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Trim 2021 – The Official Unofficial Challenge Thread
Booknblues wrote: "My #9 is A Tale for the Time Being and it fits the Made me cry tag with 17 people."Me too! May need to do later in the month though. I still catching up on July and August books...
Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #9 is A Tale for the Time Being and it fits the Made me cry tag with 17 people."Me too! May need to do later in the month though. I still catching up on July..."
I'm good with waiting on that. Let me know.
Definitely doing my #9 - Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd! I'm really excited about this one, and have both a physical copy and audiobook version. I THINK I'm going with audio, as it's narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi!
My #9 is The Ballad of Black Tom and it is short one, so I might be able to fit it in. I am not confident though.
Joy D wrote: "My #9 is: Lanny by Max Porter"I'll be interested to see your reaction to this. I loved it.
My number 9 is Still Life with Woodpecker and I love Tom Robbins, but not sure if I'm in the mood for this particular title this month. We shall see how it all comes together.
Sue - I loved Three Daughters of Eve! It was a favorite. Not everyone agreed with me. Some did. I will be curious to see what you think.
Sue wrote: "My #9 is Three Daughters of Eve"Sue, I own a copy of this and will see if I can get to it in Sept. I really enjoy Shafak's writing style.
Amy - Glad to hear you liked Three Daughters of Eve.And Joy - can't wait to discuss this one with you if you get to it in September. This will be my first book by this author, so I'm looking forward to it.
Sue wrote: "Amy - Glad to hear you liked Three Daughters of Eve.And Joy - can't wait to discuss this one with you if you get to it in September. This will be my first book by this author, so I'm looking forw..."
I will plan on it, Sue, since Lanny is short. Amy and I often have similar tastes, so I have high hopes.
OMG- my # 9 is not on my TBR shelf, and when I do a search for it, I find nothing-made a typo somewhere, now to figure it out!
Joanne wrote: "OMG- my # 9 is not on my TBR shelf, and when I do a search for it, I find nothing-made a typo somewhere, now to figure it out!"Oh no! First no vacay books that meet the tag now this!? :(
I finished my August book: Animal's People by Indra Sinha.Really good, but such a difficult subject. This story is going to stay with me for a long time!
Review:
Absolutely amazing!
The Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal India in 1984 is one of the worst industrial accidents in history. Over 16,000 people killed over night when poison is released from the insecticide plant, over 40,000 permanently disabled or maimed, and over 1/2 a million people exposed to toxic chemicals. The company denied responsibility for a long time, never cleaned up the site or paid anything close to full reparations. Just a casual Wikipedia search of Union Carbide shows a pattern of industrial accidents for which they've taken little responsibility.
This story opens 20 years later. The main character - Animal - was an infant on the night of the chemical leak. Both his parents perished, and he was left horrible maimed. The story is told as a verbal history to be given to a Western journalist.
Animal is on the periphery of a group of activists working to hold the company responsible as they win a temporary and ephemeral victory in court. The action takes place over the course of a few months, with lots of flashbacks to the history of Animal and the people in his life.
Really well written and hard to put down, but also pretty shocking.
I finished my August #11 Trim book, A Closed and Common Orbit - Becky Chambers and gave it three stars. It was okay but not nearly as good as The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.
Just managed to finish my July Trim book, The Stationery Shop.https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
My August book is waiting for me on my nightstand. I hope to catch up in September.
I've finished my #9 - The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay: An American Family in Iran. It was interesting in spots, but didn't blow me away. I gave it 3 stars. At least it's off my TBR!Review is here.
Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #9 is A Tale for the Time Being and it fits the Made me cry tag with 17 people."Me too! May need to do later in the month though. I still catch..."
@Booknblues, I realized that I had access to an audio version of A Tale for the Time Being so I am starting it now rather than wait for a chance to read a hard copy. Interesting start so far!
Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #9 is A Tale for the Time Being and it fits the Made me cry tag with 17 people."Me too! May need to do later in the month th..."
I have one book to finish and I can start this.
Well I still cannot find any book that fits the title of # 9 on my list! I decided that if I read a book this month that has been on my TBR for more than 2 years I will use that.
Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #9 is A Tale for the Time Being and it fits the Made me cry tag with 17 people."Me too! May need to do later i..."
Great! I got a few hours in today. Will be interesting to discuss!
Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "My #9 is A Tale for the Time Being and it fits the Made me cry tag with 17 people."Me too! May..."
Good! glad to hear that.
Joanne wrote: "Well I still cannot find any book that fits the title of # 9 on my list! I decided that if I read a book this month that has been on my TBR for more than 2 years I will use that."You'll probably stumble across it next month! ;-)
Joanne wrote: "Well I still cannot find any book that fits the title of # 9 on my list! I decided that if I read a book this month that has been on my TBR for more than 2 years I will use that."Surely there is a book on the blanket chest just screaming to be read instead...
Theresa wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Well I still cannot find any book that fits the title of # 9 on my list! I decided that if I read a book this month that has been on my TBR for more than 2 years I will use that."S..."
I have really made a hole in that pile Theresa...need to move books that are under the bed onto it...LOL. I was able to crack it open this summer and get a peak, hoping to find books. Instead I found photo albums!
My #9: The Memory CollectorsFortune's Daughter
Joanne wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Well I still cannot find any book that fits the title of # 9 on my list! I decided that if I read a book this month that has been on my TBR for more than 2 years I wi..."🤓
Such a Pretty Face / Cathy Lamb4 stars
Stevie’s mother was mentally ill and did a bad thing when Stevie was still a child (that I don’t want to give away in my review, even though we found out at the beginning what happened there). Stevie’s grandparents had done their best to take care of Helen (their daughter; Stevie’s mother) and protect her, while also taking care of Stevie and her sister, Sunshine. As an adult, the events of the book take place some months after Stevie had bariatric surgery; she has since lost 170 lbs.
She is trying to figure out who the new skinnier Stevie is, as she tries to deal with the lawyers where she works and the case she hates helping defend; her best friend who is still very overweight seems to have changed toward Stevie; the neighbour down the street, Jake (who only moved in just after Stevie’s surgery), is just way too good-looking and Stevie is completely tongue-tied around him, so she tries to avoid him altogether; and Stevie is trying to help her cousins plan her horrible uncle’s 40th wedding anniversary…
There is a lot going on in this book, and a lot of characters, but I really liked it. There is also a huge mix of very “weighty” (pun not intended initially, but when I realized it was punny, I decided to leave it!) issues in book: mental illness, obesity, abuse, and so much more, but mixed in with the occasional bit of humour. I found myself being horrified by Helen, Stevie’s uncle, her “friend”, and the lawyer defending that case, but then the author would turn around and put Stevie in some ridiculous situation (usually trying to avoid Jake!), and I’d be laughing. I thought she did that very well. II think a bunch of very quirky characters made it “easy” to throw in the humour. At the same time, the author did a good job of showing the struggle that Helen went through with her schizophrenia.
I was surprised at the lower ratings, but on reading the reviews, I can see why they rated it what they did, but it wasn’t enough to bring my rating or enjoyment of the book down (although some of the quirky characters were a bit too quirky for me!). I think all the emotions were in this book (there was also a lot of love).
Finished my #9 for September:Lanny by Max Porter - 4 stars - My Review
Link to the PBT Thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Not sure the status of buddy reading Three Daughters of Eve, but I will plan to start it soon.
Had to bail on both physical and audio for Hawksmoor, which is a shame as I was looking forward to it. I just couldn't get on with the jumps in time shift and the 17th century language.
Finished my #8 for FebruaryThe Obsession– Nora Roberts (4 stars) 9/14/21
Review: Naomi, 12, sees her father leave the house during a thunder storm and decides to follow him. When she discovers where he goes and what he does, she is horrified and takes action to rescue his victim. So changes her whole life and that of her brother and mother. After a couple years with her uncle and a name change they are outed and end up moving from the media. Then at 16, it happens again and Naomi decides to tell her story to satisfy the curious and stop the media pressure. The story skips 14 years, Naomi is a photographer and buys a huge run-down house in Washington State determined to fix it up and settle down from her traveling life. But someone is determined to bring out her past again and the stalking begins. This was another well told thriller from Roberts. Some great side characters. I particularly liked the way Naomi acquires her dog.
Finished my September pick A Tale for the Time Being and should be finishing my August book this week which will catch me up.
Finally finished my September book Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak. A 5 star read for me, but it's taken me all month so far to get through it. It's not all that long, but the concepts in the book are a little heavy, so I found I couldn't read too much at once.Here's my review:
Very slow burning, character driven story line.
The main character is Peri who always finds herself "in between". She's from Istanbul Turkey, a city that sits partly in Europe, partly in Asia - and a country that sits uncomfortably between secularism and religion.
Her family mirrors this split - one very religious parent, the other more secular and ambivalent. Same split with her two brothers, and finally two best friends when she reaches Oxford University.
Lots of internal dialogue and philosophical discussions about the nature of God. I loved this aspect along with the characters themselves.
The only thing that felt a little off by the end was that each character ended up being almost one-dimensional, based on a single attribute: the religious one, the feminist, the bitter ex-student, the corrupt businessman, and so on. Very little nuance allowed per character, and not until the very end do we see some growth for Peri and her former professor.
Would like to share with everyone that Heather (reads books) I’d going to be our October Trim Selector. I feel a little regret that the last two pickers have so few to choose from, even by random. But I guess I just wanted to say how impressed I am that everyone has been able to keep up this challenge, and keep it going these three years. We’ve had a groundswell of participation, and I’m really pleased that people have enjoyed the buddy reads, and clearing off their TBR’s in this way. I think our moderators really come up with some fabulous challenges, and we have been able to make some really wonderful friendship connections, as well as build community and read some great books. Plus it’s been great fun. So I guess I just wanted to give a shout out to you guys and to all of us.I’m hoping, as long as she says yes, that our final trim picker will be Linda C. As her pic for November dictates December as well. I don’t know if I’m able to message her, but if you are reading this Linda, I am inviting you to be our November and December trim picker. I will figure that out closer to, but just wanted to give her and everyone a heads up. Love to all,
Amy
Amy, thanks to you and the other members for all you've done to organize this challenge for the last two years I've been a part of it. I'm also delighted at how far we've come!I know we discussed this briefly awhile ago, but are there any plans to do another challenge like this for next year? I was thinking if there's no official one, I might just do another list of 12 in my individual tracking thread for 2022. I like how doing this has forced accountability for me with books I've otherwise let sit for several years(!) without ever getting to.
Heather Reads Books wrote: "Amy, thanks to you and the other members for all you've done to organize this challenge for the last two years I've been a part of it. I'm also delighted at how far we've come!I know we discussed..."
I'm in for another list of 12 or 24 for next year. It is a good way to clear out some, which I haven't managed to get to.
Heather Reads Books wrote: "I was thinking if there's no official one, I might just do another list of 12 in my individual tracking thread for 2022. ..."I've had (in addition to this one) my own personal one going for a long time. I've never randomly chosen a number (but I might going forward), I just kept a list of 15 of some of my longest on the tbr. Just so it's a reminder of them, and it does help some. I usually have about 5-7 I carry over to the next year, but maybe next year I will just start randomly choosing one number/month on my own
I did bring it up to Nicole that there was some talk about it, extending the challenge beyond what would have completed the initial 36. As always, if folks were interested in something like this we would have to figure out how the moderators felt about it. They work so incredibly hard to come up with good challenges and community building things for us. It’s been important to me to make sure that something like this wouldn’t get in the way. Nor take away from the 2022 challenges. So I think it’s great to open up a discussion about whether or not that’s something people really want and how hard they want to fight for it. But ultimately I think we have to be deeply respectful of the vision of the moderators. That said, if it is something that does move forward I am happy to help us keep it going. I just don’t want to set expectations that are moderators feel like they can no longer control. You guys get me right?
I am in for another 24/36-@Amy, I don't think this has imposed on the Mods or the group as a whole at all. I agree Mods should be consulted, but I doubt they would have a problem with it. I could be wrong...
Agree that moderators should be consulted.I don't think this got in the way of challenges, if anything I was delighted if my choice here worked in with our annual challenges or monthly tag as it did in several cases.
What this challenge does is give us impetus to read from our tbr and also have some enjoyable group reads.
Like several others< I will do it on my own, if necessary but it is just more fun in a group and I am less likely to pass it by .
Amy wrote: "I just don’t want to set expectations that are moderators feel like they can no longer control. You guys get me right?"Oh, I absolutely understand and respect that. I love the official challenges too and wouldn't want to try to supersede them in any way. I like Cin's system too, and that's pretty much the spirit of what I'm thinking of going forward – it's just nice to keep a list in mind yearly to make an effort to get to. It definitely has helped me defeat procrastination, especially in regard to books I know I want to read but are types I don't gravitate to naturally.
I started a Trim 2022 shelf several months ago, deciding I would continue it on my own, even to using a random number generator to set the order. I would totalky be up for it again. I am 4 behind right now but only because I was double reading some months due to Proust derailing me for several months last year. My Trim 2022 shelf has 14 books on it so far. Plan is to be at 24 at least to start next year, more likely 36.
@Amy - definitely run by the mods, but I think as long as it isn't just like a challenge being offered officially for points, it is like my Christmas in July or the Read the Edgars BnB set up this year and we all want to do againg next year.
I personally enjoy watching and participating in these unofficial challenges. I love that they further diversify my reading and push me to read books that have been hanging around for a long time.
I think I left it with Nicole at the beginning of the year or the end of last, that we would sort of see where we were at by the end of this one. So now is a pretty good time to have us be talking about it. I guess I do feel like Different from the feds of things come up that for a year long challenge like this, that we do need to get their permission. That it isn’t just a given. I know everyone else also appreciates what they do for us, I’m just so careful about the fact that they work really hard to create a community that has a certain vision. And I just want to make sure that if there’s a huge demand for this, that is still fits within their vision.
For years I've put together a list of 100 books from the TBR that I'd like to prioritize for the coming year. This specific challenge has helped me clear that list more than some other challenges. So, it probably comes as no surprise that I'd be happy to participate again. I like the idea of a list of MORE than 12 ... whether it be 15 or 24 or 50. Then even the last person picking a number in December would have a more random choice.
Of course, Amy, you are right to consider the moderators of the group. But, like Joanne, I don't think this little side challenge has interfered with the main group's focus or challenges, so I doubt the moderators would object. As long as it doesn't require any more work for them - which it shouldn't.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Creation of Eve (other topics)Let the Great World Spin (other topics)
Last Night in Nuuk (other topics)
Last Night in Nuuk (other topics)
Last Night in Nuuk (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Colum McCann (other topics)Fiona Davis (other topics)
Sharon Kay Penman (other topics)
Ann Rule (other topics)
Diane Chamberlain (other topics)
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Becoming George Sand
The Magic Circle by Katherine Neville which is a nice fat suspense thriller
I still have one each to read from my July and August double headers, but will get to them before year end, especially as in October, my Feminerdy Book Club is reading a book I already read in a buddy read.