Billiejean reads tbr in 2018

I have lost my reading time, but I'm going to try again in 2018. I'm also learning how to use my very first laptop, and it is harder than I thought it would be.

Main List:
1. The Yoga Bible (2018) (Read 20180315)
2. The North Water (2018) (Read 20180110)
3. Life, the Universe and Everything (2018) (Read 20180228)
4. Insurgent (2018) (Read 20180131)
5. Allegiant (2018) (Read 20180324)
6. Wizard & Glass (2018) (Read 20180704)
7. Robot Dreams (2018) (Read 20180613)
8. Quo Vadis (2018) (Read 20180816)
9. Equal Rites (2018) (Read 20180404)
10. Black Cherry Blues (2018) (Read 20180425)
11. A Ring of Endless Light (2018) (Read 20180504)
12. Slow Regard of Silent Things (2018) (Read 20180525)

I better enter this and then do part 2.

Alternate List:
1. The Last Battle (2017) (Read 20180314)
2. Death Masks (2017) (Read 20180803)
3. Thank you, Jeeves (2017) (Read 20180421)
4. Titus Groan (2013) (Read 20180613)
5. Song & Circumstance (2017) (Read 20180531)
6. The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2017) (Read 20180519)
7. The English Cathedral (2018) (Read 20180323)
8. Common Sense 101 (2018) (Read 20180510)
9. Portraits of the Word (2018) (Read 20180325)
10. Autumn: A Folio Anthology (2018) (Read 20180721)
11. Will Rogers Says . . . (2018) (Read 20180228)
12. Johnny Tremain (2018) (Read 20180713)

A list with a lot I recognize :) Happy reading!

I'm not familiar with any books on your list but it sounds varied. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

six of the books are from previous lists. I guess most of them are from this year's list. Someday, I would like to have every book from every list read.

>5 billiejean: Me too BJ. I always think, maybe this will be the year I read them all... Good luck, it looks like an interesting list!

I see that Jeeves carried over to your 2018 list. Hopefully this is the year you get to read it. Other than that I'm not really familiar with anything else on your list but look forward to reading your reviews to see if anything catches my interest.

I too always think this will be the year that I read all 24 but so far have come up short. Maybe 2018...

I love the Wodehouse books, and this is the last one that I have. Maybe I will read it sooner rather than later.

Douglas Adams is fun, and you're going to finish with Narnia! Thumbs up for Asimov too. I've thought about reading Quo Vadis, and I'm following Patrick Rothfuss even though I haven't read him yet. Mervyn Peake is on my TBR pile, just haven't gotten there yet.

I have to say that I'm curious about The Gormenghast Trilogy. I had intended to finish Narnia last year, but this will be the year. I have one more Darwin book, but I wanted a break from him.

>10 billiejean:, I've picked up the first two Titus Groan books and have them TBR, but I haven't tried to get the third. Apparently things get really weird in that one, so I'll probably stop after two. Then again (as you'll see), some people also say that about Narnia's big finish and I don't mind it so much.

A break from Darwin, yes. I can relate in a big way. In fact, I can safely say he and I will never voyage together again. ;)

I read The North Water by Ian McGuire, compared to Cormac McCarthy who is a favorite author of mine. This nautical fiction was quite good. How nice to have a new author to read. Or maybe risky.

>12 billiejean:, I have the same reaction. Half of me says "What a great new discovery! Must read more by this author!" The other half says "Uh-huh, and when are you going to have time for that, exactly?"

Exactly! i definitely need more reading time.

I finished Insurgent, which was a lot of fun. I'm glad I went ahead and put the last book on this list this year. I'm still working my way through The Yoga Bible and have started Life, the Universe and Everything and Equal Rites. I guess I'm in the mood for humor. :) Unlike last year, I'm reading mainly from my main list.

I'm trying to focus more on my primary list this year too - that's why it's primary, after all - but turns out I've put the most dense, hard to finish stuff there. Bah.

I've never followed Douglas Adams past the first book in that series, but I've heard it's worthwhile. Is it your plan to keep reading the Discworld novels in publication order?

>16 Cecrow: The rest of the Hitchhiker books vary in quality, imo. I read the series straight through (I have The ultimate guide to...) and by the end I was beyond ready for it to just be over already. But there were good bits. I think they definitely benefit from being read separated by time.

>17 .Monkey.: - I've heard that the last few were not as good as the first two so will be going into them will reduced expectations. Hopefully spacing them out to one a year will help like you suggested.

>15 billiejean: It will be interesting to see what you think of Aligent. It seems like a love it or hate it ending.

>16 Cecrow: I also read Hitchhiker straight through. The first 3 are pretty great. The final two are kind of odd and don't feel a part of the series exactly. Like .Monkey. says, there are good bits mixed in with the weird in those two.

Thank you so much for stopping by, everyone! I just finished Life, the Universe and Everything and I thought it was a great read. It is true that I am reading through them one a year or so. I wasn't sure I would like this one as much as the first two, but I did. I have two more books to read.

I am planning to read the Discworld books in order. I know that there are lots of different ways to read these books, but for now I'm following a list in a series reading order book. These books are also lots of fun. I really enjoyed the first two books that I read. Of course, Mort is the most famous as far as I can tell. i think it might be next on the list. I'm really looking forward to that one.

Allegiant definitely has some detractors. But I have to say, I thought the whole premise of the books was too far out there, but I thought it was handled well and I enjoyed the first two books quite a bit. I'm planning to read the third book sooner rather than later.

I am 75% of the way through The Yoga Bible. I think it's a great reference! And I'm working my way through Will Rogers Says . . ..

I finished several books. Will Rogers Says . . . has some humorous quotes about lots of topics including politics, taxes, and air travel, among others. The Last Battle finished up the Narnia series. It wasn't my favorite, but I'm glad to have read the whole series. The Yoga Bible was quite interesting. I'm working my way through it doing the yoga -- when I'm able -- but read it all cover to cover beforehand. The English Cathedral had some stunning photos and interesting historical details of the cathedrals. I thought the book Allegiant was much better than the movie. It wasn't the ending that I preferred, but it was a good ending. And Portraits of the Word combined art and text, primarily calligraphy.

I'm going to have to get reading on the Discworld book. I kind of forgot about it. And I have started Thank You, Jeeves and plan to start Commonsense 101.

>21 billiejean:, wow you've just about caught up to Monkey, just like that! So what did you think of the fate of Susan in The Last Battle of Narnia? What do you suppose the allegory is suggesting? :) It's been a debate for decades now.

Ok, I don't know how to do that hide thing, so spoiler alert for sure. I like to think that she wasn't on the train, so it was more of a warning than a fate. I'm not really sure that was the message intended, but that is the conclusion I draw. There was the reunion at the end right? At lot has happened in my life since I read this so I might be misremembering, so if there was that reunion, maybe it was more of a bad ending for her after all. However, I prefer to think more positively.

I finished Equal Rights, the next installment in the Discworld series. I love these books. They are funny, entertaining, and great fun. Towards the end of the book, there was a reference to Gormenghast, so I'm thinking that is a hint to check out Titus Groan at last. But first I'm going to read Thank You, Jeeves. Still need lighter fare right now in my life. I have also started Common Sense 101 and Black Cherry Blues.

The books I'm reading are not that long this year. I just don't have the reading time that I used to have.

>23 billiejean:, always fun when a reference arises in one book on your list that points to another one. Had that happen about three times a couple of years ago. Sometimes it's because of similar subject matter, but other times it's seems like sheer coincidence.

I finished Thank You, Jeeves, which was not my favorite but I'm thinking I might have some Blandings books, too, so I might take a look.

I've started A Ring of Endless Light and am about a third of the way through. Haven't gotten very far in the other two books. I still need to dig up Titus Groan.

By the way, I've been previewing Discworld books, and should probably purchase a few more. I might put more than one on my list for next year. :)

I've been away too long. I read Black Cherry Blues, which was another satisfying detective story. I followed that up with A Ring of Endless Light, which I thought was excellent, although bittersweet considering the subject matter. Next I read Commonsense 101 which is about G. K. Chesterton. Like Chesterton himself, this was quite interesting. My next book was The Kalahari Typing School for Men, a completely different but also enjoyable detective story. Finally, I read The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It has been so long since I read The Name of the Wind. I haven't yet read The Wise Man's Fear even though it's hanging out here with all the other books. This book follows Auri and I completely loved this book.

I'm currently reading Song and Circumstance and Titus Groan and thinking of starting Robot Dreams.

>27 billiejean:, whew, you may have been away from LT, but you've clearly kept up and then some!

I still haven't read Rothfuss or Peake, but I'm intending to.

I'm thinking Rothfuss hasn't finished the series. I keep putting series on hold until they get finished and then can't recall what I read. Same thing with Game of Thrones.

I'm already thinking about next year's list, which is totally nuts!

>29 billiejean: I agree about Rothfuss. I haven't read him yet because the third book of his trilogy has taken something like 10 years already. I do want to try his series but I plan to wait until it's finished.

>29 billiejean:, it's a symptom of making so much progress on your list this year! I'm behind again, so my next year's list isn't going to look all that different, unfortunately.

>31 Cecrow: Still over half a year to catch up :)

I finished Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne From Talking Heads to Present. This is a book that was on my list last year. It was a little deep for me at times, but I learned so much about David Byrne. My favorite parts were about the lyrics; however, I'm really glad to know about all the different aspects of his art.

I am halfway through Titus Groan and looking for where I put Death Masks.

I remember, Cecrow, when you told me I could just put a few of my old unread books on my next list so there would be plenty of room for new choices. That really helped me a lot, because I think that one year I read only 5 books and some had been hanging around for years. So I have only included 4 - 6 unread books from previous years on my lists since then. I do hope someday to experience all lists all read like you have. :)

Narilka, do you always wait until the entire series is complete to start a series? Sometimes I think the authors are just losing interest in their stories because they will write other books without finishing the series I am interested in reading. I find it frustrating.

>33 billiejean:, I was so proud of that, now it's starting to weigh on me that I'm accumulating some unreads again. Next year is cleanup time!

I read Robot Dreams, which I thought would be all robot stories, but it wasn't. There were a few but also other scifi stories. I also read Titus Groan, which I rather enjoyed.

Now I am reading Wizard and Glass, which is quite long. I'm thinking of starting Johnny Tremain.

Ifinished Wizard and Glass, and I've started Johnny Tremain.

Wow, you're almost done with your list!

I hope I do finish. I usually slow down as the year goes on.

Do you expect to carry on with Peake's series?

I thought I had answered. Sorry. I do plan to read the next book in 2019.

I read Autumn: A Folio Anthology, which I mostly enjoyed. Thinking Fall in the middle of July. I have returned to Death Masks and decided to just start over.

I also finished Johnny Tremain.

Wow, just two to go!

Early this morning I finished Death Masks by Jim Butcher, another really fun book from the Dresden Files. Now I just need to return to Quo Vadis.

Quo Vadis is on my "maybe add that to the TBR pile someday" horizon, so let us know what you think! Sounds a bit tougher than some of the other stuff on your list, but you've nearly five months left; something tells me you can manage. :)

I just finished Quo Vadis this morning. It started out a little slow for me, but turned out to be a great read. There were some Latin terms for rooms and places with which I was not familiar. And I think there are more than one translation. My book didn't even list the translator, so I'm thinking it must be an old one. Anyway, I'm really glad I read this book. Parts were quite violent, shockingly so. But an interesting insight into Nero.

YOU'RE DONE THE CHALLENGE! Celebrate, throw confetti, eat chocolate - just do something!

That sounds like a good recommendation for Quo Vadis, along the lines of what I'd expect from it.

Yea! Chocolate sounds good, for sure. :)

I sincerely hope that next year I can also finish including the remainder of the unfinished books from old lists -- 2 from 2009! I probably can't but I can hope.

Congrats on completing your challenge!

Thanks!

Wow! Is that some kind of record for finishing all 24 by the end of August? Congrats!!!

So, now what's on your reading agenda?

I've had a pretty difficult year and I had lots of unread books from older lists, so I didn't put together a list of long books. Also I pretty much only read from my lists. I recall one year I only read 5 books from my list. And for some reason I tend to read more earlier in the year than later in the year. Now I just browse and pick something fun to read, which is a nice change. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving?? That was a month ago! Oh, wait a minute, American Thanksgiving. Okay, sure, Happy Turkey Day! :)

Happy thanksgiving! And congrats on finishing the challenge! Congrats, too, on finishing it that early!

(I am currently in the US, getting ready for my first thanksgiving.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving so much! :)

I keep reading books from my next year's list, which is throwing it into chaos.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you too! I do love a nice long weekend with food and reading. :)

Food, reading, and football. What could be better than that?