A stack of books grows higher by the week alongside my computer, books I have read from late October until now, books I have just set aside until I have time to review them for the blog......but as I posted a week back time is running out and my stack gets taller. I will have a new blog in 2012 solely to record my readings and my reviews. For now, to expedite the process and move books into either donation bags or, if a keeper, to the shelf in our home library, I am borrowing a technique from Kat Mortenson and assigning stars ***** to rank the books, with 1 low and 5 high:
5 ***** being a top notch read and a book I loved.
No * indicates a book I did not finish, which means it is really a poor read and had no interest for me; oh does this mean I really have a 6 point rating system?
1 * will mean a book I plowed through under some protest.
It has taken me awhile to learn to discard a book that does not hold my interest, I have so many books to read and so little time to do so that it's not worth wasting my eyeballs on a bad one. Why did I think I had to plod along when the pages and words held no interest?
What I find enjoyable in reading and which will be my criteria in rating reflect my personal preferences. I am not a fluff or what I term fiction comic book reader nor do I like science fiction. I like to sink into a book like a nice comfy leather chair, so a novel has to envelop me. My first preference is always non fiction or historical, memoir and biographies are first choice. I look for excellent writing and research, well developed characters who appear lifelike with their tales, a sense of historical accuracy, historical, memoirs that evoke emotion while reading, or a book that teaches me something. I am as I have said many times before a life long reader from the time I learned to read as a tot. I am never bored, lonely, or without something to do to entertain myself so long as I have a good book.
No I do not e-read nor do I have any desire to do so, being the proud owner or stacks of books and a marvelous home library. I never pass a book sale without picking up something. You will see several on the list below that are used, older. A book does not have to be on a current best seller list to attract my interest. I have been exposed to wonderful books I might not have found nor read through my local book club where we meet monthly to discuss.
No I do not e-read nor do I have any desire to do so, being the proud owner or stacks of books and a marvelous home library. I never pass a book sale without picking up something. You will see several on the list below that are used, older. A book does not have to be on a current best seller list to attract my interest. I have been exposed to wonderful books I might not have found nor read through my local book club where we meet monthly to discuss.
Title,date published/comment Author Rating
Marilyn and Me-Sisters, Rivals, Friends 1992 Susan Strasberg **
Almost tedious reading but some interesting pages
and reverie about the authors famous parents.
and reverie about the authors famous parents.
The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay 2010 BeverlyJensen *****
A novel saga over 7 decades beginning in 1916,
sisters from Nova Scotia who immigrate to
America. Fascinating and humorous in parts. "She was
worn to the shape of a gnarled tree...." describes their
paternal grandmother.
sisters from Nova Scotia who immigrate to
America. Fascinating and humorous in parts. "She was
worn to the shape of a gnarled tree...." describes their
paternal grandmother.
The Knitting Circle 2007 paperback Ann Hood *****
Our book club selection; a novel with great
characters and their stories and the grief of losing a child.
Based on the author's life.
Left Neglected 2011 Lisa Genova ***
She wrote "Still Alice" about dementia, which I enjoyed. This
novel is about a condition resulting from an auto accident
novel is about a condition resulting from an auto accident
where the left side of the body does not respond.
Lit 2010 Paperback Mary Karr **
Her 3rd memoir and the least interesting despite its glowing
reviews; about her days in alcoholism. Dreary
The Quilters Apprentice 2000 Paperback Jennifer Chiaverini **
A ho hum novel, my curiosity about the process of learning to quilt
dragged me along. First book in the Elm Creek Quilt Series.
Our Story: The Quecreek Miners 2002 told to Jeff Goodell ***
Concise, true tale of these PA coal miner
spent trapped underground for 77 hours
The Seventh Life of Pauline Johnson 2001 Katy King No stars
If this isn't the dumbest book it is close to it. The author
hawked it at a craft show; it has been on my shelf for years
to be read. Supposed to be a mystery/ recipe book.
Blind Your Ponies 2011 Paperback Stanley Gordon West *****
Our book club selection. Outstanding novel about a high school
boys long time loosing basketball team, and their town.
Excellent characters and writing by a MN author. Selection of the title
and what it represents is a story itself. Will read more of his books.
Excellent characters and writing by a MN author. Selection of the title
and what it represents is a story itself. Will read more of his books.
Four more books to add but will post more later, I intend today with the others. I'm off to walk to Curves and not waste the fresh air of this beautiful, balmy sunny day!
Did you say balmy and sunny day in Minnesota, in the winter?
ReplyDeleteWe just had a storm, after weeks of dry, cool but sunny days, during our wet season which was not wet at all. What will happen next?
I enjoyed your reviews,btw.
I maintain an Excel spread sheet on books I've read which now also includes those on my Kindle. I record comments but have no rating system; if I don't finish it then that is part of the record.
ReplyDeleteI ususally get through between 30 and 50 a year.
Bob, I really need to set up a database for myself. I started tracking my books so I would not purchase repeats thinking that the writing down would cement it in my mind. So far it has worked, but not for my collections. Sometimes I pick up a book by an author such as James Michener for whom I have a dedicated shelf in my library. I just did that today at a sale. I should carry a list of those with me because there are only a few I don't have.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, except for liberal political trash, I rarely read fiction. When an author stretches a metaphore and strains the credibility of the reader with artificially sounding phrases, I am turned off from further reading. It may be a matter of taste but the comparison of the grandmother to a "gnarled tree" is one of those stretches to me. I get what she is saying about the physical shape and perhaps even the strength of the grandmother.,,Maybe, in the context of the paragraph, it would sound better. But standing alone it sounds artificial, almost like an attempt to be cute. Sometimes, I am reminded of those great sounding but absolutely meaningless phrases that "hippie poets" of the sixties and seventies were so fond of using. Enjoy your library and continue to post your ratings; reading that I do enjoy. T
ReplyDelete