My "Read My Own Books" Challenge

[Carol]

It did on mine. I think I will join you, but my challange will be much lower than yours.

[Nicole]

I joined also. I even already had a shelf dedicated to books I bought but haven't yet read. I have my doubts about how successful I'll be, but I guess that's the point of a challenge.

Is there a way to see who else is doing it? I'd be curious to see what other people have on their owned but not read shelf.

[Sue]

I think I'll try this too though I'll start small with my goal.

[Sue]

Sherry I like this idea so much that I've gone through my shelves and added as many of my books as I found to this new shelf so that they are easier to see when I'm considering a new read. I know there are more but for now I added books that were physically in my home as of 12/31/13. I look on this as an ongoing challenge. I'm sure I will add some books as I notice them hanging around :)

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Sue wrote: "Sherry I like this idea so much that I've gone through my shelves and added as many of my books as I found to this new shelf so that they are easier to see when I'm considering a new read. I know t..."
The only problem I find with this is that I'll know I'll find more books I want to read! That's a good problem though.

[Sue]

So true Sherry. I didn't include any kindle books on my shelf since the goal for me is to pare down the physical books I own. some of them have lived with me for a long time (and some of them aren't even on the list--yet).

I'm really glad you started this discussion.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I am counting Kindle books, but I'm focusing on physical books. I'm not counting books that I bought last year that I'm reading for the Reading List, but I will count a couple of the classics that I already owned that got voted in (if I manage to read them, that is).

[Sue]

I love challenges where we can fine tune our own rules.

[Nicole]

Because of this challenge, I just went through my shelves and found many more books I own but haven't read. The number of books on this list has just doubled. I have also discovered that I am apparently much lazier when it comes to reading in French than in English; perhaps this challenge will provide me with a chance for self-improvement on that front.

In my defense, many of these books came from the annual book sale where the library gets rid of de-cataloged books at one euro per item; a little stocking up at an event like this is inevitable. (In the moment, there is also the interior monologue: by buying these books, I save them from destruction! It's like adopting a shelter kitten!)

It's good to know other people have this eyes bigger than the tummy thing with bought and unread books. Still, clearly a challenge like this is needed for those like me who cannot help themselves.

[Sheila]

I joined the official challenge - seems like I am setting myself a few of these this year :)

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Welcome one and all. I'm glad I started this.

[Katy]

Sherry, I think t's a great idea. I have so many books on my shelves that I haven't gotten around to. I tell myself that I'm going to read them. Well I signed up for six. It's not much, but it's a start

[Deborah]

Sherry, I see the challenge on the group home page, but is there somewhere, other than our own shelves, where we should note which books we have completed? I've seen on some other challenges that each participant maintains an ongoing post to the thread with completed books meeting the challenge.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Deborah wrote: "Sherry, I see the challenge on the group home page, but is there somewhere, other than our own shelves, where we should note which books we have completed? I've seen on some other challenges that ..."

I'm going to be putting mine here, so you're welcome to as well. It might get a bit fragmented if everyone started a thread, but I'll ask others what they would like. So, what do the other participants want; do you want to start your own thread for finished books?

[Carol]

Not me. I am fine seeing the progress on our home page. I can see how others are faring there also. I finally had a book to put there. I had added The Master in 2011, and finally got to it this year. I also went through my book shelves, and found I had 25 books I had not read. I haven't looked on the Kindles yet.

[Ann D]

Is this where we should comment on the books we read for the challenge?

I just finishedPrivate Life by Jane Smiley. This is one of those books that I bought cheap at Borders' going out of business sales. I bought it because of the good reviews and because I know that Smiley is a very talented writer; I avoided reading it because of the blurb on the back from the Atlantic Monthly calling it "heartbreaking, bitter." The Atlantic goes on to call it a "gorgeous story." It is all those things.
See https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... for my full review.


This reminded me so much of Stoner, which we read recently on Constant Reader, although in this case the protagonist is female. Like Stoner, she is a fundamentally passive person married to someone with very serious mental problems. Unlike Stoner, Margaret is much more trapped by the gender expectations and limitations of her times. In the end, Stoner values the way he has lived his life, but

WARNING PLOT SPOILER *****



Margaret comes to view her passivity and failure to resist with bitterness.


**********************************************

[Deborah]

Carol, thanks for your comment. It took me a few minutes, but I finally figured out how I could not only see how people were progressing, but also view their books. I'm fine just doing it that way.

[Carol]

I finally figured it out too, Deborah.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Ann wrote: "Is this where we should comment on the books we read for the challenge?

I just finishedPrivate Life by Jane Smiley. This is one of those books that I bought cheap at B..."

Yes, Ann, this is where I'm going to comment on the books I finish. In fact, I just finished At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott. I bought it when I went to see her at a book signing in Milwaukee and she signed this one and Charming Billy. Both are beautifully written. If you like family stories and character studies, you'll like this.

[Sara]

I'm on board. Going to gather some around that have been begging me from the shelves.

[Mary Ellen]

Happy to report my first "challenge" book: Girl Meets God: A Memoir by Lauren Winner. This is part memoir, part essay/spiritual/theological reflection, and it bounces from one to the other. The focus is on Winner's conversion to Orthodox Judaism as a freshman at Columbia, and to the Episcopal Church four years later at Oxford. (She had actually decided to convert again about a year earlier, but thought it would be less stressful in another setting, away from her Orthodox friends.) I was a little stunned by the rapid switch, as well as by her stating that she was convinced to become a Christian by reading a Jan Karon novel. But it was a quick, often enjoyable read...if you like religious stuff, that is!

[Ann D]

That's quite a journey! Out of curiosity, what religious beliefs - if any - did Winner have before she went to Colombia?

[Mary Ellen]

She was already very active in a synagogue, but IIRC, not an Orthodox one. Her mom was Protestant (can't remember denomination), her dad culturally Jewish but, during her childhood, not too observant. Parents divorced when she was a child and she lived with her mom, who continued to abide by a pre-marriage commitment to raise the children (Lauren and a sister) Jewish. Lauren became increasingly involved in Judaism during high school, and it was clear that the synagogue provided her with a sense of community and the friendship of a number of nurturing women (surrogate mothers?). Honestly, I was left wanting to know more about her relationship with her mother, or maybe lack of relationship. Her mother was kind of like wallpaper in this memoir - in the background & kind of taken for granted, it seemed.

After reading the book, I googled Winter and was surprised to learn that she is still Christian (I seriously thought she'd have tired of the Episcopal Church and moved on to obsession with another spiritual tradition by now). Less surprised that she has written another memoir.

[Ann D]

Thanks for the additional information, Mary Ellen. She's had an interesting background.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

I finished The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean today. I picked it up at a used book sale at a church in Maryland when I lived there years ago. I had seen the movie Adaptation and parts of it were based on the book. Also, it was mentioned at the Key West Literary Seminar. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I was glad when I finished. Some of the anecdotes were strange and funny, but mostly she talked about orchids. I like non-fiction books that read like a novel. This one read like she had done a whole lot of research on orchids.

[Cateline]

Sherry, I read Orleans book on Rin Tin Tin a while back. I looked forward to it, as I loved Rinty as a child. My reaction was similar to yours, above.

Susan Orlean (Rin Tin Tin)

[Sue]

Sherry wrote: "I finished The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean today. I picked it up at a used book sale at a church in Maryland when I lived there years ago. I had..."

I read it quite a while ago and liked it more than you did. I think the strange-ness of the people made it a people study for me as well as a nature and orchid book and I became caught up in some of the searches. It's actually a book I've intended to read again someday, though who knows when that might be.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Sue wrote: "Sherry wrote: "I finished The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean today. I picked it up at a used book sale at a church in Maryland when I lived there y..."

The strangeness of the people wasn't new to me, since I've read so many Carl Hiaasen books and books by other Florida writers. But it was the highlight of this book. I found myself looking up lots of pictures of orchids.

[Sue]

I read it pre-computer. Now I probably would look up pictures too. Between this book and Shadow Country, what images of Florida and the Everglades in my mind! I've never read Hiassen.

[Mary Anne]

Last week I took a mid winter break to the Cayman Islands. What an antidote for my frozen bones! I brought several owned books: The Mastersinger from Minsk (Richard Wagner is in danger), Breakfast of Champions, and Our Mutual Friend. While I'm still reading the Dickens, I like it the best. Also, it's interesting to compare the two satires, the Vonnegut seems dated but the Dickens seems timeless. That being said, I feel that other novelists, such as Tom Wolfe, learned a thing or two from Vonnegut.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Mary Anne wrote: "Last week I took a mid winter break to the Cayman Islands. What an antidote for my frozen bones! I brought several owned books: The Mastersinger from Minsk (Richard Wagner is in dan..."

Mary Anne, how wonderful. How was it?

I'm starting my first Kindle book for this challenge, Crusader's Cross. I usually listen to mysteries, but there was a Kindle sale and I picked this up cheap. This is the 14th Dave Robicheaux book. I haven't read any for a while, so I hope this one is good.

[Mary Anne]

Yeah, 82 degrees and sunny every day. Paradise!

[Cateline]

Mary Anne, Lovely!

Well, I've completely and totally fallen off of the No Buying Books Wagon. Library Sale. 37 books.
But it sure was fun! :)

[Mary Anne]

Uh oh. You have to go back and set a new goal! LOL

[Yulia]

I didn't have the courage to join the challenge, though I have only eleven unread print books in my apartment (I get most on Kindle or Audible), but this challenge did inspire me to put the unread books together in a visible stack as a reminder to myself and I'll donate (i.e. leave by the mailboxes) the two of the eleven that I no longer wish to read. It sounds like such a paltry number for a CR, but I swear I get through about 60-70 books a year; I've just never stocked up on books, since my dad is a book hoarder. Good luck to those who haven't fallen off the wagon yet, and to those who have, self-forgiveness is the first step to getting back on the wagon. (I think so, at least.)

[Cateline]

Mary Anne wrote: "Uh oh. You have to go back and set a new goal! LOL"

I should. I know I should. /sigh/

Trouble is, I'm not entirely sure I want to.....heh
Well, I can at least not buy so many new books. Yup, that I can handle. Mostly. :D

[Sue]

I guess I'm only half way in the challenge. I'm pledging to read some of my books but not "totally committed" to not buying new ones. Oh I am bad!

37 books Cateline! That is some haul!

[Cateline]

Sue wrote: "I guess I'm only half way in the challenge. I'm pledging to read some of my books but not "totally committed" to not buying new ones. Oh I am bad!

37 books Cateline! That is some haul!"

LOL, yes. Even though some were replications they were "better" copies. :)

[Sue]

We bookaholics have some things in common. I know just what you mean about better copies. I was looking at a used copy of a poetry book and wondering whether I should keep it since it's stained. I decided yes, for now.

[Cateline]

:) For example I found a beautiful hardback, new looking, but old copy of Raintree County. How can ya pass that up?

Sorry for the hijacking.....will shut up now. :)

[Ken]

What's weird is how many books look totally interesting so I buy them and then, when they get here, they look plain as Jane after two days on the plane.

They pine on my (pine) shelves and no challenge can move me to open them. I give them away in my phony munificence. Decks cleared, challenge met.

-- A Cheater

[Sue]

Newengland wrote: "What's weird is how many books look totally interesting so I buy them and then, when they get here, they look plain as Jane after two days on the plane.

They pine on my (pine) shelves and no chal..."

Oh! you should right an article about the perils of book-love. This is great.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

When I started this challenge, I didn't say I would actually get rid of the books I read. As long as I have bookshelves, I will keep all my books.

[Sue]

Sherry wrote: "When I started this challenge, I didn't say I would actually get rid of the books I read. As long as I have bookshelves, I will keep all my books."

I'm 50/50 on this. I know I'll want to keep many but I also know I have to lighten the load a bit. I have to many now---and will likely find more I want in the future. So a side goal for me is to pare the collection by identifying bookd I've read that I no longer need to keep on hand.

[Sheila]

re challenges, I can see my progress ok, am I supposed to be able to see other people's progress?

[Deborah]

Sheila, go to Constant Reader's group home page. Under "Challenges," click on "Read My Own Books." That will take you to a page listing all of the challenge participants and showing their progress.

[Ken]

And then there are those who find books and challenges antithetical.

Click non-participant, then curmudgeon.

[Charles]

I see that an early benefit of Ulysses going out of copyright is that there is now a Project Gutenberg text. I didn't look to see which edition it's based on. As far as (re-)reading my own books, I pulled out about three feet of them I would like to look at again. They include Melville, Celine, Henry Miller (Big Sur) Byron's The Road to Oxiana, Perec's Life a User's Manual, Harry Mathews' Cigarettes, Dos Passos' USA trilogy, Faulkner (Absalom Absalom), Gravity's Rainbow, Bleak House, Doderer's The Demons, the poems of Emily Dickinson, and some others. Be back in 2016 if I live that long.

Add Gertrude Stein's Narration. Add... oh, never mind.

[Ann D]

I finished book 2 of my challenge:The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai. I would give this book a 3.5.

I feel I should have liked it more. The story involves a children's librarian who goes on a road trip with an 11 year library patron who has run away from his repressive home. The mother is an super religious anorexic who has him involved in a church program to get rid of his effeminate characteristics.

In spite of this heavy theme, there is a lot of wit and cleverness in the story. Books, naturally, play a very important part. What I didn't like is that the road trip was directionless and so was the plot much of the time. It also got repetitious. What I enjoyed most was that little boy, who I can still see in my mind.

[Sue]

Finally read the first of my challenge books, School of the Arts by Mark Doty. I was contemplating selling it but ended up liking it more than I initially thought and then also realized it's an autographed copy. So it gets a reprieve and goes back on the poetry shelf.