Announcing the May Tag

[Michael]

Cora wrote: "A couple recommendations: ...
Some possible reads from my TBR:
Agent to the Stars...
March"

Glad you found those-- missed them on the various lists. I'd love to read the Scalzi and hope you get to March, which was a 5 star read for me.

[Regina Lindsey]

Anita wrote: "Jgrace wrote: "My top recommendation is Birds Without Wings


Oh, Birds Without Wings is also on the PBT 100 list and another one I'm interested in. Feeling all set now!"

I really wish you would read Birds Without Wings!

[Regina Lindsey]

I can never recommend Birds Without Wings enough.

Like Nicole said, we had already targeted The Plot Against America during the voting phase if this was the tag. So, I'm definitely reading it. Other possibilities:

After Dark
Night Train to Lisbon
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
Gulag: A History

[Marina]

Uhm, I have a question. I just saw here on Goodreads that The Brooklyn Follies was published in 2004, which made me very happy because I love Paul Auster and the book would have been a good choice for May. But then Wikipedia tells me it was published in 2005. What do you make of that? Who is right, who is wrong?

[Jgrace]

Marina wrote: "Uhm, I have a question. I just saw here on Goodreads that The Brooklyn Follies was published in 2004, which made me very happy because I love Paul Auster and the book would have been a g..."

Could it have been published in different years in different countries? Truth to tell neither GR or Wikipedia is 100% reliable.

[Nicole R]

Marina wrote: "Uhm, I have a question. I just saw here on Goodreads that The Brooklyn Follies was published in 2004, which made me very happy because I love Paul Auster and the book would have been a g..."

Amazon says that the hardcover, first edition, was published December 7, 2005.

You can also google "When was The Brooklyn Follies published?" and it gives you the date as well.

[Sushicat]

Marina wrote: "Uhm, I have a question. I just saw here on Goodreads that The Brooklyn Follies was published in 2004, which made me very happy because I love Paul Auster and the book would have been a g..."

According to the copyright page original publishing date is 2005.

PS: I updated the GR entry.

[Ladyslott]

I'll be reading The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier, it will also work for my Trim the TBR challenge

[Amy]

That looked really good! I put it on my TBR, and I might have chosen it if I hadn't already found a few to try first.

[Joi]

I'm in the "sad that plays didn't get voted" boat. Very interesting that the same number of people voted for dark fantasy and 2004-but it seems dark fantasy was stingier with their points haha. That would also be me- I only put one free point behind it.

So searching my TBR, I only had 4 books come up as 2004, which surprised me.
-Alexander Hamilton, which I still haven't started.
-The Dim Sum of All Things, which seems like a good backup plan for this month if I fail to read anything else.
-Birds of a Feather, the 2nd in the Maisie Dobbs series. I definitely think this is a front runner for the month.
-Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer by Ann Rule. I Have true crime as a stair so this is also a good choice.

Looking at what others have suggested Suite Française and A Thread of Grace both stand out to me. Funny since they're both WW2-one in Paris, one in Italy.

[Marina]

Sushicat wrote: "According to the copyright page original publishing date is 2005.

PS: I updated the GR entry. "

Thanks, Sushicat!

Wikipedia wins over GR, at least this time :)

[LibraryCin]

Ladyslott wrote: "I'll be reading The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier, it will also work for my Trim the TBR challenge"

Oooh, I like Tracey Chevalier...

[~*Kim*~]

My recommendations would be:

My Sister's Keeper
My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands (if you like her humor)

On my list of possibilities are :

Blue Blood
Snobs

[Denizen]

Karin wrote: "Based on what I found in my tbr doing a sort by year published, what I have at home and the one book I can get through my library network, it may be that I listen to the audiobook of [book:Gilead|6..."

The audio for Gilead was beautifully done. I think you'll enjoy it in any format.

[Jennifer]

Ladyslott wrote: "Jennifer P. wrote: "I see from my read list that Justin Cronin's The Summer Guest was published in 2004. It's totally different from the Passage but I thought it was just a good story with a good s..."

There's nothing particularly life changing about the plot (that I remember) but I remember thinking that the characters were particularly good. I definitely think it's worth reading. And the plot is definitely engaging.

[Barbara M]

Marina wrote: "Jen wrote: "Book fairs are the best except for our wallets and storage space! I'm going to book expo at the end of May so I need to clear some serious space on my bookshelves. I'm ignoring my unrea..."

You two need to introduce yourselves to the Public Library. Borrow the book and return it when you are done! No need for book storage except for those you absolutely love. :-)

[Karin]

Denizen wrote: "The audio for Gilead was beautifully done. I think you'll enjoy it in any format.."

Thanks! It's waiting for me at the library.

[Karin]

Barbara wrote: "You two need to introduce yourselves to the Public Library. Borrow the book and return it when you are done! No need for book storage except for those you absolutely love. :-).."

Yes! The vast majority of my reads are library books. We don't have room for more books (not that I never buy any, and I am reading one I bought a year or two ago as part of this, even if it is a reference/study book).

[Booknblues]

Barbara wrote: "You two need to introduce yourselves to the Public Library. Borrow the book and return it when you are done! No need for book storage except for those you absolutely love. :-) .."

That's true, but I had to stop going to the library because they had such good FOL table that I went overboard there and greatly increased the number of books I own. I'm now trying to read them all and give them back.

[Karin]

Booknblues wrote: "That's true, but I had to stop going to the library because they had such good FOL table that I went overboard there and greatly increased the number of books I own. I'm now trying to read them all and give them back .."

..."

When I fall for the FOL (I avoid it though and it's easier now that my kids are all ages 16 and up since it's downstairs by the Children's Room) I donate the books back after I read them many times. It can be tempting at times, though!

[Jen]

Barbara wrote: "Marina wrote: "Jen wrote: "Book fairs are the best except for our wallets and storage space! I'm going to book expo at the end of May so I need to clear some serious space on my bookshelves. I'm ig..."

My pledge this month (and next) is to avoid either borrowing or buying. For me it's more about not reading new books until I've read the ones I currently own. I use the library a lot.

[Kristel]

I voted for this one (only 1 vote) and now I find that I really h ave nothing I want to read right now. I've read a lot of these. My recommendations would be Birds Without Wings and my second would be Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which I really liked too. I have these I could read
A Hole in Texas, The Amateur Marriage and The Line of Beauty.

[Amy]

We can blame you, Kristen? lol!

[Michael]

Jennifer P. wrote: "Ladyslott wrote: "Jennifer P. wrote: "I see from my read list that Justin Cronin's The Summer Guest ...
I remember thinking that the characters were particularly good. I definitely think it's worth reading. And the plot is definitely engaging. "

Well said from my perspective. It gets close to sentimental sometimes, but doesn't go overboard. It reminded me a little of "A River Runs Through It" and "Legends of the Fall" with respect to the magnetism of a rural family gathering spot, but not the same high drama and family dysfunction. The warm hearted feeling and romantic elements are a plus, while the lack of serious excitement its main limitation.

[Marina]

Barbara wrote: "You two need to introduce yourselves to the Public Library. Borrow the book and return it when you are done! No need for book storage except for those you absolutely love. :-)"

Haha, you're right, Barbara! I used to use the library a lot until some years ago, then stopped for some reason when I moved here. I don't know why that is.

However, as Jen says, I pledge every year to not borrow or buy any new books until I read a significant amount of the ones I already own. And I miserably fail every year.

[Ashley Breanna]

I recommend Something Borrowed - a funny, chicky read.

I hope to get around to reading French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure

[Marina]

I decided to read Chicken with Plums after all. It's a short one and it suits me for another challenge, as well. I loved The Complete Persepolis and watched the movie based on Chicken with Plums, which was great, although as far as I know book and movie are quite different. It should be arriving on Tuesday :)

[Yvonne]

I always have a hard time choosing but this theme seemed more difficult for me. I'm going with After Dark by Haruki Murakami. It is short and an opportunity to try this author. I'm also tempted by Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale. A non-fiction would be a good change for me

[AsimovsZeroth]

Jenni Elyse wrote: "Ugh! I guess people really didn't want Dark Fantasy. Oh well. I probably won't be around much in May anyway since the first of my surgeries starts on Wednesday.

If I do get any reading in for this..."

You know, Trickster's Choice is a good one to pick this month, especially for those who don't have a ton of time to read, but still wanna try and squeeze in a few more participation points. , The sequel, Trickster's Queen was also published in 2004. For those who were hoping for dark fantasy, it's an enjoyable YA fantasy. Not exactly dark, but not really shimmering rainbows and unicorns either.

[AsimovsZeroth]

I'm going to try Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants

I might also try Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise Wil Wheaton's autobiography, cowritten by Neil Gaiman.

Books on my shelf:

Nonfiction
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? - George Carlin essay.

Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe - Pop science.

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale - Jenna Jameson's memoir.

Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism


Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World


'Tis Herself - Maureen O'Hara memoir

America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction


Ancient Philosophy (New History of Western Philosophy #1)

Spice: The History of a Temptation

The Coffee House: A Cultural History

Fiction

2666 - Spanish contemporary literature

A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld #32)

Going Postal (Discworld #33)

The Zombie Survival Guide

Ranson's Folly and Other Stories

Guts (Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club)

To The Stars One of Heinlein's YA novels.

Messenger Third book in the Giver series. I honestly wish I had stopped after #2. Not recommended if you love the Giver as it is.

Unshelved First collected volume of a daily comic. Takes place in a library following the librarians that run it and their crazy patrons.

Walking Dead Volume 1

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Spearwielder's Tale (Spearwielder's Tale #1-3 omnibus)

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Fantastic read. Slow beginning, but a perfect ending.

Trickster's Choice (Daughter of the Lioness #1) YA Fantasy Highly recommend.

Trickster's Queen (Daughter of the Lioness #2)
YA. Highly recommend.

Memories of My Melancholy Whores Classic Spanish Literature

Chainfire (Sword of Truth #9) Not my cup of tea. Early series was alright, but quickly devolved into preachy and extremely repetitive political philosophy.

[Denizen]

Kathryn wrote: "I'm going to try Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants

I might also try Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulf..."

I could get excited about Memories of My Melancholy Whores. I own it and have had an itch to read another Marquez.

[Joni]

I found a couple that I have been wanted to read one the 2004 list. So that is good!

[Amy]

For me, a Thread of Grace and the Virgin's Lover. It's exactly where I left off in reading Phillips Gregory's books in chronological order. And it's 2004!

[JoLene]

Denizen wrote:I could get excited about Memories of My Melancholy Whores. I own it and have had an itch to read another Marquez.

Great title :-D

[[deleted user]]

I'm kind of happy that it's 2004 as I'm redoing my books and shelves on here - it's great fun finding out when a particular book was first published!

[Marina]

In case anyone's interested: I've just seen on my paper copy of Oracle Night that the book was first published in 2004, and not in 2003 as both GR and Wikipedia say. This information is written on the copyright page so it's sure to be correct. I edited the "date published" field in GR accordingly. So I'll manage to read a book by Paul Auster for this tag after all :D (even if not the one I wanted to read originally).

[eHawk]

Let's see... I don't have any TBR 2004 books (strange).

Recommendation: I really loved Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow.

My current ideas for what i might read:
American Desert
Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West
Ordinary Wolves

[Anita]

Every month, I'm like "what can I possibly read?" and then after this thread, I'm like "OMG, I have too many books I want to read for the tag." Why does everything have to sound so intriguing?

[Anita]

eHawk wrote: "Let's see... I don't have any TBR 2004 books (strange).

Recommendation: I really loved Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow.

Hmmm, that Eastern Standard Tribe sounds very interesting . . .very different from my usual fare. I may hold onto this one for the next time science fiction comes up.