January 2020 Monthly Reading Discussion

[susan dwyer]

Newbie asking what is possibly a silly question...do audio books count? Is it cheating??? I’m reading Virgin River at the moment but also I’m listening to a book that could fit into one of the other categories no. 37, A book with 400/600 pages...The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen.

[ToboReads]

Emily wrote: "I realllllllly hated Less. It’s the lowest rated book of my year last year, and I only finished it because I needed it to meet my monthly goals. I just did not get the hype."

I think i'm gonna DNF it and not feel bad. I just got a bunch of holds in at the library at once, including a relatively short one that would still fall under the first week's category by chance, so I might just try knocking that one out and still not feeling like a failure :-)

I felt when I was reading Less as though I could feel the author trying to be clever as I read it, and I hate that. I don't begrudge others for liking or loving it (that's the beauty of books, to each their own) but it was cringeworthy to me.

[Steve]

susan dwyer wrote: "Newbie asking what is possibly a silly question...do audio books count? Is it cheating??? I’m reading Virgin River at the moment but also I’m listening to a book that could fit into one of the othe..."

Definitely not cheating! Most of my reads audiobooks because of my long commute. It's totally up to you if you want to restrict yourself, though.

[Jillian]

susan dwyer wrote: "Newbie asking what is possibly a silly question...do audio books count? Is it cheating??? I’m reading Virgin River at the moment but also I’m listening to a book that could fit into one of the othe..."

I think we have a few members who do the whole challenge with audio books. I do a mixture of audio, ebook and hard/paperback books. This group is very relaxed with what counts, all types of books count and all formats count.

[Jillian]

I have finished my first two tasks and a side read. I'm now on to my next two prompts reading Treachery's Tools by L.E. Modesitt Jr. and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

I several years ago I listened to the first 3 books in the Outlander series since I bought them when audible had them on sale. I think, I'm the only person who does not like Davina Porter as a narrator so I just found the books so so. But I also lucked out was able to buy 7 books in the series for $1.99 total (I think amazon messed up on the sale) so I'm now trying them again. So far, I'm enjoying the first book.

Tomorrow, I have to go back to work so I know my reading will slow down but I've enjoyed getting a good start on reading this year.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Jillian wrote: "I have finished my first two tasks and a side read. I'm now on to my next two prompts reading Treachery's Tools by L.E. Modesitt Jr. and Outlander by [..."

I'll be interested in hearing what you think of Outlander. I'm always impressed with people who take on huge books. I read it a few years ago and while I enjoyed it, I just haven't mustered the motivation to read more of the series.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I just finished Britt-Marie Was Here. I started right before New Years so it doesn't really fit into my plan of reading in month order.

It does fit perfectly for week 16, a book set in a rural or sparsely populated area. So I'm checking that one off a bit early.

Now I'm on to Recursion for either week 1 or 2. I figure I'll see what else I end up reading during the month and apply it accordingly.

[Chelsey]

Laura wrote: "I just finished Britt-Marie Was Here. I started right before New Years so it doesn't really fit into my plan of reading in month order.

It does fit perfectly for week 16, a book se..."

How is recursion so far? I really want to get to it soon but I promised myself I would clear out some of my owned books first

[Sophie]

Britt-Marie Was Here and Recursion are books I definitely want to read this year, I'm awaiting your thoughts! 😉

I just pulled "A book related to the arts" from my jar, and I'm loving the fact that I haven't chosen any option beforehand, that way I have a mini-scavenger hunt every time I need to find a new book!

[Alexx]

Alicia wrote: "Alexx wrote: "I've also started reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I've joined a subreddit called A Year Of War And Peace, and the idea is that you read a chapter a day, starting January 1st, an..."

You can find it here! In case that doesn't work, the subreddit is called r/ayearofwarandpeace

[Ellie]

I just finished Crooked Kingdom for week one and thinking about The Places I've Cried in Public for single syllable author. I'm back at work tomorrow so I also need to pick out a new audiobook.

[Jillian]

Laura wrote: "I just finished Britt-Marie Was Here. I started right before New Years so it doesn't really fit into my plan of reading in month order.

It does fit perfectly for week 16, a book se..."

I really enjoyed Britt-Marie Was Here. I really need to read more of Fredrik Backman's books.

On Outlander, I have been putting off reading the series for a while since it feels daunting to me too and I like long books. I have made it a goal to focus on series books this year and not worry if I complete the challenge in a year. I also, think that when I am reading a long book that I'm reading 3 books and that helps.

[Elena]

Jillian wrote: "Elena wrote: "Jillian wrote: "My first books of the year that will count for ATY are, 1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y-

I'm not so far as City of Dragons yet, but..."

I'm a book closer, it's week 2 now so I've started Full Dark, No Stars for an author with a single-syllable last name, hooray for Stephen King. But I know Golden Fool is going to take me six to eight days to read--all Hobb novels do even though I consider myself a fast reader!--so I might start it early just to make sure I get it done. Also because I'm excited for it.

[Karissa]

Happy new reading year all! I think this will be a good reading year for me as both of my first audiobook and physical book reads got 5 stars from me (Spinning Silver and All This Could Be Yours). My plan for ATY in 2020 is to read the prompts by month, but I'll go in order as long as books are available from Libby (I'm doing an all audiobook ATY). In addition to the 5 ATY books I'll read this month, I also want to be a completionist for the Tournament of Books. I had already read 6 of the 18 shortlisted books last year, and I calculated that if I read 60 pages of a TOB book each day, I'll have them all done by March 1st. I probably won't have time for any side reads beyond that, but my hold for Verity just came in from the library so I'll try to squeeze that in.

My planned ATY for January prompts are:

1- No A T or Y Spinning Silver
2- Author last name one syllable The Paragon Hotel
3- Prompted from 2019 read Foundation and Empire
4- Place or time I wouldn't want to live Moon of the Crusted Snow
5- First in a series Sleeping Giants (as long as it comes off hold in time)

[Ellie]

Karissa, I hope you get Sleeping Giants in time, I loved that series, but be prepared to want to read the rest. It helps that they are pretty quick reads.

[Sophie]

Karissa, I’m so glad you loved Spinning Silver as much as I did! Uprooted set the bar really high, but the author definitely managed to write right up to that standard.

I totally agree with Ellie, you need to find a way to listen to the rest of the Sleeping Giants series this year, it’s fantastic and really cliffhanger-y! Plus the format of interviews, articles, news reports, etc. has to be amazing on audio.

[Ashley]

I read The War of the Worlds for week 20. This was the 20th on the my TBR list starting with the end of the alphabet. I though that the book was okay, but it was a little slow at times. It was descriptive of the aliens and followed the main character through his experience, but it didn't seem like a lot happened throughout the book. He was not involved in fighting, just trying to travel.

[Karissa]

Well you guys have gotten me really excited to read Sleeping Giants! I just checked the hold on Libby and it says ~2 weeks so chances look good that I'll get it before the end of the month.

[Laurel]

I am getting off to a good start this year! I managed to fill all out all but two of the prompts just with titles from my TBR list (350+ titles) & I've read the first three books.

1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
- Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly by Margot Lee Shatterly Completed 1/4/2020
This was on my TBR list for 3 years before I finally read it. Excellent - I like books about unexpected women, like the Black Computers of NACA/NASA covered here.

2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable
- The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms Completed 1/5/2020
This one was a Christmas gift. A librarian leaves her 2 children with her ex-husband for a summer in New York. Okay, but not great.

3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019
Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis Completed 1/6/2020
I did a lot of reading last year about the removal of Native Americans from the Willamette Valley onto reservations. This children's/YA book was written by an Umpqua woman and was inspired by her own life when the Umpqua tribe was terminated (lost their status as a tribe) and her family was relocated to Los Angeles. Ms McManis died before it could be finished, and the explanation after the book of how it was finished by another indigenous woman was fascinating.

4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live
Murder by Misrule by Anna Castle
5. The first book in a series that you have not started
A Magical Inheritance by Krista D. Ball

[[deleted user]]

Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while my guard was down and I'm pretty sure I blacked out until after they ran my library card and hi-jacked my mini-van. They're now giving me smug looks as they sit on top of my ever growing pile, sigh.....

Ahhh, I now have 13 books on hand, and I may have possibly just put holds on 4 more books today......

And this is why I'm not allowed to actually buy books LOL :p

eta: here's the culprits, picked them 'blindly' based on cover art/jacket blurb-

Night Shift
Pile of Bones
The Word Is Murder (this one really intrigues me!)
Arabella of Mars
Reticence (so this is the newest in a series I started a while back but have no memory of, so 3 of the holds I placed today are for the other books in the series lol)

[Claire]

Sarah wrote: "Claire wrote: "Holy MOLY, 8?!? I hate it when all my hold come through at once and then you have to figure out which is the shortest and try again ha!"

I've really been letting myself go crazy wit..."

And I get stressed when I have... 6 or so in my queue.... I can't imagine more than that!

Alas, I have been actually finishing books so far! I finished Girls of Storm and Shadow and Ink, Iron, and Glass. I am about halfway through The Girl He Used to Know, which I am really enjoying! I am listening to the audiobook.

[Errlee]

Happy New Year (a week late). I liked reading in order last year so I am going to do that again this year - although I usually do it month by month so I have a bit of flexibility with library holds. I do Popsugar in random order, which lets me slot things in that I find I want to read as the year goes on but if I left both of the bigger challenges random, I think my mind would explode with trying to decide which prompt to do - a little structure helps reign in the chaos! I do like the idea of putting numbers in a jar too so maybe next year.

I'm about halfway through Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline for prompt #1 and quite liking it. I read The Marrow Thieves awhile back for Canada Reads and found it so-so but good enough to make me want to try another of hers, and this one is better- her writing has gotten better I find, and also it's an adult book versus a YA and I think I don't love YA.

I'm also reading There There for my IRL book club - and it was my choice so the negative reviews I just saw on this thread are making me nervous! I am only a few chapters in and liking it so far - but have not got to the chapter where someone poops himself so maybe it will go downhill from where I am right now :) Guess time will tell - I do know some people who loved it though - I'm hoping I didn't force my book club to read something that isn't very good.

I think I am going with The Gone Dead by by Chanelle Benz for the 2nd prompt of a one syllable name - it was a NYT Notable book and my hold just came in (I might also have been at the library today and come home with 7 new books on top of the 5 I picked up this weekend, eek).

And then I am having trouble deciding on what to read for the next prompts for the month - so many choices. And I am really struggling with what new series to start - I used to read a lot of series but now I find I don't - too many standalone books to get through!

[Sabrina]

I finished two books this week! My first was a marvel comic called Daredevil: Yellow which was.... not a great start to the new year at 2 stars. Then I reread The Great Gatsby (and watched the movie!) which was really good and gave 4 stars.

I'm also in the middle of listening to Pretty Girls which I'm absolutely loving. I listened to probably like 6 hours of it yesterday while cleaning (at 1.75 speed but still). Absolutely un-put-downable

[[deleted user]]

Claire wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Claire wrote: "Holy MOLY, 8?!? I hate it when all my hold come through at once and then you have to figure out which is the shortest and try again ha!"

I've really been letting mysel..."

I LOVE steampunk and just added Ink, Iron, and Glass to my TBR list, did you like it?

[Bec]

I'm trying something different this year - which may mean I don't finish the challenge. But I've found in previous years there have been books I want to read that I just haven't got to as they don't fit into the challenge - so they get bumped for challenge books. This year I want to read the books I've been meaning for ages - and try and slot them into the challenge if possible.
My first problem is a series I've been meaning to read for ages is 5 books long - ranging in page length from 500-900 pages per book! Now I've managed to slot every single book into the challenge - but at that length it's really going to slow me down.
And I want to finish the Tawny Man trilogy (I've read book 1) and books 2 and 3 are about 800-900 pages each too!

But so far I've read
The Time Traveler's Boyfriend - just a cute easy to read book. This one wasn't necessarily one I was desperate to read but was quick and easy so I did it in a day and then Special Deceptions - book 5 in the series. I'm now onto Special Conceptions and then will follow up with Special Invitation. This series I started years ago and forgot how much I enjoyed it! I've managed to fit them all into the challenge too...

[susan dwyer]

Finished first book Virgin River...enjoyed it but was a little soppy and can't wait to get my teeth into something with a little more grit.

[Kelly]

ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while my guard was do..."

I really enjoyed The Word Is Murder - good mystery but the uniqueness comes from the author inserting himself into the story. I hope you like it! And lol on your library story...sounds familiar.

[Tracy]

ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while my guard was down..."

HAHAHAHA!!!! Same here! I decided to leave my hidey-hole yesterday and go to the library. I was attacked by books with shiny covers. I left with 5 of them. Two of those are 14 day holds. I managed to escape without checking out the other 4 that were begging to come home with me ( Also 14 day holds- but 2 were graphic novels and I almost went back for them) .

When I got I got in my car, I still had an hour to kill, so I went uptown to our second library ( we have 2 here ) and took out 3 more books with shiny new covers, leaving behind the copy of Poet X that REALLLLLY wanted me to read it.

True Story.

So... I now have 8 books sitting here to be read for various challenges. I did this under the delusion that I can finish them all by the due date of January 28th because even though I read NOTHING last year and didnt finish a single challenge, I have read 3 books already this week and so I am convinced I can finish 4 challenges (156 planned books ) this year. That's 13 books a month. I make myself laugh.

I should also note while it sounds promising that I have already read 3 books, one was a graphic novel, one a novella, and the other I had to read under extreme pressure before Libby stole it back from me. Also, it was a an incredibly easy read.

And did I mention that I'm also reading Game of Thrones, which is 800+ pages, because there's that issue.

Heres what I came home with because we all love to look at shiny book covers. Feast your eyes......

[Sarah]

Tracy wrote: "ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while..."

Ooo I LOVED The Binding, it was one of my favorite reads last year!

And who among us can say we haven't been pulled in by the lure of shiny book covers? Those things are powerful, haha!

[Milena]

Tracy wrote: "ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while..."

Tracy wrote: "ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while..."

I didn't care for The Things She's Seen. Maybe that will help you narrow it down.

[Steve]

ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed me though while my guard was do..."

I have to go to the library next week to return a book that can't be renewed, and I'm already planning what I want to pick out while I'm there. Even though I have five books already checked out!

[Johanne]

You all will understand my real and daily struggle against the temptation of shiny, interesting books that want me to take them home from my work at a large library...

[[deleted user]]

Sarah wrote: "Tracy wrote: "ZeeJane wrote: "Sooo I may need intervention, just got back from the library and somehow came home with 7 more books, eek! Two were holds so I can justify them, the other 5 ambushed m..."

Just added The Binding to my TBR list, sounds like a really interesting premise!

[[deleted user]]

Johanne wrote: "You all will understand my real and daily struggle against the temptation of shiny, interesting books that want me to take them home from my work at a large library..."

You're living my dream lol :) I actually had applied for a Master program in library science back in my college days, but then my husband proposed and I got sidetracked, lol. We've been married 17 years/3 kiddos, so it was worth the trade off, but I still would love to work at a library someday. Maybe as a volunteer when my kids are older and out of the house.

[Tracy]

Johanne wrote: "You all will understand my real and daily struggle against the temptation of shiny, interesting books that want me to take them home from my work at a large library..."

So envious of your job Johanne.

[Lisa]

Hello- So, last year was my first year doing this challenge and I read it in order. I did 2 other challenges also and read them in any order I wanted so it allowed me some freedom despite reading these in order. I am going to try the same thing this year. One additional challenge to making that work is that I am trying to read as many books as possible through the library- mostly because I read enough it gets really expensive to buy them! Where that becomes a challenge in reading in order is that things aren't necessarily ready when I get to them. I'll have to see how that works.

So far I've only read one book for ATY. I read Kindred for a book without A,T or Y in the title. My second book will be The Line Between by Tosca Lee for prompt number 2- an author whose last name is one syllable. But it is on hold at the library and wont be available for 2 weeks. Hopefully it will get returned early.

In the meantime I've completed:

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion
And Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

[Alicia]

What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads.

Do you mark it as read and give it a rating? Or just delete from all the shelves? Some other method? I wish Goodreads had a DNF option.

[Lisa]

Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads.

Do you mark..."

I’ve created a DNF shelf and made it an exclusive shelf. That way when I move a book onto it it is not showing up as read. You can only create an exclusive shelf through the website though- not the app.

There are some books I don’t finish and I think it may be the mood I’m in. Those I just move back to “want to read”.

[Alicia]

Lisa wrote: "Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads..."

Good idea! This is the second time I'm tried to start Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it's just not going to be for me. Ever.

[Bana AZ]

Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads.

Do you mark..."

I have a "Partially Read" exclusive shelf instead of "DNF" because there are some books there that I might return to after a while, and I have a subshelf called "Waste of Time" for those I have no plans of finishing.

[ToboReads]

Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads.

Do you mark..."

I also have a DNF shelf but I mark them as "read" because to me, they're complete. Some people would consider this dishonest probably, but really, Goodreads tracking is most important for me to track what i've personally read, and to me, I've finished reading that book. I don't DNF that much and don't brag about pages read, so if that artificially inflates my books read/pages read this year a bit, I don't really care.

If I haven't finished it but might go back to it and it's just been too long since last reading it to pick up where I was, I just move it back to "Want to Read" status like others have said.

[ToboReads]

I just created my own library hold disaster. When Obama released his top books of 2019, I put a bunch of them on hold at my local library, assuming they'd trickle in considering I live in both a pretty urban and liberal (Obama-supporting) area. Unfortunately, by the time I got back from the holidays, 6 were on the hold shelf waiting for me! Gonna get a real head start on my 2020 reading goals very quickly.

[Alicia]

Michelle wrote: "Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads..."

I'm the same. I don't so much care about my numbers on Goodreads, but this is my first year doing a reading challenge and I want to be honest to the challenge. Plus I know I can pick up another "classic I've meant to read" from something else.

I really try to get through a whole book and not judge it from the beginning. I think this is only my 3rd DNF (the 2nd I threw across a room because I was so annoyed -- no books were permanently harmed in that scenario).

That said, I do think it would be nice to see when other people have DNF'd a book. If the Goodreads overlords are reading... hint hint.

[Jillian]

I personally don’t count books I DNF for challenges. I can only think of one book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, that was so awful that I DNF after reading around half of the book but still marked it as read and rated it 1 star. Normally, I just move books back to want to read and consider maybe it is not the right time to read that particular book or remove it from my shelf. I do have an exclusive shelf for DNF but rarely ever DNF a book so I don’t really use that shelf.

[ToboReads]

Alicia wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you trac..."

I certainly agree - when I DNF I try and give it at least 100 pages.

[[deleted user]]

Lisa wrote: "Alicia wrote: "What does everyone do with books that they do not finish? I'm not going to count it towards my challenge, but just interested in getting perspectives on how you track it in Goodreads..."

Great idea, going to set this up!

[Sherri]

I finished Girl,Woman,Other by Bernardine Evaristo last night. I gave it 4 stars. I used it for the prompt a book set in a global city,London. It will fit a lot of other prompts too. A book featuring an LGBTQIA + character. A book from the Goodreads 2019 Choice Awards. A book nominated for one of the 10 most coveted literary prizes in the world. Co winner of the Booker Prize 2019.

[Sabrina]

I just finished Pretty Girls last night and WOW!! First 5 star of the year (well 4.5 but I'm rounding up for GR). I've only read 3 or so thrillers including this one but this really makes me want to explore more from the genre.

[Claire]

ZeeJane wrote: "Claire wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Claire wrote: "Holy MOLY, 8?!? I hate it when all my hold come through at once and then you have to figure out which is the shortest and try again ha!"

I've really bee..."

I did! It was definitely not what I normally read, so I can't say that I am an expert. I also wouldn't say it is a "drop everything and read book," at least for me, but it is definitely good! It is pretty nonstop, there aren't too many places where the plot doesn't advance. Definitely glad I can read the second right away!

[Chelsey]

I cleared up my reading currently and only doing one book and one audiobook at the moment. I'm about 25 percent through Children of Virtue and Vengeance and I love it as much as I did the first but (view spoiler)[ why do YA authors think females need a romance at all times, why can't they just be awesome with no man. (hide spoiler)] I also started The Miniaturist on audio. I'm not very far into it but it's been on my TBR for way to long so I'm excited!