Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Weekly Topics 2018
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2: A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list
This is so exciting for me and SO HARD!!!!I have three on my first ten that I really would like to read
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
I Know This Much Is True
and
The Hour I First Believed
I'm most interested in The Hour I first Believed, so Im going to start there.
I've got my book locked in for this one - I decided to go with the very first book I added here on Goodreads (and STILL haven't read, over four years later) - The Casual Vacancy. It's been in my bedside wine-crate since I got it for my birthday in January 2013. I started it, but it didn't quite gel with me. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time!I added the book here on August 12th, 2013.
Well funny story.... I must have been on a cookbook binge when I signed up for goodreads because the first 20 books... no joke... were all some kind of cookbook! I mean I've read some real great cookbooks like they're a novel... Julia Child anyone? Nigel Slater? But I didn't think that really fit the challenge. So I started counting at the first book in my TBR that didn't have anything to do with cooking and landed on A Natural History of North American Trees and I'm actually thrilled about it haha
I kind of screwed myself over with this one. When I started my Goodreads account, I added a bunch of classics that I consider more of a long-term goal. Literally all but 2 of the books of the first 10 were lengthy classics (ie. Les Mis, Count of Monte Cristo).
Apparently, when I first joined Goodreads, I had just finished a Sue Grafton book, so I added all of her books that I had not yet read—Which was almost all of them. So, I’m reading R is for Ricochet for this prompt!
Jody wrote: "I've got my book locked in for this one - I decided to go with the very first book I added here on Goodreads (and STILL haven't read, over four years later) - The Casual Vacancy. It..."How strange! This was one of my very first adds on goodreads when I first joined in Nov 2013!
My list from November 2013 included The First Phone Call from Heaven , The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , A Game of Thrones , The Girl Who Played with Fire or The Casual VacancyI haven't really decided which one I wanted to read yet. I own every GoT book and Immortal Life so they are already in my house.
I'm going with North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell. I added it to my TBR in the 2015. I have a few classics that I have put off because I have a hangup that I won't like them. This one is just because it's long, and frankly, I LOVE the U.S. 1980s mini-series called North and South, and I'm worried that nothing by the same name will live up to it. (They are totally different stories, though.)
I've been reading from the bottom of my list for a while now, so everything in the bottom 10 is stuff that I haven't found at the library or any of my used book store excursions. I have taken this as an excuse and ordered the two oldest books so that I can take them on vacation with me at the end of the month. Funny enough one of them also matches the ATY one, so I may be starting with week 3.The Vesuvius Club
Aberystwyth Mon Amour
I just received World's End by T.C. Boyle as a Christmas present, and I am very excited to read this one. I believe this is the first novel (he also writes many short stories) by one of my favorite authors.
I have never listed my real TBR on goodreads so I just looked through my real shelves to see what I've had the longest, The Castle by Kafka is one of two of his books I bought when I was at university, so 15-18 years ago. I never read either but some how they've survived every cull my bookshelf has had.
Katrina, I actually like that way of a selecting a book. My physical bookshelf has been around longer than my GR one. I also am not too moved by the first 10 options on my GR list. But then I also don't want to delete them just yet (bookworm dilemmas).
Since they've been on my TBR list since 2013 (!), I'm probably either going to read Hubble Bubble or Relic for this prompt.
I'm planning on reading An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser in Jan/Feb. it was selected as the classics group read in another group so I hope to read it in that time frame!
Finally getting around to reading A Life in Time and Space: The Biography of David Tennant that I added on March 29, 2011.
I don’t keep a very long TBR since I try to use up the books on there first when selecting books for the challenge each year. I did a great job of shrinking my list last year, so the oldest book on there when I went to select for this week’s book had only been on there for 4 months! I guess I need to add more books to my list. So, for this one I just started reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.
Laura wrote: "Katrina, I actually like that way of a selecting a book. My physical bookshelf has been around longer than my GR one. I also am not too moved by the first 10 options on my GR list. But then I also ..."I was in the same boat for this prompt. Luckily, Looking for Alaska was in my first 10, and that was something I actually want to read. Everything else was lengthy classics that I don't want to delete because I'd like to read them eventually, but I see them as more long-term goals. I considered separating classics onto a different shelf, but it felt like a bit of a cheat.
From July 2013 comes Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another by Ellen
Stimson
Though I've been on Goodreads for longer, I didn't really use it much until June 2016. City of Bones was one of the books that I put on my TBR shelf in my first batch on 9th June. I added a lot more than 10 that day. I bought the first few in the series from the Red Cross shop for 50 cents each one lunch time, and they've been sitting on my shelf at work since then. I don't even remember what this is about, hopefully it'll be a pleasant surprise.
Ashley wrote: "My list from November 2013 included The First Phone Call from Heaven , The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , A Game of Thrones , [book:The Girl Who Play..."I could easily read at least three of your books :-) The book about Henrietta Lacks is great, so that's definitely worth considering! I don't think I know one person who didn't like it.
I've done the same as Jody and decided to read the very first book added to my TBR: Serena. It's been sitting there since June 5th 2013 so it's about time to either read it or delete it. I did start it once a few years back but gave up, so I'm a little meh when it comes to reading it.I have a few backups, but honestly I think I'll have to remove some of them from my list: The Sorrows of Young Werther, The Passage, For Whom the Bell Tolls... What was I thinking back then???
Marina - Serena looks so good that I added it to my TBR! I’ll have to find a different week to use it for. 😀
Pam wrote: "Marina - Serena looks so good that I added it to my TBR! I’ll have to find a different week to use it for. 😀"It really does sound like an interesting book. I think my taste in books has changed a bit the last couple of years so I'm hoping it'll suit me better this time around.
I hope to hear what you think.
Next week's read for me will be Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits which I had planned to read for one of the categories last year, I even started it and then stopped. So hopefully I won't be distracted this time. I've read several later books by her but not this very famous novel.
Ruth wrote: "Next week's read for me will be Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits which I had planned to read for one of the categories last year, I even started it and then stopped. So hopeful..."Good choice... I read it last year and I loved it.
Looks like 12/31/15 was the day I actually joined Goodreads, so all of my choices are from that date. Based on what it looks like I can get from the library in time, it looks like it is Horns or Why Not Me? for me next week.
I just finished Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford. I added it to my TBR list in April 2012. It is a great cozy mystery that I can’t believe I hadn’t read until now!
Laura wrote: "Deborah, you should definitely read Horns!! Such a fantastic, unique book."Thanks for the rec! I think I'm definitely leaning that way. I'm number one on the waiting list with the library, so hopefully it comes through!
I was delighted to see this category because this book has been staring at me from my TBR for too long. How I never got around to reading this before now is anyone's guess.What are you reading for this category?
In the Woods by Tana French
When did you add the to book your TBR? November 22, 2014
Jean wrote: "I was delighted to see this category because this book has been staring at me from my TBR for too long. How I never got around to reading this before now is anyone's guess.What are you reading for..."
Tana French's books are some of my favorites! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
I am not wildly excited about any of my first 10, but I think I'll go with Burmese Days (added 8/11/2010) or The Fairest of Them All (added 8/20/2013, and technically #11 on my TBR, but added the same day as #10).
I read Rule Zero, which I added on April 12, 2014. I joined Goodreads in 2011 but I've really been trying to clean out my TBR list so everything in the bottom was stuff I had to buy. I actually went ahead and bought the kindle version for this (I also bought two other paperbacks but they aren't in yet), which is extremely rare for me, so that I would actually comply with the letter of the prompt. All in all, I am glad I read it mainly because the premise was so promising. It's a bout a psychic MI5-type character who has to hunt down an old experiment. Totally up my alley. Unfortunately it wasn't funny enough to be comical and it wasn't serious enough to be riveting. It sorta fell flat. Oh well. I've had high expectations for three years, and I'm happy to lay them to rest.
- What are you reading for this category? Open- When did you add the book your TBR? (date listed under 'date added') 11/29/2012
I'm glad I'm finally reading it. The first chapter was really good. Andre Agassi has always been my favorite athlete. It's sad to learn what made him great though. His father was so hard on him.
I'm reading The Buried Giant. This is book #4 on my TBR and it was added back in June 2015. I have a physical copy of it sitting on my bookshelf this whole time too so it's about time I read it.
I will be reading The Darkest MindsThis is a novel that I have wanted to read for such a long time. I added this March 16, 2014, but had heard about it before on BookTube. I'm so excited to get started on this one. I love the idea of reading one book a week this year. It's great pacing.
Reading The Quality of Silence, by Rosamund Lupton for this one. Has been on my shelf for ages and finally have the excuse to pick it up :)
Marina H wrote: "Ashley wrote: "My list from November 2013 included The First Phone Call from Heaven , The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , A Game of Thrones , [book:Th..."The Immortal Life keeps sticking out--- with so many glowing reviews! It looks like this one will be my read for week 2.
Ashley wrote: "Marina H wrote: "Ashley wrote: "My list from November 2013 included The First Phone Call from Heaven , The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , A Game of Thrones..."I can definitely recommend The Immortal Life, Ashley! Hope you enjoy it!
And I chose Friendship Bread by Darien Gee since it's been on my list since I first started using Goodreads properly - Oct 2012. I think I'd seen it at the library just beforehand.
Oppose Any FoeThis was an easy choice as I have read the first 3 in this series. These books are very intense. In my opinion they are the Expendables book version 😀. There is a lot of action, political behind the scenes and violence at times. I have book 5 all queued up and hope it fits into another category for this challenge.
Books mentioned in this topic
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (other topics)Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World (other topics)
The Devil in the White City (other topics)
Quicksilver (other topics)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Maya Angelou (other topics)Erik Larson (other topics)
Jeffrey Eugenides (other topics)
David Gibbins (other topics)
Barbara Kingsolver (other topics)
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Directions for sorting TBR:
- Click 'My Books' at top
- Click 'date added' at the top of the list of books
- Continue clicking until the earliest books appears (it may initially sort to the newest books)
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Optional questions:
- What are you reading for this category?
- When did you add the book your TBR? (date listed under 'date added')