QUESTIONS for the AVID READER (2024) Part II
This is a continuation of the topic QUESTIONS for the AVID READER (2024) Part I.
TalkClub Read 2024
Join LibraryThing to post.
1rocketjk
OK, and here we are.
Question 12: First Lines
This is a 2-parter.
The first part we may well have had before. We know of some of the more famous first lines of books. The best of times, the worst of times, and call me Ishmael. And so forth. Do you have any less well-known famous first lines that you'd like to share with the group?
I'll start this time. I think my favorite obscure first line is from a classic YA series by John R. Tunis, written in the 1940s, that starts with the book The Kid From Tompkinsville about young major leaguer Roy Tucker. I don't have the books at hand, but one of them, and I think it's The Kid Comes Back, begins with the line . . .
"The train stood still."
It's such an evocative line for me. It seems obvious that this is not a train just sitting still in a train yard, but one that is about to leave from somewhere for somewhere else. Probably it is full of passengers. It seems likely that it is late getting started. Why does this matter and for whom? To me, these are just four simple words that instantly drew me into the story. I reread three of the books in this series a few years back, and that opening line, obviously, made a huge impression.
The second part I think might be fun. Let's see. Every so often while reading posts here on Club Read, I'll run into a sentence someone's written and think, "Hey, that would be a great first line of a novel or short story." So here's my idea. Scroll through your own CR thread and/or the threads of other club members and see if any such sentences appear to you as likely "first line" candidates. If on your own thread, obviously you can use lines you wrote or that come from the comments others have made there.
Five extra credit points if you create a new paragraph from the first line you've found. 50 points if you use the line as the first line of a new short story, and a million points if you use the line as the beginning of a novel. Don't worry, we'll wait. :)
I thought of this idea a while back and thought I was compiling a list of lines to use, but now I can't find the list. I only found one line that I'd jotted down on some other note page. But today on Dan's thread I found two, so I was inspired to go ahead and start the question. Apologies that I haven't made note of the lines' authors.
"I'm off to Paris tomorrow morning and won't get much reading done there."
"None of the characters had depth. I’m getting sleepy just thinking about them."
"He was fine — knowledgeable, reasonably entertaining — but there was always a vague sense of boredom, an awareness that he’d taught this exact class twenty times before, none of us were saying anything he hadn’t already heard, and there was writing he’d rather be working on."
Question 12: First Lines
This is a 2-parter.
The first part we may well have had before. We know of some of the more famous first lines of books. The best of times, the worst of times, and call me Ishmael. And so forth. Do you have any less well-known famous first lines that you'd like to share with the group?
I'll start this time. I think my favorite obscure first line is from a classic YA series by John R. Tunis, written in the 1940s, that starts with the book The Kid From Tompkinsville about young major leaguer Roy Tucker. I don't have the books at hand, but one of them, and I think it's The Kid Comes Back, begins with the line . . .
"The train stood still."
It's such an evocative line for me. It seems obvious that this is not a train just sitting still in a train yard, but one that is about to leave from somewhere for somewhere else. Probably it is full of passengers. It seems likely that it is late getting started. Why does this matter and for whom? To me, these are just four simple words that instantly drew me into the story. I reread three of the books in this series a few years back, and that opening line, obviously, made a huge impression.
The second part I think might be fun. Let's see. Every so often while reading posts here on Club Read, I'll run into a sentence someone's written and think, "Hey, that would be a great first line of a novel or short story." So here's my idea. Scroll through your own CR thread and/or the threads of other club members and see if any such sentences appear to you as likely "first line" candidates. If on your own thread, obviously you can use lines you wrote or that come from the comments others have made there.
Five extra credit points if you create a new paragraph from the first line you've found. 50 points if you use the line as the first line of a new short story, and a million points if you use the line as the beginning of a novel. Don't worry, we'll wait. :)
I thought of this idea a while back and thought I was compiling a list of lines to use, but now I can't find the list. I only found one line that I'd jotted down on some other note page. But today on Dan's thread I found two, so I was inspired to go ahead and start the question. Apologies that I haven't made note of the lines' authors.
"I'm off to Paris tomorrow morning and won't get much reading done there."
"None of the characters had depth. I’m getting sleepy just thinking about them."
"He was fine — knowledgeable, reasonably entertaining — but there was always a vague sense of boredom, an awareness that he’d taught this exact class twenty times before, none of us were saying anything he hadn’t already heard, and there was writing he’d rather be working on."
2KeithChaffee
One of my favorites: "The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say. About anything." -- The Knife of Letting Go, Patrick Ness
3KeithChaffee
A few possibilities from my threads this year, one of them not written by me:
"No one shambles quite like Syms Thorley."
"It is currently illegal in all of the countries where they live to hunt hippos."
"I like hot dogs, but they are not the most exciting food."
"There is something soothing about making something with my hands." (labfs39)
"I am a notoriously fussy eater, and only a moderately competent cook."
"Murder does not naturally lend itself to bouncy banter and sly wit."
"Must there be cannibals on the tropical island?"'
"Martin no-H Greenberg was reportedly a jerk, difficult to work with, and notorious for not paying his authors. Martin H. Greenberg was, by all accounts, a delightful man who knew and was adored by everyone in the field."
"No one shambles quite like Syms Thorley."
"It is currently illegal in all of the countries where they live to hunt hippos."
"I like hot dogs, but they are not the most exciting food."
"There is something soothing about making something with my hands." (labfs39)
"I am a notoriously fussy eater, and only a moderately competent cook."
"Murder does not naturally lend itself to bouncy banter and sly wit."
"Must there be cannibals on the tropical island?"'
"Martin no-H Greenberg was reportedly a jerk, difficult to work with, and notorious for not paying his authors. Martin H. Greenberg was, by all accounts, a delightful man who knew and was adored by everyone in the field."
4kjuliff
Part 1
The process of growing old bears little resemblance to the way it is presented either in novels or the works of medical science.
Katalin Street by Magda Szabó
Part 2.
I havent heard the news yet, do I want to? The intake of breath was loud enough to be heard across the globe. It was the evening of the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2024. No one answered.
First line from a comment by cindydavid4 here
The process of growing old bears little resemblance to the way it is presented either in novels or the works of medical science.
Katalin Street by Magda Szabó
Part 2.
I havent heard the news yet, do I want to? The intake of breath was loud enough to be heard across the globe. It was the evening of the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2024. No one answered.
First line from a comment by cindydavid4 here
5thorold
Q12.1
He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam-Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher — the Wonder House, as the natives call the Lahore Museum.
Whatever bad things you can say about Kipling — and there are plenty — he knew exactly how to establish the mood of a story in a few words.
Q12.2
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361815#8599604
I went to the library yesterday and got distracted by another Very Short Introduction.
… I don’t know why I keep letting myself in for this scheme, it has never led me to anything, but I always feel that next time it might. You go to the third floor at exactly 11.15, buy a ticket in aid of library funds, and pick a random book from the pile. Your date for the next ten minutes, whether you like it or not, is the person holding the complementary book. I got Waugh’s Decline and Fall this time, a book I have read many times and could probably talk about intelligently even under these circumstances, and I was heading — resignedly — for the nervous type standing in a corner with The portable Gibbon (always there, and never has a word to say beyond “hello”) when I felt a tap on my shoulder and a tall, confident stranger in a business suit held a copy of The ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold out to me with a smile. “I think these two go together, don’t they? Shall we get a coffee?”
He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam-Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher — the Wonder House, as the natives call the Lahore Museum.
Whatever bad things you can say about Kipling — and there are plenty — he knew exactly how to establish the mood of a story in a few words.
Q12.2
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361815#8599604
I went to the library yesterday and got distracted by another Very Short Introduction.
… I don’t know why I keep letting myself in for this scheme, it has never led me to anything, but I always feel that next time it might. You go to the third floor at exactly 11.15, buy a ticket in aid of library funds, and pick a random book from the pile. Your date for the next ten minutes, whether you like it or not, is the person holding the complementary book. I got Waugh’s Decline and Fall this time, a book I have read many times and could probably talk about intelligently even under these circumstances, and I was heading — resignedly — for the nervous type standing in a corner with The portable Gibbon (always there, and never has a word to say beyond “hello”) when I felt a tap on my shoulder and a tall, confident stranger in a business suit held a copy of The ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold out to me with a smile. “I think these two go together, don’t they? Shall we get a coffee?”
6thorold
Slightly off-topic, but this is a pleasantly meta opening paragraph from P G Wodehouse, A damsel in distress:
Inasmuch as the scene of this story is that historic pile Belpher Castle, in the county of Hampshire, it would be an agreeable task to open it with a leisurely description of the place, followed by some notes on the history of the Earls of Marshmoreton, who have owned it since the fifteenth century. Unfortunately, in these days of rush and hurry, a novelist works at a disadvantage. He must leap into the middle of his tale with as little delay as he would employ in boarding a moving tramcar. He must get off the mark with the smooth swiftness of a jackrabbit surprised while lunching. Otherwise, people throw him aside and go out to picture palaces.
7kjuliff
>5 thorold: This sounds promising. I’d probably borrow that book!
8rv1988
I love the opening of Douglas Adam's The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.”
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.”
9icepatton
>1 rocketjk: Fahrenheit 451: It was a pleasure to burn.
10ELiz_M
My favorite first line of all-time (and the rest of the book isn't bad, either).
"It was the day my grandmother exploded." Crow Road by Iain Banks
"It was the day my grandmother exploded." Crow Road by Iain Banks
11cindydavid4
>1 rocketjk: back in the day of a long ago online book group we used to have tag lines with our names. we often ran into posts we used to call NATLBSB not a tagline but should be. This is along that same line and should be fun
12cindydavid4
It is an embarrsment of riches, isn't it?
from the Discworld Witch Challenge
from the Discworld Witch Challenge
13cindydavid4
>8 rv1988: heck the entire Hitchiker Guide triogy is filled with those!
14cindydavid4
"I've decided to call it "Gently Controlled Chaos."
from FB but I thought it fit here
'"someone ought to sue Johan Straus. The 'blue danube' indeed"
from Reading Globally Challenge "the danube'
from FB but I thought it fit here
'"someone ought to sue Johan Straus. The 'blue danube' indeed"
from Reading Globally Challenge "the danube'
15rocketjk
>6 thorold: That's terrific. Thanks.
16KeithChaffee
A couple from my 2023 thread (and that's when I started here, so I promise, this will be the last from me!):
You lose a lot when you lose the element of surprise.
She was a wealthy dilettante with enough money and clout to get what she wanted.
You lose a lot when you lose the element of surprise.
She was a wealthy dilettante with enough money and clout to get what she wanted.
17rocketjk
From Lisa's CR thread this morning:
"I ran some diagnostics then reset my BIOS settings and I was able to boot up."
Someone else will have to write the novel, though. Cyberpunk, anyone?
"I ran some diagnostics then reset my BIOS settings and I was able to boot up."
Someone else will have to write the novel, though. Cyberpunk, anyone?
18SassyLassy
>5 thorold: Instant recognition here for the child Kim, making me want to read it yet again. Great opening line.
>1 rocketjk: Q12.1
They're all dead now.
This grabbed me immediately, encompassing as it does the reporters' classic questions: who?, what? why? when? where? I had to find out.
The book: Fall on your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Have to think about 12.2
>1 rocketjk: Q12.1
They're all dead now.
This grabbed me immediately, encompassing as it does the reporters' classic questions: who?, what? why? when? where? I had to find out.
The book: Fall on your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Have to think about 12.2
19cindydavid4
Hated that book and wish I could wash the image I still have from that book. Do love Kim tho and Kipling could write so well I can forgive a lot
20mabith
I don't really keep track of first lines well, but I was checking something and reminded of the first sentence in Don't Ask by Donald E. Westlake, which Westlake manages to make extremely long and for me extremely evocative of the Dortmunder as a character.
Stuck in traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge out of lower Manhattan in a stolen frozen fish truck full of stolen frozen fish at 1:30 on a bright June afternoon, with construction out ahead of them forever on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, with Stan Murch on Dortmunder's left complaining about how there are no decent routes anymore from anywhere to anywhere in New York City—“if there ain't snow on the road, there's construction crews”—and with Andy Kelp on Dortmunder's right prattling on happily about global warming and how much nicer it will be when there isn't any winter, Dortmunder also had to contend with an air conditioner dripping on his ankles.
21nrmay
“It was Mum who kept trying to make a lady of me through all my growing-up years but it was Grams who taught me her magic tricks and how to be a pickpocket, and of the two of them l have to say that Grams’ lessons certainly proved the more valuable to me in my life.”
1st line of
Caravan by Dorothy Gilman
1st line of
Caravan by Dorothy Gilman
22jjmcgaffey
Heh. Gilman does have some _lovely_ lines, in all of her books...
23BuecherDrache
>18 SassyLassy: And the opposite first line is:
"The following day, no one died." Followed by Saramago's reasons why this is weird. In Eine Zeit ohne Tod by José Saramago.
I also like: "Ich habe beim Fluss Styx geschworen, das alles, was in diesem Buch erzählt wird, pure Erfindung ist." I was immediatly Submerged in the book... And in the whole Percy Jackson Serie. -Sorry, I don't have the original book in english.- Percy Jackson. Diebe im Olymp by Rick Riordan.
And I love this famous one: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune, must be in want of a wife."
What about a single man or woman in possession of a well-stocked library? 😉
"The following day, no one died." Followed by Saramago's reasons why this is weird. In Eine Zeit ohne Tod by José Saramago.
I also like: "Ich habe beim Fluss Styx geschworen, das alles, was in diesem Buch erzählt wird, pure Erfindung ist." I was immediatly Submerged in the book... And in the whole Percy Jackson Serie. -Sorry, I don't have the original book in english.- Percy Jackson. Diebe im Olymp by Rick Riordan.
And I love this famous one: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune, must be in want of a wife."
What about a single man or woman in possession of a well-stocked library? 😉
24jjmcgaffey
...must be in want of time to read!
26dchaikin
Anyone playing with the LT 2024 top five list?
https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/Top-Five-Books-of-2024
I have four so far: https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/dchaikin/Top-Five-Books-of-2024
https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/Top-Five-Books-of-2024
I have four so far: https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/dchaikin/Top-Five-Books-of-2024
27labfs39
>26 dchaikin: Interesting. I have eight contenders to date. It's like trying to compare apples and oranges.
28kjuliff
>27 labfs39: >26 dchaikin: I only got 3 - and yes the books were all over the place. It’s a bit like doing those pop quizzes that used to be in paper magazines when we were very young waiting for the rinse cycle to end.
29rocketjk
Well, the year is about to come to an end and before it does, I've been meaning to post year to apologize for letting this thread drop. The good news is that SassyLassy will be back to be our guide for 2025, and a lovely development that is to be sure, I think we'll all agree. Cheers, all. And Happy New Year!
30SassyLassy
First of all, thanks to rocketjk for questioning us all during a crazy busy year for him.
Now for Your Own YearEnd Wrapup
No, it's not a best of, or anything like that.
Instead, LT has kindly provided each of us with our very own Year in Review. Find it in the right hand column of your home page, then scroll down here for the questions.
Check out your LT activity and let your fellow readers know:
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
- did you write many reviews?
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
- what was your top genre?
- who was your top author?
- were there any surprises here?
Now for Your Own YearEnd Wrapup
No, it's not a best of, or anything like that.
Instead, LT has kindly provided each of us with our very own Year in Review. Find it in the right hand column of your home page, then scroll down here for the questions.
Check out your LT activity and let your fellow readers know:
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
- did you write many reviews?
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
- what was your top genre?
- who was your top author?
- were there any surprises here?
31rocketjk
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
I added 81 books. September was my busiest book-adding month, which makes sense, as we'd finally arrived back in NYC to stay and I had a spurt of gorging on the local bookstores.
- did you write many reviews?
I've so far read 40 books, and hoping to finish a 41st. That's a very low total for me (see: move, cross-country). Anyway, I wrote reviews for all of them, though LT says I only wrote 11 reviews. That's because I don't always add the reviews I write from my CR and 50-Book Challenge threads to the appropriate book's work page.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
LT speaks to me thusly: "You wrote 961 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 167,384 words) and contributed to 236 Talk topics in 31 Groups. You even started 14 topics!" So, I don't know. Is that particularly chatty?
- what was your top genre?
Here's the list I kept on my CR thread: Novels: 18; Short Stories: 4; Histories: 6; Contemporary (when published) Events: 4; Biographies: 2; Memoir: 5. Of the novels, only two were murder mysteries, so the rest were from a variety of places and eras. LT says that of the books I added to my collection, the top two genres were "History" and "Biography and Memoir," with 16 each. I'm not sure if any of these books are listed in both categories, as seems possible.
- who was your top author?
I added three books by Isaac Bashevis Singer, making him my top author. I read two Singer books and two Proust novels. So that's a tie.
Can't say there were any surprises, though.
I added 81 books. September was my busiest book-adding month, which makes sense, as we'd finally arrived back in NYC to stay and I had a spurt of gorging on the local bookstores.
- did you write many reviews?
I've so far read 40 books, and hoping to finish a 41st. That's a very low total for me (see: move, cross-country). Anyway, I wrote reviews for all of them, though LT says I only wrote 11 reviews. That's because I don't always add the reviews I write from my CR and 50-Book Challenge threads to the appropriate book's work page.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
LT speaks to me thusly: "You wrote 961 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 167,384 words) and contributed to 236 Talk topics in 31 Groups. You even started 14 topics!" So, I don't know. Is that particularly chatty?
- what was your top genre?
Here's the list I kept on my CR thread: Novels: 18; Short Stories: 4; Histories: 6; Contemporary (when published) Events: 4; Biographies: 2; Memoir: 5. Of the novels, only two were murder mysteries, so the rest were from a variety of places and eras. LT says that of the books I added to my collection, the top two genres were "History" and "Biography and Memoir," with 16 each. I'm not sure if any of these books are listed in both categories, as seems possible.
- who was your top author?
I added three books by Isaac Bashevis Singer, making him my top author. I read two Singer books and two Proust novels. So that's a tie.
Can't say there were any surprises, though.
32dchaikin
how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like) - 90.
- did you write many reviews? - 79
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen? - “You wrote 1,793 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 121,702 words) and contributed to 132 Talk topics in 3 Groups. You even started 11 topics!”
- what was your top genre? - historical fiction (??)
- who was your top author? - Faulkner. 13 books added
- were there any surprises here? - that my total books read match the height of an ostrich
- did you write many reviews? - 79
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen? - “You wrote 1,793 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 121,702 words) and contributed to 132 Talk topics in 3 Groups. You even started 11 topics!”
- what was your top genre? - historical fiction (??)
- who was your top author? - Faulkner. 13 books added
- were there any surprises here? - that my total books read match the height of an ostrich
33cindydavid4
You wrote 2,332 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 114,354 words) and contributed to 215 Talk topics in 24 Groups. You even started 14 topics!
Your top groups were:
Club Read 2024
1,188 messages
75 Books Challenge for 2024
550 messages
Reading Through Time
204 messages
Monthly Author Reads
83 messages
2024 Category Challenge
60 messages
BookBalloon
55 messages
The Green Dragon
38 messages
Reading Globally
33 messages
All Things Discworldian - The Guild of Pratchett Fans 30 messages
Im not good about adding books or reviews so no data there but based on my own journal
I read 77 books
top authors: edith warton,ellis peters,percival everette,terry pratcett
top genre Historic Fiction, i usually dont like crime and mysterybut read lots of the genre due to my Cadfael reads. short stories,contemparay, sci fi/fan
not alot of non fiction this year but wha I read I loved
I read several books from Anitas list and Im so glad I was able to include those.
Your top groups were:
Club Read 2024
1,188 messages
75 Books Challenge for 2024
550 messages
Reading Through Time
204 messages
Monthly Author Reads
83 messages
2024 Category Challenge
60 messages
BookBalloon
55 messages
The Green Dragon
38 messages
Reading Globally
33 messages
All Things Discworldian - The Guild of Pratchett Fans 30 messages
Im not good about adding books or reviews so no data there but based on my own journal
I read 77 books
top authors: edith warton,ellis peters,percival everette,terry pratcett
top genre Historic Fiction, i usually dont like crime and mysterybut read lots of the genre due to my Cadfael reads. short stories,contemparay, sci fi/fan
not alot of non fiction this year but wha I read I loved
I read several books from Anitas list and Im so glad I was able to include those.
34thorold
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
141 added, 122 read — a few more to go before the year is really over, but the pile is clearly growing!
- did you write many reviews?
122 reviewed so far
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
“You wrote 404 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 82,017 words) and contributed to 71 Talk topics in 18 Groups. You even started 11 topics!”
I suppose that translates as only moderately chatty, given that nearly a third of those will have been reviews posted in my CR threads.
- what was your top genre?
History, followed by literature studies and criticism. But that’s obviously an artefact of the way LT defines genre.
- who was your top author?
Percival Everett with seven books. But I knew that. I hadn’t come across him before, but we saw him giving a talk at a local library. A lot of catching up to do.
- were there any surprises here?
Not really. I usually have a reasonably good idea of how many books I’ve bought and read.
141 added, 122 read — a few more to go before the year is really over, but the pile is clearly growing!
- did you write many reviews?
122 reviewed so far
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
“You wrote 404 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 82,017 words) and contributed to 71 Talk topics in 18 Groups. You even started 11 topics!”
I suppose that translates as only moderately chatty, given that nearly a third of those will have been reviews posted in my CR threads.
- what was your top genre?
History, followed by literature studies and criticism. But that’s obviously an artefact of the way LT defines genre.
- who was your top author?
Percival Everett with seven books. But I knew that. I hadn’t come across him before, but we saw him giving a talk at a local library. A lot of catching up to do.
- were there any surprises here?
Not really. I usually have a reasonably good idea of how many books I’ve bought and read.
35labfs39
Fun question. I hadn't looked at my Year in Review stats.
- how many books did you add?
Hmm, it says I added 214. But (she hastens to add), many were added to my wishlist and others were ebooks.
- did you write many reviews?
77, so reviews for the books I read this year, plus I added some reviews to a work page that I had written last year but forgotten to copy over.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
2729 messages
200,690 words (but who's counting?)
250 topics
15 groups
22 topics started
- what was your top genre?
History, followed by Biography and memoir, followed by Historical fiction
- who was your top author?
Martha Wells. Go Murderbot!
- were there any surprises here?
I guess it's a little surprising to see the number of messages, since I'm an introvert, but as admin, I think that happens. Dan take note of what you are in for!
Edited to add my stats for my other LT account: labfs39kids
167 books read
352 books added
29 books reviewed (usually only those that don't already have reviews)
Genres: Children's Literature (obviously), then Science
Author: David Adler (writes biographies for children)
- how many books did you add?
Hmm, it says I added 214. But (she hastens to add), many were added to my wishlist and others were ebooks.
- did you write many reviews?
77, so reviews for the books I read this year, plus I added some reviews to a work page that I had written last year but forgotten to copy over.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
2729 messages
200,690 words (but who's counting?)
250 topics
15 groups
22 topics started
- what was your top genre?
History, followed by Biography and memoir, followed by Historical fiction
- who was your top author?
Martha Wells. Go Murderbot!
- were there any surprises here?
I guess it's a little surprising to see the number of messages, since I'm an introvert, but as admin, I think that happens. Dan take note of what you are in for!
Edited to add my stats for my other LT account: labfs39kids
167 books read
352 books added
29 books reviewed (usually only those that don't already have reviews)
Genres: Children's Literature (obviously), then Science
Author: David Adler (writes biographies for children)
36jjmcgaffey
I have not added the latest lot of books I've gotten, nor put in reading dates, nor reviews (though I have both stored elsewhere). So this is _minimal_. I was a reading machine this year...
how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
Added 979 (mostly ebooks); read 225 as of when I last put in dates! I think my total is over 350 now. Many of these were rereads, or short books, or both. But still. 33,693 pages, LT tells me.
did you write many reviews?
And here is where I fell down totally (at least on LT) - 3 reviews. I have a lot more written, but I don't know when I'll have quiet time to transfer them.
were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
Not a lot of posting (particularly since I also fell down on my thread) - 191 posts (192 counting this one)
what was your top genre?
Fantasy, unsurprisingly. That or SF is always my top.
who was your top author?
K.L. Noone was top, though I think Honor Raconteur actually won if I included all her pen names.
were there any surprises here?
No, not really. I knew I'd read a lot...actually the only surprise was that I'd managed to put in that many reading dates. Still a bunch to go.
how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
Added 979 (mostly ebooks); read 225 as of when I last put in dates! I think my total is over 350 now. Many of these were rereads, or short books, or both. But still. 33,693 pages, LT tells me.
did you write many reviews?
And here is where I fell down totally (at least on LT) - 3 reviews. I have a lot more written, but I don't know when I'll have quiet time to transfer them.
were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
Not a lot of posting (particularly since I also fell down on my thread) - 191 posts (192 counting this one)
what was your top genre?
Fantasy, unsurprisingly. That or SF is always my top.
who was your top author?
K.L. Noone was top, though I think Honor Raconteur actually won if I included all her pen names.
were there any surprises here?
No, not really. I knew I'd read a lot...actually the only surprise was that I'd managed to put in that many reading dates. Still a bunch to go.
37KeithChaffee
I read 85 books; YIR says 80, but there were a couple of re-reads for which I didn't change the date, and I had forgotten to date three books during the year (which have now been dated.) I expect to finish two, maybe three more books before the year ends.
All were reviewed in my thread, but I've never been in the habit of copying my reviews to the appropriate book page. Perhaps that will be a project in the new year.
I added 293 books, which tells you how much bigger my eyes are than my reading time.
LT tells me "You wrote 596 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 83,980 words) and contributed to 162 Talk topics in 12 Groups. You even started 9 topics!"
Top genre added was mystery, but if you add SF & fantasy together, that would be the top. Top genre read was SF, followed by mystery; they combined to make up about 70% of my reading this year.
All were reviewed in my thread, but I've never been in the habit of copying my reviews to the appropriate book page. Perhaps that will be a project in the new year.
I added 293 books, which tells you how much bigger my eyes are than my reading time.
LT tells me "You wrote 596 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 83,980 words) and contributed to 162 Talk topics in 12 Groups. You even started 9 topics!"
Top genre added was mystery, but if you add SF & fantasy together, that would be the top. Top genre read was SF, followed by mystery; they combined to make up about 70% of my reading this year.
38LolaWalser
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
Since I add movies too, the stats numbers aren't correct, I added 464 books so far... and I have more to add before the year is over! my paper record shows 201 read books, I expect I'll add a couple more to that too. It wasn't a good reading year, compared to, say, 2010--336 books.
- did you write many reviews?
I don't usually write reviews, but apparently I did commit one this year. I think it may be when I was considering scouring my posts for what I could stick in the review slot.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
I think I'm always chatty. "You wrote 442 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 53,073 words) and contributed to 101 Talk topics in 19 Groups. You even started 13 topics!"
- what was your top genre?
"Literature"
- who was your top author?
Ortega y Gasset, but only because I was too lazy to add Unamuno's complete works (16 volumes) by volume
- were there any surprises here?
Almost half of all my book covers are black or grey? huh
Since I add movies too, the stats numbers aren't correct, I added 464 books so far... and I have more to add before the year is over! my paper record shows 201 read books, I expect I'll add a couple more to that too. It wasn't a good reading year, compared to, say, 2010--336 books.
- did you write many reviews?
I don't usually write reviews, but apparently I did commit one this year. I think it may be when I was considering scouring my posts for what I could stick in the review slot.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
I think I'm always chatty. "You wrote 442 Talk posts in 2024 (consisting of 53,073 words) and contributed to 101 Talk topics in 19 Groups. You even started 13 topics!"
- what was your top genre?
"Literature"
- who was your top author?
Ortega y Gasset, but only because I was too lazy to add Unamuno's complete works (16 volumes) by volume
- were there any surprises here?
Almost half of all my book covers are black or grey? huh
39ELiz_M
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
I've read 73 books. Books added is meaningless to me.
- did you write many reviews?
Bwahahahaha. No.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
mostly lurking -- only 228 Talk posts
- who was your top author?
I haven't read more than one book by any author this year.
- were there any surprises here?
Just that most of the stats are based on books added rather than books read. Since the books I added are either books I read years ago and finally bought a physical copy or wishlisting pretty editions of classics that I want to buy or books added to tag to various lists that I might never get around to reading, I don't find any of these stats particularly interesting.
I've read 73 books. Books added is meaningless to me.
- did you write many reviews?
Bwahahahaha. No.
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
mostly lurking -- only 228 Talk posts
- who was your top author?
I haven't read more than one book by any author this year.
- were there any surprises here?
Just that most of the stats are based on books added rather than books read. Since the books I added are either books I read years ago and finally bought a physical copy or wishlisting pretty editions of classics that I want to buy or books added to tag to various lists that I might never get around to reading, I don't find any of these stats particularly interesting.
40icepatton
How many books did you add?
I added about 150 books (and read about half that number).
Did you write many reviews?
No.
Were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
I just stayed in my own corner most of the time.
What was your top genre?
History, apparently.
Who was your top author?
LT tells me it was Noam Chomsky, but that's only because I added my preexisting library on Goodreads when I started using LT this year. So I'm not sure.
Were there any surprises here?
No.
I added about 150 books (and read about half that number).
Did you write many reviews?
No.
Were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
I just stayed in my own corner most of the time.
What was your top genre?
History, apparently.
Who was your top author?
LT tells me it was Noam Chomsky, but that's only because I added my preexisting library on Goodreads when I started using LT this year. So I'm not sure.
Were there any surprises here?
No.
41AlisonY
Oh that's an interesting new LT addition. I assume there was a date cut-off when the Year in Review was created as I've read quite a few books since.
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
I only added 38 books, which is because LT thinks I only read 38 books this year. I only add books once I've selected to read them - those in the TBR pile don't make it to LT until I've read them. In reality I've read (and added) 46, and I'm sure I can squeeze in another one or two before 2025.
- did you write many reviews?
39 reviews in total according to this (but actually it's been 46).
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
352 Talk posts, which I'm quite happy with as it was a busy year outside of books.
- what was your top genre?
Yet again LT thinks I mostly read historical fiction. I have a mild bug bear with this - I don't agree with what it classifies as historical fiction.
- who was your top author?
Again, I'm not quite sure on how it classifies these. It's picked out half a dozen authors who I added one book from - not sure why they rank above the others I also read 1 book from. There was no author I read more than 1 book from this year.
- were there any surprises here?
I'm tracking this in my own thread anyway, but I remain surprised that the majority of the books I read this year were published in the last 4 years. That's not a usual reading habit for me.
- how many books did you add? (you can confess how many you actually read if you like)
I only added 38 books, which is because LT thinks I only read 38 books this year. I only add books once I've selected to read them - those in the TBR pile don't make it to LT until I've read them. In reality I've read (and added) 46, and I'm sure I can squeeze in another one or two before 2025.
- did you write many reviews?
39 reviews in total according to this (but actually it's been 46).
- were you particularly chatty, or did you quietly listen?
352 Talk posts, which I'm quite happy with as it was a busy year outside of books.
- what was your top genre?
Yet again LT thinks I mostly read historical fiction. I have a mild bug bear with this - I don't agree with what it classifies as historical fiction.
- who was your top author?
Again, I'm not quite sure on how it classifies these. It's picked out half a dozen authors who I added one book from - not sure why they rank above the others I also read 1 book from. There was no author I read more than 1 book from this year.
- were there any surprises here?
I'm tracking this in my own thread anyway, but I remain surprised that the majority of the books I read this year were published in the last 4 years. That's not a usual reading habit for me.
42AnnieMod
>41 AlisonY: There is a link at the bottom of that page to allow you to regenerate the report. :)
43ELiz_M
Ooh, i have a new surprise -- I just realized the genre chart at the bottom links to the books. Guess what? The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis is a romance novel!
45thorold
>43 ELiz_M: Maybe somebody somewhere read that as “novel written in one of the Romance languages”? :-)
46labfs39
I was surprised that Sir Gawain was listed as a romance. Yes, it's a romance in the original sense of the world, but seems odd in today's genre category with modern romances.
47cindydavid4
>45 thorold: my darling DH, when we were dating, invited me up to his place for a dinner. I arrived, the lights were low, the food smelled wonderful and as I sat down he put on music in a few minutes he was screaming "thats not romantic music!" he went to change it when I called him over and explained that it meant the romantic era in music he turned quite red, put on something baroque and the evening continued without a hitch I still tease him now again when we hear something from the romance era, by making kissy noises. He just smiles
