polson
Platinum
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Post by polson on Jan 2, 2020 7:40:48 GMT -6
lurker here with intentions of participating more this year since this has been a source of great recommendations for me. my goal was 20 books in 2019 and i ended up with 52. i rediscovered the library last year and reading has been an escape for me. my goal for 2020 is 50.
i agree with pps - daisy jones just didn’t do it for me. i would say that either where the crawdads sing or the world that we knew are contenders for favorite books. world that we knew is wwll with jewish mysticism - i just loved it. least favorite was probably conversations with friends by sally rooney. i thought the writing was great, just couldn’t stand the characters at all.
i started the house at seas end - 3rd book in british forensic archealogist series, so that is my first book for the year. next on deck is little women. i have never read it😳
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Bookshelves
Emerald
Generally at a 2
Posts: 11,511 Likes: 104,042
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Post by Bookshelves on Jan 2, 2020 7:48:52 GMT -6
It surprises me how frequently I’ve seen Daisy Jones and the Six pop up as a favorite read. I had to make myself finish it. I loved Evelyn Hugo by that author though. Same here. I thought maybe I was the only one who didn't love it. However, I too loved Evelyn Hugo. I feel like the only one who didn’t care for Evelyn Hugo. The storyline of Daisy appeals to me more than Evelyn, but I haven’t tried it because I didn’t like the other one that much. I felt like it was an average book that benefited from really great marketing.
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Post by yellowwallpaper on Jan 2, 2020 7:52:05 GMT -6
For anyone who uses Audible - if you finish three books that are at least three hours long by March 3, you get a $20 amazon credit.
In 2019 I finished the Popsugar reading challenge for the first time. Getting into audiobooks really helped me meet my goal. My favorite book of the year was Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow.
Currently reading/listening to: Darius the Great is Not Okay (library book), Good Omens (kindle) and All the Birds in the Sky (Audible).
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Post by angelashly on Jan 2, 2020 7:53:51 GMT -6
I felt like 2019 was my year of meh books. I liked many and gave many 4 stars but I can’t say that I Loved any to the point of pushing them on people
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gingy
Opal
Posts: 7,632 Likes: 35,313
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Post by gingy on Jan 2, 2020 8:07:45 GMT -6
I read 24 books last year, which was huge for me. I’ve barely read anything since DS was born.
Favorites were: Where the Crawdads Sing Red White and Royal Blue Sissy
Didn’t like and didn’t finish Bunny
Starting 2020 with Becoming. I bought it presale and never started it. 🙈
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Post by friendofdobby on Jan 2, 2020 8:22:09 GMT -6
My favorite book of the year was Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Least favorite was Stoner. I loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. My best friend passed it along to me and it was a great read.
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Post by Rusty Red on Jan 2, 2020 8:42:05 GMT -6
I hit my 100 goal for 2019 and then some, I think I finished at 135. So I'm aiming for 150 this year. Clearly I need to get out more.
Currently reading Cerulean Sins, Laurell K. Hamilton.
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overboard
Sapphire
Dull normal
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Post by overboard on Jan 2, 2020 8:45:32 GMT -6
The only book that I DNF was You Are a Badass by Jen Sincere. Sanctimonious crap that seriously belittled mental health struggles. I do not recommend. UGH. My cousin recommended this to me and it was painful. I checked out the audio book and returned it without finishing a full chapter I think.
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overboard
Sapphire
Dull normal
Posts: 3,128 Likes: 15,805
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Post by overboard on Jan 2, 2020 8:57:57 GMT -6
Favorites of 2019: Tell the wolves I’m home The butchering art
Least favorites: I DNF most books if I don’t like them, except for memoirs for some reason. Boy Erased was like a writing assignment. The writing was painful to me.
I read a lot of bestsellers late in the game because I only use the library. I have a lot of stuff on hold I’m excited about right now.
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Post by cdnfroggy on Jan 2, 2020 8:59:02 GMT -6
I set a goal of 40 - I read 82 last year (original goal was 50), but I want to make sure I'm truly enjoying the books I read so I'm setting a lower goal so I don't feel pressured to read more. I'm hoping to surpass it, but we'll see. I have some bigger books I want to read.
Three of my favourites from last year : 1) When Breath Becomes Air 2) All The Ugly and Wonderful Things 3) Nothing to See Here.
I also adored The Starless Sea, but I need to reread it because way too much was going on in my life and I couldn't focus on it like I needed and wanted to.
Books I didn't like: 1) Beneath 2) The Shadow of the Wind 3) The Matchmaker's List.
I did not even get through the first few chapters of Where the Crawdads Sing - I found it to be terrible and not worth the hype.
I'm finishing up Savage Appetites (about true crime and women) and next up is The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West.
I love these threads and get so many recommendations!
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abs
Sapphire
Posts: 4,021 Likes: 20,874
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Post by abs on Jan 2, 2020 9:00:13 GMT -6
I felt like 2019 was my year of meh books. I liked many and gave many 4 stars but I can’t say that I Loved any to the point of pushing them on people Same. I also read a lot of books that I wouldn’t recommend at all. There are so many books I’m looking forward to this year though so I hope 2020 is better.
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Bookshelves
Emerald
Generally at a 2
Posts: 11,511 Likes: 104,042
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Post by Bookshelves on Jan 2, 2020 9:02:19 GMT -6
This is where I’m going to throw in an unsolicited plug for the public library. Between Libby, Hoopla, and the bricks and mortar library, I paid for zero audiobooks and only a handful of ebooks and real books last year. And the best thing you can do to support your public library is to use it!
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Lormor
Platinum
Sometimes I can gif and sometimes I can't.
Posts: 1,673 Likes: 8,624
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Post by Lormor on Jan 2, 2020 9:07:57 GMT -6
I neglect my library, I know. I get loads of books from my Bookclub, and otherwise I buy books for my kindle. Unfortunately, my library doesn’t do kindle lending (not in US) so that’s sad.
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Post by angelashly on Jan 2, 2020 9:08:10 GMT -6
This is where I’m going to throw in an unsolicited plug for the public library. Between Libby, Hoopla, and the bricks and mortar library, I paid for zero audiobooks and only a handful of ebooks and real books last year. And the best thing you can do to support your public library is to use it! I’m 98% library too. Every once in a while I’ll buy a book but usually because it’s an author several of us in the family like and we pass it around
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snowmoon
Sapphire
Posts: 3,998 Likes: 9,593
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Post by snowmoon on Jan 2, 2020 9:15:08 GMT -6
I got back into my reading groove in 2019 and read almost 30 books between January and September. Then I read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and it was so heart breaking that I couldn't read anything else for a while. I loved it but it was so tragic and difficult to get through.
I'm going to aim for a book a week this year.
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overboard
Sapphire
Dull normal
Posts: 3,128 Likes: 15,805
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Post by overboard on Jan 2, 2020 9:15:21 GMT -6
cdnfroggy I almost listed All the ugly and wonderful things as a favorite. It was compelling and written well for sure. The ending though!
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Post by kittyriot on Jan 2, 2020 9:26:22 GMT -6
I got back into my reading groove in 2019 and read almost 30 books between January and September. Then I read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and it was so heart breaking that I couldn't read anything else for a while. I loved it but it was so tragic and difficult to get through. I'm going to aim for a book a week this year. I have A Little Life, I want to read it so badly. I’ve started and stopped a couple times because I’m worried about how heartbroken I’m going to be. Sad books about life are my thing, but that can be hard after a while so I try to break up my reading with lighter lit to help me to get through. But I’m just not sure I can do this one....
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Post by kittyriot on Jan 2, 2020 9:27:20 GMT -6
This is where I’m going to throw in an unsolicited plug for the public library. Between Libby, Hoopla, and the bricks and mortar library, I paid for zero audiobooks and only a handful of ebooks and real books last year. And the best thing you can do to support your public library is to use it! I love my library and all the awesome digital apps they have! I do still buy occasionally, but I’d say I’m 80% library!
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nelzie
Sapphire
Posts: 3,418 Likes: 9,931
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Post by nelzie on Jan 2, 2020 9:51:41 GMT -6
My 2019 goal was 26 books and I read 55 books. My goal for 2020 is 52 books.
Favorites: A Ladder to the Sky, Miracle Creek, The One by John Marrs, All Our Wrong Todays, Recursion, Circe
Least Favorites: Daisy Jones and the Six, The Year of Less, Shelter in Place, Someone Knows, Then She Was Gone
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Post by yellowwallpaper on Jan 2, 2020 10:39:24 GMT -6
This is where I’m going to throw in an unsolicited plug for the public library. Between Libby, Hoopla, and the bricks and mortar library, I paid for zero audiobooks and only a handful of ebooks and real books last year. And the best thing you can do to support your public library is to use it! I love Hoopla! I found out not too long ago that there is a Hoopla streaming channel for movies too!
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Post by yellowwallpaper on Jan 2, 2020 10:41:22 GMT -6
The only book that I DNF was You Are a Badass by Jen Sincere. Sanctimonious crap that seriously belittled mental health struggles. I do not recommend. UGH. My cousin recommended this to me and it was painful. I checked out the audio book and returned it without finishing a full chapter I think. A bunch of people I know loved this book. I hated it.
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Post by cdnfroggy on Jan 2, 2020 10:45:01 GMT -6
cdnfroggy I almost listed All the ugly and wonderful things as a favorite. It was compelling and written well for sure. The ending though! It has stuck with me so so much. I really want to pick up her newer one too!
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overboard
Sapphire
Dull normal
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Post by overboard on Jan 2, 2020 10:57:14 GMT -6
cdnfroggy I almost listed All the ugly and wonderful things as a favorite. It was compelling and written well for sure. The ending though! It has stuck with me so so much. I really want to pick up her newer one too! I didn’t know she had another book! I’m at my hold limit already. I’ll add it to the to be read list. I think she is very talented.
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Post by CestLaVie on Jan 2, 2020 11:01:12 GMT -6
My favourite I read last year were:
1) Where the Crawdads Sing 2) Save Me the Plums 3) Help Me
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jaygee
Diamond
Posts: 28,187 Likes: 219,227
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Post by jaygee on Jan 2, 2020 11:01:54 GMT -6
It surprises me how frequently I’ve seen Daisy Jones and the Six pop up as a favorite read. I had to make myself finish it. I loved Evelyn Hugo by that author though. I think I just love that era of music so much that it struck me. Almost Famous is my favorite movie and it is similar. I wish I could go back in time and be a early 70s rock band groupie. Lol. ETA: I listened to the audio book and the narration was good.
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emma
Ruby
Posts: 18,809 Likes: 86,446
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Post by emma on Jan 2, 2020 11:33:41 GMT -6
cdnfroggy, i'm so sad that Shadow of the Wind is on your worst list. I read that many years ago but it's one of my all time favourites Bookshelves public libraries here don't do e-lending on kindle, only kobo so that was annoying but i rediscovered my love of physical books last year and get almost all my books from the library. My kid also loves going and we try to go every weekend.
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Post by potatocakes on Jan 2, 2020 11:35:07 GMT -6
I made it through 29.5 books of my 30 book goal in 2019. There are a bunch of half-finished parenting books on my nightstand that would have counted. I'm setting my goal for 30 again this year, and hoping to finish 3 within the next three weeks before the library reclaims them (they all came up within a few days). Unsheltered (Barbara Kingsolver), Where the Crawdads Sing, and The Giver of Stars (Jojo Moyes). My bookclub is reading Behold the Dreamers right now, but we don't meet until later this month, and I already finished. I think Beartown was my favorite of last year. I also liked Educated, Island of the Sea Women, and On the Come Up.
Our library offers these "book club in a bag" kits, where our bookclub is able to check out 10 copies of a given book. They also provide discussion topics and a giant tote for the books. It's pretty cool.
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Post by cdnfroggy on Jan 2, 2020 11:42:05 GMT -6
cdnfroggy , i'm so sad that Shadow of the Wind is on your worst list. I read that many years ago but it's one of my all time favourites Bookshelves public libraries here don't do e-lending on kindle, only kobo so that was annoying but i rediscovered my love of physical books last year and get almost all my books from the library. My kid also loves going and we try to go every weekend. I know it's on a lot of favourite lists, but it must just not have been for me/wrong time to read it. I found it boring, slow and unsatisfying - but I'm pretty sure it's a me thing.
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byjove
Ruby
Posts: 15,185 Likes: 74,050
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Post by byjove on Jan 2, 2020 12:53:25 GMT -6
I mostly do audibooks and my small city library has a really terrible selection, but I try to get from there when I can. A friend said she was able to get a DC library card and they have an amazing selection, and you don't have to show proof of residency, so that's on my to do list.
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Post by riverrider on Jan 2, 2020 13:30:51 GMT -6
One of my goals this year is to read one book a week. I started my first one on Monday so a little cheating but I should have it done on Saturday. I really only read on NY lunch break at work and in bed so I'm hoping this will help have me in bed earlier at night.
I started Unspeakable Things and its pretty good.
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