I am a avid reader and struggled to concentrate to read anything last year, so my new years resolution is to read more and complete my Goodreads 2016 challenge. I have set myself the challenge to read 52 books this year. You can check me out on goodreads here Once I have read my chosen books I will be writing a review on my blog.
I’m currently reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which is also due to be released as a movie. I have a few books on my reading list at the moment that are due as movie releases which I would like to read before the movie comes out.
I am always looking for good book suggestions, and wondered have we got any other bookworms in the digitalscrapbook.com community, and what are you currently reading?
I don't get to read often but when I do I tend to jump all in and over do it. Last year I read the Hunger Games series over a 4 day period. I was surprised they were actually pretty good. For Christmas I got Go Set A Watchmen by Harper Lee. I've been pretty excited for that since it was announced. Before I read it I want to reread To Kill A Mockingbird.
On another note I got books 9-12 of the Pretty Little Liars series. Unless you're really in to young adult fiction I wouldn't suggest reading them. I just have so much time invested in the TV series and the first 8 books it seems crazy not read the last 8 books
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I'm a big reader, and I'm hoping to make a list soon of books I must read in 2016, so if anyone has any thoughts I'm all ears. Also, I'm hoping to get my act together and share my favorite books from last year. I'd love to hear yours!
ok so i read alot!!! I average 2-3 books a month generally. What I am reading right now is a series of I think its 5 books. They are a little mystery, a litte romance, a little comedy and I have really enjoyed them.
Lacey Luzzie series by Gina LaManna
first one: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23964254-sprinkled?from_search=true&search_version=service
I also LOVE Denise Grover Swanks Rose Gardner series. Same as above mystery,romance, comedy. This is the first one
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22847270-twenty-eight-and-a-half-wishes?from_search=true&search_version=service
Hope that helps a little
Both those series look fun to read Amanda, have added them to my ’to read’ list. Thank you for the suggestion
If you want more just let me know. I have over 600 books on my kindle lol.
I'm reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and it is SO good and life changing! I also recently read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein. I highly recommend Big Magic, I couldn't put it down! I'm trying to read 50 books this year, using Goodreads as well so I could use recommendations too
I really enjoy reading but I don't read as much as I would
I'm currently reading Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone, I'm a huge fan of the harry potter saga, I have finally started reading the book and I love it!
I'm a huge reader - I average 18-26 books a month (I read very quickly) - & we have floor to ceiling shelves in most of our rooms. We own thousands (I do not exaggerate) of books & that doesn't count my ebooks! I worked in a bookstore for years (I was a buyer, the person who picks the books to sell & it was the best job I've ever had - too bad the owner was...difficult) & then in a library support system (running continuing education & doing design & web work). My Dad was a history professor & my mom a librarian & remedial reading teacher. I guess you could say books & reading is in my blood!
That said, I tend to be an outlier because I rarely find people who read what I do. My Dad & I had exactly the same taste in books & I miss him every day because I no longer have anyone to talk books with.
I almost never read best sellers, things that get buzz, or even big literary books - unless I've read them before they hit the lists or get buzz. I lean toward mid-list authors & non-fiction & genre fiction, especially pre-teens, romances (both historical & contemporary), & science fiction (which is by far my favorite genre but it's also the hardest to find books I'll like in so I end up reading a lot of romances).
Right now I'm reading the latest Mercedes Lackey Valdemar book, Closer to the Heart. I read it in December & then went back & re-read the entire Mags series in order so I'm reading it again now that I've refreshed my memory about everything that came before it.
And here's a question for other readers - do you re-read books? I do - I have lots that I call my "comfort books", ones that I love & that will make even the worst day at least a bit better.
Right now I am mostly reading Medical Journals as our hospital is working on implementing new protocols on Septic Shock. So I am overwhelmed with researching that. But in my off time I am TRYING to muddle through "Go Set a Watchman", but it is certainly no "To Kill a Mockingbird." I am quite disappointed and almost wish they had let Harper Lee rest in peace with her one brilliant novel.
Sarah, I reread books all the time! They are certainly comfort books that just sooth the soul for those days when you don't want to think, or haven't found a good book to sink yourself into! I like a little bit of everything, from very difficult reads, to easy young adult books. (I liked John Green LONG before he went all popular!) I love history, historical fiction, sci-fi, and the classics.
I will read just about anything, my kindle is filled with so many different kinds of books, and I have my go to ones that I can read over and over again
@Amanda: Thanks for the recommendations. I've added them to my to read list!
@Sharilynn: I've been saving Big Magic to read here at the start of the year. So it's next up on my list.
@Sarah: Also added "Arrows of the Queen" to my to read list.
There are several books I love to re-read. The Mary Russell series by Laurie King is my absolute favorite. Whenever a new one comes out I usually find myself revisiting all the others.
I just finished "The Blue Castle" by LM Montgomery. It was a fun romance. Highly recommend!
I used to be a huge book reader, and a hoarder of books, and was always the child who got a reading certificate every year in school for reading a certain amount of books during that school year. But when I took up genealogy, my reading focus changed to research. I LOVE the thrill of the information chase and discovery and am always hungry for more. I do still have some of my favorite books from childhood (Heidi) and a few from my earlier adult avid reading years, and I do still re-read them from time to time.
I love to read, mostly romantic comedy, historical, mystery, suspense, some horror. I used to be a big Stephen King fan, but he had one about 15 years ago that was so boring I couldn't finish it, so haven't read any of his since. I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips, a lot of her books makes me laugh out loud. I also like Linda Howard, Sandra Brown, Suzanne Brockmann. I order used books from Thriftbooks.com. They have a huge selection of books, and shipping if free for orders over $10.
I also received "Go Set a Watchmen" for Christmas and can't wait to get stuck into it
But got to finish a whole lot of other books first.
I've just finished reading "Genius Denied", and "Bad Girls of the Bible", and am now reading through my friend's book, " Beyond Priscilla" and about half way through.
After that there's "Emma" (Jane Austen) and a biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. THEN I can get to the Harper Lee
I've been a bookworm my whole life but the last year or so as work/life stress goes up the quality of what I'm reading has been going down. oops.
However I do still have my book club book each month to add variety and sometimes quality. In January our book was Fifteen Dogs [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23129923-fifteen-dogs?ac=1&from_search=1 ]Fifteen Dogs[/url]and our next book is Furiously Happy [url= https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23848559-furiously-happy?from_search=true&search_version=service ]Furiously Happy[/url]so we really do read the gambit.
I'm reading Yes Please by Amy Phoeler right now as well as Pride & Prejudice & Zombies prior to going to see it.
I don't want to admit to my friend that I actually abandonned his book! I just lost interst
It just became too sameish.
I got sidetracked in my above reading list and read "The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Became That Way" - which was a really interesting look at the PISA test and the three top scoring countries (Korea, Finland and Poland) and what they do differently to other educational systems around the world. Surprisingly not dry and was an engaging read.
NOW I'm finally reading "Emma"
I'm curious about your recent read Janey. Particularly having spent two years teaching in the Korean public school system, I can't honestly say there's a lot there that I would encourage someone to duplicate. Aside from perhaps the importance they place on education.
Another series that is an amazing Sci-Fi Adventure is Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles. My son actually got me into them and I was happily surprised. There are 3 books so far, and we are impatiently waiting on the fourth.
1.) The Name of the Wind
2.) The Wise Man's Fear
3.) The Slow Regard of Silent Things (A Character sideline that is fascinating.)
You're absolutely right, and they do touch upon the stress that Korean kids are under - it's completely disgusting, but it seems to be parent driven and a hang on from the 1940s and 50s from when most Koreans were poor peasant farmers and the only way ahead was to be educated, and educated at the very best universities.
The common factors in Korea, Finland and Poland were:
-depth of subject matter, not breadth - fewer subjects, but taught with more intent and focus.
- Rigourous learning: kids are at school to learn, and to work hard, not to compete in sports, music, etc ... Finland and Korea both value music eduation (not sure about Poland) but it is not a huge part of schooling. Kids aren't praised for "trying", they are praised for exceeding what is expected of them. Standards are high, and students are expected to meet them. There are no remedial classes, even for new arrivals (that being said, all three countries are very homogenous)
- Teaching is seen as a "prized" profession, up there with law or medicine. Entry into teaching colleges is highly competitive. Teachers are better qualified, but (with the exception of Korea) work shorter hours. They have more time for planning, the systems are less data driven (no yearly standardized tests for every child). Teachers are highly respected and generally their decisions are not questioned by parents. They also have a lot more autonomy and trusted to deliver without constant follow up.
- Children are given much more responsibility and freedom.
I didn't agree with everything that was done in these countries, but it was a fascinating read. I have taught in USA (Colorado) where the standard of teaching varied wildly depending on the teacher (even at schools that claimed to have high standards) and taught in Australia for most of my working life.
I'm a bit of a history nut so I'm reading Simon Schama's History of Britain at night and Ruth Goodman's How To Be A Victorian when I have my lunch break. My partner is reading Buy Me The Sky by Xinran who is a fabulous Chinese author and he's says it's brilliant (all her books are) so that's next on my reading list. After that I'll probably take a break from the non-fiction and read something fun like a Marian Keyes novel.
Just finished reading Unplannedby Abbey Johnson. Interesting story of a Planned Parenthood Director and her journey to the pro-life side. Not too long and very easy to read. Not too judgemental of either side of the pro-life/pro-choice debate.
Now I'm reading Call the Midwife, as well as watching the first series of the show. Am absolutely loving it. It's fascinating learning about the history of East End London in the late 1940s, early 50s and how midwifery was one back then. Plus I love all the costuming of the show!
Janey, I loved the book but found the TV series underwhelming which was a shame. Shadows of the Workhouse is also an interesting read by Jennifer Worth.
I was reading Peter Pan and Wendy on my Kindle app and then I got distracted with life. LOL I get many of my ebooks from a site called BookBub. They have books priced from free-$5. I have found some interesting reads on there.
I love the Patricia Briggs books they are sci-fi related and are actually based in the town that I live in so its really fun to read and know exactly where the characters are. I reccomend the Mercy Thompson series to anyone who likes the werewolves type series. Mercy is a Coyote but lives in a town full of different types of vecent aka paranormal types (I just gave up my favorite show by saying Vecent.. anyone else get that reference?) I don't have a lot of time to read anymore, I do a lot of audio books and mostly listen while I work or while cleaning. We run a farm and have four kids and two businesses and honestly I should probably be cleaning right now lol!! I would love to hear any other paranormal type series anyone can recommend that I might be able to get on audio. I have a hard time finding adult series in this genre that don't have a lot of inappropriate content!
I just finished reading the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. The TV show True Blood is based on the series, and I enjoyed her writing.
I love this topic! So may books to add to my reading list...
I have always loved to read...tho I don't read as much as I would like these days. My problem is, once I get hooked...I have trouble putting the book down...and therefore, other things suffer in the process...mostly my sleep. 
Anyway. The last few books I read were actually a series called The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Tore through all four (really thick) books in about 2 1/2 weeks.
I just this weekend re-discovered Anne MacCaffrey and all her fantasy series. I had read (and re-read) the Crystal SInger trilogy and loved it. Very strong women characters. I found a few more series by MacCaffrey I think I'd like and will let you know, if you are interested in sci-fi fantasy.
I love reading but don't get much chance to do so.
There are a few books I've started, one I'm rereading as I loved it the first time around as a teenager. (This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti)
You can follow or friend me on goodreads if you'd like.
I've also been a book worm my entire life. I have way to many to count on my kindle. I also do read and review for sites like Netgalley and Choosy Bookworm, you get the book, usually pre-release, read and write a review for Amazon, Goodreads, my book blog, etc. My favorite genres are science fiction/fantasy/dystopia/supernatural. I'm currently reading the Outlander series, just started the first book, Outlander, and yes I love the Starz Outlander tv series. I just finished Chiaroscuro - The Mouse and the Candle by Matthew S. Cox, he's become a good friend and I read and review almost all his books as well as check for grammer, etc errors. I get them all pre-release directly from Matt. I don't usually do vampire books but Chiaroscuro is a very different from the usual vampire book, I had it finished in less than a week, it's a book I would recommend to anyone. It was just released on Kindle so you can read the initial blurb on there. Matt also has most of his books on Kindle Unlimited, Division Zero series, Awakened series, both set in the same world and Matt calls them Steampunk Dystopia style. They also are very excellent. I could talk books forever so I better stop. Oh Patacakee - Anne MacCaffrey is one of my all time favorite authors as is Mercedes Lackey that Sarah mentioned, and Sarah I love the Valdemar series too. And yes, I'm a re-reader. It took me reading the Hunger Games series 3 times in a row before I could break free from it, the Divergent series too.
I have always loved to read from a very early age. I am now far from Young Adult but LOVE LOVE Love the young Adult books! They are way better than what I had to read at that age! I am currently reading Peeps from Scott Westerfield. 's okay but not as good as his other series "Uglies".
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