted this same post in the "Introduce Yourself!" thread but thought I would post it here as well in case some of my former reading buddies missed it (hope that's okay)...."
So glad you're back Brian! Hope you find some great books to enjoy...the challenges and other readers' choices are so inspiring!
Welcome back Brian! I agree with Claire, I would go absolutely nuts without having the time to check in constantly (slightly addicted! Lol). Plus no reading time would just be awful! Glad things have calmed down a bit for you :)
Courtney wrote: Needless to say Barnes & Noble is the only physical bookstore in my area and my county library is unaware that books exist until at least 8-10 months after they come out. "Courtney, You might try asking at your library for a "request for purchase" form. Many libraries use the purchase requests of their patrons to buy books. I monitor authors I'm interested in and request their new books about a month or two before they're published so I get them when they come out. Librarians want to know what the library patrons are interested in reading and don't know always, unless you request.
This is the best welcome back ever thank you so much guys! I am glad to be back posting and very excited to get back into it and read your posts again :DI'm not going to lie, I was going through some crazy combination of both reading and Internet/Goodreads withdrawal. Then I was too busy to even think about it, then I'd miss it again, then my computer crashed so I didn't have easy access, then I saved up for a new computer because I was going nuts. I've read about 3 or 4 books since leaving which is really nothing for me and all I wanted to do was chat about them haha
Anyway yess hope the group has been running smoothly (looks like it's growing stronger and stronger, and I would expect no less :])
See you all around - I've gotta check out some of the September reads so I can get involved again asap :]
And omg Kara yes to every single one of those in that article! LOL! For a while I was skipping my half hour long lunches every single day to try to get some reading done at my job, but it was just too depressing because I could never get anything read...and that's because withOUT fail, every single day at least one person would come over to me and sit down right next to me...while I'm alone at my own picnic table sitting on the end facing away and deeply immersed in a book...and then they proceed to talk my ear off.Some people *shakes head*
I honestly think reading is the biggest magnet to make people come talk to you. I can be sitting doing nothing and no one will talk to me. The minute I have a book in hand someone wants to chat. I don't understand it lol but it is definitely a phenomenon I have experienced many times!
I know me too! A small minority will simply ask what I'm reading followed by "is it any good?" "yes" awkward silence while i half glance down pretending to skim but hold my head partially up in case they say something else.However recently, different co-workers who aren't even acquaintances (just random strangers) will just come and sit down right next to me...and then after 5 minutes of me trying not to look up start talking about absolutely anything and everything. Lol I tried putting headphones in but that didn't deter the reading crashers either. Tomorrow at break I'll find a secret spot...
Which will probably end up being my car hahaha
Lol! Some people are so strange...Cars are good hide away places, it makes me wish I had one haha there is so much traffic here and people are super aggressive drivers (and I'm not). Plus the transit is really good here so I don't feel like the money to buy/keep a car is worth it. But for things like trying to get some good quiet reading time it almost seems worthwhile!
Jaclyn wrote: "Welcome back Brian!!!"Thank youuu Jaclyn!!! :D
Brian wrote: "Jaclyn wrote: "Welcome back Brian!!!"Thank youuu Jaclyn!!! :D"
Believe it or not, I actually thought of you yesterday. I knew you'd been MIA, and I don't remember what brought you to mind, but I thought of you and I wondered if you were ok. I'm glad you're back :)
Aww that's so sweet! I've been thinking of you and quite a few people the past couple weeks and was missing you guys, which is half of what brought me back!And yeah, everything is totally okay - opposite of okay really. I've been doing great. I could just use a vacation BADLY! Cannot WAIT for the next 5 days at work to just fly by so I can get my 3-day Labor Day weekend. Three days to lie out in the sun and do nothing but sip some summer ale and read some excellent books :P
Hello, bookish friends. Just wanted to share a big life event with my Goodreads family: my boyfriend and I just got engaged! We are super, super thrilled, and of course, we're looking for quotations from our favorite authors for wedding readings. If anyone has ideas, I'm all ears. We've so far found pieces from Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, and Jonathan Safran Foer.(Also: sorry the group broadcast hasn't gone out yet, but things have been a little nuts, haha)
Congratulations Kara! I wish you and your fiancé all the best.
Congrats, Kara! I'm glad you're both so thrilled about your engagement.
Congrats, Kara! I'm so happy for you!
Kara wrote: "Hello, bookish friends. Just wanted to share a big life event with my Goodreads family: my boyfriend and I just got engaged! We are super, super thrilled, and of course, we're looking for quotation..."Congratulations!!!
Hey group! Just checking in, I really miss being involved and getting to read for pleasure. I do keep up with everything here and I will say I really miss this group and how much reading I used to be able to do. This is easily one of the best groups on Goodreads in encouraging you to try new genres and books!
Congratulations Kara! Also, I see you are 28 and from Kalamazoo! I am 28 and from Muskegon, MI, but I live in Texas now :). I am going to visit my family in Michigan in November and can't wait!What I really came here to say is how much I LOVE this group. I just joined July of this year. I'm a stay at home Mom with few friends and it gets really lonely and depressing sometimes. I was looking for a hobby to occupy my time, I didn't realize how little time for hobbies there really is when caring for a baby :). That is how I fell back into reading. When I was younger my Mother took me to the book store all the time. I had every Dr. Seuss, Disney book, Bernstein Bears, Mercer Mayer, you name it I had it. Once I was a bit older I read almost every Goosebumps book, Fear Street, Babysitters Club. As an adult I read almost everything, if you look at my "read" list you will see my tastes vary. I'm not a complete awkward recluse as I'm probably making myself sound but it's nice to be a part of book discussions and have conversations with other adults. I love seeing what everyone else is reading so I can continue adding my own "to read" list. Because I have a baby, I mostly listen to Audiobooks, which I sort of think is cheating but I don't have time to sit and read all day, I wish!
I still have a few challenges for this year/quarter to complete but I am PUMPED to start planning my lists for next year so when will that ball get rolling? No rush, I am just excited and a little OCD!
Thank you everyone, those who created this group, and those who participate, I have fun here!
Me too! I don't want this year to be over yet but I'm still really excited for next year and can't wait to start planning!
Alisia, that's so cool! I'm a transplant from Hawaii then California, but I'm loving Kalamazoo. I've never been to Muskegon, but I hear it's a cool town.Glad to hear you're enjoying the group! And there's no such thing as "cheating" when it comes to reading. I love audiobooks too, and I have tons of friends who do audiobooks because they have a baby to take care of, so you're in good company.
Hi, I've just finished my challenge of 75 books this year, and I was thinking about what I wanted to read next year. So I was browsing through listopia, and came across some of the lists containing retellings. And those made me think that it might be fun to read combinations of books, one classic/original combined with one retelling. Then we can compare the two.
So, reading Hamlet and comparing that with Ophelia, or Peter Pan vs. The Child Thief
So, what's your idea on this?
Angelique, I think that's a great idea.
Happy Halloween, everyone! Is anyone going in costume? I'm wearing an R2D2 dress.
Happy Halloween! Kara, that sounds so cute. I'm a bit old for dressing up in costume, but I'm still young enough to eat the leftover candy! ;-)Angelique, I think that's a really good idea! Now I want to go on listopia and start poking around for some pairs of books for next year!
I am going to dress like a cat tonight for my shift at the hospital
Happy Halloween! I am not dressing up but going to watch some scary movies and eat candy! :)
Is anyone doing NaNoWriMo this month?
I'm so glad I'm not the only one! How are you getting on?
I failed miserable at NaNoWriMo last year, so I decided to not attempt this year. I might try again next. If you guys would like, feel free to set up a thread to discuss your progress in this folder. We did that last year, and it was fun.
Thanks Kara, I'll set that up now.
Curious: do we have any veterans in the group? If yes, thank you for your service!
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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American Gods: Tenth Anniversary (other topics)
Anne of Green Gables (other topics)
The Handmaid’s Tale (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Hampton Sides (other topics)Stephen King (other topics)
Otto Penzler (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
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My public library is fabulous. I can request a book that's in our Cental Library or any of 24 branches, and they'll have it sent to the branch by my home, e-mailing me when it's ready for pickup. They also have audio and eBooks available on Overdrive, One Click Digital, and Hoopla. I recently looked for a book by Sigrid Undst that was over $16 in the Kindle Store. I used the "Recommend" feature in Overdrive, and my library e-mailed me less than a week later that the Kindle version was ready for me to download.
For now, I think I'll continue to get my books from my library, Amazon Prime, the Kindle Store, and through my Audible membership. I'll skip Kindle Unlimited until their selections are nore in line with my TBR list and offers more than I can already get For free through my library.