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Jan O'Cat Plunges In With a Determination List
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Jan O'ListCat: This looks like a stellar list! What a treat to have a John Dunning book to look forward to. I hope you like Sunburn and The Good Daughter and will join the discussions; I really enjoyed the group read discussion of Darktown too. I am hoping to start listing some for my list soon. Last year I listed them first and read few. This year I decided to list later, still reading few from my own "stacks". But plenty of reading so all good.
Good job, Jan! Your book covers are beautiful!Lots of good books listed. I wonder if I've read Dunning #5? I think so, I scarfed down all the bookmans, but I'm going to go look. The ones from our board you will enjoy I'm sure, and I hope you post on the book read threads. I am just now listening to Sunburn and while it reminds me of another recent group read, All the Beautiful Lies (as someone else pointed out) I am enjoying it as well. My first standalone by Laura Lippmann.
Ann wrote: What a treat to have a John Dunning book to look forward to."I think I didn't love the Dunning that came before Bookwomanso put this one aside until it moved to the nether reaches of my tbr. You know how that goes.
Ann further wrote: "I am hoping to start listing some for my list soon. Last year I listed them first and read few. This year I decided to list later, still reading few from my own "stacks".
What??? You're not cleaving to the proud DL tradition of making a list on January 1 then ignoring it for the rest of the year? Between this and Carol declaring Barry 'a nice guy' on another thread, I'm shattered!
OMalleycat wrote: "What??? You're not cleaving to the proud DL tradition of making a list on January 1 then ignoring it for the rest of the year? Between this and Carol declaring Barry 'a nice guy' on another thread, I'm shattered!.."You will also be shocked to learn that Ann and I are no longer constantly beating each other up on the RIO/UOOOR debate, although it does surface from time to time.
And we hardly ever mention Shutter Island any more, but maybe that was after your time...
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Good job, Jan! Your book covers are beautiful!Lots of good books listed. I wonder if I've read Dunning #5? I think so, I scarfed down all the bookmans, but I'm going to go look. The ones from our..."
carol- remember when we went to see dunning at rj julia and were worried we'd be the only ones there?
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "...Ann and I are no longer constantly beating each other up on the RIO/UOOOR debate, although it does surface from time to time.It's good that you and Ann have learned to play together more nicely although the ceasefire also means loss of the evergreen amusement of new posters saying, "okay, I get RIO, but what in the world does UOOOR mean?" Becoming comfortable with that acronym was a board rite of passage.
I admit that I've become ever so slightly less RIO over the years, but still feel lots better when reading series the right way--in order.
Carol also said: "And we hardly ever mention Shutter Island any more, but maybe that was after your time..."
On AOL we had set up a Spoilers board for the protection of unthreaded readers. I do believe Shutter Island debate filled most of that board!
But how about the God Is a Bullet kerfuffle? I'll bet Ann still loves that book. I still don't even like to think about it. (I can't remember where you stood, Carol.)
I very occasionally get a like on my Goodreads review of it which is no more than a snarky one-liner. But I'd say the rare 'likes' for such a nothing review indicate that readers still have very strong feelings about God Is a Bullet.
Jan O'Reminiscent
Sherry wrote: "Carol/Bonadie wrote: "carol- remember when we went to see dunning at rj julia and were worried we'd be the only ones there?l..."
One of my favorite book signing memories. Such a nice man, and he spent time talking with me about his books, which I loved. I often wonder what happened to him.
OMalleycat wrote: "But how about the God Is a Bullet kerfuffle? I'll bet Ann still loves that book. I still don't even like to think about it. (I can't remember where you stood, Carol.).."
I was going to mention GIAB but decided to stop at SI since I didn't remember if either fell during your time. I was on the "liked it" bench, but remember that many wanted to throw it across the room.
Didn't you put together a glossary of terms for us? Throw-across-the-room-able was definitely on it.
Jan O’ReminicentCat: I think I mainly mellowed and converted to mostly attempt to RIO when digital books and library holds made reading in order easier. I still hold to the option of UOOOR reading as fully acceptable though! Ahh; God Is a Bullet; such a powerful book. 😀I have another Boston Teran book on my tbr list for someday.
OMalleycat wrote: "Carol/Bonadie wrote: "...Ann and I are no longer constantly beating each other up on the RIO/UOOOR debate, although it does surface from time to time.
It's good that you and Ann have learned to play nice..
...But how about the God Is a Bullet kerfuffle? I'll bet Ann still loves that book. I still don't even like to think about it. (I can't remember where you stood, Carol.)
."
I'm probably more of an UOOOR than Ann these days. I end up reading in order when I get into a series on the ground floor when there is only one book and I have to wait a year for the succeeding books in the series. But otherwise I still pick up the book in the series that sounds most interesting to me. Even if that's the first book, I may skip to the third or fourth or even the most recent book after reading the first. I still maintain that if I read the first book and it doesn't engage me, that will kill any further interest in the series. Neither Mary Russell nor Maisie Dobbs would be series that I would ever have picked up again if I'd started with the first.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: " Didn't you put together a glossary of terms for us? Throw-across-the-room-able was definitely on it. ..."I did have an M/T glossary. It disappeared when my old computer crashed. A lot of things disappeared. Not so much because of the crash but because I used to save most online stuff on AOL. There wasn't a Cloud then, but I figured AOL would always be there. Without a computer, I disappeared from the internet too and by the time I got back, AOL had entirely reconfigured. If my stuff was even there, I certainly couldn't find it any more.
Anyway, yes, throwacrosstheroomable was on there. So was unputdownable, which I always thought we invented or at least popularized. Now it's EVERYWHERE!
Ann wrote: "I think I mainly mellowed and converted to mostly attempt to RIO when digital books and library holds made reading in order easier. I still hold to the option of UOOOR reading..."I can see how that would work, Ann. I remember that availability of library books was a big factor in your shameless UOOORness.
Some author's huge backlists have jostled me off of my rock-solid RIOness. I want to read Deborah Crombie. I've read a few. But there are SO many and I'm aware of my own mortality! So it seems a better bet to just pick up the ones that interest me the most.
Bookbub is another factor. If they're offering book #16 in a series for 99 cents, who am I to zealously stick to a silly reading principal?
But honestly I don't go OOO often and certainly never unrepentantly!
Jan O'Cat, got to keep some dignity
Shomeret wrote: "I'm probably more of an UOOOR than Ann these days. . .Even if that's the first book, I may skip to the third or fourth or even the most recent book after reading the first. . .Shomeret, I can see your reasoning there, but I almost always like the first book of a series more than the subsequent ones. Especially Maisie Dobbs. I enjoyed the first two or three the most--up through the one where she went to harvest hops. Then I plateaued. I was ready to give up on the series when Maisie started doing espionage work instead of plain old human mysteries. But the last one I read didn't have the spy business, so I'm happier again.
Sorry to be so vague. It's late and I'm to tired to remember titles or look them up. Maybe I'll edit tomorrow. :)
Jan O'Cat, appreciates Goodreads' edit feature
Jan O'ArchiveCat: I hated that we lost details and memories that were in posts on AOL that I thought would "always" be there. I suppose I believed the hype that we would become a paperless society (tongue-in-cheek) though today we are closer than ever; I still lose things - the glossary would be a treasure to find. OMalleycat wrote: "I did have an M/T glossary. It disappeared when my old computer crashed. A lot of things disappeared. Not so much because of the crash but because I used to save most online stuff on AOL. There wasn't a Cloud then, but I figured AOL would always be there. Without a computer, I disappeared from the internet too and by the time I got back, AOL had entirely reconfigured. If my stuff was even there, I certainly couldn't find it any more.."
OMalleycat wrote: "Bookbub is another factor. If they're offering book #16 in a series for 99 cents, who am I to zealously stick to a silly reading principal? ..."SACRILEGE!!!!!
Oops, there I go, letting my RIO feathers get ruffled again.
On another note, yes, "unputdownable" is everywhere, and I am CONVINCED that we were the originators of that term! Bugs me whenever I see it.
OMalleycat wrote: "I did have an M/T glossary. It disappeared when my old computer crashed. A lot of things disappeared"Hmm. I wonder if we should create a new topic where we can re-create the list. I bet between the 4 or 5 of us who were on the old AOL board we could do a good job. Then one of us could save it in Google Docs or somewhere. Or, one of us could create a Good Docs document, we could edit it collaboratively, and then put a copy here.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "OMalleycat wrote: "I did have an M/T glossary. It disappeared when my old computer crashed. A lot of things disappeared"Hmm. I wonder if we should create a new topic where we can re-create the li..."
Sounds like a plan. I thought I had a copy of it around here somewhere, but am having trouble trying to figure where I might have put it!
Melodie wrote: "Sounds like a plan. I thought I had a copy of it around here somewhere, but am having trouble trying to figure where I might have put it! ..."Mel, now that you mention it, that's the sort of thing I might have thought to save a copy of as well! I'll dig through the archives and see if I can come up with it.
I can’t promise and I can’t search until after the weekend but there might be a printed copy I have that is someplace with a bunch of other print copies that I wanted to keep. Might still be around or I might have thrown out when I was going though email copies at some point.
I printed out a lot of stuff from the AOL boards. Then in 2006 everything went into storage for 10 years. I’ll see if I still have it. I did a major purge when I was in Tulsa last winter, so no promises.
Lynne! It’s good to hear from you! I’ve missed you and wondered what you’re doing. How’s everything with you?
I just spent an hour going through old printouts from those AOL days. I found birthday lists and lots of reading recommendations lists, but no list of acronyms. I have several posts from authors from way back 20!! Years ago. Remember when James Hall wrote little short stories? I had printed them out and had him sign(reluctantly on his part) when he was at an author event. Can’t locate those now.
Jan, I moved to PA to care for my elderly Mom back in 2007. She’s gone now but I’m still here. Have fallen out of the reading habit, mostly hooked on Facebook...sigh. My daughter and family now live in Tulsa and I’ve spent the last two winters there. Thought of you many times as the only other person I “knew” in OK.
Lynne in PA/Lineepinee wrote: ".My daughter and family now live in Tulsa and I’ve spent the last two winters there. Thought of you many times as the only other person I “knew” in OK."Lynne, if you come back to winter in OK again this year, get in touch and I’ll come to Tulsa to have lunch with you. I’ll send you my email address through Goodreads messages. I’m so happy to see you pop up here.
Lynne in PA/Lineepinee wrote: "I just spent an hour going through old printouts from those AOL days. I found birthday lists and lots of reading recommendations lists, but no list of acronyms. I have several posts from authors fr..."i have those stories saved somewhere, too. i'll have to look for them
Lynne in PA/Lineepinee wrote: "Remember when James Hall wrote little short stories? I had printed them out and had him sign(reluctantly on his part) when he was at an author event. ."Gosh, I have a lot of good memories from the old AOL Hardboiled board. Isn't it remarkable that we could be part of a conversation with so many great authors? I can't remember if Harlan Coben posted on that board, but he used to come to the Bookaccino chat and just hang out. Those were the good old days!
Jan and LynneThose Hardboiled group conversations were amazing! Great authors and memories. I am excited for the two of you that you may get to meet for lunch in Tulsa this winter!
Yes, I remember Bob Crais and Dennis Lehane chiming in, among others. Those were indeed the good old days. I want to say that Harlan posted there too. Speaking of tales from the past, I remember when some of us were going on and on about Harlan on the AOL M/T board (not in a positive way, don't remember what exactly) and someone told him and he came over and responded to whatever the complaint was. Yikes.
He came and made a comment that he doesn’t bit when I was saying I saw him at BN and did not say anything. Will never forget that.
I remember Coben taking me to task when I criticized one of his efforts.
Barry wrote: "I remember Coben taking me to task when I criticized one of his efforts."Barry, James W. Hall did the same to me. Dropped in from nowhere and was upset that I hadn't liked one of his Thorn books. He was both offended and hurt. I don't think I replied because the only answer would have been, "hey dude, I didn't like it. What can I say?"
Ms O’Cat - it looks like you only have four left to complete your original determination list? Nicely done!
Ann wrote: "Ms O’Cat - it looks like you only have four left to complete your original determination list? Nicely done!"Ann, I’m on the verge of DNFing The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. I’ve been trying to read it for years. I made a good start on it earlier this year, but never got back to it. At some point I need to realize it’s not gonna happen even though I still feel like I want to read it.
Aside from that one, the others seem quite doable. I’ve certainly never done this well with my DL. Retirement has its advantages!
Dare I ask how you’re doing with your Determination List?
Jan: I know you hate to give it up, but it may be the best thing to drop it. Sometimes books just don’t match up with our expectations. Or you could add it to the 2019 list and try again. ;)It does look like a book we should want to read.
OMalleycat wrote: “Ann, I’m on the verge of DNFing [book:The Chinese in America: A Narrative History.."
I been finding if you keep trackers in just a notebook. Sometimes it helps. Just write down the title of the book and a long box separating into sections for each chapter if numbers that way when yo finish a chapter or section mark it off with pen or pencil I even switch for each day so know I might have read how many which day. If no numbers for chapters I might count so many pages maybe 30 or 40. So if possible you try to read that many pages in a sitting. It seems to move books that might take longer along. Once you finish the book you can write finish and cross off. Good luck with pushing though the harder one. I always hate giving up on harder ones if you have given so much time to it already. Skim ahead if you have too.
I would also say if you haven’t read at least 50 pages and it’s not your thing give up. There are too many good books out there.
Hey, I pretty much did it! I read all except The Chinese in America: A Narrative History which I permanently assigned to DNF and, since it was a physical book, donated to Goodwill. All of these years of having it on my TBR and I finally just gave it up!I really enjoy the bonus section and appreciate you, Donna Jo, for doing it. It broadens my Determination horizons!
You did good. Thanks for joining us and make sure to go over on 2019 and join us again if you haven’s already.
Jan O'DeterminedCat - that definitely counts! OMalleycat wrote: "Hey, I pretty much did it! I read all except The Chinese in America: A Narrative History which I permanently assigned to DNF and, since it was a physical book, donated to Goodwill. Al..."
Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends
Books mentioned in this topic
Shutter Island (other topics)Death of a Salesman (other topics)
The Journalist and the Murderer (other topics)
The Bookwoman's Last Fling (other topics)
The Last Coyote (other topics)
More...
READ 1.
READ 2.
READ 3.
READ 4.
READ 5.
READ 6.
READ 7.
READ8.
READ 9.
READ 10. A new author's first book.
READ 11. A book set in a different country than you live in.
READ 12. A book that is a different genre than your usual reading books.
READ 13 & 14. Two books from a series you haven't completed yet.
READ 15. A book that comes out in 2018.
READ 16. A book that was recommended to you.
17. A book you meant to read in 2017 but never got around to.
Jan O'Cat, crossing fingers that all the 'add books' will work