One Book a Week Club 2016 (Good Intentions Edition)

J_N · Post by **J_N** » July 6th, 2016, 3:03 am

I just read (skimmed / skipped?) through Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All by Allan Gurganus, that must be one of the worst books I have ever read... not even the Christian Romance I once read can compete with this... I don't understand how it gets so many great ratings on goodreads...

Imagine listening to a 100 year old woman reminiscing/rambling about her life for weeks... now imagine having to read through this - or through this as it was put into words by a 30 (or so) year old first time male author... over 700 pages of painfulness... 700 pages of no plot... should have been cut to at least 1/2 if not more...

Post by **Availle** » July 6th, 2016, 3:16 am

Because Americans are fascinated with that time period? *shrugs*

From amazon:

Gurganus is a Guggenheim Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

It always helps to be a member of the right group if you want your stuff published. Being good at anything is not required.

And, also from amazon (a review):

Not for the literate.

At least somebody agrees with you.

J_N · Post by **J_N** » July 6th, 2016, 12:35 pm

Like with modern art - I am probably just not intelligent enough to appreciate it

Peter Why · Post by **Peter Why** » July 9th, 2016, 12:52 pm

After a very non-productive June (I've not mentioned the rereads of books that I read earlier in the year), I've read:-
John Wright - A Natural History of the Hedgerow ... and ditches, dykes and dry stone walls. The author is an enthusiastic lover of the countryside and goes into the history (and, as well as we can know it, pre-history) of enclosures in Britain (mainly covering England). He outlines the ecology of hedgerows (he does seem to love galls!) and the various barrier constructions, and discusses their maintenance. Sounds dull, but I loved it, as it took me back to the days of my botany courses.

Lots of illustrations, but there should have been more and they could have been given much better captions. (For example, I could only see two fern species in a photo that supposedly showed three ... a few arrows would have helped.)

Peter

MaryinArkansas · Post by **MaryinArkansas** » August 3rd, 2016, 8:46 pm

Here are the books I read in July. Well, completed in July. There are several that are part way finished, but I won't count those.

Hard copy book (Real book, as one friend calls them) "Tortilla Flat" by John Steinbeck
Librivox Download: "The Bertrams" by Anthony Trollope
Librivox Download: "Love’s Shadow" by Ada Leverson

That's it for now. Happy reading, everyone!

J_N · Post by **J_N** » August 4th, 2016, 1:27 am

I had a very productive July... and I am so, so close to finishing my challenge this year... 15 books to go and 3350 pages. Now I have to actually pace myself and look out for thinner books... I have a couple of Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss books on my to-read shelf that will come in handy

I don't want to reach the 40,000 pages before my 100th book. *determined*

J_N · Post by **J_N** » August 18th, 2016, 10:18 am

Challenge completed!

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie took me across the finish line today. 40,000 pages within 100 books.

Carolin · Post by **Carolin** » August 19th, 2016, 1:45 am

Peter Why · Post by **Peter Why** » August 31st, 2016, 2:31 am

.. and I'm past my estimated 52 in the year already, too. I'll have to double my guess for next year.

Here's my latest: Janet Jiryu Abels - Making Zen Your Own. Short biographical sketches of the lives of twelve Chan masters of Chan's "Golden Age" from the fifth to the tenth centuries. The author, a teacher in a USA zen centre, uses what is known about these teachers to show the "nothing special" about their humanity, with their personalities and struggles showing through. It's too easy to forget, when we read anecdotes and koans, that these men were human beings, with human beings' problems. A well-written and useful book for those following this path.

Peter

MaryinArkansas · Post by **MaryinArkansas** » September 1st, 2016, 11:07 am

Here are my books for August.

"Letters of a Badger Boy in Blue: The Vicksburg Campaign" by Chauncey H. Cooke. Download from Archive.org. Short book consisting of letters written by a young Union soldier from Wisconsin during the siege of Vicksburg
"Tenterhooks" by Ada Leverson - Librivox recording (beautifully read by Helen Taylor)
"World of Wonders" by Robertson Davies – paperback
"Carry Me Home" by Sandra Kring - Audiobook
"Love at Second Sight" by Ada Leverson - LibriVox recording (another beautiful reading by Helen Taylor)
"Nobody’s Girl" by Antonya Nelson - paperback
"The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck - hardback

I like having this goal of listing books that I've read. It helps me in accomplishing my goal of reading books that I've had for umpteen years. And, of course, it's a good excuse for finding new LibriVox books.

J_N · Post by **J_N** » October 23rd, 2016, 4:47 am

Everyone on track with their reading goals for this year?

MaryinArkansas · Post by **MaryinArkansas** » October 23rd, 2016, 5:17 pm

J_N wrote:Everyone on track with their reading goals for this year?

Yes, definitely. I never set much of a goal for myself, but somehow this post is good for me. My list of books for September was lost when the server went down, so I'm posting them again. I doubt if anyone cares other than me, but my nerdy self wants to stick to a monthly posting routine.

Books read September 2016:

“The Little Paris Bookshop” Chapter a Day radio program recording. Pretty good, but a little disappointing. I assume it was condensed for radio, as it seemed a little lacking.
The Murderer’s Daughters” Randy Susan Meyers book bought at library sale in $1 bag. Excellent.
“Barnaby Rudge” Charles Dickens. LibriVox recording beautifully read by Mil Nicholson
“Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck. Book from library sale of several years ago. Another short novel in my resolution to read something by John Steinbeck this year. I’d read this book many years ago, but had forgotten what a simple, powerful little book it is. Steinbeck must have spent a lot of time and care in crafting this unforgettable story.

MBraymiller · Post by **MBraymiller** » October 24th, 2016, 8:09 am

J_N wrote:Everyone on track with their reading goals for this year?

Yep! 17 books to go. I'll probably not set the bar quite so high next year, or at least not tackle so many 700+ page novels as part of the challenge

Carolin · Post by **Carolin** » October 25th, 2016, 12:36 am

matt is just plowing through the entire wheel of time series in a year like its no big deal

Post by **icequeen** » October 27th, 2016, 9:47 am

J_N wrote:Everyone on track with their reading goals for this year?

No, definitely not! I think I need to give up on that dream.