All About Books discussion

I liked how stress-free my reading was in 2016 so I'm going to keep it in a similar vein. I'm making the books of my TBR from before 2016 so I'm forced to read some of the older ones on my TBR.

For 2017 I want to read at least:

15 books from my TBR pile (on my TBR prior to 1 Jan 2016)

1. All the Light We Cannot See (on my TBR since Sept 2014)
2. Between the World and Me (on my TBR since Dec 2015)
3. The Yacoubian Building (on my TBR since Sept 2013)
4. Winter of the World (on my TBR since July 2014)
5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (on my TBR since Apr 2013)
6. Sense and Sensibility (on my TBR since Oct 2013)
7. Black Beauty (on my TBR since Apr 2013)
8. Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the World's Most Mysterious Continent (on my TBR since Jul 2014)
9. Edge of Eternity (on my TBR since Jul 2014)
10. The Scorch Trials (on my TBR since Sep 2015)
11. Public Library and Other Stories (on my TBR since Nov 2015)
12. Guantánamo Diary (on my TBR since Sept 2015)
13. Company of Liars (on my TBR since Apr 2013)
14. No and Me (on my TBR since Apr 2013)
15. I Know This Much Is True (on my TBR since Apr 2013)

16. In the Morning I'll be Gone (on my TBR since Dec 2015)
17. An Untamed State (on my TBR since Dec 2014)
18. Run Thomas Run (on my TBR since Feb 2015)
19. The Cure for Death by Lightning (on my TBR since May 2013)
20. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (on my TBR since Jun 2015)
21. Tell the Wolves I'm Home (on my TBR since Apr 2014)
22. Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives (on my TBR since Nov 2015)
23. Tall Man: The Death of Doomadgee (on my TBR since Aug 2013)
24. Everything, Everything (on my TBR since Jul 2015)
25. Thirteen Reasons Why (on my TBR since Dec 2015)
26. Elizabeth Is Missing (on my TBR since Mar 2015)

10 of the oldest books on my Goodreads TBR shelf

READ1. Company of Liars
READ2. I Know This Much Is True
3. The God Delusion
4. Gone with the Wind
READ5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
6. Credo
7. Brave New World
8. The Road
READ9. Black Beauty
READ10. The Cure For Death By Lightning

10 books from my home bookshelf (on my bookshelf prior to 1 Jan 2017)

1. All the Light We Cannot See
2. The Butcher's Hook
3. Dear Fatty
4. Winter of the World
5. Sense and Sensibility
6. Border Crossing
7. Empress of South America
8. Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the World's Most Mysterious Continent
9. Edge of Eternity
10. Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey from Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution

11. The Scorch Trials
12. Earthly Joys
13. Broken
14. Landings
15. The Far Country
16. H is for Hawk
17. Fire
18. Scotch Rising
19. I Know This Much Is True
20. The Virgin's Knot
21. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
22. Finding Tipperary Mary: Two different lives, one heartbreaking secret
23. 'Tis A Memoir
24. Capital
25. All Quiet on the Western Front

5 books from this Guardian list http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...

1. Sense and Sensibility
2. Black Beauty
3. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
4. The Wind in the Willows
5. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

6, Bridget Jones's Diary
7. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
8. All Quiet on the Western Front

10 books from B.A.M.E authors - black, asian, minority ethnicities

1. Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
2. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3. The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
4. The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla
5. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
6. Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? by Kathleen Collins
7. Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey from Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution bySattareh Farman Farmaian
8. Black Ice Matter by Gina Cole
9. The Accusation by Bandi
10. Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi

11. Ru by Kim Thúy
12. Arrival by Ted Chiang
13. Human Acts by Han Kang
14. An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
15. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
16. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
17. Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge
18. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Erica, I don't know if you read anything in the paranormal genre, but I do know an author who has a really good, really different vampire series. The author was african american, and her characters literally span the globe in ethnicity and religious affiliation. There is a love story, but it's not the typical love triangle of many current paranormal romances.

L.A. Banks. Unfortunately she died a few years ago.

Hi Myst,

Thanks for your comment. Actually paranormal genre and fantasy etc. are the few books I'm not really into. Don't know why!

But thanks for the recommendation.

I've just added a list of 10 books that have been on my TBR the longest - I'm hoping I'll finally get to them this year! They are:

1. Company of Liars
2. I Know This Much Is True
3. The God Delusion
4. Gone with the Wind
5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
6. Credo
7. Brave New World
8. The Road
9. Black Beauty
10. The Cure For Death By Lightning

The Road is on my list for 2017 too Erica - maybe we can compare notes when we finish it!

Sounds good Leslie!

Finished my first book for my challenges this year! And it was a 5-star read too - All the Light We Cannot See. I can see why everyone loves it. This is a great book for lovers of The Book Thief. I loved all the characters even those that weren't "main" characters.

Update message #1 as I've finished The Yacoubian Building. This goes towards my TBR challenge and B.A.M.E challenge.
I really enjoyed the novel and gave it 4*. It was a really well-written story about a cast of characters all connected by this one building in Egypt.
If you read and liked A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth or Cannery Row by John Steinbeck I think you'd like this one.

Just finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I've had this on my TBR for years. It seems very popular and now I can see why. A really moving story about grief and the different ways that people grieve. I loved Oskar and all the people who surrounded him in this novel. I also liked the mixed media and different forms taken throughout the story - I think those enhanced what the author was trying to say at each point.

I'm halfway through my current read of Sense and Sensibility. One of the few Jane Austen novels I haven't ready (along with Persuasion). I'm really enjoying and much preferring it to some of her others...like Emma.

I'm also about to pick up The Good Immigrantwhich seems like a very timely and important read. This goes towards my BAME challenge. I've heard really good things about it so can't wait to read it.

Just want to check in and keep a record of what countries I have read about this year:

United States
France
England
Egypt
Russia
Germany
Paraguay
South Africa

Really happy about that so far! My aim to read more diversely is going well :)

Just for reference - last year I read about 26 different countries. So the aim is to do better than that this year.

Erica wrote: "Just want to check in and keep a record of what countries I have read about this year:

United States
France
England
Egypt
Russia
Germany
Paraguay
South Africa

Really happy about that so far! My a..."

Great going! And good luck with your goal of 26+ - that's quite a challenge!

Thanks Leslie - yeah I can't believe I did that last year without even trying. It's probably because I get bored if I read too manh books set in England or America in a row.

United States
France
England
Egypt
Russia
Germany
Paraguay
South Africa

since Mar 17

Switzerland
Antarctica
Persia/Iran
Fiji
Canada
North Korea
Cuba

Glad to see I'm past half way for my country count - 15/26 (26 being the number of different countries I read about last year)

Just been having a look through the 1000 books Guardian list that is one of my challenges. I've read 3/5 books off the list so far this year which isn't too bad. I'd like to get to a few of the books below in the second half of the year if I can::

1. Wind in the Willows
2. Evelina
3. Tale of Two Cities
4. Fingersmith
5. The Night Watch
6. The Road
7. Brave New World
8. Our Man in Havana
9. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
10. My Cousin Rachel
11. Misery
12. Family Matters
13. Oranges are not the only fruit
14. The Midwich Cuckoos
15. All Quiet on the Western Front

United States
France
England
Egypt
Russia
Germany
Paraguay
South Africa
Switzerland
Antarctica
Persia/Iran
Fiji
Canada
North Korea
Cuba
Australia
Vietnam
New Zealand
Scotland

Up to August 17

When I finish my current read (Oranges are not the only fruit) I will have finished all my challenges and exceeded most of them.

Happy with that.

I also met my Goodreads goal to read 60 books this year so have extended it to 70.

Still hoping to read books set in a few more countries before the end of the year.

Erica wrote: "When I finish my current read (Oranges are not the only fruit) I will have finished all my challenges and exceeded most of them.

Happy with that.

I also met my Goodreads goal to read 60 books t..."

Woo hoo! Good going Erica!

United States
France
England
Egypt
Russia
Germany
Paraguay
South Africa
Switzerland
Antarctica
Persia/Iran
Fiji
Canada
North Korea
Cuba
Australia
Vietnam
New Zealand
Scotland
South Korea
Northern Ireland
Haiti
Japan
Turkey
Iraq

United States
France
England
Egypt
Russia
Germany
Paraguay
South Africa
Switzerland
Antarctica
Persia/Iran
Fiji
Canada
North Korea
Cuba
Australia
Vietnam
New Zealand
Scotland
South Korea
Northern Ireland
Haiti
Japan
Turkey
Iraq

After Oct 26:

Bolivia

In total for 2017 - 26 countries!