Jan’s 2019 Determination List

[OMalleycat]

First of all, I’m stalwartly sticking to a Determination List of 17 books instead of adopting these newfangled alternate numbers. In my world there’s only one correct number of books on a D-List!

In 2018 I was making a concerted effort to read books on my paper-and-ink TBR (some of which I’ve been meaning to read for decades) and made a pretty good stab at it with my D-List. This year all my List books come from my Kindle TBR because I’m moving and all my print books are packed. So we’ll just see if my resolve to work through the print TBR will hold up without the Determination motivation behind it.

So I’ll be reducing my Kindle “stacks” but it will hardly make a dint. I’ve got many hundreds of unread books on my Kindle. I am proud of recently having totally organized my Kindle library into collections, making it easier to find stuff. Years ago when I upgraded to a Paperwhite all my books transferred uncollected and in all this time I had never found the courage to wade in there and redo it.

✅ Read 6/18/19 1. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

✅ Read 7/14/19 2. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

✅Read 12/28/19 3. Lust, Chaos, War, and Fate - Greek Mythology: Timeless Tales from the Ancients by Jason Boyett

✅Read 12/17/19 4. Out of the Blues by Trudy Nan Boyce

✅Read 12/9/19 5. The Wrong Kind of Blood by Declan Hughes

✅ Read 9/27/19 6. The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Mariano-Lesnevich

✅ Read 1/26/19 7. Guernica by Dave Boling

✅ Read 1/12/19 8. A Different Kind Of Angel by Paulette Mahurin

✅ Read 9/13/19 9. A new-to-me author's first book. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill

✅ Read 9/21/19 10. A book set in a different country than you live in. The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg

✅ Read 4/2/19 11. A book that is a different genre than your usual. The Best of Philip K. Dick. Science Fiction, ack! Am I really determined enough to read Science Fiction and a giant-sized Stephen King? Only time will tell!

✅ Read 9/9/19 and ✅ Read 9/23/19 12 & 13. Two books from a series you haven't completed yet. In This Grave Hour and To Die but Once by Jacqueline Winspear. Since the Maisie Dobbs series moved outside England and lost much of the circle of beloved characters I haven’t been as eager to keep up, but I do still like the books and was surprised to realize I was behind by two.

✅ Read 5/22/19 14. A book that comes out in 2019. The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey. Number 2 in the Perveen Mistry series, due in May. The Widows of Malabar Hill was so good that I’m a little nervous that this one won’t measure up. Is that too pessimistic of me?

✅ Read 7/29/19 15. A book that was recommended to you. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

✅ Read 7/31/19 16. A book you meant to read in 2018 (and every year since about 2005) but never got around to it. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families by Philip Gourevitch

✅ Read 8/23/19 17. A book that came out before you were born. Villette by Charlotte Bronte

[Ann]

Ha Ha Ms. O'Cat
Sticking to 17 books makes sense for you! I still remember my horror when my sister-in-law visited from North Carolina and disrupted by stack of 17 books that I had carefully erected and maintained. Traumatic to this day!
I spot a few on the list that I really liked so I am sure you will do marvelously with your goal. The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir, 11/22/63 and The Cuckoo's Calling

*** and as for organizing Kindle books -- more power to you and enjoy yours! My Kindle books drive me batty. Current pet peeve are the library loans that stick to my account that aren't really there and the Kindle Unlimited books that I never seem to get to because they get lost among other freebies that are clogging up my ability to get more KU books. (a psychologist could have a field day with this issue)

I have completely abandoned organizing Kindle books and organizing the apps on my phone, I refuse to go through the trauma of an upgrade removing all of my careful collections or folders again.

[Donnajo]

I never tried to do the collections. But have gone though many times and deleted many unread freebies. Also there might be many books I read back in beginning that I didn’t know how to delete the books at the time did something else and all the read books went unread so I can’t remember at times because some were never written down that got read. Then what really gets me are those freebies that end not not being a full book. There are probably hundreds of unread freebie books on there. My problem is I delete books from laptop and they might not go off iPads or iPod Touch have to make list then go and make sure I delete off other things. Especially the touch for some reason since it can’t be hooked to laptop since I would lose all my music from cds etc the-touch gives problems syncing. So I have to go in and delete once they move from archive. I think this year I will do a big clean out of those books anyway. I probably wouldn’t miss them.

[Melodie]

I hope you love 11/22/63 as much as I did! 800+ pages never seemed so short!

[OMalleycat]

Melodie wrote: "I hope you love 11/22/63 as much as I did! 800+ pages never seemed so short!"

Good to hear, Melodie, as I’m not a big King fan. This one intrigued me, but I’ve got to admit the size intimidates me.

[Geri]

It looks like you have a solid plan! I know what it’s like to try and organize the many books I haven’t read. Goodreads has helped. I have created many shelves.

Many of the books you have listed, I don’t know. But I also read The Widows of Malabar Hill last year. I enjoyed it too. I’ll be reading the next in the series too.

[OMalleycat]

Look, I’m copying Geri’s cool emoji checkmark to keep up with what I’ve read! Hope you didn’t have it trademarked, Geri.

[Donnajo]

Nice, I never noticed those before.

[Carol/Bonadie]

OMalleycat wrote: "Look, I’m copying Geri’s cool emoji checkmark to keep up with what I’ve read! Hope you didn’t have it trademarked, Geri."

I was going to ask how you got those sexy checkmarks. I'm jealous!

[Carol/Bonadie]

The stacks of 17!!! Another phrase for the glossary! (even though I am violently opposed to this methodology).

[OMalleycat]

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "The stacks of 17!!! Another phrase for the glossary! (even though I am violently opposed to this methodology)."

Ah, Carol, a good lexicographer must learn that many people have alternate ways of expressing themselves and all have their own validity.

Some, like the number 17, have more validity than others, of course, you heathen non-believer!

[Carol/Bonadie]

OMalleycat wrote: "Some, like the number 17, have more validity than others, of course, you heathen non-believer!"

Snort! <----witty comeback

[OMalleycat]

I’ve fallen woefully behind schedule on my D-List Reading, especially since many of the books I haven’t read are Big and Fat. 13 more books in 9 months is doable, but I’m not progressing as well as I did last year.

Looking forward to reading #14, The Satapur Moonstone with Geri in May!

Also looking forward to this post moving my D-List topic to the top of the list of topics in this thread. Just in case any of you have forgotten what I’m like. ;-)

[Ann]

Jan O'Cat: I am behind as well (which for me is totally in character) .... isn't a determination list synonymous with a procrastination list? :)
OMalleycat wrote: "I’ve fallen woefully behind schedule on my D-List Reading, especially since many of the books I haven’t read are Big and Fat. 13 more books in 9 months is doable, but I’m not progressing as well as..."

[Carol/Bonadie]

Ann wrote: "Jan O'Cat: I am behind as well (which for me is totally in character) .... isn't a determination list synonymous with a procrastination list? :)
OMalleycat wrote: "I’ve fallen woefully behind sche..."

Good one, Ann! I'll join you and Jan on the Determination/Procrastination Bench!

[OMalleycat]

Ta-dah!! Finished my last list book earlier this evening with three whole days left in 2019. I dare anyone to call me a procrastinator!

Now, on to finishing half an audio book and half a Kindle book before the ball drops Tuesday night so I can be ready to start Blood Orange on Jan. 1.

(Well, here in Central Standard Time, until an hour after the ball drops.)

[Ann]

Good for you Ms. O'Cat! I am too busy reading Kindle shorts in the Forward Collection, Elton John's memoir and a fun cozy audio to even think about my last book for my determination list. I might just be determined to not finish it. Lol

OMalleycat wrote: "Ta-dah!! Finished my last list book earlier this evening with three whole days left in 2019. I dare anyone to call me a procrastinator!

Now, on to finishing half an audio book and half a Kindle bo..."

[Carol/Bonadie]

OMalleycat wrote: "Ta-dah!! Finished my last list book earlier this evening with three whole days left in 2019. I dare anyone to call me a procrastinator!

Now, on to finishing half an audio book and half a Kindle bo..."

Congrats, Jan! Quite an accomplishment!