All About Books discussion
Reads & Challenges Archive
>
Laurel's 2020 Pie in the Sky Reading Goals
date
newest »
newest »
#21
The Stars Are Fire4 Blue stars. Good escapist fiction with a happy ending. Just what I needed.
21 books, 6624 pages
#23
When Stars Are Scattered5 Gold stars: Graphic novel for kids, but a true story about growing up in a refugee camp. Excellent art work.
pages: 7140
June plans:Ha ha ha, since it is already the middle of June. Still need to finish just about everything on my May list...
Listening to
READ The Guise of Another, and finally started
READ The Winter of the Witch
The Daytimers book for June is
READ Manhattan Beach
A Good Yarn is reading Q themes: Queens and Quiet
Queen By Right
READ A Quiet Life In The Country
#24
The Guise of Another3.5 Green stars - I found the level of violence distressing given the current level of unrest in our country.
Pages: 7409
#25
A Quiet Life in the Country3 Pink stars - Interesting characters. Makes me think of an older Phryne Fisher and Dot, but set in England. The mystery was only so-so, but I want to learn more of their backstory!
Pages: 7687
Midyear review (and plans for July):This is probably a good time to take stock and see where I'm at. Goodreads says I am 1 book behind schedule on my annual goal. That's amazing considering I could barely read in March and April due to "Covid-brain." (No I didn't have it - just couldn't concentrate on anything due to the shutdown, anxiety, etc. etc.) But here we are. I have several things that should be finished shortly and I should be back on track.
So I have made some revisions to post #1 - my quarterly goals changed to seasonal goals. Namely, I still want to read more of the Russia theme (1st quarter). I've completely stalled on War and Peace. Just drew up a new daily schedule (smaller chunks?) for that and Natasha's Dance and hope to finish both by the end of October. So that takes care of both Winter and Spring. The 2nd quarter theme of Arthurian titles became Summer and I've expanded it to include some medieval titles. 3rd quarter got reassigned to next year: that will be my Odyssey theme which, like Russia, includes a chunky classic (Ulysses) not to mention The Iliad AND The Odyssey, so will probably be all year. 4th quarter is now Macbeth and I've expanded it to include Thorfinn (which Dorothy Dunnett in King Hereafter said was the same person) and other Viking titles.
So started previously this year and still working on:
READ War and Peace
READ Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Outlander (reread)
READ A Bend in the Stars
READ The Winter of the Witch
One for Sorrow
June books I'm finishing up:
READ Manhattan Beach (Daytimers)
Queen By Right (A Good Yarn - queen)
July:
READ The Current (Daytimers)
His Dark Lady (A Good Yarn - race and renaissance)
Russka: The Novel of Russia (reread - hope to start this, because I need an R title for A Good Yarn as well as the themes)
Seasonal (summer - will continue in August, AND the Good Yarn themes are "summer" and "Scandinavia"):
Yseult: A Tale of Love in the Age of King Arthur - would LOVE to finally get this off my TBR...
READ The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty - half-read a long time ago, need to finish
The Summer Queen
READ A Mighty Dawn - part of the fall Macbeth/Viking seasonal theme, but it is due back at the library Aug 1 and has a hold on it...and it fits the Scandinavia theme for A Good Yarn, so I might save His Dark Lady for August and read this one in July....
Well, that's a lot. Wish me luck!
Good luck, Laurel!I think that you did an excellent job of reassessing your goals in light of the current pandemic. As you mentioned, even those of us who haven't contracted the illness have been affected & it is not unreasonable that it has also affected our reading. I also suffered from "Covid-brain" (as you call it) but have managed to rebound - I hope that you do too.
Thanks, Leslie. I actually have been reading War and Peace this week and I'll read some tonight before bed.
#26
Manhattan Beach3 Yellow stars - Not quite sure what this book wanted to be. Definitely well researched, so I did feel I learned something new about a time and place. But it wasn't a story that drew me in.
#27
The Current3 Pink stars - Beautiful, atmospheric writing, and lots of psychological depth to the characters, but very ambiguous ending that left me confused as to whether or not anything was resolved.
Still falling behind a bit with only three books read in July. Still working on
READ The Winter of the Witch and hope to finish it soon.
My R is for Race book for A Good Yarn (July theme):
READ How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America
Will finish that this week.
Themes for August are S is for Summer, and S is for Scandinavia. My picks are:
The Summer Queen
READ A Mighty Dawn
August book for Daytimers is:
READ Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Beyond that, I just hope to catch up on some of those unfinished things from previous months!
#28
How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America4 Blue stars - Concise and easy to understand, just a tad oversimplified. I found it thought-provoking and depressing.
#29
The Winter of the WitchFinally!!!! I was underwhelmed by this #3 in the trilogy, but I still give 5 stars to the trilogy. 3.5 rounded up to 4 Blue stars for this one.
Pages: 9,133
I've thought for some time that Goodreads should have half-stars, and I do add them to my reviews with a note that I've rounded it sometimes up, and sometimes down. I know some people use a scale from 1-10 or ABCDF or some other rating system.Recently, in one of my groups, I saw someone using colored "bookworms" and I liked that idea of using colors. First I thought I'd stick with rainbow order, because it also fits with the traffic light connotation of stop, caution, and go. I rarely rate anything less than 3-stars though, so 1 and 2 stars would be red and orange, 3 stars would be yellow and green, 4 stars blue and purple, and then I would add silver and gold for 5 stars (also rare.) Not sure I like that, because yellow implies caution, and I think a 3-star book should be at least green. So do I split 2 stars into orange and yellow, and then add a violet or something under purple? The other problem with that, it that I think of horse racing, or county fair ribbons where purple is grand champion so that should be 5-stars. With county fair ribbons, red is usually 2nd place, and yellow is 3rd. Green actually come pretty far down after pink and white... What say you all? I want the colors to be fairly intuitive without too much explanation.
What if I did Gold and Purple for 5-star, Blue and Red for 4-star, Yellow and Green for 3-star (with Yellow being ABOVE green - or is that counter-intuitive with yellow being caution in the traffic-light sense...), 2 star would be orange, and then maybe black for a 1-star?
Help!
No takers, huh? Okay.Here's what I've come up with. I think I'm pretty happy with this:
5 + stars = Gold (Gold medal, nothing higher. Well maybe Platinum but let's not go there....)
5 stars = Purple (Grand Champion ribbon)
4.5 = Blue (Blue ribbon, 1st prize)
4 stars = Red (2nd prize ribbon)
3.5 = Pink (tickled pink, in the pink, ...but not quite red?)
3 stars = Green (Green for Go, not outstanding, but I'd read more by this author - or not)
2.5 stars =Yellow (Caution)
2 stars = Orange (Hazard Warning, LOL!)
1 star = Black (Black-balled)
DNF (not rated) = Gray
I went back and added colors to all my books read this year. The stars don't "exactly" match up. I had a 4 star Purple book, and a couple of 3 star Yellow books.
Of my 29 books read so far, I have:
4 Gold
2 Purple
7 Blue
5 Red
5 Pink
4 Green
2 Yellow
Or, to break it down finer, I had:
5 star Gold - 4
5 star Purple - 1
4.5 star Purple - 1
4 star Blue - 7
3.5 (rounded up to 4) star Red - 5
3.5 star Pink - 5
3.5 star Green - 2
3 star Green - 2
3 star Yellow - 2
#30
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI4.5 purple stars (rounded up). An important story. Reads like a novel, but I wish it had been fleshed out a little more.
Pages: 9492
#31
A Mighty Dawn4 red stars - Not quite fantasy and not quite historical fiction. 8th century Scandinavia. Room to grow, so I'll read the sequel.
#32
A Bend in the StarsBarely 4 stars - a red rating. Reads like a romance, but without the satisfaction of a romantic ending. I liked the overall plot and the characters, but the writing verged too much on melodrama from time to time.
Pages: 10564
#33
The Water Dancer4.5 blue stars - Brilliant writing - just not quite a 5. The Underground Railroad with a magical realism twist.
Pages: 10967
#34
Elvis Puffs Out: A Breaking Cat News Adventure5 stars - I adore this comic strip!
#35-37 The Unicorn Diaries series...
Color-rating blue. I gave the third book an extra star because I especially loved the pixies. Great art work. These are easy readers for first and second graders.
#38
Hamnet5 stars and a rare gold rating. Exquisitely written.
My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Pages: 11755
Mid-October and I need to finish 14 more books to reach my goal. Started at some point in the year and still not finished, so these have priority:READ 1. War and Peace
READ 2. Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia - this one had to go back to the library, so I actually bought the e-book. No excuse now.
READ 3. Beneath a Scarlet Sky- this month's Daytimer's book club book. Currently listening.
READ 4. Summer at the Garden Café - put aside for #3 above, but I will finish it.
READ 5. The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty - started this quite a few years ago, and really shouldn't be hard to read at least a few pages before bed each night, so I can cross this one off....
6. Queen By Right - put on hold
7. One for Sorrow - put on hold
8. reread of Outlander - I need to get back to this!
About to start:
READ 9. The Pull of the Stars - holds waiting for this one, so I need to prioritize it. Due back to the library at the end of October.
10. Troubled Blood - Can't wait!
READ 11. This Tender Land - November's Daytimer's book
READ 12. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - December's Daytimer's book
Two more to prioritize, so I pick these:
13. From Hand to Hand: the Welsh novel O Law I Law - for A Good Yarn's T is for Translation theme
14. The Giver of Stars - Former Daytimer's Dec. book
READ 15. Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man - had a hold on this and it just came in (10/30) and it's fairly short, so I'm going to squeeze it in.
Other options:
The Summer Queen
Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Other Geniuses of the Golden Age
Bloodline
Rebecca - reread to kick off my "Winter" theme? And I need an R title for A Good Yarn
The Plum Tree - Good Yarn T is for Tree theme
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree - Good Yarn P is for Personal, and a P title
#39
The Hare and the Moon: A Book of Paintings5 blue stars
A bonus! I forgot I bought this book at the beginning of the year. I think I meant to "read" this a month at a time. Really, it only took about 15 minutes to read the whole thing, but I'll treasure it over and over for the lovely artwork. My copy of the book has the subtitle "A Calendar of Paintings" rather than A Book of Paintings.
#40
The Pull of the Stars4.5 blue stars rounded up
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Pages read: 12,203
#41
Beneath a Scarlet Sky4.5 blue stars rounded up. Reads like a young adult novel, but there is considerable violence, so be forewarned. Based on a true story, and it's a good one.
Pages: 12,716
#42
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man3.5 pink stars. Like watching someone tear the legs off a fly.
Pages: 12,937
#43
Summer at the Garden Café3 green stars - Very slow-moving and too many jumbled up plot threads, but I do like the characters and the community.
Only 1 book behind now. I'm catching up!
#44
Strange Planet4 red stars
#45
Stranger Planet5 blue stars
Bought for a gift, so I had to read them! I've enjoyed these comics on the web. There are some new ones here.
Pages: 13,613
#46
This Tender Land5 purple stars - a marvellous tale reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn and the Odyssey.
Pages: 14063
6 more books to go by the end of December. I'm two behind at this point...Currently listening to
READ 1. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Two more (added since my last list) that I'm pretty sure I will finish
READ 2. Frequencies of God: Walking through Advent with R S Thomas
READ 3. Rest You Merry
Really hoping to finish
READ 4. War and Peace
READ 5. Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
READ 6. The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty
#47
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek4 red stars - a fascinating and realistic look at the Pack Horse Library Project and the (real) blue people of Kentucky. I happen to also be related to them through my Fugate line.
Pages: 14492
5 books left to go, or 508 pages to reach my goal.
One week to go, plus a few extra vacation days thrown in. I took the whole week off, so anything finished by Jan. 3 counts as 2020 (my rules!) I think I can do this!READ 1. War and Peace
READ 2. Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
READ 3. Frequencies of God: Walking through Advent with R S Thomas
READ 4. Rest You Merry
READ 5. The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty
And just added for good measure:
The Mistletoe Matchmaker
#48
Frequencies of God: Walking through Advent with R S Thomas3.5 rounded up. A pink star for the commentary. Purple for the poetry itself. A nice introduction to the poetry of R.S. Thomas. I would have liked more stories about him and his life, less analysis. But I will definitely read more of his poetry.
Pages: 14667
Laura you are such an inspiration. I’ve had next to nothing to do all year and still couldn’t plan anything properly . But in my defence I did spend hours late at night listening to a lonely and isolated daughter. That often left me too drained to even think of reading .
Tweedledum wrote: "Laura you are such an inspiration. I’ve had next to nothing to do all year and still couldn’t plan anything properly . But in my defence I did spend hours late at night listening to a lonely and is..."I've struggled a bit at times, myself, this year. Couldn't concentrate at all in March and April. I'm sure your daughter appreciated the time you gave her, and here's hoping 2021 will be a much better year!
#49
The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty4 blue stars - a breezy overview of the most entertaining bits of the lives of the Plantagenet kings. I started this for a book talk at the Minnesota Library Association conference in 2016, and finally got around to reading the last 100 pages!
#50
Rest You Merry3.5 pink stars - not sure if this was meant to be a bit of a farce, but it was certainly entertaining enough. I like her off-the-wall humor, but I like the Madoc Rhys series better...
Pages: 15,171
I'm going to go ahead and list these two to finish out the year. I'm close enough and only fudging by a few days. So goal accomplished at 52 books and 17,249 pages.#51
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia5 enthusiastic gold stars. Non-fiction at its finest.
#52
War and Peace5 blue stars. A classic for a reason. Just about the best book about "life" ever written.
Year End Stats:52 books, 17,249 pages
Stars theme: Read 8 books
Russia mini-theme: Read 6 books
Arthurian/Medieval mini-theme: read 1 book
Macbeth mini-theme: Read 1 book
Random Reads:
Non-fiction: Read 3 books
Wales: Read 1 book
Series: Read 1 book
Old themes leftovers: 0 books
Historical fiction: Read 1 book
Other: 0 books
Daytimers: 12 out of 12 books
Other group reads: 5 books
A Good Yarn:
Not bad overall! Completed all but 4 challenges:
O is for One
P is for Pioneers
Q is for Queens
T is for Trees
Still leftover from 2019:
B is for Body Parts
I is for Ice
J is for Jungle
J is for Japan
and a title beginning with J
Leftovers and library books:
Read 4 on my list....
On to 2021!
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Rest You Merry (other topics)War and Peace (other topics)
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia (other topics)
War and Peace (other topics)
The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Katherine Arden (other topics)John Green (other topics)
John Green (other topics)
Gianni Rodari (other topics)
4 Blue stars.
My review: I had some reservations about some of his assumptions. But I appreciate the great lengths he goes to in order to bring this time period to life. This is about much more than just Oswald. It is as much about Lindesfarne, the Synod of Whitby, a study of the available sources (Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Nennius, Bede, etc.), the establishment of both Deira and Bernicia, and other rulers as far afield as Wales, Kent, and even Frankia. Much to ponder and I have copied his detailed timelines for further study. My interest is genealogical as well as historical.
20 books, 6368 pages