JoeB1934's Wandering Through Books during Remainder of 2024

Having just celebrated my 90th birthday it became obvious that it would be appropriate to change my posting on LT in a couple of ways.

First, my existing thread has become too long, and it covers 2024 for six months. This new thread is intended to pick up at the end of June with the summary of books read in 2024 YTD by a quilt display of covers and non-cover pictures important to me.

Also, I am opening a second thread focused on production of a life history for myself. That new thread can be seen at:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361966#n8578361.

Taking on this life history project will mean I have more activities to include in my time. I will continue reading, of course, but it is likely that my reviews will become shorter. Maybe declutter them instead of talking about nuances that aren't that useful to anyone but myself.

The life history link is:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/361966#n8578361

Happy 90th Joe

            The Books I have Read in 2024 Through July 1 Displayed in Quilt Form

This post is for the books I have read this year, but they also include photos important to me and my emotions. With this display I am presenting to myself the opportunity to relive, to some degree my year in books.



This post summarizes my reading in 2024 up tp July 1, 2024. Thus it is the baseline for what I read during the remainder of 2024

            The First Book as I Continue Reading in 2024




. Key Tags: Literary Myster, FV-Auth, LM-Star, Literature, Mystery, Historical-Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime-Fiction, Historical-Fiction, Family, Romance, Relationships
A Refiner's Fire by Donna Leon With an Average Rating 4.16 For 527 Ratings on GR


The Blurb

In the thirty-third installment of Donna Leon’s magnificent series, Commissario Guido Brunetti confronts a present-day Venetian menace and the ghosts of a heroism that never was

Around one AM on an early spring morning, two teenage gangs are arrested after clashing violently in one of Venice’s squares. Commissario Claudia Griffoni, on duty that night, perhaps ill-advisedly walks the last of the boys home because his father, Dario Monforte, failed to pick him up at the Questura. Coincidentally, Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy friend of Vice-Questore Patta to vet Monforte for a job, triggering Brunetti’s memory that twenty years earlier Monforte had been publicly celebrated as the hero of a devastating bombing of the Italian military compound in Iraq. Yet Monforte had never been awarded a medal either by the Carabinieri, his service branch, or by the Italian government.

That seeming contradiction, and the brutal attack on one of Brunetti’s colleagues, Enzo Bocchese, by a possible gang member, concentrate Brunetti’s attentions. Surprisingly empowered by Patta, supported by Signorina Elettra’s extraordinary research abilities and by his wife, Paola’s, empathy, Brunetti, with Griffoni, gradually discovers the sordid hypocrisy surrounding Monforte’s past, culminating in a fiery meeting of two gangs and a final opportunity for redemption.

A Refiner’s Fire is Donna Leon at her very best: an elegant, sophisticated storyteller whose indelible characters become richer with each book, and who constantly explores the ambiguity between moral and legal justice.

            My Reaction to the Story

Donna Leon has been one of my top tier favorite authors since 2001. That means I have now read all 33 of her books. If you inspect my list of Key Tags, you will understand why those books continue to be favorites of mine.

I have grown up with Brunetti's family and the decay of Venice. This book is just like a visit to Venice and the Brunetti family.

These books are all 4-star in my rating of books. They don't become 5-star books because they don't touch my inner self. There is a lot to be said for books that are entertaining and not challenging, and these do that for me.

. Key Tags: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Suspense, Historical
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore With an Average Rating 4.40 For 11,724 Ratings on GR


The Blurb

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

             Why is This Book a Slam-dunk 5-Stars for ME?

When I am evaluating a prospective book to read there are 4 attributes that I look for:

1. Is It literary?
   
2. Does it include an element of suspense, or mystery?
   
3. Are the characters relatable?
   
4. Am I interested in the sub genre's portrayed?
   

Is it Literary?
I want to read books that are well written so I can concentrate on the story without worrying how a certain sentence is constructed. Obviously, any book that is designated as literature would qualify, but, short of that, the word literary seems accurate for me. A term that has become somewhat popular is literary fiction and this book is so designated.

Suspense, or Mystery?
Over my decades of reading, I have found that I am happiest when there is an element of suspense hanging over the story. It turns out that suspense is a key ingredient in stories and life.

Recently I ran across an article in the New Yorker that provides an excellent summary of that value.

The Secrets of Suspense
We love churning apprehension in fiction; we hate it in life. But understanding the most fundamental technique of storytelling can teach us something about being alive. By Kathryn Schulz
The full article is well worth reading. It can be read at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/27/the-secrets-of-suspense

Just a couple of snippets:

Wilkie Collins, that great nineteenth-century master of suspense, famously advised his fellow-writers to “make ’em wait,” and we are often thrilled when life conforms to that wisdom. As the novelist Anthony Doerr once noted, “We want our games to go into overtime.”

A major problem is that to most readers, Mystery automatically denotes Crime. Let alone the current publisher's overuse of Thriller.

Relatable Characters
Characters that I relate to are possibly not ones that others also relate to. My go-to characters are those that portray time in the 1950-1980 time period when I lived during those years. I also like multi-generational stories that include grandparents, parents, coming-of-age youth and young-to-mid age individuals.
Then of course are those past the prime of life. Elderly coming to grips with end-of-life issues. It is also important that the story contain women in their search for recognition and fulfillment.

I don't like to live in the mind of a serial killer. Instead, I am interested in how each character deals with their problems in life. I do get attached to certain characters and hope for them. I also can be led by the story to dislike other characters, but I rarely stop reading the story.

One exception that I have applied is the test of 'do I want to spend 8 hours listening to an audio book that is dominated by a person I dislike?'.

A major strength of this author is her characterizations of each person. There is a large number of characters and each of them is described in a natural way through the course of the book. This means that each person occupies a portion of the story, and each is described via their involvement in the story. So, you understand each person gradually as the story progresses.

This revealing the background of each person is unveiled slowly as appropriate to the story progression. It is up to the reader to make the ultimate understanding of how each character has developed over time. It was amazing to me how this evolved as the story progressed. I found this development a powerful ingredient to the book.

Sub-Genres Portrayed
Classical genres, such as: history, mystery, science fiction, horror, fantasy, etc. I find to be inadequate in describing whether I would like any given book.
Take a look at the Key Tags on this book as provided by Goodreads readers. On the surface those tags are in my bailiwick, but I couldn't tell you if I would like the book on that basis.

I maintain a sub-genre set of tags that I like to see described in a book. For example, I like tags relationships, family, books-about-books, coming of age, romance, racism, magical realism, espionage, art, archaeology, and so on. These are what I call sub-genres, or tag-genres.

Since most of these tag genres won't be present in many books I have a sorting process I use to home in on such a good book as this one. That is to look at any book that has two specific tags: literary fiction and mystery.

There are countless books with this pair of tags, so I add the filter of requiring an average rating of 3.8+. Since this book has an average rating of 4.4 it really grabbed my attention. Then I could see that the publisher's blurb covered many of the characters that I liked to see in a story.

Making the Choice
I found out about this book from the thread of @ish63 where she raved about the book. I immediately went to the book page in LT for the book. All the tags are there, as well as the rating. So, I was sold and then I looked at the LibraryThing Recommendations where readers recommend other books based on this book.

I was delighted to see at the top of the list All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. That book is not only the best book I have read this year, it is on my top tier of my books all-time.

It sounds like you landed on the perfect book for you. I hope it is as good as you think it will be!

>6 labfs39: Yes, I have just finished the book and it more than met my expectations. The only book I enjoyed more was All the Colors of the Dark. That book had more timely and deep meaning to me. I had to reread it in Kindle to capture all of the meaningful quotes.

This book was more expansive in characters, and they were drawn so well in ways I can relate to.

My next post will focus on those characters as they are the bones in the story.

>7 JoeB1934: I'm glad you enjoyed this book. It's been on my radar as well and I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts.

                        ***** My Reaction to The God of the Woods *****

A Copilot Synopsis of the mysterious world of “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore.

Title: The God of the Woods
Author: Liz Moore
Setting: Adirondack region in the 1970s
Synopsis: In the early morning of August 1975, a camp counselor at an Adirondack summer camp discovers an empty bunk. The occupant, thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar, has vanished. Her disappearance sets off a chain of events that collide two worlds: the privileged landowning family to which Barbara belongs and the blue-collar community that surrounds them.

Here are some key points about the book:

1. Character-Centric: The narrative revolves around a group of female characters, each with their own secrets and connections to the Van Laar family. Louise, the camp counselor, is panicked by Barbara’s disappearance, especially since Barbara is the daughter of the camp’s owners. The story also delves into the lives of Barbara’s older brother, Bear, and her mother, Alice.
   
   
2. Dual Timelines: The novel moves backward and forward in time, revealing layers of family history. Part One focuses on the immediate aftermath of Barbara’s disappearance, while Part Two explores events from 1961 and the 1950s.
   
   
3. Themes: Nature, family secrets, and the intricate relationships within the Van Laar family play central roles. Liz Moore’s writing immerses readers in the Adirondacks’ lush landscape and the tangled web of hidden truths.
   
   
4. Pace and Immersion: “The God of the Woods” is neither a short nor fast-paced book. It demands patience and invites readers to savor the journey, much like a hike through the wilderness.
   
   
5. Procedural Aspect: If you enjoyed the procedural elements in Moore’s previous work, “Long Bright River,” you’ll find a similar approach here. The mystery of the missing characters unfolds methodically, revealing layers of complexity.
   

My Comments about this Synopsis

I retrieved this AFTER I finished the book. In fact, if I hadn't retrieved this, I would probably have tried to tell you the same key points, only way less precisely written. If you want to drop this post at this point it would be fine by me.

What I can do is to elaborate, especially on the Character-Centric and the Dual Timeline components because they are very essential to understand before you start the book.

The author Liz Moore has created a structure which consists of an incredible number of very small chapters which focus on each of the five female characters that are at the heart of the story, over the total time of the story.

Each such chapter has a specific Month & Year for the Character in the chapter. Characters from chapter to chapter CAN be variable and the year assigned to the chapter can be prior to the previous chapter. Just to help you visualize this better than I can describe it here is an example of one chapter sequence.

• Part I: Barbara: Louise: August 1975
  
• Tracy: Two Months Earlier: June 1975
  
• Alice: June 1975
  
• Tracy: June 1975
  
• Louise: June 1975
  
• Louise: Two Months Later: August 1975
  
• Tracy: June 1975
  

This switching between characters and time DID NOT cause any confusion for me. I only mention this issue because some readers simply do not care for non-sequential timelines.

I listened to an audio version of this book, but I would advise either a print, or an eBook as those formats would help the reader.

Character-Centric

As I mentioned in my previous post my focus for every book I read are the characters at the heart of the story. The suspense, or mystery is there to tie them all together, but I always focus on who did what, or why did they do that, or what is their nature and background. This book is an absolute goldmine for me to ponder.

The Female Characters

• Barbara Van Laar: the thirteen-year-old member of the privileged landowning family that owns the summer camp. She disappeared early in the story.
  
• Tracy: the teenager cabin mate of Barbara
  
• Alice: the wife of Peter Van Laar who heads the landowning family. Mother of son Bear who disappeared 20 years earlier and daughter Barbara.
  
• Louise: the counselor overlooking the girls in the cabin
  
• Judyta: the young adult freshly promoted to NY state criminal investigation team.
  

The Male Characters

• Peter Van Laar who heads the landowning family. Father of son Bear who disappeared 20 years earlier and daughter Barbara.
  
• Peter Van Laar II who is to inherit management of the financial interests in the future.
  
• Bear: The Eight-year-old son of the Van Laar's. Still not found
  
• Jacob: The convicted serial killer of other women in the region of NY
  
• Victor: The patriarch of the Hewitt family that had managed the land owned by the Van Laar family
  

There are a number of male characters who occupy this story, but I think of them as distractions to the main stories of the female characters mentioned above. In fact, none of these male characters I listed are candidates for the role of best supporting actor if this was to become a movie.

This is all about the female characters.

The author creates characterizations for each female in terms of their background, their intellectual processes and their emotions. I ended up knowing them as well as some friends I have had in the past. The motivation in developing these characterizations was not to reveal their involvement in the mystery, but more to understand how being involved interacted with who they were.

The story is brought to what I consider a surprising, but reasonable solution to the mystery, with the Judyta character playing a key role. The characterizations were developed through what some readers might feel to be somewhat unnecessary details.

As the synopsis says:

"The mystery of the missing characters unfolds methodically, revealing layers of complexity."

"It demands patience and invites readers to savor the journey, much like a hike through the wilderness."

BookBrowse Review of The God of The Woods

I just joined up with the BookBrowse web site and will be using it in my future reviews.

I found the review of The God of the Woods and thought it provides an excellent summary of the book in ways that I was probably not clear about. Here it is:

The narrative structure Liz Moore employs in The God of the Woods is intricate; non-sequential chapters bounce among several points between 1950, when the children's mother Alice first meets their father Peter, and 1975, as the investigation into a missing child's whereabouts progresses.

Chapters are also written from the viewpoint of different characters, so diverse voices and perspectives are explored.

And finally, the plot concerns not only two separate mysteries but abounds with subplots, examining themes such as family dysfunction, class structure, and the roles of women during these decades. Although this sounds horribly complex, the author is so skilled that one never feels lost and not one line feels unnecessary or out of place.

This is an engrossing mystery that expands the genre into character study and a discussion of social norms. The book is highly recommended for those looking for a top-notch summer mystery, as well as anyone interested in an outstanding work of literary fiction.

I have been doing a bit of thinking about my use of LT and the nature of my posts on books I read. This has led me to a few observations:

• I really enjoy the 'hunt' for books I would enjoy reading.
  
• I obtain ideas for books to read from member posts that I follow and recommendations elsewhere to continually add to my TBR. Which is over 800 books at this time.
  
• Every week I run through my analysis of the TBR using whatever I can find about each book in terms of my personally interesting tag-genres list.
  
• I sort the TBR analysis focusing on books that have literary fiction and mystery tags. Such books are ranked by their average rating.
  
• I take the resultant list and go down from the highest AVG Rating to decide if I want to place the book on the top 100 books I want to read.
  
• I search for audio versions of the books and place holds on them in the library. If I REALLY want the book I go to Audible and buy it.
  
• I choose the book that is available to me on that day.
  

I gave you this list because each of you have your own method for selecting the books you are reading and there isn't any reason in the world for me to try to convince you that a book I just read should be on your Wishlist.

In looking back on my reviews, it appears to me that I have ventured too far into the realm of justifying my book read as one worthy of your reading it. From now on I will simply provide you the reasons I chose the book and my 'personal' feelings about the book.

In this way you will have the best info I have to provide you with content for your 'due diligence' work.

My new design of posts about a book I am, or will be reading, will follow a constant format.

• A book cover photo, including touchstones for the title and author
  
• A synopsis of the book with emphasis on the overall book theme
  
• A review selected by me from a recognized book world source. with spoiler alert
  
• My review which focuses on my personal reaction to the book. with spoiler alert
  

I am including the spoiler alerts because many readers don't want details before they read the book.

. Key Tags: Fiction,Historical Fiction,Literary Fiction,Fantasy,Religion,Historical,Contemporary,British Literature,Adult,LGBT
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry With an Average Rating 3.79 For 718 Ratings on GR

A Copilot Synopsis

In this beautifully written novel, Sarah Perry takes us on a journey through love, astronomy, and the intricate lives of two unlikely best friends:

Thomas Hart:

A small-town writer living in the Essex town of Aldleigh. Despite the three-decade age gap, he and Grace Macaulay share a kinship—torn between their commitment to religion and their desire to explore the world beyond their small Baptist community.

Grace Macaulay:

Raised in a regulated religious environment, Grace’s life takes an unexpected turn during a church service disrupted by an eighteen-year-old boy named Nathan. The shard of glass from a shattered window leaves a mark on her neck, but it’s the glimpse into Nathan’s world—ripped jeans, cigarettes, and contemporary music—that truly captivates her.

The Central Mystery:

As the years unfold, Thomas and Grace’s lives intersect by coincidence and design. The heart of the story lies in the mystery of a vanished nineteenth-century astronomer, Maria Văduva. Her hidden scientific contributions, like those of many real-life historical women, were buried or forgotten.

Ambition and Wonder:

“Enlightenment” is a shimmering wonder of a book, rich in symmetry and symbolism. Perry’s prose invites readers to contemplate the human condition, much like Virginia Woolf’s introspective passages.

So, if you’re ready for a literary voyage that spans two decades, embraces friendship, faith, and unrequited love, and peers into the cosmic mysteries, consider adding Enlightenment to your reading list. It’s Sarah Perry’s finest work yet!

>9 JoeB1934: I'm in the final pages of this book and so will wait to look at your reaction to it until I finish. I am really enjoying it.

>13 JoeB1934: And skipping your comments again. Perry is a favorite author of mine and I hope to read it very soon. I'll double back later.

            MEDIA REVIEWS

BookPage (starred review)
Many of Perry's sentences are startlingly beautiful, creating an atmospheric sense of set­ting and character....There's a hint of the literary romance and mystery of A.S. Byatt's Possession.

Literary Review
No novel is ever perfect, but this one comes close. Read it, then read it again. This is a book full of unexpected wonders.

Financial Times (UK)
A rich, surprising book that dazzles and dizzies the reader...recalls...the erudition of AS Byatt, the ungovernable romances of Iris Murdoch.

Guardian (UK)
Extraordinary and ambitious...What Perry has done in this layered, intelligent and moving book is to construct a kind of quantum novel, one that asks us to question conventional linear narratives and recognise instead what is ever-present in Perry's luminous vision of Essex: truth, beauty and love.

Independent (UK)
A fat, satisfying, grown-up novel – rich in plot, characters, ideas, structure, and atmosphere. Most writers only really deliver on a few of those; in this book about astronomy, faith, and devotional love in all its forms, Perry leaves none behind.

Telegraph (UK)
Like A.S. Byatt's Possession, Enlightenment is a baroque, genre-bending novel of ideas, ghosts and hidden histories. A richly layered epic....a heartfelt paean to the consolations of the sublime, where religion and science meet.

Booklist (starred review)
Stunning...Perry's shimmering prose draws readers gradually into the story, until suddenly, we are captivated by the rich, psychologically complex, and intimate characters as they grapple philosophically with issues of faith, religion, science, astronomy, and love in all its guises.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Perry seamlessly blends an absorbing mystery with her principal characters' personal conflicts to create a narrative as propulsive as it is emotionally resonant.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Enchanting...Perry magnificently evokes the wonder of the cosmos.

>14 RidgewayGirl: I can guarantee that both of these books are 5-stars for me. Take your time and enjoy their brilliance.

I have yet to read Sarah Perry, but yours is the second glowing review of one of her books that I have read this morning. The other is The Essex Serpent reviewed by Rasdhar. I can see I need to look for her books!

            Enlightenment isn't Just a 5-Star Book It's A Comet in the Book Universe

Ever since I started listening to this book, I have been overwhelmed with the beauty of the prose and the lure of a historical mystery. As I proceeded almost every minute there was a phrase, or a paragraph that drew me into the story. I soon realized that, while I enjoy the audio, I wanted to see those words and savor them in print to return to.

I purchased a Kindle version and reviewed what I had listened to and marked pages as noteworthy. I continued this alternation with breaks for family duties.

All the time I kept accumulating thoughts and words by Sarah Perry that she was giving me about the cosmos and our place in it.

Of course, God is a major 'character' along with those mentioned in the synopsis. The Central Mystery, it turns out, provides the backbone for the story, which is a whole collection of mysteries involving the life of each of the characters. Their lives are so well described from beginning to end that I ended up contemplating their lives, as well as mine as much as that of the central mystery.

This central mystery continues to be woven into the fabric of their lives in ways that are physical.

I fell asleep last night while listening to the audio, which turned itself off at my designated one hour. This morning, I woke up at 3:30 AM Mountain time and immediately began to think 'how in the world am I going to discuss this book?'. There are 12 hours of audio, and the kindle version is crammed with quotes that I deem memorable.

Two words came to mind: Enlightenment and Comet

            Enlightenment

(the Enlightenment)
a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton, and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.

the action of enlightening or the state of being enlightened:
understanding, insight, education, learning, knowledge, awareness, information, erudition, wisdom, instruction, teaching, illumination, light, edification,
awakening, culture, refinement, cultivation, civilization, sophistication, advancement, development, liberalism, open-mindedness, broad-mindedness

Opposite: ignorance, benightedness

This book provided for me the state of being enlightened.

            A Comet

I have had a series of books that I described as 5-star books. This book certainly qualifies as such, but it seems to me that it had an impact on me that exceeds almost all 5-Star books.

Why do we bestow Stars upon those who’ve achieved greatness?

From Copilot I obtained the answer to this question.

Let’s embark on a celestial exploration to uncover the symbolism behind these stellar rewards.

Symbol of Life and Origin:
Our ancestors gazed at the night sky, pondering those distant points of light. Stars, sprinkled across the cosmic canvas, seemed both unreachable and intellectually captivating.
The Sun, our very own star, provides warmth and sustenance for life on Earth. Ancient civilizations—the Egyptians, the Aztecs—recognized this connection. To them, the Sun symbolized creation and vitality. It nourished existence.
Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher, believed our souls were linked to the stars. He envisioned a “Music of the Spheres,” where each star emitted a unique sound—a celestial harmony. Our souls, he thought, descended from the stars to learn essential lessons during our earthly sojourn.
Science now confirms this cosmic connection: The very atoms within us were forged in the fiery hearts of giant red stars. When these stellar giants met their cosmic end, they scattered life-building molecules throughout the universe. We truly are stardust, as Walt Whitman mused.
Symbol of the Divine:
Across cultures and eras, stars, the Sun, and the Moon wove themselves into the fabric of spirituality. They symbolized divine power.
Shooting stars, those fleeting celestial streaks, became tokens of good luck. The ancients believed the gods watched from above, granting opportune moments for wishes and forgiveness.
So, when we award stars to achievers, perhaps we’re echoing this ancient reverence. We’re saying, “You’ve touched the divine. Your brilliance shines like a star.”
Guiding Lights and Navigators:
Stars served as navigational aids for sailors and travelers. The North Star (Polaris) guided voyagers across vast oceans. It symbolized stability, guidance, and finding one’s true path.
Similarly, when we honor achievement with stars, we’re saying, “You’ve charted a course. You’ve illuminated the way.”
Clarity, Patience, and Perseverance:
Stars represent enlightenment.
They guide us through life’s vastness, helping us achieve our goals.
In spiritual contexts, stars embody clarity—the ability to see beyond the mundane. They remind us to be patient, like ancient astronomers waiting for celestial alignments.
And perseverance?
Well, stars burn for eons, defying cosmic odds. When we recognize achievement, we honor that enduring stellar spirit.

So, my fellow cosmic traveler, next time you see a star awarded, remember: It’s not just a badge; it’s a nod to our shared origins, our quest for meaning, and our eternal fascination with the heavens.

Technically I can't call Enlightenment a comet as it isn't a solid object with specific mass and long-term life, instead of dust and ice that has its own orbit and death.

I want to draw attention to the book as it soars among the books (stars) with a luminosity that draws our attention.

DISORDERED TIME by Thomas Hart

The Most Profound Thought I Encountered in Enlightenment

After all of the poetic and beautiful statements in this book I was tempted to paste copies of some of those for your enjoyment. Further consideration led me to produce this, to me, revolutionary idea. How does it strike you?

"I wonder if you’ve ever shared my feeling that things happen not one after the other, but all at once? I expect it’s just the folly of old age, but lately I’ve had a habit of saying to myself: Everything that will ever happen has happened, and is happening. Many years ago (or tomorrow, or yesterday) I happened to see a palimpsest in the British Library. A fifteenth-century liturgy had been overwritten on parchments including a ninth-century gospel and a twelfth-century study of Plato; and to look at it was to hear a chorus of voices singing together in one place, but not from one time. Now this is how the whole world seems to me. I’ve lived in Aldleigh all my life, and imagine I’ll die here—so as I walk past the market square and the war memorial, or go through Lowlands Park toward the river, I experience the town not with this present self, but with all the selves I have contained, and will ever contain. Sometimes I meet myself on the stairs, and sometimes I see friends who died or left me in other ways—and my experience of them now consists of every experience of them I ever had. So you see, I’ve learned it’s possible to despise and love a friend equally, in the same place and at the same time. Since these days I look to physics just as I used to look to the scripture, and I find there a peculiar theory that appeals to me."

Perry, Sarah. Enlightenment: A Novel (p. 279). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

"This is the idea of the block universe, and is predicated on Einstein’s theory of relativity: it conceives of the entirety of space and time existing together in a kind of three-dimensional cuboid. In this model there is no sequence of events unfurling on a timeline: it all occurs simultaneously, and our experience of it depends on how the block is sliced. I doubt I’ve understood or explained it well, but all the same it does illuminate my life. If everything that will ever happen has happened, and is happening, at last I understand how it might be possible to fall in love at a glance, and know a stranger like a lover—perhaps already that love and all the events that followed were already unfolding elsewhere, and elsewhen. And I also understand how it might be possible to despise those who wronged us, and at the same time to feel at peace, which is perhaps the backward echo of forgiveness we haven’t yet seen. Now: my father was a preacher, and already I hear him chastise me from beyond the grave (or before it)—what comes of moral responsibility, Thomas, if the exercise of our will makes no difference to events—what would men and women do if they could shrug and say: It has all already happened! I’ll let the physicists and theologians argue over that, and look instead to T. S. Eliot. “If all time is eternally present,” he wrote, “all time is unredeemable.” Perhaps no matter how we conceive of it, time is unredeemable, and as soon as we do a thing, it’s done. There was a time this would have made me sad. Now it refines every minute in my possession into something so precious I can’t bear to throw it away."

Perry, Sarah. Enlightenment: A Novel (pp. 279-280). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

>19 JoeB1934: Interesting, Joe, especially that first paragraph. Thank for taking the time to share.

I can't drop Enlightenment from my mind, so I decided to share these final thoughts from Thomas Hart.

Now: I’ve heard it said that at the first sip from the glass of the natural sciences you will become an atheist—then at the bottom of the glass, God will be waiting for you.

Some claim these are the words of the physicist Werner Heisenberg, and some say he never said any such thing—but it charmed me enough to seek him out on the shelves and find as ever that my wonder and my comprehension did battle and left me reeling.

It seems to me that Heisenberg proposes this:

that although the electron is certainly real, nothing we can say of its location now can do any more than say where it might probably be in the future. It is a mysterious thing, not quite existing separate from any other thing, and coming most fully into being at the moment of connection.

I wonder in that case if the world and everything in it—you, me, the moon and the water—consists not of solitary beings, but rather out of how each thing relates to another, so that in the end it is only out of connection that the whole world is made.

Perry, Sarah. Enlightenment: A Novel (pp. 370-371). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

>21 JoeB1934: I wonder in that case if the world and everything in it—you, me, the moon and the water—consists not of solitary beings, but rather out of how each thing relates to another, so that in the end it is only out of connection that the whole world is made.

I think you are correct on this Joe. In fact quantum physics seems to be saying this.

>22 kjuliff: It is Sarah Perry who wrote this cosmic novel that has the skill to put these concepts into words that are so human, but so eternal for me.

>21 JoeB1934: Great comments on Enlightenment. I just read another book by her that I liked very much (The Essex Serpent). Looking forward to reading this one too.

I woke up again at 3:30 AM still thinking about Enlightenment and the impact it has had on me. As I laid there pondering the book the realization finally crystalized.

Within my extended family there are echoes, or shadows of every character in this book. Starting with being raised in a conservative religious group, the Seventh Day Adventists who have many characteristics like Methodists and Baptists. Many of my extended family belonged to the Catholic church.

I could go down every character in the book and think how such a person in my extended family could relate to that character. Not a duplicate, or a twin, but similar in some ways. These similarities are not 'pure' as most individuals have characteristics that blend with several of the characters. Just like the books I read, they contain multiple sub-genres.

I know for a fact that such is true about myself, and I am the only person who knows exactly who I am.

My final thought this morning as I laid in bed was:

This is a story about common elements of humanity as I understand them. Always searching for, who am I and where did I come from?

>24 rv1988: I read that book also and loved it. I have been watching for a Sarah Perry book ever since and why I jumped on this one. They are very similar as they have common themes, Enlightenment I consider a masterpiece and the best book I have ever read and intend to read it again.

You probably have noticed that I have started to use Copilot to provide a synopsis on a book I am reading. I find these to be more informative than the typical publisher's blurb. Copilot produces fairly concise but, from my perspective an excellent place to start for a book.

It ALSO indicates the sources used in obtaining that synopsis, which gives me useful information. When I asked for the synopsis of Enlightenment it mentioned something called BookBrowse . This caught my eye so I went to the website and found this:

Hello and Welcome to BookBrowse!

Our Mission

BookBrowse is your guide to exceptional books, providing you with all you need to know about the books that matter.

For more than two decades, BookBrowse has provided a curated resource of the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction, with an emphasis on books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. We offer free and premium content - with subscription options for individuals and libraries (so that all patrons and staff can access.)

Because there are far too many books published for you to read about all of them, let alone read them all, we seek out and recommend only the best of the best. Then, we give you all the information you need to decide which books are just right for you. Among much else, BookBrowse provides in-depth reviews and "beyond the book" articles; hand-selected read-alike recommendations for thousands of books and authors; the ability to browse by genre, time period, setting and a wide range of themes; previews of notable books publishing soon; and extensive resources for book clubs.

We also publish four free newsletters (BookBrowse Highlights, Publishing This Week, Book Club News and Librarian News) and, for our members, a twice-monthly e-magazine, The BookBrowse Review.

This really caught my attention as I share the objectives mentioned in this mission statement. Note especially the statement:
the ability to browse by genre, time period, setting and a wide range of themes In their nomenclature themes are what I have called sub-genres, or tag-genres.

They don't mention in the statement how they rate books, but they do have a rigorous process. Included in that process is that they are looking for 4+ star books. This happens to be a phrase I have used in my searching.

I have subscribed to their system and using it to help me determine what book to read next.

I hope that their facility will help me sort out the 'great books' from the 'terrific' books that aren't quite what I should be spending my time on.

When I was obtaining background on Enlightenment on BookBrowse I saw this next book in their latest recommendations, and I was intrigued



The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl by Bart Yates

A Copilot Synopsis:

In this captivating novel, award-winning author Bart Yates weaves historical fact and fiction into a surprising and thought-provoking saga. The book spans nearly a century, focusing on twelve significant days in the life of Isaac Dahl, beginning in 1920s Utah.

Isaac’s Memoir:

At the age of ninety-six, Isaac Dahl sits down to write his memoir. As an accomplished journalist and historian, finding the right words has never been a problem for him. But this book is different—it aims to distill the very essence of his life.

Each chapter encapsulates a different day, spanning from Isaac’s childhood to his later years. These days morph through twists of fate, revealing the extraordinary within the seemingly ordinary.

            ***** Twelve Significant Days *****

Avalanche Survival:

An avalanche strikes Bingham, Utah, trapping eight-year-old Isaac and his twin sister, Agnes, in an upside-down bathtub. Their survival sets the stage for a life filled with unexpected turns.

War Correspondent:

In 1942, Isaac, stationed on the USS Houston in the Java Sea as a rookie correspondent, confronts the full horror of war. This day leaves an indelible mark on his soul.

Lifelong Friendships:

Other days are spent simply—with lifelong friend Bo or with Danny, whose love transforms Isaac’s later years. These seemingly ordinary moments gain significance only in hindsight.

From Dust Bowl to Civil Rights Movement:

Isaac’s journey takes him from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to a Mississippi school at the apex of the civil rights movement. Through his eyes, we witness pivotal moments in history.

Insight, Wisdom, and Emotional Depth:

Isaac tells his story with insight, wisdom, and emotional depth. His narrative reminds us that there is no such thing as an ordinary life. The greatest accomplishment lies in living and loving fully.

“The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl” is a singular narrative that sparks conversation and reflection. It invites us to recognize the extraordinary within our own lives, even amidst the seemingly mundane

Some of you might not know that in a separate project I am trying, with the help of my family to create a digital portfolio of events, people, memories and relationships over the 90 years of my life.

Now you know why this book caught my interest. I don't hope to include just 12 memorable days in my life history. My objectives are somewhat similar.

I plan to review my personal reactions to this book as I read it. Those reactions will most likely effect how I develop my own life history.

In case you were wondering Isaac Dahl is not a real character. This book weaves historical facts with fiction in order to accomplish the objectives of the author Bart Yates.

We will try to find out if those objectives were met for me.

            A Banner Day For Me

I woke up this morning with my brain working on all cylinders, not that it hasn't before but the ideas and plans are really in bloom.
Briefly, for the following reasons:

• I had a rerun of my 90th birthday favorite breakfast of scones and bones.
  
• The technique for digitizing historic photos and documents for my digital life history is now in place.
  
• My family is deep into processing 3 storage units accumulated from 86 years of marriage. Excellent selection of junk, giveaways, memorabilia and estate sale items.
  
• BookBrowse offers me an excellent method for finding 5-star books I would really love. Their provision of the ability to browse by genre, time period, setting and a wide range of themes will save me countless hours and most likely maximize my reading pleasure.
  

So, off to work I ago on several of these issues, except for the breakfast which is long gone.

>29 JoeB1934: Wow, Joe. You have so much energy and focus—I wish I were as motivated! I'm glad things are falling into place for you on all fronts. How did you decide to go about your digitizing project? That used to be a burning question for me in my professional life a zillion years ago.

>30 labfs39: The general idea of leaving behind some sort of life history had been germinating for years. My father wrote up a fairly short one without even tell me he was doing it. We used that writeup in his eulogy.

Over the years at family gatherings, I would think of something about my professional life and the story would elicit more requests about them. Because I worked in high-security national defense work I could only talk about people I had known and my experiences generally.

When Cynthia died and I hit 90 years old it became obvious that I owed to my family a distilled version of my history. At first, I thought about a thread posted on LibraryThing but quickly came to the conclusion that there were too many obstacles in doing it properly on LT.

Somehow, out of all that the idea of a photo portfolio came into view. These photos can be of people, attached to brief words about the photo. Then, of course covers of books that had the largest impact on me. Because a large segment of my professional life was classified, I need to talk more about people and circumstances than photos. This would be small documents of key events.

I happened to be entering the phase of decluttering all the 'stuff' we had accumulated in 67 years of marriage, and it brought to mind everything implied in the title Decluttering My Life History at 90.

>30 labfs39: Sorry I wasn't more clear. I meant how physically have you decided to do it, what will your process be. Are you scanning the items one by one, photographing them, etc.? Will you create a database or use a program like Shutterfly?

>32 labfs39: I haven't got the details worked out, but it will be a mix of existing photos scanned, and new photos taken with iPhone, and word docs where I need to add verbiage to explain a photo. Each photo will have a year or epoch attached for organizational purposes.

Overall, I will be able to use PowerPoint to create a number of presentations. My overall thought is to gather data by year, but categorize them into themes like: relatives, events, locations, etc. At this time, I prefer an organization by theme.

If I think about my book analysis it is two dimensional where a book belongs to different tag genres and I read it in a certain year. I don't know if this parallel will work but I will give it a try.

>33 JoeB1934: I was stimulated by 32> to finalize my approach. Basically, it IS modeled after my book-tag spreadsheet but containing my personal tags for each photo. Things like who is it, when was it taken, what of my life's activities does it apply to, etc.

Anyone interested in the process progress can watch at my Decluttering Life History thread at
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361966#n8580493

But it will be a few days before I detail the plan there. Got too much decluttering going on from 3 storage units.

Your photo and text project sounds very interesting: a multimedia approach will be so rich in detail and context.

By the way, I had not heard of Book Browse either. I have been exploring it, after your post and it looks very useful.

>35 rv1988: Thank you for your use of the phrase multimedia because, while I'm no where close to starting the project, that phrase convinced me to include some musical, or sound snippets that had a major impact on me. Like Yo-Yo Ma playing at the Denver Symphony after 9/11. No dry eyes in the place.

>35 rv1988: I wanted to update you on my multimedia approach to my life history. I have settled on using PowerPoint as a way to involve multimedia in an excellent way for my purposes.

I am creating several presentations that fall into segments of my life. Each presentation will be modelled as my telling the story by voice, photos, relevant other audio, and scans of documents/presentations I have made in the course of my life.

These segments categorize as: Who am I? What did I Do and Why? Where Did I Come From? There are several segments under these broad categories.

I haven't much time for reading, but I have been adding to my TBR as I hear about interesting books for the future. One book that struck me as one to read during this period is:



Small Rain by Garth Greenwell

A medical crisis brings one man close to death—and to love, art, and beauty—in a profound and luminous novel by award-winning author Garth Greenwell.

A poet's life is turned inside out by a sudden, wrenching pain. The pain brings him to his knees, and eventually to the ICU. Confined to bed, plunged into the dysfunctional American healthcare system, he struggles to understand what is happening to his body, as someone who has lived for many years in his mind.

This is a searching, sweeping novel set at the furthest edges of human experience, where the forces that give life value—art, memory, poetry, music, care—are thrown into sharp relief. Time expands and contracts. Sudden intimacies bloom. Small Rain surges beyond the hospital to encompass a radiant vision of human life: our shared vulnerability, the limits and possibilities of sympathy, the ideal of art and the fragile dream of America. Above all, this is a love story of the most unexpected kind.

Hi Joe—

I'm just catching up on people's threads after a summer of not-very-consistent participation here, and I wanted to offer my (now very belated) condolences. I'm enjoying your threads a lot, though—both your thoughts around every point of your reading and your glimpses into your life. Always glad to read other people bragging on their dogs!

I have Small Rain, Enlightenent, and The God of the Woods on my pile, and am very interested in All the Colors of the Dark, which my library has (although if I wait long enough, he'll have another book out and this one will get its promotional ebook discount).

>39 lisapeet: Those are four terrific books you have ahead of you.

The book Small Rain is outside my normal genre choice but my recent experiences with hospitals and dying made me choose to read it. It is a special book, and I highly recommend it.

The other 3 are classical literary mysteries and I think they too are unique, but different from each other. Five-star books for me.

I haven't been reading much since Cynthia died and my time has been consumed with creating a 'Decluttering my Life History' document.

As for Percy, he is my constant companion and a real joy for me. We communicate incredibly well as we share the daily routine.
Did you ever have a dog that had a special routine asking me to take him for a walk and, upon returning he has a similar routine to tell me thank you.

I just saw this in the NYTimes and there is a lot to understand about book reading with your parents.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/style/reading-with-my-father.html

>3 JoeB1934: I love that quilt form. Plus your sweet dog. So far I have read 67 books this year. I doubt I will be caught up on loading my books this year though I will keep up to date 2025.

I don't know if anyone still looks at this thread, but I decided that my current read The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny should be mentioned. This series is one of my all-time favorites and, even though I'm not reading much, I got into the audio of the story.

In a nutshell, I am dropping it from my reading for two reasons. First there is a plot which involves corruption at the highest level of government. With the recent election disappointment, I can't handle that in my reading.

Second, the story line isn't up to her best standards. Unnecessary rewinds and too much over-dramatizing various points. The dialog also seems awkward and a bit of out-of-character.

Still checking in, Joe. Sorry the last one was a disappointment. Good for you dropping it - far too often I keep ploughing on with a book I'm not enjoying.

>43 JoeB1934: I'm treading lightly with my reading now too. I have two books going which I want to finish, but not until I'm more settled.

>45 labfs39: I’m not reading much either. Still worried. I’ve started a number of books but none have really grabbed me.

>43 JoeB1934: Yes I always read your threads Joe. I don’t always respond to posts as I’m a bit up and down of late

            The Books I have Read in 2024 Through Dec1 Displayed in Quilt Form

This post is for the books I have read this year, but they also include photos important to me and my emotions. With this display I am presenting to myself the opportunity to relive, to some degree my year in books.

/a>/a>

This post summarizes my reading in 2024 up to Dec 1, 2024. Thus, it might well be the final posting of 2024

In many ways the viewers of this display probably would like me to put star ratings on these books. It isn't obvious to me after all this time on LT that anyone actually is affected by my saying a book is 5-stars, versus a 4-stars rating.

I enjoyed some more than others, but I have had responses to some of my 'reviews' that simply means we each have our own preferences. Sort of like ranking friends, or family members.

Out of curiosity I decide to see what Tag Mirror says about my memorable books. Here are the results.



This display tells me I read 28 books that were all historical, literary fiction, mysteries out of 38 books. Other subjects that are notable are the 10 with magical realism, 12 coming of age, and even 10 considered classics.

Of course, you can't see these numbers because LT ONLY displays them for any tag if I click on the tag name. I have requested an option to display the numbers, but Tim philosophically doesn't want to change it.

I have re-charted my Life History project a bit and one of the reasons is my need to do more book reading.

One stimulus for such reading came from the website Book Browse that I discovered a few months ago. Their statement of purpose is:

Your guide to
exceptional
books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

The goal for me in 2025 will be to concentrate on books that satisfy my personal search for such books.

I spent a little time yesterday obtaining an idea of books that interest me for 2025. These are six I have holds on in Libby.

Those all look good, Joe.

>50 JoeB1934: I've been hearing good things about Held, and I love the cover.

A progress report: I first received The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs and it was as advertised. The problem was that it was long at the time when I needed time to work on my life history project, so I dropped it.

The next book that came up was Things in Jars and I found that I could listen to it every night as I was in bed awaiting sleep for about 30 minutes. It is a very memorable book and will be one on my list for 2024.

For your information Copilot says about this book the following:


Things in Jars by Jess Kidd is a Gothic mystery set in Victorian London. The story follows Bridie Devine, a formidable female detective, who is hired to investigate the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, a child rumored to possess supernatural abilities. As Bridie navigates the dark, labyrinthine streets of London, she encounters a cast of eccentric characters, including a seven-foot-tall housemaid, a melancholic ghost, and an apothecary.

The novel blends darkness and light, history and folklore, and explores what it means to be human in inhumane times. Bridie's search for Christabel forces her to confront her own buried past and the secrets that lie within the foggy underworld of spectacle and curiosities.

Hi Joe. Was the Rise of Dinosaurs any good before you put it aside?

>54 dchaikin: It was outstanding, and I will go back to it when I am in better condition to appreciate it. It was well on the way to answering questions I have in understanding how that process worked.

Good to hear. I’be been avoiding it for some reason. Now I’m encouraged

I have been working on my thread for 2025, and my main objective is to read what I consider Memorable Book candidates. In a new descriptor I have considered the task as finding books which are considered exceptional by other book readers. Such book candidates can come from other LT members, the numerous 'Best Books 0f 2024' recommendations, the Booker List, etc.

I currently have a list of over 600 book candidates to read. They have come from all of the sites mentioned above. How in the world can I choose about 50 books out of that list to read in 2025?

I am still working on that problem, and I won't bore you with even more of my methodology approach that I have talked about for several years, ad nauseum.

Today I came across a promising approach to the issue in the website named BookBrowse. Their stated objective is to find exceptional books for me.
I tested their methodology by enter a list of 72 books which I called Memorable Books into my membership. Based on my 72 books they produced a list of 10 books that they propose would be of interest to me.



This is very interesting, as of the 10 books, I have read 3 and another 3 are in my book candidates to read! The other 4 books have attributes that are of interest to me.

Worth pursuing, I think

>54 dchaikin: It also has a partner (The Rise and Reign of the Mammals) and I have both of them slated for next year :)

>53 JoeB1934: That's not what I needed just now - another book I need to add to my list... :)

>57 JoeB1934: I have read four of the ten the site recommended, not too surprising, given that our tastes overlap. Unfortunately, the only one I really liked was Atonement, although Lovely Bones was certainly memorable in a gruesome sort of way.

>59 labfs39: I would appreciate knowing which 4 you have read. Just to compare reactions. Atonement was one I have read, and it is also one I liked. It is quite interesting to me that all I did was list 72 books I have liked, and they came up with this list. I haven't quizzed them on their technique other than that they only review books which are 4+ stars by their own reviewers and by critics in the industry.

Since this is a holiday season when books are often given to others, I thought you might be interested in a 'Book' I have created to give to my family.

My booklet consists of 20 photos and descriptions of places important to my life in the form of postcards associated with A Trip Down Memory Lane.

These places are selected from memories of my childhood on camping trips, visits to Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone Park and Paleo Indian archaeological sites we frequented.

The booklet contains an invitation for each of them to accompany me on a trip such as this one next June when I often went to such places.

I used tools, PowerPoint and Adobe, and learned in my ongoing Life History project to create this booklet.

Maybe the whole project will be finished by next July 13 when I will be 91.

>60 JoeB1934: The four I read were Olive Kitteridge, Lovely Bones, Atonement, and Secret Life of Bees.

A 2024 Life History Status Report

In several ways Dec 24, 2024 was an outstanding day for me.

• I 'graduated' from a 2-year Physical Therapy sequence that covered 3 separate accidents. This was achieved by scoring 27 out of 30 points on a sequence of physical activities used by my PT person to measure my progress for insurance coverage.
  
• I completed a PowerPoint Presentation called A Trip Down Memory Lane
  
• The girls in the family created and baked a Slovenian Apple Strudel which my mother baked for decades in my younger days
  

I need to explain that this strudel is a big thing. Four hours of work by the girls. It includes multi-layers of dough with a special apple filling between the layers.
Not to be confused with the more common German strudel which has one outer layer only.

This treat was for me as breakfast the next day.



I also completed the Memory Lane presentation, which is a PDF, from which I extracted 11 photos that I printed in 5x7" size as a booklet. The booklet will be a gift to every family member with an offer to accompany me next June in my favorite trips in Western Wyoming.

Looks delicious!

Our family Christmas celebration begins on Christmas Eve when many members gather together for a Book Night where book gifts are exchanged. On Christmas morning we have our version of a Scottish breakfast of scones, lemon curd, orange juice and mixed berries. Then more diverse gifts are exchanged of smallish expenses.

At this stage of my life everyone knows are really appreciate flavorful jams and toast every morning. Yesterday I receive a collection o 6 small jars of jam produced by a monastery in Eagle Harbor Michigan. Wow!



A book I received has the following cover.



The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a novel by Thornton Wilder, published in 1927. It tells the story of five individuals who tragically die when a bridge in Peru collapses. A friar named Brother Juniper witnesses the accident and decides to investigate the lives of these victims to understand why they died. Through his inquiry, the novel explores themes of fate, destiny, and the interconnectedness of human lives. Ultimately, it questions whether their deaths were part of a divine plan or mere chance.

This book was given to me by Madeleine, who knows my book preferences better than anyone else. She tells me that it is one of her all-time favorites. She describes it as "the mystery of humanity".

She also said she had purchased a hardback copy of Enlightenment which I had told her about. She and I don't share all genres, but we do share that in both of these books. Partially explained by having similar religious backgrounds, but more importantly both of us have an eternal interest in the mystery of humanity, as she expresses it.

What lovely books and food for the Season. All the best in the New Year.

One of the things I look at in choosing a book is to see who of my LT friends have obtained the book. In this case they were:

"almin, ELiz_M, Chatterbox, katiekrug, labfs39, arubabookwoman"

Another thing I look at are the LT Recommendations list to see if I have read any similar books. It turns out I haven't read any of them on the list! Commonly I get 4-8 books I have read. So I can go to this list in the future after I have finished this one.

Another item I noticed on this book is almin. Alison is the first friend I ever met on LT and that was several years ago. She doesn't have a thread to report on her books, but I find her very often having read a book I am interested in. Our interests really do overlap a lot.

She suffered along with me in my original searching for our reading fingerprints. I learned a lot in that exercise, and I hope she did as well.

My Book Reading History

As part of my Life History Project, I decided to take a few days to clean-up my LT library and to create Collections which distinguish details of my reading history by year periods and by the sub-genre tags I apply to every book. This morning, I created quite a number of these collections, and some quite startling results popped out.

Just to name a couple:

• I have read 1629 books in LT for the period from 2000 - 2024
  
• I have 951 books in my TBR
  

That TBR list is ridiculous considering I plan to find about 50 books which are memorable to me.

I will be doing a lot of analysis of my library to understand how my reading evolved over time and what distinguishes the favorite books and authors over time.

I have no intention of describing my methodology any more than necessary as I have learned over the years that my methodology isn't relevant to many others.

What I will do is enumerate facts that my analysis uncovers.

I haven't yet created a thread for 2025, but it will be limited to describing only memorable books I have read and their impact on me. No more listing books I am considering, or books I started, but gave up on.

No defending the books I liked, or recommending any books to other members. Just how/why I liked them for myself.

>57 JoeB1934: Interesting book suggestions. I've read five off your list. If TV is your thing at all, I really recommend the mini series of Little Fires Everywhere. I haven't read the book, but the series was fantastic - my husband and I were both hooked.

Freedom is my favourite Jonathan Franzen book - a true dysfunctional family saga. Olive Kitteridge I didn't enjoy as much as most people seem to. The Secret Life of Bees I found a bit flawed and forgettable. Lovely Bones - it's been a long time but I did enjoy it (if that's the right word). Atonement you've read - if you enjoyed it, there are other McEwan's I would recommend (I do find him an uneven writer, but I've read a large number of his novels now).

Overnight I came to a conclusion about my reading objectives for 2025 and how to create a book reading module to include in my Life History series of modules.

A tentative title for this effort I is My Personal G.O.A.T List of Authors

If you aren't interested in sports, you probably aren't aware that it is very common for commentators creating and disputing what players/teams are the Greatest Of All Time

Currently many book critics put out their list of Best Books of 2024 The Booker lists are another example of list creations.

When I look at the books I have read in the last 50 years, there are many ways for me to rank them. But it would be a hopeless, and meaningless for me even to attempt to create such a ranking by the book.

I am very author centric, and it is far easier for me to create a list of authors that I automatically want to read if they produce a new book. Even if an author isn't writing new books, I am always searching for books by my favorite authors that I haven't read yet. This doesn't mean that every book by an author is guaranteed to be a book I like a lot.

This doesn't mean my G.O.A.T. list never changes as I am always looking for and finding authors that make my mental list.

Another very important realization is that, over time an author can be on my G.O.A.T. list and be dropped at a future time. This is where my LT library which includes books pre-2000 to 2024 will help me to create such a list I will publish in my module.

I haven't yet created a thread for Club Read 2025 but it will concentrate on new books I read in 2025 that belong to, or candidates for my G.O.A.T. list.

The LT stats on my library indicates I have read or have on my TBR 2783 books by 1355 authors. LT also lists my 'Favorite Authors' by a methodology which doesn't come close to my actual favorite authors.

These stats do reveal something about the challenge for me to create a list which is worthy of being on an All Time> list.