Play Book Tag discussion
May 2017: 2004
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Announcing the May Tag
My highest rated book for 2004 is Cloud Atlas, but that is not a book I recommend widely unless you love literary fiction and don't mind books that are harder to read and decipher.For everyone else, I will recommend Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer. It's a great story about swimming in extremely cold waters and is a testament to the ability of humans to endure.
I have a number of books I am interested in reading:
Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood - This was written about a football coach (ex NFL player) who coached at my boys' high school in Maryland before they attended. Apparently it is very inspirational, and it's been on my list for awhile. Hopefully I can get it from the library.
Other possibilities are A Thread of Grace or Runaway. I think A Thread of Grace may be on our top 100 list (and I just realized I own it) - - I need to double check, but that would make it a compelling choice.
My number one recommendation would be:Suite Française / Irene Nemirovsky
Other goods ones I've read:
The Tale of Despereaux / Kate DiCamillo (the audio is great)
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
As for what I'll try to read ... I found a few possible on the Goodreads list
Three Weeks With My Brother / Nicholas Sparks
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History / John M Barry
Something Rotten / Jasper Fforde
Others on my personal TBR that were published in 2004:
Funny Cide
An Inconvenient Wife
Queen of Dreams
A Song I Knew By Heart
The Turtle Warrior
You Remind Me of Me
Anita wrote: "I think A Thread of Grace may be on our top 100 list (and I just realized I own it) - - I need to double check, but that would make it a compelling choice. ..."Oh ... that would be good! I'm listening to Russell's Epitaph now ... I just love her writing.
Cloud Atlas is on the PBT 100 fiction list and is a top 10 book for 2012 for anyone doing the high notes challenge. I think that will be my choice to read along with a light mystery I picked off the Agatha awards list for that year. A Thread of Grace is on the PBT 100 fiction list and I recommend it.
Well, I admit that I am a little bummed but since plays was out early on then I am moving on!I am going to read The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. It was a NY Times Top 10 Book of 2004.
I think Regina is going to join me in reading this one and we welcome anyone else who has an interest in alternative history!
Doing research for what to read and what I've read on this tag, I found the NYT 100 books of 2004, which may help readers like me to decide:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/boo...
My top recommendation is Birds Without Wingsclosely followed by :
A Thread of Grace
Cloud Atlas
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Case Histories
I think I will be reading Alexander Hamilton.
JGrace, I also seriously considered Hamilton by Chernow and Strange & Norrell!But, I am still making my way through one of the Outlander books and don't know if I want another doorstop right away.
I may start Hamilton anyway because I have been wanting to read it forever and my brain is craving some American history, but I doubt I will finish it by the end of May.
Anita wrote: "p.s. A small tip. Add the year of publication to your personal bookshelves, sort by date, scroll to 2004, and voila - - you can see everything on your TBR that is published in 2004. ..."Sigh... But, thanks for the tip.
I actually don't have very many from 2004 on my tbr, but there are a few. Looks like I'll be reading a Canadian one. Since they usually aren't as "popular" (that is, read by as many people... unless they are a really famous author), they tend not to have as many tags, so don't come up as often for other tags (when I'm using that way, as I do, to decide what to read for a certain tag).
So, I'll read:
Tsunami: The Newfoundland Tidal Wave Disaster
Rachel wrote: "Cloud Atlas is on the PBT 100 fiction list and is a top 10 book for 2012 for anyone doing the high notes challenge...."omg! I'm so glad I had something else that I could read for 2012!!!! LOL!
My options: Birds Without Wings
Eventide
I'd like to think I could read both of those.
My recommendation is The Preservationist this is a retelling of Noah's arc. Smart and funny. Don't believe the author has any religious leaning (maybe Buddhist) so it's not religious. It's been a long time since I read it, but I remember the family kind of arguing on the arc and I thought, no kidding. what family is going to get along for 40 days and 40 nights.
Aside from Cloud Atlas, that is my only 5-star read from 2004.
Ah well... Maybe this is the push I needed to finish Ghostheart.Of the books published in 2004 I've read there are not that many 5 star reads. I'll give you two recommendations:
Fiction: The Swarm by Frank Schätzing
Non-fiction: The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry
For those thinking of trying Jim Butcher, Furies of Calderon is book 1 of his Codex Alera series.For YA fantasy, one of my favorites is Sharon Shinn's The Safe-Keeper's Secret, and it's a short read.
This is probably Fate's way of chiding me for not yet finishing Cloud Atlas, Alexander Hamilton, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. But I'm still not feeling like delving back into them...
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 tag, then my top choices are:
Trickster's Choice
The Truth About Forever
The Secret Hour
I don't really have any recommendations.
I had 2 books selected for both the finalists so would have been happy with either but do enjoy the variety in the reviews for the year tags. 2004 predates my participation in online book sites so books published in 2004 are sparse on my TBR.My top recommendation is A Thread of Grace. Set in WW II Italy, the book would easily make my life time top 10 list. Other recommendations: The Wild Girl about a young Apache girl in a Mexican jail who accompanies an expedition searching for a Mexican boy captured by the Apaches in the early 1900's. Fast paced and well written; it never achieved the notice I feel it deserved. On a lighter note, Skinny Dip by Carl Hiasson was a highly enjoyable read for me. It was my first and favorite book by Hiasson.
Unless my head is turned by someone else's suggestion, I'll be reading Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan set in Indonesia. "Found" in a PBT review by Tien. Also on my radar, The Book of Chameleons translated from the Portugese with a dose of magic realism.
I've placed my order for library books to fit the 2004 tag. They are (so far)An audio of In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
The Tale of Hill Top Farm (this has been on my list for a long time.)
A Thread of Grace
If any of these don't grab me, I've also got Case Histories as an e-book.
Barbara wrote: "I've placed my order for library books to fit the 2004 tag. They are (so far)An audio of In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
[book:..."
The Tale of Hill Top Farm looks very good. I may try that one. Thanks for sharing! =)
I'm going to read Case Histories, and I think I'll listen to Jonathan Strange & Mrs Norrell. I might give Runaway by Anne Munro a go to, which stretches me out of my comfort zone as short stories normally don't grab me.
Bummed. I've read more than half of the books already recommended. I'm sure I'll find something, but I really dislike the year tags. They just aren't challenging.
People have already picked out some great 5 star reads for me. A few others that really satisfied me were:2666--Roberto Bolano
Hannah Coulter--Wendell Berry
The Inner Circle--T.C. Boyle
The Last Kingdom--Bernard Cornwell
Pandora's Star--Peter Hamilton
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed--Jared Diamond
I don't see too many books that inspire me even when I look to the longer listing at Wikipedia. I think I'll shoot for Jane Gardam's Old Filth.
If I can find them I might pursue entries in series I like from Tony Hillerman, Nevada Barr, and/or Cornwell (Sharpe series).
I'm probably going to end up with either My Sister's Keeper or Diary of a Wimpy Kid as they are already on my challenge list.
My personal recommendations for this tag based on books I have read would be:Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - This book won a Pulitzer Prize
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - Many have probably already read this one
So Help Me God by Larry D. Thompson -- Interesting fictional book that plays on the special interests groups using the courts
Not sure if I will get to a book for this tag, but if I do my first choice will be The Lost Choice: A Legend of Personal Discovery by Andy Andrews. Andy Andrews is by far one of my favorite authors to read right now.
After careful consideration, I think I will be reading either The Plot Against America or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I know they are very different from each other, but - has anyone read them both and can recommend one over the other?
Marina wrote: "After careful consideration, I think I will be reading either The Plot Against America or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I know they are very different from each other, but ..."I cannot recommend one over the other but I hope you read The Plot Against America and join in a discussion with Regina and me!
Nicole R wrote: "Marina wrote: "After careful consideration, I think I will be reading either The Plot Against America or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I know they are very different from e..."I'll probably join too. Everything else suggested is either something I've already read or doesn't appeal to me
Jen wrote: "I'll probably join too. Everything else suggested is either something I've already read or doesn't appeal to me..."Yay!
Thanks, Nicole. I'll think about that :) It'd be fun to discuss the book together!
Nicole R wrote: "Jen wrote: "I'll probably join too. Everything else suggested is either something I've already read or doesn't appeal to me..."Yay!"
I realized that my response sounded kind of negative. I am excited about the book and reading it with both of you is an extra benefit but I had been hoping not to buy/borrow new books until I clear off some of my physical TBR. So the lack of enthusiasm was about the fact that I will have to buy or borrow than about the book itself. Although I can't deny the fact that I am disappointed with this tag winning.
Anita wrote: "For everyone else, I will recommend Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer. It's a great story about swimming in extremely cold waters and is a testament to the ability of humans to endure.."I second this recommendation! It is just what Anita said, plus it helped open some important diplomatic doors (unexpectedly.)
Jen wrote: "I had been hoping not to buy/borrow new books until I clear off some of my physical TBR. So the lack of enthusiasm was about the fact that I will have to buy or borrow than about the book itself."This. I have more than 300 books on my physical shelves and Kindle, and I really wouldn't want to buy or borrow any new books until I've cleared some space... especially after going to a book fair last week and spending waaaay too much money on books I wouldn't have found in libraries or bookshops...
I have no idea yet what I want to read since I didn't see any that I'd tagged tbr (big sigh) nor do I have a 2004 shelf of my own.My recommendations (besides seconding Anita's which is non-fiction (please note my kids were significantly younger and I was still homeschooling them and reading a plethora of y/a for their English/Reading school and pleasure, but not everything they read but there are a couple for adults).
From these lists my only 5 star read is a y/a book The Teacher's Funeral : A Comedy in Three Parts
Here are some 4 star books I recommend:
The one you may not have heard of Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell. Worth 4 stars for sure and the author is/was also an opera singer (not famous, but smaller opera companies) so has a real feel for the musical part of it. It's a novel about the 4 years between the end of Mozart's career as a child prodigy and his first breakthrough as a composer (sure, he stared composing as a kid, but his big breakthrough) and when he met his wife.
y/a - The City of Ember and, also a darker novel for those mourning the loss of dark fantasy (this isn't fantasy, though) for slightly older y/a, The House of the Scorpion.
Marina wrote: "Jen wrote: "I had been hoping not to buy/borrow new books until I clear off some of my physical TBR. So the lack of enthusiasm was about the fact that I will have to buy or borrow than about the bo..."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 unread kindle library for the moment.
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 Gilead,which was recommended at least once already in this thread, and/or finally tackle The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1-15 by Bruce K. Waltke (I know, that second one is all the rage ;) ). Unless, of course, it turns out that something else I read is published in 2004.
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 unread kindle library for the moment. "The books I bought are still on my table, because I have yet to understand where I may shelve them... I simply have no more space! My flat is small and so is my bookshelf :(
Ha! I also just realized that the next installment of the In Death series up for me was published in 2004. You know I have a hard time saying no to Nora....
Thinking Thread of Grace and the Virgin's Lover.
Did I miss this? What is this about the plot against America? Are a bunch of us reading that? Per chance I should be in on it too?
Amy, you did not miss anything. Regina and I decided to read The Plot Against America and several others decided to read it as well. If you also want to read it then you too can join the conversation!
Amy wrote: "Did I miss this? What is this about the plot against America? Are a bunch of us reading that? Per chance I should be in on it too?"deep cleansing breath
I'll order it from the library and see what happens.
Jgrace wrote: "My top recommendation is Birds Without WingsOh, Birds Without Wings is also on the PBT 100 list and another one I'm interested in. Feeling all set now!
Michael wrote: "People have already picked out some great 5 star reads for me. A few others that really satisfied me were:The Inner Circle
Second Michael's suggest of The Inner Circle!
I have 1 book from 2004 on my tbr and now I'm not so thrilled about reading it so this one will be a stretch for me after all. Maybe I'll read whatever book was mentioned as a group read. I hope my library has it available.
I'm also not a huge fan of year tags since it is sort of arbitrary. However, I have added some extra rules for myself that if it is a general tag, then I need to read a book that I already own.Here is my list of potentials:
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - also dark fantasy :-D
Birds Without Wings - I started this a while back and didn't love it. I have loved all the other books I've read by Louis de Bernières, might give it another chance
Dead Witch Walking - also dark fantasy but I'm not sure that I know where the physical book is at my house
A Thread of Grace - also not sure where the book actually is.
The Last Kingdom - been wanted to get to this series
As for recommendations:
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - 1st book in the series; has the same dark humor as Showtime series
Poison Study - good YA series
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific - read just for the title ;-)
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 slate of characters.
I'll recommend a few that I have read, A Thread of Grace, which many of listed but any time I can suggest a Mary Doria Russell book I will.Other books include A Rip in Heaven, The Mapmaker's Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon, The Illuminator, Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 and The Places in Between.
I have a wide variety to choose from on my TBR and I happened to be reading one now, in bits and pieces so don't expect to finish it until May. That is Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation.
A couple recommendations:Let the Right One In
After Dark
Some possible reads from my TBR:
Agent to the Stars
The Last Light of the Sun
Autumn Bridge
The Book of Flying
March
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 slate of characters."I own this, might read it.
Play Book Tag
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2004
So sorry for those of you who had hoped for dark fantasy. As per a member's request, here's more info on the voting. None of the three options garned the necessary 50% of the votes cast, so plays, with a mere 28 votes, was eliminated. This lead to a neck and neck contest between dark fantasy and 2004. 2004 ultimately received 79 votes to dark fantasy's 67. Ultimately it came down to participation points because twenty-three people cast votes for each tag. The 2004 cohort dedicated more of their points.
Please share your reading plans and recommendations below!
Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as 2004 on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be. For year tags, we highly recommend reading a book that is published in that year . . .to us, that is the clear "fit". Or failing that, a book set in 2004. Please not a book that some other person tagged it 2004 because that's the year that they read it.
To find books to read for this tag, please visit:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/popula...
or
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
p.s. A small tip. Add the year of publication to your personal bookshelves, sort by date, scroll to 2004, and voila - - you can see everything on your TBR that is published in 2004.