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Trim Challenge 2022 – Community and Announcement Thread
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Hannah
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Jan 24, 2022 01:54PM
My #18 is Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America, which will definitely fit the tag for February.
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punxsygal wrote: "January #10My read was The Circle by Dave Eggers. Speculative fiction about a big tech company taking over every aspect of our lives. Made me uncomfortable."
you know I did not like that book - thought it pretty weak in so many ways. But it also left me very uncomfortable.
Finally found time to post my review of my #10 - Anxious People. I really LOVED it and enjoyed reading it along with other people very much.
Finish a second from my number 10 options Extreme South Which I really enjoyed. The one I thought I'd pick of the 3 is the one I haven't finished as I just can't get into the story past the writing and keep falling asleep The Last Ship. It is my favourite genre for down time but the writing is just so heavy going, perhaps the TV series in this case will turn out to be better? Very Rare.
My #18 might fit the prompt! I'll have to check it out. I'm Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagán
I did finish my #10, Anxious People, Yay!!! I'm 1/1 this year on Trim :)
Diana H. wrote: "Finally found time to post my review of my #10 - Anxious People. I really LOVED it and enjoyed reading it along with other people very much."I also had a fun time reading along with everyone.
Also, Diana, I wanted to ask if you and your family are safe with what's between Russia and Ukraine?
Jenni Elyse wrote: "Diana H. wrote: "Finally found time to post my review of my #10 - Anxious People. I really LOVED it and enjoyed reading it along with other people very much."I also had a fun time..."
Yes, we are quite safe. Thank you for your concern. We live in the west of Ukraine so it didn't get to us. But there are a lot of people here who had to run away from the East to save at least their lives.
@ Amy and Hayjay- I am probably getting my copy of The Lost Jewels today or tomorrow-any idea when you plan to start?
I have it in my house. Because of the snowstorm, I’m hoping to make a really great headway on the book I’m reading now the Unseen World. Lost Jewels is next. I want to say five days? Maybe Tuesday I will start it?
Ok, I may start a bit before that, if I do I will set up the thread-If you get to it first, then you go with the thread-looking forward-to it. Stay warm and safe!
Snow is most beautiful before it becomes undisturbed. When no one is up and the dog is holding it in!
Amy wrote: "Snow is most beautiful before it becomes undisturbed. When no one is up and the dog is holding it in!"LoL my pooch is winter dog and is out there right now rolling around in it, so it is very disturbed. Hysterical though, as she has that nasty "cone of shame" on, and looks ridiculous.
Rosie is back in the house looking longingly at the outside.
Joanne wrote: "@ Amy and Hayjay- I am probably getting my copy of The Lost Jewels today or tomorrow-any idea when you plan to start?"I'm making a library trip on Monday so will start it either that day or Tuesday.
Love that we are going to enjoy this one together. HayJay, we should chat about the Maid! Wasn't it awesome? I had the best time reading that, I couldn't put it down. I'd love to non-spoiler chat it out with you. It was clever and entertaining, but also really interesting!
My #18 is Three Daughters of Eve . I am currently reading Project Hail Mary which I am enjoying and hope to finish this weekend. Next is Gellhorn which I am reading for the Walk History Lane Challenge.
I’m glad you and your family are safe, Diana!
Sally, I LOVED the Three Daughters of Eve!
@Sally and Amy - I loved Three Daughters of Eve too. It was on my Trim list last year.
FINISHED - January # 10 - ✔ 29Jan22
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba – 4****
Subtitle: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. This is the memoir of an extraordinary young man, the son of a Malawian farmer, struggling in poverty and through famine and drought, but following the spark of inspiration, his own thirst for knowledge, and a desire to help his family and community. William saw a need and thought, “What if?” As he explained to a TED conference, “I tried, and I made it.” It’s the not the best-written book I’ve read, but his story is inspiring and uplifting. Bravo!
My full review HERE
And it has the SCIENCE tag!
Finished my January read, Project Hail Mary, and quite enjoyed it.Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
For February, I will be changing my book to buddy read with Meli, Idaho. I may try to still complete my original February book but maybe not in February.
Amy wrote: "I have it in my house. Because of the snowstorm, I’m hoping to make a really great headway on the book I’m reading now the Unseen World. Lost Jewels is next. I want to say five days? Maybe Tuesday ..."Amy, I was able to get "Lost Jewels" and can join in the buddy read. I'm making headway in my current book (which is a chunkster). I plan on reading "Lost Jewels" next.
Finished my #10 for January.The Island by Victoria Hislop - 4 Stars.
Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I actually read Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum last week. It's a carry over from last year -- that I had slotted in as a double trim in this year's #16. I needed it for another challenge, so once again this year I have read a carryover trim from the prior Unofficial Trim challenge! Yay. It 's a good thing too because the book I have left at that spot is a chunkster!
Here's my 4 star review:
We spend 4 days in a luxury hotel in downtown Berlin in the late 1920s. The revolving door from the street to the lobby spins people in and out. Are those who spin through the revolving door the same when they leave? Or is it as Dr. Otternschlag is fond of saying: "No, nothing happens, nothing at all." That's what we are here to find out.
I was taken aback by the poignancy of this novel that has been adapted into a classic movie as well as a notable play and Broadway musical. It's had many riffs, spoofs, and knock-offs as well. All that led me to assume this was a humoruos satire with shallow caricatures. Well, more fool me. Instead the guests we find:
A shell-shocked army doctor unable to live fully yet unable to stop living entirely.
A Bookkeeper, dying from an undefined condition, determined to spend his final days living comfortably and well.
A provincial businessman trying to prove his business acumen to himself and his father-in-law.
A porter coping with imminent fatherhood.
A handsome young thief with a heart of gold and uncertain sense of morality.
A beautiful young girl finding her way.
An aging gifted ballerina whose youth is long behind her.
"It is an odd thing about guests in a big hotel. Not a singled one goes out through the revolving door the same as when he came in." Just as we see beneath the surface luxe of the hotel to the false and shabby, so we see beneath the surface of the guests to their flaws and weaknesses, witness their interactions and simple humanity. You care.
Conveniently, cable channel TCM is showing the original Grand Hotel movie, whose screenplay was written by Baum herself. I know that it does not follow the book exactly - some changes were made to certain characters especially -- but I think I will appreciate it more this viewing than in the past.
Finally finished my #10, The Guest List. It was fine, nothing spectacular. Hoping 18 (Piranesi) will be a bit more my speed.
Well, I finished the Unseen World, and I know now why Holly recommended it. It was absolutely a five star read by the end. I really loved it. But saving my review for later, because I need to get to work. But the finish of that one means...., Ta Da! I have packed the Lost Jewels in my day bag! I am starting today!Joanne, HayJay, Holly - Lets Do This! A new world awaits!
Amy wrote: "Well, I finished the Unseen World, and I know now why Holly recommended it. It was absolutely a five star read by the end. I really loved it. But saving my review for later, because I need to get t..."It will be a day or two before I start. Have it sitting here, but I have to finish at least one of the books already started. Not far to go in either of them. should be Thursday or Friday.
Finished the first of my February Trims The Survival Game which I gave 4 stars. Not sure if I'll get time to do a second now school is back full swing and we are in the middle of a Covid outbreak with more people infected per week than in the whole of 2021. Needless to say we are short of staff and everyone is working their butts off.
I finished my #18. It was Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson. I give it 3.5 stars, round down to 3. I liked Furiously Happy better.
FINISHED - Feb 2022 # 18 - ✔ 09Feb22
The Pianist – Wladyslaw Szpilman – 4****
The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Extraordinary True Story of One man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945. Szpilman was a Jewish pianist who managed – by luck, courage, tenacity, and the kindness of others – to stay hidden and survive in the bombed and war-torn city. I found it engaging and gripping. Even though I knew he survived, I simply could not stop reading.
My full review HERE
Oops - wrong thread. Carry on.
Completed #18 for February:When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning - 4* - My Review
Link to PBT discussion thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I finished my #18, so I am two for two in 2022! My review is below:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Look forward to finding out what March's trim will be :)
March Unofficial Trim is...... #11!I am sooooo excited! This was my first time EVER picking it!
My #11 is: 
Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns
It's a NYRB edition - most of my 2022/23 Unofficial Trim list is various NYRB editions or editions published by Pomegranate which I find just lovely lovely high quality paperbacks and I buy them on impulse. I decided this time my Trim was going to include a lot of those I'd accumulated and stacked in one of my TBR Towers. In addition to reading interesting books, they will be wonderful to handle.
Meli wrote: "I finished my #18, so I am two for two in 2022! My review is below:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Look forward to finding out what March's trim w..."
GOOD FOR YOU, MELI!
My # 11 is Autumn– Ali Smith, which Kate NZ also has. I am excited about reading this book which everyone seemed to rave about.
my #11 is either: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard or Slavic Folklore: A Handbook by Natalie Kononenko. Hmm, a hell of a choice! I'm currently still in the middle of reading my February pick, A Master of Djinn, and I did manage to sneak in Matrix by Lauren Groff, which was a different number but I switched it out with #10. Hmm hmm hmm...
Heather Reads Books wrote: "my #11 is either: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard or Slavic Folklore: A Handbook by Natalie Kononenko. Hmm, a hell of a choice! I'm currently still in the middle ..."
Oh Heather, you are going to have FUN!
My # 11 is No Man's Land: The Trailblazing Women Who Ran Britain’s Most Extraordinary Military Hospital During World War I, which I am really looking forward too. I hope it is not another disappoint!
Theresa wrote: "My #11 is: Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns
It's a NYRB edition - most of my 2022/23 Unoffici..."
I have never heard of this Theresa-looking forward to your review
Heather Reads Books wrote: "my #11 is either: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard or Slavic Folklore: A Handbook by Natalie Kononenko. Hmm, a hell of a choice! I'm currently still in the middle ..."
I had Realm Breaker out last month, but I never got to it, and 5 others were waiting for it-so back it went unread. I am looking forward to your review. I loved Her Red Queen series
My #11 is Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor. After February's 1,105 page Centennial I am so happy to see this.
Mine is My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
Olivermagnus wrote: "My #11 is Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor. After February's 1,105 page Centennial I am so happy to see this."Oh that looks like fun!
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