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Trim 2020 Continuation - Announcement, Community, and Chit Chat Thread
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Meli wrote: "Maybe this is jumping the gun since we haven't been officially approved, but what do you think about keeping the list at 24? The reason I suggest that is part of the fun for me is not knowing whi..."
Well, my real TBR is so massive...finishing off these 12 will be satisfying but not put a dent. Ditto if were 24. On the otherhand, a lot of these 12 have been lurking for a long time and I'd love to just get to them.
Perhaps the final 12 can include a random seclection of 2 Trim choices to be read for a number - and you can read one or both, your option. It gets more off your list and leaves some unknown about it as you won't know if you are readng one or two books.
i.e. #12 is chosen and you have only one book listed - David Copperfield. Next month #7 is chosen and you put 2 books there: Count of Monte Cristo (long) and Shopaholic (fast). You decide if you read both or one.
just an idea. And it could be a personal choice whether you double up any. But regardless at the end of 2021 all 12 will be considered read and list over.
I have an idea about 12 vs 24. For those of us who want to finish our 12, what if we just repeat the books. so #s 1-12 are repeated through #s 13-24.
Those who want all 24 for the surprise would get to choose different books for each one.
Hmmm, we don't want the same book twice, though. If the same book comes up a second time, pick the book just above or below?
Theresa wrote: "Perhaps the final 12 can include a random seclection of 2 Trim choices to be read for a number - and you can read one or both, your option. It gets more off your list and leaves some unknown about it as you won't know if you are readng one or two books. ..."Or, going with this idea...
There could be two numbers chosen, but one of the numbers would be between 1&12 and the other between 13&24.
So, those who want 24 on their list could choose between the two (or do both if they want), and those who want to do the final 12 can just go with the first number,
Wow, a lot of great alternatives! I really like LibraryCin's idea :) Like Amy said, the point is to finish off the list so I am kinda going against it in that sense. You still won't know which of the 12 will pop up and when, but I like the idea (personally) of not knowing if one will even be selected in that year.
This is just a personal excitement factor of the randomness, but if we decide to keep it at 12 ultimately this won't ruin the fun at all so not a strong push, just thinking about it...
I think if most people are leaning to finishing off with the 12 we should stick with that rather than an alternative, in case it complicates out unofficial challenge too much.
I am picking all new books-LoL! So I have no right to an opinion LoL.Whatever way the group goes, I am in
Joanne wrote: "I am picking all new books-LoL! So I have no right to an opinion LoL.Whatever way the group goes, I am in"
I will definitely change up my list either way.
Ha! I feel similarly. I came in when there were 24 picks and I assumed I would just fill up the spaces of the ones I read this year and the list of 24 would go on forever. 😂 I get the point of getting through everything eventually though. I’m fine with whatever, but I might switch some stuff out... I’m also majorly behind on this challenge, so I’m gonna be spending the rest of the year trying to read the ones I have outstanding.
It's sounding more and more like 12 is the logical and best way.First and foremost, it fits with the purpose of the original challenge, and why we continued it unofficially - to complete a section of tbr.
But also, the other options, while creative and fun, might overcomplicate a pretty simple concept.
Thanks for the input, all!
I think after everybody reasoning it out, 12 makes sense, and those who want to add choices on their list of 12, I can do so. Glad to see there’s excitement for this. As I’ve said, we will really get on it after the main challenges are chosen and laid out.
Amy wrote: "I think after everybody reasoning it out, 12 makes sense, and those who want to add choices on their list of 12, I can do so. Glad to see there’s excitement for this. As I’ve said, we will really g..."That's a good idea too... after talking through it I was able to come around. But like you said, I might throw a couple wild cards in there for fun *^_^*
Finished the Devil in Jerusalem for #10. Glad its off my TBR and glad its out of my house - but let me tell you, I need to shake that one off.....
Booknblues I just picked up my copy of The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window. I’ll start reading this weekend. Does this Buddy Read still work for you?
I'm going to try to get to the few titles still hanging onto my tbr from this challenge year's selections ... hoping by the end of this month, but if not, certainly in early January. Then I'll add enough titles to my list to equal 12 spots. At this point I think I'm carrying over only 7 titles, because I was really hoping to finish off the entire list in 2020. Best laid plans ....
By the way, this is something I do pretty regularly. At the beginning of each year I make a list of 100 "priority" titles from my tbr to try to clear as many as possible in the year. When I sign up for a challenge I try to go to that priority list first to find likely options (Ditto the monthly tag for PBT). All that went by the wayside for 2020 though because of Poll Ballot Tally game. But I'll probably start it up again in 2021.
Book Concierge wrote: "I'm going to try to get to the few titles still hanging onto my tbr from this challenge year's selections ... hoping by the end of this month, but if not, certainly in early January. Then I'll ad..."
I think I will do something similar this year.
Last year I made a short list of books I wanted to read, but I basically deviated from it entirely.
Hayjay315 wrote: "Booknblues I just picked up my copy of The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window. I’ll start reading this weekend. Does this Buddy Read still work for you?"Yes that sounds good!
I promise I will organize us as soon as the challenges are announced. Let nobody stress over this. And of course as soon as I get the OK that we can continue it’s last year.
Book Concierge wrote: "By the way, this is something I do pretty regularly. At the beginning of each year I make a list of 100 "priority" titles from my tbr to try to clear as many as possible in the year. ..."I only make myself a list of 15, but I still don't get through them all. A bonus, though, is that many of them were never added to LibraryThing (where I keep my tbr), so when I'm searching for books that fit themes, they never come up. At the time I add them to my list of 15, they get added, though
November - #17Behold the Dreamers - Imbolo Mbue - 5 stars
Rich or poor, immigrant or American, man or woman, honor or dishonor, family or work....so many issues packed in one book. We have Jende and Neni, immigrants from Cameroon, who live in Harlem and Clark and and Cindy the wealthy Americans. It is 2008 and Clark works at Lehman Brothers. Each of these people have their good and bad sides. Just when you think one might be a hero, the book reveals another side. Just when you think one might be a villain, one see the sunlight shining through.
I am happy to have finally read this and it is one of my favorites of the year.
Oh it was on your trim! You have done well with Trim this year, and will be a number picker!
Amy wrote: "Oh it was on your trim! You have done well with Trim this year, and will be a number picker!"I fell behind a bit once summer hit. I'm trying to catch back up, but I think that one will go to my did not finish pile Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, just wasn't my cup of tea.
Booknblues wrote: "Amy wrote: "Oh it was on your trim! You have done well with Trim this year, and will be a number picker!"I fell behind a bit once summer hit. I'm trying to catch back up, but I think that one wil..."
I'm still trying to finish Baba Yaga too and it was mine for April or something. I'm doing a little bit a night just to get it finished because I just haven't mastered the DNF and not feeling bad. Not my cup of tea either and not at all what I expected from what I knew of it from a childhood version.
Jen wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Amy wrote: "Oh it was on your trim! You have done well with Trim this year, and will be a number picker!"I fell behind a bit once summer hit. I'm trying to catch back up, but I..."
I've done DNF, with some books everybody loves. I always think, "I'll go back to them and read them latter."
Usually the reason that I go to DNF is "I just don't care what happens to these people and I'm through with them taking up my time."
@ Jen-make 2021 the year you master the DNF. I released my self from feeling about in 2019, and it changed my reading life! When I am 3-4 chapters in and it is getting painful to even pick up, I throw it back. Feels so good! LoL@BnB-your last statement says it all
Oh and Baba was one of the first I threw against wall ;)
December #10How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
4 stars
Any book fan can learn from professor Thomas C. Foster. He talks about how ideas found in many books are the same. For example, they often tell stories similar to those that Shakespeare told long ago. They have symbols, the weather has meaning and water is usually important. Readers should also pay attention to people's names; they could refer to past works. Foster gives examples and highlights other authors. He adds in personal humor and his enthusiasm of literature comes through. Although I was familiar with some of his points before, seeing them in this again will help me examine books more closely in the future.
I don't even remember if I've been posting here as I finish (since I think, early on, it was suggested we not post our reviews here), but I finally got to my November #17.Still have December #10 to read, but I do plan to get to it in the next week and a half!
Whoops - wrong thread
Finished #10 for December:An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew by Annejet van der Zijl - 3 stars - My Review
Finished my #10 for December: Lord of the Flies by William Golding 4 starsI've wanted to read this classic for a while. Unlike many, this wasn't part of any assigned reading in high school or college.
I think most people know the basic plot. A group of young boys are stranded on a Pacific island as part of an evacuation. The setting is an imaginary WW-III.
This is a very grim view of humanity and how quickly we revert to a savage state without civilization around us. A cautionary tale of the dangers of groupthink and mob mentality. In an ironic twist, the boys are stranded on an island due to war, and eventually come to fight viciously over power and who should be in control.
November #17Dancing in a Distant Place - Isla Dewar
3 stars
When Iris Chisholm's husband dies in a car accident she finds that his life the past 3 years have been a lie, losing his job and gambling their money and home away. She sells everything, leaves her home in Glasgow and takes a rural teaching job that provides a house. Needless to say her 2 teenage children are not thrilled and rebel in different ways. The town knows everything she and her kids do and gossip about things they see and often misinterpret it. I liked the tales with the children at the school, particularly Colin. I was often frustrated with Iris for being misled by the men she dates and not paying attention to what her own children are up to. I didn't like the intro chapter that was 30 years after the bulk of the story. Like reading the last chapter first, no suspense. So it was OK not great.
November #17Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue- 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Trim # 10 (December?)The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson - 4 stars
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is the perfect book when you are searching for something light and humorous to read after reading heavier fare. It is also one of those books which you have to be in the right frame of mind to read it.
This book, has sat on my shelf for sometime before I decided to pick it up and tackle it. I agree with Allan Karlsson, the 100-year-old man, that it is a wise thing to depart a nursing home in which a tyrant is the director. After his departure, Allan, makes his choices randomly in much the same way he has done all of his life. It is only fitting that if a man reaches the esteemed age of 100 that we should revisit his life, as we did in this novel.
Even though, I wasn't in quite the right mood for this book, I did enjoy it and feel confident in recommending it.
And I've finished my last one #10:Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty
Not really Christmas reading, but there it is! Was very interesting, anyway.
September - # 4
Women Of the Silk – Gail Tsukiyama – 3***
This work of historical fiction takes us to early 20th century China and the unique position of the women who worked in the silk factories in lieu of marriage. I loved the unexpected strength and determination of these young women as they made their own way in a culture that restricted opportunities for women. The independence they gained, though initially forced on them, became their most prized attribute.
My full review HERE
October - # 16
Friends Like Us – Lauren Fox – 3***
I really enjoyed this exploration of friendship and the choices one makes as one matures. I remember close friends I had in my twenties … I have witnessed (and been part of) break-ups that hurt so badly you wondered how you would ever survive. And I recognized how a best friend can say just the right thing to help you through what you believe to be the darkest moments. So, the relationships between these people and their emotions were completely relatable to me.
My full review HERE
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And that does it for me. I official completed ALL the call outs, plus another 5 books from my list of 24 leftover from 2019. Whew!
I finished my #10 The Reckoning by Sharon Kay Penman and a five star read. A wonderful trilogy about the Welsh Princes and the end of an independent Wales. I hope to visit Wales post Covid.......it's one of my bucket list countries. My ancestors came from Wales so I plan to visit it during the Fly the PBT Skies.I finished all twelve of my 2020 Unofficial Trim reads.
I'm blown away by how committed everybody was! Even with Poll Ballot, that folks finished out this unofficial challenge for themselves. I'm really pleased and proud at how well this past year went with unofficial trim - everybody really pulled it out, as well as enjoyed some great buddy reads together! Kudos to all of us who also did it on time and overboard! Here's to Trim 2021 and to 2021 in general. My sweet passionate intelligent dynamic book nerd friends. Who have the most heart of anyone I have the pleasure to know!
Congrats and cheers to all those who did such an amazing job this year with trim! 👏I hope to do better in 2021.
December #10Song of Susannah by Stephen King - 3 stars
The 6th in a 7 book epic series which I have been reading very slowly as in started in 1999 and more recently been reading at a pace of one book per year. I did not love the storyline of the chap in previous book and still didn't love it in this one. This installation was a bit different as the ka-tet is quickly broken into 3 groups- Roland and Eddie roll into Maine in 1977, Jake with the Pere in Oy follow Susannah into NYC in 1999 and Susannah and her many personalities and the chap encounter NYC in 1999 earlier. The characters just aren't the same when divided and large chunks of book would go by without a peep from one of the groups. The stories just seems so disparate and going off on somewhat too clever detours especially the whole meta story line of Stephen King. Mia and the chap honestly get more confusing the more that they explained and Detta is back with a vengeance. Jake and the Pere are all coincidences that seem to neatly tied. Roland and Eddie are off on a seemingly separate adventure and I'm not quite sure how they will join back to the real story and showdown in NYC. All that said, it was still a quick and enjoyable read. It may take another year before I get to the next and last book but I will be sad to end the journey.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Song of Susannah (other topics)The Reckoning (other topics)
Friends Like Us (other topics)
Women of the Silk (other topics)
Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Stephen King (other topics)Sharon Kay Penman (other topics)
Imbolo Mbue (other topics)
Isla Dewar (other topics)
Annejet van der Zijl (other topics)
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I think if people loved this option enough, we could talk with the mods about an ongoing version with a regular rotating 24 in perpetuity, or as long as there is interest. But my vote, and what I think makes sense is to finish the unofficial version of the official challenge first, and sticking with the last 12, before we return to 2022 and new models.
My other vote, if people agree, is that for these last 12, anyone who read all 12, first in each month, and then in their year, gets to outright pick the next number. So the fun part is that its member picked for having fulfilled the challenge, and the last remaining can be the randomizer. I figure I am January's number picker. But I have to finish my December book first. Which is next on my list, and qualifies for International - yay! Anyone have thoughts on this?