Boekentrol's attempt to reduce Mt. Everest

Hello guys!

Welcome to my personal challenge thread. I'm in a flow of reading books and getting them travelling again at the moment, so I really hope this continues in 2019!

Some stats and additional info are to be added, because I've been neglecting my numbers while focusing on reading and releasing. But... numbers are high.

My first and most important challenge is to get some oldies moving. The list you find below consists of books registered by others. I want to get them moving again, for they've been gathering dust for a long time already. I'll figure out which ones are on the 1001-list and put that behind the entry.
I'm quite happy with my result for last year, so I think I'll do it the same way. And of course I hope that the result will be the same.

The second challenge is to read books off the 1001-list.
This one partially combines with #1, which is convenient. My goal for 2019 is to read a minimum of 12. Hopefully thinks'll go as well as in 2017 & 2018, where I doubled (ore more) that number :-)

The third challenge is to read doorstoppers. I have a few of those, some are bricks, really. I intend to read 5 of those again next year.

To read books from different countries and my annual over goal (books & pages) are the same as they have been for several years. 75 books to read is challenging enough, but doable, even in a busy year. And the pages goal is attached to that, so I see where I get in 2019.

I have decided not to add any more challenges. The series/alphabet were undoable/fun bot not finished. And I want to read more freely this year. I've set enough goals and my reading is set enough with them already :-)

OLDEST BOOKS-Challenge




2011
1 James A. Michener - Chesapeake Started, not finished
2 Rani Manicka - The Rice Mother READ June 2019
3 Amitav Ghosh - The Glass Palace READ August 2019
------------------------------------------------------------
2012
4 E.M. Forster - A passage to India *1001-listed* Started, not finished
5 Alex Berenson - The Silent Man (John Wells #3) READ October 2019
6 Loung Ung - Lucky Child; Not read. (After reading part one of this series I couldn't face another book like that. I put them together and sent them on a journey together, to enlighten other readers.)
7 Barbara Kingsolver - The Lacuna Started, not finished
8 Lionel Shriver - We Need To Talk About Kevin READ, July 2019
9 Hari Kunzru - Transmission; Started, not finished
10 Tom Bradby - The White Russian READ August 2019
11 David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas
12 Justin Scott - The Cossack's Bride
13 Joseph Kanon - Alibi, READ September 2019
14 Eleanor Herman - Sex with Kings Started, not finished
15 Larry Collins - O Jeruzalem
16 Karin Slaughter - Indelible READ June 2019
17 C. J. Box - Three Weeks to Say Goodbye READ October 2019
18 George Orwell - Coming Up for Air *1001-listed*
19 Jane Smiley - Greenlanders
20 Albert Camus - The Outsider *1001-listed* READ August 2019
21 Rosamund Lupton - Sister READ November 2019, MTBR 2012
22 Zainab Salbi - Between Two Worlds
23 David Guterson - Snow Falling on Cedars READ, December 2019
24 Iris Johansen - Killer Dreams READ November 2019
25 Patrick Robinson - Barracuda 945
26 W. Somerset Maugham - Of Human Bondage *1001-listed*
27 J. M. Coetzee - Disgrace *1001-listed* READ September 2019
28 Linwood Barclay - No Time for Goodbye
29 Tom Clancy - Call to Treason Started, not finished
30 Ha Jin - The Crazed
31 Douglas Kennedy - The Woman in the Fifth
32 Tracy Chevalier - The Virgin Blue
33 William Boyd - Restless
34 Philip Wooderson - My Side of the Story: Trouble at the Mill
35 Jan Guillou - Madame Terror (Coq Rouge #12)
36 Gohar Kordi - Iraanse odyssee
37 Frederick William Rolfe - Hadrian VII *1001-listed*
38 A.S. Byatt - Obsessie *1001-listed*
39 Charles Palliser - The Quincunx
40 Peter Verhelst - Zwerm Started, not finished, October 2019
41 F.M. Dostojevski - Het dorp Stepantsjikovo Started, not finished
42 F.M. Dostojewski - De idioot *1001-listed*
43 Peter Straub - jongen, meisje, verloren READ, September 2019
44 Charles Frazier - Dertien manen READ August 2019
45 Mo Yan - Het rode korenveld
46 Gioconda Belli - Het geheim van de verleiding Started, not finished
47 Joseph Finder - Paranoia
48 John Trenhaile - Het komplot der taipans READ February 2019
49 Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White *1001-listed* READ June 2019
50 James A. Michener - Caravans
(not the end of 2012, but the end of my list of oldest)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-1 James Fenimore Cooper - The Last of the Mohicans READ, November 2019
-2 Graham Swift -The Light of Day READ, December 2019

1001-BOOKS

Here's my life-long ticker:



Books read in January:
1. Fanny Hill Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland
2. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
3. Das Manilaseil by Veijo Meri
4. Thaïs by Anatole France
5. The Red Room by August Strindberg

Books read in February
6. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
7. Silas Marner by George Eliot
8. Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
9. Herzog by Saul Bellow
10. Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane
11. Roxana by Daniel Defoe
12. Rasselas by Samuel Johnson
13. Justine by Marquis de Sade
14. The Leopard by Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
15. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing

Books read in March
16. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
17. Viper's Tangle by François Mauriac
18. Molly by Samuel Beckett
19. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Books read in April
20. Ulysses by James Joyce

Books read in May
21. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
22. Queer by William S. Burroughs
23. Malone dies by Samuel Beckett
24. Unnamable by Samuel Beckett
25. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
26. The Years by Virginia Woolf
27. The Waves by Virginia Woolf

Books read in June
28. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
29. Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll
30. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
31. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Books read in July
32. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
33. Wild Boys by William S. Burroughs
34. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
35. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin

Books read in August
36. What Maisie Knew by Henry James
37. The Outsider by Albert Camus
38. August is a Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien
39. Chocky by John Wyndham
40. Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf
41. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
42. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

Books read in September
43. Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee

Books read in October
44. Lazarillo de Tormes by Anonymous
45. Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville
46. Wise Children by Angela Carter
47. Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion
48. Het verhaal van het verloren kind by Elena Ferrante
49. De wetten by Connie Palmen
50. The Glass Bead Game by Hemann Hesse
51. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

Books read in November
52. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
53. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
54. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
55. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
56. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
57. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
58. The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
59. Falling Man by Don Dellillo
60. Cain by José Saramago

Books read in December
61. Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
62. Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
63. The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
64. Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Did not finish
1. Amadis von Gallien by Garcí Ordoñez de Montalvo (March 2019)

DOORSTOPPERS

Doorstoppers for me are books with more than 500 pages. Usually I don't read many of them, so I won't create a ticker for it. Just simply list the books here.

January
1. De godsformule by José Rodrigues dos Santos (552 pages)
2. In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George (709 pages)
3. Weil du böse bist by Peter Sultani, (576 pages)
4. De zwaluw, de kat, de roos en de dood by Håkan Nesser (504 pages)

May
5. Kaltes Blut by Andreas Franz (558 pages)
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (796 pages)
7. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell (983 pages)
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, (956 pages)

June
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, (780 pages)
10. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, (508 pages)

July
11. The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka, (580 pages)
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (608 pages)
13. Ik dood by Giorgio Faletti (544 pages)
14. Night and Day by Virgiia Woolf (586 pages)

August
15. The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (551 pages)
16. The White Russian by Tom Bradby (551 pages)
17. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1401 pages)
18. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (501 pages)
19. Ulysses by James Joyce (682 pages; listened to the unabriged edition in April, now realized I've forgotten to add it here)

September
20. The Ghost War by Alex Berenson (561 pages)
21.

Read GLOBALLY

There's another challenge that's really a BC-challenge, although it is done over there as well I guess ass the 666-challenge.
I've entered the Reading Globally-group here on LT: http://www.librarything.com/topic/279350 and that's where you'll find my progress (irregularly updated, since I tend to read books from countries I've already visited in books...)

The map is not automatically updated here when I adjust the countries on the original thread, so I've removed it. I'll just leave the ticker here. The map's still visible through the link to the Read Globally Group.

BOOKS & PAGES

The general challenge to read as many books (and pages) as I can. For 2019 I commit, as I have in 2018, to 75 books and 20,000 pages. The list of books (with the pages in brackets) you find below the tickers.

The tickers for both:
Books:



Pages:



Books read
January
1. De godsformule by José Rodrigues dos Santos (552 pages)
2. Fanny Hill Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland (203 pages)
3. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (192 pages)
4. Die Chemie des Todes by Samuel Beckett (430 pages)
5. Nachmittags, wenn alle schlafen by Simona Vinci (364 pages) (MTBR, 2013)
6. Das Manilaseil by Veijo Meri (140 pages) (MTBR, 2016)
7. Arabesk by Barbara Nadel (317 pages) (MTBR, 2017)
8. Becoming by Michelle Obama
9. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
10. Fear Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
11. When my name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park (MTBR, 2018)
12. In haar naam by Lisa Gardner (461 pages) (MTBR, 2016)
13. Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins
14. Uit Rusland by Lee Child
15. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
16. Thaïs by Anatole France
17. The Red Room by August Strindberg (MTBR, 2015)

February
18. Silas Marner by George Eliot 3 (MTBR, 2015)
19. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad 1 (MTBR, 2015)
20. Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse 2 (MTBR, 2015)
21. Herzog by Saul Bellow 5 (MTBR, 2015)
22. Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane 6 (MTBR, 2013)
23. Het komplot der taipans by John Trenhaile 7 (MTBR, 2012; Oldie) 48
24. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 4
25. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing 8 (MTBR, 2013)
26. Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George 9 (MTBR, 2012; Oldie)
27. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa 10 (MTBR, 2013)
28. First They Killed my Father by Luong Ung 11 (MTBR, 2015)
29. Het Osterman weekend by Robert Ludlum 12
30. Justine by Marquis de Sade 13
31. The history of Rasselas, prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson 14
32. Roxana The Fortunate Mistress by Daniel Defoe 15
33. DNA by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir 16
34. De vlam van de vrijheid by Ken Follett 17
35. In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George 18 (MTBR, 2013)

March
36. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
37. Weil du böse bist by Peter Sultani (MTBR, 2018)
38. Viper's Tangle by François Mauriac (MTBR, 2015)
39. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
40. Molloy by Samuel Beckett
41. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
42. Anne en Jopie by Jacqueline van Maarsen
43. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Matsuo Basho
44. Een Venetiaans geheim by Ian Caldwell
45. The Serial Killer Files by Harold Schechter
46. The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi (MTBR, 2018)
47. Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammett (MTBR, 2018)
48. Ver na middernacht by Iris Johansen (MTBR, 2018)
49. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (MTBR, 2016)
50. The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (MTBR, 2014)

April
51. Grafteken by Arnaldur Indriðason
52. Kikker is kikker by Max Velthuijs
53. Mein sanfter Zwilling by Nino Haratischwili
54. Het smelt by Lize Spit (MTBR, 2018)
55. Ulysses by James Joyce
56. De zwaluw, de kat, de roos en de dood by Håkan Nesser (MTBR, 2018)
57. Nachtboot by Michael Robotham

May
58.Kaltes Blut by Andreas Franz (MTBR, 2018)
59. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
60. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
61. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
62. Een echte vrouw by Michael Berg
63. Verslag van een verdwijning by Deon Meyer
64. De perfecte moord by Deon Meyer
65. Malone Dies by Samuel Beckett
66. Unnamable by Samuel Beckett
67. Queer by Samuel S. Burroughs
68. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
69. The Years by Virginia Woolf
70. The Waves by Virginia Woolf
71. IJstijd by John Farrow

June
72. Jas van belofte by Jan Siebelink
73. Slagveld by Frank Delaney
74. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
75. Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll
76. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
77. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (MTBR, 2012) 49
78. Insomnia by Jilliane Hoffman
79. Indelible by Karin Slaughter (MTBR, 2012) 16
80. De kleine getuige by Jilliane Hoffman
81. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
82. What the Hack by Maria Genova
83. Nummer 9 by Jilliane Hoffman
84. Schuitje varen by M.J. Arlidge

July
85. The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka (MTBR, 2011) 2
86. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowling
87. Ik dood by Giorgio Faletti (MTBR, 2015)
88. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
89. Het stel van hiernaast by Shari Lapena (MTBR, 2016)
90. Bijbelse wateren by Arne Dahl (MTBR, 2018)
91. Wild Boys by William S. Burroughs
92. Hebzucht by Chris Ryan
93. Verteller van de wind by Henning Mankell (MTBR, 2017)
94. The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
95. Inge en Mira by Marianne Fredriksson (MTBR, 2017)
96. We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver (MTBR, 2012) 8
97. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin

August
98. What Maisie Knew by Henry James
99. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
100. The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (MTBR, 2011) 3
101. De wolven by Luc Vos
102. The Outsider by Albert Camus (MTBR, 2012) 20
103. August is a Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien (MTBR, 2013)
104. Chocky by John Wyndham (MTBR, 2015)
105. Dertien manen by Charles Frazier (MTBR, 2012) 44
106. Dolores Dolly Poppedijn by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
107. Spotvogel by Hafid Bouazza (MTBR, 2017)
108. The White Russian by Tom Bradby (MTBR, 2012) 10
109. Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf
110. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
111. De courtisane en de samoerai by Lesley Downer
112. In de ban van de ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
113. Zij die moet sterven by David Lagercrantz
114. De schoen in Maria by Deon Meyer
115. Dert13n by Steve Cavanagh
116. Online by Simone van der Vlugt
117. De laatste meisjes by Riley Sager

Books read in September
118. Penitentiair verlof by Carolus Vonckx
119. Vel over been by Stephen King
120. Veroordeeld by Carolus Vonckx
121. Moorddadig verleden by Robert Goddard (MTBR, 2017)
122. Alibi by Joseph Kanon (MTBR, 2012) 13
123. Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee (MTBR, 2012) 27
124. The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
125. Jongen, meisje, verloren by Peter Straub (MTBR, 2012) 43
126. The Ghost War by Alex Berenson

Books read in October
127. Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse
128. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (MTBR, 2016)
129. The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
130. Petropolis by Anya Ulinich (MTBR, 2016)
132. Echte vrouwen krijgen een kind by Liesbeth Smit
133. De Schiedamse cocaïnemaffia by Jan Meeus
134. De wetten by Connie Palmen
135. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by C.J. Box 17
136. Het verhaal van het verloren kind by Elena Ferrante
137. Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion (MTBR, 2015)
138. Wees onzichtbaar by Murat Isik
139. Fire Storm by Iris Johansen
140. Wise Children by Angela Carter
141. Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville
142. Lazarillo de Tormes by Anonymous
143. In het niets by Robert Goddard

Books read in November
144. Killer Dreams by Iris Johansen 24
145. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
146. Sister by Rosamund Lupton MTBR, 2012 21
147. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper MTBR, 2012, -1
148. De Reiziger by Diana Gabaldon
149. Een stil geloof in engelen by R.J. Ellory
150. Oktober by Søren Sveistrup
151. Het verborgen raadsel by Will Lavender
152. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James MTBR, 2014
153. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
154. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, MTBR 2015
155. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
156. The Body Artist by Don Delillo
157. Falling Man by Don Dellillo
158. Cain by José Saramago

December
159. Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee MTBR 2013
160. Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
161. Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn
162. De krijtman by C.J. Tudor
163. Stervensuur by R.J. Ellory, MTBR 2016
164. Mocro Maffia by Wouter Laumans
165. Wraak by Wouter Laumans
166. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them by Newt Scamander
167. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson MTBR 2012 23
168. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll MTBR 2013
169. De Scarlatti erfenis by Robert Ludlum
170. Elizabeth Costello: De roman in Afrika by J.M. Coetzee

Good luck with your goals!

And the first book is done.
I took it easy, more or less, to start the new year. I reread a book, a big one, quite a difficult one like I thought the first time I read it.

I liked it better now. Of course it still has the scientific parts, some formulas, explanations on different religions & ways of life and comparisons of those to science, but I liked it, it made sense this time. Not that I understand all, but... I'm on my way.

Despite I started reading in 2018, I still count this one for 2019, because I was less than half way (around page 200 of 553) when the new year started.

The second book, Fanny Hill was an unpleasant surprise. I kept reading, because it was not VERY bad and because it was a 1001-book. Had it not been on the list, this book had never ended up on my shelves...

>9 BoekenTrol71: I'm trying to read more from the 1001 list myself, but it sounds like I should avoid this one!

>10 mathgirl40: If you dislike romance and/or sexual explicit books, yes I think you should. I got it because I thought it would be more in the style of Memoirs of a Geisha, but boy, did I get it wrong!

Starting a new section... I hadn't expected it to happen this early in the year (and sure hope it isn't a sign for the rest of my bookish year!). Ideally, this section is empty, or not created at all...
But January 13th I added my first one to this list:

Started, not finished in 2019
1. Het geheim van de verleiding by Gioconda Belli, stopped reading at page 118, on January 13th. Despite I didn't finish, it's still one off the list with oldest books. 46

2. Amadis von Gallien by Garcí Ordoñez de Montalvo stopped reading at page 100, on March 9th. It is a book from MTBR, although not an oldie.

3, Chesapeake by James Michener. Too many pages, too little that kept my interest after the first chapter or 2. From MTBR, place 1.

4. Het dorp Stepantsjikovo by F.M. Dostoevsky. I just couldn't get into it. Gave up after one chapter. From MTBR, place 41

5. Transmission by Hari Kunzru From MTBR, place 9

6. The Folding Star by Alan Hollinghurst

7. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster (MTBR 4)

8. Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman MTBR 14

>12 BoekenTrol71: There's "ideally" and then there's "realistically". Actually, it's not bad to have such a list. I wish I'd learn to abandon books I don't like earlier.

Number two of my oldies list is down. Het complot der traipans by John Trenhaile was a nice read. Not spectacular, but it was a nice book.

I have read more off MTBR, but need to update my stats and lists. When I get to that, you'll see what happened.

I've updated my lists. I am well on my way. Have decided to skip the pages read part. With audiobooks in the 'game' I don't want to middle the pages for several editions of the book and then come up with an amount. Keeping track of all reads is hard enough as it is, without giving myself extra work.

>15 BoekenTrol71: That makes sense. I too have trouble figuring out how to count pages for audiobook. Sometimes, I just use a rough estimate of 2 minutes per page, as that is a typical average for me.

My 'books read' list is updated again. Love those extra long weekends when there's time to do things you don't have time for during ordinary working weeks!

>17 BoekenTrol71: Normally, I too get a lot of reading done on long weekends, but often we end up visiting family or hosting visitors, so sometimes I get a lot less done!

Ehm... I seem to be reading a lot of books, but my list of 40 oldest doesn't really get any shorter. I will have to work on that.... When we're going on holiday this summer, I think I'll take a few with me: no distraction, no way around them, so I suppose I'll get them read then. IF there's time to read. For you never know with holidays :-)
It's not that I think I'll dislike the books. They have just been standing on my shelf for so long, that I kind of forget that they're there and that they're not mine... I promise I'll do better in the second half of this year!

>19 BoekenTrol71: I know the feeling. I just finished a book that had sat on my shelves for over 30 years! Good luck with your vacation reading.

If all goes according to plan, I'll be updating my progress again tomorrow. I've been reading quite a bit during my holiday (though not as much as I expected), but wobly internet connections that were ALWAYS occurring when I wanted to review a book or release it, made it nearly impossible to update all threads. So... I am behind here, although I tried to keep my BC-shelf updated in order to have at least 1 place where I can turn to to find the latest statusses :-)

And yes, we had an awesome holiday!

>21 BoekenTrol71: Glad to hear you had a good holiday! I'm rather behind in all my bookish threads too.

And unexpectedly I finished another big book today. I felt more like reading along in the Harry Potter readalong, than continuing in The Lacuna, so I put HP on top. They are such nice (easy) books to read, that I've finished it very quickly. I liked it a lot, but now the story ends for me. It has a nice ending, the book itself was a good read, that's enough for me.

I'm reading two oldies again: this time I have Dertien manen by Charles Frazier and The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. I like them both a lot, even though they are completely different books.

We need to talk about Kevin was a very confronting read. I didn't know whther I should read it or not, and when I read it, if I could finish it. But, while reading I got so into the writer's mind, that I couldn't stop.
So, another brick (in the sense of a book I am uncertain about/should read, but don't know whether I can or want to because of the subject) out of the way :-)

I think I've finished updating my thread & tickers with books of July. A stunning total of 13 books, I'm very happy with that. Well, its partly because of the heat, that didn't leave room for anything but sit still and read. So I expect August to be a bit less: more work, less heat, some other things to do but read. Nevertheless: look forward to another month!

>25 BoekenTrol71: That's terrific progress for July!

Another month has passes since that last update. I've gathered all my reading progress and updated the list.
It was a good month :-)

>27 BoekenTrol71: Glad to hear that!

October was a good reading month. But... my list with oldest books keeps haunting me.
I intended to start reading A Passage to India and I actually read about 10 pages. Then another oldie jumped into my hand, screaming 'read me first!!'and I obeyed (of course :-) That book, A Passage to India has the same effect on my as The Last of the Mohicans: I know I should read it, but for some reason I can't get myself to do just that. Well, November is another month to give that a go. Hopefully at the end of the month I'll be able to say, that I read both. Or at least one of them. Otherwise it all comes down on December. And that's not something I want.

This weekend when I was updating my stats and shelves and threads, an unpleasant surprise was waiting for me. I got one extra book on MTBR that is very old, apart form the one that I knew to be there. One from 2011 and one from 2010. Oops!
And I thought that I had finished all books from these years.... It's The Last of the Mohicans and The Light of Day. The Mohicans is an old book, bit brownish, not very likeable anymore. Apart from that I've seen the movie several years ago so the story I more or less know. It was a 1001-library book and it was available there. That's why it has escaped my attention for such a long time. But whyThe Light of Day suddenly popped up first in my MTBR, even before my current read A Passage to India, I have no idea.

But... I'll start both after I've finished my current audio- and paper books. I'll do my best to read them (and send them on a journey again) before the end of year.

I have A Passage to India on my shelves too. I'd read it a long time ago and I've seen the film twice too. I'm planning to reread it sometime in the future, as I really love E. M. Forster's writing. I hope you'll enjoy it too.

>31 mathgirl40: Thus far I do not like The Portrait of a Lady one bit. It may be because of the overdose of books on relationships (not meaning romances) that I read lately. Will see if it does get better. If not, I'll unfortunately be seriously considering to not finish the book.

The Light of Day will be my escape form that one, maybe that'll help...

I managed to let another book squeeze in before A Passage to India and The Light of Day.
My only excuse is, that it was a 1001-book and that it's a short one. Boy, did I enjoy that read!!

But time has come to devote myself to the 2 absolute oldest first. I'll be starting The Light of Day today. The other book will be read in bits and pieces I think. Still haven't decided on giving up.

The first pages in The Light of Day are read.
Since I would like to do some cross stitching, I turned to audiobooks to be able to do two things simultaneously.

The Turn of the Screw was a nice and quick read. I've now started listening to The Invisible Man.

Since The Invisible Man was a short read, I've finished it as well today, while I continued working on my crossstitch work in progress.

>34 BoekenTrol71: I too love to listen to audiobooks while doing needlework. I used to do a lot of cross-stitching but these days, I find it hard on my eyes, so I mostly knit.

>36 mathgirl40: Sorry to read that! But knitting can be combined with audiobooks as well. :-)

>36 mathgirl40: It seems my answer to your reply did not save. Hmm, what did I do wrong on this early Sunday morning?

Well, I intended to write : sorry to read that your eyes are giving you troubles doing needle work. But knitting time can also be used as audiobook time, right?

>38 BoekenTrol71: I think it did save, unless my poor eyesight is making me see double. :) Every once in a while, I encounter similar posting difficulties on LT as well.

And yes, I do listen to audiobooks while knitting! Actually, I listen to audiobooks while doing most things -- driving, exercising, laundry, cooking. :)