Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Yay! 2nd one down.

Woot! I've got 4 crossed off. Working on one more. A second one is set for this month's book club. And a third is on my night stand to read. I might actually finish a challenge!

Hey! Two more I gave the requisite 50 pages and decided I didn't want to go on with. Only three more on my list. I've never been so organized before. I think I'll always break it down into groups of 10. Thanks for working that out for me!

Wow Adrienne, I'm hoping those aren't books you purchased! What a waste of money....

One is :( but the others were library books. But I bought it so long ago, that the real estate it's taking up on my shelf is worth more than the book, so...

I am so happy to find this group! This challenge perfectly spells out one of the things I am trying to do during my year of reading. I have been a member of Goodreads since 2009 but kept (still do) a written list of books to read even before that. Here are my 10 "oldest" books...

1. The Book of Words by Jenny Erpenbeck
2. Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh
3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
4. Hunted Past Reason by Richard Matheson
5. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
6. The Long Walk by Stephen King
7. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
8. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
9. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
10. The Cave by Tim Krabbé

What a bleak selection! I'm gonna be stuck under a perpetual raincloud if I try to read all of this at once.

Welcome, Dionisia!

I find sometimes I'd put the 'same' sort of books on my tbr for period of time - it just depends on your mood, doesn't it? Same goes for reading too!

One to go!!!

Hoo Hoo Hoo! I can do this. I can do this. Cue Rocky music.

Woo hoo, go, Adrienne!

Dionisa - I couldn't get through #5 on your list, hopefully you have better success with it than I did.

Oh Lauren! I'm reading it now and it is slow going. I wasn't expecting it to be so dense with medical jargon! I wish there was a glossary of terms I could refer to while reading. The case studies are interesting and unusual but I haven't exactly enjoyed this reading experience. Korsacov's syndrome, developmental agnosia, aphasiacs, akinesia, aboulia, adynamia, anergia, etc -- so many medical terms dropped with little to no explanation. I would probably like the book more if I invested more time in research mode. I have been trying to glean as much info as possible from context clues and/or skimming...not good, I know.

Dionisia - That was exactly my problem with it. I was hoping it would be more anecdotal and didn't seem like reading a medical journal at times. I made it about half way through.

Yeah, I'm about halfway now and I'm determined to finish. Reading in fits and starts but I'll get there....I hope!

I did it! I finished The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. It helped that the last section was so relatable. It made me think of my brother, who also has calendrical skills.

That puts me halfway through my LOST list. It'll be a while before I get to another one. I got a stack of newbies waiting for me.

Yay! Finally finished another one. The Knife of Never Letting Go. Though, naturally, since I loved it and it has a sequel, my TBR list isn't getting any shorter as a result. Oh, well. 3 down, 7 to go.

My review here . I gave it 4.5 stars.

Susan wrote: "Yay! Finally finished another one. The Knife of Never Letting Go. Though, naturally, since I loved it and it has a sequel, my TBR list isn't getting any shorter as a result. Oh, well..."

I loved that one too, Susan! There are actually two more in the series: The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men.

Dionisa - you have inspired me maybe I will retrieve this book from the donation box and give it another shot.

I haven't made much progress on my LOST list although I am just starting book #2 from that list right now.

Hi everyone. I have decided to join in on this LOST challenge. I went by another site that I list my books on since I just recently added all of my books over to here. The other list is more accurate as to how long I have had the books. I did some changing of my list since the first 10 books are all by one author. I really don't want to read just one author the whole time. Here is my list in no particular order.

1. The Kite Runner
2. Love Only Once by Johanna Lindsey
3. Tender RebelBy Johanna Lindsey
4. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
5. Lyra's Oxfordby Philip Pullman
6. Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark
7. On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark
8. The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
9. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
10. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Now I just need to find these books. If I have trouble finding any one of them I will change my list.

Happy Reading all!!

Monica

Ok, I was looking through my list and realized I finshed The Forgotten Garden earlier this month. I had read it for another group and had forgotten it was on my list. What a pleasant surprise!

I did it! I did it! I did it!!! First ever reading challenge completed!!!!

Now I'm going to start over!

LOST challenge list 2!

1. You're Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation by Deborah Tannen
2. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
3. Impulse & Initiative: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds
4. Fate and Consequences: A tale of Pride and Prejudice by Linda Wells
5. Good Book by David Plotz
6. The Death of Faith by Donna Leon
7. Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
8. Jack Maggs by Peter Carey
9. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
10. The Chess Machine: A Novel by Robert Lohr

Adrienne wrote: "I did it! I did it! I did it!!! First ever reading challenge completed!!!!

Now I'm going to start over!"

Pretty impressive, Adrienne!
I'm still struggling at 3.

Adrienne wrote: "I did it! I did it! I did it!!! First ever reading challenge completed!!!!

Now I'm going to start over!"

Congrats Adrienne!

Adrienne wrote: "LOST challenge list 2!

1. You're Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation by Deborah Tannen
2. Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
3. [book:Im..."

Ooo, I really enjoyed #9 on your new list. Hope you like!

Adrienne wrote: "I did it! I did it! I did it!!! First ever reading challenge completed!!!!

Now I'm going to start over!"

That is awesome!! First one of us (i think) to finish too!

Wow, Well Done, Adrienne!

It's a great feeling, isn't it? Not only completing a challenge but also getting books off your tbr!

Well, I don't have many really old ones even though I joined in 2008. I wasn't active on GR until last November (2010), so I really didn't start building my shelves then. But, here is my list anyway....

1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter
2. The Lovely Bones
3. Memoirs of a Geisha
4. Les Misérables
5. Sunflowers
6. The Bodies Left Behind
7. The Bourne Sanction
8. Roses
9. The Swan Thieves
10. The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

It has taken me years to read Memoirs of a Geisha, Bea (only last year, in fact) and I wondered why it has taken me so long! It was Goooood!

Looks like you have a number of interesting books on your list there so I hope you do get to read them soon ;)

Kazza wrote: "It has taken me years to read Memoirs of a Geisha, Bea (only last year, in fact) and I wondered why it has taken me so long! It was Goooood!

Looks like you have a number of interesti..."

Thanks, Kazza. Not sure why, but I just have not yet gotten into Memoirs of a Geisha, but I am hoping this will be the impetus to get to read it.

Bea- I too loved Memoirs if a Geisha. I also liked The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I have only read the abridged Les Miserables but my 14 year old son read the unabridged version last year and it is his all time favorite book. Either way you go, you have some great nooks on your list.

Lahni wrote: "Bea- I too loved Memoirs if a Geisha. I also liked The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I have only read the abridged Les Miserables but my 14 year old son read the unabridged version last year and it i..."

WOW!! (re: your son)
Even I havent :p

Yeah, he's a bit of a reading show-off. I'm not sure I'll ever read it. And he even liked all the French political stuff.

Woo Hoo! 2 down. Well, actually, one of them turned out to be a dud, so I didn't actually read it, but it's officially crossed off since I don't intend to ever read it. No guilt!

The other one got read. Onward and upward!

Adrienne wrote: "Woo Hoo! 2 down. Well, actually, one of them turned out to be a dud, so I didn't actually read it, but it's officially crossed off since I don't intend to ever read it. No guilt!

The other one ..."

I am wondering which one was the dud for you.

It was the Impulse and Initiative. I couldn't keep up with the confusing back and forth. One paragraph I'd be reading one character's thoughts and the next I'd be reading the other's with no warning or preparation and went back and forth at dizzying speeds. I decided I didn't care about the plot enough to try to follow it.

I was tres worried about one of the books on my list because it's been out of print for eons, but I checked Amazon last night and guess what!? It's being rereleased next Tuesday! I know, right? Is that kismet or what! I knew you all would understand my excitement.

That is Kismet, lol.

Wow! What are the odds....! (And which book is it, just out of curiosity?)

I was going to ask that, too, LynnB.

LynnB wrote: "Wow! What are the odds....! (And which book is it, just out of curiosity?)"

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman.

I wasn't moving forward on this list, but now I've finished 4 of the 10 so I'm almost on schedule to get my list read by the end of the year. I try to add one a month in with my other reading.

Got 2 more done. Olive Kitteridge and Interpreter of Maladies.

Woo Hoo! I'm flying through these things. Well, mostly because I find out I don't actually want to read them anymore, or because I can't get hold of them anymore, or some other equally ignoble reason aside from actually reading the book. But they are flying off my TBR list! I have read a couple, but whatever works, I always say!

Wow! Adrienne good for you. All the books on my list are sitting at home on my bookshelf, but I am making some progress on the list. I still don't know that I'll make it all the way through, we'll see.

I'm currently working on the last two books on my list. One of them is my exercise book so it might take me awhile to get through that one. I can only get through about 5% of it at one exercise go and I only get about 2 or 3 of those a week. That could take awhile.

Gee, Adrienne, you put me to shame. I haven't even read the first book on my list and you have completed two lists! Congrats!

So...I am starting Memoirs of a Geisha today which will also fit under Mid-Month. I also have The Memory Keeper's Daughter on my Need-to-Get-From-the-Library list for my next trip there.

To be completely honest, I am highly motivated. I set myself a goal on my blog that I would read all the books that were on my Goodreads TBR shelf at that time (last October). There were 89 books. This challenge has given me a way to break down the larger goal into smaller goals. Now there are only 40 books left of that original goal. If I can focus on the books on that shelf, instead of getting distracted (which I will, I'm sure) it will be no sweat.

Wow, Adrienne!! I'm impressed.

I haven't been a member on GoodReads for all that long and I seriously resist the urge to click the "Add to To-Read List" on everything, so my To-Read list is only 36 books long (lengthening as I go, however). I like this Challenge so I'm gonna give it a go!

1 | The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
2 | Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
3 | The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
4 | Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5 | Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
6 | The Color Purple by Alice Walker
7 | Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
8 | Auschwitz: A New History by Laurence Rees
9 | Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
10 | Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Owned Read
Total (Approximate, depending on version) Number of Pages | 4, 251
Goal Finish Date | December 31, 2011

Let's do this! As soon as I finish reading HP and the Deathly Hallows this evening (had to reread before the movie on Thursday night!), I'm gonna get going on Pride and Prejudice. I'm really kind of excited to do this.

Finally read Feed. So I'm 4 down, 6 to go.

I was really disappointed in it. My review here . I hope the others on the list are better.

Read Candor. It was wonderful! A good reminder that there's usually a reason we've put things on our TBR in the first place. My review here .

5 down, 5 to go. Almost back on track!