Jan-March 2017 Random Notes

[Kristel]

Happy New Year every one. I had a wonderful year of reading in 2016 and am looking for a repeat performance in 2017. Here is our thread for the start of 2017.

[John]

Happy New Year to everyone.

[Tracy]

Happy New Year, here's to knocking more books off the list!

[John]

My 2016 tally was 22, excluding my re-read of Le Petit Prince (though this time in the original). I hope to do better in 2017, but doubt that I will ever get back to the glory days of 2013, unless its after retirement.

[Patrick]

I don't know if any of you are experiencing the same problems as I do, but the Goodreads website has been as flaky as a mille-feuille slice for the last 24 hours. Déjà vu (for the Shelfari exiles)? Same IT engineers as before?

[Diane]

Patrick wrote: "I don't know if any of you are experiencing the same problems as I do, but the Goodreads website has been as flaky as a mille-feuille slice for the last 24 hours. Déjà vu (for the Shelfari exiles)?..."

It has been horrible. I completely lost two posts that I didn't save first. Hopefully they will fix it soon.

[Pip]

Same problems. Thought it was my computer!

[Diane]

Pastoralia by George Saunders is on sale for $1.99 on Kindle (US).

[John]

Patrick wrote: "I don't know if any of you are experiencing the same problems as I do, but the Goodreads website has been as flaky as a mille-feuille slice for the last 24 hours. Déjà vu (for the Shelfari exiles)?..."

I also had problems. I put it down to a glitch happening on the new year when no one was around. It wouldn't surprise me though if Amazon was reducing IT staff at Goodreads now that they dominate this particular market. Typical short-sighted thinking.

[Jen]

I read 26 1001 books which was probably a record low for me since joining the group. That said, I was intentionally trying to read more current books so I'm pretty happy with my reading this year.

I liked not worrying about the challenge because it gave me more time to reflect on the books I read rather than speed read. I read 125 over the year.

This year I hope to read at least one BOTM each month, 3 of the seasonal reads, and the annual read. Then the rest of my books will be non-list reads.

[Paula]

Happy new year everyone!

[John]

A nice review of Scorsese's eponymous movie based on Shūsaku Endō's Silence. Based on the review it sounds like Scorsese was pretty faithful to the book.

http://freebeacon.com/culture/silence...

[Gina]

Happy New Year everyone. Last year I read 60 books so set a goal of 65 this year. Not all were from 1001, because I love classic science fiction, poetry, and mystery series like "The Cat Who..." and Janet Evanovich's different series. SO happy reading everyone!

[Sallys]

Happy New Year everyone. I think I read like 44 books in 2016. I had a good reading year in that I enjoyed both list and non list books that I read. I reread Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. Looking forward to another good year in books.

[Judith]

I read 18 1001 list books in 2016...the lowest number in several years...Oh well, it was a busy year with travel, house guests, home repairs, etc. My overall total was just 59, my goal 60..so definitely a slump year for me. I'm set for 50 this year, no set number of 1001 titles. I surely will be able to meet that goal! I'm starting off pretty strong with 3 already this month!

[Pip]

I was looking for a copy of Infinite Jest that my daughter said was stored in our shed. I didn't find it, but found a couple of dozen 1001 titles to add to my pile of Wanting to Reads.

[John]

I started with The Idiot and while it started slow, I have really gotten into it. This may be, so far, my favorite of Dostoevsky's works. I expect that I will have to put it aside in a few days to dive into The Leopard.

[Pip]

I am enjoying The Idiot too. I thought it might be because I am reading it, rather than listening to an audio, which I did for the other Dostoevskys I have read. The audio I have on the go now is Infinite Jest. I did not realise that the footnotes are so important. I am going to have to get a print copy as well!

[Kristel]

I started The Idiot by audio but had to down load a PDF file as it is too hard to follow along. I am on break from it right now.

I have Infinite Jest as a kindle, I think.

[Diane]

I am enjoying The Idiot as well. My first Dostoevsky.

[John]

Oops. When I moved the Q4 discussion to the Archives the list of the order of readings for the year went with it. Here they are for the remaining months:

March: Egan through Ford Madox
April: Infante through Kertész
May: Carroll through Coover
June: Achebe through Asimov
July: Dickens through Edgeworth
August: Goldsmith through Hartley
September: Forster through Golding
October: Atwood through Barth
November: Barthlme through Böll
December: Hašek through Høeg

[Patrick]

Books for the Second Labour have been posted. Reading can only start from February 1st at midnight ET (New York).

[Jen]

Hi all,
I'm starting Infinite Jest before the seasonal read start date so I can read the book before posting questions in this group (since it is our next seasonal read).

However, I was inspired by Tracy's comment on my status about buddy read so...

If anyone wants to start reading it early (probably starting it Feb 1) and read small chunks at a time as a buddy read, you are welcome to join me over at Litsy as I do this.

Litsy is an app that is available for iphone and android. It's like a combination of instagram and goodreads and happens to be perfect for reading together with others. Basically, my plan is to come up with a reading goal per week then several of us would read it together. We could then post our musings, favorite quotes, thoughts and more on our Litsy pages using hashtags to link all our thoughts together so was can show others our questions and quotes.

Seasonal discussion questions will be posted on here in our group too and usual. This is just an added extra for people who want more of a collaborative experience while reading in addition to our usual group discussion here. Unfortunately, you'll need the Litsy app to participate but it is free for those with iphones and android phones.

People tend to post all kinds of things there when they do buddy reads (e.g., photo of the snack they are eating while reading, their pets while reading, photos of a book page with a quote from the section they are reading, random musings, etc).

you can follow me at Litsy if you want to join me and I will follow you back. I'm JenP over there.

[Pip]

I have joined Litsy, Jen, cos I think it is a great idea. I have been listening to the audio, but realised I needed a print copy to follow all the footnotes. So I will go back and fill in the gaps and try to keep pace with you.

[Jen]

Pip wrote: "I have joined Litsy, Jen, cos I think it is a great idea. I have been listening to the audio, but realised I needed a print copy to follow all the footnotes. So I will go back and fill in the gaps ..."

Wonderful! I followed you back. I'm thinking that I will create a schedule for us to read together but this will function as a guideline and way to mark spoilers. Everyone can read at their own pace and just use the schedule (which I will post on Litsy (and I'll tag all of you who are joining me) to post their thoughts when ready. We can create a hashtag for each week (e.g., #Infiniteweek1, #infiniteweek2, etc.).

This will not interfere with our discussion in this group which will include specific questions rather than our general musings. The buddy read postings really will just be a way to encourage each other and post thoughts on each section.

[Pip]

I am looking forward to trying something different. With a long audible I often just passively listen while driving and do nothing interactive.

[Kristel]

Jen wrote: "Pip wrote: "I have joined Litsy, Jen, cos I think it is a great idea. I have been listening to the audio, but realised I needed a print copy to follow all the footnotes. So I will go back and fill ..."

I think I will try, I am over extended of course but seems like a great way to get more comfortable with Litsy.

[Jen]

Kristel wrote: I am over extended of course

yes, me too. But Infinite Jest is a challenge and there is comfort in numbers :)

I love Litsy because it lets you get a little more personal with people - see quotes that stand out to others, see book covers, etc. But it took me a while to figure out and initially I thought it was rather silly.

[John]

I would love to join you, but I left my copy of Infinite Jest in Minnesota, figuring I wouldn't need it until April and would definitely be back between now and then. And besides, I need to dive into Three Kingdoms so I can start the questions on that.

[Jen]

John wrote: "I would love to join you, but I left my copy of Infinite Jest in Minnesota, figuring I wouldn't need it until April and would definitely be back between now and then.

If it works out well we could try something similar for the next seasonal read. I will let you know.

Also people are welcome to check it out once they do start reading even if you start April or later. I'll add hashtags to each week we read so then people can search by hashtag to see how we all felt about each section.

We'll be reading feb-May and people can join anytime.

[Patrick]

John wrote: "I would love to join you, but I left my copy of Infinite Jest in Minnesota, figuring I wouldn't need it until April and would definitely be back between now and then. And besides, I need to dive in..."

Maybe we could buddy read the Three Kingdoms (well, the first part) as I am starting to read it today...

[John]

Patrick wrote: "John wrote: "I would love to join you, but I left my copy of Infinite Jest in Minnesota, figuring I wouldn't need it until April and would definitely be back between now and then. And besides, I ne..."

Let's give it a shot. I will be pretty slow at first as I need to finish the Idiot and have a couple other commitments. I have a litsy account - jlseymour3

[Patrick]

My beautiful hometown (Quebec City) was today the scene of a terrorist attack when two lunatics (most likely deranged extreme-right sympathisers and/or brain-washed populists) have opened fire on praying Muslims at the local Islamic centre, which also serves as a mosque. My thoughts and prayers go for everybody who has been affected by this shooting; this also includes my family and friends as well as the population of Quebec City, who will now live with the fear at the back of their minds that they too could fall victim at the hands of extremists, regardless of their faith or their motivations.

[Jen]

Patrick wrote: "My beautiful hometown (Quebec City) was today the scene of a terrorist attack when two lunatics (most likely deranged extreme-right sympathisers and/or brain-washed populists) have opened fire on p..."

I heard the news late last night. I'm so sorry. I echo your sentiments about extremists and my thoughts also go out to those affected. I'm saddened by recent political trends in many countries (but especially my own) toward a rhetoric of hate and fear toward others who don't think, pray, look, etc like us. I had been inspired by the words of your prime minister toward fostering an environment of compassion and inclusiveness that I was surprised and very sad to learn of the events - although I guess extremists exist everywhere

[Judith]

Patrick wrote: "My beautiful hometown (Quebec City) was today the scene of a terrorist attack when two lunatics (most likely deranged extreme-right sympathisers and/or brain-washed populists) have opened fire on p..."


My heart goes out to you and those hurt and discouraged by this event and others like it. Tragic!

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037)]

My thoughts and prayers for you and your hometown citizens.

[Kristel]

Add my sadness to yours for this asault on your beauty home and its people.

[Tracy]

I've never understood intolerance and hatred. I'm so sorry that this happened in a country that has a history of being so accepting.

[Patrick]

The time to complete the first Labour of Hercules is now over. You can now start playing with snakes in order to complete the second Labour.

[[deleted user]]

I have now joined Litsy I am BookwormM over there :)

Jen can you tag me for infinite jest buddy read my copy should arrive Tuesday according to Amazon Prime.

[Jen]

Book wrote: "I have now joined Litsy I am BookwormM over there :)

Jen can you tag me for infinite jest buddy read my copy should arrive Tuesday according to Amazon Prime."

Not sure what you mean, tag you? On Litsy you can find the posts by searching hashtag #infinitejestbuddyread and that will pull up all the related posts but you will likely need to be careful and read in order to avoid spoilers. I can't really tag you unless you mean tag you for each post but that's not practical. Try searching my feed to see the schedule and other relevant posts. But drop me an email if you need help

[John]

Jen wrote: "Book wrote: "I have now joined Litsy I am BookwormM over there :)

Jen can you tag me for infinite jest buddy read my copy should arrive Tuesday according to Amazon Prime."

Not sure what you mean,..."

Reading in order is easier said than done. I am trying to ignore the posts in my feed for Infinite Jest. I wish the app allowed us to screen books that we don't want to see comments about.

[Jen]

John wrote: "Jen wrote: "Book wrote: "I have now joined Litsy I am BookwormM over there :)

Jen can you tag me for infinite jest buddy read my copy should arrive Tuesday according to Amazon Prime."

Not sure wh..."

Yes, it's not the easiest thing to read in order. I did use two hashtags one the generic one for the challenge then I also used #week1, #week2 etc to make it easier if people want to join later. That way you can search for both the buddyread and the appropriate week. Feel free to unfollow me too since that could be one way to avoid seeing posts in your feed until you are ready

[[deleted user]]

Jen wrote: "John wrote: "Jen wrote: "Book wrote: "I have now joined Litsy I am BookwormM over there :)

Jen can you tag me for infinite jest buddy read my copy should arrive Tuesday according to Amazon Prime."..."

Will look for the weekly hashtags lol

[Patrick]

This incident reminds me of a book we read last year (The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-he...

[Tracy]

Patrick wrote: "This incident reminds me of a book we read last year (The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-he..."

Who'd have thought bell ringing was dangerous? Well, besides Dorothy Sayers.. I'm glad he's okay!

[[deleted user]]

Patrick wrote: "This incident reminds me of a book we read last year (The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-he..."

I thought of the book when I saw this on the news, glad he is ok

[John]

Patrick wrote: "This incident reminds me of a book we read last year (The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-he..."

Thanks for the link - sounds like Ian Bowman could have been a character in Sayers' book

[John]

Kristel will be posting the selections for voting for our March BOTMs later today. The following books won't be eligible for the Randomizer:

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, by Henry Fielding
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
Celestial Harmonies, by Péter Esterházy
Parade's End, by Ford Madox Ford
Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot

Voting will run through approximately 5:00 Central time on February 20.

I will re-post this info in the voting thread when I get a chance, but I'm pretty swamped, so I may not be timely later today.

[Kristel]

I was just looking at my 1001 challenge and it has changed from where it had been to 16 books or 1%. Any idea why that happened?