WarEagle78 hopes to clean house!

Ha, fat chance. But SqueakyChu invited me over here and I did get curious. I have not been particularly active in Bookcrossing for a couple of years, so I wondered how large my MTBR actually is. I appear to have 56 books originally listed by other BXers. Shame on me! My 2014 goal will be to actually READ 10 of them and move out 15 of them. Many of the 56 are books that came back to me in an "anything goes" bookbox and some, well, I probably will never get to them - but I won't hold on any longer.

The first thing I did was make sure I was not holding on to any originally listed by one of the LT BXers! Whew, none.

So, I'm going to go by age. OMG, the first TWO are Michener books. Well I won't get to ten at that rate. I guess I'll figure something out. Stay tuned!

Good luck!

Welcome to this group and good luck with your challenge!!
Which Micheners do you have TBR? I just read Centennial and do gave a few more to go. Luckily not all MTBR according to the the rules of this group, what a relief!

Good luck with your challenge!

BoekenTrol71, my Micheners are Recessional and The World Is My Home: A Memoir. I've read several of his books and thoroughly enjoyed them so I really have no reason to expect these to be different. I'm just not in the mood for a long read right now!

so I wondered how large my MTBR actually is

Haha! Larger than you thought!

Welcome to this fun challenge. I am getting a kick out of checking out my oldest BC books because I've been a BC member much longer than an LT member...although I must admit that the LT forums lured me away from those on BC. It's not a "biggy" though because I hang out at least monthly with my RL BookCrossing buddies.

My 2014 goal will be to actually READ 10 of them

Same! I'm also going for 10 old BC-registered books. Good luck to both of us. :)

So, I'm going to go by age. OMG, the first TWO are Michener books. Well I won't get to ten at that rate. I guess I'll figure something out. Stay tuned!

Okay. I'm tuned in... :D

Okay, most of my old unread books are in a trio of stacks in the corner of the study - I picked one off the top. It is Red Unicorn by Tanith Lee. It was registered by affinity4books and it has been in my MTBR since December 2006.

And no, it's not even close to being my oldest (sigh), but it's a start.

And no, it's not even close to being my oldest

Ha!

1. The Red Unicorn done!! And I actually enjoyed it, so shame on me for letting it languish. I will try to send it traveling this week. The review is on my 100 Books in 2014 thread, and here on its BX page.

Isn't it a nice feeling that you can get The Red Unicorn traveling again?!

SqueakyChu - yes indeed!

I have started the second book in my abandoned stack: Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes. It was originally posted to Bookcrossing by AngelfireStar, and I've had the book since March 2007.

Journal Entry 3 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Arrived in AL about 10 days ago - sorry to take so long to journal, I was out of town.

Heh! Not to mention so long to actually read it!

...but I certainly have no room to talk. I'm in the same boat that you are! :)

{{{blush}}}

I've been reviewing my BX books and have found that I have lost track of some completely. This house needs a good sorting. Surely they are here somewhere... surely...

:)

I'm pleased to report that I've read Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes. I won't be giving it a very good review. On the plus side, I did not guess all the plot intricacies until very near the end. On the negative side, it was annoyingly parochial, using abbreviations and slang that were not completely understandable and most characters not particularly well developed. (She tried with Jessie, and her uncle had real potential. I might read a book just about them if they were fleshed out.) If I was British perhaps I would find it just a cute little "insider" mystery and might be just as annoyed by some US mysteries, who knows?

The book was originally registered by AngelfireStar and I've had it since March 2007.

Here is the BX link: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3683494/

I am thrilled to report that my first two BX reads have been returned to the wild. Now that the Olympics are over I will be able to focus on my reading rather than ice skating/snowboarding/ skiing/ short track/ skeleton/ luge/ bobsled...

>16 wareagle78:: Yes, I was really distracted by the Olympics too, but I did read a BC Olympics-related book during that time period. Congratulations on returning your first two reads to the wild!

Knocked out another Bookcrossing oldie:

3. Fallen Angel by Roger Elwood

A cautionary tale by a fallen angel now in Satan's legion, named Observer. His job was to chronicle the evil of the world through time by his hosts. The author uses Observer to call out hypocritical Christians now and in history, was well as this who lean into Christianity as a "feel good" religion and ignore its judgments and requirements. He also discusses homosexuality, Islam, neo-Nazism, and a host of other items. This book is not for the politically correct nor for the faint of heart.

I have had this book since August 2005. It was originally registered by Rosalinde. Here is the BX link: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/2814018/

>18 wareagle78:

2005. Heh!

Uh-huh! I have older.

I've added the BX links to the last 2 books, I had forgotten.

LOL!

I think I have one TBR from 2004. I just have to find it in order to read it. Now I'm working on one (which I LOVE) from 2006. Well, we're working with about the same time period. :)

>18 wareagle78:

That last one... No journal entry for nine years?!!!!!!!!!!!! is that a record? ;)

The previous one was funny, too. I love your line...

"I'm pleased to report that I've finally read this one and can now send it on its way"

P.S. You can make fun of my delays as well. :D

P.P.S. The good news is that all of us are now motivated to get these real oldies moving.

>23 SqueakyChu:

9 years could not possibly be a record. I'm sure I can trump that before the end of the year.

And I suspect you can too!!!

Let's see. I joined BookCrossing in 2003. That means I might have a book that goes back eleven years. The trick would be to find such a book. I think that 2005 is as far back as I go in finding such books in my home. We'll see, though.

We should try to track which book was received by one of us at the oldest date. That could be fun...and embarrassing! :)

Hmmm? I found this one from 2004, but I don't know where that book is. I should look for it, though. That would be ten years ago!

I joined January 1, 2003. My oldest two books were registered April 22, 2003 and they have been in my hands since January 14, 2004.

The book I have had the longest has been in my hands since November 2003.

So, do I win?!?

You win if you read it! :D

Wow, I'm impressed with how long the two of you have been on BookCrossing! It's great that you've stuck with it all these years.

BookCrossing is one of my most fun hobbies. Plus, I really enjoy our RL meet-ups and activities.

It has been a while, but I've knocked off another one:

God Save the Queen by Dorothy Cannell

Registered by ladilee24 on 9-11-2005 and received by me on 12-26-2006. The BX link is http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3242462/

A British mystery that I've had in hand for many years. The blurbs on the cover tell me this author is extraordinarily funny. I found some chuckles and smiles, but only one "laugh out loud" moment. The story, and the murder, take place in frosty-cold Gossinger Hall where the butler leads a household staff including a cook/housekeeper, a stableman, a gift-shop manager, and his granddaughter. The house is open for tours, and it is on one such day that a murder takes place and the story begins.

The good: Cannell develops her characters beautifully. Although some end up as caricatures, it does add humor. Mrs. Most, whose passion for cleanliness causes her to take down the centuries-old tapestries to be scrubbed, is one example. Flora and Vivian, the main characters, prove to be thoughtful, clever, warm, and endearing.

The not so good: the story rambled a bit and the mystery became clear to me fairly early on in the story. the ending seemed a bit rushed in its attempt to tie up the loose ends of Flora's future.

The inexplicable: page 88 in my copy was a mirror image. I have never run into this error before in a published work, and even tried to divine whether it was purposeful and meant to move the plot forward in some way. Alas, it was just a mistake.

Not sure I would seek out this author again, but the story did not warrant its long period of being ignored at my house either.

6. Purity in Death by JD Robb

Registered by smhamn on 9-11-2006 and received by me on 12-29-2006

Review is here: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4415351

7. Nightshade by John Saul

Initially registered by Laura9691 on 11/25/2003, and received by me in a bookbox on 2/28/2005.

The review is here:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1166223

8. Recessional by James A. Michener

Bookcrossing link: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/657557

I have had this book around for many years, in fact it is one of the oldest Bookcrossing books I have in my home - I've had it since 2004. (It was originally registered by nikel in 2003 and she is the one who sent it along to me. ) Yet when I picked it up this week, I sped through it.

I love James Mitchener, although in general I have to be in the mood to tackle one of his tomes. Recessional was different. It is a tighter story than his general sweeping tale of a place (think Tales of the South Pacific or Hawaii). The story of a doctor running from his profession due to lawsuits and high insurance premiums, it becomes a panorama of an upscale Florida retirement community. The residents and staff are fascinating, the backstory of making such a community popular and profitable interesting as well. My parents are in just such a community, although not in Florida, and what I read rang true in many ways. Michener adds his love of place in the descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Tampa community, and I found those portions of the story rewarding as well. Many of the vignettes of the residents left me teary-eyed. This book may not be for everyone, but I found it well-written and enjoyable.

I will be moving it along soon.

Sounds like a good one!

>35 wareagle78:

Recessional sounds like a book I think my husband might enjoy. He has always loved Michener's tomes. The topic of the book you just finished might be especially interesting as we have a daughter who is in her final year of law school. I'll see if I can find that book somewhere.