For years – years – i’ve resisted the pressure to read Harry Potter. It’s not that I had anything against the Pottster, it’s just that i was never really drawn to the books. I was a little bit older than most when they first came out and there have just always been other books I’ve wanted to read more. (To be clear, there are still other books I’d like to read more.) Continue reading
Following the lead of 746 Books and many others, I’ve devised my summer reading list – 20 Books of Summer. My list is largely informed by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which runs August 13-29, and because I am me, I’ve got to prepare. So here goes: Continue reading
I wasn’t going to participate in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon but the peer pressure (and bad weather) have gotten to me. I’m going to do it, and I’m not alone. For the first time ever, my daughter will participating as well. And we will be reading to raise money for a new playground at her school.
Sophia will be focusing on a tome of a book, Opal Plumstead by Jacqueline Wilson (520 pages!!).
My list of potential books includes:
As we are reading for charity, we will raise 10p per page, to a maximum of £20 to go to Sciennes Primary School Playground Improvement.
Listing one’s favorite authors is like picking your favorite children – it just shouldn’t be done and is messy business. And yet, here I am doing it just the same thanks to The Broke and The Bookish.
To make it a little harder on myself I am only including authors who are still alive and have written at least 3 books so far. I know that excludes a lot of writers, but I had to make the list manageable somehow. Continue reading
I am so excited to be taking part in a cyber treasure hunt for the release of Jane Alexander‘s The Last Treasure Hunt. The book is a fun take on modern media, and who doesn’t love a treasure hunt? And I’ll be reviewing it later this week.
Clue #4
To unmask the man with glasses
She throws herself from up high
Roaring currents would have killed her
Had he been willing to let her die.
So, here’s how it works:
I’m a little low on content these days, so thank goodness for memes like It’s Monday! What are you reading?, hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Gives you something to read (and evidence that I’m still alive) without me having to think too hard.
Stay tuned for the reviews!
Yes, I know, things have been quiet around here at 52 Books or Bust. Not only has my reading slowed down, but my reviewing has ground to a resounding halt. But I intend to remedy that this weekend by participating in the Write On Review-a-Thon hosted by Brianna at The Book Vixen.
The Write On review-a-thon is a monthly event created and hosted by Brianna at The Book Vixen. It’s 2 days dedicated to getting reviews done, whether you have one review to write or 30+. This edition of the review-a-thon takes place all day Friday, February 27th and Saturday, February 28th. Let’s get those reviews done!
If all works out as planned, here’s what you can look forward to in the coming weeks:
This post is so woefully overdue that I almost wasn’t going to write it. Then I thought, hey, what’s the use of all this data just sitting here all by itself? I know there are numbers nerds out there, so I’m going to share.
Total books read
This is down from 2013, which was at 101. Do I have excuses? You bet i do! Do you care? Probably not.
The gender break down: Not bad, if I do say so myself!! And more female authors read than the year before. But am I giving male authors a fair chance?
The genre breakdown: Yowzers! Not a great split. And when you look at the gender breakdown of the authors, it’s even more depressing. Only 40% of the non-fiction I read was by women. Ponder to yourselves what that may mean. I think it means I don’t read many memoirs and that so-called serious books tend to be written by men, and yes, there is a problem with that.
Author’s Nationality: Looks like I read a lot of Americans this year. Again. But I also read many more Brits, and that was one of my goals now that I’m living permanently in the UK. And you can see that CanLit suffered as a result.
I also made up the category of Global. There were quite a few authors I read this year that truly are global citizens. For example, born in India, went to university in the US, and divides their time between the UK and India.
Where in the world my reading took me: Unfortunately, this neat little map does not show how much I read set in each country. So, for example, it looks like I did a lot of Russian reading, when in fact I read only one book set there. Australia, on the other hand, fared quite well in my reading in 2014.
Maroon
Yes, it is time for the event you’ve all been waiting for … Free-Range Reading!!
The concept is quite simple: November 1 – December 15, 2014 you aim to read without a plan, without a road map, without direction. There are no deadlines. You just read and see where it takes you. But most of all, you read for the pure joy of it.
And in the spirit of Free-Range Reading, I am proposing that you participate in whatever way best suits you. For me I’m going to go to the library and grab whatever suits me, browse my bookshelves to see what forgotten gems are lurking there and who know, I may even hit up a few book shops. And of course, I’m going to include at least a few non-fiction picks for Non-Fiction November.
Below is a linky so that you can share your plans (or lack there of) for Free-Range Reading, announce you participation or reviews of the hidden gems you’ve unearthed. Enjoy and keep reading!
I don’t know who came up with the term ‘free range reading’. I first saw it used by Heather at The Capricious Reader. Anyways, I’ve interpreted it to mean reading without a plan, without direction or deadlines. Reading just to see where it takes you. I think with blogging so many of us get caught up in reading and writing about the next big book. We are subject to publication dates for the ARCs we receive and we feel pressure to READ, READ, READ. Or at least that’s how I sometime feel.
52 books or bust 