Self challenges 2014: Kew's even longer back list!

[[deleted user]]

I started this challenge last year, to read some of the older books on my back list. I got rather distracted though and didn't read many of them, getting side tracked with newer books. I've decided to have another go, and have been motivated by reading the other group members challenges on here - I've already looked through my to-read list on goodreads and downloaded a selection. If I'm not enjoying a book, I won't force myself to finish it but will move on to the another older book.

At the mo I am reading The Final Curtsey which I bought in December 2011. I'm enjoying this, although the style of writing isn't the best I've read, so far I am finding the subject interesting.

I also started Somewhere Towards the End which I bought in June 2012, but I haven't enjoyed it much so far. I did enjoy reading Yesterday Morning though, which was also written by Diana Athill, so I will persevere a little longer to see if I get into it when I am more in the mood.

[[deleted user]]

Amazon links for above mentioned books.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Final-Cur...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somewhere-Tow...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yesterday-Mor... (99p in the sale at the mo)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Good luck

[Joo]

I might make myself look at my list and choose one each month from the same month last year and the year before. I had my Kindle in February 2011, so in Feb this year, I will read one downloaded from Feb 2011, one from Feb 2012 and one from Feb 2013. Oh I seem to have had my kindle for 3 years. Wow, doesn't time fly when you're reading good books :)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

That sounds a really cool idea

[[deleted user]]

That is a good idea, Joo!

[[deleted user]]

I've got off to a good start so far this year!

Finished and enjoyed The Final Curtsey. I love reading autobiographies and memoires, really brings the past alive. I don't enjoy biographies nearly as much.

Now I've started Death Comes to Pemberley which I bought in December 2011. I did try to read it before but couldn't get in to it. I must be in a different frame of mind now because I have read two chapters and am enjoying it. I'm finding the style of writing convincingly Jane Austen at the mo - although no one has died yet; the style may change then judging by the reviews that I've just been reading..

Edit to add amazon link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Comes-P...

[[deleted user]]

I'm still doing well with this! *preens*

Finished and enjoyed Death Comes to Pemberley.

Read and also enjoyed Shiny pennies and grubby pinafores which I had bought in August 2011.

Now I'm reading another book by P D James, The Lighthouse which I bought in December 2012.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Yay.

[Jud]

Well done!

I've only read 1 book for my challenge so far :o( Poor show.

[Elle]

Pfft, I've read 0. Very poor show.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

I'm 42% into my kindle book and about a 1/4 way through my paperback. Might finish one by the end of the month!!

[Joo]

I'm doing good on my "tag along with Kew and Jud and whoever else is reading old buys" challenge. Well kind of.
I started reading Invisible, but decided even though it was alright and I would enjoy it, it would probably only be a 3* so popped that in my unfinished pile.
Last night I started . I'll stick with this one as it seems OK.

My challenge is to get my books out of my TBR collection, even if it is to an unread collection. I'm not sure what to do about the books on my GR list as I'd like to put a date on them to get them out of my tbr list, but I don't want to star them low. But I don't want to delete them. I'd been putting 100 year ago dates on them so they don't show up in my yearly challenge.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

I'm confused by the logic of thinking you might enjoy a book but it was only going to be 3* so putting it in an unfinished pile and starting something else.

[Joo]

It was readable and if there was nothing else about I'd probably read it, but I wanted something 4 star or above. I'm not saying I won't go back to it, I just want to read books I don't want to put down. I gave it a few chapters.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Oh, ok. Interesting logic. I sometimes take ages on a book cos I'm not in the right mood for that kind, or don't have the concentration (that's becoming more of an issue) but never think to put it to one side and read something else. Might give it a go this year

[[deleted user]]

I sometimes have a few reads on the go at once as my mood changes about what I want to read. If it takes too long before I fancy finishing off the read, I put it on a "not finished reading" shelf. I haven't written the book off forever but it's not my priority to go back to it yet awhile...

[Elle]

I'm with Karen - I always have a few reads on the go so whatever I want to read I have ready for me. It means sometimes I finish like 3 books in a day after spending 2 weeks finishing none xD

I have a back-burner shelf and a DNF shelf

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

See, I like to just focus on one at a time. I do now read 2, cos I was fed up of leaving my book at home, but when I'm really into one of them I barely touch the other. Doesn't help that I read similar books so having two on the go can be confusing.

DNF Shelf Elle?

[Elle]

Did not Finish! The shelf of the books I just give up on!

I also have an avoid shelf - in which I put books that I know for a fact I won't like due to something said to me by a friend or in a review but still on the outside appear to be my type of book. For instance a book my friend read lately included infidelity but it looked like something I would want to read in the future so I put it on my avoid shelf to let me know NOT to read it!!

I never used to have more than one on the go but in recent months I discovered I read more when I have something on the go that I want to read rather than forcing myself to read something I'm not in the mood for.

All my books on the go are very different though.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Ah right. I had a couple last year that I struggled through, maybe I should have put them to one side till I was in a better frame of mind. Hopefully I have enough challenges to do that this year, thanks to you Elle

[Elle]

I read a book last year that I'd started about 2 years previously and hated. When I was reading it anew, I was so confused with myself as to why I didn't like it. It really does depend on when/where you read it!

[[deleted user]]

Ok, finished The Lighthouse and really enjoyed it. Very intelligent writing (I had to use the kindle dictionary a few times) and a thoughtful story. Will look out for more P D James' now.

I wasn't feeling good yesterday and so read a book in a whole day. Don't Forget to Write which I bought in June 2011. It was well written and very interesting, about a child's experience of evacuation and war.

Something really struck me. Don't read on if you worried about spoilers...

I've wondered why it has taken so many years for child abuse scandals to come to light, and be appropriately dealt with. Well, something that happened in the author's childhood shows how awful adults were when faced with child abuse. One of the children who was evacuated to the village was sexually abused by a relative of the household that had taken her in. He also abused another couple of the girls. Eventually, with encouragement from a couple of stronger minded girls they reported this to their teacher. He was arrested, tried and found guilty. The whole village turned, not against the abuser, but ALL of the evacuated children as a result. The author came "home" to find her host throwing their belongings out of the window and smashing up her toys. All the children were taken away by bus for their own safety, and villagers were throwing rocks at the bus as they left! No wonder children weren't brave enough to speak out if this was the result. Unbelievable!

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

While I haven't heard anything that bad Kew, I have heard/read a lot of tales where the children simply weren't believed, and of course it was an adults word against a child. I have also heard of them being ostracised (sp?) because of trying to speak up. And of course, if there was more than one child in the family, there was the risk of them being split up, and that could force them to keep their mouths shut.

I watched part of Neil Morrisey on TV last week, him and his brother were caught stealing I think when he was 10, the courts decided to put both him and his brother in care, and they were split up - he didn't see his brother for 10 years, and his family weren't allowed to visit for months. They were caught for something so minor. Slightly different to abuse, but still something you can't imagine happening today (this happened in the 70's)

[[deleted user]]

That is awful. Authorities used to get away with so much. I was shocked to learn about children being sent to Australia, without their parents knowledge often, right up until the 1970s!

[Jud]

I saw that too Desley, they stole less than a pounds worth of sweets (I have about 70p in my head) and a couple of other items like string or something. Nothing major and probably no more than the average child 'steals' (I know many people who have lifted chocolate bars in a shop without their parents noticing, not with the intention of stealing but just because they wanted a chocolate bar)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

I can't imagine authorities being able to send children to a different country without permission

[[deleted user]]

In many cases they were children who had been taken into care and the parents had been informed that their children had died.

There was a programme on radio cornwall about it, because they were one of the last counties still continuing this practice.

:0(

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

That is just dreadful, I'm struggling to find words to explain how that makes me feel

[Jud]

Frightening is one I'd start with but it doesn't wen come close to covering it

[[deleted user]]

I've been reading a few more recent purchases lately, but have gone back to my challenge now.

I tried to read The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centre by the Men and Women Who Were There which I bought in Sept 2012, but I've found it hard going. I may go back to it at some point..

I have just finished reading Dancing with the Ferryman which I loved. This has been on my kindle since January 2012! I'm now reading another book by the same author but I only downloaded that the other week so it doesn't count in my challenge.

[Jay-me (Janet)]

Karen (Kew) wrote: "I have just finished reading Dancing with the Ferryman which I loved. This has been on my kindle since January 2012! I'm now reading another book by the same author but I only downloaded that the other week so it doesn't count in my challenge. "


I read Dancing with the Ferryman a while ago and also Chasing an Irish Dream. I have Learning to Dance Again on my TBR list.
Which one are you reading now?

I must get back to my challenge - after finishing the Amelia Peabody series I have been reading another series by Elizabeth Peters - Vicky Bliss.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Karen (Kew) wrote: "I've been reading a few more recent purchases lately, but have gone back to my challenge now.

I tried to read [book:The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centr..."

I bought a similar Bletchley Park book last week in a deal, its the same author but the front cover is different and the title is very slightly different. Hope I get on better!!

[[deleted user]]

I'm reading Learning to Dance Again which I am enjoying very much. It's a bit more serious than Dancing with the Ferryman but I like it. I've put Chasing an Irish Dream on my wish list.

Hope you get on better with the Bletchley Park one, Desley.

[Pat ()]

Jay-me (Janet) ~plum chutney is best~ wrote: "Karen (Kew) wrote: "I have just finished reading Dancing with the Ferryman which I loved. This has been on my kindle since January 2012! I'm now reading another book by the same author but I only d..."

Just read this thread and I enjoyed Dancing with the ferryman but I didn't relise about the other two books by this author so thanks for the heads up ladies

[[deleted user]]

Read a few more older books, all by Debbie Macomber.

Thursdays at Eight (bought March 2012)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thursdays-Eig...

Summer on Blossom Street (bought March 2012)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Summer-Blosso...

Hannah's List (bought July 2011)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hannahs-List-...

They were all nice gentle reads which I enjoyed.

[Joo]

With those March books, I thought you were doing your challenge my monthly way :)

[[deleted user]]

No - I admired your method, but in the end I'm too lazy to sort them all out. I'm ashamed to say that I have so many on my kindle it is hard to keep track of them, even with manage my kindle, there are so many pages I would get lost. I blame this on an early freebie addiction. I wish there was an easier way to delete stuff - I search through several pages, delete something and it sends me back to the first page again...

I have a more hit and miss method, I have quite a few that I added to goodreads when I bought them, and others I've stumbled across when I've clicked them to buy again. I read what I happen to be in the mood for. Probably miss some gems that way. Must have another look at your method when I get more time (which is in short supply at the mo!)

:0)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Yes, manage my kindle is a right pain

[Joo]

I used "my orders". You can set the year, then find the page that, say, April is on, then I chose a few books I fancy from there and pop them into my monthly challenge collection. Half an hour or so choosing, then I don't have to think about it again for the month.
Except for me, I will put loads of them into the collection as I like to have a big choice.

[[deleted user]]

Read some more older books

Backpacked: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America (bought 5 May 2012)

Gypsy Spirit: What My Boat Taught Me About Love And Life (bought 26 August 2012)

Started and abandoned, Promise Me This (bought 17 April 2012)

And am now reading More Ketchup Than Salsa - Confessions of a Tenerife Barman (bought 14 August 2012)

I really enjoyed Backpacked and More Ketchup, quite enjoyed Gypsy Spirit but didn't like Promise me this so probably won't go back to it.

[Joo]

Backpacked was OK, but I preferred her Disney book. In Backpacked she was just a miserable person.
Perhaps it was because I read it after That Bear Ate My Pants and compare everything to that.
I have Ketchup - I shall have to see when I bought it as I've only read good reviews of it. Ah August - well it does seem a summer read. Haha, it was the same day as you. Must have been a freebie.

[[deleted user]]

Joo The Grand Inquisitor wrote: "Backpacked was OK, but I preferred her Disney book. In Backpacked she was just a miserable person.
Perhaps it was because I read it after That Bear Ate My Pants and compare everything to that.
I h..."

I haven't read the Disney book but have it on my wishlist. I have That Bear Ate My Pants in my archive - so I'll send it to my kindle to read soon. I enjoy memoirs and travel stories.

[Joo]

That Bear is one of my favourite kindle reads. I did have a go at the author for spelling buses as busses, so if yours says that, get the update.