formativeage getting to the ROOT of the problem

Hello! I'm new to not only this group. but this website, and this is my first ever post!

I have no idea how to make a ticker, but as someone who has not yet figured out how to read consistently, let's give myself a very modest goal of 10 ROOTs.

Here's to hoping I can finish my goal

EDIT: jk here's my ticker


Booklist:
1. The Lathe of Heaven - >13 formativeage: 4.5/5
2. The Female Man - >17 formativeage: 2.5/5
3. To Have and Have Not - >19 formativeage: 2/5
4. "Every Day Brings Something New" by Maria Borys - >21 formativeage: unrated
5. Are You Sara? - >22 formativeage: 3.5/5
6. A History of My Brief Body -

>1 formativeage: Welcome.

Give me a minute and I'll see if I can help with ticker. Otherwise, others will be amply gifted at this task. I have been having difficulty recalling how to do simple things on the site that I formerly understood. Good luck

Looks as though you found the tickers.

>2 EGBERTINA: Thank you! I was able to figure it out luckily. Good luck to you as well

Welcome to LibraryThing and to the ROOT group! Have fun!

Welcome to LT. Have a lovely time!

Welcome to LT! Looking forward to seeing what you are reading.

Welcome to LT and the ROOTers!

Welcome to the ROOTers, Happy reading.

Welcome to the group from me too, I hope you enjoy your reading this year! This group has really helped me pick up a decent reading habit. (we won't mention the ongoing book acquisition habit...)

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!!

After a brief moment of chaos, I finally started my first book for this challenge, which is The Lathe of Heaven. This book was gifted to me over a year ago by someone I'm no longer connected with, so I figured this could be a good start.

Many people in my life love Le Guin's books, so I'm very excited to introduce myself to her writing!

Welcome! Good job on the ticker!

Finished The Lathe of Heaven last night. What a book! I can see why she's so acclaimed. What initially drew me in was the exploration of madness and power dynamics, however a lot of themes that were present by the end I was not expecting to encounter. Le Guin mastered the reflective aspect of SciFi, creating a world that is seemingly foreign yet all-too-familiar once it's settled in your mind. This book would be more effective if read in one sitting. Easily 4.5/5 stars, perhaps even 5/5.

Next up is The Female Man, which my brother-in-law gifted to me some years ago.

I got through the first chapter and find it hard to motivate myself to continue reading. The book doesn't follow a traditional structure and takes a bit more effort to read. Don't want to DNF this book just yet.

If anyone reading this has tips on either how to regain that motivation or how to read more challenging texts, I'd greatly appreciate it!

I don't have any tips for that. I made the decision not that long ago to DNF any book I don't like or don't understand. I'm 71 now and have lots of books to read that could be nicer reads. I don't have the time or the will to finish a book I don't like. It took me some time to get there, because it's not in my nature to quit.

>15 connie53: As someone in their mid-20's who refuses to quit, I appreciate this perspective. It's silly to waste my time forcing myself to read something that I'm not enjoying when there are endless books out there that I will enjoy. Just have to convince myself that it's okay to not finish something

Alright, finally finished The Female Man. It was alright, but as I said in another comment, this book was harder for me to understand. Eventually I'll reread it but my rating will be set at 2.5/5 in the meantime.

Next up is To Have and Have Not. Hopefully this book will be a much quicker read.

Hi, Good job, FA. You persisted. I do hope this next book will be better readable.

To Have and Have Not was... not great. Apparently Hemingway thought so too, since he called this book garbage. Still readable though, so 2/5.

I'm currently reading two books now; Are You Sara?, lent to me by a friend, and my great aunt's biography, "Every Day Brings Something New." I was told this biography was published but I don't think it was, so I hesitate to include it on this list. I suspect both with be quick reads.

>20 connie53: I wouldn't hesitate to include it, Phoenix. Especially since it was written by your great aunt. That would make it extra special for me.

>20 connie53: Thanks Connie, you're right it is extra special. It outlines my family's experience as Polish WWII forced labourers & subsequently displaced refugees. I hope to one day get this book on shelves, whether that means official publishing or self-publishing to distribute locally. I'm on track to finish the book tonight. I won't rate this book as it doesn't feel "right" -- although I gotta say, it definitely is not written great and is in desperate need of an editor!

Are You Sara? was a fun read! I've been consciously avoiding YA novels in exchange for more mature and/or challenging reads, but it was fun to get lost in this book. However, it's become more apparent that YA feels spoon-fed to me. It feels like being told a story rather than exploring a story for myself. There's less of an opportunity to find my own meanings and reach my own conclusions. I still like YA, but I'll be reserving them for the days I have a harder time concentrating. For this reason, I'll give it 3.5/5.

Next up is A History of My Brief Body, gifted to me a few years ago by my sister.

>22 formativeage: Thank you for your "spoon-fed" comment. I have been struggling for years to figure out how to express that. The older YA's didn't do that; and as I read more and more recent Newberys, my mind revolted with the essence of yukkiness to so many of them. Instead of permitting me to find the "feeling" of (belonging or whatever) - the author would state it repeatedly, till I was bludgeoned to death with the concept. I remember one character, recently, in which I was told how wonderful the character was; but, I never read one thing that led me to come to that conclusion without being told that this was the case.

>23 EGBERTINA: For the beginning third of this book, the author kept ending every other chapter with something like "I knew he wouldn't leave me alone" before actually addressing who the "he" is and why he wouldn't leave her alone. It was so frustrating! I kept thinking to myself, "I get it, she's looking over her shoulder, how about giving the reader some sort of hint about what happened? How about using some other way to communicate she's paranoid?" It's like there's no effort put into characterization, with authors relying on definitive statements to make sure that readers "get it." Subtlety doesn't seem to exist in YA anymore. The last YA novel I remember loving is The Hunger Games series (although I was a youth when I first read it so I'm not sure how much of that feeling is nostalgia).